A 28-year-old Scranton man dropped his pants in front of a middle school Thursday morning and exposed his genitals to a woman and her 12-year-old daughter, city police charged.

Miguel Mercado-Santiago, 917 Cedar Ave., was arrested on two counts of indecent exposure and one count of disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors, Patrolman Robert Keiper wrote in a criminal complaint.

The two victims were in their car on the 300 block of Maple Street by South Scranton Intermediate School shortly after 8 a.m. and noticed a man walking around the school, drinking a beverage and who appeared to be staring at children walking into the school.

Then, the man, later identified as Mercado-Santiago, picked up his shirt and pulled down his pants. The woman called 911 and said her daughter witnessed the man exposing himself.

The man fled and Keiper, who was working as the school resource officer there, broadcast a description on the police radio. Another officer found a man who fit that description and identified him as Mercado-Santiago. One officer drove the two victims to Mercado-Santiago and they identified him as the man who had exposed himself.

Magisterial District Judge Theodore J. Giglio arraigned Mercado-Santiago and jailed him on $20,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 5.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9144; @jkohutTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — An incumbent Lakeland School Board member who appeared to be a winner in the May 16 primary election will not appear on the November ballot after all.

Greenfield Twp. resident Mark Solomon received sufficient write-in votes in the primary to defeat board President Mary Retzbach for both the Democratic and Republican nominations in Lakeland’s Region 1, according to figures released Thursday by the Lackawanna County Department of Elections.

Solomon beat Retzbach by a margin of 262 to 120 on the Democratic ballot, official results showed. On the Republican side, Solomon had 215 votes to 93 for the incumbent.

— DAVID SINGLETON

Hours after Mayor Bill Courtright and the city’s sewer authority promised a town hall meeting on the controversial sewer system sale, city council members assailed the authority for keeping them in the dark.

Courtright again defended the $195 million sewer sale at a news conference Thursday and said the alternative likely would have been a costly receivership takeover.

“I think some people don’t understand the deal fully,” Courtright said in his office at City Hall, accompanied by authority Chairman Michael Parker.

“We’ll explain the deal, because we believe it was a great deal for the city of Scranton,” the mayor said.

A date and venue have not been set for the town hall, but the mayor hopes to hold it within a few weeks, he said.

The announcement came a day after the authority rejected a motion to ask the state auditor general to review the sewer sale transaction that closed Dec. 29. The authority also voted to withhold wholly unredacted legal bills.

Raising concerns about the sale’s proceeds for Scranton and Dunmore coming in several millions of dollars less than anticipated, the councils in Scranton and Dunmore both urged the authority to have the sale reviewed by the auditor general.

Some officials and residents have criticized the deal as lacking in transparency. At Thursday’s meeting, city council members expressed frustration over the authority’s vote.

“Quite frankly, I was shocked,” Councilman Wayne Evans said. “I generally feel that when given the opportunity, good people will usually do the right thing. And I’m not suggesting some SSA board members aren’t good people, but by every criteria I can think of, this was a wrong decision.”

Councilman Bill Gaughan said Parker should have abstained from the vote, and he called for Parker’s resignation from the authority because of his connections with a law firm that worked on the deal.

“It’s my belief that Mr. Parker should have strongly considered recusing himself from both of those votes because of his personal and professional relationship with Abrahamsen, Conaboy and Abrahamsen,” he said.

Parker said later that he worked for the firm until January 2015, at which point he went to work full time for the Philadelphia-based advocacy group Disability Justice. Courtright appointed Parker to the authority in January 2016.

“I had no conflict of interest at the time. I haven’t worked for Abrahamsen, Conaboy and Abrahamsen for two years, going on three,” he said.

Councilmen Tim Perry and Pat Rogan agreed that a state audit would let the authority bring closure to a matter that, on its face, seems suspicious.

Council President Joe Wechsler said he stands by his vote to approve the sale, which saves the city from entering receivership, but that he wished for more transparency.

The Times-Tribune has an appeal with the state Office of Open Records regarding legal bills. The authority cited attorney-client privilege for blanket redactions, and the appeal questions if the redactions are too broad.

Parker said the authority is reviewing the legal bills “to determine whether there’s privileged information in those bills,” and they may be ready for release to the public and media later next week.

“It was never the intent of the board to not provide information to the public and to not be transparent,” Parker said.

The authority voted to keep wholly unredacted bills from the public, and releasing partially redacted bills would not violate the spirit of the action, Parker said.

In December 2015, the authority announced the sale of the sewer system to Pennsylvania American Water. An asset purchase agreement between the water company and authority was filed with the state Public Utility Commission in March 2016. The PUC approved the deal late last year, and it closed Dec. 29.

Asked why a town hall meeting was not held a year ago, Courtright said the focus had been on getting the transaction completed and passed by the PUC.

“I didn’t think there was going to be this many questions,” Courtright said.

“We were going through the process. It was a very complicated process. It seemed like we were fighting one fire after the other to get this deal done. Example 1 would be to get it through the PUC.”

Contact the writers:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100 x5158;

joconnell@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9131

City seeks trash collection change

Scranton City Council wants to change the way residents are billed for trash collection.

At their meeting Thursday, council members agreed to seek $7,500 in state grant money to pay for an evaluation of the city’s trash and recycling collection program. Council also authorized Mayor Bill Courtright to pay SCS Engineers, a company selected by the state Department of Environmental Protection to provide municipalities with technical assistance, to guide the city in implementing a “pay-as-you-throw” collection program.

The city currently bills its citizens a flat fee of $300 annually, a system council agreed is outdated and burdensome for some residents. Under pay as you throw, residents pay for each bag of trash they put on the curb.

— JON O’CONNELL

At more than $480,000 and counting, Pike County spent nearly double the $250,000 it earmarked for convicted cop killer Eric Matthew Frein’s capital murder trial.

County officials do not anticipate any trouble covering the additional cost, however.

Matthew Osterberg, county commissioner chairman, said officials faced a tough decision when they put the budget together in November. They knew costs might exceed the budgeted amount. There was also a chance the cost would be substantially less if Frein pleaded guilty.

They chose the $250,000 figure, knowing they could dip into the county’s fund balance, which was $1.6 million at the start of this year, if it went over, he said.

