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WVW kids face foster care over lunch bills District letter warns of steps to be taken if students’ lunch tabs aren’t paid up. By MiChAel p. Buffer STAFF WRITER

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Trump vs. Dems President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Greenville, N.C., on Wednesday.

‘Racist,’ ‘socialist:’ Battle lines labeled for 2020 campaign By lisA MAsCArO ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — With tweets and a vote, President Donald Trump and House Democrats established the sharp and emotionally raw contours of the 2020 election campaigns. In the process, they have created a fraught political frame: “racists” vs. “socialists.” Trump’s aggressive condemnation of women of color in Congress has allowed House Democrats to mend, for now, their own political divisions as they put the president on record with a resolution condemning his words as racist. But by pushing the House majority into the arms of the squad of liberal freshman women, Trump also adds to his narrative that Democrats have a “socialist” agenda, a story line he started to bring into focus during his State of the Union address. Political triumphs are being claimed on all sides. Yet it’s unclear whether either approach is what’s needed to sway independent-minded voters who typically determine THE CITIZENS’ VOICE FILE congressional and presidential U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-9, Dallas, said he would elections. Please see TruMp, Page A6

Meuser: Trump is not a racist

Freshman lawmaker says allegations of racism are unbelievably offensive. By MiChAel p. Buffer STAFF WRITER

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser said he reached a “bubbling point” during the House debate Tuesday over a Democrat-led resolution condemning President Trump’s inflammatory tweets targeting four minority congresswomen. Meuser, R-9, Dallas, said he decided to speak on the House floor after hearing “a lecture” from Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer about racism. Meuser explained his speech and vote against the resolution during a phone interview Wednesday. “I decided to say some words on the House floor, not for the purpose of defending the president, but for the purpose of trying to bring to light the hypocrisy of what’s going on here, and the problem with constantly ... making the accusations of racism, which I find unbelievably offensive,” Meuser said. not support President Donald Trump if he thought “Now do I wish the presihe was racist. dent used different words? Of

‘Now do I wish the president used different words? Of course. I mean anyone would, anyone who is reasonable.’ u.s. rep. DAn Meuser R-9, Dallas

course. I mean anyone would, anyone who is reasonable. Now do I think the president is racist? I do not! If I did, I would not support him.” The House approved the resolution condemning the Trump tweets in a 240-187 vote. It was a response to Trump saying Sunday on Twitter that Democratic congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley should “go back” to the “places from which they came.” Please see Meuser, Page A6

The Wyoming Valley West School District has mailed letters warning parents that their children could end up in foster care if they don’t pay money owed to the district for school lunches. More than $20,000 is owed to the district from unpaid lunch bills, Solicitor Charles Coslett said. “It’s a fundamental obligation of parents to house, feed and clothe their children,” Coslett said. “It’s COsleTT not our obligation. This nanny state mentality is troubling to me.” Federal regulations forced the district to provide lunches to students even when they had tabs for unpaid meals, Coslett said. This year, all Wyoming Valley West students will get free lunches because more students meet the income threshold to qualify for free meals. “The bleeding has stopped, but 20 grand is not chump change,” Coslett said. Joseph Muth, director of federal programs at Wyoming Valley West, signed the letter sent to parents. He did not respond to an email seeking comment and information on how many students received unpaid meals and how many letters were mailed. “At this time, multiple letters have been sent home with your child and no payments have been made to their account,” Muth wrote in the letter. “Your child has been sent to school every day without money and without a breakfast and/or lunch. This is a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition and you can be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting your child’s right to food. If you are taken to Dependency court, the result may be your child being removed from your home and placed in foster care. ... please remit payment as soon as possible to avoid being reported to the proper authorities.” Please see lunCh, Page A9

W-B seeks study for rail service to Philly City official told there would be many obstacles. By Denise AllABAugh STAFF WRITER

PITTSTON TWP. — WilkesBarre director of operations Butch Frati, center, Wilkes-Barre’s director of opera- Butch Frati asked the Lackations, offers remarks during the Lackawanna/Luzerne wanna/Luzerne Metropolitan Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting Wednesday Planning Org anization at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. Wednesday to consider a feasiMARK MORAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

bility study to restore intercity passenger rail service from Wilkes-Barre to Philadelphia. Members of the organization who attended the meeting at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport told him there would be a number of obstacles to the proposal, however, including a lack of funds to pay for a study. Frati presented a letter from

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Mayor Tony George and Controller Darren Snyder stating that the criteria for the new Amazon headquarters “shows how important rail transportation is in the decision-making process for major economic development site locations.” In their letter, George and Snyder pointed out the Luzerne County Transportation Authority is relocating its headquarters from Kingston

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‘El Chapo’ sentenced to life in prison. Page a10

to Wilkes-Barre in the former Murray Complex, which lies between Pennsylvania Avenue and a double set of railroad tracks. “We believe it would be prudent at this time to incorporate passenger train service into the long-range planning for that site,” they stated in the letter. Please see rAil, Page A5

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LocaL / state

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2019

Officer critically wounded in shooting dies of injuries ASSOCIATED PRESS

PITTSBURGH — An offduty Pittsburgh police officer critically wounded in a shooting over the weekend has died of his injuries, authorities said Wednesday. Chief Scott Schubert said Officer Calvin Hall, 36, died Wednesday at a hospital. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is “heartbroken” and “in mourning,” he said. “In his time here he left an indelible mark on his brother and sister officers, as well as the community he served,” Schubert said. “He was known for his quick smile, ever-optimistic atti-

tude and for his career-long focus on community policing. He was a model officer. He made it a priority to connect with residents and succeeded in doing so.” Pittsburgh public safety officials said Hall was hit by gunfire early Sunday during a street dispute in the Homewood section of the city as one or more parties were going on. Schubert said Hall, a former Braddock officer, was shot three times in the back. He said there was a “strong possibility” that Hall, although off duty, “was in fact acting under the color of the

law when he was fatally shot.” Family members told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Hall was visiting cousins but decided to leave because a party across the street was getting rowdy, but returned to make sure everyone was safe after his cousin, Darnell Coates, was threatened by someone with a gun. “It just weighs heavy on me because he came back to make sure I was all right,” Coates said. Coates said an argument among a small group of people in the street, including Hall, escalated. He and Hall tried to leave. Shots were fired, hitting Hall.

David Usavage, school board vice president, said several parents who received the letter contact-

THE CITIZENS' VOICE A9

aRounD the coMMonWeaLth PittsbuRgh

Firecrackers injure cat; leg amputated

An animal rescue group in Pittsburgh says someone strapped firecrackers to a cat’s front left paw with rubber bands and set them off, causing such severe injuries the animal’s leg had to be amputated. Humane Animal Rescue says on its Facebook page that two good Samaritans brought the cat in over the weekend after finding it limping around on the mangled and bloody leg. Based on how the wound had begun healing, officials at the rescue say the injury likely happened on the Fourth of July. Jamie Wilson, a director at the rescue, says there was barely any paw left and veterinarians determined the best course of action would be to ed him this week. who refuse to pay lunch bills. remove the damaged leg. “It’s the tone that bothers “I stand by the content of The cat, who staffers have me,” Usavage said. “We’re that letter,” Coslett said. not taking anybody’s kids.” contact the writer: Coslett said he is prepared mbuffer@citizensvoice.com to take legal against parents 570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

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official steps down over Facebook post A Pennsylvania town official has given up a municipal job over online comments he made about a pregnant woman who died along with her 9-year-old son when her car was swept away by flash floodwaters. Earl Twp. Supervisor John Hetrick stepped down Monday from his appointed position as the town’s emergency management coordinator. But he will remain on the town’s Board of Supervisors. In the now deleted post he made on the emergency management’s Facebook page, Hetrick wrote that almost everyone who dies in their car in flooding did so because they “made a very bad choice.” His remarks quickly drew nega-

tive feedback from many who found the post insensitive. Hetrick told the Reading Eagle that he wasn’t trying to blame the woman for what happened, but rather wanted to spread the word about potential dangers in such situations.

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shooting spurs high-speed pursuit Authorities say two people were shot and wounded in Philadelphia by a shooter in a van whose driver then led authorities on a high-speed chase. But it’s not yet known what sparked the shooting, which occurred around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday on North Broad Street. The two people who were shot were both hospitalized in stable condition. But their names and further details on their injuries were not disclosed. The shooter remains at large. — AssociAted Press

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ROUTE 118 ROUNDABOUT PLANS SCRAPPED. A3

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W-B monument featuring KKK brick removed in middle of the night

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WVW drops foster care threat

District’s approach to collecting unpaid lunch bills draws county’s attention. BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER STAFF WRITER

Brown, who likely will replace George as mayor in January given Brown’s win of both major party tickets in the May primary, asked four council members to hold off on appointments until he became mayor.

T he Wyoming Valley West School District is going with another approach to collect unpaid student lunch bills. The district will no longer warn parents that their children could end up in foster care if they don’t pay up. Around 1,000 students owed a total of $22,467, and the district recently mailed a batch of roughly 40 letters with the foster-care warning, Director of Federal Programs Joseph Muth said. The new approach came after Luzerne County officials insisted the district “cease and desist from making these representations” about potential foster-care placement. The Luzer ne County Children and Youth foster care system is used “when a child has been abused” or “a family has been struck by tragedy,” not “to scare families into paying school lunch bills,” County Manager David Pedri and Children and Youth Director Joanne Van Saun wrote Thursday in a letter to district Superintendent Irvin DeRemer. Future collection letters will not mention anything about foster care, and the district will send letters apologizing to parents who received letters with the foster-care warning, school board Vice President David Usavage said. Muth, who signed the letter with the foster-care warning, said the school board will send new letters. Muth also said he made a mistake by not having DeRemer review the letter with the foster-care warning.

