DALLAS TWP. — Kiel Eigen told his inspirational story Wednesday night to a crowd of about 300 at Misericordia University.

Eigen, 24, talked about his football injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down, his surgery and rehabilitation, his job and his life as a disabled person.

The Old Forge native and resident is a spokesman for Quantum Rehab, a power chair solutions division of Pride Mobility Products with corporate headquarters in Exeter. On the stage at the Lemmond Theater, he was in a Pride Mobility power chair.

“The biggest thing is just the accessibility of it,” Eigen said. “I am constantly worried about the bathrooms. Can I get in? Am I going to be able to fit?”

He said many people don’t know how to talk to people in wheelchairs.

“Do I bend over or take a knee? It’s like you’re being talked down to figuratively and literally,” he said.

The Misericordia University Interprofessional Education Connection organized the event. Gina Capitano, a member of the organization and an assistant professor of medical imaging at Misericordia, invited Eigen to speak.

“You did a great job,” she told him after his speech of more than an hour.

Capitano lives across the street from Eigen in Old Forge.

“He’s a great person. I know him personally,” she said.

His speech was filled with humor and details about his experiences. He was injured trying to make a tackle in 2006 in a game with the Old Forge High School freshmen team.

“I still remember everything about that day,” he said.

As a high school freshman football player in 2006, he suffered a neck injury in a game that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He was air lifted to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia for surgery.

He recalled vomiting “a dark liquid,” which was the result of internal bleeding. He spent 13 days in the intensive care unit before transferring to the Allied Service inpatient facility in Scranton. After being hospitalized for 47 days, he continued with his physical therapy, five days a week for two more years.

“Even though I wasn’t playing a sport, I treated it like a sport, but it was against myself,” he said of physical therapy.

Eigen received a bachelor’s degree in 2015 from King’s College and was awarded the Patricia Foy Memorial Award for Courage.

In his position with Pride Mobility, he travels the country, appears at consumer expos and meets consumers. He said he wants to “give people the best product.”

mbuffer@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

Chicago, one of the longest-running and most successful rock bands of all time, will bring its 50th anniversary tour to a headline show at Musikfest's Steel Stage in August, it was just announced.

The group, which is among the Top 30 best-selling music acts of all time with more than 120 million copies of its 46 albums sold worldwide, will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 5.

Tickets, at $39-$69, will go on sale to ArtsQuest members at 10 a.m. Feb. 28 and to the public at 10 a.m. March 2 at www.musikfest.org and 610-332-3378.

The announcement is the sixth of 10 headliners to be announced for the 34th edition of Musikfest, which will run Aug. 4-13.

Chicago last year was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Billboard magazine says that besides The Beach Boys, Chicago is the second-most successful American rock group of all time.

The group has had 37 Top 20 hits in its 46-year career, eight of which went to No. 1 -- "If You Leave Me Now," "Hard to Say I'm Sorry," "Look Away," "Here in My Heart," "You're the Inspiration," "Wishing You Were Here," "Call on Me" and "Beginnings."

"If You Leave Me Now" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group in 1977.

In addition, Chicago had the iconic hits "25 or 6 to 4," "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is" and "Colour My World."

In all, it has had 22 gold and 18 platinum albums, five of which went to No. 1. Its album "Chicago 17" in 1984 was its biggest seller, with 6 million copies.

At one point Chicago had five consecutive No. 1 albums. It is the first American band to chart Top 40 albums in five different decades.

Its latest studio album, "Chicago XXXVI: Now," was released in 2014. In addition to its 36 studio albums, it also has released nearly 20 live and compilation discs.

In all, it has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.

Lead singer Peter Cetera left in the mid-1980s. Four of the six founding members remain with the group.

Chicago played Allentown's PPL Center with Earth, Wind and Fire in nearly sold-out show in April. It also played Allentown Fair in 2009, drawing a crowd of almost 6,400, and previously played the fair in 1990, 1987 and 1978.

It also was a headliner at Bethlehem's Musikfest festival in 2001 and played Sands Bethlehem Event Center in 2013.

