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On Friday, October 17, a section of Powell Road between Leatherbark Road and Holiday Drive will be closed for culvert repairs. The closure will be effective for only one day. The work is part of the Orchard Park Development, and a detour will be available through the Orchard Park Plan. October 17 is a professional development day for teachers in Seneca Valley School District, so school will not be in session that day.
If you’ve voted in Cranberry during previous elections, your polling place may have changed. Cranberry’s continuing growth has prompted the Butler County Bureau of Elections to create three new precincts in the Township this year, providing Cranberry with nine polling places altogether. Cranberry had previously been divided into six voting districts. A street-by-street guide to the Township’s new district pattern, as well as a list of the voting locations for each precinct, is posted on the Township’s website. “It was a major redistricting,” according to Bureau Director Regis Young. “We try to keep the district populations as even as possible.” While some precinct lines will remain unchanged, others will see major realignments as well as new poll locations.
One complication for the County Bureau has been that a large number of the postcards which the County recently sent to each of the Township’s 18,500 registered voters were returned by the Post Office marked “Return to Sender; Not Deliverable as Addressed.” As a result, many voters may not be aware of the changes in their district lines or poll locations.
Voting information on Cranberry Township website
One of the byproducts of Cranberry’s new voting district pattern is that there aren’t enough people to supervise the Township’s nine polling places. If you are available to help out on Election Day, November 4, your assistance is badly needed. Clerks and Judges are needed for every polling place, throughout the entire time the polls are open as well as early morning setup and nighttime reporting and closing. Poll workers who are able to put in a full day will work from 6:00 AM until 10:00 PM. However half day assignments are also available. Poll workers in Cranberry may be assigned to supervise voting locations other than their home district, depending on need. But every poll worker will be given the opportunity to vote, either in person or by absentee ballot. Training for poll workers by County Election Bureau staff members will be conducted the week before elections. There will also be a modest amount of compensation paid to poll workers, ranging from $95 to $120 for a full day – half that amount for a half-day’s work. If you are available November 4, call the County Bureau of Elections at 724-284-5308 or 724-284-5309 and let them know at your earliest opportunity.
Who Should Get A Flu Shot? Flu shots are now available from a number of sources in and around Cranberry to reduce your chance of getting the flu this year. People who are at high risk of having serious flu complications, and people who live with or care for those at high risk for serious complications, should get vaccinated every year. People who should get flu shots include those 65 and older; those living in nursing homes or other facilities that house people with long-term illnesses; adults and children 6 months and older with chronic heart or lung conditions, including asthma, and those who needed regular medical care or were in a hospital during the previous year because of a disease like diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or a weakened immune system. Also, children 6 months to 18 years of age who are on long-term aspirin therapy, women who will be pregnant during the influenza season, and all children 6 to 59 months of age, as well as caregivers including employees of nursing homes and chronic-care facilities who have contact with patients, residents, or babies should get vaccinated annually. Who Should Not Get a Flu Shot
Some people should not get a flu shot before talking with their doctor: Among them: people who are have a severe allergy to hen’s eggs, people who have had a severe reaction to a flu shot in the past, and people who developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in the 6 weeks after getting an earlier flu shot.
Some of the places that offer flu shots in and around Cranberry are listed below. Most have limited hours for administering the shots. Many require an advance appointments; all require payment, although some will accept insurance co-payments in lieu of full cash payment. Call ahead for details.
COSTCO: 1050 Cranberry Square Drive; 724-778-6302
Target: 1717 Route 228; 724-778-9007
Rite Aid Store #7781: 20480 Route 19; 724-778-8989
Rite Aid Store #10989: 20111 Route 19, Suite 22; 724-776-2988
Rite Aid Store #10987: 100 Seven Fields Blvd, Seven Fields, PA; 724-742-0909
Rite Aid Store #10988: 129 Grand Ave, Mars, PA; 724-625-3196
Any Lab Test Now: 20120 Route 19; 724-772-3430
CVS/MinuteClinic: 1181 Freedom Road; 866-389-2727
Walgreens: 600 Adams Shoppes, Mars, PA; 724-742-1701
Donations of non-perishable foods, paper products, and personal hygiene items can be dropped off at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center between 7 AM and 10 PM Monday-Thursday, 7AM – 5PM Friday, 10 AM – 4 PM Saturday, and 1 PM – 4 PM Sunday throughout October. The community-wide drive is being jointly sponsored by Cranberry Township Community, Cranberry Sunrise Rotary, and the Cranberry Area Chamber of Commerce to benefit Gleaners Food Bank.
