CITIZENS’ VOICESPECIAL FLOOD COVERAGE EDITION

YOU’RE READING THE BEST NEWSPAPER IN PENNSYLVANIAAS VOTED BY THE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS — READ MORE ABOUT THE HONOR AT CITIZENSVOICE.COM/AWARDS

© 2011 The Citizens’ Voice

WATER FIGHTState, local officials revive decades-old battle over need for levees in West Pittston.State, local officials revive decades-old battle over need for levees in West Pittston.

COVERAGE BEGINS ON PAGE 2

UNFORGETTABLE DAY:UNFORGETTABLE DAY: Americans unite for tributesAmericans unite for tributesto 9/11 victims on attacks’ 10th anniversary. Page A1to 9/11 victims on attacks’ 10th anniversary. Page A1

Monday, September 12, 2011 Newsstand 50¢COVERING THE GREATER WYOMING VALLEY

AFTERMATH // WEST PITTSTON

COMPLETE WEATHER DATA ON PAGE 39

INDEXAlmanac 39

Advice 16

Birthdays 17

Business A3

Classifieds A6-16

Comics 20-22

Editorial 14-15

Horoscope 16

National A1

Obituaries 24

Police Blotter 13

Political Scene 27

Public Notices A6

Puzzles 21-22

Sports 28

Television 16

DAY NIGHT

Daily # 812 130

Big 4 2488 8357

DAY NIGHT

Quinto 60654 10213

Cash 5 1, 8, 26, 28, 43

Cash 5: Two players matched all five num-bers drawn in Sunday’s game, winning$112,500 each.Powerball: None of the tickets sold for thePowerball game Saturday evening matchedall six numbers drawn, which were: 4, 19,22, 32, 53; Powerball: 24; Power Play: 4.The prize goes to an estimated $25 millionfor Wednesday.

LOTTERY NUMBERS

Treasure Hunt 7, 8, 21, 22, 26

(ISSN 1070-8626) USPS 450-590The Citizens’ Voice is published daily by Times-Shamrock, 75 N. WashingtonSt., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711. Periodicals postage is paid at Wilkes-Barre, PA.Postmaster: Send address changes to The Citizens’ Voice, 75 N. Washington St.,Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711. 1-year, Luzerne County, $130.

INSIDE TODAY’S VOICE

Cleaning upWyoming Area cancels football gamewith West Scranton in an effort to help inthe recovery process following flooding.Page 28

ON THE COVER: An unknown assailant spray paintedthe message ‘Levee or view?’ on Luzerne Avenue in WestPittston. (RALPH FRANCELLO / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE)

To protect or to debate

By Michael R. SisakStaff Writer

Bill Goldsworthy is acutely aware of thedestruction the Susquehanna River hasinflicted on his hometown of West Pittston.

As a young firefighter in 1972, he shuttledneighbors to higher ground as the murkywaters reached a then-record crest in thewake of Tropical Storm Agnes, which pro-duced devastating flooding that reshapedthe Wyoming Valley.

As the borough’s mayor, Goldsworthyguided residents through the flooding thatoccurred in 2004 and 2006, both times seeingstreets and homes nearest the riverswamped with foul, coffee-colored water.

As a resident of one of those streets hehas had to prepare, like his neighbors, forthe worst with each of the river’s ebbs,packing an overnight bag, moving valuedpossessions from his basement, and pray-ing that the river — an unstoppable force ofnature — would be gentle.

Each time, in each capacity, Goldsworthyhas pushed for an alternative to the madden-ing cycle of panic, flooding and destruction: alevee system such as the one that protectedWilkes-Barre and neighboring West Side com-munities from harm as the river crested earlyFriday morning at a record 42.66 feet.

“I would like to see a levee,” Goldsworthy,now a liaison to Gov. Tom Corbett, said. “Ihave no problem with a levee. The leveecould be a beautiful thing for the communi-

ty, beside protecting it.”Opponents to the levee in West Pittston

have argued over the years that the protectivestructure would block their view of the nor-mally placid Susquehanna.

“They were against it,” Luzerne CountyCommissioner Stephen A. Urban said.

The Army Corps of Engineers studied thepossibility of extending the existing leveeto West Pittston in the mid-1990s, when therest of the system was reinforced andraised to 41 feet from 36 feet, but found thecost of the project outweighed the amountof likely damage.

History also played a factor.The original levees in Wilkes-Barre and on

the West Side were built in the late 1930s andearly 1940s. West Pittston never built a leveeand the longer it went without, the more costlythe prospect of installing one became.

“At the time they raised the levee in Wilkes-Barre and everywhere else everybody said,‘Well, why didn’t we get them?’” Goldsworthysaid. “(Those communities) already had alevee, so they were just going up a little higher.West Pittston didn’t have a levee so they had to

JASON FARMER / TIMES-SHAMROCK

WEST PITTSTON: ‘Everything is gone. Everything,’ said Heather Derr, as she andher mother, Brenda Derr, continue to haul garbage to the front yard Sunday.

Heather Rothman, of WestPittston, carefully walks throughthick mud on the sidewalk ofLuzerne Street, as cleanup wasstalled because the mud in herhome caused unsafe conditions.

JASON FARMER / TIMES-SHAMROCK

Floodingprompts newcall for WestPittston levee

SEE LEVEE, PAGE 12

3-Day Weekend Pass $10($15 value)

TODAY’S FORECAST

WILKES-BARRE EXTENDED FORECAST

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2011

Clouds and sun today with athunderstorm in spots; fog inthe morning. Winds south-west 4-8 mph.79 58

83 59

Average normal highs/lows for the week: 73/53: Pleasanttomorrow with sun, some clouds. Winds southwest 4-8 mph. Ashower or thunderstorm possible Wednesday. Winds north-north-west 6-12 mph. Cooler Thursday.

TTUUEESSDDAAYY

Partlysunny

Last year: 77/53

81 51

WWEEDDNNEESSDDAAYY

A t-stormpossible

72/48

64 41

TTHHUURRSSDDAAYY

Cooler

70/46

61 42

FFRR IIDDAAYY

Mostlysunny69/47

67 47

SSAATTUURRDDAAYY

Mostlysunny63/53

2–

THE

CIT

IZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY

,S

EPTE

MB

ER12,

2011

AFTERMATH // RAISING THE LEVEE; COLLECTING DEBRIS

By Michael R. SisakStaff Writer

The Wyoming Valley teetered on the brink of ruin early Fri-day as the Susquehanna River crested at a record 42.66 feet andsurging currents imposed unprecedented pressure on the leveesystem protecting a swath of Luzerne County from Forty Fortto Wilkes-Barre.

Had the levees failed — or if they had not been raised andreinforced in the decades after the devastation of TropicalStorm Agnes — whole communities in the core of LuzerneCounty would have been decimated, former U.S. Rep. Paul Kan-jorski said Sunday.

“I’m convinced that if we had gone through a second disasterlike Agnes, it would have been highly unlikely that we wouldever come back to the extent that we are back from Agnes,”Kanjorski, the shepherd of the levee raising project during his26 years in Congress, said Sunday.

The project, one of Kanjorski’s proudest achievements,raised a 15-mile stretch of levees to 41 feet from the 36-foot levelsurpassed during Tropical Storm Agnes. An additional 3 feet ofprotection was built in, but not advertised, to ward against theunlikeliest of flooding events. The river tested that extra protec-tion Friday, as the river rose faster and higher than forecast.

Floodwaters swept into communities not protected by thelevees, submerging homes in foul-smelling muddy water fromWest Pittston in the north to Shickshinny in the south.

An initial estimate from county officials put the cost of dam-ageat$6million. If Wilkes-Barreanditsneighboringcommuni-tieswerealsowithoutleveeprotection,damageestimateswouldhave run into the billions and more than 65,000 people wouldhave been left homeless, Kanjorski said.

