HARRISBURG

Grants to support meat production

Four Northeast Pennsylvania farms are among 15 in the state to receive Small Meat Processor Grants through a program created this year in the Pennsylvania Farm Bill. The state Agriculture Department awarded $500,000 in total funds.

Northeast farms include:

• Stryker Farm, Monroe County: $21,500 for on-farm meat processing creating eight to 12 jobs.

• Stepniak Beef, Susquehanna County: $23,845 for on-site slaughtering facility.

• Waldron Custom Meats, Susquehanna County: $40,000 to add eight jobs and reduce backlog.

• Hickory Ridge Custom Cuts, Wayne County: $50,000 to expand butcher shop for specialty meat production creating three to five jobs.

STAFF REPORT

Dec. 3, 1954

Trolley reaches

end of the line

Scranton Transit Co. filed paperwork with the Public Utility Commission to close the last streetcar line in Scranton, the Green Ridge Suburban.

Scranton Transit was also negotiating with the city over a $90,000 payment schedule for resurfacing of streets and removal of trolley tracks.

PUC was to take up the request as soon as Dec. 6.

‘Laughing Eel’ sane

Louis ‘Laughing Eel’ Ross, an inmate at Farview State Hospital for 31 years, was found to be sane by a panel of Pittsburgh psychiatrists.

Ross escaped Nov. 13 from Farview and made his way to Pittsburgh. There, he turned himself in to attorney Louis Little, who turned Ross over to police and requested a sanity hearing.

A psychiatrist from Farview testified that Ross hadn’t shown signs of mental illness in five years.

Ross was called the “Laughing Eel” by Pittsburgh police because he was elusive in their attempts to capture him and he laughed hysterically during the commission of his crimes. He was committed to Farview in 1923 and later was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of a series of holdups.

On Dec. 8, Allegheny County Judge Loran Lewis ruled Ross to be sane and ordered his release.

Toys on sale

at American Auto

Imported three-speed bicycles, $36.88; training bicycle, $11.95; American Flyer freight train, $9.75; Lionel diesel engine, $43.50; basketball set (backboard and ball), $3.98; doll highchair, $1.79, and doll stroller, $5.98.

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.

After the frantic holiday shopping of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday marks a day of generosity.

For the past seven years, the annual day of charity has encouraged people to do good, according to Giving Tuesday’s website. Whether it’s donating blood, supporting the arts, helping children or anything in between, there’s a multitude of ways to bolster local organizations. For a list of more than 30 participating nonprofit organizations and schools in the Scranton area, visit www.givingtuesday.org/whats-happening-near-me.

Giving blood

The American Red Cross always needs blood, but donating blood is especially important this time of year, said director of communications Dave Skutnik.

“We typically see a dip in the number of people giving blood during the holiday season,” he said.

Locally, the Red Cross responded to more than 150 disasters in the region this year, and it provided emergency assistance to more than 500 people, according to Skutnik, who called Giving Tuesday “tremendously important.”

“Charities and nonprofits like the Red Cross rely on the generosity of donors,” he said.

The Red Cross has corporate sponsors matching donations on Giving Tuesday, and the organization is always looking for volunteers, Skutnik said.

To find a local blood drive, visit www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=18503.

Giving children a chance

People become lulled into their own world, focused on their own problems, but events like Giving Tuesday “shake us out of our lethargy,” said Mary Ann LaPorta, executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The advocacy center works to assess and treat children who were victims of abuse and neglect.

“It’s very inspiring that we get the response that we do get, and Giving Tuesday is just one day out of the week, but the response of this community is every day of every week,” she said.

Donations help to sustain organizations like the advocacy center, which don’t charge child victims or their families, LaPorta said.

Beyond monetary donations, the advocacy center needs clothing, toys, gifts, hygiene products, books and even gift cards, she said.

Giving to the arts

From a global art project that promotes interdependence at the Hexagon Project to performing arts at the Ballet Theatre of Scranton, Giving Tuesday helps communities support the arts.

“It’s preserving our culture, it’s about bringing stimulating ideas, creative ideas, engaging our community in the appreciation of the arts and those who are making the arts,” said Beth Burkhauser, founder and director of the Hexagon Project. “People in the community have a responsibility to support the culture in the community.”

The nonprofit organization has individuals across the globe illustrate issues that concern them, with themes like social justice issues and overcoming conflict, on hexagons, which represent interconnectedness, she said. The Scranton-based nonprofit hosts online exhibits, and donations would help make its website more interactive, along with paying for art supplies for workshops and hosting regional shows, Burkhauser said.

Giving back to the environment

Supporting local conservation groups is the best bang for your buck when it comes to the environment, said Bernie McGurl, executive director of the Lackawanna River Conservation Association.

“We put the money to work right here in the community,” he said.

The LRCA works to clean up the Lackawanna River, create more trails and protect the 350 square miles in the Lackawanna River watershed, McGurl said. The nonprofit organization has been involved with Giving Tuesday since the charitable event began, and it folds the day of giving into its end-of-year fund drive, McGurl said.

