12/3/2018
Labor of love: Glen Lyon women look to return WWII letters to kin
rdupuis@timesleader.com

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Nearly 80 years ago, residents of Glen Lyon and surrounding areas joined millions of Americans in mobilizing to fight for our country and save democracy.
Today, two dedicated women are fighting to keep a special part of their legacy alive, and looking to get treasured family mementoes into the hands of loved ones.
Friends Lorrie Materewicz and Sally Billings have become the custodians of hundreds of letters and postcards mailed home from around the globe during World War II.
The largest Catholic church in Newport Township, St. Adalbert’s Parish formed a “Service Club” to send the weekly church bulletins, monthly township newsletters telling of current events such as births, deaths, marriages, local sports teams’ scores, and local news, and care packages consisting of candy, shoeshine kits, hygiene items, socks, and other gifts to the servicemen and women of the parish.
In response, those on the front lines sent letters and postcards back to the church. They were lovingly placed in scrapbooks, where they lay undisturbed for decades.
St. Adalbert’s is now part of Holy Spirit Parish.
“In 2005 or 2006 I was in the balcony with our pastor looking for Christmas decorations, and I came across these,” Materewicz said.
“I started leafing through them, realized what they were, and I asked him if we could have them, and he said yes,” she said.”Raising a young child at the time, I put them in my study and didn’t look at them for years. In purging the study a few years ago I came across them again and really started delving into them.”
Among the letters were dispatches home from her father, Sylvester Materewicz, and her uncle, Felix Materewicz.
“I just was overwhelmed, I just couldn’t control my emotions,” she said. “And I thought that if anybody else could feel like this, getting letters from a relative, we need to get them back.”
So she and Billings made up a list of everybody’s name — it took work, as the letters had been saved chronologically, not alphabetically. They put the list in the back of the parish and also had it published in the township newsletter.
“Requests started pouring in,” Materewicz said.
The women, who are both members of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 539, keep photocopies of each item to save them for the local legion’s history. They are preserved as part of Post 539’s Veterans’ Memorial Gallery located in the Post home’s banquet hall.
Materewicz has served as commander and president, while Billings is auxiliary secretary/treasurer.
The pair very much want to see as many letters reach family members as possible.
“We’ve given away over 300 pieces of correspondence to over 120 families so far,” Materewicz said. There were probably 700 total, Billings added, which means many more remain to be claimed.
“And they only go to family members,” said Billings, who keeps a list of who the originals were sent to. “Everything is documented.”
Correspondence can be repatriated to family members only by contacting Materewicz at 570-736-7177.

