Scranton City Council told a concerned resident Thursday it would look into whether a developer requesting a tax abatement for a housing project involving the Scranton Lace property owes delinquent taxes on a vacant lot downtown.

Joan Hodowanitz questioned whether the city should approve a tax abatement for the Scranton Lace project when the vacant lot at 500 Lackawanna Ave. has tax delinquencies.

The issue stems from council’s meeting Oct. 13, when council expressed support for giving a tax break on redevelopment of the former Scranton Lace property. Before that council meeting, Lace Building Affiliates LP lead developer Donald Rinaldi gave an overview of a project called Laceworks Village. The plan calls for turning the 10.3-acre site on Albright Avenue into a 192-unit residential complex, with lofts in salvageable factory buildings and new townhomes.

Mr. Rinaldi asked council for a 10-year tax abatement on new construction improvements, under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act.

During the past week, Ms. Hodowanitz said she learned from public records that the vacant lot at Lackawanna and South Washington avenues owned by a different firm involving Mr. Rinaldi, 500 Lackawanna Development Co., has a $5,517 city tax delinquency from 2014, and owes $4,931 in county, library and school taxes from 2015.

The Scranton Redevelopment Authority sold the lot to 500 Lackawanna Development Co. for $1 in 2008, part of a sweeping redevelopment of the 500 block of Lackawanna Avenue.

“Would you not expect that someone coming before you and asking for a LERTA tax break would have paid their taxes?” Ms. Hodowanitz asked. “I think that should be a condition of any kind of loan, grant or tax break.”

Councilman Tim Perry agreed.

“If there is a correlation (between the two matters), before we give out any type of benefit, whether it’s a grant or abatement, everything in the past needs to be caught up,” Mr. Perry said.

Council said it would contact Mr. Rinaldi. Efforts by The Times-Tribune to contact Mr. Rinaldi were unsuccessful.

In another matter, council split on authorizing the city to give a $250,000 business loan to Roll Call LLC, a firm owned by Thomas Harris that sells equipment and accessories to police, fire, emergency medical services, security personnel and sportsmen. Roll Call is moving from Duryea to 701 Hudson Ave. in West Scranton. The city loan would convert to a grant if the firm meets a condition of creating eight full-time jobs within a certain time frame.

Mr. Gaughan and Mr. Evans sought to table the resolution to get more information on the company. It is owned by the parents of a Scranton police officer, Joseph Harris, and has done limited business with the city, said Mr. Gaughan. The firm’s website lists Joseph Harris as company co-founder.

Mr. Gaughan asked if the city has a conflict of interest in loaning the money to Roll Call.

Councilman Pat Rogan said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development fully vetted the loan and found “absolutely no conflict of interest.”

Mr. Gaughan and Mr. Evans said such information should have been given to council.

The motion to table died in a 2-3 vote, with Mr. Gaughan and Mr. Evans voting yes to table, and Mr. Rogan, Mr. Perry and council President Joe Wechsler voting no.

The vote to approve the resolution then passed in a 3-2 vote, with Mr. Rogan, Mr. Perry and Mr. Wechsler voting yes, and Mr. Gaughan and Mr. Evans voting no.

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT on Twitter

A new Lackawanna County authority designed to cut through red tape that often slows redevelopment is poised to take control of its first 100 abandoned properties.

The Lackawanna County Land Bank board of directors authorized community and economic development staff to acquire parcels from the list of Scranton properties taken through county judicial sales, an important milestone for getting the venture off the ground.

“We are going through and looking at those properties to determine which ones make sense to bring to the land bank that might have potential of development, or that a developer might want to rehab it to sell it or to rent it,” Economic Development Director George Kelly said Thursday.

Targets will include existing houses, lots that are too small for development under current planning rules but can be packaged together with surrounding parcels to create marketable properties and blighted strips of land that neighbors may be interested in buying for $100 to $250.

Scranton Mayor Bill Courtright thinks the side-lot program has potential to make a quick impact.

“If you take, for instance, property between two houses that’s unbuildable, the land bank can take that and offer it to people on both sides,” Mr. Courtright explained. “Now, No. 1, you have someone taking care of it and it’s not going to be blighted anymore, and No. 2 you’re going to start receiving taxes for the property.”

Mr. Kelly highlighted three buildings on the city’s demolition list as early potential targets, although the board of directors still has to ratify specific acquisitions.

They included a dilapidated apartment building at 920-922 Madison Ave. and a neighboring single-family home at 924 Madison Ave.

If the land bank finds a developer willing to commit to fix up a building slated for demolition, the city agreed to consider holding off on the wrecking ball for six months to save the structure and avoid having to place a lien on the property to cover the cost of tearing it down.

“We’re going to do whatever is going to be best for the community,” Mr. Courtright said.

said.

Mr. Kelly expected to see some results within two months of the land bank beginning to acquire properties, although he said it could take time to move a portion of the properties — particularly those on the demolition list.

“The city of Scranton is a tough market,” he said. “What we have to do is see is if we can make the numbers right for a developer.”

