Fire investigated in Old Forge

OLD FORGE - Borough police and fire officials were investigating a suspected arson late Tuesday on Connell Street.

Both fire and police officials were on the scene conducting interviews, and police said it was an active investigation but declined to provide further details. Lackawanna County Communications Center received a call of a suspected arson at about 11:10 p.m. Police and fire were then dispatched to 36 Connell St.

Man arrested in Scranton drug bust

SCRANTON - A man was taken into custody after the Scranton Police Department Special Investigations Division served a search warrant and found drugs at a West Scranton home on Tuesday.

Eric Ramos-Nunez, 29, 1128 S. Main Ave., was charged with possession with intent to deliver and related counts when police found 52 bags of heroin, 5.8 grams of cocaine, four vials of anabolic steroids, a small amount of marijuana and digital scales in his home, police said. Arraignment and bail information on Mr. Ramos-Nunez were unavailable Tuesday night.

Industrial accident kills Duryea man

PITTSTON TWP. - A man was killed Monday in an industrial accident in the Maui Cup plant, a plastics and paper cup manufacturer in the Grimes Industrial Park in Pittston Twp., according to the coroner's office.

The Luzerne County coroner's office identified the man as Shailesh Patel, 38, of Duryea.

Acting Coroner Bill Lisman said Mr. Patel was killed when a piece of machinery fell on him just after 2 p.m. Monday.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation Tuesday into the death.

Maui Cup is a division of Letica Corp., which manufacturers food packing products. Mr. Patel's obituary appears on B8.

Police arrest boy in W-B shooting

WILKES-BARRE - A 20-year-old man remained in critical condition Tuesday, and a boy is in police custody after a shooting in a Wilkes-Barre neighborhood Monday night, according to the Luzerne County district attorney's office.

Prosecutors said in a news release the juvenile, who was not identified, is the shooter. Police have also not identified the victim. Neighbors said the two were brothers and lived together in the duplex at 86 Hutson St.

United Way begins Wayne campaign

HONESDALE - The United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties will kick off the Wayne County portion of the organization's annual fundraising campaign tonight. This evening's event will take place at Hotel Wayne, 1202 Main St., from 5:30-7:30, and will include the announcement of the 10-week fundraising goal for the county, said Nikki Keller, vice president of community impact marketing for the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Eric W. Slebodnik stewed with anger as planes crashed into iconic buildings on American soil and terror gripped his country.

The senior at Revival Baptist Christian School in Scranton, fulfillment of his hopes and dreams still ahead, had to do something.

"He knew that he had to be involved in protecting our nation from this ever occurring again," his mother, Cynthia Slebodnik, said Tuesday.

Her son signed up for the Army National Guard. Four years later, Sgt. Eric Slebodnik was on patrol only 17 days after the fourth anniversary of Sept. 11 near Ramadi, Iraq. A roadside bomb exploded, and insurgents attacked. Sgt. Slebodnik and four other local soldiers died.

From then on, her son was forever 21, Mrs. Slebodnik thought, but in her eyes he lived far longer than that.

"According to the Bible, the number seven stands for completion," Mrs. Slebodnik said. "So Eric actually lived three complete sets of lives."

As she commemorated Sept. 11 at the McDade Park memorial, Mrs. Slebodnik explained her son to about 100 other veterans, firefighters, police officers and others who gathered for the local 9/11 committee's annual remembrance.

It was one of many remembrances across the region, state and country on the 11th anniversary of terrorists' attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and their failed attack on the U.S. Capitol, one thwarted in the skies of western Pennsylvania. The local remembrances included Jessup Hose Company 2 setting up 343 flags to honor each of the firefighters who died when the trade center towers collapsed.

As Mrs. Slebodnik spoke, lush green grass enveloped the hillside behind her and a few puffy white clouds floated across a bright blue sky as an insistent sun illuminated the evocation of memories below.

It was a day a lot like 9/11, event organizer Charles Spano recalled.

Mrs. Slebodnik said she has grown more comfortable speaking about her son publicly.

This does not mean she is over his death.

In a voice that quivered at times, she remembered the boy who went from "scribbling to writing poetry, essays and stories, from playing with toy guns and soldiers to working his way up from a Pfc. to sergeant" and training in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, she said.

He grew into, she said, "a student of life" who "lived what he believed and believed what he lived."

"In that short lifetime, he accomplished more than I have in my 55 years of life," Mrs. Slebodnik said.

In time, she said, memorials to soldiers "will be just that - memorials."

"It's our duty to keep those stories alive for generations to come because there will come a generation that will just read 9/11 as being something that we have to learn in our history class," she said.

Later, Scranton firefighter Michael Stine tolled a bell - three series of three tolls, fellow city firefighter James Sable said, to remember the firefighters who died in the line of duty.

The tolls represent the end of an emergency and a firefighter's "return to quarters," Mr. Sable said.

After a rifle salute cracked the silence and a bugler blew taps, Ted Androkavitz, 84, of Scranton, an Army combat veteran of the Korean War who spent life after war fixing elevators, said civilians should remember, but veterans must - and combat veterans most of all.

They wake up at night restless, sometimes screaming, only medication soothing ugly memories of battle.

"You can't forget," Mr. Androkavitz said.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@ timesshamrock.com

THROOP - It was worth the wait.

That was the consensus among several teachers decorating bulletin boards and arranging desks at the renovated Mid Valley Elementary School and newly constructed addition Tuesday.

"I had to pick my jaw up off the ground," fourth-grade life skills teacher Bernadette Schumacher said. "It went through a lot to finish it, but it was so worth the wait."

Classrooms are beginning to take shape, and Superintendent Randy Parry said the building will be ready for school on Monday.

