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FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2011
Treatment program graduates praised Luzerne County expunges the criminal records of the nonviolent offenders. By SHEENA DELAZIO sdelazio@timesleader.com
WILKES-BARRE – One by one, 13 Luzerne County Treatment Court graduates had criminal charges expunged from their records Wednesday after completing the one-year program. “It’s not often we get second chances,” guest speaker state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, DWilkes-Barre, told the graduates. “This is your second chance.” To date, 94 participants have completed the program that began in January 2006. One of those participants, a mother of three, spoke Wednesday, telling the audience that thanks to the program and her sobriety, she is now able to concentrate on One of those her three chilparticipants, dren rather than her ada mother of diction. three, spoke Another graduate, a reWednesday, covering alcotelling the hol abuser, audience said he can that thanks now be a son to his parents, to the proa brother to gram and her his sister and sobriety, she uncle to his nieces and neis now able phews. to concen“This protrate on her gram has all three chilthe necessary tools to stay dren rather sober,” anoththan her er graduate, addiction. who also abused alcohol, said. “It is what you make it.” Due to state law and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations, participants of the program cannot be identified. To be part of the treatment court, participants must be older than 18 and have committed only nonviolent crimes as a result of their addictions. A team of professionals examines each case to decide if offenders should be included in the program and what treatment should be given to the individual. That team follows the person as he or she advances through the program with the ultimate goal of graduating. The program takes about one year to complete, and those who fail to abide by its rules are sentenced. Pashinski spoke to the graduates about sometimes being dealt a bad deck of cards in life, but working through it and “making yourself.” “Don’t give up … there’s more out there to this life (than drugs and alcohol),” he said. “Millions of people don’t need it … and you don’t either.” Luzerne County Judge Lewis Wetzel, who oversees the program with District Judge Joseph Carmody, said the program has been a model for the state because Kelly Cesari, treatment court coordinator and a parole and probation officer, recently received recognition for her work at the Pennsylvania Conference of Drug Court Professionals held in November. “Everyone is working together to (resolve) the same problem … addiction,” Carmody said of the program. Participants include prosecutors, public defenders, judges, probation officers and a host of other workers.
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Health survey to address drilling impact Northeastern Pennsylvania results will establish a baseline for future data. By MATT HUGHES mhughes@timesleader.com
SCRANTON – Researchers are hoping a new survey will provide a starting point to assess the impact, if there is any, of natural gas drilling on the health of Northeastern Pennsylvanians. The Northeast Regional Cancer Institute on Thursday announced the launch of a community health survey documenting the health status of residents in 10 counties: Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Pike, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne and Wyoming. The purpose of the survey is to establish baseline data so that any decline in public health or rise in illnesses allegedly linked to natural gas drilling can be measured accurately. “This may be our last chance to get baseline data,” said Dr. Samuel Lesko, research and medical director of the institute. “As these activities become more and more common, the baseline fades out into the background.” “Research is one of the most
NIKO KALLIANIOTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
Dr. Samuel M. Lesko, right, says it is vital to establish health results for people living in the area of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling now. He spoke Thursday in Scranton.
important tools in the fight against cancer,” state Sen. John Blake, D-Archbald, added at a press conference Thursday in Scranton. “… If there is a link to
cancer or other disease from Marcellus Shale, we need to know that as soon as possible.” The survey is being funded by a $75,000 grant from the state De-
partment of Public Welfare. Researchers at the institute, which has offices in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, hope to interview a representative sample of 50
adults living in each of the 10 participant counties about their medical and family histories, occupations and willingness to provide biological samples and participate in future studies. The study will collect data about diseases in addition to cancer, with a focus on the types of illnesses people living around gas wells suspect may be linked to drilling. Some areas it targets, like Bradford County, have seen a boom in drilling in the last three years, Lesko said, while others, like Luzerne and Pike County, are unlikely to see widespread natural gas drilling. Those areas should provide a control group to measure change, if any, in the areas where drilling is more active. Researchers added that they hope the survey will lead to a long-term study of public health and gas drilling in Northeastern Pennsylvania. “While it may represent a pilot it contains value in and of itself,” institute President Robert Durkin said. “We’re anxious to find out how open people are to participating … (and) we think that it lays the foundation for us when it comes to the more competitive grants from the National Cancer Institute.”
