racetracks

By Kathy Ruff 

T HE R EGION’ S A W ARD-WINNING S OURCE OF B USINESS N EWS AND I NFORMATION 

$1.50 SEPTEMBER 2003 VOL. 18 NO. 11 

I want to be left alone! 

Inside September 

Pick a peck of 

pumpkins 

Local growers say 

this harvest will be 

one of the best. 

— Page 14 

Wall Street 

West 

How the 

blackout 

of 2003 

may aid 

efforts 

to make 

NEPA 

New 

York 

City’s 

understudy. 

— Page 8 

A special look at 

Luzerne County’s 

other city. 

— Pages 31-35 

Saving grace 

Area gems regain 

their sparkle. 

— Page 42-43 

Identity theft and the deluge of junk mail, telemarketing 

calls and spam contribute to growing 

fears that privacy in today’s wired world has disappeared. 

But is it an issue of privacy or a lack of 

integrity and trust among marketing maestros? 

Marketing professionals continue to seek 

avenues to learn preferences to promote client 

events, sell products and services and maintain 

an image in the public eye.What’s different 

today is the method, madness and volume of 

marketers using technology to reach those markets 

that are increasingly online. 

The sale of e-mail and other customer relationship 

management (CRM) databases has become a 

lucrative business for anyone with the cash, and 

spammers’ works have invaded the everyday lives 

By Jennifer Butler 

What do you get when you cross a racetrack 

and a casino? Some say big bucks, more jobs, 

and greater tax revenue for the state, and have 

coined the term “racino” as the end product. 

According to Ewing Cole Cherry Brott 

(Ewing Cole), a Philadelphia-based architectural, 

engineering, interior design and planning 

firm, one that specializes in the design of 

entertainment facilities, the marriage of the 

of consumers and businesses alike. 

But reputable marketing efforts including direct 

mail pieces and specialized newsletters and e- 

mails are not considered by most to be an invasion 

of privacy. Grocery stores print coupons 

based on purchases made through your preferred 

shopping card.Amazon.com e-mails you by name 

with a book it thinks you might like to buy based 

on your previous purchases. But how much information 

is too much? 

“I am sure there are a lot of people who are 

capturing information and you may not know 

about it,” says Paul Creteau, owner of Business 

Smart LLC, a small consulting firm, Lakeville, 

Wayne County.“I don’t know that we will ever be 

able to limit the facts that many marketers are 

taking.They are always going to grab that type of 

Alone continues on page 49 

Illustration by Kevin O’Neill 

‘DO NOT CALL’ LISTS 

COULD COST NATION 

TWO MILLION JOBS 

Statewide and national Do Not 

Call registries could cripple an 

industry most consumers could live 

without.Who is affected and can 

the industry survive? 

By Patricia O’Brien 

Since the Federal Trade Commission 

launched the National Do Not Call registry 

in June, 30 million telephone subscribers 

have signed on to have their 

phone numbers removed from telemarketers’ 

calling lists.And the number 

grows steadily each day. Industry analysts 

expect 60 million Americans to sign up 

for this free service by the end of 2004. 

With 60 million fewer numbers to call to 

market products and services, the unemployment 

lines could soon be overflowing 

with out-of-work telemarketers. 

“We think this will cost two million 

jobs.There are 6.5 million people working 

in the industry right now. If that 

number is correct, that will put the 

national unemployment rate at 7.7 percent,” 

says Tim Searcy, executive director 

of the American Teleservices 

Association. Jobs are not all that will be 

lost, according to Searcy.The telemarketing 

industry estimates the list could cut 

its business in half, costing up to $50 

billion in sales each year. 

The American Teleservices Association 

sued the Federal Trade Commission in 

January to stop the list and recently 

appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court 

of Appeals in Denver to reject new regulations 

set by the Federal 

Communications Commission. 

The FCC further limited the ability of 

telemarketers in certain industries, 

such as airlines, banks and telephone 

companies, to contact consumers by 

blocking their calls. 

Long before the national Do Not Call 

Do Not Call continues on page 48 

‘Racino’ concept may create ‘destination entertainment’ venues 

two creates new opportunities for the state 

economy and the fading horse racing industry. 

State legislators, desperate for new strategies 

to meet strained budgets, may have found the 

answer in racinos, according to Ewing Cole. 

From the 1930s to 1970s, horse racing was 

extremely popular — a “premiere sporting 

event,” according to Don Dissinger, sports 

and entertainment practice leader and senior 

vice-president at Ewing Cole. 

He estimates that daily attendance at racetracks 

in the heyday of the sport ranged from 

10,000 to 50,000 people. 

The recent movie,“Seabiscuit” illustrates just 

how popular this sport was in the days of 

radio, when only baseball was a match for it 

with sports fans. 

In the 70s, that all changed with the introduction 

of state lotteries. 

“It was easier to go to a lottery outlet than to 

Racinos continues on page 30

2 • NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA BUSINESS JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 2003

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4 • NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA BUSINESS JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 2003 

Points to ponder as we pursue title: ‘Wall Street West’ 

As I prepare my children for their return 

to school, the school district in which we 

live — North Pocono — is contemplating 

building a new high school, in part 

because of a growing student body. 

We are not alone.There are school districts 

in Pike,Wayne and Monroe counties 

that have undergone several expansions 

within the past few years. 

In the Poconos and even into areas of 

Lackawanna County bordering the 

Poconos, it is increasingly common to 

hear a “New York” accent from people 

who say they are “year round” residents. 

The Scranton to New York rail connection 

will be ferrying people effortlessly 

back and forth in the near future. 

Now we hear that our region is being 

marketed as a backup site for New York 

financial firms.The need for a “Wall 

Street in the wings” was revealed after 

September 11; the point was pounded 

home after the great blackout of 2003. 

Their lights went out. Our’s didn’t. 

The “business” side of my brain is elated 

that our area may be enriched and 

enlivened by capitalizing on our proximity 

to New York. 

If we can attract quality jobs and lure 

educated, youthful people to relocate 

DEPARTMENTS 

Banking & Finance . .6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ,11, 12 

Business Roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 

Corporate Lifestyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 

Cover Stories . . . . . . . . . . . .1, 48, 49, 50 

E-Business, Computers & the Internet . . . .17, 18 

Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22, 23 

Focus: Architects and Engineers . . . .42-43 

Focus: Hazleton Renewed . .31,32,33,34,35 

Focus: Northumberland County . . . . . . . . .16 

For the Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 

Healthcare, Oncology Care . . .24,25,26,27 

Management & Leadership . . . . . . . . . .37 

Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 

Personnel File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 

Real Estate & Construction . . . . . . . . . .46 

Regional Business. 13,21,28,30,38,41,47,54 

Small Business Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . .45 

Cartoon by Brad Veley 

here — we all benefit. 

I don’t argue with that logic. I believe 

it is sound logic and I welcome the 

chance for our area to grow. 

However, the illogical part of me 

mourns the loss of some of the things 

that made our area unique. 

I know a stagnant population is bad,bad, 

bad.But there is a certain charm in being 

able to say of a surname,“That’s a Dunmore 

name,or an Old Forge name,or a Peckville 

name,”and be right on the money. 

My husband noted of a new shopping 

center,“It’s pretty, but it looks like it could 

be from anywhere.” 

A new shopping center is almost 

always something to celebrate — it 

means that money and people and jobs 

are there to support it. 

But there is that small nagging regret 

that the old corner store had to die to give 

birth to the spanking new mini mall. 

To add to the illogic of that regret: that 

corner store rarely stocked what you 

needed, and kept hours that made it 

impossible to shop there! 

Nevertheless, it feels like some small connections 

to childhood are being lost.And 

the older one gets, the more precious 

those last few connections become. 

So, with intellectual bliss but a 

heavy heart, I say,“Wall Street 

West? Bring it on.” 

ezygmunt@timesshamrock.com 

ADVERTISER INDEX 

Alice's Wonderland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 

American Environmental Outfitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 

Arc Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 

Blackout Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 

Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 

Borton-Lawson Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 

CAN DO Inc. /Hazleton Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 

Citizens Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 

Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 

Clickdata.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 

Clough Harbour Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 

Colman Sales Co. Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 

Columbia Hudson Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 

Commercial Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 

Community Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 

Cooks Medical Care Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 

Creative Business Interiors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 

Cross Valley Federal Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 

Design/Build Consultants LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 

Eagle Rock Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 

Electric City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 

First Federal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 

First Heritage Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 

First Liberty Bank & Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 

First National Community Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 

G2 Integrated Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 

Hawk Mountain Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 

Hazleton Development Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 

Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 

Hinman, Howard & Kattell LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 

Hutchison Insurance Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 

IMR Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 

S U B S C R I P T I O N 

They said it here 

“I’d say it is probably the most innovative 

idea brought into my business 

since the introduction of computers.” 

— Gino Bartoli, president of A.J. Lupas 

Insurance Agency Inc., on Landmark Bank’s 

new courier service, page nine 

“This year the weather has been fairly 

good for growing, and the (apple) 

crops have been better than they have 

been in past years.” 

— Gary Ritter, owner, Ritter’s Cider Mill, 

Mount Cobb, page 14 

“Businesses need to be aware that 

an increasing number of residential 

customers are choosing broadband 

access. Since broadband service is 

traditionally more expensive than 

dial-up, one could conclude that these 

individuals are also the ones with 

money to spend.” 

— Brian Mengel, director of engineering, 

PenTeleData, Palmerton, page 17 

“To be a good leader . . . you have to 

be able to express yourself spontaneously 

. . . Powell, Rumsfeld and 

Clinton, in particular, are articulate. 

Bush is learning on the job.” 

— William J. Parente, Sr., Ph.D., professor of 

political science at the University of Scranton, in 

a discussion of leadership qualities, page 40 

Isabella Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 

Junior Achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 

K C Larson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 

KBF Print Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 

L. R. Costanzo Co. Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 

Luzerne County Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 

McCormack Mortgage Services Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 

Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 

Mesko Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 

Moyer Aviation Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 

Nextel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 

Northeastern Medical Center & Northeastern Occupational Medicine & 

Rehabilitation Center P.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24, 64 

PenTeleData . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 

PNC Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 

QProQ Engineering Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 

Radiation Medicine Specialists of NEPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 

Rock Creek Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 

Shamrock Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 

St. Luke's Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 

Subway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 

T.E.A.M. Supply Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 

Tech Aviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 

The Altamont Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 

The Citizen's Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 

The Legacy Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 

Trade Eastern Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 

Wachovia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 

Wachovia Wealth Management Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 

Windham Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 

WVIA Public Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 

Wyoming Valley Healthcare Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 

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Vol. 18 No. 10 • September 2003 

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Editor 

Elizabeth Zygmunt — ext. 5415 

Managing Editor 

Christine Fanning — ext. 5409 

Editorial Assistants 

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Contributing Reporters 

John Beauge, Jennifer Butler, 

Robert Curran, Bernard Healey, 

Leigh Ann Jacobson, Mary Ann Krisa, 

Ralph Nardone, Patricia O’Brien, 

Beth W. Orenstein,Andrew Ohrman, 

Marianne Tucker Puhalla, Kathy Ruff 

Director of 

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Advertising Sales & Circulation 

Coordinator 

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Account Executives 

Cathy Dowd — ext. 5421 

Judy S. Gregg — ext. 5425 

Graphic Artists 

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For subscription information log on to 

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NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA BUSINESS JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 2003 • 5 

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The ethics of asking for Medicaid 

By Lynn Evans 

When does it become ethical to “spend 

down”your assets to qualify a loved one for 

Medicaid? Is there ever a “right”set of circumstances 

to do so? Is entitlement to 

these benefits a right of every American? 

Or should your end-of-life care and its attendant 

costs be your responsibility? 

Many financial professionals 

today are facing these and more 

difficult questions when their 

clients or their clients’ children 

come to them for help in making 

Mom or Dad qualify for government 

aid in nursing care costs. 

The dilemma is in the question. 

Is it ethical to do this? 

Suppose the family assets consist 

of a farm, which has been in 

the family for the last two hundred 

years. If the next generation is 

actively farming the land and generating 

a living from the farm, is it right for the 

government to be the auctioneer at the 

death of the elderly farmer who had no 

assets, in an effort to recover the costs 

for his stay in a nursing home? 

If not, then what about the children of 

the corporate executive who expected to 

inherit Dad’s generous stock portfolio 

when he passed on and demanded from 

their attorney that he make Dad eligible 

for Medicaid to preserve their inheritance? 

Do we have a sense of right for the first 

case and disdain for the second? Why? 

What about being responsible for our 

own medical care and its costs? 

Is that concept as irrelevant a moral 

standard as the mortgage-free home? 

Probably so. 

In the last generation, people had multigenerational 

households with the traditional 

wife/mother at home. 

The daily care of all family members fell 

on her shoulders with children doing their 

fair share. The multi-generational family 

rarely exists anymore and care of elderly 

parents is relegated to the occasional visit 

from the progeny who live hours or days 

away.Grandchildren are committed to 

sports, music lessons and private tutoring 

to guarantee great SAT scores. 

Our current societal values dismiss the 

inclusion of care for the elderly as a top 

priority, so we transfer that responsibility 

and cost to the local agencies and the 

federal government. And then we rail 

against the authorities when they deny 

the care for free. 

What’s missing in this equation? 

Maybe the answer is a better long-term 

care program, which gives incentive to the 

American public to pay the premiums for 

care that extends into the home, rather 

than only the traditional Clorox-perfumed, 

heaven’s waiting rooms we call nursing 

homes. Not to put the knock on the nursing 

home industry. They do a heroic job 

with limited funds. Very limited funds. 

And the work is not fun. 

Given that no one among us 

wants to be in these dreadful 

places, it tears at our heartstrings 

to make the decision to 

put Mom or Dad in one and 

wonder why there is no alternative. 

There could be. 

As the Baby Boomer generation 

nears the age where the 

nursing home looms as a distinct 

possibility, their immense 

Evans 

power as a consumer group 

will affect the choices we now have. 

But until that happens, where do we 

draw the line? 

Granted, the needs of the “community 

spouse” (a lovely euphemism for the 

spouse left at home when the other is in 

a nursing home) have to be taken care of 

and being able to preserve some type of 

financial security for that person is paramount. 

So how much is enough? 

Elder care attorneys who specialize in 

this type of planning have some tried and 

true methods to make this happen. And 

still within the guidelines of the federal 

government, but it’s not that much. 

Even though the Feds set the guidelines, 

the state has the ultimate say in what that 

amount is. It currently lands somewhere 

around $90,000 in assets (the house?) and 

only $2,000 in cash. So should that person 

be penalized because his or her 

spouse needs long-term care? 

Is it fair to force poverty on this community 

spouse in order for her husband to 

get the care he needs, which she can’t 

provide? What happens if she then has to 

go into a nursing home, too? 

There are lovely options like gifting to 

children, trusts, inter-spousal transfers, 

immediate annuities, and so forth. 

Although all of them are legitimate 

options, each of them carries great risk of 

coming back to haunt you. The only viable 

option is a long-term care policy, which 

allows for home medical care as well as 

nursing home stays. 

Lynn S. Evans, certified financial planner, is 

president of Northeastern Financial 

Consultants, a Clarks Summit-based firm 

and licensee of financial life planning tools 

and materials.Visit the company on the Web 

at www.nefci.com. or e-mail info@nefci.com. 

PNC Foundation presents gift to Marywood University 

Representatives of PNC 

Bank recently presented 

a check in the amount of 

$20,000 from the PNC 

Foundation to Marywood 

University. The funds represent 

the bank’s final 

payment of a $100,000 

pledge. Seen at the 

check presentation 

were, left to right, Peter 

J. Danchak, president, 

PNC Bank Northeast 

Pennsylvania; Sister 

Mary Reap, I.H.M., 

president, Marywood 

University; and Paul 

Kosiba, PNC Bank, vice 

president, institutional 

investment group. 


Tips for efficient debt collection 

The grim reality for many businesses is 

the eventual need to deal with slow-paying 

or nonpaying customers. In fact, an 

otherwise thriving small business can find 

itself facing financial difficulties when 

fees for services or products are not collected 

on a timely basis.To avoid this situation, 

the Pennsylvania Institute of 

Certified Public Accountants recommends 

that you have a plan in place for collecting 

and monitoring accounts receivable 

and following up on unpaid invoices. 

Start with a clear policy 

Firmly establish your company’s payment 

terms and put them in writing. 

Before you take an order or start a project, 

let clients know when and how you 

expect payment. Be clear about your 

acceptance of such things as personal 

checks and credit cards, and the forms of 

identification required when using these. 

Also, be sure the policy includes deadlines 

for payments, along with penalty clauses 

for large amounts that remain unpaid. 

To avoid having your cash flow disrupted 

by slow or nonpaying customers, consider 

asking for payment up front. 

Depending on the type of business, this 

can be full or partial payment, deposit, or 

retainer.Advance payment not only will 

help your cash flow, but also will secure 

the relationship between your company 

and the customer. 

Check customer’s creditworthiness 

If you sell high-priced items or services 

that will be paid over time, it’s especially 

important to check the customer’s creditworthiness.When 

you provide an item or 

service to be paid at a later date, you are 

extending credit.You need to be sure that 

customers are creditworthy. 

Credit application forms can be purchased 

at most office supply stores, but a 

better idea is to have an attorney draw 

one up. In addition to providing you with 

basic contact information and bank 

account numbers, a good credit application 

gives you permission to order credit 

reports and check trade references. Once 

the prospective customer has completed 

the application, be sure to verify the information 

supplied and call the references to 

check on their payment experiences. 

Invoice promptly 

Billing promptly and accurately is key to 

the timely collection of fees. Don’t wait 

until the end of the month to bill. If there 

is a long lag time between completion of 

the work or shipment of the order and the 

date of the invoice, the message to your 

customer is that it’s OK to be slow. Before 

sending out invoices, take the time to carefully 

check them and be sure the due 

date, description, amount, and terms are 

clearly stated.An error will compromise 

your image and encourage slow payment. 

Another way to ensure prompt payment 

is to follow your customer’s invoicing 

instructions to the letter. Many large companies 

have precise methods for invoicing.Whether 

that means sending the bill 

to one department and a copy to the person 

who requested the service or including 

a special vendor identification number, 

adhering to the rules results in a 

more prompt payment. 

Monitor and follow up on payment due 

There are many accounting software 

packages available that will give you tools 

to monitor your accounts receivable. 

Basically, you need to know who owes 

what and for how long. It is advisable to 

develop a timetable for handling overdue 

bills. Mail a second invoice, with a notation 

or stamp that says “past due” or “second 

notice,” and then follow up with a 

phone call. Send late payment reminders 

early and frequently.Typically, the longer 

a bill goes unpaid, the less likely you are 

to recover the funds. 

Getting outside help 

Sometimes having an attorney send a 

letter to the overdue account is enough 

to hasten payment. If that doesn’t work, 

you may need to resort to small claims 

court or a collection agency. Keep in 

mind that, in most states, small claims 

courts typically cap the amount for which 

you can sue at a few thousand dollars, and 

the process can be time-consuming. If you 

refer overdue accounts to a collection 

agency, be aware that the amount collected 

will be less than what you’re owed. 

This is because the collection agency may 

negotiate down the amount due and take 

a percentage as its fee. 

It can pay to be flexible 

Although it is vital to have specific policies 

in place, from time to time it’s wise 

to be flexible. For example, if a customer 

who has made timely payments in the 

past suddenly experiences financial difficulties, 

consider working out a flexible 

payment plan. Just be sure to collect some 

amount each month until the overdue 

amount is completely paid. CPAs point 

out that while payment in a timely matter 

is important, so is maintaining good relationships 

with long-standing clients. 

This article was provided by the 

Pennsylvania Institute of Certified 

Public Accountants, a professional association 

of more than 19,000 CPAs who 

work in public accounting, industry, 

government, and education.Visit 

www.picpa.org. 

Tobyhanna Army Depot gets new commander 

Col. Tracy L. Ellis (left) accepts the 

Tobyhanna Army Depot flag from 

Maj. Gen. William H. Russ, commanding 

general of the U.S. Army 

Communications-Electronics 

Command. The change of command 

ceremony took place July 31 on the 

front lawn of the Headquarters 

Building. Ellis will serve as depot 

commander for three years. His 

most recent previous assignment 

was as chief of staff, Friendly 

Forces Coordination Cell at the 

U.S. Central Command (forward) in 

Saudi Arabia. 

U.S. Army photo by Charlie Cardimona 

It doesn’t get more 

business-friendly than this! 

Need a home for your growing or relocating small to mid-size 

business? You won’t find a better place than Columbia County’s 

Empire Zone. You’ll enjoy almost tax-free operation for up to ten 

years, as well as special, reduced electric and gas rates. Plus, our 

Empire Zone areas offer abundant, shovel-ready land, or existing 

industrial and commercial buildings. A skilled workforce and ample 

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bonus. For more information, call us today. 

1-518-828-4718 

Columbia County... 

The Heart of TechValley 

Columbia Hudson Partnership, 444 Warren Street, Hudson NY 12534-2415, ccez@mhcable.com 

NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA BUSINESS JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 2003 • 7


Blackout of ’03: added opportunity for ‘Wall Street West?’ 

By Jorge Coronel 

For years, regulators, advisory boards 

and industry organizations have drafted 

recommendations to guide key industries 

on steps to limit exposure from 

natural disasters, terrorism, and other 

business hazards. Many of these recommendations 

have made their way into 

mandates and regulations. 

Triggered by September 11, one of 

these recent initiatives was the 

“Interagency White Paper” undertaken by 

the Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System, Office of the Comptroller 

of the Currency, and Security and 

Exchange Commission. 

Although this paper has a much broader 

scope, one of its calls to action is for 

financial institutions — primarily located 

in New York — to put in place “geographically 

separated” backup sites. 

These backup sites have many requirements 

that do not allow them to share 

infrastructure components: water, power, 

transportation, and communications. 

Until recently, this was not possible due 

to the constraint of synchronous data 

backup technology, limited to 50 miles. 

However, recent advances by EMC in 

symmetrix and SRDF technologies for 

synchronous mirroring of storage subsystems 

have extended the range to 125 

miles — opening the door for northeast 

Pennsylvania to meet the requirements as 

a backup site (see map). 

And not a minute has been wasted. 

Ironically, days before the great blackout, 

area officials led by Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski 

(D-11) met with Security Industry 

Association representatives in New York for 

the purpose of marketing northeast 

Pennsylvania as a viable location for backup 

sites. More information about these efforts 

can be found at www.pennsnortheast.com. 

After the blackout,Chris Haran,CEO of the 

Great Valley Technology Alliance,said that 

the “presentation was well received,and 

now,coupled with last month’s scenario, 

should raise some eyebrows.” 

In addition, the aforementioned infrastructure 

requirements elevate northeast 

Pennsylvania to a prime site due to the 

elimination of many of the other locations 

within the 125-mile radius.The goal 

for recovery of these financial organizations 

is set to be within a couple of 

hours, hence the need for synchronous 

backups and hot-site operations. 

To put this need in perspective, data 

from The Fibre Channel Industry 

Association places the average downtime 

cost for brokerage operations at approximately 

$6.5 million per hour. 

Coupled with additional investments 

underway, northeast Pennsylvania continues 

to set itself apart as a key location for 

business. We should not overlook the 

fact that our awareness and involvement 

in high-tech developments have us at the 

forefront of this and other opportunities. 

To prepare for those oppotunities, 

the August 14 blackout presents 

regional businesses with some timely 

lessons about what can happen when 

an interruption strikes. 

While large business got the press, 

much of the unpublished business impact 

sits close to home — among the small 

and midsized businesses of New York and 

surrounding impacted areas. 

It is guaranteed that 100 percent of 

these were impacted in some way — 

sadly, a significant amount were financially 

impacted.Tragically enough for a small 

New York financial firms had been 

warned after Sept. 11 to have 

backup sites within a 125-mile 

radius. Ironically, days before the 

’03 blackout, area officials, led by 

Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, met with 

Security Industry Association representatives 

in New York for the purpose 

of marketing northeast 

Pennsylvania as a viable location 

for backup sites. In purple are 

areas affected by the blackout. 

Within the circle are those areas 

within 125 miles of New York City. 

number, it may have been the final blow. 

The lesson learned is that planning for a 

business interruption is no longer 

reserved for Goliath enterprises. 

With respect to northeast 

Pennsylvania and its various economic 

development efforts to become “Wall 

Street West,” it is imperative that we 

recognize this very important component 

— planning for interruption — 

that must be adopted as part of our 

business planning. 

Studies show that 50 percent to 70 percent 

of small businesses don’t have plans 

to protect their enterprise.These plans 

don’t have to prepare for Armageddon, 

planning for an interruption is enough. 

Indeed,“disaster recovery planning” has 

now routinely been replaced with the 

more appropriate “business continuity 

practice” in business plans, and rightly so. 

More appropriate levels of considerations 

have been added to make business 

continuity practices more meaningful and 

appropriate for all business. 

A key topic, for example, is protecting 

against downtime caused by computer 

viruses. Business continuity practices 

carry a specific set of practices and 

guidelines for prevention and recovery in 

the event of a virus.This latter point further 

conveys the importance and scope 

of business continuity, in that it emphasizes 

how serious financial harm can be 

caused to an organization by a component 

of the business being interrupted. 

An all-encompassing disaster does not 

have to occur to cause disruption. 

Let’s not forget that we must do as we 

preach, so let’s update those business 

plans with a nice thick business continuity 

section, your insurance company and 

business bankers will love you for it. 

Jorge L. Coronel is chief executive officer/president 

of Infinity Technology Group 

Inc., Clarks Summit. He can be reached at 

(570)586-4850 or on the Web at 

www.itgsystems.com 

A taste of Tuscany and a dash of Manhattan flavor this family’s restaurant 

By Mary Ann Krisa 

When 28-year-old Liza Tambur and her 

30-year-old brother, Robert S.Tamburro, 

decided to partner with their parents, 

Robert L. and Virginia S.Tambur, to open 

Isabella’s, a restaurant located in Pittston, 

food was not their only concern. 

“Our goal was to bring something totally 

new to the area,” co-owner Liza Tambur 

said. “We traveled a lot and went to the 

restaurants that we liked.” 

They visited New York City restaurants 

and, based on their experiences, established 

the concept of Isabella’s — an idea, they say, 

that combines New York City ambience 

with Tuscan Italian-influenced New 

American cuisine. 

Fortunately, their professional backgrounds 

provided a strong foundation 

for the establishment. Tambur, who 

worked at Condé Nast Publication’s 

fashion magazines, Allure and Glamour, 

was able to provide her attention to 

detail as well as her creative flare to the 

design and cuisine of Isabella’s, while 

Tamburro, whose background is in commercial 

real estate development, implemented 

his area of expertise. 

The family says that they had long considered 

opening a restaurant but the time 

had never quite presented itself. They purchased 

the site in the mid-80s and various 

restaurants, Café Nino, Court Side Lounge, 

and Medici, inhabited the site until both 

the family and the space were available. 

“We came together with a concept of the 

restaurant,” Tamburro said. “And the concept 

required a major overhaul of the space. 

We gutted the entire inside of the building.” 

Tamburro’s focus was primarily on the 

spatial side of the business, providing direction 

on what had to be done and when. 

Together, they all agree, the partners complemented 

each other quite well. 

“From the business aspect, I was able to 

bring the management of personnel, 

costs and accounting. My mother and sister 

were the architectural and decorating 

consultants, while I had more of an input 

on the spatial aspects,”Tamburro said. 

“Apart from being brother and sister, 

we’re partners,”Tambur added. “I have a 

lot to learn from him and he has learned 

a lot from our father.” 

Diners can choose from among the traditional, 

like “The Isabella Burger” for $11, 

or something a little less common, such 

as “Hand Cut Spinach Pappardelle” at $18. 

Orders are delivered to white linendressed 

tables via an aproned server 

meticulously dressed in a shirt and tie. 

The interior walls are decorated with 

European-style sconces that cast an 

evening glow on the hardwood floors. 

Patrons may finish the evening while sipping 

a glass of “Bruichladdich Islay,” a 15- 

year-old Scotch at $9, or opt instead for a 

taste of something exotic from the dessert 

menu such as “Citrus Pots de Crème, 

Chantilly and Caramel Oranges” for $5. 

“Our goal is to provide the finest food, 

finest service, and the most unique 

atmosphere. We worry about what we 

can do and how we can make it better,” 

Tamburro said. “From a broader spectrum, 

I think an establishment like this 

makes the area a more appealing, enticing 

place to live.” 

And while the restaurant does indeed 

bring something different to the area, the 

true allure of Isabella’s is the dedication 

of the of the restaurant’s founders to its 

development and continued cultivation. 

“We are a family business,”Tamburro 

said. “And we’re all actively involved.” 

Isabella’s is located at 1140 Route 315, 

Wilkes-Barre. Hours are 5 p.m to 10 p.m., 

during the week, Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. 

to 11 p.m. Lunches are served Monday 

through Friday, 11a.m.to 2 p.m. Call (570) 

270-9292 for reservations.


Small bank uses couriers to wage battle for convenience 

By Marianne Tucker Puhalla 

Check Processing Facts from the American 

Bankers’ Association: 

■ Banks process more than 40 billion checks each 

year. In the first comprehensive study in decades, the 

Federal Reserve reported that 42.9 billion checks, 

valued at $39 trillion, were paid in 2001. 

■ Some institutions process more than a million 

checks per day, traveling through sorting machines 

at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. 

■ Funds on local checks must be made available 

within two business days according to the 

Expedited Funds Availability Act of 1987. Non-local 

checks must be made available within five business 

days. Certain circumstances permit longer 

holds due to the high risk of fraud, such as new 

accounts, deposits over $5,000, repeatedly overdrawn 

accounts and/or emergencies. 

■ The average value per check is $925, according 

to the 2002 Federal Reserve Retail Payments 

Research Project. 

■ Consumers write over half (50.9 percent) of all 

checks, according to a 2002 Federal Reserve study. 

Other categories include: business — 32.3 percent; 

government — 3.5 percent; business or government 

— 1.3 percent; unknown — 12 percent. 

■ Approximately 251 million checks are returned 

or “bounced” each year, according to the Federal 

Reserve. This is 0.6 percent of total check volume. 

The average value per returned check is $701. 

Source: www.aba.com/ 

Landmark Community Bank has introduced 

a first-of-its-kind courier service 

that takes banking services to the business 

customer, saving those who use it 

time and money. 

“Today, more than ever, banking is an 

industry driven by convenience, as clients 

have less time for mundane tasks and must 

focus on their business,” says Daniel R. 

Nulton, Landmark CEO.“Many professionals 

tend to select a bank based on the proximity 

of a branch to their office. Landmark 

takes convenience and service to a new 

level by taking the bank to the client.” 

With only one office located at 2 South 

Main Street, Pittston, one of Nulton’s goals 

for Landmark was to make the two-yearold 

bank competitive with larger banks 

that have branches in every community. 

“There were a lot of clients who wanted 

to do business with Landmark because 

of our local ownership and personal service, 

but our Pittston location was not convenient 

for them. By offering valet banking 

for our business customers, there is 

not a banking chore we can’t handle.We 

pick up deposits, deliver cash and can 

even process a loan request, from application 

to funding, without the client ever 

leaving his or her office,” he says. 

Landmark couriers are bonded and 

insured.The client determines the time 

and number of pick-ups each week. 

Nulton says that not only do businesses 

gain back the time and productivity lost 

every time a staff member had to make a 

trip to the bank, they also avoid the liability 

assumed every time an employee goes 

to the bank on company business. 

“It has made my life as a business owner 

much easier,” says Gino Bartoli, president 

of A.J. Lupas Insurance Agency Inc., 

Plains.“I don’t have enough time in the 

day as it is. If the courier service keeps 

me from having to drive to a bank, stand 

in line on the third of the month or wait 

at the drive-up window, then there’s no 

question that it is a good thing. I’d say it 

is probably the most innovative idea 

brought into my business since the introduction 

of computers.” 

“The courier service is the same concept 

I have applied in the healthcare industry 

for 18 years,”says Paul C.Woelkers, president 

and CEO of Lackawanna Mobile X-ray 

Inc., Dunmore.“We are a mobile x-ray 

company that takes its service to the 

patients, in their homes and to them in 

nursing homes.Although the bank is in 

Pittston, that’s never an issue, because they 

bring the bank to me on a daily basis.” 

“I’m in an industry where time is 

money,” notes John Bartorillo, managing 

partner of Maslow Lumia Bartorillo (MLB) 

Advertising,Wilkes-Barre.“Anything that 

helps me save both is a true innovation.” 

MLB’s banking is handled by bookkeeper 

Anita Petroski who says the courier 

service is simple to use.“I call and tell 

them I have a pick up.They use tamperproof 

envelopes to take the deposits to 

the bank. I get a signed receipt at the time 

of the pick-up.The deposit slip is either 

mailed to me or delivered the next day.” 

Nulton says that since most of the business 

transacted is check-based, the couriers 

carry little cash.“Clients know that a full 

security plan is in place, and once a transaction 

is handed over, it is fully insured.” 

Landmark also carries out personal 

banking for individual business clients. 

Nulton says the courier service area 

reaches from Eynon in Lackawanna 

County to Nanticoke in lower Luzerne. 

Pricing is a function of the customer’s 

total relationship with the bank and 

very few clients pay additionally for 

the service. 

Hinerfeld Realty Company 

- Commercial Division - 

Performance...Not Promises! 

KINGSTON 

NEW LISTING. RETAIL DEVELOPMENT 

SITE OPPORTUNITY. 213’ x 253’, 1.24 

Acre Corner Parcel For Sale. 38,000 SF 

Warehouse-Showroom. Additional 105’ x 

230’ Vacant Parcel included. On busy Pierce 

S treet Corridor at 3rd Ave., with numerous 

retail and medical/dental facilities. Large 

neighborhood backup. Will also rent. 

FOR SALE $1,125,000 

MOOSIC 

PRICE REDUCTION. EXPRESSWAY 

WAREHOUSE. 12,000 Square Feet, preengineered 

steel building. 20’-22’ clear 

height. Two dock & two drive-in doors. 

3,000 SF office. 400 amp power. Located 

between Moosic and Davis Street Exits of 

Interstate Route 81. 

FOR RENT $3.50 / SQ. FT. 

A Landmark Community Bank courier 

picks up a deposit at the Maslow Lumia 

Bartorillo Advertising Agency, Wilkes- 

Barre, Luzerne County, from office manager 

Anita Petroski. Photo by A.J. Zambetti 

Landmark is expanding its physical 

presence as well. 

A second branch is under construction 

along Wyoming Avenue in Forty 

Fort, and is expected to open later 

this year. 

MOOSIC 

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY. 26,000 square 

f eet in Warehouse / Light Industrial Building. 

Divided into five sections. Eight truck dock 

doors. 440 volt electric power. M-2: Heavy 

Manufacturing zoning. Close to Interstate 

Route 81. 


WILKES-BARRE 

RETAIL DEVELOPMENT SITE 

OPPORTUNITY. 3.58 Acre Site at corner of 

Wilkes-Barre Boulevard and Coal Street. 

Take advantage of traffic between Mall and 

Center City. Can also be leased. 

FOR SALE $1,550,000 

KINGSTON 

NEW LISTING. WAREHOUSE. Cross 

Valley Industrial Center. 228,500 Square 

F eet. Heated and sprinklered. Eight dock 

doors. Up to 18’ clear height. 5.64 Acre site. 

Accessible from Cross Valley Expressway 

(Pa. Rt. 309). 

FOR SALE $850,000 

SCRANTON 

BACK ON MARKET. OFFICE/RETAIL. 

Birney Avenue, Minooka. 4,660 square feet 

building. Constructed as bank. 

Later 

expanded and used as car dealership auto 

service and engineering test lab. On U.S. Rt. 

11 close to Davis Street Exit #182 of 

Interstate Route 81. 

FOR SALE $129,000 

SCRANTON 

HANDSOME DOWNTOWN BUILDING. 

12,420 Square Feet commercial building. 

Three stories. Beautiful front. Ready for 

redevelopment. 

Close to University of 

Scranton and Court House Square. 

FOR SALE $125,000 

SCRANTON 

OFFICE. One story, 9,500 square feet office 

building for sale. Constructed in 1980’s for 

national insurance company. 

Plenty of 

parking. Suburban setting next to Abingtons. 

Near Allied Services campus. Morgan 

Highway, Rt 307. 

FOR SALE $775,000 

OLYPHANT 

OFFICE/LABORATORY 4,500 Square Feet 

of nicely finished office space and clean, 

bright laboratory. Mid-Valley Industrial Park 

location. Short distance from Exit #2 of Gov. 

Robert Casey Expressway (U.S. Rt. 6), which 

gives quick and easy access to Interstate 

Routes 81, 84 & 380. 


CLARKS SUMMIT 

OFFICE SPACE. 1,636 square feet six room 

suite of offices. Includes four private offices 

& conference room. Full service lease in 

beautiful “BDA” Building. Suburban office 

campus location. 


FORTY FORT 

EXPRESSWAY INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY. 

114,000 square feet Warehouse / Light 

Industrial Building on 4 acres. At Forty Fort/ 

Kingston Exit (#4) of Cross-Valley 

Expressway (Pa. Rte. 309), near Interstate 

Routes 81 & 476. Fully sprinklered. 70,000 

square feet on 6” and 8” thick 1st Floor. Nine 

(9) truck doors. New Roof. 

FOR SALE $1,250,000. 

600 Lackawanna Avenue 

Scranton, PA 18503 

Phone: 570/207-4100 or 342-8312 

Fax: 342-6815 E-mail:hinerfld@epix.net 

For information on all of our properties, visit our 

website @ www.hinerfeldrealty.com

Public opinion sour on economy, despite positive signs 

Despite signals from the equity markets 

that the worst might be behind us, concerns 

about the economy in general and a 

troubling unemployment situation weigh 

heavily on the minds of Americans. 

Twenty-seven percent of U.S. adults 

mentioned the economy in general as the 

country’s most important problem in 

Gallup Tuesday Briefing’s July 7-9 poll, 

and another 13 percent specifically mentioned 

the unemployment situation. 

A separate question found that 58 

percent of Americans feel that the 

president is not paying enough attention 

to the economy. 

Clearly in the eyes of Americans, as the 


economy emerges tentatively from recession 

it cannot receive too much attention 

from Washington. 

Encouraging Signs 

The ongoing skittishness seems strange 

in some respects: the fog of war has lifted, 

after 13 rate cuts the Fed still maintains 

an accommodative stance, and new 

home sales are booming. 

Furthermore, there is good news from 

corporate America: reported corporate 

earnings have exceeded expectations and 

productivity growth is strong. 

The latest Thomson First Call consensus 

estimates project that second quarter S&P 

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500 earnings will be 8.1 percent higher 

than the year before and 66 percent of 

S&P 500 companies that have reported 

earnings so far have beaten estimates. 

The Unemployment Effect 

So why isn’t the public feeling more 

jubilant about the recovery? 

The most obvious answer continues to 

be the national unemployment rate, 

which climbed from 5.8 percent in 

March to 6.4 percent in June. 

Not only do 13 percent of Americans 

feel that unemployment is the most 

important problem facing the country, 

but 44 percent of Americans also believe 

that unemployment will go up (either “a 

TREASURY MANAGEMENT I LEASING I CREDIT I CAPITAL MARKETS I INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT 

©2003 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. 

lot” or “a little”) in the next six months. 

How does the unemployment rate 

impact overall perceptions of the economy? 

Even in periods of high unemployment, 

the vast majority of workers keep 

their jobs; thus the effect of high unemployment 

on consumer confidence 

comes from consumer skittishness about 

their own job security, and/or consumer 

sympathy pain for friends and family who 

are out of work. 

From data gathered for Gallup Tuesday 

Briefing’s 2003 Personal Finance survey 

in April, it appears that changes in the 

unemployment rate filter through to the 

public.There is high correlation between 

the actual unemployment rate and the 

percentage of Americans saying they 

know someone who has recently been 

laid off or fired. 

When the unemployment rate hit 6.0 

percent in April 2003, 60 percent of 

Americans reported knowing someone 

out of work. 

That was up from 51 percent in 

February 2002, when the unemployment 

rate was 5.6 percent, and from 43 percent 

in August 2001, when unemployment 

was just 4.9 percent. 

Similarly, public perceptions about 

whether it is a good or bad time to find a 

quality job are closely linked to the 

unemployment rate. 

There is also some correlation between 

personal experiences and perceptions of 

unemployment, and one’s rating of the 

U.S. economy. 

Knowing someone who is out of work 

correlates strongly with a negative view 

of the U.S. economy. 

Only 13 percent of those who know 

someone out of work have a positive 

view of the economy, while 59 percent 

have a negative view. 

By contrast, the negative tilt is much 

less pronounced among those who do 

not know someone out of work: 29 

percent of this group is positive, 39 

percent is negative. 

The correlation between unemployment 

and the overall economy is somewhat 

clearer when looking at respondents’ 

general perceptions of the job market.The 

plurality (44 percent) of those 

saying now is a good time to find a quality 

job also have a generally positive view 

of the economy. By contrast, only 11 percent 

of those who say now is a bad time 

to find a quality job have a positive view 

of the economy; 60 percent of this group 

has a negative view. 

Bottom Line 

It seems especially revealing that young 

adults — who largely drove the Internet 

boom of the 1990s — are now particularly 

negative about employment prospects: 

while 16 percent of Americans overall 

believe that unemployment will go up “a 

lot” in the next six months, the percentage 

is 27 percent among 18- to 29-year-olds. 

Economists might point out that seasonal 

fluctuations in unemployment data are 

making statistics difficult to interpret, but 

judging by the resounding pessimism of 

Americans — and young adults in particular 

— there can be little doubt about the 

huge psychological toll. News of improved 

corporate earnings will ring hollow until 

Americans start to see — and feel — 

employment figures catching up.

Nation’s top specialty retailers ranked, Best Buy on top 

In a year tested by a sluggish economy 

and geopolitical concerns, specialty 

retailers were forced to make hard decisions 

to ensure their continued success. 

The specialty stores that can distinguish 

themselves are the ones that are 

prospering, while the remainder are 

looking for sites and strategies in hopes 

of ensuring their continued existence, 

according to the 2003 TSYS Top 100 

Specialty Retailers ranking, released last 

month by STORES, the magazine of the 

National Retail Federation. 

The rankings are based on an annual 

survey and are published in the August 

issue of STORES magazine. 

“As a group, the specialty retail market 

is extremely competitive,” said Rick 

Gallagher, STORES publisher and NRF 

vice president.“Some specialty stores 

are thriving, and others are fighting for 

their lives.” 

Minneapolis-based Best Buy leads the 

list as the nation’s largest specialty 

retailer with 2002 sales of $20.95 billion, 

a 13.2 percent increase over the 

previous year. 

Best Buy has benefited from strong 

sales of digital products, as well as 

a pick-up in sales of laptops and 

computer equipment. 

In addition, Best Buy has broadened its 

furniture collection, particularly in the 

area of home entertainment where 

goods are styled to coordinate with current 

TV models and audio/video systems 

and components. 

Textron cuts staff 

By John Beauge 

Textron Inc. has reduced its salaried 

personnel by 20 percent and laid off 

approximately 15 hourly employees at its 

Williamsport plant. 

The leading manufacturer of piston 

engines for general aviation aircraft was 

forced to make the cuts due to poor economic 

conditions, Daniel Smith, vice 

president of human resources, says. 

About 30 salaried people either lost 

their jobs or accepted a voluntary severance 

package, he says. 

They do not have recall rights like the 

furloughed hourly workers, he says. 

The job cuts, which have reduced the 

Textron work force in Williamsport to 

just below 500, were unrelated to an 

engine recall last year ordered by the 

Federal Aviation Administration after it 

determined a faulty crankshaft caused a 

small plane crash in Michigan, Smith says. 

Textron contended the faulty part with 

its Lycoming engines was manufactured 

by a vendor but it hired 140 temporary 

employees to fix the problem. 

They were let go after the recall project 

was completed. 

Smith also says Textron plans at some 

future point to shift to the plant the 

repair work being done at its facility at 

the Williamsport Regional Airport in 

Montoursville.The airport hangar will 

remain in open, he says. 

Few of the engines that are repaired at 

the airport arrive by air and all are taken 

to the plant for testing before returned 

to the customer, he says. 

Best Buy is the nation’s 

No. 1 specialty retailer. 

Familiar stores like Aeropostale 

and Gymboree round out the 

bottom of the list. 

Gap retained its 

place as the second-largest 

U.S. 

specialty retailer, 

with 2002 sales of 

$14.45 billion, a 4.4 

percent increase 

over 2001. Gap has 

turned itself around after 30 consecutive 

months of disappointing performances. 

By an increased focus on small businesses, 

Staples’ $11.6 billion in sales 

moved the office supplies retailer up 

two notches to the No.3 spot, surpassing 

Office Depot, which was bumped to 

the fourth-highest spot with $11.36 billion 

in sales (from 

No. 3 in 2002). 

Toys R’ Us followed at 

the No. 5 spot with 

$11.3 billion in sales, 

ahead of Circuit City 

(No. 6) and Limited 

Brands (No. 7). 

Rounding out the top 10 specialty 

retailers,AutoZone advanced to the 

eighth position, up four notches 

from its 2002 ranking. 

Barnes & Noble rose to the ninth 

spot, from the eleventh position last 

year. CompUSA, with a $300 million 

decline in sales, dropped from the 

ninth position last year to No. 10. 

“The retailers on this impressive list 

represent the best and brightest innovators 

in an ultra-competitive industry,” 

said Philip Tomlinson, president of TSYS, 

a global payments leader and the largest 

third-party processor of retailer-managed 

accounts in the United States. 

“They have been able to flourish 

despite the current economy and are 

combating the challenges and intense 

competition that characterize retail.” 

For a complete listing of the “Top 100 

Specialty Retailers,” call (202) 626-8189 

or visit www.stores.org. 


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Member FDIC 

Wilkes-Barre’s Innovation Center 

incubator unveils Web site 

Entrepreneurs looking for the right 

place to build their business can find all 

the information they need online at the 

Innovation Center@Wilkes-Barre’s new 

Web site, www.icwb.biz. 

“The Innovation Center’s Web site will 

allow potential clients to learn about 

the various benefits to being in an incubator; 

including entrepreneurial 

resources and upcoming events,” 

explains John L.Augustine, facility director,“They 

can also view the floor plan 

and building layout, as well as get 

answers to their questions about the 

incubator process. And, most importantly,clients 

will be able to download 

applications and guidelines to becoming 

an incubator tenant.” 

More than an office building or a traditional 

business incubator, the Innovation 

Center@Wilkes-Barre is a place designed 

to unite energy, ideas, talent and expertise. 

Located in the historic Woolworth’s 

building on South Main Street in downtown 

Wilkes-Barre, close to colleges and 

universities — the technology incubator 

will provide tenants with convenient 

access to a well-trained workforce, as well 

as research and development resources. 

Designated a KOZ (Keystone 

Opportunity Zone) area, the facility will 

also offer newly renovated Class A space 

and tax incentives to potential tenants — 

with 15,000 square feet of office space 

and 15,000 square feet of small business 

start-up space, along with 30,000 square 

feet of retail space. 

“The idea of placing a state-of-the-art 

Innovation Center in the historic 

Woolworth’s Building at the heart of the 

downtown,”explains Stephen M. Barrouk, 

president and CEO at the Greater Wilkes- 

Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, 

“was to highlight the area’s historic past 

while creating a place to foster entrepreneurship 

and combine that with the creative 

talent, energy and resources of the 

area. We want this facility to be a catalyst 

for growth and a symbol of positive change 

for the downtown and for the region.” 

“The goal of the Innovation Center 

@Wilkes-Barre project, managed by 

the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber as 

part of the Great Valley Technology 

Alliance initiative, is to stimulate the 

local business economy and create 

employment opportunities.” 

“In fact, the incubator is designed to 

provide a fully-equipped, nurturing environment 

for technology-based businesses 

in their first three to five years.” 

“Whether you’re a student just thinking 

about starting their own firm or a professional 

with a business dream, the 

Innovation Center@Wilkes-Barre offers 

start-up companies a chance at success,” 

Barrouk says. 

The Chamber’s Web site, 

www.wilkes-barre.org, provides a 

wealth of information on the community 

and on projects like the 

Innovation Center@Wilkes-Barre. 

Battipaglia to speak at NEPA’s annual dinner 

World famous market strategist, Joseph 

V. Battipaglia, executive vice president 

and chief investment officer for Ryan, 

Beck & Co. LLC, will be the keynote 

speaker for the 39th annual dinner of the 

Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance on 

Thursday, September 11. 

With regard to the September 11 

attacks, Battipaglia will discuss the effects 

of the war on terror from a financial perspective. 

He will focus on the financial 

health of the consumer, business, and 

government. Concerning the economy, 

Battipaglia will share his extensive financial 

knowledge by exploring how the 

U.S. economy is positioned to perform in 

the next 12 months and he will present 

forecasts of interest rates, bonds, and 

equities. He will also be able to elaborate 

on Federal Reserve policy and the value 

of the dollar. 

Featured frequently in national media, 

including CNBC, CNN, Fox News and the 

Nightly Business Report, Battipaglia 

speaks regularly with reporters from The 

New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, 

and other publications where his market 

views are often quoted. 

Battipaglia is the chief investment 

strategist and spokesperson on investment 

policy for Ryan Beck& Co. LLC, a 

subsidiary of Bank Atlantic Bancorp 

(NYSE:BBX). Battipaglia is the former 

chairman of investment policy at Gruntal 

& Co. LLC, where he conducted strategic 

market and economic analysis in support 

of the firm’s retail network and institutional 

presence. Ryan, Beck & Co., 

acquired certain assets and related entities 

from Gruntal 

& Co., in 2002. 

Prior to joining 

Gruntal in 1984, 

he was a financial 

analyst for 

the Exxon 

Corporation and 

worked as a 

securities analyst 

at Elkins & Co., a 

division of 

Prudential Bache. 

Battipaglia 

Battipaglia graduated 

Phi Beta 

Kappa in economics from Boston 

College and earned his MBA at the 

Wharton Graduate School of Business, 

University of Pennsylvania. He is a 

trustee of the Securities Industry 

Institute, which is the Security Industry 

Association’s premier leadership and 

management education program. 

Cost for the event is $50 per person, 

which includes dinner entrée as well as 

hors d’oeuvres during a mini expo of 

NEPA’s programs and services prior to 

the dinner beginning at 4:30 p.m.The 

program will begin with a video presentation 

of NEPA’s clients and an award 

presentation of the first John. J. Luciani 

regionalism award, to be bestowed annually. 

Battipaglia will make his presentation 

following dinner.The event is being held 

at the new Hilton Scranton and Conference 

Center,Adams Avenue, Scranton. For 

more information, visit the NEPA Web site 

at www.nepa-alliance.org/annual dinner 

or call (570) 655-5581. 


Publication examines work, play 

By Howard J. Grossman, AICP 

In a publication issued by the Schuylkill 

Chamber of Commerce as part of the 

Stay Invent the Future program of the 

Pennsylvania Department of Community 

and Economic Development, the job market 

is portrayed for northeastern 

Pennsylvania.The publication of the 17- 

page report demonstrates both the recreational 

and employment opportunities 

and is aptly titled “Work and Play in 

Northeast Pa.” 

County by county, including Carbon, 

Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, 

Schuylkill, and Wayne are defined as 

places we call home, and information is 

presented about places to play with pop 

up quizs shown, fast facts about the 

county and region, and exciting data that 

can be utilized as part of the regional 

marketing strategy that is being 

processed by Penns Northeast and its 

newly expanded activities that were 

announced a few months ago. 

Successful stories are shown about people 

and companies that are part of the region. 

The document outlines the places to 

learn in the region including 22 colleges 

and universities and 11 career schools 

that define the wonderful array of higher 

educational institutions and schools that 

offer a wide ranger and diversity of 

courses that can continue to train 

prospective employees who may wish to 

find work in the region. 

