REAL NEWS from real communities. PA newspapers making a difference

The news media industry in Pennsylvania has long served the residents of the Commonwealth by providing accurate and truthful news and information. As the purveyor of information for our communities, we pride ourselves on delivering the facts so you can be better informed, entertained and inspired. ewspapers work hard to provide real news and credible information Nabout what matters most – news about local people, local government, local happenings and local businesses – all captured by members of the local community.

Newspaper journalists are curious watchdogs who investigate and report the truth. These dedicated professionals often expose difficult topics that negatively impact a community - many of which ultimately result in positive legislative action for the citizens of Pennsylvania.

On the pages of this publication, you will find a sample of the impactful and engaging stories that have been featured in newspapers across Pennsylvania.

In this era of increasing media consolidation and fragmentation, a free press that serves the interests of our communities is more important than ever. We are proud to say that the number of Pennsylvania’s print-based publications has remained stable over the past 10 years. In addition, Pennsylvania newspapers maintain very strong readership, with more than 7 in 10 Pennsylvania adults reading a newspaper, in a print or digital format, each week.

Newspapers remain an important and powerful brand – the true source of real news. No other industry is as firmly rooted in the foundation of our nation as the free press. Pennsylvania newspapers are dedicated to preserving the Fourth Estate that continues to inform and inspire. Loyal readers validate the importance of our work by engaging with, and subscribing to, our news publications. We are proud to serve our local communities and are excited about our future.

Sincerely,

George Lynett, Jr. Bradford Simpson Chairman, Board of Directors President Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association

The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association is proud to represent Pennsylvania’s news media organizations, including 76 daily newspapers, more than 175 non-daily publications, college newspapers, business journals, and several online-only news sites.

Brad Simpson Holly Lubart Catie Gavenonis Melissa Melewsky President Director, Government Affairs Legislative Counsel Media Law Counsel 717.703.3076 717.703.3032 717.703.3082 717.703.3048 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

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View this publication online at www.panewsmedia.org/local-journalism/ CONTRIBUTING NEWS ORGANIZATIONS Altoona Mirror Altoona The Intelligencer Doylestown The Philadelphia Inquirer Locals believe famous author Jack London Unwell Water: Unclear and Uncertain Danger Philadelphia once made his way through Claysburg This project required two years of investigative Toxic City-Sick Schools – Danger: Learn at Locals and experts consider whether a poem coverage and hundreds of stories detailing the your own risk written by a man passing through the area may be leaking of chemicals from area military bases into Using scientific testing and dogged door-to-door the earliest surviving example of author Jack an underground aquifer, exposing tens of reporting, reporters revealed how developers and London’s poetry. thousands of residents to unsafe drinking water. multiple government agencies failed to protect The series forced the U.S. military into grudging children from poisonous soil churned up by a tide Bucks County Herald Lahaska admissions of truth, galvanized local and national of gentrification. Solebury presents ambitious plan for 202 politicians and advocates to action, and led to the redevelopment closure of at least 22 public drinking-water wells. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh The township supervisors hired an architect to UNBROKEN: Tree of Life Synagogue show possibilities for future development. The The Meadville Tribune Meadville When an active shooter killed 11 people at the plan, which realigns roads and includes Refilling Tamarack Lake Tree of Life Synagogue, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette apartments and businesses, created an uproar in Tamarack Lake was drained in mid-2012 due to reporters were on the scene all day, from the first the community and supervisors have been forced concerns about the safety of the dams. With the alert to the final vigil. Nine stories dominated the to develop a new plan. help of lawmakers, like state Sen. Michele Brooks, front section of the Sunday paper the next day. whose district includes all of the county, and The staff ultimately won a Pultizer Prize “For Butler Eagle Butler collaboration between various agencies, helped immersive, compassionate coverage of the Summit Elementary School water unsafe; make the reconstruction of the dams and the refill massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue District addresses water woes of the 562-acre lake possible. Brooks summed it that captured the anguish and resilience of a The well water at Summit Township Elementary up best when she said, “Truly this project shows community thrust into grief.” School was tested and found to have elevated what can be achieved when everyone unites levels of lead and copper. The Butler Eagle learned toward the same goal and works together.” The Public Opinion Chambersburg that the school district failed to correct the problem Ex-scoutmaster focus of sex abuse inquiry in a timely manner. The Butler County district The Mercury Pottstown Local scoutmaster and recipient of the attorney asked for a criminal investigation into the A Fair Fight: Pottstown brings 3 buses full of community’s Citizen of the Year award is the focus actions of school administrators. After the news people, passion to fair school funding rally. of a sex abuse inquiry. broke that school officials ignored the test results, The Mercury’s continued coverage of educational three district administrators resigned from their funding inequity has included editorials, news Reading Eagle Reading positions and a new superintendent was hired. articles, columns, blog posts and letters to the Unanswered questions: 8 overdose deaths editor. It has highlighted how the “hold harmless” at ADAPPT since Jan. 1, 2016 leave families The Caucus Lancaster provision may disproportionately harm students. without clarity Blowing His Stack Our continuing coverage helped grow Pottstown’s An appalling scenario of drug use and overdose The Caucus broke the story about an investigation participation in the annual rally from filling one bus deaths inside a state-funded halfway house in ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf into alleged last year to filling three this year. Reading, Pa., was unveiled by reporter Ford mistreatment of state workers by Lt. Gov. Mike Turner. Ford’s stories stirred outrage among Stack and his wife. The Morning Call Allentown Pennsylvania lawmakers, led to the scheduling of “Recover or Die”: First responders discuss a legislative hearing and caused the halfway Centre Daily Times State College their fears, frustrations on the front lines of house owner to plan a $4.5 million upgrade to the The Cost of Alcohol: A moneymaker, the drug epidemic facility. a burden, or both? In 2018, The Morning Call decided to change the State College thrives because of Penn State. But way they covered the Opioid epidemic – by The Republican-Herald Pottsville along with the many positives of living in a inviting community members into the newsroom No one’s running Mount Carbon university town, there are negatives, too. A major to brainstorm on solutions to the epidemic This story points to the ongoing concerns about a one is the cost of alcohol use. “The Cost of through 90-minute roundtables involving doctors, lack of civic involvement and the numerous Alcohol,” is a multipart series from the Centre treatment specialists, first responders and people elected positions that go unfilled in Pennsylvania Daily Times that explores the financial and human in recovery or their parents. The Morning Call municipalities. burdens that comes with it. assembled a team of five reporters, an editor and a photographer who fully invested in the series, The Roar Penn State Beaver The Corry Journal Corry attending the roundtables, developing sources in Shattered by Violence: Campus tries to cope Sparty mayor supports fire department’s the treatment community and telling the personal after shooting (domestic violence series) stories of so many whose lives were upended decision to re-elect sex offender as chief When one of Penn State Beaver’s chefs was killed through their own or someone else’s addiction. This series brought to light an egregious situation on campus, it shattered our world. The shooting that had been put into place without the public’s happened during fall finals week and we were knowledge. The exposure forced Roger L. Gilbert Morrisons Cove Herald Martinsburg unable to report on it for two months. Our Jr. to resign from his position and prompted the The Changing Cove students took this as an opportunity to look at the victim’s mother to seek legislation that would This series is an attempt to take a look at how the shooting through the wider lens of domestic prevent registered sex offenders from serving as Cove is changing, using facts and data to interpret violence while still honoring the victim and emergency first responders. that change for the Herald’s readers. The series reporting on the event itself. has reviewed the changes to multiple aspects of Daily American Somerset the community – farming, technology, jobs, The Sentinel Carlisle Report prompts shakeup at arena: An education and law enforcement, among others. I-81 Shooting: The lead up to murder apparent $130K no-bid contract went to a The Sentinel’s (Carlisle) series on an Interstate 81 company connected to the board’s chairman. New Castle News New Castle shooter’s criminal history found numerous This report resulted from several Right-to-Know Miranda spends Christmas in her forever missteps and failings of the criminal justice requests. The findings — that the chairman of the home system that may have contributed to the murder board was funneling no-bid contracts and other With so much national focus on negative acts by of two people. The stories led to responses from payments to companies owned by himself and his police, Miranda’s story showed a side of officers national and state anti-domestic violence groups. son — prompted county commissioners to not usually in the spotlight. Mark Lewis was one demand his resignation and enact new policies of three New Castle police officers to find a puppy The Sun Hummelstown designed to protect the taxpayers from future left for dead in an abandoned apartment. After the Hershey Plaza Apartments: Chaos and Care abuses of power by county authorities. Results of emaciated animal was nursed back to health by A major renovation project at the Hershey Plaza a State Ethics Commission investigation into the the local humane society, Lewis adopted the pup. Apartments – aka “The Hershey Hi-Rise” – arena board have not yet been publicly disclosed. The story of her rescue, rehabilitation and sparked widely divergent reactions among adoption touched hearts not only in New Castle, residents, with some expressing appreciation and The Daily Collegian University Park but also around the world through the New Castle others outrage. Suspended/One Year Later: Greek life has News’ online platforms. seen many changes since the death of Timothy Piazza The Times-Tribune Scranton The Patriot-News Harrisburg Forsaken Children: Report holds six Roman The death of Timothy Piazza captured national Still Failing the Frail: Profits over Patients Catholic diocese in Pa. accountable in attention and reignited the discussion of campus The Patriot-News/PennLive.com found cover-up of widespread sexual abuse Greek life and hazing. In October 2018, Governor Pennsylvania has continued to fail its oldest Starting with the release of the grand jury report, Wolf signed the Timothy J. Piazza Antihazing Law, citizens, and looked at the fate of a chain of the newspaper’s staff dedicated itself to providing which strengthens penalties for hazing and nursing homes formerly operated by Golden Northeast Pennsylvania residents with complete ensures that schools have safeguards to protect Living. The company – once the nation’s largest and comprehensive coverage of the findings, students. The Daily Collegian won multiple state nursing home chain – was sued by Pennsylvania’s particularly as they related to the 11-county awards for its on-going coverage. Attorney General for poor care and chronic Diocese of Scranton. understaffing. The Daily Item Sunbury Special Report: Grandparents raising The Tribune-Democrat Johnstown Pennsylvania Capital-Star Harrisburg How Barto got his license back Grandchildren To understand why Pennsylvania moms die, Reporter Jocelyn Brumbaugh covered the Daily Item reporter Justin Strawser spent most of the state needs to collect better data first developing story of a Johnstown pediatrician 2018 highlighting senior issues across the region. Sarah Anne Hughes’ reporting on maternal accused of child sexual abuse throughout 2018. Strawser hit upon many themes, including senior mortality rates shed light on an undercovered, but She took the case back 20 years through court driving, grandparents taking guardianship over hugely important, public health issue. It resonated records obtained through a right-to-know request grandchildren in the wake of the opioid epidemic among advocates and state officials, and provoked and through newspaper archives to tell the story and more. He also followed Northumberland conversation among policy-makers on tackling the of previous allegations against the pediatrician and County’s cost-saving measures that led to the problem. We were pleased to report earlier this how the system failed his victims. shuttering of two senior centers across the Valley. month that the federal government had given Pennsylvania $2.25 million to study this issue and The Yellow Jacket The Herald Sharon to come up with solutions. The Next Step: Area Catholics share Waynesburg University thoughts on the abuse scandal Philadelphia Gay News Philadelphia People don’t like talking about sexual In a community of Catholics, where faith is strong Trans litigant continues push for anonymity assault and spans generations, the news about the clergy Out candidate’s name removed from general Sexual assault is an even more complicated issue sex abuse scandal hit hard. Families in the election ballot on Christian campuses. community were asked to sit down and talk about Timothy Cwiek produced dozens of stories for how they felt, how the scandal affected their faith PGN regarding criminal and civil court cases York Sunday News York and their church and where both should go from involving LGBT victims, defendants and litigants. How Paul Henry II got the guns used in 2 here. It wasn’t just about the scandal. It was about He monitors court dockets for any cases involving killings how it affected victims, families and the faithful alleged LGBT discrimination, which has generated Whether it was guns in the wrong hands or the — and we wanted to help foster that discussion. reporting on employment and other cases, high rate for drug delivery prosecutions, YDR’s highlighting the ongoing scourge of discrimination reporting combined deep data analysis with The Indiana Gazette Indiana that is rarely reported. compelling personal stories and easy-to- After years of addiction, man living a understand videos. The stories made an impact, ‘permanent apology’ for readers as well as policymakers, including Gov. In the last several years, the Gazette has taken an Tom Wolf citing the reporting on illegally- in-depth look at the opioid crisis facing Indiana possessed guns. County. This is a series of stories that engender hope, profiling individuals who are reclaiming their lives as they battle the disease of addiction. SPECIAL SECTION

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

“EVIL TRIED TO SHUT OUT A LIGHT, BUT THE LIGHT REFUSES TO BE DIMMED ...” — Robert Libman, Brother of Joyce Fienberg

JOYCE FIENBERG  RICHARD GOTTFRIED  ROSE MALLINGER  JERRY RABINOWITZ CECIL ROSENTHAL  DAVID ROSENTHAL  BERNICE SIMON  SYLVAN SIMON DANIEL STEIN  MELVIN WAX  IRVING YOUNGER   
  
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#"+#0" 5 It’s a waiting game now Anticipation grows to see if Penn State will play in New Year’s Six bowl C1

2018 APME First Amendment Award 2012 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting

$1.50 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

STILL FAILING THE FRAIL HARRISBURG Questions PROFITS OVER linger PATIENTS after fatal crash

15-year-old driver died, two others injured in police chase, accident

Becky Metrick [email protected]

