SCRANTON — Opponents of a 50-bed homeless shelter opening in the 500 block of Wyoming Avenue filed an appeal in Lackawanna County Court to overturn the zoning approval of the plan.

The zoning board on Dec. 11 approved a variance for Keystone Mission, a nonprofit Christian-based ministry on Olive Street, to convert a former auto-glass shop at 529-31 Wyoming Ave. into an overnight homeless shelter with a day center and support services.

In a phone interview Friday, mission CEO Justin Behrens said he hopes the zoning approval is upheld in county court.

“We are faith-based. God will either open this door or close this door when it comes to this building,” Behrens said.

The plan for an overnight shelter and day center would allow the mission to offer expanded and improved services, Behrens testified during the Dec. 11 zoning hearing.

The mission’s Olive Street site, which is not an overnight shelter, opens a dayroom respite for the homeless and provides other assistance. The plan for Wyoming Avenue aims to create a “transformation center,” a place where the homeless could find immediate help and ongoing support, training and assistance toward

reversing their homelessness, Behrens said Friday.

To that end, the mission hopes to work with community organizations, mental health and drug/alcohol agencies, career/job search entities and businesses to create a network of services and assistance, he said.

Though sympathetic to the plight of the homeless, neighboring businesses and property owners who objected during the Dec. 11 hearing said the 500 block of Wyoming Avenue, a light industrial zone that has been on an upswing, is not an appropriate spot for a homeless facility. They expressed concerns about homeless people loitering and affecting their businesses.

Their attorney, William Jones, argued the mission failed to meet the criteria for a variance.

The zoning board voted 4-1 to approve a variance for a shelter, with Chairman Shawn Walsh, Carri Newcomb, Paul Marcks and Bob Morris all in favor, and Bob Gattens opposed.

Afterward, neighbors became co-plaintiffs and, on Jan. 13, filed an appeal of the zoning approval.

The plaintiffs, also represented by Jones, include: D.G. Nicholas, owner of 601-607 Wyoming Ave.; James B. Nicholas, owner of 533-535 Wyoming Ave.; Thomas and Marilyn Voytek, owners of Tom’s Garage, 519 Wyoming Ave.; Paul Ezbianski, owner of Battaglia’s Sporting Goods, 501 Wyoming Ave.; Andy Truong, owner of City Nail salon, 521 Wyoming Ave.; and Mimi Equities LLC, a firm of Don Mammano, owner of 614 Wyoming Ave., a six-story former warehouse undergoing a conversion into a mixed-use, apartment/commercial-office building.

The appeal echoes Jones’ arguments before the zoning board, namely that the proposal does not qualify for variance, the mission did not prove the required hardship that the building could not have any other use in its zone, and the board erred in approving the variance.

Behrens disagrees and said the homeless already frequent that area, which has an unrelated shelter and soup kitchen nearby. He also cited a larger societal humanitarian need to care for the homeless.

“I truly believe this building is the best building for Scranton and the area,” for a homeless shelter/transformation center, Behrens said. “We are still focused, still dedicated on transforming lives, still pursuing this building.”

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100 x5185;

@jlockwoodTT on Twitter

A longtime superintendent from Susquehanna County will become a principal at Riverside Junior-Senior High School.

Bronson Stone, who became superintendent of Susquehanna Community at the age of 30 and led the district for 17 years, will become a Riverside Viking on July 1.

“Being superintendent is a 24-7, 365 (days) job,” said Stone, 47, of Ararat Twp. “I need to take a step back. I truly have the best time in my profession working with teachers and students. That’s how I want to finish my career.”

Riverside Superintendent Paul Brennan made the announcement Friday to faculty and staff, with the school board scheduled to approve the hiring next month. Stone will make $100,000 a year at Riverside, about $30,000 less than he made as superintendent. Stone — one of the longest-serving superintendents in Northeast Pennsylvania — notified the Susquehanna Community School Board, which he said plans to discuss the replacement process during its February meeting.

“I’m excited for our district

and the experience and energy that Bronson will bring coming in,” Brennan said.

Stone will serve as principal of seventh through ninth grades, replacing Robert Presley in that role. Presley will serve as principal for 10th through 12th grades. To improve academics, the district moved from a principal and vice principal to a two-principal system at the junior-senior building last year.

Presley replaces Principal Joseph Moceyunas, who will retire in June after 31 years in the district. The former math teacher became vice principal in 1997, and principal in 2005.

“This has been my life for 31 years,” Moceyunas, 55, said. “I’ve been blessed to be at Riverside with a great faculty and a great bunch of students. ... They are the reasons I came to work every day.”

As leader of the 800-student district in northeast Susquehanna County, Stone dealt with financial pressures, including increased charter school costs, and finding ways to improve achievement. For four years, the Susquehanna Community graduate acted as both superintendent and elementary school principal. For several years, he also handled discipline at the high school. With three children — a freshman in college, an eighth grader and a fourth grader — Stone said his job as superintendent often pulled him away from his family.

“I don’t want to miss out on anything of theirs again,” Stone said. “It’s an exciting time for me and my family. I can’t wait to go to a sporting event where I’m not the superintendent, but just a dad.”

Stone will continue to live in Ararat Twp., with his children remaining at Susquehanna Community. He called Riverside, which has about 1,500 students, a “progressive district” with a lot to offer.

“I want to help support their mission and provide something great for each and every student,” Stone said. “They want the best for their kids.”

Contact the writer:

shofius@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9133;

@hofiushallTT on Twitter

“Mr. Peanut will live forever in my heart,’’ says a local man who was Mr. Peanut on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre.

Harold D. Richards, 80, of Hanover Twp., said he is saddened by the decision of Planters Peanut Co. to kill off its iconic symbol.

“If not for my arthritis, I would still enjoy donning the peanut shell and walking with the Mr. Peanut cane,’’ Richards said Thursday.

Richards was Mr. Peanut for about four months in 1958. Then 17 years old, he put on the 30-pound peanut shell and strolled Public Square and South Main Street, twirling a cane, passing out two or three free peanuts per person and “hoping people would follow me to the store to buy more peanuts,’’ he said.

