The September flood, which damaged more than 1,100 homes and affected several businesses in Greater Pittston, is considered by Sunday Dispatch staff members the Story of the Year 2011. Many are still not back into their flooded homes more than three months later.
The popular Tomato Fights were not only a hit at the 2011 Pittston Tomato Festival but also were mentioned in the national publication Parade Magazine.
flowers for valentines day
Relatives of Spc. Dale Kridlo, cousins Raphael Kon, left, Michael Mondlak, Dominic Kon, and Jacob Fenske, cheer on runners in the Tomato Festival 5K run which was dedicated to the memory of Kridlo, who was killed in action in Afghanistan on Nov. 7, 2010.
A smear of blood on a sidewalk in Pittston’s Riverfront Park in March which led to the eventual discovery of the body of Lillian Calabro, 48, on the riverbank near Wilkes-Barre and an arrest on a homicide charge is another story which captured public interest for several weeks.
The closing of St. Mary’s Assumption school, dating back to 1868 and the last remaining school in Pittston City, is another top story along with the demolition of the 8th Street Bridge linking Jenkins Twp. and Wyoming.
Legislative redistricting, the election of four with Greater Pittston ties to the Luzerne County Court, the upset of the incumbent district attorney by a young woman with Pittston roots, the continued progress on Main Street, Pittston, and the resignation of West Pittston Mayor Bill Goldsworthy to accept the job of running the governor’s Northeast Office were also stories of interest.
A month-by-month recap of the stories that made the pages of the Sunday Dispatch in 2011 follows.
January
In recognition of Father Hugh McGroarty’s 65th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, Paul John Caprari, director of Professional Hearing Aid Service, presented him with a new custom “all in the ear” hearing device. Father McGroarty continued to preach for the rest of the year. Word was that his hearing may have improved but his jokes did not.
Letter carriers from Pittston Post Office set a local record and placed second in the nation when they collected 48,000 pounds of food for Meals on Wheels of Greater Pittston during their annual drive.
Richie Kossuth was named by the Sunday Dispatch Person of the Year for 2010. Allan and Ann Rose were selected to receive the Joseph Saporito Lifetime of Service Award.
West Pittston Borough Council announced the sale of the historic Hitchner Bakery to United Community Development Corporation for $348,000 thus netting a profit of $238,000.
West Wyoming was awarded a grant for $295,000 to enhance pedestrian safety along W. Eighth Street.
Chuck’s Auction Service raised $13,500 for the local People Helping People holiday program and for Toys for Tots.
George Zorgo, 90, the first printer of the Sunday Dispatch, was laid to rest.
Palazzo 53, a new upscale restaurant on Main St., Pittston, made a splash all year but perhaps none bigger than when movie star Paul Sorvino visited in January.
The 52nd anniversary of the Knox Mine Disaster was noted with a Memorial Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church and the laying of the wreath at the Knox Memorial in Port Griffith near where the mining disaster took place in 1959.
The first Dispatch “Sunday Sitdown” of the year featured Clem Lyons, 90, a champion of rights for members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.
Pittston Twp. police introduced their newest colleague: a 3-year-old German shepherd named Rocky.
Sen. John Yudichak held an open house at his new headquarters in Exeter.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans went crazy at local Steelers HQ – Cuz’s Bar in Exeter – and then gathered, along with a few Green Bay Packers fans, at Pittston Area High School for a photo for the Dispatch which ran on Super Sunday.
Married couples were honored at the Feast of the Holy Spouses ceremony at the Oblates of St. Joseph Seminary.
February
Longtime Steelers fan Pat Aita and longtime Packers fan Melanie Yozwiak were pictured on the front page of the Dispatch on Super Sunday.
783 local prognostications appeared inside, 469 predicting a Steelers win, and the centerpiece of the paper was all Steelers fans.
West Pittston Library hosted a unique event at the former American Legion Building on Linden Street: a chance to view and even have a photo taken with life-sized cutouts of all 44 U.S. Presidents.
The West Pittston Fire Department held its annual Valentine’s Day roses sale.
The gymnasium at Wyoming Area Catholic School was dedicated in memory of the late Father Daniel Hitchko, pastor of St. Cecilia’s and St. John the Baptist parishes in Exeter, who died unexpectedly at age 73.
