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3 in custody after federal raids in Freeland

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25,000 now seeking compensation in Kerr-McGee litigation

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The biggest news out of a &#8220;community meeting&#8221; at GAR Memorial High School on Monday night may have been the discovery that parts of the walls were never designed to hold up heavy limestone cladding, and that once limestone was removed to inspect the masonry underneath, it couldn&#8217;t be put back on.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre Area School District Superintendent Brian Costello mentioned the finding early in a meeting that drew about 10 people other than media and district officials. Limestone had been removed as part of exploratory work intended to check the structural soundness of construction that is not readily visible.</p><p>A tour of the school led by Costello included a brief foray onto a lower roof where work has been completed and scaffolding will soon be removed. He pointed to the caps of parapet work on the edges of roofs higher up as an example of the problem. The heavier mason caps that were removed could not be put back on, and a thinner metal capping is visible.</p><p>But Costello also pointed out the bulk of the building&#8217;s interior was solid. There is no cracking of inner brickwork, a problem that has developed at Meyers High School due to unexpected settlement of the building.</p><p>He showed off rooms equipped with laptop computers for every student, but also admitted the tables in one lab were lower than is currently recommended. Sitting at lower lab tables increases the risk of a chemical spill landing in a lap, he said.</p><p>Questions about school libraries took up a big chunk of about 45 minutes Costello devoted to discussion before the tour, and a visit to the library reflected the issue. The district has no librarians thanks to program cuts several years ago to save money, and several audience members criticized the decline in library resources and access.</p><p>Costello insisted most schools have libraries that students can access through teachers, but conceded there is no librarian. There is also no one to maintain the library stock, something that was done, in part, by students at Meyers High last year with some success, he added.</p><p>The GAR Library was carved up three years ago, with a room added as a computer lab. &#8220;We had no other place to put it,&#8221; Costello said. Another section of the library has mostly empty book shelves along one wall. That space holds desks for a classroom.</p><p>Asked during the Q&amp;A if the proposed new consolidated high school, which will house students from Meyers and Coughlin, will have a library, Costello said it will, and that statistics suggest it should have 10,000 volumes for the projected enrollment. Asked if there will be a librarian, he replied, &#8220;I&#8217;m not sure.&#8221;</p><p>The meeting was the first of three this week. Residents are welcome to attend one at Meyers on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and at Coughlin on Wednesday at the same time. But Costello promised to make the meetings a regular feature throughout the year, offering an informal setting for discussions on any topics.</p><p>&#8220;We want to extend ourselves to the community to help them understand where we are, and we want the community to express concerns,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Area School District Superintendent Brian Costello shows minor water damage to the ceiling next to the auditorium during a tour of GAR High School on Monday evening. The superintendent led a community forum with residents to &#8216;help them understand where we are.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TTL082917GARmtg_mg_2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre Area School District Superintendent Brian Costello shows minor water damage to the ceiling next to the auditorium during a tour of GAR High School on Monday evening. The superintendent led a community forum with residents to &#8216;help them understand where we are.&#8217; </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<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>

Meeting, tour of GAR show improvements, problems