“We tried to be as responsible to taxpayers as we could, keeping in mind we have money in the bank that could pay for it if it went above $250,000,” Osterberg said. “That is the reality of what happened. It’s the cost of justice. Is it unfortunate? Yes.”

Frein, 34, was convicted April 19 of first-degree murder and 11 other offenses for killing Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II of Dunmore and wounding Trooper Alex T. Douglass of Olyphant in a sniper attack outside the Blooming Grove state police barracks on Sept. 12, 2014. He was sentenced to death April 26.

Records show Pike County spent $481,503 on the case as of Thursday. The largest expense was $245,901 in legal fees and other costs incurred since Frein’s arrest to his attorneys, William Ruzzo and Michael Weinstein, who were paid $125 per hour, according to court documents that recently were unsealed.

Part of the fees charged by the attorneys included reimbursement for hotels and meals during jury selection, which took place in Chester County, and for Ruzzo’s hotel stay during the trial.

Ruzzo stayed at the upscale Hotel Fauchere, but received a steep discount. The total cost for Ruzzo’s 26-day stay was $2,125, which averages to about $81 a day.

Sean Strub, owner of the hotel and mayor of Milford, said he was approached by the prosecution and defense about providing discounted rooms and was pleased to do so. He said he also offered free rooms to members of Dickson’s family during the trial.

The second-largest expense was for defense experts, who were paid $125,101. Of that, $89,499 went to Louise Luck, a mitigation expert who earned $100 per hour to develop evidence for the defense in the death penalty phase.

The defense expenses do not include fees for work Ruzzo, Weinstein and Luck performed during the April trial, or any work the attorneys did this month in relation to Frein’s appeal. Those bills have not yet been submitted for payment.

Other costs include $68,784 to lodge, feed and transport the Chester County jurors that heard the case, said Pike County Chief Clerk Gary Orben, and $41,717 prosecutors spent on experts, travel and lodging for trial witnesses and expenses related to jury selection in Chester County.

Orben said he has not yet calculated additional costs the county incurred in overtime for sheriffs deputies and court staff that worked the trial. He also is awaiting a bill from Chester County for certain costs it covered for the jury, including meals and lodging during jury selection.

Whatever the final total, Osterberg said he is confident the county can pay all the costs from money it already has.

“We’ve always been fiscally responsible so it’s not like all of a sudden this case hits and we are going to be out of money,” Osterberg said. “When it’s all done and settled we will see what shape we are in. I don’t think it will deplete all the carryover (fund balance) for next year.”

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.

Scranton City Council wants to change the way residents are billed for trash collection.

At their meeting Thursday, council members agreed to seek $7,500 in state grant money to pay for an evaluation of the city’s trash and recycling collection program. Council also authorized Mayor Bill Courtright to pay SCS Engineers, a company selected by the state Department of Environmental Protection to provide municipalities with technical assistance, to guide the city in implementing a “pay-as-you-throw” collection program.

The city currently bills its citizens a flat fee of $300 annually, a system council agreed is outdated and burdensome for some residents. Under pay as you throw, residents pay for each bag of trash they put on the curb.

A Harveys Lake woman ran a prostitution business out of her rental home, according to police.

Police on Thursday charged Virginia Elkins, 30, with prostitution, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Officers conducted an undercover prostitution sting at Elkins’ home on May 20, according to a criminal complaint filed by Harveys Lake and Dallas Twp. police.

According to the complaint, on May 9, the landlord of the rental property at 2120 Lakeside Drive told Harveys Lake police that she had received complaints of people coming and going from the home at all hours.

Officers placed the house under observation. Over the next few days they interviewed two men they saw leave the home, after pulling them over for traffic infractions.

One man said he had just paid for sex and was “really ashamed of it.” He said he had arranged through an internet site to meet a woman known as “Scarlett” at the Lakeside Drive home for sex in exchange for cash.

The other man told police he had paid “Scarlett” $50 for sexual favors at the home.

Officers called and sent text messages to the woman, later identified as Elkins, to arrange for paid sex on May 20. When an undercover officer arrived at the home that day, he and Elkins agreed on a price of $180 for an hour of sex, the complaint states.

Police then moved in to arrest Elkins.

Officers found suspected heroin and drug paraphernalia in the home, which Elkins admitted was hers, according to the complaint.

Elkins showed police a notebook with names of clients, known as “johns,” and how much money they owed, as well as a cell phone in which numerous “johns” were listed as contacts, the complaint states.

No information about Elkins’ arraignment was available as of press time.

Contact the writer:

emark@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2117

A 29-year-old Old Forge man faces theft charges for stealing air conditioners from the Friends of the Poor then selling them at pawn shops and flea markets over the last several months, Scranton police said.

Jesse J. Hinkley III, 210 Oak St., is charged with five counts of receiving stolen property and two counts of theft by unlawful taking.

The charity reported to police on Tuesday that 41 Kenmore 5000 BTU air conditioners meant for the needy were stolen from a Scranton warehouse at 2000 Rosanna Ave.

As of Friday, police said 19 of the air conditioners are accounted for and they continue investigating to locate the remaining 22.

Charles Klecker, owner of the All-American Swap Shop on South Main Avenue in Scranton,reported to police Wednesday that a man, identified as Hinkley, sold three units at his store.

Detectives checked the Northeast PA Precious Metals Database and learned Hinkley sold two more Kenmore 5000 BTU air conditioners, to the Steamtown Trading Post. Detectives said the air conditioners were positively identified as the ones stolen from the charity.

Hinkley had access to the air conditioners because his father owns the warehouse where they were stored, Capt. Dennis Lukasewicz said.

Magisterial District Judge Theodore J. Giglio arraigned and released Hinkley on Thursday on $10,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 5.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9144; @jkohutTT on Twitter.

A 35-year-old Hawley man “just snapped” Thursday morning and stabbed his ex-wife in her neck three times, state police at Honesdale charged.

Steven John Schuman, 320 Highland St., is in the Wayne County Correction Facility on charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault.

“I’m going to kill you,” Schuman told his ex-wife, Alexandra Schuman, according to a state police.

The two had been talking about remaining friends following their split and Steven Schuman asked her to come over to his house. She agreed and had a conversation.

“For some reason, he just snapped,” Troopers John Strelish and Sharon Palmer wrote in a criminal complaint.