Items needed include non-perishable foods such as pasta, pasta sauce, peanut butter, canned meat, canned vegetables, and cereal; paper products including tissue, paper towels, and toilet paper; and personal hygiene products such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, and soap. Food items that carry expired codes cannot be accepted.
Monetary donations are also welcome. Checks should be made payable to Gleaners Food Bank, c/o Cranberry Township Community Chest (CTCC), 2525 Rochester Road, Suite 450, Cranberry Township, PA 16066.
In cooperation with the PA Department of Agriculture and the USDA, Cranberry Township is now allowing open burning of yard waste for the purpose of burning Ash tree wood that has become infested with Emerald Ash Borer beetles. Infested wood may not be transported from its original site and should be burned as soon as possible. At the same time, until October 15, open burning to dispose of trees damaged in the September 14 wind storm will also be permitted. If you plan to burn for either purpose, contact the Township Codes Department to identify the property, date and time at which the burn will take place. This information will be forwarded to the Township’s Police and Fire Departments. There are no fees or permits required. However fires should be at least of 50 feet from any structure and continuously attended until they extinguished. At least one 4-A fire extinguisher or other approved on-site fire extinguishing equipment must also be available for immediate use if necessary. To register a tree burn or for any questions, contact: Jeffrey J. Musher
Supervisor, Code Administration
724-776-4806 ext. 1105
musherj@cranberrytownship.org Two other options are also available for disposing of unwanted tree debris: Collection Connection customers can tie them into bundles and attach a 65¢ tag to each bundle. As long as those bundles are under 25 pounds and less than four feet long, they will be picked up as trash.
Alternatively, if you have a pickup or other type of open truck, you can drive the debris straight to the Seneca Landfill, which is at 421 Hartmann Road, Evans City – not too far from the Seneca Valley school campus – and drop it off. You will be charged $65 a ton (which is pro-rated if it’s less than a ton). But it’s best to arrive early; operations begin at 8:00 AM and continue to 3:30 weekdays, 11:00 AM on Saturdays.
Columbia Gas has begun replacing a one-mile length of its distribution line running along Brookston Drive in the Valleybrook plan of homes between Haine School Road on the west and Robinhood Drive on the east. The project, which is expected to take about two months, is part of an ongoing upgrade to the company’s 2,400 mile gas line network. There are no lane closures expected during construction, although there may be occasional lane shifts, according to the company. Contractors will work Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Commuters are advised to allow extra time due to possible congestion on local roads.
The front nine will be open on Tuesday October 14. The course will be closed October 15th. All 18 holes will re-open October 16th. This schedule is subject to change based on weather.
That’s a key component of the Cranberry Plan. The full benefits of planning requires public officials and citizens who understand, support and demand excellence in planning and plan implementation. The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution designating the month of October as “Community Planning Month” in Cranberry Township. Several events are planned in conjunction with the national focus, including a Cranberry Plan Open House on Thurs., October 30 from 4-6 p.m.; followed by a presentation/update at the Board of Supervisors meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Following the open house, residents gathered in Council Chambers for a Board of Supervisors meeting where the first agenda item focused on a Cranberry Plan progress update and a summary of the results from the Citizen Survey. John Trant, chief strategic planning officer, explained that The Cranberry Plan is a detailed and comprehensive effort that will look beyond the typical 10-year horizon used for standard comprehensive plans. This plan looks 25 years into the future to ensure a sustainable Cranberry Township for the next generation. View the July 31 presentation
As Cranberry Township approaches the half-way point in the development of a plan to chart the community’s future through 2030, officials received a financial boost in the form of a $96,210. grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, to help with the project. The grant is through the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services’ Land Use Planning and Technical Assistance Program (LUPTAP). Richard Hadley, chairman of the Township Board of Supervisors, praised the efforts of John K. Trant, Jr., chief strategic planning officer and the township’s planning staff for seeking the grant. Hadley said, “We know that good communities don’t ‘just happen’ – and because we are growing so rapidly, we need a framework for the future. Our primary goal is to determine what the grown-up, built-out Cranberry ought to look like, then we can identify the best strategies to help us get there. We want to ensure a viable, sustainability future for our residents.” Cranberry is no stranger to long