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Looking back

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

Commission dismisses discrimination complaint

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission issued an order Thursday dismissing a discrimination complaint filed by Lisa Crawford of Waynesburg against Greene County Housing Authority and its executive director, Lois Mocniak.

Crawford’s complaint alleged that the housing authority had illegally discriminated against her because of her disability by refusing to provide reasonable accommodations necessary to afford her access to her housing.

The commission’s decision was based on finding that the housing authority, while not providing the exact accommodation Crawford requested, had provided alternative accommodations that were reasonable under the circumstances and satisfied the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

During a hearing before a PHRC hearing officer last August, Crawford, 46, said she asked for and had been denied a handicapped parking sign for her space at Wayne Village. She said she made the request in March 2006 because other vehicles have parked in her space and her disability makes it nearly impossible for her to walk any distance to her apartment.

Crawford testified she had 13 hip surgeries, has bulging disks in her back and takes strong medication for constant pain.

It’s official: Wal-Mart to open March 18

Greene County shoppers might want to mark their calendars.

On March 18, Wal-Mart will officially open the new supercenter at the Waynesburg Crossing retail development in Franklin Township.

The store will open at 7 a.m. A very brief ceremony will be held with the raising of the flag and playing of the national anthem, then the store will open for business, said Marcy Sloneker, Wal-Mart marketing manager.

Though a “soft opening” will probably be held a day or two in advance for dignitaries and speeches, on the day of the official opening the ceremony will be brief because “people will want to shop,” she said.

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

Plans for the development have been in the works for a number of years and have frequently been accompanied by rumors that a Wal-Mart would never open there.

“It’s been a long time,” Sloneker said. “Some people still don’t believe it’s coming.”

Greene road salt supplies holding up

Despite the unrelenting winter weather conditions, officials in several Greene County municipalities said they have fairly good supplies of road materials in stock.

Franklin Township supervisor John Higgins said the township has an adequate supply of salt on hand. The township just ordered salt last week and had no trouble getting what it needed, he said.

The township now has about 500 tons of salt and another 700 to 800 tons of anti-skid materials in storage, enough to last about a month. “We’re in pretty good shape,” Higgins said.

So far, the winter has been typical when it comes to road maintenance. “I don’t think it’s been anything out of the ordinary,” Higgins said.

But Richhill Township supervisor Harold Finnegan said he believes this winter has been “a little worse than average.”

The area has experienced few major storms this year, though it has been hit by a number of smaller storms that resulted in one or two inches of snow.

Information sought on fate of Monon Center

Greensboro Borough Council hopes to meet with representatives of the Monon Center to discuss the fate of various artifacts in the center’s museum prior to the center being sold.

The center’s board of directors earlier decided to disband and auction off the building and its contents. The auction, which was to be held in October, was canceled at the last minute.

Greensboro Borough solicitor Farley Toothman said, however, that he had been asked by council to contact representatives of the center to attempt to schedule a meeting between the board and council.

Toothman said he had discussed the matter briefly with the center’s solicitor, John Stets, and Stets indicated the board would like to eventually proceed with the sale.

The board of the nonprofit Monon Center had decided to disband and sell the building, citing a lack of money to keep the 98-year-old stone building in good repair.

The building, once an elementary school and later a community center and museum, has been closed since about 1985. The board hoped money raised from the sale of the property could be used to establish a scholarship fund for Mapletown High School students.

W. Greene board considers cuts in teaching staff

ROGERSVILLE – The West Greene School Board asked school administrators Jan. 19 to prepare information regarding a possible reduction in the teaching staff.

The board is considering cutting staff because of the drop in enrollment that occurred as a result of the teachers’ strike.

Although figures were not available on the number of students who failed to return, acting Superintendent Frank Blount said he believes enrollment is down by about 100 from the start of the year.

Missing sheep found at last

KUHNTOWN – A flock of 52 sheep thought to be stolen has been found. Ralph Adamson, who reported the sheep missing Jan. 19 after searching for them for almost a week, said the yearling ewes are back on his farm in Kuhntown. They were found during the weekend on a farm near Oak Forest, almost four miles from the Adamson farm.

“The only thing we can figure is that they were chased by dogs,” Adamson said. “One of the ewes appeared to have been nipped on the hindquarters.”

12 coal miners safe after near tragedy

MT. MORRIS – Twelve men trapped underground for almost six hours by a fire in a coal mine in Mt. Morris emerged unharmed at noon Tuesday, writing a happy ending to what had earlier threatened to become a major tragedy.

“We found the fresh air. Thank the Lord for that,” Millard Brock of Morgantown, W.Va., said.

Brock was section foreman of the 12-man crew which remained trapped by the fire after the other 115 men working at the time had escaped.

The blaze broke out at 6:20 a.m., some 400 yards from the bottom of the shaft, at the Mt. Morris portal if the Humphrey No. 7 mine, owned by Consolidated Coal Company.

Men who were underground said the fire was triggered when a roof fall tore down a trolley wire, creating a short circuit at the point where rock dust us taken into the mine through a tube from storage tanks on the surface.

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