BRIGHTON BOK BREGHTORN Vol. 96, No. 46 25 Cents In theft charge By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Correspondent “I’m happy that the whole thing is over,”’ said James Rogowski, former art teacher at Tunkhannock High School, following his acquittal of theft charges last Wednesday in the Wyoming County Court. “It’s been a traumatic experience for me and my son during these past months,” said Rogowski’s mother, Joan Rogowski, who was with him at the court trial. Rogowski was charged with theft and theft by failure to make disposi- tion of funds on July 3 of this year by the state police in Tunkhannock. The state police alleged that Rogowski did not deposit some $1,400 from a candy sale conducted by the student art club into the school’s activities fund. Rogowski was defended by Atty. David Posatko of Tunkhannock and Rogowski expressed his apprecia- tion to the faculty and students as well as the community for their support in the court trial. More than 50 witnesses testified in the trial which started Monday, Nov. 18, and ended Wednesday with a verdict of ‘not guilty’ handed down by the unanimous decision of the seven men and five women, after a deliberation of one hour and 15 minutes. Although found not guilty of the charges, Rogowski’s reappointment to his position with the district is pending, awaiting the decision by the school board. The art teacher was suspended without salary at the end of February, 1985, that he said he turned over a record of candy sale money to high school principal Clyde Ellsworth and assistant prin- Chairmen appointed The appointments of Murray Ufberg as chairman and Glenn Forney as co-chairman of the Col- lege Misericordia 1985 “Funds for a Betier Future’ campaign were announced recently by Dr. Joseph Fink, president of the college. Ufberg will lead six community vice-chairpersons in raising the $325,000 goal set for 1985. The funds support the college’s financial aid programs including scholarships for needy, well-qualified students; Presidential Scholarships «for stu- dents who excel academically; and funds for students who excel in academics and athletics. Attorney Ufberg is a partner in the firm of Rosenn, Jenkins and Greenwald in Wilkes-Barre. He is a member of the board of directors of the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Com- merce, Ecumenical Enterprises, Inc., Jewish Federation of Greater Wilkes-Barre, Northeastern Bank of Pennsylvania and the United Hebrew Institute. Forney serves as president and chief administrative officer of United Penn Bank. In addition to numerous community activities, he is a member of the board of direc- tors of the Continental Bancorp, Inc., Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, Supreme Court of Pennsyl- vania, American Bankers Associa- tion, Pennsylvania Bankers Associa- tion, Pocono Hospital, and the Minsi Trails Council, Boy Scouts of Amer- ica. Attention, deer hunters! The Dallas Post will take pho- tographs of all successful deer hunters throughout all of next week. Hunters may take their deer to the Lehman Fire Hall any time during the day and a Dallas Post photographer will be there to take photographs. Hunters should be prepared to give their name, address, how many years they've been hunt- ing, where they shot the deer, and other members of their hunt ing party. Any hunters having any ques- tions concerning the taking of these photographs should call the editor at 675-5211. The first sel of deer photographs will appear in the December 4 issue of The Dallas Post. cipal Frank Mazzeo. Agnes Mazzesecci, president of the Tunkhannock Education Asso- ciation, stated the association had supported Rogowski throughout the entire allegations and now that the trial is over, PSEA Attorney Martin Herring of Jenkinstown has con- tacted the school district’s attorney, requesting Rogowski’s reinstate- ment to his teaching duties. She said the matter must go through the proper legal channels to resolve the situation. Atty. Posatko’s primary strategy was to establish the fact that if an actual theft took place, there were other persons besides Rogowski who had the opportunity to commit the crime. Faculty members testified that money from school fundraising activities was kept in a large walk- in safe in the high school office until deposited in the bank. Home economics teacher Bonnie Gregory testified that the safe is left unlocked and the door open all day and that on one occasion this year she walked into the office and found no one supervising the safe or the office. Several other teachers testi- fied in affirmatin of Gregory’s statements. High school faculty member Hugh Farrar testified he had been with the school district for 18 years and he didn’t believe the door had ever been locked. He said he and other teachers have put money into the safe without supervision and that niost of tie Himes it 1s wide epen. Joann Machuga, a former art teacher at Tunkhannock High School, who left the district in Feb- (See THEFT, page 10) MURRAY UFBERG Sworn in Charles D. Lemmond, Jr., . Dallas Post/Ed Campbell ving. aner tenis, providas moreland. GLENN FORNEY By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Correspondent District Atty. Robert J. Gillespie announced last Thursday that a charge of recklessly endangering the lives of others was filed by State Police against Ronald Thomas, owner and operator of the Thomas Guest Home in Sweet Valley. The charges were the result of an _investigation into the July 23 fire at ‘the Thomas Guest Home, in which seven persons died the day of the fire and three others between July 23 and August 16. Dr. George E. Hudock, county coroner, pro- nounced all 10 persons as dying as the result of criminal homicide. The investigation, ending with the arrest, revealed that all five doors leading to the exterior of the home were locked and could not be opened from the inside without a At the press conference held at the Luzerne County Courthouse, Gil- lespie said the keys were not easily accessible to unlock the doors in a fire such as that of the guest home and