Trial - 2 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, September 11, 1991 \ (continued from page 1) 2 the dock to spray people, and that he could have dropped the tow rope at any time. Mack character- ized Walter, who was a Dallas resident for 35 years and attended local schools, as a reckless man, who “lived on the edge.” “He was a guy who many people say they were Nrprised he lived this long,” said Mack. “This is not a boating accident like the Abromav- age case a few years ago when one boat went over another,” said Mack. “This is not a boating acci- dent. It's a water skiing accident. It was the skier * himself who caused the accident. Now his life is over. But we're talking about another life, Gregg Hanson.” Assistant Luzerne County District Attorney Sherwood Grabiec countered that it was Hanson's responsibility to protect Walter from himself. - “That was Mr. Walter's whole intention, to spray Fe the dock. Mr. Walter had to be protected from himself. If he didn't perceive the danger, Mr. Han- son should have.” ’ he Witnesses Grabiec called on seven witnesses to testify. ‘Attorney Mack called on six, including an expert in waterskiing and the spotter on Hanson's boat. Previously law enforcement officers believed there was no spotter, or person designated to watch for 5 the safety of the water skier, on the boat. " “I could have shook hands with him," said Diane _ Burick, who has a residence three docks away from - the.dock at pole 109 in the Alderson section of “5, od Harveys Lake where Walter was killed. Burick sald. “Mr. Walter had to be protected from himself. If he didn’t perceive the danger, Mr. Hanson should have.” “This is not a boating accident. It’s a ol water skiing accident. It was the skier himself who caused the accident.” Sherwood Grabiec Luzerne County District Attorney Mark Mack Defense attorney for Gregg Hanson that Hanson's boat had circled in front of her dock seven or eight times earlier in the day. George Gwilliam, a Harveys Lake resident who saw Hanson towing Walter before accident, said “They were hot dogging it.” Gwilliam said that the boat came so dose to the shore that he pulled his children out of the water at his mother’s dock, which is next to the one where the accident occurred, and took them for a boat ride. When Attorney Mack called on George Gwil- liam’s mother, Nancy Gwilliam, to testify, she said that she saw Walter fall on the single slalom waterski at about 6:15 p.m., and heard him holler to the people on the dock at pole 109 “Hey, I can get closer than that.” . The spotter on the boat, Michael Scavone, 26, of Harveys Lake, said that after Walter had fallen he called out, “Richie, come on, you've had enough.” “He said he wanted to go one more time,” Sca- vone testified. “Hanson yelled out, are you sure you want to again? He said one more time. Hanson said ok, whatever you want.” | “The last pass we went into a whip,” said Sca- vone, referring to a maneuver where the skier is next to, rather than behind the boat. “The boat was straightening out. He never turned. He never let go of the rope. Richie was my friend for a long time. Richie did that to himself.” Attorney Mack called on Dr. Don Henderson, a physician at Wayne County Memorial Hospital in Honesdale as an expert witness on water skiing. “The accident could have happened if the boat was farther than 100 feet away,” said Henderson, who has skied in about 10 American Water Ski Association Tournaments each year for the past 18 years. “If the skier lets go of the rope and there's enough velocity to carry the skier to the dock.” Henderson also testified that an alcohol con- sumer would be less critical in operating a boat than in operating a car, because a boat relies on the friction.of water to brake it, and doesn’t have to ‘confine itself to a narrow lane. After the accident had happened, Harveys Lake Assistant Police Chief Ronald Spock testified that he found Gregg Hanson pounding on the dock as - people tried to revive Walter, saying that he can’t die. “His demeanor was that Mr. Walter couldn't die because it was going to ruin his life,” said Spock. “He appeared to be more concerned about his reputation.” The Possible Penalties In deciding to send the homicide charges to- court, Gregory reasoned that anything approach- ing the distance you can shake hands at is too® close. “One hundred feet is the general rule of he. water and 10 feet is a lot different than 100 feet,” said Gregory. “I don't think it’s my duty to decide~ a landmark case. It's my duty to decide if there is. minimal evidence.” : The charge of homicide by watercraft while’ under the influence is a 3rd degree felony, punish" able by a fine of $2,500 to $15,000, and up to'7 years in prison. Homicide by watercraft is punish: ‘able by a fine of $2,500 to $10,000 and up to! i years in prison. The prosecuting officer is Waterways Conserva- tion Officer David Corl, assisted by Waterways Conservation Officer Sally Corl and Deputy Con: servation Officers Paul and Diane Grimes, Clyde" Warner, and Harveys Lake Assistant Police Chief’ Ronald Spock. State Police from the Wyoming Barracks helped investigate the scene of the accident. Hanson is presently free on $50,000 bail. £0 / g | Changes on (continued from page 1) have this meeting open to the public,” said Larry Boyle, staff | attorney for the Pennsylvania | Newspaper Publishers Association. Boyle listed two reasons. The first; there will be no quorum of representatives from any single municipality. The second is that i] the Sunshine Law has a provision allowing closed meetings for mu- nicipal officials to consult with attorneys or other professional ‘advisors in connection with litiga- tion or with issues on which iden- tifiable’complaints are expected to | be filed. A lawsuit was filed September 9 against the trash hauling plan. Attorneys Philip Medico and Al ‘Flora filed the suit in Luzerne Cotuinty Court on behalf of private haulers who lost business when DAMA awarded an exclusive con- tract to Danella Environmental oe Technologies to collect waste in . the three municipalities. edico is representing C&K tation and Searles Sanitation, while Flora is representing Dave : - Wojciechowicz, trading as Dave's | 3 3 Starting September 19, it will be e day collection of trash and A recyclables for residents of King- ston Township and parts of Dallas ownship. According to the Dallas ea Municipal Authority, (DAMA), A affected residents had previously Br a at at a ea I a he Sa Sa Ae Sd eA TA A SAO — RR NERS ’ = * Sas y LT been on a schedule that required placement of trash and recyclables dn Thursdays and Fridays. : DAMA Executive Director, Tom Bagley, says the single schedule pick- up is designed to make . curbside collections easier for af- fected residents by only requiring Sanitation. The suit, naming DAMA direc- tors and municipal officials as defendants, claims that the exclu- sive contract interferes with the other hauler’s right to keep con- tracts with their customers and engage in their occupation. The suit asks for compensatory damages in excess of $20,000, for punitive damages against the indi- vidual officials and not the munici- palities, and for court costs and attorney fees. A total of 27 defen- dants are listed. Attorney Gifford Cappellini has announced that he will file a class action suit against DAMA and the municipalities on behalf of area residents. Boyle felt that it would be tricky to defend having the meeting closed for the sole reason of the lawsuits because the meeting is not directly concerned with the lawsuits, but with resident's complaints. But the lack of a quorum of municipal officials makes the decision more secure, according to Boyle, ~ DAMA revises collection 3 schedule starting Sept. 19 that trash and recyclables be put out once a week instead of twice. Residents currently on a Mon- day, Tuesday and Wednesday schedule will have no change since these areas currently have both trash and recyclables collected the same day. Affected areas will be those that now have Thursday and Friday pick-up. For example un- der the revised schedule Thurs- day, Sept. 19 pick-up will now be trash and recyclables. Friday, Sept. 20, pick-up now will be trash and recyclables. jor an estimate, call us. Allstate Plenty of Free Parking Yl This and Save! CALL FOR A QUOTE On your auto, homeowners, or life ‘insurance. Absolutely no’ obligation. Senior Account Agent 480 Pierce St., Kingston, PA 283-0671 creme WW 00up Pe r~ Sf o > 4 Tn aso i; John Cherup OURS C RALY... to lve with a Wet Basement! FREE ESTIMATE mummune Police report LEHMAN TWP. $13,000 OF LAWN EQUIPMENT STOLEN On August 19, it was reported that $13,646 worth of new John Deere lawn tractors were stolen from Lehman Power Equipment. A wire rope guide rail near the store was removed so access could be gained to the back lot of the business where the tractors were stored outside. The following were reported stolen: Riding mower, $1,406; lawn tractor, $2,433; lawn tractor, $2,956; two riding mowers at $1,775 each; lawn tractor $1,989; snow blower, $887; Power Flow Charges against boater Material Collection System, $421. eX pected withi | n week Ptl. Brian Feeney investigated. TOMBSTONES TOPPLED On September 9 