2/6/2026
Gerrity’s Ace Hardware store opening in Hanover Twp.; Goodwill relocating

A Gerrity’s Ace Hardware store will open in the Hanover Mall in Hanover Twp. in this location most recently occupied by Goodwill Industries, which is moving a few doors down.

(Bob Kalinowski / Staff Photographer)
bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

 

HANOVER TWP. — An Ace Hardware store is returning to the Hanover Mall along the Sans Souci Parkway.
A Gerrity’s Ace Hardware franchise is moving into a location most recently occupied by a Goodwill Industries thrift store, which is moving to another spot in the plaza.
The hardware store is tentatively scheduled to open on April 6, the day after Easter, with a grand opening celebration planned for later in the month.
“My favorite part of opening a new store is when we do the ribbon cutting. We do it hardware store-style. We get a two-by-four, paint it red, and cut it with a chainsaw,” said Joe Fasula, owner of Gerrity’s Ace Hardware.
A Gerrity’s Ace Hardware store will open in the Hanover Mall in Hanover Twp. in April. (Bob Kalinowski / Staff Photographer)
The Gerrity’s Ace Hardware will be the seventh franchise opened in the region by the Fasula family, which also owns and operates Gerrity’s Supermarkets in the area, including one in the Hanover Mall a few storefronts down from the proposed hardware store. Other Gerrity’s hardware stores in the area are located in Carbondale, Clarks Summit, Peckville, Scranton, Shavertown and West Pittston.
Gerrity’s first opened a supermarket in Hanover Twp. in 1997 in the nearby Dundee plaza, where Tractor Supply is now located. The company moved to its current location, a former Kmart, in the Hanover Mall in 2006.
“Ace Hardware is committed to providing home maintenance solutions, neighborly advice, and quality products to Hanover Twp, Nanticoke, South Wilkes-Barre, and the surrounding areas,” Fasula said. “We’ve been helping our neighbors keep their pantries full since we opened our supermarket in Dundee in 1997 and we’re excited to now have the opportunity to help them with the rest of their home.”
The 16,000-square-foot store will sell leading brand products, including Stihl, Weber, Benjamin Moore, Scotts, Milwaukee, Craftsman, Traeger and Big Green Egg.
An R&H Ace Hardware store operated in the Hanover Mall for several years before closing in January 2013.
The Goodwill store has occupied the location for years and is relocating to a long vacant store front once occupied by Weis Markets.
Gerrity’s Ace Hardware hosted a job fair on January 24 and is still hiring from some positions. The store will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Fasula said he tries when possible to locate the family’s hardware stores near the company’s supermarkets. Employees get a discount at both businesses, he noted
“It tends to work. There are synergies,” Fasula said.  “We cross-pollinate our employee discount.”

 

1/27/2026
Nanticoke pierogi shop closes
cdoyle@citizensvoice.com

A beloved Nanticoke pierogi shop is shutting its doors, but has pledged to continue honoring the Polish culture of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
NEPA’rogi announced in a series of Facebook posts over the last several days that it was closing shop. In a livestream posted to Facebook on Thursday and a written post Saturday, NEPA’rogi founder and owner Lauren Gorney reflected on the business’s history, the bonds it had cooked up with its customers, and her plans moving forward.
“NEPA’rogi is officially closed,” the business’s written post said. “This was not an easy decision, but it was the right one for now.”
Gorney helped found NEPA’rogi with family in 2021 after she had been laid off from her fundraising job due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Within several months of opening, NEPA’rogi saw demand for its traditionally made pierogi soar. Gorney and her family and friends began working at the shop on a full-time schedule, selling to other local restaurants, filling out single orders for hundreds of pierogi at a time, and establishing their presence and local festivals with a food truck. In 2024, NEPA’rogi held a grand opening for its new location on Market Street, replete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony from Nanticoke city officials and a “Polka in the Park” celebration.
The shop also used their growing success to champion important causes, launching a fundraiser in 2023 with the Cancer Wellness Center of NEPA to sell “PINK’rogi.”
NEPA’rogi, in its Facebook message posted Saturday, said it was proud to support their traditions and serve the “Slavic food that got our families through hard years and good years.” The written post compiled hundreds of sorrowful comments and around 1,000 like, love, and sad Facebook reactions, while the livestream had received 23,000 views.
“What started as a little kitchen project during a wild time turned into something I will always be proud of,” the NEPA’rogi written post said. “Together, we kept a piece of our heritage alive.”
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The post left open a possible future for NEPA’rogi in some form. After a respite, NEPA’rogi may consider other opportunities in the area, online, or through travel, in order to help continuing foster celebrations of their culture. Fans of NEPA’rogi were urged to leave their name and email at the link https://tinyurl.com/2pcjxdjk to learn about any updates for the business. Attached to the Facebook post was a link to the Vera Lynn song “We’ll Meet Again.”
“The shop has closed, but the culture we shared is not going anywhere,” the post said. “With love and gratitude, Dziękuję.”
 

1/26/2026

NEPA’rogi announces closure after nearly 5 years in Nanticoke

sallabaugh@timesleader.com

 

NEPA’rogi, a pierogi shop at 164 S. Market St., Nanticoke, is officially closed after nearly five years in business.

Owner Lauren Gorney made the announcement Saturday on the business’ Facebook page.