One of the outstanding features of the 

report is the listing of Web sites that can 

be tapped to find electronic information 

at a fingertip.This dimension of data support 

is an important and key link to the 

ability of local and out of town students 

and others to immediately secure the 

database that will assist them in decision 

making regarding the extension of their 

education, or the reasons why northeastern 

Pennsylvania is truly the place to 

work and play. 

Perhaps, however, the most critical portion 

of the report is the information 

about places to live, places to work, and 

the job market survey that are presented 

in the latter section of the document. 

For example, the information shows the 

rental comparisons between northeastern 

Pennsylvania and national statistics. 

The range of rental comparisons between 

the region and national statistics as a 

result of the year 2000 Census shows 

median monthly rental in the Pocono- 

Northeast as being $324 to $682 with the 

City of Pottsville being the lowest and 

Milford in Pike County being the highest. 

These data, however, are quite low 

across the board compared to many 

other larger cities such as San Francisco, 

Arlington,Virginia, San Diego, and New 

York City that range from$705 to $928. 

Crime rates are demonstrated with information 

based on an index that is a 

weighted average of the relative frequency 

of crimes per capita of five types 

including homicide, robbery, rape, aggravated 

assault, and motor vehicle theft. 

The crime indexes within the seven 

counties are all significantly below many 

national cities.The regional index ranges 

from 5 to 114, while the crime rate index 

for larger cities across the nation with 

seven examples shown as being in a 

range from 172 in San Francisco to 469 in 

Washington, D.C. A value of 100 means 

that the city is exactly average.A value of 

200 means that the city has twice the 

crime rate as the average city. Source for 

this data is Homefair.com, February, 2003. 

Salary comparisons are shown with 

equivalent data between national cities 

and those in this region.The data clearly 

demonstrates that earning, for example, 

$40,000 in Washington, D.C. for a standard 

of living is related to a comparable 

standard of living in northeastern 

Pennsylvania of $24,341.25, with similar 

comparisons for other cities nationally 

and the region.Again, the same source is 

used as was the case with crime rates. 

Northeastern Pennsylvania is home to 

major incubators that grow companies 

and provide services to help young firms 

develop.Assistance is available for the 

sharing of conference rooms, kitchen 

space, copiers, and other office equipment.Young 

companies are limited to 

how long they can stay in the incubator 

space.The region is home to the following 

incubators including the Carbondale 

Technology Transfer Center, the East 

Stroudsburg University Business 

Accelerator, the Pottsville/Schuylkill 

Technology Incubator, and the Scranton 

Enterprise Center Business Incubator. 

These examples will be added to with 

one under construction renovation in the 

City of Wilkes-Barre. Incubators go back 

many years, and the ones listed are second 

generation incubators that are the 

newest and best of the types that have 

been previously initiated. 

The Northeast Pa. Job Market Survey is 

summarized in the report.This data is 

based upon a Northeastern Career 

Opportunities project with selected 

employers across the region asked to participate 

in a job market survey. 

They were asked to identify the current 

and future job opportunities available to 

regional graduates and graduates over the 

next three years. Nearly four out of 10 

survey respondents offer college/university 

internships and one out of four provide 

high school/vo-tech co-ops, and one 

out of five offer apprenticeship programs. 

One example of an occupation 

needed in the region is the nursing profession. 

Over the next three years, 703 

registered nurses, 309 practical nurses, 

and 664 certified nurse assistants and 

personal care aides will be needed. 

Employers plan to hire staff over the 

next 12 to 18 months in at least 78 percent 

of the employers surveyed.The 

number of full time employees needed 

over the next 12 months were defined as 

3.5 percent overall with projected 

demand for each county ranging from 1.1 

percent to 7.7 percent. 

Over the next 18 to 36 months due to 

company growth and expansion, employers 

predict in the region that nearly 2 out 

of 3 new employees recruited will be full 

time. Nearly three thousand new employees 

will be needed across the Pocono- 

Northeast’s seven counties. 

This document demonstrates a clear 

message. Despite the recent economic 

downturn, there is growth likely 

to occur in the region based upon 

the employer survey. 

A Web site can be contacted to see 

more information about the results of the 

survey at www.workplaynepa.com. 

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Pumpkin purveyors predict packed patches this fall 


The chilly air of 

the fall will 

soon be upon 

us and businesses who 

earn their keep during 

that memory-making 

season have been preparing 

all summer for their 

impending visitors. 

In northeastern Pennsylvania it has 

become extremely popular — even traditional 

— to make an annual visit to the 

“pumpkin patch.” 

Area farms and orchards have capitalized 

on this love of the season in many 

unique ways, creating a variety of fall 

experiences for their customers, with the 

help of Mother Nature. 

Roba’s Tree Farm and 

Pumpkin Patch 

The Roba family of Dalton anticipates a 

busy season as families turn their attention 

to the activities of autumn. 

John and Sue Roba have been building 

their business since 1985, when they 

began planting “balled and burlapped” 

trees for sale throughout the year on 

their 100-acre Christmas tree farm. 

Since then the farm has seen considerable 

growth and each year a new attraction 

is added to entice families throughout 

the Halloween and Christmas holidays. 

“We were surprised at the growth in the 

Halloween-time business.We try to add 

something new each year and this year it 

is ‘Bunnyville,’” said John Roba. 

“Bunnyville” consists of miniature 

homes built especially for the rabbit population 

at the farm.A new Barrel Train, 

featuring a herd of “Holstein” cows constructed 

by Roba, will be pulled by tractor, 

transporting visitors from the barn to 

the pumpkin patch activities. 

“These attractions have been a real marketing 

tool,” Roba said. In addition to the 

A view of Roba’s corn maze. All photos this 

page except Robin Peregrim by Bob Urban 

Robin Peregrim reports “a 

good apple crop; much better 

than last year’s” at her 

business, Miller’s Orchards, 

in Justus. 

John Roba tends his sheep, part 

of his farm’s petting zoo. At 

right is the zoo’s pot-belly pig. 

hay ride, a staple of the pumpkin patch 

business, Roba’s boasts a petting zoo with 

real reindeer; a children’s playground; and 

a pick-your-own-pumpkin adventure. 

Another attention-grabber is the fourand--half-acre 

corn maze for which the 

family creates a new theme each year. 

This year, the maze’s theme is a 

“Barnyard Yard Adventure at Roba’s.” 

For the more adventuresome, the 

Flashlight Maze Adventure Night will 

allow them to try their hand creeping 

through the maze by moonlight with 

only their flashlight to guide them. 

The “adventure” comes with campfire, 

hot dogs and marshmallows included. 

This attraction, Roba said, has been very 

successful for the business. 

Of course, being dependent on Mother 

Nature never makes the business easy. 

“This year the spring was excessively 

wet but, fortunately, we have a welldrained 

area.We got two-thirds planted on 

schedule and one-third late,” he said.The 

farmer can only hope that there is no early 

frost to kill his 30-acre crop of pumpkins. 

An on-site, full-blown country store also 

offers a bit of the season with homemade 

jams, jellies, pies, and the beautiful wares 

of several local craftspeople. 

In addition to its success as a Christmas 

tree farm, the Roba family has found that 

the addition of their balled and 

burlapped trees to area landscapers has 

been another successful venture. 

As the doors close on the Halloween 

season, those of the Thanksgiving and 

Christmas seasons open for the Robas. 

Miller’s Orchards Farm Market 

The fifth generation of the Miller family 

anticipates a busy season this year and 

reports a good apple crop in the 25 varieties 

offered throughout the season. 

“It is a much better crop than last 

year,” said Robin Peregrim, who with her 

husband,Wally, operate the family business 

in Justus. 

The business owners have gone all out 

in planning the crop mazes that attract 

many visitors each year.The 10 acres 

donated to the mazes include a one-and-a 

half-acre maze for the younger set; a 

themed maze which differs each year; 

and a crop circle sorghum maze indicative 

of the landing of an alien ship in the 

middle of a field. 

Some may want to take aim with the 

farm’s unique apple slingshot or corn 

cannon. Others find delight in the “balloon 

typhoon” of a blown up apple filled 

with balls, or a ride on the cow train 

pulled by the farm’s tractor, to pony rides 

on the weekends. 

The Peregrims also have a bountiful 

orchard business. 

“We have homemade pies, dumplings, 

apple cider, donuts, jams, jellies, honey, 

fudge and applesauce,” said Robin 

Peregrim. Fall ornamentals have also been 

a great seller at the store. 

The 110-acre farm is geared toward families 

and school groups. 

“It’s a family affair,” said Peregrim, who 

is a former school teacher.“We make agriculture 

fun,” she added.“School tours are 

my favorite part and my husband loves to 

talk to the people who visit us.” 

This year’s new addition to the business 

is a greenhouse, which offers a variety of 

plants from which to choose. 

Ritter’s Cider Mill 

From Labor Day to Christmas, chances 

are you will find Gary and Debra Ritter 

very busy at work in their business in 

Mount Cobb. Dairy farmers at heart, the 

couple had joined with Gary’s father and 

mother, Irving and Arlene Ritter, and created 

the orchard and cider business that 

they successfully operate to date. 

“We put a lot of hours in during the 

(fall) season,” said Gary Ritter, and the 

family business, in its 25th season, features 

hay rides,donut-making, a petting 

zoo, a corn maze and homemade apple 

cider from the farm’s press and tasty 

recipes, jams and jellies. 

The farm grows 12 different varieties of 

apples, including Macintosh, Red 

Delicious, Golden Delicious, Empire and 

Northern Spy. 

“It has become a tradition to visit the 

farm during the fall season,” said Ritter, 

and many of the activities on his farm are 

offered to the public free of charge. Many 

visitors find the fascination of the apple 

press worth returning to on a yearly 

basis, young family members in tow. 

Toiling year round to make the most of 

the farm and its offerings, hard work 

goes into the maintenance of equipment 

during the off-season and crop maintenance, 

such as planting and spraying, 

during the summer until 30 days prior to 

the harvest this month. 

“This year the weather has been fairly 

good for growing, and the crops have 

been better than they have been in past 

years.We have been spraying all summer 

to ensure no infestations,” said Ritter. 

The farmer and businessman also has 

another line of work which keeps him 

busy in the off season. He constructs 20- 

bushel apple bins which are sold to 

orchard owners all over the country. 

Bunting’s Dairy Farm 

What began as a small idea has grown 

into a large one on a working dairy farm 

just two miles south of Honesdale. 

Gerald and Marcie Bunting, third generation 

family farmers, say it is a lot of work 

to ready themselves for the many visitors 

they receive between Sept. 20 and Oct. 

26, but they are used to hard work: they 

tend a 120-head herd of dairy cows and 

keep a working farm. 

“It’s the real thing here,” said Marcie 

Bunting, and the couple has used that 

aspect to their advantage.“We give real 

live milking demos and farm tours to our 

patrons,” she added. 

The business also sells pumpkins, 

gourds and cornstalks. 

Two years ago, the farm welcomed visitors 

to their newly-begun “pick-your-own 

pumpkin patch” and it was met with 

great success. 

A “hay tent” also offers a fun time for all 

those who visit it, not to mention the hay 

rides and petting zoo on the farm. 

Another unique aspect is the antique 

tool and farm equipment display.The 

attraction depicts the hard work of farmers 

throughout the year. 

“We enjoy the people and try to keep 

it personal by interacting with them,” 

she noted.“We also try to educate children 

and adults about agriculture and a 

working farm.” 

John Roba 

feeds his 

reindeer.

Scranton Chamber of Commerce seeks 

‘Pride & Progress’ nominees 

Sunbury firm launches 

new product 

Q-Card, a Sunbury-based supplier of 

card testing services and equipment, 

announced the introduction of a new 

product to its extensive line of card 

testing products. 

The Mag3:Read-Only provides all of 

the mag stripe tests and checks needed 

to support any encoding production or 

issuing center. 

As its name implies, the Mag3:Read-Only 

tests only the encoding on the mag stripe, 

making it an economical solution for any 

facility that needs to verify the quality of 

its encoding processes. 

It does not test the quality of the mag 

stripe material itself. 

For that, Q-Card offers the Mag3:Read- 

Write, which has established itself as the 

industry standard for full ISO mag stripe 

card testing. 

The Mag3:Read-Write is the newest generation 

of the original Mag3 Mag Stripe 

Analyzer that been serving card production 

and encoding operations worldwide 

since the early 1980s. 

The Mag3:Read-Only is easy to use and 

maintain. Its open architecture allows it 

to accommodate cards and tickets of any 

size and shape. 

It provides the highest level of 

accuracy and repeatability of any 

product available today. 

The optional MagStat statistical software 

allows users to track quality in real 

time and generate corrective actions and 

quality reports for management, customers 

and suppliers. 

Complete technical specifications are 

available at www.q-card.com. 

The Greater Scranton Chamber of 

Commerce is now accepting nominations 

for the 2003 Pride & Progress awards. 

Since 1975, the chamber has recognized 

Lackawanna County’s public and private 

sector operations for upgrading their 

establishments, improving the appearance 

of their respective neighborhoods, and 

beautifying the region. 

Presentations are made in the following 

categories: 

Exterior Renovations 

Work must pertain to exterior improvements 

only and must express and accentuate 

the original architectural character 

and features of the building. 

Interior Renovations 

Work must pertain to the improvement 

of office, lobby, and/or other general 

areas/floors of a building. 

New Building Construction 

The facility must respond to the surrounding 

character of its respective 

neighborhood. 

Landscape and Site Design 

Plazas, squares, pedestrian malls, fountains, 

and sculptures are eligible, as long 

as the nominated structure is not directly 

related to a building that is under consideration 

in one of the other categories. 

Judging criteria requires that the nominated 

facility must be located within the 

chamber’s service area.The nominated 

facility must also be a commercial or public 

building, receiving its major funding 

from private sources and must have been 

renovated, constructed, or landscaped 

within the last two years.The restoration 

of private residences is ineligible. 

Nominations must be submitted with a 

brief project description and accompanying 

“before and after” color photos. 

The deadline for entries is Friday, 

September 26. Online registration is available 

in the Pride & Progress section of 

the chamber Web site at /www.scrantonchamber.com/news_events/. 

For more 

information contact Christina Fenton, at 

(570) 342-7711, or at cfenton@scrantonchamber.com. 

© 2003 Wachovia Corporation 

Is there an unwritten law that states the more 

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Hawley’s Main Street greets new business 

The Hawley-Lake 

Wallenpaupack 

Chamber of 

Commerce 

recently welcomed 

a new 

business to downtown 

Hawley. 

Bill’s Rubber 

Stamps & Gifts 

is located at 221 

Main Avenue 

Hawley and 

offers a wide 

variety of gifts. 

Seen at the grand 

opening were, left 

to right, Cindy Chumard, Hawley-Lake Wallenpaupack Chamber executive director; Anna 

Smith, store owner; Destiny Cruz; Bob Smith and children Kaitlyn, Bobby and Nicky; and 

Dr. Lorraine Kloss, Hawley-Lake Wallenpaupack Chamber board member. 

W H A T 

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Sunbury struggles 

for revitalization 

City’s ‘Happy Days’ feeling part of its charm 

By Kathy Ruff 

The seat of Northumberland County 

boasts international fame with an ‘electric’ 

history. On July 4, 1883,Thomas Edison 

chose Sunbury as the place to demonstrate 

his experiments when he illuminated 

the first three-wire electric lighting system 

in a commercial building at the former 

City Hotel, now the Edison Hotel. 

Today Northumberland County is known 

best for Knoebels Amusement Resort, the 

largest free-admission amusement park in 

Pennsylvania, which attracted over 1.2 million 

visitors last year. 

“That’s our greatest asset because you 

really have people coming from all over,” 

says Tom Kutza, director for the 

Northumberland County Tourist 

Promotion Agency.“The second biggest 

attraction would be the Pennsylvania State 

Sportsmen’s Association’s ‘Pennsylvania 

State Shoot,’ target shooting.”The annual 

event draws shooting enthusiasts from 

across the country. 

While attractions bring in tourists, economic 

and lifestyle factors continue to 

create an exodus of residents in the rural 

county. Northumberland County realized 

a 6 percent decrease in population over 

the past two decades, falling from 

100,288 in 1980 to 94,556 in 2000 

according to census records. 

“Sunbury is a really old city,” says Jim 

King, executive director of the 

Northumberland Industrial Development 

Authority.“Being an old city, a lot of the 

housing stock is old. So, as people 

become more affluent, they want to buy 

a plot of land and put a house on it. 

They don’t want to live in a city, house 

on top of house.” 

The declining county population stems 

not only from the American dream of a 

house with a white picket fence, but also 

from the erosion of its traditional industries, 

including coal, rail, textiles and manufacturing. 

Ironically, the county’s largest 

single employer, Butter Krust Baking Co., 

is manufacturing. 

Another business anchor since 1912 is 

Weis Markets, a supermarket chain that 

bases its operations from Sunbury.“The 

supermarkets employ lots of people, but 

the fact that we have the corporate 

headquarters is definitely a plus to 

Sunbury,” says King. 

Another backbone employer bucks the 

countrywide trend of declining manufacturing. 

Sunbury Textile Mills, which provides 

specialty decorative jacquard upholstery 

fabrics for decorators and distributors 

throughout the world, employs 260 

people and contributes an annual $9 million 

payroll to the local economy. 

“We’re a little different,” says Henry 

“Hank”Treslow, Sr., chairman of Sunbury 

Textile Mills Inc.“We make to order only 

and we make limited volume.We’re not 

completely protected from these unfair 

imports, but we’re in a different sort of 

business than most of those that have 

Northumberland County is best known for Knoebel’s Amusement Resort at Elysburg. 

Shown above is an aerial view of Knoebel’s “Twister.” 

Keithan’s Blue Bird Gardens, located on a 1.5-acre tract between South Front and 

South Second streets in Sunbury, displays rare species of trees with mountains of brilliantly 

colored azaleas and rhododendrons. 

been affected so far.” 

Treslow credits the company’s success to 

the area’s quality work force and strong 

sense of community.“The demographic is 

changing a little, but I still tell people we 

live in a 1952 Saturday Evening Post 

cover,” he says.“That was the ideal lifestyle 

back in the 50s, sort of the ‘Happy Days’ 

environment. It has changed very little.” 

Evidence of little change is reflected in 

the abundant mix of Sunbury’s architecture, 

where most buildings pre-date 1930 

and include Colonial,Victorian, Queen 

Anne and Art Deco styles. 

“A lot of people that have lived 

here their whole lives, born and 

raised here, don’t seem to realize the 

beauty of the architecture and the 

layout of the city,” says Mark Walberg, 

restoration specialist and owner of 

Walberg Fine Arts and Antiques. 

But the city’s business demographics 

changed as downtown “mom-and-pop” 

businesses succumbed to the lure of the 

Susquehanna Valley Mall in nearby 

Hummels Wharf. 

Retailers continue to struggle while trade 

school educational facilities sprout, offering 

expertise in business, welding, electrical 

wiring and nursing. 

“For this area, since the cost of college 

degrees and college institutions is so high 

now, we’re seeing a trend of trade schools 

coming in,” says Walberg. 

He feels high-tech, Internet-based businesses 

may create the foundation for the 

city’s future growth.“Then you don’t 

depend on people actually in your community 

for your income.” 

Diversity may be the county’s ticket, but 

others focus on redevelopment. 

“The county itself is so diverse that 

there’s actually competing interests 

within it,” says John Shipman, partner 

with Shipman Harpster Anderson, 

Selinsgrove, insurance and financial 

services.“We’re hard at work on a redevelopment 

project to revitalize the 

riverfront with an amphitheater and 

some other interesting features.” 

A city neighborhood rehabilitation project 

to identify and address strengths, 

weaknesses and opportunities promotes 

revitalized neighborhoods. 

“It gets the citizenry involved,” says 

Shipman.“This is an effort to get a bottom-up 

grassroots kind of activism.” 

Community groups hope to reverse the 

economic setbacks which started in the 

1950s when railroads, textiles and manufacturing 

declined.“Recently there has 

been a real push to rebuild the city, to 

revitalize the city,” says Shipman.“Sunbury 

is a city on the rise.” 

Northumberland County Facts 

■ The covered bridge entering Knoebel’s Amusement 

Resort campgrounds was built in 1875 over West Creek 

near Benton, Pa. Lawrence Knoebel bought it at auction 

for $40 in 1936; 

■ The Joseph Priestley House (built in 1794) in 

Northumberland stands as a testament to the 

lifestyle of the famed theologian and scientist who 

discovered oxygen and is considered the founder of 

modern chemistry; and 

■ In the mid 1700s, Fort Augusta was built as a 

military fort to resist Indian attacks. The fort was 

Susquehanna Valley’s strong hold from the days of 

the French and Indian War to the close of the 

American Revolution.

The ‘bang’ of broadband 


By Leigh Ann M. Jacobson 

At last count, there were nearly 122 million home Internet users and, among them, 

there has been an accelerated global broadband consumer adoption rate. 

“Throughout our partnership, broadband — namely high-speed cable modems — has 

outpaced our dial-up sign-ups over the past year by a two-to-one margin,” says Dean 

Hosier, marketing manager, PenTeleData, Palmerton, Carbon County. 

PenTeleData is an Internet, networking, security, consulting and data transport 

provider that serves Pennsylvania and New Jersey with voice, video, data and Internet 

products and services. 

“Two main benefits of broadband for the customer are the constant access to the 

Internet and speed, allowing faster downloads of large files, and immediate access and 

quicker approvals when buying items on sites like E-bay or making stock purchases,” 

explains Hosier. “It’s instant satisfaction.” 

“You can push more content to the user’s PC, offer customers immediate gratification 

on purchases by letting them download large software, audio and video 

files that they purchase online immediately,” agrees Brian Mengel, director of 

engineering, PenTeleData. 

With the increased take up of broadband, a company’s Web site can now utilize 

the power of the moving image with sound — voice and music. Businesses are 

able to enhance a static site and transform it into a dynamic 3-D experience to efficiently 

show, share and communicate their products, services, and expertise to 

their targeted audience. 

“Businesses need to be aware that an increasing number of residential customers 

are choosing broadband access. Since broadband service is traditionally more expensive 

than dial-up, one could conclude that these individuals are also the ones with 

money to spend,” notes Mengel. 

“Finding a way to target broadband users could be the key to taking an advantage in 

online business. Historically, businesses tried to make their sites load as quickly as 

possible by keeping the amount of content down, keeping image sizes smaller. Now 

they can make a bigger impression with more bandwidth-intensive applications, such 

as DVD-quality streaming audio and video, intensive Flash animations, and target 

broadband users,” explains Mengel. 

“Streaming” video allows the user to begin viewing the video in seconds by delivering 

the data in small packets which are buffered and then discarded after viewing is 

complete. Streaming video also ensures that the video will continue to play regardless 

Marketing opportunities on the Internet for companies are enhanced by broadband 

service because constant access and speed allows “instant gratification” for customers, 

says a regional marketing manager. Graphic designed by PenTeleData. 

of network congestion and bottlenecks. 

Cost effectively, a Web site can become a company’s “TV station,” hosting their own 

programs, made with modern digital video. For example, a housing developer can 

Broadband continues on next page

Broadband 

Continued from previous page 

show its available properties mixed with 

soft images, such as flowers, detail, fabrics, 

furnishings, appliances and so forth, 

to entice purchasers through the door to 

visit and return to the Web video later to 

refresh their memories. 

With the bang of broadband, according 

to Hosier, it is still uncertain as to 

whether video is selling products locally. 

“This (online video selling products) is 

still to be seen or proven locally,” 

observes Hosier. “Recently, presidential 

candidate Howard Dean proved the 

value of good marketing with a good 

Web site. In two important ways, Dean’s 

Web site allowed people to hear about 

his campaign by watching a video and 

the ability to download speeches and 

material in a variety of formats.” 

As for the costs of broadband and its 

associated advantages, like offering video 

on your Web site, Mengel explains,“The 

two biggest costs are development and 

bandwidth. Developing high quality 

audio and video for download is much 

more costly than editing a few images 

and tossing them up on a Web site. 

Bandwidth is also a large concern.” 

Web hosting companies put a monthly 

cap on the amount of data that can be 

downloaded from a hosted site. 

“For example, if you offer a 10 megabyte 

video file for download, and have a one 

gigabyte monthly limit on downloads, 

that file can only be accessed 100 times 

before you’ve reached your limit,” 

explains Mengel. 

“Hosting companies will charge Web 

site owners for transfers above their 

monthly allotment. With some sites taking 

hundreds of thousands of hits a day, 

the amount of bandwidth needed to 

cater to broadband customers can be 

staggering and costly,” he cautions. 

Managing broadband is also another 

concern for businesses. Companies 

need to learn about digital rights management, 

billing systems, ad insertion, 

player licenses and storage space, not 

to mention network latency and bandwidth 

management. 

“In the current economy, I believe 

cost-cutting is outweighing the benefits 

associated with a professional 

Web site with all the bells and whistles,” 

says Hosier. 

“Businesses would, of course, do well 

to keep in mind that dial-up is still very 

prevalent, and won’t be going away anytime 

soon,” Mengel says. 

Other local ISPs also offer broadband 

services to residential and business 

accounts. For example,Adelphia offers 

Business Solutions Dedicated Internet 

Services and Epix offers high speed 

access via Jack Flash DSL. 

Total US Broadband Users in Millions 

45.00 

40.00 

35.00 

30.00 

25.00 

20.00 

15.00 

10.00 

5.00 

0.00 

Dec-99 

Jan-00 

Feb-00 

Mar-00 

Apr-00 

May-00 

Jun-00 

Jul-00 

Aug-00 

Sep-00 

Oct-00 

Nov-00 

Dec-00 

Jan-01 

By Andrew Ohrman 

Broadband Trend 

Broadband Usage Trend 

Instant messaging becoming more 

appealing among business people 

Feb-01 

Mar-01 

Apr-01 

May-01 

Jun-01 

Jul-01 

Aug-01 

Sep-01 

Oct-01 

Nov-01 

Dec-01 

Jan-02 

Feb-02 

Mar-02 

Apr-02 

May-02 

Jun-02 

Jul-02 

Aug-02 

Sep-02 

Oct-02 

Nov-02 

Dec-02 

Jan-03 

Feb-03 

Mar-03 

Apr-03 

May-03 

Jun-03 

Jul-03 

Month 

Total U.S. Broadband Users (in Millions) 

KEY ISP 

FEATURES FOR 

SMALL BUSINESS 

(One to 100 workers) 

■ Always-on unlimited broadband service 

(ADSL, SDSL, T1) at 1.5Mbps or faster. 

■ Support for Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, 

and other corporate e-mail programs; instant 

messaging. 

■ Multiple static IP addresses for Web and e- 

mail servers and for supporting VPNs. 

■ Multiple e-mailboxes, domain name registration 

and hosting, Web hosting. 

■ Security services: antispam, antivirus, firewall 

protection (at workstation or server level). 

■ E-commerce services: Web site design and 

hosting (self-build and custom), shopping carts, 

catalogs, real-time credit card processing, SSL 

security, support for FrontPage extensions and 

Microsoft Access. 

■ Network integration services; onsite hardware 

and software installation, configuration, and 

management (servers, routers, firewall); connecting 

multiple offices and remote users. 

■ 24/7 tech support; onsite service. 

Source: CNET Editors’ ISP Buying Guide, August 18, 

2003, www.cnet.com 

Most free instant messaging software provides little or no 

security from outside eavesdropping by Internet hackers, and it 

lacks efficient, network-wide archiving features. This is why feebased 

proprietary instant messaging software is better suited 

for businesses, says Chuck Lundquist of MWISP.NET (www. 

mwisp.net), located in Carbondale. 

Just when business adapts to one form 

of computer technology such as e-mail, a 

relatively new, specialized form of social 

software known as “instant messaging” 

(IM) challenges the way business is done. 

Instant messaging first gained notoriety 

as a special feature of America Online, 

used by teenagers as a fun, convenient 

way to text chat with each other. 

Despite security and archival concerns, 

instant messaging is sneaking into the 

work place as a communication tool used 

by adults. The type of instant messaging 

software that corporations permit on 

their PCs can be a great productivity 

booster, or a way for employees to waste 

time and potentially risk exposure of sensitive 

information to eavesdropping hackers 

on the Internet. 

What is so appealing about this popular 

teenage software that has it infiltrating 

finance, medicine, government, and even 

the aerospace fields? 

Several things, according to Rich Rippon 

of NetVoice Services (www.nvds.com), 

located in Clarks Summit, make instant 

messaging appealing among professionals: 

■ First, instant messaging is a lot easier 

and literally “instant,” without any delays 

like regular e-mail. 

■ Second, instant messaging software 

displays a list of users currently available 

to chat.Try doing that with a busy telephone, 

or hiking throughout the company 

building looking in offices for coworkers 

available to talk. 

■ Third, group-style chat meetings 

are possible any time, anywhere with 

the ability to send files and even utilize 

voice and video. 

On the flip side, instant messaging can be 

a significant hindrance and security risk for 

businesses, when employees do their own 

unauthorized installations of free instant 

messaging software on their company’s PCs 

without the company’s knowledge. 

Productivity can be affected when an 

employee spends excessive amounts of 

time chatting with friends and family on 

the Internet. 

Another black mark against most free 

instant messaging software is that it 

provides little or no security from outside 

eavesdropping by Internet hackers, 

and it lacks efficient, network-wide 

archiving features. 

Chuck Lundquist of MWISP.NET (www. 

mwisp.net), located in located in Carbondale, 

points out that this is exactly why 

fee-based proprietary instant messaging 

software is better suited for businesses. 

Software packages like Ariolic Software’s 

NTPager or Sonork’s Enterprise 

Instant Messenger are proprietary instant 

messaging solutions that provide robust 

security, and easily implemented and scalable 

network-wide archiving. 

Most importantly, these packages can 

limit users text chatting to coworkers 

and colleagues within the company 

network, thereby focusing the attention 

of employees on work instead of 

family and friends. 

Government and corporate policies 

often mandate storage of many kinds of 

correspondence, including IMs and any 

accompanying legal disclaimers. 

Even if a company purchases secure, 

easily archivable proprietary IM software, 

issues of space requirements on network 

servers and the additional network 

administrative duties for satisfying these 

government and corporate regulations 

raise additional questions. 

However, Lundquist confidently states, 

“In general, legal disclaimers can be easily 

and automatically tacked onto any relevant 

e-mail or instant message. Archival 

space for referencing e-mail and instant 

messages is really no longer a concern. 

Since IMs and any included disclaimers 

are just plain text and don’t have bulky 

attachments, physical space for such correspondence 

are minimal.” 

For example, almost 300 IMs could fit 

on a single 3 1/2 inch floppy diskette; 

and a single 20 GB (gigabyte) hard drive 

of an average PC or Mac could easily hold 

millions of IMs (based on a 5K (kilobyte) 

file size for one IM). 

The real challenge for network administrators, 

according to Lundquist is coordinating 

and planning archival routines during 

the initial “spin-up” phase of a company’s 

evaluation and/or adoption of a particular 

instant messaging software package. 

Once archival and disclaimer add routines 

are developed and in place, an administrator’s 

work is considerably automated. 

The hard fact is that instant messaging 

is here to stay, so business needs to 

address and adapt to the proliferation of 

instant messaging on its own networks, 

because, like a double-sided sword, IM 

can either increase productivity by making 

communication among colleagues 

and coworkers considerably more efficient; 

or it can subvert your business by 

giving your employees a tool for unknowingly 

leaking sensitive information while 

they waste time kibitzing with family and 

friends from their “buddy” lists. 




THE MONTH IN BUSINESS 

Local 

About 4,000 area college students currently 

receiving $9 million in annual financial aid face 

possible cuts when a new federal plan takes effect 

next year. Congressional Research Service, the 

research division of Congress, reported the government's 

tax table revision used to determine eligibility 

for the Federal Pell Grant will reduce the program’s 

funding by $270 million beginning in 2004- 

2005. The U.S. Department of Education estimates 

about 84,000 students will no longer qualify 

for aid because their expected family contribution, 

or EFC, will exceed the maximum amount. The 

change will cut financial aid for more than a million 

students, national financial aid experts say. Pell 

Grants are federal need-based financial aid awards 

that do not need to be repaid. At a maximum of 

$4,050, they are available to eligible full- and parttime 

undergraduates and are based on a set multifactor 

formula, including family's ability to pay and 

cost of attendance. Pell Grants are designed for 

the “neediest of the needy” college students, said 

William Burke, financial aid director at the 

University of Scranton, where 738 students 

received $1,775,998 in grants last year. He said 

colleges and universities have not yet determined 

the specific effects on their schools when the 

change occurs next year, but the formula used to 

determine Pell and other federal college funding is 

also the basis for the state and institutional financial 

aid awards programs."Pell is the foundation 

upon which all need-based programs are built," he 

said. "It can have a real domino effect." An example, 

he said, is that since schools "need to 

address those needy students," some money from 

need-based funds will go to students no longer eligible 

for government funding. This could potentially 

reduce the total amount available for those of 

slightly higher income, but for whom college costs 

are still a burden on the family savings. He said 

the Pennsylvania state grant program bases its 

financial aid disbursement process on the Pell 

Grant award and other federal aid information. But 

because states have limited budgets, they can 

rarely increase student financial aid enough to 

bridge the gap left by a federal funding decrease, 

Burke said. "Hopefully, since it is supposed to 

affect those with the highest EFC, who are receiving 

the least amount currently, those with the lowest 

EFC who are receiving the largest awards 

should still be eligible," said Peggy Charnick, financial 

aid director at College Misericordia, where 504 

students received more than $1 million last year. 

Individual institutions typically use the federal and 

state awards to determine need-based scholarships, 

loans and other forms of aid. But Charnick 

said schools face problems similar to governments. 

"We'll try to help, but we can't match that 

money dollar for dollar," she said. Charnick said 

the federal education department is responsible for 

shifting the tax tables to determine aid eligibility 

based on state and local taxes. But the tables 

have not been updated for three years, she said, 

creating more changes than previous adjustments. 

About 4.86 million students nationwide are estimated 

to receive a Pell award in 2003, said Jane 

Glickman, spokeswoman for the federal education 

department, up from 4.81 million in 2002. The 

state education department did not have figures 

for Pennsylvania. As more "needy" students continue 

to apply for grants, though, officials expect 

more Pell Grants to be awarded. “The important 

thing is that the money in the program is going up. 

The number of recipients is going up,” Glickman 

said. “More people will qualify because more people 

are going to school and more people are 

needy.” The congressional report estimated 

300,000 additional people will qualify for Pell 

Grants because of the tax shift, offsetting the 

84,000 current recipients expected to lose their 

eligibility. Across the Pennsylvania State University 

system, 15,361 students received nearly $35.5 

million in Pell funding in 2001-2002, said Anna 

Griswold, assistant vice provost for enrollment 

management and student aid. She said a preliminary 

report showed that number increased to 

16,417 in 2002-2003, but a dollar amount was 

unavailable. She said 2001-2002 figures show the 

505 Pell recipients at the Worthington Scranton 

campus received $1,052,813, and the 214 at 

Wilkes-Barre received $493,951. At Keystone 

College, 686 students received Pell Grants last 

year, totaling $1,457,511. At Marywood University, 

517 students will receive $1,390,947 this year. 

“The biggest burden...is on the family to find alternate 

resources -- outside scholarships, other agencies, 

higher loan borrowing,” said Keystone College 

financial aid director Ginger Kline. 

- Sapna Kollali, The Tribune 

The Old Forge School District superintendent 

told parents the district continues to implement 

programs to improve education. Gene Camoni, 

Ed.D., told parents who attended last month’s 

school board meeting that new programs range 

from more training for teachers to targeting students 

who need remedial help. Parents addressed 

the board at its first meeting since the “Grading 

Our Schools” report was published in the June 29 

editions of The Sunday Times and The Sunday 

Voice. The analyses of each district included a look 

at the district's standardized test scores, school 

environment, academic programs, extracurricular 

activities and other factors in assessing student 

achievement and success. Old Forge received an 

“F” grade, having failed all seven analyses. Camoni 

said Old Forge wasn't prepared for the Pennsylvania 

System of School Assessment, nor the federal 

No Child Left Behind standards signed into law 

Jan. 2, 2002. 

Local officials applauded when a discount retailer 

announced two years ago it planned to open a distribution 

center. But in the two months since the 

T.J. Maxx facility opened in the Grimes Industrial 

Park in Pittston Township, excitement has turned to 

frustration. And now all three supervisors — 

Chairman John Paglianite, Joseph Adams and 

Anthony Attardo — say they will protest by skipping 

the company’s ribbon cutting Aug. 27. TJX 

Companies Inc. offered 1,200 new jobs — 500 

have been filled so far — and was awarded with a 

tax-free Keystone Opportunity Zone. The supervisors 

said the company led them to believe the jobs 

would pay at least $8 to $10 an hour to start, with 

increases every six months. But the company only 

pays $6.50 per hour. And the local officials say the 

company has snubbed local residents for jobs. 

Fewer workers living in the township means 

Pittston will not see earned income tax revenue. 

Nor will the township see property tax revenue 

from the company for the next decade — a KOZ 

benefit. "We gave them all the help they needed, a 

KOZ, we helped them A to Z,” Attardo said. “I had 

people approach me and ask, ‘Can you get me an 

application?’ or ‘Can you give me a referral?’ For 

every one of our referrals, there was a deaf ear 

turned.” Attardo said he knew of a lot of township 

residents who are out of work and could use a job. 

He said company officials told the supervisors the 

jobs would pay $8 to $10 an hour and would be 

upgraded periodically, the supervisor said. “(Jobs 

at $10 an hour) are not great-paying jobs, but it 

could help support a family.” Adams said he understood 

pay was supposed to start at $11 an hour. 

“That was the statement that was made in the 

beginning,” he said. TJX spokeswoman Laura 

McDowell of the corporation's Framingham, Mass., 

headquarters, said the company does not publicly 

discuss specific compensation. “Salaries vary from 

associate to associate,” McDowell said, and 

“$6.50 is one of the starting salaries.” McDowell 

said most of the employees working at the distribution 

center are from the Pittston, Scranton and 

Wilkes-Barre areas. According to company figures, 

the center, which serves over 720 T.J. Maxx stores 

throughout the United States, currently employs 

521 full- and part-time employees. That number will 

increase to 750 by the end of the year. McDowell 

said the center would employ 1,200 within three 

years. Attardo said even the company executives 

who moved to the area to run the distribution center 

did not move to the township. “There's no or little 

earned income tax,” Attardo said. “We got nothing 

out of it. Our taxpayers are paying for police 

and fire protection for them. We never got consideration.” 

Nearly 100 trucks will travel to and from the 

distribution center each day. The company wants 

the township to take over the road leading to the 

distribution center, but the supervisors don't want 

it. Mr. Adams said the township already has 

enough roads to maintain. “They're going to plow it 

themselves and clear it,” Attardo said. “How much 

do they expect from taxpayers?” T.J. Maxx, the 

nation's largest off-price retailer, operates more 

than 660 stores in 47 states, including one on 

Commerce Boulevard in Dickson City and another 

in the Arena Hub Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township. 

There are 59 stores in Pennsylvania. 

- Joe Sylvester, The Scranton Times 

The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical 

Center in Plains Township is spared from closing 

or other major changes in a draft version of a federal 

report that reviewed the VA health care system. 

“For our facility, there's no immediate 

impact,” hospital spokesman Vince Riccardo said. 

“That's the preliminary report, and they will take 

testimony and come up with a final report,” said 

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, who organized veterans 

to promote the local hospital at hearings. "I 

think we're in good shape." The local hospital 

expanded its services last month when a veterans 

clinic opened in Bangor in Northampton County, 

Riccardo said. The department issued the draft 

National CARES Plan last month. CARES stands for 

Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services. 

That's what the VA calls its effort to take an inventory 

of all its facilities. Nationwide, the report recommends 

48 new community clinics, two new hospitals 

and the expansion of many other facilities. A 

July 1999 General Accounting Office study found 

the VA was spending $1 million a day on unneeded 

or unused facilities, according to a VA news 

release. “The result of CARES will be more health 

care for more veterans, closer to where they live.” 

The National CARES Commission will hold hearings 

across the county to hear comment on the draft 

report. The nearest hearing to Northeastern 

Pennsylvania is Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. at the VA 

Medical Center in Coatesville, a Philadelphia suburb. 

The local VA, which has an annual budget of 

$130 million, has 89 hospital beds and 105 nursing 

home beds. 

- Borys Krawczeniuk, The Scranton Times 

National energy distributor Southern Union Co. 

cited Scranton’s economic resurgence as the main 

reason for its decision to move its headquarters 

from Wilkes-Barre to Lackawanna Avenue. The 

company announced last month it will spend $8 

million to $10 million to build its corporate headquarters 

downtown and provide up to 100 high-paying 

jobs. As part of the construction, Southern 

Union will knock down the former WYOU building at 

415 Lackawanna Ave. and the neighboring Gallucci 

Music Studios/Steamtown Trading Post building, 

both of which the company purchased last week — 

and build a 40,000-square-foot facility. Reasons for 

relocating to Scranton included location, quality of 

life, cost, KOZ tax benefits, access to downtown 

amenities, and the company's ability to construct 

its own facility to suit its needs. The company was 

ranked 61 in Fortune magazine's “100 Fastest 

Growing Companies” list in 2002. The building will 

house Southern Union’s executive offices and 

most major corporate functions including accounting, 

treasury, tax, investor relations, human 

resources corporate communications, information 

technology, purchasing, fleet management and 

legal. The company will move approximately 30 corporate 

employees from its Wilkes-Barre offices and 

expects to add another 50 to 75 positions by the 

time the Scranton office opens. Southern Union is 

the parent company of PG Energy. 

Mayor Chris Doherty signed off on a historic 

$72.3 million bond issue — the city's largest and 

first-ever with a bond rating — that will revitalize 

Nay Aug Park, build new police and public works 

headquarters, and refinance old debt. “It's an infusion 

of cash into the city . . . without increasing 

our costs,” Doherty said. He signed his name 

about 100 times to complete the closing, making 

the bond money immediately available. Included in 

the lump sum is $12 million in new borrowing, set 

aside for capital improvements, $1 million for Nay 

Aug Park — including observation decks along the 

Davis Trail — and $1 million for other city parks. 

Another $13 million was put into the workers' compensation 

self-insurance account, $10 million went 

to pension funds and $7 million helped pay off a 4- 

year-old pension management advance from 

Provident Mutual. The bonds were sold on the open 

market about a month ago, Doherty said. 

Fluctuations in the bond market have already 

earned the city about $1.5 million, which it will use 

to pay off debt service, he said. “Before, we were 

at junk bond status, but by refinancing at Triple-A 

status, we were able to bring a lot of money into 

the city,” Doherty said. He said construction of the 

DPW building, at a cost of about $3 million, will 

begin in late September or early October. The new 

police headquarters, which costs $2.5 million to 

$3 million, is currently in the design phase and 

there is not yet a proposed location. About 200 

streets are scheduled for paving, which is also 

included in the capital improvements money, and 

will go out to bid shortly. Doherty said the bond 

money must be used within three years for the purposes 

specified when it was issued. 

- Sapna Kollali, The Scranton Times 

Col. Patricia E. McQuistion surrendered her job 

as commander of the Tobyhanna Army Depot to 

Col. Tracy L. Ellis for her next assignment as executive 

officer for the deputy commanding general of 

the U.S. Army Materiel Command. Ellis’ most 

recent assignment was in Saudi Arabia as chief of 

staff of the Friendly Forces Coordination Cell of the 

U.S. Central Command (Forward). Both officers say 

the region's largest employer is a good bet to survive 

the next round of military base closings in 

2005 because it maintains electronics systems for 

all the military's branches. They emphasized 

Tobyhanna's role in maintaining equipment used by 

troops in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “We're 

in a very strong position," McQuistion, 45, the 

depot's commander since July 2001, said after a 

formal morning change of command ceremony during 

which she fought back tears while thanking 

many who aided her tenure. “We think this depot's 

going to be around for many, many years to come. 

... It's all based on military value and Tobyhanna 

certainly has great military value.” Ellis, 44, 

Tobyhanna's 27th commander, called the 3,400- 

employee depot “a world-class organization” and 

said it's the best in the Defense Department. He 

emphasized the depot’s key advantage over private 

contractors: the ability to gear up for jobs without 

the delay of seeking private bids. “If you look at 

the effort of depot employees in support of the 

war effort right now, it just validates the importance 

of having depots, having that responsive, 

ready capability that can go at a moment's notice,” 

Ellis said. He isn't looking forward to the battle 

necessary to keep the depot open when the next 

Base Closure and Realignment Commission convenes, 

but said Tobyhanna will put its “best foot forward.” 

He's aware of the depot's $480.6 million 

annual economic impact on the region, including an 

estimated $171.6 million in salaries. "I understand 

that and I think that as long as we can show we're a 

world-class organization that's providing the type of 

support that our nation needs, that the depot is relatively 

safe," he said. "There is not another depot out 

there that can replicate the type of missions that 

we're doing, the types of programs we're supporting 

for our war fighters." Some of the programs were 

undertaken under McQuistion, who led the depot 

after Sept. 11, 2001. The programs include socalled 

lean initiatives to make depot processes 

more efficient and developing the Blue Force 

Tracking System that helped troops avoid friendly fire 

casualties. Born into an Army family, Col. McQuistion 

spent her earlier years at various bases in the 

United States and Europe. Col. Ellis was born at the 

Itazuke Air Force Base in Fukoka, Japan. 

DigitalGlobe has chosen Wilkes-Barre as the location 

for its next satellite image receiving station. 

Rep. Paul Kanjorski said, “We envision that the location 

of a resource like the DigitalGlobe ground station, 

and the data it provides, will create more 

opportunities for businesses to locate in the area 

and create new jobs. In addition, the data will assist 

government and the business community in planning 

future economic development projects.” DigitalGlobe 

is an earth imagery and information company based 

in Longmont, Colo. 

State 

Philadelphia-based Pep Boys closed 33 stores 

and laid off 860 employees last month in a 

restructuring the company said will save $11 million 

a year. About 700 store employees lost their 

jobs because of the 33 closings— about 5 percent 

of Pep Boys’ 629 stores. The company will close 

stores in 13 states, including 11 in California, five 

in Texas, four in Florida and three in Pennsylvania. 

Another 160 corporate employees were laid off to 

streamline the management structure, the company 

said. The restructuring is the first major 

announcement under chief executive Lawrence 

Stevenson, who was appointed in May. Stevenson 

said the low-traffic stores being closed either had 

misjudged the market to begin with or saw their 

customer base move away. Pep Boys once 

employed more than 28,000 but now employs 

about 22,000. “Nobody enjoys doing what we're 

going to be doing today, and clearly not the employees 

involved, but it's necessary for us to go the 

next step and return to profitability and growth,” 

Stevenson said. Peter Land, a Pep Boys 

spokesman, said up to 25 percent of the laid-off 

employees could be rehired at nearby stores. The 

news sent shares of Pep Boys up 96 cents, or 6.6 

percent, to close at $15.51 on the New York Stock 

Exchange. In 2000, Pep Boys closed 38 stores and 

laid off 1,500. 

- Associated Press 

U.S. Steel Corp. reported a net loss for the second 

quarter and blamed increases in the cost of 

pensions and natural gas as well as higher spending 

on planned outages. The nation's largest integrated 

steelmaker reported a loss of $49 million, 

or 51 cents per share, in the April-June period compared 

with profits of $27 million, or 28 cents per 

share, a year earlier. The results include a one-time 

charge of $52 million, or 50 cents per share, from 

the June sale of U.S. Steel's coal mining business 

and health care benefits for those workers. The 

loss of 1 cent per share before charges beat the 

expectations of analysts polled by Thomson First 

Call, who predicted a loss of 6 cents per share. 

Revenues were up by more than 30 percent to 

$2.4 billion, compared with $1.8 billion for the second 

quarter of 2002. Shares of U.S. Steel were up 

71 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $16.29 last month on 

the New York Stock Exchange. During the second 

half of the year, U.S. Steel said it will take a $500 

million pretax charge as the company cuts jobs. 

Those charges include severance payments of 

approximately $115 million, the company said. U.S. 

Steel announced in May that it was cutting administrative 

positions by 20 percent as part of a labor 

agreement with the United Steelworkers of America. 

The agreement allowed the company to seal a contract 

with the union and acquire National Steel. 

Later this month, thousands of union workers are 

expected to let the company know if they will accept 

buyout packages that the company says will make it 

more globally competitive. Job cuts are expected to 

translate to annual savings of more than $400 million, 

U.S. Steel said. The company expects to see 

the first benefits from those cuts by the fourth quarter, 

with maximum cost reductions arriving by the 

end of 2004. Wall Street analysts said costs outside 

the control of U.S. Steel could still buffet earnings, 

but they were looking for a solid second half. 

Planned repair outages at the company's Gary 

Works in Gary, Ind., and at the Slovakian unit, U.S. 

Steel Kosice diminished second-quarter returns. 

Those shutdowns cost $38 million, the company 

reported. Fourth-quarter profits will likely be affected 

by approximately $35 million in further, planned 

outages, the company said.

Training driven by managers 

Chief executive officers link worker 

training to the attainment of corporate 

goals.And they see managers — not training 

professionals — as the pilots that 

drive training programs of corporations. 

These findings — derived through 

dozens of interviews with CEOs across 

the country — are published in a book 

written by three workforce education 

and development educators, including a 

University of Scranton professor. 

A study released by the American Society 

for Training and Development estimates 

that total training expenditures of U.S. 

businesses equaled 2 to 3 percent of payroll 

or approximately $95 million in 2000. 

“One important goal of our study was to 

get inside the heads of CEOs to find out 

what they expected of their corporate 

training departments,” said Bill Wallick, 

Ph.D., assistant professor and director of 

the human resources studies program at 

The University of Scranton, and one of 

three authors of the book “What CEOs 

Expect from Corporate Training.” 

The 277-page hard-cover book, published 

in February 2003 by the American 

Management Association, was written by 

Construction contracts worth more 

than $9 million have been awarded to 

five Pennsylvania firms that will perform 

extensive renovations at the most historic 

building on the Pennsylvania College of 

Technology campus — the Klump 

Academic Center.Two of the five awards, 

for more than $2.5 million, were to 

Williamsport-based companies. 

The general contractor for the project 

at the circa-1913 facility will be Robert 

Feaster Corp. of Northumberland, which 

submitted a bid of $4.72 million. 

Other contracts awarded were: HVAC, 

R & J Ertel Inc. of Williamsport, $1.69 

million; plumbing,W.G.Tomko of 

Finleyville, $1.11 million; electrical, 

Lecce Electric Inc. of Williamsport, 

$854,000; and controls, Johnson 

Controls Inc. of Camp Hill, $632,000. 

The renovation project is expected to 

take two years to complete, with the building 

at least partially occupied throughout. 

Murray Associates Architects of 

Harrisburg will serve as the architect for 

the project, which includes converting 

former offices — which have been 

moved to the new Student and 

Administrative Services Center — to 

The Klump Academic 

Center, Pennsylvania 

College of Technology, 

Williamsport 

Wallick; Dr.William J. Rothwell, professor 

of education at Penn State, University 

Park; and Dr. John (Jed) Lindholm, compensation 

manager at the University of 

Massachusetts Medical School and parttime 

professor at Clark University. 

The book — based on independent and 

cooperative studies of the three authors, 

as well as the most recent study in the 

field of workplace learning and performance 

— takes an outcomes-based look at 

worker training as it relates to the big 

picture of reaching corporate goals. 

“There’s far more to corporate training 

than helping a worker improve upon a 

specific task,” said Wallick.“Training should 

be evaluated as it contributes to the overall 

performance of an organization, not just 

the individual’s job performance.” 

“It’s not just what you do, but why you 

do it,” explained Wallick.“It’s knowing 

what your role is and whether you’re 

competent in that role.” 

