A Penn State University student suspended after he was accused of sexually assaulting another student filed a federal lawsuit challenging the university’s process for investigating sexual abuse claims.

The student, who is identified only as “John Doe,” contends the university’s policy violated his due process rights, leaving him unable to effectively defend himself.

The case involves an 18-year-old male freshman who had a consensual sexual encounter with a female student while enrolled at Penn State’s Altoona campus in November 2016. The woman agreed part of the encounter was consensual, but alleged he performed an additional sex act on her against her will.

Penn State determined the allegations were founded and suspended the student from the summer of 2018 through the spring of 2019.

Andrew Shubin of State College, attorney for the accused student, said his case is among multiple federal lawsuits filed nationwide that challenge policies universities and colleges instituted in 2011 based on a mandate from the U.S. Department of Education.

The mandate, which impacts all universities and colleges nationwide, made several significant changes, including lowering the standard of proof in sexual assault cases from “clear and convincing evidence” to a “preponderance of the evidence” — the lowest threshold in law.

Penn State further altered its policy so that neither the accused student nor the victim appear at a hearing, which precludes either party from confronting and cross- examining witnesses. Instead, cases are assigned to an investigator who evaluates the claims, including interviewing the accused student and alleged victim. The investigator then prepares a report for a committee, which decides if the allegations are founded or unfounded.

The committee gives each party the opportunity to respond to findings in the report. Shubin contends that is not sufficient to protect the accused student’s rights.

“These are usually ‘he said, she said’ cases where credibility is incredibly important,” Shubin said. “The only way to test credibility in the legal system is cross examination.”

Shubin noted the new policy impacts only sexual abuse investigations. Students accused of any other type of offense are still provided a hearing at which they can confront their accuser.

“The stakes are arguably much higher when it comes to sexual misconduct, yet the rights given in sexual misconducts case is far less,” Shubin said.

The lawsuit asks a judge to declare his client’s right to due process was violated and award him monetary damages. It also seeks an order directing the university to vacate its finding that the allegation was founded, remove the disciplinary action from his file and to reinstate him.

Contact the writer:

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Jan. 2, 1969

Big-money

error found

The Lackawanna County Board of Assessment Appeals announced that a multi-million dollar error in the reassessment data that caused a budget crisis for the city of Scranton and the Scranton School District was found in the 9th Ward.

According to a spokesman, the error occurred when an incorrect figures for the 9th Ward of the city were fed into the computer, producing the now $17 million error. The figures were supplied to the county by Hamilton Associates of Camp Hill, the company that conducted the county’s reassessment.

Teams of clerks at the county courthouse started checking all the assessment figures for the city of Scranton to produce verified assessment figures for the city and the school district.

Budget still on hold

Without accurate reassessment data, Scranton City Council voted at its meeting to hold off final approval of the 1969 budget until correct numbers are provided by Lacka-wanna County.

Also at the council meeting, city Solicitor Harvey Gelb informed council that the 1968 salary appropriations had been depleted, and without a new budget, paychecks for city employees would be delayed until the budget is passed.

Shopping list

Round roasts for 89 cents per pound, chicken legs were 59 cents per pound, a pound of hot dogs were 59 cents, 6- ounce package of pickle or olive loaf was 33 cents, a dozen oranges were 69 cents, tomatoes were 39 cents per pound, 2 pounds of pears were 49 cents, a pound container of cottage cheese was 31 cents and two cans of sliced pineapple were 79 cents.

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.

The poster from the Cleveland Institute of Art in his Riverside Junior-Senior High School classroom lit up Ryan Joyce’s imagination.

He saw a student sculpting a car from clay.

Joyce loved to draw, loved cars, but never knew he could combine both. Bored in class, sometimes he scribbled drawings of cars, an early step in a career that has thrust him to national fame.

Joyce, 35, a Moosic native, led the team that redesigned the interior of the Jeep Wrangler, Motor Trend Magazine’s 2019 SUV of the Year.

“It’s pretty incredible,” he said. “It really is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. I know that sounds cliche, but it’s a pretty indescribable feeling because it affects so many people.”

