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THINGSYOUNEEDTOKNOWTHISWEEK
>>IT’SABOO-TIFULDAY:
Today is Halloween, whichis the perfect day to channel your inner scary monster – likewerewolves, goblins, vampires or door-to-door salesmen –and head on out to a party, trick-or-treating or just all-around costumed (yet legal) fun. So have a good time litera-lly howling at the moon tonight and remember to be care-ful.
>>EASYASPIE:
Do you often put your cart before thehorse? Do you bite off more than you can chew? Have anace in the hole? Wake up and smell the coffee? …. Confusedyet? Don’t be. This Thursday is ClichéDay, which is, of course, a day to cele-brate our favorite, overused sayings. Sodon’t be embarrassed to sprinkle a fewtired and weary sentences liberallyabout you conversation. And, when allelse fails, when it is darkest beforethe dawn, remember to take oneCliché Day at a time.
>>LIGHTS,CAMERA,CHRISTMAS:
We may onlybe on the verge of November,but the world seems to wantus to leap right into Christmasthe second those pumpkins areput away. Case in point: ThisFriday marks the beginning ofthe Christmas movie season,and Hollywood has a big-nameflick ready to roll openingweek. That would be the Ben Stiller-Eddie Murphy comedywith the way-too-obvious title of “Tower Heist.” It’s about awealthy high-rise that gets … uhhhh … heisted.
>>ADAYFORTHEBIRDS:
Hockey fans, you are inluck. The hometown Penguins are back and have a nicelittle contest lined up for your viewing pleasure this week-end. On Friday they host their rival from southern Pa. –those Hershey Bears. The puck hits the ice at7:05 p.m. How long afterwards the gloves aredropped, the lamp is lit or any other hockeycliché is used is unknown.
>> THE BIG GAME -- 2011 EDITION:
College football’s national championship gamemay be in January, but you don’t find a biggerregular season game than when Alabamahosts LSU in the NCAA’s annual “Game ofthe Century.” LSU is No.1in the BCS rank-ings and Alabama No. 2, so the match-upappears pretty darn even. Sports fans canwatch the game at 8 p.m. Saturday on CBS.
C M Y K
WILKES-BARRE, PA MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2011 50¢
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Eagles score early and oftento trounce the Cowboys.
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Mean, green  winning machine
SPCA Open House; SalvationArmy Benefit; NAACP Banquet
CLICK,1C
 Well, look at who we saw 
APLAYOFFATTITUDE
Wyoming Seminary’s
AshLeigh Sebia scored afrantic goal with1:10 re-maining to give the BlueKnights a 3-2 victory overDallas in the District 2Class 2A semifinals.Crestwood beat HolyRedeemer on penaltystrokes in the other semi-final.
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SUGARNOTCH--LittleBoPeepchattedwithapurple-hairedwitchinonecorner,whileFrankensteinandfuzzybluemonsterplayedaroundinanother.ThentheBluesBrotherspulledupinaPower Wheelspolicecarandthepartyreally started.Despitetheuncharacteristicsnow-fallSaturday,someHalloweenactiv-itiesfortheweekendpressedon. Whiletheparadeportionofthecele-brationwascut,theSugarNotchFireCompanystillheldaraffleandcos-tumecontestforthetown’slittleonesSunday.“It’sourwayofgivingbacktothecommunity,whodoessomuchforus,saidfirecompanyPresidentJoe
Kids put creativity on display for the Sugar Notch Halloween Party put on by the borough fire department
AIMEE DILGER PHOTOS/THE TIMES LEADER
It’sthedaybeforeHalloween,theydon’thavetoofartogoandthey’rewearingsunglasses.JakobRutkoski,3,MatthewRutkoski,4,rideuptotheSugarNotchHalloweenPartyinstyleSundayastheBluesBrothers.
Costume capers
KaitlynMikusdressedasLittleBoPeeppatstheheadofherbabysister,Abagail,dressedasalambfortheSugarNotchHalloweenParty.
