Quantcast
Channel: News Stream
Viewing all 52491 articles
Browse latest View live

Product Recalls 9/11/2016

0
0

PACIFIER CLIPS

DETAILS: Babies’R’Us pacifier clips sold in an assortment of six colors and character designs, including a red monster, blue monster, monkey, giraffe, owl with one eye closed, and an owl with both eyes open. The recalled pacifier clip assortment has model number 5F6237F and “2014 Geoffrey, LLC” engraved on the back to the plastic cover. They were sold at Babies’R’Us and Toy’R’Us stores nationwide from February 2015 through April.

WHY: The pacifier clip’s spring mechanism can break and release small parts, posing a choking hazard.

INCIDENTS: Two reports of pacifier clips breaking. No injuries have been reported.

HOW MANY: About 53,000.

FOR MORE: Call Toys ‘R’ Us at 800-869-7787 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit www.toysrus.com and click on Product Recalls for more information.

MOSQUITO ZAPPER LIGHT BULBS

DETAILS: HAUS ZapBulb 2-in-1 mosquito zapper LED light bulbs. The grid housing has a blue light used to attract insects and an LED light below, for lighting. Only units without any markings or labels are included in this recall. SKU number IK 3000 is on the product’s packaging. They were sold at Amazon, Groupon, Hammacher Schlemmer, Pulse TV, Sharper Image, Sportsman and Universal Direct from April through July.

WHY: The light bulb’s base can separate from the connector, posing an electrical shock hazard.

INCIDENTS: Two reports of the bulb separating from the connector. No injuries or property damage have been reported .

HOW MANY: About 11,500.

FOR MORE: Call Creative Sourcing International/Haus at 888-521-8326 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, send email to hauswares@kalorik.com, or visit www.hauswares.com and click on Recall Information for more information.


Franklin Avenue in downtown Scranton to get 12-17 more apartments

0
0

In 2008, when Don Mammano Jr. purchased the commercial building at 136 Franklin Ave. in downtown Scranton, he didn’t envision converting it into apartments.

While he had done that in other parts of the city and downtown, that block had a few small businesses, a metered parking lot and PA Career Link across the street. But the block had no residences. After the closure of Whistle’s Pub, the area became somewhat desolate.

Things certainly changed since then.

Mr. Mammano is well on his way to converting the building, which includes a four-story original structure and a carriage house with a loft, into as many as 17 apartment units. The building had most recently housed Hoban’s Restaurant Supply.

He follows the success of other developers just steps away from his building. In 2011, Ransom Twp. architect Scott D. Allen bought the former Scranton Electric Supply Co. at 118-120 Franklin and added 21 loft-style apartments on the three upper floors. In 2014, Art Russo added 21 rental units on three upper floors of the Bittenbender Building, which now houses Ale Mary’s gastropub on the ground floor.

“I know the market better now,” Mr. Mammano said. He has more than 100 units in Scranton, mostly for students and young professionals. Having rented some of the ground level for a state employment training center, he was in no rush to convert the entire building.

To make the building suitable for living or working space, Mr. Mammano had to add nearly 30 windows to the brick exterior walls. Crews sawed out the rectangles and repointed the brick work.

 

With a fairly flat roof, Mr. Mammano hopes to add a rooftop deck or garden. He added a brick parapet around the roof, which offers a view of West Mountain and the Lackawanna River. The interior is raw, with no walls, a bare floor and visible brick and joists. Busy with other work, he expects to have crews outfitting the apartments over the winter. New vanities, kitchen cabinets and tub surround left over from other projects wait in stacks on the ground floor.

He envisions four units on each of the three upper floors of the main building. Then there’s the carriage house, which Mr. Mammano may leave open to other options.

Three large garage bays open to the back alley. He may use a portion of the ground level for premium tenant parking, or he may level it out for apartment space. While the carriage house’s second floor could lend itself to apartments with the loft-style bedroom between the roof trusses, he wonders if the space could be a dramatic office, event space or beer garden.

The former owner of the building, William Hoban Jr., said he’s happy to see Mr. Mammano’s energy going into the building he and his father purchased in 1964.

“I’m thrilled to see this,” he said. “Mammano has a head on tis shoulders and he knows what he is doing. I hope everything works out.”

The growing number of downtown residents adds to the vibrancy of downtown, said Ken Okrepkie, president of Scranton Tomorrow, a civic improvement group.

“If you have an urban center where people work and go home, it becomes a quiet place,” he said. “When people call the urban center home, it is their neighborhood. It’s where they walk their dog, socialize, support restaurants, gyms and other businesses. They become the social and economic fabric.”

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

Former Sunday Times photographer documented 9/11 aftermath

0
0

An impromptu tribute of American flags displayed by teammates at a soccer game in South Abington Twp. inspired former Sunday Times photographer Rich Banick.

It was four days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Mr. Banick was on assignment to photograph the game. He couldn’t help but notice the quiet, clear skies, void of normal airplane traffic. He couldn’t ignore a stirring inside that was driving him to head for lower Manhattan to document history.

“I just felt like I needed to go for some reason,” said Mr. Banick, 46, who left the paper in 2004 and now owns Rich Banick Photography in Dunmore.

He checked his work schedule for his next day off, recruited a co-worker to join him and headed to New York City with his 35mm camera and new camcorder.

“I do remember mostly just shock,” he said of Ground Zero six days after the terrorist attacks. “People just walking around staring at the buildings.”

In 2001, it was rare to own a quality digital camera; cellphones with cameras were practically nonexistent.

“The only people around with cameras were just journalists,” said Mr. Banick. “If they had smartphones back in 2001 when this attack happened, the footage, the memories, the different things that we would have seen would be vastly different.”

Looking at his photos and videos for the first time in 15 years, he reflected last week on how photographing Ground Zero was different back then. He was able to get close to the crumbled buildings, access that likely would not be allowed today after a terrorist attack.

Mr. Banick visits Manhattan a few times a year. He parks in New Jersey and takes the ferry into the city. The changed lower Manhattan skyline always takes him back to Sept. 11, 2001.

See Rich Banick's previously unpublished video footage as he recounts his experience:

 

Contact the writer:

tbaird@timesshamrock.com

Backyard vigil aims to destigmatize addiction

0
0

Marty and Stacy Henehan wore T-shirts bearing the picture of their daughter Saturday evening during a backyard vigil aimed at acknowledging and combating the problem of addiction.

Their daughter, Samantha “Sammi” Henehan, 23, lost her life to a heroin overdose in April. Now they want to end the stigma.

About a dozen people gathered in a North Garfield Avenue backyard to help do just that. The event, Lights of Hope, was part of a national initiative created by the Addict’s Mom — a Facebook community offering family support and addiction awareness.

The Henehans shared their daughter’s story at the event, which culminated in the lighting of candles and the release of balloons.

They explained that their daughter was at one point three years sober. During that time she helped many other women, several of whom credit her for their sobriety. She was a personal banker and didn’t fit the stereotypes many often associate with addicts, but that didn’t mean she didn’t need help.

“Addiction doesn’t discriminate,” said Mr. Henehan. “It doesn’t matter what your title is. It doesn’t matter where you come from. It doesn’t matter your background. ... It’s a disease.”

Mrs. Henehan said the stigma surrounding addiction often prevents those in need of help, including the families of addicts, from seeking it. Samantha Henehan’s obituary noted that she died of a heroin overdose; that was to raise awareness, her mother said.

“We felt it was the start of showing the community that there’s no reason to be ashamed, or embarrassed, of a struggling addict,” Mr. Henehan said. “We knew she would want the truth to be told.”

Maggie Kunda, who hosted the Lights of Hope vigil, knows addiction. Three of her sons are in recovery, and she understands how events like Saturday’s represent a much needed network of support.

“We are all about recovery and helping ... stop the stigma,” said Ms. Kunda. “When you cover it up it’s not helping anyone.”

After the presentations, attendees lit candles. White candles symbolized those in recovery. Red candles symbolized those facing an active addiction. Black and purple candles symbolized those that have lost their battle.

Ultimately, the light of the candles represented a casting away of the shadows of stigma. Help is available, Mr. Henehan argued, if one is willing to look for it.

The Henehans lauded Lackawanna County District Attorney Shane Scanlon’s Heroin Hits Home initiative and his efforts to destigmatize and combat the epidemic. They’ve also started the Forever Sammi Foundation in an effort to do the same.

Contact the writer:

jhorvath@timesshamrock.com, @jhorvathTT on Twitter

Lake Ariel Fire Company enters 2nd century

0
0

LAKE ARIEL ­— Before there were pressure hoses and trucks, the Lake Ariel Volunteer Fire Company began as a bucket brigade 100 years ago.

Saturday, the little volunteer department celebrated its longevity with an 89-vehicle firefighters parade, truck inspections, food and fun.

Bucking the trends that have spelled the end of many volunteer departments, Lake Ariel entered its second century of service. Today the department has about 40 active firefighters, three engines, a brush truck and a rescue truck.

“We are very excited today and happy about the future,” said Chief Christopher DiPierro.

One commemorative T-shirt had fun with fire jargon: “Fully involved for 100 years.” While worth a snicker, the comment holds some truth for the department, which is able to train and maintain firefighters and a dedicated auxiliary to help raise the money essential to equip modern firefighters.

This year, the department had 17 people pass their firefighter certification and 25 members join. Chief DiPierro said the organization makes training fun, working hard on the social and community aspects of the group. Every member’s birthday is remembered with a cake.

Linda Pontosky, past president of the auxiliary, said the groups’ members are obsessive — working, planning and raising money incessantly.

“People give a lot of their time,” Mrs. Pontosky said. “There’s another group of people who aren’t part of the auxiliary that we can count on if we need them.”

The community, she said, generously supports the department — people such as Peter and Joan Karnick, who were enjoying a chicken dinner Saturday with two grandsons. The South Canaan couple were there to offer support. Fortunately, they have never needed the Fire Department’s services.

