Category: default || By jt3y

Short entry today. Your patience is appreciated.

After roughly 30 years (on and off) of living in the Mon-Yough area, it never ceases to amaze me that I keep discovering new places and things. I recently noticed for the first time that the recreation center at Harrison Village has been renamed for Detroit Shock forward and city native Swin Cash. It's also been decorated with a very colorful sign incorporating the Olympic rings, in honor of Cash's gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games.

It's nice for Our Fair City to be known as the hometown of Swin Cash; some how, it has more cache than bragging that it's the hometown of Miss America 1935, Henrietta Leaver. (Other famous McKeesporters include Art Rupe, founder of Speciality Records, one of the all-time great R&B labels. But I digress.)

In a way, it's gratifying to keep learning on turf that's otherwise familiar to me, but it also frustrates me to think that I never noticed this giant sign on Harrison Village before. Worse yet, it was covered by the Daily News. Where was my head at that day? (On second thought, don't answer that.)

Incidentally, Harrison Village has benefitted from extensive renovations in recent years after a long period of neglect; no one will confuse it with the Ritz-Carlton, but neither should people in public housing be forced to live in buildings that look like cell blocks, either. But that's just one man's opinion.

I also discovered that 12th Avenue between Walnut Street and Market Street has apparently ceased, technically, to exist. I discovered this, to my chagrin, when I made a quick left turn from Walnut (inbound to Downtown) onto 12th, trying to bypass the little knot of congestion that always forms on Walnut between Lysle and Ninth Avenue.

Suddenly, I found myself off of the pavement and into gravel and dirt, and about halfway to Market, the street ends. Would anyone who knows care to tell me what the heck happened to the road? I know there was a sinkhole in that area, but presumably it's been repaired. Why is the pavement gone? And if it's not going to be replaced, shouldn't the road be barricaded?

It could be worse, I guess. I could have found myself in the sinkhole.