= pw Sunday, July 31, 2011 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 L Homecoming is all about ‘kids and community By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com i» Kids and community are at the heart of the 2011 Harveys Lake Homecoming, and this summer’s weekend-long event will ensure the two notions will remain part of the borough’s agenda throughout fall, winter and spring, too. Monies raised from the event, which will be held August 5-7, will be used to promote more community-minded events dur- ing other times of the year. Pre- viously, the homecoming funds were saved for beautification projects. “Originally, the money was used for beautification projects at Harveys Lake, but we were limited with what we could do that everyone could enjoy,” said Amy Williams, a homecoming For a complete schedule of Homecoming events, please turn to page 10. committee member. Earlier this year, the commit- tee sponsored an Easter egg hunt for borough children, and it was decided that homecom- ing funds should be used for similar events to keep the com- munity together all year long. During homecoming week- end, a suggestion box will be available for attendees to sub- mit their ideas for different events throughout the year. “We have some ideas of our own,” said Williams. “We'd like to do ice skating at the beach during winter, another Easter egg hunt, Halloween parties (and) something at Christmas for adults like a dance.” Borough council member Rich Williams III said the lake has changed a lot since he was a kid in the 70s, but this event has spurred memories from long ago. “As a kid, I used to fish from Sandy Beach all the way to Han- son’s Amusement Park,” he said. “I used to go from dock to dock, and, as long as you cleaned up your mess, no one had a problem with it. Now there’s nothing here for the younger kids.” Williams said since his uncle, Mayor Clarence Hogan, took the reigns for the event, it re- See HOME, Page 10 a a So ane a Thien CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK FILE PHOTO/ FOR THE DALLAS POST The Harveys Lake Boat Regatta is just one of the many events scheduled to be held during the 201 Harveys Lake Homecoming. LAKE TOWNSHIP Decision 1s made to seek tax restitution & By EILEEN GODIN Dallas Post Correspondent A unanimous decision to seek restitution for missing paid taxes from 2006 to 2009 led supervisors to file a claim with former tax collector Donna Kocher’s bonding com- pany. Earlier this year, supervi- sors requested an audit of tax- es paid into the township dur- ing Kocher’s terms. Attorney Mark McNealis said the audit revealed $5,636.03 of paid tax- es were unaccounted for. He advised supervisors to file a claim against Kocher’s bonding company, Ohio Casu- alty Insurance Company. A bond is insurance required of all tax collectors to protect municipalities if property tax payments are lost or stolen. Kocher held the position as tax collector for Lake Town- ship from 2003 to 2009. She fell under scrutiny in 2010 when Luzerne County Con- troller Walter Griffith subpoe- naed her twice for her 2009 tax books and proof of bond- ing. In other news ... ° Two county-owned bridges damaged in the flood of 2006 will be repaired by the end of August. Chairman Lon- nie Piatt said Pickarski Con- struction Company, hired by the county, will wrap up its work on North Mountain Road Bridge in two weeks. “They have to finish up the upper road wing walls,” Piatt said. “This was a pre-cast box bridge.” Kocher held the position as tax collector for Lake Township from 2003 to 2009. She fell under scrutiny in 2010 when Luzerne County Controller Walter Griffith subpoenaed her twice for her 2009 tax books and proof of bonding. Then Pickarski Construc- tion will move over to the East Sorber Mountain bridge, he said. e B & J Paving, of Shaver- town, received the bid for small paving projects to 385 feet of Lamoreaux Road, 100 feet of Whitesell Road and 585 feet of Loyalville Road. The company’s bid was $9,800. Another bid of $39,756 was received by Pikes Creek, of Sweet Valley. e Supervisors approved a motion to continue carrying Blue Cross/Blue Shield for medical insurance. Piatt stated this year there was a significant increase of $300 per month and added that su- pervisors will research other companies for next year. e It was reported that the township’s liability and work- ers compensation insurance through DGK, Factoryville, saw an increase too. Secretary Charlene Price said the cost of liability insurance, which cov- ers all municipal equipment and buildings, increased from $6,304 to $6,498. Workers compensation insurance was $4,263 and went up to $4,482. BLOOMERS PRESENT CHECK TO ASTA The Back Mountain Bloomers Garden Club recently donated $15,000 to the Anthracite Scenic Trails Association (ASTA). The Bloomers raised the money during the recent Tour of Back Mountain Gardens held July 2. The funding will be used by ASTA to underwrite a portion of the annual operation and mainte- nance costs of the Back Mountain Trail. From left, are Julie McMonagle, of Shavertown, executive director, ASTA; Lisa Lind- quist, of West Wyoming, garden tour chair; and Jean Kolojej- chick, of Kingston Twp., sponsorships chair. Sgt. Michael Moravec publishes article in Criminal Intelligence Center bulletin. By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Kingston Township police re- sponded to a vehicular accident near Shadetree and Woodbine roads around 8 p.m. May 27, but what they found was atypical of a “normal” crash. A mustard-colored liquid had splashed all over the front pas- senger’s seat and window of the vehicle. When the door was opened, a strong sulfur odor per- meated the area, and emergency response crews had to wear haz- mat suits to further assist the in- vestigation. The incident is the subject of research on hydrogen sulfide su- icide conducted by Sergeant Mi- chael Moravec recently publish- ed as a brief in the Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center bulletin. Moravec believes the victim, a Shavertown man, attempted to commit suicide by mixing household chemicals to produce hydrogen sulfide, a hazardous gas that affects the central