Steven Schuman ripped at her clothing in an attempt to rape her, state police said. Then she saw he had a knife and felt pressure on her neck. She didn’t realize she’d been stabbed until she saw the blood.

She tried to get away. She locked herself in a back laundry room. She didn’t know where her call phone was. Steven Schuman stabbed at the door with a knife and tried to take the door handle off while he shouted threats to end her life, state police said.

“This went on for about 30 minutes,” state police wrote.

By the end, she heard Steven Schuman talking on the phone and realized it was 911. He let her come out of the laundry room to talk to the dispatcher. She was terrified but had no other choice.

Police arrived at 4:43 a.m., 10 minutes after the dispatch time. Alexandra Schuman was covered in blood and held a cloth to her neck to stop the bleeding. Troopers found Steven Schuman and took him into custody. He had blood on both of his hands.

Steven Schuman is in the county jail on $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9144; @jkohutTT on Twitter.

At least six Democratic candidates who lost in the May 16 primary in Lackawanna County will still appear on the November ballot after securing Republican nominations through write-in votes.

The county Department of Elections released the full list of write-in winners after completing its official canvass of the primary.

The only head-to-head rematch in the Nov. 7 general election of individual primary rivals will come in the race for Archbald tax collector, where Katie Grogan Noldy handily defeated Brad Loff for the Democratic nomination.

Loff captured the Republican nomination with 66 write-ins, giving him another shot at Noldy, according to county figures.

Among the other candidates defeated in Democratic primary who won GOP nominations:

— Incumbent John Shnipes Jr., who finished fifth among six Democrats for three Archbald council seats, was the top vote-getter on the Republican side with 52 write-in votes.

— In Dickson City, Ken Krouchick captured a GOP council nomination with 77 write-ins. He had come in last among four candidates for the three Democratic nominations.

— Paul Nardozzi received 51 write-ins to win one of three Republican nominations for Dunmore Borough Council. He finished fourth among the four candidates on the Democratic side.

— Joshua Seamans, who came in last in an eight-way race for four Democratic nominations for Jessup council, won the third and final GOP nomination with 46 write-in votes.

— In Throop, Wayne Williams, who tied for fifth among eight Democrats for four council seats, won a Republican nomination with 21 write-ins.

Across the county, more than 20 people whose names did not appear on the primary ballot received enough write-in votes to capture Democratic or Republican nominations.

The most notable instance came in the race for Lakeland School Board, where write-ins propelled Mark Solomon to victory for both nominations over incumbent Mary Retzbach in Region 1. Retzbach, the current board president, was the only candidate listed on the primary ballot.

In Vandling, where there were no candidates filed for borough office in the primary, Democratic nominations went to Joe Brady for mayor, Mary Ann Risboskin for tax collector and John Carachilo for council, all based on write-ins.

Other successful write-in candidates who did not appear on the ballot in their respective races included:

Benton Twp.: Robert Pawlukovich, Democrat, supervisor.

Dalton: Leonard Peters, Democrat and Republican, council.

Fell Twp.: Randy Wallis, Republican, supervisor, six-year term, and Carol A. Barrese, Democrat, tax collector.

Greenfield Twp.: Gerald J. Snyder Jr., Democrat, supervisor.

Jefferson Twp.: Karen Theobald, Republican, tax collector, and Paula Lee Sorg, Democrat, auditor, six-year term, and Democrat, auditor, two-year term unexpired.

Jermyn: Jerry Bruno, Democrat, mayor; Ann Marie DeSanto, Democrat, tax collector; Kristen Dougherty, Democrat and Republican, council, and Robert Parks III, Democrat, council.

Old Forge: Rick Notari, Republican, council, four-year term.

Olyphant: Lauren Telep, Republican, council.

Scott Twp.: John Ward, Democrat, auditor.

Thornhurst Twp.: Michelle Jordan, Republican, auditor.

West Abington Twp.: Richard Schirg, Republican, supervisor, four-year term unexpired.

Lakeland School Board, Region 2: Patrick Gallagher, Democrat and Republican, school director.

Mid Valley School Board, Region 3: Brian M. Foley, Democrat and Republican, school director.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9132

SCRANTON — A Hazleton realtor accused of bilking home buyers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through bogus property sales pleaded guilty Friday to a felony count of wire fraud conspiracy.

In entering the plea, Ignacio Beato, 46, admitted that from December 2013 through March 2015 he conspired with others to accept $751,082 from people who wanted to buy homes. In fact, Beato falsely told the buyers he was authorized to sell vacant and foreclosed properties in Hazleton, prosecutors say.

The charges alleged that Beato and his co-conspirators signed fraudulent sale agreements with prospective buyers in New York and other states. Some of the buyers were unaware of the fraud until they were served eviction notices at the homes they thought they had purchased.

Beato, who fled the area when police began investigating him, was captured in Florida in February 2016. He entered his plea Friday before U.S. District Judge James M. Munley, who set sentencing for Aug. 31.

Beato, who is in federal custody, faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

— JAMES HALPIN

Scranton will hold its sixth consecutive annual tax sale June 5.

Called a treasurer’s sale, the tax sale scheduled for 10 a.m. at City Hall is for delinquent taxes from 2014, according to a public notice for the sale published May 19 and again Friday in The Times-Tribune.

The 2017 tax sale public notice lists 547 properties that owed $2,205,757.39 from 2014, according to collection firm Northeast Revenue Service.

This tax sale follows prior ones resumed since 2012, after annual tax sales had fallen off for years, but now have become routine again, city Treasurer Wayne Beck said.

Tax sales were revived by the former mayor and council in 2011, with the hiring of Northeast Revenue Service to create a system to collect back taxes under the Municipal Claims and Tax Lien Act.

A tool for collections, regular tax sales can be effective because they eventually result in liens on delinquencies remaining unpaid.

The list published in two pages of the newspaper on May 19 came after notification letters were sent to property owners and notices were posted on properties.

“The one (newspaper listing) right before the sale always catches their attention and produces a result,” of many delinquencies paid, Beck said.

Delinquent taxpayers can avoid a tax sale either by paying in full before the sale, once their names appear on the tax sale list published in the newspaper, or by entering into a payment plan with the city.

Since the list ran in the newspaper, 98 owners have paid on their delinquencies, said Northeast Revenue Service Supervisor Kirsha Johns.

