JACKSONJR.QUITSPOST
The Dallas School Boardunanimously acceptedthe resignation of boysbasketball coach TedJackson Jr. on Mondaynight, just four days be-fore the official start ofpractice. Jackson Jr.handed in his resignationon Saturday. Jackson Jr.didn’t attend the meetingand didn’t return a mess-age left for him Mondaynight. Jackson Jr. is alsoan assistant footballcoach at the school underhis father, Ted Jackson.
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Speaker of the House Boehner,Rep. Barletta tour Bloomsburg.
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Assessing thestorm damage
Area group striving to builda bicycle community
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NEWYORK—AformerPennState football assistant coachcharged with sexually abusing eight boys in a scandal that hasrocked the university said Mon-day that there was no abuse andthat any activities in a campusshower with a boy were justhorseplay, not molestation.In a telephone interviewscheduled to be aired Monday night on NBCNews’ “RockCenter,” BobCostas askedJerry Sandusky if he’s a pedo-phileandSand-usky respon-ded, “No.”Sandusky, once considered veteran coach Joe Paterno’s heirapparent, was arrested morethan a week ago and is charged withsexuallyabusingeightboys,some on Penn State property,over a15-year span.“I am innocent of those charg-es,” the 67-year-old Sandusky said. “... I could say that I havedonesomeofthosethings.Ihavehorsed around with kids. I haveshowered after workouts. I havehuggedthem,andIhavetouchedtheir legs without intent of sex-ual contact.”Askediftherewasanythinghedid do wrong, Sandusky said, “Ishouldn’t have showered withthose kids.”Athletic director Tim Curley and Penn State vice presidentGary Schultz are charged withperjury but maintain their inno-cence. Paterno and president
Sandusky denies sex abuse in interview
Former Penn State assistantcoach tells NBC that anyactivities were just horseplay.
By
The Associated Press
Sandusky
•
President of TheSecond Mile char-ity resigns,
Page14A
•
Conflict regard-ing district judgewho set Sand-usky’s bail,
Page14A
•
Big Ten dropsPaterno’s namefrom trophy,
Page1B
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SeeSANDUSKY,Page14A
After eight months of back and forth be-tween Luzerne County, Wilkes-Barre and itsone-time champion, the Hotel Sterling’s fatehas been decided.CountyCommissionersplantovoteThurs-daytoallocate$1millionincommunitydevel-opment funding to demolish the historicdowntownlandmark,sayingit’stheironlyop-tion.CommissionerMaryannePetrillasaiddur-ing Monday’s work session that she does notbelievecommissionershaveachoicebecausethestructurehasbeencondemnedbyWilkes-Barre City.RoadclosuresaroundthebuildingatNorthRiver and Market streets have caused traffic jams, and snow would likely cause additionaldamage, shesaid. The building’snonprofit owner,CityVest, firstdisclosed thepossibility of demolition inMarch, saying it was unable tofind a private in- vestortodevelopand renovate thedeteriorating structure into a residential andretail or office complex.CityVest representatives asked the county totakecontroloftheprojectinApril,sayingit was out of funds and couldn’t come up withthe estimated $26.8 million to $35.6 millionto fully restore the113-year-old building. The county has a stake in the more than 3-acreparcelbecauseitloanedCityVest$6mil-lion, which was largely spent to demolish anattached14-story high-rise, clean up environ-mental hazards and acquire two adjoining land parcels. Thecountywilltakeownershipoftheprop-ertyafterdemolitioninanattempttoeventu-allyreclaimsomeorallofitsmoneydowntheroad, said county Community DevelopmentDirector Andrew Reilly. ThehotelwillbedemolishedinJanuaryorFebruary,andtheincominghomerulecounty government administration will decide howtomarkettheparcel,hesaid.Countyofficialshave described the site as a premier locationfacing the Market Street Bridge and re- vamped River Common park along the Sus-
LANDMARK HOTEL
Countyto fundrazing of Sterling
Commissioners plan to allocate $1 millionin community development funding.
ByJENNIFERLEARN-ANDES
jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Commis-sioners will meet at1p.m.Thursday in the commis-sioners’ meeting room atthe county courthouse inWilkes-Barre.
