16 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, July 29, 1992 Harveys Lake council mulls merging or eliminating police department By ERIC FOSTER Post Staff Amid trying times for the Har- veys Lake Police Department, at the borough council's meeting July 21 ‘a borough councilman sug- gested that the borough consider combining their police force with neighboring municipalities, or abandon it altogether and let state police patrol instead. The borough's assistant police chief, Ronald Spock has been charged with bribery and a part- time officer resigned in June after less than three months on the job. “We have such a hard-time trying to get part-time police. Maybe we should look into consolidating police with other borough's and townships,” suggested councilman Thomas Kehler. “Or maybe we should look into having the state police patrol. It's not like we have many problems.” Mayor Joseph Boyle said both suggestions have their pitfalls. “There has been a lot of talk about a unified police force. But there are a lot of bugs to be worked out,” said Boyle. “State police, they have minimum staffing now.” Earlier in the meeting, the coun- cil accepted the resignation, effec- tive June 18, of Russell Devens, who was hired in April. Devens cited personal conflicts with de- partment regulations, and lack of adequate equipment and backup as reasons for the resignation. As a replacement, the council hired Ed Dubiac as a part-time police officer for a one-year proba- tionary period at an hourly wage of $7 Councilman Edward Kelly, who heads the borough's police com- mittee, said that two more part- time officers are in the process of being hired. The council also voted to re- quire all of the borough's police officers undergo physical and psychological testing even though state law only requires newly-hired officers to be tested. J.R. Davis Fire Company recognized In a split vote, the council voted to recognize the J.R. Davis Volun- teer Fire Company of Idetown in the borough. Councilman David Abod ex- pressed concern that by recogniz- ing the J.R. Davis Fire Company, some borough funding now allo- cated tothe borough's D.C. Roberts Fire Company, would go to the J.R. Davis Fire Company. Council president Boice said that funding would not be affected, but by recognizing J.R. Davis, which is just over the borough line in Lehman Township, the com- pany would now be called by dis- patchers if there was a fire nearby. Kehler, Boice, Martin Noon and Joseph Miscavage voted to recog- nize the company, while Abod, Kelly, and William Wilson ab- stained from the vote. In other business e Councilman Kehler an- nounced that recyclable items haven't been picked up in the last several weeks because the recy- cling truck has been broken down. e Councilman William Wilson announced that guardrails will be installed on Ridge Street and Fire- house Road. e Council voted to have signs installed on Hillside Avenue say- ing that parking is prohibited from noon to 5 p.m. The signs are necessary because the mailman cannot get to mailboxes, accord- ing to councilman Kehler. e The council also authorized borough solictor Charles McCormick to proceed with legal action against the Lakeview Ter- race Beach Association for not hooking up to the sewer system. Problems with planting Mrs. Carol Arnold complained to the borough council July 21 that a neighbor keeps digging up flowers she’s planting along the road near her home. The council gave Mrs. Arnold permission last year to plant flowers in the bor- ough's right-of-way along Fire- house Road. Arnold reported that the neigh- bor persists in pulling up the flow- ers in front of his barn, across the street from his home. Councilman David Abod said he believed that barn is in the borough's right-of-way. Solicitor McCormick suggested to council president Richard Boice that the neighbor be sent a letter stating that if he keeps pulling up the plants, the borough engineer will be sent to survey the area to find out where his barn is in rela- tion to the borough's right of way. Grants for home repair still available A grant for low-income Harveys Lake home-owners to help pay for essential work on their homes is still available, according to coun- cilman David Abod. The grant would come from the Luzerne County Office of Commu- nity Development, and would pay up to $7,500 for work such as insulation, storm windows, or water heaters. Anyone interested in the grant should call the borough office at 639-2113 or Abod at home. Bribery charge (continued from page 1) help get the drunk driving charge dropped. Kline testified that he visited Spock at his home. “I explained that Pete has an inspection business and a dealer's license and has a lot to lose,” said Kline at the hearing. “I asked if there was anything he could do for the police department. He thought about it and said the TV in the police station is on the blink and they could use a new one.” State police and the District Attorney's Office learned of the