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[] | 2016-08-30T06:47:20 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581514%2Fbrazils-rousseff-defends-self-ahead-of-senates-ouster-vote.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581514/brazils-rousseff-defends-self-ahead-of-senates-ouster-vote | en | null | Brazil’s Rousseff defends self ahead of Senate’s ouster vote | null | null | timesleader.com | BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — On what could prove to be her last day as Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff mounted a forceful defense of her time leading Latin America’s most populous nation, warning senators that ousting her would hurt a young democracy while defiantly promising to go down fighting in what many see as a losing battle.
Rousseff, who has been suspended since May, delivered a 30-minute address Monday at her impeachment trial in the Senate, then sat for questioning by senators that ran for more than 14 hours, until just before midnight. The Senate was scheduled to begin proceedings for a final vote on whether to remove her permanently Tuesday.
Some exchanges were heated, but most were civil and traversed themes that the country has been wrestling with since an impeachment measure was introduced in the lower House of Deputies late last year, polarizing the nation.
Opposition senators accused Rousseff of breaking fiscal responsibility laws to hide holes in the federal budget, saying that exacerbated a recession that has led to 10 percent inflation and daily announcements of layoffs.
She called that nonsense, contending she broke no laws and noting previous presidents used similar accounting measures. She said she was forced to make tough choices on the budget in the face of declining revenues and a refusal by opponents in Congress to work with her.
If anything, she said, the impeachment process had hurt the economy, placing the blame on the opposition, which has argued that she has to be removed for the financial climate to improve.
“I know I will be judged, but my conscience is clear. I did not commit a crime,” Rousseff told senators, who listened intently in contrast to the chamber’s usual raucousness.
Watching the proceedings, Rousseff’s mentor and predecessor as president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is himself under investigation, said: “She said what she had to say.”
Yet many top leaders, including Silva, have acknowledged that Rousseff’s chances of surviving the Senate’s final vote are slim.
For Rousseff to be removed, at least 54 of the 81 senators need to vote in favor. Counts by local media say 52 senators have said they plan on voting for removal, while 18 are opposed and 11 have not said one way or another. In May, the same body voted 55-22 to impeach and suspend her.
“I need all of you, regardless of political parties,” Rousseff said in her closing remarks to senators, urging them to keep her on the job. Their response was tepid.
Earlier, Rousseff had sharp words for her vice president, Michel Temer, who took over when she was impeached and suspended and will finish her term if the Senate permanently removes her.
She called him a “usurper,” and argued Brazilians would never have elected a man who named a Cabinet of all white men in a country that is more than 50 percent non-white. The Cabinet that Temer put in place in May has been roundly criticized for its lack of diversity, and three of his ministers were forced to step down within a month of taking office because of corruption allegations.
“I’m not sure when, but at some point he began to change,” said Rousseff, who has repeatedly accused Temer of being the ringleader pushing for her ouster.
Temer, who stayed out of sight Monday, issued a statement calling “lies” many of the claims made about him over the last several months. The statement said Temer would not raise the retirement age to 70 or 75, eliminate sick pay or roll back labor laws.
“These and other lies were attributed in an irresponsible and frivolous way to the interim government,” it said.
Temer’s finance minister, Henrique Meirelles, has said his priority is to curb government spending and pass a pension reform.
But Monday was about Rousseff, who often appeared to be holding court, dominating the conversation as she contended that Brazil’s democracy was at stake.
Brazil’s first female president is a former guerrilla fighter who was jailed and tortured during the country’s dictatorship, and she drew a connection between her past and the current situation.
“I can’t help but taste the bitterness of injustice,” Rousseff said of the impeachment effort.
She reminded those in attendance that she was re-elected in 2014, garnering more than 54 million votes, which she says should be not silenced.
Rousseff asserted that impeachment was the price she paid for refusing to quash a wide-ranging police investigation into the state oil company Petrobras, saying that corrupt lawmakers conspired to oust her to derail the investigation into billions in kickbacks at the oil giant.
The investigation has led to the jailing of top businessmen and politicians, including in her Workers’ Party. But they have plenty of company: Watchdog groups estimate 60 percent of the 594 lawmakers in both chambers are being investigated for wrongdoing, many for corruption related to the Petrobras probe.
Rousseff said it was “an irony of history” that she would be judged for crimes she did not commit, by people who were accused of serious crimes.
“I ask that you be just with an honest president,” she said during her initial address, her voice cracking with emotion.
___
Associated Press writer Mauricio Savarese reported this story in Brasilia and AP writer Peter Prengaman reported from Rio de Janeiro.
___
Mauricio Savarese on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MSavarese
Peter Prengaman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/peterprengaman | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581514/brazils-rousseff-defends-self-ahead-of-senates-ouster-vote | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/4f0bedcd7320c37c9855c36e0a91aa2af11d18633b069013d6ce091049c780df.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:47:10 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F581366%2Fsokol-day-to-be-held.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916sokol.day_-1.jpg | en | null | Sokol Day to be held | null | null | timesleader.com | Group 7 ” Rev. Joseph Murgas” Slovak Catholic Sokol, Wilkes-Barre, will hold its 81st-annual “Sokol Day” picnic from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Plains Lion Pavilion. Slovak food and other picnic favorites along with homemade baked goods and games for all ages will be on hand and their will be an Arts and Crafts table for any adult or child member to display their works of art. Donations for baked goods, kids table or baskets are greatly appreciated. Members seated, from left, are: Michael Horvath, supreme president of the Slovak Catholic Sokol; Amy Degnan Blasco, president Group 7; Audrey Graham, first vice president and Midge Maloshefski, historian. Back row: Dawn Palchanis, sports director; Charmaine Zablotney, Sue Horvath, Danielle Zablotney, physical directress; Irene Kaschak, Matthew Malenovitch, physical directress; Kelly Palchanis, assistant physical directress; Heather Horvath, assistant sports director; Kim Graham, secretary; Nancy Fedor, treasurer and Martin Degnan, second vice president.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916sokol.day_-1.jpg | http://timesleader.com/community-features/581366/sokol-day-to-be-held | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/be9069a0d06797c8a6adcfc85059f7a0de7a10e609a294b62182c113d95f4bb9.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T06:47:14 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581161%2Fplaying-with-sports-concussion-doubles-recovery-time-study-11.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581161/playing-with-sports-concussion-doubles-recovery-time-study-11 | en | null | Playing with sports concussion doubles recovery time: Study | null | null | timesleader.com | CHICAGO (AP) — Continuing to play despite a concussion doubles recovery time for teen athletes and leads to worse short-term mental function than in those immediately removed from action, a study found.
It’s billed as the first to compare recovery outcomes for athletes removed from a game or practice compared with those who aren’t. The study was small, involving 69 teens treated at a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center concussion clinic, but the results bolster evidence supporting the growing number of return-to-play laws and policies nationwide
The study was published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
KEEPING SCORE
The study involved athletes aged 15 on average from several sports, including football, soccer, ice hockey and basketball who had concussions during a game or practice. Half continued to play and took 44 days on average to recover from symptoms, versus 22 days in those who were immediately sidelined.
Sidelined players reported symptoms immediately, including dizziness, headaches, mental fogginess and fatigue, and were diagnosed with concussions by trainers or team physicians. The others, who continued playing for 19 minutes on average, delayed reporting symptoms and were diagnosed later.
Those who continued to play had worse scores on mental function tests performed eight days after the concussion and 30 days after the concussion. Medical records showed mental function had been similar in all players before their concussions.
RISKY RETURNS
Return-to-play policies are widespread, especially in youth athletics, and they typically recommend sidelining players after a suspected concussion until symptoms resolve. One of the main reasons is to prevent a rare condition called second-impact syndrome — potentially fatal brain swelling or bleeding that can occur when a player still recovering from a concussion gets hit again in the head.
The study results show that a prolonged recovery is another important risk from returning to play too soon — one that “no one had really calculated” until now, said Dr. Allen Sills, a Vanderbilt University neurosurgeon. He was not involved in the research.
NOT REPORTED
About 300,000 sports-related concussions occur each year nationwide among all ages. In high school athletics, they occur at a rate of almost 3 per 10,000 games or practices.
Evidence suggests up to 50 percent of concussions in teen sports aren’t reported. Athletes are sometimes not aware they’ve experienced a concussion, or they suspect a head injury but continue playing because “they don’t want to let their teammates down,” said University of Arkansas concussion researcher R.J. Elbin, the study’s lead author.
The results “give us more ammunition” to persuade young athletes to heed the return-to-play advice, Elbin said.
___
Online:
Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org
CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/headsup/youthsports/
___
Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/lindsey-tanner | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581161/playing-with-sports-concussion-doubles-recovery-time-study-11 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/482cabae4969890f10e8e51f020b8624934a9eeb97634908bb8a129095abf53a.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:47:23 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2F581559%2Flackawanna-county-restaurant-inspections-aug-17-19-jefferson-twp-and-old-forge-restaurants-are-out-of-compliance.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_salmon-518032_960_720-1.jpg | en | null | Lackawanna County restaurant inspections Aug. 17-19: Jefferson Twp. and Old Forge restaurants are out of compliance | null | null | timesleader.com | The following are recent Lackawanna County restaurant inspection reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. According the agency: “any inspection is a ‘snapshot’ of the day and time of the inspection. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term cleanliness of an establishment. Also, at the time of the inspection violations are recorded but are often corrected on site prior to the inspector leaving the establishment.” The information is taken from the inspection database at www.eatsafepa.com. Postal addresses used here are as listed on the state’s website, and may not correspond to the municipalities in which facilities are physically located.
Bill’s Shop Rite, 921 Drinker Turnpike, Moscow, Aug. 17. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: Bakery — raw shell eggs stored on top of containers of icing and creme fillings in the walk-in cooler. The eggs were placed on the bottom shelf. Food Court/Bakery — food ingredient storage containers in the prep areas are not labeled with the common name of the food. The containers were labeled. Produce — a sign stating that some fruits and vegetables are waxed to preserve freshness is not posted. A sign was posted. Food Court — old food residue on the can opener blade. The can opener was placed at the sink for cleaning. Lack of a back-flow prevention device on the water line in the utility room in the warehouse. A hose is connected and lying in the sink, creating a cross connection. The hose was removed and, as per the manager, a back-flow prevention device will be on the hose bib today.
Crystal Lake Hotel, RR1, Carbondale, Aug. 17. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: Food facility has an employee who held a Certified Food Manager certificate; however, the certificate has expired and is no longer valid. Non-food contact countertop equipment is in need of repair. Soda lines and/or non-integral cold-plate device installed in ice bin and in contact with ice used for consumer beverages. Non-food contact surfaces refrigerator fan guard not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil.
Eats & Sweets – Pioneer Nights TFF3, 1 N. Main St., Carbondale, Aug. 17. Regular inspection; in compliance.
Morrison’s Catering MFF4, 39 Pike St., Carbondale, Aug. 17. Regular inspection; in compliance.
Nina’s, 310 Main St., Blakely, Aug. 17. Follow-up inspection; in compliance.
Petrosky’s Pierogies-Pioneer Nights TFF3, Main Street, Carbondale, Aug. 17. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: No basin to catch waste water underneath the hand-wash station. A basin will be placed under hand-wash station prior to operation. No sign or poster posted at the hand-wash station to remind food employees to wash their hands. A sign was posted during this inspection.
Pioneer Nights Inc., Pioneer Nights TFF3, Carbondale, Aug. 17. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violation: Two refrigerators lack thermometers to monitor the ambient air temperature of the units.
Putters Pub, 1099 Golf Club Rd., Jefferson Twp., Aug. 17. Regular inspection; out of compliance. Violations: Duties of the person in charge are not being followed as evidenced by this non-compliant inspection. Food facility has lost its certified food employee over three months ago and has not replaced the certified food employee as required. The person in charge stated that she has taken the food handler course and the test on Aug. 15, 2016. Food employees were observed in the kitchen, not wearing proper hair restraints, such as nets or hats. Canning jars of peppers, with no label, are in the two-door kitchen refrigerator. The person in charge stated that the peppers were brought in for personal use. The jars were labeled and placed in another refrigerator. A package of cheese was observed thawing at room temperature on the shelf above the stove, which is not an approved thawing method. The cheese was placed in the refrigerator is thaw. Temperature measuring device for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available in the upright freezer, the chest freezer and the refrigerator/freezer in the storage shed. Food facility does not have available QAC sanitizer test strips to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration. Water was collecting on the bottom of the bain marie, with wet towels on the bottom. Dishwasher test strips, to monitor final rinse temperature, are not available. Old food residue was on the trays and bottom of the Wittco cook-and-hold oven in the back room. Dirt/mold was on the door shelves and bottom of the upright freezer by the entrance door in the storage shed. Food contact surfaces are washed and rinsed and not sanitized. There is a two-bay sink in the facility and a combination detergent/sanitizer is available. Instructed the person in charge in the procedures for cleaning food contact surfaces in a two-bay sink. The hand-wash sink in the prep area was blocked by a cardboard box containing mop heads, bags, tray, etc., and was not accessible at all times for employee use. The box and its contents were removed; however, the sink is not conveniently located to the prep area. The three-bay sink at the bar is not used; one bay will be used for hand washing only. Soap and paper towels were not available at the hand-wash sink in the prep area. Soap and paper towels were placed at the sink. Approximately 20-30 rodent droppings were observed along the floor-wall junctions in the storage shed.
Skyline Golf Course, 118 Petrilak Rd., Carbondale, Aug. 17. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violation: Temperature measuring device for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in the Hotpoint refrigerated equipment. Corrected on site.
Unico National, Carbondale Chapter Pioneer Nights TFF3, Main Street, Carbondale, Aug. 17. Regular inspection; in compliance.
Happy Valley Sports Bar, 516 Storrs St., Dickson City, Aug. 18. Complaint inspection; in compliance.
Lahey Family Fun Park, 500 Morgan Hwy., Clarks Summit, Aug. 18. Regular inspection; in compliance.
Propst Transportation TFF3, Pioneer Nights, Main Street, Carbondale, Aug. 18. Opening inspection; in compliance. Violation: Food facility does not have available chlorine sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration
Sleepy Hollow Golf Course, 140 Sandy Banks Rd., Greenfield Township, Aug. 18. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: Food facility has an employee/owner who held a Certified Food Manager certificate; however, the certificate has expired and is no longer valid. PDA FEC expired June 2, 2015. Temperature measuring device for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in commercial refrigerated unit and bain marie equipment. Grease buildup observed on the interior surface of the ventilation hood system.
Wendy’s #313, 885 Viewmont Dr., Drickson City, Aug. 18. Regular inspection; in compliance.
12 Penny Saloon, 3501 Birney Ave., Moosic, Aug. 18. Follow-up inspection; in compliance.
Dollar Tree #5710, 1400 Main St., Dickson City, Aug. 18. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: Observed cardboard boxes of food stored directly on the floor in the walk-in freezer area, rather than 6 inches off the floor as required. Broken rubber door gasket observed on the bottom of the walk-in cooler.
Elkview Country Club, 161 Country Club Rd., Greenfield Township, Aug. 18. Regular inspection; in compliance.
Elio G’s, 843 S. Main St., Old Forge, Aug. 19. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violation: Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration
McDonald’s #18323, 411 Main St., Old Forge, Aug. 19. Follow-up inspection, in compliance.
New Oriental Express, 201 N. Main St., Old Forge, Aug. 19. Regular inspection; out of compliance. Violations: Water and soy sauce food ingredient storage containers, in the prep area, are not labeled with the common name of the food. Observed in-use knives or cleavers stored between table edges, an area not easily cleanable and sanitized. Observed restaurant menu paper being used to drain grease from fried won ton. Cutting board is fixed to the table, but is not spaced to allow removal and access for cleaning on all sides. Cardboard boxes, a single-use material, are being used to store food items. Cardboard is soiled to sight and touch. The hand-wash sink in the kitchen area was blocked and not accessible at all times for employee use. Plumbing system is not maintained in good repair — observed leaking onto floors in the toilet room. Personal items (medicines) were stored in the food preparation area.
Quinn’s Market, 1427 Main St., Peckville, Aug. 19. Follow-up inspection; in compliance. | http://timesleader.com/news/581559/lackawanna-county-restaurant-inspections-aug-17-19-jefferson-twp-and-old-forge-restaurants-are-out-of-compliance | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/fa6427ea6ac4c3ec6a5633c00e2c04f5c8afb04079a273dd0ed112fb5c2391d7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T22:46:30 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2F580174%2F580174.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_wilkesmovein03-2.jpg | en | null | First-year students adjusting to dorm life on campus at Wilkes University | null | null | timesleader.com | WILKES-BARRE — Jason Tisa said he brought just about everything he had in his room at home in Rochester, N.Y.
Tisa, 18, is one of 200-plus first-year students that were moving into Evans Hall on the campus of Wilkes University Friday morning. Wilkes welcomed a total of 650 freshman to campus today, moving into several buildings, like Evans Hall.
It’s a big adjustment, with many of the students being away from home for the first time.
So bringing all of his familiar surroundings from home was key for Tisa.
“What you see in here is pretty much everything I had in my house,” Tisa said. “I brought some food too.”
Tisa was being helped by his mom and dad, Carly and Tom Tisa, and his brother, Brian, 12. The room was filled with boxes to be emptied and electrical devices that needed to be connected and plugged in.
Two single beds and two small desks filled most of the space. Tisa said he has met and talked to his roommate — both will be members of the Wilkes Colonels baseball team.
“So far, so good,” Tisa said of his move from Rochester to Wilkes-Barre, even though he admitted he doesn’t know much about the city he will call home for the next four years. “All I know is classes begin Monday.”
Tisa said he chose Wilkes after he visited the campus months ago. His mom said she will keep his room intact for when he comes home during breaks.
“We feel this will be a perfect fit for him,” Carly Tisa said. “And he will continue to play baseball and we will come to watch him.”
Elizabeth Swantek, director of residence life at Wilkes and assistant to the Dean of Students, said 75 percent of all freshman live on campus.
“It’s a busy day,” Swantek said. “Most of the students are seeing their rooms and roommates for the first time. All in all, it’s been pretty calm though.”
Swantek said the first student arrived at 5:32 a.m. to move into Evans Hall. She said the university’s resident assistants and volunteers were ready, having completed a 14-day pre-move-in day training program. The RAs and volunteers had a pancake breakfast at 4:30 Friday morning, Swantek said.
Dean and Gail Molitoris of Coplay, PA, were busy moving in their daughter Gabrielle, 17, who will major in biology as she pursues a degree in veterinary medicine and plays softball at Wilkes.
“I’m really excited,” Gabrielle said. “And I’m a little anxious.”
Clutching a collage of photos of all her friends back home, Gabrielle said she and her friends had a final get-together before they went their separate ways to college.
“We all had a good time.” she said. “And we will keep in touch via social media.”
Asked what she was moving in to her new residence, Gabrielle said, “All my shoes.”
She said she is looking forward to meeting new friends and playing softball for Wilkes.
Gabrielle said she was looking forward to sleeping with her new bedding. She also brought a television, a microwave oven and a computer. Her sister, Rachel, 20, a student at Widener University in Chester, was carrying a large package of toilet tissue.
“All the essentials,” Gabrielle said.
Her dad, Dean, said he has already acquainted his daughter with a couple of the Wyoming Valley’s other institutions — Abe’s Hot Dogs on South Main Street and Grotto Pizza at Harveys Lake.
“We have a few more places to take her to as we show her around,” he said.
Swantek said she was pleased with the way the move-in was progressing.
“It’s really been a team effort,” she said.
Freshman students move into their dorm rooms at Wilkes University’s Evans Hall on Friday. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_wilkesmovein01-2.jpg Freshman students move into their dorm rooms at Wilkes University’s Evans Hall on Friday. Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader Wilkes University freshman Gabrielle Molitoris of Coplay, PA, holds onto a collage of photos from home of all of her friends during Friday’s move-in day at Wilkes University. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_wilkesmovein02-2.jpg Wilkes University freshman Gabrielle Molitoris of Coplay, PA, holds onto a collage of photos from home of all of her friends during Friday’s move-in day at Wilkes University. Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader Wilkes University freshman Jason Tisa of Rochester, NY, settles into his dorm room on Friday during move-in day at Wilkes University. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_wilkesmovein03-2.jpg Wilkes University freshman Jason Tisa of Rochester, NY, settles into his dorm room on Friday during move-in day at Wilkes University. Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader | http://timesleader.com/news/580174/580174 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/074f7d5e80d757528ef81bcef936f7bd4cb16e6a8b9fe530ec3e429afa22db71.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:47:30 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Ffeatures%2F581830%2Fthe-beer-meister-a-wedding-that-went-yards.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_james-2.jpg | en | null | The Beer Meister: A wedding that went Yards | null | null | timesleader.com | I attended a wedding reception held at the Yards Brewery two weekends ago. It was the wedding for a family friend, Kaitlyn and her husband Brian. Kaitlyn has been friends with my eldest son, Jimmy, since high school. The bride and groom exchanged vows at the end of the Race Street Pier in Philadelphia.
Once we checked into our hotel, Mrs. Meister and I met Jimmy and his girlfriend, Manuela, at the Hilton’s Rope & Anchor Bar and Kitchen. I ordered a Yards Brawler. After about two hours and a few Brawlers, it was time to get ready for the wedding. My wife put on a very nice black dress while I adorned my suit and tie.
When the Uber arrived, we stepped outside and a blast of heat hit us. I looked at my weather app on my phone; it was 98 degrees with a real-feel of 112. I was mentally preparing myself for the next few hours wearing a suit in the sweltering heat.
Thank goodness it was a short ceremony. There was little talk, very few speeches, two “I do’s” and a “you may kiss the bride.” We grabbed another Uber to Yards Brewery.
When we arrived, I was surprised to see a small, old brick building with hand-painted pictures on the walls. In my mind I expected a larger newer structure with fancy lighted signs. When you enter the front door, you are in their tasting room. It has several tables and a bar that sits about 25 to 30 people. All taps pour Yards products. Many are available on the open market, but I eyed one I had not seen: Yards Extra Special Ale.
Sight: I saw a nice clear, dark amber and brown color with an off white tannish head of about two fingers thick. The color had a slight reddish hue. The head disappeared rather quickly but left some pockets on the surface.
Smell: As I lifted my glass, I smelled caramel, maybe toffee, and toasted malts up front with a slight floral aroma and toasted nuts. I thought I smelled chestnuts or hazelnuts. The final aroma was a very slight smell of alcohol. None of the aromas are overpowering.
Taste: I tasted caramel along with a nutty malt flavor. This is followed by hints of sweetness and a smooth earthy hop finish. The flavors were not complex, but blended well for a smooth drinking beer. The flavor was nothing exceptional but, it was easy on the palate.
Yards Extra Special Ale was a smooth beer with balanced flavors that do not overwhelm the taste buds. I would pair this with a nice grilled steak with a baked potato and roasted asparagus. Yards also makes Saison (a summer wheat beer), General Washington’s Tavern Porter and Golden Hop IPA.
If you get a chance to visit the Penn’s Landing area of Philly, don’t forget to stop by Yards to sample their beers. You will like the beer as well as the cozy atmosphere of the tasting room. Tours of the brewery are Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.
Jim McCabe The Beer Meister http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_james-2.jpg Jim McCabe The Beer Meister
Jim McCabe The Beer Meister
The Beer Meister is a column that will appear twice a month in the Times Leader | http://timesleader.com/features/581830/the-beer-meister-a-wedding-that-went-yards | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/4a6cbf4fc449e0bcb516deacdedd9800aa721bb822f0780431a397286d3f2632.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T16:47:04 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F581218%2Fa-special-ride-home-for-retiree.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916morgan.retire.jpg | en | null | A special ride home for retiree | null | null | timesleader.com | Ann Morgan, Hanover Green, retired from John Heinz Rehabilitation Center after 33 years, the last 5-years in the pediatric rehabilitation department where she enjoyment working with the young children. She was escorted home by her family in a limousine provided by Rose Limo, Hanover Green. A pizza party was held at the family home in honor of her retirement. Family members standing with the limousine, from left, in front, are: Brian, son; Jack, husband; Morgan, Liza Heddings, granddaughter; Luke Heddings, grandson and Nathan Axtman, friend. Back row: Sue Yaletsko, Chloe Morgan, granddaughter; Jack, son; Becky Heddings, daughter and Jim Heddings, son-in-law.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916morgan.retire.jpg | http://timesleader.com/community-features/581218/a-special-ride-home-for-retiree | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/94806d5bba07f8a342a6f5437dd3132932f23b5f1433fc384935b443067ca95c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T20:46:35 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fbirthdays%2F580141%2Fhappy-birthday-ava-m-jarmusik.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082616jarmusik.bdy_.jpg | en | null | Happy birthday Ava M. Jarmusik! | null | null | timesleader.com | Ava M. Jarmusik, daughter of Melinda Fink and Leo Jarmusik, of Newport Twp., is celebrating her fifth birthday today, Aug. 26, 2016. She is the granddaughter of Jean Swithers, Newport Township, Kim Jarmusik, West Nanticoke and Mr.and Mrs. Robert Fink, Lake Silkworth. Ava has a brother, Devon, 19.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082616jarmusik.bdy_.jpg | http://timesleader.com/birthdays/580141/happy-birthday-ava-m-jarmusik | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/792a42e2ab0c2603487fc7a4f270c90b43a951713429eab1df13a5afab671a69.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:50:39 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F579866%2Faaa-national-average-gas-price-continued-to-climb-overnight.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_AAA-Mid-Atlantic-11.jpg | en | null | AAA: National average gas price continued to climb overnight | null | null | timesleader.com | The national average gas price continued to climb overnight, but the local and state average prices held steady.
AAA Mid-Atlantic provided the following data for today’s average gas prices:
• Wilkes-Barre area gas average at $2.31 today, unchanged overnight and up 9 cents in the last week.
• Pennsylvania gas average at $2.32 today, unchanged overnight and up 8 cents in the last week.
• National gas average at $2.21 today, up a penny overnight, up 7 cents in the last week.
AAA Mid-Atlantic Logo.jpg http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_AAA-Mid-Atlantic-11.jpg AAA Mid-Atlantic Logo.jpg
By Travis Kellar [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/local/579866/aaa-national-average-gas-price-continued-to-climb-overnight | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/f5a8488745298cd3d71bea17c195b98030bb1565cf61462ee6a688f590a30ac5.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:47:11 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcrime%2Fpolice-blotter%2F581186%2Fpolice-suspect-struck-man-in-groin-stole-sneakers.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Wilkes-Barre-City-Police-41.jpg | en | null | Police: Suspect struck man in groin, stole sneakers | null | null | timesleader.com | WILKES-BARRE — Police are investigating a theft of sneakers off a man that was sleeping.
Police said that at 3:53 p.m. Sunday, a man reported he was sleeping in or around River Commons when someone struck him in the groin and stole his sneakers.
The suspect fled without the victim being able to obtain a description, according to police.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Wilkes-Barre-City-Police-41.jpg | http://timesleader.com/crime/police-blotter/581186/police-suspect-struck-man-in-groin-stole-sneakers | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/fc4b75de6dcf552af5f6ba8d98999bc720ff790f2cb28c4810014aea3a05b4ad.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T22:46:32 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2F580166%2Fnew-reward-offered-in-30-year-old-cold-case-of-missing-scranton-girl.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-ScrantonColdCase-6.jpg | en | null | New reward offered in 30-year-old cold case of missing Scranton girl | null | null | timesleader.com | SCRANTON —It’s been 30 years since the disappearance of Michelle Jolene Lakey, then 11, on Aug. 26, 1986, but to her family, it still seems like only yesterday.
“It’s hard to imagine that 30 years have passed,” said her sister, Justina Forsythe, through tears as she fought to remain composed during a ceremony Friday morning on Courthouse Square.
Family members and local officials were gathered for the unveiling of a billboard campaign, launched by Lackawanna County Commissioner Patrick O’Malley, offering a $5,000 reward for the whereabouts of the missing girl. The billboards, set to span the entire county and some surrounding areas, will be displayed within the next two weeks.
According to reports, Lakey was last seen walking home on Washington Avenue. A Caucasian female with brown to blonde hair and brown eyes, she was around 5 feet tall and weighed about 80 pounds. Officials said she appeared younger than her age when she disappeared. She was last seen wearing a white shirt with purple trim and a tie front, dark blue sweatpants and brown sandals with straps.
Although the case is now cold, many present Friday morning expressed a belief that there is someone out there who knows something about the mystery – information that could help bring closure to the family and ease their suffering.
“Aug. 26 is the worst day for our entire family,” Forsythe said. “There are no words for what happened … There’s a hole in my life exactly the shape of my 11-year-old sister.”
It was an emotional day for all involved, perhaps none more so than Lakey’s mother, Lois Dunham.
“In our hearts and minds, she’s 11 years old,” Dunham said, addressing the small assembly. “She hasn’t turned 12 yet, because we never saw her after that time, never heard anything, got no answers.”
Dunham, who now resides in Rhode Island, said it was difficult for her just being back in Lackawanna County.
“As a parent, I cannot imagine the anguish that they have gone through,” said O’Malley. “When I go to sleep at night, I know my two children are in my house. It’s very concerning to me. I’m not here as an elected official, I’m here as Pat O’Malley, concerned parent.
“I know it’s 30 years later, but broken hearts can be broken for 30 years. It’s time to fix those broken hearts.”
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Connie Devens, who was among the other speakers at the event, assured the audience the police will do everything they can to solve the case, following up on any leads they receive.
“These types of cases are never closed,” she said.
Officials asked anyone with information about the case to contact the State Police barracks in Dunmore at 570-963-3156.
“I truly believe that the reward could maybe shake the bushes and bring someone out,” O’Malley said.
