Dec. 19, 1992, Philharmonic Review 
4b 
`s 
Leigh Ride' Was So Well-liked, With Its Sleigh Bells, Simulated Horse Clomps 
And Neighing Trumpets, That Keelan Played It For An Encore.

Ida Alapeck 
Dec. 12, 1992 
Ida A. Alapeck, 67, Of Johnson City, N.y., Formerly Of Luzerne, Died Dec. 12, 
At Wilson Hospital, Johnson City, N.y.

Sunday, December 20, 1992 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B/8B QUICK WORDS: JAYNE'S BEND 





******** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/DON CAREY &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hoping the Bend doesn't Break -- Jim Gillard, Sally Willoughby, Jim
Charters and Marilyn Robinson of the Jayne's Bend Task Force are trying to
keep a gravel company from mining rock in the area that has been listed as an
historical site******** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By GINA THACKARA &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Times Leader Staff Writer &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thousands of years ago, Indian tribes hunted, fished and held war councils
on Jayne's Bend, a majestic curve along the Susquehanna River near Route 6 in
Wyoming County. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Today's Jayne's Bend residents also hunt, fish, and from time to time, find
evidence of the prehistoric Indian civilization that lived along the river as
long as 15,000 years ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Now a small group of area residents, under the leadership of environmental
group RESCUE Wyoming, has begun a battle in the state's legal system to
protect their land and the archaeology underneath it from strip miners in
search of sand and gravel. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The site in Mehoopany Township is the William Earnshaw farm, under a
50-year lease to Wyoming Sand and Stone Co., which holds a permit from the
state Department of Environmental Resources (DER) to mine the rich sand and
gravel deposits left by prehistoric glaciers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's an extremely complicated issue. In fact, there are several issues
going on here," said RESCUE chairwoman Sally Willoughby. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The archaeology is the glamorous part, but by no means the least
important. But we're also looking at air quality, water quality, and the
safety of the people living here. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Residents are concerned about noise, dust and increased traffic from a
gravel operation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Although DER approved the gravel company's permit in October 1991 no mining
has begun because RESCUE Wyoming immediately appealed the decision. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Eyre Price, president of Wyoming Sand and Stone Co., said the 80-year old
company has always tried to get along with people living near its gravel
mining operations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We couldn't remain in business for very long if we didn't comply with the
state and federal regulations," Price said. "We've been very careful to follow
the guidelines set out in the DER permit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "As for those Indian artifacts," Price said, ~~"we're required to conduct a
Phase I study to determine whether there is anything of value under the
ground. If there is, then we'll have to go to a Phase II study of random
samples over about 10 acres." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wyoming Sand has hired Kristen Beckman, an archaeologist from Monroeville,
to conduct the archaeological surveys in the spring. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "If there is anything significant in these fields, we will definitely do a
study," Beckman said. "But it will probably only enhance what we already know
about the Indians who lived here. Unless there is something unusual, we can
simply conduct our normal studies, then let Wyoming Sand get down to
business." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Beckman said she believes the Indian settlements were located on the lower
tiers near the river, while the fields earmarked for the mining operation are
farther from the river and not likely to contain evidence of earlier life. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Resident Jim Gillard said he is especially concerned about Indian burial
sites that might be destroyed by the gravel operation. During the last several
years, he has contacted government officials and Indian groups nationwide in
an effort to save the archaeological treasures on Jayne's Bend. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "What bothers me is that someone wants to make a profit from digging up the
sacred ground where people buried their dead. It goes against all human
decency," Gillard said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The farm was the campground for Paleo Indians, who roamed Northeastern
Pennsylvania thousands of years before Christ, according to the Frances
Dorrance Chapter of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA). The Paleo
tribes were forerunners of the Delaware Indians. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 SPA Chapter President Dawn Griffiths-Connelly said a ground surface
inspection of the property turned up flint chips, fire-cracked rock and
fishing net weights from the prehistoric era. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We've found projectile points," she said. "They were attached to spears
and knives at a time when Indians hadn't even discovered how to use a bow and
arrow." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Griffiths-Connelly said there have been finds from more contemporary Indian
civilizations on Jayne's Bend, including arrow heads and pottery. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Six historic sites covering 10 acres on the bend have been registered with
the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The bend seems to be an excellent site, but based on other sites of this
type, we feel there is only so much to be learned there," said Kurt Karr, the
