Marty Henehan Sr. stood at the podium before hundreds of people and fought back tears.

“She was 5-foot-1, weighed 110 pounds, but would not hesitate to tell you her thoughts and her beliefs and stand firm by them,” he said, remembering his daughter Sammi Henehan, who died from an overdose earlier this year. “She was a firecracker.”

On Sunday, Mr. Henehan and his wife, Stacy Schmidt-Henehan, of Scranton publicly launched the Forever Sammi Foundation at an addiction awareness rally at Lackawanna County Courthouse Square.

When their 23-year-old daughter lost her promising life in April after a long battle with heroin, the couple wanted to channel that anguish into something positive. The foundation aims to help bring the raging opioid epidemic out of the shadows and into public discourse, and to raise money for those struggling to stitch their lives back together after destructive bouts with addiction.

Mr. Henehan, who told the crowd he was an addict in recovery, started the foundation with his wife and a friend, Sean Bingham, a former heroin addict who has been sober six years after a long battle with the drug that resulted in 17 — yes, 17 — overdoses.

“I asked for help,” Mr. Henehan told the crowd, many wearing fluorescent T-shirts reading “Forever Sammi.” “It’s OK to ask for help.”

Mr. Bingham, 47, of Scranton, estimated the rally raised $10,000 for the foundation.

Lackawanna County President Judge Michael Barrasse, who oversees the county’s addiction treatment courts, saluted the courage of the Henehan family to publicly engage such a devastating issue.

“It kills people,” the judge said of addiction. “It kills family members. It doesn’t kill the people under the bridges. It doesn’t kill the people we don’t know. It kills the people in our own families.”

He called on the crowd to urge more funding for treatment programs from elected officials.

“We need to make sure there is more money in the criminal justice system to treat the problem, not just incarcerate,” he said. “We have to make that change.”

Other speakers on Sunday included District Attorney Shane Scanlon, Commissioner Laureen Cummings and Detective John Munley, himself a recovering alcoholic who touted the power of treatment programs. All three are members of the county’s drug task force, which aims to educate the public about the dangers of abusing drugs like heroin and other opioids like prescription painkillers.

The rally also included booths from regional addiction treatment centers, as well as representatives from support groups, local law enforcement and the court system, former drug and alcohol abusers and family members, on hand to talk to guests about sobriety and recovery.

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

The father of a man who was fatally shot outside a Susquehanna County home can proceed with a lawsuit against the gun shop owned by the killer’s father, a Lackawanna County judge ruled Monday.

Judge Terrence Nealon said George Rogers presented sufficient evidence to support his claims that Hayden Thomas, owner of the Outdoorsman gun shop, knew his son, Lloyd Thomas, was mentally unstable and should have taken stronger steps to ensure he did not have access to guns or ammunition.

Police said Lloyd Thomas, then 45, shot Mr. Rogers’ son, Joshua Rogers, and his friend, Gilberto Alvarez, after discovering them outside Hayden Thomas’ home and adjacent gun shop on Pine Ayre Drive in Great Bend Twp on Feb. 11, 2012. The men had gone to the home to investigate if someone there was responsible for firing shots that struck their vehicle earlier in the day.

Lloyd Thomas claimed self defense. A jury convicted him in January 2014 of two counts of voluntary manslaughter. He later was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison.

George Rogers filed a lawsuit in 2012, against Lloyd Thomas, Hayden Thomas and the Outdoorsman. The suit sought to hold Hayden Thomas and the gun shop partly responsible for the deaths based on the as yet unsubstantiated claim that Lloyd Thomas obtained the guns and ammunition used in the killings from the shop.

Michael Pisanchyn, attorney for the Rogers family, also contends Hayden Thomas had a duty to protect the public based on testimony of two neighbors, who said they warned him in the weeks prior to the shooting that Lloyd Thomas was acting strangely. A state police trooper also advised him of the concerns and provided him information on how to involuntarily commit his son to a mental hospital.

Gary Weber, attorney for Hayden Thomas and the Outdoorsman, sought to dismiss his clients from the lawsuit, arguing Hayden Thomas had no duty to control his son’s actions. In a 14-page ruling

, Judge Nealon denied the motion. The judge noted that a factual dispute remains over whether Lloyd Thomas obtained the guns and ammunition from the gun shop. At this point of the litigation, a “reasonable inference” can be made that he did, therefore that issue must be presented to a jury.

If a jury confirms the gun and ammunition came from the shop, it then would have to consider the arguments that Hayden Thomas had a duty to prevent his son from accessing it, given the warnings he received about his mental health, the judge said.

Mr. Pisanchyn said he is pleased the judge allowed the case to proceed to a jury.

“The court saw it the right way. I hope 12 jurors in the community say it’s unacceptable to shoot two people when it’s unjustified,” Mr. Pisanchyn said.

Mr. Weber said he is also pleased by the ruling because the judge dismissed multiple other theories of liability Mr. Pisanchyn posed.

“The judge struck most of the issues,” Mr. Weber said. “The plaintiff still has the burden to prove the remaining claims.”