THE LIST

The veterans’ names are as follows: Babskie, Robert; Bellini, August; Benkoski, Walter; Bolek, Michael; Bozimski, Edward; Bozinski, Sylvester; Brocki, Henry; Brozoski, John; Brutski, Walter; Bukoski, Walter; Bush, Albert; Butka, Albert; Butkiewicz, Edward; Cheski, Max; Chmielak, Albert; Chmielewski, Henry; Dekutoski, Casmir; Dombroski, Gerard; Dombroski, Sygfried; Drozdienski, Joseph; Dudzinski, Frank; Dudzinski, Walter; Fundalewicz, Leonard; Gembusia, Stanley; Gionta, Quinto; Gorney, Walter; Guffrowicz, Emory; Himilefski, Frank; Humphrey, Albert; Kaczmarek, Frank; Kaftanowicz, Stanley; Kalinowski, Leon; Kamieniecki, Frank; Kane, Norbert; Karcheski, Joseph; Kasnikowski, Joseph; Keyeck, Anthony; Keyek, Stanley; Keyeck, Walter; Kleyps, Edward; Koas, Adolph; Kolakoski, Celia; Kornoski, Leonard; Koval, Joseph; Kovaleski, Albert; Kovaleski, Steven; Kowalski, John; Kowaleski, Clarence; Krauser, Leonard; Kriefski, Albert; Kriefski, Eugene; Kriefski, Sylvester; Krzywicki, John; Kwiatkowski, Ted; Lashinski, Joseph; Laskowski, Joseph; Leshniak, Julius; Levulis, Josephine; Lucas, J.A.; Maxey, Albert; Meshinski, Joseph; Meyeski, Margaret; Miara, Chester; Mundgetski, Clem; Myefski, Edward; Namowicz, Edward; Namowicz, John; Nork, Edward; Noss, Alfred; Novak, Alvin; Novak, Barney; Novak, John; Novak, Ernest; Obidzinski, Chester; Olenginski, Henry; Omichinski, Chester; Omichinski, Ted; Ozechowski, Edward; Pawloski, Edmund; Pawloski, Joseph; Petchik, Edmund; Petchik, Leo; Piavis, George; Piavis, Walter; Pish, Chester; Pish, John; Rachunas, John; Rachunas, Frank; Rasmus, Walter; Reno, Wadic; Ringawa, Walter; Robachinski, Fred; Robachinski, Stanley; Rokicki, Edmund; Rule, Chester; Ruminski, Thomas; Russin, Stanley; Sawetski, Jean; Schraeder, Raymond; Scott, Clemence; Shekletski, Zigmund; Shemanski, Clemence; Shemanski, Walter; Skouronski, Clem; Slupecki, Joseph; Smocarski, Edmund; Sobolewski, John; Stankiewicz, Stanley; Stopchinski, Stanley; Stopchinski, Ted; Strzalka, Chester; Strzalka, Frank; Strzalka, Joseph; Stuczynski, John; Stuczynski, Joseph; Sugalski, Paul; Supko, Joseph; Sweeney, Stanley; Talanowski, John; Tarnowicz, Edward; Terkoski, Ray; Terkoski, Sylvester; Tokarchik, Joseph; Trynoski, Joseph; Venslove, Adam; Vinicki, John; Voytkowski, John; Waclawski, Clem; Waclawski, Zigmund; Wintergrass, Frank; Wrona, Eugene; Wuchek, John; Wyda, Edward; Yacuboski, John; Yacuboski, Stanley; Zakrzewski, Clem; Zaucha, Mitchell; Zawacki, Louis; Zawala, Chester; Zawala, Edward; Zawatski, Edward; Zawatski, Eugene.

11/30/2018
Woman pleads not guilty to killing pedestrian
James Halpin - Citizens Voice

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A Newport Twp. woman accused of fleeing the scene after hitting and killing a pedestrian on the Sans Souci Parkway entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance Thursday morning.
Lisa Marie Yurkin, 52, is facing a felony count of fleeing the scene of the deadly collision that claimed the life of Hanover Twp. resident Jason Filip, 36.
At the arraignment Thursday morning, Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough accepted Yurkin's not guilty plea and set a trial date of Feb. 11.
Yurkin was allowed to remain free on $25,000 unsecured bail.
According to prosecutors, Yurkin hit Filip in the area of the UFCW Federal Credit Union as he walked home from the 6 String Saloon at 1474 Sans Souci Parkway. Filip's body was found along the highway shortly after midnight Feb. 25.
Later that day, Yurkin went to the police station saying she might have hit Filip on her way home from a friend's house in West Pittston, prosecutors said.
Yurkin admitted drinking four beers in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, earlier in the day, but she denied being drunk on her way home, according to prosecutors.
She told police she didn't stop because she thought she had hit a deer on the dark and rainy night, prosecutors said.
Police said Yurkin's 2002 Ford Explorer had a shattered windshield as well as Filip's DNA on the fender and windshield.

11/24/2018
Newport United dedicates new digital sign

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Newport United, a coalition of several community organizations in Newport Twp., recently dedicated a new digital sign at the entrance to their community. The project was the culmination of a coordinated effort to promote awareness of local happenings that may be of interest to township residents and visitors.

