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Nanticoke couple
displaced by fire
Heidi Ruckno - Citizens Voice
A Nanticoke City couple was displaced Saturday
evening after a fire at their Ridge Street home, authorities said.
The fire broke out around 6:34 p.m. at rear 151 Ridge St., the
home of Leonard and Verna Dynterko. It started in a bedroom closet
and was extinguished within minutes, Nanticoke fire Lt. Richard
Bohan said.
Damage was contained to that bedroom, but the rest of the home
sustained some slight water damage, Bohan said.
Firefighters helped Leonard Dynterko escape from the home, but
he refused medical treatment at the scene. The couple was expected
to stay with relatives Saturday night, Bohan said.
Assisting at the scene were firefighters and ambulance personnel
from Hanover and Newport townships.
12/28/2007
Nanticoke saves money when state certifies
citys safety committee
Savings equal $9,247, or 5 percent of worker comp insurance bill.
slong@timesleader.com
Nanticoke is entering the new year expecting
a little extra cash in its coffers.
The city will save $9,247, or 5 percent, on its annual worker
compensation insurance bill because the state Department of Labor
and Industry certified the citys safety committee earlier
this month, Finance Manager Holly Quinn said.
The city usually spends about $165,000 on the insurance annually.
About 40 city employees, volunteer firefighters and volunteer
ambulance members are covered under Nanticokes worker compensation
plan.
Declared a financially distressed city in the last year, Nanticoke
has looked for ways to save money without cutting services.
I was excited. I want to save money wherever we can,
Councilman Joe Dougherty said.
We need it to pay bills.
The committee formed in March in an effort to promote workplace
safety by presenting training seminars on a variety of safety
techniques to help prevent illnesses or injury and to increase
employee productivity.
Since its inception nine months ago, the committee has presented
a fire extinguisher seminar and taught public works employees
how to properly lift heavy materials.
Men in the public works department now think twice before trying
to lift something that might be too heavy for them and ask for
help, Quinn said.
Each city department has one representative serving on the committee,
which meets once to twice a month to discuss safety classes that
can be offered to employees.
Next year the committee hopes to hold a CPR training class, Quinn
said.
12/25/2007
Byorick progresses as Xavier hoops reserve
College athletics Bill Arsenault - Times
Leader
Former Nanticoke Area standout
Aly Byorick is seeing action as a reserve with the Xavier University
womens basketball team. But coach Kevin McGuff sees good things
ahead from the freshman.
Aly is a great kid and Im happy she is part of our program,
McGuff said. Like all freshmen, she is in the process of learning
what it takes to become successful at the Division I level. But
she certainly has a bright future here at Xavier.
The 6-foot guard is averaging 11 minutes of action as a backup for
the 6-4 Musketeers, who have no seniors and just two juniors on
the squad. The former two-time Pennsylvania all-state selection
is averaging 1.3 points a game, while recording 19 rebounds and
four assists. She had eight points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes
of action in a 97-60 victory against McNeese State.
Byorick is the career leading scorer at Nanticoke with 2,271 points.
She helped lead the Trojanettes to a combined 58-2 record during
her junior and senior years.
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12/24/2007
Hurdles to revitalization not so high
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Despite recent setbacks, Nanticoke and Luzerne County Community
College officials remain optimistic about the sale of the
Kanjorski Center on East Main Street, especially since one
hurdle is not as high as expected.
LCCC wants to buy the Kanjorski Center for its health sciences
center, a project that city, county, college and state officials
say will be the keystone of downtown revitalization. Sale
agreements are in progress, and a final price has not been
determined.
Obstacles to the sale include possible delays in a county
bond containing $20 million for LCCC projects, the loss of
$5.6 million in federal funding for a parking garage and the
prospect of having to pay back a $1.8 million grant.
We are proceeding with every expectation this is going
to move forward, and I have every confidence that it will,
LCCC President Thomas Leary said.
Good news is that the citys municipal authority, which
owns the Kanjorski Center, might only have to pay back a small
percentage of the $1.8 million to the federal government in
order to sell the building.
State Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, recently met with federal
Economic Development Administration officials in Philadelphia.
They were enthusiastic about the project and committed
their full support to helping us complete the deal,
he said.
Under the terms of the $1.8 million EDA grant used to construct
the Kanjorski Center in 1994, the building must be used for
economic development.
If the building is sold or used for other purposes, the municipal
authority either has to get permission from EDA for the new
use or pay the money back, according to Paul Matyskiela of
the EDA Philadelphia Regional Office.
Nanticoke and Luzerne County Community College officials have
two options:
They can convince EDA to allow the Kanjorski Center to be
used for educational purposes, in which case they wouldnt
have to pay the agency back. But EDA would still control the
building, and it would be subject to federal restrictions.
They pay EDA whatever sum to which the agency agrees after
submitting an assessment adjustment. Then federal involvement
is removed from the project entirely.
Matyskiela estimates the city might have to pay the EDA only
$385,000, based on the required appraisal of the outside of
the Kanjorski Center the municipal authority submitted. EDA
is waiting for the authority to add any adjustments to the
appraised value of the building.
Obviously, if the appraised value of the building goes
down, that amount will also, Matyskiela said.
City officials were pleasantly surprised to hear that, since
they expected to have to fork over the whole $1.8 million.
Its news to me, but its very good news,
City Administrator Kenneth Johnson said.
The cash-strapped city does not have the money, but Johnson
thinks a deal should be worked out to pay the $385,000, noting,
Weve spent money on things less valuable than
this.
Paying off the EDA might make more sense, Matyskiela believes.
City officials are exploring both options.
They made the argument that it was job training; we
didnt say no, but we want them to put it in writing
and make a case for it. But do they want to have us hanging
around? Matyskiela said. Their decision is, basically,
what is it worth to you to get the federal government out
of your hair?
But the decision may have to wait. Nanticoke General Municipal
Authority Chairman Ron Kamowski said any deal with EDA is
in limbo until the county frees up $20 million for LCCC to
buy the Kanjorski Center.
The $20 million bond
Community colleges have only one funding source in the states
capital budget: the Community College Capital Fund.
LCCC received $10 million from the state for the first phase
of its master plan, and Luzerne County pledged the required
$10 million match.
But officials fear a complaint filed with the state Department
of Community and Economic Development to stop the county from
borrowing up to $93.5 million could hold up the project. The
amount includes the $20 million total for LCCC.
Luzerne County activist Tim Grier, who filed the complaint,
said LCCC should have asked the Pennsylvania State Public
School Building Authority for a low-interest loan. Then the
county could pay back $10 million and the state could kick
in its $10 million, without the county having to float a $20
million bond, he said.
This authority exists strictly to help community colleges
like LCCC with building projects. LCCC bypassed this authority
and went straight to the county, Grier said. There
was a way cheaper option to go.
Leary said he was only recently made aware of the Pennsylvania
State Public School Building Authority.
He stressed LCCC was following the procedure all community
colleges follow, and fulfilled all the requirements of the
Pennsylvania Department of Education.
The county has traditionally supported capital projects,
Leary said. This is a very ambitious project, but the
college followed the protocol which has been established for
a long time.
This is the funding we are familiar with.
No parking zone
The biggest blow was the loss of $5.6 million for a parking
garage. U.S. Rep Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, re-routed federal
transportation funding for the project.
City officials now have to steer money away from other projects
such as most of a $2.3 million grant meant for paving
roads to build the Kanjorski Centers garage.
Surface parking near the building is limited. When the Kanjorski
Center was fully occupied, the municipal authority ran shuttle
buses between it and a parking lot on Lower Broadway.
Leary said the college made it clear that in order to move
downtown, it needs approximately 375 parking spaces for students
and faculty. Main Street businesses also want more parking.
Its not a luxury, Leary said. Its
a necessity people expect when they come into town.
Johnson agreed the parking garage is critical to the project.
What LCCC is accepting as a fait accompli (an accomplished
fact) is that we provide the parking, he said.
We can find another way to do it, but it will be difficult
without Kanjorski, municipal authority member Dennis
Butler said. We have all the pieces in place, except
for him.
Kanjorski said lack of the garage should not inhibit LCCCs
plans to move forward, a viewpoint contradicted by local officials
and himself.
On May 10, 2005, Kanjorski wrote in a letter to a former municipal
authority chairman: (One) of our top priorities should
be the construction of a parking garage to be used by the
tenants of the Kanjorski Center and customers for downtown
Nanticoke businesses. The language I inserted into the highway
bill specifically authorizes use of the funds for a parking
garage.
Building a parking garage is necessary for
the future economic viability of the Kanjorski Center.
Yudichak called Kanjorskis idea a parking garage could
be built five years down the road preposterous.
We have private investors willing to put up their own
money in a new restaurant and new commercial space. How do
you tell private investors, take a seat on the bench
for five years and well see if we can get something
for down the road? Yudichak said. How many
more years do the hard-working people of Nanticoke have to
wait to get help in revitalizing their city?
Kanjorski said he took the money away because he heard at
a July 2006 public meeting, Nanticokes mayor and council
said they didnt want a parking garage. He said he didnt
want to see the money lost, noting city officials have a pattern
of not using money he obtains for them.
That angered city officials, who had frequently stated their
intentions of building a garage. They just disagreed with
Kanjorski on its size: they wanted to build it smaller. They
also wanted a tenant for the center, vacant since October
2005.
City officials never said no to the parking garage,
never said no to the money, Yudichak said. They
said, scale back the parking garage and find us some
tenants and some private investment.
Nanticoke Councilman James Litchkofski wants an explanation
from Kanjorski.
Besides Nanticoke being his hometown, we are his constituents.
We employ Paul Kanjorski, the taxpayers do. He governs through
the consent of the people, not arrogance, Litchkofski
said. If he makes decisions that affect the lives of
thousands of people, then he needs to get to Nanticoke and
tell those people why the money isnt coming.
Kamowski is pessimistic about further federal money.
If the congressman says we have not been communicating
with him, we beg to differ. City officials and Leary have
met with Kanjorski, and he told them that the $5.6 million
was definitely taken away, and he was going to bring bigger,
larger, easier-to-use moneys to the table, he said.
The congressman never gave concrete information about
where the money would come from. |
12/24/2007
Municipal authority sees development possibilities
at Concrete City site as its next project
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Someday there might once again be well-kept houses and green lawns
at a historic, former experimental housing community.
The closing nonprofit Regional Equipment Center
gave Concrete City, located off Front Street in the Hanover section
of Nanticoke, to the municipal authority for a $10 consideration.
Were the proud owners of the deed now, Municipal
Authority Chairman Ron Kamowski said.
The authority is tied up with selling the Kanjorski Center on
East Main Street to Luzerne County Community College for a health
sciences center. Concrete City will be its next focus.
Once the LCCC deal is on its way and moving, we want to
look into turning it into a little upscale residential community,
Kamowski said. We dont want industrial. They would
want the land for free, no taxes, then in 10 years theyd
move.
Concrete City, which consists of 39 acres in Hanover Township
and Nanticoke, contained 20 two-family residences built in 1911
by Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroads coal division.
Homes rented for $8 a month to favored employees of the Truesdale
Colliery. Each house is constructed entirely of poured concrete,
which made it unique at the time and to this day.
Concrete City closed in 1924 when Glen Alden Coal Co., which took
over the development in 1921, balked at putting in a sewer system
to replace the concrete outhouses. The homes still stand, reduced
to crumbling concrete shells adorned with paintball splats, target
practice bullet holes and graffiti.
The municipal authority will have to work out what to do with
the concrete houses.
We would definitely like to see one of the structures remain
and be restored as a monument to the area. You dont need
six or eight of them sitting around, Kamowski said.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission designated Concrete
City a historic site and erected a marker in 1998. Because of
its status, municipal authority members were concerned about their
ability to sell the property.
That shouldnt be an issue, a PHMC spokeswoman said.
Concrete City was determined eligible for the National Register
of Historic Places 16 years ago, but it has to be re-evaluated,
PHMC public relations specialist Jane Crawford said in an earlier
interview.
The owner can sell this property to anyone, she said,
but cautioned, If a developer, for example, is going to
use state or federal funding and state permits, the Historical
and Museum Commission would review the plan because of this National
Register eligibility.
That includes permits from the state Department of Environmental
Protection or the federal Army Corps of Engineers, Crawford said.
The agency (PHMC) works with people in this situation for
the best outcome, she said.
12/23/2007
Nanticoke borrows $300,000
The tax anticipation note will cover expenses until tax revenues
start rolling in.
slong@timesleader.com
The city is borrowing $300,000 as a short-term
loan in early January.
City Administrator Kenneth Johnson said the so-called tax anticipation
note is common among municipalities to help them cover daily expenses
until property tax payments and earned income tax revenues start
rolling in.
While Nanticoke is still considered an Act 47 financially distressed
city, Johnson said the city is doing better with cash flow since
earned income tax revenues recently started pouring in.
Right now we havent even dipped into the sewer fund.
Were paying payroll. Were paying most of our bills
through EIT (earned income tax), Johnson said. Were
doing better. Im much more optimistic than I was a few weeks
ago, he said.
Council members approved accepting the loan from PNC Bank during
the monthly meeting Wednesday night.
Officials tried to get competitive bids from other banks, including
M&T. Johnson said even after a last minute phone call was
placed earlier in the week, M&T never submitted a proposal.
But the city will still see some savings in interest costs because
PNC Bank dropped the interest rate to 3.39 percent from 3.59 percent.
When the fed (federal government) dropped the rate a quarter-of-a-point,
I went back to them (PNC) and said could you reissue a new rate,
and they said sure, Johnson said.
He was unsure of exactly how much money the city would save.
The loan must be repaid by Aug. 31, 2008.
The $250,000 short term loan taken out in July at a 4.34-percent
interest rate from PNC Bank will be paid back by Dec. 31. The
city will pay roughly $5,425 in interest for this years
loan.
Johnson said the city has enough money to repay the loan.
12/20/2007
Nanticoke officials hope to settle contracts
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
City officials are anxious to settle contracts for Nanticokes
seven public works employees and six clerical employees so they
can be sure the 2008 budget is accurate.
The contracts expire Dec. 31. Kenny James, a 33-year employee
of the public works department, urged council on Wednesday to
think of the little guys in the ongoing negotiations.
The only thing were asking for is, be fair,
he said.
Resident Hank Marks spoke up on their behalf, saying the public
works and clerical employees are loyal, and they arent the
problem police and fire salaries are higher.
James agreed, saying he didnt begrudge the police and fire
departments their contracts, but noted, Were the little
guys. We dont have the power of the union.
Public works employees are represented by the Teamsters Local
401, police by the Fraternal Order of Police Wyoming Valley Lodge
No. 36, and firefighters by the International Association of Fire
Fighters Local 2655.
The public works department has shrunk from 37 employees when
James started in 1974 to seven today. Employees have gone without
raises, new equipment, and undergone several health insurance
provider changes, he said.
James, who also sits on the Greater Nanticoke Area school board,
said he understands the cash-strapped citys position. The
teachers contract expired in August 2005 and negotiations
are still in progress.
Nanticokes financial recovery plan, drawn up by the citys
recovery coordinator Pennsylvania Economy League, calls for minimal
raises for clerical employees none the first year of the
contract and $800 a year for the second and third. It also calls
for employees to share equally in cost increases to their portion
of the health care, vision and dental insurance the city pays
for.
Nanticoke would realize bigger savings by raising doctors
visit and prescription co-payments instead of having a premium
share, James said.
Council passed the $4.18 million budget 4-1 on second reading,
with Mayor John Bushko voting no.
Tax collector Al Wytoshek wanted to know whether total real estate
tax is 44 or 44.5 mills. A mill is $1 on every $1,000 assessed
valuation.
The city levies 30 mills for general purposes and 0.5 percent
for the Mill Memorial Library. Wytoshek sparred with city officials
over whether the debt service millage is 13.5, as he said, or
14 mills as Johnson and PEL said.
Debt service millage can only be used for outstanding loans. Last
year the city paid off its 1995 loan and part of its 1998 loan,
PEL Executive Director Gerald Cross said, so council lowered the
29.38 debt service millage for 2007.
Wytoshek said the county tax bills say 13.5 mills for debt service.
Regardless, Johnson said, the 14 mills was properly advertised
and within the law. Unlike for an increase in general purpose
millage, municipalities dont have to petition county court
to raise debt service millage, a fact confirmed by solicitor William
Finnegan.
12/20/2007
Nanticokes 2008 budget includes
no new taxes
Council members increased the citys earned income tax to
2 percent earlier this year.
slong@timesleader.com
Council members approved the 2008 budget of
$6.7 million during Wednesday nights regular meeting.
But residents will be happy to know their taxes are not going
up. At least not right now.
Residents will still pay a 2 percent earned income tax, which
was increased earlier this year.
City officials acknowledged the city might need to raise taxes
for debt services in 2009 because the debt service millage was
reduced too much when council members figured the 2007 budget.
In 2006, the millage set aside for debt service was 30 mills,
but it was reduced more than half to 14 mills for 2007, City Administrator
Kenneth Johnson said.
They were able to drop it because they changed the whole
tax structure of the city with earned income taxes, he said.
But from what my finance director has told me and
I dont do that analysis because that is her job she
tells me that the 14 is actually too low.
He said a former council member suggested lowering the debt services
but council lowered it too much.
The citys property tax rate for 2008 will remain at 44.5
mills, which Johnson said is the same as this years tax
rate, with 30 mills paying for the general fund, 14 mills paying
for debt service and 0.5 mill paying for the library. A mill is
a $1 tax on each $1,000 of assessed property value.
City Treasurer Al Wytoshek asked if the city could leverage a
tax rate of 44.5 mills without getting approval from a Luzerne
Court of Common Pleas judge.
City Solicitor William Finnegan, Pennsylvania Economy League Executive
Director Gerald Cross and Johnson informed Wytoshek the city only
had to appear before a judge for such a request if the general
fund tax rate would be higher than 30 mills.
Mayor John Bushko was the sole vote against the budget, saying
he felt the funds allocated for attorneys fees were too
high. He said if some of those funds were cut the city could apply
more money toward capital projects to fix the citys roads.
12/15/2007
Teacher strike at GNA averted, for now
By mguydish@timesleader.com
The threat of a teacher strike at Greater
Nanticoke Area has ended at least for the short term
according to a union official who credits the progress made in
negotiations this week.
Jane Brubaker, of the Pennsylvania State Education Association,
said enough success had been made during Wednesdays negotiations
to satisfy the union and prevent a strike that had been threatened
to start as early as Monday morning. A strike was threatened Dec.
3 when the school board voted to reject a state fact-finders
report that offered a compromise between the latest offers made
by each side.
Frustrated with the pace of talks that have been going on since
2005, the union had urged the board to reconsider and vote to
approve the report. The union voted to accept the fact-finders
report.
By state law, the board had 10 days to do so, which meant a second
vote had to occur by Thursday. Since the union must give a 48-hour
notice before a strike, the earliest a strike would occur would
be Dec. 17.
The board made no public attempt to meet for a second vote, but
a negotiation session was held on Wednesday. Brubaker said some
progress was made so there would not be a strike on Monday.
But, she added, There is still a possibility that one will
occur in the future.
Though the contract talks have been largely quiet and out of the
public eye, the fact-finders report revealed the chief sticking
points, including the boards effort to have teachers pay
part of their health insurance premium and a change in tuition
reimbursement for teachers who take additional college courses.
12/13/2007
GNA school board, teachers union make progress
in informal talks
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The Greater Nanticoke Area school board and teachers union negotiating
teams met informally at the high school Wednesday to talk about
the recently released report from the Pennsylvania Labor Relations
Board fact-finder.
The school board is not going to re-vote on the report, member
Robert Raineri said.
But he indicated the session, which was just between the teams,
without attorneys present, went fairly well.
Were making a little headway here. We need to tweak
a few health insurance issues, Raineri said. Were
looking at raising their deductibles, trying to find a happy medium.
GNA teachers, without a contract since August 2005, took a strike
authorization vote on March 14. The Greater Nanticoke Area Education
Association could give the district 24-hour notice on Friday and
start striking Monday.
Pennsylvania State Education Association spokesman Paul Shemansky
said striking is an option, but suggested it may not be necessary
if the two sides keep on with contract talks.
I think negotiations are going to continue to take place
here. Thats a good thing, Shemansky said. I
dont think theyre too far apart.
Health insurance is one of the main sticking points in negotiations.
The report by fact-finder Robert C. Gifford, Esq., a neutral third-party,
took into account contract proposals from both sides.
GNAEA wants to raise deductibles and co-payments for doctors
visits and prescriptions, saying it would cost the district 2.3
percent less for a traditional plan and 4.3 percent less for a
voluntary Health Maintenance Organization plan.
The school board wants teachers to pay a premium share in 2007-08
of $10 per paycheck for single coverage, $12 per paycheck for
husband-wife or parent-child coverage, and $15 per paycheck for
family coverage. In 2008-09, teachers would pay 3 percent of their
premiums, and in 2009-2010 they would pay 4 percent.
Gifford sided with the teachers, because their proposal offers
plan design changes that will provide cost savings to the District.
Teachers accepted the fact-finders report on Nov. 29. The
board rejected it on Dec. 3. The board had 10 days starting Dec.
5, when the report was made public, to re-vote. Under state law,
both sides must let each other and the Pennsylvania Labor Relations
board know for a second time whether or not they accept the report.
12/12/2007
LCCC officials worried
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com and bjarvis@citizensvoice.com
Luzerne County Community College officials
are concerned delays in state approval of Luzerne Countys
borrowing plan will hold up new projects in downtown Nanticoke.
The state approved LCCCs master plan earlier this year,
and Phase I is under way. The college was supposed to get $20
million from a county bond to help pay for it. The state would
reimburse $10 million; the other $10 million is from the county.
College President Thomas P. Leary is concerned about the potential
loss of the countys $10 million share, as well as the effect
a delay in the funding would have on establishing the expanded
programs.
At the LCCC board of trustees Tuesday meeting, members approved
a motion by Dr. Thomas ODonnell to refrain from moving forward
until it was certain money would be readily available.
According to trustee and Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak,
if political activist Tim Grier succeeds in his effort to stop
the county from borrowing up to $93.5 million, it would have a
direct impact on LCCC.
Id be lying if I said it would not have an effect
on this college, and not a good one, Skrepenak said. We
may have to default on our payment, which would threaten our ability
to secure financing.
Still, Leary and Skrepenak expressed confidence funding would
eventually be secured, although it might have to come from other
sources.
Leary said the $20 million would be used for:
Continued construction of the Public Safety Training Institute,
for certification of emergency personnel.
Purchase and renovation of the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street
in Nanticoke into a Health Sciences Center for the nursing, dental
hygiene respiratory therapy, surgical technology and Emergency
Medical Services programs.
Equipment for the culinary arts institute, which the college wants
to create in a leased facility to be built by a private developer
at Market and Main streets in Nanticoke.
The college is still moving ahead with a sale agreement and architectural
plans for the Kanjorski Center, Leary said. LCCC had hoped to
occupy the building by January 2009.
In the worst-case scenario, opening would be pushed back a semester
until fall 2009, Leary said.
It may be that Im optimistic by nature, but I believe
its going to happen. So many people have worked so hard
that I cant see it failing, he said.
The Nanticoke General Municipal Authority, which is responsible
for the Kanjorski Center, had hoped the sale could be consummated
quickly. The authority is broke, and has to borrow $45,000 a year
from the financially distressed city for maintenance and utilities.
Luckily, the weathers been with us, so were
not super-buried in utility costs. But its still an in-the-red
proposition, authority Chairman Ron Kamowski said.
Nanticoke Mayor John Bushko said selling the Kanjorski Center
is the first step in downtown revitalization. Several private
investors have expressed interest in new projects because of LCCCs
plans.
Were just going to have to pray for the best, because
thats a must for the whole downtown. Thats the key
project, Bushko said of the sale. I guess were
just going to have to wait and see.
12/11/2007
A mission to clean up Quality Hill Playground
By kziolkowski@citizensvoice.com
During the last 10 years, Quality Hill Playground
in Nanticoke gradually became a center for dumping and teenage
mischief. Its easy accessibility to all terrain vehicles
and vandals made it a hot target. But one man came from behind
the curtain to turn the local park into a destination for children
of all ages.
Kenneth Gill, 43, is a Nanticoke resident who has lived approximately
100 feet from the entrance to the park his entire life. When he
was younger, the park was thriving with children, local sports
teams and families. The park always had a constant flow of moving
traffic until a few years ago when the grass on the ball fields
grew too high, the rest rooms were vandalized and the equipment
slowly decayed due to age. The local Little League stopped using
the field and all attention turned away from the eyesore.
Gill watched as the once flourishing park began to slowly fall
apart right before his eyes and decided to take action. Since
the 1950s and 60s, a group called the Quality Hill Playground
Association was responsible for the upkeep of the park. Since
most members of the group had passed on, Gill decided to take
the reigns as president. Through word of mouth, he was able to
gain more than 20 supporters in a short amount of time to join
his quest in revitalizing the park.
Since joining the association in 2000, Gill has lead his group
of volunteers in removing most of the dumped material from the
baseball field, restoring the restrooms, putting up new basketball
and tennis nets, repainting and replacing equipment, cleaning
out buildings and erecting a new sign in front of the park.
Gill and the association applied to the Lowes Heroes program
for the park. Lowes Heroes volunteer teams are made up of
employees from the local store, representatives from nonprofit
organizations and concerned individuals from the community. The
teams work with homeowners, community groups and schools on safety
projects. After reviewing his application, the group spent two
whole days repainting the restrooms, putting a new roof on the
sandbox, repainting the exterior of the buildings and installing
new steel doors on the rest rooms. In the spring, Lowes
will return to install new rest room fixtures.
Recently, Gill and the Quality Hill Playground Association have
been running fundraisers such as selling lottery tickets and comedy
club tickets as well as asking for donations from local businesses.
Currently they will depend mainly on the services of volunteers
to clean the park in early April, when they run their annual Easter
Egg Hunt. The association has requested money from the city, but
has been told that there are no funds available for such projects.
Future plans for the park include cleaning out the largest building
in the park and turning it into a pavilion so families can start
to enjoy the park together.
Gill truly exemplifies the meaning of a local hero. His dedication
to the association and the playground, as well as its surrounding
neighbohood is something to be admired.
12/10/2007
Regionalized police force recommended in
draft study
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Three South Valley communities could benefit by combining their
police forces, according to the draft of a study by a regional
police specialist.
For the last year, representatives from Nanticoke City and Newport
and Hanover townships have been meeting with the Pennsylvania
Economy League as part of the South Valley Regional Police feasibility
study.
Consultant Bryan D. Ross, retired chief of the Berks-Lehigh Regional
Police Department, drafted a report. It estimates the three communities
could save more than $400,000 and have a better-trained force
that is more efficient and more effective at fighting crime. The
new department would provide 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week
coverage, PEL Policy Specialist Joseph L. Boyle said.
The study recommends at least 29 full-time officers, the total
number in the three communities now: Hanover Township has 16,
Nanticoke has 12, and Newport Township has one. Manpower and salaries
would not be decreased, Hanover Township Commissioner Jeff Lewis
pointed out.
Almost everybody would be making close to $50,000. Thats
not bad for a cop in Luzerne County, Boyle said.
The only thing officers are not guaranteed is that they would
keep their rank, he said.
Nanticoke Mayor John Bushko is pessimistic.
It doesnt save you any money at all. Not a dime,
he said. I would like to see it work, but there is no financial
gain for us at all.
The combined department would go with the highest salary of the
three, Hanover Township, he explained. For example, in Nanticoke
patrolmen are paid $40,131 a year, while in Hanover Township they
are paid $46,076.
Nanticoke was declared Act 47, or financially distressed, by the
state in May 2006. Nanticokes financial recovery plan, drawn
up by PEL, states, The city shall continue to aggressively
explore alternative policing arrangements with special emphasis
on the creation of a possible regional police commission.
Incoming Nanticoke Councilman Jon Metta said from what hes
seen of the study, combining police departments makes sense.
It probably would save money and provide better overall
coverage, Metta said. We still get a vote on how our
money is spent, too.
Opinion on regionalization is divided among Nanticokes 12
full-time officers, Bushko said. A regional department might be
better for career advancement, because theres not much chance
for promotion in Nanticoke, he said.
The officers in a regionalized department would have better training,
which Bushko said he sees as one of the few advantages.
The three communities are experiencing a rise in criminal activity,
Newport Township Commissioner John Zyla believes. A regional police
department with specialized officers could help solve crimes better,
he said.
Am I in favor of it? Absolutely, Zyla said. I
think it would be beneficial to our community ... with the expertise
we are going to get. As long as its affordable.
The regionalization report is only a draft, Lewis emphasized.
Officials from all three municipalities say they want more information
before making any decisions.
Were looking into some different options on how we
can structure it (the regional department), Lewis said.
There will be a public presentation of the study by Ross on Jan.
24 at Luzerne County Community College. During a meeting in February,
officials of the three municipalities will discuss whether they
want to take the study further.
It will be interesting to see if it does pan out, since
we have so many variables, Lewis said.
12/7/2007
Bidder asks GNA to table copier contract
By Elizabeth Skrapits - Citizens Voice
A disgruntled bidder questioned the Greater Nanticoke Area bidding
process Monday, claiming it unfairly favored the current vendor
for a copier contract.
District resident Robert M. Hughes, representing Edwards Business
Systems of Scranton, asked the GNA board to postpone voting on
bids for a five-year photocopier lease and maintenance agreement.
The only bidder to receive full specifications was the current
vendor, Topp Business Solutions of Scranton, Hughes alleged.
The other two bidders were not given specific information about
the districts needs, such as what kind of computer network
it has, or whether the bid was for unlimited copies.
This at the very least should be tabled, and the information
given to all bidders, Hughes said. This is not a fair
contract for taxpayers.
The board didnt table the vote, but instead approved a contract
with low bidder Topp. Topp bid $277,500, Edwards bid $297,186
and Xerox of Wilkes-Barre bid $304,900.
The spec sheet that bidders are given contains a bare minimum
of information. Hughes said he asked for more, but never heard
from the district secretary, and GNAs information technology
coordinator said he couldnt call Hughes from a cell phone
inside the school building.
Superintendent Tony Perrone said copier specs were available for
three weeks, but Hughes only came to see him four days before
bid deadline. Perrone said he sent Hughes to the people who generally
deal with such matters, and if Hughes couldnt get to them,
he should have told Perrone.
Board member Robert Raineri said after the meeting that he would
investigate the bidding process.
Im going to question how that was done, just for my
own satisfaction, he said. We have to make sure these
bids are fair to everyone.
12/7/2007
GNA negotiating teams reschedule meeting for next week
By Elizabeth Skrapits - Citizens Voice
Greater Nanticoke Area teachers and school board negotiating teams
didnt meet Wednesday as planned, due to weather conditions
in Nanticoke, school board member Robert Raineri said.
The two sides will get together next week instead, to discuss
the fact-finders report, which was released publicly on
Wednesday.
The meeting will just be between the negotiating teams, according
to Jane Brubaker, the teachers Pennsylvania State Education
Association representative.
Their solicitor will not be there, I will not be there.
Its just going to be a meeting with local folks, she
said.
GNA teachers approved the fact-finders report, but the school
board rejected it. The board now has seven days to reconsider.
State law requires that no less than five and no more than 10
days after the report is made public, the board and union have
to notify each other whether they accept the report or not.
I hope they can come to an agreement, and the board will
realize this is something that will not cause a tax increase.
Its well within their budget, Brubaker said of the
fact-finders recommendations. With in excess of $8
million in their budget reserves, they are in excellent financial
condition.
GNA teachers have been without a contract since August 2005. The
main issues are health care and salaries.
12/6/2007
Fact-finders report for GNA teachers
contract dispute released with report
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board released
the fact-finders report for the Greater Nanticoke Area teachers
contract dispute on Wednesday.
* Read
the report
Salaries and health insurance have been the
main sticking points in negotiations, ongoing since months before
the GNA teachers contract expired in August 2005.
These two issues are addressed in the fact-finders report,
along with the other four roadblocks: credits earned for a masters
degree equivalency, personal leave, tuition reimbursement and
early retirement incentive.
Fact-finder Robert C. Gifford, Esq. sided with the Greater Nanticoke
Area Education Association in the matter of health care. GNAEA
asked for a higher deductible and increased co-payments for doctor
visits and prescriptions. On salaries, Gifford recommended increases
somewhat more than the district proposed, but somewhat less than
the union proposed.
If you compare what the fact-finder recommended to other
(contract) settlements in Luzerne County, it is very reasonable,
said Jane Brubaker, the teachers Pennsylvania State Education
Association representative. It is very close to what is
average to this area. It does recommend some cost savings to the
district.
This is certainly not something that would need to impact
the taxpayers of the district.
Last week, the teachers accepted the report. On Monday, the GNA
school board rejected it by a vote of 6-1. The two new board members
abstained from voting.
Within 10 days after the report is made public, the parties are
required by law to contact the board and each other a second time
about whether or not they accept the fact-finders recommendations.
Weve accepted the report. We will not be changing
our vote. We are asking (the board) to reconsider, Brubaker
said.
Teacher and board negotiating teams met Wednesday to discuss the
report, but representatives from both sides could not be reached
for comment Wednesday night.
The board has to wait at least five days before re-voting, Brubaker
said. That window gives the public an opportunity to look at the
fact-finders report and make comments, she said.
If the board stands firm on its decision to reject the report,
the teachers could opt to strike.
That is something the bargaining team will be considering,
along with other options, Brubaker said.
The union took a strike authorization vote on March 14, she said.
If the union gives its 24-hour strike notice on Dec. 14, 10 days
after the reports release, teachers could hit the picket
lines as early as Dec. 17, Brubaker said.
Based on the school calendar, she estimated the strike could last
two to five days, depending on snow days. Once it starts, the
state Department of Education calculates the number of days a
strike can last so the district can get the required 180 days
of instruction in by June 15 or the deadline of June 30.
12/6/2007
GNA contract issues released
Salary, insurance among sticking points
mguydish@timesleader.com
After nearly three years of contract talks
that stayed under the public radar, the problems preventing a
teacher contract at Greater Nanticoke Area are in the open, thanks
to a state fact-finder report.
The issues at an impasse: masters degree equivalency,
personal leave, tuition reimbursement, early retirement, salary
and health insurance.
The contract expired in August 2005, but the two sides started
negotiations months earlier. The talks garnered scant public attention
until Monday when the school board voted to reject the report.
The union had accepted the report, and has threatened to strike
if the board doesnt reverse its decision.
By law, the board can do so within 10 days of the first vote.
The union asked for fact-finding, a nonbinding process offered
by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, and both sides met
with Fact Finder Robert C. Gifford informally on Nov. 8, followed
by a formal hearing Nov. 13. Gifford issued his report Nov. 26,
outlining the position of both sides and recommending an option
in each case.
Masters equivalency: The board essentially wants to eliminate
this, requiring teachers to earn an actual masters degree,
rather than the equivalent number of credits, before they get
incentives currently granted. The change would only apply to those
hired after Feb. 21, 2007. The union wants to maintain the status
quo. Gifford proposes maintaining the status quo.
Personal leave: Teachers get two days per school year with several
limitations, including a buyout at $20 per day at the end of the
school year. Teachers also have the option to convert unused personal
days to sick days. The union wants to change the contract to allow
accumulation of up to five personal days as personal leave.
The district contends this would allow teachers to change personal
days into a vacation. Gifford recommends keeping the status quo.
Tuition reimbursement: The district wants to eliminate reimbursement
for courses taken beyond a masters equivalency,
and to keep the current reimbursement maximum of $130 per credit.
The district also wants teachers who receive reimbursements to
remain employed by the district for three years afterward, or
to repay some or all of the reimbursement, depending on when they
leave. The union wants reimbursement increased to $155 per credit,
and to loosen restrictions on eligible online courses.
Gifford proposes increasing reimbursement to $140 per credit and
requiring repayment of all the money if the teacher leaves the
district within a year and half the amount if the teacher leaves
in the second year.
Early retirement: The union proposes a number of changes to the
existing system that eliminate some age requirements, alter deadlines
and change retiree health-care coverage. The district opposes
the changes, and notes that the old contract expressly said the
entire early retirement offer expired with that contract. Gifford
proposes keeping the system in place with fewer and more modest
changes than the union suggests.
Salary: The union proposes raises that would increase total base
payroll by nearly $1.4 million over five years, with average raises
of 4.32 percent the first year, and 4.09 percent, 3.58 percent,
3.43 percent and 3.25 percent the following years. The union pointed
out that the district has increased the surplus steadily to more
than $5.6 million. The district proposed a total payroll increase
of a bit more than $1 million, with the annual raises averaging
3.02 percent, 2.87 percent, 2.79 percent, 2.68 percent and 2.55
percent.
Gifford proposes annual raises starting at an average of 3.51
percent the first year and 3.4 percent, 3.11 percent, 3.03 percent
and 3 percent the following years.
Health insurance: The union proposes a variety of changes in coverage
excluding sharing in premium costs which it claims
will result in savings between 2.3 percent and 4.3 percent depending
on the plans chosen by teachers. The district proposes teachers
pay 3 percent of their premium in 2008-09 and 4 percent the following
year. The district notes total insurance costs have risen between
111 percent and 200 percent since the 1999-2000 school year, depending
on which coverage plan you look at.
Gifford proposes adopting the unions changes.
Read the report:
http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/lib/landi/plrb/fact_finding/greater_nanticoke_area_sd__psea.pdf
12/06/2007
Nanticoke council passes first reading of
budget
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
City council passed the 2008 budget 4-1 during
a first reading Wednesday night. Mayor John Bushko was the only
no vote.
The $4.18 million balanced budget doesnt call for tax or
fee increases. Earned income tax remains at 2 percent, with 0.5
percent for Greater Nanticoke Area school district. The real estate
tax remains at 44.5 mills 30 for general city purposes,
14 for paying back debt, and 0.5 for the Mill Memorial Library.
A mill is $1 on every $1,000 of assessed value.
The only changes to the budget were in police overtime, which
was reduced from $60,000 to $30,000, and firefighters overtime,
which was reduced from $40,000 to $20,000. City officials also
added $5,000 for Nanticokes recreation committee when Councilman
Joe Dougherty pointed out there was nothing in the budget for
the newly recreated entity.
