LS 1 — Ra a... BRIGHTON BINDERY CO BOX 334 BRIGHTON, Ia EE ~LAS®[P0ST Vol. 99, No. 35 26th Luzerne County fair starts Wednesday By SARA J. LUNDBERG Managing Editor There will be something for everyone at the Luzerne County Fair this week. The fair, which lasts from September 7 to Septem- ber 11, marks its 26th year of fund raising events and entertainment to benefit the Luzerne County Fair- 1, Whe fairgrounds will be filled with exhibitors, arts and crafts items, amusement rides, entertain- ment, livestock displays, and other attractions. There will be a Miss Luzerne County Fair Contest on Saturday and senior citizens and children will receive special dis- counts (check times and dates on schedule). Depending on the weather, the fair is expected to draw 30,000 to 40,000 people. Each person will pay a reasonable $3.00 entry fee into the fairgrounds, and parking is free. Day by day fair schedule on page 2 Fair Chairman Hugh Woodward, a Dallas resident, said that profits from the fair go into the operations of the fairgrounds, as well as back into the community through the participation of non-profit organiza- tions. Non-profit organizations are See Fair, pg 2 Preliminary hearing for arson suspect this week A preliminary hearing for arson {@pect John Tibus has been sched- ¥Zd to take place before District Justice Earl Gregory Thursday, September 8th at 10:00 a.m. Tibus faces charges of arson, endanger- ing persons and property and crim- inal mischief. He will be repre- sented by Public Defender John Blum. A former volunteer with the Trucksville Fire Department, 29 year old John Tibus was arrested August 22 in connection with an arson fire which gutted his neigh- 8: barn in Kingston Township. Pribus admitted setting the August 14th fire that caused $100,000 in damages to -his neighbor Robert g@einer’s barn on Mt. Olivet Road Kingston Township, and he now faces additional charges from a previous unsuccessful attempt in June of 1987 to torch the barn. Tibus was arraigned again last Wednesday, August 31, before Jus- tice Gregory on charges relating to the 1987 incident and charged with arson and related offenses, reckless burning, and criminal attempt to commit arson. Gregory added $1000 ‘to the $100,000 bail imposed at the date of the August 22 arrest and ordered Tibus returned to the Luz- erne County Correctional Facility for imprisonment. Tibus had admitted to trying to set fire to Steiner’s barn in June of 1987 at the time of his arrest in August. The day of his arrest Tibus also admitted to setting several other fires in Kingston Township, Dallas, Franklin Township and other Luz- erne County areas. According to state police the possibility of Tibus being involved in other arson cases will be investigated, but he is cur- rently only charged in connection with one fire. According to police records, Tibus admitted to setting the August 14th fire which destroyed Robert Steiner’s barn in order to get even with Steiner whose daugh- ter hit Tibus’ car. Tibus claimed Steiner would not take responsibilty for fixing the car so he set the fire in retaliation. Tibus claimed he returned to the scene at 2:30 a.m., one half hour after starting the blaze, and helped police direct traffic. Trucksville Fire Chief William Eck could not confirm Tibus’ pres- ence at the scene, but said Tibus appeared at the fire station later that morning. Wednesday, September 7, 1988 School’s in Back Mountain schools opened this week for the 1988-89 year. Yellow buses will now be a common sight on area roads. (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) Ryan says planning group hopes to move ahead By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Several weeks have gone by since the second meeting of Back Moun- tain citizens concerning growth and ‘development isues, but Dr. James Ryan of Penn State Wilkes-Barre Campus said Friday the steering committee has not put the topic aside. “We have compiled all the rec- ommendations and concerns from the individuals attending the meet- ing and have been evaluating them,” Ryan said. “The next step is to form discus- sion groups of approximately 10 persons in each group to review the various issues. We have been hold- ing off until after Labor Day since so many residents plan their final weeks of vacation around this time. See Plan, pg 2 25 Cents Water committee votes to form By SARA J. LUNDBERG Managing Editor A Back Mountain regional water commission may soon become a reality, but what direction it will take and what effect the advisory body will have on area water issues and problems has yet to be defined. Fifteen representatives from eight municipalities in the Back Mountain voted to form a joint water commission at a meeting last Thursday, September 1. The deci- sion came at a meeting of the ad hoc committee which was formed in July as a vehicle for bringing area municipalities together in dis- cussion of water problems and development concerns. The committee is attempting to gain official status for the forma- tion of a Back Mountain water commission. A final meeting of the ad hoc committee will take place ‘regional group September 22. Before that time each member of the ad hoc com- mittee will attempt to obtain a resolution from their respective governing bodies granting partici- pation in the Commission. Each participating municipality will appoint one designated representa- tive, as well as an alternate, to serve on the commission. The eight municipalities involved are: Lake, Dallas, Franklin, Jack- son, Lehman, and Kingston town- ships, Dallas and Harveys Lake boroughs. “I imagine that I will be back representing the township on the Water Commission,”’ said Joy Daubert, Franklin Township Secre- tary and Tax