Oct 23, 2009 By Steve Barrett for The 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – Greene County commissioners on Thursday signed an oil and gas lease agreement with a Texas drilling company that will allow the company to extract natural gas from beneath various county-owned properties in Franklin Township. The lease will allow Tanglewood Exploration LLC of Texas to drill for Marcellus shale gas under 399 acres of county-owned land in various locations, such as the county airport, museum, jail and fairgrounds, as well as beneath the Wal-Mart site and the old Curry Home, according to county solicitor Cheryl Cowen.

Cowen said the lease is for one year, and the company will first conduct a seismic survey to determine if any natural gas is present in those areas.

Once it is determined that natural gas is present, the company will begin drilling and the county will then start receiving monthly royalty checks from the company. The amounts of the checks will be determined by the size of the gas deposits, Cowen explained.

The county will receive a percentage in royalties through the lease agreement. Any money obtained through the agreement will be placed in the county’s general fund. Commissioner Pam Snyder said the lease agreement could help officials in its efforts to balance the 2010 county budget, which is already facing a variety of financial concerns, such as state budget cuts, decreasing coal values and increasing health-care costs.

“This could certainly help us lessen the burden on taxpayers because we’re facing a lot of budget issues this year,” she said. “But it won’t solve all the issues. We’re going to do everything we can to not have to raise taxes next year. But this is going to be a difficult process.”

Cowen explained that the lease agreement would allow Tanglewood to drill on parcels adjacent to the county-owned properties and drill horizontally beneath county-owned land to extract the natural gas.

The county has been looking into proposals from drilling companies during the past year, Cowen said.

In other business, the commissioners presented World War II veteran James T. Stevens, 89, of Waynesburg with his Bronze Star and a citation of congratulations during Thursday’s meeting.

From March 1942 to December 1945, Stevens served in the U.S. Army, participating in the Eastern Mandates, Ryukyus and Southern Philippines campaigns and receiving a Combat Infantry Badge.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Bronze Star to be awarded retroactively to soldiers who had received the Combat Infantry or Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge.

In addition to his Bronze Star, Stevens has received the Purple Heart, which he was awarded Aug. 8, 1944, in Guam; the American Theater Ribbon; the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with three Bronze service stars; the Good Conduct Medal; the Philippines Liberation Ribbon with one Bronze service star; and the World War II Victory Medal.

Greene County veterans can apply to the veterans affairs office to receive their medals. For more information, call 724-852-5275.

Commissioners also presented Sally and Roy Sisler of Hunting Hills in Dilliner with a citation of congratulations for their work with the county’s scholastic clay target program. The pilot program launched earlier this year with more than 30 Greene County students forming the Hunting Hills Hawkeyes.

The commissioners recognized the Sislers for helping to start the program and for their many contributions, including the use of their facility as a practice location.

In June, 24 members of the Hawkeyes competed in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Clay Target Program Sporting Clays Championship, with 10 members receiving medals for their performances.

“I was never so proud of a group of kids competing at the state level,” said Roy Sisler, who thanked the commissioners, the county Department of Recreation and state Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, who all sponsor the program.

The commissioners also presented the Sislers with a limited edition National Rifle Association sculpture depicting a shooting instructor and a student.

The Sislers and Jake Blaker, county director of recreation, presented the commissioners with a framed Hunting Hills Hawkeyes team photo.