WILKES-BARRE — Comedian Dennis Miller and bestselling author and political commentator Mark Steyn will bring their “Adorable Deplorable Tour” to the F.M. Kirby Center at 8 p.m. March 2.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday and are available at The Sundance Vacations Box Office at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, online at www.kirbycenter.org and charge by phone at 570-826-1100. A Kirby Member pre-sale begins at 10 a.m. Friday.

Miller is a five-time Emmy award winner for his critically acclaimed half-hour, live talk show “Dennis Miller Live” which had a nine-year run on HBO.

Steyn is the author of After America, which was a top five bestseller in the United States and a number one bestseller in Canada; America Alone: The End Of The World As We Know It, a New York Times bestseller in the United States and a number one bestseller in Canada; and his most recent bestseller, The [Un]documented Mark Steyn.

Tickets are $55, $65, $85 and $350 (VIP with meet and greet), plus fees.

— STAFF REPORT

SCRANTON — City firefighters, state police and emergency medical personnel responded to a crash involving two vehicles Monday night that snarled traffic on Interstate 81 north.

Crews responded to the area around mile marker 183, between the Davis Street and River Street exits, at about 10:10 p.m. The crash involved a car and a pickup truck. Crews arrived to find the driver of each vehicle entrapped. Fire personnel extricated both and they were taken to city hospitals with injuries, according to city fire officials. Both people were conscious as crews worked, fire officials said.

The vehicles both lay overturned as state police investigated Monday night. No further information was available Monday night.

— CLAYTON OVER

MARRIAGE LICENSES

Daniel Scott Kasulaitis and Holly Ann Stangline, both of Thornhurst.

Chelsea Lynn Hawksley and Frederick James Lishman, both of Jermyn.

Natasha Lynn Long and Lamar Okeith Ledger, both of Scranton.

Meghan Elizabeth Judge, South Abington Twp., and Thomas Edward Jubon, Charleston, S.C.

Jennifer Audrey Cassidy and Peter Kwastavich, both of Moosic.

Jose Luis Torres-Gomez, Scranton, and Alyiah Jaeann Brown, Wilkes-Barre.

Michael A. Smith and Melanie Ann DeLuca, both of Madison Twp.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

Katie Guittard to Owen Car Rentals Inc. and Owen Motors Inc.; a property at 1593 Mount Cobb Road, Jefferson Twp., for $125,000.

Michael J. and Margaret A. Vazquez to Rafael Gonzalez Roldan, Patricia E. Paniagua and Rafael Jesus Gonzalez Nieves, as joint tenants with rights of survivorship; a property at 842 N. Sumner Ave., Scranton, for $100,000.

Jessica A. Washenko, Roaring Brook Twp., to Kenneth Robert and Caroline Marie Thorp, Moscow; a property in Roaring Brook Twp. for $222,400.

Mary Ellen Coleman and Barbara Ann Cawley, Jefferson Twp., to Kevin F. McCormick, Ryan Barletta and Kathryn Unangst, Scranton, as tenants in common; a property in Jefferson Twp. for $32,000.

STATE TAX LIEN

Jessica M. Zellers, 1619 Newton Ransom Blvd., Clarks Summit; $2,845.81.

ESTATES FILED

Nannette E. Smith, 209 Gravel Pond Road, South Abington Twp., letters testamentary to Eugene D. Smith, 631 Ashurst Road, Havertown.

John E. Koniszewski, 207 Eleanor St., Peckville, letters of administration to Joseph Koniszewski, 7 Blythe Drive, Peckville.

Theresa Koniszewski, also known as Theresa Marie Koniszewski, 207 Eleanor St., Peckville, letters of administration to Joseph Koniszewski, 7 Blythe Drive, Peckville.

Loretta R. Thompson, 400 Bedford St., Apt. 300, Clarks Summit, letters of administration to Richard C. Thompson, 1714 Falls Road, Clarks Summit.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

October is passing its midpoint, but trees in the region are still filled with green leaves.

Warmer weather has contributed to leaves staying greener longer this year, said Vincent Cotrone, an urban forester with Penn State Cooperative Extension.

“We’ve had 80-degree temperatures as recently as last Thursday,” he said. “The trees are going to produce as much food and grow as much as possible if they can before they’re triggered to shut down and go dormant.”

