Sewickley Herald

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Fear no man, and do justice to all men."
Vol. I.
SEWICKLEY, PA., SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1904.
No. 21
THE  GARBAGE FURNACE
A Fierce Arraignment of Present Conditions.
Defence Made by the Borough
Authorities.
THE BOARD OF HEALTH TAKES ACTION.
matter, especially in large quantities, is a question of serious import
and should receive careful consideration. The lessons of the terrible
scourge at Butler should not be lost
sight of, and we hope the authorities and citizens will look at the
question from a broad and unbiased
standpoint.
The attention" of The Herald has
been called to an article appearing
in one of the city papers reflecting
very severely on the board of health
and borough authorities for permitting the garbage of the borough to
be dumped into the river. The allegation is made that this refuse is
allowed to pile up and decay in the
open air, and the dregs filter into
the .river and. aid in polluting the
water. It is further claimed that
the residents are up in arms about
it; that the United States laws are
being violated; that council will do
nothing in the matter, and that the
board of health is helpless. A,few
trimmings are added to make the
article more readable.
To learn the truth of these assertions, an expression of opinion was
gotten from some of the members
of council and the board of health.
To say that the former were warm
under the collar would be putting it
mildly. One of them made the following statement:
"About six months ago considerable complaint was made to council
about the garbage dump. A committee consisting of two members of
council, two members of the board
of health and two prominent citizens
was appointed to ascertain the cost
of a garbage furnace, site, expense
of operation, etc, This committee
has never reported to council. The
sub-committee, to which was assigned the duty of locating a site,
decided on one in the Second ward
that exactly suited the purpose,
Negotiations were opened with the
owner, who flatly refused to consider any offer, even intimating that he
would fight the matter to the bitter
end in the -courts. Most of the
garbage as well as most of the complaints, come from the Second
ward, but when we propose to erect
a garbage furnace there they object
strenuously. They want the furnace badly enough, but want it in
the other ward.
"It is not true, as that article
says, that the garbage-is piled upon
the ground. Trenches are dug to
bury it in and a competent overseer
is kept there' all the time to cover
it with ground. So far as council is
concerned we are perfectly willing
to consider the matter fairly when
it is presented to us, and if a feasible plan can be found, to install a
furnace to consume the garbage.
While council may have the right
of eminent domain -in condemning
a piece of property for the site of
the proposed furnace, we do not
think it advisable to act hastily in
the matter. The greatest difficulty
is found in obtaining a suitable location, as no one wants it on his
property."
A member of the board of health,
in speaking of the matter, said that
the board had passed a resolution
which they intended "presenting to
council at its next meeting, urging
action' in the matter, Gouncil will
meet next Monday evening.
While the article mentioned above
is probably exaggerated, there is no
doubt a measure of truth in the assertions.   The disposition of refuse
Prompt Action Desired.
As the widows and the children
of the Harwick mine victims are
still in great need of warm clothing,
especially out-door wear, such as
skirts, waists, coats and shoes,
the ladies of- this place are kindly
requested to look their wardrobes
over and pick out clothes they can
spare and send either direct to the
Harwick Relief Gommittee, or to
Mrs. F. M. Butcher, 517 Elizabeth
street, Sewickley, who will promptly forward same to the sufferers.
SUDDEN DEATH,
Interurban Service.
Officials of the Pennsylvania-
Railroad are again considering the
question of establishing interurban
service between Pitcairn.andLeets-
dale. Such a plan has frequently
been discussed by the officials, but
the increase in traffic between the
points named has inspired the officials to take definite action in the
matter.
Bond Approved.
Ben Avon Gouncil on Tuesday
night approved the bond of the Ben
Avon & Emsworth Street Railway
Company for $5,000. The road
must be completed within eighteen
months. Work will be started as
soon as the weather will permit.
Card of Thanks.
The officers and members of the
Young Men's Ghristian Association
desire to return, their thanks to aljl
who in any way contributed to thfe
success of the affair held on Friday
evening of last week,
Mr. G. B. Heffiey   Passes Away.
Gerebral Hemorrhage the
Cause.
A SHORT SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.
A very sudden death occurred in
this place on last Saturday. ■ About
11.30 a. m., Mr. G. B. Heffiey, a
resident-'of Edgeworth, was sitting
in Eggler's tin shop, on Broad
street, chatting with some friends.
Remarking that the room was getting very warm, and that he would
go out and get some air, Mr. Heffiey arose and started for the door.
When almost there, he suddenly
turned and dropped to the floor.
Dr. GraffJ whose office is directly
opposite, was hastily summoned,
but was unable to restore Mr. Heffiey to consciousness. He died a
few minutes after the attack.
The coronor was notified and
made Sn examination on Saturday
afternoon, pronouncing the cause
Mr. Heffiey's death to be due to.
apoplexy—the deceased having
been a short, heavy-set man.
The deceased was formerly a
well-known musician in the eastern
part of the State, and father of
Eugene Heffiey, one of the leading
piano teachers of New York; was
bom in Berlin, Somerset county,
in 1$S5. He conducted several
orchestras that were famous some
years ago. He removed to Edge-
worth six years ago and has since
led a retired life. He was a member of the English Lutheran church
of Berlin, ,and the remains were
taken there for burial Tuesday
morning. One son. Eugene Heffiey; a daughter, Miss Lenore Heffiey ; two sisters, Mrs. J. M. Mc-
Gloskey, of Meadville,' and Miss
Lenore Heffiey, now in Europe,
survive.
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