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The Times Leader timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE, PA

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

$1.50

Pension to widow paid, not approved

THE GEORGE BANKS MURDERS: 30 years ago this week a former jail guard killed 13 local people in a day that remains…

Etched in blood

Wife of longtime Hughestown police chief getting benefits for 9 years. Borough helpless.

By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER tmorgan@timesleader.com

TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO

Ten hours after he began a shooting rampage leaving 13 dead in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township and after standoff at a house in the city, George Emil Banks surrendered to police and was taken into custody.

By SHEENA DELAZIO sdelazio@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE – Gunfire in two Wyoming Valley communities that left 13 people dead three decades ago still remains a vivid memory to the officers who responded to PennEDITOR’S NOTE: First of two-part sylvania’s largest mass killing. series on the George Banks shot and killed 13 George Banks case INSIDE: A timeline people on Sept. 25, 1982 -- several of Sept. 25, 1982.

13A of them his own children and their A look at the mothers – in Wilkes-Barre and Banks case over the years. 14A Jenkins Township.

“The fact is, (Banks) is still the most prolific single-day killer in the history of Pennsylvania,” said former Luzerne County District Attorney Robert Gillespie, who prosecuted Banks.

See PENSION, Page 9A

Congress looks for directions

Upcoming elections could give signals to body, which will then reconvene.

By DONNA CASSATA Associated Press

That’s 211,680 Ramen packets because 24 are in each case.

“We’ve been going through 300 cases a week,” said prison commissary clerk Robert Ruckle.

Commissary purchases help taxpayers because profits buy inmate services and supplies that would otherwise be funded by the coun-

WASHINGTON — A frustrated Congress quit Washington on Saturdaywithatleastonehope—that the stark choice in the election ahead will give lawmakers clarity about what Americans want from their government.

They desperately need some direction.

Lawmakers will return in about sevenweeksandfaceacrowdedlist of must-do items, topped by avoidingwhat’sbecomeknownasthefiscal cliff: the combination of expiring George W. Bush-era tax cuts and automatic spending cuts that could drive the country back into recession.

Two years of rancor and a divided government resulted in one of the least productive Congresses in history. President Barack Obama piled on in his weekly radio

See NOODLES, Page 6A

See CONGRESS, Page 9A

TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO

Police take cover during the siege at Monroe Street in Wilkes-Barre.

See BANKS, Page 14A

In county prison, everybody loves Ramen

Noodles now jailhouse’s favorite snack

By JENNIFER LEARN-ANDES jandes@timesleader.com

Ramen Noodles are all the rage at the Luzerne County Prison, overcoming Tastykakes’ long reign as the most popular commissary item, officials say.

The noodles are so in-demand, pris-

INSIDE

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oners are limited to 25 packs per week so they don’t gain the power of strong-arming other inmates who have them, officials said.

The prison obtained bids for 2,460 cases of both chicken and beef and 3,900 of the chili variety, at $4.80 per case.

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HUGHESTOWN – The widow of the borough’s longtime police chief has been receiving unauthorized pension benefits for the past nine years, but borough officials say they are powerless to stop the payments.

Delores DeLucia, widow of George DeLucia, has George DeLucia been paid roughly $61,000 since 2003 despite repeated findings by the state Auditor General’s Office that the payments were not authorized.

Council’s failure to heed the auditor’s warnings ended up costing taxpayers an additional $25,616 – the amount the borough was forced to pay back this year to reimburse the state for excess contributions it made to the pension fund based on the DeLucia payments.

The borough has since stopped paying the benefit from its pension fund, and is now taking the money from the general fund, Mayor Paul Hindmarsh said.

It was forced to do so because

Lions win

PSU continues run vs. Owls.

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User: rsheposh Time: 09-22-2012

22:44 Product: Times_Leader PubDate: 09-23-2012 Zone: Main Edition: Main_Run PageName: news_08 PageNo: 14 A

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BANKS Continued from Page 1A

Schoolhouse Lane in WilkesBarre’s East End, a quiet, small residential street, is where Gerry Dessoye, then in his first year as a city police officer, can remember each and every detail of the bloody massacre.

Stanley Jezewski can vividly recall the shock he felt when he got the call as a state trooper that 13 people had been murdered.

Gillespie, who now works as an attorney in private practice in Hazleton, was expecting the worst.

“My expectations were exceeded,” Gillespie said.

Horrific images of women and children flash through each of the former and current law enforcement officers’ minds, wondering how one man can cause such terror.

“I can still close my eyes and see all those bodies,” said Dessoye, now the city’s chief of police.

Ominous beginning Thirty years ago, Banks, now 70, a former prison guard, began the night at a party on Schoolhouse Lane, Gillespie said.

He was wearing a shirt that he traded with a girl at the party. It read, “Kill them all and let God sort it out.” Little did the Wyoming Valley know how true those words would soon become.

