Local briefs
Vietnam Vets to meet Vietnam Veterans Inc. of Fayette County will hold its annual monthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, at the North Union Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8543 in Evans Manor.
The meeting is open to regular and supported members. Nomination of officers for 2007-2008 will be held. All interested members wishing to be nominated or to nominate someone for an office should attend. The year’s drawing for free 2008 membership will be held.
Meetings of Vietnam Veterans Inc. of Fayette County are held on the fourth Thursday of each month at Post 8543 at 7:30 p.m. Meetings are open to anyone who served in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, off the shores of Vietnam or in the air over the three countries. They also are entitled to join Vietnam Veterans Inc.
The Prisoners of War, Missing in Action and Killed in Action vigil will be held on May 18 and 19 at the Vietnam Memorial located at the corner of Buttermilk Lane and Walnut Street in Hopwood.
For more information, call 724-437-5287 or 724-785-2710.
Appointments revealed
Several area state legislators have been appointed to positions in a caucus dealing with regional issues.
State Rep. Deberah Kula, D-Fayette/Westmoreland, recently joined and was elected deputy treasurer of the House Southwest Pennsylvania Democratic Caucus.
In addition to Kula, the other officers of the delegation for the 2007-08 legislative session are:
Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fayette – deputy secretary
Rep. Joe Petrarca, D-Westmoreland/Armstrong – chairman
Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Washington – vice chairman
Rep. Jesse White, D-Washington/Beaver/Allegheny – treasurer
Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-Lawrence/Butler/Beaver – secretary
The caucus, which consists of Democratic representatives from Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland counties, was formed to concentrate on issues important to the residents of the region.
“This is a great opportunity for legislators to pull together and focus on region-specific needs so we can help our constituents to the best of our ability,” Kula said.
Kula said legislative priorities for the House Southwest Pennsylvania Democratic Caucus in the upcoming session include property tax relief, transportation needs and health-care accessibility.
Other members of the caucus are: Reps. Vince Biancucci, James Casorio, Peter Daley, Bill DeWeese, Gary Haluska, Ted Harhai, David Levdansky, Joseph Markosek, John Pallone, Sean Ramaley, Chris Sainato, Tom Tangretti, Edward Wojnaroski and Tom Yewcic.
Award announced
The state Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it has won a Keep America Beautiful Award, presented by the U.S. Department of Transportation, for its success in highway beautification.
The award recognizes states for their support of Keep America Beautiful programs and to highlight the importance of anti-litter programs that involve public/private partnerships.
Besides Pennsylvania, the departments of transportation in Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas also won.
PennDOT also was recognized for its support of Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup program. As part of the 2006 Great Pennsylvania Cleanup last April, local government leaders, business and trade organizations, community groups and ordinary citizens teamed up to remove litter from community parks, roads and streams, and in vacant lots.
Started in 1990, PennDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway Program has 7,125 participating groups involving more than 131,000 volunteers who have adopted 16,283 miles of state-maintained roadways. Groups interested in participating in the Adopt-A-Highway program should contact their local PennDOT district office.
The state Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it has won a Keep America Beautiful Award, presented by the U.S. Department of Transportation, for its success in highway beautification.
The award recognizes states for their support of Keep America Beautiful programs and to highlight the importance of anti-litter programs that involve public/private partnerships.
Besides Pennsylvania, the departments of transportation in Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas also won.
PennDOT also was recognized for its support of Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup program. As part of the 2006 Great Pennsylvania Cleanup last April, local government leaders, business and trade organizations, community groups and ordinary citizens teamed up to remove litter from community parks, roads and streams, and in vacant lots.
Started in 1990, PennDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway Program has 7,125 participating groups involving more than 131,000 volunteers who have adopted 16,283 miles of state-maintained roadways. Groups interested in participating in the Adopt-A-Highway program should contact their local PennDOT district office.