that there was no door that persons could get out, Gillespie said Thomas would’ be notified ‘of the charge by mail and atte maximum sentence ior “If the defendant pleads guilty, he goes into court for trial since the The Pennsylvania State Police will be instituting special traffic enforcement programs over the four-day ‘Thanksgiving holiday weekend to remind motorists to drive 55, don’t drink and drive, use seat belts and stay alert. Commissioner Jay Cochran said, “Traditional family gatherings, Christmas shopping and the begin- ning of deer hunting season combine to make the Thanksgiving weekend one of the heaviest travel periods of the year. The daily heavy traffic, plus longer hours of darkness and the possibility of inclement weather in many parts of the state, make it doubly important for everyone to drive with extra caution and common sense.” The Commissioner reminded all motorists that the State Police, in conjunction with other state police and highway patrol organizations across the nation, will activate Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) over the four day weekend, starting Wednes- day evening, Nov. 27. The federally funded program allows the Depart- ment to put extra patrols on the Interstate highways during peak travel times of the holiday period. The high visibility operation will focus attention on the 55 mph speed limit, drunk driving and other moving violations of the Vehicle Code. Operation S.P.A.R.E. (State Police Aerial ‘Reconnaissance Enforcement) will join with ground units as the Department’s aircraft (See POLICE, page 10) Lemmond Charles D. Lemmond, Jr., was tor in & ceremony Wednesday in the center, sworn in Senate chamber of the state Capitol. Lemmond was elected to the 20th Senatorial District seat in a special election on November 5. The seat was formerly held by Sen. Frank O’Connell. The 20th district consists of Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming Counties and part of Luz- erne and Monroe counties. The oath of office was adminis- tered by Judge Robert Hourigan, President Judge of Luzerne County. Reverend Donald A. Anderson of the First United Methodist Church of Wilkes-Barre delivered a special prayer. Lemmond was accompanied by his wife, the former Barbara Northrup, his mother Mrs. Charles Lemmond, Sr., and his daughter, Judy. The oath of office was admin- istered before the full Senate and numerous other honored guests who were seated on the floor of the Senate for the ceremony. Lemmond commented that he is looking forward to serving all resi- dents of the 20th district by being an active and contributing member of the State Senate. “It will be an honor and a privilege to serve with such a distinguished body of fen and women,” noted Leémmond. am anticipating the challenges hee lie ahead,” he added. Lemmond has been appointed to serve as the vice chairman of the State Government Committee and he will also serve as a member of the Judiciary, Local Government, Public Health and Welfare, Military and Veterans Affairs and Urban Affair and Housing committees. case cannot be settled before a magistrate. If he pleads not guilty, Neighbors respond Repeated attempts over the past weekend to contact Ronald Thomas, owner-operator of the Thomas Guest Home in which a fire, July 23, resulted in the ultimate deths of 10 residents were unsuccessful. So, too, were attempted contacts with nearby neighbors to determine how they felt about the charge of reck- less endangerment cited against Thomas, with the exception of two persons, Mrs. Ralph Naugle and Mrs. Alberta Cross. Mrs. Cross, who owns the Cross Mountain View Guest Home located near the former Thomas Guest Home, said she feels sorry for the Thomases. (See NEIGHBORS, page 10) a preliminary hearing is held before a magistrate where the charge may } issed ory the magistrate find reason for prima facie case and defendant. bound over for court,’”’ said Gillespie. “Guidelines in such a case are if the defendant has no prior record, he is placed on probation for six months. Normally, probation is th decision in a first offense. Thomas, who risked his own life by going back into the burning home after patients, will be taken into consider- ation,” added the district attorney. Several attempts to contact some- one at the Thomas Home over the weekend were unsuccessful. Gillespie also said the investiga- tion revealed that the electrical fire alarm system in the home was ineffective and that the system’s back-up battery power did not work when the electrical system failed because the batteries were out- dated. He added the investigation did not indicate whether or not the system worked at all during the fire. No one involved at the time of the July 23 fire was able to say definitely that they heard a fire alarm, although several persons said that they heard bells, accord- ing to Gillespie. He also stated that Thomas might have turned off the alarm during the fire because it was annoying: The district attorney stated that nothing in the investigation indi- cated that either the locked doors or the failure of the alarm system were the actual causes of the deaths of the individuals in the guest home and that no homicide charges were filed against Thomas. Dr. Hudock Jr. determined that all 10 deaths caused by the fire were a result of criminal homicide, seven dying in the fire and three later in hospitals, but Gillespie said that the investigation determined that 19- year old Rhonda Raedler, a resident of the home who died in the blaze, intentionally set the fire. Miss Raedler had a prior record of attempting arson in one or more buildings where she stayed while being under treatment at a Hazle- ton-Nanticoke mental health facil- ity, said Gillespie. He stated that prior to the fire, Thomas found wooden matches in Miss Raedler’s dresser drawer and / (See FIRE, page 10) Inside The Post Calendar............... 20 Classified ....... 11.18 Commentary Cookbook Crossword ....... il Obituaries People School ...... 13,14,15, 16 Sports ....... Ha 1.12
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