Westmoreland County Economic Development Summit

Westmoreland Community Action, Smart Growth Partnership, PNC Bank and the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County have arranged an all-day event for Thursday, September 9. It will be the first Annual Community and Economic Development Summit, held in Latrobe on Fraser Purchase Road at Fred Rogers Center, Saint Vincent College from 8:30 – 4:30.
For a registration fee of $20 per person, participants will receive a catered breakfast and lunch. There'll be a number of prominent keynote speakers and participants will listen and discuss various topics.
Westmoreland Community Action’s CEO Tay Waltenbaugh says the company came up with the idea by working with the economic development of different communities.
“When we saw inconsistencies in communities—some very positive things going on, some that needed to be improved, and some education needed to occur—we thought an economic development summit would make a perfect forum for the exchange of ideas, thoughts and different topics.”
Waltenbaugh says speakers will touch upon a wide array of topics such as eminent domain, improving rural policy, asset mapping, land banking, and the new Pennsylvania Conservative Act. “We think it’s important to share as much information as possible that can help a large portion of our county.”
He says the center can hold up to 265 people, and they plan to fill it to its capacity. Attendees will include mayors, councils, redevelopment authorities, planning departments and individuals from Westmoreland and surrounding counties.
Waltenbaugh says this economic development summit will be beneficial to communities. “I think this is the first of its kind, and it’s a way to educate yourself on how you can help neighborhoods, so I think it’s worthwhile.” He says they plan to continue on with the summit for years to come.
To register, visit westmorelandca.org and click "News and Events."

Energy Co. Wants to Develop in Southwest Pa.

A new power plant slated for Westmoreland County is in the works.

Tenaska Energy of Nebraska is pursuing clearance to build a natural gas-powered facility that would provide electricity for about 900,000 homes along the East Coast.

Tenaska Project Manager Dan Culver says the construction process of the South Huntington Township plant will take about five years. He says the plant would create 300 construction jobs and 25 to 30 permanent positions.

Culver says the facility would be “clean, modern, and quiet.” He says Tenaska has a reputation as an environmentally responsible company.

“The Natural Resources Defense Council, in 2008 in their benchmark studies, listed Tenaska as having the best record for controlling emissions of carbon dioxide and as one of the top performing companies for controlling nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide.”

Though the complex would only take up a space of about 50 acres, Tenaska has bought 400 acres of land just south of I-70 near West Newton. Culver says that would create a buffer to keep the plant out of sight of its neighbors.

Culver says the natural gas capacity of the Marcellus Shale bodes well for the Westmoreland plant.

More information on the plant can be found here.

Fund Drive for Salvation Army in Westmoreland County

The Salvation Army in Westmoreland County is one-third of the way toward its goal of raising $150,000.

In the current economy, needs have increased while funding sources—including the United Way and corporate donors--have diminished, according to Westmoreland County Coordinator Mark Mackneer.

The focus in the large county continues to be on core social services like food, clothing and shelter, says Mackneer.

The Red Shield Campaign will end with a dinner at St. Vincent College on May 15th.

Mixed Opinions on Need for Sales Tax

Members of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania traveled to Harrisburg last week to urge the governor and lawmakers to give them more flexibility in raising revenues. As an organization, the commissioners asked for the authority to impose a county sales tax or an earned income tax. In his budget address Wednesday, Governor Rendell said he would support allowing the counties to increase the state sales tax from the current 6% to 7%. The counties would then keep half of the revenues from the extra 1% and distribute the remainder to municipalities within the county.
However, several county commissioners from southwestern Pennsylvania disagree with their organization over the sales tax issue. Westmoreland County Commissioners Tom Balya and Charles Anderson don't support a sales tax increase. Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey told DUQ News that adding the tax would not help the economy.
However, Commissioner P.J. Stevens of Cambria County says county officials do need options whether it's a sales tax or earned income tax.

Land Trust Becomes Nonprofit

The Westmoreland Land Trust has received nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service. This means funding will be a much easier process for them, and donations will be tax-deductible.

Chuck Duritsa, chair of the Land Trust Board, says the organization's purpose is to preserve open space in Westmoreland County. Attaining more property faster is now underway, and their potential land acquisitions are coming from both purchases and donations. He says the year-old Land Trust is unique to the county because it serves only the county and exists only for one sole purpose.

