EDUCATION BEAT

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Flu remains widespread throughout US for third week; Pa. cases climb

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ICy AFTERMATH

W-B Area appeals ruling on GAR teachers

Arbitrator’s order reinstated teachers who allegedly drank beer just before chaperoning dance.

By MICHAEL P. BUFFER Staff Writer

Ice continued to be an issue around the Susquehanna River on Friday, just days after ice jams created flooding in low-lying areas and prompted a mandatory evacuation in parts of West Pittston.

Above: People stop to look out over the ice building on the Susquehanna River near the Market Street Bridge in Wilkes-Barre.

Right: A boy carefully walks on the ice building at the river’s edge near the Market Street Bridge.

county completed a reassessment in 2008 — its first since 1965.

All of the 76 municipalities in the county adopted the new county assessments for calculating property taxes except Wilkes-Barre.

WILKES-BARRE — An arbitration order to reinstate four fired GAR High School teachers rewards the teachers with paid vacations despite admissions to drinking alcohol just before working as chaperones at a 2016 school dance, according to an appeal filed Friday by the WilkesBarre Area School District.

The Dec. 27 decision from arbitrator Lawrence S. Coburn “usurps the final decisionmaking power” of the school board, which was authorized in the collective-bargaining agreement with the teachers union, the district claims in a Luzerne County Court filing.

The four teachers disputed testimony that they drank alcohol during the dance. But “it was undisputed” that they each had “a beer or two and a shot” at the Frog Pond, a restaurant near the school, shortly before the dance on Feb. 19, 2016, the district contends.

Coburn ordered the district to reinstate the four teachers and pay them their salaries since they were terminated in April 2016.

“Hopefully, this will be the final review, and all parties can move forward after this decision,” union spokesman Paul Shemansky said of the court appeal filed Friday.

The school board voted to terminate five GAR teachers for violating the district’s alcohol consumption policy while working as chaperones at the dance — Glenn Zimmerman, Jason Lukachinsky, Mollie Evans, Jill Wujcik and Corey Brenner.

The district last month accepted a separate arbitration order to reinstate Brenner without back pay. Assistant Principal Robert Watkins saw

Please see ASSESS, Page A6

Please see APPEAL, Page A13

Mark MoraN / Staff PhotograPher

W-B officials not fans of city-wide reassessment City official says reassessment could produce problems for property owners.

administration isn’t pursuing a city-wide property reassessment, even though a reassessment is “long overdue” and current assessments are grossly unbalanced, accordBy STEVE MOCARSKy ing to a city official.

Staff Writer Sherman Street resident W I L K E S - B A R R E — Gordon Williams noted at There’s a good reason the Thursday’s city council meet-

ing that there had been discussion in the past about city property assessments differing from assessments used by Luzerne County and the Wilkes-Barre Area School District.

Williams said he wanted to know if there has been any further discussion about creat-

ing a committee to discuss the city having a reassessment of property values.

The city uses a “common level ratio factor” to determine assessed values of city properties, resulting in assessments that are supposed to be a little more than 10 times lower than the county’s values since the

Prosecutors won’t seek life for killer Resentencing set for Kenneth Crawford, who was 15 when he killed 2 in 2001.

By JAMES HALPIN Staff Writer

WILKES-BARRE — When convicted killer Kenneth Carl Crawford III appears in court next week to be re-sentenced for murder, prosecutors will not seek a sentence of life in prison without parole — although he could still end up spending the rest of his days behind bars.

Crawford, now 34, has been serving life without parole ever since he was convicted of first-degree murder in January 2001 for the deaths of

the CitizeNS’ VoiCe file

Luzerne County sheriff’s deputies escort Kenneth Crawford into the courthouse for his murder trial in 2001.

Diana Algar and Jose Molina, who were killed in a trailer at a campground in Hollenback Twp. in July 1999.

At the time of the murders, Crawford was 15, and he later won a re-sentencing hearing as the result of court rulings

day that an expert they hired concluded a sentence of life without parole would not be warranted.

“As a result, we are not seeking it,” Luzerne County First Assistant District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said.

Crawford’s attorney Sara E. Jacobson said the defense was “happy to hear that news.”

After the hearing, Sanguedolce said court rulings have placed an “astronomical burden” on prosecutors to prove there is no chance for rehabilitation before a juvenile killer can be sentenced to life without parole for murder.

including a landmark 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held mandatory life terms for juvenile murderers are unconstitutional.

With his re-sentencing approaching, prosecutors revealed during a hearing Fri- Please see CRAWFORD, Page A7

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Obituaries / lOcal / natiOn

Thomas J. Sherwood

sisters-in-law, Howard and Lillian Gola and David and Joanne Price; nieces, Heide Sherwood, Deidre Otto and husband, John, and Michelle Dotzel and husband, Michael; and a nephew, Paul Gola.

Private services were held at the convenience of the family, with burial in Scott Cemetery, Waterton.

Kniffen O’Malley Leffler Funeral & Cremation Services Inc., Wilkes-Barre, was entrusted with arrangements.

George O’Gorman Sr. January 23, 2018

George O’ Gorman Sr., 74, of Nanticoke, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, at home.

B o r n June 24, 1943, he was the son of the late Helen Dauksis and James P. O’Gorman.

He attended schools in the Kingston area, graduating from West Side Central Catholic in 1962.

He went on to proudly serve his country with the U.S. Navy and worked at Mosler Safe Co. before becoming selfemployed.

George, known for his quick wit, always had a wink, a smile, a story to tell and something to sell. He had a passion as an antique dealer and later became an auctioneer, owning and operat-

ing Action Auction, WilkesBarre, from 1986 until his retirement. He also enjoyed finding and refinishing old furniture, an attainment he shared with his son, George Jr. Preceding him in death, in addition to his parents, were a son, Ross O’Gorman, and brother, Frank O’Gorman.

Surviving are a son, George Jr. and his wife, Christine, Shickshinny; a brother, James P. O’Gorman III and his wife, Maryann, Kingston; companion, Linda Hardik, Sweet Valley; n e p h e w , J a m e s P. O’Gorman IV and his wife, Heather; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and uncles.

Arrangements are by George A. Strish Inc. Funeral Home, 105 N. Main St., Ashley. There are no calling hours.

THE CITIZENS' VOICE A13

Rosemary A. Mulraney Dupre

January 25, 2018

Thomas J. Sherwood, 82, of Harveys Lake, passed away, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, at Celtic Hospice, WilkesBarre.

Born in Nanticoke on Jan. 31, 1935, he was a son of the late Margaret (Coulter) and Thomas Sherwood.

He was a member of Emmanuel Assembly of God Church, Harveys Lake.

Thomas served in the Naval Reserves and then joined the U.S. Army in 1958. He then went on to work as a vocational counselor for the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation in WilkesBarre for more than 28 years.

Thomas was an avid reader on a wide variety of subjects. He especially enjoyed socializing and could carry on a conversation with anyone.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his loving wife, Anne (Price) Sherwood.

Thomas is survived by a brother, Brian Sherwood and wife, Melanie; brothers and

22:39 | DONLINKEVI

January 26, 2018

Rosemary A. Mulraney Dupre, 90, of the North End section of Wilkes-Barre, entered into eternal life early Friday morning, Jan. 26, 2018, in the comfort of her residence with her family at her bedside following a prolonged illness.

Born Dec. 27, 1927, in Wilkes-Barre, she was a daughter to the late Robert and Rose M. Heylek Mulraney.

She was educated in and graduated from both the former Sacred Heart of Jesus Slovak Parochial School and St. Nicholas High School, Wilkes-Barre.

Until her retirement in 1995, Mrs. Dupre worked for the Department of Health and Human Services for 28 years.

Mrs. Dupre was a member of the Parish of St. Andre Bessette, North WilkesBarre, having previously been a lifelong and active member of the for mer Sacred Hear t of Jesus Roman Catholic Church prior to its closure and subsequent merger. At Sacred Heart she was a member of the parish choir, the Renew

Group, the Social Concerns Committee, the Altar and Rosary Society and assisted at the former annual parish bazaars for many years.

In her spare time, she was an avid reader. She also volunteered at the WilkesBarre General Hospital and belonged to the original group of extraordinary ministers of Communion at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, commissioned in 1983.