Luzerne and Lackawanna counties are a week away from peak color, according to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. So is most of the state. A few counties in the southeast and south-central part of Pennsylvania are just starting to see changes.

The chlorophyll in leaves helps them make energy and causes them to look green, and it hides the fall colors that come from other materials in the leaf.

In the fall, the amount of daylight decreases, and the leaves stop making energy. The chlorophyll breaks down and other colors become visible. Temperature, precipitation, light and the tree species all affect the colors we see.

As the amount of daylight has decreased, some leaves have started to turn, but warmer temperatures have delayed the process.

Colder temperatures signal to trees that it is time to begin dormancy. They move water out of their cells to protect from freezing temperatures and they stop producing food through photosynthesis.

As temperatures begin to dip into the 30s at night, more colors should become visible.

Cotrone has also seen some trees drop their leaves or develop fungus because of all the moisture in the ground. It’s too much rain for some plants.

“We’ve seen it with tomatoes. We’ve seen it with lots of other plants. Trees are just like that,” he said.

Oak trees predominate in the Wyoming Valley, and they tend to change color later in any case. Maple trees are more prevalent farther north, such as around the Tunkhannock area.

For those who can’t wait, a trip north to Wyoming, Susquehanna or Pike counties should yield one of the treasures of fall right now: Trees bursting with vibrant leaves at the peak of their color.

Contact the writer:

bwellock@citizensvoice.com;

570-821-2051;

@CVBillW on Twitter

SCRANTON — Complaints that members of the Scranton School Board sexually harassed and intimidated Superintendent Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D., should have remained a private issue, she told school directors Monday night.

Calling it disappointing and an act of retaliation, Kirijan demanded to know who supplied The Times-Tribune with the letter, which became the subject of a story and column in Sunday’s newspaper. No one responded.

“It’s concerning to me we can’t have a private conversation about a personnel issue,” Kirijan said during committee meetings. “We’re looking to improve the way we work together, not make it worse.”

In a June letter to the board, Kirijan alleged that school directors sexually harass her, create a hostile work environment and discriminate based on her gender and ethnicity. The allegations, including that officials ignored her claims of sexual harassment, led the board to commission an internal investigation, expected to be complete later this month.

“This board has gone in the wrong direction in airing personnel issues” in the newspaper, Director Bob Lesh said. “That trust has been violated.”

Director Paige Gebhardt Cognetti questioned whether the board violated the state’s Sunshine Act when directors decided to hire Kingston attorney Jarrett Ferentino during a conversation in executive session and not holding a vote in public — an issue raised in Sunday’s newspaper.

Solicitor John Minora said directors would authorize the hiring when they vote to approve Ferentino’s forthcoming bills. Minora said he would look further into whether the board violated the open meetings law.

In other business:

n Parents of high school seniors demanded answers about issues with high school transcripts.

Last year, the district changed the grades printed on transcripts from weighted to unweighted. Students receive a weighted grade when they take honors or Advanced Placement courses. For example, a student who earns a 93 percent in an Advanced Placement course would earn a 100 percent on his or her report card. The district is unable to change the transcript grades from prior years, so this year’s seniors have two years of weighted grades and one year of unweighted grades. That makes it look like some seniors’ academic performance decreased during their junior year.

The district had planned to attach a letter with transcripts that explained the discrepancy, but parents, whose students have college application deadlines as early as Nov. 1, said the letter was not a viable solution. Parents also questioned the way the district computes grade point averages. The district had previously not included final exam grades in GPAs.

Mary Dunleavy, whose daughter is a senior, called providing correct transcripts a “basic” task.

“It’s unconscionable,” Dunleavy said. “Now you’re messing with their futures.”