Collector. Daubert is a member of the ad- hoc committee, and thinks the Water Commission could serve as valuable forum for studying water See Water, pg 2 Some water rates going up, others will go down A recent Public Utility Commis- sion (PUC) ruling will result in lower water rates for customers of four Pennsylvania Gas and Water (PG&W) Companies in the Back Mountain area. The state PUC announced at a September 1 ruling that it had preliminarily rejected the $8.7 mil- lion rate hike request made by the Pennsylvania Gas and Water Com- pany. PG&W based its request on the fact that it has built three filtration plants in Scranton. According to a spokesperson for the PUC, the rate increase was refused on the ground that the water quality of PG&W is substand- ard. The ruling also included action on a 1986 PUC order that PG&W establish uniform rates throughout its system in the Springbrook area which includes Wilkes-Barre and the Back Mountain. An agreement was made between PUC and PG&W to impose a rate decrease for the Trucksville, Kingston-Shav- ertown, Hillcrest, and Hemesite water companies effective Septem- ber 30th. Customers for the four PG&W companies can expect the following decreases: Trucksville Water Com- pany average customer’s bill for using 4,227 gallons per month will decrease 30.7 percent from $22.47 to $15.57 per month; Shavertown- Kingston Water Company average customer’s bill using 4,300 gallons per month will decrease 4.3 percent from $16.45 to $15.75 per month; See Rates, pg 2 Construction projects blossoming in Dallas Bluff’s Pointe to offer 35 townhouse units Meadows apartments nearly done @ SARA J. LUNDBERG Managing Editor People are already lining up fora place at the The Hi-Meadows Apart- ments complex in Dallas which is in the finishing stages of construc- tion and should be completed by November. These apartments are part of the Meadows Complex that also contain the Meadows Nursing Center and Meadows Apartments for low income elderly. The Hi-Meadows Apartments are for low and moderate income eld- erly with rentals subsidized through the Farmer's Home Administration (FmHa), Rural Rental Housing Program. The Apartments are owned and operated by Ecumeni- cal Enterprizes, Inc. (EEI), a non- profit corporation sponsored by the t Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton, the Jewish Federation of Greater Wilkes-Barre, and the Metropolitan Lutheran Council of Wyoming Valley. Three hundred people are cur- rently on a waiting list for resi- dency at the 42 unit apartinent complex, according to Ray Condo, the Executive Director of Ecumeni- cal Enterprises, Inc. All applicants must be 62 years of age or older, or in the case of a married couple, either spouse must be at least age 62. Handicapped and disabled persons may also be eligible. Individual or family in- come must be in the range of $12,000 to $23,000. “The apartments are designed forindependent living,” said Condo. There is not a direct tie-in for See Meadows, pg 2 Building Several construction jobs are going on in Dallas now. Above right; the Hi-Meadows apartments arenearly ready. Right; Frank Swanek over- sees his company’s masonry work on the Weis Market addition. (Photos by Char- lotte Bartizek) By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Thirty five townhouse units are under construction on top of the hill above Memorial Highway below the Stone Hedge area in Dallas Town- ship. The project, opened by Michael Development, Inc., will be named Bluff’s Pointe. Construction of townhouses has begun, with forms for the founda- tion footers put in over the past weekend. Contractor Mark Sobeck expects to have some of the units ready for occupancy by December. Seven buildings providing homes for 35 families will complete the first of two sections planned for the seven acre development. The buildings will encircle an oval landscaped area with parking and recreation space. Each town- house will have two floors and will Offices ready for occupancy By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer contain two baths, jacuzzi, three bedrooms, livingroom, dining area, kitchen, and a basement. The townhouses are not to be rented by the developer but will be sold to individual owners. Some individuals have already indicated an interest in purchasing one or more of the units. Sobeck is planning to put up the outside shells of the five unit build- ings before the cold weather. This will enable him to work on the inside during the winter months. All utility services will be under- ground including gas; electricity, cable, sewage and telephone. Weis Markets expanding Weis Markets, Inc. is presently working on an expansion of its store on Route 309 in Dallas. 12,000 square feet will be added to the store to allow for the addition of several new departments, and to add shopping space to existing ones. Planned departments include a bakery, deli, seafood counter and floral shop. No completion date for the work has been announced. A new office building located on Memorial Highway in Dallas, between the car wash and Roth Jewelry, is completed with the exception of paving the parking area. James Veras, contractor and builder, stated that it is a profes- sional office building and is now ready for occupancy. There are four units in the build- ing; one 1500 square feet, two 1000 square feet units, and one 1200 square feet unit. “If desired,” Veras said, ‘“‘An individual may rent more than one unit. A tenant may divide the inte-- rior to suit his or her purposes.” Inside The Post Calendar.........10 Classified........9 Editorials........4 Obituaries........2 People............5 Property Transfers..2 Religion..........6
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