Nov 11, 2013 6 min read

A look at some of the headlines gracing the pages of the Observer-Reporter and Waynesburg Republican this week in Greene County history:

County to hold property taxes steady

WAYNESBURG – It’s becoming harder to hold the line on property taxes, according to Greene County commissioners.

Nevertheless, commissioners likely will approve a tentative budget today that will leave the tax rate unchanged for at least one more year.

“All the rising costs with gas and everything are affecting us too,” said Commissioner Pam Snyder. “The state and federal governments have been making some massive cuts and that will certainly impact our budget.”

The property tax rate will remain at 6.42 mills.

The county will have to dip into the reserve fund to make up for an expected shortfall without raising taxes. Scott Kelley, budget director, estimated that the withdrawal next year will be about $544,000.

Commissioners expected to withdraw about $700,000 to balance the books this year, but Kelley expects that number will be a bit less when the final auditing is complete.

The county’s reserve fund stands at about $2.5 million, according to the most recent estimate.

More details about the spending plan will be released at the regular meeting at 10 a.m. today. Commissioners will adopt a final version of the 2009 budget at the meeting Dec. 10.

One development probably will have a positive effect on county finances, Chief Assessor H. John Frazier said Wednesday. He will unveil the 2009 certified property values today, and it will show that the county increased its value by about $74 million over the previous year.

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Career center purchases ARC building

WAYNESBURG – Greene Arc sold its property in Ruff Creek to United Mine Workers of America Career Centers Inc., but the nonprofit agency will stay put until it builds a new recycling center in Waynesburg Borough.

The career center plans to build a simulated coal mine to train new miners, so it purchased 65 acres of land and the main building from Greene Arc.

Both the career center and Greene Arc have been planning the purchase for about three years, and they finalized the deal Thursday.

“This is an exciting time for Greene Arc. This will issue a new era because for the first time, we will have a new building,” said Cynthia Dias, executive director of Greene Arc.

Greene Arc will remain in its building in Washington Township for 18 months under a rent-free lease agreement with the center.

During that time, Greene Arc will plan and build the new building that will be constructed on South Washington Street.

Greene Arc purchased property on the south side of Waynesburg that used to act as the Grover C. Hughes store in 2005. The agency subsequently purchased adjacent properties, and it will build a new recycling center on about one acre of land. Landmark Design Associates is the architect for the project.

Holbrook man was ready if Iraq unleashed chemical attack

WAYNESBURG – For three months, Ross Smith and fellow members of the 300th Chemical Company out of Morgantown, W.Va., waited along the Jordanian border for the worst-case scenario to unfold in Iraq.

Fortunately for the 29-year-old Holbrook resident and thousands of other troops stationed in the desert, his expertise was not needed.

Smith, who returned home in June and is now working as an assistant to Greene County Chief Clerk Gene Lee, was with a Decon unit – a group charged with decontaminating troops and vehicles if Iraq unleashed a bioterror attack.

“We were less than 20 miles from the Iraqi border attached to the special forces,” he said. “We were right on the front lines with them.”

Smith, an E-4 specialist with the Army Reserves, was activated in December and spent two months at Fort Dix, N.J., before arriving in Jordan March 5.

Because no weapons of mass destruction were launched or found, Smith and his company often pulled guard duty.

“But we did do a lot of training to be mission-ready if there was an attack by chemical weapons,” he said. “We thought we would be facing chemical weapons. … Once the threat was over, the mindset changed.”

Smith said he believes chemical weapons exist.

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The bare necessities

The joint operating committee of Greene County Vocational-Technical School will hear a presentation on a scaled-down plan to renovate the 34-year-old vo-tech building.

Renovation of the school has been discussed by the committee for more than a year.

A plan was presented earlier this year that would have cost roughly $8 million; however, that proposal was rejected after several school districts expressed concern about the cost.

The school administration had been asked to review a breakdown of the costs for various facets of the plan and develop a list of priorities of work that needed to be completed.

Richard Ohler, director of the school, said that was done and the architect, Foreman Architect and Engineers, will present the plan at the committee’s monthly meeting on Wednesday.

The cost of the new plan has been estimated at $2.8 million.

“It should take care of everything that is absolutely necessary,” Ohler said. “These are things we couldn’t do ourselves but that we have to do,” he said.

The scope of work will include replacing the roof, adding handicapped-accessible restrooms and ramps, installing new fire doors and expanding the cosmetology and culinary arts areas.

Drought warning still in effect for Greene County

Last summer’s 100-degree temperatures and parched lawns may be gone, but the drought warning is not.

The Greene and Washington county areas are still suffering from a severe lack of water and the drought warning issued by Lt. Gov. Mark S, Singel on Aug. 24 is still in effect.

In a letter to the state’s public water suppliers issued Oct. 28, the Department of Environmental Resources reports that 42 of the state’s 67 counties are still under a drought warning.

A letter indicates that during the past 12 months, Greene County has had 9.97 inches less precipitation, while Washington County during the same time period has had 6.69 inches less rainfall than during a normal year.

According to a chart, which accompanied the letter, Greene County has had 8.82 inches less rain from Jan. 1 through Oct. 15 that during an average year and Washington County is down by 5.3 inches.

Records fall in WC final

WAYNESBURG – John Hunter and Don Herrmann.

That was the entire story Saturday afternoon as Waynesburg College crushed Lock Haven State College 69-0 in the football season final for both clubs.

It was the most devastating aerial attack ever staged by a Yellow Jacket club as 18 college records and five national records were broken during the onslaught.

Huntley completed 28 of 39 passes for 467 yards and eight touchdowns, breaking eight passing marks, four owned by Harry Theofiledes. He lacked on TD pass of tying a national record.

Herrmann was on the receiving end of those passes 18 times for 328 yards and seven TD’s, seven college records and four national marks.

He lacked one reception of tying a national season record for pass catches at 77.