Author Archives: ryochum
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Grant For Shower Fix ‘A Blessing’ to West Deer Family
By Jodi Weigand
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 8, 2010
A new grant program for the disabled will help the Wilczynski family of West Deer transform its traditional bathtub into a walk-in shower with a bench and safety rails for family member Austin, 16, who has multiple disabilities, including cerebral palsy. The family plans to use $1,500 from the New Story Fund to make the improvements this summer. Members of the Wilczynski family: Back row, from left: Victor (Jr.) and Victor (Sr.) Front row, from left: Amanda, Austin, Bonnie and Samantha. Submitted
A new grant program for the disabled will help a West Deer family transform its traditional bathtub into a walk-in shower with a bench and safety rails.
Bonnie Wilczynski said the family’s shower is too small and a little bit scary for her son, Austin, 16, who has multiple disabilities, including cerebral palsy. He has trouble getting in and out of the tub and has slipped a couple of times, she said.
The family plans to use $1,500 from the New Story Fund to make the improvements this summer. Without the money, the most they could have done was attach a few safety rails, said Wilczynski, 49.
“Hopefully, this new shower will be large enough to move around, and it won’t be so slippery,” she said.
The Wilczynskis are among 23 Pennsylvania families to be the first to benefit from the New Story Fund, a part of New Story, a for-profit company that operates 10 schools and 17 program and services facilities across Pennsylvania for children with serious or complex disabilities. The fund, announced in February, will award up to $25,000 twice a year to Pennsylvania families, with a $1,500 maximum per family.
An affiliation with New Story is not required and grants are available to children with any type of disability, including emotional, behavioral or educational.
“The application was so easy to fill out (because) I didn’t have to have six doctors’ notes and health insurance denials,” Wilczynski said. “Anytime you try to do anything, even simple things, it’s such a hassle. … So something like this is such a blessing.”
That was the idea behind the New Story Fund, said Tara Koretz, the company’s director of development.
“Tell us your story, tell us your need, so that we can help you,” she said. “It’s not an amount of money that’s going to pay for college or buy a new home, but it’s that piece of something that gives families that little bit to be able to breathe and enjoy their family time.”
Other families received money to pay for doctor’s visits, build a safety fence and buy orthopedic shoes, Koretz said.
To get help
The New Story Fund is accepting nominations for its second round of grants through Aug. 31 at www.newstory.com/about/the-new-story-fund.php.
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Old-Fashioned Amusement Parks Once Beckoned, Have Nearly Vanished
By Bobby Cherry and Kristina Serafini
SEWICKLEY HERALD
Thursday, July 8, 2010
A model of Pittsburgh's Luna Park is one of the attractions at the train exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center, North Side. Opened in 1905, Luna Park in Oakland was known for its performances, odd attractions and, most notably, its use of electricity. Tribune-Review Archives
For more than 100 years, American amusement parks have entertained and thrilled those looking for summertime excitement. But as cultures shifted and competition increased, the thrills, fun and family gatherings at many parks stopped, leaving only memories behind.
From the late 19th century through the mid 1950s, there were almost two dozen such parks in the Pittsburgh area. Few have survived.
Families who went to Kennywood Park packed picnic lunches, which sat undisturbed on tables as folks enjoyed the rides. Rare was the family who bought food at the park. These Ford City picnickers clean up after lunch during the fifth annual Ford City Community Picnic at Kennywood Park. About 6,000 residents of the Ford City area enjoyed a day of fun at the amusement park in June of 1956. Tribune-Review Archives
Luna Park
Opened in 1905, Luna Park in Oakland was known for its performances, odd attractions and, most notably, its use of electricity.
More than 67,000 lights illuminated the park’s attractions situated near Craig Street and what now is Baum Boulevard.
“At the time, most people had one, maybe two lights in their house if they were lucky,” said Jim Futrell, amusement park historian.
Owned by Frederick Ingersoll, an inventor who owned 38 similar parks across the country, Luna Park offered concerts, foreign landmark replicas and rides.
In 1995, Kennywood Park paid homage to Luna by re-creating the Shoot-the-Chutes ride and water fountain features in its Lost Kennywood addition.
Attractions such as Infant Incubator dazzled visitors.