Banks sent one of the women living with him to retrieve an AR 15 automatic rifle – which he later used to gun her down – and the spree began, Gillespie recalls.

“You can’t begin to describe the scene,” Gillespie said. “It was a bloody mess.”

Banks gunned down three mothers of his children and five children – four of them his own. A bystander was shot and killed and another injured, when Banks left the home.

“One of the things that is seared in my brain, is on the second floor of the Schoolhouse Lane home. It was pretty obvious a young girl was in bed with her younger brother and in order for (Banks) to shoot them both, he had to stand on the bed and fire down,” Gillespie said. “(The girl) was trying to protect her brother’s life.”

What made the scene even more difficult for Gillespie, he said, was that he had two young children of his own at the time. “(A case) is so much more difficult when young children are involved,” he said.

Dessoye and three other officers were the first to arrive at the Schoolhouse Lane home for a re-

DON CAREY/THE TIMES LEADER

The Times Leader’s extra edition for Sept. 25, 1982, chronicled the mass murder in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township.

port of shots fired and people down.

Two people were lying in the middle of the street, and the officers attended to them until paramedics came. They thought the shooting occurred in the house and the two ran out into the street.

But they couldn’t have been more wrong.

Killing spree discovered When Dessoye and his fellow officers entered the 28 Schoolhouse Lane residence, they began to realize the magnitude of Banks’ actions.

“It was carnage inside,” he said.

When crime scene technicians began to comb the scene, Dessoye was stationed on the first floor so that no other people entered the scene.

“I spent a great deal of time standing there with those bodies,” Dessoye said.

“That was one of the most graphic,” Dessoye said of a mother holding her infant daughter, both shot and both dead. “Some stick in your mind more than others … it was a horrific scene.”

Banks then traveled to a trailer park in the Heather Highlands section of Jenkins Township, where he gunned down a former girlfriend, their son, her mother and

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THE TIMES LEADER

K E Y P L AY E R S

THE VICTIMS

Prosecutors: Robert Gillespie Jr. – district attorney at the time; now in private practice in Hazleton Lawrence Klemow – assistant district attorney at the time; now in private practice in Hazleton Michael Bart – assistant district attorney at the time; resigned as an attorney in 2004 to pursue business ventures Defense attorneys: Al Flora – lead defense attorney then and now; now also Luzerne County’s chief public defender Joseph Sklarosky Sr. – defense attorney; no longer on Banks case; private practice Basil Russin – defense attorney; no longer on Banks case; private practice Presiding county judge: Patrick Toole Jr. – county judge who retired to senior status; retired from bench in December 2011 Magistrate: Joseph Verespy – originally arraigned Banks on murder charges; died in December 1998 Key officers involved in the case: (then; now) Stanley Jezewski – former state trooper, then worked as a county detective; retired Chester Klosowski – former WilkesBarre city police sergeant; died in January 2000 Tino Andreoli – former Wilkes-Barre city police officer; died in December 2011 Jim Zardecki – former county detective; retired Joseph Coyne – former Wilkes-Barre city police chief; retired John Darski -- former Jenkins Township police officer Ray McGarry -- former Jenkins Township detective captain John Lowe -- former Wilkes-Barre city police lieutenant; died in April 2006 Doctors who performed autopsies: George Hudock, former Luzerne County Coroner; died in October 2005 George Grinway, pathologist Hugo Valderama, pathologist

Schoolhouse Lane: • Regina Clemens, 29 – girlfriend, struck by a bullet in her right cheek that spiraled downward into her heart • Susan Yuhas, 23 – girlfriend, shot five times while holding 1-year-old Mauritania, who was shot in the head • Mauritania, 1 – daughter, shot in the head • Dorothy Lyons, 29 – girlfriend, shot in the neck while in a chair • Bowendy Banks, 4 – son, shot in the left cheek when turning away from his father • Montanzuma Banks, 6 – daughter, shot in the head and Regina chest Clemens • Foraroude Banks, 1 – son, shot and killed while being held by his halfsister, Nancy Lyons • Nancy Lyons, 11 – stepdaughter, died of a Scott gunshot would Mazzillo to the head Outside Schoolhouse Lane home: • Ray Hall Jr., 22 – bystander shot and killed when Banks left the Schoolhouse Lane home Heather Highlands, Jenkins Township home: • Sharon Mazzillo, 24 – former girlfriend, shot in the chest • Kismayu Banks, 5 – son, single shot to the forehead • Alice Mazzillo, 47 – Sharon Mazzillo’s mother, shot in the face • Scott Mazzillo, 7 – Sharon Mazzillo’s nephew, shot in the head

nephew.

There, Gillespie said, Banks let two boys – Angelo Vital and Keith Mazzillo – live and killed two others, one his son and another a boy who made fun of his son.

