The body of missing Temple University student Jenna Burleigh was found Saturday afternoon in Wayne County, Philly.com reports.

Murder charges will be filed against Joshua Hupperterz, 29, who was last seen with Burleigh on Thursday morning, according to the report.

Pennsylvania State Police assisted the Philadelphia Police Department's investigation, which involved a person of interest in Paupack Twp., Trooper Mark Keyes said in a press release Saturday. A body was found on a property in Paupack Twp., Keyes said in the release. The home belongs to Hupperterz's grandmother, according to the Philly.com report.

Police say the killing did not appear to be premeditated and that police did not yet know a cause of death. Philadelphia police Homicide Unit Capt. John Ryan said Burleigh was killed in Philadelphia, then her body was moved to the Jenkintown home of Hupperterz’s mother and stepfather, before being moved to the Wayne County home.

PIKE COUNTY

Pike County Judge Gregory Chelak recently sentenced:

■ Richard Michael Ohaus, 26, Harrisburg, three to six years in a state correctional facility, $2,100 fine and six month driver’s license suspension for criminal conspiracy, forgery, theft, possession of a controlled substance and access device fraud between June 10 and June 17, 2016, in Westfall Twp. and Milford.

■ Alejandra Mabel Doucette-Brayer, 25, Lowell, Mass., $366 fine for possession of drug paraphernalia and speeding in Palmyra Twp. on Sept. 4.

■ Anthony Dmytro Luciani, 23, Dingmans Ferry, $1,500 fine for possession of drug paraphernalia on July 8, 2016, in Lehman Twp.

■ Chelsea R. Scillath, 34, Hawley, 72 hours to six months in the Pike County Jail, $1,000 fine and 12 month driver’s license suspension for DUI on April 11, 2015, in Lackawaxen Twp.

■ Mary B. Decarlo, 33, Green­town, five years of the Pike Care Program, including one year of house arrest, $2,500 fine and 18 month driver’s license suspension for DUI on Aug. 22, 2016, in Greene Twp.

■ Christopher Franks-Ford, 21, Milford, six months of probation and $500 fine for possession of drug paraphernalia on Jan. 4 in Milford.

■ William John Derosa, 47, Port Jervis, N.Y., 30 days to 23½ months in the Pike County Jail and $500 fine for receiving stolen property on Feb. 2, 2013 in Matamoras.

■ Christopher Parachinni, 26, Narrowsburg, N.Y., three years of probation and $300 fine for endangering the welfare of children on Oct. 21 in Dingman Twp.

■ Chelsea Arielle James Layburn, 25, Brooklyn, N.Y, 72 hours to six months in the Pike County Jail, $1,000 fine and 12 month driver’s license suspension for DUI on Aug. 5, 2016, in Dingman Twp.

■ Desiree N. Fenin, 34, Scran­ton, one year of probation, $525 fine and 12 month driver’s license suspension for possession of drug paraphernalia and traffic citations on Aug. 26, 2016, in Dingman Twp.

■ Kelly A. Schwinof, 51, Dickson City, 72 hours to six months in the Pike County Jail, $1,300 fine and 12 month driver’s license suspension for DUI and a traffic citation on Nov. 18 in Dingman Twp.

■ Pamela L. Gagnon, 59, Lake Winola, one year of probation and $600 fine for two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia on Feb. 17 in Palmyra Twp.

■ Joseph Martucci, 41, Mata­moras, one year of probation and $1,000 fine for theft on Oct. 24 in Matamoras.

■ Robert M. Rhodes, 52, Scran­ton, $200 fine for criminal mischief on Aug. 31, 2015, in Dingman Twp.

■ Kimberly M. Eilbacher, 46, Sparrowbush, N.Y., $200 fine for reckless driving on July 6, 2014.

■ Vanessa Yates, 38, Ding­mans Ferry, five years in the Pike Care program, including 90 days of house arrest, a $1,500 fine and 18 month driver’s license suspension for DUI on Jan. 6 in Dingman Twp.

■ Rashod Davon Brooks, 25, White Plains, N.Y., $300 fine for possession of drug paraphernalia on Dec. 16 in Dingman Twp.

■ Kevin Joseph Panowicz, 30, Milford, two to seven years in a state correctional facility, $3,250 fine and 30 month driver’s license suspension for two counts of DUI on Nov. 25 in Milford and April 8 in Dingman Twp.

■ Scott Thomas Fleece, 34, Frackville, 24 to 48 months in a state correctional facility, $1,300 fine and 24 month driver’s license suspension for fleeing or attempted to elude police and DUI on July 1, 2013.

■ Jerome Guy Johnson, 34, Port Jervis, N.Y., six to 12 months in the Pike County Jail and $500 fine for receiving stolen property on June 3, 2014, in Matamoras.

■ Mary M. Davis, 29, Liberty, N.Y., one to 23 months in the Pike County Jail and $300 fine for forgery on June 1 and June 6, 2016, in Matamoras.

■ Robert Zahorchak, 56, Mil­ford, six months of the Inter­med­iate Punishment Program, including 30 days of house arrest, a $500 fine and 12 month driver’s license suspension for DUI on Dec. 18.

■ Elijah John Mendoza, 19, Port Jervis, N.Y., one year of probation and $225 fine for possession of drug paraphernalia and careless driving on Dec. 19 in Matamoras.

■ Lawrence Robert Tirado, 37, Hawley, 72 hours to six months in the Pike County Jail, $1,000 fine and 12 month driver’s license suspension for DUI on May 21, 2016, in Lackawaxen Twp.

■ Richard Raymond Izso, 20, Hawley, three to 23 months in the Pike County Jail, $3,000 fine and six month driver’s license suspension for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance on July 13, 2016, in Dingman Twp.

■ Clarence Theodore Snyder, 32, no fixed address, three to six months in the Pike County Jail and $300 fine for theft by deception on Jan. 30 in Westfall Twp.

■ James Michael Cathcart, 49, Dingmans Ferry, 48 hours to six months in the Pike County Jail, $500 fine and 12 month driver’s license suspension for DUI on Oct. 9, 2015, in Dela­ware Twp.

■ William George Jamros, 60, Matamoras, 72 hours to six months in the Pike County Jail, $1,000 fine and 12 month driver’s license suspension for DUI on Oct. 6 in Matamoras.

■ Michael Allen Fordham, 57, Scranton, $200 fine for harassment and disorderly conduct on Nov. 2, 2015, in Greene Twp.

■ Jamie Lynn Pratt, 21, Middle­town, N.Y., $300 fine for accident involving damage to attended vehicle or property on March 27 in Westfall Twp.

■ Steve Gonzalez, 38, Bridge­port, Conn., $200 fine for possession of drug paraphernalia on Dec. 28 in Greene Twp.

WAYNE COUNTY

Wayne County President Judge Raymond L. Hamill sentenced:

■ Darrin A. Furlong, 21, Plan­ta­tion, Maine, three to 23½ months in the Wayne County Correctional Facility for fleeing or attempting to elude police on June 20 in Salem Twp.

■ Anthony Langian, 28, Lake Ariel, seven months to five years less one day in the Wayne County Correctional Facility and a drug and alcohol evaluation for criminal trespass on Feb. 13 in Texas Twp.

■ Joseph Alexander Reider, 21, Honesdale, 15 days to six months in the Wayne County Correctional Facility for two counts of defiant trespass on May 28 and 29 in Honesdale.

■ Michael Francis Vogel, 27, Kansas, 120 days to five years in the Wayne County Correc­tional Facility, $1,700 fine, drug and alcohol addiction counseling and the Alcohol Highway Safety Program for DUI on June 11 in Clinton Twp.

■ Cory Jones, 23, Honesdale, five days to 12 months in the Wayne County Correctional Facility, $300 fine and a drug and alcohol evaluation for possession of drug paraphernalia on June 14, 2016, in Honesdale.

■ Melissa Hooker, 43, Blakely, six months in the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program, 40 hours of community service and 60 day driver’s license suspension for DUI on March 17 in Lake Twp.

“Things are getting curiouser and curiouser.”

— From “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” first published in 1865.

It is widely believed that Lewis Carroll was hopped-up on hallucinogens when he penned the story of a girl who tumbles down a rabbit hole and meets a dope-smoking caterpillar, a rabbit who hosts tea parties and a feral cat who vanishes at will.