“They give up a lot of time and go through training to do this, and they are good at it,” Mr. Karnick said. “I don’t know how they get where they need to be so fast.”

Ed Kulas, a member the Eagle Hose Company in Dickson City, donned his Class A uniform for the day, happy to celebrate the milestone with Lake Ariel.

“It’s become difficult and stressful to run a volunteer department or be a volunteer,” he said. “Not very many volunteer departments make it this far.”

Contact the writer:

dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

Man injured after jumping into Nay Aug Gorge

0
0

SCRANTON — City fire crews rescued a man from Nay Aug Gorge on Saturday when he suffered injuries after jumping about 100 feet into the water.

Crews responded to the gorge around 5 p.m., shortly after the 42-year-old man from Shavertown jumped while swimming with relatives. He told the initial responders that he couldn’t feel his legs, acting Assistant Fire Chief Roger Rogalewicz said.

Firefighters rappelled into the gorge and swam the man downstream in a floating rescue basket. The man was taken by ATV to an ambulance, and then by ambulance to Geisinger Community Medical Center. His condition is unknown.

— JEFF HORVATH

Ham radio enthusiasts connect from Steamtown

0
0

For a few hours Saturday, an antenna and two ham radio rigs connected people from places like South Dakota, Washington, Alabama and Kentucky to the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton.

About a dozen amateur radio aficionados from the Susquehanna County Amateur Radio Club “activated” the site as part of the National Parks on the Air program — a yearlong initiative celebrating the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary and promoting amateur radio.

“This is great because these guys are talking to people all over the country and they’re telling them where they’re broadcasting from,” said Ken Ganz, park ranger at Steamtown. “A lot of them have never heard of Steamtown. It gets the word out there.”

Operating with both Morse code and voice, club members promoted the historic site to ham enthusiasts from Louisiana, Florida, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Oregon, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma and more.

“Check out the Steamtown national park website where they run live steam trains,” club member Jay Straub advised a South Dakota ham radio user. “It’s the former Lackawanna Railroad yard in Scranton, Pennsylvania ... and mile for mile the Lackawanna was the most advanced in America.”

Radio, like the railroad, has a rich history in Northeast Pennsylvania. In 1905, the Rev. Joseph Murgas, a Catholic priest living in Wilkes-Barre, sent the first wireless radio signal over land to a tower in Scranton. The technology has advanced in the century-plus since, and ham radio hobbyists continue to use the airwaves as a means of connecting with people from all over the country and world.

“It promotes the parks, but we’re not contacting other parks,” explained club President Lee Parsons. “We’re contacting everyone.”

Mr. Parsons received his first radio as a Christmas gift in 1968. The first transmission he heard — prisoners of war singing Christmas carols — came from North Vietnam.

“I’ll get Cuba quite a bit,” said club member Graham Anthony. “The cultures are different. The political systems are different. Maybe the freedoms are different. But we’re still talking.”

An extended, substantive radio conversation is called a “ragchew,” Mr. Anthony said.

“They may never have met,” he said. “(But) they’ll sit and converse like they’ve known each other forever.”

The roughly 30 members of the Susquehanna County Amateur Radio Club often spend free time on the airwaves, or tinkering with their personal radio rigs. The club meets monthly and participates in other ham radio events and contests.

As of Saturday, the Steamtown National Historic Site joins a growing list of National parks, monuments, memorials and more that have been activated by ham radio operators.

“I think it’s terrific,” said Mr. Ganz. “I hope you guys come back.”

Contact the writer:

jhorvath@timesshamrock.com, @jhorvathTT on Twitter

Namedropper, September 11, 2016

0
0

Two firsts at

Meals’ third mixer

Meals on Wheels of NEPA will honor Patrick and Kristie McMahon with its inaugural Founder’s Award for Philanthropy during its third annual Mix & Mingle, Thursday at Glen Oak Country Club. The agency will also present the inaugural Elaine F. Shepard Award for Exceptional Volunteerism at its largest fundraiser, while celebrating National Aging Month. Teresa Osborne, Pennsylvania’s secretary of aging, will be a special guest.

Proceeds will benefit the elderly and disabled throughout Lackawanna County.

Mix & Mingle will begin with cocktails, light dinner fare and desserts. Basket raffles, prizes and a wine pull are planned. Smooth jazz will be provided by the Mark Montella Trio.

The honorees

Pat is CEO of One

Point Inc. of Scranton and Corporate Environments of Bethlehem. Kristie

creates jewelry and sculpture in her Glenburn

studio.

Among her many community services, Kristie started delivering Meals on Wheels in the Abingtons 15 years ago. She has worked many years on local fundraisers, including the Meals on Wheels Celebrity Soup Sale.

A member of several community boards, Pat founded the One Point of Light committee in 1997, with the help of his spiritual director, the Rev. George Schemel, S.J. It directs 10 percent of net profits on an annual basis to support more than 80 local charities. In 2004, he and friends founded the Scranton Chapter of the Woodstock Business Conference (soon to be the Ignatian Business Chapter), an international network exploring religious traditions to integrate faith, family and professional life; foster a corporate culture that reflects faith; and exercise a beneficial influence on society. A Rotary Foundation Paul Harris Fellow, Pat is forming a local chapter of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps to provide opportunities for those, mainly 50-plus, to serve others and transform lives.

A Realtor, Elaine serves the community on many boards and agencies.

Elaine F. Shepard is an extraordinary example of service to the community. The Elaine F. Shepard Award for Exceptional Volunteerism will honor volunteers who embody Elaine’s commitment to the residents of Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Kristen L. Kosin , Meals on Wheels executive director, says in a release.

High notes

Net proceeds raised at the the Thomas E. Zukoski Memorial 5K Run/Walk at Lake Winola are benefiting St. Joseph’s Center in Scranton. Tom provided loving care and treatment to many patients at the center so his family, including daughter and race organizer Megan Azar and grandchildren Adrian, Reese and Rodman Azar, presented a check representing the race proceeds to JoAnn Verduce, of St. Joseph’s Center.


Around the Towns, Sept. 4, 2016

0
0

Carbondale

St. Francis of Assisi Kitchen acknowledged and thanked the members of St. Rose of Lima and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and its pastor, the Rev. James Price, for their ongoing cooperation with its hot-meals outreach program.

About 100 hot meals prepared at St. Francis Kitchen in Scranton are served at the Pioneer City parish every Thursday from noon to 12:30 p.m.

“The program, which serves the Upper Valley and Mid Valley and began nearly a year ago, was recently supported with a $2,000 donation from the Scranton Area Foundation,” Alan Stout said in an email. Similar programs are offered at Christ the King Parish at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Archbald on Tuesdays and at Holy Cross Parish at St. Patrick’s Church in Olyphant on Wednesdays.

— STAFF REPORT

yesdesk@timesshamrock.com

Clarks Summit

Borough council is looking for high school students to share the table with them for the upcoming year.

There are two slots open in the junior council program, which allows interested youths to become involved in borough government. Like their adult counterparts, junior council members are expected to attend meetings and participate in discussions and debates.

Borough council has taken part in the junior council program for about 10 years, borough council President Gerrie Carey said.

“Anybody with an interest in community and government, it’s a real asset to sit as a junior council member,” Ms. Carey said.

Applicants must live in the borough and be a junior or senior at Abington Heights High School. Interested students should submit a letter of interest to borough Manager Virginia Kehoe at clarkssummitmanager

@gmail.com or mail it to Clarks Summit Borough, 304 S. State St., Clarks Summit PA 18411. Letters will be reviewed and discussed at the council work session on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m.

Council will vote to select the junior council members at its Wednesday, Oct. 5, regular meeting. Those selected will sit with council from October to May.

— CLAYTON OVER

cover@timesshamrock.com, @ClaytonOver on Twitter

Dalton

The Dalton Fire Company is looking for a few more good members as it continues to serve local communities “during times of despair and tragedy.”

The company is looking for “able-bodied males and females who would serve their community in a way that would continue the tradition of caring for others,” James Gray, recruiting chairman, said in an email. “The recruitment committee of the fire company is asking for you, the future of the organization, to step up and give your time to make Dalton and its surrounding communities a safer place to live.”

Noting that members have committed themselves to service and “watched generations of families continue to serve,” Mr. Gray said, “Please consider being part of the unsung heroes of the town that you live in.”

Company members meet every Tuesday night at 7 at the firehouse, 109 S. Turnpike Road, and Mr. Gray encourages prospective members to stop by and “be part of the fine group of volunteers that keep the tradition alive.”

— STAFF REPORT

yesdesk@timesshamrock.com

Dickson City

The Dickson City Banner and Light Committee will use some of the final weeks of fair weather for its Fall Fest Fundraiser at Maiolatesi Wine Cellars in Scott Twp.

The event, scheduled Sunday, Sept. 18, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., will include a basket raffle, food, wine and entertainment.

Money raised goes to support Dickson City’s Christmas Lighting Event on Sunday, Nov. 20. The free event offers goodies, pizza and hot chocolate to revelers kicking off the holiday season. This year will be the third year for the celebration, Fall Fest Chairman Jeff Kovaleski said.

For details, call Mr. Kovaleski at 570-878-3373. Tickets, for $25, are available at the Dickson City Municipal Building.

— DAVID FALCHEK

dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

Honesdale

The Women’s Club of Honesdale will begin its 73rd year of operation on Thursday, Sept. 22. The first 2016-17 session will get underway at 7 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center on Commercial Street.

“The club promotes educational, civic and cultural endeavors by contributing to nearly two dozen local community groups,” Nancy Derman, publicity chairwoman, said in an email, adding that it also grants scholarships to graduating high school seniors and provided planters on Main Street in the spring.

New members “interested in participating in the many activities sponsored by the Women’s Club, including the annual Art and Antiques Show held in July,” are welcome at the meeting, Mrs. Derman said.

A program featuring several of the Old Time Fiddlers speaking about their history and music is planned. The Old Time Fiddlers is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and preserve traditional music through performance and education, Mrs. Derman said.

