2 GOLackawanna Sunday, October 30, 2011 JASON RIEDMILLER PHOTO / FOR GO 3 NEWS LACKAWANNA Page 3 – Union reps claim mayor won’t talk settlement Scranton resi- dent Johnathan Page 5 – DPW employee’s son used city trailer Houck of Scran- ton was among Page 7 – Balloon release starts Red Ribbon Week those attending the annual WS Page 10 – Simonson’s escape charges advanced O’Malley Hallo- ween Party at NE 12 ARTS McDade Park last week. PHO- Page 12 – Homebrewers unite, plan Nov. 5 event TOS: Page 17. Page 14 – ’Mystery at the Masonic’ set Page 17 – PHOTOS: O’Malley Halloween party 20 SPORTS Page 20 – Burke’s championship plan pans out Page 23 – Lady Comets in district soccer final Page 26 – No mercy for losing football teams Page 27 – Local tennis teams out of state play OUR TEAM GO Lackawanna Editor Obituaries – 558-0113 Christopher J. Hughes 558-0113 News Tips [email protected] 558-0113 General Manager [email protected] Paul Andrews – 558-0845 Missed Paper – 829-5000 [email protected] Classified TS Reporter/Photographer 1-800-273-7130 Rich Howells – 558-0483 Advertising – 829-7101 [email protected] Subscriptions – 1-800-252-5603 AR Advertising Representative Hours of Operation Karen Fiscus – 970-7291 9a.m. – 6p.m.; M-F; 210 Wyoming [email protected] Avenue, Scranton 18503 Stallone leaves unusual mark on city When one ro stereotype a bit more than nancial ruin. CHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES wishes of Sylvester BEHIND THE the mayor. The mayor’s running “One man facing millions of he was Don LaFontaine. Email him Stallone’s mo- rituals could put him in a better debt. Another facing life in pris- at [email protected]. vie characters BYLINES spot to flee from some Michael on. Coincidence brought them were refer- Bay-esque explosions, however. together, but their adventure enced out of CHRISTOPHER J. It’s so very odd for such a spe- will tear you apart.” context last HUGHES cific character from pop culture Iwonder if Stallone would week, I didn’t think too much of to appear twice in the same star in a film dedicated to the +(ISSN No. 0896-4084) it. likely in my book. week and in the same city. mockery of his iconic titles. USPS 499-710 Two references to the charac- Union Attorney Thomas Jen- Was there a weekend on Perhaps we could enlist the Issue No. 2011-303 ter, along with Saturday’s Octo- nings called Mayor Chris Do- Spike TV that no one told me help of “Rocky” impersonator TS Newsroom ber snow, make me think that herty “Rambo” for his one-man about? Mike Kunda, the West Scranton 829-7242 rapture seeking Harold Camp- war against union arbitration, Is 2008’s rehashing of one native and author who has [email protected] Circulation ing might not have been too far armed with Act 47 rather than man’s battle against injustice chronicled his aim to become Jim McCabe – 829-5000 [email protected] off with his recent end of days an AK-47. through firearms being re-re- the heavyweight champion of Published weekly by: prediction. Escaped prisoner Michael Si- leased in 3-D with special “bul- the world, to change roles for SPOR Impressions Media Stallone’s iconic role as John monson allegedly told Lacka- let time” edits that take viewers two months of production. 15 N. Main St. Rambo began in 1982 with wanna County detectives that on a ride with each shell Ablockbuster film with the Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 “First Blood” where, if you ask after fleeing from the county through the innards of Burmese proceeds going to the city is one Periodicals postage paid at Scranton, PA the Internet Movie Database, prison on Sept. 28, he would “go infantry soldiers who kidnap financial solution I haven’t Postmaster: Send address changes he portrays a mentally unstable Rambo,” hide in the woods for a Christian aid workers? heard from either the legislative to Times Leader, 15 N. Main St., Vietnam veteran. few days, and head south of the Perhaps not, but I can practi- or executive arms of the city. Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Delivery Sunday 75¢ per week Of the two men apparently border. cally hear the late Don LaFon- Who knows if it could work? Mailed Subscriptions Sunday seeking Sylvester over the last Call me crazy, but the admit- taine narrating the trailer for Of course, I’m joking. $1.00 per week in PA two weeks, one is a bit more ted murderer fits the action he- the film that pulls us all from fi- But only a little. $3.05 per week outside PA Sunday, October 30, 2011 GOLackawanna 3 Administration plan to cut workers, raise taxes likely to stick Council amends, passes federal funding plan NE By RICH HOWELLS [email protected] WS SCRANTON – City Council gave final approval to a $3.2 million