WHAT’S NEXT
SeeSTERLING,Page8A
Kingstonpolicehavea“personofinter-est” in custody in connection with a rob-beryattheFamilyDollaronMondaywhomaybelinkedtothreeotherarearobberiesonMondaymorning.Itremainsunknowniftheman,whowassenttoLuzerneCountyCorrectionalFacil-ityonaprobationviolationMondayafter-noon and whose name police did not re-lease,isconnectedtoaSundaynightrob-beryatTacoBellinWilkes-Barre.Awhitemaninhis20swearingahood-ed sweatshirt held up the McDonalds onKidderStreet,Wilkes-Barre;DollarGener-alonDallasMemorialHighway,Kingston Township;FamilyDollaronUnionStreet,Pringle;andtheUni-MartonNorthMainStreet,PlainsTownship,inlessthanthreehoursMondaymorning.AmanfittingthesamedescriptionalsohelduptheTacoBellonKidderStreetatabout7:36p.m.Sunday.Police said the man claimed he had a gun but no firearm had been shown, al-thoughthemandiddisplayacanofpepperspray. A knife was displayed in the Uni-Mart robbery, Plains Township police Lt.RichardLussisaid.Policemayhavegottenabreakinthein- vestigations, as a surveillance camera inFamilyDollarrecordedthesuspect.“Wegotreallygoodqualityvideo,”saidKingston Assistant Police Chief DanielHunsinger.Hunsingersaidthesuspectenteredthestore in the Luzerne Shopping Plaza justbefore10a.m.anddemandedmoneyfromacashier.“Hewalkedinthestoreasanor-malcustomerandhedidpickupitemstolook at,” Hunsinger said. “When he goes
Four businesses hit Monday morning by suspect claiming to have gun
CLARK VAN ORDEN/THE TIMES LEADER
KingstonandKingstonTownshippoliceandamemberoftheLuzerneCountySheriff’sDepartmentwalkoutsidetheFamilyDollarStoreinPringlethatwasrobbedMondaymorning.
Man held in Pringle robbery
ByEDWARDLEWIS
elewis@timesleader.com
SeeROBBERY,Page8A
Police said the man did display a canof pepper spray. A knife was displayedin the Uni-Mart robbery, Plains Town-ship police Lt. Richard Lussi said.
WILKES-BARRE–It’sbeen40 years since the Cannonball Runstreaked across America, orga-nized by automotive anarchistsouttoprovethatcompetentdriv-ers could safely exceed postedspeed limits they found oppres-sive.OnNov.15,1971,eightcompet-itorsputthepedaltothemetalinNew York City. One of the en-trants was a modified1971Chev-roletvanoperatedbythreemem-bersofthePolishRaceDriversof America. One of those PRDAteam members was Oscar Kova-leski of Clarks Summit.“I’dliketoforgetit,”ishowKo- valeskirecalledhisexperience.“Idon’teverwanttoseeyoungpeo-ple go out and do that again.”Kovaleski, Tony Adamowiczand Brad Niemcek came in sec-ond in the near-3,000 mile race. Theyfinished53minutesbehinda Ferrari driven in shifts by pro-fessionalracedriverDanGurney and automotive journalist BrockYates. The Ferrari’s time was 35
The race of a lifetime ago
SUBMITTED PHOTO/OSCAR KOVALESKI
ThePolishRaceDriv-ersofAmericaposewiththeirvanfromthe1971Can-nonballRun.Fromleft:BradNiemcek,OscarKo-valeskiandTonyAda-mowicz.
SeeRUN,Page8A
Oscar Kovaleski of ClarksSummit part of original“Cannonball Run” in 1971.
ByBILLO’BOYLE
boboyle@timesleader.com
K
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HARRISBURG – No playermatched all five winningnumbers drawn in Monday’s“Pennsylvania Cash 5” gameso the jackpot will be worth$225,000.Lottery officials said 78players matched four num-bers and won $179 each and2,563 players matchedthree numbers and won $9each.Thursday’s “PennsylvaniaMatch 6 Lotto” jackpot willbe worth at least $800,000because no player holds aticket with one row thatmatches all six winningnumbers drawn in Monday’sgame.
