Hits & Misses
HIT: As his tenure in the state House draws to a close, Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth, can stick a feather in his cap. Earlier this week, the state Senate gave final legislative approval to a measure Saccone sponsored to remove driver’s license suspensions for non-driving-related drug convictions and some other low-level offenses. As Saccone noted earlier this year, suspending driving privileges for non-driving-related misdeeds often takes away a person’s ability to work, and could leave them relying on government assistance to provide for their families. “The passage of this bill is critical for people with a license suspension for non-driving offenses to maintain gainful employment, pursue education, keep doctor’s appointments and take care of a family member. With a valid driver’s license in their pocket, their job possibilities expand tremendously,” Saccone said Thursday. We couldn’t agree more.
HIT: Sunoco’s alleged failure to prevent spills of bentonite, a drilling mud, at various locations along a cross-state pipeline construction project is actually paying dividends for our area. The state Department of Environmental Protection halted construction of the pipeline in January because of the alleged bentonite mishaps. Sunoco denied the allegations, but it agreed to pay a multimillion-dollar civil penalty rather than litigate the case. The money is being doled out to pay for 61 environmental projects in 14 counties, and we’ll be benefiting in this area. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy will get a nearly $100,000 grant to stabilize a 1,700-foot section of Little Chartiers Creek in North Strabane Township. The conservancy also is receiving nearly $300,000 to stabilize a stream along Beagle Club Road in Nottingham Township. And Rostraver Township is getting $327,000 to reduce runoff pollution affecting Cedar Creek and Pollock Run.
MISS: The long-awaited Greene County Airport business park is finally ready for business. Unfortunately, it took a decade from conception until competition. The location, which includes a six-acre lot that can be subdivided, shows great promise, especially if it can attract a sit-down restaurant or two, which has always been the priority. The project took as long as it did as the county worked to secured state and federal funds, rather than using local taxpayer money. That’s a good thing, but it seems that it should not have taken so long. Regardless of the reasons for the delays, we’re still hopeful that it will offer the amenities the people in Greene County deserve, sooner rather than later.
HIT: Over the past two years, the former UMWA’s mine training center near Ruff Creek has gone through a major transformation. A facility that once trained coal miners how to rescue injured workers underground is now schooling them on how to rescue their careers. The renamed UMWA Career Centers Inc. facility has received millions of dollars in state and federal grants to repurpose itself for a changing professional landscape, but it was a new partnership with the Community College of Allegheny County that gives the effort instant credibility. The advanced manufacturing and mechatronics course will be a big boost to the training center. More importantly, it will hopefully give opportunities to people who are ready to start new careers.