An attorney for Keystone Sanitary Landfill told a visiting judge Monday in Lackawanna County Court that Friends of Lackawanna and its allies lack legal standing to challenge a Dunmore zoning decision supporting the landfill’s expansion.

Senior Judge Leonard N. Zito of Northampton County listened to about 50 minutes of arguments from both sides on a landfill motion to dismiss the grassroots organization’s appeal of a zoning board ruling that found the proposed expansion was in compliance with the borough zoning ordinance.

The judge gave no indication when he will issue a decision.

An expansion application pending before the state Department of Environmental Protection would, if approved, allow Keystone to continue operating for more than 40 years.

The controversial proposal received a boost in September 2015, when the zoning board concluded the landfill’s original plan to pile waste 165 feet higher than currently permitted would not violate a height restriction contained in the borough ordinance. The decision prompted an appeal by Friends of Lackawanna and six Dunmore residents.

In asking the court to dismiss the appeal, landfill attorney Marc D. Jonas noted the zoning board previously found Friends of Lackawanna and the individual residents would suffer no substantial, immediate or direct impact from the expansion and lacked standing to contest the proposal.

All of the residents live more than 3,100 feet from the proposed expansion area, and Friends of Lackawanna owns no real estate in the borough, he said.

Citing a series of Pennsylvania appellate court rulings in land-use cases, Jonas said opposition alone is not enough to produce standing, which requires both close proximity and a demonstration of harm.

A review of the testimony that expansion opponents provided to the borough zoning board would show “nothing more than objections to a legitimate land use,” he said.

“It’s got to be more than, ‘I’m opposed to this,’ or, ‘I don’t like that.’ ... They do not connect their concerns to harm,” the attorney told Zito.

Attorney Jordan Yeager, representing Friends of Lackawanna and the borough residents, argued the concept of “close proximity” is ill-defined in state law.

“I don’t think it is simply a matter of measuring feet,” he said.

Yeager told the judge the issue is whether people have a valid interest in what is happening in their neighborhood. To suggest that a borough resident who must see or smell the landfill does not have a property interest “throws the notion of property rights away,” he said.

In terms of standing, the court should look at how it all fits together, he said.

Jonas also argued the Friends of Lackawanna’s appeal should also be dismissed based on its length: 53 pages with 377 numbered paragraphs. That conflicts with a section of the state Municipalities Planning Code that requires the grounds for a land-use appeal to be set forth in a concise manner, he said.

The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts appointed Zito to hear the landfill zoning challenge after members of the Lackawanna County bench recused themselves from the case.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

STERLING — A Wayne County corrections officer sold morphine pills from his home, according to investigators.

Howard Hums, 44, Sterling, faces two counts each of delivery of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. He was jailed today in lieu of $85,000 bail.

The Wayne County District Attorney’s Drug Task Force worked with an informant who bought morphine pills, which had been prescribed to Hums, in transactions at Hums’ home between February and March, according to investigators.

Hum will appear in court for a preliminary hearing on April 5.

— STAFF REPORT

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the Delaware River Basin Commission’s authority to regulate Marcellus shale drilling within the water basin.

U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani’s ruling is a significant victory for environmentalists, who claimed the suit was an attack on a moratorium on drilling within the basin that’s been in place since 2010.

“This is very significant. What it does is confirm the DRBC has authority over drilling and fracking and it means the moratorium stands,” said Maya von Rossum of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an environmental group that intervened in the case.

The lawsuit, filed last year by the Wayne Land and Mineral Group, alleged the DRBC did not have authority over the group’s plan to construct a well pad and conduct exploratory drilling for natural gas because the plan did not constitute a “project” as defined by the DRBC.

“It is apparent that its proposed activities within the Delaware River Basin constitute a ‘project’ within the meaning of that term,” Mariani said in a 44 page opinion issued Thursday.

Van Rossum said the dismissal of the suit is important, but it does not end the battle over fracking within the basin. The 2010 moratorium was put in place by the DRBC only until it can create rules that would regulate drilling.

