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tions at officials at citymeetings. He hasoinked like a pig while addressing CityCouncil and Mayor Tom Leighton. Hehas chanted “Russia, Russia,” while be-ing removed from a meeting.Council views him as an antagonist,

and members have said privately theyare wary of him.But behind that is a guy who says he

feels he has been harmed by the city ad-ministration.Kadluboski, 56, has many faces and

many personas. He has tracked downcriminals to aid police – even detainingsome while officers were en route.He has a permit to carry a concealed

WILKES-BARRE – Bob Kadluboskisays he is not crazy, but he is frustratedand angry.His appearance and behavior may

make some people wonder. He wearscamouflage clothing and wears sun-glasses, almost always. He routinelyhurls insulting barbs and makes accusa-

weapon – he has drawn it but never firedit at anyone.He listens to the police scanner con-

stantly.He works long days – usually 12 to 18

hours. He still has private contracts totow vehicles – a business he learned atan early age and one that, he said, nolonger provides the income it once did.Kadluboski never married. “I’m way

too smart to get married,” he said.

Learned by doingA native of Wilkes-Barre, Kadluboski

PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER

Nuisance or gadfly? Kadluboski stands groundTo City Council, he’s a pain in theneck, but the tow-truck owner sayshe’s fighting injustice in high places.

See KADLUBOSKI, Page 6A

“When you’reforced to sit

back andwatch what’sbeen goingon and no-body does

anything, it’sfrustrating.”

Bob Kadluboski

By BILL O’[email protected]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. —AlishaCarter-Camphadanewjob, a wedding to plan and a26th birthday to celebratewith a family cookout andtoasts to the birthday girl in ayard full of children. By theend of the night, she wasamong eight dead, includingsixchildren, inoneof thecity’sdeadliest house fires in dec-ades.The blaze tore through the

two-storyhomewhile the fam-ily slept early Saturday, hoursafter the last guest left Carter-Camp’sparty, authorities said.The dead children rangedfrom18monthsto8.Aseventhchild, a 7-year-old boy, washospitalized on life support.The cause

wasunder in-vestigation,although ar-son wasn’tsuspected,CharlestonMayor Dan-ny Jonessaid. The firestartedabout3:30 a.m. onthefirst floor.Jones saidthe homehad just oneworkingsmoke detector; the city re-quired several. A building in-spection that had been sched-uled for lastmonth didn’t hap-pen because only childrenwere home at the time.A children’s picnic table,

chairs and an umbrella wereoverturned in the yard of thehome, roped off by police tapeon a corner in a neighborhoodtightly packed with smallhouses in north Charleston.Flames and smoke blackenedthe front of the house Twohugefrontwindowswereshat-

DEADLY B LAZE

8 killed,including6 kids, inW.V. fireThe blaze was one ofCharleston’s deadliesthouse fires in decades.

By JOHN RABYAssociated Press

Authoritiessaid all thevictims wererelated, butthey weren’tsure how anddidn’t knowhow manylived full-timein the home.

See FIRE, Page 7A

TOBYHANNA – The Tobyhanna ArmyDepot will celebrate 100 years of militarypresence in the Poconos this summer -- amilestone thatwas uncertain17 years ago.In 1995, the depot found itself on a short

list of U.S. military installations identifiedby an independent review panel chargedwith decidingwhich facilities to close.Residents and leaders throughout North-

east Pennsylvania rallied around the re-gion’s largest employer and staved off clo-sure.“Itwasanemotionaltime,”saidJamesAn-

tonelli, 54, of Sugarloaf Township, who has

TOBYHANNA AT 100

SUBMITTED PHOTO

An aerial view shows the extent of the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Monroe County. Steve Zaricki with the NEPA Alliance said the depot, which employs morethan 5,500 people, is unique in that it impacts people and businesses in such a large geographic area.