two tombstones . were found toppled over in St. Ann's Cemetery. The approximate dam- age caused by the vandalism was $200. Ptl. Jeff Onkay investigated. TACKLE TAKEN On August 23, Warren Gensel of Outlet Road reported that a tackle pack full of fishing tackle was sto- len from a covered bass boat parked in his driveway sometime between August 17 and 19. Gensel listed the value of the items at approxi-. mately $1,000. Sgt. William Bockus Jr. investigated. Trash (continued from page 1) said Nancy Kemp, president of the Luzerne County Public Forum. “Our legislators, they think we're stupid and they've said so. Even if itisn’t all of us. As many of you as can, goto those meetings and report back to us.” The group is planning on pre- senting a letter protesting the Dallas Area Municipal Authority's garbage hauling plan at the au- thority’s meeting on September 12. They are also working on find- ing people to run as write-in candi- dates for supervisor positions in Kingston Township, Dallas Town- ship and Dallas Borough. the legendary. taste 639-FAST 55: FOR DELIVERY HARVEYS LAKE, PA Don't Call An Oil Company That Does UALR At Parker Fuel Co. We Do Our Job Right! « Prompt Oil Deliveries - Furnace Cleaning & Repairs « Furnace Installation PARKER FUEL CO. Oldest full service oil dealer in the area PARKER FUEL Central Air Conditioning and Furnaces Free Estimates RD #6, Box 23, Dallas, PA (0) 675-4949 or 675-1155 Nursing Home Insurance For Folks Age 50-84 + Can pay up to $130 a day. Policy GR-7A1 Call today for FREE FACTS including costs, exceptions, limitations, and re- newal provisions. (717) 869-1263 TONY GUSHKA R.D. 1, Box 118A Laceyville, PA 18623 an ii AH. company SN ‘BANKERS LIFE AND CASUALTY | ~— 30662 DENNIS J. GAZA, M.D. ANNOUNCES THE OPENING OF His OFFICE By ERIC FOSTER Post Staff Charges are expected to be filed within the next week against Daniel Cochran, 23, of Dallas, the opera- tor of a boat which ran over the top of another boat late September 1, according to Kerry Messerle, Re- gion Manager of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission. Water Conservation Officer Sally Corl is the investigating officer. Corl is a certified boating accident investigator. “There are few witnesses we have to see yet,” said Messerle. Cochran was allegedly the op- eratorof a speedboat carrying three passengers, when at about 11:30 p.m., his boat rammed the rear of - a slower boat and jumped over it, landing in the water at the front of the other boat. After the boat crash, Cochran allegedly docked his boat and ran off. He was accompanied by his lawyer when he turned himself in -to Harveys Lake police September 2. According to Waterways Con servation Officer Diane Grimes, . while there were alcoholic bever- age containers in Cochran's boat, it hasn't been determined if any- one in the boat was drinking. ., Cochran's three passengers were treated and released from area, hospitals. Bill Sickler, the operator of the Bayliner boat which was run over, - was also treated and released along, with his three passengers. - - After the accident Sickler docked: his boat and ran across the street; to Hanson's restaurant to get help.: As he and David Hanson, 29; A % Harveys Lake, ran across the 104 4 to the lake, they were struck by a car. The driver of the car, Josepte Geffert, 28, of Mountaintop, fled; the scene, but later turned himself! into police and has been charged; with failing to stop at an accident and render aid, and failing to no: tify police immediately giler. an: accident. Hanson was also treated w 5 released from the hospital. 47 Tie S ALLASCPoST 1 309-415 Plaza, Dallas, PA 18612 675-5211 ’ LESS L at 675-5211. PROBLEM WITH A STORY? .ltis the policy of the Dallas Post to correct all errors of fact and to clarify any misunderstanding created by articles. Questions should be directed to the News Desk "HAVE A NEWS TIP? Monday through Friday 8:30 to 5:00 p.m. CALL THE EDITORS: The Dallas Post welcomes news tips, letters to the editor, feature ideas, and comments on the accuracy, fairness or adequacy of news coverage. 5p.m. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING DEPT. Qh Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00. Classified Deadline - Mon. [-<§ matter. (USPS 147-720) SUBSCRIPTION RATES 35¢ on newstands every Wednesday. By Mail: in Luzerne and Wyoming Counties, PA $16 per year; Elsewhere in PA, NY, and NJ, $18 per year; All other states, $20 per year. Published every Wednesday by Bartsen Media, Ing., P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA 18612. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers