Here we are again, standing at the edge of the unknown.

This administration and Congress were unable to put together a tax policy that would provide some stability of expectations. In addition, they have kicked the can down to road ... and the road ends on Dec. 31, 2012. Does anyone wonder why businesses have not been hiring at a greater rate over the past few years?

This coming perfect economic storm is known as the "fiscal cliff." It's a series of events that are scheduled to take place by the beginning of next year. These could have significant effects on our economy and our wallets. Many economists expect a reduction in our country's gross domestic product by up to 4 percent if all events occur.

The events

Let's take a look at a few of the more prominent tax and spending events that are scheduled to take place:

- The Bush Tax Cuts have been in effect for 10 years. With the expiration of these tax rates at the end of this year, 83 percent of U.S. households would experience a $3,700 average increase in taxes paid. Taking this amount of money out of a family's pocket not only immediately hurts the family, but will likely have a stifling effect on the economy. Because the individual/family can spend their money more efficiently than the government, this transfer of funds to the government could ultimately reduce our GDP. Those individuals in the higher tax brackets should begin to consider alternate methods of investment that are more tax efficient.

- In 2011, the government provided for a 2 percent reduction in the Social Security Taxes paid by each individual. This 2 percent rates reduction is expected to expire December 31, 2012. There appears to be little interest within the government to extend this reduction. Those paying the Social Security Tax should expect to be paying 2 percent more starting in January.

- There are a myriad of new taxes imbedded within the Affordable Care Act. One tax that is specific to investors and possibly home owners is the 3.8 percent Medicare Tax on unearned income. Unearned income is derived from investing capital. This may include capital gains, rents, dividends and interest income. This tax should only affect those with adjustable gross income over $200,000 for the individual or $250,000 for married couples filing jointly. These individuals will be paying 3.8 percent more taxes on their realized unearned income.

- Investors in stock will have a decision to make as the new year approaches. Should they sell their current stock that have appreciated in value and be taxed at the lower rate, or wait until after the new year in hopes that their holdings will increase beyond the extra 3.8 percent tax that will be levied after Jan. 1? This precipice could trigger a sell off by individuals being subjected to this tax. Those that will be affected by this tax going forward should also consider alternate investment options that may reduce their tax liability.

This same tax could also affect those selling their homes since any gains resulting from the sale of a home are considered a capital gain.

- On the spending side, there are a number of events that will also take place starting Jan. 2. The most notable is the budget sequestration. These forced spending cuts, in the amount of $1.2 trillion (over ten years), are a result of Congress not being able to come to an agreement for specific spending cuts. As a result, an across-the-board cut will occur. Approximately half of this cut will be applied to defense spending. Although these spending cuts may help reduce our national debt, a more immediate effect will befall the defense contractors. We are already beginning to hear suggestions of layoffs in this industry due to the expected spending cuts. In the short term, this may decrease our gross national product.

- Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 extended emergency unemployment benefits through 2012. This is due to expire Dec. 31. This will have a direct impact on many individuals struggling to find employment.

- Congress has routinely provided a periodic fix for Medicare Payments for Physicians. By an act of Congress in 1997 a formula is used to establish reimbursement rates. The formula has triggered projected pay cuts in past years and has become very controversial. Each time before these cuts are to occur, Congress has provided a fix. It is likely they will do so again. However, if they can not find common ground for this fix at the end of the year, health care access for Medicare patients could be reduced.

Seek help

In addition to the events described above, there are numerous smaller but similar events that are also scheduled to occur after the New Year.

It is not likely that all of these events will come to fruition. However, with a Lame Duck Congress and the strong polar encampments between our two political parties, a combination of these events could upend our fragile recovery. As an investor, you must stay on top of these events and be ready to make decisions concerning your invested capital as needed. Your investment adviser and/or accountant should be able to help steer you through this turbulent time.

HERMAN KRUG is an accredited asset management specialist designee with Stourbridge Capital Partners LLC in Honesdale. He can be reached at hkrug@stourbridgecapital.com.

Until she was 15, local author and eighth-grade English teacher Cecilia Galante was raised in a cult.

Technically a religious commune in rural New York, the cult was based on a "warped interpretation of Catholicism," which separated children from their parents and required the men to hand over all their paychecks to the leader - "a crazy, power-hungry guy who pretty much brainwashed everybody," Mrs. Galante said.

Now 41, Mrs. Galante used her time in the cult as inspiration for her first book, "The Patron Saint of Butterflies," published by Bloomsbury in 2008. It tells the story of two girls rebelling against the critical and abusive environment of the commune in which they live.

"It was the story that I had to tell before I could write anything else," she said.

The novel for young adults is Mrs. Galante's biggest commercial and critical success to date, winning accolades that include a spot on Oprah Winfrey's Teen Reading Book Club.

A graduate of Bishop Hoban High School (now Holy Redeemer High School) and King's College, Mrs. Galante taught in Wilkes-Barre public high schools for several years while trying to write and publish her first novel.

She left the school district in 2009 to focus on writing and raising her children with her lawyer husband, but this fall decided to go back to teaching at Wyoming Seminary.

Contact the writer: pcameron@citizensvoice.com, @cvpetercameron

Being with people whose families have been affected by suicide made Beth McFarland not only mourn her nephew Jay Tee, but also reflect on the impact suicide has on so many.

The Scranton woman joined about 700 people for the inaugural Out of the Darkness Community Walk in downtown Scranton on Saturday morning. She and other family members wore T-shirts bearing the image of a smiling Jay Tee, who took his life last year.

"You think no one understands when someone in your family commits suicide and that no one could know what you are going through," she said. "You see other people that have."

The walk sponsored by the local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention was planned in January, but took on renewed significance in the wake of four teen suicides in Luzerne County in recent weeks. Several participants and teams came from schools or areas that lost teenagers in those high-profile suicides.

The event helps bring both survivors and the issue of suicide out of the darkness, said Cheyenne Rozelle, a Lackawanna Trail High School senior whose father took his life 10 years ago. The way people talk about suicide is changing.

"No one wanted to talk about it or mention it," she said. "We need to be more open about suicide; schools should be talking about it and people should know what to look for."

The walk kicked off with comments from state Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, who lost a family member to suicide. Later, a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace."

The 3-mile route touched places in the city of significance to suicide prevention, including the University of Scranton and Lackawanna College, since suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, according to Kathy Wallace, an event organizer, and the Greater Northeast Pennsylvania chapter of the group.

Marchers also passed senior-citizen apartment buildings and the Gino J. Merli Veterans Center, acknowledging the high rate of suicides among older people and veterans. They passed the Commonwealth Medical College, Ms. Wallace said, hoping that suicide screening becomes part of routine medical exams and checkups.

