L Vol. 116 No. 28 The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 July 10 to July 16, 2005 » Little League tournament action. - 50¢ Nick and John Arnone's grandfather built the dock nearly 50 years ago. By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff HARVEYS LAKE — Until July 1, the worst thing that had happened to Nick and John Arnone’s dock in the lake’s inlet was a roof blowing off in the 1970s. It was not replaced, and that’s just as well now that a fire has con- sumed 14 boats and most of the dock. The inferno, which sent plumes of dark, acrid smoke into the air while spilling gaso- line’and oil into the water, started in a boat at Arnone’s 20-slip marina. Witnesses said the ~._ fire started when Anthony Skiro, 37, of Hanover Township, tried to start his boat and the engine caught fire — and so did he. Skiro jumped into the water, and his boat began to drift, igniting others. Firefighters from Harveys Lake and Kunkle were the first to reach the scene, but their efforts to douse the flames with water were unsuccessful. : “They should have just let them burn,” Nick Arnone said two days after the fire. “Because they burned anyway.” He said both the fiberglass hulls and canvas covers con- tributed to the intensity of the fire. The dock was built in the 1950s by Arnone’s grandfather, and will be rebuilt, although Arnone isn’t sure how quickly, given today’s regulatory requirements. Mark Carmon, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, may have good news for Arnone; the rebuild- ing process may not be difficult if the sup- porting pilings are intact. “Those pilings are pretty big,” Carmon said. “If it’s just cosmet- ic, there may not be any permits required.” Arnone said he had not been able to inspect FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Nick Arnone talks about his plans to rebuild this dock at Sunset Marina. All but three of the 15 slips were destroyed by a fire last week. Dock owner vows to rebuild the dock closely because it is still surrounded by floating barriers being used to collect oil and gas. The news is worse for some boat owners who tied up at the dock. “A lot of them did have insurance,” Arnone said, but some did not, including a couple who had put a new boat in the water. “They’ll be paying for the next 10 to 15 years, and they’ll have nothing.” Arnone charges $500 per season for dock- ing privileges, and he said his contract specif- ically states that insurance is not provided. In a move to protect himself, Arnone said con- tracts will be rewritten to require that boat owners carry liability insurance that would pay for damage they cause. The dock was not insured for damage, only liability, Arnone said. Because work is being done on its engine, a See REBUILD, Page 2 By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff Could the July 1 fire at Harveys Lake have been prevent- ed, or at least controlled before than a dozen boats were destroyed? There seems to be no quick answer to that question, and little in the way of regula- . tions that could help the next i time. “I think everything went pret- ty well,” said Kunkle Fire Chief Jack Dodson. His department was second on the scene, follow- ing Harveys Lake Fire & Ambulance. “I've been chief for 33 years, and I've never seen . anything like this.” Firefighters poured water on the burning boats until they could get foam set up. Because the boats are made from fiber- Gasoline vapor, which is heavier than air, settles in those areas and is highly flammable. Also, the boats were moving targets FOR THE POST/FRED ADAMS A Dallas firefighter poured water on one of the burning boats. engine. boat caught on fire while its owner was doing work on the George Horwatt, of Dallas, a In the end, boaters are the key to safety constructed, and thus more expensive. Horwatt suspects some boat owners choose less- costly standard replacements, which lack the safety measures. Larger marinas have fire extin- guishers and other safety equip- ment handy to the docks, Horwatt said. “You're talking millions of dollars of invest- ment” in large boats, he said, so boat owners demand precau- tions. Nick Arnone, co-owner of the dock that burned, said he’s heard there may be a push to require 100-pound fire extin- guishers at docks. He doesn’t think that will help, and the equipment will be vandalized. Besides, he said, unless there's a trained firefighter around, extin- guishers won't be effective. “There’s really nothing you can LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Tunkhannock getting a new ‘streetscape By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Post Correspondent TUNKHANNOCK - It has taken since 1994, but with plenty of help from the com- munity work finally is moving ahead on a downtown Tunkhannock streetscape project. When completed, new sidewalks, curbs, trees, benches and “gaslight type” pedestrian light- ing will stretch one block in each direction from the red light at the intersection of Routes 6 and 29. “It took a lot of time and effort to pull this off,” says Donna LaBar, owner of a real estate office on Tioga Street, and member of the streetscape committee. “It took five years just to get the initial money for the design project in 1999.” Committee members visited and spoke to officials in other towns who were going through the same process. “They were always more than happy to share their experiences and we learned a lot like that.” LaBar notes that the project is the brian- child of “just some business people” who wanted a more attractive downtown area in order to stimulate tourism and keep business in town. “It’s exciting. I'm sitting here today, watching them tear out the first 200 feet of See STREETSCAPE, Page 3 Drain is a menace, supervisors are told By CAMILLE FIOTI Post Correspondent DALLAS TWP. — A large open drain pipe on the corner of East Center Hill Road and Midland Drive is an accident waiting to hap- pen, said Randy Parry who lives on that cor- ner. “Somebody’s going to have an accident down there,” he told the supervisors at their July 5 meeting. “It’s an extremely dangerous situation.” The opening to the pipe is at the bottom of a deep trench along East Center Hill, and since the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation owns that road, they are the ones to do the maintenance, responded vice chairman Frank Wagner. Parry said that storm water runoff from a parcel of land behind his house is contribut- ing to the problem. “The water just keeps coming. I've seen it go through my yard three feet deep.” : He asked the supervisors if the swale in front of his house on Midland Drive, which is See DRAIN, Page 2 glass and plastic, water isn’t boat dealer for more than 20 do,” he said. very effective. But there were problems even with the foam. “There were different loca- tions you couldn’t get into,” Dodson said, since most boats after their mooring lines burned off and they began drifting. “It was just a different scenario all around.” years, said boats and motors are equipped with specialized com- Jim Stout, Waterways Conservation Officer with the Pa. Fish & Boat Commission, While an exact cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, ponents to prevent fire, such as shields to contain backfires or sparks. Even the starter motors said most boats are required to have a fire extinguisher on FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK On the ball Rory Corcoran kept his eye on the ball AST a. Sil | | | | | have closed compartments that the foam could not penetrate. during a tennis camp held recently at HH Newberry Estate. More photos on page 3. { early reports indicated that one on marine engines are specially See SAFETY, Page 2 V Inside The Post Lake-Lehman High School Class of 2005 officers. Today's the last day of the 59th Newt: 615.551 thepost@leader.net Back Mountain Memorial Library | Auction. Booths open at 4 p.m. BN Nant | a Wilkes-Barre PA 18711 and the bidding starts at 6. Advertising: 829-7101 Don't miss out! i V¥ How To Reach Us | | |] 12 Pages, 1 Section CRICHOAE pou tniavantn sivis 12 ChUrEh «coi vidits wiinivs 1 Subscriptions and Delivery: 829-5000
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