Woman Struck By Car Gets Injury Award

1997 Book Of Dreams Recipient Hopes To Fulfill Another's `dream' In '98 
My Children And I Were Recipients Of Gifts This Year, And I Want To Send My 
Heartfelt Thanks To Chris Ritchie And Everyone Associated With The Book Of 
Dreams.

Thursday, January 22, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





Editor's note: Any church officials out there want to respond? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You know what, I wish somebody could look into the Cleveland Street in the
Irishtown section of Plains. For 20 years the taxpayers have been going to the
meetings and they can't get no work done. It's a rotten shame. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I would like people to know what's going on with the pawn shops. My
14-year-old grandson, his 15-year-old friend and his friend's 20-year-old
brother, without us knowing it, my grandson removed his PlayStation and all
the games, over $500 worth of electronic equipment, took it to the pawn shop,
and the pawn shop allowed a 20-year-old, who is no relation to my grandson, no
legal guardian, he was allowed to sign permission for my grandson to pawn that
stuff. He got $125 for over $500 worth of equipment, which was supposed to be
used for drugs. My son went to detectives and they said there is nothing they
could do about it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mayor McGroarty, this is the second winter in a row your streets are in
deplorable condition after a snowstorm. Before you took office, Wilkes-Barre
streets after a snowstorm were salted and plowed second to none. Most of the
workers who do the salting and plowing are still working for the city and have
many years of experience at salting and plowing. I can only assume that you
are now in charge of the salting and plowing operation, and I'm sure it's the
reason these services have drastically gone down hill. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jean LaCoe's article on the dress code seemed very one-sided. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I'd like some information either from The Times Leader news or the SAYSO
about federal Blue Cross and Blue Shield. I'm not covered. I'm an ex-federal
worker on disability and I'm not covered. Primarily, I'm covered by Medicare
but my secondary is federal Blue Cross and Blue Shield and two out of three
hospitals in Wyoming Valley will not accept federal Blue Cross and Blue
Shield; that happens to be Penn State Geisinger, Plains Township, and General
Hospital. The only one is Mercy Hospital. I don't understand what the problem
is. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Editor's note: In a Dec. 24 story, The Times Leader reported that Wyoming
Valley Health Care is no longer on the 1998 preferred provider list for Blue
Cross and Blue Shield federal plans in Pennsylvania. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That doesn't mean Blue Cross subscribers can't use the hospital- but you'll
have to pay more if you are not also covered by Medicare. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The change affects about 1,900 Blue Cross subscribers in the Luzerne County
area. In the county, only Mercy Hospital and the Department of Veterans
Affairs Medical Center are preferred provider hospitals. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It does not affect subscribers of other Blue Cross plans and the First
Priority Health Plan. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The charges to use a hospital not on the preferred provider list include a
$250 per admission deductible for each hospitalization and a $100 per day
co-payment for outpatient surgery and other outpatient services. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Being new to the area I want to commend this paper on what a great job they
do on the sports area. Local coverage is just superior. The only problem I
have is that you cover the men's top 20 basketball teams, but you don't tend
to cover the women's top 25 basketball teams. I'd love to see coverage of the
women's college basketball teams. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Editor's note: Our eyes, ears and minds are open on this one. We'd like to
know how other readers feel about this subject. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I had to laugh today when I saw the recipe from the Wyoming Valley Health
Care System's "Healthy Kitchen." Four pounds of meat. 17 grams of fat per
serving. 114 milligrams of cholesterol per serving. 484 milligrams of sodium
per serving. 309 calories per serving. And that's just for the meat loaf.
Thank God I'm a vegetarian and don't depend on the medical industry for my
advice and well-being. Thanks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Editor's note: We hear you, though we must say that man does not live by
tofu alone. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I've read in the paper about Wil Toole from Pittston, hiring a lawyer from
Scranton, now Peter Paul Olszewski hired a lawyer from Philadelphia. What's
the matter, isn't there any good lawyers in Luzerne County? That's all I want
to know. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I'm reading your SAYSO column on Jan. 16, and I just can't believe my eyes
that I see that the city of Wilkes-Barre hired a director of nursing for
$40,000 a year. If this is true, this man is out of hand. He's totally out of
hand. He's creating jobs out of the wazoo. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ron Felton and the local NAACP continue in hot pursuit of the trivial,
while black crimes and black victims are ignored. Anything that can't be
reduced to the issue of race goes unnoticed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I think President Clinton should be spending his time talking to Saddam
Hussein about what's going on with the Iraq inspections and the situation in
Bosnia, not worried about Paula Jones. Let's do something important. He's
representing our country. I couldn't care less about personal stuff. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I can't see bringing a dope treatment center to Luzerne County. If these
people want to be on dope, I think we should be spending our money out there
getting the people who are distributing this stuff, put the effort in that
end, don't look for a treatment. Nip it in the bud before people get on this.
This is ridiculous. These people will never get off heroin. Let's get some
punishment that fits the crime. Quit slapping people on the wrist for
delivering this type of a dope. Put them in prison or send them to some
foreign country or something. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Editor's note: Interesting. Just round `em up and ship them out, eh? Isn't
that what Castro did? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I think it's a downright shame that taxpayers have to pay to rehabilitate
druggies, and then they not only do that, but turn around and give them their
disability checks to buy more dope. So where are we headed? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I think this whole thing about Paula Jones and Clinton is pure disgust. Why
didn't she sue him years back when he was governor? Why did she wait until
he's president? More money or political thing? I hope she walks away with
nothing. And let's face it, when a man invites you up to his room, he didn't
invite you up to play cards or watch TV. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If the county is currently paying, partially paying, or reimbursing people
for travel to Allentown or Bethlehem to a methadone clinic, I believe that
they should be printed in the paper and how much is spent to send them to that
methadone treatment clinic. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You know when Senator Packwood kissed a woman, it was the biggest story of
the century and the media made sure the people thought that. When Clarence
Thomas supposedly made a lewd comment to Anita Hill, it was the story, covered
everywhere. Millions of dollars were spent on an investigation; nothing was
found out. When President Bill Clinton is accused of sexual harassment, the
media reports, that "Oh, well the public just isn't interested, so we're not
going to give it that much coverage." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I'm tired of reading in the front of your newspaper about drugs, etc. I
wish you could think of something better to write in the paper than on the
front of the page ab

Sayso 
I'd Like To Know If Any Of The Parishes In This Area Have A Committee Composed 
Of Parishioners To Approve Major Expenditures, Or If The Pastors Just Have The 
Right To Spend As Much As They Want On Any Project That They See Fit?

Sayso I'd Like To Know If Any Of The Parishes In This Area Have A Committee Composed Of Parishioners To Approve Major Expenditures, Or If The Pastors Just Have The Right To Spend As Much As They Want On Any Project That They See Fit?