Also at the walk, attendees could put photos or name tags of loved ones on a commemorative wall. Some photos featured young people in graduation robes or parents with children in better times.

"We want to measure their lives by how they lived, not by how they died," Ms. Wallace said.

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

The following defendants were sentenced in Wayne County Court by Presi­dent Judge Raymond L. Hamill:

- Ryan D. Cook, 28, Honesdale, 1-5 years in state prison, $300 fine and $250 for DNA sample for delivery of a controlled substance March 1, 2011, in Texas Twp.

- Rick D. Potts, 22, Newfoundland, 1-3 years in state prison, $315 in restitution and $250 for DNA sample for burglary Jan. 17 in Cherry Ridge Twp.

- Juan A. Iturrey, 65, Susquehanna, 5-10 years in state prison and $250 for DNA sample for firearms violation March 31 in Scott Twp.

- Patrick M. Jones, 41, Honesdale, 1-2 years in state prison and $300 fine for simple assault May 17, 2011, in Lake Twp.

- James Joseph Carlson, 20, Gouldsboro, 1-23½ months in county prison, no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18, no contact with victim, drug and alcohol evaluation, mental health evaluation and sex offender evaluation for corruption of minors Dec. 23 in Lehigh Twp.

- Kyle Thomas Messinetti, 20, Hawley, 15 days to six months in county prison, 50 hours' community service, $1,025 fine, drug and alcohol evaluation and complete an alcohol highway safety program for first-offense DUI - controlled substance Dec. 30 in Hawley.

- Gary R. Googins, 53, Hawley, 72 hours in county prison, six months' less 3 days' Intermediate Punishment Program, 30 days' house arrest, $1,000 fine, drug and alcohol evaluation and an alcohol highway safety program for DUI Jan. 4 in Honesdale.

- Heather Herold, 26, Honesdale, 12 months' probation, 50 hours' community service, $250 for DNA sample, drug and alcohol evaluation and mental health evaluation for criminal trespass April 10 in Honesdale.

- Christopher Smith, 20, Gouldsboro, 15 days-23½ months in county prison, 50 hours' community service, $6,283.71 in restitution, drug and alcohol evaluation for theft by unlawful taking between March 25 and March 28 in Lehigh Twp.

- Michael Jay Monahan, 36, six months to five years less one day in county prison, $7,000 in restitution and $250 for DNA sample for theft by unlawful taking between June 18 and 29, 2009, in Sterling Twp.

- Paul Arthur Clark, 26, Newfoundland, 12 months' probation, 50 hours' community service, $1,000 fine and drug and alcohol evaluation for possession of a small amount of marijuana Dec. 18 in Sterling Twp.

- Jeffrey Michael Perez, 23, Lake Ariel, six months in ARD program, 40 hours' community service, alcohol highway safety program and 60-day license suspension for DUI May 6 in Salem Twp.

- Bernard Brendan Lavin, 34, Carbondale, six months' ARD, 40 hours' community service, alcohol highway safety program and 60-day license suspension for DUI April 29 in Waymart.

- Kathryn K. Ocdinaria, 22, Millstone Twp., N.J., six months' ARD, 40 hours' community service, an alcohol highway safety program and 60-day license suspension for DUI Dec. 24 in Sterling Twp.

- Christopher Andrew Demeyere, 29, Mayfield, six months' ARD, 40 hours' community service and $250 in restitution for theft July 16 in Honesdale.

- Nicholas Chester Guendel, 23, Milford, six months' ARD and 40 hours' community service for selling/furnishing alcohol to minors June 26 in Honesdale.

- Mary Steelman, 53, Equinunk, six months' ARD, 40 hours' community service, alcohol highway safety program and 30-day license suspension for DUI Jan. 28, 2011, in Honesdale.

With one school permanently closed because of mold and another scheduled to close by the end of the month, the Scranton School District will soon start testing the air in all of its buildings.

School board members said they hope to see routine air testing start "as soon as possible," with the district's oldest buildings being tested first.

"We want to try to be proactive and just provide a better environment for the kids," board President Bob Lesh said.

Officials do not yet know what the testing will cost, but say it is necessary to ensure safety in the district's 17 schools, many of which were built decades ago.

John Audubon Elementary School was permanently closed by the board earlier this year because of mold, and William Prescott Elementary School is scheduled to be temporarily closed by the end of October. The move is pending air quality reports from the former Nativity Catholic school, which district crews have been cleaning and officials hope to have tested this week.

After mold was found in Prescott's cafeteria last month, the district's environmental engineering firm, Guzek Associates, recommended the school be closed for a thorough cleaning and mold inspection. But with a Prescott air report from last week showing the air quality is acceptable, officials are still considering if a move is absolutely necessary, or if work can wait until summer.

"We're hoping very much that we won't have to make a move," Superintendent William King said.

Officials are also waiting for air quality results from Neil Armstrong Elementary School, which was tested last week. The school's roof had leaked for several years, and the roof replacement was expected to be done last week. Results from Armstrong should be available on Tuesday or Wednesday, Mr. Lesh said.

Along with scheduling regular air quality testing of district buildings, someone in the maintenance department should be trained in how to detect mold, said Director Bob Sheridan, chairman of the buildings and grounds committee.

Mr. Lesh said the maintenance department is also working on making electronic records of building upkeep to keep better track of when preventive work may need to be done. "We certainly don't want this to happen again," he said.

Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com, @hofiushallTT on Twitter

Treehouse opens after repairs

SCRANTON - The Wenzel Treehouse at Nay Aug Park officially reopened Saturday at noon after a monthlong repair project, Scranton Parks and Recreation Director Mark Dougher said.

The treehouse, which opened in 2007, received new wooden 2-by-4 handrails after officials discovered in September that a roughly 6-foot section of wooden railing was missing. The old handrail appeared to have broken from wear and tear, not vandalism, officials have said.

The $1,000 project was completed by the city Department of Parks and Recreation and was paid for through the city recreation authority's general fund.

WILKES-BARRE - Luzerne County Manager Robert Lawton will propose his first county budget Monday.

Mr. Lawton took an increase in the property tax rate off the table months ago, and that means more cuts in personnel. Officials on Friday decided to eliminate 18 jobs for correctional officers - eight will be laid off Nov. 1.

The current county employee count is 1,524, a reduction of 86 since January and a reduction of 104 since January 2011. More cuts are expected.

Despite that, District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis hopes the 2013 budget will let her office add jobs. She said she requested funding for five vacant jobs for assistant district attorneys.

