The 35th annual La Festa Italiana opens Saturday at Lackawanna County Courthouse Square, and organizers anticipate as many as 50,000 people will visit each day through Monday to immerse themselves in Italian culture, enjoy the continuous live entertainment and sample the tasty offerings.

Although visitors will find a few new wrinkles - including a greater variety of food from the 70-plus vendors - the La Festa committee has not tinkered too much with a formula that has kept people thronging to the event year after year, board President Chris DiMattio said.

"Why mess with success?" he asked rhetorically.

The organization tries to make improvements every year, including making it easier for visitors to find parking and increasing the number of chairs and tables available, Mr. DiMattio said.

"But truly there is only so much you can do in preparation," he said.

La Festa will run from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and from noon to 9 p.m. on Monday. Around Courthouse Square, Linden and Spruce streets and Adams and North Washington avenues will be closed to vehicular traffic during festival hours.

The Labor Day weekend weather is expected to be almost ideal, without even a hint of rain in the forecast.

Partly sunny skies Saturday will give way to mostly sunny skies Sunday, with a high each day in the high 60s, according to the National Weather Service. Monday will be sunny and warmer, with a high around 73. The evenings will be relatively cool, with lows in the upper 40s.

Mr. DiMattio said one new feature at this year's La Festa will be bocce instruction, with experts teaching the basics of the traditional Italian game on the courthouse lawn. Festivalgoers will also have a chance to learn "morra," a traditional finger game, he said.

La Festa is again partnering with Lackawanna Railfest, being held this weekend at Steamtown National Historic Site. Mr. DiMattio said there will be a shuttle to take visitors back and forth between the two events.

On Sunday, the annual Mass in Italian will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at St. Peter's Cathedral on Wyoming Avenue.

The Rev. David P. Cappelloni, pastor of SS. Anthony and Rocco Parish in Dunmore and La Festa chaplain, will be the principal celebrant. The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, bishop of Scranton, will deliver the homily.

The Mass will be broadcast live by CTV: Catholic Television, with rebroadcasts scheduled Tuesday at 8 p.m. and Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Fireworks will light up the sky over the square Sunday at 10 p.m.

City police have assigned a detail of officers to La Festa, although patrol Capt. Carl Graziano said the festival has been a "generally well-behaved event" over the years.

"For the amount of people we have there - knock on wood - it has been uneventful from a law enforcement perspective," Capt. Graziano said.

More information about La Festa Italiana, including the full entertainment schedule, is available at the festival website, www.lafestaitaliana.org.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

JESSUP - A 19-year-old Wayne County man is accused of selling a 16-year-old boy a narcotic painkiller patch that led the juvenile to overdose.

John M. Crowley of Waymart was arrested Wednesday night and charged with reckless endangerment and delivery of a controlled substance. He was remanded to Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail.

On June 30, Mr. Crowley allegedly sold for $30 a 50 milligram fentanyl patch, which the Jessup teen chewed and swallowed.

The boy was hospitalized for a month and suffers from long-term health complications, according to an affidavit by Jessup Officers Michael Arthur and Gerald Ziminskas.

THROOP - A 6-year-old girl was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after she fell out of a moving car Thursday night.

The victim's name was not released, but police said the driver of the sport utility vehicle was 33-year-old Crystal Sobolewski of Dickson City. Chief Keith Jones said the driver was the girl's mother.

The incident happened at Pancoast and Dimmick streets about 7:50 p.m. It is unknown how the girl fell from the SUV, police said. She was taken to Community Medical Center. State police and the district attorney's office were helping investigate.

SCRANTON - An Old Forge man faces hit-and-run charges after he struck four cars in three crashes Wednesday afternoon.

Edward Bonifanti, 24, of 121 Oak St., told police he took two Vicodin and two Xanax pills, according to crash reports. Pending blood tests, city police also plan to charge him with driving under the influence.

Mr. Bonifanti, driving a Chevrolet Cavalier, first hit a Mercedes-Benz at the gas station at 1801 N. Main Ave. at 2:45 p.m., police said. He then drove to the 1700 block of North Keyser Avenue, where he allegedly crossed the center line, hitting two oncoming cars.

He hit a parked car on Ferdinand Street before being stopped at North Main and Theodore Street, police said. Mr. Bonifanti was taken to Community Medical Center.

SCRANTON - A Wayne County man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for downloading child pornography on his computer.