Administrators said transcripts with only weighted grades would be available by the end of the week. Colleges consider grade weight during the admissions process.

n The district is the recipient of a $2.4 million grant, spread over four years, from the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership. The grant will help the district incorporate the arts across curriculum. Four elementary schools, which were not named Monday night, will be part of the grant. Kirijan said she plans to have a formal presentation about the grant soon.

n Students at West Scranton High School could soon learn German through an online platform. With the district unable to find a German teacher, more than 50 students are sitting in study hall instead of learning German. During a special meeting Monday, the board voted to offer a German class through its online learning platform Apex, contingent on the teachers union and district being able to come to an agreement. The district’s curriculum committee has opposed the idea, but administrators said they have exhausted options to find a new German teacher for this school year.

n Directors plan to update hiring policies across the district and plan for further discussion at the Oct. 29 work session, scheduled for 7 p.m. in the board room of the Administration Building.

n Directors plan to seek applicants for the board vacancy created by the death of Carol Oleski. Candidate interviews will likely happen at the work session later this month, with a vote planned for the regular meeting Nov. 5. Details on how to apply will be released later this week. Oleski, 55, died last week after a 10-month battle with cancer.

Contact the writer:

shofius@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9133;

@hofiushallTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — For the sixth year in a row, Lackawanna County’s property taxes will hold steady.

County commissioners unveiled a $126.6 million tentative 2019 budget Monday that keeps the property tax rate at 57.42 mills. The budget also includes a roughly $2.05 million general fund operating deficit that would shrink the county’s projected surplus from about $27.06 million to about $25.02 million by the end of 2019, unless officials can close the shortfall by other means.

The county ended last year with a $25.5 million surplus that has been building for years, up from about $24.9 million at the end of 2016, according to its 2017 audit.

A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of real estate’s assessed value. Someone who owns a home assessed at $12,000 will pay $689.04 in county property taxes at the current rate, not including the cost of school and local government property taxes.

“I would just like to say thank you very much for holding the line on taxes,” said Greg Popio, who owns several Scranton apartment houses that accommodate 10 families. “It’s 10 families that won’t have a rent increase because of the job that the county has done in keeping taxes in line.”

The county last raised taxes in 2013, from 55 mills in 2012.

In 2012 and 2013, the commissioners were Jim Wansacz, Corey O’Brien and Patrick O’Malley, the chairman of the current commissioners.

The tentative 2019 budget exceeds the final 2018 budget by about $3.83 million, which the county’s budget message attributes to continued pressure from shrinking federal and state funding, collectively bargained wage and benefit hikes and rising law enforcement costs.

As proposed, the 2019 spending plan would restore $400,000 in funding for the popular Community Re-Invest Program that was slashed in the 2018 budget. The program provides grants for a variety of projects aimed at improving amenities, infrastructure and quality of life in the county, and its funding demonstrates commissioners’ commitment to those ends, county Economic Development Director George Kelly said.

An economic development line item for infrastructure improvements eliminated in the 2018 budget will not be restored for 2019. Instead, the county will use funds from the $15 million capital borrowing approved this past summer to cover infrastructure needs, county Chief Financial Officer Tom Durkin said.

As legal bills related to the ongoing statewide grand jury probe into sex abuse at Lackawanna County Prison continue to mount, reaching at least $579,000 so far, the tentative 2019 budget also includes an additional $500,000 for professional services/legal fees.

Commissioners Jerry Notarianni, who did not attend the budget unveiling Monday, and Laureen Cummings released their own budget messages.Cummings’ message

reaffirmed her opposition to reassessment and forecasts additional spending cuts once the county relocates to the former Globe store on Wyoming Avenue.Notarianni’s message

notes the county hasn’t contributed to its employees’ pension fund “over the past few years” and argues that failure to do so in the future would be a mistake.

The tentative 2019 budget does not include a pension fund allocation, but acting Chief of Staff Donald Frederickson said commissioners intend to include one in the final 2019 spending plan that will be approved later this year. The amount of the contribution has yet to be determined, he said.

Officials plan to hold four budget hearings at locations around the county to solicit public feedback on the tentative budget. Those hearings have not been scheduled.

Commissioners expect to introduce the final 2019 budget for first reading Nov. 7, followed by a second reading and vote Nov. 21, O’Malley said.

BORYS KRAWCZENIUK, staff writer, contributed to this report.

Contact the writer:

jhorvath@timesshamrock;

570-348-9141;

@jhorvathTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — City council unanimously passed a motion Monday urging the mayor to convene a public forum on stormwater flooding.

Council heard from neighbors of the 2600 block of Pittston Avenue in the Minooka section — Darrell Palmer, Shawn Walsh and Michael Jeffers — who describe major flooding that swamps the busy road and properties every time it storms.

