In the year since it was submerged in flood water, Carnegie has taken strides toward a full recovery.

Still, the finish line remains in the distance.

The borough was able to stage its annual Arts and Heritage Festival last week, but some buildings on Main Street remain unoccupied. Most noticeable are the building opposite Izzy Miller Furniture and the structure that once housed Raya's Pizza and, for a short time, the Buzz Coffee House.

The Red Onion restaurant, which was to open the week of the flood, will open at the site of the former Red Bull Inn on Sept. 23.

All Saints Polish National Church on Third Avenue reopened with a Flood Fest two weeks after Sept. 17. But St. Luke's Church and School, as well as Holy Souls Church, remain closed. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton school has moved to Scott.

Carnegie council President Dorothy Kelly said stories abounded concerning these facilities, but that the only sure thing was that Holy Souls would not reopen.

In the Irishtown neighborhood, a number of houses are still vacant.

The borough has applied for demolition funding, but not enough money is available to take care of all of them.

On Run Street, additional research and field study work is under way to prepare the necessary condemnation and easement plans for the slope stabilization retaining wall. A $40,000 grant is expected, but the borough will have to pick up rest of the tab. The dollar amount is not known.

On Lexington Court, which is impacted by Campbells Run rather than Chartiers Creek, water has been tested for contamination, but results do not indicate contaminants above an acceptable level.

A buyout plan offered by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency was determined to be unfeasible.

The banks of Chartiers Creek were cleared of debris last summer by Goodwill Inc. workers, but broken branches and other remains are lodged against bridge abutments and within the streambed.

Bright spots include the recent completion of a mural at Third and West Main streets.

Also, a team representing Carnegie has begun training in Harrisburg on the Blueprint Communities initiative, which is expected to produce additional grants and a complete action plan for improving the community as a whole.

Because of what it has gone through, Carnegie is sensitive to calamities elsewhere. At last week's festival, the Carnegie Republican Committee collected donations for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Police Chief and interim Manager Jeff Harbin's name was drawn as the winner of a 50-50 raffle. He promptly turned over his winnings to the hurricane relief fund. Though the total amount of donations is not known, all money was given to the Salvation Army.