Yol. 103 . No. 3 Dallas, PA NRE Wednesday, January 22, 1992 Alleged killer had abused victim before By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff @ ophen George Schwartz, the Whject of a nationwide police alert after Friday night's homicide in Dallas Township, was appre- hended Monday night shortly after 8 p.m. at the Day's Inn, Wilkes- Barre. Police said Schwartz at- tempted suicide by shooting him- self in the head after a 6-1/2 hour standoff with police who had sur- rounded the hotel after receiving a tip that he was there. Schwartz's stormy relationship with ex-girlfriend Deborah Van Leuven, 27, of Kingston, ended violently Friday night when he al- legedly shot her to death in front of their daughter. A police official said that another person was at the home at the time of the shooting, but would not say who that was. According to police and other reports, Schwartz had a history of abuse of the victim, who had been granted a Protection From Abuse order against him in April of 1991. In published and broadcast interviews, Van Leuven’s family and friends described prior inci- dents in which Schwartz had abused or threatened the victim. Schwartz had been arrested by Pittston Township police in May of 1991 and charged with causing or risking a catastrophe, reckless endangerment and violations of the Uniform Firearms Act after he Protection orders have limited effect Story on page 8 chased Ms. Van Leuven's vehicle down Route 81 while brandishing a gun. He was released on $50,000 bail after that incident, under the condition that he have no contact whatsoever with her. His trial on those charges was scheduled for Tuesday, January 21. Schwartz allegedly shot his for- mer girlfriend three times on the night of January 17, shortly before 6 p.m., in the driveway of his par- ents’ residence at 27 Windsor Drive, Dallas Township. Van Leuven had brought their two-year-old daugh- ter to visit him the night of the murder. Schwartz had twice- weekly visitation rights with the child. He fled the scene in Van Leu- ven's black 1988 Honda Accord, which was recovered by police later that night in the parking lot of the Viewmont Mall in Dickson City. Ms. Van Leuven died of multiple gunshot wounds at 9:15 p.m. Fri- day at Nesbitt Hospital in King- ston, where she had been trans- ported by the Dallas ambulance shortly after the shooting. % Wind power Cub Scouts John Cyprich, left, and Shawn Whalen, right huffed and puffed their sailboats along in a runoff race at Pack 281’s annual Boat Derby January 17, at Dallas Middle School. (Post photo/Grace R. Dove) = Seeing stars at Penn 8tate's astronomy dome By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff A neatly lettered quotation on the inside wall of Penn State's astronomy dome greets visitors to the new facility at the Lehman campus: “Modern astronomy evokes our sense of wonder; it speaks to us of who we are.” Donated by Sidney and Pauly Friedman and staffed by Pike's Creek resident John Rosser, the two-year-old dome houses several telescopes and a collection of spec- tacular photographs of the moon, the planets .and various nebulae and other astronomical phenome- nae, produced using Penn State's equipment. Part of the photo dis- play was made by Hal Raker and his’son Dave of Shavertown, who ‘have been regular visitors for four years. “Our astronomy program was started by Dr. Thomas G. Winter in the late 1970's,” explained Ros- ser.. “The Astronomy Club met outside Hayfield House under the ‘open night sky for many years. Their first telescope was a six-inch ‘diameter reflector that they built ‘themselves.” Later the group was able to purchase a larger eight-inch di- ‘ameter reflecting telescope; these two telescopes are on permanent display at the dome. A newer eight- inch telescope is permanently mounted for use on a platform 25 feet above the ground inside the dome. University personnel hope eventually to acquire a 16" diame- ter telescope, which will cost ap- proximately $100,000. Although the cold winter weather discourages many vVisi- tors, Rosser is on duty each Wednesday and Sunday night all year round. He has hosted up to 80 people at once, although he allows only ten visitors at a time on the telescope platform, accessible only by a corkscrew-shaped stairway taken from a submarine’s conning tower. The round telescope platform is covered by a 16 foot diameter dome, which is closed when not in use. “The dome shuts out a lot of light from the campus,” Rosser ex- plained. “ We can turn oll the ignts to the parking lot and the Tech building if we need more darkness for deep-sky