The second and final reading of the budget will be Dec. 19 at
7 p.m.
In other business, council:
Appointed Joseph R. Aliciene & Co. to conduct audits for 2007,
2008, and 2009. Dougherty and Bushko voted no because
they believed J.P. Mazzoni, who performed the audit in previous
years, should have a chance to re-apply.
Requests for proposals were sent to eight accounting firms, but
Mazzoni said he never got his, city fiscal manager Holly Quinn
said.
Debated and ultimately tabled a resolution for the state Department
of Agriculture to perform health inspections. Dougherty said the
city would lose $4,000 a year by giving up the inspections. Councilman
Brent Makarczyk asked for a performance review of the current
health inspector, Margaret Brezny.
Nanticoke Redevelopment Authority member Chester Beggs told council
there are 11 properties incorrectly listed as belonging to the
authority that taxes havent been paid on for 30 years. They
were sold to private owners who built homes on them, Beggs said.
Tax collector Al Wytoshek said he would follow up on it with the
Luzerne County tax assessors office.
12/6/2007
Nanticoke mayor disagrees with budget
slong@timesleader.com
Council approved the first reading of a $4.18
million budget for 2008 Wednesday night. No tax hike is planned.
Mayor John Bushko was the sole vote against the budget. He said
there were several line items with which he didnt agree.
There is nothing in there for capital improvements,
Bushko said. The 100,000 for lawyers is way over budget.
I would say you could cut that in half.
Nanticoke Recreation Board member Jim Samselski asked if money
would be allocated for the recreation board because nothing appeared
on the currently proposed budget.
Councilman Joe Dougherty said the issue had been brought to councils
attention and money would be allocated to the board.
Council must adopt a budget by Dec. 31 but can revise it as late
as February because a new council member, Jon Metta, will be sworn
into office next month.
Council also hired a new certified accountant to handle the citys
audits.
Joe Mazzoni, a licensed certified public accountant from Dallas,
served as the citys auditor for five years, Bushko said.
City workers sent out eight proposals seeking bids for an auditor,
but only Joseph R. Aliciene & Co. of Pittston submitted a
formal bid, city administrator Ken Johnson said.
Another company called inquiring about the offer but never submitted
anything in writing, Johnson said, noting Aliciene came in to
meet with him and discuss what work the city needed completed.
The post office did not return any of the proposals, Johnson said.
Mazzoni said he never received a proposal packet in the mail.
Bushko asked if the decision to hire an accountant could be tabled
to allow Mazzoni more time to submit his paperwork.
But in a 3 to 2 vote, with Bushko and Dougherty voting against,
Alicienes company was hired to a three-year contract with
the city to serve as the citys accountant.
I just wanted him to have the opportunity to bid on it,
Bushko said. I believe it was sent. Things happen in the
mail you dont know.
Aliciene will be responsible for conducting the citys 2007,
2008 and 2009 audit.
Alicienes firm handles the audits for the City of Pittston
and Nanticoke School Board, Johnson said.
Council approved a resolution allowing a liquor license to be
transferred to Robert Hagenbaugh, who plans to open a restaurant
at 396 E. Washington St.
12/5/2007
Nanticoke school strike could occur Dec.
17
Teachers union is waiting to see if school board changes its mind
on a fact-finders report on contract.
By mguydish@timesleader.com
A teachers strike in Greater Nanticoke Area
School District could come as early as Dec. 17, union lead negotiator
Jane Brubaker said.
The union members voted unanimously last school year to authorize
a strike, meaning the negotiating team can call for a strike whenever
it feels it is necessary. The only legal requirement is to give
the district 48 hours notice.
Union President Deborah Zaborney warned the district Monday night
that a strike was likely after the school board voted 6-1 with
two abstentions to reject a fact-finder report that the union
had accepted. The Times Leader had incorrectly reported the vote
was 8-1, but new board members Tony Prushinski and Frank Vandermark
Jr. abstained.
Theyve been negotiating for three years, and I know
the report just came out, Prushinski said Tuesday, adding
that he had seen the report but did not get a chance to scrutinize
it closely before he was sworn in as a board member Monday. I
didnt think it would be fair to anyone to make a judgment
without knowing more.
The union contract expired August 2005.
There are a number of tentative agreements that were reached
on some issues, Brubaker said, but a few major sticking
points stalled the process, prompting the union to request that
both sides submit to state fact-finding. It can be requested
by either party and its usually used when youve reached
a point where youve got to change the dynamics to move the
parties forward.
A fact-finding hearing was held Nov. 13. Before that, the last
negotiating session had been Sept. 26, Brubaker said. When the
report was issued, both sides had 10 days to accept or reject
it.
The union approved it, contending it was fair and that the district
could afford it without a tax increase. Now that the board has
rejected it, both sides have 10 days to reconsider their votes.
If nothing changes, the process is over.
Brubaker said the union is waiting the 10 days to see if the board
reconsiders its vote before deciding whether to call a strike.
That would mean a strike wont happen until Dec. 17 at the
earliest.
The fact-finding report becomes public record after either side
rejects it and officially notifies the state Labor Relations Board,
which oversees the process. Department of Labor spokesman Christopher
Manlove said the notification came late Tuesday afternoon and
that the report would probably be available this morning.
12/5/2007
Kitchen fire damages Nanticoke home; no
one is injured
Times Leader staff
A pot of boiling oil left unattended resulted
in a structure fire Tuesday night.
The fire at 269 Mountain View Drive sparked at about 9 p.m. No
one was injured by the fire and the family was not displaced.
It was a kitchen fire. It started on the stove: unintentional,
Nanticoke Fire Chief Mike Bohan said.
Bohan said the kitchen is pretty well destroyed but
that the rest of the first floor of the home received mostly smoke
and water damage.
12/4/2007
Nanticoke steps closer to strike
By Elizabeth Skrapits - CVoice
Greater Nanticoke Area teachers could be the next in the county
to go on strike, depending on what happens in the next 10 days.
The school board voted 6-1 with two abstentions on Monday to reject
the fact-finders report, which is drawn up by a neutral
third party based on contract proposals from both sides. Greater
Nanticoke Area Education Association members voted last Thursday
to accept the report.
Now that the board has turned the report down, it has 10 days
to reconsider and take a re-vote.
Its time now to meet in the middle and find a compromise
thats fair to all, GNAEA President Barbara Zaborney
told the board after the vote. If you dont reconsider
the next step in an impasse resolution is a strike. The choice
is yours.
New board members Tony Prushinski and Frank Vandermark, freshly
sworn in by Magisterial District Judge Donald Whittaker, abstained
from voting on the report.
Jeff Kozlofski, just re-appointed as board president, was the
sole yes vote. His vote drew cheers and applause from the more
than 200 people, mostly teachers and supporters, who partly filled
the high school auditorium.
The six board members who voted against the report did so because
they had to accept it as a whole, board vice president Ken James
said.
They apparently didnt agree with parts of it. The fact-finders
report will most likely be made public after the Pennsylvania
Labor Relations Board is notified of the boards decision,
said Robert Raineri, a member of the school boards negotiating
committee. Until then, he couldnt discuss the reports
specifics.
Zaborney said the fact finders recommendation was for a
five-year contract. However, Greater Nanticoke Area teachers have
been without a contract since August 2005.
We will be back at the bargaining table two years from now.
Just two years, Zaborney said.
Health insurance and salaries are main sticking points, as they
are in the two other Luzerne County districts without a contract,
Lake-Lehman and Northwest Area. Both of those teachers associations
held brief strikes in June, and Lake-Lehman teachers returned
to the classroom Nov. 9 after a second, 19-day strike.
Greater Nanticoke Area teachers were willing to make changes and
compromises for the fact-finders report, said Jane Brubaker,
the teachers Pennsylvania State Education Association representative.
The recommendations in the report would not require a tax increase
to fund, she said.
The teachers union will wait to see what the board does
during the next 10 days and make plans accordingly, Brubaker said.
After the meeting, Kozlofski urged the two sides negotiating
teams to sit down together just to talk. Raineri said the boards
negotiating team has requested a meeting with the teachers, which
will most likely take place this week.
Kozlofski is optimistic.
In my opinion, theyre getting together, theyre
going to negotiate, theyre going to settle this, he
said.
12/4/2007
For Acker, a smooth road from GNA to St.
Joes
Bill Arsenault - Times Leader
It didnt take long for Sarah Acker to
get adjusted to womens major college basketball.
The 6-foot-3 center from Nanticoke Area has played in all six
games and started five for St. Joseph, which is 4-2 after a 65-58
victory against Manhattan on Sunday.
Acker played 22 minutes and finished with six points, five rebounds,
three blocks and two assists.
On the season, Acker is averaging 26.7 minutes. Shes second
on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg.) and leads in rebounds (9.0)
and blocked shots (nine).
Sarah has been a great addition to our team, coach
Cindy Griffin said. Her size and ability to rebound have
meant the most to us thus far. She is becoming a steady offensive
threat around the basket, as well.
Griffin doesnt see Acker slowing down as the season progresses.
We expect Sarah to continue to improve her off hand and
her understanding of post defense and compete with some of the
best post players in the country, Griffin said.
12/4/2007
Teacher strike threatened in Nanticoke
Ralph Nardone - Times Leader
Greater Nanticoke Area teachers threatened
a strike at Monday nights school board meeting.
What prompted the threat was the boards refusal to accept
a state-appointed fact-finders report presented to them,
which outlined recommendations to alleviate a contract impasse.
The voted 8 to 1 against acceptance of the report.
The specific details of the recommendations were not available.
The union did not set a strike date, but Barbara Zaborney, president
of the Greater Nanticoke Area Educators Association, told
the board the fact-finders recommendations are more
than reasonable and said a strike will happen at an opportune
time. She would not elaborate.
Nanticoke teachers have been working without a contract since
August 2005, according to Jane Brubaker of the Pennsylvania State
Education Association.
Zaborney said the recommendation did not require any tax increases
for the district. She added the education association membership
voted overwhelmingly to accept the recommendations
even though they included significant compromises.
We are an important part of the school district, Zaborney
said. We are professional educators offering the best possible
education for the residents and taxpayers.
She added the teachers helped the district in the past when money
was tight, agreeing to wage freezes and other concessions. However,
she noted the board promised them their sacrifices would
be remembered.
That time is now, she said.
Board president Jeff Kozlofski, who cast the only vote to accept
the fact-finders report, said he thinks it is a fair
deal for both the district and the teachers.
Nobody wins if there is a strike, Kozlofski said.
The biggest losers are the district students, he added. However,
without accepting the unions offer, essentially the whole
negotiation process is back to square one.
Kenny James, vice president of the school board, stressed the
board wants a fair contract for the teachers.
He pointed out the district is one of the poorest in Luzerne County
and whatever agreement is made has to work for the community
as a whole.
12/3/2007
Difficult financial decisions in Nanticokes future
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Nanticokes budget and financial recovery plan dont
call for laying off employees.
But in the future, as costs go up while the financially distressed
citys income stays the same, council and Mayor John Bushko
might have to make difficult personnel decisions.
At present, layoffs are a remote possibility, Councilman
James Litchkofski said.
Councilman Bernie Norieka says expenses are already reduced to
bare bones, so personnel is the only major place left to cut costs.
Out of every dollar the city takes in, 75 cents goes for salary
and benefits particularly in the police and fire departments
a sizeable chunk of the budget, he said. Council should
look at personnel reduction, whether it means freezing hires,
through attrition, or layoffs, Norieka said.
Police and fire personnel cant be laid off under their contracts,
which are up for negotiation next year. Clerical staff and public
works department employees could be cut. Their contracts expire
at the end of this year and currently are under negotiation.
The public works department, at seven men, is already understaffed,
Litchkofski said. As soon as their contract is settled, the city
can start subcontracting out services such as pothole patching
to save money and free the men up for other work, he said.
Nanticokes $4.18 million 2008 budget is balanced, and does
not contain any fee increases or new tax hikes. Residents already
pay an earned income tax of 2 percent, twice the normal rate,
because of the citys distressed status.
The higher income tax will help the city for a while, but Pennsylvania
Economy League representatives predict that within five years,
expenses will overtake revenues. As with household budgets, costs
for necessities, including utilities and health insurance, go
up, but the amount of money coming in stays about the same.
During a budget discussion last week with representatives from
the PEL, Nanticokes financial recovery coordinators, Norieka
asked if cutting two of the citys six clerical employees
would help. There are two in the tax office, one collecting refuse
fees, two in the economic development office, and one in the police
department. PEL Executive Director Gerald Cross said laying off
two employees only saves $50,000.
Bushko strongly opposes the idea. Clerical salaries range from
$19,000 to around $28,000, making them the lowest-paid employees
in the city, he said.
Besides, the city really only pays for three of the six, he said.
Greater Nanticoke Area pays one tax office workers salary;
one community development salary is paid for through federal Office
of Community Development funds, and refuse fees cover their collectors
salary, Bushko said.
Although it costs the city $17,000 for one Blue Cross/Blue Shield
family plan, three of the six clerical workers take buyouts. They
get $2,000 from the city, Bushko said.
He doesnt think raising the buyout to $4,000 while making
the other employees pay $50 to $100 per paycheck toward their
health insurance premiums will save the city money.
Incoming Councilman Jon Metta said he couldnt tell what
the future will hold. Good contracts should help prevent layoffs,
as well as monitoring overtime and following the recovery plan,
he said.
12/3/2007
Nanticoke worker hours at issue
Councilman wants clerical staff to join other city employees in
working a regular eight-hour day.
slong@timesleader.com
Some city officials want to ensure all employees
work a standard eight-hour day.
The citys financial recovery plan adopted by council last
December requires all full-time city employees work at least 35
hours per week.
Most of the citys employees do work eight hours a day with
a paid lunch, but not all.
Nanticokes six clerical employees are considered full-time
employees. They work 30 hours a week and receive city-paid health
insurance benefits, accrued sick leave, two weeks of paid vacation
time and 22 paid holidays.
The six women work 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a paid hour for lunch
in the citys refuse department, tax collection office, community
development and police department.
Councilman Bernie Norieka wants them to work a standard work day,
just as he said they would in a private sector job. Thats
an additional hour a day per employee, he said.
If they dont like it they can go look in the private
sector and they will see there are no other benefits, Norieka
said.
He said he knows he is not popular right now with employees, but
he said he is representing the taxpayers. Somebody has got
to take a stance and we have to get the city back on its feet.
He said the city needs to find ways to cut costs, but it appears
that can only be done by looking at personnel costs.
Seventy-five cents out of every dollar goes to pay employees
salaries and benefits, said Norieka, who was appointed to
council in April after former councilman Bill OMalley resigned.
He wants to improve the efficiency of the office staff by increasing
the hours and realigning staff to help the code enforcement department.
With the office staff working longer hours, more paperwork and
city functions will run smoother by maybe realigning some of the
office staff into other departments, including code enforcement,
Norieka said.
Incoming councilman Jon Metta, who will replace Norieka on council,
said he believes the city needs to follow the recovery plan because
it cant afford not to.
It is very tight. We cant go out of the plan,
he said.
Although he wont be sworn in until January, Metta has attended
nearly every public City Council meeting and workshop to keep
abreast of the citys issues. As a councilman, he will oversee
the citys finance department.
Supporters of the clerical staff, including Mayor John Bushko
and city treasurer and tax collector Al Wytoshek, said its
not the workers fault that they work fewer hours than other
city employees. Bushko has served on council for 14 years.
Wytoshek, a former council member, said former administrations
offered the employees perks when the city couldnt always
offer a pay raise during contract talks. Its not the
girls fault they got all the benefits because we were looking
to pacify them cause we knew we didnt have the money
to pay them extra.
City administrator Ken Johnson said the salaries range from about
$19,000 to $30,000, plus benefits.
Johnson is actively negotiating with the clerical staffs
union officials, but no determination has been reached regarding
additional salary compensation or the exact working hours.
Morale concerns
Worried about staff morale, Johnson said he respects the workers
because he knows they work hard and didnt ask for these
additional perks.
The perks, he said, were granted through contracts with previous
administrations.
Jim Murphy, an agent for Teamsters Local 401, which represent
the citys street department and clerical personnel, declined
to comment Sunday because of ongoing negotiations.
Bushko and Wytoshek believe the office staff should be compensated
appropriately for the additional hours they are being asked to
work.
I dont think anybody should have to work an extra
hour without extra pay, Bushko said.
The recovery plan does not provide for a pay raise in the first
year of a new contract. It does provide an $800 pay raise during
the second and third years of a contract. The contract ended last
year, but it was extended for a year with no pay increase. So
they have worked one year already without a pay increase.
If the city does agree to increase the clerical workers
salaries, it must also be approved by the citys financial
advisors, the Pennsylvania Economy League and the state.
Any proposed settlement would be reviewed to determine its
effect on the city and its budget, said Jerry Cross, PEL
executive director.
Johnson said he just wants to ensure the municipal building is
open the necessary hours to be more convenient for Nanticoke citizens
needing to pay their bills.
The function of city government is to provide services,
Johnson said.
The more convenient we can make those services, the better
it is for the citizens of Nanticoke.
Whats next
What: Nanticoke City Council meeting
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Municipal building, 15 E. Ridge St.
11/29/2007
Nanticoke Area Notes
By Pam Urbanski
K.M. Smith Elementary School institutes
Pre-K Counts program
Pennsylvania has made great strides in serving
young children through early childhood initiatives such as the
Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts program.
Established by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the program
gives children an opportunity to get a head start in the classroom.
Seventy-five million dollars was made available to Pennsylvania
school districts for the program.
Diane Klish, director of the Family Center in Nanticoke, wrote
the grant for the Nanticoke program and was fortunate to receive
it. Nanticoke Area is just one of six schools in the county that
was awarded the funding. In Pennsylvania, the push is on to initiate
early learning standards.
All schools are really trying to standardize their kindergarten
programs so that when a child enters kindergarten, no matter where
in Pennsylvania, the student is expected to know certain skills
and learn certain academics, Klish said.
Were really excited about this new program. It gives
our youngest children an opportunity to get ready for the kindergarten
classroom, she said.
Klish said that, at first, the emphasis is placed on socialization.
We teach our children many things including how to get in
line, how to take turns, how to treat their classmates and teachers
with respect and empathy, she said.
Continuing, she said, In addition to socialization, children
learn important skills such as holding a pencil and scissors correctly,
cutting, colors, how to spell their first and last names and more.
The Pre-K Counts program is housed in the K.M. Smith Elementary
Center. There is one teacher and an aide. The program runs five
days a week and children go to class two and a half days a week.
Parents can chose from two different times: morning sessions are
from 8:20 to 11:05 a.m. and afternoon sessions are from 11:40
a.m. to 2:25 p.m. The program is free.
For more information or to enroll your child in the program, call
the school at 735-3740.
Tax rebate period ends
Nanticoke City Tax Collector A.J. Wytoshek announced the rebate
period for 2007 school taxes and school per capita taxes has ended.
Taxes are payable Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
and 1 to 4 p.m. at the tax office in the Nanticoke City Municipal
Building. Mail-in payments will not be accepted by postmark. Nanticoke
City property and city per capita taxes are now in penalty value,
which ends Dec. 15.
Anyone needing assistance or an appointment should call 735-2800.
Santa is coming to town
Santa Claus will make a stop in Nanticoke on Sunday, Dec. 9. The
Santa parade will start at 1 p.m. at the Nanticoke Area High School
and finish at Patriot Park where the Christmas festivities will
be held.
There will be horse and buggy rides and sounds of the season will
be provided by the Greater Nanticoke Area choir. There also will
be fun activities, surprises and, of course, a gift from Santa.
The event is sponsored by Nanticoke Civic Pride.
Basketball bus trip set
The Nanticoke Recreation Board is sponsoring a basketball trip
to see former Nanticoke Area High School standout Sarah Acker
play on the college level. Sarah plays for St. Josephs University.
The game is Sunday, Feb. 24. St. Josephs will play George
Washington University. The buses will leave from the Nanticoke
Area High School parking lot at a time to be announced. Cost is
$20 per person or $25 per person if you would like a T-shirt.
Reservations must be made by calling Mike at 735-7421 or Jim at
735-8108. Reservations are due by Feb. 15.
11/28/2007
Nanticoke officials launch cost-cutting effort
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
City officials, aided by financial advisers, went hunting for
ways to trim next years expenses.
They discovered their cost-cutting options are limited, and even
laying off city employees wont help.
Council, Mayor John Bushko, city administration and representatives
from the Pennsylvania Economy League, Nanticokes financial
recovery coordinator, met Tuesday to go over the $4.18 million
2008 budget. The city is having a hard time meeting expenses in
2007, which cuts into next years budget.
The city raised its share of earned income tax from 0.5 percent
to 1.5 percent this year, but money didnt come in as anticipated,
and neither did real estate tax. PEL expected county-wide reassessment
to take place by 2008 instead of being postponed, research associate
Harry Miller said.
In addition, higher health insurance costs a 15 percent
rate increase instead of 10 percent and spending more than
planned on a city administrator and for legal fees helped bust
the budget.
The citys main expenses are for police and fire departments,
but their contracts have minimum staffing levels that must be
met, Miller said. Councilman Bernie Norieka suggested laying off
the refuse money collector and an employee from the tax office.
That would only save about $50,000, PEL Executive Director Gerald
Cross said. Instead, Miller suggested clerical employees
duties be shifted to the public works department and code enforcement
office.
The officials decided to slash overtime in half. Police overtime
will be reduced from $60,000 to $30,000 and firefighters
from $40,000 to $20,000.
Since changes to the budget are minimal, the city wont have
to re-advertise it. Council plans its second vote on the budget
during the regular meeting Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.
11/23/2007
Nanticoke takes action to smooth Kanjorski
Center transition
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The Nanticoke General Municipal Authority board voted to take
over the Kanjorski Center from the Nanticoke Redevelopment Authority,
in hopes it will pave the way for an easier sale to Luzerne County
Community College
LCCC wants to buy the Kanjorski Center to turn it into a health
sciences center. Transferring the property from the redevelopment
authority to the municipal authority would streamline the sale
process because the college will only have to deal with one entity,
the municipal authoritys solicitor Joseph Lach said.
When the Kanjorski Center was about to be built, a September 1993
agreement among the city and both authorities gave each of the
three parties a specific role in the creation of the office building.
The citys role was to obtain the grants and other funding
to construct the center, then sign the money over to the municipal
authority.
The municipal authority had charge of developing, constructing,
leasing and managing the office building, which was to have Travelers
Insurance Co. as its first tenant.
The redevelopment authority was tasked with acquiring parcels
of land on East Main Street and putting them together to form
the development area for the center. The redevelopment authority
then held the deed to the property.
The 1993 agreement gives the municipal authority the option to
purchase the property from the redevelopment authority at any
time for $10, with written notice of its intention. The redevelopment
authority then has 30 days to transfer the deed to the municipal
authority.
Redevelopment authority board member Steve Buchinski, who sat
in on the municipal authority meeting, said his boards solicitor,
Susan Maza, would have to interpret the agreement. However, Lach
said he believed the agreement was very straightforward.
In my personal opinion, not only is it legal, but it make
sense, Lach said.
Besides streamlining the sale, in a city with a population of
under 10,000 and limited resources, it doesnt make sense
to have responsibilities for the downtown projects spread out
in different directions, Lach said.
It seems unreasonably cumbersome to have all these different
groups trying to get something done, he said.
Municipal authority board member Dennis Butler wants city officials
and the municipal and redevelopment authority boards to continue
to work together on their common goal: the sale of the Kanjorski
Center and related downtown revitalization projects.
11/21/2007
Rates dip for health trust
schools
Costs will drop next year and probably for next 2 or 3 years.
guydish@timesleader.com
While theres no dollar figures attached
yet, members of the Northeast Pennsylvania School District Health
Trust will see their health insurance rates drop not only this
coming year, but also probably for the next two or three years.
Add to that what has become an annual habit of giving members
one-month without paying premiums equivalent to another
8.5 percent decrease and the Trust is finally providing
the kind of taxpayer savings promised when it was formed in 1999,
Executive Director Andrew Marko said.
Next years rates will be, on average, 4.1 percent less than
this year, Marko said, the biggest rate reduction in the Trusts
history and the third in a row. While it wont be certain
until sometime next year, members will also likely get one month
free of premiums. Much of the savings are possible because of
a hefty surplus of about $12 million and a constant search for
ways to save more, Marko said.
Its a sharp change from the early, turbulent years of the
Trust marked by double-digit increases and multimillion-dollar
deficits.
The goal of the trust has always been to bring stability
to districts without interfering with benefits, and we have reached
that goal, Marko said. We expect to maintain this
level for two or three years at least.
The Trust was formed by 10 school districts, two vocational-technical
schools and the Luzerne Intermediate Unit, but Dallas and Pittston
Area school districts withdrew this summer, claiming they could
save more money on their own. Five months later, the Trust announced
the changes in insurance premiums each member will pay this year,
and all but one saw decreases ranging from 1.5 percent to 7.8
percent.
While the Trust initially planned to spread costs evenly among
districts and set a single rate for all, that plan was scuttled
early, and each gets a slightly different premium, so each has
a slightly different change in the premium annually.
Marko said Tunkhannock Area will see a 0.5 percent increase while
the rest will see the following decreases: Hanover Area, 6.4 percent;
Lake-Lehman, 3.8 percent; LIU, 5.3 percent; Greater
Nanticoke Area, 4.4 percent; Northwest Area, 7.8 percent;
West Side Vo-Tech, 2.9 percent; Wilkes-Barre Area, 1.5 percent;
Wilkes-Barre Area Vo-Tech, 2.5 percent; Wyoming Area 7.6 percent;
and Wyoming Valley West, 7.6 percent.
Marko said that, barring some major change, members can also expect
one month without a premium, which amounts to several hundred
thousand dollars for most.
We expect to maintain stability, with zero increases or
even decreases for the next three or four years, Marko said.
11/16/2007
GNA board OKs plan for school improvement
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Greater Nanticoke Area School Board approved a plan Thursday for
Nanticoke High Schools second year of state-mandated school
improvement.
To comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law, students
take the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests to determine
their reading and math abilities. Districts must make adequate
yearly progress goals in test participation and school attendance.
Nanticoke High Schools problem is with reading proficiency
in economically disadvantaged and special education students,
according to the Department of Education.
As part of the plan, teachers will use the states Adopt
an Anchor program, Superintendent Anthony Perrone said.
It enables teachers to align their curriculum with PSSA standards
to help prepare students for the tests.
Principals will do classroom walk-ins each day to see how the
teachers are doing, Perrone said. The principals will submit weekly
reports.
Im happy we have a plan and are moving forward,
board member Pattie Bieski said.
She thanked federal funds coordinator Michael Pawlik for his work.
Greater Nanticoke Areas Educational Center and Elementary
Center received warnings from the state for test performance.
The problems concern reading and math for special education students
at the educational center and reading for special education students
at the elementary center.
In other business, board member Robert Raineri said teachers contract
negotiations are in the fact-finding process, where a neutral
third party looks at both sides proposals and makes recommendations.
It should end Nov. 26, after which the teachers union and school
board will have 10 days to vote on the fact-finders report,
Raineri said. He expects the board to vote during the Dec. 3 meeting.
Greater Nanticoke Area teachers have been without a contract since
June 2005. Health insurance and salary increases are main sticking
points
Hank Marks of the Greater Nanticoke Area Taxpayers Association
said most full-time teachers dont know how well they
have it.
Theyre well-paid, have top-shelf benefits, and only
work 180 days a year, Marks said.
He also noted, Our education is not very good as far as
test scores are concerned, which provoked a few indignant
noises from the audience.
11/16/2007
GNA random drug testing policy gets initial approval
slong@timesleader.com
The Greater Nanticoke Area School Board approved
the first reading of a random drug-testing policy during its meeting
on Thursday.
At the request of district officials, state troopers used drug-trained
sniffing dogs to inspect the high school on Oct. 13 while the
building was in lock-down. There were no drugs of any kind
found, Superintendent Tony Perrone said.
Specifics of how the entire drug-testing policy will work and
how often the testing will be conducted are still being ironed
out, but Perrone said the district will use a private medical
lab to conduct the testing.
We are trying to make this a drug-free school zone,
he said. It will just be athletes now, but eventually it
will be extracurricular also.
Parents must sign a waiver to allow for the testing or their child
wont be allowed to participate on the districts sports
teams.
Students on prescription medication would not be subject to penalties
that would be enforced on students who test positive for illegal
substances, Perrone said.
Officials also approved the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment
improvement plan.
The plan, which is required to be submitted to the Pennsylvania
Department of Education, describes the districts testing
standards and what activities it will use to help students improve
their standardized test scores.
School board member Patricia Bieski said the district has a long
way to go to improve the scores, but at least it is now moving
in the right direction.
I am glad we are not just talking anymore and are moving
forward to improve the PSSA scores, she said.
Further details of the plan were not available.
11/15/2007
Nanticoke Redevelopment Authority stops
short of approving contract with architectural firm
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The redevelopment authority board postponed
voting to approve a contract with architectural and planning firm
Facility Design & Development Ltd. for downtown improvements,
saying they want more answers.
The contract is for streetscaping Main and North Market streets,
including new sidewalks, streetlights, parking, planters and benches.
It would follow recommendations in the strategic plan the Scranton-based
architectural and planning firm prepared for Nanticoke and unveiled
in April 2006.
The streetscaping is part of an overall plan for downtown redevelopment,
the cornerstone of which is the sale of the redevelopment authorityowned
Kanjorski Center on East Main Street to Luzerne County Community
College for a health sciences center.
LCCC also wants a culinary arts center constructed on the site
of the city-owned senior center at Market and Main
streets. Since city and state officials expect the projects to
bring millions of dollars in private investment downtown, they
want to give its main streets a new look.
Municipal authority Chairman Ron Kamowski signed off on the contract
with Facility Design & Development at the authority's Oct.
22 meeting.
The redevelopment authority met two days later, but members wanted
to wait until city council voiced its support and authority solicitor
Susan Maza checked over the contract. Council gave the OK on Nov.
7.
The redevelopment authority wanted a few items in the contract
changed or clarified. Redevelopment authority Chairman Chester
Beggs called for a joint meeting with the municipal authority.
"I don't want to sign anything and have more money problems,"
he said.
The other members agreed. They would like a representative of
Facility Design & Development to be present at the upcoming
meeting.
The authority's main question was how much the project will cost.
The firm's fees
would be 10 percent of the budget, based on available funds, the
contract states. Maza said the wording was vague. She said the
board should be given a specific budget amount with a breakdown
showing how it could be used.
The $15,000 Facility Design & Development would receive on
signing the contract is already covered.
State Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, did not attend the meeting,
but said earlier the municipal authority had received a $100,000
grant for professional services related to the downtown projects.
The grant can cover architectural fees, legal fees, site preparation,
the appraisals, and anything else needed to get things ready,
he said.
But funding for the project itself is still being worked out.
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, DNanticoke, took away $5.6 million federal
transportation funding from the redevelopment authority The money
was for streetscaping and a parking garage for the Kanjorski Center.
11/15/2007
Nanticoke officials gear up for contract
talks
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
To stay on budget and follow the financial
recovery plan, city officials will have to gear up for tough contract
negotiations next year, including taking away some employee perks.
"Act 47 is not a bed of roses, and it's not a cure-all,"
Gerald Cross, executive director of Nanticoke's financial recovery
coordinator Pennsylvania Economy League, told council. "The
responsibility still rests with the city fathers."
Under state Act 47, the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act,
distressed municipalities like Nanticoke have to pass a balanced
budget for three straight years. The $4,183,677 budget for 2008
that council and Mayor John Bushko passed in preliminary form
on Wednesday is balanced.
"This is the first reading and numbers could change,"
Bushko said.
Revenue is mainly from earned income tax, increased last year
from 1 percent to 2 percent, with 0.5 percent going to the Greater
Nanticoke Area School District.
The biggest hike in expenditures is $110,000 for legal fees, up
from $20,657 in the 2007 budget. Bushko thought the amount was
excessive.
But Joseph Boyle, PEL policy specialist, said the city chose the
amount to plan for labor lawyers' fees, with four employee contracts
expiring. The clerical staff and public works contracts, which
expire Dec. 31, are in negotiations, and talks will start next
year for police and fire contracts, up Dec. 31, 2008.
Personnel expenses make up 75 percent to 80 percent of the budget,
PEL research associate Harry Miller said.
Labor costs got the city in financial trouble in the first place,
Miller said. Nanticoke's financial recovery plan calls for extensive
changes to new contracts that will save the city money.
The subject of the six members of the clerical staff was particularly
thorny.
Clerical salaries are in the "low $20,000s," fiscal
manager Holly Quinn said.
But clerical staff get benefits fully paid by the city - health
insurance is approximately $17,000 a year per person - 22 paid
days off, two weeks of vacation, several sick days a year and
pensions, Councilman Bernie Norieka said.
In addition, clerical staff work six-hour days. The recovery plan
calls for them to work an eight-hour day, with one hour paid lunchtime.
It isn't fair for them to have their hours increased, with only
an $800 a year raise allowed them by the recovery plan, tax collector
Albert Wytoshek believes.
They should have been working seven hours a day all along, Norieka
said. Bushko, agreeing with Wytoshek that $800 wasn't much, said
the staff signed on for six hours.
Cross said most people in Nanticoke earn less than $50,000 a year.
He pointed out that residents wouldn't like paying higher income
taxes so city employees could have higher salaries and benefits.
"Poll the citizens of Nanticoke next time you're out, and
see how they feel about the working conditions (in city hall),"
Cross said.
"That'll fly like a lead balloon," Wytoshek admitted.
Bushko requested another meeting to go over the budget line by
line. He hopes to cut expenditures, he said.
"Unless you're willing to talk personnel reduction or benefit
reduction, there's not much we can do," Miller said.
11/15/2007
Nanticoke rolls out '09 budget
slong@timesleader.com
The financially distressed city currently in Act 47 status got
its first glimpse at the 2008 budget during a specially called
meeting Wednesday night.
The $4.18 million budget is a 23.3 percent increase over the 2007
general fund budget of $3.38 million.
The 2008 budget does not include any higher taxes, sewer or refuse
fees. But there is also no plan to fund capital improvements,
which frustrated Mayor John Bushko, who has been actively seeking
to get the roads and sewer lines fixed.
Higher health care costs, repayment of state loans and labor benefits
under current union contracts account for the largest increases
in the budget.
Medical insurance costs rose 14.7 percent for 2008, City Administrator
Kenneth Johnson said. The city pays 100 percent of the costs for
full-timers and their families.
A series of no-interest loans scheduled for payback to the state
next year were expenses, which could not be put off, also increased
the 2008 budget.
A $200,000 loan and a $70,000 payment on the 10-year, no-interest
loan from 2006 must be paid next year, Johnson said.
The police department's budget increases $161,694 and the fire
department budget increases $281,183 over the next year due to
"significant wage increases under the current bargaining
agreements," Johnson said.
Bushko proposed going line by line to review each department.
"Unless you are willing to talk labor, benefits and the number
of employees reduction you won't reduce the budget tremendously,
and some you can't touch because you are under budget contracts,"
said Henry Miller, a senior research associate for the Pennsylvania
Economy League.
Taxes were raised earlier this year when the city adopted a commuter
tax of 1.33 percent and raised the earned income tax to 2 percent.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Mark Ciavarella on Tuesday
approved the city's request to maintain the new tax rate approved
in the spring.
The city expected to receive $1.7 million this year by increasing
the income tax in late spring, but as of Sept. 30 only $580,673
had come in.
Johnson and PEL officials believe most of those 2007 taxes, an
estimated $736,667, will come in next year by April 15.
Johnson and PEL think an additional $1.02 million will be generated
from the higher taxes in 2008.
The city council is hoping to pass the budget by Dec. 19.
11/13/2007
Need for appraisal questioned
slong@timesleader.com
An appraisal of the exterior of the Kanjorski
Center will be conducted within the next two weeks in an effort
to keep the downtown renovation project on track. The building,
owned by the Nanticoke Municipal Authority, is part of a plan
to move some Luzerne County Community College programs into the
heart of the city.
The Kanjorski Center appraisal is expected to cost $3,000, according
to Ron Kamowski, authority chairman.
Other city-owned structures, including the Senior Citizen Center,
which also may be purchased by LCCC, will be appraised at a later
date, state Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke said .
Kamowski would not release the names of the other sites because
the authority hasnt decided which properties should be appraised,
he said.
A $100,000 state community revitalization grant will pay for appraisals
and other behind-the-scenes work, including legal fees, and will
be used to acquire properties needed to proceed with the three-pronged,
$21 million project, Yudichak said.
LCCC wants to move its health sciences program into the Kanjorski
Center and its culinary arts program into the Senior Citizens
Center by 2009.
A private restaurant developer, yet to be named, has expressed
interest in working with the culinary arts center by opening a
restaurant in downtown Nanticoke.
The federal Economic Development Administration requires an appraisal
on the Kanjorski Centers outer shell to determine the buildings
value before it can be sold to the college.
We need an appraisal to determine the monies owed to the
EDA, Kamowski said.
Results from the appraisal are expected to be presented to the
authority in about two weeks.
Nanticoke City Administrator Kenneth Johnson doesnt see
the need for an appraisal since the property is being transferred
from the municipal authority to the community college.
Its not the cost that bothers me. Whats the
appraisal for? Why do they want an appraisal? Johnson said.
We are going to be transferring this to LCCC, another public
entity.
When the Kanjorski Center was constructed 13 years ago, the federal
EDA paid $1.8 million toward the total cost.
The money was provided with the stipulation that at least a portion
of the original funds be repaid to the EDA if the building is
sold within 20 years, Kamowski said.
An interior appraisal will not be conducted because the college
is expected to spend $6 million on renovations that would make
it suitable to house the health sciences program with dental labs,
faculty offices and classrooms.
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, said hes working
with the EDA office to reduce the buildings cost so LCCC
can purchase it at a reasonable cost.
We are trying to get a waiver or reduce the amount,
Kanjorski said, noting he would assist LCCC to help it qualify
to buy the building.
He said he is planning to meet with the economic development officials
after the appraisal is complete.
Earlier this year, Kanjorski rerouted a $5.6 million federal allocation
from the Nanticoke project to the Hotel Sterling in Wilkes-Barre
and another project in Lackawanna County. He said he feared the
11th Congressional District would lose the funding because Nanticoke
officials were taking too long to complete the deal.