“You can see the difference in devastation in the protectedareas and the non-protected areas,” Kanjorski said. “The peoplein greater Wilkes-Barre and in Kingston will be up tomorrowand open for business almost as if nothing had occurred four,five days ago. There are so many areas that took horrendousdepths of water that will really be recovering for months andmonths and months, if not years.”

The levee raising project wore on for much of Kanjorski’s

career in Washington, D.C., taking 25 years from conception tocompletion. Kanjorski, who once served as the attorney for acoalition of Agnes flood victims, secure more than $200 millionin federal funding for the project.

The project appeared to stall in the late 1970s amid battlesoverdesignandengineering. Intheearly1990s, theArmyAudit-ing Agency criticized the project as unnecessary and too costly,but Kanjorski refused to give up.

He invited President Bill Clinton to tour flood damage in theWyoming Valley in February 1996. After witnessing the flood’sdevastation first hand, Clinton pledged to deliver the funding

required to complete the project, Kanjorski said. The levee sys-tem is now widely regarded as one of the finest levee protectionsystems in the United States.

“Having served in government and having heard the criti-cisms most recently of government, the people of the WyomingValley at the very least should realize that indeed governmentdoesdosomegoodthings,”Kanjorskisaid.“Oneof themclearlyhas been the design and building of the most recent WyomingValley levee rasing project.”

msisak@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061

By Borys KrawczeniukStaff Writer

With hundreds of flooded homes and busi-nesses across the Wyoming Valley, and peopleeagerly dumping tons of damaged goods attheir curbs, officials dealt over the weekendwith the massive job of ridding their townsof the stinky, soggy mess.

In West Pittston, elected officials’ initialanswer was: let flooded residents deal withit.

They distributed a flyer Saturday tellingresidents that disposing of their water-soaked trash was their responsibility becausethe borough lacked the manpower to do it.

West Pittston Mayor Anthony J. Deniscoacknowledged Sunday that the boroughsent the flyer and said it was a mistakemade partly because the borough does notcollect trash and requires residents to hire

private haulers.After hearing complaints, the borough

hired a private contractor to collect the trashand plans to foot the bill, Denisco said. Theremoval began early Sunday morning, hesaid.

“We have a three-man public works depart-ment, we could never handle something ofthis magnitude,” he said.

Luzerne County Commissioner StephenA. Urban said county officials were formulat-ing a plan Sunday to collect the trash. Urbansaid he did not know how soon the countywould begin to collect trash. Still unsure ofwhether trash removal is a cost for which thecounty may be reimbursed by the federalgovernment if a disaster is declared, theywere looking for money to pay for removal,he said.

Trash, debris pileup in flooded towns

WEST PITTSTON: Nathan Sompel, 7, of Clarks Summit, came to RaceStreet to lend a hand to a friend, as he halls garbage from the basementwearing a garbage bag.

SEE GARBAGE, PAGE 9

Levee shortens recovery time

Former U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski said the levee system,a project he took on during his career in Washington,D.C., is one of the finest protection systems in the country.

JASON FARMER / TIMES-SHAMROCK

MICHAEL R. SISAK / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

THE

CITIZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY,

SEPTEM

BER

12,

201

1–

3

AFTERMATH // PLAINS TOWNSHIP; FLOOD RELIEF DONATIONS

By Tom BrolleyStaff Writer

WILKES-BARRE TWP. —A Kingston couple and theirsmall child nonchalantlydropped off cleaning suppliesand a $500 check at a disasterrelief center outside Wal-Mart in Wilkes-Barre Town-ship.

The donation, thoughmore generous than most,has been a common scene attwo disaster relief centers atthe Wal-Mart locations inWilkes-Barre Township andTaylor.

The Wyoming ValleyAmerican Red Cross chaptercoordinated the donationcenters with Entercom Com-munications, which runsfour area radio stations —KRZ, WILK, The Mountainand Froggy.

KRZ employees mannedthe Wilkes-Barre Townshiplocation on Saturday andSunday. They said more than$10,000 combined was donat-ed at both sites on Saturdayalone and the Wilkes-BarreTownship location workedSunday to fill a third boxtruck full of cleaning sup-plies.

“The people have been sogenerous that it makes youreally proud to live here,”said Amanda of KRZ’s“Jumpin’ Jeff Walker Show.”

The Red Cross collectedthe donated cleaning suppliesthat included bleach, spong-es, garbage bags, disinfec-tants, gloves, masks, towels,sponges, brooms and mops.

About 15 volunteers andthree Red Cross workers puttogether kits for those affect-ed by the flooding.

Amy George, the WyomingValley Red Cross develop-ment coordinator, said about100 people or families pickedup kits Saturday at the chap-ter’s 256 N. Sherman St. loca-tion. The chapter will contin-ue to hand out kits until allthe supplies are exhausted.George said she’s alreadyheard many heartbreakingstories about property dam-age in just two days.

“If people need a hug first,we give them that,” George

said. “Then we give them theclean-up kit and wish themthe best.”

Entercom set up a canopyand a Jack Williams boxtruck between the two Wal-Mart entrances for the week-end. Donators stopped at thecanopy Sunday to check a listof the cleaning items needed.The donators then wentinside and purchased thecleaning supplies anddropped them off at thetruck.

Wal-Mart sold out of masksby Sunday afternoon andwere nearly out of bleach.

Kingston resident MaryAnn Mehn dropped off a cartfull of water, Pine Sol andbrooms on Sunday after-noon.

Mehn was spared from theflooding this time around butshe wasn’t so fortunate whenAgnes ravaged the area in1972. That experience com-pelled her to donate.

“At this point, I don’t knowanybody that was (affected),”Mehn said. “But everybodythat was affected I knowbecause we’re all part of theValley. My heart goes out toeverybody.”

tbrolley@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061

Generosity flowsthrough valley

Do you need a cleaning-supply kit? Go to the rearentrance of the WyomingValley chapter of theAmerican Red Cross at256 N. Sherman St. inWilkes-Barre.

The Wyoming Valleychapter of the AmericanRed Cross seeksdonations to help withthe costs associated withSusquehanna River flood.To donate:

■ Write checks to theWyoming Valley chapter ofthe American Red Crossat 256 N. Sherman St.,Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18702

■ Text redcross to90999 to donate $10

■ Online at www.redcross.org

SUPPLIESAND DONATIONS

Landmark diner unableto escape river’s wrathBy Tom BrolleyStaff Writer

PLAINS TWP. — For thelast five years, Andrew Horn-ick hung a copy of The Citi-zens’ Voice from June 29, 2006in his restaurant, Andy’s Riv-er Road Diner.

The cover showed an inun-dated River Street in PlainsTownship with Hornick’sdiner spared from the Susque-hanna River’s last major floodthreat.

The Susquehanna wasn’tso forgiving to Hornick — andmany neighboring properties— this time.

Charlie Krommes, PlainsEmergency ManagementAgency coordinator, said lastweek’s flood damage is thegreatest Plains has experi-enced, even worse than theAgnes flood in 1972.

Krommes estimated that 30to 40 businesses and 50 to 60residences were affected bythe flooding.

In Andy’s River Road Din-er, floodwaters picked upfreezers, coolers and boothsand tossed them around therestaurant like toys.

And water got into the

basement and eroded theearth enough to collapse aportion of his sidewalk.

“We’ve never taken on anywater,” said Hornick, whosefamily took the copy of the2006 Voice with them beforethey evacuated. “We’ve beenhere 23 years, nothing. How doyou like that? It’s amazing.”

Local officials went prop-erty to property on Sunday tolook at damage.

Krommes said they hope tohave a full, written assess-ment of the damage done byTuesday.