On Monday, a memorial and a mangled tree trunk marked the spot of a fatal crash involving an allegedly stolen car a day ear- lier. The tree along the 2500 block of Brook- wood Street in Harrisburg, where 15-year- old Kobe Santiago crashed the car on Sun- day, now has balloons, candles and a stuffed bear mixed in with the shattered window glass, plastic and pieces of vehicle lights. Harrisburg police said Santiago and two other teenagers were in the car on Sunday, which they said was stolen earlier that day. Police said a call came in reporting a vehicle was stolen around 11:35 a.m. Sun- day. The owner tried to follow the vehicle but lost sight of it after a few blocks. The owner returned home and called police. Police said they spotted the vehicle near 20th and Kensington streets and tried to Illustration by David Lafata, Advance Local stop it. Police said that because of the increasing speed of the stolen vehicle, they stopped their pursuit and parked the police vehi- Advocates say there’s a reason cles. Police said Santiago did not stop but instead went even faster, which led to him bad nursing homes don’t improve losing control on Brookwood Street and crashing into the tree. The crash happened about a mile from Daniel Simmons-Ritchie [email protected] where police first spotted the vehicle. Santiago died after being transported to When his nursing home changed hands of prioritizing profit over patient care. About this investigation a local hospital. in 2017, 78-year-old Wallace Bitner said he Those problems, elderly care advocates The Harrisburg Police Department’s assumed things would get better. said, highlight failures with how Pennsylva- This is a multi-part series looking at whether a Traffic Safety Unit was called to the scene The East Pennsboro facility, formerly run nia regulates the industry. Critics have said 2015 lawsuit filed by Pennsylvania’s attorney and will continue the investigation. by the Golden Living chain, had been one of the state should require higher levels of staff- general against Golden Living and other nurs- Progress Fire 32 posted on Sunday that the most cited nursing homes in Pennsylva- ing and deny licenses to nursing homes with ing home chains in Pennsylvania has resulted it assisted in helping remove three people nia. In 2015, hygiene standards were so poor a history of poor care. in any improvement in the shape of Pennsyl- from a vehicle that crashed into a tree fol- that state inspectors said they discovered PennLive’s findings also shed light on vania’s nursing home industry. lowing a police incident. maggots in a resident’s feeding tube. a more vexing phenomenon across the Two other teens suffered non-life threat- But when Priority Healthcare Group, a nation’s multi-billion nursing home indus- Stories in this package include: ening injuries and were transported to hos- New York-based chain, took over Golden Liv- try: Research shows that when poor-quality pitals. ing Center-West Shore last year, Bitner said, homes are sold, they rarely improve. What ran Sunday Police have not provided their names it didn’t get better. “It’s not uncommon, sadly — really sadly” › Golden Living’s nursing homes changed SEE CRASH, A26 “It’s got worse,” he said, “in almost every said Robyn Grant, director of public policy hands, but the care never got better regard.” and advocacy for the National Consumer › Family says poor nursing home care led to As PennLive explored, that’s true among Voice for Quality Long Term-Care. “If you woman’s death nearly all of Golden Living’s 36 former facil- think about residents in the facility who are In today’s edition LOCAL & STATE ities in Pennsylvania. Despite transfer- already not getting good care, there’s terrible › Advocates say there’s a reason bad nursing ring licenses to other chains, most of those suffering in that.” homes don’t improve Ex-AG loses appeal homes remained understaffed and mired in In a nation with a growing population of › Has Golden Living really left Pa.? care-related problems. State inspectors cited seniors, that phenomenon has major impli- Coming Sunday The state Supreme Court says it will not them for problems, ranging from dirty con- cations. By 2030, the U.S. Census Bureau › A look at eight key steps that could help review former Attorney General Kathleen ditions to supervisory failures that resulted predicted that adults older than 65 will out- protect the elderly from dangerous care Kane’s conviction for leaking grand jury in injuries to residents. number children for the first time. information and lying about it. A6 Priority said it’s dedicated to providing But the solution for halting America’s Online: Find the entire series on PennLive at quality care. But families and nurses said revolving door of bad nursing home care stillfailingthefrail.pennlive.com otherwise. They said conditions were the remains divisive. same or worse than under Golden Living, the Arkansas-based company long accused SEE PROFITS, A10

Rain, fog make for quiet start to deer hunting season

Marcus Schneck [email protected] SPACE TRAVEL By mid-morning Monday, many hunters while driving instead of in the woods like I “I saw a bunch of deer, a seemed to be calling it quits on the first day planned.” A landing on Mars of firearms hunting season for deer. Grim had returned to a state game lands couple small bucks and Wiping off his rifle with an oil-soaked parking lot along Goldmine Road in north- A NASA spacecraft designed to drill into rag before stashing it in his gun case, Rob- ern Lebanon County at about 11 a.m. a pretty nice bear, which Mars landed after a perilous plunge, ert Grim of Lebanon, noted, “It was great Many hunters had already preceded him setting off jubilation among scientists who morning for stalking out there. The leaves in departing the forest, leaving about a quar- would have been great in anxiously waited for confirmation. A17 were soaked. There weren’t that many other ter of the vehicles that were in that lot when hunters. And, the deer seemed to be holding the season opened at 6:33 a.m. a couple days, but not so tight. Opening day started out nice enough, NATION & WORLD “I saw a bunch of deer, a couple small with temperatures in the low 40s, only a hint much today.” bucks and a pretty nice bear, which would of the approaching rain and relatively clear GM to cut jobs have been great in a couple days, but not so of fog. It stayed that way for about an hour. Robert Grim of Lebanon much today. Then I went down on my butt Weather conditions turned steadily General Motors will cut up to 14,000 and got soaked. against hunters, as rain started at about workers in North America and put five “I’m going to head home, get changed and plants up for possible closure as the come back out here. I guess I’ll eat my lunch SEE DEER, A26 company restructures. A15

Business, A19 Community, A4 Local & State, A3 Lotteries, A26 Obituaries, A21-A23 Opinion, A24-A25 Sports, C1 Weather, A26 VOLUME 177 ISSUE 95 A10 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018 THE PATRIOT-NEWS

Golden Living nursing homes and who purchased them

Sold to CHMS Group 7. Kinzua Healthcare and 14. Meyersdale Healthcare and 21. The Gardens at York Terrace Sold to Skyline Healthcare 33. Lansdale Care and Rehabilitation Center Rehabilitation Center Date sold: February 2017 Rehabilitation Center 1. Mt Lebanon Rehabilitation Date sold: October 2016 Date sold: October 2016 30. Doylestown Care and Date sold: February 2017. and Wellness Center 22. The Gardens Rehabilitation Center License was transferred to Date sold: February 2017 8. Oil City Healthcare and 15. Uniontown Healthcare and at Wyoming Valley Date sold: February 2017. Leibel Gutman, Brian Kuhn, Rehabilitation Center Rehabilitation Center Date sold: February 2017 License was transferred to Ephraim and Mordy Lehasky on 2. Monroeville Rehabilitation Date sold: October 2016 Date sold: October 2016 Leibel Gutman, Brian Kuhn, May 14, 2018. and Wellness Center 23. The Gardens at Scranton Ephraim and Mordy Lehasky on Date sold: February 2017 9. Clarion Healthcare and 16. Richland Healthcare and Date sold: February 2017 May 14, 2018. 34. Phoenixville Care and Rehabilitation Center Rehabilitation Center Rehabilitation Center 3. South Hills Rehabilitation Date sold: October 2016 Date sold: October 2016 24. The Gardens at Gettysburg 31. Exeter Greens Care and Date sold: February 2017. and Wellness Center Date sold: February 2017 Rehabilitation Center License was transferred to Date sold: February 2017 10. Shippenville Healthcare and 17. William Penn Healthcare Date sold: February 2017. BLES Healthcare Management Rehabilitation Center and Rehabilitation Center 25. The Gardens at West Shore License was transferred to on May 14, 2018. 4. Murrysville Rehabilitation Date sold: October 2016 Date sold: October 2016 Date sold: February 2017 David Gamzeh, Akiva Glatzer, and Wellness Center Gabe Sebbag, Lahesky Family 35. Rosemont Care and Date sold: February 2017 11. Titusville Healthcare and 18. Golden Livingcenter, 26. The Gardens at Camp Hill Trust on May 14, 2018. Rehabilitation Center Rehabilitation Center Walnut Creek Date sold: February 2017 Date sold: February 2017. Sold to Guardian Elder Care Date sold: October 2016 Date sold: October 2016 32. Lancaster Care and License was transferred to 27. The Gardens at Blue Ridge Rehabilitation Center BLES Healthcare Management 5. Western Reserve Healthcare 12. Hillview Healthcare and Sold to Priority Date sold: February 2017 Date sold: February 2017. on May 14, 2018. and Rehabilitation Center Rehabilitation Center Healthcare Group License was transferred to Date sold: October 2016 Date sold: October 2016 28. The Gardens at David Gamzeh, Akiva Glatzer, 36. Stenton Care and 19. The Gardens at Tunkhannock Gabe Sebbag, Lahesky Family Rehabilitation Center 6. Haida Healthcare and 13. Waynesburg Healthcare and East Mountain Date sold: February 2017 Trust on May 14, 2018. Date sold: February 2017. Rehabilitation Center Rehabilitation Center Date sold: February 2017 License was transferred to Date sold: October 2016 Date sold: October 2016 29. Nursing and Rehabilitation BLES Healthcare Management 20. The Gardens at Stroud at The Mansion on May 14, 2018. Date sold: February 2017 Date sold: February 2017 Erie 18 5

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27 1 2 4 Johnstown Reading 31 30 16 3 25 Harrisbug 33 26 34 36 Warren 32 35 Philadelphia 13 15 South Union Twp. 24 14

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 THE PATRIOT-NEWS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018 A11

STILL FAILING THE FRAIL Has Golden Living really left Pa.? Not entirely, and experts say that might expose a national problem

Daniel Simmons-Ritchie [email protected]

Golden Living once dominated America’s elderly care industry. In the 1990s, the Arkansas-based com- pany, then known as Beverly Enterprises, ran more than 500 nursing homes across 30 states. Today, to an outside observer, Golden Liv- ing would appear to be a shell of its former self. Racked by years of state citations and law- suits over care, the chain has transferred nearly all of its operating licenses to other companies, including its 36 Pennsylvania licenses. But while Golden Living’s blue and gold signs have disappeared from those homes, the company is still profiting from the resi- dents inside. And some said that exposes a national problem with transparency of nurs- ing home ownership. A PennLive review of property records found that Golden Living still owns the real estate of all 36 homes it formerly managed in Pennsylvania. In other states, according to news reports and interviews with attor- neys and researchers, the company appears to have retained similar ownership of more than 200 homes. In essence: Golden Living has become a landlord rather than a care provider. Asked by PennLive in 2016 why it retained its Pennsylvania properties, the company declined to explain. “That was a business decision,” spokes- woman Michelle Metzger said. “We are a pri- vately-traded company and we are not going to reveal the reasoning behind it. It’s not rel- evant.” The company declined to respond to other Though Golden Living has sold its nursing homes in Pennsylvania, the organization is still making money from the residents inside them. In questions submitted over several months for essence, the company has become a landlord rather than a care provider. Sean Simmers, PennLive, 2016 this story. But some industry observers said the company’s strategy isn’t overly mysterious. plain states. nell said, it would appear to be Skyline’s own typically asks nursing homes to provide cop- Steve Monroe, managing editor at Senior In Pennsylvania, the company took over fault for signing them. ies of leasing or operational agreements if Care Investor, a trade publication, said it management of seven of Golden Living’s But Yarnell agreed that regardless of what they lease facilities. The department denied appears that about two years ago, Golden facilities. It also operated two other homes conditions Golden Living imposed on Sky- PennLive’s request for copies of Golden Liv- Living’s owners decided they wanted to turn not formerly owned by Golden Living. line, nursing home leasing deals make it dif- ing’s leases, arguing that they contain trade the company into a real estate investment Englemayer said the agreements Sky- ficult for the public to understand what com- secrets or proprietary information. trust. line signed were not leases in the traditional panies own which homes and what influence PennLive has appealed that decision to Real estate investment trusts, also known sense. In addition to paying rent, Golden Liv- they might be exerting behind-the-scenes. the state Office of Open Records. as REITs, are entities with special tax ben- ing required Skyline to buy certain amounts “I think Pennsylvanians want to know Some believe that the public might be efits that invest in commercial real estate. of goods and services from its subsidiaries, where their tax dollars are going,” Yarnell alarmed if they knew what those leases con- Some specialize in owning health care-re- he said. said. “We need to know where the financial tained. lated properties such as hospitals, medical The arrangement worked for both com- arrangements behind these homes.” David Marks, a Texas-based attorney who office buildings and nursing homes. panies initially but at some point, according As part of its reporting, PennLive inter- specializes in elderly care litigation, pointed Monroe said that for Fillmore Capital to Englemayer, Golden Living changed its viewed families whose loved ones were cared to a case he’s litigating that involves a major Partners, the private equity firm that owns terms and imposed far more onerous condi- for in Pennsylvania homes formerly man- assisted living chain. Golden Living, the perks of transforming tions on Skyline. aged by Golden Living. That chain, like Golden Living, leases Golden Living into a REIT were likely clear: Once the company realized it couldn’t None was aware that Golden Living con- homes to operators. While that isn’t unusual, It could still profit from its homes while insu- sustain itself financially, Englemayer said, tinued to own the properties. Some said they Marks said, what is unusual is how much lating itself from lawsuits and other head- Skyline attempted to find new operators to would have avoided those homes if they control the chain has over each of those aches involved in day-to-day operation. take over its homes. knew the company was still connected with operators. “Private equity firms usually don’t want Golden Living repeatedly refused to them. “The lease agreements are pretty shock- to run nursing homes,” Monroe said. “They accept those new operators, according to “I had no idea they still owned the prop- ing,” Marks said. “The leaser effectively want someone else to.” Englemayer. erty and this group rents it,” said Heather controls operations, approves the budget, As a private firm, there’s little public infor- “They kept kicking the can down the road McLeaf-Royle, a New Cumberland woman receives financial forecasts and — if the mation about how well that transformation until there was no cash left,” Englemayer whose mother stayed in an East Pennsboro financial forecast is not agreeable — has the has worked out for Fillmore Capital Partners. said. “And the unfortunate thing about that home owned by Golden Living this year. “I right to modify the budget.” Based on an analysis of Medicaid cost is we had solutions.” thought it had been sold.” In essence, Marks said, the chain is effec- reports for 20 of its homes, PennLive esti- The company’s financial problems Transparency remains a major issue in tively running the homes in all but name. mated Golden Living received at least $12 became so severe in April 2018 that work- the industry, said David Stevenson, an asso- And in exchange, Marks added, both are million in rent in 2017 from the operators ers weren’t paid and its homes were at risk of ciate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt insulated from lawsuits by families who now running its Pennsylvania properties — running out of food and medication. University. allege bad care. about $600,000 per home. State agencies in multiple states, includ- While the federal government requires “The company has nothing to do with the The actual total is likely much higher ing Pennsylvania, were forced to take emer- nursing homes to disclose ownership infor- operations,” Marks said. “He can say, ‘You because financial data on the 15 other homes gency control of the facilities. In May, new mation — which it posts publicly on its web- can’t sue me, you have to sue the operator’ — it owns in Pennsylvania was not publicly nursing home chains took control of eight of site Nursing Home Compare — it has no sim- but the operator is undercapitalized.” available at the time this story was reported. the company’s nine homes in Pennsylvania. ilar disclosure requirements about nursing While Marks has not reviewed Golden Just because Golden Living is not pro- Some, however, are skeptical that Sky- home landlords or their lease agreements. Living’s leases to know if they if they are viding care anymore, some observers said, line’s explanation is the whole story behind While a regulator’s first priority should using similar provisions, he said the public doesn’t mean the company isn’t necessarily its collapse. be overseeing the care inside a home, Ste- would be wise to demand greater transpar- influencing it. Matt Yarnell, president of the SEIU venson said, transparency over those agree- ency about all operational agreements being At least, that’s what one of the company’s Healthcare of Pennsylvania, said manage- ments is also important because they might signed by nursing home chains. former tenants said. ment problems were obvious almost imme- indicate whether an operator can provide Without that information, Marks said, “They are not fair players,” said Juda diately after Skyline Healthcare took control good care. it’s difficult to know who is really running a Englemayer, a spokesman for Skyline of its homes in Pennsylvania. “If there’s a separate real estate owner nursing home and what they’re willing to do Healthcare. “There’s a reason they got out of “There was really no system in place to I don’t think a typical person would care if to maximize their profits. the business.” support the managers of the facility,” Yar- it’s Golden Living or someone else,” Steven- “The only way to increase your margins is Over the past three years, Skyline Health- nell said. “It was really left on the shoulders son said. “But they would want to know if the to either increase your revenues or decrease care, a New Jersey-based chain, took oper- of the administrators.” operator is in a financially precarious situa- your expenses,” Marks said. “And if you ational control of about 100 Golden Living Even if the company’s problems were tion.” attempt to do both, it’s a formula for disaster. homes, largely spread across the northern largely due to Golden Living’s leases, Yar- In Pennsylvania, the Health Department That’s what’s scary.”

