Wyalusing Readies for Yearly Celebration

King and Wyatt are adult male
Coonhounds. King is a Walker and
Wyatt is a Walker-Bluetick mix.
They are big, mellow, lovable boys.
Bradford County Humane Society
Route 220 just north of Ulster.
http://members.petfinder.com/~PA19/.
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RESCUE ME!!
Elk Lake School District
Introduces New Plans
For Reviewing Teachers
PAGE 12
Wyoming County
Adopts State-of-the-Art
911 System
PAGE 13
Photos from Black
Walnut Wine Festival
Monroeton Shopkeeper Busted
For Selling Synthetic Drug
PAGE 2
Wyalusing Chamber Holds
Biannual Dinner Meeting
Faith Sustains
Champion Gymnast
ROCKET-COURIER
July 26, 2012
Number 30 of Our 125th Year
Wyalusing, Pennsylvania
$1.15 Per Copy
Wyoming County
Group Meets with
Flood Victims
— BY RICK HIDUK —
The Wyalusing Firemen’s Carnival, which has been a summer tradition for over a half century, returns
on Tuesday, Aug. 7, and runs through Saturday, Aug. 11. This photo of the carnival grounds on the Wyalusing Borough Park was snapped in the late 1960s or early 70s and submitted for publication by Nonweiler
Amusements, the company that brings the carnival’s rides to Wyalusing each year.
Wyalusing Readies for Yearly Celebration
The annual Wyalusing Firemen’s Carnival is coming
to town from Tuesday to Saturday, Aug. 7 to 11 at Wyalusing Borough Park.
This summer tradition for over a half-century is Bradford County’s largest firemen’s celebration. Exciting
rides, great food and drinks, a variety of entertainment
and lots of fun games will be offered each night from 5
p.m. through closing. Saturday’s hours will be from 2 p.m.
until closing.
Tuesday evening’s entertainment kicks off with the
Bridge/WTTC-FM - FM 95.3 from 5 to 7 p.m. This will be
followed by Firehouse DJ and Karaoke from 7 until 10:30
p.m.
Thousands of people will line the streets to watch the
annual Firemen’s Parade wind its way through town on
Wednesday, Aug. 8, starting promptly at 6:15 p.m. The
parade theme is “Celebrating the 125th Anniversary of
Wyalusing Borough,” which was incorporated as a
municipality in 1887.
TASD Board Meeting
Leaves Parents and
Faculty Concerned
— BY D.C. KOVIACK—
In what was very nearly a pro forma meeting
last Thursday evening,
the Tunkhannock Area
School District Board
met, approved business
and finance reports without hearing any public
comment and quickly
moved on to a job description and hiring matter
under New Business.
This matter concerned
the new Educational
Services Program Director. The job description
was approved. But when
the motion was made to
hire Eric Buffington for
the position there was no
second and the motion
died. One of the main
sticking points appeared
to be that no one knew if
other districts similar to
TASD had a position such
as the one proposed, or at
what level of funding
(See, “TASD,” Page 8.)
Parade float entries can begin lining up any time after
3 p.m. along Route 6 near the former Welles Mill. Jason
Otis, parade coordinator, said the staging area is pretty
much at the same area where it always has been.
At least 70 flood victims in Wyoming County
met at the Moose Lodge in Eaton Township on
July 18 to hear several leaders of the Wyoming
County Long Term Recovery Committee
(WCLTRC) speak and to talk with representatives of many agencies that have partnered with
the committee to gauge the pace of their own
recovery and to see what resources might yet be
available to them.
The vast majority of those in attendance,
both residents and agency representatives, had
experienced flooding to some extent. Several of
the speakers made a point of assuring those
who were still seeking assistance that they
shared their concerns and frustrations.
Not everyone in attendance was seeking
assistance, however. Several of the audience
members, almost all of who asked that their
names not be published, related that they considered themselves to be recovered or at least
well on their way. They had brought friends and
neighbors, however, who still needed help. In
some cases, the flood victims had been too proud
or humble to ask for help initially, and others
had sought but not received enough assistance.
(See, “Carnival,” Page 8.)
(See, “Victims,” Page 10.)
Impressive Attendance at County’s Veterans’ Picnic
— BY KELLY COLE —
“Throughout
history,
there is one group who continues to support military
service members without
fail, yet they receive no
recognition, no medals. One
group that never forgets and
has been the backbone since
the first battles of the Revolution, our families.” Words
spoken by guest speaker,
Major General Leslie Purser
of the Army Reserve that
resonated among the 3,000
veterans and their families
who attended the 24th Veterans’ Appreciation Day picnic
this past Sunday at the
Wysox
Fire
Company
grounds.