Previously announced headliners for this year's Musikfest are classic rocker Santana on the festival’s opening night – a concert that already has effectively sold out; “Red Solo Cup” country music superstar Toby Keith on Aug. 10, country trip The Band Perry on Aug. 11, a co-headlining show of country singers Lee Brice and Justin Moore on Aug. 12 and Jethro Tull's Greatest Hits by front man Ian Anderson on closing night, Aug. 13.

Tickets remain available for all shows except Santana, and Jethro Tull, wose tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.

ELMHURST TWP. — State police at Dunmore suspect a Bethlehem man was under the influence early Thursday morning after he wrecked his sport utility vehicle on state Route 435 and fled on foot, troopers said.

Johnny Cordero, 41, lost control and collided with a snow pile on the right shoulder, not far from Gardner Road at high speed, police said. His 2004 Jeep Liberty overturned and slid for 80 feet until it came to a stop on its roof in the southbound lane.

Cordero fled and was found nearby a short while later with a minor injury. State police arrested him on suspicion of DUI. No charges have been filed yet.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

Edward Judge smokes Marlboro reds. Scranton police said that burned him.

That is the type of cigarette Judge demanded as he branded a knife at Sanjay Singh, who was working the counter at EFuel gas station on Pittston Avenue on Feb. 13, Scranton police said Wednesday. The robber, later identified as Judge, 32, of Scranton, walked out with six packs of cigarettes and $450.

By the next day, city police had released some detail to the local media to elicit the public’s help in tracking down the ski-mask clad bandit. Police said the robber made off with money and cigarettes. They didn’t say what kind. A tip police received Saturday with that specific information led investigators to Judge.

Judge, of 417 Willow St., is charged with robbery, theft, receiving stolen property and simple assault by menace, Detective Edward McIntyre wrote in a criminal complaint. Police reviewed surveillance footage and tracked Judge to the 400 block of Willow Street but lost the trail.

On Saturday, an officer working on a separate investigation spoke with a woman, who police did not identify. That woman identified Judge as the robber.

Judge told the woman he robbed the gas station and demanded Marlboro red cigarettes, police said.

“The fact the actor demanded Marlboro red cigarettes by name was not released to the media and could only be known by the actor,” McIntyre wrote.

Police found and arrested Judge without trouble Tuesday.

Magisterial District Judge Theodore J. Giglio arraigned Judge on Wednesday morning and jailed him in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $150,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.

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

Rejecting residents’ claims that Scranton violates a tax cap, a judge approved the city’s petition to continue a tripled local services tax of $156 on anyone who works in the city and earns above $15,600.

For a third consecutive year, visiting Senior Judge John Braxton of Philadelphia approved Scranton’s petition to levy the higher local services tax.

Braxton approved Scranton’s tripled LST petitions for each of 2015 and 2016, up from the prior typical LST of $52 a year, as planks of the city’s Act 47 recovery plan.

Neither of those petitions generated opposition.

This time, however, eight residents formally opposed the city’s LST petition for 2017. They and their attorney, John McGovern, contended the city routinely goes way over a total cap on a group of taxes allowed under state Act 511, which includes the local services tax.

During a hearing on Feb. 13, city officials testified that while Act 511 allows the usual $52 LST, a different statute, the Act 47 distressed municipalities law, authorizes the city to levy the $104 LST increase.

Braxton agreed with the city and rejected the residents’ claims.

This means that eligible workers will continue to pay an LST of $3 week, or $156 this year, instead of $1 a week, or $52.

The LST applies to about 32,000 people who work in Scranton.

During the Feb. 23 hearing, special counsel for the city, Kevin Conaboy, argued that the residents’ opposition was misplaced because they should have fought the tax on different grounds, called a mandamus action.

Braxton agreed. He dismissed the oppostion to the LST “without prejudice,” meaning the residents could pursue another avenue of attack.

“Nothing in this order shall prevent respondents from objecting to the imposition of this tax at the appropriate time and through the proper procedural mechanisms,” the judge said in his one-page order.

The residents who formally opposed the city’s LST petition include Gary St. Fleur, Nicholas Gettel, Casey Durkin, Damian Biancarelli, Rich Johnson, Ethan Green, Angela Gilgallon and Michele McGovern.

Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT on Twitter

JESSUP — DARTdrones founder Abby Speicher will appear on the hit ABC television show “Shark Tank” Friday.

In the reality TV show, entrepreneurs pitch business plans to a panel of real-life business and real estate moguls vying for investment in exchange for a stake in their business.

The episode, which appears for the first time at 9 p.m. tonight, was taped in advance, but contestants are restricted from speaking about the results until the program airs.

Founded in 2014, Jessup-based DART trains commercial and government clients to pilot radio controlled aircraft, commonly called drones.

— JON O’CONNELL

Scranton will use $28 million of the city’s sewer-sale proceeds to pay off high-interest debt, officials said today.

The city so far has received $70 million in proceeds from the sewer sale that closed in December, and expects to receive another $13 million after escrows return to the city over time.

Mayor Bill Courtright, his administration and advisers and City Council have been considering various scenarios of how best to allocate the proceeds. Top priorities have included shoring up distressed pensions and retiring high-interest debt incurred in 2006 and 2012-13.

While they haven’t completed the “modeling” of scenarios, they decided to retire five series of certain bonds incurred in 2006 and 2012-13 now, before interest payments on them come due on Wednesday.

Paying off in full these bonds, which total $27,889,903, before Wednesday will save $977,291 in interest payments due that day, city Business Administrator David Bulzoni said.

“It just wouldn’t make any sense at all to pay those interest payments and then pay off the debt” a few weeks or months later, Bulzoni said. “Knowing that the debt was going to be defeased (retired), the opportunity was now to get it done because the interest payments were due March 1.”

Council President Joe Wechsler agreed.

“It’s something we’ve been discussing all along,” Wechsler said of using sewer-sale proceeds to retire the high-interest debt. “We want to make sure we use the proceeds correctly, and this is the first step in using them correctly.”

After the process of retiring the nearly $28 million in debt is completed on Monday, the city would have about $42 million remaining in sewer sale proceeds on hand.

As for how much of the remaining proceeds would go toward shoring up pensions, Bulzoni declined to comment. The city awaits actuarial confirmation from the Composite Pension Board on pension deposits, Bulzoni said.

The $195 million sale of the sewer system to Pennsylvania American Water Co. closed on Dec. 29.

Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT on Twitter

OLD FORGE — As the search for a missing Old Forge businessman approached the one-month mark, state police took to the air, Lackawanna County District Attorney Shane Scanlon said.

Robert Baron, 58, was last seen at 11 p.m. on Jan. 25 and was reported missing the following morning. Police found evidence of a possible assault found inside his business, Ghigiarelli’s Restaurant on South Main Street.

Aerial units used today by the state police around Old Forge were not in response to a specific tip, Scanlon said.

Anyone with information should contact Old Forge police or the Lackawanna County district attorney’s office, both at 570-342-9111.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

SCRANTON — Police shut down a portion of state Route 307 after a possible single-car wreck near Lake Scranton.

Details were not immediately available. Crews were called to the scene just before 9:30 p.m. for a report of a woman in the road. Initial reports included a car on its side.

Soon after arriving on the scene, officials called for a portion of the road near the lake to be closed to traffic.

Check back for updates.

Scranton and the state Department of Transportation plan to reconstruct three old bridges in the city — the West Lackawanna Avenue, Elm Street and North Main Avenue bridges, officials said Thursday.

City council introduced legislation to authorize cost-sharing and responsibility agreements with PennDOT regarding that agency doing the work.

Of the $17.4 million total cost estimate for all three bridges, the city would fund 5 percent, or $870,000, Councilman Bill Gaughan said. The state and federal governments would fund 15 and 80 percent, respectively, he said.

Council voted 4-0 — with Gaughan, President Joe Wechsler, Tim Perry and Pat Rogan all in favor, and Wayne Evans absent — on introduction of three separate, similar resolutions from the Courtright administration to advance the plan.

The projects would develop in stages. The agreements allow PennDOT to begin designs; construction won’t start for at least three to five years, Gaughan said.

“This isn’t going to happen overnight,” Gaughan said.

While the city owns each of the three bridges, the projects are eligible for PennDOT to take the lead under state Act 235, the Highway-Railroad and Highway Bridge Capital Budget Act.