It was the pre-flood heyday of downtown Wilkes-Barre. Richards was one of several young people hired to become Mr. Peanut.

Richards even spoke at a Peanut Pals convention at Genetti’s Hotel and Conference Center when the Pals held their 33rd conclave in 2012. Richards also met Jolyne R. Daizell, great-niece of Amedeo Obici, co-founder of Planters Peanuts, which became a Wilkes-Barre institution.

Richards is a native of South Wilkes-Barre and, like many of his era, he left high school at Meyers so he could work to help his family. One day, he was walking on East Market Street when he spotted the peanut roasters turning in the Planters Peanut store at 15 E. Market St.

Entering the store, Richards said he asked the manager if any jobs were available, thinking that a peanut roaster or cook might be needed. Instead, the manager had Richards don the Mr. Peanut shell and a brief career was born.

High school kids were his tormentors, Richards said. They once hung him on a parking meter and he waited for a hefty man to walk by and help. The high schoolers often would take the entire bag of peanuts and run off, Richards said.

Richards later worked for Carter Footwear Co. and he served eight years in the 109th Field Artillery, Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He worked many years at Tobyhanna Army Depot and, after retiring from the depot, did maintenance work for Roadway Express in Pittston Twp. He is now on grandpop duty.

Our dad loved his Lexus LS. After retiring from his medical practice in the early ’90s, he and our mother would load up their LS 430 and head to sunny south Florida for a few months’ respite from the wintry, icebound Bluegrass region of Kentucky.

The big green LS was, as I recall, startlingly quiet at highway speeds — “silent as the grave,” as they say. Engine, road, wind and tire noise all were kept at bay by Lord knows how much sound-deadening material tucked into every conceivable nook and cranny.

Dad called it “the ooze-mobile,” and relished its relaxed and effortless ability to smoothly and silently gobble up the interstate miles.

He passed away a few years ago, and the memory of him and his fondness for the LS (he actually owned two before having to give up driving) popped into my head last week, though, while testing the latest manifestation of Lexus luxury — a 2020 LS 500 F Sport AWD.

As with previous generations, the fifth-generation LS is a big honker. Tipping the scale at nearly 2½ tons when equipped with AWD, measuring over 17 feet long, and loaded with the sort of creature comforts one expects at this price point, it remains an alluring choice for premium-car buyers. The look is now lower and sleeker, though, and the drivetrain and cabin brim with up-to-the-minute technology.

Gone are the big V-8 engines that powered earlier models, replaced now by a single engine choice — a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 putting out a rated 416 horsepower and towering 442 foot-pounds of torque. Power is channeled to either the rear wheels or an optional all-wheel-drive system via a swift-shifting 10-speed automatic with steering-wheel-mounted manual-mode shifter paddles.

There is but one trim level, as well, with prices starting at $75,450 for rear-wheel-drive models (add $3,220 for the all-wheel-drive system). Standard equipment includes the company’s Safety+ 2.0 suite of collision-avoidance, pedestrian sensing, lane-departure warning, and road-sign recognition systems, along with intelligent cruise control and automatic high beams. Also in the mix are keyless entry/ignition, power moonroof and sliding shade, leather upholstery, heated leather-trimmed steering wheel with paddle shifters, power-adjustable front seating, power rear sunshade, 12-speaker audio system, Apple CarPlay (no Android as yet, though), 12.3-inch LED display with satellite navigation and lots more.

In addition, buyers can choose from a list of seven factory options packages — Interior Upgrade, Luxury, Executive, Executive with Kiriko Cut Glass interior detailing, F Sport, Performance and Safety+ A enhanced safety system. These add varying degrees of luxuriousness (ultrasuede headliner, power-adjustable rear seats, semi-aniline leather-trimmed rear armrest, etc.) and performance.

As always, see your dealer for details.

Our all-the-way F Sport-trimmed LS 500 AWD tester plays to the big sedan’s sporting side, what with unique exterior appointments, a set of 20-inch five-spoke alloy wheels, 28-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, a fascinating moveable instrument cluster, larger front and rear disc brakes, adaptive suspension with variable spring rates, perforated leather upholstery and more. The $84,670 base price rose to $89,855 with the addition of a 24-inch-wide heads-up display, Mark Levinson 23-speaker sound system, panoramic glass roof and delivery.

There are four driver-selectable driving modes — gas-preserving Eco, Comfort, Sport and Custom — all of which had a marked influence on our tester’s performance. Comfort delivers the kind of ride my dad would recognize — smooth, quiet and unflustered. Dialing in the Sport mode results in a tighter suspension setting, an increased heft in steering effort and a quicker step from the engine and transmission. Road and tire roar are more pronounced due to the F Sport’s huge wheels and skinny summer-rated tires, too.

The big V-6 delivers serious thrust once the turbos spool up (turbo lag is negligible), all accompanied by a throaty exhaust howl. The 10-speed automatic zips through gear changes almost seamlessly. Acceleration is brisk, with 60 mph arriving in a manufacturer-listed 4.6 seconds. Handling is precise and sure but not “sporting” in the sense of the LS’s German competitors, all of which command steeper asking prices.

Spacious and beautifully appointed, the cabin offers adult-proportioned room to sprawl both up front and in the split-folding rear bench. Instrumentation is easy to read and operate, save for the oversensitive console-mounted infotainment touch-pad interface (a simple twist-and-push knob would work better here).

2020 Lexus LS 500 F Sport AWD

Vehicle type: Four-door, five-passenger, full-size AWD luxury sedan.

Base/as-tested prices: $84,670/$89,855.

Engine and transmission: 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged gasoline V-6 (416 horsepower and 442 foot-pounds torque), 10-speed automatic with steering-wheel-mounted manual-mode shifter paddles.

EPA estimates: 18 mpg city, 27 mpg highway, 21 mpg combined.

The good: Smooth, quiet ride; leather-lined and cut-glass luxury abounds in beautifully appointed cabin; powerful twin-turbo V-6 delivers vigorous acceleration; arresting exhaust howl under hard acceleration; 10-speed automatic runs through its gears with near seamless precision; creature comforts and technological gimmicks galore for both first- and second-row occupants; handsome and low-profile exterior design; F Sport package broadens the LS’s portfolio with a dash of performance; good fuel economy for a large sedan.