Military milestone

DON CAREY/THE TIMES LEADER

Depot survives closureand continues to grow

By ANDREWM. SEDER [email protected]

Army77%

AirForce15%

Navy4%

Marines4%

Workers at Tobyhanna Army Depot arecontracted by the military branches. TheArmy is still the prominent contractor, butconsolidations at Air Force facilities haveboosted work done for that branch.

WORK BY MILITARY BRANCH

Mark Guydish/The Times Leader

TOBYHANNA -- When the U.S.Army first arrived in Tobyhanna acentury ago, ice-harvesting oper-ations and the nearby railroad werethe primary industries.Now the depot that the military

established on 1,296 acres on thePocono Plateau is the region’s largestemployer and the name of the once

small village it’s in is synonymous inmilitary circles with excellence inelectronics.Originally used in 1912 as an artil-

lery training camp for the Army, thecenter grew and evolved over 100years from a few hundred leased acresto more than 20,000 owned acres andthen back down to its current size.

Electronics is the depot’s forteBy ANDREWM. [email protected]

See ELECTRONICS, Page 8AINSIDE: Tough job to get, Page 8A

See MILESTONE, 6A

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C M Y K

PAGE 8A SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2012 THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com➛ N E W S

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Through the years the facilityserved as -- among other things --a school for militia officers, a sig-nal depot, aWorldWar IIGermanprisoner of war camp and a train-ing center for anti-aircraft gun-ners, tank operators and ambu-lance corps.But electronics became the de-

pot’s forté in recent decades, andTobyhannanow is considered thelargest, full-service electronicsmaintenance facility in the De-partment of Defense.When it opened as a signal de-

pot in 1953, it employed 625 peo-ple. More than 5,500 people areemployed at the Monroe Countyfacility today, and some esti-mates show that it generates $4.4billion in economic impactaround Northeastern Pennsylva-nia.Workers are drawn from an 11-

county area but Lackawanna(1,998) and Luzerne (1,409) arethe two counties where the mostemployees live.While electronics has become

a catch-all term for what goes onat the depot, it doesn’t do the realwork going on much justice.Ed Mickley, the depot’s public

affairs officer who served in the

U.S. Marines, said the insider’sterm for what the depot does canbe boiled down to an acronymcontaining four letters and onenumber.“C4ISR,” Mickley, of Goulds-

boro, said. “Command, control,communication, computer, intel-ligence, surveillance and recon-naissance. That encompassesour mission.”He said the depot is tasked

with “repairing, replacing,manu-facturing, maintaining, upgrad-ing and renovating” electronicsof all shapes and sizes that areused in weapons, vehicles, com-munication devices and more.There are more than150 build-

ings on the sprawling groundsthat occupy a footprint of 1.9 mil-lion square feet.Though the facility’s name in-

cludes just one of the military’sfour branches, it doeswork for allfour. The Army, which first usedthe land, is still the predominantclient with close to 80 percent ofwork performed for it.But theAir Force, thanks to the

closing of other facilities that didsimilarwork, nowaccounts for15percent of the work. The Navyand Marines make up the rest.“The joke is that we’re called

‘Joint Depot Purple,’ ” Mickleysaid, noting the colors associatedwith the four branches – green,blueandgray–combine to formasort of purple hue.

ELECTRONICSContinued from Page 1A

TOBYHANNA – Workers atthe Tobyhanna Army Depot arewell aware of how lucky they areto work at the region’s largestemployer.Jobs at Tobyhanna are not

easy to come by.Last year, when 300 jobs be-

came available, the depot re-ceived 40,000 applications.The new hires were able to be

part of a major milestone:achievingmore than $1billion indefense-related work orders.That’s something state Sen.

