The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA) articles from June 2006

The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA) archives from June 2006

Wheels stolen from dealership's stock: Pompey Dodge in Kingston moved its inventory to higher ground during evacuation.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Kris Wernowsky Jun. 30--EDWARDSVILLE -- Crooks left three sport utility vehicles and a truck sitting on cinder blocks after a Kingston car dealership relocated its inventory to a wooded hilltop area to escape the flood plain. ...

Most agree with call of forced evacuation: Erring on the side of caution was the right move to most polled about required exit.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Kris Wernowsky Jun. 30--Luzerne County officials say the decision to displace more than 100,000 citizens Wednesday was done to err on the side of caution. But what do those citizens think? A majority of 20 people randomly...

Guardsmen save two from blaze: Man, woman were in Pittston home that burned early Thursday morning.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Bonnie Adams Jun. 30--PITTSTON -- Two National Guardsmen spotted a burning home and a man struggling with a ladder to rescue a man and a screaming woman from the porch roof early Thursday. Capt. Sal Scalzo and 1st Sgt. Dave...

Man takes leap into river, irks fire chief: Daniel Wasserott said he jumped from the Veterans Memorial Bridge ?for fun.'.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Kris Wernowsky Jun. 30--WILKES-BARRE -- A thrill-seeker who jumped from a bridge several feet into the rolling Susquehanna River Thursday closed two major bridges and tied up rescue workers from several municipalities for nearly...

Weighty decision faced officials: Evacuation order was the end result.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Terrie Morgan-Besecker Jun. 30--WILKES-BARRE -- Just how do you go about making a decision to uproot more than 100,000 people? Not without lots of thought, and not lightly, officials said. Here's an approximate chronology of...

It's the old story downriver: Shickshinny-Mocanaqua area socked.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Jennifer Learn-Andes Jun. 30--SHICKSHINNY -- Janet Krzywicki is thinking of buying a motorized pump to suck water out of her basement because she's tired of renting one. Susquehanna River water filled her basement to the brim...

Burglary among arrests: On the lighter side W-B police stop one of their own unmarked vehicles ? five times.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Kevin Amerman Jun. 30--KINGSTON -- Police say they caught a man burglarizing a home Wednesday night after the residents left because of a mandatory evacuation order. Ariel Mastroff, 21, entered the rear kitchen door of a home...

County expects damage to be beyond $10M: Engineer Jim Brozena says up to 25 bridges might be damaged and some roads have major damage.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Terrie Morgan-Besecker Jun. 30--WILKES-BARRE -- Luzerne County officials say they expect the damage from Wednesday's flooding of the Susquehanna River and various area creeks to be in the tens of millions of dollars. As of...

A homecoming for one high-rise: The tenants of Washington Square apartments in Wilkes-Barre are thrilled to return to their digs.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Jerry Lynott Jun. 30--WILKES-BARRE -- Without the threat of the Susquehanna River flooding Nel Motz might not have returned to her high school for a homecoming of sorts. The 93-year-old graduate was among the evacuees given...

Water access ways closed in flood areas: Harveys Lake mayor praises decision made by state Fish and Boat Commission.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Rory Sweeney Jun. 30--HARVEYS LAKE -- The state Fish and Boat Commission announced that commission-controlled public access ways in the 46 counties in a state of emergency will be closed and asked recreational boaters to avoid...

Levee proves itself again: Susquehanna River rose to 34 feet Wednesday night.
June 30, 2006... Byline: David Weiss Jun. 30--KINGSTON -- It passed the test. Luzerne County's levee system again withheld the mounting pressure of the Susquehanna River as it rose to more than 34 feet Wednesday evening. That was the exact...

County has own master of disaster.
June 30, 2006... Byline: David Weiss Jun. 30--His home just a stone's throw away from the rising Susquehanna River, Steve Bekanich kept worrying about the safety of his wife and two young children. But he couldn't be with them. Bekanich, Luzerne...

Unprotected areas to stay unprotected: U.S. Rep. Kanjorski says cost of building levees upriver, downriver, outweighs potential of damage.
June 30, 2006... Byline: David Weiss Jun. 30--While elected officials stood atop a sturdy levee in Kingston, bragging how the land mass again kept the Wyoming Valley from disaster, folks upstream and downstream were waiting for their homes to be freed...