This was a day set aside to
honor all those who have
served our country and veterans. Vets from throughout
Bradford County and from as
far as VA hospitals in WilkesBarre and Bath, NY were on
hand to celebrate. With a
new date and a new venue in
place, the Veterans’ Appreciation Day committee was
(See, “Picnic,” Page 11.)
Photo by Kelly Cole
George Benditt, “A Man of Many Hats,” displays his paper hat creations during Sunday’s 24th Veterans’ Appreciation Day picnic that was
held at the Wysox Fire Company. Benditt, a resident of Bradford County,
is a World War II veteran who served as a machine gunner for the 682nd
Airborne in the United States Army during the war in the India-Burma
Campaign. He spent his childhood in Philadelphia making the hats with
his nine siblings during the Depression in the mid 1930s.
County Identifies Illegal Dumps, Seeks Assistance Charges Stack Up for
Imprisioned Men
— BY RICK HIDUK —
There are at least 74 illegal
dumpsites in 28 Bradford
County municipalities containing approximately 160 tons
of trash. Sixty-five percent of
the sites are considered active,
meaning that people are regularly depositing trash there,
and nearly 30 percent of the
dumps are next to streams,
with 12 sites in particular leading directly into waterways.
Those were among the most
alarming statistics released
last Friday in a final report
compiled and released by Keep
Pennsylvania Beautiful (KPB)
and the Bradford County Conservation District (BCCD).
KPB Program Manager
Todd Crouch, who oversees the
agency’s illegal dump survey
program, worked with BCCD
Director Mike Lovegreen,
board member Leslie Bresee
and additional BCCD associates, who combed the sides of
more than 4,800 miles of paved
and dirt roads from late fall to
early spring to not only identify the dumps, but to take stock
of what they contained so that
(See, “Dumps,” Page 9.)
Even though the now 20year old has been incarcerated
again since July 8
Several
young
for
reportedly
men ranging in age
stealing a 1993
from 19 to 22 have
Camry and having
been involved in a
with him two pipes
relative crime spree
used for smoking
involving burglary,
bath salts and synautomobile theft,
thetic pot, charges
and petty crime in
associated
with
Bradford
County
Lyon’s
alleged
and beyond since
escapades
alone
March, and the
and with other
information involvyoung adults with
ing their combined
and solo drug-fueled Xavier Reed Lyon a shared penchant
for trouble continue
exploits has been
to be levied upon
falling out in a flurhim.
ry of police reports
Lyon was first
and filed criminal
arrested as early
complaints released
as April 2010 by
between June 30 and
Pensylvania State
July 20.
Police and convictMost of the incied on charges of
dents involve Xavier
statutory sexual
Lyon, formerly of
assault. The previTroy,
who
had
ous year, he had
already been an
played football for
inmate at the BradTroy Area High
ford County Correctional
Facility David Lee Brown School. He was
sentenced for the
(BCCF) at least once during
the two previous years.
(See, “Charges,” Page 9.)
— BY RICK HIDUK —
Photo by Rick Hiduk
Illegal dumping opponents (from left) Bradford County
Commissioner Daryl Miller, Asylum Township Supervisor
Lee Allyn, Bradford County Conservation District Manager Mike Lovegreen, BCCD board member Leslie Bresee,
and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Program Manager Todd
Crouch stand at the site of an illegal dump along Tip Top
Road in Asylum Township where Crouch and Lovegreen
unveiled results of an extensive survey of such sites
throughout Bradford County.
How to reach us… Phone: 570-746-1217 • Toll-free: 800-959-0462 • Fax: 570-746-7737 • Email: rocket@epix.net
Thursday, July 26, 2012 — The Rocket-Courier 9
“ Dumps...”
Continued from Page One
efforts to clean up the areas can
be better planned and produce
more effective results.
Not surprisingly, all of the
illegal dumpsites were designated as “rural” due to the nature of
the topography and the lower
population density of the area.
But, despite have less that 15
inhabitants per square mile,
Stevens Township in eastern
Bradford County was listed as
having the most trash at 12.75
tons spread over five known
sites. Lovegreen related that the
survey is intended to be conducted from public roads, so
dumps off private roads were
not sought out nor logged in the
42-page report published by
KPB.
