SCRANTON — A 22-year-old Scranton man faces burglary charges after police say a witness saw him carry metal from a vacant city home to his truck Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Once Thomas Swaha, of 256 Wilbur St., realized he had been spotted, he called out to the witness that he was looking for his missing dog. The witness, Mary Lindner, took note of his car, which police soon found.

Swaha admitted he took pipes from 212 Wilbur St., police said.

Swaha was jailed in lieu of $20,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 10.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

SCRANTON — A 60-year-old Scranton man is charged with assault after a neighbor told police he struck his girlfriend, city police said.

Theodore Radford, 1025 Corbett Ave., had been drinking and got into an argument with Lillie Sinclair outside their home shortly after 2 a.m. on Monday, police said. The argument turned physical and was witnessed by a neighbor, Gilberto Reyes, who told police that Radford threatened to kill him.

Radford is charged with simple assault and harassment.

Radford is in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $1,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 10.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

A 17-year-old girl admitted in court Monday she stabbed and killed a woman during a street fight in 2016.

In pleading guilty to third-degree murder, Cathleen Boyer will spend at least seven years in a state prison — the low end of the range the Lackawanna County district attorney’s office will ask for when Boyer is sentenced. The high end of their request will be 20 years.

The actual sentence, however, could be higher still. Judge Andy Jarbola, who accepted Boyer’s plea, told the teenage defendant that a judge is not bound by a prosecutor’s request. The maximum penalty Boyer could face is 40 years incarceration and a $50,000 fine.

“I’m glad that she took responsibility for her actions,” District Attorney Shane Scanlon said. “She’s facing significant time in prison as a result of her conduct.”

Scranton police arrested Boyer late last spring on charges she killed 18-year-old Kayla VanWert in a Hill Section alley brawl on May 29, 2016. Boyer was 16 at the time.

“You understand by pleading guilty you are admitting to the things you’re charged with?” Jarbola asked her Monday.

“Yes, your honor,” Boyer said.

Investigators said that Boyer and VanWert were friends but had a fight over Jorge DeJesus, the father of Van-Wert’s young child, whom VanWert suspected was romantically involved with Boyer. A threat-filled argument on social media between Boyer and VanWert ended hours later with the stabbing in the 800 block of McKenna Court.

The plea avoids a trial, which was scheduled to begin next week. Though she was 16, state law and the severity of the homicide count led to her being charged as an adult. Her defense had tried to have her case sent to juvenile court, where the penalty would be less severe, but the judge ruled Feb. 21 that the evidence to try her there did not meet the burden required under state law.

The recommendation of seven to 20 years in prison aims to bring finality for VanWert’s family while also preserving the possibility Boyer can have a life after her incarceration, Scanlon said.

In court Monday, dressed in a tan jumpsuit with her dark hair tied back into a tight bun, Boyer said she is taking 11th grade high school classes at the jail and hopes to earm a diploma soon.

“I love you,” said a member of Boyer’s family as county sheriff’s deputies took her away. Her family declined to speak after the proceeding.

Facing a potential maximum of four decades in prison, though, she must hope for mercy.

“Hopefully the judge will have compassion and we’ll go from there,” her attorney, Christopher Osborne, said.

A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Boyer remains in Lackawanna County Prison without bail.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9144;

@jkohutTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — A portion of the Lake Scranton walking trail could reopen as early as next week.

The trail has remained closed since a Feb. 25 tornado ravaged the lake area, but officials at Pennsylvania American Water anticipate opening part of the trail the week of July 10. The exact day it will reopen is unknown at this time.

The trail will remain closed from the area where the path meets the access road leading to the water treatment plant, to the dam.

— JEFF HORVATH

THROOP — The wrecking ball is coming for the historic St. John the Baptist Church.

Throop Borough Council, frustrated with a lack of progress developing the Sanderson Street landmark since buying it in August 2014, is seeking bids to demolish the 111-year-old building along with the former rectory and another neighboring house the borough owns.

“Unfortunately, this happens more and more as ethnic populations and church memberships decline,” said Mary Ann Moran-Savakinus, executive director of the Lackawanna Historical Society. “It’s sad because it’s such a big part of the personal history for people. That’s where they got baptized. That’s where they got married. They hold it very personally. It’s really hard for them to see it disappear.”

That statement holds true for 91-year-old Phyllis Mikulski, who said seeing her church torn down will be the end of an era for a place at which four generations of her family worshiped, made friends and celebrated personal milestones.

