Wyalusing Holds Lead Over Meyers, Lehman

Accused Shooter Seen As `calm' 
Barry Patrick Dillow, 25, Of Glen 
Lyon, Is Charged With Voluntary 
Manslaughter And Aggravated Assault 
In Fatal Shooting Of Glenn Morgis

By P. DOUGLAS FILAROSKI; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Friday, December 29, 1995 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE -- Phone calls bounce through voice mail mazes at nearly empty
offices; workers tramp through almost vacant hallways, and output slows to a
crawl at many plants. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The work week between Christmas and New Year's Day -- is it a work
wasteland? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kathron Compton of the Society for Human Resources Management in
Alexandria, Va., which studies such employee trends, wasn't available to
answer that question. She was off Thursday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Kathy Stokes Murray, spokeswoman for a similar group -- Employee
Benefits Research Institute in Washington, D.C. -- said there is no question
that Santa's busiest season can be a slow one for many workers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Neither the U.S. Labor Department nor any agencies Murray works with has
done any definitive studies on vacation rates during this week, she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "But if you want my opinion, this is very much a vacation week ... This
place is like a desert town," Murray said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Only five of the office's 22 employees showed up for work Thursday. "This
is one of two calls I've gotten all day," she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Michelle Coulter, a statistician with the state Department of Labor and
Industry in Harrisburg, said she believes the practice of workers taking
vacation days between Christmas and New Year's Day is growing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It does seem to be a trend," Coulter said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Coulter said she didn't know where in the office to look for statistics
that would help define it. And because certain agency employees were off this
week, she did not know who could help her. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In the Wyoming Valley, A. Rifkin Co. in Hanover Township, which
manufactures deposit bags for banks, gave most of its 150 employees the week
off with pay; Luzerne County Court did not schedule any trials this week; and
many school administrators took vacations to coincide with the student holiday
break. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rifkin apparently decided years ago to close for a week rather than
struggle with partially staffed shifts of production workers, said controller
Neil Couffer. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A spokeswoman for Techneglas Inc. in Pittston Township -- the county's
third largest employer -- said about half of its 1,800 workers took extra time
off this week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We were at about half production (for two days)," said Peggy Guffrovich, a
personnel supervisor for the television face plate maker that operates seven
days a week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Guffrovich said the company has an unusual agreement with it unionized
workers that guarantees employees the option of four days off around
Christmas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At Blue Cross HMO in Wilkes-Barre, spokesperson Marlene Hogrebe said
offices at the downtown facility had fewer workers than usual. Two of the four
people who work in her corporate communications area were on vacation
Thursday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Oh yeah, we're slow here, too" Hogrebe said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While many workers are off around the holidays, business tends to increase
for those who entertain or provide services for those on vacation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Movie theaters, video arcades, and shopping mall workers all said Thursday
that customer traffic was higher than normal for a weekday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ski areas reported crowded slopes this week as school-age skiers and their
parents took advantage of time off and plentiful snow. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's great," said a woman who answered the phone Thursday morning at
Montage Mountain Ski Resort in Moosic. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The woman said she could not give her name because the resort's policy is
to send all press inquiries through marketing director Hank Montz. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Montz was on vacation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Workers' Holidaze Growing Number Of Employees Vacationing At This Time Of Year