John Linnell, 63, of Browndale, was sentenced Wednesday by Senior U.S. District Judge Richard P. Conaboy. Mr. Linnell was indicted in March 2008 after an investigation by the FBI and the Lackawanna County district attorney's office and later pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography.

Judge Conaboy also ordered Mr. Linnell to serve a life term of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

PITTSTON TWP. - A fair that is raising money for fallen state troopers continues throughout the Labor Day weekend at the Northeast Fair grounds off Route 315.

The Fallen Heroes Memorial Fair, presented in memory of Pittston native Trooper Joshua Miller, resumes today with $2 admission. Food, games and rides are featured on the fairgrounds.

Tonight is "family and date night." The band, Coal Town Rounders, will perform on stage 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Cost is $1 per ride, between 6 and 11 p.m.

The Trooper Joshua Miller 5K Memorial Run/Walk will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday.

On Monday, rides open from 3 to 10 p.m. Live entertainment will be on stage until 9:30 p.m.

Lakeland seniors see mentor role

SCOTT TWP. - Seniors at Lakeland High School will serve as teachers and mentors to children as part of the Lakeland Little Tykes Mentoring Program.

Teacher Gretchen Allan will again supervise the program, which was started in 1994 and resembles a prescool.

The program is open to children ages 3 to 5 who live in the district. Children must be toilet-trained.

Sessions run from 9:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. and will be offered in two sessions: the weeks of Oct. 12 to Dec. 13 and March 14 to May 23.

To register, visit the high school or call it at 254-9485. Enrollment is only official when the family and consumer sciences department has received the completed paperwork.

'Interdependence' speaker slated

SCRANTON - Sociologist Elzbieta Matynia, Ph.D., director of the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies at the New School for Social Research in New York, will the keynote speaker for the local observance of Interdependence Day 2010.

The program, sponsored by the Greater Scranton Interdependence Day Committee and the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties, is scheduled Monday, Sept. 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 235 N. Washington Ave.

Dr. Robert D'Alessandri, president and dean of Commonwealth Medical College, will be presented with the 2010 Interdependence Award.

Borough maintaining flood project

Heavy machinery rumbled at the Lackawanna River this week in Mayfield as the borough cleared out four years' worth of sediment.

The project started last week and could take about two weeks to complete, estimated council President Glen Nicolio, who volunteered to work on the project with Councilman Jim Depoti. The two men are experienced heavy-machine operators, Mr. Nicolio said, and were behind the controls of the machines moving the sediment.

The borough is required to maintain the flood-protection system the Army Corps of Engineers installed at the river in the 1970s, Mr. Nicolio said. A spillway catches sediment, which builds up in Mayfield and is the borough's responsibility to clear so the riverbed does not become too high.

The sediment can come from as far as Forest City and was last cleared about four years ago, Mr. Nicolio said.

Workers must stay at least 6 inches above the water, he said, following government requirements regarding erosion, soil and water contamination.

Although the borough does not receive financial help from neighboring municipalities, it secured a $60,000 state grant through the state Department of Environmental Protection for the project.

The two councilmen volunteered for the work to save the borough money. Their efforts combined with renting equipment will help the borough spread the $60,000 further than it could have had it hired workers, Mr. Nicolio said.

"It's at a fraction of what a contractor would charge us to do the job and pay an experienced operator," he said. "We're doing it as a service free of charge."

The state grant goes toward the dredging as well as required maintenance around the river, such as vegetation control on the embankments. Mr. Nicolio estimated the dredging part would cost about $15,000, between equipment rental and hiring trucks to haul the removed sediment from the site.

Contact the writer: cheaney@timesshamrock.com

Joblessness for the metro area has increased to a seasonally adjusted 10.4 percent - far higher than the seasonally adjusted 7.6 percent unemployment rate in Bradford County, a hotbed of Marcellus Shale drilling where unemployment dropped nearly 1 percentage point since last July.

Teri Ooms, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development, said the industry did not improve the region's unemployment numbers because much of the drilling activity is not happening in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

She expects that active drilling in Wyoming County - the third county in the metropolitan statistical area - will spur some improvement in future unemployment numbers.

"I consider Lackawanna to be adjacent to the core drilling counties at this point," she said. "There will be some residual employment improvement" because of that proximity, she said, but "we're not going to see an immediate impact."

She added that as the closest urban centers to drilling in more rural counties, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre will benefit from the influx of drilling nearby.

"People don't do all of their living and working and procuring of goods and services within a single jurisdiction," she said.

