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SORRY MOM & DAD: I went to school stoned

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Police: Hanover Township hit-and-run victim was struck twice

DUPONT &#8212; The borough will move forward with plans to buy the former Benjamin Franklin Kindergarten Center from the Pittston Area School District.The Walnut Street building, which sits on a 4.38-acre plot of land and features baseball fields and basketball courts, will be purchased for $290,000. The borough intends to secure a loan from PNC Bank in order to acquire the property. The United States Department of Agriculture will then pay off the PNC loan and allow the borough to pay them the $290,000 amount over the course of 40 years at a 4 percent interest rate.The USDA will also foot the bill for the costs associated with the hiring of an architect and engineer once plans for the property&#8217;s eventual usage are established.Those plans have not yet been solidified, but the variety of possible options as well as the notion of controlling the future of the property is what enticed the borough to action.The property was originally transferred to the control of the Dupont High School in 1959 and then became a part of the Pittston Area School District when the borough&#8217;s schools were consolidated into the district along with the other public schools within the Greater Pittston Area.Pittston Area ceased using the facility in 2013 which is when Dupont grew interested in acquiring the property. At that time, borough officials met with their counterparts from the Luzerne County Housing Authority regarding the possibility of converting the school into housing for senior citizens.The borough also discussed the possibility of using the building as a community center, municipal building or some combination of the two.Borough council members Stanley Knick Jr., Jeff Kaminsky, Mark Kowalczyk and Pina Hansen voted in favor of the purchase.Councilman Bernie Zielinski stated his opposition throughout the discussion, citing his beliefs that the borough cannot afford the purchase, but abstained from voting on the issue.The next regular borough council meeting will be at 7 p.m. May 12.

Dupont moves ahead with plans to buy former kindergarten