nerv- ous system and can cause as- phyxiation. Investigators said the victim mixed lime sulfur and muriatic acid in a cooler, lost conscious- ness due to the resulting chem- ical reaction and crashed into a tree at the site. Moravec said the gas is highly dangerous not only to those who intentionally mix the chemical concoction, but to bystanders as well. He said, while police are paid and trained to deal with these situations, Moravec wants to en- sure volunteers are well aware of the consequences of these types of incidents, as well. “Once we opened the doors, you could not get away from it,” said Moravec of the smell. “Guys began to experience symptoms PENNSYIRADHA CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE CENTER 24 LEONE ADA KT officer writes about chemical suicide CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Kingston Twp. Sgt. Michael Moravec has authored an article about hydrogen sulfide suicide that appears in a state police periodical. such as burning of the throat and nostrils, shortness of breath, increased mucus pro- duction and heart palpitations.” Moravec and Kingston Town- ship Police Chief James Balav- age felt the incident would be a good submission for the crimi- nal intelligence center to let oth- er police departments around the state know this is happening close to home. “We decided to do this be- cause so many people are affect- ed by it,” he said. Moravec said this incident was the fourth experienced in the state and the first in Luzerne County. He said he had been trained to respond to chemical- ly-induced suicides, but this in- cident “didn’t fit the mold.” Chemical suicide became popular in Japan in 2008, and since then there have been thou- sands of deaths across the globe caused by the lethal mixing of household chemicals. Moravec said information on the method can be found online, and those who decide to take their lives often post signs near where the death takes place, usually in an enclosed area, that warn responders of the danger- ous gas. In the case of the Shavertown man, there was no warning. Mo- ravec said, in addition to several ambulance crews who respon- ded to the scene, state police lab technicians and the state De- partment of Environmental Pro- tection were also part of the in- vestigation. He said it took hours to pinpoint the gas and speculate why the chemicals were in the vehicle. The victim was taken to the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital emergency room and then flown to the Pinnacle Hospital in Har- risburg, where he died two days later. The Wilkes-Barre General Hospital emergency room had to be shut down on the evening of the crash to determine wheth- er the residual gas had affected staff and patients. Two months after all items from the scene were removed, the rotten-egg-like smell can still be detected in the police de- partment’s evidence room. “This is just another example of what police officers are going to be subjected to that the aver- age person wouldn’t even think of,” said Balavage. “If you are a civilian and are the first one there, be very, very careful of the scene.” Moravec, in his 27th year with Kingston Township, said he’s glad he got the chance to share information with police officers all over the state through his published work. “If somebody told me in 1985 that someone could mix muriat- ic acid and lime sulfur to com- mit suicide, I'd say they were crazy,” he said. “In 27 years, you think you've seen it all. There’s always something new to deal with.” New books The following new books have been added to the shelves at the Back Mountain Memo- rial Library, 96 Huntsville Rd., Dallas, for the month of July 2011: EXPRESS “Portrait of a Spy” by Daniel Silva, “Quinn” by Iris Johansen, “Gideon’s Sword” by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, “The Brave” by Nicholas Evans, “State of Wonder” by Ann Patchett, “Split Second” by Catherine Coulter, “Happy Birthday” by Danielle Steel, “Burnt Mountain” by Anne Riv- ers Siddons, “Justice” by Karen Robards FICTION “Portrait of a Spy” by Daniel Silva, “Quinn” by Iris Johansen, “The Things We Cherished” by Pam Jenoff, “Then Came You” by Jennifer Weiner, “A Good Hard Look” by Ann Napolitan, “Split Second” by Catherine Coulter, “Happy Birthday” by added to shelves at BMT library Danielle Steel, “Burnt Moun- tain” by Anne Rivers Siddons, “Justice” by Karen Robards, “22 Britannia Road” by Amanda Hodgkinson, “Best Staged Plans” by Claire Cook, “A Visit from the Goon Squad” by Jen- nifer Egan, “The Arrivals” by Meg Mitchell Moore, “Maine: A Novel” by J. Courtney Sulli- van, “If You Were Here” by Jen Lancaster, “Kindred Spirits” by Sarah Strohmeyer, “Tabloid City” by Pete Hamill, “The Peach Keeper” by Sarah Addi- son Allen, “Misery Bay” by Steve Hamilton NONFICTION “William and Catherine: Their Romance & Wedding in Photographs” by David Elliot Cohen, “She Walks in Beauty” by Caroline Kennedy BIOGRAPHY “The Triple Agent” by Joby Warrick, “Talk Show” by Dick Cavett BOOKS ON CD “Buried Secrets” by Joseph Finder, “Now You See Her” by James Patterson, “On China” by Henry Kissinger YOUNG ADULT “What Happened to Good- bye” by Sarah Dessen, “Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld Frontier Communications introduces program Frontier Communications has rolled out RescueTech, a new suite of technical support services offered through Fron- tier Secure. RescueTech offers residential customers in-home assistance for home computer and net- working needs. Frontier-Certi- fied local technicians will set up computer or wireless net- works, protect home comput- ers from viruses, data loss or software troubles, provide so- cial media tutorials, including the set-up and security of Face- book, Twitter and Linked In accounts and install new soft- ware. Before being certified, Fron- tier’s local technicians com- plete a training program that ensures their proficiency with PC and Mac platforms, soft- ware applications, wireless net- working, computer set-up and installation, virus diagnostics, file back-up and storage solu- tions, email set-up and a varie- ty of consultative services.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers