Wilkes-barre Woman Gets Probation In Soda, Insurance Scam

Angela Farris 
Jan. 1, 1996 
Mrs. Angela M. Farris, 65, Of Slocum Street, Forty Fort, Died Monday At 
Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Plains Township.

Thursday, January 04, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





Don't let toll booths sponge quarters from drivers on I-80 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Jan. 2 in The Times Leader, I read another one of those tentative
trial-balloon reports about the tolling of Interstate 80In my book, tolling is
double taxation without accountability. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Another politician -- this time, state Rep. Rick Geist, R-Altoona --
obviously suffers from the French nobility madness of the 17th century:
"There's no bread, let them eat cake." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He calls I-80 a $60 million sponge, as though the maintenance money were
coming out of his own pocket. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 No, Mr. Geist and Gov. Ridge, I-80 is not a sponge. It's our highway, and
we gladly pay for it because it is something tangible We the People can say
we're getting in return for our tax dollars. And it's useful in more ways than
you can comprehend. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Years ago, the people of Pennsylvania saw fit to build this highway. As a
result, commerce, housing, tourism, hunting and a multitude of other blessings
increased. Imagine the traffic jams and pollution that would be happening
today if the road hadn't been built. Imagine the increase in accidents on
secondary roads. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mr. Geist, come down to the tri-county area (where I live) on a weekend or
an inclement day, and tell us where all this traffic would go were it not for
I-80 -- "the sponge," as you call it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If you need more money, then find legitimate ways to make it, such as
attracting small businesses and big companies to your area. Do something about
the corruption in workmen's compensation, and the meager capital incentives
for business to stay in your area as well as ours. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Don't tell us and your self-serving colleagues that I-80 is a burden, when
what you mean is that it's another vehicle for you to tax an already overtaxed
area of this country. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If you still think it's a burden, then do what the federal government does:
Close the highway down. If something is a sponge, the solution is not to make
others pay for it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Find some other way to fill your pork barrel. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The same tax dollars that support I-80, "the sponge," also pay for your
salary, benefits, perks and other bells and whistles. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Think about that, Mr. Geist, the next time you're identifying sponges while
cashing your paycheck. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thanks to politicians such as yourself, if there were such a thing as
rolling in a grave, our forefathers would be spinning around like jet
turbines. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ted Caripides &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thornhurst &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Don't Let Toll Booths Sponge Quarters From Drivers On I-80 
On Jan. 2 In The Times Leader, I Read Another One Of Those Tentative 
Trial-balloon Reports About The Tolling Of Interstate 80.

Don't Let Toll Booths Sponge Quarters From Drivers On I-80 On Jan. 2 In The Times Leader, I Read Another One Of Those Tentative Trial-balloon Reports About The Tolling Of Interstate 80.