News Stream

MARRIAGE LICENSES

Patrick Boyle Jr. and Lorrie Lea Harris, both of Old Forge.

Matthew Thomas and Jessica Candice Mumford, both of Clarks Green.

Teresa Toth, Blakely, and Richard Henry Sweder, Peckville.

Kimberly Ismae Orosco and Pavol Sabo, both of West Palm Beach, Fla.

Nathan Alan Snyder and Kenya Lee Hadlock, both of Peckville.

Rachele Lynn Trzcinski and Matthew Steves Tombaugh, both of New York.

Sean Edward Putnam and Molly Elizabeth Matyas, both of San Diego.

Devin Christopher Tokash, Jermyn, and Lauren Godowski, Moscow.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

Valor Credit Union, formerly known as Tobyhanna Army Depot Federal Credit Union, now by merger and acquisition Pentagon Federal Credit Union, also known as Penfed Credit Union, to Robert and Theresa Weidow, Spring Brook Twp.; a property at 425 Cherry St., Scranton, for $25,000.

Wells Fargo Bank, Fredericksburg, Md., to Marc Henry Zahra, Blakeslee; a property at 1249 Country Club Drive, Thornhurst Twp., for $47,500.

Joseph S. and Jennifer Limani, Spring Brook Twp., to April Kishbaugh and John Kudey Jr., Swoyersville, as joint tenants with rights of survivorship; a property in Spring Brook Twp. for $174,000.

Carol Feldheim LLC, Monsey, N.Y., to Michael D. and Theresa Revilak, Scranton; a property at 1422 N. Lincoln Ave., Scranton, for $85,000.

Catalin Florin Popescu to Scott Lammers and Susan A. Ivey-Lammers; a property at 1305 Prospect Ave., Scranton, for $37,000.

Amanda Bowen to Jeremy A. Freiwald and Seleena Rashid; a property at 32 Pine Tree Road, Covington Twp., for $206,185.

Jerrold S. Hahn, Roaring Brook Twp., to Susan Kelley, Moscow; a property at 301 Donny Drive, Roaring Brook Twp., for $158,620.

Michael Alonzo, Old Forge, to Shannon Exeter, Old Forge; a property at 113 Miles St., Old Forge, for $117,000.

Union Mill Farm LLC, Greentown, to Jacob S. and Larayne Young, Moscow; a property in Covington Twp. for $75,000.

Lynn Marie Johnson, Clifton Twp., to James and Rebecca McLain, Clifton Twp.; a property in Clifton Twp. for $95,000.

Francis J. McAndrew, Archbald, to Tammy A. Flannery, Archbald; a property at 114 S. Main St., Archbald, for $130,400.

Patrick J. and Joyce J. McDonnell, Dickson City, to Ken Santarelli Realty LLC, Peckville; two parcels at 601 Grier St., Dickson City, for $112,000.

FEDERAL TAX LIENS

Hansford and Rosemary Bohanon, 320 Scott Road, South Abington Twp.; $19,805.98.

First Financial Investments Inc., 116 N. State St., first floor, Clarks Summit; $6,062.90.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

CLIFTON TWP. — A Lake Ariel man is in critical condition after another vehicle hit his motorcycle this morning.

The crash happened at about 11:20 a.m., as a Jeep Wrangler driven by Maria Pavlicka, 52, of Pocono Lake, traveled west on Clifton Beach Road and turned left onto Quick Island Road, according to state police. Pavlicka did not see Douglas Chapman, 73, of Lake Ariel, traveling east on Clifton Beach Road on a motorcycle and struck him, police said.

Chapman is at Geisinger Community Medical Center in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Denise Rader said. Pavlicka was not injured. She will be charged with careless driving, troopers said.

— CLAYTON OVER

DICKSON CITY — The borough is drafting an ordinance designed to speed enforcement of quality-of-life concerns of residents.

The proposed ordinance is part of an ongoing effort to eliminate blight throughout Dickson City’s residential areas and also a response to complaints from residents, said Councilman Robert Hall, chairman of the blight committee, and council President Barbara Mecca.

Officials envision the ordinance targeting problems such as blighted properties, high grass, accumulation of garbage, pet waste, indoor furniture being kept outside — “anything that affects people’s quality of life,” Hall said.

The new ordinance could overlap with some provisions from other legislation like the noise ordinance, but it would enable borough officials to respond more quickly to problems and ideally prevent issues from lingering.

“What this does is it streamlines the process,” Hall said. “Now instead of going to a magistrate, our zoning officer and our borough manager can issue citations on the spot. If a property owner, say, is cited for not shoveling the sidewalks, that has to go to a magistrate. Well, in 30 days, is the snow still there? No, it’s melted.”