Surviving family members of Spc. Dale Kridlo, who was killed in action in Afghanistan on Nov. 7, 2010, were honored guests at the Pittston Police and Firefighters Ball. It was the first of several tributes to Kridlo during the year.
“Big” Gene Guarilia, former member of championship Boston Celtics basketball teams and founder and leader of the local band “The Cadillacs,” was the subject of a Jack Smiles’ Sunday Sitdown.
At a tribute to late railroad enthusiast Ed Miller on the occasion of the first anniversary of his 90th birthday, it was announced that the famed Crown Ave. Tunnel would be renamed the Edward S. Miller Tunnel. The train that transports passengers from downtown Scranton to PNC Field for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees games passes through that tunnel.
Morgan Banaszek was a silver medalist at the 2011 Pennsylvania Skating Championships, Keystone State Games, in York.
Matthew Powell, an Avoca 20-year-old who has battled cerebral palsy throughout his life, took first place in an arm wrestling tournament at Diane’s Deli and Caf� in Pittston.
Bob and Sally Adonizio were featured in a first-person account of their trip cruising on The Nile.
Althea Semanchik, a Duryea native, was featured in a story explaining that she was the inspiration and model for a World War II comic strip titled “Winnie the WAC,” an acronym for Women’s Army Corps, in which she served.
“Pawsitively Perfect Pet Salon”, South Main St., Pittston, had a grand opening.
Lisa Woodruff opened a photography studio in Harding.
Kiel Eigen, Old Forge senior who spent most of his high school career in a wheelchair following a football injury, got up from his chair and walked – to thunderous ovation – to meet his parents at center court at parents night.
Pittston Area cheerleaders placed second at a national competition in Florida.
Pittston Ambulance Association introduced a new paramedic-staffed Advanced Life Support system described by Mike Lombardo, city councilman, association solicitor, and volunteer member, as “an emergency room on wheels.”
Bob Calpin was named recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Greater Pittston Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. Joseph J. Joyce Jr. was named recipient of the W. Francis Swingle Award. Paul Leonard was named Man of the Year.
A 14-part Dispatch exclusive of the World War I diary of the late James J. McCarthy, of Avoca, wrapped up on Feb. 27.
March
A Dispatch story revealed the work of Sgt. Meredith Burns, U.S. Marines, who reaches out to women of Afghanistan as a Female Engagement Team (FET) leader. Sgt. Burns is a West Pittston native and Wyoming Area grad.
flowers for valentines day
Residents of the Mill and Carroll streets section of Pittston City caused a stir claiming a significant number of cancer cases among residents of the area qualified it to be designated a “cancer cluster.”
New Pittston Area head football coach Mike Barrett was welcomed by the Pittston Area Football Lettermen’s Club at a reception at The Lincoln Inn in Dupont.
A group from the Pittston Memorial Library expansion committee, out to raise funds to add the John P. Cosgrove annex to the library, met in Washington, D.C., where Cosgrove, a Pittston native, worked in the media for 70 years, with Sen. Bob Casey and Congressman Lou Barletta.
At a council meeting, Pittston City police department announced it upgraded its weapons, vehicles and computers and the fire department announced it was purchasing a new, smaller truck which will be easy to maneuver on the city’s tight side streets.
A blood stain on the walkway of the City’s Riverfront Park prompted an investigation which led to an extensive search of the Susquehanna River and its banks for a body believed to be Lillian Calabro, 48, who did not return to her apartment at the Gabriel House in Pittston on March 11. On Sunday night, March 21, about 100 family and friends of Calabro staged a candlelight vigil at Riverfront Park at the site where they believed Calabro was murdered. The next day, Calabro’s body was found on the west bank of the river just south of Kirby Park. Arthur Stoss, the person reportedly last seen with Calabro on the night of March 11, was arrested and charged with an open count of criminal homicide and jailed without bail.
David Ciotola, who among other things donated a total of 92 pints of blood to American Red Cross, was named Man of the Year by the Slovak League of America Branch 474.
Eileen Burns and Ellen Mondlak, longtime board members, each serving for 16 years, were named recipients of the Jean Yates Award by the Pittston Memorial Library Board of Trustees.