The elementary building and addition have been the center of controversy after construction delays pushed back the start date twice. Concerns over losing holiday vacation days, less time to prepare for state tests and a pushed-back end date were discussed at meetings held nearly every week in August.

Teachers began working on classrooms over the weekend, even though the building didn't formally pass inspection until Monday.

Lockers lined the new fourth-grade wing, where Ms. Schumacher and Shelley Rhodes discussed how they believed students would react to the upgrades and added space.

"Their eyes are going to be like saucers," Ms. Rhodes said, explaining the space will allow teachers to add independent work stations for student groups. "All good things are worth waiting for."

The library doubled in size, allowing for two classes to use educational space and materials to increase, Mr. Parry said. The cafeteria also expanded to add seating and a cook-in kitchen. Previously, the elementary school's food was prepared at the high school. New security cameras will ensure that students are safe, he added.

The full-day kindergarten program will begin this year, and additional classrooms were built for a pre-kindergarten program in the future. In total, five extra classrooms were constructed.

"We didn't underbuild so in five years we have to build again," Mr. Parry said. "I think we're good for the rest of our careers here."

Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter

SCOTT TWP. - A $6.4 million renovation project, approved at a special meeting Tuesday, will push the Lakeland School District beyond the amount of debt it can handle.

The high school renovation project, in addition to the $3.5 million roof and mechanical project approved in June, will bring the district's debt to $9.9 million. According to Superintendent Margaret Billings-Jones, Ed.D., the district can support only $8 million for the projects.

Alterations to the project, which includes only "absolutely necessary" renovations to the high school building. according to board member Stanley Stracham, will be discussed in the coming months.

"There are absolute needs that won't be able to be done," he said, adding that the board will look closely at budgets. "I hope we can find the money someplace."

The high school renovation project needed to be approved so it can be submitted to the Department of Education to be considered for reimbursement, board President Mary Retzbach said. But it can change.

"We can always adjust it," Mr. Stracham said.

In other business, the board approved resolutions to support the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County in its legal battle with the Riverside School District as well as agreeing to an increased contribution to the CTC renovation project if Riverside does withdraw.

Board members Mr. Stracham and Casey Patuk voted against the increase, citing needs in Lakeland for the additional money.

Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter

Industrial park gets KOEZ status

ARCHBALD - The state has approved special tax designation for an industrial park owned by the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce.

The state has approved Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone status for 260 acres of the Archbald Business Park, according to the chamber. The designation runs through 2022.

The park, which was developed by the Scranton- Lackawanna Industrial Building Co., a chamber division, landed its first tenant in 2007. It is located off the Casey Highway. KOEZ status exempts tenants from most state and local taxes.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Mike Washo accepted oversight of the Scranton Parking Authority garages.

As the chimes at the Lackawanna County Courthouse Square marked the hour, Mr. Washo and two officials from Central Parking Corp., a private company selected to operate the garages, walked into the authority offices on Adams Avenue.

"We are going to go inside and talk to Bob about the transition," Mr. Washo said, referring to Robert Scopelliti, executive director of the Scranton Parking Authority.

Mr. Washo was appointed receiver of the garages by the holders of authority bonds. A commencement notice was filed Tuesday morning in Lackawanna County Court, declaring Mr. Washo the receiver as of 11 a.m. and obliging authority employees and agents to surrender physical custody of the five garages and other assets of the authority.

"We, meaning I, will be operating things from here on out," Mr. Washo said.

Mr. Washo said he has hired Central Parking Corp., one of the largest parking garage and lot operators in the country, to run the garages.

City council President Janet Evans has previously said the council would not honor the authority's next debt payment, due Saturday, as long as the authority management remained in place. With the changes at SPA in the works, Mrs. Evans said Thursday, "We have to see what develops over the next week."

Mr. Washo is a former Lackawanna County commissioner.

He began the day speaking with Mayor Chris Doherty and Mrs. Evans. He said both pledged their support in the transition. At the authority office, employees were "straightforward and cooperative," he said.

As to the status of the authority's employees, Mr. Washo couldn't say. Mr. Scopelliti and his staff are employees of the parking authority, he noted. Even with the garages removed from their charge, the fate of employees is uncertain, Mr. Washo said.

"They are employees of the authority. I have no authority over them," he said. "This is made more complicated by the fact that the meter program continues to be administered by the authority."

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

Scott seeks grant for sewer system

SCOTT TWP. - With residents along the central sewer line facing a likely rise in their already steep sewer rates, supervisors approved a motion that could offset such an increase.

At Tuesday's special Scott Twp. supervisors meeting, supervisors voted 2-0 to apply for a state grant that would pay Reilly Associates of Pittston to decommission the wastewater treatment plant at the Scott Technology Park and replace it with a gravity sewer line and a connection to the township's public sanitary sewer system.

Chairman David Makala abstained from the vote because he is an employee of Reilly Associates. He will not gain any financial benefit should Reilly Associates work for the township.

The line, starting at the technology park, would run down Mostowski Road to the pump station behind the Joe Terry Civic Center. It would connect approximately 80 EDUs, or equivalent dwelling units, to the central sewer system, which would "substantially reduce" the monthly sewer rate of $78.40, said sewer authority member and Supervisor Michael Giannetta.

"When we were originally doing the project, every additional EDU would lower the monthly bill by 11 cents," Mr. Giannetta said. "Eleven cents multiplied by 80 (EDUs), that's eight or nine dollars (per bill) we could potentially save."

If the sewer rate remains the same, and 80 EDUs are connected to the system, the monthly sewer rate would drop $8.80, or 11 percent, to $69.60.

However, such an occurrence remains unlikely, as the authority has to pay back a $1 million loan it secured earlier this month through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Agency.