Profits

FROM A10 subsidiaries, chains simply divert Medicare profit and administrative costs. Golden Living profits dollars instead. A similar cap — known as a “medical Based on PennLive’s analysis of 15,000 “They can spend that money anyway they loss ratio” by policymakers — was placed Average reported profit/loss and spending on nursing home cost reports filed in 2015, the like,” Harrington said. on health insurers following passage of the related parties by Golden Living homes in Pa. agency audited only 18 of them. Harrington said the same oversight gap Affordable Care Act in 2010. It meant that Harington said that lack of federal over- exists for nursing homes that pay rent to sub- only 20 percent of an insurer’s revenue could Profit/Loss Related party spending sight renders state attempts to crack down sidiaries, such as the CHMS home in Beaver go to profits and administration. $1,750,000 on profiteering meaningless. County. If the federal government introduced a

Pennsylvania, for instance, may do more Because Pennsylvania’s Medicaid rate similar cap for nursing homes — coupled $1,500,000 than most states to prevent nursing homes only includes a small, fixed amount to cover with increased disclosure requirements and from siphoning Medicaid dollars through a nursing home’s rent and other capital annual auditing — advocates said it could $1,250,000 subsidiaries. costs, the Department of Human Services ensure patient care isn’t sacrificed for profit.

The Department of Human Services, saw no need to scrutinize it. “If we don’t have some limits on profits $1,000,000 which handles Medicaid reimbursement, “By regulation we’re required to audit the then there’s no way to have confidence that requires nursing homes to disclose any profit cost reports for allowable costs — not rev- the appropriate resources are being put to $750,000 from those transactions. The department enues, not profit and loss, not rent,” said staffing or resident care,” said Mollot, the then attempts to exclude those profits when Peggy Morningstar, chief financial officer of New York-based advocate. $500,000 setting Medicaid rates. the department’s Office of Long-term Living. Beyond that, Harrington added, if states Like many states, Pennsylvania caps the But because the federal government like Pennsylvania raised Medicaid rates, she $250,000 amount of Medicaid dollars it pays to cover doesn’t examine those payments either, Har- suggested an important caveat — increases a home’s administrative costs. That means, rington said, nursing homes can pay exorbi- must be spent on staffing levels. $0 in theory, nursing homes can’t inflate their tant rent to related business entities. At the end of the day, Harrington and oth- administrative costs to siphon profit. “It’s understandable that Medicaid should ers argued, those measures could ensure $-250,000 But Harrington said because the federal only care about their rate but someone that when nursing homes change hands they government doesn’t have similar rules on should care about the overall expenditure,” get better rather than worse. $-500,000 how nursing homes spend Medicare dol- Harrington said. “Because the issue is where does the 2013 2014 2015 2016 lars or other sources of revenue, it has little The solution, Harrington and other money go?” Harrington said. “It’s not going impact on those practices. elderly care advocates said, is an overall cap to staffing based on the really low staffing Source: PennLive analysis of Medicaid cost reports for Instead of funneling Medicaid dollars to on how much nursing homes can spend on levels.” 36 Golden Living nursing homes. A12 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018 THE PATRIOT-NEWS

STILL FAILING THE FRAIL ADAMS COUNTY Senators Casey, Toomey seek Police: Man raped, strangled answers on nursing homes 87-year-old Ron Southwick [email protected] before theft Both U.S. senators representing Penn- sylvania are seeking more answers about the oversight of nursing homes following Associated Press an investigation by PennLive/The Patri- ot-News. A man broke into an 87-year-old Penn- A PennLive investigation found that sylvania woman’s house the day before many homes formerly owned by the Golden Thanksgiving and forced her to show him Living chain continue to rack up citations where her valuables were before he raped from the state Health Department even her twice, strangled her and tried to set the under different management. Critics and house on fire, according to a police affidavit advocates for seniors say the department released Monday. should be taking more action to improve Kristopher Gartrell, 48, was arrested Fri- nursing homes and to issue tougher penal- day and charged with criminal homicide, ties on companies that don’t show progress. rape, kidnapping and arson, among other Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. said charges. the PennLive investigation raises concerns. He was being held at Adams Count y “Any facility that is charged with car- prison without bail. ing for older Americans must be held to the The Evening Sun reports a cleaning lady highest standard and held fully accountable called police Wednesday when she found if those standards aren’t met. This report the house in Straban Township, just north raises serious concerns,” Casey said in a of Gettysburg, in disarray and couldn’t statement. locate the homeowner, Virginia Barbour, “I would urge state officials to take aggres- according to the affidavit. sive steps to remedy any deficiencies and I Officers discovered Barbour’s bod y will continue to press the Trump Admin- wrapped in a sheet under a bed. istration to hold nursing homes account- The company sold the Golden Living Center of Camp Hill to Priority Healthcare Group in Police say guns, $1,200 in coins and Bar- able for health and safety violations,” Casey 2017. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said he plans to conduct an audit of the state bour’s silver 2012 Chevrolet Impala had added. Health Department’s oversight of nursing homes. Sean Simmers, PennLive, 2016 been stolen. Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s office State police investigators questioned is also seeking more information following neighbors on Friday, and that led them to the PennLive report. The office is reaching standard facilities or properly handle com- “Any facility that is Gartrell’s girlfriend. out to the Centers for Medicare and Med- plaints, the 2016 audit found. She told police she knew about the kill- icaid Services and the governor’s office for PennLive examined care-related prob- charged with caring ing and said Gartrell threatened to hur t more information on the oversight of these lems at the homes formerly managed by her and her family if she didn’t help him, facilities, said Steve Kelly, a spokesman for Golden Living. One year after Golden Liv- for older Americans according to the affidavit. Toomey. ing sold the licenses to its 36 homes in Penn- Gartrell was arrested outside the Presi- In February, Casey was one of a dozen sylvania, nearly two-thirds of those homes must be held to the dential Inn in Gettysburg, and was found senators to sign onto a letter urging the fed- were cited just as often or more frequently with items missing from Barbour’s house, eral government to enforce tougher safety for care-related problems. highest standard and the affidavit said. standards on nursing homes. The senators The state said it found issues including He allegedly told officers he entered Bar- urged the U.S. Department of Health and supervisory failures that harmed residents, held fully accountable if bour’s unlocked home, tied her up, raped Human Services to restore regulations to unsanitary conditions, insect infestations her twice, set the house on fire and fled. ensure the safety of nursing home residents. and falsified records. Overall, PennLive those standards aren’t No attorney is listed in online court doc- The lawmakers said the federal government found managers at the nursing homes made uments for Gartrell, who is a registered sex has weakened rules designed to keep seniors virtually no changes to improve staffing lev- met. This report raises offender in South Carolina. safe. els. He has been on the state’s “19 mos t Earlier this month, state Auditor General Advocates for seniors say state regu- serious concerns.” wanted” list for failing to report to a proba- Eugene DePasquale said he plans to conduct lators aren’t doing nearly enough to pro- tion officer in August. another audit of the state Health Depart- tect the 90,000 residents in Pennsylvania’s Sen. Bob Casey He was convicted of criminal sexual con- ment’s oversight of nursing homes. nursing homes. State regulators have failed duct in the first degree in South Carolin a Two years ago, DePasquale conducted a to thoroughly vet new nursing home appli- in 1997. similar audit and found a number of defi- cants, critics said. Advocates said Pennsyl- He has also been convicted of kidnap- ciencies in the state’s oversight. In that 2016 vania must update its standards for mini- ping and other charges in South Carolina. audit, he found the Health Department mum staffing and issue tougher penalties on residents. The department said it hopes to Court documents in South Caro- wasn’t properly reviewing staffing levels homes for providing bad care. release tougher regulations — including lina show he spent more than two dec- at nursing homes. In addition, the depart- The state Health Department has said a new standard for minimum staffing — ades behind bars before being released in ment wasn’t doing enough to sanction sub- it is doing its best to protect nursing home before the end of the year. March.

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ASSOCIATION SC_TIMES_TRIB/TIMES_PAGES [A01] | 08/15/18 00:31 | BARESSCECI

sexual abuse in our churches ‘This report is our only recourse. We are going to name their names, and describe what they did. ... We are going to shine a light on their conduct, because that is what the victims deserve. And we are going to make our recommendations for how the laws should change so that maybe no one will have to conduct another inquiry like this one.’

40th statewide investigating grand jury

wEdNESdAy, AuguST 15, 2018 NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA’S LARGEST NEWS TEAM $1.00 NEwSSTANd Forsaken children Report holds six Roman Catholic dioceses in Pa. accountable in cover-up of widespread sexual abuse

MATT rOurkE / ASSOCiATEd PrESS

By BoRys KRaWCZenIuK anD teRRIe MoRGan-BeseCKeR Report finds fault STAff wriTErS n devastating detail, a 1,356-page statewide with Timlin’s actions investigating grand jury report released iTuesday excoriates the Diocese of Scranton By teRRIe and five other Pennsylvania Roman Catholicdio- MoRGan-BeseCKeR ceses as confederates in dismiss- STAff wriTEr InSIDE ing victims of widespread sexual The Most Rev. James C. Timlin, former bish- Highlights, abuseby priestsandroutinely cov- op of Scranton, learned in 1986 thatapriest reactions and more. eringupthe abuse. raped a young girl and impreg- Seven The 301 religious leaders tar- nated her, then arranged for pages of geted in the report include 59 her to have an abortion. coverage from the Diocese of Scranton, Rather than remove him starts on the grand jury said. Six of the 59 from priesthood, he transferred Page a7 from the local diocese were the priest to a parish in Hazle- unnamed in the grand jury ton and then Wilkes-Barre, report because they have asked the state according to a statewide grand tIMlIn Supreme Court to keep their names secret. JAkE dANNA STEVENS / STAff PHOTOgrAPHEr jury reportreleased Tuesday. The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, bishop of Scranton, The misconduct involving the Rev. Thomas Please see DIoCese, Page A8 speaks Tuesday at the Diocese of Scranton Pastoral Skotek while at St. Casimir Church in Center. To see video of his press conference, go to READ ThE REPORT thetimes-tribune.com. ABOVE: State Attorney General Please see BIshoPs, Page A8 To view the 1,356-page report on Josh Shapiro holds hands Tuesday with Judy Deaven, widespread sex abuse by priests, who says her son was a victim of sexual abuse by a GLOBAL FAILURE: Catholic Church’s moral go to thetimes-tribune.com. priest as a boy. authority at risk if it does not change. a14

Legislators secure $6 million more for Scranton School District Unclear if money will help close a projected $8.5M budget shortfall. the district’s projected $8.5 mil- board President Barbara Dixon lion budget shortfall for next and Directors Paul Duffy, Katie By Kathleen Bolus funding this year, state Sen. the 2019 budget comes with stip- year. Gilmartin and Paige Gebhardt STAff wriTEr John Blake announced Tuesday ulations and must be used for The announcement was held Cognetti attended. The infusion SCRANTON — TheScranton while flanked by district repre- classroom instruction and pro- at the downtown Scranton office of funds was a dual effort by School District will receive an sentatives. gramming. It was not immedi- of Blake, D-22, Archbald. Super- BlaKe additional $6 million in state The additional money toward ately clear if it will help close intendent Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D., Please see DIstRICt, Page A16

Copyright © 2018, The Times-Tribune Subscriptions...... 570-348-9190 Good morning thetimes-tribune.com Classified ads ...... 570-348-9157 one of region’s largest employers expects ranks to grow Business...... C1 Horoscope ...... C3 Warmer Tobyhanna Army depot in Monroe County, the region’s largest industrial employer, is Classified...... C4 Lottery...... A2 High: 86° about to get bigger. The depot will see a significant increase in workload next year, its Comics...... C2-3 Obituaries .....B8-9 Low: 67° Editorial...... A14 Sports...... B1 deputy commander said Tuesday. See how many people it plans to hire. C1 Health/Sci ...... B7 TV...... C5 Weather, B10 SC_TIMES_TRIB/TIMES_PAGES [A08] | 08/15/18 00:28 | BARESSCECI

