RIMERSBURG - Rimersburg Borough's new zoning plan went into effect Monday, Sept. 1, and council members last night (Tuesday) named members to the town's zoning hearing board.
The board will consist of Joel Solida, Randy Carmichael and Tom Curry. Mike Graham was named an alternate to the panel.
The board will be tasked with interpreting the borough's zoning ordinance which was adopted earlier this year. They will also rule on any variances to the zoning plan that landowners in the borough submit.

KITTANNING - An unexpected explosion in the local oil and gas industry just might lead to Pennsylvania's next "black gold" rush as new techniques have opened the door to deep drilling.
Over the past decade, rural hillsides across the commonwealth have become sprinkled with shallow natural gas wells as local landowners have accepted lease agreements for the use of their property.
Earlier this year, breakthroughs in the oil and gas industry offered the possibility to gas companies to move into uncharted territory.
"The industry basically just uncovered the potential for this type of drilling in the spring of 2008," said Rebecca Snyder-Starr of Snyder Brothers Oil and Gas of Kittanning. "It is still in the exploratory stages. It is very much a learning process as we find out the proper and best way to release the gas from this depth."

RIMERSBURG - If either of the major party presidential candidates wants to talk about experience as a public servant, they should look no further than Rimersburg Borough where Dick Kline has spent 50 years as the municipality's secretary.
After all, Kline was already on the job when John McCain was a young 22 years old; and Barack Obama wasn't yet born when Kline started as secretary on Sept. 8, 1958.
Kline was recently recognized for his half-century of service with the Charles F. LeeDecker Award from the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, as well as a plaque presented last night (Tuesday) by Rimersburg Borough Council.

SLIGO - A capital campaign is now under way to raise funding for major improvements to the Union Pool Park in Sligo.
Union Council of Govern-ments officials agreed last week to begin a letter writing campaign and general appeal for financial help from individuals, businesses and organizations in the area in order to help raise enough money to match a portion of an upcoming grant-funded project.
The COG - comprised of Rimersburg, Sligo and East Brady boroughs, and Monroe Township - has received grant funding for an estimated $120,000 to $125,000 project at the pool park. A combination of state and county grants has been awarded, along with funding from the Ralph M. and Ella M. Eccles Foundation. In order to secure one of the grants, the COG must raise $2,400 in matching money.
COG president Mary Ann Wise of Rimersburg said last week that she's hopeful the community will rally around the cause and contribute to the project.

NEW BETHLEHEM - An afternoon full of festivities is being planned for Sunday as the New Bethlehem Area Free Public Library gets set for its annual Art in the Park.
Gumtown Park is the site of the event, which will take place from noon to 5 p.m. There is no admission fee to attend.
The centerpiece of the program is the annual art show, in which people of all ages can enter their works. Categories this year include oil painting, water colors, acrylics, sculpture, crafts, color photography, black and white photography, drawing, textiles and mixed media. Works will be judged in both amateur and professional categories, and cash prizes and ribbons will be awarded.

KITTANNING - From authorization to go on strike to a contract settlement - the circumstances changed quickly last week for members of a labor union who work at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital.
After voting Aug. 21 in favor of a strike as the union and the hospital reached an apparent impasse, union members took a second vote Aug. 28 and not only agreed not to go on strike, but to accept the hospital's latest offer.