Indiana Gazette from Indiana, Pennsylvania • Page 9

Bloodmobile scheduled Sunday Page 10 lUP museum hosting dual art shows Page 15 Midweek business Page 16 The Indiana Gazette Wednesday, March 20, 1996 Page 9 Ag secretary vows to keep public informed Dave Putnam He's just horsin' around An area radio station recently had a trivia contest and one of the questions was in regard to the name of an old-time movie cowboy's horse. As a well-known expert in that field, I was contacted by several people and, of course, (blush) I had the answer on the tip of my tongue. I don't like to brag, but I didn't spend a good part of my childhood sitting through hundreds of Saturday matinees in the old Adelphi Theatre without absorbing something. What I absorbed was the name of the mounts ridden by the old-time cowboy stars. One of my fantasies is being a contestant on "Jeopardy." Old Alex Trebek has just told us the category for "Final Jeopardy" will be Names of the Horses Ridden by Cowboy Movie Stars and I bet the bundle, let it all ride.

There are, of course, some "gimmies" in this field of knowledge. Almost everyone knows the horses ridden by Roy Rogers (Trigger); Gene Autry (Champion) and the Lone Ranger (Silver). But, how about Hopalong Cassidy's trusty mount? "Topper," as I recall. What about Johnny Mack Brown? "Tenderfoot." Roy Rogers' movies had a number of names of animals that might be good trivia questions for the general public. For me, however, a piece of Evans' horse was "Buttermilk" and Frog Millhouse's nag was "Ringeye." Roy's dog was named "Bullet." Speaking of Frog Millhouse (also known as Smiley Burnette), all of these matinee stars had dim-witted, comical sidekicks.

Gabby Hayes, a native of Pennsylvania, by the way, did stints as sidekick for both Roy and Gene in the 1940s and '50s. He didn't often ride a horse, usually driving a buckboard or the chuck wagon. In one movie, however, I recall him riding a mule called "Eloise." But to continue the Cisco Kid rode "Diablo" and his sidekick Pancho rode Red Ryder was astride "Thunder" and Little Beaver rode Sgt. Preston of the Yukon traveled on "Rex." The best-known command regarding horses, of course, was the Lone Ranger cry of "Heigh-Ho, Silver, Away!" The Lone Ranger had a faithful Indian companion who, like Elvis and Madonna, went by his first name only tonto (or was that his last Throughout the Lone Ranger series Tonto rode three different horses; they were called "White Feller," "Paint" and finally "Scout," whom he may have rustled from Little Beaver. Tom Mix, whose father operated a stable in DuBois, not far from my home, rode "Tony" throughout his long movie career.

In many of his western movies Jimmy Stewart was aboard an oat burner named "Pie." Heard enough? There's lots more. In the classic "True Grit," Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) rode a horse named "Bo" and Kim Darby's character rode "Little Blackie." In the "Gunsmoke" television series, Festus Hagan and Chester both rode mules named "Ruth." Oddly enough, as many times as I watched "Gunsmoke" I can't remember Matt Dillon ever calling his horse by name. In the recent widely acclaimed TV mini-series "Lonesome Dove," one of the main characters, Captain Call, rode a horse he called "The Hell Bitch? Following on the heels of "Gunsmoke" there were several series on television which were known as adult westerns "Rawhide," "Wagon Train," "Have Gun, Will Travel," "The Rifleman" and "Death Valley Days." None of the heroes rode horses with names, as I recall. Things were getting too sophisticated, I suppose. Can you see Ronald Reagan hollering "Get'um, And so 'Here is our Final Jeopardy answer.

Contestants, you have 30 seconds to write down your question. The Name of the Horse Ridden by Back Jones in first Western Brosius featured speaker By JOE EL1AS Gazette Correspondent BRUSH VALLEY When Charles C. Brosius was named state Secretary of Agriculture by Gov. Tom Ridge, he learned at his initial meeting with the governor that he was the fourth or fifth choice for the job. "I told the governor that was all right because he wasn't my first choice for the job either," said Brosius, who was the featured speaker at the annual banquet of the Indiana County Conservation District Tuesday evening at the Brush Valley Fire Hall.