Rather than have the city do the work and get reimbursed by the state, it’s more efficient for PennDOT — which has far greater expertise and resources — to do the work, the agreements say.

The city will agree to maintain the bridges afterward.

The bridges and design/construction costs are:

• West Lackawanna Avenue Bridge over a rail line: design, $1.5 million; construction, $6.9 million. Rogan noted that the West Lackawanna Avenue bridge, which has been in disrepair for years and had a chunk of a sidewalk wall fall off a few years ago, is a major road in the city.

• Elm Street bridge over the Lackawanna River: design, $900,000; construction, $4.7 million.

• North Main Avenue bridge over Leggetts Creek: design, $900,000; construction, $2.5 million. Gaughan noted that this bridge, the smallest of the three, probably goes unnoticed by many motorists driving on it as it carries North Main Avenue over Leggetts Creek.

“To have three city bridges fixed at 5 percent of the cost, of what the city is going to be kicking in, is unbelievable. It’s a great project,” Perry said.

Wechsler also thanked state Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, for assistance in coordinating the plans.

In other matters, council voted 4-0 on each of the following:

• To introduce an ordinance authorizing two-hour parking restrictions on weekdays in the 500 block of Clay Avenue directly in front of Beth Shalom Congregation.

• To advance on second reading an ordinance authorizing a Police Department initiative to fight the opioid epidemic with an innovative, pre-arrest treatment approach. The city plans to apply for a $571,000 federal grant to fund the program, called a “Contract for Recovery.” The program would offer a treatment option to low-level offenders and others suffering from opioid addictions, before any criminal charges are filed.

• To adopt a resolution authorizing an agreement with the University of Scranton to promote “exchange of information, scholarship and learning opportunities for students and police officers.” This pact could include exchange of faculty, scholars and academic materials, as well as other collaboration, such as joint research projects, program/curricular development and grants.

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com @jlockwoodTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — The deadline to register to participate in this year’s St. Patrick’s Parade is less than a week away, organizers said.

Anyone who wants to participate in this year’s parade, scheduled for March 11 in downtown Scranton, must register by midnight on Tuesday. To register, visit www.StPatParade.com.

Saint Patrick’s Parade Day will begin with Mass at Saint Peter’s Cathedral at 10 a.m. The annual Brian Kelly Memorial 2 mile footrace will kick off at 11 a.m. and the parade will officially step off at 11:45 a.m. on Wyoming Avenue near Mulberry Street.

— STAFF REPORT

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — W. Larry Cash, chief financial officer for Community Health Systems, the parent company of Commonwealth Health, will retire in may after a 20-year career.

Thomas J. Aaron, now CHS’ senior vice president of finance, will succeed him, according to a statement Thursday.

The departure comes as the nation’s second largest publicly traded health system divests assets to shed burdensome debt. Cash will contract with CHS as a consultant following his retirement.

Commonwealth Health owns Moses Taylor Hospital, Regional Hospital of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, among other facilities in the region.

— JON O’CONNELL

Abingtons

Library social: Trustees and Friends of the Abington Com­munity Library evening of Chips, Dips ‘N Sips, March 18, 6-9 p.m.; music by Mike Waskovich, hors d’oeuvres, wines, coffees; Friends membership: $10/individual, $15/family.

Prayer day: Countryside Com­munity Church World Day of Prayer, March 3, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 14011 Orchard Drive, Clarks Summit; 570-587-3206 or www.countryside-church.org.

Dunmore

Veterans outreach: Veterans support program, Monday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., state Rep. Kevin Haggerty’s Dunmore office, Dunmore Community Center, 1414 Monroe Ave. American Legion Service Office Outreach program rep; appointments: 570-342-2710.

Chowder/bread: Dunmore Presbyterian Church takeout-only Manhattan clam chowder/bread sale, March 10, 4-6 p.m., 137 Chestnut St.; $10/quart and loaf; 570-343-6807, limited availablity at door.

Lackawanna County

Hibernians dinner: Paul “Hook” O’Malley Ancient Order of Hibernians, Lackawanna County Division 4, Man of the Year dinner, Thursday, 6-9 p.m., Fiorelli’s, 1501 Main St., Peckville; honoring District Judge Terry Galla­gher; $40, $75/couple, $350/table for 10; 570-945-3559, Facebook page: AOH Div 4 Scranton, PA.

