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Man riled by sobriety checkpoint alert service Man says he had to cancel debit card after alerts stopped coming but billing continued.
By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER tmorgan@timesleader.com
An area man who subscribed to a text alert service that identified the location of sobriety checkpoints says he was forced to cancel his debit card after the company operating the service stopped sending alerts but continued to bill his card. Paul Pavloski, 23, of Old Forge, said he spent more than nine hours during the past two days trying to contact NepaCheckpoints.com so he could cancel his service, but Pavloski said every phone number he obtained was dishe became connected, and the displeased firm’s Website no with the ser- longer exists. In addition to failvice after he ing to provide alerts failed to refor at least the past ceive any several weeks, Pavnotifications loski said, Nepadating back to Checkpoints.com was also preparing around Febru- to charge him twice ary. for the service in a two-month period, even though the agreement he signed stated he would be billed a one-time, yearly fee. Pavloski said he finally got a partial answer on Tuesday afternoon, when he received an automated e-mail reply from NepaCheckpoints.com that advised him the company had been sold to another firm, Phantom Checkpoints, and that “service will resume shortly.” The e-mail further advised him that a “billing glitch” had occurred during the transition that led to some customers being overcharged. The e-mail promised to refund the fees and to provide those affected with free lifetime service for their inconvenience. For Pavloski, the reply was too little, too late. He said he opted to cancel his debit card on Monday to prevent it from being hit with a pending charge See SERVICE , Page 6A
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LOCAL Artist’s power WILKES LECTURE SERIES
Author of controversial “Satanic Verses’’ shares thoughts on the intersection of literature, politics. By JANINE UNGVARSKY Times Leader Correspondent
WILKES-BARRE – Salman Rushdie’s writing career spans decades and includes more than a dozen published works, awards on multiple continents and knighthood by the Queen of England, and he said it all began with a little girl and a white rabbit. “The book that made me want to be a writer was ‘Alice’s Ad“(Writers) ventures in Wonderland,’ ” Rushdie said. find very “When I read it, I said, ‘I want to do that,’ powerful without any underforces standing about how hard it would be.” pushing Rushdie acknowlback and edged the childhood the conse- classic as his earliest inspiration at a lecture quences Tuesday at the Docan be sig- rothy Dickson Darte nificant … Center, where he spoke on “Public but … art Events, Private Lives: will outlast Literature and Politics in the Modern World.” tyranny.” The event was preSalman Rushdie sented by the universiInternational ty English Departauthor ment and sponsored by the Allan Hamilton Dickson Fund. The comment drew applause from the audience, one of many times Rushdie’s presentation prompted appreciation or laughter from the crowd. He took playful jabs at actor Mos Def, the Tea Party, Donald Trump and even his own profession. Noting that writing and speaking are very different talents, Rushdie questioned the wisdom of asking writers to speak in public. “It’s very brave of you to come out to listen to a writer speak. There’s no reason we should do this, and after an hour, you may agree,” he quipped. He also applied a bit of humor to the controversy surrounding the 1988 publication of his fourth novel, “Satanic Verses,’’ which led to book burnings, death threats and a call for his execution by the the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini. “The thing about that little quarrel with the Ayatollah is that one of us is dead,” Rushdie said. “That thing they say about the pen being mightier than the sword? Don’t mess with the novel-
By STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com
WEST PITTSTON – The Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority will give beleaguered developer Tom Greco 30 days to remove trailers from the Market Street Square property in WilkesBarre after receiving a complaint. During a regular meeting on Tuesday, recording secretary Margaret Thomas
told the board the authority received a complaint about two trailers on March 8 from a Wilkes-Barre resident who was worried about juveniles congregating around them “setting them on fire or something.” Thomas said she assured the complainant that authority solicitor Garry Taroli sent a letter to Greco on the issue and the authority received no response. Taroli said Greco planned to attend Tuesday’s meeting as well as a meeting in March, but he had to go out of state last month. Vice Chairman Joe Mazur asked Taroli for advice.
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Green jobs hearing set
The state Senate Democratic Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on green energy and job creation initiatives at 12:30 p.m. today in Scranton. The hearing will be in the Nazareth Student Center at Marywood University. Participants include Policy Committee Chairwoman Lisa Blake Boscola, D-Bethlehem Township, and Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, D-Homestead. Also participating will be state Sens. John P. Blake, D-Archbald; John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township; Larry Farnese, D-Philadelphia; and Judy Schwank, D-Fleetwood. DALLAS TWP.