The majority of the LRCA’s funding comes from donations, he said.

“They are the reason that we’re still here after 32 years,” McGurl said. “We’re not supported by taxpayers. We’re a community organization.”

Giving warmth

Goodwill Industries of Northeastern Pennsylvania participates in Giving Tuesday, but they hope their donors will support them year round, said director of marketing Rachel Santoro.

“It’s that time of the year that we’re always looking for donations,” she said.

As temperatures get colder, Goodwill is especially in need of clothing like jackets and scarves, Santoro said, “items that will keep the community warm,” she said.

With Christmas in just over three weeks, Goodwill is also looking for artificial Christmas trees and decorations for those in need, along with kitchen items and other housewares, Santoro said.

To find a location to donate, visit www.goodwillnepa.com/shop/locations.

Contact the writer: flesnefsky@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5181; @flesnefskyTT on Twitter

As the region’s first big snowstorm loomed, Jim Flynn sold about one-third of his shop’s supply of snowblowers in a matter of days.

“If you have a snowy winter, absolutely it is the busiest time for me. If you don’t have a snowy winter, then we rely on the weathermen to create the hysteria,” the owner of F&S Supply Co. Inc. said with a laugh.

The South Abington Twp. shop sold about 40 of its 125 or so snowblowers in the span of four days leading up to Sunday’s storm, Flynn said. F&S Supply assembles snowblowers for customers and does free same-day delivery to make things easier, but everyone still procrastinates, he said.

“Everybody waits until the last minute, then there is a slight hysteria when it snows,” Flynn said. “It’s something that nobody plans for.”

The storm dumped between 2 inches and 5½ inches and up to 0.1 inches of ice on the area, said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Carl Erickson.

The winter weather started around 10 a.m. Sunday and was “pretty continuous” until 3 to 4 p.m. Monday, he said. After about 12 hours of freezing rain, the snow began.

The ice and snow kept area residents busy with snowblowers and shovels. Schools and universities around the area closed and officials put travel restrictions in place on Interstates 80, 81, 84 and 380 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike for most of the day.

Sunday’s freezing rain made conditions especially challenging for crews, said Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman James May. Freezing rain is the most difficult weather pattern to deal with because it washes away any pretreatment on the roads, he said.

Sunday was also one of the busiest travel days of the year. Because Thanksgiving was so late, it meant holiday traffic merged with increased truck traffic from online Christmas shopping, May said.

“We were hitting the Thanksgiving rush and the Christmas rush,” he said.

There is some good news, though. Erickson doesn’t foresee any serious snowstorms in the near future. There could be some snow showers late tonight into Wednesday, but it would be less than an inch, he said.

“It’s quiet through the end of the week — even into next weekend,” he said.

However, untreated surfaces could get icy tonight into Wednesday, Erickson said. Today’s high of 36 degrees means anything leftover will melt, and temperatures in the upper 20s tonight may lead to a refreeze, he said.

Contact the writer:

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570-348-9100 x5181;

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SCRANTON — City business privilege and mercantile tax rates will remain unchanged in 2020 despite plans to replace the levies with a new payroll tax.

City council introduced a pair of ordinances Monday that leave the business privilege and mercantile tax rates at 1 mill, with a mill being a $1 tax on every $1,000 of gross revenues. Among other features, the legislation would enable Scranton to collect those taxes in the event the payroll tax swap falls through.

The ordinances were part of a slate of taxing legislation council introduced with 3-0 votes. Councilmen Bill Gaughan and Kyle Donahue were absent.

An element of Scranton’s Act 47 recovery plan, the city will petition Lackawanna County Court to allow the switch from the business privilege/mercantile taxes to an arguably easier to collect tax on a percentage of a business’s total payroll. Advocates of the change argue the payroll tax is more fair because it would be spread among more businesses, including banks and manufacturers not required to pay business privilege/mercantile taxes.

A payroll tax would be collected quarterly, but business privilege/mercantile taxes levied in 2019 won’t be collected until April 15. The ordinances council introduced authorize collections of those revenues next year, officials said.

By law, when switching from business privilege/mercantile taxes to a payroll tax, the levies cannot overlap. Mayor Wayne Evans’ proposed 2020 city budget anticipates starting payroll tax collections in the third quarter of 2020, though city Business Administrator David Bulzoni said the city wouldn’t receive that revenue until the fourth quarter of next year.

The Scranton School District is also mulling the move to a payroll tax. City voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot referendum endorsing the district’s switch to a payroll tax last month.

Unlike the city, the district doesn’t require court approval for the payroll tax swap.

An official hearing date has not been set, but it seems unlikely the county court would reject the city’s petition for a payroll tax, city officials have said.

The other taxing legislation council introduced Monday maintains the city’s current realty transfer and earned income tax rates for 2020 and sets next year’s property tax millage rates, which remain unchanged at 232.521 on land and 50.564 on buildings.

Also Monday, council Solicitor Amil Minora submitted his letter of resignation effective Jan. 6, the same day Mayor-elect Paige Cognetti and a new council will be sworn in.

