Zebulon Robbins Sr.

Anthony Scott 
Jan. 16, 1994 
Anthony C. Scott, Of Floral Park, N.y., Died Jan. 16 In New York.

By JENNIFER LEARN; Times Leader Hazleton Bureau
 Sunday, January 30, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1 &amp; 10A QUICK WORDS: FIRM TO FIX BLAME
FOR HIGH SCHOOL PROBLEMS 





HAZLETON -- Students, teachers and school officials are becoming
increasingly frustrated by building problems at the 18-month-old Hazleton Area
High School. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Locker doors break off or won't open. Some rooms are chilly. Classes were
canceled Friday and Monday to allow crews to repair a buckled roof, the second
buckling this month. Repairs and further roof examinations could cancel
Tuesday classes as well. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Several sections of the roof have sprung leaks, damaging the interior of
the building. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 School officials say they believe the $23.7 million building is safe for
students. Even alternate fire-escape routes have been laid out so, in an
emergency, students would use doors that operate correctly. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But, "Things keep going wrong. Everybody wonders what will happen next,"
said junior LeeAnn Knecht of Hazleton. "The building is falling apart and it's
not even two years old." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The growing list of building problems at the school has become a hot topic
of conversation among the roughly 2,000 students in grades 10 to 12 at the
high school, Knecht said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I think this place should have been built better in the first place," said
junior Mike Racho of Sugarloaf. Like many students, Racho is annoyed he'll
have to make up at least two days in June as a result of the building
problems. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's the inconveniences to students and teachers that really bother me,"
said school board member Francis Scarcella. "For $23 million, we shouldn't
have any inconveniences here." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Many window shades won't budge. Floor tiles squash under foot. Classroom
bells go off for no reason. The microphones in the auditorium rarely work.
Many entrance doors don't open. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A problem with bleachers in the gym is cutting into the basketball players'
practice time, said district athletic director Chris Perry. Only half the gym
can be used because the bleachers won't fold up. This has happened three times
since the building opened in September 1992. Repairmen have come to work on
the bleachers twice before. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The junior varsity boys' and girls' teams are getting little practice time
on the court because the varsity boys' and girls' basketball teams get
priority court practice, Perry said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Also, basketball players can only practice one hour after school on
Wednesday because wrestlers use the half-gym for meets. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's tough to shoot foul shots because we only have two baskets. It's
frustrating and it is affecting our athletic program," Perry said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Some students will probably be switched to different classrooms down the
road while repairs are made, said assistant buildings and grounds
superintendent Joseph Cortese. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Cortese got a scare last March when water started to leak into an
electrical supply room. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I couldn't believe it. We were afraid somebody would get hurt," Cortese
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Since then, Cortese has alerted his workers to be cautious when entering
the room so that nobody will be electrocuted. Students are barred from the
area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Root of the problem &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 This month the school board hired San Francisco-based O'Brien-Kreitzberg
and Associates, the largest construction management/claims firm in the
country, to determine who is responsible for each problem. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The firm, which has an office in Pittsburgh, will announce its findings at
the next school board meeting on Feb. 17, said Dan Youngman, site construction
manager for O'Brien-Kreitzberg. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Youngman said blame for the deficiencies could fall on the following
parties: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The general contractor, Lambert and Intreri Inc. of Mechanicsburg, or its
subcontractors, for shoddy or incomplete work or deviating from the building
specifications. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The building designer, Allentown architect Robert Bosak, if problems stem
from faulty design. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Faulty equipment, such as door handles, locks and the school bell system,
which are covered under warranties. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The school district, if its workers did not follow maintenance
instructions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Before pointing fingers, Youngman will analyze the construction plans,
drawings and specifications, school board meeting minutes related to the
building and contracts between involved parties. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bosak thinks most of the problems will be blamed on Lambert and Intreri. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The contractor refuses to comment or respond to complaints from school
officials. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's been a constant battle to have all of these items addressed and
completed," Cortese said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lambert and Intreri is supposed to meet with the Pennsylvania Public School
Building Authority, an independent agency that financed the building, sometime
next month in Harrisburg. A date has not been confirmed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The district is involving the building authority because it financed,
supervised the construction and made the final inspection of the school, said
Donald Boyer, district business manager and secretary. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The authority, located in Harrisburg, has pushed Lambert and Intreri to
correct the problems from the beginning, said authority assistant executive
director Robert Baccon. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Although the school was opened and dedicated, Baccon said the building
project won't technically be finalized until the problems raised during the
final inspection in August 1992 are corrected. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Money matters &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The authority is withholding $50,000 of Lambert and Intreri's $13 million
contract until the problems are fixed, Baccon said. The authority may
eventually have to take legal action if the firm doesn't cooperate, Baccon
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bosak has agreed to pay for any problems stemming from the building design. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The district has already had to pay for some of the problems. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For example, maintenance workers are often tied up with problems at the
school when they are needed at other district buildings, Cortese said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Cortese recently received a $1,400 bill for a repair of the bleachers last
year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 This week State Rep. Thomas Stish (D-Hazleton) wrote a letter to the
authority pushing them to speed up their pressure on Lambert and Intreri. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "If taxpayers' money has not been used properly, someone will pay, and it
won't be the taxpayer, I'll tell you that," said Stish, who is the brother of
Hazleton Area Superintendent Geraldine Shepperson. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Like the students, taxpayers are fuming over the problems. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We spent enough on that school already. Tax dollars should not be spent to
fix these problems," said Hazleton resident Martha Foderaro, secretary of the
Hazleton Taxpayers' Association. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The building should have never been a dedicated building until things that
were wrong were fixed," Foderaro said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/PETE G. WILCOX &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hazleton Area School Board member Francis Scarcella, left, and assistant
buildings and grounds superintendent Joseph Cortese show where a tile is loose
in the spectator stands of the Hazleton Area High School's swimming pool.

Firm To Fix 
Blame For 
High School 
Problems 
Students At Hazleton 
Area High School Wonder What Will Go Wrong Next. Taxpayers Wonder Who 
Will Pick Up The Tab

Firm To Fix Blame For High School Problems Students At Hazleton Area High School Wonder What Will Go Wrong Next. Taxpayers Wonder Who Will Pick Up The Tab