“PT seeks resignations of sewer board members - Pennsylvania Almanac” plus 4 more

PT seeks resignations of sewer board members - Pennsylvania Almanac
The Almanac - Oct. 14 - Post Chronicle
Volunteers needed as PT Meals grows - Pennsylvania Almanac
Fifth Merced Art Hop is this weekend - Merced Sun-Star
The almanac - United Press International

PT seeks resignations of sewer board members - Pennsylvania Almanac

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 06:19 AM PDT

PT seeks resignations of sewer board members

By Carla Valentine Myers For The Almanac writer@thealmanac.net

Peters Township Council voted unanimously Oct. 12 to ask for the resignations of the entire Peters Township Sanitary Authority.

Council is requesting resignation letters from all five members of the board by the end of October.

"As the board is aware, the Peters Township Council has raised concern with a number of decisions by the authority board," says the letter the authority board will receive. "The prime one is the issue of compensation of the authority board members."

Prior to January 2008, each authority member received $15 per meeting. The board voted to give themselves a pay raise, to $100 per month for four of the members, with the chairman being paid $115.

Council has said they did not know about the raises for the authority members until May 2009.

Councilman Frank Arcuri said "the way this came down was like a stealth attack."

"Their response to our concerns was cavalier," he said. "I think the taxpayers are owed more than that."

Council Chairman James Berquist said, "It has been a difficult and tumultuous decision."

The letter the authority board members will receive from council says "Council considered eliminating the authority and incorporating it into the township's operation."

"Upon reflection," the letter states, "it was deemed that such an action could be protracted and disruptive to the community and should only be considered as an extreme measure."

"Unfortunately," the letter says, "Council does believe that the status quo is also not in the best interest of the community."

Jim Miskis, manager of the Peters Township Sewer Authority, told council before the Oct. 12 vote that they should remember that the "board members are your neighbors."

He said council has been "criticizing and demeaning members" of the board for their decisions.

Miskis said council criticized the board for the decision to build its own building, but he said it was a sound business decision to do so.

He said the authority was spending $35,000 per year in rent. Instead of flushing that money down the drain, the authority will have $1 million in equity its own building, Miskis told council.

According to the sewer authority Web site, the members of the authority are George Khalouf, chairman; John Slagle, vice chairman; Denver Yingling, secretary; James Schafer, treasurer; and Robert Jacobs, assistant secretary-treasurer.

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The Almanac - Oct. 14 - Post Chronicle

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 04:32 AM PDT

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 14, the 287th day of 2009 with 78 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include William Penn, the English Quaker who founded Pennsylvania, in 1644; Irish political leader Eamon de Valera in 1882; Dwight D. Eisenhower, World War II military leader and 34th president of the United States, in 1890; poet E.E. Cummings in 1894; actress Lillian Gish in 1893; singer Allan Jones in 1907; former basketball Coach John Wooden in 1910 (age 99); former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop in 1916 (age 93); actor Roger Moore in 1927 (age 82); Watergate figure John Dean in 1938 (age 71); designer Ralph Lauren in 1939 (age 70); British pop singer Cliff Richard in 1940 (age 69); and actors Harry Anderson in 1952 (age 57) and Greg Evigan in 1953 (age 56).

On this date in history:

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, better known as William the Conqueror, led his invading army to victory over England's King Harold at Hastings.

In 1912, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for a return to office, was shot in Milwaukee. He refused to have the wound treated until he finished his speech.

In 1944, British and Greek troops liberated Athens, ending three years of World War II occupation by German troops.

In 1947, U.S. Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager, 24, flying a Bell X-1, became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound.

In 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 35, became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1977, Bing Crosby, one of the most popular singers of his day and winner of the best actor Academy Award for his role in "Going My Way," died of a heart attack while playing golf in Madrid. He was 74.

In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland A's, 4 games to 2, to win the American League pennant and become the first Canadian team to go to the World Series.

In 1993, gunmen killed Haitian Justice Minister Guy Malary, who'd been appointed by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in an apparent attempt to scuttle the agreement to return Aristide to power.

In 1994, the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian extremists ended with the soldier and four others being killed in a shootout. The same day, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat.

In 1996, the Dow Jones industrial average cracked 6,000, closing at a record 6,010.

In 2005, on the eve of the Iraqi constitutional referendum, insurgents focused attacks on Iraq's largest Sunni Party and disrupted much of Baghdad's electrical services with an attack on the city's main power line.

In 2006, the U.N. Security Council unanimously agreed to impose sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear test.

In 2007, two new misconduct inquiries were ordered into the political past of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Also in 2007, rock slides killed at least 21 people in Colombia after rumors of gold sent them digging in a mine southwest of Bogota. Ten others were reported missing.

