JOURNAL

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Clarks Summit, Pa. JUNE 20 TO JUNE 26, 2012 50¢www.theabingtonjournal.com

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TheAbingtonJournal

An edition of The Times Leader

THE ABINGTON

Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

ArtsEtc.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Calendar.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Classified .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Crosswords.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Obituaries.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9School.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Sports.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

INSIDE

Area high school andcollege graduates arefeatured in a specialcommemorativesection.INSIDE

Meet thefutureThe search is on for vehicles from

1934 or earlier. See Page 13.

How old is your car?

A lison Treat adjusts Adrian Treat’s hat for a perfect fit while strawberry picking at Pallman Farms,Clarks Summit. June 14 was a busy day at Pallman Farms, Clarks Summit, with the strawberryfield full of people filling their buckets. This year’s strawberry season in Northeastern Pa. is almost

over, however, according to Brian Pallman, who co-owns the farm along with his brother, Bruce Pallman.He said the season began early and is turning out to be a short one, largely due to last year’s wet weather.For additional photos and information, see Page 3.

JUST IN TIME FORSUMMER TREATS

ABINGTON JOURNAL/ELIZABETH BAUMEISTERRANSOMTWP. -Concern amongRansom

Township residents is growing, alongwith thepiles of trees, logs and other debris collecting inlocal creeks.Heavy rains and flooding over the past six years

caused several problems in the area, including anexposed high-pressure gasmain in a creek nearDarkRegionRoad, a sliding bank onLedgeDrive,and a significant loss of depth inmany parts of thecreeks. Residents and township officials fear theseissuesmay create dangers.BudStann, ofDarkRegionRoad, saidwhen the

waters of the creek running through his propertyare high, trees speed down it. But it’s not just treesthat come “ripping” through thewater, he said. It’srocks, firewood and “whatever gets in theway ofthe creek.”He said during extreme conditions, he’seven heard the sound of boulders clunking togeth-er on the creek bed.Stann’s neighbor, Brad Steckel, said he also

knowswhat can happenwhen the creek fills up.“Stuff comes down there that normallywouldn’t

evenmove,” he said.This iswhy he andStann are concerned about a

high-pressure gas pipeline protruding out of thecreek onStann’s property. Both said they dislikethe thought ofwhat could happen if a large logwere to get caught underneath it and act as a lever,or if a heavy objectwere to slam into it at highspeed.According to Stann, the pipeline,which is own-

ed byUGIUtilities and runs across a large portionof his property before heading toward Pittston,was unearthed by flooding in 2006.He saidwhenhe first noticed it, he contactedUGI regarding theproblem, and representatives from the companycame twice to investigate, promising to return intwoweeks.Now, about six years later, the pipeline remains

exposed for a length of at least15 feet, with logsand other debris collecting around it.

ABINGTON JOURNAL/STEPHANIE ELKOA high pressure natural gas pipeline, owned by UGICorporation, protrudes out of the creek that runsthrough Bud Stann’s property on Dark Region Road,Clarks Summit.

ABINGTON JOURNAL/ELIZABETH BAUMEISTER

The peaceful setting of ‘Stann’s Grove’ at Bud Stann’sproperty on Dark Region Road, Clarks Summit, is astark contrast to another spot a short walking dis-tance up the creek, where logs, roots and other de-bris collect around an exposed high pressure naturalgas pipeline protruding out of the creek.

RansomcreekexposespipelineSpokesman for UGI said the company is“conducting an investigation.”

BY ELIZABETH BAUMEISTERlbaumeister@theabingtonjournal.com

See Creek, Page 7

Residents in theAbingtonswillsoon have a newplace towor-ship.

According to Pastor JPDuncan,construction of the newCountrysideCommunityChurch onOrchard Lane,Clarks Summit is currently in pro-gress. He anticipates completion of allmajor parts of the project bymid Julyand the opening of the newbuildingby the end ofAugust, if not earlier.“I’m very pleasedwith the progress

of the project,” he said. “We fell be-hind in a few places, but theweatherwas kind over thewinter andwecaught up a bit. Some things aremov-ing slower thanwe hoped, but goodthings are happening.”