Some planned strategies include working with groups like NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania to rehabilitate houses at cost for first-time homebuyers, subsidize some projects by selling more marketable properties and apply for anti-blight grants.

The first series of properties transferred to the land bank will be in Scranton because the city and school board were the first taxing bodies to approve an intergovernmental agreement allowing the land bank to operate within its borders.

The city also has 373 out of 1,081 properties on the county’s repository list, according to Ronald Koldjeski, director of the tax claim bureau.

“The land bank is going to be important in the city, but there are also other parts of the county where it can be just as important — places like Glennburn, North Abington and Benton townships,” Mr. Koldjeski said.

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

Police departments across the region will collect unused, unwanted prescription drugs Saturday.

Groups around the country participate in National Drug Take Back Day, organized by the Drug Enforcement Administration. People can drop off potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at more than a dozen police departments in Northeast Pennsylvania. For a full list, visit www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/.

Additionally, the Abington Community Library and the Lackawanna County Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs will host a drug take-back event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the library, 1200 W. Grove St., Clarks Summit. Paul Remick, D.O., will be on hand at the event with information on opioid abuse.

— STAFF REPORT

Scranton police are looking for a man they say repeatedly stabbed and beat his girlfriend early Thursday in the city’s West Side.

Isaac Noel Taylor, 37, 315 New St., is wanted for aggravated assault, simple assault with a deadly weapon and recklessly endangering another person.

Mr. Taylor is accused of stabbing Faith Bronson multiple times at 3:30 a.m. near the 300 block of Fairview Avenue, according to a criminal complaint filed by Patrolman Gary McPhillips. Ms. Bronson suffered two collapsed lungs, a broken right orbital bone and a fractured nose. She was taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center.

During a brief interview at the hospital trauma center, Ms. Bronson told detectives she and Mr. Taylor went for a walk to have a cigarette and began arguing about a protection-from-abuse request she filed against him. The argument turned into a violent attack, police said.

Ms. Bronson managed to get away by escaping through a hole in a nearby fence. A man spotted her on the 100 block of South Main Avenue and flagged down a nearby police officer, Patrolman McPhillips. Emergency medical services transported her to GCMC. Hospital spokeswoman Denise Rader said Thursday afternoon the facility had no information on her condition.

The PFA paperwork that precipitated the stabbing, filed Sept. 20, details a Sept. 18 assault in which Mr. Taylor pushed Ms. Bronson down a dozen stairs. It also lists prior alleged abuse in which he broke a bottle over her head and an incident in which she awoke to find her wrists and ankles zip-tied and her mouth duct-taped. Police had a warrant out for him for simple assault.

Ms. Bronson didn’t show up at a Sept. 30 PFA hearing and a senior judge dismissed it.

Mr. Taylor wore a red sweatshirt and blue jeans at the time of the stabbing. He is a black man, weighing about 200 pounds, and is 6 feet 6 inches tall.

Anyone with information should contact 911.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com,

@jkohutTT on Twitter

TOKYO — A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 shakes western Japan, but there is no danger of a tsunami being caused.

The Meteorological Agency said the earthquake occurred Friday at 2:10 p.m. in Japan's western prefecture of Tottori, about 430 miles west of Tokyo, at a depth of 6 miles underground.

The agency said there was no danger of a tsunami from the inland temblor.

There was no immediate report of injuries or damage from the quake.

A man wanted for stabbing and severely injuring his girlfriend Thursday in Scranton turned himself in Friday at a city hospital, Police Chief Carl Graziano said.

Isaac Noel Taylor, 37, 315 New St., surrendered at Geisinger Community Medical Center shortly before 1 p.m. on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault with a deadly weapon and recklessly endangering another person.

Mr. Taylor is accused of stabbing and beating Faith Bronson after an argument early Thursday near the 300 block of Fairview Avenue, collapsing both her lungs, breaking her right orbital bone and fracturing her nose.

Detectives said Thursday’s attack was sparked when Ms. Bronson and Mr. Taylor began arguing about a protection-from-abuse request she filed against him. Ms. Bronson didn’t show up at a Sept. 30 PFA hearing, and a senior judge dismissed it.

After he beat and stabbed her, Ms. Bronson managed to get away by escaping through a hole in a nearby fence. A man spotted her on the 100 block of South Main Avenue and flagged down a nearby police officer. Emergency medical services transported her to GCMC. Her condition Friday was not available.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com,

@jkohutTT on Twitter

Q: My husband and I are thinking of buying the new Chrysler Pacifica, mainly because of the Stow ’n Go seats. We have four golden retrievers and live in a fire-prone area — in case we need to make a quick getaway, the Pacifica seems like a good choice. We’re old folks and can’t lift the seats out of the Honda and Toyota vans. In fact, we can hardly lift the dogs. But they can get into a van themselves. Is it a good car? And what about the hybrid — is it a good idea? Thank you for any advice you can throw our way.

— DEBORAH

A: I drove the new Pacifica recently and loved it. It seems like a huge upgrade over the old Chrysler minivans. It handles well; it’s quiet and comfortable inside; it has a nice interior; it looks great for a minivan. And the Stow ’n Go seats that fold into the floor are a real convenience.