Those payments whittled the published list down to 459 properties owing $1,992,299.58 as of Tuesday, Johns said.

A follow-up tax sale public notice to run in the newspaper June 2 will reflect smaller lists that no longer contain those who have paid their delinquencies, she said.

Property owners who do not pay or set up a payment plan run the risk of having their property sold June 5.

The list of 2014 delinquencies ranged from a low of $499 to a high of $77,887.

With 13 properties on the recently published list of delinquencies, PSN Realty Inc. of Bronxville, New York, had the most. A dozen of the properties were in the Hill Section and one in South Side. Efforts to reach a representative of PSN were unsuccessful.

Northeast Revenue Service collects delinquent taxes older than a year. The city’s Single Tax Office collects current-year property taxes and immediate-prior-year delinquencies, Beck said.

Before the city resumed tax sales, a 2010 estimate showed that the city failed to collect about $11 million in delinquent property taxes, some of which had gone unpaid for as long as 64 years. However, some long-ago unpaid taxes likely won’t ever be recovered, as many delinquencies are on vacant land or owed by absentee landowners or defunct companies, such as orphan coal-mining firms, officials said.

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100 x5185;

@jlockwoodTT on Twitter

Previous Scranton tax sales

n The 2012 tax sale involved 1,970 delinquencies from 2004-09 totaling $4.1 million owed.

n The 2013 tax sale included 452 delinquencies from 2010 that owed $960,513.

n The 2014 tax sale listed 536 delinquencies from 2011 that owed more than $671,628.

n The 2015 tax sale included 584 properties from 2012; the amount owed had not been available at that time.

n The 2016 tax sale listed 689 properties from 2013 that owed $904,415.

A Scranton landlord suing the city’s code office for improperly targeting his properties claims he is being retaliated against for filing the lawsuit.

Alexander Brunelle says the city’s Department of Licensing, Inspections and Permits intensified actions against him, including having police twice arrest him and expanding the list of properties that were targeted, to punish him for filing a federal lawsuit in May 2015.

The claims are contained in a court motion Brunelle’s attorney, Donald Brobst, filed recently that seeks permission to amend the original complaint to include the new allegations.

Joseph O’Brien, attorney for the city, denied any retaliatory motive.

“Any enforcement action taken against him was based on the merits rather than in response to any complaints he made,” O’Brien said.

Brunelle and his associated companies, which include Dunmore Exclusives LLC, own more than two dozen rental properties in Scranton. In the original suit, he alleges the code office improperly condemned numerous properties and filed hundreds of bogus citations against him. It also claims the city refused to issue permits to allow Brunelle to repair the properties, then cited him for failing to make repairs.

The proposed amended complaint claims the office ramped up enforcement actions shortly after Brunelle filed the lawsuit.

Among the allegations:

On July 9, 2015, two city police officers appeared at Brunelle’s office and advised him he was under arrest for failing to enter a plea to several criminal citations for alleged building code violations. He was handcuffed and led out of the business in front of his employees.

On Sept. 17, 2015, Brunelle was scheduled to appear before Magisterial District Judge Joanne Corbett on eight criminal building code citations. When he arrived at the courtroom, he was met by Scranton police, who announced they were arresting him and taking him to Magisterial District Judge Alyce Farrell to answer four new warrants that were issued against him for another of his properties.

“The numerous criminal citations, condemnation notices and stop-work orders . . . were issued in bad faith, to harass, oppress, punish and otherwise deter plaintiffs from exercising their constitutional rights,” the suit says.

Contact the writer:

tbesecker@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9137;

@tmbeseckerTT on Twitter

WEST PITTSTON — The Redevelopment Authority of Luzerne County has applied for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dismantle the Coxton Railroad Bridge.

The public has the chance to comment until June 7 by writing to the Corps at District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, Attn: Mrs. Amy Elliot, Stat College Field Office, 1631 S. Atherton St., Suite 102, State College, PA 16801.

The plan to dismantle the structure involves building a causeway under one half of the bridge, using explosives to drop that half onto the causeway and then dismantling it. After that, contractors will remove the causeway from that half and complete the process on the other half of the bridge.

The structure crosses the Susquehanna River between Exeter and Duryea boroughs, upstream of where the Lackawanna River meets the Susquehanna River. The Department of Environmental Protection said in 2014 that the bridge was in danger of collapsing and should be removed.

— BILL WELLOCK

Carbondale

Trash collection: Garbage collection in Carbondale will be suspended for Monday in observance of Memorial Day. Trash will be collected one day late for the rest of the week.

Scranton

Farmers market: The South Side Farmers Market, sponsored by United Neighborhood Centers, operates Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 300 Alder St., featuring local produce, eggs, meat, bread, baked goods, honey and other items.

Taylor

Community festival: Vikings Helping Vikings Festival Satur­day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Riverside Veterans Memorial Stadium, Main Street; 5K race/walk registration, 8:30, stadium entrance, race, 9:30; food, basket raffles, entertainment, bake sale, Kids Zone with face painting, bounce house, dunk tank, obstacle course and games; honoring 2017 scholarship recipients, Community Service Awards presentations.

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.

MARRIAGE LICENSES

• Richard W. Vail Jr. of Carbondale and Colleen Beth Mackrell of Peckville.

• Karry Lee Richardson and Michael Wayne Richardson Jr., both of Dickson City.

• Kristin Oakley and Matthew John Brown Jr., both of Old Forge.

• Andrew Garrett Cornog and Susana Emi Hamilton, both of South Abington Twp.

ESTATES FILED

• Mary Ann G. DeNucci, Apt. 228, 5 Knox Road, Scranton, letters testamentary to Donna D. Perry, 948 Litchfield Circle, Westminster, Md.

• Justine E. Harvilchuck, also known as Justine E. Harvilchuck, also known as Justine Elaine Harvilchuck, 110 6th St., Blakely, letters testamentary to Amy Whitko and Mark Bruno, 1001 Rushbrook Road, Jermyn.

• Lola Behar, 506 Carnation Drive, Clarks Summit, letters testamentary to Denise Krafchin, same address.

• Marilyn A. Ward, also known as Marilyn Ward, 936 Lincoln St., Dickson City, letters of administration to James Ward, same address.

• Joseph Zenzel, 89 Sturges Road, Peckville, letters of administration to Dorothy Pukita, 3922 Kul Circle South Hillard, Ohio.