BySARAPOKORNY 
 spokorny@timesleader.com
SeePARTY,Page8AINSIDE:
Areadental officeoffers candy‘buy-back.’
3A
KABUL, Afghanistan — The weekend sui-cidebombingofaNATOconvoythatkilled17people in Kabul adds urgency to the U.S.-ledcoalition’s work to expand a security bubblearound the Afghan capital. WithmostoftheattacksinKabulblamedonthe Pakistan-based Haqqani network, the lat-est reinforced U.S. and Afghan demands thatIslamabad do more to curb militant activity and sanctuaries on its territory. While there is no specific information link-ing Saturday’s convoy attack to the Haqqaninetwork,investigatorssaytheysoonwillhaveevidencethebombingwas“Haqqani-related,”a western diplomat said Sunday. The diplo-mat, who spoke on condition of anonymity todiscusstheinvestigation,saiditwas“verypos-sible” the attack was the work of Haqqanifighters,whohavetiestoal-QaidaandtheTali-ban.Inthebrazenmiddayassault,asuicidebom-ber rammed a vehicle packed with explosivesinto an armored coalition bus traveling in thesouthwest end of the city. Heavily armoredmilitary vehicles also were in the convoy, butthebombertargetedthebus,whichwascarry-ing troops and civilians contractors. TheHaqqaniswerethespecificfocusoftwomilitary operations this month that involved
Kabul blastincreasesanxiety
U.S.-led coalition wants to expandsecurity around capital after 17 killed.
ByDEBRIECHMAN
 Associated Press
SeeSECURITY,Page8A
AproposedrouteforanewPPLpowerlinethat would travel through state game lands and theLackawanna State Forest has some residentsconcerned about potential environmental im-pacts. Thenewlinewouldstretchfor57milesorig-inating from the Jenkins Substation in Plains Township. It would then travel through BearCreek and Buck townships before heading into Thornhurst and passing Gouldsboro and Lake Wallenpaupakbeforeculminatingattheexisting PaupakSubstationinWayneCounty.Along the way, the line would cross StateGame Lands 91in Luzerne County, SGL135 inLackawannaCountyandpartsoftheLackawan-naStateForest. The route also crosses several tributaries tothe Lehigh River designated by the state as ex-ceptionalvaluewaterways.
Power line planconcerns some
PPL proposal takes major line rightthrough game lands and other areas.
ByTOMVENESK
tvenesky@timesleader.com
SeeLINE,Page8A
Is six the right number of members? How about five years for a term, is that toolong? And should appointeesbe affiliated with airports insomeway?AscommissionersinLacka- wanna and Luzerne countiesinvestigate ways to get them-selves out of the airport busi-ness, they’ll have to answerthequestionsraisedaboveandothers,too. The Bi-County AirportBoard of Commissioners cur-rently in place – like it hassince it was created 65 yearsago – is made up of the threecommissioners from each of theneighboringcounties.Butthat board took the first steplast week to dissolve that sys-tem and create the new au-thority. The board’s solicitor, JohnO’Brien,hasbeentaskedwithdrafting letters of incorpora-tion, and offering suggestionsfor how many membersshouldserveontheauthority,for how many years and howthey’retobeappointed.Hesaidheseesnoreasontochangethemakeupthat’sbeenin place since 1945. Threefromeachcountyseemstobemanageable,headded. With few bi-county airportauthoritiesinthestatetolookat for examples, the new au-thority could look toward theone that operates the Lehigh-
Specifics of area airport authority still up in air
Who should be on a futureboard, how long shouldthey serve among issues.
ByANDREWM.SEDER 
 aseder@timesleader.com
SeeAIRPORT,Page8A
INSIDE
ANEWS:
Local 3ANation & World 5AObituaries 6AEditorials 7A
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PAGE 2A MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2011 THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com
Caruthers,EstherChervenitski,Hen-riettaDeMeo,MaryAnnHoltzman,TheresaJones,ThomasMeehan,KathleenPello,MaryRoberts,MargaretShambe,TeresaSheplock,JosephWojciechowski,AmeliaWrobleski,Mildred
OBITUARIES
Page 6A
THEPREVIEW
for Trans-Siberian Orchestra that ranSunday on page1F included anincorrect date for the group’sshow at the Mohegan SunArena. The article shouldhave noted the day for theshow is Friday, Nov.11.