She was co-chairwoman of the Wilkes-Bar re Area Retreat League, was a past

parish chair man of the Junior Catholic Daughters and was a counselor in that org anization for many years. A bowler in her youth, Mrs. Dupre was a member of the Space Girls League for 10 years.

She was preceded in death by a son, Joseph E. Dupre, on Sept. 20, 1987; by her husband, Joseph F. Dupre, on Oct. 12, 2009, with whom she shared 53 years of married life together at the time of his passing; by her brother-in-law, Joseph Bardar, in 2004; and by her beloved cousin, Miss Eleanor Heylek, in 2012.

Left to mourn her passing are her sons, Robert F. Dupre and his wife, Tracy, Kingston; and Edward J. Dupre, Laflin; grandchildren, including Michael, Adam and Gia; sister, Mrs. Ruth Bardar, WilkesBarre; and several nieces, nephews, fellow parishioners, dear neighbors and friends.

Funeral services for Mrs. Dupre will be conducted at 10 a.m. Tuesday from the North Wilkes-Barre location of John V. Morris Family

Funeral Homes Inc., 625 N. Main St., followed by a Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. in the Parish of St. Andre Bessette, 668 N. Main St. The Rev. Kenneth M. Seegar, her pastor, will serve as celebrant and homilist.

Interment with the Rite of Committal will follow next to her husband and son in Sacred Hear t of Jesus Roman Catholic Cemetery of St. Andre Bessette Parish, Dorchester Drive, Dallas.

Relatives and friends may join the family for visitation and remembrance from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.

In lieu of floral tributes, the Dupre family would be humbled if those considering a memorial contribution in their mother’s memory kindly consider a donation to Covenant House, 460 W. 41st St., New York, NY 10036.

To send Rosemary’s sons and family online words of comfort, a cherished remembrance or for further funeral information, please visit our family’s website at www.

JohnVMorrisFuneralHome. com.

Trump, global elites relations thaw at Davos by catHerine lucey AssociAted Press

DAVOS, Switzerland — Snow was piled high outside, but inside the Davos summit, relations between President Donald Trump and the assembled global elites seemed to thaw.

Before Trump’s debut appearance at the World Economic Forum, critics speculated that the president would function as a protectionist bull in the free-trade-loving china shop. After all, this was a former reality television star who rode a wave of nationalist angst to the White House, blew up international trade deals and inflamed allies with his coarse rhetoric.

That uncertainty was clear as Trump arrived at the modern conference center Thursday for his two-day stay in the Swiss Alps. A hush fell on the crowd of people snapping photos and then someone asked the president how he would be treated.

“You tell me,” Trump shot back.

January 25, 2018 Overall, not that bad.

William Edward SchneiA memorial service will be While there were scattered derite Jr., 82, of Dallas, held at 2 p.m. Thursday from protests, some critiques and passed away Thursday, Jan. Curtis L. Swanson Funeral 25, 2018, in Wilkes-Barre Gen- Home Inc., Routes 29 and 118, eral Hospital.

Pikes Creek.

William Edward Schneiderite Jr.

GiAn ehrenzeller / Keystone viA AP

President Donald Trump’s speech is transmitted Friday on a screen on the last day of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland. many panel discussions with Trump-wary titles — “Democracy in a Post-Truth Era” and “The Global Impact of America First” — the president’s visit also brought him praise from allies, a reception in his honor and a fawning dinner with European business executives.

“I think I have 15 new friends,” Trump enthused about his business dinner.

Before Trump’s centerpiece speech on Friday, attendees crowded around an

international buffet in an open hall, dining on curry and empanadas, before filing into the brightly lit hall.

“Now is the perfect time to bring your business, your jobs and your investments to the United States,” the cheerleading president told the crowd, which seemed to regard him with a skeptical eye.

Applause was light, but the reception was generally polite.

Forum Chairman Klaus Schwab did draw some hiss-

es in his introduction of the president when he said Trump’s presidency could be subject to “misconceptions and biased interpretations.”

And Trump himself got a mixed reaction during a brief question-and-answer session. When Schwab threatened to ask a personal question, T r ump drew laughs by quipping: “I didn’t know about that.”

He also got a laugh about how he’s always been the recipient of good press coverage — but that quickly turned into boos when he made a crack about the “fake” media.

Showing up for the last two days of the summit, Trump flew over spectacular mountain scenery before landing in Davos via helicopter. Aides held Trump’s arms as he walked across the snowy landing zone to his waiting car — a wintry metaphor, perhaps, for entering the conference with caution.

It was not clear if he’d noticed a protest banner reading “Trump not welcome!” that hung on the side of a Swiss mountain.

Michigan St. AD retires over Nassar sex abuse case

appeal: District didn’t prove teachers ‘smelled’ of alcohol from PAGe A1

teachers union, the school board can fire employees who violate a policy barring employees from “reporting to work or working with the odor of alcohol on his/her person or clothing or with drugs or alcohol in his/her possession.”

The district did not administer a Breathalyzer test, and the five teachers “were permitted to continue chaperoning for the duration of the dance and were permitted to drive home after the dance,” Coburn said.

Watkins reluctantly reported what happened at the dance on Feb. 19, 2016, to Principal Colleen Robatin on Feb. 22, 2016, according to the arbitration decision.

“Although he had concluded that nobody was visibly intoxicated and that there was no safety issue, he lost sleep during the rest of the weekend and decided ... he had an obligation to report the matter to Robatin,” Coburn wrote.

The 2016 salaries of the four terminated teachers were: Evans, $61,163; Lukachinsky, $48,798; Wujcik, $59,732; and Zimmerman, $53,741. In June 2016, Zimmer man and Lukachinsky were placed on a furlough list when the district eliminated some programs and jobs. As a result, Zimmerman and Lukachinsky could end up working as a $100-a-day substitute teacher and placed on a recall list if reinstated.

A teacher who worked as a chaperoneataschooldancewas paidaneventstipendof $57.83.

Brenner with a can of beer in the teachers longue during the dance, according to the arbitration order.

Brenner in 2016 was the acting head teacher at GAR, a position that put him in charge of student discipline. During an arbitration hearing, Brenner testified that Zimmerman gave him the can of beer and presumed Zimmerman and Lukachinsky were drinking beer in travel mugs.

Brenner said he didn’t see them pour beer in the mugs, and Zimmerman denied giving Brenner the can of beer.

Zimmerman and Lukachinsky said they drank water and coffee during the dance.

Zimmerman used Wujcik’s credit card to buy a 12-pack of beer at the Frog Pond, and Wujcik said the beer was kept in the Lukachinsky’s truck, which was parked off school premises, according to the arbitration decision.

Coburn concluded the district failed to prove the four teachers drank alcohol in the school during the dance.

“Watkins’ instinct, after he saw Brenner with a beer can in has hand, was to tell him to get rid of it, and shortly thereafter to instruct Evans to tell all the chaperones to remove any alcoholic beverages from the site,” Coburn wrote.

The district also failed to prove the four teachers “smelled of alcohol at the dance,” Coburn concluded. contact the writer: According to the collective-bar- mbuffer@citizensvoice.com gaining agreement with the 570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

by DaViD eGGert anD larry laGe AssociAted Press

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University’s athletic director retired Friday, two days after the university president resigned over the school’s handling of sexual abuse allegations against its disgraced former sports doctor, Larry Nassar.

Mark Hollis, who had been in the job for 10 years, disclosed the move during a meeting with a small group of reporters on campus. He was asked why he would not stay on.

“Because I care,” Hollis said, holding back tears.

“When you look at the scope of everything, that’s the rea-

son I made a choice to retire now. And I hope that has a little bit, a little bit, of helping that healing process.”

Hours later, the university named its vice president to serve as acting president after the departure of President Lou Anna Simon. Bill Beekman is expected to serve briefly in the role until the board of trustees can hire an interim president and then a permanent leader.

Also Friday, USA Gymnastics confirmed that its entire board of directors would resign as requested by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The USOC had threatened to decertify the organization, which besides picking U.S.

national teams is the umbrella organization for hundreds of clubs across the country.

Some of the nation’s top gymnasts, including Olympians Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Simone Biles and Jordyn Wieber, said they were among Nassar’s victims.

At the university board’s meeting, Chairman Brian Breslin said it was “clear that MSU has not been focused enough on the victims.” The trustees, he said, want to resume discussions with those who have sued the school to “reach a fair and just conclusion.” Talks broke down last year.