DIVORCE DECREES

• Cherrie Vosburg v. Christopher Vosburg.

• Leigh Bales v. Fred Bales.

• Lisa Eileen McAndrew v. Martin John McAndrew.

• Dana Perri v. James J. Perri.

• Carolyn Harmer and Thomas Harmer.

• Joy Lewis v. Karl Peter Lewis.

• Marcelle Monique Ovenson and Christopher Neal Ovenson.

• Lisa A. Stravinsky v. Joseph M. Stravinsky.

• Shannon Novak and Andrew Pond.

DIVORCE SOUGHT

• Jeremy Keen, Richmondale, v. Rose Keene, Peckville; married July 26, 2008, in Harford, pro se.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

• Neil F. MacDonald, Dunmore; Gregory M. MacDonald, Alameda, Calif.; Brian J. MacDonald, Austin, Texas; and Thomas MacDonald, Scranton, to Joseph and Anne Walling, Los Oso, Calif.; three parcels in Scranton for $110,000.

• Eleanor Rosen and Tobi Whittemore, trustees of the Rosen Revocable Trust, to Richard D. and Susan La Fave, Newfoundland; a parcel in Clifton Twp. for $62,000.

• Rose Plishka, Scranton, to John T. Browing, Old Forge; a property at 1609 Summit Pointe, Scranton, for $60,000.

• Patrick M. and Jacqueline M. Foley, Scranton, to Maria Ann Condella, Scranton; a property at 1716 N. Main Ave., Scranton, for $129,500.

• Francis D. Glynn, Jefferson Twp., to B&D Realty Inc., Jefferson Twp.; a parcel in Jefferson Twp. for $111,000.

• Brance Bank & Trust Co., Greensboro, N.C., to TNT Foundation LLC, Scranton; a parcel in South Abington Twp. for $110,000.

• Jacob and Jodi Herber, Scranton, to KBC Properties LLC, Stewart Manor, N.Y.; a property in Scranton for $175,000.

• Richard and Kathryn Levine, Covington Twp., to Leroy and Gabi N. Waite, Covington Twp.; a property in Scranton at 16 Covington Lakes Drive, Covington Twp.

• G&L United Builders to BMT Holdings; a parcel in Jefferson Twp. for $25,000.

• Gerald F. and Bernadette Chrylser, Waverly Twp., to Quinton Road LCC, Scott Twp.; three parcels in Scott Twp. for $135,000.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

SCRANTON HIGH SCHOOL

GRADE 12

Hailey Anderson, Khojistha Azizi, Taylor Barletta, Melinda Bidwell, Kalei Black, Alec Bohn, Demarese Burley, Brittany Cadwalder, Kristina Carone, Daisy Patricia Castelan, James Cawley, Michael Chekan, Austin Chickeletti, Christopher Cobley, Boa Dang, Brenna DAnnuzio, Paxton Davis, Juliana Deininger, Victoria Lynn DiDonato, Seth Dolan, Amina Monay Durant, Mollie Edsell, Jesus Lubert Fernandez, Morgan Fetsock, Harley Frable, Samantha Frable, Ashley Garcia, Harrison Garner, Samuel James Gentile, Jocelyn Gonzalez, Ricardo Gonzalez, Kirstie Grosvenor, Matthew Grudzinski, Deo Narayan Guragai, Prakash Gurung, Shavon Wanda Hall, Gabrielle Hedden, Leiya Helbing, Nathan Holden, Emily Howells, Carly Jordan, Jordan Alexis Joubert, Sanam Kadyrova, Zulfiya Kadyrova, Emma Kaub, Abigail Kohut, Caitlyn Krucar, Mitchell Lacerda, Nathaniel Leepier, Stephanie Lepka, Alexandra Lewis, Jacob Lidle, Raichle Lisak, Philip Lopez, Tatyanna Amira Lovell, Molly Lucas, Hansen Novianto Lukman, Christopher Lunney, Megan Maguire, Alec Mallery, Brittany Manley, Gerardo Marengo, Kyle Marinelli, Mira Martin, James McGlocton, Nyrese McKinley, Gregory Miller, Jane Miller, Thomas Miller, Karizma Marion Mines, Adriana Modesto, William Modesto, Gabrielle Molloy, Nicholas Mark Montoro, Kiana Moore, Suk Bahadur Muktan, Colin Mullen, Katherine Naughton, Colleen Needham, Shayla OHearn, Stephanie OMalley, Starr Ortiz, Peyton Orzello, Miguel Pagan, Corin Pasko, Avani Kintesh Petel, Dev Patel, Dhruvkumar Alpeshkumar Patel, Gautam Patel, Harsh Pankajkumar Patel, Harshil Mukeshbhai Patel, Jay Patel, Keny Patel, Kirtesh Dineshbhai Patel, Krina Patel, Meet Patel, Niralben Patel, Parth Alpeshbhai Patel, Rutu Patel, Shivamkumar Patel, Karina Paulino Adames, Jillian Petroski, Darren Pitts, Joshua James Price, Zachary Pyeron, Bikash Rai, Parita Ray, Nadiyah Rivera, Terese Roberts Loughman, Xiomarie Rodriguez Pacheco, Christian Roio, Lauren Rose, Eduardo Salazar, Ryan Sandrowicz, Alexander Schaefer, Preeya Shankar, Alyssa Shea, Davina Situmeang, Madison Smolsky, Timothy Stankowski, Megan Strachan, Matthew Sueta, Sarah Tassey, Danielle Tonsil, Gina Velez, Steven Villegas, Brian Walsh, Sahara Wharton, Ciera White, Rosemary Wilson, Victoria Yatko, Kathleen Yaurincela and Gerald Zaltauskas.