“The two boys who didn’t make fun of his son, he let live,” Gillespie said. “He was obviously making He knew what he was doing,” Jechoices.” zewski said. “He knew who he Young victims wanted to kill.”

Dessoye said he played a supStanley Jezewski, who had been the lead investigator for the Penn- port role in the investigation, and sylvania State Police at the Jenkins never testified at the trial, but was Township scene, said he agrees there when Banks was found by with Gillespie that the most diffi- police at a Monroe Street, Wilkescult aspect of the crime was that Barre, home and during a severalhour negotiation session. most victims were children. “(Banks) had the gun pointed at “They were the most bothersome aspect,” Jezewski, who then us. We surrounded him,” Dessoye went on to work as a county detec- said, noting Banks finally surrentive and is now retired, said. “The dered. autopsies…they were hard.”

Jezewski said he was primarily Trial preparations When the case finally made it to involved in the mechanics of the case, and did not interview Banks trial, jurors were chosen from Alor testify at the trial. He did inter- legheny County and brought back view the two boys who escaped to Luzerne County to hear testigunfire at the Jenkins Township mony.

Nine months after being home – Vital and Mazzillo.

The 41-year law enforcement charged, Banks was convicted of veteran oversaw crime scene proc- murder by the jury, who later deessing collecting evidence, attend- cided his sentence should be the ed autopsies and remembers every death penalty.

“We worked hard for (the verlast detail. “(Banks) had specific targets. dict) over … nine months,” Gilles-

pie said. “But, there is no joy in learning someone is going to die.”

Gillespie said the case was like no other in the United States at the time – prosecutors even consulted with the prosecutor who worked on the Ronald Reagan shooting case because it involved psychiatric testimony.

“Obviously, when you kill that many people, something is wrong,” Gillespie said. “There is no question that there was something mentally wrong.”

Gillespie said Banks knew what he was doing and who he was going to shoot and intended to do it.

At one point, Gillespie said, Banks knew he killed 13 people, but only spoke about killing the five that matter to him – his sons.

“Women had no importance to him. He had hatred towards women,” Gillespie said.

www.timesleader.com

TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTOS

Montanzuma Banks, 6

Kismayu Banks, 5,

Nancy Lyons, 11 Survivor: Jimmy Olsen, 22 – bystander, outside Schoolhouse Lane home, survived a gunshot wound to the chest

years, people still ask him about the case. “(The case) has so many quirks, and is such an interesting case,” Gillespie said, noting there has been no larger killing in Pennsylvania since the Banks case.

Gillespie said over the years people have talked with him a lot about Banks, and that one time he even received a newspaper from Japan that had his name in it.

Gillespie even spoke of his daughter, now in law school at the Dickinson School of Law at Penn State University, who had a friend tell her they used Gillespie’s closing argument in the Banks case as an example in case.

“I thought about writing a book (about the Banks case), but I never found the time to do so,” Gillespie said.

Unanswered questions MONDAY: How the Banks case ranks Gillespie said even after all these among other mass murders

TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN GEORGE BANKS SENTENCING • Nov. 22, 1985 – George Banks is sentenced to 12 consecutive death sentences. In 1987, he appeals the June 1983 convictions, but the state Supreme Court upholds them • Feb. 15, 1996 - Gov. Tom Ridge signs a death warrant scheduling Banks’ execution for the week of March 3, 1996.

• Feb. 22, 1996 - U.S. District Judge James F. McClure of Williamsport issues stay of execution, clearing way for appeal.

• March 21, 1996 - Banks files his first petition for writ of habeas corpus with the U.S. District Court. It is denied six months later.

• Jan. 14, 1997 - Banks files a second post-conviction petition in Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas and is denied seven months later. The denial is upheld by the Supreme Court in March 1999.

• March 9, 1999 - Gov. Ridge signs the second death warrant, scheduling Banks’ execution for April 20, 1999.

• March 26, 1999 - U.S. District Judge McClure issues stay of execution to allow a hearing on Banks’ claim he was mentally ill during his trial in Luzerne County.

• Oct. 31, 2001 - A federal appeals court in Philadelphia overturns Banks’ death sentence, ruling that the jury’s instruction during the trial was unconstitutional. Court says Banks should receive a new death penalty hearing.

• Nov. 14, 2001 - Luzerne County District Attorney David Lupas files court papers requesting the appellate court reconsider its decision. The appeal is rejected one month later. Lupas then files appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.

• June 17, 2002 - U.S. Supreme Court reverses appellate

TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO.

CLARK VAN ORDEN/THE TIMES LEADER

George Banks in February 1983.

Banks was at a hearing at the Luzerne County Courthouse in August 1985.

Banks being led from the courthouse by Sheriff Frank Jagodinski and Deputy Myron Galaida in 1987.

