May 23, 2008 By Rebekah Sungala 3 min read

Good things are happening in Hopwood. At Thursday’s Hopwood Village Project meeting, committee members discussed the positive things that have occurred in the village and deemed the recent National Road Festival a success.

“Hopwood is a special place,” said Harry McElroy, president of the Hopwood Village Project.

McElroy said Hopwood is becoming the go-to spot for people who participate in the annual Pike Day festivities, noting that a variety of activities were held throughout the day Saturday.

“The day was a success,” he said. “I think everyone truly enjoyed themselves and had a great time.”

The day began with the crowning of McElroy and Genevieve Odom, who were given the respective titles of king and queen of Hopwood.

The royals then participated in the dedication ceremony for the new stamped concrete sidewalks, as did U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, South Union Township Supervisor Tom Frankhouser, North Union Township Supervisor Curt Matthews, Hopwood Village Project Secretary Elaine Frantz and Hopwood Village Project member Patty Tobal, who also represented the Fayette County branch of Steps to a Healthier PA.

The sidewalks were recently completed as part of a streetscape project organized by the Hopwood Village Project, a volunteer group dedicated to restoring the historic Route 40 corridor in North Union and South Union townships.

The streetscape project involved demolishing and removing sidewalks and pathways in Hopwood and replacing them with more than 3,000 square feet of stamped concrete sidewalks of varying widths.

Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg, awarded the group with a $600,000 federal grant that paid for the majority of the $1 million project. Money from state grants was used to pay the remaining cost.

Other activities that occurred Saturday included a parade, fishing derby and an old-timers baseball game.

Committee member Jim Tobal, who oversees the parade and fishing derby, said Hopwood is now a place people like to visit.

“We have something special going on in Hopwood. Every year the Pike Day celebration gets bigger and bigger and bigger,” he said. “It’s amazing what’s happening in our little village.”

In unrelated matters, committee members agreed that Maccabee Industrial Inc. of Belle Vernon will not receive the final payment for the streetscape project until all issues involving the project are resolved.

Maccabee and McMillen Engineering of Uniontown worked on the project.

Frankhouser said several problems that still need to be fixed were pointed out to Maccabee representatives during a recent walk-through of the Route 40 corridor.

“The final payment to Maccabee won’t occur until all tasks are completed,” he said.

In relation to the streetscape project, Frankhouser said an audit of the $1 million dollars received in grant money is being completed as requested.

Frankhouser said the National Road Heritage Corridor, which gave a $70,000 grant, required that an audit be completed of the entire amount, even though the majority of the money came from federal funds.

The next Hopwood Village Project will be held at 7 p.m. June 26 in the South Union Township Municipal Building.

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