Police seek info in quarry theft
HARFORD TWP. - State police at Gibson are looking for information on the theft of about $3,700 worth of equipment and fuel from a township quarry.
Someone took a chop saw, 160 wooden pallets and fuel from Derek Conroe's Bartholomew Road stone quarry sometime between Oct. 7 and Sunday, police said.
The saw was valued at $1,200, the pallets at $2,400 and the fuel at $100, police said
Anyone with information is asked to contact state police at Gibson at 465-3154.
Teen, 15, killed in Sunday wreck
BEAR CREEK TWP. - A 15-year-old Wilkes-Barre girl died from injuries she suffered in a crash late Sunday on Bald Mountain Road in Bear Creek Twp.
State police at Wyoming identified the girl as Margaret Hughes, a 10th-grade student at Coughlin High School and Wilkes-Barre Area Vocational-Technical School.
Ms. Hughes was a passenger in a Chevrolet Lumina driven by 20-year-old Kenneth J. Kasuba of Bear Creek Twp. State police said Mr. Kasuba was driving at a high rate of speed when his vehicle went off the road, hit a ditch and rolled over several times.
Mr. Kasuba and another passenger, Christopher Gillispie, 19, of Bear Creek Twp., suffered minor injuries and were taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp., where they were treated and released, Geisinger spokesman Matt Van Stone said. Mr. Kasuba and Mr. Gillispie were wearing seat belts. Ms. Hughes was not, according to state police.
Lawton delays Luzerne budget
WILKES-BARRE - Luzerne County Manager Robert Lawton on Monday delayed proposing a budget until Friday, saying it would give him more time to consult with administration officials and eliminate a $7 million gap.
Deeper spending cuts are needed for Mr. Lawton's goal to balance the budget without an increase in the property tax rate. Mr. Lawton said he included the elimination of 41 county jobs in a budget that would keep general-fund spending at this year's level, $122.6 million.
But more cuts are needed because general fund revenue is expected to decrease $6.3 million next year. The gap between projected revenue and requested spending was initially $12 million, and that gap has been reduced to $7 million, Mr. Lawton told county council members in an email.
Leighton unveils 2013 budget
WILKES-BARRE - Mayor Tom Leighton on Monday unveiled his fix to the city's multimillion-dollar deficit - a 31 percent property tax increase and hikes in city fees.
Under Mr. Leighton's proposal, the average household will pay about $183 more per year. The $45.8 million proposed budget contains a 2 percent increase in spending from last year's budget.
"We have survived the Great Recession as one of the only Pennsylvania municipalities of any class that has not raised taxes since 2009," Mr. Leighton said during a speech at City Hall. "Now, as the economy is showing recovery in some areas, it is necessary to restore the balance and ask those that live in this city, work in this city and do business in the city to contribute more in order to fulfill our mission."
Dozens protest gas drillers
MONROE TWP. - People opposed to fracking for natural gas protested Monday against the infrastructure used to bring the gas to market.
About two dozen people gathered in front of PVR Partners' natural gas dehydration station on Route 309. Rebecca Roter of Brooklyn Twp., Susquehanna County, organized the rally as part of national "Occupy the Pipeline" day. PVR spokesman Stephen R. Milbourne said the protesters have the right to assemble and speak their minds, as long as they don't trespass.
The protesters gathered in front of the dehydration station, which removes liquids from natural gas and adds odorant to it before the gas continues to Dallas Twp. and into a connection with the Transco interstate pipeline.
Pipelines, compressor stations and natural gas dehydration stations have nothing to do directly with well-drilling and hydraulic fracturing.