He said most propertiessustained major damagewhile a few properties took onminor damage and a coupleproperties were destroyed —moved off their foundations.

Officials emphasized toproperty owners the need todocument and photograph alldamage.

Many property owners gottheir first glimpse of theSusquehanna’s wrath onSunday as North River Streetfinally opened again.

Krommes saw many of thesame reactions when hespoke with different propertyowners.

“It’s just shock here today,”Krommes said. “They’ve nev-er seen it this way. They’retotally surprised and devas-tated by it.”

On Saturday, Hornick andhis neighbor, Rick Rydzewski,owner of the Academy ofGolf Center, both snuck inbehind their properties, awayfrom the river, to see theflood’s damage.

Rydzewski’s property alsosaw major damage as theentire first floor went underwater and his pool deckmoved 25 feet and slammed

into a fence and the side ofhis building.

While Hornick will beginto clean out his property onMonday, Rydzewski and hisfamily and friends began togut the first floor Sunday.

By late Sunday afternoon,they began to pile water-dam-aged items outside and theyhad torn down walls andripped out insulation.

Rydzewski, his wife, Don-na, and children, Nick andJessica, lived on the secondfloor of the property.

He said they’ll have to finda new place to stay as theproperty lost its heating andelectrical sources.

Rydzewksi estimated hisproperty damage could beclose to $500,000.

He said he isn’t sure howhe’s going to pay a mortgageand other bills without a busi-ness open and operating.

“This is causing me tomove on,” said Rydzewski,who is a Class-A memberPGA Professional. “This anew chapter in my life andit’s probably a sign to moveon. We’ll see what happens.”

tbrolley@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061

2020 pages of flood coverage insidepages of flood coverage inside

Newsstand 50¢ • 7-day home delivery $3.30N O RTH E A STE R N P E N N SYLVA N I A’ S L A R G E ST N E W S TE A M

94,795 DAILY READERS*

THURSDAYTHURSDAYJune 29, 2006

Wilkes-Barre, PA

84 Pages

www.citizensvoice.com

UUNTNTHINHINKAKABBLELESusquehanna swells. Evacuation ordered. Disaster emergency declared.

JASO

NFA

RMER

/STA

FFPH

OTOG

RAPH

ER

The June 26, 2006edition of The Citi-zens’ Voice featuresa spared Andy’sRiver Road Diner.

KRISTEN MULLEN / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

PLAINS TOWNSHIP: Andy Hornick Jr. shows the damage flood-waters caused at his restaurant, Andy’s River Road Diner.

4–

THE

CIT

IZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY

,S

EPTE

MB

ER12,

2011

By Patrick SweetStaff Writer

PLYMOUTH TWP. — Totaldevastation.

When the record-high floodwaters receded from the WestNanticoke area of PlymouthTownship, it left behinddestroyed homes and memo-ries that will take months forresidents to bring back to nor-mal — or as close as they pos-sibly can.

Families spent all day Sun-day tearing out the remnantsof furniture, appliances andevenwallsandinsulationfromhomes and businesses. Bothsides of Poplar Street werelined with up to 7-feet-highpiles of debris.

“It’s like a bomb went off,”Ed Brennan said while lookingat the demolished basementapartment of his rental proper-tyonEastPoplarStreet.

Brennan,wholivesinamainfloor apartment of the samebuilding, used a power washerto push mud from his tenant’sapartments. He expressed frus-tration that cleaning suppliesweren’tavailable.

“For previous floods, thecleaning materials werethere,” he said. “I’m not ask-ing for everything to be doneovernight, but what is the

next stage?”One of Brennan’s tenants,

49-year-oldMaryBethGray,hadjust moved into the buildingafter a fire forced her from herSullivan Street apartment inWilkes-BarreinlateMay.

“I don’t know how muchmoremyheartcantake,”Graysaid. “There’s so much losseverywhere.”

Down the alley from Gray, ateam of friends worked toclean out JJ Banko’s Restau-rant — which might havebecome one of the more poi-gnant symbols of destructionafter rumors on Facebook andTwitter reported it had beencompletely swept away.

“How many times can youdo this?” said Jeff Bankovich,the restaurant’s owner. “Mybiggest concern is that we’ll doallthisandit’llhappenagain.”

Bankovich said his heartdropped when he started get-ting text messages from friendsexpressing condolences for thelossof hisrestaurant.

“Iwaslike, ‘OK,I justboughta new house and now I don’thaveajob,’”hesaid.

The building was still stand-ing, though, and havingremoved all of the furnitureand appliances from the build-ing,Bankovichsaidthecleanupprocess wouldn’t be as bad as it

looked, especially thanks to thehelpof hisfriendsandfamily.

“If you’re by yourself andyou don’t have friends likethese,” he said, “it would takememonths.”

He estimated they would beopen again in three to fourweeks.

Just down the road on Route11, 72-year-old Richard Stadts— a lifelong resident and unof-ficial “mayor” of West Nanti-coke — dumped debris on hisfront lawn. He never left his

home during the flood, livingon the second floor and watch-ing the water climb to 4 feet onhisfirstfloor.

“I’ve been here 72 years,”Stadts said. “I’ve been throughfive floods; two bad ones andthreegood.”

This was a bad one. At 2 p.m.Sunday, water was still seepingintoStadts’cellar.

“The water is still comingthroughthewalls,”hesaid.

To make matters worse,Stadts was angry with one of

his neighbors, a small autogarage next door where Stadtssaid gallons and gallons ofmotor oil were either dumpedor left in the basement. As thewaters rose, the oil flowedthrough Stadts’ property andpooled on the Valley Auto Salespropertyontheotherside.

“I watched the black oilstream out of his building,”Stadtssaid.“Theydumpedthat(expletive)loose.”

Lou Hillard, owner of ValleyAuto Sales, also wasn’t happy

about having to clean up the oilflowing onto his property, buthis hands were full restoringhis garage that was almostentirely submerged during theflood.

“Ihavetogutitrightdowntothe studs,” he said. “I neverthought in a million years wewouldgetthismuchwater.”

Though many were coveredinmud,exhaustedanddauntedby the amount of work ahead,theeffortsof theTilburyVolun-teer Fire Co. on East PoplarStreet were able to lift the spir-itsof manyresidents.

Lt. Pete Kuscavage and hiswife, Karen, worked with theSalvation Army to providehot meals to residents, andPete was able to get food andwater from Price Chopper,his employer.

Karen Kuscavage workedat the fire hall since 8 a.m.Sunday and late into the eve-ning Saturday, making surepeople were fed and helpingin any way she could.

“I haven’t even really hadtime to cry,” said Karen Kus-cavage, whose home also had3 feet of water on the firstfloor. “I’ve been passing outwhat I can (to residents).”

Cleaning supplies for resi-dents are expected to arrivesometime Monday, Pete Kus-cavage said.

“It’s going to be a long,rocky road,” he said.

psweet@citizensvoice.com, 570-763-9704

By Kristen GaydosStaff Writer

Just a few weeks ago, Shick-shinny residents celebratedtheborough’ssesquicentennialon a wooden stage near theborough building.

The stage built for the bor-ough’s 150th anniversarymoved 4 feet this week afterfloodwaters ravaged the area,wiping out the entire busi-ness district and neighbor-hoods below state Route 11along the Susquehanna Riv-er. For some, the flood sev-ered any remaining senti-ment binding them to thisoft-flooded, unprotected bor-ough.

Resident Matt Hules, whovolunteered to direct trafficand help out relief efforts,said he’s giving up his dam-aged home as soon as possibleafter seeing the devastation.

“I’m done. I’m moving. Outof town, out of state,” Hulessaid. “I’m done with thistown.”

