Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 27

VOL. 11 NO. 40 JULY 7, 1988 GOOD MORNING Voluntary water cimrbs in Richland weeks has water pumps along the Ohio River working at near-record levels and water company employees scheduled for additional shifts to meet consumer demands. In the East suburbs, voluntary water cutback orders have been issued in Plum, and businesses have been asked not to water grass in Monroeville. No restrictions have been imposed in the South suburbs.

The dry weather has created a dramatic turnabout in business for Western Pennsylvania Water Co. In January, one of its two plants was forced to close four days because of a massive oil spill near its intake valves on the Monongahela River. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 By Ken Fisher Post-Gazette Staff Writer The Richland Township Municipal Authority yesterday imposed a voluntary restriction on non-essential use of water because of the dry snap that has baked the North suburbs and dropped water levels in reservoirs. Another restriction was imposed Tuesay by the Edgeworth Water Authority, which requested the Se-wickley Heights Golf Club to pump water from its five lakes to sprinkle the course instead of using the club's water system. And last month, Mars officials imposed mandatory restrictions on non-essential use of water because levels in the community's reservoirs were beginning to drop.

The dry weather the past few Pine officials, developer seek quick Trees OK teifWf fT" now 1 Mu Judy LutzPost-Gazette Weekend traffic heading into Zelienople is jammed just like old times. Coming back The North Hills school board begins to dig its way out of administrative and financial turmoil but not without bickering among members and some catcalls from the audience. The board approves a budget for next year, an administrative shake-up and salary increases for administrators. Page 6. Hearing charges Hearings begin today on whether Butler must allow the Vounteers Against Abuse Center to open a facility there.

The suit, which was filed by Neighborhood Legal Services of Butler on behalf of three women, claims city council and the mayor have illegally prevented the shelter from opening as planned. But Butler officials say too many people would occupy the putting it in violation of zoning ordinances. Page 7. ('- Planning tribute Pittsburgh may someday become the home of an aviation museum. Thomas E.

Bridge, founder and director of the Richland-based North American Warbird Museum, says the region has made many contributions to aviation, especially during World War II. To get started, the museum is changing its name and the group backing the effort has made a few acquisitions of aircraft for possible display. Page 23. Seeking accord Does Butler need more firefighters? That question will be on the minds of city officials and fire department representatives when they meet July 14 to talk about the possibility of hiring more part-timers. At least one person, a firefighters union officer, has expressed concern about the growing number of fires, and the need to hire at least three more people.

Page 7. IN LIVING Collecting cards Deltiology is the fancy name for a simple pastime: collecting post cards. The hobby is attracting devotees in increasing numbers, including the members of the Three Rivers Postcard Collectors Club. Santa Claus post cards, like the one above, are popular with collectors. Page 12.

Reaching out common bond of loss has drawn people from across the Pittsburgh area to The Compassionate Friends, a self-help group offering friendship and understanding to parents who have suffered the death of a child. Page 12. IN SPORTS Staying ready Ron Carter, above, played basketball at Perry High School and with the Los Angeles Lakers. He wants to get back into basketball. Page 17.

Rising stars Fox Chapel Area's Dave Ostrosky and Todd Jenkins and Quaker Valley's Jeff Gaca will play for the Southwest scholastic basketball teah at next month's Keystone State Games. Page 17. I i Ml! A i if By Thomas J. Porter Jr. Post-Gazette Staff Writer Pine officials and representatives of Trees Development Co.

did some old-fashioned horse trading last week during preliminary talks on the proposed $400 million, Treesdale development. Both sides are seeking trade-offs to smooth the way for speedy approval by the township of the development. About 550 units of the sprawling planned residential community would be in Pine, and 930 would be in Adams. The development would take about 10 years to complete and is expected to produce millions of dollars in new tax revenue for the two municipalities and Pine-Richland and Mars Area school districts. The preliminary trade-offs may include a waiver by Pine to permit smaller single-unit lot sizes in the development than those allowed under the municipality's Planned Residential Development ordinance.

In exchange, the company would construct a sewer system that would serve existing and future housing along Pierce Mill Road. Another compromise discussed at the meeting was the dedication of recreational lands by the developer to Pine for community activities. In exchange, conditional uses not covered under local Planned Residential Development zoning would be granted. One such use might allow for the construction of a 3-story conference center in the development. Supervisor Jerry Weaver told Trees representatives that the company's tentative offer to extend sewer lines south to Route 910 at the entrance of North Park was "far more than an amenity." "You do this, and I'm certain we will look favorably on conditional uses and concessions you might request from us," Weaver said.