The bad: Lags the Germans in overall sporty performance; F Sport suspension and 20-inch alloy wheels make for a busier ride than regular model; trunk volume not particularly impressive; turbocharger takes a moment to spool up.

Bottom line: The most-Lexusy vehicle in the Lexus lineup still reps everything the premium brand has stood for.

HARRISBURG — With budget season approaching, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is developing a plan to help deal with aging school buildings plagued by environmental problems, including lead paint and asbestos insulation, his office said.

Wolf must deliver a budget proposal to the Legislature on Feb. 4, and lawmakers who are pressing for state aid to address what they call a massive and growing problem have asked the Democratic governor to include money in the spending package.

Wolf has discussed the need in the past, saying that a sprawling infrastructure plan he floated last year could have been a source of help.

But that plan — a $4.5 billion infrastructure proposal to be paid off by imposing a tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production — never saw a vote in the Republican-controlled Legislature, and Wolf’s office said he

will try a new strategy to deal with deteriorating school buildings.

“Gov. Wolf remains committed to putting significant resources to protect kids from these harmful contaminants and will be proposing a new comprehensive plan in the near future,” Wolf’s office said in a statement.

In the Legislature, Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler and Sen. Vincent Hughes, both Philadelphia Democrats, have introduced legislation backed by labor unions, public school advocates and rank-and-file Democrats to marshal $125 million for the cause.

Wolf has sent about $12 million in aid to Philadelphia’s school district the past couple years, but his office said he recognizes that is not nearly enough “and this crisis for our kids demands a statewide, substantial investment.”

Schools practically everywhere in Pennsylvania are old. Most were built between 1950 and 1959, and more than 200 were built before 1950, Hughes said. They have lead pipes, lead paint, asbestos insulation and mold, he said.

“Think about sending your child to a school that has that kind of contamination: lead or asbestos or mold, or it’s raining inside, not just outside, but inside from water leaking through the roof,” Hughes said.

Teachers are airing similar concerns in Scranton, a school district struggling with severe deficits. Some sinks and water fountains are shut off because of concerns over lead levels, while the teachers’ union president, Rosemary Boland, said teachers have urgent concerns over asbestos and mold hazards.

“So if the governor and Legislature aren’t going to do something to help schoolchildren in this state, well then who is?” Boland said.

The matter has been particularly visible recently in Philadelphia, where the district closed six schools in recent months to clean up asbestos and promised to step up its response to environmental health hazards.

The city’s teachers’ union sued over it Monday, several months after a longtime teacher contracted mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer associated with inhalation of asbestos fibers.

Fiedler said she has heard from worried teachers who live in her district.

“And now these same folks are wondering whether they’re going to get the same diagnosis,” Fiedler said.

Pennsylvania, beset by post-recession budget deficits, shut down a roughly $300 million-a-year school construction program five years ago, leaving even the poorest school districts since then to pay for improvement projects themselves.

Ending that construction money compounded longstanding and deep inequities in Pennsylvania’s distribution of state school aid that has underfunded districts that are poor and educate high proportions of children who are minorities, Hughes said.

“You can see the inequity and the underfunding easiest when you look at the infrastructure,” Hughes said.

Mark DiRocco, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, said every region of the state is struggling with old school buildings.

Two summers ago, a mold outbreak after a humid summer struck school buildings across the state, DiRocco said.

For decades, the state’s school construction aid had helped districts pay for major projects, with poor districts able to draw down a larger proportional reimbursement.

Since the state ended the aid, lawmakers rewrote the program’s guidelines to allow it to help with smaller projects, too, such as replacing a roof or a boiler, DiRocco said.

But, many districts don’t have the money to pay for the projects themselves, DiRocco said.

“Most districts are doing their best to keep them patched up, doing the small projects as they can afford them,” DiRocco said. “But as far as the big projects, many of them have been holding off in hopes that the state will come through down the road.”

Cinemark 20 & XD, Moosic: 1917 (R): 11:20 a.m., 12:50, 3:50, 5:15, 6:50, 9:50; Bad Boys For Life (R): 11:40 a.m., 2, 2:40, 5:40, 7:40, 8:50; in XD: 1:10, 4:10, 7:15, 10:15; Dolittle (PG): 11 a.m., 12:20, 1:40, 3:10, 4:20, 6, 7, 8:40, 9:40; Ford v. Ferrari (PG-13): 5:45, 9:20; Frozen 2 (PG): 10:45 a.m., 1:30, 4:30, 7:20, 10; The Gentlemen (R): 11 a.m., 1:50, 2:20, 4:40, 7:30, 8:20, 10:20; The Grudge (R): 11:30 a.m., 5, 10:45; Jojo Rabbit (PG-13): 11:10 a.m., 8:30; Jumanji: The Next Level (PG-13): 11:45 a.m., 2:45, 6:10, 9:10; Just Mercy (PG-13): 10:50 a.m., 2:15, 5:30, 9; Knives Out (PG-13): 12:10, 3:15, 6:20, 9:30; Like A Boss (R): 1, 3:30, 5:50, 8:10, 10:40; Little Women (2019) (PG): 12:45, 4, 7:10, 10:20; Parasite (R): 2:10, 5:20; Spies In Disguise (PG): 12:15, 2:50; Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (PG-13): 11:50 a.m., 3:20, 6:40, 10; The Turning (PG-13): 12:30, 3, 5:30, 8, 10:30; Uncut Gems (R): 6:30, 9:45; Underwater (PG-13): noon, 2:30, 5:10, 7:50, 10:30; Weathering With You (Japanese with English Subtitles) (PG-13): 12:40, 3:40.

Dietrich Theater, Tunkhannock: 1917 (R): 12:45, 3:45, 6:45, 9:30; Bad Boys for Life (R): 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 9:35; Dolittle (PG): 7, 9:20; Marriage Story (R): 7:15; The Two Popes (PG-13): 9:40.