The board plans to ask an independent third party to

review health and safety at the school, and it wants state Attor ney General Bill Schuette to consider appointing a neutral investigator to conduct an inquiry of the Nassar matter “to promote bipartisan acceptance of the results.” Schuette, who is running for governor, will further detail his probe in a news conference Saturday.

Trustee Brian Mosallam addressed his remarks toward the victims: “I am so truly sorry. We failed you.”

Beekman is vice president and secretary of the board.

He began working at the university in 1995 and previously led the MSU Alumni Association. He has an undergraduate degree from MSU.

Teens charged after girl with allergy exposed to pineapple AssociAted Press

BUTLER — Three teenagers face criminal charges after intentionally exposing a school classmate with a severe pineapple allergy to the fruit, authorities said.

Police in Butler Township allege that a 14-year-old highfived the other 14-year-old girl to expose her to the fruit during lunch period Dec. 13 at Butler Intermediate High School. The victim was taken

by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital where she was treated and released.

The suspect was charged in juvenile court with felony aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, and other offenses. Two other girls, ages 13 and 14, face charges including criminal conspiracy.

Chief John Hays said the girl’s allergy was well-known and pineapple isn’t served during that period but some-

one had brought it from home.

While pineapple is not typically a weapon, police consulted with Butler County prosecutors, who recommended aggravated assault charges because the girls are alleged to have been aware of their classmate’s allergy, he said.

“Thiswasanintentionalact,” Lt. Matt Pearson said. “They sat at the lunch table right next to her and talked about doing it.

Somehadreservations,butthey

wentthroughwithit.”

The Butler Area School District released a statement Thursday afternoon saying that “as with all student discipline issues” no comment would be provided on the specific incident.

Dr. Allison Freeman, an allergist-immunologist with Allegheny Health Network, told KDKA that bullying using food allergies is becoming more common.

2 suspects sought in Jenkins Twp. home invasion JENKINS TWP. — Two men robbed an elderly resident of the Port Griffith section of Jenkins Twp. around 4 p.m. Friday.

According to a press release from township police, one man came to the door and identified himself as a utility worker who needed to access the home’s electricity

resident in the basement while the second robber came through the front door Jenkins twp. police released surveillance video of the of the house to steal. suspects. view the clips at citizensvoice.com.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is panel. The man had a medi- to take him to the electrical asked to call the Jenkins um complexion and was panel in the home’s basement, Twp. Police Department at wearing a dark cap with a then he contacted another 570-654-1281 or Luzer ne County 911. dark jacket. man in a foreign language.

— Bill Wellock That man told the resident The first robber kept the

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Hit-run victim recalled as a good friend

GUNS IN SCHOOLS? Educators believe arming teachers ‘a bad idea’

By MicHaEl P. BuFFEr Staff Writer

Wyoming Valley West High School social studies teacher Anthony Dicton has a decorated military record and knows first-hand about using firearms in combat.

“I just don’t think arming teachers is the answer,” Dicton said Monday Since the Feb. 14 school shooting in Florida, which left 17 teachers and students dead, area teachers say they’ve been busy talking to other educators about security measures and whether teachers should be armed.

Last week, President Donald Trump proposed arming teachers who have “military or special training experience” and added those teachers could be given “a little bit of a bonus” for carrying weapons.

“That is not the job we signed up for. There is no evidence that arming teachers prevents violence in schools,” said Michael Cherinka Jr., a Dallas High School teacher and president of the Dallas School District teachers union.

Dicton, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and was deployed to Iraq in 2006 and 2007, said letting teachers carry firearms is “a bad idea,” noting it could result in an accident discharge or misfiring in cross fire.

“There are so many what ifs,” said Dicton, a Republican member of Kingston Council. “I could do it. I don’t want to do it.”

Please see Guns, Page A7

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Police said a woman has come forward in case; vehicle impounded.

By Eric Mark Staff Writer

Mark MoraN / Staff PhotograPher

Trump says he’s willing to buck NRA; Congress is not so sure By lisa Mascaro and MaTTHEw daly aSSociated PreSS

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared Monday he’s willing to take on the National Rifle Association over gun legislation, but Republicans who control Congress aren’t so sure. They prefer to consider only modest change s t o f i re limits rEad MorE arms in response attorney: deputy to the mass thought gunfire shooting at was from outside a Florida school. Page a7 high school. trump suggests Congress he and governors returned to would’ve rushed work Monfla. school.Page day without a8 following Some gun owners Trump’s are destroying lead on any weapons. Page of the major a8 initiatives he has tossed into the debate since the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Despite public calls for stricter gun laws,

TruMP Republican leaders have largely kept quiet after the shooting which left 17 dead and ushered in another phase in the gun debate, prompted in large part by the activism of the young survivors. Some students visited with lawmakers Monday.

Over the weekend, Trump spent time talking to Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, and the White House is inviting lawmakers from both parties for meetings this week. But Trump’s ideas to arm many teachers, lift the minimum age Please see TruMP, Page A7

Jason Filip spent his last night alive helping a friend, according to an old friend of his.

Filip died early Sunday morning after he was struck by a vehicle on the Sans Souci Parkway in Hanover Twp., accordingtopolice.

Filip, 36, had just left 6 String Saloon, at 1474 Sans Souci Parkway. He was about to walk to his home in the township’s Breslau section when FiliP he was struck and killed, according to Carl Yeager, who countedFilipasafriendsincechildhood.

Hours before he died, Filip attended a benefitforafriendwhoisfightingatough battle with cancer, according to Yeager.

Hesaidthatwastypicalof Filip.

“Jason was a guy who would go out of his way to help you,” Yeager said. “If you asked 100 people who knew him or knew of him they would say the same thing. ...

Every benefit, he was there. He was the lifeof the party. He was one of those guys youwanttobearound.”

The southbound driver who struck Filip just after midnight Sunday morning did not stop, police said.

Even before authorities identified Filip asthevictimof thehitandrun,hisfriends showered Filip’s Facebook page with tributesandoutpouringsof grief andshock.

Monday saw a major development in the case.

HanoverTwp.policeannouncedthata woman came to the department’s headquarters on Sunday afternoon and said she might have been involved in the accident. Police impounded the woman’s 2002 Ford Explorer, which matched the description of the suspect vehicle and had passenger-side damage consistent with the accident, according to police.

The woman’s name will not be releaseduntilpoliceconcludetheirinvestigation, after which police and the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office will determine if charges against herareappropriate,HanoverTwp.police Chief Albert Walker said Monday.

Please see vicTiM, Page A6

Eric Williams was murdered by an inmate at the United States Penitentiary at Canaan in 2013.

By BoB kalinowski Staff Writer

NANTICOKE — Ever since Correctional Officer Eric Williams was slaughtered by an inmate five years ago, the federal prison he worked at mandated two officers be assigned to inmate housing units.

He was alone when he was ambushed and brutalized.

Williams’ family fears swee ping reductions proposed for federal prison staff might force williaMs correctional officers to again walk the beat solo.

“We were able to initially get the second officer in the housingunitsandhopefully,because of all of this, it’s not going to go away,” Don Williams, Eric’s father, said Monday.

Sunday marked five years since Eric Williams’ murder at the United States Peniten-

tiary at Canaan in Wayne County, historically one of the nation’s most violent federal prisons. The family attended a Mass dedicated to Eric Williams at their church in Nanticoke. They also visited the cemetery, where fellow correctional officers held a grave-side memorial service for their fallen colleague.

Since his son’s murder, Don Williams has been a vocal advocate for federal prison safety through his group Voices of JOE — an acronym honoring the last three prison workers killed in the line of duty, Jose Rivera, Osvaldo Albarati and

Eric Williams.

Williams said he his taken the fight to Washington, D.C. for five years, but feels he only gets assistance and answers from the region’s members of Congress. Others either say prisons are as safe as they can be or they’ll get back to him, but don’t.

“I’m tired of the lip service,” Williams said.

Progress has been made — the second officer and allowing staff to be armed with pepper spray — but that will mean little if staffing gets cut to dangerous levels, Williams said.

Please see Prison, Page A6

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Slain officer’s family fears staff cuts will force prison guards to work alone

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Attorney: Deputy thought gunfire was from outside high school

By KELLI KENNEDy, BRENDAN FARRINGTON AND CURT ANDERSON AssociAted Press

PARKLAND, Fla. — he sheriff ’s deputy assigned to guard the Florida high school that was the scene of a mass shooting never entered the building to confront the suspect because he believed the gunfire was coming from outside, his attorney said Monday.