Plus, the one I tested had two separate video screens for the second-row passengers, so two of your dogs can watch the cat channel while the other two watch the squirrel channel. No fighting!

What are the downsides? Well, in the past, Chrysler hasn’t been able to match the build quality of Honda and Toyota. I owned several Dodge Caravans years ago. While they were practical, versatile and reasonably reliable, neither one lasted 150,000 miles. And they both tended to get noisy and squeaky as they got older, as things loosened up.

My 1992 Caravan even blew an engine at 8,000 miles. But, to be fair to Chrysler, that was several Clinton administrations ago.

Will the new Chrysler Pacifica come closer to the build quality of the leading minivan makers? I don’t know. In general, car quality has improved a lot. But how much the Pacifica has improved can’t be answered until a bunch of Pacificas have 100,000 or more miles on them.

And for that reason, I’d shy away from the hybrid version for now. It would be Chrysler’s first foray into hybrid technology. I’d want to let some other people see if Chrysler followed the “Install Hybrid Drivetrain” instructions properly before buying one myself.

But my first impression, after driving the Pacifica, is that the build quality is better. And the bottom line is that it’s a very nice vehicle. And you’ll probably get an acceptably reliable vehicle that the golden retrievers will thoroughly enjoy trashing.

So I’d say go for it, Deborah. And drop us a note when you hit 100,000 miles and let us know how it’s doing — other than the dog smell.

■ The Lackawanna County Democratic Party dinner is scheduled for Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Fiorelli Catering, 1501 Main St., Blakely. Tickets cost $50 and will be available at the door.

■ Ernest Lemoncelli, the Republican candidate for the 112th state House District, will host a town hall meeting Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m. at Jessup Hose Company No. 1, 632 Fourth Ave., Jessup. Admission is free.

WILKES-BARRE

Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center has reached an $800,000 settlement with the widow of a city man who died of a blood clot in his lung minutes after leaving the hospital.

Joseph Olson, 60, died at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital on Dec. 2, 2013, after leaving Geisinger’s trauma clinic in Plains Twp. and going into cardiac arrest as his daughter drove him home on the Cross Valley Expressway.

Luzerne County President Judge Richard M. Hughes III approved the $800,000 settlement with Mr. Olson’s widow, Patricia Ann Olson, on Friday.

The complaint, filed last year by Wilkes-Barre attorney William F. Anzalone, alleged Geisinger’s negligence caused the wrongful death of Mr. Olson days after he was involved in a car crash.

— James Halpin

The state Superior Court has upheld a decision by a Luzerne County judge who ruled that the owners of 16 local McDonald’s restaurants violated state law by paying hourly employees strictly with fee-laden debit cards.

A three-judge panel said it agreed with Judge Thomas F. Burke Jr.’s ruling that said paying employees with a debit card did not fall in line with the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law, which mandates “wages shall be paid in lawful money of the United States or check.”

“The language is clear. A debit card is not ‘lawful money’ and it is not a ‘check’ ...” Superior Court Judge Anne Lazarus wrote in the court’s opinion.

Judge Burke issued his ruling in June 2015 in the class action lawsuit, considered to be the first of its kind in Pennsylvania.

He denied a request by McDonald’s franchise owners Albert and Carol Mueller of Clarks Summit for the suit to be dismissed via summary judgment.

The couple appealed Judge Burke’s ruling in September 2015.

They argued that a debit card was the “functional equivalent” of a check or lawful money.

The Superior Court panel called that argument “unavailing,” because the cards were mandatory and “forced users to incur fees” for all types of transactions.

The Superior Court noted the state Legislature is still deciding how to regulate debit cards as a form of payment for work.

“The use of a voluntary payroll debit card may be an appropriate method of wage payment. However, until our General Assembly provides otherwise, the plain language of the (payroll law) makes clear that the mandatory use of payroll debit cards at issue here, which may subject the user to fees, is not,” the court’s opinion said.

West Pittston attorney Michael Cefalo said the ruling was a big victory for his nearly 2,400 plaintiffs.

“The court ruled Judge Burke’s decision was well-reasoned and scholarly,” Mr. Cefalo said. “It was bulletproof.”

The J.P. Morgan Chase payroll cards issued to local McDonald’s employees carried fees for nearly every type of transaction, according to Mr. Cefalo’s lawsuit, including a $1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals, $5 for over-the-counter cash withdrawals, $1 to check the card’s balance, 75 cents per online bill payment and $10 per month if the card is left inactive for more than three months.

After Mr. Cefalo filed the lawsuit, it quickly gained national attention, including a front-page story in The New York Times and an investigation by federal officials. Soon after, the Muellers announced they were abandoning the pay practice and would give employees the choice of being paid by check, direct deposit or by payroll card.

“We are aware of the opinion and are evaluating our option,” said company spokeswoman Christina Mueller-Curran.

Contact the writer:

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com,

@cvbobkal on Twitter

Carbondale

Pancake supper: First United Methodist Church of Carbondale community pancake supper, today, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 20 N. Church St., donations accepted.

