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Vol. 97, No. 29
By JOHN HOINSKI
Staff Writer
Volunteer firemen may be able to
breath a sigh of relief if a bill
protecting them from civil liability
suits as a result of their actions
goes into effect.
The legislation, which has already
passed both the state Senate and the
House of Representatives unani-
mously, is expected to be signed by
Governor Dick Thornburgh.
The bill, however, does not lift all
restrictions to avoid liability. A
volunteer could still be held civilly
liable if his conduct fell substan-
tially below standards generally
accepted by volunteers, or if the
fireman knew his actions created a
substantial risk of actual harm to
another person or their property.
But the legislation also says that
liability cannot be imposed only to
establish that a firemans conduct
fell below ordinary standards of
care. And that is a big relief for
volunteers.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said
Gary Beisel, fire chief of the Shav-
ertown Volunteer Fire Company.
“These guys volunteer their time
and their lives because they are
trying to provide a service to the
community. It isn’t right that they
should be held liable because some-
one says they didn’t think they did
certain things right.”
Says Dick Heuer, fire chief of the
Idetown Volunteer Fire Company,
“This is definitely good news. It’s a
big relief. These guys put their lives
on the line everytime they go out on
a call, and they do a good job. What
people don’t realize is that all their
training and preparation is done on
their free time and they do it for
nothing.”
Both men say neither of their
companies have ever been hit with
a law suit, but they know the
potential existse, and that the
results can be disastrous.
“We operate on a budget of about
$50,000 a year,” Beisel, a 16-year
veteran said. ‘‘That barely gets us
by. One mistake could wipe us out.
I’m not saying people shouldn’t be
held responsible for their actions,
but a lot of times people don’t
understand why we do certain
things.
“For instance, if we arrive at a fire
and we see smoke coming out of a
house, the first thing you have to do
is ventilate the house so the firemen
don’t get injured when they enter,”
Beisel added. ‘That means you may
have to knock out windows or put a
hole in the roof. Then when it’s over
you find that the fire was confined
to the bedroom.
“The insurance company comes
along and says they won’t pay for
certain items because they say the
fire didn’t cause the damage. Then
the people file a suit against the fire
company because they say you were
careless.”
Heuer, who has been a fireman
for 34 years and whose company
operates on an annual budget of
about $20,000, agrees. “It’s easy for
someone to say your equipment is
not up to date or that you didn’t
respond fast enough,” he said.
“We are strictly a volunteer unit.
So if there is a fire, especially in the
daytime, it takes a fewiextra min-
utes to contact the firefighters who
are at their jobs, although the other
companies around help out if they
can. But it’s easy for a lawyer to
twist things around and make the
story sound the way he wants it.”
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Staff Correspondent
When the Lake-Lehman School
District placed an ad in the local
papers advertising for an athletic
director -to replace Rodger Bearde,
John Howe of Orange read it and,
believing he qualified for the posi-
tion, filed an application with the
district before the closing date of
July 14.
“When I submitted my applica-
tion, I was not aware that it was
only a part-time position,” said
Howe. ‘Neither did I know the
background of the district nor the
political implications behind the sit-
uation.”
Howe, a native of Harding, gradu-
ated from Wilkes College in 1969
and left that same year to teach
school in Groton, Conn. He taught
social studies, coached football,
indoor and outdoor track, girls’
track for a time, and served as
athletic director for five years.
He and his wife, the former
Favorite formation
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Staff Correspondent
members of the squad are new.
others to follow.
25 Cents
Bia Eo
Dallas Post/Charlot M. Denmon
By JOHN HOINSKI
Staff Writer
The presidents of five local col-
leges, along with several area legis-
lators, met last week at the Wilkes
Arts to discuss a number of higher
education problems plaguing the
state.
Two of the more pressing issues
discussed at last Thursday’s semi-
nar were the lack of money availa-
ble for education and the low per-
centage of high school graduates
Noxen man killed
Dallas Post/Fay Broody
/
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is
enrolling at colleges and universi-
ties.
Addressing the funding issue, Dr.
James A. Ream, president of the
Pennsylvania Association of Col-
leges and Universities, said part of
the reason for the lack of money is
because the economic growth of the
state has been stagnant during the
seventies and that money was not
as readily available.
Rep. George Hasay, R-Shick-
shinny, citing another reason, said
that Pennsylvania has more col-
leges and universities than any
state in the country and that fund-
ing was spread out.
But, Rep. Tom Tigue, D-Hughes-
town, offered another explanation.
Already knowing the answer, Tigue
said, “How many people wrote to
There’s your answer. You get what
you pay for,” he said. ‘‘And we, as
elected legislators, are not going to
go against what the people want.”
Although a proposal was intro-
duced into legislation to use use the
states one-tenth of one per cent
personal income tax cut for higher
education, Tigue said, ‘‘There was
no support for it.”
By JOHN HOINSKI
Staff Writer
The State Correctional Institute at
Dallas ranked fifth in inmate popu-
lation among Pennsylvania’s 10
facilities according to the state
Department of Corrections 1984-85
annual report.
With the exception of the mini-
mum security prison for -adult
institutions are operating over
capacity.
The State Regional Corrections
facility at Mercer tops the list at
174.7 per cent capacity, followed by
institutions at Huntingdon, 145.0;
Pittsburgh, 140.4; Rockview, 140.3
and Dallas, 139.1. Camp Hill and
Greensburg follow close behind at
137.8 and 135.0 respectively.
To help alleviate the problem,
construction is now being done at
building sites at Smithfield, Hun-
tingdon County; Cresson, Cambria
County; Frackville, Schuylkill
County and at the former SCI
Retreat in Luzerne County.
Those numbers have risen slightly
since the last figures were calcu-
lated in the report, including those
at Chase. Superintendent Joseph
Ryan says the present count is at
approximately 1,950 inmates, but
that those figures often vacillate.
“Many times you have inmates
who go out to different institutions.
It’s only temporary and we even-
tualy get them back, so the num-
bers fluctuate.
“Plus, laws and penalties are
getting tougher. Sentencing guide-
lines, penalties for parole violators
and maximum sentences are all
getting stronger. Even DUI offend-
ers (Driving Under the Influence)
effect us. They might be required to
spend 30 days in the county jail. But
they are already so overcrowded
that, in order to make room for
them, they send other people up
here.
“We received 250 additional
inmates since the report, but we
also had two new cells added that
house 200 of them.”
Roughly, 800 inmates are still
(See SCID, page 2)
Wi
Sen. Raphael Musto, D-Pittston,
said most people wouldn't have
missed the decrease and that a lot
of good could have been accom-
plished with it.
“We never deliver what we would
like to, but you can rest assured
that we are constantly lookng to
explore new ways to provide for
education.”
Ream also talked about the states
low ranking (44th) in terms of
students seeking a post-secondary
education. “For years we knew the
numbers were low but we couldn’t
understand why.”
Ream said the answer may have
been found in a study conducted by
the Pennsylvania Higher Education
Assistance Agency (PHEAA) which
found that many parents were not
encouraging their children to pursue
a college education. ]
“One man in Pittsburgh said, ‘We
don’t encourage our children for 12
years to go to college, and then
when they graduate from high
school we tell them we can’t afford
to send them.’ ”
Hasay said, however, that educa-
tional ‘appropriations have already
been revised, making it easier to
obtain a college education. “‘Today
(see AREA, page 2)
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