Lois Dunham pauses during her brief remarks Friday morning on Courthouse Square in Scranton, pleading with anyone who has information on her then-11-year-old daughter Michelle Jolene Lakey’s disappearance 30 years ago to the day to come forward. Friday’s ceremony included the unveiling of a billboard campaign, set to span Lackawanna County and some surrounding areas, offering a $5,000 reward for the whereabouts of the missing person. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-ScrantonColdCase-1.jpg Lois Dunham pauses during her brief remarks Friday morning on Courthouse Square in Scranton, pleading with anyone who has information on her then-11-year-old daughter Michelle Jolene Lakey’s disappearance 30 years ago to the day to come forward. Friday’s ceremony included the unveiling of a billboard campaign, set to span Lackawanna County and some surrounding areas, offering a $5,000 reward for the whereabouts of the missing person. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader During a ceremony, held Friday morning on Courthouse Square in Scranton, Justina Forsythe gives an emotional speech about the pain her family has endured since the disappearance of her sister, Michelle Jolene Lakey, 30 years ago. The case was never closed and Lackawanna County Commissioner Patrick O’Malley, on his own as a father and citizen, is offering a $5,000 reward for the whereabouts of the missing girl, in hopes of bringing closure to the family. Anyone with information should contact the state police at 570-963-3156. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-ScrantonColdCase-2.jpg During a ceremony, held Friday morning on Courthouse Square in Scranton, Justina Forsythe gives an emotional speech about the pain her family has endured since the disappearance of her sister, Michelle Jolene Lakey, 30 years ago. The case was never closed and Lackawanna County Commissioner Patrick O’Malley, on his own as a father and citizen, is offering a $5,000 reward for the whereabouts of the missing girl, in hopes of bringing closure to the family. Anyone with information should contact the state police at 570-963-3156. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader Patrick O’Malley unveils the billboard advertisement design, soon to be displayed throughout Lackawanna County and surrounding areas, offering a $5,000 reward for the whereabouts of Michelle Jolene Lakey, who disappeared from Scranton at age 11 exactly 30 years ago. Looking on, from left are the missing person’s family members, Israel Lakey, brother; Lois Feringa, sister; Lois Dunham, mother, and Justina Forsythe, sister. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-ScrantonColdCase-3.jpg Patrick O’Malley unveils the billboard advertisement design, soon to be displayed throughout Lackawanna County and surrounding areas, offering a $5,000 reward for the whereabouts of Michelle Jolene Lakey, who disappeared from Scranton at age 11 exactly 30 years ago. Looking on, from left are the missing person’s family members, Israel Lakey, brother; Lois Feringa, sister; Lois Dunham, mother, and Justina Forsythe, sister. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader Family members of Michelle Jolene Lakey, who disappeared from Scranton at age 11 exactly 30 years ago hold hands during a ceremony Friday morning on Courthouse Square. A billboard campaign will soon span Lackawanna County and surrounding areas, offering a $5,000 reward for the whereabouts of the missing person. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-ScrantonColdCase-4.jpg Family members of Michelle Jolene Lakey, who disappeared from Scranton at age 11 exactly 30 years ago hold hands during a ceremony Friday morning on Courthouse Square. A billboard campaign will soon span Lackawanna County and surrounding areas, offering a $5,000 reward for the whereabouts of the missing person. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader O’Malley http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-ScrantonColdCase-5.jpg O’Malley Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader A kiosk in front of the courthouse in Scranton was dedicated to Michelle Jolene Lakey four years ago. At age 11, Lakey disappeared from the city, never to be heard from or seen again. 30 years later, the case is still open, and a $5,000 reward is being offered for the whereabouts of the missing girl. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pennsylvania State Police by calling 570-963-3156. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-ScrantonColdCase-6.jpg A kiosk in front of the courthouse in Scranton was dedicated to Michelle Jolene Lakey four years ago. At age 11, Lakey disappeared from the city, never to be heard from or seen again. 30 years later, the case is still open, and a $5,000 reward is being offered for the whereabouts of the missing girl. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pennsylvania State Police by calling 570-963-3156. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader
By Elizabeth Baumeister [email protected]
$5,000 reward Patrick O’Malley is offering a $5,000 reward for the whereabouts of 11-year-old Michelle Jolene Lakey, who disappeared from Scranton 30 years ago. Anyone with information is asked to call the Pennsylvania State Police at 570-963-3156. | http://timesleader.com/news/580166/new-reward-offered-in-30-year-old-cold-case-of-missing-scranton-girl | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/9f48277280755262da47bbcad4442b9a29114dd4affc1395930f7988d6a8230e.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:46:44 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-football%2F580258%2Fan-explosive-start-for-the-gar-in-rout-of-honesdale.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_football-helmet-2.jpg | en | null | An explosive start for the GAR in rout of Honesdale | null | null | timesleader.com | WILKES-BARRE — Four first-half drives, four touchdowns. Two more scores on special teams before halftime. New starters all across the field were coming through for GAR.
The Grenadiers even managed to surprise themselves on Friday night.
Sure, they were feeling pretty good headed into the season opener against Honesdale. But a 49-7 win that was 42-0 at the break?
“It was a surprise the way we played in the first half, yeah,” GAR coach Paul Wiedlich Jr. said. “Honesdale’s a program that’s getting better. Today wasn’t indicative of it, but give kudos to our kids. Our kids played well in all three facets.”
It didn’t take long to prove that.
The Grenadiers defense forced a fumble on the opening drive of the game. The offense then scored on its first play from scrimmage on the season as Austin Yelland tossed up a 29-yard score to a wide-open Gerson Peralta.
It was 20-0 at the end of the first quarter and 28-0 by the time special teams took over. Tailback Josh Goodwin had already found the end zone once on the night when he fielded a punt, made a sharp cut past a defender and took off down the home sideline for a 69-yard score.
“I just wanted to catch it and field it,” Goodwin said. “I saw a nice space and Yelland got a block for me on the edge. And it was off to the races after that.”
Anthony Blake followed it up by recovering a fumble on another Honesdale punt after the snap sailed some 30 yards back toward the Hornets end zone. And it was a 42-point lead after just 24 minutes of football.
Yelland did a little bit of everything for the Grenadiers in his debut as starting quarterback. He completed all three of his passes with two going to Peralta for touchdowns.
But just as important, he was able to give the offense an extra dimension with his legs, ripping off two big runs — a 33-yarder that set up a first-quarter score and a 24-yarder for a touchdown to close things out in the fourth.
“That was surprising, actually,” Goodwin said with a smile. “He’s a dropback guy, so I didn’t think that was gonna happen. But he can take off and do a good job with it.”
“Austin did really well — running the veer and throwing the ball,” Wiedlich said. “We’re just trying to keep teams off balance.”
Goodwin credited a strong effort by the Grenadiers offensive line for opening up cutback lanes as the senior finished with 101 yards on just 13 carries. He also got some encouragement earlier in the week from Anthony Maurent, GAR’s feature back from the last couple years, to help boost his confidence.
And it all happened despite missing veteran fullback Mike Drozda with an injury. Muhaideen Tajuddin picked up some carries in his place, rushing for 57 yards and a touchdown himself.
Wiedlich was quick to keep things in perspective, pointing out that GAR lost two fumbles in the second half and had some alignment issues throughout the game.
Even still — tough to start much better than that.
“They’re still getting their legs with the season starting earlier and just one scrimmage under our belt,” Wiedlich said. “It was tough, but our kids played well.”
GAR 49, Honesdale 7
Honesdale`0`0`0`7`—`7
GAR`20`22`0`7`—`49
First quarter
GAR — Gerson Peralta 29 pass from Austin Yelland (Muhaideen Tajuddin kick), 10:31
GAR — Josh Goodwin 3 run (Tajuddin kick), 6:28
GAR — Peralta 15 pass from Yelland (pass failed), 0:38
Second quarter
GAR — Tajuddin 1 run (Goodwin pass from Yelland), 5:51
GAR — Goodwin 69 punt return (Tajuddin kick), 3:14
GAR — Anthony Blake 5 fumble return (Tajuddin kick), 1:15
Fourth quarter
HON — Garyn Barnes 21 run (Beau Freiermuth kick), 10:27
GAR — Yelland 24 run (Tajuddin kick), 6:15
Team statistics`HON`GAR
First downs`7`17
Rushes-yards`32-85`32-270
Passing yards`29`50
Total yards`114`320
Passing`7-13-0`3-3-0
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`0-0
Punts-avg.`4-34.0`0-0.0
Fumbles-lost`2-2`3-2
Penalties-yards`3-25`5-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — HON, Garyn Barnes 23-104, Tyler McConnell 1-8, Ethan Dunn 2-6, Beau Freiermuth 3-6, Matt Davis 1-(minus-2), Dyllon Fillebrown 1-(minus-6), Team 1-(minus-31). GAR, Josh Goodwin 13-101, Austin Yelland 5-60, Muhaideen Tajuddin 5-57, Anthony Blake 3-31, Malachai Williams 1-13, Gerson Peralta 1-9, Tashawn Qualls 1-7, Team 1-(minus-1), Christian Hernandez 2-(minus-7).
PASSING — HON, Dunn 7-12-0-29, McConnell 0-1-0-0. GAR, Yelland 3-3-0-50.
RECEIVING — HON, Nik Krempasky 2-13, Freiermuth 2-9, Barnes 2-6, Nicolas Vlacich 1-1. GAR, Peralta 2-44, Nate Luckey 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS — None.
MISSED FGs — None.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_football-helmet-2.jpg
By Derek Levarse [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/sports/high-school-football/580258/an-explosive-start-for-the-gar-in-rout-of-honesdale | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/668b4c0bb9c6ac943f45385276c5b7e5b4addd8e7df2034c9fc0713de265cc9e.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T04:47:11 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fsports%2Frailriders%2F581459%2Frob-refnsyder-breaks-up-no-hitter-but-railriders-fall-to-rochester.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_SWB-logo2-7.jpg | en | null | Rob Refnsyder breaks up no-hitter but RailRiders fall to Rochester | null | null | timesleader.com | The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fell to the Rochester Red Wings at Frontier Field on Monday night, 6-2.
The RailRiders lost the season series to the Red Wings, 9-8.
Rochester starter Tyler Duffey carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Rob Refnsyder’s one-out single to center field. It would prove one of three hits for the SWB offense on the night.
Rochester got on the board in the second and third inning against starter Brady Lail. Byron Buxton and James Beresford each knocked home a score in the second, while all nine Red Wings came to the plate in a four-run third. The inning included RBIs for Mitch Garver, Heiker Meneses and two for James Beresford. Lail had been lifted with the bases loaded and two outs in favor of Johnny Barbato, who gave up the Beresford two-run single.
The RailRiders scored twice after Refsnyder cracked the seal in the seventh thanks to Jake Cave’s two-run double.
Duffey (1-0) got the win while Lail (6-6) suffered the loss.
The RailRiders’ bullpen combined to record 13 strikeouts over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. Barbato struck out five over his 2 2/3 innings while James Pazos whiffed all five Red Wings he faced. At one point, the bullpen struck out eight straight men before Beresford singled off of Nick Goody.
The RailRiders head to Buffalo for a series with the Bisons.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_SWB-logo2-7.jpg
Times Leader | http://timesleader.com/sports/railriders/581459/rob-refnsyder-breaks-up-no-hitter-but-railriders-fall-to-rochester | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/3712c34df910fc75a180d4d697f063bc025c9b3351bbaaf4ce58fb66f39e0506.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:47:22 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2F581756%2Fpolice-fbi-investigating-robbery-at-mt-bank-tuesday-in-hughestown.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_MT-Bank-1.jpg | en | null | Police, FBI investigating robbery at M&T Bank Tuesday in Hughestown | null | null | timesleader.com | HUGHESTOWN — Officials are investigating a robbery at the M&T Bank located at 2 Rachel Lane along the Pittston Bypass Tuesday afternoon.
According to a joint press release from Hughestown Police Chief Jeff Balut and FBI Special Agent Joseph Noone, the robbery was reported at approximately 2:43 p.m., and responding agencies included Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI, Luzerne County Detectives Office, and police from Hughestown, Avoca, Pittston City and Pittston Township.
Police say an unidentified male entered the bank, approached a teller and demanded money from the cash drawer. The suspect neither brandished a weapon nor threatened to use one during the robbery. The suspect then rank out of the bank, through the rear of the parking lot and crossed Laurel Street.
After crossing Laurel Street, the suspect was seen running into the woods directly across from the bank in the vicinity of Chestnut, Fanning and Drake streets in Hughestown.
The suspect, who escaped with yet undetermined about of cash, is described as being in his early to mid 20s, slender, approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall and clean shaven, having a dark complexion and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark-framed sunglasses.
The robbery is being investigated by the Hughestown Police Department in conjunction with state police and the FBI.
Anyone with information regarding the incident should contact the Hughestown Police Department at 570-654-2082 or the FBI’s Scranton Office at 570-344-2404.
The M&T Bank, located at 2 Rachel Lane along the Pittston Bypass in Hughestown, was robbed Tuesday afternoon. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_MT-Bank-1.jpg The M&T Bank, located at 2 Rachel Lane along the Pittston Bypass in Hughestown, was robbed Tuesday afternoon. Jimmy Fisher | Times Leader
By Jimmy Fisher [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/581756/police-fbi-investigating-robbery-at-mt-bank-tuesday-in-hughestown | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/eb6c890d864a017b1c678f97c4fe7c80bb67d05f9b61dc5a46a54f7da4a22b10.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T20:46:34 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fonline-magazine%2F580133%2Ftl-highschool-football-coverage-2016.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/highschoolfootball2016-button.jpg | en | null | TL Highschool Football Coverage 2016 | null | null | timesleader.com | null | http://timesleader.com/online-magazine/580133/tl-highschool-football-coverage-2016 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/4a1870fdf73a574110226e9737f255e8970e5a544cba93319a32bf9f66b62c78.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T22:46:57 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fspecial-sections%2F580892%2Fautomotive-today-august-2016.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/cover-9.jpg | en | null | Automotive Today August, 2016 | null | null | timesleader.com | null | http://timesleader.com/special-sections/580892/automotive-today-august-2016 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/fade3af594b4e007868fac8067fac3de264c319e0fe2566228e6c49cb5658961.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:46:11 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2F579881%2Fdallas-township-police-charge-man-with-manslaughter-in-april-crash.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_BLOTTER-35.jpg | en | null | Dallas Township police charge man with manslaughter in April crash | null | null | timesleader.com | DALLAS TWP. — Police have filed charges against a man involved in a fatal crash this spring.
Court documents indicate that Adam Zawatsky, 22, is charged with manslaughter, failing to to keep right, careless driving and disregarding traffic lanes in connection with the April 6 death of 57-year-old Falls Township resident Joseph Gianuzzi.
The crash, which involved two sedans, occurred near the northern entrance to the Dallas Mobile Home Park on Route 309 (Tunkhannock Highway), directly in front of a former gas station.
Zawatsky was arraigned Thursday before Magisterial District Judge James Tupper, and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Tupper at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 19.
Zawatsky is free on $50,000 unsecured bail.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_BLOTTER-35.jpg
By Travis Kellar [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/579881/dallas-township-police-charge-man-with-manslaughter-in-april-crash | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/046ec0b43f02bd7dca8c71754bda20cb04ecd7cc6165aac9e1f2b9eda46d71ff.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T18:46:47 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580487%2Freport-black-men-boys-shot-most-by-chicago-police-3.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580487/report-black-men-boys-shot-most-by-chicago-police-3 | en | null | Report: Black men, boys shot most by Chicago police | null | null | timesleader.com | CHICAGO (AP) — After threatening to sue, the Chicago Tribune has obtained data from the city’s police department that tracks every time an officer has opened fire in the city over the past six years. The vast majority of those hit were black men or boys.
There were 435 police shootings from 2010 through 2015, in which officers killed 92 people and wounded 170 others. In all, officers fired 2,623 bullets.
The newspaper’s findings (http://trib.in/2bkSzNO ) show about four out of every five people shot were African-American males. It found that about half of the officers involved were African-American or Hispanic and most of them had years of experience and were not rookies.
The review also said the number of police shootings has declined over the period, from more than 100 in 2011 to 44 last year.
The city is making major changes to the department and various oversight bodies after the uproar over a 2014 shooting in which a white officer fired 16 bullets into a black teenager. Video of that fatal shooting, which was released upon a judge’s order in November, contradicted officers’ accounts that the teen lunged at them threateningly with a knife. The officer who fired those shots has been charged with first-degree murder.
Despite heightened scrutiny of the department and promises from the city of more transparency, the Tribune said it took seven months of arguing and the threat of a lawsuit to prod the city to release the data.
Most of the police shootings took place in South and West Side neighborhoods beset by gang violence and poverty. At least one of every five shootings involved plainclothes tactical officers charged with taking on gangs, the newspaper found.
Police union President Dean Angelo Sr. defended the department’s record against accusations of racial bias.
“When you look at the map, 80 percent of narcotics arrests, gun arrests and gang arrests happen in these poor areas,” he told the newspaper. “Where you’ve got dope, you’ve got guns. It’s not about ethnicity — it’s about criminal involvement.”
He also said officers face split-second decisions about when to use lethal force to protect themselves.
But community activist Charles Jenkins told the Tribune he believes the race of those shot influences the investigations into the shootings.
“It’s easier to believe, because they’re black, that an officer was in fear of their life and get(s) off,” he said.
___
Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580487/report-black-men-boys-shot-most-by-chicago-police-3 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/4272cdf469bbedaaa0a991bdd204ad9b5a6c5451b33ef0576894ceec1c1fd51c.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:47:09 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fbusiness%2F581424%2Ffitbit-makes-exercise-more-of-a-game-with-new-app-also-updating-older-models.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112169736-d56a9527b0e7402f9f6b10d9da003a70.jpg | en | null | Fitbit makes exercise more of a game with new app; also updating older models | null | null | timesleader.com | NEW YORK — Fitbit wants to help you exercise more by making you think you’re hiking famous trails instead of strolling around your neighborhood.
The new motivational feature, called Adventures, will be available to all Fitbit users through a free app update Monday.
The feature tracks the distance you’ve walked or run and maps it against actual trails, starting with three at Yosemite National Park in California. The Fitbit app will unlock badge-like images of trail landmarks — say, a scenic waterfall at mile 5 — as you progress. Other rewards include “fun facts” and health tips along the way. Fitbit will add other destinations, including the ability to “run” the course of the New York City Marathon.
One of Fitbit’s most popular features has been its ability to let friends and family compare steps they’ve taken throughout the day. Fitbit says those who participate in such challenges tend to take 30 percent more steps. The company says Adventures is designed to offer similar challenges even if people haven’t assembled real-life groups.
The feature might help some users stick with step tracking and other fitness measures after the novelty wears off. People who keep using their Fitbits are more likely to tell their friends about them, and to upgrade to more advanced models themselves, analysts say.
Fitbit, the market leader in wearable devices, is also updating two older devices, the 2013 Flex and the 2014 Charge, mostly to bring them in line with what newer devices and rivals offer. Besides tracking steps and sleep, the Flex 2 and the Charge 2 will remind people to take moving breaks throughout the day. That’s coming to the Fitbit Blaze, too, through a software update.
The Charge 2 will have a heart-rate monitor, a feature previously limited to the HR edition of the Charge. It will guide users to take deep-breathing breaks, something the Apple Watch will also soon do. One new feature promises a quick snapshot of cardiovascular fitness based on a metric known as VO2 max. While this typically requires running on a treadmill with an oxygen mask, Fitbit estimates it using running speed and heart rate instead. There’s been no independent testing yet on the method’s accuracy, though the company is confident.
Meanwhile, the Flex 2 will be the first Fitbit with sufficient water resistance for use during swimming; Fitbit rivals like Garmin already offer that on some devices.
The Charge 2 is expected to ship in September for $150, while the Flex 2 will come in October for $100.
This image shows the Charge 2 family. Fitbit, the market leader in wearable devices, is updating two older devices, the 2013 Flex and the 2014 Charge, mostly to bring them in line with what newer devices and rivals offer. Besides tracking steps and sleep, the Flex 2 and the Charge 2 will remind people to take moving breaks throughout the day. That’s coming to the Fitbit Blaze, too, through a software update. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112169736-6454aabdd4dd44f7986bb01e310ed2a7.jpg This image shows the Charge 2 family. Fitbit, the market leader in wearable devices, is updating two older devices, the 2013 Flex and the 2014 Charge, mostly to bring them in line with what newer devices and rivals offer. Besides tracking steps and sleep, the Flex 2 and the Charge 2 will remind people to take moving breaks throughout the day. That’s coming to the Fitbit Blaze, too, through a software update. Fitbit via AP This image shows the Flex 2 family. Fitbit is updating the 2013 Flex and the 2014 Charge, mostly to bring them in line with what newer devices and rivals offer. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112169736-59cb6043deef4b288cf777297315ab23.jpg This image shows the Flex 2 family. Fitbit is updating the 2013 Flex and the 2014 Charge, mostly to bring them in line with what newer devices and rivals offer. Fitbit via AP This image shows examples, displayed on smartphones, of a new motivational feature called Adventures, which will be available to all Fitbit users through a free app update Monday, Aug. 29, 2016. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112169736-d56a9527b0e7402f9f6b10d9da003a70.jpg This image shows examples, displayed on smartphones, of a new motivational feature called Adventures, which will be available to all Fitbit users through a free app update Monday, Aug. 29, 2016. Fitbit via AP | http://timesleader.com/business/581424/fitbit-makes-exercise-more-of-a-game-with-new-app-also-updating-older-models | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/3a999a46984ecbba975e7e27fbd1f14a67d1d90b1346d943aa8eec9e48924a36.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:46:43 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F580350%2Fpolice-woman-reports-rape-a-city-park.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_BLOTTER-38.jpg | en | null | Police: Woman reports rape at city park | null | null | timesleader.com | WILKES-BARRE — A 19-year-old female reported that she was raped at Casey Park on North Grant Street at about 4 a.m. on Friday morning.
According to police, the victim met two males who she knew at the park.
She said the two men then smoked marijuana and sexually assaulted her.
The investigation is ongoing, according to police.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_BLOTTER-38.jpg
By Geri Gibbons [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580350/police-woman-reports-rape-a-city-park | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/1fb3470a1e1661fd5f14bcfe87d40a904a9e7885766892d4315936b68581a3ed.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T06:46:56 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580656%2F1-rescue-water-search-ongoing-after-new-orleans-plane-crash-6.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580656/1-rescue-water-search-ongoing-after-new-orleans-plane-crash-6 | en | null | 1 rescue, water search ongoing after New Orleans plane crash | null | null | timesleader.com | NEW ORLEANS (AP) — U.S. Coast Guard officials say one person has been rescued and crews are searching for two others after a small plane crashed into a lake near a New Orleans airport.
Multiple media reports say Coast Guard personnel responded to the scene Saturday night after the aircraft crashed in the vicinity of the Seabrook Bridge near Lakefront Airport. The airport is located adjacent to Lake Ponchatrain, about 10 miles northeast of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana.
Coast Guard officials say the Cessna training flight crashed about 8:30 p.m.
The person rescued was transferred to a New Orleans hospital in unknown condition.
No further details were immediately available. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580656/1-rescue-water-search-ongoing-after-new-orleans-plane-crash-6 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/23abac14447597ee49217da3dadc3f1616c88179c7aa43c1481f05a08ba0e15e.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:47:16 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F581530%2Fpolice-investigating-a-report-of-shots-fired-in-wilkes-barre.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_BLOTTER-49.jpg | en | null | Police investigating a report of shots fired in Wilkes-Barre | null | null | timesleader.com | WILKES-BARRE — Police are investigating a report of shots fired that allegedly occurred early Tuesday morning.
Police said that at 1:28 a.m. Tuesday, officers responded to the area of Carlisle Street where several witnesses reported shots fired. Several men were seen fleeing on foot, and a red car was also seen fleeing the scene, according to police.
Officers were unable to locate any suspects, but police said officers did find spent shell casings in the area. Police said officers did not find anything that was struck by the gunfire, and no injuries were reported.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department at 570-208-4200.
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By Travis Kellar [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/local/581530/police-investigating-a-report-of-shots-fired-in-wilkes-barre | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/ee65523f5e30eaecd52d282bd148478d24e0f321de8d768f9d956f4ba4df8201.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T20:46:36 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fbirthdays%2F580139%2Fhappy-birthday-stephen-j-forsey-jr.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082616forsey.bdy_.jpg | en | null | Happy birthday Stephen J. Forsey Jr.! | null | null | timesleader.com | Stephen J. Forsey Jr., son of Danyel Forsey and Stephen Forsey, Plymouth, is celebrating his fourth birthday today, Aug. 26, 2016. Stephen is the grandson of Patricia Forsey and Richard Forsey, Plymouth and David and Claudette Werts, Dallas. He has a brother, Serenity.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082616forsey.bdy_.jpg | http://timesleader.com/birthdays/580139/happy-birthday-stephen-j-forsey-jr | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/6c13439f6d114d06b638e9adca60e7db90f9f6e94e1b25f51772c7b014875a47.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T02:46:49 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flottery%2F580556%2Flottery-summary-for-the-week-of-aug-21.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_PA-Lottery-logo-21.jpg | en | null | Lottery Summary for the week of Aug. 21 | null | null | timesleader.com | Pick Two, midday
Sunday: 5-5
Monday: 3-2
Tuesday: 5-3
Wednesday: 2-2
Thursday: 0-5
Friday: 2-9
Saturday:3-7
Pick Three, midday
Sunday: 1-6-8
Monday: 8-7-6
Tuesday: 8-4-4
Wednesday: 4-0-7
Thursday: 1-5-6
Friday: 7-5-8
Saturday: 1-6-5
Pick Four, midday
Sunday: 9-8-0-7
Monday: 8-9-8-0
Tuesday: 2-1-9-6
Wednesday: 0-0-5-1
Thursday: 5-7-4-3
Friday: 6-5-7-2
Saturday: 5-2-4-3
Pick Five, midday
Sunday: 6-8-4-2-3
Monday: 2-0-5-0-8
Tuesday: 0-5-7-6-4
Wednesday: 4-1-8-2-4
Thursday: 0-3-7-2-7
Friday: 0-1-5-6-2
Saturday: 2-4-0-1-4
Treasure Hunt
Sunday: 03-07-10-18-20
Monday: 05-10-18-20-25
Tuesday: 02-04-05-07-27
Wednesday: 04-05-10-13-20
Thursday: 01-14-17-24-26
Friday: 08-10-26-29-30
Saturday: 03-09-12-14-22
Pick Two, 7 p.m.
Sunday: 6-9
Monday: 9-6
Tuesday: 9-2
Wednesday: 5-2
Thursday: 4-0
Friday: 3-8
Saturday:7-4
Pick Three, 7 p.m.
Sunday: 8-3-0
Monday: 0-8-3
Tuesday: 1-0-0
Wednesday: 6-3-9
Thursday: 7-8-9
Friday: 1-5-5
Saturday: 3-5-4
Pick Four, 7 p.m.
Sunday: 6-8-4-5
Monday: 7-3-6-3
Tuesday: 9-3-5-4
Wednesday: 0-5-4-2
Thursday: 1-5-1-3
Friday: 2-0-9-6
Saturday: 4-4-6-3
Pick Five, 7 p.m.
Sunday: 3-0-1-8-5
Monday: 3-6-0-4-3
Tuesday: 4-3-5-9-1
Wednesday: 7-6-8-8-9
Thursday: 2-1-1-7-3
Friday: 1-4-1-8-2
Saturday: 7-4-0-1-2
Cash 5
Sunday: 01-19-22-28-42
Monday: 22-25-32-35-40
Tuesday: 08-11-19-20-29
Wednesday: 01-18-25-30-39
Thursday: 03-14-24-38-40
Friday: 11-12-15-26-39
Saturday: 20-29-30-35-41
Match 6
Monday: 02-06-17-27-30-32
Thursday: 03-15-19-23-39-47
Cash4Life
Monday: 08-12-22-56-58
Cash Ball: 01
Thursday: 10-17-24-47-59
Cash Ball: 02
Powerball
Wednesday: 09-11-25-64-65
Power Ball: 16
Saturday’s numbers will be printed in Monday’s edition of the paper.
Mega Millions
Tuesday: 02-07-46-61-66
Mega Ball: 01
Friday: 10-11-31-41-44
Mega Ball: 14 | http://timesleader.com/news/lottery/580556/lottery-summary-for-the-week-of-aug-21 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/d056b5475ebbf3164a5894c09a963270cf2e61ef235cd92ec2bd88fc6a4f0caa.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T22:46:49 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F580528%2Fpolice-woman-arrested-after-removing-suspect-items-from-bra.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Wilkes-Barre-City-Police-39.jpg | en | null | Police: Woman arrested after removing suspect items from bra | null | null | timesleader.com | WILKES-BARRE — Police arrested a woman at about 7:40 a.m. on Saturday on Walnut Street while executing a warrant from Luzerne County.
Police said after Becky Joe Weaver, 28, was arrested for a warrant which was for retail theft, she was observed removing items from her bra and placing them in her purse.
In plain view was a hypodermic needle, according to police.
Police said the purse also contained two crack pipes, copper mesh, used heroin packets, heroin residue and a digital scale.
Suspect was also in possession of five Alprazolam tablets, a schedule four drug.
Weaver was transported to Luzerne County Correctional Facility to be lodged on the warrant.
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By Geri Gibbons [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580528/police-woman-arrested-after-removing-suspect-items-from-bra | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/82bfb75269a6c6531c4795c74d7a30365d0b15d3a3fab11525fb5742d93b5573.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T16:46:54 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F580373%2Foblates-of-st-joseph-honoring-st-joseph-the-worker.json | http://timesleader.com/community-features/580373/oblates-of-st-joseph-honoring-st-joseph-the-worker | en | null | Oblates of St. Joseph honoring St. Joseph the Worker | null | null | timesleader.com | PITTSTON – The Oblates of St. Joseph Religious Congregation will host their annual Labor Day Triduum and Mass in Route 315, Laflin.
Masses during the Triduum will be celebrated at 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, followed by devotional prayers to St. Joseph as the patron saint of laborers. Confessions and recitation of the Rosary will precede each mass.
The special intentions include: workers’ thanksgiving, the unemployed and special blessings for students, teachers and administrators and staff as they are entering a new school year.
The Triduum will conclude with a special Labor Day Mass at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 5, honoring St. Joseph the Worker, concelebrated by the Oblate Fathers.
Principal celebrant and homilist will be Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus John M. Dougherty. Liturgical music will be provided by the Queen of the Apostle parish choir of Avoca.
At the conclusion of the mass, bread will be blessed and distributed to the faithful as a symbol of the “fruit of our labor.” All are welcome. For more information call the OSJ seminary office, 570-654-7542. | http://timesleader.com/community-features/580373/oblates-of-st-joseph-honoring-st-joseph-the-worker | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/d37e6be99686961460da23652f3ffba8a7e3c6d6a6ecb43e9587ad3e92d6ea8e.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T20:46:50 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2F580518%2F580518.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_ttlbacktoschoolbiz-2-1.jpg | en | null | Return of college students a boon for downtown businesses | null | null | timesleader.com | WILKES-BARRE — Students at both of the city’s downtown colleges return to classes on Monday, prompting area businesses to gear up for a busy fall.
“We’ll have extra people on just in case,” said Mark Kovalski, manager at Rodano’s on Public Square. “We’re always prepared.”
Kovalski said the restaurant always sees an increase in business when classes start, and he has been prepping his staff for the return of college students. It’s a annual ritual he embraces.
“We look forward to having the school year start again,” he said.
Kovalski isn’t the only one downtown who is happy to see the fall semester start at Wilkes University and King’s College.
“The weekend nights really pick up,” said Mike Pasquini, owner of the Crimson Lion Lounge and Cafe, a hookah lounge located at 37 E. South St.
Pasquini is planning specials and events for the fall to attract students.
Even though he normally sees an increase on the weekends, Pasquini said he will be running specials and events throughout the week as well. On Mondays, the lounge offers a gaming night, where people can play both retro video and board games, and trivia on Wednesdays. Pasquini said his club is already offering specialty drinks, such as pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin butter beer.
Pasquini said the club is also offering daily group rates and discounts for hookahs.
“It’s more value you can get for your money,” he said.
Above all, Pasquini said he wants to provide a place for college students to hang out.
“It’s a good, relaxing alternative to going out to the bar,” he said.
Similarly, Rodano’s will begin to offer specials this week aimed at the college students, including drink specials on Thursday nights and daily lunch specials. Kovalski said students should keep an eye on the restaurant’s Facebook page to keep up on specials.
Even Public Square’s newest business is gearing up for its first back-to-school season.
In anticipation of drawing the college crowd, City Market and Cafe, which opened in May, has started offering breakfast as well as discounts for students.
Amanda Vieira, a manager at the market, said she believes the market is an attractive option for students due to its proximity to both campuses.
“It’s a central location for the colleges,” Vieira said.
Vieira said students will receive a 15 percent discount with valid identification on any made-to-order food in the deli.
City Market beer manager Christina Provatopoulos said she is “thrilled” about the fall semester as well. Throughout the summer, the market has been hosting beer tastings, and she said there are similar events planned for the fall.
On Oct. 7, the market will host its first annual Oktoberfest beer tasting, an event that Provatopoulos says will allow customers to “try and buy” different beers.
Vieira said the market will also have specials during the week on groceries, so students have a one-stop shopping option. On Saturdays and Sundays, students can get a 10 percent discount on groceries and Mondays they can get 10 percent off meats and cheeses from the deli.