Please see BOARDS, Page A5

Please see BILLS, Page A6

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Patrons at the Farmers Market on Thursday walk by the former site of a monument on Public Square that included a KKK brick. BY JAMES HALPIN AND STEVE MOCARSKY STAFF WRITERS

Under cover of darkness Wednesday night, city employees demolished the Public Square monument featuring a Ku Klux Klan brick that had become the subject of intense controversy in recent days. The controversy reached a flashpoint last week when activist Gene Stilp attempt-

ed to chisel what he termed an “abhorrent brick” off the city-owned monument in a high-profile publicity stunt. Police charged Stilp with disorderly conduct, with city officials saying the KKK had a First Amendment right to place a brick on the monument just like everybody else. But on Thursday morning, Mayor Tony George announced he directed the

monument to be removed in its entirety. The monument is not part of the ongoing plans to renovate Public Square that the city is moving forward with in conjunction with Diamond City Pa r tn e r s hi p, h e s a i d, although he acknowledged the flare-up involving Stilp also played a role in his decision. Please see BRICK, Page A5

THE CITIZENS’ VOICE FILE

The brick bearing the name of the East Coast Knights of the True Invisible Empire was purchased in 2016 but was only recently affixed to the monument in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

W-B council OKs George’s board appointments BY STEVE MOCARSKY STAFF WRITER

WILKES-BARRE — Mayor Tony George’s request for council to approve his appointments to boards and authorities again proved to be contentious Tuesday night. Council voted 3-2 on one appointment and three reap-

pointments and 4-1 on two appointments. Councilw o m a n Beth GilGEORGE bert joined the majority in approving the appointments of Robin Shudak and Tony Thomas

to the Shade Tree Commission because the commission was recently “resurrected” and it was “important to fill the vacancies. She also said Shudak and Thomas are qualified to serve on the commission and have “no connections to the administration.” Counc i l me n Tony

Brooks and Bill Barrett and chairman Mike Belusko voted to approve all appointments and reappointments. Gilbert and Mike Merritt both voted against all of George’s appointments to boards and authorities at last month’s council meeting after George

Dangerous heat arrives in region today Temperatures today, Saturday will be in the 90s — and it will feel even warmer. BY BILL WELLOCK STAFF WRITER

Summer heat is reaching fever pitch. Today and Saturday will bring intense heat to Northeast Pennsylvania. High temSEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER peratures will be in the 90s, Kassidee Kapalka, 8, of Dallas, holds her nose after and it will feel even hotter. The sliding down the waterslide at Frances Slocum State National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warnPark pool in Kingston Twp. on Wednesday.

ing in place from this afternoon through Saturday night. The heat index — a measure of how hot the environment feels when relative humidity is considered with air temperature — could reach 108 degrees in the Wyoming Valley. And that’s in the shade. Heat index values refer to measurements in shady spots with light wind, so a walk in full sun could increase those numbers by up to 15 degrees. It’s potentially dangerous weather, especially for children and the elderly.

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The Wilkes-Barre Fire Department will add a third advanced life support ambulance to its usual complement of two ALS ambulances over the weekend, from 7:30 a.m. Friday through 7:30 a.m. Sunday. “Our emergency ambulances run nonstop during weather events like this,” said fire chief Jay Delaney in an email. “Generally people with pre-existing medical conditions like Heart Disease and COPD have a difficult time with the heat as does the very young and the elderly.”

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Trump claims he tried to stop ‘send her back’ chant. Page A8

Wilkes-Barre City has no plans for cooling stations or shelters, but will open them in the case of an emergency, such as a major power outage or loss of air conditioning in a nursing home, for example. Because high temperatures usually lead to a spike in electricity usage that can tax the power grid, the city fire department will check with nursing homes to make sure their backup generators are working in case of a power outage. Please see HEAT, Page A7

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LOCAL / STATE

A6 THE CITIZENS' VOICE

FRIDAY, JULY 19, 2019

BILLS: Solicitor stands by threatening letter from page a1

District Solicitor Charles Coslett on Wednesday defended the letter with the fostercare warning. Federal regulations forced the district to provide lunches to students even when they had a tab for unpaid meals, Coslett said. “Your child has been sent to school every day without money and without a breakfast and/or lunch,” Muth wrote in the controversial letter. “This is a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition ... the result may be your child being removed from your home and placed in foster care. ... please remit payment as soon as possible to avoid being reported to the proper authorities.” The warning in the letter “was harsh” and may have inflicted unnecessary stress on parents, Usavage said, noting the average unpaid bill was $22 a student.

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‘Luzerne County Children and Youth should never be viewed as a punitive agency or weaponized to terrorize children and families.’ DAVID PEDRI and JOANNE VAN SAUN

In letter to Wyoming Valley West School District officials

“When I first read the letter, the top of my head almost came off,” Usavage said. Pedri said the foster-care warning was “an empty threat.” The Luzerne County Children and Youth agency offered to provide training to Wyoming Valley West staff “so they may have a better understanding of the agency’s role and responsibility,”

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Pedri and Van Saun wrote to DeRemer. “Luzerne County Children and Youth should never be viewed as a punitive agency or weaponized to terrorize children and families,” the county officials added. “The agency provides support and makes available a number of resources to assist families and maintain children in their home. Luzerne County Children and Youth recognizes that removing a child from family causes significant trauma and should only be utilized when all attempts to preserve the family are unsuccessful.” Coslett said Wednesday has was prepared to take legal action against parents who refused to pay lunch bills and would cross examine them on whether they spent money on unnecessary items, such as lottery tickets or alcoholic beverages. The district began sending letters to collect unpaid lunch

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bills because all Wyoming Valley West students will now get free lunches for at least the next five years, Muth said. The reason all students will get free meals is at least 60 percent of district students now meet the income threshold to qualify for free meals, Muth said. The district discovered some students didn’t qualify for free meals because their parents erroneously included government assistance as income, Muth said. The federal government funds the freemeal program. Four of seven district schools provided free meals for all students in 2018-19, Muth said. The students with the unpaid lunch bills came from the other three schools — the high school, Dana Street Elementary School and Chester Street Elementary School. Contact the writer: mbuffer@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

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PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Police Department is suspending 13 officers with intent to fire them following an investigation into offensive and sometimes threatening Facebook posts, the police commissioner announced on Thursday. The department had placed 72 officers on administrative leave in June after a nonprofit group published the results of a two-year review of personal Facebook posts or comments from officers in Philadelphia and seven other U.S. police departments. The team of researchers found officers from Arizona to Florida bashing immigrants and Muslims, promoting racist stereotypes, identifying with right-wing militia groups and, especially, glorifying police brutality. All the posts were public. All but three of the Philadel-

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phia officers now on leave face some form of discipline, from dismissal to reprimands, said Police Commissioner Richard Ross. He said the department considered several factors when deciding on discipline, including the officers’ constitutional rights and the integrity of the police department. “I continue to be very disappointed and angered by these posts, many of which violate basic human decency,” Ross said. “We need to move past this ridiculous hate that has consumed this country and has done so for centuries.” Officers who were on track to be fired made posts or comments that advocated violence or death “against any protected class such as ethnicity, national origin, sex, religion and race” or worked to “erode the trust necessary for a police department to carry out its core mission,” Ross said.

THE CITIZENS’ VOICE SALUTES the 2018-19 Newspaper In Education student columnists Each week during the school year, these student correspondents from local high schools bring news from their schools to the community through the Newspaper In Education program. Their columns are published Wednesdays during the school year on The Citizens’ Voice Newspaper In Education page, and online at citizensvoice.com and on Facebook. The Citizens’ Voice salutes their outstanding work during the past school year, and applauds their dedication to keeping the community informed on the latest happenings in their schools.

Alex Mykulyn Coughlin

Kyleigh O’Hara Wyoming Seminary

Lydia McFarlane Meyers

Harley LaRue Greater Nanticoke Area

Samantha Shygelski Tunkhannock Area

Kyra Krzywicki Holy Redeemer

Christian Diana Lake-Lehman

Kelsey Jones Northwest Area

Elyzabeth Hock GAR

Madison Weiss Crestwood

Zachary Houston Wyoming Area

Daniel Shevchenko Greater Nanticoke Area

New N wspaper IN

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Loghan Hirkey Tunkhannock Area