In 2008, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he found the idea of the government buying stakes in nine large banks to help restore confidence in the financial system to be objectionable. Paulson says he objected to government owning a stake in any private U.S. company but added, "The alternative of leaving businesses and consumers without access to financing is totally unacceptable."

Also in 2008, the Canadian Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, retained power by defeating the Liberal Party in the national elections.

A thought for the day: American author Margaret Sangster said, "Creative genius is a divinely bestowed gift which is the coronation of the few." (c) UPI

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Volunteers needed as PT Meals grows - Pennsylvania Almanac

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 03:35 AM PDT

Volunteers needed as PT Meals grows

Business is booming at Meals on Wheels of Peters Township with a record high number of 130 daily meals served last week.

The new facility at 245 East McMurray Road above the fire department has made this expansion possible, and Head Cook Lisa Owens welcomes future increases, too.

"The need for meal service is out there," she said, "and we are here to meet it."

Owens' recent made-from-scratch pot roast dinner with fresh vegetables garnered kudos from the clients, and other recent favorites include Brunswick stew made with chicken and vegetables and her version of a not-too-spicy Jamalaya with chicken and sausage. Meals usually include a meat, starch, and vegetable, as well as soup and crackers, salad, dessert, and milk.

The primary clients are senior citizens who have difficulty shopping or cooking a healthy meal. Fees are modest at $15/week for five meals delivered by friendly volunteers, or $18/week for a meal plan that includes an additional cold meal of a sandwich, juice, and cookie.

Anyone who feels the need for the Meals on Wheels service is invited to call the kitchen at 724-969-1000. Families, friends, and social workers are also invited to call for information or referrals. Meals are delivered hot between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to clients in Peters Township, Finleyville, Canonsburg, Houston, Lawrence, Hendersonville, and other smaller areas.

The service is run entirely on community funds, consisting of fees from clients and donations from local service clubs, garden clubs, churches, a corporate foundation, a few companies, and generous individuals. No government funds are used.

However, there is one serious and immediate need for the program: more volunteers. Many new volunteers have joined since the move to this renovated space, but there is a pressing need for more kitchen helpers and drivers, especially as the numbers of meals served is rising at the same time as the snowbirds start to head south.

Kitchen helpers make salads and sandwiches, pour juice, cut cakes, and wrap cookies and cupcakes. They then form the assembly line to package the meals. They are needed from 8:15 to 10:45 one day a week.

Drivers arrive at 10:30 to pick up their meals and head out to deliver them on one of the eight routes. Driving takes anywhere from one to two hours, depending on the route. Drivers can volunteer in pairs but individuals are also welcome. Training is provided. Drivers usually drive once a week or once every two weeks.

To learn more or to sign up to help, call the kitchen at 724-969-1000, or visit between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. to see the operation.

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Fifth Merced Art Hop is this weekend - Merced Sun-Star

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 02:02 AM PDT

With roughly 70 artists and 50 businesses participating this time around, Saturday's event is slated to be the biggest Art Hop so far.

"We feel like we've come a long way in our first year," said Hammon, a Winton native who owns Binary Systems Computer Repair on M Street. "It'll definitely be a good time."

The Art Hop is open to the public and free for both the artists and businesses that participate, as well as for spectators. Besides paintings, sculptures and photography, this weekend's event will include live music and poetry.

It runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Most of the displays will hang at businesses along Main Street between N and I streets.

A half-dozen volunteers coordinate the Art Hop. It started last year with a handful of participants and has quickly grown. Besides promoting the work of local artists, the event aims to help downtown businesses draw new customers.

By all accounts, it works.

"It definitely has a big impact on the businesses," said Della Salas with the Merced Antique Mall, which has participated in several Art Hops. "We're always really busy on Art Hop days. A lot of people who come just to look at the art -- they end up wandering into stores to shop. It just brings people out."

For artists, the events provide rare chances to showcase their talent locally.

"There just aren't that many places in Merced to put up your work, especially for free," said Dean Robledo, a pencil artist who has shown his drawings at every Merced Art Hop. "It's a great chance to chat with people who are out looking at the art, and you also get to meet other artists."

For the first time, the Art Hop will include a photojournalism display featuring the work of three Sun-Star photographers. Their shots will hang at a vacant storefront at the Merced Theatre.

Another theater shop will display art by local middle-school students. Forte Frozen Yogurt will host live poetry readings. Artist Ruben Sanchez will create a Day of the Dead altar outside J&R Tacos, and the Roger J. Wyan Photography studio on Canal Street will display artwork created by developmentally disabled adults.

For more information on Saturday's Art Hop and to print a walking map of all its display locations, go to www.mercedarthop.com.

Reporter Corinne Reilly can be reached at (209)385-2477 or creilly@mercedsun-star.com.

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The almanac - United Press International

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 12:50 AM PDT