It was pretty visionary for the Victorian Era, despite the availability of heroin, cocaine and “magic” mushrooms at the corner store.

Those high times are long gone, but intoxicating stories abound, especially here in Our Stiff Neck of the Woods. Every time I write about the plot holes in the official narrative of the $195 million sale of the Scranton Sewer Authority system, I get dizzy.

The further down the rabbit hole I travel, the curiouser and curiouser the story becomes. You may recall that back in June, Scranton and Dunmore councils asked state Attorney General Josh Shapiro for an independent investigation of the SSA sale.

Shapiro’s office said it handed the issue off to the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Summer was still warming up.

It’s September now. There’s a faint chill in the air and a nagging sense that the authors of the SSA deal and Scranton Mayor Bill Courtright hope to run out the clock until Nov. 7. In Alice’s adventures, the March Hare has no concern for time. Courtright is the November Jackrabbit. Election Day can’t come fast enough.

So it seemed an opportune moment to ask for an update on the independent investigation by the Bureau of Consumer Protection. The attorney general’s paid mouthpieces weren’t feeling it.

I waited all day Thursday for an update. None came by my 5 p.m. deadline. I complained and was sent an email from Director of Communications Joe Grace.

“There is nothing new to report,” he wrote.

My response: “Joe, please tell me I didn’t blow deadline waiting for a brush-off that would insult a summer intern. I have questions only your office can answer. I will call first thing Friday expecting better.”

I called, but Joe wasn’t better.

“We are still reviewing the transaction,” he said.

I pointed out that Joe’s second statement was as worthless as his first. I accept that the core duty of a public spokesman is to say nothing of substance, but it’s really irritating with yet another deadline looming.

Joe would not budge, even when I dropped the name of the deputy attorney general in charge of the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Scranton office — Thomas P. Cummings III.

Joe said he was unfamiliar with the name, but locals likely are: Thomas P. Cummings III is the son of Thomas P. Cummings Jr., the Dunmore borough solicitor who made $226,666 on the deal and provided scant documentation of his work, even when more was demanded by Dunmore Borough Council.

“That’s the first I’m hearing that,” Joe said. He also said he was unaware that Mayor Courtright’s wife, Mary, also works in the attorney general’s office in Scranton, although for many years and in a different division.

I called Cummings III directly. When I identified myself, the woman who answered became audibly uneasy.

“Does he know what this is in regard to?” she asked.

“No,” I replied, “but I’ll bet he can guess.”

The second time, I left Cummings III a message. I also left a voicemail for Ryan Nelson, a deputy attorney general in the Scranton office. Nelson is the stepson of Lackawanna County Senior Judge Carmen Minora, whose brother, Amil, is the Scranton City Council solicitor. Amil Minora has already judged the SSA sale legit, and Judge Minora was assigned to preside over a condemnation lawsuit against the zombie remains of the sewer authority.

Neither Cummings nor Nelson called me back.

DISCLAIMER: I am not suggesting that there is any connection between these public servants and the glacial pace of the attorney general’s alleged probe, but the longer this story drags on, the worser and worser these curiouser and curiouser connections look to a public that deserves answers.

This week, a federal judge rebuked a Scranton law firm for failing to keep track of billable hours and then doing a sloppy job of creating them from memory. Attorneys Michael Pisanchyn and Marsha Lee Albright sought almost $1 million in legal fees in an insurance case that paid their client $125,000.

“The plaintiff’s counsel billed approximately 2,583 hours for working on this case alone,” U.S. District Judge Malachy Mannion wrote in a 100-page opinion. “Assuming an eight-hour billable work day, this would mean that the plaintiff’s counsel worked on nothing else but this case, every day, for approximately 323 days.”

Judge Mannion blasted the lawyers’ fees as “mind boggling,” “outrageously excessive” and not supported by documentation. He was so outraged that he plans to refer the matter to the state disciplinary board. The attorneys deny any wrongdoing.

The Scranton Sewer Authority sale was a $195 million deal, the largest of its kind in Pennsylvania history. A small army of lawyers walked away from it splitting $3.1 million in fees, many of which have not been supported by documentation. The legislative bodies of both affected municipalities have made multiple requests to state officials for an independent inquiry.

Yet no one with oversight authority and responsibility seems the least bit interested in at least taking a look at the leaky plumbing of the sewer authority sale. Curiouser and curiouser.

I spoke with Mayor Courtright on Friday. I asked whether he has any concerns about the legality of the SSA sale, particularly under the state Municipal Authorities Act, which seems to expressly forbid such a transaction.

“I have to trust the lawyers,” he said.

Apparently, so do the rest of us.

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, prefers fairy tales published in children’s books. Contact the writer: kellysworld@timesshamrock.com. Read his award-winning blog at timestribuneblogs.com/kelly.

Post to host

fall festival

Walter Paciga VFW Post 4712, Simpson, fall festival, Sept. 15, 5-11 p.m., and Sept. 16, noon-11 p.m., food, games and refreshments.

Veterans benefit breakfast set

Keystone Chapter UNICO Dunmore flapjack fundraiser, Saturday, 8-10 a.m., Applebee’s, Viewmont Mall, to benefit St. Francis Commons for Homeless Vets, $7/adults and $4/children; Frank or Mary Ann Coviello, 570-344-3737.

Post 7069 sets barbecue

VFW Post 7069 and Auxiliary chicken barbecue, Sept. 16, 3-6 p.m. or sold-out, post grounds, 402 Winola Road, $10/adults and $4.50/children, tickets recommended, available at the post on Winola Road or call 570-586-9821 or 570-586-0669.

Outreach event

set in Hawley

Veterans support program, Sept. 11, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., state Rep. Mike Peifer’s Hawley office, 2523 Route 6, Suite 2; Gina Svoboda, American Legion Service Office rep; appointments: 570-226-5959.

Simpson post

cleanup slated

Walter Pacigia Post 4712 adopt-a-highway program Saturday; briefing and roll call at 9 a.m. at the post, 500 Main St., Simpson; residents welcome, supplies provided to clean up Owego Turnpike and Dundaff Street.

Post 6082 sets

pork dinner

Shopa-Davey VFW Post 6082 pork and sauerkraut dinner, Oct. 22, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., or sold out, post home, 123 Electric St., Peckville section of Blakely, $10, from members or at door, takeouts available.

Dunmore post plans pasta dinner

VFW Post 3474, Dunmore, pasta dinner Sept. 24, noon to 5 p.m., $8/adults and $4/children.

Dupont post

anniversary dinner

Dupont VFW Post 4909 72nd anniversary dinner dance, Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., dancing 9 p.m.-1 a.m., $30 per person.

Marine league

slates barbecue

Northeastern Detachment Marine Corps League and Museum chicken barbecue, Saturday, noon-5p.m., detachment, 1340 Alder St., Scranton, $10.

Olyphant to host

dedication, parade

Olyphant will dedicate the borough’s hometown heroes banners on Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m.; 570-383-9552.

Meetings

POST 207

American Legion Post 207, Thursday, 7 p.m., SS. Peter & Paul Church Hall, 1309 W. Locust St., Scranton.

LCCV

Lackawanna County Council of Veterans, Sept. 11, 10 a.m., conference room, Gino J. Merli Veterans Center, Penn Avenue and Mulberry Street, Scranton.

POST 920

American Legion Post 920, Tuesday, 7 p.m., American Legion Post 908, 625 Deacon St. Scranton.

DAV CHAPTER 114

Disabled American Veterans Chapter 114, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Cordaro’s Restaurant, 186 Grandview Ave., Honesdale.

AMERICAN LEGION DISTRICT 11

American Legion District 11, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Post 665, Main Street, Dickson City.

POST 665

American Legion Post 665, Dickson City, board of directors, today, 12:30 p.m., association, 1:30; regular membership, 2:30; post basement.

POST 4909

Dupont VFW Post 4909, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m., post home, home association meeting follows.

POST 327

Olyphant Raymond Henry American Legion Post 327 Sept. 11, 7 p.m., post, nominations of officers.

POST 7069

Abington Memorial VFW Post 7069, Thursday, 7 p.m., post, Clarks Summit.

CAMP 8

Ezra S. Griffin, Camp 8 Sons of Union Veterans and Auxiliary, Saturday, 10:30 a.m., Scranton City Hall side ADA entrance, Mulberry Street; 570-606-1014.