Michalie Mazurkivich Pittston Area

Michael Quinnan Dallas

Jenavieve Pursell Wyoming Valley West

Hannah Farber Pittston Area

Mollie McFarland Wyoming Valley West

Leahvella Rambus GAR

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019 WEDNESDA Y, MAY 15,

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Redeemer, contest coordinator prepa re Fifth Nasta showc ivia manth toria r Depa senior. H Hi , Holy and lli Ma ryn Matelond row: stude nts s tur the sec e dance half Jan held at artm ent class. er of the Pr Maran row: Nic siak. Kaitli Department Michael Booth, a Mi Halfor the upcoming tukoChai r es Ra ond floo studio . 24, at 7 p.m. ase will G.A.R. ato, a English ana lo, Eren tchell reen Pikas chairman. schoo about News Th beginnIt is cer r ph ae lery Chris Jude da Martiole Pfeil, e Ch n Kean, said, “I , Thes e end-o l year. tainly senior instructo will G.A.R. Th ursday, l Co and fearis Sa ich, Ka paper In ing Ar n, dier f-the -year thesee exam s are b Victortoforatos toforatos manth tests suck education The News Sixth lenkoski Kylee Ha iel Swart girls. for these a new on the firs r. The art op er as In the audbe held in e art gal a a a countless ia Sm , Alexa paper In Educa , row: . the lob stu zur, and z, An t floo Gren win, Prato school year ber of hour numith, Ja Julie nd Andri r and dio is be perfor itorium, a- Th n Gubit Ka said, in The Citize tion page is publis Hann there by. mance nessa ria Vuko rus, featur Nor th and Kr ytlynne Suchock dents who s out of stuere is ose as book. “I hed Wedn ns’ Voice, ah dan wil vs es Ric wo Co ins ist Yo by the l i, ce, an west also esday mysel and online e, Ta ok, Glo uld say in the po ne been tested have alrea dy Absen in Linke cius, Rit Alicia a mu tructo NIE celebrates d cho at citizensvoi s during the liSEE OUR area on the mater er s f, and oth ria Adjay t fro r. a Ste Derboth basement sic stu r. 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The unsung heroes who help keep the district running

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includeﬁles and ee dout den c re ca t pro are staN lydIa Forever” t side iverss eNt ls may send stu Ne “Steadfast s stuwes U Un mcFarla many Meyer by. oo n sburg secon ews words that r, sch Meyers N it Bloom held its alumni live s a l yea itii ia dents and schoo wk, alway ompet di sylvan Wars co a12 ’s “Once a Moha s to be the n BU , an seem Drone omCon, N Mohawk” current and fority n luM its Blo erseccur arch with mantra that cyb t co nts carry It is o M d ipals. sics, ence on eN stude princ 10 mer nsored gh their lives. is a worked with ipal Michael stud confer s spo them throu rs wa sp er princ r, that Meye Wars my. gradu- Form says of Mrs. Laue no secret in Drr that after vital U.S. Ar sttants tth family, and students feel Elias Lauer has been a Conte o a drone, lating, many still lie with- “Mrs.of Meyers … Her know int tacl hack h an obs th hearts ngs of the h rs part that their m in of the worki of E.L. Meye througng itself g tea in the walls For Diane Lau- edge l and the district IFII lIe .” l. winnin was W r Mol Nd on High Schoo “Steadfast For- schooutterly unma tchedso isio ree arla div Ca job are e a words cF her e M they S Sid in er, the ing in office Lauer does more than West it is ye ar st Wyom st Lauer, ma gh gh ever” mean others. Meyers’ Mrs. ntly and quickly; thi rd lley We a nteer. m of G We d Diane -Barre, ri Ce ey efficie ll the secon many Va tea is Va l, Wilkes stu it me do to he ion st Fo r oming Th office secre st as if a Schoo dericck ht ho In Educat news Wy current main , is a Meyers almo e to her. She has been broug rship to ewspaper a Fer o the d row, Adam I Lauer more N nola School d int tary, Diane graduated from natur ary at Meyers for yss for e, High tion sch ty after wi e haccke e, and say othat secret t be th tui I alumna, who June 1968. almost every the business cours ni gh loo kin g full s Universi ce in of than in educ ation d he l in years e,” e a ber “T the schoo lat reed that, “the be for Wilke fir st pla Council cs Lauer was faculty mem d up Meyers prepa ng ars ty When Mrs. asked if she er rdin g staye fro m ye received at ni ng ne Coun athemati ng. an rewa was a 20 buildi just she . ts her, is of her t of senior, f l me for such Luzer ers of M t, she fel - tes Brendan Meyers, to 11 ou give up one the home. She future.” As a studen scho wanted to halls to assist in o oo TeachContest. al math con e said endan got one of sion of her with rt rect th pride in her yeea Br sacred study said, “I did not extenbecome very close ar immense Math 71st annu d by on on pa of 20 cor on She so many has re care very rect t The the office. prriid and even now, t the offer!” and has come to on so k pla ce rsi- cor and 8 ou H e pla ns test the l, accep sp teach to schoo her hesitate con all of the tes t, M , too s Unive ne test rt two. after high rs and W in the office re deeply for in the ors, and stu- she feels for Meye Working asu as LC CT 7 at Wilkein Luzer th- on pa ipating administrat helped to prepa with r. Area is imme an bar too senior year business world ers, she has worked Marchl schools ir best ma e partic next yea chan - kes-Barre set the I’ll still e. Th her for the an asset when dents ghout the years. “Mey able. If she could now again ght’ve t ty. Al sent the wa also ty compet d a “I mi myself bu . for throu l is my sec- where she is right and “was Coun cians to in clu de on h with resum es High Schoo the for endan endan’s she has done n, subm ittingt after gradua- ers home. I always say high ” said Br emati eti tio n ior divisi ation nt, to Br genu- what ool after gradu employmen of the oppor- ond y is family, and I co mp and sen per sch n. study, addition hie ve me z o of she life said nt ts facult In n’t. She saysha tion,” she ce ac do n La on junior studen h divisio for everyone,” ve would av care pla “I e, 10 pre fir st isi eac - inely an tunity. and d caree r choic ed for t is the oy after gradu his div M or Br Immediatel s, Mrs. Lau- says. 50 years, Mrs. Lauer re g rets and woulI m compet contes the LCCT fi - Ju ni third in s from Wy on For Meyer ced ior dif service to “T he nt for sco red very e the decisi ating from me ly cki, pla the jun We st eve job at her sec- provided a huge before that, chang received the c I er got her mier is e x tre Novro l- and Va lle y m. the even as i when but ts a ari s, nt. mater it for the secret mi ng t as a tea se studen since. Meyer a Mohawk stude an d said David oming Va recent alma tch was has not left t, she apply alma mater!” highesverall, the n top no gh cult,” ipal of Wy ool. retary and d secre- she she was a studen my at r secon rr of car the Sch has “O e her eduprinc st High composed ur ays bee eir hi She is only in the school’s When Mrs. Lauer asked to choos the e alw ut th ho Kath ley We test was tary to work l that was built was al track. She chose ho said ment - hav h an o po The tions, eac level ques th ro ugcareers,” art ich supp office, a schoo Laue r has cation lle y sec college subjects school th dep nizations wh Guest st Mrs. st two in 1930. s. l g se, ma om ing Va th schoo sin l wi Wi pas us. leen at Wy also featt long, education Wednes- ca encom a to calcul petischools are t to th even ei air he paper In tions published s com g ch vrocki lle y algebr ics of interes ation on about News in education page iistizens’ Voice. from inning thi tst an dinid West. incipal No ing Va to per C ty. For inform l om ou sa Pr “W the Newspa school year in the of local students ten tia s Wy the is an hm en t,” “ I t’s 2069. evements of community orgalieve s the po st place days during tio n s the achi ha n- be mp lis vr oc ki. er fir contributions Nie celebrate ac co ipa l No on of wi n- We st anoth g wledges the ati and ackno andin Pr inc combin y and wi n - attain r. er outst yea a next e have an d a numb ,” like the lotter ch am pio an res “W ning a sp or ts group ho mo y Valle junior ted sop nin g oming dr ew of tal en cki. next ship.” 2017, Wy An what vro In ua te, st in the said No dless of e ma th ael , a n o gr ad fir Regar in gs , th inistra Mich We st pla ced scho H e the br cki,, p Co C lby d adm the lle y on . Novro a Shaw, t High Fa ul, div isi ain in th ye ar ment an ing Va of ored nor hon wes Andrepal jun ior fir st agin 2018. Wi ip, departat Wyom ly proud break ently Valley ool rec g a senior y memprinci pla ced division scholarsh s tio n is immense ul h Sch din d facult ming lke stt Hig h by hol ected West senior l tuition ends Wi wyo dents. t sel lley We Mont ir stu itor his ful w now att co-ed li- the ing Va s of the and studen s i en om ior Br Wy t pub st rland Andre rsity. ry Sen stration in McFa studen We junior Unive is year, ced first s Mollie of WVW ing Valleyumns Februa h admini ief wa Th t col dur- fast wit Wyom s pla in ch and Wood division rship to cations atool. Studen sdays dne dan bers ola ior d We en gh Sch the jund a full schrsi ty. Ev al- Hi publisheool year. are grante s Un ive was a ch d ing the sch t Wi lke h the tes n pr ep are thoug Br en da ent len ge, s confid and wa CIT THE

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WVW LUNCH LETTER CONTROVERSY

ASK THE VOICE

WVSA audits are open to AG review The authority completes yearly audits, which can then be examined by the Attorney General.

DONATION DENIED

Businessman says his offer to pay WVW lunch debts was turned down

BY BILL WELLOCK Staff Writer

Can the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority be audited? Some Luzerne County residents upset about a stormwater fee have asked this question. The short answer is yes. The Municipal Authorities Act requires the sanitary authority, like other municipal authorities in Pennsylask the vania, to undergo an audit by a certified public accountant once a year. WVSA officials also pointed out the Attorney General has the right to examine authorities. However, the question-askers’ consternation seems to come from the fact the annual audit is completed by a firm hired by the authority. The state Department of Auditor General doesn’t typically examine the books of municipal authorities. It’s a condition that some representatives in state government want to change. Here’s some information about the auditing process: Since the authority took responsibility for stormwater in 32 municipalities, its annual audit has been expanded to include a review of the stormwater program. The latest audit of the authority’s work, completed by Kingston accountant Ronald Fitser, will be presented to the board of directors for review and acceptance at today’s meeting, spokeswoman Donna Gillis wrote in an email. That covers all stormwater and sanitary activity from 2018. The audits are public information, and they are sent to all municipal representatives, banks with which the authority does business, and the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Most recent audits will also be available online, Gillis wrote.