Borough Cesare Forconi and Solicitor Bill Jones were still researching and drafting the ordinance as of Tuesday’s council meeting.

Officials hoped to have the ordinance available in time for next month’s meeting so council can approve advertising it for 30 days and be in position to formally adopt it a month later.

Contact the writer:

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

@kwindTT

ESTATE NOTICES

Roberta Lupo, Liberty Twp.; letters testamentary to Diane Fox, 27 Woodside Drive, Bolton, Mass.

Trudy Meshak, 915 Delaware St., Forest City; letters testamentary to Cheryl Woodford, 6 Pine St., Windsor, N.Y.

MARRIAGE LICENSES

Brandon Legg and Ashley Whipple, both of Lawton.

Michael Newhart and Michelle Pointek, both of Laceyville.

Chad Moore and Bianca Sabia, both of Laceyville.

Robert Benscoter, of Springville, and Melaina McCracken, of Factoryville.

Shawn Morris and Lisa Brown, both of Hallstead.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

Earl and Jacqueline Baker to Shayna Benson, a property in Oakland for $61,000.

Brian Davis (trustee) to Dominick III and Carolee Clementi, a property in Thompson Twp. for $242,000.

Craig Coll to Henry Wagstaff IV, a property in Little Meadows for $132,500.

Mary O’Brien (estate) to Ryan and Erin Smith, a property in Silver Lake Twp. for $234,500.

EMK Resources LLC to Hilary Tacey, a property in New Milford Twp. for $123,400.

Kenneth and Lisa Schmidt to T. Cokely, a property in Harford Twp. for $99,500.

Donald and Sharon Marshman to New Milford DG LLC, a property in New Milford for $350,000.

Nancy Robinson (estate) to Stanley French, a property in Thompson Twp. for $170,000.

Raymond Hackel (estate) to Andre Gilmore and Stephanie Hackel, a property in Great Bend Twp. for $130,000.

Johnnie and Marsha Florance to Gwen Ghernoff and Ambrose Madden, a property in New Milford Twp. for $215,000.

Beth Ann Berwanger, Martin and Lorraine Parise to Hiram Gillyard Sr., a property in Clifford Twp. for $169,500.

John and MaryKay Tolerico to Mickayla Turano, a property in Forest City for $127,200.

Corbin Family to Brittany Stankiewicz, a property in Brooklyn Twp. for $105,000.

Rowan Tree Developments to Zbigniew Skurzok, a property in Great Bend Borough for $110,000.

David and Janelle Zigon to Stephen Mahoney and June Reed, a property in Clifford Twp. for $174,000.

Dickson City

Bingo fundraiser: Designer purse bingo fundraiser for Mike, Judy and their daughter Michaelene Wiktor to help cover the cost of medical expenses, Sept. 16, Visitation of the BVM Parish Center (in the school), 625 Dundaff St., doors open, 3:30 p.m. and games start, 5:30, $25 includes 20 games, specials, 50/50, basket raffle, food and beverages, two floors of bingo, handicapped accessible; 570-489-2091 or you can visit or mail your request for tickets along with payment to the parish office, 1090 Carmalt St., Dickson City, PA 18519.

Dunmore

Bus trip: Dunmore Senior Center and Goodwill at North Sands Casino bus trip, Sept. 8, leaves 9:30 a.m. from Goodwill Apartments, 10 a.m. from the senior center, and leaves casino at 5 p.m., $30, includes $25/rebate and $5/food voucher; Carmela, 570-347-2404.

Hawley

Flea market: Indoor flea market and bake sale, Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Hawley Fire House, 17 Columbus Ave; 570-226-9820 or 570-335-0851.

Midvalley

Class reunion: Mid Valley class of 1977 reunion, Aug. 26, 4 p.m., American Legion Post 570, 400 Second St., Blakely; Andy Kerecman, 570-335-0303 or Cindy Wolf Sherman, 570-309-4114.

Peckville

Block party: Free neighborhood block party, Aug. 19, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Peckville Alliance Church, Hickory and Union streets, live music, puppet shows, bounce house, carnival games, refreshments, door prizes and giveaways; Pastor Nestor Soto, peckvillealliancechurch@gmail.com, 570-489-4063 or PeckvilleAlliance.com website.

South Scranton

Seniors meet: South Scranton After 50 Club meeting, Thursday, 1:30 p.m., St. Paul of the Cross Parish Center, Prospect Avenue.