VFW DISTRICT 10

VFW District 10, Sept. 10, 2 p.m., Post 5544, 205 Dolph St., Jessup.

MARINE CORPS LEAGUE

Northeastern Detachment Marine Corps League and Museum, today 2 p.m., detachment.

POST 25

Gen. Theodore J. Wint VFW Post 25, today, 2291 Rockwell Ave., Scranton, canteen meeting, noon, post, 12:30.

Merli Center

Today: Keurig coffee, 8:30 a.m.; morning visits, 8:45; Eucharistic ministry, 9:15; Vecta relaxation machine and aromatherapy, third floor 2 p.m.

Monday: Labor Day; morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; Bible study, 9:30; tai chi with music, 10:15; bingo by Military Order of the Purple Heart auxiliary, 2 p.m.; senior fitness, 3.

Tuesday: Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; resident council, 10; new age nails, 10:15; food committee meeting, 10:30; volunteer ministry, 1:15 p.m.; choir practice, 1:45; Catholic service, 3.

Wednesday: Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; ring toss, 10:15; Wendy’s dine-in 1 south, 12:15 p.m.; bingo in memory of Michael Lesnesky by his daughter-in-law, Donna, 2 p.m.

Thursday: Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; chapel service, 10; arts and crafts, 10:15; bingo by victory committee, 2 p.m.; senior fitness, 3.

Friday: Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; VFW 4909 Dupont trip, 11:15; bingo by Military Order of the Purple Heart, 2 p.m.; senior fitness, 3 p.m.

Saturday: Morning visits, 8:45 a.m.; nature video, 10:15; bingo by American legion Post 86 auxiliary, 2 p.m.

VETERANS NEWS should be submitted no later than Monday before publication to veterans@timesshamrock.com; or YES!desk, The Times-Tribune, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503.

Archbald

Archbald Borough will organize a Hurricane Harvey relief drive and invites residents across Lackawanna County to participate, Mayor Shirley Barrett announced.

Items the borough is collecting include cleaning supplies such as brooms, mops, Clorox, detergents, paper towels, diapers, toilet paper, first-aid kits, blankets, bed sheets, bath towels, personal care items and soap.

The borough will also accept money, with checks made payable to the American Red Cross.

Starting Thursday, people can drop items off at the truck trailer provided by Scranton-based logistics company Kane is Able at the Borough Building, 400 Church St., from 8:30 a.m. through 3 p.m.

Municipalities can make arrangements for special collections by calling the borough building at 570-876-1800.

— KYLE WIND

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

@kwindTT on Twitter

Carbondale

Lackawanna River Conservation Association is kicking off its 30th anniversary celebration with a cocktail party from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Carbondale Grand Hotel.

“The Carbondale event notes the significant role played by Carbondale as the ‘Pioneer City’ in the development of the Lackawanna Valley,” the nonprofit wrote in an announcement for the event.

The association also plans to highlight projects currently underway in Carbondale, including the Main Street revitalization, work of the Greater Carbondale YMCA and Greater Carbondale Chamber of Commerce and the forthcoming development of the riverfront trail by Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority and Lackawanna Valley Conservancy.

For more information, call 570-347-6311.

— KYLE WIND

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

@kwindTT on Twitter

Dickson City

Dickson City Borough Council approved liquor licenses for a Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery that is moving into the empty Texas Roadhouse building and the Sheetz gas station and convenience store.

Barbara Mecca, president of Dickson City Borough Council, said the owner of the Tilted Kilt — an Irish pub-themed restaurant — indicated he hopes to open in October.

Meanwhile, Sheetz is planning to have beer and wine take-out service.

The company’s attorney gave council a presentation, describing training employees will have and precautions the operation will take to protect the public, leaving council feeling “very comfortable” approving it unanimously, Mecca said.

“We’re very anxious to have additional business in Dickson City,” she added.

— KYLE WIND

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

@kwindTT on Twitter

Honesdale

Borough police have another tool to help people, thanks to a donation from the Fraternal Order of Police.

A grant through the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation paid for an automated external defibrillator, which will be placed in one of the borough’s police cruisers.

AEDs measure heart rhythm and can treat cardiac arrest by delivering a shock to the heart.

The $250,000 grant from the foundation paid for more than 260 AEDs for police across the nation, according to FOP National President Chuck Canterbury. Honesdale was one of 26 police departments across Pennsylvania to get an AED through the grant.

— STAFF REPORT

Lackawanna

County

Penn State Extension invites area parents and children to participate in a free program aimed at strengthening families taking place this fall.

Designed for parents and children between the ages of 10 and 14, the seven-week initiative aims to reduce adolescent substance abuse and other problematic behaviors. Scientifically tested, results suggest children who complete the program are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.

The program will be offered in Carbondale and Moosic beginning later in the month.

Sessions in Carbondale are slated for Sundays beginning Sept. 24, or Thursdays beginning Sept. 28, with courses running from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Carbondale Area Elementary School.

The Moosic session is slated for Tuesdays beginning Sept. 26 at the Riverside Elementary East School. Courses there also run from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Sessions for children will include information on preparing for their teen years, communicating with parents, dealing with stress and peer pressure and how to avoid alcohol and drugs. Parents will learn how to better set limits and show love, make house rules, encourage good behavior, handle stress and protect children from substance abuse.

Dinner, prizes and child care will be provided.

For information or to register, call Karen Thomas at Penn State Extension in Lackawanna County at 570-963-6842. Participants should register by Sept. 18.

— JEFF HORVATH

jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141;

@jhorvathTT on Twitter

Scranton

City police are raising money to fight cancer.

Proceeds from tickets for a spaghetti dinner at Fratelli’s Restaurant, 1249 Providence Road, Scranton, and T-shirts will benefit the American Cancer Society and can be purchased and picked up at police headquarters, 100 S. Washington Ave.

The fundraiser is something new and began when police Chief Carl Graziano got involved with the cancer society and made a pledge, said Kathy Flynn, who works in the chief’s office. Others decided they wanted to get involved too, she said.

“We decided we’d help because everybody and every family is touched by cancer,” Flynn said.

The spaghetti dinner tickets cost $12 and include spaghetti, two meatballs, salad and bread. Tickets, on sale now, can be used at Fratelli’s for eat-in or take-out between Oct. 8 and Oct. 22 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. T-shirts are available in pink or gray; multiple sizes are available. Long sleeve shirts cost $13 and short sleeve shirts cost $10. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 570-348-4139 or 570-558-8301 and shirts can be ordered by calling 570-348-4139 and asking for Missy.

— CLAYTON OVER

cover@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-7037;

@ClaytonOver on Twitter

AROUND THE TOWNS appears each Sunday, spotlighting the people and events in your neighborhoods. If you have an idea for an Around the Towns note, contact the writer for your town, or the Yes!Desk at 570-348-9121 or yesdesk@timesshamrock.com.

At the first La Festa Italiana 42 years ago, Scranton’s chapter of UNICO made 60 pounds of porketta.

This year, volunteers plan to sell 4,700 pounds of the roasted seasoned pork.

“Not only do we put our heart and soul in it, we put our love in it,” said Pat Yanni, who has volunteered at the group’s tent all of those years.

People filled the sidewalks around Lackawanna County Courthouse Square on Saturday, seeking the porketta sandwiches, bowls of pasta or freshly filled cannoli. Some people came for the music, others for the bocce matches, but all came for the food.

“Heaven on a hard roll!” Frank Santoriello yelled from UNICO’s tent along North Washington Avenue.

Volunteers worked hard to keep up with the demand.

Several days before La Festa begins, the volunteers roast the meat from Pasqualichio Brothers in Scranton using kitchens at Marywood University. The largest oven can fit 60 pans of porketta. The UNICO members cooked some of the meat overnight, which meant they had to return to the kitchen early in the morning before the dining hall opened for breakfast. After roasting, they slice the meat and place it in pans — 253 pans to be exact.

On the square, the volunteers soak the sliced pork in its own juices before assembly. More than 100 people volunteer their time during the preparation or during the four-day festival.

“It’s truly a team effort,” said Jack Trapani, chapter president. He estimated the group has donated more than half a million dollars to charities, thanks to sandwich sales.

“There’s not another like it,” Trapani said of the sandwich. “It’s the best on the square.”