City council members Brent Makarczyk and James Litchofski insist
the $5.6 million still belongs to Nanticoke.
City, county and school officials have made numerous requests
to Kanjorski to redirect the money to Nanticoke and the municipal
authority.
Makarczyk and Litchofski said they believe the appraisal is a
smokescreen being used by Kanjorski to keep the federal money
away from his hometown.
Its even been brought up that it could be a delay
tactic until the bill gets passed and the money be removed from
our possession, Makarczyk said.
Kanjorski said he is working to find additional funds for the
project.
Its not the cost that bothers me. Whats the
appraisal for? Why do they want an appraisal?
Kenneth Johnson
Nanticoke City Administrator
11/13/2007
Schools gang up on staph
Institutions stress hygiene to combat drug-resistant infections.
mvough@timesleader.com
After two school districts reported cases
of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, local schools
are taking measures to prevent students, faculty and staff from
becoming infected. Cases have been confirmed in the Wyoming Area
and Wilkes-Barre Area school districts.
Most are trying to prevent infection through education. Some are
sending home informational letters and good-hygiene tips to parents
and educating their employees on the spread of the bacteria. One
local university recently installed automatic hand sanitizers
in the dining hall.
MRSA is a bacterial infection that is resistant to certain antibiotics,
but it can be treated. The elderly are most prone to the infection
because of weak immune systems, but anyone can become infected.
The infection is generally spread through direct contact. If someone
has an open wound, the bacterium is able to penetrate the skin,
causing the infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
When the students from the Wilkes-Barre Area School District contracted
the infection, Andrew Kuhl, director of secondary curriculum,
said officials informed parents.
Superintendent Jeffrey Namey sent parents an eight-page letter
that explained what happened and included information about the
disease, its symptoms and instructions on how to stay protected
and how to keep areas clean, Kuhl said.|
Employees were briefed on the disease.
Meetings were held for all faculty and they were given the
same type of information the parents received for their use for
their particular building, Kuhl said.
Younger students were taught how to properly wash their hands,
Kuhl said.
The nurses had the kids sing their ABCs while washing their
hands so they knew they properly washed their hands long enough.
At Kistler Elementary School, where one case was reported, district
officials sanitized the building.
We are doing that in all of our buildings, Kuhl said.
Our staff has been taking precautions right along. I feel
we were well-prepared.
There have been no reports of MRSA in the
Greater Nanticoke Area School District but officials are taking
precautions. We have not had any issues, which is good,
said Sandy Najaka, registered nurse at the high school. We
are using disinfectants and wiping down tables, desks, gym equipment
and things like that.
Nanticoke administration sent
letters to parents, telling them there have been no MRSA cases
in the district, Najaka said.
We
told parents to make sure they teach their children basic hygiene
such as covering their mouth when they cough, washing their hands,
not taking drinks or eating other peoples food. Common-sense
things, she said.
The school has a hygiene education program that teaches the younger
children about general hygiene and discusses communicable diseases
with the older students.
Nanticoke Webdesign note: Go to www.gnasd.com
to read letter.
Misericordia University had
a quick response, too, according to Charlotte Slocum, director
of student health services.
She said the school placed automatic hand sanitizers in the dining
hall and added more in the health center and weight rooms.
Misericordia is discouraging students from sharing razors or soaps
and suggests students wash their bed sheets and laundry frequently.
If they become sick, they are encouraged to visit the health center
immediately, Slocum said.
Wilkes University is using MRSA as an educational tool.
It is important to note that weve taken this national
news of MRSA and staph infections as an educational opportunity
by informing our students and staff about the signs and symptoms
and how to prevent it, said Christine Seitzinger, associate
director of marketing communications.
A four-page document of information regarding MRSA was sent to
all students on campus, she said.
Little People Day Care School Inc., Wilkes-Barre, has always followed
a strict cleaning regimen, said director Christine Lupcho.
Weve been doing what weve been doing, and so
far, so good, she said. Our toys are always cleaned,
usually a couple times a week. We have cleaning people come in
every night. We follow our state regulations; we have to keep
everything really clean to begin with, which weve been doing.
Signs and Symptoms
How to Stay Healthy
Red bumps such as pimples or boils
Deep, painful abscesses or pus-filled lesions
If a wound is not healing even with the use of treatment,
contact a physician immediately.
If not treated, these wounds can cause infections in bones,
joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream, heart valves and lungs,
which can become life threatening.
Take daily showers
Continually wash hands throughout the day
Keep open wounds properly covered until healed
Do not share food or drinks with other people
Sanitize toys that may be shared among more than one child
Sanitize commonly touched areas around the home
Athletes should shower immediately after practice or a
game
Information collected from the Pennsylvania Department of Health
and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
11/13/2007
Same but different
Former Ships Inn now Maps
By Ron Bartizekrbartizek@timesleader.com
The nautical theme remains, but everything
else about the former Ships Inn restaurant has been given
an upgrade at the new Maps that opened in mid-October.
Nanticoke is a town of traditions, said owner Pam
Hardesty, in explaining the continued seafaring decorations that
include maps on the wall. But dont think thats the
origin of the name Maps also is the possessive
of Pam backwards.
We flipped it around, Hardesty, 45, said, and
it worked right out.
The once-popular spot has been spruced up inside and out, she
said. Hardesty bought the building that had been closed for two
years, then got to work.
Weve completely remodeled everything, with new
booths, new carpeting, all new lighting, fresh paint and a new
canvas awning, she said. With 50 seats, its
cozy.
The restaurant has a full bar and liquor license. That will come
in handy for manager Joy Kelly, who Hardesty said is known for
her signature perfect Manhattan. Kelly, a family friend, has catered
private parties in the region for many years.
Co-owner Tosha Hardesty, Pams daughter, will be in the kitchen.
From the Nanticoke High School class of 2000, she is a graduate
of the Culinary Institute of America and was most recently a sous-chef
at Skytop Lodge in the Poconos.
She wanted to bring her skills back to the community,
Pam Hardesty said.
The menu will be fine dining, American cuisine, using
fresh ingredients, with everything cooked to order.
Hardesty has been a waitress at many local restaurants, she said,
but Ive never owned one. Staffing beyond the
owners and manager will mostly be family members, along with a
few high school students.
Shes not giving up her day job yet, though, in the billing
department of a health care organization.
The restaurant had a soft opening during the second
week in October, Hardesty said. Monday night it hosted an invitation-only
reception for community dignitaries.
FINDING MAPS
Address: 15 W. Ridge St., Nanticoke
Hours: Wed.-Sat., dinner only, 5 p.m.
Phone: 258-0140
Other: Will be booking private parties Sundays-Tuesdays.
11/12/2007
Educational Support Professionals are the backbone of the schools
Editor: Wednesday, Nov. 14, we celebrate Educational Support Professionals
Day. On this day we honor the custodians, maintenance, cleaners,
aides, cafeteria workers, secretaries, hall monitors, transportation
assistants, tech aides and others who provide invaluable services
to our schools.
ESP Day is designed to recognize the ESP for their never ending
hard work and dedication to making public schools great for every
child.
Todays Support Professionals make it easier for students
to learn in positive, supportive and safe environments.
All ESPs are equal and essential partners in the education process.
Thanks to all the Educational Support Professionals who are essentially
the backbone of our schools.
J.D. Verazin
President
Greater Nanticoke Area Educational Support Professionals
11/9/2007
Nanticoke employees will be paid
Despite continued financial problems, city will be able to meet
its payroll obligations.
slong@timesleader.com
All 39 city employees will receive paychecks
today, even though the city continues to experience cash flow
problems, city Administrator Kenneth Johnson said.
Council members expressed concern last month that the city might
not have enough money in its general fund to cover payroll expenses.
Late last week, tax collector Berkheimer Associates sent the city
a check for earned income taxes paid during the second and third
quarters, Johnson said. He would not reveal the amount of the
check.
If this continues, we should be OK, Johnson said.
Regardless, the city will make payroll and try to pay other
bills.
Mayor John Bushko Wednesday night dismissed the notion that the
city would not have been able to pay its employees. There is enough
money to meet payroll for the rest of the year, he said.
In May, the city voted to increase its earned income tax from
1 percent to 2 percent after obtaining approval from a Luzerne
County court. The city receives 1.5 percent and the remaining
.5 percent is paid to the Greater Nanticoke Area School District.
However, the income generated from the tax has not flowed in as
quickly as estimated by the Pennsylvania Economy League officials,
who are mandated by the state to help the city recover from its
Act 47 status.
Despite repeated requests, Nanticoke residents are not contacting
their employers to have the extra tax amount withheld from their
paychecks. Residents who dont have the funds removed now
will get hit with a tax bill next spring.
The monies will come in, just not at the rate anticipated,
Johnson said. I knew we were going to have some issues with
it, but didnt know it would be this rough.
Gerald E. Cross, executive director of the Pennsylvania Economy
League, said the citys cash flow is under control.
By the numbers
2007-08 budget review
Total city employees: 39 full-time
Total payroll: $65,000 payable bi-weekly on Fridays
-Source: City of Nanticoke records
Pennsylvania Economy League and City Administrator Kenneth Johnson
will present the 2008 budget to the city council 7 p.m. Wednesday,
Nov. 14 at Nanticokes municipal building at 15 E. Ridge
St. The budget is anticipated at $3.1 million. Council has until
Dec. 31 to approve the budget.
11/8/2007
Nanticoke official adds clerks duties
Citys administrator takes over the job after the city clerk
resigns.
slong@timesleader.com
City administrator Ken Johnson is now serving
double duties with the city after being named the new city clerk
during Wednesday nights meeting.
Johnson read a letter of resignation dated Nov. 5 from city clerk
Anthony Margelewicz effective immediately.
I have to realize that I cannot carry out the duties as
custodian of the city records while I am not able to control the
deposition of storage, Margelewicz stated in the letter.
He said the work environment had become increasingly hostile
and he was not allowed access to a computer for at least a year
while handling his part-time duties.
None of the council members, Mayor John Bushko or Johnson would
elaborate on these claims.
Bushko called Margelewicz a great friend after accepting his resignation.
He also said the city needed to take applications from people
interested in filling the appointed seat.
Bushko said the clerks job should be handled by a city resident,
not a city administrator.
City councilman Bernie Norieka countered that, saying the city
didnt need to fill the city clerk position because Johnson
could handle those duties.
I think Mr. Johnson has enough on his plate, Bushko
said.
Johnson said although serving as the citys administrator
is a challenging job, he would do the clerks job as requested.
There are other communities in Pennsylvania where the city administrator
and clerk are the same official.
The city will save $6,400 a year by consolidating the clerks
job with Johnsons duties as city administrator.
The council will save money we dont need to pay for
that position, Norieka said.
As clerk, Johnson will now be responsible for maintaining the
citys minutes from each meeting, handling roll call duties
and endorsing documents with the citys official seal as
necessary.
Margelewicz did not return calls seeking comment.
11/8/2007
Nanticoke taking money from projects to
replace $5.6 million in federal funds
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Increasing unlikelihood of getting $5.6 million
federal money means city officials will have to re-route funding
from other important projects.
Council voted Wednesday to use most of a $2.3 million federal
grant for street improvements around the Kanjorski Center on East
Main Street.
Council originally planned to use the money to repave Alden Road,
Prospect Street, Union Street and possibly three others. City
officials are keeping $700,000 of the $2.3 million to repave and
do sewer work on Alden Road.
Nanticoke General Municipal Authority is selling the Kanjorski
Center to Luzerne County Community College for a health sciences
center. The project is considered crucial to millions of dollars
in private investment downtown.
The Kanjorski Center lacks parking. U.S. Rep Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke,
got the city $5.6 million to build a parking garage in the 2005
federal transportation funding act. However, Kanjorski is taking
the money away from Nanticoke in a bill passed by the House but
still in the Senate.
The $2.3 million, which is federal K-route money, cant be
used toward a parking garage, Councilman Brent Makarczyk said.
It can be used for things like sidewalks, streetlights, and on-street
parking, which the $5.6 million would also have gone toward.
Makarczyk, angry about comments by Kanjorski in an Oct. 21 article
in The Citizens Voice, said he believes the city will never
get the $5.6 million, so has to divert money from other projects,
like the K-routes.
He refuted Kanjorskis statement that the parking garage
is not necessary right now. On several occasions in 2005 and 2006,
Kanjorski referred to the need for parking at the Kanjorski Center,
Makarczyk pointed out. Neither did city officials ever say they
didnt want the money, as Kanjorski claimed, Makarczyk said.
He said they wanted it to be spent wisely.
In my opinion, he decided the project was not what he wanted,
so he took taxpayer money and tried to kill the project,
Makarczyk said. For a hometown hero to go out
of his way to kill the biggest city project in years, to me is
very sad.
Councilman James Litchkofski agreed.
It seems to me (Kanjorski) is devaluing the project and
devaluing the residents. Its a shame, he said.
In other business, council accepted city clerk Anthony Margelewiczs
resignation.
I have come to realize that I cannot carry out the duties
as custodian of the citys records when I am not able to
control their disposition or storage, Margelewicz states
in his resignation letter. At the same time I have not had
reliable access to a computer for a period in excess of one year
and the work environment has become increasingly hostile.
City Administrator Kenneth Johnson will take over clerk duties,
which include meeting minutes, at no extra pay.
11/8/2007
Deployment ceremony set Saturday for troops
By bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com
National Guard officials are busy preparing
for Saturdays deployment ceremony to bid farewell to members
of the 109th Field Artillery who will leave for the Middle East
within weeks.
The event will mark the final time the entire battalion will be
united in formation until the soldiers return in late 2008 or
early 2009.
Family, friends, veterans or simply patriotic members of the community
are encouraged to attend, said Sgt. John Paul Karpovich, a battalion
human resources official who organized the event.
This is it. Its a time when we say, Go forward,
carry on the mission, be safe, represent the Wyoming Valley and
come home safe, Karpovich said.
Soldiers will hear an inspirational message from battalion commander,
Lt. Col. Kevin Miller, and an Army chaplain. Other speakers slated
include U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke; state Sens. Ray
Musto, D-Pittston Township, and Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township,
and state Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Kingston.
About 160 soldiers from Alpha Battery (Plymouth), Bravo Battery
(Nanticoke), Headquarters Battery (Wilkes-Barre), and Golf Company
(Wilkes-Barre) are set to mobilize between Nov. 26 and Dec. 3
for an eventual deployment to Afghanistan, Egypt and the Sinai
Peninsula.
This is the third time since Sept. 11 the 109th has been called
to serve the nation and Karpovich is hoping the soldiers will
receive a much deserved send-off. It means a lot when someone
cares and says, Thank you for what you are doing.
That means the world to someone who wears the uniform, he
said.
11/1/2007
Nanticoke Area Notes
Pamela Urbanski writes Nanticoke Area Notes every other Thursday.
You can reach her by e-mail at pamurb806@aol.com.
GNA soccer program helps area kids get in their kicks
Over the last several months, area athletes
have been taking part in the Greater Nanticoke Area Youth Soccer
Program. GNAYS intramural soccer, as it is called, gives kids
ages 5-17 an opportunity to give the sport a try and to learn
a little more about the game.
A lot of the young people who play in our league do so because
they want to see if it is a sport that they will like and might
continue with in high school, said Dave Lane, GNAYS president.
It is also an opportunity for them to learn the fundamentals
of the game and to work on the skills that they have already acquired.
Lane says it is also just a way for kids to have some fun with
their friends and play a sport they really enjoy.
This is Lanes fifth year as president of GNAYS. He and his
wife, Charlene, put in a lot of time making sure players have
a successful season. From coaching to taking care of the fields,
it is a job that takes up their Saturdays and many hours during
the week. Why are they so dedicated?
We do it because we love the sport and we enjoy watching
the kids play and having a good time, Lane said. He started
coaching when his daughter, Kaitlyn, played U8; this year she
is a U18 player. He also has another daughter, Lindsay, who plays
U14.
It is great to see them all go from U8 players and not knowing
what they are doing to U18 skilled players, Lane said.
There are 24 teams from Nanticoke that participated in the soccer
program. More than 200 students and 40 coaches from Nanticoke
have taken part.
Each team practiced twice a week and played a game on Saturday,
starting in September and finishing up this past week. That means
that between 300 and 400 young people and their families from
all over the Wyoming Valley were in town for a Saturday soccer
game.
Four fields were used: three at the Hanover Recreational Park
and one at Lower Broadway. The soccer association made a donation
to the Hanover Recreation Club and they in turn took care of the
three fields. They also ran a concession stand at the fields located
in the Hanover section of Nanticoke.
During the regular season, scores are not kept. Of course players
know who wins and loses, but the stats are not kept and scores
of games are not allowed to be published in the newspaper. That
all changes when teams enter the County Cup.
The County Cup is an intramural soccer tournament where score
is kept and a champion is crowned in each age division. Teams
are entered from all around the Wyoming Valley.
This year, four Nanticoke teams entered the cup. Two teams will
play for the championship on Saturday: a U14 girls team coached
by Dave Chapin and a U18 girls team coached by Dave Lane. Two
teams, a U12 girls team also coached by Lane and a U13 girls team
coached by Paul Cimaksasky, made it to the third round of the
tournament before being eliminated. As with any quality youth
program, a lot of volunteers give their time.
Thank you to all the coaches and adults who helped to make this
season a success. Hats off to the officers of GNAYS: Dave Lane;
Patty McNulty, treasurer; Paul Cimakasky, secretary; and Jay Bohn,
U8 commissioner.
Congratulations to all the players for a fine season and for representing
your community so well.
Calling all mat men
Registration for the Nanticoke Elementary
Wrestling Program will be held Nov. 12 from 7 to 9:30p.m. at Green
Streets Restaurant. The program is recommended for children
in fourth through sixth grades; however, kids ages 5-9 may be
admitted if a parent provides supervision.
The program is structured to teach all participants the basics
of wrestling, as well as expose them to some actual competition.
Practices will be held twice a week, beginning in December. Cost
is $25 per wrestler, $40 per family. For more information, call
Joann at 735-2376 or Bob at 735-1434.
Craft fair scheduled
The Friends of the Mill Memorial Library will hold a fall craft
fair Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Vendors will sell jewelry, crafts
and holiday items, including beautiful stained glass. There will
also be a book sale, and be sure to stop by Grannys Attic.
Also stop by for some delicious food and baked goods, the kids
face painting and more surprises to come. For more information,
call the library at 735-3030.
10/29/2007
Closing nonprofit selling 40 acres to Nanticoke
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
For sale: 40 acres in Nanticoke and Hanover
Township containing a 97-year-old historic landmark.
The nonprofit Regional Equipment Center is giving Concrete City,
located off Front Street in the Hanover section of Nanticoke,
to the Nanticoke General Municipal Authority to sell for economic
development. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission designated
the experimental former coal-mine housing community a historic
site and erected a marker in 1998.
The property consists of seven acres in Nanticoke and 33 acres
in Hanover Township.
Youre going to have property in Hanover Township?
Nanticoke Mayor John Bushko asked the night the authority voted
to accept it.
If we can sell it, John, I dont care if its
in Russia, municipal authority chairman Ronald Kamowski
said.
The municipal authority is broke, and needs money for maintenance
on the mostly-vacant Kanjorski Center on East Main Street
at least until it can be sold to Luzerne County Community College.
The Regional Equipment Center, which was created to allow municipalities
to borrow heavy equipment, is closing by the end of the year.
Executive Director Joseph Yudichak offered Concrete City for a
token payment of $10, Kamowski said.|
We were negotiating with the (Nanticoke) historical society
at one time, and they wanted to save one building, fence it in,
Yudichak said. The cost of maintaining one building, and
fencing and insurance was just too much for us.
Municipal authority solicitor Joseph Lach will do a title search
on the property. Once the ownership is clarified, authority members
hope they can find someone to buy it, Kamowski said. Hes
not sure what the authority will do with the concrete structures.
We really have no plans right now, Kamowski said.
The property became available to us, and we figured it was
the last piece of developable land left in the city limits, so
we took it.
Concrete City in wilderness
At the end of a deeply-rutted rocky dirt road loom the shells
of what were once considered a unique marvel of company housing
for coal miners.
Paintball players, target practicers and partiers have littered
the once-immaculate grounds with beer containers, spray paint
cans and assorted types of spent ammunition.
Tangles of overgrown foliage give no hint of the lush lawns and
gardens residents once cultivated. Graffiti-covered bare concrete
is devoid of any trace of the white paint with green trim that
once graced the homes.
Concrete Citys 20 two-family residences were built in 1911
by Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroads coal division
to house 40 favored employees of Truesdale Colliery. Each house,
made entirely of poured concrete, rented for $8 a month
but only to English-speaking, high-level mine employees.
Glen Alden Coal Co. took over Concrete City in 1921. The company
didnt want to put in a required sewer system each
residence had a concrete outhouse and abandoned the housing
complex in 1924.
As legend has it, Glen Alden Coal Co. tried to demolish it, but
gave up when they discovered even 100 sticks of dynamite didnt
dent the buildings.
Well, they could today, Yudichak said.
The houses are weathered and crumbling, and years of use as a
training ground and shooting range by firefighters, police and
the military as well as damage by vandals have taken
their toll.
The problem with it is, the buildings are a disaster waiting
to happen. Someone has to take it over and do something,
Yudichak said. Someday there will be a major accident there.
10/27/2007
Nanticoke businessman hopes to rebound from
devastating fire
bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com
Joe Waiter looks at the damage in disbelief.
A freak fire last weekend ravaged the Nanticoke auto garage he
has run for three decades.
Now, the 59-year-old is forced to start anew.
But the hardest part, Waiter says, is he could not prevent what
happened.
Nanticoke fire officials determined the devastating blaze was
accidental and originated under the hood of a 1998 Ford F-150
truck parked overnight inside Waiters Broadway Garage on
Alden Road.
Signs point to a faulty cruise-control switch that has caused
fires in Ford vehicles around the country, led to millions of
recalls and prompted class-action lawsuits, Waiter said he was
told by a fire investigator.
Your life changes in an absolute instant. Its devastating,
Waiter said. I dont think I should have a lifes
work ended in an instant at no fault of my own. Thats the
hard part. Thats the depressing part.
Kevin Thomas, the investigator probing the blaze from York-based
Kufta Associates, said he couldnt comment about the fire.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration files
on its Web site, more than 4.5 million Ford vehicles including
Ford F-150s that were equipped with the cruise-control
deactivation switch used from 1992 to 2003 had the potential to
overheat, smoke or burn and created a significant
risk of fire.
A 2005 CNN report on the issue said the $20 switch, attached to
the brake master cylinder, was designed to be powered or
hot even when the vehicle was off. Over time, brake fluid
could seep into the electrical components of the switch, sparking
a fire and fueling the flames even when the vehicle had been idle.
The fire at Waiters garage began Friday, Oct. 19, around
12:30 a.m., more than six hours after he closed for the night.
Waiter said he completed general maintenance on the truck, which
the owner recently purchased.
Regardless of how the fire occurred, Waiter cant escape
the feeling of losing his livelihood at least temporarily.
He has been in the business since 1960, when he began working
for his father. He opened his current garage at 107 Alden Road
in 1978. Now, its ruined.
The exterior of the building doesnt give a true picture
of the fires wrath. A large hole opened up in the roof.
Black smoke stains the eaves. Inside, though, nearly everything
including business records is burned beyond repair.
He has adequate insurance, but says it does little to ease the
mental anguish of the loss. Plus, he knows theres a long
road ahead before life will become normal again.
Waiter says the building must come down, but his career will not
end. He predicts hell reopen in a new building within a
few months.
I will be back, Waiter said.
10/25/2007
Redevelopment authority joins chorus clamoring
for federal funds
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The citys redevelopment authority on Wednesday added its
members voices to those of the Nanticoke General Municipal
Authority in asking for $5.6 million federal funding.
Last week, city council and mayor John Bushko asked the two
authorities, which own and manage the Kanjorski Center, to send
letters to the U.S. Department of Transportation asking how to
start drawing down on the money to build a parking garage for
the building. The municipal authority board signed the letter
Monday, and both letters will be mailed together.
Luzerne County Community College wants to buy the Kanjorski Center
for a Life Sciences Center. The authorities are jointly prepared
to immediately start designing and building a parking garage,
as well as other improvements related to more than $40 million
in downtown redevelopment projects, according to the letter.
The anchor for the projects is LCCCs presence downtown in
the Kanjorski Center and at a new Culinary Arts center to be constructed
at Market and Main streets.
The $5.6 million was earmarked by U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke
in the 2005 Transportation Funding Act. He has since taken the
funding away from Nanticoke, giving part of it to Wilkes-Barre
in a bill that hasnt passed in the Senate. City officials
believe the $5.6 million is still theirs until the bill passes.
Unlike the municipal authority, the redevelopment authority is
waiting to vote on a contract with Facility Design & Development
Inc. as designers and architects for downtown projects on Market
and Main streets, including the culinary arts center.
Redevelopment authority chairman Chester Beggs, who is also on
the municipal authority board, suggested both authorities wait
until city council approves the contract. Additionally, Beggs
wanted redevelopment authority attorney Susan Maza to look over
the contract.
The municipal authority signed off on the contract, conditional
on councils approval, but the redevelopment authority is
holding off until after next weeks council meeting.
The redevelopment authority plans to ask the municipal authority
to have the Kanjorski Center appraised.
10/24/2007
Nanticoke still fighting for federal funding
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Members of the Nanticoke General Municipal
Authority arent giving up hope they can get back $5.6 million
in funding for an important project.
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, originally got the $5.6
million in the 2005 Transportation Funding Act, to be used for
a parking garage and other improvements to East Main Street around
the Kanjorski Center. The congressman later took the money away
from Nanticoke. He gives part of it to Wilkes-Barre in a bill
that is still in the Senate.
Kanjorski previously went on the record saying he most likely
wont get the $5.6 million back.
The redevelopment and municipal authorities, which own and manage
the Kanjorski Center, need the money for a parking garage.
The building has no parking, which is part of the deal for the
sale of the building to Luzerne County Community College for its
new health sciences center.
City officials are anxious to start building. They believe that
until and unless the bill passes, the $5.6 million belongs to
them. Council voted last week to ask the two authorities to send
letters to the U.S. Department of Transportation, asking if it
can start releasing the funds.
Were still hoping the congressman will change his
mind about the money he re-allocated, municipal authority
chairman Ron Kamowski said. We know he cares about Nanticoke.
Maybe he will have a change of heart.
In other business, the authority will contract with Scranton-based
Facility Design and Development Ltd. for the Market and Main street
redesign project, conditional on councils approval. Authority
member Chester Beggs wanted city officials cooperation,
and the other members agreed.
Fees will not exceed 10 percent of the project costs, which Kamowski
noted was lower than standard. The firms principal,
Alex Belavitz, will be paid a $15,000 retainer, which Kamowski
said was fair, considering all the work he has done for the authority
over the past two years, much out of his own pocket.
The authority is broke, relying on the city for funds. But money
to pay for professional services, including those of Facility
Design and Development, is available from an unidentified source.
Kamowski said he wasnt sure from whom or how much there
is.
Solicitor Joseph Lach said until a formal announcement is made,
he cant disclose where the money comes from. All he could
say is it isnt from a private source, and it is for the
professional services that will tie the project together.
If someone wants to give us money, well take it,
authority member Henry Marks said.
10/21/2007
Congressman says approval of educational
use for Kanjorski Center more important than garage
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Nanticoke probably wont get its $5.6
million federal funding for a parking garage at the Ka
and when it is, he will find other ways of getting
money.
In an interview last week, the 12-term congressman stressed that it
is most important to ensure the building could be used for educational
purposes so the citys redevelopment authority could sell it
to Luzerne County Community College to develop as a health sciences
center.
I was called on board by the mayor to help get LCCC located
downtown in the Kanjorski Center. That chore I have taken on. It is
moving along with great progress, he said.
The federal Economic Development Agency gave the Nanticoke Redevelopment
Authority a job creation grant in 1994 to build the Kanjorski Center.
Under the grants terms, the center can only be used for commercial
purposes, Kanjorski said. If it is sold within the next seven years,
the city must pay back $1.9 million, the balance of the grant. LCCC
wants to buy the building outright, but Kanjorski suggests a lease.
If they do not get approval of use by EDA, they wont be
able to use the building, he said.
He got the federal agency to listen to the colleges proposal,
and brought U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey on board to help
plead the case.
City and college officials are anxious to begin renovating the Kanjorski
Center and building the parking garage so LCCC can start classes in
January 2009. The colleges move downtown is considered a key
part of revitalization and economic development.
Kanjorski said it is not a lack of parking holding up the project
the college can use existing ground spaces until the garage
is constructed.
The parkade could be built a year from now, two years from now,
five years from now, he said.
In the federal transportation funding bill signed into law in August
2005, Kanjorski gave Nanticokes redevelopment authority $5.6
million for a parking garage at the Kanjorski Center and other improvements,
such as new streetlights.
Kanjorski said he decided to re-route the money, giving $3 million
to Wilkes-Barre for Hotel Sterling parking, after Nanticokes
July 17, 2006, joint municipal and redevelopment authority meeting.
He said at that time the mayor and council said they didnt want
the parking garage.
When I find that the mayor and unanimous members of council
dont want that money, when Ive got two, three, four communities
dying for that money ... do you think I should leave it there and
lose it? he said.
The process to re-allocate the $5.6 million was started and
completed 15 months ago, he said.
The original bill removing the money, H.R. 1195, was introduced by
U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., on Feb. 27, 2007, according to
the Library of Congress THOMAS database. It was passed by the
House and went to the Senate in March. On June 6, the Committee on
Environment and Public Works passed H.R. 1195 with its earmarks struck
out, including the one taking the $5.6 million away from Nanticoke.
They were all restored in H.R. 3248, which passed in the House on
July 31.
Kanjorski said he did not remove the Nanticoke earmark a second time.
The House committee simply re-inserted everything into the new bill,
he said.
H.R. 3248 has been in the Committee on Environment and Public Works
since Aug. 3. Kanjorski believes it is highly impractical
to remove the earmark taking out the $5.6 million. The $168 billion
bill involves more than 6,000 earmarks, 40 of them his.
It is highly unlikely I can convince anyone in the House or
Senate to open that bill up, Kanjorski said. They would
take me away in a straitjacket if I asked for that, to change the
allocation of $5.6 million.
City officials say they always wanted a parking garage for the Kanjorski
Center, they just couldnt agree on how big. Based on plans by
Scranton-based Facility Design and Development Ltd., they decided
to use the $5.6 million for a two-level parking garage, plus more
on-street parking for residents and businesses.
Councilman Brent Makarczyk said there would be approximately 300 parking
spaces in the garage and on the ground. New streetlights on East Main
Street for added safety are also in the plan.
LCCC officials announced plans for the Kanjorski Center and a culinary
arts center to be built at Market and Main streets during a press
conference on Sept. 4. Less than two weeks later, the loss of the
$5.6 million came to light.
After the discovery, Kanjorski and his staff met with Nanticoke Mayor
John Bushko, City Administrator Kenneth Johnson, and LCCC Interim
President Thomas Leary. Kanjorski told them the $5.6 million is meaningless
unless the EDA allows the use of the Kanjorski Center for education
instead of commerce.
But city officials, concerned about the scarcity of funds for parking,
arent satisfied.
They would like the EDA grant issue resolved, because they dont
want to pay back the money, and they want to sell the building, Johnson
said. But parking is a crucial component of the deal.
The issue is yes, we need to get the $1.9 million relieved,
clearly. But if we dont, there are other avenues we can deal
with. That can be resolved, he said. The bottom line is,
the college is deferring to the city, saying we promised to give them
parking.
On Wednesday, council and Bushko voted to ask the redevelopment and
municipal authorities to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation
asking to start drawing from the $5.6 million.
But when asked if Nanticoke officials could access the money, Kanjorski
replied, My opinion right now is no.
Since the bill is in the Senate, the U.S. Department of Transportation
would have to wait until it is passed, he said.
And Kanjorski is confident he can find funds elsewhere.
Ill get them a parkade. Im pretty successful at
getting those things, he said. Myself and the two senators
agreed we will get them money for parking.
10/20/2007
Nanticoke man will receive crime prevention
award
A Nanticoke man is one of 17 Pennsylvanians selected to receive
the Governors Crime Prevention Volunteer Award, according
to an announcement by Gov. Ed Rendell on Friday.
Nicholas Pucino was the only Luzerne County resident selected for
the award.
These Pennsylvanians are to be commended for their leadership
and commitment to making their neighborhoods safer, said Rendell.
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency made Fridays
announcement as part of crime prevention month, which was developed
by the National Crime Prevention Council to encourage volunteer,
grass-roots collaboration in preventing crime.
As the states criminal justice planning agency, the commission
works to prevent and reduce crime in Pennsylvania and respond to
the needs of victims. At Rendells direction, it collaborates
with state and local elected officials, juvenile and criminal justice
agencies, victim service agencies, community-based organizations,
nonprofits, schools and others to achieve these goals. For more
information about the commission, visit www.pccd.state.pa.us.
10/19/2007
Printing business opens in Whitney Pointe
development
nsohr@citizensvoice.com
The Whitney Pointe development is mostly rocky ground strewn with
mounds of coal.
For more than three decades the land has lain fallow as developers
concentrated their efforts in the north end of the Wyoming Valley,
or passed the region by.
But now, in the center of 323 strip-mined acres, there is a small,
drab-gray building the first business to set up shop in the
beleaguered park.
C.P.S. Direct Marketing and Communications, a developer and printer
of marketing materials, officially opened the doors to its new facility
Thursday.
For a few generations, this (development) has been a symbol
of the failure of the south valley, said state Rep. John Yudichak,
D-Nanticoke. C.P.S.s opening sets a new stage. It tells
the world that were open for business.
Yudichak said he has been in contact with several other businesses
interested in locating in Whitney Pointe, which is owned by Ken
Pollock, and a spur from the Canadian Pacific line is under construction.
I never envisioned anything going in here, said C.P.S.
owner Wayne Oplinger. But when I sat back and thought about
it, its a great place to do business.
Oplinger moved his 11-year-old business from South River Street
in Wilkes-Barre to Whitney Pointe as it became clear the growing
business needed more room.
He employs 15 sales people, graphic artists and press operators.
In the next few years, Oplinger said, he hopes to see his staff
grow to around 60 to fill orders mostly from Pennsylvania, New York
and New Jersey, but as far away as Florida and Hawaii.
Youre seeing this first in a long line of success stories
in the county, and here in the south valley, said Luzerne
County majority Commissioner Greg Skrepenak.
Current plans for Whitney Pointe include 150 residential lots and
19 industrial parcels.
10/19/2007
Nanticoke council approves plans for parking
garage
City officials ask Kanjorski to reroute federal funds to pay for
the project.
slong@timesleader.com
City council Wednesday night approved plans
for the parking garage project for Luzerne County Community Colleges
relocation into downtown.
Council voted 4-0 to allow the Nanticoke Redevelopment Authority
to proceed with the $7 million garage on East Main Street even though
the federal funds originally earmarked to pay for it have been diverted
to another project.
Some councilmen believe that if the authority moves forward with
the project, U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, will have to
reroute the $5.6 million funding package back to the city for the
LCCC project.
Its my understanding all Congressman Kanjorski has to
do is make one phone call to reroute that money, Councilman
Bernie Norieka said.
Mayor John Bushko said he believes the original allocation has been
given to other projects, so new funding must be found to replace
it. After speaking with Kanjorski before the council meeting, the
mayor said he wanted to give Kanjorski time to try to find new money
for the project.
The federal funds in question were part of the Federal Highway Transportation
Bill. Kanjorski said he diverted the money to other projects in
the district, including the Hotel Sterling, because he was concerned
the money would be lost if Nanticoke did not proceed in a timely
manner.
Wednesdays vote allows the authority to proceed with the design
and building phase on a 400-vehicle garage adjacent to the Kanjorski
Center. LCCC intends to move two of its programs into the center
by January 2009.
Councilman James Litchkofski drafted a letter to J. Richard Capka
of the Federal Highway Administration in an attempt to force Kanjorski
to reroute the funding to Nanticoke. In the letter, he asked about
steps the city, Redevelopment Authority and Municipal Authority
should take to ensure Nanticoke receives the money.
Plymouth Township Supervisor Gale Conrad and Newport Township Board
of Commissioners sent letters to Kanjorski requesting the money
be restored because it will propel the development of other projects
in the South Valley region.
We are forced to ask why is the South Valley less deserving
of federal funds than any other region in the 11th Congressional
District, the letter stated.
Councilman Brent Makarczyk called for the removal of Kanjorski staffer
Walter Sokolowski from the Redevelopment Authority. Administrator
Kenneth Johnson said council cannot remove Sokolowski from the board,
but can request his resignation.
Neither Sokolowski, a former mayor of Nanticoke, nor Kanjorski could
be reached for comment.
10/19/2007
GNA evacuated after bomb threat found
jgrad@timesleader.com
A threat scrawled on the mirror in the boys
room of a middle school caused the Greater Nanticoke Area School
District to dismiss classes early Thursday and led to the entire
school being searched for explosives.
The building was swept by a cadre of Nanticoke police officers,
and no explosive devices or weapons were found. Classes are scheduled
for today at the regular times.
Superintendent Anthony Perrone said someone wrote something
on a mirror that were going to blow this place up at
11:30.
The discovery of the threat led to an immediate evacuation of the
school and the early dismissal for the districts middle school
and elementary schools. Middle school students were bused home at
noon and the elementary schools were bused home at 1 p.m. The high
school was dismissed at its regular time.
The threat caused classes to be canceled for about 800 students,
Perrone said.
We immediately called 911 and the police and they were here
immediately, Perrone said. They were phenomenal. They
went through the whole school.
Perrone insisted that the school is safe but expressed apprehension
about talking to the media about the crime because he said he feared
it may embolden others to commit copycat acts. He said, however,
when the district and police find out who is responsible, they will
be prosecuted.
10/18/2007
Blaze damages Nanticoke home
An 88-year-old woman is displaced by the fire, which melts neighbors
siding.
jgrad@timesleader.com
Flames burned high enough to scorch an attic
window and hot enough to melt plastic siding on a neighboring home
nearly 20 feet away Wednesday afternoon.
