= Ld i is BR TON BI BOX 336 BRIGHTON, IO =i 3 rg a oO ® 1 > <3 ry — o> 45; | PA un ex OS VOL. 88 NO. 26 Mosquitoes next? by Nancy Huff The Back Mountain area has al- ways had various bugs and critters in- festing the woods and streams during the warm summer months. But this year, the bug population seems to be greater than ever. The black fly population has soared to a 13-year high, Tony Santoli, pro- tection forester from Scranton said. And a lot of people would like to see them soar right out of the area. Picnics are literally inundated with the uninvited visitors. The black flies and gnats use unwary hikers and gar- deners for target practice, striking whatever part of the body is exposed. The flies and gnats usually swarm around the head, making it impossible tobreathewithout getting bugs up your nose or in your mouth. If you are driving down the street and see some- one wavingto you, look again. They may be just swatting at the flies swarming around their head. Forestry officials in Harrisburg said the unseasonably cool spring weather accompanied by the hot and humid summer weather has encour- aged the rapid propagation of the black fly. The sporadic rain showers and high humidity have created per- fect breeding conditions for the fly, Santoli said. The flies usually breed in stagnant pools of water made plenti- ful by the rain. A decrease in the natural predators of the black fly has been noted this year, Santoli said. The predators, which include a host of other insects, usually assist man-made bug repell- ants in keeping the fly population down. This year man has to work alone. The black flies are more of a bothersome pest than a serious threat to health, although the bite of the female fly can sometimes become % E quite painful. The female black fly has been classified as an aggressive bloodsucker whose bite is painful and occasionally fatal. Of the more than 600 sub-species of the black fly, how- ever, very few have this fatal effect. Painful or not, being bitten by any bug is no fun. Most bites are from a pesky little bug called a Punkie, or “no-see-ums’’, and not the black fly. It is virtually impossible to designate one reaction to a fly bite as the most common one. The body chemistry of each person is different. and so is the reaction. One bite may cause severe swelling on one person and another may just be annoyed by a small itchy sensation. The gnats and flies are attracted to exhaled carbon dioxide, some experts have theorized. Mouthwash or per- fume won't help, because they also at- tract the flies. Most beauty prepara- tion such as hair cream, after-shave lotions and some deodorants attract the flies in hordes. Relief might come from using a commercially-prepared bug repellent, Santoli said, especially the kinds sprayed directly on the body. But sometimes, even the sprays are unsuccessful, During extremely humid weather they won’t work. the flies than others or lose the repell- ent effectiveness too quickly. If repellents don’t work, try a broad-rimmed hat and glasses. Rub. a bug repellent on the rim of the hat for extra protection. Gardeners could find holding punk sticks or a lit cigar or any other smoke inducing element distract the flies. If nothing seems to work, try going to Harveys Lake during windy days or when there are a lot of motor boats on the lake. Santoli said the breeze bounces the little flies about too much, lake under windy conditions. There seems to be no relief in sight for at least the next four or five years, Santoli said. The large amounts of black flies and gnats will be with us that long. The only bug relief we have, Santoli said, is the diminished number of mosquitos. : But, E.V. Chadwick, county ex- tension director, said the breeding season for the mosquito was only slightly delayed by the cold spring. The mosquitos are coming, he said, only a little later than usual. ‘It wonders me’ Save money wep d ..Pp. 7-13 wep. 16 i At Wednesday night’s meeting of ‘the Kingston Township Supervisors, a letter from Dallas Township Super- visors requested aid in solving a water problem on Glenview Avenue. Glenview Avenue is presently a pri- vate road. Dallas Township Super- visors proposed an agreement where by a joint ordinance would be entered BE ? # LN HOMECOMING QUEEN--Lisa Newel into with Kingston Township, both townships sharing the costs of paving would receive part of the ‘‘Liquid fuel tax’’ alloted for this road. A joint ordi- pance is required to open Glenview into a public road and to have it recorded at the court house. Herb Hill made a motion to accept Grant requests from seven Back Mountain ‘municipalities were ap-_ proved recently by Luzerne County Community Development in Wilkes- Barre. Jackson, Ross, Franklin, Lake and Dallas townships as well as Dallas and Harveys Lake boroughs re- quested money to be used in commun- ity development from the Community Development program under a 1974 Housing and Community Develop- ment Act. The exact amount of the grants are as of yet undisclosed, Maureen Prendergast, spokesman for the pro- gram, said. Grant values will be re- leased as soon as each municipality is officially notified of the amount, she said. There is one flat grant value for physical development activities such as road or recreation construction. The grant value, $27,700, was pre- viously set and any money needed above that amount to complete con- struction will have to come from the municipality, Prendergast said. The municipalities will be notified this week by letter designating the municipalities responsibilities in order to comply with pre-set policies and regulations of the program. There are 16 policies and regulations under public works alone, Prendergast said. For instance, the municipalities must make proper zoning changes for the project and sign an agreement with the Luzerne County Community Development stating allocated money Deadline for the Dallas Post... ..5 p.m. Monday will be directed into the proper pro- ject. The municipalities will then have to contract engineers or architects for the various projects and make all plans, including billing, prior to re- ceiving the grant money, she said. Jackson Township will receive money to purchase Rohme School. The Township planned to convert the school into a community and senior citizen center. Jackson will receive grant money to improve local roads. Grant money for Dallas Borough reportedly will be used to construct sewer lines. Dallas Township will use its grant money to improve recreation areas and roads, and to demolish the vacated elementary school building. Harveys Lake plans to use its grant money to develop municipally-owned lands for neighborhood recreation and to demolish several vacated build- ings. Ross Township will use grant money to develop municipal recrea- tion. Lake Township plans to use its grant money to pave local roads. The Luzerne County Community Development gives area munici- palities the opportunity to apply for grants to fund one recreation project a