The group ordered 930 dozen rolls from National Bakery — enough for 11,160 sandwiches.

The quality of the sandwich has kept it a festival staple all these years, Yanni said.

“We started with this, and we’ll die with this,” he said, as his wife, Palma, wrapped the sandwiches in foil.

The sandwiches sell for $6. Ask for ketchup and the volunteers said they may take the sandwich back.

Bob Pettinato of Scranton bought four sandwiches Saturday. He didn’t ask for ketchup. “They’re probably the best,” he said, laughing. “It’s a great food if you want your waistline to expand.”

The festival continues today from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Monday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Contact the writer:

shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133;

@hofiushallTT on Twitter

Must-try foods

While some La Festa vendors offer nontraditional Italian festival food, such as gyros, deep-fried Oreo cookies and pumpkin-flavored funnel cake, hungry customers said these are five must-try foods:

n Pizza

n Porketta

n Sausage sandwiches

n Pizza fritta (fried dough)

n Cannoli and other pastries

Greenman-Pedersen Inc.

Jeffrey DeAngelo, EIT has recently joined the firm in Scranton as a senior civil designer. DeAngelo is a graduate of Pennsylvania College of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology. In his role, he will provide civil design for land development and transportation projects. He will also assist with the firm’s county engineer role. He resides in Dunmore.

Hourigan, Kluger

& Quinn P.C.

Attorney Michelle M. Quinn was named Lawyer of the Year, NEPA Region — product liability litigation, in the 2018 Edition of the Best Lawyers in America. Quinn was also named in the following categories: medical malpractice law — plaintiffs; personal injury litigation — plaintiffs; product liability litigation — plaintiffs.

Additionally, six other attorneys at the law firm have also been named to the 2018 Best Lawyers list. They are: Richard M. Goldberg: employment law — management; Terrence J. Herron: corporate law; Donald C. Ligorio: personal injury litigation — plaintiffs; workers’ compensation law — claimants; Brian Q. McDonnell: workers’ compensation law — claimants; Joseph A. Quinn Jr.: medical malpractice law — plaintiffs; personal injury litigation — plaintiffs; product liability litigation — plaintiffs; Kevin C. Quinn: medical malpractice law — plaintiffs and personal injury litigation — plaintiffs.

As a principal at the firm and a member of its executive committee, Michelle Quinn has an extensive history of handling complex cases. She is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, whose membership is restricted to lawyers who have served as lead counsel in obtaining a seven-figure settlement or verdict.

Quinn is the past president of the Northeastern Pa. Trial Lawyers Association and served on the Board of Governors of the Pa. Association of Justice for many years. She is past chairwoman of the New Lawyers Section and the Long — Range Planning Committee of PAJ. She also previously served as co-chairwoman of the Pa. Bar Association’s Committee on Multi-Jurisdictional Practice.

She received the Northeastern Pa. Trial Lawyers Association’s first annual Lawrence W. Roth Award “in recognition of her outstanding commitment to NEPTLA, her compassion for clients and exemplary character.” She has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer and has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer for 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. She has also been included in Woodward-White’s edition of “The Best Lawyers in America,” and has been named by the American Society of Legal Advocates as a Top 100 Litigation Lawyer in the state of Pennsylvania for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Quinn currently acts as spokeswoman for HKQ Kids, a child advocacy organization created by the firm to promote education and awareness about safety issues affecting children.

Misericordia

University

The university recently welcomed the addition of 12 new full-time faculty members to campus for the 2017-18 academic year during a special orientation program.

In the College of Health Sciences and Education, Jacklyn DelPrete, M.S.N., has been appointed as an assistant professor of nursing. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Pennsylvania State University, State College, and her Master of Science degree in nursing from Misericordia University. Christine German, O.T.D., M.S.O.T., has been named an assistant professor of occupational therapy. She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees in health science and occupational therapy from Misericordia University. Erin Burns Kilduff, M.P.A.S., has been named an assistant professor of physician assistant studies. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition and dietetics from Marywood University, Scranton, and her Master of Physician Assistant Studies from King’s College, Wilkes-Barre.

Lisa M. Shustack, Ed.D., M.S.Ed., M.S.N., has been appointed an assistant professor of nursing. She earned her BSN from Cedar Crest College, Allentown, and Master of Science in nursing from the University of Phoenix, Arizona. Shustack also received a Master of Science in education degree from Wilkes-University, Wilkes-Barre, and a doctorate in education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana.

Amy M. Wierbowski, M.P.A.S., M.F.A., has been named an assistant professor of physician assistant studies. She earned her Master of Physician Assistant Studies, Master of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees from Marywood University.

Catherine M. Zurawski, M.S.N., has been appointed as an assistant professor of nursing. She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing from Misericordia University.

In the College of Arts and Sciences, Yuhan Ding, Ph.D., has been named an assistant professor of mathematics and computer science. She holds a doctorate in applied mathematics from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, and a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in pure mathematics and information and computing science from Shanghai University, China.

John Philip Morgan, Ph.D., has been appointed as an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry. He has a doctorate in chemistry from California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif., and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Haverford College, Haverford.

Triet M. Pham, Ph.D., has been named assistant professor of mathematics and computer science. He has a doctorate in mathematics and a Master of Science in statistics from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and two Bachelor of Science degrees in applied mathematics and mathematical economics from the California State University at Long Beach.

Colby J. Tanner, Ph.D., has been appointed as an assistant professor of biology. Tanner has a doctorate in biology from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; a Master of Science in biology from DePaul University, Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of Montana, Missoula, Mont.

Sara Tavela, Ph.D., has been named a visiting assistant professor of English. She has a doctorate and Master of Arts degree in English from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh; a Master of Arts in human development and family studies from the University Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, and a B.A. in English and psychology from Queens University of Charlotte, N.C.

Robert Lucas Williams, Ph.D., has been named an assistant professor of history and government. Williams earned his doctorate degree and Master of Arts in political science from the University of Houston, Houston, Texas, and two Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Penn State

Wilkes-Barre

The college has announced the addition of a new staff member and new campus advisory board members to the college for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Joseph Natale joins Student Support Services as an academic/career counselor. A TRiO federal grant program, SSS aims to increase college retention, graduation rates, and career options for first-generation college students, those from low-income families, the physically challenged, and students with learning disabilities. A Penn State alumnus, with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education — social studies, he earned his master’s degree in higher education administration from Marywood University. Most recently, he worked at Penn State Hazleton as a member of the admissions team and co-adviser of Lion Ambassadors. As the new academic/career counselor, he is looking forward to understanding what motivates students to push themselves to their full potential and is excited to help guide them on a path of self-discovery while studying at Wilkes-Barre, University Park and beyond. Natale and his wife Megan are currently raising a Penn State Class of 2036 member, their daughter Adeline.

Amy Marie Feldman, director of development at the Greater Wilkes-Barre Association for the Blind, joins the campus advisory board this fall. Feldman is a graduate of Penn State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in advertising and public relations. She also holds a Master of Science from Misericordia University in organizational management. She is an active member at the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce and a recent graduate of Leadership Wilkes-Barre.

Joseph Oprendick begins his term on the board this fall. He is a retired educator who served for 35 years in the Pittston Area School District and the Wilkes-Barre Career and Technical Center. A graduate of Mansfield University, Oprendick earned his Bachelor of Science in elementary education and attended the University of Scranton for a Master of Science in education administration.

James Regan, president of Phasor Corp. in Kingston, has joined the board. With 27 years of engineering experience, Regan is looking forward to mentoring students and encouraging them on their career paths. He is a Wilkes-Barre campus alumnus and has participated in educational opportunities at King’s College, Mercyhurst University and the Navy.

University

of Scranton

The Lion’s Club Low Vision Centers of Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut recognized Julie A. Nastasi, Sc.D., O.T.D., assistant professor of occupational therapy at the university, as an Ambassador of Sight. This is the highest award bestowed by the center and recognizes honorees for contributions made that encourage the long-term availability of low vision services.

Nastasi serves as director of low vision therapy for the University’s Edward R. Leahy Jr. Center Clinic for the Uninsured. Through a program she helped to establish, Nastasi, along with her occupational therapy students, offer services through the free clinic that are designed to help those with low vision remain independent.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton, a master’s degree from Tufts University and Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She holds doctorates from Boston University and Towson University.

