The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 13

FIRST THE MORNING CALL TUESDAY JUNE 25. 1985 SECTION UZ3 a (n (0) CARBON, MONROE, AND SCHUYLKILL COUNTIES V-. pOsi Arson ruled cause of fire at Shawnee 1 )A if" "v- if7li riI -sA I Nature's own golf balls: large hailstones that fell yesterday in Bowmanstown Morning Call photo Rudy Bednar Worthington Hall, a historic landmark in Shawnee that was home of the Shawnee Playhouse and Shawnee Volunteer Fire was extensively damaged by fire early yesterday. The fire was ruled an arson by state police Fire Marshal Michael Hartley, who said in a report the playhouse suffered at least $500,000 damage and may be a total loss. Shawnee firemen found the old stone structure engulfed in flames going through the roof when they responded to a 4:02 a.m.

alarm. Malcolm Waring, who lives across the road from the structure, called in the alarm after being awakened by a "crackly noise" and seeing the fire, which was already through the roof. Shawnee firemen were assisted by the Marshalls Creek Volunteer Fire Co. and East Stroudsburg Acme Hose Co. sent men and an aerial truck.

The interior of the historically registered structure was gutted at the rear, where the fire company occupied two garages for their trucks and equipment. Little was left standing but the stone exterior walls. Occupants of an apartment to the rear of the Shawnee Playhouse were not home. They were away for the weekend. The Shawnee Fire Co.

lost a base station for communications but managed to save their fire trucks and some of the other equipment. Firemen had recently completed the renovation of a basement meet ing room. The renovations had been done evenings and on weekends by the firemen. The Shawnee Playhouse, which recently opened its second musical of the season, "The Robber Bride Groom," lost sound equipment, musical instruments, costumes and props. The playhouse, closed on Mondays, has been giving matinees and evening performances plus special weekend children's shows since opening.

This musical was scheduled to run into early July and was to be followed by "The Sound of Music." Charles and Virginia Kirkwood, owners of Shawnee Inn, operated the Playhouse and said they will decide how to continue the scheduled season of shows. Shawnee firemen remained at the fire scene all day doing a cleanup. The Shawnee Ladies Fire Co. auxiliary fed firefighters their breakfast and lunch. Fire Chief Frank Primrose said that the intensity of the fire when his company arrived was at the rear of the theater and above the old meeting room of the building.

The Worthington family had donated the property to the people of Shawnee" and involved the fire company in a trusteeship to perpetuate the historical structure. There is insurance coverage and already the people of the small village have indicated the Worthington Hall will be rebuilt It rained like hail in L.V. yesterday By DAN PEARSON Of The Morning Call "We were spared serious damage. There were warnings earlier in the afternoon that winds could reach a velocity of 70 miles an hour, but they did not," said Bert Daday, community relations director. "We've had thunderstorms in previous years that knocked out 30,000 customers," he added.

The storm, which deposited less than a quarter-inch of rain, reached the Poconos at about 2:30 p.m. and pounded the area for about an hour as it moved generally along a course from the northwest to the southeast. A report that a Monroe County man had been struck and injured by lightning could not be verified at Pocono Hospital, Stroudsburg, where he reportedly was taken. As several reports of major damage failed to check out, it became apparent that the storm's ominous appearance hurtling out of the northwest had more bark than bite. But pea-sized hail, which beat against windows and autos and knocked stones out of aggregate building panels, had residents and business owners worried.

The largest hail probably fell in the Bowmanstown area, where it was described as the diameter of large marbles. Communities in Northampton and Warren counties apparently escaped the brunt of the Please See WEATHER Page B3 A fast-moving cold front collided with warm, muggy air over the Lehigh Valley yesterday afternoon, triggering severe electrical storms that spared the area severe damage despite heavy rain, hail and wind gusts of up to 45 mph. But broken tree limbs falling across power lines did cause outages to 1,600 homes in the areas of West Allentown, Slatington, Dorneyville, South Whitehall Township, South Bethlehem and Hellertown. Emergency crews of the Pennsylvania Power Light Co. were dispatched immediately.

They expected to have all power restored by midnight. I I I i II i mi ii I ii i i i ii ii Hi mnmmi i in i 11 mm ii i 1 11 i impn ni i Mlyfc yfe(W III i WMtosiX. i 1 1 DER suing firm over raft trips Contempt alleged at Lehigh Gorge By RANDY KRAFT Of The Morning Call A petition to find a company that offers raft trips through Lehigh Gorge State Park in contempt of court has been filed in Commonwealth Court by the state Department of Environmental Resources. The White Haven-based company, Outdoor Challengers was founded by Joseph J. Bennett, a Bethlehem Township businessman who is an executive with the Bennett auto dealerships in East Allen-town.