Italian dinner: Carbondale UNICO stuffed pepper and rigatoni dinner, Sunday, noon to 4 p.m., Our Lady of Mount Carmel church basement, 15 Fallbrook St., takeouts available, $10 from members or at door.

Dickson City

Halloween party: Dickson City Primitive Methodist Church Halloween party, Oct. 31, 5-8 p.m., Lincoln and Jackson streets, refreshments.

Keyser Valley

Seniors meet: Keyser Valley Senior Citizens meet, Monday, 1 p.m., Keyser Valley Senior Center; plans for annual Christmas party, games and refreshments follow.

Lackawanna County

Celebrity brunch: Deutsch Institute Enchanted Champagne Celebrity Brunch, Nov. 13, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., St. Mary’s Center, 320 Mifflin Ave., Scranton; $25/adults, $22/Deutsch members, $10/children 6 to 12; 570-348-1968.

U.N. Day: United Nations Association of Northeast Pa. annual luncheon, Monday, noon, Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel; Scranton City Controller Roseann Novembrino will be honored with William P. Rinaldi Memorial Award; $25; dwenzel1945@gmail.com.

Auxiliary meeting: Scranton/Dunmore Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary, E.B. Jermyn 2, meeting, Monday, 6 p.m., Alfredo’s, South Side Shopping Plaza, Scranton.

Open house: Marywood University undergraduate open house, Oct. 29, registration, 9 a.m., Fireplace Lounge, Nazareth Student Center; campus tour, students, faculty, and coach meetings, admissions/financial aid information sessions; 570-348-6234 or www.marywood.edu/admissions/.

Craft fair: Holy Cross High School Parent Club Craft Fair Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 501 E. Drinker St., Dunmore; 95-plus vendors, homemade food, raffle baskets, door prizes; 570-346-7541.

Lake Ariel

Turkey raffle: Lake Ariel Volunteer Fire Company turkey raffle, Nov. 12, first spin, 7 p.m., fire station, 1381 Lake Ariel Highway; door prizes, free food and beverages; Facebook: Lake Ariel Volunteer Fire Company official site.

Moscow

Holiday bazaar: Altar and Rosary Society of the Church of St. Catherine of Siena holiday bazaar, Nov. 12, 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Nov. 13, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Kelly Hall, downstairs, 220 Church St., food, homemade soups, tricky trays, raffles, handmade crafts, book and bake sales; benefits church, North Pocono Food Pantry, St. Francis of Assisi Kitchen.

Moosic

Seniors Halloween: After 50 Club Halloween party, Oct. 27, 1 p.m., Greenwood Hose Company, Birney Avenue.

North Pocono

Blood drive: North Pocono Blood Council and Elmhurst Presbyterian Church American Red Cross blood drive, Nov. 10, 1-5 p.m., Elmhurst-Roaring Brook Volunteer Fire Company’s new home, Blue Shutters Road, Roaring Brook Twp.; 1-800-REDCROSS or Judy Smith, 570-842-6963, walk-ins welcome.

Scranton

Polio event: Rotary Club of Scranton World Polio Day observance, Wednesday, cash bar, 6 p.m., Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel; buffet dinner/program recapping more than 30 years of progress made in the battle to eradicate polio by Dr. Vitali Pool, director of scientific and medical affairs for Sanofi Pasteur USA, $42; Rick Williams, 570-587-2153, or rrlw0145@aol.com.

South Scranton

Seniors meet: South Scranton Young at Heart meeting, Tuesday, 1 p.m., St. Paul of the Cross Parish Center, Prospect Avenue.

Susquehanna County

Masquerade ball: Susquehanna County Recreation Center inaugural fundraising project, “Mystical Masquerade Ball,” Oct. 29, Heart Lake Lodge, Scott Twp.; cocktail hour, 6 p.m., dinner, music, dancing, innovative auctioneering/fundraising follows; formal masquerade attire encouraged;

suscorec.org.

Wayne County

Awareness programs: Wayne Community Health Centers present programs by Honesdale neurologist, Julianne O’Boyle, M.D.: Nov. 3, 6 p.m., Parkinson’s disease, Good Shepherd Inpatient Rehabilitation Center at Wayne Memorial Hospital, 601 Park St., Honesdale; Nov. 10, 4:30 p.m., Stroke Awareness, Good Shepherd Inpatient Rehabilitation Center at Wayne Memorial Hospital; Nov. 21, 6 p.m., Alzheimer’s Awareness for Wayne County Business and Professional Women, Hotel Wayne, 1202 Main St., Honesdale; 570-253-8635.

West Scranton

50/50 bingo: St. Michael’s Orthodox Church 50/50 bingo, Sunday, 1-5 p.m., 540 N. Main Ave.; raffles, refreshments available; 570-961-1795.

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.

WILKES-BARRE — Vice President Joe Biden blasted Donald Trump at a rally in support of Hillary Clinton on Friday at Wilkes University.

But first, the Scranton native greeted some familiar faces in the crowd that packed the Wilkes University Center on Main Street.