Wayne Highlands

Curriculum night: Wayne Highlands Middle School curriculum night, Sept. 6, 5:30-8 p.m., faculty will be in their classrooms to explain their academic area, homework, textbooks and activities, and to answer questions about the middle school.

CLIPBOARD ITEMS may be emailed to yesdesk@times

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

C.J. MARSHALL / STAFF PHOTO

Emergency crews from Triton Hose Company remove the roof of a Malibu LS to extricate a woman from inside the vehicle Tuesday on Route 6 near Deer Park Lumber in Tunkhannock. The Malibu collided with a tractor-trailer around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. The woman was transported via ambulance from the scene.

Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not insured anymore.

— with apologies to “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” author L. Frank Baum (1856-1919).

One of the state’s most prominent municipal insurers just pulled the plug on the Scranton Sewer Authority.

In a July 31 letter to SSA Executive Director/Solicitor Jason Shrive, Housing and Redevelopment Exchange owner Charles Volpe cited murky ownership of stormwater lines, the dubious legality of the sewer system sale and other questions raised by The Times-Tribune.

He also accused the authority of failing to disclose open disputes over easements. Finally, Volpe wrote that the authority failed to pay premiums since the general liability policy’s inception in January. The SSA was supposedly dissolved in December, but somehow still needed insurance — just not enough to pay for it.

The cancellation nullifies the policy back to its inception date. Volpe’s letter excuses all unmade payments. He downplayed the delinquency part of the equation when I spoke with him Tuesday.

“I would never have canceled just because of the money,” Volpe said, explaining that the state Municipal Authorities Act — raised repeatedly in this newspaper — was impossible to ignore.

“That was the tipping point for me,” he said. “The language (of the act) is clear and unequivocal.”

The act states: “Money of the authority may not be used for any grant, loan or other expenditure for any purpose other than a service or project directly related to the mission or purpose of the authority as set forth in the articles of incorporation or in the resolution or ordinance establishing the authority.”

The SSA sale’s apparent incompatibility with the act and the open question of whether the authority still legally exists are key elements of a lawsuit over property condemnations the authority made through eminent domain.

The authority seized and made changes to private properties and then tried to say, “Never mind,” when the owners filed suit.

Attorney Bill Jones, who represents one of the clients in the condemnation suit, was surprised when I told him Tuesday that the authority’s insurance was canceled. Like any smart lawyer who knows better than to make his case in the newspaper, he declined comment.

Jason Shrive didn’t have much more to say about the cancellation.

“We are working through the insurance issues,” he said when I asked whether what’s left of the SSA is operating without insurance. I asked three times. His answer was the same: “We are working through the insurance issues.”

Volpe said the SSA is indeed uninsured, but HARIE has agreed to provide a reference if the authority finds a carrier willing to excuse a seven-month coverage gap.

“It’s the equivalent of Dorothy in the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ when the wizard says before they send her back to Kansas, she has to do him one small favor,” Volpe said.

“Dorothy asks what, and he says she has to get him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy says, ‘How do I do that? I’d have to kill her to get it.’

“The wizard says, ‘That’s not my problem.’”

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, is fully insured. Contact the writer:

kellysworld@timesshamrock.com. Read his award-winning blog at timestribuneblogs.com/kelly.

MARRIAGE LICENSES

Bella Donna Cipriano, Scranton, and Brian Michael Langan, Jefferson Twp.

Sterling Blaze Jennings and Robin Leonard, both of Baltimore.

Justin M. Collins, Lake Ariel, and Trina Carito, Greenfield Twp.

Melissa Anne Gruber and Damien Sean-Lawrence Strickland, both of Olyphant.

Rolando Padrigano Barcelon Sr. and Claudia Vasquez, both of Scranton.

Elizabeth Ann O’Neill and Thomas James McLane, both of Dunmore.

Serena Alexandra Allan and Travis Robert Helmer, both of Scranton.

Lisa Marie Dovin, Forest City, and Jamie Christopher Hill, Richmondale.

Jonathan Michael Lemmon and Jennifer Marie Shaffer, both of Scranton.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

Cartus Financial Corp. to Sufyan H. and Sabhachandani Mohammed; a property at 101 Skyline Drive North, South Abington Twp., for $330,000.

Michael and Kathleen Boyko, Spring Brook Twp., to Brandon L. and Kristy K. Whitlock, Dickson City; a property at 15 First St., Spring Brook Twp., for $269,900.

Kenneth and Linda Powell, Scott Twp., to Mark and Jean Siderowicz, Scott Twp.; a property at 324 Shadow Wood Circle, Archbald, for $216,000.

