REESE
SB 10 -- Motor Vehicles
On grounds that it would be a key
toward passage of the debate-
snarled 1980-81 state budget, the
state Senate last week adopted a
conference report aimed at increas-
estimated $95 million in the coming
year.
- Of that figure, about $30.6 million
represents increases in fees levied
on heavy trucks. In return, truckers
are to be allowed to operate heavier
(up to 80,000 lbs., from a current
73,280 1b. limit) and longer (by five
line with the limits in neighboring
states.
Senators from western districts
opposed the larger truck provisions,
arguing that the money would be
traded for greater road damage and
more serious accidents.
Adoption was by a bare majority,
26 to 22. ;
Passenger car owners will also
face increased fees if Senate
amendments are accepted by the
House and Gov. Thornburgh signs
the bill. They include hikes of title
fees from $5 to $15, temporary
licenses from $1 to $5, inspection
stickers from 25 cents to $1, and a
new $25 fee for reinstatement of a
suspended license.
Senators voting FOR SB 10 in-
cluded Frank O'Connell.
HB 1810 -- Waste Disposal v
The Senate also approved, 43 to 5,
and returned to the House for
concurrence in Senate amend-
ments, a broad proposal for strict
control of waste disposal in Penn-
sylvania.
While aimed primarily at proper
handling of hazardous and toxic
wastes generated by industries and
hospitals, with special penalties for
illegal dumping and ‘‘midnight
haulers,’ the 65-page bill also
places responsibility on local
governments for proper handling of
all trash.
An illegal dumper may still be
fined as little as $100 for a first
offense. but the maximum fine for a
flagrant, high volume
“wastelegger'’ is pegged at up to
$500,000 per day for each violation.
or imprisonment for upto 20 years,
or both. Current maximum penalty
is a $300-per-day fine.
The thorny problem--where to put
radioactive and poisonous junk--is
not solved by thebill, but it gives the
Department of Environmental
Resources (wo years in which to
work out procedures in consultation
with the Department of Health.
Meanwhile, temporary disposal
permits will be issued by DER.
Senators voting FOR HB 1840
included Frank O'Connell and
Robert Mellow.
HB 1155 -- No Fault
In the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives last week, debate
centered on the 1980-81 General
Fund Budget, but was almost en-
tirely on procedural issues. No
budgetary issue reached the floor
for rollcall vote. )
The House did find time,
Senate, 164 to 13, proposed revisions
of the Pennsylvania no-fault auto
insurance law.
A major aim is to crack down on
motorists who carry no insurance,
in violation of existing law. If the
bill becomes law, owners will be
required to prove they have in-
annual inspection stickers, and
those driving without no-fault in-
surance identification cards may be
fined from $300 for a first offense to
$1,000 for repeated violations.
All area representatives voted
FOR the stiffer law.
HB 2032 -- Welfare Runaways
The House also voted last week,
165-13, to give the Department of
Welfare greater authority to track
down people who desert their
children and other dependents and
stop supporting them, making the
dependents rely upon public
assistance.
Under current law, welfare
workers can track people down
through the Social Security
Administration; one of the few
situations in which the confident-
iality of Social Security records is
set aside in the interest of justice.
Under the new proposal, welfare
workers will also be able to question
‘caretakers’ of children regarding
the whereabouts of persons
responsible for their support, and to
obtain name, address, employer
and Social Security number--but not
income data--from income tax
records.
All area representatives voted for
the bill.
HB 1066 -- Constables
Earlier, by a vote of 32 to 152, the
state House of Representatives
killed a bill which would have given
constables additional powers and
duties.
Among other things, the bill
proposed that constables be given
the task of picking up driver's
licenses and vehicle registration
cards revoked by the Department of
Transportation. State Police would
then be relieved of that duty, saving
an estimated $540,000 a year.
Constables would be paid $9 for
‘each license retrieved, from a $25
fee charged against the affected
auto owner or operator, and other
fees would be raised.
But the bill also provided for only
one constable in each of the state's
magisterial districts. Although
each constable would have had the
right to appoint up to four deputies,
many constables opposed the bill,
for fear of losing their appoint-
ments. They urged their
Representatives to defeat the bill.
All area representatives voted
AGAINST the bill.
The
Mark Moran)
Magistrate Leonard Harvey this
week reported that he dismissed
Melvin Meyers, Harveys Lake
property owners, for failing to
comply with a borough ordinance
requiring them to hook their
boathouse up to the municipal
sewer.