“It’s good to be home,” Mr. Biden said.

The crowd roared.

The vice president devoted most of his speech to railing against Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee and a billionaire businessman.

Mr. Biden described the theme of Mr. Trump’s campaign as “fear, smear, demonize and divide.”

He said he found Mr. Trump’s remarks about women and how he treats them especially troubling.

“What he said he did and does is a textbook definition of sexual assault,” Mr. Biden said.

He called Mr. Trump’s comments that he can get away with groping women because he is rich and famous “a disgusting assertion.”

Mr. Biden, who recalled his father fondly several times during his speech, said his dad often said the “greatest sin anyone can commit is an abuse of power.”

Mr. Biden made clear he would not be afraid to set Mr. Trump straight, man to man.

“I wish I were in high school and I could take him behind the gym,” the former star scholastic athlete said.

Mr. Biden criticized Mr. Trump’s policy positions, which he said include cutting Medicare benefits and eliminating tax credits for parents of college-age students.

He also said Mr. Trump’s outrageous statements and behavior have made it impossible to focus on the issues that matter in this year’s presidential

campaign.

Electing Mr. Trump president would imperil national security, based on the deep distrust Mr. Trump generates from many foreign leaders, Mr. Biden said.

“Everywhere I go I get asked by world leaders, ‘This can’t be true, can it?’” he said.

NEPA memories

The vice president’s 30-minute speech was laced with personal memories going back to his boyhood in Northeast Pennsylvania. Times were tough then as they are now for working-class people, Mr. Biden said.

Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, will focus on job growth and work hard at job creation if elected, he said.

Beyond dollars and cents, Mrs. Clinton is the best choice to improve the lives of Americans who want to feel safe and secure in their homes as well as succeed financially, Mr. Biden said.

“Hillary gets it,” he said. “It’s a lot more than just the economy; it’s about dignity. That’s what motivates Hillary Clinton.”

He said that Mrs. Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state, faces a double-standard as the first female major-party presidential nominee. Where a man might be praised for showing emotion in some cases, Mrs. Clinton would be blamed for playing “the woman card,” Mr. Biden said.

That has made Mrs. Clinton cautious to the point she appears distant at times, he said.

“It’s not a surprise the most generous woman I know has closed up,” Mr. Biden said.

Bright future

Mr. Biden concluded his speech on an upbeat note, stating that despite the challenges the United States faces the nation’s future is bright.

“I am more optimistic about our nation now than at any time,” he said. “No one can compete with us.”

Prior to Mr. Biden’s arrival, Democratic leaders at all levels of government rallied the capacity crowd in support of Mrs. Clinton and other Democratic candidates in the Nov. 8 election.

Among them was Senate candidate Katie McGinty, who met Mr. Biden when he walked down the steps of Air Force Two after landing at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport shortly before 2 p.m.

Other speakers at the rally included state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-121, Wilkes-Barre; state Sen. John Yudichak, D-14, Plymouth Twp.; U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, Moosic, and Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.

Mr. Yudichak said his twin daughters, born on Nov. 8, look forward to the nation’s first woman president being elected on their birthday.

Hundreds of admirers surged toward Mr. Biden as soon as he concluded his remarks, which culminated the rally.

Trump supporters maintained a presence near the event.

A Trump campaign truck sat on South Street, less than a block from Wilkes. Among the banners on the side of the truck was “Hillary for prison.”

After his appearance at Wilkes, Mr. Biden traveled to Scranton to accept an award named for his late son Beau at the Commonwealth Medical College.

Contact the writer:

emark@citizensvoice.com

An emotional Joe Biden had a question for doctors and medical students gathered at the Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton on Friday night: How many times has a cancer patient pleaded for just a little more time?

Fostering a more collaborative approach to fighting the disease may save and extend lives, the vice president said.

Earlier Friday, Mr. Biden campaigned for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Wilkes-Barre. He struck a more somber tone at TCMC while speaking of his late son, Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015, and the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force.

“I was proud of my son, and I am still proud of my son,” a teary-eyed Mr. Biden said to the room of medical professionals and students. “Beau, like so many of you clinicians know, was one of those patients who died like he lived, with enormous courage and a great deal of optimism.”

The vice president appeared at TCMC to accept an award named after his son. About 250 people attended the event, sponsored by Northeast Pennsylvania Integrated Network Cancer Program, a community cancer program founded by Delta Medix and Commonwealth Health.

After lauding the doctors who treated his son, Mr. Biden spoke about the Cancer Moonshot Task Force — a collection of 20 government agencies and sub-agencies whose goal is to achieve a decade’s worth of progress in the areas of cancer treatment and prevention in five years. Mr. Biden chairs the task force.

“Moonshot is about a sense of urgency,” he said. “How many times have you heard a patient say to you: ‘Doc, just give me three more weeks. She’s my firstborn ...

I want to be there, doc. Just give me three more weeks.’

“They’re not asking to live. They’re asking for days, weeks, months. We can do that right now if we reorganize the way we organize our efforts.”

