In a move almost 20 years in the making, the post office serving South Abington Twp. has a new address.

The Chinchilla Post Office will open for business today at 555 Northern Blvd., in the same building as McCarthy Flowers, just across Shady Lane from its longtime location.

The move will not affect business hours, said Karen Mazurkiewicz, spokeswoman with the U.S. Postal Service Central Pennsylvania and Western New York district.

The retail portion of the office will be open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays and closed on Sunday. One change in hours involves access to the lobby area of the new location, where post office boxes are located, which will be open 7 days a week.

“At the new site, they will have 24-hour access to their post office boxes,” Ms. Mazurkiewicz said. “That’s definitely a benefit to

customers.”

The post office had become a fixture at a temporary location, a trailer at 102 Shady Lane next door to the South Abington Twp. Municipal Building, for about 18 years. The post office used to be in a Northern Boulevard shopping center but had to move in 1998, when the lease there expired.

Finding a permanent place and moving brought some challenges. In 2008, the U.S. Postal Service entered a lease agreement with Brian McCarthy Family LTD, which owns the building and operates the floral shop inside, for the space the Chinchilla Post Office will now occupy for about $30,900 a year. The agreement expires in 2023.

Mr. McCarthy said he was “thrilled” that the post office would be opening Monday, adding that the office being there will be good for business at the flower shop.

Financial hurdles and safety issues set the move back. Contractors had to build a berm behind the building to keep stormwater at bay.

PennDOT and township officials also had concerns about the driveway into the parking lot, which would have forced visitors to cross multiple lanes of traffic to get to the lot. Curbing and a new, dedicated driveway was added to address those concerns.

Besides the exterior changes, the interior of the space needed “postalizing” by adding post office boxes, signs and counters to postal specifications, Ms. Mazurkiewicz said.

With the departure of the office from township property, the trailer will also go, South Abington Twp. Manager David O’Neill said. A possibility for the old location is the addition of a “green space,” like a pocket park, Mr. O’Neill said.

Contact the writer:

cover@timesshamrock.com,

@ClaytonOver on Twitter

MONDAY UPDATE brings

Times-Tribune readers up to date on past or pending stories of interest. To offer a suggestion for a Monday Update, please email metrodesk@timesshamrock.com with

“Monday Update” in the

subject line.

WILKES-BARRE — City police are investigating a shooting that left one person injured Sunday evening.

Officers arrived on scene around 11:25 p.m. to Stanton Street, where a gunshot victim was discovered.

Investigators said the victim’s injury did not appear to be life threatening, but he was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The parties involved in the shooting were familiar with each other and it was not a random act, police said.

Police are conducting interviews and investigation is ongoing.

A local political consultant who admitted using a business associate’s money to buy properties in his own name was sentenced Monday in Lackawanna County Court to three months of home confinement.

Joseph Gilhooley must make restitution of $42,950 to real estate investor Dov Feldheim under the sentence handed down by Judge Michael J. Barrasse. He will also spend 81 months on intermediate punishment after his home confinement ends.

Mr. Gilhooley, 57, of Scranton, pleaded guilty Aug. 3, to one count of theft by deception by false impression. Seven other theft counts and a charge of unsworn falsification to authorities were dropped as part of a plea agreement.

Special prosecutor Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said afterward he was satisfied with the sentence.

Mr. Gilhooley will be required to repay Mr. Feldheim “and in the long-term he is a convicted felon, and we are very pleased with that as well,” Mr. Olszewski said.

Mr. Gilhooley was arrested in October 2014, after a county grand jury recommended charges against him.

According to the grand jury presentment, Mr. Feldheim, of Brooklyn, New York, paid Mr. Gilhooley to bid on his behalf on four tax-delinquent Scranton properties offered at a 2012 county judicial sale.

Mr. Gilhooley used $46,000 provided by Mr. Feldheim to pay for the properties, with the understanding the properties would be titled to a company owned by Mr. Feldheim.

Instead, the grand jury said Mr. Gilhooley put the deeds in his own name, eventually selling three of the properties for $38,000 and keeping the fourth.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

Dickson City

Town lighting: Dickson City Christmas Light Committee second town lighting ceremony, Sunday, 3-8 p.m., Municipal Building; horse-drawn sleigh rides, special guests, arts and crafts for children, holiday movies, caroling, lighting ceremony, coloring contest winners, light fare, refreshments.

Fundraising party: Dickson City Christmas Light Committee final fundraising Christmas Party, Dec. 18, 5-8 p.m., Mia Amore; $25, light fare, beer, wine, soda, entertainment by Lightweight, basket and 50/50 raffles, $250 Lottery Frame; Jeff Kovaleski, committee chairman, 570-878-3373.

