ot VOL. 84 NO. 17 Publication THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 1973 FIFTEEN CENTS Mayor Breaks Tie After an extended discussion, which at times became quite heated, Dallas Borough Council, at last week’s meeting, passed an outdoor burning ordinance, with the help of a tie-breaking vote by Mayor Steve Hartman. The ordinance will require all non-permit, non-council- authorized burning to be done in a con- tainer, covered with a one-half inch mesh screen. Council president George Thomas heartily opposed to the screen covering, and he and Bob Besecker and Jim Davies, representing the volunteer fire company, argued long and hard over the mesh screen requirement. Mr. Thomas felt that many residents of the borough have 'very sophisticated and efficient trash burning set-ups that do not make use of a mesh-covering, and that these people will now be subject to arrest with a “‘no’’, because of the one-half inch mesh; William Berti, Willard Newberry, and Bob Brown voted ‘‘yes’”; Harold Brobst and Jerry Machell voted ‘‘no’’. Mayor Hartman was then called upon to break the tie. He voted in favor of the ordinance, predicting that otherwise “sooner or later someone will die running to those grass fires’’. A penalty of $25, plus costs was next added to the ordin- ance, after it went through the identical vote procedure. Dr. F. Budd Schooley, representing the Back Mountain protective association, asked council for formal support against the rate requests of UGI. When president George Thomas said that they had written a letter showing the council’s disfavor with the requests, and that he felt another letter was in order, Dr. Schooley asked that a formal complaint be issued this time, as the boroughs of Kingston, Lehman, and Plymouth had already done. Borough solicitor Charles Lemmond expressed eoncern that a formal complaint entails a formal fight. He pointed out that a fight against the “almost limitless resources’ of a utility takes a great deal of money. It was finally resolved that Solicitor Lemmond would follow up on how Kingston is carrying out their complaint. Mr. Thomas let Dr. Schooley know that he had their backing, that they will make a formal complaint ‘if we won’t get into financial or legal trouble’’ by doing so. (continued on PAGE EIGHTEEN) if they continue using those efficient burning methods. piece of sunshine on a zoel ay, icing ¢ ~ while t/a uproar causes cancellation of the hikes by Marie McCandless Public opposition to increasing prices serves to focus attention on them. often serves to fitig. .ie the mcrease, and like a So it seemed in mid-March when the Pennsyy kania Gas and Water Co. an- nounced it was cancelling a more than double rate increase for its bottled pro- pane customers, first scheduled for Feb. 1, then postponed to April 1. Lately, however, the company has been advertising that it has filed a ‘fuel cost adjustment clause’’ with the state Public Utility Commission which will provide for upward or downward rate adjust- ments as the company’s cost to purchase fuels increases or decreases. Atty. Roger Mattes, Scranton, who is counsel in the class action suits against the gas company in the propane rate hike case, sa3l Monday that he had not yet read ti® new clause. He speculated, however, that the utility was ‘slipping in an automatic escalator” in the tariff schedule to relieve it of the obligation to file with the PUC when fuel costs rise. While theoretically variations in cost passed on to the consumer by means of such a clause can be decreases as well as increases, few prices go dow, said the attorney, ; fs “Meanwhile, he told Greenstreet News Co., he has instituted coritempt proceed- ings against PG&W for failure to answer interrogatories filed in March in Lacka- wanna County Court of Common Pleas. Pennsylvania law requires the utility to answer within 20 days, two questions: first, the full name and address of every customer with whom PG&W had ever made arrangements for bottled gas; second, which of those arrangements were in existence on Feb. 8, when the double-barreled class action suit against PG&W was begun, with the county court case as well as a complaint to the PUC. The suit asks $10,000 in actual and puni- tive damages for each customer in- volved. Latest estimates are that there are several hundred bottled gas custom- ers in the same situation. Several years ago, PG&W expanded its natural gas service, conducting a wide advertising campaign to attract new gas (continued on PAGE FIFTEEN) William DeRohn, a resident of the State Correctional Institution at Dallas (SCID), made an escape April 19 in Mont- gomery County, where he had been taken to serve as a defense witness for Daniel Delker. It was Mr. Delker who caused so much sensation in the area recently in another trial at the Luzerne County courthouse. Mr. DeRohn, who was cap- tured i eve later (Saturday) in Eas- ton, is “presently being held in Mont- gomery County Jail, waiting to yet ap- pear as a defense witness for Mr. Delker. As in the Luzerne County trial, Mr. Del- ker again had many character-type wit- nesses brought to his trial from prisons across the state. On Thursday four de- appeared at SCID with a court order for nine witnesses from that institution alone. SCID Superintendent Leonard Mack, who expressed concern over the tax- payer-costs of transporting these danger- ous ‘‘character witnesses’, reports that the four officers ‘‘were warned as to what they had” by Deputy Superintendent Gerald Lightcap. Mr. DeRohn, for ex- ample, was a maximum security prison- er at SCID, and was considered a high es- cape risk. Obviously, the nine