The university has named Sunil Ahuja, Ph.D., associate provost for academic affairs. He was also awarded tenure and rank of professor in the Department of Political Science at Scranton.

Ahuja has more than 25 years of experience in teaching, scholarship, service and academic administration, particularly in the arena of institutional accreditation. Most recently, he served as vice president for accreditation relations, institutional change and research, Higher Learning Commission, Chicago.

An accomplished scholar, Ahuja is the author of more than 25 publications including his book, “Congress Behaving Badly: The Rise of Partisanship and Incivility and the Death of Public Trust.”

He earned his bachelor’s degree in government with a minor in philosophy from Northwest Missouri State University, and his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in political science from the University of Nebraska.

Wayne Bank

JoAnn Fuller, senior vice president and deposit and loan operations manager of the bank, has completed the third and final year of coursework at the 2017 Pennsylvania Bankers Association Advanced School of Banking, July 17-21, at the Penn State Conference Center, State College.

SUBMIT PEOPLE ON THE MOVE items to business@timesshamrock.com or The Times-Tribune, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503.

Dunkin’ aids kids

The franchise donated more than $59,700 to St. Joseph’s Center as a result of its eighth annual Iced Coffee Day fundraiser, held July 19, during which customers in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre received a free medium iced coffee with a donation of $1 or more to St. Joseph’s Center. The $56,234 raised from the Iced Coffee Day fundraiser, combined with a $3,500 donation from the local NEPA franchisees, totals a $59,734 donation to St. Joseph’s.

Nominations sought

The Chamber of the Northern Poconos will hold its Community Awards Banquet on Oct. 5 at the Inn at Woodloch. The committee is seeking nominations for Business Person of the Year, Community Achievement Award and Green Business of the Year. For information and criteria on nominations, contact the chamber at 570-253-1960 or chamber@northernpo

conoschamber.com; deadline for nominations is noon Friday.

New glaucoma treatment performed

A first of its kind, new refractory glaucoma treatment was performed by leading ophthalmologist Frank A. Bucci Jr. M.D., on Aug. 16.

The XEN gel stent, recently approved by the FDA is inserted during a microscopic surgical procedure, under light sedation and the eye surface is also numbed.

SUBMIT BUSINESS BUZZ items to business@timesshamrock.com or The Times-Tribune, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503.

It’s still a bargain to live here, with the cost of things like apartments, a plumber’s services and groceries nearly 10 percent less than the rest of the country.

Also, personal incomes in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metro area are rising.

Per capital personal income, a gauge on income based on the cumulative incomes divided by the population, grew 3.6 percent from 2014 to 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ most recent numbers.

New national numbers released Thursday show personal income as a whole increased $65.6 billion from June to July this year, which is less than 1 percent, but the largest jump in income since February.

Of the 20 metro areas wholly contained in Pennsylvania or partly in the state, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area ranked eighth lowest for the cost of consumer goods, fourth lowest for services and rents and fourth lowest for all items, according to a Sunday Times review of the most recent regional BEA data, which includes Pennsylvania, New York City, and parts of New Jersey. The review area also includes parts of Delaware, Maryland and Ohio.

Per capita personal income in 2015 in the region, adjusted for inflation, was 12th highest in the region at $41,376.

So what does all that mean?

Simply put, the local region offers more to its workers with higher wages and a low cost of living.

Although the New York/Newark/Jersey City metro area, which includes Pike County, boasts one of the highest per capita personal incomes, the cost of living there is also significantly higher — 122 percent of the national average.

“We have historically had lower wages than other parts of Pennsylvania, and the state and national averages as a whole,” said Teri Ooms, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development, a collaboration between area colleges and universities.

“We are, however, seeing some level of improvement over the past several years, such that the growth rate has been faster than other areas, which means we’ve been closing the gap.”

The Consumer Price Index, a measure of how prices change over time for a fixed set of goods and services, in July was 1.3 percent higher than the prior year for the northeast region, which includes Pennsylvania.

The price of clothing dropped 0.7 percent; food and beverages rose 1.4 percent; vehicles, both new and used, dropped 2.2 percent.

The cost to rent an apartment rose in the region by 2.4 percent from the prior year, a snapshot that supports an ongoing trend.

“I think it’s a product of two things,” Ooms said. “One: demand, and the other is the fact that property taxes are increasing, and so landlords are passing that increase on to renters.”

Despite upward pressure on taxes, the institute began noting positive net migration — more people moving into the area than moving away — as early as 2002.

Many of them are young people, recent college graduates, who have found promise in a lusty tech sector, still small, but slowly growing into its own.

“It’s not statistically significant yet, but I would imagine in the next several years, you’re going to see a bigger proportion of younger folks coming here,” she said.

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

Spiking avocado prices are taking a toll on the margins of Mexican restaurants that use the fruit as the key ingredient in guacamole.

Paola Mendez, owner of El Zocalo restaurant on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre, said she is paying $100 for a case of avocados, more than double the price she formerly paid.

Mendez is forced to pay the increased cost and she has not raised the prices for customers, who eat guacamole with their favorite Mexican dishes or as a dip.

“It’s on the menu and you can’t just up the price,” Mendez said. “That’s the whole dilemma. When you print it on there, you can’t just go up and down.”

The cost for a case of 40 avocados also more than doubled to $100 for Garibaldi Authentic Mexican Cuisine in Scranton, said Jessica Escalance, head waitress. The price customers pay for guacamole at Garibaldi increased to $5, she said.

The price of avocados has skyrocketed as a result of a shortfall in production in California, the leading U.S. grower.

The shortfall was blamed in part on severe heat in California growing regions during the summer last year, when avocados being harvested were still maturing.

A long drought also affected the state and when heavy rains finally arrived in the winter, it was too late.

Growers in Mexico, the leading avocado supplier to the U.S. market, also are “suffering in a similar fashion and are sending fewer boxes to the border,” Produce Express recently reported on its website.

In addition to restaurants, grocery stores also are paying more for avocados.

Joe Fasula, co-owner of nine Gerrity’s grocery stores throughout Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, said the price of avocados has gone up about 50 percent in the last month to $96 for a case of 48.

The price also went up for customers but not as high as the store is paying, Fasula said. Gerrity’s is absorbing much of the increase, he said. Customers pay $5 for two avocados.

The price of avocados is up at a time when the fruit’s popularity is growing as people have become more interested in eating healthy.

Fasula said he has seen a tremendous increase in demand for avocados over the last few years as people became more aware of their health benefits.

“Five years ago, we didn’t carry them in every store. We would maybe sell half a case a week and throw the rest out,” Fasula said. “The demand for them has exploded. Most stores will sell several cases a week and some even more. There are much larger displays of them now and we have organic avocados in every one of the stores.”

Kim Segiel, registered dietitian for Geisinger Health System, said she believes the popularity of avocados is on the rise because there has been increased marketing about their health benefits.

Avocados are high in mono-unsaturated fats, or heart-healthy fats, as opposed to saturated fats, she said. The fruit also is known to reduce LDL cholesterol, known as the bad cholesterol, she said.

The trend of eating avocados has become more universal, Segiel said.

Subway can add avocados to subs and Starbucks sells organic avocado spreads.

In addition to guacamole, people use avocados in recipes to enhance flavor and spread it on toast to replace butter, she said.

“They are a nutritious fruit and they are more readily available,” she said.

Contact the writer:

dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115,

@CVAllabaugh on Twitter

More than 1,000 people call Jonathan Bernotsky “brother.”

In May, the 28-year-old North Scranton native and West Scranton High School graduate cast off his apprentice title to become a journeyman with the Carpenters and Joiners Local 445.

He’s a member of a national organization whose leaders pledge to keep him on the job with fair wages and working conditions for the rest of his career.

The first Monday in September, Labor Day, has become a holiday to kick back and barbecue for the unofficial end of summer, but its origins in 1882 are inextricably linked to unions like Bernotsky’s.

The long weekend means a little more in Pennsylvania, which remains one of the nation’s strongest states for unions.

About 11 percent of the nation’s 136 million workers, or 14.6 million people, are union members. In Pennsylvania, 12 percent of its workforce — 685,000 people — are card-carrying members.

Bernotsky’s union, Local 445, has 1,100 active members in 17 counties, said Local 445 warden Drew Simpson.

“We have been very fortunate,” he said, explaining new medical facilities, university buildings and natural gas development have kept them busy. “We have been basically at almost 100 percent employment.”