For his part,Wallick says the most important 

finding of the research is that managers, 

not corporate trainers, are the points 

of connection between the employees’ 

roles and company objectives. 

Penn College awards $9 million in contracts 

classrooms and faculty offices. 

The front entrance, which will get new 

front steps, masonry and paving, and the 

first- and second-floor lobbies. 

The exterior brick-and-stone surfaces 

will be cleaned, and the 

grounds will receive new exterior 

lighting and additional landscaping. 

The renovated building will comply 

with Americans with Disabilities Act 

requirements, and new fire-alarm and firesuppression/sprinkler 

systems will be 

installed.The entire structure will be 

upgraded to meet existing building codes. 

New plumbing, heating and air-conditioning 

systems will be installed.The interior 

will be painted, and new carpeting 

will be installed. In addition, the International 

Café will be expanded. 

The work is being financed by a 30-year, 

$31.6 million bond issue, which will also 

finance the construction of Rose Street 

Apartments, a 365-bed, on-campus student-housing 

complex; and the renovation 

of College Avenue Labs (the former HON 

Industries Inc. manufacturing plant), 

which will house the Collision Repair, 

Automated Manufacturing, Civil 

Engineering and Surveying programs. 

“Daddy, when I’m finished 

with my homework, 

I’ll help you with yours.” 

Holding a job or raising a family can make it difficult to 

take college classes if you’re looking to change your 

career or improve on your skills for your current job. At 

Luzerne County Community College, we recognize that 

not everyone can go to college full-time. 

That's why we offer a number of convenient ways to give 

you the education you need for your career goals. LCCC 

holds many classes during the evening and weekend to 

meet your busy schedule. You can receive a degree, 

diploma, or certification in a number of career programs. 

Plus, students can take classes on video & internet, so you 

rarely have to leave your own home to go to college. 

You don’t have to go broke going to college either. At 

$70 per credit hour, you’ll recieve a quality education at an 

affordable price. 

Fall Schedules 

are now 

available! 

Call now for 

yours! 

Or go online at 

www.luzerne.edu 

Call now for more information about: 

Evening and Weekend Classes: 740-0490 

TeleCollege Video Programs: 740-0352 

1-800-377-LCCC, ext 477 



searfoss@luzerne.edu 


Poll: economic frailty may result in ‘political mayhem’ 

Consumer confidence falters 

By Dennis Jacobe 

In a session with the House Financial 

Services Committee, Federal Reserve 

Chairman Alan Greenspan optimistically 

stated that the U.S. economy is “at a turning 

point,” and predicted that low interest 

rates, increasing stock prices, and the 

effects of the new tax cut would spur 

economic growth. 

Later it was reported that the University 

of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment 

index rose in early July from its final 

June reading. Not surprisingly, many analysts 

noted that the increase was due to the 

same factors cited by Greenspan earlier. 

In sharp contrast, a July 7-9 Gallup 

Tuesday Briefing Poll* shows just the 

opposite.The June rise in consumer optimism 

about the economy did not continue 

to build in July.The percentage of 

American consumers rating economic 

conditions as “good” or “excellent” 

decreased slightly between June and July, 

and consumers are slightly more likely to 

say that economic conditions are getting 

worse than to say they are getting better. 

The public gave a similarly tepid 

response when asked about its expectations 

for economic growth, interest rates, 

and inflation over the next six months. 

Fewer Consumers Expect Increased 

Economic Growth 

The percentage of consumers expecting 

economic growth to increase over the 

next six months declined from 54 percent 

in June to 49 percent in July, while 

the percentage of those expecting 

growth to decrease rose from 20 percent 

to 22 percent. 

Thus, the differential between those 

expecting an increase in economic 

growth and those expecting a decrease 

fell from +34 percent in June to +27 

percent in July. 

Consumer expectations for increasing economic 

growth are now about where they 

were in April 2003 (+29 differential). 

Currently, consumer expectations are much 

better than they were in January 2003 (+16 

differential) and October 2001 (+5 differential), 

but well below where they were in 

March 2002 (+43 differential). 

Still, Consumers’ Interest Rate 

Expectations Are About the Same… 

The percentage of consumers expecting 

the interest rates to increase over the next 

six months declined from 43 percent in 

June to 41 percent in July.At the same 

time, the percentage of consumers expecting 

rates to go down also declined from 20 

percent in June to 17 percent in July. So 

the differential between those expecting 

rates to go up and those expecting them to 

go down was virtually unchanged — +23 

in June and +24 in July. 

Right now, substantially fewer consumers 

expect interest rates to increase 

in the months ahead than was the case in 

April 2002, when 59 percent expected 

rates to increase and the differential was 

+45. On the other hand, far fewer 

Americans expect rates to decline now 

than in October 2001, when 25 percent 

expected rates to increase and the differential 

was -19. 

. . . As Are Consumer Inflation 

Expectations 

According to the July Gallup Tuesday 

Briefing poll, 48 percent of consumers 

expect inflation to accelerate in the next 

six months.This percentage is the same as 

it was in June, although the inflation 

expectations differential increased from 

+32 in June to +35 in July.At present, consumer 

inflation expectations are not as 

great as they were a year ago when the 

differential was +45, but the differential is 

above its October 2001 level of +27. 

Consumer Growth Expectations Are 

Extremely Fragile 

The failure of consumer expectations to 

gain additional positive momentum in 

July is troubling.As the Fed and the analyst 

community have argued, fiscal and 

monetary policies are now highly stimulative. 

Investors showed great enthusiasm 

in June — maybe even a little too much 

— and virtually every economic forecaster 

expects economic growth to improve 

in the months ahead. 

Still, contrary to what some observers 

see in the University of Michigan’s preliminary 

report, Gallup Tuesday Briefing’s 

data does not support the idea that consumers 

or business decision-makers are 

convinced, at least at this point. 

In essence, recent economic crosscurrents 

have made today’s consumer expectations 

extremely fragile.The hope is that 

we are experiencing a lag between the 

implementation and the positive impact 

on consumer perceptions of the recent 

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economic stimuli.Tax-cut checks and 

withholding changes don’t even begin to 

take place until late this month, and 

lower interest rates can take four to six 

months to have an impact. 

With any luck, consumer optimism — 

and even business optimism — will build 

in the months ahead and we’ll see a surge 

in consumer/business optimism and a 

much stronger economy later this year 

and into 2004. 

If not, today’s economic fragility may 

well translate into political mayhem as 

both major parties recognize that next 

year’s elections could be very difficult for 

many of today’s officeholders. 

*Results are based on telephone interviews 

with 1,006 national adults, aged 18 and 

older, conducted July 7- 9, 2003.For results 

based on these total samples, one can say 

with 95 percent confidence that the margin 

of sampling error is ±3 percent. 

Middle market firms, citing 

improving economy, vow to 

invest in technology 

From competition within the middle 

market to vying with larger competitors 

and new companies entering the market, 

middle-market business leaders are feeling 

the pinch of a heightened competitive 

environment, according to findings 

from the Grant Thornton Survey of 

Middle-Market Business Leaders. 

Ninety-four percent cite competition as 

more intense or as intense as one year 

ago, while just 6 percent say the competitive 

environment is less intense. 

“As the market has tightened, so, too, 

have the competitive pressures on middle-market 

companies,” says John 

Desmond, partner in charge of the 

Business Leaders Council.“Companies, 

especially those in the middle-market, are 

not only fighting for new business — 

often at lower margins — but many are 

also looking for new ways to keep existing 

customers from taking their business 

to the competition.” 

Additional survey highlights: 

Survey respondents cited a greater 

focus on price (89 percent), more knowledgeable 

customers (82 percent), and 

less client loyalty (81 percent) as the top 

business issues related to competition. 

Two-thirds (74 percent) of middle-market 

business leaders believe it is more 

important today for employees to understand 

what needs to be done for the 

company to succeed. 

To enhance employee alignment and 

motivation, 82 percent are focusing on 

consistent communications, and 81 percent 

are establishing realistic expectations 

for employee performance. 

Fifty-two percent of respondents are 

taking immediate steps to better allocate 

resources by deselection — focusing 

exclusively on initiatives that will be 

most profitable. 

In preparation for an improved business 

climate, 84 percent of middle-market 

business leaders have — or plan to 

— invest in new technology (58 percent 

and 26 percent, respectively). 

The Summer 2003 Survey of Middle- 

Market Business Leaders, with a special 

emphasis on how companies are positioning 

for an improved economy, is now available.To 

order a printed or .pdf version of 

the report, visit Grant Thornton’s Web site 

at www.grantthornton.com/blcsurvey. 


Congress seeks way to pay for 

Medicare overhaul 

By Robert Curran 

Following a federal budget surplus and 

then a record-breaking tax cut, companies, 

employees and retirees assumed the 

nation’s economy was on its way up. 

But in the last few years all of that has 

changed and the country now faces a 

projected $455 billion deficit this fiscal 

year, the government’s largest ever. 

The deficit is $150 billion higher than 

the initial estimate from the Bush administration, 

and companies are concerned 

about its impact on growth, jobs and 

taxes, and where the government will 

find the money to pay for the upsurge. 

Another big concern is the prescription 

drug program for seniors that the legislative 

and executive branches are working 

on,and President Bush’s plan to spend 

$400 billion to restructure Medicare with 

an emphasis on enrollment in private sector 

health organizations. 

The prescription drug proposal has 

become very complex, with proposals 

from both the House and Senate, and 

some members of Congress have termed 

it “bewildering.” 

Conferees are trying to work out compromises. 

Democrats are asking for more 

money and want the program run by the 

government, while Republicans are pushing 

to trim costs and want private sector 

involvement in the plan. 

Many economists have criticized the 

prescription drug overhaul, saying that 

only about 50 percent of seniors would 

actually realize any savings because of 

monthly premiums,out-of-pocket costs 

and high deductibles. 

Costs for many seniors, depending on 

their plans, could be in the $300 a month 

range.The conclusion is that many people 

may pay less by not enrolling and hope 

they’ll never need catastrophic coverage. 

Add the cost of a 44 percent increase in 

military spending and $1 billion a week 

for the occupation of Iraq, and questions 

are being raised as to where all of this 

money is going to come from. 

In regard to the pending Medicare prescription 

drug legislation, Dave 

Echevarria, assistant professor of business 

administration at Penn State’s 

Worthington Scranton Campus, had this 

to say about about the proposals: “The 

government is saying ‘it’s expensive and 

we’re trying to figure out ways so we 

don’t bankrupt the federal government.’” 

And who would pay for the surging 

costs for the big tax cut, the deficit and 

prescription reform? 

“The government will borrow from the 

public,” Echevarria said.“When the government 

borrows,it traditionally borrows 

from the insurance companies and retirement 

funds and private individuals who 

put money in short term treasuries. It’s 

coming from the marketplace.” 

As to what happened to the huge surplus, 

Echevarria said,“I’m not sure there 

really was a surplus.” 

He said that ever since the administration 

of Lyndon B. Johnson, the government 

decided to include Social Security 

revenues in with general tax revenues. 

The reasoning, he said, was to advance 

the Vietnam War and the Great Society 

programs, and that was why the government 

included the Social Security funds 

as part of its general revenue. 

“I’m not sure there was a surplus on the 

basis of taxes,”Echevarria said.“It was due 

largely to money that went into the 

Social Security fund.” 

Unchecked deficits could force interest 

rates up, but Echevarria said if there 

was no federal debt, interest rates 

would plummet. 

He added that if debts continue to rise 

too much, this would impede the federal 

government’s ability to fund programs. 

Echevarria sees the cost of the war in 

Iraq as a marginal increase in expenses as 

opposed to having forces stationed in the 

United States, and said the cost differences 

may not be much. 

There are economists who worry about 

deficits and economists who believe 

deficits are part of doing business. 

Echevarria agrees with the latter, up to a 

point, that point being when servicing 

the deficit requires higher taxes. 

With divergent points of view coming 

from the House and Senate and within 

the private sector, news of the economy 

tumbles regularly. One week the economic 

forecast is poor and lists higher unemployment, 

and the next week signs of a 

recovery are announced. 

The uncertainty itself has stunted consumer 

spending, and all sides keep looking 

for stability and better days to come. 

Synthes Spine Co. Pennsylvania Regional Tissue Bank 

Junior Achievement opens Peckville office 

Junior Achievement of Northeastern Pennsylvania Inc. (JA) recently celebrated the 

opening of its new office at 533 Main Street, Peckville. JA’s business and economics 

programs are for students in kindergarten through grade 12. JA enables caring 

adults to share their experience with students to show them what it takes to be 

successful. Visit JA’s Web site, nepa.ja.org, or call (570) 489-9474 for more information. 

Celebrating the Peckville office opening were, left to right: Sarah M. 

Kubrick, JA development assistant; Lisa M. Buranich, JA development director; 

Donna Sedor, Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry; Michael J. 

Pacyna, PNC Bank; Paul Barretta, Talent Clearinghouse, JA classroom volunteer; 

Ann Marie Andrejko, PNC Bank, JA board of directors; Gerald J. Ganz, Jr., Johnson 

College, JA board of directors; Kenneth G. Okrepkie, CDE Computer Learning 

Center, JA board of directors; Ellen P. Smith, JA board of directors; Janine M. 

Becker, Sallie Mae, JA board chair; Ronald J. Yevitz, Penn State Worthington 

Scranton, JA board of directors; Anna Cervenak, Verizon, JA board of directors; 

Chuck Matthews; Kathleen M. Matthews, JA president; Peter J. Danchak, PNC 

Bank president, JA advisory board; Brian Rinker, Blue Cross of NEPA, JA board of 

directors; Al Brogna, Sen. Robert Mellow’s office; Gary T. Crisci, Merrill Lynch, JA 

board of directors; Mary Gene Eagen, JA vice president, education; Robert N. 

Lettieri, MacIntyre Associates Inc.; Orna S. Clum, JA program director. 

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book of lists 2003 

This Year’s edition marks the ninth installment of the 

region’s most sought-after and extensive source of 

business news and market information. 

Additional copies can be purchased for $ 13 95 , or 

subscribe to the Northeast Pennsylvania Business 

Journal ($28 for 12 issues) and receive the Book of 

Lists FREE. 

Call the 

570-207-9001 or 877-584-3561 extension 5420. 

Corporate rate discounts available for volume orders. 

Focus on oncology care: 

By Beth W. Orenstein 

An estimated two million people 

will be diagnosed with cancer this 

year, according to the National 

Institutes of Health (NIH). 

But thanks to advances in screenings 

and treatments, the news won’t be as 

devastating or life-threatening as it once 

was, especially for those diagnosed with 

breast and other solid cancers. 

Here’s a look at some of the advances in 

cancer care that are available from hospitals 

and imaging facilities that serve 

northeast Pennsylvania: 

■ Sentinel node biopsy 

Women with breast cancer have a new, 

less invasive option for detecting its 

spread.The procedure, called sentinel node 

biopsy, enables doctors to check for cancer 

while sparing unaffected lymph nodes. 

Not having to remove unaffected lymph 

nodes is significant, says Lee B. Riley, 

M.D., Ph.D., director of the cancer center 

at St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network 

based in Fountain Hill, because, for many 

women, removing nodes in the armpit 

area disrupts the natural movement of 

lymph in the body. Lymph, which contains 

lymphocytes, a type of white blood 

cell, plays an important part in the 

immune system. 

Disruption of lymph can cause a disorder 

known as lymphedema, which causes 

swelling, limited movement and discomfort 

and increased risk of infection. 

During sentinel node biopsy, Riley says, 

a harmless dye is injected around the 

breast tumor.The dye is absorbed into 

the lymphatic system, highlighting the 

pathways through which tumor cells travel 

before lodging themselves in the sentinel 

lymph nodes. During the biopsy, two 

to four sentinel nodes are removed and 

examined to see if they have been affected 

by cancer. 

Studies have shown that if cancer has 

not affected those nodes,“there is a 95 

percent-plus chance it has not spread to 

any other nodes, so further removal of 

lymph nodes is unnecessary,” Riley says. 

Compared to traditional biopsy, a sentinel 

node biopsy is a less invasive procedure, 

meaning a quicker recovery and 

less post-op pain, Riley says.And because 

unaffected lymph nodes are left intact, 

the risks of lymphedema and nerve damage 

are greatly decreased. 

Riley says sentinel node biopsies also 

are useful in treating other cancers such 

as skin and colon. 

■ Intensity Modulated Radiation 

Therapy (IMRT) 

Radiation therapy utilizes high-energy 

X-ray beams for the treatment of cancer. 

IMRT uses a computer to generate 

images to plan and deliver more tightly 

focused radiation beams to tumors than 

is possible with conventional radiotherapy,says 

Norman Schulman, M.D., medical 

director of Radiation Medicine Specialists 

of Northeast Pennsylvania, Forty Fort. 

State-of-the-art linear accelerators are fitted 

with an accessory called a multi-leaf 

collimator, which uses up to 120 computer-controlled 

mechanical “fingers” to 

St. Luke’s Cancer Center 

has more radiation therapy options 

for cancer treatment 

than any other area hospital 

• Intensity Modulated Radiation 

Therapy (IMRT) with more than 

392 patients treated since 2000 

• Electronic Compensation 

• 3D Conformal Therapy 

• Brachytherapy 

– Prostate seeds 

– Mammosite 

– High-dose radiation 

• CT Simulation 

• Two state-of-the-art linear accelerators 

with multileaf collimation 

Ask your doctor or call us for 

more information at 610-954-4300 

or 1-866-STLUKES (toll free). 

St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network is a 

member of the University of Pennsylvania 

Cancer Network 

The Region’s Leader in Cancer Care 

801 Ostrum Street • Bethlehem • 1-866-STLUKES (785-8537) 

www.stlukescancercenter.org 


Technology, biological care top list of advancements 


shape the beam of radiation so that it conforms 

to the three-dimensional shape of 

the tumor as defined by the IMRT plan. 

The technology allows doctors to deliver 

higher dose radiation to the tumor 

while sparing surrounding healthy 

tissue, Schulman says. 

IMRT is used for prostate and 

head and neck cancers and 

recurrent or primary tumors 

near a spinal cord or other 

sensitive structures, Schulman 

says. IMRT is under 

investigation for the treatment 

of breast cancer. 

■ Gamma knife 

The Gamma Knife is a 

precise and powerful tool 

for treating certain 

tumors and vascular malformations 

in the brain. It 

is not a knife, but an 

instrument that uses 201 

cobalt sources to deliver 

finely focused beams of radiation, 

Schulman says. 

The beam from each individual 

source is delivered through holes in a 

helmet-like device.All the beams cross a 

single point, and it is only at that point 

that enough radiation is delivered to the 

affected tissue. 

Like IMRT, its advantage is its extreme 

accuracy, Schulman says. 

■ P.E.T. scans 

Positron emission topography (P.E.T.) 

scans are used for diagnosis, monitoring 

tumor response to chemotherapy or radiation 

and in radiation treatment planning. 

P.E.T. differs from X-rays and other diagnostic 

imaging techniques because in addition 

to 

showing 

a patient’s 

anatomy, the test also looks at 

biological and physiological changes in 

the body, Schulman says. 

Patients receive a dose of a tracer-containing 

substance that accumulates in diseased 

tissue, Riley says.The patient then 

lies on an electrically powered table that 

moves through the scanner.The scanner 

creates a picture of the patient’s body 

and detects the tracer in the tissue. 

“A CAT scan generally can see down to 

1 centimeter, whereas a P.E.T. scan can go 

down to almost 6/10ths of a centimeter,” 

Schulman says. 

Riley says P.E.T. scans have proven so 

useful in seeing whether cancer has 

spread that more insurance companies 

are reimbursing for them.“It’s become a 

very useful test not only to try to help 

people find out if they have cancer but 

also if the treatment for cancer is working,” 

he says. 

■ Biological therapies 

Riley says advances in drug treatments 

for cancer that 

have come 

about as 

researchers learn more about 

human genes also have been impressive. 

For example, the Biological Therapy 

Program at St. Luke’s offers advanced cancer-fighting 

treatments in the form of 

molecular materials made by the body’s 

immune system, such as antibodies and 

growth factors. 

Examples of leading-edge immunotherapy 

being used at the Cancer Center are: 

High-Dose Interleukin-2 (IL-2), a promising 

treatment for melanoma and renal 

cell cancer, and the CancerVax vaccine 

for melanoma. 

■ Cancer risks 

Programs are developing to help people 

reduce their risk of cancer even 

before it occurs. 

One such program is the Cancer Risk 

Program provided by the Northeast 

Regional Cancer Institute in Scranton. 

In addition to education, the program 

offers an in-depth risk assessment 

and one-on-one counseling program.“By 

doing that, people gain 

a more accurate idea of their 

and their family’s risk for 

cancer,” says Laura Toole, 

an oncology social worker 

who is director of 

the program. 

Knowing risk, people 

can make 

lifestyle 

changes and 

schedule more aggressive 

screenings for cancers they may be 

more likely to inherit,Toole says. 

In cases where family history and genetic 

testing confirms a predisposition for some 

cancers, people might also pursue clinical 

trials for preventive medicines and possibly 

prophylactic surgeries to prevent 

breast, ovarian or colon cancer. 

Dr. Normal Schulman 

F.A.C.R.O, 

Fellow, American College of 

Radiation Oncology 

Board Certified Radiation Oncology 

190 Welles St. 

Forty Fort, PA 

(570) 714-8686 

CANCER CARE with 

Expertise, Knowledge and Commitment to Technology ... 

is our MISSION 

CANCER CARE WITH EXCELLENCE ... 

Our cancer facility specializes in state-of-the-art radiation treatments and provides radiation treatments with high and 

low energies using photons and electrons. The cancer facility is the first in the region to use the NOMOS technology 

with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (I.M.R.T.) and the BAT ultrasound system for daily localization for 

prostate cancer assuring more accurate localization of prostate cancer with reduced dose to normal structures such as 

bladder and rectum. 

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ... 

Dr. Norman Schulman, medical director, has over 30 years of experience in treating cancer patients. Dr. Schulman 

states “the cancer facility prides itself in providing the latest technology in the region with radiation treatment 

planning using three dimensional conformal and IMRT planning techniques.” The facility has played a 

leadership role in the region with advancement in radiation treatments introducing coregistration of CAT, 

PET and MRI imaging for localizing tumor targets for diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Dr. Schulman 

works closely with the physicians involved in the patient’s care, such as the family doctor, medical oncologist 

and surgeons. 

WELL TRAINED STAFF ... 

From the first visit and throughout the care of the patient at the cancer facility, the staff is courteous and 

polite providing an atmosphere of family. The cancer facility is staffed by four certified therapists, two 

certified radiology technologists, a dosimetrist and other staff members. 

CONVENIENT ... 

The cancer facility is a privately owned clinic and we’re located in the Cross Valley West Professional 

Building at 190 Welles Street in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. Plenty of free and easy parking. 

CANCER MASSAGE THERAPY ... 

The cancer facility provides complimentary massages to our patients during the course of radiation treatment 

by Caroline Howell, a certified oncology massage specialist. Massage can reduce stress, provide relaxation 

and comfort, relieve pain, minimize the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy, enhance circulation and 

oxygenation and fatigue. 

Call for a consultation at 570-714-8686

Congress mulls Health Savings Account (HSA) options 

By Bernard J Healey, Ph.D. 

A recent study, published in the journal, 

Health Affairs, has concluded that 

healthcare spending is greater than the 

services Americans receive for the 

money they spend. 

In response to this healthcare cost escalation, 

the United States Congress is 

attempting to pass new legislation allowing 

Americans to establish Health Savings 

Accounts (HSA) or Health Savings 

Security Accounts (HSSA). 

Legislation added to the recently passed 

House Medicare reform bill would allow 

more companies to offer these accounts. 

According to Otto F.Wolke, R.Ph, president, 

Schellen and Partners USA Inc., 

healthcare consultants,“Medical Savings 

Accounts were part of the HIPAA legislation 

of 1996 and new proposals, called 

Health Savings Accounts and Health 

Savings Security Accounts are being considered 

in Congress at this time.While 

being touted as vehicles for consumerdirected 

healthcare, only about 100,000 

accounts have been started under the 

HIPAA legislation that had authorized up 

to 750,000 accounts. 

“For employers and for healthy families 

that have the money to put into the 

accounts, there are advantages. Money 

can be saved and rolled over. In the 

inverted bell-shaped curve of healthcare 

utilization, these accounts are targeted for 

population with much less medical risk.” 

Wolke argues that “the insurance companies 

win with minimal utilization of 

services and lower administrative costs of 

handling small claims.The employers win 

with a large reduction in healthcare premiums 

paid.The healthy employee wins 

with the freedom of choice in who to see 

and what to spend the healthcare dollars 

on, or to keep the money growing in the 

MSA account. Financial services companies 

also win with more private money 

going into investments with subsequent 

administrative fees.” 

Wolke contends that “the losers are 

moderate to low-income individuals who 

find it difficult to fund the accounts or to 

pay bills prior to having fully funded the 

MSA.Young and growing families who 

would face large out-of-pocket expenses 

with unexpected emergencies or a pregnancy. 

Other losers are enrollees with 

chronic diseases that require expensive 

medication, since these plans have no 

drug benefit, and drugs are the fastest 

growing segment of healthcare inflation. 

Persons who experience frequent hospitalizations 

or physician office visits are also 

at risk for significant out-of-pocket expenses 

that will wipe out the savings account 

and leave the patient at risk for costs.” 

He explained that “there is often no maximum 

out-of-pocket expense, which is part 

of most current healthcare insurance programs.The 

MSA process takes funds from 

the healthcare delivery system and creates 

additional savings pools for wealthier individuals 

who can afford to pay incidental 

healthcare out of pocket and keep the 

MSA account for retirement.” 

James Davis, government affairs representative, 

Blue Cross of Northeastern 

Pennsylvania, says “these new proposals 

improve current medical accounts by 

removing many of the barriers that limited 

their use and effectiveness.” 

He said current proposals allow employees 

to build assets in Health Savings 

Accounts through employer contributions, 

employee contributions and taxfree 

rollovers of a portion of unused flexible 

spending account balances.” 

Davis went on to say “ insurers such as 

Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania 

hope that Congress would go even further 

in giving employers and health plans 

the flexibility to develop the widest possible 

range of products, for instance by 

eliminating the requirements that HSSAs 

and HSAs must be coupled with plans 

that have specific deductible amounts.” 

He also stated that “the HSSA accounts 

were scored by the Joint Committee on 

Taxation as costing much more than 

HSAs (roughly $160 billion versus $7 billion 

over 10 years), Blue Cross hopes 

Congress will consider both products’ 

potential for advancing consumer-directed 

care.With consumers’ healthcare costs 

rising, it is more important than ever to 

work toward supporting marketplace 

innovations that will lead to greater flexibility 

and more choices for consumers. 

This legislation is an important step 

toward increasing consumer choices and 

access to healthcare. It will allow health 

plans to develop new coverage options 

designed to empower consumers and 

expand their health coverage.” 

Area firm helps to beautify Arlington National Cemetery 

Michael Kravitsky, IV, co-owner; Shawn 

Kravitsky, co-owner; and Victor Gorski, 

sales manager, of Grasshopper Lawns 

Inc. of Larksville, traveled to Washington, 

D.C., this summer to team up with lawn 

and landscape experts from around the 

nation in a day of voluntary service beautifying 

and restoring the cemetery 

grounds at Arlington National Cemetery. 

The beautification activities were part of 

the Professional Lawn Care Association 

of America’s (PLCAA) 14th annual legislative 

day on the Hill in July. 

Grasshopper Lawns, in business since 

1964, has been a PLCAA member since 

1980. For more information, call (800) 

287-6113. At left, Grasshopper works at 

Arlington National Cemetery. 

Extraordinary 

cancer care. 

WILKES-BARRE GENERAL HOSPITAL has always strived to 

provide its cancer patients with the best medical professionals, 

the latest technologies and the most advanced therapies. 

Today, those efforts have evolved into the region’s most 

comprehensive cancer care program. 

In addition to our leading edge technology in medical oncology 

and radiation therapy, we offer a dedicated 39-bed inpatient unit 

with skilled and compassionate physicians, nurses and support 

staff. It all adds up to expert, experienced cancer care. 

WILKES-BARRE GENERAL HOSPITAL – 

Fighting Cancer... 

with Capability, 

Commitment and 

Compassion. 

www.wvhcs.org 


‘CreateAthon’ donates 

talents to nonprofits 

Six nonprofit organizations from Luzerne 

and Lackawanna counties will be the beneficiaries 

of advertising and marketing services 

provided by CDS Creative in its second 

annual CreateAThon on September 

11.The event, a 24-hour work-around-theclock 

effort, will provide free creative services 

to the selected nonprofits. 

Organizations selected as CreateAThon 

clients this year include: Girl Scouts of 

Penn's Woods Council; Greater Hazleton 

Senior Citizens Services Inc.; Lupus 

Foundation of Pennsylvania-Pocono/NE 

Branch; S.A.F.E (Supporting Autism & 

Families Everywhere); Susquehanna 

Warrior Trail Council;Wyoming Valley 

AIDS Council. 

CDS Creative received 23 applications 

from non-profit agencies all across 

Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. 

The agency expects to produce 

between 15 and 20 projects for the six 

nonprofits selected. 

Catherine D. Shafer, president, CDS 

Creative, said,“We wish we could help 

everyone who needs it. Every organization 

that submitted an application 

deserves support; they are all doing such 

important work in our community.” 

In selecting the organizations, Shafer 

noted that the agency followed its criteria 

of choosing nonprofits that provide 

direct services to the people of Luzerne 

and Lackawanna counties. 

In addition to the staff of CDS Creative 

working during the 24-hour creative blitz, 

the agency has partnered with Marcato 

Advertising and Stage2 Marketing & 

Design to provide graphic design services 

to the event’s participants. 

“We work with these artists on a daily 

basis and we appreciate them partnering 

with us on such a worthwhile and fun 

cause,” Shafer explained. 

CreateAThon is the brainchild of Rigg’s 

Inc., an advertising, marketing and communications 

firm in Columbia, S.C. In an 

effort to give nonprofit organizations the 

professional, creative marketing materials 

that would otherwise be financially 

unfeasible, Rigg’s formed the first 

CreateAThon in 1998. 

CDS Creative provides a broad spectrum 

of creative advertising, marketing 

and public relations solutions to clients 

throughout the northeast. 

Activities slated by the 

Northeast Regional Cancer Institute 

Colorectal Cancer: Update on Epidemiology, 

Screening, and Local Trends in Northeast Pa. 

September 10, 6 p.m. 

A professional education program offered for 

the members of the Luzerne County Medical 

Society. This program will focus on colorectal cancer 

and the epidemiology of this disease in northeastern 

Pennsylvania. Location to be determined. 

Cancer: Families at Risk 


Education program designed to answer your 

questions and concerns about cancer risk. Held at 

Boscov's Auditorium, Mall at Steamtown, Scranton. 

Colorectal Cancer 


Program focusing on an overview of colorectal 

cancer, including the signs and symptoms. 

Screening methods and prevention will also be discussed. 

Held at Boscov's Auditorium, Steamtown 

Mall, Scranton. 

Cancer Survival 


Program that helps individuals develop practical 

tools in daily life as they deal with cancer diagnosis 

and treatment. Held at Boscov's Auditorium, 

Mall at Steamtown, Scranton. 

For more information about any of the above 

programs,call (800) 424-6724. 

Valley Open MRI receives 

ACR accreditation 

Dr. Juan D. Gaia, president,Valley Open 

MRI & Diagnostic Center in Kingston 

announced that his facility has been 

awarded a three-year term of accreditation 

in high-field and low-field MRI as the 

result of a recent survey by the American 

College of Radiology. 

The survey was performed by the ACR 

based on clinical submission of images by 

Georgann Wywoda, BSRT(R)(MR).The 

ACR, headquartered in Reston,Va., awards 

accreditation to facilities for the achievement 

of high practice standards after a 

peer-review evaluation of its practice. 

Evaluations are conducted by board-certified 

physicians and medical physicists 

who are experts in the field. 

They assess the qualifications of the 

personnel and the adequacy of facility 

equipment. The surveyors report their 

finding to the ACR’s Committee on 

Accreditation, which subsequently provides 

the practice with a comprehensive 

report.The ACR is a national organization 

serving more than 32,000 diagnostic/ 

interventional radiologists, radiation 

oncologists and medical physicists with 

programs for focusing on the practice of 

medical imaging and radiation oncology 

and the delivery of comprehensive health 

care services.At right are Dr. Juan D. Gaia 

and Georgann Wywoda. 

“I have wonderful friends, a passion for life, 

and breast cancer.” 

As a social worker and Komen Foundation volunteer, I’ve heard 

some scary stories about health care costs. So when I found out I had 

breast cancer, I was concerned with what I might face, both physically 

and financially. ■ It’s been a long road of surgeries, chemotherapy, 

radiation, and procedures. But everyone at Blue Cross of 

Northeastern Pennsylvania and Highmark Blue Shield made sure I 

had access to the best doctors around, both at home and away. 

And total peace of mind when it came to medical bills. ■ Blue Cross 

and Blue Shield took care of everything. All I had to do was get well. 

“But I also have Blue Cross and Blue Shield.” 

Excellence in Action 

REBECCA DECKER, 

SCRANTON 

Independent Licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ®Registered Mark of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association 



Montoursville youth launch aviation magazine 

By John Beauge 

Adam and Bryan Makos were in middle 

school in Montoursville when in 1994 

they launched Ghost Wings, a two-page 

newsletter they produced for family and 

friends on their home computer to share 

aviation stories inspired by their grandfather’s 

World War II accounts. 

In May 1999, the brothers, along with 

their younger sister Erica, and friend 

Joseph Gohrs, moved from a newsletter 

to a magazine format. 

Today, Ghost Wings has a paid mail 

circulation of about 3,000. More than 

7,000 other copies of the magazine, 

published four times a year, are sold 

through selected newsstands and by 

staff members at air shows. 

The four still work from an office in the 

basement of the Makos home near 

Warrensville, where they self-taught 

themselves how to create and design a 

magazine that is printed commercially. 

Editor Adam Makos, 22, who graduated 

in May magna cum laude from Lycoming 

College, plans to devote his full-time 

efforts to the magazine.The other three 

will continue to split their time between 

school and the magazine. 

Associate editor, Bryan Makos, 19, is a 

sophomore at Lycoming and Gohrs, 22, 

the production manager, is a senior at the 

Pennsylvania College of Technology. Erica 

Makos, 18, who handles public relations 

duties, graduated in June from Montoursville 

High School. 

Their work has won accolades from veterans 

including Richard Winters, a World 

War II paratrooper from Hershey who 

was among those featured in the HBO 

miniseries “Band of Brothers.” 

Winters, 85, is featured in an article in 

the current issue reliving his account of 

jumping into Normandy on D-Day.“We 

were focusing on these guys before we 

saw them on TV,”Adam Makos says.“It 

didn’t take an HBO series to show us 

they were real American heroes.” 

He had interviewed the late Stephen 

Ambrose, author of the book “Band of 

Brothers,” in October 2000 when he 

came to an air event Ghost Wings hosted 

at the Williamsport Regional Airport. 

Makos’ article, illustrated with World War 

II photographs, goes beyond the HBO 

series to include first-person accounts of 

those who flew the paratroopers to the 

jump zone on June 6, 1944. 

“They did a beautiful job,”Winters 

says. Makos interviewed Winters who 

started making notes of his D-Day experience 

three days after he landed in 

Normandy. He had time because he had 

suffered a left leg wound. 

Winters, who retired as a major after 

training troops to go to Korea, is to be 

featured in a commemorative art print by 

artist John Shaw in Florida.The Ghost 

Wings staff plans to sell the prints as a 

fundraiser for the magazine. 

They do much of their research for 

articles about World War II during the 

summer by attending air shows 

throughout the United States. 

Adam Makos was at Edwards Air 

Force Base in California in October 

when Chuck Yeager made his last flight 

in a jet, a F-15 Eagle. He had met Yeager 

at an air show in Oshkosh,Wis., and 

learned he did not have a Web site.The 

Ghost Wings staff built one for him, 

which was launched Feb. 13 on 

Yeager’s 80th birthday. 

The young writers have learned to take 

advantage of situations to get their stories 

and expand their experiences. In July 

2002 at a fly-in/air show in Oshkosh, 

Erica Makos got to go up in a World War 

II vintage P-51 fighter. 

She describes her experience in the current 

edition.Their work on the magazine 

has brought them recognition in high 

school and college. 

Adam Makos this year won the Global 

Student Entrepreneur award for the Ohio 

Valley region, which is composed of 

Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and West 

Virginia. He will represent the region in 

the national competition held in 

November in Chicago. 

For the third consecutive year, Erica 

Makos is in the running for a national 

Future Business Leaders of America 

award. Bryan Makos went to nationals 

three times when he was a 

Montoursville student. 

The Makos brothers and Gohrs won a 

state award for the magazine’s business 

plan when Adam Makos was still in 

high school. 

Many of the letters the staff receives 

include the comment that not many 

youngsters today are writing about the 

experiences of World War II veterans. 

Time for getting first-person accounts 

of these events is running out,Adam 

Makos says.“We have to act fast to get 

them into the hands of young people 

who can learn so much from them,” he 

says.“We have to do this before such 

valuable history is lost.” 

Yahoo! launches tools to 

create ‘business class’ 

Web sites 

Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading 

global Internet company, announced the 

launch of Yahoo! SiteBuilder, an innovative 

design tool enabling small businesses 

to build professional, business-class Web 

sites quickly and easily. 

The new tool is available now on 

Yahoo! Web Hosting (webhosting. 

yahoo.com), and is free for Yahoo! Web 

Hosting customers. 

Yahoo! Small Business created and 

developed Yahoo! SiteBuilder, a Javabased 

client-side Web site design tool 

with business-class authoring, management 

and customization, to make it easier 

than ever for small businesses to establish 

an online presence.With Yahoo! 

SiteBuilder, no programming knowledge 

is required.The easy-to-use tool enables 

small businesses to use drag-and-drop 

editing to build professional and sophisticated 

Web sites. 

Yahoo! is offering the new tool for free. 

Yahoo! Web Hosting customers can publish 

their Web site directly to their Yahoo! 

Web Hosting account. New users can 

publish their Web site by signing up for 

any of the three affordable Yahoo! Web 

Hosting packages. 

Yahoo! SiteBuilder provides more than 

200 templates such as professional services, 

interior design, real estate and travel, 

among many others. It enables users 

to drag and drop images anywhere on 

the site, insert backgrounds, layer 

designs, edit, preview and “undo” mistakes.Also,Yahoo! 

SiteBuilder provides a 

Getting Started Guide that walks customers 

through a step-by-step process, 

from creating a page to publishing a site. 

Yahoo! SiteBuilder allows for offline 

management, providing small businesses 

the freedom to modify their site without 

being connected to the Internet. In addition,Yahoo! 

SiteBuilder uses open standards 

and is designed to create multipage 

sites versus individual pages, allowing 

for link management. 

Integrity Building Systems locates corporate headquarters in Milton 

In May, the Milton Area Industrial 

Development Association, the owners of 

Integrity Building Systems Inc., and other 

noted dignitaries, joined together in a 

groundbreaking ceremony at a site in the 

Milton Industrial Park, Belford Addition. 

The 22.5 acre site is part of a Keystone 

Opportunity Zone, and will become the 

new corporate headquarters for Integrity 

Building Systems, a leading manufacturer 

of modular homes, presently located in 

Montgomery. Construction on the site 

commenced last month, with anticipated 

occupancy of the new 70,000 sq. ft. stateof-the-art 

manufacturing facility, and 7,000 

sq. ft. office complex by March, 2004. 

Integrity Building Systems presently 

employees 100 workers at its operation 

in Montgomery and, with the relocation 

of operations to the Milton site, 

anticipates the creation of approximately 

40 additional jobs within the 

next few years as predicated by housing 

demands in the Northeast. 

Homes by Integrity, the retail marketing 

division of the parent company, will also 

maintain offices at the new location — 

allowing potential local homebuyers the 

opportunity to view firsthand the benefits 

of modular construction. 

Participating in the groundbreaking ceremony 

were, left to right, Integrity 

Building Systems officers, Richard Rowe, 

president; Michael Steimling, vice president 

of material procurement; Glenn 

Salsman, controller; Steven Weaver, treasurer; 

Mark Bowman, vice president of 

Mid-Atlantic sales; Martin Sickle, vice president 

of Northeast sales;Timothy 

McWilliams, vice president of production; 

Sam Deitrick, Northumberland County 

commissioner; John Boback, 

Northumberland County commissioner; 

Bob Hickox, president and CEO of the 

Milton Area Chamber of Commerce; and 

Edward Nelson, mayor of Milton.

Use exit interviews to gather feedback for company 

Information obtained in exit interviews assists in running efficient HR departments as well as retaining employees 


During this latest recession, companies 

are finding that exit interviews are 

becoming increasingly more valuable in 

retaining current employees and pointing 

the way toward new hires. 

According to a recent study by the 

Society of Human Resource 

Management, more than 90 percent of 

companies conduct exit interviews and 

it is one of the most widely used methods 

of gathering employment feedback 

for a company. 

“Exit interviews can provide a wealth 

of information for both the employee 

and the company, said Donna Hewlett 

Bator, human resources manager at 

Marywood University. 

“The company welcomes the opportunity 

to find out what can be done to prevent 

future turnover and the employee is 

given an opportunity to talk about what 

they have experienced while employed 

with the company.” 

Other information can be obtained by 

the employee as well.This includes information 

on the continuation of any benefits, 

how to handle their pension plan, 

what will be included in their final check 

and any other pressing matters for the 

final transition, Bator adds.“It is needed 

to tie up loose ends like collecting IDs, 

getting correct addresses for mailing W- 

2s and other things, ” she said. 

For the most part, exit interviews are 

conducted a few days before or after an 

employee leaves the company, when the 

employment experiences are “fresh” in 

his/her mind and he/she is happy to 

express final thoughts about the employment.All 

part-time and full-time personnel 

are interviewed, according to Bator, 

and temporary or seasonal employees 

are also encouraged to contact her 

before their departure. 

“I prefer to meet with individuals 

one-on-one.This makes it more personalized 

and helps create an atmosphere 

where they feel free to discuss what is 

on their minds,” explained Bator. If this 

is not possible, she mails the information 

with a follow-up phone call, with 

all information kept confidential unless 

otherwise specified. 

Bator includes such questions as why 

the employee is leaving and whether 

anything could have prevented it. 

“I inquire as to how they perceived 

their salary, job security, benefits, managerial 

skills and opportunities for 

growth,” she said. She asks if they would 

work for the university again if the occasion 

arose and whether they felt the 

workplace was a safe environment. 

“This is a perfect opportunity to obtain 

constructive feedback.We can identify 

problems as well as things that work 

well in the department and the university, 

since employees often acknowledge 

Donna Hewlett Bator, human resources manager at Marywood University, right, conducts 

an exit interview, a situation she describes as “the perfect opportunity to 

obtain constructive feedback.” Photo by Bob Urban 

what worked well and have suggestions 

on what might work better,” she said. 

Bator takes the information she 

receives and combines it with other data 

to determine relevance and whether 

changes are due. 

“The more frequently a comment is 

made, the more significance it has,” she 

notes.“Possible underlying motives, differences 

in perceptions of a situation and 

the sincerity of the terminating employee 

at the exit interview serve as positive, 

objective tools to (use to) make appropriate 

changes,” she said. 

“I enjoy the opportunity to meet with 

employees as they are first coming to 

Marywood and those that are leaving. It 

serves as a source of connection for 

human resources and the employee. It is 

an opportunity to make sure the employees 

know we are concerned about their 

experience here and are here to be of 

service and maintain a positive relationship 

when they are no longer employed 

at the university,” added Bator. 

There are a variety of reasons that retention 

of an employee is so important. 

The cost of turnover to a company can 

add hundreds of thousands of dollars to 

a company’s expenses, including hiring 

and training costs and productivity loss. 

Experts say that 25 percent of the average 

employee’s salary is a conservative 

estimate of the cost of turnover. 

The loss of company knowledge when 

an employee leaves can be harmful 

because employees may take what they 

know about the company, customers, 

current projects and past history away — 

sometimes to a competitor. 

There is a disruption of customer service 

when an employee leaves. 

Relationships develop between customers 

and employees that encourage 

business.These relationships are severed 

when an employee leaves. 

In addition, low morale, related to the 

loss of an employee can be felt throughout 

a company, and may intensify when 

coworkers are required to take on additional 

responsibilities. 

Interviews can also be conducted on 

paper or through the use of an online 

system like Nobscot’s Webexit Exit 

Management System, depending on the 

company’s preference. 

One disadvantage of in-person interviews 

is that, for larger companies, they may be 

too time-consuming, it may be difficult to 

track information verbally and some 

employees may be afraid to share negative 

information during these interviews. 

Telephone exit interviews can also be 

time-consuming and expensive if performed 

by an outside consultant. 

Paper and pencil interviews take less 

time and employees may be more willing 

to share negative information, but return 

of such interviews by the employee average 

only 30 to 35 percent. 

The online management system may be 

useful in saving time for human resource 

managers.The information is compiled 

automatically, and participation rates 

have doubled, according to Nobscot. 

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Horses, slots create ‘racinos’ 

‘Racinos’ could provide ‘destination entertainment’ venues at 

existing race tracks, benefit ancillary businesses 

Continued from page one 

a race track, which ultimately reduced the 

daily income at the track and made it more 

difficult to run a racing operation. Smaller 

and smaller crowds eventually took their 

toll on the breeding industry as well, with 

the reduction of purses to the horsemen,” 

said Dissinger. 

In the early 1980s,Atlantic City took a 

swing at the gaming industry.Their success 

was followed by riverboat gaming and 

large-scale gaming developments by the 

Native Americans across the country, all of 

which also contributed to a further decline 

in revenue on the horse racing scene, 

according to Dissinger. 

“In the late 1980s, the introduction of 

interstate simulcasting allowed more 

opportunity to increase revenue for the 

horse racing industry. (But) that is still not 

enough,” said Dissinger. 

More needs to be done, he said, to save 

the sport and business of horse racing — 

currently valued at $1.4 billion in 

Pennsylvania as reported by the 

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture 

this past June. 

The Tomlinson Bill is aimed at offsetting 

the state’s current budget deficit by introducing 

a new gaming market while preserving 

the horseracing industry. 

The combination of the two industries is 

anticipated to bring about other positive 

impacts on regional economic development 

through the expansion of hotels, 

restaurants, and other businesses that will 

benefit from an influx of visitors. 

According to Ewing Cole,“In order to 

accomplish this, integrated racing and 

gaming destination entertainment developments 

should be strategically located 

around the state to maximize the ultimate 

revenue potential in a region. Care 

should be given to identify locations 

that can capture revenues outside the 

borders of Pennsylvania.” 

“The racing venue must become part of a 

larger complex,” said Dissinger. 

Successful “destination entertainment” 

venues must be developed with a more 

comprehensive view that capitalizes on 

multiple revenue generators. 

“This includes interactive attractions, 

game arcades,‘eater’tainment,’ specialty 

retail, museum attractions, sports bars, hotel 

and conference faculties, and luxury spas. 

The overall goal is to maximize revenue by 

increasing patron length of stay and repeat 

visitation while enhancing the overall visitor 

experience,”Ewing Cole notes. 

“Legislation has stalled over the summer 

as proponents of the various gaming bills 

attempt to find agreement on the best plan 

for the state,”said Dissinger. 

The legislative debate centers around an 

important issue: to only introduce slot 

machines at existing, state-licensed racetracks 

and a few future ones and, in addition, 

to allow land-based faculties in 

urban areas.“The goal of this legislative 

initiative is twofold: add additional 

income to the state treasury through the 

taxation of additional gaming revenues, 

Gambling: the pros and cons 

PRO: 

Members of Bring Our Taxes Home (BOTH) support 

placement of slot machines at Pennsylvania's 

licensed standardbred and thoroughbred racetracks 

“because of the revenues it will generate for 

state and local governments, for the jobs it will 

save and the new ones it will create and for bolstering 

Pennsylvania's sagging racing heritage.” 

BOTH members argue that this can be done simply 

by bringing home dollars now spent by 

Pennsylvanians on slot machines in neighboring 

states. Their argument: 

WHERE PENNSYLVANIANS GO TO GAMBLE 

Pennsylvanians made 9.6 million trips to gamble 

out of state in 2001 (That's an average of 26,200 

trips a day) 

■ Twenty-five percent of monies wagered in 

Atlantic City come from Pennsylvania (Pennsylvanians 

made 2.9 million day trips and 4.3 million 

overnight visits to Atlantic City in 2001 and spent 

$2.88 billion). 

■ Pennsylvanians made 575,000 trips to Las 

Vegas in 2001 and spent $349 million there 

■ Forty percent of monies wagered in DE come 

from Pennsylvania. 

■ Twenty-five percent of monies wagered in West 

Virginia comes from Pennsylvania. 

■ Additional Pennsylvanians wager in New York, 

Connecticut, Canada. 

This adds up to a staggering $3.2 billion of 

Pennsylvania dollars spent (left behind) in those 

states. Most (80 percent) is spent on slot 

machines. And this doesn't include an additional 

$1.5 billion in non-gambling expenditures while in 

those states like lodging, retail, entertainment, 

food and beverage, transportation. 

(Sources: Atlantic City Visitor Profile - 1998 

Final Report, Plog Research, Inc.; Profile of the 

American Casino Gambler, Harrah's 

Entertainment, Inc., 2002; International Gaming 

& Wagering Business, September 2002; Las 

Vegas Visitor Profile - Fiscal Year 2001 Annual 

Report, GLS Research; Las Vegas Convention And 

Visitors Authority Research Dept, 2002; Atlantic 

City Convention & Visitors Authority Research 

Department; Christiansen Capital Advisers) 

CON: 

Citizens for a Stronger Pennsylvania (CSP) is a 

campaign by Pennsylvanians Against Gambling 

Expansion (PAGE), No Dice, and other Pennsylvanians 

to prevent the introduction of various forms of casino 

gambling, including slot machines, riverboat gambling 

and video poker. CSP’s argument: 

IOWA — Problem gambling has more than tripled 

since casinos opened, with rates rising from 1.7 percent 

to 5.4 percent of all adults, said a 1995 statesponsored 

survey. A similar jump in Pennsylvania 

(which has about 8.4 million adults) would mean over 

300,000 new problem gamblers. 

ILLINOIS — Gov. Jim Edgar admitted riverboat gambling 

“hasn’t increased tourism or generated new 

income.” The state’s Economic and Fiscal 

Commission found little evidence of spinoff benefits, 

and an independent study in June 1996 estimated 

the casinos actually produce $239 million per year in 

net losses for local economies — even counting tax 

revenues as gains. 

MINNESOTA — The state’s Restaurant and Hotel 

Association reported business down 20 percent to 50 

percent at establishments near Indian casinos. 

Gambling-related personal bankruptcies have soared 

to an estimated 1,000+ per year, and a state that 

previously had just one Gamblers Anonymous chapter 

now has 53. 

WISCONSIN — A 1995 survey of customers at 

Indian casinos found: “More than 10 percent of the 

locals would spend more on groceries if it were not 

for the casino, while nearly one-fourth would spend 

more on clothes. 37 percent said that their savings 

had been reduced.” 

LOUISIANA — Political scandals and organizedcrime 

raids led gubernatorial candidate Phil Preis to 

joke in 1995, “The only growth industry we’ve got 

right now is the FBI.” Other negatives include a “very 

high” 7 percent problem gambling rate, and a study 

showing that riverboat casinos drained $102 million 

from the metro New Orleans economy through 1994. 