GRADE 11

Ethan Aceron, Debbie Acosta, Paola Alicea, Meha Amin, Gabriel Araujo, Ryan Astleford, Nestor Ayala, Juan Ayala Rodriguez, Johnatha Bailer, Erin Barrett,Benjamin Bavonese, Corine Belles, Angel Bello, Sergio Benavides, Naom Bentancur, Damani Blackwell, Michael Bozym, Claire Brier, Kristin Budney, Topaz Burgette, Tijahnea Burton, Ariana Campbell, Dylan Campbell, Noemi Carreto, Carly Carro, Aticha Chanopas, Jarod Cipriano, Abigail Coyle, Carolyn Cruz, Laxmi Dahal, Mykhanh Dang, Dhairya Rakesumar Desai, Trupanshi Desai, Deyniel Dev Ruperto, Stanley Djakasetia, Allison Duffy, Julianne Dunay, Yulissa Escarraman, Sierra Evans, Shirley Figueroa, Luke Fiscus, Neiva Fortes, Trinity Gammaitoni, Miranda Garcia, Tuyisunge Gashema, Daniel Gavin, Julia Georgetti, Meera Ghataney, Estrella Gonzalez, Gregory Green, Peter Green, Maryam Hamidi, Mustafa Hamidi, Emily Hamm, Nadia Haroun Mahdavi, Zaakirah Harrison, Patricia Hemphill, Majesty Hicks, Shaun Hopkins, Noah Horn, Alex Inirio, Isabelle Jarrow, Michelle Jimenez, Ximena Jimenez-Zamora, John Jones, Telena Jones, John Joyce, Christian Juice, Abby Kearney, Taylor Keiper, Lyndsi Keller, Brigid Kennedy, Mary Kirchner, Anna Kmiec, Buddhi Koirala, Kelly Kraycer, Hayden Krewson, Alyssa Krisovitch, Christopher Laske, Matthew Laske, Jason Lee, Samantha Lipperini, Fagr Mohamed Mahana, Leslie Major, Christian Maldonato, Isaiah Malia, Skylar Marcen, Alexis Marichak, Natalie Marichak, Jerry Marin, Stephen Mason, Makiya Masters, Robert Joseph McAndrew, III, Alexander McCarthy, Kayleen McHale, Collin McHugh, Serena Merritt, Vaishaki Modi, Begyan Mongar, Alan Moore, Anthony Murria, Megan Musso, Fajrun Najih, Tracy Nguyen, Maria Nicatro, Mckenzie Ogden, Jenna O’Malley, Jamie Pakutka, Dazi Patel, Dhruviben Patel, Jaymin Patel, Kesha Patel, Krina Patel, Kuntal Patel, Neel Patel, Ritun Patel, Riya Patel, Rohankumar Patel, Vrutti Patel, Courtney Peart, Amber Potzuski, Charles Prothero, Matthew Rink, Julie Ristics, Will Rivera, Annabelle Rogers, Molly Rowlands, Donald Ruiz, Elianna Sabino, Paola Santa, John Sawkulich, Krystal Schipp, Ruslan Shakhsadinov, Kathryn Shea, Jillian Shields, Gabrielle Simrell, Awnshea Smith, Jerusa Sunar, Mia Svetovich, Matthew Vaughn, Alivia Visoski, Corey Walsh, Bradley Whymeyer, Mariah Winburn, Elizabeth Winters and Branden Zacharias.

GRADE 10

Daniel Aguilar, Erika Aguilar, Selvi Anggoni, Dashyra Aquino Rosario, Jason Ardan, Sean Bagasevich, Kiera Baltrusaitis, Alexander Baress, Miabella Basile, Sita Bastola, Selina Bolella, Trayce Buckley, Jacob Campbell, Nathan Campbell, Jasmine Lyn Carmella, Gabriel Charles Keith, Dante Clark, Emily Clark, Caityn Coar, William Cobley, Celia Condon, Abigail Cosgrove, Grace Crowley, Hayden DAngelo, Sydney Decker, Ryan Dolan, Kaitlyn Dolphin, Brisa Dominguez, Daisy Dominguez, Aidan Drouse, Claire Dunleavy, Abigail Eckenrode, Jessica Escalante, Abigail Farrell, Manuel Fernandez Jr., Jade Fitzgerald, Juan Flores, Victoria Fotia, Diana Gaglione, Archi Gandhi, Byannca Gilbride, Justin Grier, Emilie Gronski, Joseph Guido,Gabrielle Gutierrez, Elizabeth Haikes, Tehya Harris, Kristin Hart, Hennelore Hartmann, Kelsey Hein, Rachel Hineline, Jake Patrick Howells, Kaleigh Hubshman, Asia Jalil, Aiden Jones, Haley Jones, Emily Josselyn, Tika Kadariya, Sunita Kaldan, Brandon Karp, Nautis Nicole Kenderine, Gabrielle Keys, Miracle Keys, Caroline King, Mykaela Kline, Daniel Koegler, Nyah Kubilus, Anastasi Lepka, Cole Lewis, Jeremy Liptai, Jose Luciano, Michael Mancuso, Anita Marquez, Mia Matheson, Brett McCloe, Aden Meeker, Dania Mejia Perez, Marisol Monacelli, Katarina Montoro, Jawaan Morgan-Kingwood, Nicholas Moyer, Shealyn Murphy, Sean Patrick Needham, Najir Nelson, Shania Nelson, Jeremiah Oakes, Olivia Opshinsky, Camryn Orzello, Steven Paszek, Ansh Patel, Harsh Snehalkumar Patel, Harsh Amit Patel, Jenis Patel, Keshiben Patel, Maulin Patel, Neelkanthkumar Patel, Pujan Patel, Viraj Patel, James Pettus, Claudia Pitts, Juna Pokhrel, Vanessa Polkowski, Brenda Posadas Salazar, Shamir Pradhan, Nabin Rai, Josue Ramirez, Hemil Ray, Connor Reap, Alberto Rodriguez, Richard Rodriguez, Diego Romero Lazo, Thayra Santos, Molly Schaefer, Daniel Scott, Gwyneth Serowinski, Lauren Severe, Brianna Shea, Kyla Sheerer, Felicia Sompel Welk, Olivia Spory, Alyvia Svetovich, Christopher Swavola, Jessica Tassey, Rhiannon Tucker, James Vieira, Kayla Walsh, Jonathan Wilga, Juanita Wolak, Jonathan Yudhistira, Thomas Zaltauskas, Sierra Zilla and Jacob Zymblosky.