sub- mission for 2012 community plan- ning and development programs to be funded under the Community Development Block Grant, Home Investment Partnership, and Emer- gency Solutions Grant programs on Tuesday. Vice President Pat Rogan read a list of council’s agreed amend- ments to the submission, including significant increases to street pav- ing, blight removal, and other im- provement projects while remov- ing funding for arts and entertain- ment programs such as the Scran- ton Jazz Festival and First Night Scranton. Council said these amendments were based on the immediate needs of both the city and its resi- AR dents, who attended a public hear- ing last month to voice their oppo- RICH HOWELLS PHOTO / FOR GO LACKAWANNA sition to a proposed public park on TS IAFF Local 60 Secretary John Judge said unions were told Mayor Chris Doherty would ’absolutely not’ meet to discuss last the site of the former Lincoln-Jack- week’s Supreme Court ruling worth millions of dollars for city police and fire department employees. son Elementary School among oth- er funding allocations. The line item for $350,000 to tear down the empty facility and Unions: Doherty won’t negotiate construct a park that would include playground equipment, a pavilion, and green space was removed com- By CHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES this started. The problem is that this has ness Administrator Ryan McGowan asked pletely from council’s final submis- [email protected] been retracted for so long that the dollar the mayor if he would be willing to nego- sion after residents told council CRANTON – Council and amount has swollen to huge numbers,” tiate incremental payments with the that the park would only foster on- union representatives agreed E.B. Jermyn Lodge No. 2 of the Fraternal unions. going crime issues in the neighbor- Order of Police President and Scranton “We were basically told no,” Judge con- Son one clear message during hood. Detective Sgt. Bob Martin told council. tinued. “We’ve already heard from him. He They also felt that the park Tuesday’s meeting: Mayor Chris Do- “We want to help resolve this. We’re not said, ‘Absolutely not.’” would be neglected as the nearby herty must finally negotiate with the here to bankrupt the city. That’s the last International Association of Fire Fight- Fellows Park and Allen Park alleg- thing we want to do…We didn’t pick this ers Local 60 President and Scranton Fire unions to avoid “catastrophic” con- edly have been for years. fight. Someone else picked this fight.” Lt. Dave Gervasi added that he has heard Council had to allow 30 days to sequences, including major layoffs John Judge IV, secretary of Internation- that Doherty’s plan is to raise taxes up to pass before final passage of the leg- al Association of Fire Fighters Local 60, 100 percent, implement massive public and tax increases following a union islation. concurred, saying that the unions have “al- safety layoffs, and borrow money to pay SPOR One resident who lives directly win regarding arbitration rights. ways extended the olive branch” to city ad- the bill all at once, which he called “unreal- across the street from the former ministration. istic.” Council President Janet Evans school, Michael Passero, invited The 6-1Pennsylvania Supreme Court “When this Supreme Court award came agreed. neighbors and Councilman Jack ruling on Oct. 19 put to rest a decade-long down last week, none of the members that “The mayor has proclaimed, almost im- Loscombe to his home on Acade- battle that delayed millions of dollars in ar- Ispoke to in my local said anything about mediately, a significant tax increase and my Street hours before the final TS bitration awards under the Policemen and the money. They were concerned, primar- significant cuts in public services, and evi- vote to discuss these continuing Firemen Collective Bargaining Act, or Act ily, about what this department is going to dentially, his target once again is the po- problems. 111, stating that the distressed municipal- be like after Mayor Doherty got through lice and fire departments, and I don’t be- ities act, or Act 47, does not supersede Act with it knowing that they lost the court lieve that is the proper way to approach Neighbors talked about increas- 111. The city is already facing an estimated case. In that spirit of cooperation, we want the situation,” Evans said. es in local gang activity and strings $6 million budget deficit this year, among to come to the mayor and work things Councilman Frank Joyce said that the of recent robberies in the formerly other financial issues. out,” Judge explained. administration currently estimates the quiet West Scranton neighbor- “Everybody’s saying it’s a win.