The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, March 7, 2002 7 "Crime Watch gets lesson in identification ® By ELIZABETH ANDERSON Post Correspondent JACKSON TWP. rude. Charles Balogh of the Luzerne County's District Attorney's Of- fice had just begun his presen- tation to the Jackson Township Crime Watch on preventing the opportunity for a burglary, when a man in a blue jacket pushed swiftly out the door of the meet- ing room, rattling the glass pane noisily behind him. Most of the 30 or so residents present glanced his way for a few sec- onds, wondering why he had left so suddenly. Surely, he wasn’t bored yet. The Crime Watch citi- zens quickly settled back in to listen. Who was that anyway? A moment later a woman in the back stood and said, purse has been stolen.” Okay, it was just a hoax; a test revealing the descriptive powers of the Jackson Township residents to be pretty good — even if their reaction could have used a little help. “Everyone just stood there like, ok, this is a normal guy,” laughed Balogh. “This is how fast things happen and you are witnessing it. You've got to re- member as much as you can,” Balogh advised. “He was in and out in less than 10 seconds. Sometimes that's how fast things happen.” When Tim Bernick, a worker for the Jackson Township road department, was called back in, Balogh noted that no one had noticed he had gloves on but complemented the gentleman who recognized the Dallas Cow- boys jacket. — That was “ My i he 1a appen.” charles Baloo. Crime Watch advisor Luzerne County District Attorney's Office : The average burglary takes about six minutes and surpris- ingly takes place between the hours of 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. ac- cording to “James,” a career burglar, seen on a video provid- ed by Balogh. Future crime watch meetings will feature oth- er special presentations con- cerning crime and how to pre- vent it. Of the three ingredients of a crime — desire, ability and op- portunity, only the opportunity for a crime can be prevented and this is where extra pairs of eyes and ears for law enforce- ment come in. Balogh cautioned crime watch volunteers against confronting possible criminals. “We normally don’t want you to have a confrontation with any- Crime Prevention Awareness Special- ist Charles Balogh of the District Attor- ney'’s office, left, re- views the descrip- tion Jackson Town- ship residents gave of “criminal” Tim " Bernick. Bernick, who works for the township's road de- partment, gracious- ly volunteered to steal an audience member's purse at last week's Crime Watch meeting to test the residents’ description taking skills. POST PHOTO/ ELIZABETH ANDERSON one. What we want is for you to report in as much de- ‘tail as possible.” “The best crime prevention device ever invented, anyone know?” asked Balogh. “Actually, and you might be surprised about this, it's a good neighbor.” House alarms and indoor pet dogs run a close second. “They say only half of the peo- ple report crime,” added Balogh, reporting that some people do not report suspicious activity or persons because of fear of em- barrassment. The Jackson Township Crime Watch meets regularly on the fourth Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the township munici- pal building. The next meeting will be March 28. JOheetz manager charged with stealing over $7,000 @ A Says she threw money in Courtdale trash bin A theft charge against Michelle Marie Hufford, 31, of 214 Prospect St., Wilkes-Barre, was held over to county court after a preliminary hearing be- fore District Justice James Tup- per. According to arrest papers: Hufford, the daytime manager of the Sheetz convenience store in Trucksville, was seen on the store’s security camera taking $7,170 from the store safe. Sheetz district manager Patri- cia Emilio told police that Huf- ford, after closing out three reg- isters for the second time during her daytime shift on Januay 12, placed the money in a bag and put it in the safe. Two hours lat- er, Hufford went back to the safe, removed the money, used the telephone and put the bag of money in her purse. Police questioned Hufford, who waived her right to a pre- liminary hearing and admitted to taking the money, and told Are You Buying or Building A Home? Interested In Below Market Prices? PROGRAM HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAM Purchases or new construction. Household Income Limits: $46,000 for 1 or 2 member households. $53,000 for 3 or more member households Maximum purchase price varies by county First Time Homeowners only Household Income Limits: $31,000 add $1000 for each additional person. Maximum purchase price limits for new construction or purchases of existing