Little big helper: 10-year-old was little dynamo at shelter.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Mark Guydish Jun. 30--WILKES-BARRE -- Listen to Ryan Weinkopff, but you've got to bend down. He's only 10: "I worked 20 hours straight." "I helped load and unload the buses. a[bar] I brought breakfast in. a[bar] I helped...

W-B's new theater set for official opening.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Sheena Delazio Jun. 30--WILKES-BARRE -- The near-miss flood of the city's downtown has postponed most of its festivities planned for this weekend -- but not all of them. The theater reopened at 3 p.m. Thursday with $1...

WET, BUT NOT WIPED OUT.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Terrie Morgan-Besecker Jun. 30--WILKES-BARRE -- As evacuated residents began returning to their homes Thursday, Luzerne County Emergency officials began assessing the factors that led initial projections of the Susquehanna River's...

Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader, Casey Jones column: Thank you. We're better off safe than sorry.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Casey Jones Jun. 30--he sun was setting, the birds were singing, the streets were deserted, the evacuation was complete. It was eerie in empty South Wilkes-Barre Wednesday, minutes before the 9 p.m. curfew. I drove for...

Double whammy: Stores hit by flooding, loss of business: Part of Skovish Brothers Pools in Luzerne collapsed and fell into Toby Creek.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Ron Bartizek And Renita Fennick Jun. 30--LUZERNE -- Businesses suffered two kinds of damage at the hands of rampaging water this week; physical harm to their property properties and loss of revenue as they closed early Wednesday,...

Rare flooding rips away roads: Toby Creek and water in the Huntsville Reservoir provided most of the destruction.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Dave Janoski Jun. 30--When the Susquehanna threatens to flood, the Back Mountain is often a high-and-dry refuge. But this week's heavy rains, while sparing most of the Wyoming Valley floor, caused some major damage in the...

2 locals in U.S. Special Olympics: Both Wilkes-Barre residents won gold medals in the Luzerne County competition.
June 30, 2006... Byline: Derek Levarse Jun. 30--Earning a gold medal was one thing. Playing the waiting game was even tougher. Wilkes-Barre's Jeremy Chapman and Randy Roberts had to linger until the end of 2005 just to find out they would be two of...

One big water hazard: Heavy rainfalls are forcing many area courses closed.
June 29, 2006... Byline: Dave Rosengrant Jun. 29--Because of heavy rainfalls during the past five days, a number of golf courses were closed for at least one day because of unplayable conditions. The most notable of the stoppages was last weekend's...

Voice can offer D'Elia indictment: Paper to include filing against reputed mobster in defense against Thomas A. Joseph.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Terrie Morgan-Besecker Jun. 28--WILKES-BARRE -- Local businessman Thomas A. Joseph has agreed to allow The Citizens' Voice to present an indictment filed against reputed mobster Billy D'Elia in the newspaper's defense of a libel...

Wilkes considers establishing law school: The university also looks at a doctor of education program and campus restructuring.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Kris Wernowsky Jun. 28--WILKES-BARRE -- Wilkes University officials are exploring whether the area can sustain a law school. The news came Tuesday as Wilkes University President Tim Gilmour, finance director Scott Byers and...

Creating law school is complex, difficult: Once the facility is open, it must meet standards of the American Bar Association.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Kris Wernowsky Jun. 28--There is a built-in uncertainty accompanying a university's decision to establish a law school. Should Wilkes University attempt to do so, it will take years of meetings, decision-making, piles of...

HOLDING OUR BREATH: Some areas evacuated as rain brings flooding to area.
June 28, 2006... Byline: John Davidson Jun. 28--WILKES-BARRE -- County officials declared a state of emergency Tuesday evening and warned local municipalities to brace for possible evacuations today as the Susquehanna River continued to rise and streams...

In W-B, an emotional gamut: With much to say, hundreds living along Solomon Creek are forced from their homes.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Rory Sweeney Jun. 28--WILKES-BARRE -- A day deluged with rain and uncertainty for hundreds of residents living along Solomon Creek ended Tuesday evening with mandatory evacuations and no power. Early in the afternoon,...

Efficiency with sadness marks local family's day: For Robin Williams of Plainsville, flooding is getting to be too old a story.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Jennifer Learn-Andes Jun. 28--PLAINS TWP. -- How does a family of eight with three dogs and three fish prepare for a flood? Adrenaline, lots of sweat, teamwork and one very brief pause for a good cry. Robin Williams and...