Fire department fans pumped smoke and heat out of a second-story
window as firefighters doused the melting side of the neighboring
home with water.
The fire began about 4:10 p.m. at 178 W. Ridge St. Displaced from
the home was 88-year-old Sophia Homitz.
The American Red Cross was attempting to help Homitz find housing
as the sun set. Homitz was too shaken up to talk at the scene.
David and Amy Saraka were visiting her mothers home on West
Ridge Street when they spotted the fire.
We had just pulled in and we were helping my mom with her
house, Saraka said. Thats when we noticed the
black smoke.
Saraka said, my husband ran like hell trying to get her off
the front porch. She wouldnt move.
Eventually David Saraka and Sue Heinz managed to pull Homitz to
safety. No one was injured.
Larry Karnes is a captain and a 17-year veteran of the Nanticoke
Fire Co. He said that structurally the home is sound, however,
its total devastation inside. First and second floors are
burned up pretty bad.
When I came up with the control car, the flames were coming
out of that attic and flames were blowing out of that hole.
The temperature inside the structure was so hot it melted the rugs
in the house, which clung to the firefighters protective gear
and caused slight heat exhaustion to some of the early responders.
The neighboring home sustained extensive damage on the outside,
Karnes said. We broke in. We havent notified them.
Karnes said the origin of the fire is now being investigated. If
the fire company does not find the fires origin, a fire marshal
will be dispatched to the scene from Troop P Wyoming of the state
police.
Chip Miller, a 27-year veteran of the Nanticoke Fire Co., was one
of the first to respond. He described the first floor as having
extensive fire damage and speculated that the fire may have started
in the cellar of the home.
UGI responded to the scene to cut power and gas to the home, as
per standard company protocol. Nanticoke City Medic, Nanticoke police,
Honey Pot Fire Co. and Hanover Township Fire Co. also responded
to the scene.
10/18/2007
After Nanticoke Yard Sale, Halloween, Christmas
events
Editor: Citizens' Voice
On Saturday, Oct. 6 the Nanticoke Civic Pride Committee sponsored
another citywide yard sale with a treasure hunt. Over 250 people
participated in the sale and over 350 maps were given out, and many
of these people came from out of town.
The yard sale is not only for our citizens to sell their items,
but a chance to meet their neighbors and other people from all over.
It also gives people a chance to see our beautiful city and what
we have to offer, not only now, but in the future.
I want to thank the Nanticoke Civic Pride Committee, Mayor John
Bushko, Yvonne Bozinski, Theresa Sowa and Betci Cheshinski for all
their help. Also, the girls in the tax office in the city building
who accepted phone calls and made our maps and lists. Dave Alberola
from Emjaze Marketing, Inc. for graciously donating his bench sign
on Main and Market streets and the Salvation Army who sent one of
their trucks to take all the usable items. A big thank you to The
Citizens Voice for their well written stories about the yard
sale and especially to the citizens of Nanticoke, who know that
our city is growing stronger each day.
Finally, the Civic Pride Committee not only works tirelessly for
the yard sale but other community activities such as our upcoming
Halloween parade for the children of Nanticoke which will be on
Sunday, Oct. 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. and our Santa Parade and party
which is held sometime in December. For more information on these
events and many more please go to our website at Nanticokecity.com.
J.D. Verazin
Nanticoke Civic Pride Committee
10/18/2007
Nanticoke City wants access to federal funds
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
City council, tired of waiting to see whether
a $5.6 million federal grant will be pulled, voted Wednesday to
take action.
Since the $5.6 million belongs to the city by law, officials say,
they are asking to access the money.
It is needed for a parking garage at the Kanjorski Center on East
Main Street, which Luzerne County Community College is buying to
turn into a health sciences center. The project is key to start
approximately $40 million in downtown redevelopment.
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski put the $5.6 million earmark into a federal
transportation funding bill President Bush signed into law in 2005.
Kanjorski redirected it to Wilkes-Barre and Lackawanna County projects
in a bill passed in the House in February. The money was restored
to Nanticoke by the Senate, but removed in another bill that passed
in the House on July 31 and is now in the Senate.
During meetings with city and college officials and in letters to
them, Kanjorski indicated he wouldnt help get the $5.6 million
back, according to council members.
It is my serious belief were not going to get that money
at all, Councilman Bernie Norieka said.
Since the new bill taking the money away hasnt been passed
in the Senate, the money is still available for Nanticoke, Councilman
Jim Litchkofski said.
Council voted to ask the citys redevelopment and municipal
authorities, which own and manage the Kanjorski Center, to submit
a letter to Federal Highway Administrator J. Richard Capka. In it,
they ask how to start drawing funds from the $5.6 million. They
say they want to start building the garage, and that $1.2 million
in state and local funds are ready to contribute to the project.
Council also voted 3-2 Mayor John Bushko and Councilman Joe
Dougherty voted no to ask Walter Sokolowski to resign from
the redevelopment authority board. He was not at Wednesdays
meeting.
Sokolowski was Kanjorskis chief of staff in Wilkes-Barre at
the same time he was on the redevelopment authority, Councilman
Brent Makarczyk said. Sokolowski knew Kanjorski tried twice to take
away the $5.6 million and never said a word, Makarczyk said.
His actions, what he did, are unforgivable at this point,
and I dont think he deserves a seat on that board, Makarczyk
said.
Bushko pointed out that although council could ask for Sokolowskis
resignation, he doesnt have to give it.
Sokolowski was recently hired by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control
Board, according to its spokesman, Doug Harbach. Sokolowski will
serve as an enforcement agent at the Mount Airy Casino Resort when
it opens.
10/18/2007
Firefighters teach valuable lessons to children
and senior citizens
Pam Urbanski - Nanticoke Area Notes
The Nanticoke Fire Department was very busy
last week as it joined with other fire companies around the U.S.
in celebrating National Fire Prevention Week.
The theme for this year was Its Fire Prevention Week
Practice your Escape Plan. According the National Fire
Protection Association, in 2006, fire departments nationally responded
to 1.6 million fires and 24 percent were home fires. Home fires
killed 3,030 people roughly eight people every day. Yet,
only 23 percent of households actually have developed and practiced
a home-fire escape plan.
Fire prevention week gives us an opportunity to go into classrooms
and share fire safety tips with the students, said Fire Chief
Mike Bohan.
The program consisted of a movie entitled Planning Your Escape.
A discussion about fire safety and a firefighter who dresses in
full gear including breathing apparatus is also part of the demonstration.
Its important that children are able to see what a firefighter
looks and sounds like in full gear, said Bohan. We dont
want children running away and hiding from firefighters who are
trying to rescue them.
An interesting thing happened to Chief Bohan that proves seeing
a firefighter dressed up is important. His granddaughter Kalya attends
Little Stars. Kayla has been at the fire department many, many times
for visits. During the presentation, Kayla began to cry when firefighter
Miller approached her in full gear.
It was scary for her but an important thing for her to experience,
the fire chief said.
This year, the fire department including career and volunteer firefighters,
met with 1,315 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The
firefighters also visited Head Start, Little Stars, Learning Station
and Big Daddies.
Students in kindergarten and first grade toured the fire-safety
house, an actual house where children practice escaping two ways
as theatrical smoke is blown through the house. Each fire safety
program ends with Ember the fire dog showing children what to do
in case their clothes catch on fire: Stop, drop and roll.
Firefighters also take time to visit the three high-rise apartments
in the city. Our seniors really appreciate our program and
we enjoy visiting with them, Bohan said.
The chief also recommended that parents/caregivers review what was
learned and ask questions about the fire-safety program.
Smoke detectors available
The Nanticoke Fire Department once again has teamed up with WNEP-TV,
Channel 16, for Operation Save A Life, a program designed to distribute
and install smoke alarms in city homes that do not have the life-saving
devices.
Kidde Corporation has donated 10,000 smoke detectors to a 17-county
region including Luzerne County.
One of the most important things you can do to is to install smoke
detectors and keep them working, said Chief Mike Bohan. Putting
up smoke detectors and not having working batteries or taking the
batteries out to put them in something else is a mistake.
Twice a year you should change the batteries. Change your
clocks change your batteries, he advised. Testing batteries
once a month by pressing the button on the smoke detector is also
a good idea.
The Nanticoke Fire Department will distribute and install, free
of charge, residential smoke detectors. Call the fire department
at 735-5860 to make arrangements.
Annual Halloween parade set
The City of Nanticoke is holding its annual Halloween parade Saturday,
Oct. 27, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Patriot Park. Children ages 1 to 14
are invited to show off their Halloween costumes. Of course, prizes
will be awarded and there will be surprises and treats for each
child. In case of inclement weather, the Halloween festivities will
be held at city hall, 1 East Ridge St. For more information, call
735-2800.
Band sponsoring trip to NYC
The Greater Nanticoke Area High School marching band is sponsoring
a trip to New York City on Sunday, Nov. 18 to see the 75th anniversary
performance of the Rockettes Christmas Show at Radio City
Music Hall. The bus will leave Nanticoke at 8 a.m. and return at
11 p.m. Cost is $65. Children 12 years of age and under will receive
a free goodie bag.
Call Cindy Garren at 735-0792 to register.
Spaghetti dinner and more
Parishioners of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Church are holding
their third annual spaghetti dinner Sunday. Serving will be from
noon to 4 p.m. A Ukrainian auction featuring home-cooked meals and
goodies and a bale sale also will be held.
Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling John at 735-6878,
Gerry at 824-3880 or Jill at 824-4603. The church is located at
Center and Bliss streets in the Hanover section of Nanticoke.
Youth group fundraiser
The youth group of the Holy Child/Holy Trinity/St. Mary of Czestochowa/St.
Stanislaus parish community is collecting empty inkjet, laser cartridges
and used cell phones. The youth group has partnered with Planet
Green in a fundraising effort to collect these items. Collection
boxes are located in the vestibules of all the churches.
Also, if you drink Coke or any other Coke products that have the
mycokerewards labels on them, please save them and drop
them off at boxes in the church vestibules or at the parish office.
For most Coke products, the codes are on the bottle caps, while
on other products the labels are on the opening of the box.
Spaghetti at St. Johns
You wont have to cook dinner Sunday, Oct. 28. Instead, you
can fill up on homemade spaghetti and meatballs at St. Johns
Orthodox Church. The dinner will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $3.50 for children 10 and younger.
Take-out soups also will be available.
The dinner will be held in the church basement located on Welles
and Front streets in the Hanover section of Nanticoke.
10/14/2007
Yard sale, hunt helpers lauded
Times Leader
On Oct. 6, the Nanticoke Civic Pride Committee
sponsored another citywide yard sale with a treasure hunt. More
than 250 people participated in the sale and more than 350 maps
were given out. Many of the participants were from out of town.
The yard sale is not only for our citizens to sell their items,
but a chance to meet neighbors and people from all over. It also
gives people a chance to see our beautiful city and what we have
to offer, not only now, but in the future.
I want to thank:
the Nanticoke Civic Pride Committee, Mayor John Bushko, Yvonne
Bozinski, Theresa Sowa and Betci Cheshinski for their help.
the girls in the city tax office who accepted phone calls
and made our maps and lists.
Dave Alberola from Emjaze Marketing Inc. for donating his
bench sign on Main and Market streets.
the Salvation Army, which sent one of its trucks to take
usable items.
The Times Leader for its well-written stories about the yard
sale.
Nanticoke citizens, who know that our city is growing stronger
each day.
The Civic Pride Committee not only works tirelessly on the yard
sale but on other community activities such as our upcoming childrens
Halloween parade. It will be held for Nanticoke children from 2
to 4 p.m. Oct. 27 and our Santa Parade and party will be held in
December.
For more information about these events and many more, go to our
Web site at www.nanticokecity.com.
J.D. Verazin - Civic Pride Committee
10/12/2007
New heat units, windows OKd for GNA high school
slong@timesleader.com
The high school will be getting new windows,
heating units and window shades after the Nanticoke Area School
District approved participation in the states Energy Conservation
program during Thursdays meeting.
The $1.1 million contract will be paid for using funds from the
districts general fund, board member Gary Smith said. The
district will save thousands of dollars in interest fees by just
paying for the work instead of acquiring a bank loan.
About 70 new windows will replace the ones originally installed
when the school was constructed in the early 1970s. The schools
wall air conditioning and heating units are being replaced because
it is becoming difficult to find parts, Smith said.
We pay for it upfront, but they ultimately pay for themselves,
Superintendent Tony Perrone said.
Work to replace the windows and wall units is scheduled to begin
in early 2008 after all the materials arrive.
To avoid disrupting classroom activities, the work will be done
at night or during school vacations, Smith said.
Board members also unanimously approved a payment of $5,000 to the
city of Nanticoke for new equipment to be installed in the new police
cruisers.
Perrone said the money is being well spent because for the last
two years, officers patrol the high school grounds and have lunch
with the students daily.
They offer me a service, Perrone said. The behavior
of the kids has improved 100 percent.
In other news:
Administrators are seeking two yearbook advisors from the faculty
to work with the high school seniors, Perrone said.
Michael Fedorko and Amber Hyder were appointed as student advisors
for the 2007-08 school year.
Judith Clarke and Bethanne DeAngelo were hired to work 30 hours
a week at $14 an hour as family development specialists at the Family
Center.
Heather Zegarski was appointed as a classroom aide for the pre-kindergarten
program. Her hours and salary were not available.
Stanley Cardinale was hired as a crossing guard, but his salary
was not available.
10/12/2007
Nanticoke school board approves energy performance
review
By Elizabeth Skrapits
Greater Nanticoke Area school Board gave final
approval Thursday night for CM3 Building Solutions of Trevose, Bucks
County, to undertake a $1.17 million energy performance review of
the 1972-era high school building.
The project includes a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning
system, a new hot water heater, direct digital controls, and replacing
windows and shades in 50 classrooms, board President Jeff Kozlofski
said.
He said the board wouldn't need to raise taxes: the project should
pay for itself within 12 years through energy savings.
In other business, the board:
Hired Judith Clarke and Bethann DeAngelo as family development specialists
at $14 an hour. They will be paid via a grant, Kozlofsky said.
Appointed Heather Zegarski as a pre-kindergarten classroom aide.
Elementary teacher Janice Shiffka resigned as of Oct. 7. Her position
will be posted.
Donated $5,000 to Nanticoke City police for new equipment. "They're
always helping us out down here," Kozlofski said. "Their
presence is felt and appreciated."
10/6/2007
Kanjorski meeting with Nanticoke, LCCC officials
deemed 'productive'
By Elizabeth Skrapits - Citizens' Voice
While he was in town on Friday, U.S. Rep. Paul
Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, met with representatives from Nanticoke
City and Luzerne County Community College about securing money for
downtown parking.
The meeting, which included Nanticoke Mayor John Bushko, City Administrator
Kenneth Johnson and LCCC interim President Thomas Leary, went well,
city officials said.
"Clearly there was a commitment by the congressman to facilitate
the college moving downtown," Johnson said. "He ended
the meeting by saying it was very productive."
Parking is a key element in the college's planned move of its health
sciences department into the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street.
There was $5.6 million allocated for a garage and on-street parking
in a 2005 transportation funding act, but a bill currently in the
Senate takes it away.
Even if Kanjorski can't restore the $5.6 million, he will try to
get whatever he can for the project, Bushko said. Kanjorski will
work with Republican Sen. Arlen Specter and Democratic Sen. Bob
Casey, he said.
The senators and congressman will also help the city do something
about a $1.9 million federal grant that has to be paid back if the
Kanjorski Center is sold, Johnson said.
It is critical to find funding quickly, since the college needs
to move into the building by January 2009, Bushko said.
"Everybody in the room knew how crucial timing is," Johnson
said. "The congressman indicated first thing Monday when he
gets back to the (Washington, D.C.) office he will work on the issues."
10/5/2007
Nanticoke yard sale features treasure hunt
Citywide event gives shoppers a chance to win one of four $25 prizes.
slong@timesleader.com
Do you love antiques? Do you love finding unique,
one-of-a-kind art pieces or furniture at reasonable prices?
Well, dont miss Nanticokes Citywide Yard Sale on Saturday.
Shoppers could also win a little green to stuff in their own pockets.
This fall the Nanticokes Civic Pride Committee is also hosting
a treasure-hunt game.
By following written clues, shoppers can decipher the codes to find
a yard sale on a particular street. Another set of clues will guide
the shopper to the marked mystery item. If the shopper purchases
the mystery item they win one of four $25 prizes.
You never know what kind of surprises we are going to have,
said committee member J.D. Verazin, who developed the treasure hunt
idea.
In its second year, the citywide yard sale allows residents to make
some extra money while clearing out unwanted items and encouraging
visitors from as far away as Shickshinny to visit Nanticoke.
It also allows Nanticoke residents to meet other people living in
the city as many locals also travel the streets during the citywide
shopping event.
It brings people into town to see what we have to offer,
Verazin said. It promotes community involvement and community
pride.
Committee members will pass out lists of the more than 200 homes
across the city which registered to participate in Saturdays
event at Patriot Park in downtown Nanticoke.
Residents who did not sign up for the sale can still participate
by placing items in their front yards for sale. The lists will just
help shoppers find the homes easier.
A Salvation Army truck will be parked near the Old Nanticoke Bridge
on North Market Street at the former street department facility
from 3 to 5 p.m. to accept gently worn clothing items or other items
Nanticoke residents wish to donate to a good cause.
Shopping details
What: Nanticoke Citywide Yard Sales
When: Saturday
Where: pick up maps and addresses of yard sales at Patriot Park,
Broad and Market Streets
For more information: visit www.nanticokecity.com
10/4/2007
Nanticoke plans second citywide yard sale
for Saturday
By Elizabeth Skrapits - Citizens' Voice
The old saying goes that one person's trash
is another's treasure. Nanticoke plans to take that to a new level
this weekend.
The Nanticoke Civic Pride Committee has planned a city-wide yard
sale Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the theme is "Treasure
Hunt."
When you stop by Patriot Park to pick up a map showing the more
than 200 people who are participating in the sale, you will also
get a list of hints and clues. Follow them to find the four places
around the city where secret "treasures" are waiting to
be purchased. If you buy one, you win $25.
Civic Pride Committee member J. D. Verazin came up with the idea
for the second citywide yard sale of the year.
The first was on July 14.
"Hopes are we're going to have a bigger and better one next
year, because plans are already in the making," Verazin said.
After Saturday's sale, a Salvation Army truck will be stationed
near the Nanticoke bridge on Lower Broadway Street from 3 to 5 p.m.
so residents can donate unsold items.
"That's a way for the community to help the Salvation Army
and the Salvation Army to help the community," Verazin said.
The Salvation Army requests people bring only items that are usable
or salvageable, he said. If the truck isn't at the spot, don't leave
anything there, Verazin said.
10/4/2007
Nanticoke council urges restoration of funds
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
City council members reiterated their support
Wednesday for Luzerne County Community College's plans to move downtown,
and made a public plea to U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke,
to restore funding for parking.
Luzerne County Community College is buying the Kanjorski Center
on East Main Street for a health sciences center, but the building
lacks parking.
In March, city officials adopted a plan drawn up by Facility Design
and Development Ltd. It calls for 215 to 220 spaces in a parking
garage, and an additional 100 to 150 spaces on the street to take
care of downtown businesses and residents, councilman Brent Makarczyk
said.
Kanjorski put $5.6 million for a downtown parking garage into the
federal transportation funding bill that became law in 2005. In
February, and again in July, Kanjorski put provisions in new bills
taking away the $5.6 million for Nanticoke. The latest bill, HR
3248, is in the Senate.
City and college officials didn't learn the funding had been pulled
until September. By then, many people had put a lot of work into
bringing the college downtown, in hopes of a "way to kick-start,
perhaps, a regional project," councilman James Litchkofski
said.
"This is our best chance for revitalization, and I think it
would be foolish to walk away from the plan," he said.
LCCC plans to occupy the Kanjorski Center by January 2009. Time
is tight, Litchkofski said. If Kanjorski won't come through, city
officials must find another way to get the money, he said. They
believe it would be easiest if Kanjorski strikes the provision out
of HR 3248 before it passes in the Senate.
"We implore Congressman Kanjorski to become the final piece
of the puzzle," Makarczyk said. "We hope he can come down
and be the saver (of the project)."
Mayor John Bushko, who met with Kanjorski two weeks ago, said he
believes the Congressman is on board, but simply wants to do more
research. It's frustrating because it's taking so long, Bushko said,
but stressed he didn't think Kanjorski would ruin the project.
"We'll have a plan B, but let's not give up on our plan A,"
Bushko said.
In related business, council agreed to apply for state slot machine
gaming funds on behalf of LCCC.
The $8.6 million the college is requesting would be spread out over
several years, City Administrator Kenneth Johnson said.
He said the money would be used for LCCC's $26 million master plan,
which includes constructing new buildings and renovating existing
ones.
In other business, council:
Approved Joseph Kordek as code enforcement officer at $35,000 a
year, to start in about two weeks. Kordek is zoning officer for
Ashley and Sugar Notch boroughs.
Hired Amos Vanderhoff to fill a vacancy on the police department.
He was a police officer in Warrior Run.
Under a new city policy, Vanderhoff and Kordek will have to pass
medical exams before starting work.
"We have a lot of injuries, and we think we should cover our
bases first, make sure people are fit before they take the job,"
Bushko said.
10/4/2007
Nanticoke High School homecoming: It truly
was a night fit for a queen
By Pam Urbanski - Nanticoke
Area Notes
Greater Nanticoke Area Junior-Senior High School
has a new queen.
Miss GNA Melanie Laird and her court were crowned
during homecoming festivities. Prior to the homecoming game students
held a parade and bonfire.
"It really was a nice event for our students," said Principal
Mary Ann Jarolen.
"It was a community event. The Nanticoke Police and Fire Departments
led the parade, and the fire department did a great job in controlling
the bonfire, making sure it burned properly. We had a nice crowd
along the parade route," she said.
The GNA marching band provided the music and students who participate
in fall sports were introduced during the bonfire.
Prior to the football game, Miss GNA and her court arrived in style
at the stadium, riding in some cool cars. Upon arrival, they were
greeted by members of the 109th National Guard who escorted them
to the center of the field where they were introduced to families,
friends and fellow students who elected them.
Homecoming queen Melanie Laird she is the daughter of Sarah and
Bob Laird. She is a member of the volleyball and swim teams. She
is also a member of the National Honor Society and the French Club.
Her plans are to study nutrition.
Her court, in alphabetical order, is as follows:
Kaitlin Bowalick, daughter of Greg and Trish Bowalick. She is a
member of the yearbook staff, student council and National Honor
Society. She is named in Who's Who among American High School seniors
and the National Honor Roll. She is a member of the soccer and basketball
teams.
Keira Lohman, daughter of Kevin and Doreen Lohman, is a member of
the basketball, volleyball and track teams. She excels academically
as well as a member of the National Honor Society, National Honor
Roll and Who's Who Among American High School Students.
Leigh Ann Rentko, daughter of Karen and Jack Rentko, is a three-letter
winner in field hockey and basketball and a two-letter winner in
soccer and track. She also was named second team all-scholastic
for basketball and all-state in basketball and track. She is a member
of student council and Who's Who among American High School Students.
Rachel Zerfoss, daughter of Alan and Janice Zerfoss, is a three-letter
varsity winner in field hockey and cross-country and a two-year
varsity letter winner in soccer and track. She is a member of Majestic
X Field Hockey club. She has been class treasurer for the past 3
years and is also a member of Who's Who among American High School
Students and the National Honor Society.
Fall festival in Newport Twp.
The Newport Township Community Organization's fourth annual fall
festival will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Holy
Child Grove in Sheatown. Festival will feature ethnic and American
food, as well as a bake sale and a chili cook-off. Entertainment
will be provided by the David Blight Dancers and students from Front
and Center Music Company. The band Nameless will perform from 2
to 4 p.m.
Children's activities include face painting, a free hayride, an
art contest, a moonwalk and a talk and demonstration by State Police
Trooper Martin Connors from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
O'Hara's Orchards will sell 6 to 8 varieties of apples and sliced
caramel apples. Popcorn also will be sold by Cub Scout Pack 430
of Glen Lyon.
City-wide yard sale
The Civic Pride Committee is holding a fall, city-wide yard sale
Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. An added feature is a treasure hunt
where participants have a chance to win $25. Committee member J.D.Verazin
came up with the idea, which will list clues to street names in
town. Residents of Honey Pot and Hanover section of Nanticoke also
are participating. Stop at Patriot Park for a map of the city. For
more information, call 735-2800.
Chinese auction at St. Stan's
St. Stanislaus Church will hold its annual Chinese auction Sunday.
Doors open at 11 a.m. and auction begins at 1 p.m., at the school
hall on West Church Street. Prize include gift certificates and
theme baskets. For information, call 735-4833.
BBQ at Holy Child
Holy Child Parish is holding its annual chicken barbecue Sunday
from noon to 3 p.m. in the parish dining room on Newport Street
in Sheatown. Cost is $8. For information, call Michele at 735-8909.
10/4/2007
PennDOT misspells street signs
Elizabeth Skrapits - Citizens' Voice
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation knocked
the "L" out of Kosciuszko Street in Nanticoke Wednesday
morning.
As part of a complete overhaul of the intersection of Kosciuszko
and Main streets, PennDOT put up new street signs. And for about
an hour, Kosciuszko became "Koscluszko" and Jefkin was
"Jifkin."
"As soon as they went up, we saw," PennDOT Project Manager
Jim Grabowski said.
PennDOT removed the signs shortly afterwards and sent them back
to the printer. It won't cost anything to have them redone, since
it was a printer's error, he said.
However, although Kosciuszko Street will be properly spelled, Jifkin
Street will stay the same, Grabowski said.
"Actually, 'Jifkin' is right. The blue sign is wrong,"
he said. "I'm from Nanticoke, and when I saw the 'Jefkin' sign
down there, I was surprised they kept it up."
Does PennDOT often deal with misspelled signs?
"Not really. For the amount of signs we put up, no. And it's
not a big deal to change it," Grabowski said.
Work at the intersection, which has been going on since April, is
expected to wrap up by the end of next week.
Permanent traffic signals will be unveiled Thursday, with different
timing on the lights to improve traffic flow, Grabowski said. Sidewalks
need to be fixed in two places, the correctly-spelled signs have
to go up, and some important manhole and storm drain work will be
done, he said.
"People may be complaining when we dig up the road we just
paved, but we found a drainage system underground that wasn't on
the plans," Grabowski said.
10/4/2007
Nanticoke seeks casino tax funds for LCCC
slong@timesleader.com
The city is seeking $9.6 million in casino taxes
from the state Department of Community and Economic Development
to help Luzerne County Community College relocate its culinary arts
and health sciences program downtown.
Council members during Wednesday nights meeting unanimously
approved allowing the city to apply for the funds on behalf of the
city and college. It might be tough for the city and college through
their partnership to actually win a portion of the money because
several cities across the county are seeking a portion of the money.
Communities surrounding the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Plains
Township get top priority for the casino tax funds.
Moving two of the colleges largest and most popular academic
programs downtown would not only provide an economic boost to Nanticoke,
but the entire county, City Administration Ken Johnson said. He
believes that means there is a good possibility they could be approved.
Councilman James Litchkoski said he was disappointed and hurt when
he learned the $5.6 million in federal transportation funds originally
designated for a parking garage in downtown was pulled by U.S. Rep.
Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke. The congressman redirected the money
into the Hotel Sterling project in Wilkes-Barre.
It is the way to kick-start perhaps the regional economy,
Litchkoski said. This is our best chance at revitalization.
I think it would be foolish for us to walk away from this plan.
We need this to come to fruition.
College officials originally applied for the money first, but were
told they could resubmit the application if the city sponsored it,
Johnson said.
Community and Economic Development money assists cities and counties
in funding projects designed to spur economic development, helping
add new jobs and tax revenue.
Community college officials couldnt apply for the money on
their own because they are not a city.
10/3/2007
Nanticoke councilmen plan to make their points
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Nanticoke councilmen, upset about the possible
loss of $5.6 million in federal money and frustrated at delays in
restoring it, plan to make their feelings known at tonight's council
meeting.
The point they say they want to get across is that if U.S. Rep.
Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, supports his hometown and plans to
bring Luzerne County Community College downtown, he will allow the
city and college to start using the money immediately.
"We're pleading with him not to take the money away,"
Councilman Brent Makarczyk said. "We're ready to move, we're
ready to start drawing down. Don't take the rug out from underneath
us."
The $5.6 million, granted to Nanticoke in a 2005 federal law, was
removed by Kanjorski in a bill passed by the House of Representatives
in February. When it was restored in the Senate in June, it was
removed again in a new House bill in July. That bill is in the Senate.
The money is to make improvements to Main Street and help build
a parking garage for the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street, which
LCCC is buying to renovate into a health sciences center. City officials
call it the biggest chance for downtown revitalization in decades.
Kanjorski announced he would work with city and college officials
to get money for the parking garage, but does not mention returning
the $5.6 million, the councilmen say.
"We don't want to find an area for new funding down the road.
Just give us what you said you were going to give us," Makarczyk
said. "From my understanding, the money is still there."
Federal authorities confirmed that the $5.6 million is available
for Nanticoke to start spending immediately, unless Kanjorski persists
in taking it away and giving $3 million to Wilkes-Barre and $2 million
to Lackawanna County, according to council's list of 25 points regarding
the situation.
Councilman James Litchkofski categorized the list as "talking
points, for the public record," to be read at tonight's council
meeting.
Other issues the councilmen outline in the list include:
Kanjorski wants to build a larger parking garage by adding a third
or fourth deck, which would increase costs by $4 million "and
essentially kill the project."
Kanjorski's recent requests for additional information and desire
to expand the project "appear to be nothing more than delay
tactics that will only precipitate the loss of federal funding."
Kanjorski said in 2006 that the $5.6 million could be used for the
parking garage project when it had a different developer, so "Why
is the $5.6 million no longer OK for the LCCC project?"
If Kanjorski doesn't want to cooperate in returning the $5.6 million,
council will "respectfully ask him not to impede the project
any further," the document states.
"I believe bringing LCCC downtown, the streetscaping and so
forth, is what is right for the city. This isn't something that
was pulled out of the air, this isn't some slapdash idea. This is
something that was researched, that was backed up by various studies,"
Litchkofski said. "I am frustrated, and I am at a loss as to
why this money can't come to Nanticoke."
9/29/2007
Specter pledges to work with Kanjorski on
regaining LCCC funds
By dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter said he would work with
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, to try to regain federal
funds for Luzerne County Community College's expansion into downtown
Nanticoke.
"They (federal funds) are hard to find, but it is a necessary
project to build that facility so development can go forward,"
Specter said during a visit to the college on Friday.
The college is buying the Kanjorski Center in downtown Nanticoke
for a health sciences center, slated to open in January 2009. Kanjorski
earmarked $5.6 million in a 2005 transportation funding bill for
a parking garage and improvements to East Main Street, such as new
streetlights. City officials say more parking and street improvements
are crucial for LCCC's plans.
A bill passed in the House that is currently in the Senate takes
the $5.6 million away from Nanticoke and gives $3 million to Hotel
Sterling in Wilkes-Barre. Specter said the $5.6 million was not
final, but it was on the books.
"When the allocation was made, it came through Congressman
Paul Kanjorski's office. When he made a shift, I respect that,"
Specter said.
The senator said he spoke Friday morning to Kanjorski, who stressed
the importance of getting funding for the project in downtown Nanticoke.
"I think it is very important to move ahead there with the
parking area so the college can be developed," Specter said.
Nanticoke Mayor John Bushko, who attended the event at LCCC on Friday,
also spoke of the importance of obtaining federal funds for the
parking garage and streetscape improvements.
"I thought we were going to get the money back," Bushko
said. "We might have to expand on the garage. It might be too
small. I might ask for more money."
Members of the Nanticoke General Municipal Authority, which manages
the Kanjorski Center, believe the parking garage might be more expensive
than anticipated. Authority chairman previously said that it averages
$2,200 a spot to build a parking facility.
Elizabeth Skrapits, staff writer, contributed to this report.
9/25/2007
Kanjorski Center sale almost complete
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Luzerne County Community College is completing
plans to buy the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street
"The sale is going through. It's almost done," Mayor John
Bushko told the General Municipal Authority, which manages the building.
That's why getting back $5.6 million in federal funding to build
a parking garage for the Kanjorski Center and make other improvements
downtown is more important than ever, authority members say.
The college wants to use the Kanjorski Center as a health sciences
center. A final price and terms are being worked out, according
to attorney Joe Lach, who is providing legal aid to the authority.
The municipal authority initially considered leasing the Kanjorski
Center to LCCC, because a $1.9 million federal Economic Development
Agency grant used to construct it would have to be paid back if
the building is sold.
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski promised to help the city with the EDA
grant situation and assist in returning the $5.6 million, Bushko
said.
In the federal transportation funding bill President Bush signed
into law in August 2005, Kanjorski included $5.6 million for a parking
garage for the Kanjorski Center.
In a bill passed in the U.S. House in February, Kanjorski removed
the money for Nanticoke. Instead, he gave $3 million to Wilkes-Barre
for the Hotel Sterling renovation. The provision taking the money
away from Nanticoke was stricken out in Senate committee in June.
The money was re-routed again to Wilkes-Barre in a new bill passed
in the House on July 31. That bill is still in the Senate.
"Technically, a phone call from the Congressman to the Senate
can put the money back," municipal authority chairman Ron Kamowski
said.
If Kanjorski can't get the original $5.6 million back, he will try
to get the city money some other way, Bushko said.
Kanjorski previously told Bushko he re-assigned the federal funds
because he didn't think the city would use them. The Congressman
stated he did not know until recently LCCC planned to buy the Kanjorski
Center.
Last week, Kanjorski met with Bushko, LCCC Interim President Thomas
Leary, and Nanticoke administrator Kenneth Johnson about the project.
Bushko said Kanjorski's aide, Walter Sokolowski - who is on Nanticoke's
redevelopment authority board - told him the city should know in
about two weeks whether the $5.6 million is reinstated.
The college has to occupy the Kanjorski Center by January 2009,
Kamowski said. LCCC's timetable is "tight, very tight,"
Bushko said. He said it will cost the college almost $8 million
for modifications and additions.
9/25/2007
Homecoming queen is grandfather's hero - Citizens'
Voice
I've been blessed with seven grandchildren,
who have all overcome adversity and become heroes to me. One, Melanie
Laird, has just experienced the honor of being elected homecoming
queen at Greater Nanticoke Area.
Melanie lives in Pond Hill with parents Bob and Sarah Laird and
sister Elisa. When her dad was in the Navy and Melanie was one day
old, she underwent surgery at UCLA because one lung had not developed
properly. No one knew how physically active she would be able to
be in the future.
In junior high she began to play on the volleyball team. However,
one shoulder began to get lower and her back started to curve; her
ribs were growing together.
More surgery was required. After recuperating, she joined the swim
team, but the slight scoliosis became more pronounced. An assessment
at Shriner's Hospital in Philadelphia found that she would need
rods in her back.
She recovered with few setbacks and was even able to resume her
sports activities.
As an honor student planning on college and a kind, friendly person
who interacts well with others of all ages, this Pond Hill resident
well deserves being chosen GNA homecoming queen and being nominated
as my everyday hero.
9/22/2007
Nanticoke revises loan request to gain time from state
By slong@timesleader.com
City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to
revise a loan request that would give the city six more months to
repay a $200,000 loan to the state Department of Community and Economic
Development.
The loan originally was scheduled to be repaid by June 2008. Depending
on the city's cash flow, the state should release the money within
the next month.
While the city's cash flow is "not so good," it has enough
to continue handling day-to-day operations, said Councilman Bernie
Norieka, the finance director.
"All the city employees will be collecting their checks,"
Norieka said. "There will be no interruption of services."
City officials originally requested the zero-interest loan in July
and a public hearing was held in August to determine if Nanticoke
was eligible to receive the money.
"We really think the state is going to give us the money. It's
in their best interests," Pennsylvania Economy League Executive
Director Gerald Cross said.
The Nanticoke Municipal Authority received another $15,000 loan
from the city after officials unanimously voted to grant the loan
so the authority can pay its monthly expenses, including the maintenance
of the Kanjorski Center. This is the third loan the authority has
received from the cash-strapped city.
The authority is required to repay the loan to the city, with interest,
after the building is sold to Luzerne County Community College.
In other business, council approved a 2008 budgetary document required
by the state to fund the city's pension funds.
Mayor John Bushko and City Administrator Kenneth Johnson did not
attend the meeting. They were in Washington, D.C., on business
9/20/2007
Nanticoke officials meet with Kanjorski to
restore funds
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
They gave it the old college try, and came back
optimistic new college funding could be restored.
Nanticoke Mayor John Bushko, City Administrator Kenneth Johnson
and Luzerne County Community College Interim President Thomas Leary
traveled to Washington, D.C., Wednesday to confer with U.S. Rep.
Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, about $5.6 million in federal money
taken from the city and given to Wilkes-Barre.
The $5.6 million, designated in the federal transportation funding
bill President Bush signed into law in 2005, is crucial for Nanticoke's
redevelopment and municipal authorities to build a parking garage
for the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street.
LCCC plans to buy the authority-owned building to transform it into
a health sciences center. The college's presence downtown is a key
factor in revitalization. City officials feared loss of the $5.6
million and their subsequent inability to provide sufficient parking
could scuttle the deal.
The meeting in Kanjorski's office started at 1 p.m. and ended after
5 p.m. It concluded with "a commitment on all sides to work
cooperatively for the benefit of Nanticoke and LCCC," according
to a statement from Kanjorski.
"As a long-time supporter of LCCC, I look forward to continuing
to work with Mr. Leary and city officials to bring academic programs
of the college downtown," Kanjorski stated.
"I believe we had a very productive meeting with the Congressman
and his staff," Leary said as he drove back from Washington
with Bushko and Johnson. "I remain very optimistic that this
partnership between the college and the city of Nanticoke will be
accomplished with the Congressman's assistance."
"I think things went well," Johnson agreed.
Bushko said Kanjorski asked for more information, such as cost estimates,
so he will be more comfortable with the project. City officials
will get together whatever Kanjorski needs, Bushko said.
"When he goes to bat for us, he wants to know we're all on
the same page," Bushko said.
It might be too late for Kanjorski to amend the proposed legislation
that takes funding away from Nanticoke, because it is currently
in the Senate awaiting passage. U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and
Bob Casey can still make changes to the bill, or Kanjorski could
get funding for Nanticoke by a different route.
On February 27, H.R. 1195, which amended the act President Bush
signed into law in 2005, was introduced in the House of Representatives.
It took away the $5.6 million for Nanticoke. Instead, Wilkes-Barre
was to get $3 million for parking for the Hotel Sterling restoration
project. H.R. 1195 was passed in the House and sent to the Senate
on March 27.
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed H.R.
1195 during its June 6 meeting. The committee struck the provision
giving the $3 million to Wilkes-Barre, effectively restoring the
original $5.6 million earmark for Nanticoke.
However, on July 31, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3248,
which puts the amendment giving money to Wilkes-Barre instead of
Nanticoke back in the transportation bill. The new bill went to
the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Aug. 3.
"H.R. 3248 has been passed by the House, according to our staff,
and therefore, if the Senate were to pass it as it is now, it would
go to the President for his signature," said Pete Rafle, Communications
Director for the Committee on Environment and Public Works. "It
can be amended, but it would have to be amended in the Senate."
Leary and Bushko are also asking the Congressman for help in getting
the federal Economic Development Agency to forgive a $1.9 million
loan used to build the Kanjorski Center. The loan has to be paid
back if the building is sold before a certain date.
9/20/2007
Nanticoke talks with Kanjo over parking plan positive
slong@timesleader.com
Seeking federal funding to build a parking structure
in downtown Nanticoke, Luzerne County Community College and Nanticoke
city officials meet with U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski for several hours
Wednesday at his Washington, D.C., office.
Nanticoke City Administrator Kenneth Johnson described the meeting
as a very positive and productive discussion to update
Kanjorski on the progress of the plan allowing the college to purchase
the four-story Kanjorski building.
He wants some more conscious and detailed information about
downtown, Johnson said noting the city would get the congressman
the information quickly.
Kanjorski expressed desire to continue working with the city and
college to help revitalize the South Valley community.
LCCC is planning to purchase the Kanjorski Center to house its health
sciences program and purchase the Nanticoke Senior Citizens Center
to house the culinary arts program. Both are scheduled to be opened
in 2009.
However, a parking facility must be built to allow enough space
for college students and visitors to park.
The $5.6 million originally allocated for the project was rerouted
by Kanjorski for the Sterling project in Wilkes-Barre.
Kanjorski said he diverted the funds because he did not think Nanticoke
wanted a downtown parking structure.
City officials said they always wanted a parking facility, but wanted
one that was not as elaborate or expensive as the one the congressman
favored.
9/20/2007
Jenna Butzek forgoes her scissors to pursue a modeling career
By Pamela Urbanski - Nanticoke Area Notes
I was driving up Main Street the other day when
I noticed a special sign congratulating Nanticoke resident Jenna
Butzek on receiving a modeling contract.
One might think that a young lady who receives such an honor probably
has been working very hard and very long. Think again.
This is a success story about a talented young lady that you don't
hear very often. Jenna is a graduate of Nanticoke Area Junior-Senior
High School and a student at Empire Beauty School in Moosic. "I
always have been interested in doing that kind of work," Jenna
said. But she thought she might want to focus more on hair and makeup
so she decided to talk with family friend Joann Danko.
Joann, who is a former Nanticoke resident, is the assistant director
for Accents II, a select talent and model agency. Jerry Wildes is
the director. Joann trains and grooms individuals with the hopes
of getting them into the entertainment business. Personal development
is another area in which she helps young people gain confidence.
"I love what I do," Joann said.
She has been dedicated to this profession for close to a dozen years.
In talking to her you can tell she has great enthusiasm and is passionate
about her work. She has sent people all over the world.
"When Jenna came to see me, it had been a while since I last
saw her. She had grown into a beautiful young lady. We talked about
her interests and I encouraged her to attend some of our sessions,"
Joann said. After only two sessions, Joann entered Jenna into convention
class. "It usually takes about two years for someone to enter
into a convention, but I knew immediately that Jenna had a lot going
for her," she said.
They were off to New York City and the INTA, the largest modeling
convention in the world, at the Hilton Hotel.
Jenna would compete against more than 7,000 young ladies for the
right to model and/or act.
"After talking with some of the parents and realizing how long
their sons/daughters were preparing for something like this, I thought
to myself, what are we doing here," said Nancy Butzek, Jenna's
mom.
Jenna entered the fitness model category. She modeled and acted
for the judges. They really liked what they saw. So much so that
she won first place in the swimsuit competition. Yep, she took home
top honors after defeating some 6,500 girls. But she wasn't done
yet. She took third place in the TV/commercial category and she
finished second place overall for fitness model of the year.
Jenna just blew everybody away. She is just amazing. For Jenna it
was a total shock. "I really wasn't expecting anything to come
of this. I thought it would just be fun and a good experience,"
Jenna said.
She was so sure an award was out of the question, she wore sweatpants,
flip-flops and a T-shirt to the awards ceremony. "I was so
embarrassed I had to go up on stage like that. But I made up for
it because on the last night everyone attended a ball and everyone
was dressed formally. That's when I received the fitness model of
the year award. I felt a little better," Jenna said.
Following that competition, Jenna received 13 callbacks, seven for
modeling and six for acting. She has signed a major modeling contract
with MMG Talent in New York City and already has had an all-night
shoot for the movie "Consent." "That was really difficult
because we worked from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.," she said.
You can get a glimpse of Jenna by checking out the Accents II billboard
across from Sam's Club in Wilkes-Barre Township.
Jenna is the daughter of Nancy and John Butzek.
Congratulations and good luck Jenna!
Mystery dinner theater set
If you're looking for something different to do next weekend, I
have the perfect event for you.
The Nanticoke Special Care Auxiliary is hosting a mystery dinner
theater Saturday, Sept. 29, at 6 p.m. at Alden Manor. Bracken Theater
Group will perform as those eating dinner get to figure out who
dunnit.
"I enjoy volunteering because it's something we can do as a
group to help our patients," said auxiliary member Claire Cohen.
Last year, the auxiliary donated $10,000 to the hospital for patient
care and new equipment. Proceeds will benefit patients at Special
Care Hospital on Washington Street. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased
at the door or by calling Claire at 735-6919 or Mary at 735-2193.
Golomki and haluski sale
St. Mary's Catholic Women's Council will hold a golomki and haluski
sale Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Head Start School basement
on South Hanover Street. Cost is golumki is $1.50 each and haluski
is $3 per container. There will be no advance orders.
9/17/2007
Sterling project gets Nanticoke cash
U.S. Rep. Kanjorski said inaction by Nanticoke officials prompted
him to redirect $5.6M to Wilkes-Barre.
slong@timesleader.com
Federal funds totaling $5.6 million that were
allocated for a major Nanticoke redevelopment project have been
diverted to Wilkes-Barres Sterling Hotel project because local
officials failed to take action, U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski said Friday.
Originally, the money was intended to pay the bulk of the construction
costs of a $7 million parking garage on East Main Street.
Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, said he chose to redirect these funds
to other projects within his district because he did not want to
lose the money.
I did not want the city of Nanticoke to lose
$6 million,
he said.
But, state Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, insists that the $5.6
million in federal highway bill funding is still available to the
city.
Officials with the city, the Nanticoke Redevelopment Authority and
the Nanticoke Municipal Authority were considering a plan promoted
by the South Valley Partnership that included Luzerne County Community
College moving its culinary arts and health sciences program into
the downtown when Kanjorski granted requests from developers seeking
funding to build a parking garage and complete phase one of the
of Sterling Hotel renovations in Wilkes-Barre.
The partnerships plan would include landscaping, new sidewalks,
new lighting, on-street parking, retail space throughout several
streets in downtown Nanticoke and a parking lot adjacent to the
Kanjorski Center.
Kanjorski claims he was never notified of the colleges plan
to move into the downtown until after reading papers regarding the
Sept. 4 press conference during which officials announced formal
plans to move the colleges two programs downtown.
As a longtime supporter of LCCC, I applaud any effort to draw
students into downtown Nanticoke, Kanjorski said.
Former city councilman William OMalley said Walter D. Sokolowski,
a Kanjorski staff member, is a member of Nanticokes Redevelopment
Authority board and should have informed Kanjorski about the colleges
plans.
Kanjorski said he knew the city was planning the street renovation
project, but thought the $5.6 million could not be used because
of restrictions on the funds.
But, Yudichak said state Department of Transportation officials
confirmed the federal money could be used to pay for the project.
Hes asking Kanjorski to work with U.S. Sens. Robert P. Casey,
D-Scranton, and Arlen Specter, R-Philadelphia, to ensure that the
funds are reverted back to their original designation before the
bill is sent to President Bush for his signature.
We should not be in a position where we are pitting one community
against another. We have a viable product that will generate new
energy and new tone for the South Valley, Yudichak said.
He believes the Sterling Hotel developers will not lose any money
for their project because Kanjorski could allocate more money toward
that project before Bush signs the bill.
Kanjorski and Yudichak expressed desires to work together with other
officials to ensure funding is found to build a parking garage so
college students, teachers and visitors will have parking spaces
accessible to the Kanjorski Center and new culinary arts institute.
If you would like me to help you pursue funds for parking
I think I can again be helpful there, but it is essential that I
know the money will be spent, Kanjorski said.
9/15/2007
Nanticoke officials hope Kanjorski will help
get federal funds back
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, defended
his decision to take $5.6 million in federal transportation funding
away from Nanticoke, saying he didn't want to lose it for his district.
City officials say they definitely planned to use the money for
a crucial project - and hope Kanjorski can help them get it back.
In the federal transportation funding bill President Bush signed
into law in August 2005, Kanjorski included $5.6 million for a parking
garage and street improvements in downtown Nanticoke.
In February, Kanjorski put an amendment in a new bill taking the
$5.6 million away. Instead, he opted to give Wilkes-Barre City $3
million for parking at the Hotel Sterling and Irem Temple.
The bill to amend the federal transportation act, House Resolution
1195, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in March and is
now in committee in the U.S. Senate.
No $5.6 million means Nanticoke can't build a parking garage for
the Kanjorski Center. Luzerne County Community College plans to
use it for a health sciences center and also build a culinary arts
institute further down on East Main Street, a move city, county
and state officials hope kicks off South Valley revitalization.
"It may jeopardize the sale of the Kanjorski Center if we can't
provide parking," Nanticoke Municipal Authority member Dennis
Butler said. "That would have changed everybody's plans. Why
weren't we notified he was taking it until now?"
In a letter to Nanticoke Mayor John Bushko dated Friday, Kanjorski
said he is committed to doing whatever he can to help the city and
LCCC, but it is essential that he knows the money will be spent.
"I'm trying to get Nanticoke back on track," Kanjorski
said. "I want people to know there could never be a personal
or political conflict that interferes with the betterment of Nanticoke."
Kanjorski said he cut the $5.6 million because at a July 2006 meeting
of the redevelopment authority - which owns the Kanjorski Center;
the municipal authority manages it - former councilman William O'Malley
said the mayor and council opposed building a parking garage for
the center.
"I took action to reassign the money, because I didn't want
it lost," Kanjorski said. "I had requests from three or
four cities, the most pressing of which was Wilkes-Barre."
Nanticoke officials always wanted more parking for the Kanjorski
Center, O'Malley said. What they opposed was the original plan for
a garage that was too big and expensive.
"He took one portion there out of context and said we weren't
in favor of the parking garage. That's true: we weren't in favor
of a $7 million, 400-car garage. But at the same meeting, we had
plans for another one that made more sense," O'Malley said.
"At no time did anybody say we weren't doing a parking garage,"
Butler said. "We debated on the size of the parking garage,
not on the necessity of having one."
At that time, the Kanjorski Center had been mostly vacant for two
years and dependent on a fiscally distressed city, said state Rep.
John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke.
"They weren't saying no, they were saying 'let's find a tenant,
let's find a project that is sustainable, that will lead to greater
economic development in the downtown,' and we have that," Yudichak
said.
City officials wanted to follow the South Valley regional plan that
called for not only a parking garage, but on-street parking, new
streetlights and sidewalks, and other improvements, O'Malley said.
Kanjorski said he was unaware LCCC wanted to buy the Kanjorski Center
until he was invited to a recent press conference, which he did
not attend.
"I was in a meeting where Kanjorski's top aide, Wally Sokolowski
(a member of the redevelopment authority) sat right next to me,
and we discussed the necessity of parking," said municipal
authority chairman Ron Kamowski.
"I cannot understand that the congressman was not aware we
were trying to strike up a deal with LCCC that would enable us to
match the $5.6 million he got us, and to bring a continually renewable
source of business to the downtown area," he said.
Kanjorski said he would seek money for the parking garage project,
after he is briefed on the specifics.
"I'm very pleased the congressman is willing to help us, to
restore that $5.6 million that is currently law," said Yudichak.
"This money has been committed to Nanticoke, it's in the current
law. All we're saying is, let the law stand."
Claire Schechter, assistant managing editor, contributed to this
report.
9/14/2007
Revitalization money may be cut
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The possible loss of federal funding puts the cornerstone of Nanticoke's
downtown revitalization project in jeopardy, although it could help
prop up an important Wilkes-Barre City project.
In the federal transportation funding bill passed in August 2005,
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, included $5.6 million to
build a parking garage for the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street
in Nanticoke.
City, county and state officials, confident funds were in place
to remedy the parking problem at the office building, moved forward
with plans to bring Luzerne County Community College into it - the
centerpiece of downtown revitalization. Plans were drawn up for
a two-story parking deck with a restaurant and shops in front, to
be built on the vacant lot next to the Kanjorski Center.
What local officials didn't know until this week was in February
Kanjorski had the bill amended to pull the $5.6 million for Nanticoke,
cut it to $3 million, and reassign it to parking and street improvements
at the Wilkes-Barre Sterling Hotel down River, Market or Franklin
streets as far as the Irem Temple.
"No one was aware of this action," said state Rep. John
Yudichak, D-Nanticoke. "Perhaps there was some misunderstanding
that we can clear up."
The amendment to the transportation bill, House Resolution 1195,
passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in March and is in committee
in the U.S. Senate.
Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak believes Nanticoke lost
the money because Kanjorski and Yudichak are political adversaries.
The chairman of the county commissioners pointed the finger of blame
directly at the veteran congressman.
"I have nothing against Paul," Skrepenak said. "I
work well with Paul and I work well with John, but when you look
at this, it just doesn't add up. This is what gives politicians
a bad rep. I think if a project is viable for the community and
the big picture, you put personal feelings aside and do the right
thing."
Kanjorski did not respond to messages left with his office and chief
of staff Thursday.
Municipal and redevelopment authority members knew the Kanjorski
Center needed more parking, either a lot or garage, to make it marketable.
"What type of parking we were going to put in was up in the
air," said Ron Kamowski, chairman of the Nanticoke General
Municipal Authority, which is responsible for maintaining the building.
"Part of the ($5.6 million) was always geared towards parking.
We were just trying to spread out the funds to allow us to also
beautify the downtown."
Redevelopment authority member Walter Sokolowski, who works in Kanjorski's
Wilkes-Barre office, could not be reached for comment.
LCCC officials recently announced the college planned to turn the
Kanjorski Center, mostly vacant since October 2005, into a state-of-the-art
health sciences center. The college also plans to build a culinary
arts center at Market and Main streets. City, county and state officials
hoped the college's presence downtown would provide a catalyst for
revitalization of the entire South Valley.
"If we can't give LCCC parking, it will definitely become an
issue with the sale," Kamowski said.
"I don't want to see everything go up in smoke," Nanticoke
Mayor John Bushko said. "If we lose it, we'll do something,
I'm sure. But I don't think we can come up with $3 million for a
parking garage. And there's not enough room for surface parking."
LCCC Interim President Thomas Leary is optimistic.
"I have not had any conversation with the congressman or his
office, and based on the congressman's record, I would fully expect
he would support this important project that will benefit the citizens
of Nanticoke and the students of Luzerne County Community College,"
Leary said.
Yudichak said he worked with college, county and other local officials
to put together a letter to Kanjorski, asking him to reconsider
and lend his support to the Nanticoke project.
The Citizens' Voice obtained a draft copy of the letter. It requests
the presence of Kanjorski and U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey
at a meeting - date unspecified - to review the project in detail.
Skrepenak said he supports the draft letter to Kanjorski. Skrepenak
was disappointed he didn't learn the money for Nanticoke was yanked
from the bill until recently.
Skrepenak insisted his stance should not be interpreted to mean
the two projects in Wilkes-Barre are not worthy of federal funding.
Nanticoke has been languishing, and bringing the college downtown
would help breathe new life into the city, he said.
"The focus has been on Wilkes-Barre for a while, and I certainly
believe Wilkes-Barre has a come a long way," Skrepenak said.
"Wilkes-Barre is the county seat and needs a lot of attention.
However, Nanticoke and the South Valley need a shot in the arm.
This project helps the community college and benefits Nanticoke's
economy. The county has been supportive and the state legislature
has been supportive. We thought Paul was too."
Todd Vonderheid, president and CEO of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber
of Business and Industry, declined to discuss the funding situation.
James Conmy, staff writer, contributed to this report.
9/10/2007
Pope John Paul II Schools book sale
ends today
Event is an attempt to empty the library, which will be used by
the Nanticoke Food Pantry.
By sdelazio@timesleader.com
Another page has turned for Pope John Paul II
School.
Since Saturday, Nanticokes only Catholic school, closed recently
by the Diocese of Scranton, has been selling the contents of its
library to book lovers. The sale will conclude today.
We have a big variety of books, from encyclopedias to religious,
said Alice Pawlowski, a Pope John Paul II graduate and book sale
volunteer. We have a big variety of books, not only childrens,
and people should take advantage of it.
Sale organizer Bill Borysewicz, youth director of Holy Trinity Church
in Nanticoke and former music teacher at Pope John Paul II, said
the sale comes as a final farewell to the longtime Catholic school,
which was formed when three Catholic grade schools in Nanticoke
closed and Pope John Paul II opened in 1982.
Once the librarys contents are removed, the area, along with
another room on the first floor, will become the Nanticoke Food
Pantry, run by St. Stanislaus Church, around late October.
The rest of the building, including the classrooms, will be used
as a CCD center for the churches, under the leadership of Pastor
Jim Nash, in just two weeks.
All the money raised at the book sale will be put right back
into the school, Borysewicz said, citing that since the closure
of several Catholic schools in the area, all are in debt to the
diocese in some way. I realized the books would never be used
again and decided to bring up the idea of having a book sale,
Borysewicz said.
Borysewicz said there are nearly 2,000 books in the library and
thought the sale would have a better turnout. He expects that in
the near future there will be another sale in an attempt to clear
out the library for the food pantry.
Are we going to have to trash (the rest of the books), will
someone want them for something? I just dont know what will
happen, Borysewicz said. This is very sentimental for
a lot of people, since a lot of the parishioners came to school
here.
Gloria Eget, a visiting nurse from Nanticoke, said she stopped by
the book sale to pick up some Bibles for her clients. A lot
of them dont have one, so I thought Id come and buy
them one.
Others, such as Phyllis Warren, also of Nanticoke, saw an announcement
in the churchs weekly bulletin about the sale and decided
to purchase a few religious books for the Lighthouse Worship Center
in Nanticoke.
The center will open a library soon, Warren said, and she wanted
to donate materials to be used there, along with the centers
Bible study group, and to be available for members of the church.
One school closes, and another opens, Warren said. Its
sad to see Pope John Paul close, but thats the way the Lord
works. Its his doing.
Borysewicz said once the books are either sold or gone from the
library, the shelves will be sold, too. We got a lot of questions
about the religious figurines and crosses in the school building,
but were going to keep them for the CCD center.
A lot of people are getting used to the fact that Pope John
Paul has closed, and just wanted to come to the library to take
home a memory.
If you go
Where: 518 S. Hanover St. Pope John Paul
II School library
When: Today, from noon to 3 p.m.
Prices are:
10 cents-25 cents for softcover books
50 cents-$1 for hardcover books
$3 for a set of encyclopedias
Watch for another book sale at the school in
the near future.
9/9/2007
Officials say LCCC's plans for Kanjorski
Center are healthy for Nanticoke
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Luzerne County Community College's plans to take over the Kanjorski
Center on East Main Street should help make Nanticoke a healthy
community - literally and figuratively.
Local and state officials believe the college's adaptation of the
Kanjorski Center into a health sciences center and the creation
of its culinary arts institute at Market and Main streets will bring
economic health to the ailing downtown by attracting new businesses
and bringing more potential customers to existing ones.
By bringing the health sciences department - one of the college's
largest - downtown, LCCC will be able to provide many expanded or
new health care services and educational opportunities to city and
county residents, from children to seniors, at little or no cost.
"It has a positive impact on just about every group in the
city, including students, business people, senior citizens, and
high school students who will be graduating," said LCCC Interim
President Thomas Leary. "I don't think there are any real limitations
on how these facilities will enhance the community."
Engaging residents will be a priority, according to Dr. Dana Clark,
dean of nursing and health sciences at LCCC. She hopes to meet with
community service groups within the next few months, as well as
form an advisory committee made up of area residents.
The college already provides public services such as health fairs
and blood pressure screenings at places like senior centers and
grocery stores, but will have the opportunity to do more.
The Kanjorski Center is near four senior high-rise apartment complexes.
Nanticoke Villa at Main and Walnut streets and Nanticoke Housing
Authority owned Oplinger Towers at 270 E. Main St. are right down
the street. Housing Authority owned Park Towers at 1 E. Green St.,
and Nanticoke Towers, 100 Nanticoke Ave., are a few blocks away.
"We are going to be working with the Agency on Aging, have
discussions about some partnership events," Clark said. "I
think it's going to be very, very helpful for seniors."
LCCC has a clinic that provides tooth cleaning, exams and other
dental care to children and adults at reduced costs, Clark said.
The new dental facility on the first floor of the Kanjorski Center
will have additional dental chairs and state-of-the-art equipment.
Other things the college is planning include:
-
A health care library that is accessible
to seniors.
An expanded speakers' bureau - one already exists, under the
directorship of Joseph Grilli - to give lectures and health
workshops.
Public educational resources on alcohol, drug and gambling addiction.
New volunteer opportunities.
The culinary arts institute will also have social
and educational programs open to everyone, such as speakers from
out of town and cooking classes in a proposed 70-seat auditorium,
Clark said.
LCCC plans to officially occupy the Kanjorski Center in January
2009, the year Mercy Special Care Hospital at 128 W. Washington
St. celebrates its 100th anniversary.
The two Nanticoke institutions have always had an informal relationship.
But recently, the college started talks with representatives of
the 50-bed long-term care hospital on forging a stronger partnership.
"We want to do things with (LCCC), but we don't want to wait
until 2009," said Mercy Special Care Hospital administrator
Robert D. Williams. "It seems to be a nice fit, that we're
very excited about."
Mercy Special Care Hospital employs nurses, nursing aides, phlebotomists,
and respiratory therapists - all professions students can learn
at LCCC. Students currently do phlebotomy and nursing internships
there, but Williams hopes to strengthen that relationship by offering
scholarships.
The hospital has laboratories comparable to those that will be constructed
in LCCC's new facility, and a full-service respiratory department
using cutting-edge hyperbaric oxygen therapy for hard-to-heal wounds,
Williams said.
By interning at the hospital, which is "in their own backyard,"
students can get practical experience in the acute care and chronic
care services they are going to be facing when they graduate, he
said.
"It's kind of a before and after: they receive the training
at the community college, then they are able to see the real-life
experience throughout their training and after graduation at hospitals
like ours," Williams said.
9/8/2007
State releases $72,000 to Nanticoke
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The state has released its hold on the last of Nanticoke's federal
grants, clearing the way for the financially distressed city to
apply for more.
The state Department of Community and Economic Development is
allowing the city to have approximately $72,000 in Community Development
Block Grant money left over from 2001, city administrator Kenneth
Johnson said.
Council learned from Nanticoke's financial recovery coordinator
Wednesday that the state freed up $358,460 in CDBG money for 2007
and $381,267 the city had coming for 2006. By Friday, city officials
were told they could also have the 2001 funds.
DCED froze all Nanticoke's grant money due to financial management
problems and incorrect grant administration by previous city officials.
The current council and mayor hired key personnel to handle city
finances and administration and followed other conditions called
for by the state.
"It seems like at present we're comfortable with the changes
the city has made. The financial management system is much stronger,"
said DCED spokesman Greg Morgan in Harrisburg. "The important
thing is, they've definitely improved what we've asked them to improve
in."
CDBG money, allotted annually to the third-class city, can go for
projects such as road paving in areas that are designated low- to
moderate-income.
Fire apparatus is acceptable, and the city will use part of the
2006 and 2007 CDBG money for payments on a fire engine. The $72,000
from 2001 might be used to pay off the loan taken out to buy it,
Johnson said.
Johnson had hoped to use CDBG money for the city's 20 percent match
of a $2.3 million federal grant that will be used for repaving Alden
Road, Prospect Street, Union Street, and possibly three others.
However, since CDBG money is federal - although administered by
the state - it can't be used to match other federal funds.
The paving could wait until 2010, when the city has enough money
from earned income tax, Johnson said. He will also talk with State
Sen. Raphael Musto, D-Pittston Township, and State Rep. John Yudichak,
D-Nanticoke, to see if state funding is available.
Johnson said the city can use liquid fuels money, which municipalities
receive from the state tax on gasoline. However, there won't be
enough for the entire match, and the city must set some of the money
aside for emergency snow removal.
"I'm willing to recommend we use liquid fuels, because this
is a big project - this is a monster," Johnson said. "We're
talking major impact. We've got a great opportunity here for infrastructure
improvement."
9/7/2007
Nanticoke considers hiring two new police
officers
Citizens Voice
Nanticoke City Council briefly discussed the possibility of hiring
two new police officers at Wednesday's meeting. Mayor John Bushko
said he would like to hire three, but there isn't enough money.
There are 11 officers, one of whom is out on disability, and the
overtime pay "is really getting up there," Bushko said.
Members of the Rotary Club presented police Chief James Cheshinski
with six portable spotlights for his department. The club held fundraisers
at the Honey Pot Cabbage Roll and during South Valley Heritage Days
to purchase the spotlights, member Frank Vandermark said.
Council named tax collector Berkheimer Associates as tax officer,
delinquent tax collector, and tax hearing officer in a new agreement.
Berkheimer will receive 1.9 percent of collections instead of 2.75
percent, city administrator Kenneth Johnson said.
9/6/2007
Nanticoke eyes police, fire hires
slong@timesleader.com
Mayor John Bushko urged council on Wednesday
to hire at least two more police officers and firefighters because
of injuries, a retirement and some vacancies.
He would like to hire three police officers, but doubts there is
money to pay the salary of a third officer.
Bushko announced during Wednesdays council meeting that he
recently received results from the civil service tests. He said
the city needed to do something to reduce the numerous hours of
overtime being worked by officers.
Right now, we have 11 police officers. One is out on heart
and lung (disability) and our overtime is getting up there,
Bushko said.
Councilman Brent Makarczyk, fire department director, said he would
like hire to one or two new firefighters to alleviate some of the
overtime other firefighters are working to cover for employees who
have been out while recovering from injuries.
But Makarczyk and Bushko realize the citys finances must be
considered. The citys Act 47 recovery plan does not include
any provisions to hire any police officers or firefighters.
In other business, council members learned the city would save a
tremendous amount of money after a new contract with Berkheimer
Associates, the citys tax collection agency, was signed.
For years the city paid 2.75 percent on the total amount collected
by the tax collection firm. Under the new contract, set to expire
Dec. 31, 2008, the city will only pay 1.9 percent of the total funds
collected.
The citys exact savings cant be calculated because it
would depend on the total amount of taxes that Berkheimer collects,
City Administrator Ken Johnson said.
That would be very difficult because of the earned income
tax issues and when its coming in, Johnson said. Ultimately,
it will be a significant savings, that is the best I can say. That
is a significant percentage difference.
Also Wednesday, Johnson said some of the citys roads are expected
to be repaved next year.
The council passed a resolution agreeing to repave Alden Road, Prospect
and Union streets using funds from the federal government, which
will reimburse the city 80 percent of the costs. It will be the
citys responsibility to pay the remaining 20 percent.
The exact costs to pave the roads are not known.
9/6/2007
State releases Nanticoke's community development
cash
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
City officials received good news Wednesday
about grants needed for paving streets - and even better news about
their relationship with an important state agency.
Nanticoke can now have its $358,460 Community Development Block
Grant money for 2007 and $381,267 for 2006. Approximately $72,000
from 2001 is still on hold, said Gerald Cross, executive director
of Nanticoke's financial recovery coordinator, the Pennsylvania
Economy League.
CDBG money is from the federal government, but it is administered
by the state Department of Community and Economic Development. DCED
froze Nanticoke's CDBG funds because the city had financial management
problems, and past administrations didn't follow grant rules.
In the beginning, meetings between DCED and city officials were
strained, according to Cross. But as council and Mayor John Bushko
showed good intentions by hiring fiscal manager Holly Quinn and
city administrator Kenneth Johnson and worked to set up financial
controls, DCED thawed towards the city.
"I do think you need to step back and congratulate yourselves,"
Cross said.
He added that the improved relationship with DCED "will put
Nanticoke City on the same standing with other cities" when
it comes to getting grants.
It is important for the financially distressed city to be on good
terms with the state - particularly since DCED gave it the distressed
designation and is responsible for monitoring its recovery progress.
The city will use $32,930 of the 2006 CDBG money for a fire engine
payment, and $279,709 for improving Maple Street from West Broad
Street to West Green Street; West Noble Street from Hanover Street
to Fairchild Street; and West Ridge Street from Market Street to
Hanover Street.
The 2007 CDBG money is slated for another fire truck payment of
$32,930; there is $261,016 for repaving Nanticoke Street from Market
Street to Main Street and Slope Street from Main Street to Hill
Street; and the remaining $64,522 is for administration.
The money is available now, but it is too late to pave this year,
Johnson said. The jobs have to be bid out, and by the time bids
come in, it will be too cold for road work.
Alden Road, Prospect Street and Union Street will also be repaved
next year using $2.3 million in federal money council signed an
agreement for on Wednesday.
Nanticoke needs to come up with a 20 percent match - about $484,000,
Johnson said. It will come from a combination of sources, including
CDBG funds and liquid fuels money, which the state gives municipalities
from the gasoline tax.
9/6/2007
Nanticoke business evacuated after gas leak
discovered - Citizens' Voice
A small gas leak in downtown Nanticoke led to
the brief evacuation of the Weis Market off of Market Street on
Wednesday morning.
The leak occurred before 10:30 a.m. while a contractor was clearing
brush near a natural gas regulator station behind Weis near North
Walnut Street, UGI spokesman Chet Merli said. The brush trimmer
damaged a 1-inch fitting on an 8-inch main, causing a low pressure
leak.
The company received notification of the leak around 10:30, Merli
said, and leak was sealed off by about 11 a.m. shortly after a maintenance
worker arrived. In the meantime, emergency personnel evacuated the
supermarket as a precaution for about 10 minutes, a store manager
said.
The gas was not released into the ground and the amount released
into the air was "not enough to cause a problem," Merli
said.
9/6/2007
Nanticoke Area Notes
By: Pam Urbanski
Community Ambulance calling for subscription
drive support
If you've ever been sick or injured or require
emergency care from home, you know how invaluable our community
ambulance is.
The Nanticoke Fire Department Community Ambulance is dispatched
when people call 9-1-1 and have a medical emergency. They serve
residents in the Nanticoke and Plymouth Township areas. Paramedics
and emergency medical technicians provide services 24-hours-a-day,
seven-days-a-week. Volunteers make up the rest of the crew and their
assistance is invaluable.
I was quite surprised to learn of the training an EMTs and paramedics
must have. The training provides clinical and administrative skills
needed for a person to care for another person.
A paramedic provides advanced-level pre-hospital emergency life
support under the direction of an emergency room physician through
radio contact. They commit to an entire year of intensive training.
They must log more than 2,000 hours of training, pass a national
registry test and be Pennsylvania certified. A physician or medical
director also must certify them annually. Finally, they must continue
with their education.
Dan Shaw has been a paramedic for 25 years. He is also the coordinator
for emergency services for the Nanticoke Ambulance. For him, the
job is most rewarding. "I feel good about and believe in what
I do," said Shaw. "I know I am making a difference in
someone else's life."
Dan tells me he goes a step further for requirements and reviews
every call. "We scrutinize every call and make sure we follow
state guidelines," Shaw said. "Nanticoke Area is a very
busy place. We're always going."
Last year, they handled more than 2,000 calls.
Shaw is asking residents for their help and support in maintaining
quality emergency services in the Nanticoke Area. "We are now
conducting our annual subscription drive. The money we collect will
go a long way in providing residents the best care we can,"
he said.
Shaw tells me the money goes toward upkeep of the ambulance and
also for purchasing the best equipment. "Our ambulance cost
upward of $125,000 and a cardiac monitor for the unit cost around
$20,000. This fundraiser helps us to make capital purchases The
money also is used to pay personnel to man the ambulance 24-hours-a-day,
seven-days-a-week," Shaw added.
A subscription rate for an entire household is $50. A household
with senior citizens is $35. Additional donations also are accepted.
Why subscribe?
"A call with basic life support care cost $525. That could
be anything from treating a sprained ankle or broken bones. If you
require advanced life support, are a cardiac patient, have an accident,
the cost is $825. We bill the insurance companies. If you do not
have insurance, you are required to pay the whole bill. If you have
insurance, we accept their payment, but we do not charge you for
the balance of the bill," Shaw explained.
As you can see, we all should be sending in our subscriptions. I
guess we all figure "It won't happen to me. I won't need emergency
care." But, we never really know.
Subscription letters have been mailed. Anyone who did not receive
one or for more information, call 735-5201.
Book sale at Pope John Paul
A sale of books from the Pope John Paul II Elementary School will
hold a book sale Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m., Sunday from 9 a.m. to
1 p.m. and Monday from noon to 3 p.m. at the school library, 518
S. Hanover St., Nanticoke.
Course to be presented
The Rev. James Nash, pastor of the Holy Child, Holy Trinity, St.
Mary of Czestochowa and St. Stanislaus Parish Community, announced
a nine-week course entitled "The Challenge of Living the Beatitudes
Today," will be presented by Sister Gertrude Grimes on Thursdays
beginning Sept. 27 at the Holy Trinity Parish Hall, 520 S. Hanover
St., Nanticoke. Times for the presentation are 10 a.m. to 12:30
p.m., 1 to 3:30 p.m. and 7 to 9:30 p.m.
To register your name and time selection, call the church office
at 735-4833 or Sister Gertrude Grimes at 383-2763.
Community group to meet
Newport Township Community Organization will meet Tuesday at 6:30
p.m. at the Knights of Columbus building (formerly St. Dennis Church)
on East Main Street in Glen Lyon.
The group will discuss its various projects including promoting
the elimination of abandoned buildings, the cleaning up of neglected
properties, the improvement of recreation parks and its upcoming
fall festival to be held Oct. 6. All township residents are welcome
to attend.
9/5/2007
LCCC's master plan reshapes Nanticoke
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
A school with technologically advanced labs
and classrooms to train new generations of nurses, emergency medical
technicians, dental hygienists and respiratory therapists.
A state-of-the-art culinary and hospitality school to prepare students
for jobs ranging from pastry chef to casino manager anywhere in
the United States.
And an unprecedented opportunity to transform Nanticoke's business
district - not to mention bring new growth to surrounding communities.
These plans are coming to life, now that the Pennsylvania Department
of Education has approved the $20 million first phase of Luzerne
County Community College's master plan. It calls for renovation
of existing buildings and the creation of new ones, like a culinary
arts center at Main and Market streets and the purchase of the Kanjorski
Center on East Main Street for a health sciences facility.
"I'm really excited about this," LCCC interim president
Thomas Leary said.
The college's plans for downtown Nanticoke are part of a $40 million
private and public investment strategy state Rep. John Yudichak,
D-Nanticoke, believes will provide the most significant revitalization
opportunity the South Valley has ever seen.
"We have to start thinking regionally," said Luzerne County
Commissioner Chairman Greg Skrepenak, one of the speakers at a presentation
Tuesday in front of the Kanjorski Center.
"With food and health, we hope to make you a healthier community,"
quipped Dr. Dana Clark, dean of nursing and health sciences at LCCC.
The health sciences center will host nursing, dental, surgical technology,
respiratory therapy and emergency medical services programs, according
to Clark. She estimates 1,000 students will come to the building
each day. In addition, LCCC plans to provide services to community
residents, including drug, alcohol and gambling education resources
and health care programs.
Kanjorski Center renovations will cost $7 million to $8 million
and should be complete in time for LCCC to occupy the building in
January 2009, said Pat Clemente of the A & E Group of Wilkes-Barre.
Although the outside of the Kanjorski Center will stay the same,
the inside will be gutted, he said. The architectural firm's plans
include a 6,000-square-foot addition to the 44,000-square-foot building
and remodeling the second and third floors for nursing and technician
programs. The first floor will be a dental clinic with 24 chairs,
Clemente said.
Facility Design and Development Ltd., the firm responsible for the
South Valley strategic plan that calls for bringing LCCC downtown,
is designing the culinary arts center.
It will feature the latest technology and include work areas with
individual cooking stations, said Salvatore Shandra, chairman of
hotel and restaurant management at LCCC.
He said the 20,000-square-foot building would allow the college
to expand its culinary and hospitality programs to prepare students
to meet industry needs on local, state and national levels.
A price for the Kanjorski Center is still under negotiation, Leary
said. The final hurdle to selling it is a $1.8 million federal Economic
Development Administration grant that must be paid back if the building
is sold. Yudichak said state and federal officials want to set up
a meeting with EDA representatives to show what is being done with
the center.
Members of Nanticoke's redevelopment and municipal authorities,
which own and manage the Kanjorski Center, are thrilled with LCCC's
plans. The center has been 80 percent vacant since October 2005,
and maintenance costs coupled with a lack of revenue have bankrupted
the authorities.
"We've had our ups and downs," said redevelopment authority
Chairman Chester Beggs, who also sits on the municipal authority
board.
