UNION TOWNSHIP, PA. Wrongly placed ad stops filling of seat

It hasn't been determined whether a conflict of interest really exists.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Naming of a new Union Township supervisor could not take place Tuesday because of an error in a legal advertisement.
The Union Township Vacancy Board was to meet Tuesday to name a township supervisor to replace Ralph Nuzzo, who died in April.
But Supervisor Kevin Guinaugh announced that a local newspaper, which was to publish the legal ad, mistakenly placed it in the "Help Wanted" category instead of the legals.
State law
State law specifies that the ads must run under the "legal" category, according to Secretary-Treasurer Sally Byler.
Byler said another legal ad will run Wednesday, advertising that the vacancy board meeting has been rescheduled for 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
The vacancy board meeting had been set for Tuesday after Lawrence County Common Pleas Court Judge Ralph Pratt declined to decide whether vacancy board chairman Mickey DeLeone's employment by the Union Township Sewer Authority presents a conflict of interest.
Supervisor Steve Galizia had sought a preliminary injunction against the vacancy board meeting. He contended that DeLeone should not vote on naming a new supervisor because township supervisors appoint sewer authority board members who oversee DeLeone.
Judge Pratt noted that the Legislature gives the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission, not common pleas court, the authority to determine whether there is a violation of the state's ethics act.
Pratt also concluded that Galizia had failed to establish all elements necessary to issue a preliminary injunction, and he gave a green light for the vacancy board to meet and name a new supervisor.
He suggested that DeLeone disclose his potential conflict, although Judge Pratt said he has not decided whether one actually exists.
Public disclosure
Judge Pratt referred to a section of the ethics act that allows DeLeone to vote to break a tie even if he has a conflict of interest -- as long as he publicly discloses the conflict. DeLeone is, in fact, expected to be the tiebreaker in naming a new supervisor because Galizia and Supervisor Kenneth Guinaugh have been unable to agree on a candidate.
In other supervisors' business, Guinaugh announced that recycling bins will be removed from the municipal parking lot Friday. He said the township is getting out of the recycling program, adding there have been abuses -- such as dumping of garbage -- into the bins. He also said that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requires curbside recycling in Union Township and considers the bins unnecessary.
Guinaugh said any resident who has not yet signed up for curbside recycling should contact their trash hauler. Local curbside haulers are: Aiken Refuse, (724) 758-9480; B & amp;B Hauling, (724) 652-3926; Tri-County Industries Inc., (724) 658-8749; and Waste Management, 1-800-451-3060.
Curbside recycling is required by law in Union Township, and residents who do not participate can be fined $100 to $300.