Aug 9, 2014 4 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:

Big crowd packs

4-H steer show

WAYNESBURG – A steady drizzle didn’t deter fairgoers from packing the livestock barn at Greene County Fairgrounds Tuesday to watch a group of youngsters compete in the 2009 4-H Market Steer Show.

And when the judge made the final selection more than two hours after the show began, it was 9-year-old Lexie Mooney, daughter of Heath and Denise Mooney of Nineveh, and her 1,350-pound steer, Dominoes, that took home the big prize – grand champion steer.

“I am really excited,” said Mooney, who will be a fourth-grader at Graysville Elementary School.

“This is my second year showing and it really feels good,” she said.

In between hugs from well-wishers, the youngster said her steer “got scared,” explaining why Dominoes “acted up” in the ring and had to be escorted by a strong young man.

And because kids can be 4-H participants until they turn 18, Mooney has quite a few years of showmanship ahead of her.

“And I am definitely going to stay with it,” she said.

Another night for Campbell

WAYNESBURG – An all-day drizzle Thursday turned much of the Greene County Fairgrounds into a muddy mess, but that didn’t keep buyers from coming out to support hard-working youngsters at the annual 4-H Market Lamb and Steer Auction.

And again, it was Sara Campbell’s night to shine.

The 18-year-old from Sycamore, who showed the grand champion market lamb Tuesday and the grand champion market steer Thursday, donated the entire proceeds from the sale of the lamb and steer to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

“I know a lot of people who have been affected by (cancer) and some in 4-H and we have to do something to help them,” she said. In past years, Campbell also has donated 10 percent of her earnings from the sale to the cancer society.

That spirit of giving and helping others, represented by her donation, is exactly the reason buyers of her lamb and steer gave in speaking of why they didn’t mind paying top prices for her animals.

Campbell’s 131-pound grand champion market lamb sold for $18 a pound. It was purchased for $2,358 by Tri-State Supply of Washington.

Her 1,350-pound grand champion market steer, meanwhile, sold for $5 a pound, or $6,750. The steer was purchased by a longtime 4-H supporter, First Federal Savings and Loan of Greene County.

First Federal also bought the grand champion at last year’s fair and the one the year before.

Mysterious chemical

injures McDonald’s workers

WAYNESBURG – Three employees of the Waynesburg Shopping Plaza McDonald’s restaurant were treated at Greene County Memorial Hospital after being stricken by fumes from a source still unidentified.

According to reports of the incident, after the restaurant had closed, and employee noticed a brownish-white power on the floor of a restroom. Water and detergent were used to clean the floor, and moments later, the employee complained of burning eyes and throat.

By the time ambulance personnel arrived, the employee was near cardiac arrest. Oxygen was administered, which seemed to ease the employee’s distress.

A short time later, two other employees became ill and also were taken to the hospital. None of the three was admitted.

New RR spur being

readied to Blacksville

Grading and preparations for a 2.5-mile railroad spur of the Waynesburg Southern Railroad to run from the present tracks near Brave to the Blacksville No. 2 Mine, Wana, W.Va., is under way at a cost of $2.4 million.

Heavy equipment is now working on the spur, which will serve the Blacksville Mine under development by Consolidation Coal Co.. Completion of grading is scheduled for February 1070. Plans set an April 1970 completion date for the track laying, and include a leading loop track at the mine.

Blacksville No. 2 will be the third mine served by the Waynesburg Southern, a Penn Central subsidiary leased to the Monongahela Railway.