BUILDINGTRUST
The Times Leader strives tocorrect errors, clarify storiesand update them promptly.Corrections will appear in thisspot. If you have informationto help us correct an inaccu-racy or cover an issue morethoroughly, call the newsroomat 829-7242.
One player matched allfive winning numbers drawnin Sunday’s “PennsylvaniaCash 5” game and will win a jackpot worth $475,000.Lottery officials said129players matched four num-bers and won $194.50 each;4,232 players matched threenumbers and won $10 each;and 48,559 players matchedtwo numbers and won $1each.
None of the tickets soldfor the Powerball gameSaturday evening matchedall six numbers drawn, whichwere:
11-16-40-51-56
Powerball:
38
Power Play:
5
Players matching all fivenumbers and the Powerballwould have won or sharedthe $203 million jackpot.The prize goes to an esti-mated $245 million forWednesday.Tickets that match thefirst five numbers, but missthe Powerball, win$200,000 each, and therewere eleven of those. Theywere sold in: Florida(3),Kentucky(1), Massachusetts(1), New Jersey(1), New Mex-ico(1), New York(2), Oregon(1)and Pennsylvania(1).
LOTTERY
MIDDAYDRAWING
DAILY NUMBER –
4-1-7
BIG 4 –
5-2-3-2
QUINTO -
2-2-9-0-6
TREASURE HUNT
01-03-06-09-11NIGHTLYDRAWING
DAILY NUMBER -
3-3-2
BIG 4 -
3-6-1-3
QUINTO -
0-7-9-8-1
CASH 5
04-06-20-23-30
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Delivery Monday–Sunday $3.50 per weekMailed Subscriptions Monday–Sunday$4.35 per week in PA$4.75 per week outside PAPublished daily by:Impressions Media15 N. Main St.Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711Periodicals postage paid atWilkes-Barre, PA and additional mailing officesPostmaster: Send address changesto Times Leader, 15 N. Main St.,Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711
+(ISSN No. 0896-4084)USPS 499-710
Issue No. 2011-304
 WILKES-BARRECitingwhathe called his “simple judicial phi-losophy,Republican SuperiorCourt candidate Vic Stabile saidlast week that judges are not tolegislatefromthebench,butrath-er,aretofairlyapplythelawequi-tably to all parties appearing be-fore the court regardless of any political, social or economic sta-tus.“Everyone is entitled to ‘equal justice under law,Stabile saidduring a stop at The Times Lead-er Oct. 24. “I despise when poli-ticsmakesitswaytothecourtsys-tem. It erodes the judicial system.”Stabile, 54, of Carlisle, opposesDavid N. Wecht,currently a com-monpleascourtjudgeinAlleghe-ny County, for the only open seaton the state Superior Court.Stabile said there are far moreregistered Democrats than Re-publicans in Pennsylvania, butthe state House and Senate haveRepublican majorities and Gov. Tom Corbett is also a member of the GOP.“I really don’t think statewideregistrationnumbersareveryim-portant now,” Stabile said. “My campaign is about telling voters who I am and what I’m about.”Stabile has nearly 30 years of broad legal experience that he would bring to the SuperiorCourt bench. He is a 1982 gradu-ate of the Dickinson School of Law, where he was a member of theLawReviewandthepresidentof the Student Bar Association.Upongraduation,hewasselectedto serve as an appellate courtclerk in the CommonwealthCourt of Pennsylvania.Upon completion of his clerk-ship, he was appointed a deputy attorneygeneralinatrialdivisionof the Office of Attorney General, where he litigated cases in de-fense of commonwealth agenciesthroughoutmanyofthecommon- wealth’strialcourtsandtheappel-latecourtsofPennsylvania.Whileadeputyattorneygeneral,Stabilealso served as the acting chief of the statewide trial division andsuccessfully argued and litigatednow precedential case law in thestate Supreme Court.In 1987, Stabile joined the lawfirmofDilworthPaxsonLLP,andhasbeenapartnerandthemanag-ing member of its Harrisburg of-fice since1992. His practice prin-cipally involves complex com-mercial and business litigation. While at Dilworth, he has contin-ued to argue and litigate cases inthe state appellate courts. In2004, he was named by Philadel-phia Magazine as one of Pennsyl- vania’s Super Lawyers. He haspracticed in all state and federalcourts in Pennsylvania, and is a member of the U.S. SupremeCourt and state Supreme Courtbars.Stabile said he has devotedmuchtimetopublicserviceinhiscommunity and to pro bono legal work. He has done free work onbehalf of protecting individualrights from egregious govern-ment action, and has representedcommunity organizations, politi-cal candidates, and disabled indi- viduals.He serves as the chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Mid-dlesex Township, CumberlandCounty.