— STAFF REPORT

yesdesk@timesshamrock.com

Jermyn

The borough honored two police officers with certificates of appreciation Thursday.

Officer Chris Brazen was recognized for his role in the investigation into the death of Joshua Rose, 21, of Luzerne late last month. The investigation yielded three arrests. He took the initial report and began the investigation, eventually contacting state police when the investigation crossed county lines.

The borough will also award a certificate of appreciation to Sgt. Anthony Caljean for his role in stopping a potential rape in Jermyn in 2011.

“I think it’s so important right now to tout the accomplishments of the police when they have a good moral compass,” said Councilman Dan Markey, who added that the officers are earning the public’s trust in Jermyn.

Sgt. Caljean was not at Thursday’s council meeting but will accept the certificate at a later date.

— JEFF HORVATH

jhorvath@timesshamrock,

@jhorvathTT on Twitter

Midvalley

The ninth annual Sgt. Jan Argonish Ride is scheduled for today. The annual event salutes the soldier from Blakely, who was 26 when he was killed on Aug. 27, 2007, during an ambush in Afghanistan’s Kunar province.

The noon ride starts with registration from 8 to 11 a.m. at a new location —Jessup Hose Company 2’s carnival grounds at 333 Hill St. Motorcycles and cars are welcome, for a fee of $20 a rider and $10 a passenger.

Food, drinks and raffles begin at 1:30 p.m. Music will be provided by Mace in Dickson, Nowhere Slow Duo, and Dan Dalrymple & the Tommy Guns Band.

Sgt. Argonish, a Pennsylvania Army National Guardsman, had already served in Iraq by the time he was killed as he tried to rescue wounded colleagues during the ambush in Afghanistan.

“Jan was an amazing person who loved his son, Jakub, his family, friends, and fiancée, Talia. Jan loved to go riding with his son, country music, and classic cars. Jan is loved and missed dearly by his family, friends and the countless others he touched over his lifetime,” the flier for the event says.

Proceeds from the ride in his honor benefit local injured soldiers, service members in need, the Sgt. Jan-Michael Argonish Memorial Fund and other military veteran support organizations. Details are available at www.jansride.com.

— STAFF REPORT

yesdesk@timesshamrock.com

Moscow

North Pocono Public Library’s new Fall Festival tradition is expected to grow larger in its second year after attracting about 150 people in 2015.

“We hope it keeps growing,” said the program coordinator, Kayla McLain.

The Saturday, Sept. 24, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. event includes some outdoor games, like a cupcake ball toss for “sweet treats,” a carnival-like “frog flinger” challenge to land toy frogs on lily pads, and a beanbag toss.

Indoors, it features a science, technology, engineering and math program for children.

Raffles and refreshments, including cider and doughnuts from Ritter’s Farm Markets, along with water and hot dogs, will also be available.

Tony Vergnetti and Robby Walsh will play live music.

The library will also host an art exhibit by the Northeast Photography Club.

“The fall festival is an opportunity for us to showcase the library to the community and to partner with different people in the community,” library Director Susan Jeffery said. “We really want to invite people in to see what we have to offer.”

— KYLE WIND

kwind@timesshamrock.com, @kwindTT on Twitter

Olyphant

Bargain hunters may want to check out SS. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church’s sixth annual rummage sale later this month.

The sale boasts more than 10,000 items, including furniture, crafts, games, sporting goods, books, holiday items, children’s toys, cookbooks, tools, records, antiques, household and outdoor items, and more.

Held from Friday, Sept. 23, through Sunday, Sept. 25, at the St. Cyril grade school gym, 133 River St., the sale serves as the church’s major fundraiser.

Raffle tickets and refreshments will also be sold.

Doors open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The sale runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. For details, call Lauren Telep at 570-383-0319 or the Rev. Nestor Iwasiw at 570-489-2271.

— JEFF HORVATH

jhorvath@timesshamrock.com, @jhorvathTT on Twitter

Scranton

Penne pasta dinners will be passed through vehicle windows in the parking lot and handed out in the auditorium when St. Lucy’s Church parishioners conduct their sixth annual penne pasta drive thru-takeout dinner Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m.

It’s as easy as “Drive through the parking lot at the rear of the church, stay in your car, place your order and pull up to the tent” for pickup, committee member Jack DeLeo said in an email. “Your dinner will be delivered right to your car or, if you choose, you may walk into the church auditorium to pick up your dinners.”

There will be no sit-down serving of the $10 dinners, which include penne rigate with meatballs, salad, Italian bread, and biscotti for dessert.

Others serving on the dinner committee include the Rev. Sam J. Ferretti, pastor, Dave Bieri, Lisa Bieri, Bill Buckley, Steve Casale, Joe Gentile, Joe Guido Jr., Karen Kern, Tom Kern, Mark Kuloszewski, Susan Marullo, Pat McNichols and Ken Strezelecki.

For advance tickets, call St. Lucy’s rectory at 570-347-9421.

— STAFF REPORT

yesdesk@timesshamrock.com

Goodwill Industries of Northeastern Pennsylvania buried a time capsule as the last in a series of events concluding the rededication of North Scranton Junior High School, now known as Goodwill at North, Gerald T. Langan Apartments.

“Twenty-one years ago, we had a vision for this school, and we are thankful to all who continue to support North as it embarks on its next chapter,” said Gerald Langan, Goodwill president/CEO, in a release. “Goodwill is proud to continue the tradition in preserving the present for the future with the burial of the time capsule.”

Among the items included in the capsule are a shovel from the groundbreaking ceremony, before-and-after construction pictures, pictures of Providence Square businesses, a menu from Stirna’s Restaurant, and newspaper articles about the project and its history. The capsule is scheduled to be reopened in 2041.  

Friends of Goodwill, elected officials and residents of the new apartments participated in the burial by symbolically dumping a cup of dirt over the time capsule.

“It is our hope that those in the future will have a fuller understanding of what hard work and dedication it took to see this project finally come to fruition,” Goodwill board Chairwoman Frances Kovaleski said during the ceremony.

— STAFF REPORT

yesdesk@timesshamrock.com

Allison LaRussa conducts events raising awareness about mental health issues.

Her latest event coincides with September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and will raise funds for the new Katie Foundation, created in memory of former Scranton resident Kathleen “Katie” Shoener, who committed suicide Aug. 3 at age 29 in Ohio, where she lived.A candid obituary by her father

, Ed Shoener of Scranton, published Aug. 6 in The Times-Tribune, went viral on social media and sparked a conversation nationwide about how to talk about mental illness.

Ms. LaRussa decided to help the foundation with a fundraiser Saturday, Sept. 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Adezzo coffee shop at 515 Center St. in downtown Scranton.

Called “This is Your Journey,” the fundraiser will offer a platform for shared personal stories, information and resources. The suggested donation is $5, and proceeds will benefit the Katie Foundation.

“I really think it is so important as a community that we address the stigmas associated with mental illness and suicide,” Ms. LaRussa said in an email.

On its Facebook page, the Katie Foundation also promoted the event with hashtags of #mentalillnessnotweakness, #StompTheStigma and #youarenotalone.

“Another example of the amazing support we’ve received in the community,” the foundation said in the Aug. 29 Facebook post. “It will be a night of support and awareness of those affected by suicide with shared personal stories.”

The foundation also will hold a “5Kate” 5K Mental Illness Awareness Walk/Run in memory of Ms. Shoener on Sunday, Oct. 30, in Scranton. For details on the 5K, visit 5kate.org.

— JIM LOCKWOOD

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT on Twitter

South Abington Twp.

An event planned for later this month will focus on praying for the healing of a local boy and other sick children worldwide.

Praise in the Park for Matthew’s Miracle is scheduled for Saturday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Hillside Park. The event’s namesake is 6-year-old Matthew McDonnell of South Abington Twp., who has been battling a rare form of kidney cancer since he was 3 years old.

The community is invited. Attendees need only bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on.

A musical portion is planned, and the Rev. Jim Snook, a retired pastor from Lake Ariel and a family friend of the McDonalds, will deliver a sermon based on Psalm 91.

The event is free and not a fundraiser, but rather a way for the community to come together “to ask God to heal not only Matthew but all other children like him. ... We’re going to be praying for all of them,” the Rev. Snook said.

For information about Praise in the Park for Matthew’s Miracle, call 570-947-6424.

— CLAYTON OVER

cover@timesshamrock.com, @ClaytonOver on Twitter

Tunkhannock Twp.

Members of Northeastern Lodge 63, Fraternal Order of Police, honored township Police Chief Stanley Ely with a plaque during a recent meeting. The award recognizes Chief Ely’s retirement and service to the township and citizens of Wyoming County.

Edward Morristell succeeds him as police chief.

— STAFF REPORT

yesdesk@timesshamrock.com

AROUND THE TOWNS appears each Sunday, spotlighting the people and events in your neighborhoods. If you have an idea for an Around the Towns note, contact the writer for your town, or the Yes!Desk at 570-348-9121 or yesdesk@timesshamrock.com.

Veterans News 9/11/2016

0
0

Seeking veterans

If you were or a member of your family was from Lackawanna County, in the military and based at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, contact the 9/11 Memorial Committee at charliespano8@gmail.com or 570-342-5390; on Wednesday, Dec. 7, the 75th anniversary of the attack, the committee will place a plaque honoring all Lackawanna County veterans who were there on that “day of infamy,” people submitted must meet all three conditions above.

VFW Post 5207 plans events

VFW Post 5207 annual Patriots Day/9-11 ceremony, today, 2 p.m., Routes 502 and 307, Covington Twp., with members of the North Pocono area fire, rescue and police forces in attendance, reception follows in the post hall; POW/MIA Day event, Friday, 6 p.m., post hall; information, 570-241-3274.

Post 7069 sets chicken barbecue

VFW Post 7069 and auxiliary chicken barbecue, Saturday, 2-6 p.m. or sold out, post grounds, 402 Winola Road, $10/adults and $4.50/children; tickets, 570-586-0669 or 570-586-9821.

