[naviga:h3]Flooring store opens in township[/naviga:h3]

BUTLER TWP — A newly open flooring store on New Castle Road is looking for the worst-looking hardwood floor as part of a grand opening contest later this month.

Elegant Woods Floors & More has been in business for more than 20 years, said owner Frank Chrobak. The business, which sells hardwood flooring and also does sanding and finishing services, recently relocated to 190 New Castle Road from its former storefront in Lawrence County.

Chrobak said the relocation comes at customers’ requests. He said the business offers specialty flooring and floors that aren’t available at other stores.

Chrobak and four employees do all the business’ installation and finishing work and use materials made in the United States.

The business’ new location opened on Monday, but Chrobak said the grand opening contest won’t begin until Oct. 26. The winner’s prize will be one room’s worth of free floor sanding and finishing work and all other rooms at half price.

[naviga:h3]Co-op employee gets promotion[/naviga:h3]

PARKER — Central Electric Cooperative has promoted John Evankovich to line superintendent, and he will be the manager of the operations personnel.

He began his career with the cooperative as a tree trimmer in 1982. He advanced to the line crew in 1985.

He has been chief lineman since April 2008.

Evankovich graduated from Williamsport Area Community College in 1982 with an electrical construction degree. Since then he has furthered his education by attending Butler County Community College and job-related schools.

A lifelong member of CEC, Evankovich and his family live in Perry Township, Armstrong County.

[naviga:h3]GM: Using wipers may cause fire[/naviga:h3]

DETROIT — General Motors is telling owners of some SUVs not to use their windshield wipers because an electrical short could cause the motor to catch fire.

The company is recalling nearly 32,000 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia SUVs from the 2016 model to fix the problem.

Only 6,400 were sold and the rest are being held at dealerships until they are repaired.

Most are in North America.

GM says if weather stops owners from taking their SUVs to dealers, it will pick up the vehicles for service. It also will arrange rental cars if parts aren’t available.

Dealers will replace faulty wiper motor covers that allow some electrical terminals to come in contact with each other.

[naviga:h3]Butler grad wins regional Emmys[/naviga:h3]

PHILADELPHIA — A Butler High School graduate has won two regional Emmy Awards.

Andrew Cunningham of WTAE-TV received two mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards at a Sept. 19 ceremony.

Cunningham won for his editing roll in “Rebuilding Pittsburgh Together” in the Feature News Report Series category and as a photojournalist in the coverage of the stabbing at Franklin Regional High School in the team coverage category.

Cunningham graduated in 1998 from Butler High School and in 2002 from Kutztown University’s electronic media program.

He is the son of Harry and Carol Cunningham of Butler, and he lives with his wife, Megan, in Apollo.

[naviga:h3]$338M oil train settlement approved[/naviga:h3]

PORTLAND, Maine — A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Friday approved a $338 million settlement fund for victims of the fiery 2013 oil train derailment that claimed 47 lives in Quebec, clearing the way for payments to victims by year’s end.

Judge Peter Cary announced his approval after Canadian Pacific dropped its objection to the settlement plan and after a Canadian judge gave conditional approval Thursday. He praised attorneys for working together to get a substantial settlement in place as quickly as possible.

Barring any surprises, payments could be made to victims by the end of November or by year’s end at the latest, said Robert Keach, the U.S. bankruptcy trustee.

About $83 million, or about $110 million in Canadian dollars, is being set aside to settle wrongful death claims.

[naviga:h3]Personnel file[/naviga:h3]

• Allison Chess, general manager of the Red Lobster in Butler Township, has earned the company’s top honor — The Lighthouse Club Award. This award is presented annually to general managers in North America to recognize their leadership, living Red Lobster’s core values and achieving top financial performance. This is the first time Chess received this recognition, which was given to 34 general managers from more than 700 restaurants.

• Ed Zaremba, the general manager of the Ponderosa Steakhouse at the Clearview Mall in Center Township, was honored with the Outstanding General Manager Award by Homestyle Dining, which owns the Ponderosa Steakhouse brand. Zaremba of Butler is a training general manager for Armstrong Foods, the franchise owner of the restaurant at the mall.