Duncan ismost looking forward tohavingmore space at the newbuildingand property.“Wewill be able to fit all of our

people in the sanctuary,” he said. “Itwill be amore versatile placewithmore room for our educational depart-ment andwe’ll be able to feedmorepeople at out Turkey Supper.”Duncan said plans are in theworks

for a prayer path outside the buildingand a place for people to sit outsideand pray overlooking theWestMoun-tains.Duncan said the project was funded

by the combination of aCapital Cam-paign, a bank loan and a lot of peoplededicating time, labor andmoney,

ABINGTON JOURNAL/ELIZABETH BAUMEISTERThe construction of Countryside Community Church’s new building on Orchard Drivenears completion.

New building,new opportunitiesBY ROBERT TOMKAVAGErtomkavage@theabingtonjournal.com

See Opportunities, Page 7

SOUTH ABINGTONTWP. – A legal petitionfrom Comcast Cable regard-ing the company’s franchisefee could potentially costSouth Abington Township$72,000 annually, and thetownship’s board of super-visors took initial steps todeal with the issue at theirJune 11 meeting.The planning of a major

project also came closer tocompletion at the meeting,with PennDOT constructionof a pumping station byShady Lane Road set tobegin in 2014.The drafting of a property

maintenance code and dis-cussion of burn permits andthe potential banning ofburning in the townshipwere discussed as well.Township Manager David

O’Neill announced Comcasthad issued a legal petitionconcerning a contract donebetween Comcast and themunicipalities of the Abing-ton Council of Govern-ments. The deal gave thetownship a yearly cabletelevision franchise fee, arental charge Comcast paidto the community in ex-

S. Abingtonmight faceloss fromComcastBY CORY BURRELLAbington Journal Correspondent

See Comcast, Page 9

User: mdessoye Time: 06-19-2012 15:28 Product: Journal PubDate: 06-20-2012 Zone: Main Edition: Main_Run PageName: news_f PageNo: 1 A Color: CMYK

C M Y K

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2012 THE ABINGTON JOURNAL♦CLARKS SUMMIT, PA WWW.THEABINGTONJOURNAL.COM PAGE 7A

“washed everything awayagain.” She said amore perma-nent fix is needed, and shehopes itwill come soon.RansomTownshipRoad

MasterDavidBird said afterlast year’s flooding, the town-ship received a grant fromFed-eral EmergencyManagementAgency (FEMA) to fix a largecrack onLedgeDrive, but thetask can’t be completedwithoutfirst securing the sliding bank.He said the township received

a donation of stone for the pro-ject fromAllianceLandfill, buthe doesn’t knowwhere thetownshipwill obtain themoneyto complete thework.Althoughhe saidmuchmore

work needs to be done on thecreek, including the removal ofdebris, straightening, and dig-ging about four feet below thebed, his hope for this year issimply to secure the bank.He said hemetwith an engi-

investigation,” but hewas un-able to comment further or sayhow long the investigationwilltake.Steckel said in the past, he

has foundUGI to be a “phe-nomenal” company to dobusi-nesswith, and he hopes thematterwill soonbe resolved.Residents in other parts of the

township hope the rest of theproblemswith the creekwillsoonbe resolved aswell.Roger andHelenDoty, of

CreekRoad, said the creekwashed away several yards ofland from their property,whichsits across fromLedgeDrive,where the bank is sliding andtaking part of the roadwith it.HelenDoty said the bank

first started to slide after theflooding in 2006, andwas re-paired shortly afterwith con-crete and large stones.But thenin 2010, somuchwater camerushing through, the creek

He followedupwith thenatural gas companyvia tele-phone at least eight times sincethe initial contacts, he said, butwithout result.He presented the issue at a