George Banks as he appeared in Wilkes-Barre for a competency hearing in April 2010.

court ruling that threw out Banks’ death sentence. Court states that lower court must rule whether new laws regarding jury instruction should apply to Banks case, even though the law did not exist when Banks was convicted.

• January 14, 2003 - The Third Circuit Court of Appeals again overturns George Banks death sentence, reinstating a prior order it issued in 2001.

April 22, 2003: District Attorney’s office appeals Third Circuit ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

• June 24, 2004 -The U.S. Supreme Court reinstated George Banks’ death sentence in a 5-4 vote to overturn a federal appellate court ruling that negated Banks’ death sentences based on problems with jury instructions during the penalty phase of his 1983 trial.

October 5, 2004 - Then-Gov.

Ed Rendell signs a death warrant for Banks – execution set for Dec. 2, 2004 • November 19, 2004 -Banks’ attorneys ask the state Supreme Court to stay execution based on the fact that Banks is "chronically psychotic" and incompetent to make decisions on his own behalf regarding his case.

• Dec. 1, 2004 - The state Supreme Court’s halts Banks’ execution pending a competency hearing. The ruling happened about 27 hours before Banks was scheduled to die by lethal injection.

• October 24, 2005 - Former judge Michael Conahan decides a competency hearing will be held at the prison that houses Banks’, SCI Graterford, since Banks had been unavailable for the hearing due to a skin condition.

• March 31, 2006 - Competency hearing held at SCI Grat-

erford.

• Feb. 27, 2006 - Conahan rules Banks incompetent to face death penalty.

• March 27, 2006- Prosecutors appeal to state Supreme Court on Conahan’s ruling that deemed Banks incompetent to be executed, arguing the state did not get a fair chance to present its case at a competency hearing.

• December 2007 - State Supreme Court rules Banks can have another competency hearing.

• January 21, 2008 - Attorneys for Banks ask the state Supreme Court to reconsider its decision that ordered a new competency hearing for Banks, arguing the high court utilized the wrong legal standard when it reviewed the case.

• August 14, 2008 - Second competency hearing for Banks

begins.

• Sept. 8, 2008 - Conahan again rules Banks incompetent to be executed. Prosecutors later appealed that decision.

• August 28, 2009 - State Supreme Court rules that Conahan violated its directive that he provide an "autonomous judicial expression" when he issued an order in September 2008 finding that Banks was too mentally ill to be executed.

• April 27, 2010 - Judge Joseph Augello is assigned Banks case, and begins a third competency hearing on this date.

• May 12, 2010 - After a several-day hearing, Augello rules Banks is incompetent to be executed.

• July 15, 2010 - The state Office of Attorney General asks the state Supreme Court to overturn Augello’s ruling that

declared Banks incompetent to be executed.

• Sept. 28, 2011 - State Supreme Court unanimously decides Banks will not be executed because evidence at three competency hearings demonstrated that Banks does not have a rational understanding of the reason he is facing death.

• February 6, 2012 - Prosecutors ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the state Supreme Court’s ruling that deemed mass murderer George Banks incompetent to be executed. Prosecutors asked the court to address whether the state high court misapplied the law when it upheld Augello’s ruling that Banks is too mentally ill to be executed.

• Sept. 24, 2012 - The U.S. Supreme Court will meet at a conference to decide if it will hear the prosecutors’ appeal.

TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO.

TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO.

User: maed Time: 09-23-2012 23:38 Product: Times_Leader PubDate: 09-24-2012 Zone: Main Edition: Main_Run PageName: news_f PageNo: 1 A

D.C. zoo at a giant loss

Smiling faces all around

Visitors and officials grief-stricken over cub’s death

Transfiguration anniversary, Pittston Riverfest, Cancer survivors

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The Times Leader timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE, PA

SPORTS SHOWCASE

By SHEENA DELAZIO sdelazio@timesleader.com

In the past 30 years since George Banks committed13 murders in the Wyoming Valley, at least 26 other mass murders occurred in the United States.

More mass killings aren’t hap-

Gray

What has changed, she said, is that people have become desensitized.

In the 1980s, there weren’t cell phones, CDs, iTunes or computers, Gray said. There wasn’t prolonged exposure for such incidents as the Banks killings and when the media did cover the Mass murders see no rise event, it took several days, or even The number of mass murders weeks, for the information to disthemselves hasn’t risen, Gray said, seminate across the country or and has been consistent through- even internationally.

Today, when a mass murder ocout the last 30 years.

“The constant exposure to the reporting of incidents normalizes it and contributes to the sensationalism and anxiety of people,” Marie Gray, a professor of psychology at Misericordia University said.

“Then, people have the ‘What is the world coming to’ syndrome.”

Banks

pening since then, a local psychologist said, just that people are more aware of such events thanks to technology and media coverage.