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QUINTO
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Issue No. 2011-319
WASHINGTON — The Su-preme Court said Monday it willconsider a challenge to the Oba-ma administration’s health carelaw next year, setting the stagefor a legal and political blockbus-ter.Surprising no one, but excit-ing many, the justices agreed tohear the claim by Florida and 25other states that the health carelawviolatestheConstitution.Anunusually long four-and-a-half oral argument in the spring islikely to be followed by a deci-sion in late June, in the heat of campaign season.“It’s a very big deal,” said Gary Jacobson, professor of politics atthe University of California atSan Diego. “Health care is thecenterpiece of the Obama ad-ministration agenda.” The court’s nine justices fol-lowed their usual practice Mon-day in not commenting upontheir decision to hear the healthcare case. At least four of the jus-tices had to agree to hear thecase during a closed-door ses-sion held last Thursday. The court did, though, specify that it will consider the primary question of whether Congress went beyond its constitutionalauthority when it included the“individual mandate” in the Pa-tient Protection and AffordableCare Act.Undertheindividualmandate,nearlyallindividualsmusteitherbe covered by health insuranceor pay a fee. The court also said it wouldconsider whether portions of thelawmightsurviveiftheindividu-al mandate is struck down. Evenif justices eventually strike downpart of the law, which exceeded2,400 pages when it passed Con-gress in 2009, other parts shouldremain intact, supporters say. The court will also be consider-ing a challenge to the law’s ex-pansion of Medicaid coverage. The court combined Florida’schallenge with a separate one fil-ed by the National Federation of Independent Business, selecting the cases and arguments to beheard from among six petitions.Five petitions were filed by op-ponents of the law and one wasfiled by the Obama administra-tion. All agreed the court had toact.“Time is of the essence,” at-torney Paul Clement wrote in a legal brief for Florida and otherstates. “States need to know whether they must adapt theirpolicies to deal with the bravenew world ushered in by the(law.)”It also has the potential to bethe centerpiece of the 2012 presi-dential and congressional cam-paigns. The 2010 health care law,passed after a prolonged, oftenugly partisan struggle, became a symbol for all conservativesloathe about big, overreaching government, and a symbol forothers of how much governmentcould make a complex healthcare system more affordable andaccessible. The law has been in effectsince March, 2010, and has doz-ens of provisions.
Supreme Court to mull health challenge
Justices to hear claim byFlorida, 25 other states thatlaw violates the Constitution.
ByMICHAELDOYLE andDAVIDLIGHTMAN
McClatchy Newspapers
DALLAS TWP. – The DallasSchoolDistrictpresentedadraft-edmassevacuationplanMonday that works in conjunction withthe Lake-Lehman School Dis-trict.It states if there is a “cata-strophic occurrence” on the Dal-las campus, students will betransported to Lake-Lehmanschools.Superintendent Frank Galickisaid he has met with local emer-gency,policeandfireofficialsandlocal transportation companiesabout the plan, and it is in its in-fancy. He said there will be a testinthefuture,pendingthecoordi-nation of both districts’ sched-ules.Galicki mentioned that hespoke to the superintendent of the Forest City Regional SchoolDistrict in Susquehanna County for an emergency preparednessplan in relation to natural gas is-sues.Inothernews,theboardheardapresentationfromRickLeBlancofCrabtreeRohrbaugh&Associ-ates on roofing issues at DallasElementary School.He said three classrooms havedeflecting roof panels that havecausedtheceilingtosagasmuchas six inches in certain areas. The board approved the pro- ject,whichhasanestimatedcostof$15,000.LeBlancsaidhehopesto award bids by next month tocomplete the repairs during theChristmas break. Theboardapprovedthesaleof 100 lockers from the old DallasHighSchooltotheHanoverArea SchoolDistrictatacostof$12.50per locker. Business ManagerGrant Palfey said the lockers areabout eight years old, and themoney generated from the sale will go into the general fund.Galicki announced those who were affected by the PSAT fun-draising scheme headed by for-mer guidance counselor John Wolensky may apply for reim-bursement until the end of this year. Wolensky pocketed money from a fundraiser conductedfrom 1997 to 2008 in which stu-dents were overcharged as muchas $15 for a practice SAT test. Healso took money from studentmeal accounts and football hel-met funds. Wolensky pleaded guilty to a theftchargeinFebruary2009and was sentenced to two years pro-bation. He admitted to taking $24,683 and was ordered to pay restitution to the district for themisappropriated funds, but a re-port released last year from thestate auditor general’s office con-tendedWolenskymayhavetakenmore than double that amount. The money Wolensky paidback to the district was placed inan escrow account, and any un-claimed funds will be used to aidstudents who cannot afford topay for certain tests. To make a claim, visit the Dal-las School District website at www.dallassd.com. Theboardalsoacceptedthere-signation of Ted Jackson Jr. ashead boys’ basketball coach.