Mikulski was baptized at St. John the Baptist Church. She took her First Holy Communion and was confirmed there. And that’s where on May 13, 1944, she married her late husband Edward — who died in 1999 after the couple celebrated their 55th anniversary.

“I can’t get buried from there,” Mikulski said. “I’ll miss that. ... I’m sick that they’re going to tear it down. It was a beautiful church. I have so many wonderful memories there.”

In a 4-2 vote, Throop council opted to raze the church and its rectory the borough bought from the Diocese of Scranton for $125,000 nearly three years ago, with council President Rich Kucharski and Councilwoman Charlene Tomasovitch voting no and Councilman John Musewicz absent.

The diocese closed the church on Nov. 21, 2009. Council members initially envisioned preserving the former Catholic church as a community center, affordable senior housing, a new borough building or commercial space.

Kucharski said some developers expressed interest in the building, and in his view, it was worth waiting it to see if the borough could save it and put the former church back on the tax rolls.

Mayor Frank Shimkus proposed “making it extremely inexpensive” for a developer to acquire the property in exchange for putting a senior center in the basement that would provide more space than what Throop has at the civic center now.

A problem with that approach is that the borough relies on the church parking lot to host overflow cars for its oft-crowded civic center, although Kucharski suggested seeking a subdivision of the property to hold onto some of the area.

Councilman Jim Barnick said he thought it was a mistake to buy the property in the first place without a specific plan and that the three buildings have just been a financial drain on Throop — costing about $200,000.

Barnick, who is a contractor, said the church has been deteriorating and he had a hard time picturing a developer committing the “millions” of dollars it would take to renovate it.

“I myself received confirmation there,” Barnick said. “I have no sentiment about it. We’ve got to move forward already. ... If it was worth something, it would have been bought by someone else long before Throop bought it.”

Contact the writer:

kwind@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100, x5181;

@kwindTT on Twitter

St. John the Baptist Church history:

n Construction began in the spring of 1905; the first mass was Christmas Day in 1905.

n It was designed by architect H.W. Purdy of Peckville. The general contractor was George Weiland of Dickson City.

n Parishioners excavated the basement by hand, erecting a stone wall foundation. The cornerstone was laid and blessed by Bishop Michael Hoban. Construction of the upper structure cost $6,050. Another bell was added around 1913.

n Throop’s population largely descended from Eastern Europe, but when the church first started out, it needed to bring in Slovak-speaking pastors from Olyphant.

n The Rev. Andrew Jurica was the first pastor in 1906. He boarded at homes of some parishioners until the rectory was built.

— LACKAWANNA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — Lights that long illuminated games at the former South Side Complex in Scranton will continue to shine.

Crews took concrete poles and light clusters, which will be replaced as part of renovations to the future Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Athletics Campus, to Hillside Park in South Abington Twp. There, the donated equipment will be installed at one of the park’s softball fields.

Other sets of poles and lights headed to Columbia County, where the Benton Area Little League will use them. The equipment could be in use at both locations by the end of the year.

“So hopefully, if all goes well, they’ll enjoy a second life and light up areas that never had them before,” said Bill Risse, chairman of the Abington Area Joint Recreation Board, the agency that manages Hillside Park.

Obtaining the lights has been in the works since University of Scranton officials announced the renovations, university spokesman Stan Zygmunt said.

“We asked if they had a plan for those lights and they said, ‘no, do you want them’ and there was nothing any more formal than, ‘hey, come and get them,’ ” Risse said.

Doing so proved a tall — and heavy — order, Risse said. The concrete poles weigh 8,000 pounds and the light clusters an additional 5,000 pounds, Risse said. Contractors and a trucking company donated time and equipment to move the lights from Scranton to the park, Risse said. It took the better part of a week.

South Abington and Glenburn townships public works crews assisted in unloading them, Risse said. Recreation board officials are now seeking people with concrete, excavation and electrical expertise to volunteer time to install them; they are also exploring the feasibility of retrofitting them to LED lighting, Risse said.

“It’s a project that could take the rest of the year to get done,” Risse said.

The addition of the lights is the latest in a string of enhancements, including new scoreboards, to the softball fields there, said Dave Phillips, a board member of both the softball league and recreation board.

The lights will allow games to be played on weeknights in the fall. Fall league play had initially been limited to weekends because of daylight constraints, Phillips said. In the summer, the lights also will enable additional games to be played through the week. Only two can be played per weeknight now.

