SCRANTON — The Arc of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s charity basketball game scheduled for tonight to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day has been postponed until next Wednesday because of potential severe weather.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. at Scranton High School, 63 Munchak Way, Scranton. The game starts at 6:30. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students. Children under 5 years old are free.

The game proceeds will benefit the Arc Responds, a project with special discretionary money meant to help individuals and families affiliated with the Arc and having financial trouble and no other means available.

— STAFF REPORT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is raising its benchmark interest rate and signaling that it is sticking with a gradual approach to rate hikes under its new chairman, Jerome Powell.

The Fed on Wednesday boosted its key short-term rate by a modest quarter-point to a still-low range of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent and said it will keep shrinking its bond portfolio. Both steps show confidence that the U.S. economy remains sturdy nearly nine years after the Great Recession ended. The actions mean consumers and businesses will face higher loan rates over time.

The Fed's rate hike marks its sixth since it began tightening credit in December 2015. It is sticking with the forecast it issued in December for three increases in 2018. But it did boost its 2019 estimate from two hikes to three.

Speaking to Congress last month, Powell said his "personal outlook" on the economy had strengthened since December, when the Fed's policymakers collectively forecast three rate hikes for 2018, the same as in 2017. That comment helped send stocks tumbling because it suggested that the Fed might be about to accelerate the gradual pace it had pursued under his predecessor, Janet Yellen. More aggressive rate increases would likely slow the economy and make stocks less appealing.

Yet when he testified to Congress again two days later, Powell tempered his view: He stressed that the Fed still thinks it has room to maintain a moderate pace of rate hikes, in part to allow Americans' average wages, which have stagnated for years, to pick up. The impression was that he might not favor raising rates faster than Yellen did after all — at least not yet.

A healthy job market and a steady if unspectacular economy have given the Fed the confidence to think the economy can withstand further increases within a still historically low range of borrowing rates.

The financial markets have been edgy for weeks, and Powell's back-and-forth comments have been only one factor. A sharp rise in wage growth reported in the government's January jobs report triggered fears that higher labor costs would lead to higher inflation and, ultimately, to higher interest rates. Stocks sank on the news. But subsequent reports on wages and inflation have been milder, and the markets appear to have stabilized.

The February jobs report pointed to an unusually robust labor market: Employers added 313,000 jobs, the largest monthly gain in 1½ years. The unemployment rate remained at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent.

Other measures of the economy, though, have been more sluggish. Consumer spending, the economy's primary fuel, has slowed this year and has led many economists to downgrade their forecasts for growth in the January-March quarter. Some now envision an annual growth rate of just 1.7 percent for the quarter.

Forecasts for all of 2018, though, still predict an acceleration later this year, driven in part by the stimulative effect of the sweeping tax cuts President Donald Trump pushed through Congress in December and a budget agreement last month to raise government spending by $300 billion over two years.

If economic growth does pick up and the job market remains healthy, the Powell Fed is viewed as likely to accelerate its rate hikes, from the three it projected in December to four this year. Even after six rate increases over the past 27 months, the Fed's benchmark rate remains in a still-low range of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent, up from a record low near zero as recently as December 2015. The Fed's slighter higher key rate has, however, contributed to higher consumer loan rates, including for home mortgages.

Some economists say they think Powell will try to demonstrate at the start of his tenure that he is serious about keeping inflation under control, a central responsibility for any Fed leader.

SCRANTON — A former Lackawanna County Prison guard accused of sexually abusing female inmates will face further court action following his preliminary hearing today.

John Shnipes Jr., 42, 115 Simpson St., Archbald, will go to trial on six counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, four counts of aggravated indecent assault, and two counts each of institutional sexual assault and harassment.

Shnipes, a former Archbald councilman, originally was charged with eight counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse but prosecutors withdrew two counts.