Minora, who is wrapping up his second stint as council solicitor, has held that post for the past six years. He previously served as both an administration and council solicitor for the city.

Council will accept letters of interest/resumes from attorneys seeking the $46,000 per year job until Dec. 13. Applicants must live in the city.

Council will hold a public caucus Wednesday with members of Evans’ administration to discuss the proposed 2020 budget. The caucus begins at 4 p.m. at City Hall.

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

In other business, council ...

■ Introduced legislation approving the transfer of a restaurant liquor license formerly used at J.J. Bridjes in South Abington Twp. to Grappa LLC for use at 100 N. Main Ave., Scranton. A public hearing on the matter will take place Monday in council’s City Hall chambers, beginning at 5:45 p.m.

■ Introduced a pair of resolutions to apply for grant funding through the state Department of Community and Economic Development Small Water and Sewer Program. The city will likely apply for $418,774 to install new inlets and larger pipes to convey runoff on Briggs Street to Keyser Creek, and $179,575 to replace the existing storm arch structure with a new concrete arch structure on Bloom Avenue.

■ Advanced legislation authorizing the city to obtain a short-term loan called a tax anticipation note, which would provide cash flow early in the year before tax revenues come in. The 2020 TAN would be for up to $12.75 million.

■ Approved a resolution accepting a $1,000 donation from Briden American to the Scranton Police Department Special Operations Group.

■ Approved legislation accepting the recommendation of the city’s Historical Architecture Review Board and approving a certificate of appropriateness for developer Charles Jefferson, who plans alterations and renovations to the former Stoehr & Fister Building at 200 Adams Ave. The building served as the Lackawanna County Administration Building until the county relocated to the former Globe store.

— JEFF HORVATH

Tom Currá, who oversaw substantial growth in WVIA public radio and television’s finances and programming, resigned after six years as their leader.

In a joint news release, VIA Public Media and Currá announced his departure as president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit that oversees the stations. Rumors circulated for weeks that Currá was on his way out.

The joint news release said only that Currá resigned “to pursue other professional and creative opportunities.”

Efforts to reach Currá and officers of the board of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television Association were unsuccessful. The nonprofit association holds the federal licenses for WVIA-TV, a Public Broadcasting Service affiliate, and WVIA-FM, a National Public Radio affiliate. As part of a rebranding effort, the stations began referring to themselves on the air and otherwise as VIA Public Media during the last 18 months.

The joint news release quoted Currá as saying he is proud of his role in WVIA’s success and believes the station can build on it.

“I have enjoyed working with the WVIA team to tell the stories of the communities and people of Northeastern Pennsylvania,” he said.

In the news release, association board chairman Jay Lemons said the board is grateful for Currá’s six years as leader and wishes him well.

Board vice chairman Peter Frieder, who is leading a nationwide search for Currá’s replacement, praised him for putting the organization “on much sounder financial footing.”

“His unique storytelling ability has shown through in numerous successful WVIA productions, such as the award-winning ‘Battling Opioids’ series produced in partnership with Pennsylvania’s other public media stations and the powerful documentary, ‘Expedition Chesapeake,’” Frieder said.

Chris Norton, the organization’s senior vice president, will take charge at least temporarily.

Norton said Currá’s departure was unrelated to four employee layoffs earlier this year, and referred a reporter to the joint news release when asked why Currá left.

He said programming will continue as usual during the search for a new leader.

“All your favorite shows are still here,” Norton said.

Norton, who joined WVIA more than two decades ago, said he hasn’t decided if he will apply for the top job.

Currá, 57, a Long Island, New York, native, joined the organization in 2004 and served as president and CEO since 2013. Unlike his predecessor, the late Bill Kelly, Currá preferred the background as an executive producer rather a role in front of cameras.

During Currá’s tenure with the station, WVIA-TV shifted away from local in-studio programming to focus more on documentaries, including its “Our Town” series on local communities including Dunmore, Montrose and others. The stations also began tapping resources that NPR and PBS make available to help their local affiliates and reduced the length of on-air membership drives.

In 2016, the station agreed to share a broadcast channel with WNEP-TV. As part of that deal, a federal auction of broadcast airwaves netted WVIA almost $26 million. The money went into the station’s endowment, which totaled $23.1 million as of June 30, 2018, but had totaled only about $1 million before that, according to IRS filings.

Currá earned $150,837 in salary and another $11,837 in benefits in that year, according to an IRS filing. That compensation was down about $5,900 from the previous year.

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570-348-9147;

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Customers can now bet on sports at Mohegan Sun Pocono without stepping foot in the Plains Twp. casino.

Mohegan Sun Pocono partnered with Kindred Group to launch online sports betting in Pennsylvania. The sportsbook and casino products can be found on the casino’s website, and mobile apps can be found at pa.unibet.com.

The online betting option was launched after Unibet Sportsbook opened inside Mohegan Sun Pocono.