Flooding has been an ongoing problem for years and getting worse, they said. Stormwater cascades down Kane Street and floods Pittston Avenue because it has nowhere else to go.

“The current drainage system that is in place cannot keep up with the magnitude of water,” Palmer said. “This is a total disgrace that we are paying taxes and nothing is being done about this issue.”

Walsh said the situation is “just absolutely a mess,” while Jeffers said larger-diameter drainage pipes are needed.

Perry noted that such concerns from Minooka echo similar comments about severe stormwater flooding that have been voiced numerous times to council over the past few years from Keyser Valley residents.

“This is one of many problems that we’re having throughout the city, but this is as severe as I’ve ever seen it. Something has to be done about it,” Perry said.

Trying again

After storms in August deluged parts of the city, Gaughan publicly raised questions to Mayor Bill Courtright about what is the city’s protocol for handling and responding to stormwater flooding, including roles of relevant parties — the city Department of Public Works and Pennsylvania American Water, which owns the city sewer system. Having gotten no response since, Gaughan made a motion Monday for council to call for a meeting of the administration and relevant parties.

Council voted 5-0 — with Gaughan, Perry, Wayne Evans, Kyle Donahue and council President Pat Rogan all in favor — to pass the motion urging that a stormwater meeting be held.

Gaughan wants to know if the city has a protocol for severe stormwater flooding, and if so, what it is.

“We really need leadership from the mayor on this issue,” Gaughan said. “Everybody understands that it won’t be solved overnight. But I do think that we need to get everybody in a room and get a plan together to deal with it.”

Because of the nature of the city’s sewer and stormwater systems, Evans said that when flooding strikes, affected residents and council members don’t know exactly where to turn.

“We don’t even know where to begin to call, or who’s responsible. Is it stormwater or a combined (sewer) system?” Evans said.

Council members also raised the issue in a caucus before the regular meeting. Donahue said the city must figure out a better way to get storm drains cleaned out. Rogan said some of the problems in storm drain maintenance stem from leaves clogging catch basins. Members discussed the city’s efforts to have residents bag their leaf collections, and whether a DPW vacuum track is in or out of service.

“All of this is stormwater related,” Evans said.

Looking at trash fee

In another matter, council discussed a report received from the administration on whether the city could switch from the $300-per-household annual garbage fee to a hybrid form of a flat fee combined with a per-bag fee.

Gaughan stressed that the city is not necessarily making a move to a so-called “pay as you throw” method of garbage fee. Rather, the report discusses the various benefits and challenges of a hybrid system, he said.

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185;

@jlockwoodTT on Twitter

A 45-year-old Scranton man is in custody at Lackawanna County Prison on charges he was involved in two downtown shootings in less than two weeks.

Rajuhn Lavan, 803 Madison Ave., fired three or four shots using his girlfriend’s .380 handgun at two employees of Rocky’s Lounge at Spruce Street and Jefferson Avenue on Saturday night after they confronted him for an Oct. 6 shooting there, according to a criminal complaint.

Lavan was shot during an exchange of gunfire, Detective Jennifer Gerrity wrote in an affidavit. His girlfriend, Tracey Markey, drove him to Geisinger Community Medical Center.

Two employees of the downtown bar, Louis Hairston and Paul Bidwell, saw a man, later identified as Lavan, peer into the window of the establishment Saturday. They believed that man had fired multiple shots there Oct. 6, Bidwell told detectives.

Hairston grabbed Bidwell’s firearm.

“What are you shooting at me for,” Hairston shouted as he and Bidwell pursued Lavan.

Lavan turned around and started shooting at Hairston and Bidwell. Hairston returned fire.

On Oct. 6, Bidwell told police he saw Lavan climb out of a silver vehicle, then heard the sound of a gun slide rack — which loads the chamber and prepares a gun to fire — followed by several gunshots. Afterward, the silver vehicle sped off.

Markey drives a silver Toyota, police said.

The investigation is ongoing, police Capt. Dennis Lukasewicz said.

Lavan is charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and possessing a firearm illegally. The charges are for both the Saturday and Oct. 6 shootings.