Brandon and Kristy Whitlock, Spring Brook Twp., to Jeffrey J. Nocella, Lackawanna County; a property at 944-946 Lincoln St., Dickson City, for $193,500.

Robert and Dorothy Moher, Clarks Summit, to Barbara Winters, Clarks Summit; two parcels at 1297 Gravel Pond Road, South Abington Twp., for $45,500.

PNC Bank N.A. and Leo M. McCormack, co-executors of the estate of Doris N. Dobrydney, Scranton, to Joseph and Patricia Marra, Kutztown; two parcels at 1529 Monsey Ave., Scranton, for $105,000.

Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, attorney-in-fact for Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., to Milton Marrero; a property at 2423 N. Main Ave., Scranton, for $34,784.

Joseph P. and Susan R. Aulisio to Ian D. Conley and Cynthia Manzano; two parcels in Ransom Twp. for $200,000.

Francis and Theresa Marciano, Clarks Summit, to JWB Property Group LLC; a property at 1639 Dorothy St., Scranton, for $63,000.

Francis and Theresa Marciano, Clarks Summit, to JWB Property Group LLC; a property at 1635-1637 Dorothy St., Scranton, for $102,000.

Lian Yu Zhao, Scranton, to Just Property Management LLC, Scranton; a property at 328-330 Warren St., Scranton, for $30,000.

Leonid Y. and Lindsay Ayzenshtat, Clarks Summit, to Eric Houtsma and Shahana Parvin Poly, Clarks Summit, as joint tenants with rights of survivorship; a property at 108 Sturbridge Road, Clarks Summit, for $265,500.

William A. Dixon and Daniel D. Dixon, individually and as co-executors of the estate of Loretta A. Dixon, Scranton, to Cody N. Souryavong, Scranton; a property at 102 Mary Ann St., Scranton, for $160,000.

John and Rachel Lopez to Ronald J. Tini Sr.; a property at 209 Second St., Vandling, for $114,000.

DIVORCE SOUGHT

Krista A. Archibald, Jessup, v. Gregory J. Archibald, Peckville; married Aug. 2, 2003, in Peckville; pro se.

ESTATES FILED

Anna Marie Justave, 1431 Wyoming Ave., Scranton, letters of administration to Mary Elaine Justave, same address.

Carmel Ann Sabatelle Caputo, also known as Carmel Ann Caputo, 509 Chestnut St., Dunmore, letters of administration to Angelo J. Sabatelle, 27 Harbor View Drive, Atlantic Highlands, N.J.

Theresa A. Judge, 2751 Boulevard Ave., Scranton, letters testamentary to Mary Theresa Castanzo, 612 Depot St., Scranton.

Mark J. Rinaldi, 410 Reeves St., Dunmore, letters of administration to Ann Rinaldi, same address.

BENCH WARRANTS

Judge Thomas Munley has issued the following bench warrants for failure to appear on fines and costs:

Dashawn Mitchell, 310 Tinsman Ave., Williamsport; $2,335.50.

Luis C. Ortiz, 603 Smith St., Scranton; $1,294.

Derrell K. Mills, 318 Pittston Ave., Scranton; $825.

Ryan Michael Gongliewski, 674 Pratt Hollow Road, Nicholson; $1,078.25.

Catherine Kilanowski, 1191 Griffin Road, Roaring Brook Twp.; $3,470.

Louise Marie Brownell, 211½ E. Market St., Scranton; $2,104.50.

John Carlos Morrero, 1015 Clay Ave., Apt. 5, Scranton; $904.

Michael Mills, 109 Walnut St., Dunmore; $422.

Tyreek Pickens, 5723 N. 17th St., Philadelphia; $979.74.

Gary Stuart Moore, 632 Roosevelt Ave., Apt. 1, York; $370.50.

Jason Michael Edwards, 1010 Wheeler Ave., Scranton; $885.50.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

Public Market’s second try goes well

Shortly after the early morning arrival of the farmers at the Scranton Public Market, a steady rain started to fall. Organizers feared the rain would keep people away.

After the rain let up around 7 a.m., women started to show at the market. At one point, the market’s organizer estimated a 1,000 women were shopping at the market on the 300 block of Mifflin Avenue. By 9:30 a.m., due to a lack of produce, the market closed for the day. Shoppers bought out three large wagons and two truckloads of fresh farm produce.

In a turn of events from Tuesday, several of the operators of the produce wholesalers in Scranton announced that they support the market and there are ways they can work together. On Tuesday, the wholesalers were accused of trying to sabotage the market.