The Riverkeeper Network strongly opposes any drilling, arguing it cannot be done without harming the water supply, no matter how many regulations are put in place, she said. The group wants to DRBC to entirely ban drilling.

“The threat of fracking coming to the watershed continues to hang over us as long as we have a moratorium. This case signals the importance for the DRBC to lay this to rest and put in place a ban,” van Rossum said.

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timeshamrock.com, @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.

WEST CHESTER — With opening arguments less than a week away, attorneys in the case against accused cop-killer Eric Matthew Frein must select two more jurors to complete the panel.

Three additional jurors were selected on Monday to hear the case, bringing the total to 12 jurors and four alternates, Frein’s attorney, Michael Weinstein said. A total of six alternate jurors must be selected.

Frein, 33, of Canadensis, is charged with first-degree murder and other crimes for the 2014 ambush at the Blooming Grove state police barracks. Cpl. Bryon Dickson died and Trooper Alex Douglass was injured in the attack.

The trial is slated to begin on April 3 in Pike County. A Chester County jury will hear the case, in part due to the extensive media coverage of the attack.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

DAMASCUS TWP. — A trio of thieves broke into a business and stole thousands of dollars, plus more than 20 cartons of cigarettes.

The theft happened at Sohi Service Station, 2657 Hancock Highway, sometime between 2:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Friday. The suspects forced their way through the front door, then used a grinder to cut into two ATMs inside. The thieves made off with $3,000 in cash from those, plus an additional $1,000 in cash and the cigarettes from the store, police said.

Anyone with information should call state police at Honesdale at 570-253-7126.

— CLAYTON OVER

THROOP — Borough council approved Monday an anti-nepotism policy and an ordinance requiring organizations seeking large borough donations provide financial information.

The anti-nepotism policy was approved 4-3, with council President Rich Kucharski and members John Musewicz and Charlene Tomasovitch voting no. It bars council members from hiring a relative for borough business.

The other ordinance, which requires groups seeking donations of $500 or more in a calendar year provide council with a list of officers and a financial report, passed 6-1. Musewicz cast the lone no vote.

— JEFF HORVATH

A woman who sued Old Forge for sexual abuse she suffered as a teenager is seeking to overturn a federal jury’s verdict that cleared the borough, its fire company and two former police officers of liability.

Scranton attorney Matthew Slocum, who represents the woman, contends U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani erred when he allowed a defense attorney to present a photo as evidence that the woman made up the story as part of her efforts to score a big “payday” from the borough.

The woman, now 27, filed suit in 2012, seeking monetary damages for emotional harm she alleged she suffered after being sexually abused by former Police Chief Larry Semenza, former police Capt. Jamie Krenitsky and former firefighter Walter Chiavacci at varying times between 2004 and 2007.

Krenitsky and Chiavacci pleaded guilty to indecent assault in 2013 and 2012, respectively. Semenza was convicted in 2013 of corruption of a minor and another charge. The conviction was overturned in 2015, and he pleaded guilty to harassment.

The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.

The civil case went to trial in February. The jury rejected her claims against Semenza, Krenitsky, the borough and Fire Department, finding only Chiavacci liable. The jury awarded her $20,000.

In a motion for a new trial filed Monday, Slocum argues that Semenza’s attorney, Joseph Goldberg, should not have been permitted to show a post from the woman’s social media account that showed a golf ball stamped with “money ball” and a caption that said, “I found the money ball.”

During the civil trial, Goldberg implied the post, which was made to her account Oct. 12, 2013 — just days before Semenza’s criminal trial began — raised questions about her motives.

Slocum argues the photo was misleading because the post did not indicate it was taken while the woman and a friend were golfing — a key issue that would support her claims the post was a joke and not related to the Semenza case.

The issue is one of several errors Slocum contends Mariani made. Attorneys for the defendants will have an opportunity to respond. The judge will issue a ruling at a later date.

Contact the writer:

tbesecker@timesshamrock.com @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter

MARRIAGE LICENSES

■ Joshua Lee Vermac and Marissa Ann Maglioli, both of Scranton.

