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15 charged with trafficking heroin, crack cocaine, fentanyl

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Philadelphia Eagles fan gets last laugh with obituary

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; In the middle of a passionate appeal by Tracy Hughes regarding football booster club money being lost due to emergency work at Memorial Stadium, Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member Christine Katsock interrupted and noted the board would likely vote to reimburse the club.</p><p>By the end of Thursday&#8217;s special meeting, the board did just that, voting unanimously, with two members missing, to pay booster clubs for any money lost as a result of changing scheduled home games to away games while problems with access to the field are resolved. The board will pay a minimum $1,500, or the highest amount the club takes in at a home game this season, whichever is higher.</p><p>Last week, district officials said a problem was discovered in the steel hidden by masonry of a walkway that stretches over the exit usually used to bring teams onto the field next to Meyers High School. Superintendent Brian Costello said the situation was deemed unsafe, and a protective shed would be built. But that would force some home games to be moved to away games. Costello said that would impact only the first week of football season.</p><p>Hughes said the booster club makes a big part of its money on opening games, and that could not be recouped. She estimated the minimum that would have been raised at $1,500, but said it would almost certainly be more than $1,800.</p><p>The walkway, often referred to as a tunnel, stretches from the back of Meyers around the north side to Carey Avenue. For years, it has been strictly an emergency exit for students in second floor common rooms such as the cafeteria. But the stretch of walkway along the side of the building is over a driveway used to bring an ambulance onto the field for sporting events.</p><p>Last year, that part of the tunnel was deemed unsafe because of deterioration of metal beams. The lack of an ambulance on the field became an issue when a student was injured during a game and it took 10 minutes for the ambulance crew to get down steps to the field from Old River Road.</p><p>That part of the tunnel has been made safe, but the new problem was discovered earlier this month in a beam under the walkway near the 40-yard line of the field. Several audience members criticized the board for finding the problem so close to the start of the season, but Costello said the school and grounds were checked regularly and the problem didn&#8217;t appear until recently.</p><p><strong>New LCTA deal</strong></p><p>In other business:</p><p>&#8226; Board member John Quinn announced a new deal with the Luzerne County Transportation Authority for student bus passes. Previously, the district bought &#8220;hopper passes&#8221; for trips to and from schools for eligible students five days a week. The new plan will provide monthly passes at a lower per-ride rate, and students will be able to use them seven days a week to go anywhere the LCTA system covers.</p><p>Costello said the district will buy passes for about 250 eligible students, but the passes will be available at the discounted rate for all students and their family members.</p><p>&#8226; The board also approved a new policy restricting access to the sidelines during football games. Solicitor Ray Wendolowski didn&#8217;t provide a copy of the policy but said it generally restricts access to district personnel and students involved in the games as players or team managers in grades 9-12. Cheerleaders can only go on the sidelines during timeouts or other moments when the teams aren&#8217;t in play.</p><p>Wendolowski said the policy is in response to the death of a man hit by football players during a game in Scranton last year. The man, 67, died of brain injuries 10 days later.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

W-B Area to reimburse booster clubs for money lost due to stadium fixes