Brosius contends his No. 1 priority as secretary is to inform the public of the duties of the Department of Agriculture. Despite having only 630 employees, he said the department's responsibilities have grown considerably. "I know people chuckle when I say 'I'm with the government, we're here to but it's true," said Brosius. "We have no other reason to exist but to help the citizens of the commonwealth." Among the responsibilities of the department, he listed issuing pesticide certificates, regulating the interstate transport of produce and livestock, certifying the safety of amusement park rides, and certifying that gas pump measurements of gallons and money are correct.

A new responsibility of the department is the inspection of restaurants arid food processing plants. "We make sure the food is safe from the farm to the table," Brocius said. The department is also in charge of a project called "Chem- Sweep," which involves the disposal of old and pesticides. "Please don't dump anything yourself, don't take the chance," said Brosius. "I know it was common practice 50 years ago, but today we know where it goes.

Your well is the first to be contaminated, then your neighbor's." Brosius said the farmers themselves pay for the cleanup with a Tyson Farm fire damages mobile home A mobile home in the Tyson Farm Mobile Home Park to White Township sustained fire and smoke damage at 7:30 a.m. today. Don Silveri, of 408 Hammersmith Drive in Tyson Farm, said he first noticed smoke in the area around his home's gas furnace. Scott Decker, one of the first firefighters to arrive on the scene, said he briefly saw flames underneath the mobile home near some electrical heating tape wrapped around water pipes. Firefighters from Indiana's Companies 1 and 4 removed part of the skirting around the home and sprayed water underneath, then ventilated smoke from the home.

They were on the scene about 90 minutes. Fire chief Charles Kelly said damage was confined to the underside of the mobile home, but no dollar amount was given. No one was injured. State Secretary of Agriculture Charles Brosius, left, presents awards to, from left, Anthony Greenawalt and Ronald and Andrew Cramer. Looking on is Conservation Board chairman John McMillen.

(Gazette photo by Willis Bechtel) charge that is added to all the pesticides they buy. The money goes into the state's "Restricted Pesticides Account." To date the state has helped to dispose of 102,000 pounds of outdated pesticides. A second goal of the department is to reduce burdensome regulations on farmers. "We are not policemen, we are educators," he said. "We have to make sure that people understand the regulation and that you are there to help them, then you've formed a friendship." A third goal is to promote Pennsylvania agriculture products and the profitability of the farmer.

Brosius said farmers must have "cutting edge technology" to order stay competitive and have access to foreign markets. He stated the governor's budget includes an increase to the amount spent on research for technology and promotion of Pennsylvania prod- ucts. Brosius also said that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is essential for the state's farmers. "GATT is fertile ground for Pennsylvania farmers," he said. "It's important to reduce trade barriers and compete to foreign markets; this state profits when we do." The fourth goal is to create areas of farmland preservation, areas that, Brosius said, would be "farmland forever." To do so, Brosius said it is necessary for townships to create "places where farmers have the right to farm." He said townships can take advantage of a state law that allows them to zone areas specifically for farm- tog.

According to Brosius, farmers to these areas can make noise with their machinery and spread their manure around" without fear of Continued on Page 10 Cramer Farms honored Ron, Howard and Andrew Cramer, owners and operators of Cramer Farms in Cherryhill Township, were named the Outstanding Conservation Farmer for 1995 at the annual Indiana County Conservation District annual banquet Tuesday night. Other awards were presented to the following: Anthony Greenawalt 1995 Resource Conservation Award for his efforts to carrying out the Indiana County YMCA Critical Area Treatment project. Cathy Fyock 1995 winner in the FFA Conservation Public Speaking contest. She is a student at Perms Manor High School and the daughter of John and Jean Fyock, Penn Run RD 1. John McMillen and Herbert Pollock Directors recognized for serving 25 years on the Conservation Board.