Evacuationplan givenby Dallas
School District will work inconjunction with Lake-LehmanSchool District.
BySARAHHITE
shite@timesleader.com
HAZLE TWP. -- Media cover-age and its effect on the town-ship residents was a topic of dis-cussion at Monday night’s Hazle Township Board of Supervisorsmeeting.Jimmy Montone, a resident of Birch Road, Oakmont Acres,said that recent coverage of thetownship focused on residents’dissatisfactionwithsewagefees,disregarding positive aspects of thetownshipsuchasa2011bud-get surplus of $300,000, excel-lent road maintenance and a board of supervisors fully sup-portedbytheresidentsitserves.“This is the best place in the world to raise a family,” saidMontone, saying that negativepress that the township recently received was unwarranted.BothMontoneandSupervisorFrancis “Butchie” Boyarski indi-cated that sewage costs, which vary across the township, werethe result of an unfunded statemandate and did not reflect onany decision of the Hazle Town-ship Board.Richard Wienches, of ForestHillsAcres,addressedtheboard,indicating that he disagreed with the disparity of sewagecosts,sayingthat“somefolksonthe south side are unable to pay their sewage bills.”Montone countered this wassimply a cost of living in thetownship, and that the disparity wasaresultofthetimingofeachsewage project, with recent pro- jects costing residents more. Wienches also questioned So-licitor Charles Pedri’s billing inregard to Right to Know re-quests, saying Pedri billed thetownship $95 for each request whichresultedinacostof“thou-sandsofdollars”tothetownshipper year. Wienches said he hadspoken with representativesfrom Hazleton and West Hazle-ton and that they did not chargea legal fee in regard to such re-quests.“It is necessary for such re-queststobereviewedinordertoinsure that the township avoidsunnecessary lawsuits,” saidMontone, “better to spend $95than to defend against a futurelawsuitforthousandsofdollars.”“Ibillatarateof$95perhour,”said Pedri, “often reviewing a Right to Know request takes on-ly a few minutes and costs thetownship less than $25.” Wienches, who lost his recentbid to become a supervisor onthe township board, grilled thesupervisors on several issues in-cluding a possible conflict of in-terest in that Boyarski’s fatherserved on the vacancy board, whichwouldseekareplacementif one of the present supervisors was unable to serve.Both Boyarski and his fatheradamantly defended them-selves, saying the senior Boyar-ski had served in his capacity onthe vacancy board for many years before his son had becomea supervisor. ThenextmeetingoftheboardofsupervisorswillcomeonDec.12andwilladdressthe2012bud-get.
Sewers discussed at Hazle Twp.
Residents complain tosupervisors about mediacoverage of controversial fee.
ByGERIGIBBONS
Times Leader Correspondent
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Two weeks after surgery, twin sisters who had been joined at the chestarepreparingtoleavethehospital—eachintheirowncarseat.Angelica and Angelina Sabucohave been recovering at LucilePackard Children’s Hospital atStanford University since theirNov. 1 operation. The hospitalsaid Monday that the 2-year-oldsshould be able to return to theirSanJosehomeinthenextcoupleofdays.“Theyarerecoveringvery,very well,” said lead surgeon Dr. Gary Hartman.“Ourgoalistoreturnasmanychildrenaswecantohappy,healthylives.”Hartman said the girls are off pain medications and their liversarefunctioningnormally.Hewillcontinueseeingthegirlsforweek-ly outpatient therapy, and they will see a plastic surgeon, Dr. Pe-ter Lorenz, for follow-up proce-dures.Lorenzsaidthegirls’chest walls have a bit of an abnormalshapebutitcanbemoldedasthey grow.AngelinaandAngelicaalsowillcontinue physical and occupa-tional therapy to build up theirstrengthanddeveloptheirmotorskills,thehospitalsaid. Thesistersmadetheirpost-sur-gery debut during a news confer-enceatthehospitalMonday. Wearing bright red dresses withbowsintheirhairandheldby their mother and aunt, the girlsappeared at ease with the all theattention. Their mother, Ginady Sabuco, smiled and laughed andurged her daughters to wave andsay hello as they approached re-porters.“We’re so excited now to gohomeandseethemsittingintheirowncarseats,”shesaid.Thegirls’nearly10-hoursurgery,paidforby thefamily’shealthinsurance,wasthe second such successful oper-ationatthehospitalinPaloAlto.