Isolation is the key to a popular dumpsite, said Crouch, who
suggested that surveyors have to
“think like a dumper” to find
some of the areas slightly off
the beaten path where trash is
regularly unloaded. A prime
example was a wooded hillside
that drops dramatically from
Tip Top Road in Asylum Township. Before township maintenance personnel blocked general access to the dumping point
with a series of dirt mounds, it
was fairly easy to stop on the
dirt road in an area between
bends where there were no houses.
“It’s the perfect site because
they can hear cars coming
before they can see them,” said
Crouch, but, he added, “illegal
dumpers are lazy.”
Despite mounding the dirt,
which makes it difficult for a
single person to haul anything
large from the road to the
embankment, and increasing
vigilance of the area by township officials and nearby residents, Asylum Township Supervisor Lee Allyn noted that
dumping at the site has not
stopped entirely.
“There’s no reason for this,
but it happens anyway,” said
Allyn, who suggested that, if
township residents would take
advantage of annual cleanup
days, illegal dumping would be
unnecessary.
Crouch related that, outside
of laziness, there are many reasons why illegal dumping
occurs, at least one of which is
considered cultural or behavioral.
“If someone’s grandfather
dumped, and their father
dumped, they don’t think it’s a
problem,” he stated.
Lovegreen
and
Crouch
agreed that there is also a perceived economic element in that
many people feel that proper disposal of refuse, including building materials, is either too costly or inconvenient. The Northern Tier Solid Waste Authority
(NTSWA) landfill in Burlington
may seem too far away for some,
Lovegreen noted, but he finds it
frustrating that 73 percent of
the Bradford County dumps
included in the survey contained recyclable materials by
which the dumpers could have
made money rather than throwing it away. Eighty-eight percent
had tires, which are 100 percent
recyclable and can be disposed
of at no cost.
The downside of illegal
dumping may seem obvious,
Crouch suggested, but includes
health and safety issues caused
by an increase in mosquitos
hatched in the stagnant water
trapped by tires that may carry
West Nile virus. Rodents are
attracted to dumps, as are larger
predators that feed on rodents
and numerous carcasses left at
the sites by hunters. A more
recent threat cited by Crouch is
the identification of toxic materials and syringes discarded by
producers of illegal methamphetamines. Yet another negative impact of illegal dumping is
that it lowers property value
and can lead to trouble for an
unwitting property owner.
“If there are hazardous materials, DEP could make (the
homeowner) clean it up before
he can sell it,” said Crouch.
“We have such a beautiful
county here, and it’s amazing
the amount of trash that is
thrown out,” stated Bradford
County Commissioner Daryl
Miller, who also attended the
news conference on Tip Top
Road.
Crouch agreed, noting that
abundant trash deters recreation and tourism. “It keeps
them from coming back,” he
said of kayakers and campers,
“because they leave believing
the community doesn’t care.”
The KPB report indicates
that municipalities that offer
curbside pickup of trash via a
subcontractor or municipal
employees tend to have less illegal dumping sites, as do townships that provide easily accessible recycle bins.
The news provided by the
report was not all bad, however.
Of 61 Pennsylvania counties
surveyed so far, Bradford County ranked 34th in the number of
identified sites and volume of
trash therein. More than 6,200
illegal dumpsites have been
logged statewide that contain an
estimated 18,000 tons of trash.
The best news, said Crouch,
is “Sixty sites have two tons of
trash or less.” KPB calculates
each ton of trash to be the equivalent of one pickup truck load to
haul away. “A group could easily
clean up one site in one day.”
Since the survey was conducted, Lovegreen noted, one of
the Stevens Township sites has
been cleaned up, as has another
“Charges...”
Continued from Page One
According to state police at
Towanda, that’s what David Lee
Brown of Towanda Township
said that he asked Lyon just past
midnight on June 19, prior to the
two of them breaking into the
Harkness Family Restaurant in
Towanda Township and stealing
the cash drawer. Brown, 19, who
was also arrested on or about
July 8, and Lyon had become
roommates during the previous
week.
Brown
apparently
hatched the plot to burglarize
the restaurant, and Lyon was
along with him, reportedly
searching for “honey buns”
because he was hungry.
As Brown crawled through a
window, an alarm sounded. He
told police that he went directly
to the register, but an extension
cord prevented him from easily
removing it. Brown first
attempted to cut the cord with a
knife, but finally removed the
drawer instead and dove out the
window. He reportedly ran down
behind the restaurant to the
railroad tracks, where he
stripped the drawer of what he
estimated as $120 in cash and
numerous receipts and discarded it in the weeds. He told police
that he stuffed the items into his
ball cap and ran down to the airport, where Lyon was whistling
from the warehouse area to get
rants for the aforementioned
crimes, stealing Johnson’s car
the day before, and for the plastic and glass pipes that he
allegedly admitted to tucking
along the console of the car of
the woman who effectively
turned him in. He reportedly
attempted to flee the scene but
was taken into custody and committed to BCCF.