A8 THE TIMES-TRIBUNE sexual aBuse in our churches WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018

the church rectory to play jury recommended four Diocese: Grand jury report details abuse cards. major reforms to aid victims. From Page a1 One time, the priest invit- He advocated: Catholic diocesesinPennsylvania ed him up to his room. Eliminating the statute Again and again, the erie “He was in the bed and he of limitations on filing grand jury report highlights Scranton had himself covered. And he charges for abusing children. Diocese the past inaction of the local Erie wanted me to come and sit on “Justice for these victims diocese’s bishops, especially Scranton the edge of the bed with should not be denied,” he Diocese former Bishop James C. Tim- him,” the victim told the said. lin, who oversaw the dio- grand jury. “I’m thinking this Creating a two-year win- cese’s earliest organized State is kind of odd. So I went over dow allowing victims who effortstotakereports of College thereand I satonthe edgeof couldn’t sue before to file abuse seriously. Pittsburgh the bed. And he threw off the suits for damages. For all its past cover-ups, Diocese allentown covers and he was naked and Victims shouldn’t have to Allentown the Diocese of Scranton said Greensburg he was masturbating.” go without help to fix “the the real number of abusers Diocese Hammond tried to fondle demons imposed upon them Diocese Harrisburg in its 11 counties was higher. Pittsburgh Philadelphia him and invited him to “get by the church,” Shapiro said. The diocese named 70 Altoona- Diocese into bed with me,” the victim “In the wordsof the grand accused abusers, a member- said, according to the report. jury, trust the victims, adopt Johnstown Harrisburg Philadelphia ship that includes other Diocese Diocese “I said, no, I didn’t think it this reform.” priests unmentioned in the was a good idea. So I says, ‘I’ll Clarify the penalties for grand jury report and non- SOURCE: PENNLIVE.COM KeVIN o’NeILL /STaFF arTIST be right back.’” continuing failure to report priests, the diocese said in a He rushed downstairs to abuse. statement. minors, but bishops and dioc- Hazleton shortly after that, The church’s pastor, the his friends, who refused to Bar civil lawsuit agree- During an afternoon news esan administrators who announced he planned to Rev. Mark Mecca, wrote to believe him. One struck him ments that block victims conference, Diocese of Scran- found out about it allowed resign as its pastor in Octo- McCormick, confirming the for speaking badly about from reporting abuse to ton Bishop Joseph C. Bam- the priests to keep minister- ber 1986 after the allegations story on Aug. 17, 1968, and Hammond. police. bera said the priests showed ing to the faithful, whomost- surfaced. saying it “expresses the voice The man “then asked the Shapiro challenged the “gross disrespect for human ly knew about none of the Timlin wrote a letter dated of many parishioners.” boys to accompany him. dioceses “that claim to have life.” He called the report’s abuse. Oct. 9, 1986, and focused on McCormick confronted They went upstairs and changed their ways” to details “horrific ... heart- Efforts to reach Timlin, 91, the rape. Caparelli and wrote himself peered into Hammond’s “adopt and support each and breaking ... and demoraliz- bishop between April 1984 “This is a very difficult “a secret note” found in con- room where they observed every one of these recom- ing.” He offered his “deepest and July 2003, were unsuc- time in your life, and I realize fidential diocesan archives. Hammond masturbating. mendations.” apologies” to the victims, cessful. He dealt frequently howupset youare.Itoo “Contrary to the reports When Hammond saw the Bambera did not address their families, parishioners with abuse cases his prede- share your grief,” Timlin about him, Caparelli insisted boys, he invited them into his the reforms, but said the dio- and the community. cessors — Bishop Jerome wrote, according to a copy of that he did not do anything room,” the report says. cese cooperated fully, provid- “No wordsIshare will Hannan and Bishop J. Car- the letter in the grand jury immoral. While Caparelli The children ran away. ing more than 250,000 pages ever be able to take away the roll McCormick — never report. “With the help of agreed that the bishop had to The victim took Ham- of documents spanning 70 pain you have and continue knew about and many others God, who never abandons us take action against him, he mond’s car keys, stole the years. to experience in your lives, they simply covered up, and who is always near when begged to be assured that he priest’s car and drove to the “They reflect a very dark nor can I fully understand according to the grand jury we need Him, this too will would be able to continue Ashley police station, where period in the history of the and appreciate what you report, which also said Tim- pass away and all will be able working as a priest in the dio- he met an officer who attend- Catholic Church and I dare have and continue to go lin regularly compounded to pick up and go on living. cese,” the grand jury report ed the same church. say in the history of the Dio- through,” Bambera said, cover-ups with his own cover- Please be assured that I am says. “When I went there and cese of Scranton, which is addressing the victims.“The ups and advocated for secre- most willing to do whatever I When Caparelli was final- told him what had happened, 150 years old this year,” Bam- church clearly let you down cy rather than ousting abu- can to help.” ly caught — in the early 1990s ‘I said I stole his car. I said, I bera said. “This, by far, is the when individualswhom you sive priests. Shapiro revealed the twist sexually assaulting two altar have it out in the parking lot.’ darkest moment in our histo- should have been able to In a statement to the grand in the story. boys at St. Vincent dePaul He says, ‘I don’t want to ry.” trust stole your childhood jury included in the report, “Except the bishop didn’t Church in Pike County — he know anything about this. I He spoke of efforts the Dio- and stole some of the heart Timlin’s lawyers say he “is write that letter to the girl,” pleaded guilty and died in want you to leave, get out of cese took the past two and soul of any human grateful that so much has he said. “The bishop wrote prison in 1994. Before his sen- here,’” according to the decades to ensure abuse being’s life.” been done to prevent these that letter to the rapist.” tencing, Timlin tried to keep grand jury report. stops. He noted 90 percent of With Catholic Church offi- evils in the future and to bet- ‘a secret note’ him out of jail. In a letter, he The officer told him, “I don’t cases happened before 2000. cials across the state saying ter respond to, and care for, asked the sentencing judge to want thecar here.Isays,‘I can’t “That’s an important sig- they’re taking the abuse seri- the victims of such abuse.” The grand jury outlines let him send Caparelli to a take the car.’ I said, ‘I want you nal to me the efforts we’ve ously, state Attorney General “Bishop Emeritus Timlin some details of all 53 named Maryland treatment center, a to arrest me because I don’t been taking this past two Josh Shapiro made clear the sadly acknowledges that this Diocese of Scranton abusers, move the bishop said would have adriver’s license.’He says, decades are in fact working. church’s profound past disre- and the diocese’s efforts were but highlights two other cas- save the state money. ‘Well, I just want you to get out We do respond to allegations gard for victims. imperfect,” his lawyers es in greater detail, including “He would also be able to of here, get rid of the car. I in a very different way, ” he “A s the grand jury found, wrote. one that started in August receive the medical care he don’t care what you do with said. “We gather information the church showed a com- They argued Timlin’s 1968. very much needs,” Timlin it,’” the report quotes the vic- and we immediately and plete disdain for victims,” he “handling of these allega- That’s when a Hazleton wrote. tim as saying. “So we went and sometimes within the course said. tions also evolved and contin- police officer wrote to Later, prison officials I dropped my friends off at of minutes contact law At a solemn Harrisburg ued to improve.” McCormick to report a determined Caparelli had their homes. And I went to my enforcement. We contact televised news conference, The grand jury outlines a priest, Robert Capparelli, been HIV-positive for years, home and woke up my parents ChildLine immediately. ” which began with sometimes quite different record. was “demoralizing” 11- and according to the grand jury. and told them what happened. The church quickly tearful video testimony by ‘Difficult time’ 12-year-old altar boys at Most Timlin sent a carbon copy “His mother called the dio- removes “a credibly accused three victims, Shapiro stood Precious Blood Church in of that letter to then-State cese the next day to inform individual,” but Bambera in front of about 20 victims Shapiro, who said he will Hazleton “in a manner that Sen. Robert Mellow, though it Hannan about what hap- acknowledged the church and said the grand jury fight for releasing the names is not natural for any human doesn’t say why he did so. pened. has a long way to go to heard stories of more than of all the abusers, singled out that has all his proper facul- ‘Kind of odd’ The diocese promised restore trust. 1,000 cases of abuse, but stories in each diocese, ties.” action. The next day, diocese “Trust is not going to be believes the priests’victims including a Diocese of Scran- Their mother, a registered The other Diocese of staffcame and retrieved restored in this church sim- likely number in the thou- ton priest, Thomas Skotek, nurse, made the boys quit as Scranton case detailed in the Hammond’s car, but no dioc- ply because I said it. Trust sands. Besides Scranton, the who raped a young girl, got altar boys,but didn’t tell report centers on the Rev. esan records show any action will be restored when we victims attended churches in her pregnant and arranged their father about the abuse Joseph T. Hammond while against Hammond. earned it through our the dioceses of Allentown, an abortion for her while he for fear he would react vio- he was pastor at St. Leo’s He remained a priest until actions,” he said. Erie, Greensburg, Harris- served as pastor of St. Casi- lently, wrote the officer, Church in Ashley. he died in 1985. The victim contact the writer: burg and Pittsburgh. mir Church in Freeland whose name is blacked out. A victim, now 72, told the left the Catholic faith and [email protected]; In the Scranton diocese, between January 1980 and “I think action should be grand jury he attended a became a Methodist. 570-348-9147; @BorysBlogTT on Twitter, the grand jury report says, March 1985. taken to curb these situa- high school affiliated with St. Major reforms priests groomed, fondled and Skotek, who moved on to tions before violence takes Leo’s in 1961. tbesecker@timesshamrock. com; 570-348-9137; had sex of all kinds with St. Stanislaus Church in place,” he told McCormick. Hammond invited boys to Shapiro said the grand @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter

Bishop: report painful, necessary in ways 20 years ago, 30 years sonnel explaining the state Bishops: 20 cases The most rev. Joseph C. child sexual abuse can- ago that perhaps are a little Child Protective Services Act From Page a1 SCRANTON BISHOPS Bambera, bishop of Scran- not be tolerated and must bit different than the way we required reporting to civil These are the bishops ton, released a state- be eradicated from the would address issues today, ” authorities “actual and sus- Freeland is among at least 20 who led the Diocese of ment Tuesday about the church. Now that the re- Bambera said. “The fact of pected casesof child abuse.” cases of abuse Timlin was Scranton since 1954, 40th statewide investigat- port has been made pub- thematter is,thereare In December 1991, Timlin notified of during his nearly the period of sexual ing grand jury’s clergy sex lic, Bishop Bambera has things he did that I would not took a complaint from a medi- 20-year tenure as the bishop abuse by 59 diocesan abuse report. The bishop released today the list of have done.” cal doctor, who disclosed that of the Scranton diocese, priests outlined in a also recorded a video mes- all of the accused clergy, Asked if he would allow he had been avictim of Capa- according to the report. In statewide grand jury sage that was provided staff and volunteers within Timlin to continue assisting relli’s when he was 11 and 12. many of the cases, he took report: to all parishes and will be the Diocese of Scranton. the diocese, Bambera said Timlin did not report Caparel- questionable actions to deal Jerome Hannan shown during all masses The diocese shared the “that is clearly an issue we will li’s conduct, however, which with the allegations, the aug. 17, 1954 through in the diocese this week- list of abusers with all 11 have to look at more carefully. ” violated his ownpolicy. grand jury found. Dec. 15, 1965 end. The video also can be district attorneys within The report cites multiple The grand jury also was Although Timlin’s actions J. Carroll McCormick viewed at the thetimes-tri- the diocese in 2016, be- other cases in which Timlin highly critical of actions in handling reports of sexual march 4, 1966 through bune.com. fore it knew of the investi- was involved, including Timlin took regarding a 1991 abuse were mostly detailed Feb. 15, 1983) “The grand jury today re- gation, and then with the another case where a priest civil lawsuit filed against the in the report, there are men- John O’Connor leased findings following grand jury as part of the in- was alleged to have impreg- diocese, and of a letter he may 6, 1983 through its investigation into child vestigation. tions of other bishops in nated a woman. wrote on Caparelli’s behalf. Jan. 26, 1984) sexual abuse within the “This is the complete office in some cases, includ- According to the report, in Regarding the lawsuit, the James Timlin Catholic Church in Penn- list of names supplied to ing J. Carroll McCormick, april 24, 1984 through sylvania. as the commu- the attorney general. It is August 1988, Timlin received report says Timlin took who served from 1966 and July 25, 2003) nity copes with the find- posted on the Diocese of a letter from a woman who action to protect the secret 1983 and Jerome Hannan, Joseph Martino ings in this report, Bishop Scranton website. said the Rev. Robert Brague, archives of the diocese that who served from 1954 to 1965. July 25, 2003 through Bambera offers his deep- “For well over a decade, then a pastor at a Towanda detailed abuse. It also notes efforts of Tim- June 2009 est apologies to the vic- ongoing improvements church,impregnated her sis- “These actions were taken lin’s successors, the Most Rev. Joseph Bambera tims who have suffered have been made to the ter when she was 17. Timlin despite the fact that the plain- Joseph Martino and the Most april 26, 2010 to present because of past actions manner in which abuse al- wrote the woman back in tiff’s complaints were clearly Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, to and decisions made by legations are addressed. September 1988 and told her consistent with diocesan investigate abuse cases. Both diocese and was highlighted trusted clergymen, to vic- The Diocese of Scranton Brague was removed as soon knowledge that Caparelli Martino and Bambera ordered by state Attorney General tims’ families, to the faith- adheres to a strict zero-tol- as he learned of the matter. had, in fact, molested the comprehensive review of all Josh Shapiro at a press con- ful of the church and to erance policy, immediate- Despite that, in August child,” the report says. cases to ensure they were han- ference Tuesday afternoon. the community at large. ly informing law enforce- 1989, Timlin learned Brague The grand jury also criti- dledproperly. According to the report, No one deserves to be ment and removing the was seeking appointment as cized Timlin for writing to Attempts to reach Timlin Skotek sexually assaulted the confronted with the be- accused from the commu- a pastor at a church in Ven- Caparelli’s sentencing judge for comment Tuesday were minor while he served at St. haviors described in the nity when allegations are ice, Florida. He wrote a letter in October 1993 to urge him unsuccessful. In a written Casimir from 1980 to 1985. He report. although painful brought forth. and while to the bishop of Venice in to release Caparelli from response to the report sub- then transferred briefly to St. to acknowledge, it is nec- properly handling allega- which he “wholeheartedly prison and send him to a mitted by his attorney, Marc Stanislaus in Hazleton. essary to address such tions is critical, the ulti- approved of Brague exercis- Catholic treatment facility abuse in order to foster mate goal of such efforts Raspanti, Timlin acknowl- Timlin was “fully aware” ing his priesthood in Venice for sexual offenders. a time when no child is is to stop abuse altogeth- edged his response to allega- of Skotek’s conduct in Octo- and highly recommended “Even when no doubt abused and no abuser is er. While the past cannot tions of abuse were “imper- ber 1986, when he accepted protected. be changed, the Diocese Brague,” the report says. could be left regarding Capa- fect,” but that he acted “with Skotek’s resignation from St. “The Diocese of Scran- of Scranton remains dedi- The report is also critical of relli’s guilt, the Diocese was his best judgment.” Stanislaus. Despite that, in ton cooperated fully with cated to keeping our chil- Timlin’s involvement in the determined to provide more “Bishop Emeritus Timlin January 1987, Skotek was the grand jury because dren safe from abuse mov- caseof the Rev. Robert Caparel- aid to Caparelli than to his ... regrets that his past judg- reassigned to St. Aloysius of its firm belief that ing forward.” li, who pleaded guilty in the victims,” the report says. ment at the time caused a Church in Wilkes-Barre. early 1990s to assaulting two Borys KrawczeniuK, staff single day of pain to any vic- Timlin, 91, retired in 2003. nies at several Lackawanna Timlin was proactive in taking altar boys at St.Vincent dePaul writer, contributed to this report. tims,” Raspanti said. He has continued to assist County churches. steps to address abuse, but Church in PikeCounty. contact the writer: Skotek’sconduct is among the diocese in various func- At a press conference Tues- acknowledged he made ques- The report notes in 1985, [email protected]; the more egregious cases tions, including presiding day afternoon, Bambera, who tionabledecisionsin the past. Timlin wrote a memorandum 570-348-9137; outlined within the Scranton over confirmation ceremo- was appointed in 2010, said “Clearly the bishop acted to priests, religious and lay per- @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter SC_TIMES_TRIB/TIMES_PAGES [A07] | 08/14/18 23:09 | COSSAFRANK