Residents and businessowners were out in full forceSunday afternoon to begincleaning up.

Workers at Five MountainMarket scraped mud out ofthe grocery store’s parkinglot. Behind them, an icemachine was visible wedgedhigh against the front win-dow. Business owners at Cur-

ry Donuts and Bach’s Fitness,among others, carried outmuddy stock and power-washed equipment to thehum of pumps clearing outwater-logged basements.

“ E ve r y b u s i n e s s i sdestroyed,” said ShickshinnyVolunteer Fire Co. presidentHolly Morris.

Morris said the boroughhad no assistance yet fromthe American Red Cross orcounty Emergency Manage-ment Service as of Sundayafternoon, but it was sorelyneeded. So many residentsare left without the basicnecessities, and they’reunable to take care of thesimplest, everyday tasks

like brushing their teeth,she added.

The borough will receive ashipment of formula, diapersand other baby items fromCVS Pharmacy — their storeon Main Street was amongthose lost — in the next day,Morris said.

Those farther from the riv-er didn’t escape unscathed.The waters rose past MainStreet, through the boroughbuilding and ShickshinnyVolunteer Fire Co. on WestUnion Street and petering outfarther along state Route 239.

State Route 11 aroundthe downtown remainedclosed except to emergencypersonnel, residents and

business owners.Cleanup efforts were also

underway across the river inMocanaqua, although travelback and forth over the riverremained tricky. NationalGuard soldiers and some resi-

dents took to off-roadingalong a railroad bed to crossover a flooded underpass thatblocked the road to the bridgein Mocanaqua.

kgaydos@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2118

AFTERMATH // WEST NANTICOKE, SHICKSHINNY

KRISTEN MULLEN / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

Flood ravages Shickshinny

‘It’s like a bomb went off’

KRISTEN MULLEN / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE

WEST NANTICOKE: John Sirak operates a front-loader lifting John Wagner tothe ceiling to pull soaked insulation out at J.J. Banko’s Seafood Restaurant.Here water pours from the ceiling after pulling a piece of insulation out.

SHICKSHINNY: Floodwaters inundate the down-town in this photo taken at 3:16 p.m. Saturday.

West Nanticoke residentspick up pieces after flood

THE

CITIZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY,

SEPTEM

BER

12,

201

1–

5

The Citizens’ Voice wants tohear from you about any aspectof our coverage. And we’reinterested in news of all sortsabout local people and thecommunities we cover. We have

a home for most everything.

NewsroomManaging Editor......821-2064Asst. Managing Editor.................................... 821-2023Fax...............................821-2247

Local newsNews tip hotline.......301-2180City editor...................821-2057News editor...............821-2074Investigations editor....301-2178

Community editor....821-2069School news.............821-2070Email...........citydesk@citizensvoice.com

Business newsBusiness desk.........821-2115Email.......business@timesshamrock.com

LifestylesFeatures editor..........821-2067Brides, engagements..821-2067

Hot shot.....................821-2069

PhotoPhoto editor..............821-2059Reprints......................821-2059

Citizensvoice.comOnline editor.............301-2181Online advertising....301-2174

CirculationSubscriber services, deliveryconcerns, vacation holds,subscription and billinginformation.................821-2010Circulation director..821-2078Circ. op. manager...821-2019

General informationInquiries......................821-2021

CONTACT US

Volume 33, Issue 350

September 12, 2011

Follow @CitizensVoiceon Twitter.

By Borys KrawczeniukStaff Writer

Officials stressed the needSunday for flood victims andmunicipal officials to docu-ment damage and compiledollar estimates of losses asvictims dealt with the flood-ing devastation that uprootedtheir lives.

The sooner they do that,the sooner direct financialaid can arrive, officials said.

People with flood insur-ance should call their agentsor 1-800-427-4661, a toll-freenumber for the NationalFlood Insurance Program.

People lacking flood insur-ance will have to wait longerfor aid, and documentation is

especially critical for themtoward ensuring a fair andaccurate amount of financialhelp.

“It’s very important nowfor them to get their estimat-ed damage, loss of propertyto them (their municipal offi-cials),” said U.S. Rep. Lou Bar-letta, R-Hazleton.

Significant federal aidrequires the president todeclare a region a majordisaster area, but thatrequires proof of substantialdamage, which is why com-piling the estimates as soon

as possible is important.Once data is gathered, it is

turned over to the governorwho makes the case to thepresident that a disaster dec-laration is necessary. TheFederal Emergency Manage-ment Agency evaluates thedata before making a recom-mendation to the president. Itbases its recommendation onthe amount and type of dam-age (the number of destroyedor heavily damaged homes);

damage to roads, bridges andother infrastructure; immi-nent threats to public healthand safety; and effects onessential government servic-es; assistance available fromother sources; and other fac-tors.

Officials advise flood vic-tims to make lists of damagedor lost items, photographdamage and perhaps have acontractor offer an estimateof repair costs.

Teams from FEMA havebegun working on damageassessments, Barletta said.

A presidential disaster dec-laration could bring moneythat covers uninsured repairsmeant to make a damagedhome “safe, sanitary andfunctional,” and pays for tem-porary housing, medical

costs, clothing, some furnish-ings, cleanup materials andother necessary expenses asdetermined by FEMA.

Home and business own-ers could be eligible for low-interest loans to cover dam-age.

AFTERMATH // DOCUMENTATION & FUNDING

Federal officials begin damage assessment

SEE NEXT PAGE

NOW TAKINGRESERVATIONSFOR GROUP HAYRIDES &PUMPKIN PATCH RIDES

(Pick Your Own Tomatoes)

DYMONDS FARM675-1696 333-5011

POOLSPRICEDLOW.COMEND OF SEASON SPECIALS

16’x32’ In GroundComplete

$17,19924’ Above GroundRound Complete

$2,999262-5386

829-0239

We offer the BEST Prices in Town!

NO PAYMENT UNTIL JOB IS 100% COMPLETEWE ALSO DO FLAT & RUBBER ROOFS

Call Now For Free Estimates!LICENSED & INSURED

GILROY CONSTRUCTION

NEED A NEW ROOF?

BUYINGBUYINGJUNKJUNK

VEHICLESVEHICLES

570-760-2035

$300 & UP$125 Extra If Driven,

Dragged orPulled In!

HAPPY TRAILS TRUCK SALES

Top Dollar Paid ForHeavy Equipment$$ $$

$$$$$$$$$$$

$$$$$$$$$$$

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

BILL HUESSERGENERAL CONTRACTOR

ALL REMODELINGQuality and Experienced (35 years)

IS affordable!Kitchens • Bathrooms • Additions

Windows • Doors • RoofsDrywall • Porch Decks • Siding

FREE ESTIMATES - INSUREDCall 403.5175 or 823.5524

KLASS MOTORS243 Pringle Street • Kingston • 570-714-3300

HONEST SERVICE AT REASONABLE RATESServing the Greater Wyoming Valley Areawith Expert Service in the Repair of:

• All Car & Truck Models• Foreign & Domestic

From Air Conditioning Service to TransmissionsOne Call Does It All!

LOWEST PRICES, GUARANTEED!!

MATTRESS GUYGateway Shopping Center

Edwardsville288-1898

FREEFINANCING

Twin Sets - $159Full Sets - $179

Queen Sets - $199

MATTRESSSALE!

