Local News WB

One-day strike looms at Dallas

Wed, 06/13/2018 - 21:00
Dallas School District teachers plan to go on strike Tuesday if the school board doesn’t approve a new union contract proposal at Monday’s meeting. A strike on Tuesday would probably only last one day because of a state requirement that students have 180

Woman accused of plotting to hire hitman to kill ex-husband to undergo evaluation

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
HAZLETON — A Drums woman accused of plotting to hire a hitman to take out her ex-husband will undergo a psychiatric evaluation after her attorney raised concerns about her ability to understand the charges against her. Agnes A. Marsicano, 63, has a “psych

Inmate had history of issuing threats

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
WILKES-BARRE — Mere days before going unresponsive during an altercation with Luzerne County Correctional Officers, Shaheen Mackey posted a video to Facebook saying he had been diagnosed with having “homicidal outbursts.” While sitting in a vehicle in a v

Murder suspect’s attorneys seek records to bolster self-defense claim

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
PITTSTON — As the trial nears for Pittston murder suspect Stephen Spencer, his attorneys are seeking records to bolster a self-defense claim by showing the bar where the shooting took place is a dangerous place. Stephen Jamal Spencer, 31, of Pittston, is

Community leaders honored at EPIC Awards

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
WILKES-BARRE — Kathleen Dunsmuir looked backward and forward during Tuesday’s 2018 EPIC Awards. Dunsmuir, who is this year’s recipient of the ATHENA Award, recalled the men and women who mentored her in her finance career and the mentoring she’s done as s

Historic aircraft lands at airport for event

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
FIFI, a B-29 Superfortress, landed at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Pittston Twp. on Tuesday for a five-day event. The B-29 is part of the Commemorative Air Force, a group touring World War II vintage aircraft. The event is open to the pu

FNCB Bank opens new branch

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
FNCB Bank celebrates the grand opening of its new full-service community office at 1150 Route 315, Plains Twp. with a ribbon cutting at 4 today.The branch is located next to Dunkin Donuts in the Richland 315 Complex. Branches at 27 North River St., Plains

One measure shows overdose rates leveling

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
By one measure in the fight against drug addiction, the tables are turning. Hospital admissions for opioid drug overdoses — that is, from heroin and prescription pain medicine — dropped by 35 percent in Lackawanna County and by 1 percent in Luzerne County

Police: Man was robbed at gunpoint

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
WILKES-BARRE — City police are investigating a gunpoint robbery that was reported late Monday night. Officers responded to the area of South Pennsylvania Avenue and Dana Street shortly before 11:40 p.m. to a report that a 57-year-old man had been robbed.

Gilbert takes aim at blighted properties

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
WILKES-BARRE — A city councilwoman plans to post a photo of a different blighted property every day on Facebook to prod the administration to properly address them. Beth Gilbert says complaints about properties with code and health violations she’s heard

Growing the workforce

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
JENKINS TWP. — Recruiting workers has been a challenge for Valley Distributing & Storage Company, which has locations in Laflin, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. Carol Keup, chief operating officer of the family-owned warehousing, logistics and transportation b

Federal grants aid region’s nonprofits

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
A federal program will send almost $183,000 to eight local organizations to help with their work. The local branch of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program awarded funds to eight Luzerne County nonprofits that expect to serve more than 6,550 people this

Appeals officer: County 911 call logs lack public services info

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
WILKES-BARRE — The way Luzerne County 911 keeps dispatch call logs prevents the public from being able to evaluate the efficiency of local emergency services, an appeals officer for the state Office of Open Records has determined. The county emergency cal

County council mulls options on windfall

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County Council will soon decide what to do with an unexpected windfall. Council members at a Tuesday work session briefly discussed where to place $254,902 the county will receive from an unemployment insurance trust fund in which t

Court notes 6/13/18

Tue, 06/12/2018 - 21:00
PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS n Sheree Pearce-Shane et al. to Shelly A. Ultichney, $76,596; Wilkes-Barre. n Jason T. Zoshak et al. to Scott R. Polly, $103,000; Hemlock Street, Foster Twp. n R&T Real Estate holdings LLC to Brooke E. Morris, $159,900; Pittston. n B

Man charged with drug trafficking

Sun, 06/10/2018 - 21:00
KINGSTON — A traffic stop led to a drug bust at a Kingston home on Saturday, according to police. Investigators seized 136 bags of heroin, 11 grams of raw heroin, 20 grams of cocaine, a handgun, drug-packaging paraphernalia and cash from the West Dorrance

W-B priest remembered for grace, dignity

Sun, 06/10/2018 - 21:00
Monsignor Bernard E. Yarrish, a Catholic priest who was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre and who worked in Rome before he returned home to serve as pastor of St. Boniface Parish, is remembered as a model of grace and dignity. The Rev. Yarrish, 67, died Jun

Death of LCCF inmate probed

Sun, 06/10/2018 - 21:00
WILKES-BARRE — Authorities are investigating the death of a Berwick man who died after being taken from Luzerne County Correctional Facility to a local hospital last week, according to county Manager David Pedri. Shaheen Mackey, 41, was sent to county jai

Wolf: Prescriptions of opioid painkillers are decreasing in state

Sun, 06/10/2018 - 21:00
Opioid painkillers prescriptions are decreasing in Pennsylvania and across the country, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday in a news release. Pennsylvania had the second largest percent change among U.S. states in opioid prescriptions from 2016 to 2017, acc

9 biggest career mistakes college grads make

Sun, 06/10/2018 - 21:00
At the end of the 2017-18 school year, “colleges and universities are expected to award 1.0 million associate degrees; 1.9 million bachelor’s degrees; 790,000 master’s degrees; and 183,000 doctor degrees,” according to the National Center for Education St