Falls

Special events: Falls Active Adult Center balance assessments by an Allied Services physical therapist, Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; blood pressure screening by Kristin Green, R.N., from Traditional Hospice, Thursday, 12:25-12:50 p.m.; Thanksgiving concert by Jodi Kashuba, Friday, 11:30 a.m.-noon, followed by Thanksgiving lunch, suggested donation, $2/60-over, $4.62/under 60; RSVP to Twila, 570-388-2623, by Thursday at 12:30 p.m.

Lackawanna County

Seat checks: State police free child safety seat checks in conjunction with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “Click It or Ticket” campaign, today, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Scranton Toyota, 3400 N. Main Ave., Sat­urday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., state police barracks in Dunmore; www.psp.state.pa.us.

CAC gathering: Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeast­ern Pennsylvania’s Community Council Thanksgiving Eve gathering, Nov. 25, 5-8 p.m., Hilton Scranton & Conference Center, 100 Adams Ave., Scranton; hors d’oeuvres, appetizers, pasta station; entertainment, variety of beverages including Brother Elmo’s Red as featured wine; $25; details: 570-969-7313, www.cacnepa.org.

Lookout

Food sale: St. Joseph Church in Rileyville fundraising takeout food sale for hunters and passers-by Nov. 29, 1-5 p.m. or sold out, Lookout Firehouse, Route 191, Hancock Highway; homemade soups/$3, Joe’s chili/$4, hoagies/$5 packaged for hunting; preorders: 570-224-4934 or 570-224-8500, benefits church hall building project.

Old Forge

Elementary concerts: Old Forge Elementary School eighth annual Christmas concert series: first-, second-, third-grade, Dec. 14; fourth-, fifth-, sixth-grade, Dec. 15, both 7:30 p.m., high school auditorium; kindergarten, Dec. 16, 2 p.m.; free.

Pittston

Race night: Pittston Knights of Columbus Council 372 Home Association night at the races, Saturday, doors open, 6 p.m., post time, 7, $10/horse, includes food and refreshments, $5/admission without a horse; knights home or Fran Anken­brand, 570-954-8147, or Jim Schappert, 570-655-8632.

Regional

Archeology society: Frances Dorrance Chapter of the Society for Pennsylvania presentation by Elijah J. Hermitt on his work in ancient Mayan ceremonial pools, Monday, 7-9 p.m., Duryea Municipal Building, 315 Main St., free.

Scranton

Holiday show: Scranton Shake­speare Festival company members cabaret, Home for the Holi­days Revisited, Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m., Scranton Cultural Center at Masonic Temple’s Shopland Hall; stories, songs; details/advance tickets: 570-344-1111.

Taylor

Bake sale: St. George’s Ortho­dox Church Christmas bake sale, bread: plain/$6, raisin/

$6.50; kolachi: nut, poppyseed, apple crumb/$12; braided kolachi with cream cheese: raspberry, blueberry and pineapple, bread/kolachi deadline, Dec. 6; pirohi: potato and cheese and potato, cheese and jalapeno, $6, orders taken while manageable; 570-562-1170 or 570-562-2090, or email: fr.mal@comcast.net.

Waverly

House tour: Waverly Community House annual house tour, Sun­day, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., in conjunction with Artisans’ Marketplace; showcases eclectic mix of homes, decorated for the holiday season in a variety of themes and styles by talented design professionals; $20 at Comm, 1115 N. Abington Road; www.waverlycomm.org.

Wayne County

Book swap: America Recycles Day free community book swap, Saturday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Park Street Complex cafeteria, 648 Park St., Honesdale, drop-offs need to be counted, mark box quantity on lid, preferred drop-off days, Friday-Saturday; Jenna Mauder, 570-689-9494 or edu

cator@lacawac.org.

CLIPBOARD ITEMS may be emailed to yesdesk@timessham

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

Defense attorneys attacked the prosecution’s story Monday during the first day of trial of a former middle school teacher accused of assaulting a student.

William Henry Yelland, 103 Dearborn St., Waverly Twp., is fighting misdemeanor charges of simple assault and endangering the welfare of children. Mr. Yelland was a teacher at Abington Heights Middle School. After the incident, he was first suspended without pay and then fired.

The victim, Trey Koehler, left an eighth-grade science class April 8 with a bruised chin; prosecutors showed a photo of the mild abrasion to jurors several times during the first day of trial. Now a 14-year-old freshman at Abington Heights High School, Trey testified Monday that Mr. Yelland, now 32, applied pressure on the boy’s neck and put him in a choke hold. The pair, whose previous relationship both sides describe as jovial, had engaged in a jokey back-and-forth conversation leading up to the incident. Trey testified Mr. Yelland called him “doofus” and he responded with “soul surfer,” in reference to the teacher’s interest in the sport.

