Woman Accused In Endangerment Case Keeps Job

Archery Contest Hits The Spot 
Show Director Tom Austin Unabashedly Calls It The Largest Indoor 3-d Archery 
Contest On Earth.

By BONNIE ADAMS; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Saturday, January 25, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 2A 





WILKES-BARRE -- Some new riders are boarding local buses to deter crime and
possibly help the city gain federal money for a downtown transportation
center. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The city on Friday announced a cooperative effort with the Luzerne County
Transit Authority for police and narcotics dogs to periodically ride buses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mayor Tom McGroarty said the city is applying for a federal grant to fund
parking and a downtown passenger center to provide one location for buses,
taxis and other forms of transportation, perhaps at a city-owned parking
garage. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The grant is from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick said
the funds are a way of appropriating federal money to states for highways and
mass transit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Using police on buses is not required for the money, McGroarty said, but
the crime prevention effort could help the city's cause. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "They want to know if you have safe mass transit," McGroarty said of
federal officials. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The city's reply is to use canine unit dogs and uniformed and plain clothes
police officers on city bus routes at no extra cost to the city, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McGroarty said the practice will continue even if the city gets the grant. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 LCTA officials attended Friday morning's press conference on Public Square. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Asked about crime on local buses, Harold Edwards, LCTA executive director,
said, "By no means do we have a problem here as exists in big cities." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Following the announcement, Patrolman Harold Sereyka, 29, and his sidekick
Buck sat in the back of a bus to Miners Mills. Even so, they attracted
attention. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The officer said Buck has experienced most types of transportation but this
was his first bus ride. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/RICHARD SABATURA &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes-Barre Patrolman Harold Sereyka, 29, left, takes Buck, a German
shepherd dog, for their first bus ride together Friday morning on the Miners
Mills route. Passenger Rob Marcinkiewicz, 16, of Miners Mills says he often
rides the bus. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

City Hopes Dogs On Buses Will Take Bite Out Of Crime Use Of Police And Narcotics Dogs On Lcta Buses Could Help Procure Federal Money