Calif. twinsprepared toreturn home
The sisters, who had been joined at the chest, have beenrecovering since surgery.
ByBROOKEDONALD
Associated Press
SPRUCINGUPHISTORY
AP PHOTO
A
rtist BettyTiemeyertouches up amural Mondayof the WorldWar II U.S.flag-raising onIwo Jima atthe Veteran ofForeign Warsbuilding inDayton, Ky.This is thethird time shehas touchedup the mural,which sheoriginallypainted in1987.
WASHINGTON — Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in herfirst public interview since she was shot in the head in Tucsonlast winter, doted on her hus-band, former astronaut MarkKelly, and called him “brave,brave, brave” as she kissed hisbald head.Giffords appeared on ABC’s“20/20” show Monday night.It’sherfirstextendedinterviewsince the January rampage thatkilled six people and wounded13.A segment that aired on“Good Morning America”showed a thin Giffords with a broad grin as she talks aboutKelly. Her husband replied thatthe word “brave” was the sameonethatcametohismindwhenhe thinks of her — “brave andtough,” he said. Then Giffords,looking directly at Kelly, re-sponds almost in a whisper:“Tough, tough, tough.”It wasn’t clear just how fully recoveredGiffordsis10monthsafter the shooting. InterviewerDianeSawyersaidGiffordsdis-cusses her career plans and herrecovery, and the segment in-cluded some video of Giffords’progress, from being unable tospeak at all, to the point whereshe was ready to give a televi-sion interview.At one point, Giffords breaksdown sobbing while having dif-ficulty relearning to speak andsheandhertherapisthug.Inan-other clip, she sings into a mi-crophone as part of her speechtherapy. And in another she walks holding hands with herhusband. The television interviewcomes as fellow victims of theshooting came to Washingtonto testify in favor of a gun-con-trolbill.TheysaidthatGiffords’appearance represents a majormilestone for them as it helpsthem cope with the trauma they’ve endured over the past10 months. About a dozen sur- vivors and family members areinWashingtonlobbyingforleg-islation that would extendcriminal background checks toall gun sales and enhance thequality of the FBI’s criminalbackground checks.
Giffords calls husband brave in first interview
The Arizona congresswomanspeaks 10 months after beingshot in the head in rampage.
ByKEVINFREKING
Associated Press
C M Y K
THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2011 PAGE 3A
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WILKES-BARRE
County looking into storage
Luzerne County Commissioners planto negotiate an agreement to buy a North Washington Street building tostore county records, they said during Monday’s work session.Commissioners also want to hire anarchivist to make sure records areproperly stored and disseminated, saidcounty Commissioner Stephen A. Ur-ban. The building, which was recom-mended by the county records im-provement committee, is owned by John Williams and previously housed Two Jacks Cycle & Powersports, Urbansaid.An existing fee on deeds recorded inthe county and money borrowedthrough bonds would pay for the pur-chase and renovation, Urban said. Afinal purchase would have to be publi-cly approved by commissioners, hesaid.County officials explored building a facility or renovating a leased or pur-chased building because they want toget records out of the Thomas C. Tho-mas building in downtown Wilkes-Barre, which has been criticized fortemperature extremes, lack of security,leaks and fire hazards.
EDWARDSVILLE
Kmart will reopen store
The Kmart that closed after flooddamage in September is targeted for a reopening in the spring, according to a company spokesman.Chris Brathwaite said the landlord of the building, which has been home toKmart since1974, is working to makerepairs to the building and the retaileris eyeing the spring for a grand reopen-ing. The Mark Plaza’s other key tenant,Redner’s Warehouse Market, has alsobeen closed since the Susquehanna River overflowed its banks.
HARRISBURG
Coalition honors Mundy
The Pennsylvania Public Policy Coa-lition of the Alzheimer’s Association onMonday honored state Rep. PhyllisMundy, D-Kingston.Mundy was honor-ed for her work seek-ing to amend Penn-sylvania’s Family Care-giver Support Act sothat family membersor friends who pro- vide care, but do notlive with the afflictedperson who receivesthe care, would be legally recognizedas caregivers. The honor was given during thegroup’s day of advocacy at the StateCapitol.