Scranton Art Haus, Scranton: 1917 (R): 12:45, 3:30, 6:15, 9; Bad Boys for Life (R): 12:05, 3:40, 6:55, 10:05; Dolittle (PG): 12:10, 3:35, 6:05, 8:35; Jumanji: The Next Level (PG-13): 12:45, 4, 6:45, 9:40; Just Mercy (PG-13): 12:20, 3:20, 6:20, 9:20; Little Women (2019) (PG): 12:10, 3:05, 6:15, 9:10; The Turning (PG-13): 12:40, 3, 7, 9:15; Underwater (PG-13): 12:25, 3:40, 6:05, 9:20.

FOR UPDATED SHOWTIMES, check with local theaters.

Republican candidates for a local congressional seat dismissed a top national Republican’s endorsement of candidate Earl Granville as a move that will matter little when it’s time to vote.

Luzerne County Councilman Harry Haas, 44, of Kingston, said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s endorsement of Granville shows “some candidates have really good consultants” and the backing of “local power brokers and power brokers in (Washington,) D.C.”

Haas called it “offensive to a lot of people” and said it aims to usurp what voters in Northeast Pennsylvania want.

“I’m really interested only in the endorsement of the voters of the district,” he said. “I think at the end of the day, that’s what really matters. ... I think at the end of the day, local Republicans are going to choose the candidate who will best represent them in Washington.”

Haas, Granville and four others — Michael Marsicano, Jim Bognet, Mike Cammisa and Teddy Daniels — want to win the Republican nomination in the 8th Congressional District race in the April 28 primary election. The winner likely will face incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright of Moosic.

On Monday, McCarthy, a California Republican, endorsed Granville, who lost his left leg after a roadside bomb exploded in June 2008 while he served in the Army in Afghanistan. McCarthy credited Granville’s service to the country and advocacy for fellow veterans and called him “exactly the type of leader” the district and nation need. Some analysts believe McCarthy is trying to steer financial support to Granville and scare off his challengers.

Marsicano, 71, of Hazle Twp., a former Hazleton mayor who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat against Rep. Lou Barletta in 2016, scoffed at McCarthy’s endorsement.

“The endorsement of who?” Marsicano asked. “He doesn’t live here and he doesn’t vote here and he’s from California. ... Let the people here make the decision.”

Bognet, 44, also a Hazle Twp. resident, who recently resigned as a top communications official for the federal Export-Import Bank, declined to comment on McCarthy’s endorsement, saying he’s focused solely on beating Cartwright. He said he will prove he has the campaign team and community support to win election.

“We’re going to beat Matt Cartwright,” he said.

Cammisa, 24, a Hazleton resident, said McCarthy should have stayed out of the race and let local voters decide, but his endorsement won’t matter much anyway.

“McCarthy’s in D.C.,” Cammisa said. “I don’t think he understands what goes on in the district. ... The voters are smart. They know what matters to them. Let them figure out who they want to support.”

Daniels, 44, of West Wyoming, a former police officer and a decorated veteran also wounded in the Afghanistan war, refused to comment on the endorsement.

Attempts to reach Granville were unsuccessful, but his campaign consultant, Vince Galko, asked if the other candidates would have turned down McCarthy’s endorsement.

“Earl is not in this race to attack other Republicans,” Galko said. “He is in to defeat Matt Cartwright and get Nancy Pelosi out of the speaker’s chair.”

Contact the writer:

bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9147;

@BorysBlogTT on Twitter

MARRIAGE LICENSE

• Gregory George Duffy, Scranton, and Joanna Grasso, Old Forge.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

• Barry and Susan Phillips, Taylor, to Alejandro Palada, Scranton; a property at 120-122 S. Fillmore Ave., Scranton, for $70,000.

• Steven G. and Karen Mancuso, Dickson City, to Jason P. and Lisa Perna, Throop; a property at 803 Pancoast St., Dickson City, for $225,000.

• Douglas and Kathy Robbins, and George and Darnell Garcia, Ringwood, N.J., to Stoneledge II LLC, Wayne County; two parcels in Carbondale, for $99,900.

• Nathan Keisling and Victoria Frosini, South Abington Twp., to Joseph P. and Lisa B. Shovlin, Clarks Summit; a property in South Abington Twp., for $365,000.

• Kenneth Frank and Lynn Marino to David M. Lindsey; a property at 735 Peach St., Blakely, for $90,000.

• Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., per attorney-in-fact Radian Settlement Services Inc., Carrollton, Texas, to Salvatore Domenick Cognetti Jr., Clarks Green; a property at 1615 Sanderson Ave., Scranton, for $135,475.

• The Presbytery of Lackawanna, Scranton, to TWalsh Solutions LLC, Scranton; a property at 325-327 Third St., Jessup, for $50,000.

• Attorney Daniel L. Penetar Jr., master-in-partition for Leonard W. Rafalko Jr.. Leane A. Rafalko and Janine L. Rafalko-Hoffman, Scranton, to Robert P. and Dina A. Fisch, Scranton; a property at 1618 Davinci Lane, Newton Twp., for $145,000.

• Logyn E. Pezak, now by marriage Logyn E. Musheno, and Matthew John Musheno, Peckville, to Eric J. Fino, Avoca; a property at 807 First St., Blakely, for $173,000.

• Charles E. and Sylvia D. Smith, Dalton, Mass., to Skyland Homes LLC, Wantage, N.J.; a property at 940 Woodlawn St., Scranton, for $110,000.

• Robert L. Jr. and Kelly A. Flick, Johnstown, to William F. Golden, Scranton; a property at 550 Clay Ave., Scranton, for $88,000.

• Gail A. Battle, Pennsylvania, to Cassandra R. White, Pennsylvania; a property at 625 Edella Road, South Abington Twp., for $139,050.

• Florence Wiorkowski, Scott Twp., to Adam and Kelly Vogt, Scott Twp.; a parcel in Scott Twp., for $128,000.

DIVORCES SOUGHT

• Anthony J. Scalzo, Throop, v. Melissa Scalzo, Throop; married June 18, 2016; Marjorie DeSanto Barlow, attorney.