Shnipes is one of seven former guards charged in an ongoing sex abuse investigation at Lackawanna County Prison. The state police and agents from the state attorney general’s office arrested the guards in February, based on the testimony of 13 women who appeared before the statewide grand jury. The victims accused the defendants of using their positions as guards to leverage sexual acts for more than a decade.

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

Check back for updates.

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

Charges against the seven former Lackawanna County Prison guards:

n George R. Efthimiou, 50, 1121 Loomis Ave., Taylor, one count of institutional sexual assault. His preliminary hearing was rescheduled Monday to April 25, because prosecutors plan to file new charges against him.

n Mark Johnson, 54, 2213 Golden Ave., Scranton, two counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and institutional sexual assault and one count each of indecent assault and harassment. His preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. Monday.

n George T. McHale, 50, 513 Florin St., Scranton, one count of institutional sexual assault and two counts of indecent assault. His preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday.

n John Shnipes Jr., 42, 115 Simpson St., Archbald, a former Archbald councilman, will go to trial on six counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, four counts of aggravated indecent assault, and two counts each of institutional sexual assault and harassment following his preliminary hearing Wednesday.

n Jeffrey T. Staff, 42, 459 Wyoming Ave. Apt. 4, Wyoming, will go to trial one count of institutional sexual assault after his preliminary hearing Tuesday.

n Paul J. Voglino, 45, 4 Rear Orchard St., Carbondale, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. His preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. April 25.

n James J. Walsh, 51, 209 Mosswood Road, Roaring Brook Twp., will go to trial on four counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse following his Feb. 23 preliminary hearing.

DUNMORE — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation lifted the commercial vehicle ban on Interstate 84 westbound, though the restriction remains on the road’s eastbound lanes.

Locally, the ban also remains in place on Interstate 380. PennDOT’s and the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s ban on empty straight CDL-weighted trucks, tractors hauling double trailers, tractors hauling empty trailers, trailers pulled by passenger vehicles, pick-up trucks, motorcycles and recreational vehicles is also still in place for Interstate 80 from the New Jersey line to the junction with Interstate 8 and on Interstate 81 from the Maryland line to the junction with Interstate 80.

Check back for updates.

— STAFF REPORTS

SCRANTON — Lackawanna County Commissioner Laureen Cummings today voted against accepting a state grant to conduct a bicycle study for Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, arguing the money would be better spent repairing roads and bridges.

Commissioners voted 2-1, with Cummings voting no, to have board Chairman Patrick O’Malley sign documents accepting a roughly $54,400 state Department of Community and Economic Development grant that will be equally split between Lackawanna and Luzerne counties to partially fund bike studies in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The studies would explore, among other things, how to most conveniently add bicycle lanes to the two cities’ downtown areas.

Both Lackawanna and Luzerne counties will pay $4,080 each as their respective matches for the DCED grant, county economic development Director George Kelly said, noting the counties have also applied for additional grant funding from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to fund the remainder of the bike study.

Cummings voiced her opposition to the study when the issue came up in April, and reiterated that opposition today.

“We have $14 million worth of roads and bridge repairs that are needed in Lackawanna County alone,” Cummings said, equating the bike study to “wasteful spending of your money” and an example of misplaced priorities. “What is the state taking money out of your paycheck ... to pay for? Bike lane studies.”

Cummings’ no vote comes after commissioners last year slashed a $1.25 million economic development line item titled “infrastructure improvements” from the county’s final 2018 budget, which Kelly said is largely used to repair bridges in the county. It also comes as a county ordinance that would impose a $5 vehicle registration fee to fund road and bridge repair hangs in limbo. The vehicle registration fee ordinance, which Cummings opposes, was given a first reading in January but has not been put to a vote.

“What the commissioner talked about is that we have potholes and we have bridges that are in serious need of repair,” Kelly said after the meeting, noting that commissioners cut the $1.25 million in economic development funding that could have been used to address both problems. “Therefore, we approached the board of commissioners to do the registration fee, which ... was read, but it was never brought back up on the commissioners’ agenda.”

