Go Lackawanna 10-30-2011

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2 GOLackawanna Sunday, October 30, 2011

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+(ISSN No. 0896-4084)USPS 499-710

Issue No. 2011-303

3 NEWSPage 3 Union reps claim mayor wont talk settlement

Page 5 DPW employees son used city trailer

Page 7 Balloon release starts Red Ribbon Week

Page 10 Simonsons escape charges advanced

12 ARTSPage 12 Homebrewers unite, plan Nov. 5 event

Page 14 Mystery at the Masonic set

Page 17 PHOTOS: OMalley Halloween party

20 SPORTSPage 20 Burkes championship plan pans out

Page 23 Lady Comets in district soccer final

Page 26 No mercy for losing football teams

Page 27 Local tennis teams out of state play

GO Lackawanna Editor

Christopher J. Hughes [email protected] ManagerPaul Andrews [email protected]/PhotographerRich Howells [email protected] RepresentativeKaren Fiscus [email protected]

Obituaries 558-0113

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JASON RIEDMILLERPHOTO / FOR GOLACKAWANNA

Scranton resi-

dent JohnathanHouck of Scran-ton was amongthose attendingthe annualOMalley Hallo-ween Party atMcDade Parklast week. PHO-TOS: Page 17.

When oneof SylvesterStallones movie characters were refer-enced out ofcontext last

week, I didntthinktoo muchofit.

Two references to the charac-ter, along with Saturdays Octo-ber snow, make me think thatrapture seeking Harold Camp-ing might not have been too faroff with his recent end of daysprediction.

Stallones iconic role as JohnRambo began in 1982 withFirst Blood where, if you askthe Internet Movie Database,he portrays a mentally unstable

Vietnam veteran.Of the two men apparently

seeking Sylvester over the lasttwo weeks, one is a bit more

likely in my book.Union Attorney Thomas Jen-

nings called Mayor Chris Do-herty Rambo for his one-man war against union arbitration,armed with Act 47 rather thanan AK-47.

Escaped prisoner Michael Si-monson allegedly told Lacka- wanna County detectives thatafter fleeing from the countyprisonon Sept. 28,hewould goRambo, hide inthe woodsfor a

few days, and head south of theborder.

Call me crazy, but the admit-ted murderer fits the action he-

ro stereotype a bit more thanthe mayor. The mayors runningrituals could puthim in a betterspot to flee from some MichaelBay-esque explosions, however.

Its so very oddfor such a spe-cific character from pop cultureto appear twice in the sameweek and in the same city.

Was there a weekend onSpike TV that no one told meabout?

Is 2008s rehashing of onemans battle against injusticethrough firearms being re-re-leased in 3-D with special bul-let time edits that takeviewerson a ride with each shellthroughthe innards of Burmeseinfantry soldiers who kidnapChristian aid workers?

Perhaps not, but I can practi-cally hear the late Don LaFon-taine narrating the trailer forthe film that pulls us all from fi-

nancial ruin.One man facing millions of

debt.Another facinglifein pris-on. Coincidence brought themtogether, but their adventurewill tear you apart.

I wonder if Stallone wouldstar in a film dedicated to themockery of his iconic titles.

Perhaps we could enlist thehelp of Rocky impersonatorMike Kunda,the West Scrantonnative and author who haschronicled his aim to becomethe heavyweight champion ofthe world, to change roles fortwo months of production.

A blockbuster film with theproceedsgoingto thecity isonefinancial solution I haventheard fromeither thelegislative

or executive arms of the city.Who knows if it could work?

Of course, Im joking.But only a little.

Stallone leaves unusual mark on cityCHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES wisheshe was Don LaFontaine. Email himat [email protected].

BEHIND THEBYLINESC H R I S T O P H E R J .H U G H E S

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Sunday, October 30, 2011 GOLackawanna 3

SCRANTON CityCouncil gavefinal approvalto a $3.2 million sub-mission for 2012 community plan-ningand development programstobe funded under the CommunityDevelopment Block Grant, HomeInvestment Partnership,and Emer-gency Solutions Grant programs

on Tuesday.Vice President Pat Rogan read a

list of councils agreed amend-mentsto the submission, includingsignificant increases to street pav-ing, blight removal, and other im-provement projects while remov-ing funding for arts and entertain-ment programs such as the Scran-ton Jazz Festival and First NightScranton.

Council said these amendments

were based on the immediateneeds of both the city and its resi-dents, who attended a public hear-ing last month to voice their oppo-sition to a proposed public park onthe site of the former Lincoln-Jack-son ElementarySchool amongoth-er funding allocations.

The line item for $350,000 totear down the empty facility andconstructa parkthat would includeplayground equipment, a pavilion,andgreen space was removed com-pletely from councils final submis-sion after residents told councilthat the park would only foster on-goingcrime issuesin theneighbor-hood.

They also felt that the parkwould be neglected as the nearbyFellows Park and Allen Park alleg-edly have been for years.

Council had to allow 30 days topass before final passage of the leg-islation.

One resident who lives directlyacross the street from the formerschool, Michael Passero, invitedneighbors and Councilman JackLoscombe to his home on Acade-my Street hours before the final

vote to discuss these continuingproblems.

Neighbors talked about increas-es in local gang activity andstringsof recent robberies in the formerlyquiet West Scranton neighbor-

hood, labeling it a war zone, aswell as citywide issues such as thecitys $6 million budget deficit andtaxes.

Council amends,passes federal

funding planByRICH HOWELLS

[email protected]

SCRANTON Council and

union representatives agreed

on one clear message during

Tuesdays meeting: Mayor ChrisDo-

herty mustfinally negotiate withthe

unions to avoid catastrophic con-

sequences, including major layoffs

and tax increases following a union

win regarding arbitration rights.

The 6-1 Pennsylvania Supreme Courtrulingon Oct. 19put to rest a decade-longbattlethat delayed millions ofdollarsin ar-bitrationawardsunder the PolicemenandFiremen CollectiveBargaining Act, or Act111, stating that the distressed municipal-itiesact, orAct 47,doesnotsupersede Act111.The cityis alreadyfacing an estimated$6 million budgetdeficit this year, amongother financial issues.

Everybodyssayingitsa win.Itsnot re-ally a win. All the Supreme Court did wasreaffirm our rights to collective bargain-ing, which weve said from day one since

this started. The problem is that this hasbeen retracted for so long that the dollaramount has swollen to huge numbers,E.B. Jermyn Lodge No. 2 of the FraternalOrder of Police President and ScrantonDetective Sgt. Bob Martin told council.

We want to help resolve this. Werenothere to bankrupt the city. Thats the lastthing we want to doWe didnt pick thisfight. Someone else picked this fight.

John Judge IV, secretaryof Internation-al Association of Fire Fighters Local 60,

concurred, saying thatthe unions haveal-ways extendedthe olivebranch tocity ad-ministration.

Whenthis Supreme Courtawardcamedown last week,noneof themembers thatI spoke toin mylocal said anythingaboutthe money. They were concerned,primar-ily, aboutwhatthis department isgoingtobe like after Mayor Doherty got through

with it knowing that they lost the courtcase. Inthatspiritof cooperation,we wantto come to the mayor and work thingsout, Judge explained.

Ata meeting with thePennsylvania De-partment of Economic and CommunityDevelopment and the Pennsylvania Econ-omy League on Monday, Judge said Busi-

nessAdministratorRyanMcGowanaskedthe mayor if he would be willing to nego-tiate incremental payments with theunions.

We were basically told no, Judge con-tinued. Weve alreadyheard fromhim. Hesaid, Absolutely not.

International Association of Fire Fight-ers Local 60 President and Scranton FireLt. Dave Gervasi added that he has heardthat Dohertys plan is to raise taxes up to100 percent, implement massive public

safety layoffs, and borrow money to paythebillallat once,whichhecalled unreal-istic. Council President Janet Evansagreed.

Themayor hasproclaimed, almostim-mediately, a significant tax increase andsignificant cutsin publicservices,and evi-dentially, his target once again is the po-lice and fire departments, and I dont be-lieve that is the proper way to approachthe situation, Evans said.

Councilman Frank Joyce said that theadministration currently estimates the

long-delayed settlement to be anywherefrom $6 to $10 million. Councilman Pat

Administration plan to cut workers, raise taxes likely to stick

RICHHOWELLSPHOTO/ FORGO LACKAWANNA

IAFF Local 60 Secretary John Judge said unions were told Mayor Chris Doherty would absolutely not meet to discuss last

weeks Supreme Court ruling worth millions of dollars for city police and fire department employees.

Unions: Doherty wont negotiateBy CHRISTOPHER [email protected]

See COUNCIL, Page11

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WILKES-BARRE -

A federal judge

postponed the

sentencing of former Lacka-

wanna County Commission-

ers Robert Cordaro and A.J.

Munchak on Thursday, cit-ingCordaros newlegal coun-

sel as the basis for the delay.

U.S. District Judge A. Ri-

chard Caputo announced

his decision after 40 min-

utes of in-chamber discus-

sions held Thursday after-

noon that was expected to

discuss leniency sought inthe sentencing originally

set for Monday, Oct. 31.

Cordarodid notname thenewcounsel that will represent himin his sentencing and appeal.

It was a decision that I madewith Atty. (William) Costopou-los, and I think the judge veryfairly gave new counsel the op-portunity to do what they needtodo,Cordaro said onthe stepsof the Max Rosenn UnitedStates Courthouse Thursday af-

ternoon.Caputo said Cordaros new

counsel hasuntilNov. 3 to enteran appearance. If they fail to doso, sentencing for both men ismoved to Nov. 14.

If counsel does appear, theywill have 60 days from that dateto file supplemental objectionsto a presentence investigationreport dated Sept. 20.

Prosecutors will have 14 days

to respond, and sentencing willbe heldsevendays later, pushingthe sentencing for the corruptcommissioners as far back as

mid-January.Because Munchak was tried

jointly with Cordaro, his sen-tencing will also be postponed,Caputo said.