One factor that will improve the employment picture for local workers looking for jobs connected to the industry is the expansion of area training centers and programs for Marcellus Shale jobs.

Lackawanna, Johnson and Keystone colleges have all begun offering courses, programs and other training for industry-related jobs, while Pathstone, a human services agency, is coordinating training for more than 200 people in welding and diesel mechanics for jobs in the industry.

At Johnson College, which recently reopened its Welding Training Center after an eight-year hiatus, three students are currently in a four-month certificate program to learn the welding skills necessary for natural gas pipelines, Continuing Education Director Marie Allison said.

The college also is taking applications for its next session, which will begin in September.

But it takes time for welders to be trained in a new skill, and more time for them to master it, which means new gas industry welders will not be able to match the pay grade and ability of workers being brought in from other drilling states immediately, she said.

Once trained, local welders will be able to transfer their skills to other industries in the region even as drilling activity moves to other parts of the state or country.

"They won't have to take (those skills) to other states," she said. "They could stay local."

Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com

She was 87.

Twelve years ago, Mrs. Doherty woke up, tripped on a carpet, fell to her bedroom floor and found herself instantly quadriplegic because the fall seriously hurt her spine.

Three months later, Mrs. Doherty, with the help of a walker, managed to leave a West Orange, N.J., spinal hospital on her own strength, and resume her position as matriarch as one of Scranton's best-known political families.

Her son, Mayor Chris Doherty, remembered that inner determination after she died Thursday.

"She was always very supportive and told me when things are tough, you've got to keep going," Mr. Doherty said.

She was surrounded by all 11 of her children when she died, including her eldest daughter, Grace, who flew in from her home in Luxembourg to join the rest of her family, another daughter, Virginia McGregor, said.

"She never liked to be alone," Mrs. McGregor said.

She grew up on Grandview Street in Green Ridge, a daughter of Dr. Thomas P. McWilliams, a dentist, and his wife, the former Grace Jennings, a daughter of Hall-of-Fame shortstop and first baseman Hugh Jennings of Pittston.

Armed with a business degree from Marywood College, Mrs. Doherty found a job as a legal secretary for a Wall Street law firm in the 1940s. She met her husband, James A. Doherty Sr., who was stationed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, on a train leaving Lackawanna Station on its way to New York City.

A few years later, after both were back in Scranton, they married in November 1946.

"And 17 years later, they had 11 kids," Mr. Doherty said.

"She told me I was only playing house," said Mrs. McGregor, who has six children.

While her husband worked, Mrs. Doherty tended to their growing family, was involved with the Mother's Club at Scranton Preparatory School and "worked the stand at the Little League."

"She was a stay-at-home mom, but she was well educated. Her mother went to Barnard (College in New York City)," Mr. Doherty said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who grew up in the same neighborhood with the Doherty children, recalled Mrs. Doherty as someone who led "a life of total dedication to her family."

Somehow, Mr. Doherty said, she found individual attention for all her children. Once, she surprised him and his brother, Tim, by taking them to lunch at the Castle Restaurant, a "Batman" movie at the Roosevelt Theater in Green Ridge and Nay Aug Park, the mayor said.

"And I thought, 'I have never been alone with my mother before.' It was just my brother and I. We couldn't believe it was just the two of us," Mr. Doherty said.

Mrs. Doherty preferred to stay in the background as first her husband, then her son seized the public spotlight, but her influence was felt. She insisted her children leave Scranton to go to college to learn independence and she encouraged their community involvement.

"If you're going to be part of a community, you have to be involved in the community," she said, according to her son.

She supported her husband's entry into politics and later her son's. James A. Doherty Sr. served from 1964 to 1980. Their son was elected a councilman in 1997, as mayor in 2001 and has been re-elected mayor twice.

"She always said that 'If you're going to be successful in anything you do, you have to make it happen yourself,' " Mr. Doherty said.

"And don't be afraid to fail, everybody fails," she told her son. "But the ones that are successful are the ones that are able to pick themselves up from failure and move on."

In his first re-election bid for mayor in 2005, Mr. Doherty narrowly won the Democratic nomination over city council President Gary DiBileo, who won the Republican nomination, setting up a general election rematch. Mr. Doherty said he was "feeling down" about the results.

"She goes, 'Hey, what are you going to do? Sit here? Get out there? You want to win? Go for it. Go to work. You're not going to win sitting here,'" he said.

Mr. Doherty campaigned hard that summer and easily won re-election.