Meetings

MARINE CORPS LEAGUE

Marine Corps League and Museum, today, 2 p.m., nomination of officers.

POST 5207

VFW Post 5207, today, noon, post home, Routes 502 and 307, Covington Twp.

POST 5209

VFW Post 5209, today, post home, 1849 Bloom Ave., Scranton, home association, 12:30 p.m., officer meeting, 1.

POST 7251 AUXILIARY

VFW Post 7251 auxiliary, today, 1 p.m., Throop.

SQUADRON 665/SAL DISTRICT 11

Sons of the American Legion Squadron 665, today, 1 p.m., collecting for 2017 membership, $15; District 11 Sons of the American Legion, today, 2:30 p.m., both at Dickson City American Legion Post 665.

LCCV

Lackawanna County Council of Veterans, Monday, 10 a.m., conference room, Gino J. Merli Veterans Center, Scranton, agenda: programs for the rest of the year and future bingos and funding, $15 dues payments due.

POST 610

Mayfield American Legion Post 610, Monday, 7 p.m.

POST 327 AUXILIARY

Olyphant Raymond Henry American Legion Post 327 Auxiliary, Monday, 7 p.m.

POST 908

Green Ridge American Legion Post 908, Monday, 7 p.m., post home.

POST 4909

Dupont VFW Post 4909, Monday, 7:30 p.m., home association follows.

POST 3474 AUXILIARY

VFW Post 3474 Auxiliary, Sept. 20, 7 p.m., 110 Chestnut St., Dunmore.

DAV CHAPTER 11

DAV Chapter 11, Monday, 5 p.m., Dickson City Borough Building, Enterprise Street.

POST 6082 AUXILIARY

Shopa-Davey VFW Post 6082 Auxiliary, Tuesday, 6 p.m., note new time.

VICTORY POST 13

American Legion Victory Post 13, Tuesday, 7 p.m., Green Ridge Post 908, to discuss upcoming events.

DAV CHAPTER 114

Disabled American Veterans Chapter 114, Wednesday, 7 p.m., Cordaro’s Restaurant, 186 Grandview Ave., Honesdale.

POST 411

Jessup American Legion Post 411, Wednesday, 7 p.m., post home, home association meeting follows.

EZRA GRIFFIN CAMP 8

Ezra S. Griffin, Camp 8 Sons of Union Veterans, Saturday, 10:30 a.m., Scranton City Hall, side ADA entrance on Mulberry Street, 570-606-1014.

POST 25

VFW Post 25, meeting changed to Sept. 18, 1 p.m., canteen meeting, noon, post home, Scranton.

VFW DISTRICT 10

VFW District 10, Sept. 18, 2 p.m., Jessup VFW Post 5544, 205 Dolph St.

POST 3474

Dunmore VFW Post 3474, Sept. 20, 1:30 p.m., 7 p.m., home meeting follows.

POST 5642

Montrose VFW Post 5642, Sept. 21, social hour and dinner, 5:45 p.m., meeting 7; 570-278-9984.

Merli Center

Today: Patriot Day. Coffee, 8:30 a.m.; moment of silence for 9/11 victims, 8:46; morning visits, 8:50; Eucharistic ministers, 9:15; veterans tea social, 2 p.m.

Monday: Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; Bible study, 9:30; Octaband with music, 10:15; McDonald’s dine-in, noon; root beer floats with music by Personal Home Health Hospice, 2 p.m.; singalong night, 7.

Tuesday: Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; bingo social, 10:15; volunteer ministry visits, 1:15 p.m.; karaoke day with funnel cakes and beverages, 1:45; Catholic service, 3; trivia with snacks, 7.

Wednesday: Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; ball toss with music, 10:15; birthday bash with the Luongo Brothers, cake and ice cream, 2 p.m.

Thursday: Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; chapel, 10; arts and crafts, 10:15; Arby’s dine-in, noon; movie day with refreshments, “Gods and Generals,” 2 p.m.

Friday: POW/MIA Recognition Day. Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; discussion and remember POW/MIA, 10:15; bingo by Military Order of the Purple Heart, 2 p.m.

Saturday: Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; bulls eye toss, 10:15; Order of the Eastern Star bingo, 2 p.m.

VETERANS NEWS should be submitted no later than Monday before publication to veter

ans@timesshamrock.com; or YES!desk, The Times-Tribune, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503.

Business Briefcase, Sept. 11, 2016

0
0

Thursday: Red Carpet Breakfast, Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by Heritage Hill Senior Community, 7:45 to 9 a.m., Top of the 80’s, Hazleton. State Rep. Tarah Toohil to address attendees. Cost is $20 for chamber members, $25 for nonmembers. RSVP by Sept. 19 by contacting the chamber office at 570-455-1509, or register online at hazletonchamber.org.

■ Chamber Networking Mixer, Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by Providence Place Senior Living, 5 to 7 p.m., 149 S. Hunter Highway, Route 309, Drums, Butler Twp.. RSVP online at www.hazle

tonchamber.org, or contact Julie at the Chamber office at 570-455-1509 or jferry@hazletonchamber.org.

Sept. 19: Growing Stronger Leaders Conference, Women’s Leadership Committee of the Wayne/Pike Farm Bureau, 10 a.m., Tick Tock’s Restaurant, Honesdale. District Attorney Janine Edwards to speak about the heroin situation. Marcia Barrera from the Wayne County Tick Task Force will give a presentation. Attendees will proceed to Fox Hill Farm, owned by George and Katharine Brown, to learn how they repurposed their old barn into a wedding venue. Cost is $10. RSVP by Monday by contacting Bonnie LaTourette at 570-729-8499 or Joyce Carson at 570-226-3864.

Sept. 20: 2016 Women in Science Symposium, Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance and Lacawac Sanctuary and Field Station, 8 a.m., Heritage Nightclub at Woodloch. State Sen. Lisa Baker, chairwoman, Pennsylvania Senate Labor & Industry Committee, is the keynote speaker. Cost is $25. For tickets, visit www.lacawac-outreach.org/women-in-science-breakfast.html. For more information, contact Craig Lukatch, Lacawac Sanctuary at 570-689- 9494 or craig.lukatch@lacawac.org, or Cheryl Duquette, Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance at 570-390- 7613 or cduquette@wpworkforce.org.

■ Chamber Networking Dinner, Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, 6 to 8 p.m., Crescenzo’s, Woodland’s Inn & Resort. To register, visit http://bit.ly/2bQCZJZ.

■ First Step seminar, Wilkes University Small Business Development Center, 6 to 8 p.m., 85 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre. Designed for individuals interested in starting a small business. Cost is $20. Pre-registration is required. To register, visit wilkes.edu/sbdc and select Education and Training from the menu or call the SBDC at 570-408-4340.

Sept. 22: Overtime Rule Presentation, Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, noon to 1 p.m., Innovation Center at Wilkes-Barre, 7 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre. A presentation on the upcoming Department of Labor overtime rules by attorney Lars Anderson from Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn. To register, http://bit.ly/2cDR7MH.

Sept. 28: Annual dinner, NEPA Alliance, 4:30 p.m., Mohegan Sun Pocono, Plains Twp. Dr. David T. Feinberg, M.D., president and CEO, Geisinger Health Systems, will be the keynote speaker. NEPA members receive one complimentary ticket. Cost is $65 for additional member ticket; $55 for NEPA board members; $75 for nonmembers; and $55 per person for tables of eight. RSVP by Sept. 21 by calling 570-655-5581 or 866-758-1929.

Wednesdays, Sept. 28 to Oct. 19: R.A.D. Rape Aggression Defense System, Penn State Wilkes-Barre Continuing Education, 6 to 9 p.m., Athletics & Recreation Building, Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus. Program of realistic self-defense tactics and techniques for women only. Cost is $120. RSVP by Sept. 19. For more information or to register, contact Continuing Education at 570-675-9253, or wbce@outreach.psu.edu or visit wb.psu.edu/ce.

Oct. 5: “SBIR/STTR: Basics and Proposal Preparation,” Ben Franklin TechVentures, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Lehigh University’s campus, Bethlehem. Workshop for early-stage firms to help identify which opportunities are best suited to them, and how they can access the federal grant funding. Presentation by Jim Greenwood, experienced SBIR trainer and consultant. Cost is $15 for Pennsylvania companies and $45 for other companies. Register by Sept. 30 at http://ennect.com/e2828. For more information, contact Kelly S. Wylam, director, Innovation Partnership at kelly@benfranklin.org or 717-948-4318.

■ Allan P. Kirby Lecture in Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, 7 p.m., Dorothy Dickson Darte Center, Wilkes University’s campus. The lecture, “Building a Strong Economy Through Small Business and Military Veterans,” will be delivered by former Florida congressman and retired Army officer Allan West.

Oct. 7: Regional Manufacturing Showcase - Manufacturing Day 2016, Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel, 700 Lackawanna Ave., Scranton. Company tables will showcase products and services. Cost is $40 for admission, $125 for company display table and event admission for one. To register, http://bit.ly/2cabQW6.

Oct. 14: Legislative breakfast, Greater-Wilkes Barre Chamber of Commerce, presented by Geisinger & Geisinger Health Plan, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., Best Western Genetti Hotel & Conference Center, 77 E. Market St., Wilkes-Barre. Cost is $30. Register by calling 570-408-1724 or online at http://www.wilkes-barre.org/events.

Oct. 22 to Nov. 12: SolidWorks Essentials course, Penn State Wilkes-Barre Continuing Education, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wilkes-Barre campus. Designed to provide participants with tools necessary to comprehend the SolidWorks design and modeling environment. Cost is $825 for those who register by Friday, and $875 after that. Cost includes the textbook. RSVP by Oct. 12. For more information or to register, contact Continuing Education at 570-675-9253, email wbce@outreach.psu.edu or visit wb.psu.edu/ce.

SUBMIT BUSINESS BRIEFCASE items to business@timesshamrock.com or The Times-Tribune, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503.

Across Northeastern Pennsylvania, 9/11 changed lives

0
0

Fifteen years ago, the world changed.

