May June GreeneScene 2017

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2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

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GreeneScene Magazine •

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GREENE COUNTY REGIONAL POLICE DEPARTMENT

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eed a police officer in Morris, Perry or Wayne Townships?

Look no further because as of January 1, 2017 the Greene County Regional Police Department (GCRPD) is here to stay.

GCRPD came from a need for more police coverage in the western area of Greene County.

Pennsylvania State Police provided coverage but with limited troopers and 578 square miles to cover, it could be a long time before an officer could respond to a call in Morris, Perry or Wayne Townships.

Prior to the inception of GCRPD, Morris Township had its own department and were also contracted out to help cover Morris Township in Washington County. Perry and Wayne Townships had contracted services from Southwest Regional Police. It was determined that Chief Michael Natale of the Greene County Regional Police Department it was more cost effective if the 3 Adam Fichter is a part-time officer. townships had one police departChief Natale has been a police officer for 8 ment and so GCRPD was born.

Funding for the GCRPD comes from vari- years and began his career in the Pittsburgh area ous sources. Morris Township in Washington before becoming chief of GCRPD. “Without a County contributes an annual rate for continued doubt, I am incredibly happy to be working in coverage. Morris Township in Greene County Greene County. While this area is not free of receives monies from the natural gas impact fees problems, it is a much more pleasant working enand the money for Perry and Wayne townships vironment and I have been welcomed with open comes from the tax base of those townships. Be- arms,” commented Natale.

Since January 1, the department has had cause this is a model set-up, any municipality that is too small to have their own department can approximately 150 requests for service. Some also contract the services of GCRPD in order to people call 911, some call the township secretary have some sort of police presence within their asking for assistance and others will just walk in.

Requests for service have ranged from people community.

GCRPD is not in operation 24 hours per day. having a mental health crisis, to traffic accidents, Morris Township in Greene County is funded for suicide and child molestation. However accord40 hours a week service, while Morris Township ing to Chief Natale “a lot of our service is self-iniin Washington County is funded for 24 hours a tiated. For example a simple traffic stop can turn week. Perry and Wayne townships have a com- into a drug bust,” he explains, “There is no doubt bined allotment of 48 hours a week. The rest of that illegal drug use is the number one problem in this area, and is probably more widespread than the time the area is covered by the state police.

In addition to Michael Natale who is the most people realize.”

Residents of Morris, Perry and Wayne townChief of Police and stationed at the GCRPD headquarters in the Morris Township Commu- ship are still encouraged to call 911 when wantnity Center in Nineveh, are one full time and two ing services and then 911 will dispatch an officer part-time officers. Sgt Zach Sams is full time and whether is it an officer from GCRPD or the state is in charge of Perry and Wayne townships and police. The phone number for the office in Moris stationed at 799 Big Shannon Run Road in Mt. ris Township is 724-428-3009 and the number for Morris. Will DeFort is a part-time detective and the Perry substation is 724-324-5698.

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I Love this P l ace

hat crossroads on State Rt. 19, three miles north of Mt. Morris, lets you know that if you hang a left, you can leave the scenic old highway that links Waynesburg to the West Virginia line, catch Interstate 79 and be on your way.

But it’s worth it to hang out awhile and take the right hand turn that runs through the almost forgotten town of Kirby, then beyond to Cumberland Mine, built where sheep once grazed on nineteenth century farms.

In the beginning Kirby was called Newtown and nobody remembers why. Was it because this village where farmers came to have their grains milled on big Whitely Creek finally had enough other business to be a new town? What is known is the second postmaster’s name was Kirby and when it came to choosing names for legal purposes, his name stuck.

The families that came to farm in the early 1800s left their names on family trees and country roads – Mooney, Rose, Lemley, Jones, McCracken, Patterson. Some still live here, along with new families who came for the reasonable prices and stayed because, hey - they love this place!

Bates History of 1888 had this to say about the farms on the forks of Whitely Creek: “Few townships in the county can show farms under better tutelage.”

Kate Varner Teagarden of Waynesburg has a yellowed postcard from the early 1900s showing an aerial view of a thriving town, with a Methodist Church, a handful of stores, post office, blacksmith shop and the office of Dr. L.S. McNeely. Born in 1860, he was the town’s hardworking schoolteacher turned family doctor who made house calls until his retirement in 1948 at age 88.

“He delivered me and my mother and taught my grandmother,” Kate said, turning the pages of one of her big scrapbooks to the clippings that celebrate the life and times of one of Greene County’s last country doctors.

“I was born in 1925 and went to school at Stevens School right across the road from where we lived, right where the mine is now.”

Kate pointed to photos of students taken over the years, including her mother and grandmother. Twenty students for all eight grades was a common number and one teacher taught them all. “We learned from each other – you could hear what everyone was doing.”

The one-room schools closed when four-room Whitely Township School opened in 1939 with two grades to a room, but also a library, a cafeteria, an office for the principal and a coal fired furnace downstairs. “The year the new school opened I went to high school in Waynesburg. There were no busses. We got to school the best way we could,” Kate noted. “The first two years my brother and sister drove but when they graduated I stayed in town with my girlfriend’s family.”

World War II opened doors for Kate’s generation and the exodus from the farms began. But many stayed in the area to teach, go into business or keep the farm tradition alive while working another job.

By the 1960s, farm families were losing the incentive to raise sheep as the market for wool switched to man made fibers and Americans had yet to develop a taste for lamb. Children were leaving home for better paying jobs and parents were getting old. Farms for sale now attracted new buyers from urban America who dreamed of living the good life in the country.

“My dad bought the old Charlie Smith farm in 1973 when I was 16, right next door to Ida Mooney. She taught my mom everything, from canning to raising chickens,” Jim Rethage said. It was voting day on May 16 and Whitely Township residents were coming to the old red brick schoolhouse turned community center in downtown Kirby to cast their ballots and shoot the breeze with neighbors before heading off to work.

What was it like to move from Pittsburgh to live in the country?

“My dad bought horses and I was always outside helping him.

I liked it. Rodney Lemley was my age and he took me to the Greene County Fair. When I started high school at Central Greene I stopped a teacher in the hall and asked about getting to a class and it turned out it was Mr. Luffstead who was my teacher in Pittsburgh. Turns out he’d moved to Greene County that year too!”

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KIRBY, PA

by Colleen Nelson

An old postcard from Kate Varner Teagarden collection shows Kirby in the early 1900s.

Kirby Today…the main crossroads that identify Kirby today where an original one-room school house serves as a community center for Whitely Twp.

Jim happily admits that meeting his wife Mary Pierce his senior year of high school pretty much sealed the deal for loving country living, even though in 1973, Interstate 79 ended at Kirby and anyone who tried to drive further ran into a pile of dirt.

By the time Roger Hayes started school, education was changing once more.

“When I started school at Whitely in 1978 there were eight grades in four rooms. When I started second grade, they were bussing fourth through eighth to Margaret Bell Miller Middle School. I loved going to school here. Art, gym and chorus were in the cafeteria

– it was our all-purpose room and we had lots of fields outside to play in. I miss those days.”

But the real change that was coming happened after Hollywood moved to Kirby.

It’s a story that George “Bly” Blystone loves to tell - about how his friend John Eckerd went to Pittsburgh to visit his in-laws in 1969 and came back to Hollywood California with a deed to the Patterson farm.