Those jobs were funded in 2011 when Jackie Musto Carroll was district attorney. They became vacant this year due to two promotions and three resignations.

Mr. Lawton's budget will be the first proposed under the county home-rule charter, which eliminated a state-mandated form of government Jan. 2. In February, the new county council amended the 2012 budget adopted by the outgoing county commissioners.

By a 6-5 vote, council allocated $122.6 million in the general fund and also approved a 2 percent tax increase. Mr. Lawton replaced interim manager Tom Pribula Feb. 29 after the split decision on the budget and tax hike.

The charter requires that the manager propose the annual budget by Oct. 15. Council is required to hold at least one hearing on the proposed budget and must adopt a final budget between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15.

"I have been advocating for a specific budget committee since the beginning of the year to be properly be informed as to where the taxpayers' money is being spent," Councilman Rick Morelli said. "I believe we need to have multiple public budget hearings to fully understand the budget. What I don't want is the budget to be handed over to us and for us to just rubber stamp it."

Council has scheduled a budget hearing on Oct. 30. Council may add more hearings if needed, council Chairman Tim McGinley said.

Mr. McGinley said he wants the budget to include "the Home Rule Structure" with "all divisions identified" and "a narrative for each line item." The charter consolidated various offices into six new divisions, which were not reflected in the 2012 budget.

The county is obligated to pay more than $436 million in debt payments through 2027 to cover principal and interest costs, according to an Aug. 28 report. The debt cost in 2013 is $27.9 million.

Mr. McGinley added he didn't want "one-time fixes" in the 2013 budget. The "one-time fixes" in the 2012 budget are the use of $1.4 million in unspent bond proceeds to pay off debt and $1.2 million in state funds to reimburse domestic-relations expenses.

Contact the writer: mbuffer@citizensvoice.com

For seven years, they've waited, listening to officials promise a permanent clean water supply but never seeing the result.

Now, after yet another delay, residents say they are starting to lose hope - arguing that officials don't have a sense of urgency to provide the roughly 500 homes and businesses affected by contamination from Ivy Industrial Park with what they had been promised.

"It's just frustrating and disappointing," said resident David Hubble, who has voiced the community's concern for years. "It's turning into one of those things that just drags on, and you have to wonder whether it will ever be finished."

In April 2011, the state Department of Environmental Protection signed a settlement with industrial park tenants Bostik Inc. and Sandvik Inc. - the companies deemed responsible for contaminating groundwater in Scott, South Abington, Waverly and North Abington townships with trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). TCE has been known to cause several types of cancer as well as neurotoxicity, developmental toxicity, liver toxicity and kidney toxicity if it is ingested or absorbed through the skin, according to reports issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Those residents and business owners exposed to TCE and PCE were offered installation of a water treatment system that removes all the toxins. Bostik and Sandvik paid for the systems, which are monitored by the DEP. As of April 2011, there were 235 homes and businesses using the treatment system.

The settlement calls for the companies to pay for a 21-mile, $20 million waterline, to connect the affected homes and to plug the residents' contaminated water wells.

Fly in the ointment

Less than a month ago, the South Abington Twp. Zoning Hearing Board rejected an appeal made by Pennsylvania American Water Co. for an upgrade of the existing pump station on Griffin Pond Road that would act as the primary source for the waterline.

The proposed upgrade, which called for the construction of a pump station alongside the existing one, would create too large of a footprint in a small neighborhood, board members argued.

The decision, which can be appealed by PAWC, leaves the project at a standstill and residents in the dark as to when - if ever - this waterline will be constructed.

PAWC spokeswoman Susan Turcmanovich said the company will not make a decision on how to proceed until it receives an official notification saying its appeal was rejected.

"I think we have gone above and beyond the requirements to make this more residential-looking, and more acceptable for neighbors," said attorney Edward Neyhart, who is representing PAWC. "This plan has been approved by the DEP and EPA."

Board members have since urged PAWC officials to look elsewhere, citing the Griffin Pond Reservoir and well locations in Waverly Twp. as alternatives.

But, as Mr. Neyhart had said at the meeting, the Griffin Pond Road location is unique because of its well capacity, water quality and elevation.

"The location is uniquely suited," he said. "It's the consensus choice."

For now, residents and township managers can only wait - and hope for a solution.

"We can't move forward with this project until they (PAWC) determine where to draw the water from," South Abington Twp. Manager David O'Neill said. "It could take a while. It may be time to go back to the drawing board."

Despite the extensive delays and the uncertain future, Bostik and Sandvik are not in jeopardy of violating the settlement, a DEP spokeswoman said. The settlement mandated that the companies submit a work plan for the installation of the waterline within 60 days of the consent order and agreement - which they did - but didn't list a deadline for start of construction.

"Right now, we are just going to move forward with what we can control," said Ray Germann, who was speaking on behalf of both Bostik Inc. and Sandvik Inc. "We still plan to start construction on the waterline at some point during the next construction season."

Though he said there isn't an exact date, Mr. Germann said the companies will advertise the project in the coming months. He said he couldn't confirm how long the construction will take, as it could vary depending on the contractor.

Even when construction begins, DEP officials say it will take about nine months to a year to complete.

"At this point, it probably won't be ready for another three years at least," Mr. Hubble said. "The promises have been made over and over again. But they haven't been met."

Contact the writer: miorfino@timesshamrock.com, @miorfinoTT on Twitter

Jerry Sandusky cried "conspiracy" Tuesday as a judge sentenced him to 30 to 60 years in prison, a veritable life sentence, for sexually abusing 10 boys over the last two decades.

In a rambling statement, the revered coach-turned-reviled-convict blamed an overly dramatic accuser for sparking a media storm that led to his demise.

His attorney, Joseph Amendola, said they might have been able to produce evidence of the supposed conspiracy if only the judge, John M. Cleland, had given them more than seven months to prepare for trial.

The lack of preparation time will be a key component of Mr. Sandusky's appeal, but will it matter?

Case law in Pennsylvania varies on the discretion judges have in granting or denying continuances, the legal mechanism for delaying a trial.

In a decision last week, the state Superior Court ruled a judge should have granted a delay in a Blair County murder case because the defendant's newly hired attorney only had two weeks to prepare.

In a 2003 decision, the Superior Court found that a Luzerne County judge erred in allowing a trial to start without the defendant, absent because of a death in his family.

Mr. Sandusky's attorneys reiterated after his sentencing Tuesday that they would appeal his conviction and sentence. Under state law, Mr. Sandusky's attorneys must prove Judge Cleland abused his discretion by putting efficiency and scheduling above Mr. Sandusky's right to due process.

