)) I —— ee LETTER The jug handle Dear Editor: I am writing to you at this time because I do not believe A which I believe to be of vital interest to your newspaper and to every single resident of the area commonly known as “The Back Mountain’. I refer to a brief talk given prior to the main program by Clifford Bigelow, Exective head of the Wyoming Valley Automobile Club. Cliff reports that he has been advised that the Dunmore Regional Office of PennDOT is in the process of preparing the design for what he terms a ‘jug handle” intersection to be inserted into the head of the Cross Valley Expressway under construction at the very beginning of that highway in the vicinity of the access road into the Dallas Area Municipal Authority Waste Water Treatment Plant, at the southerly edge of Kingston Township. A jug handle intersection, Cliff advises, consists of a turn off from the northbound lanes of Rte. 309 with a traffic light to permit traffic turning off Rte. 309 in order to turn into a parking lot serving a facility occupied by the Guyette Communications business and the Wasserott Medical Supply business. : I submit to you that such an intersection tacked on to this long past due improvement at this time, makes a travesty of the entire project. If Clifford Bigelow’s report to Rotary is correct, and I see no reason to doubt it, I am convinced that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is about to demonstrate a callous and cynigal complete dis- regard of the safety and well-being of every citizen of The Back Mountain in order to accommodate, at the most, three business enterprises. For at least fifteen years, all of us who live in The Back Mountain area and who commute to Wilkes-Barre for business, for social and cultural purposes, and, in many cases, even to attend church, have impatiently waited for the state to fulfill its promise to provide The, Back Mountain citizens with a safe and direct route into Wilkes-Barre and beyond. After years of prodding, the state finally has designed one-half of the desired ex- pressway and construction is well underway on that stretch. In'acquiring its right-of-way, the state, for the greater good of the highest number of citizens condemned many valuable properties and thereby dislocated the lives and livlihoods of many citizens of Luzerne, Kingston, and other communities. All of this was justified and, in my opinion, justifiable, by reason of the fact that the con- struction of the Cross Valley Expressway is necessary for the greater good of thousands of citizens, and, most especially, because of the dictates of highway safety. I would really be interested to know how many needless deaths have occurred on the Luzerne-Dallas Highway over the years because of the design of that highway, the great number of travelers who use it, and the congestion along its borders. Over the past two years or so, as expressway con- struction has progressed, everyone using the highway has experienced horrible traffic jams on a daily basis as the traffic out of The Back Mountain and beyond, heading toward Wilkes-Barre, has been funneled into a two-way roadway being choked and strangled by two traffic lights which the state has determined are necessary to afford the residents of Luzerne, Courtdale and Pringle, access to the highway. We may not have borne this inconvenience, congestion, and the ac- companying danger to our life and limb stoically, but all of us have accepted it and lived with it because we saw ahead, in the dim and distant future, a solution to our problems which would come when the expressway was finally completed and in operation and the Boroughs of Luzerne, Courtdale, Pringle and Kingston would be by- passed. Now, - in order to serve the above noted three businesses, and for no other purpose, apparent to the writer of this letter - the state is designing a traffic light and an intersection at the most critical point in the entire stretch of roadway, at the foot of a downgrade and the end of a curve, which will bring the high speed traffic on Rte. 309 to a grinding halt everytime the light changes. I am not a traffic engineer and do not pretend to be one, but I do have at least a modicum of common sense and I can only conclude that the placement of an intersection and traffic light at the location reportedly under design, would be an act of sheer stupidity. I am an admirer, a supporter, and a subscriber to the necessary newspaper and a valuable asset to the entire Jug handle (Continued on P. 14) " PAGE FIVE Two die in crash A Wilkes-Barre woman and a Scranton man died in a violent collision in Lake Township shortly before 9 Monday night. Killed were Tina Marie Fram,e, 53 North River St., Wilkes-Barre, and Douglas Haskins, Scranton. According to investigating officers, the car was reported stolen in Scranton Sunday night. Police said the vehicle was traveling east along Route 118 in Lake Township toward Dallas when the driver apparently lost control and the auto struck a concrete bridge upright near Shelley’s Diner. Haskins was thrown from the car, while Frame had to be extricated from the wreckage. Both victims were Piatt. Ptlm. Edward Ungvarsky of Lake Twp. Police in- vestigated. He was assisted by Lehman Twp. Police, the Sweet Valley Fire and Ambulance Co., and the Lake Silk- worth Ambulance Co. Car hits guardrails A Back Mountain motorist escaped injury early Saturday morning when he lost control of his car in a heavy rainstorm while driving along Route 309, Kingston Twp. Police report. Police said that Ronald Geise, 12 Kingswood Drive, Dallas, was driving along 309 when he lost control of the vehicle and