He called on those in the business of fighting cancer, both in the public and private sectors, to better share data, trial results and records with each other. He encouraged cooperation and an embrace of technologies in an effort to combat the disease.

“If we organize the effort better a lot more people live, and they live a lot longer,” the vice president said.

Many of the medical professionals who attended agreed that a collaborative and unified approach to fighting cancer would hasten progress, including physician Mary Sewatsky, M.D., of Pittston.

“Some of it is just breaking down the barriers that are out there on the regulatory side,” said Dr. Sewatsky. “We have barriers that make us not communicate with each other (or) make us too competitive with each other. ... This whole concept about Moonshot makes so much sense to us because together we can conquer this. Divided we can, but it will take us so much longer.”

Oncologist Lisa Thomas, M.D., of Archbald agreed.

“I think what’s lacking right now is really integration of care, and (Mr. Biden’s) agenda is definitely moving in the right direction towards communication and integration,” she said.

Delta Medix and Commonwealth Health’s Integrated Network Cancer Program embodies that integrated approach at the local level.

“(Mr. Biden’s) challenge is to make 10 years worth of movement on the cancer front in a five-year period. We are embracing that,” said Delta Medix Chief Executive Officer Margo Opsasnick. “We thought that him lending his support to our community cancer program would enable us to move that needle.”

Near the close of his speech the vice president called his son Beau “my soul,” before hammering his point home.

“I’m pleading to you, docs,” he said. “Turn this into a team sport.”

Contact the writer:

jhorvath@timesshamrock.com,

@jhorvathTT on Twitter

Lackawanna County’s proposed $4.97 million capital budget calls for replacing several bridges in 2017 but slows the pipeline for future bridge work as the county catches up on a logjam of projects.

To address the county’s aging bridge network, previous Democratic Commissioners Corey O’Brien and Michael Washo began a cycle of replacing three bridges each year while beginning design work on the next set of bridge projects for the following year.

The next administration continued the approach but put only two new bridge designs in the capital budget for 2016, while officials and contractors caught up on projects that were held up in approval processes for state agencies.

With three sets of bridge replacements originally slated for 2016 carried over to the 2017 capital budget, the new tentative capital budget funds construction projects for up to seven bridges but designs for only one future project.

“All we could do this year is one bridge,” said Andy Wallace, chief of staff to the commissioners. “We may go back to two the following year if we have everything in order. We still want to keep replacing bridges.”

Mr. Wallace toured the county’s 154-bridge system and described a need to continue the work with many old bridges that provide the only access to some residential areas.

Larry Lukasik, deputy director of roads and bridges, estimated the average county bridge is between 60 and 70 years old.

From design through all approvals, bidding and construction, it usually takes between one and three years to complete a project, Mr. Wallace said.

Bridge projects listed in the 2017 capital budget include:

n Laurel Street bridge, Archbald, $400,000. Commissioners awarded the project to Popple Construction in February, and county engineer Gary Cavill expects work to wrap up next spring.

n Still Meadow Road bridge, Greenfield Twp., $500,000. Mr. Cavill expects construction to happen next year.

n Freytown Road, Covington Twp., $400,000. Mr. Cavill envisions spring-to-fall construction in 2017.

n Orchard Drive bridge, Newton Twp., $450,000. The project is scheduled to be bid out in November, Mr. Cavill said.

n Stevenson Road, North Abington Twp., $425,000. Design work started this summer; the project will probably be bid next summer, Mr. Cavill said.

n Bear Brook bridge, Madison Twp., $350,000. The project is still in design; construction may begin between summer and fall 2017, Mr. Cavill said.

n Hack Road bridge, Dalton, $325,000. The replacement is in design and not expected to be bid out until summer.

n Fourth Street bridge, Clifton Twp., $50,000. The PennDOT-administered project is still years away from construction.

n Lee Road bridge, Greenfield Twp., $495,000. Design for the newly selected project could begin next year.

The capital budget, which cobbles together money from a variety of funding sources for infrastructure upgrades, also includes $80,000 for new security cameras for the sheriff’s office for the courthouse and Administration Building, and $15,000 to add drains to the roof of the Gateway Center to prevent flooding.

The spending plan has a 2017-2021 section that includes $16.5 million for the project to convert the former Globe Store into a county office hub, $643,000 in parks upgrades, $125,000 to repair trolley tracks and $97,500 for prison upgrades and equipment.

Contact the writer:

kwind@timesshamrock.com,

@kwindTT on Twitter

Lackawanna County will hold a series of public hearings on the 2017 budget next week.

The first one will be 11 a.m. Monday at the commissioners conference room of the county Administration Building, 200 Adams Ave., Scranton.

The remaining hearings will be held Friday: 9 a.m. at the Taylor Borough Building, 122 Union St.; noon at Carbondale City Hall, 1 N. Main St.; and 3 p.m. at Benton Twp. Community Center, Route 407, Fleetville.

The tentative budget’s general fund spending totals $103.77 million and would not raise property taxes.

MARRIAGE LICENSES

■ Christopher William Stalica and Denise Marie Hatcher, both of Old Forge.