• Shantell Georgell Peters, Scranton, v. Jerorle Danvan Lawman, Scranton; married May 11, 2019, in Scranton; pro se.

• Kyrra Lynn Joyce-Bernavage, Scranton, v. William Martin Bernavage Jr., Scranton; married April 18, 2013, in Las Vegas; pro se.

• Brandon Dougherty, South Abington Twp., v. Shiori Dougherty, South Abington Twp.; married July 13, 2017, in Tokyo; pro se.

• Laurel A. Williams, Clarks Summit, v. Richard R. Williams, Clarks Summit; married Aug. 3, 2009; John R. Williams Jr., attorney.

• Ryon St. Louis, Peckville, v. Rebecca Lyn Golaszweski, Archbald; married Dec. 26, 2015, in Lackawanna County; Anne Marie Howells, attorney.

DIVORCE DECREES

• Eric Shrive v. Karla Shrive

• Sierra Love, aka Delucia, v. David Delucia.

• Shea Gibbons v. Briandria Goodsby.

• Joseph Oslowski v. Joanne Oslowski.

• Jonathan Slocum v. Lori Slocum.

LAWSUITS

• J.T. Walsh v. Joseph J. Macciocco, Julia Macciocco, Macciocco Corp., Villa Maria Restaurant, Villa Maria II Banquet Facility, Jason May, the Angry Irishman, James Mullen and Michelle Slack, seeking in excess of $50,000, plus costs, interest and any other relief, for injuries suffered Dec. 15, 2018, in a fall on the defendants’ premises; Paul G. Batyko III, attorney.

• Patricia Fitzsimmons, 300 Martin St., Forest City, v. Wegmans Food Market Inc., 1315 Scranton-Carbondale Highway, Scranton, seeking in excess of $50,000, plus interest and costs, for injuries suffered Jan. 27, 2018, in a fall at the defendant’s premises; Christopher A. Piazza, attorney.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/court

SCRANTON

The Scranton Shade Tree Commission reminds individuals and companies that it is unlawful to engage in the business of tree removal, tree pruning, stump removal and tree planting without first registering with the state attorney general’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The requirement, mandated under the state Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, applies to work performed on both private and publicly owned property, city forester Tony Santoli said.

Vendors of tree services may contact the attorney general’s office at 717-772-2425 or by email at hic@attorneygeneral.gov for information.

— STAFF REPORT

Jan. 25, 1945

Fire destroys theater and garages in Clarks Summit

Fire companies from Clarks Summit, Dalton and Factoryville fought the flames and cold in their attempt to put down a fire at the Summit Theater, Lewis Motor Co. and the Fahringer Garage in the early morning of Jan. 25.

The three Clarks Summit buildings were also home to apartments and other businesses on the upper floors. Two women who lived above Lewis Motor both made it out of the building safely but were left homeless. The fire also claimed the Summit Printing Co., the office for the Lackawanna County Agricultural Conservation Association, a doctor’s office and 14 cars stored inside the garages.

It was believed that an overheated furnace caused the fire. The damage was estimated at $100,000.

Prep clinches first half

The Scranton Prep basketball team captured the first-half championship of the City Junior High School league by defeating the West Scranton Reserves 25-14.

Dick McHugh led the team with 10 points followed by Dick Jordan with 5.

Prep’s team was coached by Bernard “Bucky” Dorfman.

Shopping list

Whole chickens were 39 cents per pound; sausage, 37 cents per pound; ground beef, 27 cents per pound; a dozen eggs, 50 cents; two bunches of carrots, 17 cents; a large head of broccoli, 25 cents; a 16-ounce jar of beets, 13 cents; 2 pounds of Eight O’Clock coffee, 41 cents; and a dozen doughnuts, 17 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.

Behind the Business is a weekly feature taking an inside look at local businesses. To suggest a company or entrepreneur, email business@timesshamrock.com.

Business: Traver’s Auction Co.

Location: 56 Dorchester Drive, Dallas

Owners: Steve and Diane Traver

Established: 1994

Number of employees: 4

Tell us about your business: Traver’s Auctions has been liquidating estate merchandise and specializing in antiques since 1994.

With just a handful of employees, the company deals with furniture, artwork, appliances, even automobiles.

What is your secret to success? Thanks to the company’s reputation for honesty, its community involvement and the trust it has built over the last 26 years, the Travers are confident they will continue attracting new customers and measuring success well into the new decade.

What is your biggest challenge? The Travers say the company’s primary challenge is that because of the pace of society today, younger people often have difficulty finding time to attend their regular Tuesday night auctions.

Behind the Business is a weekly feature taking an inside look at local businesses. To suggest a company or entrepreneur, email business@timesshamrock.com.

Business: Traver’s Auction Co.

Location: 56 Dorchester Drive, Dallas

Owners: Steve and Diane Traver

Established: 1994

Number of employees: 4

Tell us about your business: Traver’s Auctions has been liquidating estate merchandise and specializing in antiques since 1994.

With just a handful of employees, the company deals with furniture, artwork, appliances, even automobiles.

What is your secret to success? Thanks to the company’s reputation for honesty, its community involvement and the trust it has built over the last 26 years, the Travers are confident they will continue attracting new customers and measuring success well into the new decade.

What is your biggest challenge? The Travers say the company’s primary challenge is that because of the pace of society today, younger people often have difficulty finding time to attend their regular Tuesday night auctions.

Annie Heyen said she never felt as empowered as she did Friday afternoon, surrounded by tens of thousands of anti-abortion advocates who gathered in Washington, D.C., for the 47th annual March for Life.

Attending the annual rally for the first time, Heyen, a 20-year-old junior at Marywood University, said the National Mall was overflowing with people eager to add to a chorus of anti-abortion voices. The march is held each year on or around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

“Life is precious and every person is valuable,” said Heyen, who, along with her friends, traveled to the march on a bus trip organized by the Diocese of Scranton. “Every person is a gift to this world.”

The large crowd kept Heyen from getting close to the stage where President Donald Trump spoke, becoming the first president to address March for Life demonstrators in person in the event’s history. Heyen said she heard echoes of Trump’s speech and applause that erupted when he delivered certain lines.

“Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House,” said Trump, touting his record of conservative judicial nominations and reiterating his commitment to veto any legislation that weakens anti-abortion policies.

Heyen said what she could hear of the president’s speech was simple and to the point.

“It comes down to the meaning of why we were all created,” she said. “I believe that all people were created with a purpose ... and nobody should be denied that purpose.”

Also attending the march was Francis McHale, a member of the Scranton chapter of the anti-abortion group Pennsylvanians for Human Life, who captained a bus of more than 50 local people who traveled to D.C. for the event.

“I’ve been coming down here since 1985 ... and I’ve never seen this much excitement,” said McHale, who estimated hundreds of thousands of people attended the march.

“The mission of the movement is to protect every unborn human life from conception to natural birth.”

An anti-abortion Democrat, McHale celebrated Trump’s appearance at the march.

“He spoke my language today,” McHale said of Trump. “I was very happy to see the president of the United States there.”

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570-348-9141;

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An Old Forge man in a hurry to get to work faces DUI charges after police say he ignored a school bus stop sign, hit a Mid Valley student with his car and did not stop.

Charles Hope, 48, 210 S. Main St., hit a child crossing Sanderson Street and Memorial Drive in Throop with his red Chevrolet Blazer around 2:48 p.m. Thursday, according to the criminal complaint.

The student suffered injuries to his left hand, leg and knee and was taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center, police said.

The bus driver, John Longo, told officers the school bus stop sign and warning lights were activated when Hope’s Blazer passed the bus in the left oncoming traffic lane. Hope was heading toward Dickson City, said Throop Police Chief Andy Kerecman.

Dickson City Police Chief William Bilinski recognized Hope’s name and told officers the name of the gas station where he works. Officers took him into custody there.

‘I was in a hurry’

“I was in a hurry to get to work; the school bus stopped very fast and I had to go around it,” Hope told officers, according to the criminal complaint.

Hope, who acknowledged to police that the school bus stop sign was activated when he went around it, said he saw the student fall next to his vehicle when he passed but “didn’t think he hit the kid.”

When officers asked why he didn’t stop, Hope, who seemed confused while being questioned, said he saw the child get up.

Police said the Blazer had scuff marks on its hood and driver’s side bumper where Longo said the student was hit.

Test for drugs, alcohol

Hope also admitted to having “spice” — synthetic marijuana — in his vehicle but said he did not smoke it, police said. He was taken to Regional Hospital of Scranton for a blood sample to be tested for drugs and alcohol.

He is charged with driving under the influence, meeting or overtaking a school bus, failing to stop and render aid, careless driving and possession of drug paraphernalia, among other charges.

He was unable to post $50,000 bail and is in Lackawanna County Prison. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Feb. 6.

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kbolus@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5114;

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Chandra, a black-spotted pot-bellied pig, is recovering at the Indraloka Animal Sanctuary from surgery after a good Samaritan found him injured Thursday on the side of the Morgan Highway.

“He’s the apple of everyone’s eye this morning,” Indra Lahiri, sanctuary founder, said Friday.

A woman was driving down Route 307 in Lackawanna County when she noticed Chandra tangled in the bushes on the side of the road near a cemetery, Lahiri said. The woman flagged down other cars, whose drivers helped her get the injured pig into her car.

She took him to the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter around 1:20 p.m., and workers there rushed him to the Carbondale Veterinary Hospital after noticing there was material embedded in his stomach area and back, said Ashley Wolo, shelter executive director.

“Our hearts broke immediately, just looking at the pig,” she said. “We just knew it wasn’t a good situation.”

The vet surgically removed some sort of metal that was embedded as deep as his muscles, said Lahiri.

Chandra — which is Sanskrit for “moon” and was Lahiri’s father’s middle name — now requires around-the-clock care while he heals from surgery that left a wide, deep wound.

“It’s a serious wound,” she said.

Wolo said that while Chandra appeared scared Thursday night, he’s comfortable at the sanctuary’s Mehoopany location and seems to be doing a lot better.

The vet estimated the pig is 5 or 6 years old and about 20 to 25 pounds underweight, Wolo said.

Lahiri said Chandra has other ailments, including runny eyes and issues with his back legs.

The vet said Chandra might never be 100%. With the right help, he’ll recover, Lahiri said.

“We can get him to the point where he will be happy,” she said.

The sanctuary and Griffin Pond are working with their humane officers to identify who injured Chandra and whether there are any other animals suffering similar fates.

Anyone with information should call the Indraloka Animal Sanctuary, 570-763-2908, or the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter, 570-586-3700. To donate for Chandra’s care, visit www.indraloka.org or the sanctuary’s Facebook page.

Contact the writer:

kbolus@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5114;

@kbolusTT on Twitter

A man awaiting trial on charges of stealing almost $17,000 from an American Legion post in Scranton now stands accused of a different kind of theft.

The Lackawanna County district attorney’s office filed stolen valor charges Friday against Christopher Crawford, 31, accusing the West Scranton man of misrepresenting his military service and his status as a veteran.

Although Crawford portrayed himself to American Legion officers and others as a combat veteran, including displaying a Combat Infantry Badge, the Army discharged him under “other than honorable conditions” after he went absent without leave during boot camp in 2007, investigators said.

Crawford was not immediately arraigned on the new charges, which include one count each of misrepresentation of military service or honors and misrepresentation of decoration.

Crawford was originally arrested last summer and accused of stealing more than $16,700 from American Legion Post 568 in Minooka by using post debit cards to make unauthorized cash withdrawals and purchases between March and August.

At the time, Crawford served as Post 568’s executive officer in charge of memberships and recruitment after transferring from a post in Pittsburgh.

District Attorney Mark Powell described the conduct in the case — masquerading as a combat veteran to infiltrate and steal funds from an American Legion post — as “breathtakingly brazen and unprecedented in my almost 30 years of practicing criminal law in Lackawanna County.”

“It’s an affront to every veteran who has defended our great nation,” he said.