Harvey said his understanding of
the ordinance requiring the hookup
was that it pertained to boathouses
500 feet or more away from the
main residence on the property
owner.
He said it was the testimony of
Harveys Lake Building Inspector
Richard Boice that the Meyer's
home was only 375 feet from the
boathouse. -
The Meyers were previously
defendants in a lawsuit brought by
neighbors objecting to the rental of
slips in the boathouse and the in-
stallation of an apartment in their
The boathouse slip rentals
reportedly were permitted by the
court while subject to certain
restrictions but the apartment
rental was refused.
Subsequently, | the Meyers
requested a special exception to the
apartment
hooked up
viewed as a
+
then
.
Luzerne County
Community College has
entered into an
agreement with the
Dallas School District ‘to
offer a summer school
through Project RISE for
secondary students who
did. ‘2 not achieve
satisfactory grades in
their school subjects.
The RISE program
will be housed in the
Dallas Senior High School
and is scheduled from
June 30 to Aug. 13, bet-
ween 8 a.m. and noon. The
in length with no Friday
classes planned for the
month of July “and
Thursday or Friday
classes for the month of
August. :
Because this progran
is being offered by LCCC,
the following tuition fees
will “be charged: one
course - $50: two courses -
$90. and three courses -
$130.
Courses to be offered
are: Basic Language
Arts. World Literature.
World Cultures. U.S.
Cultures, General
Mathematics,
General Science.
Students interested in
participating in RISE
must register with their
guidance counselor by
Friday. June 13. The
tuition lee is payable at
that time. If there are any
questions about the
program, please contact
the guidance office at 675-
5201.
by David M. Cleary
Special to The Dallas Post
When the Susquehanna River and
its tributaries overflowed their
banks in 1972. during the heavy
rains of Tropical Storm Agnes, the
cost to Pennsylvania taxpayers ran
into billions. * a
The Governor's Mansion, over-
looking the usually tranquil Susque-
hanna. was among the many state-
owned buildings that had to be
cleaned and rehabilitated at tax-
payer expense.
Hundreds of industrial firms sus-
tained heavy damage, and were out
of business for periods varying
from a few days to several months,
with corresponding reductions in
their payments of state taxes.
It will be much worse next time a
flood of the Agnes magnitude
strikes Pennsylvania.
Aside from the increased costs of
cleanup due to inflation, the
thousands of people forced out of
work will be paying no personal
income tax, which did not exist in
1972.
Preparing for floods
For those and other reasons, the
Department of Community Affairs
has sent a paperback book entitled
“Industrial Flood Preparedness’ to
officals of 1,000 municipalities and
townships across the Common-
wealth.
Communities receiving the book
were chosen, said a spokeswoman
for Shirley M. Dennis, Secretary of
Community Affairs, on the basis of
their potential damage in the event
of a new flood. The department
scouted carefully for industrial
firms that could save millions by
investing a few thousand dollars in
preparedness.
The book, a compilation of papers
presented during a two day sym-
posium held at Williamsport last
year, makes clear that floods are
not a ‘‘maybe’’ event, to be
regarded with a fingers crossed
attitude and a trust in good luck.
Rather, floods are declared to be
years or so, along virtually every
river and stream except those
running through narrow mountain
gorges. ;
Armando C. Lardieri, chief of
flood plain management services
for the Army Corps of Engineers
Pittsburgh District, recalled the
disastrous Pittsburgh flood of 1936
and cited a passage from
“Engineering News Record’ the
following year.
Rivers and floodways
“Rivers were here long before
man. and for untold ages every
stream has periodically exercised
its right to expand when carrying
more than normal flow. Man's error
has not been neglect of flood control
measures, but his refusal to
recognize the right of the rivers to
their floodways."
Some industrial firms have
learned their lessons from the 1936
and 1972 experiences, while others
feel that they can expect help from
the federal government if a new
flood strikes.
Federal help is going to be hard to
obtain in the future, warned
William R. Wilcox, the Federal
Disaster Assistance Administrator,
because of changes in policy made
in the administration of President
Carter, himself an engineer.
Wilcox admitted the job of
predicting floods and preparing for
them is a tough one. He pointed to
the Susquehanna River Basin Study
of 1970, which failed to allow for the
result that 40 percent of the damage
occurred behind levees and dikes
that weren't high enough.
Success stories
But the seminar included success
stories too, Richard B. Ulp of the
Mechanicsburg consulting engineer
firm of Erdman, Anthony and
Associates, told how the city of Lock
Haven organized to prevent
damage of the Agnes magnitude
next time waters rise that high.