range planning. The most recent plan was adopted by the Board in 1995, and goals set in that plan were accomplished, added Hadley, we know the value of good planning. Known as “The Cranberry Plan”, the current five-phase initiative began with a community visioning process to lay the foundation. In the second phase, township staff worked with planning and development consultants to gather background information and baseline statistical information, leading to the current phase, a detailed growth management analysis, resulting in several possible growth scenarios. Citizen involvement has been a critical component at every step, noted Jerry Andree, township manager. The Board issued a call for volunteers and created a Citizen Advisory Panel to review and react to reports, assessments and studies. More than 70 residents answered the call and began meeting on a monthly basis in November 2007, forming six task forces to study key areas: Economic development & redevelopment; transportation & mobility; public image; culture & diversity; sewer/water & environmental stewardship and parks and recreation. Recently, the task forces presented summaries from their months of study, and their recommendations will be incorporated into the final phases of the plan. In the next phase, a preferred growth scenario, resulting from the research, analysis and public input, will be selected by early fall, becoming the growth management plan. Once The Cranberry Plan is completed, and adopted by the Board, the fifth, and final phase, implementation, will begin immediately, added Trant. “Planning is great, but doing is better. The Cranberry Plan will address every aspect of the community with a primary focus on sustainability and what we must do today and along the way, to ensure a healthy and financially secure future for Cranberry Township.” Planning energies will then re-focus on a comprehensive parks and recreation plan. To gain input from the entire community, the supervisors conducted an opinion survey among residents, through a mailed-survey, which produced a remarkable 50% response. Results of the survey will be presented in public session on Thursday, June 26. A public meeting, to provide the community at-large with details of the first three phases of the comprehensive plan is set for Thursday, July 31.
Officials from Westinghouse Electric Company and Cranberry Township credit a cooperative working relationship that led to the issuance of a building permit for the new corporate headquarters and engineering facility in nearly record time. Russell l. Bussard, Westinghouse manager for facilities and real estate said, “When we started the Cranberry project, one thing was painfully clear – we would be hard pressed to achieve the schedule that would allow us to be in the building prior to running out of space at our current location. Early in the project when we were still undecided on the location, we met with Cranberry Township, and they committed to providing ‘whatever support was necessary’.” “Westinghouse is working with an extremely aggressive timeline,” said Trant. “We streamlined the process as much as possible, to be sensitive to their timeline, and in turn, Westinghouse met all of our permitting requirements. They are hiring at an aggressive pace, which is also good for the region’s economy. That’s why everyone is anxious to get them into their new facility in Cranberry Woods.” For Cranberry Township, this building permit marks the beginning of construction on the largest commercial development in the community’s history. Motorists who drive I-79 north through Cranberry Twp. can now see the buildings beginning to take shape. Turner Construction Co. is the general contractor for the Westinghouse campus at the Cranberry Woods office park.
The company’s Nuclear Power Plant Business unit is expected take occupancy in early 2009. Employees currently based at existing facilities in Monroeville and Churchill will follow in a second-phase move, with all employees expected to be in the new facility by late 2010. The project includes three office buildings, located in the Cranberry Woods Office Park. Westinghouse’s corporate presence is already evident, notes Trant, “To accommodate the company’s growing work force, while the new site is under construction, Westinghouse signed a five-year lease on 90,000 square feet of office space in a Cranberry Woods Office Park building, providing work space for 500 workers, primarily from Westinghouse's Repair Replacement and Automated Services, or RRAS group. Workers have already occupied the space. Additionally, they’ve leased 60,000 square feet in the Cranberry Business Park on West Kensinger Drive.”
“Cranberry’s vision,” added Dick Hadley, chairman of the board of supervisors, “continues to be for the Rt. 228 corridor to be first-class – one that could compete on a national level for the knowledge worker of the future, and the Westinghouse project certainly compliments this vision.” Background:
A corporate headquarters complex consisting of the following buildings on approximately 83.4 acres of land in the SP-1 Zoning District located at Cranberry Woods Office Park (off Rt. 228) Total square footage: 844,595. Building 1 – 5 stories – 434,803 square feet
Building 2 – 4 stories – 204,896 square feet
Building 3 – 4 stories – 204,896 square feet
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