year, Prendergast said. The muni- cipalities decide for themselves in which project to use the grant money. the agreement. However, after some discussion among the supervisors, Hill was asked to rescind the motion until more information on the agree- ment could be obtained. A “Mr. Roberts’, who resides across from Midway Manor, pre- sented pictures of dangerous pot holes caused by insufficient drainage on the road to his home. Roberts claimed that in the eight years he has resided in his home, the developer has not taken any steps to rectify the situation despite promises from him to do so. Roberts claims that the developer will not even discuss the problem with him any more. He stated that the pro- blem is getting continually worse. Roberts remarked ‘Children are going to'and have been hurt because of this.” Approximately 16 children live in the immediate area. Roberts requested some modified rock from the township to fill in the road. He has done this many times himself but it is becoming too expen- sive. Solicitor Ben Jones agreed that he could see from the pictures why residents are complaining. However, because it is a private road, he said any work done on this road by the township would result in a surcharge to the supervisors. It was noted that DAMA is setting up an agreement between DAMA and the developer for the installation of sewers on this road. Ambrose Gavi- gan, chairman of the supervisors sug- gested Roberts contact Tom Bagley of DAMA who could give him all the information as to plans for the sewer. If a problem still exists after in- stallation of the sewer, Jones sug- gested Roberts hire his own attorney and take the problem to court. William DeAngelo, owner of two TWENTY CENTS Who owns’ Burndale Road sidewalks? The question of who owns an eight foot piece of land from the sidewalks on Burndale Road at Center Hill Road to private property lines was raised at the Dallas Borough Council meeting on Tuesday night. Ralph Garris, borough secretary, explained that a builder’s deed shows his property line is eight feet back from the sidewalk and property owners along that road do not believe that they should be responsible for improving or maintaining sidewalks not on their property. Following a lengthly discussion as a proper ownership, it was agreed by members of council to have the matter checked, by the borough’s engineer. Chief of Police Ed Lyons reported that effective Sept. 1, Luzerne County was going into a central police filing system.He explained that all reports and arrests would go into the central system and that all police would have the same kind of paper work. A computer will be installed in Luzerne County Communications Center and, later, a satellite computer will be installed in Dallas Township Municipal Center. The new system new system will enable police to obtain virtually instant information when needed relating to arrests or other matters. The price for Dallas Borough to participate is $195 per year, based according to per capita tax within the borough. It is hoped by the Governor's = Justice Commission that all municipalities will participate. If more than ‘19 take part, it is conceivable that the cost will decrease. (Continued on P. 4) former single dwellings now contain- ing apartments in Rose Village, Shavertown complained that he had not realized that he had only 30 days in which to make an appeal concerning the zoning hearing board’s decision to refuse his request for a change in zon- ing to allow the apartments. J He said he felt that the number of days in which to make an appeal should have been listed clearly in the letter he received. The letter he re- ceived only informed him of the ‘board’s decision. Supervisor Willard Piatt disagreed that DeAngelo should receive any extension on the time. He stated, “Anyone this interested now (in the time limit) should have been inter- ested to find out about this a month ago.” Supervisors refused to extend a time limit. FA It was reported that 130 children are registered at the playground for the township’s summer program. Ac- tivities enjoyed by the children are dodgeball, kickball, baseball, musical to use in a puppet show. July 7, 31 children made the trip to Nay Aug Park, Scranton. : ' Two bids were opened for Phase ITI. of the Kingston Twp. playground. This phase includes comfort stations, tennis court, plumbing and parking lot. American Asphalt bid $39,750 and Dallas Nursery bid $42,400. The bids were closed. These bids will be sub- mitted to the Department of Com- munity Affairs for approval. The board will advertise for bids for Avenues. They will also advertise a request of a ‘Mr. Mathers’ to rezone property on North Memorial High- way, Shavertown from R-2 to B-1. When things are in working order, people rarely -think about them. But when something breaks down, people begin to worry. So the story goes with the recent power failure in New York City and the obvious question, can it happen in the Back Mt. Back Mountain area just as it could anywhere, the difference being the number of people affected and the severity of the shortage. Robert Casselberry, general manager of UGI, said lightning could strike one of the major substations in the area. However, the possibility of the natural occurrence happening is almost nil. Residents in the Back Mountain area are served by several sub- stations, Casselberry said, and failure in any one of them would not affect a Yr great number of people. Any power failure of this nature would last at the most eight hours, he said. UGI owns a powerful mobile transformer stationed on a flat bed truck ready to be moved to any loca- tion to supply emergency power. Installation of the mobile unit would take no longer than eight hours at any point in the Back Mountain area. UGI is a member of the PJM Power pool. Parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland are members of this pool. PJM has enough power, George Stozenski, area manager for PP&L, said, and is even selling power to Virginia and Western Pennsyl- vania. PJM has a power reserve of five percent to be used in case of emergency. This reserve is small, but the power supplied directly to the area power companies is substantial i di \ : » +f 1 ¥ enough to carry the expected high summer loads. Ro Casselberry said in this part of Pennsylvania, the winter loads are greater than the summer loads. But the company can handle power voltage demand. : “There isn’t any energy curtail- ment,” Casselberry said. “There is a very large load being used now, but it happens regularly. Our systems are designed to handle this.” There doesn’t seem to be an eminent threat to the Back Mountain area, Stozenski said, but as anything, if power is used carelessly to an ex- cess, power controls could be en- forced. ‘Everyone’s been put on the alert,” Stozenski said. “We have been requested nation wide to minimize electric use. If we don’t do it now, we could face an energy curtailment.” Red
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