Even if Mr. Amendola and his co-counsel, Karl Rominger, had a year or more to prepare their defense, could they have overcome the overwhelming evidence of eight victims and other witnesses who said Mr. Sandusky routinely violated the youths he was entrusted to mentor?

Mr. Amendola first broached the conspiracy theory after Mr. Sandusky's canceled preliminary hearing last December, alleging some accusers may have colluded to frame the ex-coach in hopes for a monetary settlement from his charity, the Second Mile, and Penn State.

"I can think of $9 million right off the top of my head from the Second Mile, in terms of their assets, and I can think of countless millions when I think of Penn State and the deep pockets," Mr. Amendola said, adding that he wanted to review accusers' telephone records, email and other material. "What greater motivation could there be than money?"

But Mr. Sandusky's attorneys never introduced that material at trial and only touched on his theory.

They called a neighbor of the first accuser to go to the authorities, Victim 1, who told jurors of a 2008 conversation in which the boy purportedly boasted, "When this is over, I'll have a nice new Jeep." The neighbor, Josh James Fravel Sr., said the boy's mother told him around the same time that she wanted to buy a big house in the country, where her dogs "can roam free," once the Sandusky matter was settled.

Victim 1's mother denied Mr. Fravel's assertions. She acknowledged hiring an attorney after the allegations became public because she wanted to "keep the press away from my family." Mr. Fravel, she said, had given reporters her new address and attempted to blackmail her to keep the information private.

Judge Cleland, before sentencing Mr. Sandusky, dismissed the notion of a grand plot to convict the ex-coach - a harbinger of things to come in his court.

Contact the writer: msisak@citizensvoice.com, @cvmikesisak on Twitter

An unknown amount of 2012 earned income taxes for Lackawanna County residents who commute to Luzerne County has not been distributed, members of the Lackawanna County Tax Collection Committee said.

The committee is considering a claim against a performance bond of Centax Group to recoup money not distributed to Lackawanna County municipalities.

"Since they have not come through, we have put their bond company, Travelers Insurance, on notice that we are seeking a claim for our lost monies," said Mayfield Mayor Al Chelik, the Lakeland School District delegate to the tax collection committee.

"We don't know how much money is missing," Mr. Chelik said.

Since Jan. 1, when each of Pennsylvania's counties, excluding Philadelphia, consolidated their tax-collection efforts under Act 32 into one agency per county, Centax has experienced trouble with its efforts in collecting and distributing earned income taxes.

In Luzerne County, where Centax is used, a budget crisis has erupted as municipalities and school districts did not receive much of the earned income taxes they had budgeted. Wilkes-Barre officials said last week the city was short $1.2 million in earned income tax owed by Centax.

"There was some sort of deficiency in their procedures and/or their tools they needed to administer the tax," said Lackawanna County Tax Collection Committee Chairman William Lazor. "As a result, they were unable to remit the taxes that were collected as they were supposed to do under Act 32."

Lackawanna County chose Berkheimer to collect taxes. But for Lackawanna County residents who work in Luzerne County, Centax is responsible to remit wage taxes to the municipalities and school districts where those residents live.

"I believe that funds would have been withheld and remitted to Centax, and it is those funds which are due to the Lackawanna County taxing districts which I believe had not yet been disbursed," Mr. Lazor said.

If filed, the tax committee's claim would be only for money not received by municipalities and school districts since Act 32 was implemented, as that is the time frame over which the tax collection committee has authority.

Several school districts and municipalities in Lackawanna County were reached for comment last week, but most couldn't say how much tax money was owed through Centax.

Jessup, however, said it was filing claims for up to $6,000 worth of missing money from previous years. Jessup had used Centax for 35 years before Act 32.

In Susquehanna County, Forest City used Centax under Act 32. However, the borough had difficulty in the first quarter of the year with the company, borough clerk Sharon Vannan said. The company was not returning calls or sending payments to the borough. The borough switched to Berkheimer after the first quarter and has been spared most of the problems that developed in Luzerne County.

Efforts to reach representatives for Centax were unsuccessful.

REBEKAH BROWN and KATIE SULLIVAN, staff writers, contributed to this report

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, @jkohutTT on Twitter

The 118th Legislative District will see a rematch this November as Democratic incumbent Mike Carroll squares off against challenger Terrence O'Connor.

Mr. Carroll, of Avoca, is seeking his fourth two-year term for the seat that represents, in Luzerne County, the city of Pittston, boroughs of Avoca, Bear Creek Village, Dupont, Duryea, Hughestown and Laflin, Bucks and Jenkins townships, and parts of Bear Creek Twp. It also represents in Monroe County the townships of Eldred, Polk, Tobyhanna and Tunkhannock and parts of Chestnuthill Twp.

The state representative salary is $82,026.11.

Mr. O'Connor, a Republican from Chestnuthill Twp., ran against Mr. Carroll in 2010, but was unsuccessful in his bid.

Mr. Carroll said he wants to stimulate the economy by investing in Pennsylvania's deficient roads and bridges.

"Enhance the infrastructure we rely on everyday," Mr. Carroll said, and use Pennsylvania workers to do it.

The other reason to make infrastructure improvements a priority lies with the "traveling public." Being detoured around a closed bridge costs time and money, he said.

"We need a safe and efficient network," Mr. Carroll said. "Emergency bridge closures on I-81 are neither."

Mr. O'Connor agreed infrastructure improvements are important, adding Pennsylvania cannot "be a third world country."

As for the economy, he said it can be set straight through simple fiscal responsibility and strict adherence to the system established by the Constitution.

"I believe that it is fair to say our system of checks and balances established in the constitution have broken down at the federal level and has resulted in a federal government that is completely out of control."

Mr. O'Connor supports the most recent state budget that made cuts to education and social services.

"I think it is reasonable," Mr. O'Connor said. "We have to be real. We have to work within the financial restraints of the economy. The fact that it is balanced and we are still paying over $5 billion in education, I support it."

Mr. Carroll said state spending cuts, especially those to education, are "glaring" examples of budgetary deficiencies.

"The commonwealth has an obligation to fund our public schools," Mr. Carroll said.

He said that a properly implemented severance tax on Marcellus Shale drilling would help close the gap on pension spending and basic education funding. He opposed a drilling impact fee passed into law earlier this year, citing that it was insufficient and took power away from local zoning officials.

Mr. Carroll said, if done properly, he does support drilling and believes it can be a benefit to the area. Proper safety regulations are important to prevent incidences like the fall out from the anthracite coal mining days, he said.

