091211 by Michael Sisak

Monday, September 12, 2011

CITIZENS’VOICE COVERING THE GREATER WYOMING VALLEY

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SPECIAL FLOOD COVERAGE EDITION

WATER FIGHT State, local officials revive decades-old battle over need for levees in West Pittston. COVERAGE BEGINS ON PAGE 2

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

2 – THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

AFTERMATH // WEST PITTSTON

To protect or to debate Flooding prompts new call for West Pittston levee By Michael R. Sisak Staff Writer

Bill Goldsworthy is acutely aware of the destruction the Susquehanna River has inflicted on his hometown of West Pittston. As a young firefighter in 1972, he shuttled neighbors to higher ground as the murky waters reached a then-record crest in the wake of Tropical Storm Agnes, which produced devastating flooding that reshaped the Wyoming Valley. As the borough’s mayor, Goldsworthy guided residents through the flooding that occurred in 2004 and 2006, both times seeing streets and homes nearest the river swamped with foul, coffee-colored water. As a resident of one of those streets he has had to prepare, like his neighbors, for the worst with each of the river’s ebbs, packing an overnight bag, moving valued possessions from his basement, and praying that the river — an unstoppable force of nature — would be gentle. Each time, in each capacity, Goldsworthy has pushed for an alternative to the maddening cycle of panic, flooding and destruction: a levee system such as the one that protected Wilkes-Barre and neighboring West Side communities from harm as the river crested early Friday morning at a record 42.66 feet. “I would like to see a levee,” Goldsworthy, now a liaison to Gov. Tom Corbett, said. “I have no problem with a levee. The levee could be a beautiful thing for the communi-

WEST PITTSTON: ‘Everything is gone. Everything,’ said Heather Derr, as she and her mother, Brenda Derr, continue to haul garbage to the front yard Sunday. JASON FARMER / TIMES-SHAMROCK

ty, beside protecting it.” Opponents to the levee in West Pittston have argued over the years that the protective structure would block their view of the normally placid Susquehanna. “They were against it,” Luzerne County Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said. The Army Corps of Engineers studied the possibility of extending the existing levee to West Pittston in the mid-1990s, when the rest of the system was reinforced and raised to 41 feet from 36 feet, but found the cost of the project outweighed the amount of likely damage.

INSIDE TODAY’S VOICE (ISSN 1070-8626) USPS 450-590 The Citizens’ Voice is published daily by Times-Shamrock, 75 N. Washington St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711. Periodicals postage is paid at Wilkes-Barre, PA. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Citizens’ Voice, 75 N. Washington St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711. 1-year, Luzerne County, $130.

ON THE COVER: An unknown assailant spray painted the message ‘Levee or view?’ on Luzerne Avenue in West Pittston. (RALPH FRANCELLO / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE)

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INDEX

Almanac 39 Advice 16 Birthdays 17 Business A3 Classiﬁeds A6-16 Comics 20-22 Editorial 14-15 Horoscope 16 National A1 Obituaries 24 Police Blotter 13 Political Scene 27 Public Notices A6 Puzzles 21-22 Sports 28 Television 16

History also played a factor. The original levees in Wilkes-Barre and on the West Side were built in the late 1930s and early 1940s. West Pittston never built a levee and the longer it went without, the more costly the prospect of installing one became. “At the time they raised the levee in WilkesBarre and everywhere else everybody said, ‘Well, why didn’t we get them?’” Goldsworthy said. “(Those communities) already had a levee, so they were just going up a little higher. West Pittston didn’t have a levee so they had to

Heather Rothman, of West Pittston, carefully walks through thick mud on the sidewalk of Luzerne Street, as cleanup was stalled because the mud in her home caused unsafe conditions.

SEE LEVEE, PAGE 12

JASON FARMER / TIMES-SHAMROCK

LOTTERY NUMBERS DAY

NIGHT

DAY

130

Quinto 60654

Big 4

8357

Cash 5 1, 8, 26, 28, 43

2488

TODAY’S FORECAST

NIGHT

Daily # 812

10213

Treasure Hunt 7, 8, 21, 22, 26

Cash 5: Two players matched all five numbers drawn in Sunday’s game, winning $112,500 each. Powerball: None of the tickets sold for the Powerball game Saturday evening matched all six numbers drawn, which were: 4, 19, 22, 32, 53; Powerball: 24; Power Play: 4. The prize goes to an estimated $25 million for Wednesday.

Cleaning up Wyoming Area cancels football game with West Scranton in an effort to help in the recovery process following flooding. Page 28

Clouds and sun today with a thunderstorm in spots; fog in the morning. Winds southwest 4-8 mph.

79 58 WILKES-BARRE EXTENDED FORECAST

Average normal highs/lows for the week: 73/53: Pleasant tomorrow with sun, some clouds. Winds southwest 4-8 mph. A shower or thunderstorm possible Wednesday. Winds north-northwest 6-12 mph. Cooler Thursday.