Father Paul McDonnell, OSJ, was on hand at an open house to bless the new pool at the Greater Pittston YMCA.
Sisters Letitia and Miranda Warunek, Pittston Area students, organized an Emerald Isle Step Dancers performance at Pittston Area High School to benefit the Care and Concern Pediatric Health Clinic in Pittston. The event raised more than $7,000.
April
The Pittston Area Middle School Science Olympiad team, the first for the school in five years, placed 14th out of 21 teams in the Science Olympiad at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus. Teachers Jill Quinn and J.J. Anthony coached the team.
Pittston’s pro bono city manager Atty. Rose Randazzo was the subject of a Jack Smiles’ Sunday Sitdown. A one-time Pittston Area cheerleader she’s become the city’s biggest cheerleader.
At its 85th commencement, Misericordia University bestowed the Catherine McAuley Medal on Margaret (Peggy) Burke, founder of the Greater Pittston Food Pantry of the Care and Concern ministries of St. John the Evangelist Parish Community, Pittston.
Pittston’s Shawn Klush, the premier Elvis Presley tribute artist in the world, came back to his alma mater St. Mary’s Elementary School for a visit and performed a fund-raising concert at Mellow Auditorium in Scranton to benefit the school. The concert was a rousing success but could not save the school. The Diocese of Scranton announced it would close at the end of the school year. The school, the last remaining school in Pittston City, dated back to 1868.
Members of the Wyoming Area soccer team, along with their friends, made 1000 origami cranes – a symbol of making wishes come true – and sold them for a dollar apiece to raise funds for earthquake victims in Japan. Mike Pryor is the team’s coach.
The Little Sisters of the Poor presented Dolores and Michael Insalaco with the Holy Family Award at their annual Holy Family brunch.
Stephanie Bartz, a Pittston Area senior, organized a “cookie walk” to benefit the Care and Concern Free Health Clinic in Pittston. For a donation, walkers were allowed to fill a basket to take home with homemade cookies.
Maxwell Marcus, founder of the Exeter Historical Society, was the subject of a Jack Smiles’ Sunday Sitdown.
In a case of misunderstanding, a vintage sign purchased by businessmen Mark Williamson and Ryan Ksiezopolski, who operate Yore Antiques on Main Street, Pittston, was ordered hauled away by Councilman Danny Argo. The sign was later returned.
A year-and-a-half after being more than $900,000 in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy, West Wyoming officials managed to turn things around to the point where the borough was awarded the Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence. Rep. Phyllis Mundy delivered the good news and the certificate.
Pittston City hired, at a fee not to exceed $2500, the firm Diamond and Associates of Philadelphia, to help develop a targeted housing plan.
The first of several modern signs were installed at businesses on Main Street in Pittston City. New signs went up at Palazzo restaurant and Yore Antiques. The signage is part of the city’s new fa�ade ordinance.
Duryea Police Chief Nick Lohman and Avoca Fire Department Sgt. Chris Collins announced the 5th annual Guns ‘n’ Hoses charity basketball game to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was the most successful yet raising $3,000.
May
Mary Sklanka, 77-year-old widow who lives at the end of a dead end street in Hughestown, had a major runoff problem on her property to deal with. Meanwhile, Sen. John Yudichak toured a flooded section of Exeter Borough. Both problems were serious enough, but nothing compared to what hundreds of residents would face come September.
Community Medical Center opened its NewSteps Joint Replacement Center and Spine Unit under the direction of Dr. Harry Schmaltz, a West Pittston native.
Wyoming Area Superintendent Ray Bernardi announced the district received a refund of $230,000 from the Northeast Pennsylvania Health Trust.
Former Pittston mayor Michael Lombardo, a former director of the Governor’s Northeast Office, accepted a position with Quad Three Group, Inc., a full-service architectural, engineering and environmental services firm.
Father Dan Schwebs, OSJ was honored on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
Officer Dion Ferdandes (Pittston City), Officer Bonnie Guzon (Dupont Borough, Lackawanna County Sherriff’s Dept. and FSB Army National Guard) and Officer Crystal Matos (Old Forge) received new bulletproof vests from the Adopt a Cop program created by Fallen Officers Remembered.
