Pittston City Council approves 90-day parking restrictions on Fear Street

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Our Opinion: Kathleen Kane’s exit as Pennsylvania attorney general overdue

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The operators of a house for recovering female addicts sought permission from the city to open months after they did just that in a property at 61 Carey Ave.</p><p>Since late last year, the Graniteville House of Recovery has been accepting women who&#8217;ve completed treatment programs and need a job, a place to stay and additional support, said its director, Tee Simpkins.</p><p>&#8220;We are trying actually to bring something to Wilkes-Barre that will benefit Wilkes-Barre,&#8221; Simpkins said.</p><p>Simpkins, along with co-director Janeen Samad, provided the Wilkes-Barre Zoning Hearing Board with details of the nonprofit operation and sought a variance to house 12 women in a communal dwelling.</p><p>Simpkins told the board she is a recovering alcoholic and former flight attendant for American Airlines. The 15-room house with four bathrooms had been &#8220;a shooting gallery&#8221; where people injected drugs and has since been cleaned up, she said.</p><p>It has around the clock staffing and the women ranging in age from 18 to 63 undergo random drug testing, she added. There is no time limit on the length of stay, Simpkins said.</p><p>The house has a meditation and exercise rooms, the women can participate in wellness programs and the staff assists the women to find work, Simpkins said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a mind, body, spirit program,&#8221; she said.</p><p>The 11 people there already exceeds the limit for a communal dwelling unit set by the city&#8217;s zoning ordinance, said board Solicitor Charles McCormick.</p><p>&#8220;You&#8217;re allowed to have four. You&#8217;re asking for 12. That&#8217;s a lot of people in one building,&#8221; McCormick said.</p><p>He questioned if the house can operate with fewer than 12 women but more than four and whether Simpkins and Samad could modify the number they need to be self sustaining. Should the board approve the variance for 12, that condition stays with the property even if the house closes, McCormick explained.</p><p>The board did not make any attempt to shut down the house and instead tabled Graniteville&#8217;s request for a variance until the March 16 public meeting at City Hall.</p><div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Operators of WB home seeking zoning variance</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

House for women in recovery up and running in Wilkes-Barre without zoning board approval