"She taught us that (determination), you know, by overcoming her injury," the mayor said.

After she fell, family members did not find her lying in her bedroom until 12 hours later.

As they waited for the ambulance, Mr. Doherty and his mother chatted.

"I said, 'What did you do these 12 hours?' " Mr. Doherty recalled. "And she said, 'Well, I sat here and I couldn't move and I started to cry and I realized, well, what good is that going to do? Crying doesn't do anything. I've got to stay focused.'"

Mrs. Doherty's obituary is on Page B8.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk @timesshamrock.com

Mr. Jarbola said he expects to be dismissed from the suit, which was brought by the Community Justice Project, a nonprofit, public interest law firm whose mission is to protect the civil rights of poor families and low-wage workers. Mr. Jarbola said the collection agency approach to bad check writers is essentially a "diversionary program" that allows people to pay their debts without facing criminal prosecution.

The program also includes a session at Lackawanna College, where bad check writers are offered tips on how to manage their finances, advice that Mr. Jarbola said keeps the recidivism rate for check bouncers to about 2 percent.

Though Mr. Jarbola is named as a defendant in the suit, he is not the only district attorney who has the same collection program in place. The suit states there are about 20 district attorney's offices across the state that also use the company to go after people who bounce checks.

The suit seeks class-action certification, a decision that rests with U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo. Mr. Jarbola believes the suit should be bounced out of court.

James J. Scanlon, the Scranton attorney representing Mr. Jarbola, said he suspects the group is looking for a test case in Lackawanna County and expects the group will appeal to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if the case against Mr. Jarbola is dismissed.

The suit, which includes Jennifer Shouse of Lackawanna County as a plaintiff, claims National Corrective Group of San Clemente, Calif., operates a "collection scheme" that involves district attorney offices like Mr. Jarbola's, who authorizes NCG to use the district attorney's name and letterhead, and represent itself as the district attorney's "bad check diversion program" when collecting money owed by people who have written bad checks.

Mr. Jarbola said he had been named in a similar suit and won.

"There have been lawsuits like this filed and all were dismissed," Mr. Jarbola said. He defended his use of the program, which he started about seven or eight years ago. Since its inception, he said, "we've gotten three-quarters of a million to $1 million back to businesses."

Ms. Shouse was one of the bad check writers the company went after. According to the suit, she wrote two checks, one for $23.31, the other for $36,00, and they bounced. There wasn't enough money in the account because her employer had mailed her paycheck, not put it in the bank through direct-deposit.

"After receiving a threatening notice from NCG, purporting to be the district attorney, Shouse contacted NCG and informed its representative of the mistake that had occurred and that she could not afford to pay the full amount demanded, $319.91, $260 of which consisted of fees," the suit states.

The NCG representative, whom she believed was someone from the district attorney's office, offered to allow her to make two installments, the suit states.

The suit claims NCG statements to people like Ms. Shouse are false and misleading and not in accordance with the law.

Contact the writer: jmcdonald@timesshamrock.com

n Darin Timlin, 37, 412 Dean St., Scranton; one month in county prison, two months' electronic monitoring house arrest and three months' probation for drunken driving Dec. 2 at 416 W. Market St.

n Joel S. Kerlavage, 27, 47 Dundee St., Hanover Twp.; two months' electronic monitoring house arrest and 28 months' probation for drunken driving Dec. 5 on Interstate 81, Greenfield Twp.

n Amanda Smith, 21, 134 Vine St., Plymouth; 90 days' house arrest, 18 months' probation and time served, 90 days, in county prison for simple assault March 11 for assaulting two prison guards during an inspection.

n Jessie Tressler, 25, 104 S. Main Ave., Scranton; six to 12 months in county prison for disorderly conduct Dec. 2 at 300 Edwin Court.

n Kenneth Green, 45, 936 S. Main St., Scranton; 15 months' probation and $2,219 restitution for unlawfully obtaining public assistance.

n Justine M. Gould, 22, Rear 102 Ravine St., Scranton; 75 to 90 days in county prison, 120 days house arrest and 29 months' probation for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver Aug. 28, 2009, for having heroin at North Washington Avenue and Richmont Street.

n James Clark, 31, 117 Pancoast St., Throop; three to 23 months' house arrest for simple assault on his brother during an argument over money at their home.

n Monica Martinez, 31, 706 Prescott Ave., Scranton; 18 months to four years for simple assault and reckless endangerment Oct. 23 outside the Coliseum night club in downtown Scranton when she cut another woman in the face.