Guilty verdicts on 18 of 33counts against Cordaro andeight of 21counts against Mun-chak were handeddownon June21 after less than eight hours of

deliberation.The decision followed an 11-day trial that outlined how thetwo former Republican countyleaders used their positions toarrange personal payments inexchange for lucrative countycontracts, at times using a WestScranton funeral home directorasa so-called bagman todeliv-er cash-stuffed envelopes.

One such arrangement even-tually led to the loss of morethan$900,000in federal fundingfor the construction of an inter-modal transportation center in

downtown Scranton after a bid-ding process was violated.

In motions filed Wednesday,Munchaks attorney, Chris Po-

well, cited a lifetime of commu-nity service including the dona-tion of more than 22 gallons ofbloodas part ofthe basisforleni-ency in his sentencing.

Courts have recognized ex-

ceptional charitable, civic andcommunityservice asa basisfordownward departure, Powell

wrote in one of the three mo-tions filed Oct. 26.

While Cordaro admitted Thursdays decision delays theinevitable, he said it does so forgood reason.

Its a day of reckoning thatscoming. I didnt really have anyreasonto wantto delay itjusttodelay it, Cordaro said. I just

want the best opportunity topresent our case both for sen-tencing and appeal.

I think the judge very fairly gave new counsel the opportunity to do what they need to do.Robert Cordaro, convicted county commissioner on sentencing delay, possibly until January 2012.

JASONRIEDMILLERPHOTO / FORGO LACKAWANNA

Former Lackawanna County Comissioner Robert Cordaro discusses his impending sentencing outside the Max Rosenn U.S. Cour-

thouse on Thursday..

New Cordaro counsel delays sentencingBy CHRISTOPHER J. [email protected]

SCRANTON The Leagueof WomenVotersof Lackawan-na County hosted a ScrantonCityCouncil candidatedebateon Thursday evening, givingthe three candidates one finalpublic forum to express their

viewsto votersbeforethe Nov.

8 election.Moderated by LWV board

member Jean Harris and heldin the Moskovitz Auditoriumin the DeNaples Center at theUniversity of Scranton, thehour-and-a-half debate was re-corded by Electric CityTelevi-sion to be shown on ComcastChannel 19as well asonline at

www.lwvlackawanna.org.Each candidate was given

time to introduce themselvesand their respective platformsbefore discussing issues suchasthecityscurrentbudgetdef-icit, union negotiations, themedia and transparency, pub-lic safety, and the state take-overof Harrisburg.

Eachcandidatewithhisplat-formislistedalphabetically,bylastname:

Jack Loscombe, who islisted on both the Democratic

andRepublicantickets,wasap-pointed to council to fill a va-cancy inJanuaryof2010.Sincethen,hesaidhehasbeenlisten-ing to the needs of city resi-dents carefully wherever hegoes and pledged to continue

working for the citizens ofScranton. As a retired fire cap-tain, he feels his past workex-periencehasgiven himinsightinto the citys public safety is-sues.

Bob McGoff, a Democratwho has served on council forover five years, said his goal isto help city legislators and ad-ministration work past theirpolitical and personalagendasto find common ground and

work togethertowardsthebet-terment ofthe city. Asa retiredteacher and the councilman

with the most experience, hefeelsthathehaslearnedtodeal

with a wide variety of people,each with their ownideas and

Councilcandidates

offer plansBy RICH HOWELLS

[email protected]

See DEBATE, Page 8

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SCRANTON The son of a

23-year employee of the citys

Department of Public Works

used a city-owned vehicle in a

commercial drivers license test

last month.

Don Richardson, hired in

April 1988, drove the citysflatbed trailer to the Penn-

DOT Photo and Exam Center,

81 Keystone Industrial Park,

Dunmore, to allow his son,

Donny, to apply for his CDL

License, according to a letter

from City Controller Roseann

Novembrino to City Council

dated Oct. 11 and a phone in-

terview with DPW Director

Jeff Brazil.

According to Novembrinosletter, Donny Richardson took

the test with a Class A vehicle

registered to the city of Scran-

ton on Sept. 20.

Brazil said Friday that he au-

thorized the use of city equip-

ment because he respects the

work his employees complete.

Its rare,Brazil saidof there-

quest to use city equipment.

I authorized it because the

father, the employee, is one ofthose guys who, when Im in

the middle of a snowstorm

and everybodys going home,

hes the guy that who asks,

Do you need me for a few

more hours? These guys give

me their all.

The equipment was used

when Mr. Richardson was off

the clock, according to Bra-

zil.

The use of DPWequipmentfor private matters follows

the termination earlier this

year of Scranton Sewer Au-

thority employee Paul Lu-

dovici for the alleged use of

authority equipment to re-

move dirt at a West Scranton

home.

Ludovici was allegedly hired

as a private contractor and giv-

en permission to usecityequip-

ment by a supervisor whose

identity could not be con-

firmed.

City equipmentused in drivers

license testingBy CHRISTOPHER [email protected]

SCRANTON - The 7-year-old boy whose parents arecharged with locking him in acoffin in a now-condemnedGreen Ridge home sat on thestand Monday amid severalhours of testimony. The young man alleged severaltimes that his stepfather,Brian Sleboda, locked me inthe basement with lots of

scary stuff including on thenight of Sept. 26 when hiscries prompted neighbors tocall police.

The first grade studentsaid he was placed in a chairinthe basement once andwasable to open a door into thekitchen of the Raines Streethome where he also livedwith his mother, Lori Gardn-er.

When Sleboda found theboy, he allegedly sent himback to the basement and puthim in a homemade, plywoodcoffin that was surroundedby fake vampires and skele-tons.

The second time, they

locked it, he said, barelyable to see over the top edgeof the witness stand. I wascrying a lot down there. I

wanted to come back up, andI was crying very loud.

After opening the coffin,the boy discovered the doorto the kitch en w as n owlocked. He then struggled toopen a locked door leading tothe backyard.

He had a difficult timecracking the code, Scran-ton Ptlw. Melissa Forsettetestified, adding that he hadbeen placed in the basementsix times prior to Sept. 26.When he was down there be-fore, he had tried to open thelock. He said, God told mehow to crack the code.

The boytestified that whenhe got outside the basement,

he was embarrassed to enterthe yard because he was bare-foot and wearing a diaper with no pants. Neighbors

who heard his cries from adoorway leading into theyard called police.

When Forsette arrivedshortly after Ptlm. JasonK no ch, t he yo un g m anhugged her and asked, Areyou here to help me?

Later, the boy asked if offi-cers knew what street they were on. Officers told himthey knew he lived on RainesStreet, and he pointed to thenumbers on his mailbox sothey could find him if he wereever hurt again.

Idontwant mymomto goto jail, but I dont want her tohurt me anymore, the boy al-legedly told Forsette.

According to testimonyfrom Scranton DetectiveVince Uher, Gardner told himin an interview after she andSleboda surrendered to po-lice that she put her son onthe top step of the basementstairs for letting his 1-year-old brother out of his play-pen, closing but not lockingthe door behind her.

Uher said the home wascondemned based solely on

the conditions of the base-ment where the boy was sentfor punishment, which alleg-edly had raw sewage flowingout of a non-working toilet,charred beams visible abovemissing ceiling tiles showingsigns of a prior fire, and ex-posed wires.

Charges against both Sle-boda, 32, and Gardner, 26, ofendangering the welfare ofchildren and unlawful re-straint were held for countycourt after the Oct. 24 pre-liminary hearing before Ma-gisterial District Judge AliceHailstone Farrell.

The boy is currently in fos-ter care.

Charges forwarded in bizarre abuse caseBy CHRISTOPHER [email protected]

Gardner Sleboda

He said, God told mehow to crack the code.

Scranton Ptlw. Melissa Forsette

On how a 7-year-old boy said he

was able to open a door leading to

his backyard from his basement.

PITTSTON TWP. For 65 years, theWilkes-Barre/Scranton International Air-porthas beenled bya boardthats madeupof the three county commissioners fromthe neighboring counties of Lackawannaand Luzerne.

But that could change soon, and for thebetter, in the opinion of one present boardmember.

I think weve waited a long time forthisday, said Lackawanna County Commis-sioner Mike Washo. He said the time hascometo have board members making deci-sions based on whats best for the airport,not the two counties.

Were talking about whats good for Lu-zerneCounty; whats good for LackawannaCounty. Hopefully, theday will comewhenthe discussion is about whats good for theairport.

The airports Bi-County Board of Com-

missioners voted Tuesdayto moveforward with a process that would dissolve theboard andreplace it with an airport author-ity. Before that happens, much needs to be

decided.Forming theauthorityseems to have the

supportof thecommissioners ineach coun-ty, as allfive of thempresentvotedto directsolicitor John OBrien to proceed with theprocess for drafting articles of incorpora-tionand informing theFederalAviationAd-ministration and Pennsylvania Depart-ment of Transportation of their plans. Lu-zerne CountyCommissioner Marianne Pe-trilla was not present.

Other matters are not as clear.In addition to whether to form the au-

thority, the commissioners in each county

must determine how many members willserve on the authority, how many yearsthey will serve, and what qualificationsthey should have.

Public hearings in each county will beheld in late November or early Decemberso commissioners can get feedback on theplan. Each countys commissioners willthen meet separatelyto voteon resolutionscreating the authority and approving thearticles of incorporation.

If bothboards of commissioners approvetheresolutions,theywillappoint thenewlycreated authoritysinitial members as earlyas December.

OBrien saidhe is leaningtoward recom-mending the authority makeup be thesame as the current Bi-County Board with three representativesfrom eachcoun-ty. Though county commissioners wouldappoint the first authority members, thesoon-to-be-seated Luzerne CountyCouncilwould be responsible for that task startingin January.

Lackawanna County Commissionerswould continue to make appointments inthe future.

Washo said he is glad to be involved insecuring the airports future.Airport Director Barry Centini said he

wouldsupportthe change, if it were made.

ByANDREWM. SEDER

[email protected] talking about whats good for

Luzerne County; whats good for

Lackawanna County. Hopefully, the

day will come when the discussion is

about whats good for the airport.

Lackawanna County Commissioner Mike Washo

Changing who runs WBS airport may fly

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Mom offers thanks to Rep.