alleged bribery when two Harveys Lake Patrolmen, Jeffrey Butler and Mark Karlonis, told police chief Lionel Bulford that the television set in the police department's of- fice. may have been a bribe. Butler testified at the hearing, recalling thatin December he went to the police station and remarked on the new television. “He (Spock) said yeah, remem- ber the DUI the other night, that’s where the TV came from,” said Butler. While acknowledging that Spock's comment may have been stupid, Spock's attorney, Jonathan Blum, argued that the bribery charge should be dropped because Spock decided to drop the drunken driving charge before the televi- sion set was offered. Blum offered a state Supreme Court case deal- ing with admissions to a college to support the argument. “Many times things are donated to police departments,” said Blum. “I believe that he agreed to drop the charge before anything was offered. Assistantdistrictattorney Char- les Coslett argued that given that fact that a no drunken driving charge was filed in an instance where the driver should have auto- matically lost their license, enough evidence had been presented to send the charge to county court. After considering Blum'’s argu- ment overnight, Maffei agreed with the prosecution and sent the charge to county court. Achey and Kline have not been charged in the case. Harveys Lake Borough Council has suspended Spock with pay from his position. If convicted, Spock could face a maximum of seven years in prison and fines of up to $15,000. Spock is free on $10,000 bail. (continued from page 1) “Just as we decided that things couldn't get any worse, they would,” she laughed. “Ei- ther the wind would come up or we would encounter storms. We joked through the entire ride about being thankful that at least we hadn't had a lava flow that day.” Riding thousands of miles takes its toll on bicycles as well. Holmes felt lucky to have had only four flat tires between Los Angeles and New Mexico, where she purchased top-grade re- placements which lasted the remainder of the trip. “We had a flat tire contest — only two riders made it through the entire trip without any flats,” said Ms. Holmes. “One poor guy went through 26 tires.” The challenges of weather, breakdowns and flats were off- set by intimate glimpses of na- ture, people and scenes of American life. Along the way, Holmes saw her first roadrunner scurrying through the desert alongside the road, taking off in front of the bicyclists. Occasionally rattle- snakes or lizards slithered off the road into the desert as the bicycles approached. She de- scribed running into desert dust devils, mini-tornadoes which could zip across the road, mo- mentarily engulfing riders. “I saw my brother's bike suddenly wobble as a dust devil caught him,” she said. “Then it was my turn - a sharp tilt left, then right - then I was through it and regained my balance.” While pedaling through New Mexico she visited the ancient ruins of a Pecos Indian village, taking home a memento, an authentic Native American dreamcatcher, a small weblike hanging designed to catch good dreams, made by a friend who lives in Albuquerque. People along the way flagged down the cyclists, asking about the ride’s purpose and often be- coming intrigued that more than 60 people were riding for chari- ties. Some made individual dona- tions to riders for their chari- ties, helped out with repairs or treated the riders to a meal. Near the end of the trip, two boys living outside of Erie set up a stand to serve iced tea to the thirsty riders. “The people whom we met along the way were wonderful. I don’t have all their names, but I'll never forget their faces,” she said. 3,200 miles — ANNE HOLMES Holmes was surprised that many communities which she pedaled through do not have recycling programs; some people didn’t seem to know what the term meant. Although she tried to save her aluminum cans to drop off in communities that recycled, occasionally she resorted to leaving a bag of cans alongside a trash barrel for someone who might be recycling on their own. “My experience with recycling soft drink cans on the trip has made me very proud of the Back Mountain's recycling program,” she said. Besides getting an up-close glimpse of America, the cross- country trip taught Holmes a few things about herself. “Ilearned to ask for help,” she said. “Although I try to be inde- pendent, some days I doubted that I could finish that day's ride, particularly through the rough weather. And I learned that I'm a lot tougher than I thought I was.” “I gained mental strength throughout the trip. And our camaraderie taught me to em- pathize with people having diffi- culty,” said Holmes. “For ex- ample two riders had to leave the trip because of physical problems. It must have been terribly difficult for them to be forced to quit in the middle of a project that they had their hearts set on completing.” Holmes’ Penn State-Lehman campus, where she teaches health and physical education, helped her