POOL CLOSINGS& INSTALLATIONS

16x32 installed withstamped concrete

$17,900(570) 655-7689

WET BASEMENT???Diverting Water,

Foundation Wall DrainingSump Pumps

Basement Remodelings(570) 655-7689

Roy or Vince466-0879

Voted #1 Masonry Contractor

Brick • Block • ConcreteStone • Chimney & Stucco RepairRetaining Walls • Patio & Pavers

Fully InsuredWorkmanship Guaranteed

rrs TMNow Accepting

And All of Luzerne, Lackawanna &Monroe Counties PA 039701

www.oldtimemasonry.com

FINANCINGAS LOW AS

4.99% APR

NCMA CertifiedRetaining Wall Installer

ALL JUNK CARS &TRUCKS WANTEDHIGHE$T PRICE$ PAIDFree Removal. Call AnytimeV&G 570-574-1275

VITO’S AUTO SALVAGE & EXCAVATINGCLEAN UP & REMOVAL

Call Joe:

510-3509— AVAILABLE FOR HIRE —

• EXCAVATING AND LOADER SERVICE• ROLLBACKS AND DUMPSTERS

• WATER REMOVAL

BUSINESS & HOME CLEAN-OUTSALSO PURCHASING ANY FLOOD SALVAGE

VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT OR MACHINERY

$ CASH PAID $

WYOMING VALLEY LANDSCAPING & MASONRY

287-4144LICENSED & INSURED • ALL WORK GUARANTEED

GuaranteedGuaranteedLowestLowestPricesPriceswww.wvlandscaping.com

Over 30 Years Of Experience

“All Estimates Given In 2 Days”

PA. 066987

Stamped and Stained Concrete, Pavers, Flagstone,All Types of Retaining Walls, Excavation, Drainage,

Custom Landscape DesignsReferences and Photos Upon Request

IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION#1 Old Time PricingWith New AgeTechnology!

rrs TM

Walls, Pavers & Firepits

6–

THE

CIT

IZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY

,S

EPTE

MB

ER12,

2011

AFTERMATH // BARLETTA TO VISIT

FROM PREVIOUS PAGEAs flooded out residents

struggled to get back to nor-mal Sunday, the elected fed-eral officials who representthem were promising vigi-lance in ensuring they gethelp. U.S. Sens. Pat Toomeyand Bob Casey, Barletta andU.S. Rep. Tom Marino, R-Lycoming Township, have allbeen visitors to flooded areaswith Barletta expected to vis-it West Pittston this after-noon.

Marino recalled meeting adevastated flood victim Fri-day at a shelter at Blue RidgeHigh School.

The woman lost her homeand her employer’s businesswas heavily damaged, put-ting her out of work.

“She asked me, ‘Who’sgoing to help me?’” Marinosaid. “I said, ‘Wait a minute,we’re in this together.’”

Marino is in direct posi-tion to help because he is vicechairman of the HomelandSecurity Committee’s Sub-committee on EmergencyPreparedness, Response, andCommunications and co-chairman of a coalition ofHouse members whose dis-tricts were devastated byHurricane Irene.

The coalition met Thurs-day with FEMA’s top official,administrator Craig Fugate,deputy administrator Rich-ard Serino and White Housestaff.

“I am an advocate of small-er government, for sure, butthere are some roles thatWashington is obligated tofill,” Marino said in a state-ment. “Making sure that welift people and local govern-ment out of the ruins causedby natural disasters is one ofthem.”

Marino has assigned threestaff members as recoverycoordinators: Jacque Bell inhis Williamsport office andCathy Romaniello in hisTunkhannock office to han-dle questions from individu-als and business owners; dis-trict director Dave Weber inTunkhannock to handle localgovernment requests; andRobert Savino in his Wash-ington office to deal withFEMA.

Casey said he called theWhite House on Friday toaccelerate the declarationprocess.

He said he was affected byviewing first floors flooded,

water almost as high as sec-ond floors and stop signsnearly covered by water inWest Pittston when he visitedFriday before waters recededand residents returned.

“It was a scene of real dev-astation. Even with all thetechnology, the preparationand the orderly evacuation,even with all of those pro-cesses in place … there’s stillsome things that are unavoid-able,” he said, referring to theflooding. “We’ve got to staytogether as one delegationand we’ve got to make surethat every level of govern-ment is pushing very to pro-vide the aid … We’ve got topush real hard to not onlyhave them make a (disaster)determination as soon as pos-sible but to make sure theresponse is as substantial asthey can possibly determinebecause these folks have beenreally hit hard.”

Barletta said he planned tostay in his district this weekrather than return to Wash-ington for votes.

“I can’t go back and leavethe people like this,” he said.

Barletta said he has calledin staff from this Washing-ton office to help here andannounced the establishmentof recovery centers wherehis staff members will helppeople with questions on fed-eral disaster assistance pro-cedures.

Barletta said many floodvictims are confused aboutwhat to do next.

“I want to be able to walkpeople through this step bystep,” he said.

He also planned to keep hiscongressional offices in Tay-lor, Wilkes-Barre and Hazle-ton open until 8 p.m.

Barletta said he will alsohave staff walking in floodedneighborhoods to get theword out on the need to pre-pare property loss estimates.

“I’m going to do as muchas I can with the resources Ihave,” he said.

Barletta also said he plansto push for levees in unpro-tected towns that flooded,including West Pittston andDuryea.

“The levee system workedas it should and it saved a lotof people and a lot of proper-ty, but there are other areasthat did not have that protec-tion,” he said.

bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

GETINSTANT

CA$H

THE

CITIZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY,

SEPTEM

BER

12,

201

1–

7

AFTERMATH // FLOOD-RELATED ANNOUNCEMENTS

UGI

Officials announced repairshave been completed to theflood-damaged section of the nat-ural gas system in Nescopek andcrews are prepared to restoreservice to homes and businessesin the area. Additional crews willbe available today to assist in therestoration.

The following steps will benecessary to restore natural gasservice to a home:

■ UGI crews will need accessto homes in which gas meters areinside. If there is no flood damageto gas equipment, UGI crewswill enter your home and restoreservice.

■ If there is customer-ownedequipment damage and yourmeter has not been turned off,call UGI at 1-800-276-2722 andcrews will respond promptly toshut down your meter. Homeown-ers should then contact a quali-fied HVAC contractor to repairthe equipment. After the equip-ment is repaired, contact UGI torestore gas service.

CLEANUP KITS

The Wyoming Valley chapterof the American Red Cross willagain be handing out cleanupkits beginning at 9 a.m. today.The chapter is located at 256 N.Sherman St., Wilkes-Barre. Thekits will be distributed via a drive-through so residents are asked toenter at the back of the buildingon the right and exit on the left.

LUZERNE COUNTY

The Luzerne County EmergencyManagement Agency RumorControl Hotline (1-800-821-3716) closed at 6 p.m. Sundaydue to the amount of calls forinformation diminishing. Individu-

als can contact the EmergencyManagement Agency at 570-820-4400 or by contacting their localmunicipality for specific informa-tion on their individual area.

County President Judge Thom-as F. Burke Jr. announced that alljury trials are postponed and willbe rescheduled at a later date.Jurors scheduled to report for theweek of Sept. 12 are excused.Non-jury civil and criminal mattersshall proceed as scheduled.

BARLETTA OPENS CONSTITUENT

RECOVERY CENTERS

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, announced the estab-lishment of several ConstituentRecovery Centers — placeswhere his staff members will beto help people who have ques-tions with the federal disasterassistance procedures.

Beginning at 10:15 a.m. today,members of Barletta’s staff willbe on hand to talk with residents,business owners, and electedofficials to answer questions aboutthe federal response to the historicflooding of the Susquehanna River.

Barletta’s Constituent RecoveryCenters will be at:

■ Duryea Borough Building,315 Main Street, Duryea.

■ West Pittston Police Depart-ment/Borough Building, 555Exeter Ave., West Pittston.

■ Bloomsburg Office of StateRep. David Millard, 605 W. MainSt., Bloomsburg.

■ Greater Wilkes-Barre Cham-ber of Business and Industryoffice, 2 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre (for business inquiries).