11/20/2018
Glen Lyon man extradited from Texas to face child rape charges
elewis@timesleader.com

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A Glen Lyon man charged with raping a girl was returned to Pennsylvania over the weekend after being caught last month near the Mexican border.
Bolivar Patricio Riera, 34, is accused of sexually assaulting a teen girl for several years inside a residence on Arch Street and at a location in Wilkes-Barre, according to court records.
Riera was apprehended in Webb County, Texas, on an arrest warrant issued Oct. 3 by District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke. Riera waived his right to an extradition hearing in Webb County Court on Oct. 23, permitting his return to Pennsylvania.
Webb County borders the Mexican border.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Newport Township police and Luzerne County detectives:
A teen girl told a forensic interviewer at the Luzerne County Advocacy Center in August that Riera sexually and physically assaulted her for several years. She told the interviewer she resisted Riera’s assaults by slapping him in the face.
Riera allegedly grabbed her wrists, pinched her body and slapped her head whenever she resisted.
Investigators alleged Riera threatened the girl not to tell anyone.
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Riera was arraigned Saturday by District Judge James Haggerty in Kingston on charges of rape of a child, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and corruption of minors. He was jailed at the county correctional facility for lack of $150,000 bail.
Riera is also charged by Wilkes-Barre police with three counts of indecent assault and a single count of aggravated indecent assault. He has not been arraigned on the charges filed by Wilkes-Barre police.

10/21/2018
AMAZING KIDS: Guitarist Gabriel Josefowicz makes music his life
Steve Mocarsky - Citizens Voice

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Gabriel Josefowicz was excited to start taking guitar lessons at age 8, but it took his parents sitting with him and making him practice at home until an egg timer ran out to get him prepared every week.
Now, the 14-year-old freshman at Greater Nanticoke Area said during a recent interview at Rockology Music Academy at East End Centre in Wilkes-Barre Twp. that he puts in a solid hour of practice every day with no coaxing.
“Then on Saturdays, I’ll come here and I’ll play for three or four hours. Sometimes I’ll go over one of my friends’ houses and we’ll play. When I’m not doing that, I’ll usually listen to music or think about music,” Gabe added.
Area music promoter Joe Nardone Jr. founded the academy in 2016 to provide expert instrumental and vocal instruction as well as band classes in which student musicians learn to play with other student musicians.
Vince Insalaco, Gabe’s band class instructor at the academy, said he nominated Gabe for this year’s Amazing Kids publication because of his dedication, talent and accomplishments.
In addition to playing and singing with two bands at Rockology — The Rockology All Stars and ECG (Explosive Cyclone Genesis) — Josefowicz has been writing music with the bass player and drummer from ECG for a new band they started called Zero. He also participates in various workshops at the academy.
“Any opportunity to improve himself as a musician, he takes advantage of it,” Insalaco said, adding Josefowicz “plays at a professional level at 14.”
Josefowicz has played with the bands at festivals on Public Square and at Kirby Park and opened for professional acts at the Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre.
He’s played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins opening night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Twp., and he’s played the national anthem before RailRiders games at PNC Field in Moosic.
A huge fan of Jimi Hendrix, Josefowicz said he was inspired by the late guitar virtuoso’s version of the “Star Spangled Banner” and was excited to learn the song when Gregory Bealla, his private instructor at Rockology, suggested it.
At the time, Bealla was teaching Josefowicz at a music store in Nanticoke, and both he and the store owner played in bands. They wanted to get Gabe out playing in front of people so Bealla asked Gabe if he wanted to learn to play the anthem.
“I thought doing something patriotic will always be well-received,” Bealla said. “As I gave him the pieces (to practice), he came back the next week owning them.”
It took Gabe about a month to master the song, Bealla said, and Gabe’s performances “went over great.”
Bealla said Gabe’s parents, David and Gina Josefowicz, of Glen Lyon, didn’t know he had tried unsuccessfully to get a job teaching at the academy when Gabe began attending the live band classes there.
“When (Rockology staff) found out I was the longtime instructor of Gabe Josefowicz, they said, ‘we have to hire this guy.’ So actually, I didn’t take him to Rockology, his playing opened the door for me to get into Rockology,” Bealla said.
Gabe said he became interested in playing guitar when he was 4 and he his dad played used to play the “Guitar Hero” video game.
“Being able to see bands like AC/DC playing in front of big crowds and knowing maybe that’s something I might be able to do some day, or just playing for somebody in general and giving the power of music to them,” is what he said motivates him.
When he’s not playing guitar, Gabe enjoys writing poetry, which he said helps him with song writing, and playing drums. His favorite subject in school is Spanish. And he hopes to attend college to study music engineering and production.
Gabe’s advice to other kids: “Never give up.”
He said he once felt like giving up, “then I really thought about it and I’m like, well, what else would I do? This has been with me my whole life, so there’s no reason to stop. Something will happen eventually.”
Gabriel Josefowicz’s parents, David and Gina, had this to say about their son and parenting:
What successful parenting strategy can you share with other parents?
David: “Be supportive, especially with music. I always tell him I played all kind of sports in high school and I haven’t played since. (Music) is something he can play for the rest of his life, never go hungry, can always play somewhere for the money or whatever he wants to do. He can play till the day he dies, and I just always try and reinforce that. This is something a lot of people cannot do. But things just come easy to him and I find it absolutely amazing what he can do at 14.”
Gina: “Just support their interests.”
David: “And if your child wants to play music or do something different than the norm. … Your kid wants to play an instrument, I think they should all do that. I know he doesn’t see it, but it helps in school. It helps his coming out of his shell. At first he didn’t want to sing, and now he’s leading his own original band. It’s just amazing how far he’s come. We used to have to sit with an egg timer … when he first started and just make him practice for his first couple songs that he learned.”
At what moment did you realize your child was special?
Gina: “A couple years after Gabe began taking guitar lessons, he started to just pick things up and he could play by ear. It didn’t take much for him to learn a song just playing with the radio.”
David: “Other band parents say he’s a wealth of knowledge. You could shout out a song to him and he’ll play it. I can remember when he was 10 and I bribed him to learn a Slayer song, which is extremely difficult for a 10-year-old, and he learned it and nailed it easily. I said, ‘There’s something here.’ Then to see him at 13 go out in front of thousands of people, stand at home plate and nail the national anthem — twice — with no sweat, and here’s his dad sweating and thinking, what if a string breaks, what if his amp falls over? Nothing phased him, and I thought, if he could do this, he could do anything.”
What is the greatest challenge you’ve encountered in raising your child?
Gina: “The whole process, I think, is a challenge. But as far as with the music, just being supportive of what he likes because it wasn’t the norm, and he’s not a conformist — he likes what he likes and doesn’t care what the other kids think, and sometimes he took a lot of flack for that.”