out in many ways, from contrib- uting to funding for the trip to making sure that she had mail waiting for her at many stops along the way. “Thanks to my Penn State friends, 1 got the most mail of any rider on the trip.” The Back Mountain commu- nity's generosity included strangers who made generous \ co-workers from jg donations and a local merchant |, who arranged for Holmes’ bike} to be shipped by United Parcel Service to Los Angeles. “Bicycling across the country was the realization of a dream for me,” said Holmes. “I'm thrilled to have helped to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity, and I am very proud to have represented the people of the Back Mountain in this effort. Pension (continued from page 1) e In 1991 the plan used excess state aid totaling $991 to offset pension costs in other years. They recommended that this excess amount be returned to the Com- monwealth because state aid should be used on an annual basis. e State aid allocated to the plan and municipal contributions made to the plan exceeded the required five percent of the participants’ payroll. Auditors recommended that the township withdraw the excess contributions and interest, and that in the future municipal offi- cials make sure that they deposit the correct amount. e The plan's financial statements prepared by the municipality were inadequate because they did not include the additional information needed in assessing the plan's present and future ability to pay benefits when due. Auditors recommended that municipal officials include this information when preparing finan- cial statements. oe Two township supervisors, roadmaster Frank Wagner and Golf club ‘(continued from page 1) gallons, which could meet the course's needs for 40 days. At that time, club atttorney Richard Caputo said the club had an agree- ment with Pennsylvania Gas and Weter to use untreated water from the nearby Huntsville Reservoir. However the utility could termi- nate the water supply to the golf club at any time. Course superin- tendent Scott Schukraft said that the club planned to use drought- resistant grasses which require less water. The club would admit 450 members, who would pay a $15,000 initiation fee and yearly dues of $2,200 to $3,200. Caputo has estimated that the club would pay approximately $35,000 annually in taxes to Lake- Lehman School District and $2,800 to Luzerne County, based on an estimated $4 million to construct the course. laborer Phil Walter, were inappro- priately participating in the plan. Auditors recommended that the township's board of auditors ap- prove the supervisors’ participa- tion in the pension plan, as re- quired by state law. e Township officials failed to formally appoint a chief adminis- trative officer of the pension plan, which could result in important filing deadlines being overlooked, state aid being adversely affected and or delayed, and investment opportunities being lost. e Funding requirements for the OUR MID-SUMMER SALE of Quality Furniture Stores! suggested list prices. Even custom orders placed during this sale enjoy ““sale’’ discounts of 20% to 40% off manufacturers’ plan were improperly submitted in the township's budgets for 1990 and 1991, as required by state law. e The township did not deposit its 1990 state aid within 30 days of its receipt, as required by state law, losing interest. “We made a mistake. The check wasn't deposited for nine months, but there was no harm done,” said township solicitor Frank Townend. Auditors recommended that the municipality repay the interest that was lost and deposit state aid into the pension plan promptly. ALWAYS DRAWS TREMENDOUS RESPONSE FROM THE ENTIRE NORTHEAST! What makes this sale so special? It’s an honest sale! You save 20% to 50% off the same magnificent styles of famous brand fine quality furniture and accessories which have placed Town & Country Furniture Galleries in the forefront e Pennsylvania House e Henredon e Sherrill e Lane e Dixie o Stiffel e Karges 90 days same as cash for qualified buyers. It’s an incredible sale! Hurry in for the greatest selections! SAVE ON THESE FAMOUS BRANDS: e Union National ¢ Highland House ® Hickory Chair * Richardson Brothers e Century ShowPlace ¢ Bernhardt Townend said that township secretary Glenn Howell will be appointed as the pension plan's administrative officer. The auditors also suggested that Dallas Township establish and implement written procedures to assist them in complying with proper reporting and funding re- quirements. “We have tried to comply with the law ever since the township joined the pension plan. Up until now the auditor general's office has had no complaints against us. e Thayer Coggin e Lloyd/Flanders e Grosfillex * MeadowCraft * Emerson Leather e Carsons e Karastan Carpet e and many more Town & do Revolving Charge Accounts Available. Inquire at store. Open Mon. & Thurs. 9:30 A.M. to 9 P.M. Tues., Wed., Fri., Sat. 9:30 A.M. to 5 P.M. 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