WILKES-BARRE

The Luzerne County Court-house and other county offices

will reopen Monday, according toLuzerne County CommissionerChairwoman Maryanne Petrilla. Theparking garage on Water Streetwill remain closed. Parking will beavailable along both sides of RiverStreet between North and Marketstreets. That portion of River Streetwill be closed to normal traffic. TheBrominski Building is also closed.Employees assigned to that build-ing should contact their supervisorfor reporting information.

KING’S COLLEGE

King’s College residence hallsand college apartments reopenedSunday. Classes and all activitieswill resume Monday at their regu-larly scheduled times.

WILKES UNIVERSITY

Wilkes University residencehalls reopened Sunday. Facultyand staff are to report for worktoday. Classes and all activitieswill resume Tuesday at their regu-larly scheduled times. All onlineand conservatory classes willbegin as scheduled today.

WYOMING

The borough mayor announcedthat Wyoming Borough is coor-dinating a program with Gerrity’sSupermarkets and the WyomingPrice Chopper. Individuals whowish to aid local flood victims maypurchase cleaning supplies anddonate them at the stores. Collec-tion carts are located at the frontof the store in all Gerrity’s loca-tions and at the Wyoming PriceChopper. Requested items include

bleach, sponges, garbage bags,disinfectants, gloves, masks, tow-els, sponges, brooms and mops.The program began Sunday andwill continue until further notice.

DURYEA

Due to damage sustained inrecent flooding, Holy RosaryElementary School, 125 Stephen-son St., Duryea, will be forced totemporarily relocate.

School officials have begunplanning the move to the school’stemporary location. No classeswill be held today or Tuesdayas school officials determinean interim site and schedule ameeting with the parents of theapproximately 280 children whoattend the school.

WYOMING VALLEY

HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

With the lifting of the mandatoryevacuation order Saturday, mostWyoming Valley Health Care Sys-tem have reopened.

First Hospital Wyoming Valleyreopened to admissions Sunday,with the successful and orderlyreturn of more than 90 patientsfrom other regional facilities.

The health care systemacknowledged “the extraordinaryefforts of the staff and physiciansof Behavioral Health Services,many of whom left their homes tocare for their patients in alternatelocations.” They further expressedappreciation to the administrationand staff of Clarks Summit StateHospital, Berwick Hospital Cen-ter and Special Care Hospital of

Nanticoke for opening their facili-ties to patients and staff.

Facilities that remain closeduntil further notice include Pen-nant Laboratory sites in the fol-lowing locations: 1701 WyomingAve., Exeter; 201 N. Main St.,Plymouth; and 901 WyomingAve., West Pittston.

The facilities will remain closeduntil further notice as they areassessed for damage.

Patients may visit www.wvhcs.org or call 570-829-8111 formore information and locations ofalternate testing facilities.

GEISINGER

Many Geisinger clinics willresume normal operations today.

Staff at the Kingston, Kistlerand South Wilkes-Barre clinicswill report for regularly sched-uled hours, with the first patientappointment at 10 am. The Dal-las, Wyoming and Tunkhannockclinics will open as scheduledMonday morning.

FORTY FORT

Forty Fort Borough has can-celed its recycling collection forthe week. Collections will resumeSept. 26. Yard waste will bepicked up the week of Sept. 19.

LACEYVILLE

The Wyoming County Chamberof Commerce sent out an alertSunday asking for volunteers to aidin recovery efforts at three largebusinesses destroyed in Laceyville.If you are able to volunteer, callKen Patton at 570-335-7117.

NOXEN

Noxen United MethodistChurch has canceled its upcom-ing homemade soups event dueto flooding. The event was tobe held Saturday, Sept. 17, atthe church, which is located onRoute 29 in Noxen.

SCAMS

State officials are warning resi-dents to be wary of charity scamsin the wake of the flooding.

“Pennsylvanians are generousand want to help their fellowcitizens who are suffering asa result of flooding caused bythe remnants of Tropical StormLee,” said Secretary of the Com-monwealth Carol Aichele, whosedepartment oversees charities inPennsylvania.

Aichele offered recommenda-tions on how people can checkto make sure they are donating toa legitimate charity:

■ Be wary of high pressure tac-tics and door-to-door solicitation.

■ Ask for details about thecharity, and how much of thecharities’ funds go to their chari-table purpose, how much goesfor operating expenses andhow much goes for fundraisingexpenses.

■ Write checks directly to thecharity. Do not give cash dona-tions.

■ Check to see if the organiza-tion is registered with the Bureauof Charitable Organizations bycalling 1-800-732-0999 or onlineat www.dos.state.pa.us, thenclicking on “Charities.”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

BELLESCONSTRUCTION CO.

ENERGY SAVINGSWINDOW SALE

FREE Triple PaneUpgrade on all

Plygem LifestyleWindowsTax Credit Approved

Maximum Efficiency & Sound Control

SIDING EXPERTS TOO!CALL

824-7220PA012959

Derman Associates, LLC

PPhhone: 570-one: 570-392-392-19301930E-mail: inE-mail: info@derfo@dermanassmanassociates.cociates.comom

Design Building & Home Renovations servingNortheastern and Central Pennsylvania

*All inclusive vacation includes free golf, transportation to and from the airport,unlimited food & drinks, unlimited beer and liquor and much more…

Some restrictions do apply. Call for details.

FreeFree All-Inclusive* Caribbean Vacation for 2 withany signed agreement prior to October 31, 2011

CuCustom Home Bustom Home Buildeilders & Rers & Remodemodelelersrs

CContractontractor #: PA076271or #: PA076271

FLFLOOD CLEANUP AND REMODELINOOD CLEANUP AND REMODELING!!!G!!!

$10,000 120 $135 8.76 10.58$20,000 180 $222 9.23 10.58$30,000 240 $318 10.26 11.42$50,000 240 $530 10.26 11.42

Amount Months Payment Rate APR$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$50,000

120

180

240

240

$134

$218

$316

$526

8.48

8.95

10.14

10.14

10.29

10.29

11.29

11.29

Credit Score Low? We Won’t Know!We Do Not Check Credit

570-542-2277

If you’re notselling your JunkVehicle or Heavy

Equipment toHappy Trails, your

losing money!

6 am – 9 pm

HAPPY TRAILS

NECK

PAIN

?

NECK

PAIN

? EEXXAAMMEXAM&& XX--RRaayy& X-Ray

(If Necessary)

Kingston288-5800

Mountain Top474-9600

Call TODAY for same-day appointment!Expires: October 8, 2011

WITH THIS COUPON

FFRREEEEFREE

Buying Gold JewelryDiamonds, Platinum,

Silver – Pure, CoinIndustrial & Sterling

Antique Jewelry (BrokenOK) Dental Gold, GoldFilled Eyeglasses, Etc.

KING TUT’SGOLD REPAIR HUT

824-4150322 N. PENN AVE. W-B

Call the “TROUBLE SHOOTERS”Plumbing • Air • Heating

822-8158Service Experts Since 1921

PAD

AG

HIC

:001

864

8–

THE

CIT

IZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY

,S

EPTE

MB

ER12,

2011

AFTERMATH // DEBRIS CONTROL

FROM PAGE 3“Right now, they’re tell-

ing people to leave it at thecurb,” Urban said.

Nicholas Morici , anexternal affairs officer forthe Federal EmergencyManagement Agency, saidthe removal of debris thatcauses hazards such as adowned tree that blocks aroad is eligible for reim-bursement, but whether theremoval of water-loggedtrash from a home is reim-bursable depends on wheth-er it is a “risk to health andsafety.” He could not say ifsuch trash poses a risk, hesaid.

Faced with a crisis, Dur-yea officials weren’t wait-ing for a determination ofwhether trash removal iseligible for funding.