The loan, which will be used to fund the resurfacing of the township roads impacted by the massive sewer project, is expected to cost the sewer authority roughly $3 per EDU over its 40-year term.

Contact the writer: miorfino@timesshamrock.com, miorfinoTT on Twitter

Mental health services face cuts

Counties respond to less funding

HARRISBURG - Counties are responding to state budget cuts for mental health services by limiting outpatient visits, cutting family support programs and closing clubhouses that offer psychiatric services among other belt-tightening moves, a county program administrator told a House committee hearing Tuesday.

These decisions are being made as counties learn their specific state allocations for mental health programs for fiscal 2012-13 and wait to find out which of them will participate in a new state block grant program for managing human services programs, said Christopher Wysocki speaking on behalf of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. Mr. Wysocki administrators Juniata Valley Tri-County Behavioral and Developmental Services.

"When community supports for the mentally ill are cut, we project increases in hospitalization and emergency use and increases in the number of mentally ill individuals in the prison population," he said.

The Human Services Committee heard testimony from county officials, advocates and professionals about the 10 percent cut in state aid in fiscal 2012-13 for county-run human services programs, the end of the state General Assistance program and the implementation of the new block grant.

"The area that is most in danger of complete collapse is outpatient services," said Anne Leisure, director of legislative services for the Pennsylvania Community Providers Association.

A PCPA survey of service providers found that one-third have closed an outpatient clinic or satellite office, she said.

Outpatient clinics are the initial and often sole source of mental health treatment for thousands of people and are less expensive than inpatient care and hospital stays, said Ms. Leisure.

The 10 percent cut is hurting older Pennsylvanians who need age-appropriate services to cope with depression, anxiety and dementia, said Rebecca May-Cole, executive director of the Pennsylvania Behavioral Health and Aging Coalition.

"The older adult gets lost in the shuffle," she said.

The end of the GA cash grant program which had provided a $205 monthly stipend to nearly 70,000 Pennsylvanians is devastating to individuals on the road to mental health recovery, said Debbie Plotnick, advocacy director for the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Those individuals had used the $205 to pay rent or make co-payments on prescriptions, she added.

The Department of Public Welfare has authority to approve human services block grant programs in 20 counties. Thirty of the state's 67 counties, including Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne, applied last month to participate.

A committee member, Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-121, Wilkes-Barre, joined others in calling for more tracking of the impact of state aid cuts.

Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-88, Camp Hill, drew attention to state budget increases to reduce waiting lists for individuals with mental disabilities.

Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com

Senior U.S. District Judge Richard P. Conaboy sentenced a former Tobyhanna Army Depot worker on Tuesday to two years in federal prison for selling marijuana, cocaine and crack to employees of the Monroe County-based military facility.

Jerrold Hahn was immediately taken into custody Tuesday after pleading guilty to selling drugs to 10 to 15 depot employees.

Judge Conaboy called Mr. Hahn's conduct "one of the most serious violations of security" in the history of the depot, which employs more than 4,000 workers and is one of the largest employers in Northeast Pennsylvania.

"I was and still am disturbed," the senior judge told the 62-year-old Mr. Hahn.

The depot repairs and builds electronic equipment for the military. In 2010, the facility had nearly $1 billion in revenue.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus Jr. said Mr. Hahn's customers bought drugs from him off the grounds of the 1,296-acre facility in Coolbaugh Twp. and there was no indication of drug use at the depot.

Depot spokesman Ed Mickley declined to comment.

Employed for 31 years, Mr. Hahn earned about $64,000 annually and was a program manager in charge of military sales.

He retired last year, and was arrested in November.

The FBI investigated the case.

The employees who bought drugs from Mr. Hahn have not been charged, said Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus Jr. He declined to elaborate.

Mr. Hahn, 301 Donny Drive, Roaring Brook Twp., cooperated with investigators and helped them identify his drug customers, who mostly bought marijuana from him, Mr. Gurganus said.

Judge Conaboy agreed to impose a more lenient prison sentence - guidelines called for 30 to 37 months - because of his cooperation and no prior criminal record. Mr. Hahn could have faced a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Federal prosecutors offered him the possibility of two years in prison in exchange for details about the extent of his drug dealing at the depot and agreeing to plead guilty, Mr. Gurganus and the judge said.

By pleading guilty, Mr. Hahn waived his right to trial and avoided being indicted by a federal grand jury.

Standing before Judge Conaboy wearing an open-collared, blue-and-white-striped dress shirt with his hands crossed in front of him, Mr. Hahn apologized to the judge in a gravelly voice.

"I am very sorry for what I did, your honor," Mr. Hahn said.

After he serves his prison sentence, the judge ordered him to serve three years of supervised release.

Contact the writer: smcconnell@timesshamrock.com

@smcconnellTT on Twitter

COULTHARD, JAMES T., Olyphant, Tuesday, John J. Turko & Sons Funeral Home, Olyphant, by the Rev. W. Jeffrey Paulish. Interment, private.

CULLEN, HELEN A. RATCHFORD, Princeton, N.J., formerly of Scranton, today, 10:45 a.m., Thomas J. Hughes Funeral Home Inc., 1240 St. Ann's St., Scranton. Mass, 11, St. Ann's Basilica. Interment, Cathedral Cemetery. Calling hours, today, 9 to 10:45. Contributions: St. Ann's Basilica Parish, 1250 St. Ann's St., Scranton, PA 18504, or Princeton Hospice, 208 Bunn Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540.

EDMUNDS, RUTH M., South Scranton, formerly of New Jersey, Thursday, 9 a.m., August J. Haas Funeral Home Inc., 202 Pittston Ave., Scranton. Mass, 9:30, St. Peter's Cathedral, by the Rev. Brian J. T. Clarke. Interment Cathedral Cemetery. Calling hours, today, 4 to 7 p.m. Contributions: Griffin Pond Animal Shelter, 967 Griffin Pond Road, Clarks Summit, PA 18414. Condolences: augusthaasfuneralhome.com.