MurphyRepresentative Kevin Murphy,D-Scranton, is the primesponsor for Zacharys Law(HB 601). The Bill creates amandatory minimum sen-tence of 13 years for personsconvicted of third degreemurder of a child.I wanted to express my sin-cere gratitude for Rep. Mur-phys hard work and dedi-cation to this Bill.Zacharys Law was passedunanimously in the Penn-sylvania House JudiciaryCommittee on October 25.One year ago, Rep. Murphywas approached with thisproposal for change and, fromthat first meeting, Rep. Mur-phy committed himself andhis wonderful staff to thecause.Zacharys Law is named inhonor of my son Zachary, whowas murdered at the hand ofa child abuser when he was 14months old. The year thatfollowed my sons death waseye opening. I assumed that ifyou murdered a child, you gota lengthy sentence.However, third degree murderin Pennsylvania carries aminimum sentence of as littleas six years in jail.A child is innocent. Theydepend on adults to love andcare for them. Murder of achild is the most heinouscrime I can think of. It certain-ly warrants a sentence ofhigher than six years.HB 601 will change the land-scape of Pennsylvania andhow those who murder chil-dren are punished. Rep. Mur-phy not only stood up for thememory of my child but alsofor every child across thecommonwealth by supportinga new mandatory minimumsentence.I look forward to the journeyour bill will continue to traveland the continued support ofRep. Murphy.Sincerely,Christine McLaughlinFormer Dickson City resi-dent

LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR

TMG Health broke groundon its future National Oper-ations Center in the ValleyView Business Park on Fri-day, Oct. 21. The facility willbe a three-story, 150,000square foot building with theopportunity to expand to210,000 square feet, andhousing for up to 1,500 local

employees. Construction isexpected to be complete inthe third quarter of 2012 byVerus Partners.

The growt h of TMGHealth allows our companyto continue its economiccommitment to NortheasternPennsylvania by offeringquality job opportunities to

the local community, saidJack Tigue, president andfounder of TMG Health. Theconstruction of our new Na-tional Operations Center is atribute to our dedicated em-ployees, especially our North-eastern Pennsylvania employ-ees, who have contributed toboth the success and growth

of our company. TMG serves health plans

across the nation in the Medi-care Advantage, Part D andManaged Medicaid Markets.Headquartered in King ofPrussia, the company cur-rently has locations in Dun-more; Scranton; and Amaril-lo, Texas.

COURTESY PHOTO / SLIBCO AND MICHAEL STRAUB

Shown are, from left, Steve Yokimishin, Governors Action Team; Jim Watson and Steve Rock, TMG; State Sen. John Blake; Jim Ka-

dela, chair of TMG Healths Board of Directors; Jack Tigue, TMG; Austin Burke, Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce; Lackawan-

na County Commissioners Corey OBrien and Michael Washo; Harry Forbes, regional office director of the Governors Northeast

Regional Office; and Pat Acker, chair of SLIBCOs Board of Directors.

TMG breaks ground for center

Shine A Light on LungCancer vigil, Tues.,Nov.1, LatourRoom of Marywood University. Event isfree, registration requested at www.lungcancer-alliance.org/shinealightonlungcancer. Info: KarenArscott, (570) 348-6211, ext.2175.27th annual sportsmens banquet, Wed., Nov.2, 6 p.m., Innof theAbingtons, Route524, Dal-ton.Cost: Membershipand dinner, $50;familymembershipandtwo dinners, $90and$25 foreach additional. Proceedsused to restoreandprotect grouse and woodcock habitat throughRuffed Grouse Society.Info: (570) 983-9918,

www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.Habitatfor Humanity silent auction and beer

tasting, Thurs., Nov. 3, 5:30-8:30 p.m.,POSH

at theScrantonClub,404 N. Washington Ave.,Scranton.Cost: $40. Info:[email protected] fair, hostedby PARep.KenSmith,Thurs., Nov. 3,10 a.m.-2 p.m., North PoconoSeniorCenter, 12 JohnJ. Michaels Dr., Coving-ton Township. Info: (570) 342-2710.Celebritybartendingeventto aidthe Boysand Girls Clubs of NEPA, Fri.,Nov. 4,5-7 p.m.,Whiskey Dicks, 308 N. WashingtonAve., Scran-ton.Cost: $10.EastMeets West, UnitedCultures Lead-ership Institute speakerseries, Fri., Nov. 4,6-9 p.m.,VintageTheater, 119 PennAve.,Scran-ton.Benefit fora Friend, Sat.,Nov.5, 5-10 p.m.,DanteLiterarySociety, 1916 Prospect Ave.,

Scranton.Cost: $10. Proceeds benefit the chil-

drenof late West ScrantonresidentMichaelDuffy.Info: GaryFord at (570) 840-2596, JayRoche at (570) 241-3921.Cheersto Hope, Pancreatic CancerActionNetwork fundraiser, Sat.,Nov.5, 6-10 p.m.,ClarionHotel, 300 Meadow Ave.,Scranton.Cost: $25. Info: [email protected] forSight, benefit for3-year-old JakePaff, Sat.,Nov.5, 8 p.m.-midnight, Mollys CozyCorner, 1324 Prospect Ave., Scranton.Info:(570) 344-9981.Neighborhoodmeeting, Sat., Nov. 5,2-5 p.m.,St. Patricks Church lower meeting room, 1403Jackson St., Scranton.Info: (570) 878-7368.NEPA Blogger meet-up, Sun.,Nov.6, 6-11p.m.,Metro Bar and Grill,1174 Memorial Highway,Dallas. Info: http://nepablogs.blogspot.com.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

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Arguments heard in politicalfiring suit

WILKES-BARRE U.S.

District Judge A. RichardCaputo heard arguments fromAtty. James Scanlon, repre-senting the city of Scranton,and Atty. Johanna Gelb, repre-senting Leo DAngelo, thecitys former director of com-munity planning at the Officeof Economic and CommunityDevelopment.

DAngelo alleged in a May 12suit that he was cut from the

citys budget, amended andapproved by City Council,because of his political supportfor Mayor Chris Doherty.

Wednesdays hearing fol-lowed a July motion to dismissthe suit from the city on thegrounds of legislative immuni-ty. Gelb argued in an Augustresponse that is not immunefrom suit and did not claim tobe in its motion, arguing in-

stead on behalf of City Coun-cil, who is not named in thesuit.

- CHRISTOPHER J.HUGHES / GO LACKAWAN-NA

Sno Mountain at least $4.6million in debt

SCRANTON Sno Moun-tain, the Philadelphia-basedcompany that bought the

ever-struggling MontageMountain ski resort from Lack-awanna County in 2006, hassome serious struggles of itsown to the tune of at least$4.6 million in outstandingdebt.

State Department of Com-munity and Economic Devel-opment spokeswoman TheresaElliott said the company hasnot made a monthly paymenton a $5 million loan sinceSept. 23, 2010. Prior to that,Sno Mountain had made 15monthly payments, thoughsome of those were partial.

The amount due each monthshould be $70,670, Elliottsaid.

Sno Mountain LLC boughtMontage Mountain for $5.1million, promising to turn itinto a year-round recreationcenter through a $14 millioninfusion, with $8 million ear-marked for addition of a waterpark. The company applied for

the DCED money through itsFirst Industries and Machinesfund. The fund is gearedtoward improving tourism inthe state.

Elliott said the loan was for

seven years at 5 percent in-terest, and that DCED isdiscussing the lack of pay-ments with Sno Mountain.We have been in contact

with the company and areworking with them to makethe loan balance current.

The resort struggled sinceit opened in 1984. It was oneof the first developments in

what has become a booming

business region around theMontage exit of Interstate 81.

A call seeking commentfrom Sno Mountain was notreturned Thursday. The re-sorts website gives the ap-pearance of business as usual,listing job openings, offeringa season pass sale, and ad-

vertising a Nov. 5 job fair.- MARK GUYDISH / THE

TIMES LEADER

Lackawannacommissioners cancel lastmeeting before election

SCRANTON The Lacka-wanna County Commission-ers meeting scheduled for

Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 10 a.m.was cancelled due to a then-pending court decision on themeetings lone agenda item the borrowing of $20.5 mil-

lion, which was approved justhours later.The judge hasnt ruled on

that yet, so the chief of staff(Maria Elkins) recommendedthat we cancel the meeting,County CommunicationsDirector Lynne Shedlock saidat about12:30 p.m. on

Wednesday.Visiting Senior Judge Peter

J. OBrien approved the bor-rowing in a decision releasedat 1:21p.m. on Wednesday,ruling that curtail of publicservices would be dangerousto the public health, safetyand education.

The Lackawanna CountyStadium Authority meeting

was also cancelled onWednesday due to a lack of aquorum.

The next commissionersmeeting is set for Wednesda,Nov. 9.

GO LACKAWANNASTAFF

NEWS BRIEFSFOUR HUNDRED RED BALLONS GO BY

SCRANTON Nearly 400 students at John G. Whittier Elementary School in SouthScranton released red balloons Monday morning to celebrate the beginning of RedRibbon Week, which encourages young people to lead drug-free lives.

Mondays balloon launch also marked 10 years in the collaborative, innovative way toshare the drug-free message with students between Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty andWhittier Principal Ann McDonough, former principal of the now closed Lincoln-JacksonElementary School.Small tags were attached to the balloons seeking responses from people who find themacross the country. Last years balloons garnered letters back from New York, Vermont,New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, according to Whittier PTA President Melissa Ecken-rode.Local leaders including Doherty, Superintendent William King, Pennsylvania State PoliceTrooper Frank Orlando, and Scranton Police Lt. Len Namiotka encouraged students tonot only stay away from drugs but also to be lifelong learners.- CHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES

Riverside tudents recognized forElectric ArtRiverside High School seniorsRainy Pritchett, Jessica Davis andSean Ritter recently participated inthe Electric Art project for theirsenior projects. The students trans-formed utility boxes into perma-

nent art installations throughoutdowntown Scranton.