The lights pose similar benefits for the Little League in Columbia County. The field there also never had lighting, an asset many neighboring leagues possessed, said Frank Beishline, a Little League coach involved in obtaining the lights. That forced Little Leaguers there to travel for fall ballgames. They can now host games, Beishline said.

“We’re thrilled to have them,” he said.

Contact the writer:

cover@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100 x5363;

@ClaytonOver on Twitter

Archbald

Yard/garage sale: Archbald Borough annual boroughwide yard and garage sale (Archbald, Eynon, Sturges and Nebraska sections), Saturday, 8 a.m.-noon, anyone wishing to participate may set up at their residence, no registration required; Mayor Shirley Barrett, 570-498-9398.

Beach Lake

Bible school: Beach Lake United Methodist Church Vacation Bible School, Kingdom Rock VBS, July 17, 6:15-8:30 p.m., July 18-20, 6:30-8:30 p.m., ages 3-middle school, music, Bible stories, games, activities and crafts, free; 7 Milanville Road (across from fire hall); 570-729-7011.

Clarks Green

Chicken barbecue: Juanita 8, OES chicken barbecue, July 15, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. or sold-out, 118 N. Abington Road, $10/dinner or $5/half chicken, walk-ins welcome; advance orders, 570-586-3221.

East Scranton

Bus trip: East Scranton Seniors bus trip to Sands Casino, July 26, leaves 9:30 a.m. from Monroe Avenue parking lot across from Dunmore Senior Center, returns 4:30 p.m.; $29, includes $20/rebate and $5, food voucher; Tom, 570-280-5096.

Forest City

Fundraising auction: American Legion Post 524 fundraising auction, Thursday, 6 p.m., 100 Dundaff St.

Jessup

Garbage collection: Due to the July 4 holiday, garbage collection is behind one day, collection will be Friday, do not put garbage out until night before collection.

North Scranton

Neighborhood watch: North Scranton Neighborhood Crime Watch meeting Monday, 7 p.m., Weston Park Field House.

Scranton

Class reunion: Scranton Central High School class of 1967 50th class reunion, Aug. 25-27; scrantoncentral67@gmail.com or Facebook page: Scranton Central Class of 67.

Summer concert: Revival Baptist Church free summer concert with college tour group, the Voices of Melody, July 11, 7 p.m., 2020 N. Main Ave., ice cream social follows; 570-963-9449.

Taylor

Club meets: R&L Civic Club meeting, Friday, 8 p.m., St. George’s Hall.

West Scranton

Chicken barbecue: St. Ann’s Basilica Parish chicken barbecue/car show, Aug. 6, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 1233 St. Ann’s St., free entrance, $10/dinner (advance only), $10/pre-registration for car show, music by Take 3, food, vendors, raffles, prizes, face painting and instant bingo; information, dinner orders or pre-register for the car show (deadline: July 26), 570-342-5166.

CLIPBOARD ITEMS may be emailed to yesdesk@times

shamrock.com or mailed to Clipboard, c/o the YES!Desk at 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, 18503. YES!Desk, 570-348-9121.

Long-serving priests celebrate

Combined, the Diocese of Scranton priests who celebrated milestone ordination anniversaries during a June Ordination Jubilees Mass, have served around 660 years as clergy.

Scranton Bishop Joseph C. Bambera was the principal celebrant during the Mass, which honored the Rev. Patrick L. Albert and the Rev. Richard E. Fox for their 25-year anniversaries; the Rev. Joseph A. Kearney, the Rev. E. Francis Kelly, the Rev. Edward P. Lyman, Monsignor John J. Bendik and Monsignor Joseph G. Rauscher, for their 50-year anniversaries; and Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus John M. Dougherty, the Rev. Joseph O. Weber, the Rev. Michael J. Rafferty, the Rev. Alex J. Hazzouri, Monsignor William P. Ward and the Rev. Richard A. Zavacki for their 60-year anniversaries; the Rev. Jeffrey J. Walsh, V.E., episcopal vicar for clergy, and Monsignor Thomas M. Muldowney, V.G., vicar general of the diocese, also celebrated during the Mass held in the Cathedral of St. Peter in Scranton.

Local twirlers

go international

Lynnette’s Twirlerettes, Chaney Newcomb, Samantha Thomas, Ashley Sheard, Hailey Norton, Aislinn Toolan, Aubrey Moase, Ava Grossi, Jennifer Natishak, Abby Shygelski, Vanessa Van Deusen, Ally and Brooke Bilski, took their talents to Costa Rica during an international performance in Central America.