10/9/2018
Newport Twp. hit-run suspect enters plea deal
James Halpin - Citizens Voice

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A Newport Twp. woman accused of fleeing the scene after hitting and killing a pedestrian on the Sans Souci Parkway waived her right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday after entering into a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Lisa Marie Yurkin, 52, is facing a felony count of accidents involving death in the death of Hanover Twp. resident Jason Filip, 36, whose body was found along the highway shortly after midnight Feb. 25.
Prosecutors on Tuesday declined to disclose terms of the plea agreement.
According to police, Yurkin hit Filip in the area of the UFCW Federal Credit Union as he walked home from the 6 String Saloon at 1474 Sans Souci Parkway.
Yurkin arrived at the police station later the same day saying she may have hit Filip on her way home from a friend’s house in West Pittston, police said.
Yurkin had been in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, earlier in the day and admitted drinking four beers, but she denied being drunk as she drove home, according to police.
She told police it had been dark and raining, and figured she had hit a deer, police said.
Officers went to Yurkin’s home and found her vehicle, a 2002 Ford Explorer, in the driveway. The vehicle had a hair stuck in the shattered passenger side portion of the front windshield, as well as what appeared to be a drop of blood, police said.
Testing matched Filip’s DNA to tissue samples recovered from the fender and windshield of Yurkin’s car, according to police.
Yurkin has been free on $25,000 unsecured bail since her arrest in June.

9/24/2018
Fire riders roll into Nanticoke
bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

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A motorcycle club of current and former New York City firefighters rumbled into town last week and surprised a retired member with a trip to a memorial to his brother who was killed on Sept. 11.
The group visited a tribute at Luzerne County Community College to fallen New York City firefighter Michael Carlo, 34, who was killed at the World Trade Center. Carlo was born and raised in the Wanamie section of Newport Twp.