Three local women marry in secret

Three women surprised friends and family by announcing that they all recently got married.

The women, Celia Weinberg, Hattie Kaminsky and Lillian Cohen, all of Scranton, got married over the past month in New York state.

Weinberg, former private secretary to A.S. Weisberger, general secretary of Young Men’s Hebrew Association, married Garry Shampainer of Paterson, New Jersey, in New York City on July 9. Kaminsky, superintendent of Jewish Federated Charities in Scranton, married Jacob Mechlouitz of Emmett Street on July 10 in New York City. And Cohen married Jack Rosenbloom, formerly of Scranton now living in Columbus, Ohio, in Buffalo, New York.

All three women are friends. Weinberg and Kaminsky, co-workers at the Young Men’s Hebrew Association in Scranton, even kept the secret from each other.

BRIAN FULTON, library manager, oversees The Times-

Tribune’s expansive digital and paper archives and is an authority on local history. Contact Brian at bfulton@timesshamrock.com or 570-348-9140.

Lebanese food fest this weekend

Representatives from St. Joseph Melkite Greek-Catholic Church finalized plans for the church’s annual Lebanese-American Food Festival this weekend.

Katie Patchoski and Tyler Milewski are serving as food co-chairmen for the festival in its 16th year. Alicia Patchoski is the event co-chairwoman while Terri Patchoski is organizing books/tickets.

Tom Bolus, Anne Clarice Zaydon, Karen Abda Kane, ladies society; Kathie Abda Barrett, baked goods; Betsy Zaydon, baskets/publicity; the Rev. Christopher Manuele, pastor; and Lucas Patchoski are also serving on the festival committee.

The festival at the church at 130 N. St. Frances Cabrini Ave., in West Scranton, is on Friday at 5 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at noon and features Middle Eastern food and pastries including grape leaves, kibbee, meat and spinach pies, shish-kabobs and baklawa, as well as local picnic favorites like potato pancakes, sausage and peppers, burgers and pizza fritas, along with kids games, a basket raffle, an indoor used book sale and church tours, among other festivities.

New to the annual event is an All American Grill Fish & Fry on Friday from 5 to 10 p.m., featuring clams, beer, fish, fries and grill items.

For details, visit the church on Facebook or at melkitescranton.org or email melkite.scranton@gmail.com.

Back to School

Bonanza planned

The University of Scranton is partnering with the Marketplace at Steamtown, Lackawanna County and the Scranton School District to hold its annual Back to School Bonanza.

Julie Schumacher Cohen, university director of community and government relations; and Patricia O’Rourke Cummings, university coordinator of clubs, organizations and student government, met with marketplace general manager Joseph Kenney, Fran Pantuso, Lackawanna County community outreach manager; and Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D., Scranton School District superintendent, to discuss the event.

The free fair for area children and families is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 20, from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Marketplace at Steamtown, Lackawanna Avenue, Scranton.

High notes

Lackawanna County Register of Wills Frances Kovaleski will serve as second vice president of the Registers of Wills and Clerks of Orphans’ Court Association.

Kovaleski was sworn in during the association’s annual conference in Gettysburg in July.

The association facilitates collaboration and cooperation between the 67 county registers of wills and 17 county clerks of the Orphans’ court who do not serve as registers.

A gas driller that was targeted with allegations that it polluted residential water wells in Pennsylvania has filed a $5 million lawsuit against a Pennsylvania resident and his lawyers, asserting they tried to extort the company through a frivolous lawsuit.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. said Dimock resident Ray Kemble and his lawyers sought to harass and extort the Houston-based driller, attract media attention and "poison" the community by recycling "stale, settled claims" against the company.

"Cabot will protect its rights and pursue justice against those who irresponsibly and maliciously abuse the legal system," George Stark, the Houston-based driller's director of external affairs, said in a statement Tuesday.

Cabot's suit, filed Monday in Susquehanna County Court, takes issue with a federal lawsuit that Kemble and his lawyers filed in April but withdrew two months later. That suit accused Cabot of continuing to pollute Kemble's water supply.

The company said the claims in Kemble's suit were the subject of a 2012 settlement between Cabot and dozens of Dimock residents — including Kemble — and were barred by the statute of limitations. Cabot's suit also alleged Kemble had breached the 2012 settlement by publicly talking about the company.

Kemble, who's long been one of Pennsylvania's most visible and outspoken anti-drilling activists, did not immediately return a phone message Tuesday. Nor did the attorneys named as defendants in the suit, Charles Speer of the Speer Law Firm in Kansas City, Missouri, and Edward Ciarimboli and Clancy Boylan of Fellerman & Ciarimboli, which has offices in Philadelphia and northeastern Pennsylvania.