Motor Trend, one of the top car magazines, describes the new-look Wrangler’s interior this way: “Despite its unapologetically industrial interior, the Wrangler masters some details better than many sensible crossovers. Soft-touch and high-quality materials equal those of luxury competitors. As with many Fiat Chrysler Automobiles products, audio volume and channel-change controls are located conveniently on the back side of the steering wheel. Once you drive a car with this intuitive setup, you’ll wonder why more automakers don’t adopt it. The same is true of the rear-seat headrests, which conveniently fold down when not in use for better rearward visibility.”

That’s just part of the magazine’s rave about the Joyce-designed interior that started with the 2018 Wrangler, the first redesign of the iconic Jeep brand in a decade.

Joyce, the son of Patrick and Ann Joyce, works for Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles Group, which owns Jeep.

“I was a kid who washed my car as often as I could,” he said. “My first car was a red Ford Probe. I thought it was very cool. It was not.”

His father remembers Joyce’s interest in car designing started a lot earlier than that.

By the time his son was 10 or 11 years old, the boy regularly sat at the kitchen table drawing “the fine details of cars.”

“A lot of kids draw cars, but he would be detailing the instrument panels,” Patrick Joyce said. “I kid you not.”

After graduating high school, Ryan Joyce earned an associate degree in fine arts at Keystone College in 2004. He thought the school would give him a good foundation in the arts. He wanted to design something for a living, though he didn’t think about cars again until his mother, Ann Joyce, remembered the Cleveland Institute, which a family friend’s son attended.

They drove out there to take a look at the school’s annual spring car design show.

“Everyone’s got their beautiful renderings on the wall, and there are the clay models,” Ryan Joyce said. “I’m walking through and my mom tells the story where we’re walking through and I said, ‘Mom, I can do this.’”

They immediately went to the dean of admissions to sign up.

During his second year at the institute, Joyce qualified for an internship with General Motors Corp. working with others on future car designs. The Discovery Channel featured their work in a documentary titled “Futurecar” that aired in 2006.

Three years later, Joyce emerged with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design with a focus on automotive design. GM offered him a job, his father said, but Fiat-Chrysler offered him a broader design job.

“I was very lucky,” Ryan Joyce said.

He started out designing the door plate for the WK Grand Cherokee, which sounds strange because, well, it’s just a door plate.

“Every little bit of the interior, somebody’s there thinking about it, sketching it,” Joyce said.

After that, he worked on the Chrysler 200C EV hybrid electric concept car, whose designs, Fiat-Chrysler incorporated into the Chrysler 300 and the Pacifica minivan, Joyce said.

The big opportunity was redesigning the Wrangler, still one of Chrysler’s biggest sellers.

“People love the Wrangler, but there’s a lot of people who love the idea of the Wrangler, but don’t necessarily want to live with one,” Joyce said. “Our goal is to make it really the most comfortable and premium Wrangler ever, but without losing any of its visual DNA. We wanted it to be more premium without looking too premium.”

They sought a design that still captured the vehicle’s toughness and earthiness, he said.

“It took us months and months of sketching and different proposals to find the right balance between linking to the past and being technologically advanced enough for the future,” he said.

Because of the secrecy involving in planning future models, Joyce declines to say what he will work on next, though he remains in charge of interior Wranger design. He now also teaches classes at the Cleveland Institute.

“Life is awesome. I’m very lucky that I get to work at a brand that I love and a company with people I respect,” he said. “I’d like kids to know if you like cars, there’s a career. If you’re into design or art, there’s lots of avenues to take your passion to get jobs that you may not know are available that are challenging and interesting.”

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

NORTH ABINGTON TWP. — Linda Umerich’s New Year’s resolution is to spend more time outdoors, and 13 hours into the new year, she joined about 80 people for a muddy hike through Lackawanna State Park.

Clad in hiking boots and waterproof jackets, hikers of all ages — and even a few dogs — set off Tuesday afternoon for a 2.2-mile guided hike for Lackawanna State Park’s First Day Hike, joining hikers across the country for the growing tradition of hiking at state parks on Jan. 1.