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018 SEXUAL ABUSE IN OUR CHURCHES THE TIMES-TRIBUNE A7

MATT ROURKE / ASSOCIATED PRESS State Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks Tuesday during a news conference at the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg. Key takeaways from grand jury report

ere are the key points from because of lost, secret church ney General Josh Shapiro said. priest, Robert Capparelli, while he grand jury a priest at St. Leo’s the statewide grand jury records and victims afraid to come “It was none of those things. It served at a Hazleton church in 1968. Church in Ashley, Joseph Ham- Hreport that outlines decades forward. was child sexual abuse, including A police officer, also member of mond, invited him to go to bed with of sexual abuse by religious leaders Gus Giella, a former Diocese of rape,” he said. Caparelli’s parish, wrote to McCor- him. He and friends saw Hammond in the Roman Catholic dioceses of Harrisburg priest, allegedly sexual- The report blames mainly three mick to say the priest was “demor- masturbating. He stole the priest’s Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Har- ly abused five sisters from the same Diocese of Scranton bishops — alizing” 11- and 12-year-old altar car to get away and told police what risburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton. family. One was 18 months old Jerome Hannan, J. Carroll McCor- boys “in a manner that is not natu- he saw, but an officer told him he The dioceses represent 54 of the when the abuse began and 12 when mick and James C. Timlin — for ral for any human that has all his didn’t want to know anything about state’s 67 counties. it ended. A 1992 raid on Giella’s hearing reports of abuse and cover- proper faculties.” it and to “get out of here.” The grand jury found abuse by at home found vials of urine, sexually ing them up. Caparelli didn’t go to jail until The report recommends elimi- least 301 priests and other religious compromising photos of underage One of the Scranton diocese’s the 1990s and that was on abuse nating the statute of limitations on leaders since the 1940s. The report girls and plastic containers with cases involved a priest, Thomas cases in Pike County in the 1980s, filing charges for sexual abuse, says Scranton had 59, but the dio- pubic hairs from alleged victims. Skotek, who raped and impregnat- meaning he had struck again. allowing some victims who cese says it was 70, which includes More than 100 of the accused ed an underage girl and arranged Timlin wrote to the sentencing couldn’t sue before to file suits for priests unmentioned in the grand priests have died; others retired or for her to have an abortion in the judge to let him send Caparelli to a damages, clarifying the penalties jury report and non-priests. were dismissed or put on leave. 1980s. In a letter to Skotek, Timlin treatment center in Maryland and for continuing failure to report In all, the grand jury learned of Church officials “routinely and said he shared the priest’s grief at sent a copy of the letter to state abuse and barring civil lawsuit more than 1,000 abuse cases, but its purposefully described the abuse as what happened, but said nothing Senate Democratic Leader Robert agreements that block victims from report said jurors believed the horseplay and wrestling” and sim- about the victim. Mellow. reporting abuse to police. number could be in the thousands ply “inappropriate conduct,” attor- Another local case centered on a Another victim, now 72, told the — BORYS KRAWCZENIUK Previous reports detail Parishioners, victims’ history of church abuse groups react to findings

BY STEVE MOCARSKY BY JEFF HORVATH ‘People are and other institutions.” STAFF WRITER AND BILL WELLOCK SNAP also called on law- More than two years in the STAFF WRITERS disappointed.’ makers to “make sure court- making, a statewide investi- SCRANTON — A state- house doors are open to all Pat Graziosi gating grand jury report on wide investigating grand survivors ... no matter how Parishioner at St. Mary’s sexual abuse by religious jury report released Tuesday Church in Wilkes-Barre long ago the abuse occurred.” leaders in six Pennsylvania that details widespread sexu- “It’s a shame,” parishioner Roman Catholic dioceses, al abuse of children in six Steve Harnischferger, 54, of including Scranton, released Pennsylvania Roman Catho- treated the same way anyone Hanover Twp. said of the Tuesday represents the most lic dioceses, including Scran- else would be treated,” she sexual abuse. “There’s bad comprehensive investigation ton, and religious leaders’ said. “If they committed priests, bad lawyers, bad of its kind in the United attempts to cover it up crimes, they need to be pun- everything. That’s the prob- States. brought pain, promises of ished for the crimes just like lem. We all have to answerto State Attorney General prayer for victims and calls anyone else.” God in one way or another.” Josh Shapiro said in Tues- to make child sexual assault The state’s statute of limita- Acknowledging that vic- day’s news conference that cases more prosecutable. tions often prevents criminal tims “suffered greatly, ” the 1,356-page report builds “(It’s) a day that we prosecution because much of Stephanie Pendrak, presi- upon previous statewide MATT ROURKE / ASSOCIATED PRESS lament,” the Rev. Jeffrey the sex abuse by clergy hap- dent and founder of Juven- grand jury reports on clergy Walsh said while celebrating pened decades ago. tutem Scranton — a young Victims of clergy sexual abuse or their family mem- sex abuse. Mass at the Diocese of Scran- That is why the Pennsylva- adult group that meets bers react as state Attorney General Josh Shapiro Lynne Abraham, district ton Pastoral Center on Tues- nia Coalition Against Rape, monthlyinthe city to pro- speaks Tuesday at the Capitol in Harrisburg. attorney for Philadelphia day afternoon, shortly before or PCAR, urged state law- mote the “traditions and from 1991 to 2010, empaneled tive Services Law reporting cases of sexual abuse of chil- the report’s release. “It’s a makers Tuesday to remove camaraderie of the Catholic a grand jury to investigate requirements. dren by at least 50 religious day that we have to be able to the statute of limitations in faith” — differentiated sexual abuse within the The Philadelphia district leaders over four decades in bring all of those victims to child sexual assault cases. between the predator priests Archdiocese of Philadelphia attorney’s office launched that diocese. the sacrifice of the Mass “Most victims have lost and the “truth” the church in 2002, after a Boston Globe another grand jury investiga- The grand jury report todayand offer prayers for their ability to seek justice in represents. newspaper investigation ear- tion in the archdiocese there released Tuesday, documents them and for their ongoing both the criminal and civil “It’s important to distin- lier that year cast the spot- a few years later. It produced the sexual abuse of more healing.” courts because of arbitrary guish that what someone light on widespread sexual a 2011 report recommending than 1,000 children by 301 The 1,356-page report lists time limitations,” PCAR does within the church is not abuse by priests in the Arch- charges against ahandful of “predator priests” and other 301 clergy across dioceses in wrote in a news release call- speaking for what the church diocese of Boston. church officials. religiousleadersin the dio- Allentown, Erie, Greens- ing on lawmakers to elimi- stands for, ” she said. “In my Abraham believed if the The report also claimed ceses of Erie, Allentown, burg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh nate the statute of limita- opinion ... if I turn to the abuse was happening in Bos- that “much (had) not Greensburg, Harrisburg, and Scranton, who sexually tions in such cases and pro- truth of the church, not nec- ton, it surely was happening changed” in the diocese since Pittsburgh and Scranton, abused more than 1,000 chil- vide a one-time, two-year essarily the people, but just in her hometown, she told the scandal first unfolded and Shapiro said. dren. window of opportunity for the message of our faith, I PennLive earlier this year. portrayed changes imple- Similar to earlier reports, “People aredisappointed,” survivors to seek civil dam- find thatthere’ssuchconso- The 400-plus-page report mented by the archdiocese as charges are recommended parishioner Pat Graziosi said ages. lation.” documented child sexual “feeble, ineffective or even against only two priests after 4 p.m. Mass at St. The Survivor’s Network of While Pendrak and others abuse by at least 63 religious deceptive,” the Philadelphia because of the state’s statute Mary’s Church of the those Abused by Priests, or look to the church for guid- leaders in the Philadelphia Inquirer reported at the time. of limitations. Immaculate Conception in SNAP, also issued a call to ance, Walsh said those clergy archdiocese and leaders’ Before her August 2016 Some information in the Wilkes-Barre, where no men- action Tuesday. accused in the report of sex- attempts to cover up the conviction on perjury, crimi- report is redacted because of tion was made of the report Arguing that “knowledge ual abuse “violated ... a abuse. It also recommended nal conspiracy and other legal challenges made by during Mass. “I don’t think of past crimes is only valu- sacred trust.” no prosecutions because stat- charges, former state Attor- some clergy whose names we ever thought it was in able if it is translated into He encouraged the rough- utes of limitations had ney General Kathleen G. appear in the report. The such staggering amounts.” actions that will help prevent ly 25 people attending the expired. Kane launched the first state- state Supreme Court will Coming from a Catholic future sexual abuse and cover- 12:10 p.m. Mass to “pray for Thegrand jury did make wide investigation in 2014, hear oral arguments on the family, Graziosi, 73, of ups,” the organization called the victims of child abuse.” several recommendations, turning attention first to the release of an unredacted Hanover Twp., said she hopes on Catholics to hold church Contact the writers: including changing Pennsyl- Altoona-Johnstown Diocese. report on Sept. 26. perpetrators aren’t afforded officials accountable and on [email protected]; vania law to abolish the stat- Kane, of Waverly Twp., Contact the writer: special treatment because of police and prosecutors to rec- 570-348-9141; ute of limitations for prose- released a 147-page grand [email protected]; their status as clergy. ognize that “cover-ups are the @jhorvathTT on Twitter [email protected]; cuting child sexual abuse and jury report in March 2016, 570-821-2110; “We’re very sad, but we rule, rather than the excep- @MocarskyCV on Twitter 570-821-2051; tightening the Child Protec- documenting hundreds of hope that the perpetrators are tion, in both Catholic dioceses @CVBillW on Twitter The Corry Journal Corry, Pennsylvania | www.thecorryjournal.com | 75¢

Saturday, February 10, 2018 Weather Sparty mayor supports fire department's decision to re-elect sex offender as chief BY ERIN PASSINGER department and their [email protected] decision to have him as chief," said Wagner, who Wintry mix S P A R TA N S B U R G added the full-time posi- High: 38 — The Spartansburg tion is unpaid. "The fire- Low: 30 Volunteer Fire chief, who men have always elected was just re-elected into his their own officers and Sunday: position for 2018, is a reg- that's how it's always been Wintry mix istered sex offender for done. We don't question High: 36 crimes he committed to a 20 their decisions." Low: 4-year-old female victim. When asked if this was Roger L. Gilbert Jr., 43, See P.10 for extended forecast the type of decision that of Spartansburg, is listed should be questioned, on the Pennsylvania Wagner said no. Megan's Law database for "We have never stepped a first-degree felony Sports on their toes before and I offense of involuntary am not going to do it now. deviate sexual intercourse. He has been with our The crime took place on department since 2010 Sept. 3, 2000, in the city of and just elected to his sec- Corry and Gilbert was ond term (as chief). I think convicted on Aug. 7, 2001. we are making this into He was given a five- to 10- something that it isn't. I year prison sentence, don't know why she (the which he has completed. victim's mother) won't According to drop this." Spartansburg Borough Erin Passinger/The Corry Journal The mother of the victim Mayor Ann Louise spoke with The Journal Wagner, she, along with Members of the Spartansburg Volunteer Fire Department have re-elected Roger L. and said she is outraged Gilbert Jr., a registered sex offender, into the position of fire chief for 2018. members of the fire that Wagner, the fire department and commu- department, Spartansburg nity, are aware Gilbert is a mistake, you will be pun- Gilbert entered a guilty Gilbert said he has paid Borough Council and sex offender. ished for the rest of your plea to one felony count of his debt to society and he community members are "I support the fire life. I've changed my life involuntary deviate sexu- doesn't believe he should OK with Gilbert serving as for the better. Every day I al intercourse at the Erie have to pay any longer. chief. get up and try to do good. County Courthouse and "I have to live with this "They are just sweeping The mayor has assured was sentenced to 10 years my whole life," he said. "I this under the rug," she me, along with the fire in prison on Aug. 7, 2001, spend every day helping said. "They are putting department, that they by Erie County Judge people." other lives at stake by want me to continue as Stephanie Domitrovich. The victim's mother said allowing him to be in this fire chief." After a lengthy investi- the only victim in this case position. Children look up According to gation by law officials, it is her daughter. Corry's three junior high to and trust firefighters. Pennsylvania State Police, was determined that "She was 4," she said. boys basketball teams are He can't be trusted it is up to each individual Gilbert forced the 4-year- "This man cannot be trust- playing in tournaments. B.1 because he is a child borough, township or city old victim to give him oral ed. He should not be molester." to decide whether or not sex. allowed to have certain Gilbert, who acknowl- they will allow sex offend- Gilbert was paroled six rights for what he did. He Obituaries edged the molestation to ers who have completed years into his sentence in thinks he served his time, The Journal, said that inci- their sentence to serve in August 2007, but violated but my daughter has to • Patrica Lee Gill, 71 Spartansburg Volunteer dent was the only time he an office at the local level. the terms of his release by deal with a situation she • Joseph A. Matava, 77 Fire Chief Roger L. Gilbert Jr. is a registered sex committed a crime of that "They need to adjust the interacting with minor didn't ask for for the rest offender on the nature and it has never bylaws of the fire depart- children outside of the vic- of her life. As fire chief, Pennsylvania Megan's Law happened again. ment if they don't already tim and her family and this man interacts with Follow us national database. His 2001 "That was 20 years ago," have one," the victim's was sent back to jail to fin- children. If you were in an first-degree felony convic- Gilbert said. "You know, mother said. "They are just ish out the remainder of accident, would you want tion was for involuntary the story you are telling burying their heads in the his sentence, according to this man working on your deviate sexual intercourse kids is once you make a with a 4-year-old victim. sand." the victim's mother. child?"

