T he T imes L eader CMYK WILKES-BARRE, PA SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 $1.50 6 0 9 8 1 5 1 0 0 7 7 timesleader.com COLLEGE FOOTBALL: KING’S 55, MISERICORDIA 17 INSIDE A NEWS Local News 3A Nation/World 5A Obituaries 10A, 11A B PEOPLE Birthdays 9B C SPORTS Outdoors 12C Weather 14C D BUSINESS Stocks 3D E VIEWS Editorials 3E F ETC. Puzzles 2-3F G CLASSIFIED Lions win PSU continues run vs. Owls. Story, 1C Ramen Noodles are all the rage at the Luzerne County Prison, over- coming Tastykakes’ long reign as the most popular commissary item, offi- cials say. The noodles are so in-demand, pris- oners are limited to 25 packs per week so they don’t gain the power of strong-arming other inmates who have them, officials said. The prison obtained bids for 2,460 cases of both chicken and beef and 3,900 of the chili variety, at $4.80 per case. That’s 211,680 Ramen packets because 24 are in each case. “We’ve been going through 300 cases a week,” said prison commis- sary clerk Robert Ruckle. Commissary purchases help tax- payers because profits buy inmate services and supplies that would otherwise be funded by the coun- In county prison, everybody loves Ramen Noodles now jailhouse’s favorite snack By JENNIFER LEARN-ANDES [email protected]See NOODLES, Page 6A HUGHESTOWN – The wid- ow of the borough’s longtime police chief has been receiving unauthorized pension benefits for the past nine years, but bor- ough officials say they are powerless to stop the pay- ments. Delores De- Lucia, widow of George De- Lucia, has been paid roughly $61,000 since 2003 de- spite repeated findings by the state Auditor General’s Office that the payments were not au- thorized. Council’s failure to heed the auditor’s warnings ended up costing taxpayers an additional $25,616 – the amount the bor- ough was forced to pay back this year to reimburse the state for excess contributions it made to the pension fund based on the DeLucia payments. The borough has since stop- ped paying the benefit from its pension fund, and is now taking the money from the general fund, Mayor Paul Hindmarsh said. It was forced to do so because Pension to widow paid, not approved Wife of longtime Hughestown police chief getting benefits for 9 years. Borough helpless. See PENSION, Page 9A George DeLucia By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER [email protected]WILKES-BARRE – Gunfire in two Wyoming Valley communities that left 13 people dead three decades ago still remains a vivid memory to the officers who responded to Penn- sylvania’s largest mass killing. George Banks shot and killed 13 people on Sept. 25, 1982 -- several of them his own children and their mothers – in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township. “The fact is, (Banks) is still the most prolific single-day killer in the history of Pennsylvania,” said former Luzerne County District Attorney Robert Gillespie, who prosecuted Banks. THE GEORGE BANKS MURDERS: 30 years ago this week a former jail guard killed 13 local people in a day that remains… Etched in blood TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO Ten hours after he began a shooting rampage leaving13 dead in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township and after standoff at a house in the city, Ge- orge Emil Banks surrendered to police and was taken into custody. TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO Police take cover during the siege at Monroe Street in Wilkes-Barre. By SHEENA DELAZIO [email protected]See BANKS, Page 14A EDITOR’S NOTE: First of two-part series on the George Banks case INSIDE: A timeline of Sept. 25, 1982. 13A A look at the Banks case over the years. 14A WASHINGTON — A frustrated Congress quit Washington on Sat- urday with at least one hope — that the stark choice in the election ahead will give lawmakers clarity about what Americans want from their government. They desperately need some di- rection. Lawmakers will return in about seven weeks and face a crowded list of must-do items, topped by avoid- ing what’s become known as the fis- cal cliff: the combination of expir- ing George W. Bush-era tax cuts and automatic spending cuts that could drive the country back into recession. Two years of rancor and a divid- ed government resulted in one of the least productive Congresses in history. President Barack Obama piled on in his weekly radio Congress looks for directions Upcoming elections could give signals to body, which will then reconvene. See CONGRESS, Page 9A By DONNA CASSATA Associated Press User: rsheposh Time: 09-22-2012 22:46 Product: Times_Leader PubDate: 09-23-2012 Zone: Main Edition: Main_Run PageName: news_f PageNo: 1A Color: C M Y K
Ramen Noodles are all the rage atthe Luzerne County Prison, over-coming Tastykakes’ long reign as themost popular commissary item, offi-cials say.The noodles are so in-demand, pris-
oners are limited to 25 packs perweek so they don’t gain the power ofstrong-arming other inmates whohave them, officials said.The prison obtained bids for 2,460
cases of both chicken and beef and3,900 of the chili variety, at $4.80 percase.
That’s 211,680 Ramen packetsbecause 24 are in each case.“We’ve been going through 300
cases a week,” said prison commis-sary clerk Robert Ruckle.Commissary purchases help tax-
payers because profits buy inmateservices and supplies that wouldotherwise be funded by the coun-
In county prison, everybody loves RamenNoodles now jailhouse’s favorite snackBy JENNIFER [email protected]
See NOODLES, Page 6A
HUGHESTOWN – The wid-ow of the borough’s longtimepolice chief has been receivingunauthorized pension benefitsfor the past nine years, but bor-ough officialssay they arepowerless tostop the pay-ments.Delores De-
Lucia, widowof George De-Lucia, hasbeen paidroughly $61,000 since 2003 de-spite repeated findings by thestate Auditor General’s Officethat the payments were not au-thorized.Council’s failure to heed the
auditor’s warnings ended upcosting taxpayers an additional$25,616 – the amount the bor-ough was forced to pay backthis year to reimburse the statefor excess contributions itmade to the pension fund basedon the DeLucia payments.The borough has since stop-
ped paying the benefit from itspension fund, and is now takingthe money from the generalfund, Mayor Paul Hindmarshsaid.It was forced to do so because
Pensionto widowpaid, notapprovedWife of longtime Hughestownpolice chief getting benefitsfor 9 years. Borough helpless.