The company is in trouble with DER because it has been conducting raft trips through the undeveloped Lehigh River park in Carbon County without state approval, despite repeated warnings. DER controls rafting to assure visitor safety and to prevent the river from becoming overloaded. On March 29, a Commonwealth Court judge issued an injunction prohibiting Outdoor Challengers from taking new reservations to conduct trips through Lehigh Gorge. But, in its recently filed civil contempt petition, DER maintains that "on several occasions" since March 29 the company has continued to provide guided Whitewater rafting tours through the park for a fee. DER also maintains Outdoor Challengers has failed to abide by other aspects of the injunction issued nearly three months ago by Senior Judge Paul S.

Lehman. The judge ruled Outdoor Challengers could take up to 100 people down the river who had signed up for trips before March 7, the date hearings on the case began in Har-risburg. But first the company had to abide by numerous rules in agreements DER has with four commer-' cial outfitters already operating through the park. DER's petition maintains those requirements are not being met by Outdoor Challengers. One of them involves paying the state $500 for a performance bond, to assure the outfitter would abide by state regulations on the river.

DER also complains that the Please See RAFT Page B5 Lehighton school tax is raised Budget, 5-mill hike cleared on 5-3 vote The Lehighton Area School Board, on a 5-3 vote at a special meeting last night, adopted its 1985-86 budget which calls for a 5-mill tax increase. Voting for the budget were board members Richard Hahn, Bruce Kei-per, Elden Lorah, Stanley Graver and Marion Reid. Casting the no votes were Larry Markley, Melvin Balliet and Richard Shanton. Board member Ronald Sowden was not present. The balanced budget lists ex- and receipts of $8,892,904.

his is an increase of $848,317 over the 1984-85 budget Supt. John Tredinnick said, "This year's major increase in the budget is in the fixed cost category. This takes in salaries, supplies, heating and lighting and many other items. "Our biggest cost is in the heating of the Franklin Township building, Shull-David school ana the high school. We also spend a large amount of money in repairing the heating systems because they are at least 20-year-old." The 5-mill increase will raise the millage in the school district to 109.

Also adopted is a new 15 percent occupational tax which will assessed on all persons 18 years of age and older. A $5 per capita tax was also retained. Markley said after the meeting, "I voted no for this budget because of the administrative salaries. I am not saying they are too high for what work they do. But the tax payers in our district just can't afford higher taxes." Shanton said he had no comment, and Balliet left the meeting as soon as it was adjourned.

In other business the board hired David Perkin as junior high school music teacher and William Bailey as custodian at Shull-David. Hired as longterm substitutes were Dawn Ladeas, high school home economics; Carol Withers, sixth-grade teacher at Shull-David; Mrs. Linda VanReed, high school reading and English teacher, Nadine Snyder, elementary music teacher, and Lisa Potylvcki, fourth-grade teacher at Shull-David. Morning Call photos Tel Toulomelis Upusual fishing expedition Allentown police, including three officers in wetsuits, help fish a yellow Toyota sedan from the Lehigh River yesterday morning. People who had been walking through Al-lentown's Canal Park near the boat ramp 'reported seeing the car.

Police at the scene said they suspect the car was driven into the river using the concrete ramp. Police, including divers Samuel Solivan, Dean Schwartz and Alan Burns, helped attach a tow chain to the car, which was submerged but clearly visible from the shore. Police yesterday were trying to find out who owns the car and how it got 30 feet into the Lehigh River. '-ejv 1 "i i jgitf EPA fine against NJZ is scored company will be absolved of any responsibility." Conrad said yesterday that the material in question is a gravel-like aggregate called electric arc furnace fume gas. "It looks like rocks and dust it's a material left over in the making of steel and is a result of the EPA ordering the steel industry, starting back in the early 70s, to Please See NJZ Page B3 An Environmental Protection Agency complaint filed last week against the New Jersey Zinc Palmerton, was criticized as self-defeating yesterday by Bruce E.

Conrad, executive director of the Carbon County County Office of Planning and Development. The EPA fined the company $156,000 last week for alleged improper storage and disposal of hazardous wastes and for failing to in stall ground water monitoring wells at its plant. According to a rebuttal by NJZ, the company intends "to promptly file an appeal, which will have the effect of staying the order." The company contends the order "was issued unilaterally without court sanction, and is, in the opinion of the management of the company, totally without merit," and adds "after the proper court review, the.