Local hospice makes wedding wish come true for patient, lifelong love Inserts BY KIM LUX Green and his new wife [email protected] • Perkins met 40 years ago when work- • Rite Aid ing at the same small busi- • Save-A-Lot One Wattsburg couple ness. They both had two chil- received an early Valentine’s dren from previous marriages Day treat from Community and went on to have two sons Nursing Services of North together. Planner East. “They don’t make women • Sit and Be Fit, a chair Staff from Community any better than Pat,” Green exercise program, will be Nursing’s Corry branch held said. “She’s truly an amazing held Monday at 10 a.m. at a wedding for one of its hos- woman and I’ve been lucky the First Presbyterian pice patients on Saturday, Feb. enough to have been with her Church, 607 W. Smith St., 3. for the past 40 years. Corry. This class is free Community Nursing “When we first got togeth- and open to the public. Services is a certified home er we didn’t have two pennies health and hospice agency to rub together, but she stuck • Clymer Central School that serves hundreds of indi- board members meet by my side through all the viduals in Erie County. hard times,” he added. Monday at 6 p.m. in the Ken Green, 71, of Wattsburg high school library. Culver said after seeing the was recently diagnosed with love between the two, the staff • Corry Area School Board terminal lung cancer and has and volunteers were adamant meets Monday at 7 p.m. in been a patient of Community about helping the couple get the large group instruction Nursing for about six months. married. room of the administration Green has also been with “We all knew that it was his building. his partner, Patricia heart’s desire and we wanted Malinowski, 75, for 40 years, • There’s Hope, a so desperately to make this and told hospice staff that his Contributed photos Narcotics Anonymous happen for them,” she said. dying wish was to marry her. Just in time for Valentine’s meeting, will be held at 7 “They’ve basically been a “Community Nursing has Day, Community Nursing p.m. at the Columbus married couple this whole been working with Ken and time, just without a marriage Services of North East held Community Church. a wedding for one of its hos- his family for the past six license.” pice patients. Ken Green • The City of Corry months,” said Sue Culver, Culver said that the staff was recently diagnosed with Municipal Authority meets bereavement counselor and worked together to coordi- terminal lung cancer. Tuesday at 10 a.m. in volunteer coordinator with nate and plan the wedding, Council chambers, 100 S. Community Nursing. “We’re Green’s dying wish was to and asked several local busi- marry his longtime partner Center St. trying to keep him comfort- nesses to donate toward the able and happy. We started Patricia Malinowski. Staff at • Columbus Township cause. Community Nursing supervisors meet Tuesday talking about a bucket list, A bouquet, corsage and which we do with most planned, paid for and offici- at 7 p.m. in the township boutonniere for the couple ated a wedding for the cou- building. patients, and he said the only were donated by Bloomers thing left in his life he ever ple on Saturday, Feb. 3. Flower & Ashley Jo Antiques. Above, Green, seated, wanted to do was marry Pat. Local baker Michelle Nichols “Ken told me that when he stands with his new wife Barnett donated a wedding and the staff who helped to Vol. 116 was first diagnosed he knew cake, and Jill Marie’s plan the wedding. At left, No. 035 he just had to marry her,” she Photography took photos of Ken and Pat have been added. “They decided it’s the whole affair at no cost. together for 40 years. The never too late to get married 3 couple have six children when you’re in love.” See Wedding, P.2 between them.

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$2.00 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016 “Behind those barbed wire fences that we lived all around, what went on?” Hope Grosse, Former Warminster resident who grew up adjacent to the Naval Air Warfare Center Unclear and uncertain danger The military admits chemicals it used have contaminated public and private wells around three facilities in Bucks and Montgomery counties.

By KYLE BAGENSTOSE STAFF WRITER wona Jodlowska was seeking answers about her husband’s health, but only found questions about Iher own. Sitting at a coffee shop in Warminster in January, the 53-year-old Warminster resident looked over a wealth of information Calkins Media had compiled about a pair of chemical compounds called PFOA and PFOS. Part of a class of chemicals called per- fluorinated compounds, PFOA and PFOS had been found 1 1/2 years earlier in public and private water wells in parts of Warminster, Horsham and War- rington adjacent to military facilities. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency showed the areas were among the most contaminated in the nation: samples from the three townships were among the 10 highest for both perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) nationwide. The perfluorinated compounds were a key ingredient in the firefighting foams used for decades at the former Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster and the former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Horsham. Contamination from the chemical compounds also was found at the Horsham Air Guard Station, which is still a functioning military facility. The military hasn’t officially identified a source there, although public affairs officer Master Sgt. Chris Botzum said firefighting foams were used in the station’s hangars. Jodlowska first learned of the NAWC contamination in the summer of 2014, when federal Environmental Protection Agency representatives knocked on the door of her home on Benn Lane, a quiet street off Bristol Road across from the Spring Mill Country Club in Warminster. Acting on behalf CHLOE ELMER / PHOTOJOURNALIST of the Navy, they asked if they could take water Hope Grosse stands above a creek that runs through the property of her former childhood home samples from the private well she and her husband, on Kirk Road, adjacent to the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster. The property is about Robert Kucharski, had been drinking from since 100 yards away from where training exercises were conducted using firefighting foam. they moved to the home 15 years earlier. “They took water from us to check it, and (later) told us that the chemicals were present in our This portion of the now-defunct Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster is near where that water,” Jodlowska said. training took place. The Ann’s Choice retirement community, built on former base land, rises in the The EPA returned a few months later and tested background. The Navy has admitted that foam contaminated public and private wells around the again. When the results came back higher than the NAWC. It has paid to connect homeowners to public water and to cleanse public wells. first test, “the (Navy) offered to connect us to public water, free of cost,” Jodlowska said. See WATER, Page A11

ART GENTILE / PHOTOJOURNALIST

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The couple accepted the offer and began receiving weekly shipments of bottled water until work crews showed up the following summer, dug up their yard, and hooked the home into a public service line belonging to the Warminster Municipal Authority. The home became one of 12 in Warminster that were connected to public water because of the issue. The Navy said 40 homes in the Horsham area are being connected; resi- dents are receiving bottled water until then. Despite the connection to public water, Jodlowska’s concerns remained. And she and her husband — a health-conscious couple who don’t drink, smoke or use pes- ticides in their garden — were perplexed at Kucharski’s melanoma diagnosis just a few months before the first tests on the well were performed. “I was shocked,” Jodlowka said of the skin cancer diagnosis. “I didn’t know what to make of it.” As Jodlowska perused literature about the potential health effects of PFOA and PFOS at the coffee shop for a mention of melanoma, she didn’t find much: research into the chemicals is incomplete and only a single, tenuous association with this deadli- est form of skin cancer has been established. But, something else caught her eye. “Oh, my God,” she said, pointing to the words ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease that has been more substan- tially associated with the chemical com- pounds. “I was diagnosed with this. And I eat really well, you know?” She slumped back in her chair, searching for words. After a few moments staring at the table and mulling the information, she found them. “I’m pissed.” ART GENTILE / PHOTOJOURNALIST If PFOA and PFOS do definitively cause Warminster’s Iwona Jodlowska reviews a map of private wells contaminated with chemicals used at the former Naval Air illness, some residents of Warminster, Hor- Warfare Center. Jodlowska’s home was one of about a dozen in Warminster that was hooked up to public water because sham and Warrington were among the most of the contamination. Now, she wonders if the chemicals could have caused health issues for her and her husband. exposed in the nation before contaminated water wells were taken offline in 2014. Though it offered no specifics about the link to sickness, a federal disease registry concluded for the first time in January 2016 that exposure to the maximum PFOS levels found at and around the NAWC posed “a Base contamination past public health hazard.” That the NAWC and joint reserve base introduced toxins into the soil, where they reached ground water, isn’t disputed. The NAWC, which was first commis- sioned as a military base in 1944, was declared a national Superfund toxic waste site by the EPA in 1989. The Superfund program is responsible for cleaning up some of the nation’s most contaminated prop- erties and responding to environmental emergencies, oil spills and natural disasters, according to the EPA website. Remedying the taint, which the govern- ment calls remediation, has been ongoing at the NAWC since the Superfund declaration. In the early 1990s, known toxins trichlo- roethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) were found in off-base wells, prompt- ing the Navy to install water treatment sys- tems to remove those toxins from wells at 40 homes and connect at least 20 others to public water systems. In the mid-1990s, the broader environ- mental cleanup began: contaminated soil The only parcel that remains in mili- Looking to the future, the Horsham was removed, water treatment systems were tary possession is the 55-acre Shenandoah Land Redevelopment Authority has Public water wells: Top PFOS constructed to pump and filter contami- Woods housing complex, a Warminster selected the Catellus Development Corp. Readings in America nated ground water, and monitoring pro- to redevelop the reserve base. Plans call neighborhood of 199 abandoned homes that Perfluorooctane sulfonate, a chemical compound grams were established to gauge the success once housed military personnel. for more than 1,000 housing units, com- of those efforts. found in firefighting foams used by the military In 2012, the Bucks County Planning mercial space, a recreation center, a school, Navy data show at least 4,863 pounds CONTAMINENT Commission approved reuse plans from a museum, parks and other open space. A PLANT NAME LEVEL (PBB)* of TCE have been recovered so far, along private developers to turn Shenandoah September 2014 update from the Horsham Artesian Water Co. Delaware 1.80 with 159 pounds of PCE and 165 pounds authority estimated annual local tax reve- of a chemical called carbon tetrachloride. Woods into a neighborhood of 113 single Security WSD, Colorado 1.30 and twin homes. However, a 2011 discovery nues from the site could reach $13.6 million Warminster Municipal Authority 1.09 According to the federal Agency for Toxic and 7,000 jobs could be created. Substances and Disease Registry, there is of PFOA and PFOS, and investigations in Horsham Water & Sewer Authority 1.00 2012 and 2013, delayed the transfer. In Sep- But, the development is on hold as the “strong evidence” TCE can cause kidney military investigates contamination. In an Artesian Water Company Delaware 0.93 cancer, and less definitive evidence that tember 2015, the Navy’s Base Realignment Warminster Municipal Authority 0.79 and Closure program cleared the parcel for email to the newspaper in early February, chemical, PCE and carbon tetrachloride BRAC public affairs officer Bill Franklin Horsham Water & Sewer Authority 0.70 can cause other cancers. However, a 2002 transfer, but Warminster is still assessing the agreement. said the Navy expects to transfer approxi- Warrington Township investigation at the NAWC by that federal mately 700 acres of the reserve base in Water & Sewer Department 0.67 agency concluded there was “no apparent Less than five miles west of the NAWC, Security WSD, Colorado 0.65 the Navy’s former Joint Reserve Base faces a September 2018, and the rest in September public health hazard” from those chemicals 2020. Issaquah Water System, Washington 0.60 because residents were exposed “below lev- similar situation. In 2011, the 862-acre base closed after els that cause adverse health effects.” The waiting game EPA Provisional Health Advisory Limit = .20 Some parcels at the former 817-acre 69 years of service, and nearly all the land NAWC were sold after it was closed in 1997 remains in Navy possession. The base, Meanwhile, residents continue to won- and the Navy concluded its investigation along with the adjacent 162-acre Horsham der about the health effects of the tainted Public water wells: Top PFOA of TCE, PCE and other contaminants. A Air Guard Station, was named a Superfund drinking water they consumed. total of 103 acres were developed into the toxic waste site in 1995. PCE and other con- A week after her meeting with the Readings in America Ann’s Choice retirement facility; 243 acres taminants have been found in the soil and newspaper, Jodlowska posted for the Perfluorooctanoic acid, a chemical compound were turned into the Warminster Com- groundwater, according to the EPA. In 1999, first time on the public Facebook group found in firefighting foams used by the military munity Park; 59 acres became part of the soil was cleansed at one location on the base, “Ivyland~Warminster Toxic Contami- CONTAMINENT PLANT NAME LEVEL (PBB)* North American Technology Center indus- and the cleansing and monitoring there and nation.” Created in 2011, the group has trial park; and much of the rest was sold for at the guard station continues, according to amassed nearly 300 followers, primarily Warminster Municipal Authority 0.35 other commercial development. the EPA. from Warminster, Warrington and Horsham Oakdale, Minnesota 0.34 — all communities that have dealt with con- Oakdale, Minnesota 0.32 taminants from the bases. Warminster Municipal Authority 0.29 Glossary of Chemical Terms The concerns shared by members focus Horsham Water & Sewer Authority 0.29 on what neighbors have asked each other Doylestown Twp. Muni. Authority 0.21 Carbon tetrachloride: A manufactured chemical compound previously used to over their fence lines for decades: did the Artesian Water Company, Delaware 0.14 produce refrigeration fluid, aerosol cans and pesticides, it also is used as a degreasing military bases near their homes make them Artesian Water Company, Delaware 0.14 agent. It’s a volatile organic compound, identified by the federal Agency for Toxic sick? Vienna, West Virginia 0.13 Substances and Disease Registry as an “anticipated” carcinogen that can affect the Facebook group member Hope Grosse, heart, liver and nervous system. 51, is adamant that has been the case. Warminster Municipal Authority 0.13 She was 1 year old when her family, the Perfluorooctanoic acid: PFOA is a chemical compound that has been commonly Martindells, first moved to Warminster’s EPA Provisional Health Advisory Limit = .40 found in firefighting foams used by the military. Able to repel oil, grease, and water, it’s *Parts per billion also found in a variety of consumer products and packaging. It has been identified by Kirk Lane in 1965. The NAWC was a major the federal Environmental Protection Agency as “likely to be carcinogenic” and can fixture for Grosse as she grew up: she played melanoma skin cancer. It spread to her lym- affect the liver and renal systems, according to the ATSDR. in a creek that flowed onto her property phatic system and took five years of treat- from the base and she recalled watching on- ment before she went into remission. Perfluorooctane sulfonate: PFOS is a chemical compound that also has been base activity from her yard. “The father of another family … had the commonly found in firefighting foams used by the military. Able to repel oil, grease, “I remember as a teenager, men in white exact same cancer I had,” Grosse said. “He and water, it also is found in a variety of consumer products. It can affect the liver and jumpsuits and helmets looked like astro- passed in 30 days.” renal system, according to the ATSDR. It has yet to be determined if it is cancerous to nauts over the fence, almost in my front After growing up drinking from the humans. yard,” she said. private well on her family’s property and Unusual illnesses struck her family and playing in the creek that flowed from the Tetrachloroethylene: PCE is a manufactured chemical compound that has others in the neighborhood in the 23 years base, Grosse doesn’t hesitate to say what been widely used for dry cleaning fabrics and as a metal degreaser. According to she lived there, according to Grosse, who she believes caused the illnesses in her the ATSDR, it’s “reasonably anticipated” to be cancerous and can affect human added that pets developed tumors and died. development, as well as the nervous and respiratory systems. Then, in 1990, the illnesses turned tragic. neighborhood. “The conversations I have with people Trichloroethylene: TCE is a chemical compound commonly used as a solvent to Her 53-year-old father, Howard Martindell, died of brain cancer, as did the father of I grew up with, they all believe it was the remove grease from metal parts, but it’s also used in adhesives, paint removers, and base,” Grosse said. “Behind those barbed other products. According to the ATSDR, it has been found to cause kidney and liver another nearby family a few years later. Shortly after her father’s death, when she wire fences that we lived all around, what cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It also can affect human development and the went on?” nervous system. was 23, Grosse developed a cancerous tumor on her leg that was eventually diagnosed as See WATER, Page A12 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016 FROM THE FRONT PAGE A12 THE INTELLIGENCER Water Continued from Page A11