Kieran Inglis, left, of Forty Fort, and Rob Eyerly, of Wilkes-Barre, treat Sara Smith, of Wilkes-Barre, to a free Samuel Adams shirt at City Market and Cafe during a beer and cheese sampling. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_ttl0821backtoschoolbiz-1-1.jpg Kieran Inglis, left, of Forty Fort, and Rob Eyerly, of Wilkes-Barre, treat Sara Smith, of Wilkes-Barre, to a free Samuel Adams shirt at City Market and Cafe during a beer and cheese sampling. Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader A coustomer drinks a beer during City Market and Cafe’s sampling event of Samual Adams Fall beers in Wilkes-Barre. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_ttlbacktoschoolbiz-3-1.jpg A coustomer drinks a beer during City Market and Cafe’s sampling event of Samual Adams Fall beers in Wilkes-Barre. Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader LT Verrastro employee Kieran Inglis hands a sample of Samual Adams 20 pounds of pumpkin beer to Kevin Baranowski, of Wilkes-Barre, during City Market and Cafe’s sampling of Samual Adams beers in Wilkes-Barre. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_ttlbacktoschoolbiz-2-1.jpg LT Verrastro employee Kieran Inglis hands a sample of Samual Adams 20 pounds of pumpkin beer to Kevin Baranowski, of Wilkes-Barre, during City Market and Cafe’s sampling of Samual Adams beers in Wilkes-Barre. Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader
By Brigid Edmunds [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/580518/580518 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/c8c041dfe0d80f342af8012ead66b4555c2fd11cf8f866b99d413c914723209a.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T06:47:17 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581511%2Fbangladesh-top-court-rejects-death-sentence-of-war-criminal.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581511/bangladesh-top-court-rejects-death-sentence-of-war-criminal | en | null | Bangladesh top court rejects death sentence of war criminal | null | null | timesleader.com | NEW DELHI (AP) — Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has rejected a final appeal by a top Islamist party leader convicted of war crimes in the country’s independence war against Pakistan, confirming a death sentence given earlier by a special tribunal.
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on Tuesday turned down the appeal by Mir Quashem Ali of the Jamaat-e-Islami party in the nation’s capital, Dhaka.
The decision means there is now no legal bar to execute Ali. A special tribunal dealing with war crimes sentenced Ali to death in November 2014 for abduction, torture and killing.
Defense lawyers said Ali and his family would decide whether to seek clemency from the president.
Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed 3 million people and raped 200,000 women in the 1971 war. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581511/bangladesh-top-court-rejects-death-sentence-of-war-criminal | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/3e86bf927380012a7a0cac7acdf53e2fd68eb279d93394fc90f6259d4dfed52b.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T18:46:49 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580482%2Fspanish-police-arrest-57-in-illegal-chinese-immigration-ring-2.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580482/spanish-police-arrest-57-in-illegal-chinese-immigration-ring-2 | en | null | Spanish police arrest 57 in illegal Chinese immigration ring | null | null | timesleader.com | MADRID (AP) — Spanish police say they have arrested 57 people and dismantled an illegal immigration ring giving Chinese citizens Spanish residency permits through fake job contracts as domestic staff.
The Spanish National police said Saturday the arrests took place in Barcelona, Valencia, San Sebastian and Las Palmas, one of the Canary Islands.
Police said the Chinese citizens paid the smuggling ring about 8,000 euros ($8,960) for each fake contract. The ring paid between 1,500 and 2,000 euros ($1,680 to $2,240) to each contract sponsor, usually hotel workers in the Canary island of Lanzarote.
The police say the Chinese lived illegally in Spain, working in the textile industry in Barcelona.
According to the National Statistics Institute, Chinese immigrants are the fifth biggest foreign community in Spain with almost 170,000 people as of 2015. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580482/spanish-police-arrest-57-in-illegal-chinese-immigration-ring-2 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/6fbefd28771f8f3166a4d803f1ab02d8e8d6b197a84b6a736ab7b4b0b1af91a0.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:52:16 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F579862%2Fman-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-new-years-eve-killing-3.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/579862/man-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-new-years-eve-killing-3 | en | null | Man sentenced to life in prison for New Year’s Eve killing | null | null | timesleader.com | WOBURN, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing his wife to death on New Year’s Eve in 2014 following an argument over Christmas presents.
Julio Resto pleaded guilty Thursday in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn to second-degree murder in the death of his 42-year-old wife, Gloria.
“The defendant in this case was angry at the victim who had recently asked him to move out of their shared home following tension in the relationship that had escalated around Christmas Day,” said Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan. “On New Year’s Eve, that anger led the defendant to violently attack his wife.”
On Dec. 31, 2014, Waltham police received a request to perform a well-being check. While officers were en route to the home, Resto, 52, walked into the lobby of the police station with blood on his clothes, holding a large knife. He banged the knife against a glass window and called out to officers before walking outside, the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
Officers ordered Resto to drop his weapon, but he refused, authorities said. Instead, he walked toward them, shouting “Shoot me! I have nothing to live for! I just killed my wife!”
When officers tried to place Resto under arrest, he lunged at them multiple times, according to the district attorney’s statement. They ultimately were able to subdue him.
An autopsy performed the next day revealed that Gloria Resto had been stabbed more than 20 times.
“The defendant today accepted responsibility for the death of his wife, Gloria Resto, which we hope will bring comfort to the victim’s two sons, her family and her friends,” Waltham Police Chief Keith MacPherson said. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/579862/man-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-new-years-eve-killing-3 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/683c56a0f0215b0dcfa7ba8eb77cee6a0eba3f4f6731a8d1981df8d56c2ed0f8.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T06:47:38 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581823%2Fphilippine-court-hears-petitions-vs-heros-burial-for-marcos.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581823/philippine-court-hears-petitions-vs-heros-burial-for-marcos | en | null | Philippine court hears petitions vs hero’s burial for Marcos | null | null | timesleader.com | MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Human rights victims of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ regime have filed a last-ditch legal challenge to prevent his burial at the Heroes’ Cemetery.
Marcos’ burial was ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte, but it remains an emotional issue for Filipinos who ousted Marcos in a 1986 “people power” revolt.
The petitioners urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to prevent “a national tragedy” by prohibiting a burial that would glorify a dictator, distort history and aggravate the injustices suffered by human rights victims.
Duterte has remained firm in his stance to allow the burial despite growing opposition, saying there is no legal impediment to honor Marcos.
Rep. Edcel Lagman, a petitioner, says Marcos padlocked Congress, closed media outlets, wantonly violated people’s rights and plundered the economy. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581823/philippine-court-hears-petitions-vs-heros-burial-for-marcos | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/6c72ae2d020bc83f9cc25b9d11b0025e2ea1cce5a72b2f39de5b3fe7cf05a635.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:47:20 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F581742%2Fvietnam-vets-to-register-for-special-recognition-event.json | http://timesleader.com/community-features/581742/vietnam-vets-to-register-for-special-recognition-event | en | null | Vietnam vets to register for special recognition event | null | null | timesleader.com | NANTICOKE – State Senator John Yudichak, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Military Affairs, will host a special recognition event for area Vietnam veterans Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Walk of Honor at Luzerne County Community College, Nanticoke.
The event will include the presentation of commemorative pins to the Vietnam veterans living in the 14th Senatorial District. A commemorative plaque will also be placed on the Walk of Honor so future generations can reflect on those who served.
Vietnam Veterans who live in the 14th District are asked to call Senator Yudichak’s Nanticoke office at 570-740-2434 to register for the event and to receive the commemorative pin. Veterans will be asked to provide their service date, service branch, rank and service number.
The deadline for veterans to register for the event is Thursday. | http://timesleader.com/community-features/581742/vietnam-vets-to-register-for-special-recognition-event | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/3f2851f5c5f9c3eaba80359d039abe722991a066a78dc7480c567ada4a34653f.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T04:47:24 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fsports%2Flocalsports%2F581782%2Fbulldogs-best-meyers-in-high-school-golf-match.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_clip-golf.jpg | en | null | Bulldogs best Meyers in high school golf match | null | null | timesleader.com | Dylan Michael and Roopesh Kuman both shot a 45 to tie for medalist honors as Berwick downed Meyers, 189-224 in a high school golf match Tuesday at the par 36 Berwick Country Club.
Jake Demler added a 48 for the Bulldogs.
Glen Ellsworth’s 47 paced Meyers.
H.S. Girls Tennis
MMI Prep 4, Jim Thorpe 1
Brittney Marzen won the top singles match to lead a singles sweep as streaking MMI Prep downed Jim Thorpe in a non-conference match at the Preppers court.
Marzen took a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 1, while Marni Quevedo took the No. 2 match and Caitlin Holt won at No. 3 singles, both in straight sets.
The victory improved the Preppers to 3-0 to open the season.
Preece hits hole in one
Irem golf member Charlie Preece scored a hole in one at Irem Country Club on Monday. His ace came on the Par 3 17th hole. Witnessing the shot were Preece’s playing partners Walt Kuharchik, John Kotis and Jim O’Boyle.
H.S. Golf
Berwick 189, Meyers 224
at Berwick CC, par 36
MEY (224) — Glen Ellsworth 47, Dave Nargoski 53, Andy Hossage 59, Billy Norton 65.
BER (189) — Dylan Michael 45, Roopesh Kuman 45, Jake Demler 48, Zach Evans 51, Mackenzie Sult 54.
H.S. Tennis
MMI Prep 4, Jim Thorpe 1
SINGLES — Brittney Marzen (MMI) d. Libby Pinta 6-1, 6-2; Marni Quevedo (MMI) d. Jessica Smith 6-1, 6-0; Caitlin Holt (MMI) d. Katharine Pinto 6-1, 6-3.
Billy Hurley III acknowledges the gallery after putting for par on the 13th green during the third round of the Quicken Loans National PGA golf tournament, Saturday, June 25, 2016, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_clip-golf.jpg Billy Hurley III acknowledges the gallery after putting for par on the 13th green during the third round of the Quicken Loans National PGA golf tournament, Saturday, June 25, 2016, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Times Leader | http://timesleader.com/sports/localsports/581782/bulldogs-best-meyers-in-high-school-golf-match | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/81cf3b96bf767204f1c2d6bbaf9d9261dc67b0bdd0ca96d212e9e551e93cd5d9.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T20:47:12 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F581380%2Flccc-nursing-advisory-board-meets-2.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082716lccc.nursing.board_-1.jpg | en | null | LCCC nursing advisory board meets | null | null | timesleader.com | The LCCC Nursing Advisory Board held their annual meeting on campus. Nurse educators, nursing clinical staff and faculty met to collaborate on issues and make recommendations for the nursing program. In attendance, from left, first row, are: Doreen Kolojejchick, Larksville, ACNO, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital; Brenda Rehrig, MSN, RN, Berwick, assistant professor, nursing, LCCC; Dr. Deborah Vilegi Payne, Mountain Top, dean, nursing and health sciences, LCCC; Loree Gerich, Plains, professor, nursing, LCCC; Dr. Annette Calderone, RN, Dallas and Mary Waclawski, Nanticoke, secretary, nursing, LCCC. Second row: Debbie Klaproth, RN, West Pittston, nurse coordinator, New Story; Peggy Sosnak, Wilkes-Barre, professor, nursing, LCCC; Jeanne Kravitz, RN, Kingston, nurse aide instructor, West Side CTC; Donna M. Bertone, RN, MSN, Sunbury, assistant professor, nursing, LCCC and Susan Chandler, Wilkes-Barre, RN recruiter, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. Third row: Debra Sabalesky, RN, Wilkes-Barre, clinical educator, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital; Sandy Hollock, Wapwallopen, MSN, RN, associate professor, nursing, LCCC; Tim Campbell, Sunbury, assistant professor and curriculum coordinator, nursing, LCCC; Jenifer Olszyk, RN, Nanticoke, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center and adjunct faculty, LCCC; Mary Hennelly Burgin, chief nursing officer, Geisinger and Gina Harrison, RN, Plymouth, West Side CTC.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082716lccc.nursing.board_-1.jpg | http://timesleader.com/community-features/581380/lccc-nursing-advisory-board-meets-2 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/368771b1ff9f512c7176307446bb29ac19bf4c9ce5a4d41d668b7d2240b840e5.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:46:41 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-football%2F580244%2Flogan-cywinski-powers-tunkhannocks-30-20-victory-over-nanticoke.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_football-helmet-1.jpg | en | null | Logan Cywinski powers Tunkhannock’s 30-20 victory over Nanticoke | null | null | timesleader.com | TUNKHANNOCK — After a see-saw first half, Tunkhannock turned it up a notch in the second half to defeat visiting Nanticoke 30-20 at Tunkhannock Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
Junior Logan Cywinski rushed 18 times for 112 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way for the Tigers.
After battling to a stalemate in the first quarter, both teams got going in the second quarter to make it 16-14 by halftime.
“In the first and third quarters we just came out flat,” Tunkhannock coach Jan Cechak said. “I really like the way the kids responded when they were down by 14. In some of the previous teams, they may not have been able to do that.”
Tunkhannock edged the Trojans in total offense by piling up 324 yards compared to their 321.
Nanticoke initiated its first scoring drive by calling their big tight end’s number twice on back-to-back plays. The first time Nanticoke quarterback Matt Wrubel found 6-foot-5 senior tight end Justin Casey for 12 yards, then again for 19 yards where he wrestled the ball free from a defender.
Three plays later, junior running back Dawson Hughes plowed off-tackle out of Power-I formation for a 2-yard touchdown.
Tunkhannock’s next drive was churning along nicely when a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty stalled their momentum. The next play, sophomore quarterback Zach Rogers was hit from the back side and Nanticoke’s John Guzsak’s would be touchdown return was called back on penalties.
Rogers was temporarily knocked out of the game as a result midway through the second quarter.
Nanticoke got the ball at the Tunkhannock 18 the next play and Eric Jeffries capitalized on a student body left sweep down the right sideline to find pay dirt, making it 14-0 after Hughes ran in the conversion.
On the ensuing kickoff, senior Bryce Steele bolted the ball 50 yards down to the 27, with only one man between him and six points. Nanticoke responded the next three consecutive plays as their defensive line brick-walled every run attempt up the middle.
Tunkhannock’s answer five plays later saw Cywinski line up back to back plays in shotgun. The first time he went nine yards to set up his 30yard touchdown on a sneak up the middle making it 14-7.
“We knew that Cywinski could play quarterback for us, so when Rogers was hurt he was able to step up,” Cechak said.
On the kickoff, Tunkhannock dribbled their kick all the way down to the one-yard line. They earned a safety on the next play, to put the game at 14-9.
On Nanticoke’s next possession, Bryce Steele intercepted the ball with one second to go in the first half, just narrowly missing getting by the last man to beat.
Then after Nanticoke’s Nate Harrison intercepted the Tigers, Hughes rammed in from one yard out to make it 20-16 with 9:38 left in the third. Three plays later Cywinski threaded a nice 50-yard air strike to Muckin taking them down to the 20, only to end the drive on a missed field goal attempt.
Nanticoke came out grinding 14 plays on the ground on the next series for almost 70 yards just to run a misdirection play on a fourth and 8, but couldn’t convert.
Cywinski removed any doubt on the night with a 50-yard touchdown run with 1:11 to end the contest.
“The difference between this year and last year is that the kids know what the expectations are,” Cechak said. “The kids were in the weight room in the offseason and they’re starting to understand what they have to do to be successful.”
Tunkhannock 30, Nanticoke 20
Nanticoke `0`14`6`0 — 20
Tunkhannock `0`16`0`14 — 30
Second Quarter
NAN – Hughes 2 run (Run failed) 9:10, 6-0
NAN – Jeffries 18 run (Hughes run) 5:31, 14-0
TUN – Cywinski 3 run (Prebola kick) 3:30, 14-7
TUN – Safety – 3:21, 14-9
TUN – Cywinski 19 run (Prebola kick) 2:03, 14-16
Third Quarter
NAN – Hughes 1 run (Run failed) 9:38, 20-16
Fourth Quarter
TUN – Cywinski 3 run (Prebola kick) 6:37, 20-23
TUN – Cywinski 50 run (Prebola kick) 1:11, 20-30
Team Statistics`Nanticoke`Tunk
First downs NAN`13 TUN`9
Rushes-yards NAN`37-290 TUN`24-120
Passing yards NAN`31 TUN`204
Total yards NAN`321 TUN`324
Passing NAN`31 TUN`204
Sacked-yards lost NAN‘1-12 TUN‘1-13
Punts-avg NAN`2-20 TUN`3-22
Fumbles-lost NAN`1-0 TUN`1-1
Penalties-yards NAN`5-40 TUN`6-55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — NAN – Hughes 23-172TD, Jeffries 18-103TD, Walters 4-15, Wrubel 1-2. TUN – Cywinski 18-112 3TDs, Hopkins 1-1, Taylor 1-4, Ramey 2-3, Rogers 1-1TD. PASSING — NAN – Wrubel 2-9-0-31 TUN – Rogers 6-9-1-121, Cywinski 3-4-83.
RECEIVING – NAN – Casey 2-31. TUN – Taylor 3-41, Muckin 3-137, Robinson 1-9. INTERCEPTIONS — NAN – 1. TUN – None.
MISSED FGs — NAN – 0. TUN – 1.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_football-helmet-1.jpg
By Max Stephens For Times Leader | http://timesleader.com/sports/high-school-football/580244/logan-cywinski-powers-tunkhannocks-30-20-victory-over-nanticoke | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/1fecae170774c3f4c3105f6c334c7717df6e7ea6a41002f48a26ea6dc66b276f.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T06:47:15 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581509%2Faustralian-parliament-sits-for-first-time-since-election.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581509/australian-parliament-sits-for-first-time-since-election | en | null | Australian Parliament sits for first time since election | null | null | timesleader.com | CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s Parliament met Tuesday for the first time since the conservative government narrowly won an election almost two months ago and as an opinion poll showed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s popularity falling.
Lawmakers were sworn in after the election on July 2 left Turnbull’s coalition with 76 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
A Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper on Tuesday showed that Turnbull’s popularity had sunk to its lowest point since he ousted the polarizing Tony Abbott as prime minister a year ago in a ballot of lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Party.
Although more respondents prefer Turnbull as prime minister than they would opposition leader Bill Shorten, Turnbull’s lead — 43 percent to 32 percent — is the narrowest since he took the top job.
The government remained neck and neck with the center-left Labor Party with 50 percent support for each. The government won a second three-year term with 50.4 percent of the vote.
The poll was a national weekend survey of 1,696 voters. It had a 2.4 percentage point margin of error.
The government has said that its priority would be to reign in the national deficit, but that task has been made difficult by its reduced majority in the House of Representatives and the fact it has only a minority in the Senate.
At an Aboriginal welcoming ceremony at Parliament House early Tuesday, Turnbull called for a new era of political cooperation.
“So let us continue the 45th Parliament in the way we begin it today — with mutual respect, goodwill and a shared commitment to advance Australia and all Australians,” Turnbull said. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581509/australian-parliament-sits-for-first-time-since-election | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/7586791b442f7f9647c96799f9b37e99085a084baa6080dd9ab88621f655cdfd.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:46:37 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580307%2Fbc-ap-service-guide-227.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580307/bc-ap-service-guide-227 | en | null | BC-AP Service Guide | null | null | timesleader.com | The AP Service Guide is a summary of how the AP news report is organized. This guide will be repeated daily so it is always available to you. Please direct questions or suggestions on the guide to your AP chief of bureau.
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AP digests are tables of contents for the most important parts of the news report. To help editors size up the report, the digests list what AP editors deem the top stories and multimedia. In addition to the main news stories, digests highlight features that are especially compelling or offbeat. Digests do not list every story, photo, graphic or interactive the AP offers. All content listed on digests can be obtained from http://www.apexchange.com
BC-AP News Digest, the main spot news digest, lists the most important items sent by our main general news, technology, entertainment, arts, sports, lifestyles, photos, interactives, graphics, and video desks.
The top stories are listed on the digest with headlines and keywords , plus byline, photo, graphics, interactives and video information. More information on interactives are on the AP Interactive Digest and the AP Graphics Digest.
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AP Stylebook Online?s section called Filing Text Stories contains detailed information on how stories are sent. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580307/bc-ap-service-guide-227 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/5546fe5b8bc8351b4dd8c65b2fc4dc9fdbae414f8745066d299f19f2862e3d2d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T20:46:25 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2F580153%2Fjudge-sentences-curious-luzerne-teen-charged-with-downloading-child-porn.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_gavel-16.jpg | en | null | Judge sentences ‘curious’ Luzerne teen charged with downloading child porn | null | null | timesleader.com | WILKES-BARRE — A Luzerne teen who allegedly said he downloaded images of naked children because he was curious was sentenced Friday to up to two years in prison.
Matthew Samuel Townley, 19, of Bennett Street, pleaded guilty in May to four counts of possessing child pornography and four counts of disseminating child pornography.
Luzerne County Judge Tina Polachek Gartley sentenced Townley to one year minus one day to two years minus two days in county prison followed by four years probation and ordered him to register with the Pennsylvania State Police as a sexual offender for a 25-year period.
The judge also instructed Townley to have no unsupervised contact with minors or unsupervised use of the Internet.
Charges were filed in June 2015 after Luzerne County detective Charles Balogh received a cybertip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that was generated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
According to court papers, the cybertip was reported to NCMEC by Google, which reported that a member using Townley’s email addresses uploaded four images depicting suspected images of child pornography on May 24, 2015.
Each image showed prepubescent girls either completely naked or exposing personal body parts. Another uploaded image depicted a 3- to 5-year-old girl engaging in sexual intercourse, court papers state.
Townley, confronted by police, told them he would go to a website called ChatHour and chat with individuals who had interest in child pornography. From there, he would exchange KIK screen names and communicate via KIK Messenger, where he and the other individuals would exchange images and videos of child pornography, according to court records.
Townley also said he sent child porn images from his cellphone on two occasions, and that until a month ago, when he reset his cellphone, he had 50 to 70 images of child porn stored on it.
Asked why he was looking at child pornography, Townley replied, “I was curious,” court papers state.
He offered an apology to the victims, stating he was “sorry for the way they were treated” and that his looking at the images is “sickening,” according to court papers.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_gavel-16.jpg
By Joe Dolinsky [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/580153/judge-sentences-curious-luzerne-teen-charged-with-downloading-child-porn | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/44a39dc797f4fc45b85390df880fe703afd7b89048bb9dd44a75276bf44e841c.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T18:46:48 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580488%2Fvenezuelan-police-jail-prominent-activist-in-pre-dawn-raid-3.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580488/venezuelan-police-jail-prominent-activist-in-pre-dawn-raid-3 | en | null | Venezuelan police jail prominent activist in pre-dawn raid | null | null | timesleader.com | CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A prominent opposition leader has been jailed again after being picked up by intelligence agents before dawn at the Caracas home where he was held under house arrest on civil rebellion charges.
Patricia Gutierrez said that the agents arrived at her apartment at 3 a.m. Saturday saying they were taking her husband, Daniel Ceballos, in an ambulance to have a medical exam. She says they instead transported the former mayor of San Cristobal to the same jail where was held for more than a year until August 2015, when he was granted house arrest for kidney problems.
The government did not immediately comment, but Gutierrez published a copy of the judge’s order on Twitter.
Ceballos was a leader of anti-government unrest in 2014 that was blamed for dozens of deaths. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580488/venezuelan-police-jail-prominent-activist-in-pre-dawn-raid-3 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/a112c9259ae3d55c5ac9f9f3c2e30f3b5ecb6b0719ffaf6fbff82224b97f390f.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T22:46:47 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F580525%2Freading-writing-and-road-rules-aaa-mid-atlantics-back-to-school-safety-tips.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Wolf-4-.jpg | en | null | Reading, writing and road rules: AAA Mid-Atlantic’s back to school safety tips | null | null | timesleader.com | WILKES-BARRE — In the next week or so, tens of thousands students will head back to school in the Wilkes-Barre area.
AAA Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety and Education are urging parents, students and all motorists sharing the roads with school buses to put safety first with its annual “School’s Open — Drive Carefully” campaign.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that from 2005 to 2014, there were 1,332 people of all ages killed in school-transportation-related crashes — an average of 133 fatalities per year.
• Occupants of school transportation vehicles accounted for 8 percent of the fatalities while non-occupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 21 percent of the fatalities.
• Most of the people (71 percent) who lost their lives in these crashes were occupants of other vehicles involved.
“It is critical that everyone who shares the road prepares themselves for back to school, whether they are a student or not,” said Jana Tidwell, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, in an emailed news release.
In Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reports that in 2015, there were 312 school bus crashes that resulted in six fatalities. There were 296 people injured in school bus crashes last year. Of those injured, 128 were occupants of the school bus.
“Drivers have had the roads to themselves since mid-June,” Tidwell said. “As schools continue to open across the Wilkes-Barre area, drivers must remember that their commute time may increase and that leaving home a little earlier can help them get where they need to be on time and with less stress.”
Tips for motorists
• Keep track of time — Be aware of the time of day you’re on the road and how that coincides with the school day. More school-age pedestrians were killed from 7 to 8 a.m. and from 3 to 4 p.m. than any other hours of the day.
• Slow down — Whether in a school zone or residential neighborhood, motorists should keep their speed low and be prepared to stop quickly for increased vehicle or pedestrian traffic.
• Scan between parked cars — Children can quickly dart out between parked cars.
• Look for clues of children nearby — Keep an eye out for clues that children are likely nearby such as AAA School Safety patrol members, crossing guards, bicycles and playgrounds.
• Obey traffic signs — Unfortunately, many motorists violate stop signs in school zones and residential neighborhoods –many failing to come to a complete stop, rolling through a stop sign or not slowing down at all
• Always stop for school buses — Flashing yellow lights on a school bus indicate it is preparing to stop to load or unload children, and motorists should slow down and prepare to stop. Red flashing lights and extended stop arms indicate the bus has stopped and children are getting on and off. Motorists are required to stop their vehicles and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop sign is withdrawn and the bus begins moving before they can start driving again.
Tips for parents and students
• Teach children the importance of using crosswalks and how to look left-right-left before crossing.
• Always walk on the sidewalk. If there is not a sidewalk, walk facing traffic.
• Try to drop children off where they won’t have to cross the street to reach their destinations. Avoid the dangers of jaywalking and encourage kids to always cross in clear view of traffic, never from between parked cars.
• Just as you wouldn’t text and drive – don’t text and walk. Stay alert to your surroundings.
State’s new Prescription Drug Monitoring Program up and running
Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week that Pennsylvania’s newly redesigned Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) is fully operational and will serve as an important tool to help curb the prescription opioid and heroin public health crisis in the commonwealth.
“More than 3,500 Pennsylvanians died last year from drug overdose – that’s an astonishing 10 deaths each day,” Wolf said. “The PDMP allows prescribers and dispensers to query and report information regarding the number of opioids prescribed, and to whom. This program enables health care professionals to address potentially fatal drug abuse and provide improved and streamlined care to their patients.”
Since the 1970s, Pennsylvania has had a prescription drug monitoring program. However, it’s been run by the Office of Attorney General and only available to law enforcement. The new program is run by the Department of Health and is now open to licensed health professionals.
The PDMP online database allows prescribers and dispensers of controlled substances to monitor who is obtaining opioids, who prescriptions are being obtained from, and how often they are prescribed. This critical online tool will support clinicians in identifying patients who may be struggling from the disease of addiction and help connect them with treatment services.
The new system will allow doctors to view patients’ medication histories and be better informed before issuing new prescriptions for controlled substances. Health care professionals will now be able to check if their patient recently had a prescription filled from other providers. The system will help physicians recognize potentially inappropriate medication use.
By using the new PDMP system, health care professionals will play a key role in reducing opioid abuse and overdoses. Physicians, dentists and providers licensed to prescribe scheduled drugs are required by the law to register in the system.
To learn more about the PA PDMP, register for the PDMP AWARxE, or view tutorial resources available about the new program, please visit www.doh.pa.gov/PDMP.
Caregivers reminded about risks of leaving
children in vehicles during warm weather
The Pennsylvania State Police and Department of Health last week issued a reminder to parents and caregivers of the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles.
An emailed news release stated “leaving a young child alone in a vehicle during warm weather is not only dangerous, but it also could be illegal.”
Pennsylvania law:
• Makes it illegal for a person to leave a child under the age of six unattended in a motor vehicle that is out of that person’s sight and endangers the health, safety or welfare of a child. It is a separate offense for each child left in the vehicle.
• Prohibits the endangerment of children by guardians who knowingly endanger the welfare of a child by violating their duty of care, protection or support. Guardians could face fines or jail time for child endangerment.
Secretary of Health Karen Murphy said children should never be left unattended in a car, and the recent high temperatures have greatly increased many of the pre-existing potential dangers.
“The Department of Health asks parents and guardians to always supervise a child or infant who is in a vehicle. Just one careless mistake with a child in a high temperature situation could prove fatal,” Murphy said.
Here are some facts relating to the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles on hot days:
• Leaving a child alone in a car can lead to serious injury or death from heatstroke.
• Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths for children.
• Make sure to keep your vehicle locked when not in use so children can’t get in on their own.
• Create reminders by putting something in the back of your car next to your child such as a briefcase, a purse or a cellphone that is needed at your final destination.
• In extreme heat, cracking a window open and parking in the shade are not sufficient safeguards.
Tidwell http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_web1_Jana-Tidwell-AAA.jpg Tidwell Murphy http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Secretary-Karen-Murphy-2-.jpg Murphy Wolf http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Wolf-4-.jpg Wolf | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580525/reading-writing-and-road-rules-aaa-mid-atlantics-back-to-school-safety-tips | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/c38e8f2fd0d27732406a5e3bc44f036419462e90af6717a0a31530ba55cf790d.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:47:07 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fopinion%2Fcolumns%2F581197%2Fbill-jones-strive-to-make-this-school-year-a-success-for-every-student-in-the-wyoming-valley.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_JonesBillColor.jpg | en | null | Bill Jones: Strive to make this school year a success for every student in the Wyoming Valley | null | null | timesleader.com | The days are starting to get shorter, and the nights are getting longer. Football season has kicked off, and Halloween candy already is on store shelves.
These are the very familiar signs that the summer is quickly winding down and a new school year is beginning.
For most kids, the start of a new school year is a time filled with excitement and, perhaps, some understandable anxiousness. There are new teachers to meet, more challenging assignments to complete, new routines to be created, and friendships to be made. Each new school year is part of the process and an opportunity to grow.
On behalf of all school-age kids throughout the Wyoming Valley, let’s make this school year a great one!
If you are a parent, grandparent or guardian, please do your best to be invested in your child’s education. Be present to them and engaged in their interests. Talk to them every day about their school day, and be a good listener. Ensure they get the medical care they need, the sleep they require, and the healthy foods that fuel their bodies, and that they stay safe.
Students have responsibilities, too. Your future is solidly built on your education. Make it a priority and embrace it with a good attitude. Be organized, communicate with the adults in your lives (especially parents and teachers), get homework and other assignments done, and, as important as anything else, show up! Success starts with good attendance!
Attendance and truancy are very significant issues in schools throughout the Wyoming Valley. Absences add up! Starting in kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind. Over time, this will hurt a child’s ability to learn and will most certainly impact academic performance. Chronic absenteeism eventually can lead to higher dropout rates and, ultimately, limit the human potential.
The United Way of Wyoming Valley recognizes that our community will be stronger when children and families do better. We will continue to be advocates for children and education. Children will do better when they enter school ready to learn, progress through school with confidence, and graduate on time.
It’s obvious, but still worth stating: Kids are more successful when families value and support the education of their children.
As the familiar signs of a turning calendar are evident and a new school year is upon us, it is also time for the United Way’s annual campaign to start. Our kickoff speaker this year, Sonia Manzano, knows all about poverty and the value of education. Her life embodies our United Way’s mission.
Sonia is from the South Bronx, and she grew up very poor in a dysfunctional, stressful environment marred by incidences of domestic violence. Her commitment to her education, however, changed her life and opened the doors to opportunity. She spent 40 years as the iconic character who educated many of us as “Maria” on “Sesame Street.”
Sonia Manzano’s story is powerful. She is authentically aware of the importance of education; she spent a groundbreaking career as an advocate for children and their learning opportunities. All are welcome to attend the campaign kickoff event on Sept. 8 at Mohegan Sun Pocono, in Plains Township. (For event information, visit unitedwaywb.org.)
Even more important, we all can participate in helping to advance the mission of the United Way of Wyoming Valley by helping kids. Let’s support them as best we can and help them have a great school year.
Then, when you have a chance, enjoy some of the best parts of fall … like snacking on a bowl of candy corn and cheering, “WE ARE …” or “GO, IRISH!”