BRAVES 2 PHILLIES 1

By BILL O’BOYLE boboyle@timesleader.com

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RAYS 3 BLUE JAYS 0

FRED ADAMS PHOTOS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER

Jessica Helman works on removing graffiti from playground equipment at Reese Park in Kingston as part of the Dorranceton United Methodist Church Day of Community Service. For Click photos, see Page 7A.

Service to others

Dorranceton UM parishioners help community “We wanted to make sure to have something for everyone to or many of the religious do,” Keeney said. “Whether persuasion, Sunday mornyou’re 5 or 85, we wanted to be ings are often spent in a sure there was an activity availaplace of worship with felble.” low church members.

The early morning found a For one local church, the typical group of clowns walking around Sunday morning spent indoors at the the church grounds in preparaservice was turned into a day full of tion for a Clown Worship Service activities in all parts of the communiat ManorCare. ty for both church and non-church “I’m terrified of clowns,” said members. parish member Janet Mitchell of Steve Nealon works on painting over The church had left the building. graffiti on a shed at Reese Park.

Shavertown, clad in suspenders And so was the namesake for the and a red wig, face fully done up, project from Dorranceton United Methodist Church in “but I figured hey, I better break that fear. We’ve really Kingston, which saw great success for its first year doing had a lot of fun getting ready for this.” the “The Church Has Left the Building” program.

Not long after the clowns’ preparation was complete, a “I had done something like this before at another bevy of students from both Wilkes University and Penn church I was at,” Pastor Nick Keeney said. “I wanted to State descended on the church, all ready to be a part of try it out here, give the church an opportunity to reach the cleanup of Reese Park in Kingston. out to and work in the community.”

“The turnout for that mission in particular has been The day brought 14 different projects for church mem- incredible,” said Kriss Kross, one of the members of the bers, as well as walk-ins and non-church members, to par- core ticipate in, from a sing-along at the Veterans Medical See CHURCH, Page 10A Center to a mini spa day at Ruth’s Place.

By SARA POKORNY spokorny@timesleader.com

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Local health officials are recommending booster shots.

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curs, such as the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech where 32 people were shot and killed, the media respond quickly, getting information out thanks to technology such as the Internet, television and social media networks.

“After (the school shooting) a lot of things happened that we didn’t normally do,” Gray said.

Those things included restrictions on gun sales, and setting up

Whooping cough is on the rise

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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50¢

Since Banks, is life deadlier?

Experts take a look at what makes us believe mass killings are more frequent.

Kevin Kolb orchestrated Arizona’s offense to near perfection while building a big first-half lead and the defense hounded Michael Vick all day, sacking him five times to help the Cardinals run over the Eagles 27-6 on Sunday for their best start in 38 years. PAGE 1B

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

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THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEK

lovers in this world. Those who like munching popcorn when they check out the hot new movie at the theater. And those that like … (dramatic pause) … FILM! Bruce Willis has a new MOVIE opening this week. The Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock is holding its Fall FILM Festival. See how that works. Movie. Film. The festival at the Dietrich runs through Oct. 4, and will feature such FILMS as “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Safety Not Guaranteed,” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” Wait. What? No “Battleship?”

>> TV PARTY TONIGHT: For the past few weeks, TV’s new Fall season has been trickling in like a gentle rain. Now, prepare yourselves -- you’re about to be hit by a tidal wave of entertainment. There’s a new “Dancing with the Stars” tonight at 8 p.m. on ABC; the season debut of “NCIS” Tuesday at 8 on CBS, and “Modern Family” Wednesday at 9 p.m. on ABC. “Two and a Half Men” is now on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on CBS, with “Grey’s Anatomy” at 9 p.m. on ABC. And don’t forget about FOX. “Fringe” make its debut Friday at 9 p.m. .... Arrrggghhh. All this TV madness makes one long for the serenity of the old Indian test pattern.

>> HIT ME ONE TIME: Hey music lovers, Don’t Worry, Be Happy. If you like your tunes with term limits, then this Tuesday is for you. It’s a day to do the Macarena or the Mambo No. 5. It’s your chance to discover who really Let the Dogs Out and who Killed the Radio Star. It’s National One-Hit Wonder Day. So take a trip to Funkytown, Relax in your Cars, and celebrate those artists who were Too Sexy for continued success.

>> I AM AN .. ACTOR!: There are two types of cinema

>> BLASTS FROM THE PAST:

WILKES-BARRE — Local and state health officials are concerned about a significant increase in cases of whooping cough and they are recommending booster shots for protection.

New statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta show 2012 may be the worst outbreak of Pertussis – or whooping cough – since the late 1950s.

So far this year, 18,000 cases of Pertussis have been reported, more than double the number from this time last year and the first time since 1959 that so many cases have been reported by this time in the year.

Holly Senior, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said there have been 18 cases of confirmed or probable Pertussis reported in Luzerne County between 2009 and 2012 to date.

