Category: default || By jt3y

Last night was another high school football night in the Mon Valley. This morning I stopped at a dairy store to get a newspaper and a cuppa. Two middle-aged fellows --- I'd have to say one was in his 40s, the other in his 50s --- were standing at the counter, talking:

"Didja hear about TJ?" (TJ, for those of you not from the Mon-Yough area, in this case means Thomas Jefferson High School, not Lubinsky or Maxx.)

"What about?"

"Two players got hurt. One got a busted collarbone, the other got a busted arm."

"Oh, that's great!"

"Oh, yeah. I can't f---ing stand TJ. We're gonna f--king kill them."

"Who, West Mifflin?"

"Yeah. I eat out a lot on Route 51 and you oughta hear what they say about us out there. They talk about us like we're s--t."

And I thought to little old self: You're gloating over the fact that two teen-agers --- kids, really --- have broken bones, and they're the ones who talk about you like you're excrement?

...

In other news, last month The Daily News reported that attorneys for Kennywood Park had sent a letter to West Mifflin officials, demanding a partial refund for amusement taxes levied against the facility.

It seems the lawyers had learned that Kennywood has been providing virtually all of the borough's receipts for that tax for the last several years, instead of levying it against all of the other amusement facilities in the borough, including golf courses, driving ranges, sports facilities and clubs. Kennywood wanted the refund money paid into a scholarship fund, and the borough to repeal the tax.

Well, according to David Conti in the Tribune-Review, the borough never responded. So this week, Kennywood filed suit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, asking a judge to order the borough to refund the money and alleging that the law has been selectively enforced, which is unconstitutional. They also want the law overturned.

I've already said what I have to say on the matter, and I tend to agree with Kennywood President Pete McAneny. If what the park alleges is true, then there's a smell wafting across Kennywood Boulevard these days, and it's not coming from the stagnant water in the lagoon.

...

To Do This Weekend: Haler Heights Crime Watch hosts "Public Safety Day" from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at Serra Catholic High School, 200 Hershey Drive. Residents are invited to bring their children to tour the city's Fire Safety House and learn what to do in the event of a weather emergency. They can also meet Sparky the fire dog or tour the city's mobile police station. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh will be providing free coloring books and other handouts ... McKeesport Symphony Orchestra kicks off its fall season tonight with "Autumn Sketches," including music by Smetana, Mascagni and John Williams. Call (412) 664-2854 or visit http://www.mckeesportsymphony.org.