"We've been stuck in a rut for too long," agreed Hank
Marks, also a member of both authorities.
City, county and state officials worked together to bring the project
to fruition. The help of U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke,
was also crucial, especially in obtaining a $5.6 million federal
grant for a parking facility for the Kanjorski Center, municipal
authority member Dennis Butler said. Surveys show most students
drive to campus, so more parking is necessary, Leary said.
"This is a historic day in Nanticoke," Mayor John Bushko
said. "I've been (in office) 15 years and this is the first
time everybody agreed on doing a project. It's unbelievable."
9/5/2007
LCCC expands downtown
Culinary, Health Sciences centers to open in 2009
By slong@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Community College students could
be roaming around the citys downtown by 2009.
The colleges Health Sciences Center is expected to be open
in January 2009 at the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street.
Nanticokes Senior Citizens Center, at the corner of East Main
and North Market Streets, will be transformed into the colleges
new 20,000-square-foot Culinary Arts Institute scheduled to open
in fall 2009. School officials are still negotiating the sale of
both buildings.
Our new health sciences and hotel and restaurant management
downtown Nanticoke facilities will enhance our colleges ability
to meet the increased demand for a trained work force in the health
care and hospitality professions, interim President Thomas
Leary said Tuesday at a press conference announcing the plans.
With an additional 12,000 square feet of space, the Nursing and
Health Sciences program will be able to expand its community outreach
services to serve more area residents, said Dana Clark, dean of
LCCCs Nursing and Health Science program.
We are going to have a model of health care that we hope will
be a state and national model, Clark said, noting she wants
to encourage residents to serve on the advisory committee. We
would like you to tell us what you need as part of health services
in the future.
Once renovated, the three-story building with a basement level will
have two nursing classrooms and labs, a simulation bay, respiratory
therapy lab, lung function lab, 24-seat dental clinic, dental lab,
surgery technician lab and house the colleges emerging drug-and-alcohol
studies program.
New courses in physical therapy technology, occupational therapy
technology and pharmacy technology will also be offered.
Boasting a classroom demonstration kitchen, two modern kitchen labs
with individualized work stations and a pastry arts lab, the culinary
institutes two-story, 20,000-square-foot building will more
than triple the colleges hotel and restaurant management facilities.
With the additional space, the college hopes to expand courses by
having enough space to offer classes in casino management and leisure/spa
management, said Salvatore Shandra, LCCCs Hotel and Restaurant
Management program chairman.
A private developer plans to open a restaurant in conjunction with
the institute, allowing students to learn the restaurant management
business in a hands-on environment. Details regarding the restaurants
name, theme and menu offerings havent been worked out.
We are so fortunate to have a private investor to go and put
a facility up for us that we can still keep education separate from
service, Shandra said. So the students are going to
get the best of both worlds right within the same distance where
they are educated.
9/3/2007
Nanticoke business owners anticipate downtown
changes
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Owners of existing businesses, some of which have been on East Main
Street for decades, are looking forward to watching plans for downtown
Nanticoke become a reality - and they hope to be part of the revitalization
process.
Last week, Luzerne County Community College officials received
the all-clear from the state Department of Education to go ahead
with the college's master plan. The plan includes obtaining the
Kanjorski Center on East Main Street for a health sciences center
and constructing a culinary arts institute on the site of the city-owned
senior center at Market and Main streets.
"To take the college and to tie it into the business community
really can transform the town," said Bob McDonald, owner of
McDonald's Newsstand. "It really is Nanticoke's biggest asset."
McDonald said the store has been at 73 E. Main St. for more than
100 years. It has been in his family since 1969; he took it over
in 1982.
"I think it will be wonderful. If and when it happens, I expect
to remodel and join in the fun," McDonald said of proposed
improvements to the business district. "I believe in the town."
LCCC's plans to expand operations from its base at Kosciusko Street
near Middle Road to downtown Nanticoke have encouraged private investors,
who are formulating plans of their own. One as-yet unidentified
developer wants to demolish the former CVS building next to the
Kanjorski Center for mixed-use commercial space. The additional
foot traffic brought in by the college would especially be a boon
to shops and restaurants.
"It's definitely going to help us, definitely. The people in
charge of it have to be commended. They worked hard on it,"
Clifford Pomicter said. "But come in and talk to us too. Ask
the little guys what we want."
Pomicter co-owns Mary Lou's Deli and Mini Mart, 135 E. Main St.,
with his wife Mary Lou. It's a cozy place featuring what Pomicter
calls "mom's food, comfort food."
The couple tried a similar venture in downtown Nanticoke about 20
years ago, but they gave up.
"At that time there was no parking on the main street. That
killed us. We had to close," Pomicter said. "We tried
it again 20 years later, and we're still fighting the same."
The Nanticoke General Municipal Authority plans to build a parkade
in the vacant lot next to the Kanjorski Center. It will be set back
from the street, with a privately owned restaurant and possibly
retail space in front.
"We need parking to take care of the businesses they have now,
not down the road," Pomicter said.
He thinks there should be more on-street parking, in addition to
the parkade. The city has federal grant money, which was secured
by U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, for streetscape improvements
such as new streetlights and sidewalks. Pomicter believes there
has to be some way to widen the roads and make the sidewalks safer
for the additional people who hopefully will be using them.
James Bartuska co-owns Bartuska's Furniture with his brother Denis.
Their grandfather, Peter Bartuska Sr., started the business at 147
E. Main St. in 1934.
The brothers are looking forward to the transformation, James Bartuska
said. Anyone who comes downtown is someone who may stop in at the
store, who ordinarily might not, he said.
"We're very excited every time we hear and read anything,"
Bartuska said. "The only thing is we still don't know what's
going on."
Since the former YT Hardware was recently demolished, Bartuska's
warehouse is the last remaining building on the block of East Main
Street to the east of the Kanjorski Center.
Bartuska doesn't know whether he should be seeking estimates for
stuccoing and painting the side of the building that once shared
a wall with YT or if the warehouse site is part of plans for the
parkade complex.
"We've been wanting to sit down with them; unfortunately, things
have happened rapidly," State Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke,
said of downtown merchants.
"For businesses that have already invested in Nanticoke, we
want to enhance their business as well. We don't want new development
to edge them out."
One of many subjects for discussion among local elected officials
is the creation of a redevelopment/economic development fund to
help existing businesses, Yudichak said. Nanticoke's municipal authority
board members would particularly like to look into grant funding
for refurbishing building façades along Main Street.
Overall, the business owners are looking forward to a new day downtown.
"I'm excited about the changes, and I'm optimistic about the
future of the city," Bartuska said.
"It's about time. It really is," Pomicter said.
"More than just bodies on the street, which is tremendously
important, I really believe it will change peoples' attitudes,"
McDonald said.
8/30/2007
County calls emergency on bridges
Nanticoke/West Nanticoke span over Susquehanna River will be first
worked on, county engineer says.
By Jennifer Learn-Andesjandes@timesleader.com
The Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge will be
the first span tackled under the state of emergency declared by
Luzerne County Commissioners on Wednesday, said county Engineer
Joe Gibbons.
Gibbons said that the bridge over the Susquehanna River is one
step above requiring a weight restriction something
he wants to avoid.
The emergency declaration will allow him to shop around for a consultant
qualified to conduct specialized testing of that bridge and others
without seeking public requests-for-proposals. Gibbons said the
public request process would be more of a hindrance in this situation
because very few companies specialize in the repairs he is seeking.
Its almost similar to a CAT scan for a person,
he said.
The testing will identify feasible repairs that may be done to delay
the need for costly replacement, he said. Commissioners want to
focus on bridges that are needed for emergency evacuations and school
transportation.
The Water Street Bridge in Pittston and the Poplar Street Bridge
in Plymouth Township will also undergo specialized testing, he said.
Ill be able to sleep a lot better when those three projects
are completed, Gibbons said.
Gibbons estimated that studies and some basic work on the three
bridges will cost at least $1 million.
The study may determine that something as simple as cleaning and
coating bridge components will protect the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke
Bridge from further salt corrosion during the winter, Gibbons said.
He estimates that the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge would cost
$25 million or more to replace.
The Water Street Bridge has a weight limit, but Gibbons does not
expect consultants to find a fix that will allow the county to avoid
replacing the structure. Gibbons said he doesnt want to start
pushing for a replacement until he receives a prognosis from a consultant.
Gibbons wants a consultant to explore the possibility of a radical
project to fix the Poplar Street Bridge, which may not be
used by buses and emergency vehicles because it has been downgraded
to a 10-ton weight limit.
He thinks it will be possible to remove and replace the superstructure
part of the bridge, which is essentially the metal beams and
deck. That would be cheaper than building a new bridge from scratch,
he said.
Commissioners Greg Skrepenak and Rose Tucker approved the declaration
during a special meeting. Minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban
said he was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict,
but sent an e-mail to the county chief clerk/manager expressing
support for the declaration.
Wilkes-Barre resident Stanley R. Suchoski challenged the declaration
during the meeting.
Is the sky falling here? Are the bridges in such a deteriorating
condition here that we need this procedure? he asked.
While stressing that safe bridges are important, Suchoski questioned
whether the declaration will give a blank check to contractors
and suppliers and whether the money spent will lead to tax
increases after reassessment.
Skrepenak said all county bridges in use have been deemed safe,
but he wants to make sure they stay that way. He said spending a
lot of money wont be an issue because the county doesnt
have funds to fix everything at this time. The special testing will
lead to a formal plan to budget work that must be done in coming
years, he said.
This is not just some shot in the dark that were taking after
the tragic situation in Minnesota, he said.
8/27/2007
Perfect case study for development
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
|

|
Luzerne County
Community Colleges expansion into downtown Nanticoke will
provide new chances to reinvigorate the citys run-down
business district.
The state Department of Education approved changes to the first
phase of LCCCs master plan on Friday, giving the college
the go-ahead to purchase the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street
and to build a culinary arts school at Market and Main streets.
Just as the college has a master plan to guide its growth over
the next several years, Nanticoke, Newport and Plymouth townships
share a regional strategic plan to guide theirs. Because of
this plan, LCCC is expanding into downtown Nanticoke
which, in turn, attracts private developers key to revitalization,
said state Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke.
This is a perfect case study in how to do development,
said Alex Belavitz, president of Facility Design and Development
Ltd., the firm that developed the South Valley plan. Revitalization
has to be centered on involving and engaging the private side
early on, private investors and private capital
so its
not all grants and public money.
Encouraging private investment in Nanticokes downtown
was one priority in the plan. Another was to forge a better
relationship between the city and LCCC, described by Yudichak
as the South Valleys biggest asset.
Since the school has been in existence, its been
on an island, Nanticoke Councilman Brent Makarczyk said.
Neither (the city nor LCCC) benefited from the other.
Downtown Nanticoke projects, which Yudichak estimates will mean
$40 million to $50 million of public and private investment,
include:
-
A building with a parkade in back
and a restaurant and shops in front, to be built on
the vacant lot next to the Kanjorski Center. A restaurateur
who went through LCCCs culinary arts program
is interested in starting a destination
restaurant, Yudichak said. The parkade would be built
with federal and state grants.
An office and retail building,
possibly with room for a new senior center, to be
constructed by a private developer at the site of
the former CVS building on East Main Street.
LCCCs culinary arts institute,
to be in a new building at Market and Main streets,
where the existing senior center and a small office
building stand. A private developer would construct
it.
The Susquehanna Coal Co. office
at Market and Main streets, restored and transformed
into 11 apartments for seniors by the Nanticoke Housing
Authority, under the direction of the federal Department
of Housing and Urban Development.
Throw in new sidewalks, streetlights
and other Main Street improvements called for in the strategic
plan, and officials believe they have a recipe for successful
downtown revitalization.
You have to have a plan. We would not have been
able to attract the college to the downtown, the restaurateur,
or the private developers if we did not have a plan,
Belavitz said.
You need to partner with private business so theres
an investment and a commitment to the city, said
attorney Joseph Lach of Plymouth
Township, one of the South Valley Partnership principals.
The South Valley Partnership, a non-profit community development
organization, was formed in late 2003, according to Lach.
Its first order of business was to collect state grants
and other funds to hire a planning firm.
In April 2006, Facility Design and Development Ltd. unveiled
the South Valley plan, which included analysis of existing
conditions and suggestions for improvements that would
act as catalysts for new projects.
With this strategic plan for Nanticoke and surrounding
areas four years ago, we had no preconceptions. We had
no idea how to turn the community around, Belavitz
said. Its highly rewarding, personally and
professionally, to see what can be accomplished with a
plan, and having the support of the community leadership.
City, county, state and federal officials have been working
together, Belavitz said. He particularly credits the efforts
of Yudichak, the office of U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke,
and city officials.
Nanticoke is an economic hub of the South Valley, so it
made sense to start there, Lach said. But it wont
end there, he assures Newport and Plymouth Township residents.
People in those two townships have no doubt been
sitting patiently, wondering, Whats in it
for us? he said. This is not an effort
thats just restricted to Nanticoke.
|
8/26/2007
A new musical produced by a Nanticoke native will be featured in
a major New York City theatre festival next month.
Geri Anne Kaikowski - Citizens' Voice
Michael Height has been developing a musical
titled Tully (In No Particular Order) since the
fall of 2005. He became involved with the show when two college
friends, who wrote the play, approached him about doing a reading
of their show.
Tully (In No Particular Order) was submitted along
with nearly 400 others for inclusion in the New York Musical Theatre
Festival.
The show underwent a blind jury process presided over by musical
theatre notables. At the end of the process, Tully (In No
Particular Order) was one of 18 works chosen to be presented
as part of the NYMF Next Link Program.
Tully (In No Particular Order) features music
& lyrics by Stephanie Johnstone and book and additional lyrics
by Joshua William Gelb. The show will also be directed by Joshua
William Gelb.
The musical tells the story of a man named Tully who has lost his
memory. But there are affairs, murders and betrayals forcing him
to remember and to face the consequences of his actions.
The show will receive seven performances at the Sage Theater, 711
Seventh Ave., New York City. Performance dates and times are: Sept.
20-22, 8 p.m.; Sept. 23 and 25, 4:30 and 8 p.m. and Sept. 28, 4:30
p.m.
Tickets are available for purchase through Theatermania.com (http://www.theatermania.com,
beginning Sept. 1.
For more information on the show, visit http://www.tullymusical.com,
the shows Myspace page athttp://www.myspace.com/tullymusical.
Information on the New York Musical Theatre Festival can be found
at http://www.nymf.org or by calling 212-664-0979.
8/25/2007
State approves LCCC revisions
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The wait is over for Luzerne County Community College officials.
On Friday, they received word the Pennsylvania Department of Education
approved revisions to the first phase of the colleges master
plan. It includes two major projects in downtown Nanticoke: the
conversion of the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street into a health
sciences center and construction of a culinary arts institute at
Market and Main streets.
Construction is already underway on a third project, the Public
Safety Training Institute at Prospect Street and Middle Road.
For LCCC Interim President Thomas Leary, the announcement was the
highlight of a hectic Friday, as college faculty and staff prepared
for the start of classes on Monday.
I was thrilled, Leary said. Were looking
forward to a great year, and this is the icing on the cake.
He added the projects will benefit the students, the college
and the community.
This was the major piece that needed to be in place,
said state Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke. We have an opportunity
now to do something of great significance that will start revitalization
of the South Valley region.
Funding for the projects is a 50-50 split between the state and
Luzerne County, which will each contribute $10 million.
Yudichak particularly credited commissioner chairman Greg Skrepenak
and LCCC board chairman Ross Scarantino for helping get plans and
funding in place.
There will be an official announcement Sept. 4 at the Kanjorski
Center.
Before then, a sales agreement for the building must be hammered
out. Under the terms of a $1.9 million federal Economic Development
Administration grant used to build the Kanjorski Center, the city
has to pay back the money if it is sold.
Even though community colleges can be eligible for EDA funds, the
agency has indicated it wont forgive the grant if LCCC buys
the center.
U.S. senators Arlen Specter and Robert Casey have sent letters to
the EDA asking for reconsideration.
The full grant amount might not have to be paid back, Yudichak said.
It also would not affect the price of the Kanjorski Center.
Members of the Nanticoke General Municipal Authority, which manages
the center, will be glad to turn the office building over to LCCC.
The center has been mostly vacant since October 2005, when its main
tenant moved out.
Without the rental income, the authority went broke and had to borrow
money from the financially distressed city to pay its bills.
8/25/2007
LCCC receives approval to receive $20M for major capital projects
slong@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Community College
officials received approval Friday afternoon for their $20 million
request to proceed with three major capital projects, Interim President
Tom Leary said.
Luzerne County and the state Department of Education will each provide
$10 million, allowing the college to secure the lease/purchase of
the Kanjorski Center, renovate the Nanticoke Senior Citizen Center
for the colleges culinary arts program and continue construction
on the Public Training Safety Institute.
I would have to describe it as rather exhilarating. It is
a very exciting time for the college and Nanticoke, Leary
said. He added that it was nice to finally see such a project come
to fruition after working on it with so many people.
Nanticoke Mayor John Bushko was ecstatic to learn the funding had
been received because this would provide a much needed economic
boost to downtown Nanticoke.
Its a great shot in the arm. Its the savior of
our downtown district, Bushko said.
It helps the city, the downtown and the school.
The college plans to finalize negotiation details next week to purchase
the Kanjorski Center owned by the Nanticoke Redevelopment Authority,
Leary said.
He and other school officials presented a revised master plan to
state Department of Education budget officials almost three months
ago requesting the funding.
Details of the Kanjorski acquisition and LCCC culinary arts program
expansion will be released during a news conference on Sept. 4 at
the Kanjorski Center.
If you go
What: Luzerne County Community Colleges news conference
When: 2:30 p.m. Sept. 4
Where: Kanjorski Center in Downtown Nanticoke
8/25/2007
County readies bridges appraisal
Officials will declare a state of emergency so engineer can address
work on some spans.
By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County officials plan to declare a state
of emergency so the engineers office has more freedom to tackle
the most vulnerable and crucial county bridges.
The declaration saves time because the office wont be slowed
down by normal purchasing and public advertising procedures, county
officials say.
Commissioner Chairman Greg Skrepenak made the announcement Friday.
County Chief Clerk/Manager Sam Guesto will separately brief
commissioners Stephen A. Urban and Rose Tucker early next week and
ask if they will approve it so the county doesnt have to wait
until the Sept.
12 commissioner meeting, Skrepenak said.
While the county engineers office doesnt believe there
are any immediate safety concerns with any of the countys 350
bridges, Skrepenak said emergency action is warranted because the
Aug. 1 collapse of the Interstate 35 bridge in Minnesota put
the whole country on notice.
Its not as if were worried about any of our bridges
falling down today, but some of them do need to be looked at and need
some work, Skrepenak said. We want to make people feel
safe and comfortable and know that we are being proactive in our approach.
Urban said he has been advocating bridge repairs and has no problem
with an emergency declaration. Tucker could not be reached for comment.
County Engineer Joe Gibbons said he will initially focus on aging
bridges that are part of emergency evacuation routes and/or used heavily
by school buses and emergency vehicles.He already has three county
bridges that meet this description: the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge,
the Poplar Street Bridge in Plymouth Township and the Water Street
Bridge in Pittston.
Gibbons said he wants to conduct advanced tests of these and other
bridges to see if anything may be done to bolster them or extend their
use so the need for replacements may be delayed.
The Poplar Street Bridge, for example, has been downgraded to a 10-ton
weight limit based on a past county inspection, he said.That means
school buses and fire trucks must use other routes, Gibbons said.
Hes concerned because the Poplar Street Bridge is an evacuation
route when the U.S. Route 11 bridge floods.Plymouth Township Supervisor
Edward Brennan said he and other township officials have been pleading
with the county to do something about the Poplar Street Bridge for
years. He said the bridge is used heavily by pedestrians, including
children, and they walk close to traffic because the walking portion
of the bridge has deteriorated.
Brennan said he and other township residents get frustrated when they
see the county spending money on trails and recreation programs without
taking care of the bridge.
Those extra expenses are nice if you have money left over, but
take care of the basic infrastructure needs first, Brennan said.
This bridge is in dire need of repair, and its affecting
our community.Nanticoke Mayor John Bushko was pleased that the
Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge is among the top three.
Its a vital link into Nanticoke, he said.
Gibbons stressed that he will eventually come up with action plans
for all bridges. Imposing weight restrictions has become necessary
on many county bridges, but he worries that motorists ignore weight-limit
postings.
An out-of-town heavy equipment operator or delivery person might
not pay attention, and that could further compromise the bridge,
he said.
Skrepenak said the county will seek funding streams and determine
if any county bond money is left to use on bridge repairs.
Urban said the county must put its findings into the hands of state
legislators so they understand the seriousness of the countys
bridge problems and the need for more money.The county cant
rush out and replace all the bridges at once because the county would
have to come up with an estimated $40 million to $60 million, which
is only a fraction of what would have to be kicked in by the state
and federal government, Urban said.
County officials stress that all bridges are inspected, and inspections
are done more frequently if they are put on extra watch status. Eighty
of them meet the states definition of a bridge, spanning more
than 20 feet.
8/23/2007
Agency hears testimony on loan for Nanticoke
Financially distressed city seeks extra funds until it gets money
from higher tax.
By Ron Lieback@timesleader.com
The state Department of Community and Economic
Development heard testimony at a public hearing Wednesday night
from the Pennsylvania Economy League and the city regarding a short-term
loan and a grant under the financially distressed municipalities
act, or Act 47.
The city is requesting additional funding through a $200,000 loan,
and $136,000 in grant funds through the act. In April, the city
created a higher earned-income tax and a commuter tax to help balance
out the budget.
Starting May 1, residents were required to begin paying an additional
1 percent in earned-income tax and nonresidents started paying a
1.33 percent commuter tax.
The higher rates were estimated to generate $1.7 million, but collections
of the earned-income taxes were started a month late as the city
worked to ensure its payroll tax collector, Berkheimer Associates,
was prepared to garnish the appropriate workers wages.
It is the citys position that the recovery plan (Act
47) is the key to our recovery, said Kenneth Johnson, city
administrator. Our current problem is with (earned-income
tax) collections.
Pennsylvania Economy League Executive Director Gerald Cross said
the city needs the additional revenue to bring the budget back to
normal.
The PEL believes the balance will be collected by the city
by April or May 2008, Cross said.
Tom Ruskey, from the office of state Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke,
also requested that if a revision of the Act 47 grant and loan is
completed, the state Department of Community and Economic Development
would look into hiring a person in the city for direct involvement
managing the funds due to future projects in the city.
Were currently working with the city on several economic
development projects, Ruskey said. There is $40 million
in public and private investments
all of these new projects
will lead to future monies coming in and adding to the vitality
of downtown.
8/23/2007
GNA Superintendent Anthony Perrone looks forward to the new school
year
Pamela Urbanski - Nanticoke Area Notes - Citizens' Voice
I enjoy talking with Nanticoke Area School District
Superintendent Anthony Perrone. As always, he is excited about the
start of another school year. Yes, even after all these years.
One doesnt have to listen to him speak
a long time to understand he really cares about the students
all students. He is anxious to get started.
We have two new programs this year that are funded entirely
by grants. A pre-school program for 4-year-olds will begin in early
fall. We can accommodate up to 40 children and our goal is to have
20 in the a.m. and 20 in the p.m, Perrone said. For
more information you can call K.M. Smith School at 735-3740.
Because of grant money, the district also was able to hire two family
center specialist counselors, who will work with children who have
been removed from their homes and are under the jurisdiction of
Children and Youth and in foster care.
We will offer family counseling and home visits. Our goal
is to get the students back with their families, Perrone said.
Something he is going to place emphasis on this year is raising
the PSSA test scores. Our scores have been a little low, so
we will all work very hard to raise the scores. We will follow the
state curriculum and adhere to their recommendations, Perrone
added.
Mary Ann Jarolen, high school principal, will lead a committee of
parents, faculty and staff to review those recommendations. The
superintendent also is proud of the districts buildings and
grounds. I agree with him. I was walking around the complex the
other day and men were busy making sure the outside is attractive
to everyone.
Im very proud of our campus. We have two new schools
and new building projects have been completed. Paving has been done
at the high school and K.M. Smith School. Our athletic fields are
looking good, he said.
Perrones wish for the New Year? I hope we can work out
a contract with our teachers and that everyone gets along. The emphasis
should be on the kids. That is what we are here for, Perrone
said.
School bells to ring at GNA
It is hard to believe we are nearing the end of August. Where did
summer vacation go?
The Greater Nanticoke Area School District opens its doors for a
new school year Tuesday. Full-day classes will be in session for
all students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The cafeteria will
be operating on the first day of school and breakfast will be available
Wednesday. There is no school Friday, Aug. 31, and Labor Day.
Bus transportation tips
Janet Yezefski, director of transportation for the Greater Nanticoke
Area School District, tells me her department is ready and eager to
start a new
school year and asks for parental cooperation. We ask that parents
do not call the transportation office for bus times. Bus schedules
will be posted in all district buildings, Yezefski said.If
your childs/childrens bus time or bus stop has changed
from last year, you will receive a postcard notifying you of the change,
she said.
Yezefski also told me children new to the district, including students
who attended parochial schools last year and will attend public school
this year, should have notified her department. Those who did
not receive a postcard from the office of transportation should call
our office immediately at 735-5066, she said.
One thing she asks is that students be at their stops five minutes
early. We try to stay as close to pick-up time as possible,
but its always good to
give yourself a little extra time, she said.
Anyone interested in becoming a GNA substitute crossing guard and
is dependable, can pass a criminal background check, have child-abuse
clearance, have good hearing and eyesight and are available between
7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., should call Janet at 735-5006 or email
busgna@gnasd.com.
Road work continues
Jeff Novitski, assistant construction manager for PennDOT, reminds
motorists a traffic advisory is still in effect for Main and Kosciuszko
streets. The good news, however, is that the work is ahead of schedule.
We had set a completion date of Nov. 2, but we are ahead of
schedule. Don E. Bower Construction Company has being doing a great
job working overtime and keeping things running smoothly as they
add a new drainage system, sidewalk and paving work and the addition
of new traffic signals, he said.
A problem arose the early part of this week when the utility
company replaced some underground conduits that did not work properly,
Novitski said. Unfortunately, they had to tear up the road
work we just did. We are hoping they will have the problem corrected
by the middle of the week so that we can have the overlay done at
the end of the week. Once that is done, the traffic signals and
clean-up work is all that is left to do, Novitski said.
A message from the police chief
Nanticoke Police Chief James Cheshinski offers some good advice for
parents and caregivers who have children returning to school and students
heading back to Luzerne County Community College.
Please give yourself some extra time in the morning. Children
should always walk in pairs and whenever possible cross the street
where there are
crossing guards, Cheshinski said.
|He also asks that motorists avoid Main Street and Kosciuszko Street.
There are a lot of alternate routes. Please use them for the
first few weeks and until the construction work on Main Street and
Kosciuszko Street is complete.
As for college students, using Middle Road while
construction continues is good advice. He asks for people to be
patient, slow down and be aware of the increased motor vehicle and
pedestrian traffic. It is the responsibility of all of us
to keep our children safe, he said.
8/22/2007
Nanticoke seeks new housing director
Head of the citys Housing Authority for the past 2 years is
leaving post Aug. 31.
slong@timesleader.com
The search is on for a new director at the Nanticoke
Housing Authority for the third time in seven years. After handling
the agencys day-to-day operations for two years, Perry A.
Clay is leaving to become the director of the Rental Housing Program
at Virginia Beach, Va. His last day is Aug. 31.
It could take several more months until Clays replacement
can be found. In the interim, the authority can hire an outside
consultant, appoint someone as an interim director or allow a board
member to handle the daily activities on a nonpaid basis.
Solicitor Vito DeLuca plans to meet with board chairwoman Christina
Buttrick by the end of the month to discuss options on filling the
position until a permanent director can be hired. The next regularly
scheduled board meeting is Sept. 20.
DeLuca, who began serving the board in 1998, is not worried about
any renovation projects being halted because of Clays departure.
The board is seeking sealed bids for its capital fund improvements
projects to renovate the agencys five buildings.
Probably close to three years of the last seven years they
operated without a permanent housing director, DeLuca said.
Most of the administrative staff has more than 20 years experience
in handling housing authority issues, Clay said.
The Pennsylvania Housing Authority Act requires housing authority
executive director applicants to meet stringent criteria and be
hired through the Civil Service Commission.
Board members want to take their time to find the right candidate
because an executive directors job is protected under state
law, DeLuca said.
You are locked in with them and cant just get rid of
them without just cause, DeLuca said. Housing directors serve
until they retire, resign, die or get another job. It is a
very important position, not only for the housing authority, but
for the city, too.
After gaining board approval, Clay implemented a nurses aide
training program for residents, partnered with Luzerne County Community
College to offer a series of workshops and developed New Horizons
Development of Nanticoke, a nonprofit agency that renovates historical
sites to provide middle-income housing for elderly residents.
It will be the boards decision if these programs will be continue
to be offered to residents.
8/19/2007
Hometown boy savors championship moment
jbombulie@citizensvoice.com
Receiver Jim Jones couldnt sprint to the trophy fast enough
once it was displayed on a table at the 10-yard line.
Defensive end Troy Blackwell pumped skyward the Gatorade cooler
that he had just emptied on coach Rich Ingolds head.
Lineman Deon McPhee danced to the sounds of Glory Days
playing over the loudspeakers like he was Courteney Cox in the Dancing
in the Dark video.
Kicker Dave Davis recorded all of it for posterity on his hand-held
video camera.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers all celebrated their American
Conference championship game victory over the Green Bay Blizzard
on Saturday night.
Only one player, however, could say he celebrated
it on his home turf Nanticoke Area graduate Todd Bargella,
the teams only local product.
When Bargella posed for pictures after the game with the
trophy in one arm and his biggest fan, an adorable 9-year-old named
Haley who emerged from his rooting section in the stands wearing
a miniature replica of his No. 86 jersey, in the other he
was doing so just miles from where he grew up.
Im flabbergasted right now, Bargella said. Just
to run out of that tunnel and see my friends who I played mini-football
with cheering me on and my parents, my family, my friends, I cant
describe the feeling. Im ecstatic.
Bringing home a championship like this to the community is
fantastic. This community lacked sports championships for a while
now and this is the beginning of a new era. Im thankful and
blessed to be part of this team.
We have one more game to go and were going to do what
we do best, which is win football games.
While af2 teams sometimes add former high school standouts from
their home region in a bid to draw fans, Bargella was no token local
for the Pioneers on Saturday night.
Now a 6-foot-5, 275-pound lineman, Bargella harkened back to his
high school and college days as a tight end when he caught a 9-yard
pass in the first quarter. He nearly scored on the play too, being
knocked out of bounds at the 1.
Later, with the Pioneers clinging to a three-point lead in the fourth
quarter, receiver Tyreak Saviour fumbled after making a catch at
his own 15-yard line. If Green Bay recovered, the Blizzard would
have great field position and a chance to take the lead. Instead,
Bargella, blocking down field, alertly fell on the ball.
Finally, with 20 seconds left, Bargella jumped on Green Bays
onside kick, salting away a 46-43 victory for the Pioneers. He stood
and raised the football to a cheering crowd of 5,635.
Right then and there, I knew we were going to bring a championship
home, Bargella said.
Saturday nights conference championship comes at a time when
things are looking up for Bargella.
After graduating from Western Carolina in 2004, he had a pro day
for NFL scouts but found no takers. He spent a little time with
the Columbus
Destroyers of the Arena Football League, but shortly thereafter
took a job as a corrections officer at the Luzerne County Correctional
Facility, all the while thinking he could be putting his sport management
degree to better use.
Last year, he was hired as an assistant athletic director at Lackawanna
College, a position he finds fulfilling. Now, after a year off,
hes back playing
the sport he loves on a championship team.
I wasnt satisfied with myself. I had to come out to
play one more time, Bargella said. I called Coach Ingold
and asked him to come aboard and he welcomed me. I have to thank
Coach Ingold for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to
be a part of all of this.
8/17/2007
Nanticoke holding finances in check
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The city looks to be in decent financial shape so
far this year, but something stinks about money borrowed from the sewer
fund.
Actual numbers through June and projections from July-December indicate
the city could have a $12,000 deficit at the end of 2007, council learned
Wednesday. Harry Miller of Pennsylvania Economy League, the citys
financially recovery coordinator, called it very manageable.
(A deficit of) $12,000 on a $3 million operating budget is real
good if you can achieve it, said auditor John Bonita, part of
the citys financial recovery team. Right now it looks like
youre on budget.
The financial recovery plan drawn up by PEL projected a deficit of $765,000
in 2007.
Nanticoke was declared financially distressed by the state in May 2006.
One reason was because each year the city spent more than came in. And
the annual deficits kept increasing. The deficit was $102,000 in 2005
and estimated at $120,000 in 2006, the recovery plan shows. It would
have been higher in 2006, but council took out loans.
Although numbers for 2007 look good, its too soon to be certain.
There might be major expenses before the years end, according
to city Administrator Kenneth Johnson. For example, a huge fire, snowstorm
or murder in November could drive up fire, public works or police expenses.
One thing the city must do is get its state Community Development Block
Grant money released as soon as possible, Miller said.
The city has $358,460 in CDBG money due for 2007 and $381,267 for 2006,
plus about $73,000 left over from 2001.
The state put the money on hold because the citys financial management
was poor, and past administrations failed to follow state rules for
administrating grants.
CDBG money is used for things like paving and making payments on a fire
truck. About $54,000 toward the fire truck had to be borrowed from the
sewer fund, Miller said.
Mayor John Bushko asked how the money was transferred without going
through council. Council has to approve such transactions.
Neither Miller nor Johnson could say what happened.
Most of the problems with the CDBG funds have been cleared up. The city
can start drawing from the money for projects, but Johnson wants to
wait until one final issue is resolved.
When the CDBG money comes in, a priority will be reimbursing the sewer
fund.
I guarantee its going back, Johnson said.
8/17/2007
Nanticoke puts skateboard ordinance on hold
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Council postponed voting on a new skateboarding
ordinance for the second time, in order to gather more ideas on how
to revise it or perhaps drop it.
City officials are concerned about skateboarders damaging property and
creating a nuisance. They want an ordinance with stiffer penalties to
keep skateboarders from trespassing, but the councilmen and mayor arent
sure whether it should be banned from downtown or all over the city.
The current ordinance prohibits skateboarding on sidewalks downtown
and streets anywhere in the city. Violators pay a $5 fine plus costs.
The new ordinance proposed by police Chief James Cheshinski raises the
fine to $100 up to $1,000 and bans skateboarding downtown, defined as
Green Street to the south, the Susquehanna River to the north, Hanover
Street to the west and Chestnut Street to the east. The ordinance is
modeled on Wilkes-Barres, Nanticoke Administrator Kenneth Johnson
said.
I dont think its enforceable, Mayor John Bushko
said.
Councilman James Litchkofski would push for a downtown ban, particularly
around Greater Nanticoke Area school district property and the Kanjorski
Center on East Main Street, which the Nanticoke redevelopment authority
owns. The wax used by skateboarders makes concrete slippery, which Litchkofski
worries could create a liability issue.
Skateboarding is a problem all over the city, Councilman Bernie Norieka
said, noting he sees five or six skateboarders on Espy Street in the
Hanover section.
Its not an easy problem, Norieka said.
He said the ideal situation would be for skateboarders to have a place
of their own. The South Valley Partnership plans to build a skate park
on Lower Broadway, but it is being delayed while property ownership
issues over the numerous parcels of land are worked out.
The current ordinance only prohibits skateboarders on downtown sidewalks.
If people in other parts of the city complain about skateboarders on
sidewalks, police cant chase them away, Johnson said.
Johnson told council to give him ideas within the next three weeks,
so at the Sept. 5 meeting they could decide whether or not to write
a new ordinance.
8/15/2007
Nanticoke organizing treasure hunt
Citywide yard sale designed to bring people into the city scheduled
for October.
By rlieback@timesleader.com
The Civic Pride Committee is planning another citywide
yard sale for fall, but this one has a twist its also a
treasure hunt.
Sharpen that brain of yours and you might be $25 richer during the yard
sale, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 6.
Committee member J.D. Verazin, who brainstormed the idea, said that
it will feature clues to street names in the town. For example: Where
do people wear 10-gallon hats and pointy boots? Where do baseball players
play?
If you figured west and green, then youd
be one step closer. Now you just have to visit a yard sale on West Green
Street, and if you purchase an item thats marked, you win one
of six $25 prizes.
Every year well be coming up with something new like this
treasure hunt to keep it exciting, Verazin said. The event
keeps growing from last year.
The first citywide yard sale was held during one weekend last summer,
and the second was held in the beginning of this summer. Verazin said
the committee decided to split the single event into one summer and
one fall event. For this years summer event, Verazin said, about
280 residents signed up.
It was great for Nanticoke, he said. We had people
walking around 2 hours before the yard sale was scheduled to begin.
This year Verazin is expecting a higher number of people to sign up
for the fall and is asking residents of the Honey Pot and Hanover sections
to call 735-2800 to register for Octobers event. The address of
everyone who registers will be printed onto a map that will be offered
at Patriot Park on Oct. 6.
This event brings a lot of people into Nanticoke, Verazin
said. People from as far as Shickshinny were here, and it was
great for local businesses.
Larry Karnes, owner of Larrys Pizzeria on the corner of Church
and College streets, said tables were set in the back parking lot to
satisfy the customers during this summers sale.
We were selling anything that we had ready and it was going,
Karnes said. People were walking around town hours before (the
yard sale) started.
And for residents participating in the sale, Verazin said its
a perfect opportunity to lose the extra summer stuff and get ready for
winter.
Its also great for the extra cash, he said. One
lady made $350 selling only dollar items, so that tells you something.
Karnes said hes going to prepare more for Octobers event,
due to running low on everything during the summer sale. He recommends
other businesses also better prepare.
This is a great impact on Nanticoke, Karnes said, whos
also a city fire officer. Ive never seen so many positive
people come through Nanticoke on one day.
8/15/2007
Two districts left out of trust surplus
Dallas, Pittston say they should get funds despite leaving group.
By mguydish@timesleader.com
As promised, the Northeast Pennsylvania School District
Health Trust gave its members a month without paying premiums, saving
them more than $3.3 million.