“After a successful launch of our betting lounge, Unibet Sportsbook at Mohegan Sun Pocono, we are thrilled to take the partnership with Mohegan Sun online and bring the Pennsylvanian guests a state-of-the-art online gambling experience, including the best online casino games and an impressive online sportsbook,” Manuel Stan, Kindred U.S. senior vice president, said in an emailed statement Monday.

Aviram Alroy, vice president of interactive gaming at Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, said the sportsbook lounge at Mohegan Sun Pocono is a “highly engaging and joyful experience” and he is thrilled that Kindred Group is able to extend the experience online through their partnership.

Mohegan Sun Pocono and Kindred Group’s online sports betting launch follows Mount Airy Casino Resort’s launch in September.

Mount Airy in Monroe County partnered with the Stars Group and FOX Bet to launch online sports betting, and the casino also opened a 3,800-square-foot sportsbook in the former Gypsies Lounge space. In November, Mount Airy partnered with PokerStars and FOX Bet to launch the first online poker option in the state.

Through the Gaming Expansion Act of 2017, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board spokesman Doug Harbach said sports wagering is offered at 12 retail locations along with seven online sites, while online casino games are now available at five sites in Pennsylvania. In addition to Mohegan Sun Pocono and Mount Airy, the sites are licensed through Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Rivers Casino Philadelphia and Parx Casino.

Contact the writer:

dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com;

570-821-2115; @CVAllabaugh

SCRANTON — City firefighters quickly knocked down a blaze Monday morning at a house near Marywood University.

Crews rushed to 2420 Dimmick Ave. about 9:20 a.m. and found heavy smoke and fire in the rear of the home, Deputy Fire Chief Al Lucas said.

No one was home at the time, Lucas said. A neighbor called 911 to report the fire.

The home is owned by Maureen Duffy, according to Lackawanna County assessment records. The deed has been in her name since September 2004.

The fire appeared to cause significant damage to the rear of the building. Several windows were broken. Some smoke still streamed from the bottom floor of the home even after the bulk of the fire was extinguished. No one was injured, Lucas said.

Fire Inspector Jack Joyce and Fire Marshal Martin Monahan were on scene to investigate the cause of the blaze. It was too early to tell what caused the fire Monday morning, Lucas said.

Dave Skutnik, a spokesman for the American Red Cross, said the agency had not been contacted for assistance as of midday Monday.

Contact the writer:

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570-348-9144;

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A Scranton man died Monday afternoon after a tractor-trailer struck him on Interstate 81 north, the county coroner said.

Hiroito Oshiro Yengle, 24, was driving north in the passing lane when his car spun out near the Scott Twp. exit, Lackawanna County Coroner Tim Rowland said. Oshiro Yengle then got out of his car and was hit by the tractor-trailer, Rowland said. The crash occurred at about 1:30 p.m. near Exit 199, and the tractor-trailer rolled over during the wreck. The road was covered in snow and slush, according to state police.

Oshiro Yengle’s passenger Donald L. Johnson, 40, of Scranton, suffered minor injuries but was not taken to the hospital, state police said.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, Kwang Jae Kim, 29, of Fullerton, California, was not injured, but a passenger in the truck, Joseph Kim, 70, of Norwalk, California, was taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center, according to state police. He was listed in fair condition there Monday night, said hospital spokesman Matt Mattei.

The left lane of the interstate was closed for about four hours as a result of the wreck.

The winter storm kept first responders busy, especially a slew of automobile accidents on Sunday and Monday, said David Hahn, Lackawanna County Emergency Services director.

“When the storm first hit, we were overwhelmed,” he said. “We handled it, but we were overwhelmed with crashes.”

The slick conditions affected the interstates the most, Hahn said.

“It’s like that (with) every storm,” he said. “As soon as the stuff starts freezing, that’s when we start getting calls.”

Monday had a steady stream of wrecks, but Sunday was worse, he said.

Aside from Monday’s fatal wreck, Hahn wasn’t aware of any crashes that led to significant injuries over the course of the storm.

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570-348-9100 x5181;

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SCRANTON

One lucky shopper at a Scranton supermarket came into a bit of a windfall recently after matching all five numbers drawn in a lottery game, the Pennsylvania Lottery said.

The winning Treasure Hunt ticket with Thursday’s winning numbers, 03-05-09-21-23, was sold at Gerrity’s Supermarket, 702 S. Main Ave. The ticket is worth $34,333.50 because two other tickets in Centre and Northampton counties also hit the numbers, splitting the $103,000.50 jackpot three ways.

Prizes must be claimed and tickets validated before the lottery identifies winners.

Treasure Hunt winners have one year from the drawing date to claim their prize.

—JOSEPH KOHUT

The Nanticoke man accused of pepper-spraying officers and stealing a police car while kidnapping his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend was killed when police converged on a wooded area near Warrior Run Sunday.

State police have released few details about the standoff that ended in the death of 20-year-old Jordan Oliver, but his family is questioning whether deadly force was necessary.

“My son didn’t need to be killed,” Sean Oliver said Monday afternoon. “I’m not making excuses up for him. I’m not saying he should have gotten away with anything at all. He should have done jail time for what he did. But he didn’t deserve to die.”