FEHRENBACH, HERBERT FRANK, Factoryville, formerly of New Jersey, private. Interment, Paramus, N.J. Condolences: aplitwinfuneral homes.com.

GAYLETS, MARGUERITE, formerly of Avoca and Philadelphia, Mass, today, 11 a.m., Queen of the Apostles Church, Hawthorne Street, Avoca, by the Rev. Phillip J. Sladicka. Interment, SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Springfield, Thursday, 12:30 p.m. Calling hours, today, 10 to Mass. Arrangements: Kniffen O'Malley Funeral Home Inc., 728 Main St., Avoca. Condolences: BestLifeTributes.com.

HOOTEN, GERARD P. SR., Browndale, visitatation, today, 5 to 8 p.m., Kevin M. Lesjack Funeral Home, 513 Main St., Forest City. Condolences: www.lesjackfuneral home.com.

HYDUCHAK, PAUL, Taylor, Friday, 8:45 a.m., Semian Funeral Home, 704 Union St., Taylor. Divine Liturgy, 9:30, St. George's Orthodox Church, 743 S. Keyser Ave., Taylor, by the Very Rev. Protopresbyter Mark Leasure. Interment, parish cemetery, Taylor. Calling hours, Thursday, 5 to 8 p.m. Parastas, 5. Contributions: St. George's Orthodox Church, 743 S. Keyser Ave., Taylor, PA 18517. Condolences: semian cares.com. Also surviving are his uncle and godfather, Paul Lukachko and wife, Helen, Taylor.

JONES, ANN W., West Scranton, Thursday, 11 a.m., Shady Lane Cemetery, Shady Lane Road, Chinchilla, by the Rev. Earl O. Cassel, pastor, United Baptist Church, Scranton. Condolences: van stonandjames.com. Arrangements: Vanston and James Funeral Home.

MAHER, GERALDINE "GG" BOY­LAN, Spotswood, N.J., formerly of Scranton and Lake Ariel, Mass, Saturday, Immaculate Con­ception Church, Spotswood. Service, today, Cathedral Cemetery, Scranton, by the Rev. Martin Boylan, St. Patrick's Church, Scranton. Arrangements: Donahue Funeral Home, Scranton. Contributions: Immaculate Conception Church, 18 South St., Spotswood, NJ 08884; or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, www.stjude.org.

MAY, JOSEPH C., Dickson City, private. Arrangements: Frank T. Mazur Funeral Home Inc., 601 Dundaff St., Dickson City. Condolences: mazurfu neralhome.com.

MORASKI, EDWARD F., Scranton, today, Solfanelli Fiorillo Funeral Home Inc., 1030 N. Main Ave., Scranton. Mass, 9:30 a.m., Holy Rosary Church, 316 William St., Scranton. Go directly to church. Interment with military honors, Cathedral Cemetery, Scranton. Contributions: St. Francis of Assisi Kitchen, 500 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503; or Mary Mother of God Parish, 316 William St., Scranton, PA 18509. Condolences: solfanelli fiorillofuneralhome.com.

NAGY, JOHN B., Scranton, Thursday, Solfanelli-Fiorillo Funeral Home Inc., 1030 N. Main Ave., Scranton. Mass, 9:30 a.m., Holy Rosary Church, 316 William St., Scranton. Interment, Cathedral Cemetery. Calling hours, today, 5 to 8 p.m. Contributions: Stepping into the Future Fund at Mary, Mother of God Parish, 316 William St., Scranton, PA 18508. Condolences: solfanellifiorillofuneralhome.com.

SCOTT, MARY G., Clifton Twp., Friday, 10:30 a.m., Brian Arthur Strauch Funeral Homes and Cremation Services, 3 First St., Spring Brook Twp., by the Rev. Ron Onder, pastor of Gouldsboro and Thornurst United Methodist churches. Entombment, Fairview Memorial Park, Elmhurst. Calling hours, Thursday, 5 to 8 p.m. Contributions: Alzheimer's Association, 57 N. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701. Condolences: strauchfuneralhomes.com.

SEIFERT, MARY MARGARET, Olyphant, Thursday, 7 p.m., Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 505 Griffin Pond Road, Clarks Summit, by Bishop Charles Failing. Arrangements: Davies and Jones Funeral Chapel, 135 S. Main Ave., Scranton.

STATSMAN, EMIL W., Dunmore, formerly of South Scranton, Thursday, Carlucci-Golden-DeSantis Funeral Home Inc., 318 E. Drinker St., Dunmore. Service, 10 a.m., Grace Reformed Episcopal Church, Scranton. Interment, Dunmore Cemetery. Calling hours today, 5 to 8 p.m. Contributions: Grace Reformed Episcopal Church, 104 Laurel Drive, Scranton, PA 18505; or Hospice of the Sacred Heart, 600 Baltimore Drive, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702. Condolences: DunmoreFuneralHome.com.

SUEY, GEORGE, Jermyn, today, 9:30 a.m., St. John's Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Hill Street, Mayfield, by the Very Rev. Mitred Archpriest John Sorochka. Interment, St. John's Cemetery, Mayfield. Arrangements: Ryczak-Harrison Funeral Home Inc., Mayfield. Contributions: St. John's Cathedral, Hill Street, Mayfield.

SWOYER, WILLIAM F. "BUZZ," Peckville, Thursday, 5 to 8 p.m., Robert E. Decker Funeral Home, 702 River St., Peckville. Donations: Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center at Columbia University, New York City, (www.columbia-lyme.org/donate.html); or cancer research charity of choice.