Accompanied by her husband, Mike, Umerich said the first day hike is a good way to get people to come out to local trails.

“It’s encouraging for people to try it and see if it’s something that they would like,” she said.

Brenda Spangenberg hikes at the park “almost every day,” but Tuesday was her inaugural First Day Hike.

“I thought there would be about four people here,” she said, adding that she wondered if she was at the right location when she saw the large crowd. “I can’t get over it. It just shows all of the people that are interested in fitness and the environment.”

This year was the park’s largest turnout in the six or so years that it’s been doing the hike, said park environmental education specialist Angela Lambert.

“It was great to see the enthusiasm for folks to get out and enjoy what we have to offer through our state park system,” she said, attributing the large turnout to Tuesday’s warm weather.

The hike even took participants through the park’s new tunnel trail — a trail aptly named for a tunnel underneath Route 407 that hikers walk through. This year, the hike also included a winter woods bingo that tasked hikers with identifying different plants and wildlife, Lambert said.

With an unofficial high of about 52 degrees, this year was a far cry from New Year’s Day 2018’s high of 15 degrees and low of minus-1, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alan Reppert.

Last year’s nearly record-breaking low temperatures didn’t stop Gail Sickles from going on the First Day Hike at the park, but this year was certainly warmer, she said. Sickles went on the muddy trek with her husband, Bill, and Harper, a 4 ½-month-old Labrador mix that the couple is fostering.

“It’s just a nice way to start the new year,” she said.

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Angela Lambert, environmental education specialist at Lackawanna State Park, leads a group of hikers through the pedestrian tunnel during the “First Hike” of the new year. Jason Farmer / Staff Photographer

SCRANTON

Lackawanna County officials plan a host of improvements to a popular place where youngsters learn, play and borrow books.

Commissioners unanimously approved almost $66,000 in internal and external upgrades to the Lackawanna County Children’s Library last month. The work, which will be overseen by the county’s maintenance department and financed with a share of up to $15 million in borrowing the county approved this past summer, includes repairing the building’s concrete front steps to prevent water infiltration, refinishing the library’s wooden floor and front doors, recarpeting the lobby area and overhauling both children’s restrooms, among other upgrades.

“If you look closely you’ll see that it is a 100-year-old building and there are lots of things that need to be done, both in terms of general repairs and maintenance but also in terms of preventative kinds of things,” Lackawanna County Library System Administrator Mary Garm said. “So it’s a beautiful building. We’re really proud of it, but … if you look closely you are going to see that there are issues.”

While some of those issues are more pressing than others, taken as a whole, officials said the improvements will help preserve the county-owned building and bolster many of its aesthetic elements. Repairing and repointing the front steps, for example, will improve the library’s external image and keep water from leaking into the building’s basement, county buildings and grounds Director Kevin Shaughnessy said.

To make it easier for young children to open the library’s heavy wooden doors, Shaughnessy plans to have an automatic door opener installed at the entrance. Officials also plan to replace an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant side door and repurpose a former “parents browsing room” by adding an office there.

Officials estimate the total project cost to be around $65,895, a figure Shaughnessy arrived at after getting quotes from several contractors he works with often. For elements of the renovations expected to cost more than $10,000, Shaughnessy must solicit at least three proposals from contractors interested in doing the work.

“This is a very important library for the community and the kids,” Shaughnessy said, noting his own daughter patronizes the children’s library. “We want to make it right and we want to do a good job up here.”

Officials expect all the work to be completed in 2019 and plan to stagger it to interrupt library operations as little as possible.

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

Super students

SCRANTON — Although her parents thought she would be born on Christmas Day, Mae Ruane had other plans, becoming Lackawanna County’s likely first baby of 2019 early Tuesday morning.

Born at 3:04 a.m. in Moses Taylor Hospital to Mike and Ellen Ruane of Dunmore, Mae weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches long, her father said.

The newborn snoozed while her older brothers, Michael, 3, and James, 2, posed for photos with their new sister. Wearing matching blue sweaters with “big brother” printed across the chest, the two smiled as they snuggled with Mae. As soon as their father picked up their sister, James asked if he could hold her again.