"I would not want any repeat of that history with this industry," Mr. Carroll said. "We need to properly plan for it."

Mr. O'Connor said he is "all for" natural gas drilling, as it is the "ticket to prosperity."

Mr. O'Connor does not support any additional taxation on natural gas drilling, adding that a "prosperous" natural gas industry is necessary for economic growth.

He said he heats his home with coal because he cannot afford to heat it with oil.

"We need to get away from oil," Mr. O'Connor said. "We are sitting on an ocean of natural gas here in Pennsylvania. Mandate the availability of natural gas as motor fuel."

As for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Mr. O'Connor is staunchly opposed and is willing to fight it at every turn, while his opponent believes it is important to opt into the health care act so the state can "set the grounds" and determine what is best.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, @jkohutTT on TwitterMike Carroll

Party: Democrat

Age: 49

Resides: Avoca

Education: Bachelor of Arts, University of Scranton

Occupation: State representative

Top issue: Infrastructure funding

Terrence O'Connor

Party: Republican

Age: 49

Resides: Chestnuthill Twp.

Education: Bachelor of Arts, University of Scranton; law degree, St. John's Law School

Occupation: Commercial lawyer, private practice

Top issue: States' rights under the 10th Amendment

Bank donates to program

First National Community Bank donated to the Head Start Program in Wayne and Pike Counties. The donation will help fund the Scranton Lackawanna Human Development Agency's Winter Coat Project which provides a new coat for every child in the Head Start program.

Chamber awards: The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce has selected Tribal Media as the October 2012 recipient of the Small Business Spotlight award. Tribal Media is a social media agency that targets local business to help them establish an online presence.

Program receives gift: PNC Bank recently made a gift to Wilkes University through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program. This gift will support innovative programming at Wilkes including Science in Motion, Women Empowered by Science, and Adventures in Science.

Investment approves: The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania's Board of Directors has approved the investment of $260,000 in support of regional economic development. The company's goal is to help lead Northeast Pennsylvania to a better economic future by building partnerships that develop and apply technology for competitive advantage.

Equipment donated to university: The Geisinger Health System Radiology Department donated sonographic equipment to the Misericordia University Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program to enhance the program's simulated laboratory. The added equipment will enable students to transition smoothly from the simulated lab setting on campus to the clinical setting.

Program receives gift: First National Community Bank made a gift to Wilkes University through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program to support innovative programming at Wilkes including Science in Motion, Women Empowered by Science, and Adventures in Science.

Luncheon successful: NEPA's 14th Annual "Bringing the World to Northeastern Pennsylvania" was attended by 41 businesses from Northeast Pennsylvania. They met with Pennsylvania's 21 Trade Advisors from around the world at the Woodlands Inn in Wilkes-Barre. The 41 businesses generated close to 200 one-on-one meetings with these trade advisors.

Company receives aid: Farrell's Big Top Rentals, who was devastated by the 2011 flooding, received help from MetroAction in the form of a loan from the Luzerne County Flood Recovery Loan Program. The loan was used to purchase equipment, inventory, working capital and finish renovations to their facility damaged by the flood.

School supplies donated: Frank Juhasz, founder of Shirts for Success and senior at Western Wayne High School collected donations of clothes and school supplies and sold selling custom pencils using the funds to purchase additional school supplies. With help from Dr. James Tickner, owner of Family First Vision Center in Lake Ariel and founder of Book Bag Buddies, they filled backpacks with a notebook, a pencil case filled with pencils, erasers and glue, a pack of crayons, a folder and a book and delivered half of the completed backpacks to EverGreen Elementary School.

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

Thursday: "Reading Your Royalty Check" online seminar from the Pocono District of Penn State Extension from 1 to 2 p.m. The seminar will be an informative session on how to read and understand a natural gas royalty check and the value of understanding how the value of natural gas at the wellhead is calculated, deductions, and month-to-month adjustments. To participate log on to meeting.psu.edu/pscems with a Friends of Penn State ID or as a guest. - Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce Joint networking mixer sponsored by CTC Manufacturing Inc., from 5 to 7 p.m. at its facility, 2 Rose St., Beaver Meadows. Mixer is free. Reservations for the mixer are required, 455-1509, jferry@hazletonchamber.org or hazletonchamber.org.

Oct. 22: "Financial Benefits of Land Conservation," from 7 to 9 p.m. at PPL Environmental Learning Center, Hawley. Local real estate attorney R. Anthony Waldron and financial adviser Richard Eckersley will be on hand to share their knowledge and answer questions. The program is co-sponsored by the Pike County Scenic Rural Character Preservation Program.

Oct. 23: Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce economic luncheon from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Comfort Inn and Suites. Lunch from Remington's Restaurant will be provided. To reserve seats, contact Deborah at 875-8325 or deborah@wyccc.com. Seating limited to one representative per business. - "Leadership in the Trenches: A Non-Traditional View," workshop from Leadership Lackawanna from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. The workshop will feature guest speaker Mark Volk, president of Lackawanna College and retired Army colonel. Cost is $25. Deadline for registration is Friday. For details or to register, visit scrantonchamber.com or call 342-7711.

Oct. 24: Economy discussion at Misericordia University at 5:30 p.m. in Lemmond Theater at Walsh Hall. Gary Stern, Ph.D., noted economist, banker, retired president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and co-author of "Too Big To Fail: The Hazards of Bank Bailouts," will lead the discussion.

Oct. 25: Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce Annual Business and Community Awards Luncheon, 11:45 a.m. at Top of the 80's, Hazleton. 2012 Women's Empowerment Grant recipients, including Renee Baran, Allison Rudewick, Francelys Fabian and Camelia Francisc, will be honored.

SUBMIT BUSINESS BRIEFCASE items to business@timesshamrock.com or via fax to 348-9135.

In a crowded reception hall at the Scranton Cultural Center in the Masonic Temple, Nada Gilmartin stood next to her husband, Michael, gracefully wiping the traces of tears from her eyes.

They were tears of joy.

"I feel like it is my wedding day," Mrs. Gilmartin said. "All the people I love in the same room."

She and her husband were honored during the Broadway Theatre League of Northeastern Pennsylvania's 53rd annual Opening Gala Celebration, receiving the Sam and Jane Cali Star Award.

The award, established in 2006, honors a distinguished community leader who embodies dedication to the arts in Northeast Pennsylvania. The Gilmartins have been involved in the community in a number of ways for more than three decades, including the Junior League of Scranton, the Society for the Preservation of the Tripp Family Homestead, the Ballet Theater of Scranton, the Scranton Cultural Center, Scranton Tomorrow and the Lackawanna County Arts Council.