The twirlers, under the direction of Lynnette Lepre-Van Deusen, and their families, toured the rain forest and volcanos, went zip lining, walked along suspension bridges and got up close to wildlife while in Costa Rica.

For details, visit www.lynnettestwirlerettes.com.

Super students

Dickson City native Kyle Joseph Mecca received his doctor of dental medicine degree on June 4 from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine in Bradenton, Florida.

Mecca is the son of Barbara and Joseph Mecca, Dickson City, and the grandson of Mildred Keegan, Dickson City, and Eleanor Mecca, Throop. He is a 2006 graduate of Mid Valley High School and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 2010 and his Masters of Science degree in clinical chemistry in 2012, both from the University of Scranton.

Mecca is pursuing a residency in general practice dentistry at Rochester Regional Health in Rochester, New York.

A Scranton neighborhood group’s lawsuit against the city and its sewer authority over a landfill leachate permit remains pending with a hearing scheduled for July 19.

The Green Ridge Neighborhood Association sued in January claiming the sewer authority improperly changed a permit in 2015 to allow Keystone Sanitary Landfill to pipe leachate, or garbage juice, through a certain sewer line.The lawsuit claims

that former sewer authority Executive Director Eugene Barrett unilaterally and improperly changed a landfill permit on Dec. 17, 2015, to allow the landfill to bypass a dedicated leachate line created decades ago out of a prior dispute, and instead also be allowed to use an alternate line, known as the Monahan/Reeves or Green Ridge line.

The permit change violated a 1990 settlement between the landfill, authority and city requiring Keystone to use only the dedicated line, breached a contract and violated the state Sunshine Act, claims the lawsuit by group attorney Paul LaBelle of Moosic.

At the time of the permit change, Barrett said it merely fixed a typographical error. The landfill’s original permit allowed for use of the alternate line, but at some point when the permit was reissued, the alternate line was omitted, he said.

The lawsuit seeks to enforce the 1990 settlement by having the permit change invalidated and the alternate line shut down. The lawsuit, which also seeks unspecified monetary compensation paid to residents for devaluation of their properties, says residents don’t know if periodic sewer-line backups contain pretreated leachate.

“If pretreated leachate is being discharged into the Green Ridge line, then leachate is backing up into the homes, streets and schools in Green Ridge causing additional health, safety and welfare issues,” the group says in a brief in the case. “The city has abandoned the residents of Green Ridge in this matter by failing to take any action to enforce the terms of the 1990 settlement agreement.”

The lawsuit came after a judge in December denied the neighborhood group entry into an underlying, old lawsuit by the landfill against the authority that resulted in the 1990 settlement. Senior Judge John Braxton of Philadelphia, sitting in Lackawanna County Court, ruled that the civic group was 26 years too late to intervene as an outside party in the long-ago-settled lawsuit.

The neighborhood group then filed its own lawsuit. It also names as a defendant the authority’s successor, Pennsylvania American Water, which on Dec. 29 completed its purchase of the sewer system serving Scranton and Dunmore.

The neighborhood group later filed an amended complaint claiming the permit change “for the first time ever” allowed use of the Green Ridge line for emergency leachate discharges.

Braxton will preside over the July 19 hearing on preliminary objections from the defendants. Separate, similar pleadings by the defendants each seeking dismissal of the lawsuit include the following:

Scranton: Solicitor Jessica Boyles and Assistant Solicitor Joseph Price argue the city has no power to intervene in a contract between authority and landfill, the neighborhood group has no legal standing to sue, it failed to name the landfill as a necessary defendant, and failed to first take the issue up with the city planning commission.

SSA: The authority’s counsel for the lawsuit, Matthew Carmody of the Joyce, Carmody & Moran law firm of Pittston, claims the authority has governmental immunity from the lawsuit’s demand for property damages from breach of contract, among other defenses.

PAWC: Water company attorney David Fine of the K&L Gates law firm of Harrisburg states several grounds of opposition. One of those includes that the water company, under the terms of its purchase of the sewer system, “did not take on the sewer authority’s duties under the (1990) settlement agreement,” but even if it did, the water company still did not violate any duty to the neighborhood group.

After the sewer sale, Barrett became a manager of business development for Pennsylvania American Water. He is not named individually as a defendant in the lawsuit. A water company spokesman, Terry Maenza, said in an email that the water company and Barrett declined to comment beyond the firm’s filings in the case.