VOICE

BY BOB KALINOWSKI Staff Writer

A Philadelphia businessman says he has offered to pay the school lunch debt at Wyoming Valley West that recently sparked a national controversy, but the district’s board president refused the offer. In a message to The Citizens’ Voice, Todd Carmichael, the CEO and co-founder of La Colombe Coffee, claimed Board President Joe Mazur on Monday denied his offer to pay the full tab, which is around $22,000. The school ignited shock and outrage across the nation recently

READ MORE read todd Carmichael’s full letter addressing the refused donation on Page A11. after sending letters to parents threatening to place students in foster care if the debt was not paid. “Shockingly, Mr. Mazur turned us down. I can’t explain or justify his actions. Let me be clear: We offered over $22,000 with no strings attached. And he said “NO,” Carmichael wrote. Car michael, who said he received free school lunch as a kid because his family situation, co-

‘Let me be clear: We offered over $22,000 with no strings attached. And he said “NO.”’

also expressing surprise Wyoming Valley West would refuse the donation and let the controversy fester. “Over the weekend, Todd saw a lot of national press about the issue. He said this doesn’t need to be a thing. We can fix this,” said Aren Platt, a consultant for La TODD CARMICHAEL Colombe. “Mr. Mazur was emphatCeO, La Colombe coffee ic that he was not interested in taking the money. It’s bizarre to founded La Colombe in 1994 in me you’d call a school board presiPhiladelphia and not there are 30 dent and they would say no.” locations around the country. Efforts to reach Mazur on MonA consultant for La Colombe on day were not successful. Monday confirmed the authenticity of the letter in a phone call, Please see DENIED, Page A8

WVW school lunch controversy still making national news BY BOB KALINOWSKI Staff Writer

has been covered by some of the nation’s most prominent media outlets, such as the NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News on television and the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers. Presidential candidate Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders even weighed in on Twitter. “School lunch debt should not exist in the wealthiest country in the history of the world,” Sanders Luzerne County Manager David Pedri was on CNN on Monday to wrote. “When we are in the White address the controversy over a letter sent by Wyoming Valley House, we are going to provide West that threatened to put children in foster care over school year-round, free universal school meals.” lunch debts.

Luzerne County remained in the national spotlight on Monday, unable to shake the negative attention generated by Wyoming Valley West’s recent threat to send children to foster over unpaid school lunch debt. The cable news channel CNN aired a segment about the controversy in which Luzer ne County Manager David Pedri vowed Children and Youth officials will never strip parents of their children over school lunch debts. “This is not something we do. Contact the writer: The foster care system should be dren, not as a sword. Foster care on,” Pedri told CNN. bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com used as a shield to protect chil- should never be used as a weapIn recent days, the controversy 570-821-2055; @cvbobkal

Please see AUDITS, Page A8

Study: Millions should stop taking aspirin for heart health Those who are healthy don’t need to take aspirin to prevent heart attacks. BY LAURAN NEERGAARD aSSOCiated PreSS

PatriCk SiSON / aSSOCiated PreSS

A new study suggests millions of people need to rethink their use of aspirin to prevent a heart attack.

WASHINGTON — Millions of people who take aspirin to prevent a heart attack may need to rethink the pill-popping, Harvard researchers reported Monday. A daily low-dose aspirin is recommended for people who have already had a heart attack or stroke and for those diagnosed with heart disease. But for the otherwise healthy, that advice has been overturned. Guidelines released this year ruled out routine aspi-

rin use for many older adults who don’t already have heart disease — and said it’s only for certain younger people under doctor’s orders. How many people need to get that message? Some 29 million people 40 and older were taking an aspirin a day despite having no known heart disease in 2017, the latest data available, according to a new study from Harvard and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. About 6.6 million of them were doing so on their own — a doctor never recommended it. And nearly half of people over 70 who don’t have heart disease — estimated at about 10 million — were taking daily aspirin for prevention, the researchers reported in Annals of Internal Medicine.

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“Many patients are confused about this,” said Dr. Colin O’Brien, a senior internal medicine resident at Beth Israel who led the study. After all, for years doctors urged people to leverage aspirin’s blood-thinning properties to lower the chances of a first heart attack or stroke. Then last year, three surprising new studies challenged that dogma. Those studies were some of the largest and longest to test aspirin in people at low and moderate risk of a heart attack, and found only marginal benefit if any, especially for older adults. Yet the aspirin users experienced markedly more digestive-tract bleeding, along with some other side effects.

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TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2019

AUDITS: Authority officials satisfied with current procedure From page a1

Municipal authorities generally don’t have to open their books to the state Auditor General. The agency is prohibited from auditing or reviewing municipal authorities unless invited to do so by an authority, spokesman Gary Miller wrote in an email. If the department is invited to inspect an authority, it considers the request based on its resources. That has happened on occasion, but the department must consider those resources when deciding whether to agree to an invitation. “Remember that two years ago the department sustained the largest budget cut of any auditor general in the country,” Miller wrote. The department has supported previous efforts to expand its authority in this area, and the auditor general would be glad to discuss the idea with the legislature, he wrote. Rep. Tina Davis, D-141, Bucks County, is one lawmaker who has proposed giving the state government more oversight of municipal authorities. She pointed to a situation in her district in that she said showed why more oversight would be good: An authority that required homeowners to remove trees, sheds and other additions because of the possibility water lines would be routed there. Her latest attempt to legis-

IF YOU GO WHAT: Wyoming Valley sanitary authority board of directors meeting WHEN: 5:30 p.m. WHERE: Wyoming Valley sanitary authority treatment plant and administration building, 1000 Wilkes-Barre st., hanover Twp.

ASK THE VOICE send questions about the news or sports issues that you want to know more about to reporters and editors via citizensvoice.com/ askthevoice or citydesk@citizensvoice. com or call 570-3012180. late more oversight is HB 494, which would create a Municipal Water and Wastewater Authority Oversight Commission. “These are situations that affect hundreds and thousands of consumers,” she said. For its part, WVSA officials think the current procedures are satisfactory. “WVSA Board of Directors and its executives appreciate and abide by all current regulatory auditing practices. They feel all current procedures are adequate and add that all financial audits are public information,” Gillis wrote. Contact the writer: bwellock@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2051, @cVBillW

PAROLEES: Parole violators spending less time in prison From page a7

The arrests come as the state has worked to lower the state’s prison population, in part by limiting the length of a prison stay for parole violators and providing parolees with more services in the community, such as skills training, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment. In recent years, the ranks of state parolees grew by a fourth, to 32,000, as parole violators spent less time in prison and more on the streets. The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association said it was troubled by the cases, and it urged a review. “We should all expect that there will be an exhaustive review — by an outside entity if necessary — of each case in order to determine what, if anything, went wrong and what reforms can be implemented going forward to help prevent additional tragedies,” Lindsay Vaughan, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement. The Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association cited the case of Keith Burley in calling for a review of parole practices. Burley, 43, who pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in a 1999 shooting, is accused of stabbing his girlfriend’s 8-year-old son to death during a domestic dispute July 8. The corrections officers association said state officials must be sure that violent of fenders aren’ t being released. “The commonwealth must review its policies and be transparent on how many parolees have committed

crimes,” the organization’s president, Larry Blackwell, said in a statement. Burley had not committed any behavioral infractions for about five years, Blackwell said, but stabbed a fellow inmate in the neck with a pencil and committed more than 27 instances of misconduct during his prison time. “Despite this, he was released when he reached the minimum of his 20- to 40-year sentence,” Blackwell said. Burley’s lawyer did not return a telephone call Monday. The Department of Corrections said the men had complied with the terms of their parole up to the time of the alleged homicides. It released a general statement, called a “green sheet,” explaining in general terms why each man won parole, but it declined to release a more exhaustive document, a 12-page “parole decisional instrument” produced by the Board of Probation and Parole. Also facing charges are David Haas, 34, and Calvin Purdie, 33. Haas was arrested in the June 29 beating death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son in Baltimore. Purdie was charged in the May 23 strangling of the 49-year-old mother of his girlfriend in her Hershey home before he allegedly set fire to the house to cover up the crime. The Baltimore County public defender’s office did not return a telephone call about Haas. The Dauphin County public defender’s office said Purdie had not yet been assigned a lawyer Monday.

Times-shamrock File

A voter walks into the 14th Ward Fire Station located on East Diamond Avenue in Hazleton.