“We were reenactors in the First California Volunteer Light Artillery, that’s how we met. John saw an ad in the Post Gazette for farms in Greene County and was amazed at how cheap they were. When GreeneScene Magazine •

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I saw the photos, I decided to go too. We quit our jobs and moved here,” Bly said.

“I was 27 years old, both of my parents had passed and no one in the family wanted to farm, so I sold to the Eckerds,” retired Central Greene Superintendent Linda Patterson McCracken remembers.

A year later, Greene County had its first Civil War reenactment group, Knaps Battery and when John Eckerd went to work construction in Pittsburgh he found himself subcontracted a year later to work right down the road from his Kirby farm – to help build the Cumberland Mine.

By the time the slope was under construction in 1974, great changes had come to Kirby. US Steel purchased miles of bottomland on Whitely Creek to build the mine and lay track for the train that would haul the coal to the Monongahela River. Part of the town was razed to widen the crossroads to let the big trucks turn, old family farms disappeared up and down Whitely Creek and now all that is left are the signature front yard evergreens along the road.

By 1976 John had an office and workshop at

the mine and Bly was managing the tool supply trailer. It took years of hard work, but by 1980 coal was being hauled from Cumberland Mine and hundreds of workers had union jobs.

Retired EPA mine inspector Lonnie Miller wrote a book about the Cumberland Mine fire that occurred on June 4, 1987 that was successfully contained thanks to the “expertise and coordinated effort between federal and state regulatory authorities, the UMWA and USM employees” – and the community of Whitely Township.

On the ground it was a massive amount of manpower and coordination that went on for five hectic weeks. Township and state roads were sequestered for heavy equipment and

Kate Varner Teagarden shows a painting of her family farm, with her father on horseback observing the land that later became the site of Cumberland Mine.

truck use, Whitely Creek was dammed and the mine was flooded. By July 3, a computer simulation showed that the mine could be back in production with only minor changes to the ventilation system. Amazingly enough, partial mine production resumed on August 11 and hundreds of workers returned to the job.

Today, coal is still being mined two miles up the road from Kirby and if you take a look around, you’ll see some new houses springing up and there’s a smell of fresh cut grass in the air.

Retired Whitely School cook Frances George stood on her porch, surrounded by columbines in full bloom and smiled. “This has been my home for 50 years.”

She pointed to the red fire hydrant across the road. “See - we got city water last year. Now we have everything. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

Hollywood California transplant Bly Blystone gestures toward the Cumberland Mine where he worked when it was first built in the 1970s at Kirby, and Bly was on his way to becoming a Greene County fixture.

Whitley Twp. residents stop by to vote on election day at the community center in Kirby.

Kirby resident Roger Hayes points out the four room Whitely Township school building where he made so many fond memories.

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Conservation District Contest Winners

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he Greene County Conservation District announced the winners of this year’s poster and coloring contests during Soil and Water Conservation Week, April 23-29. The contests were open to all Greene County students, pre-K to 8th grade. Both contests offered young people an opportunity to express their views on natural resources and the environment through art.

Posters were judged in four gradebased categories. The top three entrants in each category received cash prizes, with first place poster from each category advancing to a statewide Pennsylvania Association of Conservation District poster contest later this year.

The theme for this year’s poster contest was, “Healthy Soils are Full of Life.”

Entries were judged on their conservation message, visual effectiveness, originality and universal appeal.

Poster contest winners were: • 2nd-3rd grade: First place, Leah Ayers, 2nd grade, of Waynesburg Central Elementary.

• 4th-6th grade: First place, Dayli Bar-

clay, 4th grade; second place, Aidan Snider, 4th grade; and third place, Sydney Fox, 4th grade. All winners were from Waynesburg Central Elementary School.

• 7th-8th grade: First place, Taelor Montgomery, 7th grade; second place, Brenna Benke, 7th grade; and third place, Naomi Davenport, 7th grade. All winners were from Margaret Bell Miller Middle School.

The coloring contest was open to any child that was pre-K age and enrolled in preschool or lives in Greene County. The top entrants for the coloring contest received bicycles and helmets.

Coloring contest winners were: • Brennan Baily, 5, of St. Ann’s preschool; Lilly Kozlowski, 4, of St. Ann’s pre-school; and Ellie Inman, 5, of Crystal’s Children Center.

The Conservation District received 68 total entries for the contests. The staff and Board of Directors thanks all who participated in this educational opportunity. For more information about programs and future contests, contact the Conservation District at 724-852-5278.

The Greene County Conservation District announced the winners of their “Healthy Soils are Full of Life” poster contest during Soil and Water Conservation Week. The winners for the 7th-8th grade category are: first place, Taelor Montgomery, 7th grade; second place, Brenna Benke, 7th grade; and third place, Naomi Davenport, 7th grade.

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The Greene County Conservation District announced the winners of their coloring contest during Soil and Water Conservation Week. Pictured from l. to r. are: Lilly Kozlowski, 4, of St. Ann’s pre-school; and Brennan Baily, 5, of St. Ann’s pre-school.

Ellie Inman, 5, of Crystal’s Children Center received a bicycle and helmet for her entry into the Greene County Conservation District’s coloring contest during Soil and Water Conservation Week.

Leah Ayers, 2nd grade, of Waynesburg Central Elementary School won first place in the 2nd-3rd grade category of the Greene County Conservation District’s “Healthy Soils are Full of Life” poster contest.

The winners for the 4th-6th grade category are: first place, Dayli Barclay, 4th grade; second place, Aidan Snider, 4th grade; and third place, Sydney Fox, 4th grade.

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G ree n e Sce n e of the Pa st

ackie Mooney Barnes knows who some of the kids are in these old photos, taken in the early 1960s, standing in front of John Mooney’s store in downtown Kirby. “That’s my sister Julie Ann on the right and the short one might be me. I’m not sure who the girl in the middle is but that’s Larry Kennedy and Eddie Porter. I grew up in that store! We had penny candy, hand dipped ice cream and Cokes in water in the coolers. You took (Route) 19 to go anywhere. When there was a football game at WVU you couldn’t cross the road for cars. The gas sign said 21.9 for years and cigarettes were

21 cents a pack.”

Back in the fifties and all the way up through the 1970s there were three gas stations in Kirby and Jackie remembers them all.

“Eddie Porter’s parents ran the gas station next door and they were our competitors because they had a store too. We were Amoco, they had the Gulf station and Barnes had Texaco.”

Jackie’s family store, with gas pumps in front of this old building where horses used to be tethered when the first gas and oil boom brought boarding houses and stores to Kirby, goes back to great grandfather Sanford John who had gravity fed gas pumps in the 1920s. Son Willis John ran the business into the 1940s and in the early 1950s sold to Joe George and Bob Bell. Willis’s daughter Helen married John Mooney and the gas station and store went back into family business in “1955 or 6,” and John Mooney’s daughter Jackie began helping out at the store and loving every minute.

It was a neat old building at the crossroads that would one day lead to Interstate 79 and the almost overnight change that new highway would bring to Kirby.

But while Jackie was growing up, Kirby was a happening place.

“You didn’t drive ten miles to Waynesburg for a loaf of bread.

We kept accounts for everyone in town and they came in and got what they needed and paid up at the end of the month. We sold everything from cold cuts to nails. We had a soda fountain with high stools, and we played cards in the back of the store. The post office was in Mary Hinesbaugh’s house and after it closed, she would help us at the store.”