WILKES-BARRE – Gunfire in two WyomingValley communities that left 13 people dead threedecades ago still remains a vivid memory to the
officers who responded to Penn-sylvania’s largest mass killing.George Banks shot and killed 13people on Sept. 25, 1982 -- severalof them his own children and theirmothers – in Wilkes-Barre andJenkins Township.
“The fact is, (Banks) is still the most prolificsingle-day killer in the history of Pennsylvania,”said former Luzerne County District AttorneyRobert Gillespie, who prosecuted Banks.
THE GEORGE BANKS MURDERS: 30 years ago this week a formerjail guard killed 13 local people in a day that remains…
Etched in blood
TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO
Ten hours after he began a shooting rampage leaving 13 dead in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township and after standoff at a house in the city, Ge-orge Emil Banks surrendered to police and was taken into custody.
TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO
Police take cover during the siege at Monroe Street in Wilkes-Barre.
EDITOR’S NOTE:First of two-partseries on theGeorge Banks caseINSIDE: A timelineof Sept. 25, 1982.13AA look at theBanks case overthe years. 14A
WASHINGTON—A frustratedCongress quit Washington on Sat-urdaywithatleastonehope—thatthe stark choice in the electionahead will give lawmakers clarityabout what Americans want fromtheir government.They desperately need some di-
rection.Lawmakers will return in about
sevenweeksandfaceacrowdedlistofmust-do items, topped by avoid-ingwhat’sbecomeknownasthefis-cal cliff: the combination of expir-ing George W. Bush-era tax cutsand automatic spending cuts thatcould drive the country back intorecession.Two years of rancor and a divid-
ed government resulted in one ofthe least productive Congresses inhistory. President Barack Obamapiled on in his weekly radio
Congress looksfor directionsUpcoming elections could givesignals to body, which willthen reconvene.
See CONGRESS, Page 9A
By DONNA CASSATAAssociated Press
User: rsheposh Time: 09-22-2012 22:46 Product: Times_Leader PubDate: 09-23-2012 Zone: Main Edition: Main_Run PageName: news_f PageNo: 1 A Color: CMYK
Schoolhouse Lane:• Regina Clemens, 29 – girlfriend,struck by a bullet in her rightcheek that spiraled downward intoher heart• Susan Yuhas, 23 – girlfriend,shot five times while holding1-year-old Mauritania, who wasshot in the head•Mauritania, 1 – daughter, shot inthe head• Dorothy Lyons, 29 – girlfriend,shot in the neck while in a chair
• BowendyBanks, 4 – son,shot in the leftcheek whenturning awayfrom his father•MontanzumaBanks, 6 –daughter, shotin the head andchest• ForaroudeBanks, 1 – son,shot and killedwhile being heldby his half-sister, NancyLyons• Nancy Lyons,11 – stepdaugh-ter, died of agunshot wouldto the headOutside
Schoolhouse Lane home:• Ray Hall Jr., 22 – bystandershot and killed when Banks leftthe Schoolhouse Lane homeHeather Highlands, JenkinsTownship home:• Sharon Mazzillo, 24 – formergirlfriend, shot in the chest• Kismayu Banks, 5 – son, singleshot to the forehead• Alice Mazzillo, 47 – SharonMazzillo’s mother, shot in the face• Scott Mazzillo, 7 – SharonMazzillo’s nephew, shot in thehead
Schoolhouse Lane in Wilkes-Barre’sEastEnd, aquiet, small res-idential street, iswhereGerryDes-soye, then in his first year as a citypolice officer, can remember eachandeverydetail of thebloodymas-sacre.Stanley Jezewski can vividly re-
call the shock he felt when he gotthe call as a state trooper that 13people had been murdered.Gillespie, who now works as an
attorney in private practice in Ha-zleton, was expecting the worst.“My expectations were exceed-
ed,” Gillespie said.Horrific images of women and
children flash through each of theformer and current law enforce-ment officers’ minds, wonderinghow one man can cause such ter-ror.“I can still closemy eyes and see
all those bodies,” said Dessoye,now the city’s chief of police.
Ominous beginningThirtyyearsago,Banks,now70,
a former prison guard, began thenight at a party on SchoolhouseLane, Gillespie said.He was wearing a shirt that he
traded with a girl at the party. Itread, “Kill them all and let Godsort itout.”Littledid theWyomingValley knowhow true thosewordswould soon become.Banks sent one of the women
living with him to retrieve an AR15 automatic rifle – which he laterused to gun her down – and thespree began, Gillespie recalls.“You can’t begin to describe the
scene,” Gillespie said. “It was abloody mess.”Banks gunned down three
mothers of his children and fivechildren – four of them his own. Abystander was shot and killed andanother injured, when Banks leftthe home.“One of the things that is seared
in my brain, is on the second floorof the Schoolhouse Lane home. Itwas pretty obvious a young girlwas inbedwithher youngerbroth-er and in order for (Banks) toshoot them both, he had to standon the bed and fire down,” Gilles-pie said. “(The girl) was trying toprotect her brother’s life.”Whatmadethesceneevenmore
difficult for Gillespie, he said, wasthat he had two young children ofhis own at the time.“(A case) is so much more diffi-
cult when young children are in-volved,” he said.Dessoye and three other officers
were the first to arrive at theSchoolhouse Lane home for a re-
port of shots fired and peopledown.Two people were lying in the
middle of the street, and the offi-cers attended to them until para-medics came. They thought theshooting occurred in the houseand the two ran out into the street.But they couldn’t have been
ficers entered the 28 SchoolhouseLane residence, they began to real-ize the magnitude of Banks’ ac-tions.“It was carnage inside,” he said.When crime scene technicians
began to comb the scene, Dessoyewas stationed on the first floor sothat no other people entered thescene.“I spent a great deal of time
standing there with those bodies,”Dessoye said.“That was one of the most
graphic,”Dessoye said of amotherholding her infant daughter, bothshot andbothdead. “Somestick inyour mind more than others … itwas a horrific scene.”Banks then traveled to a trailer
park in theHeatherHighlands sec-tion of Jenkins Township, wherehe gunned down a former girl-friend, their son, her mother and
nephew.There, Gillespie said, Banks let
two boys – Angelo Vital and KeithMazzillo – live and killed two oth-ers, one his son and another a boywho made fun of his son.“The two boys who didn’t make
funof his son, he let live,”Gillespiesaid. “He was obviously makingchoices.”