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_JonesBillColor.jpg
Bill Jones Guest columnist | http://timesleader.com/opinion/columns/581197/bill-jones-strive-to-make-this-school-year-a-success-for-every-student-in-the-wyoming-valley | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/679361dc5308cf65a43065be8db777393dabbc8df56c7fc639bc8c8a0d99feba.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T06:46:50 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580660%2F8-troops-killed-in-suspected-rebel-attack-in-north-paraguay-4.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580660/8-troops-killed-in-suspected-rebel-attack-in-north-paraguay-4 | en | null | 8 troops killed in suspected rebel attack in north Paraguay | null | null | timesleader.com | ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Suspected members of a little-known rebel group killed eight soldiers in an attack in northern Paraguay on Saturday, just days after guerrillas and officials in Colombia reached a peace deal to end the longest-running insurgency in Latin America.
Paraguayan Interior Minister Francisco De Vargas reported the first five deaths from the attack in Arroyito, a town about 305 miles (490 kilometers) from Asuncion. Dr. Bernardo Jacquet, a physician at Hospital Concepcion, located some 55 miles (90 kilometers) from where the attack occurred, later said the death toll had risen to eight.
Authorities suspect the attack was carried out by a little-known Paraguayan guerrilla group called the Paraguayan People’s Army.
Federico Delfino, the country’s prosecutor for anti-kidnapping efforts, said the attackers got away with eight M4 carbines, bulletproof vests and the victims’ personal belongings.
President Horacio Cartes vowed to “personally lead the fight against these terrorists.”
The spike in rebel violence in Paraguay came as Colombia’s government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on Wednesday announced the finalization of a peace agreement after more than four years of grueling negotiations. A cease-fire in the Colombian conflict that lasted more than a half-century will take effect at midnight next Monday.
The Paraguayan government considers members of the Paraguayan People’s Army to be terrorists under an anti-terrorism law.
The group was blamed last year in the killing of a German couple. Their bodies were found after the rebels abducted the pair from their cattle farm and demanded that the owner of a farm pay $300,000 and give food to the poor. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580660/8-troops-killed-in-suspected-rebel-attack-in-north-paraguay-4 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/44b0b3760c4d5b1c89a25463d4e624a18281c4da0fa53599fb530218d359c145.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:52:45 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F579856%2Fus-geological-survey-says-quake-with-a-preliminary-magnitude-of-4-7-strikes-near-amatrice-italy-3.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/579856/us-geological-survey-says-quake-with-a-preliminary-magnitude-of-4-7-strikes-near-amatrice-italy-3 | en | null | US Geological Survey says quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7 strikes near Amatrice, Italy | null | null | timesleader.com | AMATRICE, Italy (AP) — US Geological Survey says quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7 strikes near Amatrice, Italy. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/579856/us-geological-survey-says-quake-with-a-preliminary-magnitude-of-4-7-strikes-near-amatrice-italy-3 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/92593ea0d1da8d4b6637bac47614fc991473e8c2dcc7e6b705483703ac420fc7.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:47:23 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581717%2F5-face-weapons-charges-in-deadly-new-jersey-highway-shootout.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581717/5-face-weapons-charges-in-deadly-new-jersey-highway-shootout | en | null | 5 face weapons charges in deadly New Jersey highway shootout | null | null | timesleader.com | EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Four men and a teenager have been charged in a rolling shootout on a New Jersey highway that left one man dead and four of the suspects injured.
State police on Tuesday were looking for a pickup truck that may have been involved in the Monday afternoon shootout on the Atlantic City Expressway.
Rosemund Octavius, 22, was killed in the shooting that happened in his hometown, Egg Harbor Township. He was a passenger in a car driven by Anthony Hicks, state police said. Hicks, 24, of Mays Landing, was not injured in the shootings but he does face weapons charges that were announced Tuesday.
Three men and a 16-year-old who were in an SUV were also shot and wounded, and two of them remained hospitalized Tuesday in stable condition. The men — Lenardo Caro, 24, of Little Egg Harbor Township; Yahshaun Stukes-Williams, 19, of Mays Landing; and Shaun Stukes, 38, of Atlantic City — and the teen all face weapons charges. The men are also accused of employing a juvenile in a crime.
Bail was set at $250,000 for all five suspects. It wasn’t known Tuesday if any of them had retained lawyers.
Authorities stressed that the investigation was in its “early phase” and said more serious charges could be filed. They also have not yet determined who fired the shots that killed Octavius, who was struck in the head.
The shooting occurred just before 3 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of the Atlantic City Expressway, a busy highway connecting the Philadelphia area with New Jersey shore towns, not far from Atlantic City’s airport. A short time later, troopers on the Garden State Parkway, which intersects the expressway nearby, received a 911 call for a medical assist.
When the troopers arrived, they found Octavius dead in the passenger seat of a car.
Around that same time, police were called to a convenience store where the three other men and the teenager in the SUV had gone, authorities said. They sought help from passers-by and were soon taken to a hospital for treatment.
The SUV was found with an estimated 21 bullet holes, authorities said. Shots were fired through the front windshield, other windows appeared to have been shot out and one rear tire was gone.
Police officers traced the SUV’s path back to a location near the convenience store where they found three handguns and one AK-style rifle. Additional evidence was located in the SUV, but further details about those items were not disclosed.
The pickup being sought by police apparently exited in the Pleasantville area. It wasn’t clear how many people may have been in the vehicle or what role its occupants played in the encounter.
___
This story has been corrected to show the shooting occurred on the Atlantic City Expressway, not the Garden State Parkway. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581717/5-face-weapons-charges-in-deadly-new-jersey-highway-shootout | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/188b4bd1c2bc829cac0ea9cc25ed0db1e27ee301e606c80dde01a0a08ebabf4e.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:47:05 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnational%2F581179%2Fmemorial-mass-for-2-nuns-killed-in-their-mississippi-home.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112152200-ae9f7878092b4f84a038911befe3c804.jpg | en | null | Memorial Mass for 2 nuns killed in their Mississippi home | null | null | timesleader.com | DURANT, Miss. (AP) — A memorial Mass will be held Monday for two 68-year-old nuns who were killed in their Mississippi home, even as authorities continue to investigate the stabbing. A man from about 15 miles away has confessed without giving a reason, according to the sheriff.
The Mass will be at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson, about an hour’s drive from Durant, the town of 2,500 where Sisters Margaret Held and Paula Merrill lived until last week.
They both worked at a health clinic for the poor in nearby Lexington, where they also led Bible study at a church. And more than 300 people came Sunday to St. Thomas Church to say farewell.
About 145 people filled the church to capacity, and there was an overflow crowd outside, where 160 folding chairs were set up and still people had to stand to watch on a monitor as Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Jackson Diocese led the service.
The church’s priest, the Rev. Gregory Plata, spoke about how far-reaching the nuns’ work was, and how much they’ll be missed.
The final hymn, described as Sister Margaret Held’s favorite, was “How Can I Keep from Singing?”
Afterward, nuns from the dead women’s orders, people from other faiths, and members of the community embraced the women’s families.
The killing shocked people in the small communities where the women committed their lives to helping the poor.
Rodney Earl Sanders, 46, of Kosciusko, Mississippi, has been arrested and charged in the stabbings. The county sheriff said Sanders confessed to the killings although many people are struggling to comprehend why anyone would want to take the two women’s lives.
Their bodies were found after they failed to show up for work Thursday at the clinic.
Authorities have said Sanders was developed as a person of interest early in the investigation.
Holmes County Sheriff Willie March said he was briefed by Durant police and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation officials who took part in Sanders’ interrogation and was told that Sanders confessed to the killings but gave no reason.
Durant police could not be reached for comment Saturday or Sunday. Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety which includes the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, said the organization would neither confirm nor deny that Sanders confessed.
Sanders was on probation after a prison term for a felony DUI conviction last year, said Grace Simmons Fisher, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Sanders was also convicted of armed robbery in Holmes County, sentenced in 1986 and served six years, Fisher said.
People who knew the nuns, known for their generosity and commitment to improving health care for the poor, have been grappling with why anyone would want to kill them.
Sanders was not a patient at the clinic, said Dr. Elias Abboud, the physician who oversees it.
Plata said he does not think people at the church knew Sanders.
Authorities said Sanders was being held in an undisclosed detention center pending a court appearance. They have not given any details on why they think Sanders killed the women or whether he knew them but they do say they believe he acted alone.
Strain said he does not know if Sanders has an attorney.
The clinic and the nuns’ home in Durant are in Holmes County, population 18,000. With 44 percent of its residents living in poverty, Holmes is the seventh-poorest county in America, according to the Census Bureau.
The nuns’ death leaves a gaping hole in what was already a strapped health care system.
The clinic provided about 25 percent of all medical care in the county, Abboud said.
___
Santana reported from New Orleans. Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis and photographer Rogelio Solis in Lexington, Mississippi, contributed to this report.
People stand in line to attend a vigil for the deceased held at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Lexington, Miss., for Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016. The two nuns, from different orders, were found murdered in the Durant, Miss., house they rented, on Thursday. Over 300 people attended the service. Although authorities have arrested a suspect, they speculate on the motive of the deaths of the two nurse practitioners, who worked the poor in a clinic in Lexington. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112152200-5a7a32a8d5284b0a98af4699d9ab8e2a.jpg People stand in line to attend a vigil for the deceased held at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Lexington, Miss., for Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016. The two nuns, from different orders, were found murdered in the Durant, Miss., house they rented, on Thursday. Over 300 people attended the service. Although authorities have arrested a suspect, they speculate on the motive of the deaths of the two nurse practitioners, who worked the poor in a clinic in Lexington. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Area residents, patients of the Lexington Medical Clinic, relatives, and other people pray at a vigil for Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Lexington, Miss., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016. The two nuns’ bodies were found in their house in Durant, Miss., Thursday. Friends and colleagues who knew the two nuns gathered Sunday to remember them, as authorities continue to investigate the harrowing crime that shocked people in the small communities where the women committed their lives to helping the poor. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112152200-22b1a625d7564c2799b3a45b66c62dfd.jpg Area residents, patients of the Lexington Medical Clinic, relatives, and other people pray at a vigil for Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Lexington, Miss., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016. The two nuns’ bodies were found in their house in Durant, Miss., Thursday. Friends and colleagues who knew the two nuns gathered Sunday to remember them, as authorities continue to investigate the harrowing crime that shocked people in the small communities where the women committed their lives to helping the poor. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Jackson, Miss., Catholic Diocese, center, presides at a vigil for the deceased held at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Lexington, Miss., for Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016. The two nuns, from different orders, were found murdered in the Durant, Miss., house they rented, on Thursday. Although authorities have arrested a suspect, they speculate on the motive of the deaths of the two nurse practitioners, who worked the poor in a clinic in Lexington. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112152200-ae9f7878092b4f84a038911befe3c804.jpg Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Jackson, Miss., Catholic Diocese, center, presides at a vigil for the deceased held at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Lexington, Miss., for Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016. The two nuns, from different orders, were found murdered in the Durant, Miss., house they rented, on Thursday. Although authorities have arrested a suspect, they speculate on the motive of the deaths of the two nurse practitioners, who worked the poor in a clinic in Lexington. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) | http://timesleader.com/national/581179/memorial-mass-for-2-nuns-killed-in-their-mississippi-home | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/ab2dcdfcc87ef324a0b79b664ab69bee9f86f1f8c3ee9d2a3bf411a339e460db.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T12:47:06 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F581171%2Fthe-bear-creek-buck-township-lions-club-awards-scholarships.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-82916bearcreek.lions_.jpg | en | null | The Bear Creek-Buck Township Lions Club awards scholarships | null | null | timesleader.com | The Bear Creek-Buck Township Lions Club awarded four scholarships totaling $6,500 to four local high school students at a dinner meeting at the Bear Creek Inne. The students are Gabrielle Tomasura, Kristie Pearage, Rich Kresge and Brittany Fernandes. The scholarship committee determines the winners by reviewing academics, community service, extracurricular activities and a submitted essay. At the presentation, from left, are: Bob Zavada, Kresge, Joe Stupak, Bob Smith, Fernandez, Pearage, Will Kresge, Tomasura and Amanda Carl.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-82916bearcreek.lions_.jpg | http://timesleader.com/community-features/581171/the-bear-creek-buck-township-lions-club-awards-scholarships | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/91dee772b588dec066c323549eb8108cfaca1083d078904d5403f6700d75d670.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:47:12 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F581418%2Fluzerne-county-manager-david-pedri-provides-status-report-on-all-divisions.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL072016media-briefing1-1.jpg | en | null | Luzerne County Manager David Pedri provides status report on all divisions | null | null | timesleader.com | Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri said he can’t guarantee Children and Youth’s license will be removed from provisional status next month, but staffing and documentation concerns have been addressed.
“I want to be very clear to council we are making strides,” Pedri said last week. “We still are facing many issues, but I would say that we are getting better, and we will continue to get better.”
The state reduced the license to provisional status in September 2015 after a review stemming from the death of a child and other inspections that found “some serious concerns regarding agency practice as well as regulatory violations.” The downgrading continues through Sept. 16 based on additional noncompliance with regulations and a corrective plan.
State inspectors will conduct a full license revision review in September, Pedri said.
The license restoration effort came up during Pedri’s status report on his latest batch of expiring, self-imposed 90-day goals for each division.
Other human service division departments have met their goals to complete an aging department master plan, hold heroin overdose antidote Narcan training sessions and create a new program for volunteers to help injured and ill veterans and surviving spouses with household tasks.
Among Pedri’s updates on goals met or in progress in other divisions:
• Budget/Finance
In addition to helping the outside auditor complete the 2015 audit by the June 30 deadline, the division has prepared proposals seeking a bank and payroll services vendor.
The county had selected PNC Bank to handle the county’s banking in September 2013, and seeking proposals again may yield additional savings, Pedri said. Proposals are due Sept. 16.
Proposals are due Sept. 7 from vendors to set up a new and more efficient payroll processing system compatible with the county’s biometric time clocks. Pedri said he will report to the council if the administration receives a viable proposal.
• Judicial Services and Records
Public computers in the deed/wills office now contain assessment and civil court records, eliminating the need for title searchers and lawyers to visit multiple offices for research.
Bail forfeiture hearings also will be reactivated. These hearings stopped in 2013 due to staffing shortages and are necessary for the county clerk of courts office to claim bail from defendants who failed to appear for court proceedings or violated other conditions, said Jim Haddock, who oversees the office.
Haddock said his office is preparing 22 bail forfeiture claims.
Pedri told the council the county may receive thousands of dollars.
• Administrative Services
The conversion to a voice-over IP telephone system will be “substantially complete” by Aug. 31, saving an estimated thousands of dollars per month.
The information technology department also is equipping each employee with a new computer or a monitor hooked up to a small “thin client” device that accesses current software and other data previously stored in towers.
• Office of Law
Staff attorneys developed protocol to speed up the processing of proposed contracts, which will now be electronically accessed and signed to end paper shuffling.
Lawyers also have been identifying which county records can be purged or must be preserved in a new county record storage building in Hanover Township.
• Public Defenders
The division has been working to fill vacancies to ensure defendants have adequate representation. The county has high turnover in legal and social worker positions, Pedri said.
“There are constantly vacancies,” Pedri said. “We’re looking for some good people who want to make a difference.”
• Operational Services
The 911 department has developed an extensive countywide emergency response plan that is awaiting state Department of Health approval.
The in-house engineering office design of beam repairs for 20- to 30 county-owned bridges has been completed, which will allow the county to publicly seek contractors to perform the work.
• Correctional Services
Prison officials have met with state inspectors conducting a yet-to-be-released annual review.
A victims’ resource program also was created for female inmates.
Pedri http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL072016media-briefing1-1.jpg Pedri | http://timesleader.com/news/local/581418/luzerne-county-manager-david-pedri-provides-status-report-on-all-divisions | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/fcb7fa19a60b16f65609bc177a4a6e1235ed0117f8b27ab8715f10aea8886fb7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:46:14 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2F579890%2Fstate-police-issues-amber-alert-in-response-to-alleged-abduction-of-3-year-old-girl.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_14045721_1723376337927656_6007025232630786464_n-3.jpg | en | null | Amber Alert issued in alleged abduction of 3-year-old girl from Nescopeck | null | null | timesleader.com | NESCOPECK — Pennsylvania State Police have Amber Child Abduction Alert in response to a man’s alleged abduction of a 3-year-old girl.
State Police in Shicksinny say Ava Byrne, 3, was last seen on Vine Street in Nescopeck at 12:20 a.m. Police allege she was abducted by Robert Byrne, 24. Police did not say if or how the two are related.
Police describe Ava Byrne as having brown hair, and say she was last seen wearing only a diaper.
Robert Byrne is described as 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighs 215 pounds and has black hair. He was last seen driving a silver 2004 Hyundai Elantra with with Pennsylvania registration HKB-4681, police say.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the abduction or the Byrnes’ whereabouts to contact police by calling 911.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_State-Police-15.jpg Ava Byrne http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_14045721_1723376337927656_6007025232630786464_n-3.jpg Ava Byrne
By Travis Kellar [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/579890/state-police-issues-amber-alert-in-response-to-alleged-abduction-of-3-year-old-girl | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/9c73a7d283f9e5fe9c8615fb9a73bc1b8c0aaca37d5a52ce1409b3862c189e05.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T20:47:14 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F581378%2Famerican-legion-post-672-peach-sale.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916daddow.peach_.jpg | en | null | American Legion Post 672 peach sale | null | null | timesleader.com | Daddow-Isaacs Dallas American Legion Post 672 held their annual Perfect Peach Sale on post grounds. Boy Scout Troop 281 provided assistance. Monies raised will benefit community projects. At the sale, seated: Mrs. James Baloga. Back row: Bob Perks, Ron Santora, Troop 281; Joe Kelley and Jim Baloga, commander. In front: George Tucker, post adjutant.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916daddow.peach_.jpg | http://timesleader.com/community-features/581378/american-legion-post-672-peach-sale | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/a06e6a0a317265bcfa4cef896337b3d30e42711dcab0eddc46b6649821b157a5.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T06:47:40 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581824%2Fthe-latest-heinz-wins-democratic-primary-in-us-house-race.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581824/the-latest-heinz-wins-democratic-primary-in-us-house-race | en | null | The Latest: Heinz wins Democratic primary in US House race | null | null | timesleader.com | PHOENIX (AP) — The Latest on Arizona’s primary election (all times local):
10:20 p.m.
Tucson doctor and former state legislator Matt Heinz has clinched the Democratic primary in southern Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District.
In November, he’ll face incumbent U.S. Rep. Martha McSally in what is expected to be one of the most closely watched U.S. House races. McSally, a Republican, won the seat in 2014 by only 167 votes.
On Tuesday, Heinz defeated challenger Victoria Steele, a former state lawmaker and past news anchor and mental health counselor.
The 2nd Congressional District covers most of Tucson and parts of Cochise County.
___
10:15 p.m.
Many Arizonans wanting to view the Secretary of State’s election results experienced errors while trying to load the website.
The website crashed for the first time shortly after early results were posted around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The site continued to intermittently produce results throughout the night, occasionally producing messages saying “Error” or “This site can’t be reached” or “Service unavailable.”
In the weeks leading up to the primary, Secretary of State Michele Reagan said the website had been upgraded to a system that would get results quicker.
She said the results would be posted in real time and that users wouldn’t have to refresh the page for updates and new numbers.
There was no immediate word from Reagan’s office about what went wrong Tuesday night.
___
10 p.m.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has outpaced four challengers to win the Republican nomination in the sprawling 1st Congressional District, which includes much of Arizona outside the Tucson and Phoenix metro areas.
Babeu’s victory earns him the right to try to wrest the district from Democratic control.
Incumbent Ann Kirkpatrick is vacating the seat to run for U.S. Senate, and Democrat Tom O’Halleran easily won the Democratic primary Tuesday.
Six Republicans appeared on the primary ballot, although Arizona House Speaker David Gowan suspended his campaign and threw his support behind Springerville rancher and businessman Gary Kiehne.
The others in the race were former Secretary of State Ken Bennett, retired Air Force pilot Wendy Rogers and businessman Shawn Redd.
___
9:30 p.m.
U.S. Sen. John McCain gave a victory speech of more than eight minutes following his win in Tuesday’s primary as he seeks a sixth term in November.
McCain’s speech covered the issues he wants to focus on such as national security, health care, veterans care and the economy.
He also says “it is imperative that Republicans maintain our majorities in Congress” and “have a say over the next president’s appointments to the Supreme Court.”
The 80-year-old McCain — who was the Republican party’s 2008 presidential nominee — easily defeated former state Sen. Kelli Ward and two other Republicans on the ballot Tuesday.
McCain faces a tough Democratic challenge in the November general election from U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. She advanced after facing only a write-in opponent in Tuesday’s primary.
In a statement, Kirkpatrick says she’s looking forward to a spirited campaign against McCain.
___
9:15 p.m.
Republican Rep. Paul Gosar easily beat back a primary challenge from a former Buckeye city councilman who received unexpected backing from an out-of-state group.
Ray Strauss benefited from more than $280,000 in spending by the group that seeks to unseat “Freedom Caucus” members who ousted House Speaker John Boehner.
Gosar’s win essentially gives him a general election victory in the state’s 4th Congressional District, which is heavily Republican. The district runs from the west Phoenix suburbs to the Colorado River and includes Kingman and Lake Havasu City.
___
8:45 p.m.
U.S. Sen. John McCain says he’s humbled by and grateful for his win in Tuesday’s primary as he seeks a sixth term in November.
The 80-year-old McCain who was the Republican party’s 2008 presidential nominee easily defeated former state Sen. Kelli Ward and two other Republicans on the ballot.
McCain says this year’s campaign “has a ways to go yet and it’s not going to get any easier.”
McCain faces a tough Democratic challenge in the November general election from U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.
She advanced Tuesday after facing only a write-in opponent in the primary.
___
8:30 p.m.
U.S. Sen. John McCain has beaten back a primary challenge from a Republican tea party activist to win the right to seek a sixth term in November.
The 80-year-old who was his party’s 2008 presidential nominee easily defeated former state Sen. Kelli Ward and two other Republicans on the ballot.
However, the victory doesn’t clear the way to a smooth re-election for McCain. He faces a tough Democratic challenge in November’s general election from U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. She advanced Tuesday after facing only a write-in opponent in the primary.
___
8:15 p.m.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio has crushed three rivals to win the Republican nomination in his bid for a 7th term.
Arpaio will face Democrat challenger Paul Penzone during the fall in what’s believed to be his toughest campaign in six terms as Maricopa County’s top lawman. Arpaio easily beat former Buckeye Police Chief Dan Saban and two other lesser-known Republican opponents Tuesday.
A judge has ruled that Arpaio’s officers racially profiled Latinos, and the sheriff was found in civil contempt of court for defying court orders in the case. The judge recently recommended that Arpaio face criminal prosecution over the contempt case, which could subject him to jail time.
___
7:30 p.m.
Arizona election officials say they saw no major problems during Tuesday primary election voting.
Secretary of State spokesman Matt Roberts says it was an extremely quiet Election Day. That’s a sharp contrast to the March 22 presidential primary that saw long lines and wait times exceeding five hours in some parts of the state’s largest county.
Those problems in Maricopa County were blamed in part on the consolidation of polling places and the fact that independents can’t vote in Arizona’s presidential primary.
Regular primaries allow those not registered with a party to choose a Republican, Democratic or Green Party ballot. The Libertarian Party primary remains closed. The county returned to the normal number of polling places Tuesday.
Maricopa County elections spokeswoman Elizabeth Barthlomew says polls closed on time, with only a couple of glitches reported through the day.
___
7 p.m.
The polls are now closed in Arizona’s primary election.
Key races include the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and contests for U.S. House nominations in congressional districts across the state.
Sen. John McCain is facing a tough battle with a former state senator who is vowing to retire the five-term Republican a day after his 80th birthday.
And six-term Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio faces a trio of challengers in his primary as he seeks a seventh term at age 84.
Unlike the state’s presidential primary back in February, independents are allowed to request either a Republican, Democratic or Green Party ballot at the polls.
Only the Libertarian Party has a closed election.
___
10:10 a.m.
The Maricopa County elections office says the state’s primary election hasn’t produced long lines so far at Phoenix-area polling places, a far cry from the presidential primary when many voters waited hours to cast ballots.
Elections office spokeswoman Elizabeth Bartholomew says the county’s 724 polling places are up and running, though she says the openings of six of them were delayed up to an hour Tuesday morning when poll workers failed to report for work on time.
Bartholomew says troubleshooters stepped in to help open the affected polling places.
Maricopa County had long lines in March when it dramatically reduced the number of locations where voters could cast ballots in the presidential primary and when many independents showed up to vote, erroneously thinking they could vote in that election.
Secretary of State’s Office spokesman Matt Robert says unofficial turnout projections for the primary generally are in the range of 26-28 percent.
Statewide turnout percentages for Arizona’s last three primary elections ranged from 27 to 30 percent.
Polling places will be open until 7 p.m. or until the last person in line at that time casts a ballot.
___
6:35 a.m.
Voters are casting ballots in Arizona’s primary election.
Key races include the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and contests for U.S. House nominations in congressional districts across the state.
Polling places remain open until 7 p.m. or until the last person in line at that time has voted, with the first results announced starting an hour later.
Unlike the state’s presidential primary back in February, independents are allowed to request either a Republican, Democratic or Green Party ballot at the polls. Only the Libertarian Party has a closed election.
It’s too late for voters who receive a ballot by mail to send it back. They must be dropped off at a polling place or elections office or a designated drop-off location.
Voters who go to the polls must show identification. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581824/the-latest-heinz-wins-democratic-primary-in-us-house-race | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/b02a9d0c90c53a233189c0d8eee6a7f974be6014e4ed7e202d7d29af0c71b31d.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:46:47 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F580235%2Fstate-police-alerting-residents-to-utilities-scam.json | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580235/state-police-alerting-residents-to-utilities-scam | en | null | State police alerting residents to utilities scam | null | null | timesleader.com | Pennsylvania State Police are alerting residents about a telephone scam with callers claiming to be from PP&L Utilities.
State police said they’ve received multiple complaints from individuals in Hazle Township and surrounding areas receiving a pre-recorded telephone message. The message relates to setting up, discontinuing or interruption of utilities.
The telephone number being utilized is 844-298-6930.
State police said PP&L is aware of the telephone scam and are urging customers with suspicious telephone calls to call the local PP&L service center. | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580235/state-police-alerting-residents-to-utilities-scam | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/7e44e8a3060e4dcf5fc71b1d25fc23ccadd97924825efc1d372e3dc662cdc15c.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T14:46:53 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F580684%2Fmostly-sunny-and-hot-today-slight-chance-of-rain-tonight-in-the-wyoming-valley.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Sunny-3.png | en | null | Mostly sunny and hot today, slight chance of rain tonight in the Wyoming Valley | null | null | timesleader.com | Sunshine and hot temperatures are expected today with a slight chance of rain tonight in the Wyoming Valley.
The National Weather Service indicated it was 80 degrees as of 8:54 a.m. at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, and fair skies were reported.
Today is expected to be mostly sunny with a high near 87.
Tonight calls for a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy with a low around 68. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.
Monday calls for a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10 a.m., then mostly sunny with a high near 85.
Monday night is expected to be mostly clear with a low around 57.
Tuesday’s forecast calls for mostly sunny conditions with a high near 83. Tuesday night is expected to be partly cloudy with a low around 63.
Be sure to check out the Times Leader’s weather page for up-to-date forecast information and radar! | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580684/mostly-sunny-and-hot-today-slight-chance-of-rain-tonight-in-the-wyoming-valley | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/a03ba416282e6ec4db5460fe6c811a346ddb74e7584edb0a26bd2aeaa7552e28.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T20:47:13 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2F581375%2Fmylan-to-launch-cheaper-generic-version-of-epipen.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112162126-f6613b480cbf4b34892afea5421f990d.jpg | en | null | Mylan to launch cheaper, generic version of EpiPen | null | null | timesleader.com | Mylan will start selling a cheaper version of its EpiPen after absorbing waves of criticism over a list price for the emergency allergy treatment that has grown to $608 for a two-pack, making it unaffordable for many patients.
The drugmaker says it will launch in several weeks a generic EpiPen version that is identical to the branded option but will have a list price of $300 for a two-pack.
It will be available in both 0.15-milligram and 0.30-milligram strengths, like the current version on the market.
EpiPens are used in emergencies to treat severe allergies to insect bites and foods like nuts and eggs that can lead to anaphylactic shock. People usually keep a number of EpiPens handy at home, school or work. The syringes, prefilled with the hormone epinephrine, expire after a year.
Consumers and politicians have accused the company of price-gouging, since the list price for a pair of EpiPens has climbed repeatedly from around $94 in 2007, when Mylan acquired the product.
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch defended the price hikes last week, saying the company only received $274 of the total price for a twin-package while insurers, pharmacies and other parties divvy up the rest.
Last week, Mylan said it was expanding programs that help people pay for EpiPens. It doubled the limit for eligibility for its patient assistance program, so a family of four making up to $97,200 would pay nothing out of pocket. It also said it will offer $300 copay cards, up from the current $100 per-prescription savings.
A company representative said Monday that the $300 cards would be available only for the branded version, but patients could use its assistance program for both the branded and generic versions of the medicine.
How much an individual pays for an EpiPen prescription can depend on insurance coverage.
Pharmacy benefits managers, which negotiate drug prices for insurers and employers, often get discounts off a drug’s list price, and patient out-of-pocket costs can vary by plan. For instance, customers of Express Scripts Holding Co., the nation’s largest prescription benefits manager, pay $73.50 on average, a price the company has kept fairly stable for a couple years.
Mylan said that last year, nearly 80 percent of its patients with commercial insurance paid nothing out of pocket for an EpiPen prescription due to its savings card.
Uninsured patients or those with high-deductible coverage might be stuck paying the full price for the prescription, if they are unaware of Mylan’s savings options. High deductible coverage can require patients to pay thousands of dollars toward medical care or prescriptions before most coverage kicks in.
Mylan specializes in selling generic drugs, which are lower-priced equivalents to branded medications. Launching a generic version of the EpiPen can help the drugmaker protect its market share from competition.
Mylan’s announcement Monday comes a few days after the compounding pharmacy Imprimis Pharmaceuticals said it might be able to sell a version of the allergy treatment in a few months and would likely charge around $100 for two injectors.
There is currently little competition for EpiPen, with the only rival product being Adrenaclick, which carries a list price of $461. But that could change.
At least two companies are trying to get U.S. approval to sell a rival brand or generic version of EpiPen. None is likely to hit the U.S. market until well into next year.
Numerous members of Congress and other politicians have called for congressional hearings on Mylan’s pricing, an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and action by the Food and Drug Administration to increase competition by speeding up approvals of any rival products.
Shares of Mylan NV slipped 34 cents to $42.69 in morning trading Monday, while broader indexes rose slightly.
A pharmacist on July 8 holds a package of EpiPens epinephrine auto-injector, a Mylan product, in Sacramento, Calif. Mylan said it will make available a generic version of its EpiPen, as criticism mounts over the price of its injectable medicine. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112162126-f6613b480cbf4b34892afea5421f990d.jpg A pharmacist on July 8 holds a package of EpiPens epinephrine auto-injector, a Mylan product, in Sacramento, Calif. Mylan said it will make available a generic version of its EpiPen, as criticism mounts over the price of its injectable medicine. Rich Pedroncelli | AP file
Generic version will cost about half the current price
By Tom Murphy AP Health Writer | http://timesleader.com/news/581375/mylan-to-launch-cheaper-generic-version-of-epipen | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/73560309f891a9f800a5078a49b913b352d433fb46232fd72d161855870a3301.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:46:49 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Ftop-stories%2F580579%2Fscrantonwilkes-barre-railriders-still-hunting-for-playoff-berth-after-extra-innings-lost.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_rr_roch2_faaCMYK.jpg | en | null | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders still hunting for playoff berth after extra innings lost | null | null | timesleader.com | MOOSIC — The atmosphere was set on Saturday for a historic night at PNC Field.
Pittston’s great football player Jimmy Cefalo, who starred for Penn State and played in two Super Bowls for the Miami Dolphins, was on hand and lauded before the game with a special ceremony.