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100 x5185;

@jlockwoodTT on Twitter

Although fireworks-related injuries are usually commonplace at local hospitals around the Fourth of July, this year marks a potentially injury-free holiday.

Kevin Rinehimer, R.N. clinical leader at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton, said the hospital has not had a single fireworks-related injury from Friday through Tuesday.

“That’s very uncommon for us,” he said. “We usually see at least a handful over the holiday.”

Renita Fennick, the director of communications at Commonwealth Health, said that there was nothing major to report at Commonwealth regarding injuries caused by fireworks.

During one of the worst years for injuries, Geisinger had between five and 10 injuries on the Fourth of July alone, Rinehimer said.

When injuries do occur, the severity often varies, he said.

“It could be anything from minor burns all the way up to deaths,” he said.

The most common injuries tend to be burns on the hands and arms — often due to either sparkler-related incidents with children or from adults mishandling fireworks, especially when alcohol is involved, he said.

Rinehimer cautioned that the general public tends to have a misconception that fireworks are entirely safe, which gives them a false sense of security, but due to the unpredictable nature of fireworks, anything is possible.

“Fireworks are so unpredictable that you never know how they’re going to react,” he said. “They’re not a controlled explosion.”

Contact the writer:

flesnefsky@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5186

MOOSIC — Rabbi Benny Rapoport found a blessing in disguise when rain caused low turnout at last year’s Jewish Food Festival.

Tuesday marked the third and final day of the Jewish Discovery Center’s 11th annual food festival, and Rapoport, a director at the center, estimated they would serve about four to five thousand dishes by the time the festival concluded.

Rapoport believes that good can come from challenges. Last year’s rainy weather prompted Rapoport and the center to expand the event from one day to three, which contributed to this year’s large turnout.

“Friction or difficulty can turn into something beautiful,” he said.

Everything at the festival is kosher, and it gives people an opportunity to try foods that aren’t available elsewhere, he said. This year, the best-selling foods included: knish, corned beef sandwiches, shawarma, falafel and stuffed cabbage, he said.

“It’s nice for the Jewish community, and it’s even nicer for the general Northeastern Pennsylvania community,” Rapoport said.

The Discovery Center specifically chose to hold the festival during the holidays, he said.

“It’s a wonderful way to celebrate July 4th,” he said. “It’s remembering our ethnicities.”

He compared the coming together of different ethnicities to a “beautiful dish” with different spices.

The festival took place in the parking lot of PNC Field. Late afternoon Tuesday, a small crowd, basking in the warm weather, ate at picnic tables just outside the gates of the ballfield.

Carolyn Brombacher and Elaine Saar, both of Taylor, and Eleanor Tyson of Scranton were among those enjoying the Jewish delicacies and the warm weather.

Eating the festival’s corned beef sandwiches was a nostalgic experience for the three women. After eating their meals, which also included knish and kugel, they reminisced about the corned beef sandwiches they would eat at the former Shooky’s Restaurant on North Washington Avenue in Scranton. The festival’s corned beef was just as good, they said.

“More people should try it. It’s well worth the trip over here,” Brombacher said.

Although this was their first time attending, they all plan on coming back next year, they said.

“If these two come, I tag along,” Tyson laughingly added.

Philip Cutler of Scranton has attended the festival every year since its inception.

“I’ve been coming for as long as they had it,” he said.

The event brings people to the area, which may make some want to move here, he said.

“The food is great, and they have a great attraction — meaning the people are amazing,” Cutler said.

Although the festival had one of its best years yet, Rapoport believes that it’s “still in its infancy” and is going to “grow leaps and bounds.”

“It’s very encouraging to see something that started small grow to thousands,” he said.

KATHLEEN BOLUS, staff writer, contributed to this report.

Contact the writer:

flesnefsky@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100 x5186

Flags representing the soldiers who fought in wars waged since the 13 colonies became an independent nation flanked a flagpole Tuesday topped with the billowing red, white and blue symbol of the United States.

“All of you vets, all of you patriotic citizens, thank you,” said Mike Iacavazzi, Pennsylvania commander of the Disabled American Veterans.

Iacavazzi joined other veterans and community members at the Mayor’s Independence Day Celebration inside the pool complex at Nay Aug Park in Scranton. During the celebration, Ray Stedenfeld directed the Ringgold Pops of Scranton band through patriotic songs and the national anthem while a crowd of about 100 people listened.

