Local briefs
Lodge work begins Joseph A. Hardy Sr. and Maggie Hardy Magerko, owners of Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa and 84 Lumber Company, announced that ground has been broken for the new Fallining Rock Lodge.
To be situated on the 18th green of the Mystic Rock golf course, the lodge is scheduled to open next August.
Resort officials said it will be a full-service hotel, clubhouse and pro-shop featuring 42 guestrooms and suites, butler service, an executive boardroom, full service men’s and ladies’ locker facilities, a dining room and lounge, an adjacent patio and high-speed date technology.
“For those who demand excellence, Falling Rock Lodge will enhance Nemacolin Woodlands, where excellence is a tradition. The facility will represent the most significant new golf accommodations since the Inn at Spanish Bay in the 1980s and The Lodge at the Cloister in the 1990’s. Guests will be pampered with incredible personal attention to detail and the highest level of service,” said Ron Cadrette, general manager of Nemacolin Woodlands.
A Frank Lloyd Wright inspired design, Cadrette said Falling Rock Lodge epitomizes a seamless blend of natural materials, superb craftsmanship, incredible comfort and exceptional luxury.
Surrounded by two golf courses, the Pete Dye-designed Mystic Rock (home of the 84 Lumber Classic, a PGA tour event) and the resort’s original course, The Links, Cadrette said the lodge will be a golfing centerpiece at Nemacolin Woodlands.
Defino certified
District Justice Michael Defino Jr. was again certified for service as a member of Pennsylvania’s Unified Judicial System after successful completion recently of continuing legal education course work. Conducted by the Minor Judiciary Education Board and the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC), the “school” for district justices is held in Chambersburg.
The week-long instructional program is designed to ensure that district justices remain current in a variety of legal topics and management techniques required to fairly adjudicate cases and effectively run a district justice office. Included in this year’s curriculum are updates on civil and criminal law and the Motor Vehicle Code; and overview of Consumer Protection Law; and a presentation by the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Pennsylvania.
Continuing education course work is required by statute of each of the more than 500 Pennsylvania district justices, with approximately 45 district justices attending one of 14 such classes at some time during each year.
Special meeting set
The Grindstone Volunteer Fire Department will hold a special meeting Sunday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. at the fire hall.
Audit released
Auditor General Robert P. Casey Jr. has released an audit of the Fayette County Area Vocational-Technical School that found accurate records for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 school years.
“To ensure full state funding, districts must file accurate reports and keep careful records,” Casey said. “I am pleased to report that during the 2000-01 and 2001-02 school years, the Fayette County Area Vocational-Technical School received the funding that it was due.”
The vo-tech spent $3.9 million in 2000-01 and $3.8 million in 2001-02. The school received state funds of $785,000 for 2000-01 and $675,700 for 2001-02, and served students from the Albert Gallatin Area, Brownsville Area, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown Area school districts.
School district audits conducted by the Department of the Auditor General ensure that the schools receive accurate state funding, that state funds are spent according to applicable laws and regulations and that the operations guiding their expenditure are proper. They are also useful to administrators because they identify ways to improve record keeping procedure, which may help avoid future budgetary problems.
Speaker announced
Evangelistic Outreach Ministries, 301 Fairview Ave., Masontown, welcomes Minister George Overton as guest speaker at Sunday’s 11 a.m. worship service.
Worship slated
Morning Star Baptist Church in Newell will worship Sunday at 10 a.m. The service can be seen on CUTV at 4 p.m. The youth group, The Crusaders, will meet Wednesday at 6 p.m., followed with prayer meeting/Bible study at 7 p.m. The church will have a rigatoni dinner on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 4 to 7 p.m. Ticket prices are $6 for adults and $3 for children under 12. Saturday’s coffeehouse will be closed. For more information, phone Angel Zueger at 724-785-8513.
Extra funding sought
U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Holidaysburg) said he recently introduced legislation that will provide extra funding for the nation’s men and women in uniform deployed in Iraq.
Specifically, Shuster said the legislation is designed to better their living environment, keep their morale up and promote their general welfare. He added that the legislature is also revenue neutral, meaning it will not require the use of any additional tax revenue, because it diverts $200 million for the troops from the $340 million a year the United States pays to the United Nations for membership dues.
Shuster said the legislation seeks to benefit troops stationed in Iraq, especially those that have been deployed on the front lines for long periods, by improving their quality of life and providing more of the comforts of home, such as extra TVs, radios, food, fitness centers or getting back and forth from Iraq and home when they receive time off.