Sewickley Herald

              The Sewickley
dardanell
publication
Herara
Suburban Pittsburgh's Largest Audited Paid Newspapers
Iweaty Cents
Wednesday, January 25, 1878
Voi. 79 No, 4
garbage collections
tossup In Sewickley
Garbage, collection by contract was ssed back and forth bewteen Sewickley uncil members at the borough’s January meeting until its disposal to committee r further discussion.
As advertised by the borough in late 77, io bids had been received, from private mtractors and were scheduled to be jened at the January meeting. According i committee procedure, opening the bids
iationai magazine pmments on sewickley Bridge
! The Sewickley Bridge is featured in an rticle in the January 1978 issue of Civil Engineering.. The local bridge is ighlighted in a four page spread which Iso includes articles entitled “Pitt-mrgh’s troubled bridges: what to do bout them’” and “How pay for needed ridge work?”
| The article about the local span entitled Sewickley Bridge-case history of a sick ructure lays the deteriorated Condition of be bridge on highway deicing salt, plus a esign permitting the salty, runoff water to rain down directly pnthe superstructure bei .
I The article reports that 1977 repairs, rhich are of a temporary nature, include:
I Some corroded floor beams (transverse fiembers spanning between bottom jhards of the main trusses) were rein-breed with steel plates.
| Steel eyebars serve as main tension lumbers. Parts of some eyebars are eneath the deck, so were heavily prroded ((see photo). In such cases, new yes were fabricated and tied to the yebars, which were still in good shape.
| The three-span cantilever truss is
Entinuous over the main river piers, and e side spans of the three are so short that here’s considerable uplift at the side-span utside ends. Here, eyebars, embedded in &e concrete piers, hold down the end pans. Eyebar steel brittleness was of pneem at these points, reports Norman larks of the Pittsburgh structural • ngineering firm of Richardson Gordon & associates.
[For this last reason, and to limit ropagation of any cracks in the steel, riay the Sewickley Bridge is open, buta3 bn vehicle weight limit has been imposed.
| Civil Engineering contrasts the ewickley Bridge with its cousin, the ¡eliaire Bridge, 83 miles down river. That pan is in much better shape than its twin, be author states, because it has been etter maintained.
iewickley host to recyclers
Valley Eco-Action, the local group of 'olunteers which collects recyclable cans, •ottles and bundled newspaper, announced a new collection station which Will I6!“1 operation on February 4.
I The new location is the upper parking lot ? “ie Sewickley YMCA. The entrance to pe new collection. station is above the emus courts opposite the power plant for pe hospital. Patrons are asked to bring Ipeir collectibles between 8:30 and 11:30 ft** Saturday, February 4 and on the Saturday of each month from then on. Imi	were formerly made at Quaker
WSf Shopping Center.
.valley Eco-Action continues to remind K?ere 11181 leverage cans—those used leptetfr 3nd **** drinks-cannot be ac-
fell to public works chairman Marie Guy.
An outspoken critic of contract collection, Guy told the meeting, “This is not wanted in the borough by the community and the new administration has not been into all aspects of the problem. I move that we abandon the idea.”
Responding, Councilman J. Baird Atwood said, “The Ambridge incinerator closes on February 1 and from then on all garbage must go to Clinton. I think it would be a mistake to say we’re abandoning the idea. I say look at the bids -study them and explore the costs. (The Clinton incinerator involves several hours more in traveling time for the borough and adds to the cost in crew time of pick-up.) Although we have only two bids, 1 say we should not be deprived of the information.”
While Councilman James K. Maloney suggests a year to study all aspects of contract collection, Mrs. Guy feels this would be unfair to “the guys (borough crew) who have been hanging on a limb month after month since October.” (One of her objections is that the borough’s pick-up crew would be out of jobs if a contractor was brought in.) Furthermore, she claims the trip to the Clinton incinerator is no longer than the time lost in Ambridge by the crew waiting their turn to discharge the load.
As Councilman Robert B. Wood Sees the issue, “If the service is as good (contract collection) and can be done at the same price as having our own people, I prefer to have our own people do it”
Pressing for thè bids to be open as the only way to evaluate and compare the two services, Wood maintained he was not trying to oust the borough crew. Mrs. Guy argued the point with him until the councilman had the final word. “I would like to know what the facts are andj say let’s look at the facts.”