GRADE 9

Farid Abdul Quddus, Deja Alexander, Brenda Aroche, Jose Artigas Irizarry, Esmeralda, Nicholas Bader, Jacob Bagasivich, Quinn Bailer, Alyssa Baker, Evan Bannon, Shelby Baranow, Elizabeth Barrett, Samuel Bond, Christian Bonilla Irizarry, Alexa Bonk, Renee Boone, Arthur Bray, Corey Bridges, Louis Bui, Ashley Burdick, Emily Burke, Skylar Burke, Emilee Butler, Ryan Calpin, Nino Carachilo, Joshua Christianson, Matthew Christianson, Ian Ciocca, Anna Cipriano, Samuel Cortese, Christian Coughlin, Jacqueline Cunha, Julia Cunha, Priyanka Dahal, Michael DAngola, Matilda Davis, Sarina David, ,Lauren DelSantro, Sneh Jyotsih Chandra Desai, Ranjeeta Dhungel, Chris Diaz, Nicholas Drouse, Aroma Dulal, Carly Etchie, Fione Evans, Brandon Everetts, Ella Ferranti, John Finnerty, Juan Flores Barnes, Lauren Flynn Miller, Makayla Gaus, Kaitlyn Gingerlowski, Sophia Glogowski, Hannah Goldberg, Nicole Golden, Noah Green, Trey Griggs, Zohal GulMohammad, Amanda Guziewicz, Megan Guziewicz, David Haikes, Morteza Hamidi, Cassandra Harrison, Ryan Hartman, Carissa Hedglin, Christopher Hernandez, Jostin Hidalgo, Destinee Holley, Lauren Holtzman, Aaliyah Jalil, Brianna Jones, Daniel Knautz, Elise Koegler, Vanessa Kostka, Angel Kropiewnicki, Eliyana Kubelis, Brooke Kubilus, Ly Chi Ky, Mackenzie Lavelle, Noah Leety, George Loukopoulos, Julia Loury, Daisy Luddy, Jordi Maldonado, Esteban Marengo, Falen Mason, Digne MBinga, Lydia McConlogue, Maury McLaughlin, Devony Miller, Omar Modesto, Mary Moleski, Judith Moyer, Colette Mulderig, Madison Mullen, Shanice Nelson, Aidan Nicholas, Chase Notz, Katerina OBoyle, Rachel Packer, Devang Patel, Dhruv Patel, Dhruv Patel, Jay Patel, Kush Patel, Maitree Patel, Priyal Patel, Unatti Patel, Yashaswini Patel, Joshua Patterson, Mia Pauley, Jalen Perkins, Kaitlyn Persaud, Audrey Phillips, Tran Phong, April Powell, Matthew Prothero, Christopher Reap, Tariq Rivera, Jamie Santiago, Meredith Santiago, Grace Schariest, Donald Schmidt, Samantha Scripp, Elizabeth Seprish, Alyssa Shaw, Lilian Smith, KendraLiz Soto Jimenez, Jacob Charles St. Hart, Mohammad Fikri Bin Surot Bashar, Bralyn Tagliaferri, Jet li Tang, Jacob Thomas, Ebonie Thompson, Aubrianna VanFleet, Aleah VanLouvender, Michelle Vaquero, Larry Velie, Trynity Lee Ventura, Juan Villanueva, Britney Walsh, Julia Walsh, Sarah Walsh Mable Werner, Angela Williams, Sarah Williams, Ryan Wozniak, Jordon Yisrael and Taylor Zombek.

A gallon of unleaded gasoline costs more than it did this time last year, but that hasn’t cooled consumer optimism, a recent report says.

The latest Consumer Fuels Survey, completed every month by the NACS, a convenience store owners association, shows gas prices are up 15 cents compared to last year.

Despite paying more at the pump, 48 percent of consumers surveyed said they feel “somewhat optimistic” about the economy, while 12 percent said they feel “very optimistic.”

Based on its responses from about 1,000 survey-takers around the country, the association suggests optimism will spur heavy travel, which would be a boon for area leisure and entertainment businesses that thrive on local families making day trips.

“While prices have risen over the last few weeks, they don’t feel that bad,” said Jeff Lenard, the association’s vice president of strategic industry. “Also, they haven’t increased anywhere near the level they have in previous years during the spring increase.”

Fuel prices typically go up in the spring, as fuel refineries switch to a costlier summer blend.

Regular unleaded peaked in July 2008, when it hit $4.06 per gallon, according to travel organization AAA.

In the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metro area, fuel prices average $2.56 per gallon, up 13 cents from last year.

Other economic signs show more people have more expendable income heading into the summer travel season.

Poconos region hotel tax payments were strong last year, and are up for the first quarter of 2017, said Chris Barrett, the new president of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau.

“And, we have no reason to believe that it won’t be where it was last year or much higher,” he said.

Barrett was named bureau president in April, replacing Carl Wilgus, who retired.

Fuel prices may fluctuate, but in his experience as former director of the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau, $4 per gallon is the breaking point at which families start cutting out day trips from their summer plans, he said.

Most families, however, won’t sacrifice multiday excursions, which typically get planned in advance.

Fuel prices and RV sales don’t necessarily go hand in hand, said Paul Hinsdale of Bryant’s RV Showcase Inc. in Dallas Twp.

“It’s not as much as you think it would be,” he said, explaining most customers have made up their minds regardless of the fuel price climate.

However, as the quintessential luxury purchase, RV sales offer a handy gauge on consumer confidence.

The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association forecasts a banner year with shipments topping 438,000 units, up 4.4 percent from last year.

“I think a lot of people are more confident today,” said Guy DiAndriole, owner of Wide World RV in Plains Twp.

With spring just getting underway, new RVs already are on back order.

If a customer came in today looking to buy an RV not currently in stock, DiAndriole said, he or she would likely wait until July for it to be built.

Contact the writer: joconnell@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131; @jon_oc on Twitter.

DUNMORE — Troopers will be offering free child car safety seat checks on Tuesday.

Motorists who would like to have their child’s car seat examined for any safety issues or to see if it is properly installed can stop in Tom Hesser Nissan, 900 O’Neill Highway, Dunmore, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The checks are part of the National Click It or Ticket Campaign.

— CLAYTON OVER

Patrick Dowdy, a Texas truck driver, agreed to drop Ethan Golden off at a bus terminal in Scranton after making a delivery at a South Abington Twp. plant Friday.

Golden caught a ride into the city with township police instead.

Dowdy, a delivery driver for a Texas rubber company, told township police he met Golden at a rest stop on Interstate 81 near Dorrance. Golden, 29, 1920 West Tarrant Road, Grand Prairie, Texas, said he was trying to get to Scranton and asked if he could tag along. They shared common interests and were both Texans, Dowdy told police, and he agreed to give Golden a ride.