Mountain View

Spring musical: Mountain View High School Drama Club spring musical, “Back to the ’80s,” March 9-11, 7 p.m., Norman J. Maza Auditorium, high school, Kingsley, $10/adults, $8/

students.

Peckville

Free lunch: Peckville United Methodist Church free lunch at the Red Door Cafe, Saturday, noon-1 p.m., 723 Main St., use ground floor door.

Hoagie sale: Peckville United Methodist Church hoagie sale, March 4, 732 Main St., $5; 570-489-6093 by March 2.

Poconos

Open house: Lackawanna Col­lege — Lake Region Center spring open house, March 18, 10 a.m.-noon, 8 Silk Mill Drive, third floor, Hawley, financial aid information, application fee waived, job training programs; 570-226-4625, lakeregion@lackawanna.edu by March 16.

Regional

Snowshoe/yoga: Rail-Trail Council of NEPA, Snowshoe and Yoga on the Trail, Satur­day, 10 a.m., D&H Rail-Trail Union Dale Trailhead; $5/yoga donation, yoga reservations required; 570-679-9300 or trails@nep.net.

Memorial race: 11th annual Elk Mountain Memorial Race benefitting Timmy’s Town Cen­ter, Sunday, 1 p.m., West Slope, Elk Mountain, half-day lift tickets (8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. or 12:30-4:30 p.m.), $25; 570-677-7116 or 570-650-9783, $5/run, sign up morning of.

Scranton

Service/lunch: Asbury United Methodist Church Lenten service, noon, lunch, 12:30 p.m., Wednesdays, March 1-April 12; 720 Delaware St., $5.

Upvalley

Bowling fundraiser: Lakeland Grand Slam Club bowling fundraiser day, March 5, 1-4 p.m., Valley Bowling Lanes, Mayfield, $10, two games, shoe rental, slice of pizza, 12-ounce soda; basket and 50/50 raffles, tickets at door.

West Pittston

Banner fundraiser: West Pitts­ton Cherry Blossom Commit­tee selling banners to support the community/festival; $150/first year due Saturday, $50/renewal due April 1: send check payable to West Pittston Cherry Blos­som, name, address, phone number and what you would like on banner to Toni Valenti, treasurer, 316 Damon St., West Pittston, PA 18643.

West Scranton

Food sale: SS. Peter and Paul Church Lenten food sales Saturdays and Sundays beginning Saturday, before/after Masses; 1309 W. Locust St., pierogi, $7/dozen, clam chowder, $7/quart; bake sale, Palm Saturday and Sunday, before and after Masses; basket raffle, Palm Sunday after 11 a.m. Mass.

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

MARRIAGE LICENSES

■ Aguinaldo Jorge Monteiro and Kristen Welch, both of Taylor.

■ Phillip Caple and Tonece S. McFadden, both of Scranton.

■ Caheim Drake and Michelle McDermott, both of Scranton.

■ Carol Ann Johnsen and Svein O. Pallesen, both of Covington Twp.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

■ Lucy Merzenina aka Lyudmila Merzenin to Allen T. and Carol J. Goodrich; a property at 120 N. Lehigh River Drive, Clifton Twp., for $218,000.

■ Tim Porter, Chinchilla, to David J. and Bonny A. Capooci, both of Dunmore; a property at 806 Washington St., Throop, for $32,000.

■ John J. Lennox, to Daiana Paez; a property at 705 River St., Scranton, for $40,000.

■ Michael A. Jr. and Janet E. Shostek, both of Scranton, to Amado and Dalberto Romero, both of Lodi, N.J.; a property at 731 733 N. Hyde Park Ave., Scranton, for $60,000.

■ Deborah D. Anderson and Paul J. Cucura, both of Blakely, to Sandra R. Smith and Susan C. Turell, both of Blakely; a property at Fifth Street, Blakely, for $334,000.

■ Fannie Mae aka Federal National Mortgage Association, by its attorney in fact Udren Law Offices, PC, to Gerard O’Neill; a property at 113 N. Lynnwood Road, Waverly Twp., for $96,000.