‘Equal justice’ guides state court hopeful
Republican Vic Stabile touts30 years of legal experiencein state Superior Court run.
ByBILLO’BOYLE 
boboyle@timesleadser.com
Name:
VicStabile
Age:
54
Residence:
Carlisle
Seeking:
Judgeof the Penn-sylvania Superi-or Court
Party:
RepublicanEducation: Dickinson Law School,1982
Family:
Wife, Victoria; 2 daugh-ters.
M E E T T H E C A N D I DAT E
 WILKES-BARRE -- Area resi-dents came out to Genetti’s onSunday for the Salvation Army fundraiser to benefit local vic-tims of the September flood. The all-day event featured dinner buffet, live entertainmentand a silent auction. The auction showcased donat-ed gift cards and baskets from lo-cal businesses offering dinner, weekendgetawaysaswellasvari-ous professional services.“IliveinExeterjusttwoblocksfromtheWestPittstonflooding,said co-chairman Nancy Fahey, whoworkedontheeventwithlo-cal musician Diane Jones. A por-tionofWestPittstonwasfloodedalong with most of Shickshinny,parts of Plymouth Township,Plains Township, Jenkins Town-ship, Duryea and other areas when the Susquehanna Rivercrested at a record 42.66 feet onSept. 9. Damage has been esti-mated in the tens of millions.“IworkalotwiththeSalvationArmy on my job,” continued Fa-hey. “I wanted to use my talentsto help flood victims.”Fahey said she hoped to raise$7,000 from Sunday’s event tohelp replenish Salvation Army coffers, which have been deplet-ed by tropical storms Lee andIrene.“Wecameheretomakeadona-tion and support our brothersandsisterswhosufferedsomuchthis year,” said Maryann Wright, who attended with her cousinDiane Gregory of Plains Town-ship.“It’s nice to help our neigh-bors.”
BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
DianeandVernonJonesperformasWindfallDuoduringtheSalvationArmyBenefitforLuzerneCountyFloodVictimsatGenettiHotel&ConferenceCenterinWilkes-BarreonSundayafternoon.
Benefit aids flood help efforts
Salvation Army event atGenetti’s features buffet,entertainment, silent auction.
BySTEVENFONDO
Times Leader Correspondent
HAZLETON
– Police report-ed the theft of Pennsylvania license plate ERL 7229 from a 2005 Dodge Caravan belonging to Anthony Saullo while it wasparked on Fifth Street betweenCarson and Wyoming streetsbetween noon Saturday and11a.m. Sunday.
WILKES-BARRE
– City police reported the following:• Robert Fountain of174Lawrence St. reported Sat-urday that a Garmin GPS unit valued at $300 and an HPprinter valued at $125 weretaken from his vehicle.• Neil Verosky of SouthLandon Avenue, Kingston, wascharged with harassment Sun-day after he allegedly struckBobbi Lynn Komrowski of101Poplar St. after a confrontation with the victim’s brother at the Turkey Hill store on Blackmanand South Main streets.
