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Pilgrims voyage portrayed by Montessori School students

Kingston police surround home on North Welles Avenue

<p>KINGSTON &#8212; Helen Sterner is headed to higher court on charges she set the fire that destroyed her residence on North Gates Avenue in October.</p><p>Sterner, 69, appeared before Magisterial District Judge Paul Roberts for a preliminary hearing Tuesday. Court documents indicate Sterner waived all charges against her on to higher court.</p><p>Sterner is charged with first- and second-degree felony counts of arson, third-degree felony counts of reckless burning and criminal mischief and a first-degree misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals.</p><p>Sterner was first reported missing Oct. 20 after firefighters responded at approximately 2:38 p.m. to a report of a fire at 549 N. Gates Ave. A witness reported seeing Sterner standing on the porch of the burning home with soot on her face shortly before firefighters arrived on scene.</p><p>The complaint said police found Sterner around 7 a.m. Oct. 21 wandering on East Dorrance Street near Hamilton Avenue, barefoot and wrapped in a blanket, with soot on her arms and face and the front of her hair singed.</p><p>According to the complaint, state police Fire Marshal Ronald Jarocha later determined an &#8220;ignitable liquid&#8221; had been poured and set alight in both the basement and the dining room area of Sterner&#8217;s home. A Scranton police dog, trained to detect the presence of accelerants, also detected a flammable liquid on Sterner&#8217;s shirt, the complaint said.</p><p>The complaint said when Sterner was found, she told investigators she had been in the basement at the time the fire began and saw flames in the dining room when she came upstairs. She allegedly told police she got scared and fled, later spending the night in a wooded area along Church Street.</p><p>Jarocha later told his fellow investigators he believed accelerant burning on the stairs would have made it impossible for Sterner to go upstairs without being burned, the complaint said.</p><p>Sterner is scheduled for a formal arraignment at the Luzerne County Courthouse at 9:30 a.m. March 10.</p><p>She remains jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $50,000 bail.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Sterner </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Stern.jpeg</photo0><caption0>Sterner </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Travis Kellar</p><p>tkellar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Travis Kellar at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Kingston woman accused of starting fire to her home headed to county court