The brothers didn’t fully grasp that they would have a baby sister until they finally met her, Ellen Ruane said.

Now, it feels “good” having a baby sister, Michael said.

The parents had a few names in mind, narrowing it down to two before settling on Mae, Mike Ruane said.

“Ultimately, when we got a chance to meet her, we thought it was a good fit,” he said.

“It felt right,” his wife added.

The holidays were a blur for the family as they waited in anticipation for baby Mae, her mother said.

“Christmas Day came and went, and we had no baby,” she said. “The next six days came and went, and then we found ourselves in the hospital on New Year’s Eve.”

As they waited for Mae, they had the chance to watch fireworks and the ball drop, and three hours later, Dr. Jennifer Swenski delivered Mae, Ellen Ruane said.

“It worked out, and I think it’s going to be a fun birthday for years to come,” she said.

Mike Ruane said their family members teased them that they would have the New Year’s baby — and they were right.

As New Year’s Day came to a close, the new father of three summarized his feelings for the day.

“Extremely happy, blessed and a little bit tired,” he said.

Luzerne County’s apparent first baby of 2019 emerged at 12:47 a.m. at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Renita Fennick said.

With one soon-to-be mother in labor at about 7 p.m., Wayne County still did not have its first baby of the new year Tuesday evening, said Wayne Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Champeau.

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SCRANTON — A Dunmore woman will spend up to four decades in prison for supplying the drugs that killed a Midvalley man in 2017.

Noelle Svetlana Orazi, 22, 1508 Madison Ave., was sentenced today by Lackawanna County Judge Andy Jarbola to 7 1/2 to 40 years in state prison after pleading guilty in October to a felony charge of drug delivery resulting in death.

Orazi admitted buying heroin and cocaine for A.J. Veno, 22, the day before he died of an overdose at his Archbald home on Dec. 15, 2017.

An autopsy showed his death resulted from the combined effects of heroin laced with synthetic fentanyl, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant.

In a brief statement to the court prior to sentencing, Orazi turned to members of Veno’s family and said she never meant to hurt anybody.

“The last thing I want to do to anybody’s family is take anyone from them,” Orazi said.

Check back for updates.

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

Dunmore Police Chief Sal Marchese is back at work after a borough-led investigation failed to corroborate allegations made against him, Marchese’s lawyer confirmed Wednesday.

The borough placed Marchese, the police chief since 2013, on paid leave in late November pending an investigation into a “statement” made about him. While the substance of that statement remains unknown, Marchese vehemently denied any wrongdoing. His attorney, Gerard M. Karam, said Wednesday that the borough’s investigation is complete and Marchese has been reinstated.

In a written statement, Marchese described the past month as “the most trying time” of his 29-year career as a police officer and thanked those who offered their support and friendship. He also thanked borough officials for making sure the “investigation into the allegations was conducted in an independent, thorough and time efficient manner.”

“As I have stated all along — and as the investigation confirmed — I did nothing wrong,” Marchese said in a written statement. “I look forward to returning to work and continuing to do my level best to serve and make the residents of the Borough of Dunmore proud.”

Efforts to reach borough officials were not immediately successful.

Check back for updates.

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

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Another store in the Wyoming Valley Mall will close.

The Children’s Place announced in an email that its location in the Wilkes-Barre Twp. mall will close Jan. 27. A 60 percent off sale is being held at the store and if everything is sold before then, it could close sooner, a store official said.

A call to The Children’s Place corporate office was not returned on Wednesday.

The children’s apparel and accessories chain previously announced plans to close 300 locations by 2020 and grow its e-commerce presence.

The Children’s Place has more than 900 stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. Another store in the Shoppes at Montage in Moosic will remain open, a store official said.

The closing of The Children’s Place at the Wyoming Valley Mall follows the closure of two anchor stores, Sears and the Bon-Ton, which remain vacant.

It is unclear if there are any plans to fill the vacant spaces. Efforts to reach a spokesperson for mall owner Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) were not immediately successful on Wednesday.