During the course of his
interrogation on July 8, Lyon
reportedly told police that he
and Mason were at Johnson’s
home using her phone on July 7.
Lyon slipped the car key off her
keychain, and he and Mason
reportedly fled the scene together with Mason driving and striking a street sign on the way out.
They switched places, according
to Lyon, and he drove around
Towanda for a while and then to
Horseheads, NY.
Johnson was contacted by
police and confirmed that her
car was stolen. The Toyota had
suffered significant front end
damage and was deemed
“totaled” by a Waverly, NY,
wrecking company and towed
from the scene.
A warrant has been issued
for Mason’s arrest. Brown was
scheduled for a July 18 preliminary hearing for the truck theft
and a July 25 hearing for the
restaurant break-in. Lyon faced
Judge Tim Clark on July 25 for
charges related to the three most
recent incidents. Both men
waived their right to a hearing,
which will move the case to the
Court of Common Pleas.
We Will Be
Closing at
5 p.m. Friday,
July 27 and
closed through
August 5.
Continued from Page Three
was recorded with a small video camera.
Prior to visiting M’s Roadside Market again on June 22, Adams
prepared an “anticipatory search warrant,” which he had approved
and signed by Magisterial District Judge Tim Clark. As he pulled up
to the business, Adams observed a white male enter the store with
Applebee. The trooper went to the door and entered as the other man
was exiting. The detective asked of the availability of Cloud 9 and
Applebee reportedly moved some boxes and retrieved a single packet of the product and held it up and asked Adams if that was what
he was looking for. The trooper answered affirmatively and made a
third purchase with prerecorded currency, once again filming the
endeavor. After receiving the product and cash change, another
white male entered the store but seemed hesitant to approach Applebee until the detective left the store. From his car, Adams watched
the man leave the store through the greenhouse area and get into a
green Jeep Cherokee in which two other men were waiting at the
back of the business along Route 414.
About 15 minutes after the transaction was completed, Adams
conferred with his superior officer and two other state troopers and
they went back to M’s Roadside Market together and confronted
Applebee with the search warrant. Applebee was reportedly cooperative and led the officers to his supply of synthetic marijuana,
which included two cardboard boxes and two plastic bins with
numerous packs of the substance. The investigators also found
small pieces of paper with customers’ names and amounts written
on them. In his report, Adams suggested that the notes were “owe
sheets” for patrons who might not have paid for the drugs up front.
Upon request, Applebee surrendered to police packing/invoice slips
that indicated that he had been receiving the drugs on a regular
basis since at least January.
The state troopers seized $528 from the cash drawer and another
$2,680 that Applebee had in his pants pocket. The shopkeeper reportedly said that the large amount of cash represented a couple of days
profits, which included sales of pool supplies and other items. A
later check of the cash produced at least one of the prerecorded bills
used by Adams to purchase the packets of Cloud 9. Investigators
concluded that Applebee had been selling the synthetic pot for several months, reportedly to earn extra money to pay property taxes.
The packets had cost him about $10 each. When questioned about
the taxes that he was collecting on sales of the drug, Applebee
allegedly replied that he was claiming the $1.50 per packet on his tax
forms as required.
The currency was entered into evidence, and the seized packets
of professionally manufactured drugs were sent to the Wyoming
Regional Laboratory for analysis. A summons has been issued to
Applebee, who faces charges for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, as well as a second possession charge.
Applebee faces an Aug. 24 preliminary hearing.
Wyalusing Community
Vacation Bible School
is for EVERYONE!
Come celebrate the life of Christ as we
learn about Him daily from
Monday, July 30,
through Friday, August 3!
6:00 p.m.-8:10 p.m. each day.
Classes for children; 3 years old to finishing 6th grade,
adults of all ages welcome!
High school students are encouraged to help out too.
Our daily themes will be:
Christmas, The Life of Christ, Holy Week,
Easter and Pentecost.
R30p
“Have You Ever
Robbed a Store?”
his attention.
Lyon told police that he never
entered the restaurant because
of the alarm going off and that
Brown gave him $150 of the $400
that Lyon says was actually in
the register to “shut him up.”
The two went back to Brown’s
apartment and, according to
Brown’s testimony as recorded
by police, a friend picked up
Brown and Lyon and took them
to New York State to buy bath
salts.
