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Beyond the Byline: Great costumes, lots of fun at Victory Sports Halloween Dance

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Tax auctioning of Duryea site postponed due to environmental issues

<p>KINGSTON &#8212; It may not look like much now but the 54,000 square foot Friedman Jewish Community Center will soon be multi-purpose recreation and gathering place for Luzerne County.</p><p>&#8220;This is going to be a facility open to everyone, Jewish or not,&#8221; said Barbara Bell, president of the Jewish Community Center. &#8220;We are going to have great programs and I really hope people will take advantage of them.&#8221;</p><p>Officials led guests and a reporter on a walk-through of the $13.5 million Third Avenue construction site on Tuesday.</p><p>&#8220;We still have a few million dollars to raise,&#8221; said Bell, noting that the JCC acquired funds for the new project through state grants as well as donations from benefactors.</p><p>&#8220;But we are still getting more donations, waiting to hear back on a few grants and are constantly doing fundraisers,&#8221; she added.</p><p>The new center will house the Weinberg Food Pantry, administrative offices for the JCC, a gymnasium, two kitchens, multi-purpose rooms including an auditorium/ dining hall , and a state-of-the-art Early Childhood Education program.</p><p>&#8220;The concept of the new building was to be very versatile and have many purposes,&#8221; Bell explained. &#8220;When ideas and concepts for the building came up we had to take into consideration all members of the Jewish community so we could make the proper accommodations.&#8221;</p><p>Bell believes the Early Childhood Education program is expected to handle anywhere between 60 to 65 children and will create revenue for the center.</p><p>The new location has also cordoned off 13,000 square feet to lease to commercial businesses or offices.</p><p>The new community center is being built at a former Price Chopper supermarket site.</p><p>&#8220;The frame was already intact,&#8221; project manager Robert Becker said. &#8220;The only new structure we had to build was the gymnasium.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;All said and done we expect to be partially open in late January or early February 2019,&#8221; Becker added. &#8220;We expect the gymnasium to be completed in July 2019.&#8221;</p><p>While the hours of operation have yet to be determined, Bell noted that the new facility will have longer hours than the JCC located at 60 River St., Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Bell also said she has started to plan events, dinners and guest speakers throughout the year when the center opens for full operations.</p><p>&#8220;I am getting very excited,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Many people in the community are getting excited. I just want everyone to have an opportunity to participate in the wide-range of events, activities and aspects of the new center.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bob Becker, project manager for the new Jewish Community Center under construction in Kingston, points out freatures of the gymnasium area. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_jcc4_faa-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bob Becker, project manager for the new Jewish Community Center under construction in Kingston, points out freatures of the gymnasium area. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader  </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_jcc1_faa-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Joe Mitchneck, a member of the Jewish Community Center board and Temple Israel board president, tours the new center under construction in Kingston. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_jcc1_faa-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Joe Mitchneck, a member of the Jewish Community Center board and Temple Israel board president, tours the new center under construction in Kingston. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader  </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dan Stokes</p><p>dstokes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes</p></shirttailMeta></div>

JCC previews new Kingston center, due to open in 2019