Unions also have a strong a foothold in two of those industries keeping the carpenters busy: health care and education. Those workers are the face of an industry shift, with white collar unions gaining on what historically began in blue collar sectors.

Teachers and health workers make up most of those organized trades. Not surprisingly, those sectors lead the region month after month in bringing down jobless numbers.

Bill Cruice expects white collar unions will only continue to strengthen.

The executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, or PASNAP, said his organization added 3,000 nurses and some technical employees to its ranks just in the last 18 months.

His organization represents staff at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

“What is a union, after all, but a group of employees who are exercising their rights under the law to get the employer to do things that the employer doesn’t want to do,” Cruice said. “That sort of dynamic will never go away. You’re always going to have an employer who’s going to want to do things to employees that the employees don’t want them to do. Whenever you have that dynamic, the only recourse, the only reasonable way that employees can deal with that is by forming a union and negotiating a contract.”

Jack-of-all-trades

In the trades world, a carpenter is the jack of all of them.

They frame houses, hang drop ceiling, install hardwood or tile flooring. They know how to pour concrete, rig supports under heavy cranes and raise scaffolding to make safe working platforms for other tradesmen like steelworkers, pipefitters and electricians.

Scaffolding, in particular, has consumed Bernotsky’s time for the last year.

The task so far has taken him 500 feet up inside the enormous cooling towers of nuclear power plants in Salem Twp. and Limerick. He raised scaffolding for the new Edward R. Leahy Jr. Hall on the University of Scranton campus and Marywood University’s new high-tech Library & Learning Commons.

Now, he climbs 180 feet, above one of the region’s newest natural gas-fired power plants, the Moxie Freedom power plant near Berwick, erecting scaffolding for other workers.

That project has him working 11-hour days for six days straight, wearing a hard hat and 50-pound tool belt.

Beyond training and scouts who solicit jobs for members, the union offers benefits like any company would. That takes the pressure off the contractor to provide for workers who will only be on the job until it is finished.

“All of our benefit packages come out of hourly deductions,” Simpson said. “We pay for everything ourselves. It’s all self-contained; it’s always been like that.”

Local 445’s training center in Lebanon holds regular, tuition-free training sessions for apprentices and journeymen.

“Our international spends $200 million a year in training,” Simpson said.

Unions offer comprehensive training and worker protection by way of wages, benefits and working hours, but as state and federal governments have legislated many of those worries away, unions failed to keep pace with the growing workforce.

Additionally, out-of-state labor agencies that provide skilled workers threaten to pounce on work that the trades typically scooped up, Simpson said.

In the last 20 years, the workforce grew from 21.6 million workers to 136 million, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, the number of union workers declined by 1.6 million, or nearly 10 percent of its 1997 count.

Over the last two decades, women gained a stronger representation among the unionized trades. In 1997, about 40 percent of unionized workers were women. Now, nearly 46 percent are.

Anthracite origins

William Kashatus, a historian and professor at Luzerne County Community College, points to the anthracite coal fields in Northeast Pennsylvania as the birthplace of the modern labor movement.

The 1877 execution of the Molly Maguires in Jim Thorpe and the bloody 1892 Homestead Strike in Pittsburgh failed to gain better wages and working conditions for laborers.

However, the tides began to turn when a revolutionary named John Mitchell, emerged as president of the United Mine Workers Union, or UMW. He pulled together disparate ethnic groups like the Irish in the southern coalfields and the Italian, Lithuanian, Polish and Slavic in the north, whose differences in language and tradition prevented them from unifying.

He convinced the Catholic Church to support the worker, not the coal operator.

He preached a message of sobriety, and kept his workers off the bottle, which fostered peace not violence.

A 1900 agreement between the UMW and operators — one that operators ultimately failed to meet in full — inspired more than 120,000 new miners to join.

“This is where unionism becomes powerful in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Kashatus said.

The subsequent anthracite coal strike of 1902, led by Mitchell, lasted from May to October. It ended with workers getting a 10 percent wage increase, a firm nine-hour work day and a favorable sliding scale for wages based on production.

“Probably the reason it was so successful was, unlike the earlier miners who resorted to violence — none of these miners did,” Kashatus said.

Even after the agreement, operators still refused to recognize the UMW, but Mitchell saw the concessions as a major win for laborers.

The UMW raised a statue to Mitchell in 1924, on Lackawanna County Courthouse Square. He is buried in Scranton’s Cathedral Cemetery.

“By 1905, Pennsylvania was propelled into the forefront of the industrial revolution because of coal and because of these concessions that the UMW won,” Kashatus said. “It became a prototype for unions across the country.”

The latter part of the 20th century, following the Knox Mine Disaster of 1959 in Jenkins Twp. and subsequent collapse of the local coal industry, saw the rise of white collar unions shifting with the changing industry, he said.

These are workers like health professionals, educators and government employees. Even graduate students who work at Penn State University are battling with the school to form a union.

Hands-on work

As a boy, Bernotsky looked up to his brother, who is 10 years older and a union pipefitter. Bernotsky liked working with his hands, but wanted something different.

All told, his belt and harness system, with safety gear and tools cost about $1,500, he said, and much of his getup must be replaced or refurbished after a few years.

He put a large Indian Motorcycle logo decal across the front of his cornflower blue hard hat. His grandfather was full-blooded Algonquin from Canada, he said. He doesn’t ride motorcycles, but his heritage earned the lanky carpenter the job-site nickname emblazoned across his helmet.

He gets satisfaction in driving past something he helped build, and knowing how it’s done, he said.

“I like the hands-on work, and I like to see what I’m actually doing,” he said. “I don’t sit at a desk all day.”

Contact the writer:

joconnell@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9131;

@jon_oc on Twitter

Top 5 states for union members in workforce

New York .... 24 percent

Hawaii .... 20 percent

Alaska ..... 19 percent

Connecticut .... 18 percent

Washington .... 17 percent

Pennsylvania ... 12 percent of workforce

Bottom 5 states for union members in workforce

Texas .... 4 percent

Georgia .... 4 percent

Arkansas .... 4 percent

North Carolina .... 3 percent

South Carolina .... 2 percent

The guy many Republicans think can finally beat U.S. Sen. Bob Casey lives practically in Casey’s backyard.

They say U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, the illegal-immigration-opposing Republican former Hazleton mayor, stands the best chance of knocking out the well-known Scranton Democrat next year.

Barletta beat a 26-year incumbent, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, to win his seat in 2010. However, Kanjorski is no Bob Casey and Pennsylvania isn’t the 11th Congressional District, where Democrats only slightly outnumber Republicans.

Pennsylvania still has 800,000 more Democrats than Republicans, and Casey has the top political brand name in state history along with big wins in all his five statewide elections in a state known for close races.

G. Terry Madonna, the state’s veteran political analyst, can’t understand why any Republican sees Casey as vulnerable, considering his political strength, President Donald Trump’s declining stature and the promise of a strong year for Democrats in 2018. It’s especially hard to understand when Barletta and Trump are virtually inseparable politically and why Barletta wants to give up a safe congressional seat to take on Casey, Madonna said.

“I have no clue,” he said. “I’m just puzzled.”

Barletta, who announced his Senate run Tuesday in an online video, is no lock to face Casey either.

Jeff Bartos, a Montgomery County Republican and real estate developer, launched a limited television advertising campaign last week on the Fox News Channel that targets Barletta right along with Casey.

“Career politicians make big promises, but fail to deliver,” the ad’s narrator says as pictures of Casey and Barletta glide across the screen.

Bartos’s campaign has more than $1 million

in cash on hand compared to Barletta’s $513,000,

even if half came from Bartos.

Bartos also has a super political action committee called Keystone Priorities PAC

backing him. That PAC can raise money without caps on donations and already has $1 million

in commitments.

They aren’t the only ones in the race. So are former energy executive Paul Addis,

cyber security consultant Cynthia E. Ayers,

state Rep. Jim Christiana, R-15, Beaver County, state Rep. Rick Saccone, R-39, Allegheny, and several more candidates.

However, only Addis raised more than $100,000 ($106,000, but that includes his $100,000 loan).

Madonna’s doubts aside, Republicans see plenty of reasons to view Casey as vulnerable.

First, he’s served in either Harrisburg or Washington, D.C., for more than 20 years, and anti-incumbent fever runs high these days.