TELESK, MARK, Crystal Lake, Saturday, private, Anthony P. Litwin Funeral Home, 33 Reynolds St., Factoryville, by the Rev. Thomas Petro of the Church of Our Lady of the Abingtons. Cremation, R.H. Jones Crematory, Tunkhannock. Interment, East Benton Cemetery. Calling hours, Saturday, 3 to 5 p.m. Condolences: aplitwinfuneralhomes.com.

ULIAS, GERTRUDE ANN, Sibley section of Old Forge, today, 10 a.m., Thomas P. Kearney Funeral Home Inc., 517 N. Main St., Old Forge. Mass, 10:30, St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Lawrence and West Grace streets, Old Forge, by the Rev. Louis T. Kaminski, pastor. Interment, Holy Cross Cemetery, Old Forge Visitation today, 9 to 10 a.m. Condolences: KearneyFuneralHome.com.

WASNETSKY, KATHRYN A., Olyphant, Thursday, 9:30 a.m., John Turko and Sons Funeral Home, 404 Susquehanna Ave., Olyphant. Divine Liturgy, 10, SS. Cyril & Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church, River Street, Olyphant, by the Rev. Nestor Iwasiw, pastor. Interment, parish cemetery, Peckville. Calling hours, today, 5 to 8 p.m. Parastas, 5:30. Contributions: Griffin Pond Animal Shelter, 967 Griffin Pond Road, Clarks Summit, PA 18411.

ZILLA, JOHN S. "OZZIE," Throop, Tuesday, Mass, Blessed Sacrament Parish, Throop, by Monsignor Michael J. Delaney, administrator. Pallbearers: John Bonda and Dion Calabro, sons-in-law; Jarrad Bonda, grandson; Edward and Joseph Zilla, Rick Baldauff Sr. and Andy Smith, nephews; and Richard Vaicechaus-kas. Interment with military rites, St. John's Cemetery, Throop.

Woman facing forgery charges

SCRANTON - A Scranton woman faces forgery and conspiracy charges after she altered a prescription for Adderall at a local pharmacy, city police said.

Leonard's Pharmacy, 107 W. Market St., contacted officials to report Rachel Turner, 29, 452 St. Frances Cabrini Ave., had altered the date on a prescription from July 6 to June 6 to get the drug earlier than prescribed, police said.

Ms. Turner was arraigned Friday, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday and is in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail, according to court documents.

CLIPBOARD

Carbondale

Bag sale: Trinity Episcopal Church dollar bag sale Thursday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., River Street.

Clarks Summit

Electronics recycling: Clarks Summit United Methodist Church free electronics recycling day, Oct. 6, 9 a.m.-noon; unwanted, broken and outdated electronics and appliances, many free, some with fees; donations benefit church and Abington Community Library.

Dunmore

Society meets: St. Anthony/St. Rocco Altar and Rosary Society meeting Sept. 19, 7 p.m., St. Roccos Hall, Kurtz Street; planning for spaghetti supper scheduled Oct. 24-25 at St. Rocco's Hall.

Club meeting: The WTS Club meeting, Tuesday, 6 p.m., Maira's; Christmas party discussion.

East Scranton

Club meeting: The 800 Club of Immaculate Conception Church meeting, Thursday, 1:30 p.m., church parish center; annual dues collection.

Madisonville

Ham dinner: Madisonvile Fire Company all-you-can-eat ham dinner, Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., 3131 Madisonville Road; ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, beans, cabbage salad, applesauce, cottage cheese, rolls, dessert, beverage; $8/adults, $3/children; adult takeouts available at drive through; 842-7711.

Mayfield

Vendors wanted: Vendor/crafter applications being accepted by the Christmas Bazaar Commit­tee of St. John's Russian Ortho­dox Cathedral, bazaar dates, Nov. 9-11, applications, Joan Zaleski, 254-6882 or 906-4520, or St. John's Rectory, 876-0730.

New Milford

Free lunch: Good News Lunch, Saturday, noon, St. Mark's Community Center, Main Street.

Newton-Ransom

Craft show: Newton-Ransom Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary fall craft show, Oct. 13, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., fire company hall, 1890 Newton Ransom Blvd., free admis­sion/parking, cookie, homemade soup and bread sales.

Olyphant

Barbecue dinner: All Saints "O" Club chicken or ribs barbecue dinner, Oct. 6, 1-4 p.m., church hall, 211 Willow Ave., $10/chicken, $14/ribs by Kundla's in Hamlin, advance orders, 876-4123 or 842-9680, limited tickets at door.

Western Wayne Area

Craft fair: Western Wayne Marching Band and Color Guard craft fair, Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., middle school; more than 95 vendors, raffle prizes, bake sale, kids craft corner, $3.

CLIPBOARD ITEMS may be emailed to yesdesk@times shamrock.com or mailed to Clip­board, c/o YES!Desk, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. For details, call the YES!Desk, 348-9121.

A University of Scranton-affiliated clinic that provides health care to uninsured people began doubling hours available to see patients this week.

The Edward R. Leahy Jr. Clinic for the Uninsured now sees patients who schedule appointments on Tuesdays from noon until 4 p.m. Until now, the clinic opened only on Thursdays from 2 to 6 p.m. to see walk-in patients.

Officials with the clinic and university say the community needs have increased since the clinic opened in 2008. Debra A. Pellegrino, Ed.D., dean of the university's Panuska College of Professional Studies, which includes the Leahy Clinic, said helping those in need fits into the university's Jesuit tradition.

"We believe in giving back, especially to the underserved," Dr. Pellegrino said.

With estimates of more than 12 percent of Lackawanna County residents without insurance, the need for health care services for the uninsured seems like a constant in the area. U.S. census data show Lackawanna County had an estimated 21,480 people without insurance in 2010, the most recent year available.