Kelly also said bike lanes would provide an alternative mode of transportation for residents who don’t drive.

“Between 2 to 6 percent of our population do not have cars,” he said. “A bike lane will help to encourage the alternative means of transportation for those who don’t have transportation. Also, younger adults today look for bike-ability as one of the key benefits of being in a city.”

Cummings said the state should instead devote its grant dollars to repairing transportation infrastructure.

“I think we have better things to spend our money on right now and, if after all of that is fixed, we want to do bike lanes so be it,” she said. “I have nothing against bicycles.”

The studies will not commence until after the DCNR grant is secured, Kelly said, noting the county will solicit a request for proposals for the work thereafter.

In other business today, commissioners voted 2-1 to approve a four-year union contract, retroactive to 2017, with Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO, Local 668, which represents about 227 county employees across various departments. The contract guarantees raises of 2.5 percent in 2017, 2.5 percent in 2018, 2 percent in 2019 and 2 percent in 2020. The agreement does not include a hike in employee health care contributions.

The contract also includes raises for SEIU members who work for the county’s Area Agency on Aging. Employees holding the title of care manager III will receive 2 percent annual raises over the four years, while employees with the title of care manager I, care manager II, assessor and registered nurse, as well as fiscal and clerical employees, will receive 3 percent annual raises over the life of the contract, county spokesman Joseph D’Arienzo confirmed.

“This is a reasonable and fair agreement that we all worked hard on,” county human resources Director Justin MacGregor said. “We respect these members. They protect our elderly. They keep our justice system running. They answer the phones at the 911 Center and they maintain the quality of life in all of our buildings.”

Cummings voted no on the contract, noting the county “budget is very tight right now” and that she was not involved in the contract negotiations.

Contact the writer:

jhorvath@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9141;

@jhorvathTT on Twitter

Lackawanna County Sheriff Mark McAndrew said today that he will amend recent policy requiring all who enter the county administration building to lock their cellphones in portable pouches for the duration of their visit.

Under the amended policy, those attending a commissioners’ meeting at the administration building will be exempt from the cellphone restriction.

Commissioner Laureen Cummings recently argued that preventing commissioners’ meeting attendees from using their phone constituted a violating the state’s Sunshine Act.

Those attending the administration building for other reasons will still be required to lock their phones in the portable sleeves, McAndrew said.

— JEFF HORVATH

SCRANTON — A man faces drug charges after city police say he called an off-duty officer Wednesday in order to buy drugs

Michael Walsh, 25, is charged with criminal attempt to possess a controlled substance and criminal attempt to possess drug paraphernalia after Walsh called a number belonging to an off-duty police officer, said he had lost the numbers in his phone and he was looking for “four or five,” police said. Officers with the Street Crimes Unit previously arrested Walsh and believe he mistook the number for that of a drug dealer, police said.

The officer referred Walsh to another number, this one belonging to on-duty police. Walsh texted police to buy four bags of heroin, police said. Officers arrested Walsh at a meet location on South Main Avenue.

Bail and preliminary hearing information were not available Wednesday.

— CLAYTON OVER

The attorney for a former Lackawanna County Prison guard forcefully denied Tuesday that his client had a sexual relationship with a female work-release inmate nearly a decade ago.

Moments before that denial, the judge sent the case against his client, Jeffrey T. Staff, to trial.

Staff, 42, 459 Wyoming Ave., Apt. 4, Wyoming, sat quietly at the defense table while the victim testified in a soft voice about how Staff messaged her on Facebook one day in 2010, when she was leaving the jail to go to work at a Scranton bagel shop.

“Just to say ‘hi’ and that I looked pretty with my hair straight and that we should talk,” the woman testified.

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

Eventually, conversation turned to sexual intercourse at a home in West Scranton, according to the state attorney general’s office.

Staff’s attorney, Corey Kolcharno, said his client flatly denies that happened.

“He asserts his innocence and we look forward to proving that,” Kolcharno said.