TCMC sets Turkey TrotOn Saturday, November 19, TheCommonwealth Medical CollegesMD Class of 2014 will host thesecond annual Turkey Trot: 5KWalk/Run in downtown Scranton.The event will also feature a TotTrot for children age 13 and under.Proceeds of the students commu-nity fundraiser will benefit Friends

of the Poor annual Thanksgivingcommunity dinner.Check in begins at 7:30 a.m. in themain lobby of the Medical Sciences

Building, 525 Pine St., Scranton.The Tot Trot steps off at 8:30 a.m.and the 5K Walk/Run begins at 9a.m.. T-shirts will be provided tothe first 100 pre-registered partici-pants.Race day registration fee is $20for ages 14 and above, or partici-pants can pre-register online for$15. Registration for the Tot Trot is$5 or two canned goods to bedonated to the food drive.

Scranton among top producersof Fulbright studentsThe University of Scranton hasplaced second among MastersInstitutions in the nation forproducing Fulbright scholarshipsfor students in 2011-12, accordingto a ranking published by TheChronicle of Higher Educationonline on Oct. 23.Scranton is one of just six Jesuituniversities to be cited. Universi-ties listed are broken into four

categories based on their schooltype as designated by the Carne-gie Classification of Institutions ofHigher Education. The University

of Scranton is second among 20masters level institutions rec-ognized.Scrantons 2011-12 Fulbright schol-ars are Rebecca Bartley, James-burg, N.J., Fulbright EnglishTeaching Assistantship to Malay-sia; Melissa C. Beltz, Eagleville,Fulbright/Pdagogischer Aus-tauschdienst English TeachingAssistantship to Germany; KaitlynL. Doremus, Tobyhanna, Ful-bright/Pdagogischer Austausch-

dienst English Teaching Assist-antship to Germany; Philip J.Kachmar, Kingston, FulbrightScholarship to the University ofBritish Columbia in Vancouver,Canada; and Aileen M. Monks,Bellmore, N.Y., Fulbright-NehruEnglish Teaching Assistantship toIndia; and Gian Peter Vergnetti,Brooklyn, N.Y., a Fulbright to theMasdar Institute of Science andTechnology, Masdar City, AbuDhabi, United Arab Emirates.A total of 134 University of Scran-

ton students have received grantsin the competitions administeredby the Institute of InternationalEducation since 1972.

SCHOOL NOTES

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SCRANTON A visiting senior judgeruled Wednesday that Lackawanna Coun-tycan borrow upto $21million tocover itsunfunded debt through the end of 2011.

In his findings of fact filed Oct. 26, vis-iting Senior Judge Peter J. OBrien wrotethat ingovernment, asin life, hindsightisalways 20/20 but reality provides surpris-esto oneandall. TheCountyof Lackawan-na has plenty of company in governmentbodies surprised by the current economic

climate in the country.The plan to borrow up to $21 million

was suggested in Septemberby a financialadvisoryboard,and an evidentiary hearing

was held Oct. 19.During thathearing,LackawannaCoun-

ty Chief Financial Officer Tom Durkinwarned that the countys inability to bor-rowthe moneywouldresultin paylesspay-days and that defaults on tax anticipationnote payments would negatively impactthe countys finances.

Curtail of public services would be dan-

gerousto the public health, safety andedu-cation, and it is not feasible nor in thepublic interest to levy additional taxes inthe current fiscal year, OBrien wrote.

Durkin said shortfalls were caused bylossesincluding butnot limited to thelossof federal inmates in the LackawannaCounty Prison for which the federal gov-ernment wasexpected to paymore than$3million and a SWAP termination intendedto fix a variable interest rate on a bond is-sue that cost the county another $10 mil-lion.

County borrowing plan approvedBy CHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES

[email protected]

JOBSGROUP: BARLETTALIAR, PINOCCHIO

CHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES PHOTO

SCRANTON Taking issue with a town hall meeting held in Hazleton on Oct. 17,members of the NEPA Needs Jobs Coalition picketed against U.S. Rep. LouBarletta, R-Hazleton, on Oct. 25 on Courthouse Square in Scranton.

We were quite shocked with the amount of lies Lou told at that meeting, Wilkes-Barre resident and jobs coalition member AJ Marin said Tuesday, standing next to acardboard cutout of the representative.The forum in Hazleton started out orderly and remained that way until about 30minutes into the event, when some audience members began shouting out as Bar-letta was responding to questions from constituents, according to reports from The

Times Leader.According to Marin, Barletta made false claims about the loss of $500 million fromMedicare caused by the Healthcare Reform Act. He also said that the Ryan budgetwould not cut funding to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.Marin questioned Barlettas support of certain free trade agreements, claiming theywould cost more than 150,000 American jobs.We have to ask, who is Lou Barletta representing? Is he representing the corpora-tions, or is he representing people in Scranton faced with economic hardships? hesaid.We want the people of Scranton and the people throughout the 11th CongressionalDistrict to know that Lou Barletta is a liar, and its time to call him out for being Pi-

nocchio, Marin added, before adding a prosthetic nose to the cutout of the con-gressman.- CHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES / GO LACKAWANNA

Dunmores ElmhurstBoule-vard will receive emergencypatching this week in an at-tempt to protect residents un-tilmore extensiveworkcan bedone, borough officials an-

nounced at thispast Mondayscouncil meeting.

Civil Design Partners ofMoscow recently inspectedthe boulevard and found thatthere were significant pot-holes, some larger than sixinches deep. They also ob-served motorists veering intothe oncoming lane to avoidthe potholes, potentially put-ting residents and pedestri-ans at risk, according to bor-ough solicitor Thomas Cum-mings.

The roads major problem isthe storm water on its south-erly side and, until this is ad-dressed, the road will contin-ue to deteriorate.

The long-term resolutionfor the problem is quite ex-pensive andwilltakea certainamount of time, but at leastthis will help the people into

the winter months, Cum-mings said.Redoing the road and storm

water system on ElmhurstBoulevard could be a multi-million dollar project, some-thingthat the borough cannotfinance without help from thecounty, state, and federal gov-ernments.

We need to do somethingup there to protect the peopleasmuchas wecan,saidcoun-

cil president S al Verrastro.In other news: Joseph Germano was ap-

pointed school crossingguardfor the Dunmore School Dis-trict by a unanimous vote.

The boroughs CableFranchise Agreement was ap-proved for an additional 10

years with no additional im-pact on the public.

Officials voted unani-mously to declare Novemberas NationalPancreatic CancerAwareness Month in Dun-more.

Emergencypatching setin DunmoreBy STEPHANIE LONGO

For Go Lackawanna

issues, andbuild consensus. Lee Morgan, the lone Re-

publican candidate, said he isrunning for council because hehas been attending councilmeetings for over 20 years andfeels that each elected body hasbeen ineffective in solving thecitys debt issues and have notbeen listening to the needs ofthepeople.Hebelievesthatpol-iticshaveplayedtoo largea rolein city government and that hehaslearnedfromthemistakesofpastcouncilshe hasobserved.

Issues involving the citys fi-nancial situation were the sub-

ject of manyquestions.

To prevent future budget def-icits, Morgan said that councilmust go through budgets lineitem by line item and find out

where the money is going andmakecutsacrosstheboardcuts.He is against borrowing moremoney.

Loscombe feels that toomuch has been cut from basiccityservicesandthefederalgov-ernment cannot be relied onanymore for bailouts. Both he

and McGoff support new reve-nuesources, suchas commuter,amusement,andpayrolltaxes;abetter parking meter system;and a stronger rental registra-tion program.

Morgan feels a lack of em-ploymentandbusinessdevelop-mentin the city, aswell ashightaxes, has driven citizens awayandsuggestedthe implementa-tion of a comprehensive plansuchas theScranton-AbingtonsPlanning Association Compre-hensive Plan, a plan whichMcGoff alsosupports.

DEBATEContinued from page 4

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GOLACKAWANNA, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2011 PAGE 9

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SCRANTON Mi-

c ha el S im on son

worked the day be-

fore his brief escape from

the Lackawanna CountyPrison last month to get

things in order, according

to testimony from a pre-

liminary hearing on Mon-

day, Oct. 24.

Lackawanna County PrisonIntelligence Capt. Robert Ma-guire said they learned in aninterview after the escape

that Simonson had used afour-inch steel shank that hesmuggled into the prison ear-lier that month to cut open asection of chain link fenceover the top of a personal rec-reation yard, or dog pen, onSept. 27.

The next day, LackawannaCounty Detective Chris Kol-charno said, he smuggled atightly braided brown bedsheet that he prepared thenight before into the pen in-side his pants, climbed onechain link fence, covered aportion of razor wire above asecond fence with the sheet,and stepped onto a steel poleto leap over the prison walland onto the roof of the neigh-boring Medical Mall on

Wyoming Avenue.Simonson later encoun-

tered Pennsylvania American

Wa te r e mp loye e DaveHughes, who testified thatthe escapee knocked on the

window of his work vehicleasking for directions to RiverStreet.

As the utility worker lookedup directions on his iPhone,Simonson told him to hurryup and explained that he justescaped from the prison.

I thought he was jokingaround, Hughes said.

When Simonson asked forhis van, Hughes told him no

and waspunched inthe face.

Simonsonheld theshank up tohis own face

and orderedHughes outagain.

I figured my life was moreimportant than the van,Hughes said, explaining thathe surrendered the vehicle.

Among the patrolmen re-sponding to both emergencycalls was Scranton Ptlm. Ke-

vin Davis, who testified thathe made a U-turn on Wyom-ing Avenue at Mulberry

Street when he spotted thevan with a shirtless Simonsonbehind the wheel.

Davis followed the van untilSimonson ditched it alongNorth Washington Avenue asit was still moving.

He cornered Simonson be-hind the Wells Fargo bankbranch in the 100 block of For-est Court off of Spruce Streetafter a foot pursuit.

Simonson, who is serving alife sentence for a murdercommitted in April 2009 inLuzerne County, was lookingfor River Street as a means toreach the interstate and hidefor the rest of his days southof the border, Kolcharno said.

He stated that once he gotto (Interstate) 81, he wouldditch the van, live in the

woods for a few days to goRambo as he defined it, and

he wanted to make his way toMexico, Kolcharno said.