Second, Republicans think most voters can’t name a significant Casey accomplishment.

“He’s more of a cipher than a U.S. senator,” said Christopher Nicholas, Addis’ political consultant. “That kind of rope-a-dope strategy has helped him election-wise because he’s a pleasant fellow and a fairly well-known name, stays out of the limelight and doesn’t do a lot good or bad. Maybe that’s good for a survival strategy. It’s not good for accomplishing anything.”

John Brabender, the political consultant handling Barletta, pointed to a recent NBC News/Marist University poll that shows Casey’s favorability rating trailing Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s by 8 percentage points with a third of voters still with no opinion of him.

“For somebody who’s been in office for as long as Bob Casey has, for so many people to even just say I don’t have an opinion of him, often times is disastrous for an incumbent,” Brabender said.

Third, Republicans think Casey started out as a moderate Democrat, pro-life and pro-guns, but tracked leftward and away from mainstream Democrats, especially lately. For the first time in his career, he advocated more gun control, mainly in response to the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Pro-life advocates have long questioned his anti-abortion commitment because he hasn’t always supported new abortion restrictions.

“I think he’s gone, on both issues, from being off the Democratic reservation to firmly on the Democratic reservation,” Nicholas said.

In recent months, Brabender said, Casey consciously sided with liberal senators like Democratic Leader Charles Schumer and Massachusetts’ Elizabeth Warren as part of the Democratic resistance to Trump.

“We’re talking about a state (Pennsylvania) where Donald Trump did win,” he said. “What he (Casey) is betting everything on is that there’s going to be buyer’s remorse, particularly among the Democrats who supported Trump.”

Fourth, they see Casey’s recent electoral history.

In 2006, when Casey routed incumbent verbal bomb-throwing Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, he won every region of the state except central Pennsylvania. In 2012, when he beat coal-mining magnate Tom Smith by roughly half his 2006 margin, Casey also lost the northwest and southwest. Both were once full of Casey Democrats, the conservative Democrats long associated with his late father, former Gov. Robert Casey.

“If you look at where the dropoff is, it’s the same area where the president did well in the 2016 elections, and I think that speaks volumes,” Brabender said.

Brabender contends Barletta also cuts right into Casey’s base in the northeast and around Harrisburg.

“Those very Democrats, in the west particularly, but all across the state, who voted for Donald Trump last year, they have a lot in common with the type of things Lou Barletta has fought for, particularly immigration reform,” he said.

The same Marist poll shows more voters viewing Barletta unfavorably than favorably (10 percent favorable/16 percent unfavorable). Brabender discounts that because about three quarters have no view of his candidate. He points to the majority of voters who don’t have any opinion of Casey or think unfavorably of him.

Nicholas said he thinks Barletta’s ties to Trump would cost him in the southeast where 40 percent of state voters live and where Casey now thrives. He also said he thinks Addis being from Delaware County outside Philadelphia makes him more viable.

Madonna sees no serious reason to doubt Casey’s strength. Casey opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that Trump cancelled and favors reforming the North American Free Trade Agreement like Trump.

“He may be now more liberal in his voting record, but on the whole he’s maintained his relationship with a lot of Democratic leaders through the northeastern part of the state and the southwestern part of the state,” Madonna said. “He’s not deserted the working class.”

Madonna said he thinks Trump could be a problem for any Republican next year, which is shaping up as a good year for Democrats.

Indeed, the Marist poll shows almost a quarter more state voters view the president unfavorably than favorably.

The Casey campaign knows the tide can turn in favor of the president, but for now it’s happy to lasso Barletta to Trump.

Barletta, Steele said, supported anti-illegal immigration measures as mayor that left his city facing millions of dollars in legal bills, backed Social Security privatization (for a time) and supported Medicare reform that would cost senior citizens more money.

“Barletta supported the disastrous Republican health care bill (meant to replace Obamacare) that even President Trump called mean,” Steele said. “Trump won the state obviously, and I think that’s why they are particularly paying attention here. I think the senator has put together a really strong record. The folks all over the state they know him. He’s been fighting for them for a long time.”

Contact the writer:

bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9147;

@BorysBlogTT on Twitter

Results of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s statewide elections:

1996, State Auditor General: Bob Casey (D), 2,367,760, 56.09 percent; Bob Nyce (R), 1,706,835, 40.43 percent; Sharon H. Shepps (Libertarian), 103,234, 2.45 percent; Robert P. Lord (Constitution), 43,487, 1.03 percent.

2000, State Auditor General: Bob Casey (D), 2,651,551, 56.84 percent; state Rep. Katie True (R), 1,862,934, 39.94 percent; Anne E. Goeke (Green), 62,642, 1.34 percent; Jessica A. Morris (Libertarian), 41,967, .9 percent; John H. Rhine (Constitution), 23,971, .51 percent; James R. Blair, 21,476, .46 percent.

2004, State Treasurer: Bob Casey (D), 3,353,489, 61.26 percent; Jean Craige Pepper (R), 1,997,951, 36.5 percent;Darryl W. Perry (Libertarian), 61,238, 1.12 percent; Paul Teese (Green), 40,740, .74 percent; Max Lampenfeld (Constitution), 20,406, .37 percent.

2006, U.S. Senate: Bob Casey (D), 2,392,984, 58.68 percent; Sen. Rick Santorum (R), 1,684,778, 41.32 percent.

2012, U.S. Senate: Bob Casey (D), 3,021,364, 53.69 percent; Tom Smith (R), 2,509,132, 41.32 percent;Rayburn Douglas Smith (Libertarian), 96,296, 1.72 percent.

Hotel building still stands

The caption that accompanied the “now” photo of State Street in Clarks Summit, published Sunday, Aug. 27, in Then & Now on Page A13, should have said the former Hotel Tennant building still stands and houses offices and storefronts.

Sept. 25: Technology Seminar, sponsored by the NE & Lehigh Valley Chapters of the PA Society of Tax and Accounting Professionals, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Breinigsville Holiday Inn, nationally renowned author and speaker Bob Jennings of TaxSpeaker presenting the latest technology concerns facing our industry today, attendees can earn eight hours CPE and attorneys can earn seven hours CLE, $210/PSTAP members and $250/nonmembers, add $10.50 for CLE credit, register by Sept. 3 and save $30, RSVP by Sept. 17; www.pstapcpe.com or call 1-800-270-3352.

Sept. 26: Social Security Seminar, sponsored by the NE & Lehigh Valley Chapters of the PA Society of Tax and Accounting Professionals, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Woodlands Inn, nationally renowned author and speaker Bob Jennings of TaxSpeaker explaining the latest changes and benefits of adding a Social Security consulting practice to your business, attendees can earn eight hours CPE, attorneys can earn seven hours. of CLE, $185/PSTAP members and $220/nonmembers, add $10.50 for CLE credit, RSVP by Sept. 17; www.pstapcpe.com or 1-800-270-3352.

SUBMIT BUSINESS BRIEFCASE items to business@timesshamrock.com or The Times-Tribune, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503.

Barb O’Malley wants to send a message to her Hill Section neighbors: they are welcome.

Standing outside her Scranton garage Saturday morning, O’Malley distributed dozens of “Hate has no home here” signs.

“That’s the message we’re in need of, particularly after the events of Charlottesville,” she said.

The sign project, unaffiliated with any political party, originated in a Chicago neighborhood characterized by its diversity of age, race, nationality and ethnicity. The group of neighbors began the “movement that seeks to counter hate and intolerance through positive messaging and community-building practice.” The organization encourages people to start movements in their own neighborhoods, and provides the graphics for people to make their own signs, posters or bumper stickers.

The sign includes “Hate has no home here” in English, Urdu, Korean, Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish languages.

Seeking to spread the message in the Hill Section, Jessica Nolan, O’Malley and other Hill Section residents came together to purchase 100 signs for $500. O’Malley, with her dog Tibby at her side, distributed most of them on Saturday. Neighbors paid $5 for the signs.

Kathy Harte, who lives on Taylor Avenue, has seen her neighborhood become more diverse over the years. Disturbed by current events, such as the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, she wanted to make sure her neighbors feel welcome.

“To me, it’s so disturbing this is going on,” Harte said.

With each sign she distributed on Saturday, O’Malley felt more hopeful.

