Add Jazz to Christmas Looking for a jazzinspired Christmas Eve service? One area church will host. See Page 11 for details.
THE ABINGTON
Do you believe in magic?
JOURNAL An edition of The Times Leader
www.theabingtonjournal.com
Wilkes-Barre, Clarks Summit, Pa. Pa.
Commuter tax in flux following hearing BY GERARD NOLAN Abington Journal Correspondent
SCRANTON - After a panel of three judges at the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton heard hours of testimony over three days regarding the enactment of a commuter tax on Scranton’s nonresident workers’ earned incomes, the city and opponents of the tax await the court’s ruling. Scranton plans to assess a1 percent tax on the earned income of each nonresident worker to balance its budget in 2013 if the court approves the levy. The city currently takes1percent of nonresident workers’ pay and remits the money to their home municipalities. The burden of proof rested on the city at the hearings Dec.11, 12 and14, which had to establish that a commuter tax was necessary to its financial well being and in compliance with all laws governing distressed municipality recoveries. Much of the arguments hinged on Act 47’s Serafini amendment, which mandates a three-part test that the city must pass before it can gain approval for a commuter tax. “You have to prove to the satisfaction of the court that you’ve substantially implemented the provisions of the recovery plan, including those filing for increases in taxes on city residents and increases in municipal fees,” Judge Terrence Nealon said of the Serafini test. The city was seeking approval to levy the tax for one year in accordance with the provisions under this Act, which grants distressed municipalities special taxing powers. Even if the tax is See Tax, Page 4
INSIDE
Please enclose this label with any address changes, and mail to The Abington Journal, 211 S. State St,, Clarks Summit, PA, 18411
ArtsEtc...............................10 Calendar.............................2 Classified ...........................15 Crosswords.........................5 Obituaries...........................8 School ............................7, 8 Sports................................13
The Abington Journal
One area Hose Company hosted its annual Children’s Christmas Party and this red-suited gentleman appeared. See Page 4.
DECEMBER 19 TO DECEMBER 25, 2012
50¢
Dalton mayor resigns BY BEN FREDA Abington Journal Correspondent
LuAnn Connolly serves a lunch tray in the Abington Heights High School cafeteria
ABINGTON JOURNAL/ELIZABETH BAUMEISTER
Eating healthy at school, home Law passed by U.S. Congress stresses healthy lunch options in schools BY ELIZABETH BAUMEISTER lbaumeister@theabingtonjournal.com
C
old greasy corndogs. Three-day-old pizza slices. Stomach aches that last from lunch period through the bus ride home. School lunches are beginning to lose negative connotations such as these, thanks to recent legislation and efforts of school food service personnel to provide a healthier menu to students. The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act was passed by U.S. Congress in 2010 and updated for the 2012-2013 school year. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website, the act “allows USDA, for the first time in over 30 years, opportunity to make real reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutriSee Healthy, Page 9
TIPS FOR HEALTHY EATING
It is important for students to eat healthy both at school and at home, according to Joanne Pesota, Abington Heights School District food service director and registered dietician. “This is when we establish the eating patterns of a lifetime,” she explained. Pesota offers parents three tips to help children develop healthy eating patterns: • Provide whole grains at home and in bagged lunches. If a child prefers white bread, try a white variety of whole grain bread available at the grocery store. • Use fruits as desserts. • Offer vegetables and fruits as snacks. Children will eat what is most readily available to them, whether that’s a bag of chips or a bag of apple slices. Cutting up broccoli and celery sticks and leaving them in the fridge makes these healthy foods more available as a snack.
ABINGTON JOURNAL/JOAN MEAD-MATSUI
Shown, from left: Benny Arendt, Abington Heights Middle School Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Joan Gavigan, Miriam Barren and Paige Anderson.
Cooking basics “When we measure our water, we have to be sure that we check our meaAbington Heights Mid- surement at eye level on a hard surface,” she told her dle School Family and Consumer Sciences teach- students. “When you follow this er, Joan Gavigan, taught her 5th grade cooking class recipe,” she said, “You need to be sure you follow Dec. 4 the proper way to it accurately. If you think, ‘I measure and mix ingrereally like cola and I’m dients to prepare soda going to add a little bit fountain treats. She also reviewed stove top safety with students. See Cooking, Page 9 BY JOAN MEAD-MATSUI Abington Journal Correspondent
DALTON - Mayor Jim Gray resigned his position as mayor of Dalton at the Dalton Borough Council meeting Dec. 13. He announced that his elected position must come to an end. “There are a number of reasons why I should not resign, but I will only say I’m not willing to go in the direction that this Council has been going over the past year; therefore, I effectively immediately resign respectively as mayor of Dalton,” said Gray. Gray stood up and left during the meeting. He said, “It’s been a long meeting. It’s been a long three years, but I’ll be honest with you. Things aren’t working the right way.” Board member Bill Montgomery said, “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mayor.” Montgomery said the board accepted Mayor Gray’s resignation with regret. He entertained a motion to accept Gray’s resignation. Board member Lorraine Daniels made the motion. Board member Mark Sujkowski seconded it. “I think that we all feel the same that it’s too bad because he (Gray) has been a pretty good cheerleader for the town of Dalton,” said Montgomery. “We have about 30 days to find a new mayor.” In other business, board member Susan Davidson said that according to air quality test reports, the basement has “acceptable” levels of mold. “In my book, what part of mold is “acceptable”?” asked Davidson. Montgomery said, “We understand that. At some points, you have to accept the expert’s opinion.” Davidson said that she wants to move out of the building for the health of the employees. Board member Aaron Holzman replied, “I’m opposed to moving out of the building. I see no other alternative at this point.” Sujkowski reflected on Holzman’s comments that all four air quality tests came back passing. “I don’t understand the conSee Mayor, Page 3
General store returns to its roots BY ADRIANE HEINE Abington Journal Correspondent
WAVERLY- The Waverly General Store is aptly named. Despite the building having been home to a variety of businesses over its 182 years, it was built as just that, a general store. A cornerstone of Waverly’s historic district, the building stands the test of time on the corner of Abington Road and Clinton Street.
Photographs, maps and historical documents attest to the different functions the building served over the years. “When I was really small, the building was owned by the late Joe Carpenter,” resident Abby Ridall recalled. Ridall was born in 1936, just a few doors up from the store. “Joe hired a friend by the name of Floyd Richards to run a grocery store there. Then it went on to become Stanton’s
General Store, a little candy store. We’d buy penny candy from Bruce and Annie Stanton. They sold ice cream and a few groceries like bread, eggs and milk. I can remember going up to Stanton’s for vanilla Dixie Cups. We’d lift the lid and lick off the ice cream and there would be a picture of a movie star under there.” After the Stantons moved,
ABINGTON JOURNAL/ADRIANE HEINE
See Store, Page 12 The corner of Abington Road and Clinton Street is home today to The Waverly General Store.