MISSISSIPPI — Thefts and other crimes roughly 

doubled in the towns of Gulfport and Bay St. Louis 

after casinos opened. In Biloxi, divorces rose 250 

percent, crisis calls to a local women’s shelter doubled, 

and total violent crimes rose from 5,072 

Above are two views of the proposed “Freedom Park,” a “racino” to be located off Route 

33 in Palmer Township, provided it gets slots and a state license. According to the 

Allentown Morning Call, “other major players are looking to snare an available 

Pennsylvania license.” Churchill Downs is backing plans for “Pittsburgh Palisades Park,” 

a $500 million racetrack-casino-retail development. Magna Entertainment, a Canadian 

company, proposes to build a thoroughbred track near Pittsburgh International Airport. 

Edson Arneault, who operates a gaming resort in West Virginia, has pledged to donate 

$60 million to build a hockey arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins if Pennsylvania gives him 

a racetrack license. Rendering courtesy of Ewing Cole Cherry Brott 

while enhancing horse racing,”he added. 

Advocates of the bill want to retain 

Pennsylvania’s fair share of the gaming 

economy that has expanded significantly 

over the last several years in such places as 

Atlantic City and other states ,like West 

Virginia and New York, which have recently 

incidents in 1993 to 7,413 in 1994. 

NEVADA — With over 300 casinos, Nevada consistently 

ranks at or near the top among all states in per 

capita suicide rate, incarceration rate, high school 

dropout rate, deaths per vehicle mile, and child death 

by abuse. 

NATIONWIDE — US News & World Report (Jan. 15, 

1996) computer-analyzed data from casino areas 

across the country. In terms of economic growth, the 

magazine found no significant difference between 

casino areas and the rest of the US. But crime rates 

in casino areas were nearly twice as high — 1,092 

incidents per 10,000 population vs. 593 — and 

approved slots at racetracks. 

Those against the bill deem it “illegal 

and immoral,” saying it creates a potential 

for addiction, but proponents say it’s just 

another form of entertainment — one 

from which Pennsylvania has an opportunity 

to benefit. 

“towns with casinos have experienced an upsurge of 

crime at the same time it was dropping for the nation 

as a whole.” 

A final note: Ten years ago, problem gambling 

among teenagers in the United States was considered 

a rarity. In 1995 about 12 percent of the calls to 

the nationwide 1-800-GAMBLER helpline involved people 

under 21. 

(Sources not cited nor taken from public records: Edgar quote, Chicago 

Tribune. Illinois study, Better Government Association of Chicago. Minnesota 

figures, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. Wisconsin survey, Wisconsin 

Policy Research Institute. New Orleans study, Policy & Management 

Associates for URA of Pittsburgh.) 

TGI Friday’s benefits raise money for Make-a-Wish 

A check for $20,000 was presented to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northeast PA 

from money raised at the Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport and Quakertown TGI Friday’s 

Bartender Challenges and also at a recent benefit golf outing. From left to right are 

Andy Sweitzer, general manager, TGI Friday’s; Jeffrey Metz, vice president of operations, 

TGI Friday’s; Art Owens, director of program services, Make-A-Wish 

Foundation; and Jessie Hardy, president and CEO, Make-A-Wish.


Downtown Hazleton. 

All Hazleton photos by Bob Urban 

Neighborhood blight, a declining 

population and businesses that 

moved out were all problems 

that plagued the City of Hazleton in the 

past. It wasn’t a malady peculiar to 

Hazleton but a familiar pattern that blossomed 

in thousands of mid-sized cities in 

the 1960s when the suburbs began their 

enormous growth. 

Today, it’s clear that this northeast 

Pennsylvania city is making a strong recovery 

that includes new downtown businesses 

and housing, and a new attitude. 

“We had a great work force but we had 

a negative image and we had to change 

that image,” said Mayor Louis J. Barletta. 

“When the image changes, attitudes 

change. Outside companies are then 

attracted to the city.” 

The mayor said that in the past, many 

businesses left the city because of the 

political infighting taking place. 

“When businesses see infighting, they’re 

CITY LOOKS TOWARD REVITALIZATION 

more apt to move their businesses to 

other locations,” he said. 

Like other cities, there was also a population 

drain. In1968, Hazleton’s population 

was 32,056.Today, the population 

stands at 23,000 residents. 

Working with developers and business 

organizations, and gaining state Keystone 

Opportunity Zone status, which provides 

tax abatement to companies, the city has 

numerous projects up and running. 

An important anchor downtown, on 

Broad and Wyoming Streets, is the tallest 

building in the city, the 12-story Markle 

Building, a well-known former bank that 

had been vacant since 1998 and was 

under decline. 

BY ROBERT CURRAN 

The building was purchased by businessman 

George Hayden and is going 

through a restoration. Eight companies 

are expected to be settled in the building 

before the end of the year, and Barletta 

said most are in there now. 

The clients include Markle Building 

Leasing and Property Management; 

Precision Medical Billing Solution Inc.; 

BNA Financial Services; Education 

Technology Services;The Hazleton 

Development Co.; Cedar Emergency 

Physicians Inc.; K 12 Software; and the 

Park Plaza Hotel. 

A ribbon-cutting took place on July 

17, and Barletta believes that hundreds 

of new jobs will be the outcome 

at the Markle Building. 

In promoting Hazleton, city officials 

and business leaders point out that the 

city is within two hours of Philadelphia 

and New York City, and is located 

within a 300-mile radius of nearly half 

the population and total production of 

the United States. 

The mayor said that since he took office 

in 2000, more than 100 new businesses 

have opened in the city.The vacancy rate 

on the street level, he said was 16 percent 

in 1990; 20 percent in 2000; and 12 

percent in 2002. 

Other signs of progress, the mayor said, 

include the Downtown Athletic Club, formerly 

a vacant bank, and now an active 

location with 800 members; Hazle Drugs, 

the city’s oldest pharmacy, which constructed 

a new building; Broad Street 

Business Exchange, the former site of two 

vacant department stores, but now hous- 

Hazleton continues on next page 

July 1, 2003 

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in your community this summer. The offering will end September 29, 2003. 

Capital Offering Community Meetings (RSVP required): 

Harrisburg/Camp Hill Thursday, July 31, 6 PM Radisson Penn Harris, Camp Hill PA 

Hazleton Thursday, August 7, 6 PM Valley Country Club, Sugarloaf, PA 

Williamsport Thursday, August 21, 6 PM Ross Club, Williamsport, PA 

Towanda/Sayre Thursday, Sept. 11, 6 PM Towanda Country Club, Towanda, PA 

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Continued from previous page 

ing retail and professional offices and a branch of 

Luzerne County Community College; Altamont 

Building, a former hotel, now home to a restaurant, 

retail and services businesses; CAN DO 

(economic development agency) at the 

Renaissance Center; Brennan Law Offices, the 

first completed KOZ project; and Café Ultima, a 

California-style restaurant. 

With ongoing projects, Barletta said progress will continue in Hazleton, including 

improvements at the Hazleton Airport,which is owned by the city. 

The mayor said the city is re-addressing blighted neighborhoods and Pine 

Street was the first project. 

The city acquired three blocks and had blighted buildings demolished, and 

Barletta said the new neighborhood there will receive national attention. 

In center city, Barletta said, 25 new homes were built for people of all incomes, 

but the homes are not average. He said amenities in the environmentally friendly 

homes includes roof shingles that have a 50 year warranty, and master bathrooms 

upstairs and downstairs for families that want to bring their parents to live with 

them.“Bringing people back to the city will help new businesses and jobs we 

The new 

Hazle Drugs 

Store. 

hope to locate downtown,” 

Barletta said. 

George K. Leitner, vice president 

of Markle Building 

Leasing, agrees that the business 

activity in Hazleton will 

result in more companies 

coming to the city.“We had 

brain drain and now there’s 

brain gain,” he said.“Hazleton 

is going through a tremendous 

renaissance.” 

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It used to be that prescription 

drugs were “compounded” 

or mixed by the 

pharmacist and made to order. 

Today, most pharmacies dispense 

pre-measured and premixed 

dosages of prescription 

medicines. 

Hazle Drugs, at two locations 

in Hazleton, has always provided 

compounding services and 

has extended that by specializing 

in hard-to-get items like 

homeopathic and herbal remedies, 

as well as hormone William Spear, Jr., co-owner, Hazle Drugs. 

replacement therapies. 

“We’ve been in business in 

downtown Hazleton for 135 years,” says co-owner William Spear, Jr., who with 

his father,William Spear, Sr., is building a state-of-the-art pharmacy with a learning 

center where they will teach the science of compounding. 

“The climate in Hazleton is one of revitalization and rebirth,” says Spear, Jr. 

“We have a long-standing commitment here, Hazleton feels like home, it’s 

always been home to us.” Though the city will never be a retail giant like the 

downtowns of generations past, people are getting excited he says.“It’s time to 

take a leap of faith in the city’s leaders,” he says, noting that people want something 

different.“Hazleton has a unique mixture of elements that the malls don’t 

have... professionals, arts and athletic clubs.” 

“I have a clear plan and 

vision for the revitalization 

and continued growth 

in Hazleton. I expect to see 

projects completed that 

will change the complexion 

of our region for many 

years to come.” 

 

Hazleton Downtown Athletic Club 

1548 Hwy. 315, Wilkes-Barre 

570-826-0439 • (800) 924-TEAM 

FAX 208-1093 

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Airport Beltway, Hazleton, PA 

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the almost 11 years I have been at 

First Federal, we have had several opportunities 

to invest further in our presence 

“During 

in the city or to consider relocating. We have always 

chosen the investment opportunity and have been 

pleased with that decision. 

During the past few years we have seen the downtown 

businesses community invest in the city in projects 

such as First Federal’s refurbishing of its offices at 

25 and 31.W. Broad St, the occupancy of the Business 

Exchange office space at Broad Street and Laurel Street E. Lee Beard 

(First Federal is one of three banks that invested in this 

project with equity as well as loans), the renovations 

to the new Hazleton Downtown Athletic Club and the YM/YWCA, the renovations 

in process for the Markle and the Hazle Drugs buildings, and the ongoing 

community renovations for the Pine Street Community and various playground 

projects (First Federal's 

Charitable Foundation has 

been a contributor to these 

playground improvements). 

First Federal benefits from 

all of these improvements as 

the quality of life in downtown 

is improved for our 

employees, our customers 

and clients, and the overall 

community. These investments 

in downtown are generating 

renewed interest in 

Hazleton — a city First 

Federal has been proud to 

call home for over 65 years 

and a city that we look forward 

to serving for many 

years to come.” 

The Broad Street Business Exchange. 

— E. Lee Beard, 

President/CEO, First Federal, 

Hazleton 

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Saturday 9:00 – 12:00 

At First National Community Bank, community is our middle 

name, that’s why we are very excited to be a new member of the Hazleton 

community. Please allow us the opportunity to introduce you to some of 

the great banking products and services we have to offer, as well as our 

grand opening celebration special offers. 

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More new construction in downtown Hazleton. 

There is much activity 

taking place in 

the Greater 

Hazleton Area. Many new 

businesses are opening 

throughout the area, 

Downtown Hazleton is seeing 

much revitalization 

with the renovation of the 

Markle Building and the 

new construction of the 

Hazle Drugs Building. In 

addition,The Altamont is 

also making some major 

improvements in that 

impressive structure.The 

YWCA just completed a 

major renovation project and the Pine Street Housing Project is just about ready to 

accept new tenants. In Hazle Twp. business is booming along the Airport Beltway 

and in the Humboldt, Route 924 area. Eagle Rock Resort is nearing completion on 

its new hotel and exercise/spa facilities with additional improvements and construction 

to follow. 

Not only is business growing in our area, but communities are coming together 

to promote just what Greater Hazleton has to offer through the Chamber’s new 

“Community Awareness Initiative” campaign.The campaign is geared towards highlighting 

the many activities/events that Greater Hazleton has to offer such as 

Funfest, First Night Hazleton, Harvest Moon Balloon Festival, sports, arts and culture.As 

president of 

the Greater Hazleton 

Chamber of 

Commerce, I am very 

pleased with the 

progress of the 

Greater Hazleton Area 

and look forward to its 

continued growth. 

— Donna Palermo, 

President, Greater 

Hazleton Chamber of 

Commerce 

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ChamberChoice health plan launches ‘vigorous’ regional expansion 

Dwindling health choices addressed by chambers 

By Ralph Nardone 

In October, over 22,000 area employees 

will be without health insurance coverage 

as another insurance carrier, Health 

Net, leaves northeast Pennsylvania. 

Companies like Health Net have been 

backing out of this area over the last 

few years because they cannot compete 

with local providers, says Jeff 

Rubel vice president of the Greater 

Scranton Chamber of Commerce. 

The affected employers will have to 

shop for a replacement insurance carrier 

to cover their employee benefits 

such as medical insurance, dental and 

vision insurance. 

However, Rubel believes the local chambers 

of commerce in northeast 

Pennsylvania offer an employee insurance 

plan to their members that can fill the 

void created by Health Net’s departure. 

The plan, which is administered by the 

Chambers of Commerce Service 

Corporation (CCSC), offers packages local 

employers can customize to fit the needs 

of their workforce, he says. 

The CCSC plan offers a variety of traditional 

and HMO plans as well as dental 

and vision coverage at a very competitive 

cost, Rubel says. 

At this time, about 200 member employers 

from the Scranton Chamber are using 

the CCSC plan named “ChamberChoice.” 

Rubel encourages any local employer 

with two to 50 employees to 

check with their local chamber 

about the ChamberChoice plan. 

Rubel said that the ChamberChoice 

provides coverage from stable insurance 

carriers, such as Blue Cross of Northeast 

Pennsylvania, so employers don’t have 

to worry about shopping around 

because their insurance carrier is 

pulling out of the area. 

Any employers interested in the CCSC 

plan must become members of their 

local chamber, which costs them $260 

per year. Rubel said that chamber membership 

offers many other benefits and 

the CCSC insurance plan is one of the 

primary ones. 

Using ChamberChoice can result in 

lower premiums according to Jessica 

Hettler, chief operating officer of the 

CCSC in Pittsburgh. 

She says local employers can save 10 to 

25 percent on their insurance premiums 

by using the CCSC plan compared to 

Health Net’s plan. Hettler adds that the 

CCSC plan offers more participating doctors 

and hospitals because it works 

through Blue Cross. 

Hettler points out that ChamberChoice 

administers the entire program, including 

billing, premium collection, claims processing, 

customer service, and so forth — 

taking that responsibility away from the 

employers, further reducing the cost of 

insuring their employees. 

She adds that small sized employers 

often do not have sophisticated human 

resources departments available to keep 

up to date on insurance. 

“Our ChamberChoice plan is very 

attractive to small businesses because it 

offers more than medical benefits. It also 

offers ‘one-stop shopping’ by offering all 

types of insurance through reliable carriers 

and the value-added administrative 

service provided by CCSC,” Hettler says. 

What makes the ChamberChoice plan 

so competitive is that it is customized to 

the employer’s work force demographics. 

The type of work the employees do, 

their age and sex, and other variables are 

all considered when the premiums are 

calculated. Plus, employers can manipulate 

coverage and deductibles to reduce 

premiums. So, if an employee is willing to 

forgo a certain type of coverage the plan 

can be altered and savings realized, 

Hettler adds. 

“ChamberChoice studied its members 

over the last decade to determine what 

they want for coverage options and at 

what cost,” Hettler says. CCSC put together 

the current plan and is finding an 

increasing number of employers are signing 

on each year. 

Hettler is confident ChamberChoice 

will expand significantly locally in the 

coming years. 

“We have a vigorous expansion program 

in place for northeast Pennsylvania,” 

Hettler says. 

She adds that ChamberChoice will continue 

to work with the best insurance 

carriers available. 

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Economist: no evidence 

of ‘housing bubble’ 

With slow economic growth, stagnant 

or slightly rising mortgage rates, 

and a disappointing job market, housing 

sales in the near future may be 

dependent on consumer confidence 

and affordability, a Penn State 

Economist wrote as part of a quarterly 

economic review for the Pennsylvania 

Association of Realtors (PAR). 

Fortunately, homes across Pennsylvania 

remain at a fairly affordable rate, according 

to Dr. Jacob De Rooy, an economist in 

the School of Business Administration, 

Penn State Harrisburg campus. 

“The Pennsylvania Affordability Index is 

still high.Affordability depends largely on 

housing prices, buyers’ incomes, interest 

rates and other credit conditions,” De 

Rooy said.“Housing prices are not likely 

to grow at the torrid pace of the last few 

years. In some regions of Pennsylvania 

they are declining.As long as unemployment 

does not increase, housing prices 

do not rise above the general inflation 

rate (or decline), and mortgage interest 

rates do not increase, we can expect that 

affordability may actually increase.That 

will strengthen the market.” 

De Rooy said home-buying decisions 

are influenced by consumer confidence 

in the future. Higher levels of consumer 

confidence could strengthen demand for 

single family homes over the next few 

months and off-set any upward creep in 

mortgage rates. 

“The sharp decline in mortgage interest 

rates did much to boost housing demand 

up to this time, so do not expect any significant 

declines in the next year or two,” 

De Rooy said.“It is possible that interest 

rates will drift upward when economic 

recovery really takes hold.This forecast is 

based on projections of inflation.While 

prices of manufactured goods have been 

soft, prices of services are rising. The 

U.S. is largely a service economy so that 

costs of services are more important 

than are prices of manufactured items.” 

De Rooy also wrote that while some 

experts predict that the housing bubble 

will burst, that there are few indications 

that will actually happen. 

“Despite all the talk by non-professionals 

outside real estate, there is no evidence 

of a housing price bubble,” De 

Rooy wrote.“However, the growth rate of 

housing prices, which has been very 

high in most regions, will moderate to a 

more conventional level.” 

Coast Guard Auxiliary sets 

‘boating certification’ class 

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 

15-04 is conducting a 10-week “Boating 

Skills & Seamanship” course beginning 

September 29.The course covers the 

requirements needed to obtain a state 

boating certificate, which is now mandatory 

for persons born on or after January 1, 

1982 operating a powerboat of more than 

25 horsepower on Pennsylvania waters. 

The bill,Act 199 of 2002, was signed by 

former Gov. Schweiker and became effective 

on Feb. 7. Course topics include 

engine maintenance, trailering, navigation, 

boating rules, weather, the buoy system, 

communications and safety equipment, 

and usage.The information is applicable 

to watercraft of every size. For more information, 

call (570) 383-3842. 



It’s bad news if you haven’t heard any bad news lately 

Make it easy for employees to bring you the bad news 

By Lee Smedley, Ed.D. 

Contributing to the recent debacle at 

the New York Times was an environment 

where subordinates were uncomfortable 

sharing bad news. 

It’s sad to say, but most of us 

know managers like the editors 

at the Times who disconnected 

from the unpleasant challenges 

facing their organization. 

The manager’s ability to help 

the organization achieve its goals 

faltered and, in extreme circumstances, 

a real disaster occurred. 

Jim Pilversack, an executive 

coach and chairman of a CEO 

support group with clients in northeast 

Pennsylvania, comments that executives 

often feel they are shielded from and the 

last to know what’s really going on within 

their organizations. 

Is it that they are ogres, hold a grudge, 

seek revenge and kill the messenger? 

Perhaps. But, since those types couldn’t 

imagine this column relating to them, I’ll 

focus on the well-intentioned leaders 

among us who unwittingly convey the 

message that bad news is not welcome. 

While I was a director at a Fortune 500 

company, a co-worker shared the following:“Lee, 

I know you ask for feedback, 

and I’ve seen your positive actions in 

response to it. But when I offer it, you 

seem to be in such pain, even angry. I’ll 

have to admit, I think twice before coming 

to share bad news. I wonder if others 

come at all.” 

What a shock: not my intentions, not my 

actions, but my emotions and body language 

had betrayed me. If you haven’t heard any 

Smedley 

bad news in a while, that may be the 

REALLY bad news requiring attention. 

Here are some tips that helped me and 

that may help you elicit and respond to bad 

news for the good of the organization. 

“Personnel Decisions 

International’s Successful Manager’s 

Handbook”is an excellent resource 

for more background. 

■ Be open to the expression 

of opposing views. In the way 

you respond to challenges and 

bad news, you can help others 

feel that you took the time to 

understand their point of view. 

It won’t work to say “I want to 

change, and I hope you’ll start 

sharing bad news with me.” Rather, take 

advantage of discussions where you 

sense concerns as they occur naturally. 

Neutral ground, like a conference room, 

works much better than your own 

office, especially as you begin building 

credibility in this approach. 

■ Be prepared. Check your own motivation 

and emotions. As you invite opposing 

views, take a nondefensive stance. 

Learn not to take the criticism personally; 

monitor and focus on changing your own 

thinking, emotional state and body language. 

Bring a stance of genuine curiosity 

and active listening to the problem and 

how its solution can help your group 

respond. If you are, indeed, nervous and 

tense, then begin with one-to-one conversations 

with staff and co-workers with 

whom you have good relationships. 

As you become more comfortable, 

expand to conversations with those who 

have been reluctant to speak and to 

groups. As you develop credibility, your 

Northumberland County officials meet with governor 

Throughout August, Gov. Edward 

Rendell hosted representatives of each 

county at his residence to discuss the 

economic stimulus package that he is trying 

to get passed, as well as economic 

development projects now in progress or 

slated to start within the next four years 

throughout the state. 

On August 12, Northumberland County 

had the opportunity to speak with the 

governor, his top aides and department 

heads, as well as representatives from 

DCED (Department of Community and 

Economic Development); DEP 

(Department of Environmental 

Protection); and PennDOT. 

Representing Northumberland County 

was Rep. Merle Philips; Commissioners 

John Boback, Robert Greco, and Sam 

Deitrick; James King from the 

Northumberland County Industrial 

Development Authority; Barry Miller from 

Susquehanna Industrial Development 

Corporation; John Shipman from Sunbury 

Pride and Renaissance Coalition; Robert 

Hickox from the Milton Area Chamber of 

Commerce; and, from the Brush Valley 

Regional Chamber of Commerce, Sandra 

Hutchinson, CEO; Richard Subasic, president; 

and Melissa Hovenstine, chair of the 

Economic Development and Governmental 

Affairs committee. 

The meeting began with a push by 

the governor in support of his economic 

stimulus package. 

Rendell also announced that the DCED 

is starting a low-interest rate loan for 

acquiring new sites designed for industrial 

development, the details on this program 

will be provided to the state’s 

chambers of commerce this fall. 

The governor reviewed projects currently 

in progress throughout 

Northumberland County, including the 

“Butternut Creek Project.” 

Rendell announced that $4 million 

has been set aside for this project and, 

as soon as an agreement is received 

from Mt. Carmel Township, the money 

will be released. 

The projects’ primary design will be to 

construct a rectangular concrete channel 

and concrete box culverts along 

Shamokin and Butternut Creeks in the 

Borough of Mt. Carmel and the Township 

of Mt. Carmel. Once constructed, it will 

provide flood protection to the residents 

of both Mt. Carmel Borough and Mt. 

Carmel Township.Another project that 

was discussed was the “Cameron Bridge 

Project.” This project will alleviate the 

daily congestion and improve the safety 

of travel at the intersection of state route 

61, state route 225 and 2nd Street in 

Shamokin. PennDOT indicated that $13.5 

million has been allocated for the project; 

construction will begin in 2005 and 

it will take two years to complete. 

confidence will grow along with your 

reputation for being more accessible. 

■ Listen first, second and third. 

Respond last.Your training in active listening 

will serve you well here; seek first 

to understand, then to be understood. If 

you want your co-workers to share their 

concerns more freely, you must avoid 

jumping quickly to judgment, criticism or 

rebuttal. Limit questions that begin with 

“Why,” as many sense them as interrogation. 

Rather, seek background and history 

to better understand the speakers’ point 

of view, using phrases like “Tell me more 

about… Can you help me understand the 

background on this?…I’ve not been 

aware of this issue, but am interested in 

hearing your point of view…” 

Share your understanding of the major 

points and confirm whether or not it 

matches the speaker’s view. 

Next, see if you can elicit approaches 

from the speaker and others on how to 

deal with the issue. Then and only then 

should you begin sharing your own interpretation, 

reaction or judgment. 

■ Whenever possible, use the information 

you gain to create positive 

change. Listening to bad news and 

employee concerns without responding 

or taking action will backfire. But, taking 

positive action will speak volumes. It also 

encourages others interested in positive 

change to speak up in the future. 

■ When you choose not to take action 

on the information, explain why. Even 

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if your staff doesn’t like your reasoning, 

they will respect your having listened to 

their points of view and having explained 

your decision. 

■ Build a culture that anticipates, 

addresses and celebrates solving 

challenges.This suggestion will take 

considerable time and commitment. 

Assess your own and your staff’s attitude 

towards bad news and problems 

that threaten your group’s performance. 

Consider changing subtle but important 

elements of your operations — things 

like meeting agendas, what you talk about 

informally, and what you celebrate. 

Try a “here’s a problem I’d like to ask for 

help with” meeting agenda item, talking up 

the proactive work being done to address 

a threat head on, and bringing in pizza 

when that challenge has been overcome. 

Recognize and give special assignments, 

even promotions, to those who bring up 

and take action to address bad news. 

You’ll know your culture is changing 

when you return from vacation and get 

the report of a major challenge identified 

and actions already taken to address it. 

With some time and attention, you can 

create an environment where you’ll begin 

to hear bad news freely shared and positively 

addressed. It surely beats silence. 

Lee Smedley, Ed.D., is an organizational 

development consultant. Learn more 

about his work at www.theconsultantsforum.com/smedley.htm 

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Tobyhanna sets lean practices 

A new process is helping Tobyhanna’s 

transformation to a lean organization. The 

depot’s Lean Enterprise Office is introducing 

another tool, called “6S Process.” 

“The purpose of the 6S initiative is to 

create and maintain an organized, clean, 

safe, high-performance environment by 

A Tobyhanna worker implements ‘6S.’ 

On July 28 the staff of DFA Inc. was in 

New York City strutting their stuff on the 

set of “Sex and the City.” 

And they were literally strutting all day 

long, take after take, walking past the “Sex 

and the City” stars as they shot their scene 

at 92, an Upper East Side restaurant. 

“You can’t believe the amount of time it 

takes to shoot a three-minute scene,” said 

Lisa Smith, a designer at DFA. 

It all started when DFA met Michael 

Patrick King at a Scranton chamber dinner.“I’m 

such a big fan of the show, I 

can’t tell you how excited I was to get a 

chance to be on it,”said Tricia Pegula, 

media director at DFA. 

“We sent them our head shots and were 

surprised when they called and said they 

wanted everyone to be on the show,” said 

Michael Frigoletto, creative director. 

Being on the set gave DFA a real appreciation 

for what it takes to produce a 

major TV show.“We produce a lot of local 

TV commercials on budgets that would 

following the 6S process,” said Sharon 

Smith, chief of Tobyhanna’s Productivity 

Management Division, Resource 

Management Directorate.“Implementation 

of 6S will simplify the work environment, 

while improving quality, efficiency 

and safety.” 

Lean requires an organization to think 

in terms of the product and look at its 

processes like the customer would. 

Personnel organize around what adds 

value to the customer and eliminate or 

minimize what doesn’t. 

Implementation of 6S will simplify the 

work environment, while improving quality, 

efficiency and safety, Smith said. 

The six S’s are: Safety is applied to all of 

the other five S’s. Sort the unnecessary 

items from the workplace.Straighten 

what’s left after the sorting is completed. 

Scrub/Shine the work area to thoroughly 

clean it after the clutter has been 

removed and the necessary items have 

been properly located and straightened. 

Standardize the best practice in the work 

area. Sustain focuses on defining a new 

status quo and standard of workplace 

organization.This is considered the most 

difficult “S” to achieve because human 

nature resists change. 

Ad agency staff ‘stars’ in ‘Sex and the City’ 

not even pay for the breakfast for the 

extras” said Frigoletto. 

“The stars are so beautiful, even more 

beautiful in person” said Tara Smith, 

account supervisor at DFA. 

Pegula got her brush with fame when 

she bumped into Sarah Jessica Parker. 

“She was so nice.The only thing I could 

think to say was,‘That’s a great purse.’ 

She laughed and said,‘I know. I wish I got 

to keep it.’” 

“We did get to speak with Michael 

Patrick King. He was walking by and I 

said something stupid like,‘Hey Scranton,’ 

but it stopped him in his tracks. He was 

so grounded and magnanimous, he complimented 

us on how great we looked 

and said that we did Scranton proud,” 

said Paul DeLuca, president of DFA. 

The entire staff of DFA will appear on 

the September 14 episode of “Sex and 

the City.” But don’t blink — you might 

miss the backs of their heads or shoulders 

passing the girls. 

www.blackout-design.com 

1.888.224.1802 

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A Proud Member 

of the Greater 

Scranton Chamber 

of Commerce 

From left to right: Tricia 

Pegula, Lisa Smith, Paul 

DeLuca, Tara Tomasetti-Smith, 

Michael Frigoletto.


Since ‘Do-Not-Call,’ telemarketers homing in on precise targets 

Call center employees are being trained to be ‘consultative’ rather than ‘assumptive,’ says telemarketing executive 


The “Do-Not-Call” law has put telemarketers 

against the ropes. Over 30 million 

telephone numbers across the United 

States are registered for Do-Not-Call. 

Since the government’s hand is raised 

to restrict “out-calls,” where telemarketers 

call unsuspecting targets, marketers 

are now concentrating their 

efforts on maximizing the sales potential 

of “in-calls,” where customers call 

toll-free numbers to gather information, 

complain, or make a purchase. 

Call center employees are being 

trained to be more consultative, helping 

meet the needs of callers, rather than 

assumptive, trying to stumble upon a 

potential sale, according to Reenie 

Johnson, vice president of client operations 

at Telerx Marketing Inc., in 

Hanover, Luzerne County. 

She says the 250 employees who handle 

the over two million calls a year concentrate 

on “responding directly to caller 

feedback.” They are more concerned 

with answering their questions than posing 

questions to them, she says. 

Telerx contracts its call center services 

to 60 different clients who utilize 

the call center as a strategic marketing 

tool, Johnson said. Depending on what 

the clients objectives are, and the 

objectives can be just learning about 

the customer or making an intense 

sales push,Telerx gathers key market 

information.When a Telerx representative 

is talking with a customer, they can 

learn a lot of things, she says. 

Telerx provides a valuable customer 

records management service, Johnson 

adds.They categorize calls by type, for 

example: complaint calls; compliment 

calls; ship date inquiries; and technical 

inquiries.“This information is valuable to 

our clients because it helps them determine 

the reasons for the success or failure 

of a product or the changing needs of 

the consumer,” she adds. 

Johnson notes Telerx will customize its 

call service messaging based on the 

client’s needs.“Some clients use marketing 

messages to the caller to build awareness 

of new products,” Johnson said. 

“Others want to do promotion,” she said. 

Johnson notes telemarketing strategies 

are very effective tools.“The bottom line 

is telemarketing sells,” she added. 

George Monahan, telecommunications 

design expert at Guyette Communications 

in Plymouth, Luzerne County, says the “auto 

attendant” telephone answering systems he 

offers his clients can be customized to 

callers with any type of message during 

their calls. Callers can be pitched new 

product promotions when they are being 

routed to their requested destination.And, 

they can offer deals when customers are 

waiting on hold. 

Using messages that make sales pitches 

have become increasingly popular for 

when customers are on-hold versus playing 

music or a local radio station 

Monahan says.The customer who calls in 

and is put on hold is a prime target for 

promotion, he says.They are already an 

established consumer and are therefore 

directly interested in the organization 

they are calling. 

The on-hold message may be general 

information, Monahan adds, or can be targeted 

with more precision based on what 

the caller is requesting. For example, a 

customer calling to purchase clothing 

can be listening to a message offering 

upcoming seasonal specials while waiting 

for the representative to pick up the call 

and finalize the transaction.The messaging 

can be targeted because, when customers 

call, the marketer and the customer 

both know why they’re there. 

Monahan emphasizes that utilizing call 

promotions is a relatively inexpensive 

marketing tool compared to mass market 

advertising or personal selling through a 

sales force. Plus, it’s a method with good 

target market precision, he says. 

Linda Roerig, inside advertising manager 

for the Scranton Times in Scranton, says 

her staff play a consultative role to help 

customers meet their needs. 

Roerig says a lot of time is spent “giving 

the caller an ‘Advertising 101’ course.” 

“When an advertiser calls, they seek our 

educated opinion about what the best 

advertising strategy is for them,” Roerig 

says.“We don’t make pitches to the caller 

unless it 

can 

benefit 

them,” 

she 

adds. 

Roerig 

differentiates 

between 

telemarketing 

and 

inside 

sales. 

Telemarketing 

uses 

outcalls 

to 

Reenie Johnson, vice president 

of client operations at Telerx 

Marketing Inc., says the future 

of telemarketing is in answering 

questions, not trying to 

“stumble on a sale.” 

pressure customers into buying a product 

and often takes advantage of them. 

That is why the Do-Not-Calls were initiated, 

she adds. 

Roerig says her staff are inside sales personnel 

who take the time to interview 

the callers to learn about their business 

and objectives.Then they can propose an 

advertising program based on a “qualified 

and professional opinion.” 

“We are filling a need versus seeking a 

way to manipulate someone into a purchase,” 

Roerig says. 

OPEN 

FOR 

BUSINESS 

Look for Northeastern Pennsylvania Business 

Weekly every Sunday. It is the largest, most 

comprehensive business news section in the 

area — providing you with business news and 

trends from Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, 

as well as advice on pocketbook issues. 

Features include the Harvard Business Review; 

People on the Move — featuring business people 

throughout the region; Advice from the 

Experts — area finance experts answer your 

questions in a weekly column; and Business 

Briefcase — a list of upcoming events, conventions, 

lectures, trade shows, etc. 

Look for “Business Weekly” 

every week in 

To subscribe to The Sunday Times call 348-9190; 

to The Sunday Voice call 821-2010.


Leaders, molded from the circumstances 

of their lives and the drive from within, 

share some basic traits but differ in style 

and skill. 

A few professionals offered their opinions 

on the leadership styles of President George 

Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, 

Secretary of State Colin Powell and Senator 

Hillary Clinton. 

Intelligence tops the list of traits shared by 

successful leaders. 

“To be a good leader, you have to be smarter 

than your troops,” says William J. Parente, Sr., 

Ph.D., professor of political science at the 

University of Scranton.“You have to be able to 

express yourself spontaneously when the press 

is interrogating you. Powell, Rumsfeld and 

Clinton, in particular, are articulate. Bush is 

learning on the job.” 

But strong opinions from Rumsfeld and 

Clinton, who tend to overstate their ideas, can 

hamper their effectiveness. 

“It’s important for a leader not to alienate 

segments of the people he serves,” says 

Parente.“I think that means you have to moderate 

your own political views so as not to 

make the job of leading these people more 

difficult than it already is.” 

Paradoxically, Colin Powell’s style displays 

that moderation, a characteristic that draws 

unified support and bonds ideas along nonpartisan 

lines. 

Humor also creates a bond between leaders 

and those they guide.“Bush is very good at 

this,” says Parente.“It speaks to a person's selfconfidence 

and innate self-esteem if you can 

make fun of yourself.” 

But some situations call for challenge, and 

responsibility exhibits a leader’s true grit. 

“America desperately needed a decisive,toughtalking 

task-oriented leader to make us feel safe 

and powerful again after 9-11,and that happened 

to be President Bush's strength,”says Henry O. 

Patterson,Ph.D.,assistant professor of 

psychology at Penn State’s Berks- 

Lehigh Valley campus.“He effectively 

used confrontational and competitive 

strategies to build cohesion and confidence 

among Americans.” 

When factors change, such as the 

end of war and economic decline, 

strength can turn to weakness. 

Change requires a more deliberative, collaborative 

and consultative style than the President 

has displayed so far, according to Patterson.“If 

he is not flexible enough to change his style in 

response to changing situations, his leadership 

effectiveness will likely diminish over the 

remaining years of his presidency.” 

Patterson questions whether Donald 

Rumsfeld will be able to adjust his style to a 

more collaborative and consultative one as the 

world situation changes. Since September 11, 

Rumsfeld comforted Americans’ fears with his 

confidence, certainty and willingness to use his 

powers in the face of extreme circumstances. 

“Rumsfeld's style appears to be textbook task-oriented 

autocrat,”says Patterson.“This style works 

best when the situation is highly uncertain and followers 

want and need structure and clarity.” 

But good leaders surround themselves with 

others whose skills and styles supplement their 

own.“Secretary Powell displays some qualities 

of a transformational leader — someone who 

can inspire others by virtue of his accomplishments 

and his character,” says Patterson.“Unlike 

Leadership Quality 

Powell 

Clinton 

Bush 

Rumsfeld 

President Bush or Senator Clinton, who rose to 

prominence in part because they were thrust 

into the public eye, there is little doubt that 

Secretary Powell achieved his success because 

of his own skill and determination. He earned 

his position, and that in itself gives him respect, 

credibility, and influence as a leader.” 

Powell’s effective management skills and consultative, 

people-oriented style contributes to 

his popularity today and to his inspiring success 

as a general. 

Similar to Powell, Hillary Clinton appears to 

be more consultative and people-centered in 

her style and capable in her own right, despite 

her lack of experience.“A liability Senator 

Clinton appears to have as a leader is lack of 

credibility,” says Patterson.“Doubts that many 

people have about her management of personal 

finances and her reactions to her husband's 

affairs don't inspire confidence or loyalty.” 

But motivation defines the style of all leaders, 

according to Cathy L. Greenberg, executive 

director of the Institute for Strategic 

Leadership, LeBow College of Business, Drexell 

University and co-author of “Global Leadership: 

The Next Generation.” Motivation by affiliation, 

power or achievement drives every leader. 

“President Bush is motivated by achievement,” 

says Greenberg.“I don’t think of him as 

somebody who is motivated to do things without 

the appropriate information. I think he is 

driven by a specific set of milestones and an 

end point that he has judged with a very strong 

set of values and principles.” 

Successful leaders complement their own 

strengths with those of differing skills and styles. 

“Colin Powell combines affiliation with 

achievement quite well,” says Greenberg.“He is 

somebody who does well in negotiations.That’s 

a reality of what I call emotional intelligence: 

his capacity to read others and to respond in a 

way that allows him to create an opportunity 

that people can get together, as opposed to a 

position of win or lose.” 

Rumsfeld, like Bush, is more motivated 

by achievement.“He tends to make decisions 

based on firm, practical information 

that’s usable for his particular point of 

view at the time,” says Greenberg. 

Rumsfeld’s influence permeates through 

the ranks.“His people are dedicated, practical,” 

says Greenberg.“They serve in all 

capacities to each other, to the public, to the 

military.” His style balances well with Powell’s 

to create a dynamic partnership. 

Dynamic accurately describes Hillary Clinton, 

whose motivation focuses on power.“A power 

individual uses the style of dressing for success, 

influence and discussion to achieve an outcome,” 

says Greenberg.“They generally do it in 

combination with their strong understanding 

and emotional intelligence around affiliations.” 

Clinton’s powerful presence and good judgment 

helped to gain the respect of her peers.She 

reflects the traditional female executive who toiled 

to succeed in a male-dominated world. 

“From our research,we found that women are 

much better at shared leadership and network 

leadership than their male counterparts,”says 

Greenberg.“I think Hillary practices that well.” 

So what can we learn from these 

notable leaders? 

“The use of accurate information balanced 

with perspective from the population that they 

serve is always important,” says Greenberg. 

“Relying on information in a vacuum on a logical 

path doesn’t necessarily always 

get you to the end point that you 

want.” In order to be a successful 

leader, you have to use information 

from several different means but 

you can’t rely on that information 

solely.” Learning to separate the 

wheat from the chaff requires intelligence 

and savvy. 

“Leaders are not leaders unto 

themselves,”says Greenberg.“They 

have to practice their leadership in a 

network of people who are helping 

them with leadership.”Recognizing 

you can’t be all things to all people 

and sharing leadership provides a 

key component for success. 

By Kathy Ruff 

“I think leaders who surround themselves 

with people who are very similar to 

themselves are making a very large mistake 

because they will not get the balanced 

perspective they need when they 

make decisions,” says Greenberg. 

Finally,recognition of diverse styles provides 

the foundation for leadership success. 

“I have worked in a lot of companies 

where the leader is surrounded by people 

who use the same characteristics and the 

same style of the leader and that doesn’t 

really get you where you want to be long 

term,” says Greenberg.“The companies that 

I’ve seen be successful over 15, 20 years 

do so because they recognize that diversity 

of style and thinking are complementary 

in the long run.” 

Tomorrow’s leaders learn what to do — 

and what not to do — from those who 

lead today. Their legacy is our future. 

Raymond Cattell, a pioneer in the field of personality 

assessment, developed the Leadership 

Potential equation in 1954. The traits of an effective 

leader include the following: 

Emotional stability. Good leaders must be able 

to tolerate frustration and stress. Overall, they must 

be well-adjusted and have the psychological maturity 

to deal with anything they are required to face. 

Dominance. Leaders are often times competitive 

and decisive and usually enjoy overcoming obstacles. 

Overall, they are assertive in their thinking 

style as well as their attitude in dealing with others. 

Enthusiasm. Leaders are usually seen as active, 

expressive, and energetic. They are often very optimistic 

and open to change. Overall, they are generally 

quick and alert and tend to be uninhibited. 

Conscientiousness. Leaders are often dominated 

by a sense of duty and tend to be very exacting 

in character. They usually have a very high 

standard of excellence and an inward desire to do 

one's best. They also have a need for order and 

tend to be very self-disciplined. 

Social boldness. Leaders tend to be spontaneous 

risk-takers. They are usually socially aggressive 

and generally thick-skinned. Overall, they are 

responsive to others and tend to be high in emotional 

stamina. 

Tough-mindedness. Good leaders are practical, 

logical, and to-the-point. They tend to be low in 

sentimental attachments and comfortable with 

criticism. They are usually insensitive to hardship 

and overall, are very poised. 

Self-assurance. Self-confidence and resiliency 

are common traits among leaders. They tend to 

be free of guilt and have little or no need for 

approval. They are generally secure and free from 

guilt and are usually unaffected by prior mistakes. 

Compulsiveness. Leaders are controlled and 

very precise in their social interactions.Overall, they 

are very protective of their integrity and reputation 

and consequently tend to be socially aware and careful, 

abundant in foresight, and very careful when 

making decisions or taking specific actions. 

Beyond these basic traits, leaders of today must 

also possess traits which will help them motivate 

others and lead them in new directions.They must 

have the following personality traits: 

High energy. Long hours and some travel are 

usually a prerequisite for leadership positions, 

especially as your company grows. 

Intuitiveness. Reasoning and logic will not get 

you through all situations. In fact, more and more 

leaders are learning to the value of using their intuition 

and trusting their “gut” when making decisions. 

Maturity. To be a good leader, personal power 

and recognition must be secondary to the development 

of your employees. 

Team orientation. Instead of promoting an 

adult/child relationship with their employees, leaders 

create an adult/adult relationship which fosters 

team cohesiveness. 

Empathy. Being able to “put yourself in the 

other person's shoes” is a key trait of leaders 

today. Without empathy, you can't build trust. 

Charisma.Leaders who have charisma are able 

to arouse strong emotions in their employees by 

defining a vision which unites and captivates 

them. Using this vision, leaders motivate employees 

to reach toward a future goal by tying the goal 

to substantial personal rewards and values. 

Source: Small Business Administration

Mericle hosts event at Hanover Industrial Estates 

Hanover Township, Hanover School 

District officials and Wilkes-Barre 

Chamber representatives were on hand 

last month to help Mericle Commercial 

Real Estate Services promote the benefits 

of locating a business in the Hanover 

Industrial Estates. 

Steve Yokimishyn, a member of the 

Governor’s Task Force, provided key 

information on Keystone Opportunity 

Zones (KOZ) to real estate professionals 

and prospective tenants. 

Mericle opened the doors of three of its 

properties, the 144,600 square foot facility 

at 1058 Hanover Street; the 55,556 SF facility 

at 535 Stewart Road; and 320 Stewart 

Road, a 108,000 SF Butler building with 

many modern state-of-the-art features. 

Mericle has made a significant investment 

in the local economy through its 

development of over two million square 

feet of property in the Hanover Industrial 

Estates and nearby Hanover Crossings. 

Together with its regional partners, 

Mericle has helped relocate over 40 businesses 

and bring over 1,600 new jobs to 

the area in these two parks alone. 

Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services 

is a full-service commercial and industrial 

real estate company specializing in development, 

brokerage, construction, and 

property management. 

For more information, phone (570) 823- 

1100 or visit www.mericle.com 

Seen at the open house were, left to 

right,Tom Williams,Team PA coordinator/ 

retention specialist, Greater Wilkes-Barre 

Chamber of Business and Industry; Donna 

Sedor, vice president, communications, 

Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber; John 

Augustine, director of Innovation Center 

operations and entrepreneurial development;Tom 

Ruskey, project development 

specialist, Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber; 

Bob Besecker, vice president, brokerage, 

Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services; 

Lorraine Heydt, Hanover Area School 

District; Steve Yokimishyn, Governor’s 

task force; Dr.Alberta Griffiths, superintendent, 

Hanover Area School District; Jim 

Hilsher, vice president, marketing, Mericle 

Commercial Real Estate Services; John 

Sipper, Hanover Twp. commissioner; 

Robert Frodsham, Mericle Brokerage; and 

Robert Burns, Hanover Twp. commissioner. 

In attendance but not pictured: 

Florence Lohman, Hanover Township 

board of commissioners. 

California wholesale distributor leases space in Rock Creek Corporate Center, brings 80 sales jobs 

A California-based wholesale distributor 

of hand tools and industrial supplies 

has entered an agreement to lease 

4,200 sq.ft. of Class A office space at 

the Rock Creek Corporate Center in 

Olyphant, effective last month. 

The company,Tools for the Trades, is the 

largest distributor of Bosch accessories in 

the United States.The company also carries 

Mikita, Milwaukee, 3M Electrical and 

Thomas & Betts products. 

“We were interested in opening an 

office in the Mid Atlantic region and were 

very impressed with the tremendously 

productive labor force the area has to 

offer.We couldn’t be happier with our 

offices here,” said Dave Wilding, president, 

Tools for the Trades.“It’s an absolutely 

beautiful building with fantastic amenities 

and the perfect location.The ownership 

of Rock Creek is top-of-the-line.They were 

very accommodating and moved the 

transaction along very quickly.” 

Tools for the Trades, with three other 

locations in Santa Barbara, Boston and 

Austin, is currently looking to fill 80 sales 

positions in marketing for their national 

sales organization. Employment is ideal 

for former contractors, but no experience 

is necessary.Anyone interested in employment 

opportunities at Tools for the Trades 

should call (570) 487-1900. 

Rock Creek Corporate Center is 

located off of Exit 2 of the Casey 

Highway in Olyphant. 

For more information on the Rock 

Creek Corporate Center, call Andy Glosser 

or Peter Saligman at (570) 383-3900 or 

take a virtual tour of the building at 

www.rockcreekcorporatecenter.com. 

HEALTHCARE 

UPDATE 

FALL 2003 

Healthcare choices 

to help you maintain 

your business and your life. 

From employee rewards to stress reduction... 

Business and the healthcare industry work hand in hand. 

It’s important for every employer to understand the 

constant changes occurring every day in the healthcare 

industry. 

The Fall 2003 edition of the Healthcare Update 

will take a look at: 

NEPA’s public health system: is it prepared for a crisis? 

• Bioterrorism, SARS, even West Nile virus are real potential 

threats to the region’s populace. 

• How ready is our public health network to respond to these 

crises? 

• Can health officials recognize the signs and symptoms? Are 

they trained and ready to respond? 

Find out in the Fall 2003 Northeast Pennsylvania Business 

Journal Helathcare Update. 

Just a few reasons this supplement is 

made available... 

The Healthcare Update is a semi-annual publication focusing 

on the healthcare field and is a vital supplement for business 

owners and managers. We invite you to be a part of the most 

recognized supplement in healthcare. Take advantage of the 

exposure by advertising in the Northeast Pennsylvania 

Business Journal Healthcare Update. 

Call the Business Journal today. 

Publication Date: 

October 2003 

Advertising Deadline: 

September 15, 2003 


570-207-9001 • 877-584-3561 

Fax 570-207-3452 


Focus on architects and engineers: 

The old is new and vital again 


Northeast Pennsylvania cities and towns 

are dotted with interesting architecture 

created years ago. Many area investors and 

policy-makers are focusing on restoring 

these buildings to house the offices, 

stores, and residences of the future. 

The issues in restoring these venerable 

fixtures center around how to take a property 

built in the late 19th century and 

maintain its “historical significance” while 

meeting the requirements of its new occupants, 

say local architects. 

Richard Leonori, a partner with 

Hemmler Camayd, an architectural firm 

in Scranton that is currently working on 

the old Scranton Central High School 

building now the headquarters for 

Lackawanna College says some parts of 

that building had to be “modernized” 

and other parts restored. 

“Every building has some attributes 

worth restoring.A professional architect 

can usually tell by looking at them 

whether they are worth restoring,” he said. 

The Central High School building was 

built in the late 1800s and early 1900s and 

the restoration project will take about six 

years and cost over $15 million.The project 

should be completed in 2006. 

“The building has an outstanding exterior 

envelope,” Leonori says.“The interior 

is where most of the work has to be 

done,” he says.The exterior has the 

details from a time when architecture 

was done with a high level of “artistry 

and craftsmanship,” he adds. 

The objective is to ally the building’s 

aesthetic features with its new 

functions, he said. 

The architects said they were able 

to restore the theater, now named 

the Mellow Theater; the massive 

lobby; the ornate corridors; and the 

library, which now is the boardroom 

for Lackawanna College. 

But other areas had to “succumb to modernization” 

Leonori says.“Central High 

School used to have a boy’s and a girl’s 

side, with separate lockers and showers. 

That all had to be changed,” he said. 

In the early 1900s, buildings were 

designed with excessive partitioning, an 

office design trend of the time. 

Now, offices are designed to be wide 

open to allow flexibility and maneuverability, 

Leonori says. So, walls had to be 

removed and floor plans changed, he said. 

The building had to be brought up to 

current fire codes. It had a open staircase, 

which was popular earlier in the past century. 

However, today, those wide open 

areas are considered big chimneys by fire 

officials, Leonori adds. In addition, firerated 

doors are needed. 

Leonori notes that buildings constructed 

after the 1920’s usually require less 

fire and safety-related changes because, 

by and large, they live up to modern 

codes. But those built before that time are 

usually not compliant with current codes 

at all, he says. 

Another modernization necessity is 

making the building handicap-accessible, 

Leonori says.That was not a priority in 

the early 1900s. 

For example, some corridors and elevators 

had to be changed so wheelchairbound 

visitors can use them. 

Leonori points out that new construction 

can be “very disappointing.” Newer 

buildings are often not as sturdy and can 

be very nondescript. 

He adds that the Central High School 

building has a “uniqueness and character” 

that make it worth restoring. 

George Leitner, vice president of the 

Markle Building located in downtown 

Hazleton, says that when an old building is 

targeted for restoration, then designers, 

investors, builders, and consultants all 

must work as a team. 

The 12-story Markle Building, constructed 

in 1910, is the highest structure in 

Hazleton and its restoration will cost 

around $5 million. Another six story section, 

built in 1923, is attached. 

C 

COLMAN SALES CO., INC. 

Clarks Summit, PA 18411 • 570.587.1188 • fax 570.587.4798 

www.colmansales.com • Jim Colman, Owner 

Proud Suppliers of Industrial and Commercial Equipment 

for Over 50 Years in Northeastern Pennsylvania 

Companies We Represent: 

GREENHECK FAN CORP: Including industrial fans, 

commercial fans, kitchen hoods, architectural louvers and 

dampers 

DUCTSOX INC: Fabric duct for interior design, wide color 

selection available 

BILCO COMPANY: Floor doors and roof scuttles for any 

application from sewage treatments to warehouses with 

smoke vent requirements. 