HANOVERTWP.
– Thestate police Bureau of LiquorControl Enforcement citedBrew Haus Bar & Grill LLC of 1Cherry St., Kingston, withselling alcoholic beverages onSept.12 after its temporary license expired at the end of August. The charges will be broughtbefore an administrative law judge.
HAZLETWP.
– State policeSunday reported harassmentand criminal mischief charges were filed against Jeremy Mi-chael Miller, 21, of Tresckow,and Brittne Corrado Kramer,19, of Drums.Miller broke Corrado Kram-er’s phone during an argumentin the parking lot of the SacredHeart Shrine on state Route940 around 3:30 p.m., statepolice said.Miller then struck CorradoKramer’s vehicle with his as he was leaving, state police said.Corrado Kramer threw herphone at Miller’s vehicle andstruck his vehicle with hers,state police said.
POLICE BLOTTER
HARRISBURG — A panel incharge of aligning Pennsylva-nia’s 253 legislative districts with the 2010 census may haveto choose between Democrat-ic and Republican maps. The Legislative Reappor-tionment Commission isscheduled to meet today on a preliminaryplanforredrawing House and Senate districts tomaintain equal representationin Harrisburg.But heading into the week-end, officials said Republicansand Democrats had not reac-hed any consensus on state- wide maps of those districts. The commission, made upof the four party leaders and a neutral chairman, has untilNov.14 to approve the prelimi-nary maps, starting a 30-day publiccommentperiod.That’sfollowedbyupto30additionaldays for approval of a finalplan.A majority of the panelistscould approve a preliminary plan earlier, speeding up thetimetable as some officials want.Over-the-decade populationgains in eastern Pennsylvania and losses in the west are ex-pected to result in a few legis-lative districts being movedfrom west to east, legislativeofficials say.
Parties divided over redistricting maps
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The “Shrek”spinoff “Puss in Boots” landedon all fours, opening with an es-timated $34 million to lead thebox office. TheDreamWorks3-Danimat-ed film, distributed by Para-mountPictures,provedthepop-ular character voiced by Anto-nio Banderas was a big enoughdraw outside the “Shrek” fran-chise. The PG-rated “Puss in Bootsscoredwithfamilyaudiencesonthe weekend before Halloweenand also drew a large Hispaniccrowd, which made up 35 per-cent of its audience. Though the box office for thetop 12 movies was up 7.8 per-cent from the correspondin weekend last year, it was still af-fectedbyboththeunseasonable winter storm on the East Coastand the appeal of the game 7broadcastoftheWorldSeriesonFriday night. DreamWorks esti-matedthestormtookoffseveralmillion dollars from “Puss inBoots.” The new release on the week-end from 20th Century Fox, theJustin Timberlake sci-fi thriller“InTime,”wasdownasmuchas20 percent Saturday in marketslike New York and Philadelphia.But the largest estimatedopening didn’t happen in NorthAmerica. “The Adventures of  Tintin,which is being distrib-uted overseas by Sony Picturesand Paramount Pictures,opened in 19 international mar-ketsandhauledin$55.8million. Theperformance-capture3-Danimated film, directed by Ste- ven Spielberg and adapted fromthe beloved Belgian comic se-ries, was especially popular inFrance, where its $21.5 million was the largest opening for non-sequelHollywoodfilm.ThefilmopensintheU.S.onDec.21.“We’re still waiting for the ho-lidayseasontokickininearnestas we get into November,” saidPaul Dergarabedian, box-officeanalyst for Hollywood.com.“The holiday season is going tobeverystrongattheboxoffice.”Paramount also claimed the weekend’s second top perform-ing movie with the low-budgethorror flick “Paranormal Activ-ity 3.” That film took in $18.5million in its second week of re-lease, bringing its cumulativetotal to $81.3 million. Para-mount’s “Footloose” was thefourthfilmontheweekend,add-ing$5.4millionforathree-weektotal of $38.4 million.“In Time” opened with $12milliondomesticallybuttookinmore ($14.5 million) overseas.
