Dec 13, 2014 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:

‘Sad day’ for Greene County

WAYNESBURG – Corruption charges announced Tuesday against state Rep. Bill DeWeese of Waynesburg and Sharon Rodavich of Carmichaels, DeWeese’s district aide, shocked Greene County’s Democratic leadership, while a two-time opponent of the House Whip from the 50th Legislative District, said, “It was just a matter of time.”

DeWeese and Rodavich have each been charged with four counts of theft and one count each of conspiracy and conflict of interest.

According to state Attorney General Tom Corbett, DeWeese allegedly employed a legislative staff member in the Capitol from 2001 to 2007 primarily to raise campaign money.

Rodavich, who began working for DeWeese in 1994, was employed strictly for political purposes, Corbett said. She was a primary supervisor of DeWeese’s day-to-day campaign activities out of his district office and rarely reported to work, Corbett said.

“This is a sad day for the 50th Legislative District in Greene County” said Pam Snyder, chairman of the Greene County commissioners.

When asked what this might mean for the county, she responded, “It’s an end of an era and a new day dawning.”

Snyder said she is not ruling out the possibility she might run next year for the legislative seat, saying, “It is hard to make a decision right now because there is not a seat to run for until the primary.”

Other local officials said they stand behind DeWeese, that he is innocent until proven guilty, and spoke of the millions of dollars he has brought home for district projects.

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Waynesburg cops in line

for big raise

WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg Borough police officers will get a 37.7 percent pay raise next year, but their holidays and vacation days will be significantly reduced, according to a new contract that council approved Monday.

The borough’s six patrolmen will make $18 per hour, up from the current base of $13.07, and they will not see a raise for the duration of the six-year labor agreement. Officers who have been with the department for at least 10 years will get an extra $3 an hour.

The number of paid holidays will be cut by more than half, from 13 to six, and vacation time will be reduced as well. Vacation time is based on length of service, and the number of days off will cap at 20; it was previously 25.

“We checked around to other police departments that are similar in size to us and we found out our pay was much lower and our vacation time was much more than anyone else,” said borough Manager Bruce Wermlinger.

Officers also will have to start paying $50 per month for their health insurance premium.

County budget adopted

with no tax increase

WAYNESBURG – County revenue through local taxes, grants and other sources will fall short of expenses next year, but commissioners opted not to raise taxes when they adopted the 2005 budget Thursday.

Instead, the county will dip into its reserve account, to the tune of $550,000, to balance the spending plan. The reserve account is estimated at $1.88 million. County leaders have made several withdraws over the years as an alternative to either raising taxes or significantly scaling back on services.

The general fund budget totals $11,834,813, a 12 percent increase over this year’s spending plan. The tax rate will remain at 6.42 mills.

Under that levy, the owner of a property assessed at $50,000 can expect to pay $321 in taxes to the county. However, municipalities and school districts also impose taxes on property, so the total tax bill will be much higher.

Human Services, which includes Mental Health/Mental Retardation, Children and Youth and Drug and Alcohol programs, is the department with by far the largest spending plan at over $11.2 million. This area is included in the unified budget of $25.57 million, but it is almost entirely funded through federal and state grants.

For that reason, Human Services and other areas that are grant funded are not included in the county’s general fund budget, which generates most of its money through local taxes.

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Turf project bids still

too high for C. Greene

WAYNESBURG – Central Greene School Board members hope that three times will be the charm in the district’s attempts to find a low price for the artificial turf project at the Waynesburg Central High School athletic field.

For the second time in less than a year, board members rejected all bids Tuesday after the proposals came in too high. The board indicated that they would try again in February or March.

Two companies bid on the project. Pro Grass of Pittsburgh offered to do the project for $586,716, and Specialty Surfaces International of Wayne was the apparent low bidder with its $579,715 proposal.

A representative from Specialty Surfaces attended the meeting and questioned the board’s decision to reject bids once again. He claimed that Specialty Surfaces gave a reasonable price for the project but fewer companies are going to be willing to bid on the project if the proposals continue to be rejected.

“We have a budget and it is lower than these bids,” said board President George Scott.

Project organizers earlier said that they hoped the project would cost less than $400,000.

The board rejected the first round of bids in May, when six proposals were submitted. They ranged from $563,630 to $879,500. Only two companies bid this time, but Scott said the time of year had more to do with the situation than the re-bid.

Thyreen hopes to continue

college’s excellence

WAYNESBURG – Timothy Thyreen came to Waynesburg College seven years ago as the defensive coordinator for the football team. Dec. 2, he was named the 14th president of the institution.

During his tenure at Waynesburg College he has been in charge of several offices, including admissions, financial aid, student life and placement and at the time of his appointment ws vice president/institutional advancement and enrollment manager.

At 46, he becomes the youngest president in the history of the school.

“I want students to think critically and communicate effectively,” he said. “With some knowledge of writing skills as well, our students, regardless of their major, will have the core of a sound education,” he added.

Lack of available money

halts I-79 construction

Lack of money available to the State Highways Department has forced postponement of construction of the first section of Interstate 79 south of Waynesburg.

Bids of Section 9, a 2.7-mile strip of four-lane highway east of Kirby, were to have been opened Dec. 19.

Officials at the Highways Department district office at Uniontown said the bid opening was called off because the Capital Fund budget has not been approved nor money appropriated to finance it.

They indicate that even if the State Legislature acts in the near future, the earliest possible new bid opening date would be in the latter part of January.