OHIO GRATING: Steel, aluminum, fiberglass grating, 

walkway style, bridge and forklight grating, fiberglass 

grating available for chemical applications. 

Projects We Have Been Involved With Include: 

• The Lackawanna County Stadium • Wachovia Arena 

• Many Area School Districts • Proctor and Gamble 

• Various Commercial Buildings 

Colman Sales Co., Inc. 

will be happy to discuss any 

construction applications with you! 

IMAGINATION. 

DELIVERED. 

At Borton-Lawson we know that brilliant ideas, well 

executed, are essential to your project’s success. 

That’s why we’re committed to delivering imagination– 

on-time, on-budget. . . and always on-target. 

We’re wide ranging–so whether it's engineering and 

architectural design for a major building; civil engineering 

needed to reduce the effects of development on the 

environment; unique industrial power alternatives that 

increase productivity; or designing a bridge to the 

future–count on Borton-Lawson for bold new ideas and the 

infrastructure to accomplish the task. 

For a comprehensive portfolio and project success reports, 

call 570-821-1999 or visit borton-lawson.com. 

E N G I N E E R I N G | A R C H I T E C T U R E 

613 Baltimore Drive, Suite 300 • Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702-7903 • Voice: 570•821•1999 

6814 Chrisphalt Drive, Ste. 200 • Bath, PA 18014-8503 • Voice: 610•837•5916 


There’s renewed interest and new use 

for the area’s architectural gems. 

Gothic arches 

grace the exterior 

of the renovated 

Lackawanna 

College building, 

Scranton. 

Photo by Bob Urban 

The property is listed as a Keystone 

Opportunity Zone (KOZ) by 

Harrisburg which will offer tax benefits 

to new occupants. 

“We feel the building is a jewel of northeast 

Pennsylvania,” Leitner says. 

Leitner says a lot of the modernization 

for the Markle Building did not threaten its 

“historical integrity” at all. 

State-of-the-art telecommunications and 

computer-controlled climate systems were 

installed, for example, without any destruction 

and Leitner emphasizes that these are 

features new occupants will want. 

Leitner points out that 551 new windows 

were put in for energy efficiency 

without changing the aesthetics of the 

window openings.Also, some infrastructure 

changes were made, such as the addition 

of a service elevator and loading dock 

that were all but invisible from the street, 

Leitner said. 

With respect to fire codes, a $650,000 

12-story back staircase had to be added 

to allow a fire escape route, Leitner said. 

However, the walls are made of 18-inch 

concrete with steel beam girders which 

exceed current fire codes, Leitner said. 

Fire alarms and sprinkler systems were 

also installed. 

“Investors or tenants want to see adequate 

safety features,” Leitner said. After 

September 11, the emphasis across the 

United States is on smaller more secure 

buildings, he said. 

Some decisions to modernize or restore 

had to be made as the project progressed, 

Leitner adds. For example, when the construction 

team removed the drop ceiling 

installed in the 1970s, they found a patterned 

plaster ceiling.They elected to 

spend the money and time to restore it 

because of its beauty, he said. 

Leitner admits that, for the cost of restoring 

the Markle Building, investors can probably 

buy a new building in a Hazleton suburb. 

However, he feels that restoring the 

Markle Building is in line with a restoration 

“renaissance” in northeast Pennsylvania.“Its 

a civic pride issue,” he said. 

The Markle Building will have mixed 

uses. It will house a Park Inn and Suites 

Hotel, a fine dining restaurant, and a deli 

with plans for other types of occupants. 

Alex Rogers, executive director of 

CityVest, the corporation currently marketing 

the soon-to-be-restored Sterling 

Hotel in Wilkes-Barre to prospective 

occupants, points out that the key to 

restoring a property hinges on what purpose 

the property will serve. 

“It’s not a case of ‘build it and they will 

come,’” Rogers said. 

At this time, the Sterling’s final redesign is 

an unknown, says Rogers.“It’s premature at 

this time to say exactly what has to be 

done at the Sterling.The specific issues of 

what will be done to it will present themselves 

as the development takes place.” 

If a hotel company is interested in the 

Sterling Hotel tower, for example, relatively 

minor redesign is necessary, Rogers said. 

However, if the decision is to use it for residential 

or office use, much more redesign 

will be needed. 

Rogers emphasizes his objective for the 

Sterling is to strike a “balance” between 

historical preservation and modernization. 

Rogers notes that the Pennsylvania 

Historical and Museum Commission 

(PHMC) has guidelines to help restoration 

of older buildings. PHMC consults with 

redevelopers to determine what features 

of a building qualify as “historically contributing” 

or significant, he says. 

PHMC can provide “technical assistance” 

and offers grants and federal tax credits to 

projects it identifies as preserving “the 

architectural resources of Pennsylvania,” 

according to the PHMC Web site. 

QproQ Engineering, Inc. 

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Services 

Bridge Design 

Building Design 

Feasibility Studies 

Value Engineering 

Forensic Engineering 

Equipment Support Design 

Construction Phase Services 

Projects 

Athletic 

Healthcare 

Government 

K-12/Universities 

Commercial/Residential 

Manufacturing & Industrial 

Warehousing & Production 

Providing Architectural, Engineering and Construction Services 

to Commercial, Institutional, and Industrial Clients in Eastern Pennsylvania. 

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PLUMBING 

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mechanical & electrical contractors ELECTRICAL 

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97 Eck Circle,Williamsport, PA 17701 

Phone: 570.329.1441, FAX 570.321.5439 

TOLL FREE: 877.371.1441 

www.kclarson.com 

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL 

187 North Main Street, Wilkes Barre, PA • 570-823-9935 

www.QproQ.com 



Kuykens 

Pavlick 

Killeen 

Woelkers 

Bartoletti 

Bibak 

Nogles 

Dickson 

Davis 

Lipson 

Woodruff 

Arthur 

Gorman 

Prebich 

Fertig 

Sitoski 

Kaczmarek 

AMERICAN ADVERTISING FEDERATION 

Helen Lavelle was unanimously elected governor 

of District II in the American Advertising Federation 

(AAF) for a second consecutive term. District II, the 

premier district of the AAF, is comprised of advertising 

agencies, media companies and corporate 

clients from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 

Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C. She is 

creative director of Lavelle Murray Advertising, 

Scranton, which she co-founded nearly 20 years 

ago. As governor, Lavelle will guide and direct the 

advertising industry through economic challenges, 

legislative issues and relevant industry initiatives, 

while continuing to develop best practices and 

solutions to major industry challenges. In addition 

to the National Student Advertising Competition, 

Lavelle has championed achieving diversity in the 

advertising and marketing industries. Lavelle has 

been recognized repeatedly for her own creative 

excellence, contributing to her Scranton-based 

agency receiving countless ADDY awards, communication 

arts awards, and industry marketing honors. 

Lavelle was recently awarded the Northeast 

Pennsylvania Business Journal’s Outstanding 

Women in Business Award. 

AVENTIS PASTEUR 

Luc Kuykens, M.D., was appointed vice president 

of regulatory affairs North America for 

Aventis Pasteur, Swiftwater. He is also responsible 

for optimizing regulatory affairs efforts globally. He 

serves as the key point person in communications 

with the Food and Drug Administration. He also 

coordinates the activities of the many departments 

involved in the submission of 

Investigational New Drug Applications/Biologics 

License Applications and ongoing submissions to 

those files. Previously, Kuykens served as director, 

worldwide regulatory affairs, vaccines & biologicals 

with Merck and previously as director, regulatory 

affairs-Europe. His career also includes increasing 

roles of responsibility in the medical and public 

health fields in Africa and the Caribbean. He has 

authored and co-authored a number of articles 

and papers in industry publications, including the 

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 

and the Leprosy Review. Aventis Pasteur Inc. is a 

subsidiary of Aventis Pasteur SA. It provides the 

broadest range of human vaccines and biologicals 

commercially available from any single U.S. vaccine 

company and is a leading supplier of vaccines 

to protect against influenza, diphtheria, 

tetanus, pertussis, polio, Japanese encephalitis, 

yellow fever, Haemophilus influenzae type b disease, 

meningitis, rabies, and typhoid fever. 

BARRY ISETT & ASSOCIATES 

The northeastern Pennsylvania office of the full 

service engineering and surveying firm, Barry Isett 

& Associates (BIA), has relocated to in the Broad 

Street Business Exchange, Suite 114, 100 West 

Broad Street, Hazleton. Gregg Pavlick, who has 

been with the company since 1998, was named 

project manager to develop and oversee projects 

throughout northeast Pennsylvania. Vice president 

Terry DeGroot, PE is the principal in charge of the 

Hazleton office. 

BRUSH VALLEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 

Sandra Hutchinson was named CEO of the 

Brush Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce. She 

has been with the chamber since 1998. In her 

new position, she makes plans to keep relationships 

healthy with government officials at all levels 

by continuing the current agenda and encouraging 

a more effective coalition to address problems 

that affect the businesses in the region and 

continue her active roll on all of the committees 

motivating the volunteers towards the goals of this 

chamber. The Brush Valley Regional Chamber of 

Commerce serves Shamokin, Coal Township, 

Kulpmont, Mount Carmel, Ralpho Township, 

Elysburg, Trevorton, and Paxinos. 

FOCUS CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA 

The directors and board of trustees of Focus 

Central Pennsylvania welcomed their new president, 

Kate Fairweather. Since 1999, she has been 

associated with Lafarge Road Marking in 

Montgomery, most recently as sales manager for 

the New Parts, Service and Repair department. 

Focus Central Pennsylvania serves as a regional 

economic development marketing alliance dedicated 

to promoting Central Pennsylvania as the premier 

place for new business investment and the 

creation of family-sustaining jobs.Focus Central 

Pennsylvania members include the Clinton County 

Economic Partnership, Danville Area Chamber of 

Commerce, Mifflin County Industrial Development 

Corporation, Susquehanna Industrial Development 

Corporation, Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of 

Commerce, PPL Electric Utilities, and SEDA-COG. 

GRANGE NATIONAL BANK 

Thomas A. McCullough, president and CEO of 

Grange National Bank, Tunkhannock, announced the 

promotion of Joseph I. Killeen from vice president to 

senior vice president. Grange National Bank operates 

12 full-service banking offices in five counties. 

LANDMARK COMMUNITY BANK 

Paul C. Woelkers was named to the board of 

directors of Landmark Community Bank, headquartered 

in Pittston. He is president of 

Lackawanna Mobile X-ray and US Mobile Health 

Services Inc., Dunmore, and vice president of 

Carolina Diagnostic Services Inc., Piedmont, SC. 

He currently serves on the following boards: 

Northeastern PA Long Term Care Association, 

Serving Seniors of Lackawanna County and 

Lackawanna County Drug and Alcohol Treatment 

Services and is an annual host for a day at St. 

Francis of Assisi Kitchen, Scranton. 

LUZERNE NATIONAL BANK 

Luzerne National Bank, Luzerne, announced the 

following appointments: 

Denise S. Bartoletti was named chief credit officer 

and will assist in establishing Luzerne National 

Bank’s strategic lending goals, objectives and credit 

policies. Bartoletti has been active in the banking 

industry since 1986 and was one of Luzerne 

National’s commercial loan officers. 

Michael J. Bibak was named chief lending officer 

and will be responsible for lending functions of 

Luzerne National Bank. He will also lead the 

bank’s business development function. Bibak has 

been involved in banking for 16 years. 

Scott Nogles was named chief financial officer and 

became a member of senior management. He will 

be responsible for the financial leadership of Luzerne 

National Bank and will be responsible for cash management 

functions, financial reporting and new product 

analysis. Nogles has been active in banking and 

finance for 10 years with several community banks 

and is also a certified public accountant. 

MCCORMACK MORTGAGE SERVICES INC. 

Walter Sarafinko joined the mortgage services 

team of McCormack Mortgage Services Inc., Clarks 

Summit. He is responsible for new business development, 

sales management, and training of a team 

of mortgage originators. Sarafinko brings over 17 

years of banking experience to this position, most 

recently serving as vice president and Community 

Banking Division manager for a local financial 

institution. He is on the board of directors of the 

Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce and 

serves on the Ambassadors Committee. 

METZ & ASSOCIATES LTD. 

James Dickson was promoted to divisional vice 

president of Metz and Associates Ltd. His most 

recent position with Metz and Associates was that 

of eastern regional vice president. In his new position, 

Dickson will assume responsibility for all college/university 

and business dining operations at 

Metz and Associates. Dickson is a 30-year veteran 

of the foodservice industry. His experience is 

extensive and includes serving as vice president of 

educational services for Sodexho-Marriott 

Corporation, resident district manager at the Wood 

Company, senior food service director at ARA 

Services and district manager at Custom 

Management Corporation. 

Kathy Gonzalez assumed the position of divisional 

director for healthcare services at Metz and 

Associates Ltd., where she focuses her talents and 

energy on dining management matters in the 

healthcare industry. Her previous position with 

Metz and Associates was the director of corporate 

nutrition services. She also remains involved in 

overseeing Metz and Associates’ team of dietitians 

and in developing company-wide nutritional education 

programs. She is a registered dietician with 

over 20 years of experience. Gonzalez previously 

held positions as consultant for Home Health 

Services and corporate dietitian for Emery Medical 

Management Company both located in Pittsburgh. 

Toby Horner was named divisional director for 

school dining services where he is responsible for 

kindergarten through grade 12 dining operations. 

His previous position at Metz and Associates was 

district manager, where he serviced accounts 

including healthcare and business and industry as 

well as school districts. He has 26 years of experience 

in the food service industry. 

MICHAEL BAXTER & ASSOCIATES 

John H. Davis joined the staff of Michael Baxter 

and Associates Commercial Real Estate, 

Tannersville, as a commercial specialist. His background 

is in marketing and customer service. 

PARENTE RANDOLPH PC 

Jeffrey P. Lipson joined Parente Randolph PC as 

chief information officer. Lipson is responsible for 

modernizing information technology within the 

organization, increasing services for the staff and 

leading various information technology initiatives. 

He brings over 10 years of management experience 

in information technology to the firm and 

has extensive experience in small to mid-sized 

entrepreneurial organizations, most recently with 

Shepherd Technologies. 

Richard B. Woodruff II joined Parente Randolph as 

human resources manager. He is responsible for 

employee relations, compensation and benefits, 

staffing and recruiting and human resources 

administration. Woodruff has more than five years 

of progressive human resources experience and 

over 10 years of business experience. As one of 

only two human resource professionals retained 

by Bertelsmann of Fort Washington during its corporate 

acquisition of CDNOW, Woodruff directed a 

full range of divisional and corporate human 

resources activities and programs for a 100-person 

technology client group. He provided consultation 

to executives, senior management, legal 

and human resource departments in many locations 

throughout the United States. 

J. Robert Arthur, CPA, joined Parente Randolph 

and will serve as its director of international services. 

A senior level tax executive, Arthur brings a 

diversified background and significant experience 

and expertise in global tax planning and analysis. 

In this position Arthur will help companies establish 

efficient corporate structures, navigate the 

U.S. tax anti-deferral subpart F rules, improve foreign 

tax credit utilization, enhance tax savings on 

qualifying export sales, reduce foreign taxes, 

determine whether they have permanent establishments 

and identify their withholding tax obligations. 

Arthur was a senior manager in practice at 

KPMG LLP prior to joining Parente. 

PENNSTAR BANK 

James T. Gorman joined Pennstar Bank, 

Scranton, as senior vice president and regional 

lending manager for Luzerne County. He plays a 

leadership role in Luzerne County and works with 

the local business development board to increase 

market penetration and direct the daily commercial 

banking activities within the region. Gorman brings 

over 20 years experience in lending to Pennstar 

Bank including corporate investment banking, capital 

markets and merger and acquisition financing. 

Scott P. Prebich was promoted to community 

banking officer in Pennstar Bank’s small business 

lending department. He is responsible for developing 

and servicing a portfolio of small business 

loans, assisting the branch network with developing 

new business and servicing the bank’s existing 

small business loan customers. He most recently 

served as a loan analyst in the credit administration 

area prior to his promotion. 

PHASEONE 

Josie Fertig joined PhaseOne, Sunbury, as a 

graphic designer. She formerly was employed at 

Power/Warner Communications Group Inc, in 

Winchester, Va. Her responsibilities include creative 

design and electronic layout of documents 

and imagery/illustration creation and manipulation. 

PNC BANK 

Elizabeth K. Sitoski was promoted to vice president 

at PNC Bank, Northeast PA. Sitoski is the sector 

sales manager for the Hazleton-Mountain sector of 

the RCB and is based out of the Hazleton Broad 

Street office. She is responsible for the management 

of the sales activities of the four Hazleton offices, 

Freeland, Conyngham and Blakeslee offices. She 

joined the bank as a teller in the Hazleton Broad 

Street office in 1979, advanced to head teller in 

1982, where she served until entering the management 

training program in 1992. 

TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT 

Frank Kaczmarek is director of the Systems 

Integration Directorate at Tobyhanna Army Depot. 

As an industrial operations manager, he is responsible 

for the fabrication and systems integration in 

support of the depot mission. Kaczmarek temporarily 

served in this position since June 2002. 

Previously, he was the chief of the directorate’s 

systems overhaul and fabrication division. He 

began his depot career in October 1978 as a 

sheet metal mechanic, earning various promotions 

over the years. In 1989, he became a sheet metal 

mechanic supervisor. He received the Army 

Achievement Medal in 2000 for the scheduling, 

planning and execution of the fiscal year 2000 

mobile depot maintenance (MDM) mission. 

UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON 

University of Scranton President Scott R. Pilarz, 

S.J., has announced 16 faculty promotions, 

including tenure decisions, which go into effect at 

the beginning of the 2003-04 academic year. 

The following faculty will be promoted to professor 

effective this fall: Michael O. Mensah, Ph.D., 

accounting; Daniel S. Townsend, Ph.D., biology; 

Rose Sebastianelli, Ph.D., operations and information 

management; Nabil Tamimi, Ph.D.,operations 

and information management; Sharon 

Meagher, Ph.D., philosophy; Robert A. Spalletta, 

Ph.D., physics, and Steven Dougherty, Ph.D., 

mathematics. The following will be promoted to 

associate professor and granted tenure 

beginning in the fall: Scott Bader-Saye, Ph.D., 

theology; Ann Pang-White, Ph.D., philosophy, 

and Elizabeth Jacob, Ph.D., counseling/human 

services. The following will be promoted to associate 

professor beginning in the fall: Narda Tafuri, 

M.A., library, and Richard Larsen, M.F.A., 

English. Tenure for the following faculty members 

will become effective in the fall: Ronald Deitrick, 

Ph.D., exercise science and sport; Timothy J. 

Hobbs, Ph.D., education; Barbara Cozza, Ph.D., 

education, and Carol L. Reinson, Ph.D., 

occupational therapy.

Economic downturn spawns new business niche 

SM 

SM 


Jeannette Hubbard started her Wayne County company, Virtually There Business 

Solutions (VTBS), after noticing more corporate downsizings and layoffs. In large 

cities like Chicago, New York and Boston, companies that provide professional secretarial 

services are commonplace. “Think of VTBS as a confidential member of your 

staff,” she says. 

By Robert Curran 

With the downturn in the economy 

forcing many employers to downsize or 

layoff employees, Jeannette M. Hubbard 

has started a company that she believes 

will fill important needs. 

Hubbard is president of Virtually There 

Business Solutions (VTBS) of Pleasant 

Mount, in Wayne County, which provides 

professional secretarial services to companies. 

“I’ve been dabbling with this idea 

since 1993 and then, at the end of last 

year, I said ‘this could work, so let me do 

it,’” she said. 

Using leading-edge technology,VTBS 

offers a variety of administrative, mailing, 

translation and transcription services, 

along with PowerPoint presentations 

and word processing that will deliver 

work assignments to businesses by way 

of the Internet, e-mail, fax, express mail, 

diskette, real-time online messaging or 

any other method. 

Before starting VTBS in January, Hubbard 

was an executive assistant for 18 years, 

including positions at Marian Community 

Hospital, Carbondale, and the 

Philanthropic Initiative, Boston, Mass., 

which assisted companies in reaching 

philanthropic goals. She said she decided 

to start VTBS after watching companies 

downsize and impose layoffs.“I feel I have 

a niche here,” she said.“It’s just a matter 

of getting the word out.” 

Hubbard has a Web site and she said 

that, because of all the new technology, 

she can reach prospects anywhere on the 

globe.“The advantages that come from 

using my services are great, especially for 

small businesses,” she said. 

As part of the decision-making process 

on whether to start her business, 

Hubbard went through the necessary 

market research work and concluded that 

there was a market for the type of business 

she wanted to start. 

She found that large cities, like Chicago, 

New York and Boston, had these services, 

but she also found an absence in smaller 

cities and regions. 

“Think of VTBS as a confidential member 

of your staff,” she said.“We’re available 

whenever you need us and only when 

you need us.” 

Her accounts are diverse, and include a 

healthcare organization, a pharmacy and a 

bed and breakfast, with each one requiring 

different services. 

Her company will make arrangements 

for travel, cars, meals, hotels and the like 

for busy executives, along with providing 

an additional assistant if one is needed to 

meet schedules. 

Benefits to clients, she said, are many. 

Retaining the services of VTBS means no 

payroll expenses, and no health 

benefits,vacations or sick days. 

“There’s no need for computer equipment, 

no need for additional office space, 

and there are flexible work hours,” she 

said.“I work when they need my 

help.This is important in emergencies. No 

matter what time a client calls and says,‘I 

need it done by tomorrow morning,’ I will 

have it tomorrow morning.” 

First and foremost, Hubbard said, are her 

skills, which translate into skilled professionalism. 

She said when she takes on an 

assignment, she realizes that it’s a two-way 

street.“I’m a partner in the success of 

their business,” she said.“If they stay in 

business, I stay in business. So it’s a winwin 

for both of us.” 

With more people of Hispanic backgrounds 

moving into northeast 

Pennsylvania, Hubbard said her company 

can fill yet more business needs 

because she reads and writes fluent 

Spanish.“I can help a number of companies 

this way,” she said. 

At the present time, Hubbard does most 

of her company’s work herself, but she’s 

looking to VTBS to grow. “If the time 

comes and, hopefully, it will, I’ll have other 

qualified people assisting me,” she said. 

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Airport completes ‘Phase I’ of renovation 

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International 

Airport held a ribbon-cutting ceremony 

on July 29 for its new parking garage, surface 

Parking and roadway network. 

The construction of the new passenger 

terminal facility and related projects are 

broken into two phases: 

■ Phase I — New parking garage, surface 

parking and roadway network. 

■ Phase II — New terminal building 

and pedestrian tunnel. 

This project completes Phase I. 

Total construction cost of Phase I is 

approximately $19.5 million.The project 

includes a parking garage, surface parking 

lots, roadway network, generator building 

and toll plaza. 

The new four-level parking garage is 

approximately 246,800 square feet. It 

can serve a total of 640 vehicles on the 

four levels, and provides “under roof” 

parking for 480 vehicles.The parking 

garage is equipped with two elevators 

and two staircases. 

When constructed, the new terminal 

building will be accessed via a pedestrian 

tunnel from the second level of the parking 

garage. During construction of Phase 

II, the current terminal building can be 

accessed via a bridge on the top level of 

the parking garage. 

The new surface parking encompasses 

four parking areas: one revenue parking 

area and three nonrevenue parking areas. 

Total surface parking is for 712 vehicles, 

and overall parking in both the 

parking garage and all surface parking 

is for 1,352, or a 34.5 percent increase 

in total parking spaces. 

The one-way loop road serving the terminal 

has been expanded to encompass 

all parking facilities within the loop. 

To achieve this, the approach to the 

new/relocated terminal building will be 

re-aligned to provide a more direct 

approach to the east prior to turning 

northward to reach the terminal building. 

When fully completed, the loop road 

will be two lanes with a four-lane-wide 

section in front of the new terminal building 

to accommodate curbside activity. 

Barry Centini, airport director, said, 

“We are really excited to provide these 

new services to our area business and 

leisure air travelers.With Phase I of 

our major expansion project complete, 

we now move forward into Phase II 

for a new pedestrian tunnel and a new 

terminal building.” 

Several firms were engaged to prepare 

plans and specifications for the work. 

They were: HNTB Corporation, 

Alexandria,Va.;Acker Associates Inc., 

Moscow; Highland Associates Ltd., 

Clarks Summit; and Michael J. Pasonick, 

Jr. Inc.,Wilkes-Barre. 

Construction work on the new parking 

garage was completed by Sordoni 

Construction Services Inc., Forty Fort. 

Construction work on all surface parking, 

the roadway network, the new generator 

building and the toll plaza was completed 

by Pikes Creek Site Contractors, 

Hunlock Creek. 

Funding for the $8 million parking 

garage and revenue surface parking lot, as 

W W W . T O P L I S T . C O M 

Like the Book? 

well as the $11.5 million new roadway 

network and nonrevenue parking lots 

came from the following: 

■ $10.3 million . . . . . . FAA grants 

■ $4.275 million . . . . . State grants 

■$4.925 million . . . . . . Lackawanna 

and Luzerne counties and the airport. 

Phase II commenced with construction 

of the pedestrian tunnel last month. 

Scenes from the renovation of the 

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre International 

Airport. Phase I — estimated at $19.5 

million — of the project has now concluded. 

Phase II began with the construction 

of a pedestrian tunnel. 

Photos by Bob Urban 

Southern Union locates headquarters in Scranton 

Lackawanna Avenue in downtown 

Scranton was a regionwide joke just over 

a decade ago. Once the commercial centerpiece 

of northeastern Pennsylvania, 

the avenue had fallen into an advanced 

state of decay and seemed destined to 

continue falling toward a very hard floor. 

Now, the avenue seems to be defying 

gravity. Southern Union Co., parent company 

of PG Energy and one of the 

nation’s fastest growing energy distribution 

companies, announced that it will 

build a 40,000-square-foot, $10 million 

headquarters at 415 Lackawanna Ave. In 

addition to giving the city its only major 

corporate headquarters, a substantial and 

handsome new office building, and about 

100 high-end jobs, the project could well 

prove to be an accelerant for more downtown 

development. 

Southern Union’s decision also has an 

important symbolic component. It is an 

emphatic vote of confidence in the city 

that will help to further the momentum 

toward the city government's recovery, 

and toward overall economic growth. 

The company's relocation, along with 

other major projects on Lackawanna 

Avenue, validates the risky infrastructure 

and development investments that have 

been made by the state, federal and local 

governments over the last 15 years, and 

the perseverance of downtown businesspeople 

who have stood by the city. 

— From the Scranton Times 

A rendering of Southern Union’s headquarters 

to be built in downtown Scranton. 

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Dairy plant’s business model: buy local The Pennsylvania Economy League (PEL) 

released its overview summarizing the city 

By Marianne Tucker Puhalla 

It has been known for years as the 

place to find the yummiest of ice creams 

and the sweetest of milk.Anyone with 

any love for dairy products is sure to 

know the name of Hillside Farms, in 

Trucksville, Luzerne County. 

Owned by the Conyngham family, 

Hillside Farms has been in the business of 

producing milk and milk products in the 

Back Mountain for the past 100 years. 

Today, the company, which opened its 

dairy store in 1977, no longer has a herd 

of its own to milk, but is teaming up 

Manufacturers’ Association fetes area firms 

Offset Paperback, Inter Metro, Schott earn awards 

Darlene Robbins, president of the 

Manufacturers’Association of Mid-Eastern 

Pennsylvania (MAMP), has announced the 

2002 “Manufacturing Excellence” awards. 

The award winners will be honored on 

Sept. 9, following a tour of Offset 

Paperback Manufacturers, Dallas, one of 

the winners. Dinner will follow at the 

East Mountain Inn,Wilkes-Barre. 

Offset Paperback is one of the largest 

manufacturers of mass market paperback 

books in the world and has a state-of-theart 

manufacturing facility. 

Lobar lands several school building contracts 

Lobar Inc., the largest school builder in 

Pennsylvania, announced last month that 

it has won major contracts from school 

districts in Monroe and Tioga counties. 

Those contracts, together with a municipal 

award in Dauphin County, have a 

total value of approximately $37 million. 

The award in Monroe County continues 

Lobar Inc.’s expansion into eastern 

Pennsylvania, which began earlier this 

year. Stroudsburg Area School District 

awarded an $8.715 million contract for 

a new middle school. 

The 264,000-square-foot building will 

accommodate a three-story classroom 

wing, gymnasium, auditorium, auxiliary 

gym and administrative offices. 

The project architect is an HLM Design. 

Other contracts: 

Client: Wellsboro Area School 

In addition to Offset Paperback, this 

year’s winners are Inter Metro Industries, 

Wilkes-Barre; and Schott Glass 

Technologies Inc. of Duryea. 

The awards are presented for outstanding 

achievement by the honorees in the 

manufacturing industry. 

The tour and dinner are open to the 

manufacturing community by reservation 

only. Early reservations are urged. 

Additional information and reservations 

may be made by calling the MAMP office 

at (570) 622-0992. 

District,Tioga County. 

Project description: New three-story, 

126,000-square-foot high school and partial 

demolition of existing school. 

Contract amount: $13,099,500 

Architect: McKissick Associates PC 

Lobar Inc. (www.lobar.com) specializes 

in work for the public sector, at the local, 

state and federal levels. Based in 

Dillsburg, Lobar Inc. also operates an 

office in Williamsport. Lobar Inc. is independent 

of Lobar Associates. 

Lobar Inc. recently was named “General 

Contractor of the Year” by the American 

Subcontractors Association of Central 

Pennsylvania Inc. Lobar Inc. also recently 

achieved ISO 9001:2000 quality certification, 

joining a small number of general 

contractors across the United States that 

have earned the distinction. 

with Nescopeck dairy farmer Gary 

Rinehimer and other local dairy farmers 

within the Luzerne County agricultural 

community, to use only locally-produced 

milk in its products. 

According to family member, and store 

manager,Will Conyngham, Hillside 

processes about 1,500 gallons of milk 

per day, all of which comes from within 

a 50-mile radius. 

“We had a processing plant that was 

being under-utilized so we decided to 

refocus our efforts on processing. Even 

though we don’t have many cows anymore, 

we do buy our milk locally, process 

our milk locally and sell our milk locally.” 

Under the new business plan, the farm 

receives milk from a number of neighboring 

dairy farms, paying a premium to 

contracted producers. 

“It is important to me to know that the 

product I am selling comes from local 

farms, small farms with high quality control,” 

Conyngham says. 

Conyngham says payment is based on 

the dairy store’s Class I fluid milk utilization, 

which at Hillside is near 90 percent. 

Larger milk processors average 

only 40 percent use for Class I purposes. 

Class I represents the highest grade 

of milk and results in the best price 

paid to the farmer. 

Hillside collects an average of 25,000 

pounds of milk per week from the 

Rinehimer farm. 

Conyngham says he believes in supporting 

the local farm community and knows 

that he is providing the freshest milk possible.“Large 

milk processing plants might 

get their milk from as far away as 200 

miles — there’s nothing local about it.” 

The new system is a sign of the changing 

times in a very tough, competitive 

business.“You need to know when you 

have the volume to survive independently,” 

says Conyngham.“The common 

wisdom it that we would need to have 

300 milking head for the dairy farm to 

produce enough milk to stay self-sufficient 

in the current business market.We 

have neither the room nor manpower 

to carry that out.” 

At the height of Hillside Farms milk production, 

about 500 gallons of milk was 

produced daily.At that time, there were 

almost 300 on-farm dairy plants/stores 

throughout Pennsylvania.Today, less than 

three dozen remain. 

Pecora Brothers Dairy, in Drums, operates 

the only other fluid milk processing 

plant in Luzerne County. Hillside 

remains the only local dairy to sell milk 

in glass bottles. 

“About one third of our business is 

wholesale, with contracts to numerous 

local schools and two state prisons,” 

Conyngham reports.“The vast majority of 

our sales occurs on site, at the dairy in 

Trucksville. It is there where our customers 

can come to buy our locally produced 

dairy products, honey, flowers and 

seasonally available local produce.” 

PEL releases tax analyses 

component of its annual analyses of real 

estate tax levies,tax rates and assessed valuations 

in Berks,Blair,Cambria,Cumberland, 

Dauphin,Lackawanna,Lancaster,Lehigh, 

Luzerne,Lycoming,Northampton and York. 

■ Gross real estate tax levies increased in 

11 of the 16 cities in the 12-county area 

between 2002 and 2003; during the past 

five years, levies rose in nine of these cities. 

■ The largest increase in real estate tax 

levy since last year was recorded in 

Allentown.The largest of the five decreases 

during this period occurred in York. 

■ For the five-year period, the largest 

absolute increase in tax levies were 

recorded in Allentown and Lancaster.The 

largest proportionate increases occurred 

in Lancaster and York.The largest of the 

seven absolute decreases between 1998 

and 2003 were in Altoona and Reading; 

the largest proportionate decreases were 

experienced in Altoona and Wilkes-Barre. 

■ Real estate tax rates increased in four 

cities between 2002 and 2003; decreased 

in one; and were unchanged in 11.The 

largest increases were in Allentown, 

Bethlehem and Lancaster.York decreased. 

■ For the five-year period, real estate tax 

rates increased in seven cities; de-creased in 

three; and remained unchanged in six: 

Easton, Hazleton, Johnstown, Nanticoke, 

Pittston and Reading. Proportionally, the 

largest millage increases were in Lancaster 

and York.The millage decreases between 

1998 and 2003 occurred in Altoona, 

Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre. Harrisburg’s 

decrease was primarily the result of a county-wide 

re-assessment in 2002. 

Hinman Howard & Kattell, LLP 

Attorneys At Law 

116 North Washington Avenue, Suite 1E 

Scranton, Pennsylvania 18503 • (570) 558-5931 

www.hhk.com 

James T. Mulligan, Jr., LLP 

Joins Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP 

As Special Counsel And Concentrates His Practice In The 

Areas Of Environmental Law, Real Estate 

And Commercial Transactions 

Attorney Mulligan has nearly 10 years of experience in Environmental Law 

and other related commercial matters. His practice includes matters relating 

to site contamination and cleanup, Brownfield development, environmental 

aspects of real estate development and lender liability. He also represents 

and advises regulated facilities with regard to permitting and compliance 

issues. Attorney Mulligan has counseled numerous townships and munici - 

palities throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in connection with 

other environmental problems including remediation of scrap tires. 

Prior to his affiliation with Hinman, Howard & Kattell, Attorney Mulligan man - 

aged a successful private practice in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Attorney 

Mulligan served as Assistant District Attorney for Lackawanna County from 

1988 through 1990. He served as Solicitor for the Riverside School District 

from 1990 through 1994 and served as General Counsel and Solicitor for the 

City of Scranton in 2000 and 2001. 

James T. Mulligan, Jr. graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a 

B.S. in Criminal Justice in 1980. He attended Villanova University for a 

Masters in Public Administration. He obtained his Juris Doctorate in 1987 

from Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C. He is on the Board of 

Trustees of The Northeast Theatre and is an active member of many civic 

organizations. 


Do Not Call 

Continued from page one 

list went into effect, many states, including 

Pennsylvania, developed statewide Do 

Not Call lists with the same purpose: to 

keep unwanted telemarketers from calling 

consumers at home. Millions of 

Pennsylvanians signed up, jamming the 

toll-free phone number and Internet Web 

site in the first few days. 

One Pennsylvania company that uses 

telemarketing regularly is Commonwealth 

Telephone Enterprises in Luzerne County. 

While telemarketing is a component of 

their marketing strategy, the company 

already had many of the policies outlined 

in the national list as its own procedures. 

Depending on the marketing campaign, 

CTE contacts customers 

based on 

geography, if the 

consumers are current 

clients, or if 

they are looking to 

add new clients. 

“The list has had a 

modest, if not 

minor, impact. Our 

company policy and 

customer approach 

were already aligned 

with the policies of 

the Do Not Call list 

for some time.We 

even have our own list. Our approach has 

been, and is today, very much in line with 

the FTC’s list.We had some administrative 

and tracking issues, but addressed those,” 

says Joe Mozden, senior vice president of 

sales and marketing for Commonwealth 

Telephone Enterprises. 

Maria Brannon, operations manager of 

Telemarketing Resources Inc. of Scranton, 

says these new lists have only made her 

staff more efficient with their telemarketing 

efforts.“We do not contact people who 

do not want to be contacted.We do work 

all over the state; for lawyers in 

Philadelphia and several newspapers, even 

companies in California, but we have strict 

guidelines,” she says. 

One problem with the list, according to 

Brannon, is that people think they are on 

the list and they aren’t.“The system is 

automated, so wrong area codes are associated 

with wrong prefixes; when someone 

thinks they are on the Do Not Call 

list, and we call them, we have to listen 

to them explain that they are on the list. 

When they are that adamant about not 

wanting to be called, we explain to them 

how to correctly get their numbers on 

these lists,” says Brannon. 

While virtually all of the telemarketing 

firms in the Scranton and Wilkes- 

Barre areas have shut down or moved 

The Faces and Places of 

Telemarketing 

■ The median population of the towns and 

cities where outbound call centers are located: 

26,532. 

■ Twelve percent of the towns and cities with 

call centers also are communities that have been 

designated by the federal government as labor 

surplus areas or empowerment or enterprise 

areas qualifying for federal benefits and incentives 

to keep businesses and their employees in place. 

■ Another view of telemarketers is their national 

mean annual wage of $20,285 compared to the 

national mean annual wage of other sales professionals, 

which is $31,535, and the national mean 

wage of all workers, which is $37,005.5 

Source: The Direct Marketing Association, 

www.the-dma.org 

While virtually all of 

the telemarketing 

firms in the Scranton and 

Wilkes-Barre areas have shut 

down or moved since the 

Pennsylvania list went into 

effect, Telemarketing 

Resources Inc. is here to stay. 


since the Pennsylvania list went into 

effect,Telemarketing Resources Inc. is 

here to stay. 

“We’re the last company left… we 

employ over 30 people.That tells you how 

we do business, the relationships we have 

with the companies we do work for and 

the integrity of our workers. Nobody is losing 

his job here.The owner is working 

very hard to make sure that everyone here 

keeps his job,” says Brannon. 

So why is it that so many consumers hate 

being called by telemarketers? The answer, 

according to an area psychology professor, 

is rather simple. 

“These calls are an invasion of privacy. 

They are totally uninvited and are a nuisance.They 

typically interrupt family time 

and important conversations, usually over 

dinner, because that 

is the time of day 

when most telemarketers 

make their 

calls,” says Charles 

LaJeunesse, Ph.D., 

professor of psychology 

at College 

Misericordia in 

Dallas.“In the early 

days it was chronic, 

with people calling 

constantly and 

many of the products 

were distasteful.That’s 

where 

the negative image 

first started for the telemarketing industry.” 

After a while, according to LaJeunesse, 

consumers started fighting back, and 

telephone companies began to help, 

offering services such as Caller ID, so 

homeowners could screen a call before 

answering.Today’s technology, such as a 

new program offered by CTE, is much 

more sophisticated. 

An alternative to signing up for statewide 

and national lists,“Block ’em” prevents 

unwanted, unidentified telemarketing calls 

from getting through to a consumer’s 

home phone.“If a telemarketer calls your 

house, and you have this service, and it recognizes 

the number as being a telemarketer, 

it automatically adds your phone 

number to that company’s personal ‘do not 

call’ list,” explains Mozden. 

Customers talk back 

As much as people complain about 

advertising — all the junk mail, spam and 

telemarketing calls — they really do 

want to be in the marketing loop, says 

Michael R. Solomon, in his book, 

“Conquering Consumerspace: Marketing 

Strategies for a Branded World.” 

(www.amanet.org/books/catalog). 

Rather than “passive pawns at the 

receiving end of a sales pitch, consumers 

are control freaks,” says Solomon. 

“We enjoy the feeling of power that 

comes from having input into what we 

do, see and buy — even if it just means 

getting to vote on a candy flavor,” as 

Lifesavers demonstrated several years ago 

when the company threatened to eliminate 

the pineapple flavor in its popular 

candy and more than 400,000 people rallied 

to “save” it. 

Studies show a correlation between 

good health and feeling in control, he 

says.“We want to be involved, we want to 

know if we’re having an impact and we 

hunger for the validation that comes from 

making the ‘correct selections.’” 

Fast Facts — 

Telemarketing and Blast Fax 

FCC Changes Fax Rule Again 

Regarding Established Business 

Relationships 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 

last month announced that it was extending the 

Aug. 25, 2003, deadline for companies to get 

their customers’ prior written permission before 

sending them commercial faxes until Jan. 1, 

2005. The FCC’s August 18 order “extend[s], 

until Jan. 1, 2005, the effective date of our determination 

that an established business relationship 

will no longer be sufficient to show that an 

individual or business has given express permission 

to receive unsolicited facsimile advertisements.” 

Previously, the FCC — as part of its 

recently announced changes to the Telephone 

Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) – had 

changed TCPA rules so that all commercial faxes 

were prohibited unless the sender had the recipient’s 

prior written permission to send the fax — 

even if the sender was faxing a consumer or business 

with whom it had an existing business relationship 

— beginning on August 25. For the FCC’s 

order, go to 

hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC 

-03-208A1.doc. 

New FCC rule regarding voice mail 

The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) is 

giving notice to members of a new Federal 

Communications Commission (FCC) rule that 

impacts marketers who employ a “live” operator 

to leave either a personal or a pre-recorded commercial 

message on prospective customers’ 

voicemail when the person is unavailable. The 

Association is urging members affected by the 

change to contact FCC staff immediately. 

The FCC’s recent amendments to the Telephone 

Consumer Protection Act of 1991, which were 

announced on June 26 and took effect on Aug. 

25, 2003, included a little-noticed provision that 

prohibits for-profit companies from leaving commercial 

messages on non-customers’ voicemail. 

In particular, the Commission’s rules now forbid 

almost all uses of prerecorded messages — even 

to reach people who are not on the Federal Trade 

Commission’s (FTC) National Do Not Call Registry, 

which opened its doors on June 27. 

Moreover, the new FCC rule forbids the use of a 

prerecorded message even when the message 

does not constitute “unsolicited advertising.” 

For example, the most significant change from 

the FCC’s previous rules is that prerecorded messages 

that invite customers to call back in order 

to meet with a potential vendor of goods, property, 

or services are now banned. 

Consequently, any entity – such as insurance 

companies, mortgage companies, resort timeshare 

providers, home improvement contractors, 

personal health and self-improvement – that previously 

used prerecorded messages in an effort to 

generate interest from prospective customers can 

no longer do so unless it fits within one of the 

five narrow exceptions listed below: 

1. Made for emergency purposes; 

2. Not made for a commercial purpose; 

3. Made for a commercial purpose but 

does nothing more than leave a name and 

call-back number; 

4. Made to a person with whom the caller has 

an existing, established business relationship; or 

5. Made by or on behalf of a tax-exempt 

organization. 

Source: The Direct Marketing Association, www.the-dma.org 

Statistics — 

Direct Mail and Spam 

Weight of paper in U.S. municipal solid waste in 

1980: 55 million tons 

Weight of paper in U.S. municipal solid waste in 

1999: 87.5 million tons 

Number of trees it takes to make a ton of paper: 

24 

Weight of catalogs and other direct mailings in 

the U.S. municipal solid waste stream in 1999: 

5.6 million tons 

Rate at which bulk mail was recycled in 1999: 

22 percent 

Number of garbage trucks it would take to haul 

away all the unrecycled junk mail in the U.S. to 

landfills and incinerators each year: 340,000 

Typical weight of 4 elephants: 

17.8 tons 

Amount of bulk mail delivered annually by each 

of the U.S. Postal Service's 293,000 letter carriers: 

17.8 tons 

Amount of time the average American spends 

opening bulk mail over the course of his or her 

life: 8 months 

Percentage of bulk mail that is thrown away 

unopened: 44 percent 

Money spent by U.S. companies on direct mail 

in 1993: $27.3 billion 

Money spent by U.S. companies on direct mail 

in 1998: $39.3 billion 

Tax dollars spent to dispose of junk mail: 

$320 million 

Pieces of bulk mail sent by U.S. nonprofits in 

one year: 12 billion 

Amount donated to nonprofits in response to 

those bulk mailings: $50 billion 

Source: www.newdream.org 

SPAM STATISTICS 

In 1999, the average consumer received 40 

pieces of spam. By 2005, Jupiter estimates, the 

total is likely to soar to 2000. 

■ America Online estimates that spam 

already accounts for more than 30 percent 

of e-mail to its members – as many as 24 

million messages a day. 

■ Seventy-four percent of customers 

believe that their ISPs should be responsible 

for fixing spam problems. 

■ Seven percent of ISP churn was directly 

attributed to spam. 

■ Thirty-six percent of e-mail users would 

switch ISPs in order to reduce the flow of 

spam they received. 

■ Twenty-four percent of users would be willing 

to pay an incremental for spam blocking. 

■ AOL alone receives 250,000 spam-related 

complaints every day. 

■ Nearly $2 of each customer's monthly bill can 

be attributed to electronic junk mail and other 

forms of spam. 

Source: www.anti-spam-software.com


Alone 

continued from page one 

By Stephanie Phillips Taggart 

They are everywhere you look — marketing 

messages. 

Today, they are even popping up where 

you least expect it — the bottom of golf 

holes, supermarket floors, cell phones, taxi 

cab roofs, fresh fruit, on the boxer shorts 

of a prize fighter and even on urinals. 

Messages displayed on novel mediums 

are called “off the wall” or nontraditional 

forms of advertising. 

This type of marketing is gaining popularity, 

and many advertisers say it helps 

them stand out among the advertising glut 

of traditional media. But just how effective 

is nontraditional advertising, and is it 

worthwhile for advertisers to pursue? 

Michael P. Beiter, general manager of 

Lamar Advertising, an outdoor advertising 

company,Williamsport, says that although 

off the wall advertising is effective, it is not 

for every advertiser. 

“Often times national advertisers or 

local large advertisers are the ones to 

information and target us. I don’t think 

most of us mind much of that.” 

But debate continues on where public 

knowledge ends and privacy begins. 

Privacy advocates gather steam to regulate 

the gathering and sale of information 

to curb the onslaught of spammers 

and other uninvited solicitations. 

An overwhelming response to signups 

for the “Do-Not-Call” list reveals the 

public’s cry for relief from unwanted 

telemarketing solicitations. 

According to Forrester Research, 90 

percent of consumers want the right 

to control how their personal information 

is used. 

“If you have a magazine subscription, 

there is a good chance somebody is buying 

your name,” says Gaetan Giannini, 

president of G2 Integrated Marketing 

with offices in Laurys Station and 

Stroudsburg.“It’s a good way to target 

market. If you get Golf Times, it’s a good 

chance you golf.Any time you fill out an 

application or a survey and don’t specifically 

say this information is confidential 

and cannot be reused, you have in effect 

given the OK to do it.” 

Privacy concerns are a gray area. 

The question becomes: where does use 

become abuse? While marketers provide 

helpful information, sometimes their 

methods can be intrusive or annoying. 

“I value my leisure time at home and 

often get a barrage of phone calls from 

telemarketers,” says Dean Hosier, marketing 

manager for PenTeleData, an Internet 

service provider in Palmerton, Carbon 

County.“However, I’ve accepted some of 

these offers from various companies. 

These personal forms of communication 

with the consumer have been proven to 

be very effective forms of advertising.” 

Effective or not, statistics show an estimated 

74 percent of Americans support a 

“do-not-spam” registry. 

Advocates know enforcement may be 

elusive, so the burden rests on each of us 

to take steps to ensure our own privacy. 

“In many cases you have reputable companies 

giving the consumer an ‘opt out’ 

option on receiving future e-mail,” says 

Hosier.“In other cases, you have companies 

or individuals using mass mailing 

tactics whereby when an individual 

opts out, they have now actually given 

away their real e-mail address, adding 

to the consumer’s current problem.” 

In addition, viruses and worms can 

be used to pull arbitrary information 

from your computer, and spammers 

and hackers use such tools to harvest e- 

mail addresses. E-mail addresses can also 

be pulled from newsgroup posts, so it 

pays to weigh your options carefully. 

“As in most things,there is a trade-off 

regarding how much a person values his 

privacy and how convenient he wants his 

online experience,”says Chris Kruslicky, 

information security specialist for 

PenTeleData.“Those who choose convenience 

will have their online actions noted 

by marketing firms,such as the famous 

case of DoubleClick,and more recently 

via any number of Spyware products’ 

‘phone-home’features.Those who choose 

not to have their online activities recorded 

will need to be diligent about things like 

Internet/browser settings,and forego the 

special offers and online contests that 

require personally identifiable information.” 

Another controversy in the privacy battle 

includes the use of ‘cookies’ — and 

they’re not chocolate chip. 

“Generally speaking, what the cookies 

are telling a Web site is where you have 

been,” Ed Redding, general manager of 

R&D Communications, Pine Grove, 

Schuylkill County.“A cookie remains from 

the site you previously visited. So the 

next site essentially gets a view of your 

browsing and shopping habits and, in 

some cases — depending on the sophistication 

for that particular Web site — the 

site can serve up pages of information 

that are sensitive to the places where 

you’ve been.” 

Privacy advocates consider cookies spying, 

but marketers disagree.“What merchants 

and marketers are trying to do is 

nothing more than a good retail clerk 

would in the store: get a sense of what 

you’re looking for,” says Redding.“It could 

be painted as being insidious but it’s really 

(what) people have always done in 

business to answer customers’ needs.” 

But debate continues. 

“I think that all legitimate business people 

have no interest in, and there is no 

use this type of marketing, because it 

won’t be effective unless a brand has 

been previously established. Don’t put 

the cart before the horse, so to speak. 

You want people to have familiarity with 

your product to avoid confusion,” he 

said.“When you are doing something off 

the wall, it is good to add on to the traditional 

media people use. Start with 

newspaper, television, outdoor, radio and 

direct mail advertising and then, if there 

is any money left over, you can use nontraditional 

media.” 

Fred Bertino, president and chief creative 

officer of Hill, Holliday, Connors, 

Cosmopulos Inc., a Boston-based advertising 

firm stated in an Inc. magazine article 

entitled “Upstarts: Nontraditional Ads,” that 

nontraditional advertising should be used 

as a supplement to traditional advertising, 

because the smartest brand-building campaigns 

express one core idea across many 

points of consumer contact. 

However, if “out of the box” marketing 

is used as a supplement, the additional 

TELEMARKETING STATISTICS 

US Department of Percent of the Number 

2000 Labor Estimate of the Working Population Unique 

Census Number of People Engaged in Cities & 

Working Employed in the Outbound Town 

2000 Census Pop. State in Tele- Telemarketing which 

State Population Non Agri. marketing for a fee Telemk. 