‘Puss in Boots’ has purr-fect opening
ByJAKECOYLE 
 AP Entertainment Writer 
AP PHOTO
AntonioBanderas,guitarinhand,arrivesatthepremiereof‘PussInBootsatTheRegencyVillageTheaterinLosAngeles.Themoviegarnered$34millionattheboxoffice.
ORLANDO,Fla.—Boeingwillannounce an agreement withSpaceFloridaonMondaytoleasethehangerthathousedthespaceshuttles to build similar craftsthat will bring people and cargoto space. The deal with the state’s spaceagency will create140 jobs in thenext 18 months and 550 jobs by 2015 in an area that’s lost jobs asthespaceshuttleprogramwasre-tired earlier this year, accordinto Gov. Rick Scott’s office andPresident Barack Obama’s ad-ministration.“Florida has five decades of leadership in the space industry, whichmakesourstatethelogicalplace for the next phase of spacetravel and exploration,” Scottsaid in prepared remarks ob-tained by The Associated Press.“Boeing’schoiceofFloridaforitsCommercialCrewprogramhead-quarters is evidence Florida hasthe world-class facilities and workforce expertise needed foraerospace companies to suc-ceed.”Likewise, the Obama adminis-trationpraisedtheagreementbe-tween the Chicago-based Boeing and Space Florida.“Thenexteraofspaceexplora-tion won’t wait, and so we can’t waitforCongresstodoitsjobandgive our space program the fund-ing it needs. That’s why my ad-ministration will be pressing for- ward, in partnership with SpaceFlorida and the private sector, tocreate jobs and make sure Amer-icacontinuestoleadtheworldinexploration and discovery,” Oba-ma said in prepared remarks ob-tained by The Associated Press. The reusable space capsules will be able to bring up to sevenpeopleintospace.Rightnow,theUnited States doesn’t have a way to transport people or cargo tothe International Space Station.Since phasing out the spaceshuttle program earlier this year,NASA is relying entirely on Rus-sia to get American and other as-tronauts to the space station.Obama’sadministrationiscrit-icizing Congress for not approv-ing his request for $40 million ineconomic assistance for the re-gion and $850 million for theCommercial Crew project.
Boeing’s spacecraft deal willcreate more jobs for Florida 
The reusable space capsuleswill be able to bring up toseven people into space.
ByBRENDANFARRINGTON 
 Associated Press
 
C M Y K
THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2011 PAGE 3A
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 timesleader.com
 
 WHITE HAVEN
Corps of Engineers meets
T
he U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold a public meeting at 6p.m. Nov.14 at the Mountain LaurelResort in White Haven to review theFrancis E. Walter Dam 2011recre-ation plan and solicit input on next year’s plan.
 WILKES-BARRE
Church offering coats
New Hope Church at 489 N. MainSt., Wilkes-Barre, is hosting a freepancake breakfast and coat/blanketgiveaway 8:30 to11a.m. Nov.12 forthose who are in need of assistance.Pastor Joel Eason and Bridgeway Church in Tampa, Fla., responded tothe flooding and recent disasters by collecting more than 300 pounds of coats and blankets that is being com-bined a local collection. New Hope will be open for collecting coats andblankets1to 5 p.m. beginning Nov. 7and continuing through Nov.10 or by special appointment. The coats and blankets will begiven on a first-come basis and eachfamily will be limited to two items toserve as many as possible. PastorRichard Bolt of New Hope can bereached at 570-208-1281or 852-3514for more information. The NewHope website is www.newhopenepa-.com.
PLAINS TWP.
Man arrested at casino
A New York City man was arrestedSaturday night after he used profanelanguage and tried to strike security personnel at the Mohegan Sun casi-no at Pocono Downs, state policesaid.Pedro Dieguez, 55, was placed inthe Luzerne County CorrectionalFacility for lack of $10,000 bail afterhe was arraigned on charges of ter-roristic threats, resisting arrest,disorderly conduct, harassment andpublic drunkenness.State police said Dieguez wasasked several times to leave thecasino, but he refused. State policesaid he threatened officers andlunged at security personnel severaltimes. Dieguez resisted being hand-cuffed by police after he was told he was under arrest, state police said.