Scot Peterson has been called a coward and worse for failing to act during the massacre that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The criticism intensified Monday as President Donald Trump blasted the deputy and other officers who were there, saying they “weren’t exactly Medal of Honor winners.”

If he had been present, Trump said, he would have raced into the school during the attack even if he were unarmed.

Peterson’s attorney, issuing his first public statement about the attack, said it was “patently untrue” that the deputy failed to meet sheriff’s department standards or acted with cowardice at the scene of the Feb. 14 assault. He resigned after Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said he felt sick to his stomach over his deputy’s failure to intervene.

“Let there be no mistake, Mr. Peterson wishes that he could have prevented the untimely passing of the 17 victims on that day, and his heart goes out to the families of the victims in their time of need,” attorney Joseph DiRuzzo said in the statement.

The sheriff ’s account of Peterson’s actions that day was a “gross oversimplification,” the attorney said.

The sheriff’s office declined comment, explaining that Peterson’s conduct is being

Susan Allen, a Tunkhannock Area secondary math teacher and Dallas School Board member, was an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1988 to 2008. She said she is not sure if arming teachers would work.

“That’s not my job to do,” Allen said. “There are people who have concealed carry permits and are qualified. Me personally, I could not do it, even with my training. It’s not something I could do.”

Harry Haas, a Dallas Middle School teacher and Republican member of Luzerne County Council, said he has a license to carry a concealed weapon and is experienced with using firearms. He said “arming teachers” and “banning guns” are “knee-jerk” reactions to school shootings.

Haas added he feels safe in Dallas School District buildings because of security measures that limit access to enter buildings and the presence of a school resource officer. Haas also said cultural and societal changes over the last 20 years may a factor that has led to the increase in school shootings.

Wyoming Area School District officials and residents discussed school safety issues at last week’s board meeting. Ar ming teachers was not raised or discussed.

“School safety is a serious issue that requires serious solutions,” Melissa Dolman,

TRUmp: Senate GOP hoping to consider modest legislation FroM PAge A1

dAvid sAntiAgo / MiAMi HerAld viA AP

Parents and students walk into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Sunday for an open house as parents and students returned to the school for the first time since seventeen victims were killed in a mass shooting at the school in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14. investigated by its internal affairs division.

Speaking to a group of governors at the White House, Trump said: “You don’t know until you’re tested, but I think I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon.

And I think most of the people in this room would have done that, too.”

Peterson’s statement said he and a security specialist ran to the scene at first word of the shooting, a report that mistakenly said firecrackers were being set off near one building. He then heard gunshots “but believed that those gunshots were originating from outside of the buildings.”

Following his training to seek cover and assess the situation in the event of outdoor gunfire, he “took up a tactical position” between two nearby buildings while alerting dispatchers and initiating a “code red” lockdown of the campus, the statement said.

“Radio transmissions indicated that there was a gunshot victim in the area of the football field,” adding to his belief that the shooting was outside.

Gov. Rick Scott’s office has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the police response, and the agency confirmed it would begin the probe immediately.

Meanwhile, a state Senate committee approved a bill Monday to raise the age for buying a gun from 18 to 21 and imposing a three-day waiting period for all gun purchases. The bill also would allow teachers to carry guns in schools if their school district approves and the teachers undergo law enforcement training and are deputized by the local sheriff ’s office. About 300 gun safety advocates packed the room and dozens pleaded with senators to include an assault weapons ban in the bill. That idea was rejected on a 6-7 vote.

Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky told the Senate Rules Committee that many in her community wanted more than the bill now being considered, but it least it is more than what the state currently has.

“I can tell you from my friends who’ve just buried

their children, they want action. If it’s not perfect, it’s not perfect, but make it a first step in a longer discussion.

Something has to change,” she said. “We all want to make sure this never happens again.”

Earlier, gun control supporters on the steps of the state Capitol kept up their protests. Former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, now a Democratic candidate for governor, led more than 1,000 people rallying for a ban on assault rifles and criticizing the National Rifle Association for its proposal to arm teachers.

“We know that is dumb, dumb, dumb!” Levin said to cheers and applause despite the heavy rain.

Bused in from around the state, protesters wore orange T-shirts saying #GunReformNow. Elsewhere, a wounded student who has undergone three surgeries and still has bullet fragments in her body thanked the doctors and first responders for helping her make what she says will be a full recovery.

GUNS: ‘Teachers are not law enforcement officers’ FroM PAge A1

THE CITIZENS' VOICE A7

president of the Wyoming Area School Distinct teachers union, said Monday. “At a time when paid sheriffs deputies are refusing to enter active shooter situations such as what happened in Florida, we can hardly expect teachers to use lethal force in a crisis situation.

Teachers are already asked to give their lives for their students. Now they are being asked to take lives.”

The state Senate last year approved a bill that would give school boards the authority to decide if school employees could carry firearms on school grounds.

Gov. Tom Wolf has said he would veto legislation to let school employees carry firearms.

“I don’t think any educator went into the profession to be a policeman. They went into it to educate children,” said Meredith McGlynn, president of the Pittston Area School District teachers union.

Linda McClosky Houck, president of the Wyoming Valley West teachers union and a Luzerne County councilwoman, said certified and

trained officers should work as armed security personnel in schools.

“I don’t think the answer to violence in schools is to put more guns in there,” she said. “Teachers, we don’t get into this job to be security.”

James Costello, a physical education teacher at Coughlin High School in WilkesBarre and a member of the Crestwood School Board, said teachers are not trained psychologically to make “life or death decisions” with firearms.

“Teachers are not law enforcement of ficers,”

Costello said. “We focus on curriculum and academics.”

Cherinka also said arming teachers will result in additional costs to cover the purchase of guns and bullets, bonus payments and liability insurance increases.

“This will be another unfunded mandate where the local taxpayers will foot the bill creating more teacher animosity,” Cherinka said. “You will see teachers leaving in droves.”

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for purchasing assault rifles to 21 and impose stricter background checks were falling flat.

“You guys, half of you are so afraid of the NRA,” the president said Monday at a meeting with the nation’s governors. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. And you know what?

If they’re not with you, we have to fight them every once in a while. That’s OK.” Instead, Senate Republicans are hoping to consider more modest legislation from Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The “Fix NICS” bill, similar to one approved last year in the House, would penalize federal agencies that don’t properly report required records used to determine whether someone can legally buy a gun.

Cornyn, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, questioned Trump’s proposal to raise the age limit for assault weapons, noting that the minimum age to enlist in the military is 18.

“I’m not sure I understand the 21 age. I think there are better ways to address it than just an arbitrary age increase,” he told The Washington Times.

Trump insisted Monday that sometimes political leaders need to buck the NRA, which builds its political power by major campaign spending and motivating gun rights

supporters to vote. Though he did not mention increasing the minimum age for rifle purchases, he wants to toughen the Cornyn bill with stricter background checks, a change the NRA has opposed.

“We’re going to strengthen it,” Trump said. “We’re going to make it more pertinent to what we’re discussing.”

Democrats have long pressed for more sweeping changes toward a universal background check system, including requiring inquiries for online and gun show purchases.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Monday that if all Congress can accomplish is passage of the “Fix NICS” bill “it would be an abject failure and a dereliction of our duty.”

Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., are reviving their background check bill, which failed earlier, including after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. Manchin said opponents at the time worried then-President Barack Obama would impose even stricter restrictions.

“Well they’re not having that fear right now with President Trump,” he said.

At a minimum, Congress should approve universal background checks, Schumer said, denouncing “NRAbacked bills that make Republicans feel better without meaningfully addressing the issue of gun safety.”

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A3

Wyoming Area board member resigns over security issues By miCHael p. Buffer Staff Writer BoB KalinoWSKi / Staff photo

Rice Twp. Elementary was on lockdown Wednesday after an alleged threat was discovered on a bathroom stall.

Authorities probe threat that caused lockdown at Rice Twp. Elementary

By BoB KalinowsKi Staff Writer

RICE TWP. — Investigators say a threat written on a bathroom stall prompted a lockdown Wednesday afternoon at Rice Twp. Elementary, which also restricted movement for a large group of parents gathered for an spring party that had to be canceled.

With students barred from leaving classrooms, officers swept the entire property with dogs and determined the building was safe and there was no danger, authorities said.