JohnBlake,D-Archbald, noted incomments about the depot’s im-pact on the region and manyfamilies, including his own.“Within the past five years whenthe worst economic recession in80 years visited upon our nationand this commonwealth, Toby-hanna stood strong in service toour military as a robust jobgrowth engine providing familysustaining wages to a skilled

Northeastern Pennsylvaniawork force,” said Blake, whosefather worked at Tobyhanna formore than 30 years.“The Army’s presence in our

region had much to do with thequality of life my family enjoyedas I was growing up in Arch-bald,” said Blake, whose districtincludes all of LackawannaCounty, and portions of Luzerneand Monroe counties, includingthe depot.Dan Nawrocki, 53, of Duryea,

didn’t hesitate to apply whenjobs were advertised for Toby-hanna in 2000, even though hewas gainfully employed at Ar-

lington Industries in the StauferIndustrial Park in Taylor.“They were a good company

towork for, but when this oppor-tunity arose, I had to give themtwo weeks’ notice,” Nawrocki, aPittston Area High School grad-uate said. “It’s not that I didn’tlike my job, but if you can get inat Tobyhanna,” do it.The decision to work at Toby-

hanna, formost people, becomesa lifetime career decision.Many employees wind up re-

tiringwith the depot, said JamesAntonelli, a graduate of MMIwho lives in Sugarloaf Townshipand has worked at the depot for26 years.He said the attrition rate is so

low because employees enjoytheir jobs, their importance tothe country, opportunities for

advancement and being part ofsomething unique and reward-ing.“There’s a lot of people that

want to get into the depot. It’snot because it’s easy work, butit’s a rewarding job experienceand career,” said Sue Rudat, 50,of Duryea, who’s worked at thefacility for seven years.While many people watch the

evening news or read the morn-ing paper andgive a cursory lookat thegoings on inAmericanmil-itary operations overseas, work-ers likeAntonelli have a differentperspective. They can some-times catch a glimpse of a pieceof equipment Tobyhanna hasplayed a role in repairing or de-signing and feel a sense of pridethat they aided the war effort insome way.

Getting hired at depot is tough job


Employees exit through the main gate at Tobyhanna Army De-pot.

The decision to work atTobyhanna, for most, becomesa lifetime career decision.

By ANDREWM. [email protected]

The Tobyhanna Army Depot hasseen its workforce rise and fallover the past 30 years but in 2007it topped 5,000 employees for thefirst time and has yet to dip backunder that threshold.1980: 3,5371985: 4,5531990: 3,9931995: 3,5012000: 3,0712005: 4,2092010: 5,505SOURCE: Tobyhanna Army Depot

EMPLOYMENT DATA

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C M Y K

PAGE 16A SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2012 THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com➛ N E W S

worked at the depot since1985.Robert Katulka, 48, of Moun-

tainTop,startedayearafterAnto-nelli and recalled the fight to savehisworkplace.“Therewas a lot of activity and

a lot of interest both in the depotand with local officials. In someways itwasvery exciting; in someways stressful,” Katulka said. “Itwas a display ofwhat the area candowhen they focus on a commontask. It was an example of a shin-ingmoment.”While thousandsof theirneigh-

bors work at the facility, it wasn’tuntil they almost lost the depotthat area residents really under-stood what it meant for the re-gion’s economy.“That (1995) was the first time

thecommunityrealizedwhatwashere,” Antonelli.

Large regional footprintSue Rudat, 50, of Duryea, said

thedepot’s foot-print is so large– drawing em-ployees from an11county area –that rallyingaround it is un-usual.“It took the

BRAC (BaseRealignmentand ClosureCommission)to pull it togeth-er,” said Rudat,whohasworkedat the installa-tion for sevenyears.While Toby-

hanna wasspared in the1995 and moreBRAC closuresin 2005, otherregions weren’tso lucky. Buttheir loss wasNortheasternPennsylvania’sgain.More than

100 workerswere trans-ferred fromCal-ifornia’sMcClellan Air

Force Base to Tobyhanna. As de-potsandworkperformedatbasesnationwide were cut, Tobyhannacontinued to pick up new con-tracts,whichinthemilitaryworldmeanssurvivalsincethereareDe-partment of Defense line itemsspecific to depots.Depotsoperateonrevenuegen-

erated from contracts with thearmed forces, not dedicated allo-cations.“We operate as a business. De-

pots are the closest thing in gov-ernment to the private sector. It’sourcorporatephilosophythathasmade the organization success-ful,” said Col. Charles C. Gibson,commanderof theTobyhannaAr-myDepot.