The Wyoming Area Percussion Ensemble won first place at the Chapter 7 Championships in Mill Hall making them six for six in competitions.
On Mother’s Day, the Dispatch told the story of a mom, Tanya Lydon, and her two-year-old son Anthony who was born with half a heart and has undergone three major heart surgeries.
Mayor Bill Goldsworthy was named Grand Marshal of the 40th West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival.
Sister Josephine Palmeri, MPF, was the keynote speaker at a Mother’s Day Communion Breakfast at the combined parishes of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Rocco.
Downtown redevelopment in Pittston City got a boost when it was announced $1.48 million in “slots revenue” was awarded to the city. The city redevelopment authority targeted most of the money for the acquisition and demolition of several properties in a square block area bounded by Main, Charles, Spring and Kennedy streets.
Alana Aufiere was chosen 2011 West Pittston Little Miss Cherry Blossom.
Chartered in 1851, Pittston Little League noted the 60th anniversary of its first opening day.
Joyce Insurance was named Small Business of the Year at the 91st anniversary dinner of the Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce. President Charles Adonizio gave the annual report.
In May primary elections, Greater Pittston candidates Bill James and Sal Licata were victorious in earning nominations for the new Luzerne County Council while Fred Pierantoni, Mike Vough, Jennifer Rogers and Lesa Gelb garnered nominations for Luzerne County Judge.
The Pittston Tomato Festival, specifically the Tomato Fights, was mentioned in Parade Magazine, a national publication which appears in the Sunday Dispatch.
Stephanie Jallen, 15, from Harding, born with only one leg and one arm, made the U.S. Paralympic team in downhill skiing. She started skiing when she was 9 years old.
The annual West Pittston/Exeter Memorial Day Parade featured a fly-over in an F-18 fighter jet by Navy Lieutenant Jason Harding, a West Pittston native and Wyoming Area graduate.
Lisa Lewis, the noted “Victorian Lady” of West Pittston, was the subject of a Sunday Sitdown with Jack Smiles.
Sen. Bob Casey presented a $48,000 grant to the Pittston Memorial Library. It was accepted by librarian Anne Hogya.
A public meeting was held at Pittston Area Middle School to discuss the possible “cancer cluster” in the Mill/Carroll streets section of Pittston City. Chris Menichini and his father Chuck Menichini had raised the question in April and believed the Butler Tunnel, an old mining tunnel, might have something to do with the unusually high cases of cancer in the area. The Environmental Protection Agency’s assurances that the Butler Tunnel has nothing to do with the situation left residents more frustrated than satisfied.
A final Mass was celebrated at St. John the Baptist Church, Exeter, which was closed after 106 years.
Bill Lewis, of Jenkins Twp., was named to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission by Gov. Tom Corbett.
A flag that flew in Afghanistan was raised at the Upper Pittston Sportsmen’s Club in Forkston in memory of Spc. Dale Kridlo who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan on Nov. 7, 2010. Dale was a member of the club as is his father, Albert.
June
A century-old building on S. Main Street in Pittston City was razed after extensive structural damage was uncovered. The building had most recently housed Wayne’s World, a music store.
A CD of bagpipe music titled The Hero’s Call, a tribute to Pennsylvania State Trooper Joshua Miller was released by Oasis Records. All profits from sales go to the Joshua Miller Memorial Fund. Miller was killed in the line of duty in 2009.
On open house was held June 21 for Interstate Distribution Center, a manufacturing and distribution company, at the former Techneglas plant in Jenkins Twp. The plant, which closed in 2004, once employed 2500.
Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company, the parent company of the Sunday Dispatch, announced a new name – Impressions Media – designed to better reflect the company’s position as “the pioneers in Northeastern Pennsylvania’s multimedia world.”
The sixth annual tour of historic Greater Pittston churches took place on June 19 with founder Atty. Jan Lokuta hosting a tour of churches in Exeter Borough: St. Cecilia’s, St. John the Baptist, Slocum Chapel and St. Anthony of Padua.
Bill Goldsworthy stepped down as mayor of West Pittston to accept a position as deputy director of Gov. Tom Corbett’s Northeast Regional Office. As his last act as mayor, Goldsworthy, 57, suggested council appoint Tony Denisco as mayor, which it did.