T U E S D AY

Partly sunny Last year: 77/53

W E D N E S D AY

A t-storm possible 72/48

T H U R S D AY

Cooler

70/46

F R I D AY

S AT U R D A Y

Mostly sunny 69/47

COMPLETE WEATHER DATA ON PAGE 39

Mostly sunny 63/53

AFTERMATH // RAISING THE LEVEE; COLLECTING DEBRIS

Levee shortens recovery time By Michael R. Sisak Staff Writer

The Wyoming Valley teetered on the brink of ruin early Friday as the Susquehanna River crested at a record 42.66 feet and surging currents imposed unprecedented pressure on the levee system protecting a swath of Luzerne County from Forty Fort to Wilkes-Barre. Had the levees failed — or if they had not been raised and reinforced in the decades after the devastation of Tropical Storm Agnes — whole communities in the core of Luzerne County would have been decimated, former U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski said Sunday. “I’m convinced that if we had gone through a second disaster like Agnes, it would have been highly unlikely that we would ever come back to the extent that we are back from Agnes,” Kanjorski, the shepherd of the levee raising project during his 26 years in Congress, said Sunday. The project, one of Kanjorski’s proudest achievements, raised a 15-mile stretch of levees to 41 feet from the 36-foot level surpassed during Tropical Storm Agnes. An additional 3 feet of protection was built in, but not advertised, to ward against the unlikeliest of flooding events. The river tested that extra protection Friday, as the river rose faster and higher than forecast. Floodwaters swept into communities not protected by the levees, submerging homes in foul-smelling muddy water from West Pittston in the north to Shickshinny in the south. An initial estimate from county officials put the cost of damage at $6 million. If Wilkes-Barre and its neighboring communities were also without levee protection, damage estimates would have run into the billions and more than 65,000 people would have been left homeless, Kanjorski said. “You can see the difference in devastation in the protected areas and the non-protected areas,” Kanjorski said. “The people in greater Wilkes-Barre and in Kingston will be up tomorrow and open for business almost as if nothing had occurred four, five days ago. There are so many areas that took horrendous depths of water that will really be recovering for months and months and months, if not years.” The levee raising project wore on for much of Kanjorski’s

Former U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski said the levee system, a project he took on during his career in Washington, D.C., is one of the finest protection systems in the country. MICHAEL R. SISAK / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

career in Washington, D.C., taking 25 years from conception to completion. Kanjorski, who once served as the attorney for a coalition of Agnes flood victims, secure more than $200 million in federal funding for the project. The project appeared to stall in the late 1970s amid battles over design and engineering. In the early 1990s, the Army Auditing Agency criticized the project as unnecessary and too costly, but Kanjorski refused to give up. He invited President Bill Clinton to tour flood damage in the Wyoming Valley in February 1996. After witnessing the flood’s devastation first hand, Clinton pledged to deliver the funding

required to complete the project, Kanjorski said. The levee system is now widely regarded as one of the finest levee protection systems in the United States. “Having served in government and having heard the criticisms most recently of government, the people of the Wyoming Valley at the very least should realize that indeed government does do some good things,” Kanjorski said. “One of them clearly has been the design and building of the most recent Wyoming Valley levee rasing project.” msisak@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061

By Borys Krawczeniuk Staff Writer

SEE GARBAGE, PAGE 9

WEST PITTSTON: Nathan Sompel, 7, of Clarks Summit, came to Race Street to lend a hand to a friend, as he halls garbage from the basement wearing a garbage bag. JASON FARMER / TIMES-SHAMROCK

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 – 3

With hundreds of flooded homes and businesses across the Wyoming Valley, and people eagerly dumping tons of damaged goods at their curbs, officials dealt over the weekend with the massive job of ridding their towns of the stinky, soggy mess. In West Pittston, elected officials’ initial answer was: let flooded residents deal with it. They distributed a flyer Saturday telling residents that disposing of their watersoaked trash was their responsibility because the borough lacked the manpower to do it. West Pittston Mayor Anthony J. Denisco acknowledged Sunday that the borough sent the flyer and said it was a mistake made partly because the borough does not collect trash and requires residents to hire

private haulers. After hearing complaints, the borough hired a private contractor to collect the trash and plans to foot the bill, Denisco said. The removal began early Sunday morning, he said. “We have a three-man public works department, we could never handle something of this magnitude,” he said. Luzerne County Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said county officials were formulating a plan Sunday to collect the trash. Urban said he did not know how soon the county would begin to collect trash. Still unsure of whether trash removal is a cost for which the county may be reimbursed by the federal government if a disaster is declared, they were looking for money to pay for removal, he said.

THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

Trash, debris pile up in flooded towns

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

4 – THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

AFTERMATH // PLAINS TOWNSHIP; FLOOD RELIEF DONATIONS

Generosity flows through valley By Tom Brolley Staff Writer

PLAINS TOWNSHIP: Andy Hornick Jr. shows the damage floodwaters caused at his restaurant, Andy’s River Road Diner. KRISTEN MULLEN / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

Landmark diner unable to escape river’s wrath PLAINS TWP. — For the last five years, Andrew Hornick hung a copy of The Citizens’ Voice from June 29, 2006 in his restaurant, Andy’s River Road Diner. The cover showed an inundated River Street in Plains Township with Hornick’s diner spared from the Susquehanna River’s last major flood threat. The Susquehanna wasn’t so forgiving to Hornick — and many neighboring properties — this time. Charlie Krommes, Plains Emergency Management Agency coordinator, said last week’s flood damage is the greatest Plains has experienced, even worse than the Agnes flood in 1972. Krommes estimated that 30 to 40 businesses and 50 to 60 residences were affected by the flooding. In Andy’s River Road Diner, floodwaters picked up freezers, coolers and booths and tossed them around the restaurant like toys. And water got into the

basement and eroded the earth enough to collapse a portion of his sidewalk. “We’ve never taken on any water,” said Hornick, whose family took the copy of the 2006 Voice with them before they evacuated. “We’ve been here 23 years, nothing. How do you like that? It’s amazing.” Local officials went property to property on Sunday to look at damage. Krommes said they hope to have a full, written assessment of the damage done by Tuesday. He said most properties sustained major damage while a few properties took on minor damage and a couple properties were destroyed — moved off their foundations. Officials emphasized to property owners the need to document and photograph all damage. Many property owners got their first glimpse of the Susquehanna’s wrath on Sunday as North River Street finally opened again. Krommes saw many of the same reactions when he spoke with different property owners.

