Jackson Township Supervisors Friday
night failed to show up at a public meet-
ing to appoint a third member to the
governing body. But the Post learned
later that the supervisors had met pri-
vately that evening and selected Felix
Niedjaco, Huntsville Road.
Niedjaco will fill the post vacated last
month by Harold Bertram, who resigned
as supervisor and roadmaster. The
supervisors still have not appointed a
new roadmaster.
There is some doubt, however, that the
appeirifgont is legally binding, since it
was ner made at a public meeting.
Supervisor Frank Elenchick last week
called the special meeting for Dec. 28 at
7:30 p.m. at the township fire house, for
the announced purpose of selecting a
third member to the governing body.
Several township residents waited at
the fire house until after 8:15 p.m., but
neither Mr. Elenchick nor Supervisor
FIFTEEN CENTS
Henry Zbiek made an appearance.
Some residents said they had come to
the meeting to inspect the township bud-
get, which, according to a local or-
dinance, must be available for public in-
spection for 20 days after it is advertised.
The budget was advertised Dec. 13.
They noted that Mr. Bertram left his
post as roadmaster because he was not
satisfied with his salary and said they
attended the meeting to ask that wages
for the road crew be increased in 1974.
The supervisors’ secret meeting, an in-
formed source revealed, took place at
Mr. Zbiek’s home on Chase Road Friday
night. Mr. Elenchick reportedly nominat-
ed a Democrat, Lois Malak, to
fill Mr. Bertram’s post as supervisor, and
Fred Fielding (Republican who will re-
place Mr. Zbiek on the board in 1974)
named Millie Hogoboom, a Republican.
(continued on PAGE SIXTEEN)
rouri¥ack Mountain residents were
among those receiving promotions at The
First National Bank of Eastern Pennsyl-
_vania, i was announced by Thomas H.
Kiley, Nirman of the board and chief
executive officer.
John T. Lyons was promoted from vice
president and trust officer to vice presi-
dent and senior trust officer, and assum-
ed full responsibility for administration
of the bank’s trust department. He
succeeds Atty. Charles E. Miner Jr., who
retired at the end of the year.
Robert C. Lawrence, who heads the
estate planning and business develop-
ment division of the trust department,
was promoted from assistant vice presi-
dent and trust officer to vice president
and trust officer; while Thomas J.
O’Malia, credit department, was promot-
ed to vice president, and Robert D.
Richardson, manager of the Dallas
Village Office, also was advanced to vice
president.
Mr. Lyons came to this area in 1970.
First National, he served as vice presi-
dent and trust officer of Schroder Trust
Company and vice president of J. Henry
Schroder Banking Corporation, both of
New York City, after having served with
the trust department of The First Nation-
al City Bank of New York.
He attended St. Paul’s College in Wash-
ington, D.C. where he earned an A.B. in
psychology and an M.A. in philosophy. In
1955 Mr. Lyons received a J.D. from St.
John’s University and was admitted to
the New York state Bar.
(continued on PAGE SIXTEEN)
Photo by Dave Kozemchak
Responding to a Dallas Post editorial
taking him to task for not making use of
one of his two part-time patrolmen, Jack-
son Township’s part-time police chief
Robert Cooper told the Post this week
that patrolman Don Jones has been a
source of ‘‘friction in the township’’, and
that he has issued false incident reports,
failed to make other reports and refused
to answer some police calls. Mr. Jones
has denied each charge, and indicated to
the Post that he has contacted a lawyer
concerning these and other Cooper alle-
gations.
The patrolman: is especially upset
about some specific, personal remarks
that his chief is making about him.
The chief also stated that, ‘‘Since they
put that gold badge on Don Jones his head
has swelled. He goes over my head. He’s
been uncontrollable.”
Chief Cooper doesn’t deny that he is not
making use of the salaried patrolman. He
says that for the reasons he mentioned he
has made a point of not calling the man in
on a case in the past seven or more
months.
The part-time chief said that the false
reports, turned into township super-
visors, had to do with a ‘haystack fire”
and ‘‘the Banks bomb scare’’. He told the
Post that he knows Mr. Jones did not in-
vestigate the incidents because the chief
himself had remained at the fire site until
it was taken care of, and because his
other patrolman, Andrew Kasko, re-
mained at the bomb scare scene. Neither
of them, the chief said, saw Mr. Jones at
Photo by Dave Kozemchak
the scene.
Patrolman Jones told the Post that he
was alerted of the ‘Chase fire’’ by a cap-
tain at State Correctional Institution at
Dallas (SCID), and that Bernard Banks,
vice president of American Asphalt, call-
ed him from the bomb scare scene. ‘‘I did
investigate them, and turned written re-
ports into Chief Cooper,” he said.
Capt. Alfred Jones, the SCID duty of-
ficer at the time of the ‘*haystack fire’’,
told the Post that ‘‘I believe it was Officer
Jones that I talked to. I only reported the
matter to him.’ Asked if another patro!-
fire, the captain said that he ‘‘couldn’t'
say’, because he himself was not at the
scene.
Mr. Banks, speaking about the bomb
scare, told the Post that he ‘‘called the
local police, and they got the State Police
in...The State Police did the actual in-
vestigation.”” He couldn’t remember
whether it was Chief Cooper or Mr. Jones
that he had called.
Patrolman Kasko said that he got a call
on the bomb scare from Mrs. Cooper, and
arrived at the scene at about the same
time as the State Police. He said that he
remained ¢ { the scene for two hours, and
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(continued on PAGE SIXTEEN)
There may be a traffic jam in the
Luzerne County Controller’s office Jan. 7.
That is the day Democrat Joseph Tir-
pak, who defeated incumbent Stephen
Yanoshak in the November election, says
he will move into the office.
But Mr. Yanoshak claims Mr. Tirpak is
not legally qualified for the post and says
he will remain in office ‘‘until the court
certifies that my successor is qualified.”
The dispute stems from an 1895 state
statute which prohibits a county row
officer from assuming the controller’s
post until at least two years after he has
left his other county position.
According to this law, Mr. Yanoshak
claims, Mr. Tirpak (as chief deputy to the
county recorder of deeds) cannot serve
as controller until 1976.
But at his swearing-in ceremony last
Wednesday, Mr. Tirpak vowed to take
office Jan. 7.
“On Nov. 6,” he said, 53,000 votes
were cast on my behalf for the office of
controller. This was a 5,000 plurality
which unseated a three-term incumbent.
“I was issued a certificate of election
by the board of election of Luzerne
County...for a term of four years. On Dec.
19 I filed the required statutory bond for
the office of controller, which was ap-
proved by the Luzerne County Court. The
oath of office which I have just taken will
immediately be filed with the prothono-
tary.
¢...if anyone, including Stephen Yano-
shak, has any legitimate objection to me
commencing my term as county control-
ler Jan. 7, they should raise these objec-
tions in the appropriate court and not in
the press and on television.
(continued on PAGE THIRTEEN)
Candles, at least 600 dozen of them,
lined several streets in Dallas and
Shavertown Christmas Eve, ‘Lighting
the Way for the Christ Child’. The long
rows of candles were impressive, and at-
tracted many interested people to the
area.
The custom, according to Joe Muldoon,
president of the New Goss Manor Tax-
payers Association, was brought to New
Goss Manor from Mexico about five
years ago by Dorothy Morrissey, a for-
mer resident. A few years ago, Katherine
Disque, of Dallas, was visiting her son,
Dick, in Orchard View Terrace, and was
deeply moved by the rows of candles in
front of his neighbors’ homes. She talked
of her experience to a friend and neigh-
bor, Mrs. George Krashkevich, Machell
Avenue, Dallas, and last year, the two
women set about encouraging residents
of Machell Avenue and adjoining streets
to “Light the Way for the Christ Child’.
This year, the strings of white candle
lights has been extended through many
more streets in Dallas, and some in
Shavertown.
The lighting of the candles begins soon
after dark Christmas Eve, and the
friendly exchanges between neighbors,
well wishes of strollers, and the slow,
steady stream of cars passing through
the calmly lit streets arouses the peace-
ful, true meaning of Christmas in all.
Mrs. Disque told the Post that at least
600 dozen candles had been distributed
this year, most of them in Dallas, and this
year, as in the past five years, the
weather was fair, and the lights could be
seen for miles. Some residents, who were
lighting candles in front of their homes,
expressed the hope that, with outdoor
Christmas lighting almost extinct, the
candle lights might have a deeper mean-
ing this season.