What is known is that the NAWC and the reserve base used foam that contained PFOS and PFOA to fight and train for fighting fuel fires, which are notoriously difficult to extinguish. Water is ineffective because the two liquids don’t mix; the water sinks to the bottom, where it can expand and increase volatility. The military began using the firefighting foams in the late 1960s because the com- pounds mix easily with water to produce a solution that blankets and smothers oil fires and vapors. The foams quickly became an essential tool for the military, according to Jennifer Field, a professor of environmental and molecular toxicology at Oregon State University who has been studying these compounds for decades. An inventory compiled by the Depart- ment of Defense shows 664 known fire and crash training sites where such foams could have been used nationwide, including on the NAWC, the joint reserve base and the Horsham guard station in Bucks and Montgomery counties; the North Penn U.S. Army Reserve Center heliport in Worces- ter, Montgomery County; the former Naval Air Warfare Center in Trenton; and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County, New Jersey. Field said her research team has col- lected samples from 15 military sites around the country to date (none of them in the area) and found PFOS and PFOA at 14 of CALKINS ARCHIVE them. The problem now is figuring out what (File) The Ann’s Choice senior development, shown here in 2006, was built on land that once was part of the now-defunct Naval their presence in the environment means Air Warfare Center in Warminster. The Navy admits its use of firefighting foam over decades has tainted some area water. for human health, she said. “The toxicology of these substances is found to have a PFOS reading eight times running behind our knowledge of where higher than the EPA’s provisional advisory. they are and how much are out there,” Field Two other wells — one each in said. Doylestown Township and Bristol Town- While there’s no definitive consensus on ship — had levels of the compounds that the health effects of PFOS, PFOA or other were elevated, but below the EPA advisory. perfluorinated chemical compounds, there Scott Miele, water superintendent with isn’t a complete lack of information, either. the Doylestown Township Municipal A fact sheet from the National Institute Authority, said the Cross Keys well in his of Environmental Health says the agency system remains online. A PFOA reading is studying the effects of the compounds taken from the well in February 2014 was in humans, but animal studies have shown the sixth-highest in the country, but still the chemicals can disrupt endocrine activ- only half of the EPA’s provisional advisory ity and immune function, adversely affect limit. organs including the liver and pancreas, and “It’s definitely on our radar,” Miele said. cause developmental problems in rodent “At this time, we’re more or less waiting offspring that were exposed in the womb. for direction from the EPA and DEP (state The largest study on the effects of PFOA Department of Environmental Protection) in humans stemmed from a lawsuit filed … we’re not quite sure where they’re going against chemical company DuPont in West with it (regulating the compounds).” Virginia. On Jan. 6, The New York Times Donna Alston, communications manager Magazine published a story by Nathaniel with Aqua PA, which runs a water system Rich that chronicled a decades-long legal CALKINS ARCHIVE in Bristol Township, said the authority battle between residents along a portion of (File) This facility once was part of the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster. didn’t take any action there because the the Ohio-West Virginia border and DuPont, levels detected in one of their wells were far the chemical giant. below the EPA’s provisional levels in 2013 Legal action began in 1999, when attor- Following the release of that data, Ohio as high as 3.8 ppb for PFOS, or 19 times and 2014. “All results are an order of magni- ney Rob Bilott took the case of Parkersburg, and West Virginia residents began to file higher than the EPA’s provisional health tude below EPA’s (levels), which is the only West Virginia, farmer Wilbur Tennant, who personal-injury lawsuits against DuPont. advisory, according to the EPA. Levels for health reference standard we have to evalu- said he lost hundreds of cattle to mysterious The first, settled in October 2015, resulted PFOA reached 5 ppb, or more than 12 times ate the results,” Alston added. illnesses. The farmer suspected a DuPont in a $1.6-million payout for a survivor of higher than the EPA level. waste site upstream from a creek on his kidney cancer, Rich reported. At least 3,534 The Navy response land was the cause, Rich reported. As part similar suits have been filed. Some water Multiple local water authority offi- of the suit, Bilott found internal DuPont In 2009, the EPA set a provisional health documents from as far back as the 1960s cials praised the response of the Navy and advisory level of .4 parts per billion for systems act National Guard Bureau, which have agreed that showed the compounds might pose a PFOA and .2 ppb for PFOS in drinking Although PFOA and PFOS aren’t yet health risk — and the company still depos- to pay for sampling hundreds of private water. The agency also placed the chemi- formally regulated by the EPA, the Hor- wells in Horsham, Warminster and War- ited thousands of tons of PFOA into the cals on its list of “emerging contaminants” sham, Warminster and Warrington water environment. Bilott ultimately filed a class rington. Homeowners whose well water and required water authorities nationwide authorities stopped using wells containing contained PFOS or PFOA higher than the action lawsuit on behalf of 70,000 nearby to begin testing for them for the first time. the chemicals above the EPA’s provisional residents. EPA’s advisory levels are being paid to have That testing ultimately led to the discovery advisory limit — and some that showed their homes connected to public water and Because little was known about the of the chemical compounds in the public levels that were elevated but still below the health impact of PFOA, the EPA conducted are being given free bottled water in the wells near the military facilities in Bucks EPA advisory level. meantime. The Navy also agreed to com- a study in 2002 that found the compound and Montgomery counties. In June 2014, Warminster stopped using could pose health risks to those who drink it pensate water authorities for filtration sys- According to EPA data, PFOA has been three wells. Well 26, off Ivyland Road, had tems to cleanse contaminated wells, and to or use materials that contain it, such as non- detected, in varying levels, in 324 water a PFOS level more than five times the limit stick pans. The EPA reached a $16.5-mil- reimburse them for the water they’ve had samples taken from public water authorities of the EPA’s provisional advisory level. Well to buy from other utilities to offset the lost lion settlement against DuPont in 2005 and nationwide. Twenty-five of them — nearly 13, off Vista Drive, and Well 10, near the Bilott secured a 2004 settlement in which wells. 8 percent of the nation’s total — were taken intersection of Bristol and Twin Streams “The Navy did readily acknowledge DuPont agreed to install filtration systems from water authorities in Bucks and Mont- roads, were taken offline because of their for affected water authorities and pay $70 that there had to be a connection (between gomery Counties. And of the top 11 read- elevated levels — though they didn’t exceed the base and the public wells),” said Tina million to the plaintiffs in the class action ings for PFOA nationwide, six were found the EPA advisory. suit. O’Rourke, business administrator with the in the region, although none were above the Horsham stopped using Well 40 off Horsham Water and Sewer Authority. DuPont also agreed to pay for a study EPA’s advisory levels. Keith Valley Road and Well 26 near the ■ into possible links between PFOA and a Findings for PFOS in public wells were Sawmill Valley development after PFOS A $3.9-million agreement was signed variety of illnesses. The results of that study, also among the top 10 in the nation — and levels came back several times higher than with the Warminster Municipal Author- released over several years starting in 2011, were above the EPA’s levels. And some the EPA’s limits in June 2014. Warrington ity in March 2015, according to the Navy. found “probable links” between PFOA private wells around the NAWC have had wells 1, 2 and 6, whose water ultimately is It provides for carbon filtration systems and “diagnosed high cholesterol, ulcerative PFOS levels more than seven times the combined before being distributed, were at the three public wells above or near the colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, agency’s provisional health level. all taken offline after water in two wells EPA’s levels, reimbursement for replace- kidney cancer, and pregnancy-induced The situation is worse around the joint tested above the EPA’s provisional levels in ment drinking water, and the connection of hypertension.” reserve base: there, private wells reached November 2014. The highest, well 2, was affected homes to public water. ■ In July 2015, the Navy signed an $8.8-million agreement with the Horsham Water and Sewer Authority for the same measures for public and private wells. According to a January letter from the township, Horsham also signed a $250,000 agreement with the National Guard Bureau to connect affected properties near the Hor- sham Air Guard Station to public water. ■ The Warrington Water and Sewer Authority is receiving $5.88 million from the National Guard Bureau for a similar cleanup, according to director Christian Jones. ■ As of early January, 13 of the 114 private wells tested around the NAWC had levels of PFOA or PFOS above the agency’s pro- visional health advisory, EPA press offi- cer Bonnie Smith said. Around the Joint Reserve Base, 66 of the 273 private wells that were sampled had PFOA or PFOS levels at or above the provisional advisory limits. All together, the military has agreed to pay approximately $18.9 million to reduce human exposure to the nearly 100 public and private wells contaminated above the EPA’s provisional health advisory. But none of the agreements have called for any medi- cal studies to assess whether residents have been sickened from prior consumption. In the case of the DuPont contamination in Ohio and West Virginia, more than $30 million was spent over seven years before KYLE BAGENSTOSE / STAFF an independent panel established “prob- A truck drops off bottled water at the Horsham Water and Sewer Authority. The military is providing bottled water to owners able links” between PFOA and a host of of private wells that have been contaminated by activity at the former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base and the Horsham illnesses. Air Guard Station. Eventually, homes with wells tainted above an EPA advisory will be connected to public water. See WATER, Page A13 FROM THE FRONT PAGE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016 THE INTELLIGENCER A13

public drinking water supplies at would make medical screenings this site (NAWC) were a past pub- problematic. Water lic health hazard,” stated the letter “There’s just so much uncer- Continued from Page A12 signed by the agency’s regional tainty about what (PFOS and director, Lora Werner. PFOA) means for people and their The letter also states the EPA individual health,” Werner said. Asked whether the Navy had provisional levels are based on “Even knowing the level of (per- plans to provide health screen- short-term exposure data, which fluorinated chemicals) in a person’s ing or monitoring, Navy news the letter defines as five to 90 days blood, I still can’t give that person desk action officer Lt. Chika of exposure. That means the EPA the certainty that people are look- Onyekanne referred comment levels “may not be protective of ing for: ‘What does that mean for on that to the federal Agency for long-term exposure,” and that me; am I going to get sick?’” Toxic Substances and Disease past exposures at the NAWC were Werner added that funding a Registry. “ATSDR determines if “likely greater than one year,” the larger study of the area, such as the medical screening or monitoring letter states. That means undeter- one conducted near the DuPont is necessary to determine a rela- mined chronic health risks for resi- plant in West Virginia, would tionship between exposure to a dents with private well water below likely cost a significant amount of hazardous substance and illness,” the EPA’s provisional levels, or money. “They’re very complicated Onyekanne said in an email. public water consumers near public endeavors ... you need funding to A “health consultation” let- wells that fit the same description. do that kind of work. In the case of ter sent from the Agency for Toxic However, the letter contains cave- the Warminster site, it would then Substances and Disease Registry to ats. For one, much of the current data be up to either the Navy or Con- the Navy in January 2016 doesn’t on the health effects of PFOA and gress to make a decision about that list medical evaluations or studies PFOS is based on animal research, kind of funding,” she said. among its recommendations. It rec- and there is “limited information” And whether or not there was a ommends continued investigation on whether or not the chemicals can similar public health risk around of the contamination, long-term cause cancer in humans. The letter the joint reserve base in Horsham remediation, outreach to private well also stated its conclusion about the is yet to be determined: Werner users, and the development of educa- health impact was based on a “con- said an analysis is currently being tional materials for residents. It also servative” analysis that assumed some conducted and might be com- states that “women make their own public water users were exposed to pleted by the end of the year. For personal choices about breastfeed- the maximum PFOS levels in Warm- those near the station in Horsham, ing,” but recommends concerned inster Municipal Authority wells. the question is whether they were mothers use premixed baby formula “Some water customers could exposed to the chemicals at lev- or reconstitute dry formula with potentially have received the major- els the disease registry considers bottled water “to reduce potential ity of their water from one of the potentially harmful. And for many exposure of formula-fed infants.” contaminated wells in the past, but around the NAWC, it’s what their What the substances and dis- the majority of water customers exposure means for their health. ease registry’s January letter does likely received water that did not Asked about whether additional provide is official documentation contain (perfluorinated compounds) studies, or even eventual com- stating that water contaminated or contained less than the (EPA lev- pensation for medical care, could from activities of the Naval Air els),” the letter stated. “Customers provide a sense of relief, Jodlowska Warfare Center could have sick- located geographically closest to a said she wasn’t sure. “Yeah, you ened people, up until the time given water supply well will likely would have money, but you can’t the military and water authorities receive more water from that well really put a price on somebody,” responded and closed down wells. than users located further away.” Jodlowska said. “To the people “Based on the current toxico- CHLOE ELMER / PHOTOJOURNALIST Werner told the newspaper, in who love you, you’re priceless.” logical literature … ATSDR finds a phone interview, that the lack of Hope Grosse recalls her childhood on Kirk Road, where she Kyle Bagenstose: 215-949-4211; that exposure to the maximum lev- lived next to the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster. conclusive evidence about health email: [email protected]; els of PFOS found in private and effects from PFOS and PFOA Twitter: @KyleBagenstose Much is unknown about the health effects of perfluorinated chemicals

