News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SUGARLOAF TWP. — Damenti’s Restaurant recently served its first dinners from a new location next to the Candlewood Inn & Suites. The eatery’s reopening comes four years after fire destroyed the original restaurant in Butler Twp. “We were on our hands on k

WILKES-BARRE — King’s College officials plan to begin two or three major construction projects this fall and have asked the city to apply for $6.5 million in state grants to help fund them. Two of the projects would accommodate the expansion of the colleg

WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County Council on Tuesday will vote on a request to transfer $80,000 from the county reserve fund to the public defender’s office, to assist the defense of an accused murderer in a death penalty case. Chief County Defender Steven Gr

Crestwood High School held its commencement exercises Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. For a list of graduates, be sure to check out our annual graduation special section on June 28.

900 Marketplace in Forty Fort hosted an art, craft and vintage market Sunday. The outdoor event featured food trucks, music, vintage and antique items, handmade beauty products, jewelry, paintings and more.

MORTGAGES n Joseph T. Mulvey et al. to PNC Bank, $75,000; Sutherland Drive, Fairview Twp. n ARA Management LLC to Luzerne Bank, $224,800; River Drive, Foster Twp. n Drew E. Fitch et al. to Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, $250,000; Winterberry Drive, Dallas

SCRANTON — Jane Widenor flips through the tattered black book filled with the names of hundreds of First Christian Church parishioners spanning eight decades. The book is bittersweet for the 85-year-old Clarks Summit woman because it is one of the few mem

HANOVER TWP. — For the third straight year, local history buffs and re-enactors refused to let rain ruin the annual Hanover Green Cemetery Heritage Day celebration on Sunday. Sunday’s ceremony honored veterans of World War I, since that war ended 100 year

The state Department of Transportation announced the following upcoming road work projects: Interstate 80 n Patching will take place from Exit 263 Mountain Top to Exit 256 Conyngham from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday. n May 1 to June 30 there

You are never too old to suffer from addiction, especially addiction to opioids. That is the message from treatment specialists and professionals at all levels. The oldest person to die of an overdose in Luzerne County in 2017 was Paul Sorokas, who was 75