RansomTownshipBoard ofSupervisorsmeetingMarch 5,explaining, “I had the gas peo-ple here several times, and theyweren’t concerned about it.Andthe one comment the one in-spectormadewas, ‘If it blows,it’s only going to go150 feet inthe air.’Well,myneighbor’s[Steckel’s] front door is150 feetoff the creek.”At thatmeeting, the super-

visors agreed to send anofficialletter from the township toUGI.According toSupervisorDen-nisMacheska, the letterwassent a short time after, but aresponse has not been received.As of June15,DonBromin-

ski, spokesman forUGI, saidthe company is “conducting an

Stann said thewaterwaybelongs to the state, and it isdifficult to obtain permission towork on it. But after the flood-ing in 2006, hewas issued apermit to clean it out. Sincethen,more flooding occurredand the situationworsened.“It just keeps accumulating.”

neer and contractor theweekbefore last, but has not yet re-ceived an estimate on howmuch the jobwill cost,whichwill eventually be put out forbid.Bird brought up the issue of

the creeks needing to becleaned out at a supervisorsmeetingMay30,where heexplained the problem toLack-awannaCountyCommunityRelationsCoordinatorRickNotari. Bird suggested sinceother townships in the countyare also having problemswiththe creeks, itmaybe beneficialto get a program together forthem to pool resources to getsomework done.Notari said at themeeting he

would bring the concerns backto county officials and checkinto thematter further.As ofJune15, he said theCounty issearching for ideas and lookinginto different possibilities.

ABINGTON JOURNAL/STEPHANIE ELKO

As the creek bank across fromCreek Road slides, it takes partof Ledge Drive with it.

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757126

some very significant.“It has been very, very help-

ful,” Duncan said. “We’ve beenblessed.”Duncan added that thelandwas given to the churchand the excavation is being donegratis by another person fromthe community.ChurchCouncil Chair Keith

Eckel is excited for the freshstart the new buildingwill pro-vide.“The great thing about the

new building is that wewill allbe new to it,” he said. “Thechurches came together to reachout to the community andmakeeveryone feel welcome to cometoCountryside CommunityChurch. It’s a great opportunityto build a new congregation.”Eckel also hopes the new

building helps create an oppor-tunity for the church’s youthprograms to grow.“Our Sunday School has been

growing and our leaders aredoing a great job, but I thinkthere ismuchmore opportunityfor growth in the future. I hopethe new constructionwill beinviting.”Countryside Community

Churchwas established on July1, 2008 from themerger of fourlocal UnitedMethodist church-es near Clarks Summit (Mil-waukee, Newton, Ransom andSchultzville).“Once the churches decided

tomerge, it was clear that thiswas a new church and neededan entirely new name,” Exec-utiveAssistant KarenRickabysaid. “The congregations hadthe opportunity to suggest theirideas for a new name bywritingthem on a paper and placingthem in a box. Once the sug-gestionswere collected, the top10 or sowere placed on a sheetof paper and each person got tovote for their favorite. Once thevoteswere counted, it was clearthat ‘Countryside CommunityChurch’was thewinner.”The church is amember of

the SusquehannaConference oftheUnitedMethodist Church,formed two years ago, after theWyoming andCentral Pa. Con-ferences combined.A groundbreaking service

was heldMay 22, 2011.

OPPORTUNITIESContinued from Page 1

Also discussed was wastemanagement from the SolidWaste Authorities. O’DeaPalmer said that the 10- yearcontract is running out andcautioned the municipalitiesabout renewing it for another10 years. She believes that fiveyears should be a maximumfor any contract.News from South Abington

Twp. included the constructionof a newmunicipal building.Factoryville said that they willbe getting a new field andrestrooms in the park. RansomTwp. is in need of money tofix their creek andWaverly is

CLARKS GREEN - . In2004, Abington Council ofGovernments signed a 15-year contract with Comcastthat allowed the council topay a franchise fee, a rentalcharge Comcast paid to thecommunity in exchange forthe cable provider’s occupa-tion and use of public proper-ty. According to members ofthe council at the June 7meeting, Comcast seeks todissolve the agreement withseven years remaining. BillMontgomery, the DaltonBorough representative, sug-gested that the council hireCohen Law group, whichwould cost an estimated$1,600. If all 14 municipal-ities agree, it would cost eachmunicipality approximately$100. Marnie O’Dea Palmer,secretary of ACOG, mo-tioned to have the expendi-ture of $1,600 approved. Themotion was seconded byDennis Macheska, councilpresident. A meeting mightbe held in July to finalize theagreement between CohenLaw Group and the rest ofthe municipalities.