ALASKA 634,892 100,500 350 0.35% 3 

ALABAMA 4,454,356 1,900,200 3,260 0.17% 14 

ARKANSAS 2,692,090 1,156,800 5,040 0.44% 15 

ARIZONA 5,307,331 2,239,600 12,870 0.57% 15 

CALIFORNIA 34,501,130 14,658,700 40,040 0.27% 148 

COLORADO 4,417,714 2,198,700 13,340 0.61% 28 

CONNECTICUT 3,425,074 1,679,300 3,390 0.20% 14 

WASHINGTON, DC 571,822 402,372 2,330 0.58% 1 

DELAWARE 796,165 417,400 260 0.06% 4 

FLORIDA 16,396,515 7,193,600 44,850 0.62% 80 

GEORGIA 8,383,915 3,893,900 11,140 0.29% 30 

HAWAII 1,224,398 551,000 790 0.14% 1 

IOWA 2,923,179 1,463,100 10,880 0.74% 57 

IDAHO 1,321,006 567,300 2,590 0.46% 6 

ILLINOIS 12,482,301 5,931,400 17,060 0.29% 90 

INDIANA 6,114,745 2,896,100 10,220 0.35% 25 

KANSAS 2,694,641 1,363,800 3,170 0.23% 17 

KENTUCKY 4,065,556 1,827,400 3,950 0.22% 16 

LOUISIANA 4,465,430 1,929,700 6,940 0.36% 7 

MASSACHUSETTS 6,379,304 3,294,300 10,330 0.31% 43 

MARYLAND 5,375,156 2,454,000 12,170 0.50% 31 

MAINE 1,286,670 611,700 4,190 0.68% 26 

MICHIGAN 9,990,817 4,543,100 9,900 0.22% 46 

MINNESOTA 4,972,294 2,659,900 9,080 0.34% 28 

MISSOURI 5,629,707 2,687,600 10,300 0.38% 32 

MISSISSIPPI 2,858,029 1,125,400 1,210 0.11% 10 

MONTANA 904,433 393,600 580 0.15% 12 

NO CAROLINA 8,186,268 3,879,400 6,680 0.17% 29 

NORTH DAKOTA 634,448 331,500 2,950 0.89% 19 

NEBRASKA 1,713,235 912,400 7,000 0.77% 29 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 1,259,181 627,100 1,700 0.27% 10 

NEW JERSEY 8,484,431 4,007,100 11,030 0.28% 80 

NEW MEXICO 1,829,146 760,500 3,330 0.44% 9 

NEVADA 2,106,074 1,073,000 2,110 0.20% 6 

NEW YORK 19,011,378 8,538,000 26,710 0.31% 68 

OHIO 11,373,541 5,516,100 14,140 0.26% 56 

OKLAHOMA 3,460,097 1,519,800 9,100 0.60% 16 

OREGON 3,472,867 1,581,200 4,580 0.29% 15 

PENNSYLVANIA 12,287,150 5,647,400 21,370 0.38% 83 

PUERTO RICO 1,390 1 

RHODE ISLAND 1,058,920 484,800 1,880 0.39% 6 

SOUTH CAROLINA 4,063,011 1,829,200 4,260 0.23% 12 

SOUTH DAKOTA 756,600 380,800 1,190 0.31% 10 

TENNESSEE 5,740,021 2,706,000 7,930 0.29% 19 

TEXAS 21,325,018 9,559,500 48,570 0.51% 75 

UTAH 2,269,789 1,067,000 4,020 0.38% 15 

VIRGINIA 7,187,734 3,504,100 10,820 0.31% 33 

VERMONT 613,090 296,600 320 0.11% 6 

WASHINGTON 5,987,973 2,650,500 6,250 0.24% 24 

WISCONSIN 5,401,906 2,827,500 8,970 0.32% 25 

WEST VIRGINIA 1,801,916 730,900 5,340 0.73% 14 

WYOMING 494,423 249,400 1,250 0.50% 3 

Source: Direct Marketing Association, The Faces and Places of Outbound Teleservices in the United States 

economic justification for, any invasion of 

privacy,” says Redding.“In and of itself, 

the recording via cookies is not very 

important and certainly no invasion of 

privacy. But a person who has become 

sensitized to the issue, or who may be a 

recent victim of identity theft, may find 

that an egregious invasion. Privacy is in 

cost in these nontraditional mediums will 

be staggering, suggests Bertino, pointing 

out that advertisers who use “off the 

wall” advertising usually have excessive 

marketing budgets. 

Dennis Sullivan, president, Nextt Media, a 

full service advertising agency located in 

Williamsport said that although the cost of 

nontraditional advertising varies from campaign 

to campaign, creative mediums 

don’t necessarily mean big dollars. 

“You can still be creative and innovative 

and stand out using a less expensive 

avenue than traditional forms of advertising,” 

he said. 

No matter how expensive or inexpensive 

this type of “off the wall” marketing can 

be, spending any amount of money may 

be worthwhile if it works. 

“Nontraditional advertising is here to 

stay, because it works. If it didn’t work, no 

one would spend the money to place the 

ad. As long as it works and has an influence, 

marketers will be placing their mes- 

the eye of the beholder.” 

The Small Business Administration 

(www.sba.gov/ privacy.html) provides a 

comprehensive model privacy policy. 

Its final words provide useful insight 

for consumers and business alike:“Be 

informed.You are the best qualified to 

protect your own privacy.” 

Advertising’s extreme sport: ‘off the wall’ and ‘in your face’ ad placement 

Off the wall continues on next page 

Advertisers are 

coming up with 

ever-more inventive 

ways to reach the 

consumer. 

Photo by Bob Urban


Off the wall 

continued from previous page 

sage in unique places. If someone asked 

me to place their name on an elephant, 

I’d tell them,‘I’ll quote you a price for 

that,’” said Jonathan Balester, owner/sales 

consultant Abba Advertising Products, 

Shavertown, who said he made his company’s 

slogan “We will put your name on 

anything,” because he saw the nontraditional 

trend “catching on.” 

An elephant bearing a marketing message 

may very well grab your attention, 

but something a little simpler may be just 

as effective. 

When Beiter, visited the First Union 

Center in Philadelphia, he saw something 

that caught his attention — something that 

stood out from the many marketing messages 

at the center — an advertisement on 

the stadium’s turnstiles. 

“I thought the placement was not only 

effective, but interesting. It blows my mind 

By Gaetan Giannini 

I have been asked recently why marketers 

have become so aggressive. The 

answer starts with the “New Economy.” 

Not the high-tech, bubble-riding economy 

envisioned in the 90s, but the sober 

economy of the new reality 

— this “new reality” being a 

long span of modest economic 

activity, rather than a 

90s-like boom or a 

Depression-like bust.We will 

all need to work harder and 

be smarter to succeed. 

The tech boom did affect 

the world of marketing: 

■ First, by creating some 

outstanding new avenues for 

communication, and vastly 

improving existing ones. 

These innovations made the 

world a much smaller place that operates 

at a much faster pace.Technology, especially 

communications, has leveled the 

playing field by providing even the smallest 

businesses an affordable means to get 

their message to prospective customers. 

■ Secondly, the burst of the tech bubble, 

slowed the global economy to a 

crawl, and created a large pool of unemployed, 

savvy professionals. Being used 

to accomplishment and a healthy paycheck, 

many of these folks contracted the 

entrepreneur bug and joined the already 

burgeoning pool of fledgling American 

industrialists by venturing into their own 

businesses. This cycle has changed the 

business world as we know it. 

There are more companies competing 

for a piece of a shrinking economic pie 

that has been spread to every corner of 

the world. To add to the challenge, we 

now measure changes in the market 

place in hours and days, instead of 

months and years. 

When we look at all that has happened 

in the past decade it is no wonder that 

marketers have become aggressive. It is 

truly a matter of survival. Let’s not forget, 

however, that marketers have always 

been aggressive, and many of the most 

significant technological advances have 

that it would go that far,” he said.“Another 

nontraditional ad that I recently saw was 

right here in Williamsport. I was at the 

Weis Market the other day and saw photographic 

ads on the floor. They caught 

my eye and were very well done.” 

Supermarket floors and turnstiles may 

seem acceptable places to advertise, but 

Sullivan said some places that advertisers 

market may be questionable. 

“In the early 90s, I was in New York 

City, and I saw an advertisement on urinal 

strainers. Being in the business, I really 

appreciate creativity in getting the message 

across, but unfortunately, in some 

instances, good taste has taken a back 

seat to the creativity. I’d like to see people 

led to changes in the way we market. We 

can go all the way back to the wheel — 

it let our recently evolved ancestors get 

more of their goods to more of their 

neighbors in less time. Some other obvious 

examples are: Gutenberg’s printing 

press; automated travel (planes, trains, 

automobiles); telephone and 

telegraph; motion pictures; 

TV; computers, fax, Internet 

...so, we should not think 

that we are really experiencing 

something new, but just 

the next step in the evolution 

of commerce. 

What’s different about the 

present age is the new way 

we are criticizing marketing 

and advertising. In the 20th 

century we questioned the 

content of marketing and 

advertising. That is, are the 

messages truthful, ethical, and appropriate 

for their intended audience,? 

Today, the hot issues are not so much 

the content of the messages, but the 

method in which they are delivered. 

Specifically, has the delivery of these 

commercial messages become an intrusion 

on the consumer’s privacy? 

With traditional media (print and broadcast) 

the rules had been pretty clear. We 

implicitly agreed to suffer through commercial 

messages in exchange for content 

(entertainment, news, sports). 

With other media, especially Internet, 

direct mail and telephone, there is no 

implied exchange and, without that consent, 

many consumers feel that these 

methods of marketing violate their right 

to privacy. (Telemarketing and spam draw 

the most ire because they come unsolicited, 

and require your attention as soon as 

they arrive. Mail can wait until you are 

ready to sort through it.) 

The facts of the whole matter are a bit 

of a paradox. Any time we are force fed 

information we can legitimately claim an 

intrusion on our personal space of mind. 

On the other hand, we all rely on the 

results generated by these marketing 

efforts for our livelihoods. 

Unless someone buys the products, 

services or ideas that our employers are 

put more creative effort into the message 

instead of location,” he said. 

Dave Schwartz, vice president of marketing 

and communications, Ideaworks 

Marketing and Design, Plymouth, who has 

also encountered a similar ad locally said, 

“A question that needs to be on advertisers’ 

and marketers’ minds is,‘Is it wise to 

invade peoples’ privacy?’You may be doing 

more harm than good.Another example of 

this is the pop up advertisements on the 

Internet. I’ll go to an information-based 

Web page and six to eight pop up window 

ads will appear for things like mortgage 

rates and vacation packages. It might be a 

great deal, but chances are that I am not 

going to use it because I’ve just gotten 

selling, we don’t get a paycheck. 

So, with overloaded and annoyed consumers 

on one side, and companies desperate 

for sales and growth on the other, 

what can be done to bridge this chasm? 

The answer is deceptively simple: Go 

back to basics. 

When we look closely we find that consumers 

do want to be marketed to, just 

not for all things from every company. 

Consumers will accept marketing for 

goods and services that they need or are 

interested in.They are even more accepting 

if it is on their terms, is somewhat 

entertaining, or contains an offer of real 

value to them. 

Successful companies in this century 

will be using personalized messages and 

images via a mix of media to educate and 

inform a laser-targeted audience of customers 

and prospects, thereby beginning 

to cultivate a relationship with these market 

segments, and creating value in their 

brand.We will find many companies looking 

not for the broadest markets for their 

sales, but the deepest. 

They will be asking themselves,“Where 

can we bring the most value to the customer?” 

rather than,“Where can we get 

the most volume?” 

This approach will build a loyal, longterm 

customer base that is willing to pay 

more for a product or service, rather than 

a fickle customer base that is willing to 

change brands on small differences in 

price or with the ebb and flow of fads. 

So business owners and marketers, take 

heart. The recent public outcry against 

certain types of marketing is not a signal 

to stop marketing. It is a signal to start 

marketing better. An intelligent, longterm 

approach to the right audience(s) 

will yield success without alienating 

clients or prospects. 

Gaetan Giannini is president of G2 

Integrated Marketing and an adjunct 

professor of marketing and advertising 

at East Stroudsburg University. He is 

also an adjunct instructor for the 

Manufacturer’s Association of Berks 

County, and on the Business Advisory 

Committee of Ben Franklin Technology 

Partners. E-mail him at 

gaetan@g2marketing.biz. 

bombarded by advertisements.” 

“Off the wall” advertising is designed to 

break through the advertising bombardment, 

but Schwartz points out,“the more 

you can put the message in front of people, 

the more likely they are to recognize 

your product.The flip side to this is that 

the audience may have sensory overload 

— even if you use nontraditional media, 

but if you do choose to place an advertisement 

using a nontraditional medium, it 

may catch customers’ attention longer and 

you might have a better chance of the consumer 

recognizing your product.” 

More and more marketers seem to be 

taking the chance and going out on a 

limb to gain consumers’ attention by 

using off the wall marketing. Who knows 

what they will think of next, but as 

Schwartz said, “There is always going to 

be something new in advertising.That is 

the nature of the beast. What is considered 

nontraditional now is eventually 

going to become traditional . . . whether it 

takes a month, a year, a decade.” 

Tech boom has marketers looking for ‘deeper’ markets 

Giannini 

“Off the wall” advertising is designed to break through the 

advertising bombardment. “The more you can put the message 

in front of people, the more likely they are to recognize 

your product.” 

— Dave Schwartz, Ideaworks Marketing and Design, Plymouth 

How to be heard 

above the marketing din 

Once a company embraces the concept 

of value-rich target marketing, they will 

still have a major challenge — how to 

stand out in the crowd. 

Here are just a few tips: 

■ Micro-target. 

Do your homework to find out which 

consumers find the most value in your 

product, service or idea. 

■ Mix up the media. 

Pursue this smaller, more valuable audience 

using a mix of media appropriate 

to their preferences and styles. It is 

more effective to have an audience-specific 

message that appears to be everywhere 

than it is to have a generic message 

that is only in one or two places. 

■ Place marketing and media strategically. 

Marketing has the most impact when it 

appears at the same time that a prospective 

customer is thinking about the problem 

that your product or service solves, 

or the need that it fulfills. 

■ It’s a marathon, not a sprint. 

The marketing axiom that it takes five 

to 10 exposures to your message before 

the average consumer will begin to identify 

with it is true. So, when you are getting 

tired of a given messages, you can 

assume that the prospective customers 

are just starting to absorb it. 

■ Stay on message. 

It is easy, and quite common for companies 

to have different messages and different 

looks on every marketing piece 

they produce. Once you have found a 

message and image that conveys the 

value of your company to its customers, 

make sure it is pervasive. 

■ Be smart, have fun. 

Marketing pieces that educate or 

entertain work best. They are often kept 

or passed around to others, which will 

increase effectiveness exponentially. So 

get creative! 

— Gaetan Giannini

Now you can update your listings easier than ever on 

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Accreditations 

The Pennsylvania Small Business Development 

Centers were awarded full accreditation from the 

national Association of Small Business Development 

Centers. The review process, mandated by 

Congress, is based on a strict set of standards guided 

by the Malcolm Baldridge Quality Awards to 

ensure that SBDC programs are operating efficiently 

and effectively. As part of its findings, the accreditation 

team indicated the Pennsylvania SBDCs have 

numerous strengths including its quality control 

process, the impact of its client successes and its 

remarkable return on investment. 

Easter Seals Eastern Pennsylvania (ESEP) 

announced that it has been accredited by the 

Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation 

Facilities (CARF) for a period of three years. 

CARF is an independent, not-for-profit accrediting 

body that has established consumer-focused standards 

to help organizations measure and improve 

the quality of their programs and services. 

Pennsylvania College of Technology's bachelor 

degree nursing and certificate practical nursing 

majors have received full accreditation from the 

National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. 

By earning the designation, those two majors join 

the College's associate-degree nursing 

major, which has been fully accredited by the NLNAC 

since 1993. 

Achievements 

East Penn Manufacturing, Lyon Station, proudly 

accepted the 2002 CARQUEST Outstanding Order Fill 

Award on March 26. In qualifying for this award, East 

Penn achieved a 96.4 percent rate in timely and 

accurate order filling. East Penn supplies battery 

accessories for CARQUEST auto parts stores including 

battery cables and terminal protection products, 

delivering to approximately 40 distribution centers. 

East Penn is able to provide accurate and on-time 

deliveries utilizing its extensive distribution capabilities. 

The Inn at Turkey Hill has received Wine Spectator 

magazine’s “award of excellence” for its 2003 wine 

list. The Inn at Turkey Hill is a country-style inn located 

at Exit 236 off of I 80 in Bloomsburg. Wine 

Spectator magazine’s award of excellence is given to 

restaurants that offer a wine list that includes wines 

appropriate to its cuisine and an ambience that 

appeals to a wide range of wine lovers. The award of 

excellence designates lists that offer a well-chosen 

selection of quality wine producers, as well as thematic 

match to the menu in both price and style. 

Also, the Inn at Turkey Hill has also been accepted 

into the Select Registry of Distinguished Inns of 

North America. Select Registry is an association of 

over 400 inns and bed-and-breakfasts throughout 

the United States and Canada. “Preference, distinction, 

choice and authenticity” establish members as 

select properties that exceed expectations when it 

comes to lodging. Visit innatturkeyhill.com or call 

(570) 387-1500. 

Larson Design Group Inc. (LDG) environmental sciences 

department head Jonathan R. Klotz presented 

at the recent World Water and Environmental 

Resources Congress 2003 in Philadelphia. His presentation, 

“What is Fluvial Geomorphology? What is 

Natural Channel Design?” provided an overview of 

this special science of stream channel restoration. 

Fluvial geomorphology applies engineering, geology, 

biology, hydrology, soil science, and other specific 

disciplines to work naturally with streams instead of 

controlling them. Klotz also presented, “Stream 

Restoration in an Urban Park Setting,” which 

explored the use of fluvial geomorphology in the 

restoration of Miller’s Run in Loyalsock 

Township.LDG is headquartered in Williamsport. 

Jeffrey Metz, vice president of operations for 

Northeast Restaurant Group, was honored by the 

Pennsylvania Restaurant Association as a state winner 

for the fifth annual Restaurant Neighbor Award. 

Northeast Restaurant Group is a licensed T.G.I., 

Friday’s Inc. franchisee that operates nine Friday’s 

restaurants in Wilkes-Barre, Quakertown and 

Williamsport, Pennsylvania and Toms River, Atlantic 

City, Brick, Somers Point, Manahawkin and 

Turnersville, New Jersey. The Restaurant Neighbor 

Award is a national program established by the 

National Restaurant Association to honor and recognize 

restaurateurs for outstanding community involvement 

and to inspire other restaurant operators and 

owners to do what they can in their respective communities.For 

more information, visit 

www.tgifridays.com. 

Shamokin area entrepreneur Linda Procopio was 

on the speaker's podium with the director of the 

Pennsylvania Department of Community and 

Economic Development, Dennis Yablonsky, at 

Bucknell University's Small Business and 

Development Center (SBDC) 25th Anniversary 

Celebration August 11. Procopio, managing partner 

of Procopio and Associates Fundraising, is celebrating 

her own corporate anniversary in August; it’s 

been one year since she established her company. 

Procopio and Associates Fundraising specializes in 

raising funds and writing grant proposals for nonprofit 

initiatives in the area. Procopio's speech at the 

SBDC Anniversary Celebration detailed her struggle 

to make her fledgling company profitable. It will also 

allowed her to publicly thank the SBDC for their help 

in providing her with legal, accounting, and marketing 

assistance in the early months of the company's 

founding. 

Outstanding product knowledge and client service 

have enabled George R. Shadie, of New York Life 

Insurance, Wilkes-Barre, to earn membership in the 

prestigious Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). 

Shadie, is a nine-year MDRT member. He is also an 

assistant director of the PGA Committee, which oversees 

the operations of the annual meeting. 

Achieving membership in MDRT is a distinguishing 

career milestone, attained only by those who have 

demonstrated exceptional professional knowledge, 

expertise and client service. The Round Table’s 

membership represents the top life insurance and 

financial service professionals worldwide. 

MaTech (Machining Technologies) Inc., a firm that 

sponsors internships for Pennsylvania College of 

Technology students and employs five Penn College 

graduates, was presented with a “Mentorship 

Award” on August 9 at Summer Commencement ceremonies. 

Representatives of the Hebron, Md.-based 

company, which manufactures machined parts, 

assemblies and subassemblies for the defense, 

microwave telecommunications and poultry-automation 

industries, were honored at the ceremonies in 

the Community Arts Center in Williamsport. The 

Mentorship Award, which was established in 2002, 

recognizes alumni and businesses that have made a 

significant or ongoing contribution to the education 

and development of Penn College students. MaTech 

has sponsored internships for Penn College students 

since 1999 - as many as six per summer. This program 

recently expanded to include interns from other 

institutions, including The Pennsylvania State 

University. Penn College is a special-mission affiliate 

of Penn State. For more information about Penn 

College, visit www.pct.edu on the Web or call tollfree, 

(800) 367-9222. 

The recent bartender championships, held at all 

Northeast Restaurant Group-owned T.G.I. Friday’s, 

were a resounding success—raising more than 

$28,000 for various charities. Northeast Restaurant 

Group, owned by Metz Enterprises, is a licensed 

T.G.I. Friday’s, Inc. franchisee that operates Friday’s 

restaurants in Toms River, Atlantic City, Brick, 

Somers Point, Manahawkin and Turnersville, New 

Jersey as well as Wilkes-Barre, Quakertown and 

Williamsport. The list of champions, along with the 

money raised for their charity, includes: Rob Bakunas 

of the Wilkes-Barre location with $8,000 raised for 

the Make a Wish Foundation; Joel Albert of the 

Williamsport location with $3,700 raised for the 

Make a Wish Foundation; Henry Hufnage of the 

Quakertown location with $2,800 raised for Make a 

Wish Foundation; Fran Kramer of the Toms River, 

New Jersey location with $5,000 raised for Dover 

Township Police Vest-A-Cop; Brian Harris of the Brick, 

New Jersey location with $3,500 raised for Brick 

Vest-A-Cop; Dan Rooney, the recent winner of corporate 

T.G.I. Friday’s Best Flair Bartender in the USA, 

of the Somers Point, New Jersey location with 

$2,200 raised for the March of Dimes; Jay Morris of 

the Atlantic City, New Jersey location with $1,500 

raised for the March of Dimes, and Raun Lynch of 

the Turnersville, New Jersey location with $1,500 

raised for the American Cancer Society. The cancer 

society will in turn present the money raised at the 

Turnersville location to a former Friday’s employee 

who had to leave work to take care of her husband 

who has been diagnosed with cancer. Turnersville 

and Somers Point also held a tandem team bartender 

competition, and the winners were Erin 

Morrone and Paul Soltys in Turnersville and Dan and 

Ken Rooney in Somers Point. 

A soldier in the Communications Security and 

Tactical Missile Systems Directorate at Tobyhanna 

Army Department has been named the U.S. Army 

Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) 

Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) of the Year (fiscal 

year 2003).Sgt. William Tucker, a communications 

security repair technician, earned the award after 

winning CECOM Soldier of the Quarter (1st quarter, 

fiscal year 2003). A native of Jackpot, Nev., Tucker 

graduated from Jackpot High School in 1997 and 

has been a soldier for five years. He began his 

depot tour in March 2002. 

Tree Design Studios Inc. of Wilkes-Barre captured 

one Silver and two Gold awards at the District II 

American Advertising Federation’s recent ADDY 

Awards. With 60,000 entries, the ADDY Awards are 

the nation’s largest advertising competition, honoring 

creative excellence in advertising across all 

media. District Two of the American Advertising 

Federation held its ADDY competition with entrants 

from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, 

D.C., New Jersey and Delaware. As a District winner, 

Tree Design Studios will now go on to compete in 

the national competition. Tree Design was awarded a 

Gold ADDY in the Out-of-Home/Campaign category 

for it’s on-site billboard style, Arena Advertising for 

the Black Rock Brewery. Tree Design won a second 

Gold ADDY in the Interactive Web site/B2B category 

for it’s design of an animated Flash Web site titled 

“SHELFWorks” for Trion Industries, Inc. The Web site 

showcased the functionality of Trion’s newest product 

line. The Agency was also awarded Silver ADDY 

in the Mixed Media Campaign/Local category for it’s 

outdoor and newspaper advertising campaign titled 

“Imagine That” for the Lackawanna County Library 

System. Tree Design Studios, Inc. is a full-purpose, 

multi-media advertising agency that services an 

array of local and national clients in a variety of 

industries. For more information on Tree Design 

Studios, visit www.treedesign.com 

www.treedesign.com/ or call 800-TREE-987. 

For the second consecutive year, The University of 

Scranton has been selected as one of the “most 

interesting colleges” in the nation by a publication 

that offers students an “unbiased” guide to their college 

selection. The University of Scranton is profiled 

in the 2004 edition of Kaplan Publishing’s The 

Unofficial, (Un)biased, Insider’s Guide to the 328 

Most Interesting Colleges, by Trent Anderson and 

Seppy Basili. The university is one of just 25 colleges 

in Pennsylvania to be profiled in this year’s 

guide. The publication surveys students, recent graduates, 

guidance counselors and college administrators 

to compile an inside look of select colleges from 

a range of perspectives. The University of Scranton 

has been nationally recognized for quality by U.S. 

News & World Report as one of the top 10 finest 

comprehensive universities in the north for nine consecutive 

years – fourth in the 2003 edition. In 2002, 

the Princeton Review added The University of 

Scranton to its list of the nation’s “Best 345 

Colleges.” 

Bank Notes 

Dimeco Inc. (Nasdaq “DIMC”), parent company of 

The Dime Bank, reported earnings of $1,845,000 

for the six months ended June 30, representing an 

increase of 20.3 percent over the $1,534,000 

reported for the same period in 2002. Net interest 

income increased 7.8 percent during the first half of 

2003 versus the same period in 2002. Earnings per 

share increased $.32 or 16.0 percent, to $2.32 per 

share. In addition, dividends declared year to date 

increased 7.5 percent over the same period last 

year to $.86 per share. The market value of Dimeco, 

Inc. shares grew 29.7 percent to $57.05 per share 

at June 30, 2003 from $44 per share at June 30, 

2002. The company continued to experience growth 

over the past year, with total assets of 

$291,577,000 at June 30, 2003, representing an 

increase of $31,134,000 or 12.0 percent. During 

this time, deposits increased $29,742,000 or 13.8 

percent while the loan portfolio increased 

$37,001,000 or 22.0 percent. Return on average 

assets and return on average stockholders’ equity 

were strong at 1.32 percent and 14.51 percent for 

the first half of 2003. Asset performance was 

strong with the ratio of nonperforming assets to total 

assets decreasing 35.7 percent to .27 percent at 

June 30, 2003. 

George H. Groves, chairman and chief executive 

officer, announced the second quarter 2003 financial 

results for the Legacy Bank. Consolidated net 

income rose 13 percent over the same period in 

2002, its third consecutive quarter of earnings. For 

the three months ended June 30, 2003 earnings 

were $157,000 or $.06 per basic and dilative 

shares compared to $139,000 or $.10 per basic 

and dilative shares for the same period in 2002. Net 

income before taxes for the three months ended 

June 30, 2003 was $97,000, an increase of 

$123,000 over the same period in 2002. For the six 

months ended June 30, 2003 net income rose 15 

percent or $263,000 over the same period in 2002. 

Luzerne National Bank Corporation, Luzerne, 

announced a second quarter dividend of $.08 per 

share as of June 12. William V. Leandri, president 

and CEO of Luzerne National Bank Corp., also 

reported net earnings of $291,000 for the quarter 

ending June 30, 2003. 

Northeast Pennsylvania Financial Corp., the holding 

company for First Federal Bank, announced it will 

be restating its prior period earnings for the fiscal 

years from 1998-2002 and for the December 2002 

and March 2003 quarters to reflect the correction of 

errors in the accounting for the indirect auto loan 

portfolio. The company estimates that the restatements 

will reduce the company’s capital as of March 

31, 2003 and aggregate net earnings from these 

prior periods by approximately $3 million. E. Lee 

Beard, president and CEO, noted that the recently 

identified errors resulted primarily from a computer 

program coding error that impacted the calculation of 

interest income earned on its indirect auto loans. 

The June 2003 quarter earnings guidance discussed 

below reflects the proper interest earnings rate for 

these loans. The company is working to complete 

the quantification of the errors and to submit an 

amended form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 

September 2002 and amended forms 10-Q for the 

December 2002 and March 2003 quarters. Until 

such amendments are filed, the company’s previously 

filed periodic annual and quarterly reports, including 

financial statements and auditors’ reports thereon, 

should not be relied upon. This restatement has 

no impact on NEPF or First Federal’s cash flow and 

the bank is well capitalized under regulatory capital 

requirements. The accounting errors do not impact 

any loan customer. The bank’s deposits continue to 

be insured by the FDIC. Management affirmed that 

the accounting errors that led to the restatement 

were unintentional. Management believes that no 

other similar system errors have occurred which 

have not been detected by the company’s system of 

internal controls. Staffing, system and procedural 

changes have been and continue to be made to 

ensure such errors do not occur in the future. The 

company also announced it expects to report later 

this week a net loss of approximately $1 million for 

the three months ended June 30, 2003 and net 

income of approximately $700,000 for the fiscal 

year to date. These earnings include the impact of 

an impairment loss recognized during the quarter of 

$1.5 million for its investment in Builders First 

Holdings Inc. No tax benefit has been recognized for 

the current impairment loss. NEPF purchased $2 million 

of convertible preferred stock in Builders First, 

headquartered in Greenville, S.C., in fiscal 2000. 

Pre-tax losses of $500,000 had been recognized by 

NEPF previously. The small builder, multi-state lending 

program of Builders First continues to operate, 

however, efforts to raise additional equity capital 

have proven unsuccessful. The Builders First contract 

with an investment banker seeking to raise 

additional capital expired during the June quarter. 

First Federal’s loans originated through the Builders 

First program have been repaid with no losses. The 

bank is no longer a lender for this program. 

Northeast Pennsylvania Financial Corp. is the holding 

company of First Federal Bank, Higgins Insurance 

Associates Inc., Abstractors Inc. and Northeast 

Pennsylvania Trust Co. The company, through its 

subsidiaries, serves northeastern and central 

Pennsylvania through its 16 full service community 

office locations, three financial centers and a loan 

production office. 

George H. Groves, Chairman and CEO and Thomas 

W. Lennox, President of The Legacy Bank (OTC-BB: 

LBOH) jointly announced receipt of Preferred Lender 

Program status by the U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA). The Preferred Lender Program 

or “PLP” status is the highest designation awarded 

by the SBA. The designation is granted to the SBA’s 

best participating lenders, who will receive faster 

service from the SBA, have their lending portfolio 

periodically examined by the SBA and ensure a 

streamlined loan application, underwriting and decision 

process. In 2002, the Legacy Bank settled 17 

SBA guaranteed loans totaling $3,441,000. To date 

in 2003, the Legacy Bank is currently ranked 20th in 

loan volume for the SBA’s Philadelphia region. 

First Columbia Bank and Trust Company accepted 

two new college graduates from Bloomsburg 

University’s class of 2003 into its management training 

program. The two graduates began work June 2 

and each had previously been marketing interns at 

the bank. First Columbia’s management training program 

is a blend of on-the-job experience and classroom 

training, structured to allow creativity and flexibility 

in scheduling. Trainees rotate through assignments 

in key business departments and work on 

special projects. The graduates are Katrina Callahan 

of Wellsboro and Christopher Kier of Danbury, Conn. 

First Columbia Bank and Trust Company reported 

total assets in excess of $226 million as of June 

30. It operates seven community branch offices in 

Columbia County and can be found at 

firstcolumbia.com. 

Bankruptcies 

(Definitions: In accordance with the U.S. 

Bankruptcy Code, in a Chapter 7, an appointed 

trustee takes ownership of the debtor’s assets to 

determine whether any assets are available for liquidation 

to pay creditors; in a Chapter 11, a debtor, 

usually a corporation, in order to repay a debt, develops 

a reorganization plan; in a Chapter 12, debt-burdened 

family farmers file a repayment plan to satisfy 

debt; in a Chapter 13, a debtor, having regular 

income, with less than $750,000 in secured debts 

and $250,000 in unsecured debts, must file an 

installment plan lasting no longer than five years to 

repay creditors. In Chapters 11, 12 and 13, the 

debtor’s plan must be approved by the U.S. 

Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Trustees Office and the 

debtor’s creditors. 

Abbreviations: a-k-a - also known as; d-b-a - doing 

business as; f-d-b-a - formerly doing business as; f-t-a 

- formerly trading as; p-d-b-a - previously doing business 

as; t-a - trading as. 

Bankruptcy cases listed in the Business Journal 

are filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle 

District of Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre division of the 

court. 

Chapter 7 

Case: 53557. Weir Mountain Transportation Inc., 

R.R. 3, Box 3489, Saylorsburg, Pa. 18353. Filed: 

July 24, 2003. 

Case: 53746. Chardonnay Inc., R.R. #6, Box 

6003, East Stroudsburg, Pa. 18301. Filed: Aug. 5, 

2003. 

Case: 53894. Capital Computer Concepts Inc., 

P.O. Box 58, Long Pond, Pa. 18334-0058. Filed: 

Aug. 11, 2003. 

Business Notes 

Breast cancer survivors can send a powerful message 

of hope through the "Gallery of Hope," an 

inspiring pantheon of photographic portraits commissioned 

by Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

By participating in the Gallery of Hope, survivors 

symbolically encourage others to fight breast cancer. 

Through their portraits they advocate early detection 

and treatment, and greater efforts at discovering a 

scientific cure. Blue Cross annually commissions 

portraits of breast cancer survivors for the Gallery of 

Hope. Each professionally produced portrait 

includes the survivor's photograph and a heartfelt 

personal story. Honorees are recognized during the 

annual Blue Cross reception held at the F.M. Kirby 

Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre. This 

year's special guest is singer Natalie Cole. The 

gallery is displayed at various venues following the 

event. More than 70 breast cancer survivors have 

volunteered for the Gallery of Hope during the past 

four years. To be recognized in the Gallery of Hope, 

write to Marlene Hogrebe, Blue Cross of 

Northeastern Pennsylvania Community Relations, 19 

N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, or call (570) 200-6302. 

The Devereux Pocono Center Advisory Board 

elected officers and approved the addition of a new 

member at its recent Annual Advisory Board meeting 

at the Sterling Inn in Newfoundland. The following 

officers were elected: G. Richard Garman, of 

Mountaintop, president; Barkley Stuart of Dallas, 

Texas vice president; and Michael Peifer of 

Greentown, secretary. Garman is director of Planned 

Giving for Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale. 

Stuart is executive vice president and chief operating 

officer of Glazer’s, a wholesale distributors of wines 

and spirits in 10 central U. S. states. Peifer is a certified 

public accountant and is the treasurer for the 

County of Pike. Joining the Advisory Board as a new 

member is Janet Hunter of San Diego. Hunter and 

her husband are parents of a learning disabled adult 

daughter who resides and works at the Devereux 

Pocono Center. The other two Pocono Center staff 

members of the Advisory Board are executive director, 

Mary F. Seeley, and director of development, 

Jack Dennis. Today the Devereux Foundation consists 

of centers in 12 states and the District of 

Columbia offering a comprehensive system of care 

to children, adults and families with special needs 

that derive from behavioral, intellectual, psychological 

or neurological impairments. The Pocono Center, 

one of four centers in Pennsylvania, provides a wide 

range of treatment services to its clients who come 

from areas throughout the United States. For more 

information on the Pocono Center or the Devereux 

Foundation, contact Jack Dennis at (570) 676-3417. 

Double Diamond Companies Inc., owner and operator 

of Eagle Rock Resort in Hazleton has 

announced the development of a hotel with related 

amenities. The lodge at Eagle Rock is tentatively 

scheduled to open on Labor Day Weekend. Nestled 

within the beautiful backdrop of the Blue Mountains, 

Eagle Rock will boast the finest resort facilities in 

the region. Each guestroom is over-sized and 

equipped with a cozy fireplace, a bathroom with 

his/hers sinks, a separate tub and shower and a private 

balcony with spectacular views. "We will open 

our doors as the most luxurious hotel in Northeast 

Pennsylvania," says Peter Bonell, Sr., vice president 

of hospitality for Double Diamond. "It is our intention 

to offer the area a first class resort that will attract 

ground-breaking opportunities for the area and it’s 

businesses," Bonell says. The initial phase will 

include 46 deluxe rooms, a full-service salon and 

spa and a state of the art fitness center. Located 

adjacent to the hotel will be a swimming pool with a 

bathhouse and lighted tennis courts expected to be 

completed in the spring of 2004. Under construction 

as well, is a full service driving range. Phase two 

will include an additional 46 guestrooms plus a conference 

center for meetings and banquets. The Spa 

at Eagle Rock will also hold its grand opening on 

Labor Day weekend. The spa will offer an array of 

services including hair cuts, styles and colors, manicures 

and pedicures, Massages, facials, skin treatments, 

tanning beds and much more. Also, inside 

the relaxing spa is a state-of-the-art fitness center 

with weight training and cardiovascular equipment 

and a separate room for aerobics. Eagle Rock 

Resort has an 18-hole championship golf course, 14 

lighted ski slopes, snow tubing, an equestrian center 

with trail rides and boarding and many more exciting 

activities. It offers corporate rates, group packages, 

spa, golf and ski getaways, banquets and more. 

Call (570) 384-1378 for more information. Double 

Diamond Companies Inc. was formed in 1972 and is 

headquarter in Dallas, Texas. The company is recognized 

throughout the resort industry for its first-class 

resorts, challenging golf courses, beautiful amenities 

and professional service. Double Diamond’s portfolio 

includes over 10,000 acres of land including 

White Bluff Resort on Lake Whitney in Texas, The 

Cliffs Resort on Possum Kingdom Lake in Texas, The 

Retreat in Cleburne, Texas and Eagle Rock Resort in 

Hazleton. For additional information, contact Kelly 

Beres at Double Diamond Companies (214) 706- 

9893 or kberes@ddresorts.com, or Lloyd Williams, 

general manager at Eagle Rock Resort at (570) 384- 

1378 or Lwilliams@eaglerockresort.com 

The Executive Women’s Golf Association, (EWGA) 

Stroudsburg chapter has elected its officers for the 

2004 season. They are: Wendy S. Roeber, president; 

Linda P. Wasser, vice president; Wanda A. Hunter, 

secretary; and Lynda N. Moscatello, treasurer. 

Founded in 1994, EWGA is now in its second decade 

of promoting the growth of women’s golf with over 

16,000 members nationwide. The local Stroudsburg 

chapter has more than 200 members with Mountain 

Manor Golf Club in Marshalls Creek serving as host 

club. Weekly play is held every Wednesday at 5:30 

p.m. Clinics and various events are held throughout 

the year. Information can be obtained via the Web 

site, www.ewgastroudsburg.com. The national office 

can be viewed at www.ewga.com. 

The Innovation Center@Wilkes-Barre has named 

its advisory board. Board members are: Chris 

Alexander, King's College; Matt Alferio, First 

Insurance Center; Dr. Jeffrey Alves, Kirby Center for 

Free Enterprise; John Augustine, Innovation Center 

@Wilkes-Barre; John Blake, Gov. Rendell's northeast 

office; Frouke de Quillettes, Penn State Wilkes-Barre; 

Tom Druby, Blue Cross; Jerry Ephault, Ben Franklin 

Technology Partners; Kevin Foley, KKB; Dr. Tim 

Gilmour, Wilkes University; Chris Haran, Great Valley 

Technology Alliance Institute; Jim Hilsher, Mericle 

Commercial Real Estate; Ruth Hughes, Wilkes 

University SBDC; Atty. Joe Kluger, Hourigan Kluger 

Quinn; Mary Ann Lambert, M&T Bank; Tom Mailey, 

incubator consultant; Bob Max, NEPA Alliance; Chris 

Mencer, Penn State Hazleton; Paul Moran, King's 

College; Larry Newman, Urban Workshop; Atty. Lee 

Piatt, Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald; Philip Santarelli, 

Parente Randolph; Catherine Shafer, CDS Creative; 

John Sumansky, College Misericordia; Alan Wilcox, 

Luzerne County Community College; and Ed Yencha, 

PNC Bank. 

Leadership Lackawanna is accepting registrations 

for the Executive Program. Sponsored by 

Leadership Lackawanna, the Executive Program is 

designed to assist new area residents in making a 

knowledgeable transition to living in the community, 

and assist new executives develop a network of business 

contacts. The program is open to public and 

private sector professionals/key executives who 

have either recently moved to the greater 

Scranton/Lackawanna County area or have recently 

been promoted to an executive level position. 

Executives who have recently returned to the region 

are also encouraged to apply. Applicants should be 

interested in learning how Lackawanna County functions 

and be committed to enhancing the area's 

economy and quality of life. Through five weekly sessions, 

the participants have an opportunity to meet 

key business and community leaders and to receive 

an extensive overview of the area's history, economic 

and political structures, cultural affairs, and 

leisure amenities.Sessions are in September and 

October of 2003. Each seminar consists of at least 

two presentations that are facilitated by well-known 

experts in a variety of fields. All programs include 

cocktails and gourmet dinner. The series is limited to 

10 executive professional participants and their 

spouses or guests, and tuition is $650. To register, 

please contact Christina Fenton at (570) 342-7711, 

or at cfenton@scrantonchamber.com. Brochures are 

available at the Chamber, 222 Mulberry Street, 

Scranton. For more information, log on to www.leadershiplackawanna.com. 

In an effort to resolve the critical nursing shortage 

in the Northern Tier counties, Pennsylvania College 

of Technology is seeking approval from the 

Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing to offer a practical 

nursing program at its North Campus near 

Wellsboro beginning later this year. The initial 

approval for the program has been received. The proposed 

12-month vocational program will be scheduled 

Mondays-Thursdays for students who choose to 

work part-time while attending school. Clinical experiences 

will take place at Soldiers and Sailors 

Memorial Hospital and the Green Home, Wellsboro, 

as well as other area healthcare sites. Upon completion 

of the program, students will be eligible to take 

the practical nursing National Council licensure exam 

for full licensure as a licensed practical nurse. For 

more information about the proposed practical nursing 

program at the North Campus, call (570) 724- 

7703. 

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s School of 

Transportation Technology acquired four donated 

vehicles recently that will be used for instructional 

and transportation purposes. Toyota Motor Sales 

U.S.A. Inc. is donating a 2003 Camry LE and a 2003 

Corolla. The college also will receive a Dodge 1500 

truck from Daimler Chrysler and a 2003 Econovan 

from Ford Motor Co. For more information about the 

automotive programs at Penn College, call (570) 

327-4516, send e-mail to transportation@pct.edu, or 

visit www.pct.edu/schools/tt/ on the Web. 

Traffic safety, mass transit, aviation and highway 

construction will be among the numerous issues 

considered in central Pennsylvania’s long-range 

transportation plan, which SEDA-COG is currently 

developing. According to SEDA-COG’s Jim McAllister, 

program director for transportation and public safety, 

“The plan will not only encompass every aspect of 

transportation in the region, it will address the relationships 

between them — rail freight and highway 

freight, transportation systems here and their connections 

to other parts of the state. For instance, 

there are fresh-water ports in Erie and Pittsburgh 

and the Port of Philadelphia is a major departure 

point for overseas freight. What can we do in central 

Pennsylvania to improve our companies’ access to 

these ports?” In terms of airline service, the longrange 

plan will consider use patterns of air travelers. 

McAllister said, “We need to know why so many people 

in our region use the Baltimore/Washington 

Continues on page 55 

Saturday, November 15, 2003, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

at the Sheehy-Farmer Campus Center at 

Kings College 

Are you in business? 

Are your customers 

women of discriminating taste? 

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Exhibitor space and Sponsorship Opportunities 

available. 

Why exhibit? Meet your target customers 

face to face, improve top-of-mind awareness and 

get in on this prestigious annual event that is 

heavily promoted in multiple media outlets. 

Event Features: 

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Parenting, Depression, Personal 

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or visit www.wvia.org 



Regional Business 

B R I E F C A S E 

Donating used cell phones aids VRC 

Victims Resource Center (VRC) is 

launching a new fundraising effort to offset 

funding cutbacks for the upcoming 

fiscal year.Through this new program, 

used cell phones are collected and 

turned into Shelter Alliance, which then 

reimburses VRC up to $10 per phone. 

The proceeds received will help VRC 

meet its mission of providing crisis intervention 

and ongoing services for victims 

of crime in Wyoming County. 

Vicki Prekel and Miranda Tagliaterra, volunteers 

at VRC, have organized this project 

by designing flyers, creating boxes for 

phone collection, and contacting businesses 

and organizations to request participation. 

Businesses that are willing to 

have a phone collection box placed in 

their establishment can contact VRC at 

(570) 836-5544.Anyone who has a used 

cell phone to donate can look for the 

boxes in area businesses or drop it off at 

119 Warren Street,Tunkhannock. 

Victims Resource Center provides a myriad 

of confidential services including support 

groups,counseling,advocacy,and a 24-hour 

hotline for victims of crimes and prevention 

education programs for the community.VRC 

is a member agency of the Wyoming County 

United Way.For more information about 

Victims Resource Center,please call (570) 

836-5544 or visit www.vrcnepa.org.Above, 

left to right,are Miranda Tagliaterra,Vicki 

Prekel and Heidi Morgan. 

Tobyhanna tenant activity holds ribbon-cutting 

Foundation seeks new chief executive 

The Williamsport-Lycoming Foundation 

announced “with regret” that its president 

and chief executive officer, Kimberley 

Pittman-Schulz, will be stepping down 

from her post by mid-November. 

Pittman-Schulz relocated from the West 

Coast nearly seven years ago to accept 

her role as the first paid executive of this 

87-year old community foundation, and 

has been offered the opportunity to 

return to Washington. 

The foundation’s board of directors will 

begin a search for a new chief executive 

shortly. During Pittman-Schulz’s tenure, 

the foundation has expanded from a 

community foundation serving primarily 

Lycoming County into a regional 

resource serving the philanthropic needs 

of a seven-county area. 

While stock market conditions have 

impacted the foundation’s charitable 

portfolio in recent years, it has benefited 

from tremendous support from its 

donors, with the number of funds under 

management growing from 85 in 1997 to 

more than 200 current funds established 

for a wide range of community benefit 

purposes. During that time, annual grantmaking 

and charitable distributions for 

community needs and priorities more 

than doubled.With assets in excess of 

$42 million, the Williamsport-Lycoming 

Foundation remains one of the largest 

community foundations in the nation in 

relation to the population that it serves. 

“It has been a pleasure and an honor to 

work with Kimberley. She has been a 

driving force in working with the board 

and staff to raise the professionalism and 

philanthropic impact of our community 

foundation,” says Carol Sides, vice chair of 

the foundation’s board of directors. “She 

will be greatly missed, but we respect 

and understand her personal decision to 

return to the West.” 

Pittman-Schulz 

“It is with mixed emotions that my husband 

and I prepare to move on,” says 

Pittman-Schulz.“However, I have been 

blessed to work with a dedicated board, 

and I have had the opportunity to engage a 

caring group of professional staff to work 

side by side with me in serving the community. 

I’m leaving the foundation in the 

very capable hands of a knowledgeable 

staff and board of directors until the next 

chief executive is appointed.” 

Pittman-Schulz will conclude her 

responsibilities by mid-November to 

become the president of the Clark 

College Foundation in Vancouver, 

Washington. With assets of approximately 

$52 million, the Clark College Foundation 

is the largest single-campus community 

college foundation in the country. 

For additional information about 

the Williamsport-Lycoming 

Foundation, call (570) 321-1500, or 

visit www.wlfoundation.org. 

Metz receives ‘Golden Wishbone’ award from Make-A-Wish 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony held June 19 officially launched the opening of the Army 

Intermodal and Distribution Platform Management Office (AIDPMO) in the Logistics 

Support Activity Packaging, Storage and Containerization Center (LOGSA PSCC). 

LOGSA PSCC is a tenant activity, located at Tobyhanna Army Depot. The AIDPMO alleviates 

a readiness shortfall by serving as the single manager for all Army-owned containers, 

flatracks and distribution platforms, explained Brig. Gen. J.A. Mangual during 

his opening remarks. Mangual is the Department of the Army’s director of Force 

Projection and Distribution. LOGSA PSCC also celebrated its 40th anniversary this 

year, pointed out Niels Biamon, deputy for current operations at the U.S. Army 

Materiel Command (AMC), another guest speaker at the event. Other dignitaries in 

attendance for the grand opening ceremony included Thomas Edwards, deputy to the 

commander, U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command; Col. Kurt Weidenthal II, 

commander, AMC LOGSA; Nelson Chandler and Don Stump,Transportation and 

Distribution Division, Army G-4;and Oscar Lollis, former director of LOGSA PSCC. 

Jeffrey Metz, vice president of operations for T.G.I. Friday’s Restaurants, was recently 

presented The Golden Wishbone award by Jessie Hardy, president and CEO, Make-A- 

Wish Foundation of Northeastern Pennsylvania. This award is the foundation’s highest 

honor and represents Metz’s and TGI Friday’s commitment and dedication above and 

beyond that of others to the organization’s mission and the children it serves. 

Seen at the presentation were, left to right, Metz, Hardy and Art Owens, director of 

program services, Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Continued from page 53 

International Airport. In planning for the future, 

should it be easier to get to airports in Harrisburg 

and Philadelphia? We also want to look at the role of 

airports in State College and Williamsport.” 

Completion of the long-range plan is expected to 

take 12 to 18 months, at a total cost of $90,000, of 

which $72,000 is being provided by the 

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the 

Federal Highway Administration. The balance will be 

met through local matching funds and in-kind services. 

The Sunbury Hill Neighborhood Task Force has 

begun to develop its strategic action plan. The task 

force is part of the Sunbury City Visions project, 

being coordinated through SEDA-COG’s Community 

Resource Center. Sunbury’s identified strengths are 

its historic significance and the city’s friendliness 

and spirit. Task force members are considering a 

new name for the neighborhood which extends from 

8th Street to the waterworks behind Sunbury 

Community Hospital and from Wolverton Street to 

the Pomfret Manor Cemetery. 

Store Depot Inc., a store supply distribution company 

has opened in Northumberland County. Place 

an order by 4 p.m. ET and receive it next morning 

(based on one day regular ground UPS delivery 

area). The Depot’s warehouse is stocked with items 

to help business owners provide the best possible 

service to their customers such as, hangers, display 

cases, paper and plastic bags, jewelry displayers, 

accessories and boxes, tagging guns and fasteners, 

gift wrap and accessories — to name a few. “We are 

your one stop source,” says Walt Lutz, president of 

Store Depot Inc. “Talk with a person, not an answering 

machine.” Visit the Depot’s Web site at 

www.storedepotinc.com. Orders can be placed on 

this secure site. Store Depot Inc. accepts all major 

credit cards, money orders and checks. Call toll free, 

1-866-643-3768. Fax orders to 866-640-3458. 

TNT—The Northeast Theatre, has a new Web site. 

For complete information on the Theatre's activities, 

visit: www.thenortheasttheatre.org. The site is updated 

regularly. 

Three depot employees will chair Tobyhanna Army 

Depot's Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) underway 

this month. The federal government's annual 

fund drive for local, national and international charities 

concludes in October. The depot's CFC committee 

has set a goal of $120, 000 for this year's drive, 

says CFC chairman Randy Simpson. Co-chairing the 

drive are Rose Gesell of Clifton and Laura Dumback 

of Scranton. The mission of the CFC is to support 

and promote philanthropy through a program that is 

employee focused, cost efficient and effective in providing 

federal employees the opportunity to improve 

the quality of life for all, said Simpson. 

Certifications & 

Licenses 

East Penn’s metals division was recertified by the 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

(OSHA) for its voluntary protection program (VPP). On 

April 7-11, the metals division, for the second time, 

achieved the elite STAR status. East Penn is the 

first battery manufacturer nationwide to have any 

part of its operation granted STAR recognition in the 

OSHA VPP receiving the first certification in October 

1999. 

Joseph Manda, mechanical designer, for Strunk- 

Albert Engineering received his Pennsylvania 

Professional Engineering (P.E.) license. The 

Pennsylvania P.E. license can only be awarded to 

those who serve at least a four-year internship under 

another licensed PA P.E., has a college degree, and 

successfully pass the daylong P.E. exam. Manda sat 

for the exam in April and was awarded his license in 

June. It was his first attempt to secure his license. 

As a licensed professional he has the ability to seal 

engineering drawings and is legally bound to the 

integrity of the design. Manda has been employed by 

Strunk-Albert Engineering for the past 12 years. 

Strunk-Albert Engineering is a mechanical and electrical 

consulting firm located in East Stroudsburg. 

