`spitfire Grill' Serves Up Wholesome Feast 
Thanks To The Times Leader, I Attended The Showing Of ``spitfire Grill'' At A 
Local Theatre.

Anna Cease 
September 10, 1996 
Anna H. Cease, 89, Of Turner Street, Plymouth, Died Tuesday At The Mercy 
Health Care Center, Sheatown, Newport Township.

By MIKE RUBINKAM; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Friday, September 13, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE -- People in the Heights section called, demanding we come to
the corner of South Grant and East Northampton streets. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 So we did. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thursday, 11 a.m. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 These people were right. This is one axle-breaking, tire-blowing,
rim-bending, alignment-ruining, shock-abusing, water-splashing pothole. It's
practically a gorge. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It stretches about 8 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 inches deep. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Most drivers avoid it. But some either don't see it or don't care and
plunge into the oblong, water-filled crevice, spraying the water several feet
in all directions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On more than one occasion, school kids have gotten an unwanted shower. So
did an elderly woman walking home from Rite Aid. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At various times, according to residents, workers have speculated the
problem was caused by an underground spring or a broken water main. The
current explanation is that a homeowner three or four houses up South Grant
Street has a leaky pipe, causing a trickle of water to run down the side of
the road and into the perilous pothole. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 People here don't care how it was caused. They just want the problem, now 6
weeks old, fixed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dale Harris says he has called the city, state, and Pennsylvania American
Water Co. almost every day about the awful abyss, only to get the royal
runaround. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I call the city and they tell me to talk to the state. I call the state
and they tell me to talk to the city. I call the city back and they tell me to
talk to the water company. I call the water company and they say, `We're
taking care of it,' " says Harris, who owns Harris Garage &amp; Muffler on the
corner of South Grant and East Northampton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thursday, 4 p.m. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 We've made some phone calls. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Joe Davis, the city's streets superintendent, can't be reached for comment.
But Harris says the city patched the pothole several times. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokeswoman Ruth Sorber says
PennDOT also patched the road, but the patches failed because the water
continued to run over it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pennsylvania American spokesman Tom Reese says it's the South Grant Street
homeowner's problem. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And to that end, the water company Thursday afternoon shuts off the
resident's water, stopping it from running down the road. It won't be turned
back on until the resident gets the problem fixed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And the pothole, once again, has been patched. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Harris is dubious. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'll be damned if that's caused by water leaking from a house," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 7:30 p.m. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ann and John understandably are upset. Their water has been shut off and
they say they can't find a plumber. They've sent the kids to grandma's house. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ann, who didn't want her last name used, is upset for another reason: She
says the woman who answered the mayor's help line late Thursday afternoon told
her potholes in that intersection have been a problem for two years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It was a problem for two years and they can't wait two more days?" Ann
asks. "I'm not disputing there's a leak but being there is a wild spring here.
Is it that spring? It's just like, give me a chance to fix it." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 She says a water company worker told her, " `We've been kind of dragging
our feet for a while and they're really on our case so we gotta do something
and do it now.' " &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stay tuned. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/BOB ESPOSITO &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Students from the Heights Elementary School, Wilkes-Barre, cross East
Northampton Street near a perilous pothole. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`pass The Pothole' Game Wears Thin 
To The Clatter Of Bouncing 
Automobiles, A Battle Rages 
About Who's Responsible For 
The Jumbo-sized Hole In An Intersection

`pass The Pothole' Game Wears Thin To The Clatter Of Bouncing Automobiles, A Battle Rages About Who's Responsible For The Jumbo-sized Hole In An Intersection