Staff, charged with institutional sexual assault, is the second of seven former guards charged in an ongoing sex abuse investigation at the county jail to have his charges sent to trial by a district judge after a preliminary hearing. The first, James J. Walsh, 51, 209 Mosswood Road, Roaring Brook Twp., had his preliminary hearing Feb. 23 on four counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. Magisterial District Judge John Pesota held the charges for court.

On Tuesday, Magisterial District Judge Joanne Corbett found that Senior Deputy Attorney General Simquita Bridges presented enough evidence to send Staff to trial for the felony count against him.

The state police and agents from the state attorney general’s office arrested the guards in February based on the testimony of 13 women who appeared before the statewide grand jury. The victims accused the defendants of using their positions as guards to leverage sexual acts for more than a decade.

In testimony that lasted about 30 minutes, the woman told the judge Tuesday that she and Staff exchanged phone numbers, messaged and made a plan to meet at what she said was his mother’s house in West Scranton.

While out on furlough from the jail to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, she testified that she skipped the meeting and went to the city home to have sex with Staff. On another occasion where they made plans to meet during a furlough, she opted against it once she was interrogated by other jail employees. They told her to “cut communications” with Staff because she was going to “ruin his career.” Staff, too, seemed concerned, she testified.

“It was important to keep it quiet,” the woman testified they told her.

Kolcharno questioned why the woman is making allegations years later and, after the hearing, hinted that she may have financial motivations. The woman came to court with Scranton attorneys Matt Comerford and Curt Parkins, whose firm, Walker & Comerford Law, is representing two women on a still-pending federal lawsuit against the county alleging abuse while they were incarcerated at the county jail.

Kolcharno also decried the woman’s testimony as “all over the board” and lacking credibility. He noted that a woman who spent “almost one-third of her life in prison for theft-related offenses” is making accusations against a man who has not had one write-up in his career at the jail.

Kolcharno pointed out that Staff’s mother has not lived in West Scranton since Staff was a young child, a glaring inconsistency in the woman’s story. The grand jury’s presentment also makes mention that the sexual intercourse took place at his “mother’s house on the west side of Scranton.” The woman testified Tuesday that she is not very familiar with West Scranton.

Staff’s father, Thomas Staff, who was the director of the work release program, owns a home in West Scranton on the 700 block of West Elm Street, according to Lackawanna County assessment records. Jeffrey Staff was listed as living at that address in newspaper stories reporting run-ins with the police for minor offenses in his early 20s.

Jeffrey Staff and his family remained silent as they walked from the courthouse. He will next appear in the Common Pleas Court.

Another preliminary hearing is scheduled today for former guard John Shnipes Jr., 42, 115 Simpson St., Archbald. During Tuesday’s hearing, Shnipes’ attorney, Rob Trichilo, sat in the courtroom and watched as the proceedings unfolded.

Contacted later, Trichilo said he is anticipating today’s hearing will last several hours longer than Staff’s.

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

Charges against the seven former Lackawanna County Prison guards:

n George R. Efthimiou, 50, 1121 Loomis Ave., Taylor, one count of institutional sexual assault. His preliminary hearing was rescheduled Monday to April 25, because prosecutors plan to file new charges against him.

n Mark Johnson, 54, 2213 Golden Ave., Scranton, two counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and institutional sexual assault and one count each of indecent assault and harassment. His preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. Monday.

n George T. McHale, 50, 513 Florin St., Scranton, one count of institutional sexual assault and two counts of indecent assault. His preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. March 27.

n John Shnipes Jr., 42, 115 Simpson St., Archbald, eight counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, four counts of aggravated indecent assault, and two counts each of institutional sexual assault and harassment. A former Archbald councilman, Shnipes’ preliminary hearing is set for 11:15 a.m. today.

n Jeffrey T. Staff, 42, 459 Wyoming Ave. Apt. 4, Wyoming, will go to trial one count of institutional sexual assault after his preliminary hearing Tuesday.

n Paul J. Voglino, 45, 4 Rear Orchard St., Carbondale, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. His preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. April 25.

n James J. Walsh, 51, 209 Mosswood Road, Roaring Brook Twp., will go to trial on four counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse following his Feb. 23 preliminary hearing.