Weaver also said the municipality might be willing to approve an ordinance or resolution requiring future developers to compensate Trees for tapping into sewer lines constructed by the company. "It would not be fair for a competing developer to receive a free ride on something put in at your ex- pense," Weaver said. The June 29 session was a joint meeting of the Pine Planning Commission and supervisors. Members of both bodies said they wanted the developer to set aside common acreage for recreational use by all members of the community. Municipal officials said the township needs additional playing fields for youth activities such as Little League baseball, girls softball, soccer and football.

Paul Murphy, secretary of the company, said, "We don't have a closed mind about that and would certainly be willing to work with you on something like this." Trees representatives met recently with members of the Adams Planning Commission, who also expressed an interest in acquiring common recreational lands from the company. Lawrence Marburger, chairman of the Adams planning commission, said, "ground for ball fields and recreation was one of our first thoughts it's only natural. If the development produces the 1.5 children per houshold that it is suppose to, the kids are going to need some space." Weaver suggested Trees consul-' tants and attorneys review the local Planned Residential Development zoning ordinance in preparation for applying for preliminary approval. They're Zelienople traffic By By MaryAlice Meli There was a time when summer vacationers making the beeline between Pittsburgh and Lake Erie or Conneaut Lake slowed to a sweaty snail's pace in Zelienople. Every Friday and Sunday evening from Memorial Day to Labor Day, traffic on Route 19 jammed up as it pushed its way through the otherwise quiet borough.

The problem lessened, if not disappeared, when a stretch of Interstate 79 bypassing the town opened more than 15 years ago. But road construction in Zelienople and on I-79 has brought back the traffic problems with a vengeance. No hope this year for state flood aio" construction jobs advantageous route. Faced with a use-it-or-lose-it condition from a number of money sources that became available for road and bridge repairs, Zelienople chose to go ahead and use it. "We're getting the repairs done.

We're just getting them all at once," Pizer said. "That's the big thing that people are upset about," said Bill Paul, owner of Paul's Sports Shop on Main Street. "Why all at once?" Traffic headed south on Route 19 is limited to one lane from Zelienople to Cranberry while the grass median is replaced by an asphalt and concrete barrier. The restriction CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ry Creativity Sarah Dray, 6, of Avalon creates activities Sara participated in at it back! jams return with "It can take 40 to 45 minutes to get through Main Street Route 19 between 4 and 6 p.m." Police Chief Lewis A. Pizer said, referring to the half-mile stretch.

I The state Transporation Department has been working all summer on a 23-mile section of 1-79 that runs almost the entire length of Butler County. Repairs are being made on bridge decks and concrete roadway. Many motorists looking to get around the construction zone have decided to detour through Zelienople and meet up again with the interstate after the construction zone. However, they are being met by several construction projects in the borough that make it a less than Little Pine Creek and adjacent streams," Bodack said. Moses said a good portion of the $3 was needed to dredge sandbars and accumulated debris much of it from the May 1986 flood from the main channel of Pine Creek in Etna, where the creek empties into the Allegheny River.

"It's a damn shame the Senate could not see its way clear to give us what amounts to peanuts in the overall state budget to correct this situation, especially in light of the lives lost and millions of dollars in destruction caused by the flood," Moses said. Eight people died in the flood on May 30, 1986. Cars, household goods and parts of buildings that were swept away during the disaster still clog channels in the lower end of Pine Creek. Bodack was successful last year in obtaining $1 million to start work to bring streams in the watershed to the condition that existed before the flood. The additional money was necessary to complete the job so that water channels would be wide and deep enough to handle most rainfalls.

Moses said the work being done under the state's $1 million emergency appropriation is expectecto be completed by mid-August. 1 By Thomas J. Porter Jr. Post-Gazette Staff Writer All hopes this year for a $3 million state appropriation to control flooding in the Pine Creek Watershed apparently have dried up like the streams themselves, according to a state lawmaker. Sen.

Leonard Bodack, D-Law-renceville, last said week he was disappointed that the preliminary (10.2 billion state budget for 1988-89 did not "contain a single dime of additional assistance for the repair and stabilization of the Pine Creek Watershed." Joseph Moses, superintendent of the county Maintenance Department, said, "This dry weather would have provided us with a perfect opportunity to complete all the work way ahead of schedule Streams are down to a trickle We may never get another chance like this." The department is working to stablize streams and stream banks in Shaler, Indiana, O'Hara and Hampton. Bodack said the Republican-con- trolled Senate refused to allow amendments when considering the proposed budget. "As a result, I was prevented from offering an amendment to obtain the additional $3 million that Allegheny County needs 'to complete flood- prevention work along Pine Creek, Jr. Joyce Menaeisonn Post-Gazette i a flower by dipping wire into a plastic mixture. The project was one of the a day camp sponsored by the YMCA North Boroughs Center in Bellevue..