By JOHN HOINSKI
Staft Writer
Residents in the Back Mountain waiting for cable
television lines to be installed in their neighborhood
are going to have to remain patient, at least until the
Spring. :
That’s because Tele-Media Company Cable Televi-
sion Systems, the outfit servicing the region, has
already hooked up its scheduled four miles of cable
lines, and beyond, for this year, thus using the amount
of money budgeted. So, those waiting for more channel
selection will have to wait until the spring when the
installed.
“We have already gone a little over our budget for
this year,” said Jerry Toma, manager of TMC. “In
the Spring, we’ll begin surveying to see where the
most feasible areas would be to begin the next
installation.
“We figure that about 30 homes per mile would be
the break-even point for the cost of hooking up a
section. But if people call saying they want the
service, we go out and check the area to see what is
needed and what priority it should be.”
Toma did say that those residents in less populated
areas may also receive the service, but because there
would be less homes in the area to absorb the cost,
their hook-up fee, which would be a one-time charge,
would be higher.
Frank Vicente, vice president and general manager
of the company, said, however, that if the fee is an
extraordinary amount, the subscriber would be
allowed to pay in installments.
“We realize that some fees may be pretty high in
less populated areas,” Vicente said. “In that case we
would allow the customer to pay in installments. They
could make a payment up front and we would arrange
some sort of an agreement on the rest of the amount.”
On March 31 of last year, TMC purchased the
system from Cable Management Associates who
suddenly pulled out of the deal to hook up the area.
meeting, outlined plans for providing the service,
including plans to run four miles of cable each year
for the first three years.
So far residents in Dallas Township, Dallas Borough,
Kingston Township, Harveys Lake Borough and a part
of Lehman Township are already being serviced.
Extensions have also been made on Sutton Road and
in a plot on Roushey Street, the Mid-Way Manor,
Mount Olivet Road and the Carverton Heights section
in Trucksville.
BRIGHTON RINDERY
BOX 334
BRIGHTON, Ia
EEA |
Vol. 97, No. 36
25 Cents
Kingston
By JOHN HOINSKI
Staff Writer ’
A Trucksville couple said they would like to have the
“open burning’ ordinance at Kingston Township
rescinded or at least modified and will soon begin
circulating a petition to help fuel their plight.
Gerald and Stephanie Reisch, 73 S. Pioneer Avenue,
told township supervisors last week at their monthly
meeting that the smoke near their home, caused by
open burning, has been a nuisance and that they fear
for the safety of their child and the neighborhood.
“We have a seven month old baby and we are
concerned with her health. That’s mainly why we are
here,” explained Mrs. Reisch. ‘But we also live in an
area where it is densely populated and where. there
are a lot of trees. One wind-blown spark could easily
cause a fire.”
The Reischs say they wouldn’t mind if the fires were
confined to a container with a lid on top of it. But they
are strongly opposed to open burning.
Willard Piatt, supervisor chairman, said the Reischs
would probably have to circulate a petition and
present it to the board before anything can be done.
“I'm not saying it’s impossible to have the ordi-
nance changed,” Piatt said. “But you will need more
support than just one letter. Then, when we get the
petition we will take it to the board for consideration.”
Solicitor Ben Jones said the board has the power to
change the ordinance without holding a. public meet-
ing, but said if the supervisors feel it is that important
an issue, then maybe it would be the in the best
interest of the community to have a public meeting
before any changes are considered.
Board members said they have cited two people
recently, but otherwise have had no complaints about
persons abusing the ordinance.
At one time the township did have a location where
residents could bring brush and debris from their yard
to have burned, but later closed it down because of
misuse by people bringing in all sorts of garbage
prohibited by the township.
In other business, the board:
— Authorized township engineer Smith Miller and
Associates to prepare an engineering report for
lighting on Route 369 in the vicinity of the “Rock Cut”
section.
—- Set October 12th as date for fall road inspection.
— Approved the appointment of Everell “Cy”
Chadwick, 124 Center Street, to the Recreation Com-
mission.
— Authorized the secretary to advertise for bids on
a 1987 four wheel drive police vehicle.
After countless disappointments, the Jackson Town-
ship Advisory Committee finally got some good news
last Friday.
At a meeting at the State Correctional Institute at
Dallas, John Raber, a spokesman for the General
Services Agency, confirmed that two projects the
committee has been working on since 1982 have been
awarded to a contractor and that the construction of
three sirens and a security fence will be completed
within a year.
For five years, the committee has been pressing for
the construction of a tower and a security fence along
with lights and sirens, only to be met with one delay
after another. And even though the lighting and the
tower will take some additional time, the two remain-
ing projects have been finalized.
“I'm elated,” said Pat Rusiloski, president of the
committee. ‘‘After five years of frustration, we're
finally making progress.”
Blaircon Building Co. of Altoona was awarded a
contract on September 5 to install three sirens at
selected sights in the Back Mountain which must be
completed within 200 days and a second security fence
at the prison which must be done within 400. The cost
inititially included in the package but had to be pulled
because the amount exceeded the $1.5 million allo-
cated for the entire deal.
The bid for the tower, set at $200,000, also came in
$120,000 over the cost set. Officials will now ask state
legislators for additional money to complete the entire
project.
“I would ask that the Department of General
Services and the Department of Corrections ask the
House of Representatives for additional money before
they close session for the Year,” said Rep. Stanley
Jarolin, D-Nanticoke.
Those two phases may take another year to com-
plete, depending on how fast Harrisburg moves,
Jarolin added.