Lavan is in jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9144;

@jkohutTT on Twitter

Laurie Tevlin-Klemow got a shock when she opened a letter addressed to her estate this month.

“That caught my attention,” the Hazleton woman said.

The letter from her supplemental insurance company stated the Social Security Administration declared her dead Sept. 23 and her estate would get a refund for the paid-up premium, Tevlin-Klemow said.

Also, it said, if this was an error to contact the local Social Security office. She had to wait three days due to the holiday weekend, only to learn that it was likely a keying error, she said.

“Someone wasn’t paying attention,” Tevlin-Klemow said.

The Social Security administration received a Form 721 from a funeral home, but they couldn’t trace it back to which one or how the error was made, she said.

In the meantime, her supplemental insurance was cancelled, her Medicare benefits stopped, her credit card was cancelled and bank accounts frozen, she said.

Tevlin-Klemow isn’t even sure that she will receive a Social Security check later this month, she said.

“I feel like I’m being erased,” she said.

The Social Security office said that she would receive a letter to straighten out her accounts, but she doesn’t know when that letter will come.

She was told it would be a couple of days, but when speaking to the folks at Medicare, learned that the Social Security Administration could take 30 days to rectify the situation.

“I’m OK,” she said. “What about the people who rely on that check?”

Tevlin-Klemow also learned this happens to more than 7,000 people annually.

“This whole thing shouldn’t be happening,” she said. “Thirty days is unacceptable.”

She convinced her credit card company that she was alive, because of all the security questions she had to answer, she said.

But she doesn’t know how far this mistake extends and what other hurdles she may have to tackle.

She is thankful that her supplemental insurance company sent the letter, because she might not have known something was amiss until she needed to go to the bank or doctor’s office.

“I had no clue what was going on,” Tevlin-Klemow said.

Since this happened, she has heard horror stories about people who were erroneously declared dead that had to enlist their congressman for help to get everything resolved, she said.

Tevlin-Klemow feels there should be some checks and balances, or a way to fix this so it doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future. And fixed faster than 30 days, she said.

Each year, about 2.8 million deaths are reported to the Social Security Administration, which keeps highly accurate records, according to an agency spokeswoman at the Philadelphia Regional Communications Office.

“Of these millions of death reports we receive each year, less than one-third of 1 percent are subsequently corrected,” said Vivian Nichols. “Deaths are reported to Social Security primarily from the states, but also from family members, funeral homes and financial institutions.”

If someone suspects that they have been incorrectly listed as deceased on their Social Security record, they should visit their local Social Security office as soon as possible, she said. The nearest office can be found at www.ssa.gov/agency/contact/. They would also need to bring at least one piece of current original form of identification with them, she said.

“Part of the process of correcting records includes ensuring all current and past due benefits are paid,” Nichols said. “Social Security can provide a letter that the error has been corrected that can be shared with other organizations.”

Contact the writer:

kmonitz@standardspeaker.com

570-501-3589

State Rep. Sid Michaels Kavulich has died.

The 62-year-old legislator passed away this morning at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia due to complications from heart surgery, his staff confirmed in a Facebook post.

Check back later for updates.

WILKES-BARRE — Two people are dead after a collision in the city Monday evening, according to the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office.

The two-car crash took place on North Sherman Street around 7 p.m. Plymouth resident Susan Gryziec, 67, died at the scene, while the other driver, Keyter Hernandez, 40, of Hanover Twp., died at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp., officials said.

Both died of multiple traumatic injuries, and no autopsies were planned, Deputy Coroner Dan Hughes said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collision near Falzone’s Towing at Stevens Road. Conditions at the time were dark and rainy.

City police have not released any information about the collision. Acting police Chief Joseph Coffay said the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Gryziec was the vice president and original member of Plymouth Alive, a nonprofit business association that organizes the annual Plymouth Kielbasa Festival. She was also the former owner of “Flowers And ...” on West Main Street in the borough, according to her Facebook page.

Lackawanna County

Blood drive: American Red Cross blood donation opportunities, Friday, 1-6 p.m., Clarks Summit United Methodist Church, 1310 Morgan Highway, Clarks Summit; Oct. 22, 1-6 p.m., Waverly Community House, 1115 N. Abington Road, Waverly; Oct. 24, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Fortis Institute, Dental Building, 517 Ash St., Scranton; Oct. 26, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Allied Services, 475 Morgan Highway, Scranton; Oct. 27, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Electric City Harley Davidson, 1534 Scranton Carbondale Highway, Scranton; Oct. 31, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Johnson College, 3427 N. Main Ave., Scranton.