The downtown clinic, at 240 Kessler Court, will open on Tuesdays until Oct. 2, resume from Oct. 30 through Nov. 13 and again Nov. 27.

Dr. Pellegrino said this semester will serve as a test to see if resources exist to make it a long-term change. She said enough physicians have agreed to volunteer their time to cover the additional day of serving patients.

Efforts to reach the clinic's director, Andrea Mantione, who is on vacation this week, were not successful.

Many students volunteer to assist at the clinic, from undergraduate nursing students to graduate physical therapy students.

Along with the university, the clinic receives support from the state, churches, private and public organizations and individuals.

Appointments can be made at the clinic by calling 941-6112.

Contact the writer: rward@timesshamrock.com, @rwardTT on Twitter

Since he set up shop at Gabby's Luncheonette on Courthouse Square earlier this year, authorities allege Richard Mahan has had more than omelettes and home fries for sale.

The culmination of a five-month probe, investigators with the Lackawanna County district attorney's office on Monday raided a Hill Section home described as the 36-year-old Moscow man's "stash house," seizing enough cocaine and marijuana to bring in more than $150,000 on the street.

"This quantity of cocaine is huge," said Lackawanna County Assistant District Attorney Shane Scanlon, referencing a single brick of uncut cocaine weighing about a pound.

In total, detectives found 633 grams of cocaine, 407 grams of marijuana and 18 Vicodin pills in the room he rented at 812 Madison Ave. for $1,000 a month.

"All that cocaine is uncut, untouched," Mr. Scanlon said.

The value of the cocaine seized - about $65,000 - would have at least doubled once Mr. Mahan diluted it with a cutting agent and packaged it for sale, Mr. Scanlon said.

Mr. Mahan's room on Madison Avenue - rented from the father of an old girlfriend who authorities said was not aware of Mr. Mahan's drug business - was used strictly as a stash house for Mr. Mahan's product and the tools used to prepare it for sale, Mr. Scanlon said.

From the cocaine itself to the powder used to cut the drug, the scale to weigh it and the bags to package it, investigators found evidence of every step of the production process in Mr. Mahan's room.

"You see every tool here that you would need to produce and sell - the strainer, the cut, the raw, all the bags," Mr. Scanlon said.

After the raid on Madison Avenue, Mr. Mahan was taken into custody at his 103 Brooke St. home in Moscow, authorities said.

Over the course of the investigation, which included a series of controlled purchases of the drugs from Mr. Mahan, Mr. Scanlon said investigators established that "there were (drug) sales coming out of the restaurant" at Linden Street and North Washington Avenue.

To conduct his illicit business so near the Lackawanna County Courthouse, where daily the very investigators and prosecutors behind his arrest stream in and out, was "very brazen" on Mr. Mahan's part, Mr. Scanlon said.

Mr. Scanlon credited investigators' timing for the amount of narcotics seized in the raid Monday, which coincided with Mr. Mahan resupplying in the New York area.

Mr. Mahan was arraigned Tuesday morning on three counts each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance along with one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was taken to Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Sept. 20.

Contact the writer: domalley@timesshamrock.com @domalleytt on Twitter

LA PLUME TWP. - A Nicholson man was killed in a car crash Tuesday, according to officials.

Thomas McGurk, 76, died when his SUV left the northbound lane of Route 11, overturned and struck a construction sign near the entrance of Tall Timbers Village just before 3 p.m., Lackawanna County Coroner Tim Rowland said.

Mr. McGurk was partially ejected from the vehicle and had to be extricated by emergency personnel from Factoryville and Dalton fire companies, according to state police at Dunmore.

He was taken by ambulance to Geisinger Community Medical Center, where he later died as a result of multiple traumatic injuries, Mr. Rowland said.

I-84 chickens still need a sanctuary

SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. - The remaining 200 of the roughly 250 chickens found on Interstate 84 last week are still calling the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter home - for now.

Warren Reed, executive director of the shelter, said his staff is still looking for a sanctuary to send the chickens to, but in the meantime they are hunkering down at the shelter.

The chickens, 50 of which were euthanized because of severe injuries, are not up for adoption, Mr. Reed said. "We don't want anybody eating them," he said.

Nuisance label disputed

DICKSON CITY - Jon Tabatabaie doesn't think a property under his company's ownership should be subject to a lawsuit by the Dickson City, and he let the council know at Tuesday night's meeting.

Late last month, the borough brought a lawsuit against several property owners for varying degrees of blight that officials say constitute nuisance properties. Among the defendants listed in the lawsuit is Twins Management LLC, whom Mr. Tabatabaie represents, for a property at 507-509 Hallstead St. Court papers list broken windows, a hole in a rear roof, rotting wood and a lack of electricity.

However, Mr. Tabatabaie said since acquiring 507 Hallstead in 2009, and later 509 in 2011, progress has been made on the properties, including cleaning up landscaping, repairing the roof and redoing the shutters and doors.

"We've been doing continuous work," he said.

Council President Barbara Mecca declined to comment on Mr. Tabatabaie's statement about the property because the issue is in litigation.

Also at the meeting, council approved a resolution to file an application for $500,000 in financial assistance through the gaming funds grants for the $1.35 million Dickson City Civic Center expansion project.

Council also voted to purchase a $8,066 stainless steel dump body for a new truck, as well as advertise the sale of 2007 and 2009 Dodge Charger police vehicles, a New Holland L250 non-running Skid Steer and a 2001 Ford F550 with a rugby body.

Contact the writer: ksullivan@timesshamrock.com, @ksullivanTT on Twitter

The events of Sept. 11, 2001, are memorialized in many different ways, and for one area man, they are best remembered with a pair of whitetail deer antlers.