ALLENTOWN
Service being restored
PPL Electric Utilities on Sunday said crews were working around theclock to repair damage to10 majortransmission lines and hundreds of transformers in order to restoreservice to approximately165,000customers without service primarily in the Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg andLancaster regions.Over the weekend the utility hadrestored power to more than150,000customers affected by the snow-storm Saturday. Of the total, 2,908 were in Luzerne County.Still 71customers were reported without power Sunday night with 40of them in Black Creek Township.PPL said it had approximately 1,000 workers in the field.Customers may report outagesonline at www.pplelectric.com/outage or by calling1-800-342-5775.
N E W S I N B R I E F
 WILKES-BARRELocalvet-erans’ organizations are asking their congressmen to opposeany cuts to veterans’ benefits.According to a The Associat-ed Press, the Veterans of For-eignWarsisurgingits2millionmembers to plead with Con-gress to spare military and vet-erans benefits as a special defi-cit-cutting panel looks to slash$1.2 trillion from the federalbudget.In a “call to action,” the VFW said it opposes any changes tothe programs and decried any congressional attempt to bal-ance the budget on the backs of military retirees and disabled veterans. The organization imploredmembers, their families andfriends to contact lawmakersimmediately.SamGreenberg,pastnationalcommander of the Jewish WarVeterans and coordinator forthe Luzerne County VeteransMulti-CareAlliance,saidheun-derstands cur-renteconomicconditions ne-cessitate cut-backs.“But they always talkabout cutting  veteransbene-fits,” Greenberg said. “We’redefinitely against it. Veteranshave done so much for thiscountry, they don’t deserve tobe cut.”Bob Tilghman, commanderof VFW Post 283 in Kingston,said he has already sent lettersto U.S. Reps. Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, and Tom Marino, R-Lycoming Township, and toU.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scran-ton, asking that they opposecuts to veterans programs.“We received an e-mail fromVFW national headquartersthat requested we notify ourcongressmen,Tilghman said.“Everytimeweareneeded,they turn to the military. When wearen’t needed much, it seemsCongress wants to take away our benefits.”HesaidtheVFWhassupport-ed supplemental war bills of “billionsandbillionsofdollars.”Barletta said no specific cutshave been proposed by the so-called super committee.“Rep. Barletta will fight tomakesureournation’sveteransreceivethebenefitstheyearnedfighting for our freedom,” saidShawn Kelly, Barletta’s spokes-man. “He will closely examinethe recommendations put forthby the joint committee.”Renita Fennick, communica-tions director for Marino, saidit’sthecongressman’shopethatthe Deficit Reduction Commit-tee does not cut critical veter-ans benefits.“However, the congressmanhasconsistentlystatedthecom-mittee must look at everything,all agencies and programs, andcut or eliminate those that areinefficient, ineffective, orfraught with waste, fraud, andabuse,” Fennick said. “Keep inmind, however, that a cut infunding to any agency or pro-gramdoesnotnecessarilyequa-te with a reduction in benefits,and it should not.”Fennick said any speculationabout what is or is not includedin the committee’s proposal atthis point is speculation.
Vets ask Congress to oppose benefit cuts
VFW is concerned about aspecial deficit-cutting panellooking to slash spending.