School's paydays payless: Having rejected the proposed budget, Pittston Area will not be able to cover some obligations.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Bonnie Adams Jun. 28--YATESVILLE -- Approximately 125 Pittston Area School District employees and district bills won't get paid after Friday because the school board rejected the 2006-07 budget. Allegations of Sunshine Law...

Man, teen drown in area lake: Kevin Murphy, 33, was trying to rescue a 15-year-old boy. Both died, officials say.
June 28, 2006... Byline: David Weiss Jun. 28--BUTLER TWP. -- Robert H. Robinson was reeling in his fishing line as another rain storm rolled over Beech Mountain Lakes early Tuesday afternoon. That's around the same time he saw a boy jump into the lake,...

Abraham's Creek closes Eighth Street, soaks homes: Stretch of road between Kingston Township, West Wyoming affected.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Jerry Lynott And Steve Mocarsky Jun. 28--A raging Abraham's Creek overflowed its banks Tuesday morning and flowed down Eighth Street, forcing officials to close a stretch of the road between Kingston Township and West Wyoming. ...

Hanover Twp. calling for volunteer evacuation.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Kris Wernowsky Jun. 28--HANOVER TWP. -- When the remnants of Hurricane Agnes swept through the Wyoming Valley on June 23, 1972, Ronald Hummer was three years shy of being born. Tuesday, the 31-year-old president of the...

GAR High becomes refuge of last resort: Evacuees with nowhere else to go find shelter, like it or not, at school.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Rory Sweeney Jun. 28--WILKES-BARRE -- Jeanette Brown headed out the door of her Regent Street home Tuesday afternoon, crossed the pavement, leaned over the wall and took a peek at the chocolatey, turbulent water churning down...

Tax relief bill gets signed here: In Nanticoke, Gov. Rendell shows how some seniors' property tax bills will end.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Kevin Amerman Jun. 28--NANTICOKE -- Pennsylvania's governor served up tax relief to homeowners throughout the state on a Nanticoke woman's kitchen table on Tuesday. Gov. Ed Rendell visited the home of 88-year-old Nellie...

W. Pittston braces for the worst case: Borough workers will begin building dams this morning to hold back flooding.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Ron Lieback Jun. 28--WEST PITTSTON -- At about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mayor William Goldsworthy said Susquehanna Avenue looked as if all the youngsters were heading off to college. "There were so many U-Hauls lining the street....

FEMA urges homeowners to seek flood insurance as protection: Federal agency stresses preparedness against natural disasters as region floods.
June 28, 2006... Byline: Steve Mocarsky Jun. 28--As some northeast waterways are pouring over their banks -- or on the verge of doing so -- a federal agency continues a campaign to educate homeowners about buying flood insurance and taking proper...

Back in familiar hands.
June 27, 2006... Byline: Renita Fennick Jun. 27--The Times Leader isn't the same newspaper Rich Connor left two decades ago -- and neither is the City of Wilkes-Barre, he said. The changes in both were enticing enough to lure the Fort Worth...

Judge advises dismissal of inmate's lawsuit.
June 27, 2006... Byline: Terrie Morgan-Besecker Jun. 27--SCRANTON -- A federal magistrate judge has recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a Luzerne County Correctional Facility inmate who claimed his head was forcibly held in water as punishment...

Barletta in spotlight with ?illegals' policy: The Hazleton mayor is proposing a crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
June 27, 2006... Byline: Jennifer Learn-Andes Jun. 27--Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta has been booked solid with national media interviews since he unveiled a local plan that cracks down on illegal immigrants and designates English as the city's official...

DA: Stab victim's fiancee a suspect: William Crawford of Exeter was killed in April in Wyoming County.
June 27, 2006... Byline: Kris Wernowsky Jun. 27--FALLS TWP. -- The fiancee of an Exeter man stabbed to death in April at a Wyoming County campsite is considered a suspect in his death. The lack of an arrest in the death of Williams Crawford has drawn...

Paper's lawsuit weak, 2 commissioners say: The lawyer for two top county officials files objections to a Times Leader suit over reassessment poll vote.
June 27, 2006... Byline: Rory Sweeney Jun. 27--Luzerne County majority commissioners Greg Skrepenak and Todd Vonderheid asked that a lawsuit filed against them by the Times Leader be dismissed because the newspaper's claims were legally insufficient,...