Nearly everyone old enough to remember the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, does remember — where they were, who they were with, what they were doing and, with a clarity unclouded by time, how it felt, how it ached.

A day that could have been like any other turned into a day unlike all that came before and one that colored every day that followed.

For a few, the events became the catalyst for a life redirected, for a life repurposed, for a life unimaginable on Sept. 10, 2001.

On the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11, The Sunday Times presents some of their stories:

‘9/11 was the catalyst’

Noah Dolph sat in the glow of his parents’ television, watching the north tower of the World Trade Center fall.

His seventh-grade class dismissed early that Tuesday morning in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was just 11 in 2001, but watching what unfolded in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania stirred an innate calling for military service.

“When 9/11 happened, it was kind of hard to process,” said Mr. Dolph, 27, of Union Dale. “I knew from seeing it on television ... that it was a big deal. ... If New York City and these huge towers that were kind of representative of the American dream are so easily taken away, then how vulnerable is the rest of the country?”

This realization, and the lingering anxiety of another potential attack, stuck with Mr. Dolph, who comes from a military family.

“I became somewhat more protective,” he said. “I didn’t like the idea of there being terrorism domestically. I wanted to maybe do something about that.”

That “something” ultimately led to his enlistment in the Marine Corps infantry in 2007. He was only 17, so he needed his parents’ consent. They were understandably hesitant, given the combat he would inevitably see, but Mr. Dolph, citing a “moral responsibility,” remained steadfast in his conviction and eventually won their blessing.

He joined 159,240-plus people who enlisted in the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy in fiscal year 2007, according to data provided by the U.S. Department of Defense.

In 2008, Mr. Dolph served his first tour of duty in Iraq, where he acted as part of the personal security detachment for his battalion commander. At the time, the country was relatively quiet. His second deployment, to Marjah, Afghanistan, in 2010, was much different. Soldiers engaged in dangerous fire fights and faced the threat of improvised explosive devices, he said. The war was costly; friends didn’t come home.

“Not everyone came back from that deployment,” said Mr. Dolph, adding that the enemy was unconventional and bombs made of fertilizer were a realistic threat.

Through it all, however, memories of 9/11 remained in the back of Mr. Dolph’s mind.

“It was something that you could use to remind you ... why you were there,” he said. “If you’re struggling to find a reason, the best reason is the guy next to you, and then another reminder is 9/11 was the catalyst for this entire war. We’re here now. We want to keep terrorism on this side of the world.”

Mr. Dolph acknowledged that his personal connection to 9/11 was more tenuous than that of many of his fellow Marines, some of whom lost friends or loved ones in the attacks and many of whom enlisted in the days immediately following.

One was a New York City firefighter, haunted by horrific memories.

“He lost some friends during the attacks and he kept a couple of pictures with him at all times,” Mr. Dolph said. “He had pictures of mangled bodies in rubble on 9/11. He always kept that with him in his blouse pocket. I thought that was pretty powerful. There’s definitely a lot of people who were really affected. And then there were people who ... saw this as another reason to help the cause.”

Today, Mr. Dolph knows the threat of domestic terror is still very real. Look at the recent attacks in Orlando and San Bernadino, he said. It disheartens him to see cities in which he fought fall again to terrorist organizations. He thinks the American withdrawal from the Middle East was premature.

Mr. Dolph was honorably discharged from the Marines in 2011, but still feels compelled to serve. Last year, he graduated from helicopter flight school in Arizona, and just returned to school to study radiologic technology in the hopes of becoming an X-ray technician.

“Ideally down the line, I’d love to be a helicopter pilot for a hospital and do medivac flights, and get to crash scenes and potentially save someone’s life,” he said. “Or, in the radiologic technology field, maybe go back overseas and work on a military base for the guys who do get injured overseas during their deployments.”

 

‘Choices along the way’

When people write or talk about the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the story often opens with the description of a beautiful late summer morning without a cloud in the sky.

Teresa Grettano, Ph.D., finds meaning in those accounts beyond the words themselves.

“Why do we start most of the 9/11 stories that way, and what effect does it have on what comes after that — the rest of the story that you’re telling?” asked Dr. Grettano, an assistant professor of English at the University of Scranton. “We’ve made choices along the way, as a culture, as a country, to discuss this event in certain ways when we had other choices.”

It is the language of 9/11, and for the past 15 years it molded Dr. Grettano’s life and career.

Since 2011, Dr. Grettano has taught a first-year seminar class at the university, “Making Meaning of 9/11,” in which she challenges her students to explore the cultural narrative of Sept. 11 and how the terrorist attacks shaped their understanding of themselves and the world.

Her own 9/11 story began at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, where the native New Yorker had just completed her master’s degree and was teaching on the day of the attacks amid circumstances that would plant the seeds for her study of the discourse of Sept. 11 and its significance.

Of the 25 students in her first-year writing class for non-native English speakers at South Alabama, 20 came from the Middle East, and 18 of those were male.

Dr. Grettano, who had family in New York City on Sept. 11 and lost a firefighter cousin in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, wanted to prepare her students for the backlash she knew would come. She wrote out a statement about the need to talk about the events in a calm and mature way.

She ended up sharing it with all her classes.

About a week later, Dr. Grettano sat down and prepared a detailed outline for a five-chapter doctoral dissertation of the effects of the attacks — “We weren’t even calling it 9/11 then” — on international students at universities in the United States.

“In terms of life choices ... I knew at that point, if I was going to get a Ph.D., that more than likely my dissertation would be on 9/11, and it was,” she said.

By the time she finished her dissertation in 2013, its focus shifted to rhetorical education in the aftermath of Sept. 11, which is more in line with the class she now teaches at the university.

Most of today’s college students were still preschoolers in 2001, and in many cases their understanding of 9/11 is dictated by the “overarching stories that have prevailed in the last 15 years,” Dr. Grettano said.

For example, about three years ago, as Dr. Grettano read through the journals her students kept as one of their class assignments, she noticed the first five or six all used the same words — “that fateful day” — to describe Sept. 11. She started keeping a tally and found the phrase in 25 of the 36 journals.

When she returned their notebooks and quizzed the students about their use of the phrase, some became angry.

“They were like, ‘What do you mean? That’s the way you say it. How is that wrong?’” Dr. Grettano said. “It’s not a matter of anything being right or wrong. It’s a matter of understanding the language we use to talk about these things and the effect that language has. Obviously, somewhere along the line of their lives, they all learned that 9/11 was a ‘fateful day.’ So then you have them look at what it means — not just where did you get it and why are you using it but what the effects are of you using it.”

Dr. Grettano recalled one of her faculty colleagues once described Sept. 11 as a “moving target.” It is, she said, an event with a language that is constantly evolving as attitudes change and the attacks fade further into history.

There is a mythology associated with 9/11, with misconceptions that persist, she said, but her work is not as much about correcting information as it is about understanding what we believe and why.

“I’m in rhetoric, and in rhetoric you can study basically anything you want as a text,” Dr. Grettano said. “The people in literature study literature as texts. I’m studying 9/11 as a text and analyzing it very much so in the same way literary critics would study a piece of literature.”

‘I feel at home’

The attacks of 9/11 were momentous for Riaz Hussain, Ph.D. They cast a suspicious spotlight on the Muslim-American community, of which he is a member. They also resulted in his son and his grandson, both members of the Army, serving dangerous tours in Iraq.

“It was a terrible day,” he said.

Born in Pakistan, where he earned doctorates in physics and finance, Dr. Hussain moved with his wife to the U.S. in 1960. He made Scranton his home in 1966.

The couple’s son, retired Maj. Paul Hussain, was born in the U.S. and served the country, just as his son, Capt. John Hussain, does now.

In his home country, Dr. Hussain taught a young Pervez Musharraf, who went on to become president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. In his adopted hometown, his students became local politicians, judges and doctors.

Before 9/11, the professor said American Muslims lived mostly in peaceful incognito, without much notice from their neighbors. That changed on the day of the attack.

Like most, he watched on television as the second plane hit the World Trade Center.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “It was so surreal.”

As the imam of the mosque on the University of Scranton campus, he led the first service after the attack. He still remembers faculty members who attended in solidarity with the school’s Muslim community, and the campus police car parked out front for security.

The university granted the mosque to the Muslim community 20 years ago. Unlike a priest, an imam is not ordained by a higher-ranking religious official. Instead, members chose the person to guide the mosque.

Dr. Hussain writes and reads sermons based on the teachings of the Quran but often applies it to modern issues like addiction, child abuse and terrorism.

“My sermons are very liberal,” he said. “Not dogmatic. I think Islam is a flexible, moderate religion. Moderate is the key word. I don’t want to be a hard-liner that (says) you must do this thing.”

The 9/11 attacks brought a diametrically-opposed viewpoint of Islam into the lives and minds of many Americans. It also brought added scrutiny to the millions of Muslim Americans living here, and the anxiety that comes with it.

Dr. Hussain compared the situation to what Japanese-Americans faced after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Eventually the unfair association will fade from people’s minds, he said. This year’s presidential campaign, he said, only inflames the issue.

The finance professor is quick to point out he felt none of the tension that other American Muslims experienced. His decades of living in the city and his deep integration here — he’s the treasurer of the neighborhood group in the Hill Section where he lives — has inoculated him to those concerns.

“When you live in a city for a number of years, you end up knowing everyone,” he said. “I feel comfortable. I feel at home. I feel at peace.”

‘I just wanted to help’

On her last day of vacation 15 years ago, Mary Kay Goddard flipped on her TV and saw the twin towers “crumble like cardboard.”

All the death and suffering devastated the emergency medical technician and mother of three. She couldn’t sit around and do nothing. That afternoon, the Falls Twp. woman drove to the Scranton chapter of the American Red Cross to volunteer as a disaster worker.

“I just wanted to help,” she said. “Some way.”

