Jun 21, 2014 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:

A wild, unwelcome visitor

MT. MORRIS – All the Liebholds of Mt. Morris were missing last Sunday were bowls of porridge, a young daughter with “golden locks” and two bears.

Yes, that’s two bears because they already had one, a 150-pound black bear in their kitchen that was not slopping up porridge but carrying a bag of flour in its mouth.

Despite the bizarre nature of this incident, it still falls under the category of a modern-day fairy tale.

There is a mom, Genevieve Bardwell; a dad, Sandy Liebhold; a daughter, 18-year-old Naomi, who has light brown hair and will be heading off to Smith College in the fall.

This “tale” begins about 11 a.m. on Father’s Day on the Liebhold property on Little Shannon Run Road.

It was a cool morning, storms having just concluded the night before, so the family left the back door open to their house to let in fresh air.

“I walked into the kitchen and saw this black furry thing in front of a counter. At first, I thought it was Naomi wearing a black sweater, but then all of a sudden this bear stands up and there’s a bag of flour hanging out of its mouth,” Bardwell said.

“When it saw me, it ran out of the house, dropping the flour on its way,” she said.

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Franklin Twp. supers

extend KOZ

WAYNESBURG – Franklin Township supervisors Monday, following previous action by Central Greene School Board and the county commissioners, approved the extension of the state’s Keystone Opportunity Zone designation for undeveloped property at EverGreene Technology Park.

The KOZ program was created by the state in 1998 to attract businesses to economically depressed areas.

Businesses that move into a KOZ receive an abatement of all major state taxes, including the corporate net income tax and sales tax, until Jan. 1, 2011, 12 years from the program’s Jan. 1, 1999, inception.

Businesses that move into a KOZ also benefit from an abatement of local taxes, including real estate and nuisance taxes.

Supervisors approved the extension of the KOZ until Dec. 31, 2017.

Vo-tech committee hopes

for October start

WAYNESBURG – A $3.6 million project to renovate the 34-year-old Greene County Vocational-Technical School should get under way in October, a consultant told the school’s joint operating committee Wednesday.

Walter Stout, business manager for Central Greene School District and special consultant to the vo-tech for the project, told the committee that the architect hopes to be ready to advertise the project for bid in September.

Work then could possibly begin in October, Stout said. The first phase of the project will include the replacement of the roof. “Our main goal is to get the roof completed before the snow falls,” he said.

The architect for the project, Foreman Architects and Engineers of Zelienople, has estimated that construction will continue through the coming school year and next summer.

The original plan for the renovation project had called for sending the project out to bid in March or April and then getting a good part of the construction finished this summer.

The tentative start-up date, however, had to be pushed back about three months after several county school boards wrestled with issues regarding project approval as well as proposed changes in the school’s articles of agreement.

Stout told the committee changes were being made in the project design by the architect to take into account the fact the licensed practical nursing program might remain in the building. The LPN program was originally to be moved to another location.

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W. Greene trims spending,

but not tax increase

ROGERSVILLE – For the third straight year, West Greene taxpayers can expect to pay more for their school property taxes.

The school board adopted a spending plan Thursday of nearly $13 million and raised the tax rate by 2.5 mills.

District administrators managed to shrink the figures by $134,999 over the tentative budget, which the board approved last month. However, the savings did not drop the millage rate, which is now 19.5 mills.

Business manager Valerie Caprini said the district saved money through a better deal with a copier contract, belt-tightening in the district’s supply order and by not creating a position for a truancy officer. Instead, a secretary will oversee students’ attendance.

“Nothing major really. Just a lot of little things here and there,” said Caprini.

Instead of being applied to the tax rate, the savings will be deposited into the district’s fund balance. Director Joe Coss noted that the district has been known to dip into the savings instead of raising taxes.

4,000 UMW supporters

rally in Greene County

More than 4,000 coal miners and their supporters converged at the Greene County Fairgrounds to protest recent action taken by state and federal courts in Virginia against the United Mine Workers union.

Miners from Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia, in addition to representatives of Eastern Airlines pilots’ and mechanics’ unions, listened as several speakers denounced court action resulting in the imprisonment of three UMW officials in Virginia.

The UMW officials were jailed by a federal judge after miners ignored court orders to stop blocking highways near mines. More than 2,000 miners have been charged with various offenses related to the strike, and the union has been fined millions of dollars.

Residents upset over

trailer park

A petition signed by 185 Bonar Addition (Franklin Township) homeowners was presented to the Greene County commissioners, protesting the plans for a mobile home development.

In April, Nicholas Resciniti of Washington announced plans for a trailer park for possibly 242 mobile units. He added that he had purchased the 101 acres known as Oak Ridge located on the hilltop beyond the point where Bonar Avenue now ends a few blocks above the Greene County Memorial Hospital.

The petition states that with the location of the trailers, the value of properties will be seriously depreciated and will create an unpleasant situation.