In a prepared statement, Pennsylvania State Police said Jordan Oliver was holding Nanticoke resident Samara Derwin — his former girlfriend and the daughter of Nanticoke police Officer Michael Derwin — as a “hostage” when they confronted him. The Special Emergency Response Team contacted Jordan Oliver and “deadly force was used” before Derwin was freed unharmed, according to the statement.

A state police spokeswoman did not immediately return a message seeking additional details on what prompted police to use deadly force.

Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said her office would investigate the incident.

While Sean Oliver acknowledged he didn’t know much about what happened in the moments before his son’s death, he did challenge the police description of Derwin as a hostage.

“They were both willingly together,” Sean Oliver said, noting Derwin was freely communicating on her phone during her alleged abduction. “There was no kidnapping. ... As a matter of fact, I kind of think he was set up, to be honest with you, because of her father being a Nanticoke police officer.”

According to kidnapping and aggravated assault charges state police filed against Jordan Oliver before he was killed, police were dispatched to Greater Nanticoke Area High School around 3:30 p.m. Sunday to a report of a man holding a girl at knife point.

Officers arrived to find Oliver standing in the parking lot while holding Derwin around the neck with a knife to her throat, the complaint says.

Police tried to negotiate with Oliver, who said he didn’t want to go to jail and that he would not hurt Derwin if officers stayed back, according to the complaint.

Officers continued negotiating as Oliver walked Derwin toward a baseball field, police said. At some point during the negotiation, Derwin got separated from Oliver and police told her to go wait in a marked Nanticoke city police SUV, the complaint says.

The charges allege that when police tried to arrest Oliver for assault, he grew combative and began to struggle, police said. Officers deployed Tasers, but the shock failed to subdue him.

At that point, Oliver pulled out a can of pepper spray and sprayed the officers with it before breaking free, according to the charges. Oliver jumped into the police car where Derwin was sitting and drove off, nearly hitting another uniformed officer who was in the area, police said.

That officer, who was not identified, fired his service weapon at Oliver as the vehicle came toward him, the complaint says. The vehicle continued on, however, until police lost sight of it.

What followed was an Amber alert for Derwin and a massive manhunt for Jordan Oliver, during which time his father said he sent frequent text messages to his son urging him to surrender.

“Turn yourself in. I don’t want to see yourself get hurt anymore,” Sean Oliver wrote, according to a text exchange he provided to The Citizens’ Voice.

“I’d rather die than go back to jail and deal with more PTSD,” Jordan Oliver wrote back.

Court records show Jordan Oliver had a number of brushes with the law in recent years, including an August 2017 protection-from-abuse order obtained on behalf of an ex-girlfriend who alleged he hit her on the neck and became emotionally and physically abusive.

Within weeks, Jordan Oliver was accused of violating the order by trying to make contact with the girlfriend. When he was being arraigned on the violation charge, Jordan Oliver refused to comply with police commands and began smashing his head on a metal door and kicking the walls and the judge’s bench, according to the complaint.

An officer eventually used a Taser to subdue Jordan Oliver, who was charged with resisting arrest.

Over the years, Jordan Oliver was also charged with driving under the influence and with a number of non-criminal summary offenses, court records show.

Then in May, Derwin’s mother filed for a restraining order on allegations that Jordan Oliver hit her daughter on the back and side of the head. Jordan Oliver pushed the girl into a chair and pulled her hair, then threatened to kill her if she got a restraining order against him, according to the petition.

The filing alleges Jordan Oliver continued to bother Derwin in school via Facebook and showed up at the family home despite being told he was not welcome.

Derwin left the home with her father and the police were called, but Jordan Oliver continued sending messages saying he was walking around the house armed with a knife, the petition says.

Court records show that Jordan Oliver violated the protection-from-abuse order within weeks when he messaged Derwin’s mother asking her to permit him “five minutes to say goodbye” and then he would no longer bother the family.

Sean Oliver, however, maintained Monday that Derwin’s parents were the driving force behind the restraining order, which was to remain in effect until June 18, 2022.

“These two have been back and forth,” Sean Oliver said. “They’ve never stopped seeing each other, even from the PFA.”

In contrast to the police account that Jordan Oliver abducted Derwin, Sean Oliver said his son told him he was “talking to Samara” when the police showed up looking to arrest him for violating the PFA.

Following an hours-long manhunt, police eventually found Jordan Oliver “holding (Derwin) hostage” in a wooded area near Warrior Run, according to the state police statement.

Derwin was recovered unscathed, but police killed Jordan Oliver, according to the statement.

Sean Oliver questioned why police couldn’t have used nonlethal means such as tear gas or rubber bullets to subdue his son, rather than resorting to lethal means.

“He didn’t deserve to lose his life at only 20 years old,” Sean Oliver said. “There had to be 90 cops up there. You’re going to tell me that you guys were fearing that kid, even if he had a knife in his hand? I mean, there was something else they could have done other than use deadly force on him — just my opinion. These guys are trained for situations like this.”