And a sellout crowd of 10,000 on hand for the club’s seventh sellout of the season looking to be a part of history as the RailRiders tried to secure a playoff berth for the second consecutive year.
History was put on hold when Rochester scored on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the 11th inning off Nick Goody to defeat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5-4 and put the celebration on hold.
The RailRiders, who will try to clinch Sunday when they play at Rochester at 4 p.m., got two runners on on the bottom of the 11th but the runners were stranded when Jake Cave and Cito Culver both struck out.
The Red Wings broke a 4-4 tie in the inning when Nick Goody walked in a run with the bases loaded.
Being no-hit until two outs in the seventh inning by lefty Nick Greenwood, the RailRiders started a rally when Chris Parmelee doubled off Nick Greenwood for the team’s first hit. The next batter, Kyle Higashioka, boomed a long, towering homer to left field to pull SWB within two runs at 4-2.
In the next inning, the RailRiders got to Alan Busenitz for two runs to equal the score at 4-4. Mason Williams doubled in the third run and Parmelee hit a sac fly with the bases loaded to bring in the fourth run of the game.
Clint Frazier led off the bottom of the ninth with a single. After being sacrificed to second and advancing to third on a groundout, he was stranded there to force extra innings.
Rochester’s Byron Buxton homered to lead off the fourth inning giving the team a 1-0 lead. It was the fourth straight game that the Twins top prospect has homered. An error by third baseman Rob Refsnyder led to a sacrifice fly in the same inning giving the Red Wings a 2-0 advantage.
Catcher Mitch Garver clubbed his first Triple-A homer in the sixth inning off Dietrich Enns padding the Red Wings lead to 4-0.
Jimmy Cefalo reacts after throwing out a pitch at the RailRiders-Rochester game —————-Fred Adams|for Times Leader 8-27-16 http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_cefalo1_faa.jpg Jimmy Cefalo reacts after throwing out a pitch at the RailRiders-Rochester game —————-Fred Adams|for Times Leader 8-27-16 Jimmy Cafalo sits on home plate at PNC Fields as he is honored by local dignitaries —————-Fred Adams|for Times Leader 8-27-16 http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_cefalo2_faa.jpg Jimmy Cafalo sits on home plate at PNC Fields as he is honored by local dignitaries —————-Fred Adams|for Times Leader 8-27-16 Jimmy Cafalo says a few words at PNC Fields after he was honored by local dignataries —————-Fred Adams|for Times Leader 8-27-16 http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_cefalo3_faa.jpg Jimmy Cafalo says a few words at PNC Fields after he was honored by local dignataries —————-Fred Adams|for Times Leader 8-27-16 Chris Parmelee waits for a pitch from Rochester pitcher Nick Greenwood. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_rr_roch1_faaCMYK.jpg Chris Parmelee waits for a pitch from Rochester pitcher Nick Greenwood. Fred Adams | For Times Leader RailRiders starting pitcher Phil Coke http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_rr_roch3_faaCMYK.jpg RailRiders starting pitcher Phil Coke Fred Adams | For Times Leader Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders shortstop Jonathan Diaz readies to catch a bouncing ground ball durinig Saturday’s game against Rochester at PNC Field. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_rr_roch2_faaCMYK.jpg Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders shortstop Jonathan Diaz readies to catch a bouncing ground ball durinig Saturday’s game against Rochester at PNC Field. Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston football great Jimmy Cefalo honored at PNC Field
By Dave Rosengrant For Times Leader | http://timesleader.com/top-stories/580579/scrantonwilkes-barre-railriders-still-hunting-for-playoff-berth-after-extra-innings-lost | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/2bfc65c7160f9ae90cefad9989b545aeeb75d911c90ab53919a5da4c7053956f.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:47:15 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F581526%2Fscattered-showers-thunderstorms-predicted-as-the-week-progresses.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_NWSLogo_400x400-12.jpg | en | null | Scattered showers, thunderstorms predicted as the week progresses | null | null | timesleader.com | The Wyoming Valley could see some showers and thunderstorms as the week rolls on.
The National Weather Service indicated it was 57 degrees as of 6:54 a.m. at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, and fair skies were reported.
Areas of dense fog are possible before 11 a.m. today — otherwise, sunny skies are expected. Today’s high will be near 83.
Mostly clear skies will follow into tonight, with a low around 62.
Partly sunny skies are predicted for Wednesday, along with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. The high will be near 85.
Mostly cloudy skies will carry over into Wednesday night, along with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Up to a quarter of an inch of total rainfall is possible, and the low will be around 64.
Partly sunny skies are expected on Thursday, along with a 30 percent chance of showers before 9 a.m. The high will be near 77.
Partly cloudy skies will follow into Thursday night, along with a slight chance of showers before 9 p.m. The low will be around 57.
Be sure to check out the Times Leader’s weather page for up-to-date forecast information and radar!
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_NWSLogo_400x400-12.jpg
By Travis Kellar [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/local/581526/scattered-showers-thunderstorms-predicted-as-the-week-progresses | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/19b73d03ae7660e0b9a9cea7bcd068797d714494ad8d9078ecda190d75d44d96.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:47:11 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581354%2Ffema-criticized-as-slow-on-disaster-housing-aid-in-louisiana-2.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581354/fema-criticized-as-slow-on-disaster-housing-aid-in-louisiana-2 | en | null | FEMA criticized as slow on disaster housing aid in Louisiana | null | null | timesleader.com | BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The first out-of-state congressman to survey Louisiana’s damage from catastrophic flooding Monday blasted the Federal Emergency Management Agency response as “pitiful.”
U.S. Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican who chairs a subcommittee with jurisdiction over FEMA, toured the destruction with U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, a Republican who represents much of the most heavily damaged region.
Mica said housing aid for the tens of thousands of people displaced by floodwaters two weeks ago has been sluggish and FEMA has been too slow to set up mobile homes that give people somewhere to stay while they repair their houses.
He said FEMA needs more “flexibility” in its programs to make them more adaptable to individual disasters.
“This is one of the biggest displacements of people I’ve ever seen in the country, and the response is pitiful from the federal level,” Mica said.
Only one manufactured housing unit has been set up so far. FEMA regional director Gerard Stolar said the agency is working to speed aid to people displaced by the flooding.
“We’re working very closely with the state. We’re well aware of the devastation that’s out there, that this is an historic event,” Stolar said.
He said that FEMA’s priority is to get people back into their homes and that 50 to 60 additional manufactured housing units are ready to be set up for homeowners after inspections of their property are complete.
“I’m very confident we’re going to be able to ramp up the capacity for this in the very near future,” Stolar said.
More than 100,000 homes are estimated to be damaged from flooding described as the worst disaster since Superstorm Sandy, after a storm that started Aug. 12 dumped as much as 2 feet of rain in some areas over two days.
More than 1,400 people remained in shelters Monday.
Entire communities were ravaged by floodwaters, and residents and volunteers have spent the last two weeks ripping out flooring, damaged furniture and drywall to ready homes for repairs. But many people didn’t have flood insurance, leaving them dependent on savings and FEMA for rebuilding assistance.
Federal officials say more than $277 million in recovery grants have been approved for households so far and 22 assistance centers are open across the damaged parishes. FEMA said it has more than 1,100 housing inspectors on the ground.
Gov. John Bel Edwards has praised the federal response.
Graves, however, said FEMA needs to quicken the pace of its inspections and grant approval. He also worried about the size of grants. While the cap on assistance to households is $33,000, Graves said the largest grant received is around $8,000 so far.
“People are sitting there, looking at their home and business situation. They’ve got to make decisions,” Graves said.
Edwards’ administration opened registration Monday for a new, FEMA-funded “shelter at home” program aimed at providing grants of up to $15,000 to help people make modest repairs that can get them quickly and safely back into their houses while they start work on the larger renovations.
Graves said that program was a “fantastic” concept.
Both congressmen said some of the flexibility they’d like to see in FEMA programs could require congressional action. Edwards was meeting with Louisiana’s congressional delegation Monday to discuss a flood relief package.
___
Follow Melinda Deslatte on Twitter at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581354/fema-criticized-as-slow-on-disaster-housing-aid-in-louisiana-2 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/90d015d46413d8becec15c725c2dfd8366f8df0dcbbc639d2f1ff2194c82b5c6.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T22:46:48 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-football%2F580527%2Fhigh-school-football-holy-redeemer-starts-dwayne-downing-era-with-victory.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_football-helmet-6.jpg | en | null | HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Holy Redeemer starts Dwayne Downing era with victory | null | null | timesleader.com | DUNMORE — The Dwayne Downing Era didn’t start off quite so well. The ending was pretty sweet, though.
Holy Cross’ Cory Miller returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for the score, but that was the only bright spot for the Crusaders as Holy Redeemer and JD Turosky dominated the rest of the afternoon en route to a 34-6 victory at a sweltering St. Anthony’s Memorial Park Saturday afternoon.
It was the first victory for Downing, who took over the program from Scott Dennis.
“Personally, for me, this feels great,” Downing said. “I’ve been out for a few years, so I’m pretty happy to be back on the sidelines. Certainly, we have our challenges, but we have a great group of kids that have made this experience enjoyable for me. We will just keep pushing, and continue to get better.”
The first-year Royal coach gave a little fist-bump to Turosky before the junior spoke with members of the media.
One that was well deserved.
Turosky hauled in a 60-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Thomas Engle on the Royals’ third play of the afternoon before dominating the final 1 minute, 14 seconds of the first half.
Taking over deep in Holy Cross territory after a botched snap on a punt, Engle dropped back and found Turosky in the flat before the big, bruising junior busted two tackles on his way toward the end zone for the 22-yard TD.
“JD is a special kid. He’s quiet, but his play does his talking for him,” Downing said. “He’s young, and he has so much potential. There is no limit for him. He’ll continue to improve.”
Turosky wasn’t done.
On the next Holy Cross’ series, Crusader quarterback Deion Lewis floated up an ill-advised pass that landed right in the hands of Turosky, who rumbled 44 yards nearly untouched down the right sideline for his third touchdown of the first half.
Three touchdowns. Two interceptions. Not a bad way to start off the season.
“I wasn’t expecting to have a half like that at all,” Turosky said. “I think the interception really pumped up the whole team. I think that set the tone for the remainder of this game. We felt good at halftime, but we had to keep our focus. You knew there was still a whole half left, so we had to take care of business.”
The second 24 minutes belonged to Jonathan Winter.
The junior receiver/tailback capped off a nearly-perfect 12-play 61-yard series to open the third quarter with a short 2-yard run. Engle converted a third-and-8 and a fourth-and-short to keep the scoring drive alive.
Winter’s second score wasn’t so conventional.
Also serving as the team’s punter, the junior dropped back to receive the snap on a fourth-and-long in the fourth quarter. But the ball flew almost 20 yards over his head. No problem, though. Winter picked up the pigskin, dodged three tacklers and covered nearly 67 yards for the score – although he was only credited with a 47-yard touchdown.
“There was a lot going through my head. I heard someone yelling jump on it. I heard someone else telling me to kick it. I just grabbed the ball and went for it. Good things happened,” Winter said. “Holy Cross has a nice team. It’s a great victory for us. We had a real good week of practice to prepare for this one. Now we have to get ready for the next one.”
Not lost in the victory was the play of the Royals’ defense. Redeemer held a much-improved Holy Cross team to a mere 106 yards of offense, while forcing a total of four turnovers.
For the game, Redeemer held a 16-8 edge in first downs, and a lopsided 361-106 advantage in total offense.
“It was a great effort from the defense. We are a work in progress, but we are getting better,” Downing said. “We have a lot of potential to be a pretty good defensive unit. The kids are working hard, but we have to get better.”
Holy Redeemer 34, Holy Cross 6
Redeemer`7`13`7`7 – 34
Holy Cross `6`0`0`0 – 6
First Quarter
HC — Cory Miller 80-yard kickoff return (kick failed), 11:47
HR — JD Turosky 60 pass from Thomas Engle (Mauricio Rodriguez kick), 10:11
Second Quarter
HR — Turosky 22 pass from Engle (kick failed), 1:14
HR — Turosky 44-yard interception return (Rodriguez kick), 0:14
Third Quarter
HR — Jonathan Winter 2 run (Rodriguez kick), 6:34
Fourth Quarter
HR—Winter 47 run (Rodriguez kick), 6:35
Team Statistics `HR`HC
First Downs `16`8
Rushes-Yards `37-264 `25-35
Passing Yards `97`71
Total Yards `361`106
Passing `4-12-1`7-14-2
Sacked-Yards Lost `3-24`2-10
Punts-Average `1-35`2-34
Fumbles-Lost `4-0`3-2
Penalties-Yards `7-65`4-20
Individual Statistics
RUSHING — HR, Thomas Engle 13-113, Jonathan Winter 6-62, Robb McClay 5-50, Dorien Ryans 11-36, James Cunningham 2-3. HC, Josh Mies 10-40, Deion Lewis 8-28, Jason Kopf 2-3, Cory Miller 3-0, Team 1-(-11), Mike Roberts 1-(-25).
PASSING — HR, Thomas Engle 4-12-1, 97 yards. HC, Deion Lewis 7-14-2, 71 yards.
RECEIVING — HR, JD Turosky 2-82, Jonathan Winter 1-11, Cade Fahey 1-4. HC, Cory Miller 4-13, Josh Mies 2-50, Bailey Simrell 1-8.
INTERCEPTIONS — HR, Turosky 2. HC, Cory Miller.
MISSED FGs — None.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_football-helmet-6.jpg
By Tom Fox For Times Leader | http://timesleader.com/sports/high-school-football/580527/high-school-football-holy-redeemer-starts-dwayne-downing-era-with-victory | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/fef1316f53109bc56d90d5652c6c927f0bdaa591efaae72be4a982210ccf0a4c.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T12:46:55 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fsports%2F580678%2Fsections-of-mifflin-county-stream-closed-to-protect-trout.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_wildtrout.jpg | en | null | Sections of Mifflin County stream closed to protect trout | null | null | timesleader.com | The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources recently posted several sections of Penns Creek in Mifflin County to protect the wild trout that have congregated at the cool water spilling in from tributaries.
The move was made due to hot, dry conditions that lowered water levels and raised temperatures in the creek, stressing the trout that inhabit the popular limestone stream. It marked the first time since 1999 (also at Penns Creek) that the PFBC closed a stream to protect trout during drought conditions, but is it something that could be done more often? And in other areas of the state?
“It’s possible,” said Jason Detar, chief of the Division of Fisheries Management with the PFBC. “It’s important to understand that this is something we’re not looking to do for stocked trout.”
The reason, according to Detar, is stocked trout are meant to be caught and the agency doesn’t want to limit opportunities for anglers to do just that.
But when it comes to a hot summer where water temperatures rise and levels drop, wild trout become stressed and vulnerable as they seek out thermal refuges – typically where cool water from small tributaries enters a larger stream, to escape the heat. Detar said the threshold for wild trout to survive is a water temperature of 68 degrees.
“These thermal refuge areas are usually relatively small and you may have hundreds of trout congregating in a small area,” Detar said.
Locally, there has been some instances of trout congregating but the drought issue hasn’t been as severe. Waterways Conservation Officer John Cummings said he has seen trout congregate in parts of Harveys Creek this summer. Recent rainfall has increased the water level of many streams, Cummings said, and he has yet to see conditions serious enough to make him close a stream to trout fishing.
“It would have to be an extreme case for me to post it,” Cummings said. “It’s fairly common to see trout congregate in the summer.”
The sections of Penns Creek that were posted were done so to prevent additional stress on the fish from angling pressure. In times of drought, that stress – even if the fish are caught and released, can be deadly.
For that reason, many anglers voluntarily stop fishing for trout even if the PFBC doesn’t prohibit it.
Professional fly angler, guide and fly tyer Joe Ackourey said he checks the water temperature every morning before he goes fishing. He continues to monitor the temperature while he fishes and if gets too high he stops.
Sometimes if conditions are extremely hot and dry Ackourey won’t even fish, and he recommends that other trout anglers do the same.
“It’s about protecting the resource,” Ackourey said. “When the water’s low, stay away and give them a chance. Wait for cooler days and more water.”
Ackourey said he didn’t think streams would need to be closed to fishing if anglers use common sense during times of drought, but he agreed that the PFBC made the right decision to post Penns Creek to protect the wild trout.
Even if anglers choose to fish for trout while they’re congregated and practice catch-and-release could still be deadly, Ackourey said. The trout are already in survival mode, and to exhaust them more by catching them may cause the fish to perish.
“You’re also taking it out of that cold water it found, and even though it might swim away after being released you don’t know if it will make it back to that cooler water,” Ackourey said. “You’re only adding to the stress. It’s more like catch-and-kill.”
Detar said there are plenty of other angling opportunities in the summer for warm-water species like panfish and bass that anglers can give trout a break if conditions are tough.
As far as any impact this summer has on wild trout populations, Detar said that won’t be known until next year when statewide population assessments are conducted.
“We know we lose a considerable portion of the population to natural causes, and fish congregating with very little water can make them more susceptible to predation,” Detar said. “On the positive side, we’ve seen very high numbers of young-of-the-year wild trout, so we have a good age class coming on. “
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_PFBC-LOGO.jpg During a hot, dry summer wild trout, such as this native brook trout caught during a Trout Unlimited survey at Bear Creek last year, become stressed due to low oxygen levels and high water temperatures. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission recently closed sections of a stream in Mifflin County to fishing to protect wild trout during drought conditions. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_wildtrout.jpg During a hot, dry summer wild trout, such as this native brook trout caught during a Trout Unlimited survey at Bear Creek last year, become stressed due to low oxygen levels and high water temperatures. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission recently closed sections of a stream in Mifflin County to fishing to protect wild trout during drought conditions. Tom Venesky| Times Leader
By Tom Venesky [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/sports/580678/sections-of-mifflin-county-stream-closed-to-protect-trout | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/dbc7bcf2a391f2875f8a10044449bb10fa4d104d4729937d5017585cfb8f3e93.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T22:47:21 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F581753%2Fkane-swiftly-replaced-with-beemer.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112192464-78a667e31b2c4fe7b232aea1dfa03f0c.jpg | en | null | Kane swiftly replaced with Beemer | null | null | timesleader.com | Eds: Updates with additional comment by Beemer and Schwank. Links additional AP photos.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania lawmakers made a hasty return to the state Capitol from their summer recess on Tuesday as they rushed through a replacement for the state’s convicted ex-attorney general.
The unanimous confirmation vote on Bruce Beemer comes less than two weeks after Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf nominated him to head an office racked by infighting and scandal under Kathleen Kane.
Wolf and lawmakers said they hoped Beemer, in what is expected to be a five-month stint, can fix an office buffeted by Kane’s clashes with top aides, including Beemer, and accusations that she fired employees in retaliation.
Senators reconvened and voted with little fanfare in an effort to close an ugly chapter for the state’s top law enforcement office. The vote was held almost as soon as Senate rules allowed. Within minutes, the state’s chief justice swore in Beemer privately in Wolf’s offices, with Wolf in attendance.
Beemer told senators in a brief confirmation hearing that he hopes to restore a sense of honor and integrity to the office. Work must be done to restore the office’s credibility with the public and other law enforcement agencies, as well as improving internal morale, Beemer said.
“It’s going to be a challenge, but I look forward to do doing that each and every day,” Beemer told reporters. “It’s going to be sort of like putting building blocks one on top of each other. Every day we’re going to try to make things a little bit better.”
Beemer said it had been difficult for a lot of employees there, including him, to stomach a drumbeat of negative TV or newspaper stories about Kane or internal personnel issues.
In a statement, Wolf said Beemer has the experience and skillset to begin healing the attorney general’s office, and he is trusted by its rank-and-file employees and understands “better than anyone what must be fixed to restore the public trust.”
One hot-button issue awaiting Beemer is a report commissioned by Kane on a trove of pornographic or offensive emails culled from the agency’s servers.
It is perhaps the final act in a scandal that has roiled Pennsylvania’s law enforcement and legal communities for two years and felled several top state officials, including two state Supreme Court justices. Kane had released some hundreds of emails her office discovered, but apparently not all.
Beemer would not say whether he would release the report publicly, saying he had not seen it and that people named in it must be afforded due process.
But state Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Berks, took to the Senate floor to urge Beemer to deal directly with the “misogynistic, homophobic, bigoted and pornographic emails” and ensure that such a culture cannot exist again in the office.
“This issue is a festering wound that must be cleaned before our justice system can heal,” Schwank said.
Asked about her comments, Beemer said he would try to address any remaining issues, but he had not seen a recent systemic issue and that there had been a lot of changes.
Kane was convicted of abusing the powers of the state’s top law enforcement office by leaking secret grand jury information to smear a rival and lying under oath to cover it up. She resigned Aug. 17, two days after her conviction, and faces prison time.
Beemer, the former top deputy to Kane, was promoted into the post by Kane, but he later clashed publicly with her and provided testimony that helped prosecutors to convict her.
Beemer left his post as Kane’s top deputy last month to become Wolf’s inspector general, an office that investigates complaints about fraud, waste and misconduct in state agencies.
He is expected to fill the remaining five months of Kane’s term until one of the candidates running to succeed Kane is picked by voters in the November election is sworn in Jan. 17. Beemer plans to return to the post of inspector general.
Beemer, 47, took on some of the office’s major legal decisions and openly confronted Kane over the agency’s operations after the state Supreme Court suspended her law license last fall.
He also gave unflattering testimony about Kane at her trial earlier this month, including the contention that Kane told him it was “no big deal” when he told her a 2014 article in the Philadelphia Daily News contained information he deemed to be protected by investigation secrecy laws.
The information in the article was leaked by Kane, prosecutors said.
Bruce Beemer walks through the Pennsylvania Capitol after a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to consider his nomination by Gov. Tom Wolf for Pennsylvania attorney general in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_112192464-78a667e31b2c4fe7b232aea1dfa03f0c.jpg Bruce Beemer walks through the Pennsylvania Capitol after a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to consider his nomination by Gov. Tom Wolf for Pennsylvania attorney general in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday. | http://timesleader.com/news/local/581753/kane-swiftly-replaced-with-beemer | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/3d69012b1abc221878e0911fc715ebabf438c797e72a10302e6baa47647df8c1.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:47:18 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Ffeatures%2F581583%2Fcooking-on-deadline-roasted-cherry-tomatoes-with-burrata.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_AP16235537787995.jpg | en | null | Cooking on Deadline: Roasted cherry tomatoes with burrata | null | null | timesleader.com | If you want to end the summer with a bang and be reminded how the best and simplest ingredients produce the most magical results, then this is the dish to make before the leaves change and thoughts turn to stew.
Burrata is a semisoft, white Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. Imagine the softest, creamiest fresh mozzarella ever, but the inside is filled with buttery cream that runs out when you cut it open. It’s like the cheese version of a molten chocolate cake (a brownie-like cake with warm chocolate sauce in the middle).
Hopefully by now you’re ready to jump in the car and find yourself some burrata.
It’s available at cheese shops and well-stocked supermarkets; if you can’t find it, get fresh mozzarella instead, but don’t give up the search.
Roasting the cherry tomatoes caramelizes them and brings out even more natural sweetness. You don’t need to have them on the vine; this dish is also beautiful with an assortment of cherry tomatoes in different colors.
You can make the (nut-free) basil oil ahead of time and store it in a covered container in the fridge for up to three days.
ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES WITH BURRATA AND BASIL OIL
Start to finish: 1 hour
Servings: 8 as an appetizer
***
1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes, on the vine if desired
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 balls burrata (about 1/2 pound each), at room temperature
Crusty bread to serve
___
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat it with nonstick cooking spray. Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet and toss them with 2 tablespoons olive oil (if they are on the vine, just drizzle the tomatoes with the olive oil, and use your hands to make sure they are nicely coated). Season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes, until they are wrinkly and slightly collapsed.
Meanwhile, make the basil oil: Place the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in a food processor, and pulse several times to roughly chop. With the motor running, add 1/2 cup of the olive oil through the top of the processor. When the oil is added, scrape down the sides of the food processor and process again.
Transfer the tomatoes to a serving platter along with any juices that they have released, and let cool to barely warm or room temperature. They will release some of their juices as they cool, which is not only OK but desirable. When ready to serve, cut each burrata in half and nestle the cheese among the tomatoes, making sure not to lose any of the creamy filling. You may want to add a bit more salt and pepper. Drizzle about half the basil oil over the tomatoes and cheese and serve with the crusty bread, and the rest of the basil oil on the side for extra drizzling.
This photo shows cherry tomatoes with burrata, a creamy mozzarella cheese. This dish is from a recipe by Katie Workman. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_AP16235537787995.jpg This photo shows cherry tomatoes with burrata, a creamy mozzarella cheese. This dish is from a recipe by Katie Workman. AP photo
Try roasted cherry tomatoes with burrata
By Katie Workman Associated Press
Nutrition information per serving: 322 calories; 253 calories from fat; 28 g fat (10 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 40 mg cholesterol; 288 mg sodium; 4 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 11 g protein | http://timesleader.com/features/581583/cooking-on-deadline-roasted-cherry-tomatoes-with-burrata | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/976e800c18291e9df6d1d1529f17bb262ad9ad883e51f76650b4c4322712ee3b.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:47:16 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F581581%2Fdr-ward-fitzpatrick-speaks-at-lccc.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL083016lccc.dental.jpg | en | null | Dr. Ward Fitzpatrick speaks at LCCC | null | null | timesleader.com | Dr. Ward Fitzpatrick, a local periodontist, spoke with students in the Luzerne County Community College dental assisting program. He discussed periodontal disease and the benefits of using the LANAP laser procedure as an alternative to surgery. Dr. Fitzpatrick participates in the clinical rotation aspect of the college’s dental assisting program which allows students to gain practical experience. At the presentation, from left, are: Isabella Macoviak, Conyngham; Shelby Goss, Nanticoke; Kara Elmes, Nescopeck; Laura Rodriguez, Hazleton; Jeanne Farrell, CDA, EFDA, Larksville, instructor, dental assisting, LCCC and Ward Fitzpatrick, DDS, Kingston.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL083016lccc.dental.jpg | http://timesleader.com/community-features/581581/dr-ward-fitzpatrick-speaks-at-lccc | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/53b4f7037537222e1191673edad6edb4cc626b1c714189e60fb3412ccd93a844.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T20:46:44 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F580504%2Fluzerne-county-tax-auction-deserters-a-concern.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_dollar-941246_960_720.jpg | en | null | Luzerne County tax-auction deserters a concern | null | null | timesleader.com | A woman bid $6,000 at Luzerne County’s free-and-clear tax auction last week, thinking she had landed a Wilkes-Barre residential structure at a bargain price.
Instead, she left the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre without paying because her post-auction visit to the county mapping office revealed she actually bid on a 2,000-square-foot lot on Puritan Lane with no house.
This desertion by bidders is a growing concern, said Sean Shamany, of county tax-claim operator Northeast Revenue Service LLC.
A dozen winning bidders failed to follow through and pay on 19 properties after Wednesday’s sale, compared to the usual less than five, the company said.
“We continue to have a problem with bidders who are lackadaisical in doing research, even though we keep beating the drum informing them,” Shamany said.
Figuring out what’s up for auction requires digging because real estate is carved into 167,282 parcels in Luzerne County, each containing a unique identification number.
Lots containing yards, garages, driveways or other parking areas often are on separate parcels, even though they may only have value to an adjacent structure. Many are slivers too small for new structures under current zoning requirements. Property owners have no requirement to consolidate all their adjoining parcels into a single one through a reverse subdivision.
Each parcel is taxed — and thus, auctioned — individually.
In the case of the Puritan Lane property, another bidder acquired a parcel containing a house that is near the lot for $7,500.
Visits to the county deed, mapping and assessment offices are advised to identify what’s included in a parcel before someone bids, county officials say.
The property locations in assessment records — known as “situs addresses” — also are creating confusion.
These addresses are intended as a reference point to find the general location of a property and may no longer correlate to a structure, said county Assessment Director Anthony Alu.
Many situs addresses date back decades, and several contiguous but separate parcels may be lumped under the same situs address.
The county continues to provide the situs addresses as a reference point but doesn’t have the resources to review and revise each one to ensure only those with structures currently using those addresses remain, Alu said.
Shamany said some bidders are solely basing their purchases on GPS or online searches of what’s located at the situs addresses. Even if the situs addresses are technically accurate, the online maps and GPS addresses may be incorrect, he said.
“Research must be done based on the parcel identification number. That’s the gold,” Shamany said. “People have to focus on the parcel number and do their due diligence.”
Winning bidders who refuse to pay are banned from participating in future sales.
The blacklisting is warranted because those who renege delay attempts by taxing bodies to recoup at least some of the unpaid taxes and place delinquent property into new hands, Shamany said. Others who were outbid on the 19 properties also may not show up or be interested when they are auctioned again.
The 19 properties will be relisted at a special free-and-clear auction on Oct. 27. Liens and other back taxes are forgiven at these final-stage sales.
Revenue generated
A packed crowd of dozens of bidders generated competition for most properties listed in last week’s sale.
As part of the county council’s push for increased marketing of tax sales, Northeast Revenue brought in a professional auctioneer from J&J Action Service in Sheppton near Hazleton to handle the bidding. The company promoted the tax sale on its website, resulting in more than 5,000 views, Shamany said.
Competitive bidding benefits taxing bodies because they receive a share when buyers pay more than the starting bid, which was typically under $2,000 to cover auction processing and realty transfer tax.
In total, 76 properties sold for a combined $560,857, including the transfer tax, Shamany said.
The bidding went so high on some properties, all delinquent taxes were paid with money left over that will be turned over to the people who lost their properties.
For example, Hazleton resident Jose Colon submitted the highest bid in the auction — $52,000 for the Kosciusko Polish American Citizens’ Club on Winters Avenue in West Hazleton. Around $15,700 in taxes were owed on the property, which includes apartments, from 2013 through 2016, county records show.
Businessman Charles Adonizio III paid a combined $28,500 to purchase four parcels of vacant land, much of it mine-scarred, totaling 150 acres.
Adonizio said he owns an adjacent 25-acre property and wants to expand his holdings. He plans to clean up the site and isn’t sure if he will develop it.
Benton resident Lee Arthur Hess purchased the Sweet Valley Landscaping property on Liberty Street in Hanover Township for $32,000, records show. The property, which had been owned by SVL Realty LLC, is assessed at $206,400.
Christopher Puma, of Ashley, paid $40,000 for a residential structure on Lower Demunds Road in Dallas Township that is assessed at $219,800, records show.
Zoran Zovka, of Fords, New Jersey, bought a former personal care home on West Church Street in Nanticoke for $23,000, according to Northeast Revenue. It is assessed at $211,600.
Hazleton resident Edison Ferreira paid $28,000 for a house on East Birch Street in the city that is assessed at $75,400.
Ferreira said he plans to replace the roof and complete other repairs before renting the property. He is renting out another property he purchased at a prior county tax auction.
“I’m happy with the price. My goal is to keep buying more properties,” Ferreira said.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_dollar-941246_960_720.jpg
Winning bidders failed to pay on 19 properties at last event
What’s next Luzerne County will hold a first-stage “upset” back-tax auction on Sept. 20 and a final-stage free-and-clear auction on Oct. 27. Visit www.luzernecountytaxclaim.com for information on sales and bidding. | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580504/luzerne-county-tax-auction-deserters-a-concern | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/4ea522a0f5e3be95c2a64004e6cc026fc87b7ecce119e3f540e0d9576df46ca9.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:46:33 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F580195%2Fformer-nanticoke-police-chief-william-shultz-remembered-at-memorial-service.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_shultz-mug-1.jpg | en | null | Former Nanticoke police chief William Shultz remembered at memorial service | null | null | timesleader.com | NANTICOKE — Police officers and officials from across the county came to honor Nanticoke police chief William Shultz Friday at a memorial service at the Greater Nanticoke High School auditorium.
Officers from neighboring Newport Township to Dallas Township turned out to honor a man many knew as an advocate and friend.
