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Fire rips through vacant Wilkes-Barre home

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The city has hired a contractor for the emergency cleanup of an overgrown and debris-filled section of Laurel Run Creek in Parsons.</p><p>Stell Enterprises Inc. of Plains Township started the project estimated to cost between $10,000 and $12,000 on Friday. But its heavy equipment sat idle Monday near the Govier Street walkway over the creek.</p><p>Mayor Tony George Monday said the job was not bid and no permit was required from the state Department of Environmental Protection to work in the creek bed because it&#8217;s emergency work. Stell has done similar work in Solomon Creek, he said.</p><p>DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said no permits were recently issued for debris removal.</p><p>The mayor was unsure why the work was stopped Monday and thought it could be related to the opening day of firearms deer season in the state.</p><p>&#8220;They do have an emergency service contract with the city of Wilkes-Barre,&#8221; added Butch Frati, the city&#8217;s director of operations. &#8220;We elected to use them based on their availability.&#8221;</p><p>Neighbors have been complaining about the condition of the creek bed and worried that the garbage and overgrowth of brush and trees could lead to flooding. John Magda had even considered circulating a petition to present to the mayor in order to get the work done.</p><p>Magda said he spoke to Frati in September after <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/676822/parsons-residents-want-trees-brush-cleared-from-laurel-run-creek" target="_blank">a story about the creek bed ran in the Times </a><a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/676822/parsons-residents-want-trees-brush-cleared-from-laurel-run-creek" target="_blank">Leader</a>.</p><p>&#8220;He came up the next day and looked it all over,&#8221; Magda said Monday.</p><p>The portion of the creek bed that&#8217;s been cleared revealed deterioration of the mortar between the stones at the base of the wall constructed in the 1940s, Magda said.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not worried about that right now,&#8221; Magda said.</p><p>&#8220;All I&#8217;m concerned about is they do it all the way up to MotorWorld,&#8221; he said, referring to the vehicle dealership on the other side of the Scott Street bridge.</p><p>Flash flooding in 2006 damaged homes and property and the creek walls, forcing the city to do extensive reparations to the infrastructure.</p><p>With those repairs in place, the city has been focusing attention on Solomon Creek. A section of the channel wall collapsed approximately a year ago and a temporary patch was put in place.</p><p>Fearing further collapse due to the poor condition of the Depression-era stone and concrete walls, the city has been preparing a major rebuild estimated to cost approximately $4.4 million. The project that is under design will be paid mostly with the proceeds of a bond deal. Construction is expected to begin next year. </p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Emergency cleanup work started last week in the Laurel Run Creek bed, but construction equipment sat idle Monday near Govier Street in the Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre.  </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_TTL112817Creek.jpg</photo0><caption0>Emergency cleanup work started last week in the Laurel Run Creek bed, but construction equipment sat idle Monday near Govier Street in the Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre.  </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></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>

Contractor begins emergency cleanup of debris and overgrowth in Laurel Run Creek