homes. First Federal is a local participating lender and has been serving the mortgage needs of area residents since 1935. For more information about these and other programs, contact any of the following First Federal Mortgage Loan Originators: Debbie Hunsinger 1-877-238-6260 Upper Luzerne County Monroe/Carbon Counties Tami Tenaglia 1-800-284-8949 Greater Hazleton and Schuylkill County Gree” FIRST FEDERAL BANK Michelle Densberger 1-800-622-2118 Columbia/Montour and Northumberland Counties * HAZLETON eo POTTSVILLE © FRACKVILLE ¢ SHENANDOAH ~ e BRODHEADSVILLE ® CONYNGHAM © DRUMS e FREELAND * WEATHERLY ® MOUNTAINTOP «SCOTT TOWNSHIP * BLOOMSBURG e DANVILLE eo LEHIGHTON e SHAVERTOWN ® SCHUYLKILL HAVEN e ASHLAND e MT. CARMEL Istfederalbank.com Member FDIC e 800-582- 6307 E Mail: fed 1@ Istfederalbank.com =) Equal Housing Lender *Statewide Homeownership Program—5.625% interest rate in effect as of publication date. Assuming an amount borrowed of $50,000 with a 1% service fee and a $300 qualifying fee the annual percentage rate (APR) will be equal to 5.865% for 360 months. **Lower income Homeownership Program—4.75% interest rate in effect as of publication date. Assuming an amount borrowed of $50,000, the annual percentage rate (APR) will be equal to 4.784% for 360 months. Rates are subject to change without notice. Applicants must meet all PHFA guidelines and qualifications. police in a written statement that she threw the bag of money into a garbage container at a car wash on Courtdale Ave. in Courtdale. No Sheetz representative could be reached for comment. \'/ 1 Blood (continued from page 1) monwealth Telephone. Hoff- man retired after 10 years of service to the council and will be replaced by Chris Hoffman of CTE. “I was pleased working with them. I think we were produc- tive and increased a little bit over the years,” said Hoffman. “Most recently, because of 9-11, we saw a change in the dedica- tion of people to donate and it was nice to see the patriotism involved.” Irem Temple Country Club, the Meadow’s Nursing Home and the Dallas United Methodist Church were recent sites for blood drives. “These were very successful and we're grateful for the response,” said Laurie Pop- son, a Dallas resident who is the Blood Services Coordinator for the Wyoming Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross. “We are always looking for new vol- unteers. I worked with some wonderful people through my in- volvement with - the Dallas School District and I hope they will consider volunteering for us when their students go off to college and their PTO days are over.” Research has shown that eight out of 10 people will need a blood product at some point in their lives but only 5 percent of eligible donors actually donate. Eight out 10 people will need blood at some point, but only 5 percent donate. That means that 5 percent of the population is supporting the needs of 80 percent. The need is constant and it is the mission of the American Red Cross to make sure that they are ready to ship whatever is needed. Several blood collections are scheduled for March in the Back Mountain. Lake-Lehman and Dallas high schools will be con- ducting drives that are open only to their eligible students. These collections are planned and organized by members of the student body. Open commu- nity collections will be held at College Misericordia in Dallas on March 13 and at Penn State Wilkes-Barre Campus in Lehman on April 3. In addition, the Shavertown United Methodist Church is in the plan- ning stage of an upcoming com- munity collection. For more information or to sign up, call Laurie Popson at 823-7161, ext. 340. Susquehanna U Choir to perform at St. Paul’s The internationally known Susquehanna University Choir of Selinsgrove, Pa., will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 17 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Dallas. The concert is open to the public and a free will offering will be taken. A reception will be held in the church social hall following the performance. Corrections A story in the February 28 issue concerning the Lake-Lehman Band Sponsors contained misleading financial figures. The article stated over $3 million had been put aside for the athletic fieldhouse on the high school remodeling and construction project. No specific figure has been established. A district court brief in the February 21 issue incorrectly stated that Crystal Visnecki, 27, of Noxen, would face a court trial on a charge of drug possession. The court report indicates she faces trial on possession of drug paraphernalia and a charge of drug posses- sion was dismissed. Motorists Insurance Companies; You know us. 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