After the school day, a friend photographed Trey’s injury and he showed it to his mother, a board member of the Children’s Advocacy Center, and his father, a state trooper. The center initiated the investigation of Mr. Yelland.

Defense attorneys Matthew Comerford and Curt Parkins tried to establish the incident between the two as an unusually rambunctious but friendly one. They parried accusations of criminal acts, saying the teacher never intended to hurt the student. While on the stand, Trey noted the teacher would often give him “noogies” by rubbing the top of his head.

But in her opening statement, Deputy District Attorney Mariclare Hayes urged the jury of four men and eight women to think of the context in which the incident occurred — in the classroom.

“Keep in mind their age, their place in life,” she said of the students.

She also told the jurors about a voice mail the defendant left for the victim and his parents. In it, the teacher said he was “mortified” at what had happened and apologized several times.

Dressed in a suit and betraying little emotion, Mr. Yelland sat quietly at the defense’s table.

While cross-examining the 14-year-old, Mr. Comerford elicited a confession that Trey had deleted his text messages before turning his cellphone over to detectives.

The attorney asked the victim if he had told a friend the situation had been “blown out of proportion,” and if he had bragged about getting the police involved. Trey denied both.

The defense also accused investigators of cherry-picking information from student interviews, and said many other student witnesses had called the incident a joking, relatively harmless one.

Trey was “a popular kid, an elite athlete, and with that comes ego,” Mr. Comerford said, suggesting a motive to press charges. “And he was embarrassed by Mr. Yelland.”

Contact the writer:

pcameron@timesshamrock.com, @pcameronTT on Twitter

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the title for Mariclare Hayes. She is a deputy district attorney.

HONESDALE — A 16-year-old boy will stand trial as an adult on charges he raped, stabbed and robbed an 83-year-old Dreher Twp. woman on Sept. 24.

Azaiah Tahir Williams waived his right to a preliminary hearing Monday, and charges of attempted homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and theft will move to Wayne County Court for trial. A formal arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 9.

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

State police arrested Mr. Williams on Oct. 1 after his aunt, Adrienne Staton, discovered a credit card and financial documents in his room at 791 Country Place Drive in Coolbaugh Twp. that did not belong to him. She contacted police, who recognized the name on the document as the victim’s.

The victim remained hospitalized Monday in an intensive care unit, county District Attorney Janine Edwards said.

Mr. Williams remained in the Wayne County Correctional Facility on Monday in lieu of $1 million bail.

SCRANTON — State police will check child safety seats for free today at Toyota of Scranton as part of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign, troopers said.

The inspection will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the 3400 N. Main Ave. business.

Inspectors will check safety seats again on Saturday at the Dunmore barracks from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

SCRANTON — State police are investigating a crash along Interstate 81 late Monday night.

The crash happened near mile marker 183 southbound, between the Davis Street and River Street exits.

A trooper on the scene confirmed two people were in the vehicle at the time of the crash, and only one vehicle, a gray Mercedes C280, was involved.

— CLAYTON OVER

Scranton Mayor Bill Courtright on Monday defended his proposed 2016 budget that increases property taxes 5.7 percent .

During a telephone press conference, Mr. Courtright and his advisers discussed the budget and key initiatives expected to be completed in 2016, including monetization of sewer and parking assets.

Mr. Courtright said the city’s fiscal situation has improved from a year ago, when he implemented a 19 percent tax hike for 2015 that followed the prior administration’s 56.7 percent 2014 tax increase.

The Courtright administration’s 19 percent and 5.7 percent tax hikes, as well as sewer/parking monetizations, follow the mayor’s mid-2014 recovery plan devised by consultant Henry Amoroso.

“We’re tracking on the recovery plan the way it was intended. I think we’re in much better shape than we were a year ago,” Mr. Courtright said.

The prior administration also increased for 2014 the annual garbage-collection fee from $178 to $300. Mr. Courtright maintained the $300 trash fee in 2015 and would do so again in 2016. Mr. Courtright’s 2016 budget also continues his 2015 budget’s tripling of the Local Services Tax to $156 a year on anyone who works in the city earning above a certain threshold.

“The (recovery) plan always called for a reduced reliance on property taxes as a means of meeting the budgetary obligations of Scranton on a going-forward basis,” Mr. Amoroso said.

The mayor and his advisers also spoke of 2016 being a “watershed year,” mainly for the city to complete the two monetizations they view as critical to saving the city. The Amoroso plan calls for privatizing the sewer system for a large cash infusion to shore up severely underfunded pensions threatening to tank the city. The plan also eyes monetizing parking garages and street meters to reduce annual city bailouts of Scranton Parking Authority debt that the city guarantees, as well as the total amount of that debt.