Turnout gap between voters with and without disabilities growing BY JONATHAN LAI The philadelphia inquirer

Voter turnout among people with disabilities — a potentially powerful voting bloc, though one that often goes unnoticed — has long lagged behind turnout among other voters, and continued to do so in 2018, according to a new analysis from Rutgers University. How powerful is that bloc, and how sizable is the gap? If turnout was the same for voters with and without disabilities, 2.35 million more ballots would have been cast nationwide in the 2018 midterm election. It’s a result, experts said, of continued obstacles for voters with disabilities and a sense that elected officials don’t value them as a voting bloc. The turnout gap has been persistent: While turnout increased last fall for voters with disabilities, it was outpaced by rising turnout overall, the Rutgers professors found by examining Census Bureau data. The turnout gap between voters with and without disabilities grew from 1.3 percentage points to 4.7 percentage points. It’s a gap that politicians should pay attention to, said Lisa Schur, one of the two professors at the Program for Disability Research at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations who coauthored the report. Overall, they found, about one in five voters either has a disabil-

ity or lives with someone who does. “That’s room for politicians and candidates,” she said, “if they could genuinely reach out to people with disabilities and really make that a focus.” According to the Census Bureau data, 65.7% of people with disabilities were registered to vote in the 2018 election, compared with 67.1% of people without disabilities. But when it came time to vote, the turnout gap was larger. Seventy-five percent of registered voters with disabilities voted, compared with 80.6% for other voters. Experts pointed to a variety of reasons for the gaps, including voters’ belief that politicians don’t care about them and systemic barriers such as voting machines that are inaccessible. Many polling places are inaccessible for people with mobility issues and even then, advocates said they often hear from voters about problems such as poll workers not setting up portable ramps or not knowing how to adjust voting machines to make them accessible. One woman in a wheelchair told advocates she worked the polls in this year’s primary election — but the bathrooms weren’t accessible, so she had to go home at times during the day. As a result, study coauthor Douglas Kruse said, “it sends a message that you’re not

very welcome here, and that can reinforce the idea that the government is not being very responsive to you.” Faced with additional barriers, voters with disabilities may feel embarrassed when they have to request assistance to cast a ballot. The attention can feel like a spotlight, especially when there are other voters waiting to use the machines in highturnout elections, said Fran Fulton, a longtime activist who helped bring the polling place accessibility lawsuit that led to the consent decree. “You feel all eyes on you,” she said. “It’s a feeling you get, you’re being watched. You know, ‘What’s taking her so long?’” As a result, Fulton said, “people still have a certain amount of ‘fear’ that they’re not going to be able to get there, (and) when they get there they may not be treated kindly.” People with disabilities might also feel like their votes don’t matter, said Schur and Kruse. The Rutgers professors also found in previous research that people with disabilities feel ignored by politicians. That’s grounded in some real experience, seeing candidates pledge certain positions and actions that they don’t fulfill, said Thomas H. Earle, the head of Liberty Resources, the support and advocacy group that is the Philadelphia region’s Center

for Independent Living. “We see that at the local, state, and federal level,” he said. “So I understand that frustration and have experienced it, where elected officials will not support our work or don’t view it as a priority.” Turnout varies across groups, and people with disabilities might also fall into groups that traditionally have lower turnout rates, such as those with lower levels of employment and education. And people with disabilities are more socially isolated, Schur and Kruse said. With weaker social networks, they said, voters with disabilities have fewer people talking to them about politics and their vote. While voters with disabilities and their family and friends are theoretically a powerful voting bloc — by sheer numbers alone — they are not always seen as such. One difficulty, experts and advocates said, is that disability status is not listed in voter rolls and is often not part of polling data. Elected officials on paper represent all their constituents, but they in particular care about the interests of their voters; they can tell which racial and ethnic groups, which age groups, which neighborhoods vote for them. Kruse said that better data should be collected, including in exit polling on Election Day.

Jack Frost, Big Boulder in Carbon County involved in $264 million ski resort deal BY JON HARRIS The morning call

Two ski areas in northern Carbon County will have a new owner in time for the winter season, a deal involving an industry-leading resort operator that many expect could provide a lift to the region. Jack Frost and Big Boulder are two of 17 ski areas that Vail Resorts Inc. will acquire from Peak Resorts Inc. under a transaction announced Monday. Vail, of Colorado, said it will acquire all of Missouri-based Peak’s stock for

$11 per share, bringing the price to about $264 million. “We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to add such a powerful network of ski areas to our company,” Vail Chairman and CEO Rob Katz said in a news release. “With this acquisition, we are also able to make a much stronger connection to guests in critical cities in the midAtlantic and Midwest.” In addition to Jack Frost and Big Boulder, Peak owns three other Pennsylvania resorts: Liberty Mountain Resort in Adams County,

Roundtop Mountain Resort in York County and Whitetail Resort in Franklin County. Peak acquired those three resorts last year after buying Snow Time Inc. for $76 million. Elsewhere, Peak has four resorts in Ohio; three resorts in New Hampshire; two in Missouri; and one each in Vermont, New York and Indiana. Once the transaction closes, which is expected this fall, Vail said, it plans to retain the “vast majority” of each resort’s employees. The 201acre Jack Frost, which has 80 skiable acres, and the 107-acre

Big Boulder, which offers 65 skiable acres, are typically open for the season from midNovember to early April, according to Peak’s annual report. Peak spokesman Jamie Storrs said seasonal employment count is not something the company discloses. When the deal is complete, Vail said it plans to invest about $15 million over the next two years in “one-time capital spending to elevate the guest experience” at the resorts it will acquire from Peak.

DENIED: Debt donation ‘would be lawful’ From page a1

trict can accept donations to retire the school lunch debt. “Anyone can answer for the debt of another. It would be lawful,” Coslett said. Luzerne County Manager David Pedri, who earlier in the day appeared on CNN to address the matter, said mul-

tiple people reached out Monday offering to donate. “Today, I received communications from various people who inquired as to how they could pay off the school lunch debt. I will send their contact information to the school district for review,” Pedri said.

During his CNN appearance, Pedri vowed Luzerne County Children and Youth officials will never strip parents of their children over school lunch debt.

guidelines from the American Heart Association and In March, those findings American College of Carp ro m p t e d a ch a n g e i n diology: ■ People over 70 who don’t have heart disease — Vito’s & Gino’s o r are yo u n g e r bu t at BUYING JUNK increased risk of bleeding CARS & TRUCKS — should avoid daily aspirin for prevention. ■ Only certain 40- to Used Tires $20 & Up!

70-year-olds who don’ t already have heart disease are at high enough risk to warrant 75 to 100 milligrams of aspirin daily, and that’s for a doctor to decide. Nothing has changed for heart attack survivors: Aspirin still is recommended for them. But there’s no way to

know how many otherwise healthy people got the word about the changed recommendations. “We hope that more primary care doctors will talk to their patients about aspirin use, and more patients will raise this with their doctors,” O’Brien said.

Board Solicitor Charles Coslett, who drew criticism from some for defending the foster care threat, said he had not heard of Mazur’s alleged refusal. He did say he thinks the dis-

Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2055; @cvbobkal

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Pick your own BLUEBERRIES or stop in for fresh produce. Mon-Fri 9-6 Sat & Sun 9-5 352 Brace Road

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no eXoneration Mueller dismisses president’s claim of total exoneration in probe of Russia’s 2016 election interference

WVW will accept offer

Kaufer announces district will take $22K from Philly businessman to pay off lunch debts. By BoB KalinowsKi Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — Robert Mueller refused to play the part. Not for Republicans and not for Democrats. In back-to-back hearings before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, the former special counsel in the investigation of Russian interference into the 2016 presidential elections largely honored his pledge to stick to his 448-page report. He often answered questions in a single word. Republicans tried to get Mueller to spell out the findings that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove any criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. Democrats pressed him to expand on the conclusion in his report that he could not exonerate President Donald Trump on possible charges of obstruction of justice. But Mueller left both sides wanting. Some key takeaways from his testimony:

KINGSTON — They are going to take it after all. Days after the Wyoming Valley West school board president rejected an o f f e r by a Philadelphia businessman to donate $22,000 to Kaufer eliminate school lunch debt, the school’s administration has agreed to take the money. State Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-120, Kingston, announced the news Wednesday after meeting with school officials at the administration building in Kingston, saying he hoped the news would finally end the national controversy surrounding the issue. “I told them I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t accept the contribution that was being offered,” said Kaufer, a 2007 graduate of Valley West who represents seven of the nine municipalities that make up the district. The district ignited fury around the country last week after it was revealed officials had sent letters home to parents threatening to place their children in foster care if they didn’t pay school lunch debt. On Monday, Todd Carmichael, founder and CEO of Philadelphia-based La Colombe Coffee, had a representative reach out to Valley West officials with an offer to pay off the entire debt. A spokesperson for Carmichael, whose coffee brand is national with 30 stores, said the only person he was able to reach was Board President Joe Mazur. In a letter to The Citizens’ Voice, Carmichael said Mazur emphatically refused the offer. Over the past several days, Carmichael has said the offer still stood and asked Valley West to reconsider.

Please see taKeaways, Page A8

Please see lunch, Page A6

alex BraNdoN / aSSociated preSS

Former special counsel Robert Mueller is sworn in before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

Key taKeaways

By eric tucKer, Mary clare JalonicK anD Michael BalsaMo aSSociated preSS

WASHINGTON — Robert Mueller, the taciturn lawman at the center of a polarizing American drama, bluntly dismissed President Donald Trump’s claims of “total exoneration” Wednesday in the federal probe of Russia’s 2016 election interference. In a long day of congressional testimony, Mueller warned that Moscow’s actions represented — and still represent — a great threat to American democracy. Mueller’s back-to-back Capitol Hill appearances, his first since wrapping his two-year Russia probe, carried the prospect of a historic climax to a analysis rare criminal carolyN KaSter / aSSociated preSS Mueller had his investigation into a President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the White say, but voters sitting American House in Washington on Wednesday. might have final president. But his say in 2020. testimony was Page a8 more likely to reinforce rather than reshape hardened public opinions on impeachment and the future of Trump’s presidency. With his terse, one-word answers, and a sometimes stilted and halting manner, Mueller made clear his desire to avoid the partisan fray and the deep political divisions roiling Congress and the country. He delivered neither crisp TV sound bites to fuel a Democratic impeachment push nor comfort to Republicans striving to undermine his investigation’s credibility. But his comments grew more animated by the afternoon, when he sounded the alarm on future SuSaN WalSh / aSSociated preSS Russian election interference. Please see Mueller, Page A8

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House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., speaks during Wednesday’s hearing in Washington.