Contact the writer:

tbesecker@timesshamrock.com, @tbeseckerTT on Twitter

Marty Tomarelli still remembers the good times at the Dante Literary Society — the 12-team bowling league, the summer clambakes and dressing as a mummy at the club’s annual Halloween party.

“We all had a hell of a time,” the 87-year-old said.

The 82-year-old Scranton club is coming to an end in September. The members of the organization, now called the Dante Social Club, will close its doors forever and sell the building at 1916 Prospect Ave. The board announced the decision to members in a letter sent earlier this month.

“I feel sad that it’s closing,” said Bill Jackowitz, a former president who led a resurgence in the club and its membership in 2014, before an accident sidelined him. “We thought we had it going. It just didn’t work.”

While the club previously was for Italian-Americans, Mr. Jackowitz opened it to everyone, and saw an influx of black and Hispanic members, he said.

However, the club could not maintain that momentum, and membership and interest dwindled again.

“It’s a shame, really, that we can’t keep it going,” Mr. Jackowitz said. “But if you don’t have the people, one or two guys can’t keep it going.”

The club has a bar on its ground floor and a room upstairs, which a martial arts class and a ballroom dancing group recently rented.

The Dante Literary Society was formed in 1934, during the Great Depression, by a group of Italian-American men from Scranton’s 20th Ward. They were unable to continue formal education but wanted to learn and improve their public speaking skills, to be better able “to stand on their own two feet,” according to a newspaper clipping of the organization’s beginnings.

The society, named after Italian medieval poet Dante Alighieri, early on held speaking classes and participated in debates. It formally incorporated in 1936 and met in various buildings in South Scranton. By 1948, society members began planning their own clubhouse, which they built themselves in 1953.

Mr. Tomarelli still remembers digging the waterlines and laying cinder blocks.

“All done by hand,” he said, noting he was the “baby,” one of the youngest club members in those days.

Now, he is one of only a couple of old timers still around. The club’s board plans to sell the building he worked on and donate the proceeds.

By law, when a nonprofit dissolves, the organization must donate all assets to another charity, said Tish Mogan, the standards director at the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

Mr. Tomarelli, a member of the club’s board, said he would like to see the money dispersed among several charities and organizations, including the Gino J. Merli Veterans Center in Scranton.

Contact the writer:

pcameron@timesshamrock.com, @pcameronTT on Twitter

Scranton needs a $235,000 state grant to fund some pay raises, computer technology for police body cameras and a stormwater management analysis, state and city officials testified Monday during a hearing at City Hall.

The state Department of Community and Economic Development held the 23-minute hearing on Scranton’s grant application under state Act 47, the distressed municipalities law.

The $234,925 grant would consist of: $131,340 for pay raises for 11 employees on a declining basis over three years; $68,585 for a computer server needed for police body cameras; and $35,000 for a stormwater study.

The grant is “round two” of a similar one received in 2014 that paid for raises and a staff addition in the business office, and a raise for Mayor Bill Courtright’s secretary. Those who would get raises this time include

four workers in the controller’s office, three information technology employees, the directors of the Department of Public Works and Licensing, Inspections and Permits, and the city treasurer and clerk.

Marie Schumacher, the only resident who attended, expressed concern about costs of higher salaries after the grant expires. It would cover 100 percent of the 11 raises in the first year, 2016, retroactively, then 66 percent in the second year of 2017, and 33 percent in the third year of 2018.

Citing higher salaries of comparable jobs in similar-sized cities, Mr. Bulzoni said some positions have not had raises since “arbitrary” pay cuts in 2010.

“The existing salary levels, generally for the nonunion employees, are challenged, have been challenged for some time,” Mr. Bulzoni said. “The city has to develop a plan, not only to maintain its existing salary levels, but look at what it takes in order to compensate people fairly and adequately; and look at staffing levels to make sure the function of city government is adequate, particularly in light of the fact that the city is striving to exit Act 47.”

The “modest enhancements” in salaries will help the city shed its 24-year designation as financially distressed under Act 47 — an exit anticipated in 2018, said Marita Kelley, deputy director of the Governor’s Center for Local Government Service in the DCED.

A stormwater analysis will study options for forming an authority after the Scranton Sewer Authority sells the sewer system to a water company. A stormwater authority would be empowered to impose a stormwater fee, and the city needs to start the analysis now, PEL Executive Director Gerald Cross said.

Ms. Schumacher questioned whether a stormwater plan could be done before the sewer sale’s completion, expected later this year.

“Will it even be relevant or will the horse have left the barn before we get the report?” Ms. Schumacher asked.

City Councilman Wayne Evans said the city should not pass up the grant opportunity. State Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, joined the support for the grant.

Next, the hearing officer, Richard Vilello, executive director of the Governor’s Center for Local Government, will review the testimony and make a recommendation to DCED on the grant.

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT on Twitter

MARRIAGE LICENSES

■ William John Rieder and Cindy Lee Rieder, both of Scranton.

■ Jimmy Allen Puckett and Ricky Wyane Pelliccione, both of Scranton.