For Mr. Gilmartin, however, the real honor came with being associated with Sam and Jane Cali, who worked with the Broadway Theatre League for more than 40 years.

"The nice thing is that it's done in support of Broadway Theatre and in honor of Sam and Jane," Mr. Gilmartin said. "That's a true honor."

The gala, which featured musical acts from several groups, including the Broadway Theatre Youth Show Choir and the Valley View High School Vivace Treble Choir, marks the opening of the 2012-2013 season, league Executive Director Tony Nicosia said.

Mr. Nicosia could not think of a pair more deserving of the award than Mr. and Mrs. Gilmartin.

"They are probably two of the most dedicated, talented and selfless individuals," Mr. Nicosia said. "Not only well-deserving, but long overdue."

Dawn McGurl, program manager with the Scranton Cultural Center, said the event also celebrates Scranton's storied history in the arts. A popular saying in the early 20th century was that if you can play Scranton, you can play anywhere, a sentiment she said still holds true today.

"We still have a very high aesthetic here," Mrs. McGurl said. "We can also smell a phony a mile off. If you put in 100 percent, you'll do fine."

Contact the writer: jkohut@timessharmrock.com, @jkohutTT on Twitter

About 90 walkers turned out to breathe Saturday morning's cool, brisk air and help others enjoy doing the same as part of the American Lung Association Fight for Air Walk at Nay Aug Park.

Some participants walked in honor of loved ones who suffer from or died as a result of respiratory disease such lung cancer, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or emphysema. Photos were displayed on a tribute wall.

Donna Ray-Reifler of the American Lung Association said the turnout was similar to last year's.

One of the largest teams was represented by Gerrity's Supermarket. Marcher Ann Motovidlak said the American Lung Association has always been a favorite charity of the locally owned grocery chain. This year, the employees decided to rally a team to participate in the walk.

"We are a local-owned company and this is nice local event and cause to be part of," she said.

The American Lung Association held a Fight for Air Walk at King's College in Wilkes-Barre in June. Money raised will benefit programs for the American Lung Association, including asthma camp for local children.

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

1. Why did Scott Twp. Sewer Authority raise monthly rates by more than $10 last week?

A. The original rate was not enough to meet expenses.

B. They were ordered to do so by the DEP.

C. They need to fund a sewer expansion.

D. All of the above.

2. Why did a helicopter crash in Coolbaugh Twp. on Wednesday, killing two men and injuring a third?

A. Mechanical failure.

B. It was caught in a tornado.

C. Pilot error.

D. A cause has not been determined.

3. How did the city pay for four new police cruisers?

A. A U.S. Department of Justice grant.

B. A winning lottery ticket.

C. An agreement with Keystone Sanitary Landfill.

D. An essay contest on why the police chief is a community hero.

4. What did Scranton City Council pass Thursday, thanks to an emergency certificate issued by two city leaders?

A. A plan to provide council members with Scranton police as personal bodyguards.

B. A 1 percent commuter tax, effective Jan. 1 pending court approval.

C. An indefinite suspension of all city employees, because there's no money to pay them.

D. An ordinance exempting bars from paying city taxes until 2014.

5. Officials from other municipalities have vowed to …

A. fight efforts by Scranton to impose a commuter tax.

B. stage a bloody coup to take over the city by force.

C. take up a collection to help the cash-strapped city.

D. force the city to complete a financial audit.

6. A man could face life in prison after a judge found him guilty Thursday of …

A. stealing a police dog and selling it on Craigslist.

B. setting a fire that killed two of his ex-girlfriend's sons.

C. making death threats against city council members.

D. setting loose a bull that injured several people at the Harford Fair.

7. Why is North Pocono Library asking the state for $1 million?

A. It cannot afford new books, DVDs, CDs, magazine subscriptions, etc.

B. It needs to update its security system.

C. It needs help funding its $3.2 million building, which is under construction.

D. It wants to fund an event to break the world record for the largest pancake ever cooked.

8. Which two entities are competing for the Serrenti Memorial Army Reserve Center?

A. Janet Evans and Chris Doherty.

B. Scranton School District and the Commonwealth Medical College.

C. Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Charter School and Geisinger Community Medical Center.

D. Scranton School District and Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Charter School.

9. When is former state Senate Democratic Leader Robert J. Mellow slated be sentenced for federal conspiracy counts?

A. Just after Thanksgiving.

B. Sometime in 2014.

C. Next week.

D. Never.

10. How fast did the winner complete this year's Steamtown Marathon?

A. Under two hours.

B. Under an hour.

C. Two hours, 29 minutes.

D. He was so fast, stopwatches couldn't capture him.

ANSWERS: 1. A; 2. D; 3. C; 4. B; 5. A; 6. B; 7. C; 8. D; 9. A; 10. C

John Raymond Hazelrigg

Wanted by: Scranton District Office, state Board of Probation and Parole.

Fugitive since: Aug. 20.

Wanted for: Parole violation. Originally sentenced to 27 months to six years of incarceration on drug charges. Paroled Feb. 13.

Description: White man, 34 years old, 5 feet 3 inches tall, 160 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes.

Contact: Agent Terry Vieney, 963-4271 or 800-932-4857.

Rohan Ellis

Wanted by: Scranton District Office, state Board of Probation and Parole.

Fugitive since: June 2.

Wanted for: Parole violation. Originally sentenced to 12 to 30 months of incarceration on a charge of receiving stolen property.

Description: Black man, 24 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 170 pounds, black hair, brown eyes.

Contact: Agent Joseph Harte, 614-7247 or 800-932-4857.

Jeremy Goodson

Wanted by: Scranton District Office, state Board of Probation and Parole.

Fugitive since: Aug. 6.

Wanted for: Parole violation. Originally sentenced to 18 months to four years of incarceration for criminal conspiracy to engage in robbery and corruption of minors.

Description: White man, 33 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 185 pounds, brown hair, hazel eyes.

Contact: Agent Terry Vieney, 963-4271.

Scott Muldoon

Wanted by: Lackawanna County sheriff's office.

Fugitive since: June 19.

Wanted for: Violation of bail conditions on case involving criminal use of a communication facility.

Description: White man, 40 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 130 pounds, brown hair, hazel eyes.

Contact: Sgt. Glenn Ford, 963-6719, ext. 7109.

NEW YORK - This winter is expected to feel like more winter. That means you'll will have to pay more to heat your home.

Last winter was the warmest on record and homeowners may have forgotten where the weather stripping and space heater are stashed. They'll come in handy for the 2012-2013 season, when temperatures are expected to be close to normal.