Also as promised, the two districts that withdrew from the trust at
the end of July Dallas and Pittston wont see a penny
of that savings even though they contributed to the surplus that funded
it.
In fact, solicitor Robert Mariani said at the trust meeting Tuesday
that he had sent a letter to the two districts rebutting their claim
to a share of the trust surplus, estimated earlier this summer in excess
of $15 million. Dallas and Pittston believe they should get back any
money they put into the surplus, and have cited the fact that the trust,
in writing, promised to abide by fiduciary rules laid out in the federal
Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Those standards would require
the trust to return any money in its surplus to the departing districts.
Mariani said his letter to Dallas and Pittston was not yet public record
because the dispute could end up in court, but did say it explains that
from our perspective, they have no claim on the trust surplus.
The trust provides health insurance to eight school districts, two vocational
technical schools and the Luzerne Intermediate Unit. Each got a share
of the $3.3 million credit based on their monthly premiums: Hanover
Area, $254,221; Lake-Lehman $269,245; LIU $334,052; Greater Nanticoke
Area $212,410; Northwest Area, $158,325; Tunkhannock Area, $297,504;
West Side Vo-Tech, $80,233; Wilkes-Barre Area $881,465; Wilkes-Barre
Area Vo-Tech, $70,317; Wyoming Area $241,807; and Wyoming Valley West
$516,670.
Greater Nanticoke Area and Northwest Area tried to leave the trust but
were blocked by a court injunction won by the teachers union.
Even though Dallas has left the trust and thus has no one sitting on
the board, Dallas teacher Bill Wagner attended Tuesdays meeting
as a spectator, and trust co-chairman Phillip Russo singled him out
as a founding member of the trust, giving him a plaque for
his service since the trust was formed in 1999.
The trust board also voted to extend Executive Director Andrew Markos
contract by one year, through August 2008, giving him a 3 percent raise.
Marko, the retired superintendent of Wyoming Valley West School District,
said the raise bumps his salary to $80,000, but noted he has not accepted
a raise for three years.
8/14/2007
Health Trust credits school districts with $3 million
Mark Guydish - Times Leader
As promised, the Northeast Pennsylvania School District
Health Trust gave its member school districts a month without paying
premiums, saving them more than $3.3 million. Also as promised, the
two districts that withdrew from the Trust at the end of July - Dallas
and Pittston - won't see a penny of that savings.
In fact Solicitor Robert Mariani said at the Trust meeting this morning
that he had sent a letter to the two districts rebutting their claim
to a share of the Trust surplus, which was used to provide the premium
credit enjoyed by Trust members this month. Dallas and Pittston believe
they should get back any money they put into the surplus, and have cited
the fact that the Trust has, in writing, said it Will abide by fiduciary
rules laid out in the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Those standards would require the trust to return any money in its surplus
to the departing districts.
Mariani said his letter to Dallas and Pittston was not yet public record
because the dispute could end up in court, but did say it explains that
"from our perspective, they have no claim on the Trust surplus."
Part of the roughly $15 million surplus was used to credit the eight
remaining districts as well as three other members - two vocational
technical schools and the Luzerne Intermediate Unit - with a total of
$3.3 million, effectively eliminating the August premiums. Here's a
breakdown: Hanover Area, $254,221; Lake-Lehman $269,245; LIU $334,052;
Greater Nanticoke Area $212,410; Northwest Area, $158,325; Tunkhannock
Area, $297,504; West Side Vo-Tech, $80,233; Wilkes-Barre Area $881,465;
Wilkes-Barre Area Vo-Tech, $70,317; Wyoming Area $241,807; and Wyoming
Valley West $516,670
Greater Nanticoke Area and Northwest Area tried to leave the Trust but
were blocked by a court injunction won by the teachers union.
Even though Dallas has left the Trust and thus has no one sitting on
the board, Dallas Teacher Bill Wagner attended this morning's meeting
a spectator, and Trust co-chairman Phillip Russo singled him out as
a "founding member" of the Trust, giving him a plaque for
his service since the Trust was formed in 1999 to help lower school
health insurance costs.
The Trust board also voted to extend Executive Director Andrew Marko's
contract by one year, through August 2008, giving him a three percent
raise. Marko, the retired superintendent of Wyoming Valley West School
District, said the raise bumps his salary to $80,000, but noted he has
not accepted a raise for three years.
8/14/2007
Greater Nanticoke Area teacher spends week at NASA Langley Research
Center
By bjarvis@citizensvoice.com
Tony Fleury is the type of science teacher who constructs
a homemade hovercraft strong enough to hold 300 pounds while levitating
an inch off the ground, and then proceeds to allow his students to ride
it around school thanks to a 100-foot extension cord.
I just give them a push and let them go down the hallway and hope
they dont knock someone over, Fleury said with a laugh.
Most of my students are visual learners. They really have to see
something to keep their interest, so I try to do demonstrations as often
as possible.
With street credibility like that, it came as no surprise that Fleury
was among 20 science teachers selected nationwide for a weeklong summer
workshop led by scientists at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton,
Va. Known as My NASA Data, the program aims to bring a real world
element to science classes through issues like air quality and
global warming.
Its for teachers who show real drive and are eager to start
the year off with new lesson plans for their students, said NASA
outreach coordinator
Katherine Lorentz. While scribbling down notes as fast as possible,
the students ask, Who would ever need to use this information?
The answer is NASA.
In desiging lesson plans, which can range from using aerosols to determine
volcanic eruptions to using satellites to research the effects of coral
bleaching, teachers are encouraged to use bona fide data from NASA rather
than make up numbers. Upon completion, the lesson plans will be posted
on NASAs Web site, downloadable by teachers across the globe.
NASA has so many educational programs available, Fleury
said. I hope teachers will take advantage and see what each lesson
plan is designed to do, and how to do it in their classrooms.
The real highlight of the workshop, however, was the tour of NASAs
high-tech wind tunnels and model shops.
Its absolutely amazing what they can produce and the techniques
they use. Its like something from a science fiction movie,
Fleury said. The purpose of going to workshops is to learn how
to better serve my kids. Now I can give them ideas and say, Heres
this guy, he makes models of
airplanes for wind tunnel tests. Maybe its for you.
Now in his fifth year at Greater Nanticoke Area, Fleury teaches physics
to juniors and seniors as well as physical science to eighth graders.
In addition to the hovercraft, Fleury is known to bring out a bed of
nails to teach students a lesson on the effects of pressure and
not to believe everything they see on television.
Hes a tremendous teacher, said Superintendent Anthony
Perrone.
8/13/2007
GNA project will make high school energy-efficient
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Greater Nanticoke Area school board is undertaking
a $1.1 million renovation project at the high school to make it more
energy-efficient.
The board awarded an energy conservation services proposal to CM3 Building
Solutions of Trevose, Bucks County, pending final approval by solicitor
Vito DeLuca.
The project involves 50 classrooms in the high school. New windows are
being installed now, building and grounds supervisor Frank Grevera said.
The schools heating system was installed in the 1970s and is losing
a lot of heat through the windows, Superintendent Anthony Perrone said.
The district will get its $1.1 million investment back in savings on
energy and repairs over the next 12 years, Grevera said.
A loan wont be required because there is enough money in the districts
fund balance, Perrone said. By paying for the renovations outright,
the district saves $250,000, Grevera said.
8/13/2007
PennDOT lends hand in GNA bus quandary
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The state Department of Transportation is providing
a short-term solution at a dangerous intersection for Greater Nanticoke
Area school buses.
However, state and Plymouth Township officials say a long-term solution
is needed and the sooner, the better.
For many years, the bus stop in front of the Tilbury fire hall has been
a transfer point for Greater Nanticoke Area students from remote areas.
Since the spring, bus drivers have been forced to take Allen Street,
a narrow alley, instead of Route 29 to get to Route 11 because of a
10-ton weight limit on the unsound East Poplar Street bridge.
The drivers are concerned about entering the busy road from Allen Street
because tall signs block their vision, including a yellow reflector
sign thats probably the worst of them all, according to
White Transit bus company owner Richard Andrejko.
After assessing the situation with Andrejko last week, Plymouth Township
supervisors and state Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, asked the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation to lower the signs and put in temporary
lights or flashers to alert motorists to the school buses emerging onto
Route 11.
We are putting the paperwork in to be able to make those changes
in the height of the signs, PennDOT spokeswoman Karen Dussinger
said.
She believes the signs can be adjusted in time for the start of the
Greater Nanticoke Area school year on Aug. 28.
PennDOT will visit the site this week to see about temporary signals,
township Supervisor Chairwoman Gale Conrad said.
If the bridge on East Poplar Street, which is county-owned, didnt
have a weight limit on it, there wouldnt be a need for lowered
signs or temporary light, Conrad said.
The biggest problem of all is the need for a traffic signal at routes
11 and 29, Andrejko said.
Although township officials have been asking for a traffic light since
2003, PennDOT wont bid out the project until 2010.
Thats because a bridge on Route 11 at the intersection, damaged
by the June 2006 flooding, has to be repaired at the same time, since
sensors and other components for the lights will go in it.
Theres no word on when the county might replace the East Poplar
Street bridge. The supervisors are hoping it can be done as soon as
possible, and that PennDOT will move the traffic light and Route 11
bridge project up on its list.
Unfortunately, its not just one issue, its both,
Conrad said. We have to work with everyone we can to make it safe
for the bus drivers and the children on those buses.
Yudichak said he would work with state, county and township officials
on a long-term solution.
8/13/2007
Did You Know?....Snapshot from a Century - Times Leader
A Nanticoke philanthropists gift in 1937 brought immense joy and
beauty to her city. When the will of Samantha J. Mill was read, it was
found that she left $100,000 and real estate for the building of a public
library and a park. The Mill Memorial Library and park have served generations
of Nanticoke residents in the 70 years since the bequest was announced.
8/9/2007
South Valley Chamber of Commerce wants you to celebrate Heritage Days.
Even though the summer is slowly winding down, there still are plenty
of things to do in Nanticoke.
Heritage Days, sponsored by the South Valley Chamber of Commerce (SVCC),
are under way at Lower Broadway.
According to Jerry Hudak, SVCC president, the organization was created
from the Greater Nanticoke Area Chamber of Commerce.
We decided to create a regional chamber of commerce so we would
have a stronger organization, said Hudak. It is really hard
for a smaller community to get something accomplished, but if we all
work together, things happen.
Some of the communities that have joined the SVCC include Newport Township,
Plymouth, Plymouth Borough, Hanover Township, Shickshinny, Mocanaqua
and Berwick.
Our goal is to promote an industrial area with thriving businesses.
We keep track of available property and what is needed for our regions
or businesses, Hudak said.
So how did the Heritage Days come to be?
A group of us that attend the SVCC meetings decided it would be
a great idea for residents to recall their heritage, Hudak said.
Our heritage is a gift and we think that we need to promote our
heritage and the South Valley Area. We also wanted people to have an
opportunity to get out and build community and have a good time,
he added.
Each night during Heritage Days there is a different theme. Tonight
is Motor Sports Night.
There seems to be a lot of interest in this area for racing and
so we thought it would be a great idea to bring in some people who are
involved in the sport, said Julianna Zarzecki, a member of the
Heritage Days committee.
On hand will be the Danko racing team, winners of the recent Giant Despair
Race in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The Spencer racing family also will be starting up the engines and showing
off their cars.
Bring your cameras because this is always a great opportunity
for a photo shoot, added Zarzecki.
Additionally, music will be provided by 40-Lb. Head from 6 to 9 p.m.
Rides will be available for the kids and tonight you pay one price ($9)
to ride all night.
Friday is Firefighter Night. A firemens parade will begin at 5
p.m. at the Greater Nanticoke Area High School and end at the Lower
Broadway
fairgrounds.
Im told there will be some wacky contests and the OZ band will
provide music from 6 to 9 p.m.
Saturday is Bike Night with a bike run starting at 2 p.m. at the high
school.
The cost to participate in the ride is $10 and proceeds go toward the
Eric Vannuci Memorial Fund. You might remember that Eric was struck
by a car
and killed in Plymouth.
We wanted to do something to honor Erics name and this seemed
to be a good idea and something that a lot of people like to do,
Hudak said.
The Newport Township Fire Department and John Yogi are sponsoring a
potato-pancake eating contest and registration begins at 4 p.m. John
Stanky will provide the musical entertainment from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
and X Country will take the stage from 6 to 10.
There will be refreshments and all kinds of ethnic foods. There will
be different displays related to the heritage of the South Valley Area
and crafters
also will be on hand.
Events take place tonight and tomorrow from 5 to 11 p.m. and Saturday
from 3 to 11 p.m.
For more information, call 735-6990, 735-3175 or 592-7074.
Taxes are in the mail
City Treasurer Albert J. Wytoshek announced the 2007 Greater Nanticoke
Area School District property taxes and per capital taxes were issued.As
per Act I, the school board adopted a plan to provide an option for
installment
payments of real estate taxes. This option applies to Homestead and
Farmstead
eligible properties.A taxpayer who chooses the installment plan will
have the option to pay in three equal installments, which are due Aug.
31, Oct. 31 and Dec. 17. If the installment plan is selected, the taxpayer
is not eligible for the 2 percent discount.If a taxpayer chooses to
pay the tax in full, the rebate period will end Oct. 3. Face value ends
Dec. 3 and the penalty period ends Dec. 15.Anyone who has not received
a tax statement should notify the office at 735-2800.When paying by
mail and requesting a receipt, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.Taxes
for the current year are payable at the municipal building tax office
Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.The 2007 city property taxes
and city per capita taxes are in penalty period. All per capita taxes
will be issued on a separate statement. Residents 18 and older are responsible
to pay per capita tax.Any resident who has not received a statement
is asked to contact the tax office.
Pam Urbanski writes Nanticoke Area Notes every other Thursday.
8/9/2007
Bad bridges, intersection sources of concern for bus company boss
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Two weight-restricted bridges and
a busy intersection without a traffic light are creating a trifecta
of danger for school buses in Plymouth Township.
School starts on Aug. 28 for Greater Nanticoke Area students. White
Transit bus company owner Richard Andrejko is worried the situation
caused by bad bridges on East Poplar Street and Route 11, and the lack
of a traffic light where state routes 11 and 29 meet, could lead to
an accident.
Its like a stick of dynamite sitting out there waiting for
someone to touch it with a match, Andrejko said. Im
really concerned about the safety of the children. Thats the primary
issue here.
An aging bridge on East Poplar Street that Luzerne County engineers
believe is beyond repair has a weight limit of 10 tons. The bridge is
near the Tilbury Fire Company at a point that is not only a GNA bus
stop, but also a main transfer point for students from rural areas,
Andrejko said.
Since they cant cross the East Poplar Street bridge, school buses
have to make a sharp, tight left turn onto Allen Street, which is little
more than an alley.
Its virtually impossible to make the turn without backing
up a few times, Andrejko said.
Allen Street leads to Route 11. The problem is, at that intersection
there is a collection of signs on the right side facing toward
Berwick that are just the right height to completely block a
bus drivers view of traffic on Route 11 south, Andrejko said.
Plymouth Township supervisor chairwoman Gale Conrad, state Rep. John
Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, his chief of staff Thomas Ruskey, and GNA Transportation
Coordinator Janet Yezefski took a ride with Andrejko on a full-size
school bus Wednesday to see the problem for themselves.
Its bad enough the buses have to take an alternate route
and cant go over the East Poplar Street bridge
but they
cant see properly on Route 11 due to the height of the bus,
Conrad said.
A traffic light at routes 11 and 29 would give buses a chance to turn
safely onto Route 11, since traffic would be stopped, she said.
There needs to be a traffic light at the intersection, Andrejko
said. Every day when we pull out there with children on the bus,
its dangerous. Its a catastrophe waiting to happen.
In 2003, the supervisors asked the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
for the traffic light. After the June 2006 flood, they contacted PennDOT
to check on the project status, Conrad said.
The bridge on Route 11 near the intersection was given a weight limit
of 20 tons by PennDOT due to flood damage, she said. The bridge needs
to be repaired or replaced, so installation of the traffic light has
been postponed because the light sensors and related apparatus have
to go in the bridge, Conrad said. According to PennDOT, the project
will be bid in winter of 2010.
In the meantime, moving the signs at the Route 11 and Allen Street intersection,
and possibly adding temporary flashing lights to alert motorists to
the school buses, might help, Yudichak believes.
PennDOT spokeswoman Karen Dussinger said the signs can probably be adjusted
if the township supervisors submit a formal request for review.
Im sure well work with them on that, she said.
Safety is safety.
8/7/2007
County: Bridge in West Nanticoke cant be repaired; visit to span
set
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Plymouth Township officials are concerned
about the deteriorated East Poplar Street bridge, which is a nuisance
for Greater Nanticoke Area School District transportation and the Tilbury
Fire Co.
Recent inspections led the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to
place a 10-ton weight limit on the bridge. That means most school buses
and fire trucks cant cross it.
For years there has been a Greater Nanticoke Area bus stop in front of
the Tilbury fire hall. Buses now have to turn left at the fire hall, go
down Allen Street known as the alley and come
out in front of Bankos, Supervisor Chairwoman Gale Conrad said.
The wide turn is difficult for school buses, she said.
Fire trucks also have to make the turn to avoid the bridge, but Tilbury
fire Chief John Rinehimer believes the situation is more inconvenient
for the school district. We have red lights and sirens and they
dont, he said.
Conrad said township officials sent letters to Luzerne County, which is
responsible for the bridge, in March and July, but never got a response.
County Engineer Joseph Gibbons said he never received the townships
letter of July 20, which was sent via registered mail. Jim Brozena, who
was chief county engineer in March, has since been named director of the
county flood protection authority.
When contacted Monday, Gibbons said fixing the East Poplar Street bridge
is out.
The bridge is such that it cannot be repaired, he said.
Gibbons couldnt estimate when it could be replaced. It has to be
put on PennDOTs Transportation Improvement Program list, he said.
The 12-year plan is updated every year. As old projects are completed,
new ones are put on. Right now we have 25 other bridges in design,
Gibbons said.
State Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, his chief of staff Thomas Ruskey
and a representative of White Transit, which provides bus service to GNA
school district, plan to visit the bridge this week with Plymouth Township
officials.
8/7/2007
Do Not Call List ??
Citizens'Voice
Pennsylvanians tired of telemarketers got some relief five years ago
when the state legislature passed the Do Not Call law in 2002. The federal
government followed suit two years later, establishing the National
Do Not Call Registry.
For those people who signed up first on the Pennsylvania list, its
time to re-register. The federal and state Do Not Call registries only
last five years. Each list works differently, but serves the same goal.
As Thomas Ruskey, chief of staff for state Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke,
said It makes sense to be on both, because theyre both free
and it can only help.
Registering by Sept. 15 on the Pennsylvania list guarantees that telemarketers
cannot call your home or cell phone by Nov. 1. Telemarketers who do
call could face $1,000 fine, which can increase to $3,000 if the telephone
number belongs to a person and $3,000 if the call is placed to a person
60 or older and is on the Do Not Call List.
The Pennsylvania attorney generals office maintains the state
Do Not Call List. The Federal Trade Commission maintains the national
one.
You can register at the state level by calling 1-888-777-3406 or www.attorneygeneral.gov.
Register on the federal level at www.donotcall.gov.
8/7/2007
Breakers improve to 3-0 in softball nationals
The Times Leader staff
WILSON COUNTY, N.C. Securing
a perfect record heading into the double-elimination bracket of the
12-and-under Babe Ruth Softball World Series is definitely on the minds
of the Luzerne County Breakers this week.
The Breakers kept their winning streak going with a 7-4 win over the
host team Wilson County (N.C.) on Monday to run their record to 3-0
in pool play. With a fourth win today, the Breakers can lock up a bye
in the first round of the World Series.
Lindsay Roberts picked up the win on the mound, pitching the first three
innings and striking out five batters.
Angela Hillan struck out one in relief.
Roberts also took charge of the Breakers offense, swatting an
RBI triple, one of two hits for the pitcher. Kayley Schinski and Nicole
Novakoski each hit RBI singles for Luzerne County.
The Breakers (3-0) are scheduled to face Heartland (Mo.) at noon today
at Onnie Cockrell Field in Wilson County. Heartland (1-2) would need
a win to have a chance of making the next round.
8/7/2007
Event scheduled in Vannucchi 's honor
slong@timesleader.com
Erik Vannucchi was looking forward
to his college days at University Park when his life was cut short by
a hit-and-run driver on May 29.
The 19-year-old Plymouth man had completed his sophomore year at Penn
State Wilkes-Barre and was headed to Main Campus when tragedy struck.
But his memory lives on, and organizers of Nanticokes second annual
South Valley Heritage Days are holding a motorcycle bike run in Vannucchis
honor.
The bike run is one of numerous events planned for the festival, which
runs from Wednesday through Saturday.
Food, crafts, games and entertainment, and a parade will be featured.
Motorcyclists will leave from Nanticoke High School on Kosciuszko Street
at 2 p.m. Saturday on a course through Back Mountain, Glen Lyon, Wilkes-Barre,
Hanover Township and Nanticoke.
All the money that is being raised will go to the Vannucchi family,
said Kevin Greenberg, spokesman for the South Valley Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber is hosting the four-day festival.
Heritage Days festivities kick off at 5 p.m. Wednesday when officials
tap a keg of root beer.
The newly minted annual festival started last year as chamber members
look for a way to highlight the South Valleys rich heritage in
Luzerne County.
After a couple business meetings at the chamber it was decided
we should have something to celebrate our history in the South Valley,
said Jerry Hudak, Chamber of Commerce president. Its rich
in history and folklore.
This year also features an inaugural potato pancake eating contest at
4 p.m. Saturday
We invite contestants to bring their appetites and see how many
they can devour, Hudak said.
Minivan shuttle service will pick up residents from the three senior
citizen high-rise towers in Nanticoke hourly on Wednesday during the
polka-themed night. Glen Lyon residents can be picked up at 5 p.m. at
the senior citizen center with a return trip at 9 p.m.
Children may have their pictures taken while sitting in a race car Thursday
during the motorsports-themed night.
The Danko race team from the Giants Despair Hillclimb in Wilkes-Barre
Township will make an appearance, and antique, restored and stock cars
will be featured.
Fire departments throughout the county have been invited to participate
in a 6 p.m. parade on Friday during Firemans Night.
Music will be provided nightly, from 6 to 10, and will include polka
band Jolly Joe and the Bavarians on Wednesday; local recording band
40 Lb. Head will on Thursday; Oz Band on Friday and two bands on Saturday
John Stanky, from 3:30-5:30 p.m., followed by X Countryat 6 p.m.
during Bike Night.
If you go
WHAT: South Valley Heritage Days
WHEN: Wednesday-Saturday
WHERE: Nanticoke Fairgrounds, Lower Broadway
NOTES: Admission is free. Food,
crafts and games will be featured.
INFO: 735-6990
8/6/2007
Nanticoke skateboard law hits snag
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
City officials want to help police by
regulating where skateboarders can skate, but they arent sure
how to do it fairly.
Last week, council set aside, unpassed, an ordinance prohibiting skateboarding
and skating downtown. Downtown would be considered the Susquehanna
River to the north, Green Street to the south, Hanover Street to the
west and Chestnut Street to the east.
The problem council found was that if passed, the ordinance would allow
some skateboarders but not others to skate in front of their homes.
It has to be fair for everyone, Mayor John Bushko said.
Nanticoke police wrote the ordinance based on Wilkes-Barre Citys,
Nanticoke Administrator Kenneth Johnson said.
This is a pretty important issue, because we are dealing with
a police department problem, Johnson said, adding, I honestly
dont know what changes were going to make before the next
meeting.
If skateboarding is only banned downtown, kids will start hanging out
in other parts of town, and people will complain, Bushko said.
It will be a tough ordinance to enforce, he noted.
Like Johnson, Bushko doesnt favor a citywide ban. Most of the
problem is at the Kanjorski Center and in the Weis Market parking lot,
city officials say. Skateboarders are causing property damage to downtown
businesses, and they are a danger to pedestrians, Johnson said.
Its fine for kids to be on skateboards in the parts of the
city where there are not a lot of people, Johnson said. I
think the police department is absolutely accurate in where they are
going with this.
The proposed ordinance is weaker than the existing one, because it only
prohibits skateboarding downtown, while the current ordinance bans it
everywhere, Johnson noted. What a new ordinance would have is a stiffer
penalty: a fine of $100 to $1,000 instead of $5 under the current ordinance.
The fine is actually higher, Bushko said. He was told by Magisterial
District Judge Donald Whittaker that fines must be a minimum of $25.
Community service can also be given instead, Bushko said.
Hopefully the skate park will be built within a few months and
this will all be behind us, Bushko said.
To build the skate park which is the first part of a proposed
recreation complex on Lower Broadway the South Valley Partnership
has to lease land from the citys redevelopment authority. Whats
holding it up are some legal issues involving land ownership.
Were getting close, said Thomas Ruskey, chief of staff
for state Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke.
The redevelopment authority is working on the details, Bushko said.
He said authority solicitor Susan Maza recently met with city attorney
William Finnegan to come up with a lease agreement.
8/6/2007
Sending a unified message
Participants told to contact legislators and vote out officials who
dont address polarizing problem.
By Jennifer Learn-Andesjandes@timesleader.com
Frank Scavo wanted the 200 or so
people at Sundays Voice of the People USA rally in Nanticoke to
make their feelings known to federal legislators, so he dialed Sen.
Arlen Specters number.
Scavo explained in the voice recording that he had a message from the
people, and he faced his cell phone at the audience.
Close the borders, the crowd screamed in unison before bursting
into applause.
Scavo told the group that he and others arent against immigrants,
just illegal ones. He and others said they are tired of critics painting
them as racist. Scavo said he is a descendant of legal immigrants and
held up their framed naturalization certificate.
This is how its done. Where did we go off track? Scavo
said, blaming government leaders. There is only one way this will
ever get fixed, and that is with we the people, the voice of the people.
The message to contact legislators and vote out officials who dont
do something about illegal immigrants was stressed repeatedly during
the rally at Patriot Park.
If you do not register to vote then youre the moron,
said Eric Bieski, who helped to bring the rally to Nanticoke. Honestly,
it is cool to vote.
Bieski said he was born and raised in Nanticoke and worries that its
cheap housing will attract illegal immigrants, including those who are
leery about staying in Hazleton. Renee Butts, the organizations
executive secretary, pumped up the crowd, asking why the U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement isnt doing its job.
What are they doing? Reading the latest Harry Potter book?
The crowd booed when she brought up U.S. District Judge James Munleys
ruling that Hazletons illegal immigration ordinances violate the
U.S. Constitution.
My, what an admirable man. He is too much of a coward to stand
up for any of us, she said. He expects us to wait for the
federal government. I dont know about you, but I am not going
to hold my breath.
Several city police officers stood at the park perimeter, but they reported
no disruptions. There were no counter-protestors. There was one outburst,
when a woman yelled out that people should put as much energy into fighting
the citys drug and crime problems. However, she quieted down when
others in the audience told her that illegal aliens were the issue of
the day.
Several T-shirts were sold to raise money for Hazleton Mayor Lou Barlettas
appeal of Munleys ruling. The T-shirts said Illegal Stops
Here. Hazleton PA.
There were lots of American flags, and others wore T-shirts that said
Border Patrol and Welcome to America. Now speak English.
Anthony Zaykoski, of Bear Creek Township, brought a sign that said,
Illegals must go. We cant afford them. The flip side
said Lou B is helping us. We must support him.
Zaykoski said its the first time he attended a rally. He said
he is tired of feeling powerless and wanted to show federal officials
that lots of people
want action.
These people coming here illegally are ignoring our laws,
he said.
Retired border patrol agent Mike Cutler said politicians have politicized
the immigration issue.
Cutler said he testified in 15 Congressional hearings since the attacks
of Sept. 11, and he rattled off statistics about illegal immigrants.
More than 25 percent of the criminals in jails across the country are
identified as illegal aliens, he said. He also maintained that an illegal
alien is
three to four times as likely to be involved with a felony as a United
States citizen.
For our country to allow criminals to enter our nation and victimize
our citizens is an outrage, he said.
These people coming here illegally are ignoring our laws.
Anthony Zaykoski
Bear Creek resident
8/4/2007
3 county teams eye big prize
dkonopki@timesleader.com
Manager Dan Markowski was hoping
his team would win a district championship and maybe if things
went really well it could make a run in the state playoffs.
Three weeks later, the Luzerne County Breakers U12 team is in the Babe
Ruth Softball World Series in Wilson County, N.C.
The team comprised of players ages 12 and under flew out of Newark,
N.J., on Thursday and will open play at 5:30 p.m. today against Ohio
Valley. The Breakers won the local district championship and state title
both of those tournaments were played in Ashley before
taking first place in their division at a regional tournament in Vineland,
N.J., to earn a spot in the World Series.
We figured wed win our district and maybe the state (championship),
Markowski said. Once we got to the regional, we thought wed
give it our best shot. We never expected to go this far.
The Breakers are one of three teams in Luzerne County who will be playing
in national tournaments next week. The Luzerne County Cougars earned
a berth in the U10 division of the Babe Ruth Softball World Series and
the U14 Wyoming Valley Flames qualified to compete in the ASA World
Fast Pitch Class A World Series in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Markowski says his players arent going to North Carolina to be
spectators. Were going down there to win. We asked the girls
what they want to do, and they want to win.
According to Markowski, the Breakers have advanced with timely hitting,
quality defense and solid pitching. Lindsay Roberts and Angela Hillan
have been splitting most of the pitching duties, while Nicole Novakoski
has taken the mound for a few innings during the postseason. Its
been an all-around team effort, Markowski said. Everyone
has been contributing.
And the parents have been extremely supportive, he said. Most
of them have been taking their vacations around it. They always make
sure the girls get to practice on time. And the girls dont mind
practicing. Its been a lot of fun.
In addition to the three pitchers, other members of the team are Kayla
Benjamin, Kayley Schinski, Katie Kowalski, Sydney Kotch, Hannah Dalmas,
Mallory Markowski, Katlyn Wolfe, Bronwyn Perrins, Allie Matulewski and
Kayla Tarnowski. The assistant coaches are Michael Kotch and Judy Pazgan.
Most of the players live in Nanticoke and Newport, with one each from
Wilkes-Barre and Hunlock Creek.
World Series play commences today with four days of round-robin competition.
The participating teams are divided into two brackets for round-robin
play. Each team is guaranteed four games. The first-, second-, and third-place
teams from each division in the round-robin will advance to double-elimination
play, which begins on the following Saturday. According to its Web site,
Babe Ruth League, Inc. provides transportation to the World Series,
as well as housing and meals for all participants and coaches, at no
cost to the teams.
Information about the Luzerne County Cougars was not available and phone
calls were not returned.
The Wyoming Valley Flames will begin the 20-team Myrtle Beach tournament
with pool play Tuesday and Wednesday. The Flames will play the
Wake Forest (N.C.) Rockers, followed by games against the South Carolina
Express and the Maryland Champions. The top 10 teams advance to a double-elimination
tournament, with the champion being crowned next weekend.
Members of the team are Sarah Bertoni, Amanda Cardone, Marissa Chiampi,
Brooke Darling, Mallory Getz, Artonya Gordon, Jamie Hampsey, Sarah Konopki,
Kaitlyn Opet, Clarissa Tarnowski and Erica Yanora. The manager of the
team is Bob Bertoni and the assistant coaches are Neil Opet and Bob
Tarnowski.
8/2/2007
Nanticoke expects no trouble from rally Sunday
Voice of the People USA, which opposes illegal immigration and backs
Hazleton laws, sets event for Patriot Park.
slong@timesleader.com
City officials arent anticipating
any problems Sunday afternoon when a Hazleton-based organization hosts
an illegal immigration reform rally, which could possibly draw hundreds
of people to downtown.
Mayor John Busko promises there will be a police presence at the rally
though no additional officers have been scheduled to work to cover the
event. Usually, two officers work each shift.
Voice of the People USA will hold a rally at 1 p.m. Sunday at Patriot
Park. Dan Smeriglio, founder of the Hazleton non-profit group, spoke
during a July 28 rally in New Jersey where a few illegal immigration
supporters were arrested.
Voice of the People officials contacted the city about the rally before
last week, when Hazletons illegal immigration ordinance was declared
unconstitutional by a federal judge. Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta vows
to appeal the judges decision.
They claim they have had a lot of residents contacting them asking
them to come to Nanticoke, City Administrator Kenneth Johnson
said.
Eric Bieski, a 19-year-old Nanticoke resident, has raised the issue
of establishing illegal immigration laws in the city.
In May, Bieski asked council members to consider passing an ordinance
similar to Hazletons which would punish landlords and businesses
for renting properties or hiring illegal immigrants.
The city council has not taken any action on the issue.
Calls to Bieski and Smeriglio were not returned as of press time.
The rally will be treated just like any other public event held at Patriot
Park, Johnson said, noting the city is not endorsing the message organizers
are presenting.
We are not condoning it. Its a public space and they can
use it, Johnson said. No city permits had to be issued for the
rally.
City officials are just waiting to see how the appellate courts rule
on the issue before deciding to consider an illegal immigration ordinance.
The court ruled this is a federal issue, not a state or local
issue, Johnson said.
If you go
What: Immigration reform rally
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Patriot Park in Nanticoke on Prospect Street
Organized by Voice of the People USA, www.voiceofthepeopleusa.com
8/2/2007
Nanticokes new code officer resigns his post
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Council learned Wednesday the city is losing another employee, the second
within two weeks.
Code Enforcement Officer Scott Paveletz turned in his resignation, Councilman
Brent Makarczyk said. Public Works Director Anthony DiPietro
resigned July 20.
The loss of Paveletz leaves the city kind of in a bind,
Mayor John Bushko said. Gerald Cross, executive director of Pennsylvania
Economy League, Nanticokes financial recovery coordinator, had
just finished telling council code enforcement is a high priority.
Code enforcement involves making sure city ordinances and codes are
followed, in order to protect residents health and safety. An
officer does things like cite owners of problem properties.
On June 6, council hired Paveletz at a salary of $35,000 a year plus
benefits. Officials couldnt say why he resigned, and he was not
present Wednesday. A replacement will be sought immediately. City engineer
Darryl Pawlush of Michael J. Pasonick Associates said a related but
separate entity, Pasonick Equipment, can provide code enforcement services
in the meantime.
City officials are holding off on replacing DiPietro. PELs financial
recovery plan calls for an analysis of the public works department,
and Cross said
the state Department of Community and Economic Development is working
on finding a peer someone with firsthand public works experience
to do a yearlong review.
Council postponed voting on an ordinance prohibiting skateboarding downtown.
I think we have to do a little more research, Bushko said.
I dont think its 100 percent fair to everybody.
|Council agreed. If passed as-is, the ordinance means some kids
can skate in front of their house, some cant, Councilman
Joe Dougherty said.
The ordinance, drawn up by city Administrator Kenneth Johnson, defines
downtown boundaries as the Susquehanna River on the north, Green Street
on the south, Hanover Street on the west and Chestnut Street on the
east. Greater Nanticoke Area high school is included, but a skate park
planned for Lower Broadway is excepted. Anyone caught skateboarding
or roller skating downtown could face a fine of $100 to $1,000, and/or
up to 30 days in jail.
In other business:
Resident Dorothy Yeager complained
about more and more cars being parked along streets, making passage
difficult. She asked if some roads could be made one-way. Bushko agreed
re-routing traffic on city streets is something city officials should
investigate.
Te city will soon be cleared to receive $381,267 in state Office of
Community Development grant money from 2006, Bushko said. Part of the
money will be used to repave Maple Street from West Broad to West Green,
West Noble Street from Hanover to Fairchild, and West Ridge Street from
Market to Hanover. Pawlush said he is ready to go full steam ahead
with engineering plans.
City officials will look into whether there is enough money in the sewer
fund to do something about Orchard Street, which Bushko said contains
a main sewer line.
8/2/2007
Nanticokes full-time code enforcer resigns
slong@timesleader.com
Council members learned Wednesday
night during their meeting that the citys code enforcement official
resigned.
City Administrator Kenneth Johnson confirmed that he spoke to Scott
Paveltz earlier Wednesday about the resignation. Johnson said he had
not yet received a written letter of resignation.
Johnson did not attend the meeting because he is at home recovering
from arm surgery. It was not immediately known why Paveltz resigned.
Councilman Jim Litchofski asked what the city could do until a new code
enforcement official could be hired.
Daryl Pawlush of Pasonick Engineering said his firm could handle the
work without any cost to the city.
They dont charge the municipality, he said. The
contractors pay the fee.
The duties of a code enforcement official and building code official
are very different, said Harry Miller, a Pennsylvania Economy League
senior research associate.
Code enforcement officials ensure the citys ordinances, including
those regarding high grass and junked vehicles, are being followed.
Council did not make any decision regarding what its next move will
be.
Paveltz was scheduled to undergo training to eventually become certified
as a code enforcement official.
The state requires municipalities to have licensed code building officials
to inspect and issue permits for new building construction, remodeling,
electrical and plumbing work.
We are still in compliance with the state building code,
Johnson said.
The city has one part-time building code official, Andy Kratz.
Paveltz was hired as a full-time code enforcement official in mid-June
at a salary of $35,000 to handle nuisance reports. Before Paveltz was
hired, the city went several months without an employee to handle complaints
on high grass or nuisance properties.
7/30/2007
Nanticoke rally to back reform
Event set for Sunday in support of Hazleton ordinances and Barletta.
smocarsky@timesleader.com
A group that supports Hazleton Mayor
Lou Barletta and the citys illegal immigration ordinances that
were struck down by a federal judge last week will hold another in a
series of rallies in support of Barletta, the ordinances and immigration
reform next Sunday at Patriot Park.
Dan Smeriglio, founder of Voice of the People USA, said several speakers
are scheduled for the 1 p.m. rally, which he expects to be peaceful,
in contrast to recent similar rallies hes attended as a speaker
and helped organize.
Counter-protesters who were sympathetic to the plight of illegal immigrants
and who believe Hazletons laws are unjust became loud near the
end of a rally in Scranton in June, prompting the host to end the rally
slightly early and police to clear the streets.