Young victimsStanley Jezewski, whohad been
the lead investigator for the Penn-sylvaniaStatePolice at the JenkinsTownship scene, said he agreeswith Gillespie that the most diffi-cult aspect of the crime was thatmost victims were children.“They were the most bother-
some aspect,” Jezewski, who thenwent on towork as a county detec-tive and is now retired, said. “Theautopsies…they were hard.”Jezewski said he was primarily
involved in the mechanics of thecase, and did not interview Banksor testify at the trial. He did inter-view the two boys who escapedgunfire at the Jenkins Townshiphome – Vital and Mazzillo.The 41-year law enforcement
veteran oversaw crime scene proc-essing collecting evidence, attend-edautopsies and remembers everylast detail.“(Banks) had specific targets.
He knew what he was doing,” Je-zewski said. “He knew who hewanted to kill.”Dessoye said he played a sup-
port role in the investigation, andnever testified at the trial, but wasthere when Banks was found bypolice at a Monroe Street, Wilkes-Barre, home and during a several-hour negotiation session.“(Banks) had the gun pointed at
us. We surrounded him,” Dessoyesaid, noting Banks finally surren-dered.
Trial preparationsWhen the case finallymade it to
trial, jurors were chosen from Al-legheny County and brought backto Luzerne County to hear testi-mony.Nine months after being
charged, Banks was convicted ofmurder by the jury, who later de-cided his sentence should be thedeath penalty.“We worked hard for (the ver-
dict) over … nine months,” Gilles-
BANKSContinued from Page 1A
TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTOS
Montanzuma Banks, 6
Kismayu Banks, 5,
Nancy Lyons, 11
ReginaClemens
ScottMazzillo
Survivor: Jimmy Olsen, 22 –bystander, outside SchoolhouseLane home, survived a gunshotwound to the chest
T H E V I C T I M S
DON CAREY/THE TIMES LEADER
The Times Leader’s extra edition for Sept. 25, 1982, chronicledthe mass murder in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township.
Prosecutors:Robert Gillespie Jr. – district at-torney at the time; now in privatepractice in HazletonLawrence Klemow – assistant districtattorney at the time; now in privatepractice in HazletonMichael Bart – assistant districtattorney at the time; resigned as anattorney in 2004 to pursue businessventuresDefense attorneys:Al Flora – lead defense attorney thenand now; now also Luzerne County’schief public defenderJoseph Sklarosky Sr. – defenseattorney; no longer on Banks case;private practiceBasil Russin – defense attorney; nolonger on Banks case; private practicePresiding county judge:Patrick Toole Jr. – county judge whoretired to senior status; retired frombench in December 2011Magistrate:Joseph Verespy – originally arraignedBanks on murder charges; died inDecember 1998Key officers involved in the case:(then; now)Stanley Jezewski – former statetrooper, then worked as a countydetective; retiredChester Klosowski – former Wilkes-Barre city police sergeant; died inJanuary 2000Tino Andreoli – former Wilkes-Barrecity police officer; died in December2011Jim Zardecki – former county detec-tive; retiredJoseph Coyne – former Wilkes-Barrecity police chief; retiredJohn Darski -- former Jenkins Town-ship police officerRay McGarry -- former JenkinsTownship detective captainJohn Lowe -- former Wilkes-Barrecity police lieutenant; died in April2006Doctors who performed autopsies:George Hudock, former LuzerneCounty Coroner; died in October 2005George Grinway, pathologistHugo Valderama, pathologist
K E Y P L AY E R S
C M Y K
PAGE 14A SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com➛ N E W S
•Nov. 22, 1985 – GeorgeBanks is sentenced to 12 consec-utive death sentences. In 1987,he appeals the June 1983 con-victions, but the state SupremeCourt upholds them• Feb. 15, 1996 - Gov. Tom
Ridge signs a death warrantscheduling Banks’ execution forthe week of March 3, 1996.• Feb. 22, 1996 - U.S. District
Judge James F. McClure ofWilliamsport issues stay of exe-cution, clearing way for appeal.•March 21, 1996 - Banks files
his first petition for writ of ha-beas corpus with the U.S. Dis-trict Court. It is denied sixmonths later.• Jan. 14, 1997 - Banks files a
second post-conviction petitionin Luzerne County Court ofCommon Pleas and is deniedseven months later. The denial isupheld by the Supreme Court inMarch 1999.•March 9, 1999 - Gov. Ridge
signs the second death warrant,scheduling Banks’ execution forApril 20, 1999.•March 26, 1999 - U.S. Dis-
trict Judge McClure issues stayof execution to allow a hearingon Banks’ claim he was mentallyill during his trial in LuzerneCounty.• Oct. 31, 2001 - A federal
appeals court in Philadelphiaoverturns Banks’ death sen-tence, ruling that the jury’s in-struction during the trial wasunconstitutional. Court saysBanks should receive a newdeath penalty hearing.•Nov. 14, 2001 - Luzerne
County District Attorney DavidLupas files court papers request-ing the appellate court reconsid-er its decision. The appeal isrejected one month later. Lupasthen files appeal with the U.S.Supreme Court.• June 17, 2002 - U.S. Su-
preme Court reverses appellate
court ruling that threw outBanks’ death sentence. Courtstates that lower court must rulewhether new laws regarding juryinstruction should apply toBanks case, even though the lawdid not exist when Banks wasconvicted.• January 14, 2003 - The
Third Circuit Court of Appealsagain overturns George Banksdeath sentence, reinstating aprior order it issued in 2001.April 22, 2003: District At-
torney’s office appeals ThirdCircuit ruling to the U.S. Su-preme Court.• June 24, 2004 -The U.S.
