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Tibus's lawyer moves
to suppress confession
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By SARA J. LUNDBERG
Managing Editor
The public defender for confessed
arsonist John Tibus has filed a
motion in Luzerne County Court
asking that Tibus' confession and
other incriminating statements not
be admitted into evidence in Tibus'
upcoming trial.
Jonathan Blum filed the motion
on December 7, asking the court to
suppress any incriminating
statements given by Tibus the day of
his arrest on the basis that the
defendent was not aware of his
constitutional rights.
UB . _..Aaph)=
"There was testimony at
the preliminary
hearing that John Tibus
was read his rights and
waived them."
Correale Stevens
Luzerne County District Attorney
The question of whether or not
Tibus's confessions to torching his
neighbor's barn in Kingston
Township were knowingly and
willingly given may determine the
strength of the Commonwealth's
case when the trial takes place next
year.
.. When Tibus was arrested August
én
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22, he admitted setting the August
14 fire that caused $100,000 in
‘damages to his neighbor Robert
Steiner's barn on Mt. Olivet Road,
as well as to setting several other
fires in Kingston Township, Dallas,
Franklin Township, and other
Luzerne County areas.
He has currently been charged in
connection only with the August 14
fire, as well as a previous
unsuccessful arson attempt at the
same site in June of 1987.
According to the motion, the
public defender moved to suppress
any incriminating statements given
by Tibus, whether written or oral,
for the following reasons: The
defendant was not advised of his
Miranda rights; any statements
made by the defendant were made
without the assistance of counsel,
and the defendant did not waive
right to counsel; any statement given
by the defendant violated his right
to protection from selfincrimination,
and he did not waive such right; or,
if the defendant was advised of his
Miranda rights, he was not
competent to understand and
comprehend the nature of the
warnings, and the defendant was
the subject ofan arson investigation
prior to his pickup by police and was
questioned previous to his
confession.
At the time of his arrest August
22, 1988 by Trooper Gushka and
Trooper Balchune of the
Pennsylvania State Police at
Wyoming and Sgt. James Balavage
of the Kingston Township Police, an
arrest report was filed with the
District Magistrate's office. The
report says that at the time of his
arrest Tibus was advised of his
constitutional warnings and rights
and that same were waived. Tibus
admitted to the crime and
motivation.
When asked to comment on the
publicdefender’s motion to suppress
Tibus’ confessions, District Attorney
Correale Stevens said that the
prosecution will be opposing that
motion when the case goes to.trial.
“There was testimony at the
preliminary hearing thatJohn Tibus
was read his rights and waived
them,” said Stevens.
Stevens declined to comment on
whether or not the motion that Tibus
did not understand his
constitutional rights at the time of
his arrest could influence the
outcome of the trial.
Tibus, who pleaded not guilty to
charges of arson, endangering
persons and property and criminal
mischief, could face a maximum of
10 years in prison if convicted. He is
free on $50,000 bail.
Lake-Lehman board hires
new teacher over protests
By SARA J. LUNDBERG
Managing Editor
The Lake-Lehman School Board
voted to hire Thomas Yoniski as a
. social studies teacher at its meeting
a
3 A
December 13 by a 6-2 margin,
despite protests from some school
board directors and members of the
public that a more experienced
candidate should have been picked
for the job.
“Inequality in hiring has existed
in the ‘past. 1 don't think the
candidate is the most qualified, and
there was another applicant who
was better suited for the position,”
said school director Bing O. Wolfe.
Lehman Township resident Pam
Haas questioned why Yoniski was
hired rather than another applicant
who had five years substitute
teaching experience in the district.
Superintendent Charles
Borchetta said Yoniski was hired
after several interviews with district
administrators and after he gave a
' recommendation to the board.
“It is the administration's feeling
that this person is the most qualified
for the position of social studies
teacher,” said Borchetta.
Yoniski was hired at a salary of
$17,990 for the 1988-89 school year.
Board action was also taken to
hire Karen L. Pilger as a Financial/
Activities Secretary at the high school
for the 1988-89 school year; salary
established at $5.25 per hour. The
position is effective for 12 months
starting the beginning of 1989. The
motion to hire Pilger passed by a 6-
1 margin.
In other business the board
unanimously approved a motion to
approve the request of Robert Roese,
a high school English teacher, to
extend his sabbactical leave of
absence for health reasons through
the second semester of the 1988-89
school year.
A motion was carried to authorize
the administration to make
application for a Microcomputer
Hardware and Courseware grant for
$30,000. The application will be
forward to the PHEAA (Pennsylvania
Higher Education Assistance
Agency) for review.
Lake-Lehman Band DirectorJohn
Miliauskas was granted a monetary
award of $1,000 by the board for his
outstanding accomplishments as
Marching Band Director during the
~~
"= See TEACHER, pg 3
. By.SARA. J. LUNDBERG
Dallas, PA Wednesday, December 21, 1988
Away in a manger
John Pitcavage of Shavertown arranges the Christmas creche at St. Theresa's Church on Pioneer Avenue
in Shavertown. (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek)
——— LE
Midway Manor water company
won't be fined for unreported outage
SRR Ss Sr
Managing Editor
The state Department of Envi-
ronmental Resources (DER) does
not currently plan to take any ac-
tion against a National Utilities, the
water company serving the Midway
Manor development in Shavertown,
for violating state regulations by
failing to notify the agency regard-
ing a service interruption several
weeks ago. A boil water advisory
was issued Decemberl4th for resi-
dents of Midway Manor, which would
have been in effect immediately af-
ter the disruption. if the company
followed proper notification proce-
dures.
The boil water advisory was lifted
December 16, after samples taken
by DER determined the Midway
Manor water to be satisfactory. The
advisory was broadcast over WARM
radio and local television stations.