She was part of a national wave of more than 57,000 people who enlisted with the organization in the wake of the attack. Since then, the 66-year-old woman has traveled the country assisting people at various disaster sites. After joining the Red Cross, she worked at 28 disaster sites, including three-week stints in Virginia, Texas and Florida in the aftermath of several hurricanes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t join it sooner,” she said. “I would have had a lot more time to help people.”

She deployed to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, after Hurricane Katrina hit there in 2005.

“It was devastation like I’ve never seen before,” she said. “There was not a home standing.”

She also answers the call locally when floods and fire destroy buildings and drive people from their homes. After flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee in 2011, she worked in logistics, delivering supplies like cots and blankets to people evacuated from their homes in Luzerne County.

On those many missions, Ms. Goddard tries to put herself in the position of the victims.

“If my house caught fire and burned down,” she said, “I’d want someone there to help me.”

Semi-retired, Ms. Goddard still keeps a part-time job serving others at a personal care home in Clarks Summit. She is taking a temporary break from Red Cross volunteering to care for her teenage grandson. Her son, who is the boy’s father, died earlier this year from a drug overdose.

She continues to focus on helping others, whether it is those she helps at her job, her grandson or her four other grandchildren who live down the street. She tries to instill a sense of service in the children. Her 12-year-old granddaughter, Lily, does charity work with organizations like Friends of the Poor, and some of the children are eager to help the Red Cross, she said.

“It just makes me feel good about myself to go out and help people,” Ms. Goddard said. “I never realized that prior to 9/11.”

‘A very different war’

Inspired by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Michael Calore joined the Army in 2002 to take the fight to the enemy.

But his biggest battle came in the years after he returned home from two tours of duty in Iraq.

Suffering from crippling post-traumatic stress disorder, Mr. Calore sat with a gun in his bedroom and came close to suicide one day in April 2011.

“I was going to shoot myself. I was depressed. I was tired of not being able to sleep, of feeling so worn down. ... I was thinking to myself, ‘It’s OK. You’re tired and it’s time to stop this. It’s over. We can sleep, I can sleep if I’m dead,’” the Hanover Twp. man recalled.

After that, he sought help.

Mr. Calore, 33, wrote an online book about his experiences, called “Army Coffee Sucks.” He now works as a pharmacy technician and was just hired for a state government job in the disability office.

“I don’t regret much,” he said. “My only regret is I wish I got help for PTSD sooner. I wish I was able to admit it sooner and get the help I needed. I wasn’t able to sleep for almost 12 years.”

He was attending Luzerne County Community College at the time of the terrorist attacks. It was the day before his 19th birthday.

As he and his mother watched the twin towers fall, they began worrying about Mr. Calore’s brother, Mark, who was in basic training for the Army at the time.

“Somewhere in that national sense of tragedy — that silent reverence that we felt — I guess we could hear, I could hear, the beating of war drums far off in the distance,” Mr. Calore said.

He finished the school year, then joined the Army in August 2002.

As an infantry soldier, Mr. Calore took part in the invasion in Iraq that began in March 2003. His unit was greeted as liberators, he said, as it easily moved through the country with limited resistance.

He wouldn’t experience the true rigors of war until his second deployment in June 2004.

“By that point, it was a very different war,” Mr. Calore recalled. “There were more IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and coordinated attacks. They had time to prepare ambush attacks.”

He survived perilous gun battles and dodged mortar attacks. He lost some friends in battle, then felt survivor’s guilt.

When it came time to leave Iraq, military officials debriefed Mr. Calore and his comrades and asked if they were having any PTSD symptoms. To be macho, almost no one answered honestly, he said.

Mr. Calore said he suffered nightmares and flashbacks for years until a college counselor, recognizing something was wrong, asked him a series of questions, including if he wanted to harm himself.

“I said yes,” he said. “It was the first time I admitted it. Yes, I was suicidal at that time.”

He eventually entered an inpatient treatment facility in New Jersey, where he learned to recognize and manage his symptoms.

Reluctance to seek help for PTSD is common, said Matthew Dooley, a staff psychologist for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains Twp.

However, it’s becoming more acceptable for veterans to admit having problems, he said.

“Enough to say progress has been made, but not nearly enough,” Dr. Dooley said.

‘A walking target’

Fizza Saeed was in class when the first plane hit the World Trade Center.

In fourth grade at Dover Plains Elementary in New York, Ms. Saeed remembered teachers coming in and out of the classroom, but she didn’t realize what had happened until she got home to find her mother, father and grandmother huddled around the television, watching news coverage of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

“You could see the worried expressions on their faces,” she said.

Her family’s worries had only just begun.

Over the past 15 years, Ms. Saeed, 23, who was born in Pakistan and grew up in Sugarloaf Twp., said she witnessed her family “treated differently” because of their Muslim faith.

“Looking back on that day as an American, I mourn,” she said. “You have to mourn for all the innocent lives that were taken away. But as a Muslim, I feel like that’s when I became a walking target.”

Ms. Saeed’s family reacted to the 9/11 terrorist attacks as any American family living near the New York City area might, she said — with worry, concern and fear to know “something was happening on our land.”

Things changed a few weeks later after the hijackers’ identities and motives became clearer.

“When more information was coming out, that’s when things got a little tougher for us,” she said. “People started ... just associating us with what had occurred and we had nothing to do with it.”

Kids at school bullied Ms. Saeed to the point that she stopped riding the bus. One boy told her to “go home and put on her turban.” She remembers asking her mother what a turban was.

“Kids were just terrible,” she said. “Our neighbors treated us differently. Comments were said to the point cops had to come into it.”

Ms. Saeed, a 2014 graduate of King’s College studying at New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls, said she grew up dealing with misconceptions and “ignorance” about her faith.

“Islam is so similar to Christianity and Judaism with what’s right and what’s wrong,” she said. “A lot of what’s happening in the world, people see just a small image that doesn’t represent a majority of Muslims.”

Fifteen years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Ms. Saeed said her family continues to face poor treatment from neighbors and others.

“I’m a citizen of this country but when people see me and know me by my faith they assume I’m not American,” she said. “I don’t understand why you can’t be American and Muslim.”

Her 13-year-old brother is taunted in school, she said. When he arrived late the morning after a terrorist attack in Nice, France earlier this year, Ms. Saeed said a classmate asked him, “Oh, are you late because you were in (France) last night?”

“It’s a conversation I constantly have with him,” she said. “This isn’t everyone, not everyone feels like this. Instead of getting angry, you have to educate them. It’s your job to ... give these individuals a good portrayal of Islam.”

‘We are all connected’

The ways in which people of different cultures understand and live with each other in this interconnected world always interested Sondra Myers.

She refers to the subject as “interdependence,” a concept that became more imperative for her after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The tragedy ushered in “another age of anxiety,” said Mrs. Myers, 82, of Scranton, inspiring paranoia and new fears that created obstacles to understanding others.

As questions of homeland security and the impending military response consumed the national conversation after 9/11, Mrs. Myers and several others working for a project called the Democracy Collaborative mulled a different response — “reminding people of our interdependence and our responsibility to each other even in the face of the attack.”

That idea led to the first Interdependence Day, celebrated at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia on Sept. 12, 2003. The event offered an opportunity to reflect on the attacks and a forum to discuss the role empathy plays in creating a peaceful, productive global society.

For Mrs. Myers, director of the Schemel Forum and senior fellow for International, Civic and Cultural Projects at the University of Scranton, interdependence is a reality, not a philosophic ideal.

“We are all connected things, whether we like it or not,” she said, adding that people have a moral responsibility to use those connections for the greater good.

While there are often great cultural differences between the United States and Afghanistan, for example, Mrs. Myers said she believes we must look for areas of similarity to try to understand other cultures.

“You have to talk about ... (what) we have in common with others,” she said. “We all like to be loved and respected.”

Connecting on the basis of our shared humanity is a means of transcending biases, and a tool for combating feelings of paranoia or xenophobia that terrorism inspires — feelings that undermine the message of interdependence.

Scranton has celebrated Interdependence Day since 2006 with themed panel discussions, lectures and, occasionally, art exhibits.

People have been receptive to the message, Mrs. Myers said. This is especially true of younger people, who, despite growing up in a post-9/11 world, have been raised in a more diverse and multicultural world, she said.

As for others, Mrs. Myers recognizes the challenge of erasing long-standing prejudices, but that’s not stopping her from trying.

“It’s hard to change people’s minds, but it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible,” she said. “So we just keep plugging away at it. That’s our job.”

BOB KALINOWSKI AND SARAH SCINTO, staff writers, contributed to this report.

INTERDEPENDENCE DAY

This year's Interdependence Day will be celebrated with a reception and panel discussion Monday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Scranton Cultural Center. The title of the event is “Immigration, Community, Interdependence.”

Sondra Myers, co-founder of Interdependence Day, will moderate the discussion.

Panel participants are:

• Michael Hanley, CEO of United Neighborhood Centers

• Tariq Adwan, doctorate in cell biology from the University of Colorado, native of Palestine

• Elitsa Neshkova, nurse from Bulgaria, now living in Scranton

• Sonya Sarner, program director for Catholic Social Services

Panelists will explore the theme of how immigrants assimilate into and connect with the community, and how the community can benefit from their ideas and experiences.

Those interested in attending should call Mrs. Myers at 570-941-4089.

— JEFF HORVATH

LANGUAGE OF 9/11

9/11: Commonly used as shorthand for the terrorist attacks that took place Sept. 11, 2001. It is unique in that it references a date, in contrast to other historical events known by geography-based shorthand terms such as “Appomattox” or “Pearl Harbor.”

Ground Zero: In the context of 9/11, refers to the former site of the World Trade Center’s twin towers. It originated as a term for the point on the earth’s surface directly above or below an exploding nuclear bomb.

“Let’s roll”: Words spoken by Todd Beamer before he and other United Flight 93 passengers stormed the cockpit in an attempt to retake the doomed aircraft from its hijackers. Others would subsequently use the phrase as a statement of American resolve.

