`knock And Talk' No Violation, Aclu Says 
Kingston Police Have Recently Visited Houses Of Suspected Drug Dealers Not To
Make Arrests But To Tell Them They Are Being Watched.

Accused Man's Mental Status Stymies Prosecutors

By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER and MICHAEL McNARNEY
tmorgan@leader.net
 Thursday, December 26, 2002 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





A white Christmas turned into a dark Christmas for thousands of residents
in Northeastern Pennsylvania as a winter storm socked the region, downing
trees and power lines in dozens of communities. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Travel also was snarled as road crews struggled to keep up with the
fast-falling snow, prompting Gov. Mark Schweiker at about 3:30 p.m. to close
several interstates, including I-80, I-81 and I-84. The state Department of
Transportation hoped to reopen the highways by late Wednesday night. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Some homes in Luzerne County were without power for hours as utility crews
scrambled to repair lines downed by tree limbs that gave way under the heavy,
water-packed snow. Accumulations varied by region, from about 10 inches in the
Wilkes-Barre area to up to 15 inches in northern areas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The storm prompted Luzerne County to declare a state of emergency at 3:25
p.m., a precautionary measure that gave the county additional power to call in
state help if needed, said Kevin O'Brien, deputy director for the Luzerne
County Emergency Management Agency. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 O'Brien said things had stabilized by late Wednesday afternoon and no
outside help was sought. Agency workers spent most of the day fielding calls
about the power outages and coordinating with utility companies to prioritize
calls. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 PPL reported 18,900 people in Northeastern Pennsylvania lost power, with
the hardest hit areas in Carbon County. In the Wilkes-Barre area, 1,300 lost
power. All but 277 of those customers had power restored by 6:45 p.m., said
Frank Baran, PPL spokesman. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 UGI Utilities spokesman Joseph Rymar said 4,000 Wilkes-Barre area customers
lost power, with 3,000 being restored by 5:30 p.m. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Some customers reported problems in reaching UGI through its emergency
phone numbers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rachel Edwards of Shonk Street, Plymouth, said she tried to call UGI to let
the company know her heat and lights were out, but was met with silence.
Edwards, who is eight months pregnant, said the temperature in her home was
down to 42 degrees at 4 p.m. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We're kind of stuck here. There's no one, really, local for us who has
power,'' Edwards said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rymar said he did not know why there were problems with the phone line, but
he would investigate. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The outages caused many other homes to lose heat, but most had electricity
restored fairly quickly and there was no need to open an emergency shelter,
said Amy Gabriel, emergency services director for the Wyoming Valley Chapter
of the American Red Cross. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gabriel said the Red Cross remained on standby all day and coordinated with
EMA and Help Line to handle calls for assistance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We put the word out on radio and television that should someone need a
warm place to stay, to call,'' Gabriel said. ``Most people chose to go with
family or wait it out. It was not so cold and their homes were still warm.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There was some concern at the West Side Personal Care Home in Plymouth,
which lost power and contacted EMA to request assistance in case it needed to
evacuate residents. Power was restored and no evacuation was needed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Also, in White Haven the EMA agency there opened an emergency shelter at 5
p.m. to accommodate travelers stranded when the interstates closed, said Wayne
Gower, agency director. Gower said only a handful of people had taken refuge
in the shelter at St. Paul's Lutheran Church as of around 6:30 p.m. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dave Krisanda, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said
the interstates were closed to give plows more opportunity to clear the
roadways. ``It makes it a lot easier when there's not a lot of traffic to
compete with. We can put plows in trains - four plows in a row. We can't do
that with traffic.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Despite the problems the snow caused, emergency officials said things went
relatively smoothly, with no major crises reported. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The fact the storm hit on a holiday was a benefit because not as many
people were on the road,'' Gabriel said. ``I think it was handled well, with
all agencies working as one.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Emergency officials, called away from their families to deal with the
problems, said they were taking the day in stride. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``My wife said this morning, a little white Christmas is fine, but this is
kind of tough,'' O'Brien said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`the Fact The Storm Hit On A Holiday Was A Benefit' White Christmas With A Bang Interstates Closed; 19,000 Lose Power