■ Vincent DePaul and Anne Marie Larkin, to Daniel Bruce and Lynn Ann Farnham; a property at 205 Sugarbush Road, Glenburn Twp., for $355,000.

■ John J. Lennox, to M.C.G. Rentals LLC; a property at 502 S. Webster Ave., Scranton, for $85,000.

■ Sandra Ann Janowski, Dick­son City, to Stephen R. and Jean Marie Quatra, both of Jes­sup; a property at Dimmick Street, Dickson City, for $60,000.

■ R&A LLC, to Paul Mericle, Duryea; a property at 1181 State St., Archbald, for $99,000.

■ Donald W. and Olivia R. Smith, both of Scranton, to Alex and Dorothy A. Chow, both of Summit, N.J.; two parcels in Scranton, for $350,000.

DIVORCE SOUGHT

■ Nicholas M. Leonard, Dun­more, v. Megan Leonard, Dun­more; married June 29, 2013, in Stroudsburg; Carrie A. Busca­rini, attorney.

ARDS

The following were admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for driving under the influence:

■ Michael Krouchick, 36, Taylor, stopped June 11, by Old Forge police.

■ Alaina Mary Hendricks, 25, Scranton, stopped Jan. 15, 2016, by Taylor police.

■ Kimberly Hambke, 46, Jessup, stopped May 2, by state police.

■ Ashlyn Ann Guthrie, 21, Dunmore, stopped June 13, 2015, by Taylor police.

■ Ashton Shae Lewis Grick, 22, Kingsley, stopped Aug. 10, by South Abington Twp. police.

■ Brandon Lee Dalessan­dro, 24, Jefferson Twp., stopped April 2, by Olyphant police.

■ Maria Centeno, 46, Blakely, stopped June 23, by Dickson City police.

■ Jose Angel Melecio-Rivera, 28, Scranton, stopped Feb. 27, 2016, by Scranton police.

The following defendants were admitted to the ARD program for other crimes:

■ Jonathan Ruddy, 20, Scranton, arrested March 13, by Scranton police for theft by unlawful taking of moveable property and receiving stolen property.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

HARRISBURG — It costs $600 million a year for state troopers to provide full-time police services in nearly 1,300 municipalities, the state police commissioner said Thursday at a Senate budget hearing.

Commissioner Col. Tyree Blocker broke down the per-person — also known as per capita — cost at $234 annually for full-time services to 2.5 million Pennsylvania residents living in those municipalities.

This is the first time a per capita figure has been disclosed and the first update of a total cost for full-time municipal services in several years. Blocker said state police wanted to be transparent as lawmakers debate the governor’s proposal to charge an annual $25 per capita state fee for municipalities getting full-time state police services.

Blocker said the state police will continue to provide coverage to any municipality that requests it.

Sen. Judy Schwank, D-11, Reading, asked what would happen if a midsized city requests state police coverage.

“We would look at that very critically,” said Blocker. “Pennsylvania State Police has always had a can-do attitude.”

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Twp., asked whether the $25 fee is simply a “revenue-raiser.”

Blocker said he has full confidence in Gov. Tom Wolf and the Legislature to debate the proposed fee.

Wolf proposed the $25 fee as part of the next state budget. Wolf would bill the assessment to the municipality and not to residents themselves. But the cost would be reflected in a municipal budget and the taxes levied to support it. The proposal would generate $63 million in state revenue. A portion of that revenue would go to train 100 new troopers.

Another 400 municipalities rely on state troopers for part-time services. They aren’t affected by the governor’s fee proposal.

The overall state police budget would be $1.2 billion in fiscal 2017-18. More than $700 million would come from the Motor License Fund built on state gasoline taxes and motorist fees. Several senators said the state police outlay is drawing away revenue needed for road and bridge work.

Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com

Charlotte Lewis knows her push to make Scranton a sanctuary city probably won’t gain much traction inside City Hall.

She’ll settle instead for a demonstration by her fellow citizens that a city built by immigrants still values immigrants and the contributions they make to the community.