n Joseph M. Cohawitz, 50, 537 N. Washington Ave., Scranton; two to eight months in county prison for drunken driving Nov. 26 at 920 S. Washington Ave.

n Daryl Pressley, 41, 322 Harrison Ave., Scranton; one month, 18 days' electronic monitoring house arrest and 10 months' probation for drunken driving Nov. 14 in the 400 block of Fig Street.

n Ian Ruddy, 21, 554 Kennedy St., Scranton; one to six months' house arrest for delivery of a controlled substance, marijuana, between Oct. 8 and Jan. 5 in the 800 block of Kenndey Street and the 1200 block of Providence Road.

n Kenneth Schwenk, 38, 25 Little League Blvd., Taylor; four to 30 days for possession of marijuana Dec. 5 at 27 Little League Blvd., Taylor.

n Patrick Farrell, 46, Minersville; one month electronic monitoring house arrest and five months' probation for drunken driving Sept. 29, in Throop.

n John Lewis, 27, Bronx, N.Y.; 14 months to three years in prison for delivery of a controlled substance, crack, at multiple locations between Jan. 14 and Feb. 2.

n Zachary Connors, 25, 2706 Colliery Ave., Scranton; 30 days in county prison and five months' probation for drunken driving Dec. 19 at Electric Street and Monroe Avenue.

n Joseph Merryfield, 29, 715 Smith St., Dunmore; two days to six months in county prison and four years' probation for possession with intent to deliver ecstasy at various locations between February 2008 and Dec. 5, 2009.

n Harold Wheary, 39, 822 Cedar Ave., Scranton; one month, 15 days in county prison, six months' house arrest and 40 months' probation for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver at his residence.

n Monique Uzialko, 25, 37 Glen Oak Forest, East Stroudsburg; 90 days' electronic monitoring house arrest and 57 months' probation for drunken driving at Delaware Ave. and Grant St., Olyphant.

Shots fired during chase in Poconos

Four people were arrested in Monroe County after a dispute between two men escalated into a road-rage incident that led to gunshots and left one person seriously injured, police said.

Officers found Sean Ivey, 26, of Tobyhanna, lying naked on the ground when they arrived Wednesday around 7 p.m. at Winding Way and Starlight Terrace in Tobyhanna, Pocono Mountain Regional police said. He had suffered what police described as multiple traumatic wounds.

Police arrested Anthony Molyneaux, 28; Brady Lightfoot, 21, and Dennison Herbert, 21, on aggravated assault and related charges, and Michelle Winfrey, 20, for hindering apprehension, police said. Mr. Lightfoot is from New York City; the other three suspects live in Tobyhanna.

According to police:

Mr. Molyneaux and Mr. Herbert, who were involved in an ongoing dispute, came across each other while driving through a Pocono Country Place development and words were exchanged. Mr. Molyneaux, who was driving a Ford Explorer with Mr. Lightfoot as a passenger, started pursuing Mr. Herbert, who along with Ms. Winfrey was riding in a Saturn Ion driven by Mr. Ivey.

During the chase, Mr. Herbert leaned out the window of the Saturn and fired several rounds from an assault pistol at the Ford. The Saturn crashed while rounding a bend, and the Ford slammed into the rear of the vehicle.

Mr. Herbert and Ms. Winfrey ran. Mr. Ivey, who was injured in the crash, was caught by Mr. Molyneaux and Mr. Lightfoot, who stripped him of his clothing and assaulted him. Witnesses told police Mr. Molyneaux was armed with a knife during the assault.

Police said the pistol allegedly wielded by Mr. Herbert was reported stolen in Steubenville, Ohio.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

Marriage licenses

- Willie D. Scott and Cather­ine A. Fernandes, both of Scranton.

- Curtis Perry and Dominque Koncsik, both of Bronx, N.Y.

- Shanon Eugene Smith and Christina Marie Williams, both of Scranton.

- William Edward Hillier and Tamara Wozniak, both of Scranton.

DIVORCE DECREES

- Carol A. Demas v. William R. Demas

- Daniel Edwards v. Jodi Edwards

- Mary Ann Michno v. Mark Michno

- Lisa K. Bowan v. David Bowan

- Kelly Mellen Evans v. Joseph C. Evans

- Joely Mottola v. Nicholas Mottola

- Lynn R. Sipe v. Roy J. Sipe

- Joseph L. Shust v. Barbara Shust

- Christopher Kyle Barrett v. Marissa Lee Barrett

- Teresa M. Stewart v. John B. Stewart

- William Wall v. Jacklyn Wall

- Ivonette Castanho v. Jeffrey A. Kormanec

- Michelle Webber v. Kenneth Webber Jr.