The district attorney’s office obtained Crawford’s complete military record after American Legion officials told investigators no documentation could be found in their files to substantiate Crawford’s status as a veteran or his eligibility for membership in the organization.

The record indicates Crawford enlisted in the Army in March 2007 but served only two months and 25 days in boot camp before going AWOL from Fort Benning, Georgia, in July 2007, Detective Lisa Bauer wrote in the arrest affidavit. The Army issued a warrant for his arrest the following month.

Crawford surrendered at Fort Drum, New York, in November 2007, and was transferred to Fort Knox, Kentucky, to face possible court-martial. In December 2007, he received a discharge under other than honorable conditions in lieu of a trial by court-martial, the affidavit said.

American Legion officers said Crawford joined Post 568 under the guise of a combat veteran, Bauer wrote in arrest papers. He wore a hat displaying a Combat Infantry Badge, which is awarded only to infantrymen who have engaged in active ground combat, and held himself out to be a veteran of war.

In addition, Crawford declared veterans status on his application to the state Department of Transportation for a nondriver’s photo identification card, the affidavit said.

David Eisele, of the county Office of Veterans Affairs, told investigators that, based on the circumstances of his discharge, Crawford is not considered a military veteran and cannot claim veteran status.

Crawford is jailed in Lackawanna County Prison on $95,000 bail.

Contact the writer:

dsingleton@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9132

The annual Splashin’ with Compassion polar plunge was held Saturday at Montage Mountain.

The event was founded in 2014 by Friends of Shannon McDonough, a nonprofit organization inspired by Shannon McDonough, a Scranton native who died from colon cancer at age 23.

The plunge was organized to bring the community together in support of young people battling cancer in Northeast Pennsylvania.

For information on Friends of Shannon McDonough, visit friendsofshannonmcdonough.com or the Facebook event page.

SCRANTON — If Scranton retiree Norma Jeffries ever throws her hat in the ring for elective office, she’ll be better prepared thanks to Campaign School hosted by the League of Women Voters of Lackawanna County on Saturday at the University of Scranton.

The league for years has been offering the seminar for anyone interested in or considering running for any public office in Pennsylvania at the state, county, municipal or school board levels. The sessions impart nuts-and-bolts, practical information on matters of election rules and procedures, and strategies and methods of effective campaigning.

Topics of Saturday’s session included compliance with election petitions and campaign filings, poll-worker roles and duties, how to connect with voters, fundraising, using media wisely and strategic use of social media.

Jeffries, who frequently attends meetings of Scranton’s city council and school board, said she’s not necessarily interested in running for office but wanted to learn more about the mechanics of doing so. For her, a main takeaway of the seminar included “know your audience; know why you want to run.”

“I’m just continuously investigating how government operates — how do you get involved in politics, how do you do the fundraising, what are all the ins-and-outs of becoming a politician,” Jeffries said. “Am I going to run for anything? I don’t know what the future holds for me. But I do know that I want to be able to be educated and knowledgeable about the process.”

About two dozen people attended, coming from Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Wayne and Wyoming counties, said organizer Diana Dakey, a league director.

The league’s Campaign School generally had been held every two years, starting around 2001. Last year’s session was geared for candidates seeking election in 2019, but the league recognized that many attendees had decided more than a year earlier to run for office. So, the league decided to offer a consecutive seminar in 2020.

“People are thinking ahead about running for office. They’re here to get the basics,” Dakey said.

Conor Nealon, 20, of Duryea, a political science and strategic communications student at the University of Scranton, said he’s not considering running for any office, at least not yet, but he enjoys campaigns and would consider helping someone else with their campaign. He found the seminar very informative.

“I’m really interested in local politics. I saw this event come up and thought it would be a really cool opportunity to learn and meet and network with some people that have the same interest as me,” Nealon said.

The 5½-hour seminar concluded with the attendees hearing insights and personal reflections from three area elected officials: Scranton School Board President Katie Gilmartin, elected in 2017 on a reform platform; newly elected Dunmore Borough Councilwoman Janet Brier, who won an underdog write-in campaign that rolled over two incumbents in the 2019 general election; and newly elected Wayne County Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer, the first female commissioner in that county, who captured victory in 2019 by only 10 votes.

Each spoke about their own unique circumstances and reasons for seeking elective office, and how they waged their winning campaigns.

Brier mounted an “impossible,” two-month-long write-in campaign, propelled by her dissatisfaction with what she viewed as flip-flop betrayals of two incumbent councilmen’s actions advancing a proposed long-term expansion of the Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore — when they previously voiced anti-expansion stances.

Cramer and Gilmartin each previously attended “Ready to Run” programs at the university. Those programs, which aimed to spur more women to run for public office, were less about the mechanics of campaigning offered in Campaign School, but valuable nonetheless.

“It’s a real pleasure to be here because I’ve attended these sessions in the past. They were extremely helpful to me. And yes, I’m now known as that gal who won by 10 votes,” Cramer said.

Cramer also told how she decided against raising gender as a campaign issue, even though a victory by her would be historic. Close friends and supporters told her voters ultimately did not care about a candidate’s gender; they cared more about a candidate’s vision. So, “I kept it (gender) out my campaign completely,” Cramer said. She believes that “just connecting with people” and listening to them made the difference.

Cramer urged any attendees on the fence about running for office to take the plunge.

“If anyone is considering it, I just want to leave you with this thought: Do it,” Cramer said.

Gilmartin said candidates must realize that winning election is only half the battle, followed by the actual governing.

“When you do decide to do this, you really have to have very good reasons,” Gilmartin said. “You have to understand that this is so much more than the running for office.”

This year’s primary election in Pennsylvania is April 28. Candidates may circulate and file nomination petitions beginning Tuesday.

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jlockwood@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9100 x5185;

@jlockwoodTT on Twitter

Then circa 1910:

The Catholic Women’s Club was established with the support of Bishop Hoban in 1900 as a philanthropic organization for working women. The club featured public rooms for reading and recreation, instructional courses for young girls, offered lectures and concerts, and also served as clearinghouse for families looking to hire domestic servants. In 1908, the club moved into the former home of Edward Spencer, offering beds for 24 residents as well as facilities to serve 300 dinners each day. The larger space enabled an expansion of membership to include married and single women from Pittston to Forest City, providing a comfortable space for working women to come during the day or take advantage of classes in sewing, embroidery and practical cooking.