The store was in the basement of what was a two-story building that was once a boarding house hotel too, and the upstairs rooms were large. “My grandmother lived on the first floor and there were more rooms on the next floor. Back in the 1890s the store was up there and I remember one of the rooms was really big.”

“Grange used to meet upstairs,” Kate Varner Teagarden remembers from her own growing up years of the 1920s and 30s in Kirby.

“They were nice apartments and when I got married in 1968, we moved into one of them,” Jackie said.

Jackie had Kirby artist Charlotte Johnson do a tole painting of the store as it looked in 1927, back when “ Grandpa Willis was holding Aunt Betty and she was about two. You can see how big the store was. We had an upstairs porch and that’s the window where my first apartment was.”

Sometime in the 1930s the gravity pumps got changed and by the 1969, grandmother Agnes John was back at the store keeping the gas pumps running until 1974. Change was about to come to this town that bustled as long as Route 19 was the only road to take.

When Interstate 79 opened, it seemed like the gas stations and everything else closed overnight, Jackie said.

Most of the buildings that Photos of the Old Mooney Store in Kirby during the 1960s, compliments of Shirl

by Colleen Nelson

made up main street Kirby are gone now. But there’s a lot to be said for old family photos that bring this kind of history back to life. Can anyone identify the girl in the middle? What do you remember about the stores in Kirby? Be sure to let us know!

Tole painting of the store on a frying pan.

Herrington.

If you have an interesting old photo from the area you’d like to share, just send it to: GreeneScene of the Past, 185 Wade Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370. Or email to: info@greenescene.com with GreeneScene Past in subject line. The GreeneScene Community Magazine can even scan your original in just a few minutes if you bring it to our office. We are particularly interested in photos of people and places in the Greene County area taken between 1950 and 1980, though we welcome previous dates, too.

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Over 200 Participate in Hawkeyes Benefit Shoot

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ighteen individuals and two teams of five won awards during the benefit shoot hosted by the Hunting Hills Hawkeyes, Greene County’s Scholastic Clay Target Program team. The shoot was held Sunday, May 7, at Hunting Hills in Dilliner, PA. Participants could compete individually or in teams of five in the shoot of 100 clay targets. Award categories included youth, ladies, male and team.

• Rookie: Champion, Brendan Cole of Waynesburg, and runner-up, Sammy Riley of Waynesburg.

• Team: First place, Team Miller with Frank Golsky, Brandon Sanders, Dylan Miller, Garrett Ross and Justin Golsky; second place, Rex Buckhaulter, Eugene Latusek, Noah Haines, Sam Sellaro, and Mark Sellaro.

The following awards were given: • High Overall Male: Rex Buckhalter of Dilliner.

• High Overall Female: Pam Blaker of Carmichaels.

• Adult: Second place, Will Luckey of Mt Morris; third place, Doug Hinerman of Waynesburg; fourth place, John Riley of Waynesburg; fifth place, Parker Woodring of Carmichaels.

• High Overall Youth Female: Abby Ozohonish of Jefferson.

• High Overall Youth Male: Tristan Cole of Waynesburg.

• Senior Varsity: Champion, Brandon Sanders of Waynesburg, and runner-up, Zach Abbott of Rogersville.

• Junior Varsity: Champion, Tristan Cole of Waynesburg, and runner-up, Justin Popovec of Perryopolis.

• Intermediate Advanced: Champion, Zach Wilson of Waynesburg, and runner-up, Owen Hughes of Rogersville.

• Intermediate Entry: Champion, Robby Dillon of Adah, and runner-up, Cole Jones of Jefferson.

The benefit shoot was sponsored by the Greene County Commissioners and Greene County Department of Recreation, and was organized by the Hawkeyes’ coaches and parents.

Additional sponsors include 4 Seasons Lawn and Garden; Advanced Masonry; Alex E Paris Contracting Company LLC; American Legion Post 954; Field and Stream of Washington, PA; Filtrexx International; First Federal of Greene County; Friends of the NRA; Gateway Engineers, Inc; Hartley Inn; Hinerman NAPA; Hunting Hills; Laurel Aggregates; Lola Energy; Midway USA Foundation; NWTF-Warrior Trail Gobblers; Ozie’s Sport Shop; Rice Energy; Roc Service CO LLC; Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; Waynesburg VFW Post 4793; and Roy and Sally Sisler.

The Hawkeyes will compete Saturday, June 17, in the annual Pennsylvania Scholastic Clay Target Program Sporting Clays Championship at Factoryville Sportsmens Club in Factoryville, PA. This event involves youth shooters from across the state competing in a 100-target shoot to determine state winners in six skill divisions.

For more information, call the Department of Recreation at 724-852-5323, or visit www.co.greene.pa.us.

Sammy Riley, 9, of Waynesburg, received the runner-up award in the Rookie division from assistant head coach Randy Coss at the annual Hunting Hills Hawkeyes sporting clays fundraiser event held Sunday May, 7 at Hunting Hills, Dilliner, Pa.

GreeneScene by Donna Renee

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GreeneScene Magazine •

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By Colleen Nelson

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hen the Methodied there. ist Church sent “My family donated this in 1967 its pastors into in memory of my grandparents Otho the frontier in the and Elizabeth Hoy,” Linda Patterson 1700s, founding father John WesMcCracken of Waynesburg said, ley was still a living force, speakpointing to the stone monument ing a language that resonated framing the church service sign bewith pioneer families. His messide the little tower with its bell in sage of self determination made front of the chapel with its neat white spiritual sense to a people who fence. She came to water the flowwere in the process of making ers she had planted last week on her their life-defining journey from mother’s side of the family plot. Smilthe static hierarchy of Europe to ing, she pointed to the grassy space America – the land of endless next to it. “That’s where I’ll be buried opportunity, fraught with danger but I just wish I could get my plants Claughton: Linda Patterson Mcbut also offering the promise of to grow as well as the baby irises on a better life for those willing to Cracken in front of Claughton Chapel my father’s side. Something keeps UMC trust God and have a go at makdigging them up!” ing their own hard-work way in a Claughton Chapel holds a promised land. monthly soup kitchen for its neighScattered across Greene bors. and worship begins every SunCounty are beautiful testimonials day at 10 a.m. That gives pastor Jacob to the power of this willingness to Judy, who starts his three-church work with God to make life betCharge in Mt. Morris at 9 a.m., a ter, not only for yourself, but your chance to make it to Claughton Chaneighbors. In and around Kirby, pel, then head off to Fairall Church in two fine brick churches ride the time for church services at 11:15 a.m. ridge where, for 5000 years inFairall Church members have digenous people walked to trade a blessed array of good deeds and and otherwise bind their own farfun events to offer the community flung communities together. that keeps “God present in all we When the worn clapboard do,“ member Karen Wilson said.