Cabot's suit is the latest sign of a rekindling battle in Dimock, the small village that became ground zero in the national debate over drilling and fracking after residents accused Cabot of polluting the water nearly a decade ago. The community was featured in the Emmy-winning 2010 documentary "Gasland," which showed residents lighting their tap water on fire. Cabot said the methane in their water was naturally occurring.

As recently as last week, Kemble told The Associated Press that his water "burns the back of your throat, makes you gag, makes you want to puke," and said it got worse after Cabot fracked three wells near his house. Fracking is a method that uses huge amounts of pressurized water, along with sand and chemicals, to extract oil and natural gas from rock formations deep underground.

Scientists from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a federal public health agency, were at Kemble's house and two dozen other hosues last week to test the water.

Cabot, one of the largest and most successful drillers in Pennsylvania, the nation's No. 2 gas-producing state, says there's no threat to human health or the environment in Dimock.

Two Republican voters have challenged whether a pair of third-party Scranton mayor candidates can remain on the Nov. 7 election ballot.

Voters Barbara Marinucci and William Lodge contend Libertarian Party candidate Gary St. Fleur and Independent for Mayor candidate Giovanni Piccolino lack the required number of signatures on their nominating papers to get on the ballot.

They say St. Fleur and Piccolino need at least 170 valid signatures, but at least 78 of the 210 names that appear on St. Fleur’s papers and 87 of the 228 names on Piccolino’s papers are invalid. That would leave St. Fleur with only 132 signatures and Piccolino with only 141, the challengers contend.

The challengers say the papers contain names that are invalid because many people who signed aren’t registered to vote; have wrong addresses listed; wrote their names or addresses illegibly; or signed without including a signing date or incorrectly writing one.

They also allege neither St. Fleur nor Piccolino were present when some people signed even though both candidates are listed as circulators of all their nominating papers.

In St. Fleur’s case, the challengers also claim he filed his papers too late. The Lackawanna County Bureau of Elections closes at 4 p.m., but St. Fleur filed at 4:23 p.m., had to have a notary public come to the bureau to notarize them after 4:20 p.m. and did not file by-laws of the Libertarian Party as required until 4:14 p.m., according to the challenge.

“It is unfair and unjust that St. Fleur is allowed to file papers beyond the authorized time limit set for in the (state) election code and by the county board (of elections) while other potential candidates must follow (the) rules,” the challenges say.

In Piccolino’s case, the challengers also say some names on the papers were printed by someone other than the signer and some people who signed printed and signed the names of others.

The challenges were filed Tuesday. A hearing on the challenges is set for next Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in county court.

St. Fleur and Piccolino want to get on the ballot to run against Mayor Bill Courtright, the Democratic nominee, and attorney Jim Mulligan, the Republican nominee.

St. Fleur, 33, a writer, called the challenge “a witch hunt” and “a sad and pathetic” step designed to discourage young people from getting involved.

“They obviously don’t want me on the ballot,” he said. “Anything that goes against the status quo is highly opposed.”

He vowed to win the case in court, saying he doubts anyone can prove 78 of his signatures invalid.

“That’s a very hard thing to do,” he said.

Piccolino, 41, a downtown pizzeria owner, called the challenge “a joke” and a “pathetic and dirty” effort that he blamed on Mulligan, who, he said fears his candidacy.

“I hate him, I really do," Piccolino said.

Efforts to reach Mulligan were not immediately successful.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9147; @BorysBlogTT on Twitter.

SCRANTON — The Harrison Avenue Bridge won’t be closed all day today, Thursday and Friday after all.

The state Department of Transportation said Tuesday the bridge would close between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day, but spokesman James May said the department learned today the closings would only have to happen intermittently each day. May said he expects the closings to happen for longer stretches later today and on Thursday and Friday.

The bridge must close intermittently to allow a PPL Electric Utilities contractor to install 69,000-volt power lines on a new tower.

Because of the uncertainty of closures, drivers should avoid the bridge until Friday evening and use alternate routes, May said.

— BORYS KRAWCZENIUK

A 21-year-old Scranton man will spend at least 5½ years in state prison on charges he fired six bullets from a handgun on a residential street in Scranton last fall, a judge ordered Wednesday.

Nyriq Johnson, of 932 Quincy Ave., appeared Wednesday before Lackawanna County President Judge Michael J. Barrasse and learned his sentence, which could be as much as 12 years in prison.