She said half of those cases See COUGH, Page 10A

WHOOPING COUGH SURGE Cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, have increased substantially. These are reported cases in Pennsylvania, according to the state Department of Health. Numbers for 2012 are “provisional” and may change when finalized.

Total in first six months 895

364

2011 2012

Cases in last seven years Confirmed Probable Total 2005 270 244 514 2006 205 382 587 2007 257 129 386 2008 368 127 495 2009 468 147 615 2010 762 217 979 2011 547 195 742 Mark Guydish/The Times Leader

They don’t write songs like they used to. Especially when they used to write ‘em like this: “Bom ba ba bom ba bom ba bom bom ba ba bom ba ba bom ba ba dang a dang dang …” May not read like much, but when the Marcels sang “Blue Moon” back in the day, it sounded great. If you’re in the mood for some nostalgic classics, then you might want to check out Doo Wop Plus at the F.M. Kirby Center this Friday. The show starts at 7 p.m. and features Lou Christie, Johnny Tillotson, The Skyliners .. and more. Wait. No “Battleship?” >> EAST BEASTS: While the Steelers are off snoozing on their bye week, the area’s other two favorite teams have a prime time date this Sunday on NBC. Eli Manning and the Giants will be stomping into Philly to take on Michael Vick and the high-flying Eagles. FYI: There are actually more people on the team than those two guys, and those metaphors are just for kicks. No one’s really stomping or flying. The game starts about 8:30 p.m.

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THE TIMES LEADER

www.timesleader.com

Many mass murders in U.S. since Banks

By SHEENA DELAZIO sdelazio@timesleader.com

FRED ADAMS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER

Eric Bogumil and David Blackman work on removing graffiti from playground equipment at Reese Park in Kingston as part of the Dorranceton UM Church Day of Community Service.

CHURCH Continued from Page 1A

group who helped organize the event. “It’s so important to get youth involved and the fact that this many students are coming out to help us is wonderful.”

By “this many,” Kross pointed to a group that made up much of the Wilkes soccer team.

“We do community service projects every so often, and when I heard this one was coming up I thought it would be a good idea for us to lend a hand,” team member Nick Patricia said. “I had a sign-up sheet available one day after practice and ended up with 27 guys.”

While some were out in the community doing activities, many stayed at the church. From DUMC’s very hall, people were helping children in Africa.

COUGH Continued from Page 1A

(9) have been in 2012.

However, Matthew Van Stone, spokesman for Geisinger Health System, said Michael Ryan, D.O., chairman of pediatrics for Geisinger, estimated that he has seen between 20 and 30 cases of Pertussis so far this year in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton region.

Dr. William Cochran, vice chairman at Geisinger’s Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, said children should be vaccinated and adults 19 and over should be revaccinated.

“We have seen a very dramatic increase in whooping cough this year,” Cochran said. “It’s a devastating disease and can be fatal – especially to infants and the elderly.”

Cochran knows what he is talking about – he wasn’t revaccinated and he contracted whooping cough while in Alabama helping his son repair his home.

“I was vaccinated as a child, but not revaccinated as an adult,” Cochran said. “It is highly recommended by the CDC that adults 19 to 64 be revaccinated. Those 18 and under should be covered by their childhood vaccination.”

Cochran said at the onset, the disease starts with a mild cough and then progressively gets worse. He said it could last 100 days if not properly treated.

“I thought it was my asthma acting up, but it kept flaring up and it got progressively worse,” Cochran said. “When I returned home from Alabama, I continued to cough – sometimes so hard I had trouble taking air in

COMPUTERS Continued from Page 3A

“Our partnership with King’s College has allowed us to fill our classroom with the latest technology that lets our students prepare for careers in the IT field,” Miller said.

He plans to hold onto the old computers and use them for teaching other aspects of the IT field such as repairs.

“The students will not be held back by the equipment,” Pryor said. “The limitations will be of their own.”

Students are just as pleased with the new equipment. Seniors Ian Nelson of Forty Fort said the new equipment has capabilities the old computers did not.

“We can scan documents with the new printer, and the

Church members baked and packaged Welsh cookies to be sold to benefit “Nothing But Nets,” a global campaign to raise awareness and funds for fighting malaria, a leading cause of death among children in Africa.

Members also made toys, helped at the Wilkes-Barre free kitchen, and assembled “ugly quilts,” sleeping bags for the homeless that are made out of scrap materials.

And all the while there was quiet time made available in the church sanctuary for those who wanted to celebrate their Sunday worship in the way they were used to.

“Honestly, though, a majority of the church has signed up and is out there, helping out in some way,” Kross said. “Between that and the people we had walk in off the street, or volunteer their time even if they aren’t a member, it’s been incredible. This is a wonderful day.” and I passed out.”

Cochran said he also experienced chest pains and he went two weeks with only an hour or two of sleep each night.

“I kept waking up coughing,” he said.