United Methodist Church in Besides Sunday school. bible school Kirby closed, many remaining Fairall UMC: High Atop the ridge in and church services, their outreach parishioners moved to those two Greene County’s big sky country sits missions have gone to West Virginia Fairall UMC. churches - Claughton Chapel and to help families affected by last sumFairall United Methodist Churchmer’s floods. Fairall Church also does - where the Warrior Trail crosses on its way to the nates to international projects to supply mosquito Monongahela River. The view is definitely “God’s netting, help dig wells, stock Mission Ships and buy country”, with roiling skies and winds sometimes heifers for farm families. Locally, members supply strong enough to blow down a wood sided church, food boxes for neighbors in need and have started like it did the second Claughton Chapel in 1892. a Help Yourself Night that invites people to help Some older members still drive under the themselves to needed items from donated furniture, Cumberland Mine portal belts and climb to the top clothes, toys, decorations and houseware. They also of the hill, to what was originally Claughton Chapel join hands with the Salvation Army and send cards Methodist Episcopal Church. This is said to be “the and visit nearby nursing homes and hospitals. only Southern Episcopal on this side of the Mason The Spirit is kept alive and well with an active Dixon Line” according to a church history that long- youth group, softball and dirtball teams and spring time member Kate Teagarden has in her extensive and fall buckwheat pancake “Whole Hog” sausage family albums. dinners. The yearly Fairall Festival is the fourth SatMany longtime members moved away, but still urday in July – Rain Day this year! – and there will be return to keep an eye on their relatives who are bur- a hunters breakfast the Saturday before deer season.

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GreeneScene Magazine •

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BOWLBY LIBRARY POETRY WINNERS

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or the second year, Eva K. Bowlby Public Library celebrated National Poetry Month of April with the live reading of winning poems from its annual poetry contest held the previous month. The contest is open to the public and awards prizes for original poems in five different age categories.

From the 32 original poems that were submitted, judges from Waynesburg University’s Muse & Stone publications, narrowed the field to five winners, one from each age category.

Kory Taylor, K-2nd grade, won for his ode to a favorite teacher, “Mrs. Stoneking.” J.J. Martinez, 3-5th grade, chose nature for his winning entry, “The Springtime Tree.” Jonathan Davis, 6-8th grade, chose a more spiritual subject for his original poem, “Knee of Christianity,” and in the high school category, Taylor Phillips’ winning poem dealt with love and loss in “Briar Patch.” In the adult category, Harriet Villers won with her entry, “Skyflowers,” a poetic description of fireworks.

Pictured (front) is Kory Taylor (Penguins shirt) and in back l-r: J.J. Martinez, Jonathan Davis and Taylor Phillips. Not pictured is adult winner, Harriet Villers.

Winner: Taylor Phillips Category: 9-12th grade

BOWLBY BITS Creative Crafting for Adults – Classes offered 2x a month -- June 8, at 5:00 pm. and June 10 at 10:00 am. Monthly project is a Scrap Wood Patriotic Star Wreath. Cost for materials: $20.

It’s Movie Night –June 28, watch the NEW “Power Rangers,” beginning promptly at 5:45 pm. FREE popcorn and beverages!

Tiny Tim Tomato Project - for children ages 2-6 yrs. Learn about tomatoes & plant your very own tomato plant! Tuesday, June 6 @ 5 p.m.

T.O.P.S. - weight management support group meets every Sat., 9:30-11:30am.

Lego Club – June 10 at 11am. All ages! Library provides the Legos.

Bowlby Book Club – June 12, 6pm. Discussion on “A Plain and Fancy Christmas” by Cynthia Keller.

Keep Me Safe - 3 part series for young children & families on personal and home safety; June 3, 10 & 17, 10:00 am - 12pm. Call the library for more information at 724-627-9776.

Summer Reading Kick-Off Festival - Saturday, June 24, 11:00am1:00pm. Theme this year is “Build a Better World!” Experience a preview of this summer’s theme, and register for Summer Reading Clubs.

Hunter Safety Course - Saturday, June 17, 9:30am-4:30pm. Free course; light lunch will be served. Applicants MUST register online at Pennsylvania Game Commission site.

Free test prep for adults studying for SAT, GED, Civil Service exams, Drivers Licensing and Life skills, and for basic reading and math skills. Free after school tutoring for school-age children. Call to schedule appointments.

Color Outside the Lines - adult coloring group meets every Wed., 11am-1pm or 6-8pm.

Brainfuse - Free online tutoring database, with one-on-one tutoring available daily 2-11pm. Writing lab, study guides, and skill building resources available 24/7. Access using your library card at www. evakbowlby.org.

Freegal - Enjoy free music! Library patrons can stream or download with mobile apps, visit www.evakbowlby.org.

Rocket Languages - 15 online Language courses are available through your library website, with your library card. Or download mobile app, visit www.evakbowlby.org.

Call or stop in Eva K. Bowlby Public Library for more info or to register for any of the above events. 724-627-9776 • 311 N. West St., Waynesburg, PA 15370

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Winner: Kory Taylor Category: K-2nd grade TITLE: Mrs. Stoneking Mrs. Stoneking is nice And she likes to eat rice.

Her favorite color is green And she’s not mean.

She’s a nice teacher And she’s not a creature.

Winner: Jonathan Davis Category: 6-8th grade TITLE: The Knee of Christianity An undying life, Jesus is He; I know forever he loves me, God as his father, His word will remain; His undying love will forever be the same.

At the beginning of time through Adam and Eve, That is where a nation was to be conceived.

Evil was not known until it was show. Evil was upon us with one bit alone.

Now and forever they shall see, how evil will forever be.

He died on the cross for you and me; for our sins to be forgiven but only on a bending Knee of Christianity.

Winner: JJ Martinez Category: 3-5th grade

TITLE: Briar Patch

TITLE: The Springtime Tree

If you could, would you spare a moment to tell me one more time the simply beautiful details of metamorphosis?

It seems it’s been so long since we last talked, and I’ve forgotten how it works.

There was once a tree who felt very free.

I can’t quite recall the sound of your voice when you told your favorite part of the story, but I know it felt like a lullaby to me.

In quiet moments, I daydream about the endless magic in your tales that transformed fiction into fact, morphing you into a monarch that flew far away from me and from safety.

How I wish I could just remember if the transition from one stage of life to the next is supposed to be so painful!

If I were stronger, if I were weaker, perhaps I would have joined you then; we could have made a cozy home fit for two.

They say The End is a new beginning, but sunshine still hasn’t reached this far into the briar patch.

Pieces of your shredded body are still scattered in these forgotten weeds, your malformed wings, divided up and carried away by ants starving for a taste of you, no matter what it cost.

How I miss your butterfly kisses.

Perhaps your cracked cocoon can still be found in what remains of “us.”

I’m dying to see what’s left of the creature I lost to the winds of change.

Yes, it’s been a lifetime since I’ve seen you whole, and patience was your virtue, not mine -Six feet will never be close enough.

This tree had many nests, it made him feel the very best.

Its leaves were very green, It make people feel like they’re in a dream.

Its branches were a light brown, It was the best tree in town.

The air and sunlight made it grow, The tree put on a spectacular show.

Nature makes me feel amazed, I could stare at a tree for days.

Winner: Harriet Villers Category: Adult TITLE: Skyflowers Fireworks on a midnight blur black sky I call them skyflowers, On a cloudless after twilight night, Diamonds flashing a prism on dark blue.

Booming squalls of thunder Before each colored light shower Reflections beam down from the heavens Brilliant gems of every hue.

Skyflowers are a work of a giant jeweler Arranging his gems on an indigo backdrop Dropped onto a blacktop.

Skyflowers only blooms for a moment And melt away in the midnight sky.

Their beauty is remembered Only later in the mind’s eye.

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HE’S A STEELER NOW!

