W-b Area Adds Probation Officer To Staff 
The Goal Is To Prevent Students On Probation From Getting Into Lives Of Crime, 
Says A County Official

Alma Sidonis 
Jan. 15, 1994 
Alma P. Sidonis, 81, Of East Spring Street, Nanticoke, Formerly Of 
Wilkes-barre, Died Saturday In Mercy Hospital, Wilkes-barre.

By CLAIRE SCHECHTER; Times Leader Business Editor
 Tuesday, January 18, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A QUICK WORDS: APPRAISER VALUES BLUE
COAL LAND AT $12.5 MILLION 





WILKES-BARRE -- After apologizing for working on the Martin Luther King Jr.
holiday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Thomas heard another day of testimony
Monday on the proposed $14.7 million sale of former Blue Coal Co. assets. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Arnold S. Tesh, a real-estate expert based in Washington, D.C., placed a
value of $12.5 million on approximately 16,000 acres scattered throughout
Luzerne County and the natural resources on the land. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The land is all that remains of the Blue Coal Co., which went bankrupt in
1976. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Earth Conservancy, an environmental research group created by U.S. Rep.
Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, has offered $14.7 million for the property.
Proceeds of the sale will repay some of Blue Coal's tax debts to local, state
and federal governments. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Saturday, Jeffrey Kern, a State College appraiser, valued the land at
$22.4 million and said it could be sold piecemeal in about five years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Also on Saturday, John Wilk, director of evaluation practices for the
Middle Atlantic states for the Arthur Andersen &amp; Co. accounting firm,
testified that Earth Conservancy's offer is fair. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tesh, who told the court he was hired by Earth Conservancy for the Blue
Coal appraisal project, estimated it will take at least 10 years to sell all
of the Blue Coal property. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 His $12.5 million value includes: $5.9 million for the land; $4.6 million
for coal deposits that will be mined under leases; $500,000 for culm and silt
deposits; $200,000 for gravel and sand; and $1.3 million for additional lands,
which will be returned to the property's owner once coal, silt and culm leases
are completed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tesh said timber on the property added no value to the Blue Coal assets. If
trees are cut and sold, he said, land values will drop. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tesh characterized Earth Conservancy's $14.7 million offer as a "very fair
offer; it exceeds market value." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thomas adjourned the hearing Monday afternoon. It will resume at 9 a.m.
Jan. 24.

Appraiser Values Blue Coal Land At $12.5 Million 
In Testimony Monday, A 
Washington, D.c., Real-estate 
Expert Said Earth Conservancy's 
Offer For The Land Is Fair And 
Exceeds Market Value

Appraiser Values Blue Coal Land At $12.5 Million In Testimony Monday, A Washington, D.c., Real-estate Expert Said Earth Conservancy's Offer For The Land Is Fair And Exceeds Market Value