His brother, Rob Carlo, was shocked when members of his club - the New York City Fire Riders - brought him to his brother's memorial at LCCC's Walk of Honor. The Nanticoke Fire Department was there to greet them.
"I was just told we were coming up for a ride. I had no idea you guys were meeting us here," Rob Carlo said in an impromptu speech at the memorial. "My family is going to be thrilled we did this here today."
The memorial, which includes tributes to others killed on duty, was partially funded by the Carlo family from money paid out to Sept. 11 victims.
"It's great. It will be here for years to come. Hopefully it doesn't get filled with line of duty deaths. It's a nice place to come and reflect," Rob Carlo said.

Rob Carlo, who now lives in California, was visiting friends in New York when the group decided to take the ride to Nanticoke. They told him they planned to visit the Nanticoke Fire Department, which has a memorial to Sept. 11 outside made from World Trade Center steel.
They also visited that memorial during their trip.
Carlo said so many of his colleagues are filled with anger, hate and depression 17 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He said this year instead of dreading the month of September he tried to spend his days thinking of things he was thankful for.

"I refuse to let them win," Rob Carlo said of the terrorists. "Every day we could be grateful."

Nanticoke Fire Chief Kevin Hazleton said the department was happy to host the Fire Riders.

"What an honor to have them come," Hazleton said.

8/14/2018
Badge of Honor: Jeremy Blank
August 14, 2018 timesleader Local, News 1
dstokes@timesleader.com

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Police officers live by the creed to ‘Protect and to Serve.’
Newport Township Police Chief Jeremy Blank takes it to heart.
For the past five years, the Glen Lyon native has served as the chief of police in Newport Township. However, he wasn’t always a member of law enforcement.
“I actually started as an EMS rescuer before becoming a police officer,” Blank said. “Being near a scanner, helping people and interacting with police made me want to make the career shift.”
Blank was appointed chief of police by the township’s Board of Commissioners on Jan. 1, 2013, after serving the municipality as a part-time officer.
Being the chief of police, Blank has to make sure he keeps everyone happy.
“The hardest part of my job is keeping everyone happy,” Blank said. “But I have great officers, residents and commissioners that make my job worth doing.”
According to statistics shown on www.niche.com, under the leadership of Blank violent crimes and property crimes are below national averages.
The nine-year law enforcement veteran personifies what it’s like to be in the ‘people business.’ When Blank is not working, he spends his free time volunteering with local organizations and youth sports.
“Everything I do is for the community,” Blank mentioned.
Two of the organizations Blank is involved with include the Sons of the American Legion and the Newport Township Lions Club.
“I’m actually the secretary of the Lions Club,” Blank said. “It’s a nonprofit organization that helps raise funds for children and elderly residents of Newport Township. We host bingo parties and help with medical bills.”
The chief was caught off guard when he found out that he was nominated to be honored in the Times Leader’s Badge of Honor special section.
“I don’t look for the glory,” Blank said. “I do it because it’s my job. But I was humbled when I got the news.”

7/11/2018
A video of a young girl performing oral sex on a man was found on a desktop computer in the bedroom of a Glen Lyon resident Wednesday, according to court records.
Times Leader

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The video along with 12 more videos of children engaged in sex acts were found on the computer after state police served a search warrant at Kyle Christian Kazmierski’s home on Engle Street, authorities report.
Kazmierski, 28, reportedly told troopers he has been viewing child pornography for approximately four to five years. He claimed he obtained images and videos of child pornography from certain websites and would often delete the files, empty the recycle bin and occassionally run a hard drive cleaner, court records say.
Kazmierski was arraigned by District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke on 13 counts each of child pornography and dissemination of children engaged in sex acts and a single count of criminal use of a communication facility. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $100,000 bail.