■ Richard F. Schempp and Terryon Geneva Manhertz, both of Horsham.

■ Latif Masihulla Abdul, Scranton, and Jessica Mary Gambino, Hazelton.

■ Michael D. Arcure III and Melia Elizabeth Smirne, both of Clarks Summit.

■ Sandy David Menichetti, Throop, and Stephanie R. Williams, Carbondale.

■ Orville Dean Coleman and Tracey Ann Coleman, both of Carbondale.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

■ Sharon Melvin Deininger and Marjorie Melvin Adcroft, personal representatives of the estate of Thomas R. Melvin aka Thomas Melvin, to Jacob M. and Natalie J. Gilboy, both of Scran­ton; a property at 1001 Green­briar Drive, South Abington Twp., for $240,000.

■ Richard C. and Marlene Pfeiffer, both of Venice, Fla., to Richard I. and Susan Schwartz; a property at 1016 Summerfield Drive, Glenburn Twp., for $339,000.

■ John A. Consalvo, to Justen P. Yatko and Siobhan Spager; a property at 128 Parkwood Ave., South Abington Twp., for $185,000.

■ Mary E. and Charles D. Niemotka, to John and Mary Elizabeth Kolata; a property at 4690 Little League Road, Madison Twp., for $132,000.

■ New View Homes Inc., Jermyn; and Lynn Fagan and John Brown, to James and Dora Maisonava-Bonello, both of Lake Ariel; a property at 1008 Olive St., Scranton, for $42,460.

■ Mary Ellen Wagner, to Robert Emery and Diane Smith; a property at 77 Sunset Drive, Clifton Twp., for $83,000.

■ James W. Freyre, Seaford, N.Y., to Charles M. Brown, Scran­ton; a property at 1026 Paul Ave., Scranton, for $78,723.

■ Evelyn T. and Carl P. Sohns, both of Moosic, to TGF Proper­ties LLC; a property at 3630 Lawrence St., Moosic, for $50,000.

■ Skyline Holdings Inc., Factoryville, to Anup and Nina Sharma, both of Livingston, N.J.; a property at Seamans Road, Benton Twp., for $25,000.

■ Jeffrey Lee, executor of the estate of Francis J. Lee, to Ryan A. Sowa; a property at 1106 Ridge St., Dunmore, for $66,000.

■ Douglas G. and Joanne Bauer, to Edward P. Pergament and Milagros A. Cepeda; a property at Lake Drive East, Clifton Twp., for $342,500.

■ Kevin D. Carey And Rhea M. Paona, now by marriage Rhea M. Carey, both of Old Forge, to Jeffrey Marmo, Old Forge; a property at 2 Lincoln Ave., Old Forge, for $165,000.

■ Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., to Loco 3 LLC; a property at 352 354 Maple St., Scranton, for $34,784.

ESTATE FILED

■ Yolanda Argenta, 100 Smallacombe Drive, Apt. 408, Scranton, letters testamentary to Dean Argenta, 100 Tudy Lane, Olyphant.

LAWSUITS

■ Robert E. Lasky, 124 W. Parker St., Scranton, v. Magdy Mekhail and Mary Rizkalla, both of 10 Terrace Drive, Peckville, seeking in excess of $50,000 plus interest and costs for injuries suffered March 5, 2015, in a slip and fall at 89 Main St., Dickson City; Regina M. McIlvaine, attorney.

■ Jane Smedley Anzalone, 250 Blueberry Hill Road, Shaver­town, v. Alicia Loyek, 817 Brook St., Scranton, seeking in excess of $50,000 for injuries suffered June 10, 2015, in an automobile accident at Pittston Avenue and Sanders Street, Scranton; Jamie J. Anzalone and Kelly M. Ciravolo, attorneys.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

Officer, inmate dead at prison

WILKES-BARRE — A correctional officer and an inmate are dead after an incident at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on Monday.

At the request of investigating law enforcement, county officials did not explain what exactly led to the deaths, other than to say the officer and inmate had a brief altercation around 6:25 p.m. in the facility on Water Street.

County Manager David Pedri did not release the identity of the correctional officer late Monday, citing the wishes of the officer’s family not to release the name now.

— BILL WELLOCK

Man charged after

three burglaries

HONESDALE — A man faces charges after borough police say he burglarized local businesses three times earlier this month.

Rodney Golson, 18, is held in Wayne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000 bail after borough officers arrested him Thursday. Mr. Golson is suspected of burglarizing the Wayne Inn on July 8 and July 12, and Market 13 on July 5, according to the Honesdale police.

Anyone with further information is asked to call 570-253-1900.

— CLAYTON OVER

Sex offenders

addresses checked

SCRANTON — The U.S. Marshals Task Force, aided by other law enforcement agencies, checked the addresses of hundreds of sex offenders last month.

The U.S. Marshals service is the federal agency responsible for working with local and state authorities to locate and arrest sex offenders who don’t comply with Megan’s Law requirements. Last month, deputy marshals and officers from 17 law enforcement agencies checked 720 offender addresses in 15 counties.