Deeds 

Columbia County 

Wachovia Bank formerly known as: f-k-a First 

Union Bank (TSTE). Property Location: Benton. 

Seller: Michelle L. Cregar a-k-a Michelle L. 

Grenewich. Price: $2,613.85. 

Robert R. and Karen J. Hergan. Property Location: 

Catawissa Twp. Seller: Frederick M. and Jacqueline 

H. Long. Price: $239,900. 

Wilburton United Methodist Church. Property 

Location: Conyngham Twp. Seller: George and Anna 

Barlow. Price: $2,000. 

Gregory K. and Diane M. Fayock. Property 

Location: Scott Twp. Seller: George J. and Mary Jo 

Kuczynski. Price: $224,500. 

Robert A. and Stacey Brunozzi Jr., Property 

Location: Bloomsburg. Seller: Citifinancial Services 

Inc. Price: $30,000. 

MSY Investments LLC. Property Location: 

Berwick, Seller: Penn Petroco Inc. Price: 

$180,000. 

Christopher R. and Christina M. Dorothy. Property 

Location: Scott Twp. Seller: John F. and Irene C. 

Kropiewnicki and Helen A. Heller. Price: $288,000. 

Community Banks f-k-a Citizens National Bank. 

Property Location: Locust Twp., Seller: Marie 

Parkansky and Joseph A. Gaughan, Price: 

$4,622.33. 

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Inc. Property 

Location: Hemlock Twp. Seller: William J. Petroski, 

Price: $1,863.04. 

First Columbia Bank & Trust Co., Property 

Location: Berwick. Seller: James M. and Lori Ann 

Palermo. Price: $4,681.42. 

Conesco Financial Consumer Discount Co., 

Property Location: Berwick. Seller: Paul Robert and 

Sherri Dawn Prueitt. Price: $3,812.86. 

Charles E. and Patricia A. Porter. Property 

Location: Cleveland Twp. Seller: United States of 

America Farm Service Agency f-k-a Farmers Home 

Administration United States Department of 

Agriculture. Price: $102,000. 

Patricia D. Kukorlo, Property Location: 

Bloomsburg. Seller: Northwestern Human Services 

of Pennsylvania. Price: $170,000. 

Sandro M. and Christine W. Sorge. Property 

Location: Bloomsburg. Seller: Columbia Montour 

Council Boy Scouts of America. Price: $69,000. 

Eric I. And Maryanne E. Weisel. Property Location: 

Scott Twp. Seller: John C. and Marianne J. 

Menapace. Price: $272,000. 

John J. Hunter. Property Location: Beaver Twp., 

Seller: Yamulla Trucking & Excavating Co. Inc. 

Price: $35,000. 

Edward R. and Laura A. Gleeson. Property 

Location: Cleveland Twp. Seller: Southern Columbia 

Corp. Price: $24,900. 

Richard L. and Joseph L. Barto. Property Location: 

Benton. Seller: Federal National Mortgage Asso. a- 

k-a Fannie Mae, Price: $37,000. 

Charles E. and Patricia A. Porter. Property 

Location: Cleveland Twp. Seller: United States of 

America United States Department of Agriculture 

Farm Service Agency f-k-a Farmers Home 

Administration. Price: $112,000. 

Keith W. and Carmen R. High. Property Location: 

South Centre Twp. Seller: Knorr Contracting Inc., 

Price: $30,000. 

Berwick Industrial Development Assoc. Inc., 

Property Location: Berwick. Seller: Deluxe Homes of 

PA Inc. f-k-a Donald E. Meske Enterprises Inc. 

Price: $1. 

Deluxe Homes of PA Inc. Property Location: 

Berwick and Briarcreek Twp. Seller: BID Assoc. Inc. 

Price: $1. 

George E. Zapata. Property Location: Locust Twp. 

Seller: Wm. Specialty Mortgage LLC. Price: 

$61,500. 

Town of Bloomsburg. Property Location: 

Bloomsburg. Seller: Warrior Run Holding Corp. and 

Gaylen M. and Gertrude R. Gerrish. Price: $0 

Route 11 Developers LLC. Property Location: 

Scott Twp. Seller: Piano Family Limited Partnership 

Continues next page 

September Events 

1 Deadline for community project submissions 

for PO-NE (Pocono Northeast) awards. The PO-NE 

awards are an annual event managed by the 

Pocono Northeast Development Fund (PNDF) on 

behalf of the NEPA Alliance that recognizes community 

development projects that have contributed to 

enhancing the quality of life in the region. Categories 

include: Community Improvement; Cultural 

Enrichment; Economic Development; Environmental 

Action; Healthcare; Human Services; Media/ 

Special Events; and Recreation/Tourism. All past 

winners whose projects are still in operation are 

also encouraged to submit an update to be considered 

for a new commemorative award recognizing 

the program's 25th anniversary. For more information, 

contact NEPA at (570) 655-5581. 

1 Deadline for discount on booth space and 

grant application for 2004 EUROSATORY: International 

exhibition for Land/Air Defense & Security 

Forces in need of products and services for military 

protection and operations. Grants available to 

cover costs. For more information, contact Michael 

Horvath at the NEPA Alliance at (570) 655-5581. 

8 Transportation Enhancement Program 

Application Workshop. Program funding applications 

are now available for projects that have a 

relationship to the surface transportation modes 

(highway, transit, rails and trails) through the 

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PEN- 

NDOT) 2003-04 Transportation Enhancements 

Program. The Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance 

(NEPA) and representatives from PENNDOT will be 

conducting a pre-application workshop for prospective 

applicants with projects located within Carbon, 

Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, or Wayne Counties. The 

workshop will be held at the Monroe County Public 

Safety Center on Gypsum Road in Stroudsburg 

from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Directions to this facility can 

be found at www.monroeco911.com/oes-. htm. For 

the workshop registration form and additional information 

about the 2003-04 Transpor-tation 

Enhancements application, refer to www.dot. 

state.pa.us. To register for the workshop, contact 

Brian Langan, NEPA’s local government specialist 

at (570) 655-5581, ext. 255, or e-mail langan@ 

nepa-alliance.org by Sept. 1. Registration forms 

downloaded from the PENNDOT Web site, may be 

faxed to NEPA at (570) 654-5137. 

9 Alternative Medicine and Rehabilitation, 

7 p.m. presented by Dr. Eric Petterson at the 

Schuylkill Rehabilitation Center, 300 Schuylkill 

Medical Plaza, Pottsville. Free and open to the public. 

Registration required. For more information, call 

Schuylkill Rehabilitation Center at (570) 621-9500. 

10 Plan to attend the Greater Wilkes-Barre 

Chamber's Annual Economic Outlook Breakfast, 

sponsored by PNC Bank, scheduled for September 

10 at the Woodlands. Come and listen to featured 

speaker Stuart Hoffman, senior vice president and 

chief economist for PNC Bank Corp, discuss our 

local, state and national economy. Register and pay 

online at www.wilkes-barre.org/calendar, or contact 

Trish Wilk at the Chamber at (570) 823-2101. 

11 NEPA Alliance Annual Dinner at the Hilton 

Scranton & Conference Center in Scranton. Keynote 

speaker is Joe Battipaglia, executive vice 

president and chief investment officer for Ryan, 

Beck & Co.LLC. For more information, visit 

www.nepa-alliance.org or call (570) 655-5581. 

12 Marywood University’s Conflict Resolution 

Institute is offering a certificate program in conflict 

resolution. The first of the series of elective courses 

to achieve the certificate is Mutual Gains 

Approach to Resolving Conflicts, offered on Friday, 

September 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost of the 

course is $100 if registered by September 5, and 

$115 after September 5. For more information, call 

(570) 348-6237. 

15 Marywood University’s Conflict Resolution 

Institute is offering a certificate program in conflict 

resolution. The first of the series of required courses 

to achieve the certificate is Conflict Management 

and the Culture of Work, being taught by center 

coordinator, Dr. Michael Iluzzi, beginning on 

September 15 and continuing every Monday evening 

until October 6. Cost of the course is $275 if registered 

by September 8, and $290 after September 8. 

For more information, call (570) 348-6237. 

15 Local runners who register for the 

Steamtown Marathon before September 15 receive 

$10 off the $55 entry fee. Runners interested in 

competing in the eighth annual Steamtown 

Marathon scheduled for Sunday, October 12 at 8 

a.m. are encouraged to register for the race, which 

is already quickly filling up to its capacity of 2,500. 

To register, a runner can either go to the 

marathon’s Web site, www.steamtownmarathon.com 

and register on-line using a credit card, or 

use a printed version of the application from the 

Web site and mail it to Steamtown Marathon, P.O. 

Box 20126, Scranton, Pa. 18502. Wheelchair athletes 

must register by September 30. The 

Steamtown Marathon benefits the medically fragile 

children of St. Joseph’s Center, Scranton. 

15 - 19 King's College and NEPA's Pocono 

Northeast Development Fund are hosting The 

Grantsmanship Center's five-day workshop 

September 15-19, at King's College. The 

Grantsmanship Center is the world's oldest and 

largest grantsmanship training organization. The 

program is a five-day intensive workshop that combines 

expert instruction with practical exercises 

that take participants through the application 

process step by step. The cost of the workshop is 

$775 and includes a one-year membership in the 

Grantsmanship Center along with proposal reviews 

and access to funding databases covering foundation, 

corporate and government sources. Class size 

is limited to 25. Registration can be done online at 

www.tgci.com or by calling The Grantsmanship 

Center at (800) 421-9512.For more information: 

contact Marla Mensch, King's College, at (570) 

208-5900, ext. 5359, or The Grantsmanship 

Center, (800) 421-9512. 

16 Pocono Mountains Chamber of Commerce is 

hosting a one-day Human Resource conference 

scheduled for September 16 at the Fernwood 

Resort & Country Club.The event will feature over 

15 different HR-related topics and a luncheon discussion 

by regional employers of “Best Practices” 

in Human Resources. The cost of the Human 

Resource Conference is $85 and includes lunch. 

Participants interested in attending only the luncheon 

can do so for $25. Reservations can be made 

by contacting the Pocono Mountains Chamber of 

Commerce at (570) 421-4433 or e-mail mconway@poconochamber.net. 

This conference is 

designed to appeal to both the HR professional and 

today’s CEO by integrating the Human Resource 

application into business through workshops that 

are based on everyday business situations. 

16 The Brush Valley Regional Chamber of 

Commerce announces its first annual “Brush 

Valley Business Showcase.” Both members and 

non-members are invited to participate in the 

event. Vendor fees are based upon status as a 

member and restaurants who will be giving away 

free food samples will receive a deep discount. 

Table and linens will be included with the vendor 

fee, as well as a discount advertising package supplied 

by BILL 95FM, who will be promoting the 

event on the radio two weeks prior and hosting a 

live remote from the showcase. The event is open 

to the public, admission is free. The event will be 

held from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Team PA 

Career Link Center, 2 E. Arch Street, Shamokin. 

Contact the chamber office for vendor fees and 

new member special rates by calling (570) 648- 

4675 or e-mailing bvrc@minesurfer.com. 

17 PALS Renewal offered by the Education 

Department of Community Medical Center 

Healthcare System, 1800 Mulberry Street, 

Scranton. For more information or to register, call 

(570) 969-8986. 

17 & 18 Healthcare Provider CPR 

course, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. offered by the 

Education Department of Community Medical 

Center Healthcare System. For more information or 

to register, call (570) 969-8986. 

18 End of Summer mixer at the Black Rock 

Brewing Company, Wilkes-Barre, from 6-8 p.m. 

sponsored by the Northeast Pa. Ad Club. The event 

will feature brewery tours, hors d'ouevres, cash 

bar. $17 member; $20 nonmembers. RSVP: Karen 

Saunders, (570) 476-7435 by September. 12. 

23 Healthcare Provider Renewal course, 

6 p.m. to 10 p.m., offered by the Education 




(570) 969-8986. 

25 An upcoming one-day seminar, “The 

Leadership Edge,” has been designed by Penn 

S E P T E M B E R 

S M T W T F S 

1 2 3 4 5 6 

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 

28 29 30 

State to help supervisors and managers enhance 

leadership skills. The seminar leaders are all highly 

experienced members of Penn State’s 

Management Development faculty. The seminar will 

feature three program tracks, each containing four 

focused skill-building sessions. Participants can 

stay with one track or mix and match sessions 

from different tracks. Track 1 — Working with and 

through Others: Essential Skills; Track 2 — 

Creating an Environment for Success: Team 

Management Skills; Track 3 — Meeting the 

Challenges of Leadership: Strengthening Personal 

Skills. The conference will be held on Sept. 25, at 

the East Mountain Business Center, Wilkes- 

Barre.For more information, or to register, visit 

www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/LeadershipEdge or call 

800-PSU-TODAY (778-8632.) 

24 Customer Service Workshop, from 1 p.m. 

to 3 p.m. presented by Joan Simmons and sponsored 

by the Entrepreneurial Network-NEPA 

Alliance, in the NEPA Conference Room, Oak 

Street, Pittston. For more information, visit 

www.nepa-alliance.org or call (570) 655-5581. 

25 IV Therapy, offered by the Education 




(570) 969-8986. 

25 & 26 ACLS Provider offered by the 

Education Department of Community Medical 

Center Healthcare System, 1800 Mulberry Street, 


(570) 969-8986. 

28 Seventh annual AIDS Walk 2003, Public 

Square, Wilkes-Barre. Registration 11:30 a.m., 

walk begins 1 p.m. For more information, call (570) 

823-5808. 

29 Luzerne County Community College’s 

Foundation Scholarship Golf Tournament will take 

place on Monday, September 29 at the Blue Ridge 

Trail Golf Club, Mountaintop. The day begins at 11 

a.m. and includes lunch, noon tee off. At 5:30 

p.m. there will be cocktails, dinner, prizes and a 

raffle. Foursomes cost $500; foursome and tee 

sponsor, $600; foursome, tee and scholarship 

sponsor, $1,600 or $1,100; scholarship sponsor 

only, $1,000 or $500; dinner only, $50. Call (800) 

377-LCCC, ex. 7331 for details. Deadline to register 

is September 12. 


• JOIN THE TEAM • 

ADVERTISE WITH US! 

Call Bill Brennan • Sales Manager 

today at 

570.207.8547 

WEEKDAY LINEUP 

ESPN Morning Show (6-10AM) — This is 

undisputedly America’s finest morning sports-talk 

show. Hosted by Mike Golic and ESPN/ESPN News 

Anchor Mike Greenberg. 

The Tony Kornheiser Show (10AM-1PM) — 

Kornheiser is a top Washington Post journalist and a 

well-known sports radio personality. 

The Dan Patrick Show (1-4PM) — The Dan 

Patrick Show features interviews with newsmakers 

and celebrities, appearances by ESPN commentators, 

reporters and analysts, and a breakdown of the days 

hot topics with Patrick and his on-air sidekick Rob 

Dibble. 

ESPN Game Day (4-7PM) — Host Doug Brown 

runs down the day’s sports headlines, chats with bigname 

newsmakers and ESPN analysts, and previews 

the evening’s upcoming games. 

ESPN Game Night (7PM-MID) — Live hosts will 

report all game results. They’ll give you live on-scene 

reports, previews, analysis, reviews and interviews 

with the day’s top newsmakers. 

wejl-wbax.com 

Price: $1. 

Lackawanna County 

Daniel Fedor. Property location: Waverly. Seller: 

John Morano. Price: $290,000. 

Joseph Saccon. Property location: Moosic. Seller: 

Glenmaura. Price: $269,000. 

Greg Potochnick. Property location: Moscow. 

Seller: 1st Heritage Financial. Price: $330,000. 

University of Scranton. Property location: 

Scranton. Seller: Flo Rossi. Price: $300,000. 

Stephen Brosky. Property location: Old Forge. 

Seller: S. Paranich. Price: $275,000. 

Chaudhari Family Ltd. Property location: Dunmore. 

Seller: M. Glassman. Price: $890,000. 

University of Scranton. Property location: 

Scranton. Seller: I. Nudelman. Price: $395,000. 

George Milarck. Property location: Archbald. Seller: 

G.F. Errigo. Price: $234,000. 

Kevin Hamel. Property location: Gouldsboro. Seller: 

J. Lukaszewski. Price: $399,000. 

Luzerne County 

Alan Ryder. Property location: Butler Township. 

Seller: Samuel Perta. Price: $249,900. 

Curtis Mattingly. Property location: Jackson 

Township. Seller: Heritage Hills Estates Inc. Price: 

$350,000. 

Voitek TV Sales and Service. Property location: 

Kingston Borough. Seller: Luzerne Co. Industrial 

Authority. Price: $227,000. 

Stephen Rosenthal. Property location: Kingston 

Borough. Seller: Glenn Panzer. Price: $209,000. 

Jeffrey Trumm. Property location: Kingston 

Borough. Seller: Terry Niemuth. Price: $279,000. 

Auto Properties. Property location: Plains 

Township. Seller: MW Land Inc. Price: $13,300,000. 

William Dacey. Property location: Wright Township. 

Seller: John Gardner. Price: $290,000. 

Frederick Thompson. Property location: Butler 

Township. Seller: Sand Springs Development. Price: 

$240,000. 

Thomas Hanson. Property location: Dallas 

Borough. Seller: Michael Duncan. Price: $370,000. 

Gregory Zumchak. Property location: Dallas 

Township. Seller: Patrick Deats. Price: $226,000. 

Robert Hines. Property location: Fairview Township. 

Seller: Douglas Paull. Price: $241,500. 

Thomas Hamill. Property location: Kingston 

Borough. Seller: Carl Charnetski. Price: $293,500. 

Steven Letts. Property location: Kingston Township. 

Seller: Walter Boris. Price: $410,000. 

Steven Distasio. Property location: Wright 

Township. Seller: Evergreen Hill Estates Inc. Price: 

$249,000. 

James Culhane. Property location: Wright 

Township. Seller: David Coldwell. Price: $257,500. 

George Mehalshick. Property location: Black Creek 

Township. Seller: Joseph Bott. Price: $300,000. 

Augustus Diana. Property location: Dallas 

Township. Seller: Phillip Kindler. Price: $212,000. 

Chris Heiberg. Property location: Fairview 

Township. Seller: Daniel McIntire. Price: $315,000. 

Smejj Inc. Property location: Hazle Township. 

Seller: Mary Louise Wright. Price: $650,000. 

Mark Kingston. Property location: Kingston 

Borough. Seller: John Kropp. Price: $660,000. 

Mark Kingston. Property location: Kingston 

Borough. Seller: Robert Blasé. Price: $200,000. 

Northern Realty. Property location: Kingston 

Borough. Seller: Louis Domiano. Price: $265,000. 


Borough. Seller: Terry Niemuth. Price: $279,000. 

Samuel Perta. Property location: Larksville 

Borough. Seller: Robert Gill. Price: $215,000. 

Karyn Hilderbrand. Property location: Larksville 

Borough. Seller: Michael Duda. Price: $237,000. 

Randall Walsh. Property location: Ross Township. 

Seller: Lester Lynn. Price: $234,000. 

Auto Properties. Property location: Wilkes-Barre. 

Seller: MW Land Inc. Price: $13,300,000. 

Richard Uter. Property location: Butler Township. 

Seller: Sand Springs Development Corp. Price: 

$230,355. 

Terrance Herron. Property location: Dallas 

Borough. Seller: Donald Rood. Price: $245,000. 

Philip Pecuch. Property location: Duryea Borough. 

Seller: Healey Development Co. Price: $220,000. 

Michael Blazick. Property location: Fairview 

Township. Seller: Steven Griffin. Price: $264,000. 

Carl Charnetski. Property location: Harveys Lake 

Borough. Seller: Ivar Berg. Price: $335,000. 

Robert Sabella. Property location: Harveys Lake 

Borough. Seller: James Miles. Price: $250,000. 

Ganija Vucetovic. Property location: Hazleton City. 

Seller: Edward Tenetti. Price: $350,000. 

Andrea Sordoni. Property location: Jackson 

Township. Seller: David Dillon. Price: $540,000. 

Gwen Galasso. Property location: Jenkins 

Township. Seller: Lamar Moll. Price: $310,000. 

John Nardone. Property location: Lehman 

Township. Seller: Frank Svec. Price: $420,000. 

Michael Ell. Property location: Nanticoke City. 

Seller: Henry Wasilewsi. Price: $240,000. 

Carl Kotch. Property location: Sugarloaf Township. 

Seller: Randy Ervin. Price: $ 225,000. 

Scott Nicholson. Property location: Swoyersville 

Borough. Seller: Howard Klein. Price: $285,000. 

Monroe County 

Martin Sagofsky. Property location: Jackson 

Township. Seller: Meadow Run Builders Inc. Price: 

$440,000. 

Todd and Donna Levitt. Property location: Pocono 

Township. Seller: Audrey and Thomas Barr Sr. Price: 

$255,000. 

Michael and Tracey Casavant. Property location: 

Jackson Township. Seller: Mark and Rosemarie 

Wingertzahn. Price: $295,000. 

Violet Kata. Property location: Middle Smithfield 

Township. Seller: August and Julia Merlina. Price: 

$292,500. 

Taykut and Tulin Aydin. Property location: Pocono 

Township. Seller: Gaby Barriga. Price: $283,000. 

Eddie and Mary Vanderhoof. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Seller: Richard and Lorna David. 

Price: $468,000. 

Mountain Manor Inn Inc. Property location: 

Smithfield Township. Seller: Robert Shinaman. Price: 

$40,000. 

Ridge Top Village Owners Assn. Inc. Property location: 

Smithfield Township. Seller: Travel Marketing 

INC. (by sheriff). Price: $1,384.67. 

Chelsea Pocono Holdings LLC. Property location: 

Pocono Township. Seller: Outletter Associates LP, 

Crossings Factory Stores LLC, Insalaco Pocono Inc. 

Price $114,880,000 and $50,000. 

NE Burger & Sons Inc. Property location: Polk 

Township. Seller: New 1901 Corp. Price: $15,000. 

Eileen and Steven Siegel Sr. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Seller: Wayne and Jacklynn 

Willet. Price: $265,000. 

Relocation Resources International Inc. Property 

location: East Stroudsburg. Seller: Timothy and 

Michelle Harrigan. Price: $269,000. 

Ashleigh and Bina Dani. Property location: East 

Stroudsburg. Seller: Relocation Resources 

International Inc. Price: $269,900. 

1723 West Main Street LP. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Seller: Edward Koehler. Price: 

$260,000. 

Thomas and Eileen McPartland. Property location: 

Middle Smithfield Township. Seller: John McGowan 

and Sons Inc. Price: $200,000. 

Christopher Stockley. Property location: Middle 

Smithfield Township. Seller: Toll PA III LP. Price: 

$536,917. 

Michael Logan. Property location: Smithfield 

Township. Seller: C&M Homes at Shawnee LP. 

Price: $352,210. 

Floyd and Phyllis Halley. Property location: Stroud 

Township. Seller: Elias and Karen Morales. Price: 

$272,000. 

Six Eleven Development Corp. Property location: 

Mount Pocono. Seller: Monto Vision Realty Inc. 

Price: $650,000. 

Laurie and Robert Miller Jr. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Seller: Wendy O’Malley. Price: 

$365,000. 

James Anastasio. Property location: Tobyhanna 

Township. Seller: Gertrude Kerrick. Price: $575,000. 

East Stroudsburg School District. Property location: 

East Stroudsburg. Seller: Rosemarie and James 

Walker Sr. Price: $285,000. 

Jon and Mary Miller. Property location: Hamilton 

Township. Seller: George and Lori Osmun. Price: 

$350,000. 

Abdullha Juya. Property location: Hamilton 

Township. Seller: Mark and Catherine Burstein. Price: 

$300,000. 

Daniel and Joyce Herring. Property location: 

Tobyhanna Township. Seller: David and Inna 

Elvashvili. Price: $450,000. 

Vickiann and Jeffery Hicks. Property location: 

Stroudsburg. Seller: Stanley Zuba, David Prosser and 

Sue Steinberg (part.). Price: $380,000. 

Armando Garcia. Property location: Ross Township. 

Seller: Deck Creations Inc. Price: $257,000. 

Juan and Rafaelina Caraballo. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Seller: Troy and Mary Nauman. 

Price: $294,000. 

Richard and Lisa Bye. Property location: Stroud 

Township. Seller: John and Christine Reehl. Price: 

$310,000. 

Charles and Anne Hughes. Property location: 

Jackson Township. Seller: Nasser Sabokbar. Price: 

$262,000. 

Diane and Mark Cloeren. Property location: Middle 

Smithfield Township. Seller: Robert Gregoire. Price: 

$280,000. 

Lisa and Arthur Berry III. Property location: 

Stroudsburg. Seller: Anthony Akoury Est., William 

Morgan (Admr.). Price: $227,500. 

Robert and Marianne Nichols. Property location: 

Eldred Township. Seller: Alejandro Ortiz, Silvia 

Isaacs-Ortiz. Price: $287,000. 

Gary and Suzanne Campbell. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Seller: Richard and Barbara Mayer. 

Price: $282,500. 

Joseph and Tonia O‘Connor. Property location: 

Ross Township. Seller: Dwayne and Lori Duke. Price: 

$269,000. 

James and Barbara Roberts. Property location: 

Barrett Township. Seller: June and Harry Derby III. 

Price: $375,000. 

Donald and Rose Casey. Property location: 

Coolbaugh Township. Seller: George and April Verity. 

Price: $420,000. 

Wenshi Zhao and Jie Yu. Property location: Middle 

Smithfield Township. Seller: John McGowan and 

Sons Inc. Price: $325,000. 



Peter Barone. Property location: Ross Township. 

Seller: Ricardo and Ginette Malinaro. Price: 

$255,000. 

Demmac LLC. Property location: Middle Smithfield 

Township. Seller: Fox Glen Apartments Inc. Price: 

$1,625,000. 

Michael and Vanessa Petrozzino. Property location: 

Jackson Township. Seller: Larry Buck. Price: 

$250,000. 

940 Commercial Inc., n/b/n/c Hill Farm Estates 

Inc. Property location: Ross Township. Seller: Kelly 

Lewis. Price: $500,000. 

Alicia Sanders. Property location: Middle Smithfield 

Township. Seller: Bank One NA. Amount: $265,000. 

Bradford Moses and Mary Possi. Property location: 

Coolbaugh Township. Seller: C. Herbert and Judy 

Schneider. Price: $305,000. 

Dilcia Phillips and Valerie Gowie. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Seller: Vladimir, John and 

Anthony Melchiori. Price: $425,000. 

Paul Mason. Property location: Stroud Township. 

Seller: Matthew and Jacqueline Donovan. Price: 

$305,000. 

National Residential Nominee Services Inc. 

Property location: Stroud Township. Seller: Michael 

and Tracey Tanner. Price: $309,000. 

Kevin and Roxanne Hutchinson. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Seller: National Residential 

Nominee Services Inc. Price: $309,000. 

Theodore and Christine Auman. Property location: 

Barrett Township. Seller: John and Adelaide Bisbee. 

Price: $1,050,000. 

Herb and Denise Grainer. Property location: 

Smithfield Township. Seller: Karen Young. Price: 

$339,000. 

Wayne Dunlop and Lori Riede-Dunlop. Property 

location: Paradise Township. Seller: Arthur Evans and 

Carolyn Allen-Evans. Price: $259,700. 

William and Eva Pither. Property location: Pocono 

Township. Seller: Robert and Louise Szeligowski. 

Price: $410,000. 

Frederick and Alice Berthel. Property location: 

Chestnuthill Township. Seller: Glenn and Janet 

Tirpak. Price: $275,000. 

Ramis and Tatiana Gimadeyer. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Seller: Steven and Terri Ewing. 

Price: $599,999. 

Kenbar Investment Group. Property location: 

Smithfield Township. Seller: W. Peter Ahnert Jr., 

Abigail Ahnert, Emily Ahnert and Robert Ahnert II. 

Price: $631,250. 

Patricia Clifford. Property location: Ross Township. 


Brenda Leonard. Property location: Ross Township. 


Bruce and Marianne Brandli. Property location: 

Middle Smithfield Township. Seller: Frank and Alice 

Manhart. Price: $500,000. 

Fred and Janice Fantuzzi. Property location: 

Chestnuthill Township. Seller: LTS Development Inc. 

Price: $299,000. 

Robert and Laura Howe. Property location: 

Tobyhanna Township. Seller: Joseph and Temi Miller. 

Price: $465,000. 

Paul and Susan Miller. Property location: Hamilton 

Township. Seller: Elaina and Charles Prinzivalli. Price: 

$415,000. 

Christy Mara. Property location: Jackson Township. 

Seller: International Custom Built Homes Inc. Price: 

$395,000. 

Bradley Miller. Property location: Coolbaugh 

Township Seller: Frank and Linda Gleva. Price: 

$340,000. 

Michael and Roseanne Walters. Property location: 

Barrett Township. Seller: Louis and Ingrid Larsen. 

Price: $712,500. 

Ronald Baumann. Property location: Chestnuthill 

Township. Seller: Michael Stokes. Price: $655,000. 

James Ertle. Property location: Stroud Township. 

Seller: Lola Wary. Price: $295,000. 

Pike County 

Paul Forte. Property location: Hawley. Seller: 

Richard Schroeder. Price: $350,000. 

Evan Juro. Property location: Matamoras. Seller: 

Jeanne Reggio. Price: $200,000. 

Henryk Lodziato. Property location: Shohola. Seller: 

Dennis Heimbrook. Price: $300,000. 

Richard Cohen. Property location: Hawley. Seller: 

Charles Zimnik. Price: $242,500. 

Bonnie Zilenziger. Property location: Lords Valley. 

Seller: Paul Matarazzo. Price: $217,000. 

Gary Molampy. Property location: Hawley. Seller: 

Charles Schmalzle. Price: $259,900. 

Peter Dispenza. Property location: Hawley. Seller: 

William Curry. Price: $260,000. 

Peter Helms. Property location: Hawley. Seller: 

Albina Thoma. Price: $550,000. 

Jeffrey Drumheller. Property location: Milford. 

Seller: Joseph Lapera. Price: $239,000. 

Emrie Foster. Property location: Milford. Seller: 

Harlan Coben. Price: $345,000. 

Schuylkill County 

Oaks Gun Club, Inc. Property location: South 

Manheim Township. Seller: Donald Moyer. Price: 

$5,946. 

Robert Allen. Property location: Orwigsburg. Seller: 

Cedant Mobility Financial Co. Price: $254,000. 

Medical Plaza Partners. Property location: 

Pottsville. Seller: Pottsville Hospital and Warne 

Clinic. Price: $588,020. 

Pinebrook Residence. Property location: West 

Brunswick Township. Seller: Brookside Court 

Property Inc. Price: $200,000. 

Wayne County 

James DeLisi. Property location: Paupack. Seller: 

Timothy Congdon. Price: $565,500. 

James Cleary. Property location: Preston. Seller: 

Theta Land Corp. Price: $400,000. 

Keith Heilner. Property location: Lehigh. Seller: 

Warner Lent. Price: $380,000. 

Bruce Covey. Property location: Salem. Seller: 

Bruce Covey. Price: $340,346. 

Bruce Covey. Property location: Salem. Seller: 

Bruce Covey. Price: $230,000. 

Danuta Piwinska. Property location: Paupack. 

Seller: Alfred Marvin. Price: $245,000. 

Thomas Seyfarth. Property location: Salem. Seller: 

Joseph Marsico. Price: $295,000. 

Mary Grieve. Property location: Honesdale. Seller: 

Orley Mae White. Price: $220,000. 

Joseph Ghartey. Property location: Damascus. 

Seller: David Winner. Price: $405,000. 

Miles Scott Krieger. Property location: Preston. 

Seller: Carol Severs. Price: $277,000. 

James Tennant. Property location: Salem. Seller: 

Robert Halter. Price: $300,000. 

John Catrombon. Property location: Paupack. 

Seller: Charles Jurgensen. Price: $210,000. 

Waymart Wind Farm. Property location: Clinton. 

Seller: Russell Bass. Price: $230,000. 

Francis Henofer. Property location: Paupack. Seller: 

Candace Cianni. Price: $535,000. 

Stephen Paroby. Property location: Paupack. Seller: 

Elizabeth Novak-Wiggal. Price: $220,000. 

Stephen Putzi. Property location: Honesdale. 

Seller: John Weidner. Price: $350,000. 

Thomas Grozalis. Property location: Paupack. 

Seller: Leroy Wensel. Price: $430,000. 

George Brown. Property location: Oregon. Seller: 

Kent Brown. Price: $200,000. 

Joseph Hyer. Property location: Lake. Seller: 

Benjamin Franc. Price: $345,000. 

Frank Mina. Property location: Lake. Seller: Gary 

Gardner. Price: $308,000. 

Michael DeFex. Property location: Paupack. Seller: 

Arthur Lewis. Price: $255,000. 

Wyoming County 

Bruce Gendron. Property location: Tunkhannock 

Township. Seller: James Faerber. Price: $340,000. 

John Romero. Property location: Tunkhannock 

Borough. Seller: Sally Steele. Price: $200,000. 

Lavere Stiles. Property location: Eaton Township. 

Seller: Duwayne Kutz. Price: $365,000. 

Michael Stoko III. Property location: Overfield 

Township. Seller: Richard Lahey. Price: $495,000. 

Earnings 

For the 2003 second quarter, CTE reported diluted 

earnings per share (“EPS”) of $0.64, versus 

reported diluted EPS of $0.60 in the 2002 second 

quarter. Included in CTE’s 2003 second quarter 

reported diluted EPS is a $1.5 million (pre-tax), or 

$0.04 per share (after-tax), charge reflecting legal 

and financial advisory expenses in connection with 

CTE’s proposed recapitalization, which was 

announced on April 25, 2003. CTE’s 2002 second 

quarter reported diluted EPS included the effect of 

a $2.0 million (pre-tax) charge, or $0.05 per share 

(after-tax), related to the impairment of WorldCom 

receivables, and a $2.1 million (pre-tax), or $0.05 

per share (after-tax), positive settlement in connection 

with CTE’s 2000 restructuring charge. CTE 

ended the 2003 second quarter with a total of 

473,375 switched access lines installed, reflecting 

an increase of 18,437 switched access lines 

installed in the past 12 months, or a growth rate of 

4 percent. CTE’s consolidated revenues in the 

2003 second quarter were $83.0 million, a growth 

rate of 6 percent versus the 2002 second quarter. 

The 2002 second quarter consolidated revenues of 

$78.3 million included a $2.0 million charge in 

connection with WorldCom receivables. CTE’s consolidated 

operating income in the 2003 second 

quarter was $25.2 million, which reflected a 4 percent 

growth rate versus last year’s second quarter. 

CTE’s 2002 second quarter operating income of 

$24.1 million reflected both the aforementioned 

$2.0 million pre-tax WorldCom charge against revenues, 

as well as the aforementioned $2.1 million 

pre-tax positive settlement related to CTE’s 2000 

restructuring charge. For the 2003 second quarter, 

CTE reported net income of $15.2 million, versus 

reported net income of $14.1 million in the 2002 

second quarter. Consolidated capital expenditures 

(“CAPEX”) were $12.1 million in the 2003 second 

quarter, versus CAPEX of $14.0 million in the year 

ago quarter. 

Commonwealth Telephone Company (“CT”) had 

a total of 338,340 switched access lines installed 

at the end of the 2003 second quarter – a growth 

rate of 1 percent versus last year. CT’s residential 

additional line penetration was 40 percent at the 

end of the quarter. CT’s business line growth in 

Continues on next page 

december 2003 

The Business Journal 

Wants To Showcase Our 

Area’s Best And Brightest! 

In December, the Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal will 

produce a special section in our publication on our region’s best 

and brightest - our “Top 20 Under 40.” We are looking for readers 

to nominate a business owner, entrepreneur or senior-level company 

official to be spotlighted. The individuals we seek to honor must be 

39 years of age or younger and play a decision-making role in a 

business or organization. 

To nominate yourself or someone else, simply go to the Business 

Journal website at www.npbj.com and click on “20 Under 40” for a 

nomination form. Or mail your nomination to the Business Journal at 

149 Penn Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503. Be sure to include the name of 

the nominee, his or her position in the company, age, and why he or 

she should be honored. If you are nominating someone else, include 

your name and contact information. 

Publication Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 2003 

Nomination Deadline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . October 15, 2003 

To advertise in this special supplement... 

Ad Deadline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . November 7, 2003 


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the 2003 second quarter was 3 percent versus the 

2002 second quarter. CT’s 2003 second quarter 

revenues grew 8 percent to $51.2 million, versus 

revenues of $47.5 million in the 2002 second 

quarter. The 2002 second quarter revenue figure 

reflects a $2.0 million charge in connection with 

WorldCom receivables. CT’s second quarter revenue 

growth was primarily driven by increased 

access minutes of use, rate changes in the NECA 

(National Exchange Carrier Association) average 

schedule settlement formula that took effect in July 

2002, and 6 percent growth in enhanced services. 

CT’s 2003 second quarter operating income was 

$23.1 million, a 22 percent increase over last year. 

This solid growth in operating income was primarily 

driven by growth in high-margin access revenues, 

continued focus on cost control and the impact of 

the $2.0 million WorldCom receivables charge, 

which is included in CT’s 2002 second quarter 

results. CT’s 2003 second quarter CAPEX were 

$5.9 million versus $8.0 million in the 2002 second 

quarter. The change in CAPEX is substantially 

due to timing. 

CTSI, LLC (“CTSI”), during the 2003 second 

quarter, CTSI installed 4,453 net access lines, 

ending the quarter with 135,035 net access lines 

installed – a growth rate of 13 percent versus the 

2002 second quarter. At the end of the 2003 second 

quarter, 98 percent of CTSI’s access lines 

were “on-switch,” and 52 percent were “on-net” 

(defined as 100 percent on CTSI’s owned network). 

CTSI’s business/residential line split at the end of 

the 2003 second quarter was 90 percent/10 percent. 

CTSI’s 2003 second quarter revenues were 

$21.5 million, a growth rate of 1 percent versus 

revenues of $21.3 million in the 2002 second 

quarter. This relatively flat growth rate was expected 

due to several factors that affected the quarterover-prior-year-same-quarter 

access revenue comparison 

at CTSI, including a modification to transport 

billings related to access trunking in last 

year’s third quarter, the continued implementation 

of the Federal Communications Commission’s 

(“FCC”) mandated interstate access rate reduction 

and further implementation of the FCC Order related 

to local reciprocal compensation. CTSI’s operating 

income in the 2003 second quarter was $2.5 

million, versus operating income of $5.3 million in 

the 2002 second quarter. CTSI’s 2002 second 

quarter operating income included a $2.1 million 

positive settlement in connection with CTE’s 2000 

restructuring charge. CTSI’s 2003 second quarter 

capital expenditures were $5.6 million, versus $5.4 

million in the year ago quarter. 

Northeast Pennsylvania Financial Corp. (the 

"Company") (NASDAQ: NEPF), the holding company 

for First Federal Bank (the "Bank"), reported a net 

loss of $1.1 million, or $(.28) diluted earnings per 

share, for the three months ended June 30, 2003, 

which was a decline from the prior year comparable 

quarter net income of $944,000, or $.22 diluted 

earnings per share. All prior period amounts set 

forth in this release reflect the anticipated restatement 

of the financial results for those prior periods 

as discussed below. The decline was primarily due 

to: 

■ a $520,000 reduction in non-interest income 

due to the recognition of a $1.5 million impairment 

loss related to an equity investment by the 

Company, partially offset by a $980,000, or 44%, 

increase in other non-interest income; 

■ a $974,000 decline in net interest income as 

a result of an 18 percent decline in the net interest 

margin from 2.98 percent to 2.44 percent; 

■ a $124,000 increase in the provision for loan 

losses due to an increase in classified loans; and 

■ a $107,500 impairment loss in connection 

with the closure of three bank offices as of July 1. 

The reported net loss for the June 2003 quarter 

was also a decline from the $1.0 million net 

income, or $.26 diluted earnings per share, for the 

quarter ended March 31, 2003. The decrease was 

due to: 

■ a $240,000 increase in the provision for loan 

losses due to an increase in classified loans; 

■ gains realized in the restructure of the investment 

portfolio in the March quarter of $1.1 million 

(pre-tax) versus the pre-tax gains realized in the 

June quarter of $386,000 for continued restructure 

of the investment portfolio and a partial 

restructure of the adjustable rate mortgage portfolio; 

■ the recognition of the $1.5 million impairment 

loss for an equity investment; and 

■ the $107,500 impairment loss related to the 

July 2003 office closings. 

The net interest margin for the June 2003 quarter 

of 2.44 percent was approximately the same as 

the 2.43 percent net interest margin for the March 

2003 quarter. Net income for the nine months 

ended June 30, 2003 was $643,000, or $.16 

diluted earnings per share, compared to $3.0 million, 

or $.69 diluted earnings per share for the previous 

fiscal year period. This decline in net income 

was a result of the $3.0 million, or 16 percent, 

contraction in net interest income due to a decline 

in the net interest margin from 3.12 percent to 

2.46 percent, the $1.5 million impairment loss on 

the equity investment and a $2.8 million increase 

in operating expenses as a result of the new branding 

campaign and staffing and occupancy increases. 

The decline was partially offset by a $139,000, 

or 7 percent, reduction in the provision for loan 

losses, $1.2 million more from gains on sales of 

investments and loans as well as increases in fees 

generated from the banking, insurance, investment 

and trust lines of business. 

On July 21, 2003, the Company announced it 

was restating its prior period earnings for the fiscal 

years from 1998 through 2002 and for the 

December 2002 and March 2003 quarters to correct 

errors in the accounting for the indirect auto 

loan portfolio and purchased mortgage and consumer 

loan portfolios. E. Lee Beard, president and 

CEO, noted that the recently identified errors resulted 

primarily from computer program coding errors 

that impacted the calculation of interest income 

earned on the indirect auto loans and from the 

amortization of the premiums related to purchased 

mortgage and consumer loans. The earnings discussed 

throughout this release reflect the proper 

interest earned rates for these loans. The 

Company is in the process of preparing an amended 

form 10-K for fiscal year 2002 and forms 10-Q 

for the December 2002 and March 2003 quarters. 

Until such amendments, including restated financial 

statements, are filed, the Company's previously 

filed periodic annual and quarterly reports, 

including financial statements and auditor's reports 

thereon, should not be relied upon. 

The anticipated effect of the restatements is to 

reduce the Company's capital by $3.2 million as of 

March 31, 2003. This restatement has no impact 

on the Company's or the Bank's cash flows and 

the Bank continues to be well-capitalized under regulatory 

capital requirements. At June 30, 2003, the 

total tier-1 capital ratio for the Bank was 6.69 percent 

and total capital to assets was 7.30 percent 

for the company. The accounting errors do not 

impact any loan customers. The Bank's deposits 

continue to be insured by the FDIC. Management 

affirmed that the accounting errors that led to the 

restatement were unintentional. Steps have been 

taken to ensure that no other similar system errors 

have occurred. Staffing, system and procedural 

changes are being made to ensure such errors do 

not occur in the future. As part of these changes, 

the Company hired Jerry Holbrook as interim CFO 

and engaged The Outsourcing Partnership LLC to 

provide internal audit services. Holbrook previously 

served as CFO for E-Duction Inc., SVP for First USA 

Bank and as Controller for WSFS Financial Corp. 

Net interest income for the current quarter 

decreased $974,000, or 16 percent, over the prior 

year comparable quarter. The decrease reflects a 

53 basis point decline in the yield on the mortgage 

portfolio, due to payoffs of higher yielding loans 

and generally lower interest rates on originated 

loans, and a 163 basis point decrease in the yield 

on investments. The decrease in interest income 

for the quarter was partially offset by a lower cost 

of deposits due to the current low interest rate 

environment. Since June 2002, the Bank has 

increased transaction accounts by 31 percent, to 

40 percent of total deposits, in an effort to 

decrease the reliance on higher-rate time deposits. 

The Company has $15 million in outstanding Trust 

Preferred Securities (TRUPs) with an interest rate 

floating with the three-month LIBOR and $7 million 

outstanding with an interest rate floating with the 

six-month LIBOR. The $22 million of TRUPs added 

$267,000 to interest expense for the June 2003 

quarter. The Company used a portion of the TRUPs 

proceeds to purchase $10 million of Bank Owned 

Life Insurance (BOLI) in April 2002, adding 

$133,000 of non-interest income during the June 

2003 quarter and $445,000 during the nine 

months ended June 30, 2003. The earnings rate 

on the BOLI adjusts annually in April and was 

reduced by 1.00 percent on April 3, 2003. 

Net interest income and net interest margin for 

the three months ended June 30, 2003 were basically 

comparable to the March 2003 quarter. This 

was accomplished in the face of generally declining 

interest rates with a combination of an increase in 

the higher yielding consumer loan portfolio balances, 

a reduction in the cost of deposits and the 

stabilization of cash flows from the investment 

portfolio restructuring that began in the March 

2003 quarter. 

The fiscal year-to-date net interest income 

declined $3.0 million compared to the nine month 

period ended June 30, 2002, primarily due to the 

124 basis point reduction in the yields on the earning 

assets, mortgage payoffs and an increase in 

borrowed funds. The reductions were partially offset 

with declines in costs of deposits and an 

increase in the investment securities portfolio balances. 

The provision for loan losses for the current quarter 

increased by $124,000, to $850,000, compared 

to the three months ended June 30, 2002 

and increased by $240,000 from the quarter 

ended March 31, 2003. The increase was primarily 

attributable to additional reserves established for 

the increase in classified loans. The ratio of 

allowance for loan losses to net loans increased to 

1.15 percent, compared to 1.00 percent at June 

30, 2002 and 1.06 percent at March 31, 2003. 

At June 30, 2003, non-performing assets 

increased by $2.1 million to $6.9 million, or .78 

percent of total assets, compared to $4.8 million, 

or .53 percent at September 30, 2002 and from 

the $5.0 million or .55 percent level at March 31, 

2003, primarily due to a $1.7 million commercial 

loan that went into bankruptcy. The Bank has previously 

written off $100,000 of this loan, has established 

additional reserves and believes this loan is 

adequately collateralized by the U.S. Dept. of 

Agriculture and other collateral. 

Total delinquencies as of June 30, 2003 for retail 

mortgage loans, consumer (other than auto), and 

auto loans were 1.24 percent, 2.23 percent and 

0.95 percent of total loans, respectively. Net loan 

charge-offs were $672,000 for the quarter ended 

June 30, 2003, compared to net loan charge-offs 

of $879,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2002 

and $515,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 

2003. Net loan charge-offs increased during the 

quarter due to a change in the method of recognizing 

impairment loss at the time it becomes 90 

days delinquent instead of at the time of foreclosure. 

Net loan charge-offs, as a percentage of total 

loans for the current quarter, were 13 basis points 

and for the fiscal year-to-date were 31 basis points. 

Non-interest income for the current quarter 

decreased $520,000, or 23 percent, over noninterest 

income for the prior year comparable quarter 

due to the Company's recognition of the $1.5 

million impairment loss for its equity investment in 

convertible preferred stock in a start-up mortgage 

banking firm specializing in multi-state, small 

builder loans. The Company purchased $2 million 

of convertible preferred stock in the company in fiscal 

2000. Pre-tax losses of $500,000 had been 

recognized by the Company previously. The lending 

firm continues to operate with historical highs in 

loan commitments; however, efforts to raise additional 

equity capital have proven unsuccessful and 

the company's contract with an investment banker 

expired during the quarter. The Bank's loans originated 

through the program have been fully repaid 

with no losses. The Bank is no longer a lender in 

this program. Additionally, no tax benefit has been 

recognized for the impairment loss due to a lack of 

expected future capital gains. The Company holds 

no other similar investments.Total non-interest 

income accounted for 13 percent of interest 

income plus non-interest income (gross revenue) 

for the June 2003 quarter and 19 percent of gross 

revenue for the nine months ended June 2003. 

Non-interest income was $8.1 million for the nine 

months ended June 30, 2003, compared to $5.4 

million for the comparable nine-month period ended 

June 30, 2002 as the current period reflected $1.5 

million gain-on-sale of securities and loans, as well 

as increased fee income earned from the banking, 

insurance, investment and trust lines of business. 

The prior year period included $332,000 of gain on 

sale of $50 million of indirect auto loans. The 

cross sales to customers among the lines of business 

has enhanced the service fee, insurance, 

investment and trust related non-interest income. 

Non-interest expense increased $800,000, or 13 

percent, for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 compared 

to the quarter ended June 30, 2002 and 

$231,000, or 4 percent, compared to the quarter 

ended March 31, 2003. The increase from the 

June 2002 quarter was primarily due to increased 

staffing for business development, a $107,500 

impairment loss (on a pre-tax basis) recognized in 

relation to the pending sale of two free-standing 

bank offices closed on as of July 1, 2003 and 

increased occupancy costs as a result of the addition 

of three offices purchased from Schuylkill 

Savings in January 2002. The fiscal year-to-date 

non-interest expenses for the nine months ended 

June 30, 2003 increased 16 percent over the prior 

year comparable period, as a result of increases in 

staffing, the impairment loss related to the sale of 

closed offices and occupancy expenses associated 

with the acquisition of offices from Schuylkill 

Savings in January 2002, as well as the increases 

in marketing costs for the new branding campaign. 

Penn National Gaming Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) reported 

record second quarter results for the period ending 

June 30. The 2003 second quarter GAAP operating 

results are in line with the revised financial guidance 

issued by the company on June 10. Penn 

National’s 2003 second quarter diluted earnings per 

share without Hollywood Casino-Shreveport were 

$.47, ahead of the revised financial guidance of 

$.45 issued by the company on June 10 and exceeding 

the First Call analyst consensus estimates. Net 

revenues for the quarter rose 98 percent to $325 

million, compared to $164.1 million in the second 

quarter of 2002. Net income and diluted per share 

earnings computed in accordance with generally 

accepted accounting principles rose to $15.5 million, 

or $.38 per diluted share in the second quarter of 

2003 from $9.2 million or $.23 per diluted share in 

the second quarter of 2002. Excluding a pre-tax 

charge of $3 million, or $.05 per share after tax, for 

loss on fair value of interest rate swaps, adjusted 

earnings per share for the second quarter of 2002 

was $.28. Second quarter 2003 EBITDA rose 98.6 

percent to $71.7 million, from $36.1 million in the 

second quarter of 2002. Income from operations in 

the second quarter of 2003 rose 95.9 percent to 

$52.8 million, from $27 million in the second quarter 

of 2002. Per share results are based on 40.5 

million and 40 million diluted weight average shares 

outstanding for the 2003 and 2002 periods, respectively, 

and have been adjusted to reflect the June 

2002 two-for-one stock split. 

Grants 

The Blue Ribbon Foundation of Blue Cross of 

Northeastern Pennsylvania announced it is seeking 

opportunities to partner with nonprofit organizations 

that are interested in creating and implementing obesity 

prevention and intervention programs in the 13 

counties of northeastern and northcentral 

Pennsylvania. The Blue Ribbon Foundation has committed 

$500,000 over a three-year period toward 

fighting obesity through its “well weighs” initiative. 

Grants of up to $75,000 will be distributed to several 

projects that integrate long-term nutritional, physical, 

behavioral and/or medical interventions to promote 

healthy lifestyle behaviors, eating habits and 

increased physical activity as part of a person’s daily 

life. Nonprofit organizations that are interested in 

“well weighs” can express their desire to participate 

by submitting a letter of interest to the foundation. 

Letters will be accepted until September 15 and 

should include a description and general overview of 

the proposed project, including goals, objectives, 

expected outcomes and process measures with a 

defined mechanism for reporting health outcomes; a 

copy of the resume or curriculum vitae of those 

responsible for implementing and evaluating the program; 

an estimate of funds needed for the project, 

and IRS certification of tax-exempt, charitable status. 