struggling with post officeaddressing but is trying toresolve the problem.Clarks Green will sponsor a

health and safety event July 1410 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the ClarksGreen Borough Building lo-cated at 104 North AbingtonRoad. The event will featurewater, bike and skateboardsafety, fire prevention in thehome, hearing screenings, freefinger-print analysis for chil-dren, information about child-hood lead poisoning and SouthAbington Police will demon-strate the use of their policedog.

ACOG discusses Comcast contractBY STEPHANIE ELKOAbington Journal Correspondent

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JOURNAL

C M Y K

Clarks Summit, Pa. JUNE 27 TO JULY 3, 2012 50¢www.theabingtonjournal.com

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TheAbingtonJournal

An edition of The Times Leader

THE ABINGTON

Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

ArtsEtc.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Calendar.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Classified .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Crosswords.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Obituaries.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9School.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Sports.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

INSIDE

Get all the detailson a recentOlympic day heldlocally. For photosand a story, seePage 13.

Big onBMX?

Rotary Club seekssupport tocontinue its annualfireworks display.Find out how tohelp and where toview this year’sevent. Page 2.

Lastblast?

GLENBURN -ErinOster-hout is aGlenburn stay-at-homemomwhobelieves in everyoneworking together for change.This only enhanced her abilitiesas president of theWaverlyElementary School PTA. Shefollows through tomake a dif-ference in the community.The formerDJ,who onceowned her own business, elect-ed to stay at home. From thereshe chose to give her children’safter school activities a boost.

“ClubWaverlywasmy idea,and it built onthe foundationof after school.I justwanted tosee amorecompletecourse than afast five-week

program, sowemade it a yearcourse so they could reallygrow,”Osterhout explained.Shemade it clear that all ofthe things she spearheadedwerenot possiblewithout help fromothers. “All of these thingswerenotme alone,” she said. “Noneof it could have happenedwith-out the board and everyone. It’scompletely the group.”Osterhoutwanted to start aglee program for the childrenand realized that its plannedtime framewas too short toachieve any goals. So, she ex-panded it. Then she invitedwilling professors to come in asguest players and help train

MEET THEPRESIDENT

Workingtogetherfor changeBY KELLY MCDONOUGHAbington Journal Correspondent

Osterhout

See President, Page 7

“Knights, Princesses and Dragons”was the theme at last week’s CampCreate, a day camp at the WaverlyCommunity House designed to en-gage children with special needs.

Upcoming themes include “MountOlympic,” August 6 to 10 and “It ISEasy Being Green,” August 13 to 17.For more info, visit www.waverly-comm.org.

Rosey Holmes displays her artwork at Camp Create. .

’Sir’ DamienHoward wieldsa sword atophis horse atCamp Createat the WaverlyCommunityHouse.

ABINGTON JOURNAL PHOTOS/ELIZABETH BAUMEISTEREddie Horgan poses with a lightning bolt prop in front of a castle-in-the-making at Camp Create at the Waverly Com-munity House.

Aidan Fick tries on hisdragon hat at the WaverlyCommunity House.

Thunderboltof inspiration

GLENBURNTWP. – Supervisors toldresidents at theGlenburnTwp. board of super-visorsmeeting June18 that theDEP,Depart-ment of Environmental Protection, andEPA,Environmental ProtectionAgency, are devel-oping a program to help better inform resi-dents aboutwell testing and cleanups in thearea.EPA’s recent settlementwith PrecisionNa-tional Plating Services, Inc., concerning clea-nup in the area and continuing discussionswith theDelaware andHudsonRailways overa proposed communication towerwere alsodiscussed.SolicitorMalcolmMacGregor said super-visorswere shown a demoof a site-viewingprogramduring a June 4meetingwithDEPandEPA.The program aims to provide exten-sive information on cleanups andwell tests.MacGregor said some features displayedincluded access to test results, links to dataand details of action plans andmore featuresmay be added before the program is officially