Nanticoke Mayor Richard Wiatrowski said Shultz, who died Aug. 17 at the age of 61, was “private man who devoted his life to being a police officer.”
A slideshow of memories was shown as Shultz’s wife, Anne Marie, and family stood by a photo of the late chief.
During the service, several speakers commemorated the life of a man many called dedicated. At the end of the service, members of nearly 15 agencies processed through the streets of Nanticoke to the Nanticoke fire station, where Nanticoke and Hanover Township ladder trucks held a flag for the last call.
“I consider him a dear friend,” a visibly upset Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said, remembering her time working on cases with Shultz. “He was one of the first law enforcement (officers) who came to me.”
Salavantis said Shultz went through “deceit, lies, harm and death” daily. She also mentioned that Shultz, though private, would want the couple dozen civilians and multiple law enforcement units on hand to “celebrate and carry on the fight.”
A fight that began in the 1980s when Shultz was called to be on the state attorney general’s Mid Valley Task Force. He was police chief of Plymouth Township at the time.
He was then hired by the Nanticoke Police Department in 1990 and appointed chief in August 2012.
According to Nanticoke’s Municipal Police Cooperative Agreement, the Mid Valley Task Force enhances the coordination of drug investigations in the Luzerne County area and provides mutual police aid to more effectively enforce the provisions of narcotics and drug laws, preserving the safety and welfare of the entire area.
Hanover Township Police Chief Albert Walker said Shultz was a “giant in local law enforcement” because of his longevity in the profession — over 40 years — and his dedication.
“I had the pleasure to work side by side with him on cases that overlapped our jurisdictions, and he was a wealth of information,” Walker said.
Not only did law enforcement officers attend the service but also area lawmakers.
State Sen. John T. Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, and State Rep. Gerald J. Mullery, D-Newport Township, both spoke during the service. They both hold a connection with Shultz as they grew up in Plymouth Township, while the late leader was the top cop there.
Yudichak told a story of Shultz pulling him over on Route 11, and Mullery talked of life lessons.
“The chief taught me there are consequences for my actions,” Mullery said, recalling a time when he was growing up and broke some glass. The chief spoke to Mullery’s mother and then made the now-state representative and friends shovel out a snow filled gravel lot.
Former Wilkes-Barre police chief and current Mayor Tony George spoke of a time in the police academy, which is when he met a then-Sargent William Shultz.
“Everyone is replaceable,” George said, “except William Shultz.”
Hanover Township and Nanticoke ladder trucks raise the American flag before last call for the late Nanticoke police chief William Shultz. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_lastcall1.jpg Hanover Township and Nanticoke ladder trucks raise the American flag before last call for the late Nanticoke police chief William Shultz. Melanie Mizenko | Times Leader http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_shultz-mug-1.jpg Melanie Mizenko | Times Leader
By Melanie Mizenko [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580195/former-nanticoke-police-chief-william-shultz-remembered-at-memorial-service | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/d2aaf9b2cee029c030ab9cdfedc270a6b76860e607eb7efae5f9728dc77a3baa.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T16:47:07 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F581216%2Fkingston-lions-elect-officers.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916kingston.lions_.jpg | en | null | Kingston Lions elect officers | null | null | timesleader.com | The Kingston Lions Club chose new officers for the 2016-2017 year at their recent annual summer outing held at Keiper Park. Officers, from left, in front, are: Gerry DuBoice, Tail twister; Colleen Grendzinski, secretary and Mary Ann Lepa, first vice-president. Back row: Robert Capral, treasurer; Chris Halbohm, president and Mark Mizenko, district governor, Lions District 14-W.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916kingston.lions_.jpg | http://timesleader.com/community-features/581216/kingston-lions-elect-officers | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/ec4f000956f5914f2ace8cdfe96a2ec35c4322415a7952a3621fea0bfe58d181.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:46:43 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580313%2Fthe-latest-man-46-charged-in-deaths-of-2-mississippi-nuns.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580313/the-latest-man-46-charged-in-deaths-of-2-mississippi-nuns | en | null | The Latest: Man, 46, charged in deaths of 2 Mississippi nuns | null | null | timesleader.com | DURANT, Miss. (AP) — The Latest on the killing of two nuns in Mississippi (all times local):
1:30 a.m.
Authorities say they have charged a 46-year-old man in connection with the deaths of two nuns who were killed in Mississippi.
Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain said in a statement Friday night that Rodney Earl Sanders of Kosciusko has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, both 68.
Their bodies were discovered Thursday after they failed to show up for work at a clinic in Lexington, Mississippi, about 10 miles from where they lived.
Lt. Colonel Jimmy Jordan says “Sanders was developed as a person of interest early on in the investigation.”
Sanders is being held in an undisclosed detention center awaiting his initial court appearance.
___
3:45 p.m.
Services have been scheduled for two nuns who were killed in Mississippi.
The bodies of Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, both 68, were discovered Thursday after they failed to show up for work at a clinic in Lexington, Mississippi, about 10 miles from where they lived.
The Catholic Diocese of Jackson says a wake will be held Sunday at St. Thomas Church in Lexington. A memorial Mass is scheduled Monday at the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle in Jackson.
The diocesan chancellor, Mary Woodward, says the memorial service will be “an opportunity for the diocesan community and friends to celebrate the lives of these two remarkable women.”
___
3:10 p.m.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety has increased the reward by $20,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the deaths of two nuns.
Sister Paula Merrill and Sister Margaret Held were found dead Thursday in their homes in Durant. Authorities have not released a motive or cause of death, but the Rev. Greg Plata said police told him the sisters were stabbed.
The Holmes County Crime Stoppers chapter had initially put up $2,500, so the total reward money is now $22,500.
___
2 p.m.
The sister of a nun who was killed in rural Mississippi says her sister was called to “serve the underserved.”
Rosemarie Merrill on Friday described her sister Paula and the second nun who was killed with her, Margaret Held, as generous women who would give you the shirt off their backs.
Both women were found dead Thursday.
Rosemarie Merrill says her sister moved to Mississippi in 1981. For a time when she lived in Holly Springs, Mississippi she would ride around town on a moped. She was instrumental in locating the source of a tuberculosis outbreak in the town while she was there.
The clinic where the women worked served underinsured and uninsured people in the poorest county in the state.
__
1:30 p.m.
A minister in Mississippi says a memorial Mass will be held for two Catholic nuns were found slain inside their home.
Father Greg Plata said Friday that the nuns, Sister Paula Merrill and Sister Margaret Held, had led Bible study for years at St. Thomas Catholic Church. He says Held will be buried in Wisconsin and Merrill will be buried at her congregation’s headquarters in Nazareth, Kentucky.
He says the sisters’ work as nurses dignified the poor.
Authorities have not released a motive or cause of death, but Plata said police told him the sisters were stabbed.
___
12 p.m.
People in the Mississippi community where two nuns were killed say they are having a hard time finding forgiveness, even though that’s what the sisters would have wanted.
Joe Morgan Jr. says he was a patient of Sister Paula Merrill and last saw her about four months ago.
Morgan went to Lexington Medical Clinic where the sisters worked as nurses on Friday in hopes of talking to grieving staff members, but a handwritten sign in the front door says the clinic is closed until Monday.
Morgan says the nuns would’ve wanted him to forgive whoever killed them, but right now he doesn’t have any forgiveness. Also slain was Sister Margaret Held. Both nuns were 68.
Authorities have not released a motive or cause of death, but the Rev. Greg Plata said police told him the sisters were stabbed.
___
9:45 a.m.
Authorities say autopsies are being done on two nuns who were found slain in their Mississippi home.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain said the autopsies would be done Friday on Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill. The women were nurses who were found in their home Thursday when they didn’t show up for work at a clinic that helps poor people.
Authorities have said they found a car that was missing from their home and towed it to a crime lab for analysis. Authorities have not released a motive or cause of death, but the Rev. Greg Plata said police told him the sisters were stabbed.
___
3 a.m.
Friends say two nuns who were found slain in their Mississippi home “would do anything for anybody.”
Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill were found dead Thursday morning when they didn’t report to work at the nearby clinic where they provided flu shots, insulin and other medical care for children and adults who couldn’t afford it.
Dr. Elias Abboud, who worked with the sisters for years and helped build the Lexington Medical Clinic, says he’s not sure what will happen to the facility in light of their deaths.
Authorities didn’t release a cause of death, but the Rev. Greg Plata said police told him the nuns were stabbed. Their bodies were taken to a state crime lab for autopsies. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580313/the-latest-man-46-charged-in-deaths-of-2-mississippi-nuns | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/52046637f19742ce04f55483c8dcfe0986ecf8487ebd8997b819a76a4d72293b.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:47:21 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581356%2Fjudge-to-hear-objections-to-closing-church-shooting-hearing-2.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581356/judge-to-hear-objections-to-closing-church-shooting-hearing-2 | en | null | Judge to hear objections to closing church shooting hearing | null | null | timesleader.com | CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A federal judge will hear from news media organizations objecting closing a hearing in the trial of the man charged in the deaths of nine black church members in Charleston.
The defense wants to keep some evidence out of Dylann Roof’s trial. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel has proposed closing Thursday’s hearing saying revealing evidence before the court rules whether it can be admitted could interfere with seating an impartial jury.
The Post and Courier newspaper and WCBD-TV have objected to the closed hearing. Gergel will hear from their attorneys on Wednesday.
Roof faces numerous federal charges including hate crimes in the June 2015 shootings at Emanuel AME Church. His trial has been scheduled for November and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581356/judge-to-hear-objections-to-closing-church-shooting-hearing-2 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/4a7a92295cef0400bff055b6d80b00ef43f4832f495a57c2e5b2c6ac85258e6e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:45 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F579855%2Findonesia-steps-up-fire-response-as-haze-blankets-singapore-6.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/579855/indonesia-steps-up-fire-response-as-haze-blankets-singapore-6 | en | null | Indonesia steps up fire response as haze blankets Singapore | null | null | timesleader.com | JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Six Indonesian provinces have declared states of emergency as forest fires blanket a swath of Southeast Asia in a smoky haze.
Singapore’s air quality deteriorated to unhealthy levels on Friday as winds blew smoke from fires on Sumatra across the city-state and southern Malaysia.
The number of hotspots detected by weather satellites has increased in the past month though they are below levels last year when massive fires caused a regional crisis.
Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency says six provinces have declared emergency, allowing firefighting measures to go into full effect.
Many of the fires are deliberately set by agricultural conglomerates and small-time farmers to clear forests and peatland for plantations.
Last year’s fires were the worst since 1997, with about 261,000 hectares (2,610 square kilometers) burned. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/579855/indonesia-steps-up-fire-response-as-haze-blankets-singapore-6 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/07650a4908b7a564df3cb07f03f9a6788a7ab8fe3ccb8e08ee3170af05b578d0.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:47:22 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581353%2Fmontana-plane-crash-kills-ice-road-truckers-tv-show-star-2.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581353/montana-plane-crash-kills-ice-road-truckers-tv-show-star-2 | en | null | Montana plane crash kills ‘Ice Road Truckers’ TV show star | null | null | timesleader.com | MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A plane crash in western Montana killed a star of the History channel reality series “Ice Road Truckers” who was planning to film a pilot episode of a show about recovering plane wrecks.
Darrell Ward, 52, of Deer Lodge, died in the fiery crash Sunday on the shoulder of Interstate 90 southeast of Missoula, History spokeswoman Susan Ievoli confirmed Monday.
Pilot Mark Melotz appeared to be trying to land at a small airstrip when “something went drastically wrong,” Missoula County sheriff’s Capt. Bill Burt said Sunday.
Family and friends who were waiting for them said the airplane appeared to stall, then went through a stand of trees, hitting some of them, Burt said. Branches were thrown onto the highway.
Melotz, 56, of Arlee, bought the Cessna 182 on Friday, Burt said. He had flown the airplane to Missoula, where he picked up Ward.
“As best we know, it was a trip from Missoula to that airstrip to visit some friends,” Burt said.
Ward appeared on five seasons of “Ice Road Truckers,” which follows drivers taking supplies in big rigs across frozen lakes to work camps and remote towns. He drove in Alaska and Canada.
“We are saddened by the tragic loss of Darrell Ward, a beloved member of the HISTORY family,” the channel said in a statement. “He will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581353/montana-plane-crash-kills-ice-road-truckers-tv-show-star-2 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/1cdbe6956e1d12c7cbcbef3d23a03d23d1cf800ad9f4634ef557c5e256018f02.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T22:47:09 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F581394%2Fjcc-day-camp-receives-donation-from-luzerne-county-bar-association.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916jcc.bar_.jpg | en | null | JCC Day Camp receives donation from Luzerne County Bar Association | null | null | timesleader.com | The Luzerne County Bar Association Charitable Foundation, Inc., made a donation to the Jewish Community Alliance Day Camp Scholarship Fund to help area children attend the summer camp program. The JCC Day Camp is located on 40 acres near Harvey’s Lake and is open to all families. At the presentation, from left, are: Samantha Bufalino, Aiden Fellerman, Oliva Roth, Rick Evans, JCC Camp & Development director; Joseph Burke, treasurer/secretary Luzerne County Bar Association Charitable Foundation, Inc.; Saraea Kaplan, Margaret Mihalick and Alistar Plotnick.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916jcc.bar_.jpg | http://timesleader.com/community-features/581394/jcc-day-camp-receives-donation-from-luzerne-county-bar-association | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/a8d886c165f5ad903f96ac397c619b2ef228afc85844124ec93583590e5cc0d4.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:58:25 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F371343%2Fin-focus-wilkes-barre-woman-camps-in-rain-to-shed-sunshine-on-pennsylvania-budget-issues.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_TENTS.jpg | en | null | In Focus: Wilkes-Barre woman camps in rain to shed sunshine on Pennsylvania budget issues | null | null | timesleader.com | By Bill O’Boyle
In Focus
Chris Sloat of Wilkes-Barre is in Harrisburg to support passage of Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget that will restore past cuts made to education. Bill O’Boyle Members of Good Jobs and Healthy Communities camp out on the steps of the Capitol in support of Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed budget.
About 75 people — including a Wyoming Valley resident — have been camping out near the steps of the Capitol in Harrisburg trying to light a fire under legislators to pass Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget.
Chris Sloat, 48, of McLean Street in Wilkes-Barre, is one of those campers. They have been on the steps of the Capitol since Monday and are prepared to stay “as long as it takes.”
The weather has not cooperated. Rain has forced them to seek shelter. Wolf even provided a respite for them in a nearby church. Sloat said many of the campers brought their children to Harrisburg.
A licensed practical nurse, Sloat has four children — three graduated from Wilkes-Barre Area schools and one is about to enter the 10th grade at Meyers High School.
Sloat said she has seen what recent cuts in education have done to the system. She has seen what those cuts have done to education in general, especially in areas of special education.
So Sloat decided she would do what she could to convince our legislators — mostly those of the Republican Party — to set aside special interests and put forth a bipartisan effort that she and many Democrats contend is aimed at changing the “business as usual” atmosphere in Harrisburg.
Opposing viewpoint
Critics will say that Wolf represents the Democratic way of thinking and to a great extent, they are correct. But when it comes to this budget — Wolf’s first as governor — Sloat and her fellow campers feel this is more about doing what needs to be done rather than playing politics.
When I talked to Sloat on her cell phone, she was at the Capitol spreading the word about Wolf’s budget and why it needs to pass. She said people are joining the cause daily. Sloat and the others in this tent city began their campaign, so to speak, on Monday.
Sloat said she, for one, would not mind paying the higher personal income tax or a higher state sales tax that Wolf is proposing. And she supports placing a severance tax on the natural gas industry.
To not do that, Sloat said, is “crazy.”
Wolf claims the severance tax would bring in about $1 billion annually, and he plans to apply that to education, restoring the cuts made over the last four years by the previous (and Republican) administration. The GOP, mind you, has also been in the majority in the state House and Senate for the same amount of time and remains so.
So how does a brand new Democratic governor convince the Republican legislature that his ideas are better than theirs? People like Sloat and her fellow campers feel getting the word out to “the people” is the way.
Wolf claims he has a mandate from Pennsylvania voters who elected him overwhelmingly in November, defeating an incumbent Republican governor. The GOP legislators, who retained their majorities in the legislature, claim they received a similar mandate.
How two different political philosophies can receive conflicting mandates in the same election is beyond me.
Wolf’s message
But if you examine the gubernatorial election, it is reasonable to conclude that Tom Corbett is no longer governor because of the cuts he made to education. Wolf rode that message to an easy victory in the primary and a clear win in November.
So, does that count for anything as legislators vote on the budget? Apparently not for much. The Senate sent the GOP budget to Wolf on Tuesday, despite Wolf’s vow to veto it.
Sloat and the others who comprise the “Good Jobs and Healthy Communities” coalition are determined. They intend to stay in their tents until Wolf’s budget — at least most of it — is approved.
“We’ll switch out people if we have to,” Sloat said.
Sloat said Pennsylvania has been broken so long that it is time for a new direction.
“Classes have been cut, programs have been cut, education has been cut,” Sloat said. “Special needs kids have suffered the most. All kids deserve a quality education.”
Now who can argue with that? Regardless of political affiliation.
Taxing the gas industry is a no-brainer to people like Sloat. We have seen and heard all the claims. Pennsylvania sits on the largest reserve of natural gas, yet it is the only gas-producing state without a severance tax. As Sloat said, “That’s just crazy.”
Here to stay
Gas companies aren’t going anywhere. As Jeff Sheridan, Wolf’s press secretary, told me Monday, “Where would they go?”
Every other state with gas has a severance tax. “And the most gas is under our soil,” Sheridan said.
Sloat also favors raising the minimum wage and lowering property taxes.
“Wolf ran on those promises and he’s trying to keep them,” Sloat said.
Sloat said Pennsylvania’s working families should matter here. She said big corporations have received way too many tax breaks. She said the Republican Party is not in touch with the people.
Sloat said this budget should not be a political issue. She said change is needed and needed now to put Pennsylvania on the right track.
“We want to show we are not going away,” Sloat said. “These legislators are accountable to us.”
Bill O’Boyle may be reached at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle. | http://timesleader.com/news/local/371343/in-focus-wilkes-barre-woman-camps-in-rain-to-shed-sunshine-on-pennsylvania-budget-issues | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/9f366838c7f89a113de173aa696f21080698529371e3e75b2eecd721534c9c3f.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T02:47:25 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F581769%2Fa-fine-day-for-the-irish-as-cosgrove-is-sworn-in.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL083116cosgrove3.jpg | en | null | A fine day for the Irish as Cosgrove is sworn in | null | null | timesleader.com | WILKES-BARRE — The rotunda of the Luzerne County Courthouse was filled Tuesday, but new Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Joseph Cosgrove summoned the words of those who were present in spirit.
Cosgrove, 59 and a native of Pittston, became the first person from Luzerne County to serve on the state Commonwealth Court, having been appointed to fill a vacant seat on June 27 by Gov. Tom Wolf. Cosgrove’s term runs until January 2018.
Cosgrove gave a heartfelt speech, remembering his parents, grandfather and great-grandfather to paint a picture of his Irish roots and his family’s dedication to America.
The new jurist talked about his great-grandfather, a stone-cutter who emigrated to America from Ireland in the 19th century. Cosgrove said his great-grandfather worked on many area stone bridges and churches, including his home parish of St. John the Baptist in Pittston.
He said his mother would tell him to “stand up straight, speak loudly and don’t make anyone mad.” He said his dad, Richard, a former newspaper columnist for the Sunday Dispatch, would look at him and say, “Well, you finally found steady work.”
And his great-grandfather that he never met but had heard stories about his entire life, Cosgrove said he imagined he would say, “Ya done good, laddie. Now get to work.”
Cosgrove then donned his black robe and told the overflow crowd that he would roll up his sleeves and get to work.
Following the ceremony, Cosgrove said he was humbled by the appointment and he looks forward to his time on the bench.
“This is an incredible opportunity to participate in the important work of the Commonwealth Court,” he said. “This court’s work affects so many of Pennsylvania’s citizens.”
Again calling on his Irish heritage, Cosgrove said there is another saying that includes, “I could feel the presence of all those who had gone before me.” He said, “I had a lot of family members with me here today.”
Rabbi Larry Kaplan called Cosgrove, “our mensch on the bench.” Mensch is a Yiddish term meaning a person with integrity and honor, he said.
Attorney Joe Burke, a lifelong friend of Cosgrove’s, recalled a story of when Cosgrove was a volunteer at the Pittston YMCA. He said some younger boys were waiting to play ping pong, but the table was being used by some older, bigger boys. Burke said Cosgrove approached the older boys and asked them twice to allow the younger boys to play. Without a word of objection, Burke said the older boys listened to Cosgrove and relinquished the table to the young boys.
“I knew then that Joe had the courage, decency and goodness to serve on the bench,” Burke said.
Burke also recalled the time Cosgrove, during his time in the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office, once called Mother Teresa of Calcutta to testify for the defense via telephone during a Luzerne County death penalty case. Burke noted that Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, will be canonized as a saint this year — the same year Cosgrove was appointed to the court.
“Coincidence?” Burke asked. “I don’t think so. I think there’s a higher power at work here.”
Cosgrove, a Pittston native and former Luzerne County interim judge, taught constitutional law at King’s College for many years and has been outspoken against capital punishment.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School, he has a master’s in theology from Notre Dame, and a master of arts from Marywood University in Scranton. He has served on the ethics committee at Misericordia University and served as chief legal counsel for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
Joseph Cosgrove, center, gets sworn in as judge for the Commonwealth Court by president judge of the Commonwealth Court, Mary Hannah Leavitt, left, and Sharon Cosgrove in the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL083116cosgrove1-2.jpg Joseph Cosgrove, center, gets sworn in as judge for the Commonwealth Court by president judge of the Commonwealth Court, Mary Hannah Leavitt, left, and Sharon Cosgrove in the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. Sean McKeag | Times Leader Sharon Cosgrove fits the robe onto Joseph Cosgrove after he was sworn in as judge for the Commonwealth Court of at the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL083116cosgrove2-2.jpg Sharon Cosgrove fits the robe onto Joseph Cosgrove after he was sworn in as judge for the Commonwealth Court of at the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. Sean McKeag | Times Leader Monsignor John Bendik sings a spiritual hymnal to close out the installation ceremony of Judge Joseph Cosgrove at the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 30. 8/30/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL083116cosgrove3.jpg Monsignor John Bendik sings a spiritual hymnal to close out the installation ceremony of Judge Joseph Cosgrove at the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 30. 8/30/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader Sean McKeag | Times Leader
Attorney sworn in as judge on Commonwealth Court
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle. | http://timesleader.com/news/local/581769/a-fine-day-for-the-irish-as-cosgrove-is-sworn-in | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/e797cbe74a8272fab5dc04545f86f970bb11e09b38a89b27db6160769d19d5d5.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T20:46:23 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fsports%2F580151%2Fkingston-native-c-j-yakimowicz-named-to-pittsburghs-rookie-tournament-roster-tourney-to-be-held-sept-16-18.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Simon.jpg | en | null | Kingston native C.J. Yakimowicz named to Pittsburgh’s rookie tournament roster; tourney to be held Sept. 16-18 | null | null | timesleader.com | Second-year forward Oskar Sundqvist headlines Pittsburgh’s roster for the 2016 rookie tournament, which will be held in London, Ontario from Sept. 16-18. Also making the roster is Kingston native C.J. Yakimowicz.
Sundqvist is one of several players on the roster who appeared in games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. Others on the roster include defenseman Ethan Prow, forwards Josh Archibald, Teddy Blueger, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Jake Guentzel and Dominik Simon, and goaltender Tristan Jarry.
Newly-signed forward Thomas Di Pauli will also suit up for the Penguins, as will 6-7 winger Christian Hilbrich, who signed an AHL deal with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this summer.
In addition to the Penguins, the tournament will also feature the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators.
The Penguins begin the tournament by facing the Canadiens on Friday, Sept. 16 at 3:35 p.m. Pittsburgh plays the Senators on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 3:35 p.m. The Penguins conclude their weekend on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 4:35 p.m. against the Maple Leafs.
Dominik Simon is one of several players who suited up for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season to be named to Pittsburgh’s rookie tournament roster. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Simon.jpg Dominik Simon is one of several players who suited up for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season to be named to Pittsburgh’s rookie tournament roster.
By Tom Venesky [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/sports/580151/kingston-native-c-j-yakimowicz-named-to-pittsburghs-rookie-tournament-roster-tourney-to-be-held-sept-16-18 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/1023ec3d38dc341a72d0d5bcca4b4ed2cbd7a3442a484a0e20fe07ac13fc302d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:12 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F579861%2Fana-cancels-flights-to-fix-rolls-royce-engines-on-boeing-787-3.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/579861/ana-cancels-flights-to-fix-rolls-royce-engines-on-boeing-787-3 | en | null | ANA cancels flights to fix Rolls-Royce engines on Boeing 787 | null | null | timesleader.com | TOKYO (AP) — Japanese airline All Nippon Airways has started grounding Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” flights after detecting problems with their Rolls-Royce engines.
Nine domestic flights were canceled Friday, and others will be canceled through September. ANA says there will be no cancellations on international routes.
The airline operates a fleet of 50 Dreamliner jets. It has been repairing some of the 37 used on international routes since a problem with the engine was detected in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in February.
ANA spokesman Tetsuya Yokoi said the airline has decided to repair the 13 aircraft used for domestic flights too.
Yokoi said turbine blades are being replaced due to possible corrosion. Improved parts being developed by Rolls-Royce won’t be ready until next year, so the planes will be rotated out of service again then. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/579861/ana-cancels-flights-to-fix-rolls-royce-engines-on-boeing-787-3 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/751a3a34ceff6c17f93da367b5af831e3f767597a248994a5d28edfc70567d7b.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:47:17 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F581528%2Faaa-wilkes-barres-average-gas-price-climbed-by-2-cents-overnight.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_AAA-Mid-Atlantic-12.jpg | en | null | AAA: Wilkes-Barre’s average gas price climbed by 2 cents overnight | null | null | timesleader.com | The local average gas price climbed by 2 cents overnight and is up 5 cents from last week.
AAA Mid-Atlantic provided the following data for today’s average gas prices:
• Wilkes-Barre area gas average at $2.33 today, up 2 cents overnight and up 5 cents in the last week.
• Pennsylvania gas average at $2.33 today, unchanged overnight and up 3 cents in the last week.
• National gas average at $2.22 today, unchanged overnight, up 4 cents in the last week.
AAA Mid-Atlantic Logo.jpg http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_AAA-Mid-Atlantic-12.jpg AAA Mid-Atlantic Logo.jpg
By Travis Kellar [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/local/581528/aaa-wilkes-barres-average-gas-price-climbed-by-2-cents-overnight | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/02ccd3fa27a49b0ceeadba46424482dc3fdd2ed4fc79ab5a565f3645dd9b6cbe.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:46:46 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F580353%2Fsunshine-hot-temperatures-continue-today-and-sunday-in-the-wyoming-valley.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Sunny-2.png | en | null | Sunshine, hot temperatures continue today and Sunday in the Wyoming Valley | null | null | timesleader.com | Sunshine and hot temperatures are expected today and Sunday in the Wyoming Valley.
The National Weather Service indicated it was 71 degrees as of 8:54 a.m. at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, and fair skies were reported.
Today is expected to be mostly sunny with a high near 88.
Tonight will be mostly clear with a low around 67.
Mostly sunny skies are also expected for Sunday, with a high near 88.
On Sunday night, the forecast calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after midnight. Mostly cloudy with a low around 70.
Monday is expected to be mostly sunny with a slight chance of showers and a high near 85.
Monday night calls for partly cloudy skies and a low around 61.
Be sure to check out the Times Leader’s weather page for up-to-date forecast information and radar! | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580353/sunshine-hot-temperatures-continue-today-and-sunday-in-the-wyoming-valley | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/0f168912cca0c3f06820a362b7d63bfc348e4d4790de67098ad5ae59c7663b36.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T06:47:02 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580655%2F1-rescue-water-search-ongoing-after-new-orleans-plane-crash-5.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580655/1-rescue-water-search-ongoing-after-new-orleans-plane-crash-5 | en | null | 1 rescue, water search ongoing after New Orleans plane crash | null | null | timesleader.com | NEW ORLEANS (AP) — U.S. Coast Guard officials say one person has been rescued and crews are searching for two others after a small plane crashed into a lake near a New Orleans airport.
Multiple media reports say Coast Guard personnel responded to the scene Saturday night after the aircraft crashed in the vicinity of the Seabrook Bridge near Lakefront Airport. The airport is located adjacent to Lake Ponchatrain, about 10 miles northeast of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana.
Coast Guard officials say the Cessna training flight crashed about 8:30 p.m.
The person rescued was transferred to a New Orleans hospital in unknown condition.
No further details were immediately available. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580655/1-rescue-water-search-ongoing-after-new-orleans-plane-crash-5 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/220b5b6126dd5d226f68176d221fca6c8fa1c6b329a41a5a6ef97efbfec3e5bb.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T14:46:07 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fcommunity-features%2F579868%2Fhappy-birthday-liam-parker-redmond.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082616redmond.bdy_.jpg | en | null | Happy birthday Liam Parker Redmond! | null | null | timesleader.com | Liam Parker Redmond, son of David and Carrie Redmond, Bloomsburg, will celebrate his fourth birthday today, Aug. 26, 2016. He is the grandson of Len and Carrie Kaminski, Clayton, North Carolina and Jan and Mike Bondurant, Halifax, Virginia. He is the great-grandson of Rose and the late Len Kaminski, Wilkes-Barre; George and Loretta Mizenko, Harding and Regina and the late John Albanese, Nanticoke. Liam has a brother, Hunter, 10 and a sister, Kyleigh, 6.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082616redmond.bdy_.jpg | http://timesleader.com/community-features/579868/happy-birthday-liam-parker-redmond | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/cd0c4722800eb818f88aba6c10756306f834e0b01975e7ca2041bc1c1caac439.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:46:49 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580311%2Fcorrects-bangladesh-police-kill-3-militants-including-suspect-behind-last-months-dhaka-cafe-attack.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580311/corrects-bangladesh-police-kill-3-militants-including-suspect-behind-last-months-dhaka-cafe-attack | en | null | CORRECTS: Bangladesh police kill 3 militants, including suspect behind last month’s Dhaka cafe attack | null | null | timesleader.com | NEW DELHI (AP) — CORRECTS: Bangladesh police kill 3 militants, including suspect behind last month’s Dhaka cafe attack. (Corrects APNewsAlert to show police now say 3 instead of 4 suspects were killed.) | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580311/corrects-bangladesh-police-kill-3-militants-including-suspect-behind-last-months-dhaka-cafe-attack | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/13b5426a1f45b8b0a1d695c08cceb1801f2e6d44cc6109741de18b94f68c1eb8.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:47:24 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Ftop-stories%2F581727%2Fbreaking-down-penn-states-opening-depth-chart-for-2016.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_AP463073920736201683015033192-1.jpg | en | null | Breaking down Penn State’s opening depth chart for 2016 | null | null | timesleader.com | Yes, it’s still a young team. By one metric — number of seniors — Penn State is one of the youngest in the country. The Nittany Lions’ 12 seniors are the second fewest behind Kentucky among teams in major conferences.
But for a change, Penn State’s season-opening depth chart, which was released Tuesday, actually showcases some depth.
The Lions are able to throw together a three-deep at many positions now, most notably along the defensive line.
Heading into Saturday’s 2016 debut against Kent State, the Lions list 65 players between offense, defense and special teams, with 36 of them at sophomore or freshman eligibility.
“The fact that we have three senior captains (Brandon Bell, Brian Gaia and Von Walker), they’re really going to step up into that role,” coach James Franklin said at his weekly press conference. “I think it’s going to be significant and I think it’s going to be more on their plate than maybe most programs that have bigger senior classes.”
The big reveal came last week with sophomore Trace McSorley officially installed as the starting quarterback. Beyond him, the Lions have eight new full-time starters in wideout Saeed Blacknall; guard Ryan Bates; defensive linemen Evan Schwan, Parker Cothren and Kevin Givens; cornerback John Reid; safety Malik Golden and punter Blake Gillikin.