SCRANTON — The Lackawanna County Salary Board on Wednesday voted to fund a new position to perform state Supreme Court-mandated work, an issue that sparked contentious debate at a prior salary board meeting late last year.

Register of Wills Fran Kovaleski — who also serves as clerk of the Orphans’ Court, a division of the county court system — appeared before the board on Dec. 20 seeking a budget amendment to create a full-time guardianship administrator position at an annual salary of $42,000 plus benefits. Tensions rose at that meeting when county officials told Kovaleski the salary board can only vote to fund positions, not create them.

Nonetheless, Kovaleski and the county continued to discuss the issue. On Feb. 1, she raised some fees in both the Register of Wills and Orphans’ Court offices to cover the cost of the position, hoping the salary board would ultimately fund it.

That’s what the board did Wednesday by voting to fund the position at an annual salary of $42,000, with only Commissioner Laureen Cummings voting no. Cummings, who sits on the salary board with fellow commissioners Patrick O’Malley and Jerry Notarianni and county Controller Gary DiBileo, said she doesn’t feel the position is necessary.

The administrator will work for the Orphans’ Court and serve as a coordinator between the courts and court-appointed guardians of senior citizens, informing current guardians of new reporting practices, updating the county’s data on active guardianships and migrating that data into a new computer-based Guardian Tracking System. They would also alert the courts of any potential improprieties in guardianship reports to help protect seniors from fraud, among other responsibilities.

Much of that work is being mandated by the state Supreme Court through the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts and is too much for current staff to manage given their existing workload, Kovaleski said earlier this year.

Contact the writer:

jhorvath@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9141;

@jhorvathTT on Twitter

BENCH WARRANTS

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

• Vincent McHenry, 411 Drink­er St., Dunmore; $5,701.50.

• Paul McGowan, 409 10th Ave., Scranton; $5,392.93.

• Erica Marlatt, 1203 Olympic Circle 3, Whitehall; $1,875.

• Lisa Marie Mager, 64 Anthra­cite St., Wilkes-Barre; $567.50.

• Jennifer Ross, 235 W. Par­ker St., Scranton; $2,950.50.

• William Metschulat, 919 Kirst Court, Scranton; $4,010.65.

• Nicholas Melendez, 190 Hemming Way, Boynton Beach, Fla.; $26,106.65.

• Jose Angel Melecio-Rivera, 1314 Wyoming Ave., Apt. 2, Scranton; $1,438.50.

• Carlos A. Mejia, 319 N. Evans Court, Scranton; $816.

• Arkia Lenette Gibson, 779 N. Washington St., Apt. 2, Wilkes-Barre; $862.

• Velvet Simone Jefferson, 22 Parish Court, Carbondale; $3,302.93.

• Stephen Jones, P.O. Box 230, Glenside; $2,595.65.

• Kathleen Jordan, 70 Canaan Street, Carbondale; $741.

• John P. Kaschak, 620 Maple St., Old Forge; $375.

• Michael John Koytek, 515 Spring St., Moosic; $1,347.50.

• Shawn Lovell Kitt, 1317 Adams Ave., 2nd Floor, Scran­ton; $987.

• Robert Thomas Kumpas, Jr., 223 Ash St., Scranton; $1,406.

• Timothy Lawrence Lavolpe, 1190 Bay St., S.E. Darien, Ga.; $916.

• Bruce Lescinsky, 9 Doe Lane, Apt. 3, Covington Twp.; $2,680.09.

• Robert Brian Mapps, 104 McKee Drive, Tafton; $780.50.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

SCRANTON — Nine years beyond a national recession, global economist Jay Bryson, Ph.D., is starting to see little gray clouds pop up on the horizon.