Lewis, 29, who is affiliated with the Northeast Pennsylvania Industrial Workers of the World, launched an online petition this week urging city council to adopt an ordinance declaring Scranton a sanctuary city and limiting its involvement in the enforcement of federal immigration law.

The effort comes as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up its hard-line stance on illegal immigration. A rewrite of immigration enforcement policies announced Tuesday would subject millions of undocumented individuals charged with or suspected of even minor crimes to potential deportation.

“To be honest, I don’t have high hopes that this would pass,” Lewis said of the proposed city ordinance. “The most important thing to me is to show the number of people who want Scranton to be a safe and welcoming place for everyone.”

Across the United States, more than 200 cities and counties have formally or informally adopted sanctuary policies that discourage or restrict local law enforcement officials from cooperating with federal authorities on immigration enforcement.

In one of the most common practices, sanctuary cities do not honor requests by federal immigration officials to detain undocumented individuals for nonviolent crimes.

The policies place the local jurisdictions at odds with the Trump administration. Last month, the president signed an executive order making sanctuary cities ineligible for certain federal grants.

Closer to home, the state Senate approved a measure two weeks ago that would cut off state subsidies for municipalities that do not honor detention requests.

The petition calls on council to pass an ordinance that would prohibit the use of the city’s “limited funds and resources” to enforce federal immigration law and would bar city employees, including police, “from requesting or disseminating information about residents’ immigration status.”

Through the language of the ordinance, city council would decide what limitations are appropriate, Lewis said.

“It’s important to keep the trust in our community strong in that our residents who may be undocumented shouldn’t feel unsafe here,” she said. “If they are victims of crimes or witnesses to crimes, they should be able to report that without fear of being deported.”

Lewis said she also is concerned about the children of undocumented immigrants. Nationwide, there are estimated 5.5 million children with at least one undocumented parent; about 4.5 million of them were born in the United States and are American citizens, she said.

“It would just be horrible to see so many families broken up,” she said.

There appears to be little enthusiasm among council members for the sanctuary initiative, mostly because of the prospect that it could cost the city federal assistance.

“I’m not in favor of it purely on the possibility we could lose some federal funding if we go that route,” Councilman Wayne Evans said. “To be honest with you, we can’t afford to lose one nickel on any kind of grant or funding or even opportunities for funding from the federal government.”

Councilman Bill Gaughan said he would have to research the issue to see what sanctuary status would entail but shares Evans’ concern.

“Look,” he said, “the city has enough financial problems.”

Scranton uses federal money for everything from Little Leagues to neighborhood pools to street paving, Councilman Pat Rogan said. The potential loss of those funds is reason enough to oppose a sanctuary designation “whether you feel it’s the right thing to do or not the right thing to do from a policy standpoint,” he said.

Council President Joe Wechsler, who is aware of the petition but has not seen it, said he has asked solicitor Amil Minora to start gathering information for council members.

“Where we are right now is, we are going to review it,” he said.

Although he, too, wants to look at the potential ramifications, Councilman Tim Perry said the term “sanctuary city” carries a stigma that is undeserved. When some people hear it, they think a city is “going to get a bad element and I just don’t believe that,” he said.

“Am I against us being a sanctuary city? Absolutely not,” Perry said. “But do we need to do our homework on people coming into our country? Absolutely yes.”

Mayor Bill Courtright declined to comment on the petition, saying he wants the city Law Department to review the sanctuary issue before he speaks about it.

Lewis is circulating paper copies of the petition in addition to the online version. She plans to collect at least 2,000 signatures before she takes the petition to council.

When she was distributing fliers for last weekend’s “We All Belong” interfaith vigil to show solidarity with immigrants and refugees, Lewis said she spoke to immigrants who were surprised by the level of support.

With the petition, she hopes to quantify that support and show the city’s immigrant communities “that we are standing behind them.”

“I don’t want people in my community to be surprised that the people of Scranton would want them to feel safe or protected or welcome,” she said.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

Petition

An online petition asks Scranton City Council to adopt an ordinance making Scranton a sanctuary city and limiting its involvement in the enforcement of federal immigration law. Follow this link to the petition: http://bit.

ly/2mbyenI.

SCRANTON — A 28-year-old Scranton man tripped over a curb trying to flee police for selling five bags of heroin Tuesday, police said.