Donald Huller 1995 FFA Land Judging contest winner. A student at Marion Center he is the son of Jim and Bonnie Huller of Chambersville. Accomplishments of the winning Indiana County Envirothon team: Edd Fairman, Doug Mathews, Heather McKinney, Simon Poglein and Jessica Staller, along with their advisor Richard Stumpf, were recognized Edward Kuckuck, a district director, served as emcee- Firemen were on the scene for 90 minutes at this mobile home in Tyson Farm this morning. (Gazette photo by Tom Peel) Seek DPA approval to burn high-sulphur coal Power companies want to conduct test By JOHN COMO Gazette Staff Writer BLAIRSVILLE The owners of the Homer City Generating Station want to change the way they burn coal at the plant so they can continue to burn high-sulfur coal produced in this area. Pennsylvania Electric Co.

and New York State Electric Gas Co. are seeking permission from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a two-year demonstration project for the plan. Phillip Murphy, manager of alternative methods of the generation department of NY- SEG, informed Blairsville Borough council about the plan for the demonstration project at its meeting Tuesday. He said the being asked for permission to reduce the sulfur dioxide emission standards in two power generating units at the plant and to increase the sulfur dioxide emission standards to the third unit at the plant.

Murphy said lowering the sulfur dioxide emission standards in Units One and Two and increasing the standards in Unit Three would enable the generating station to blend and mix the various grades of coal in all three units while maintaining the same emission standards. He said the plan would reduce the cost of cleaning impurities from locally produced coal and reduce the amount of lower sulfur coal that is purchased from out of the area. The utility companies consider coal purchased within a 50-mile area as locally produced coal, he said. Murphy said the plant will continue to meet 1995 federal Clean Air Act regulations if the EPA approves the permit for the demonstration project. He said he will be explaining the project to area municipal officials, environmental groups and other organizations to try to gain support for the project.

Currently high-sulfur coal produced by Helvetia Mining a subsidiary of Rochester Pittsburgh Coal produces most of the coal that is burned in Unit One and Unit Two at the plant. Tanoma Mining which produces low-sulfur coal, supplies most of the coal for Unit Three. "If the demonstration project is approved, we hope to prove that we can reduce the fuel costs by $6.5 million annually while improving the efficiency of burning the coal at the plant," Murphy said. "The project will enable us to continue to burn the high-sulfur coal produced in this area, which will make it possible to maintain, and possibly increase, the number of coal-mining jobs in the area." The changes would be developed in two steps with the demonstration phase taking two years. Backers hope the EPA will approve a long-term permit to continue the project after seeing results of the demonstration phase.

Units One and Two at the plant were constructed to 1969 when the air quality standards for emissions from the generating units were not as stringent. Air quality standards were stronger when Unit Three was constructed in 1977. "We could hear from the EPA within six months about whether we can proceed with demonstration project, but it will take a few years to develop," Murphy said. "We have received favorable reactions to the plans from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and hope to receive a letter of support from the DEP for the project." Murphy said the amount of coal used from local mines should not be affected within the next two years if a permit for the demonstration project is not approved, but that could change as the utility companies are forced to comply with more stringent air quality regulations by purchasing more low-sulfur coal from mines from out of the region. He said the ability of mixing and bWding the coal at the local plant would save the cost of shipping in coal from distant areas and the need to construct railroad lines and facilities to handle and process that coal for the generating station.

Kok resigns as Blairsvi-lle councilman By JOHN COMO Gazette Staff Writer BLAIRSVILLE Blairsville borough council Tuesday accepted the resignation of Myron Kok 'and appointed Terry Cavanaugh as his replacement. Kok, who served 10 years on the council, said he was resigning for Blasrsviile health reasons. His term office would have expired Dec. 31,1997. Cavanaugh previously served on council in 1995 after being appointed to succeed the late Raymond De- Gruttola.

Cavanaugh was sworn into office by Mayor Kenneth Uber. Cavanaugh will not be required to seek re-election to a new term of office until the primary and general elections in 1997. "We are going to miss Mr. Kok because he did a good job on council." said Andy Baker, council president, after reading the letter of resignation. "I always found Myron (Kok) helpful while he served on the council," said Mike LaMar.tia, a newly elected council member.

"He also gave me a lot of advice and support when I ran for election to council." Ronald Evanko, Harry Akins, Bob McMannus, Baker and LaMantia voted for the appointment of Cavanaugh. The council also ratified the tentative agreement approved to February for borough workers. B. Edward Smith, borough manager, said he has submitted an application for $12,000 to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for federal reimbursement of snow removal costs during the January blizzard. Smith said an application has been submitted for $30,000 in reimbursements for damage caused by the Jan.

19 flood, but he doesn't expect the borough to receive more than a few thousand dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said most of the cleanup was done by the borough crews during regular working hours and the federal assistance only covers overtime costs. Continued on Page 10.