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WSCTC culinary students present samples at PSBA educational conference

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‘I knew who I was coming in:’ Paris Palmer’s long road to Penn State

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A man who set fire to the Kingston apartment building he shared with nearly a dozen others was sentenced Wednesday in Luzerne County Court to up to 30 months in county jail.</p><p>Michael Alan Killian, 26, whose last known address was the same West Union Street residence <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/576358/man-admits-to-setting-kingston-blaze-that-displaced-10-people" target="_blank">he admitted to torching at a hearing in August</a>, learned he would spend 15 to 30 months in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on an arson charge followed by two years probation.</p><p>Judge Tina Polachek Gartley ordered Killian to undergo a mental health evaluation, citing Killian&#8217;s own admissions he struggled with substance abuse. Asked at his <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/516391/man-arraigned-on-arson-charges-after-kingston-fire-which-displaced-11" target="_blank">arraignment in February whether he was a drug user</a>, Killian responded, &#8220;I sure do. I use heroin, marijuana and alcohol.&#8221; He flatly denied setting the fire.</p><p>Killian on Wednesday acknowledged abusing drugs and alcohol but said he was &#8220;trying to change his life for the better.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I was doing very well up until this incident and I take full responsibility for my actions,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I wish it never happened.&#8221;</p><p>Ten people were displaced in the fire, which engulfed 89 W. Union Street on Feb. 20. Not all tenants were home at the time, officials had said.</p><p>Killian&#8217;s girlfriend told investigators he was with her in the basement before the fire started, but said she couldn&#8217;t see what he was doing, according to a criminal complaint. When they saw smoke upstairs, the pair ran outside and Killian told her to call 911.</p><p>A panicked Killian allegedly told her, &#8220;I am getting the f&#8212;- out of here,&#8221; before taking off on foot. She said she and Killian are the only two residents with access to the basement, where a state police fire marshal later determined was the fire&#8217;s point of origin.</p><p>A canine trained in the detection of ignitable liquids gave a positive alert at the fire&#8217;s point of origin there, the complaint says</p><p>Gartley ordered Killian to pay $4,455 in restitution to the property&#8217;s owner, Richard Amy. Killian was given credit for 258 days time served.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Michael Allen Killian is escorted into Kingston Police Headquarters in August after his arraignment on charges he set a blaze on West Union Street in Kingston that displaced several people. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_KingstonArson_1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Michael Allen Killian is escorted into Kingston Police Headquarters in August after his arraignment on charges he set a blaze on West Union Street in Kingston that displaced several people. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis file photo | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Judge sentences man who torched Kingston apartment, displaced several