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mong average people, Scott Orndoff, who was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of April, is a sight to behold. Standing 6-5, weighing 256 pounds and sporting a physique that seems to be cut out of stone, he would more than intimidate most people, despite his calm, quiet demeanor. However, when put up against the freakishly athletic big men that become NFL tight ends, the Waynesburg native would hardly turn a head.

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So, just what has allowed Orndoff to make it to the pinnacle of the football world? His father, also named Scott Orndoff, has an answer that is as humble as his son.

“I think it was just the quality of the kid that he was and is,” the elder Orndoff said. “Basically, his [older] sisters [Megan, Courtney, Brittany and Bethany] made him that way. They taught him to respect people and respect them. You can take all the athleticism and throw it out the window. He’s just a great kid and the hardest worker I’ve ever known.”

Despite not being selected in the 2017 NFL draft, Orndoff has been on a lot of people’s radars since his playing days at Seton LaSalle High School in Mount Lebanon. Over his time with the Rebels, one of the newest Steelers gathered an impressive cache of accolades, including AA all-state selections after his junior and senior seasons, as well as a top-20 national ranking at the tight end position by national recruiting services Rivals and Scout.

Orndoff wound up wearing green and gold in high school, despite growing up in red and black

country, after he and his parents decided attending a private school would provide him the best exposure for college scouts, as well as provide with him exemplary academic opportunities. After enrolling, the family tried to make the daily commute from Greene County for part of Scott’s freshman year.

However, the combination of the elder Orndoffs’s early-morning work requirements and his son’s class time brought about a rather drastic change.

“We actually saved money in the two of us getting an apartment together,” the elder Orndoff said. “We lived in Bethel Park, which was only a few minutes from Seton LaSalle and a few minutes from my work. We had a lot of fun. It was a great father/son experience.”

Orndoff graduated from Seton LaSalle in December of his senior year in order to enroll a semester early at the University of Pittsburgh to get a jump on learning the Panther playbook and work with the team’s strength and conditioning program.

That above-average dedication is perhaps what allowed Orndoff to get his collegiate career off to a fantastic beginning.

Despite suffering a season-ending knee injury in November of his freshman season, Orndoff started five of the nine games in which he appeared.

He pulled in six catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns over those contests and started a four-year run that featured 58 catches for 897 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Perhaps what most caught the eye of NFL scouts during a fantastic senior season (35 catches, 579 yards, five touchdowns) was Orndoff ’s willing-

ness to run block for a Pitt offense that averaged 225.1 yards per game on the ground (28th in Division I).

“Early on, I had fewer snaps here and there, but my role at tight end changed as the years changed,” Orndoff said. “When I got into my junior year, I got to take over more of a red zone role.

Going from my junior to senior year, I knew I had the starting job, so I knew I had to really improve on areas, especially as a blocker. I got significantly more reps and my role got significantly bigger as a senior. When it came to be my time, I’m glad I was patient and kept my nose to the grindstone.”

As if making six figures playing the sport he loves for the team he loves isn’t enough motivation, Orndoff has extra incentive when it comes to impressing the Steelers enough to give him a spot on the opening day roster. He is engaged to be married to his fiancé Kristen, herself a southwestern Pennsylvania native from Burgettstown, in the summer of 2018, and is determined to keep his future wife close to her family and friends.

“It’s already been a dream come true to be a Steeler. However, I think it would be awesome for me and my family to be here for life,” Orndoff said.

“It would be great for me and my fiancé to be here a long time. She wants to be a teacher in the local area.”

If he continues to go the extra mile for himself and his growing family, it’s hard to imagine Orndoff not crossing another goal off his already impressive list.

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West Greene Tournament Champs

Chamber Scholarship Awarded The Waynesburg Area Chamber of Commerce presented its 27th annual scholarship this month to Jeromy Mackey, a graduating senior at Waynesburg Central High School. Eighteen year old Jeromy plans to attend California University of Pennsylvania to pursue a degree in Secondary English Education. He is the son of Bradley and Kelly Mackey of Waynesburg.

This scholarship is presented each year to a Greene County senior who plans to attend a college, university or trade school. The scholarship is awarded based on grade point average and a 500 word essay. In addition to the scholarship, Jeromy also received a laptop courtesy of John Frownfelter, owner of PCsquared in Waynesburg, to use during his college career.

Twenty-nine applications for the scholarship were received by the Chamber this year, and according to Executive Director Melody Longtreth, “The committee had a difficult task of selecting one winner from the qualified field. We thank all who participated in the process.”

The West Greene Junior High Girls Basketball Team, sponsored by Carlisle’s Pioneer Grocery, recently won the Laurel Highlands JV Undergrad Tournament with a perfect 4-0 record against Laurel Highlands, Brownsville, Rockwood and won the

championship game against Mount Pleasant, 39-32.

Pictured (l-r) first row - Anna Durbin (7th grade), Katie Lampe (7th), Brooke Barner (7th); second row - Elizabeth Brudnock (8th), Kaytlynn Walls (8th), and Jersey Wise (8th).

Author Visits Book Club via Internet

First Federal Donates House

Pictured exchanging the deed (l-r) are Jeff Widdup, First Federal of Greene County Vice President/Loan Officer; Dave Calvario, Greene County Redevelopment Authority Executive Director; Rev. John Dorean, Chairman of the Redevelopment Authority Board; Chad Moore, First Federal of Greene County Senior Vice President/Treasurer; and Barry Nelson, Assistant Treasurer/Secretary of the Redevelopment Authority Board.]

First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Greene County recently donated a house in Monongahela Township to the Greene County Redevelopment Authority, which plans to renovate the home and offer it for sale.

The 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom house on Duquesne Street in Greensboro had fallen into serious disrepair, but the hope is for the Redevelopment Authority to fully rehabilitate and sell the home.

“It needs a lot of work, but we’re confident we can rehab the house,” said Dave Calvario, Redevelopment Authority executive director. “It would make a nice starter home.” Built in 1922, the

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house was originally part of the coal patch town for Duquesne Light, which operated the nearby Warwick Mine.

As the Redevelopment Authority continues working on other homes and buildings across the county, Calvario anticipates the Greensboro home being renovated and ready to be put on the market by late fall.

“We are very thankful to First Federal for donating this house and for being good local stewards and investing in our community,” Calvario said.

“We hope one day someone can say they’re proud to live there.”

Eva K. Bowlby Library Book Club used its technical smarts to dial up New Jersey author Margo Orlando Littell in April to discuss her book Each Vagabond By Name, a fictionalized account of the aftermath of an event that happened in 2000 in the area of Connellsville, Pa. When a group of transient young people came to town, stole from houses and upset the community, Littell explores the lasting impact it had on many lives.

A southwestern, Pa native, Margo has lived in New York City, Barcelona, Spain and Northern California. Now settled in northern New Jersey with her husband and two daughters, Margo says southwestern, Pennsylvania never seems far away.

“Though I haven’t lived there since I was eighteen, it’s the place that inspires almost all my fiction,” she says.

A summary description on goodreads.com says, “A piercing tale of isolation, redemption, and belonging, Each Vagabond By Name is a powerful exploration of the intricacies of small town life by a commanding new literary voice.”

“We were startled by the action and the unforgettable characters,” Bowlby Book Club member Deshirl Yesenosky told the author, who was onscreen and part of the lively discussion enabled by live feed TV access via the Internet - an exciting first for the club!