The Bon-Ton closed in August last year after liquidation sales leaving about 155,000 square feet of vacant space at the mall and about 100 employees out of work. 

The 160-year-old company survived economic recessions and depressions but like several other brick-and-mortar retailers in recent years, it couldn’t survive the shift toward e-commerce led by Amazon.

The Bon-Ton was located in the Wyoming Valley Mall since 1987. It previously was Pomeroy’s. It followed the closing of the Sears store in the mall in July.

Sears announced it is starting 2019 by closing 80 more Sears and Kmart stores across the country by March.

That includes Kmart stores in Pittsburgh and Erie and Sears stores in Altoona, Greensburg and Lancaster. Kmart stores in Wilkes-Barre Twp. and Edwardsville remain open.

The Wyoming County Coroner’s office confirmed that a body of an adult male was discovered in Washington Twp. late last month.

Meshoppen Police Chief John Krieg said that a male walking in the vicinity of Washington Park Road around 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 26 said he saw what he thought were a pair of boots around 20 or more feet into the woods.

“It had been there for awhile,” Chief Krieg said, noting there was nothing suspicious about the circumstances that should cause anyone alarm. “No foul play is suspected, but the matter is still under investigation.”

Coroner Tom Kukuchka said an autopsy had been done by forensic pathologist Gary Ross.

Kukuchka said he was awaiting DNA testing to confirm the body’s identity.

A special election to fill the seat of the late state Rep. Sid Michaels Kavulich will take place March 12, House Speaker Mike Turzai announced today.

The announcement sets up a two-month campaign between whomever the Lackawanna County Democratic and Republican parties choose as their candidates for the 114th state House District seat.

Democratic committee members from the 114th are scheduled to interview prospective candidates on Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Nosh, 280 Main St., Dickson City. The Democratic executive committee will meet the next day to ratify or reject the nomination. Four people have applied for the Democratic nomination. They are Bridget Malloy Kosierowski of Waverly Twp., Wendy Jones of Dickson City, Leonard Longo of Scott Twp. and Rabbi Daniel Swartz of Clarks Summit. The Democratic deadline for applications passed Friday.

The county Republican Party will accept applications until Jan. 11 at 4 p.m. Applications should include a letter of intent, a resume and a copy of the applicant’s voter registration card. They may be sent via email to LackawannaGOP@gmail.com or by mail to Republican Party of Lackawanna County, 400 Spruce St., Suite 400, Scranton, Pa., 18503.

The party’s 114th committee will meet Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. to interview candidates. The party executive committee will meet Jan. 17 at 6:30 p.m. to ratify or reject the nomination, county Republican chairman Lance Stange Jr. said. Both meetings will take place at party headquarters, Suite 100, 400 Spruce St., Scranton.

Stephen Semenza of Old Forge and Mike Conigliaro of Taylor have announced they will seek the Republican nomination.

Kavulich died Oct. 16. The winner of the election will serve the remainder of Kavulich’s term, which ends Nov. 30, 2020.

State legislators will earn a base salary of $88,610.42 this year.

The 114th consists of the city of Carbondale, Waverly, Fell, Glenburn, Greenfield, Newton, North Abington, Ransom, Carbondale, and Scott townships and Clarks Summit, Dickson City, Jermyn, Mayfield, Moosic, Old Forge, Taylor and Vandling boroughs.

Turzai announced a special election to fill a vacancy in the 190th House District in Philadelphia will also take place March 12.

The seat became vacant last month when former Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown, a Democrat, resigned after a bribery conviction.

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

SCRANTON — A city man convicted of practicing law without a license was sentenced today to two years of probation and ordered pay $1,000 in restitution to one of his victims.

Joseph Pilchesky,69, is well known for filing multiple lawsuits that challenge actions of Lackawanna County officials and for hosting a website that purports to expose political corruption. Authorities say he crossed the line in 2013, when he accepted money from three people to assist them in civil cases.

Prosecutors said he took $3,000 from a woman for a custody battle; $1,000 from a woman who sued her former employer for severance pay and $500 from a man who sued an assisted living facility to recoup money an employee stole.