Russia’s interference is ongoing By Michael BalsaMo aSSociated preSS

Healthy dining options headed downtown Sushi bar opens at City Market; vegan offerings on menu at two other eateries. By Denise allaBaugh Staff Writer

WILKES-BARRE — Healthier food and beverage options have come to downtown Wilkes-Barre and more are on the way. A new sushi bar opens today at City Market & Cafe on Public Square. It offers a menu of 84 different items SeaN McKeag / Staff photographer ranging from shrimp temChristian Switzer, left, and Michael Partash, owners of pura rolls and California City Market & Cafe on Public Square, stand in their rolls to tuna avocado rolls new sushi bar Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre. and vegetable rolls, said

Christian Switzer, who owns the business with partner Michael Partash. A soft opening will be held today, Friday and Saturday and then the sushi bar will be open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Switzer said they partnered with Shogun Japanese restaurant and a chef from Shogun will prepare the sushi. It’s opening after Japa-

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nese restaurant Katana closed June 1 in downtown Wilkes-Barre after 27 years in business. Switzer bought the sushi display case from Katana owner Naoto Suzuki. “We saw the void and we tried to fill it,” he said. The sushi bar has sparked a great deal of interest. After posting about it on Facebook, he said they got about 7,800 hits in two days. “We know people are excited and we’re excited,” Switzer said. “We’re trying

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Johnson vows to lead U.K. out of the EU. Page A10

to bring something else down here.” Switzer and Partash took over City Market three years ago from former owner Chris Cawley. Canned vegetables and other groceries were stored in the back of the market where the sushi bar is now located. The grocery section was condensed and they also recently added a juice bar that also sells fruit smoothies and green smoothies. Please see healthy, Page A5

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A6 THE CITIZENS' VOICE

THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019

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Wyoming Valley West School District officials are expected to release a letter explaining their decision.

LUNCH: News is ‘cause for optimism’

return a phone call. School of ficials were expected to release a letter explaining their decision. Aren Platt, a spokesman for Carmichael, said Kaufer’s announcement was a good sign. “This news is certainly cause for optimism, but we have not yet heard from the school board. Until we do, we aren’t ready to claim victory,” Platt said. Luzerne County Manager David Pedri, who immediately condemned the threat to send children to foster care and has spent the week doing damage control on behalf of the county, said he was happy with what appears to be a good outcome. “I’m pleased we as a community could finally move forward on this issue,” Pedri said. “I look forward to working with the school district on future matters. I want to thank Rep. Kaufer for all his assistance.”

FROM PAGE A1

According to Kaufer, Carmichael reached out to his state Rep. Mary Jo Daley, a Democrat from suburban Philadelphia, for help. Daley contacted Kaufer to see if he could convince Valley West officials to change their mind. After not being able to get in touch with anyone by phone, Kaufer said he showed up unannounced to the district administration building in Kingston on Wednesday and spoke to administrators and board members. Following a chat, they agreed the district should accept the donation, he said. Kaufer said he was not sure why Mazur rejected the offer in the first place. “They felt it was best to resolve this, move on to other issues and put the focus on education,” Kaufer said. Efforts to reach Mazur have not been successful. Val- Contact the writer: ley West solicitor Charles bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com Coslett did not immediately 570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

AAM Q1 2019 QUARTERLY DATA REPORT

THE CITIZENS’ VOICE CIRCULATION LEAD INCREASES! CITIZENS’ VOICE ADVANTAGE

19,017 20,465

DAILY SUNDAY

16,501

Wilkes-Barre (Luzerne County), Pennsylvania www.timesleader.com

Q1 2019 Subject to Audit

Wilkes-Barre (Luzerne County), Pennsylvania www.citizensvoice.com

Q1 2019 Subject to Audit

+ 5,221 + 3,964

13,796

Audited Every Other Year

Learn more about this media property at auditedmedia.com

CIRCULATION SUMMARY Sun

CIRCULATION SUMMARY TOTAL COMBINED AVERAGE CIRCULATION The Citizens' Voice Print Digital Replica Total Circulation Excluding Other Affiliated Publications AFFILIATED PUBLICATIONS Greater Pittson Progress Total Combined Average Circulation

Sun 26,137

Avg Mon-Sat 19,075

20,465 58 20,523

19,017 58 19,075

5,614 26,137

19,075

TOTAL COMBINED AVERAGE CIRCULATION THE TIMES LEADER, THE SUNDAY TIMES LEADER Print Digital Replica Total Circulation Excluding Other Affiliated Publications AFFILIATED PUBLICATIONS Sunday Dispatch The Abington Journal Sunday Select The Weekender 18702 Total Combined Average Circulation

Avg MonFri 18,297

Avg MonSat 17,515

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

24,766

13,932

13,832

33,029

14,046

16,312

13,675

16,501 228 16,729

13,868 231 14,099

13,796 230 14,026

13,703 229 13,932

13,601 231 13,832

13,819 232 14,051

13,815 231 14,046

14,390 230 14,620

13,445 230 13,675

14,046

1,692 16,312

13,675

2,310 5,727 24,766

101

503

3,753 344 18,297

3,119 286 17,515

18,475 13,932

LOCAL NEWS. WE’RE ALL ABOUT IT!

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toNi MoRRiSoN // 1931-2019

NatioNaL tREaSURE toni Morrison, Nobel laureate, passes away at 88. Page a13

BASEBALL: Swoyersville Legion’s pitching key as regional play begins. Page B1

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County man sues Scouts, alleging abuse

LUZERNE COUNTY COUNCIL

Alleged victim says sexual abuse started he was 12 years old. BY BOB KALINOWSKI Staff writer

gentleman who stated his boss would like to pay the $22,000 owed by the parents,” Mazur wrote. “He continued with his offer after a lengthy explanation by me detailing that the majority of the money was owed by individuals that did NOT qualify for free or reduced lunch. Not knowing if this was a legitimate offer or publicity prank, I told him that we, the Board, felt it was the parent’s

A lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of a Luzerne County man claims he was repeatedly sexually abused by a local Boy Scouts leader in the 1970s and that there are hundreds of other victims throughout the country. The lawsuit, filed by a Philadelphia firm, claims the Boy Scouts’ negligence allowed the victim, identified only as S.D., to be sexually assaulted by a scoutmaster hundreds of times over the course of five years. A day after filing the lawsuit, the lawyers on Tuesday held a press conference in Wa s h i n g t o n , D. C . , t o announce the Luzerne County victim was one of approximately 800 former scouts from around the country that have come forward this year to allege abuse during their time in the organization. Court documents in the local case identify the accused scout leader as Paul Antosh of Plains Twp., former assistant scoutmaster for Troop 100 in Plains Twp. Efforts to reach Antosh on Tuesday were not successful. He did not return phone calls and no one answered the door at his Crescent Drive home in Plains Twp. Attorneys for the alleged victim claim Antosh started sexually abusing the boy when he was around 12 years old in 1974. Antosh plied the boy was drugs and alcohol, then “enticed, induced, directed, coerced and forced S.D. to engage in deviant sexual acts with him,” the suit says. The abuse occurred hundreds of times at Camp Acahela in Tobyhanna Twp., at Antosh’s home, and various otherplaces,thelawsuitalleges. The alleged victim, now 57, still lives in Luzerne County but asked his lawyers not to identify him. The lawsuit names as defendants the Boy Scouts of America, its Penn Mountains Council in Luzerne County and Antosh.

Please see WVW, Page A6

Please see LAWSUIT, Page A5

JOB INTERVIEW

SeaN McKeag / Staff PhotograPher

From left, Luzerne County Council members Matthew Vough, Jane Walsh Waitkus, and council Chairman Tim McGinley interview a candidate seeking a temporary seat on council at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Tuesday.

County council interviews 5 candidates for board vacancy BY ERIC MARK Staff writer

WILKES-BARRE — Five Luzerne County residents ranging in age from 22 to 85 who want to fill a vacant seat on county council made their case to current council members Tuesday evening. Council conducted public interviews with each applicant to fill the vacancy created when Eugene Kelleher resigned his council seat last month. Whoever council selects will serve until Jan. 6, when Kelleher’s term was set to expire. All five applicants are Republicans, as required by the county charter since Kelleher is a Republican. The five applicants are Reed J. Dunn Jr.; Rick Morelli; Anthony Ryba Jr.; Michael G. Vacendak; and Frank Wojtash.