Cochran said if a person suspects he or she has Pertussis, he recommends being seen by a physician immediately.

“Get an antibiotic,” he said.

“That will prevent spreading the disease.”

At the state health department, Senior said there has been a resurgence of Pertussis nationwide in 2012.

“In Pennsylvania, we have seen about three times as many Pertussis cases in 2012 as in 2011, both year to date and in the past month,” she said.

“There have been over 1,200 confirmed, probable and suspected cases reported statewide this year. Cases and outbreaks are occurring statewide.”

Senior said although Pennsylvania is having a bad Pertussis year, other states, particularly on the West Coast, are having a much worse time of it.

She said it is important to note that the state does not have finalized numbers (confirmed or probable) yet for this year.

“All we can provide at this time are provisional numbers, so a true side-by-side comparison can only be done very cautiously at this point,” Senior said. “What we know for sure at this point is this: it is an active year for Pertussis.”

While Pertussis does show cyclical activity, Senior said the increased activity this year serves as a great reminder toward the importance of staying up-to-date on vaccinations as Pertussis is a vaccine-preventable disease.

PolyVision board is more interactive,” Nelson said.

Senior Justin Romanoski of Luzerne said he likes being able to explore new concepts to “develop a firm base in computer science.”

Alton Baggett, a senior from Larksville, helped install the overhead projector over the summer. He is looking forward to pursuing a degree in network and security systems at King’s College.

To continue to build a strong foundation for the students, both Pryor and Moran are planning to create a mentoring program between WSCTC and King’s College.

“Creating opportunities for local high school students benefits everyone,” Moran said.

“We are also grateful to our vendor partners for their continued support of King’s mission to benefit students.”

Over the last 30 years in the United States, at least 26 mass murders have occurred.

Though, there are different definitions for mass killings.

The FBI defines mass murder as: a number of murders (four or more) occurring during the same incident, with no distinctive time period between the murders. Serial killings are defined by the FBI as: a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States.

The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as: killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders.

Listed here are samplings of mass killings, all of which had faAP FILE PHOTOS talities that exceeded the numOfficials work at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, N.Y. where a gunman opened fire ber in the George Banks case, or April 3, 2009. A gunman barricaded the back door of a community center with his car and then were close to that number: opened fire on a room full of immigrants taking a citizenship class, killing 14 people and injuring San Ysidro McDonald’s massacre Where: San Ysidro, Calif.

When: July 18, 1984 Dead: 22 Injured: 19 What happened: James Oliver Huberty, 41, walked into a McDonald’s and began shooting. The 77-minute rampage was the largest single-day, single-gunman massacre in U.S. history at the time, according to reports. Huberty was shot and killed by a police sniper in the incident.

U.S. Postal Service shooting Where: Edmond, Okla.

When: August 20, 1986 Dead: 15 Injured: 6 What happened: Patrick Sherrill, 44, a post office worker, arrived at work around 7 a.m. and began firing at co-workers. Sherrill committed suicide after the attack.

Luby’s Cafeteria massacre Where: Killeen, Texas When: October 16, 1991 Dead: 24 Injured: 20 What happened: George Hennard, 35, drove his pickup truck through a window at the Luby’s, unleashing a 15-minute rampage. The incident ended when Hennard shot himself after being wounded by police.

Columbine High School massacre Where: Columbine, Colo.

When: April 20, 1999 Dead: 15 Injured: 25 What happened: Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, students at the school, unleashed a 23-minute assault on fellow students, friends and faculty. Harris and Klebold committed suicide inside the school’s library.

MURDERS Continued from Page 1A

safety plans and exit routes as schools, such as Misericordia University, Gray said.

“Prior to Virginia Tech and (the shooting) at Columbine (High School), those things were not issues,” said Gray, who is also the chief executive officer of Cornerstone Counseling & Consulting Specialists in Dallas. “It’s not that we weren’t concerned with it, but that we didn’t hold those things to too much of a precedence.”

Andrew Wilczak, a criminology professor at Wilkes University, shares similar thoughts with Gray on exposure to such violent crimes.

“There are stories about (a mass killing) in the paper, on TV, every day,” Wilczak said. “That’s what makes people believe it’s happening more than it really is.”

Wilczak said people become more aware of what’s going on around them and that there’s a possibility a mass killing can happen.

“That’s when people become scared of their own shadow.

There’s a shooting here, a robbery there. Those things do happen, but they aren’t as concentrated,” he said.

Wilczak said when violence occurs, individuals look for scape-

four before committing suicide, officials said.

Stock exchange shooting Where: Atlanta, Ga. When: July 29, 1999 Dead: 12 Injured: 7 What happened: Mark Barton, 44, a former chemist turned stock market trader, shot and killed his wife and two children before unleashing a shooting spree at two brokerage firms.

