Area News Briefs

Meningitis confirmed

DuBOIS -- An elementary school student in DuBois has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, according to the Pa. Dept. of Health. The student, who attends Wasson Elementary School, is being quarantined while the case is investigated.

Bacterial meningitis, which is spread through saliva, is an infection of spinal fluid and the fluid surrounding the brain. Viral meningitis is generally less severe and resolves without specific treatment, while bacterial meningitis can be quite severe and may result in brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disability.

Bacterial meningitis can be treated with a number of antibiotics. While the disease is contagious, it is only passed on through close contact and is not as infectious as the cold or flu.

There are an average of 120 bacterial meningitis cases a year diagnosed in Pennsylvania. In about 10 percent of those cases, the disease has been fatal.

Museum adds gallery

ELDRED -- A "Gallery of Valor" will be dedicated today during Veterans Day

ceremonies at the World War II Museum in Eldred, starting at 10:00 a.m.

Major features of the new gallery included a D-Day diorama and an eight-foot model of the Hornet aircraft carrier.

Taxes going up

PORT ALLEGANY -- Property owners in Port Allegany will pay slightly higher taxes in 2007, following approval of the borough's general operating budget by a split vote of Borough Council this week. A one-mille tax increase was approved by a 5- 2 vote. Council members Dave Fair and Bill Burleson Jr. cast the dissenting votes. Borough Manager Dick Kallenborn pointed out that Port Allegany was able to avoid a tax hike this year thanks to a windfall from the sale of the county landfill to a private operator.

Hospital gets grants

ST. MARYS - A $500,000 state grant has been approved to help Elk Regional Health Center buy and install an energy-saving biomass electric generation system, saving the hospital money for heating and cooling.

The system will use wood byproducts to produce energy. The grant was awarded through the Pa. Energy Development Authority, which promotes applied energy research, provides incentives for the deployment of clean, alternative energy projects, and promotes investment in energy resources.

Advanced Recycling Equipment of St. Marys will supply the equipment for the project. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture will provide a lowinterest loan.

Elk Regional Health System has also qualified for a $200,000 distance telemedicine grant from Agriculture Department. Money will be used expand telemedicine to psychiatric, diabetic and wound care patients. The equipment will be used to monitor patients in nursing homes, personal care facilities and the inpatient geriatric unit. Monitors will check vital signs, trends and potential problems of an individual's health.

Heading to trial

SMETHPORT - The McKean County resident charged with giving cover to accused fugitive Ralph Phillips has waived his case into court. Todd Nelson, 31, is charged with hindering apprehension and will appear on Dec. 7 in McKean County Court for arraignment.

Police claim Nelson allowed Phillips to stay at his Ludlow home between in August.

Authorities recovered at the Nelson residence some 35 guns which Phillips allegedly stole from a Chautauqua County, N.Y., dealer. Phillips was apprehended near Warren on Sept. 8 after being on the run for more than five months. He is accused of killing one New York State trooper and wounding two others.

Highway projects

DuBOIS - A rehabilitation project in Rt. 219 entering DuBois should be completed by Thanksgiving. The $5.9 million work covers two miles from the DuBois Avenue/ DuBois Street intersection to near the Route 830 exit.

PennDOT also plans to build a new bridge over Sandy Lick Creek on DuBois Street, near the intersection of Parkway Drive. Construction should begin in 2008.

A Route 830 improvement project is also in the design phase. Work will be done between Routes 830/219 intersection, onto Route 830 to Taylor Avenue in Falls Creek. Construction will begin in 2010.

Budget cuts needed

ST. MARYS -- Members of St. Marys City Council are determined not to raise real estate taxes in 2007. Therefore, they are looking for ways to cut expenses in the $5.45 general fund budget currently on the table.

Many of the costs in the 2007 spending plan are fixed. Council has asked Police Chief Todd Caltagarone and Public Works Supervisor Mike Mullaney to find areas of their budgets that can be trimmed.

Moving Wall ceremony

SMETHPORT -- Military organizations in Smethport will mark Veterans Day this morning by placing a stone monument in Hamlin Lake Park.

The marker will be located at the apex where the Vietnam Veterans Moving Wall was positioned earlier this year. The ceremony begins at 10:00.

Recycling curbed

RIDGWAY -- Changes in fee collections will likely spell an end to the successful recycling drop-off centers in St. Marys and other Elk County communities.

The decision stems from the loss of funding for county recycling programs. A recent court ruling prohibits counties from collecting fees as part of landfill capacity agreements.

Elk County officials plan to close the drop-off locations, which had previously been funded by the landfill fees, at a cost of about $30,000 annually.

Wal-Mart challenged

SANDY TWP. -- A citizens' group is fighting a plan by Wal- Mart to expand its current store to a "supercenter" in a rural area near DuBois. Sandy Township Manager Dick Castonguay reports that the legal issues will be argued before Commonwealth Court on Dec. 12.

The Sandy Citizens Arguing for Responsible Economic Development (SCARED)

appealed Clearfield County Judge Fredric J. Ammerman's May 18 order upholding a township zoning hearing board decision.

That board turned down SMART's challenge to the rezoning of a 12.5-acre portion of the Sandy Township/ Developac Industrial Park from industrial to commercial highway, making it possible for Wal-Mart to buy the land, located next to its current store, for expansion.