And five people affiliated with a counter-rally at an immigration reform
rally in Morristown, N.J., at which Smeriglio spoke on Saturday were
arrested, and dozens more cited with disorderly conduct, according to
The Daily Record newspaper in Morris County.
Morristown resident Rob Pearson organized that rally in part to support
Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitellos plan to deputize police to
enforce federal immigration laws.
Despite the disruption by counter-protesters, Smeriglio described the
Morristown rally as fun.
The audience was so great, they were so pumped up and into it.
Its nice to see that kind of reaction in another state,
Smeriglio said.
Smeriglio hopes for a similar reaction from the crowd he expects in
Nanticoke, where he says many residents have asked for a rally to show
their support for Barletta.
Smeriglio said hes glad Barletta plans to appeal U.S. District
Judge James Munleys decision, in which he called the Hazleton
laws a violation of the U.S. Constitution supremacy clause, and said
that legislation in matters like immigration are under the auspices
of the federal government.
Hazletons Illegal Immigration Relief Act would fine landlords
who rent to illegal immigrants and suspend the licenses of businesses
that hire them. A related ordinance would require all renters in the
city to register with the city and prove citizenship or legal residency
status.
Speakers scheduled for the Nanticoke rally include York talk radio host
Gary Sutton, retired border patrol agent Mike Cutler, 9/11 Families
for a Secure America president Peter Gadiel, Morristowns Rob Pearson,
and Voice of the People members Frank Scavo, Greg Griffin, Renee Butts
and others.
7/29/2007
Cabbage Roll brings out veggie hurlers
By bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com
The sloped road in the citys Honey Pot section is actually called
River Street, but most locals have always known it as Cabbage
Hill.
A fledgling tradition of bowling cabbages down that hill has taken
the moniker to a new level.
One day a year, the Cabbage Roll makes the street a venue for a spectator
sport in an odd but apparently successful fundraising
effort for the Honey Pot Volunteer Fire Department. Its modeled
after similar exploits decades ago when coal miners would gather to
zip cabbages down that very hill, which then was dirt.
At this years event on Saturday, hundreds lined up for a chance
to whiz their head of cabbage the longest distance down the hill.
To play, it cost $2 for a roll ticket and $1 to rent the
cabbage. Insurance was available for $1, which would allow you another
try in case of an errant roll that didnt make 100 feet. Organizers
had 1,500 cabbages on hand. Brussel sprouts were available for kids
to roll.
Some people, like 16-year-old Stephen Swicklik the self-described
Cabbage King from Cabbageland who dressed the part: crown,
green cape, cabbage-topped scepter and all brought his own cabbage.
That qualified him for the cheat division.
See, most vie to win cash prizes in the youth, adult or senior category,
using the standard-issue cabbage. Those who manipulate theirs
such as wrapping rubber bands around it get lumped by themselves.
Last year, one culprit was caught using a frozen cabbage.
The course is a straight lane, lined with clear plastic. Filled fire
hoses act as bumpers. Amid a hot July afternoon, dozens of spectators
lined each side of the lane through most of the 500 feet course. On
the porch of nearly every Cabbage Hill home were families
enjoying the festivities. One group even had a keg of beer.
In the weaning minutes of the event, it seemed only fitting Carol Gorskis
roll would go the furthest. Gorski, 67, grew up on Cabbage Hill
and, like other Honey Pot natives, knows the history of the hill. Decades
ago, when Honey Pot was primarily farm land and cabbages were aplenty,
a group of coal miners would gather to roll cabbages down the hill.
They had a day off. Theyd sit with their family, have a
beer, and roll cabbages down the hill, said Cabbage Roll founder,
Honey Pot Assistant Fire Chief Chet Kopco.
Kopco, known by many as Father Cabbage, said the second-annual
event has been a boost in the arm for the fire departments finances,
but thereal joy is watching all the fun people have. Whether the roller
is a youngster, a bulky bodybuilder, or a frail grandmother, everyones
cabbage has a chance to go the distance, he said.
Its all a matter of how the cabbages rolls.
Cabbage Hill is the only place in America where everybody is equal,
he said.
7/29/2007
Special head game
Sending cabbage down a hill is a chance for fun while raising cash for
a Honey Pot fire truck.
slong@timesleader.com
Cabbage ruled the day in Nanticoke
Saturday as 300 participants gave the leafy vegetables a roll down Cabbage
Hill for a good cause.
Money raised from this years Cabbage Roll will help the Honey
Pot Volunteer Active Fire Company No. 6 put a down payment on a new
fire truck to replace the 1965 unit currently being used.
Its getting old; theyve had some fundraisers to do
repairs on it to keep it alive, said Ron Zaykoski, a social member
of the fire company, who coordinated the construction of this years
500-foot cabbage roll course.
We dont want to buy a new truck. We just want to put a down
payment on a used truck. Something a little bit newer and more reliable.
As of 7:40 p.m. Saturday the fire company earned $500 from just the
cabbage rolling, Zaykoski said. It was unknown how much was raised from
the festival activities where attendees could enjoy live music and munch
on food from various vendors.
People traveled near and far to test their cabbage-rolling skills at
the festival, which first began in August 2005.
Michael and Carol Kuzio traveled three hours from Shelton, Conn., to
test their rolling skills while supporting her brothers fire company.
Carols brother is Honey Pot Fire Chief Frank Wolfe.
To see all these people come out just to roll a head of cabbage
and support the fire department its worth the trip, Carol
Kuzio said.
Nanticoke resident Mary Skovronskis friends from King of Prussia
came to cheer her on during her first cabbage roll.
Its fun. Its like giving back to the community,
she said.
Last year the fire company sponsored the Six-County Firemens Convention.
Now the Cabbage Roll festival has returned for good, planners said.
Participants compete in three age divisions: youth, 10 to 17 years old;
adult, 18 to 64 years old; and seniors, 65 and older, to see who can
roll their cabbage the farthest down the 500-foot plastic tarp. A creative
division allowed participants to slightly change their cabbages using
aluminum foil, freezing them or drilling three finger holes in them
like a bowling ball. Firefighter hoses lined the tarp marking the out-of-bounds
marks.
Its all good family fun and thats what its all
about, Zaykoski said.
The top three winners in each category will receive cash prizes and
a plaque. A creative division entry broke the record for longest roll
after a cabbage wrapped in foil went to 484.5 feet. In 2005, Sharon
Iquasiak won the contest with a roll of 479.9 feet.
7/27/2007
Skateboard devotees set city cleanup
Project in Nanticoke is to improve image of skateboarders, who hope
to have skate park built in county.
boboyle@timesleader.com
Quick! When you think of skateboarders,
what first comes to mind?
Troublemaking? Vandalism? Juvenile delinquency?
How about community service?
A group of skateboarders will conduct a cleanup in Nanticoke from 2
to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Why?
First, we want to help clean up the city, said Kevin Pizzano
of Dallas. And we want to improve the image that people have of
skateboarders.
The cleanup is coordinated by 20-year-old Bill Borowski, who said he
and fellow skateboard enthusiasts want to show the community that they
are good people.
Were trying to do something good for the community, but
we want to also improve the way people think of skateboarders,
Borowski said. We are planning to do a cleanup every month to
show we are serious.
Borowski said the cleanup will be concentrated on the area near the
Kanjorski Building and Weis Market, including the parking lots and streets.
Skateboarders have a bad image and we want to get rid of it,
Borowski said.
Pizzano, 26, and two of his friends James Gidosh, 29, of Wilkes-Barre,
and Mike Valentukonis, 30, of West Wyoming, are the founders of Northeast
Pennsylvania Free Skate Park Association. They are trying to convince
elected officials to build a skate park in Luzerne County. The three
attended a Wilkes-Barre City Council meeting this month to ask officials
to consider building a facility in the city.
They plan to attend the next meeting of the Luzerne County Commissioners
on Sept. 10 to ask for the countys help.
Weve always said we want to help out, Pizzano said.
We need to dispel the image that skateboarders are bad kids.
Pizzano said the local skate park group will hold a cleanup in Wilkes-Barre,
but said a date and site have not been determined.
Luzerne County Commissioner Chairman Greg Skrepenak came out in support
of building a skate park, while Wilkes-Barre City has asked for time
to study the idea.
Gidosh, Pizzano and Valentukonis would like to see a state-of-the-art
facility built somewhere in the county. They said a park would provide
a safer and more authentic venue for skateboarders who are relegated
to vacant parking lots, sidewalks and streets.
Their organization claims there are more than 13,500 skateboard enthusiasts
in the county, making it one of the top recreational activities in the
area.
According to a Times Leader Web poll of more than 7,000 people, 70 percent
favor building a skate park.
The interest in skateboarding is there and has been for years,
Pizzano said. We just want a place to ride our skateboards. And
we want to show
people that were not bad people. We want to help out. Thats
why were going to Nanticoke Sunday.
Pizzano said interested volunteers are asked to meet at 2 p.m. Sunday
in front of Weis Market, Nanticoke.
7/26/2007
Nanticoke-Newport just 1 game short
Locals lose 4-3 to West Point while still showing the ability that got
them there.
By Dave Rosengrant drosengrant@timesleader.com
On its way to the state title game,
Nanticoke-Newport put up some gaudy numbers and outscored opponents
by more than 30 runs in winning the 11-12-year-old District 16 East
and Sectional softball championships.
The team probably wished it could have saved a few of those runs for
the state tournament.
Despite losing to West Point 4-3 in the gold medal contest on Wednesday
at Feichtel Field at the Mary F. Byers Memorial Sports Complex, the
squad still accomplished a rare feat by finishing second in the state
and only losing two games in the postseason.
The team probably wished it could have saved a few of those runs for
the state tournament.
Despite losing to West Point 4-3 in the gold medal contest on Wednesday
at Feichtel Field at the Mary F. Byers Memorial Sports Complex, the
squad still accomplished a rare feat by finishing second in the state
and only losing two games in the postseason.
It was a great team effort during this run, said Nanticoke-Newport
Manager Bill Rubasky. This is a great group of kids and parents.
They have a promising future.
Nanticoke-Newport (12-2) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning
without getting a hit. Nanticoke-Newport leadoff hitter Sammi Gow scored
the games first run when Lizzy Dougherty was safe on an error.
Dougherty then came around to score on a suicide squeeze by Hannah Rubasky.
West Point cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first when Katie
Hickey drove in Alyssa Bates with a single. It tied the game in the
bottom of the second inning on a Caitlin Tobin single that scored Taylor
Smail.
The game remained tied until the top of the fifth. Thats when
Gow came through with an RBI single that scored Cassie Yalch, who walked
to lead off the frame. Nanticoke-Newport was six outs away from forcing
a decisive championship game in the best-of-three series with a 3-2
lead.
But West Point came right back in the bottom of the inning and scored
two unearned runs on Nanticoke-Newport errors to take a 4-3 lead.
Nanticoke-Newport never gave up, though. And with two outs in the top
of the sixth, the team got a rally going when Ashley Horoschock and
Yalch had back-to-back singles. But Brooke Chapin popped out to West
Point second baseman Leah Daigle to end the game.
Im very proud of these girls, Bill Rubasky said. They
didnt quit and played as hard as they could. There is nothing
else I could ask for.
With this impressive showing, the sky is the limit for this team. The
historic 2003 PIAA Class 2A championship team for Greater Nanticoke
Area didnt win a Little League title until they were 16 years
old.
This team has a good shot at (winning a state title) because to
get this far and being 12 years old is a big accomplishment, Rubasky
said.
7/25/2007
DiPietro resigns Nanticoke public works post
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Nanticokes public works director
has resigned, leaving an already shrunken department even smaller at
the height of outdoor work season.
Anthony DiPietro gave his notice over the weekend, city officials said.
Were very regretful we had to accept his resignation,
city Administrator Kenneth Johnson said.
Johnson could not give details because it is a personnel issue. DiPietro
could not be located for comment.
DiPietro was hired in June 2006 at $35,000 a year. Now that hes
gone, the public works department is down to seven full-time men, the
lowest number ever. Mayor John Bushko said in the 1970s and 1980s, there
were approximately 25 public works employees.
But there were increasing financial problems, which led to the city
being designated financially distressed by the state in May 2006.
In addition to road work, public works employees perform maintenance
at city hall, take care of Patriot Square, and cut grass at the lots
the city owns, Bushko said.
Nanticokes recovery plan, drawn up by recovery coordinator Pennsylvania
Economy League, calls for contracting out maintenance of city buildings,
and for work like grass cutting to be done by seasonal employees.
There is money budgeted for a public works director. However, the plan
states, There is a question whether the public works department
will be able to meet the challenges facing the city during the recovery
plan period. It calls for the city in conjunction with the
plan coordinator (to) reevaluate the departments effectiveness
in early 2008.
The mayor and council will sit down with PEL to figure out what to do
about getting another public works director, Litchkofski said, noting,
Thats not to say we wont fill the position, but it
gives us an opportunity to consider our options.
In the meantime, road crew foreman Walter Pavelitz will be in charge
of the department, Litchkofski said.
Summer is when the departments workload is heaviest. In addition,
on Friday and Saturday, visitors will be coming to Nanticoke for the
Honey Pot Fire Companys Cabbage Roll fundraiser.
City officials arent worried.
Were going to get the area taken care of, and we should
be on target, Litchkofski said.
The fire company has done a lot of weed control at Cabbage Hill and
cleaned up the Honey Pot access roads, Bushko and Litchkofski said.
And with summer half over, it wont be long before being temporarily
short-staffed wont matter, Bushko believes.
In winter theres not really that much to do, just keep up
with equipment, repair the storm drains and wait for snow, he
said.
7/25/2007
Roll out the cabbages
Heather M. Gazella Weekender Intern
Curiosity drew thousands to this
event last year, and the 2007 Cabbage Roll Festival promises to be bigger
and better.
If you are looking for something unique to do this weekend, the Honey
Pot Fire Company is hosting the 2nd Annual Cabbage Roll Festival at
the Lower Broadway Fairgrounds in Nanticoke. The Festival includes two
days of food and entertainment, with guest appearances, and the main
event: cabbage rolling.
The Weekender recently talked with Chet Kopco, assistant fire chief
of the Honey Pot Fire Company, a.k.a. Father Cabbage, about
the cabbage tradition that first started nearly 100 years ago. According
to the Cabbage Roll Festival 2007 Web site, Sundays were a day of rest
for many coal miners in the Nanticoke region. Many residents of the
Honey Pot area tended the garden, went on picnics, drank a little beer,
and stumbled upon the idea of rolling cabbages cheap bowling
balls down a hill.
In 2005 the Honey Pot Fire Company revived this tradition of rolling
cabbages down Cabbage Hill, better known as North Market Street in the
Honey Pot section of Nanticoke. This year, the Cabbage Roll Festival
is a fundraising event for many non-profit organizations in the lower
Luzerne County area. It not only serves as a fundraiser for the fire
company, in its goal of purchasing a new Fire Engine, but also as a
way to bring the community together and remember the history of the
area.
The Cabbage Roll is a unique sporting event for all ages, in which participants
roll cabbages down Cabbage Hill for distance prizes. The Cabbage Roll
itself will be held on Saturday, July 28 starting at 2 p.m. with opening
ceremonies beginning at 1:30 p.m.
The competition is open to all ages, from infants to seniors. Father
Cabbage says that his favorite part of the Festival is the cabbage
roll.
[Even though] Ive never gotten to roll one, he said.
We have a Brussel sprout division for infants; their parents help
them roll Brussel sprouts down the hill.
There will also be an open division that includes senior citizens who
will be coming from local nursing homes.
The Cabbage Roll was so competitive last year that participants altered
the state of their cabbages in order to gain an advantage.
Yes, it is a competition, and prizes are involved, which means
some engineers go the extra mile, Kopco said with a laugh. One
[person] wrapped
500 rubber bands around the cabbage to make it bouncy. Other cabbages
have been frozen, and one person may be bringing a cabbage sealed in
nitrogen.
Kopco added that there is now a division for those competitive engineers
and for added audience entertainment.
Cabbages can be brought from home or purchased on the hill but cannot
be wrapped, glued, frozen or altered to change the natural shape, except
for
removal of loose leaves and to trim the stem end of the cabbage.
We are expecting between 4,000 and 5,000 people at this event,
Kopco said. The first year, it was a tiny gathering to raise money.
But this year we took a [big leap and] advertised nationally, and added
more entertainment.
Added features of the festival include live music from Beyond Fallen
and 40LB Head; a Cabbage Roll Challenge between the Coal City Rollers
roller derby team and the NEPA Miners football team, its coaches and
cheerleaders; Pride Motorcycle Club bike show; and fireworks on Friday
night. WWF professional wrestling legend King Kong Bundy will also be
there to meet and greet fans plus take photos and sign autographs.
There may be a mystery roller scheduled for Saturday, Kopco
added. We have been getting calls from the governors office
asking about the event, and he may be coming.
The 1st Annual Pride Cabbage Roll bike show will be on Friday, July
27. Classes include: Classic 1980 and older, sport bike, cruiser, touring
and rat
bike. Entry is free and open to everyone. Trophies will be awarded to
first, second and third places. Best of Show will get a
trophy and a free tattoo from 570 Tattooing Co. in Wilkes-Barre.
When: Fri. & Sat., July 27-28.
Fri., 6 p.m., Sat., 12 p.m.
Where: Lower Broadway
Fairgrounds in Nanticoke, and Cabbage Hill, Honey Pot
7/25/2007
Golfers close to the win
Citizens Voice
Several law enforcement members
with Nanticoke ties nearly claimed victory in the recent Luzerne County
Drug Task Force golf tournament at the Wyoming Valley County Club, finishing
in what they said was a close second.
The runners-up were: Retired Nanticoke officer Bill Brown, Nanticoke
police officer Mike Roke, former Nanticoke officer and Liquor Enforcement
Officer Mike Rutkowski, and Magisterial District Judge Don Whittaker.
Winners were Joe Urban Sr., Joe Urban Jr., Lenny Malashefski and Harry
Zdzarski.
7/24/2007
Nanticoke authority awaits state word on proposed LCCC downtown project
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
The Nanticoke General Municipal
Authority board is playing the waiting game.
Board members are eager to get started on plans for downtown revitalization,
but several public and private development projects hinge on Luzerne
County Community Colleges master plan being accepted by the state
Department of Education.
The Nanticoke Redevelopment Authority owns several properties in the
city, including the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street. The municipal
authority manages the properties and steers downtown redevelopment plans.
LCCC officials want the Kanjorski Center for a health sciences center.
They are also looking at the site of the city-owned senior center on
Market and Main streets for a culinary arts school. The projects have
attracted interest from private developers, including one who wants
to demolish the nearby authority-owned former CVS building and construct
an office building at the site.
LCCC officials revised the master plan to include the two new off-campus
schools and sent it to the state for approval, which is necessary for
funding.
State Department of Education spokesman Mike Race said earlier Monday
the plan was received June 30 and is under review. Depending on whether
the department needs more information, it should make a decision in
two to three weeks, he said.
Authority member Richard Butler wondered what would happen if the deal
with LCCC fell through. Authority chairman Ron Kamowski said the Kanjorski
Center is still being advertised for sale.
In addition to the LCCC sale, new sidewalks, streetlights, and other
downtown improvements are key.
All the developers want to see the downtown area streetscaped.
That is very important, Kamowski said.
He contacted the U.S. Department of Transportation, which is forwarding
information and paperwork for a $5.6 million federal grant U.S. Rep.
Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, obtained for the improvements.
Butler proposed looking into grants to improve the façades of
privately owned buildings across the street from the Kanjorski Center.
He said it is important to look at the entire picture, instead of doing
revitalization projects piecemeal.
I think what we need to focus on now is the Kanjorski Center and
the corner of Main and Market streets, authority solicitor Joseph
Lach said. If we work on those, other things have a chance of
falling into place.
7/23/2007
Plymouth Twp., Nanticoke road crews team up for road paving project
Citizens' Voice
The first cooperative paving project between two financially strapped
South Valley municipalities was a success. Last week, Plymouth Townships
road crew joined Nanticokes to pave parts of Arch and Broadway
streets and the Allied Services parking lot, which contains a city-owned
storm sewer.
Both departments did a good job, according to Nanticoke City Administrator
Kenneth Johnson and Mayor John Bushko. Best of all, the bill will be
about $10,000 a third of what it would have cost to bid out the
project, Johnson said.
He indicated the money could come from the three pieces of Nanticokes
road equipment recently sold by council.
Sole bidder Orvals Towing Service got the 1992 Chevrolet half-ton
pickup truck for $210. A 1983 International dump truck went to Visnefski
for $400, the lowest of three bidders. A 1996 Case backhoe received
numerous offers, leading Johnson to remark, Everybody bid on the
backhoe. It was very popular. High bidder was Rinehimer Equipment
at $9,300.
In other business, council appointed Yvonne Bozinski to the recreation
commission, rounding out the nine-member board.
7/21/2007
Clay resigns from Nanticoke Housing Authority post
Citizens' Voice
Perry Clay, executive director of
the Nanticoke Housing Authority, has resigned, citing personal reasons.
Its just not the place for me, Clay said. Plus,
I got a really good offer.
He didnt elaborate.
Kenneth Johnson said although he has only been Nanticokes city
administrator for a short time, his experiences with Clay were very
positive and he regretted seeing him go.
He did a lot of good for the housing authority. We need to continue
to go in that direction, Johnson said.
The Nanticoke Housing Authority is a federal agency subject to regulations
of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is in charge
of the citys public housing: 268 elderly high rise apartments
and 149 low-income family apartments in five sites Park Towers,
Oplinger Towers, Nanticoke Towers, Nanticoke Terrace and Apollo Circle.
The authority also administers Nanticokes 51 Section 8 vouchers
for housing owned by private landlords. The authoritys most recent
project is a plan to convert the former Susquehanna Coal Co. office
at Market and Main streets into 11 apartments for moderate-income seniors.
7/20/2007
Nanticoke skateboarders make their point
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
A group of young Nanticoke skaters wanted to get the point across that
skateboarding isnt a crime.
To protest city officials intention of strengthening the skateboarding
ordinance by imposing bigger fines, they left a paper trail downtown
Thursday.
It was 17-year-old Mack Wydawskis idea to make hand-lettered signs
reading Skateboarding is not a crime. Fellow skateboarders
Tyler Woods, 16, and Billy Borowski, 20, helped make about two notebooks
worth more than 100, they estimate and fasten them to
trees and utility poles along Main and Market streets.
People put up garage sale signs and stuff. Its freedom of
speech, Borowski said.
Wydawski, Woods and Borowski, along with their friends Joe Bobbin, 16,
Todd Stefanski, 14, and Brad Swartwood, 16, consider skateboarding a
way of life.
Ive been doing it for eight years. I kind of take it seriously,
Borowski said.
They say it keeps them away from drugs and gets them active outside
instead of sitting inside playing video games. And it keeps them out
of trouble well, mostly.
The trouble is, theres nowhere to skate. Thursday evening, the
guys hung out around Greater Nanticoke Area High School for a while,
but school district officials dont like them skating there. Usually
they just wander, Wydawski said.
Borowski said in the past he and other skaters attended numerous council
meetings and gave petitions full of signatures to elected officials.
They said wait, so thats what weve been doing,
he said.
Nanticoke Redevelopment Authority and the South Valley Partnership are
finalizing a deal to create a skate park on Lower Broadway. It could
be ready by August.
Skaters are grateful theyll finally have a place to go, but resent
the idea of being fined for doing what they love.
Council voted to prepare and give input on the skateboarding ordinance
being created by city administrator Kenneth Johnson and police chief
James Cheshinski.
The current ordinance calls for a $5 fine and costs if skaters are caught
on sidewalks or streets downtown. The new ordinance could call for fines
ranging from $100 to a maximum of $1,000.
They are damaging the property in the downtown, and that is where
this is coming from, Johnson said. Id like to wait
until the skate park is built, but I am worried about people getting
hurt. We have liability issues. Its not that we dont like
skateboarders.
Mayor John Bushko said the ordinance needs a lot of work.
When I see the kids on Patriot Square skateboarding
I could
care less as long as theyre not interfering with anybody or knocking
people down. Theyre not ruining anything, he said.
Thats going to be a very, very tough ordinance to enforce.
Youre going to basically say you cant skateboard in the
whole town. And the kids are right: Its not illegal.
Members of the Nanticoke General Municipal Authority, which is responsible
for the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street, say skateboarders damage
the concrete entranceway to the office building.
Because the existing ordinance is so weak, authority members asked police
to charge skateboarders with trespassing, which carries a heavierpenalty:
a fine of $150 $270 including court costs. Woods and Wydawski
know that from experience. They were among the first to be cited, back
in January.
Parents just end up paying fines anyway, Bushko said. Community service
would be more meaningful, he believes.
7/20/2007
No-hitter propels Nanticoke ahead
The Times Leader staff
Thanks to some crafty pitching from
Hannah Rubasky, Nanticoke will be moving on in the Pennsylvania State
Eastern Softball Tournament.
Rubasky threw all six innings for a no-hitter in Thursdays opening
round 1-0 win over Lehigh, striking out nine batters in the effort.
It was a tight game, they (Lehigh) kept it really close.
said Nanticoke coach Bill Grabowski.
Sammy Gow scored the lone run for Nanticoke, reaching base on a lead-off
walk. Gow stole second and was knocked in on an RBI single by Heather
Perkowski.
Maggie Gola had the only other hit for Nanticoke in the contest, reaching
first base on a single.
Nanticoke advances to the second round of the tournament where it will
play the Section 7 winner, West Side, located near Philadelphia, at
5 p.m., today in Morrisville.
7/20/2007
Nanticoke, Plymouth Twp. work together to fix roads
slong@timesleader.com
The city of Nanticoke and Plymouth
Township across the Susquehanna River are both cash-strapped, Act 47-designated
communities, but working together, each has managed to accomplish what
they couldnt have done separately.
Several streets in Nanticoke were in desperate need of repair. City
Administrator Ken Johnson didnt want to bid the project out because
it could take months before the work could begin. Being a city short
on money, he also worried about cost.
Then he remembered Plymouth Township had recently paved several of their
roads using township equipment. In fact, by using its own employees
and equipment, the township saved about $280,000 to repair the roads
after last years flooding, said Ed Brennan, township street supervisor.
So the two Act 47 communities struck a deal. (Plymouth was declared
Act 47 in July 2004 and Nanticoke was named Act 47 in May 2006.)
Nanticoke streets were damaged after a severe rainstorm last month.
One area near Weis Market and Allied Services Rehabilitation demanded
immediate attention. Water fell so fast it overwhelmed a storm water
drain located behind the rehabilitation center before flowing under
Broadway and Arch streets and causing monstrous ripples
in the pavement, said Johnson.
In this case the manhole didnt pop, he said. The
water has to go somewhere. So it went underneath the pavement. It was
really broken up.
After digging out the L-shaped intersection, it was determined the manhole
and catch basin needed to be repaired, in addition to repaving the damaged
pavement. The new grate-manhole allows water to rise to the surface
in case the storm water drain is overwhelmed again.
Broadway and Arch streets reopened Thursday morning after the two-day
project was completed.
Nanticoke used asphalt provided by Plymouth Township for the project,
but will pick up the tab for it. The township also made available a
street paver, but rented a roller and street sweeper to complete the
job.
Actually when it is all said and done, this will not cost township
taxpayers anything, township Secretary/Treasurer Steven Gryzmski
said.
Johnson confirmed Nanticoke would pay for all expenses incurred by the
township, including renting equipment and payroll costs.
But by working with Plymouth Township, Nanticoke saved a tremendous
amount of money.
Total costs for the project will not be known until all invoices are
received, but it is being estimated at $10,000. The cost was at
least a third ofwhatit would normally be, Johnson said.
Brennan says he supports smaller communities forming a regional public
works department to get smaller local paving projects completed quicker
using shared equipment and employees while saving taxpayer money.
7/20/2007
Health trust: No premiums for August
Schools get one-month reprieve because of a $4 million surplus.
By Terrie Morgan-Beseckertmorgan@timesleader.com
School districts that remain in
the Northeast Pennsylvania School Districts Health Trust will not have
to pay premiums for August, saving the districts more than $3.3 million,
the trusts board of directors announced Wednesday.
Andrew Marko, executive director of the trust, said that figure is an
estimate based on the premiums the districts paid in May and June. The
premiums vary from month to month depending on usage, and the July figures
are not in yet, he said.
The trust was able to offer the one-month forgiveness of premiums thanks
to a $4 million surplus. The savings will be spread among eight school
districts, two vocational technical schools and the Luzerne Intermediate
Unit which still participate in the trust. It remained unclear whether
two districts that recently opted to leave the trust, Pittston Area
and Dallas, will receive any money back.
I really cant tell you. The lawyers are dealing with that,
Marko said.
The trust was formed in 1999 with the intent of lowering health care
costs. Several districts have become dissatisfied over the years, however.
The Greater Nanticoke Area and Northwest School districts want to join
Pittston and Dallas in pulling out of the trust, but they were prevented
from
doing so after the teachers unions at both schools filed a court challenge.
That case is now pending before a state appellate court.
The estimated savings for each district that remain in the trust are:
Hanover Area - $264,507.
Lake Lehman - $278,947.
Luzerne Intermediate Unit - $344,173
Greater Nanticoke Area - $218,615.
Northwest Area - $169,573.
Tunkhannock Area - $300,491.
West Side Area Vocational Technical School - $76,806.
Wilkes-Barre Area - $854,541.
Wilkes-Barre Vocational Technical School - $74,603.
Wyoming Area - $250,401.
Wyoming Valley West - $534,769.
7/19/2007
Health trust gives back $4 million surplus to member school districts
By bjarvis@citizensvoice.com
As the Northeast Pennsylvania School
Districts Health Trust voted Wednesday to use its surplus to give school
districts a month off from paying health insurance premiums, there was
no shortage of smiles in the room.
By granting a reserve credit forgiveness for August, the
health trusts 11 member districts will save more than $4 million,
board members said.
I jumped at the opportunity to save our taxpayers money this morning
and voted yes on the costs savings that were offered, said Northwest
Area teachers representative Gary Hasinus.
Phil Russo, of Wyoming Area, co-chair of the health trust, said the
board learned of the surplus as it approached budget season in June.
As a matter of policy, the health trust sets aside three months
worth of premiums in reserves, or about $12 million, for IBNR
claims that have been Incurred But Not Reported. The $4 million surplus
is in addition to the reserves.
Executive Director Andy Marko said 2007 marks the third year in a row
that member districts have received a credit forgiveness of about $4
million.
We think its a good thing. Obviously it will save the districts
a lot of money, Marko said. (In the last three years), the
numbers have remained constant.
Originally formed in 1999, the health trust was comprised of 13 schools
that banded together in an effort to fight rising costs from Blue Cross-Blue
Shield.
Dallas and Pittston Area dropped out of the trust earlier this year.
Attorneys for those districts have requested that part of the surplus
be set aside until it is decided whether Dallas and Pittston Area will
receive any of the funds.
Northwest Area and Greater Nanticoke Area had also voted to leave the
trust but were blocked in June by an injunction obtained by the teachers
union.
Pennsylvania State Education Association spokesman Paul Shemansky said
he hoped the credit forgiveness would help negotiations move forward
in districts without a contract, including Northwest Area, Greater Nanticoke
Area and Lake-Lehman. It was very good news today. When you can
save money, everybodys happy, he said.
7/19/2007
Nanticoke moving ahead with plans for skate park and tougher laws
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com
Theres bad news and good news
for skateboarders in Nanticoke.
Bad news first: City officials said Wednesday they want to toughen the
ordinance against skateboarding downtown, possibly with much higher
fines.
Now the good news: That skate park is definitely coming, probably in
August if everything goes as planned.
A lease for the land is the last obstacle to building the skate park,
the first phase of the South Valley Partnerships 134-acre regional
park on Lower Broadway. The land was consolidated from numerous separate
parcels into one, through the efforts of Plymouth Township attorney
Joseph Lach.
Nanticoke Redevelopment Authority members Hank Marks and Walter Sokolowski
have been working with authority solicitor Susan Maza on a long-term
agreement. The authority will likely be in charge of the land, and lease
it to the South Valley Partnership for $10 a year, Marks said.
The transaction will only be for the skate park for now, because the
authority doesnt want to hold it up any longer, Marks said. All
the authority needs is the deed and then work out the details, he said.
There is money and equipment to build the skate park, state Rep. John
Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, said. Im hoping if we can resolve
the land issues before the end of July, we can start work in August,
Yudichak said. This has been a long work in progress. I think
were finally on the horizon.
It would be just in time for skateboarders because council is preparing
to pass a stronger ordinance.
City Administrator Kenneth Johnson told council he is working with police
Chief James Cheshinski on a new ordinance for skateboards and in-line
skates.
They could be prohibited in the downtown business district or city-wide.
Skateboarders who trespass on private property could pay fines of $100
to $1,000, unless they have written permission to be there, Johnson
said.
I dont think people are against skateboarding per se, but
skateboarders are taking it one step further and damaging peoples
property, said city attorney William Finnegan.
Under the current ordinance, using a skateboard or skates on sidewalks
in a business district or on any street means a $5 fine plus costs.
Municipal authority members, tired of skateboarders damaging concrete
at the Kanjorski Center on East Main Street, asked to charge them with
trespassing, which carries a heftier fine.
Quite a few children got cited at the Kanjorski Center this week,
and I received 100 calls, Mayor John Bushko said.
7/19/2007
City to fine for false alarms
Nanticoke council adopts an ordinance to charge property owners for
responses.
slong@timesleader.com
Property owners with security alarms
will be fined fees starting July 28 if the police, fire department or
ambulance personnel respond to their residence or business for a false
alarm.
Council members adopted an ordinance during Wednesday nights council
meeting to charge property owners for false alarms. Councilman Bernie
Norieka was absent from the meeting, but previously had supported the
ordinance.
The first time a homeowners system signals a false alarm they
will be fined $10. Fees increase on a scale for a maximum of $50 on
the fourth false alarm response. Valid emergency alarms will not be
fined.
During a previous council meeting, Norieka suggested a fixed rate administrative
fee be added to cover the cost of mailing out the bill.
The previous alarm ordinance required property owners to pay an annual
$125 each July to register their system with the city.
It penalizes people that have systems that they take care of,
City Administrator Ken Johnson said. Under the new ordinance the registration
fee is waved.
Police Chief Jim Cheshinski likes the new ordinance. Before the 911
system was installed, burglary alarm systems were hooked up directly
to the police department, he said. Now the alarm companies call 911
directly when an alarm alerts.
Officers will be able to handle more true emergencies, he
said.
I do believe false alarms are an issue for every department.
From July 1, 2006, through June 30, Nanticoke officers responded to
57 alarms. Only two of those were valid alarm calls, according to police
records.
Mayor John Bushko announced Tom Walski asked to be replaced as the citys
representative on the PPL Advisory Board. Officials were considering
appointing Tom Wall, a zoning board member. If Wall is appointed to
the utility company advisory board, he might resign from the zoning
board. Council members decided to wait to appoint Wall until they find
a replacement for his seat on the zoning board.
Three surplus vehicles were sold to the highest bidders in each category.
A 1992 Chevrolet ? ton pickup was awarded to Orvels Towing for
$210. A 1983 International dump truck was awarded to Vishneski for $400.
A 1996 Case backhoe was awarded to Rinehimer Equipment for $9,300.
7/17/2007
Singing District 16 takes win
Nanticoke-Newport wins the championship, 7-0
tlsports@timesleader.com
Nanticoke celebrates their District
Five Championship over Carbino Club in Nanitcoke Monday evening.
(S. John Wilkin/The Times Leader)
For its pre-game warmups heading
into the championship, the Nanticoke-Newport softball team matched every
fly ball with a team chant, every simulated play with a song.
It was this routine that brought all of the District 16 champions
13 players sprawling to the turf just beyond their third base dugout
Monday evening, where they formed a circle and reminded Carbino Club,
the District 17 champion, of their superior experience and their victory
when the teams met just two days earlier.
In doing so, Nanticoke-Newport sang, Everywhere we go, people
wanna know
Six innings later, Nanticoke-Newport claimed the Section 5 championship
with a 7-0 victory as its reminder became a verdict.
For Carbino Club manager Joe Miraglia, Mondays game brought about
memories of the previous year, when he boasted a more experienced team
and won sectionals.
This year, however, Miraglias roster consisted of only four 12-year-olds
and eight 11-year-olds. Nanticoke-Newport had 11 12-year-olds with only
two 11-year-olds.
That disparity became blatantly obvious in the first inning when Carbino
Club committed the first of its six errors and pitcher Casey Pearce
surrendered the first run of the game when first baseman Hannah Rubasky
singled home Gabby Grabowski.
Meanwhile, Nanticoke-Newport pitcher Brooke Chapin pitched three perfect
innings.
I wasnt even aware of the perfect game, said Chapin.
I knew I just had to keep pitching hard.
Nanticoke-Newport took advantage of Carbino Clubs inexperience
in the third inning when the District 16 champion scored two of its
four unearned runs.
Carbino Clubs sole chance of shaving its deficit came in the fourth
inning, when center fielder Caroline Mancuso singled to center field
for her teams first hit. Third baseman Gina Chiefallo then reached
first base on a fielders choice only to be thrown out at third
base trying to advance on Sara Miraglias infield hit. Miraglias
pinch-runner, Ari Grabowski, was thrown out as well when she tried to
advance to third on catcher Anna McElroys single to center field.
In the top of the sixth, Nanticoke-Newports bats reignited for
four runs of insurance with a one-run double and a two-run double by
Sammy Gow and Gabby Grabowski, respectively.
Errors definitely played a key role since four runs scored on
errors, said Joe Miraglia.
Nanticoke-Newport will head to Morrisville as one of four teams competing
for the Eastern Pennsylvania championship starting Thursday, with the
winner advancing to the state championships in Milton.
7/15/2007
Nanticoke, Plymouth Township join economic forces
By eskrapits@citizensvoice.com,
Nanticoke officials, faced with
an emergency paving situation, worked out a deal with neighboring Plymouth
Township that could be the first of many cooperative efforts between
the two financially distressed municipalities.
Plymouth Townships road crew will pave part of Arch Street almost
to the rear of the Kanjorski Center, and an area around the Allied Services
parking lot on Market Street off Main Street, Nanticoke Administrator
Kenneth Johnson said. The lot contains a city-owned storm sewer that |