■ Kelly Kathleen O’Brien and Brian Scott Bedford, both of Clarks Summit.

■ Mark Samuel Grimes and Cheyenne Marie Pilarz, both of Clarks Summit.

■ Louis David Smales and Heather Grace-Jewell, both of Scranton.

■ Chanse Michael Rowe, Archbald, and Krystal Ann Gallagher, South Abington Twp.

■ Brandon Michael Canfield and Jessica Mary Kuehner, both of Dunmore.

■ Roger Dale Gardner and Ann Vacchiano, both of Scranton.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

■ Greg J. Race and Kateri M. Bilotta, now by marriage Kateri M. Race, both of Carbondale, to Peggy Arrunategui, Elizabeth, New Jersey; a property at 145 Birkett St., Carbondale, for $85,000.

■ Katherine and Michael Nunes, both of Lake Ariel, to Andre Christopher Williams, Scranton; a property at 36 Darte Ave., Carbondale, for $68,900.

■ Sandra Davis and Linda Gaggioli, co-executrixes of the estate of Evelyn A. Gaggioli, to Francisco and Susan Cortes, both of Miami, Florida; a property at 2120 Washburn St., Scranton, for $80,000.

■ Lesley Perkins, Dunmore, to Nationwide Truck Parts LLC, Scranton; a property at 2522 Boulevard Ave., Scranton, for $38,000.

■ Rahmat and Farida Shah, both of San Clemente, California, to Dana Krenitsky, Clarks Summit; a property at 100 Glenview Lane, Waverly Twp., for $385,000.

■ Oakwood Homes of Scranton LP, Waverly Twp., to PPL Electric Utilities Corp.; a property in Scranton for $127,500.

■ Brian P. and Jessica L. Turlip, Archbald, to Calvin M. and Jill K. Stocks, both of Mountaintop; a property at 425 Lillibridge St., Blakely, for $225,000.

■ Scott A. and Patricia A. Krisiak, both of Olyphant, to Jay B. and Jacquelyn A. Gould, both of Lebanon; a property at 112 Northpoint Drive, Olyphant, for $227,800.

■ Paula Horton-Fearn, executrix of the estate of Johanna E. Flynn, to Andrew T. Rooney, Cinnaminson, New Jersey; a property at 208 3rd St., Vandling, for $115,000.

■ Edith Stephens, Schelly Kalmanowicz and Polly Will, to Michele Kaminski; a property at Brookfield Circle, South Abington Twp., for $250,000.

DIVORCES SOUGHT

■ Matthew Burt, Kingsley, v. Jessica Burt, Clarks Summit; married March 17, 2011; Danielle M. Ross, attorney.

■ Roberta Lynn O’Donnell, Clarks Summit, v. Raymond O’Donnell, Montoursville; married June 9, 1990; Marjorie DeSanto Barlow, attorney.

■ Sara Coleman, Peckville, v. Jason Coleman, Peckville; married Aug. 15, 2009, in Lavalette, New Jersey; Brian J. Cali, attorney.

■ Kyle Stanton, Scranton, v. Kaylin Stanton, Blakely; married March 16, 2010, in Scranton; pro se.

ESTATES FILED

■ Dorothy E. Magill aka Dorothy Eleanor Magill, 37526 Poco Ave., Zephyr Hills, Florida, letters testamentary to Joy L. Magill, 2331 Plumb First St., Brooklyn, New York.

■ Robert G. Naylor, 658 Seamans Road, Factoryville, letters testamentary to Daniel R. Naylor, 668 Seamans Road, Factoryville.

■ Florence Irene Sweeney, 1 Plum Place, Scranton, letters testamentary to Terrence P. Sweeney Jr., same address.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

WILKES-BARRE – Singer-songwriter Amos Lee will make his F.M. Kirby Center debut on July 30, at 8 p.m.

Amos Lee, born in Philadelphia as Ryan Anthony Massaro, worked as a teacher and bartender while pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter, and eventually scored a record deal from Blue Note Records after his manager submitted his demo.