Coroner Requests More Room

Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha says his facility lacks sufficient space for the bodies he must store. He wants the county to build a new morgue and coroner's office with up-to-date equipment and more refrigeration trays. Currently, bodies are stored in the morgue at Westmoreland Manor, a county-owned nursing home. There are four refrigerated drawers at that locations, three of which can be used to store bodies. Bacha says he wants a new facility with about 18 storage drawers. He says the more space is needed because of an increase in caseload and an increase in the length of time bodies must be kept at the morgue. Bacha has spoken with Westmoreland County Commissioners about his need for more space, but no formal request for a new facility has been made.

Judges Appoint New Westmoreland County Commissioner

Judges chose Marine Corps veteran Chuck Anderson from a field of 22 Republican applicants to serve the remaining three years in the term of Republican Kim Ward, who was elected to the state senate. The two other commissioners are Democrats.

The 66-year-old Greensburg resident says he made the decision when he retired from the military to devote his time to the community, working with Rotary and the Service Corps of Retired Executives, or SCORE, at St. Vincent. Anderson says he's facing a steep learning curve in this, his first foray into politics, but the work he's done at SCORE in helping businesses create jobs is in line with what he sees as the county's big need: jobs, especially with the announcement of SONY's departure.

Anderson says he hopes to help the county government fulfill its role of establishing an environment where business can thrive.

Westmoreland Sony Plant to Close

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has confirmed that the Sony plant in Westmorland County will be among those closed in the coming months. The plant’s 650 employees make flat panel televisions. Demand for those products has been weak in the faltering economy and the technology has started to move away from the type of screen made at the Mount Pleasant facility. Sony says it is trimming about 4% of its worldwide workforce. The governor says the closing is not immediate and workers will be eligible for state subsidized job training. Sony is expected to shutter the facility over then next 15 months. The company shifted about 800 jobs from the Mount Pleasant plant to a facility in Mexico last year and closed a glass making facility and warehouse in Hempfield in 2006. That move killed about 350 local jobs. Rendell says he already has two companies that may be interested in the Sony campus. One is said to be a renewable energy company.

Catholic Parishes To Close in Greensburg

The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg says it's closing some parishes due to a drop in its number of priests and parishioners. The diocese will close 14 parishes later this month. Two others will merge and 26 will form new or modify existing priest-sharing agreements. The diocese provides a list of affected parishes on its website.

Diocese spokesman Jerry Zufelt says the decision came after a lengthy strategic planning process. He says most of the parishes that will close are small, and are located just a few miles from other parishes.

Zufelt also says the diocese has been working on recruiting more priests. The diocese currently has 83 active priests, but expects to have only 49 a decade from now.

The diocese covers Westmoreland, Fayette, Armstrong and Indiana counties.

Devices Aim to Prevent Child Abuse

Westmoreland County will become the latest in western Pennsylvania to use an alert system aimed at preventing child abuse. It's called "Watchful Shepherd." It's similar to mobile communication devices that some seniors wear in case they need emergency medical attention. The technology was first adapted for children 15 years ago in Washington County. Donna Nardine, the Executive Director of Watchful Shepherd USA, says the children wear bracelets that have a button on them. The button connects them with emergency dispatchers. Each home also has a unit plugged into the phone line that operates like a speakerphone. Operators stay on the line with the children while police are on their way to the home. Nardine says there has never been a reported recurrence of child abuse in homes that have the devices.

Westmoreland Traffic Deaths Up

The death toll from auto-related accidents in Westmoreland County is climbing, with 34 fatalities so far this year.

Jay Ofsanik, a PennDOT safety spokesperson, says the accident reports show a trend. People who sped, were under the influence of alcohol, or did not wear a seat belt, were more likely to die in an accident.

Last year, there were 50 total fatalities. In 2006, there were 35.

Ofsanik says these rates are startling, and that driving slower will reduce the chances of a fatal accident.

Ofsanik also says young people between the ages of 16 to 25 were involved in half of these accidents, probably due to a combination of their inexperience and the preceding trends.

Westmoreland to Add Water Alert System

The Westmoreland County Municipal Authority will install a new alert system so when an issue arises with drinking water, the authority can promptly pour out notification calls. New requirements mandate that all water providers maintain a public notification system to be used in the event of water contamination. The system to be installed in Westmoreland County will be capable of making 3000 phone calls per hour and will be able to reach customers via home phone, cell phone, and/or text message. Authority Operations Manager of Production John Ashton says the system will cost about $100,000 and since the requirement is what he called and "unfunded mandate," it must be paid for out of the rate base. Though, the notification system is not required to be operational until December 2009, it should be running by April.