Now investigators will try to identify who wrote the threat, Crestwood Superintendent Joe Gorham said.

“It was security and safety first. Now, it’s the investigation,” Gorham said inside one of the school’s offices after the lockdown was lifted.

A teacher spotted the threatening message around 1:30 p.m., prompting the school’s “restrictive movement” security protocol, the district said in a prepared statement. Details about what the threat said were not released Ashton Medeiros, a sixthgrade student at the school and the daughter of a Times-Shamrock editor, described the tense atmosphere after the threat was discovered.

“WhileIwaswaitinginanticipation for our spring party in Mrs. Covelens’ room, everyone heard an announcement over the loud speaker, ‘All students and teachers will now go into restricted movement,’” the 11-year-oldrecalledinanemail.

She said she was “scared” and asked classmates what was happening. No one knew.

Eventually, after about an hour, they were led away from the classroom.

“What I saw as we were leaving were officers all over with the sheriff and police dogs.

Everyone was confused and we saw cop cars outside. At the moment, I was scared, confused, while also being curious,” Medeiros wrote.

Medeiros said she saw caution tape in the school’s fifthgrade area.

Rice Twp. police said in a press release that the forensic unit of the state police processed the scene in the vicinity of the threat.

Police say they also plan to review security camera footage.

Out of “an abundance of caution,” there will be an increased police presence at the school, which is located at 3700 Church Road, police announced.

Morethan800students,from

kindergarten to sixth grade, attend the school each day.

Police said a large group of parents were also on the school’s campus for the spring party when the threat was discovered and they were forced to wait inside an gymnasium throughout the lockdown.

Some parents said they were scared during the incident and worried about their children, not knowing the reason for the lockdown as they waited in the gym for nearly 90 minutes.

Parents already on scene started calmly exiting the school with their children — many wearing paper bunny ears on their head — around 3:15 p.m. in what the district called a “controlled release.”

Police blocked access to Church Road, allowing only parents to pass through to pick up their children.

The first official information released by the district came around 3:47 p.m. when a recorded audio message was sent to parents notifying them that dismissal was running late. No reason was given.

Around that time, children started boarding buses — which the district said was about 20 minutes later than normal.

By 4:15 p.m., almost all law

enforcement left the scene.

At 4:36 p.m., the district sent out a follow-up message giving details about the incident, saying a “statement” written in a bathroom led to the “restrictive movement” protocol.

Wednesday’s incident mirrors another threat made two weeks prior at the Wyoming Area Secondary Center in Exeter. In that incident, a juvenile was charged in connection with a threat scrawled on a wall in a boy’s restroom, prompting fears of a gunman on campus and a daylong lockdown. No weapon was located.

After the Wyoming Area incident, Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis issued a statement saying such threats will not be tolerated and suspects will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

She also said the district attorney’s office was “reviewing policies and procedures” about responses to such cases because her office was not contacted for hours after the Wyoming Area incident. A Luzerne County detective from the district attorney’s office was on scene Wednesday in Rice Twp. Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

Carl Yorina Jr. resigned from the Wyoming Area School Board over issues involving school security, board President Beth GoberMangan said Wednesday.

The board accepted his resignation at T u e s d ay ’s meeting. Yorina did not attend.

“I’m going to keep my mouth shut,” Yorina said yorina Wednesday.

“Everybody on the board knows why. ... I’m just going to fade away.”

The board has 30 days to appoint a new member to the now vacant seat.

“There was a difference of opinion. It escalated after the threat we had,” Gober-Mangan said, noting the district would need a comprehensive plan to install a more-active security staff.

At the board’s March 20 meeting, school district officials defended the district’s response to the discovery of a threatening message found March 15 inside a secondary center restroom. The discovery of the message led to a lockdown of students and staff for more than five hours March 15 and the identification of a suspect, who was since charged in juvenile court.

On March 19, the secondary centerbeganusingmetaldetectors for everyone entering Contact the writer: when the school day began, mbuffer@citizensvoice.com and all bags are now inspected. 570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

W-B man faces drug trafficking charges

By James Halpin Staff Writer

Warren ruda / Staff photographer

planting pinwheels for child abuse awareness County leaders, the District Attorney’s Office, law enforcement and Children & Youth joined Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center staff in the annual planting of the pinwheels Wednesday to prepare for the LCCAC Pinwheel Dedication Ceremony on April 6.

The two events will be the Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center’s kick off to Child Abuse Awareness Month in April. This year, 540 pinwheels were planted on the courthouse lawn in Wilkes-Barre to honor the 540 abused children who received services from our Warren ruda / Staff photographer center in 2017. Above: People plant pinwheels Kingston police officer John Sosnoski plants a pinwheel Wednesday on the courthouse lawn. For video and more photos from the event, go to citizensvoice.com. on the courthouse lawn Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre.

250 Pierce St., Suite 103

The school had two metal detectors, but they were used randomly.

The district didn’t have enough staff to require everyoneenteringtogothroughmetal detectors, but the district is now paying constables to help Wyoming Area School Resource Officer Christopher Alberigi and administrators with new security procedures.

After the Feb. 14 shooting deaths of 17 at a high school in Parkland, Florida, Wyoming Area Superintendent Janet Serino announced the district was going to hire an second school resource officer. Yorina has posted messages on Facebook in support of arming teachers since the Florida school shooting.

Yorina also posted an article that sheriff’s deputies in Broward County, Florida, will now carry AR-15 rifles while on school campuses with the following comment, “No comment needed. The best defense...is a good offense.”

Gober-Mangan didn’t want to disclose security details, including the types of weapons and firearms accessible to constables and the school resource officerwhileonschoolproperty.

YorinalivesinWyomingand was first elected to the board in 2011. When he won a second four-year term in 2015, he was working as assistant director of maintenanceandoperations at Bloomsburg University.

“I’m sorry to see him go. He was a good part of the team,” Gober-Mangan said.

but before making the deal Wasilewski directed them to drive to another location. They eventually agreed to do the deal at the mall, where the informant handed over the money and Wasilewski passeda bag of meth that was in his mouth, according to the complaint.

Officers converged on Wasilewski as soon as he entered Bon Ton. Police say he dropped the buy money and tried to run, but was quickly apprehended.

Police charged Wasilewski with three felony counts of drug trafficking and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.

Magisterial District Judge T h o m a s F. M a l l oy S r. arraigned him on Tuesday morning and ordered him jailed with bail set at $75,000. A preliminary hearing was set for April 9.

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — A Wilkes-Barre man who allegedly agreed to sell a police informant an eight-ball of methamphetamine at the Wyoming Valley Mall is facing drug trafficking charges.

Ryan Andrew Wasilewski, 27, is accused of selling the drugs to an informant working for the state Attorney General’s Office during a controlled buy at the mall Monday.

According to a police affidavit, the informant texted Wasilewski asking to buy meth, and they agreed to meet in Dunmore. But after police provided the informant with the buy money, Wasilewski called to say he was heading back to the Wilkes-Barre area.

He subsequently set up a meeting at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Twp., police said.

The informant and an Contact the writer: undercover officer picked jhalpin@citizensvoice.com Wasilewski up at the casino, 570-821-2058

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Dallas to appeal ruling on teacher firing

PROVING YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD

Scott Zedar was fired by the district in 2017 for failing to disclose a resignation deal with Wyoming Valley West.

BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER STAFF WRITER

WILKES-BARRE — The Dallas School District is appealing an arbitration ruling to reinstate a high school technology teacher terminated last year and pay him back lost wages.

The district fired Scott Zedar in February 2017 for not disclosing a 2009 resignation deal with the Wyoming Valley West School District and allegations he made ZEDAR sexually inappropriate comments to a female student at Wyoming Valley West High School, according to a filing in Luzerne County Court.

Zedar refused to answer questions about the deal during a personnel hearing in January 2017, citing a confidentiality clause in the 2009 agreement, and he asserted the Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination, the filing says.

Dallas hired Zedar in 2012, and the school board voted to fire him Feb. 13, 2017. His annual salary was $39,818.

The teachers union contested the termination by filing a grievance, and arbitrator Debra K. Wallet ruled on the grievance April 20 with an order to reinstate him.

Zedar had “a reasonable basis for declining to answer” questions from Dallas Superintendent Thomas Duffy during the 2017 personnel hearing, Wallet wrote in her decision. Answering Duffy’s questions would have violated the confidentiality clause in the 2009 separation agreement and could “have potentially violated his Fifth Amendment constitutional rights,” Wallet said.

