Cheers and Jeers
Jeers that the Vulcan garage at California University of Pennsylvania sits, essentially unusable, since a partial collapse in 2016 during the fall semester move-in day. Claims and cross-claims have been filed, with Cal U suing its contractor and the contractor this week filing a cross-claim against the firm it paid for precast concrete used in the project. The university continues to pay for the $10.5 million project from which its students aren’t benefiting. Civil litigation can be a years-long process. Hopefully the parties come to the table quickly so this matter can be resolved in an expedient manner.
Cheers to World Christian Outreach Ministries, which recently moved to a new home on East End Road in Bullskin Township. The church recently purchased the former building of the East End United Methodist Church, which closed last year. The Rev. Don Smith, senior pastor for World Christian Outreach, called it “divine intervention” to find the appropriate building for their growing congregation.
Cheers to the increase in funding for the Monessen Family Center so that they can further outreach efforts and go into more homes to help families impacted by the opioid crisis. The state Department of Human Services grant, included in the 2018-19 state budget, offers the Westmoreland County center $150,000 in funding. Center director Kim Egidi said the money will allow workers to cross into Washington County, where there are no state-funded family centers, to serve 35 additional families and hire staff to accommodate the increased caseload. The number may seem but a drop in the bucket given the epidemic levels of opioid abuse, but it represents a potential lifeline for nearly three dozen more parents and their children.
Cheers to the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, honored as the 2018 Not-For-Profit of the Year by Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce. The chamber noted the excellent work that the LHVB does to promote Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties, which make up the Laurel Highlands region of the state. The bureau promotes the tourism industry and works with community leaders in all three counties to make sure the area’s best assets are showcased, and visitors keep coming to enjoy the beauty each county has to offer.
Cheers to a decade of ducks. On Sunday, hundreds of rubber duckies will float down the Monongahela River in Brownsville’s Riverside Wharf. The yearly fundraiser allows people to “buy” a numbered duck in hopes that theirs makes it to the finish line first. The first six to finish receive a prize. Funds raised from the 700 to 800 chances taken benefit the Brownsville Area Revitalization Corporation’s economic development efforts in downtown Brownsville and Brownsville Fire Company No. 1. Both entities have ducks on sale through Friday, and they will also be available for purchase on Sunday at the wharf until 12:30 p.m.