CMYK PAGE 4A
➛
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2012
PUBLIC RECORD Divorces sought and filed in the Luzerne County Prothontary’s Office from July 9 through 13, 2012: • Teresa Palmer, Dallas, and David Palmer, Swoyersville • Daniel Evanofski, Wilkes-Barre, and Lisa Evanofski, Exeter • Marina Hernandez, Kingston, and Spencer Velazquez, Hazleton • Antonio Rosendo, Jenkins Township, and Bryanna Rosendo, Wilkes-Barre • Robert Miller, Mount Holly, N.J., and Jennifer Miller, Pringle • Madelyn Colon, Hazleton, and Humberto Hernandez, Hazleton • Cindy Kaminski, White Haven, and Shannon Kaminski, White Haven • Edward Green, Sheppton, and Kimberly Green, Hazle Township • Thomas Kozak, Nescopeck, and Michelle Kozak, Nescopeck • Valentin Castro, Wilkes-Barre, and Luz Mendoza Veras, WilkesBarre • Tara Iovacchini, Pittston Township, and Daniel Iovacchini, Pittston Township • Sean Duffy, Plains Township, and Kimberly Duffy, Forty Fort • Jason Vanchure, Bear Creek Township, and Patricia Vanchure, Bear Creek Township • Robert Dudek Jr., Wyoming, and Shannon Dudek, Dupont • Michelle Hizenbaugh, Hazleton, and Thomas Hizenbaugh, Hazleton Marriage license applications filed in the Luzerne County Register of Wills Office from July 9 through 13, 2012: • William Joseph Lippolis, Mountain Top, and Krystal Lynn Webby, Mountain Top • James E. Degnan, Wyoming, and Rachel A. Zabresky, Exeter • Christopher H. Bonin, Drums, and Melissa Ann Riegel, Leesport • Gary Lee Machinshok, Wilkes-
Man gets jail for burglary during flood Christopher Balderston received 11 1/2 to 23 1/2 months in prison. By SHEENA DELAZIO sdelazio@timesleader.com
WILKES-BARRE – A man who admitted burglarizing a home in Wilkes-Barre during a mandatory flood evacuation in September was sentenced Thursday to 11 ½ to 23 ½ months in county prison. Christopher Balderston, 24, of Hazleton, was sentenced by Judge Fred Pierantoni on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit burglary and theft by unlawful taking. Balderston, who pleaded guilty to the charges in May, also received two years probation. Balderston and his co-defendant, Paul Chitswara, 25, of Hazle Township, were arrested after the Sept. 9 incident during an evacuation of the Wyoming Valley when the Susquehanna River flooded parts of the area. Chitswara pleaded guilty in May to charges of criminal conspiracy to commit burglary and criminal mischief and was sentenced in June to 12 months less one day to 24 months less two days in the county prison. Chitswara was immediately paroled to the county’s Day Reporting Center. Balderston was represented by attorney John Donovan. Assistant District Attorney Albert Yacoub prosecuted the case. According to court papers, police were patrolling an evacuated neighborhood and were approached by Chitswara and Balderston at West Ross and South Franklin streets. Chitswara, who was bleeding from two severe injuries on his hand, told a detective he needed help. Police said the two men had inconsistent answers as to why they were loitering in an evacuated area. Balderston later admitted, police said, that they forced open a door to a home on Conwell Street and stole a laptop computer. Chitswara allegedly said he is a drifter and had no reason for why he was in the evacuated area. Police said the two men had gloves, a utility knife, ski masks, a flashlight and head lamps. The two men were ordered to pay their share of $3,470 to the owner of the Conwell Street home and the owner of another home whose door was damaged when the two attempted to enter it.