ByBILLO’BOYLE 
boboyle@timesleader.com
Barletta Marino Casey
KINGSTON Educators, administra-tors and the general public are slated togatherinthethirdflooroftheLuzerneIn-termediate Unit headquarters on TiogAvenue tonight, though it shouldn’t gettoocrammed.TheLIUisthelocalhostforastatewidevirtual“townhallmeeting”onteachereffectiveness.“We expect more than1,000 people at-tendingatabout30sites,”predictedJoanBenso,presidentofthenon-profitPennsyl- vaniaPartnershipsforChildren,whichor-ganizedtheevent.A web-based, interactive panel discus-sionfeaturedstateSecretaryofEducationRonTomalisissettorun7p.m.to9p.m. Themaintopicisproposedchangestothestate-mandated teacher evaluation proc-ess.Currently teachers are evaluated pri-marily through classroom observationthat can happen as infrequently as once a  year, and are rated either satisfactory orunsatisfactory. Gov. Tom Corbett hashighlighted what he considers proof thesystem is inadequate: More than 99 per-centofteachersareratedsatisfactory. The state began piloting a new evalua-tionsysteminafewdistrictslastyear,andis expanding that this year to more than100LocalEducationAgencies,anumbrel-la term encompassing districts, charterschools, intermediate units and careercenters. The new system includes student per-formanceontestsaspartoftheevaluation,and rates teachers into four categoriesratherthantwo.
LIU hostsPa. teacherrating event
The statewide web-based interactivepanel discussion will focus oneducators’ effectiveness.
ByMARKGUYDISH
 mguydish@timesleader.com
See LIU, Page 8A
DALLASAtfirst,itsoundslikeakid’s worst nightmare: Trading treasured taffy, TwizzlersandTootsieRollsforatriptothedentist.Butaddalittleincentive,andthey’lllineuptoswapthesweetstuff,BackMountainDentistDr.ScottWatkinssaid. WatkinsandhispartnersatWatkinsandMeduraFamilyandCosmeticDentalCen-terareofferingcashforcandy–$1apound– from Tuesday through Friday at theirpractice off state Route 309. The candy they collect will be shipped to Americanmilitarypersonnelstationedoverseas. WatkinsandMedurahasparticipatedintheHalloweenCandyBuy-Back,anation-al program started by a dentist, for four years and last year collected nearly 300poundsofcandy “We thought it was a great idea,” Wat-kinssaid.“It’sgoodbecausealotofitjustendsupgoingtowastebecausealotofpar-entswanttolimittheirkidscandyintake,soitjustgetsthrownaway.” Though Watkins said giving away candytotrick-or-treaters“goesagainstev-erything we stand for” – he hands outtoothbrushesinstead–healsoconcededa sweettreateverynowandagainisn’tater-rible thing. The problem is with the vol-umeofcandymanykidswilltakehometo-night.“Theygetitinabigbulkamountatthistimeofyearandtheydon’teatitallatonce,andifthey’rehavingitregularlythat’stheproblem,” he said. “Constant exposure tothoseconstantlevelsofsugar,that’swhen weseedentalissuesarisefromit.Wefeel(thebuybackprogram)isagreatwaytoletthem have some in moderation and alsoputittoagoodcause. ThecandywillbeshippedtoOperationGratitude, a California-based nonprofitthat sends care packages to military per-sonnel deployed overseas, to their chil-drenandtowoundedsoldiersinrecovery. Watkins said he can also send candy carepackages to specific fighting men and womenuponrequestaslongasanaddressisprovided,andhehasdonesoeachyearhehasparticipatedintheprogram.All trick-or-treaters, not just Watkinsand Medura patients, are welcome to ex-changetheircandy.Hesaidkidsenjoypouringthecandyin-to collection bins and watching as dentalstaffweightheirhaulonascale,andthe walk away with the piece of mind thatthey’vegivenasoldieratasteofhome.In other words, it’s a trip to the dentistthatactuallyleavesasmileontheirfaces.
Dallas practice offers cash for candy; effort benefits the troops
CHARLOTTEBARTIZEK/FORTHETIMESLEADER
Dentist Scott Watkins readies his Halloween candy scale at his office in Dallas. Watkins and Medura Family and Cos-metic Dentistry is offering trick-or-treaters $1for each pound of candy they bring to the office Nov.1through Nov. 4.
Dentist’s sweet deal 
ByMATTHUGHES 
 mhughes@timesleader.com

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