The sirens will be located across from the Jackson
Township Fire Hall in Lehman, near the Willow Pines
section and at Chase.
The fence constructed at the institution will also be
the first of its kind in the Commonwealth.
“It’s an intrusion detection type,” stated Rep.
George Hasay. “If someone touches the fence, a
monitor tells you exactly what part of the fence is
being bothered.”
— JOHN HOINSKI
of the project will be $1,470,000. The lighting phase was
DER commended
w
Gaining yardage
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Staff Correspondent
Frances Slocum State Park will have a 63-acre
campsite in the southeast area of the 1,006-acre park
overlooking the lake, according to an announcement
made by Nicholas DeBenedictis, Department of Envi-
ronmental Resources secretary, at a press conference
last Friday.
DeBenedictis said that the $1.2 million state park
project will get underway in October and should be
partly completed in the spring of 1987, and totally
constructed in October of next year.
“The new philosophy of the state Department of
Environmental Resources is to improve and enlarge
the state parks we now have instead of building new
ones,” said DeBenedictis. “The majority of funding
will go into improving and maintenance.”
The new campsite will have 86 modern tent or
trailer campsites, 15 walk-in sites and a group
camping area for 40 persons, according to the state
secretary. There will also be a sanitary dumping
station, three modern wash houses and a boat launch
for campers or owners of motor homes.
The campsite will not accomodate winter campers,
but will be open from early April to November.
Recreational facilities for campers at Frances Slocum
State Park will include four miles of hiking trails, 400
picnic tables, a modern swimming pool and a large
160-acre lake which offers fishing, boating for canoes,
rowboats and electric-powered watercraft. In the
winter, visitors to the park are offered ice fishing and
ice skating.
DeBenedictis explained that since the park opened
in 1967, each area within was identified and each
phase completed as the money was funded. He said
that the department tries to apportion the $70,000,000
funded annually for the parks system as fairly as
possible.
According to the secretary, the Frances Slocum
Park campsite has been in the planning stages since
1985 and when the money was allocated for the
project, contracts were awarded to Yannuzzi, Inc.,
Hazleton, general contractor, $1,101,257 for clearing off
trees and leveling the area for the campsite; G.
Weinberger, Hazleton, $14,667 for heating, air condi-
tioning and ventilation; J.L. Turner, Wilkes-Barre,
$85,500 for plumbing, and Cavanaugh Electrical Con-
tracting, Wilkes-Barre, $26,994, for electrical systems.
Frances Slocum is one of 13 state parks in the
Commonwealth which were visited by approximately
13,000,000 persons ‘in the past two years. Last year
more than 329,000 persons used the facilities at
Frances Slocum.
“The park is: one of the most popular picnicking and
fishing areas in Wyoming Valley,” said DeBenedictis.
“With the addition of this campground, the residents
of the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton area will have a
comprehensive recreational facility within minutes of
their homes.”
He also said that each of the 13 state parks have a
different theme and that Presque Isle State Park in
Erie is second largest in the nation, Yellowstone Park
being the largest. DeBenedictis said that the Common-
wealth prides itself that there is a state park within 25
miles of every resident in Pennsylvania.
Sen. Charles Lemmond, who was at the conference,
said that he was pleased that the local area had such a
beautiful facility in this area and commended DeBene-
dictis on the planned project.
Inside The Post
“It promises to be the biggest
birthday party the Back Mountain
has seen in a long time.”
That’s the word from Dr. James
H. Ryan, Penn State Wilkes-Barre
Campus Executive Officer, in dis-
cussing tomorrow’s ‘‘Celebration
70” anniversary celebration planned
for the campus.
According to Public Relations
Department officials, more than 800
people are expected to join in the
day-long festivities that will begin
on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre at
1 p.m. There, the campus will honor
staff and faculty members instru-
mental in developing the campus.
The program will include procla-
mations announcing Septmeber 18
as Penn State Day from the Luzerne
County Commissioners as well as
representative from a number of
area communities.
Mrs. Nancy Kanjorski, wife of
Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski,
will present the campus with a
congratulatory letter entered into
the Congressional Record. A
number of well-known Penn State
Alumni will be on hand, including
Manny Gordon; WNEP-TV meteo-
rologists Tom and Noreen Clark; as
well as George Bierly, the first
director of the campus; John Con-
yngham III, president of the
Campus Advisory Board; State Sen-
ator Raphael Musto; State Repre-
sentative Kevin Blaum and the Hon.
Bernard Podcasy, Luzerne County
judge.
Later in the afternoon, the party
will move to campus for a private
campus and alumni picnic. The
public is again invited to join the
festivities at 7 p.m. for a perform-
ance of the award-winning Lake-
Lehman Band, which will perform a
number of Penn State songs. A
fireworks finale will close the show
at approximately 8 p.m.
According to JoAnn Post, of
Dallas,
Advisory Board member, ‘“We hope
all the folks in the Back Mountain
will come out and join us. Penn
State cheerleaders and. the Nittany
Lion will be there and we are
having a special visit from mem-
bers of the Irem Temple Clowns
Corps. It will be a great family
event.”
Ms. Post adds,
chance to thank all the people of the
Back Mountain for being good
neighbors to our campus.”
All events are free to the public.
Births .................... 3
Sn aa, Comps Calendar .............. 16
Classified ......... 13,14
Cookbook ..... atin 8
Divorces .............. 11
Health .................. 13
Marriage licenses . 11
«rnis is our |) ODItUATIES ............. 2
People ............. 11,12
Sports ................ 9,10