The event, organized by Army retired Master Sgt. Joseph Sylvester, included welcome remarks from Scranton Mayor Bill Courtright, and benediction from the Rev. Frank Shimkus.

Eagle Scouts and twins Jack and Matt Culkin, both 17, of Dunmore, participated in the blessing of the flag ceremony.

“I was a little nervous but honored,” said Jack, a senior at Dunmore High School.

Jack’s and Matt’s handling of the flag was part of their Eagle Scout project for Boy Scout Troop 66. They joined the Scouts with encouragement from their father, Bill Culkin, who was also an Eagle Scout.

The twins, standing in the large concrete area between the city park’s two pools, were handed Old Glory. They helped guide the flag to a grassy area, home to the park’s flag pole.

The flag was raised as the band played and members of the United States Marine Corps League fired shots into the air commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence 241 years ago in 1776, freeing the future United States from British rule.

“This is one of the greatest holidays,” said Iacavazzi. “Let’s continue to celebrate our freedom in freedom.”

Fourth of July celebrations were held throughout Lackawanna County. The NEPA Philharmonic, which played in Scranton Monday night, performed at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday and the Montrose Independence Day Celebration was held at Montrose High School.

After the RailRiders game, fireworks illuminated the sky above the Moosic baseball field. July Fourth was not the last day for fireworks at the field. Fireworks displays will take place after the regularly scheduled games on Friday and July 21; and Aug. 4, 18 and 25 at PNC Field, 235 Montage Mountain Road, Moosic.

Contact the writer:

kbolus@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100 x5114;

@kbolusTT on Twitter

Scranton Iron Furnaces helped attract an international iron-casting conference to Lackawanna County that is expected to bring as many as 800 to 1,000 people to the region next year to celebrate the works of professionals, scholars and students from around the world.

The other finalists to host the annual International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art were Boston and Bethlehem, said Nikki Moser, co-founder of Keystone Iron Works and co-chairwoman of the May 28 to June 2 event.

The summer of 2018 will mark the first time the conference, held once every four years, will take place in the United States in 16 years.

“We’ll be having people coming in from around the world, literally,” said Susan Estler, executive director of Lackawanna County Convention & Visitors Bureau, whom Moser said was instrumental in helping draw the conference to Northeast Pennsylvania. “It’s a large conference.”

Another factor that impressed decision-makers when they were choosing where to locate the conference was the student involvement at the annual Arts on Fire Industrial Arts Festival at the furnaces, Estler said.

For example, at last month’s event at the historic attraction in South Scranton that includes four massive stone-blast furnaces — the remnants of a once-extensive plant — students from Keystone College and Alfred University showed off their foundry skills. High school students, using Keystone College’s mobile glass-blowing studio, also created sculptures out of glass.

Although iron-casting isn’t the powerhouse industry it was in Scranton’s heyday, commercial foundries still operate across the country, working with architectural firms and doing repair work on equipment such as commercial trains, Moser said. It is also an increasingly popular art form at colleges.

Next year’s conference’s theme will be “post-industrial iron,” which Moser felt is appropriate for the rust-belt city with a growing arts scene.

“Scranton has a weird vibe that’s still left from its Vaudeville days,” Moser said. “I really believe Scranton is a town that is thriving, is art-based. Think of the Fringe Festival, First Friday and all of the music you can see. I believe in Scranton as a culturally rich city.”

Organizers still have considerable planning and logistics to iron out before next summer comes. They expect venues to host exhibitions within perhaps a 100-mile area with partner organizations including area colleges, art galleries and businesses.

Moser plans to work with colleges to arrange student housing, businesses to come up with promotions and the Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society to arrange a train excursion that will link events in East Stroudsburg, Cresco and Gouldsboro.

They are also accepting proposals for lecture series on topics such as pattern making, mold making, melting and casting; workshops; demonstrations and exhibitions.

Businesses and volunteers who are interested in participating and helping can

contact the organizers at

8scranton@gmail.com.

Contact the writer:

kwind@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100, x5181;

@kwindTT on Twitter

A woman rescued from burning home in Dallas late Tuesday was hospitalized, according to a Facebbok posting by Back Mountain Fire/EMS.

Two homes on Main Street were damaged in the four-alarm fire, which broke out around 10:30 p.m.,, according to the report, which said the woman was rescued by firefighters from the Shavertown Volunteer Fire Department's 251 Truck and Squad.