Luzerne County

Blood drive: American Red Cross blood donation opportunities, Thursday, 1-6 p.m., Dallas American Legion Post No. 672, 730 Memorial Highway, Dallas; 1-6 p.m., St. Michael’s Recreation Center, 300 Fern St., Freeland; Friday, noon-5 p.m., Thomas P. Saxton Medical Pavilion, 468 Northampton St., Edwardsville; Oct. 23, 1-6 p.m., Nuremberg Weston Fire Hall, 456 Hazle St., Weston; Oct. 25, 1-6 p.m., Pittston Memorial Library, 47 Broad St., Pittston; Oct 26., 2-7 p.m., Shavertown United Methodist Church, 163 N. Pioneer Ave., Shavertown.

Monroe County

Blood drive: American Red Cross blood donation opportunities, today, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Eastern Monroe Public Library, 1002 N. Ninth St., Stroudsburg; Wednesday, 1-6 p.m., Cornerstone Community Church, 388 Polk Twp. Road, Kresgeville; Friday, 1-6 p.m., Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono, 206 E. Brown St., East Stroudsburg; Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Effort UMC, 178 Merwinsburg Road, Effort; Oct. 26, noon-4 p.m., Gray Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, 894 N. Ninth St., Stroudsburg; Oct. 29, 7 a.m.-5 p.m., Mount Airy Casino Resort, 312 Woodland Road, Mount Pocono; Oct. 31, 1-5 p.m., Lutheran Church of Our Savior, 675 Belmont Ave., Mount Pocono.

Pike County

Blood drive: American Red Cross blood donation opportunity, Thursday, 1-6 p.m., Hawley Ambulance Building, 219 River St., Pike.

Wayne County

Blood drive: American Red Cross blood donation opportunities, Wednesday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Wayne County Park Street Complex, 648 Park St., Honesdale; Oct. 22, 1-6 p.m., Beach Lake Fire Co., 1033 Beach Lake Highway, Beach Lake; Oct. 25, 1:30-6:30 p.m., St. Thomas More Parish, 105 Gravity Road, Lake Ariel; Oct. 26, 1-6 p.m., Greene Dreher Fire Hall, 460 Crestmont Drive, Newfoundland.

Wyoming County

Blood drive: American Red Cross blood donation opportunities, Thursday, 1-6 p.m., St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 3832 Route 6, Tunkhannock; Oct. 30, 1-6 p.m., Northmoreland Baptist Church, 21 Ripplebrook Road, Tunkhannock.

CLIPBOARD ITEMSmay be sent to yesdesk@timesshamrock.com or Clipboard, c/o YES!Desk, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. YES!Desk, 570-348-9121.

SCRANTON — State police will not file charges against a Scranton officer investigated for road rage late last month in the city, an attorney representing him said in court Monday.

Attorney Matthew Comerford’s comments about the status of the probe into Detective Sgt. Tim Harding came as attorneys tried to sort out in court what to do with a petition for a protection-from-abuse order filed against Harding, 60, by an ex-girlfriend alleging harassment. “We cooperated with their investigation 100 percent,” Comerford said in court. “They’re not filing charges.”

A state police spokesman, Trooper Bob Urban, did not respond to an email Monday inquiring about the status of the investigation. Comerford did not elaborate on his comment in court and had no comment later Monday.

A temporary PFA order will remain in effect for six months barring Harding from contacting Kimberly Crispino of Moosic, Lackawanna County Senior Judge Chester T. Harhut ruled.

Crispino requested the PFA on Oct 1, after the newspaper’s Sept. 28 reporting of the road rage incident made her concerned about Harding’s state of mind and her safety, she wrote in a letter attached to the application.

In that case, a vehicle with Harding’s license plate was driven by a man who allegedly flashed a weapon during an incident Sept. 23 on the McDade Expressway.

Police Chief Carl Graziano said at the time that an unnamed officer had been placed on administrative duty, meaning that the officer has no interaction with the public. A message left for Graziano on Monday was not returned.

