EJ | ! i j 1 t | i i | i | | a i | 1] f [ @ Rave’s closing retail stores to focus on landscaping (lL Vol. 115 No. 1 January 4 to January 11, 2004 Holiday basketball tournament | coverage. Page 7 50¢ SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS & LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS HL man charged in 3 robberies WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Robert @". Baldoni, 26, of Harveys Lake, arrested by Wilkes-Barre Police early Tuesday morning in connection with three robberies. Baldoni is accused of robbing a Turkey Hill Minit Market at the inter- section of Routes 415 and 118 in Dal- las Township, the Sheetz on Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre early in the morning of December 29. He is also charged in a robbery at Big Lots in the East End Centre on Kidder Street in Wilkes-Barre Township later that day. According to police, in the morn- ing robberies Baldoni entered the stores and asked to buy a pack of cig- arettes. When the clerks opened the cash registers, he grabbed a handful of cash and fled. Dallas Township police were aided in identifying the suspect through a license plate number obtained by a Turkey Hill clerk. Police learned the vehicle was registered to Baldoni’s fa- ther, Robert Baldoni Sr. Wilkes-Barre Township Police said Baldoni entered Big Lots at 7:50 p.m. Monday, approached a cashier, and 4@ien the cashier opened the register W@ accept payment, Baldoni punched the cashier in the stomach, grabbed cash and fled. Township police said he fled the scene in a 1991 Pontiac Sunbird oper- ated by Ryan Anthony Brock, 22, of Shickshinny. Baldoni faces multiple charges, in- cluding robbery, criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, simple assault - and theft, police said. He is held at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $20,000 bail, police said. Brock is charged with criminal con- spiracy to commit robbery and also is held at the county jail in lieu of $29,000 bail, police said. POST PHOTO/ERIN YOUNGMAN Amy Newhart, center, and Colleen Scanlon have taken over the pub in the center of Dallas, renaming it Libations. They served jack Novitski on recent evening. Dallas pub being transformed By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff “This was our dream and DALLAS — New owners, a new interior, plans for changes to the exterior — the for- mer Main Street Pub is now Libations and the proprietors have a lot in mind for the business. Amy Newhart of Kingston and Colleen Scanlon of Wilkes-Barre took over the Dallas Borough bar September 2. Along with physical and aesthetic improve- ments to the building, the pair are working with the Our Dallas — Today and Tomorrow visioning group to open their establishment for community-wide monthly entertainment. They've built a kitchen and think the soon- to-be-added full menu will be a big draw for area residents. It will provide dining for fami- we were well aware it would be harder before it would be easier.” Colleen Scanlon Co-owner of Libations lies during the day, and stay open until 1:30 a.m. “I think what we really want to project is that Libations is a bar for everybody, young and old,” said Newhart. In fact, a Tuesday evening trip to Libations finds long-haired, blue-jeaned college stu- See PUB, pg 3 POST PHOTO/RON BARTIZEK Kingston Township Supervisors Paul Sabol, Carl Goodwin and Neil Allen shook hands after fi- nally passing a 2004 budget. Budget passes with 10-mll property tax By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff KINGSTON TWP. — Supervisor Carl Goodwin, who on December 10 supported a property tax rate of 10 mills, proved to be the deciding vote in its final adoption at the December 30 meeting approving a 2004 township budget, but not until the failure of his attempts to cut the rate by half. Tuesday’s meeting was the ninth in a marathon se- ries of budget hearings since October 27. If the super- visors had not reached agreement by December 31, the township would have been unable to collect taxes, adding more strain to a budget that was already stretched thin. in Hl HT But, Tike every other step along the way, final pas- sage did not come easily. After first rejecting it, the su- pervisors adopted a budget that included $194,500 in revenue from a 10-mill property tax. The legal se- See BUDGET, pg 2 A Chain stores, economy, even the weather, made going tough By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff SHAVERTOWN — The deci- sion to close the retail side of their operations did not come eas- ily for Rob and Scott Rave. But they saw that increased competi- tion and other factors would con- tinue to make the garden center business difficult, and they feel concentrating on a healthy land- scaping operation will pay divi- dends. The