Homeland security: Refers to national security, especially with respect to threats within one’s borders. Rarely heard before Sept. 11, the term came into broader usage after President George W. Bush established the new Office of Homeland Security just days after the attacks.

Al Qaeda: International terrorist network founded in the 1980s that carried out the attacks. Before 9/11, most Americans had only vague knowledge of the organization and its leader, Osama bin Laden.

— DAVID SINGLETON

EVENTS COMMEMORATING 9/11

Ninth annual Sgt. Jan Argonish Ride: Sunday, 8 a.m., Jessup Hose Company No. 2 Carnival Grounds, 333 Hill St. Sgt. Argonish was killed on Aug. 27, 2007, during an ambush in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. Registration: 8 a.m. – 11 a.m.; Ride starts at noon. For more information, including registration fees, visit www.jansride.com.

9/11 Memorial at McDade Park: Sunday, 9 a.m., Bald Mountain Road, Scranton. The annual commemoration will include an ecumenical invocation, a performance of the national anthem, a fireman’s bell ceremony and more.

Day of Remembrance: Sunday, 9:30 a.m., Waverly Community House, 1115 N Abington Road, Waverly Twp. Community pledge of allegiance in honor of the men and women who serve on the front lines in service to the United States. Flag ceremony conducted by Clarks Summit VFW at the flagpole on the front lawn. Open to the public.

Tower steel unveiling: Sunday, noon, Dickson City Borough Building, Enterprise Drive. Unveiling of the “last piece of steel from the Twin Towers” donated to the community.

ENLISTMENT NUMBERS AFTER 9/11

The number of people who enlisted for active duty military service for the first time. The data does not include the number of active duty officers, or reflect the military’s reserve component.

Fiscal 2001: 182,976

Fiscal 2002: 181,510

Fiscal 2003: 176,408

Fiscal 2004: 175,972

Fiscal 2005: 152,160

Fiscal 2006: 167,389

Fiscal 2007: 159,246

— DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

HOW TO DONATE

To donate to the American Red Cross, visit www.redcross.org, call 800-RED-CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a one-time $10 donation from your cellphone bill. People interested in volunteering locally can call the Red Cross of Northeast PA at 570-823-7161 or visit the website.

Pike County man spends retirement sifting through the pages of old books, newspapers and magazines

0
0

Howard Caine vividly remembers his greatest find.

The 87-year-old book buyer bought it for $20. It sold for $8,000.

It was a first edition of Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, really just an old investing textbook, but “every financial collector’s Holy Grail,” he said.

Since he closed his Manhattan advertising business in 1990, Mr. Caine has spent retirement sifting through old hardcovers, photos and papers of people who find his advertisement in various newspapers across Northeast Pennsylvania. His advertisement includes a photo of Mr. Caine — which he admits was taken three or four decades ago — and a word balloon that says, “I buy old books.”

From April to August, the Manhattanite lives in Lords Valley in Pike County’s Blooming Grove Twp. He spends the warmer months traveling to the houses of people who summon him to look at their old tomes.

In the fall and winter, he moves back to his boyhood neighborhood on the Upper East Side and hauls his finds around in a Chrysler van, selling at book fairs in the tri-state area.

“I advertise and I try to be the first one in the attic, so to speak,” he said. “By the time the stuff is in a yard sale, the crowd has been there and they’ve picked it over.”

He looks for “old, old stuff,” because that’s what sells. Business has grown harder because he now competes with the internet and auction websites like eBay. Also, younger generations do not seem interested in what he is selling.

“There aren’t as many readers as there used to be,” he lamented. “That’s the real problem.”

Today’s collectors are more interested in “kewpie dolls and bobbleheads,” he said. “In the old days, people used to buy a book, either to read or collect, and they were very proud of building a library. They had a wall of books. No more.”

Another factor might be making things harder for sellers like Mr. Caine.

His competition hasn’t faded with many of the customers, despite a shift in the trade from brick-and-mortar stores to online selling, according to the Antiquarian Bookseller’s Association of America, which touts itself as the only group for rare book sellers.

“We certainly have a healthy group of people entering the trade, contrary to what I think is the public opinion,” said Kyle Dacuyan, the group’s associate director. “It’s not an industry that’s dying out.”

Many rare book sellers start out as collectors, he noted, then enter the trade as a second career.

Mr. Caine follows that pattern. The self-described “mediocre student” did not have much interest in books until he “caught fire” at the age of 30, when he started to voraciously consume the written word. He dove into the trade after retirement.

His wife has long passed, and his two sons have their own lives, so Mr. Caine spends the rest of his time writing country music lyrics, playing tennis and reading — mostly classics.

For him, used book buying and selling is not a profitable business. It is just a hobby to keep him sharp.

“Intellectually, that’s what you need to keep from falling into Alzheimer’s disease,” he said. “Physically, I play tennis and run the treadmill. Intellectually, I’m cataloguing books all the time. I’m going to book fairs and dealing with people, collectors and dealers like myself who are intellectually inclined.”

Mr. Caine’s quick wits and eyes still are honed enough to help him sift through all the junk and recognize value.

He was at an auction recently when a wanted poster of bank robber John Dillinger came up for sale. It was rescued from a filling station that was about to be torn down. Mr. Caine bought it for $600. He sold it for double.

“I knew what I had there, but a lot of times I don’t,” he said. “I have to go home and look it up. But after you’re doing this for awhile, you have a sense of what’s worthwhile and what isn’t.”

Contact the writer: pcameron@timesshamrock.com, @pcameronTT on Twitter

Business Buzz, Sept. 11, 2016

0
0

Years in business celebrated

Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate presented John and Tina Dowd a citation recognizing their 25 years in business for Sundance Vacations. Founded in 1991, the national travel company specializes in wholesale vacation accommodations, is headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, and maintains offices in New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, and four call centers located in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Industrial site renamed: Crystal Window & Door Systems announced a new name for its industrial property in Lackawanna County, now titled Crystal Pennsylvania Business Park, formerly known as Benton Park. Crystal Windows acquired the property and building in October 2015.

University recognized: Misericordia University has been recognized as one of the top colleges and universities in the northeastern United States by The Princeton Review. The university is one of 228 institutions recommended in its “Best in the Northeast” section of its website feature, “2017 Best Colleges Region by Region.” For the full list, visit PrinctonReview.com/bestNEcolleges.

It is also ranked among the top 24 percent of all master’s degree-granting institutions of higher education in the country by Washington Monthly magazine in a survey stressing community service and social mobility of students. The university is ranked 154th overall among 634 other colleges and universities in the nation, recognized in the “2016 National Universities - Masters” category. Rankings are based on the institution’s contribution to the public good in the categories of social mobility, research and service. In a separate “Best Bang for the Buck” listing, Washington Monthly ranked the university 96th overall among master’s degree granting colleges and universities in the nation.

Landscaping services donated: Paramo Landscaping Inc. donated landscaping services to All Saints Academy in Scranton as part of its new community development program. The school features a new front entrance with mulch, shrubs and pines.

Agency awarded contract: AmeriHealth Caritas announced it has been notified by Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services of its intent to contract with the agency to provide managed long-term services and supports statewide under the Community HealthChoices program. The contract will begin July 1, with a phased approach based on zones.

Bank announces partnership: NBT Bank has partnered with NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania to assist first-time homebuyers in Scranton. The loan program provides 95 percent financing for the purchase of a one- or two-family, owner-occupied residence for borrowers with a household income up to 120 percent of the HUD Area Median, an interest rate reduction for eligible first-time homebuyers who complete homebuyer education classes and no mortgage insurance or additional monthly payments required. Participants may complete homebuyer education classes offered through NeighborWorks.

Gas company to restore site: UGI Utilities Inc., in cooperation with Nanticoke, has begun to restore the site of a former manufactured gas plant, and create a parking lot and greenway area. UGI has performed site preparation over the past two weeks, and is set to begin the restoration phase of the project. The site is located at the intersection of North Walnut Street and Arch Street, and is being tested, cleaned and restored over the next four months.

Dental supply store recognized: Benco Dental announced that it has been recognized as the preferred full-line dental distributor of the National Association of Community Health Centers’ business affiliate, Community Health Ventures, specifically for the Value in Purchasing Program. The program facilitates costs savings for health centers on products used for and by health centers.

Colleges create dual program: King’s College and Luzerne County Community College announced the creation of a 1-2-1 Dual Bachelor of Nursing degree program. The King’s-LCCC agreement is the first of its kind in the region for a collaborative nursing program. Students in the nursing program will spend their first and fourth years at King’s, completing the core and upper- level nursing requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree, and the middle two years will be devoted to nursing studies at LCCC, including labs and clinical studies.

Living center celebrates service: Belle Reve Senior Living plans to hold an anniversary celebration Saturday from noon-4 p.m., commemorating 15 years of care.

Railroad company introduces car: Reading and Northern Railroad introduced its new first class pullman, Parlor car No. 3. The Parlor car has been refurbished with embossed copper ceiling, plush armchairs, swivel rockers and rug floor. The car seats 13 passengers.

SUBMIT BUSINESS BUZZ items to business@times-shamrock.com or The Times- Tribune, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503.

Pets of the Week 9/11/2016

0
0

Find a pet who needs a new home at the Griffin Pond Animal shelter.



Pets
Shadow is a 2-year-old, male Labrador Retriever mix. He is a little shoat first, but friendly once he gets to know someone.
Contact the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter at 586-3700 if your pet is lost or goes astray. Staff Photo by Ted Baird


 

 

Pets

Kylo is an adult, female calico cat. She is very friendly, playful and energetic.
Contact the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter at 586-3700 if your pet is lost or goes astray. Staff Photo by Ted Baird



Watch the latest Pets of the Week video HERE:

 

New online platform to aid families of people with Alzheimer's

0
0

A new alert system will help find people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia who wandered away or got lost.

Home Instead Senior Care recently rolled out Missing Senior Network, a free online resource that notifies users by text and email to be on the lookout for missing people.