Property Transactions

- Tracy VanLuvender, now by marriage Tracy Kelley and Ronald H. Kelley Jr., to Richard R. and Lucy H. Brown; a property at 100 S. Keyser Ave., Taylor, for $160,000.

- Gerard J. Houston, executor of the estate of George Houston Jr., also known as George J. Houston Jr., late of Scranton, to Eric J. Ryder and Ruth A. Flana­gan, as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, Scranton; two par­cels in Scranton for $138,000.

- Sherry and Matthew Pritchyk, and Susan Wade, Scott Twp., to Gershon and Ayala Barnett, Kew Gardens, N.Y.; a property in Scott Twp. for $30,000.

- Teresa J. Bonifanti, Scranton, to Matthew T. Lavelle, Scranton; a property at 1723 Ryerson Ave., Scranton, for $100,000.

- Robert W. and Katherine J. Oehler, South Abington Twp., to Thomas P. and Rebecca E. Tschampel, Scranton; a property at 717 Griffin Pond Road, South Abington Twp., for $180,000.

FEDERAL TAX LIENS

- Mark J. Micciche, 771 E. Drink­er St., Dunmore; $4,315.81.

- Ian Daley, 480 Route 247, Greenfield Twp.; $1,584.86.

- Carmelo and Lucelenia Gonzalez, 1405 N. Sumner Ave., Scranton; $515.25.

- Daniel N. Lee, 291 Lee Road, Carbondale; $58,543.33.

- Impact Images Inc., 108 N. Abington Road, Clarks Summit; $74,861.18.

- Judi T. Taylor, 611 Mineral Ave., Scranton; $1,897.76.

EstateS Filed

- Charles Valonis, Gino Merli Veterans Center, Mulberry Street, Scranton; letters testamentary to Gerald R. Valonis, 1130 Bank St., Dickson City.

- Lydia K. Ruby, 1045 N. Main Ave., Scranton; letters testamentary to Elaine E. Annick, 44 Friar Lane, Trumbull, Conn.

- Anita Petrick, 106 Holly Lane, Peckville; letters testamentary to Sandra Moran, 1346 Winton St., Archbald.

Ever seen a college game where the quarterbacks combined to take 0 snaps as a starter? YSU going with Kurt Hess, a redshirt freshman.

EDGE: Penn State

Running back

Penguins' leading returning rusher is sophomore Jamaine Cook, who gained 111 yards last season. Penn State has Evan Royster, who is primed to become the Nittany Lions' all-time leading rusher.

EDGE: Penn State

Wide Receiver

YSU has a good one in Dominique Barnes. But Penn State is as deep as anyone in the Big Ten at receiver.

EDGE: Penn State

Offensive line

Lots of questions for Penn State, but Penguins have just as many. Paterno is happy with how his group is progressing.

EDGE: Penn State

Defensive line

Few teams will be able to man up physically with what Penn State can do up front this season, potentially.

EDGE: Penn State

Linebacker

Both teams lost a slew of starters here after last season. But at least Penn State can reload with six more talented athletes.

EDGE: Penn State

Secondary

Penguins safety Andre Elliott is a terrific player who can make plays in coverage or on the blitz. But PSU has too much here.

EDGE: Penn State

Special teams

At least potentially, PSU has some gamebreakers in the return game, thought the kicking game is still a question.

EDGE: Penn State

SCRANTON - A former Scranton Fire Department captain was arrested Wednesday on insurance fraud charges and his girlfriend on prescription drug fraud charges by the state attorney general's office.

Kevin J. Joyce, 54, of 518 Broadway, Scranton, and Kristen M. Uhrin, 29, of 615 Susquehanna Ave., Olyphant, were released on $10,000 unsecured bail each by District Judge Alyce Hailstone Farrell.

The charges against Ms. Uhrin allege she fraudulently obtained prescriptions for the painkiller Vicodin at the Rite Aid pharmacy in Dickson City.

The charges against Mr. Joyce, who retired from the Fire Department in May, involve four or five prescriptions for antibiotics that were allegedly fraudulently obtained at a Walgreens in Scranton.