Metering station on agenda
The Dallas Township Zoning Hearing Board will reconvene at 6:30 tonight at the Dallas Middle School auditorium to hear testimony for Chief Gathering LLC’s application to build a natural gas metering station off Hildebrandt Road about 1,300 feet from the Dallas School District campus. LA PLUME
Keystone speaker set
AIMEE DILGER/THE TIMES LEADER
International author Salman Rushdie spoke on the topic “Public Events, Private Lives: Literature and Politics in the Modern World” at Wilkes University. INSIDE: Click photos from the Salman Rushdie lecture at Wilkes. Page 6A
verse a little more. In order to push out the boundaries of the universe … you have to go to the frontiers and push … when writers do that, they find very powerful forces pushing back and the consequences can be significant … but you can bet that art will outlast tyranny.” Rushdie ended his talk to a standing ovation from the crowd, which included both Wilkes students and the public. Heidi Owens, an adjunct speech and film teacher at Luzerne County Community College, said hearing Rushdie speak fulfilled an item long on her wish list.
ist.” But the bulk of Rushdie’s talk dealt with how literature and politics intersect. Human beings are unique among the world’s creatures in telling stories, he said, and writers willing to tell those stories can change their world just as the works of Charles Dickens and Harriet Beecher Stowe prompted reform in their worlds. “That’s what all great literature tries to do,” he said. “It tries to open the uni- See RUSHDIE , Page 8A
Authority steps up efforts for Greco to remove trailers Redevelopment group will give businessman 30 days to get them off Market Street Square property.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011 PAGE 3A
The owner of two New York City businesses and graduate of Keystone College will serve as the school’s commencement speaker on May 21 at 2 p.m. at Bailey Field on the school’s campus. Diane C. Paparo, class of 1976, serves as principal of Diane Paparo Associates Ltd., a interior design consulting firm, and Diane Paparo Studio, a Manhattan business Paparo that sells fine furniture, linen and handmade rugs. Paparo, who served as a member of the college’s board of trustees from 1990 to 2008, is a native of Lake Winola. After receiving an associate’s degree, summa cum laude, in fine art from Keystone, she obtained a bachelor of fine arts degree, cum laude, with a major in interior design, from Syracuse University. HARRISBURG
Gov. appoints 3 locals
Gov. Tom Corbett announced recent nominations and appointments, including three local residents. All nominees require confirmation by the state senate. Nominated to the State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators was Margaret Davison Matisko, Wilkes-Barre; to the State Board of Accountancy, Albert B. Melone Jr., CPA, Pittston; to the State Board of Crane Operators, Paulette Burnside, Tunkhannock. WILKES-BARRE
N. Washington still closed
DON CAREY/THE TIMES LEADER
Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority members want developer Thom Greco to remove these trailers from Market Street Square in Wilkes-Barre.
Taroli said the authority could file a think we’ve been patient enough,” he lawsuit to force the trailers’ removal, or said. he could send Greco another letter. About the time Greco wanted to meet Mazur suggested sending another letter and giving Greco 30 days to do so. “I See TRAILERS , Page 7A
North Washington Street in Parsons remains closed due to inclement weather that has delayed the roadway reconstruction project. The road is closed because the city is installing the base course on Washington Street. City spokesman Drew McLaughlin said if the weather improves for the rest of the week, the base course will be complete on all the streets in the contract. McLaughlin said next week the wearing course and stripping will be completed. SCRANTON
Man whose house was condemned pleads guilty to endangerment Area man could get 14 years in case spiracy before Luzerne County Se- Michael View nior Judge Joseph Augello. of Trucksville in which cops found unhabitable View faces three and a half to seven also plead residence during child welfare probe years in prison on each charge when guilty to sentenced June 6. According to court papers, on May criminal conBy SHEENA DELAZIO 14, Kingston Township police con- spiracy. sdelazio@timesleader.com WILKES-BARRE – A Trucksville man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges relating to a case in which police found a bucket of urine and a bathtub of feces during a child welfare investigation at a Harris Hill Road residence. Michael View, 35, entered the plea to one count each of endangering the welfare of children and criminal con-
ducted a child welfare investigation at View’s Harris Hill Road house at the request of Luzerne County Children & Youth Services. Police said View lived at the residence with his 13-year-old daughter and his mother, 79-year-old Dorothy Breen. Police said that when they arrived at the residence and went inside “there was an immediate strong odor
of feces” and “hundreds of flies” throughout the house. The kitchen counter, sink and stove were cluttered with kitchen items and stained with food, and a bucket in the living room was filled with liquid. Police asked Breen if the liquid was urine, and she replied yes. A search of a bedroom revealed clothing, papers, trash, toys and a ripped mattress, while in another bedroom the walls were damaged and the ceiling falling in, police said.
In the house’s bathroom, police said, they found a bathtub filled with feces, overflowing onto the floor and rotting the floor and subfloor. “The bathroom flooring had collapsed, exposing the floor joists,” the criminal complaint states. A township code enforcement officer condemned the residence as dangerous and unsafe, and unfit for human habitation. The house was vacated and the child was placed in the care of Children & Youth services. Breen pleaded guilty earlier this month to similar charges and will be sentenced on May 13. Breen and View were ordered by Augello to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Corruption trial moved
U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo on Tuesday ordered that the trial of Lackawanna County Commissioner A.J. Munchak and former Commissioner Robert Cordaro take place at the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Scranton. In a motion filed March 24, Munchak asked that the trial be moved from Wilkes-Barre to Scranton, arguing that it would be more convenient for himself, their lawyers and potential witnesses who live and work closer to the Scranton location. They face a 41-count indictment charging them with racketeering, money laundering, honest services fraud, bribery, extortion, and other offenses. Jury selection is scheduled to begin June 6.