The price for heating oil, natural gas and other fuel will be relatively stable. But customers will have to use more energy to keep warm, according to the annual Winter Fuels Outlook from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.

There are a number of ways to try to make sure your bill doesn't rise quite so fast. If you're a heating oil user, you may want to try all of them.

Heating oil customers are expected to pay the highest prices ever. That will result in record heating bills, an average of $2,494. That's nearly $200 more than the previous high, set in the winter of 2010-2011.

Customers who use natural gas, electricity or propane won't pay as much as they have in typical winters because prices are relatively low. Natural gas users will spend an average of $697 this winter, 13 percent less than the five-year average.

"It's two different worlds. For most families this is still going to be an affordable year, except for those who use oil heat," says Mark Wolfe, the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Director's Association. "For them, it's going to be very difficult."

At the same time, funding for low-income heating assistance is falling. Over the last two years, heating assistance funding has been cut to $3.5 billion from $5.1 billion in 2010. The number of households receiving assistance fell by 1.1 million over the period, according to Mr. Wolfe.

One obvious way to lower your heating bill to don some fluffy slippers and turn down the thermostat. The Energy Department estimates that a resident can save 1 percent on their heating bill for every degree a thermostat is set back. Here are a few other ways:

- Think of the sun as a heater, and your drapes as a blanket: Open drapes when you are getting direct sunlight, then close them at night to keep heat from escaping.

- Make sure the damper in your fireplace is closed when you aren't using it.

- Keep air vents clean and uncovered so heat can easily flow throughout your home.

- Shut off kitchen fans and bathroom fans as soon as they are no longer needed.

- Lower the temperature of your water heater. That can be done without your shower getting noticeably less steamy.

Many states and utilities offer incentives for home energy audits and home weatherization programs that include things like adding insulation, installing more efficient windows, and replacing an old boiler or furnace with a new one.

These investments can pay for themselves in heating savings in just a few years, especially when energy prices are high.

John Huber, president of the National Oilheat Research Alliance says that customers learned to drastically cut the amount of oil they burned during the 1970s oil crisis and again when prices began to rise sharply in 2007 and 2008.

"Americans really do respond to economic signals," he said.

Switching from oil heat to natural gas can be an expensive project - $5,000 to $10,000, according to Sobieski Services of Wilmington, Del. The price depends on how difficult it is to connect to public lines and remove the old furnace, and how much other infrastructure your house may need. But you could make up the cost in three or four winters at today's prices.

Just 6 percent of the nation's households use heating oil, but they tend to be in some of the coldest parts of the country where heating needs are high, mainly in the Northeast. About half use natural gas for heat and 38 percent use electricity. Five percent of households use propane and 2 percent use wood.

Natural gas prices will average $10.32 per thousand cubic feet. That's 0.8 percent higher than last year but 13 percent lower than the five-year average. Electricity prices will fall 2.3 percent to 11.4 cents per kilowatt hour. Propane prices will fall 8 percent in the Midwest to $2.02 per gallon and 13 percent in the Northeast to $2.95 per gallon.

Heating oil will average a record high of $3.80 per gallon because it is made from crude oil, which has averaged $95.95 per barrel this year.

But most of this year's increase is because forecasters expect a more typical winter. East of the Rockies, weather is expected to be about 2 percent warmer than normal but 20 percent to 27 percent colder than last year. In the West, temperatures were closer to normal last year, so the expected increase for this winter is just 1 percent..

After a massive consolidation of the region's health care industry, Community Health Systems has become the largest private employer in Northeast Pennsylvania.

With about 6,500 employees at eight area hospitals and nonhospital entities, Community Health Systems has even surpassed Tobyhanna Army Depot, which has about 5,400 workers.

"Whenever you have an employer that size, clearly that has a huge impact on the economy, not just for the people we employ, but those folks go out and buy houses and cars and gas," said Cornelio Catena, CEO of Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and Commonwealth Health, the umbrella group for Community Health Systems' area hospitals.

"It's a huge economic contributor to our area."

Geisinger Health System isn't far behind. With about 4,000 workers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wyoming and Monroe counties, Geisinger more than doubled its worker base since 2002.

William Moore, president and CEO of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, said both health systems have a significant economic impact "that hits us every day."

Community Health Systems and Geisinger both provide jobs that "run the gamut from entry level to highly skilled qualified doctors, nurses and administrators with a wide range of salaries," Mr. Moore said.

"This leads to local purchases and major purchases such as housing, appliances and durable goods," Mr. Moore said. "There are good-paying jobs in the industry."

Satyajit Ghosh, Ph.D., a University of Scranton economist, said it is not surprising that health care organizations are becoming more important, "particularly given the fact that as a nation, we spend the most on health care in the world."

"Manufacturing used to provide a lot of jobs. Now, many of the large manufacturing employers are gone," Dr. Ghosh said. "During the recession, industries suffered when the economy wasn't doing well, but that's not the case with health care industries. They aren't linked with the recession. Ups and downs don't affect the health care industry at all. The health care industry has provided steady employment."

CHS increases holdings

Wyoming Valley Health Care System, which includes Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, was sold to for-profit Community Health Systems Inc. in 2009 for $271 million.

Franklin, Tenn.-based CHS has subsequently increased its local holdings to eight hospitals, snapping up the Regional Hospital of Scranton, Special Care Hospital in Nanticoke and Tyler Memorial Hospital in Tunkhannock last year for $150 million and Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton and Mid-Valley Hospital in Blakely for $152 million in late December.

Hospitals under the Commonwealth Health umbrella also include Berwick Hospital Center and First Hospital in Kingston. Its non-hospital entities include Inter Mountain Medical Group, Physician Health Alliance and Community Counseling Services.

Commonwealth Health has continued to recruit physicians in various medical specialties, Mr. Catena said. From 2009 through this year, Commonwealth has recruited and plans to recruit at least 26 physicians at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, he said.

A $53 million expanded emergency department and heart and vascular institute tower that recently opened at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is expected to increase its volume of patients and create a need for more employees in the future, Mr. Catena said.

Community Health Systems affiliates own, operate or lease a total of 135 hospitals in 29 states, with an aggregate of approximately 20,000 licensed beds, according to its website.

Geisinger grows

The health system, based in Danville, has increased its presence locally. In addition to launching new services and attracting specialists to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp., Geisinger acquired Community Medical Center in Scranton earlier this year.

Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton now employs 1,603, a number that has grown because of higher patient volumes since the hospital joined Geisinger in February, said spokeswoman Wendy Wilson.