Charges of robbery of a mo-tor vehicle, aggravated as-sault of a protected person,assault by a life prisoner,reckless endangerment, es-cape, an inmate procuringhimself with a weapon, andfleeing or attempting to eludea police officer were boundover for county court by Ma-gisterial District Judge Alice

Hailstone Farrell after Mon-days hearing.

Prisoners plan: Go

Rambo, flee to MexicoBy CHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES

[email protected]

Simonson

Michael Simonson allegedly cut top of recyard fence day before his Sept. 28 escape.

SCRANTON The Lacka- wanna County Prison Boardheld an hour-long executivesession on Wednesday after-noon to discuss the details ofDistrict Attorney Andy Jarbo-las ongoing investigation intothe Sept. 28 escape of convict-ed murderer Michael Simon-son, but few details were madepublic.

Despite Simonsons elabo-rate escape plan, Jarbola said

there was no evidence foundthat suggested he had helpfrom inside the prison duringplanning or execution.

I can say definitively no. Hehad no help,no aid whatsoever.Someone didnt say, Hey, dothis, or someone didnt givehim the knife. He didnt haveany proactive assistance, hestated.

Simonson, who is serving alife sentence for the April 2009murder of Donald Skiff in Lu-zerne County, was able to es-cape after allegedly being leftunsupervised.

During a preliminary hear-ingon those charges held Mon-day, it was alleged that Simon-

sonused a four-inchsteel shank

to cut open a section of chainlink fence over the top of a per-sonal recreation yard the daybefore his escape.

He then used a tightly braid-ed bed sheet toclimb the fenceand cover a section of razor

wire above a secondfence withthe sheet, allowing him to stepon a metal pole and leap overthe prison wall and onto theroof of the neighboring Medi-cal Mall on Wyoming Avenue.

After carjacking a nearbyPennsylvania American Water

vehicle, he crashed into aparked car in the 200 block ofNorth Washington Avenue and

was captured after a pursuit onfoot.

The escape, which only last-ed about 10 minutes before he

was apprehended in the 100block of Forest Court by Scran-ton Police, occurred just onehour after the previous boardmeeting.

Now, one month later, Jarbo-la said he expects hisinvestiga-tion to wrap-up in about a

week to two weeks after com-ing across otherunspecified in-formation involvingprison em-ployees, the warden, and othermatters.

I dont want to get into spe-cifics, but I know as a result ofthis incident, the Simonson es-cape,we cameacross someoth-er information that we had tofollowup with,Jarbolasaid af-ter the meeting.

Four prison guards - Sgt.Brian Cwalinski and correc-tionsofficers Richard Pitoniak,Kevin Dolphin, and MichaelZemantauski - were immedi-

ately suspended after the es-capeandthen fired onOct. 7 by

Warden Robert McMillan.McMillan declined com-

ment on revelations madeMonday, citing the continuedinvestigation.

No inside help for Simonson, DA saysByRICH HOWELLS

[email protected] as a result of this

incident, the Simonsonescape, we cameacross some other in-formation that we hadto follow up with.

District Attorney Andy Jarbola

On the continuing investigation

into Michael Simonsons escape

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262972

262972

Thefollowingcriminal chargeswerefiledinLackawannaCounty Court betweenSept.18andOct.22. Allaccounts arederivativeofaffidavits prepared by law enforcement

officials,and allcharges arepending follow-ingthe respectivehearingsof thesuspectsunlessnoted otherwise.

OLYPHANT

ASSAULT CHARGESwerefiledSept.18against Patrick Coombes, 22,ofValleyAvenue,Olyphant,for allegedlypunching twosleeping menin thehead,face,and neckwhile hewas heldin theLackawanna CountyProcessing Centerfor publicdrunkenness.Coombeshad tobe tasedto stop theattackandwasplacedin a restraintchairbeforebeing movedto hisown holdingcell.Cpl.

John Tigue ofthe LackawannaCountySheriffs Officewas the arresting officer.Coombeswascharged bysummonson

Oct. 5 withtwocountseachof simpleassaultandharassmentand onecountof disorderlyconduct.A preliminaryhearingis setfor Oct.31.

SCRANTON

BURGLARY CHARGESwerefiledOct.21against Arthur Decker, 34,of FerdinandStreet,Scranton,after he allegedlystolecopper pipe froma homeforsalein the 500block ofWalesStreeton Oct.18. Deckerallegedlyadmittedto thetheftwhenques-

tionedby police athis home onOct. 20.Ptlm.RoccoCipriano was the arresting officer.Deckerwas arraigned Oct. 21on chargesof

burglary, theft,and receivingstolen propertyandwasreleased on$20,000 unsecuredbail.A preliminaryhearingis setfor Oct. 31.

DISORDERLYCONDUCT CHARGESwerefiled Oct.21againstMartin Dunay III,42,ofPond Run,Clarks Summit,forallegedlymakingdeath threats againsthis ex-wifesnewfiancon Oct. 21. Thefianc, Steve Hanis,saidhe wasnervousaboutthe threatsbecauseMartinhas severalfirearms.Ptlm.Mark Kosko wasthearrestingofficer.

Dunaywas arraigned Oct. 22 onchargesof

terroristicthreatsand disorderly conduct,andhe washeldfor $5,000bail.A preliminaryhearingis setfor Oct. 31.

BURGLARY CHARGESwerefiledOct.21against RoyHawkins, 46,of CapouseAvenue,Scranton,and RobertEdwardSmith, 39,homeless, foran allegedbur-

glary in the1000 block ofCapouse AvenueonOct. 20.Hawkins andSmithallegedlyremovedalmostall ofthe copperpipe andwiringfrom thehome,andtheirbackpack containedpipecutters,accordingto police.Ptlm.DonaldHofsommer wasthe arresting officer.

HawkinsandSmithwere arraigned Oct. 21onidenticalcharges: twocounts eachofburglaryand criminaltrespassing, and onecount ofpossessingan instrumentof crime.Eachwasheld for10percent of$5,000bail,andpreliminary hearings aresetfor Oct. 31.

ASSAULTCHARGESwerefiled Oct. 22against Shane Loughney, 24,of StaffordAvenue,Scranton, afterhe allegedlystabbedMichaelKulickwitha steakknifefor failingtoburn copiesof DVDs forhim early thatmorning.Loughneyalso allegedlyplacedKulickin a chokehold until hepassedout.Ptlm. JamesWeaverwasthe arrestingofficer.

LoughneywasarraignedOct.22 ontwocountseach ofaggravated andsimple assault

andone count eachof reckless endanger-ment andharassment,and hewas heldfor$25,000bail.A preliminaryhearingis setforOct.31.

THEFTCHARGES were filed Oct. 20against JustinNeff, 31, lastknown addressonLincolnAvenue,Scranton,and MatthewPatrick White, 23,ofMainStreet,Old

Forge,for thealleged theftof a donation jaratPeppersPizzato a 2-year-oldgirlsfamilypayfor herleukemiatreatment.Thejarcontainedapproximately $150 and was stolenfromthebusinesson Oct. 9,accordingtobusiness ownerGene Fitzpatrick. A storeemployee positively identified bothmen afterviewingphotos providedby Scrantonpolice.Detective TimothyMayo was the arrestingofficer.

Neff andWhitewerearraignedOct.21ontwocounts eachof theftand onecountofreceiving stolenproperty. White facesasecondcount of receivingstolen property.Neff washeldfor $10,000 bail, andWhitesbailwassetat $5,000.Preliminary hearingsaresetfor Oct. 31.

DRUGPARAPHERNALIA CHARGESwerefiled Oct. 7 againstMarkOprisko,45,ofPittston Avenue,Scranton,after policeallegedlydiscovered11syringesinside hispantspocket ashe sat onthestepsofthe

GaryA. DiBileoAgency, Inc., at302 S.MainAve., Scranton,on Aug.15. Ptlm. WilliamGoldenwas the arresting officer.

Oprisko waschargedby summons onOct.7 forpossession ofdrug paraphernalia.Apreliminaryhearingis setfor Nov.2.

INDECENT ASSAULT CHARGESwere filedOct. 21againstSteven Psolka,36,of

TennantStreet, Pittston, afterhe allegedlyattemptedto force a womanto performoralsex onhimin the backstairwelloftheColosseum Nightclub& Lounge.When Psolka,a formersecurity guardat theclub,wouldnotputhis foot insidea patrolvehicleafter hisarrest,he waswarned hewouldbe tasedandallegedly replied, Youdo what yougottado!Ptlm. RobertOleckiwas thearrestingofficer.

Psolkawas arraigned Oct. 21on chargesofindecentassault,indecent exposure, dis-orderlyconduct,and resistingarrest, andhewasreleasedon $5,000unsecuredbail.Apreliminaryhearing isset forOct.31.

RETAILTHEFTCHARGESwerefiled Oct.20 againstMarcySingleton,35,ofBroadway Street,Scranton,after she alleged-ly stole$560.44 inclothing from GymboreeattheMall atSteamtown. Singleton waswantedon a warrantfor a Nov.30,2010incidentforthealleged theft of$217.84in merchandisefromtheChristmasTreeShopsin Moosicand

anotherincidentthat dayforan attemptedtheft atthe Redners marketin Scranton. PtlmStevenLavinwas thearrestingofficerin themostrecent incident.

Singleton wasarraignedOct.20 ononecount ofretailtheftand releasedon $2,500unsecured bail. A preliminaryhearingis setforOct.31.

POLICE BLOTTER

Rogan emphasized that hewouldnot supporta taxincreaseto raise these funds.

We cant afford to lose morecops. We cant afford to havemore firehouses closing in thecity. We absolutely cannotaffordtoincreasetaxes. Thepeople arebroke. There is no more moneyto squeeze out of residents ofthis city, Rogan said.

.Councilman Bob McGoff wasthe only council member to ex-press outright disagreement with the courts ruling, sayingthat because arbitrators favorunions, this discourages the ne-gotiation of contracts altogeth-er.

We nowhave arbitrators thatare determining how municipal-ities aregoing to operate. I thinkthis diminishes the authority of

all elected officialsIt takes thepower away from the elected of-ficialsandputsit inthe hands ofsomebody who is never elect-ed, McGoff said.

I think this turns democracyaroundItsets a badprecedent,and that concerns me.