■ William D. Jacobs Jr. and Pamela M. Jones, both of Scranton.

■ James M. Warner and Angel Caputo, both of Scranton

■ David A. Flederbach and Felicia A. Harvey, both of Olyphant.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

■ Alsaleh Zahra Dawood, Throop, to Michael E. and Bridget E. Baker, both of Dunmore; a property at 30 Emerald Drive, Throop, for $254,000.

■ Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., as trustee for Soundview Home Loan Trust, to Catherine C. Hosie; a property at 26 Hudson St., Jermyn, for $30,604.

■ Eugene F. and Nancy Killiany to Thomas P. and Debra L. Kerrigan; a property at Route 6 Summit Pointe Apt. 1305, Scranton, for $87,000.

■ Noelle Vetrosky, now by marriage known as Noelle Vetrosky Spagna, and Jeffrey Spagna, both of South Abington Twp., to Traci Ann Spina, Garfield, N.J.; a property at 403 N. Dexter Ave., Scranton, for $74,000.

■ The Frederick C. Welker and Sylvia S. Welker revocable living trust, by and through Anthony Vergnetti, trustee, to Annette McAndrew, Dunmore; a property at 1363 E. Mountain Road, Scranton, for $85,500.

■ Susan K. Shotwell, Roaring Brook Twp., to Mellody A. Swinick, Moscow; a property at Crestwood Townhouses, Roaring Brook Twp., for $130,000.

■ Nicholas Bernardi and Diane Stelnak, now by marriage, Diane Bernardi, to John H. McAndrew; a property at 3715 Lydon Lane, Moosic, for $143,500.

DIVORCES SOUGHT

■ Christopher R. Belardi, Scranton, v. Kelly Marie Ashton, Scranton; married Dec. 18, 1999, in Wilkes-Barre; Thomas J. Jones Jr., attorney.

■ Angelo Frank Godino Jr., Scranton, v. Lisa Marie Godino, Scranton; married April 7, 2000, in Scranton; Thomas J. Jones Jr., attorney.

■ Ashley V. Gardner, Scranton, v. Keith P. Gardner, Scranton; married May 5, 2015, in Scranton; pro se.

■ John C. Creps, Scott Twp., v. April M. Creps, Wilkes-Barre; married Aug. 22, 2015, in South Gibson; pro se.

■ Bridget Amalbert, Olyphant, v. Jorge L. Amalbert Jr., Largo, Fla.; married Nov. 21, 2005, in Allentown; pro se.

ESTATES FILED

■ Helen R. Posluszny aka Helen Posluszny, 1346 St. Ann’s St., Scranton, letters of administration to Paulette Merchel, 411 Kennedy Drive, Archbald.

■ Henry Posluszny aka Henry C. Posluszny aka Henry K. Posluszny, 1346 St. Ann’s St., Scranton, letters of administration to Paulette Merchel, 411 Kennedy Drive, Archbald.

■ Violet M. Spillar, 709 E. Lackawanna Ave., Olyphant, letters testamentary to Frank D. Mroczka, 239 Swartz St., Dunmore.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

Two Scranton parents are charged with simple assault after police said they beat their 9-year-old son with a belt because he was bad.

Markis Bennett, 28, and Jai Bennett, 33, both of 112 E. Market St., are each also charged with endangering the welfare of children and criminal conspiracy, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday by Detective Jeffrey Gilroy.

“The boy is out of control,” Mr. Bennett told police, according to an affidavit. “He had to get beaten.”

The boy underwent an emergency forensic interview and physical examination at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania at 8 p.m. Thursday, which Detective Gilroy attended at the request of Detective Sgt. Joe Lafferty. A large number of bruises, cuts and welts covered the child’s back and torso.

At first, he said he got them from falling on concrete at school. Then, he explained his parents took turns striking him with a belt because he was “bad all weekend.”

“Mom and Dad told me not to tell anybody,” the 9-year-old said during the interview.

Both parents confessed, and police took emergency custody of the child. They seized an olive green cloth belt as evidence and charged the two adults.

Magisterial District Judge Terrence V. Gallagher arraigned the pair and set $20,000 monetary bail for Mr. Bennett and $25,000 unsecured bail for Mrs. Bennett.

Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for Oct. 31.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com,

@jkohutTT on Twitter

Jingles and Jo Jo are back.

Dickson City police on Friday reunited a well-known local clown with her sidekick of 30 years, a monkey puppet she believed she lost forever when a thief stole her car in Carbondale last week.

Joann Jordan, better known by her alter-ego “Jo Jo the Clown,” cried when Officer Mike Fredericks arrived at her Chestnut Street door shortly before noon with the puppet, Jingles, slightly worse for wear.

“I mean, he’s an inanimate object but I could not believe the way I was feeling,” Ms. Jordan said. “Like I lost a child.”

Jingles had been in the back of Ms. Jordan’s Chevrolet HHR when it was stolen Oct. 11. Her car alarm sounded shortly before 4:20 a.m. She went to look and saw her car speeding off to Belmont Street.

She knew she had her purse and revolver in the car but what upset her the most was the loss of Jingles.