Of those, only 10 checks revealed possible Megan’s Law violations. Those are still under investigation.

— CLAYTON OVER

WILKES-BARRE — The defense for a Scranton teen accused of ramming two police cars during a miles-long, high-speed chase in a stolen car is seeking to have the case moved to juvenile court.

Isaac Ome Matos, 16, of 1032 Pittston Ave., is charged with aggravated assault and assaulting a police officer in the January chase that led officers from Wilkes-Barre to the Back Mountain to Pittston and finally to West Wyoming.

During the chase, Mr. Matos, who had been drinking and smoking marijuana, crashed into two police cars before getting the stolen Chevrolet Suburban stuck between a pole and a retaining wall, according to prosecutors.

During a hearing Monday, defense expert witness Dr. Richard Fischbein, a Kingston psychiatrist, testified Mr. Matos has had a troubled life, growing up with an absentee mother and a father who did a lengthy stint in prison for selling drugs. Mr. Matos, who has a learning disability, suffers from bipolar disorder and has deep-seated anger issues that would best be addressed in the juvenile court system, Mr. Fischbein said.

During his time being detained at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, Mr. Matos has had run-ins with another prisoner, one of which landed him in the hole for 45 days, the doctor said. Such a punishment is inappropriate for a teen who needs medication, therapy, education and training that could lead to a career, he said.

“He should be in the juvenile system,” Mr. Fischbein said, noting Mr. Matos could be in that system for 4½ years before he turns 21.

During that time, Mr. Matos could get the care he needs to reduce his risk for recidivism, he said.

“He needs medication,” Mr. Fischbein said. “He needs therapy.”

Prosecutors oppose moving the case to juvenile court.

During her cross-examination of Mr. Fischbein, Assistant District Attorney Mamie Phillips noted that what Mr. Fischbein wrote off as impulsive behavior on the day of the chase was in fact a series of deliberate actions by the teen.

Mr. Matos chose not to take his medication that day, as well as to ingest marijuana and alcohol, she said. Mr. Matos also chose to steal the SUV and then to refuse to stop for police, despite having numerous opportunities to do so.

Those choices resulted in one officer being seriously injured and put countless other lives at risk, she said.

Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas is expected to rule on the matter at a later date.

Contact the writer:

,

@cvjimhalpin on Twitter

THROOP — Alicia Marshall was house-hunting in Dunmore but wouldn’t even go inside a home in the Swinick development after catching a whiff of Keystone Sanitary Landfill two years ago.

Dunmore resident Bob Cuff replaced three broken windshields when out-of-state garbage trucks kicked up rocks toward his vehicle during his daily commutes to work at the North Pocono School District over the last three decades.

Mid Valley School Director Donna Dixon found the landfill’s odors disruptive and said teachers would sometimes reschedule outdoor activities on particularly smelly days when she was a teacher and principal.

For longer than two and a half hours on Monday, state regulators listened to a drum-

beat of testimony from 41

opponents of Keystone’s controversial expansion plan at Mid Valley High School. It was the last scheduled opportunity to publicly address the expansion proposal.

The Dunmore and Throop facility — Pennsylvania’s third-busiest landfill by permitted average daily volume — is seeking approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection to expand its disposal area 100 acres

and extend its lifespan by 44.6 years.

A contingent of landfill representatives attended the meeting, but no one among about 200 attendees spoke in favor of the plan.

After the hearing, owner Louis DeNaples

deferred to consultant Al Magnotta

, who has described the plan as envrionmentally sound and a way to keep waste disposal costs low by ensuring local governments don’t have to expand trash-hauling fleets and build transfer stations.

“Obviously, the people who came forward are passionate in their concerns, but they’re all subjective issues and opinions they expressed,” Mr. Magnotta said. “They’re not supported by engineering or scientific facts.”

Opponents, including members of the anti-expansion group Friends of Lackawanna

, expressed a myriad of reasons for being against the plan.

They feel the proposal would both continue to place a disproportionate burden of accepting waste from several northeast states on a densely populated part of Lackawanna County and a trend of a region dotted with sites that expose residents to potential air and water quality problems.

They expressed concerns the landfill’s liner system won’t last forever, property values could suffer, that placing so much extra weight on the network of underground mines below could cause unpredictable results and about noise, litter and pests.

Other fears centered on stormwater runoff, the landfill’s ability to accept residual wastes from hydraulic fracturing, risk of fires and landslides, migration of gasses, aesthetics and the region’s reputation.

Some critics had doubts about the landfill’s willingness to abide by all of the terms of the expansion — given the dispute about whether the operation discharging leachate into a line that runs through Scranton’s Green Ridge section violates a 1990

legal settlement.

Some opponents also expressed skepticism about DEP’s enforcement abilities given the inability to solve contamination that a water monitoring well has been picking up intermittently at the leachate treatment plant over at least the last dozen years.

Friends of Lackawanna leaders said they received some new data from agencies conducting a yet-to-be-published health study surrounding the expansion that provides troubling evidence of the landfill’s impact on air quality.