7/5/2018
Police: Man robs Turkey Hill after he, girlfriend gambled rent money
Steve Mocarsky - Citizens Voice

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City police arrested a man they say committed an armed robbery after he and his girlfriend gambled away their rent money at a casino.
Joshua Love, 30, of East Kirmar Avenue, Newport Twp., faces charges of robbery, theft by unlawful taking, terroristic threats and simple assault.
Police say Love entered the Turkey Hill Minit Market at 460 W. Main St., Nanticoke, at 3:55 a.m. June 23, jumped over the counter and demanded money from the cash register while holding a large kitchen knife. He then allegedly fled on foot on Alden Road.
In a criminal complaint, police say Love also took money from a “purported patron” before leaving the store. And although a clerk asked the female patron to wait for police, she left the store soon after Love.
The following day, police received information on the female patron, whom they located and interviewed. The woman allegedly told them she was serving as a lookout in the store for Love, who was her boyfriend.
Police then located Love, who allegedly told them he and his girlfriend were at a casino, drank alcohol, became intoxicated, gambled and lost their rent money.
Love then allegedly admitted to going to the store and committing the robbery, with his girlfriend serving as a lookout.
Love was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Joseph Spagnuolo and, unable to post $100,000 bail, was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility to await a preliminary hearing scheduled for 10:30 a.m. July 18 before District Judge Donald Whitaker.

7/1/2018
First Greater Nanticoke Area class to celebrate 50th reunion
Bob Kalinowski- Citizens Voice