Wilkes expanding degree programs into Poconos A new building is under construction in Bartonsville, Monroe County.
By ANDREW M. SEDER aseder@timesleader.com
When Bucknell University sensed a higher-education need in Luzerne County in 1933, it opened a branch campus in Wilkes-Barre. Known as Bucknell Junior College, that school became Wilkes College. Nearly 80 years later, Wilkes (now Wilkes University) is following in its patron’s footsteps with a planned expansion into Monroe County, where it will open a new adult education facility in Bartonsville this fall. . Construction is under way on the 2,800-square-foot facility that will house two classrooms, a conference room and office space.
About two years ago, Wilkes began offering evening and weekend courses to adult learners in the Poconos by setting up operations in Pocono Mountain School District classrooms, said Michael Speziale, dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. The school then moved those classrooms to Great Wolf Lodge in Scotrun because of classroom access concerns on evenings and weekends at Pocono Mountain. The strong response from students led Wilkes to believe there was “sufficient demand in the Poconos to offer these programs,” Speziale said. So the decision was made to find a site to construct a permanent Wilkes building. He said Bartonsville was chosen “because of its central location and its ease of access to the highway.” About 60 students are expected to enroll in courses this
fall at the site. Wilkes President Tim Gilmour said, “We feel this is an ideal place to expand our offerings, based on impressive population growth and numbers of people eager to continue their education.” The Wilkes University Pocono Center will offer a master of business administration degree, an accelerated bachelor of business administration program for those wishing to complete their degree, and a master of science degree in engineering management. East Stroudsburg University is located less than 10 miles away, but it does not offer any of the three degrees, though an agreement with Shippensburg University will bring the master of business administration program to campus next year. Also nearby is Northampton Community College, which has a Monroe County campus in Tannersville. It offers
W H AT ’ S N E X T ? An information session will be held 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, at The Chateau Resort and Conference Center, 300 Camelback Road, Tannersville. Wilkes staff will be on hand to discuss the admissions process, financial aid and student services. Faculty will meet with students to address program structure and coursework. Attendees can register online at www.wilkes.edu/Poconos.
an associate’s degree in business administration but neither master’s nor bachelor’s degrees in business administration. Speziale said he does not believe Wilkes is infringing on East Stroudsburg’s territory. “East Stroudsburg University and Wilkes University clearly understand the value of providing people with access to the higher education programs of their
choice and we welcome Wilkes University to Monroe County,” said Doug Smith, East Stroudsburg University’s spokesman The Bartonsville site and the programs offered were developed to meet the unique needs of adult learners, including those working at the nearby Tobyhanna Army Depot. “Wilkes is dedicated to the adult market. We know that working adults demand convenient and flexible programs that will improve their career prospects and quality of life,” said Speziale. The Poconos may not be the last expansion for Wilkes. “We always keep the doors of opportunity open. We’re testing the water with this. But certainly we’re open to expanding to other areas,” Speziale said. He said there are currently no plans for additional expansion.
Sunday motorcycle sales, routine HIV testing, watercraft DUI among new laws approved by governor By PETER JACKSON Associated Press
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett marked the midpoint of the 2011 legislative session Thursday by signing dozens of new laws. Most of the laws take effect in 60 days. Some highlights: • Licensed Pennsylvania motorcycle dealers will be allowed to sell, buy or trade bikes on Sun-
day. Current law allows the sale of motorcycle parts and other merchandise on Sunday, but not bikes. • HIV testing will become a more routine part of general medical care, as the Centers for Disease Control has recommended. The current requirement for the patient’s signed consent will be replaced with a requirement that the consent be
“documented” by health care providers, and patients may refuse to be tested. • People younger than 21 would be immune from prosecution for consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages if police learn about it solely because the individual was seeking medical assistance for someone else. • The criminal offense of homicide by watercraft while operat-
ing under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be upgraded from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony. • The maximum penalty for public officials who violate the open-meeting requirements of the state Sunshine Act will be increased from a flat $100 per violation to $1,000 for a first offense and $2,000 for subsequent violations.
• Small, non-coal surface mining, including bluestone quarrying, will be permitted on farmland that receives preferential tax treatment under the state “Clean and Green” program. • Upon the request of a parent, the state Health Department must issue a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth for any fetal death previously filed with the department.
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