web1_TTL020316.daisys.jpg

Daisy Troop inducted and reaffirmed into Girl Scouts

web1_TTL020316longfoot.bdy_.jpg

Happy birthday to David Michael Longfoot!

<p>ASHLEY &#8212; Rick Tomko sat at a table rolling his own cigarettes Wednesday, talking about the fire that destroyed his home at 83 Nicholson St. in Wilkes-Barre Twp. Jan. 22.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re going to tear it down,&#8221; Rick told me, a defined sadness in his voice.</p><p>Rick&#8217;s wife, Sharon, was at work. Rick said she still doesn&#8217;t talk much about the fire. He&#8217;s waiting for her to &#8220;have a good cry&#8221; about it, admitting he&#8217;s cried a lot since that day.</p><p>Rick, 60, was on his way home from his job as a school crossing guard at Coal and Sherman streets.</p><p>He saw smoke coming from the area near his home and, as he pulled onto Prospect Street, he knew the fire was close to home.</p><p>When he turned the corner, Rick saw his and Sharon&#8217;s home of nearly 32 years engulfed in flames.</p><p>The fire fighters were already there, pouring water on the home. Rick was shocked and heartbroken.</p><p>The cause was traced to a wood burner, he said.</p><p>When Rick got out of his car, he wanted to go into the burning building to retrieve the family&#8217;s six pets: Lucky, a Golden Retriever; Chiquita, a kitten; and four cockatiels named Cream, Billy, Sue and Crazy.</p><p>Fire fighters kept Rick out of the building. The pets were not to be found.</p><p>Also gone were family photos, sentimental family items, everything Rick and Sharon had.</p><p>&#8220;All we had left were the clothes on our backs,&#8221; he said.</p><p>A loyal fan of the New York Yankees, Rick lost special items, like the 20 consecutive years of Yankees yearbooks and an autograph from pitcher Ron Guidry.</p><p>As he stood on the street watching his house burn, Rick called Sharon at her workplace in Kingston. He told her to come home. He then called his kids.</p><p>&#8220;My dad, Frank, was a township police officer,&#8221; Rick said. &#8220;His badge was in the fire. We never found it. Really, nothing was salvageable.&#8221;</p><p>On the night of the fire, after the flames were out, a fire marshal took Rick into the house.</p><p>&#8220;What I saw was total devastation,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I started to cry. That&#8217;s when I knew for certain that everything was lost.&#8221;</p><p>Rick, Sharon and three of his children returned Saturday and all went inside the house.</p><p>&#8220;It was not a good experience,&#8221; Rick said.</p><p>Rick has always lived in Wilkes-Barre Twp. He loved the neighborhood around Nicholson Street. That&#8217;s why he and Sharon are trying to buy a new place on Prospect Street.</p><p>You can help by going to gofundme.com and clicking on the site: <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/ugkvfyqk" target="_blank">Rich and Sharon Tomko For Fire</a>. So far, $1,630 has been raised.</p><p>Rick really doesn&#8217;t know what the family needs yet, pointing to a pile of clothes in the front room of his son&#8217;s house in Ashley.</p><p>&#8220;All that was donated,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We need it, too. We&#8217;ll never get back what we had.&#8221;</p><p>Rick and Sharon are taking things one day at a time.</p><p>&#8220;We can&#8217;t think about tomorrow,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Sharon holds everything in. This has been really tough on her.&#8221;</p><p>This fire was the second Rick has been through. In 1979, he and Sharon moved into a house and the next day, it was hit by fire because a gas line for a dryer hadn&#8217;t been capped after the previous tenant moved out.</p><p>Now Rick and Sharon wait for the insurance settlement. They want to buy that home on Prospect Street, just two blocks from where Rick lived as a young boy.</p><p>Once the couple gets a new place, Rick will take the wishing well from the front yard at 83 Nicholson St. and put it in the new yard.</p><p>&#8220;Sharon always wanted one,&#8221; he said of the well.</p><p>The past weeks have been stressful, he said. When the fire hit, Rick couldn&#8217;t eat or sleep for days.</p><p>&#8220;Everything was on my mind,&#8221; he said.</p><p>For the second time now, Rick and Sharon are starting over. Rick wants to thank all who have helped with donations and kind words.</p><p>&#8220;Like I said, we&#8217;re taking it one day at a time,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_tomko-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Rick Tomko and his wife, Sharon, have been staying with their children since their home was damaged by fire Jan. 22. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_tomko-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Rick Tomko and his wife, Sharon, have been staying with their children since their home was damaged by fire Jan. 22. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_tomko2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Rick Tomko talks about putting his life back together after a fire destroyed his home on Nicholson Street Jan. 22. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_tomko2-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Rick Tomko talks about putting his life back together after a fire destroyed his home on Nicholson Street Jan. 22. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Rick and Sharon Tomko lost everything in a house fire but they’re coming back, one day at a time