Now circa 2020:

The club continued to host lectures, receptions and card parties through the 1930s, but activities and membership dwindled. In 1950, the club reorganized as a fundraising group to raise money for various charities and moved its headquarters into the Hotel Casey. In 1966, the club changed its name to the Catholic Women’s Club and used office space in the Diocese of Scranton’s Chancery building. The Victorian clubhouse at Wyoming Avenue and Mulberry Street was razed to make way for Cathedral High School, which was dedicated in 1958 by Bishop Hannan. In 1969, Cathedral was renamed Bishop Hannan High School to reflect a broader student body no longer just from Cathedral parish. Today, the building is the Diocese of Scranton Pastoral Center.

— Research courtesy of Lackawanna Historical Society

Most people realize skipping medications can be hazardous to your health.

If you’re a Medicare patient, you’re putting your local pharmacist in peril, too.

Each time a prescription goes unclaimed, a pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, is keeping score. Weeks or months later, the pharmacy will get whacked with a penalty that’s partly based on refill rates, reducing their profit or, in some cases, leaving the pharmacy with a loss.

Dunmore pharmacist Tom DePietro recently dispensed a medication and made a $39 profit. A month later, a PBM took back $239, leaving him with a $200 loss.

“It’s ridiculous,” DePietro said. “The fee was more than the drug cost.”

His loss is one of the more glaring examples of how an obscure fee policy within the Medicare system is crippling independent pharmacists’ finances.

Coupled with a drastic reduction in reimbursement rates PBMs pay pharmacies, the lost revenue is threatening to put many pharmacies out of business, the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association warns.

One of the most pressing issues is the fees PBMs charge relating to prescriptions filled for Medicare patients, known as Direct and Indirect Remuneration,

or DIR, fees.

PBMs manage prescription drug programs for Medicare, Medicaid and insurers that cover private businesses and government employees. They reimburse pharmacies for drugs they dispense, then bill the insurers.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

created DIR fees so the government could track and recoup the value of rebates and other price concessions PBMs earn on drug prices, which the PBMs pass through to Medicare.

Greg Lopes,

spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Care and Management Association, the Washington, D.C.-based trade group representing PBMs, said DIR fees generate significant savings for Medicare, which translates to reduced premiums enrollees pay for drug coverage, known as Medicare Part D.

“Savings for the federal government are projected to save enrollees in standalone Part D plans $48.7 billion on their premiums over the next 10 years,” Lopes said in a statement.

The problem, some pharmacists say, is over the years DIR fees have

transformed beyond rebates to include other fees. The most contentious change involves performance measures for pharmacies.

One key measure is how compliant their customers are in taking their medications. The idea is to get pharmacists to interact with patients to encourage them to take medications to ensure their health.

DePietro and other pharmacists say they take their patients’ health seriously and work hard to encourage compliance. They say they are being unfairly penalized for situations over which they have little control.

“How am I supposed to control how often a patient takes their medication?” asked pharmacist Michael Ruane Jr.

of the Prescription Center in Scranton. “If they miss a month, my pharmacy takes a hit for that. ... When you have hundreds or thousands of patients, these requirements they set are unattainable and unreasonable.”

Pharmacists are also penalized if a patient is not on a certain type of medication the PBM believes they should take for their medical condition, Ruane said.

For example, it is recommended diabetics be on a cholesterol-controlling medication.

“They want the pharmacy to call the doctor and recommend a cholesterol medication,” Ruane said. “If the patient says no and doesn’t get on it, I get penalized.”

DePietro said pharmacists also are given little explanation for how DIR fees are calculated. The $200 loss he recently took was attributed to a specific prescription, but there was nothing unusual about the case, so he does not believe the fee was directly related to that script.

Despite concerns, the pharmacists said they could live with the fees until recently, when they increased astronomically.

A recent analysis by the CMS revealed DIR fees rose 45,000% from 2010 to 2017. The agency said a large portion of the increase is tied to increased fees collected based on pharmacy performance.

DePietro said his fees doubled between 2017 and 2019, even though his sales remained about the same.

“My fees increased without doing anything different,” DiPietro said. “It’s like swiping a credit card and not knowing what the fee is that’s tied to the card.”

Jim Gaudino, owner of Cook’s Pharmacy in Kingston, said his fees also skyrocketed.

“When we first started, they might have been a few thousand a year. Now, all of a sudden, you’re talking $14,000 a month,” Gaudino said. “Every year, they are more and more.”

The pharmacists said another issue is they are blindsided by the fees, which are extracted retroactively after the sale has already gone through. They do not know what they will be charged until weeks and sometimes months later when they get a quarterly report from the PBMs.

“You can’t plan for them,” Gaudino said. “You count on that money to pay payroll and expenses, and all of a sudden it’s a fairly sizeable decrease.”

The issue has gotten the attention of the U.S. Senate. In September, members of the Senate Finance Committee wrote to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requesting it reform the DIR system.

“DIR fees must be stopped to prevent harm to patients and to the pharmacies that serve them — harm that is egregious and escalating,” the senators said.

PCMA cautions lawmakers about eliminating the fees. Lopes cited a CMS analysis that said eliminating DIR fees would increase Part D premiums by $5.7 billion and increase taxpayer costs by $16.6 billion over 10 years.

As policymakers consider reforms, local pharmacists saying they are doing the best they can to survive. The National Community Pharmacists Association warns that something must be done soon.

A recent survey the organization conducted revealed 58% of independent pharmacists say they are somewhat likely or very likely to close their doors in the next two years if things do not improve.

“These are staggering numbers,” Douglas Hoey, CEO of the pharmacists association, said in a recent press release. “Local pharmacies are on the brink, and this should be a blaring siren for every policymaker in Washington who cares about these local businesses, the jobs they provide and the patients they serve.”

Contact the writer:

tbesecker@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9137;

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