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UPDATE: GOP’s governor candidate visits
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP — A man who could be the next governor of Pennsylvania visited Mercer County on Saturday for his first speech since being officially endorsed by the Pennsylvania Republican Party a week earlier.
State Attorney General Tom Corbett may have the party’s seal of approval but he still has to best Sam Rohrer in the May primary to win the nomination and the right to run in November.
Even then, Corbett told local Republicans gathered at Hempfield Station One for the annual Lincoln Day dinner, he has to win over independents and Democratic voters.
“They out-number us by 2.1 million (in Pennsylvania),” he said.
He wasn’t the only candidate looking for votes Saturday.
Also in attendance were: Republican congressional candidates Steve Fischer, Ed Franz, Paul Huber, Mike Kelly and Martha Moore, who are all running in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional district — a seat held by Democrat Kathy Dahlkemper — and Mary Beth Buchanan, who is running for the 4th Congressional district seat held by Jason Altmire.
Dave King, the chair of the Mercer County Republican Party, said they were very happy that Corbett picked Greenville to make his first appearance since his endorsement.
“For him to come here right out of the box, that’s a pretty big honor,” King said.
When state Sen. Bob Robbins, Salem Township, R-50th District, introduced Corbett, he talked about his character. Corbett was tapped to replace disgraced former attorney general Ernie Preate, but had to pledge not to run for the office when the term was up. He waited out eight years before running again and winning the job in 2004.
Before becoming attorney general, Corbett served as the U.S. Attorney for the western district of Pennsylvania, and prior to that he was a lawyer in private practice.
Throughout his speech he talked about the issues that many Republican candidates have talked about in their campaigns, including reducing state spending, lowering the deficit, lowering taxes, taking on medical malpractice reform and removing the tax and regulatory burdens on Pennsylvania businesses to make it easier for them to create jobs.
He praised Republican members of the legislature for taking a stand against new taxes and new spending in Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposed state budget.
Some of his priorities, he said, were cutting the projected deficit and improving educational opportunities and creating jobs.
Corbett repeatedly talked about the importance of creating opportunities for young people in Pennsylvania so they stay in the state, instead of moving to states with lower unemployment, and better job opportunities.
“The youth are the future, and they’re leaving,” he said.
Corbett also responded to criticism that he hasn’t presented a plan yet, telling the Mercer County Republicans that they can log onto his Web site — www.tomcorbettforgovernor.com — where he will be posting the details of his plans.
Corbett is investigating several current and former Democratic members of the state legislature for allegedly using public money to finance campaigns in a scandal that has become known as bonusgate. There has been some controversy about whether or not Corbett should continue the investigation now that he is running for governor. He didn’t bring up the issue on Saturday.
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Commissioners formally move to raise sewer fees
Hermitage commissioners introduced an ordinance Wednesday to increase sanitary user fees.
Residents tapped into the Hermitage Municipal Authority lines now pay $95 a quarter. That rate will bump up to $105 a quarter on Jan. 1, under the proposed rate hike.
Two more hikes on Jan. 1, 2012, and Jan. 1, 2013, will result in the rates increasing 50 percent from the current fee. -
Water is on at Forrest Brooke
Water service has been restored at Forrest Brooke Manufactured Home Community after well problems left the 165-unit complex dry Tuesday.
A boil and conserve water advisory has been issued by the DEP and will remain in place until tests confirm the water is safe to drink, Forrest Brooke’s manager Pete Havens said.
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Storm damages trees, wires
Thunderstorms ripped through parts of Mercer and neighboring counties Wednesday night, downing trees and wires and keeping rescue workers on their toes.
A Mercer County 911 dispatcher shortly after 8 p.m. said they were busy with calls across the northern part of the county. He said there had been a few reports of trees falling on homes.
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City leaders open to talks
Sharon officials aren’t opposed to sitting down with their counterparts in Farrell to revisit the idea of combining the two struggling cities.
“It never costs a penny to talk and there’s no (idea) that’s not worth looking at,” Sharon councilman Ed Palanski said. “I think it would be foolish to oppose looking at the idea.”
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Murphy’s Law doesn’t faze regional planners
A complicated, two-day public meeting blitz in 32 counties ran headlong into Murphy’s Law in Mercer County on Tuesday.
The group Power of 32 are looking to re-write the regional map and create a grand, 15-year strategic economic plan for the 32 counties in four states that make up the Ohio River basin and greater Pittsburgh area.
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Forrest Brooke copes with water outage
Residents of Forrest Brooke Mobile Home Community in Jefferson and Lackawannock Townships woke up Tuesday morning to find they didn’t have any water.
Managers of the park could not be reached for comment, but residents said they were told they won’t get water service back for at least another month.
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City facing bleak financial reality
LaVon Saternow has been Farrell’s city manager since 1992. Shortly after she took the job, Sharon Steel, the city’s economic engine, officially closed down.
Since, the city has struggled to remain solvent and Mrs. Saternow said it is facing its worst financial crisis in her tenure.
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Near-complete addition to let man come home
Although the weather delayed the start of Penny and Paul Strechansky’s construction project by about three weeks, the end of the sawing, hammering and stapling is in sight.
“It should be done by the middle of next week,” Strechansky said of the 15-by-20 foot addition being built onto the back of his garage in Hermitage, which will be the new home of his grandson, David Johnson.
Johnson was critically injured in a car crash June 19, 2009, on what is now Interstate 376 in Lawrence County. The crash rendered Johnson, who just turned 21, blind and brain damaged. He is unable to care for himself.
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Man prison-bound for role in drug buy shooting
It may never be known for certain who fired the two fatal shots that killed a Sharon teen on Nov. 6 on Wallis Avenue during a botched drug deal, prosecutors have said.
But Christopher Swogger, 24, Sharon, was fingered by at least one other suspect as the one whose bullets killed John B. Hosey III, 18, of 422 Meek St. Swogger was sentenced Monday.
Swogger was sent to prison for 1 1/2 to 3 years for having a firearm without a license, ending his role in the criminal prosecutions of the drug deal turned shooting.
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Farrell, Sharon to revisit merger
Times are tough.
In Farrell Monday night, city council heard a grim financial report from City Manager LaVon Saternow.
“It’s not a pretty picture,” Mrs. Saternow said. “We could conceivably run out of cash by the end of the year. I don’t know how to put it more bluntly.”
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Commissioners formally move to raise sewer fees