THURSDAY

June 29, 2006 Wilkes-Barre, PA 84 Pages

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Susquehanna swells. Evacuation ordered. Disaster emergency declared. 20 pages of flood coverage inside

The June 26, 2006 edition of The Citizens’ Voice features a spared Andy’s River Road Diner.

JASON FARMER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

By Tom Brolley Staff Writer

into a fence and the side of his building. While Hornick will begin to clean out his property on Monday, Rydzewski and his family and friends began to gut the first floor Sunday. By late Sunday afternoon, they began to pile water-damaged items outside and they had torn down walls and ripped out insulation. Rydzewski, his wife, Donna, and children, Nick and Jessica, lived on the second floor of the property. He said they’ll have to find a new place to stay as the property lost its heating and electrical sources. Rydzewksi estimated his property damage could be close to $500,000. He said he isn’t sure how he’s going to pay a mortgage and other bills without a business open and operating. “This is causing me to move on,” said Rydzewski, who is a Class-A member PGA Professional. “This a new chapter in my life and it’s probably a sign to move on. We’ll see what happens.”

“It’s just shock here today,” Krommes said. “They’ve never seen it this way. They’re totally surprised and devastated by it.” On Saturday, Hornick and his neighbor, Rick Rydzewski, owner of the Academy of Golf Center, both snuck in behind their properties, away from the river, to see the flood’s damage. Rydzewski’s property also saw major damage as the entire first floor went under water and his pool deck moved 25 feet and slammed tbrolley@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — A Kingston couple and their small child nonchalantly dropped off cleaning supplies and a $500 check at a disaster relief center outside WalMart in Wilkes-Barre Township. The donation, though more generous than most, has been a common scene at two disaster relief centers at the Wal-Mart locations in Wilkes-Barre Township and Taylor. The Wyoming Valley American Red Cross chapter coordinated the donation centers with Entercom Communications, which runs four area radio stations — KRZ, WILK, The Mountain and Froggy. KRZ employees manned the Wilkes-Barre Township location on Saturday and Sunday. They said more than $10,000 combined was donated at both sites on Saturday alone and the Wilkes-Barre Township location worked Sunday to fill a third box truck full of cleaning supplies. “The people have been so generous that it makes you really proud to live here,” said Amanda of KRZ’s “Jumpin’ Jeff Walker Show.” The Red Cross collected the donated cleaning supplies that included bleach, sponges, garbage bags, disinfectants, gloves, masks, towels, sponges, brooms and mops. About 15 volunteers and three Red Cross workers put together kits for those affected by the flooding. Amy George, the Wyoming Valley Red Cross development coordinator, said about 100 people or families picked up kits Saturday at the chapter’s 256 N. Sherman St. location. The chapter will continue to hand out kits until all the supplies are exhausted. George said she’s already heard many heartbreaking stories about property damage in just two days. “If people need a hug first, we give them that,” George

SUPPLIES AND DONATIONS Do you need a cleaningsupply kit? Go to the rear entrance of the Wyoming Valley chapter of the American Red Cross at 256 N. Sherman St. in Wilkes-Barre. The Wyoming Valley chapter of the American Red Cross seeks donations to help with the costs associated with Susquehanna River flood. To donate: ■ Write checks to the Wyoming Valley chapter of the American Red Cross at 256 N. Sherman St., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18702 ■ Text redcross to 90999 to donate $10 ■ Online at www. redcross.org said. “Then we give them the clean-up kit and wish them the best.” Entercom set up a canopy and a Jack Williams box truck between the two WalMart entrances for the weekend. Donators stopped at the canopy Sunday to check a list of the cleaning items needed. The donators then went inside and purchased the cleaning supplies and dropped them off at the truck. Wal-Mart sold out of masks by Sunday afternoon and were nearly out of bleach. Kingston resident Mary Ann Mehn dropped off a cart full of water, Pine Sol and brooms on Sunday afternoon. Mehn was spared from the flooding this time around but she wasn’t so fortunate when Agnes ravaged the area in 1972. That experience compelled her to donate. “At this point, I don’t know anybody that was (affected),” Mehn said. “But everybody that was affected I know because we’re all part of the Valley. My heart goes out to everybody.” tbrolley@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061