Johnson pleaded guilty in May to counts of aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and firearms not to be carried without a license. The judge also sentenced him on a separate drug charge. Detectives said he was a Crips street gang member.

“He reacted badly,” Kim Giombetti, Johnson’s attorney, told the judge. “He reacted with fear.”

Scranton police charged that Johnson argued with a man Oct. 12, on the 300 block of Railroad Avenue then pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at him as another woman approached to ask them to take their dispute elsewhere.

Police said he fired six bullets, which struck a vehicle but did not strike anyone. Officers soon found five .380-cailber casings. Johnson fled and police and U.S. marshals captured him late the next day on Ward Place.

Giombetti described her client as a high school graduate raised by a single mother. She also said Johnson was on his way to a job interview at the time of the shooting.

“He was on his way to a job interview with a gun?” Barrasse asked.

Giombetti and Johnson said the man he shot at had clashed with him before.

County sheriff’s deputies led Johnson away in handcuffs. He was in Lackawanna County Prison on Wednesday. Once his sentence is served, Johnson will spend nine years on probation.

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

Wilkes-Barre City Fire Department personnel are searching the Susquehanna River near the city for a missing person.

A Luzerne County 911 supervisor said the search started around 8 a.m. Wednesday after someone discovered an empty boat around 10 p.m. Tuesday night.

Ashley Bevan of Plains identified the missing man as her father, Rick Bevan, in a widely-shared Facebook post imploring friends and residents to help find him.

She said Rick Bevan went fishing around 4 p.m. yesterday and "never came home." His boat was found by the Black Diamond Bridge along with his phone, she wrote.

Deputy Fire Chief Alan Klapat said 54-year-old Bevan's boat was found upright between the Market Street and Black Diamond bridges after emergency crews started searching after 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Crews called off the initial search around 2:15 a.m. Wednesday and resumed in the daylight.

Multiple water rescue crews including dive crews launched from Nesbitt Park Wednesday in search of Bevan. Klapat said they remained hopeful and would update Bevan's family members -- many of whom gathered near the boat launch to watch the search -- with any new information.

Check back for updates.

Three people accused of killing a man and dumping his body in Susquehanna County last summer pleaded guilty today in Lackawanna County Court.

The trio entered the pleas before Judge Andy Jarbola in the Aug. 25 strangulation death of Joshua Rose, 21, of Luzerne.

Preston Layfield, 23, of Scranton, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, while codefendants Tyler Mirabelli, 23, of Clarks Summit, and Amanda Wayda, 21, of Shickshinny, each pleaded guilty to third-degree murder as an accomplice.

According to investigators, Rose was suffering from a possible drug overdose when the three loaded him into a vehicle in Scranton and strangled him with a set of jumper cables as they drove north on Interstate 81.

They dumped his body in the Hop Bottom area, where it was found a few days later.

No sentencing dates have been set for the defendants. Each faces up to 40 years in prison.

Check back for updates.

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

For the second time in as many days, local police charged Ernest Deininger with huffing electronics cleaner while with two young children.

Scranton police arrested Deininger, 23, of Dickson City, and Miranda Kipp, 21, 721 Main St., Edwardsville, at about 7:35 p.m. Tuesday at the Southside Shopping Center on South Washington Avenue. Officers saw the pair leaning against a building there with the two boys when they say Deininger try to hide behind a stroller and inhale from a can of air duster, according to court documents. Police also observed Kipp take the can, inhale from it, then try to hide it under a towel, police said. Officers then took the pair into custody.

Duster is an aerosol product with the intended use of cleaning computers and other electronics, but can be abused as an inhalant.

Both Deininger and Kipp told city police they inhaled the product and Deininger told them using it is “his alternative to Suboxone,” according to court documents. Suboxone is a prescription drug used to treat people addicted to opioids.

Officers later learned Deininger had previously been arrested and a condition of his bail was that he have no contact with Kipp or her children, police said.

The arrests in Scranton comes a day after Taylor police encountered Deininger and Kipp with the children, a 2 year old and a 6 month old. Police there found Deininger unresponsive and holding a can of duster with the children nearby at about 12:45 a.m. Monday. Officers arrested Deininger and charged him with endangering the welfare of children and offenses related to using the inhalant.

Deininger and Kipp are each charged with endangering the welfare of children and illegal use of a solvent stemming from the incident in Scranton. Magisterial District Judge Joanne Price Corbett arraigned Deininger and Kipp this morning and set bail for each at $10,000. They are held at Lackawanna County Prison. Kipp’s mother took custody of the children, police said.

Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Aug. 15.

