Local briefs
Seat belt use pushed Seat belt use will be the primary focus of 370 police departments statewide through June 3.
Although seat belt use in Pennsylvania has increased in the last couple of years, one out of five Pennsylvanians continues to risk their lives every day by refusing to wear their seat belts. This means they have a higher risk of being seriously injured, or even killed, in an automobile wreck, according to the state Department of Transportation.
State police and local police will be conducting roving patrols, safety checkpoints, informational sites and seat belt check details. Buckle Up Pennsylvania departments will conduct about 20,000 hours of enforcement during the campaign.
In addition to the 370 Buckle Up Pennsylvania departments, more than 300 additional police departments have been identified for high crash rates or low belt use and have been offered $500 mini-grants to conduct minicade details in their jurisdiction.
Pennsylvania’s seat belt usage rate currently stands at an all-time high of more than 86 percent. The number is encouraging, PennDOT said, but it also means that 14 percent of the people in the state still do not buckle up.
Low seat belt usage has been identified in the following four high-risk groups:
? Young adults – Traffic crashes are the number one cause of death. Inexperience, high-risk behavior, distracted driving, and peer pressure contribute to increased crashes and death.
? Males ages 18 to 34 – This age group represents 25 percent of American men, but accounts for almost 50 percent of that group’s traffic fatalities.
? Pickup truck occupants – Three in four people killed in pickup truck crashes are unbuckled.
? Nighttime occupants – More than 80 percent of Pennsylvanians killed in after dark crashes are unrestrained.
Crossing repairs set
The state Department of Transportation District 12 said that a section of Pittsburgh Street between Route 819 (Broadway Street) and Bridge Street in Scottdale would be closed for railroad crossing repairs from 8 a.m. May 23, until 5 p.m. May 24.
The closure is necessary for crews to remove and replace the existing crossing surface on Pittsburgh Street. The contractor for this project is Southwest PA Railroad.
Motorists are advised to use Mt. Pleasant Road, Overholt Drive, Dexter Road, Kingview Road and Bridge Street for the detour.
Liturgy planned
St. George Maronite Catholic Church in Uniontown has announced that the Wednesday Eve of the Ascension Liturgy is at 5:30 p.m. and on Thursday, the Ascension Feast, Holy Day of Obligation, the liturgy is at 9 a.m. There is no liturgy on Friday.
Water work slated
Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority will have the water shut off on Craftmore, Simpson, Rocky Run and Creek roads in Luzerne Township from 8 a.m. until about 3 p.m. Wednesday to upgrade the system. The authority said customers may experience low pressure or no water. Customer are advised to keep some containers of water to minimize the outage.
Meeting announced
The board of directors of the Tri-County Joint Municipal Authority will hold a special meeting for general purposes, at 7 p.m. Monday, May 21, at the office of the authority located in Fredericktown.
Bids rejected
Wharton Township supervisors rejected all four bids they opened Monday morning for the construction of a storage building at the township park because they were too expensive.
The bids ranged from $11,900 to $28,896 to build a 24-by-28-foot storage building, a township official said.
The supervisors did not say how they would proceed with the project. The township received a $10,000 state grant that expires at the end of June.