A 1906 brochure for the park advertised, “Little mites of humanity, whose lives were despaired of, were taken to the incubator, where, under the care of learned physicians, and the gentle ministrations of trained nurses, the park patrons saw them grow strong and sturdy again.”
Ingersoll filed for bankruptcy in March 1908. The park closed in August 1909, nearly two years after a lion escaped, killing a visitor.
Inside Storybook Forest at Idlewild Park, Eleanor Clark, of Ligonier Township, portrays the part of the Old Woman who Lives in the Shoe. Getting a hug on their visit are Paige Ohler and her little sister Aerica of Mt. Pleasant. Idlewild Park, which opened in 1878, has to be the oldest continuing amusement park in the Pittsburgh area, if not the country. Tribune-Review Archives
White Swan Park
White Swan Park had everything from roller coasters to skee ball — but not white swans.
“Dad always wanted to put white swans on the lakes in the park,” said Bill Kleeman, son of White Swan Park owners Edward and Margaret Kleeman. The park also was owned by Margaret Kleeman’s brother, Roy Todd.
Like the rest of the park, the lakes are gone. Rides and attractions were torn down nearly 20 years ago as the park was forced to close in 1990 after state Department of Transportation officials relocated the Parkway West to the new Pittsburgh International Airport in Findlay.
The summer of 1989 would be the last for the park, which entertained locals for 34 years.
“Every time I drive past it, I look up and realize I’m driving over White Swan Park,” said Steve Mcateer, who worked most of the rides before becoming a maintenance man for the park in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“It was a grand old thing. It was like one big family.”
Known for its Galaxy, Mad Mouse and large slide, White Swan Park entertained celebrities heading to and from the airport and children from around the West Hills.
“There was a constant flow of picnics, too,” said Mcateer of North Fayette. “There was always something going on at the park.”
West View Park, opened in 1906, was noted for its community picnics and Danceland, where the Rolling Stones appeared in 1964. Roller coasters were made out of wood and Kiddieland was a big draw for the little ones in the family. Tribune-Review Archives
West View Park
The factors that made West View Park prosper contributed to its demise.
During the beginning of its 71-year run, the park, located on Perrysville Avenue in West View, was a hot spot for community picnics. More than 100 picnics were held there the first season the park opened, according to Heinz History Center archives.
Founded by Theodore M. Harton, West View Park boasted many popular rides — most of which were built by the T.M. Harton Co. — including the Dips, the first coaster built in Pennsylvania with drops of more than 50 feet.
The park was passed down through the Harton family, and though the 1920s started off slow, by the end of the decade, the park had undergone a renovation to add a new roller coaster, the Racing Whippet, to the landscape, as well as several other new rides and renovations to existing ones.
Dancing became a popular pastime in the 1920s, and West View Park’s ballroom provided much of the financial stability during the Great Depression. During the evenings, a capacity-sized crowd often crammed into the dancing pavilion for music from local and national bands, including the Rolling Stones, who played at the center in 1964.
Perhaps the park’s most successful period arrived when George M. Harton III took control in 1945. The next year, three new rides — a miniature railroad, flying skooter and Ferris Wheel — were added. In 1947, the ballroom was renovated to include new lighting and air conditioning and reopened as Danceland in 1948.
Though dancing started losing its popularity in the 1950s, many of the couples who used to dance there were starting to bring their children to the park’s Kiddieland.
But the good times wouldn’t last forever.
In September 1965, the Pittsburgh Railways Company discontinued trolley service to the park. Then, in 1966, George Harton III died, the park was passed on to his 80-year-old mother, and it fell by the wayside.
“The family grew increasingly detached from the park,” said Jim Futrell, amusement park historian.
Without improvements to the park, people began turning to Kennywood Park to host picnics.
West View Park was dealt a major blow on Oct. 3, 1973, when a fire destroyed Danceland. The park closed before the 1978 season.