New members are welcome to join the Bowlby Book Club and share the experience of reading and discussing books and possibly, dialing up yet another author. The next meeting is June 12 at 6pm at Eva K Bowlby Library, Waynesburg. For more information call 724-627-9776 during library hours.

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www.4seasonsinc.net

724-627-6153

600 Rolling Meadows Road, Waynesburg, PA

HOURS: Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM & Sat 8AM-2PM

GreeneScene by Candy Hoskins MAY / JUNE

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

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Carmichaels Team Wins Greene County Envirothon

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ixty high school students from Greene County’s five school districts competed in the 30th annual Greene County Envirothon held Wednesday, May 3, at Hunting Hills.

Teams of five students tested their environmental knowledge in the areas of soils, forestry, wildlife, aquatics and the 2017 current issue, Agriculture

Soil & Water Conservation Stewardship.

Carmichaels Team #1 won this year’s competition with a score of 452 points out of a possible 500 points. Team members Christina Adams, Joseph Kurincak, Ryan Swartz, Brady Watters and Kaleb Wilson with team advisors Kevin Willis and Megan Wojtowicz will represent Greene County at the PA

Envirothon, which was held May 23/24 at the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown in Cambria County, just after this issue of the GreeneScene Magazine went to press. We’ll be sure to share results of the state contest with you next month..

Carmichaels Team #2, consisting of students Finnegan Dobosh, Jacob Hair, Victoria Sullivan, Emily Zacoi and Stephen Zacoi with advisors Willis and Wojtowicz, earned second place with a score of 402.

The third-place team was Carmichaels Team #3, which included students Amaris Diamond, Alexis Feather, Cole Newland, Katelyn Sinn and Bradley Walker with advisors Willis and Wojtowicz. The team earned 377 points.

The Greene County Envirothon is organized each year by the Greene County Conservation District and is funded through various donations and grants including EQT Foundation, Community Foundation of Greene County, PA Envirothon, Hunting Hills, Dominion Energy, Mark IV, South-

side Deli and Rice Energy Inc. Each student on the winning team secured a $500 college scholarship funded by donations made by these organizations and the Greene County Conservation District.

In addition to the continued financial support of sponsors and, other partners that made the event successful include Greene County Commissioners Blair Zimmerman, Dave Coder and Archie Trader; Phil Evans and Kimberlee Moninger, U.S.D.A. NRCS; Russ Gibbs, state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry; William Wentzel, Greene County Conservation District; Chuck Kubasik, PA Department of Environmental Protection; Eric Davis, PA Fish and Boat Commission; and Jeremy Febinger and Bill Lubich, PA Game Commission.

For more information on the Greene County Envirothon, call the Greene County Conservation District at 724-852-5278.

Carmichaels Team #1 won this year’s Greene County Envirothon with a score of 452. Pictured, (l-r) are Tom Headlee and Bill Wentzel, GCCD Board of Directors; Megan Wojtowicz, team advisor; team members Ryan Swartz (10th grade), Christina Adams (9th grade), Kaleb Wilson (12th grade), Joey Kurincak (10th grade) and Brady Watters (12th grade); team advisor Kevin Willis; Ellen Rossi, EQT Foundation; Mike Belding and Bradley Eisiminger, GCCD Board of Directors; and Sally and Roy Sisler, Hunting Hills.

Carmichaels Team #2 won second place at this year’s Greene County Envirothon. Pictured (l-r) are Tom Headlee and Bill Wentzel, GCCD Board of Directors; Megan Wojtowicz, team advisor; team members Jacob Hair (10th grade), Victoria Sullivan (9th grade), Finnegan Dobosh (10th grade), Steven Zacoi (10th grade) and Emily Zacoi (9th grade); team advisor Kevin Willis; Ellen Rossi, EQT Foundation; Mike Belding and Bradley Eisiminger, GCCD Board of Directors; and Sally and Roy Sisler, Hunting Hills.

Carmichaels Team #3 won third place at this year’s Greene County Envirothon. Pictured (l-r) are Tom Headlee and Bill Wentzel, GCCD Board of Directors; Megan Wojtowicz, team advisor; team members Amaris Diamond (9th grade), Bradley Walker (9th grade), Katelyn Sinn (11th grade), Cole Newland (9th grade) and Alexis Feather (9th grade); team advisor Kevin Willis; Ellen Rossi, EQT Foundation; Mike Belding and Bradley Eisiminger, GCCD Board of Directors; and Sally and Roy Sisler, Hunting Hills.

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Greene: Earth and Sky

By Pete Zapadka

It’s Important to Learn More About The Leaflets Three

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Poison ivy, showing its classic three leaves, growing side by side in Jackson Township.

f all the green that makes up Greene County, one plant stands out from the rest. It’s not a crop, a tall, showy tree, nor is it a garden ornamental.

Instead, it’s something to avoid.

Poison ivy.

No plant causes so much misery, so much discussion, yet is surrounded by so much misunderstanding.

It is exasperating to think there are people who do not take time to learn to identify nor refuse to stay away from this potentially dangerous menace.

Poison ivy, scientifically known as toxicodendron radicans, grows nearly everywhere in our corner of Pennsylvania. The plant can grow as a vine,

A batch of poison ivy, showing its often overlooked flowers that soon will be blooming. These plants were growing roadside in Jackson Township.

A closeup of poison ivy showing its flowers that bloom in late spring. These plants were growing roadside in Jackson Township.

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on the ground or as a shrub, bush or tree. It can be found next to your house, along a rural road or a tumbling stream, climbing on your barn. It’s even in downtown Waynesburg, where passersby unwittingly may brush against it as they walk along North Richhill Street as they approach West High Street.

Interestingly, poison ivy also is etched into Greene County history.

Andrew Ellicott, the early American surveyor who completed the Mason-Dixon Line, set Pennsylvania’s southwest corner near Ned, and established our state’s western border, wrote this from the field on June 7, 1785, in a letter to his wife: “Poison Vine is in great abundance – my hands are compleately (sic) blistered as if I had applied a plaster of cantherides (a topical skin irritant) – I cannot see anything in this wilderness that can make it tolerably agreeable.”

Ouch. That hurts.

So does the itch caused by urushiol, the oily liquid in poison ivy’s sap that is invisible and odorless. It is an allergen that affects about 85 percent of people, or more than 50 million Americans annually.

For some, the term “Leaflets three, let it be!” just isn’t a sufficient warning. Too often, people proclaim proudly, “I don’t get poison ivy!”

There are two serious problems with that extremely shortsighted mindset: First, while it is true there are some people who are not affected by poison ivy, it’s important to understand that the more contact a person has with the plant, the more likely there will be an allergic reaction. So, in other words, you might not have gotten it yesterday and today, but there’s always tomorrow. Yes, that could be your day.

Also, and of vital importance, is this: If you touch the plant and get the oil on you, it’s likely you’ll touch someone else and spread the oil to them. Remember, your pets won’t get poison ivy, but if they get urushiol on their fur and you pat them . . .

So please, put a ban on your boasts and just

don’t touch poison ivy! There is no reason for getting personal with the plant.

How do we avoid this noxious weed? Identification is a must.

Poison ivy has three leaves. It’s that simple.