The foundation will review letters of interest and several 

applications will be selected to submit more 

detailed, formal proposals by December 1. A pre-proposal 

conference will be held to provide technical 

assistance and feedback to the prospective applicants 

that are identified through the letter of interest 

process. Grants will be awarded to support the 

development and implementation of innovative programs 

beginning January 2004. Subsequent annual 

payments will depend on continued satisfactory 

progress toward goals. 

The Williamsport-Lycoming Foundation, the 86- 

year-old foundation serving Lycoming County and the 

surrounding region, approved nearly $50,000 in 

grant funding during its recent mini-grant cycle. The 

Williamsport-Lycoming Foundation board approved 

$48,325 in grant funding from the unrestricted funds 

available to support initiatives benefiting residents of 

Lycoming County to the following organizations: 

American Rescue Workers, $10,000 grant to support 

the revitalization renovation project to update 

and renovate the facility that provides emergency 

shelter and houses male residents in an effort to 

help them rise above their current situations; 

Bethesda Day Treatment Center, $5,000 grant to 

provide funding to purchase program materials and 

equipment for the Montoursville facility, which provides 

specialized education and counseling for adolescents; 

Curtain Middle School PTO, $6,000 grant 

to assist with the restoration and conservation of 20 

locally designed murals depicting Longfellow’s poem, 

“Hiawatha,” so that they may once again be displayed 

in the school and the community; Jersey 

Shore Public Library, a grant of up to $4,192 to purchase 

four computers that have the capacity to 

accommodate the newer educational software for 

the children’s section of the library; Kiwanis Club of 

Williamsport, $6,735 grant to construct a second 

modern restroom facility and replace the roof on the 

main portion of the lodge at the Camp Kiwanis so it 

can continue to serve many youth groups; Lycoming 

County Health Improvement, $6,998 grant to support 

a youth survey that will help identify health-related 

risk factors in the community affecting the lives 

of area young people; this data will be available to 

other local agencies to guide efforts in meeting community 

needs; YMCA of Williamsport, $9,400 grant 

to provide support for an afterschool activity program 

(ASAP) with the goals of reducing childhood obesity, 

and educating both children and their parents about 

the risks associated with obesity. The Williamsport- 

Lycoming Foundation’s next deadline for mini-grant 

and regular grant application submission is 

September 1. Potential applicants are strongly 

encouraged to call Debbie Mader Miller, manager of 

program and scholarship services, at 321-1500 to 

discuss potential requests before submitting an 

application. 

Steven A. Solieri, Ph.D., assistant professor of 

accounting at The University of Scranton, has 

received a $30,000 grant from the Research 

Foundation of the Institute of Internal Auditors to perform 

a field study entitled “Internal Audit’s Role in 

the Corporate Governance Process: Restoring the 

Public Trust in Accounting.” As a large part of this 

project, Solieri and his co-author, Andrew Felo, Ph.D., 

of Pennsylvania State University - Great Valley, will be 

visiting a number of Fortune 1000 companies and 

studying interactions between the internal audit function 

and the corporate governance structures of the 

companies. The project is scheduled for completion 

in March 2004. Solieri has completed four master’s 

degrees in business administration, manufacturing 

management, information systems, and accounting, 

and received his Ph.D. in management and accounting 

from Binghamton University. Solieri, Lake Ariel, 

has been a Certified Public Accountant for the past 

18 years with a license to practice in four states. 

Congressman Don Sherwood announced two federal 

grants that have been awarded to Wayne

Economic Development Corporation to fund feasibility 

studies for a proposed business park in Sterling 

Township, Wayne County. The federal funds, along 

with local contributions, will partially offset the cost 

of preliminary engineering and planning studies. 

These studies are needed to determine whether the 

organization will pursue the development of the business 

park. WEDCO president, Paul Lloyd, acknowledged 

the assistance given to WEDCO. “We are particularly 

grateful for the support we received from our 

federal legislators and the Northeastern 

Pennsylvania Alliance in helping us obtain these 

grants,” Lloyd said. "In the long run, this support will 

play a major role in bringing more jobs to our county. 

Wayne County is now a top priority in good, sound 

economic planning in the region." Visit the WEDCO 

Web site for further details at www.wedcorp.org/. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and 

Natural Resources (DCNR) has awarded a 

Conservation and Recreation Grant of $200,000 to 

SEDA-COG for continuation of Phase II of the 

Susquehanna Greenway plan. The Greenway, an 

interconnected network of natural and cultural 

resources, scenic trails, community parks, and recreation 

facilities, is being developed along the entire 

500-mile length of the river in Pennsylvania. SEDA- 

COG heads the Greenway planning team. Bloss 

Associates Inc. and Pennsylvania Environmental 

Council are lead consultants for Phase II contract 

work on greenway design, and community outreach 

and education, respectively. Phase II primarily 

involves development of a conceptual design and 

strategic action plan to implement the Greenway, 

serving as a guide for county planners, municipal 

officials, community groups, nonprofit organizations 

and others seeking to establish components of the 

project. The strategy will also address region-wide 

issues, as well as specific concerns that have been 

raised in the six planning areas (reaches) designated 

within the Greenway. Five general categories of the 

strategic plan are being considered including community, 

environment, economy, recreation, and public 

awareness. Topic areas may include funding, organizational 

options, operations and maintenance, and 

the integration of related transportation systems. 

Reach Advisory Committees (RAC) have been established 

in each of the Greenway area's six reaches. 

The RACs will be involved in developing specifics of 

the strategic plan, just as they have been involved in 

the initial design process of the Greenway. 

Mortgages 

Columbia County 

Lois A. Barrall. Property Location: Beaver Twp. 

Lender: Sky Bank. Amount: $227,200. 

Joseph A. and Lori A. Scopelliti. Property 

Location: Hemlock Twp. Lender: FNB Bank. 

Amount: $204,900. 

Robert R. and Karen J. Hergan. Property 

Location: Catawissa Twp. Lender: Mortgage 

Electronic Registration Systems Inc. Amount: 

$215,900. 

William R. and Lori A. Harding. Property 

Location: Bloomsburg. Lender: Manufacturers 

and Traders Co. Amount: $200,000. 

Steven J. and Rebecca A. Marks. Property 

Location: Montour Twp. Lender: Mortgage 


$215,000. 

Giuseppe and Edith A. Lafata. Property 

Location: Scott Twp. Lender: Columbia County 

Farmers National Bank. Amount: $239,000. 

Joseph M. and Diane D. Wondoloski. Property 

Location: North Centre Twp. Lender: FNB Bank. 

Amount: $322,700. 

John C. and Brenda J. Monick. Property 

Location: Orange Twp. Lender: First Federal 

Bank. Amount: $213,500. 

MSY Investments LLC. Property Location: 

Berwick. Lender: Sovereign Bank. Amount: 

$1,350,000. 

Guy E., Jr. and Kimberly S. Miller. Property 

Location: Berwick. Lender: First National Bank of 

Berwick. Amount: $275,000. 

Harry A. Campbell. Property Location: 

Sugarloaf Twp. Lender: Option One Mortgage 

Corp. Amount: $269,500. 

Douglas L. and Leslie W. Bryden. Property 

Location: Catawissa Twp. Lender: First Mutual 


Brandon R. and Lynette M. Eyerly. Property 

Location: Scott Twp. Lender: Mortgage 


$200,000. 

Christopher R. and Christina M. Dorothy. 

Property Location: Scott Twp., Lender: FNB Bank. 

Amount: $230,400. 

SBA Properties Inc. Property Location: North 

Centre Twp. Lender: General Electric Capital 

Corp. Amount: $220,128,160. 

James and Ruth Hunter, Property Location: 

Greenwood Twp. Lender: Columbia County 


Robert N. Seebold. Property Location: Scott 

Twp. Lender: Manufacturers and Traders Trust 

Co. Amount: $460,000. 

Eric I. And Maryanne E. Weisel. Property 

Location: Scott Twp. Lender: Columbia County 


Robert M. and Joan P. Larney. Property 

Location: Scott Twp. Lender: PNC Bank. Amount: 

$282,000. 

Hervey A. and Deborah C. Gillespie. Property 

Location: Bloomsburg. Lender: Columbia County 


Thomas and Renee Hughes. Property Location: 

North Centre Twp. Lender: Citicorp Trust Bank. 

Amount: $233,108.85. 

Douglas P. and Patricia A. Evans. Property 

Location: Hemlock Twp. Lender: Columbia County 


Douglas P. and Patricia A. Evans. Property 

Location: Hemlock Twp. Lender: Columbia County 


Julie Kontos. Property Location: Scott Twp. 

Lender: First Federal Bank. Amount: $214,000. 

John and C. Luane Zaginaylo III. Property 

Location: Briarcreek Twp. Lender: AgChoice Farm 

Credit. Amount: $221,500. 

Kenneth E. and Melissa K. Chappell. Property 

Location: Greenwood Twp. Lender: Mortgage 


$200,000. 

Matthew W. and Susan L. Laidocker. Property 

Location: Greenwood Twp. Lender: Clair C. Hock. 

Amount: $360,000. 

Bloomsburg Center LLC. Property Location: 

Scott Twp. Lender: Fulton Bank. Amount: 

$5,500,000. 

Alfred H. and Colleen K. Stammers. Property 

Location: Scott Twp. Lender: FNB Bank. Amount: 

$220,000. 

Robert H. Ritter and Jamie Valerio. Property 

Location: Scott Twp. Lender: FNB Bank. Amount: 

$227,000. 

Monzer K. and Susan F. Mereby. Property 

Location: Cleveland Twp. Lender: FNB Bank. 

Amount: $207,000. 

Bart and Mary Rado. Property Location: 

Briarcreek Twp. Lender: First National Bank of 

Berwick. Amount: $378,000. 

Sept 03 Morts. 

Lackawanna County 

Jeric Partnership. Property location: Dickson 

City. Lender: 1st National Community Bank. 

Amount: $945,000. 

Frank Epifano. Property location: Gouldsboro. 

Lender: Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Amount: 

$231,160. 

Kenneth Propst. Property location: Archbald. 

Lender: Fidelity Bank. Amount: $210,000. 

Downtown Senior Center. Property location: 

Scranton. Lender: Pennstar Bank. Amount: 

$250,000. 

MSA Inc. Property location: Clarks Summit. 

Lender: Peoples National Bank. Amount: 

$300,000. 

Jose De Los Rios. Property location: Dalton. 

Lender: Wells Fargo Bank. Amount: $240,000. 

Steamtown Mall Partners. Property location: 

Scranton. Lender: UBS Real Estate. Amount: 

$41,000,000. 

Paul Abdalla, Jr. Property location: Moscow. 

Lender: Community Bank. Amount: $300,000. 

Lang P Su. Property location: Clarks Summit. 

Lender: Pennstar Bank. Amount: $500,000. 

Bennett Winters. Property location: Moosic. 

Lender: Wells Fargo Bank. Amount: $650,000. 

Leonard Burke. Property location: Clarks 

Summit. Lender: 1st National Community Bank. 

Amount: $250,000. 

Joshua Olivo. Property location: Scranton. 


$220,000. 

David Lowe III. Property location: Clarks 

Summit. Lender: America Wholesale. Amount: 

$235,000. 

Charles Mecca. Property location: Factoryville. 

Lender: American Home Loans. Amount: 

$274,000. 

David Botscheller. Property location: 

Factoryville. Lender: Penn Security Bank. Amount: 

$318,000. 

Donald Galacci. Property location: Clarks 

Summit. Lender: Wachovia Bank. Amount: 

$301,990. 

Gerald Evans. Property location: Clarks Summit. 


Deborah Hamby. Property location: Dalton. 

Lender: Pennstar Bank. Amount: $220,000. 

Daniel Bunevitch. Property location: Moscow. 

Lender: Countrywide Home. Amount: $220,000. 

William Giovagnoli. Property location: Archbald. 


$296,000. 

Daniel Fedor. Property location: Waverly. Lender: 

Bank of America. Amount: $230,000. 

Gerald O’Neill. Property location: Clarks 

Summit. Lender: Citizens Bank. Amount: 

$225,000. 

Joseph Root. Property location: Olyphant. 

Lender: Independent Mortgage. Amount: 

$263,245. 

Security National Properties. Property location: 

Scranton. Lender: Alaska Seaboard. Amount: 

Continues on next page 

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$520,000. 

Joseph Saccon. Property location: Moosic. 

Lender: Merrill Lynch. Amount: $269,000. 

Anthony Brutico. Property location: Scranton. 


Joyce Cornell. Property location: Clarks Summit. 

Lender: GMAC Bank. Amount: $258,000. 

John Conway, Jr. Property location: Dunmore. 

Lender: East Stroudsburg. Amount: $250,000. 

Thomas Capezio. Property location: Blakely. 


Richard Kenehan. Property location: Clarks 

Summit. Lender: Merrill Lynch. Amount: 

$433,200. 

Maple Lake United Methodist. Property location: 

Moscow. Lender: Penn Security. Amount: 

$450,000. 

Kevin Gilbride. Property location: Moscow. 


James Bradley Flickinger. Property location: 

Clarks Summit. Lender: 1st National Community. 

Amount: $214,000. 

Gregory Martin. Property location: Moosic. 

Lender: 1st National Community. Amount: 

$282,000. 

Robert Burke. Property location: Dunmore. 


Michael Jalowiec. Property location: Clarks 

Summit. Lender: Penn Security Bank. Amount: 

$271,267. 

Kenmaro. Property location: Scranton. Lender: 

PNC Bank. Amount: $450,000. 

Thomas Florey. Property location: Clarks 

Summit. Lender: Penn Security Bank. Amount: 

$500,000. 

Thomas Florey. Property location: Newton. 

Lender: Penn Security Bank. Amount: $500,000. 

Thomas Florey. Property location: North 

Abington. Lender: Penn Security Bank. Amount: 

$500,000. 

Stephen Brosky. Property location: Old Forge. 

Lender: Guaranty Bank. Amount: $225,600. 

Thomas Hauber. Property location: Moscow. 

Lender: Bank of America. Amount: $300,000. 

Martin Andrews. Property location: Carbondale. 


Chaudhari Family Ltd. Property location: 

Dunmore. Lender: 1st National Community Bank. 

Amount: $1,390,000. 

Steven Golden. Property location: Gouldsboro. 

Lender: Fleet National Bank. Amount: $209,000. 

Joseph Rinkunas. Property location: Clarks 

Summit. Lender: 1st Liberty Bank. Amount: 

$205,000. 

Francis Opshinsky. Property location: Dalton. 


Theodore Meadows. Property location: Moosic. 

Lender: Decision One Mortgage. Amount: 

$295,000. 

Daniel Siniawa. Property location: Clarks 

Summit. Lender: 1st National Community. 

Amount: $225,000. 

Donato Mecca. Property location: Scranton. 

Lender: 1st National Community. Amount: 

$242,000. 

Nicholas Cortazzo. Property location: Moscow. 

Lender: Penn Security Bank. Amount: $203,000. 

Allison Uhrin. Property location: Old Forge. 

Lender: Flagstar Bank. Amount: $220,000. 

Luzerne County 

William Thede. Property location: Dallas 

Township. Lender: Allegacy FCU. Amount: 

$245,000. 

Jon Olenginski. Property location: Rice 

Township. Lender: Bank of America. Amount: 

$620,000. 

Hazleton Community New Development 

Organization. Lender: Butler Enterprises Inc. 

Amount: $1,638,132. 

Barry Santospirito. Property location: Fairview 

Township. Lender: Chase Manhattan Mortgage. 

Amount: $262,500. 

Ronald Sturgeon. Property location: Wright 

Township. Lender: Citizens Bank. Amount: 

$230,000. 

Daniel Mazzocco. Property location: Wright 

Township. Lender: Citizens Bank. Amount: 

$200,000. 

Joseph Mantione. Property location: Wilkes- 

Barre Township. Lender: Community B&T. 

Amount: $3,000,000. 

Joseph Mantione. Property location: Dallas 

Borough. Lender: Community B&T. Amount: 

$3,000,000. 

Joseph Mantione. Property location: Kingston 

Borough. Lender: Community B&T. Amount: 

$3,000,000. 

Joseph Mantione. Property location: Hanover 

Township. Lender: Community B&T. Amount: 

$3,000,000. 

Dean Copely. Property location: Jackson 

Township. Lender: East Stroudsburg Savings 

Association. Amount: $233,000. 

Pietro Colella. Property location: Jenkins 

Township. Lender: First Heritage Bank. Amount: 

$215,000. 

Alex Rogers. Property location: Kingston 

Borough. Lender: First Horizon Home Loan. 

Amount: $322,700. 

Robert Sabella. Property location: Harveys Lake 

Borough. Lender: First Mutual Corp. Amount: 

$225,000. 

John Yenason. Property location: Harveys Lake 

Borough. Lender: First National Community Bank. 

Amount: $300,000. 

Richard Uter. Property location: Butler Township. 

Lender: Flagstar Bank. Amount: $207,310. 

Michael Church. Property location: Bear Creek 

Township. Lender: Honesdale National Bank. 

Amount: $235,000. 

Michael Sherneck. Property location: Dallas 

Township. Lender: Irwin Mortgage Corp. Amount: 

$268,000. 

Hazleton Community New Development. 

Property location: Luzerne County. Lender: Hazle 

Township. Amount: $1,000,000. 

Robert Stackhouse. Property location: Jenkins 

Township. Lender: M&T Bank. Amount: 

$275,000. 

Ian Kellman. Property location: Jackson 


$303,000. 

George Sordoni. Property location: Jackson 

Township. Lender: Merrill Lynch. Amount: 

$432,000. 

Terrence Herron. Property location: Dallas 

Borough. Lender: MERS. Amount: $220,500. 

Charles McAvoy. Property location: Kingston 

Township. Lender: Option One Mortgage. 

Amount: $236,000. 

David Cebrick. Property location: Franklin 

Township. Lender: PA State Emp CU. Amount: 

$3,321,350. 

Scott Nicholson. Property location: Swoyersville 

Borough. Lender: PHH Mortgage Service. 

Amount: $256,500. 

Robert Sacco. Property location: Sugarloaf 

Township. Lender: Wachovia Bank. Amount: 

$270,000. 

Thomas Medico. Property location: Jackson 


$433,019. 

Robert Connolly. Property location: Hazle 


$249,960. 

Raymond Ostroski. Property location: Kingston 

Borough. Lender: Wachovia Bank. Amount: 

$368,145. 

Michael Ell. Property location: Nanticoke City. 

Lender: Henry Wasilewski. Amount: $255,000. 

Gwen Galasso. Property location: Jenkins 

Township. Lender: Wells Fargo Bank. Amount: 

$248,000. 

Samuel Perta. Property location: Larksville 

Borough. Lender: ABN AMRO Mortgage Group. 

Amount: $204,000. 

Curtis Mattingly. Property location: Jackson 

Township. Lender: America’s Wholesale Lender. 

Amount: $262,500. 

Gary Booth. Property location: Lake Township. 

Lender: American Res Mortgage. Amount: 

$203,200. 

Georffrey Miller. Property location: Kingston 

Township. Lender: Beneficial Cons. Disc. Co. 

Amount: $245,284. 

Karyn Hildebrand. Property location: Larksville 

Borough. Lender: Century 21 Mortgage. Amount: 

$225,150. 

Ronald Harvey. Property location: Huntington 

Township. Lender: Columbia City Farmers 

National. Amount: $477,000. 

Donald Stone. Property location: Huntington 

Township. Lender: Columbia City Farmers 

National. Amount: $314,000. 

Gregory Bolesta. Property location: Plymouth 

Borough. Lender: Crusader Mortgage. Amount: 

$238,000. 

Auto Properties. Property location: Wilkes-Barre 

City. Lender: Daimler/Chrysler North America. 

Amount: $13,000,000. 

Auto Properties. Property location: Plains 

Township. Lender: Daimler/Chrysler Services. 

Amount: $13,000,000. 

Aaron Wanchisen. Property location: Dorrance 


Association. Amount: $225,000. 

Permen Realty. Property location: Wilkes-Barre 

City. Lender: First Heritage Bank. Amount: 

$220,000. 

Ironworks Local 489 Corp. Property location: 

Yatesville Borough. Lender: First Heritage Bank. 

Amount: $200,000. 

Smejj Inc. Property location: Hazle Township. 

Lender: First Heritage Bank. Amount: $850,000. 

James Casey. Property location: Wilkes-Barre 

City. Lender: Interbay Funding. Amount: 

$250,000. 

Greater Wilkes-Barre Development Corp. 

Property location: Wilkes-Barre City. Lender: 

Luzerne County. Amount: $750,000. 

Lee Sadusky. Property location: Exeter Borough. 

Lender: M&T Bank. Amount: $244,000. 

Alan Ryder. Property location: Butler Township. 

Lender: M&T Bank. Amount: $218,000. 

Lee Glassberg. Property location: Hazle 


$210,000. 

William Gill. Property location: Kingston 

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$225,001. 

Michael Weaver. Property location: Lehman 

Township. Lender: Merrill Lynch Credit Corp. 

Amount: $322,700. 

Eric Dove. Property location: Wright Township. 

Lender: Navy FCU. Amount: $252,500. 

Dan Rochon, Jr. Property location: Dorrance 

Township. Lender: Paramount Mortgage. 

Amount: $213,000. 

Keith Gramlich. Property location: Bear Creek 

Township. Lender: SLM Financial Corp. Amount: 

$224,000. 

Joseph Novotnak. Property location: Hazleton 

City. Lender: Saxon Mortgage. Amount: 

$272,000. 

Armand Mascioli. Property location: Dallas 

Borough. Lender: Wachovia Bank. Amount: 

$300,000. 

John Weyrauch. Property location: Wright 


$287,850. 

Louis Goeringer. Property location: Bear Creek 


$400,000. 

Robert Gill. Property location: Huntington 

Township. Lender: Wachovia Mortgage Group. 

Amount: $322,000. 

David Mallory. Property location: Dorrance 

Township. Lender: Washington Mutual Bank. 

Amount: $367,200. 

Richard Powell. Property location: Wilkes-Barre 

City. Lender: Wells Fargo Financial Bank. 

Amount: $200,000. 


Township. Lender: Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. 

Amount: $251,100. 

Monroe County 

Martin Sagofsky. Property location: Jackson 

Township. Lender: Fairmont Funding Ltd. 

Amount: $275,000. 

Kerry and Mira Althouse. Property location: 

Smithfield Township. Lender: East Stroudsburg 

Savings Assn. Amount: $415,000. 

Barry and Chi Palmer. Property location: East 

Stroudsburg. Lender: IFC Mortgage Corp. 

Amount: $251,700. 

Paul and Marie Webster. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Lender: Homecoming 

Financial Network Inc. Amount: $381,000. 

Taykut and Tulin Aydin. Property location: 

Pocono Township. Lender: Public Savings Bank. 

Amount: $268,850. 

Earl and Christine Ernest. Property location: 

Price Township. Lender: Long Beach Mortgage 

Co. Amount: $288,941. 

1723 West Main Street LP and J&R Property 

Investment LLC. Property location: Hamilton 

Township. Lender: Pocono Community Bank. 

Amount: $220,000. 

Christopher Stockley. Property location: Middle 

Smithfield Township. Lender: Chase Manhattan 

Mortgage Corp. Amount: $429,533 and 

$80,538. 

Howard Klein. Property location: Stroudsburg. 

Lender: Citimortgage Inc. Amount: $273,000. 

Faith Lutheran Church of Blakeslee. Property 

location: Tobyhanna Township. Lender: Trivent 

Financial for Lutherans. Amount: $288,000. 

Robert and Rebecca Krell. Property location: 

Barrett Township. Lender: Dime Bank. Amount: 

$1,000,000. 

David Everitt III and Tina Drake. Property location: 

Ross Township. Lender: Lafayette 

Ambassador Bank. Amount: $272,000. 

Michael Logan. Property location: Smithfield 

Township. Lender: Wachovia Mortgage Corp. 

Amount: $277,000. 

Floyd and Phyllis Halley. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Lender: First NLC Financial 

Services LLC. Amount: $272,000. 

LTS Development Inc. Property location: Stroud 

Township. Lender: First National Community 


Thomas and Diane Keeley. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Lender: Windsor Financial 

Mortgage Corp. Amount: $269,000. 

Juris and Hugh Carroll and Arthur and Rachelle 

Crispino. Property location: Chestnuthill Township. 

Lender: Countrywide Home Loans Inc. Amount: 

$274,300. 

James Anastasio. Property location: Tobyhanna 

Township. Lender: Countrywide Home Loans Inc. 

Price: $460,000 and $115,000. 

Jon and Marybeth Miller. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Lender: First Horizon Home 

Loan Corp. Amount: $280,000 and $34,900. 

Young Men’s Christian Association of Monroe 

County. Property location: Stroudsburg. Lender: 

Nazareth National Bank & Trust Co. Amount: 

$750,000. 

Abdullah Juya. Property location: Hamilton 


Amount: $285,000. 

Stroudsburg Wesleyan Church. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Lender: Wesleyan 

Investment Foundation Inc. Amount: $350,000. 

SBA Properties Inc. Property location: 

Smithfield Township. Lender: General Electric 

Capital Corp. Amount: $220,128,160. 

Daniel and Joyce Herring. Property location: 

Tobyhanna Township. Lender: Washington Mutual 

Bank FA. Amount: $322,700. 

JD Real Estate Subsidary LLC. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Lender: Citicorp USA Inc. 

Amount: $1,500,000,000. 

Vickiann and Jeffery Hicks. Property location: 

Stroudsburg. Lender: Wayne Bank. Amount: 

$320,000. 

Jeanette Jin and Peter Vinella. Property location: 

Smithfield Township. Lender: PHH Mortgage 

Services. Amount: $281,500. 

Juan and Rafaelina Caraballo. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Lender: First NLC Financial 

Services LLC. Amount: $294,000. 

Ron Gorman. Property location: Stroud 


Amount: $337,500. 

Samuel Baurkot. Property location: Tobyhanna 

Township. Lender: Merchants National Bank of 

Bangor. Amount: $1,032,000. 

David and Laura Turner. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Lender: American Federal 


Diane and Mark Cloeren. Property location: 

Middle Smithfield Township. Lender: America’s 

Wholesale Lender. Amount: $252,000. 

Robert and Marianne Nichols. Property location: 

Eldred Township. Lender: Cendant Mortgage 


Flostena Smith and Michael Franko. Property 

location: Chestnuthill Township. Lender: 

Countrywide Home Loans Inc. Amount: 

$285,700. 

Demmac LLC. Property location: Middle 

Smithfield Township. Lender: Norcrown Bank. 

Amount: $1,220,000. 

John and Janice Rhodes. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Lender: Taylor Bean & 

Whitaker Mortgage Corp. Amount: $288,400. 

Shop Quik Inc. Property location: Ross 

Township. Lender: Nazareth National Bank & 

Trust Co. Amount: $1,700,000. 

Russell and Sara Cramer. Property location: 

Pocono Township. Lender: Wayne Bank. Amount: 

$300,000. 

Roslyn and Wayman Jones Sr. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Lender: PNC Bank NA. Amount: 

$450,169. 

Maurizio and Lindy Cibischino. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Lender: PNC Bank NA. 

Amount: $360,000. 

Wilfredo and Maria Mercado. Property location: 

Pocono Township. Lender: Citizens Mortgage 


Alyssa and Francis Hager Jr. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Lender: Nazareth National 

Bank & Trust Co. Amount: $3,700,000. 

Joseph and Dorothy Blaney. Property location: 

Barrett Township. Lender: Chase Manhattan 


Dilcia Phillips and Valerie Gowie. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Lender: Primary 

Residential Mortgage Inc. Amount: $425,000. 

David and Lavelle Bigatel. Property location: 



Ronald Batson. Property location: Pocono 

Township. Lender: Independent Mortgage Co. 

Amount: $256,500. 

Robert Mrofka. Property location: Chestnuthill 


Assn. Amount: $287,500. 

Herb and Denise Grainer. Property location: 

Smithfield Township. Lender: Countrywide Home 

Loans Inc. Amount: $271,200 and $33,900. 

Cornerstone Propane LP. Property location: 

East Stroudsburg. Lender: Bank of New York 

Trust Co. of Florida NA. Amount: $300,000,000. 

Stroudstor LP. Property location: Smithfield 

Township. Lender: Mercantile-Safe Deposit & 

Trust Co. Amount: $1,060,000. 

Dennis Noonan. Property location: Mount 

Pocono. Lender: First National Bank of Arizona. 

Amount: $360,000. 

Richard Fly. Property location: Stroudsburg. 

Lender: First National Bank of Palmerton. 

Amount: $250,000. 

Ramis and Tatiana Gimadeyev. Property location: 

Hamilton Township. Lender: Countrywide 

Home Loans Inc. Amount: $539,950. 

Raymond Alvarez and Evelyn Figueroa-Alvarez. 

Property location: Middle Smithfield Township. 

Lender: Countrywide Home Loans Inc. Amount: 

$277,900 

Kenbar Investment Group, Kenneth Schuchman 

and Barth Rubin (gen. part.). Property location: 


Savings Assn. Amount: $396,000 and 

$472,000. 

Catherine Roman and Luis Ruperto. Property 

location: Smithfield Township. Lender: 

Countrywide Home Loans Inc. Amount: 

$264,000. 

Suzette Goffney. Property location: Ross 

Township. Lender: Patriot Bank. Amount: 

Continues on page 63 

C OMMERCIA L P ROPERT Y 

& B USINES S O PPORTUNITIES 

FOR 

SALE 

WILKES-BARRE AREA 

WONDERFUL bus opportunity - Restaurant w/ 

catering hall clambake grove & liq lic in place - Est’d 

rest seats 60, dining halls accomodate up to 475 - On & 

off site catering. Price incl’s equip, pkg lots & 

residence. 

MLS #2LF1659 

$999,000 Margy 696-0891 

WILKES-BARRE 

OFFICE BUILDING currently. Could be retail. In 

great location. 1 sty approx. 17,000 SF w/ 

abundance of pkg. on 3.5 acres, w/ability to 

expand. 

MLS #3LF0053 

$1,200,000 Judy R. 714-9230 

WILKES-BARRE 

EXCEPTIONAL architecturally designed office 

space for the discriminating professional. Beautiful 

professional landscaping, wonderful design & finish 

thru-out. Centrally located in W-B Business District 

MLS#2LF4257 

$579,000 Mike J. 970-1100 

EXETER 

MULTI-TENANT, 1 sty bldg in excellent condition. 

Ideal for owner user or investor. Adequate pkg, 

newly renovated, good location. Call for private 

showing. 

MLS #3LF0143 

$385,000 Judy R. 714-9230 

PITTSTON 

9000 SF MASONRY bldg. Shown by appt. only. No 

sign owner’s request. 

MLS #3LF4308 

$250,000 Mike J./Joe T. 822-1160 

L EWITH & F REEMAN 

R EAL E STATE I NC. 

570-288-9371 

Kingston 

570-696-3801 

Shavertown 

570-788-1999 

Drums 

570-474-9801 

Mountaintop 

EXETER 

MOD, brick, well maintained 5000 SF office bldg 

in premier location in high traffic area w/pkg for 

32 cars. Presently used as a medical office - many 

other uses. Excellent prop with great potential! 

MLS#3LF0131 

$585,000 Rae 714-9234 

WILKES-BARRE 

Scott St/W-B Blvd, prime location. Approx 20,000 

SF brick bldg on approx 2 acres. Multi use, high 

traffic, high visibility. Wet sprinkler, ample pkg. 

MLS #3LF1795 

$750,000 Margy 696-0897 

WILKES-BARRE 

OFFICE complex on approx. 9.6 acres. Main bldg. approx. 160,000 

SF office space including raised floor & fully wired computer room. 

Add’l bldgs. approx. 15,000 SF of office & warehouse. Convenient 

location w/access to interstate. MLS #3LF1781 

$2,495,000 Don 696-0872 

Mike 970-1100 

SHAVERTOWN 

HIGHWAY EXPOSURE! This multi-tenant 

commercial bldg. has possibility galore! One unit 

rented, one vacant & potential for a third. 

MLS #3LF0156 

$179,000 Judy R. 714-9230 

BERWICK BRIAR CREEK TWP 

WELL MAINTAINED 35,000 SF 1 sty manf/ 

warehouse on 4.8 level acres w/pub utils, sprinkler 

& security sys. Central mfg area, offices, cafeteria, 

mechanical rms, 3 loading docks. 

MLS # 1LF2450 

$549,000 Terry D 715-9317 

570-822-1160 

Wilkes-Barre 

COMMERCIAL 

PROPERTY 

LISTING 

is a special selection of the 

Northeast 

Pennsylvania 

Business 

Journal 

For more information 

or to reserve 

your space in 

next month’s issue, 

call the Journal 

570-207-9001 

or 

877-584-3561 

Deadline: 

9/15/03 



Fax: 570-207-3448



$298,341.25. 

George and Lisa Manatakis. Property location: 

Barrett Township. Lender: Countrywide Home 

Loans Inc. Amount: $288,902. 

Gary and Elizabeth Lewis. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Lender: ABN Amro Mortgage 

Group Inc. Amount: $267,500. 

Brenda Leonard. Property location: Ross 

Township. Lender: America’s Wholesale Lender. 

Amount: $260,900. 

Anthony and Maria Barilla. Property location: 

Pocono Township. Lender: America’s Residential 


Larry and Andrea Lynch. Property location: 

Smithfield Township. Lender: Wells Fargo Home 

Mortgage Inc. Amount: $268,000. 

Scott Kemp and Jorge Blondett. Property location: 

Jackson Township. Lender: Interbay Funding 

LLC. Amount: $330,000. 

Craig and Lynette Ott. Property location: Stroud 

Township. Lender: Citizens Bank of PA. Amount: 

$263,000. 

Greg and Jennifer McDermott. Property location: 

Coolbaugh Township. Lender: Windsor Financial 


Edward and Elaine Stys. Property location: 

Jackson Township. Lender: First Financial 

Equities Inc. Amount: $295,000. 

John and Nancy Okula. Property location: 

Smithfield Township. Lender: H&R Block 


Clearview Builders Inc. Property location: 

Chestnuthill Township. Lender: Interstate Net 


Kerri and Stephen Argen. Property location: 

Paradise Township. Lender: First Horizon Home 

Loan Corp. Amount: $251,000 and $127,000. 

Bruce and Marianne Brandli. Property location: 

Middle Smithfield Township. Lender: Wachovia 

Bank NA. Amount: $400,000. 

Fred and Janice Fantuzzi. Property location: 

Chestnuthill Township. Lender: Countrywide 

Home Loans Inc. Amount: $255,900. 

Jonathan Offerman. Property location: Stroud 

Township. Lender: First Horizon Home Loan Corp. 

Amount: $281,250. 

Ernest and William Sims. Property location: 

Barrett Township. Lender: Trident Mortgage Co. 

LP. Amount: $506,250. 

940 Commercial Inc. n/b/n/c Hill Farm 

Estates Inc. Property location: Ross Township. 

Lender: Wayne Bank. Amount: $350,000. 

Christy Mara. Property location: Jackson 

Township. Lender: Wells Fargo Home Mortgage 

Inc. Amount: $355,500. 

Derek and Susan Arneaud. Property location: 



Patrick Haftl and Randy Bachman. Property 

location: Eldred Township. Lender: Countrywide 

Home Loans Inc. Amount: $252,000 and 

$46,800. 

Hillcrest Retirement Community Ltd. 

Partnership. Property location: Jackson Township. 

Lender: First National Bank of Palmerton. 

Amount: $250,000. 

William and Carole Grant. Property location: 

Chestnuthill Township. Lender: First National 

Bank of Palmerton. Amount: $300,000. 

David O’Brien. Property location: Stroud 

Township. Lender: Washington Mutual Bank FA. 

Amount: $320,000. 

Michael and Susan Basso. Property location: 

Stroud Township. Lender: Wells Fargo Home 

Mortgage Inc. Amount: $316,000. 

Christine Hurley. Property location: Stroud 


Amount: $258,400. 

Kasimierz Debski. Property location: 

Chestnuthill Township. Lender: Mortgage 


$278,910. 

Scott Rosen. Property location: Hamilton 


Amount: $271,500 and $56,350. 

Pearce Enterprises LLC. Property location: 

Chestnuthill Township. Lender: Manufacturers 

and Traders Trust Co. Amount: $350,000. 

Ronald Baumann. Property location: 

Chestnuthill Township. Lender: Mid Atlantic Farm 

Credit ACA. Amount: $525,000. 

James Ertle. Property location: Stroud 

Township. Lender: Marvin Papillon. Amount: 

$400,000. 

Schuylkill County 

Robert Allen. Property location: Orwigsburg. 

Lender: Cendant Mobility Financial Corp. 

Amount: $245,000. 

Providence Place of Pottsville. Property location: 

Pottsville. Lender: Sovereign Bank. Amount: 

$9,000,000. 

Medical Plaza Partners. Property location: 

Pottsville. Lender: Wachovia National Bank. 

Amount: $598,200. 

Sonric Associates. Property location: Pottsville. 

Lender: Union Bank. Amount: $900,000. 

Yaworsky Family Limited Partnership. Property 

location: St. Clair. Lender: Community Bank. 

Amount: $570,000. 

Wayne County 

Kristin Murphy. Property location: Lake. Lender: 

Wachovia Bank. Amount: $203,668. 

Keith Heilner. Property location: Lehigh. Lender: 

Washington Mutual Bank. Amount: $200,000. 

Keith Robinson. Property location: Canaan. 

Lender: The Dime Bank. Amount: $268,000. 

Philip Kellerman. Property location: Hawley. 

Lender: Wells Fargo Financial Bank. Amount: 

$200,000. 

Ronald Sidovar. Property location: Salem. 

Lender: Wachovia Bank. Amount: $288,000. 

Danuta Piwinska. Property location: Paupack. 

Lender: MERS. Amount: $220,500. 

Anne Seyfarth. Property location: Salem. 


Waymart Area Authority. Property location: 

Canaan. Lender: Wayne Bank. Amount: 

$1,700,000. 

Waymart Area Authority. Property location: 

Canaan. Lender: Wayne Bank. Amount: 

$347,050. 

Joseph Ghartey. Property location: Damascus. 


Randal Williams. Property location: Mount 

Pleasant. Lender: Ameriquest Mortgage Co. 

Amount: $200,700. 

Salvatore Scarfalloto. Property location: 

Prompton. Lender: The Dime Bank. Amount: 

$208,500. 

Miles Scott Krieger. Property location: Preston. 

Lender: Honesdale National Bank. Amount: 

$221,600. 

Douglas Pryor. Property location: South Canaan. 


Donald Miller. Property location: Dyberry. 

Lender: Harleysville National Bank and Trust. 

Amount: $200,000. 

Francis Henofer, Jr. Property location: Paupack. 


Daniel Gould. Property location: Preston. 

Lender: The Dime Bank. Amount: $590,000. 

Thomas Richard Grozalis. Property location: 

Paupack. Lender: Mortgageline.com. Amount: 

$322,700. 

Vincent Tarantola. Property location: Salem. 

Lender: Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Amount: 

$269,000. 

Rudy Schemitz. Property location: Berlin. 


Joseph Hyer. Property location: Lake. Lender: 

MERS. Amount: $276,000. 

Frank Mina. Property location: Lake. Lender: 

Wells Farog Home Mortgage Inc. Amount: 

$246,400. 

Melvin Freilich. Property location: Buckingham. 

Lender: Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Inc. 

Amount: $218,400. 

Sirpa Defex. Property location: Paupack. 

Lender: Washington Mutual Bank. Amount: 

$204,000. 

Eileen Salak. Property location: Preston. 

Lender: Community Bank and Trust Co. Amount: 

$300,000. 

Wyoming County 

David Ritz. Property location: Windham 

Township. Lender: Grange National Bank. 

Amount: $219,600. 

John Whytashek. Property location: Lemon 

Township. Lender: Grange National Bank. 

Amount: $219,600. 

Thomas Dellaglio. Property location: Nicholson 

Township. Lender: Agchoice Farm Credit. 

Amount: $427,500. 

Jeffrey Kintner. Property location: Washington 

Township. Lender: MERS. Amount: $216,500. 

SBA Properties Inc. Property location: Noxen 

Township. Lender: General Electric Capital Corp. 

Amount: $220,128,160. 

Robert Hafford. Property location: Eaton 


Eric Campagna. Property location: Nicholson 

Township. Lender: First National Community 


Skyline Holdings Inc. Property location: 

Nicholson Township. Lender: Penn Security Bank 

and Trust Co. Amount: $240,000. 

Michael Stoko III. Property location: Overfield 


Amount: $322,700. 

Charles Pompey. Property location: Falls 

Township. Lender: First Federal Bank. Amount: 

$218,500. 

Lavere Stiles. Property location: Eaton 


Scholarships 

The Williamsport-Lycoming Foundation joined with 

donors, scholarship recipients and parents to celebrate 

the 66 new scholarships provided from the 40 

scholarship funds managed by the Williamsport- 

Lycoming Foundation. Many donors were able to converse 

and interact with their scholarship recipients 

during the reception. Many students receiving scholarships 

from funds managed by the Williamsport- 

Lycoming Foundation are eligible for consideration 

from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance 

Agency (PHEAA) PATH (Partnerships for Access to 

Higher Education) program to receive match grant 

funds. The PATH program provides match grant 

awards to full-time undergraduate students who are 

enrolled in Pennsylvania postsecondary institutions 

and meet other guidelines, thereby doubling the 

efforts of the donors. Most scholarship recipients 

and donors met for the first time at this reception. 

The Williamsport-Lycoming Foundation’s mission is 

to maximize the power of people and their donated 

assets to build vibrant communities within northcentral 

Pennsylvania now and in the future. The foundation 

administers funds on behalf of donors and charities 

within Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, 

Bradford, Sullivan, Tioga and Union counties. More 

information about the Williamsport-Lycoming 

Foundation is available at its Web site, www.wlfoundation.org, 

or call (570) 321-1500. 

Stocks 

The following information on insider trading activity 

was provided by James J. Blazejewski, senior vice 

president, Prudential Securities Inc., 32 Scranton 

Office Park, Scranton, Pa. 18507. Many of the 

stocks mentioned are not followed by Prudential 

Securities’ research department, 

which has no opinion on their 

investment merit. Current performance 

of reported stock 

issues is no guarantee of future 

returns. 

Insider trading as of Aug. 12, 

2003 

(APD - 46.09) - Air Products 

and Chemicals Inc. 

On Aug. 4, 2003, Robert E. 

Blazejewski 

Gadomski, executive vice president, 

Air Products and Chemicals Inc., sold 1,000 

shares at $45.85 per share. On July 30, he acquired 

48,500 shares via exercise of options at $40 per 

share and on the same date, he sold those shares 

at $45.92 per share. On the same date, he disposed 

of 3,153 shares (non-open market) at $46.06 

per share. His direct holdings total 40,800 shares 

and his indirect holdings total 143 shares. On 

August 1, Andrew E. Cummings, officer, acquired 

9,000 shares via exercise of options at $23.12 per 

share; and on the same date, he sold those shares 

at $46.29 per share. His direct holdings total 

17,498 shares and his indirect holdings total 

12,598 shares. On July 30, Arthur T. Katsaros, officer, 

acquired 18,800 shares via exercise of options 

at $40 per share; and on the same date, he sold 

those shares at $45.90 per share. His direct holdings 

total 17,007 shares and his indirect holdings 

total 11,488 shares. On July 30, Paul E. Huck, vice 

president, acquired 18,380 shares via exercise of 

options at $19.56-$40 per share; and on the same 

date, he sold those shares at $46.02 per share. 

His direct holdings total 17,863 shares and his indirect 

holdings total 5,674 shares. 

(CSS - 25.49) CSS Industries Inc. 

On Aug. 5, 2003, John J. Nucero, vice president, 

CSS Industries Inc., acquired 5,775 shares via exercise 

of options at $17.25 - $18.25 per share. His 

direct holdings total 11,143 shares. On August 5, 

Leonard Grossman, director, sold 26,200 shares at 

$25.4655 per share. On August 4, Mr. Grossman 

sold 4,500 shares at $25.4036 per share. On 

August 1, Grossman sold 5,700 shares at 

$25.4007 per share. On July 31, Grossman sold 

3,300 shares at $25.49 per share. On July 30, 

Grossman sold 300 shares at $25.63 per share. 

His direct holdings total 249,173 shares and his 

indirect holdings total 3,700 shares. On July 28th, 

the Faber Foundation, filed its intent to sell 30,000 

shares of restricted stock. 

(CZNC - 26.05) Citizens & Northern Corp. 

On July 24, 2003, Karl W. Kroeck, director, Citizens 

& Northern Corp., sold 1,665 shares at $25.924 

per share. His direct holdings total 908 shares. 

(FBF - 30.04) Fleetboston Financial Corp. 

On July 23, 2003, Gary A. Spiess, executive vice 

president, Fleetboston Financial Corp., sold 1,700 

shares at $30.43 per share. His direct holdings 

total 113,193 shares. On July 22, Terrence J. 

Murray, director, declared his intent to sell 200,000 

shares. On July 22, Ann M. Funicane, executive vice 

president, sold 3,200 shares at $30.34 per share. 

Her direct holdings total 33,332 shares. 

(FULT - 20.07) Fulton Financial Corp. 

On July 23, 2003, Joseph J. Mowad, director, 

Fulton Financial Corp., purchased 160 shares at 

$20.67 per share. His direct holdings total 3,962 

shares and his indirect holdings total 37,054 

shares. On July 23, Samuel H. Jones, Jr., director, 

purchased 237 shares at $20.6709 per share. His 

direct holdings total 1,499,354 shares and his indirect 

holdings total 7640 shares. On July 23, Eugene 

H. Gardner, purchased 232 shares at $20.6709 per 

share. His direct holdings total 35,973 shares and 

his indirect holdings total 32,998 shares. On July 

23, Donald M. Bowman, Jr., purchased 160 shares 

at $20.67 per share. His direct holdings total 

330,723 shares and his indirect holdings total 

86,722 shares. 

(HNBC - 26.79) Harleysville National Corp. 

On Aug. 7, 2003, Leeann B. Bergey, director, 

Harleysville National Corp., acquired 2,700 shares 

via exercise of options at $14.82 per share. 

(MTB - 85.80) M&T Bank Corp. 

On Aug. 1, 2003, Kevin J. Pearson, executive vice 

president, M&T Bank Corp., acquired 3,600 shares 

via exercise of options at $42 per share and on the 

same date, sold those shares at $86.60 - $86.83 

per share. On July 31, he acquired 7,000 shares via 

exercise of options at $29 - $49.50 per share and 

on the same date, he disposed of 3,195 shares 

(non-open market trade) at $88.57 per share. His 

direct holdings total 8,500 shares. On July 24, 

Adam C. Kugler, treasurer, acquired 27,480 shares 

via exercise of options at $42 - 49.50 per share and 

on the same date, he sold those shares for $89.75 

per share. On July 23, he acquired 15,000 shares 

via exercise of options at $42 per share and on the 

same date, he sold those shares at $89.50 per 

share. On July 22 Steven M. Coen, executive vice 

president, declared his intent to sell 18,345 shares. 

On July 22, Derek C. Hathaway, director, purchased 

1,000 shares at $89.29 per share. His direct holdings 

total 1,000 shares. On July 22 Atwood Collins, 

III, executive vice president, acquired 30,000 shares 

via exercise of options at $13.95 per share and on 

the same date, he sold 22,840 shares at $89 - 


shares. On July 22, Steven M. Coen, executive vice 


options at $29 - $75.80 per share and on the same 

date, he sold 18,345 shares at $89 - $89.44 per 

share. His direct holdings total 7,951 shares. On 

July 22, Robert E. Sadler, executive vice president, 

acquired 30,000 shares via exercise of option at 

$21.10 per share and on the same date he disposed 

(non-open market) of 14,835 shares at 


shares. 

(MEL - 31.02) Mellon Financial Corp. 

On Aug. 4, 2003, Michael A. Bryson, chief financial 

officer, Mellon Financial Corp., sold 2,000 shares at 


shares and his indirect holdings total 400 shares. 

On July 25, Ira Gumberg, director, sold 10,000 

shares at $30.12 per share. His direct holdings 

total 166,379 shares. On July 18, Michael K. 

Hughey, controller, sold 2,656 shares at $29.44 per 

share. His direct holdings total 7527 shares. On 

July 18, Steven G. Elliott, officer, acquired 52,442 

shares via exercise of options At $12.4375- 

$15.7188 per share and on the same date, he sold 

those shares at $29.16 per share. His direct holdings 

total 1,071,661 shares. 

(NWFL - 29.10) Norwood Financial Corp. 

On Aug. 7, 2003, Gary P. Rickard, director, 

Norwood Financial Corp. sold 500 shares at $29.10 

per share. His direct holdings total 14,825 shares 

and his indirect holdings total 1,023 shares. On 

Aug. 6, Joseph Kneller, senior vice president, 

acquired 3,750 shares via exercise of options at 

$16 per share and on the same date, sold those 

shares at $29 per share. His direct holdings total 

1518 shares. On July 7, Edward Kasper, senior vice 


options at $10.95 - $11.08 per share. His direct 

holdings total 11,377 shares and his indirect holdings 

total 4,617 shares. 

(PPL - 39.17) PPP Corp. 

On Aug. 1, 2003, Joseph J. McCabe, controller, 

PPP Corp. sold 1,500 shares at $39.168 per share. 

His direct holdings total 4,470 shares and his indirect 

holdings total 1,659 shares. On Aug. 1st, 

Robert J. Grey, senior vice president, acquired 

52,933 shares via exercise of options at $22.65 per 

share and on the same date, he sold 46,933 shares 

at $39.55 - $39.60 per share. His direct holdings 

total 24,130 shares. On Aug. 1, Roger I. Petersen, 

officer, acquired 14,240 shares via exercise of 

options at $26.84 per share, and on the same date, 

he sold 11,100 shares at $39.55 - $39.64 per 

share. His direct holdings total 40,244 shares. On 

July 31, James E. Abel, treasurer, acquired 16,614 

shares via exercise of options at $22.6525 - 33.49 

per share and on the same date, he sold 17,709 

shares at $39.648 - $39.95 per share. His direct 

holdings total 4390 shares. 

(SUBI - 19.37) Sun Bancorp Inc. 

On July 29, 2003, Robert J. McCormack, CEO, Sun 

Bancorp Inc.purchased 341 shares at $19.36 per 

share. On July 21, he purchased 450 shares at 


share. 

(VZ - 35.20) Verizon Communications 

On Aug. 1, 2003, David H. Benson, controller, 

Verizon Communications, sold 9,719 shares at $35 

per share. His indirect holdings total 16,501 shares. 

(WB - 43.35) Wachovia Corp. 

On Aug. 1, 2003, Donald K. Truslow, senior vice 

president, Wachovia Corp. acquired 8,000 shares via 

exercise of options at $17.31 per share. His direct 

holdings total 168,748 shares. On July 24, Thomas 

J. Wurtz, treasurer, sold 3,800 shares at $44.24 per 

share. His direct holdings total 15,330 shares and 

his indirect holdings total 3181 shares. On July 21, 

Joseph Neubauer, director, sold 3,336 shares at 

$42.61 - $42.62 per share. His direct holdings total 

8,328 shares. 

Prices as of close on Aug. 12, 2003 

Information in “For The Record” was compiled 

by Jamie Callen and Patti Knoepfel. 

For inclusion in this section, e-mail press 

releases to cfanning@timesshamrock.com.

An occupational 

medical center 

that understands 

the needs 

of industry. 

immediate care of acute injuries 

on premises comprehensive diagnostic testing 

independent medical evaluations 

complete physical therapy department 

occupational/hand therapy work reconditioning program 

drug & alcohol testing 

dot and pre-placement physicals 

Keystone Industrial Park 

Dunmore, PA 18512 

570.341.7777 

Highland Business Park 

268 Highland Park Boulevard, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 

570.822.8831

racetracks

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