Both efforts have been underway separately for some time. The Scranton Sewer Authority for months has been reviewing proposals from firms that want to take over the sewer system.

Meanwhile, the Courtright administration is preparing a “concession lease” of parking assets to a nonprofit organization. City council first would have to authorize this concession lease, and the administration then would seek to refinance “stranded,” or leftover, parking-authority debt.

Mr. Courtright said the parking lease may be completed in January, and the “sewer (monetization) also is moving along. I’m very confident that will end up right around the same time, if not before, the parking” lease.

Neither monetization is included as revenue in the 2016 budget because neither is completed, but each one would have a positive impact on the 2017 budget, city solicitor Jason Shrive said.

“The (2016) budget continues to be a bridge toward fiscal or financial stability of the city,” said City Business Administrator David Bulzoni.

The proposed budget also includes $27.6 million in debt to pay a long-overdue back-pay award to the city’s police and firefighter unions. The city has been unable to secure this financing, and the amount owed has grown to $24 million as interest accrued monthly over the past 2½ years. The $27.6 million would cover the $24 million, a bond reserve and costs of issuance. Mr. Shrive said the administration is “hopeful” the city will be able to pay the back-pay award next year but added that he could not offer specifics.

“That issue is a mandatory subject of collective bargaining, so we can’t really speak too freely with regard to any type of planned repayment or negotiation that may be going with the collective bargaining units,” Mr. Shrive said. “It’s a work in progress, and that’s about all we can really tell you without violating the labor laws.”

Some city council members raised questions about the mayor’s intent and steps toward reforming the pension system. Mr. Shrive said pension reforms also are subject to union negotiations and he could not provide specifics.

“All we can say is that we are working hard to reform our pension system and ensure that our city employees and retirees have a pension when they retire,” Mr. Shrive said.

During council’s introduction of the mayor’s 2016 budget on Thursday, Councilman Bill Gaughan said he wants to know if the police/fire contracts that were renegotiated earlier this year produced the up to $1 million in savings the mayor promised. Mr. Bulzoni said the impact of new contracts won’t be known until a full fiscal year has passed, and would involve factors such as costs of raises and savings from reduced overtime and new revenue from civilian parking enforcement.

“We have forecast some savings as a result of the execution of that contract. There are costs, as well, that go along with it,” Mr. Bulzoni said. “So I think going into the 2017 budget, we should be able to identity what those savings and those costs are a bit more accurately and in more detail.”

Council will hold a public hearing on the budget Thursday at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. After that, during the regular 6:30 p.m. council meeting, the budget would come up for a second advancing vote. A third vote on adoption likely would be held Dec. 3, as there will not be a council meeting Nov. 26 because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT on Twitter

Moosic police charged a New York man for fighting outside a borough bar early Sunday morning, knocking out the two front teeth of a man.

Magisterial District Judge Theodore J. Giglio arraigned Ajay Hans, 26, 117-10 Atlantic Ave., Queens, on aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest abd disorderly conduct, and cited him with harassment.

Patrolmen John Saranchuk and Robert Harris responded to the Twelve Penny Saloon, 3501 Birney Ave., at 1:51 a.m. on a report that a fight broke out, the officers wrote in a criminal complaint.

Police learned the incident started in the bar when Mr. Hans grabbed a woman by her hair and made lewd gestures with his pelvis while dancing with her, police said.

Later, Mr. Hans fought with two people outside the bar, Ken Seymore and James Perrotti. Mr. Hans injured Mr. Seymore’s chin and knocked out Mr. Perrotti’s two front teeth, police said.

Another man, Terry Creasman Jr., stepped in between the three to break up the fight before it worsened, police said.

Mr. Hans initially walked away, but returned with a plastic broom. He struck Mr. Creasman in the neck with the broom’s handle, causing a laceration, police said.

The three victims grabbed Mr. Hans to restrain him until police arrived.

Officers handcuffed Mr. Hans’ right wrist as he struggled to avoid having his left handcuffed, requiring the patrolmen to use force to put him on the ground, police said.

Judge Giglio jailed Mr. Hans at Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $40,000 following his arraignment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Contact the writer:

jkohut@timesshamrock.com,

@jkohutTT on Twitter.

MARRIAGE LICENSES

■ Josean Roy Lopez, W. New York, N.J., and Grace Marie Onderdonk, Scranton.

■ Michelle Noel Gnall and Wojciech Andrzej Ksiadzyk, both of Old Forge.

■ Kathleen Ann Dalton and Jason Andrew Koval, both of Roaring Brook Twp.

■ Peter Paul Sanko Jr., Old Forge, and Emily Anne Hart, Scranton.

■ Frantz Alteus and Holly Lynn Merrifield, both of Dickson City.