Contact the writer:

jhalpin@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2058

DICKSON CITY — A large water main break disrupted service this morning throughout the Midvalley and in North Scranton.

The 16-inch main in the 500 block of Main Streetruptured about 9 a.m. Pennsylvania American Water Co. said customers in Dickson City, Blakely, Archbald and North Scranton were affected but the number was not immediately clear.

The company expects repairs to take 12 hours.

On its Facebook page, the Scranton School District posted the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna Countyhas no water. Morning students went to Scranton High School or West Scranton High School and afternoon students won’t go to CTC either.

The company alerted affected customers through a phone message about an hour later.

Water company spokeswoman Susan Turcmanovichsaid crews are working to isolate the break. That also will help determine how many people lost water, she said.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

GLENBURN TWP. — Route 6 eastbound from the intersection of Old Trail Road to Ackerly Road is closed this afternoon because of a crash, according to PennDOT.

The crash, at the intersection of Route 6 and Church Hill Road, brought down utility lines. A local detour is in place, but motorists should avoid the area.

— STAFF REPORT

For more than a decade, Lackawanna County has coerced people jailed for failing to pay child support to work for just $5 a day at its recycling facility in violation of anti-slavery, human trafficking and labor laws, attorneys for three former inmates claim in a federal lawsuit.

The proposed class action suit accuses county officials of exploiting the men as part of an illegal racketeering scheme designed to benefit the county and enrich Louis and Dominick DeNaples, owners of a private company the Lackawanna County Solid Waste Management Authority contracts with to operate the center.

“We are alleging these folks were made to work and if they refused to work, they were imprisoned longer,” said attorney Juno Turner of Towards Justice, a Colorado based nonprofit worker’s rights group that filed the suit.

The lawsuit details “abominable” conditions detainees are forced to work in as they sort recyclables from a mass of trash that often includes dead animals, dirty diapers, toxic materials and hypodermic needles. They have little choice but to accept the assignment, however, because the county mandates they work at the facility to qualify for work release to an outside job, the suit says.

That ensures the county has “access to a steady supply of low cost labor,” but it hurts the debtors’ families because it delays them taking a minimum wage job that would help reduce the amount of support they owe, Turner said.

“They deserve to be working to earn money to satisfy their child support debt,” Turner said. “They are working for free to satisfy the needs of a private owner the county contracts with.”

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the lead plaintiffs, William L. Burrell Jr. and Dampsey Stuckey,both of Scranton, and Joshua Huzzard of Ocala, Florida, and potentially hundreds more child support debtors who worked at the recycling center over the past 14 years.

The suit challenges provisions within a long-standing contract between the Lackawanna County Solid Waste Management Authority and Lackawanna County Recycling Center Inc., the private, DeNaples-owned company that operates the center. It names as defendants the county, authority, LRC, the DeNaples and Thomas Staff, a prison employee who oversees the work release program.

Donald Frederickson, the county’s general counsel, said he had not yet seen the suit and could not comment. Attempts to reach the DeNaples and Thomas Cummings, attorney for the authority, were unsuccessful.

Lackawanna County originally operated the recycling center with county employees, but it was a chronic money loser. In 2005, commissioners decided to turn over operations to LRC, which agreed to pay the county $60,000 a year. The firm keeps any profit from the center but also absorbs any loses.

Under the contract, which renews every five years, the authority owns the building, but the daily operations and staffing are handled by LRC. The contract also requires the county to provide inmates from the county prison to man the facility — a practice that was in place when it controlled operations.

At the time the deal was inked, county commissioners acknowledged using prisoners to work for a privately run enterprise was unusual, according to news reports. Cummings assured them it was legal because the county still owned the center and their work would benefit taxpayers.

Turner and several other attorneys who joined in filing the lawsuit disagree.

By law, employers are required to pay workers minimum wage, which in Pennsylvania is $7.25 per hour. Inmates are exempt from that mandate if they perform work within a prison setting.

The suit contends that does not apply in this situation because the inmates are working for a private company contracted by the county at a facility outside of the prison walls. Turner said people jailed for failing to pay child support also differ from inmates imprisoned for committing crimes. Child support debtors are jailed under a civil court contempt proceeding, not criminal court.

“These are not folks who are being punished for committing a crime,” Turner said.

Turner and David Seligman, another Towards Justice attorney handling the case, said it’s not known yet how many people may be part of the class, but they anticipate it could be hundreds. The amount of damages could be substantial as the suit seeks payment of minimum wage for all hours the debtors worked, which typically was eight hours each weekday.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of child support debtors and does not include persons jailed for crimes. Turner said attorneys wanted to first focus on child support detainees, but may later amend the suit to include those jailed for crimes.

The case began as a one-man crusade Burrell launched after he was jailed in May 2014 for falling behind on child support payments. Representing himself, he originally filed suit against the center, the DeNaples and multiple county officials. A federal judge dismissed the complaint in 2017, but the decision was overturned last year by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

That’s when the case caught the attention of Towards Justice, which joined with the Community Justice Project in Scranton, which provides legal aid to the poor, and the Colorado law firm of Handley Farah & Anderson, to file an amended complaint.