went off the highway, striking the guard rails by the side of the road. Investigating is Sgt. William Pugh. Four injured in accident Four people were reported injured in Kingston Twp. early Sunday when the jeep in which they were riding left Dug Rd. and struck a utility pole. Admitted to Nesbitt Hospital, Kingston, was John Cowell, 15, of 11 D O’Karma Terrace, Wilkes-Barre, for abrasions of the head and contusions of the right shoulder. Treated and released were Sherri Stout, 19, of 135 North Main St., Wilkes-Barre; Dave Lockman, 23 of 100 Lee Park Ave., Wilkes-Barre; and Randy Kreitzer, 21, of 327 YMCA, Wilkes-Barre. Identified as the driver of the jeep was Charles Grady, 26, of 69 First St., Larksville. Also listed as a passenger was William Russell, 21, of 40 D O’Karma Terrace, Wilkes-Barre. According to Kingston Twp. Police, the jeep was traveling northward along a downgrade on Dug Rd. ata high rate of speed when the operator apparently lost control. The jeep crossed the road to the southbound berm area, sheared off a utility pole, and ended up on its left side. All occupants were thrown from the vehicle. It was totally demolished. Investigating are Ptlm. John Appel, Ptlm. Donald Gavigan, and Sgt. William Pugh. Power mower stolen A DAllas Twp. resident had a large power mower stolen from his yard sometime Friday, police report. Dallas Twp. Police said that riding mower valued at $530 was reported taken from the yard of John Wega, 175 Church St. Car forced into pole A Shavertown woman escaped injury Sunday evening when her car was forced off the road into a utility pole while she was driving along Chase Rd., Jackson Twp. Police report. Police said that Donna Smith, 156 Chase Rd., was driving northward when an oricoming vehicle forced her car off the road and into a utility pole. The vehicle wsas towed from the scene. Investigating is Ptlm. Andrew Kasko. COOK'S PHARMACY At the light, Shavertown 675-1191 'LENSRINS 8 oz. 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Waltich, 18, of 18 Cooper St., Kingston, was proceeding north along 309 when he attempted to make a left turn onto South Pioneer and his car collided with an oncoming vehicle driven by Ann Massaker, Avery St., Tunkhannock, proceeding south- ward along 309 through the intersection. Waltich told police that as he was making the turn he noticed a disabled car blocking his lane on South Pioneer ahead of him and had to swing around to the right of the vehicle to avoid it. Massaker told police that she was proceeding through the intersection on a green light when the Waltich vehicle turned in front of her. Investigating are Ptlm. Gary Beisel and Ptlm. John Appel. : . ** Thieves get nothing Thieves broke into the coin boxes at the Robo Car Wash, Route 315, sometime overnight between Friday and Saturday but found nothing to take, Dallas Borough Police report. The boxes suffered damage during the attempt. Investigating is Ptlm. Bernard Petukonis. Car theft investigated As of the early part of the week, Dallas Twp. Police were still investigating the theft of a Mehoopany man’s car from Lake Catalpa Rd.; Friday evening. The car was dis- covered the next day in Wyoming County by State Police from the Tunkhannock Barracks. Arthur Johnson, 38, or RD 2, Mehoopany, told police he was parked on Lake Catalpa Rd. Friday evening when two men smashed a winddbw in his car, beat him, took his wallet, and fled, returning shortly to threaten him and take his car keys. After notifying police, Johnson chose to leave the car overnight and returned the next day to find it missing. A rifle was reported taken from the car. ouple injured A Wilkes-Barre coupie was injured in a collision at the intersection of Route 309 and West Center St., Shaver- town, Wednesday afternoon, Kingston Twp. Police report. Admitted to Nesbitt Hospital, Kingston, and listed in fair condition was Florenda Stull, 83, of 344 South Franklin St., city. Police said that Robert Stull, 84, husband of the injured woman, tried to make a left turn from 309 onto West Center St. as he was heading south but collided with a truck approaching from the opposite direction. Driver of the truck was identified as Allen Brace, 59, of RD 1, Dallas. f Police said that after the collision the Stull auto circled the truck, crossed the highway, and entered the property of the Mum Farm, where it struck and damaged plants and a birdbath. Investigating is Ptlm. Luther Rozelle. Stolen car recovered A car stolen from a restaurant parking lot Sunday was recovered undamaged but with its battery and some valuables missing two days later, according to Dallas Borough Police. Police said the 1967 Chevrolet of Evan Brown, RD 6, Dallas, taken from the parking lot of Pickett’s Charge Sunday evening, was found Tuesday on Sutler’s Road in Dallas Twp. Missing were the battery and some valuables from the trunk. Investigating is Ptlm. James Tupper. DALLAS BOROUGH HDI When you need advice, help, or proper referral concerning Borough questions or problems that you may encounter call Mayor Jim Davies 675-4973 Office Hours 9-5 Mon. thru Sat. ~T LN NOW TRANSFEAABLE AND KEEP IN YOUR Pu Pre oq onder HORE 5% PARTICIPATING STORES O SN WHEN PROPS Y PUNCHED Is pe PAY THIS 4 AMOUNT 3 EXACTLY SHEENA § VOID IF TAMPERED WITH wy There is a Cash Award On Every LUCKY CHECK : $1,000- $100 UPTO " ODDS CHART — Odds effective Oct. 1, 1979 Your Lucky [Seas Br Ry Check Can gon pammion op a Be Worth... hist fr TIE te $5-$2 OR NO PURCHASE NECESSARY $ oOo me AOne Dollar {innit § Cash Bonus HR ONE DOLLAR CASH The Tha 208 La r.—i Me oat arin TOTAL 1.45
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