Supreme Court reinstated Ge-orge Banks’ death sentence in a5-4 vote to overturn a federalappellate court ruling that ne-gated Banks’ death sentencesbased on problems with juryinstructions during the penaltyphase of his 1983 trial.October 5, 2004 - Then-Gov.
Ed Rendell signs a death warrantfor Banks – execution set forDec. 2, 2004•November 19, 2004 -Banks’
attorneys ask the state SupremeCourt to stay execution based onthe fact that Banks is "chronical-ly psychotic" and incompetent tomake decisions on his own be-half regarding his case.• Dec. 1, 2004 - The state
Supreme Court’s halts Banks’execution pending a compe-tency hearing. The ruling hap-pened about 27 hours beforeBanks was scheduled to die bylethal injection.• October 24, 2005 - For-
mer judge Michael Conahandecides a competency hearingwill be held at the prison thathouses Banks’, SCI Graterford,since Banks had been unavail-able for the hearing due to askin condition.•March 31, 2006 - Compe-
tency hearing held at SCI Grat-
erford.• Feb. 27, 2006 - Conahan
rules Banks incompetent to facedeath penalty.•March 27, 2006- Prosecu-
tors appeal to state SupremeCourt on Conahan’s ruling thatdeemed Banks incompetent tobe executed, arguing the statedid not get a fair chance to pre-sent its case at a competencyhearing.• December 2007 - State
Supreme Court rules Banks canhave another competency hear-ing.• January 21, 2008 - At-
torneys for Banks ask the stateSupreme Court to reconsider itsdecision that ordered a newcompetency hearing for Banks,arguing the high court utilizedthe wrong legal standard when itreviewed the case.•August 14, 2008 - Second
competency hearing for Banks
begins.• Sept. 8, 2008 - Conahan
again rules Banks incompetentto be executed. Prosecutorslater appealed that decision.•August 28, 2009 - State
Supreme Court rules that Cona-han violated its directive that heprovide an "autonomous judicialexpression" when he issued anorder in September 2008 find-ing that Banks was too mentallyill to be executed.•April 27, 2010 - Judge
Joseph Augello is assignedBanks case, and begins a thirdcompetency hearing on thisdate.•May 12, 2010 - After a sev-
eral-day hearing, Augello rulesBanks is incompetent to beexecuted.• July 15, 2010 - The state
Office of Attorney General asksthe state Supreme Court tooverturn Augello’s ruling that
preme Court unanimously de-cides Banks will not be executedbecause evidence at three com-petency hearings demonstratedthat Banks does not have arational understanding of thereason he is facing death.• February 6, 2012 - Prose-
cutors ask the U.S. SupremeCourt to hear an appeal of thestate Supreme Court’s rulingthat deemed mass murdererGeorge Banks incompetent to beexecuted. Prosecutors asked thecourt to address whether thestate high court misapplied thelaw when it upheld Augello’sruling that Banks is too mentallyill to be executed.• Sept. 24, 2012 - The U.S.
Supreme Court will meet at aconference to decide if it willhear the prosecutors’ appeal.
T I M E L I N E O F E V E N T S I N G E O R G E B A N K S S E N T E N C I N G
TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO.
George Banks in February 1983.
TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO.
Banks was at a hearing at theLuzerne County Courthouse inAugust 1985.
TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO.
Banks being led from the courthouse by Sheriff Frank Jagodinskiand Deputy Myron Galaida in 1987.
CLARK VAN ORDEN/THE TIMES LEADER
George Banks as he appeared inWilkes-Barre for a competencyhearing in April 2010.
pie said. “But, there is no joy inlearning someone is going to die.”Gillespie said the case was like
noother in theUnitedStatesat thetime – prosecutors even consultedwith the prosecutor who workedon the Ronald Reagan shootingcase because it involved psychiat-ric testimony.“Obviously, when you kill that
many people, something iswrong,” Gillespie said. “There isno question that there was some-thing mentally wrong.”Gillespie said Banks knewwhat
he was doing and who he was go-ing to shoot and intended to do it.At one point, Gillespie said, Banksknew he killed 13 people, but onlyspoke about killing the five thatmatter to him – his sons.“Women had no importance to
him. He had hatred towards wom-en,” Gillespie said.
Unanswered questionsGillespiesaidevenafterall these
years, people still ask him aboutthe case.“(The case) has somany quirks,
and is such an interesting case,”Gillespie said, noting there hasbeenno largerkilling inPennsylva-nia since the Banks case.Gillespiesaidover theyearspeo-
ple have talked with him a lotabout Banks, and that one time heeven received a newspaper fromJapan that had his name in it.Gillespie even spoke of his
daughter, now in law school at theDickinson School of Law at PennState University, who had a friendtell her they used Gillespie’s clos-ing argument in the Banks case asan example in case.“I thought about writing a book
(about theBankscase), but Ineverfound the time to do so,” Gillespiesaid.