DUNN

MORELLI

Each answered the same questions regarding their qualifications, goals and strengths, as well as their thoughts on the role of county council in the county’s home rule government. ■ Reed J. Dunn Jr., 85, of Jenkins Twp., cited his decades of experience working in county government. He served as executive director of the York County Planning Commission from 1965 to 2000. “I worked in the public sector much of my life,” Dunn

RYBA

VACENDAK

said. “I’ve always been interested in public service.” Dunn said he was responsible for budgeting and financial management and interacted frequently with other York County departments and the public. He said his experience will allow him to “contribute from day one” and that he likes to be a team player. Commenting on why he is seeking a temporary position that will only last a few months, Dunn said, “At my age, a long-term commit-

ment is kind of shaky.” Dunn grew up on a farm in Southwest Pennsylvania. He WOJTASH moved to Luzerne County in 2008 after reconnecting with his college sweetheart, he said. ■ Rick Morelli, 48, of Sugarloaf Twp., works in software sales. He served on county council from 20122015. Prior to that, he was on the study commission that helped to draft the county’s home rule charter. He also served on the Hazleton Area School Board. That long experience, especially with budgeting, would allow him to join council with no learning

curve, Morelli said. “I have been part of the home rule process since the beginning,” Morelli said. “This government is very important to me.” Home rule has worked well, by separating the legislative and executive branches of county government, Morelli said. He said that serving a term of a few months would suit him well, as he is busy with his young son’s activities. He described himself as “an independent thinker.” Morelli disclosed that he and Councilman Chris Perry are distant cousins, and that he worked on Councilman Robert Schnee’s election campaign. Please see COUNTY, Page A6

Mazur defends WVW in lunch tab saga BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER Staff writer

Wyoming Valley West School Board President Joseph Mazur issued a statement Tuesday “to set the record straight” on the controversy over letters warning parents their children could end up in foster care unless they paid lunch bills. Mazur said he is “very disappointed in the attacks on my character” and explained, “when both side of a story are not accurately

reported, I must set the r e c o r d straight.” T h r e e weeks ago, school disMAZUR trict Director of Federal Programs Joseph Muth said around 1,000 students owed the district a total of $22,467.76 and roughly 40 letters with foster-care warnings were mailed. School district officials started to back away from

READ THE STATEMENT read wyoming Valley west School Board President Joseph Mazur’s statement in its entirety on page A11. the approach in the letter after Luzerne County officials insisted the district “cease and desist from making these representations” about potential foster-care placement. The Luzerne County Children and Youth agency oversees foster-care placement.

The controversy attracted attention from national media, and Philadelphia businessman Todd Carmichael offered to pay off the lunch debts. “After the third day of relentless press coverage and phone calls, I received another call late in the day from a

DA: Gilbert’s allegations against GUARD unfounded

W-B councilwoman accused her former employer of trying to influence her vote. BY JAMES HALPIN Staff writer

The Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office has cleared Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Co. of wrongdoing over allegations of impropriety leveled by Wilkes-Barre City Councilwoman Beth Gilbert, authorities announced Tuesday. Gilbert in January alleged GUARD, her former employer, retaliated against her after

unsuccessfully trying to influence her council vote on matters related to the company. But in a statement released Tuesday morning, District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said investigators found no evidence of wrongdoing on GUARD’s part. In fact, prosecutors found documentation that Gilbert knew nothing about a vote to approve grant funding as an incentive to keep the compa-

ny in the City of WilkesBarre until shortly before the matter was placed on the agenda. “(Gilbert) was, at no time, approached or consulted regarding the decision to seek grant funding, remain in the city or relocate,” the statement said. “Further, GUARD officials neither approached nor consulted (Gilbert) for the purpose of influencing voting on the issue.”

“It is a he said, she said matter, so of course the allegations are going to be unfounded,” Gilbert said Tuesday in a written statement. “When the DA’s office began to look into the case, I knew that not much could be done legally. I did, however, appreciate the DA’s office the CitizeNS’ VoiCe file doing their due diligence in the matter.” Wilkes-Barre Councilwoman Beth Gilbert said she Please see GUARD, Page A5

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appreciated the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office ‘doing their due diligence in the matter.’

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Ohio shooting discussion turns to mental health. Page a13

WB_VOICE/PAGES [A11] | 08/06/19

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tHE CItIzEns’ VOICE

Editorial WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019

OUR OPINION

A11

Get serious on election security

he United States is not the only country targeted by Russia for online disinformation campaigns and electoral interference. But it is the only targeted country whose president jokes about it with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and whose legislative leaders refuse to do anything about it. Just as U.S. intelligence agencies and former special counsel Robert With Mueller’s investigation interference have verified Russian and targeted continuing and cyberattacks misinfor mation camcrucial elections paigns, and have warned of approaching, ongoing attacks, European have detected McConnell and governments the same sort of interferCongress must ence by the same Russian actors. The difference is get serious that they are doing someabout protecting thing about it. democracy from In 2017, French President Emannuel Macron conRussia and Putin face-to-face other hostile fronted and identified the same interlopers. Russian agencies that Mueller later indicted. He later called for a continent-wide agency tasked with confronting Russian interference, and wrote an article detailing the conduct that was published across Europe in 22 languages. Sweden concluded in 2017 that Russia had deployed a “wide array of active measures” against it. The government informed Russia that it would not tolerate further interference, and invested heavily in what it called a “whole of society” education project. It deployed fact checkers who tracked dubious stories to their sources and issued daily online newsletters, and established digital literacy as a key goal in a national strategy for a strong democracy. In the United States, meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell earned the sobriquet “Moscow Mitch” by refusing to move legislation to improve election security. With interference continuing and crucial elections approaching, McConnell and Congress must get serious about protecting democracy from Russia and other hostile interlopers.

GUEST COMMENTARY

WVW board president Mazur defends district in lunch flap BY JOSEPh A. MAzUR Guest Writer

Let me start by saying that I receive no compensation of any kind from sitting the Wyoming Valley West School board and that I take my fiduciary accountability to the taxpayers of this district very seriousl y. G i v e n that, I am very disappointed in the attacks MAzUR on my character. i fully understand, as president, I must take responsibility for the district’s decisions. I feel, however, when both sides of a story are not accurately reported, I must set the record straight. Fact 1: At no time was a child ever denied a lunch or

given an alternative lunch. Each child, regardless of their account balance, was given the same lunch as every other student. Fact 2: Every parent received a phone call every Friday with the status of their child’s lunch account balance. Fact 3: Delinquent accounts received a letter with the account status, which then would be followed up with a personal phone call offering payment arrangements or a payment plan. If warranted, these parents would then be directed to the appropriate channels to receive free school lunches. Fact 4: After the third day of relentless press coverage and phone calls, I received another call late in the day from a gentleman who stated

his boss would like to pay the $22,000 owed by the parents. He continued with his offer even after a lengthy explanation by me detailing that the majority of the money was owed by individuals that did not qualify for free or reduced lunch. Not knowing if this was a legitimate offer or a publicity prank, I told him that we, the board, felt it was the parents’ responsibility to pay and terminated the call. Fact 5: As a result of the tireless work by the administration and staff, all students in the district will be receiving a free breakfast and lunch for the next five years. Fact 6: I guess I am old school. Help those truly in need, but hold accountable those who are simply trying to beat the system. As I stated earlier, I do not take my posi-

tion as WVW School Board president lightly and do my very best to act with integrity and honor. Fact 7: Our district, like many districts throughout the country, is struggling with budgets given the new state and federal mandates coupled with less and less funding. The cost of special education alone has doubled over the last three years. The board along with the administration has worked diligently to provide the same and even possibly a better curriculum. In my opinion, the education we offer, given our fiscal restraints, is second to none. All facts listed above can be verified with the WVW central office. JOSEPh A. MAzUR is president of the Wyoming Valley West school Board.

We need to talk about why mass shooters are almost always men It will sound either morbid or histrionic, but the students in the safe Midwestern town where I grew up spent a lot of high school talking about which of our fellow classmates were likely to one day kill us all. Or maybe they’d kill people outside of school — we allowed for that possibility, too — but whatever happened would involve someone bursting through a door with a gun. This was the era of Columbine, and that incident, 800 miles away but all over the news, had provided us a way to verbalize the erratic scariness that some young men emitted: the sense they might turn their resentment into horror. Was it going to be the young man who wore combat boots and stalked female students in the hallway while calling them sluts? Maybe the one who once beckoned me to the park pavilion at a class picnic and then randomly started kicking me? I’d pretended it was a joke, because how else to explain such a bizarre act; we’d barely spoken before that. I know we worried about a particular varsity soccer player; I know we debated whether another guy’s submission to the literary magazine was creative or genuinely ominous. I know most of

James Lewandowski Chief executive Ofﬁcer Donald Farley President & Publisher

MONICA hESSE

Commentary

the young men we worried about turned out just fine, or they hurt themselves more than they hurt others, or they did hurt others, but they didn’t kill anyone. I think of these young men of my youth every time there’s a mass shooting, which is always: There have been more than 250 this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. This weekend, two young men allegedly killed a total of 31 people. Twenty-two in El Paso, Texas, and then, less than a day later, nine in Dayton, Ohio — events that have managed to hold onto the headlines even in gun-numb America, because of their quick succession, their cumulative gore. The incidents, at least for now, don’t appear to have a lot in common. One shooter allegedly was a racist who posted an anti-immigrant manifesto online shortly before he opened fire in broad daylight at a Walmart. The other wore a mask and bulletproof vest as he stalked revelers in a

nightlife district. But, allegedly, they were both young men. A 21-yearo ld a n d a 2 4 - ye a r- o ld , described by the words that neighbors and acquaintances now always seem to use to describe young male shooters after the fact: Quiet. Loner. Disaffected. Troubled. The suspected El Paso shooter, a former classmate told the Los Angeles Times, was “irritable and had a short temper.” The Dayton shooter allegedly once kept a “hit list” of classmates and administrators he planned to target. “He was not bullied in school, he was a classic glorifier of violence who had threatened many of my friends in the past,” read a Facebook post written by someone who said he was a former classmate. “His violence was simply ignored as ‘boys will be boys.’” “Boys will be boys” is such a glib-sounding statement, such a reductive description of personality traits. Most boys are not those kind of boys. Not all the boys who seem like those kind of boys will go on to do horrible things. But the phrase gets at something that I never much thought about as a high school student, and

