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Harveys Lake bridge closed to traffic starting Monday

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Harper Lee, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author, has died at 89

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212;If you visited Movies 14 in 2006, shortly after it opened in downtown Wilkes-Barre, you might have admired the big wall of windows that overlooks Northampton Street.</p><p>But if you were trying to descend the steps or step onto the down escalator as the sun was setting, you may have found yourself blinded by all the sunlight streaming in.</p><p>&#8220;It was dangerous,&#8221; Scott Parkhurst said, explaining how his business, Standard Awning, fixed the problem by coating the windows with a film that blocks light and ultraviolet radiation &#8212; while still letting people see the view.</p><p>Parkhurst&#8217;s products protect people &#8212; and their belongings &#8212; from the effects of the elements, whether it&#8217;s sun coming through a window to fade your furniture, carpeting and wood or snow piling up outside your door.</p><p>When the Business Industry Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania and Lackawanna Home Builders Association host the Northeast PA Home Showcase March 4-6 at the Mohegan Sun Hotel &amp; Convention Center, he&#8217;ll bring some samples.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re a soft-sell kind of place,&#8221; he said, standing in his office showroom on Hazle Avenue, amid an array of shades, shutters and blinds.</p><p>Pressing a button to activate a motor, he showed how a retractable cloth awning could be adjusted to cover, or uncover, the patio or deck underneath.</p><p>On a sunny day in April people will love to sit on their decks and get a bit of sun, he said. On a hotter day in July, they&#8217;re glad they can bring out the awning and enjoy temperatures &#8220;20 degrees cooler underneath.&#8221;</p><p>Parkhurst&#8217;s business also sells a lot of aluminum awnings; in fact, Standard Awning manufactures them in a large room behind the office.</p><p>Employee Josh Hodle, recently demonstrated the precise cutting power of a Hunter Douglas machine that dates back to the 1940s. After he uses that equipment to trim pieces of aluminum to the specified length, he crimps the edges with a hand-held tool and attaches them to the metal &#8220;stringers&#8221; that hold the panels together.</p><p>&#8220;The technology tends to be old-fashioned and utilitarian,&#8221; Parkhurst said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Josh Hodle of Standard Awning in Wilkes-Barre makes components for an aluminum awning. The machine he is using dates back to the 1940s. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_awnings01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Josh Hodle of Standard Awning in Wilkes-Barre makes components for an aluminum awning. The machine he is using dates back to the 1940s. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_awnings02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Rolls of different color aluminum await the next step at Standard Awning in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_awnings02.jpg</photo1><caption1>Rolls of different color aluminum await the next step at Standard Awning in Wilkes-Barre. </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_awnings03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Josh Hodle of Standard Awning in Wilkes-Barre holds a section of aluminum awning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_awnings03.jpg</photo2><caption2>Josh Hodle of Standard Awning in Wilkes-Barre holds a section of aluminum awning. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_awnings04.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Owner Scott Parkhurst shows off a window shade at Standard Awning in Wilkes-Barre. His business will be one of many represented at the Northeast PA Lifestyle Show March 5-6. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_awnings04.jpg</photo3><caption3>Owner Scott Parkhurst shows off a window shade at Standard Awning in Wilkes-Barre. His business will be one of many represented at the Northeast PA Lifestyle Show March 5-6. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_awnings05.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">All sorts of customized blinds are available at Standard Awning, where these samples are on display in the showroom. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_awnings05.jpg</photo4><caption4>All sorts of customized blinds are available at Standard Awning, where these samples are on display in the showroom. </caption4><photoCredit4>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Standard Awnings will protect you from the sun