commission's chief archaeologist. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After Phase I and II studies are completed, he said further studies may be
called for on Jayne's Bend. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "But even when we excavate to get significant material from an area, we
only work on about 20 to 30 percent of it. The rest is redundant," Karr said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After the studies are completed, the gravel company will be free to
excavate. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I believe there are prehistoric sites all over the bend -- one smack-dab
in the middle of the proposed gravel mining operation area,"
Griffiths-Connelly said. "And it stands to reason that where people settled
and lived, they also died. So there are undoubtedly burial sites on the bend
as well." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Griffiths-Connelly said although the DER requires all work to be stopped on
a project if human remains are discovered, it is generally up to the worker to
stop when he finds remains. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It will be a real choice for some bulldozer driver who sees a skull to
stop work, especially if his pay, supporting his family, depends on whether he
has work or not," she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Griffiths-Connelly said the unfortunate fact of nature is that the areas
richest in gravel are also where some of the earliest civilizations lived in
the state. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The glaciers did all the work, created the rivers and deposited the
gravel. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And people have always settled along rivers," Griffiths-Connelly sa id . &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Concerns of affect on lifestyles &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 RESCUE also is concerned about the affect of dust, machinery noise and
gravel trucks on residents in the dozens of houses and vacation cottages along
the bend. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In spite of the promises made by Wyoming Sand, the Jayne's Bend Task Force
members of RESCUE continue to address potential problems from the mining
operation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There are already problems in some of the wells, especially along the
river," Willoughby said. "Jim Charters has nitrates in his well water because
of Procter &amp; Gamble sludge Earnshaw spread on his fields." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gillard, who moved to Wyoming County in 1989 after retiring, stands to have
a gravel crusher outside his front door, Willoughby said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Although DER regulations demand the mining be conducted no closer than 300
feet from any residence, and Wyoming Sand promises to plant a tree barrier,
Gillard fears the noise and dust of the operation will ruin his home. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Price said the equipment is designed to prevent noise and dust. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "All of the crusher grates are rubber-coated, we transport the materials on
rubber conveyors and the conveyor from the mine site to the crusher buildings
will be built under the road so we don't interfere with area traffic," he
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Price also said water from the Susquehanna River will be used for the
self-contained gravel-washing system. No chemicals will be used. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We'll construct earth berms around the perimeter, so the people around
here won't even see what's going on," Price said. "And we'll reclaim the land
as we go. These people will actually have a better landscape after we're
finished." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In addition, the country road connecting Route 6 with the proposed mining
operation will have to be improved to handle daily traffic from the estimated
100 semi and tri-axle trucks used to transport the gravel to buyers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The company president said gravel will be mined on 10 to 44 acres of land
at a time. The permitted 289 acres of the Earnshaw property will be mined
during the next 30 years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 RESCUE's appeal is before the Environmental Appeals Board, a branch of the
judicial system established to handle appeals on DER decisions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Keith Laslow, DER official at the Bureau of Mining in charge of the Jayne's
Bend project, said every permit issued by the agency has special conditions
attached to emphasize specific laws pertaining to the site. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "In a gray area where watersheds, wetlands, pristine streams or historical
remains are involved for example, we take an especially hard look at the
situation," Laslow said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "In the case of Jayne's Bend, the historical and museum commission also got
to look at the permit and apply their own conditions." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Willoughby is unconvinced. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Even if Wyoming Sand obeys every letter of the law, the people here still
end up with dust, noise, unsafe water and gravel trucks rolling through our
neighborhood," Willoughby said. "All that is left of the Paleo Indians is
their archaeology. We would like to preserve what is left of them."

******** 
Times Leader/don Carey 
Hoping The Bend Doesn't Break -- Jim Gillard, Sally Willoughby, Jim Charters 
And Marilyn Robinson Of The Jayne's Bend Task Force Are Trying To Keep A 
Gravel Company From Mining Rock In The Area That Has Been Listed As An 
Historical Site.

******** Times Leader/don Carey Hoping The Bend Doesn't Break -- Jim Gillard, Sally Willoughby, Jim Charters And Marilyn Robinson Of The Jayne's Bend Task Force Are Trying To Keep A Gravel Company From Mining Rock In The Area That Has Been Listed As An Historical Site.