Borough updates move ahead
ARCHBALD - The council advanced a project to enhance Betty Street at a meeting Wednesday.
Borough Manager Jack Giordano opened six bids for a project to add lighting along the street, ranging from $62,000 to $130,000. Council members Ken Propst, Randy Grandinetti and Shirley Barrett were appointed to a committee to review the bids and select a contractor for the project.
Also at the meeting, Brian T. Kelly was hired to complete an audit of the borough's accounts, at a price not to exceed $7,575.
Marshals arrest sex offender
SCRANTON - U.S. Marshals took a New York man who violated Megan's Law into custody Tuesday after finding him in Scranton.
Anthony Walker, 28, was sought for failing to register as a sex offender after a May 2006 conviction in Franklin County, N.Y., on forcible touching/sexual fondling charges with a 16-year-old.
Acting on a tip that he was in the Scranton area, marshals based here found him Tuesday afternoon in the 100 block of South Washington Avenue.
He was charged as a fugitive from justice and is awaiting extradition to New York.
Local bars cited for gambling
DALTON - Three Lackawanna County bars have been cited by the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement based on incidents in the fall.
Frank Fratamico and the Casanova, 901-903 S. Webster Ave., Scranton; Edward P. Dunn and Dunn's Tavern, 905 S. Main Ave., Scranton; and McGrath's Pub and Eatery, 112 E. Main St., Dalton, were all cited with gambling charges.
The penalties range from $50 to $1,000 for minor offenses and up to $5,000 for serious offenses, according to state police.
Two accused of endangerment
PITTSTON - An Avoca couple is facing child endangerment charges after authorities found their children living in "deplorable conditions," including beds soiled with dog feces and floors with open holes.
William Paul Tucker Jr., 30, and his wife, Brianna C. Tucker, 33, of 607 Valley St., Avoca, are charged with two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child after a Luzerne County Children and Youth Services caseworker reported the living conditions Monday.
Officers entered the home to find dog feces and urine throughout, with large piles of clothing also soiled with excrement, according to the affidavit.
The kitchen sink was unusable because it was so full of dirty dishes, and a bathroom was in "deplorable" condition, with a tub filled with dirty clothes, Avoca Police Chief David Homschek wrote.
Upstairs, police found holes in the floors and dog feces in the children's beds, he wrote.
Riverside eyes price of NEIU
TAYLOR - At a work session Thursday, the Riverside School District discussed the price tag for next year's contract with the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit.
The board is expect to vote Monday on whether to contract with NEIU for special-education services for the 2013-2014 school year at an estimated cost of $731,177.90.
It is also expected to vote on Riverside's projected $37,919.91 share of NEIU proposed operating budget. The board will meet Monday in the high school library at 7 p.m.