Too many people, though, confuse it with Virginia creeper, which has five leaves – and there are some who confuse both plants with poison oak, which does not grow in Western Pennsylvania and has three leaves.

Because wildlife, especially birds, consume the plant’s abundant berries, their droppings spread the poison ivy seeds virtually anywhere. Be on guard.

Is there a brighter side to this plant? Indeed, not everything about poison ivy is terrible.

The widespread plant consumes carbon dioxide and in turn emits plentiful oxygen into the atmosphere.

Dr. Stan Kotala, a naturalist from central Pennsylvania, is adamant about his more positive view on the plant.

“Poison ivy is not only an outstanding food source for wildlife, but also has outstanding fall color,” he said.

To describe all aspects of poison ivy in one column is impossible. But there is a vibrant website available online for those who want to increase their knowledge of poison ivy: www.poison-ivy. org.

Virginia creeper, which has five leaves, inexplicably sometimes is called poison ivy, which has three leaves. Some even call this plant poison oak, which also has three leaves and does NOT grow in Western Pennsylvania.

Here, you’ll also learn about varieties of poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac – a rarely seen small tree that does grow locally, but only in swamps or consistently wet areas.

A poison ivy quiz also is available.

It is in your best interest to learn to identify poison ivy and by all means, stay away. Your health, and likely that of your family, depends on it.

Pete Zapadka is a Greene County property owner and a retired local news editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He can be reached at pzapadka@yahoo.com.

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Co o l at Sc h o o l

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MONARCH WAYSTATION IN WEST GREENE

t’s that time of year…gardening is on everyone’s mind. Veggie gardens abound in Greene County – it’s traditional. Many people love their flower gardens, too…choosing just the right plants for this spot and that. Students at West Greene Middle-Senior High School have created a special garden right next to the main entrance of their school, and this garden has a very special purpose as well.

This garden is called a Monarch Butterfly Waystation, and - as the name implies – it is a place for the beautiful Monarch Butterflies to stop and “fuel up” in order to sustain their impressive journey. You may have heard of the Monarch migration when, each fall, hundreds of millions of Monarchs in the United States and Canada migrate to Mexico for winter.

According to Monarch Watch, the organization that developed the Monarch Waystation Program, food sources for Monarch Butterflies, which include nectar sources and milkweed, are declining due to land development and the wide use of herbicides in North America. Monarch Butterfly Waystations provide a place of refuge for the Butterflies. The presence of milkweed is vitally important in their spring

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by Tyler Whipkey

and summer breeding areas in North America. It is necessary to reproduction of the successive generations that culminate in the migration each fall. The nectar from flowers is the fuel for the long journey to overwintering grounds in Mexico. So the students at West Greene High School have committed to providing these resources, and building something beautiful for human eyes as well.

“It was a lot of fun to picture this bright, vibrant garden filled with beautiful flowers and plants, and actually put it together and see the amazing end result,” said Mrs. Jackie Slogan, who led students through the process of building the garden. The garden was funded through a grant from the Community Foundation of Greene County. Students designed and planned the garden, created a cost-effective budget for garden materials, ordered the materials, and then put their hands to work building the garden.

According to Mrs. Slogan, this is a beginning. “Our hope is to continue adding a little more to the garden every year so it gets even prettier for the future students and faculty to enjoy, along with the monarchs,” she said.

West Greene High School Students construct and plant a special garden called the Monarch Waystation.

GreeneScene Magazine •

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THE FABULOUS HUBCAPS

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he “Sounds of Summer” FREE Concert Series presented by the Waynesburg Lions Club is beginning with a definite bang on Monday June 5 and continues for the next 8 weeks. Throughout the summer, the Lions are treating local residents and visitors to free live music and fun every Tuesday night at Lion’s Club Park from 5:30-7:30, unless otherwise noted on the schedule.

The first concert should be a definite date for you with the Fabulous Hubcaps, perhaps the most popular nostalgia show band in the country. The Fabulous Hubcaps perform from Miami to Pittsburgh, Atlanta to Detroit and Albany to D.C. at such renown venues as the White House, the Kentucky Derby, and Camden Yards, and aboard Carnival Cruise Lines Fantasy.

Performing together since 1974, this sevenpiece band shows no sign of slowing down. The Hubcaps continue to captivate audiences with their high energy tributes to original artists like Little

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Richard, Elvis, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Tina Turner, The Beach Boys and Rod Stewart, Whitney Houston, just to name a few. Their extensive repertoire of do-wop group harmony, classic rock and roll, rock-a-billy, Motown and R&B music makes for a magical evening of entertainment for all ages.

The Fabulous Hubcaps will perform on a Monday night, June 5 at the Waynesburg Central High School Auditorium. It is the only concert of the summer that is not on a Tuesday night, and it will be from 6:30-9pm, also different from the regular 5:30-7:30 schedule. It is like all the rest in one way, though, it is still FREE! As a community service, the Waynesburg Lions Club has organized these concerts and obtained local sponsors to provide FREE ENTERTAINMENT to the public in our communities.

Take advantage of it! Cut out the schedule above left and plan to enjoy the Sounds of Summer.

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National Grange Leaders Visit Harveys-Aleppo Grange, Greene County, PA, was honored to host National Grange Secretary Judy Sherrod at their regular meeting last month. Also visiting was the Tennessee State Grange Lecturer. Both leaders were presented with locally made crocks featuring the Greene County Courthouse as a momento of their visit. Pictured (l-r): June Pinkston, Tennessee State Grange Lecturer; Mary Jane Kent, Harveys-Aleppo Grange Master; and Judy Sherrod, National Grange Secretary and Tennessee State Grange Master.

Turkey Hunting Linda Kimmel of Garards Fort posts this picture of her husband Ray and herself with this message: “It was a special day of hunting when we both killed turkeys with 9 1/2” beards within a half hour of each other while spring gobbler hunting in Fayette Co.” Congrats to you both, thanks for sharing.

Rock the Chalk The Annual Summer Open House & Rock the Chalk event typically held in Downtown Waynesburg every June will be suspended this year, with plans to return in 2018. The popular

sidewalk chalk fun, artist’s competition and live entertainment presented by Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful and sponsored by EQT will be back – save the date June 22, 2018!

“Rodeos, Alpacas & Grapes…OH MY! 4-H Day Camp Offered by Penn State Extension Greene County youth 8 to 12 can participate in an exciting “Rodeos, Alpacas & Grapes…

OH MY! Camp on Wednesday, June 21. The day begins at 8am in the 4-H building at the Greene County Fairgrounds with registration and mixers.

Youth will board a bus to visit three real working farms in the area--the Buckin’ B Cattle Company, Lippencott Alpaca Farm, and Thistlewaite Vineyards--and will learn about Agritourism and how it impacts not only these farms but also Greene County. There will be hands-on activities along

with many visual demonstrations. Matt DeJohn, Phil and Lena Galing and Jamie Thisthlethwaite will provide informative sessions for the youth.

Campers will participate in crafts and games before returning to the fairgrounds.

The cost is $15.00 per person and includes bus, lunch, and a camp t-shirt. Space is limited to 40 campers and reservations must be made at the Penn State Extension Office, Greene County

by Monday, June 5 to receive a t-shirt. Call the Penn State Extension Office—Greene County, 724-627-3745 for more information.