Michele Dempsey

, one of the grass-roots group’s leaders, said DEP hasn’t collected enough data over the years to conclude the expansion wouldn’t pose a danger to the public.

“How can you ensure this expansion is safe? You cannot,” she said. “Without this information, you are playing Russian roulette with our lives. ... We have been vocal about the antiquated and irresponsible landfill regulations that date back to (the 1980s) that set the bar far too low.”

Mr. Magnotta felt landfill representatives have already addressed the public’s concerns through the review process and cited a number of steps like scaling back the proposal’s height, conducting a property market analysis and spearheading engineering and noise studies to support the facility’s expansion.

Contact the writer: kwind@timesshamrock.com, @kwindTT

What's next? The state Department of Environmental Protection will release a document responding to public comment at Monday’s meeting. DEP officials continue to review Keystone’s expansion proposal. A date for a final decision has not been set.

Wrong photo

A brief on Page A3 of Monday’s editions about the Lackawanna County coroner seeking next of kin for three men included a wrong photo for Raymond Kunda. Mr. Kunda’s family has since been located.

Geisinger to open new $8.7M suite

PLAINS TWP. — A new $8.7 million electrophysiology suite will open Aug. 1 at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center for patients with heart rhythm problems.

The 7,500-square-foot suite is larger than the former electrophysiology area in Geisinger’s Richard and Marion Pearsall Heart Hospital and features new technology that will expand the extent of advanced procedures Geisinger can now offer.

In addition to X-rays, electrophysiology involves computerized mapping systems to look at signals inside the heart.

— DENISE ALLABAUGH

Abingtons

Class reunion: Abington Heights class of 1981 35th anniversary reunion, Aug. 13, 4-9 p.m., Scranton Canoe Club, Lake Winola; $40/advance, $50/door; Leslie Graham, 1671 Lisa Lane, Clarks Summit, PA 18411 (memo: ’81 reunion) by Aug. 3; information: Facebook at Abing­ton Heights or 570-586-4497.

East Scranton

Club meeting: 800 Club of Immaculate Conception Church meeting Thursday, 1:30 p.m., church hall.

Eynon

Church picnic: Christ the King Parish Picnic, July 29-31, grounds of St. Mary’s Church, Betty Street, Eynon; shuttle pickups: Sugerman’s near shed and lot across from St. Thomas Church, Archbald; Details: Facebook: Christ the King Parish summer picnic.

Lackawanna County

Genealogical speaker: Geneal­ogical Research Society meeting, July 20, 7 p.m., 1100 Main St., Peckville; Homer Butler speaking on the Revolutionary War, light fare, raffle drawing.

Art in park: Lackawanna County third free “Art in the Park” program today, 10 a.m.-noon, McDade Park, Scranton; arts, crafts, music, use of the park’s facilities, children-related activities; hot dogs/refreshments.

Moscow

Comprehensive reunion: Com­pre­hensive Moscow High School reunion, Aug. 6, 4:30-10 p.m., Al Mia Amore; reservations: 570-842-8559, angco@echoes.net; details on Facebook: Moscow High School Reunion.

Old Forge

Benefit event: Friends of Shawn Heckman benefit, Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Felittese Chapel grounds, Third Street, $3/cannoli, $5/porketta sandwiches, sausage and peppers or foot-long hot dogs, and $10, par-baked pizza, live entertainment, baked goods, basket raffles, 50/50 drawing, walk-ins welcome; Renee Barbetti, 570-242-2826, Mandy Acevedo, 570-878-1716, or Lou Terruso, 570-498-0178.

Pittston

Library event: Pittston Library event, “Rock-A-Thon with the Greater Pittston Community,” July 29, keep reading/rocking chair moving for seven hours straight; 15-minute timeslot signups, book of choice; 570-654-9565 or linkhttp://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a45a4a72aa5fc1-

rockathon.

Scranton

AARP picnic: AARP Scranton Area Chapter 3731 annual picnic, Aug. 1, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., McDade Park; to donate a theme basket, Carmela, 570-347-2404, before July 25; for reservations at $12, Tom Butler, 570-330-0181 by July 25.

Throop

Parish festival: Blessed Sacra­ment Parish family festival, Aug. 19-21, 215 Rebecca St., pig-in-the-blanket dinner, breakfast, bingo, traditional picnic and ethnic foods, bake sale, ice cream speciality, games for children of all ages and basket raffle.

West Scranton

Food festival: 15th annual Lebanese-American Food Festival, Aug. 13, 4-11 p.m., Aug. 14, noon-7 p.m., St. Joseph Melkite Greek-Catholic Church, 130 N. St. Frances Cabrini Ave. (off lower Jackson Street), Middle Eastern food, pastries, local picnic favorites, games, used book sale, baskets, clams, beer, entertainment; 570-343-6092, www.mel

kitescranton.org or Facebook: Saint Joseph Melkite Greek-Catholic Church, Scranton.

CLIPBOARD ITEMS may be emailed to yesdesk@timesshamrock.com or mailed to Clipboard, c/o the YES!Desk at 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, 18503. YES!Desk, 570-348-9121.