MONDAY: How the Banks case ranksamong other mass murders
User: rsheposh Time: 09-22-2012 22:44 Product: Times_Leader PubDate: 09-23-2012 Zone: Main Edition: Main_Run PageName: news_08 PageNo: 14 A Color: CMYK
Kevin Kolb orchestratedArizona’s offense to nearperfection while buildinga big first-half lead andthe defense houndedMichael Vick all day, sack-ing him five times to helpthe Cardinals run overthe Eagles 27-6 on Sun-day for their best start in38 years. PAGE 1B
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Smiling facesall around
>> TV PARTY TONIGHT: For the past few weeks, TV’snew Fall season has been trickling in like a gentle rain. Now,prepare yourselves -- you’re about to be hit by a tidal waveof entertainment. There’s a new “Dancing with the Stars”tonight at 8 p.m. on ABC; the season debut of “NCIS”Tuesday at 8 on CBS, and “Modern Family” Wednesday at 9p.m. on ABC. “Two and a Half Men” is now on Thursday at8:30 p.m. on CBS, with “Grey’s Anatomy” at 9 p.m. on ABC.And don’t forget about FOX. “Fringe” make its debut Fridayat 9 p.m. .... Arrrggghhh. All this TV madness makes onelong for the serenity of the old Indian test pattern.
>> I AM AN .. ACTOR!: There are two types of cinema
lovers in this world. Those who like munching popcornwhen they check out the hot new movie at the theater. Andthose that like … (dramatic pause) … FILM! Bruce Willis hasa new MOVIE opening this week. The Dietrich Theater inTunkhannock is holding its Fall FILM Festival. See how thatworks. Movie. Film. The festival at the Dietrich runsthrough Oct. 4, and will feature such FILMS as “MoonriseKingdom,” “Safety Not Guaranteed,” and “Beasts of theSouthern Wild.” Wait. What? No “Battleship?”
>> HIT ME ONE TIME: Hey music lovers,Don’t Worry, Be Happy. If you likeyour tunes with term limits, thenthis Tuesday is for you. It’s a day todo the Macarena or the Mambo No.5. It’s your chance to discover whoreally Let the Dogs Out and whoKilled the Radio Star. It’s NationalOne-Hit Wonder Day. So take a tripto Funkytown, Relax in your Cars,and celebrate those artists whowere Too Sexy for continued suc-cess.
>> BLASTS FROM THE PAST:
They don’t write songs like they used to. Especially whenthey used to write ‘em like this: “Bom ba ba bom ba bomba bom bom ba ba bom ba ba bom ba ba dang a dang dang
…” May not read like much, but when the Marcelssang “Blue Moon” back in the day, it sounded
great. If you’re in the mood for some nos-talgic classics, then you might want to
check out Doo Wop Plus at the F.M. Kirby Cen-ter this Friday. The show starts at 7 p.m. and fea-tures Lou Christie, Johnny Tillotson, The Skyliners
.. and more. Wait. No “Battleship?”
>> EAST BEASTS: While the Steelersare off snoozing on their bye week, thearea’s other two favorite teams have aprime time date this Sunday on NBC. EliManning and the Giants will be stompinginto Philly to take on Michael Vick andthe high-flying Eagles. FYI: There areactually more people on the team thanthose two guys, and those metaphorsare just for kicks. No one’s really stomp-ing or flying. The game starts about 8:30p.m.
5THINGSYOU NEEDTO KNOWTHIS WEEK
PrimetimeEmmysDid you tune into see who won?
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In the past 30 years since Ge-orgeBankscommitted13murdersin theWyoming Valley, at least 26other mass murders occurred inthe United States.More mass killings aren’t hap-
pening since then, a local psychol-ogist said, just that people aremore aware of such events thanksto technology and media cover-age.
“The constant exposure to thereporting of incidents normalizesitandcontributestothesensation-alism and anxiety of people,” Ma-rieGray, a professor of psychologyat Misericordia University said.“Then, people have the ‘What isthe world coming to’ syndrome.”
Massmurders see no riseThe number of mass murders
themselveshasn’t risen,Graysaid,and has been consistent through-out the last 30 years.
What has changed, she said, isthat people have become desensi-tized.In the 1980s, there weren’t cell
phones, CDs, iTunes or comput-ers, Gray said. There wasn’t pro-longed exposure for such inci-dents as the Banks killings andwhen the media did cover theevent, it took several days, or evenweeks, for the information to dis-seminate across the country oreven internationally.Today, when amass murder oc-
curs, such as the 2007massacre atVirginia Tech where 32 peoplewere shot andkilled, themedia re-spond quickly, getting informa-tionout thankstotechnologysuchas the Internet, television and so-cial media networks.“After (the school shooting) a
lot of things happened that wedidn’t normally do,” Gray said.Those things included restric-
tions on gun sales, and setting up
Since Banks, is life deadlier?Experts take a look at whatmakes us believe mass killingsare more frequent.
WILKES-BARRE — Local and statehealth officials are concerned about a sig-nificant increase in cases of whoopingcoughand theyare recommendingboost-er shots for protection.New statistics released by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) in Atlanta show 2012 may be theworst outbreak of Pertussis – or whoop-ing cough – since the late 1950s.So far this year, 18,000 cases of Pertus-
sis have been reported,more than doublethe number from this time last year andthe first time since 1959 that so manycases have been reported by this time inthe year.Holly Senior, spokeswoman for the
PennsylvaniaDepartment ofHealth, saidthere have been 18 cases of confirmed orprobable Pertussis reported in LuzerneCounty between 2009 and 2012 to date.She said half of those cases
Whoopingcough ison the riseLocal health officials arerecommending booster shots.