AFTERMATH // WEST NANTICOKE, SHICKSHINNY

‘It’s like a bomb went off’ West Nanticoke residents pick up pieces after flood

By Patrick Sweet Staff Writer PLYMOUTH TWP. — Total devastation. When the record-high flood waters receded from the West Nanticoke area of Plymouth Township, it left behind destroyed homes and memories that will take months for residents to bring back to normal — or as close as they possibly can. Families spent all day Sunday tearing out the remnants of furniture, appliances and even walls and insulation from homes and businesses. Both sides of Poplar Street were lined with up to 7-feet-high piles of debris. “It’s like a bomb went off,” Ed Brennan said while looking at the demolished basement apartment of his rental property on East Poplar Street. Brennan,wholivesinamain floor apartment of the same building, used a power washer to push mud from his tenant’s apartments. He expressed frustration that cleaning supplies weren’t available. “For previous floods, the cleaning materials were there,” he said. “I’m not asking for everything to be done overnight, but what is the

next stage?” One of Brennan’s tenants, 49-year-oldMaryBethGray,had just moved into the building after a fire forced her from her Sullivan Street apartment in Wilkes-Barre in late May. “I don’t know how much more my heart can take,” Gray said. “There’s so much loss everywhere.” Down the alley from Gray, a team of friends worked to clean out JJ Banko’s Restaurant — which might have become one of the more poignant symbols of destruction after rumors on Facebook and Twitter reported it had been completely swept away. “How many times can you do this?” said Jeff Bankovich, the restaurant’s owner. “My biggest concern is that we’ll do all this and it’ll happen again.” Bankovich said his heart dropped when he started getting text messages from friends expressing condolences for the loss of his restaurant. “I was like, ‘OK, I just bought a new house and now I don’t have a job,’” he said. The building was still standing, though, and having removed all of the furniture and appliances from the building,Bankovichsaidthecleanup process wouldn’t be as bad as it

WEST NANTICOKE: John Sirak operates a front-loader lifting John Wagner to the ceiling to pull soaked insulation out at J.J. Banko’s Seafood Restaurant. Here water pours from the ceiling after pulling a piece of insulation out. KRISTEN MULLEN / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

looked, especially thanks to the help of his friends and family. “If you’re by yourself and you don’t have friends like these,” he said, “it would take me months.” He estimated they would be open again in three to four weeks. Just down the road on Route 11, 72-year-old Richard Stadts — a lifelong resident and unofficial “mayor” of West Nanticoke — dumped debris on his front lawn. He never left his

home during the flood, living on the second floor and watching the water climb to 4 feet on his first floor. “I’ve been here 72 years,” Stadts said. “I’ve been through five floods; two bad ones and three good.” This was a bad one. At 2 p.m. Sunday, water was still seeping into Stadts’ cellar. “The water is still coming through the walls,” he said. To make matters worse, Stadts was angry with one of

about having to clean up the oil flowing onto his property, but his hands were full restoring his garage that was almost entirely submerged during the flood. “I have to gut it right down to the studs,” he said. “I never thought in a million years we would get this much water.” Though many were covered inmud,exhaustedanddaunted by the amount of work ahead, theeffortsof theTilburyVolunteer Fire Co. on East Poplar Street were able to lift the spirits of many residents. Lt. Pete Kuscavage and his wife, Karen, worked with the Salvation Army to provide hot meals to residents, and Pete was able to get food and water from Price Chopper, his employer. Karen Kuscavage worked at the fire hall since 8 a.m. Sunday and late into the evening Saturday, making sure people were fed and helping in any way she could. “I haven’t even really had time to cry,” said Karen Kuscavage, whose home also had 3 feet of water on the first floor. “I’ve been passing out what I can (to residents).” Cleaning supplies for residents are expected to arrive sometime Monday, Pete Kuscavage said. “It’s going to be a long, rocky road,” he said.

his neighbors, a small auto garage next door where Stadts said gallons and gallons of motor oil were either dumped or left in the basement. As the waters rose, the oil flowed through Stadts’ property and pooled on the Valley Auto Sales property on the other side. “I watched the black oil stream out of his building,” Stadts said. “They dumped that (expletive) loose.” Lou Hillard, owner of Valley Auto Sales, also wasn’t happy psweet@citizensvoice.com, 570-763-9704

By Kristen Gaydos Staff Writer

ry Donuts and Bach’s Fitness, among others, carried out muddy stock and powerwashed equipment to the hum of pumps clearing out water-logged basements. “Every business is destroyed,” said Shickshinny Volunteer Fire Co. president Holly Morris. Morris said the borough had no assistance yet from the American Red Cross or county Emergency Management Service as of Sunday afternoon, but it was sorely needed. So many residents are left without the basic necessities, and they’re unable to take care of the simplest, everyday tasks

like brushing their teeth, she added. The borough will receive a shipment of formula, diapers and other baby items from CVS Pharmacy — their store on Main Street was among those lost — in the next day, Morris said. Those farther from the river didn’t escape unscathed. The waters rose past Main Street, through the borough building and Shickshinny Volunteer Fire Co. on West Union Street and petering out farther along state Route 239. State Route 11 around the downtown remained closed except to emergency personnel, residents and

SHICKSHINNY: Floodwaters inundate the downtown in this photo taken at 3:16 p.m. Saturday. KRISTEN MULLEN / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

business owners. Cleanup efforts were also underway across the river in Mocanaqua, although travel back and forth over the river remained tricky. National Guard soldiers and some resi-

dents took to off-roading along a railroad bed to cross over a flooded underpass that blocked the road to the bridge in Mocanaqua. kgaydos@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2118

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 – 5

Just a few weeks ago, Shickshinny residents celebrated theborough’ssesquicentennial on a wooden stage near the borough building. The stage built for the borough’s 150th anniversary moved 4 feet this week after floodwaters ravaged the area, wiping out the entire business district and neighborhoods below state Route 11 along the Susquehanna River. For some, the flood severed any remaining sentiment binding them to this oft-flooded, unprotected borough.