James Owens of East Main Street, Dalton, was apparently trying to scale a 40-foot-high cliff face near the Harrison Avenue bridge. His injuries, which included fractured ribs, were "severe" but not life-threatening, authorities said.

It is unknown exactly how far the man fell or why he was climbing the rocks, Assistant Fire Chief Jeff White said.

Another man who was reportedly walking along the tracks discovered him and called 911 from a cell phone when he either heard the victim hit the ground or heard his cries.

The call came at about 5:10 p.m. About 35 minutes later, a team of paramedics and firefighters was hoisting Mr. Owens on a gurney into a Lackawanna Ambulance. The victim was transported to Community Medical Center.

Mr. Owens told police he had climbed down an embankment and was trying to get back up, Lt. Marty Crofton said.

The place where he fell was a sheer rock face, the top of which led up to homes on Roselynn Street and Nay Aug Park, about a quarter-mile east of Harrison Avenue.

Contact the writer: jburton@timesshamrock.com

James Lionel Edwards, 19, of 1330 Jefferson Ave., Dunmore, was held in the Lackawanna County Prison on $50,000 bail, charged with multiple counts of robbery and related offenses in the incident late Sunday at 205 Donnelly Court, city police said.

Arrest warrants were issued for Geoffrey Pernell Williams, 19, and Tyron Anthony Rich, 18, both of Scranton. Police said the two men should be considered armed and dangerous.

City detectives said Mr. Edwards, Mr. Williams, Mr. Rich and a fourth unidentified man went to the Donnelly Court address around midnight in an attempt to collect $260 owed to Mr. Edwards by John Powell. Mr. Powell was visiting friends Wendy and Gary Roguskie, who live in the home, police said.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Detective James Pappas:

The four men and Mr. Powell went into the kitchen, where an argument erupted over the amount of the debt. Mr. Williams, directed by Mr. Edwards to take care of the situation, pointed a handgun at Mr. Powell's face and demanded all of his money, which was about $800.

When Mr. Powell suggested the men take the $260 and leave before someone got hurt, Mr. Williams struck him on the forehead with the gun.

Mrs. Roguskie then entered the kitchen and attempted to resolve the dispute by taking Mr. Powell's cash and counting out $260. When Mr. Edwards tried to grab all of the money from the woman, the two began to struggle, with Mr. Edwards screaming to Mr. Williams, "Shoot her. Shoot her already."

Drawn by the commotion, Mr. Roguskie ran into the kitchen and tackled Mr. Williams. The two struggled on the floor, with Mr. Williams eventually freeing himself by punching Mr. Roguskie four times in the chest.

The assailants then grabbed what money they could get from the floor before fleeing out the front door.

Mr. Powell was later treated at a local hospital, where he received five staples to close a laceration to his head, police said.

Mr. Edwards was arrested Tuesday at Valley View Terrace Apartments in South Scranton, where detectives caught him after a brief foot chase, police said. He was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Terrence Gallagher and jailed when he could not post bail.

Mr. Williams, also known as "Free," is wanted on four counts of armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault and a series of related charges, police said. Mr. Rich, also known as "Stone," is charged simple assault and conspiracy.

Police asked anyone with information on their whereabouts to contact Detective Pappas at 558-8428 or call 911.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

"She was a little sweetheart," said Rita Tate, 63, who lives not far from the Cusick family in Dickson City. "You could look in her eyes and see the light of love in her eyes."

The fire badly shook the close-knit local community of Jehovah's Witnesses because the Cusicks were members and attended services at the congregation's Kingdom Hall on the Morgan Highway. Many members drove to Allentown - where Rachel's mother, Laurie Cusick, 40, and sister, Amanda, 6, were undergoing treatment for burns at Lehigh Valley Hospital's burn unit - to support their family.

"Everybody knew them," said Ms. Tate, a member of the congregation.

A hospital spokeswoman said Mrs. Cusick and Amanda were in critical condition.

Patrick Cusick, the childrens' father, was treated at Mercy Hospital and released, Police Chief William Bilinski said. A son of the Cusicks, C.J. Crespo, 16, was treated Community Medical Center and released, the chief said.

An autopsy showed Rachel died of carbon monoxide poisoning because she inhaled too much smoke, Lackawanna County Deputy Coroner Tim Rowland said. She was found in a second-floor bedroom of the home at 611 Dundaff St., Fire Chief Joseph Chowanec Jr. said.