Golden has stepped in as a starter in the past because of injury. Likewise, guard Derek Dowrey has seen plenty of reps in the recent carousel on the offensive line.
As expected, Jason Cabinda will remain the starting middle linebacker with Nyeem Wartman-White manning the weakside spot he started at in 2014.
Line up
After shuffling some guys around at the start of camp, Penn State has settled into a starting offensive line of Brendan Mahon, Bates, Gaia, Dowrey and Andrew Nelson, from left to right.
Now at left tackle, Mahon has appeared in every spot up front except center and would seem to have found a home headed into his junior season.
“Brendan has done a nice job,” Franklin said. “He’s really, really been focused — really in all areas of his life. He’s matured so much since the time we arrived. I’m very, very proud of him and he had a great camp. He’s a guy that has the flexibility to play tackle or guard. Kind of always looked at him that way. He saw all the competition that we were having at the tackle position and felt like he could help them.
“With that opportunity, he’s run with it and really done a nice job for us. … Mahon has really earned everybody’s respect.”
One of the big issues with the line the past two years was that there were few second-teamers who could push for a starting job. The new freshman class has changed that.
Three of the four signees have a chance to play this season, with Franklin planning to work Lake-Lehman’s Connor McGovern into the mix as soon as this weekend. McGovern is listed at second-team right guard with fellow rookie Michal Menet the top backup at left guard. Will Fries is at left tackle behind Mahon and Paris Palmer.
“Those guys have done a great job for us,” Franklin said. “Physically, they are ready to play. Mentally, they are catching up day by day.
“Will Fries is a guy who has done some good things in a short period of time on campus and earned a lot of people’s respect. Connor McGovern had a little bit of a head start being here for spring ball. And Michal Menet is another guy that’s done some really nice things and has been able to get a lot of reps with our guys and our (starting) unit in practice.”
Freshman watch
Franklin reiterated what he said a week ago — he plans to play true freshmen McGovern, Gillikin and Miles Sanders right away. Sanders, rated by some services as the top running back recruit in the nation, is listed fourth on the depth chart. But then again, Saquon Barkley was listed fourth there last August, so that only means so much.
Beyond that, Franklin listed Menet, Fries, defensive end Shane Simmons and linebacker Cameron Brown in the “yellow” category, indicating that they might end up playing this season.
Bowers out for 2016
Tight end Nick Bowers will have to wait another year to make his college debut.
The redshirt freshman hadn’t been spotted at practices as training camp rolled along and Franklin confirmed Tuesday that he would miss the entire season.
Franklin did not offer any specifics, though in the past he has saved these types of announcements for season-ending injuries.
“Obviously we’re going to miss him,” Franklin said. “He’s a great teammate. I think he has a very, very bright future here at Penn State. Had a great offseason. So we’re going to miss him. But yeah, it’s next man up.”
Were he available, Bowers likely would have been the top backup to Mike Gesicki. As it is, the Lions have walk-on Tom Pancoast listed second and redshirt freshman Jonathan Holland third.
Work left to do
Bowers was one of 10 scholarship players, excluding true freshmen, to not appear on the opening depth chart. The others were OL Noah Beh, OL Brendan Brosnan, DL Curtis Cothran, OL Steven Gonzalez, OL Sterling Jenkins, DB Jarvis Miller, DB Ayron Monroe and DB John Petrishen.
That list is typically made up of a mix of undisclosed injuries and younger guys who still have work to do.
The most notable name is Beh’s. The Scranton Prep grad came out of the spring as a strong candidate to start at tackle but by the end of camp was working with the scout team.
“Noah has been a part of that conversation during all of camp,” Franklin said. “Noah has really shown some nice things and made some dramatic improvement from last season, but there are still some areas that he needs to work on. Those areas have been communicated clearly to Noah, and he’s a guy that we still feel like has a bright future here at Penn State.
“But there’s just some areas that he needs to continue to invest in to help him have the type of role that he wants for us on our offensive line.”
Penn State has gradually been able to restock the shelves under coach James Franklin (right) headed into Saturday’s opener against Kent State. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_AP463073920736201683015033192-1.jpg Penn State has gradually been able to restock the shelves under coach James Franklin (right) headed into Saturday’s opener against Kent State. Abby Drey | AP photo, Centre Daily Times
By Derek Levarse [email protected]
UP NEXT Kent State at Penn State 3:30 p.m. Saturday, BTN | http://timesleader.com/top-stories/581727/breaking-down-penn-states-opening-depth-chart-for-2016 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/eda3cff0326a96fade0325d9bb2aa0a9a6c857b81d1f1f41d58d562fdcc96e6c.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:46:58 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flottery%2F580902%2Flottery-numbers-for-sunday-aug-28.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_PA-Lottery-logo-22.jpg | en | null | Lottery Numbers for Sunday, Aug. 28 | null | null | timesleader.com | Midday Drawing
Pick 2: 2-9
Pick 3: 0-9-5
Pick 4: 7-5-8-0
Pick 5: 7-0-6-7-4
Treasure Hunt: 01-03-06-09-22
Evening Drawing
Pick 2: 2-0
Pick 3: 6-5-8
Pick 4: 6-8-0-0
Pick 5: 3-8-9-0-0
Cash 5: 03-18-20-27-28
Powerball Drawing
04-32-48-49-63
Power Ball: 20
No player matched all five numbers in Sunday’s “Cash 5” jackpot drawing; Monday’s jackpot will be $325,000.
Lottery officials reported 65 players matched four numbers, winning $174 each; 2,146 players matched three numbers, winning $8.50 each; 23,471 players matched two numbers, winning $1 each. | http://timesleader.com/news/lottery/580902/lottery-numbers-for-sunday-aug-28 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/192d69848141b4778333e4e91b475a9c22d98ed1664d641e333d3c573414c089.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:47:21 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fbirthdays%2F581591%2Fhappy-birthday-avery-moreck.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL083016moreck.bdy_.jpg | en | null | Happy birthday Avery Moreck! | null | null | timesleader.com | Avery Moreck, daughter of Aaron and Erin Moreck of Forty Fort, is celebrating her third birthday today, Aug. 30, 2016. Avery is the granddaughter of Jack and Pat Schultz, Kingston; Jack Moreck, Courtdale and Peg Moreck, Forty Fort. She is the great-granddaughter of Florence Cadden, Pringle and Matilda Moreck, Dallas. Avery has a brother, Caden, 5.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL083016moreck.bdy_.jpg | http://timesleader.com/birthdays/581591/happy-birthday-avery-moreck | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/816715c96f53da2578b45fc507559c28ffd6f3c04bc176f5b608ed2074d6e057.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:46:39 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580309%2Fman-faces-2-capital-murder-charges-in-mississippi-nun-deaths.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580309/man-faces-2-capital-murder-charges-in-mississippi-nun-deaths | en | null | Man faces 2 capital murder charges in Mississippi nun deaths | null | null | timesleader.com | LEXINGTON, Miss. (AP) — A man has been arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in connection with the deaths of two nuns who were slain in Mississippi, police said.
Rodney Earl Sanders, 46, of Kosciusko, was charged in the deaths of Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, both 68, Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain said in a statement released late Friday night.
Their bodies were discovered Thursday after they failed to show up for work at a clinic in Lexington, Mississippi, about 10 miles from where they lived.
“Sanders was developed as a person of interest early on in the investigation,” Lt. Colonel Jimmy Jordan said in the statement.
Sanders was being held in an undisclosed detention center awaiting his initial court appearance.
Meanwhile, in the poverty-stricken Mississippi county where the two nuns were slain, forgiveness for their killer is hard to find, even if forgiveness is what the victims would have wanted.
Sisters Margaret Held and Paula Merrill were nurse practitioners who dedicated their lives to providing health care to people in the poorest county in the state. And as authorities sought the killer, many residents wondered how they will fill the hole the women’s deaths have left.
“Right now, I don’t see no forgiveness on my heart,” said Joe Morgan Jr., a 58-year-old former factory worker who has diabetes and was a patient of Merrill’s at the clinic where the two nuns worked.
He said Merrill would want him to forgive whoever killed the women, but he hopes the perpetrator is arrested, convicted and executed.
“She doesn’t deserve to die like this, doing God’s work,” Morgan said, shaking his head. “There’s something wrong with the world.”
Both women worked Man, 46, faces 2 at the clinic, where they gave flu shots, dispensed insulin and provided other medical care for children and adults who couldn’t afford it.
Their stolen car was found abandoned a mile from their home, and there were signs of a break-in, but police haven’t disclosed a motive.
Authorities have not said how the women were killed, but the Rev. Greg Plata of St. Thomas Catholic Church in Lexington, where the nuns had led Bible study for years, said police told him they were stabbed.
The state posted a reward of $20,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Plata said both nuns’ religious communities have asked that people pray for the killer or killers. Asked about people’s struggles to forgive, the priest said: “Forgiveness is at the heart of being a Christian. Look at Jesus on the cross: ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.'”
On Friday, a handwritten sign on the front door of Lexington Medical Clinic said it was closed until Monday.
The clinic and the nuns’ home in Durant are in Holmes County, population 18,000. With 44 percent of its residents living in poverty, Holmes is the seventh-poorest county in America, according to the Census Bureau.
The slayings did more than shock people and plunge the county into mourning. They leave a gaping hole in what was already a strapped health care system.
Dr. Elias Abboud, who worked with the sisters for years and helped build the clinic, said it provided about 25 percent of all medical care in the county.
The two nuns cultivated relationships with drug company representatives, who often left extra free samples, according to clinic manager Lisa Dew.
“This is a poor area, and they dignified those who are poor with outreach and respect for them,” Plata said. “They treated each person as a child of God.”
Merrill’s sister Rosemarie, speaking by telephone from her Stoneham, Massachusetts, home, said her sister had been in Mississippi helping the poor since 1981 and had previously worked in Holly Springs, where she used to ride around on a moped and was instrumental in locating the source of a tuberculosis outbreak.
Merrill was raised in the suburbs of Boston and came from a working-class family, her father a laborer and her mother a bookkeeper, her nephew David said. He said his aunt had worked with Held for many years.
“We always considered Margaret just part of the family,” he said. “The word ‘sister’ has many meanings, and they fulfilled all of them.”
Rosemarie Merrill said she doesn’t know what will happen to the clinic now and worries about the effect on health care in Holmes County. She said her sister and Held would often go into the clinic on Sundays after Mass or on their days off.
“It’s just going to be a disaster,” she said.
Genette Pierce, who works at a home health and hospice business a few doors down from the clinic, said: “Their patients — all of them — they’re going to be lost without them right now.”
___
Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana in New Orleans contributed to this report. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580309/man-faces-2-capital-murder-charges-in-mississippi-nun-deaths | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/2afe0e72b3412f60ba5cd02bd415174b6d4358e1430eed2d495e926a4f12a54e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:50:07 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F579858%2Funknown-gunmen-kill-6-policemen-in-southwest-pakistan-3.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/579858/unknown-gunmen-kill-6-policemen-in-southwest-pakistan-3 | en | null | Unknown gunmen kill 6 policemen in southwest Pakistan | null | null | timesleader.com | QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A police spokesman says unidentified assailants killed at least six tribal police officers and wounded two others in an overnight rocket and gun attack in southwest Pakistan.
Abdullah Rind, spokesman for the Levies tribal police, said Friday that the attack took place Thursday night near the Iranian border.
He says the assailants first fired a rocket and then opened fire on a vehicle carrying the police, who were returning from a border town near Iran. He says the motive behind the attack was not clear.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but separatist groups have waged a low-level insurgency in Baluchistan province for years.
Because of its closeness to Afghanistan, the province is also a hiding place for Taliban and al-Qaida militants. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/579858/unknown-gunmen-kill-6-policemen-in-southwest-pakistan-3 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/1249f83bf705aa76e93fad0a3e916310d67bc6f37db565fd0ed320ee5fc0f9fd.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T06:47:06 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581158%2Fwatchdog-calls-out-india-for-failing-to-protect-journalists.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581158/watchdog-calls-out-india-for-failing-to-protect-journalists | en | null | Watchdog calls out India for failing to protect journalists | null | null | timesleader.com | NEW DELHI (AP) — A new report calls out Indian authorities for failing to help journalists facing violent threats or attacks for their work.
The report released Monday by the Committee to Protect Journalists counted 27 journalists killed since 1992, and noted that small-town journalists investigating corruption were at greater risk than those working in big cities like New Delhi or Mumbai.
The international watchdog says it’s aware of only one case in 10 years in which authorities prosecuted and convicted a suspect in a journalist’s killing, but that the suspect was later released on appeal.
It blamed successive Indian governments as well as local officials for doing little to address the problem. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581158/watchdog-calls-out-india-for-failing-to-protect-journalists | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/ef5910c81cec044f1fc779af057ccccd130a04f32f55087baf7fdfead2403907.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T06:47:15 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581156%2Fap-newsalert-16.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581156/ap-newsalert-16 | en | null | Times Leader | null | null | timesleader.com | BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian media say an explosion has rocked the nation’s criminology institute in the capital Brussels. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581156/ap-newsalert-16 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/396f3d5850def8dd5a6bdf8a73e976bb188f559b2b5f7a77db8c70877d9f54d8.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T02:46:35 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-football%2F580213%2Fvincent-todd-scores-twice-as-coughlin-picks-up-road-win-against-dallas.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-08272016-Dallas-vs-Coughlin-6CMYK.jpg | en | null | Vincent Todd scores twice as Coughlin picks up road win against Dallas | null | null | timesleader.com | DALLAS — Once Vincent Todd rounded the right side of his offensive line, there was nothing but open space and artificial turf ahead.
Seventy-five yards later, Todd and his Coughlin Crusaders teammates were off and running toward an opening-season victory.
Todd scored twice, and Jake Cole rushed for 114 yards and one touchdown as Coughlin held Dallas scoreless in the final three quarters en route to a 20-7 victory at Mountaineer Stadium Friday night.
“It’s been a long time since Coughlin has won at Dallas, so this is a great win for us,” Crusader head coach Ciro Cinti said. “We knew this would be tough, and we knew that their line was going to be very physical. Vincent had an amazing game. He got in the weight room, and he got bigger and stronger from last year. He was always a fast kid. That touchdown to make it 20-7 was amazing. Speed kills.”
Todd touched the football five times, and scored twice. It’s pretty easy to conclude that the athletic junior may have a few more looks his way in the upcoming weeks.
No doubt, he’s explosive.
His 75-yard touchdown on the jet sweep was impressive.
But his 80-yard score provided Coughlin with much-needed momentum.
With the Crusaders backed up on their own 18 and looking at third-and-11, quarterback Kevin Kozerski took the snap and heaved the ball down the left sideline. Todd, facing single coverage, jumped over the defender, snatched the ball in mid-air and took off untouched down the sideline.
What could have been real issues if that pass wasn’t caught turned into pure jubilation on the Crusader sideline.
“God has really blessed me with the ability of having speed, and our line just did one heck of a job,” Todd said. “I can’t thank them enough. It was about everyone doing their job. I did my job, and the line did their job by giving our quarterback enough time. I’m just blessed to be part of this team. We play together and we stick together as brothers.”
It’s not like Dallas didn’t have chances.
The Mountaineers racked up 15 first downs, and tailback Justin Hutchins had a big game – racking up almost 175 yards on 30-plus carries.
It was converting drives into points.
An eight-play second-quarter series that started on their own 37-yard line was stopped in the red zone via a fourth-down fumble on the 12.
Another long Dallas series,12 plays in all, that began with its back near the goal line ended at the Coughlin 30 early in the fourth quarter.
Just two series. But get points in each one, and it’s a different ballgame.
“Coughlin did a great job. They deserved to win because they made some big plays,” Dallas head coach Rich Mannello said. “We had some breakdowns because we have some new kids out there, but it is what it is. We just have to grind and grow quickly. And we will because they are great kids. We did a nice job of driving the ball, but we just have to work on finishing drives. When you play a good team like that, you have to finish.”
Coughlin started the season on the right foot, stringing together an 11-play, five-minute drive that spanned 85 yards and was capped off by Jake Cole’s 3-yard scamper. Cole accounted for 62 of the 85 yards on the series.
Dallas tied the score with three seconds left in the first on Hutchins’ 9-yard dart through the middle, but it was the last time the Mountaineers reached paydirt.
“We knew it would be tough because we both like to run the ball. We were just fortunate to get the stops when we had to,” Cinti said.
Coughlin 20, Dallas 7
Coughlin `7`7`6`0 – 20
Dallas `7`0`0`0 – 7
First Quarter
C — Jake Cole 3 run (Michael Cinti kick), 6:49
D— Justin Hutchins 9 run (Nathan Maransky kick), 0:03
Second Quarter
C — Vincent Todd 80 pass from Kevin Kozerski (Cinti kick), 7:33
Third Quarter
C — Todd 75 run (kick wide), 6:56
Team Statistics `C`D
First Downs `7`15
Rushes-Yards `31-190 `49-220
Passing Yards `106`32
Total Yards `296`252
Passing `2-5-0`5-11-1
Sacked-Yards Lost `0-0`3-15
Punts-Average `5-27.6`5-30.6
Fumbles-Lost `1-1`2-1
Penalties-Yards `2-20`3-20
Individual Statistics
RUSHING — C: Jake Cole 24-113, Vincent Todd 4-84. Jervon Young 2-(-3), Team 4-(-4). D: Justin Hutchins 32-173, David Schuster 3-28, Stone Mannello 14-19.
PASSING — C: Kevin Kozerski 2-5-0, 106 yards. D: Stone Mannello 5-11-1, 32 yards.
RECEIVING — C: Vincent Todd 1-80, Melvin Robinson 1-26. D: Chris Murray 2-18, David Schuster 2-10, Justin Hutchins 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS — C: Malik Diop.
Winner x, Loser x
Coughlin`0`0`0`0`—`0
Dallas`0`0`0`0`—`0
First quarter
V — scoring play
Second quarter
V — scoring play
Third quarter
V — scoring play
Fourth quarter
V — scoring play
Team statistics`COU`DAL
First downs`x`x
Rushes-yards`x-x`x-x
Passing yards`x`x
Total yards`x`x
Passing`x-x-x`x-x-x
Sacked-yards lost`x-x`x-x
Punts-avg.`x-x`x-x
Fumbles-lost`x-x`x-x
Penalties-yards`x-x`x-x
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — VIS, Name x-x, Name x-x. HOM, Name x-x, Name x-x.
PASSING — VIS, Name x-x-x-x, Name x-x-x-x. HOM, Name x-x-x-x, Name x-x-x-x.
RECEIVING — VIS, Name x-x, Name x-x. HOM, Name x-x, Name x-x.
INTERCEPTIONS — VIS, Name x-x, Name x-x. HOM, Name x-x, Name x-x.
MISSED FGs — VIS, Name x-x, Name x-x. HOM, Name x-x, Name x-x.
Coughlin’s defense included this snag away from Dallas’ Justin Hutchins (31) by Malik Diop (80) on the goal line near the end of the first half at Mmountaineer Stadium in Dallas Friday night. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-08272016-Dallas-vs-Coughlin-2.jpg Coughlin’s defense included this snag away from Dallas’ Justin Hutchins (31) by Malik Diop (80) on the goal line near the end of the first half at Mmountaineer Stadium in Dallas Friday night. Coughlin’s Jake Cole, left, pulls Dallas’ Justin Hutchins (31) down as quarterback Stone Mannello advances for a first down. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-08272016-Dallas-vs-Coughlin-6CMYK.jpg Coughlin’s Jake Cole, left, pulls Dallas’ Justin Hutchins (31) down as quarterback Stone Mannello advances for a first down. Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader
By Tom Fox For Times Leader | http://timesleader.com/sports/high-school-football/580213/vincent-todd-scores-twice-as-coughlin-picks-up-road-win-against-dallas | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/8bd41ddfee8e5f94b1021d6db21f1f57945cabd3b2c61c7cc2d6260b49e08548.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T20:47:08 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fanniversaries%2F580881%2Fmr-and-mrs-edward-gawelko-celebrate-55th-wedding-anniversary.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082816gawelko2.anniv_.jpg | en | null | Mr. and Mrs. Edward Gawelko celebrate 55th wedding anniversary | null | null | timesleader.com | Mr. and Mrs. Edward Gawelko, Hex Acres, Harding, are observing their 55th wedding anniversary Aug. 31, 2016. They were married at the U.S. Army Chapel, Pattonville/Ludwigsburg, Germany.
Mrs. Gawelko is the former Brigitte Kuss, daughter of Gisela and Willi Kuss, Kornwestheim, Germany. Brigitte is presently employed at the Topps Company, lnc., Scranton.
Mr. Gawelko is the son of the late Wanda and Stanley Gawelko, Wilkes-Barre Township. He is retired from the U.S. Army with 21 years of service and a Vietnam War veteran having fought in the 1968 TET offensive. He is totally retired having worked at Tobyhanna Army Depot, Steamtown National Park and the Social Security Office, Plains, as a contract security guard.
The couple have two children and four grandchildren. Daughter, Kristina and Joseph Rossi, Harding with grandchildren Joseph Jr. and Ryan. Son, Edward Jr. and Denise Gawelko, New Tripoli, with grandchildren Alexis and Kenneth.
Observance of this milestone will be a trip to Niagara Falls, Canada and a tour through New York State wine country. | http://timesleader.com/anniversaries/580881/mr-and-mrs-edward-gawelko-celebrate-55th-wedding-anniversary | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/38878f7a4b6c5f3d483ff62b62064ba39bb4dd61817f33e56fbd14ecf697debf.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T22:46:59 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F580888%2Fcommunity-celebrates-larksville-police-k-9-officer-unas-third-birthday.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916una_gg_1.jpg | en | null | Community celebrates Larksville police K-9 Officer Una’s third birthday | null | null | timesleader.com | LARKSVILLE — Larksville’s K-9 officer Una’s ears don’t match and her partner officer Joshua Evans says it is for a reason.
“Her mother bit a part of her ear off after she was born,” said Evans, “and when I picked her out, I thought that must mean she was the strongest of the litter.”
The two have been inseparable ever since then, not only fighting crime, sniffing out drugs and locating weapons, but helping the strengthen the bonds of a community.
A chicken dinner and fundraising event celebrating the German shepherd’s third birthday at Larksville Volunteer Fire Co. 1 on Sunday underscored that support and the affection residents have for the K-9 officer.
When asked about community enthusiasm for the event, volunteer Tammy Dellario said the dinners were selling, “a dinner a minute.”
Eighty dinners were sold and 20 people had to be turned away with empty bellies.
Among the youngest of attendees was Chase Stitzer, 4, whose dad, Matt Stitzer, is also a police officer.
Chase smiled as he held onto a fan with Una’s image on it, complete with unmatched ears.
“She’s been in our yard,” said Matt Stitzer. “She’s a friendly dog.”
Both Stitzer and Evans remember Una when she came to the department as a puppy, and noted how quickly she grew.
“She was a puppy for like a minute,” said Stitzer.
Evans said the opportunity to bond with Una at such an early age cemented their working relationship and made them all the more effective in their various police duties.
Still, when Una’s at home (she lives with Evans), she’s simply a house dog who gets along well with Evans’ daughter, Aubrianna, 2.
Both Evans and Una will be heading up to the Wyoming Valley West High School next week to be the school resource officers there.
Evans said he couldn’t be any more enthusiastic about the opportunity to interact with young members of the community.
“We’ll be there to address crime, including drugs like heroin,” he said. “But, we’ll also be there to provide protection, help and guidance to students.”
Evans said he hopes to make a difference in the lives of young residents.
“Even if I could benefit the life of one student,” he said, “it will be worth it.”
The benefit raised about $1,500 that will go towards Una’s normal expenses, training supplies and food.
“She’s highly trained and she gets the best of everything necessary to do a good job,” said Evans.
As Una was leaving the benefit, an attendee presented her with a bright orange collar decorated with an ornate flower.
Evans, ever gracious and mindful of his commitment to community, said, “She’ll be wearing this for Halloween. It’s really beautiful.”
Jordan Mangan, right, and Dave Pritchard, both of Plymouth Goodwill Hose Co. No. 2, prepare barbecued chickens at Larksville K-9 Officer Una’s third birthday party in Larksville on Sunday afternoon. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916una_gg_2.jpg Jordan Mangan, right, and Dave Pritchard, both of Plymouth Goodwill Hose Co. No. 2, prepare barbecued chickens at Larksville K-9 Officer Una’s third birthday party in Larksville on Sunday afternoon. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader Maryann Wydra, right, of Larksville, purchases a T-shirt from volunteer Jenn Pritchard during Larksville police K-9 Officer Una’s third birthday chicken barbecue party on Sunday. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916una_gg_3.jpg Maryann Wydra, right, of Larksville, purchases a T-shirt from volunteer Jenn Pritchard during Larksville police K-9 Officer Una’s third birthday chicken barbecue party on Sunday. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader Larksville police K-9 Officer Joshua Evans plays with Officer Una during her third birthday chicken barbecue party at the Larksville Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1 on Sunday afternoon. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082916una_gg_1.jpg Larksville police K-9 Officer Joshua Evans plays with Officer Una during her third birthday chicken barbecue party at the Larksville Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1 on Sunday afternoon. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader
By Geri Gibbons [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580888/community-celebrates-larksville-police-k-9-officer-unas-third-birthday | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/c6dd8e23ba10528f76655ff750c66f31f22e38cbf3570c8a71d605fdae4d36a6.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T02:46:54 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F580554%2Fgarlic-aficionados-enjoy-a-weekend-of-music-and-garlic-at-area-festival.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082816garlic5-1.jpg | en | null | Garlic aficionados enjoy a weekend of music and garlic at area festival | null | null | timesleader.com | DRUMS — The smell of garlic was in the air on Saturday, making hundreds of area residents crave the … um … fragrant vegetable in a myriad of food items.
Fortunately for those taken by the aroma, the cause of and solution to their cravings could be found at the same event — the 17th annual Zanolini Nursery & Country Shop Hot and Stinky Garlic & Herb Festival.
The festival celebrated all things garlic, including garlic brownies, garlic ice cream and garlic fudge.
Other food items, including sandwiches and sides dishes, were complemented by a generous addition of vegetable bulb, whether sprinkled on top or sauteed in garlic-laden butter.
The two-day festival also catered to those with a bit of a competitive spirit, with a pepper-eating competition held on Saturday and a garlic-eating competition scheduled for Sunday.
Many of the more than 40 vendors had peppermint-flavored mints on hand in order to make palatable the breath of those leaving the event.
Still most attendees said the flavor of the garlic and the spirit of the event made any residual smell worth it.
The festival was originally started in order to assist state garlic farmers, providing them with an opportunity to sell their product and showcasing it in various forms and recipes.
Paula Willis, owner of the nursery, said the event was a great opportunity for families to come out and spend an end-of-summer afternoon relaxing and enjoying the best offerings of area vendors.
Stanley McFarland was a local vendor providing information about his waterproofing business. He said, having just moved to the area, he was impressed with the friendliness of customers and the professional atmosphere provided by event organizers.
Members of the Butler Township Senior Citizen Center were on hand providing their signature dish — garlic fudge, which was both sweet and spicy.
Jean Marie Rossi, of Drums, came up with the recipe years ago. Many of her friends thought it was a joke.
But the unique mix of flavors is a favorite of many attendees of the event.
John Beishline came from Tamaqua with his family to enjoy sausage and peppers, heavy on the garlic, of course.
Beishline said he puts garlic in every dish that her prepares, both because he enjoys the flavor and believes it has health benefits.
“My aunt, she’s 80. She eats garlic every day,” he said. “It’s gotta be good for you.”
Robin Wainwright, of New Jersey, looked intently at the garlic brownies, contemplating whether they were worth a taste.
“We sampled a bit of everything today,” she said. “Wine, dips and plain garlics.”
Her favorite? Garlic dilly beans, a pickled treat which she said she can’t get enough of.
Wainwright, in the area visiting her daughter who lives in Wilkes-Barre, said she was impressed with the beauty of the surrounding countryside and the kind spirit of the people of the area.
She and a friend are looking forward to coming back in years to come.
Music lovers were not disappointed, as several bands provided the backdrop for attendees to leisurely enjoy something to eat with friends and family.
Rebecca Willner, of Mountain Top, said her love for garlic brought her to the festival for the first time.
“I love garlic and beautiful warm weather,” said Willner. “It’s a great day for both.”
Cherie Forder, co-owner of Creekside Garlic Farm, sells 27 varieties of garlic from her tent during the Hot and Stinky Garlic & Herb Festival at Zanolini Nursery & Country Shop in Drums on Saturday. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082816garlic1-1.jpg Cherie Forder, co-owner of Creekside Garlic Farm, sells 27 varieties of garlic from her tent during the Hot and Stinky Garlic & Herb Festival at Zanolini Nursery & Country Shop in Drums on Saturday. Sean McKeag | Times Leader Thomas Dalesandro, a member of the Knights of Columbus, steams locally grown corn on the cob to serve hungry guests. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082816garlic2-1.jpg Thomas Dalesandro, a member of the Knights of Columbus, steams locally grown corn on the cob to serve hungry guests. Sean McKeag | Times Leader Paula Willis, owner of Zanolini Nursery & Country Shop, reads off the types of peppers that will be eaten for the pepper-eating contest. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082816garlic3-1.jpg Paula Willis, owner of Zanolini Nursery & Country Shop, reads off the types of peppers that will be eaten for the pepper-eating contest. Sean McKeag | Times Leader Twelve-year-old Victoria Veronica, of Lansford, feels the heat from a jalepeno pepper during the pepper-eating contest. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082816garlic4-1.jpg Twelve-year-old Victoria Veronica, of Lansford, feels the heat from a jalepeno pepper during the pepper-eating contest. Sean McKeag | Times Leader Gale Sheradin, co-owner of Grandpa’s Garlic, sells varieties of garlic that are grown in the Catskills regioin near Binghamton, N.Y. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL082816garlic5-1.jpg Gale Sheradin, co-owner of Grandpa’s Garlic, sells varieties of garlic that are grown in the Catskills regioin near Binghamton, N.Y. Sean McKeag | Times Leader
By Geri Gibbons [email protected]
If you go: The Garlic & Herb Festival continues Sunday at the Zanolini Nursery & Country Shop, Drums, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the following schedule: • 12:00 p.m. – Garlic Eating Contest • 2:00 p.m. – Music by the Two of Us • 5:00 p.m. – Chinese Auction & Ticket Pulling
Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons | http://timesleader.com/news/local/580554/garlic-aficionados-enjoy-a-weekend-of-music-and-garlic-at-area-festival | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/e587a3c0a675c2adb310307a375018b9e21f414a93fd4026bce56999248c76c8.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T06:47:10 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581155%2Fbelgian-media-reports-blast-outside-criminology-institute.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581155/belgian-media-reports-blast-outside-criminology-institute | en | null | Belgian media reports blast outside criminology institute | null | null | timesleader.com | BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian media say an explosion has rocked the nation’s criminology institute in the capital Brussels.
State broadcaster RTBF reported Monday that a car forced its way into the site “before exploding a bomb” about 2 a.m. (0000 GMT). No source for the information was given.
RTBF says no one was injured but that damage at the site is significant.
Police have deployed in force and sealed off the area.
The institute assists and advises Belgium’s justice authorities in carrying out their inquiries.
Belgium has been on high alert since a March 22 attack on the Brussels airport and subway killed 32 people. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581155/belgian-media-reports-blast-outside-criminology-institute | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/12d09129e2c7be15897d1d286cd6cb398fdd2fca84b570e65336d3d6d5263bcf.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:46:35 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2F580188%2Fletter-to-the-editor-pennsylvanias-new-data-portal-puts-more-information-in-public-realm.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_letter-to-editorUpdated-9.jpg | en | null | Letter to the Editor: Pennsylvania’s new data portal puts more information in public realm | null | null | timesleader.com | This week, Pennsylvania joined the majority of states – as well as the federal government, and many cities and municipalities – by launching a public open-data portal.