Raves have decided to @Pse the three locations of Rave’s Garden Centers stores, in Shaver- town, Chinchilla and Ashley. Lig- uidation sales began last week, as “for sale” signs went up at the properties. The Rave’s Ski Loft stores will remain open, and plans are to continue that side of the business as well. “Telling dad was probably the toughest part of the whole thing.” said Rob Rave, 48. Robert Rave Sr. and his brother Lou started the business in 1950, on a small lot near Caddie LaBar’s on the Dallas Highway. Lou and a crew spent each day out doing landscape work, while Bob Sr. ran the 12’ by 12’ store. Rob Jr. and Scott, 45, bought the business from their father in 1996. Lou Rave died in 1998. The stores have about 15 full- FOR THE POST/PETE G. WILCOX Rave brothers Rob, left, and Scott are closing all three of their stores in order to concentrate on their landscaping and ski shop businesses. They are shown in front of the Shavertown store. time employees and an equal number of part-timers, although the actual number varies with the season. Many are laid off during the first quarter of each year, re- turning as business picks up. The landscape business, which specializes in custom design and construction, should employ 25-30 - people in the spring. “We’ve been building employees there,” while cutting back in the stores, Rob said. Some store employees are likely to make the switch to the landscape operation, he said. Scott Rave said a combination of factors led them to turn toward the landscaping side of the busi- ness. New competition from large retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s was one consideration. At one time, larger stores didn’t offer the selection to be found at a dedi- cated garden center, but that is be- coming less the case. Attorney Bernard Walter has an office across Route 309 from Rave’s, and has been a steady cus- tomer. He will miss the store. “Rave’s has been a well-man- aged family business that hand picked its plants and merchandise instead of buying en masse,” Wal- ter said. “This community will miss their fine stores.” Two other factors beyond their control led to stagnant retail sales. “The weather has been really dev- astating the last two years,” said Scott. And the aftereffects of the 9/11 terror attacks and stock market decline took a bigger toll than pre- vious economic slowdowns. “It was a different thing,” Scott said, as business did not recover as it had before. While he was careful not to lay blame entirely on the chains, Scott said they clearly had an ef- fect, particularly in a region where population is not growing. “They all take a piece,” he said. Adjustments in product lines have helped keep the business vi- able. Sales of Christmas merchan- dise became more important in re- cent years, and the stores had be- come known as a source for high- quality outdoor furniture. But even those markets have become more competitive, to the point that the half-price sale became the stores’ biggest day, Scott said. While the retail business was struggling, the brothers saw growth in landscaping, but more difficulties for the stores in the fu- ture. “Now we can put all our ef- fort into a business that’s prof- itable,” Rob said. “It just makes sense to get out while we're on top. If we wait longer it could be a problem.” Landscaping has been consis- tent. “Each year we do a little bet- ter,” said Rob, and 2003 was the best ever despite all the rain. It is a field where service and creativi- ty are important selling points, something the chains can’t offer, he said. They will concentrate on cus- tom design, and making use of unique plants. “We've really devel- oped a network of sources,” Scott said, beyond the standard suppli- ers. The company also devotes a lot of energy to incorporating flag- stone and brick patios into its de- signs. While the landscape business is See RAVE'’S, pg 3 POST PHOTO/RON BARTIZEK Prize-winning pose Ron and Maryann Strohl have been entering the Kingston Township Holiday Decorating Contest for many years. And their house at 223 Cliffside Avenue in Trucksville has been a consistent winner. This year they placed second with an imaginative — and extensive — display of lights, reindeer and holiday figures that dazzled the judges. The cou- ple takes great pride in their effort, which Ron Strohl said is made for the neighbors and 13, soon to be 14, grandchildren. Their talent shows on the inside, too, where a ro- tating tree towers over a Christmas village. And they ’re not done yet. “We add something every year,” Ron said. “We have big plans for next year.” Additional photo on page 2. ¥ INsiDE THE Post Sem band to 10 Pages, 1 Section swing at Joalendar...........c.ui ne 10 LT | OR 6 Jazz Cafe. 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