3X
HEE
BRIGHTON, Id
By JOHN F. KILDUFF
Staff Writer
At a filled-to-capacity public
meeting held at the Old Noxen
School House, Tuesday night,
upwards of 400 Wyoming County
residents heard Gene Porterfield, a
county-wide assessor, say the recent
reassessment of some 14,000 proper-
ties was ‘“‘way past due for the past
15 to 20 years.”
Porterfield, who is president’ of
County-Wide Appraisal and Consult-
ing Services, Greensburg, Pa., was
the main speaker Tuesday night as
the result of a request of Noxen
resident Alice Lane.
Lane, coordinator of the meeting,
called Porterfield in an attempt to
have him explain the reassessment
process and possible tax rebates
due elderly property owners.
“Every property in Wyoming
County (12,932 taxable properties)
was re-assessed in order to assess
its current market value,”’ Porter-
field told those in attendance. ‘‘Re-
assessments of this kind will con-
tinue,”” Porterfield continued. ‘If
they (county and local government)
don’t tax real estate, they’re going
to tax something else.”
The re-assessment, which began
in October of 1982 and recently was
completed in May 1984, was fol-
lowed by the mailing of 10,932 re-
assessment notices to Wyoming
County property owners. The
notices included the old assessment
value and the new assessed value as
well as the expected increase of
taxes for 1988. § :
According to Porterfield, whose
firm is in charge of the re-assess-
ment: process, 6,960 properties had
up to a 10 percent increase in tax
dollars due while 4,597 parcels were
Monsignor
notes 50th
anniversary
Msgr. Francis A. Kane, of
Immaculate Conception Church in
West Pittston, will observe the 50th
Anniversary of his Ordination to the
Priesthood on July 28 at 4 p.m. in
Immaculate Conception Church.
Most Reverend Bishop, James C.
Timlin will preside and offer
remakrs. Msgr. Thomas C. Horan,
Pastor of St. Rose Church in Car-
bondale, and a classmate of Msgr.
Kane will give the homily. A Testi-
monial Dinner will follow at
Genetti’s Best Western Hotel in
Wilkes-Barre at 6 p.m. The princi-
pal speaker at the Dinner will be
His Honor William J. Nealon, Fed-
eral District Judge of Scranton.
Msgr. Francis A. Kane was born
William J. and Ellen Moran Kane.
His early education was in the
Moosic Public Schools, but with the
reduced up to five percent. Some
1375 tracts retained the same
assessed value of last year.
Porterfield said that following a
re-mapping of the entire county his
firm estimated that between 17-18
percent of property deeds contain
outdated or incorrect deed descrip-
tions. The new re-assessed evalua-
tion reportedly takes current
market value figures of the various
properties and the latest deed
descriptions into account when
determining a new assessed value.
Porterfield told the crowd that his
firm was not required by law to
hold the meeting but decided to
comply as a service to Wyoming
County property owners.
Porterfield informed the taxpay-
ers that if anyone had a complaint
about their re-assessed value they
should schedule a personal meeting
with the county assessors office in
the courthouse, Tunkhannock. This
type of meeting, Porterfield said,
would clear up any misunderstand-
ing either the assessor’s office or
the property owner may have.
The meeting also included a dis-
cussion about the 1975, 319 Clean
and Green Act, designed to lesson
the tax burden of property owners
with 10 or more acres of land.
The Act reportedly divides prop-
erty of 10 or more acres into * use
and soil” types. The various types
include farm, timber, brush and
residential. Depending on which
type of property an owner has, his
tax bill is estimated according to
the current selling price of similar
tracts.’
The Clean and Green Act;-Porter-
field said, is primarily for property
owners who plan to keep their
property or transfering it to a rela-
tive. The reduced assessment tax
(See TAX, page 8)
MSGR. FRANCIS A. KANE
building of St. Mary’s Parochial
School, Avoca, he was in the first
class to finish from that school.