prisoners were too much for the guards, who, ac- cording to Mr. Mack, “packed” the nine men into what he believes were two sta- tion wagons. Because of the great num- ber and dangerous attitudes of the Delker witnesses, they were being distributed among several jails in the area. Mr. DeRohn, who is serving a life sen- tence for a first degree murder at Easton, made his escape at about 8:30 p.m., April 19. He was considered dangerous when free. : The trial at which he is to be a defense witness is Mr. Delker’s trial for inciting a riot at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford. : The recent area Delker trial found him guilty of assault with intent to kill, assault by a prisoner and aggravated assault and battery, for his stabbing at- tack at SCID on a black inmate, Ronald Henderson, April 6, 1972. One of the Del- ker defense witnesses, who was brought into Luzerne County for the trial from another state prison, was shortly there- after involved in a stabbing incident at (continued on PAGE FIFTEEN) The representatives of the fire com- pany, who, according to Bob Besecker, have been trying for two years to get an outdoor burning ordinance past. the council, felt that without the ‘“Mesh’’ pro- vision they would still be getting all the brush fires calls that have plagued them into seeking this ordinance. Council president Thomas made three hand-written changes on the ordinance. Where the firemen had called for (in two places) ‘‘fire official’’ approval of open fires too large for a container, he added “council approval and permit’ as well, and he struck out the ‘mesh’ provision. Councilman Willard Newberry, who introduced the ordinance for the firemen, allowed the ‘‘council approval and permit”’ changes to remain, but insisted upon the mesh provision, and it was voted upon that way. Mr. Thomas began voting Easter was probably a little brighter last week for four West Side families through the combined efforts of the Suburban Bucks Jaycee Wives and the Centurion Chapter Jaycees of the State Correctional Institution at Dallas, Checks totalling $1,000 were presented to the residents who were victims of the flood caused by Hurricane Agnes last June— Hannah Bestford, and the families of Edward L. Wood, Joseph Kapitula, and Eleanor Warman. These same four families were also the recipients at Christmas time when the Suburban Bucks Jaycee Wives sent Members of the Sweet Valley Volunteer Fire Company are busy preparing for the annual festivities which will take place May 25, 26 and 28. The co-chairmen of this year’s event are Robert Kernag and Kevin Ray. The co-chairmen have announced that many floats and marching units have already entered the parade. Among them are three high school marching bands— Lake-Lehman’s award-winning band directed by John Milauskas; the North- west Area High School band directed by Jerome Stone; and the Runnemede, New Jersey, Triton Marching band directed by Carroll R. Davenport, a former local resident. Mr. Davenport’s band is also an award-winning unit. He is the son of Mrs. Merle Davenport and the grandson of Torrence Naugle, Sweet Valley. Some of the features of the three-day event are the Back Mountain Enduro Riders Motorcycle Club, a pony show, the Auction! The Kick-Off Dinner for the 27th Annual Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction will be held May 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Irem Temple Country Club. James Parry, repre- senting the Dallas Kiwanis Club, is this year’s dinner chairman. Toastmaster for the affair will be George McCutcheon. Homer Moyer, library board president, and William Umphred, auction chair- man, will be guest speakers. Tickets will be available from any service club member. The 27th Annual Library Auction will be held this year July 6, 7, and 8 at the Library Auction Grounds, Main Street, Dallas. popular Sky Divers, a western horse show, the annual Memorial Day Parade and a large fireworks display to end the three days festivities. The ladies auxiliary and members of the fire company will have a variety of tasty food available. Entertainment will be provided throughout the three days along with amusement rides and games. Interested clubs or individuals wishing to participate in the parade are asked to contact Kevin Ray, 477-5203. checks totalling $1,100 to the Centurion Chapter Jaycees to be distributed to their ““adopted’’ flood victims. The families had been chosen through the cooperation of Wyoming Valley West School District and area churches. This time, ~h@wever,’ the Centurion Jaycees had the opportunity to escort the Jaycee Wives to the homes of the flood victims. Anne’ Stidham, president of the Suburban Bucks Jaycee Wives; Jeanne Jackson, president-elect; Nonni Gordon, and Gayle Conner arrived at SCID last Wednesday at noon, and after lunch and a tour of the correctional facility, they spent the afternoon visiting the flood victims with Paul M. Yuknavich, presi- dent of the Centurion Jaycees; James Morais, treasurer; and John Mack, coordinator of the Centurion Jaycees and a counselor at SCID, at which time they presented the checks. Their first stop was on West Union Street, Kingston, where Hannah Best- ford, a widow, resides in a small apart- ment, Mrs. Bestford lost all of her fur- nishings in the flood, but through the help of friends, her church, the Jaycee Wives and Centurion Jaycees, has settled back in her few comfortably furnished rooms. After presenting Mrs. Bestford with her. check, the group went to the home of Kathleen and family of seven (continued on PAGE FIFTEEN) wife,
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