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. and are available through the Kirby Center box office, online at www.kirbycenter.org or through charge by phone at 570-826-1100. A Kirby Member pre-sale begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. Tickets prices are $29.50, $39.50, $49.50 and $59.50, plus fees.

— STAFF REPORT

The Scranton School District will soon begin an energy savings program that officials say will pay for itself.

As part of a $61 million bond, the district will use $13.8 million to update lighting and windows, install new boilers and convert from electric to gas heat in many of the district’s buildings.

Savings from the project, done through the energy company Constellation, will be used to cover the debt payments. The savings will be guaranteed by Constellation, officials said during Monday’s school board work session.

The remaining bond includes the refinancing of previous bonds and borrowing money to balance this year’s budget, measures the school board approved last year. Michael Judge, president of CaseCon Capital, the district’s financial consultant, said directors will get a detailed list of bond costs later this week.

The “all-in” cost, including interest and fees, is 3.63 percent over the life of the bond, he said.

During a special meeting following the work session, the board made the following changes to the school calendar to make up days lost due to the blizzard:

■ On Monday, April 17, and Friday, June 16, all students will have school.

■ Seniors will attend school Saturday, April 29, for a special “Prom Promise” program run by administration and school resource officers and Tuesday, May 16, for a program on heroin addiction run by the Lackawanna County district attorney’s office. Teachers will participate in an in-service May 16.

■ West Scranton and Scranton High graduations will be held the evening of June 16.

■ Every other grade will remain in school through Tuesday, June 20.

■ Elementary and intermediate school will have early dismissal Thursday. High school students will have a full day.

Contact the writer:

shofius@timesshamrock.com @hofiushallTT on Twitter

HARRISBURG — A state court dismissed the Pennsylvania attorney general’s lawsuit accusing a nursing home operator of failing to meet residents’ most basic human needs in some homes.

A Commonwealth Court panel threw out the case, saying the state’s complaints about Golden Living centers either lacked specifics or targeted marketing materials that aren’t tantamount to false advertising.

Rather, the judges said Golden Living centers were using “puffery,” or subjective marketing, which is different from false advertising and can’t form the basis of a false advertising lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in 2015, alleged inadequate care of residents at 25 Golden Living nursing homes, including locations in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Tunkhannock.

The suit sought payback of Medicaid payments to certain Golden Living centers. But the judges say the state Department of Human Services is tasked with settling Medicaid billing disputes.

The attorney general’s office wouldn’t say Monday whether it will appeal.

PITTSTON — For the first time in 88 years, the Congregation of the Oblates of St. Joseph will not lead any parishes in the Pittston area.

The Rev. Paul McDonnell announced to the parishioners of St. Joseph Marello parish that following the departure of the church’s current pastor, the Congregation of the Oblates of St. Joseph will relinquish leadership of the church to a priest appointed by the Diocese of Scranton.

“The congregation of Oblates will continue to be a presence,” McDonnell said when contacted Thursday. “Our current assistant pastor will remain.”

McDonnell said the decision comes amid a nationwide shortage of new priests and seminarians. The Oblates of St. Joseph simply did not have another pastor available who was ready and qualified to lead the church.

“We don’t have anybody,” he said. “I can’t invent somebody to come.”

The Oblates of St. Joseph have served in Northeast Pennsylvania since 1929, McDonnell said, and at one time led three parishes in the Pittston area alone. When the Oblates-led parishes of St. Rocco’s and Our Lady of Mount Carmel merged, they became St. Joseph Marello. Until 2013, the Oblates also led St. Barbara’s in Exeter, the parish that formed when St. Anthony of Padua Church merged with another parish.

“In 2013, we withdrew leadership of that parish,” he said. “Now, we have this situation four years later in 2017.”

The Oblates of St. Joseph will continue to lead Holy Annunciation parish in Hazleton, but by relinquishing the leadership of St. Joseph Marello, the congregation loses its place at the head of its last Pittston area parish.

For parishioner Roseanne Ricotta, losing the congregation’s leadership is bittersweet. She hopes switching to a diocesan priest might bring a measure of consistency to the parish that she said it has lacked in recent years.