He did agree, however, thatthemayor shouldnegotiatewiththe unions and said he wouldmeet withhimto encouragehimto do so.

Evans saidthat council wouldalsobe willing towork out a pay-ment plan with the unions on

their own and present it to themayor for his approval. Whileplacing much of the blame on

Dohertys shoulders, she alsofelt that the state DCED andPEL actively urged and en-abled the city to continue de-laying the decision, selectingScranton from among other dis-tressed municipalities to use astheir guinea pig to prove thesupremacy of Act 47.

EvansaskedCity ClerkNancyKrake to send a letter on behalfof council requesting state fund-ing from DCED to help with thecitys costs and anotherlettertoGovernor Tom Corbett andDCED requesting the replace-

ment of PEL and a local DCEPrepresentative as Act 47 coordi-nators due to their failed lead-

ership. McGoff opposed bothletters, but was outvoted 4-1.

Additional letters were senttoSenator John Blake and staterepresentatives Kevin Murphyand Ken Smith requesting theirassistance in obtaining statefunds to further mitigate costs.

Doherty did not return a re-quest for comment on Friday. Ina phone interviewlast week, themayor toldGo Lackawanna thatemployment cuts would beacross the board, but publicsafety workers would be hit thehardest.

COUNCILContinued from page 3

RICHHOWELLSPHOTO/ FORGO LACKAWANNA

Scranton Fire Lt. Dave Gervasi, fire union president, alleged

Tuesday that city taxes could increase 100 percent under the

mayors supposed plan.

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NO TASTE LIKE HOME

S

ean Wolfe knows the con-

notations that may come

along with forming twogroups dedicated to beer, but the

Waldorf Park Beer Club and

Scranton Brewers Guild seek to

shatter those ideas.

Theres more to do with beer

than justdrinkit andfalldown on

a Saturday night, Wolfe, 29, of

Clarks Green, said. Theres this

underlying beer subculture inScranton that is vastly un-

tapped.

Wolfe and Lee Burke, 60, ofNewton Township, formedthe beer club more than twoyears ago with the intent toshare beer culture and educa-

tion with others who appre-ciated it.

We started by doing differ-ent styles of beer. We did Ok-toberfests and fall beers,pumpkinbeers. Then wewereableto attractlocal brewerstocome up, Burkesaid. We tellyou what you are tasting, whyit tastes like that, where itcomes from its pretty neat.

The growthof theclubsoonbrought the additionof home-brewers, which created thesecondary brewers guild thatformedin June to furtherfacil-

itate the hobby, Wolfe said.

Its more than just drink-

ing, he added with a hearty

laugh.

Wolfe, Burke and 16 othermembers of the guild, includ-

ing Wolfes wife, Christina, 30,

gathered Wednesday, Oct. 26,

at Jacks Draft House, 802

Prescott Ave., Scranton, toshare their creationsand proc-esses behind their personal

brews. Thegroup meets there

the final Wednesday of each

month, but dates may shift in

November and December to

accommodate the holidays.One of the exciting parts

about the brewing industry is

that no one is anti-informa-

tion, Mr. Wolfe said.

Its more of an air of cam-araderie than it is of competi-tion, brewer Ron Sechler

added.A Learn to Homebrew

Day on tap at Breaker Brew-ing Company in Wilkes-Barre

on Nov. 5 embodies thatspiritof sharing details and devo-tions to pale ales, IPAs, andmore. The educational day inLuzerne County is their firstmajor public event.

The Scranton BrewersGuild attends local events cel-ebrating allthingsbeerto con-tinue their education and ap-preciation of the beverage.

If youre going to brewgood beer, you need to taste a

lot of beers to know what you

Scranton Brewers Guild to conduct Nov. 5 event on homebrewed beer in Wilkes-Barre

CHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES/FOR GO LACKAWANNA

Scranton Brewers Guild member Sean Wolfe, right, pours a sample of Hooch for Lee Burke during the groups meeting on Oct. 26 at Jacks Draft House.

By CHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES

[email protected]


NEWS

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See BREWERS, Page17

The Scranton Brewers Guild will participate in Learn to Home-brew Day on Saturday, Nov. 5, at Breaker Brewing Co., 783 E.Northampton St., Wilkes-Barre, from10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The compa-ny is located in the former St. Josephs Church.

For details, call Sean Wolfe at (570) 499-3423 or email [email protected].

LEARN MORE

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The annual theme providesstate museums with a focus toexamine Pennsylvanias richhistory and its influence onmany of the traditions and

values that have shaped theAmerican experience.

Part of the Anthracite Heri-tage Museums plan to focuson this years theme is anexciting partnership with St.

Saint Lukes EpiscopalChurch, 232 Wyoming Ave.,Scranton, who will host Reli-gion and the Rails at theNovember 4 First Friday eventfrom 6 to 9 p.m.

Religion has always played asignificant part in the devel-opment of the region and thecity of Scranton itself. In many

ways, the Industrial Revolu-tion spawned an awakening in

various socio-religious move-

ments.In 1840 the area of presentday Scranton was a sleepylittle hamlet known as Slo-cums Hollow. With the dis-covery of anthracite coal andiron in the region, the settle-ment became known as Scran-

ton and, by 1860, was home tothe Scranton Brothers Lacka-

wanna Iron and Coal Compa-ny and its iron furnaces. Theiron furnaces, which made

T-Rails for the railroad andcoal industries, attracted alarge number of immigrants tothe region searching for jobs.

Early on, the immigrantswere predominately Welsh,

Irish, and German. Later, inthe late 19th and early 20thcenturies, Eastern and South-ern European ethnic groupsarrived to take advantage ofthe many job opportunities inthe very active coal miningregion. With this growingpopulation, other industries,especially railroading thrived.

However, as industry in-creased and communitiesgrew, there was also an in-

crease in crime.In 1844, the Young MensChristian Association (YM-CA) was born out of the in-dustrial revolution in London.By 1860, several Americancities followed suit and orga-nized their own YMCAs.

In 1872, the nations firstYMCA designated specificallyfor railroads was establishedin Cleveland, Ohio. By1877,Scranton, too, established aRailroad YMCA on WyomingAvenue. By 1903, the RR YM-CA had constructed an officialclub house at 55 LackawannaAve. and became a homeaway from home for thou-sands of railroaders throughthe decades. However by the1960s, as the railroad industrydeclined, so, too, did the useof RR YMCAs across the

country.In May,1968, it was an-

nounced that the facility onLackawanna Avenue wouldclose its doors and railroaders

would be accommodated forovernight stays at the HotelCasey.

Religion on the Rails willrelate the history of the RRYMCA and the significant rolereligion has played on therailroads in the area and

throughout the country. Staffand board members of thePennsylvania Anthracite Heri-tage Museum planned thedisplay, which consists ofimages from the museumscollections plus model trainsloaned by museum volunteers.

Religion and the railsMINING HISTORYJOHN E. FIELDING ANDROBERT SAVAKINUS

Hometown: Zionsville, Ind.

Education: Washburn College

Profession: Jesuit Volunteer at

Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen

This weeks Go Lackawanna Go-Get-

ter is a recent Lackawanna County

transplantwho hasbroughtnothingbut

positiveenergyand contributionsto the

least fortunate of our region.

He resides at the Saint Joseph Cen-

ter with four other Jesuit volunteers.

During his last year of college, Einterzdecided to take employment with the

Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

Our four values atthe JesuitVolun-

teer Corps are social justice, simplicity,

community, andspirituality.Thisorgani-

zation gives me a chance to grow and

also allows me to be of some service to

the greater community, said Einterz.

Einterzsaid hispositionand theover-

allmission ofthe Saint Francis ofAssisi

Kitchen are quite simple.

We strive to be a place of comfort

and assistance to some of the most

marginalized in our community, hesaid. Weprovidea hotmealto thosein

need andwealsoprovidea less tangible

and equally as important resource,

companionship.

Einterz enjoysrunning andhas been

a runner since elementary school. He

saidhe began runningas a way tokeep

up with his older brother.

Uponhis firstentryinto theScranton

Marathon this fall, Einterz said it was a

fabulous experience, citing what a

great community Scranton is and the

beautiful small town feeling the mara-

thon had.

Einterz says he has also been over-

whelmed by the generosity and hospi-

tality shown to him by Lackawanna

County citizens.

To learn more about Jesuit Volun-

teers atSt. Francisof AssisiKitchen,vis-

it their Facebook page at www.face-

book.com/stfranciskitchen.

Einterz also is activein theorganiza-

tion Scranton Running and encourages

residentsto visit www.scrantonrunning-

.com to learn more about communityrunning events.

Go-Getter: SethEinterz

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Seth Einterz finished eighth in his first attempt at the Steam-

town Marathon earlier this month.

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Its almostHalloween,soifyoure nottrickortreat-ing,partyinginfullcostume,navigating

yourway througha hauntedhouse,or holding someonetightona scaryhayride,youremostlikelywatchinghorrormovies.Thisyear, hopefully, youredoingsoat homeandnotin a theater.Theonlytwohorror filmsthat

seemtobeplaying intheatersacrossthe countryat themo-mentareParanormalActivity3,a tiredsequel, andTheThing prequel/remake/re-hashedgarbagethat youalreadyknowit is.Itsfittingthat thesearetheonlyoptionsbigstudiosareofferingthisseason,as theybothrepresentwhatmoviegoersareforcedtochoosebetweenalmosteveryweekof theyear.Thiswill alsobe thefirstyear

insevenyears that therewillbenoconsecutive Sawsequel,astheproducers finallylaidthatfranchiseto rest,at least fornow,

aftermeticulouslycuttingouteverylast enjoyable feature thosemovies offered.Theclosest thinganystudio

seemsto betouting atthemo-ment istheParanormalActiv-ityseries,wherecheapcameras,

ornice camerasmade to looklikecheapcameras, filmpeoplethrowingthemselvesacrossroomsbetweenpanickydialoguewrittenby thedirectors10-year-oldkid.Iftherewas anyway I could

type a sighloudenough foryoutohear, Iddoit righthere.Ivebeen thinkinga lotabout

horrorfranchises thismonth,asits becomeanannualtraditionofmineto watchCinemassacres

MonsterMadnessthroughoutOctoberto getme intheholidayspirit.Foundatwww.cinemassacre-

.com,filmmakerandinternetstarJamesRolfe, betterknownonlineas theAngryVideoGameNerd,startedthe seriesofhorrormoviereviewsbackin 2007.Eachdayofthe31daysofthemonth,Jameshighlightsa differ-entmovie, offering anhonestanddetailedanalysis ofbothmajorblockbustersand obscureB titles.Thethemeof hisreviewsthis

year issequels,discussingUni-versalStudios Frankenstein,HammerFilmsDracula, A

NightmareonElmStreet,andHalloween,alongwiththeirsubsequent follow-ups.Frommyearlier stabsat franchises, itmayseemlikeIm completelyagainsttheideaofsequels, butImnotnecessarilyopposed totheideathatthestorydoesntalwaysendoncethecredits roll.Ithasbecomeastaple ofthe

genreto venture forth andcontin-uewherethey left off.Itseasytobash todayshackneyedploysfor

quickmoney, butany truehorrorfanknowsthatHollywoodhasbeenplayingthisgame formuchlongerthanmostof ourlifetimes.

Witheachsequel comesadifferentfilmmakers takeonafamiliar story,withsomepickingupthe ballandscoringwhileothers. Somebecome just asmemorableas theirprecursors,whilemost enduponlate-nightcable.Therationalebehind any

seriesis simple weallwant toknowwhathappensnext. Ifweenjoyedtheoriginal story, thenwegladly paythatticketpriceagainfor thesafe betor assump-

tionthatthisonewill beas goodasthelast.What interestsmealmostas muchaswherethestorywill goishowthewritersultimatelydecide thatstorytell-ingpath.Whatpossessedsomeoneto

turn thefacelessserialkillerMichaelMyers intoamindlesspawnfora Sataniccult?Who intheirrightmind thoughtExor-cistII:TheHereticneededphysic powered-girlsand brain-

wavedevices?Theonlythingscarierthan

these ideaswereprobablythesubstance abuseproblemsthe

writers assuminglysufferedfrom.Fans,for somereason,forgive

theseindiscretions,buying boxsetsto complete theircollectionsto letmostdiscscollectdust.Eventually, asthemoviesgoon,theentertainmentvaluechangesfromjumpstolaughs,so youcanoften takepleasure in justhowbadit endedup.Thistoobecamea pillarof the

genre.Whodoesntenjoya goodnightof MysteryScienceThea-

ter3000-likecommentarywithfriends?SowhileI continue to lament

thepresentofferingsHollywoodhasproduced,or rather thrownuplikepeasouponanunsuspect-ingpriest,I seetheneed forthebadasmuchas thegood.Maybeina fewyears, Ill forgive Jigsawforleavinguswith awhimperratherthana trap-inducedbang.Fornow, Ill enjoymyHallo-

weenwithaDVDmarathonthat

will at least bememorable40percent of thetime.It seemsthats about allwe couldeverhopefor.

A stab at awful horror franchisesINFINITEIMPROBABILITYR I C H H O W E L L S

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Its beginning to look a lotlike Christmas in departmentstores, and the deals are start-ing to explode online as well.Some of my secret go-to on-line stores are sites that offerflash sales usually lasting 72hours or until items are soldout. Shopping early on thesesites can score you up to 70percent off brand name items.

Flash sales are like the TJMaxx and Marshals of onlineshopping. The stores featureitems like adult and childrensapparel, toys, gadgets, andmore.

There are a number ofchildrens flash sale sites thatoffer free membership. Mem-bership includes daily emails

filled with special promos.Zulily.com is one of my favor-ite flash sale sites since itoffers discounts on top-qual-ity apparel, gear, housewares,toys and even half price

vouchers.Members enjoy up to 90

percent off retail prices ofbrand names like Manhattan

Toy, So La Vita, Laura Ashley,Timberland, and Mud Pie.

The best part about Zulily isthat you can earn $15 byinviting friends to jointhrough email, Facebook and

Twitter. Right now, take $5off a $50 purchase with thecode GA4756.

Other similar sites to Zulilyare Totsy.com and TheMini-Social.com.

Some sites like RueLaLa-.com and Gilt.com are start-

ing to crossover to childrensdeals, which gives shoppersmore choices.

RueLaLa.com and Gilt.comoften offer top brand namedeals on Gucci, Fendi, 7 forAll Mankind, and Ed Hardy.Hautelook.com, BeyondtheR-ack.com, Modnique.com, andSwirl.com are other sites thatoffer similar sales. Theseprivate shopping clubs for

women and men usually last48 hours or until items sellout. These items often sell

out due to the limited quanti-ties.

The best way to take ad-vantage of these flash sales is

by signing up for daily emails.Modnique.com offers $5credits when you sign up fordaily emails and free ship-ping. There are some itemsthat you can get shipped to

your house for under $10after credit.

There are even flash saleswith discounts on homeitems from accessories tocookware. OneKingsLane-

.com and HomeSav.com aretwo of my favorite sites. Rightnow at One Kings Lane, shop-pers can grab a $15 credit atsignup that is good off anypurchase of $30 or more.

Subscribing to these dailyemails may seem a little over-

whelming at first. However,as the holidays are quicklyapproaching and budgets aregetting smaller, shopping

flash sales will help you buyhigh quality items at a hugediscount.

Check out

flash sale sitesDEALDETECTIVEJ E N N A U R B A N

CVS

Cover Girl cosmetics, buy one,

get one 50 percent off. Use $8off two Cover Girl coupon fromProcter & Gamble from Oct. 2.Speedstick or Lady Speed-stick, two for $5.50. Get $4 inExtra Care Bucks when you buytwo.

Walgreens

Crest Pro Health toothpaste,two for $7. Buy two, get $5 inRegister Rewards, and use $1 offone Crest toothpaste or gelcoupon from P&G from Oct.16.

Rite Aid

UP2U gum, $1. Use $1 off oneUP2U pack coupon from SmartSource on Oct. 9.Dawn dish soap, $.99. Use $.50off one coupon from P&G fromOct. 30.

TOP DEALS

Members of the Ac-tors Circle will re-

turn their unique

murder mystery to the

Scranton Cultural Center,

420 N. Washington Ave.,

Scranton, on Sunday, Oct.

30, beginning at 7 p.m.

Actors Circle President

Nan ODonnell Wandalow-

ski, of South Abington

Township, said this years

production takes on a new

theme as the plot is cen-

tered around the Titanic

and a murder on the ill-fat-

ed vessel in recognition of

the 100th anniversary of its

sinking next April.

The great thing about bothyears productionsis that wegetto see the Cultural Center,

Wandalowski said. In this par-

ticular scenario, the people areona cruiseship,the Titanic,and

we have a library, bar, and stor-age room to stage the event.

We had thought about it forourproduction at theActorsCir-cle,butit doesentail a lot ofcos-tuming and a lot of differentrooms. When the Cultural Cen-ter contacted us, we thoughtthat it was a win-win.

Audience members will tour

the Cultural Center in theunique presentation as theyreprovidedwithclueson whomay

have committed the murder onthe White Star Line ship des-tined for New York City.

The murder mystery presentsa great opportunity for new ac-tors testing outtheircomfortonstageamongthenearly 25in thecast.

The whodunit show pre-sented at the Masonic Templethis weekend continues a com-mon theme for Actors Circle asthey often include an AgathaChristie mystery in theirregularseason.

Wandalowski said shes espe-cially excited to portray a ma-tron on the ship working securi-ty.

In 1912, to have a woman asone of the top personnel there

was quite unusual, Wandalow-skisaid.I really like that part ofit.

Sundays event will beginwith appetizers and cocktails.

Tickets are $40 and can be

purchased at the Scranton Cul-tural Center Box Office by call-ing (570) 344-1111.

Masonic mystery set on ill-fated Titanic

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Mystery at the Masonic cast members include, from left, Jeannine McGowan, J.P. McGowan,Laura McGowan, John McInerney, Mary Graff, Lou Bisignani, Nan Wandalowski, Andrew Gruden

and Kelly Walsh.

Chills & thrillsBy CHRISTOPHER J.HUGHES

[email protected]

Actors Circle also opened itscurrent production of Hay Fe-ver this weekend. Shows contin-ue Nov. 4-6 with performancesFriday and Saturday at 8 p.m. andSunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12,$10 for senior citizens, and $8 forstudents. Shows take place atProvidence Playhouse, 1256Providence Rd., Scranton. Formore information, call (570)342-9707.

ALSO OPENING

PAGE 16 GOLACKAWANNA SUNDAY OCTOBER 30 2011

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like and what youre aiming forwhen youre brewing, Mrs. Wolfesaid of their taste-testing trips.

The brewers are each part engi-neer, chemist, plumber, and chef.For example, Kurt Dean of Tunk-hannock built his own heat ex-changer recirculation mashing sys-tems to customize his process andoffset the sometimes expensivecosts of beginning the hobby.

Some of the locally-created beershave already won competitions.

Fellow brewers were quick to raisea toast for Dupont resident SteveWhite on Wednesday for a recentthird place prize in the 2011 MonkMelee homebrewing competitionfor his Belgian golden strong alecalled Excuses.

Other creative blends have re-called processes predating the IronAge, Mr. Wolfe said.

An original pumpkin steinbiercalled St. Jacks Graveyard wasbrewed using discarded tomb-stones heated over a fire and low-ered into mashing tubs to achievethe required temperature.

Now, theres about six of us thatare hooked, and thats how weretrying to brew most of our beers,Mr. Wolfe said.

Buttheres not groups of peoplein Scranton throwing hot rocks intheir beer, Mrs. Wolfe quipped.

Members each have their prefer-ences on what they brew. Sechler is

dedicated to imperial stoutsinclud-ing his own Black As Midnight,DeanprefersGerman- andBelgian-style beers, Mr. Wolfe enjoys Irishreds and hoppy beers, and Mrs.Wolfe is the mad scientist of thegroup crafting chocolate mint por-ters and the like.

Against the thought of a maledominated beer culture, the groupwelcomes the input of some very vocal brewing girls, Mr. Wolfe

said.Theyre not ashamed to say,No, I like beer, andI canmakegoodbeer, he said.

The only membership require-ment is an appreciation for thebev-erage, and beer lovers are asked tochip in at tasting events. Home-brewers are also asked to sharetheir creations, if any are available.

Those interested in learningmore about thegroupand theproc-ess of homebrewing can join the

Scranton Brewers Guild group onFacebook or email [email protected].

BREWERSContinued from page 12

T

he 11th annual OMalley Halloween

Party presented by Scranton School

Board member Patrick OMalley

was held Oct. 23 at McDade Park in Scran-

ton. More than 900 children and their fam-

ilies attended theevent, accordingto OMal-

ley, and were treated to pictures with the

Wicked Witchof theWest, couponsfor local

restaurants, pizza from Goodfellas, and

more.

Entertainment was provided by DJ Jason

Miller from Extreme Entertainment.

Johnathan Houck of Scranton. Party host Pat OMalley snaps a

photo.

Avengers Angelo Morales, left, and

Vincent Quiles of Scranton.

Happy haunting

JASON RIEDMILLERPHOTOS / FORGO LACKAWANNA

Gianna Pilosi, Skyy Peperno, and Elizabeth Majewski of Old Forge.

Cory Tansits of Scranton.

18

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20 GOLackawanna Sunday October 30 2011

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An unbeaten seasonis a truemeasure ofexcellence.

Obviously, only qual-ity, championshipteams finishwith per-

fect records.Upsets as theScranton Prep footballteam reminded Valley View last weekend happen.

Some of thequality teams with thepotential to go unbeaten fall andsomeother teams, thoughnot on thecham-pionship level overall, have what it takesto comeup with a special effort at justtheright time.

Getting through an entire seasonwith-out a single slip takes on differing de-greesof difficulty depending on the

sport.In sports where one athletes perform-

ance is measured against another, withno defense involved, upsets are unlikely.

The 11-second, 100-meter sprintermight occasionallylose to someone whoruns an11.1, but seldomloses to some-onewho runs a 12-second100.

Thus, when onetrack, cross country orswimming team is consistently strongerthan another across the board, thelikeli-hood of a true upset is relativelyminis-cule.

Although it is not as muchof a given,someof the same holds truein sportsthat are a seriesof dual competitions.The team whichsends out thestrongerlineupin sports like wrestling, tennis andgolf is going to wina significant majorityof the timebecause it has to havea seriesof upsets in separate competitions addupto an upset in the teamscore.

When a first-place team falls in thosesports, it is often to thesecond-placeteam. Years canpass between .500 teams

knocking off championship-level teams.We have learned through the years thatthere are not as manysure things inother sports.

Some of usmay beableto predictclose to 80 percent of thewinning teamsin sports like football and basketball,butthe rest of the games fall into thosewhereit is hardto reallyknowwho isbest and those where the team that isbest over the course of an entireseason isnot best on that given night inthatpar-ticular matchup.

Strategy, match-ups, emotions, the

KEEPING SCORET O M R O B I N S O N

Perfection comeswith varyingdegrees of difficulty

See ROBINSON, Page 21

DIMOCK When the Class AAAboys race was over, Sean Burke ofAbington Heightsdescribedhis plan forthe District 2 Cross CountryChampion-ships.

That description sounded remarkablysimilarto theactualracehe hadjust run.

Thefirst mile I just wantedto sitbacka littlebit in fifthor sixth placeand kindof see what happened, Burke said aftercovering a wet 3.1.-mile course at ElkLake High School in a winning time of16:35. The next mile, I wanted to pick

people off.About a half-mile from the finish, I

wanted to put it all on the line.

Burke moved up from fifth place be-fore the midway point in the race. He

worked his way to the front of the pack,then over that final half-mile, openedwhat wound up being a 10-second mar-gin over Valley Views Aaron Wilkinson.

Very early in the race, Burke felt com-fortable that hewould beableto run therace he planned.

Right around a half mile in, there were 14 or 15 ahead of me, he said.They all started dropping off and I waspassing them without having to changemy pace.

Burke was the only champion indi-

vidual or team from Lackawanna

CLASS AAA BOYS

Team Standings: 1. Dallas 44; 2. North Pocono 71;

3. Tunkhannock 73; 4. Scranton Prep107; 5.

Wallenpaupack161; 6. Abington Heights 170; 7.

Hazleton Area 228; 8. Honesdale 230; 9. Wyoming

Valley West 252;10. Crestwood 277;11. Coughlin

289;12. Valley View 295; 13. West Scranton 364;14.

Delaware Valley 364.15. Scranton 373;16. Pittston

Area 421;17. Berwick 433.

Top10: 1. Sean Burke (AH)16:35; 2. Aaron Wilkinson

(VV) 16:45; 3. Dominic Deluca (D) 16:53; 4. Jake

Siegel (T) 17:02; 5. Chris Ehret (D) 17:14; 6. Mike

Brier (SP) 17:21; 7. Alex Zubko (D) 17:22; 8. Jacob

Fetterman (Haz) 17:23; 9. Jess Adams (D) 17:25; 10.

Ben Robinson (T) 17:41.

State Qualifiers: Dallas team, Burke (AH), Wilkin-

son (VV), Siegel (T), Brier (SP), Fetterman (Haz).

Lackawanna County Top 25: Burke (AH), Wilkin-

son (VV), Brier (SP);11. Dave Rubino (NP)17:43;13.

Brody Dial (NP) 17:47;14. Matt Warner (NP) 17:49;15.

Mike Brenkosh (NP)18:01;18. Alex Gentile (NP)

18:14; 21. Sam Hager (SP) 18:19; 22. Corey Loman

(SP) 18:22; 23. Robert Ward (Scr)18:24; 25. Paul

Labelle (SP)18:29.CLASS AA BOYS

Team Standings: 1. Holy Redeemer 31; 2. Blue

Ridge 85; 3. Holy Cross 96; 4. Mid Valley157; 5.

Lackawanna Trail 167; 6. Lakeland 169; 7. Elk Lake

172; 8. Dunmore180; 9. Northwest 262; 10. Lake-

Lehman 266; 11. Montrose 291;12. Hanover Area

324;13. Susquehanna 382;14. Wyoming Seminary

401;15. MMI Prep 415;16. Riverside 430; 17. Western

Wayne 448;18. Meyers 504.

Top10: 1. Luke Jones (EL) 16:45; 2. Rico Galassi

(HC) 17:05; 3. Mitchell Ford (HR) 17:25; 4. Vinay

Murthy (HR) 17:37; 5. Frazee Sutphen (HR)17:55; 6.

Jake Hinkley (BR); 7. Jacob Bevan (L-L)18:01; 8.

Brandon Murray (D) 18:07; 9. Mike Ambrulavage

(HR) 18:09;10. Patrick Condo (HR) 18:11.

State Qualifiers: Holy Redeemer team; Blue Ridge

team; Jones (EL); Galassi, Antonio Hastie (HC);

Bevan, Kieran Sutton (L-L); Murray, Todd Daven-

port (D); Mike Petcavage, Jason Sansky (MV); Mark

Arzie (L).

Lackawanna County Top 25s: Murray (D); 11.

Hastie (HC)18:12;12. Davenport (D 18:12; 13. Petcav-

age (MV) 18;14; 15. Arzie (L)18:21;17. Sansky (MV)

18:22;19. Paul Szustakowski (L)18:34; 23. Mike

Pastore (HC)18:38.

CLASS AAA GIRLS

Team Standings: 1. Dallas 66; 2. North Pocono 107;

3. Wallenpaupack127; 4. Hazleton Area129; 5.

Abington Heights 149; 6. Honesdale150; 7. Pittston

Area172; 8. Scranton Prep 178; 9. Western Wayne

250; 10. Wyoming Valley West 253;11. Crestwood

286;12. Berwick 302; 13. Tunkhannock 318;14.

Delaware Valley 318;15. Valley View 424;16.Wyoming Area 451;17. Coughlin 469.

Top10: 1. Regan Rome (Dal) 19:18; 2. Taylor Ross

(AH)19:38; 3. Kate Lewis (NP) 19:46; 4. Tessa

Barrett (SP)19:49; 5. Nicole Buehrle (Haz) 19:50; 6.

Summer Hill (Hon) 19:50; 7. Erin Jaeger (AH) 20:14;

8. Catherine Lombardo (PA) 20:18; 9. Molly Kane

(NP) 2:28; 10. Bryanna Dissinger (D) 20:32.

State Qualifiers: Dallas team, Ross (AH), Lewis

(NP), Barrett (SP), Buehrle (Haz); Hill (Hon).

Lackawanna County Top 25s: Ross (AH); Lewis

(NP); Barrett (SP); Jaeger (AH); Kane (NP); 17.

Melissa Becker (SP) 21:06; 22. Shannon Vairo (Scr)

21:22; 23. Hannah Whitney (NP) 21:26; 25. Jenn

Burke (AH) 21:36.

CLASS AA GIRLS

Team Standings: 1. Holy Redeemer 40; 2. Elk Lake

58; 3. Lake-Lehman105; 4. Montrose130; 5.Hanover Area151; 6. Holy Cross 165; 7. Wyoming

Seminary 193; 8. Mountain View 258; 9. Mid Valley

258;10. Susquehanna 293;11. MMI Prep 299;12.

Dunmore 315;13.Northwest 340;14. Riverside 342;

15. Meyers 363; 16. Lackawanna Trail 370.

Top10: 1. Marissa Durako (HR)19:06; 2. Rachel

Sowinski (HR) 19:43; 3. Jenny Vanetten (EL) 20:26;

4. Amy Viti (Han) 21:00; 5. Kaylee Hillard (L-L)

21:04; 6. Brianne Ligotski (HR) 21:08; 7. Samantha

Bennici (M) 21:09; 8. Emily Sutton (L-L) 21:11; 9.

Nicole Kobylanski (MV) 21:12;10. Lainey Bedell (EL)

21:19.

State Qualifiers: Holy Redeemer team; Elk Lake

team; Viti, Paige Antall (Han); Hillard,

Go Lackawanna 10-30-2011

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