Little Miss Firecracker Applications are now of flowers. The winner reavailable for the Little Miss ceives a crown, sash, trophy Firecracker Pageant, spon- and bouquet. Each contestant sored by the Waynesburg receives a participation medLions Club and Waynesburg al. Pictured is the reigning Sewing Center. The pageant is 2016 Little Miss Firecracker, staged at the Greene County Alaina Jonelle Moore, daughFairgrounds during the Lions ter of John Moore and ShanClub annual 4th of July Cel- non Fuller , who will crown shaped pool with an 11-foot diving pool, a diving ebration. It is a noncompeti- the new queen. The deadline board, an 8-foot water slide and a 70-foot spiral tive pageant for girls ages 5 to for application is June 16, water slide, lockers, restrooms, showers, changing 8 (as of July 4, 2017). Partici- 2017. FMI as well as applicafacilities and snack machines. Carmichaels Pool pants appear in patriotic attire tions, call Eleanor Chapman also features a 3,361-gallon splash pool play area and are interviewed on stage, at (724) 627-5284. with zero-depth-entry and water features includ- with the winner being detering a sculptured palm tree, spinning toad stool, mined by a random drawing spinning poesy, bumble bee and super soaker.

Mon View Pool Hours are 1-7pm daily. Admission is $4 for children age 17 & younger and senior citizens age 62 & older; $6 for adults 18 to 61. Mon View Pool Xi Lambda and Alpha features a 168,262-gallon pool with a 40-foot waChi Masters chapters of ter slide; a children’s play area with a 4,000-gallon, Beta Sigma Phi, an interzero-depth-entry wading pool, sprinklers and benches; and a 12-by-10-foot AquaClimb pool- national adult sorority, recently celebrated the group’s side climbing wall.

Returning this summer will be the “Canary Founder’s Day with a banLibrary.” While the pools are open, carts contain- quet at the Jefferson Coming library books of interest for all ages will be munity Center, sponsored available at each of the sites. Children and adults by Xi Lambda.

Xi Lambda honored a alike are encouraged to take a book, read and enjoy it, then either return it to the pool or keep it “Woman of the Year” Mary Jurcevich. Alpha Chi Masters honored Darlene ters Degree recipient), Donna Wilson (Alpha Chi – all for free and without a library card.

Pool hours are subject to change in the event Headley who received the Gold Circle Award for Masters President 2017/18), Mary Jurcevich (Xi of inclement weather. Swimming Lessons are 50 years of membership and Joanne Reck who Lambda’s Woman of the Year and president for available at Alpha Aquatic Center and Carmi- received the Silver Circle Award for 25 years of 2017/18) and Darlene Headley (Gold Circle rechaels. For more information, call the Depart- membership and the Degree of Masters. Pic- cipient). tured (l-r): are Joanne Reck (Silver Circle/Masment of Recreation at 724-852-5323.

County Pools Open Greene County’s three public pools will opened for the first swim of the season Saturday, May 27. Following Memorial Day, the three pools will be closed Tuesday, May 30 thru Friday, June 2 while school is in session, and will open daily beginning Saturday, June 3.

Alpha Aquatic Center Hours are noon-7pm Sunday-Thursday and noon-8pm Friday and Saturday. Admission is $6 for children 17 & younger and senior citizens age 62 & older; $8 for adults 18 to 61. The aquatic center features a 330,000-gallon competitionsized pool with eight lap lanes, two diving boards and a 12-foot diving pool; a 40-by-40-foot children’s play area including a 148-foot spiral water slide, a 25-foot straight water slide, a 180-foot “lazy river” with tubes for floating, water jets and other play equipment; a bath house with lockers, restrooms, showers and changing facilities; and a concession stand and seating area. A community room is available onsite to rent for birthdays or other special events in June and July for two hours at a rate of $50, from either 1-3pm or 4-6pm.

Carmichaels Pool Hours are 1-7pm daily. Admission is $4 for children age 17 & younger and senior citizens age 62 & older; $6 for adults 18 to 61.

Carmichaels Pool features a 300,000-gallon Z-

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Beta Sigma Phi Banquet

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Spo rt Sh or t s Waynesburg’s Bumgarner awarded Student Athlete of the Year Scholarship

GreeneScene by Valerie Strimmel

L-R: WCHS Cross Country Coach Matt Brandstetter, Assistant Track Coach Liam Ryan, GreeneSports Co-Owner Lanfer Simpson, GreeneSports Co-Owner Jason Tennant, Scholarship Winner Ben Bumgarner, Mother C.A. Bumgarner, Father Walt Bumgarner, and Athletic Director Justin Stephenson.

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hen it comes to excellence on the cross country course and the track, few athletes in the WPIAL can match the success of Waynesburg Central High School senior Ben Bumgarner. That excellence, combined with a sterling academic reputation, made him the perfect candidate to receive the third annual $1,000 Greenesports.net Student Athlete of the Year Scholarship.

Bumgarner was selected from a pool of seniors attending the five Greene County high schools who had been named Greenesports.net’s McCracken Pharmacy Athlete of the Week at least once during the school year. The Raider standout is the first student-athlete to receive the scholarship while competing in sports that are not regularly covered

by Greenesports.net.

“It’s important to us to recognize all of the Greene County high school sports, not just the ones we are able to broadcast,” said Greenesports.net co-founder Jason Tennant. “It’s nice to be able to award this to Ben, whose accomplishments speak for themselves. I am very proud to award this scholarship to Ben Bumgarner.”

Bumgarner has done it all as a distance competitor for the Raiders. He has earned a combined eight letters in cross country and track & field.

During the fall months, Bumgarner led the Raider cross country team to section titles in each of the past three seasons. Along with claiming a slew of individual race titles, the soon-to-be graduate is a two-time WPIAL medalist and a two-time PIAA state medalist. Bumgarner capped his high school cross country career by winning the 2016 PIAA AA state title. After taking the gold, he was honored as a Pennsylvania first-team all-state honoree for all classifications.

As impressive as his cross country accom-

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plishments are, Bumgarner’s track resume’ is an even lengthier one. He earned three WPIAL medals in outdoor track and is a two-time PIAA outdoor championship qualifier. Some of his other highlights include being named the 2016 WashingtonGreene County Coaches Invitational Track MVP and placing eighth in the 3,000 meters at the prestigious Penn Relays.

Moving to his indoor accomplishments, Ben was a two-time PIAA state qualifier and a state medalist. Bumgarner also placed 11th at the New Balance Indoor Track National Championships in the 5,000 meters.

Moving to his academic accolades, Ben boasts a 3.81 cumulative grade point average and will attend Penn State University to major in physics. He is a member of the National Honors Society and Physics Club.

“I’m just really thrilled to be able to give back to kids like Ben, who excel not only in their sports, but also in the classroom” said Greenesports.net co-founder Lanfer Simpson. “I just wish him all the best at Penn State and I’m sure he’ll excel in any avenue he takes.”

Somehow, despite balancing all of his responsibilities to his teammates and his studies, Bumgarner also found time to spend four years as a member of the WCHS band. Not surprisingly, he was a lauded as a four-time All-County band honoree.

“I’ve been really lucky to be healthy for four years and have really supportive coaches and great teammates for four years,” Bumgarner said. “I do have some athletic scholarship money coming from Penn State, but this scholarship will be great to help my family offset some of the costs. I’m really looking forward to get up there. I really liked the guys on the team and that was the main reason I chose to compete there.”

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