“Since the consolidation of St. Rocco’s and Mount Carmel we’ve had five different pastors,” she said. “I’m hoping someone from the area ... will stay for a while.”

While the Oblates of St. Joseph run a rectory and chapel in Laflin and will continue to do so, Ricotta said some of the priests sent by the congregation from their base in California had little connection to the culture and history of the Pittston area.

“The area is still grounded in ... those ethnic traditions,” she said.

Parishioners will miss their current pastor, the Rev. John Shearer, Ricotta said, but will remain optimistic about his replacement.

“He’s very likable,” she said. “We’re just hoping for consistency and hoping that the next priest stays a while and is able to move the parish along.”

Contact the writer:

sscinto@citizensvoice.com

NEWTON TWP. — Mario, a 13-year-old from Italy, stood in the crowded S.S. Newton-Ransom after a stormy three-day journey by sea to Ellis Island, clutching his suitcase made of brown construction paper and a few laminated dollars.

Devyn Hope,9, played Mario during an Ellis Island simulation Monday at Newton-Ransom Elementary School. About 120 third-graders from Newton-Ransom and South Abington elementary schools participated in the special lesson on immigration.

“Immigration is part of our theme, the students have been studying it for 2½ months,” said Lynn Piwowarczyk, a third-grade teacher at South Abington Elementary School. “Where they came from, what their journey was like, the struggles they faced and also what the challenges they faced in America were when they got here as well. (On Monday), they focused on challenges they faced coming to Ellis Island.”

For the fifth year, the Abington Heights school was transformed into a miniature version of Ellis Island from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Though immigration has taken a prominent position in public discourse from a rancorous presidential campaign and the blocked policies of President Donald Trump, Monday’s exercise kept its focus on ancestral immigration and the reasons for coming to the United States.

The Statue of Liberty, inflated to full glory, stood in the bed of a Liberty Tax pick-up truck in the parking lot. Gina Peperno, a third-grade teacher at Newton-Ransom Elementary School, shepherded the pint-sized immigrants from their boat — a box traced in the blacktop with purple chalk — with a little history lesson.

“The ship was very crowded,” she said. “There was a lot of illness spread because you’re so close together.”

As if on cue, someone coughed.

Guided by teachers and parents, the students filed through the corridors. They dropped off their luggage and went through medical screenings, immigration interviews and had their currency exchanged.

It didn’t go smoothly for everyone. Kathryn Beck, a 9-year-old who played 42-year-old Italian mother Luigia, didn’t pass her medical examination and moved to quarantine.

Others had an easier time.

Hunter Walley, 8, filled out immigration paperwork for 26-year-old Eduardo, of Italy, and mulled a move to Florida with his young family to find a job working on loading docks. His “son,” 6-year-old Anthony, played by 8-year-old Max Shernin, pondered the confusion of Ellis Island and the dreams of those who went through it.

“They came to get a better life,” Max said.

Contac the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com,

@jkohutTT on Twitter

WEST CHESTER — Jury selection for the upcoming trial of accused cop-killer Eric Matthew Frein is complete, according to a tweet from the Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin.

“Headed back to Pike County for trial,” Tonkin tweeted. Opening arguments are set to begin on Monday in Pike County.

Two alternate jurors were selected today and three jurors were selected Monday, bringing the total to 12 jurors and six alternates. Frein, 33, of Canadensis, is charged with first-degree murder and other crimes for the 2014 ambush at the Blooming Grove state police barracks. Cpl. Bryon Dickson died and Trooper Alex Douglass was injured in the attack.

A Chester County jury will hear the case, in part due to the extensive media coverage of the attack.

— Staff report

SCRANTON — An investigation by the city police Special Investigations Division led to the arrest today of a South Scranton man on drug charges.

Brian Martinez, 20, 9 Prospect Ave., was taken into custody near his home and charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to police, investigators made three controlled buys of marijuana from Martinez between March 8 and Monday. Additional marijuana and packaging material were found when officers executed a search warrant this morning at the suspect’s home, police said.