Alameda Park in Butler County was once an amusement park that opened in 1901. The building at far right in this drawing housed the carousel and is the only original building remaining. Tribune-Review Archives
At one time, train service to amusement parks in the area was common as entire communities or schools spent the day at the park after arriving there by rail. A special train carried more than 1,700 Ford City picnickers to Kennywood Park for an annual community picnic day in 1958. People waited at the railroad station at the corner of Third Avenue and Ford Street at the present site of the town's clock tower to board the train. Tribune-Review Archives
The Steel Phantom coaster at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin makes its way through a corkscrew on Monday, Sept. 4, 2000, the last day of its existence. As time passes, visitors expect more and more -- and bigger, faster and more thrill filled coasters. Parks throughout the country compete to offer riders the latest in coaster technology. AP Photo | Gene J. Puskar
More parks
Many amusement parks opened in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the Pittsburgh region:
1878 — Idlewild Park, Somerset
1897 — Calhoun Park, Lincoln Place
1898 — Kennywood Park, West Mifflin
1901 — Maple Grove Park, Pittsburgh
1901 — Eldora Park, Eldora
1901 — Alameda Park, Butler
1901– Homestead Park, Homestead
1902 — Oakwood Amusement Park, Crafton
1903 — Southern Park, Carrick
1903 — Oakford Park, Jeannette
1904 — Interurban Park, Pittsburgh
1905 — Luna Park, Oakland
1906 — West View Park, West View
1906 — Dreamland, Pittsburgh
1906 — Coney Island, Neville Island
1906 — Dream City, Wilkinsburg
1924 — Rainbow Gardens, White Oak
1927 — Burkes Glen Park, Monroeville
1927 — Harmarville Park, Blawnox
1928 — Mapleview Park, Canonsburg
1955 — White Swan Park, Findlay
Source: Tribune-Review News Service research
An era that has passedThe turn of the last century “was the time when trolley companies were expanding and opening parks at the ending of the line to generate traffic on evenings and weekends,” said Jim Futrell, author of “Amusement Parks of Pennsylvania” and historian for the National Amusement Park Historical Association in Lombard, Ill.
“They were a much different animal than what parks are today,” he said. “They offered picnics, dances and maybe a roller coaster. It was a much different type of environment than what you see today.”
The number of parks in the region — about two dozen opened between 1878 and 1955 — was uncommon for its size, Futrell said.
“It was a testament to the topography and the industrialized nature of the region that so many parks existed,” Futrell said.
In 1906 alone, four parks opened: West View Park, now a plaza that houses Giant Eagle; Dreamland in Pittsburgh; Coney Island in Neville Island; and Dream City in Wilkinsburg.
White Swan Park — opened in 1955. Situated on the Moon-Findlay border, it was designed as a roadside stop along the Parkway West to the then-Greater Pittsburgh International Airport.
“At the time, people would travel from miles and miles away to drive on the parkway,” said Bill Kleeman of Sewickley, whose parents, Edward and Margaret Kleeman, and uncle, Roy Todd, owned White Swan.
When trolley companies merged into larger entities, many owned multiple amusement parks, such as the Pittsburgh Railways Company that at one time owned Calhoun Park in Lincoln Place, Oakwood in Crafton, Southern Park in Carrick and Kennywood Park in West Mifflin.
The trolley company sold the parks to the Henninger family, who eventually sold or closed three of the four parks. Kennywood opened in 1898 and is among one of the few old-fashioned amusement parks to remain open.
Few records exist from many of the parks in the region, including Coney Island, a short-lived park that opened on Neville Island on June 27, 1907. The park featured a 50-foot boardwalk, shoot-the-chutes ride and a 1,000-foot beach.
The Great Depression threatened the local amusement park industry, leaving a handful of parks, including Kennywood, Idlewild Park and West View, Futrell said.
As time passed, visitors expected more and more, he said.
“The industry was maturing, and people wanted more thrill rides,” Futrell said. “Smaller parks didn’t have space or funds for thrill rides.”
Today, the family-owned amusement park is an anachronism. The region’s last — Kennywood and its sister parks Idlewild Park and Sandcastle Waterpark — were sold in 2007 by longtime owners the Henninger and McSwigan families to Spain-based Parques Reunidos.
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YMCA Posts Big Plans for the Hill
By Adam Brandolph
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, July 9, 2010A day after community officials announced they had struck a deal to bring a grocery store to the Hill District, residents on Thursday were pleased to hear that the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh plans to break ground on a nearby facility this fall.
“I think it’s a very good thing for the community,” said Franklin A. Reed, 75, a longtime Hill District resident. “This is something we very much need.”