SCRANTON — City police are seeking a man accused of ramming a police car to avoid arrest Monday night.

Logan Ayala, 25, is wanted on multiple charges, according to the department’s Facebook page.

Mr. Ayala was driving a silver car with a spoiler and Georgia registration. Anyone who knows his whereabouts or with further information is asked to call Scranton police at 570-348-4134 or 911.

— CLAYTON OVER

Thrown out of a strip club for inappropriately touching a dancer, an Albrightsville man smashed car windows and threatened to “gut” state troopers who came to arrest him Sunday morning, state police at Dunmore said.

Dana Ganjeh, 37, 3 Bachs Way, is charged with terroristic threats, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, according to a criminal complaint.

State police responded to the Grandview Gentlemen’s Club in Covington Twp. at 2:31 a.m. for a report of an intoxicated man fighting in the parking lot.

Troopers said they found him kneeling behind a bush across the street from the club. He clenched his fists rather than get on the ground and put his hands behind his back when ordered, troopers said. State police took him into custody after a brief struggle in which they used a stun gun.

The club’s bouncer, Hiram Brewer, told state police Mr. Ganjeh was told numerous times to stop touching a dancer, and Mr. Brewer said he eventually had to physically remove Mr. Ganjeh.

Outside, Mr. Ganjeh swung at Mr. Brewer. Mr. Brewer took Mr. Ganjeh to the ground.

Mr. Ganjeh then knocked out two windows on Mr. Brewer’s Subaru, causing about $700 in damage, state police said.

After his arrest, Mr. Ganjeh screamed and threatened to track down, sneak up on and harm the arresting troopers, police said.

“Let me go so I can teach you a lesson,” he told the troopers, according to state police.

Magisterial District Judge Laura M. Turlip arraigned and jailed Mr. Ganjeh at Lackawanna County Prison later that morning in lieu of $50,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com,

@jkohutTT on Twitter

Friends of Poland flip for pancakes

Many of the Friends of Poland of Lackawanna County will gather at Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar at the Viewmont Mall on Saturday, Aug. 6. That morning from 8 to 10, the Friends will sponsoring their annual Flapjack Fundraiser Breakfast.

The fundraiser, which supports the organization’s scholarship fund, is being planned by a committee including: Ann Gronski, Germaine Helcoski, Ed Karpovich, Ron Koldjeski, Jerry Kowalski, Agnes Ludwikowski, Ruth Mozeleski and Dolores Zurek.

The all you can eat breakfast menu consists of pancakes, sausage, orange juice, coffee, tea or soda.

The Friends of Poland of Lackawanna County scholarship is designed to assist students of Polish descent who are pursuing their career objectives in the fields of higher education. Preference is given to students who have a parent or grandparent that is an active member of the Friends for the past two years. It will be presented at the annual Pulaski Day Banquet on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Super students

Sean Devine of Scranton was among the St. Joseph’s University’s Haub School of Business students inducted into the national business honor society, Beta Gamma Sigma, during the spring semester. ... Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania students inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi include: Kristiana Barbarevech of Moosic, Tom Cosklo of Carbondale, Kimberly Martin of Factoryville, Erika Maxson of Lake Ariel, Vincent Pallini of Milford, Corinne Savignano of Greentown, Jaime Schlau of Lake Ariel, Katelyn Shaughnessy of Taylor, Cassandra Souza of Scranton, Alyssa Torch of Carbondale and Ashley Zambetti of Spring Brook Twp. ... Miranda Tripus, a senior majoring in political science from Spring Brook Twp., was among the East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania students who traveled to New York City for a lesson in heritage, humanity, dignity and hope — a day of remembrance, with visits to the Jewish Heritage Museum, the African Burial Ground and the 9/11 memorial.

High notes

Chicken barbecue and chicken nuggets will be on the menu at Holy Cross Parish Chicken Barbecue Sunday, Aug. 7. Mary and Tom Kearney are being assisted in planning the event by committee members including, Ann Marie Burns, Maura Burns, Becky Deprato, Anna Garibotto, Doryann Martinez, Wanda Martinez, Wanda V. Martinez, Cheri Matassa, Gianna Matassa, Matt Matassa, Judy Novak, Nelson Ramos, Ramon Ramos, Randy Ramos and pastor, Monsignor Michael Delaney . Dinners include a half chicken, scalloped potatoes, green beans and dessert. Children’s dinners of chicken nuggets, french fries and dessert are available. There will also be bingo, basket raffles, a bake sale, children’s games and music by John Quinn.

SCRANTON — A dispute over whether to patronize a local strip club after a bachelor party sparked a fight Sunday between two friends, city police said.

Andrew Cerra, 29, 812 Court St., Scranton, has been charged with simple assault.

Mr. Cerra wanted to visit a strip club shortly before 3 a.m., but Kyle Franceski did not want to. Mr. Franceski said Mr. Cerra then attacked him, according to police.