That business philosophy alsodictates that there’s always a bet-ter, more efficient way to dothingsandemployeesareurgedtocome up with ideas andmethodsthat could achieve that goal.“Tobyhanna has survived and

grownbecauseof thequalityof itsproducts and services, and the ef-ficiency and productivity of ourworkforce. We constantly stressto our managers and employeesthatwemustcontinually improvein all areas of our operations if weare to remain the best value forour customers,”Gibson said.

Emphasis onqualityThinkingback to1985,Katulka

recalled “it was a different world…thereweremanymoredepots.”But as tech-

nology hasevolved andconflicts haveraged in Iraq,Afghanistan,Somalia andBosnia, the de-pot has contin-ually met thechallenges andstepped up pro-duction.“Our employ-

ees take pridewhen repairingequipment forour war fight-ers,” Gibson said. “Best quality,lowestcost,on-timedelivery.Ourforemostmission is providing thehighest quality support to ourarmed forces, but we also believewe have an obligation to the peo-ple ofNortheasternPennsylvaniato maintain Tobyhanna as a keycomponentof the regional econo-my.”Katulka, aMeyersHigh School

graduate, said the region’s workethic is partly to credit for the de-pot’s success.“I’ll stackourpeopleupagainst

any installation in the country,”Katulka said.When the discussion turns to

the potential loss of Tobyhannaand its impact on the region, theword multiple people inter-

viewed for this story used was“devastating.”Antonelli said that what a ma-

jor downsizing or closing “woulddo to the local unemploymentrate, the local tax base, the valueofpeople’shomes, Iwouldthinkitwould be a significant negativeimpact. Devastating would prob-ably be a goodword.”Steve Zaricki, with the NEPA

Alliance, an economic develop-ment organization serving the re-gion, saidTobyhanna is unique inthat it impacts people and busi-nesses in such a large geographicarea.“I’mnot familiarwithanyother

industrythatcomesclosetothesenumbers,” Zaricki said after reel-ing off the economic impact asso-

ciatedwiththede-pot. More than5,500 people areemployed by theMonroe Countyfacility and someestimates showthat it generates$4.4 billion in re-gional economicactivity.Other than

WyomingCountybased Procter &Gamble Co., Zar-icki said nothingevencomesclose.“Four point

four billion dollars,” Zaricki said,“is a lot ofmoney.”

UniquepositionnowEven with the challenges and

uncertainties the depot has facedover its history, those workingthere believe its future is safe.“There’s really no other facility

that can duplicatewhatTobyhan-na has,” Rudat said. “So that’s anadvantage we have within the(Department ofDefense).”The depot has become so es-

sential that shutting it downwouldnotonlyhurttheregionbutcould hurt themilitary, too.“This is an enduring installa-

tion,” said Katulka. “That’s notme saying that. That’s the Armythat’s said that. We’re going to bearound in some shape or form.Like everything else we’re goingto continue to evolve. … We’ll bearound.Wethinkwehaveabrightfuture not withstanding the chal-lengesthatwe’vegotaheadofus.”Those challenges, Antonelli

said, include “declining defensebudgets, the changes to theArmyforce structure. As they go downthere will be less need for ourequipment. Disposable technolo-gy means big changes. Money’sdrivingmost of it.”

1912: The Army first arrived atTobyhanna after Maj. Charles P.Summerall, given the assignment tofind an East Coast location for anartillery training camp, visited thePoconos. Summerall leased land for$300 from Dr. George Rhoads, aprominent local resident, and directedthe 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery totrain there. The unit remained in thePoconos until October.

1913: The initial camp proved sosuccessful that the Army returned thenext summer and set up a camp ofinstruction for militia batteries and aschool for militia officers. The 3rd FieldArtillery marched to Tobyhanna fromFort Myer, leaving Virginia on June 2and arriving at Tobyhanna on June 18.