The $11 million project includes both the renovation of the YMCA’s facility on Centre Avenue and construction of the Thelma Lovett Family YMCA, a 43,000-square-foot facility that will offer recreation, family support services, youth programs and activities for senior citizens. The new center, named after the lifelong Hill District activist, will include an indoor track, a gymnasium, aquatics center with a four-lane pool, a wellness center, multipurpose and senior space, a teen room and a computer lab.
“The new facility will provide the Hill District neighborhoods with a vital, family-centered hub for social, physical and developmental activity, as well as continue the revitalization of the Centre Avenue corridor,” Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said in a written statement. “With a new arena, library, and soon to be YMCA and grocery store, we are rebuilding the Hill District and providing jobs and opportunities to its residents.”
The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday approved selling 18 lots to the nonprofit for $237,500.
Richard J. Perallo, vice president of facilities and construction for the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, said construction of the center should take about 15 months. Fundraising for the project has been ongoing, with about $13 million raised, said Bill Jones, the YMCA’s senior vice president and chief financial officer.
“Organizations like the YMCA provide critical care and physical health resources to families, children and residents of the Hill District,” City Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, whose district includes the Hill, said in a written statement. “These public private partnerships help form the solid foundation of support to our community. When we all work together, we are all better for it.”
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Pittsburgh Taking Steps to Fix Crumbling Stairways
By Margaret Harding
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tiffany Eberhardt recently fell through the broken city steps at the top of Oltman Street in Chartiers City, injuring her wrist and knee. James Knox | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Tiffany Eberhardt’s trip to visit her grandmother recently took on a new meaning.
Eberhardt, 33, of Jefferson Hills broke her wrist and tore knee ligaments after falling through city-owned suspended concrete stairs in Pittsburgh’s Chartiers City neighborhood in April.
“I love the fact that they’re here,” Eberhardt said about the steps. “They just need to be fixed.”
The city’s 311 response line has logged more than 600 complaints about the city’s 555 stairways since the hot line’s inception in 2006, officials said.
About 96 percent of complaints are marked “completed,” but that doesn’t mean stairs were repaired, said Wendy Urbanic, hot line coordinator. Steps are fixed when “time and funds permit,” she said.
Crews inspect steps when a complaint arises, Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski said, but “we won’t maintain the steps unless we get a request.”
The stairway off Oltman Street that Eberhardt fell through is missing steps and plagued by a loose railing and wobbly steps, Eberhardt said.
“As long as you know the steps that aren’t there, you think you’d be OK,” said Eberhardt, who undergoes weekly physical therapy since falling.
Public Works closed the stairway.
Since 2005, the city has received 17 steps-related claims, Solicitor Dan Regan said. Of those, the city paid on one — $240 to someone whose eyeglasses broke during a fall down steps that were being repaired, Regan said. Three lawsuits are pending against the city for stair-related issues, Regan said. The lawsuits were filed after claims were denied, he said.
Eberhardt said she didn’t file a claim, but plans to sue for compensation for her injuries.
Kaczorowski blamed part of the problem on crew size — he has no more than four people devoted to step repairs. In past years, he said, maintenance workers in each of Public Works’ six divisions repaired steps.
“We’re in the process of training people in the maintenance division to go back to the old way,” Kaczorowski said.
Public Works averages about 50 repairs a year, said Robert Vavro, construction supervisor.
The cost of minor step repair comes from Public Works’ budget, but the city allocates $100,000 for major repairs or new stairways, Kaczorowski said. That money goes toward wall and fence maintenance.
Despite the hot line complaints, Bob Regan, a research professor at the University of Pittsburgh, said most steps are in acceptable shape.
“I would say 90 percent of them are in quite good condition,” said Regan, who counted about 742 sets of steps, including “jumper walks” — stairways with platforms — and authored “The Steps of Pittsburgh: Portrait of a City” in 2004.
Still, Bob Amend, 43, who lives next to the Oltman Street steps, would like the stairway removed. Eberhardt is the second person he helped after a spill.
“They’re cracking all the way down,” Amend said. “You get one or two people using them. They’re looking around, and the next thing you know they’re in the hole.”
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Fight On to Keep Brick Street in Regent Square
By Alyssa Karas
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Signs posted along Macon Avenue in Regent Square detail the residents' fight to keep their brick roads from being paved over by the water company. Andrew Russell | Tribune-Review
The clusters of bright orange cones on Macon Avenue in Regent Square alert motorists and pedestrians of giant holes in the yellow-brick road.