Pilchesky, who represented himself at his October trial before Lackawanna County Judge James Gibbons, argued his actions did not constitute a crime because he did not seek the people out and was merely trying to help them because they had nowhere else to turn. A jury disagreed and convicted him of three counts of unauthorized practice of law.

At sentencing, Senior Deputy Attorney General Bernard Anderson agreed Pilchesky’s victims felt they had nowhere else to turn. He said Pilchesky’s motives were not altruistic, however, but financial.

“They were taken advantage of by someone who saw an opportunity,” Anderson said. “At the end of the day, it was about money.”

Pilchesky objected to that characterization. He said the people sought him out because he could use his “political power” to overcome corruption he contends they faced in the judicial system.

“Anyone who ever came to me for help, I helped them,” he said.

Gibbons said he understands Pilchesky disagrees with the law that makes his actions a crime. That does not excuse his conduct, however.

“We are not here, Mr. Pilchesky, because of political corruption,” Gibbons said. “We are here because a jury determined you engaged in the practice of law.”

While he admonished him for his actions, Gibbons noted Pilchesky is well versed in the law. His legal prowess is partly responsible for the five-year delay in resolving the case because he filed multiple appeals of pre-trial rulings.

“If you had taken the time or would take the time to go to law school, you’d probably be a very effective lawyer,” Gibbons said. “You are a smart man ... but sometimes you are too smart for your own good.”

Noting Pilchesky has no remorse, Anderson asked Gibbons to sentence Pilchesky to three weeks in prison to “send him a message.”

Gibbons rejected the request, citing Pilchesky’s health and his belief that a prison sentence would not alter Pilchesky’s view that he is “some sort of white knight.” He warned Pilchesky he will be jailed if he recommits the crime.

In addition to the probation sentence, Gibbons ordered Pilchesky to pay $1,000 in restitution to the one victim, who was the only one to file a victim impact statement.

Speaking after the hearing, Pilchesky said he believed Gibbons was fair. He said he plans to appeal his conviction.

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

Two legislators from Northeast Pennsylvania will lead state House committees for the first time.

House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-28, Allegheny, announced Wednesday the appointments of Rep. Karen Boback, R-117, Harveys Lake, as chairwoman of the Children & Youth Committee, and Rep. Mike Peifer, R-139, Greene Twp., as chairman of the Finance Committee.

Peifer, first elected in 2006, took the oath office New Year’s Day for his seventh two-year term. He has sat on the finance committee since joining the House, he said Wednesday.

“It’s a good committee for me with my background,” said Peifer, a certified public accountant.

The committee oversees changes to state tax laws, which would put it position to examine bills to eliminate or reduce school property taxes, fairness in school funding and changes to taxation of natural gas extraction, Peifer said.

Peifer said he will work toward modernizing the state’s taxing and tax collection systems to fit an increasingly internet-based world.

“We’re always trying to make the tax code simpler and easier to follow,” he said. “I’m always looking for tax fairness, though. I also like consistency in taxation. People want consistency, businesses want consistency.”

Boback, also first elected in 2006 is entering her seventh term. She was a teacher and guidance counselor during a 33-year career with the Tunkhannock School District before her election to the House. The committee reviews bills that affect youth.

Boback rejoins a committee she sat on during her first two terms.

“A perfect fit, as far as I’m concerned,” she said. “I’m always such a proponent of children because they’re the ones who can’t speak on their own behalf.”

Boback said she plans to lead the committee into finding more ways to help grandparents who must raise grandchildren, whose parents becomes victims of opioid addiction.

“We need to help grandparents much more than we are,” she said.

She also will advocate beginning to teach children about the dangers of drug abuse in pre-school, she said.

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

GIBSON TWP. — Fire destroyed the Gibson Township Municipal Building today.

Firefighters responded to the fully involved structure fire on State Route 92 about 2 p.m.

A state police fire marshal had been contacted to help determine the cause of the blaze, according to Clifford Volunteer Fire Department Chief Trent Turner.

Turner didn’t believe the fire was suspicious. No injuries were reported.

