Commission to hold benefit dinner for new trail
GERMAN TWP. – The German Township Recreation, Parks and Trails Commission is asking residents to dig into their pockets, then dig into a good meal to benefit the Browns Run Trail. The commission is hosting a dinner at Dolfi’s Restaurant on Sunday, Oct. 20, that not only will benefit the trail, but will also give residents the opportunity to learn more about it, since the trail designs will be on display, board secretary Martha Babic told the township supervisors last week.
Browns Run Trail begins on Route 21 near the Lardin House Restaurant and ends 21/2 miles later in Ronco. The trail will be open to foot traffic, bicycles and horseback riding only, Babic said. All of the necessary rights of way have been secured and the design has been completed, she said.
Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket should call Babic at the township office at 724-737-5130.
In other matters, firefighters asked the supervisors again what could be done about debris in the fire hydrant lines. Edenborn Assistant Chief Mike Kelecic said the problem is costly and cropping up far too often.
“It’s hard enough for us to raise money. But if we keep having to spend it on repairing the trucks, it is going to affect our departments,” he said.
About two months ago McClellandtown Volunteer Fire Department sustained damage to a pump because of gravel picked up from a hydrant. Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority (SWPA), which owns the hydrant, has yet to get back to McClellandtown on the damages, Kelecic said.
“I know they are an authority, but there has got to be something that can be done,” he said.
Fire departments are spending more time raising funds just to maintain operations as costs rise and community support drops, Kelecic said, and these costly truck repairs could be avoided if authorities properly cleared the lines of debris after repairs and line replacements.
Under the subject of hydrants, Bill Reahard with McClellandtown Fire Department asked if the township could contact SWPA regarding hydrant extensions. In a number of places, the extensions were beneficial to firefighters, providing them access, but in others, such as the one on Route 21 near the American Legion and a second by George J. Plava School, the story is different, he said.
The hydrant near the Legion has an extension that faces into the guardrail, and the one near the school is in the dirt and can’t be used. If a fire should happen at the school, Reahard said, Route 21 would have to be closed in order to lay hoses to reach an accessible hydrant.
The supervisors also conducted the following business:
– Said that Halloween trick-or-treating would be permitted in the township but only within communities and only for group situations, such as events organized by the township fire departments.
– Disbanded the authority established to construct the township building. Solicitor Doug Sepic noted that an authority was formed years ago to secure funding and build the offices. The authority held no money, had no officers and went defunct after the construction. However, he said, since the authority never was dissolved, the township had to file annual reports to Harrisburg on its behalf.