■ Moreira Edson Barbosa and Sonia Jannette Cruz-Rivera, both of Scranton.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

■ Fannie Mae aka Federal National Mortgage Association, to Gerald M. and Nicole E. Tallo; a property at 122 Norfolk Way, Scranton, for $211,000.

■ Carl Snyder Jr. and Cynthia Snyder, both of Carbondale, to Ruth Lee Gavin, Taylor; a property at 114 Honesdale Road, Car­bondale, for $137,500.

■ Carol Kelleher, Old Forge, to Somchay Soulivanh, Scranton; a property at 501 Hayes St., Old Forge, for $75,000.

■ Toby L. and Jessica Watkins, both of Saratoga, N.Y., to Jesse and Jaruwan Brown, both of Clarks Summit; a property at 612 E. Scott St., Olyphant, for $71,000.

■ Mary E. and Richard Tygh, Rita and Alan King and Robert and Suzanne Piorkowski, to Jos­eph J. Takach Jr., Carbon­dale; a property at 284 Wash­ing­ton Ave., Jermyn, for $114,400.

■ Bendetto and Nora Freda, both of Scranton, to Dilip Patel; a property at 901 Capouse Ave., Scranton, for $40,000.

■ Marion J., David W. and Gret­chen A. Alder, to David and Linda Morris; a property in Elmhurst Twp., for $179,900.

■ Katherine W. Barrett, Scran­ton, to Marko and Erin Malloy Marcinko, both of Scranton; a property at 621 Colfax Ave., Scranton, for $230,000.

■ Mark J. Mazak Jr. aka Mark J. Mazak and Amy Blaxk Mazak, both of Dickson City, to Domi­nick Michael and Sara Elizabeth Delprete, both of Olyphant; a property at 542 Garfield Ave., Jermyn, for $176,000.

■ Brian Sudul and Mark J. Mazak Jr. aka Mark J. Mazak and Amy Black Mazak, to Eliza­beth Balcrius, Throop; a property at 420 Boulevard Ave., Dick­son City, for $166,000.

■ Sunburst Corp., to Parise Bros. LLC; a property at Busi­ness Route 6, Blakely, for $220,000.

■ Lenore E. Butler, individually and as executrix of the estate of Amelia Korczakowski and Heather Renee Adams, to B&D Realty Inc.; a property at Hollis­terville Road, Jefferson Twp., for $57,500.

■ Charles H. and Delores Murray, both of South Abington Twp., to Srikantha R. Palle and Padmaja Bojanapally, both of Clarks Summit; a property at Chatham Hill Circle, South Abington Twp., for $527,500.

■ Nicholas T. Horsky, Kissim­mee, Fla., Adam G. Horsky, Moosic, and Tanya J. Horsky-Howells and Richard Howells, both of Scranton, to Michael K. and Karen Loessy Brown, both of Elmhurst; a property at 1009 Olive St., Scranton, for $132,000.

■ Gary A. Phillips, Scott Twp., to Donald and Dolores Suttles, both of Mayfield; a property at 707 Lincoln Ave., Jermyn, for $88,298.

DIVORCE SOUGHT

■ Nicole Mercado, Dunmore, v. Nicholas Mercado, Scranton; married Feb. 21, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nev.; pro se.

DIVORCE DECREES

■ Sharon Aulisio v. Angelo Aulisio.

■ Janice Huylo v. Robert Huylo.

■ Christopher Wiese v. Sandra Wiese.

■ Leo W. Sporer v. Eileen Sporer.

BENCH WARRANTS

The following warrants were issued by Judge Trish Corbett for failure to appear for child support contempt hearings:

■ Karon Kelly, 715 Carmalt St., Apt. 2, Dickson City; $1,739.46.

■ Sandra McHugh, Rear 505 Main St., Peckville; $1,225.34.

■ James McIntire, 585 Nanticoke St., Hanover Twp; $17,463.08.

■ Justin Miller, 307 Pittston Ave., Scranton; $2,663.72.

■ Douglas Minchak, 154 Col­umbia St., Duryea; $9,681.89.

■ Jeffrey Roman Sr., 1634 Dorothy St., Scranton; $1,817.20.

■ Ralph Salgado, 524 Main St., Apt. D, Archbald; $1,190.66.

Anyone with any information on the above is asked to call the Child Support HotLine at 570-963-6721, ext. 8160.

The following warrants have been issued by Judge Vito Geroulo for failure to appear on fines and costs:

■ Shaun Anthony Sealey, 2212 Brown Ave., Scranton; $518.

■ Tenika Sherry, 517 Luzerne St., Apt 2, Scranton; $2,824.98.

■ Joyce A. Soluri, 131 S. Blakely St., Dunmore; $5,377.