Those antlers were stolen several years ago, but Thomas Nawrocki, 53, of Whitehall said he will continue offering a $1,000 reward for their return as long as necessary. He took out a classified ad offering the reward, describing the plaque and listing contact information.

An avid hunter, Mr. Nawrocki was at an archery festival 11 years ago when he heard the news of Sept. 11. It wasn't until he learned of the terrorist attacks in New York City that he realized his friend of 30 years, a New York City firefighter, had not attended the festival.

"There was no cellphone or any kind of service and he didn't show," Mr. Nawrocki recalled. "Everybody thought he must have gone down with it. It just kind of took the steam out of everybody."

Fortunately for Mr. Nawrocki, his friend, Tom Conroy,, had recently retired from the New York Fire Department.

Still reeling from the unimaginable events that claimed the lives of many Mr. Conroy had served with for years, the two went for a hunt together that year.

"I shot a buck. It was a typical hunting scenario," Mr. Nawrocki said, adding that it was a turning point for the two. "It seemed like everything was going to be normal again and everything was going to be all right. Everything was going to pass."

He mounted the antlers on a special plaque in the shape of New York state, which he painted red, white and blue. It hung on the wall in his parents' home in Throop, where he kept all of his trophies, until it was stolen in 2010.

"Now it's a room I can't even go in anymore. Something is missing," he said.

The plaque and antlers have no monetary value, and Mr. Nawrocki hopes that somehow he will recover it, because it holds symbolic value to him.

"I'll put that in the paper now forever," he said of the ad. "I don't care. I can't stop thinking about it."

Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter

Today will be much like Tuesday, only warmer. The National Weather Services says a large high pressure system will continue to dominate NEPA's weather through Friday "yielding rain-free weather, cool crisp nights and warm, mainly sunny days".  After a start in the 50s we can expect a high near 79 today.

PennDOT will continue work on projects including southbound on Interstate 81 between Exits 188 (Dunmore/Throop) and 185 (Central Scranton Expressway), where motorists may consider using Interstate 476 (PA Turnpike/toll road) from Clarks Summit. For details on other road travel conditions check in at www.511pa.com/.All flights are listed as arriving and departing on time this morning at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. For updated flight information, check: http://thetimes-tribune.com/local-flights.

Vincent Uher can still remember seeing little boys' underwear hanging above the suspect's bed.

Then there were the cutouts from children's underwear advertisements, the soap carvings of male genitalia strewn about the Linden Street home.

"He had all that kind of stuff, and it was a creepy, creepy thing," Detective Uher said. "He had hundreds and hundreds of images in his house."

By the time Michael M. Baranow's case landed on his desk in early 2003, it had only been about a year since Detective Uher had been promoted from the patrol division.

Mr. Baranow, then 61 years old, had been downloading and printing images of child pornography at the Albright Memorial Library.

The fledgling detective went to the library, took a seat and watched as Mr. Baranow printed out a new batch of images.

After an arrest team tailed Mr. Baranow home to take him in, it was time to get a search warrant and take a look inside.

"It was just very disturbing," Detective Uher said.

The case was solid, though, and within a few months Mr. Baranow was sentenced to five to 40 years in state prison.

Soon after, Detective Uher was told the Lackawanna County district attorney's office was putting together a special victims task force and wanted him to investigate child abuse exclusively.

"I figured I'd take it for about a year or so," he said. "Here I am eight years later, nine years later still doing it."

Today, that team is made up of Detective Uher and his partner, Detective Jennifer Gerrity, and the prosecutors and detectives who make up the special victims unit of the county district attorney's office.

Every job in law enforcement comes with the understanding that on any given day one may face the most depraved, indefensible human behavior.

They face it every day.

"It's a shock to the system," Detective Uher said. "One minute you're working on an identity theft or a robbery. Next thing you're looking at a 5-year-old little boy being forced to have sex with somebody. … It's like the sun - you've got to look, but you don't want to."

'Get the ball rolling'

The investigations can start any number of ways: a family member may raise concerns to Children and Youth Services, a tipster may phone in a report to Child Line - Pennsylvania's statewide hotline for reporting child abuse - or, on occasion, a victim will simply walk into the district attorney's office.

No matter how authorities become aware of abuse, the reaction is generally the same, said Deputy District Attorney Jennifer McCambridge, head of the office's special victims unit.

"There's a team in place, there's a plan in place. We try to treat every case the same," she said

More often than not, a victim's report comes long after the alleged abuse - a "delayed disclosure."

"It's different if they come in saying something happened yesterday or 10 minutes ago or ... 10 years ago," Ms. McCambridge said. "That really dictates how we then proceed and what the next step is."

At that point, an investigator will begin a police report "and get the ball rolling," Detective Uher said.

The interview

As far as the victim is concerned, the first step in a child abuse investigation is a forensic interview at the Children's Advocacy Center of Northeast Pennsylvania.

"A lot of times, (the victim) and the perpetrator are the only people that know what happened, so it's huge," Ms. McCambridge said.

Lackawanna County protocol mandates that any victims under 18 years old are interviewed by forensic interviewers rather than police officers, Detective Uher said.

"There's all kinds of issues: Was the child led there? Was she tainted? Did someone put it in her mind that that's what happened? … You have to watch how you ask those questions," he said.

Forensic interviewers at the CAC are trained to ask questions differently from police officers, allowing the child to make a disclosure independently, without any possible leading.

"The interview process, it starts out wide and then it kind of funnels down, and then you hit the piece where the disclosure is, and then you kind of let it flow back out," said Kristen Cashuric Fetcho, one of the forensic interviewers at the center.

While Ms. Fetcho sits with a victim in one room, a team of prosecutors, investigators, counselors and CAC employees will observe via closed circuit television from another room.