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Former bitter rivals, the Nanticoke and Newport Twp. school districts merged for the 1968 campaign, but students still went to high school in different towns.
Though they didn’t interact during the school day, they played sports and cheered under the same banner — as Nanticoke Trojans — and immediately became an athletic powerhouse.
Nearly 300 students from Nanticoke City and Newport Twp. graduated together in June 1968 as the first-ever class of Greater Nanticoke Area, but they remained divided.
They even published separate yearbooks and ordered different class rings.
For decades, they continued the segregation by holding separate reunions. But that changed 10 years ago when, faced with dwindling participation, the two factions of Greater Nanticoke Area’s Class of 1968 held a joint 40th reunion.
Class members are now busy planning their 50th reunion — the first group from the school district to reach that mark. To be inclusive, they are calling it the “Nanticoke/Newport High School” reunion.
“It was like the North and South, some people still fighting the Civil War. It was the same thing with the rivalry between Nanticoke and Newport. Fifty years later, you got to give it up,” said Kline Searfoss, who was class president of the Nanticoke faction of the Class of 1968.
Becoming the Trojans
Nanticoke students attended the high school formerly located at Main and Kosciuszko streets in Nanticoke City, where a CVS pharmacy now stands.
Students from Newport Twp. attended half-day morning sessions at the Pulaski school on Market Street in Glen Lyon, sharing the building with junior high students who took classes there during afternoons. They had their own class officers, as well.
“It was pretty dysfunctional. The people at Nanticoke didn’t know the people in Newport and the people at Newport didn’t know the people in Nanticoke. The only thing that united us was the fact we played sports together. Other than that, we were completely separated,” recalled Searfoss, who shared quarterback duties on the football team and went on to become a nuclear engineer.
For generations, students in both towns celebrated the heated football rivalry between the Nanticoke Rams and the Newport Nutcrackers and their annual Thanksgiving game. Suddenly, the Class of 1968 became the Trojans for their senior year.
In the inaugural year of the Greater Nanticoke Area Trojans, the boys sports teams won the elusive “triple crown,” winning league championships in football, basketball and baseball.
The 1968 Nannual — the yearbook published for Nanticoke students — documents the domination on the sports fields, but makes no mention of it being the first combined year with Newport.
That year’s Newportrait — published for the Newport students — mentions the consolidation under a photograph of the basketball team, which completed its regular season without a loss.
“MERGER PAYS OFF!,” screamed a headline about the league championship.
Both yearbooks lament it would be their last. A new combined yearbook — The Trojanaire — was to be published in the future. However, separate yearbooks continued to be published the next two years until students started attending the same building for the 1970-71 school year.
Junior class officers at Newport Twp. summarized the year of change in the 1968 Newportrait.
“We have been effected by a great number of changes in our school system this year. We have witnessed the combining of our football, baseball, and basketball teams and also the band. Our colors have been changed to blue and white with a new title of Trojans ... Although the jointure has created some problems, we have overcome most of these and continue on our road to success.”
The United States was embroiled in turmoil in 1968 as well.
Protests raged against the Vietnam War and civil rights demonstrations gripped the country. Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April 1968 right before the senior class trip to Washington, D.C. Students were in the nation’s capital as riots erupted around them in response to King’s murder.
Right after they graduated, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, too.
Rivalry relived
The Nanticoke/Newport consolidation was finally solidified in September 1970 when Greater Nanticoke Area opened its current facility on Kosciuszko Street, originally called John S. Fine High School in honor of the former Pennsylvania governor who hailed from Nanticoke.
For the Newport students of 1968, schooling had already been chaotic for years prior to the merger with Nanticoke.
In December 1963, the Newport Twp. High School in Wanamie burned down.
Newport students were then forced to do half-day split sessions at Pulaski Junior High in Glen Lyon — grades 10 through 12 during the day and grades seven through nine in the afternoon.
To get ready for the 1967-68 merger, the Nanticoke and Newport school districts planned to hold a combined graduation in June 1967, which sparked controversy. A letter to the editor published in a local newspaper at the time urged against such a plan.
“This is to the disgusted seniors who spoke out about the combined graduations of Newport and Nanticoke High Schools. I, too, would feel the same way if I were graduating. All these years, there was nothing about Newport and Nanticoke doing things together. Now all of a sudden they want to combine graduation,” wrote a former Newport graduate. “When the two schools become one, Nanticoke will have its say. You can bet on it!”
In the years prior, Nanticoke and Newport students had often clashed, usually before their rivalry football game. Perhaps the most notable incident came in October 1965 when vandals splashed red paint — one of Newport’s colors — all around Nanticoke, targeting City Hall, Nanticoke High School and Nanticoke’s football stadium. At the time, Nanticoke’s lone police car was out of service due to a crash.
“Vandals Paint Nanticoke Red While Cops Await Cruiser to Pursue Them,” read a headline in a local newspaper.
The story goes on to note Nanticoke police, using private vehicles, caught the vandals in the act at the football stadium and fired a gunshot toward them to get them to flee.
Following the merger, next-door Hanover became the new arch rival and target of pranks, class members say.
GNA at 50
While sports was a source of the heated rivalry, they also helped the two towns come together.
Caroline Pawlush Brozena, a reunion committee member from Newport Twp. who was voted most likely to succeed, said extracurricular activities — like sports, cheerleading and the band — helped during the merger year. She was a cheerleader and was proud to root for the Trojans her senior year.
“It didn’t matter if I was a Newport Nutcracker or a Nanticoke Trojan, I had a great time in high school,” Brozena said. “I had no problems because I was involved as a cheerleader. We practiced with the Nanticoke kids. We went to games with them. We all had to get along.”
Since most of the two factions didn’t know each other, Newport and Nanticoke held separate reunions for decades. Due to shrinking turnout, they sought to host a joint venture to mark their 40th reunion. They hosted a clambake at the grove of the former Centre Inn on Old Newport Street in Newport Twp.
“It was great. We had a blast,” Brozena said.
The class of 1968 had 214 graduates from Nanticoke and 81 graduates from Newport. Most of them are 68-years-old.
Reunion organizers said they hope as many as possible turn out for this historic 50th reunion, to be held Sept. 8 at the Wyoming Valley Country Club in Hanover Twp.
“Fifty years is a milestone, a big milestone,” Brozena said. “I’m hoping for a good turnout. But we’ll see. There was some animosity and I’m sure there still is.”