Resident Matt Hules, who volunteered to direct traffic and help out relief efforts, said he’s giving up his damaged home as soon as possible after seeing the devastation. “I’m done. I’m moving. Out of town, out of state,” Hules said. “I’m done with this town.” Residents and business owners were out in full force Sunday afternoon to begin cleaning up. Workers at Five Mountain Market scraped mud out of the grocery store’s parking lot. Behind them, an ice machine was visible wedged high against the front window. Business owners at Cur-

THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

Flood ravages Shickshinny

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

6 – THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

AFTERMATH // DOCUMENTATION & FUNDING

Federal officials begin damage assessment By Borys Krawczeniuk Staff Writer

Officials stressed the need Sunday for flood victims and municipal officials to document damage and compile dollar estimates of losses as victims dealt with the flooding devastation that uprooted their lives. The sooner they do that, the sooner direct financial aid can arrive, officials said. People with flood insurance should call their agents or 1-800-427-4661, a toll-free number for the National Flood Insurance Program. People lacking flood insurance will have to wait longer for aid, and documentation is

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especially critical for them toward ensuring a fair and accurate amount of financial help. “It’s very important now for them to get their estimated damage, loss of property to them (their municipal officials),” said U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton. Significant federal aid requires the president to declare a region a major disaster area, but that requires proof of substantial damage, which is why compiling the estimates as soon

as possible is important. Once data is gathered, it is turned over to the governor who makes the case to the president that a disaster declaration is necessary. The Federal Emergency Management Agency evaluates the data before making a recommendation to the president. It bases its recommendation on the amount and type of damage (the number of destroyed or heavily damaged homes);

damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure; imminent threats to public health and safety; and effects on essential government services; assistance available from other sources; and other factors. Officials advise flood victims to make lists of damaged or lost items, photograph damage and perhaps have a contractor offer an estimate of repair costs.

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water almost as high as second floors and stop signs nearly covered by water in West Pittston when he visited Friday before waters receded and residents returned. “It was a scene of real devastation. Even with all the technology, the preparation and the orderly evacuation, even with all of those processes in place … there’s still some things that are unavoidable,” he said, referring to the flooding. “We’ve got to stay together as one delegation and we’ve got to make sure that every level of government is pushing very to provide the aid … We’ve got to push real hard to not only have them make a (disaster) determination as soon as possible but to make sure the response is as substantial as they can possibly determine because these folks have been really hit hard.” Barletta said he planned to stay in his district this week rather than return to Washington for votes. “I can’t go back and leave the people like this,” he said. Barletta said he has called in staff from this Washington office to help here and announced the establishment of recovery centers where his staff members will help people with questions on federal disaster assistance procedures. Barletta said many flood victims are confused about what to do next. “I want to be able to walk people through this step by step,” he said. He also planned to keep his congressional offices in Taylor, Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton open until 8 p.m. Barletta said he will also have staff walking in flooded neighborhoods to get the word out on the need to prepare property loss estimates. “I’m going to do as much as I can with the resources I have,” he said. Barletta also said he plans to push for levees in unprotected towns that flooded, including West Pittston and Duryea. “The levee system worked as it should and it saved a lot of people and a lot of property, but there are other areas that did not have that protection,” he said.

THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE As flooded out residents struggled to get back to normal Sunday, the elected federal officials who represent them were promising vigilance in ensuring they get help. U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey, Barletta and U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, RLycoming Township, have all been visitors to flooded areas with Barletta expected to visit West Pittston this afternoon. Marino recalled meeting a devastated flood victim Friday at a shelter at Blue Ridge High School. The woman lost her home and her employer’s business was heavily damaged, putting her out of work. “She asked me, ‘Who’s going to help me?’” Marino said. “I said, ‘Wait a minute, we’re in this together.’” Marino is in direct position to help because he is vice chairman of the Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications and cochairman of a coalition of House members whose districts were devastated by Hurricane Irene. The coalition met Thursday with FEMA’s top official, administrator Craig Fugate, deputy administrator Richard Serino and White House staff. “I am an advocate of smaller government, for sure, but there are some roles that Washington is obligated to fill,” Marino said in a statement. “Making sure that we lift people and local government out of the ruins caused by natural disasters is one of them.” Marino has assigned three staff members as recovery coordinators: Jacque Bell in his Williamsport office and Cathy Romaniello in his Tunkhannock office to handle questions from individuals and business owners; district director Dave Weber in Tunkhannock to handle local government requests; and Robert Savino in his Washington office to deal with FEMA. Casey said he called the White House on Friday to accelerate the declaration process. He said he was affected by viewing first floors flooded,

UGI Officials announced repairs have been completed to the flood-damaged section of the natural gas system in Nescopek and crews are prepared to restore service to homes and businesses in the area. Additional crews will be available today to assist in the restoration. The following steps will be necessary to restore natural gas service to a home: ■ UGI crews will need access to homes in which gas meters are inside. If there is no flood damage to gas equipment, UGI crews will enter your home and restore service. ■ If there is customer-owned equipment damage and your meter has not been turned off, call UGI at 1-800-276-2722 and crews will respond promptly to shut down your meter. Homeowners should then contact a qualified HVAC contractor to repair the equipment. After the equipment is repaired, contact UGI to restore gas service. CLEANUP KITS The Wyoming Valley chapter of the American Red Cross will again be handing out cleanup kits beginning at 9 a.m. today. The chapter is located at 256 N. Sherman St., Wilkes-Barre. The kits will be distributed via a drivethrough so residents are asked to enter at the back of the building on the right and exit on the left. LUZERNE COUNTY The Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency Rumor Control Hotline (1-800-8213716) closed at 6 p.m. Sunday due to the amount of calls for information diminishing. Individu-

als can contact the Emergency Management Agency at 570-8204400 or by contacting their local municipality for specific information on their individual area.