Contact the writer: cover@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5363; @ClaytonOver on Twitter

Lisa Ann Mecca turned to the courtroom gallery, screwed up her face and tried to speak.

Broken apologies reached the family of Shane Rivenburgh, the boy she killed while driving under the influence last year. Her heaving sobs choked off most of her words today before Lackawanna County President Judge Michael J. Barrasse sentenced her to four to 10 years in state prison.

“I’m so sorry I put you through this,” she managed to say at one point.

The Rivenburghs met her weepy mea culpa with stony eyes. They wanted an example made of her.

“She doesn’t have the right to cry over our son,” the 18-year-old’s father, Scott Rivenburgh, said later. “She doesn’t deserve it.”

Mecca, 51, of Dickson City, pleaded guilty in February to homicide by vehicle while DUI, a general impairment count of DUI and a traffic violation for the April 13, 2016, crash that left Rivenburgh, a former Lakeland baseball star, dying on Business Route 6 near Betty Street in Archbald. He died of injuries later that day.

Mecca, police charged that August, had a combination of 60 nanograms per milliliter of hydrocodone and 98 ng/ml of alprazolam in her blood. Alprazolam, a benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety and panic disorder, has a toxic threshold of 75 ng/ml.

Driving under the influence of a prescription is no less dangerous than driving drunk, Barrasse chastised.

“I hope, one day, you realize the pain you have inflicted,” Barrasse said.

Cathy Rivenburgh, the victim’s mother, spoke of wanting stricter laws governing license suspension of suspected in serious DUI offenses. Called “Shane’s Law,” she championed in court a state Senate bill which would issue a mandatory license suspension for drivers charged with DUIs involving death or serious injury or in cases where a child younger than 14 is in the vehicle. That bill, introduce by State Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, among others, is before the Senate’s transportation committee, where it has been without a vote since March 24.

“There’s not a day that goes by I don’t cry for my son,” Cathy Rivenburgh said.

The 18-year-old’s sister spoke next. Ari Rivenburgh said Shane is still her brother. The past tense will never do.

Helping write her brother’s obituary and sort through his belongings have left scars. She requested the maximum sentence of 10 years and asked the judge to consider this as if Shane Rivenburgh had been his son or brother. Barrasse, who himself lost his son, Cody, in an April 2013 car crash in Pittsburgh, listened in silence as Ari Rivenburgh finished her remarks.

“I don’t want a new normal,” Ari Rivenburugh said. “I want my brother.”

Deputy District Attorney Brian Gallagher noted the homicide by vehicle charge carried a mandatory minimum sentence of three years but asked the judge to craft a sentence that “sends a message.”

Mecca, who had been arrested for DUI about a year before the crash that left Rivenburgh dead, had been dogged by prescription drug abuse for at least a decade, Barrasse said. At a court hearing last year, Mecca’s husband, Dan Mecca, said she has undergone three back surgeries.

Mecca’s previous DUI, an April 2015 traffic stop in Blakely, was disposed of through the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, which can expunge the record of first-time, nonviolent offenders.

Mecca sought treatment after her arraignment last year. Her attorney, Thomas Munley, told the judge that Mecca has been through rehabilitation since then.

Scott Rivenburgh, though, considered it too little too late. He joined his family in calling for “Shane’s Law” and hoped that Barrasse’s sentence might spare another family their pain.

“It wasn’t an accident,” Scott Rivenburgh said. “It was a choice. She made the choice to do that every single day until she finally killed someone. Then she thought, ‘Oh, I need help.’ Way too late...I think if it starts, if they don’t just hand out the minimum, maybe it’ll scare more people. Maybe they’ll start doing the right thing.”

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

A Carbondale man faces charges after agents with the state Office of Attorney General said they discovered child pornography during a search of his apartment Tuesday.

An investigation that led to the arrest of Daniel Brayman, 30, 34 Wayne St., Apt. 3, started in June, when authorities discovered a file containing child porn on an online file sharing network, according to court documents. Agents linked the IP address of the computer sharing the file to Brayman, investigators said.

Agents went to Brayman’s apartment on Tuesday afternoon after getting a search warrant and talked to him there. Brayman told authorities he has been downloading, saving and looking at child pornography for five years and knows it is wrong, but he “cannot stop the urges,” according to court documents. Agents also searched some of the electronics at Brayman’s apartment and discovered at least 25 videos of apparent child pornography, which depicted children under the age of 13 engaged in sex acts, according to charging papers.

Brayman faces charges related to having and distributing child pornography. Magisterial District Judge Joanne Price Corbett arraigned Brayman on Wednesday afternoon. He is held in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $200,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 15.