HARRISBURG
Toohil supports legislation
State Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-Butler Township, and state Rep. Justin Sim-mons, R-Lehigh County, on Wednesday called for the passage of legislationthat would impose stronger penaltiesfor crimes involving a child prompted by theCasey Anthony case inFlorida. Toohil’s proposal,House Bill1841, would change thegrading of the offensefrom a second- orthird-degree misde-meanor to a third-degree felony insituations in which a parent or custo-dian provides false information topolice in a criminal investigation in- volving a child.
WILKES-BARRE
Free flu shots are available
The Wilkes-Barre City Health De-partment will hold a free flu vaccina-tion clinic for all city residents on Pub-lic Square on Thursday from10 a.m. to3 p.m. during the final week of theFarmers Market.All city residents must show proof of residency in order to be eligible for thefree vaccination. The city’s publichealth preparedness trailer will beparked on Public Square near the bandshell. For more information, call 208-4268.
I N B R I E F
LUZERNE COUNTY ASSESSMENT
FormerTwoJacksCycle&Power-sports
MundyToohil
After more than two hours of de-bate and discussion about the selec-tion process for the new LuzerneCounty manager, most of thehome rule transition commit-tee members left the county courthouse Monday night with packets of informationaboutthe72applicants.Councilmen-elect Rick Mo-relli and Stephen J. Urban didnot receive packets becausethey refused to sign confidentiality agreements saying they wouldn’t re-leasethenames.Morelli said he would honor thedecisiontokeepthenamesconfiden-tialeventhoughhedidn’tagreewithit, but he said he won’t sign a confi-dentialityagreementafterconsulting withtwoattorneys.Hesaidhewouldexplore legal options to obtain thepacket.Stephen J. Urban said thecommittee decided to enact a confidentiality agreement be-fore the 11 new council mem-bers joined the group, and hetore up the agreement during the meeting. He said he willeventually receive the names, whether it’s now or on Jan. 2 whenhe’ssworninasacouncilmem-ber.CountyCommissionerStephenA.Urban,whowasalsoelectedtocoun-
TRANSITION COMMITTEE
Selection process for new county manager discussed
Members get applicant details
AIMEE DILGER/THE TIMES LEADER
LuzerneCountyCouncil-woman-electElaineMaddonCurrydiscussesthecoun-tymanag-erselec-tionproc-essduringMonday’shomeruletransitioncommit-teemeet-ing.
ByJENNIFERLEARN-ANDES
jandes@timesleader.com
SeeMANAGER,Page8A
SWOYERSVILLE–Residentswithen- vironmentalandsafetyconcernsarepro-testing the expansion of Buck MountainQuarry/BrdaricExcavatinginneighbor-ing Kingston Township.JohnBrdaricJr.,ownerofBuckMoun-tain Quarry, re-filed a permit modifica-tion earlier this year to expand themining operation from 44.8 acres to 89acres and increase mining depth from160 feet to 260 feet.SeveralattemptstoreachBrdaricwereunsuccessful.Swoyersville res-identWilliamConi-glio began circulat-ing a petition op-posing the movebecause he said ex-pansion of the site would exacerbatealreadyexistingen- vironmental andsafety concerns.State Rep. Phyl-lis Mundy pushedforapublichearing onthepermitmod-ification, which will take place Thursdayafternoon.Mundysaidshehastouredthesitewithrepresentativesfromthe Department of Environmental Pro-tection, and her main concern about theproject was water runoff. The quarry isonthesouthernslopeofBunkerHill,fac-ing Swoyersville.“The mountainside is creating enor-mous runoff for towns in the valley, andDEP is convinced there is no runoff be-cause of the pits that surround project,”Mundy said. “They believe water istrapped there.”Stephen Nowroski, of Swoyersville,said recent flooding in the borough is “a rare occurrence” and blames the quarry for causing it.“I’mnotagainstBuckMountainQuar-ry doing what they want to do to makemoney – it’s beneficial to many people,”he said. “I’m concerned with the effects
Quarry plandraws concernof community
Environmental concerns among themain reasons residents againstexpansion of Buck Mountain Quarry.
BySARAHHITE
shite@timesleader.com
The public hearingfor the BuckMountain Quarry/Brdaric Excavatingpermit modifica-tion will be heldfrom1to 3 p.m.Thursday at theKingston Townshipmunicipal building,180 E. Center St.,Shavertown.
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KINGSTONTWP.