To this, Atwood added, “Part of taking a good look is looking at the bids. I’m not saying we make the decision, because I’m in favor of using our men. This disposal of garbage is becoming more of a problem and we must consider how long we will have Clinton and the Sewickley Bridge (the bridge is the shortest route to Clinton.)
Another concern of Guy revolves around contract collection and the two year union pact with the crew. It’s also Maloney’s feeling that the bid" costs will not justify any change of garbage service to the union and there will be other considerations to be resolved.
On the other hand, Councilman Clinton L. Childs, Jr., thinks that the union might help the borough to become more efficient in handling the service and has already expressed a willingness to cooperate.
Council member Guy’s move to abandon the contract collection was defeated in a roll call vote of five to three. Voting with the councilwoman were Sacco and Councilman James Yanckello. Defeating the motion were Wood, Councilman Richard E. White, Childs, Atwood, and Maloney. (Absent from the meeting was Councilman Louis M. Tarasi, Jr.)
The opening of the bids without an obligation had the approval of acting solicitor John E. Perry with the counsel, “According to the borough’s advertisement, the bids should be opened tonight or returned unopened."
In the reading, one contractor submitted a cost of $48,000 and the other a cost of $96,000 per year at $8000 a month with the option for a three year renewal.
With White’s motion to refer the issue back to the public works, Maloney asked that the committee be given a year to study the present collection system. In his opinion it is only fair that the committee be given time to rectify problems with collection equipment. -.....- "

WAY TO GO. When the tires sink into the snow, the horses know the way to go. Greg Cranston, 13, and Andy1 Greco, 11, brought their ponies down to Sewickley from Red Gate Road, Aleppo last Saturday morning after a major snow storm that deposited 12 inches of snow over an accumulation of several inches. It was the biggest snow since 1950. The preceding day David Cranston and son Bradley made the same trip, (photo by Margaret Marshall)
Storms back-to-back
By the time last week’s snowstorm was over, nobody could tell when it had begun. Actually, it started snowing Monday and just kept coming on and off through Saturday.
Nearly twenty-five inches of heavy snow covered the ground in the Valley in the wake of back-to-back storms that deposited a foot between Monday and Wednesday and another 13 inches on Thursday and Friday.
Traffic slowed to a standstill and streets are only partially cleared as the Herald goes to press.
The snow was excellent for all winter sports and it was not at all unusual to meet cross country skiers on Woodland Road, Edgeworth. A Thom St neighborhood amused themselves by creating a giant dragon ice sculpture. People were sharpening the rungs'of the old “Flexie” fliers. Grocery stores were ringing up record sales.
Last Friday, Postmaster William E. Start ordered the rural route carriers off the road when two of the mail trucks got buried in the snow. Delivery was resumed on Saturday. Start urged citizens to clear their walks so carriers could get to mailboxes.
Edgeworth Borough Manager Robert E. Lunn said his Edgeworth crew stay«! ahead of the snow and all streets were passable by Monday as the Herald goes to press,. However, he said that householders must make a path for garbage and trash crews if they expect pickup.
Leetsdale streets were 75 percent cleared by Monday.
On the worst day of the storm, all Sewickley newsboys were able to make their deliveries except one, setting a remarkable record.
Sewickley Borough crews worked overtime hauling tons of snow and ice from the Village district and depositing it on the old elementary school property.
Icicles and icy sidewalks made walking hazardous. Police cordoned off the sidewalk in front of one Walnut St. building Friday when icicles began to falL
The Sewickley Valley Hospital’s Emergency Room recorded an average number of patients otter the weekend, but weather related emergencies were definitely up. Six people came to the emergency room when chest pains began. Shoveling snow may have contributed to two deaths, the Hospital said. There were 20 falls treated, one frostbite case and three icicle injuries.
Special meeting of
r
Sewickley Council
Sewickley Council president Frank Sacco Jr. has announced on Jan. 20 that a special meetingof council will be called on Monday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. for discussion »of the 1978 budget.
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