One firefighter was treated for minor burns at the scene, according to the report.

The woman's condition and the cause of the fire could not be determined this morning.

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — An Independence Day fireworks show at one of Pennsylvania's most popular amusement parks ended early after the show sparked a brush fire on a hillside near the fireworks launch area.

The Hershey Fire Department tweeted a picture of the blaze Tuesday night.

Fire officials say the fire started about 15 minutes into the display at Hersheypark. Although the fire was quickly brought under control, the rest of the display was canceled.

Nobody was hurt.

Media representatives from Hersheypark didn't immediately return a call and email for comment Wednesday.

The park is about 100 miles (160.9 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia.

The daughter-in-law of an elderly woman scammed out of thousands asked a judge to make an example of the two who pilfered the now-deceased woman’s finances.

Lackawanna County President Judge Michael J. Barrasse obliged.

In sternly rebuking the two for “ripping off” 69-year-old Mary E. Nichols over an 18-month period, Barrasse sentenced Kristen Munley-Wheatley and her husband, Corey Wheatley, to six to 18 months in jail. The two pleaded guilty to theft; the sentence was beyond the aggravated range for that charge.

“Besides children, who is more vulnerable?” Barrasse said.

Lackawanna County Detective Renee Castellani charged the pair in November, accusing them of abusing Munley-Wheatley’s role as caregiver to steal more than $67,000. The thefts occurred from March of 2015 until at least 10 days after Nichols died on Aug. 20, police said.

“Please let people know how wrong it is,” Kim Walk, Nichols’ daughter-in-law, told Barrasse.

Munley-Wheatley’s attorney Robert J. Munley, who is also her uncle, told the judge he’d known his niece for her entire life and she had always been “good and kind to others.” Since charges have been filed, Munley-Wheatley has paid back $5,000 of the money she was accused of stealing, he said.

“She has no history of doing anything like this,” Munley said.

Police said she forged 77 checks to herself totaling nearly $50,000 and racked up nearly $8,000 in unauthorized charges on Nichols’ credit cards.

Munley-Wheatley, 39, told the judge she accepts responsibility, but Barrasse found her claim dubious and cited a pre-sentencing investigation report in which she appeared to mitigate her behavior.

“So when you were paying yourself thousands of dollars, was that with her (Nichols’) knowledge or without?” Barrasse asked.

Munley-Wheatley acknowledged it was without Nichols’ knowledge.

Her husband, Corey Wheatley, 43, had been accused of using Nichols’ credit cards to take nearly $10,000 in ATM cash advances between May and June 2016.

“It’s very dumb,” Wheatley said Wednesday. “I wish I never did it.”

The judge noted it was not one occurrence. His actions showed a plan of theft over a course of time.

In addition to the jail time, the pair must repay the stolen money and serve 3½ years of probation. Munley-Wheatley must also complete 200 hours of community service.

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

Mid Valley High School Principal Chad Vinansky is moving into a new position to help streamline programs in the district.

High school vice principal Jeffrey Kovaleski will replace him as principal.

As the new supervisor of student services, Vinansky will oversee state-mandated programs the Mid Valley School District is required to offer including gifted education; truancy elimination, which works to improve student attendance before legal or disciplinary measures are taken; and suicide prevention programs. Vinansky’s salary, which was $87,995 in the 2015-16 school year, will remain the same; Kovaleski received a raise and will make $84,000 annually.

Vinansky began the new position this week, after the school board unanimously appointed him to the job during the June 21 meeting.

“I’m happy with the opportunity to continue to work with the district on new initiatives and new programs to help better the school district to move forward,” said Vinansky.

Elementary and secondary center administrators, including supervisors, split the responsibilities of overseeing the programs, said Superintendent Patrick Sheehan. Mid Valley created the supervisor of student services position to “make sure we’re doing all the programs effectively,” he said.

By creating the new position, building administrators will be able to spend more time as “educational leaders,” said Sheehan, and will be able to perform more teacher and classroom visits, among their other duties.

As high school principal, Vinansky oversaw the high school athletic program and will continue to do so because of his extended experience, said Sheehan.

Kovaleski’s first day as principal was Wednesday.

“I am very, very humbled by the opportunity and look forward to the work ahead,” he said.

Mid Valley is currently seeking candidates for the assistant vice principal position. For more details, visit the district’s website at www.mvsd.us.