QUARRY EXPANSION
Existing quarryProposed expansion
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BLOOMSBURG – The devasta-tion remains along West MainStreet – several condemned proper-ties that will never be remodeled sitin waiting as evidence of the dam-age done by September flood wa-ters.U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Hazle-ton, and Speaker of the House JohnBoehner, R-Ohio, toured the affect-ed area Monday. They talked withresidents who are waiting for any news that financial help is on the way. The properties front the Blooms-burg Fairgrounds, which also suf-fered severe flood damage.“We want to know if the govern-ment is going to buy us out,” saidKeri Gaito, who lived at 932 W.Main St. with her two children. “Ihad flood insurance, but my insur-ance company tells me the damageto my home was not caused by flooding; they say it was caused by erosion around the founda-tion.”Gaito and her neighbors were hoping to hear some-thing positive from Boehnerand Barletta.“Obviously this was a dev-astating event,” Boehnersaid. “There’s no questionthe federal governmentneeds to respond quickly.I’ve seen devastation like this inother parts of the country. The factis it takes the federal governmentfar too long to respond.” The flooding occurred on Sept. 8and 9.Boehner visited Bloomsburg dur-ing the 2010 campaign on behalf of Barletta. He said he remembers thearea and can see the devastationthat the flood waters caused.“I will work with Lou and the vari-ous federal agencies to get help forthese people,” Boehner said.“There are many homeowners andmanufacturers that need help to getback.”Columbia County Commis-sioner Chris Young andBloomsburg Mayor DanKnorr accompanied Boehnerand Barletta, offering infor-mation about the extent of the damage and the delay ingetting help for the residents.“I think Speaker Boehnerbenefited from his visit to-day,” Young said. “What mightmake sense in Washington doesn’tmake sense in the 900 block of WestMain Street in Bloomsburg.”Valerie Samayoa lived at 924 West Main St. She pointed to herseverely damaged home and said,“It’s the blue one over there. The white house next to it actually was washed off its foundation and hitmy house.”Samayoa and her husband havethree children. Her house has beencondemned.“We really don’t have a lot of hopefor anything at this time,” she said.
House Speaker Boehner, Rep. Barletta survey flood damage
DON CAREY /THE TIMES LEADER
BloomsburgmayorDanKnorr,left,speakstoSpeakeroftheHouseJohnBoehnerandRep.LouBarlettaaboutflooddamageastheywalkdownanalleybehindWestMainStreetinBloomsburgMondayafternoon.
Congressmen tour Bloomsburg
ByBILLO’BOYLE
boboyle@timesleader.com
To see videofootage,visit
www.timesleader.com
WILKES-BARRE – Con-cerned about its pending abolition once home ruletakes effect, the LuzerneCounty prison board onMondayaskeditssolicitortoinvestigate whether thecountyisobligatedbylawtoretain a separate body tooversee prison operations.ControllerWalterGriffith,oneofsevenmembersoftheboard, said he questions whether the county manag-er, who has not yet been ap-pointed,willbeabletoover-see operations of the prison withthesamediligencethatthe board has exercised.“The past two years I’vesat on this board we’ve donegreat work to make every-oneaccountableandtokeepthe budget down,” Griffithsaid. “I’m a little concernedabout the ability of a county manager to take on the taskof running a prison – some-thing that took seven mem-bers of this board to do thepast two years.”Commissioner MaryannePetrilla, who chairs the pris-on board, and Warden Jo-sephPiazza,saidthey’realsoconcerned that the loss of the board will negatively af-fect prison operations. The prison, with a $28million budget, accounts forroughly 25 percent of thecounty’s overall spending. That’salotforacountyman-ager, who will also overseenumerous other depart-ments, to take on, Piazza said. The prison board nowconsists of the controller,district attorney, a county judge, the sheriff and threecommissioners. It has oper-atedunderthatformatsince2009“Therearesomanyissuesinvolved in operating andrunning a prison,” Piazza said. “Could one person doit? Yeah, but because of themagnitude and amount of money involved, it’s alwaysgood to have extra eyes.”County councilman-electRick Morelli said he’s awareof concerns that have beenraisedregardingoversightof county departments. Hesaid he plans to suggest thecounty council form sub-committees to assist thecounty manager in oversee-ing the departments.Griffithsaidhebelievesanindependentboardwouldbebest. He asked the prisonboard’s solicitor, StephenMenn, to look into whetherthereisanystatestatutethatrequires counties to have a prison board.
StaffwriterJenniferLearn Andes contributed to this story.
Board doubts county manager can handle running prison
ByTERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER
tmorgan@timesleader.com
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