What the Shale? Clairton wins!

Of Marcellus Shale and Football Champs

Date Opponent Time/Result
Fri., Sep 4 at Laurel L15 - 8
Fri., Sep 11 Monessen W46 - 0
Fri., Sep 18 Frazier W62 - 7
Fri., Sep 25 at Bentworth W53 - 0
Fri., Oct 2 at Fort Cherry W45 - 6
Fri., Oct 9 Chartiers-Houston W63 - 3
Fri., Oct 16 at Burgettstown W53 - 0
Fri., Oct 23 at Avella W59 - 0
Fri., Oct 30 Serra Catholic W39 - 7
Fri., Nov 6 South Side Beaver W61 - 0
Fri., Nov 13 at Avonworth W24 - 0
Fri., Nov 20 at Laurel W33 - 0
Fri., Nov 27 Rochester W14 - 13
Fri., Dec 4 Conemaugh Township W46 - 0
Fri., Dec 11 Farrell W13 - 7
Fri., Dec 18 Bishop McCort W15 - 3


More Marcellus Mania: Our previous post regarding the possibility of Marcellus Shale discoveries as a possible boon to the Clairton economy brought a host of responses – some positive, some negative, but many hopeful. Several readers reported that they or their neighbors or family have already signed leases and others have reported being contacted by companies seeking permission to drill on or under their land. Environmental organizations and local watershed groups have expressed concerns over the potential impact of Marcellus Shale natural gas development on public water supplies and water quality. As a pre-emptive strike one company has announced that it will donate $750,000 to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) to underwrite the deployment of a remote water quality monitoring network in the upper reaches of the Susquehanna River watershed.

It is obvious that economic benefits and job creation from Marcellus Shale development will be tempered by the environmental precautions and safety measures taken by the industry. On the other hand, if Marcellus Shale gas production is to proceed, perhaps the monitoring by environmental groups will create even more jobs. Town hall meetings are being held throughout the region to educate the locals regarding the potential and potential risk of mining natural gas from Marcellus Shale. We invite comments from readers who have attended those meetings and will share the comments and reactions of attendees. More to come.

Bears just do it: Clairton is the Rodney Dangerfield of communities and by extension so are its schools and athletic teams. And the worst offenders in the dissing of Clairton are its own citizens current and past. On a Clairton bulletin board the Bears football team was predicted to choke this season, especially after the first game that resulted in a loss. As the Bears rebounded from that non-conference loss, even after drubbing the same team that had beaten them earlier in the season, locals and former locals still insisted the team would choke. They are bums and thugs. They will play an uppity private school in the playoffs. Bishop McCort prepares their young men for Penn State; Clairton prepares its young men for the state pen. No way do the Bears have the self discipline to complete a season as state champs. Coach Nola doesn’t know how to coach and the players will eventually fold. So went the online bulletin board. However when the dust cleared, NOT!

No touchdown for Johnstown: Bishop McCort High School is a private Catholic school in the hard luck town of Johnstown, PA. Johnstown is most famous for the Great Flood that happened 120 years ago. Ok, the school also had a player in the 1960s by the name of Jack Ham who went on to Penn State then had a stellar career with the Steelers. The McCort Crimson Crushers football team has a proud tradition. The private parochial school opened in 1929 and it costs thousands of dollars in tuition to attend. Its football team was undefeated (14-0) going into the State playoffs. Clairton High School is a public high school, also rich in tradition with an excellent football team. Last year Clairton lost a heartbreaker in the State championship game and this year lost its season opener, which could have broken the Bear’s spirit. But it didn’t.

McCort came into the game as District 7 champs, Clairton as District 6 champs. McCort did not go into Hershey for the playoffs the night before as Clairton did. Instead they kept to their normal routine for an away game. But the Bears, whose season included 8 shutouts, who outscored their opponents by a total score of 619-58, or an average of about 41-4, and whose defense had not allowed a touchdown throughout the entire playoffs, were loaded for… well, Crushers.

Going into the fourth quarter Clairton’s vaunted defense was again too stingy to give up a touchdown but the offense had managed only a field goal – their first of the season - and the score was tied at 3. The Bears drove to the Crusher one yard line and Desimon Green forced his way into the end zone for a touchdown. Five minutes later running back Deonte Howard broke free for an 80 yard scamper to score the final touchdown in the game. Final score: Clairton Bears 15, previously unbeaten Bishop McCort Crimson Crusaders 3. Congratulations to the State Champion Clairton Bears.

Don’t let your heart be snowbound: The East Coast, including Clairton is blanketed with a snowstorm this weekend. The temperature in Las Vegas yesterday was nearly 70 degrees with plenty of sunshine. But that was not the case this time last year. From my blog one year ago today, “Yes, Las Vegas is in the Mohave Desert. Yes, the desert is hot and dry. Yes, the average precipitation in Las Vegas is about 2.75” annually, but when it rains, “gully washers” start high in the foothills on the west side of town and cascade down onto the Strip a little more than 300 feet below, then down to Henderson, another 300 feet or so, and finally into Lake Mead. The County has spent millions of dollars to tame the flooding with catch basins strategically placed throughout the Las Vegas Valley and for the most part it works pretty well. No longer do cars float in the Strip Hotel Casino parking lots, and those lucky enough to be visiting during a desert rainstorm are no longer treated to Mother Nature’s fury. But the snow… well, that’s another story.

Oh the weather outside was frightful: Earlier this week a storm blew down from Alaska and Canada and through the desert. This happens every 5-8 years or so and the Las Vegas valley sees a sprinkling of show but not very often and not for very long. But records are made to be broken, right? The 3.6 inches that fell on Vegas last Wednesday was the heaviest snowfall in recorded history. That is not a misprint 3.6 inches was a record. McCarran International airport was shut down tighter than the lid on a pickle jar, and I-15 northbound to Utah and southbound to California was shut down. U.S. 95 north toward Reno and south toward Boulder City and Arizona was shut down. The city came to a grinding halt. Thousands of airline passengers were stranded. Of course, there are worse places to be stranded than Las Vegas, unless of course, you gambled all your money and had your airline ticket pinned to the inside of your underwear. Nobody was Leaving Las Vegas.”

A little blogging music Maestro… The Clairton High School fight song played by the Clairton Band.

Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com