A star erected on Stauffer Heights in the 1950s and was lighted every night up until about 20 years ago, found a new life at Pittston Area High School thanks to the National Honor Society. Jim Zarra urged the students to take on the project and Pat Hadley of Hadley Construction donated workers to assist.
Shawn Klush was again a headliner as the Northeast Fair took place in late June.
Pittston native John P. Cosgrove, 93, who lived and worked in the media in Washington, D.C. for the last 70 years, donated two paintings to the Irish Embassy. One, commissioned by Cosgrove, depicts Charles Thomson notifying George Washington that he had been elected president. The other shows Washington surrounded by 13 senior officers of the revolution, all of Irish descent. Several locals were on hand in Washington for the presentation to Irish Ambassador Michael Collins.
Kevin McGroarty, an artist, musician and entrepreneur, was the subject of the Sunday Sitdown by Jack Smiles.
July
The first week of July Retired United States Army Captain Thomas Jerome “TJ” Hromisin agreed to his first wide-ranging interview four years after he was critically wounded by a sniper bullet during Operation Iraqi Freedom while leading a combat patrol. A third of his skull and part of his brain were destroyed and he was blinded.
Sitting at the kitchen table at his parents’ home in Pittston he – along with his father Jerry and his mother Mary Ellen – talked about his recovery.
In the immediate aftermath of his injury doctors held out little hope that TJ would ever be able to do the things he talked about in the interview. “I’m able to move around freely without help,” he said. “I think clearer. I put dates and times in their proper situations.”
Among his recovery goals were: “I’d like to get a job I want to do instead of settling for a job. I want a chance at normalcy.”
July saw the first stage of the demolition of the old Eighth Street Bridge when the two trusses and piers on the Jenkins Twp side were brought down by dynamite.
Dr. Joseph and his wife Rose Mattioli were honored guests when the Wyoming Monument was rededicated on July 4. The Mattiolis, who own Pocono Raceway, donated $100,000 to the Monument’s restoration fund after it was extensively damaged by lightning on August 3, 2008.
The Pittston Farmer’s Market opened on July 12 at a new location, the former St. John the Baptist School parking lot. The market had to move from the Tomato Festival lot because of sewer construction work.
Dr. William V. Lewis, Jr, Jenkins Township was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett to serve as a Commissioner of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Several hundred people, mostly from Greater Pittston, attended the funeral service Friday for Captain Fred R. Demech Jr., U.S. Navy (Retired) at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Avoca native Fred Gedrich, a resident of Washington, said Capt. Demech’s burial service took place several feet away from where Dale Kridlo, who was killed in Afghanistan in November, is buried.
Progress on the revitalization of downtown Pittston in July included flowers growing up and a building going down. Volunteer Jim Norris planted flowers in tree beds along Main Street and the old Wayne’s World building was demolished.
When Yankee third baseman Derek Jeter got his 3,000th hit – a home run – on July 7, 37 locals were there on a bus trip from Our Lady of Eucharist Church. Father Tom Maloney randomly picked that date for the trip in the spring.
In July, Pittston City Council passed an ordinance to place a home rule study question on the November ballot.
The new two-story, 3,200-square-foot, $600,000 Chief Edward Brennan Public Safety Annex was dedicated in Wyoming Borough during the annual joint memorial service for Wyoming Police Chief Edward Brennan and West Wyoming Police Chief Ralph Daley who were both shot and killed in 1918.
August
A fire at 252 Parsonage Street destroyed the home of Sam and Mary Danaher and their four kids and virtually everything they had, including a Monte Carlo stock car Sam had worked on for two years.
He was only halfway through his first race season with the car. An already scheduled fund raiser at Diane’s Deli on Main Street was supposed be for the race car, but wound up as a fund raiser for fire victims.
Pittston received notice from Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget office that the city’s Main Street redevelopment project was approved for $3 million in state money from the state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
Also in August the city got another $2.45 million in grant money to jumpstart the $9.4 million riverfront condo project.
Despite the construction going on downtown for the sewer project and Streetscape, the Tomato Festival Committee reported another successful festival.
They estimated 50,000 visitors. Rachel Leandri was crowned queen. The Little Mr. and Miss were Benecio Carpentier and Ava Flanagan. Junior’s Pasta House won the Sauce Wars.