tHE CItIzEns’ VOICE Larry holeva executive editor Dave Janoski Managing editor

which only seems the slightest bit odd to me now: We never, ever worried about the girls. There were definitely young women who were troubled. There was one who’d set fire to her own locker, another who quietly cut her ar ms and le gs, another who regularly ran herself to exhaustion around the track and then made retching sounds in the bathroom. These, it seemed, were the girlish responses to pain. Inward, self-har ming responses, enacted on their own bodies. Sad. Tragic. Material for an after-school special. The boys, though: We thought it was very possible that at least one of the troubled young men would kill lots of people. Because even back in the late 1990s it was beginning to look — based on Columbine, based on Paducah and Pearl and Bethel and Thurston, based on the Fairchild Air Force Base shooting, and the Chuck E. Cheese shooting, and a shooting rampage of a 21-year-old neo-Nazi just a few miles from our town, which left two dead the summer I graduated — like shooting lots of people was a thing troubled

young men did. Society and culture had somehow made them believe it was an option for them. Not a good option; it was, in fact, the worst option. But the message that shooting after shooting seemed to reinforce was this: The pain and resentment and anger of young men is so grand and vast and special that they can and will make others pay for it. Based on Orlando. Based on Virginia Tech. Based on Sandy Hook and Sutherland Springs and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Based on all the quiet loners upon whom we retroactively bestow pages and pages of psychological analysis, based on the fact that only nine out of 250 active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2017 involved female shooters, according to the FBI. White men have committed more mass shootings than any other group, according to one accounting of the data. After shootings, we seem willing to talk about various contributors to and solutions for the violence. The discussions always break down at party lines.

Liberals will talk about gun control, with America’s grotesque worship of the Second Amendment. Conservatives will talk about mental health. “The bottom line is mental health is a large contributor to any type of violence or shooting violence,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, after the El Paso shooting. Both conversations are worth having, and heaven knows we need to get better at having them, because our national sickness doesn’t show any sign of healing. But these points seem like only two pillars of a threelegged conversation. The third pillar is gender. The third pillar is how we got to the point where troubled young women vomit quietly in bathrooms, and troubled young men go online and order assault-style weapons, as the Dayton shooter allegedly did, and then commit mass slaughter. We need to talk about how the shooters keep getting guns. We need to talk about how the shooters keep not getting the right kind of psychological help. And we need to talk, frankly, and exhaustively, about how they’re almost always men. MONICA hESSE is a columnist for the Washington Post.

LETTER GUIDELINES Mark Altavilla Advertising Director Joe Nealon Circulation Director

Letters to the editor must include the author’s name and town of residence for publication, and a daytime telephone number for confirmation. Letters must be 300 words or fewer and are subject to editing. Mail: Your Voice, the Citizens’ Voice, 75 N. Washington st., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701 Email: yourvoice@citizensvoice.com Fax: 570-821-2247

WB_VOICE/PAGES [A06] | 08/06/19

22:50 | DONLINKEVI

LocaL / state

A6 THE CITIZENS' VOICE

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019

county: Selected candidate will serve on council until Jan. 6 FROM PAGE A1

COURTESY OF SCOTT CANNON

Kielbasa princess, prince named ahead of festival Hadleigh Decker of Hanover Twp. and Grayson Williams of Plymouth have been named Princess and Prince for the 16th annual Plymouth Alive Kielbasa Festival. The were chosen from a field of more than 50 contestants. The pair will be featured in the ‘Wall

that Heals’ Parade at 11 a.m. Saturday. Carol Jezewski, from Love Your Hair Salon in Plymouth, is the sponsor and organizer for the Prince and Princess Committee. The Citizens’ Voice’s kielbasa festival preview will be available in Thursday’s edition.

WVW: No student was ever denied lunch FROM PAGE A1

responsibility to pay and terminated the call. ... I guess I am old school, help those truly in need but hold accountable those who are simply trying the beat the system.” On July 24, state Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-120, Kingston, announced the district would accept Carmichael’s donation after he met with district officials. Kaufer, a 2007 graduate of Valley West, represents seven of the nine municipalities that make up the district. The Wyoming Valley West Educational Foundation,

which accepts donations to fund district expenses, received a $22,467.76 donation from Carmichael last week. Muth signed the controversial letters with the foster-care warning after getting input from Charles Coslett, who then was the district’s solicitor, and Muth said he did not review the letter with board members and Superintendent Irvin DeRemer. Coslett resigned as solicitor two weeks ago after defending the decision to issue the letters. This year, the district fully qualifies the Community Eligibility Program for the first

time, and that means all district students will receive free breakfast and lunch in all district schools for the next five years regardless of income. The federal government funds the program. The reason all students will get free meals is at least 60 percent of district students meet the income threshold to qualify for free meals and have been approved for the program, Muth said. Four of seven district schools provided free meals for all students during the 2018-19 school year, Muth said. The students with the unpaid

lunch bills came from the other three schools — the high school, Dana Street Elementary School and Chester Street Elementary School. “At NO time was a child ever denied a lunch or given an alternative lunch,” Mazur wrote. “Each child, regardless of their account balance was given the same lunch as every other student. ... EVERY parent received a phone call EVERY Friday with the status of their child’s lunch account balance.” contact the writer: mbuffer@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

Thankyou

help the citizens of the county,” he said. “I would do whatever it took to work with the budget, number one.” Six years in the military taught him discipline and that “teamwork was the most important thing,” Vacendak said. Home rule has proved to be very effective, according to Vacendak. He said he would work well with other council members, vowing to apply a positive attitude. ■ Frank Wojtash, 22, of Plains Twp., said that since Luzerne County adopted home rule “we have been more effective as a county.” Wojtash graduated from Misericordia University this year. He said he learned how governments operate while earning a bachelor’s degree in government, law and national security and while serving an internship with the state Republican Party last year. “I would like to bring that knowledge to Luzerne County,” he said. “I would love to be a part of this council and make this county a better place.” Wojtash said many county residents struggle to make ends meet and he wants to “help them out as best I can.” Councilwoman Sheila Saidman asked Wojtash why he did not seek a four-year council seat in this year’s election. “This just kind of came up,” he said. “I figured I would get my foot in the door.”

■ Anthony Ryba Jr., 48, of Conyngham, is assistant superintendent of Hazleton Area School District. He has worked for the district for 25 years, including 18 years as business manager. Like Morelli and Dunn, Ryba touted his experience with budgeting as a key strength he would bring to council. “My main role (as business manager) was creating and managing a budget,” Ryba said. Ryba said he always first looked at ways to cut expenditures during the budgeting process. He would bring the same focus to budget discussions on council, he said. Ryba also cited his success in contract negotiations with multiple unions that represent the school district’s employees. Ryba disclosed that he is the brother-in-law of chief county solicitor Romilda Crocamo, who has recused herself from any involvement in the process of filling the vacant council seat. Ryba serves on the county convention center authority, a position he would need to resign if appointed to council. ■ Michael G. Vacendak, 71, of Laflin, is a real estate agent and appraiser and a veteran of the U.S. Army. Vacendak said his professional experience would help him contribute when council needs to consider real estate or assessment issues. contact the writer: “I think I could bring some emark@citizensvoice.com things to the council that will 570-821-2117

aRounD tHe coMMonWeaLtH aLLentoWn

For providing meals for our RESTAURANT NIGHT for our patients and their families this month! From all of us at

from the bottom of our heart.

Coming Tomorrow:

KIELBASA FESTIVAL SPECIAL SECTION

hol-related crash on a Pennsylvania interstate that killed no injuries in three people, including a todtrain derailment dler. Jack Satterfield III, 29, Authorities say a train pleaded guilty in June to derailment Tuesday in eastern Pennsylvania sent several vehicular homicide while driving dunk and leaving the scene cars off the track, including of an accident in the October one that split in half, but no 2018 crash in Lower Paxton injuries were reported. Twp. Authorities said the Capt. John Christopher of the Allentown fire department McComb resident had consaid the train was being oper- sumed eight drinks earlier in the day before his truck ated remotely at the time of plowed into slowed or stopped the 12:10 p.m. derailment just traffic near a construction east of the Norfolk Southern zone on I-83. Railroad terminal. The crash involved 11 vehiThe derailment took down a telephone pole carrying fiber- cles and killed 24-year-old Zachary Lybrand of Middleoptic lines. A Verizon crew town; his 16-month-old daughwas at the scene. ter, Elliana, and 22-year-old Christopher said the damEthan Van Bochoven, a college aged car was carrying very student from Pompton Plains, small plastic beads used for soda and water bottles. Anoth- New Jersey. er car off the tracks was carry- cHaMbeRsbuRg ing lumber.

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2nd life term in i-81 slaying

A West Virginia man has been sentenced to a second life term in the shooting death of a motorist on Interstate 81 in central Pennsylvania more than 5½ years ago. John Strawser Jr., 42, of Terra Alta was convicted of first-degree murder Tuesday. Authorities in Franklin County said 28-year-old Timothy Davison was driving home to Maine in January 2014 when a pickup truck driver opened fire and rammed his SUV, forcing it onto a median, before circling back and shooting him again. Two ex-friends said Strawser had threatened them and they were driving in a similar vehicle on I-81. Strawser was earlier sentenced to life in the April 2015 slaying of Amy Lou Buckingham in Preston, West Virginia, and the Pennsylvania life term will run consecutive to that sentence. — AssociAted Press