The amended lawsuit, filed late Monday, alleges county officials “actively misled and exploited” Burrell and other child support debtors “by suggesting to them they were not employees with rights, but rather prisoners whom they could force to perform work as punishment and as a condition of their liberty.”

“These actions prevented Mr. Burrell and those similarly situated from understanding that they had a right to a federal and state minimum wage,” the suit says.

The lawsuit says Burrell was sentenced on May 16, 2014 to 12 months for failing to pay $2,129 in child support. He sought work release, but he was told he had to work at the recycling center for half of his sentence, or six months, before being approved for an outside job. Stuckey, who was jailed in 2018, and Huzzard, who was jailed in 2013, also say they were told they first had to work at the center. Their daily stipend was deposited into the prison’s commissary account.

The suits says the men and others endured horrid conditions. In addition to sorting through garbage, they often got struck by glass that flew off the conveyer belt, which smashed and splintered onto their faces and arms. When they wiped sweat or liquids off themselves, the splinters would get embedded in their skin. Many workers also developed an itchy, burning rash from being splashed by rancid juices and toxic materials — a condition inmates labeled as “trash rash.”

The suit seeks damages on six counts, including violations of the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which outlawed slavery and indentured servitude; the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which protects against human trafficking and the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act. It also seeks damages for unjust enrichment and violations of federal and state labor laws, including the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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

An ex-West Scranton High School football player who once urged local teens to make good choices turned himself in today to face charges he beat up a man at a weekend party.

Authorities hauled Chase J. Passeri off to prison after he couldn’t post $25,000 bail on charges of aggravated and simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. Clarks Summit police withdrew their original arrest warrant and obtained one that added the aggravated assault charge, which means a potential 10 years in prison, twice the simple assault maximum.

Passeri’s victim, Nicholas Thompson, suffered fractured ribs and facial bones and a punctured lung, and was hospitalized, police said.

Patrolman Kevin Yetkowskas charged Passeri, 29, of 413 Gibson St., with beating up Thompson early Sunday morning at a party at a Fairview Road home.

Called to the scene at 8:17 a.m., Yetkowskas found lots of blood on the sidewalk and stairs to the porch where Thompson waited. Thompson had dried blood on his pants, shoes and shirt.

They went inside where the officer found dried blood all over the first floor. Thompson said he and his girlfriend, Staci Wirth, had friends over and “they were all drinking,” Yeskowskas wrote in an arrest affidavit.

About 3 a.m., Wirth, awakened from sleep, found Passeri going through Thompson’s dresser drawers. Passeri took money. Wirth asked Passeri what he was doing.

“Leaving a tip,” Passeri replied, according to the affidavit.

Wirth called Thompson to come upstairs. He and Passeri began arguing and went downstairs where Thompson told police “he remembers Passeri hitting him and ... waking up on the floor bleeding from his mouth.”

Wirth said she heard a bang, came downstairs and found Thompson on the ground. She walked toward Passeri to get Thompson and Passeri pushed her to the ground, according to police.

Wirth and Thompson waited hours to call police. They told police “they didn’t think things were that bad until they began to speak to family about what had happened.”

It’s the second time a party led to criminal charges against Passeri.

In December 2008, when he was still in high school, he and four friends left a party in West Scranton after drinking heavily and headed to the Abingtons for another party.

After a friend in another car passed him, Mr. Passeri drove after the car at high speeds. His car hit a ditch and flipped. The crash seriously injured his friends and nearly severed his right arm.

Passeri pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, drunken driving and recklessly endangering others. A judge sentenced him to six to 23 months in county prison and ordered him to speak to students about the dangers of drinking and driving.

When he showed photos of his injured arm to West Scranton in May 2014, some students looked away. Passeri told them he and his friends should have died because of his choice to drive fast and drunk.

“I don’t want to see anyone go through the situation I went through,” he told the students. “It’s important to make the right decision.”

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

SCRANTON -- A Lackawanna County judge today opted not to reinstate former Scranton School Director Christopher Musti’s probation after he demonstrated his Florida residency.

Musti, 43, successfully had a two-year probationary sentence cut short July 17, 2018, upon confirmation he relocated to Florida. That sentence stemmed from a 2015 case in which authorities alleged he falsely claimed to be a police officer.

However, he had his probation cut short at the exact time he was negotiating a real estate deal in Scranton which investigators claim amounted to Musti stealing thousands of dollars from an elderly and infirm man. Police charged him with theft and related counts earlier this year.

Musti’s attorney, Mark Hinrich, said they presented President Judge Michael J. Barrasse his Florida driver’s license to prove he did not mislead the court about his residency.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

SCRANTON -- Marywood University has officially bought the Holy Family Residence, the nursing home and assisted living center founded in 1907.

Marywood paid $2.52 million to buy the home from Home for the Aged, Little Sisters of the Poor Inc., according to a deed filed with Lackawanna County.