Mr. Cerra didn’t want to talk to police but did say: “He’s my best friend. I can’t believe this happened.”

Mr. Cerra was released on $25,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

Eric Matthew Frein will go to trial in eight months.

In an order dated Thursday, Pike County Judge Gregory Chelak placed the 33-year-old accused cop killer on the March trial term of court but did not set a specific date for jury selection.

Also in the order, the judge approved a previously reached agreement between Mr. Frein’s defense team and county District Attorney Ray Tonkin to have an out-of-county jury hear Mr. Frein’s case.

“I think the judge did the right thing,” said attorney Bill Ruzzo, one of Mr. Frein’s attorneys. “I think the DA was very professional to not insist on a jury from Pike County, which would have been to his advantage.”

With the death penalty at stake, the case against Mr. Frein, of Canadensis, has been moving through the courts since his October 2014 arrest for the September 2014 ambush at the Blooming Grove state police barracks, where Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II died and Trooper Alex Douglass was wounded.

Mr. Frein led federal, state and local authorities on a 48-day manhunt until his capture at an abandoned airport hangar in Monroe County.

In approving an outside jury, the court settled one of the larger pretrial motions in the case. Still looming are a defense motion to suppress statements Mr. Frein made immediately after his arrest and the prosecution’s motion to preclude Mr. Frein’s attorneys from using an insanity defense.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com,

@jkohutTT on Twitter

A Wilkes-Barre man who played strip poker with minors in Old Forge while he was on probation was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months to four years in state prison.

Michael Watson will also be placed on probation following his prison time, Judge Michael Barrasse ruled.

On Dec. 20, 2014, Mr. Watson and Estella Oakley of Old Forge were baby-sitting two children until a relative could pick them up. The pair invited their neighbor, Danielle Gallagher, and her boyfriend, Robert Kozarek, both 19 at the time, to drink and smoke marijuana. The adults played poker, which eventually led to strip poker, according to Old Forge police.

After a few rounds, they asked the children, a 12-year-old boy and his 15-year-old sister, to join them.

During the game, someone knocked on the door and looked through the window, according to police. The adults, all naked, ran upstairs. The game ended when the children’s relative arrived at the door and saw the adults playing strip poker. The children’s mother reported the incident to officers, police said.

Before the judge issued the sentence Tuesday, Mr. Watson’s attorney Ernie Preate noted his client already served 15 months in jail, which nearly completes the minimum incarceration portion of his sentence. Standing next to the lawyer wearing green prison clothes and shackles, Mr. Watson, now 33, said nothing when given the chance.

He previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of corruption of minors. He was on probation for a conviction on a conspiracy to commit retail theft charge.

Ms. Oakley also pleaded guilty to corruption of minors, while the other two pleaded guilty to related misdemeanors. They received short jail or probationary sentences.

Contact the writer:

pcameron@timesshamrock.com,

@pcameronTT on Twitter

From the first stirrings of society, human instincts served basic needs — food, shelter and defense against enemies. You might die on the hunt, but starving in the cave was worse than being gored by a woolly mammoth.

This model worked until we discovered opposable thumbs and developed a twisted desire to acquire things we don’t need. Greed was born the moment we saw an opportunity to take whatever we want at the expense of everyone else.

Thousands of years later, Keystone Sanitary Landfill opened.

Monday saw the final state Department of Environmental Protection hearing for public testimony on the proposed half-century expansion of a festering boil on the face of Northeast Pennsylvania. While it trashes Dunmore and Throop most immediately, the landfill casts a shroud across the region.

About 200 people turned out for the hearing at the Mid Valley High School auditorium in Throop. Keystone owner Louis DeNaples was there with family and an army of attorneys who resembled rejected extras from a Martin Scorcese movie. In an evening dominated 40-1 by opponents of the landfill expansion, mothers uttered the most moving objections.

Without maternal instinct to protect children at any cost, most of us wouldn’t be breathing. No voice is more urgent or convincing than that of a mother backed against a wall. At the hearing, a few moms folded into tears as they described moving back to the area they love only to find they had put their kids at risk.

Sharon Cuff, 51, a Dunmore mother who along with Bob, 55, her husband of 28 years, raised a family two miles from the landfill, was an especially effective witness. She read into the record emails that reflect widespread frustration with the foul odors emanating from the dump and DEP’s shameful lack of response.

On March 6, 2013, Mrs. Cuff made a formal complaint about a stench that “burned her eyes, nose and throat.” A couple weeks later, a neighbor complained to DEP that the stink of the landfill was so strong, “I cannot go outside my house right now.” These complaints came before the proposed landfill expansion. Mrs. Cuff testified that they were ignored by DEP.

She was just warming up. Beginning in childhood, Emily Cuff, Sharon’s daughter, was hospitalized six times for asthma complications. Sharon eventually took Emily to Boston Children’s Hospital, where her breathing improved. Each time she came home, however, it declined markedly.