Contact the writer: kbolus@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5114; @kbolusTT on Twitter.

A former Lackawanna County Prison guard pleaded guilty today to a misdemeanor crime over allegations he assaulted an inmate.

Dressed in a navy suit, Scott Blume, 46, appeared before Lackawanna County President Judge Michael J. Barrasse and admitted he assaulted Damian Kellogg last September. Blume faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

“Mr. Blume did you commit that crime?” Barrasse asked.

Blume said he did.

The incident, captured on the jail’s video surveillance cameras, began after Kellogg was placed in a holding cell and ordered to change into a different jail uniform designated for restricted housing unit inmates. Kellogg argued and Blume, a sergeant at the time, entered the cage and grabbed Kellogg by his throat and hair and then sprayed him twice with pepper spray through a slot in the cell door. In a lawsuit filed against the jail and in a letter to Judge Vito Geroulo, Kellogg said Blume had sprayed his exposed genitals.

Blume had been employed at the jail from 2002 until his Dec. 14, though the county administration has declined to say if he resigned or was fired.

First Assistant District Attorney Gene Riccardo said the plea signified Blume’s acceptance of responsibility.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following a pre-sentencing investigation.

Kellogg’s federal lawsuit against the county jail is ongoing.

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

The wife of a Hallstead man who committed suicide while a patient at the former Marian Community Hospital in Carbondale agreed to a $3.25 million settlement of a lawsuit.

Donna M. Brink filed suit in 2013, alleging medical and psychiatric staff for the hospital and NHS Human Services of Lafayette Hill were negligent in their care of James Brink, who hanged himself inside his hospital room on June 2, 2011.

According to the suit, James Brink was admitted to the hospital on May 22 and May 31, suffering from severe depression. He was deemed to be at extreme risk to harm himself. Despite that, no suicide precautions were put into effect.

The suit, filed by Scranton attorney Marion Munley,named as defendants the hospital; NHS, which provided psychiatric services for the hospital; and Dr. Satish Mallik of Carbondale, who assessed James Brink the day before his death.

Attorneys sought to seal the settlement. Lackawanna County Judge Terrence Nealon refused the request.

Nealon has repeatedly refused to seal settlements in lawsuits involving deaths or minor children, finding that public’s right to access to court records outweighs any interest in keeping the settlement secret.

The settlement earmarks $1,302,000 for attorneys fees and $162,395 in costs to Munley Law PC. The remaining $1,790,606 will be divided amongst Donna Brink, who will receive $1,581,779 and the couple’s three daughters, who will each receive $69,609.

Marian Community Hospital will pay 55 percent of the settlement, while NHS is responsible for 45 percent, according to court documents filed in the case.

Stuart O’Neal, attorney for NHS, declined to comment. Attempts to reach attorneys for Dr. Mallik and the hospital were unsuccessful.

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

A man upset about a fight with his girlfriend tried to talk a friend into helping him shoot up a police station earlier this week, police said.

Police charged Zachary Indovina, 24, with terroristic threats after a friend reported a Sunday conversation to South Abington Twp. police. Jamie Stell told police that Indovina barged into his Nichols Village hotel room around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, saying he needed help to get his girlfriend and baby back.

Indovina had a map pulled up on his cell phone showing a police station and wanted Stell to help him storm the building with rifles, Stell told police. It wasn’t clear to Stell which police station he was targeting, but said Indovina tried to load Stell’s .30-.30 Winchester rifle while he outlined his plan.

“Indovina began to explain ... that he wants Stell to stay outside and take up a position and begin shooting out the windows of the police station, while Indovina rushes into the building with a rifle and takes back his girlfriend and child,” South Abington Twp. police Officer Riccardo A. Godino wrote in a criminal complaint. “Indovina stated that once he has his family he is going to exit the police station and run into the tree line behind the building to escape capture.”

Stell took the rifle from Indovina and told him to “go through the right channels to get his family back,” police said.

On Monday, a Lackawanna County Sheriff’s deputy served Indovina with a protection from abuse order barring him from contacting his girlfriend, Hannah Schwab.

The same day, police escorted Schwab, who said she had an ongoing physical and verbal dispute with Indovina, to Nicholas Village so she could collect some belongings. While she did so, Indovina called and texted her several times, police said.

Police arrested Indovina late Monday at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, where he’d received treatment for a hand injury, police said.

Indovina remains in Lackawanna County Prison after failing to post $185,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Contact the writer: enissley@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9138