Piper Aircraft alone sustained
Agnes, partly in destruction of
airplaines that were comleted and
could have been flown out with
adequate warning, Ulp said. A
warning system was therefore
given high priority in Lock Haven.
Piper has also invested some $2.1
million in levees to keep water off
its property, and additional water-
right closures of its 30 buildings.
An entirely differen; solution has
been pursued by the Sprout-
Waldron subsidiary of Koppers
Company, which employs 1,250
Bruce Kern
office and factory workers on the
flood plain at Muncy, and has been
flooded eight times within the past
80 years.
It just isn’t practical to keep
rising waters out, said Sprout-
Waldron spokesman Earl Tressler.
facilities are being mnoved to
higher ground, and until that move
is completed the company policy is
to “ride out’ floods with minimum
damage.
Moving parts
Everything that can be moved
when a flood is predicted is moved,
even the key parts of some
machines. Items that can’t be
moved are protected in a variety of
ways. including the anchoring of
heavy tanks lo resist twice their
buoyant force when empty, so that
they can't float and damage other
equipment.
Using frequent drills and a
sharpened warning system, the
damage to the point that only
subside. It has done so well that the
plant was back
production within two days after the
flooding that inevitably occurred
during Tropical Storm Eloise in
1975. y
The book contains other ap-
proaches, taken by other firms, and
is described by Secretary Dennis as
(Continued on P. 1)
by Charlot Denmon
Bruce Kern of Dallas
came to this area in 1972
with Hurricane Agnes.
Well, not exactly with the
hurricane but shortly
flood victims put their
properties back in living
condition.
The hurricane was cer-
tainly no gift to residents
of the area but the Bruce
Kern family has been wel-
comed by many residents
of the Back Mountain,
especially soccer and
softball enthusiasts.
Kern and his ‘wife,
Carolyn, are natives of
New Jersey.
A graduate of Hanover
Park High School, East
Hanover, N.J., Kern
attended Worcester
Technology College,
Mass., where he received
his B.S. in engineering.
It was after he
graduated from college
that he came to the Valley
to help with the flood work
and stayed here to work
with Interfaith, Inc.
Kern played soccer in a
high school where it was
much more popular than
in this area. Most of the
time he played at half-
back position.
For those not familiar
persons on a team, in-
cluding three .halfbacks.
Kern also played soccer
while in college and
during his sophomore
year his team was ‘‘small
college’ state champ.
They advanced to the
NCAA tournament where
they moved up to the
university division. Their
play was short-lived as
they lost to Harvard
University in the first
round.
Since coming to the
Wyoming Valley area,
Kern ‘helped out oc-
casionally at Wilkes
College for two years.
Then the Kerns moved to
the Back Mountain and in
1978, he was among those
who started the soccer
program in the local area.
Kern is chief coach, a
position he also held last
year. He is responsible for
all the coaches, as well as
recruiting and assisting in
training.
Recently he attended an
area general meeting in
Atlanta, G. for Division
meeting they discussed
coaching, techniques and
rules.
Kern is planning two
coaching clinics in July
prior to the beginning of
the season. He plans to
bring in a certified coach
to run the clinics. Kern
said the Back Mountain
Soccer Association is still
accepting applications
from adults interested in
coaching. He said they
will probably have about
20 teams divided into
divisions by age groups.
The league hopes to use
the same fields as last
year, Penn State’s Wilkes-
Barre Campus and the
Dallas School District
fields.
Last year Kern played
with the adult soccer
team but this year gave
that up to play softball on
the Columbia Porch &
Shade team in the slo-
pitch softball league.
During the winter Kern
plays ice hockey on the
East Mountain Bears
team. He has played with
the team since the
beginning of the Coal
Street In-house League.
Some of the members are
from Dallas but most of
them are from Scranton.
Kern spends a lot of his
leisure time remodeling
his home and. also takes
care of the large yard and
garden. His beautifully
garden attests to his
preference for gardening.
He does some crafts
especially woodworking.
Kern likes the Back
Mountain area. He said
New Jersey was ‘more
metropolitan. He likes it
here because it is re-
moved from the city but
not too rural.
Kern looks forward to
this year's soccer
program being more
successful than the past
two years.
league officials have had
more time to get it
training. ;
Kern also believes that
enthusiasm is growing
and the sport is becoming
increasingly popular
among young people and
their parents.
“It is a game everyone
can play,” said Kern.
“Size doesn't matter and
it is not an expensive
sport.”
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