Nov 23, 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:

Greene Countians

in a giving mood

WAYNESBURG – The turnout for the all-day food drive held Tuesday to benefit Greene County’s Corner Cupboard Food Bank left food bank director Jan Caldwell pinching herself in disbelief.

The hastily-organized drive arranged by employees of Consol Energy Inc. and held on the Greene County Courthouse steps proved to be an overwhelming success.

“It does your heart good,” said Caldwell, as she and others watched the donations roll in late Tuesday morning. “I’m still pinching myself.”

In the first hour alone, more than $2,500 was donated to the food bank for a similar matching donation from Consol. The company also presented the food bank with an additional $5,000 donation.

At the end of the day, though all the money had not yet been counted, the food bank received more than $23,500 in monetary donations. Food dropped off at the courthouse alone weighed an estimated 1,500 pounds.

“I thought if we got maybe $1,500 and what Consol gave us, I would be thrilled,” Caldwell said. “This is just … there aren’t any words.”

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Wal-Mart on track

to open in March

The new Wal-Mart supercenter now under construction at the Waynesburg Crossing retail development in Franklin Township is on schedule to open in mid-March.

Work on the 143,000-square foot building, which began in June, has been proceeding smoothly, said Marcy Sloneker, Wal-Mart marketing manager.

The supercenter will be the main tenant at the 115-acre retail development on Route 21 across from the Greene County Airport.

Much of the building’s exterior now appears to be completed. The exterior incorporates a new look for Wal-Mart. It is the first in this area to use the new design, Sloneker said.

The Waynesburg supercenter will be smaller than the company’s stores in nearby Morgantown, W.Va., and Washington, which have about 226,000 square feet of floor space.

The Waynesburg store, however, will have many of the same departments, including full grocery, clothing, automotive and lawn and garden departments.

The store will employ between 250 and 300. Sloneker said the company expects to set up an office in the Waynesburg area in December to begin hiring employees.

County hoping to reach

a budget with no tax jump

WAYNESBURG – The loss of about $400,000 in tax revenue because of the coal reassessment, coupled with an anticipated increase in health insurance premiums, has made for some long days, and nights, for Scott Kelley, Greene County’s budget director.

“But it’s getting there,” Kelley said, with less than a week left before commissioners are scheduled to approve a tentative version of the county’s 2004 budget.

Kelley is trying to fashion a budget keeping millage at the 2003 rate of 5.42.

But, he admits there are a lot of variables, a possible 40 percent increase in health insurance notwithstanding.

Gene Lee, the county’s chief clerk, said the county is still examining proposals from several providers, and no decision as which company the county will select has been made.

“Right now it looks like our expenses for next year will exceed our revenues, but we have a relatively sound fund balance that should help balance the ledger,” Kelley said.

The 2004 general fund budget should look similar to the $10.8 million spending package adopted in 2003.

For this year’s budget, the county nixed plans to demolish the old Curry Home, which has been estimated at $250,000; another plan to renovate the Ben Franklin building and prepare it for the 911 emergency center’s new home, which would have cost $105,000; construction of an estimated $100,000 hard-to-recycle waste facility; a $3,500 upgrade to the county’s voting machines; and software purchases for the human resources, treasurer’s and the sheriff’s departments.

One bright spot in all of this is that the county jail has doubled its revenue in 2003.

That is due primarily to fees collected from housing inmates from other counties.

No one is talking tax increase at this time, but until it comes time to vote on the tentative budget next week, nothing is off the table, Lee said.

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Thanksgiving dinner

guaranteed for everyone

Two-year-old Rachel Calvario takes a nap while her father, Dave, helps out Bob Popso, left and Lloyd Cole, in the kitchen for the ninth annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner Monday at the First Presbyterian Church in Waynesburg. The dinner, which is prepared by the board of deacons and volunteers, fed more than 200 people.

Remember, in Greene County you don’t have to eat alone on Thanksgiving. If it’s a family gathering you’re missing, or the money just isn’t there to fix a big meal, there are some feasts going on in Waynesburg that have a spot reserved just for you.

First Presbyterian Church of Waynesburg celebrated Thanksgiving early as they have for nine years, with a community dinner on Tuesday.

Thursday, there’s turkey and all the traditional fixings at St. Ann Church on High Street, with appetizers at 11 a.m. and a sit-down dinner at noon, complete with table cloths, napkins, centerpieces and favors.

In Morrisville, Amelia’s Restaurant is celebrating its fourth year of serving a free Thanksgiving dinner for anyone who might care to drop in between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

When owner Chris Bailey opened Amelia’s on Mothers Day, 2000, she had a lot to be thankful for. For someone who began her career at the salad bar at Hoss’s and has done everything from dishwashing to management, a place of her own was a dream come true.

The deal to open a restaurant in Waynesburg finally came through the day before she was ready to leave for Virginia and a new life. In 10 days, she had the gas back on and the restaurant up and running. By November she was ready to give thanks the best way she knew how – by inviting the neighborhood in for a good old-fashioned free feast.

County’s population

on decline

WAYNESBURG – Greene County’s population declined by 276 people from 1980 to 1987, according to figures recently released by the state Data Center and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population in Greene County dropped .6 percent, from 40,476 to 40,200. During that time, population in the state increased by .6 percent.

According to the Data Center, state population trends show continued growth in the east and declines in the west.

Population losses also were reported in counties bordering Greene County. In Washington County population dropped 3 percent, from 217,074 to 210,600; Fayette County, 3.9 percent, from 159,417 to 153,100; and Allegheny County, 6.1 percent, from 1,450,195 to 1,362,220.

Two elementary schools

may close in SE District

The possibility of closing two elementary schools in the Southeastern Greene School District was learned last week during a meeting of the Mon-View Parent-Teachers Association.

School Board member John Goodish told members if the PTA that the board is considering closing the Sugar Grove and Penn Pit schools for economic reasons.

Goodish said that no definite plans have been made, but that by closing the two schools the district would save approximately $50,000 through the transfer of these students to the Bobtown Elementary School.

The master plans for the district, Goodish explained, called fir the eventual construction of a new, 24-room elementary school, which would cost approximately $1,113,750. The cost to the district taxpayers would be approximately $46,276 annually.