CEO Robert Steigmeyer anticipates an additional 80 support staff employees and 25 new physicians and physician assistants will be hired in the next year. In the next five years, they intend to hire 60 mid-level providers, which includes physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants and 160 new support staff.

"The growth really has been quite remarkable," Mr. Steigmeyer said. "The next five years will be radically different than the last five years for job creation and economic development."

Geisinger Northeast - covering Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wyoming and Monroe counties - has recruited 89 physicians and 200 registered nurses in the last three years and 49 physician assistants and certified nurse practitioners in the last two years, said Geisinger spokesman Matt Van Stone.

Within the next five years, Geisinger Northeast plans on recruiting 95 physicians, including 23 primary care physicians, Mr. Van Stone said.

In all, Geisinger Health System employs more than 14,000 people. The system serves more than 2.6 million residents throughout 44 counties in northeastern and central Pennsylvania.

Hospitals top employers statewide

Statewide, hospitals are among the top employers in 55 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, according to a recent study by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania.

"Hospitals do continue to play a very important role as economic contributors in their communities," said Julie Kissinger, spokeswoman for the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania.

"Hospitals are particularly important in rural communities where you may have fewer large job providers," she said. "Hospitals and health systems make a total direct and indirect contribution of nearly $100 billion on the state's economy and that is a result of both direct and indirect economic spin-offs in construction, food services and other businesses that work with hospitals."

According to the state Department of Labor and Industry, health care industries in Luzerne County, including hospitals, ambulatory health care services and nursing and residential care facilities, employed 19,513 people in 2011 who earned an average wage of $43,174. In Lackawanna County, 16,674 people worked in the health care industry in 2011 and the average wage was $42,627. Statewide, the health care industry employed 786,029 in 2011 and the average wage was $47,898.

According to the Center for Workforce Information and Analysis, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital was the third top employer and Geisinger was the fifth largest in Luzerne County in the most recent data from the fourth quarter of 2011. Wilkes-Barre General Hospital employs 1,950 people. Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp. and Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre employ a combined total of 1,770 people.

The top two employers in Luzerne County in the fourth quarter of 2011 were the federal and state governments. Luzerne County government was ranked number four.

In Lackawanna County, Geisinger Community Medical Center was ranked the fourth top employer and Moses Taylor Hospital was ranked fifth in the fourth quarter of 2011. Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton now employs 1,603; Moses Taylor employs 1,189. The top employers in Lackawanna County were the state government, Allied Services Foundation and Scranton School District.

Nationwide, industries and occupations related to health care, personal care and social assistance, are projected to have the fastest job growth between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While overall employment in manufacturing is projected to decline by 1 percent, the health care and social assistance industry is projected to create about 28 percent of all new jobs created in the U.S. economy.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the Affordable Care Act, all Americans will need to have health insurance by 2014 and Dr. Ghosh said that will mean more job growth in the health care industry.

"The health care reform essentially will bring in more uninsured individuals. Insurance companies and health care organizations will essentially have more customers to deal with," Dr. Ghosh said. "Health care industries have always been important given the lack of job growth coming from other companies and other industries. Their relative importance has grown in the region and for years to come, we will see that trend continue."

Economic development

At Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp., a $9.5 million project to expand the critical care building is under way. The 24-bed unit expansion will add about 20,000 square feet of space. The project likely will be completed in February, said John Buckley, chief administrative officer of Geisinger Northeast. Plans also are underway to build a medical office building on Geisinger's Plains Twp. campus, he said.

"As we expand facilities, we are looking to recruit additional doctors," he said. "As we have more doctors and more space, we need more staff to go with that."

The $53 million emergency department and heart and vascular institute tower, which recently opened at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, is part of $96 million in investments at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital since Community Health Systems bought the nonprofit Wyoming Valley Health Care System in May 2009, Mr. Catena said. The investment is part of Community Health Systems' commitment to spend a total of $135 million over seven years.

Other major capital improvements at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital have included a $5 million new inpatient rehab unit; a robotic surgery program costing $5 million and a more advanced robotic surgical system costing $1.8 million; a $2 million pharmacy system; $3.6 million in investments in imaging services and radiation oncology, $5 million in information systems and $2 million in cardiac catheterization laboratories.

Additionally, Community Health Systems recently opened a new $4.5 million medical office and outpatient facility in Wright Twp. and is looking at opening a similar facility in Nanticoke, Mr. Catena said.

Geisinger has also committed to an $80 million facility expansion of GCMC, $25.7 million to construct a new physician office building in Scranton and a $20 million project underway to upgrade the hospital's information technology system.

The $80 million expansion, scheduled to begin next year, will include 14 new operating rooms and new critical care facilities. The $25.7 million physician office building will be located at the Mount Pleasant Corporate Center near Scranton High School, replacing Geisinger's current community practice facility at Lake Scranton.

"These are two very substantial projects which will employ a lot of different people, including architects, engineers, contractors and subcontractors," Mr. Steigmeyer said. "It will have the basic multiplier effect. When we create more jobs here, which are well-paying jobs, people will spend money in the community and we will retain people here who don't go to other markets."

Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com

Trinity Lutheran Church

shows new Parish Center

CLARKS SUMMIT - Over the last 20 years, the Trinity Lutheran Church has experienced growing pains.

Standing in a spacious corridor, illuminated by glass skylights, member Cathy Sheffler of Waverly Twp. grinned as she described the new Parish Center. The church held an open house for the addition Sunday and Ms. Sheffler was pleased at the added possibilities the space allows.

"We were squeezed," she said of the previous structure. "We couldn't have a meal with everybody in the congregation."

The new Parish Center boasts an expanded library, classrooms, a meeting room that can seat 120 and an elevator and ramps to provide easier access for visitors with disabilities.

"We had no windows before," church librarian Terry Bockelkamp said, standing in a brightly lit library. "It's wonderful to know we can grow."

Previously, materials for Sunday school had to be packed away each week. But at the open house, permanent classrooms for different grade levels with bright, white walls held bulletin boards and displays of work and activities to come.

"Now we'll be able to do more of the things we want to do here," Ms. Sheffler added, noting that the church needed to go off-site in the past to hold blood drives. "The sky is the limit at this point."

The smell of fresh paint still lingered in the building as members walked the halls in T-shirts emblazoned with "Come and See." Downstairs, in addition to the large meeting room, visitors toured the expanded pre-school.

"Our biggest challenge was to continue to be the congregation we are, where we are," Pastor George Mathews said of the upgrades.

The congregation that populates the church draws from a 100-mile radius, he added.

"This lets us stay as part of the community," Ms. Sheffler said.

Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter