Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato will hold two South-based town hall meetings to discuss his County Parks Action Plan and to ask for public input on future improvements.

The meetings are from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the South Park Fair Grounds building; and 6:30 to 8 p.m. June 10 at Round Hill Park's Visitor Center in Elizabeth Township. They are the final two of nine such gatherings.

Mr. Onorato unveiled the action plan last year to address 20 years of deferred maintenance and to transform and enhance recreational opportunities at Allegheny County's nine regional parks. The plan includes establishing the Allegheny County Parks Foundation, an independent, nonprofit organization that will raise private funds for park improvements.

To view the plan online and take an online parks survey, visit www.alleghenycounty.us/parks. For more information, call 412-350-7275.

The Pennsylvania Gettysburg Monuments Project begun by state Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Carrick, has passed the halfway mark -- $250,000 -- in its drive to endow trusts for the future maintenance of the historic battlefield's more than 140 markers and monuments to the Pennsylvanians who fought in the Civil War battle.

The goal is $431,000 to pay for cleaning the stones and repointing mortar.

The perpetual maintenance trust was begun after Mr. Readshaw raised $160,000 to ensure repairs, including replacement of broken features, such as a new hand for the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Zouave de Afrique on Little Round Top, one of the most photographed monuments in the park.

In 2006, Readshaw's Raiders, as the representative and his monument preservation supporters have come to be called, organized to help with repairs. Mr. Readshaw is also an organizer of the Civil War Preservation Ball, held every spring in the Harrisburg capitol rotunda.

To donate, mail to the Adams County National Bank, Trust Department, P.O. Box 4566, Gettysburg, PA 17325. For more, call 717-783-0422 or by e-mail gettysburg@pahouse.net.

The town's public library is in the process of creating a future plan and needs patron feedback. Staff is asking residents to complete a survey, available on the library's Web site, www.pleasanthillslibrary.org. Paper copies of the survey are available at the library, 302 Old Clairton Road. For more, call 412-655-2424.

Supervisors Monday presented a proclamation to Tri-Community South EMS that recognized the upcoming Emergency Medical Service Week, May 18 to May 24.

Nora Helfrich accepted the award and informed the board that the EMS would be in Philadelphia on Sunday, with Gov. Ed Rendell to present a flag for the beginning of EMS week.

Tri-Community South EMS jointly serves the townships of South Park, Upper St. Clair and the Municipality of Bethel Park.

• Supervisors took action on the proposed development by the Wadwell Group for a 37-lot subdivision at the end of Snee Drive. They acted on storm water management and granted preliminary approval with conditions. Board action is anticipated at the June 9 regular meeting.

• Bids will be re-advertised for the Evans Field Lighting project. Bids will be opened at 10 a.m. on June 4 and board action will be taken at the June 9 regular meeting. Previous bids exceeded the township budget and some bids were missing important information.

• Christopher Satter has been hired part-time as the Library Web Coordinator at $10 an hour. Kara Holmes was hired as a part-time library clerk at $11.45 an hour.

Council last week, by a 5-2 vote, approved a motion to cover the $3,200 cost of police supervision of the all-day festivities at Caste Village to be held June 27.

Kathy DePuy and Glenn Nagy opposed the action because the Caste Corp. and the Caste Village Merchants Association had paid for police coverage of the event in the past. Last year the cost was $2,700.

The action was actually a compromise on a request from Caste Village representatives who recently asked the borough to pay a third of this year's estimated $18,000 expense associated with the popular July 4 event, which attracts an estimated 20,000 people for the evening fireworks display.

Councilman Harold Berkoben said the issue reflected the fact that the event is a community affair and not a private business endeavor.

Caste officials said that increasing costs and a decline in merchant funding could jeopardize the celebration's future.

• Manager Jim Leventry said the borough has been notified by state Rep. Chelsea Wagner, D-Brookline, that the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission has denied grant funding for a traffic study of the Route 51 corridor.

The lawmaker had sought $120,000 from the commission, which is the planning agency that serves Pittsburgh and a 10-county area, to help fund the study.

A proposal by Superintendent Lawrence Korchnak to shift state grant funding used for the high school's Student Success Center to establish an intervention and support program for refugee children at the elementary level drew objections from some at the May 7 meeting.

"There's a compelling need for a program in the elementary level to deal with individual children and cultural shock situations," Dr. Korchnak said.

He has proposed hiring two paraprofessionals for an elementary program and is asking the district to pay as much as $10,000 more than the present $55,000 provided by a state education grant.

The center began in 2004 as part of a $600,000 grant to be used to expand and fund existing services and educational programs for the district's growing refugee population. The center provides students with educational and socialization services.

One such project is the Festival of Cultures held for the past two years. Students who volunteer to participate in the program meet during their lunch periods and after school. There are 80 students in the program, with 15 of them immigrants. The plan will not abolish the Center, but would replace Sarah Dunn, a social worker who has supervised the program since its inception.

More than a dozen students and some teachers and parents raised concerns about the removal of Ms. Dunn, who will be reassigned in the district.

"She's one of the most amazing persons I've ever met, said senior Anna Hale, 17.

Terry Jolo, 19, who emigrated from Liberia 6 years ago, has been involved in the Success Center since her sophomore year.

"The program has had a great impact on me," she said, adding she has made a lot of friends and has learned much about other cultures.

Board President Kevin Fischer said the issue needs more review before action.

Several National Junior Honor Society pupils from Brentwood Middle School participated in the 5-mile Walk for Multiple Sclerosis. The Downtown Pittsburgh charity fund-raiser served as the students' service project. Twenty students on the team gathered donations from sponsors and collected spare change during middle school lunchtimes, raising more than $500.

The high school is looking for Health Technology Program alumni to have lunch with current students on May 30 and to share their post-graduation experiences.

This Community Day event intends to unite students with professionals to give students a better understanding of health field careers.

For more, e-mail carrickreunion@gmail.com or call Jenni Kao at Southwest Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center at 412-363-0185, ext. 28.