“We reminded National Utilities
that in the event of a service inter-
ruption DER must be contacted so
that sampling of the water for con-
tamination and a boil advisory can
take place,” said Mark Carmon, a
spokesman for DER.
~ Carmon said a penalty will not be
assessed unless there are future
problems with National Utilities not
following state regulations. In the
event of a boil water advisory noti-
fication of the public within one day
is required, and an announcement
The best of the bright and beautiful
The winner of the Christmas Home Decorating Contest , sponsored by the Kingston Township Recreation
Committee, was this one on 375 Mt. Olivet Road. Kathleen Pacewicz, the owner, will receive a $50.00
savings bond. (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek)
iA company like
National Utilities
should know better."
Mark Carmon
DER spokesman
is also released through the media
when the advisory is lifted.
Even though a boil water advi-
sory was put into effect last week,
several Midway Manor customers
interviewed by The Post said they
still did not feel informed as to
whether or not it was safe to drink
their water.
A customer who asked not to be
identified said she had heard of a
boil water advisory, but wasn't clear
if it applied to the Midway Manor
development in Shavertown.
. “I still not sure if] am supposed to
boil my water or if it is safe to drink
yet. Why can't customers be con-
tacted directly in a case like this?”
said the customer.
Another Midway Manor resident,
Jack Nutche of Butternut Road, said,
“There are frequent interruptions in
service; it is crazy what we have to
go through here. Even when we
have called the company in the past
they tell us that everything is okay,
and I have never heard that it was
neccessary to boil my water.”
Kingston Township manager Jef-
fery Bex, who is a resident of Mid-
way Manor, said he didn’t feel that a
boil water advisory several weeks
after a service interruption ‘was
particularly helpful to water cus-
tomers.
“It doesn't do any good that far
after the fact,” said Box.
Box said he plans to write a letter
to all water utilities serving the
Kingston Township area toask them
to inform the township when boil
water advisories are in effect.
DER Spokesperson Mark Carmon
said the penalities issued to a water
company for failure to follow regula-
tions would vary according to the
situation. Carmon said state regu-
lations say that a water company
must notify DER in the event of a
service interruption, and that the
DER in turn instructs the company
on how best to issue a boil water
advisory. DER would issue an advi-
sory in the event a water utility is
unable or unwilling to do so.
“A company like National Utili-
ties should know better,” said Car-
mon.
25 Cents
Kingston Twp.
budget shows
22% increase
By SARA J. LUNDBERG
Managing Editor
Kingston Township residents will
be glad to hear that an increase in
estimated revenue for the township
has made a tax increase
' unneccessary. The second and final
reading of the 1989 budget passed
unanimously at the supervisor's
monthly meeting last Wednesday
keeping property taxes at 5 mills,
per capita tax at $5.00 per person,
earned income tax at 1.5% and real
estate transfer tax 1/2 of 1%. Only
' a handful of residents attended the
meeting.
With a mill being equal to $1 of
tax on every $1,000 of assessed
property value, a resident whose
home is assessed at $50,000 will be
liable for $50 in annual property
tax.
Estimated revenue for 1989 is up
by over 20% from 1988, from
$706,673 to $861,655, due mostly
to the residential growth in the area
which has increased the tax base of
township. The total estimated
expenditures for next year matche
the estimated revenue for 1989 at
$861,655.
Kingston Township Manager
Jeffrey Box said that estimated
expenditures were up mainly
because of three big projects;
improvements planned for Center
Street Park, and major construction
work on Center and Franklin Streets.
An underground storm drainage
system and road resurfacing will be
undertaken on Center and Frankin
Streets at a cost of approximately
$100,000 to the township. The
budget also provides for the
township's portion of the funding
for the improvements to Center
Street Park. The township has
$30,000 slotted for the park project
and a matching grant from the
Department of Community Affairs.
The 1989 budget includes plans
for capital improvement projects,
equipment purchases, and a
rebuilding of the capital
improvement fund. Additional
paving projects include Circle Drive
and Howell Road. The funding for
these projects will come from a
combination of General Fund and
State Liquid Fuels Funds.
See BUDGET, pg 3
DER reps explain boil
advisory procedures
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Staff Writer
Paul Franklin, DER regional
manager, and Ron Ptashinski, DER
sanitarian supervisor, explained the
department's role and presented a
film to the Back Mountain Water
Commission members and water
consumers at Thursday night's
meeting on the Clean Water Act.
It was explained by the DER rep-
resentatives that under the act, ifa
water company cannot provide serv-
ice to consumers, within 24 hours
the company must contact the
Department of Environmental Re-
source (DER). The company must
also issue a boil advisory, though
DER will do so if the company can-
not.
Franklin also stressed to private
well owners the importance of hav-
ing private wells tested every six
months for bacterial contamination.
This test costs approximately $50
and is an important factor in a
family’s health, he said.
Franklin also said private wells
should be tested occassionally for
organic contamination, but did not
specify how often. He explained this
test was more expensive, approxi-
mately $500. He also emphasized
that private wells can become con-
taminated as well as public water
company wells.
Ellie Rodda reported to the com-
mission on the Back Mountain Citi-
zens Council meeting held Decem-
ber 5. Rodda is the liason between
the two organizations. She also said
she had prepared a news release on
the survey of wells planned by the
water commission and was hopeful
that local media would help to
destribute it.
The members approved member
Joseph Salla’s recommendation that
the commission write a letter to the
Back Mountain Communication
Center requesting their approval for
use of the center by the water comis-
sion. It is hoped that the Comm
Center could take calls from resi-
dents experiencing water problems,
and refer them to the commission.
See DER, pg 3
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