Gas leak contained at W-B demolition site: No injuries reported when piece of heavy equipment hits an active line.
June 27, 2006... Byline: Kris Wernowsky Jun. 27--WILKES-BARRE -- A tractor at a construction site struck a gas line Monday morning causing a leak that sent a cloud of dust into the air, fire officials say. No injuries were reported, but Wilkes-Barre...

DA plays politics, Selenski says: Homicide suspect hurls barbs at prosecutor in letter.
June 27, 2006... Byline: David Weiss Jun. 27--WILKES-BARRE -- Homicide suspect Hugo Selenski and District Attorney David Lupas might not be battling it out in court for a few months, but their verbal battles still continue. Selenski last week sent a...

Man trapped hours in kayak: Clark Gallo calls accident in Mill Creek involving friend from White Haven a fluke.
June 27, 2006... Byline: Rory Sweeney Jun. 27--PLAINS TWP. -- A White Haven man was trapped in a kayak by raging waters for about three hours on Monday. If not for his mental and physical strength, he probably wouldn't have survived, said his friend...

Northeast region's labor force marks drop: Unemployment rose, and the number of available jobs declined in Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming counties.
June 27, 2006... Byline: Jerry Lynott Jun. 27--WILKES-BARRE -- The region's unemployment rate inched higher in May to 5.5 percent, according to the latest figures from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Employment within the region...

Paper, area never far from Connor's thoughts: Former editor and publisher still relishes experience of boosting paper's fortunes.
June 27, 2006... Byline: Joe Butkiewicz Jun. 27--WILKES-BARRE -- When he came to the Wyoming Valley in 1978, Richard L. Connor expected to stay a few weeks, helping to publish a daily newspaper in Wilkes-Barre. He was 31 and editor of a newspaper in...

Making her life an adventure: Karen Szwast gets a rush helping Exeter and exploring the world around her.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Sheena Delazio Jun. 26--Karen Szwast moved to this area when she was 19 to attend College Misericordia and pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. In her senior year, her sister passed away and Karen never graduated. But everything...

W-B shows its Latino side: Event celebrates Hispanic cultures.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Steve Mocarsky Jun. 26--WILKES-BARRE -- The festive music and mouth-watering aromas drifting to the sidewalk were a tempting invitation to anyone dodging raindrops and puddles along South Washington Street. And once inside...

Diehards endure downpour for ?Days': Annual Patch Town Days event drew dedicated fans who were treated to music and crafts, old-time fun.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Rory Sweeney Jun. 26--FOSTER TWP. -- Sometimes, rain at an outdoor festival can have a surprisingly positive effect. No doubt the ever-present downpour, which only seemed to become heavier as Sunday drew on, scared off some...

Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader, Mark Guydish column: Grandstanding no matter how you say it.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Mark Guydish Jun. 26--et's put Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta's new "no hablo Espanol" ordinance -- I mean, the "Illegal Immigration Relief Act" -- into historical context. I'm not talking long-gone history, as in, "Golly,...

5 young Marines inspire author: A former captain tells tales of the men he calls ?heart and soul of our country.?
June 26, 2006... Byline: Bonnie Adams Jun. 26--KINGSTON -- David Danelo's written words evoke images of combat, courage and loss. The stories he has retold in his first book belong to five young Marine squad leaders he met in Iraq. "They were...

U.S. muscle car flexes its power in Hazleton.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Ron Lieback Jun. 25--HAZLETON -- The plaque behind the windshield of Steve Rhodes' 1980 red Corvette said it all. "Linger, Look and Reminisce. But Please! Oh Please! DO NOT TOUCH!" A witty mix of words, they explain how...

1900: Oh dear, you just MUST be in the Blue Book.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Lisa Sokolowski Jun. 25--here's a common desire to always want to be on "the list." It doesn't matter if it's the casting list of a high school's spring musical or Santa's nice list. Heaven forbid you ended up on the naughty...

Post WWII: Shop 'til you drop, and eat something.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Renita Fennick Jun. 25--ong before the local shopping centers were built, when the land around the Wyoming Valley Mall and Wachovia Arena was just a wooded hillside, downtown Wilkes-Barre was the only game in town. Residents...

1915: Making a good impression on a Hoosier.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Patty Meadus Jun. 25--ilkes-Barre was one of numerous cities visited by novelist/journalist Theodore Dreiser in 1915, when he set out for a two-week pilgrimage home to Indiana from New York City. The experiences from that journey...