Fire Marshal Steve Kaneski called a Harrisburg state police unit for a dog to help him determine where the fire started. By the end of the day he was not ready to issue a final determination of the cause. He declined to provide further details, but expressed doubt the fire is suspicious. Mr. Rowland said the coroner's office had ruled Rachel's death accidental.

The fire marshal said he planned to send samples of burned materials to a laboratory for testing.

"It's probably going to take a while" to determine a cause, he said. "Nobody can talk to us right now. Everybody's in the hospital or in various places. I haven't interviewed any of these people (the victims) yet."

The fire was reported at 12:50 a.m.

John Chmielewski, a borough firefighter who lives at 600 Dundaff St., said he was awakened by the screams of two fellow firefighters who also live in the neighborhood.

"They came running down the street and I heard them yelling. So I got up, saw smoke, came out to the house. When I got to the house, the first floor was fully engulfed. I came back, got on the phone with 911 because my wife was on the phone with them, indicated who I was, told them we need to get some vehicles as soon as possible," Mr. Chmielewski said. "It was pretty intense, because I knew we couldn't do anything until we got apparatus there ... It was going for quite some time."

Unable to fight the fire without his protective gear, he drove to the fire station a few blocks away on Eagle Lane to get the gear and jumped on a firetruck responding to the call.

He was among the firefighters who tried to get inside the house.

"It was just rolling across the ceiling up to the second floor," he said. "So we couldn't even get in the front door to go up the steps (to attempt a rescue). So we just knocked it down enough so we could get by and shoot up to the second floor."

Another crew of firefighters tried a rescue using a ladder truck at the rear of the home. Between the heavy heat, flames and smoke, neither crew could reach the girl in time.

"There was just nothing we could have done," Mr. Chmielewski said. "It was just roaring too much."

Firefighters brought the fire under control and ventilated the house of smoke for the next hour.

Rachel was found a foot from a rear window, Mr. Chmielewski said.

"It's pretty tough to deal with when a young person (dies)," Chief Chowanec said. "Not just a young person, but the family itself injured pretty badly. That and having a total devastation of the residence also."

The chief was unsure how the family escaped, but said he does not believe the firefighters were involved in the rescue.

Patrick and Laurie Cusick bought the home in October 2005. It was their first home, according to Times-Tribune archive stories that relate an account of a zoning dispute with the Frank T. Mazur Funeral Home next door. On the other side of the Cusick home is an apartment building, and next to that comes St. Mary's Visitation Church, a Roman Catholic church that towers over the neighborhood.

The fire left the house a hulk of untouched white siding and blackened and melted siding. A three-piece sign hung from a metal mailbox. saying "Grow giggles, plant smiles, harvest love."

A large crowd gathered to watch the firefighters work as the dull drone of emergency vehicles filled the neighborhood. By 2 a.m., news of the girl's death began to spread among the onlookers.

Steve Haluska, who lives across the street, said he was still awake when the smell of smoke caught his attention. When he looked outside, he said he saw the home engulfed.

Mr. Haluska and Patricia Bryla said they were good friends of the victims. The two neighbors described Rachel as a smart, "happy-go-lucky" kid who liked to tell jokes and was quick with a smile.

"This is a shame for this to happen to them. It's not right. It's not fair," Ms. Bryla said.

Though some neighbors knew the Cusicks well, others said they mostly kept to themselves, which Ms. Tate, also a Jehovah's Witness, said is sometimes the practice of members of the religion, whose beliefs sometimes sharply conflict with others' beliefs. (For example, Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas or Easter.)

"They didn't live an exciting life. None of us do," Ms. Tate said.

Amanda played with her 7-year-old grandson, Courdell Johnson, when witnesses met at the Kingdom Hall.

"She was crazy about my grandson," she said. "They love to hide under tables." Mrs. Cusick kept many dolls around the house and operates an online children's clothing and accessories store called The Lollipop Lane (www.thelollipoplane.com). Rachel and Amanda loved to play with dolls, said Stacy Brown, a Times-Tribune staff writer whose family is close friends with the Cusicks.

Mrs. Cusick hosted a baby shower at the Cusick home when his wife, Shenay, was pregnant with their daughter, Paris. Rachel played with the Browns' daughter, Talia, 11.

"They're a really nice, easy-going family," Mr. Brown said. "She (Rachel) was very loving, always willing to do something you asked her to do. She loved to play ... She was very talkative. No matter who it was she was playing with, she wanted to take the lead ... We're just in shock."

Contact the writers: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com, jburton@timesshamrock.com