Martinez was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Sean McGraw, who ordered him held in the Lackawanna County Prison on $25,000 bail pending a preliminary hearing April 6.

— DAVID SINGLETON

MONTROSE — Susquehanna County has launched a new system designed to enhance its 911 emergency services.

Smart911 allows citizens to create a safety profile for their household or business that includes information they want 911 and responders to know about them in the event of an emergency, such as the location of a home’s bedrooms or existing medical conditions.

When a citizen makes an emergency call, the safety profile is automatically displayed to the 911 dispatcher, helping to ensure the right response team is sent to the right location with the right information, said Art Donato, 911 coordinator.

County residents can create a free, private and secure safety profile by visiting www.smart911.com.

— STAFF REPORT

SCRANTON — A candidate for Scranton School Board has dropped out of the race.

Cynthia Baldwin, a Democratic candidate, asked the Lackawanna County Court today to strike her name from the May 16 primary election ballot. Judge Margaret Moyle approved the request.

Efforts to reach Baldwin were unsuccessful.

Baldwin had to ask a judge to remove her name because the deadline for withdrawing passed last Wednesday.

Her withdrawal leaves 10 candidates for the four open school board seats. All 10 are seeking a Democratic nomination in the primary while only seven are seeking a Republican nomination.

— BORYS KRAWCZENIUK

SCRANTON — U.S. Sen. Bob Casey will host a town hall meeting on Sunday afternoon at Lackawanna College.

The town hall is scheduled for 2:30 to 4 p.m. in the school’s Peoples Security Bank Theater, 501 Vine St.

Doors open at 2.

— BORYS KRAWCZENIUK

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania upheld a death sentence Tuesday of a man convicted of killing a woman, dismembering her and dumping her body parts along Interstate 80 and 380 in Monroe and Lackawanna counties.

A jury convicted Charles Ray Hicks Jr. of Coolbaugh Twp. in 2014 for first-degree murder of the 36-year-old Scranton woman Deanna Null and other crimes in Monroe County Court. The jury, some weeping, sentenced him to death. Monroe County President Judge Margherita Patti Worthington formally imposed that decision weeks later.

All death penalties are automatically reviewed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which can cancel the sentence.

The state’s highest court did not. The court’s majority opinion found “sufficient evidence” to uphold the conviction. The seven-person court ruled in favor of the conviction and death sentence by a 5-2 vote.

“Our careful review of the record reveals the (death) sentence was not the product of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor,” the judges wrote.

The two dissenting justices, Christine Donohue and David Wecht, each wrote their own opinion.

For the case of the 2008 murder, the Monroe County district attorney’s office considered dropping the death penalty against Hicks, now 42, in exchange for information on murders he’s suspected of committing in Texas, but he failed to provide sufficient information to seal the deal, a county detective said.

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

An Army veteran profiled in The Sunday Times lied to the newspaper about his military service.

After the story published Sunday, the newspaper received messages from soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with Matthew Gajdys and said he lied about being in combat.

When a reporter confronted Gajdys about the accusations on Monday, he admitted he never fought in combat and lied when he told a reporter he was shot in the chest but his bulletproof vest saved his life. He also said he embellished his role in killing people in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gajdys, 35, of Dickson City, served in the Army from 2006 to 2012, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, repairing attack helicopters, said Valerie Mongello, an Army spokeswoman.

In 2013, Gajdys drove drunk and killed his friend Mike Evans, a passenger in the vehicle. The veteran served about a year in jail. A judge also sentenced him to pay thousands in restitution and fines and to serve 1,000 hours of community service, in part to share his story with others to try to prevent similar disasters. He is under the supervision of the Lackawanna County Veterans Court, attending counseling and treatment.

Veterans exaggerating or fabricating their service is a “major problem,” said James Tuorila, Psy.D., the surgeon general for the national Veterans of Foreign Wars.

“It happens too often, but it’s a small minority of veterans,” said the Minnesota-based psychologist, who has worked with veterans for decades after serving in the Army in the 1970s.

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