photography.” Many area Scout troops, as well as students, hobbyists and Audubon Society members of all ages have visited the facility. Last summer Rosser hosted afield night gKy PILOT - Astronomer John Rosser adjusts the telescope at See ASTRONOMY, pg 3 the astronomy dome at Penn State Lehman campus for an evening presentation. (Post photo/Grace R. Dove.) Luzerne County Coroner Dr. George Hudock, Jr., declared the cause of death to be gunshot wounds to the right side of the head, the right leg and the left cheek and shoulder. Hudock said that during Saturday's autopsy he removed three bullets from the woman's body, which had sus- tained five wounds. According to District Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski, Jr., Schwartz was arrested Monday night at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and charged with one count of criminal homicide. He was to be arraigned at 1 p.m. Wednesday, January 22 before District Magistrate Earl Gre- See VICTIM, pg 8 35 Cents STEPHEN G. SCHWARTZ Dallas board, union report ‘progress’ Salaries not yet discussed By ERIC FOSTER Post Staff After year of negotiating with- out seeming to get anywhere, the Dallas School Board and the teach- ers union were able to make some progress at the negotiation ses- sion January 16. “It was the most positive meet- ing we've had. I would say we cleared about fifty percent of the outstanding items,” said school board member John Cleary. “To get fifty percent of the items cleared up when you've had no progress for a year. I came away feeling positive.” Board president Ernest Ashbr- idge also said that about half of 25 issues were resolved at the nego- tiation session. However Cleary and Ashbridge said that teacher salaries, the big bugaboo of the negotiations, have- n't come up yet. “Of 26 different items talked about, eleven are cleared up, and four other items are just about taken care of,” said Cleary. William Wagner, president of the Dallas teachers union would only say that “progress was made.” Ashbridge said that the next See PROGRESS, pg 11 Golf course's water use raises concerns By ERIC FOSTER Post Staff Concern is growing over the amount of water that the proposed Huntsville Golf Club in Lehman Township would use if constructed. The Lake-Lehman School Dis- trict has sent the township super- visors a letter stating their concern about the water. The proposed 400-acre golf course would require 150,000 gallons of water a day for watering, while the clubhouse operations would require another 8,000 to 9,000 gallons of water, according to George Evans, an engineer working on the course. The course would be located along Market Forum will introduce residents to government By ERIC FOSTER Post Staff Do you feel that you've got expe- rience that could benefit your community. Have you ever consid- ered running for office? Or per- haps serving on a local board? If so, then you'll want to attend the Back Mountain Citizens Coun- cil open forum on getting involved in local government. The forum will be held January 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Hayfield House on the campus of Penn State Wilkes- Barre. “Sometimes I think people don't think of themselves as politicians,” said Anne Vernon, a Citizens Council board member who will speak at the forum on winning and losing. Other speakers at the forum will include District Justice Earl See FORUM, pg 2 Street and Route 118. In contrast, the nearby Lake- Lehman High School and the Lehman-Jackson Elementary School together use only about 10,000 gallons of water a day. “Our concern is directed to the township supervisors whose re- sponsibility it is to look out for the well being of the township,” said Raymond Bowersox, the district's business manager and secretary of the school board. The Junior High School uses about 3,500 gallons of water a day, but because it is farther from the proposed golf course, Bowersox was unsure if it would be affected See WATER, pg 11 Calendar. ............. 16 Classified........ 14-15 Editorials. ..........o. 4 Obituaries............ 13 Police report.......... 2? Property transfers..2 SPOS... .. i aenneis 9 Community Events ARTS AT HAYFIELD- General meeting, Wed., Jan. 22, 6 PM, Hayfield House, Penn State Lehman. Followed by pot luck supper. Open to anyone inter- ested in the arts. 675-3967. GAME PARTY - Sat., Jan. 25, 7:30 PM, Shavertown Fire Hall. Sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary. ASTRONOMY SESSIONS - Clear Fri. and Sat. nights, 8-10 PM, Friedman Astronomy Dome, Penn State Lehman. 675-2171.
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