Party of the century: Many events are planned to celebrate the city's bicentennial. But the city knew how to let the good times roll 100 years ago too.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Joe Butkiewicz Jun. 25--One hundred years ago, Wilkes-Barre had much to celebrate, having grown from a frontier town into the 75th-largest city in the United States, funded by a prosperous, locally controlled anthracite coal...

When the teachers misbehave: Luzerne County school districts are not immune from improper conduct between educators and students.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Kris Wernowsky Jun. 25--An angry father, Chris Roleski doesn't mince words when speaking about one of his daughter's teachers. "I think he's a piece of crap and I don't think he should be an educator anymore. a[bar]The guy...

Lightning blamed for theater drama: Chamber spokeswoman says lightning killed power on opening night, but meteorologist says no.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Kris Wernowsky Jun. 25--WILKES-BARRE -- Phooey to that old adage that lightning never strikes the same place twice. Believe that it can happen in Wilkes-Barre. Lightning striking an air-conditioning unit on the roof on the...

Father Bob's columns to continue: W-B native will continue his writings despite leave of absence from priestly duties.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Kevin Kazokas Jun. 25--He's written 254 religious columns for the Times Leader the past five years. On Wednesday, the Rev. Robert Timchak -- better known to his readers as Father Bob -- and the newspaper agreed he would get...

EPIC FEAT: Years in the making, Wilkes-Barre's cinema dreams now reality.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Ron Bartizek Jun. 25--The storyline for the new Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 reads a bit like the plot for a feature film. There's the prologue, going way back to 1996 with former Mayor Tom McGroarty's first theater proposal. At...

The times of its life.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Tom Mooney Jun. 25--Wilkes-Barre wasn't much to look at as the 19th century opened -- an agricultural crossroads with fewer than 50 houses, a population between 350 and 400, a few stores and a growing commercial riverfront. ...

1806: Life in the beginning.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Jon Fox Jun. 25--here still wasn't a school, Jesse Fell's tavern was the place to see and be seen and the first brick building was still a year away from being built. Most of the residents were former Connecticut settlers who...

1832-1850s: Catlin paints a people's nobility.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Mary Therese Biebel Jun. 25--eorge Catlin's mother had been abducted by Indians, but her son apparently never held a grudge. The portrait artist, born in Wilkes-Barre in 1796, felt such great sympathy for the native peoples...

Pre-Civil War life: A child's recollections.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Mark E. Jones Jun. 25--s a girl, Edith Brower witnessed Wilkes-Barre's rise from village to city, punctuated by incidents spanning the grand (the first, non-Catholic church wedding) to the gruesome (public hangings). She...

Mid-1800s: Living large ? and richly.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Jennifer Learn-Andes Jun. 25--efore suburbia, Wyoming Valley's elite built their mansions along River and Franklin streets in downtown Wilkes-Barre. They called in premier architects from New York City and Philadelphia to bring...

1960-1979: Remaking ourselves, over and over.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Jerry Kellar Jun. 25--uch of Wilkes-Barre's history has been lost to the wrecking ball over the years. In 1960, former Congressman Dan Flood was instrumental in getting the federal Model Cities Program extended to the city....

Mid-20th century: The fabric of the working life.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Heidi Roccograndi Jun. 25--he decline of the anthracite coal industry after World War II put into motion the emergence of the garment industry in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Miners, the traditional breadwinners of the family,...

1941-45: A city unites for its country.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Van Rose Jun. 25--he City of Wilkes-Barre reacted to the shock of the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941 much the same way the rest of the country did. With a determination to meet the challenge poised by World War II, the...

1948: The Public Square that never was.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Bonnie Adams Jun. 25--he city's mayor in 1948 proposed dramatic changes for the appearance and use of Public Square. Mayor Luther Kniffen's idea for a bus terminal and roads crisscrossing the park never materialized. If he...

1920-'33: Daniel L. Hart, the FDR of mayors.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Terrie Morgan-Besecker Jun. 25--e openly defied the law by running a speakeasy from his home during Prohibition and reportedly turned a blind eye to illegal gambling. Such transgressions would likely sink the career of a...

The 1920s: Wilkes-Barre is roarin' too.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Joe Petrucci Jun. 25--t rose proudly, 175 feet high, greeting visitors coming from the West Side over the Market Street Bridge into Wilkes-Barre. The 14-story tower of the Hotel Sterling was begun in 1928, though depression and...

1920: The Palmer Raids and the Red scare.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Michael P. Buffer Jun. 25--he first Red scare in America followed the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in November 1917 and labor disputes after World War I. In 1919, U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer launched a...

2006: The beehive gets a makeover.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Jessica Grizzanti Jun. 25--ilkes-Barre has been a beehive of activity for 200 years. And how better to symbolize that than by having the image of a beehive incorporated in Wilkes-Barre's logo. Jesse Teitelbaum, executive...

1913: Give us that old-time religion.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Kevin Kazokas Jun. 25--fervor swept across Wilkes-Barre in 1913. And it was created by one man. Nationally famed preacher the Rev. William Ashley Sunday brought his evangelistic and controversial campaign to Wilkes-Barre for...

Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader, Joe Petrucci column: At Valley West, coaches inherit the hot seat Joe Petrucci Opinion.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Joe Petrucci Jun. 25--t used to be that all a high school coach had to do was post winning records and stay out of trouble to keep a job. Well, it's time for a reality check. Parents and school board members at Wyoming...

1880s-early 1900s: The making of some good sports.
June 25, 2006... Byline: John Erzar Jun. 25--nce some of the oddities disappeared (anyone remember competitive shin kicking?), Wilkes-Barre became more of a mainstream sports world. Baseball, basketball and cycling were part of the sports scene...

1930s: We have a bingo here!
June 25, 2006... Byline: Rory Sweeney Jun. 25--o matter where it's found, the story is similar: a traveling toy salesman, a mathematician and a Wilkes-Barre priest get together in 1930 to create a wildly popular union of religion and gambling. ...

As leader and hitter, Argent rises to the occasion: Kevin McGrath stars for Hoban, which played well after he called early-season, players-only meeting.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Derek Levarse Jun. 25--By most accounts, Kevin McGrath is a quiet guy. The humble sort, who, prefers to let his game do most of his talking. But as a captain for Bishop Hoban in his senior season, the Times Leader Baseball...

A record day on hill of a course: Dickson City's Borrelli and Wolfsberger of Moosic reign in grueling Conyngham race.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Derek Levarse Jun. 25--CONYNGHAM -- The end wasn't as easily in sight this time around. Unlike last year, the Valley Great 8 road race had its finish line at the top of the final hill at St. John Bosco Church in Conyngham,...

Weiscarger-Callahan in John Allan lead: Gill-Corbett is in second, a shot down; 27 holes of stroke play set for today.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Jamie A. Raub Jun. 25--EXETER -- Joe Weiscarger and John Callahan didn't need two full rounds to pull ahead of the field at Fox Hill Country Club's 60th annual John A. Allan Tournament. They were able to do all their work in one....

1919: You oughta be in pictures.
June 25, 2006... Byline: Jessica Grizzanti Jun. 25--urder, mystery, a damsel in distress and a cunning villain, all typical components of a modern-day soap opera -- and of the 1919 silent movie serial "A Woman in Grey." The 15-part serial runs 235...

Super-charged gospel lessons: Bible schools adopt adventurous themes.
June 24, 2006... Byline: Kevin Kazokas Jun. 24--LAUREL RUN -- Checkered flags lined the parking-lot entrance, and not too far beyond sat a truck built for transporting beasts on wheels. As several early arrivers congregated -- some sporting checkered...

No comfort for her anger eXCLUSIVE.
June 24, 2006... Byline: Rory Sweeney Jun. 24--WEST WYOMING -- Ever since she buried her mother in the Italian Independent Cemetery in December, Sandra Touw has disdained the neighboring grave site. Touw says she can't find enough peace in the...

Gone With the Lights.
June 24, 2006... Byline: John Davidson Jun. 24--WILKES-BARRE -- The long-awaited downtown movie theater, crown jewel of the city's $30.7 million revitalization project, drew hundreds of eager moviegoers to Northampton Street Friday night for a sneak...

Signs point to continued newspaper rivalry in W-B exclusive: CV upgrade plans seen as indication parent company will not buy Times Leader.
June 24, 2006... Byline: Renita Fennick Jun. 24--WILKES-BARRE -- It looks as if the 28-year-old war between the Times Leader and The Citizens' Voice will wage on. While The McClatchy Co. works out the details of the Times Leader sale, the two papers...