But the cones are warning signs of a battle brewing between Swissvale residents and a water company.
When Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority replaces the water line in the 1400 block of Macon Avenue, the company intends to remove the bricks then pave the street with asphalt. But many residents are adamant that the brick street be restored, and plan to protest the water authority’s decision at the council meeting at 7 p.m. today.
“It will be a fight (with water authority officials) if it has to be,” said Swissvale Borough Council President David Petrarca. “(Residents) want brick. They do not want asphalt. It’s always that way.”
Much of the debate centers on cost. Petrarca said water authority officials put an estimated $270,000 price tag on the project. This includes removing the brick, replacing the main water line and all lateral lines to homes, putting down a new base then paving with asphalt.
The water authority did not provide an estimate for replacing the bricks on the nearly 100-year-old streets, Petrarca said. Brick would be more expensive in the short-run but require less maintenance over time, borough officials said. Water authority Manager Anthony Russo Jr. declined to comment.
The water authority may run into some legal roadblocks. According to Swissvale Solicitor Bob McTiernan, the borough has an ordinance that states materials used to replace a street surface must be of the same covering and the same grade as the originals.
Residents and council members said the bricks keep property values up, make the streets safer and add to the neighborhood’s charm.
“I love this neighborhood,” said resident Ann Walston, 62. “One of the most beautiful things about it is the streets and the trees.”
The issue began after a water main break on June 22 caused sinkholes to cave in. When at least one sinkhole was patched with asphalt, residents took notice, Webber said. Residents began organizing meetings and writing letters to council members and the mayor.
Other communities are facing similar problems. In Aspinwall, Borough Manager Ed Warchol has grappled with what to do about a worn-out brick road for more than a year.
“The problem is the expense,” Warchol said. “It’s astronomical. It keeps the quaintness of everything, but I don’t have the money.” However, it’s important to keep in mind what the community wants, he said.
Arthur Ziegler, president of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, said the Regent Square streets could qualify for landmark status. A structure must be at least 50 years old and designed with distinction, Ziegler said.
“I just hope they find a way to keep these bricks that contribute to the uniqueness of this marvelous neighborhood,” he said.
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URA Moves to Subsidize Several Developments in Pittsburgh
Friday, July 09, 2010Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority board Thursday made early moves to subsidize developments in the Strip District, Squirrel Hill and the South Side and sold properties to make way for an expanded YMCA in the Hill District.
The subsidies it preliminarily approved were tax increment financing (TIF) plans to support building public infrastructure at: a mixed-use, commercial and residential redevelopment of the lower Strip District between 11th and 21st streets, near the URA-owned Produce Terminal; and a third phase of redevelopment of the former Nine Mile Run slag heap into housing units at the Summerset at Frick Park, extending the development site toward Swisshelm Park. No development costs, designs or timetables were released for either project, as they are still in early planning stages and the board’s action was merely the first of many moves necessary to approve the tax subsidies.
The URA board also approved extending a TIF plan originally approved in 1999 for the SouthSide Works, expanding the money available for infrastructure from $25 million to $35 million, in order to help pay for a new parking garage at the former brownfield site and new riverfront park improvements. Like the other TIF measures, it also needs approvals by the city’s three local taxing bodies — the city, the county and Pittsburgh Public Schools.
The YMCA plans to break ground by September for the expansion of its athletic facilities on Centre Avenue, with the help of 18 adjacent lots controlled by the URA. The expanded building — with the goal of being finished by the end of 2011 — would include an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, health center, computer lab and other facilities.
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Hill Innovation Center Gets State Funds
Thursday, July 08, 2010By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Surrounded by members of the Urban Redevelopment Committe and the Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation, Gov. Ed Rendell signs the economic development portion of the 2010-11 state budget to help create jobs.
Gov. Ed Rendell on Wednesday announced up to $8 million in state funding for a green innovation center in the Lower Hill District that may begin operations by fall.
Pittsburgh Green Innovators — to be housed in the former Connelley vocational-technical school — will be a home for new companies and training programs with an environmental theme.