MARK MORAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Ted Geffert, 82, of Mountain Top, will be the oldest graduate in the history of Luzerne County Community College at the College’s annual commencement ceremony on Thursday.

Mountain Top man, 82, set to become LCCC’s oldest graduate ever

BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER STAFF WRITER

Ted Geffert retired as superintendent of the Crestwood School District in 2004, but he continued taking college courses to learn more about computers and technology.

He did it in part because his son works in the internet-security field and he also considers himself to be “a lifelong learner.”

Then a few years back, he realized he was accumulating enough credits to get an associate’s degree in computer information systems.

He’s now 82, and on Thursday, he

will become the oldest graduate in the history of Luzerne County Community College at the college’s annual commencement ceremony at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“I enjoy learning,” Geffert said.

And he’s not done. He said he now wants to earn an associate’s degree in internet security.

Shirley Yanovich, chairwoman of the college’s computer information systems department, said she encouraged Geffert to get an associate’s degree.

“He was taking six credits at a time, so I encouraged him to get an associate’s degree,” she said. “Why

not? He is very interested in new technology. He is not as fast as our younger students. But he works very hard. He’s inquisitive. He wants to learn more. I wish all our students were like that.”

Geffert has been taking course at the community college since 1974.

The college celebrated its 50th anniversary in the fall.

Geffert graduated from Wright Township High School in 1953. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and then pursued a career as an educator, first as a math teacher at Kingston High School and Crestwood High School.

He later became a principal at Crestwood High School and Rice Elementary School and then became Crestwood superintendent in 1999.

Geffert and his wife Joan live in Fairview Twp. He has three children and seven grandchildren.

After he receives his associate’s degree Thursday, Geffert said he’s getting on a plane to go to Peachtree City, Georgia, to attend a high school graduation ceremony for one of his granddaughters.

Contact the writer: mbuffer@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

FBI, Justice to ‘review’ classified information sought by lawmakers Agreement comes after Trump demands investigation into possible FBI infiltration into his 2016 campaign.

BY DESMOND BUTLER AND CHAD DAY ASSOCIATED PRESS

announced Monday that top FBI and Justice Department officials have agreed to meet WASHINGTON — Ratchet- with congressional leaders ing up pressure on the Russia and “review” highly classified investigation, the White House information the lawmakers

gatewhethertheFBIinfiltrated his presidential campaign. It’s unclear exactly what the memhave been seeking on the han- bers will be allowed to review or if the Justice Department dling of the probe.

The agreement came after will be providing any docuPresident Donald Trump made ments to Congress. an extraordinary demand that Please see TRUMP, Page A11 the Justice Department investi-

TRUMP

Please see TEACHER, Page A6 ADVE RTISE M E NT

BY NICOLE WINFIELD ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANDRES KUDACKI / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

Juan Carlos Cruz was the main whistleblower in Chile’s clerical sex abuse scandal.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ reported comments to a gay man that “God made you like this” have been embraced by the LGBT community as another sign of Francis’ desire to make gay people feel welcomed and loved in the Catholic Church.

Juan Carlos Cruz, the main whistleblower in Chile’s clerical sex abuse and cover-up scandal, said Monday he spoke to Francis about his homosexuality during their recent meetings at the Vatican. The pope invited Cruz and other victims of a Chilean predator priest to dis-

cuss their cases last month.

Cruz said he told Francis how Chile’s bishops used his sexual orientation as a weapon to try to discredit him, and of the pain the personal attacks had caused him.

“He said, ‘Look Juan Carlos, the pope loves you this way. God made you like this and he loves you,”’ Cruz told The Associated Press.

The Vatican declined to confirm or deny the remarks in keeping with its policy not to comment on the pope’s private conversations. The comments first were reported by Spain’s El Pais newspaper.

Please see POPE, Page A11

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A6 THE CITIZENS' VOICE

TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018

MaYoR: Boyer has not been charged FROM PAGE A4

“As you can see, the scope of the work is clear. This grant was not about a catering kitchen but rather about saving lives,” Boyer said in a press release.

B o ye r h a s n o t b e e n charged with a crime. He continues to insist the raid was politically motivated.

He noted Republican Party of Luzerne County committee member Lynette Villano was a big supporter of the man who defeated him for mayor in a heated race last year. Villano’s son-inlaw was the trooper who applied for the search warrant against him, he said. contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

DAVE SCHERBENCO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Misspelling mars sign in downtown Wilkes-Barre

For breaking news, visit www.citizensvoice.com.

Last year, they forgot a ‘u’ and directed people to the Luzerne county ‘courthose.’ now, the folks tasked with proofreading the new local wayfinding signs along the Delaware & Lehigh national Heritage corridor added an ‘e’ to the namesake of downtown wilkes-barre’s premiere entertainment venue. a sign, erected recently near city Hall on east market street, directs visitors to the F.m. ‘kirbey’ center for the Performing arts on Public square. in 1985, the late al boscov teamed up with august L. simms, and Fred m. kirby, cofounder of the woolworth’s chain and a native of the wilkes-barre area, to raise $3.3 million to acquire and restore the former Paramount theater. the edifice, which first opened its doors in 1938 as the comerford movie theater, was renamed in kirby’s honor at a grand opening in 1986. officials at the Diamond city Partnership, which spearheaded the local sign project, are expected to make sure the typo is soon corrected. above, the misspelled sign outside wilkes-barre city Hall.

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of child abuse includes a new “pass the trash” section that bars school district contracts that suppress information about investigations of abuse and sexual misconduct.

“The arbitrator’s award poses an unacceptable risk that it will undermine the well-defined and clearly established policy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania relating to child abuse reporting and investigations,” DeLuca wrote. contact the writer: mbuffer@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

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being notified you would be fired.” Wallet concluded the district “presented no evidence except circumstantial evidence and pure speculation that he resigned under threat of termination.”

DeLuca claimed the arbitration decision “usurps the final decision making power of the school board” and rewarded Zedar “for his improper and violative behavior.”

Union representatives and Zedar did not respond to messages seeking comment.

DeLuca also noted a 2014 change in law on reporting

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David Tosh, a Wyoming Valley West administrator and for mer high school principal, refused to certify good moral character and m e t w i t h D u f f y, w h o received a copy of the separ at i o n a g re e m e n t a n d reported the allegations to Childline, the state service for reports of suspected child abuse.

Zedar responded “no” to a question on his Dallas job application asking if he quit a job in last 10 years “after

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As hearing is set for Kavanaugh, new accuser emerges Senate Democrats are investigating a second woman’s accusation of sexual misconduct by the Supreme Court nominee.

CONTRACT APPROVED

BY LISA MASCARO AND MARY CLARE JALONICK ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing Thursday for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a woman who s ay s h e s e x u a l l y assaulted her as a teenager, as a claim of sexual misconduct emerged from another woman.

KAVANAUGH The New Yorker magazine reported Sunday night that Senate Democrats were investigating a second woman’s accusation of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh dating to the 1983-84 academic year, Kavanaugh’s first at Yale University.

The New Yorker said 53-year-old Deborah Ramirez described the incident in an interview after being contacted by the magazine. Ramirez recalled that Kavanaugh exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away, the magazine reported.

In a statement provided by the White House, Kavanaugh said the event “did not happen” and that the allegation was “a smear, plain and simple.” A White House spokeswoman added in a second statement that the allegation was “designed to tear down a good man.”

DAVE SCHERBENCO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Dallas School District Solicitor Vito DeLuca addresses the media after Sunday’s school board meeting. The school board unanimously approved the new deal during a special meeting.

Lengthy teachers contract dispute ends in Dallas Teachers will begin paying a portion of their health care under the new deal.

BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER STAFF WRITER

DALLAS TWP. — The long, contentious contract dispute between the Dallas School Board and the union for school district teachers is officially over.

After working three years under an expired union agreement and going on strike a total of 31 days during the previous two school years, the teachers have a new contract that ends Aug. 31, 2023. The school board unanimously approved the new deal in a special meeting Sunday night that lasted two minutes.