Toward the end of the interview, Ms. Fetcho will excuse herself, check with the team to make sure nothing is left uncovered, then go back to the child and ask an important question: "Do you think there's anything else that's important for me to know?"

"A lot of times kids will throw extra stuff out," Ms. Fetcho said.

Details

When a child discloses abuse, every last detail has value.

A child may say the abuse took place in a bedroom and there was a certain poster on one wall or a strange piece of furniture.

"So we'll be getting search warrants to go in that house and if this is exactly what the room looks like, does it prove what happened? No. But it goes toward credibility. … That's a little chip," Detective Uher said.

Or maybe just before the abuse occurred the offender took the victim out to McDonald's.

"And we'll go to McDonald's and get the tape," Detective Uher said. "We'll see them going through the drive-through."

Tattoos, the smell of cologne, even what was playing on television while the abuse occurred - anything that can be backed up is worth backing up.

"All those little things just start adding up and adding up and adding up to prove credibility of a child's statement," Detective Uher said. "Of course it's always great when we have trace evidence and DNA evidence - unfortunately that hardly ever happens."

DNA

It's a common refrain among investigators and prosecutors in Detective Uher's line of work. As much as any number of police procedural dramas would lead viewers to believe, cases are very rarely closed in a laboratory.

"It's extraordinarily rare that you're even within the realm of possibilities," First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico said of physical evidence.

Even physical injuries rarely come into play as evidence.

"It doesn't take very long for, even if there were injuries, for them to start repairing," Ms. McCambridge said. "It used to strike me as odd … but the body by nature fixes itself."

Generally speaking, investigators have a 72-hour window after abuse occurs to recover DNA evidence or document the existence of physical injuries before they heal, Mr. Talerico said.

But with so many cases beginning with delayed disclosures, sometimes years after the abuse occurred, that is hardly ever a possibility, he said.

Confessions

Rather than finding a sample for the lab, investigators' top priority in these cases is confessions.

Not only does it bolster the case significantly, Detective Uher said, but if it leads to a plea agreement, it could save the victim from having to tell his or her story in court, which can be traumatic.

"And it's not going to be in that cozy room up at the CAC (Children's Advocacy Center) anymore. It's going to be in front of a judge, the bad guy's going to be there, you're going to have a jury there, a defense lawyer coming down hard on a child, so we work hard to get confessions," he said.

That's where those details from the forensic interview come in.

"We get so much corroborating evidence that we go in there and show them that and tell them, 'By you lying it's just making everything worse,' " Detective Uher said. "I hardly even raise my voice, and I get a lot of confessions."

In their experience, Detective Uher and Detective Gerrity have found that leveling with suspects and almost consoling them is most effective.

"I get a lot more (confessions) by holding hands, patting backs and saying, 'This sucks. I'm sorry,' " Detective Gerrity said.

Child pornography

Investigators working on child molestation cases have the benefit of a victim - a living, breathing child with a story that can be backed up and brought to bear on a suspect.

County Detective Justin Leri has computers.

Detective Leri's primary task is investigating Internet crimes against children, most often child pornography.

His investigations often begin with his performing an undercover file-sharing session, during which he browses peer-to-peer file-sharing networks looking for child pornography.

"They're horrible pictures to look at, but send me those pictures because I'm going to get you," he said. "That's the biggest part - to take these people who have sexual interests in children off of the streets."

Once he downloads images and determines that they are either child pornography or child erotica - non-nude but sexually suggestive images of children - he identifies the source computer's IP address, which will give him a general idea of its location.

"It could be within 50 miles, 100 miles of that area. … But it gives a general idea - this one is in Northeast Pennsylvania," he said.

The other number he checks into is called a hash value. Every file on a computer has one, and each is unique, like a fingerprint - "except it's much more specific than a human's fingerprint," Detective Leri said.

He then searches that number in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children database to see if the file has been investigated in the past, if the victim has been identified or any other information gathered on the file.

The next step is to subpoena the Internet service provider for the IP address sending the file to determine who was sitting behind that computer.

From there, Detective Leri can obtain a search warrant for the home and seize any and all electronic storage devices - everything from external hard drives to thumb drives to cellphones.

"It's not just the big black computer," Ms. McCambridge said.

Those items are carried straight into a mobile computer forensic van outfitted with computer equipment investigators use at the scene to find child pornography on a certain hard drive or other storage device.

"That's very, very valuable," Detective Leri said. "If we can preview and establish whose computer this was we can focus our interviews to that individual."

If the suspect does not come clean, Detective Leri can simply go back to his or her computer and perform a more in-depth forensic investigation to prove that the suspect was using the machine in question at the time the pornography was downloaded.

"The forensics tell a whole big story because the use of someone's computer records everything," he said. "I always say I can learn so much about someone by going through their computer."

Whether it's an Internet search history of the suspect's known interests or visits to their personal email account around the time the files were downloaded, there is always something left behind.

Court

While Detective Leri has a specialized knowledge of computers and the Internet, most jurors do not, which presents a certain challenge for prosecutors.

"To say 'hash value' to someone in the jury means nothing so you really have to instruct them in terms of what it is and what it means," Ms. McCambridge said.

When it comes to bringing cases to court, all of the evidence, interviews, digital files must be there, but there's something else.

"There is a very big human element to prosecuting sex crimes," said Assistant District Attorney Mariclare Hayes, one of the prosecutors in the special victims unit.

That part is always more complicated than the nuts and bolts of an investigation.

Children are often testifying against people they love, despite the harm they have caused them.

"It's nice to think that every victim came to court with their mom and dad by their side rooting them on, but the reality ... because of coming forward those children are out of their home. They've lost their families," she said.

Contact the writer: domalley@timesshamrock.com, @domalleyTT on Twitter