Local briefs
July 18, 2006 Application deadline nears
Perry Township residents who are seeking financial assistance from the state Department of Community and Economic Development in regards to tap-in fees must have their applications in by Aug. 1.
The township obtained a grant from the state department that will pay for the tap-in fees of income-eligible households in the Whitsett, Banning and Wick Haven areas where the new sewer system is being installed.
Township supervisors set the Aug. 1 cut-off date for applying for state aid during their July meeting. Income-eligible households who decide not to apply for assistance by the cut-off date will be responsible for paying the tap-in fee without assistance.
Residents interested in submitting an application can stop by the Star Junction township building, located at 1 Township Drive. Applications are being taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. However, special arrangements will be made to accommodate those who are physically challenged.
People must be able to present documentation of current income when they apply for the aid. The program is open to both owner and non-owner occupants.
For more information, or to find out eligibility requirements, call Marian Gaydos Chambers of Gaydos Chambers Associates at 724-439-4084.
Public meeting set
A public meeting will be held next week to discuss Section 51E1 of the Brownsville-to-Uniontown leg of the Mon/Fayette Expressway.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 27, at the Redstone Township municipal building. Representatives of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, TCMS-Maguire, New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Redstone Township and key people involved in the project will be on hand to review the project.
The main focus of the meeting will be to present an overview of the project, schedule of operations and for those involved in the construction to answer questions.
Hearing continued
A hearing to determine if statements an alleged killer made to police should be suppressed was continued Monday in Fayette County Court.
Raymond “Mike” Prinkey, 49, of 305 Rogers Mill Road in Saltlick Township called police after he alleged killed James Cononico, who was living with Prinkey’s estranged wife at a Connellsville residence. Cononico was taking out the trash at Lori Prinkey’s East Washington Avenue apartment around 6 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2005, when he opened the door and found Raymond Prinkey outside.
Prinkey allegedly ordered Cononico back inside and shot him.
Prinkey gave statements to the police in the near-hour before he was read his rights, claimed his attorney, David S. Schrager, who is asking that prosecutors be barred from using anything he said at trial.
The hearing was re-scheduled for Monday, Aug. 22, before Judge Ralph C. Warman.
Route 51 delays expected
Beginning today and continuing for the next four months, motorists traveling on Route 51 in North Union Township could experience delays because of construction related to the Mon/Fayette Expressway.
Over the next several months, work will include excavation, drainage improvements, bridge demolition and installation of new pavement.
According to a press release issued Monday by Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission spokesman Joe Agnello, construction of the expressway’s tie-ins to Route 51 will affect traffic patterns in the area of Route 51’s junction with Route 119. Agnello said congestion could result in slowed traffic or brief delays during peak travel periods.
As of today, and effective through Friday, Nov. 17, traffic on Route 51 will be reduced to one lane each direction for the reconstruction of about 4,000 feet of the southbound lanes of Route 51 between Route 119 and Oliver Road, Agnello said. All traffic will be moved into the northbound lanes with a one-lane-each-direction configuration. Access to businesses along the affected corridor will be maintained.
Demolition of the bridge carrying Route 51 over Route 119 will require traffic diversions starting Wednesday and continuing through the coming weekend until about 5 a.m. Monday, July 24. Traffic will be routed around the bridge demolition site and back to Route 119 via existing ramps to and from Route 51, Agnello said.
The work requiring the diversion of traffic off Route 119 is scheduled from 9 p.m. Wednesday until 5 a.m. Thursday, 9 p.m. Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday and from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday.
Construction of the long-awaited Uniontown-to-Brownsville link of the expressway began in April.