Barre, and Misty Marie Kolarik, Wilkes-Barre • Robert Smith Jr., Pittston, and Rayne Gabrielle Deer, Plains Township • Anthony Brian Panzarella, Hazle Township, and Christy Mary Notaro, McAdoo • Jack Richard Lewis, Pittston, and Jessica Marie Posluszky, Dupont • Antonio Baratta, Berwick, and Lori Ann Butler, Berwick • Matthew Dougalas, Wilkes-Barre, and Julie Ann Keiper, WilkesBarre • David Ferando Orquera, Hazleton, and Ketty Taylor, Hazleton • Arthur W. Mills, Taylor, and Alma Lynn Gregorowicz, Mountain Top • Preston D. Hoyt, Wilkes-Barre, and Annette L. Delescavage, Wilkes-Barre • David John Woloszyn, Taylor, and Heather Ann Szczech, Old Forge • Eric Robert Bartos, Kingston, and Victoria Leigh Notari, Kingston Addresses unavailable for the following: • Gerald Orloski and Jessica Ashford • Gerald F. Lynch and Alicia M. Pello • Robert S. Williams and Alecia Marie Evans • Leonard Ameika Jr., and Stephanie Semian • Emil Joseph Gomba and Alicia Marie Hayden • Jose M. Caraballo Castro and Dayanne E. Baez Vega • Michael John Frank and Amanda Marie Calhoun • Matthew G. Nause and Danielle N. Carr • Edward E. McGrade Jr. and Vikki Lynn Whispell • Theodore Karabetsos Jr. and Hua Chai • Gary John Sagan Jr. and Justine Chick • Chad Fox and Michelle Lyman • Adam Christopher Shultz and Alaena Mary Sachs • Carl Eugene Hashagen and Cherry L. Watson • John Thomas Cruthers and Dorothy Elizabeth Chismar • Jared M. Fagaly and Tatiana M. Rivera • Eric S. Fay and Brittany M. Turnbaugh • Ray Jeffrey Williamson and Thelma Elizabeth Hopkins
N
E
W
S
THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com
Safety crucial in using firearms
Seminar on how to use and store guns correctly presented. By JON O’CONNELL Times Leader Correspondent
WILKES-BARRE – Whether it’s gun owners who don’t know how to use their weapons, juveniles getting their hands on guns otherwise owned legally, or criminals using them in crime, firearms incidents in Luzerne County reach into the hundreds every month, according to District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis. "Since I’ve been in office, we’ve had a lot of incidents," Salavantis told the audience at the Wilkes-Barre Crime Watch Coalition’s gun safety seminar Wednesday night. Salavantis, in welcoming the audience, identified the seminar’s importance and praised the crowd of about 75 for showing up at the seminar, held at the county Emergency Management Agency building. "I think it is amazing that you have so many here tonight who want to learn how to use (firearms) correctly," Salavantis said. Coalition President Charlotte Raup said the group had wanted to host a safety seminar since the shooting death of Tyler Winstead back in April. She said she, too, was surprised at the crowd. "I had to turn people away." Tag-teaming the two-hour seminar, Randy Shaw, a firearms instructor from Luzerne County Community College, and Cpl.
DON CAREY/THE TIMES LEADER
Luzerne County detective Charles Balogh talks about the effectiveness of a Taser as he shows a disabled one to a group at the county emergency management building.
Christopher Wilson, a firearms instructor with the state police, had a conversation with their audience about gun safety, functionality and maintenance. Wilson prefaced the lecture prompting those considering the purchasing a gun to think of their household’s safety rather than just their own personal safety. He stressed the importance of careful storage. "The gun improperly stored, becomes the weapon used against you," Wilson said. When asked of the crowd how many owned firearms, about 80 percent raised their hands. Fewer responded when asked how many carry guns regularly.
Ray Arellano of Wilkes-Barre said he has carried a gun for 40 years and, at this point, it has become habit. Arellano said he has never had to use it in self-defense. "There have been situations where you could be a hero, but you have to use judgment," Arellano said. He said you have to let law enforcement do its job. His gun was for protecting only him and his family. Toward the end of the seminar, the lecturers were hammered with questions about gun-carrying laws. "It is your God-given right to own firearms," Wilson said. "It is
not your right to carry (them)." In Pennsylvania, it is legal to own a gun and carry it without a permit, as long as it is within clear view of the public. Certain places, such as schools and courthouses, do not permit them inside. Traveling with a gun in the passenger compartment of a vehicle is considered concealment in Pennsylvania and illegal without a permit to carry for protection or a sportsmen’s permit. Without either of these permits, a gun must be carried in the trunk or outside of the passenger area, barrel disengaged with the ammunition stored separately.