50th reunion of the Nanticoke/Newport Class of 1968
WHEN: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 8
WHERE: Wyoming Valley Country Club, Hanover Twp.
COST: $55 per person
CONTACT: Kline Searfoss at 570-436-1969 or Beverly Howell 570-735-8487.
Icebreaker to be held 7 p.m. Sept. 7 at R Bar and Grill in Newport Twp.
SEEKING CLASS MEMBERS:
The committee planning the 50th reunion of the Nanticoke/Newport Class of 1968 are trying to contact the following classmates.
From Nanticoke: Ronald Butka, Stephen Buchinski, William Crigas, Frank Demski, Arthur Houck, Robert Hoover, Thomas Jenkins, John Neidzwski, Donald Stofko, Joseph Stoker, Kenneth Thompson, Robert Wodarczyk, John Wozniak, Linda Bethel Baker, Sally Reese Swan, Linda Rinehamer Lehet, Donna Shedlock Werkheiser, Linda Siko Hewitt, Theresa Yatsko Burgess.
From Newport: Arnold Fiorani, Gary Kichner, Anthony Sklaney, Barry Varchimak, Patsy Faux Waltman, Catherine Graves, Grace Kreitzer, Sarah Shank.
Anyone with questions about the reunion can call Kline Searfoss at 570-436-1969.
IN THEIR WORDS:
“The crazy thing was you didn’t know these people unless you played athletics. You have been rivals so long and all of a sudden you’re classmates and teammates. I enjoyed high school, had a great time and absolutely loved it. To me, I’m a history buff, it was historic year. Martin Luther King was shot earlier that year. When we went to D.C. for our senior trip, you saw all the burned out buildings from the riots. After we graduated, you go home and watch the news, Robert F. Kennedy got shot. It was a tumultuous year.”
— JOSEPH IRACKI, Nanticoke
“The 1967-68 school year was a beginning and an end. The initial shock of the jointure began in our sophomore year with the vote on the GNA mascot. 1968 Newport Township grads would become the first GNA Trojans and 50 years later they would celebrate that prestigious experience. We would retain a portion of our Nutcracker identity by retaining our Newport ring and yearbook. It would be a bittersweet year full of anticipation and uncertainty shaped by world events. Little did we know then the notoriety that would be associated with this beginning. It is one of the many reasons to celebrate.”
— DAVE GUZOFSKY, Newport
“I think I remember most actually how well the jointure went considering Newport was our arch rival. All sports teams joined, cheerleading squads, all of it and it worked. Our senior class trip I will never forget. We raised money to go to Washington D.C. for 3 days My dad did not want to let me go because at that time the riots in D.C. and burning of buildings was going on. But I begged and I was able to go. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be working there some day. I think the most exciting part was winning triple crown championships — in football, basketball and baseball. It was a great time to be in high school at Nanticoke Area.”
— MARGE DAVISON MATISKO, Nanticoke
“It was my senior year and after attending Newport Township schools my whole life, it was, as a teenager, an absolutely devastating time. We were ready to embark on our greatest accomplishment — our senior year — by joining our rival high school, our nemesis. We remained completely separated from Nanticoke High School with the exception of sports. We had no contact whatsoever personally, socially or academically together. In a way, we were thankful for this situation because we were not fully combined. In our hearts, we remained Newport High School as signified by our senior yearbook, our class rings, and our diplomas. We felt we were the last class to graduate from Newport Township High School. Now, as time has gone by, we can appreciate our time together planning our 50th class reunion. I feel I have formed new friendships and I have a great feeling of camaraderie. We have all come together as one to enjoy one of their greatest milestones of our lives, ‘Our 50th Class Reunion!’”
— BEVERLY HOWELL, Newport
September 1967 to June 1968
Here are some things that happened during the Class of 1968’s school year:
1967
Sept. 11: The Carol Burnett Show premieres on CBS
Oct. 2: Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first black justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Oct. 27: Several thousand people advance to the Pentagon to protest against the Vietnam War.
Nov. 9: First issue of the magazine Rolling Stone is published in San Francisco.
Dec. 8: Magical Mystery Tour is released by The Beatles as an eleven-song album in the U.S.
1968
Jan. 30: The Viet Cong and North Vietnam launch the Tet Offensive against South Vietnam, the United States, and allies.
February: Civil rights protests and disturbances occur in Orangeburg, South Carolina and Memphis, Tennessee, and on the campuses of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
March 31: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces he will not seek re-election.
April 4: Martin Luther King Jr. is shot dead at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots erupt in major American cities, lasting for several days afterwards.
April 11: President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
June 5: U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Kennedy dies from his injuries the next day.