Graduated from St. John’s High
School in Pittston, he took two years
of College at St. Bonaventure Uni-
versity at Olean, New York, and
thenwas adopted for the Diocese
See NOTES, page 8)
By JOHN F. KILDUFF
Staff Writer :
Bottom and Warden Place.
‘upset stomachs may prevail.
Littlest skier
By JOHN F, KILDUFF “
Staff Writer
Have you ever heard the old wives’ tales —
“You've got to learn to crawl before you can walk,
or You've got to take one step at a time?”’
Well, don’t let “Rocky” Davis of Harveys Lake
hear you make such claims.
You see, Rocky literally blew both tales out of the
water this past May when he dawned a pair of
specially-designed water skis and took to the high
seas at the dubious age of 13 and a half months.
No, it’s not another ‘“Ripley’s Believe it or Not”
tale. It’s a true story about a remarkable young
child who actually learned how to water ski before
he even took a single step.
Rocky, the son of Jack and Jackie Davis, RD 1,
Harveys Lake, negotiated the waves and white
water all by himself while on vacation at Cyprus
Gardens, Florida.
According to Rocky’s parents, his seemingly
amazing feat was not all that unusual. In fact, they
actually expected their son to ski like an old pro.
“I really believed that he would be able to ski,”
Rocky’s dad said Saturday. “We had pulled him
around on skis on the floor for months and months.
We made sure he wouldn’t be afraid of the water by
occassionally dunking him under the water in a
swimming pool.”
And Rocky, who weighed only 20 pounds at the
time he soloed, was reported to be completely
accustomed to the water prior to challenging the
warm Florida surf.
“He wasn’t afraid of the water at all,” Mother
Jackie Davis said, while recalling her son’s skiing
adventure. “He went (skied) for about a mile
before he fell,” Jackie said. ‘And the fall didn’t
bother him at all. He went under, Jackie said, and
he didn’t cry. He seemed very calm.”
If you're still not impressed, try the fact that
Rocky: ‘only ‘took his. first. few steps one ‘month
before he splashed on the Florida scene.
Still not impressed? How about learning to ski at
10 months? Well, how about learning to grasp the
tow line handle at six months old? Not bad, huh?
Apparently Rocky, unlike other children, had an
additional toy in his play-pen besides the familiar
rattle and stuffed doll — a water skiing handle.
“We had him playing with his water skis very
early,” Jack said. “It wasn’t long after that he
would play with his skis and the handle in his play-
pen.”
It should be said that Rocky had a little
assistance before he skied across his first wake.
Both Jack and Jackie have been water skiing for a
combined 32 years.
Jack, a physical education instructor and wres-
tling coach at Clarion University of Pennsylvania,
gives private. skiing lessons at Harveys Lake on
weekends for beginners and experienced skiers.
Jack, who says he guarantees a student of his will
learn to ski on most levels within a week of
training, apparently taught his youngest pupil,
Rocky, very well.
Rocky’s next challenge will be the Harveys Lake
depths once the water begins to warm up, Jackie, a
grade school teacher at Clarion School district said.
“Once the water warms up, he’ll be out there
skiing again,” said his mother, the former Jackie
Adams of Lake-Lehman, said.
Although there is apparently no documented
cases of children’ skiing earlier in Pennsylvania,
Rocky is reported to be one of only a handful
nation-wide who challenged the waters at 13 and a
half months.
So if you're out at Harveys Lake water skiing this
summer, keep an eye open for a possible up and
coming water skiing champion — Rocky Davis.
25 Cents
Board
adopts
budget
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Staft Correspondent
Rev. and Mrs. Andrew Pillarella
and 13 members of the Trinity
Presbyterian Church of Dallas are
planning a trip to Israel, Oct. 29 to
Nov. 6, conducted by Wholesale
Tours Internation (WTI), a trip they
have dreamed of for a long, long
time.
“This nearly lifetime dream of
ours became a reality when a friend
of Rev. Pillarella’s convinced us to
take this tour of the Holy Land,”
said Mrs. Pillarella. “He had just
returned from a tour and his enthu-
siasm was so great we couldn’
resist. That was about a year ago
that we planned the trip and when
others heard about it, they wanted
to come. When Andy became ill, we
debated, but his physician has given
him permission to go.”