Turner said that in addition to the structure, multiple pieces of equipment inside the building were also destroyed.

— STACI WILSON

Kyle Mullins didn’t need anyone to show him around the Capitol, but the building certainly felt different than before.

After a decade as a state Senate staffer, Mullins, 33, of Blakely, began life as a member of the state House on New Year’s Day. He took the oath of office as the new representative of the 112th House District. He succeeds former Rep. Kevin Haggerty, who did not seek re-election.

Mullins’ wife, Lauren, son, Conor, and other family members and friends watched as he took the oath.

“I feel very ready to do the job after having worked in a legislative capacity for 11 years,” he said Wednesday. “Nothing can prepare you for the excitement and the honor I felt yesterday ... It’s the honor of a lifetime. It is an oath that I took on behalf of every man, woman and child of the 112th district and it’s an oath I take very seriously. That trust that I’ve been sent to Harrisburg with is something that I’ll get up with in the morning and remember each day, whether in Harrisburg casting votes and sponsoring legislation or back home in the district.”

After graduating from West Chester University in 2007, Mullins worked two years as a research analyst for Senate Democrats, two years as a legislative assistant to a Philadelphia state senator and seven years as legislator director for state Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald. He defeated Republican Ernest Lemoncelli in the Nov. 6 election.

Mullins said he hopes to land assignments on the House education and transportation committees, but House leaders haven’t announced committee memberships yet. Representatives serve two-years terms with a salary this year of $88,610.42.

The 112th District includes all or parts of central city, the Hill Section and South Scranton in Scranton, and Archbald, Blakely, Dunmore, Jessup, Olyphant and Throop boroughs.

Mullins said he will keep open the 112th’s office at the Dunmore Community Center, 1414 Monroe Ave., Dunmore, but is looking for a more centrally located second office. He closed the 112th’s office in Archbald, he said.

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

If that once-festive fir is starting to feel like a ghost of Christmas past, several options exist for disposing of old Christmas trees.

Lackawanna County residents can drop off real trees at the county recycling center, 3400 Boulevard Ave., Scranton, weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. There is no charge to recycle the trees, which are ground up with other yard waste and turned into compost, but they must be stripped of all ornaments, lights and tinsel prior to dropoff, recycling center Supervisor Steve Chorba said.

Many local municipalities also have procedures in place to collect trees, which should not be decorated or placed in large plastic bags prior to pick up, county Recycling Coordinator Barbara Giovagnoli said.

In Scranton, department of public works dispatcher Sam Vitris said city residents can put their trees out for pickup starting Monday.

Crews in neighboring Dickson City collect trees placed on the curb on four consecutive Mondays in January, starting Jan. 7 and ending Jan. 28.

Archbald residents may place their unadorned Christmas trees on the curb virtually any time to be collected by the borough’s department of public works.

“They can leave them out when they are done with them,” said DPW Foreman Mike Zielinski, noting some people choose to keep their trees up until well into the new year.

Residents of the Pioneer City also may place trees out with their regular garbage, but should only do so within 24 hours of pickup, Carbondale City Clerk Michele Bannon said.

For more information on Christmas tree collection dates, times and availability, residents should call their municipalities.

Meanwhile, residents with unwanted baubles and other Christmas ornaments left over after the trees are gone may donate those materials to the Greenhouse Project at Nay Aug Park in Scranton. The nonprofit repurposes old ornaments to decorate fresh wreaths they sell during the holidays, said Michelle Kelly, assistant to Greenhouse Project Director Jane Risse.

Donated ornaments will be collected at the James Barrett McNulty Greenhouse, 200 Arthur Ave., Scranton, today and Jan. 10 from 3 to 5 p.m., and on Saturday and Jan. 12 from noon to 2 p.m. For more information, call the Greenhouse Project at 570-344-9186.

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jhorvath@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9141;

@jhorvathTT on Twitter

A fire that started in the area of a clothes dryer on an enclosed back porch caused minor damage to a Jessup home Wednesday.

The fire was reported at 2:42 p.m. at 329 Third Ave., one-half of a two-story double-block house, said Joe Fetcho, Jessup Hose Company assistant chief.