“One thing I can say with 100 percent certainty — there will be another recession,” he told a group of area business leaders Wednesday at an economic outlook event in Scranton hosted by chambers of commerce in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

Aside from forewarning about unforeseen geopolitical agitators and runaway inflation, he delivered a predominantly optimistic summary of the national and global economy highlighted with predictions of stability, but capped with a list of things that could go wrong.

“We’re not talking about issues yet, but there’s some things we’re keeping an eye on,” the Wells Fargo. economist and researcher told the group of about 75 people.

He injected sobriety into the notion that the U.S. could soon achieve the coveted 3 percent gross domestic product growth, though he seemed confident the nation could raise its productivity another half a point this year to 2.75 percent.

“What’s the difference between 2¾ and 3 percent among friends? It’s essentially the same thing,” he said. “Is it going to grow 3 percent on a sustained basis? If I’m in Vegas I’m going to take the under on that.”

With a tightening labor market and 20 years since the internet boom, the economy needs a new technological revolution to really roar again.

He sees that potential in artificial intelligence and robotics, he said, but predicted that won’t come for another five to 10 years.

Automation critics fear more machines doing human work will steal jobs, but increased productivity is almost always a good thing, Bryson said, and could ultimately lead to more jobs.

Machines fostering job growth has real-world examples in this region, said Kenneth Okrepkie after Bryson’s talk.

Okrepkie, the regional manager for Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeast Pennsylvania, an investment organization created by the state Department of Community and Economic Development, pointed to Pleasant Mount Welding Inc. in Carbondale.

The metals manufacturing company partnered with Johnson College to automate some of its processes, and subsequently expand its product line.

“They’re doing exactly what he’s (Bryson) talking about,” Okrepkie said.

Companies like Pleasant Mount are asking, “how do we become more efficient and meet the needs of our customers, and in both cases create good quality jobs and increase the revenue that comes into Northeast Pennsylvania?” Okrepkie said.

Contact the writer:

joconnell@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131; @jon_oc

SCRANTON — The Civil War museum in the basement of City Hall will host an actor portraying Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on Saturday, said museum Commander Hal Myers.

Kenneth J. Serfass will present a living history of Grant talking about the Vicksburg, Mississippi battle campaign.

There will be two performances, at 1 p.m. and at 3:30 p.m., at the museum at the municipal building, 340 N. Washington Ave.

The museum, formally named the “Lt. Ezra S. Griffin Camp No. 8 Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War,” contains numerous artifacts, documents, books and other items.

For information on the museum, see www.ezrasgriffin8.org.

— JIM LOCKWOOD

Blakely

Groundbreaking ceremony: Coal Miners Remembered groundbreaking, Saturday, noon, Blakely Park, bring shovel; refreshments follow at Roseann’s Restaurant.

Lackawanna County

Reunion meeting: Old Forge High School class of 1973 reunion meeting, March 27, 7 p.m., Arcaro & Genell’s Restau­rant, Main Street, Old Forge, to continue planning the 45th class reunion on July 28.

Running presentation: Timothy Farrell, M.D., general surgeon at Geisinger Community Medical Center, presenting a free presentation for runners about hernia prevention, “Running the Risk of a Hernia,” today, 6:45-7:45 p.m., Scranton Running Co., 3 W. Olive St., Scranton, discussing the causes and symptoms of running and sports-related groin injuries, as well as tips to help prevent them stretching demonstrations will also be provided by the Scranton Running Co., free, light refreshments.

Mayfield

Bookmobile visit: Lacka­wanna County Bookmobile, Monday, 1:15-1:45 p.m., Municipal Building, 739 Penn Ave.

Bread/kolachi sale: St. John’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral homemade bread and kolachi sale, March 29-30, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., St. John’s Center, Hill Street; bread, $10, raisin and white paskas or kolachi (nut, poppyseed, lekvar and apricot, order deadline: March 27, 570-876-0730 or 570-876-3576.