The allegations contained in the PFA include multiple phone calls, text messages, a threat of suicide and a threat to have Crispino arrested for theft over some paint he left at her house.

The temporary PFA order has already cost Harding his position as a deputized federal investigator, he said, a position he’s held for 11 of the nearly 20 years he’s spent with the city police.

Harding pledged in court to stay away from Crispino and said he recognizes his job is at stake. “This is my career and I’m concerned about losing it,” Harding said.

Comerford asked that Harding be allowed access to a firearm for work and suggested that he would formally petition the court to do so once Harhut said no.

Crispino wrote that she wanted the PFA in May but agreed to hold off on filing it so Harding could get help with his drinking. Harding immediately checked into Geisinger Marworth Treatment Center in Waverly Twp. and has had just one slip up since, Comerford said.

After six months, if Crispino wants to withdraw the PFA, she can, Harhut said. A new hearing is set for 9:15 a.m. April 15.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9144; @jkohutTT on Twitter

Jacque and Cathy Petherick of Archbald were driving near the Time-Tribune printing plant in Waverly on Monday when they spotted a bald eagle on the property.

They pulled over to take some photos and noticed it was feasting on a wild turkey.

The Pethericks remained in their car so they wouldn’t disturb his meal.

They said the turkey appeared to be too heavy for the eagle to fly away with.

A Wilkes-Barre police officer and union leader who was fired last year is back on the job.

Officer Dan Duffy, vice president of the city police union, was reinstated on Tuesday, officials confirmed.

“I could tell you he is back to work and we’re happy with that,” said Sgt. Phil Myers, president of the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association.

Duffy, a former Scranton police chief who also served as director of the police academy at Lackawanna College, was fired last October for supposedly violating a city harassment policy in an email to city officials.

The email was critical of then police Chief Marcella Lendacky and then Commander Ron Foy. Since then, Lendacky resigned and Foy was demoted in the wake of a report critical of their leadership.

In the email, Duffy maintained he was strictly speaking as union vice president and not in his role as an officer of the department.

In August, an arbitrator ruled in favor of Duffy and Myers, rescinding unpaid suspensions they received in connection with posts made on the union’s Facebook page that were critical of police department leadership.

At the time, the city announced it had reached an agreement with the union over a grievance filed about Duffy’s firing.

An Old Forge man faces a felony strangulation charge and other counts after assaulting his girlfriend at his borough home Friday, police said.

Brent Michael Harvey, 35, 136 Sussex St. choked Ashley Evans-Panek, address unknown, to the point she nearly lost consciousness following an argument. He also punched her in the face with a closed fist, threw her down a flight of stairs and kicked her in the ribs, police wrote in a criminal complaint.

Evans-Panek reported the domestic violence Monday. When she met officers at the Old Forge Police Department, police observed bruising on her neck, both forearms and lower rib area. Her right eye was black and blue. Evans-Panek’s injuries “match up” with the incident of abuse she described to authorities, police said.

Moreover, Evans-Panek’s manager, Britney Hall, told police she has witnessed Evans-Panek come to work with bruises on her arms, black eyes and finger prints on her neck.

Police took Harvey into custody at his home Monday and placed him in leg restraints after he began kicking and resisting arrest. He was arraigned Tuesday.

Harvey is charged with a felony count of strangulation, as well as simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, harassment and resisting arrest.

He remains in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday.

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

SCOTT TWP. — A Lakeland High School senior charged with rape is barred from returning to the school until the case is resolved, Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell said.

Nicholas Rosencrance, 19, 17 Holgate Lane, Scott Twp., faces charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and related counts after multiple teenage girls reported he sexually assaulted them.

Two teen girls told police they were assaulted by Rosencrance at an August party in Greenfield Twp. One of those girls said he raped her at the party. A third teen told police Rosencrance sexually assaulted her in Ocean City, Maryland — a case that was referred to police there.

Rosencrance is barred from Lakeland as a condition of his bail, Powell said.

— JEFF HORVATH

Gas service to Tunkhannock residents and businesses is on the way after a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday morning.

“It’s almost like a dream that this is finally happening,” Wyoming County commissioner Tom Henry said. “We’ve really worked hard to get to this place.”