“It makes me feel good about humanity,” she said. “I’m trying to saturate the Hill.”

For information, visit hatehasnohomehere.org.

Contact the writer:

shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133;

@hofiushallTT on Twitter

Vying for the perfect shot, about 50 photographers and railroad aficionados gathered Saturday night and trained their cameras on iconic trains.

Held as part of Railfest 2017 — Steamtown National Historic Site’s annual homage to railroading — the nighttime photo session saw shutterbugs from across the country’s northeast congregate at the historic site to shoot several specially staged locomotives. While Steamtown is a perennially popular place for photographers, several said they relished the opportunity to capture the engines at night.

Following in the footsteps of one of his favorite artists, Michael Summers traveled to Scranton from his home outside of Frederick, Maryland, for the photo session.

“One of my favorite photographers is O. Winston Link, who photographed the end of (the steam train era) on the Norfolk and Western Railway and did all of that work at night with flash bulbs,” the amateur photographer and railroad enthusiast said. “I enjoy doing this to try to emulate that work.”

Setting up tripods before the titanic body of the Baldwin Locomotive Works #26 steam engine, Summers and others agreed that after-dark photo sessions featuring such trains are rare, and not to be missed.

While Brian Keats of West Chester and his two sons, 16-year-old Jacob and 14-year-old Andrew, all love trains, it was Andrew who learned of the photo shoot and suggested they go.

Tinkering with his camera equipment, Andrew explained that he records video of different trains and posts the videos on his YouTube channel. He wore a T-shirt reading “Steel and Steam Productions,” and said Saturday’s nighttime shoot would be his first.

The Keats also have a home in Honesdale, so for them the trip wasn’t terribly far. Hazel Meredith and her husband Dave, however, travelled all the way from Stratford, Connecticut, to attend Railfest for the fourth time.

Both are train enthusiasts and photographers, but Hazel Meredith said they weren’t planning on attending this year before learning of the photo session.

“It gives you a different view than what you’d see during the day,” she said. “You get to see more of the detail I think in some of the cars.”

The trains, she said, represent “that little bit of history that you want to capture before it’s gone.”

Ironically, money raised from Saturday night’s session will be used to help give another historic engine new life.

Proceeds will support Project 3713, a partnership between the Steamtown National Historic Site and the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society aimed at restoring the Boston and Maine #3717 — a steam locomotive named “The Constitution.”

Contact the writer: jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141; @jhorvathTT on Twitter

Today’s events

Railfest 2017 continues today with a host of events, including but not limited to:

n A historic diesel locomotive excursion to Moscow, departing the Steamtown Boarding Platform at 12:30 p.m. and returning to the park about 3. Excursion fares are $24 for adults 16 to 61, $22 for seniors 62 and older and $17 for children ages 6-15, and include the park’s daily entrance fee. Children 5 and younger accompanied by an adult require a “no-charge” ticket.

n “Scranton Limited” short train rides at a cost of $5 per person, in addition to the park’s entrance fee.

n A 1925 Whitcomb gasoline-powered locomotive display.

n A Grand Trunk Railway No. 6039, 4-8-2 “Mountain” steam locomotive display

n Children’s attractions, including rides on a 1/8-inch-scale steam train.

Railfest activities and programs are included in the park’s $7 daily entrance fee for visitors age 16 and older.

Almost 100 runners participated in the sixth annual Capt. James R. Minicozzi 5K run/1 mile walk held Saturday morning in the Electric City.

Jeff Pellis was the top overall male finisher, covering the 5-kilometer course in a time of 18 minutes 39.8 seconds. The top female finisher was Kristin Patchell-Pellis with a time of 21 minutes 36.12 seconds.

The fastest overall male walker, Evan Minicozzi, walked a mile in 10 minutes 2.97 seconds. Faith Bush was the fastest female walker with a time of 10 minutes 5.55 seconds.

Proceeds from the race will support the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s annual Christmas Party, as well as college scholarships for students of West Scranton High School — Capt. Minicozzi’s alma mater.

HARRISBURG — Notorious kids-for-cash Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. is back in town.

Six years into a 28-year prison sentence, the disgraced judge who accepted kickbacks for funneling juvenile defendants to for-profit detention centers has left federal Bureau of Prisons custody and is now being held at the Dauphin County Prison ahead of an evidentiary hearing set for Sept. 14 related to a motion to vacate his sentence.

As the 67-year-old former judge prepares for his day in court, some family members of the thousands of child victims are readying themselves for a trip to the state capital to send a message.

“He wants to get out and he doesn’t want to be held accountable for what he did,” said Judy Lorah Fisher, whose niece was featured in the “Kids for Cash” documentary and is a plaintiff in the class-action civil lawsuit stemming from the scandal. “We want to show him that we’re always going to be here and we’re always going to fight against (him) getting anything. (He) showed no mercy to these children. It’s not fair for (him) to ask for mercy when (he) gave no mercy to the children.”

Ciavarella, 67, was convicted of 12 of 39 charges for funneling juvenile defendants to detention centers built by wealthy developer Robert K. Mericle’s construction firm and operated by companies controlled by local attorney Robert Powell.

According to prosecutors, Ciavarella and Judge Michael T. Conahan, 65, took $770,000 in kickbacks from Powell and failed to report $2.1 million in “finder’s fees” paid by Mericle, whose construction company built the facilities in Pittston Twp. and Butler County.

Conahan, who pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges, is now serving 17½ years in prison at Federal Correctional Institution, Miami.

But Ciavarella has continued to fight his conviction in what the victims and their families see as a shameful effort to evade punishment.

“He should accept what he did. That’s a slap in the face to the children that are no longer here anymore and the children that survived,” Fisher said. “As much as we don’t like Mike Conahan, he’s doing his time. He said he’s sorry. He said he did what he did, and the children and the families accept that.”

Fisher, who said her niece was incarcerated for about 5½ years for getting into a fight at school and smoking marijuana, is helping organize a group to send letters and attend the hearing next week in an effort to show Ciavarella and the presiding judge that the victims won’t forget.

So far the group has about 15-20 participants, including Sandy Fonzo, who famously confronted Ciavarella outside federal court over the suicide of her son after placement in juvenile detention.

“They need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we do not want him serving any less than the full sentence that he received!” Fonzo wrote on the group’s Facebook page.

Ciavarella is seeking to reverse his conviction on grounds his trial attorneys, Al Flora Jr. and William Ruzzo, were ineffective for failing to argue the statute of limitations applied to some of the offenses that were more than five years old by the time of his 2011 trial.

Ciavarella also alleges prosecutors failed to provide him and his attorneys with evidence that could have impeached Mericle, denying Ciavarella his due-process rights.

In a separate motion, Ciavarella is seeking to have his conviction on four counts of honest services mail fraud tossed based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that held an official must exercise governmental power in order to be guilty of the crime. Ciavarella argues he did nothing in his official capacity as judge that caused Powell to hire Mericle, and therefore the payment Mericle gave Ciavarella did not amount to a bribe.

Chief U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner recently ruled that next week’s hearing will be limited to the first two issues and that attorneys will have more time to file briefs related to the honest services mail fraud motion.

Contact the writer:

;

570-821-2058;

@cvjimhalpin on Twitter

Labor Day was first observed on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City.

Just four years later, Scranton started marking the day with a parade. The parade continued to grow in size each year, reaching some 8,000 marchers in 1936. Unbeknown to the marchers that year, it would be the last Labor Day parade in Scranton.

The last parade featured five divisions filled with union members, floats and a 65-piece drum corps from the Sons of the Legion of the Koch-Conley Post. The first division had the dignitaries of the parade and members of the building trade unions. The second division had members of the bartenders, brewery workers, projectionists and printing unions. The third had members of the bakelite, stagehands and postal clerks unions. The fourth had members of the bakery worker and drivers’ unions. The final division, which was the largest, was made up of members of the industrial workers unions.

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.

Find a pet who needs a new home at the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter.

 

Darla is a one-year-old, spayed female, Tortoiseshell cat. She is friendly and easygoing.
Contact the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter at 586-3700 if your pet is lost or goes astray. Staff Photo by Ted Baird

Harley is a 10-month-old, neutered male Pitbull mix. He is very friendly, plays well with kids but doesn't get along well with cats.
Contact the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter at 586-3700 if your pet is lost or goes astray. Staff Photo by Ted Baird


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