Total in firstsix months Cases in last seven years
WHOOPING COUGH SURGECases of pertussis, or whooping cough, haveincreased substantially. These are reported casesin Pennsylvania, according to the stateDepartment of Health. Numbers for 2012 are“provisional” and may change when finalized.
See COUGH, Page 10AFor many of the religiouspersuasion, Sunday morn-ings are often spent in aplace of worship with fel-low church members.
For one local church, the typicalSundaymorning spent indoors at theservice was turned into a day full ofactivities in all parts of the communi-ty for both church and non-churchmembers.The church had left the building.And so was the namesake for the
project from Dorranceton United Methodist Church inKingston, which saw great success for its first year doingthe “The Church Has Left the Building” program.“I had done something like this before at another
church I was at,” Pastor Nick Keeney said. “I wanted totry it out here, give the church an opportunity to reachout to and work in the community.”The day brought 14 different projects for church mem-
bers, aswell aswalk-ins and non-churchmembers, to par-ticipate in, from a sing-along at the Veterans MedicalCenter to a mini spa day at Ruth’s Place.
“We wanted to make sure tohave something for everyone todo,” Keeney said. “Whetheryou’re 5 or 85, we wanted to besure there was an activity availa-ble.”The early morning found a
group of clowns walking aroundthe church grounds in prepara-tion for a Clown Worship Serviceat ManorCare.“I’m terrified of clowns,” said
parish member Janet Mitchell ofShavertown, clad in suspendersand a red wig, face fully done up,
“but I figured hey, I better break that fear. We’ve reallyhad a lot of fun getting ready for this.”Not long after the clowns’ preparationwas complete, a
bevy of students from both Wilkes University and PennState descended on the church, all ready to be a part ofthe cleanup of Reese Park in Kingston.“The turnout for that mission in particular has been
incredible,” said Kriss Kross, one of the members of thecore
FRED ADAMS PHOTOS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
Jessica Helman works on removing graffiti from playground equipment at Reese Park in Kingston as part of theDorranceton United Methodist Church Day of Community Service. For Click photos, see Page 7A.
Service to othersDorranceton UM parishioners help communityBy SARA [email protected]
Steve Nealon works on painting overgraffiti on a shed at Reese Park.
See CHURCH, Page 10A
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C M Y K
PAGE 10A MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com➛ N E W S
“Our partnership with King’sCollege has allowed us to fillour classroom with the latesttechnology that lets our stu-dents prepare for careers in theIT field,” Miller said.He plans to hold onto the old
computers and use them forteaching other aspects of theIT field such as repairs.“The students will not be
held back by the equipment,”Pryor said. “The limitationswill be of their own.”Students are just as pleased
with the new equipment. Se-niors Ian Nelson of Forty Fortsaid the new equipment has ca-pabilities the old computersdid not.“We can scan documents
with the new printer, and the
PolyVision board is more inter-active,” Nelson said.Senior Justin Romanoski of
Luzerne said he likes beingable to explore new conceptsto “develop a firm base in com-puter science.”Alton Baggett, a senior from
Larksville, helped install theoverhead projector over thesummer. He is looking forwardto pursuing a degree in net-work and security systems atKing’s College.To continue to build a strong
foundation for the students,both Pryor and Moran are plan-ning to create a mentoring pro-gram between WSCTC andKing’s College.“Creating opportunities for
local high school students ben-efits everyone,” Moran said.“We are also grateful to ourvendor partners for their con-tinued support of King’s mis-sion to benefit students.”
COMPUTERSContinued from Page 3A
Over the last 30 years in theUnited States, at least 26 massmurders have occurred.Though, there are different
definitions for mass killings.The FBI defines mass murder
as: a number ofmurders (four ormore) occurring during thesame incident, with no distinc-tive time period between themurders. Serial killings are de-fined by the FBI as: a series ofthree or more killings, not lessthan one of which was commit-ted within the United States.The U.S. Bureau of Justice
Statistics defines a spree killingas: killings at two or more loca-tions with almost no time breakbetween murders.Listed here are samplings of
masskillings, all ofwhichhad fa-talities that exceeded the num-ber in the George Banks case, orwere close to that number:
San Ysidro McDonald’smassacre
Where: San Ysidro, Calif.When: July 18, 1984Dead: 22Injured: 19What happened: JamesOliver
Huberty, 41, walked into aMcDonald’s and began shoot-ing. The 77-minute rampagewas the largest single-day, sin-gle-gunman massacre in U.S.history at the time, according toreports. Huberty was shot andkilledbyapolice sniper in the in-cident.
U.S. Postal Service shooting
Where: Edmond, Okla.When: August 20, 1986Dead: 15Injured: 6What happened:Patrick Sher-
rill, 44, a post office worker, ar-rived at work around 7 a.m. andbegan firing at co-workers. Sher-rill committed suicide after theattack.
Luby’s Cafeteria massacre
Where: Killeen, TexasWhen: October 16, 1991Dead: 24Injured: 20What happened:George Hen-
nard, 35, drove his pickup truckthrough awindow at the Luby’s,unleashing a 15-minute ram-page. The incident ended whenHennard shot himself after be-ing wounded by police.
Columbine High Schoolmassacre
Where: Columbine, Colo.When: April 20, 1999Dead: 15Injured: 25What happened: Eric Harris,
18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, stu-dents at the school, unleashed a23-minute assault on fellow stu-dents, friends and faculty. Har-ris and Klebold committed sui-cide inside the school’s library.