County President Judge Thomas F. Burke Jr. announced that all jury trials are postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date. Jurors scheduled to report for the week of Sept. 12 are excused. Non-jury civil and criminal matters shall proceed as scheduled. BARLETTA OPENS CONSTITUENT RECOVERY CENTERS U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, RHazleton, announced the establishment of several Constituent Recovery Centers — places where his staff members will be to help people who have questions with the federal disaster assistance procedures. Beginning at 10:15 a.m. today, members of Barletta’s staff will be on hand to talk with residents, business owners, and elected officials to answer questions about the federal response to the historic flooding of the Susquehanna River. Barletta’s Constituent Recovery Centers will be at: ■ Duryea Borough Building, 315 Main Street, Duryea. ■ West Pittston Police Department/Borough Building, 555 Exeter Ave., West Pittston. ■ Bloomsburg Office of State Rep. David Millard, 605 W. Main St., Bloomsburg. ■ Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry office, 2 Public Square, WilkesBarre (for business inquiries). WILKES-BARRE The Luzerne County Courthouse and other county offices

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will reopen Monday, according to Luzerne County Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla. The parking garage on Water Street will remain closed. Parking will be available along both sides of River Street between North and Market streets. That portion of River Street will be closed to normal traffic. The Brominski Building is also closed. Employees assigned to that building should contact their supervisor for reporting information. KING’S COLLEGE King’s College residence halls and college apartments reopened Sunday. Classes and all activities will resume Monday at their regularly scheduled times. WILKES UNIVERSITY Wilkes University residence halls reopened Sunday. Faculty and staff are to report for work today. Classes and all activities will resume Tuesday at their regularly scheduled times. All online and conservatory classes will begin as scheduled today. WYOMING The borough mayor announced that Wyoming Borough is coordinating a program with Gerrity’s Supermarkets and the Wyoming Price Chopper. Individuals who wish to aid local flood victims may purchase cleaning supplies and donate them at the stores. Collection carts are located at the front of the store in all Gerrity’s locations and at the Wyoming Price Chopper. Requested items include

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SCAMS State officials are warning residents to be wary of charity scams in the wake of the flooding. “Pennsylvanians are generous and want to help their fellow citizens who are suffering as a result of flooding caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee,” said Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele, whose department oversees charities in Pennsylvania. Aichele offered recommendations on how people can check to make sure they are donating to a legitimate charity: ■ Be wary of high pressure tactics and door-to-door solicitation. ■ Ask for details about the charity, and how much of the charities’ funds go to their charitable purpose, how much goes for operating expenses and how much goes for fundraising expenses. ■ Write checks directly to the charity. Do not give cash donations. ■ Check to see if the organization is registered with the Bureau of Charitable Organizations by calling 1-800-732-0999 or online at www.dos.state.pa.us, then clicking on “Charities.”

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Nanticoke for opening their facilities to patients and staff. Facilities that remain closed until further notice include Pennant Laboratory sites in the following locations: 1701 Wyoming DURYEA Ave., Exeter; 201 N. Main St., Due to damage sustained in Plymouth; and 901 Wyoming recent flooding, Holy Rosary Ave., West Pittston. Elementary School, 125 StephenThe facilities will remain closed son St., Duryea, will be forced to until further notice as they are temporarily relocate. assessed for damage. School officials have begun Patients may visit www.wvhcs. planning the move to the school’s org or call 570-829-8111 for temporary location. No classes more information and locations of will be held today or Tuesday alternate testing facilities. as school officials determine an interim site and schedule a GEISINGER meeting with the parents of the Many Geisinger clinics will approximately 280 children who resume normal operations today. attend the school. Staff at the Kingston, Kistler and South Wilkes-Barre clinics WYOMING VALLEY will report for regularly schedHEALTH CARE SYSTEM uled hours, with the first patient With the lifting of the mandatory appointment at 10 am. The Dalevacuation order Saturday, most las, Wyoming and Tunkhannock Wyoming Valley Health Care Sys- clinics will open as scheduled tem have reopened. Monday morning. First Hospital Wyoming Valley reopened to admissions Sunday, FORTY FORT with the successful and orderly Forty Fort Borough has canreturn of more than 90 patients celed its recycling collection for from other regional facilities. the week. Collections will resume The health care system Sept. 26. Yard waste will be acknowledged “the extraordinary picked up the week of Sept. 19. efforts of the staff and physicians of Behavioral Health Services, LACEYVILLE many of whom left their homes to The Wyoming County Chamber care for their patients in alternate of Commerce sent out an alert locations.” They further expressed Sunday asking for volunteers to aid appreciation to the administration in recovery efforts at three large and staff of Clarks Summit State businesses destroyed in Laceyville. Hospital, Berwick Hospital CenIf you are able to volunteer, call ter and Special Care Hospital of Ken Patton at 570-335-7117.

