Cheers & Jeers
Rob Burchianti | 蘑菇视频
Belle Vernon coach Melvin Gouker (left) stands with his team after it was presented with the WPIAL Class AA boys golf team championship at Cedarbrook Golf Course蘑菇视频 Gold course on Thursday. The Leopards finished with a score of 417, five better than second-place Neshannock.
Katherine Mansfield
This well in Hillman State Park is the 100th orphaned or abandoned well to be plugged in Pennsylvania this year, thanks in part to increased federal funding. There are an estimated 350,000 orphaned or abandoned wells in the state, which leak toxic chemicals into the air and local water supplies, pose a safety hazard and decrease property values.
Cheers: Cheers to the Belle Vernon boys golf team for winning the WPIAL Class AA boys team championship last Thursday, putting the disappointment behind them of a year ago when they came agonizingly close only to lose to Sewickley Academy in playoff. This time the Leopards came out on top with no need for any extra holes, as their score of 417 was five strokes better than second-place Neshannock. Belle Vernon, coached by Melvin Gouker, was led by Rogan Maloney, who shot a 7-over par 79 on the Cedarbrook Golf Course蘑菇视频 Gold course. Rounding out the scoring for the Leopards were Jack Edwards (81), Jordan Mocello (85), Seth Tomalski (86) and John Bellisimo (86). It was Belle Vernon蘑菇视频 first WPIAL team championship and qualified it for the PIAA championship for the first time.
Cheers: Oil was first struck in the United States in Titusville in 1859, and, in the century that followed, gas and oil production in Pennsylvania was largely unregulated. As a result, scores of abandoned wells dot the commonwealth蘑菇视频 landscape. It蘑菇视频 estimated there could be as many as 350,000, but only a relative handful have been discovered. For years, the state has not had the resources to find and plug the wells, but the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro has made a priority of getting this done. On Wednesday, the governor came to Hillman State Park outside Burgettstown to celebrate the plugging of the 100th abandoned well in Pennsylvania, and promised that many more would follow thanks to federal funding. The infusion of resources has led to the hiring of a dozen additional staff with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection who are dealing exclusively with abandoned wells in Western Pennsylvania. The abandoned wells aren鈥檛 harmless relics 鈥� they are hazardous to the health of residents who live near them, and account for 8% of Pennsylvania蘑菇视频 methane emissions. Shapiro said, 鈥淚t蘑菇视频 good for public health. Plugging wells is good for outdoor recreation and plugging wells is good for our local economy.鈥�
Jeers: The Serpent蘑菇视频 Key Shoppe and Sanctuary in Hanover, Pa., recently received an unexpected boost in visibility as a result of a visit by the borough蘑菇视频 police chief. After proprietor Beck Lawrence harmlessly promoted her store蘑菇视频 services and wares in a local newsletter, the borough蘑菇视频 police chief made what Lawrence described as an intimidating and unannounced visit. She was informed that fortune telling is illegal in Pennsylvania, and that if any complaints came in, he and his department would have to investigate. The police chief, Chad Martin, is correct 鈥� fortune telling is officially illegal in the commonwealth, but it蘑菇视频 one of those archaic, rarely enforced laws like the prohibition on catching a fish with your bare hands. Lawrence also pointed out to multiple media outlets that signs are up in the store noting that any readings are 鈥渇or entertainment purposes only鈥� and the store deals in benign goods like crystals and candles. The Hanover police chief would have been wise to just leave Lawrence alone, and lawmakers would be even wiser if they got this outdated law off the books.