But when the pair arrived at Valmet Corp., 987 Griffin Pond Road, at about 12:45 p.m., Golden became disorderly. Golden got inside a forklift and tried to drive it, then opened an electrical box inside the plant and started to pull on live wires, witnesses later told police. Dowdy and Valmet employees tried to take Golden from the plant as others called police when Golden bit Dowdy on the right forearm, causing bleeding and bruising, according to court documents. Township police arrived shortly thereafter and arrested Golden.

Magisterial District Judge Paul Keeler arraigned Golden on Friday on charges of simple assault, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. Township police then took him to the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton for processing.

Golden remains in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Contact the writer:

cover@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100 x5363;

@ClaytonOver on Twitter

Full-sized, seven-passenger SUVs and crossovers generally are expected to be beasts of burden — to transport people and their belongings back and forth between points A and B — rather than of beauty or performance.

This makes the redesigned 2017 Audi Q7 a pleasant (if pricey) surprise. The biggest rig in the German automaker’s lineup offers a new look, a more spacious cabin and slightly less mass than the previous generation.

Now, despite the weight loss (due primarily to a revised frame and extensive use of aluminum sheet metal) the redesigned Q7 still tips the scales at a hefty 2.5 tons. But thanks to some Audi engineering smarts and a few optional performance packages (I’ll get to those in a second), it carves into corners with a willingness usually reserved for vehicles three-quarters its size.

That all of this is accomplished without compromising the Q7’s supremely serene and comfortable ride quality really is something worth writing home about. It’s about the best combination of performance and plushness I’ve sampled in a larger, family-oriented vehicle.

First the details. The 2017 Q7 is offered in three trim levels — Premium, Premium Plus and Prestige — with pricing starting around 55 grand. There are two engine choices: the company’s popular 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 (333 horsepower and 325 foot-pounds of torque) carries over from the previous generation and is joined by a new-to-the-model 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four-cylinder (252 horsepower and 273 foot-pounds of torque).

The turbo-four is standard on Premium and Premium Plus models, with the V-6 offered as an option. The Prestige is V-6-powered only. An eight-speed automatic with the row-your-own Tiptronic auto-manual and Quattro AWD are both standard on all models.

Audi provided an all-the-way Prestige model for a weeklong consideration. Its long list of options added considerably to the bottom line, however. To wit, our Q7’s $54,800 base asking price soared to a breathtaking $76,325, as tested.

So what do you get for an extra 22-or-so grand?

In addition to or in place of such standard features as leather upholstery, panoramic powered sunroof, 19-inch alloy wheels, Audi’s MMI infotainment interface, seven-passenger seating and so forth, our Audi included the trim-defining Prestige Package. Priced at $9,500, it added 20-inch alloys shod in all-season run-flat tires, a head’s-up display, heated and cooled seating, advanced keyless entry and ignition, enhanced MMI functionality with satellite navigation, smartphone interface and Audi’s PRIME and CARE subscription services.

Factoring in an extra $5,000 for a Bang & Olufsen premium audio system, $4,000 for the trick adaptive air suspension and four-wheel steering systems, $1,500 for a set of 21-inch alloys with summer-rated performance tires, color-keyed roof rails and gloss-black detailing, $575 for the Orca Black paint job and $950 for delivery, and, bingo! Get your checkbook out.

Once the sticker shock starts to fade, however, one is left to admire the 2017 Q7’s handsome blend of comfort, performance and overall competence. The first thing I noticed about the redesign is that the Q7 doesn’t look so much like an SUV anymore. In keeping with the brand’s design language, the new vehicle’s sleeker profile rides a bit lower than before, giving it the look of a tallish wagon.

Audi’s reputation for crafting top-drawer interiors continues in the Q7. The color palette is on the dark side but accented by an abundance of aluminum trim and shiny piano-black insets. Instrumentation is easy to read, and, with a bit of practice, operate. To be honest, I spent the first few days flummoxed by the MMI’s console-mounted control panel and dual displays on the digital instrument cluster and the 8-inch LCD touch screen that rises out of the dashboard. Once mastered, though, the system offers an almost encyclopedic level of vehicle information.

There’s plenty of room for adults in the front bucket seats and 60/40 split-folding second-row bench, both of which feature a useful number of storage cubbies and drink holders. The third row is best left to the younger set. Cargo capacity swells to nearly 72 cubic feet with the second-row seats folded, which lags a number of direct competitors.

Properly equipped, a V-6-powered Q7 can tow up to 7,700 pounds.

Fitted with the adaptive air suspension and four-wheel steering, the Q7 handles like a far smaller vehicle than it is. One might not want to call its moves “sports-car-like,” but for an almost 5,000-pound family hauler it certainly feels sporty. The steering setup is quick and ultra-precise, and the Q7 responds with real gusto. The never-flustered, supercharged V-6, meanwhile, delivers power seamlessly, while the eight-speed automatic smoothly runs through its gears. Short and sweet: The Q7 rolls big but drives small. That’s about as high a level of praise as one can level on a family hauler.

2017 Audi Q7 3.0T Quattro

Vehicle type: Four-door, seven-passenger, full-size luxury crossover.

Base/as-tested prices: $54,800/$76,325.

Engine and transmission: 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6, 333 horsepower, 325 foot-pounds of torque, eight-speed Tiptronic automatic.

EPA estimates: 19 miles per gallon city, 25 highway, 21 combined.

The good: Silken-smooth ride quality paired with surprisingly agile handling for a vehicle weighing nearly 5,000 pounds; powerful and reasonably fuel-efficient turbocharged V-6 engine; understated but handsome exterior design that’s more wagon-like than the previous-generation Q7; lovely cabin that’s smartly arranged and appointed with top-notch materials; decent cargo space that’s easy to load and empty thanks to adjustable ride-height suspension system; a solidly screwed-together package that feels built to last.

The bad: Asking price skyrockets with options; updated MMI infotainment interface’s multiple screens and displays are confusing at first, but once mastered offers encyclopedic levels of vehicle information.

Bottom line: Audi has baked a killer mix of functionality, luxury and performance into the new Q7, making it an enticing choice for families-of-means on the go.