“It’s piling up,” boroughMayor Keith Moss said.

Local landfills were notopen Sunday, so Duryeaofficials collected enough tofill four garbage truckswith plans to dump it firstthing today at the AllianceLandfill in Taylor.

“They’ve already told usthey’ll put us first in line,”

Moss said.Moss acknowledged the

effort would barely make adent in the mounds ofdebris g rowing alongstreets in the flooded area.

“That’s going to cost ahuge amount of money —at least $20,000 by my esti-mate,” Moss said, referringto the landfill fees.

In Exeter, officials wor-ried about spoiled foodproducts attracting rodents.So they told borough resi-dents in the 28 or 29 affectedhomes with some floodingto wrap ruined food in twotrash bags and leave it atthe curb. The borough’shauler took it away Sundaymorning, Council President

Richard A. Murawski said.As for destroyed furni-

ture, drywall and otherwaterlogged materials andgoods, the borough waswaiting for the county’strash removal plan, he said.

“Most of the people havetheir stuff out already,”Murawski said.

If the county cannot doit, the borough will, hesaid.

Urban said the countywill find a way.

“We don’t believe peopleshould be on their own withtrash pickup from a disas-ter,” the commissionersaid.

In Tunkhannock Bor-ough, borough CouncilPresident Stacy Huber saida fall cleanup scheduled tobegin today was postponeda week so the borough couldconcentrate on flood clean-up. The fall cleanup will bedelayed a week in the ward,he said.

Mayor Norm Ball saidthe borough set up Dump-sters where flood victimscould bring trash and pub-lic works employees cleaneddebris with bucket loaders.

“We don’t want garbageaccumulating outside,”County CommissionerAnthony Litwin said.

DAVID SINGLETON AND JOSH MROZINSKI,staff writers, contributed tothis report.

bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

Garbage: Disposal will cost thousands in landfill fees‘We don’t believe people should be on their

own with trash pickup from a disaster.’RICHARD A. MURAWSKI

Exeter Borough Council president

citizensvoice.com/dealsD o n ’ t m i s s a s i n g l e d e a l ! S i g n u p n o w !

3-DayWeekend

Pass

$10($15 value)

THE

CITIZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY,

SEPTEM

BER

12,

201

1–

9

AFTERMATH // WYOMING COUNTY, DURYEA

Residents salvagewhat they canBy David Singleton, Josh Mrozinski,Katie Sullivan and David FalchekStaff Writers

Ruth Ann Fowler, 69, nolonger has a home.

Her house in MehoopanyTownship off state Route 87is now shuttered because ofdamage caused by floodingwhen the remnants of Trop-ical Storm Lee dumped rainon the region. Fowler saidofficials are allowing her tosalvage what she can fromthe house on Tuesday.

“And then I lock my doorand I can’t go back in,”Fowler said, crying as shestood next to her daughter.While Fowler plans to stayat her daughter’s house —which had been her parentshouse at one time and wasalso damaged by the flood— on nearby Race Street ,she said the smell of gaso-line may force them to findhousing elsewhere.

Hers was one of manytragic stories being playedout up and down theSusquehanna throughoutNortheastern Pennsylvania

on Sunday.In Duryea, Madeline Gil-

lis clung to her “little trea-sures” — a handful ofantique lamps she hoped tosave even as rest of the sod-den contents from the firstfloor of her home at 93 Chit-tenden St. joined a growingpile on the curb out front.

Wyoming County“My daughter lost her

couch, her rugs and the topsof the floor we have to pullup,” Fowler said, addingthey have no water. As Fowl-er spoke, Mehoopany Ele-mentary School staff offeredcleaning supplies and otheritems that have becomeurgently needed followingthe storm.

Three days after Leepoured onto the area, caus-ing rivers and creeks tooverflow their banks, Fowl-er and other NortheasternPennsylvania residents con-tinue to struggle.

When people elsewhere inthe country commemoratedthe 10th anniversary ofSept. 11 on Sunday, residents

in the region pumped outt h e i r b a s e m e n t s a n dmopped up mud. Othersbur ned or threw awaybelongings they could notsalvage.

Many still remained indisbelief as they attemptedto pull their shattered livesback together, while volun-teers and emergency per-sonnel provided food, water,shelter, clothes and cleaningsupplies.

“I can’t live here any-more,” said Connie Learn,as she attempted to salvagemuddied and wet clothesfrom her home on McCord

Street in Tunkhannock Bor-ough. “I bought this houseseven years ago and totallyredid it and it’s a mess.”

She said never has had somuch water in her housefrom a storm. Floodwaterswere so strong that it pusheda refrigerator in Learn’shome to the ground.

The floodwaters leftLearn, a real estate agent,with damaged furniture andappliances bumbling hard-wood floors.

Learn, who spent Sundaymorning washing her mud-died clothes, said her houseis a total loss. She said she

is worried the flooding dam-aged her home’s founda-tion.

Debris cluttered Learn’sfront yard, as well as theyards of neighbors.

“I’m just hoping some-body will come and take itaway,” Learn said, referringto the pile of furniture andother belongings.

In Laceyville Borough,where the mayor has putout a call for volunteers,Betsy Jayne sat in front ofher trailer eating a ham-burger brought by volun-teers as her street buzzedwith volunteers and resi-

dents attempting to salvagetheir lives.

Jayne said she steppedoutside because she grewtired being in her trailer —a total loss due to the flood-waters.

“All of our beds are gone,”Jayne said. “The watercame up 27 inches inside.The only thing we have beenable to salvage is clothing.”

Jayne, whose family hasbeen staying with a friend,said officials have instructedresidents that they can onlyuse their water to rinse items.

BUTCH COMEGYS / TIMES-SHAMROCK

SEE NEXT PAGE

Joseph Czarnecki, Owner

10–

THE

CIT

IZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY

,S

EPTE

MB

ER12,

2011

AFTERMATH // WYOMING COUNTY, DURYEA

She said they do not knowwhat they will now do.

There were portable bath-rooms and dumpsters — twoitems that have become com-monplace in the region sincethe storm — sitting on herstreet.

Duryea, West PittstonWhen the Lackawanna Riv-

er breached the levee near herDuryea home Thursday night,the house where Gillis, 83, haslived her entire life filled withabout 6 feet of water.

“In the long run, I may notbe able to use them,” Gillis,said of the lamps, which wereon Sunday set aside on thefloor in her living room as herbrother-in-law helped herempty out her other flood-damaged belongings.

“You don’t know — you justdon’t know,” she said. “Untileverything is cleaned up anddried out, you don’t knowwhich way you are going to go.

Everything right now is ques-tionable — that’s the word.”

In a neighborhood that hadnever before experiencedflooding on this scale, aboutthe only thing in abundanceon Sunday, aside from sweatand tears, was uncertainty.

Gerry Olcheski, 73, had asmall army of relatives andfriends helping her clean outher home at 103 Chittenden,where she has lived since theearly 1960s.

“To me, it would be betterjust to get the heck out ofhere,” she said. “I don’t think Iwant to stay here anymore.”

In hard-hit West Pittston,the sound of pumps and gen-erators filled the air Sundayas borough residents took thefirst steps toward recovery.

At Agolina’s restaurant, 22Luzerne St., which had 7 feetof water inside, two largeDumpsters were already piledfull by midday Sunday.

“We’re gutting it,” saidowner Joe Agolino, 66, whosefamily has operated the popu-lar eatery since 1962. “We losteverything.”

Friends, customers andmembers of the Wyoming Val-ley West football team pitchedin to help pull items from therestaurant, occasionally ask-ing Agolino whether some-thing should be salvaged ortossed. He decided — reluc-tantly — he should keep onestack of papers: sales taxreceipts.