■ Tracey Shonta Waiters, 814 Pittston Ave., Apt. 2B, Scranton; $633.50.

■ Samantha Ware, 1514 Holly Road, Apt. B, Scranton; $931.50.

■ David M. Strouse, 52 W. St. Mary’s Road, Apt. 5, Hanover Twp.; $291.50.

■ Shaun Sommerville, 502 Oak St., Old Forge; $9,188.82.

■ Jonathan Earl Waiters, Rear 814 Pittston Ave., Apt. 2B, Scran­ton; $5,513.50.

■ Jamall Antione Witherspoon, 2306 W. Fifth St., Philadelphia; $2,017.50.

■ William Stairiker, 534 Hick­ory St., Old Forge; $175.

■ Tyronn Sherman, 200 E. Drinker St., Dunmore; $3,757.

■ Fiore Trecroce, 46 Ridge Lane, Levitown; $635.

■ David R. Wehrmann, 305 Belmont St., Carbondale; $3,901.47.

■ Brian V. Snyder, 351 Ear­hardt Road, Dalton; $575.

■ Christopher Peter Tayoun, 1119 Washburn St., Scranton; $175.

■ Rod Arthur Weisel, 2514 N. Marion Ave., Tulsa, Okla.; $1,365.50.

■ Quran Stokes, 301 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia; $1,324.64.

■ Gary Black, 1109½ Rundle St., Scranton; $4,864.91.

■ Stacey Lynn Schmidt, 367 N. Filmore Ave., Scranton; $455.

■ Michael J. Smith, 1143 Northern Blvd., South Abington Twp.; $376.

■ Rashawn Darnell Squire, 912 Grandview St., Scranton; $928.

ARDS

The following were admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for driving under the influence:

■ Peter Bayo IV, 26, Peckville, stopped June 27 by Blakely police.

■ Renita E. Santos, 36, Port Chester, N.Y., stopped April 25, 2014, by Taylor police.

■ Benjamin Rollison, 35, Jessup, stopped May 28 by Dunmore police.

■ Zemary Yvette Reyes, 21, Scranton, stopped April 18 by Scranton police.

■ Robert Mancini, 34, Dun­more, stopped Sept. 24 by Scran­ton police.

■ Paul C. Bobersky, 22, Scran­ton, stopped May 29 by Scran­ton police.

The following defendants were admitted to the ARD program for other crimes:

■ Steven Paul Casale, 20, Scranton, arrested Dec. 1 by Taylor police for use and possession of drug paraphernalia.

■ Jose Ramon Dejesus-Garcia, 44, Scranton, arrested April 7 by Throop police for simple assault.

■ Rain Christian Keating, 19, Dunmore, arrested July 31 by Lackawanna County for simple and aggravated assault.

■ Michael Baldoni, 20, Scran­ton, arrested June 18 by Scran­ton police for careless driving.

■ Nicole Miller, 25, Scranton, arrested Aug. 19 by Taylor police for use and possession of drug paraphernalia.

■ Lawrence Elnor Newsome, 33, Mayfield, arrested Aug. 11 by Mayfield police for simple assault.

■ Ginger Seaman, 37, Scran­ton, arrested March 19, 2014, by Scranton police for theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

■ Dustin Fuller, 22, Old Forge, arrested April 2, 2014, by Old Forge police for theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

ONLINE: thetimes-tribune.com/courts

A local political consultant who admitted using a business associate’s money to buy properties in his own name was sentenced Monday in Lackawanna County Court to three months of home confinement.

Joseph Gilhooley must make restitution of $42,950 to real estate investor Dov Feldheim under the sentence handed down by Judge Michael J. Barrasse. He will also spend 81 months on intermediate punishment after his home confinement ends.

Mr. Gilhooley, 57, of Scranton, pleaded guilty Aug. 3 to one count of theft by deception by false impression. Seven other theft counts and a charge of unsworn falsification to authorities were dropped as part of a plea agreement.

Special prosecutor Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said afterward he was satisfied with the sentence.

Mr. Gilhooley will be required to repay Mr. Feldheim “and in the long term he is a convicted felon, and we are very pleased with that as well,” Mr. Olszewski said.

Mr. Gilhooley was arrested in October 2014, after a county grand jury recommended charges against him.

According to the grand jury presentment, Mr. Feldheim, of Brooklyn, New York, paid Mr. Gilhooley to bid on his behalf on four tax-delinquent Scranton properties offered at a 2012 county judicial sale.

Mr. Gilhooley used $46,000 provided by Mr. Feldheim to pay for the properties, with the understanding the properties would be titled to a company owned by Mr. Feldheim.

Instead, the grand jury said Mr. Gilhooley put the deeds in his own name, eventually selling three of the properties for $38,000 and keeping the fourth.