Later that day, Barton was located by police while driving, but shot and killed himself before police could apprehend him.

Washington D.C. sniper shootings Where: Washington, D.C. When: October 2002 – over a several-week period Dead: 10 Injured: 3 What happened: John Allen Muhammad, 48, along with Lee Boyd Malvo, now 27, carried out the 2002 sniper attacks on a busy corridor in the Washington metropolitan area, commonly called the Beltway sniper attacks.

Muhammad was arrested, convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Muhammad was executed on Nov. 10, 2009.

Malvo was also arrested and entered a guilty plea to several of the deaths, and was convicted of others. He was sentenced to life in prison on October 26, 2004.

Virginia Tech massacre Where: Blacksburg, Va. When: April 16, 2007 Dead: 32 Injured: 29 What happened: Seung Hui Cho, 23, walked from classroom to classroom, firing more than 170 shots. The spree ended when Cho turned the gun on himself. goats, blaming it on violent music or violent video games, but that isn’t the cause in most inWilczak stances.

“Violent stories have been told from the beginning of Western civilization,” Wilczak said. “Now, we are just more aware of it because of a 24hour news cycle.”

Behavior can be varied Most mass murders that occur, Gray said, involve different types of behavior.

In the Banks killings, Gray said, Banks was personally connected to each of his victims and the killings were committed because of personal reasons.

Others, Gray said, are randomized sociopathic incidents, such as the July shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, Colo., that left 12 killed.

But, in each case, mental illness is present and a psychotic break occurs that causes the shooter or shooters to step into a different realm.

“It’s tragic on all ends,” Gray said. “I can be upset that I don’t have my job anymore, but that doesn’t give me the right to go out and hurt someone. The rational mind and emotional mind have two different sides.”

Unidentified young women head to a library near Columbine High School where students and faculty members were evacuated after students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a shooting rampage in the school in the southwest Denver suburb of Littleton, Colo., on April 20, 1999.

Binghamton citizenship class shooting Where: Binghamton, N.Y. When: April 3, 2009 Dead: 14 Injured: 4 What happened: Jiverly Wong, 42, a Vietnamese immigrant, entered the American Civic Association immigration center and began the approximate 30-minute shooting. Police later found Wong dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a room with several victims.

Fort Hood shooting Where: Fort Hood, Texas When: November 5, 2009 Dead: 13 Injured: 32 What happened: Nidal Malik Hasan, 42, a U.S. Army major, entered the Soldier Readiness Processing Center where he worked, and opened fire. He was Gray said it’s hard to tell if mental health treatment long before the incidents occurred could have prevented the incidents themselves. “(Banks) did what he did, and it was a terrible outcome,” Gray said, noting not only are victims injured by death or because of psychological problems, but family members and the community at large as well.

The awareness of mental health issues has increased within the last 30 years, Gray said, but unfortunately resources have declined because of the economy and a number of other factors.

Facilities closing. Benefits decreasing. Inaccessibility to providers. Affordability.

“There is nowhere to go (to get help),” Gray said. “And if people (are on a fixed income) taking medication is the last thing they are going to worry about. They are more worried about getting something to eat.”

Wilczak, who had been a visiting assistant professor at the University of Tampa before working at Wilkes University, believes that if Banks had gotten some sort of treatment, the 13 deaths could have been prevented.

Sometimes, a single-victim killing is committed when someone has lost their temper or frustration builds up over time, Wilczak said.

But when it comes to mass kill-

shot and taken into custody, and is now paralyzed from the waist down. Hasan is currently awaiting trial on several counts of murder, and faces the death penalty if convicted Dark Knight shooting Where: Aurora, Colo.

When: July 20, 2012 Dead: 12 Injured: 58 What happened: James Eagan Holmes, 24, entered the Century 16 Movie Theater complex during a late-night showing of the Batman movie “The Dark Night Rises” and began shooting at fellow movie-goers.

Holmes was taken into custody by police, jailed, and is facing several counts of first-degree murder.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics; Various Internet sources ings, mental illnesses cause irrational thoughts that a reasonable person wouldn’t be able to understand. “(Banks) should have gotten help years before (the shootings),” Wilczak said.

Forgetting is difficult Incidents like the Banks killings tend to stick with people in the community over a number of years because it is out of the norm.

“It’s a terrible thing that happened within a community, on that little street, in that town, in this valley,” Gray said. “People think of neighborhoods as being safe and it’s a personal violation (when it happens) so close to home.”

Wilczak said the Banks killings are likely still being talked about because of Banks’ mental illness and his non-rational lifestyle.

Banks had served in the military, served time in prison and was a prison guard.

He had multiple girlfriends and multiple children by them, which is outside the realm of what people identify as normal in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The media also follows up throughout the years with the status of the case, or with stories of victims and their families that keep the story in the forefront.

“You can normalize it, but you can’t condone it,” Gray said.