The average union salary is increasing from $62,076 in 2017-18 to $69,223 this year, Business Manager Grant Palfey said. Teachers didn’t advance pay-scale steps after the previous union agreement expired Aug. 31, 2015 and will not receive retroactive pay

Please see KAVANAUGH, Page A6

Cosby to learn his fate at sentencing hearing today

BY MARYCLAIRE DALE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DAVE SCHERBENCO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Dallas teacher and union President Michael Cherinka Jr. speaks after Sunday night’s meeting. under the new deal for the three previous years, Palfey said.

Negotiators reached a tentative deal Wednesday night. Union members approved the deal after meeting for nearly two hours Thursday afternoon.

The teachers union, the Dallas Education Association, is a local union in the Pennsylvania State Education Association with more than 170 members.

Another sticking point in the negotiations involved health ben-

efits. Under the new deal, teachers will begin paying a portion of the benefit premium.

The average premium share will be 6 percent and cost $1,238 during the year, Palfey said. All new teachers hired will have to pay 10 percent of the premium, and a plan with no premium share and higher deductible amounts will remain an option, Palfey said.

The district should be able to pay the wages and benefits required by the new teachers union contract without staff cuts and property tax increases that exceed the maximum index amount. The state establishes an index amount each year for school districts based on cost factors, typically 2 to 4 percent, and the district can exceed the index amount through a voter referendum or state approval of exceptions.

School District Solicitor Vito DeLuca and union President Michael Cherinka Jr. both gave credit to mediator Bill Gross for coming up with a proposed con-

The foliage season could be pushed back a week due to wet and warm weather.

BY KELLY MONITZ STAFF WRITER

Leaf peepers are in for a vibrant show of fall foliage across southern New York and New England, forecasters say, but they’re not sure about the vividness of the colors in Northeast Pennsylvania this autumn.

“There is uncertainty as to how vibrant the colors will end up being this season,” said Tony Zartman, a meteorologist for AccuWeather. “There is some concern that the warm nights early in the season may dull some of the color.”

Please see COSBY, Page A6

The foliage season could also be pushed back a week due to the wet and recent warm weather, he said, but colorful leaves could stay on the trees longer, because of a lack of a lot of wind with the wet weather.

“Peak colors are expected to occur during the last week of October, but that will be variable on temperatures and rainfall over the next month,” Zartman said.

Brighter colors are expected in New York and New England because those areas didn’t have the extreme summer rainfall and they have a higher likelihood for dry, cool nights, which enhance the colors, he said.

Early indicator trees have already begun to change across the northern tier of the state, but nothing so far in the middle or

southern regions of the state, said Ryan Reed, an environmental education specialist with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

DCNR will be posting weekly fall foliage reports on its website, www.dcnr.pa.gov, starting Thursday, as fall foliage typically peaks for several weeks across the state beginning in October. The reports will be updated every Thursday.

The wet weather this year allowed trees, shrubs and vines to grow and thrive, making for spectacular, lush greens, but also allowing for a banner year for funELLEN F. O’CONNELL /STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER gi, Reed said. While fungi is widespread, only a handful of the more Tree leaves change color along than 130 species of trees in Penn- Stockton Road in Hazle Twp. sylvania are affected, he said.

Early indicator trees have already Please see FALL, Page A5

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begun to change across the northern tier of Pennsylvania.

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Contact the writer: mbuffer@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

Vividness of fall foliage in NEPA still uncertain

Bill Cosby’s sentencing hearing today will begin with testimony about his sex offender evaluation and, presumably, a fierce debate over whether the 81-yearold actor should be branded a sexually violent predator.

The stakes are high given the lifetime counseling, community alerts and public shaming the designation would trigger. And it could become evidence COSBY in the defamation lawsuits filed against Cosby by accusers who say he branded them liars when he denied molesting them.

Defense lawyers say the state’s latest sex-reporting law, despite several revisions, remains unconstitutional.

“It’s the modern-day version of a scarlet letter,” said lawyer Demetra Mehta, a former Philadelphia public defender, “which I think is sort of an interesting philosophical issue at this time with the #MeToo movement, but also criminal justice reform.”

© 2018 The Citizens’ Voice

tract that both sides found agreeable.

“BillGross,hereallytookthebull by the horns, and he did what the bureau of mediation does,” DeLuca said.

Gross became involved after Luzerne County Judge William Amesbury began overseeing negotiations.

State Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera filed a request June 19 for a courtordertopreventteachers from striking more days — to ensure the district had 180 instruction days last school year — and Amesbury ordered daily bargainingsessionsuntilthedisputeended.

“The court order got us started and really got the ball rolling,” Cherinka said.

Gross took over control of the bargaining sessions and scheduled them based on his calendar, Cherinka said.

“The last couple of sessions, we weren’t even in the same room,” Cherinka said.

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KAVANAUGH NOMINATION

GOP fears court fallout

W-B Area officials: We’re going ‘above and beyond’ to ensure safety at site of new high school

Whether or not Kavanaugh is confirmed, some Republicans fear they’ve already lost.

BY STEVE PEOPLES ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Whether or not Republicans ultimately confirm President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, some on the front THE CITIZENS’ VOICE lines of the GOP’s midterm Soil tested at the site of the planned Wilkes-Barre Area high school in Plains Twp. showed elevated levels of arsenic, according to records. battlefield fear the party may have already lost.

BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER In the days after a divided STAFF WRITER nation watched Brett Kavanaugh and ilkes-Barre Area School District and his accuser state environmental officials have been Christine meeting and exchanging emails about Blasey Ford how to follow requirements for building a new high school on an old mine site in Plains Twp., deliver conaccording to a review of state records. flicting stoCritics are derisively calling it “Mine Shaft ries about High” on social media. But school district Soliciw h a t h a p - KAVANAUGH tor Raymond Wendolowski says the site is “perpened when they were teenagers, Republican campaign fectly safe” as long as barriers are in place to operatives acknowledged prevent direct exposure to anything that could this is not the fight they be harmful. wanted six weeks before The state and the district are working closely Election Day. on the project, and the state encourages reusing Should they give Kavanaof old mining sites called “greyfields,” Wenugh a lifetime appointment to dolowski said. The district expects to get a the nation’s highest court after $1 million grant for the project from the state COURTESY OF WILKES-BARRE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT Ford’s powerful testimony Department of Community and Economic A rendering shows the main entrance of the planned Wilkes-Barre Area High School. about sexual assault, RepubliDevelopment, Wendolowski added. cans risk enraging the women The district is buying the 80-acre site from PagEnvironmental Protection. The records provide NEXT MEETING they need to preserve their notti Enterprises for $4.25 million. The site was details about what the district is doing in House majority. Vote him “repeatedly disturbed by mining activities,” and response to elevated levels of arsenic found The Wilkes-Barre Area School Board will down, they risk enraging the was used “as a mine spoil dump from deep minfrom drilling borings to test soil on the site. meet at 6 p.m. Thursday in the cafeteria party’s defiant political base. ing” and “as a culm ash disposal site as part of a “All land has those natural metals,” Costello at the Solomon/Plains school complex, 43 Abbott St., Plains Twp. In swing state New Hampmine reclamation project,” a 2014 report said. said, explaining the “simplest solutions” are covshire, former Republican The district plans to build a new high school ering the land with the building and pavement.

Party chair Jennifer Horn there to merge the district’s three high schools “Our valley was mined,” Costello added, notsaid Republicans are “gross— GAR, Coughlin and Meyers. The consolidated The district plans to use 22 acres on the ing the district’s building plans are routine for ly underestimating the damhigh school is expected to open in the 2021-22 80-acre site for the new high school. The con- the area. age that would be done” at school year. struction cost is expected to exceed $100 million.

The arsenic on the site is not getting into a the ballot box in the short “What we are doing is placing 2,400 students “We are going above and beyond what we water supply, which wouldn’t be issue anyway and long term should they in harm’s way as there is no way we can be have to do to make sure everything is safe,” because the school will get water from a public confirm Kavanaugh.

100-percent sure the contamination is complete- Superintendent Brian Costello said. system, Costello said. ly safe,” said Richard Holodick, a member of the The Citizens’ Voice has reviewed project Please see SCHOOL, Page A7 Please see FEAR, Page A7 anti-consolidation group Save Our Schools. records provided by the state Department of

W

Local performer will sing anthem at Bills game R.J. Scouton will perform before the Bills’ home game against the Tennessee Titans.

BY BOB KALINOWSKI STAFF WRITER

Popular local singer R.J. Scouton has no doubt about his favorite song to sing and hear.