Ms. Jordan began her career as a clown in 1982 and added to her routine a $100, 2½-feet tall puppet she ordered from a magazine a few years later. She named him Jingles. He spoke a language of squeaks only Jo Jo understands. Their antics brought smiles to the young and elderly alike for decades.

She grew attached to him.

“He’s like alive to me,” she said. “This one has been with me for so long, blessed by so many priests and ministers, he’s had so many hugs and kisses.”

Jingles disappeared with the roar of an engine and the flash of taillights. The hunt was on.

Scranton Patrolman Joe Flesher, on patrol in the area of Providence Road and Olive Street, spotted the stolen car at 4:49 a.m. and tried to pull it over. It fled and stopped only when it nearly hit oncoming traffic. Pedro Santiago, the driver, tried to run but police caught him. He faces receiving stolen property and related charges. He is jailed in lieu of $7,500 bail and awaits a preliminary hearing on Nov. 16.

Inside the car, police found Ms. Jordan’s purse and revolver, but not Jingles.

Instead, the puppet sat on the side of Business Route 6 in Dickson City between a grocery store and fast food restaurant.

Officer Fredericks didn’t think much of it at first when he saw it during his patrols through the borough, just another belonging likely discarded by a litterbug motorist. That it was a puppet, though, was unusual enough to stick in his memory.

A TV news report about Jo Jo’s missing Jingles helped Officer Fredericks put the pieces together. He went to see if the puppet was still there. It was. He cleaned it in a fire department washing machine and drove up to Carbondale to surprise Ms. Jordan. It wasn’t a bad way to end a week, he said.

“It was almost as if you were reuniting someone with their kid,” Officer Fredericks said.

Jingles will squeak through another Jo Jo routine again soon, Ms. Jordan said. Jingles lost his eyes in the theft, but that can be fixed.

“I could have all the puppets in the world but it’s not him,” Ms. Jordan said.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com,

@jkohutTT on Twitter

WILKES-BARRE

Investigators released facial reconstruction photos in three cold-case deaths Friday, a month after their bodies were exhumed in an effort to breathe new life into the cases.

Over the summer, state police and county prosecutors got court orders allowing them to exhume the bodies of four people who died under suspicious circumstances — corpses known only as “I-81 Jane Doe,” “Bear Creek John Doe,” “I-80 Jane Doe” and “Baby Boy Doe.”

Investigators used federal grants that fund DNA testing to identify missing people as they worked with University of South Florida forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerle. Each of the victims involved in the effort died more than three decades ago.

Anyone with information about the cases is asked to call state police.

— James Halpin

After just three months as Elm Park United Methodist Church’s new leader, the Rev. Michael Bealla faces a changed world.

“It’s almost like doing ministry in the first century again,” said the Rev. Bealla, 63, a Wilkes-Barre native and a pastor for the past 40 years. “You’re introducing the whole understanding of the faith to a community that’s not aware. So that’s certainly one of the big challenges.”

Since joining the Scranton church in July, he learned that people are no longer familiar with the church, or grew up outside Christianity or another major faith. Now more than half of residents in the community have no church affiliation, he said.

It’s very different from eight years ago, when he last was involved in day-to-day parish life. He spent the past eight with the church in an administrative job in Mechanicsburg, training church leadership and overseeing the programming of the denomination’s annual conference.

He replaced the Rev. Howard Woodruff, who moved to a church in Marysville, near Harrisburg.

As far as his vision for the church, the Rev. Bealla leaves that up to the parishioners.

“I believe that God puts the vision for a church into the hearts and minds of the people of the church,” he said. “So my task is to lift up their vision and keep it before them, cast it before them all the time so we’re reminded why we’re here. ... We’re here to help people grow in their faith, but we do that not just so people get pious in their lives, but then they truly take that experience and live it in their daily life to help transform the world into the world that God would like to see.”

He will be aided in his mission by the church’s new, but veteran, musical director, George Simmons. Mr. Simmons, who came on board last month, has played in churches for more than 50 years, starting when he was 16.

“I have felt a calling to use my music in God’s service,” Mr. Simmons said. “I have had that calling since my teen years.”

Now 68, the Long Island, New York, native and organist moved to the area with his wife to “semi-retire” in their summer home in Jefferson Twp.

“I plan to be in churches until I can’t play anymore,” Mr. Simmons said. “It’s what I really love to do. I’m doing it for God.”

Contact the writer:

pcameron@timesshamrock.com,

@pcameronTT on Twitter

Borough police cited Riverside School District Superintendent Paul Brennan for careless driving and failing to notify police for a crash earlier this month.

The crash happened at 11:53 p.m. on Oct. 7 on the 1100 block of Springbrook Avenue. Mr. Brennan’s vehicle was disabled and had to be towed, according to the citations. No further detail was provided.

“On October 7th, I was involved in a single car accident near my home. Fortunately, no one was injured. I was not intoxicated and I cooperated with the police with their investigation. I accept full responsibility for the accident,” Mr. Brennan said in an emailed statement Friday.

— STAFF REPORT