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Garbage: Disposal will cost thousands in landfill fees FROM PAGE 3 “Right now, they’re telling people to leave it at the curb,” Urban said. N i ch o l a s M o r i c i , a n external affairs officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the removal of debris that causes hazards such as a downed tree that blocks a road is eligible for reimbursement, but whether the removal of water-logged trash from a home is reimbursable depends on whether it is a “risk to health and safety.” He could not say if such trash poses a risk, he said. Faced with a crisis, Duryea officials weren’t waiting for a determination of whether trash removal is eligible for funding. “It’s piling up,” borough Mayor Keith Moss said. Local landfills were not open Sunday, so Duryea officials collected enough to fill four garbage trucks with plans to dump it first thing today at the Alliance Landfill in Taylor. “They’ve already told us they’ll put us first in line,”

‘We don’t believe people should be on their own with trash pickup from a disaster.’ RICHARD A. MURAWSKI Exeter Borough Council president Moss said. Moss acknowledged the effort would barely make a dent in the mounds of d e b r i s g r ow i n g a l o n g streets in the flooded area. “That’s going to cost a huge amount of money — at least $20,000 by my estimate,” Moss said, referring to the landfill fees.

In Exeter, officials worried about spoiled food products attracting rodents. So they told borough residents in the 28 or 29 affected homes with some flooding to wrap ruined food in two trash bags and leave it at the curb. The borough’s hauler took it away Sunday morning, Council President

Richard A. Murawski said. As for destroyed furniture, drywall and other waterlogged materials and goods, the borough was waiting for the county’s trash removal plan, he said. “Most of the people have their stuff out already,” Murawski said. If the county cannot do it, the borough will, he said. Urban said the county will find a way.

“We don’t believe people should be on their own with trash pickup from a disaster,” the commissioner said. In Tunkhannock Borough, borough Council President Stacy Huber said a fall cleanup scheduled to begin today was postponed a week so the borough could concentrate on flood cleanup. The fall cleanup will be delayed a week in the ward, he said.

Mayor Norm Ball said the borough set up Dumpsters where flood victims could bring trash and public works employees cleaned debris with bucket loaders. “We don’t want garbage accumulating outside,” County Commissioner Anthony Litwin said. DAVID SINGLETON AND JOSH MROZINSKI, staff writers, contributed to this report. bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

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AFTERMATH // WYOMING COUNTY, DURYEA

Residents salvage what they can By David Singleton, Josh Mrozinski, Katie Sullivan and David Falchek Staff Writers

Wyoming County “My daughter lost her couch, her rugs and the tops of the floor we have to pull up,” Fowler said, adding they have no water. As Fowler spoke, Mehoopany Elementary School staff offered cleaning supplies and other items that have become urgently needed following the storm. Three days after Lee poured onto the area, causing rivers and creeks to overflow their banks, Fowler and other Northeastern Pennsylvania residents continue to struggle. When people elsewhere in the country commemorated the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 on Sunday, residents

BUTCH COMEGYS / TIMES-SHAMROCK

in the region pumped out their basements and mopped up mud. Others bur ned or threw away belongings they could not salvage. Many still remained in disbelief as they attempted to pull their shattered lives back together, while volunteers and emergency personnel provided food, water, shelter, clothes and cleaning supplies. “I can’t live here anymore,” said Connie Learn, as she attempted to salvage muddied and wet clothes from her home on McCord

Street in Tunkhannock Borough. “I bought this house seven years ago and totally redid it and it’s a mess.” She said never has had so much water in her house from a storm. Floodwaters were so strong that it pushed a refrigerator in Learn’s home to the ground. T h e fl o o dw at e r s l e f t Learn, a real estate agent, with damaged furniture and appliances bumbling hardwood floors. Learn, who spent Sunday morning washing her muddied clothes, said her house is a total loss. She said she

is worried the flooding damaged her home’s foundation. Debris cluttered Learn’s front yard, as well as the yards of neighbors. “I’m just hoping somebody will come and take it away,” Learn said, referring to the pile of furniture and other belongings. In Laceyville Borough, where the mayor has put out a call for volunteers, Betsy Jayne sat in front of her trailer eating a hamburger brought by volunteers as her street buzzed with volunteers and resi-

10 – THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

Ruth Ann Fowler, 69, no longer has a home. Her house in Mehoopany Township off state Route 87 is now shuttered because of damage caused by flooding when the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee dumped rain on the region. Fowler said officials are allowing her to salvage what she can from the house on Tuesday. “And then I lock my door and I can’t go back in,” Fowler said, crying as she stood next to her daughter. While Fowler plans to stay at her daughter’s house — which had been her parents house at one time and was also damaged by the flood — on nearby Race Street , she said the smell of gasoline may force them to find housing elsewhere. Hers was one of many tragic stories being played o u t u p a n d d ow n t h e Susquehanna throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania

on Sunday. In Duryea, Madeline Gillis clung to her “little treasures” — a handful of antique lamps she hoped to save even as rest of the sodden contents from the first floor of her home at 93 Chittenden St. joined a growing pile on the curb out front.

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dents attempting to salvage their lives. Jayne said she stepped outside because she grew tired being in her trailer — a total loss due to the floodwaters. “All of our beds are gone,” Jayne said. “The water came up 27 inches inside. The only thing we have been able to salvage is clothing.” Jayne, whose family has been staying with a friend, said officials have instructed residents that they can only use their water to rinse items. SEE NEXT PAGE

AFTERMATH // WYOMING COUNTY, DURYEA

‘We just have to keep our faith’ FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

‘To me, it would be better just to get the heck out of here. I don’t think I want to stay here anymore.’

She said they do not know what they will now do. There were portable bathrooms and dumpsters — two GERRY OLCHESKI items that have become comChittenden Street resident monplace in the region since the storm — sitting on her Everything right now is quesAt Agolina’s restaurant, 22 street. tionable — that’s the word.” Luzerne St., which had 7 feet In a neighborhood that had of water inside, two large Duryea, West Pittston never before experienced Dumpsters were already piled When the Lackawanna Riv- flooding on this scale, about full by midday Sunday. “We’re gutting it,” said er breached the levee near her the only thing in abundance Duryea home Thursday night, on Sunday, aside from sweat owner Joe Agolino, 66, whose family has operated the poputhe house where Gillis, 83, has and tears, was uncertainty. Gerry Olcheski, 73, had a lar eatery since 1962. “We lost lived her entire life filled with small army of relatives and everything.” about 6 feet of water. Friends, customers and “In the long run, I may not friends helping her clean out be able to use them,” Gillis, her home at 103 Chittenden, members of the Wyoming Valsaid of the lamps, which were where she has lived since the ley West football team pitched in to help pull items from the on Sunday set aside on the early 1960s. “To me, it would be better restaurant, occasionally askfloor in her living room as her brother-in-law helped her just to get the heck out of ing Agolino whether someempty out her other flood- here,” she said. “I don’t think I thing should be salvaged or want to stay here anymore.” tossed. He decided — relucdamaged belongings. In hard-hit West Pittston, tantly — he should keep one “You don’t know — you just don’t know,” she said. “Until the sound of pumps and gen- stack of papers: sales tax everything is cleaned up and erators filled the air Sunday receipts. “I ain’t paying it,” he joked. dried out, you don’t know as borough residents took the “If there’s nothing coming in, which way you are going to go. first steps toward recovery.

BUTCH COMEGYS / TIMES-SHAMROCK

there’s nothing going out.” Around the corner, Steve Chervenitski, 37, had about 5 feet on the first floor of his home at 319 Race St. On Sunday, two fellow firefighters from Tobyhanna Army Depot were among the crew helping him and his wife, Lara, stack the home’s flood-damaged contents along the curb. “What are you going to do?” he said. “It’s not like we did

something stupid in the house and burned it down. Everybody down here got it.” As Jim Riddle worked to dry out his home at 110 Luzerne Ave., which had a flooded basement and about 18 inches of water on the first floor, he recalled his encounter with another flood in the borough. In 1972, Riddle was living in Johnstown when his National

Guard unit was assigned to West Pittston for two weeks after the Tropical Storm Agnes flood. When his job brought him to Northeast Pennsylvania, his family bought the home on Luzerne Avenue 22 years ago. “It’s tough. It’s really tough,” Riddle, 67, said. “At my age, I really don’t need this, but we’ll get through. We just have to keep our faith.”

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AFTERMATH // WEST PITTSTON

Levee: Denisco agrees with Goldsworthy on need FROM PAGE 2 dig down and build it from the base up — that’s why ours was so expensive. If we had an existing levee it would have been a lot better, but we didn’t at the time.” Goldsworthy renewed his call for a levee Friday, hours after touring his ravaged borough with a contingent of state and local officials, including U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey. The current mayor, Tony Denisco, offered full support for the Army Corps of Engineers to build a levee, or any other flood mitigation project that would save the borough from future heartache, provided the federal government covered the bulk of the cost. “I’m in favor of anything that they want to do on that river,” Denisco said. “I’m definitely in favor of putting some kind of a levee, a diking system, whatever they decide to do.” More than 400 homes sustained water damage in West Pittston, including 100

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with water up to the second floor. The river crested nearly 2 feet higher than in the flooding from Tropical Storm Agnes and flooding affected at least 100 more homes than in that crisis. “This is widespread,” Denisco said. “There are new people in town. They’d like to see it stopped or held back in a little bit more.” Casey, a Scranton native, remained noncommittal on a levee for West Pittston, defer ring to the Ar my Corps of Engineers and local officials, but acknowledged the importance of the levee system in protecting Wilkes-Barre and on the West Side. “Cer tainly when the community supported the construction of the levee, that was a consensus decision on a step that needed to take place,” Casey said. First Sgt. Tom Baux, a 34-year veteran of the National Guard, spoke more freely. Baux, who was assigned

back to the West Pittston armory of the 109th Infant r y D i v i s i o n i n M a y, watched from a berm on Second Street on Friday as river water lapped against the armory’s brick walls, reaching as high as the second floor overnight before slowly receding. “This sur prised me,” Baux said. “I’ve never seen the water ever this high.” The armory and its surrounding neighborhood took on 4 feet more water than it did during Tropical Storm Agnes, according to an early estimate. Along Second Street and S u s q u e h a n n a Ave n u e, which runs parallel to the river in West Pittston, murk y water over took p ave m e n t a n d h o m e s. Roads were only passable by boat. “We in just as bad shape as everyone else is on this street,” Baux said. A levee, he said, definitely “would have helped.” Baux acknowledged the

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WEST PITTSTON: Paul Bradigan lends a hand to his neighbors at Agolino’s, by pushing water to the drain with a broom. levee as, “a touchy situation for the people in this neighborhood,” but considered the long-pondered equation of scenery versus safety as he looked after the sullied landscape. “You’re living here for so long,” Baux said, “aren’t you ever going to think, ‘I’m sick of this, I don’t want this anymore’?” msisak@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061

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