“I ain’t paying it,” he joked.“If there’s nothing coming in,

there’s nothing going out.”Around the corner, Steve

Chervenitski, 37, had about 5feet on the first floor of hishome at 319 Race St. On Sun-day, two fellow firefightersfrom Tobyhanna Army Depotwere among the crew helpinghim and his wife, Lara, stackthe home’s flood-damagedcontents along the curb.

“What are you going to do?”he said. “It’s not like we did

something stupid in the houseand burned it down. Every-body down here got it.”

As Jim Riddle worked todry out his home at 110Luzerne Ave., which had aflooded basement and about18 inches of water on the firstfloor, he recalled his encoun-ter with another flood in theborough.

In 1972, Riddle was living inJohnstown when his National

Guard unit was assigned toWest Pittston for two weeksafter the Tropical StormAgnes flood. When his jobbrought him to NortheastPennsylvania, his familybought the home on LuzerneAvenue 22 years ago.

“It’s tough. It’s reallytough,” Riddle, 67, said. “At myage, I really don’t need this,but we’ll get through. We justhave to keep our faith.”

‘We just have to keep our faith’

BUTCH COMEGYS / TIMES-SHAMROCK

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE ‘To me, it would be better just to get the heckout of here. I don’t think I want to

stay here anymore.’GERRY OLCHESKI

Chittenden Street resident

Offer valid now through September 25, 2011 only. VALID FOR IN-STORE AND ONLINEPURCHASES. Valid on full price merchandise only (pre-tax). Cannot be redeemed in outletstores. Not valid on gift boxing, applicable taxes and shipping charges. Other exclusions mayapply. May be combined with Friendship Rewards Certificates. May not be combined with anyother coupon, offer, discount or in-store event. If a customer at time of purchase presentsmore than one current individual offer or coupon, that cannot be combined, the customer willreceive the benefit of whichever offer or coupon provides the largest discount. This couponis not redeemable for cash, may not be applied to previous purchases, or the purchase ofgift cards. Non transferable, not for sale or resale, void in such event. Only one coupon perguest and redeemable one time only either in-store or online. Original coupon required. SalesAssociate and online checkout please use promo code 64991. Refunds will match the actualpurchase price printed on the receipt.

$10OFFYOUR ENTIREFULL PRICE PURCHASEOffer valid now through September 25, 2011 only.

visit us on

Visit us SEPTEMBER 12-18 and get acquainted with our new styles.

Great savings await you and a friend in-store or online.

On SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, please join us for a Fall Fashion Show at your

local Christopher & Banks or CJ Banks. Contact your store for time of show.

christopherandbanks.com missy petites cjbanks.com plus sizes 14 & more

Use promo code64991

Christopher & Banks Christopher & Banks Christopher & Banks Christopher & BanksColumbia Mall(570) 387-4950

Laurel Mall(570) 453-0906

Oakdale Mall(607) 798-0020

Stroud Mall(570) 517-5026

Christopher & Banks Christopher & Banks | CJ Banks CJ BanksViewmont Mall(570) 344-5142

Shoppes at Montage(570) 941-9499

Wyoming Valley Mall(570) 825-8556

THE

CITIZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY,

SEPTEM

BER

12,

201

1–

11

FROM PAGE 2dig down and build it fromthe base up — that’s whyours was so expensive. Ifwe had an existing levee itwould have been a lot bet-ter, but we didn’t at thetime.”

Goldsworthy renewed hiscall for a levee Friday, hoursafter touring his ravagedborough with a contingentof state and local officials,including U.S. Sens. BobCasey and Pat Toomey.

The current mayor, TonyDenisco, offered full supportfor the Army Corps of Engi-neers to build a levee, or anyother flood mitigation proj-ect that would save the bor-ough from future heartache,provided the federal govern-ment covered the bulk ofthe cost.

“I’m in favor of anythingthat they want to do on thatriver,” Denisco said. “I’mdefinitely in favor of put-ting some kind of a levee, adiking system, whateverthey decide to do.”

More than 400 homes sus-tained water damage inWest Pittston, including 100

with water up to the secondfloor. The river crested near-ly 2 feet higher than in theflooding from TropicalStorm Agnes and floodingaffected at least 100 morehomes than in that crisis.

“This is widespread,”Denisco said. “There arenew people in town. They’dlike to see it stopped or heldback in a little bit more.”

Casey, a Scranton native,remained noncommittal ona levee for West Pittston,deferring to the Ar myCorps of Engineers andlocal officials, but acknowl-edged the importance ofthe levee system in protect-ing Wilkes-Barre and onthe West Side.

“Certainly when thecommunity supported theconstruction of the levee,that was a consensus deci-sion on a step that neededto take place,” Casey said.

First Sgt. Tom Baux, a34-year veteran of theNational Guard, spokemore freely.

Baux, who was assigned

back to the West Pittstonarmory of the 109th Infan-t r y D iv i s i o n i n M ay,watched from a berm onSecond Street on Friday asriver water lapped againstthe armory’s brick walls,reaching as high as the sec-ond floor overnight beforeslowly receding.

“This surprised me,”Baux said. “I’ve never seenthe water ever this high.”

The armory and its sur-rounding neighborhoodtook on 4 feet more waterthan it did during TropicalStorm Agnes, according toan early estimate.

Along Second Street andSusquehanna Avenue,which runs parallel to theriver in West Pittston,murky water overtookpavement and homes.Roads were only passableby boat.

“We in just as bad shapeas everyone else is on thisstreet,” Baux said. A levee,he said, definitely “wouldhave helped.”

Baux acknowledged the

levee as, “a touchy situa-tion for the people in thisneighborhood,” but consid-ered the long-ponderedequation of scenery versussafety as he looked afterthe sullied landscape.

“You’re living here for solong,” Baux said, “aren’tyou ever going to think,‘I’m sick of this, I don’twant this anymore’?”

msisak@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061

AFTERMATH // WEST PITTSTON

Levee: Denisco agreeswith Goldsworthy on need

WEST PITTSTON: Paul Bradigan lends a handto his neighbors at Agolino’s, by pushing wa-ter to the drain with a broom.

JASON FARMER / TIMES-SHAMROCK

CONSTRUCTION CO.

ABOVE ALL THEBEST ROOF!

NATIONALAWARD WINNING

COMPANYSELECT

SHINGLE MASTER

PA012959

BELLES

824-7220

Eliminate YourGlasses, Contacts, Bifocals.*Have Your Questions Answered.Attend my educationalseminars.

Wilkes-BarreWed. Sept. 14th

ScrantonTues. Sept. 20th

HazletonTues. Sept. 27th

Seating Is LimitedPreReister @

BucciVision.com

24 MonthsInterest FreeFinancing**1-877-DR-BUCCI

**Financing available to patients who qualify.

Attend & Save

$1,000 Off

LASIK

*Individual results may vary

ChiropracticIt’s Not Just ForLow Back Pain!!!

Cross Valley Chiropractic250 S. River St.

Plains, PA. 18705570 822-4848

www.crossvalleychiropractic.com

Most Americansunderstand thatchiropractic careis the treatmentof choice forlow back pain.Did you knowthat this samechiropractic caremay be the bestoption for their non-low back pain problems?

Over the years, millions have foundchiropractic care to be the life changingoption for neck pain, headaches, discproblems, carpal tunnel syndrome andmany other health problems.

Find out what millions already knowabout chiropractic by calling Dr. Langdonfor a complimentary consultation duringthe month of September to determine ifyour health problems may be helpedthrough chiropractic care.

570-854-2283

BasementPumpingAvailable

Call

BOSS PLUMBING

12–

THE

CIT

IZEN

S’

VOIC

EM

ON

DAY

,S

EPTE

MB

ER12,

2011