The flames were quickly extinguished and there were no injuries, he said. Damage was confined to the porch area.

However, because the fire spread smoke throughout the building, the Red Cross will assist the nine occupants — two adults who live at 329 Third and three adults and four children who live next door at 331 Third — with temporary housing, Fetcho said.

OLYPHANT — Borough council voted Wednesday night to adjust zoning on land tapped by developers to become a warehouse, a project that drew questions and concerns from residents about noise and the effect proximity to such a building would have on property values.

About 20 people attended a public hearing on an ordinance that pushed the boundary of a light manufacturing zone located on the north side of East Lackawanna Avenue, near Tucker Rocky Distributing, into a residential zone. Langen Development Economics, the Easton-based company developing the site, needed the adjustment for construction of a parking area for trailers behind the proposed warehouse. All told, the shift pushes the manufacturing zone into the residential zone 400 feet at the narrowest point and 650 feet at the widest, borough engineer Lou LaFratte said.

The warehouse will be about 1 million square feet. Buildings like it are typically about 40 feet tall, Thomas Reilly, president of Reilly Associates, said at the meeting. The firm is handling the engineering and design of the project. A warehouse tenant has not yet been determined but the site could bring 300 to 500 jobs to the borough, said Shawn Langen, principal with Langen Development Economics.

Truck traffic concerns

Some of those who attended Wednesday’s hearing live on Fern Hill Drive, located on the northwest end of the land the warehouse will occupy, and East Lackawanna Avenue. Several asked questions about truck traffic and other noise from the warehouse and aired concerns it will negatively affect their property values.

Reilly said initial plans call for trees and other vegetation to remain between the homes to act as a buffer, plus they could build berms to further deflect noise. The distance between the warehouse and homes exceed the amount required for buffering in borough ordinances, Reilly said. For instance, the closest residence on Fern Hill Drive would be about 700 feet away from the warehouse, Reilly said. Planners would also take measures to limit the visibility of the building, Reilly said.

“No one’s looking to put a building up against you,” Langen said. “In fact, we’re trying to put it as far away as humanly possible.”

“Hundreds of feet is not right in your backyard. It’s a substantial separation,” Reilly said.

Still, some residents think the distance is too close for comfort. Ron Sadaka, who lives on Fern Hill Drive, said he didn’t think the distance was substantial. He also asked if developers had an estimate of the amount of trucks that would visit the warehouse. That would depend on what business ultimately uses the site, Langen said.

There’s a possibility that a business that draws a large amount of trucks and noise could move in, Sadaka said.

“From a property value standpoint, it’s going to really decrease the property value for any resident in that area,” Sadaka said. “It’s not a highly desirable thing to see, a warehouse, and hear all these trucks driving.”

More plans need OK

Council members voted 5-0 to approve the zoning adjustment. Council members Dina Harrington and Christine Powell were absent from the hearing and meeting Wednesday night. However, the step taken Wednesday is just one toward work starting on the project. Developers must now submit land development and other plans with borough and county officials for approval.

Langen said he plans on purchasing the property where the warehouse will stand. The land is currently owned by Dunmore-based D&L Realty, according to Lackawanna County records. D&L Realty is owned by Louis and Dominick DeNaples, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Contact the writer:

cover@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 ext. 5363;

@ClaytonOver on Twitter

MILFORD — A former Pike County correctional officer who worked under an alias while collecting workers’ compensation benefits has been sentenced to nine to 23½ months in the county jail.

Hollie C. Allen, 44, Montague, New Jersey, was sentenced by Judge Gregory Chelak after pleading guilty to workers’ compensation fraud.

Allen filed a workers’ compensation claim from his job at the county correctional facility in October 2015, the district attorney’s office said. While receiving compensation payments, he became employed at Econo-Pak in Milford Twp. under the fake name of Allen Hollie.

In addition sentencing Allen to jail, Chelak placed him on probation for one year and fined him $5,000. He must also repay $64,000 in benefits he received on his workers’ compensation claim.

— STAFF REPORT