Stock exchange shooting
Where: Atlanta, Ga.When: July 29, 1999Dead: 12Injured: 7What happened: Mark Bar-
ton, 44, a former chemist turnedstock market trader, shot andkilled his wife and two childrenbefore unleashing a shootingspree at two brokerage firms.Later that day, Bartonwas locat-ed by police while driving, butshot and killed himself beforepolice could apprehend him.
Washington D.C. snipershootings
Where:Washington, D.C.When: October 2002 – over a
several-week periodDead: 10Injured: 3What happened: John Allen
Muhammad, 48, along with LeeBoydMalvo, now27, carriedoutthe 2002 sniper attacks on a bu-sy corridor in the Washingtonmetropolitan area, commonlycalled the Beltway sniper at-tacks.Muhammad was arrested,
convicted of murder and sen-tenced to death. Muhammadwas executed on Nov. 10, 2009.Malvo was also arrested and
entered a guilty plea to severalof the deaths, andwas convictedof others. He was sentenced tolife in prison on October 26,2004.
Cho, 23, walked from classroomto classroom, firing more than170 shots. The spree endedwhen Cho turned the gun onhimself.
Binghamton citizenshipclass shooting
Where: Binghamton, N.Y.When: April 3, 2009Dead: 14Injured: 4What happened: Jiverly
Wong, 42, a Vietnamese immi-grant, entered the AmericanCivic Association immigrationcenter and began the approxi-mate30-minute shooting.Policelater found Wong dead from aself-inflicted gunshot wound in-sidea roomwith several victims.
Fort Hood shooting
Where: Fort Hood, TexasWhen: November 5, 2009Dead: 13Injured: 32What happened: Nidal Malik
Hasan, 42, a U.S. Army major,entered the Soldier ReadinessProcessing Center where heworked, and opened fire.Hewas
shot and taken into custody, andis now paralyzed from the waistdown. Hasan is currently await-ing trial on several counts ofmurder, and faces the death pen-alty if convicted
Dark Knight shootingWhere: Aurora, Colo.When: July 20, 2012Dead: 12Injured: 58What happened: JamesEagan
Holmes, 24, entered the Centu-ry 16 Movie Theater complexduring a late-night showing ofthe Batman movie “The DarkNight Rises” and began shoot-ing at fellow movie-goers.Holmes was taken into custodyby police, jailed, and is facingseveral counts of first-degreemurder.Source: Federal Bureau of In-vestigation; U.S. Bureau of Jus-tice Statistics; Various Internetsources
Officials work at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, N.Y. where a gunman opened fireApril 3, 2009. A gunman barricaded the back door of a community center with his car and thenopened fire on a room full of immigrants taking a citizenship class, killing 14 people and injuringfour before committing suicide, officials said.
Unidentified young women head to a library near ColumbineHigh School where students and faculty members were evac-uated after students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on ashooting rampage in the school in the southwest Denver suburbof Littleton, Colo., on April 20, 1999.
safety plans and exit routes asschools, such as MisericordiaUniversity, Gray said.“PriortoVirginiaTechand(the
shooting) at Columbine (HighSchool), those thingswere not is-sues,” said Gray, who is also thechief executive officer of Corner-stone Counseling & ConsultingSpecialists inDallas. “It’s not thatweweren’t concernedwith it, butthat we didn’t hold those thingsto toomuch of a precedence.”Andrew Wilczak, a criminolo-
gyprofessor atWilkesUniversity,shares similar thoughts withGray on exposure to such violentcrimes.“There are stories about (a
mass killing) in the paper, onTV,every day,” Wilczak said. “That’swhat makes people believe it’shappeningmore than it really is.”Wilczak said people become
more aware of what’s going onaround them and that there’s apossibility amass killing canhap-pen.“That’s when people become
scared of their own shadow.There’sashootinghere,arobberythere. Those things do happen,but they aren’t as concentrated,”he said.Wilczak saidwhenviolenceoc-
curs, individuals look for scape-
goats, blamingit on violentmusic or vio-lent videogames,but thatisn’t the causein most in-stances.“Violent sto-
ries have been told from the be-ginning of Western civilization,”Wilczak said. “Now, we are justmore aware of it because of a 24-hour news cycle.”
Behavior can be variedMostmassmurders that occur,
Gray said, involve different typesof behavior.IntheBankskillings,Graysaid,
Banks was personally connectedto each of his victims and the kill-ings were committed because ofpersonal reasons.Others, Gray said, are rando-
mized sociopathic incidents,such as the July shooting at themovie theater in Aurora, Colo.,that left 12 killed.But, in each case, mental ill-
ness is present and a psychoticbreak occurs that causes theshooter or shooters to step into adifferent realm.“It’s tragic on all ends,” Gray
said. “I can be upset that I don’thave my job anymore, but thatdoesn’tgivemetherighttogooutand hurt someone. The rationalmind and emotional mind havetwo different sides.”
Graysaid it’shard to tell ifmen-tal health treatment long beforethe incidents occurred couldhave prevented the incidentsthemselves.“(Banks) did what he did, and
it was a terrible outcome,” Graysaid, noting not only are victimsinjured by death or because ofpsychological problems, but fam-ily members and the communityat large as well.The awareness of mental
health issues has increased with-in the last 30 years,Gray said, butunfortunately resources have de-clined because of the economyand a number of other factors.Facilities closing. Benefits de-
creasing. Inaccessibility to pro-viders. Affordability.“There isnowhere togo (toget
help),” Gray said. “And if people(are on a fixed income) takingmedication is the last thing theyare going to worry about. Theyare more worried about gettingsomething to eat.”Wilczak, who had been a visit-
ing assistant professor at theUni-versity of Tampa before workingatWilkesUniversity,believesthatif Banks had gotten some sort oftreatment, the 13 deaths couldhave been prevented.Sometimes, a single-victim
killing is committed when some-one has lost their temper or frus-tration builds up over time,Wilc-zak said.Butwhen it comes tomasskill-
ings, mental illnesses cause irra-tional thoughts that a reasonablepersonwouldn’t be able to under-stand.“(Banks) should have gotten
help years before (the shoot-ings),”Wilczak said.