There was no crisis at the time
the Pillarellas planned the trip to
the Holy Land. There were no
hijackings, no kidnappings, no hos-
tages. How did they feel about it
Dallas Post/Charlot M. Denmon
it might go to Rome.
now? Did they have any second
thoughts?
No doubts at all, according to the
Pillarellas. Those people planning to
go have expressed no fears and they
are most confident that everything
will be fine. They believe that
United States security is excellent
as is that in Cairo, Egypt.
They will fly from New York to
the Israeli Airport, then go directly
to Tel Aviv, where they will stay at
The Diplomat. The tour will not go
to Greece, but there is a possibility
A group from the Athens, N.Y.
area will travel by bus to Dallas
where they will pick up the Trinity
group, then proceed to New York
where they will meet with a group
(See HOLY, page 8)
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Staff Correspondent
Lake-Lehman school directors
adopted the 1985-86 budget in the
amount of $8,128,615, by a 6-3 vote at
a special meeting for general pur-
poses on June 25. Real estate mil-
lage will remain at 113 mills for the
district’s Luzerne County residents.
However, the millage for the dis-
trict’s Noxen Township residents in
Wyoming County will be 128 mills.
Director Alan Keiper objected to
the increased millage for the Wyo-
ming County residents, but Director
Daniel Hudzik explained that the
millage is an equalization move to
make the dollar value the same for
property owners in both counties.
Board president Joseph “Red”
Jones commended the board mem-
bers and Raymond Bowersox, the
district’s business manager, for the
many hours they spent in making it
possible to hold the line on the
property millage. Jones singled out
Director Hudzik and thanked him
for his efforts in working on the
budget and driving home the fact
that the school board could use
Chapter II money and a $60,000
subsidy to keep the millage at 113
and Noxen’s at 128 mills.
" Hudzik explained that Luzerne
County property values are
assessed at a higher ratio than
Wyoming County, and the dollar
value is now the same for property
owners in both counties with the
new millage.
Keiper did hot agree, stating that
state-assessed property, values
might be the same, but that is not
necessarily the case for most tax-
payers in the district.
(See BOARD, page 8)
Encon is
awarded
The Greater Wilkes-Barre Cham-
ber of Commerce Small Business of
the Year Award was recently
presented to Energy Convertors,
Inc.-ENCON.
The owner and president is Han-
ford Eckman, of Shavertown, who
started the business.
ENCON, located 'on Lower
Demunds Road in Dallas, has been
in operation and an active member
of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Cham-
ber of Commerce for 11 years.
ENCON manufactures electric
heating elements which are used in
coffee makers, hot pots, traveling
irons, sporting goods, automotive
parts, electric heating products and
also air conditioning systems.
The number of employees at
ENCON ranges between 150 and 180
with an annual payroll of 2 million
dollars. The business brings new
dollars to the local economy from
all parts of the United States and
foreign countries. ENCON is also a
high technology business providing
jobs for local college graduates as
well as direct labor employees.
Some of the selection criteria for
the award include membership to
the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber
of Commerce, being privately
owned with 200 employees or less,
and being active in the community.
Other considerations included inno-
vativeness of product or service
offered, history as a successful busi-
ness, visability and image of busi-
ness in the community, and an
increase in sales and or unit
volume.
The Small Business Committe,
which chose ENCON as this year’s
recipient, is designed to help
address the problems that small
businesses may face. The Small
Business Committee realizes that
small business have been a major
force in the generation of new
employment opportunities.
Inside The Post
Calendar .............. 12
Classified ..... 13,14,15
Commentary ......... 6
Cookbook ............... 7
Crossword ............. 2
Dear Aunt Patty ... 11
District Court ........ 4
Obituaries ............. 3
People ................ 11
Police Blotter ........ 3
Sports ........peeeees 10