Old Forge

Historical Society: Old Forge Historical Society meeting has been changed to today, 7 p.m., due to the Easter holidays, parking lot and meeting room entrance are in the rear of the Borough Building, South Main Street, items borrowed for the “Our Town Project” will be available for pick up at this meeting.

Peckville

Free lunch: Community free lunch at the Red Door Cafe’ Saturday, noon, Peckville United Methodist Church, 732 Main St., use ground floor side door.

Regional

Archeology meeting: Frances Dorrance Chapter of the Society for Pennsylvania Archeology meeting, Tuesday, 7-9 p.m., Duryea Municipal Building, 315 Main St.; Bob Mischak will be speaking from the perspective of a northern soldier from the Revolutionary War, free.

Scranton

Blood drives: American Red Cross blood drives: today, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Kevins Wholesale, 710 Capouse Ave.; April 4, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., University of Scran­ton John Long Center, 800 Linden St.; April 5, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., University of Scranton John Long Center, 800 Linden St.; and April 12, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Marywood University, Naz­areth Hall, 2300 Adams Ave.

West Scranton

Soup sale: SS. Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church soup sale, Friday and March 30, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Manhat­tan clam chowder or vegetarian vegetable soup, $7/quart, pre-orders suggested; 570-343-8128, 570-842-6476 (leave name, phone num­­ber, order) in advance; or 570-961-3147, day of.

CLIPBOARD ITEMS may be sent to yesdesk@timessham

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

OLD FORGE — The Old Forge School Board approved $492,775 in bids to replace the district’s two boilers this spring.

The three bids for electrical and plumbing work during the boiler replacement, as well as HVAC work, were unanimously approved during Wednesday night’s board meeting. Board member Marie Pero Ciuferri was absent.

The two existing boilers will be dissembled starting in the spring and replaced with three condensing boilers, said Joseph Gutowski, district building and grounds supervisor. The last time the boilers were replaced was in 1994, he added. Most of the work will be done throughout the summer and should be finished by August, said Superintendent John Rushefski.

The project will improve energy efficiency and gas consumption, said Gutowski.

— KATHLEEN BOLUS

March 22, 1943

Teacher saved from mine hole

Margaret Conroy, junior high school teacher, was rescued yesterday from a mine hole that opened up in the backyard of her home on Ward Street in Jessup.

According to Conroy, she was in the backyard walking back toward the home when the ground opened up beneath her, and she fell into a deep hole.

After an hour in the hole, she finally was rescued when her husband, Miles, returned home from church and heard her calls for help. Miles got help from their neighbor, Peter Sierklewicz, and the pair lowered a 25-foot ladder down the hole for Margaret to climb out.

West Scranton woman to turn 102

Susan Davis, of South Main Avenue in West Scranton, would be

celebrating her 102nd birthday on March 25. She was believed to be the oldest person in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Davis was born in 1841 in Carbondale to the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Richards. The family would later move to Scranton. She married Capt. William Davis, of the Union Army, and they lived in Plymouth for 40 years.

She lived with her daughter, Cora, and her two grandsons, both named William. The young men were serving with the military.

Her friends and neighbors in West Scranton affectionately called her “Aunt Sue.”

29 degrees as spring begins

The local office of the U.S. Weather Bureau reported when the vernal equinox took place the day before at 8:03 a.m., the temperature was 29 degrees. The high temperature yesterday was 36 degrees and the low was 27 degrees.

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.

SCRANTON — A city man was arrested Wednesday after Lackawanna County detectives say he sold crack cocaine to an informant.

Jerome Cortland Hilliard, 58, 424 Wyoming Ave., faces charges of delivery of a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Detectives arrested Hilliard about 5 p.m. in the 400 block of Wyoming after the informant arranged the purchase of $100 worth of crack cocaine from the suspect, according to arrest papers.

Hilliard was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Paul Keeler and jailed at the county jail on $60,000 bail. His preliminary is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday.

