Standard-Speaker from Hazleton, Pennsylvania • Page 19

JANUARY 21, 1996 HAZLETON, PA Standard-Speaker OBITUARY CG Pouch CG Editorial C4 3LUHM- llAllagjQ. nr. A Does this weather make you sick? get sick because you have wet feet just isn't true, Childs said. And being outside in cold temperatures likewise won't make you sick. In fact, Childs said, it actually decreases your chances.

Staying inside is how most illnesses are spread, he said. "The question is how do you catch it. Colds, stomach flu, those dieseases are spread from breathing on each other, or from hand-to-hand contact," Childs said. "When you begin to put people in very close quarters and close the windows, the rates of infection goes up," Childs said. Oddly enough, because of all the snow days that have canceled school, Childs said he is seeing fewer cases than usual of colds and the flu.

Hazleton Area School District Supervisor of School Health Services Mary Spear, R.N., said that whenever the weather changes drastically, the number of students missing school increases. This year is no exception. "So whenever that happens, there is always a problem with colds, respiratory problems," Spear said. "There are higher absentee rates, making it harder on students," Spear said. "They have more information to catch up on, combined with being off from snow days." Spear said students can get help either from tutoring programs or their teachers can help them catch up.

"When they have a lot of time off, socially it impacts on them," she said. "They get out of the usual routine." Childs said the weather can also affect people emotionally. "Weather affects your mood. Grey days, weather that is basically nasty stuff people's attitudes change a great deal," Childs said. Childs said medical literature shows that when people feel bad emotionally, they are more likely to get sick physically.

"Physical ailments, for example strep throat, are affected by stress," Childs said. "It's very clear that people are more susceptible under certain circumstances," he said. "All of that is without taking into account trying to shovel snow back pains, having heart attacks," Childs said. a There's no doubt Hazleton area residents are sick of the weather. That leads to another question: Do see-sawing weather patterns lead to more illnesses By MIKE JESKY Standard-Speaker As if snowy rain and flooding weren't bad enough, now you have to worry about getting sick.

Local pediatrician Robert Childs said although there are several "old wives' tales', about getting sick, the chances of developing an illness do increase when the weather is bad. For example, the old idea that you'll School board set to resume teacher talks i 4 -in sa 1 ELLEN O'CONNELLStandard-Speaker Jim Uston, owner of Hazleton Iron Works, displays one of two sump pumps he uses to get rid of water that he says flows into his building from Harman-Geist Stadium. Owner of water-logged firm says district is out of bounds I By KELLY MONITZ Standard-Speaker The Hazleton Area School Board resolved to start up contract negotiations and lifted an administrative restriction on transferring employees Thursday night. The board halted all actions from hiring additional personnel to implementing district-wide programs educational in December to enable new board members to familiarize themselves with the district's operations. unanimously, the board resolved to resume contract talks with district's teachers and support personnel, and to allow administrators to transfer employees as needed.

Board member Thomas asked if the move means that the administration can resume the day-to-day "I think there could be debate to what is day to day. What is still restricted?" he asked. "Or are we still in somewhat of a holding pattern?" Solicitor Pasco Schiavo said that the day-to-day operations of the district were never restricted and the other items would remain on hold until the board resolves otherwise. One project that was put off through the resolution was intensive scheduling and it was put off again at Thursday's meeting. Superintendent Geraldine Shepperson asked the board to withdraw her recommendation to implement intensive scheduling in September, even though it appeared on the agenda.

While the move wasn't i it ty i -is- Cox Hot seat in county seat Whether it was the threat of the flood waters slamming against the Susquehanna River dikes, or the pounding from criticism over questionable personnel moves, last week was not a good time to be a public official in Luzerne County government. As the week began, Recorder of Deeds Frank Castellino got an earful from an audit released by the state auditor general's office. The audit was highly critical of several procedures followed in the 78-year-old Castellino's office. While Castellino said the state was making a scapegoat out of him, the audit nevertheless found numerous areas in need of improvement in his office. Then, just a few days later Castellino again found himself the subject of scrutiny when we learned he had decided to hire his son Joe, a convicted drug user, as the office solicitor.

The younger Castellino replaced Joe Cosgrove, a Wilkes-Barre attorney who said in published reports that he had no problem with losing thejob. After again having to defend himself from press scrutiny, Castellino got a break as the heat was turned on the commissioners' office. That happened when word leaked out that the new -look commissioners were planning to hire former Commissioner Rose Tucker as a consultant to lobby the federal government for human resources money. Few would doubt Tucker's extensive knowledge in the field, nor her ability to get a job done when she sets her mind to it. Rather, what rankled quite a few people was that she would be paid $13,000 a year for a job which she would perform just once a week.

If you do the math, that's $250 a day. Figuring on an eight-hour work day, Tucker's salary comes out to something like $31.25 an hour. If Tucker were working full-time at the same rate, she'd be getting paid $65,000 a year. Ouch. As if all this bad publicity wasn't enough, the week ended with the evacuation of some 100,000 Wyoming Valley residents who were threatened with a flood the likes of nothing seen in nearly a quarter-century.