Dr. Joseph Lombardo was the parade grand marshal.
Nationwide Tire completed the job of shredding some 600,000 used tires at the old Hawk Recycling Center in Duryea.
Emmy award winning actress Kimberly McCullough hosted a dinner and a screening of her short film “Nice Guys Finish Last” at Palazzo 53.
The bell was removed from the tower of the closed St. Mary’s Assumption Church in August. The 111-year-old bell was forged of bronze in 1900 at the famed McShane Foundry in Baltimore, which is still a leading manufacturer of bells.
The Landmark Grieco’s Restaurant in Exeter was destroyed by fire in August.
Owner and Chef Pat Greenfield was rescued from her upstairs apartment by Exeter firemen at 2:30 a.m.
The building was over 100 years old and had been a restaurant since 1935.
Greg Lukatch was appointed Director of the Greater Pittston YMCA August.
The Exeter Park and West Wyoming Hose Companies merged in August.
Regge for Robert, the annual event for the Earthly Angels Autism Fund, drew some 200 people to Mt. Carmel Center for a night to “donate, dance and dine.”
“JunctionJam’11,” a two-day music event at Pittston’s Jefferson Park in August, honored two soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan, First Lt. Jeffrey DePrimo and Spc. Dale Kridlo. Part of the proceeds was used to purchase the base of a donation tree for Pittston Memorial Library.
The Care and Concern Free Pediatric Clinic, the Pittston Food Pantry and the Pittston City Parks Department also benefited.
September
The story of September was, of course, the story of the year, The Flood of 2011.
After torrential rains from Tropical Storms Irene and Lee the Susquehanna River crested at a record 42.66 feet at 3 a.m. Friday, September 9, more than two feet higher than it had in the 1972 Agnes Flood.
West Pittston and Jenkins and Exeter Townships were the hardest hit areas by the Susquehanna, while the Lackawanna River, which also had a record crest, devastated parts of Duryea.
In West Pittston, 880 homes and 26 businesses were affected. Among the homes 628 experienced basement flooding, 236 first floor flooding and 16 second floor flooding. Of those 15 were listed as unsafe for entry until further inspection and two were recommended for demolition.
Duryea was number two on the hit list with 339 homes affected, 108 with basement and 192, first floor flooding.
At least 12 houses had foundation damage.
Three homes are confirmed as unsafe.
In Jenkins Township 91 homes were affected, five basement only, 73 first floor and 13 second floor. Six got major structural damage.
Three businesses, Magione Service, Milazzo Industries and River Street Ale House got structural damage. Snap Tools, Cafe Italia, Mesko Motors, and Brew’s Brothers were also affected.
In Exeter Township 36 single family homes, one multi-family building, 37 mobile homes and three businesses were flooded, a total of 77. Among the single family homes damage was listed as major in 29, minor in eight, while five were destroyed. Among the mobile homes five had major damage and 32 were destroyed.
Exeter Borough estimated 28-30 homes affected on Susquehanna Avenue with basement and first floor flooding.
In Pittston City 16 businesses received basement flooding. Homes on Towpath were flooded.
One was declared unsafe and will be demolished. Another 8-10 homes on the other side of North Main got basement water.
Wyoming had seven homes on Susquehanna Ave and one business in Bridge Plaza affected.
Flood recovery and survival stories dominated the Dispatch pages throughout September. One story focused on the home of John and Charlene Maroni. They owned their dream home at the corner of Philadelphia and Susquehanna avenues in West Pittston only 11 months when the flood hit with 8 1/2 feet of water. Among the losses was a $3,000 baby grand piano they had only two months.
Other September stories told of the destruction of a trailer park in Exeter Township, a business in Pittston, GT Fabrications, which had 15 feet of water and lost $2 million in equipment, the devastation of businesses and the library in West Pittston, national news broadcasts from West Pittston and the Eighth Street Bridge, the moving of Holy Rosary School and Vice President Joe Biden visiting Duryea.
Then there were stories on the outpouring of help from and churches, the Salvation Army, scout troops, the Red Cross, the Wyoming Area and Pittston Area football teams, and numerous other groups and random strangers all of whom worked hands-on in the recovery or made donations and held fund raisers.
