Autism conference at Pitt-Greensburg

The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit's Autism Team will host the first autism conference, Together We Can Build a Brighter Future, Wednesday in Smith Hall on the Pitt-Greensburg campus.

Nancy Minshew, director of the University of Pittsburgh's National Institutes of Health Autism Center of Excellence, will be the keynote speaker. She also is the director of Pitt's Autism Speaks Treatment Network site and is a professor of psychiatry and neurology at Pitt's School of Medicine.

Dr. Minshew is an internationally known expert in the cognitive, neurological and genetic bases of autism. For more than 25 years, her research has focused on increasing the understanding of the cognitive and brain basis of autism, which has led to the conceptualization of autism as a disorder of information processing and brain connectivity. Dr. Minshew received her medical degree from the Washington University School of Medicine and was trained as a behavioral child neurologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

The conference will begin with registration and continental breakfast at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Minshew will speak from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Two breakout sessions are scheduled for the afternoon, and attendees may choose from among eight topics.

Grant, loan awarded for treatment plant upgrade

The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority awarded two grants to Allegheny County.

The Municipal Authority of the City of McKeesport was awarded a $18,412,500 grant and a loan in the amount of $18,412,500 for waste water treatment plant upgrades.

The funding will be used to construct a sewage treatment plant expansion from 20 millions gallons/day to a peak capacity of 56 millions gallons/day. This will provide additional treatment capacity to treat 85 percent of combined sewer flows in accordance with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection approved long-term control plan for the service area.

Brackenridge was awarded a $3.6 million grant for its sanitary sewer rehabilitation project.

No new police dog for township

Commissioners last week rejected a request by the Fraternal Police Relief Association to replace a retired K-9.

The 29-member department has functioned with two K-9s since the retirement of Patrolman/handler Bruce Keffer and his dog, Rex, Jan. 31. Michael Beckinger, a former Elizabeth Township police officer, was hired in February to replace Officer Keffer.

But the cost of another K-9 was estimated to be $20,000 for training and another $10,000 to acquire a dog.

• Police will participate in the federal Drug Enforcement Administration's second National Prescription Drug "Take-Back" program from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday in the township Town House at the intersection of Brownstown Road and Center Highway.

The program lets residents dispose of unwanted, old, expired medications properly and safely by taking them to police headquarters to be placed in a collection box that will be turned over to the DEA for disposal.

Details: 724-863-8800.

• Wildflower tours through Braddock's Trail Park presented by Warren Gardner and Jack Boylan will take place this spring at 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays through May 25.

Participants will learn interesting facts about the flowers and foliage throughout the park. The tour will begin from Braddock's Trail parking lot.

Details: 724-863-3806.

• Parks & Recreation Department will sponsor a Major League Baseball League sanctioned "pitch, hit and run" competition May 7. The free program is open to boys and girls ages 7-14.

For times and to register: 724-863-3806.

School picnic is May 31 at Kennywood

The annual Norwin School District picnic at Kennywood Park is scheduled for May 31. Tickets, $22, will be sold at the high school May 3. Another ticket sale is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. May 20 at Hillcrest Intermediate.

WCCC commencement, speaker set

Commencement for Westmoreland County Community College is 6 p.m. May 6 in Founders Hall on the main campus.

College president Daniel J. Obara will present diplomas and certificates to more than 825 candidates who reside in Westmoreland, Fayette, Greene and Indiana counties. Among those will be 145 certificate holders who completed short-term workforce training in programs such as welding and office technology, which are identified by the state Department of Labor as high-priority occupations.

Keynote speaker will be retired WCCC professor Ruth Ann Zupan of Belle Vernon, who was an English instructor for nearly 30 years.

Board denounces education cuts

The Wilkinsburg school board voted unanimously Tuesday night in favor of a resolution rebuking proposed state education cuts that remove more than $1 billion in funding from the state's schools. The board voted 5-0, with board members Jerome Garrett and Barbara Thompson absent, in favor of the resolution, which says the cuts will lead to "significant cuts in the programs, staffing, supports and services provided by this school district to our students."

If the education cuts are implemented, Wilkinsburg will lose $2,028,576 in state funding, which includes $812,906 in basic education funding, $658,289 in charter school reimbursement, $151,972 for educational assistance programs, $21,108 for dual enrollment programs and a $384,301 in Accountability Block Grant funding.

Superintendent Archie Perrin said cuts to the Accountability Block Grant, which helped the district fund all-day kindergarten and the loss of reimbursement for funding charter school students will have dire consequences in Wilkinsburg and other districts in low-income communities.

"In a district that is struggling, they're taking all of our resources that would have acutally helped children the most and simply devastating it altogether," said Mr. Perrin.

The board will vote on a preliminary 2011-12 budget on a date yet to be determined next month. Mr. Perrin said the board has not discussed exactly how they plan to account for the cuts, but said tax increases were not an option. The district taxes at a 35 percent millage rate.