Shane Furman, 240 Adams Ave., is charged with drug crimes, resisting arrest, and tampering with evidence because police said he threw $40 away while he tried to run, police said.

Lackawanna County detectives and members of the county Drug Task Force tried to arrest Furman at 4:30 p.m. after a suspected drug deal. He ran down Wyoming Avenue toward Vine Street, police said. He tripped and police handcuffed him.

Furman is in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 2 at 9 a.m.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

A Milton man accused of selling heroin in Scranton slammed into a drug detective’s vehicle as he tried to escape arrest Tuesday, Lackawanna County authorities said.

He didn’t get far.

Darien T. Simmons-Walton, 23, 147 Georgetown Lane, is charged with numerous drug offenses, as well as aggravated assault and resisting arrest. Detectives said Simmons-Walton came to Scranton to sell 20 bags of heroin with his cousin, Yasmine L. Holloman, 27, 578 E. Main St., rear apartment, Nanticoke, who also faces drug charges.

The pair arrived at a parking lot on Green Ridge Street at about 7:30 p.m. to make the drug deal, detectives said. Police turned on the lights and sirens in their vehicles and moved in to arrest them. Simmons-Walton put his vehicle into reverse and slammed into a police car hard enough to deploy an airbag.

Two other detectives rammed Simmons-Walton and boxed him in. Simmons-Walton tried to run, and detectives zapped him with a stun gun.

Simmons-Walton put his hands near his waistband. Detectives feared he had a firearm and stunned him again. Still, he continued to struggle until a police dog took him down. The detectives were not injured, Lackawanna County District Attorney Shane Scanlon said.

Detectives found 20 packets of heroin in Holloman’s purse and another eight packets of heroin while searching Simmons-Walton.

Both were arraigned and jailed at Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of bail — $100,000 for Simmons-Walton and $50,000 for Holloman. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Thursday at 9 a.m.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com

@jkohutTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — City police are investigating after two men reported three men cut them with knives and stole from them on Thursday afternoon.

Police responded to Geisinger Community Medical Center at about 12:15 p.m. and talked to the two men. Jose Vasquez, 28, and Joseph Maldonado, 22, told police they were walking along the 1000 block of Pittston Avenue at about noon when three men approached them and attacked them, police Lt. Marty Crofton said. The men took Vasquez’s cell phone and Maldonado’s wallet before fleeing on foot and possibly getting in a brown pickup with a cap.

Anyone with information is asked to call city police at 570-348-4134.

— CLAYTON OVER

Scranton will use $28 million of the city’s sewer-sale proceeds to pay off high-interest debt, officials said Thursday.

The city so far has received $70 million in proceeds from the sewer sale that closed in December, and expects to receive an additional $13 million after escrows return to the city over time.

Mayor Bill Courtright, his administration and advisers and city council have been considering various scenarios of how best to allocate the proceeds. Top priorities have included shoring up distressed pensions and retiring high-interest debt.

While the administration hasn’t completed the “modeling” of scenarios, officials decided to retire now five series of certain bonds incurred in 2006 and 2012-13, before interest payments on them come due Wednesday.

Paying off these bonds, which total $27,889,903, in full before Wednesday will save $977,291 in interest payments due that day, city Business Administrator David Bulzoni said.

“It just wouldn’t make any sense at all to pay those interest payments and then pay off the debt” a few weeks or months later, Bulzoni said. “Knowing that the debt was going to be defeased (retired), the opportunity was now to get it done because the interest payments were due March 1.”

Council President Joe Wechsler agreed.

“It’s something we’ve been discussing all along,” Wechsler said of using sewer-sale proceeds to retire the high-interest debt. “We want to make sure we use the proceeds correctly, and this is the first step in using them correctly.”

After the process of retiring the nearly $28 million in debt is completed on Monday, the city would have about $42 million remaining in sewer sale proceeds on hand.

As for how much of the remaining proceeds would go toward shoring up pensions, Bulzoni declined to comment. The city awaits actuarial confirmation from the Composite Pension Board on pension deposits, Bulzoni said.

The sale of the sewer system to Pennsylvania American Water Co. closed on Dec. 29.

Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT on Twitter