Wandering is a common problem for those with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. An estimated 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, and 60 percent of those will wander, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

With the Missing Senior Network, family members create profiles for their loved ones on the network’s website, www.missingseniornet work.com, then invite other family members, friends and neighbors to be added to a list.

The family member can activate a feature that will send a text or email to everyone on the list should the person go missing.

Those who wander often go to places familiar to them, like a former workplace, a favorite restaurant or a preferred grocery, so local business owners or managers also are helpful to add to the list, said Jessica Blomain, manager of marketing and sales at the Clarks Summit office of Home Instead Senior Care.

The Clarks Summit office frequently gets calls of help from family members of clients who wandered away, said Jessica Blomain, manager of marketing and sales at the office.www.missingseniornetwork.com

“If it’s something a senior has done before, they’ll probably do it again,” Ms. Blomain said. “It’s a good idea to let neighbors know about it (the network) because they’d be the first to see them if they wander. Having (neighbors) sign up would be a good first line of defense.”

For tips and program resources, visit www.PreventWandering.com.

Contact the writer:

cover@timesshamrock.com,

@ClaytonOver on Twitter

 

Alzheimer’s Association fact sheet:

■ One of nine people over age 65 have Alzheimer’s disease.

■ One of three seniors who die each year has Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.

■ Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

■ The 2016 cost of caring for those with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia is estimated to be $236 billion.

■ An estimated 5.4 million Americans will have Alzheimer’s disease this year; 5.2 million of those are age 65 and older. The national number is expected to nearly triple by 2050, if a treatment is not found.

■ Every 66 seconds, someone in the U.S. develops Alzheimer’s disease.

■ In Pennsylvania, 270,000 people over 65 years old have Alzheimer’s and 3,271 people died of Alzheimer’s in 2013.

Old Forge School District finishes renovating playground

0
0

Through pasta dinners, coin collections at local businesses and PTA fundraising events, the Old Forge School District raised $20,080 to finish updating its playground.

“A small borough helped us raise $20,000, which is crazy to me,” said Nathan Barrett, principal of student affairs. “We never touched a bit of the school district’s money.”

The school district’s playground was a mess. Crumbling concrete needed repair and the aging equipment needed replacing. So, about two years ago, the PTA started the “Pennies for our Playground” project to raise funds to help the financially struggling district repair the site.

Mr. Barrett said the money couldn’t have been raised without the community and PTA.

New basketball posts and hoops were installed and some concrete repaved. Lines for the basketball court, kickball and whiffle ball areas are also being painted.

On the campus, a pond was built using local stone that Mr. Barrett and teacher Bill Butler found. Six fish now swim among natural driftwood in the 3-foot-deep pond. Mr. Butler uses the pond to teach students about aquatic plants and the circle of life.

Campus sidewalks were also replaced and a “buddy bench” was installed in honor of a teacher who died from brain cancer last school year, said district Superintendent John Rushefski.

The scope of the project had to be scaled back when a state-matched grant fell through, Mr. Barrett said.

“The grant would have put us over the top,” he said. Original plans for the playground included a soft-surface play area. Without the grant, Old Forge was not able to pave the entire 20,000-square-foot area. The district instead chose the most dangerous and crumbing parts of the playground to resurface — about 12,000 square feet.

“It’s been a two-year process,” Mr. Barrett said. “It was pretty emotional to see, the fact that we were scooping pasta two years ago, to seeing equipment back there and knowing we don’t have to worry this year about injuries due to the decrepit surface.”

Contact the writer:

kbolus@timesshamrock.com, @kbolusTT on Twitter

MONDAY UPDATE brings

Times-Tribune readers up to date on past or pending stories of interest. To offer a suggestion for a Monday Update, please email metrodesk@timesshamrock.com with “Monday Update” in the subject line.

Road work scheduled in Lackawanna County

0
0

DUNMORE — The state Department of Transportation announced the following road work this week:

■On Interstate 81 in Lackawanna County, there will be median mowing from Exits 191 to 206, and patching and crack sealing from Exits 197 to 201 through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

■ Additional roadwork, which may include traffic diverted into a single lane in Lackawanna County, includes crack sealing on the Drinker Turnpike in Covington Twp., Monday through Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; shoulder cutting on Aberdeen Road in Madison Twp., Friday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.; patching on Jackson Street in Scranton today, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; culvert barrel repairs on Turnpike Road in Dalton, Tuesday through Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; inlet repair on Turnpike Road in Glenburn Twp., today, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; inlet repair on Waverly Road in Abington Twp., today, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; and ditching on Airport Road in Newton Twp., today, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

In Argonish's memory, a solemn ride for vets

0
0

About 600 bikers rumbled around the Midvalley on Sunday to honor a fallen soldier and support American veterans for the ninth annual Jan Argonish Ride.

The ride began and ended at the Jessup Hose Company grounds, where riders got to enjoy food and fellowship with others who came out in memory of the local soldier.

With the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks weighing heavier than usual on the riders, the mood appeared to be a bit different, said Mike Dougherty of Scranton.

“The mood was lighter and everyone was particularly kind to each other,” Mr. Dougherty said.

He’s a bit embarrassed it was his first Jan Argonish ride, but it won’t be his last.

“This event is for the veterans, and I’m for veterans 100 percent,” he said.

Another reminder of the date was the mobile Global War on Terror Wall of Remembrance. The wall, flanked by pillars representing the World Trade Center, destroyed in the attacks, features a global terrorism timeline from 1980 to the present. The other side features names of people who have died in that war.

A member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Sgt. Argonish died Aug. 27, 2007, of injuries suffered in an ambush in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. He was 26.

Sgt. Argonish’s mother, Nancy Argonish, was keeping an eye on a bounce house as the hundreds of bikes pulled in after the ride. Her son, she feels, would have bristled at having an event about him, but would be pleased to see an effort in his name was helping veterans — and his family, ever grieving his loss.

“We would not have been able to continue if we did not find something positive out of this,” Mrs. Argonish said. “We get to see the veterans helped by this, and that helps us.”

T-shirts for the event featured the phrase “No worries,” a common expression Sgt. Argonish used.

Contact the writer:

dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

Valley View High School choir raises funds to travel to Wales

0
0

ARCHBALD — Valley View High School’s Voices of the Valley choir —including three members who have never traveled outside the United States — will have the chance to sing in Wales next summer at the invitation of a Welsh choir and the Queen of England’s representative.

The Côr Dathlu Cwmtawe Male Choir, also called the Swansea Valley Celebration Choir, and the Hon. Dame Shân Legge-Bourke, DCVO, the Queen’s lord-lieutenant to the Welsh County of Powys, extended the invitation to the Voices of the Valley after the students performed with the Welsh choir in October. Thirty students, who had to audition for the International Odyssey of Friendship and Song trip, along with Valley View Chorus Director Gina Pascolini and chaperones, will tour London before traveling to Wales from June 18 to July 3. They will sing with three of the top Welsh choirs and Ysgol Bro Dynefwr, a local high school.

The choir will use Skype, an online video chat, to practice Welsh songs with the high school. The trip costs $65,000, or around $1,750 per student. Mrs. Pascolini hopes to raise enough money so no student will have to pay to cross the Atlantic.

Cassandra Dumas and Kasidy Leggin, seniors, and Cammie Gillar, a sophomore, have never traveled out of the country.

Cassandra, president of the Valley View choir, has been singing since elementary school.

“It’s just a country where chorus is taken seriously,” she said of Wales, adding that choir is very important to her.

Voices of the Valley can already sing some pieces in Welsh, which Mrs. Pascolini said is a tough language that doesn’t employ many vowels. They hit the notes beautifully while singing the Welsh national anthem.

Kasidy is excited to share his love of music with a group of people across the Atlantic.

“Music is uniting us,” he said.

Cammie has been singing since she can remember and is honored to be a member of a group invited to sing in Wales.

In October, when Côr Dathlu Cwmtawe visited the area, they sang with Voices of the Valley at the Best Western Pioneer Plaza Hotel in Carbondale.

“When Gina’s kids sang with them, they were so impressed,” said Jerry Williams, who volunteers to bring choirs to the area. So they asked Mr. Williams and Ted Frutchey, also a volunteer, if it would be possible for Voices of the Valley to sing with them in Wales.

Mr. Williams, past president of St. David’s Society of Lackawanna County, and Mr. Frutchey helped organize the entire trip for the choir. Mr. Frutchey has organized travel for Welsh choirs to sing in Northeast Pennsylvania for years, so he used his experience to book the trip for Valley View.

The history of the Welsh and choirs in the Lackawanna Valley goes back to 1823, said Mr. Williams. When 90 Welsh families moved to Carbondale to help begin the underground coal mining industry, they brought with them their song, choral celebrations and four-part harmony, he said.

“The choral history is so deep,” Mr. Williams said.

Voices of the Valley began fundraising through 50/50 raffle tickets and an online donation campaign. A designer purse raffle is scheduled and a cabaret is in the works. The choir is asking for local community and business donations.

For information on the trip or to donate, visit gvgb.co/voicesofthevalley; go to Voices of the Valley Wales Tour 2017 on Facebook; or contact VOTVWalesTour2017@gmail.com.

Contact the writer:

kbolus@timesshamrock.com, @kbolusTT on Twitter

How to lend support

Fundraisers for the Voices of the Valley International Odyssey of Friendship and Song trip include:

• Members and members’ parents are selling raffle tickets for $5 each. The drawing will be Dec. 8 during the Valley View High School Choir Concert at 7 p.m. First prize is $1,000; second prize, $500; and third prize, $250.

• The group will hold a designer purse bingo featuring 17 regular and three special games on Nov. 13 at Trinity Hall, 37 Prospect St., Simpson. Admission is $25. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. and bingo begins at 2. A basket raffle will also be available.

• Voices of the Valley upcoming concerts include Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at Keystone College, part of a joint concert with the Wyoming County Chorale, Keystone College Choir and other local schools; and Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. at Queen of Angels Parish, 322 First Ave., Jessup.

Viewing all 52491 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images