By KYLE BAGENSTOSE different kinds of cancer ... and in STAFF WRITER our first study, (the findings) were Perfluorinated chemicals, only based on three deaths and which have been detected in some that was for bladder cancer, but public and private wells near three it did suggest a risk,” Alexander military facilities in Bucks and Montgomery counties, are com- said. “Because bladder cancer monly found throughout the USA. is not frequently fatal, it was First developed commercially important to look closer. When by chemical company 3M in the we did a followup survey, we 1940s, the chemical compounds didn’t find the number of nonfatal have been employed in firefighting cases that would corroborate our foams used by the military as well finding.” as in nonstick cookware, carpets, Alexander said the situation clothes, mattresses, industrial is further complicated because degreasers, dry cleaning fluids and bladder cancer can be caused by a some food packaging, according number of chemicals commonly to the National Institute of used at industrial plants — and Environmental Health Sciences. Jennifer Field, professor of also can be caused by smoking and environmental and molecular other factors. toxicology at Oregon State “There’s so much research to University, says perfluorooctane be done … I don’t think anybody sulfonate (PFOS) and can come out and say with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are certainty that, at low levels, (there just two of many chemicals found will be health effects), but many in that family of compounds. legitimate questions remain,” What they all have in common is Alexander said, adding that their chemical structure: multiple another study conducted by his carbons each possessing two team found that workers exposed fluorine atoms. “Why that matters is because to PFOA didn’t show an excessive the carbon-fluorine bond is the ART GENTILE / PHOTOJOURNALIST risk for kidney cancer. shortest and strongest in nature,” The NAWC, which was first commissioned as a military base in 1944, was Pennsylvania has the sixth Field said. “While (that quality) declared a national Superfund toxic waste site by the EPA in 1989. highest annual incidence of in firefighting foams is great for bladder cancer in the nation, at blanketing fuel fires or deflecting 24.4 for every 100,000 people, liquids in nonstick pans, we don’t you have potential for higher found “probable links” to “high no consensus yet on dose-response according to the National Cancer know what the effects are for the concentrations,” Field said. cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, relationships with PFOS and Institute. Bucks County’s rate environment.” The federal Centers for Disease thyroid disease, testicular cancer, PFOA, Howarth said. of 26.5 per 100,000 ranks 22nd Field said the chemical Control and Prevention goes kidney cancer, and pregnancy- “Based on currently available among counties in the state; compounds have two properties further. It says just about everyone induced hypertension.” Further evidence, we do not know for sure Montgomery County’s 26.2 per that make them particularly in the U.S. has been exposed to research found very high exposure what a safe level of exposure is for 100,000 ranks 26th. detrimental to the environment. perfluorinated chemicals. Citing rates could also potentially PFOA and PFOS,” Howarth said. Warminster has a bladder First, their strong bonds keep a 2004 CDC study that found be associated non-Hodgkin The C8 Science Panel also them from breaking down. PFOA was found in “nearly all” lymphoma, ovarian and prostate looked for health links to PFOA. cancer rate of 69 for every 100,000 “To destroy these chemicals of 2,094 study participants’ blood, cancers. (PFOS is the contaminant found people — or nearly three times takes a lot of energy and effort, the agency concluded, “PFOA Experts with whom Calkins in higher concentrations in Bucks the state and county averages. Field said. “There’s a lot of exposure is widespread in the U.S. Media spoke cautioned against and Montgomery.) But Warminster also has one of research and a lot of funding to population.” drawing parallels between the An EPA fact sheet on the the largest elderly populations in find cost-effective ways to destroy What that means for human C8 Science Panel study and the compounds states the EPA Science the county: more than a quarter these chemicals … (but) it’s a health is still very much unknown, contamination in this region. Advisory Board found PFOA of the township’s population tough nut to crack.” according to a number of sources, Dr. Marilyn Howarth, director is “likely to be carcinogenic to is 62 or older, according to Second, once they’re released ranging from investigators like of the Community Outreach humans,” but the EPA is “still 2010 census data. Pennsylvania into the environment, the high Field to the National Institute and Engagement Core at the evaluating this information and Health Department statistics solubility of the chemicals allows of Environmental Health University of Pennsylvania’s additional research.” show that, in the five-year period them to be dispersed through Sciences, which is part of the Center of Excellence in The fact sheet referenced a from 2009 to 2013, only eight of groundwater and surface water, National Institutes of Health. Environmental Toxicology, said number of studies. One found the 113 bladder cancer cases in including public wells and Because technologies to detect research into the health effects of chronic exposure of PFOS Warminster occurred in people shallower private wells. perfluorinated chemicals didn’t PFOA and PFOS in humans is and PFOA could lead to the younger than 60. “Because they’re persistent become widely available until incomplete. development of the tumors in rats. and mobile … that has created about a decade ago, researchers are “PFOA and PFOS have been Another study found morality Alexander cautioned medical the situation today (with their only starting to analyze whether very difficult to link to cancer in rates of kidney cancer and screening, given the current lack widespread presence),” Field said. or not there is a link between their humans,” Howarth said. “They diabetes increased for employees of consensus on the health effects Field has been studying the presence and human health. are clearly cancer causing in exposed to PFOA at an industrial of PFOA and PFOS exposure. chemicals since the late 1990s, The largest study has been the rodents, but the mechanisms plant. And a third study found “Medical screening is a and says data show they’re often C8 Science Panel. As part of a by which they cause cancer in an association between PFOS very expensive endeavor, and found in water samples collected class-action settlement following rodents … we think, truly don’t exposure and bladder cancer. can lead to false positives that from military bases and landfill PFOA contamination in Ohio and happen in people.” But even Bruce Alexander, require additional medical leachates. A leachate is water West Virginia, chemical company Howarth added that cancer the University of Minnesota interventions that carry their that has passed through a solid DuPont agreed to fund an eight- risks can follow two patterns. environmental health sciences own risk,” Alexander said. “It’s mass. She suspects airports also year study that analyzed 69,000 Dose-response relationships professor who conducted the not necessarily the best option could be a common source of the people in the affected area. occur when the cancer risk clearly study showing an association unless you really know what you’re compounds in the environment. By comparing the level of increases with greater exposure to between PFOS and bladder looking for.” “In our experience … anywhere PFOA in participants’ blood to a toxin, while idiosyncratic cases cancer, is cautious about declaring Kyle Bagenstose: 215-949-4211; you see repeated historical their medical histories, a panel occur based on variable factors, the compound carcinogenic. email: [email protected]; practice with (firefighting foams), of independent epidemiologists like genetic susceptibility. There is “We went in looking at all the Twitter: @KyleBagenstose Coburn’s Near No Hitter

Volume 149, Issue 13 Page 12 Page 16 March 29, 2018 Hummelstown, PA

Kadyn DeHart scoops up an egg in the snow at the Shank Park Easter egg hunt on March 24. For more on Sun Country Easter egg hunts happening this weekend, see Page 5. CREEK Photo: Nathan Merkel. First responders wade into the Swatara Creek 106th House District to rescue a man who jumped or fell from the Duke Street bridge. For more, see Page 4. Photo: Dave Buffington. Editor’s Note: The Page 4 story includes a Meet Jill Linta RESCUE graphic image. Please proceed accordingly. Two Democrats – Jill Linta and Rob Myers – are run- ning in the May 15 primary election for the chance to unseat incumbent Republican Representative Tom Mehaffie in the 106th District. Hershey Plaza Apartments In our Feb. 21 issue, we ran an introductory statement Hershey Plaza Apartments from Myers. Here is a statement from Linta’s campaign … Image: Bob Naeye. A two-way race is shaping up for the 106th Democratic primary. Jill Linta, a life-long Democrat, is vying for the PA House seat currently held by Republican Tom Mehaffie. Linta is a graduate of Middletown High School and a Chaos and Care former Asst. Hearings Administrator with the Common- By Robert Naeye wealth. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Industrial and A major renovation project at the Hershey Plaza Apart- tion, and that the building will be much nicer once the proj- Organizational Psychology with a Business minor from ments – aka “The Hershey Hi-Rise” – has sparked widely ect is completed. The disagreement centers around the speed Penn State, University Park. Linta’s parents owned and divergent reactions among residents, with some expressing of the work and how well management has kept residents operated two local small businesses: Linta Plumbing and appreciation and others outrage. informed of the changes. Karen Linta’s Pass It On Shop. “I feel as if I have no voice, as if my life means nothing “A full rehab like this usually takes 12 to 18 months,” A self-proclaimed advocate, Jill has been volunteering to them. I feel as if I’m being treated as a non-person. With Crossman said. in the community for almost two decades. She is Chair- all this money that they’re spending, we are being treated as He added that the rehab is moving forward as expected, woman of the Gov. Pinchot Group of the Sierra Club. She if we’re the scum of the earth,” said one tenant, who, like and that the renovations should be completed this coming serves as a legal observer and coordinator with the National others, requested anonymity for fear of reprisals from man- summer. But he emphasized that construction is notoriously Lawyers Guild of Central PA and has been a poll watcher in agement. difficult to predict because Millennia is working with many every presidential election since 2004. As a member of the But other tenants have expressed gratitude for their subcontractors. NLG, she has observed white supremacist and anti-Muslim improved living conditions. One of them said, “I have no Residents of the 77 apartments, which have already been rallies in Harrisburg as well as the Inauguration Day pro- complaints about anything here. I have found nothing wrong upgraded, have generally welcomed the improvements. One tests in Washington, D.C. Linta returned to Washington to with current management. Yes, there is chaos, but that’s to resident showed me her apartment, with its recently remod- march in the 2017 Women’s March and the People’s Cli- be expected in this renovation, which is a total renovation eled bathroom and kitchen. Her living space looked quite mate Change march. She is also a trained volunteer with the inside and out.” comfortable, and she expressed complete satisfaction with (Continued on Page 11) She requested not to be identified for fear of antagoniz- her unit. ing fellow tenants. But the renovation project has literally given other The Hershey Plaza is the high-rise building across West residents nightmares. Two tenants said that a few months Chocolate Avenue from Chipotle. Built in the late 1970s, it after the sale, management held a meeting to tell residents houses 216 apartments. Its 200-plus tenants are low-income that they had a great new Christian benefactor who was seniors, or adults with physical or mental disabilities. Almost extremely wealthy, and who would raise living standards. all the residents receive government subsidies to help cover They came away with the impression that the renovation their rents. It is not an assisted-living facility, so there are no would go quickly. According to these residents, the meeting full-time nurses or social workers to help residents cope. initiated an endless stream of unkept promises. Millennia Housing Management, Ltd. purchased the Management told one tenant that the work on her apart- building May 31, 2017. Millennia realized that the building ment would take approximately five days. She has been was in dire need of repair even before the sale, and it began waiting five months for the work to be completed. implementing plans for a major renovation project shortly “In the meantime, we have been living in storage after taking possession. Millennia has invested more than units,” said another resident, pointing out that management $8 million in the project according to public affairs manager instructed residents to pack up their belongings to move to Jeffrey Crossman, who works at the company’s headquar- another apartment so their unit could be renovated. ters in Cleveland, Ohio. This includes an overhaul to every Then days, weeks, and months would roll by with little apartment and to the building’s interior and exterior. or no action on the apartments. “We acquire properties that need a little tender loving “They say they’ll be here at a certain time, and then care, and we turn them around. That’s our expertise,” Cross- they don’t show up,” one tenant said. man said. “We don’t sell them or flip them. Our goal is to “There’s no rhyme or reason to how they do the work. Jill Linta provide high-quality housing.” There’s no pattern, it’s just random. They ripped up the car- Crossman added that the 40-year-old building has never pet and flooring and they just disappeared,” another occu- had any major capital investments or improvements. pant said. Classifieds/Help Wanted/Legals ...... Page 8 The floor was eventually completed months later, but Editorial ...... Page 2 ‘A Full Rehab’ the baseboards, bathroom and bedroom remain unfinished. Living ...... Pages 10-11 All the residents interviewed for this story agreed that Making matters worse, according to some residents, the building was in shambles prior to Millennia’s acquisi- building managers have often been unresponsive to the ten- Obituaries ...... Page 9 ants who are living in a state of limbo, sometimes because the Photo Album ...... Page 3 managers themselves don’t seem to know what’s going on. Police News ...... Page 4 Speaking of an on-site manager, one resident said, Sports ...... Pages 12-14 Newsstand Price $1.00 “When he sees you coming toward him to ask a question, he beelines in the opposite direction.” What’s the Difference ...... Page 4 But another tenant says that whenever she contacts Home and Garden Section ...... Pages 15-19 ? (Continued on Page 6) Text tips to 717-460-3803

Chaos inaccurate information about the timing perception that the building is plagued Still, many residents are desperate for continued from above of their renovations. with criminals and people with severe the renovations to be completed, more behavioral problems. As one resident direct communication from management, management with a maintenance Many of the problems stem from the difficulty of coordinating the schedules of emphasized, “(the Plaza) is not a lunatic and accurate timetables for work orders. problem, someone is often there within asylum.” an hour, and usually the same day. She numerous subcontractors. Any renewal “Maybe it will be fabulous…if I live says the maintenance men are very kind project of this magnitude will inevitably Several tenants told me that they want long enough,” one resident said. “They and generous. produce stress for elderly residents people to understand that most Plaza have to eventually get it done, but it’s and people with physical and mental residents have lived normal lives. They taking so much longer to do these “You will run into problems with challenges. Residents speak about an raised families, worked respectable jobs, apartment units.” renovations,” she added. “When you unbelievable noise level as workmen and paid taxes over many decades to Crossman concluded, “I recognize that renovate 216 apartments at the same hammer away at walls as early as 8:30 support others in need. time, you will run into chaos.” people are living amidst construction and a.m. They talk about overtaxed elevators. And even the people with mental it gets frustrating after several months. Crossman says, “(Millennia) tries And they have complained about water disabilities do not pose a threat to other But we do ask for people to be patient to work with residents to minimize being shut off during daytime hours. But tenants or the surrounding community. because we’re getting close to the end. the disruption as much as possible, many of these problems probably could “This building is full of people in need The units will be nice, the building is understanding, of course, that not have been avoided. of social services, and a lot of them are going to be wonderful, and it’s going to construction inherently involves some be a much-improved place to live.” disruption.” ‘Not a Lunatic Asylum’ mentally challenged, but I don’t think anyone is any danger from these people,” If there is one thing all tenants agree But he added that the company needs one tenant said. to do better if tenants are being given upon, it’s vehemently disputing the