Despite the flood, life had to go on and other September stories hinted at normalcy. Avoca native Dick Callahan – the voice of the Oakland A’s and the University of California Golden Bears – was interview in the Dispatch.
He offered to be a speaker at the Friendly Sons banquet in 2012 and after the story ran the Sons took him up on the offer.
Four local natives – Adele Charney, Mickey Calabrese, Jude Donato and Sean Gilligan – recalled September 11, 2001 on the 10th anniversary of the attacks on America. The first three were in New York at or near the World Trade Center.
Gilligan was at the Pentagon.
Pittston Area, Kelly Keener, and Wyoming Area, Audra Amico, elected Homecoming Queens. Pittston Diner waitress Deb Harth returned $260 she found in a booth.
Ground was broken on a project to convert the Hitchner Bakery in West Pittston into apartments.
October
Flood stories continued to dominate in October. One told of how the flood inundated all 28 homes in the Patch section of Port Blanchard, leaving several permanently uninhabitable.
Senator Bob Casey came to West Pittston to meet with small business owners who were put out of business by the flood and talk about SBA loans to get them back on their feet.
Symbolically they met in the hallowed out shell of Agolino’s Restaurant which had 7 1/2 feet of water.
The flood reached up Exeter Avenue in West Pittston to Old Mill Pine, the hardware store owned by Jeff and Christine Holtz.
The store was closed only 24 hours. They reopened without power and flooded homeowners came in to buy hoses, nozzles, mops, gloves, tarps, squeegees, extension cords, flashlights, batteries and sump pumps. Jeff’s mother’s home, two of his brothers’ homes, a woodworking shop and a three-unit apartment building in the original store building were flooded.
An October story told of the extensive damage to the Luzerne County National Recreation Trail in Pittston.
After the story ran, the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority closed the trail.
A local survey of local municipalities showed that over 22 million pounds of flood debris had been hauled away to landfills by the first week of October.
With Agolino’s out of business the Moose Lodge picked up the slack offering a Sunday morning breakfast buffet prepared by Chef Pat Greenfield.
The West Pittston Library reopened in the Insalaco Shopping Center in West Pittston in a donated storefront
Area chefs served a free dinner for flood victims at Mt. Carmel Center.
Sponsored by the WA Key Club, FloodFest – an event featuring 13 bands at Jake Sobeski Stadium in West Pittston – raised money for the West Pittston Library.
In non-flood news in October Paul and Linda DePietro opened a pizzeria, New York Pizza Cucina, at 74 South Main at the historic site of the city’s first bakery.
At its annual banquet the Greater Pittston YMCA presented Leadership Awards to Peter Dancheck, Lou Ciampi, Krystina Price and Tom Reilly.
Angela Biscotto, Pittston’s Mrs. Clean, was profiled in October.
She sweeps streets and tends flower in the downtown area.
Hadley Construction acquired St. Mary’s Assumption Church, school, convent and rectory and slated the church and rectory for demolition.
The siding was removed form the church and used on Hadley’s project in Hughestown where the company is converting the former Blessed Sacrament church into Grace Luxury Apartments.
Jordan Thomas of Harding, 13, retired from Cart racing as a state champion.
November
In November St. Monica’s Church in West Wyoming raffled of a homemade quilt created by Joann Kwasny. The 80 x 100 masterpiece had a retail value estimated at $1,000.
Veterans were in the news in November. Frank Lewicki, 86, received his WWII medals some 60 years after the fact.
He was an infantryman in the South Pacific theater. Richard White of Pittston was named AMVETS “American Veteran of the Year.
Duryea barber Frank Brosso was profiled for having been in business cutting hair for a half century.
The Care and Concern Food Pantry marked three years of service in November having distributed over 22,000 food parcels to the needy.
In the November election, a women who grew up serving hot dogs at the Majestic Lunch on Main Street in Pittston was elected Luzerne County District attorney.
Stephanie Salavantis, whose grandfather and father own the Majestic, out-spent incumbent Jackie Musto-Carroll by 2-to-1.
Pittston said yes to a home rule study and elected seven members of a study commission.