Contact the writer:

dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

St. Mary’s Center avoided tax sale and will remain in the hands of St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church.

Scranton-based attorney Bill Jones, who has been representing parishioners in a fight to save the center, confirmed Monday that the center was no longer for sale.

“They cleared up the back taxes on it, and they have a pending appeal on the outstanding taxes,” he said.

St. Mary’s Center nearly went up for sale by the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau earlier this year to recoup $172,430 in delinquent taxes the church owes on the building. St. Mary’s Center was pulled from that sale at the last minute when parishioners sought a delay until Monday.

For most of its existence, St. Mary’s Center, at 320 Mifflin Ave. in Scranton, was incorporated and paid property taxes, a church official has said. Around 2007, the church disincorporated St. Mary’s Center and believed it would be tax exempt. Tax officials determined otherwise, and the church then received tax bills.

The church disagreed and waged a legal battle against the taxable status. The delinquent taxes accumulated. In recent years, the center was listed in prior tax sales, but those sales were delayed while the church appealed. That process took a few years to resolve, but the church ultimately lost and the center again was listed as up for grabs.

Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau Deputy Director Ronald Koldjeski said the church has paid $30,344, making up for back taxes from 2007 and 2008. Now the county tax assesssor will need to determine if the center was indeed tax exempt from 2009 on.

“If they come back as tax exempt, I go away,” Mr. Koldjeski said. “If not, I’m going to want an additional $144,000.”

Contact the writer:

sscinto@timesshamrock.com, @sscintoTT on Twitter

COVINGTON TWP. — At least three people were injured when the vehicle they were in rolled over off Interstate 380 north Monday, said Trooper Connie Devens, spokeswoman for state police at Dunmore.

The occupants, whose identities were not available, were transported from mile marker 19 near Exit 20, Daleville, to a hospital after the 8:20 a.m. crash. The severity of their injuries was not known, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation, Trooper Devens said.

— JOSEPH KOHUT

WILKES-BARRE — Gordon Lightfoot celebrated the night before his 77th birthday by treating his audience to a tour of his decades-spanning musical catalog Monday evening.

The singer songwriter performed as part of the 50 Years on the Carefree Highway Tour at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts.

The Canadian folk-rock artist has quite the career since he released the single “I’m Not Sayin’” in 1965. He’s released 19 studio, three live and 16 greatest hits albums. He released his debut record “Lightfoot!” in 1966, and his most recent live album “All Live” came out in 2012. He achieved international fame with hit songs like “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown” and “Rainy Day People.”

Wearing a red velvet jacket, The still 76-year-old (his birthday is today) emerged to applause and opened the night with “The Watchman’s Gone” from 1974’s “Sundown,” his only album to reach number on the United States pop chart.

“All right, 1-2-3-4-5-6,” Lightfoot counted as the band went into “Waiting For You,” from his 1993 same-titled album, the 18th of his career.

“Well, hi. I’m Gordon Lightfoot and reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” Lightfoot said to laughter.

Several people in the crowd yelled out “Happy birthday,” and Lightfoot expressed his appreciation before continuing with “All the Lovely Ladies” from the 1975 album “Cold on the Shoulder.”

His soft, weathered voice still lent itself well to “I’d Rather Press On” from “Waiting For You,” “A Painter Passing Through” from the 1998 same-titled album, and “Beautiful” from 1972’s “Don Quixote,”

“I got my start back in the folk revival, 1963. As soon as the Beatles came along …” he made a noise of exasperation, which got laughter.

“I will continue to amaze you as the evening progresses,” he said, going into “Shadows” from the 1982 same-titled album.

The show was rescheduled from its original August date — since that show was supposed to start at 8 p.m., and Monday’s was supposed to start at 7:30 p.m., Lightfoot split the difference.

“So we decided to start at 7:45,” he said. “We always try to start on time and finish on time. We play good and get out of here.”

He verified Wilkes-Barre’s pronunciation with the audience, then played a few notes before saying, “Don’t you hate it when you forget the words to a song?” to laughter from the audience.

Lightfoot, who stood throughout the night, then moved to “Much to My Surprise” from “A Painter Passing Through,” and then “Cold on the Shoulder.”

He got a hearty round of applause in recognition of “Carefree Highway” from “Sundown,” a song that reached 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Did She Mention My Name” from the 1968 same-titled album, then “Ribbon of Darkness” from his 1966 debut album “Lightfoot!” The audience cheered for “Sundown,” Lightfoot’s only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

After a brief intermission, Lightfoot emerged to pick it back up with “The Pony Man” from the 1970 album “Sit Down Young Stranger” (the record re-named “If You Could Read My Mind” shortly after release.