“This was not an easy decision, but it was the right one for now,” Gorney said in the post.

NEPA’rogi started as an in-house operation, then moved to a food truck, and grew from there. It moved to the Nanticoke location in 2024 and recently had a successful holiday season.

“What started as a little kitchen project during a wild time turned into something I will always be proud of,” Gorney said.

The decision comes after a reflection on whether the business meets its mission.

The shop opened to preserve and celebrate Polish culture. The owner hopes to explore this through other avenues.

“I do not know exactly what comes next, but I know the story is not finished,” Gorney said, unsure if it will be in NEPA, online, or elsewhere. “The shop has closed, but the culture we shared is not going anywhere.”

Gorney provided opportunities to stay in touch on the NEPA’rogi Facebook page, followed by a message of gratitude.

“Thank you for every order, every holiday pickup, every story about your Babcia or Ciocia, and for letting us carry our food heritage forward for a little while.”

 

1/16/2026
Joe Shimko formally hired as Nanticoke Area football coach
jerzar@timesleader.com

Nanticoke Area filled another head football coaching void Thursday night, although it was more of a formality.
Joe Shimko, a former assistant, was selected to run the program by the school board. The agenda had the appointment backdated to Dec. 3, 2025.
Shimko was one of about a half dozen applicants, according the athletic director Ken Bartuska. He has been with the football program since last month. He replaces Damon Saxon, who held the position for one year but wasn’t on Saxon’s staff.
Shimko is a 2014 graduate of Nanticoke Area where he was a lineman on the football team. He is not a member of the faculty but does some substitute teaching. 
•    Joe Shimko has been appointed as Nanticoke Area's football coach, backdated to December 2025.
•    Nanticoke Area football faced challenges, finishing 0-10 last season amid coaching changes.
•    Shimko, a 2014 alumnus, is tasked with stabilizing a tumultuous football program.

Shimko served as an assistant coach under Ron Bruza, who was the head coach from 2010-2023. He is also an assistant coach for the school’s boys and girls volleyball teams.
Nanticoke Area finished 0-10 this past season and was last in points scored with 70 and points allowed with 497 in the 12-team Wyoming Valley Conference.
Improving the on-field product will be just one task ahead. The program is in need of stability after Bruza stepped down after the 2023 season and the school appointed Scott Dennis as coach. Dennis, a Nanticoke Area graduate, brought head coaching experience from Holy Redeemer and Central Columbia.
But three days before the 2024 opener, Dennis died unexpectedly. The coach staff ran the team before Bruza returned on an interim basis. Saxon, a former standout at King’s College, was hired for 2025, but had his position opened shortly after the season concluded.
Shimko will be the 12th full-time head coach in a Nanticoke Area program that dates back to 1967. Tex Dargiewicz also served as head coach for one game during a teachers strike in 1982.
Three WVC football vacancies have been filled since the end of this past season and one remains.
Tunkhannock hired RJ Haas in December and Wyoming Valley West selected Brydon Rukstalis on Wednesday. Lake-Lehman still has an opening after Jerry Gilsky resigned after 16 years.

 

 

1/16/2026
HS FOOTBALL: Shimko named head coach at Nanticoke Area
sbennett@citizensvoice.com

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NANTICOKE — The way Joe Shimko sees it, he’s not taking over as Nanticoke Area’s football coach with his eyes toward the future.
In his mind, the future starts now.
Actually, it may have begun back in December when he was selected as the new head football coach.
Shimko’s hiring was not made official until the school board met Thursday night. But since early December, Shimko has been running two weight room sessions. The first is for student-athletes just getting out of school, and the second is later in the day for those who participate in a winter sport.
“I’m the fourth coach in three years,” Shimko said. “There has been a lot of mix there. It’s just about caring for the future of the district and the kids here.”
Longtime Nanticoke Area coach Ron Bruza retired after the 2023 season. The school board then turned to Scott Dennis to take over. Dennis died the week of the team’s first game in 2024. After two weeks, Bruza came back to take over the program for the remainder of the season.
Following the 2024 season, Bruza returned to retirement and the board hired Damon Saxon. The program finished last season 0-10 and the position was then opened up.
Shimko, a 2014 graduate of Nanticoke Area who played football under Bruza and eventually coached in the program, has a solid understanding of the current players.
“I have had most of them since they were in seventh grade,” Shimko said. “We have good talent and we need a good offseason. We need a good weight room — that is where it all starts. We have many young kids showing up every day. It’s something to build toward the future. I would like to come in and turn it around on the first day.”
Shimko began coaching football the year after he graduated. Along with coaching junior high, he also has experience as a varsity assistant coach. He was not with the program last year.
He inherits a relatively-young team that has experience. The Trojans will enter the season with all but one projected starter on the offensive line, and will lose only seven players to graduation.
“I’m excited to get in there and be there for the kids,” Shimko said. “As long as they leave the program better people, that is a success.”
 

1/7/2026

Nanticoke garbage bills delayed

 

The City of Nanticoke announced Tuesday that 2026 garbage bills will be delayed due to the transition of billing and collections ot Berkheimer Associates.

Bills will be mailed to residents Feb. 1 with a due date of March 4 if paid in the full amount of $395.

If the bill is paid in two installments, $207.50 is due March 4 and $207.50 is due July 4.

Delinquent accounts will be $456.50 plus the cost of collections by Berkheimer & Associates.