The company began seeking a buyer in May 2018 for the home at 2500 Adams Ave., partly in Dunmore, partly in Scranton. Marywood and the company agreed on the purchase in March, but did not disclose a price.

Marywood will keep the home open with students learning there. For generations, the Little Sisters of the Poor congregation of Roman Catholic nuns operated the home, which houses 54 skilled nursing residents and 24 independent living residents in apartments.

— BORYS KRAWCZENIUK

SCRANTON — As the newest president of the Scranton School Board, Katie Gilmartin knows she and her fellow members have a tremendous amount of work ahead of them.

“I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead,” she said. “I look forward to the milestones that we will celebrate and all that we will achieve.”

Gilmartin was sworn in as board president during the district’s board reorganization meeting tonight in the administration building. Her unanimous appointment followed the official swearing-in of four recently elected board members: Sarah Cruz, Tara Yanni, Ro Hume and Catherine Fox.

Gilmartin replaces Barbara Dixon, who remains on the board, as president. Tom Schuster, who was reelected for another four-year term in November, was also unanimously appointed vice president.

The district was placed in state financial recovery in January and has been in a leadership transition over the past year; multiple board members stepped down and former Superintendent Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D., abruptly resigned in August. Longtime teacher and administrator Melissa McTiernan was appointed superintendent in November.

The board also approved a five-year, 214-page financial recovery plan in August that calls for balancing budgets without borrowing money, tax hikes and potential school closures. It also suggests the district find outside funding for its preschool program for 3- and 4-year-olds.

The reorganization meeting drew a large crowd of directors’ family members and friends and recently elected and former city officials, including former Scranton Mayor Jim Connors and Scranton councilwoman-elect Jessica Rothchild.

Gilmartin is excited to work alongside McTiernan and state-appointed Chief Recovery Officer Candis Finan, Ed.D.

“The work that we have seen in the last several months in this district, the spirit, the energy, the enthusiasm is beyond measure,” Gilmartin said.

Departing school board members include Tom Borthwick and Kenneth Norton, who were appointed to fill vacant seats this year; Bob Lesh, a sometimes-controversial board member who served five terms on the board beginning in the late 90s; Greg Popil, who was also appointed and absent from Tuesday’s meeting because he was out of town, and Paul Duffy, a strong advocate for fair funding.

All five thanked the board, administration and the community for allowing them to serve. They also urged the new board to continue fighting the state to properly fund the district.

“Don’t give up,” said Lesh.

Before the meeting, more than 100 teachers who have worked without a contract for two and a half years picketed for 45 minutes outside the administration building.

They carried a sign with a drawing of Grinch and the phrase “How the Grinch Stole Preschool” and a sign that put McTiernan and Finan on Santa’s naughty list.

“It’s not an easy job,” Scranton Federation of Teachers President Rosemary Boland said about the new directors. “There’s no honeymoon for them. They’re going to have to learn to negotiate a contract.”

She said the demonstration today was to show the board that teachers and paraprofessionals deserve a new contract and better wages. Without a new contract, the teachers become some of the lowest paid in the region and will seek work elsewhere, said Boland.

“That’s the last thing the Scranton School District wants,” she said.

The district is accepting applications for a two-year board seat — also won by Schuster — until Dec. 13 at noon. The board will appoint a new member at the Dec. 16 meeting, which will follow the financial recovery advisory committee meeting at 4 p.m. and a budget and finance committee meeting at 5:30 p.m.

Contact the writer: kbolus@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5114; @kbolusTT on Twitter

SCRANTON — Lackawanna County will celebrate the season Thursday with the lighting of the county Christmas Tree on Courthouse Square.

The ceremony on the North Washington Avenue side of the square will start at 6 p.m. with carols sung by the Catholic Choral Society. Brief remarks by commissioners will follow.

Officials will light the tree about 6:15 p.m.

The Scranton Chapter of UNICO National and La Festa Italiana of Lackawanna County are donating refreshments for the ceremony and their members will be serving hot chocolate and cookies.

— JEFF HORVATH

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

• Christopher M. Roe, executor of the estate of Mark P. Roe, Clarks Green, to Molly M. Johnson; a property at 224 Glenburn Road, Clarks Green, for $135,000.

• Robert and Annette Grud­zinski, Clifton Twp., to Svetlana Makher and Arthur Lyudmer, Brooklyn, N.Y., as joint tenants with rights of survivorship; a property at Big Bass Lake, Clifton Twp., for $135,000.

• Walter Plucenik, individually and as attorney-in-fact for Margie Plucenik, Delray Beach, Fla., to Glenn F. and Jean A. Goetz, Throop; a property in Jefferson Twp. for $195,000.

STATE TAX LIENS

• Design a Card Org., Suite 100, 50 Alberigi Drive, Jessup; $1,063.33.

• Corey Bayo and Brandon O’Malley, individually and as partners trading as Bennys of Peckville, 1216 Main St., Peck­ville; $1,024.43.

• Linda L. Clark, trading as Sharp Dressed Dog, 408 Stephenson St., Duryea; $1,297.47.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/court