Four with local ties were elected to the Luzerne County bench. Fred Pierontoni, Ed Vogue, Lesa Gelb and Jen Rodgers were sworn in on December 30.
But Greater Pittston was shut out in the election for the new Luzerne County Council.
The biggest election news here was what happened in Wyoming Area where 20-year school board incumbent Toni Valenti and her running mate Nick DeAngelo were defeated by a slate of candidates including Independent Mary Louise Degnan.
The office of Congressman Lou Barletta announced that he introduced a bill that will rename the Pittston Post office “The Trooper Joshua D. Miller Post Office Building.” Miller, a Pittston native who lived in Suscon, was killed in the line of duty in 2009.
Downtown stayed in the news in November.
A co-op art gallery called the ArtsSEEN Gallery opened at 71 South Main, Sapphire Salon noted its 10th Anniversary with a visit from Edyta Silwinska a professional dancer on “Dancing With The Stars.”
Also, K eith and Jessica Homschek opened Shooters, a state of the art billiards parlor, at 10 South Main.
John Cosgrove, 92, the Pittston native who spent 70 years working in the media in Washington D.C., was back in the news in November.
He was the honored guest at a reception at Fox Hill. The reception was a kick off for the Library’s capital campaign for its proposed Cosgrove Annex which will house Cosgrove’s personal papers. He donated $50,000.
There was flood recovery news in November. Sam Marranca reopened his restaurant Caf� Italia on River Road in Jenkins Township less than two months after 5 1/2 feet of water receded.
Groove Train, a renowned party dance band lead by Dave Chaump of West Pittston, recorded an album of original songs.
Austin Welsh, a PA junior, finished his novel “Alex and Sky.” It will be published in January.
December
The first week of December saw more stories of flood recovery as Agolino’s Restaurant in West Pittston and Independent Graphics in Jenkins Township both reopened at their original sites.
Another new downtown business was profiled in December. Pharmacist Joseph Albert bucked a trend of franchise pharmacies by opening an old-fashioned one-man owner/operated pharmacy at 201 South Main.
Local rock legends, The Cadillacs, played their last gig in December at Bar on Oak. The band, founded by Gene Guarilia, had been GP’s house rock band for 20 years.
Another downtown story in December told of the opening of Open Space.
The unique concept is a city authority owned space suitable for renting for just about any occasion. The opening reception included wine, a hors d’oeuvres buffet by Palazzo and music by Eddie and the Dreamers. Boden, a fashion retailer based in London, had an outlet sale there the next day.
WWII Vet Ed Strucke was profiled in December. Strucke, 95, served in the Navy as a paymaster aboard a troop transport. Another Vet story saw Dupont’s Jerry Guanari inducted into the Geno Merli Center Hall of Fame.
Controversy rose up at Pittston Area School District as the school board members voted 6-3 to rescind a hiring policy that would combat nepotism and cronyism and that they had voted for less than a year earlier.
Board President Tony Guarigila was hammered in editorials, on radio and TV for saying the policy was rescinded “Because I don’t see that people are following it.”
One final flood story for the year was about a 15-year-old Avoca musician. Jordan Marsh recorded and produced CD of Christmas music on guitar to raise money for Christmas toys for Duryea boys and girls displaced by the flood.
Through sales of his CD and donations he raised $5,000.
Redistricting was in the news as the year wound down.
The Legislative Reapportionment Commission tried to carve Pittston, Hughestown and Duryea out of State Rep Mike Carroll’s district but he fought back and won.
There were plenty of changes though. Lou Barletta gave Pittston to Tim Holden from St. Clair and John Blake picked up the Pittston area.
Christmas stories dominated the last few weeks of the year, one of which was cheery and one not so much.
The happy tale told how the Miller family, Lois, Robert and son Robbie, of Hughestown traditionally hosted a sandwich and goodie break for Santa Claus and the Hughestown firemen as they toured the borough with the jolly old guy.
Lois Miller said, “It’s nothing for me to have 25 firemen and Santa in my house.”
But another story told of the work of a Grinch, or a gang of Grinches, who stole a large blow-up inflatable Christmas decoration from the O’Brien property on Camp Ground Road in Exeter Township.
Jackie O’Brien had been collecting the inflatables for her grandson Josh Sutton for 20 years.
A $500 reward was offered.