It’s the national anthem.

“I heard the song a million times and every time it still touches me and brings tears to my eyes,” the Noxen resident said.

Soon, he’ll be singing his favorite song in front of a huge audience.

Scouton has been invited to sing the anthem on Oct. 7 prior to the NFL game in which the Buffalo Bills host the Tennessee Titans.

The 35-year-old is hoping no players kneel during his rendi-

tion. Over the past several seasons, players have taken a knee during the anthem in protest of alleged misconduct by police around the country. The controversy has led television networks to not broadcast the anthem prior to games.

“This is where I gain fans and I lose fans. Our ancestors didn’t fight for their freedom on their knees. They fought strongly and bravely on two feet,” Scouton said. “I know that we are entitled to free speech, that we are free people, but I personally believe, if you FRANK C. LAURI / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER are capable you should stand. I find it personally offensive R.J. Scouton sings the national anthem before Game 5 when people take a knee.” of the Governors’ Cup Championship between the Please see ANTHEM, Page A6

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders and Durham Bulls on Sept. 15 at PNC Field.

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from page a1

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fear: Political pressure for GOP from page a1

THe CiTizens’ VoiCe

Critics are concerned the site of the new Wilkes-Barre Area high school is environmentally inappropriate.

SChool: District, DEP in close contact from page a1

DEP records provide details about how the district will cover and cap areas on the site that will not be covered by the building or pavement.

The process involves adding layers of clean fill — uncontaminated solid material that includes soil, rock and stone — and topsoil.

A DEP record about a July 27 inspection of the site said a “silt pond will be capped with 8 feet of fill and an asphalt parking lot.” Athletic fields and an outdoor classroom area planned for the site “will be capped with 1 foot of clean fill (a combination of imported fill and material from on-site) plus an additional foot of topsoil,” that record said.

Tetra Tech Inc., a consultant for the district, recommended “the placement of an engineering control or cap” involving clean fill and topsoil to eliminate “the direct contact exposure pathway to impacted soil,” according to a Jan. 8 letter to Costello.

The district drilled borings to test soil deep under the surface and collected 47 soil samples from 41 soil borings.

“No obvious evidence of contamination was reportedly detected during completion of the soil borings and g r o u n dw a t e r w a s n o t encountered,” Tetra Tech said.

Testing showed elevated levels of arsenic in 39 of the 47 samples.

“It should be noted that arsenic is a naturally occurring metal that can also be found in native soils throughout Pennsylvania in concentrations that exceed the MSCs,” Tetra Tech reported.

MSCs are medium specific concentrations that provide soil and groundwater cleanup concentrations based on the property use, either residential or nonresidential.

“Using pavement, build-

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ings and clean soil cover is a typical method for elimination of the direct contact pathway,” Tetra Tech said.

In the Sept. 5 email to DEP officials, Samuel A. Stiner of the Borton-Lawson engineering firm said “a majority of the high arsenic soil borings are located under proposed impervious surfaces.” The district plans a cap depth of 24 inches of clean material for “the multi-use field and potential outdoor seating area,” which “will be heavily utilized,” Stiner said.

“Moderately used areas will have a cap depth of 12 inches, and steep slopes and other rarely used areas utilize a 6-inch cap to prevent direct contact,” Stiner said.

Stiner also wrote to the Luzerne Conservation District about the project on Sept. 5.

“All areas, which tested high in arsenic will not be disturbed,” Stiner said.

“With the exception of 2 borings (located outside the project limits) all areas high in arsenic will receive a larger amount of fill material atop the high arsenic locations creating an even greater buffer from the arsenic.”

One area had an arsenic level at a depth of 8 feet below, and 10.5 feet of fill material will be added on top of the existing grade, Stiner explained.

The district plans to use on-site material as capping material because “for the most part” it “is void of mine refuse,” Stiner said in the Sept. 5 email. Because excavations are “needed to accommodate the proposed development,” coal ash will need “to be recapped elsewhere on site,” Stiner also said.

“Any ash that is unearthed while operating under the surfacing permit, will be

placed, compacted and capped per the surface mining permit,” he said.

Tetra Tech noted “the volume of ash waste at the site makes its removal impractical.”

In the Sept. 5 letter to the Luzerne Conservation District, Stiner referred to an onsite meeting Aug. 1 with DEP Pottsville District Mining Office personnel. The mining of fice deter mined “the groundwater monitoring wells were no longer necessary and could/should be properly closed or abandoned, all the conditions related to coal ash placement (except for the monitoring well closure and final revegetation) including 3’ of cover and 1’ of topsoil, had been met,” Stiner said.

“In addition to those issues, the identified mine shaft on site had been sealed, filled and/or otherwise closed as part of the site reclamation,” Stiner added.

Lois Grimm, a member of Save Our Schools, said she is concerned the site is “environmentally inappropriate” and also worries previous mining activity will result in sinkholes on the land.

“I think the school district needs to do some soul searching to see if it really wants to take a gamble on this land in light of the findings by the DEP,” she said.

The district is familiar with building on land that requires geotechnical measures in response to mining activity, Wendolowski said, adding it’s an issue for developers just about “anywhere you go in Northeast Pennsylvania.”

One measure that began on the site this month is dynamic compaction, a ground improvement technique that densifies soils and fill materials by using a drop

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weight. It’s another example of the district “going above and beyond” what’s required, Costello said.

The current plan calls for one athletic field at the Pagnotti site, but it can eventually have up to nine fields and tennis courts there, Costello said.

In 2017, the school board abandoned its initial plan to merge just Coughlin and Meyers by building a new high school on the Coughlin site in downtown WilkesBarre after the city zoning board rejected that plan. The board this year abandoned a plan to build an addition to Kistler Elementary School for 7th and 8th g rades because of the decision to merge all three high schools and use the GAR building as a middle school.

The district spent more than $1 million on design and pre-construction work on the Kistler-addition plan and nearly $4.9 million on the Coughlin-site plans, including expenditures on asbestos abatement, pre-demolition work and design work.

Contact the writer: mbuffer@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

Horn, a lifelong Republican and frequent Trump critic, described Ford as “the most credible person I have ever seen publicly talk about this.”

One young friend of Horn’s family was so inspired by the testimony that she revealed her own painful experience with sexual assault on social media for the first time Thursday.

“Republicans have to ask themselves if they’re willing not only to sell the soul of the party, but sell their own souls to get this particular conservative on the Supreme Court,” Horn said in an interview.

Another wing of the party was just as convinced that Republicans would trigger Election Day doom should they fail to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court pick.

“If Republicans do not get this vote taken and Kavanaugh confirmed, you can kiss the midterms goodbye,” conservative icon Rush Limbaugh boomed from his radio studio this week, a message that Trump echoed on Twitter and Republican strategists repeated privately on Friday.

In what has become the year of the woman in national politics, there are no easy answers for a party aligned with a president who has dismissed more than a dozen allegations of sexual misconduct of his own.

The GOP-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines Friday to send Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate, with the informal understanding that the FBI would investigate the allegations against Kavanaugh. A final vote would be delayed by a week.

Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona crystalized the challenge before the GOP. After announcing his support for Kavanaugh early Friday, he was confronted by tearful vic-

more INSIDe fBi contacts Deborah ramirez, who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. page a8 tims of sexual assault as he tried to board an elevator in the U.S. Capitol.

Flake later insisted on the FBI investigation to secure his vote allowing Kavanaugh’s nomination to move out of the Judiciary Committee. He is retiring at the end of the year and the Republican congresswoman seeking to replace him, Martha McSally, said nothing for much of this week before releasing a statement Friday afternoon noting Kavanaugh and Ford were “heard.”

The balancing act reflects the impossible politics ahead for some Republican candidates, particularly those in swing states and suburban House districts.

McSally has come out as a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of her high school track coach. At the same time, she has strongly embraced Trump and his combative ethos, which Kavanaugh exemplified during his Thursday testimony.

She indirectly criticized Trump last week after he questioned why Ford didn’t report her assault decades ago.

“A lot of people who have not been through this — thank God they have not been through this — don’t understand that a lot of us don’t immediately go to law enforcement,” McSally said.

Two key Republicans — Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins — have also avoided taking a firm position so far. Neither is up for re-election this year, yet both are facing intense political pressure from the right and left back home, with the potential that aftershocks from their votes could be felt for years to come.