"I appreciate the quick response by the Department of Emergency Management and Department of Transportation to assess damage of the affected area and to ensure our state highway and turnpike bridges are safe. And I applaud the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the state agency tasked with regulating the oil and gas industry, in taking swift action by ordering all Arbuckle disposal wells within a 725-square-mile area of today’s earthquake to shut down and working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has sole jurisdiction over disposal wells in nearby Osage County.</s>WATERBURY – Mary Bridget Flaherty, age 90, lifelong resident of Waterbury, entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016 at Meridian Manor.

She was born on Jan. 3, 1926 in Waterbury, daughter of the late James and Margaret (Sullivan) Flaherty. Mary was a proud graduate of St. Mary’s School and Waterbury Catholic High School; after high school she attended New Britain Teachers College on a full scholarship and obtained her master’s in teaching from UConn.

Mary was dedicated to her career as a teacher, having taught fourth grade at Washington School for 50 years until her retirement in 1999, and was a member of the Waterbury Retired Teachers Association.

She was also employed at the Waterbury Democrat Newspaper and for a short time at SNET. Mary was a devout Irish Catholic and was a longtime parishioner of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, where she was a member of the Ladies Guild and a daily Mass communicant.

Mary will be remembered for her loving, caring and generous ways.

She is survived by her dedicated and faithful friends, Patricia M. Griffin, Carolyn Brown and Andrea Brown, all of Waterbury. Mary was predeceased by her sisters, Anne Theresa and Bridget Hope.

Friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016 at 10 a.m. in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, 74 West Main St., Waterbury, CT 06702; please meet directly at church. Interment will follow at New St. Joseph Cemetery, Hamilton Avenue and Pearl Lake Road. Calling hours will be held at the Alderson-Ford Funeral Home of Waterbury, 9 Holmes Ave., 06710 on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception or to St. Vincent DePaul Society, 34 Willow St., Waterbury, CT 06710.

To share a picture or story of Mary, please visit www.fordfh.com.</s>Though still in its early stages, the Grand Forks County budget-building process is looking to cut costs for next year.

Cindy Pic, the Grand Forks County Commission Budget Committee chair, said state aid revenue to the county will decrease by about 28 percent next year, a drop which could amount to more than $1 million.

To help accommodate reductions in state funding streams, the county's various departments have been "really good" in seeking out ways to reduce spending, she said.

"I think that we're trying to run as lean as we possibly can," Pic said of the upcoming budget.

Preliminary budgeting figures indicate the county will need about $52 million to cover the costs for services in 2017, County Auditor Debbie Nelson said. After that amount is offset with cash and other sources of revenue, including funds from the state, the county will need to levy more than $30 million in property taxes.

For 2016, Nelson said, the county's full budget was more than $59.1 million, a sum which includes a nearly $10 million one-time state funding package earmarked for roads. The county is projected to levy about $28.5 million in taxes for this year, she said.

Moving forward, the county could reduce its tax levy by more than two mills for 2017. Though the mills themselves might decrease, Nelson said rising property values in the county will still raise the overall amount collected in tax.

County commissioners will set the maximum amount for the 2017 budget in their Tuesday meeting, the first time the document is brought before the full commission.

The county has been trying to keep taxes down for residents while still providing its usual services, said Gary Malm, head of the commission and vice-chair of the budget committee. Moving forward, the county will need to watch North Dakota's upcoming legislative session.

"We have to wait until we see what the state wants to do, but we feel we have enough money to handle the situation at the present time," he said.

In the event the state handed down an unfunded mandate, the county would need to reassess its situation, Malm added.

"If the (Legislature) does something shocking to us, we need to work around how we're going to do that," he said.</s>POTTSVILLE — The role women had in shaping Schuylkill County and beyond was the topic explored Wednesday at the Schuylkill County Historical Society.

“Some of these women have done outstanding things,” JoAnn Chuba, a member of the society and curator of the event, said.

Chuba and Peter Yasenchak, Ph.D., talked about women and the role they had in shaping society. Visitors were also free to look at the pictures, historical information and period outfits from years ago.

Thomas Drogalis, executive director of the historical society, also spoke. “There is such a rich history here in Schuylkill County. Nothing to be ashamed of and certainly a lot of be proud of,” he said.

Chuba had the idea after thinking women don’t get enough credit for the roles they have in history.

When she thought of history in the county, her thoughts often went to men and their footprints in it.

“I think women have been left out of history and they have a story to be told,” she said.

She mentioned the first female baseball player, Lizzie Arlington, who grew up in Mahanoy City. She played her first baseball game in 1898. Perhaps more well known is Mary Twardzik or Mrs. T of Mrs. T’s Pierogies.

“The company is the largest producer of the coal region food in the world,” Chuba said.

Other firsts include Frances Zerbey Braun, an attorney and first woman member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and Margaret Sillyman, the first woman postmistress.

All women have contribute to history, Chuba said.

Chuba invited Yasenchak to talk about his mother, Anna, who was married to a coal miner.

She arrived on a boat from overseas in January 1900 to settle in Pennsylvania after her passage was paid by a relative in the United States. She went to live with a relative in Kingston.

Yasenchak didn’t know her exact age at the time but reasoned she was about 15 or 16 years old. He described how life was hard for his mother but she was a resourceful woman.

“My mother raised 11 children,” he said. She died at 105 years old.

Lawrence Vinskie, 59, of MaryD, said hearing about Yasenchak’s mother reminded him of his grandmother, whom he lived with when he was growing up.

He said she also was a very resourceful woman.

Ginny Adams, 62, of Pottsville, also enjoyed the presentations.

For example, she did not know about the woman who played sports or some of the “firsts” by women from the county.

The exhibit will be open for viewing until early November at the historical society, 305 N. Centre St.
Governor Mary Fallin declares a state of emergency for Pawnee County.