EPA, DEPprogramto informGlenburn residents will hear about welltesting, cleanups after recent settlementwith Precision National Plating Services

BY CORY BURRELLAbington Journal Correspondent

See DEP, Page 3

Dictionaries define a hero asanyonewho can and doesmake a difference in his or hercommunity and a positive rolemodel for others.Within theAbington com-munity are individuals admiredfor brave deeds, noble qualitiesand selfless contributions andTheAbington Journal aims to

recognize them in print. DianeVietz,AbingtonArea JointRecreationBoard vice chairandClarksGreenBoard rep-resentative nominated as acommunity hero her fellowboardmember, TimMcCoy,ofGlenburnTownship basedon his numerous contributionsthrough projects at theAbing-tonAreaCommunity Park.McCoy accepted an in-vitation to join theAbingtonArea Joint RecreationBoardin 2011, because, as he ex-plained, “I thought these guysare really doing a lot here…out of the goodness of theirhearts. I respected that fromthe beginning.”McCoy, a constructionmanager and estimator forE.W.McCoy Inc., a commer-cial and residential construc-tion company said, “I reallylike building and designingthings…it’smyhobby.

Iwas surprised to be nomi-nated. I do that type ofworkbecause I like to be outdoorsand if I could help people out,help preserve our resourcesandmake it easier for othersto enjoy it, it is awin -winsituation.”Vietz describedMcCoy’sdemeanor as calm, efficientand resourceful.ABINGTON JOURNAL/JOAN MEAD-MATSU

Glenburn Twp. resident TimMcCoy volunteers hours leadingcommunity projects.

The real McCoy

See McCoy, Page 3

Nominate a heroThe Abington Journalcelebrates heroes in thecommunity and highlights thestrengths of those individualswho make the world a betterplace. Send a suggestion,including your name andcontact information, full nameof nominee and 50 wordsabout his or her communitycontributions. Email to EditorKristie Ceruti atkgrier@theabingtonjournal.com or mail to TheAbington Journal, 211 SouthState Street, Clarks Summit,PA 18411 Attn: CommunityHero

One man making a differenceBY JOAN MEAD-MATSUIAbington Journal Correspondent

Newton Township resi-dent David Kveragas, ahistory buff with a

wealth of local knowledge,shared insight about Newtonand Ransom townships. Hepointed out that many outsidersinaccurately refer to the twotownships as one. “(The) bot-tom line is: Newton and Ran-som are akin to Scranton andWilkes-Barre. They are oftenlinked, but have little in com-mon beyond geography.” “Thetwo are linked historically andgeographically, but they areseparate entities,” said Kvera-gas. “UnlikeWilkes-Barre, thenames are not based on twopeople’s names. Newton is

DemystifiedmisnomerBY JOAN MEAD-MATSUIAbington Journal Correspondent

See Misnomer, Page 8

“The two are linked his-torically and geograph-ically, but they are sep-arate entities. UnlikeWilkes-Barre, the namesare not based on twopeople’s names…. Youcan always tell ifsomeone is not from theimmediate area, as theywill use Newton-Ransomas if both are one town-ship.”

David KveragasNewton Township resident and local

history buff

RANSOM TWP. - Natural gas companyUGI Utilities plans to replace a high-pres-sure gas pipeline protruding out of a creekin Ransom Township, according to compa-ny spokesperson Don Brominski.The pipeline runs through a large portionof Bud Stann’s property, crossing the creekthat runs alongside Dark Region Road. Ac-cording to Stann, it was first unearthed byflooding in 2006. He said since then, he wasin contact with UGI several times regardingconcerns over dangers the exposed sectioncould cause, should heavy objects jam intoit during high waters.Stann said he looks forward to the prob-lem being fixed, and is hopeful it will staythat way.Brominski was unable to estimate howlong the process will take, but said the com-pany is currently in the designing stage andseeking the permit required to work in thecreek.

UGI to replaceRansom pipelineBY ELIZABETH BAUMEISTERlbaumeister@theabingtonjournal.com