— DAVID SINGLETON

PITTSTON TWP. — A lot fewer passengers departed the airport in February than a year ago, the second monthly decline in a row.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport Director Carl Beardsley Jr. blamed a majority of the 11.8 percent decline from the previous February on 24 cancelled flights, all because of bad weather. The ongoing effects of Allegiant Air’s departure from the airport in January also contributed to the decline, Beardsley told the airport board Thursday.

The airport had 18,518 departing passengers in February 2016 and 16,333 last month, or 2,185 fewer.

Last February, the airport had 18 flights cancelled, 10 because of bad weather and eight for mechanical problems with jets, according to an airport agenda. Mainly because of United Airlines adding flights to Charlotte, North Carolina, the February 2016 departures increased 6.5 percent from 17,380 in February 2015, meaning this February’s number was lower than even two years ago.

In January, when the last Allegiant plane flew out of the airport, departures declined by 1.5 percent from the previous January. The airport had 22 cancelled flights, all because of bad weather.

The two months of decline come after almost three years of steady growth under Beardsley, who took over as director in January 2015. The airport set its all-time annual record for departures last year.

“Of course, we’re paying very close attention to the boardings,” Beardsley said after the board met. “But I think what we’re going to see is as April comes, May comes and June comes, and those additional flights go into effect, we’re going to see a change (rise in departures).”

In April, American Airlines will add a fourth daily flight to Charlotte and Philadelphia and Regional Sky will begin twice daily flights to Pittsburgh. In June, American will begin two flights to Chicago.

Beardsley said the airport continues to seek a replacement for Allegiant, whose flights to Tampa and Orlando in Florida mostly carried leisure travelers.

“Nothing imminent, but our focus right now is that leisure component, an Allegiant-type carrier that’s going to bring people to vacations,” Beardsley said.

In other business, the board hired Landrum & Brown of Cincinnati, Ohio, to study the airport’s system for accepting and distributing cargo.

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

ARCHBALD — A Dunmore woman is accused of supplying drugs to an Archbald man who died of an overdose in December.

Noelle S. Orazi, 21, 1508 Madison Ave., was arrested today on drug delivery resulting in death and other charges after an investigation by Archbald police and the state attorney general’s office.

Investigators allege she provided heroin and cocaine to 22-year-old A.J. Veno, who died Dec. 15 after overdosing at his Archbald home.

Orazi was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Laura Turlip and held in Lackawanna County Prison on $200,000 bail. She faces a preliminary hearing 9 a.m. next Thursday.

Check back later for updates.

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

SCRANTON — A Wayne County woman faces charges of knowingly filing false documents and hiding assets during her bankruptcy case five years ago.

Linda Ferris, 55, Newfoundland, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on one count each of false claims under oath and concealment of assets.

U.S. Attorney David J. Freed said Ferris, who filed for bankruptcy in July 2013, is accused of failing to fully disclose her assets to the bankruptcy court.

In addition, the grand jury alleged Ferris lied on her schedule of assets by hiding some of them in a sham mortgage in Ormand Beach, Florida, that was set up shortly before the bankruptcy filing, he said.

If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $25,000.

— DAVID SINGLETON

A city man faces homicide by vehicle charges more than a month after he crashed a stolen car, killing his passenger, police said.

Police charged Daquan Marquise Johnson, 25, 802 Crown Ave., with homicide by vehicle, burglary, criminal conspiracy and related counts.

Police began investigating after responding to a call about a car wreck on state Route 307 and Snook Road in Scranton just before midnight on Feb. 11. A nearby homeowner, Robert Lipski, told officers he and his wife heard the 2014 Nissan 370 Z crash. He went outside and helped free the man trapped in the driver’s seat. The man, later identified as Johnson, told him “I wasn’t driving” before he fled the scene.

The Nissan struck a guard rail and rolled over, ejecting passenger Angelo Matlock. The 32-year-old Scranton resident died of injuries he suffered in the crash.

Check back for updates.