Although natural gas from the Marcellus shale formation has been readily recognized as being under the borough for a decade, getting it to the local residents wasn’t easy.

Don Brominski, director of business development for UGI, said he remembered his first visit to Tunkhannock in 2011 and then being forced to say what he knew people didn’t want to hear: It wasn’t economically feasible to offer gas service.

Gina Suydam, president of the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce, kept pushing to get gas lines into Tunkhannock. “There had to be a way,” she said.

Then the area became part of a UGI program called Get Gas, but had to come up with a substantial sum of money to make the program viable.

Working with the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development, the Chamber received a $1 million grant.

The program calls for the installation of 18,000 feet of 8-inch high density pipe, and when completed would extend natural gas to developable properties in Tunkhannock, including the county courthouse.

Henry said the county has spent a ton of money to get old buildings like the courthouse heated, and I’m proud to sat that we’re ready to cut those costs.”

The county had shifted over to propane in anticipation of the project and will be ready to make the connection in the second phase of the project, which should begin next summer. Linde Corp. was contracted to lay the pipe.

Work will officially begin Monday at Sunnyside Road and Billings Mill Road and work westward toward the borough and then turn north and eventually to Harrison Street, where a trunk line will be placed.

When all phases of the project are complete, UGI estimates that more than 900 homes and 150 businesses will have access to natural gas service, Brominski said.

Contact the writer:

bbaker@wcexaminer.com;

570-836-2123 x33

SCRANTON — More than five years after his arrest by state investigators, a Scranton man was convicted today in Lackawanna County Court of practicing law illegally.

A jury of seven women and five men deliberated just over two hours before finding Joseph Pilchesky, 69, guilty of three misdemeanor counts of unauthorized practice of law.

Judge James A. Gibbons, who presided over the two-day trial, deferred sentencing for Pilchesky pending a presentencing investigation. The defendant, who remains free on bail, faces a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment and a $2,500 fine on each of the three counts.

Pilchesky, who is best known for a controversial website focused on local politics, was charged by the state attorney general in February 2013 with practicing law even though he is not an attorney. Investigators specifically charged him with assisting and preparing court documents on behalf of three clients from whom he accepted payments totaling $3,500.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Barney Anderson, who prosecuted the case, said he was pleased with the verdict.

The combination of testimony from Pilchesky’s three victims and the documentary evidence presented at trial, including the defendant’s email exchanges with his clients and the legal papers he produced, were sufficient for the jurors to find he had committed the offenses, Anderson said.

Pilchesky, who represented himself at the trial, said afterward the verdict was not a surprise, but there are multiple grounds for appeal.

“It just didn’t go my way today,” he said. “We’ll get another swing of the bat down in Harrisburg.”

The trial was repeatedly delayed because of appeals involving pretrial matters, most of them initiated by Pilchesky, and decisions by two judges to recuse themselves.

After Anderson finished presenting the commonwealth’s case Tuesday morning, Pilchesky rested his case without testifying or calling other witnesses.

In his closing argument, he maintained the prosecution failed to meet its burden of proof and told jurors he was “nothing more than a man of God” who acted as an advocate for individuals who had nowhere else to turn.

He argued there was no evidence he initiated contact with any of the people he assisted, no evidence he planned or schemed to defraud them and no evidence that any of them were harmed.

Pilchesky said there was also no evidence presented at trial that prosecutors had charged anybody else with the crimes he was accused of committing.

“Apparently their interest was more in getting me than protecting the public,” he said.

He drew an objection from Anderson, which was sustained by Gibbons, when he asked jurors not to “let them imprison me.” The judge instructed jurors to disregard the remark.

Anderson described Pilchesky in his closing as a “predator” who took advantage of people in “bad spots.”

The prosecutor told jurors if they reviewed the defendant’s email exchanges with the three clients, they would find that a pattern emerged: Pilchesky brags about what a great legal advocate he is; he asks for payment upfront in cash and he requests that the arrangement be kept confidential.

Anderson read extensively from one email in which Pilchesky described himself as a “legal warrior” who goes for the jugular.

“Then he goes on to talk about the real part here where the man of God needs to be paid,” Anderson told the jury.

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