Before the moving “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Lightfoot spoke about going up to the memorial earlier this fall on the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. Lightfoot wrote the 1976 song about the tragic sinking of the so-named bulk carrier on Lake Superior in 1975. All 29 crew members died.

Other second half highlights included “Sweet Guinevere” from 1978’s “Endless Wire,” “Never Too Close” from 1976’s “Summertime Dream,” and “Don Quixote” from the same-named-album.

kgaydos@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2118

SCRANTON — City police arrested a man Sunday morning after responding to a reported domestic violence incident.

Joseph Martinez, 38, 606 Taylor Ave., is charged with simple assault and harassment after police were called to that address about 5:35 a.m.

Mr. Martinez is accused of choking one woman, Toni Martinez, and punching another woman, Leann Maccioli, when she tried to intervene. Mr. Martinez told officers that Ms. Martinez attacked him when he returned home and tried to go to bed, according to police.

Mr. Martinez is held in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $10,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.

SCRANTON — A two-alarm fire Monday night displaced four people.

Crews responded to 845 N. Main Ave. at about 8:30 p.m., Assistant Fire Chief Jim Floryshak of the Scranton Fire Department said. When firefighters arrived, they could see flames in the basement of the building, he said. The second alarm went out about 10 minutes later, bringing all on-duty city firefighters to the scene to make sure the fire had not spread to the frame of the structure and be prepared if it had.

“These guys did a tremendous job of not only knocking the fire down but also making sure all occupants were out and they did a great job doing overhaul to make sure there was no hidden fire in the walls from the basement to the third floor,” Assistant Chief Floryshak said.

Four people were in the house when the fire started, Assistant Chief Floryshak said. No injuries were reported. The basement and some of the first floor suffered fire and water damage and there was smoke damage throughout the building, he said. The American Red Cross is assisting those displaced.

The fire closed North Main Avenue to traffic from Oram Street to Farr Street as crews worked. Some personnel were still on scene at 10 p.m. City fire inspectors are investigating a cause of the fire, Assistant Chief Floryshak said.

BLAKELY — Blakely Borough Council unanimously voted Monday evening to tentatively approve the borough’s budget for next year.

The budget approved Monday comes in at more than $10.4 million and is similar to this year’s, borough Controller Edward Alco said. In lieu of property taxes, the borough sells electricity to residents. The 2016 budget will not include any increases to what residents pay for sewer, electricity or trash, he added.

Mr. Alco attributed no increases in rates or significant changes to the budget to decreases in interest payments.

“Over the last four or five years, we’ve really paid our long-term debt down, so we’re seeing savings on that,” he said.

The council will vote to officially approve the budget in December.

As the terror attacks unfolded Friday night in Paris, Ryan Charnitski frantically tried to make contact with his many friends in the city under siege.

The Kingston man spent the night sending phone messages to dozens of his French friends and monitoring a “safety check” feature on Facebook that allowed people to announce they were safe.

“It was a tense situation,” he said.

All of them were OK. But some had harrowing stories they shared with Charnitski, a French teacher at Wyoming Area.

A friend recalled how she was in a restaurant next to the eatery where 19 people were murdered. When gunfire erupted, she and other diners hit the floor. She looked out the front window and spotted one of the terrorists.

“One of the guys passed in front of the bar with his Kalashnikov rifle,” she wrote in a phone message to him.

Diners then crawled to the basement, where they remained until the threat was over, she said.

The scary ordeal hit home for Charnitski. He has dined at the restaurant where his friend was Friday.

Charnitski, 33, has visited Paris seven times. He lived there for several months in 2007 as part of his effort to learn French. He last was there in July when he took a group of students to tour France. And he plans to go again in 2017.

Over the years, Charnitski made a lot of friends in France. While they are understandably shaken, they’re trying to stay strong just like Americans have done in time of national tragedy, he said.

“Do people still see movies in Colorado after Aurora? Do people still visit New York City after 9/11? Do people still go to school after Sandy Hook?” he asked rhetorically. “Life will continue for Parisians.”

In class on Monday, the terror attacks dominated the discussion, Charnitski said.

“Today we spent the day trying to understand why people do this type of thing,” he said.

At Greater Nanticoke Area High School, the attacks were the focal point for all of Robin Harbaugh’s French classes.

“They were questioning the motive. Why? What purpose did it serve?” Harbaugh said. “You can’t really answer that, except just spreading terror.”

Harbaugh, who has been teaching French at Nanticoke for 27 years, said she had students watch video clips of President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande reacting to the attacks. She also had them read a magazine article about the tragedy written in French.

She said students were understandably afraid a similar attack could happen here.

“You think, ‘What’s next?’ But you can’t live your life like that?” she said. “You have to go on with your life. That’s the terrorists’ objective: to dispute our lives.”

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2055, @cvbobkal