You may be asking, “What is open data?” Simply put, it is data that anyone can access, use and share. It can be exported into spreadsheets, leveraged by apps, and combined with other data, among many other practical applications for both private- and public-sector initiatives.
And why does it matter? Open data has the potential to increase transparency to the public, support learning and discovery in our universities and research institutions, spur innovation and growth in our economy, and improve civic engagement.
Let’s use government performance as an example. In the past, departments published lengthy reports with an abundance of bar charts and graphs to show the results they were achieving on behalf of taxpayers.
The Wolf administration’s open-data initiative takes performance transparency a step further by providing the raw data behind the analog reports. OpenDataPA also will consolidate datasets from other state agency websites to create a one-stop shop for all of the commonwealth’s open data.
With the launch of OpenDataPA – at data.pa.gov – the public has access to datasets that demonstrate the progress state agencies are achieving in education, job creation, infrastructure and government efficiency.
The datasets we released with the launch of OpenDataPA are only the beginning. We are partnering with stakeholders – including the Office of Open Records, colleges and universities, and cities – to identify and prioritize future datasets for publication.
As the commonwealth’s open-data initiative continues to grow, we look forward to seeing how the data is used by researchers, entrepreneurs, developers and policy makers. Among the Wolf administration’s many transparency achievements, OpenDataPA is the next step toward making Pennsylvania government more open, accountable and innovative.
Sharon Minnich
Secretary
Office of Administration
Harrisburg | http://timesleader.com/opinion/letters/580188/letter-to-the-editor-pennsylvanias-new-data-portal-puts-more-information-in-public-realm | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/2e9526f571f0bc27e69afc82a211d4a0e3862b286cb10f8e8f408f30234276d7.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T12:46:53 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Ffeatures%2F580673%2Fon-the-books-in-watchers-koontz-develops-creatures-as-main-characters.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_watchers.jpg | en | null | On the Books: In ‘Watchers,’ Koontz develops creatures as main characters | null | null | timesleader.com | A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I’d read a list of book recommended for people who enjoy Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” of which I am a huge fan. Dean Koontz’s “Watchers” was on the same list. I’d never read a Dean Koontz novel before, but was under the impression he gets mocked for being sort of a Stephen King-lite author.
Despite that, I found myself really enjoying “Watchers.” The book follows Travis Cornell, dealing with his depression after the loss of his wife a few years earlier. He goes out into the canyons where he grew up to shake off his mood when he comes across a dog, a golden retriever, who seems terrified of something out in the woods.
The two flee together, and Travis ends up taking in the dog. It isn’t long before he realizes that the dog is exceptional intelligent. And also very scared.
At the same time, Nora Devon is a recluse who rarely ventures outside of her home since the death of her aunt, who terrorized her childhood. A chance encounter with Travis and the dog works to bring her out of her shell and sends Nora and Travis toward romance.
Meanwhile, federal agents are tracking the dog, who escaped from a scientific laboratory that was genetically engineering animals in order to make weapons out of them. Agents are also tracking another enhanced creature, one who represents true evil in the same way the dog embodies pure goodness. The creature, known as the Outsider, leaves behind a trail of horrifically murdered bodies, all with missing eyes.
The final main character is Vince Nasco, a professional assassin who is on the trail of the dog, wanting to sell him for the highest price he can get.
Initially Travis and Nora know nothing about the Outsider or the danger they are in, having taken in the dog. They simply want to learn how to communicate with the creature, that they name Einstein. The dog has all the characteristics of what makes dogs such great pets. He’s loyal and lovable. He’s also incredibly intelligent, due to the genetic engineering used to create him. Einstein’s perfection is what drives the Outsider to its murderous rage. The Outsider will stop at nothing to get rid of the dog, which, of course, puts Travis and Nora in harm’s way.
I thoroughly enjoyed “Watchers.” It’s a fast-paced thriller that grips the reader from the get go and keeps you reading with lots of twists and turns. The best part of the book is the dog, who really becomes a full blown character in his own right. Koontz does a great job of making him feel like a main character. He also paints the Outsider in a sympathetic light, despite his violent actions.
This book has it all: action, romance, government experiments gone wrong, the power of love and hope. It’s another great beach or vacation read to enjoy in the last couple of weeks of summer.
‘Watchers’ is a fast-paced thriller which covers a lot of intriguing ground for readers. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_watchers.jpg ‘Watchers’ is a fast-paced thriller which covers a lot of intriguing ground for readers.
By Dorothy Sasso On the Books
‘Watchers’ Author: Dean Koontz Page Number: 624 Publisher: Berkley Rating: ♦♦♦♦ | http://timesleader.com/features/580673/on-the-books-in-watchers-koontz-develops-creatures-as-main-characters | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/1784e602d4b2c1c3c12796ac9419a0e79812b5e5b06d6c324533557bc6418b25.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T16:46:59 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fsports%2F580705%2Flocal-bass-tournament-schedules-and-results-9.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_PABass2.jpg | en | null | Local bass tournament schedules and results | null | null | timesleader.com | The Suskie Bassmasters will host a Wednesday tournament each week on the Susquehanna River beginning June 22. The tournament will be held at the boat launch in Nesbitt Park and registration begins at 4:30 p.m. Launch is at 6 p.m. and weigh-in is at 9 p.m. For more information, visit:
suskiebass.org
Twitter.com/SuskiBassmaster
Facebook.com/SuskieBassmaster
The Harveys Lake Wednesday Night Bass Tournament sponsored by the Times Leader will run weekly, beginning June 22. The championship round will include the top 30 anglers based on total weight over 12 weeks and will be worth $1,200. The lunker tournament (each angler weighing one fish) will begin at 6 p.m. with weigh-in at 9 p.m. at the launch. Registration is at 4:30 p.m. Entry fee is $20 with a one-time $10 fee to be eligible for the championship round. For more information, call Duke Dalley at 991-0080 or visit dukedalley.wix.com
PA Bass Casters will host the following open tournaments this summer (for more information call Dan at 570-762-1469):
Sunday, Sept. 4 at Lake Carey, registration begins at 4:30 a.m., weigh-in at 2 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 30 at Harveys Lake, registration begins at 5:30 a.m., weigh-in at 2:30 p.m.
For more information call Dan Davis at 570-762-1469.
Back Woods Bass holds a weekly Monday night tournament on the Susquehanna River at Nesbitt Park from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Cost is $35 per team or $25 single angler. There is a four fish limit.
Back Woods Bass holds a Friday night tournament at Harveys Lake each week from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Cost is $35 per team or $25 single angler. There is a four fish limit.
For information on either Back Woods Bass tournament, contact Bob Strunk at 570-991-2403 or email [email protected]
The Blytheburn Lake Association will hold a bass tournaments at Blytheburn Lake on Blytheburn Rd. in Mountain Top on Sept. 25. The tournament runs from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
To register or for more information call Janeann at 570-868-6895.
**
Bass tournament results:
Suskie Bassmasters Aug. 24 tournament at Nesbitt Park ( 43 anglers, 33 fish weighed in):
1. Corey Hamm – 2.77 lbs.
2. Chet Williams – 2.24 lbs.
3. David R. McGovern – 1.79 lbs.
4. Nick Zigmont – 1.74 lbs.
5. Frank Slymock – 1.70 lbs.
Small fish winner – Lynda Rosencrans – .88 lbs.
Tournament sponsor – Pizza Bella
Duke’s Bass Wednesday Night Tournament at Harveys Lake sponsored by the Times Leader – Aug. 24 (21 boats, 35 anglers, 25 fish weighed in):
1. Chuck Peterman – 3.29 lb. largemouth
2. Joe Labarbera – 2.97 lb. largemouth
3. Andy Judge – 2.78 lb. largemouth
4. Jonathan Dale – 2.01 lb. largemouth
5. John Demchak – 2.00 lb. smallmouth
PA Bass Casters club tournament at Keuka Lake and Cayuga in New York on Aug. 20 and 21. The two-day challenge forced the teams to a smaller lake on day two due to strong winds and heavy rain. Keuka Lake was hot and windy on the first day and the teams brought 56 fish to the scales. Day two in Otisco brought sunny skies to start followed by clouds and rain that turned heavy. The teams brought in 41 fish at Otisco for a total weight of 80 lbs., half the weight from two weeks ago.
1. Ryan McClain and Craig Harris – 10 fish, 27.79 lbs.
2. Collin Morrison and Bill Allabaugh – 10 fish, 26.62 lbs.
3. Brian Masi and Sandy Masi – 10 fish, 26.15 lbs.
4. Joe Lasecki and Mike Musial – 10 fish, 22.32 lbs.
5. Andy Johnson and Eric Tamot – 10 fish, 21.28 lbs.
Lunker at Keuka Lake – Bill Allabaugh, 5.70 lb. largemouth
Lunker at Otisco – Brian Masi, 7.69 lb. largemouth
Back Woods Bass Friday Night Tournament at Harveys Lake on Aug 19:
1. Aaron Hayman and Jake Englehart – 13 lbs.
2. John Niezgoda – 11 lbs., 2 oz.
3. Bob Strunk and Bob Albee – 7 lbs., 2 oz.
4. Nick Hopper and Dave Hager – 6 lbs., 5 oz.
Lunker – John Niezgoda – 5 lb. smallmouthFriday Night Tournament on Aug. 26:
1. Joe Zombek – 8 lbs., 3 oz.
2. George Gendler and Ed Geroski – 5 lbs., 5 oz.
3. Nick Hopper and Dave Hager – 3 lbs., 10 oz.
4. George Gendler Jr. and Kyle Argenziano
Lunker – Joe Zombek – 3 lbs., 5 oz.
Back Woods Bass Monday Night Tournament on the Susquehanna River on Aug. 15:
1. John Centak and Chet Williams – 2 lbs., 9 oz.
2. Dan Byorick, Pete Frank and Nate Albrecht – 6 lbs., 10 oz.
3. Allen Casal and Bill Springer
4. John – 3 lbs., 5 oz.
5. Ralph and Derek Aufiero
Monday Night Tournament on Aug. 22:
1. Frank Slymock and Ray Jones – 6 lbs.
2. Allen Casal and Bill Springer – 5 lbs., 11 oz.
3. John Centak and Chet Williams – 5 lbs., 2 oz.
Lunker – Frank Slymock and Ray Jones – 2 lbs.
Lunker – Alan Cassel and Bill Springer – 2 lbs., 7 oz.
If you would like to add an area upcoming bass tournament to the list or report the results of a tournament, email Tom Venesky at [email protected]
Brian Masi with a 7.69-pound largemouth he caught at the PA Bass Casters tournament at Otisco Lake last Sunday. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_PABass2.jpg Brian Masi with a 7.69-pound largemouth he caught at the PA Bass Casters tournament at Otisco Lake last Sunday. Submitted photo
By Tom Venesky [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/sports/580705/local-bass-tournament-schedules-and-results-9 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/7c59f9c026d56efbb6dbb3012efa220b78e69702b177a84bae223c35f0ee2d88.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:47:19 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581720%2Fchicago-lawmaker-proposes-cracking-down-on-pokemon-go-sites-3.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581720/chicago-lawmaker-proposes-cracking-down-on-pokemon-go-sites-3 | en | null | Chicago lawmaker proposes cracking down on Pokemon Go sites | null | null | timesleader.com | SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Invasive weeds have long threatened to erode dunes on a portion of the Chicago lakefront, but the area recently had to contend with a virtual invasion: “Pokemon Go” characters.
The game sends players into the real world in search of digital monsters that appear on smartphone screens to be caught, and hundreds of people have been flocking to the Loyola Dunes restoration area to find the hard-to-get “Lapras.” But in their quest to find the rare creature, players have been walking over native grassland critical to protecting the dunes from erosion.
The heavy foot-traffic became so worrisome to environmentalists that proposed legislation seeks to get certain sites removed from the game so players are only disturbing the virtual Pokemon characters and not ecologically sensitive areas in their quest to catch them.
“It should not be trampled and stampeded in that way,” said state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who is sponsoring the bill.
Cassidy’s bill would require app developers to remove locations in augmented reality games within two days of receiving a request to do so or face a daily fine of $100.
“We just want to make sure that the imaginary animals can co-exist with the real wildlife in our parks and natural areas,” said Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club’s Illinois chapter.
The proposal is one of the first of its kind in the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In New York, lawmakers are considering legislation to restrict sex offenders’ use of augmented reality games.
Chicago’s case is not the first time in-game locations, known as “Pokestops,” have disrupted the real world. Pokestops at the atomic bomb memorial park in Hiroshima, Japan, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington are among the sites that have been removed from the game after complaints.
Niantec, the San Francisco-based developer behind the game, has removed the PokeStop that was frustrating conservationists in Chicago, but Cassidy said it took several requests and the introduction of her bill last week.
“We regret the delay in removing the site which was due to the unusually high usage of the game and subsequent requests for both removal and addition of game locations,” Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke said in a statement. “We want to emphasize that we are supporters of public space and believe that our cities and communities are healthier when citizens make use of public space, bringing us into contact with the outdoors and with one another. Yes, even when that use is motivated by capturing Pokemon.”
The earliest the bill can be heard is November, when state lawmakers return to the Capitol for a brief fall session. One small-government group has already expressed opposition, saying it’s an instance of government interfering with innovation.
“It’s trying to tell people to who develop a brand new product how they have to design it,” said Jacob Huebert, senior attorney with the Chicago-based Liberty Justice Center.
Cassidy said she has nothing against the game, which she also plays, and she applauded the fact that it’s getting people to explore the city and the dunes. She even named her bill after “Pidgey,”one of the more common bird-like characters from the game.
But environmentalists say the area, which volunteers have spent years trying to restore by pulling weeds and planting indigenous plants, was not meant to handle the amount of traffic it has received.
“There’ll be a hundred or two hundred people there, just like rushing on to the site to get a rare Pokemon, and a lot of them at one time,” said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. “The site can have visitors, but that many is just too much.” | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581720/chicago-lawmaker-proposes-cracking-down-on-pokemon-go-sites-3 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/6e1c3190011edb4c4905b451eae978de50a91473c2f0782b1c44162f97a1a1b8.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:55:20 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F371674%2Fkalahari-waterpark-and-hotel-complex-in-poconos-holds-colorful-grand-opening.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_PA_STR_070115ah03.jpg | en | null | Kalahari waterpark and hotel complex in Poconos holds colorful grand opening | null | null | timesleader.com | By Eileen Godin
[email protected]
By Eileen Godin [email protected]
Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Pocono Manor holds a grand opening of the African-themed hotel, convention and indoor waterpark Wednesday. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_PA_STR_070115ah03.jpg Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Pocono Manor holds a grand opening of the African-themed hotel, convention and indoor waterpark Wednesday.
POCONO MANOR — Three years in the making, Kalahari Resorts & Conventions unveiled phase one of its hotel and waterpark Wednesday.
Phase one encompasses 457-room eight-story hotel, a 100,000-square-foot indoor waterpark with a retractable roof, 65,000-square-foot flexible convention space, an indoor family activity center, a variety of stores, restaurants, and an outdoor waterpark.
Phase two, scheduled to be completed in 2017, includes an additional 100,000 square feet of indoor waterpark, convention space and over 400 guest rooms.
When the $350 million project is complete — the entire facility will encompass 150 acres off Route 314 and carry the title of “America’s largest indoor water park,” Travis Nelson, son of Todd Nelson, owner of Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, said.
Some of the nearly 700 attendees were heard saying “this is huge,” and “it’s incredible,” referencing the size of the facility and authentic African-themed decor.
Even state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, said, “The African safari is awesome and spectacular.”
“We like to make them (resorts) big and for everybody,” company owner Todd Nelson said. “We learned you need to provide all the amenities of a Las Vegas hotel.”
Going big has its rewards for the Pocono region:
• Nelson’s Pocono investment has resulted in the creation of 700 new jobs.
• Another 300 jobs will be available following the completion of phase two.
• The three-year construction process created 1,500 construction jobs that will continue with the build of phase two.
“This (resort) is absolutely incredible,” Dennis Davin, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, said. “Having Kalahari here will highlight tourism and bring jobs into the area. About one in 15 employees work in the tourism industry.”
Pennsylvania’s growing tourism industry has provided nearly $4.1 billion in state and local tax revenues.
For his investment and development of Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, Nelson received a Certificate of Recognition for creating family-sustaining jobs from state Sen. Mario Scavello, R-Mount Pocono.
Nelson said he first set eyes on the Pocono region 10 years ago. He was drawn to the region’s proximity to metropolitan areas in New York and Philadelphia.
“The Wilkes-Barre and Scranton areas are just an important as the metro areas,” Travis said.
Travis confirmed the waterpark, restaurants, retail apparel, candy and coffee shops are available for everyone, guests and non-guests, to use.
“Waterpark-only tickets can be purchased in advanced on our website,” Travis Nelson said. “We encourage people to purchase them in advance because there are only a certain amount released a day.”
Waterpark only admission is $39.95 per person and children three and under are free, he said.
Nelson, his five children and wife, own and operate three Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin; Sandusky, Ohio and the Poconos.
Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews. | http://timesleader.com/news/local/371674/kalahari-waterpark-and-hotel-complex-in-poconos-holds-colorful-grand-opening | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/be1bb5880f2774a57a548c9d82580301bdd13bd56e332c79322e4aabe79a2dbe.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:46:29 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F580115%2Ftexas-man-charged-with-beheading-wife-after-police-visit-4.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580115/texas-man-charged-with-beheading-wife-after-police-visit-4 | en | null | Texas man charged with beheading wife after police visit | null | null | timesleader.com | BELLMEAD, Texas (AP) — Police say a Texas man is accused of beheading his wife just hours after officers visited the couple for a welfare check.
Bellmead police Sgt. Kory Martin says officers visited 23-year-old Davie Dauzat and his 21-year-old wife, Natasha, on Thursday at their mobile home in Bellmead after a relative called police. Officers found no trouble and left.
Martin says a relative called police again two hours later to say Dauzat had killed his wife. Police returned and found Natasha Dauzat had been decapitated. The couple’s two toddlers were home, but not hurt.
McLennan County jail records show Dauzat is being held Friday on a murder charge. Bond is set at $500,000. No attorney is listed to speak on his behalf.
Bellmead is 80 miles south of Dallas. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/580115/texas-man-charged-with-beheading-wife-after-police-visit-4 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/311d1e683483d5e7567ec8d3e4fd25d5e87e9303e4b45ec851bd1851eb57b05a.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:47:16 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581352%2Fyale-grad-students-file-petition-seeking-union-certification.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581352/yale-grad-students-file-petition-seeking-union-certification | en | null | Yale grad students file petition seeking union certification | null | null | timesleader.com | NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Yale University graduate students on Monday petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for union recognition, saying they have organized to address concerns surrounding pay and benefits and give themselves a stronger voice in university affairs.
The filing follows a board ruling last week that found graduate assistants at private universities are employees and have a right to union representation — a reversal of guidance that had stood since 2004. Graduate students at many public universities, which are covered by state labor laws, are already unionized.
At Yale, like some other private universities, graduate students had been preparing for months in anticipation of the ruling. In asking for certification of Local 33-UNITE HERE as their union, the Yale graduate students are seeking NLRB elections department by department, beginning with those where union support appears strongest.
“We’ve been ready to vote for a long time,” said Local 33-UNITE HERE co-chair Robin Canavan. “We’re extremely excited to have our election, make it official, and get to negotiating a contract for the improvements we want to see.”
An NLRB spokeswoman confirmed receipt of the Yale students’ petition and said the board did not have a count available on the number of petitions from other schools, if any, since its ruling last week in a case involving graduate students at Columbia University.
A Yale spokesman, Tom Conroy, said the university did not immediately have any comment on the filing. In the past, the university has said it provides some of the most generous support in the country and argued that unionization could disrupt the traditional teacher-student relationship.
Yale students involved in the organizing effort said they believe a union would help them negotiate better terms and give them more influence over university policy, including efforts to promote diversity.
Emily Sessions, who is entering her fourth year in a doctoral program on History of Art, said she loves teaching undergraduates but believes a union would help negotiations for fair compensation. Last semester, she said, she was asked to double her teaching load — from teaching one section to two — without any increase in pay.
“The thing that bothered me was that I was expected to do double the work with no pay increase, with no voice in the process,” she said. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581352/yale-grad-students-file-petition-seeking-union-certification | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/5ca25c4382febe68e336a74b222d6a3990b8d08cbfc1d08858a42337982da552.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T16:46:56 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fsports%2Fpenn-state%2F580709%2Fpsu-preview-2016-barkely-a-sight-to-behold.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_psu_med11_faa-1.jpg | en | null | PSU preview 2016: Barkley a sight to behold | null | null | timesleader.com | Before he started making all of those college football watch lists, Saquon Barkley became something to see.
It opened his eyes to how explosive he can be.
Maybe that’s why Barkley asked for a chance to expand his role with Penn State this season, hoping to add kickoff return duties to his regular job of breaking off electrifying bursts down the field as one of the nation’s premier running backs.
“I wouldn’t mind running down, trying to make a tackle,” Barkley smiled.
The Nittany Lions surely don’t want to see that.
But putting the ball in Barkley’s hands more often? That would be something even his teammates might pay to watch.
“I think it’s the number of traits he possesses,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “A lot of times you find guys who are fast but are not big. Or are fast, but are not quick. He’s got the mentality, the size, the quickness, the speed. He’s got a lot of desirable traits. The Good Lord doesn’t give you everything.
“For whatever reason, he’s been given more than most.”
That has been evident for awhile.
Barkley goes back to his mini-football days to pinpoint when his interest in football turned into a hunger.
“Me and my dad had a bet,” the son of Alibay Barkley and Tonya Johnson from Coplay (near Allentown) said. “If I scored 15 touchdowns, he said he’d give me $100.”
He was sitting on 14 scores when Barkley broke off a 99-yard touchdown run.
“I was like, ‘Give me that money,’ ” Barkley remembers.
Not so fast.
“It got called back,” Barkley said. “Next play I got it, I scored on an 80-yard touchdown.”
For Penn State, it turned out to be the start of a big payday.
Barkley rushed for a Penn State freshman record of 1,076 yards last season, scored seven touchdowns and averaged 5.9 yards per carry to spark a sometimes-stagnant offense and lift the Lions to a 7-5 regular season.
He led the Big Ten with 16 runs of 20 or more yards, gained at least 10 yards on 34 of his 182 rushes and was named a Freshman All-American following the 2015 campaign.
That dynamic debut put him on preseason watch lists for the Maxwell Award (given to the best player in college football), the Doak Walker Award (for the nation’s premier running back) and the Big Ten Players to Watch (as the lone underclassman) entering his sophomore season.
“That’s interesting,” Barkley said, “but I really don’t pay attention to that.”
He made people take notice throughout his high school days at Whitehall, where Barkley ran for 1,856 yards and scored 31 touchdowns as a senior in 2014 after rushing for 1,506 yards with 27 touchdowns as a junior to earn a ranking as the nation’s ninth-best running back recruit by 247Sports.
“I think you see a guy who has all the skills necessary to be a superstar,” new Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead said. “He can make you miss, he can hurdle you, he can run around you, he can run over you.
“A small man’s back in a big man’s body.”
But this was big-time college football Barkley walked into at Beaver Stadium.
And he was hardly expecting to dominate at Penn State.
“My goal was to play,” Barkley said. “I just wanted to maybe be on the field.”
Then it happened.
During his second collegiate game, Barkley hurdled a Buffalo defensive back — much to the delight of Beaver Stadium — to pick up a first down on his way to his first 100-yard collegiate rushing game.
It was only an 18-yard gain. But it meant much more to Barkley.
“One play that stands out to me, I definitely remember my first game when I jumped over the safety,” said Barkley, who went on to have many more runs much longer and more dramatic, including a season-long 56-yarder against Ohio State. “I was like, ‘Wow. This is it. This is college football. This is what I’ve been dreaming about.’
“Thank God I was able to have a pretty decent year.”
Now he wants to add more duties to it.
An explosive kickoff and punt returner in high school, Barkley suggested Penn State may want to try him in a similar return role in an attempt to add some splash to a special teams unit that’s struggled to produce big plays.
Franklin, for one, was willing to listen.
”Saquon has no individual goals. Saquon’s goal is to do whatever he can to help the team,” Franklin said. “If that’s returning kicks or punts, we’ve got to consider doing it. There’s risk and there’s reward.”
It could turn out to be a sight to behold.
“Whenever you have a player who has his playmaking ability, you’ve got to find multiple ways of putting the ball in his hands,” said Charles Huff, who is not only Penn State’s special teams coach, but also the Lions’ running backs coach.
Make no mistake, Barkley plans to put those hands to good use, in more ways than one.
“I dropped a couple passes last year,” Barkley said. “That’s another thing I focus on. Definitely pass blocking, I feel I struggled there a lot last year. If I can improve my pass blocking, that’ll take it to a whole ‘nother level. The mindset I have to to try and be an every-down back.”
And a player the nation can’t help but watch.
“Could make an argument,” Franklin said of Barkley, “(he’s) one of the top backs in the country.”
Saquon Barkley (26) broke the Penn State freshman rushing record a year ago despite missing roughly four games of action. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_barkley-MD-1.jpg Saquon Barkley (26) broke the Penn State freshman rushing record a year ago despite missing roughly four games of action. Patrick Semansky | AP file photo Running back Saquon Barkley has quickly become the feature attraction for Penn State headed into the 2016 season. http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_psu_med11_faa-1.jpg Running back Saquon Barkley has quickly become the feature attraction for Penn State headed into the 2016 season. Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Barkley looks to broaden his big-play capabilities
By Paul Sokoloski [email protected] | http://timesleader.com/sports/penn-state/580709/psu-preview-2016-barkely-a-sight-to-behold | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/8a3a226323554b01d690315fcd27db456c556ad77e03bceb4d1ff689b0292006.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T06:47:24 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fwire%2Fnational-wire%2F581822%2Fafter-lengthy-stand-off-with-police-chris-brown-arrested.json | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581822/after-lengthy-stand-off-with-police-chris-brown-arrested | en | null | After lengthy stand-off with police, Chris Brown arrested | null | null | timesleader.com | LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Brown can’t avoid trouble.
Following a bizarre, hours-long stand-off with police, the “No Air” and “Kiss Kiss” singer was arrested Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a woman called for help from a gathering at his home.
The arrest, which occurred outside the view of several news helicopters that swirled overhead and throngs of camera crews gathered at the bottom of Brown’s hilltop estate, marked the conclusion of nearly 14-hour-long stand-off and investigation by police.
Los Angeles police spokesman Lt. Chris Ramirez said officers first responded to Brown’s property in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles around 3 a.m. He did not identify the woman, elaborate on the assistance she needed or know if she was injured.
However, model Baylee Curran told the Los Angeles Times that Brown pointed a gun at her face. She said Brown and another man became angry with her when she admired the man’s diamond necklace. Curran said she and her friend ran outside as one of Brown’s associates gave chase and hid under a neighbor’s SUV.
The model, who hasn’t responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press, also told TMZ she’s visited Brown’s home in the past and never encountered any trouble.
Brown later posted rambling messages on social media Tuesday morning proclaiming his innocence and rebuffing reports that he barricaded himself in his “palace.”
“Y’all gonna stop playing with me like I’m the villain out here, like I’m going crazy,” he said in one Instagram video, waving a cigarette and looking at the camera. “When you get the warrant or whatever you need to do, you’re going to walk right up in here and you’re going to see nothing. You idiots.”
Apparently, the police saw something.
Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos, arrived at the house before police served a search warrant around 1 p.m. Geragos, who has not responded to AP’s request for comment, stayed on the property until about 5 p.m. when Brown was transported for booking downtown.
The stand-off and subsequent media attention provided a chaotic scene in the balmy and typically quiet neighborhood of Tarzana as police closed off nearby streets and rerouted traffic.
Throughout the afternoon, several of Brown’s associates descended to the street below Brown’s estate. They declined to identify themselves or answer questions from the media about what occurred. In some instances, the men were belligerent, flashing obscene hand gestures and grabbing recording equipment.
The incident is the latest in a series of missteps for Brown, who has been in repeated legal trouble since his felony conviction in the 2009 assault of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, ahead of the Grammys. Last year, he completed his probation in that case last.
In 2013, Brown struck a man outside a Washington, D.C., hotel and was charged with misdemeanor assault. The singer was ordered into rehab but was dismissed from the facility for violating its rules.
Brown spent 2½ months in custody, with U.S. marshals shuttling him between Los Angeles and the nation’s capital for court hearings.
In another incident while in treatment, Brown was accused of throwing a brick at his mother’s car following a counseling session. It came after Brown completed court-ordered anger management classes.
___
Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Sandy Cohen contributed to this story. | http://timesleader.com/wire/national-wire/581822/after-lengthy-stand-off-with-police-chris-brown-arrested | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/1bddef5e725e481a9e76cff325c3ce798ebef666263e849523aa578956bdccee.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T20:46:57 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Ftimesleader.com%2Fbusiness%2F580511%2Fthomas-j-botzman-understanding-financial-aid-process-key-to-financing-a-college-education.json | http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Botzman-2c-Thomas.jpg | en | null | Thomas J. Botzman: Understanding financial aid process key to financing a college education | null | null | timesleader.com | Dear high school, middle school and grade school students and families,
Every year, hundreds of new students arrive on the campus of Misericordia University in search of their dreams. They are the next generation of entrepreneurs, doctors, nurses, scientists and more. Countless others also enroll at institutions around the country, eager to get started on making friends, studying and participating in campus activities. It is my favorite time of the year, and certainly an exciting time for students and their families.
For some, though, college is sadly an unattainable goal. A student – perhaps you or one of your friends – has the capacity and eagerness to learn and wants to go to college, but does not know how to pay for it. And, unfortunately, that student misses the opportunity to attend college because she or he lacks the financial wherewithal. In many cases, that is a stark reality.
In many instances, though, there are resources available to help students in need pay for college. The best way to start is to ask. According to the U.S. Department of Education, about 30 percent of all students intending to go to college do not apply for financial aid. Twenty percent fail to apply for any aid, and about 10 percent do not apply for federal aid.
Federal aid comes in a number of forms, including grants, subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and veteran’s benefits. The Pell Grant, for example, is given to low-income students and provides up to $5,815 per year in financial aid. In Pennsylvania, the PHEAA Grant program awards students up to $4,000 annually.
In addition, colleges and universities, such as Misericordia University, supplement federal and state aid with institutional grants. Fourteen percent of students attending a four-year, private institution only apply for aid given by the college or university – and pass on federal and state aid. The reasons for not applying are solid at times, such as the estimated 40 percent of students who do not have a financial need. If that’s you, congratulations on being both fortunate and atypical.
The other 60 percent do need help, though. So why would so many not apply for financial aid? The top reason, according to the survey, was that 44 percent of respondents believed they were ineligible. If you cannot afford college, my advice is to assume you might be eligible and apply for financial aid from anyone who might be able to help you. That certainly includes federal, state, and institutional programs.
The second-most cited reason – 33 percent – was that students did not want to incur debt. It is important to note that grants and scholarships do not require repayment, so no debt is incurred. Think of them as gifts with a very good purpose of furthering your dreams and ambitions. Some aid may require debt in the form of a loan. Many of those loans, though, such as the federal Stafford Loan, carry interest rates that are subsidized by the federal government. So, even the debt can be less than you may have expected.
The next two reasons are even clearer to address: 13 percent of students do not have information on how to apply for aid and the forms – such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as the FAFSA – require too much work. The answer to these problems is simple: call, write, or visit a financial aid office and ask for assistance.
My hope is that you will give higher education an opportunity to work with you, so you can realize your dream of earning a college degree. The first step is the easiest, as it begins with asking for help in navigating the complex network of financial aid.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Botzman-2c-Thomas.jpg
Thomas J. Botzman Guest Columnist | http://timesleader.com/business/580511/thomas-j-botzman-understanding-financial-aid-process-key-to-financing-a-college-education | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | timesleader.com/72c5b339835f6ce56b666f735223724b995f729c54f02e46bbe4047ea04eb5fa.json |
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