In a sign of the project’s importance, Mr. Rendell traveled to the location to announce the funding for that project and sign the legislation creating the $600 million development fund, called the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
“Pittsburgh has probably transformed itself more than any other American city, and that transformation is ongoing. It doesn’t stop. Green energy is the way of the future,” he said.
In all, about $300 million of the money already has been earmarked for projects statewide.
That includes the $8 million for Pittsburgh Green Innovators and up to $30 million to lure a federal vaccine production center to Allegheny County. The center, proposed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, would produce vaccines needed to defend against biological attacks.
Recipients of the state money must match it dollar-for-dollar with funds from other sources.
Pittsburgh Gateways, a Lawrenceville economic-development group that’s spearheading the green innovation center, is negotiating with Pittsburgh Public Schools to acquire the 300,0000-square-foot former Connelley building. Robert Meeder, president of Pittsburgh Gateways, said he hopes to close on the deal as early as September.
He said the first phase of renovations — focusing on 80,000 square feet but including the installation of environmentally friendly energy systems throughout the building — could begin in the first half of 2011. He said that work will cost about $26 million, while a later phase of renovations, covering the rest of the building, would cost an estimated $19 million more.
Officials have said public school classes, apprenticeship programs and college classes all would be offered at the center, allowing students to train for careers with an environmental focus.
In a sense, the building — employing solar, geothermal and other alternative energies — will be a giant classroom, Dr. Meeder said.
The first classes may begin in the fall, he said.
The building also will serve as an incubator for start-up businesses. Dr. Meeder said as many as 14 fledging companies may have space there by the end of 2011.
State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, an early proponent of the project, said the center already received $4 million from a previous pot of Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program dollars. The project also has received about $2 million in federal aid, and Dr. Meeder hopes to lure $7 million from corporate and foundation sponsors.
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Allegheny County Communities Examine Benefits of Recycling More
By Daveen Rae Kurutz
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Talkin trash. Ross officials are kicking off a recycling campaign to encourage residents to be more recycle friendly. Residents on Jefferson Street in the North Hills Estates are taking part in the recycling efforts. Samantha Cuddy | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Communities across Allegheny County are lightening their loads.
Instead of throwing away such items as newspapers and plastic bottles, more residents are recycling them.
Mt. Lebanon is recycling at nearly double the rate of just two years ago.
“There are so many environmental benefits. It makes sense to recycle,” said Larry Holley, manager of the Division of Waste Minimization and Planning with the state Department of Environmental Protection. In Pennsylvania, the “green” benefits extend beyond the environment.
DEP reimburses municipalities for what they recycle — disbursing nearly $35 million last year, Holley said.
Mt. Lebanon officials sold their constituents on recycling by making it easier for them to do. Last year, the township began allowing residents to toss all recyclables in one bin. Tom Kelley, director of public works, said Waste Management has collected 1,056 tons of recyclables so far this year – an 88 percent increase from the same time in 2008.
“It’s an easy program, and people like that,” Kelley said. “When you make things easy for people, they’re going to participate.”
Last month, Ross agreed to a one-year contract extension with Waste Management.
Mike Christ, municipal coordinator for the company, told township officials that they could double the amount of materials recycled if they increased awareness of what can be recycled.
“People don’t realize how much can be recycled,” Christ said. “They still think newspapers can’t be thrown in there.”
A heavy load
Pennsylvanians recycle about 5.2 million tons of garbage each year, according to the DEP.
The 5.2 million tons of recyclables saved 55,500 acres of standing forest and reduced greenhouse-gas emissions equal to removing 1.4 million vehicles from the roads, Holley said. He estimates that nearly 80 percent of all Pennsylvanians have access to some sort of recycling program.
Ross Commissioner Pete Ferraro said he believes recycling could help the township with its budget problems.
In December, Ross officials passed a 2010 budget that includes $1.3 million worth of cuts. Ferraro said he wants to at least double the township’s recycling reimbursement from the state – which totaled more than $22,000 last year.
“If we can raise $25,000 above and beyond our normal revenues, that’s a police car for us,” Ferraro said. “It’s worthwhile for our residents to recycle.”
In Robinson, the township began offering residents the opportunity to put all their recyclables in one bin this year. Township Manager Aaron Bibro said he receives several calls each month about recycling and believes that residents are catching on.
“The township just wants to do its part in creating a green community,” he said.