Wows and Scowls
Wow: A three-day weekend doesn’t offer enough time to pack in visits to all the events hosted in Fayette County during the Labor Day holiday. We welcome all the out-of-towners who each year take part in the Mount Saint Macrina pilgrimage. This is the 68th year for the pilgrimage that starts today and continues through Monday. This year the Sisters of St. Basil the Great in Uniontown have planned a program that focuses on Mary, the Mother of God, as a model of peace and an example of how to endure hardships, misunderstandings and sorrows with faith, hope and a peaceful spirit. Other events sprinkled through the county are back and are enjoying growth that comes with a few successes. Connellsville’s Yough River Park will host the Timber Festival and Ohiopyle State Park will again host Ohiopyle Music in the Mountains. And the National Park Service on Sunday afternoon is sponsoring a celebration at Braddock’s Grave to recognize the National Road’s designation as an All-American Road. Staff and volunteers will act as historical characters representing those who traveled along the road.
For those anxious to kick off the weekend, high school football starts tonight.
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Scowl: Major League Baseball players plan to walk today if an agreement isn’t reached with the owners. Reports Thursday indicated negotiators were struggling for a breakthrough, and President Bush, former owner of the Texas Rangers, said he would not get involved in the dispute. By now the owners and players must have gotten the message that the fans are fed up with poormouthing by multi-millionaires and with cash-rich teams buying championships. Fans want baseball to be more on par with football in that their team has a chance at a winning season. Short of that, fans will continue to walk regardless of whether the players strike.
As an aside, players on Tuesday said the sides had agreed to a drug-testing plan. Los Angeles player Paul Lo Duca said the deal covered mandatory random testing for steroids, marijuana and cocaine.
He was quickly corrected by other players who said the test covers just steroids. Cocaine and marijuana aren’t on the list.
Is there any wonder blue-collar fans whose employers can ask them to provide a sample to test for a wide range of drugs are fed up?
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Wow: The Brownsville Area School Board made the right move this week when it delayed picking a plan to renovate schools amid questions from the public. For some the delay might add to the level of frustration for a project that should have started last year, but it is wise to pause now and consider all the options.
Several residents complained that they didn’t understand the options that were presented by the district’s architect nor did they think that the board had fully thought through the ramifications and costs for each.
The school board has been wishy-washy when it comes to deciding exactly what it wants to accomplish with renovations; therefore it is no surprise that residents and parents are confused. The board has another opportunity at a 6 p.m., Sept. 6, meeting to define its goals for the high school, middle school and possibly an elementary school before committing to a specific course.
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Scowl: Since it’s Labor Day weekend there are bound to be extra police patrols along the interstates and turnpike. And with them come the rubberneckers. The drivers who take their eyes off the road and twist all the way around to see why a fellow traveler is pulled over.
An accident this week along the turnpike near the Lehigh Valley interchange in which five cars piled up, injuring two women, demonstrate the dangers of the sport of rubbernecking.
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Wow: Congratulations to Rachel Marie Burack of Greensboro , a senior at Mapletown High School for landing the triple crown of pageants this summer.
Miss Burack was named Miss Riverfest of the 2002 Rices Landing Riverfest, Miss Rain Day 2002 and now 2002 Pennsylvania Coal Queen. Crowning her with the latest title was Joe Sbaffoni who is deservedly enjoying celebration in the limelight after his expertise (as bituminous mine safety division chief with the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Deep Mine Safety) played a crucial role in rescuing the Quecreek miners.
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Wow: Kudos to the rescuers from South Connellsville and Connellsville Township fire departments, Fayette EMS and state police who searched and brought to safety three spelunkers who became lost in the Casparis caves after they lost their flashlights. The trio spent 12 hours underground before found by the rescuers.
While the outcome, that they are all safe and sound, is cause for joy, their experience should serve as a cautionary tale to those who venture underground without the proper equipment and training.