Mrs. Cuff couldn’t directly tie her daughter’s sickness to growing up in the shadow of the landfill, but Kevin Stewart, representing the American Lung Association, tied that blackened bow. He politely pointed out that DEP has been derelict in its regulatory duty for decades, and said the agency is in no position to judge the impact of the proposed expansion because it has failed to conduct even the most basic research.

“No decision about moving ahead with future permits for this facility should be made until these studies have been completed and subject to a substantial period allowing for public review, critique, revision and then consultation regarding the ultimate findings,” he said.

That boils down to: If you look for nothing, you will find it every time. The people you are paid to protect deserve better. Get to work, or get out of the way.

After the hearing, I met Emily Cuff, who is 19 and about to enter her sophomore year as an international relations major at Boston University. She plans to minor in public health. Her asthma is under control. She doesn’t live here anymore.

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, typed this column with no help from his thumbs. Contact the writer:

kellysworld@timesshamrock.com,@cjkink on Twitter. Read his daily blog at blogs.thetimes-tribune.com/kelly.

Sears optometrist moves to Target

DICKSON CITY — An optometrist who had worked in the Viewmont Mall Sears Optical center has moved his practice following the department store’s closure earlier this month.

Vincent Possanza, O.D., will be the eye doctor at the new Target Optical, inside Target, 1140 Commerce Blvd., set to open Friday.

Dr. Possanza, of Jessup, performs eye exams, gives eyeglass prescriptions and evaluates contact lenses. He also is licensed in vision therapy and treating glaucoma.

Patients may schedule an appointment by calling 570-383-1303 or online at www.targetoptical.com.

— JON O’CONNELL

Daleville

Hotdog fundraiser: St. Joseph’s Center hotdog fundraiser, Sun­day 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Shoprite; hotdog, soda, Go Joe T-shirts on sale Saturday-July 28.

Elmhurst

Women’s luncheon: Women of Elmhurst Country Club luncheon, Friday, noon; reservations, Barbara Whitford, 570-842-8841.

Lackawanna County

Marker dedication: Scranton City Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, dedicating Revolutionary soldier marker of Deacon William Clark Sr., Satur­day, 1 p.m., Mr. Clark’s grave in the Clarks Green Cemetery, light refreshments follow.

Pregame drive: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders hosts Peanut Butter and Jelly pregame drive Friday to benefit Bread Basket of NEPA, local emergency food pantry assistance program, during “Princess and Pirate Night” at the ballfield; tduggan@swbrailriders.com; for details on food donations, San­dra Roberts, 570-343-2324, or breadbasketnepa@verizon.net.

Mayfield

Purse bingo: St. John’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral designer purse bingo, Saturday, doors open, 5 p.m., bingo, 6, St. John’s Center, 701 Hill St.; Coach, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Tory Burch; $25/18 bingo games; additional cards, specials and refreshments for purchase; tickets at rectory, 706 Hill St., 570-876-0730, or Sandy or Malina Bazink, 570-430-0411.

Peckville

Free lunch: Peckville United Methodist Church free community lunch at the Red Door Cafe, Saturday, noon-1 p.m.; food,

fellowship.

Poconos

Antique show: Mountainhome United Methodist Church 58th annual Antique Show & Sale, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Routes 390 and 191, Mountainhome; 20-plus dealers, coffee shop offering lunches and pies; quilting demonstration, Saturday, 1:30 p.m., ice cream social, Trinity Centennial Band, Friday, 7 p.m.; $4

admission.

Scranton

Class reunion: Scranton Techni­cal High class of 1986 30th anniversary reunion, Saturday, 6-10 p.m., Waldorf Park, Scran­ton, $50/advance reservation only; Brenda, 570-351-5210 or Tom 570-241-4291; information: Facebook at Scranton Tech­nical High School, class of 1986.

South Scranton

Flea market: St. Stanislaus Youth Center giant flea market, Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 530 E. Elm St.; antiques, jewelry, furniture, toys, tools, electronics, clothing, household items, homemade Polish food, baked goods; no early birds.

Tunkhannock

Healing service: Interna­tional Order of St. Luke the Physician public service of healing, Mon­day, 7 p.m., St. Peter’s Episco­pal Church, 3832 Route 6, Tunkhannock; “Strength, Cour­age, and Hope, led by Mary Martin,” individual prayers with laying on of hands, anointing with oil; stpetestunkhannock.org, or 570-836-2233.

River celebration: Tunkhan­nock’s River Day Celebration, Saturday, Endless Mountains Heritage Region/Susquehanna Greenway Partnership celebrate 2016 River of the Year at River­side Park; 2:15 p.m., proclamation officially names Tunkhan­nock a “PA River Town.”

Wayne County

Summer series: Wayne County Historical Society’s 2016 Plain Speaking Summer Series presents “The Farmer’s Daughter Reminisces” by Linda Dix Lee, Friday, 5 p.m., main museum, 810 Main St., Honesdale, family-friendly; free Wayne County history programs scheduled Fridays through Aug. 26.

CLIPBOARD ITEMS may be emailed to yesdesk@timesshamrock.com or mailed to Clipboard, c/o the YES!Desk at 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, 18503. YES!Desk, 570-348-9121.