About the only break county officials got this week was when the Susquehanna River crested just two and a half feet short of a spillover. Of course, there was little county officials could do to prevent the natural disaster that struck Friday and Saturday. What they can do is work harder to prevent the kind of public relations disasters that plagued the courthouse early in the week. A good first step was in the comforting words commissioners Tom Makowski and Joe "Red" Jones spoke to business leaders at Chamber of Commerce red carpet breakfast held in mid-week. The two commissioners, who started their first terms at the beginning of the month, promised that they would continue to consider the Southwest Beltway project the county's top highway construction project.

That kind of committment is especially important on two fronts: First, the commissioners are at a crossroads because of the ever-ticking clock on the arena project. Part of the arena equation is the completion of Exit 4 6 on Interstate 8 1 Makowski, though, promised See COX, C2 4 0 Nii ft" YiS 1 lit' to contact their insurance company to file a claim. But when Uston called the agency, they told him this was flood damage and not covered by the district's policy. Uston said water fills his business every time it rains. Uston's lawyer, Richard See RUNOFF, C8 ft I II UK: i) ELLEN O'CONNELLStandard-Speaker debated, Marnell asked if the new educational model was just being put on hold for awhile, or if the project was dead.

"It'll be discussed in the future," DeCosmo said. "It's not dead." A meeting to discuss the district's intensive scheduling plans with the board was held sometime last week, Marnell said. After being questioned about it issue by Gloria Pesock, Valley PTA liasion, DeCosmo said that part of the reason it was held off was because board member William McCann couldn't attend the meeting. McCann was in a car accident Wednesday night. Since McCann was instrumental in bringing intensive scheduling to the district, it would only be proper that he be present when it came for a vote before the board, DeCosmo said.

The plan developed involves a developing a small learning community with students from the Hazleton Area Career Center, he said. "We're starting out very small," DeCosmo said. In the past 90 percent of Hazleton Area High School teachers rejected intensive scheduling and the plan won't work without the teachers' full cooperation, DeCosmo said. At a recent meeting, teachers voted 2-1 in favor of intensive scheduling, he said. Some teachers feared they'd lose their jobs if the plan was implemented and opposed for only that reason, DeCosmo said.

The district is also looking at buying equipment televisions and video cassette recorders to supplement classroom instruction, DeCosmo said. which also formerly housed the J.W. Cooper Elementary School. The building is the proposed site for a YMCA facility. When Shenandoah firefighters entered the abandoned building, they found fire in the storage room, and managed to confine the blaze to the room.

Firefighters had the fire extinguished in 20 minutes, Phillips said. He declined to say if arrests are pending, saying only that the investigation is continuing. '0 (I L. Above: Water flows under the fence at Harmen-Geist Stadium ending up in Hazleton Iron Works. Owner Jim Uston was using a garden hose Friday to drain the water from the rear portion of his building on Cedar Street in Hazleton.

this week and seek a solution to the problem. Uston said he had spoken with Andy Benyo, maintenance supervisor, but nothing was ever done. Benyo could not be reached because he was dealing with flooding-related problems at the schools. On Friday, Uston said the district's business office told him i i vi (- 'J 0 The owner of Hazleton Iron Works says water runoff from Harman-Geist Stadium is pouring into his building, making it impossible for him to work. By MIKE JESKY Standard-Speaker The owner of an iron works company is tired of the school district dumping on him.

water, that is. Jim Uston, owner of Hazleton Iron Works, 154 N. Cedar said water runoff from Harman-Geist Stadium pours off the playing field and directly into his iron works building, making painting work impossible. Despite a year-and-a-halfs complaining, Uston said the problem still hasn't been corrected. District Superintendent Geraldine Shepperson said' the matter is a legal one, and will be handled by either their new solicitor Pasco Schiavo or former solicitor David Glassberg.

On Friday, when torrential rains and melting snow flooded the area, Uston went to work and found several inches of water in the painting shop of his business. Two pumps worked at emptying Uston's business, which employs 10 people. "I can't paint in here," Uston said, standing in a puddle of water. "I got a contract due I want to get a truck in here," he said Uston estimated his losses in the neighborhood of $5,000 from lost wages, unfinished contracts, and water damage. Behind his business, which abuts the stadium's south side, a steady flow of water gushed from under the stadium's metal fence and into his work place.

Uston said that when work crews dug trenches to lay new electrical wire at the stadium, he knew it would make the problem even worse. The trenches were not covered with asphalt, and consequently allow even more water to force its way onto his property. The school district's new building and grounds director, Ken Temborski, said he was not aware of the problem. However, Temborski promised he would meet with Uston RICH PASTULAStandard-Speaker Shenandoah police Sgt. John Phillips inspects fire damage at the former Shenandoah High School on Saturday afternoon.

Suspicious fire hits old Shenandoah school Authorities believe arsonists set a fire that damaged a storage room in the former Shenandoah Valley High School early Saturday morning. Shenandoah Police Department Sgt. John Phillips said the fire was discovered at 3:34 a.m. when neighboars noticed smoke coming from a basement window. There were unconfirmed reports that youngsters were seen running from the building at Lloyd and White streets,.