Over the course of July 8 to
20, Brown and Lyon were also
charged with stealing a 2010 Nissan Frontier belonging to
Michael and Roger Brown.
According to the police criminal
complaint filed by Towanda Borough Police patrolman Josh
Lake, Brown and Lyon were
dropped off by friends on June
30 in the area of North Fourth
Street in Towanda. Brown indicated that they “scoped out” the
victim’s home and truck before
walking up the hill to smoke
bath salts. They returned to the
truck and found keys in the ignition. The owners of the vehicle
were known to Brown, who
reportedly told police that he
was only looking for loose cash
in the vehicle but realized that it
“was gold,” meaning that the
truck might fetch a decent price
in a quick sale. Brown allegedly
sold the Nissan on July 6 to a
buyer in Elmira, NY, for $5,500,
forging one of the two owner’s
names on the bill of sale. The
buyer informed the victim that
he had his truck. Brown told
police that the money was quickly spent on more bath salts.
At about 2:45 a.m. on July 8,
State Police at Towanda received
a call from the mother of a
woman who had Lyon in her car
and who apparently corroborated with the patrolman to intercept with her so that Lyon could
be arrested. According to the
report, the younger woman was
with Lyon in New York State,
and he had admitted that he had
stolen the 1993 Toyota Camry in
which they were riding from
Margaret Johnson of South
Main Street in Towanda the previous day. A separate police
report indicates that Lyon conspired with Michael Mason, 18,
Ulster, to commit the theft.
When the Toyota broke down,
the woman offered Lyon a ride
and somehow found time to
phone her mother and provide
her with enough information to
help police make a traffic stop
on Route 220 in Athens Township, at which time they arrested Lyon on outstanding war-
Reopening
Monday, August 6!
dumpsites in their area.
Through KPB, BCCD will coordinate needed supplies, which
can include, in some instances,
NTSWA dumpsters.
Crouch noted that there are
two times per year when collaborative efforts among the various government organizations,
including the Environmental
Protection Agency, are ramped
up. The American National
Coastal Cleanup takes place
each September and October,
and the Great American
Cleanup of Pennsylvania, based
originally on Earth Day, now
runs from late March through
May. Landfill agencies such as
the one run by NTSWA are particularly cooperative during
those windows of time, especially for cleanups coordinated
through BCCD.
“Busted...”
We’ll have a family picnic on Friday at 5 p.m.
Details will be sent home during that week.
Pre-registration is helpful, but not essential.
Just leave a message at 570-746-3333,
or sign up at the Presbyterian, Methodist,
or Catholic church in Wyalusing.
OR you can just come join us at 6 p.m. on July 30!
We’ll be looking for you there!
S30|R30
crime in October 2010 and
remanded to BCCF for eight to
18 months, eligible for parole
after serving the lesser amount.
Freed from prison, Lyon’s
troubles began again as early as
March of this year when he was
charged by State Police at
Towanda for theft and forgery
for reportedly taking two checks
belonging to an 82-year-old Troy
man, forging his name on one
and cashing it for $250. A new
warrant was issued for him, but
Lyon eluded police.
On April 14, Pennsylvania
State Police at Mansfield reported that Lyon had badly damaged
a vehicle after unsucessfully
navigating a corner on Route 6
in Tioga County in an early
evening crash. Lyon was cited
for speeding. Neither he nor his
22-year-old passenger from
Towanda was injured, even
though the Izuzu Trooper “fishtailed back and forth across both
lanes, struck a guide rail, spun
wildly in a counter-clockwise
direction, climbed an embankment and rolled over onto its
side.” Sometime between April
and June, Lyon settled more permanently into the Towanda
area.
in the Sayre area. BCCD is now
seeking assistance from social
organizations and civic groups
that might be looking to take on
projects of local significance.
The survey, which was funded
by Pennsylvania DEP, was
designed not only to alert that
agency of potentially hazardous
material in illegal dumpsites,
but also to increase awareness
among municipal leaders as to
where illegal dumping is taking
place and to make available to
the public through BCCD target
areas for community-based
cleanups.
By contacting BCCD at 570265-5539, ext. 6, or emailing
mike.lovegreen@pa.nacdnet.net
leaders of civic groups, church
groups, and Scouts, as well as
faculty advisors helping to coordinate community service projects for students, can get a list of
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Photos that have appeared in the Rocket-Courier are
now available for purchase – many available in color
even if printed black and white in the newspaper.
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Wilcox
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Fine Jewelry since 1911
502 Main Street, Towanda, PA
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