The Times-Tribune from Scranton, Pennsylvania • 3

i OCA THE SCRANTON TIMES WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 9. 2002 Polish Cheirch Chooses Its Leader i BY JONATHAN roosiu THE SCRANTON TIMES Thirty four years after leaving Scranton. Bishop Robert M. Nem kovich is returning.

On Tuesday, he was elected the sixth prime bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church during the churchs 21st General Synod at the Pocono Manor Under the churchs constitution, Prime Bishop Nemkovich has six months to relocate to Scranton. He said his goal as prime bishop is to continue the mission of the church. Our mission is to carry out the commands of Jesus, he said Please set rOUSM, Page 10 1966, at St Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral on East Locust Street in South Scranton. He served as an assistant priest there from 19G6 to 1968. He takes over the position of prime bishop from the Most Rev.

John F. Swantek, who has served the maximum of two eight year terms as head of the Scranton-based church. Prime Bishop Nemkovich said today he is honored to serve in the churchs highest position. Im overwhelmed by it, he said. I am looking forward to the challenges of leading the church." Prime Bishop Nemkovich, who is now bishop of All Saints Cathedra in Chicago, was ordained as a priest on April 14, Polish National Catholic Church Founded: 1897 in Scranton Parish: About 150, including nine Canada Membership: About 50.000 members United States and Canada Northeastern About 10,000 members NEMKOVICH I I I I I Earth Care Fair Tom Nelson, right, hold a bald eagla from the Pennsylvania Raptor and Wildlife Association, Mount Bethel, as he discusses the birds unmatched sense of sight with students at the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority's environmental fair Tuesday In Mayfield.

Below, Lakeland sixth-graders clean up a simulated oil spill at a booth operated by Environmental Products and Services of Harrisburg. Dressed for the dirty work are, from left, Micky Rulls, Kristen Gol-tla, Courtney Phillips and Vince Tuzze. Ruling: Sea Seas Building Torched JENNIFER HENM THE SCRANTON TIMES A state police fire marshal said the hre that consumed the former nightclub was intentionally started on the first floor. The fire that destroyed a controversial former nightclub in Moosic on Tuesday was no accident, a state police fire marshal said. It was a case of arson and now police are investigating.

Sea Sea's Nightclub on Bimey Avenue burned for more than five hours starting shortly after 5 a.tn. The speed and intensity of the fire helped convince Fire Marshal Russ Andress that the blaze had been set. It was arson, and thats about all I can say, Trooper Andress said. He refused to reveal whether any material evidence was gathered at the fire site, but did confirm the flames started on the first floor. Tuesday's fire was at least the 18th arson in the greater Scranton area this year.

Only two of those have resulted in arrests. Sea Seas was a popular nightclub turned nuisance nightspot in the late 1990s. State officials moved to shut down the business after a violent stabbing in March 2000. Having been cited with liquor code violations, it has been closed since. The building has been for sale or lease for more than a year.

Owner Vincent Pagnotti, who also owns Genottis Food Mart in Moosic, has not returned several telephone calls seeking comment. No one was injured in the blaze, but dozens of firefighters had to scramble out of the building around 6 a.m. when fire officials feared the second floor and roof were weakening. Three elderly residents of a building next door to the club had to be evacuated during the fire because heavy smoke and flames were threatening their home. The brick building which houses Thomas Barbecue on the first floor and an apartment upstairs was not damaged.

Theta Thomas, her brother Buster Thomas and sister-in-law Rosalie Thomas were not injured. They returned to the apartment, with their cat Sassy, Tuesday afternoon, said Tony Delia, emergency services coordinator for the Scranton Chapter of the American Red Cross. Scranton BY DAVID FALCHEK THE SCRANTON TIMES The now-quiet Scranton Lace Co. building will soon be vacant. Charlotte, N.C., textile machinery salesman Paul Wagner was hired by Scranton Lace to liquidate the mechanical contents of the vast building everything from 20-ton looms and bowling alleys to a 220-volt toaster.

Meanwhile, the once-bustling Scranton Lace Outlet store is having a "closeout sale today through Saturday to get rid of the mills last run of merchandise. EPA Rep Bolts Throop Meeting The acting ombudsman said she requested a closed meeting before heading for the door. BY STEPHEN DAILY THE SCRANTON TIMES The acting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ombudsmans visit to Throop was short-lived this morning as Mary Boyer stormed out of the Throop municipal building, unhappy that the meeting was open to the public. Borough officials, a few Throop residents and Mayor Stan Lukowski looked on in disgust as their EPA representative was walking out.

You have a lot of smart people in here and all these people have to live with this hazardous site every day, Council President Jim Bamick said as Ms. Boyer was heading for the door. Ms. Boyer, a 13-year veteran of EPAs office of the inspector general and a former auditor at the U.S. Department of Defense, looked shaken and nervous as she glared into the eyes of concerned Marjol neighbors.

