Sep 14, 2013 5 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:

Another mosquito tests

positive for West Nile

A positive result for West Nile virus has been received from mosquito samples taken from traps at the Waynesburg Borough sewage treatment plant, the Greene County Conservation Service announced Thursday.

The positive sample, however, had been captured prior to the most recent application of insecticide at the site on Sept. 4, the conservation service said.

The newest positive result came one day after the conservation district’s West Nile Program announced the virus also was found in mosquito samples collected at the Rices Landing sewage plant.

The results of the sampling at Rices Landing had indicated a low mosquito population density in the area.

As a result of the two finds, monitoring at both locations will be increased immediately to determine if there has been an increase in the mosquito populations.

If testing indicates an increase that meets the state Department of Environmental Protection’s requirement for population density, insecticide will be applied and the public notified immediately, the conservation district said.

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Contract awarded

for armory project

The state Department of General Services has awarded contracts to construct a new Pennsylvania National Guard readiness center at EverGreene Technology Park in Franklin Township.

Contracts for the 38,000-square-foot, single-story building came to $9,280,427. The general contractor on the project is the Nello Construction Co. of Canonsburg, which submitted a bid of $6,444,427.

“Work will start likely this year; we’re probably looking at October or November,” DGS press secretary Edward Myslewicz said Monday.

Contractors will have 455 calendar days to complete the project, which will mean the building should be ready in early 2010, Myslewicz said.

The new readiness center will replace the Capt. Robert C. Wiley Armory in Waynesburg, which was built in 1914 and, according to national guard officials, has outlived its usefulness. The armory is home to Company C, 1-110th Infantry.

Preparing for worst,

hoping for best

WAYNESBURG – Most people, by now, already know something about the effects of Hurricane Isabel.

Heavy rain and high winds accompanying the tropical storm as it streams north through Pennsylvania were expected to hit the area Thursday night and be felt at least through mid-afternoon today.

The potential for flooding and other storm-related damage forced local emergency services officials, the power company and highway crews to be on alert throughout the day.

Schools in Greene County were expected to start at normal times, though school officials said they would wait until early this morning to make the call on whether there should be delays.

The storm’s expected effects also resulted in the National Weather Service issuing a high wind advisory through noon today and a flood watch through 10 p.m. A flood watch on the Monongahela River will remain in effect until noon Saturday.

“Most of the steady rain should be over by mid-afternoon, though we still could get some showers into the evening,” Lou Giordana, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said Thursday afternoon.

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Vacancy sign at jail leads

way to saving $345,000

WAYNESBURG – Greene County has enjoyed a very profitable relationship with its neighbors since the prison began accepting out-of-county inmates more than two years ago.

Prison overcrowding has plagued some other counties in the state, but Greene has relished the situation. Warden Harry D. Gillispie said at the prison board meeting Wednesday the Greene County lockup reduced its operating expenses by about $345,000 since it began accepting other counties’ inmates in April 2001.

Butler County will pay $91,800 for housing inmates during June, July and August. Meanwhile, Indiana County has paid $14,160, and Fayette’s bill is $5,040 for that time period.

Housing other counties’ inmates is so lucrative that the prison recently added 10 beds to the facility, bringing Greene County Jail’s capacity to 136. On Wednesday, 135 people called the jail home, with 26 of those inmates only serving weekend sentences.

In another matter, the state Department of Corrections released a report on its annual inspection, which included a few recommendations but no citations.

Regarding problem areas with the building, the DOC inspector noticed mold on a shower wall and on a wall in the kitchen, a tile missing in a shower and rust on a vent in the kitchen.

In procedural issues, the inspector wanted the prison to keep personnel records in the prison office, draft policies on health care for the inmates as well as change the way male and female inmates participate in outdoor activities.

Duquesne Light takes tax appeal to state court

WAYNESBURG – Duquesne Light Co. has taken its legal battle for lower tax assessments on company-owned coal in Greene County to the state Commonwealth Court.

The appeal has been filed form an Aug. 11 ruling by the Greene County Court that the county was justified in raising the market value assigned to Duquesne Light coal form $375 an acre to $509 an acre, based on testimony as to the value of the coal.

Duquesne Light owns 4,133 acre of Sewickley seam coal in Dunkard, Greene, Whiteley and Perry townships, of which 4,050 acres are classified as inactive coal and 82.8 acres as active coal. The coal is assigned to the company’s Warwick mine at Greensboro.

School districts show

decrease in total enrollment

There are 8,889 students enrolled in Greene County’s five school districts – a decrease of some 40 boys and girls from last year.

Of these, 5,090 are enrolled in elementary schools and 3,799 in secondary schools.

There are 105 boys and girls in special education classes operated on the elementary level by all five districts. In addition, 82 students attend special education classes at Mapletown and West Greene high schools, the only two in the county to offer the program.

Enrollment by school districts in the county:

Carmichaels Area, 1,707; Central Greene, 3,052; Jefferson-Morgan, 1,532; Southeastern Greene, 1,298; and West Greene, 1,300.