1941: Pearl Harbor attack prompted theArmy to train anti-aircraft gunners atTobyhanna. Gun range exceededboundaries of the 23,000-acrereservation, and farmers complained.

1945: At the end of World War II, thesite became a prisoner-of-war holdingfacility for German POWs.

1949: The Army gave most of the landto Pennsylvania, which would turn itinto Gouldsboro and Tobyhanna stateparks and state game lands.

1951: The Army formally announced itsplan to reacquire 1,400 acres of theformer Tobyhanna Military Reservationfor a new $35 million supply depot. Sitedesign and preparation began laterthat year.

1953: The Tobyhanna Signal Depot isofficially established on Feb. 1.

1993: The military ranked TobyhannaNo. 1 of the 10 Army depots in thecountry, based on overall quality of jobperformance, cost effectiveness andexpandability.

1995: The region rallied around thedepot when it was considered forclosure. A Blue Ribbon Task Forcecoordinated a ”Keep the Best”campaign. The Base Realignment andClosure Commission closed SacramentoAir Logistics Center and directed itsground communications-electronicsworkload to Tobyhanna. At the time, thedepot employed 3,589 people.

2004: The depot begins hiringadditional employees to handleincreased workloads. Its workforce wasat 3,300, more than 1,200 less than adecade earlier.

2005: On Nov. 11, President George W.Bush gives a Veterans Day speech atthe depot: “Tobyhanna is a fitting placeto commemorate Veterans Day. In thebetter part of a century, this facilityhas provided critical services for ourarmed forces. Around the clock andaround the world, personnel from heremaintain technology that our troopsuse to take the fight to the enemy.”

1912

1920

1930

1950

1960

1970

1990

2000

2010

2012

A CENTURY AT TOBYHANNA

Information and black/white photos: Tobyhanna Army Depot George W. Bush Photo: Times Leader Archives Mark Guydish/The Times Leader

1940

1954: On May 19, the Baltimore SignalDepot is deactivated and consolidatedwith the Tobyhanna Signal Depot.

1961: When the Decatur Signal Depot inIllinois closed on April 1, Tobyhanna'smission area was extended to includeVirginia, West Virginia, and Ohio.

1985: On Aug. 15, the railroad servicerunning to and from the depot ends.Depot-owned rail equipment,including two diesel engines, istransferred to other DefenseDepartment installations.

1982: The Tobyhanna Army Depot,accustomed to visits from militarypersonnel, documented a first whenJohn O. Marsh, the Secretary of theArmy, dropped by. The unannouncedvisit came during a week-long ArmedForces Open House event.

1980

2012: With a workforce of 5,500, thedepot marks 100 years of militarypresence in Tobyhanna.


A helicopter is on display at the Tobyhanna Army Depot.

Carbon

Lehigh

Wayne

1,998

1,409

748

501

201

108

89

86

78

50

45

Source: Tobyhanna Army Depot Mark Guydish/The Times Leader

TOBYHANNA WORKFORCE BY COUNTY

Lackawanna

Northampton

Pike

Schuylkill

Monroe

Susquehanna

Wyoming

LuzerneTOBYHANNAARMY DEPOT

MILESTONEContinued from Page 1A

Katulka

Nawrocki

Rudat

Antonelli


Tobyhanna ArmyDepot employeeDan Nawrockisits in front ofunits he helpedrefurbish.

The Tobyhanna Army Depot willopen its gates to the public onSaturday, June 23, from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. for a celebration ofthe Army’s century-long affil-iation with Tobyhanna. Guidedtours of the depot, a car show,Humvee rides, historic militaryequipment and vehicles ondisplay, a children’s carnival anddrop-ins from the Army’s Gold-en Knights parachute team willbe part of the celebration.There will also be a 5K run andparade at the depot.

PUB L I C I NV I T ED

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