At the meeting, which lasted about one minute, Ms. Boyer said only that she respectfully had requested a closed meeting. But Mr. Lukowski said he never agreed to a closed meeting and previously went on the record saying he would never plan a meeting concerning Marjol that would not involve the public. Ms.

Boyer would not talk to the Scranton Times following the meeting. Hugh Kaufman, former chief investigator for Robert Martin, the EPA ombudsman for nine years before resigning in April, traveled in from Washington D.C. to attend the meeting. I was invited by the mayor to provide continuity to the discussion since I studied this case for two years," Mr. Kauftnan said.

Mr. Kaufman lost his job at the EPA after EPA administrator Christine Whitman merged the ombudsman position with the office of the inspector general. He openly criticized Ms. Boyer for walking out. This exemplifies the bankruptcy the EPA is in under Christine Whitman.

When the ombudsman talks are being done behind closed doors, deals are being made and you dont get the trust of the people and the public officials, Mr. Kaufman said. The citizens of this town are at risk of being poisoned." He added: If Ms. Boyer prefers closed meetings, shed be better off in the former Soviet Union, but here it is a democracy. Susan Shortz, Throop resident and member of the Citizens Review Committee, who has fought adamantly for over a decade to remove buried lead contamination from the site, came prepared to fill in Ms.

Boyer and her aides on information she has gathered over the past 14 years. She expressed her disappointment with Ms. Boyer and EPA management. At the very least, they could have introduced themselves and told us where they are at with our case, Ms. Shortz said.

If this is an example of the ombudsman under the Inspector Generals office, Its not going to work. Her job is to hear all the sides, but apparently she doesnt want to hear our side, Group Questions Unions Lobbying Campaign Against Recovery Plan Under Fire BY LYNNE SLACK SHEDLOCK THE SCRANTON TIMES The taxpayer group pushing for approval of Scrantons recovery plan in the Nov. 5 referendum is challenging the right of city firefighters and police officers to engage in political campaigns under city civil service rules and state law. Mary Ellen Coleman, co-chairwoman of People For A Better Scranton, said attorneys are researching the issue. "We need an interpretation.

Is this legal to do? she said of the active campaign by all four city unions including those representing firefighters and police against the recovery plan The state Civil Service Act permits political activity that is not specifically identified with a political party, such as a referendum. But Jack McGettigan, state Civil Service Commission press secretary, said those rules only apply to state civil service employees and municipalities that contract with the state system. Scranton does not contract with the state system and so would not fall under the commissions authority, he said. They can write the rules any way they want to, so political prohibitions can be included, Mr. McGettigan said.

Our rules dont take precedent. They could take it to the local courts to get an opinion. SCRANTON TIMES FILE Everyone has to follow the letter of the law, Ms. Coleman said. Julius Zomper, a political consultant representing the unions, said the unions position is that they are complying with all laws.

Attorney Paul Kelly, solicitor for the city Civil Service Commission, said he is aware of language in the civil service rules that prohibits political activity, but he must research whether the referendum issue is considered political activity. The commissions rules bar civil service police officers and firefighters from taking an active part in political management or political campaigns. Political contributions also are prohibited. God, I hope they dont end up being melted down, Mr. Wagner said.

These represent a big piece of history and for one, dont want to see them disappear. Mr. Wagner will be showing the equipment by appointment only. He expects the liquidation to take six months. A woman who answered the phone at the Scranton Lace Outlet said no decision has been made on whether the store will be open beyond Saturday, Messages left with officials were not returned Tuesday.

Scranton Lace made table Regarding state regulations, Pennsylvania Department of State spokesman Brian McDonald said a section dealing with contributions or expenditures by national banks, corporations or unincorporated associations, other than those formed specifically for political purposes, would apply to the union activity. The law prohibits the nonpolitical groups from spending in connection with political candidates or any other political purpose except on any question to be voted on by the electors of this Commonwealth. In this case, Mr McDonald said, the referendum probably would be considered a question. cloths, window drapes and bedding. At its height in the early 20th century, Scranton Lace employed more than 1,400 people In its 28 buildings and 760,000 square feet.

The progressive employer provided bowling alleys in the basement, a fUlly staffed infirmary, a staff barbei; and a gymnasium. The company once owned its own cotton field for raw material and coal mine for power. Staffing had been reduced to about 50 before the plant closed abruptly in May. Lace To Liquidate Equipment Many have questioned the fate of the 105-year-old companys looms, the oldest working devices of their type in the world. The Nottingham Jardine mills, about 50 of them, weigh 20 tons each.

They were made in Nottingham, England, once the lace loom capital of the world. Thirty of the looms were used until the closing in May. Mr. Wagner said its unlikely the looms will find a home in the United States. If any are sold at all, they may end up in China.

He will market the equipment on the World Wide Web and through mailings sent internationally. Scranton Lace closed In May. I i 1.