Forgetting is difficultIncidents like the Banks kill-
ings tend to stick with people inthe community over a number ofyears because it is out of thenorm.“It’s a terrible thing that hap-
pened within a community, onthat little street, in that town, inthis valley,” Gray said. “Peoplethink of neighborhoods as beingsafe and it’s a personal violation(when it happens) so close tohome.”Wilczak said theBanks killings
are likely still being talked aboutbecause of Banks’ mental illnessand his non-rational lifestyle.Banks had served in the mili-
tary, served time in prison andwas a prison guard.Hehadmultiplegirlfriendsand
multiple childrenby them,whichis outside the realm of what peo-ple identify as normal in North-eastern Pennsylvania.The media also follows up
throughouttheyearswiththesta-tus of the case, or with stories ofvictims and their families thatkeep the story in the forefront.“You can normalize it, but you
can’t condone it,” Gray said.
MURDERSContinued from Page 1A
Wilczak
(9) have been in 2012.However, Matthew Van
Stone, spokesman for GeisingerHealth System, said MichaelRyan, D.O., chairman of pediat-rics for Geisinger, estimatedthat he has seen between 20 and30 cases of Pertussis so far thisyear in the Wilkes-Barre/Scran-ton region.Dr. William Cochran, vice
chairman at Geisinger’s JanetWeis Children’s Hospital inDanville, said children shouldbe vaccinated and adults 19 andover should be revaccinated.“We have seen a very dramat-
ic increase in whooping coughthis year,” Cochran said. “It’s adevastating disease and can befatal – especially to infants andthe elderly.”Cochran knows what he is
talking about – he wasn’t revac-cinated and he contractedwhooping coughwhile in Alaba-ma helping his son repair hishome.“I was vaccinated as a child,
but not revaccinated as anadult,” Cochran said. “It is high-ly recommended by the CDCthat adults 19 to 64 be revacci-nated. Those 18 and undershould be covered by theirchildhood vaccination.”Cochran said at the onset, the
disease starts with a mild coughand then progressively getsworse. He said it could last 100days if not properly treated.“I thought it was my asthma
acting up, but it kept flaring upand it got progressively worse,”Cochran said. “When I returnedhome from Alabama, I contin-ued to cough – sometimes sohard I had trouble taking air in
and I passed out.”Cochran said he also experi-
enced chest pains and he wenttwo weeks with only an hour ortwo of sleep each night.“I kept waking up coughing,”
he said.Cochran said if a person sus-
pects he or she has Pertussis, herecommends being seen by aphysician immediately.“Get an antibiotic,” he said.
“That will prevent spreadingthe disease.”At the state health depart-
ment, Senior said there hasbeen a resurgence of Pertussisnationwide in 2012.“In Pennsylvania, we have
seen about three times as manyPertussis cases in 2012 as in2011, both year to date and inthe past month,” she said.“There have been over 1,200confirmed, probable and sus-pected cases reported statewidethis year. Cases and outbreaksare occurring statewide.”Senior said although Pennsyl-
vania is having a bad Pertussisyear, other states, particularlyon the West Coast, are having amuch worse time of it.She said it is important to
note that the state does not havefinalized numbers (confirmedor probable) yet for this year.“All we can provide at this
time are provisional numbers,so a true side-by-side compari-son can only be done very cau-tiously at this point,” Seniorsaid. “What we know for sure atthis point is this: it is an activeyear for Pertussis.”While Pertussis does show cy-
clical activity, Senior said theincreased activity this yearserves as a great reminder to-ward the importance of stayingup-to-date on vaccinations asPertussis is a vaccine-preventa-ble disease.
COUGHContinued from Page 1A
group who helped organize theevent. “It’s so important to getyouth involved and the fact thatthis many students are comingout to help us is wonderful.”By “this many,” Kross pointed
to a group that made up much ofthe Wilkes soccer team.“We do community service
projects every so often, andwhenI heard this one was coming up Ithought it would be a good ideafor us to lend a hand,” teammem-ber Nick Patricia said. “I had asign-up sheet available one dayafter practice and ended up with27 guys.”While some were out in the
community doing activities,many stayed at the church. FromDUMC’s very hall, people werehelping children in Africa.
Church members baked andpackaged Welsh cookies to besold to benefit “Nothing ButNets,” a global campaign to raiseawareness and funds for fightingmalaria, a leading cause of deathamong children in Africa.Members also made toys,
helped at the Wilkes-Barre freekitchen, and assembled “uglyquilts,” sleeping bags for thehomeless that are made out ofscrap materials.And all the while there was
quiet time made available in thechurch sanctuary for those whowanted to celebrate their Sundayworship in the way they wereused to.“Honestly, though, a majority
of the churchhas signedup and isout there, helping out in someway,” Kross said. “Between thatand the people we hadwalk in offthe street, or volunteer their timeeven if they aren’t a member, it’sbeen incredible.This is awonder-ful day.”
CHURCHContinued from Page 1A
FRED ADAMS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
Eric Bogumil and David Blackman work on removing graffiti fromplayground equipment at Reese Park in Kingston as part of theDorranceton UM Church Day of Community Service.
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