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HS SWIMMING: Panecatl, leads Trojan boys over Lake-Lehman; Guastella, McGurk pace Black Knights’ girls over Nanticoke Area

Two key individual event wins for Hugo Panecatl (200 free, 100 fly) lifted Nanticoke Area over Lake-Lehman, 71-61, in a Wyoming Valley Conference boys swim meet Tuesday. Jackson Kuhar (200 IM, 100 breast) had two individual wins for the Black Knights.

At Wyoming Valley West, Rio Bantell (100 fly, 100 back) and Chris Hummel (100 breast, 50 free) each grabbed two individual event wins to lift the Spartans over Wyoming Area, 93-19. Benjamin Canfield

(100 free) had the lone event win for the Warriors.

Nanticoke Area 71, Lake-Lehman 61

200 medley relay: Lake-Lehman (Kuhar, Manzoni, Walp, McGurk) 1:59.63. 200 free: Hugo Panecatl (NAN) 1:58.99; Tanner Manzoni (LL) 2:05.40; Jake Middleton (NAN) 2:21.05. 200 IM: Jackson Kuhar (LL) 2:22.86; Joe Reyes (NAN) 2:36.58; Lucas West (NAN) 2:51.23. 50 free: Johnny McGurk (LL) 25.99; Noah Stachyra (NAN) 28.72; Giovanni Huertero (NAN) 28.88. 100 fly: Hugo Panecatl (NAN) 58.83; Johnny McGurk (LL) 1:14.61. 100 free: Joe Reyes (NAN) 59.63; Adam Walp (LL) 1:01.14; Giovanni Huertero (NAN) 1:07.59. 500 free: Tanner Manzoni (LL) 5:50.51; Jake Middleton (NAN) 6:23.94; Lucas West (NAN) 7:17.13. 200 free relay: Nanticoke Area (Reyes, Huertero, Middleton, Panecatl) 1:51.51. 100 back: Adam Walp (LL) 1:13.53; Noah Stachyra (NAN) 1:13.55. 100 breast: Jackson Kuhar (LL) 1:14.09; Brady Rushton (NAN) 1:24.22. 400 free relay: Lake-Lehman (McGurk, Walp, Kuhar, Manzoni) 3:55.92.

Wyoming Valley West 93 Wyoming Area 19

200 medley relay: Wyoming Valley West (Bowen, Uter, Hummel, Catanzaro) 2:19.35. 200 free: Billy Bartolomei (WVW) 2:52.38; A. Torres (WVW) 3:19.94; William Lebron (WVW) 4:11.28. 50 free: Chris Hummel (WVW) 26.62; Benjamin Canfield (WA) 28.31; Sebastian Catanzaro (WVW) 28.46. 100 fly: Rio Bantell (WVW) 1:46.35. 100 free: Benjamin Canfield (WA) 1:04.74; Ben Bowen (WVW) 1:06.65; John Getzie (WA) 1:07.85. 500 free: CJ Uter (WVW) 6:59.98; Billy Bartolomei (WVW) 7:48.96. 200 free relay: Wyoming Valley West (Catanzaro, Bowen, Uter, Hummel) 1:59.91. 100 back:…

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Greater Nanticoke Area agrees to keep property tax increase in state limit

NANTICOKE — Greater Nanticoke Area joined a rapidly growing list of local school districts voting to keep any property tax increase for the 2022-23 school year within an annual state-set maximum known as the Act 1 Index. For Greater Nanticoke Area, this year the maximum is 5.2%

The index can vary year to year and district by district, but voting to stay within the limit does not mean there will be a tax increase. The vote gives the district until the end of May to make that decision and approve a preliminary budget, with approval of a final budget required by June 30.

A district can only exceed the limit either by getting state approval for exceptions or voter approval through a spring primary referendum. Pursuing those options requires approving a preliminary budget in early February.

The board also approved making Feb. 21, Presidents Day, a make-up day requiring school attendance, compensating for the closure of schools Sept. 20, 2021 due to having no water throughout the district. Board President Tony Prushinski cast the only no vote, saying that with the surge of COVID-19 sweeping Luzerne County, he would prefer the day be made up in June.

Students to return Jan. 18

Superintendent Ron Grevera re-affirmed plans to return students to classrooms on Jan. 18. The district went virtual Monday due to COVID-19 and staffing concerns.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the formation of a swim club in compliance with Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association rules.

• Accepted the resignation of David DeLuca as head softball coach, and agreed to advertise for applicants.

• Voted to have Kleinfelder proceed with geotechnical and infiltration testing at the existing running track and football field at a cost of $7,950.

• Approved participating with…

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Marlene Mayewski

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Greater Nanticoke Area agrees to keep property tax increase in state limit

Jan. 14—NANTICOKE — Greater Nanticoke Area joined a rapidly growing list of local school districts voting to keep any property tax increase for the 2022-23 school year within an annual state-set maximum known as the Act 1 Index. For Greater Nanticoke Area, this year the maximum is 5.2%

The index can vary year to year and district by district, but voting to stay within the limit does not mean there will be a tax increase. The vote gives the district until the end of May to make that decision and approve a preliminary budget, with approval of a final budget required by June 30.

A district can only exceed the limit either by getting state approval for exceptions or voter approval through a spring primary referendum. Pursuing those options requires approving a preliminary budget in early February.

The board also approved making Feb. 21, Presidents Day, a make-up day requiring school attendance, compensating for the closure of schools Sept. 20, 2021 due to having no water throughout the district. Board President Tony Prushinski cast the only no vote, saying that with the surge of COVID-19 sweeping Luzerne County, he would prefer the day be made up in June.

Students to return Jan. 18

Superintendent Ron Grevera re-affirmed plans to return students to classrooms on Jan. 18. The district went virtual Monday due to COVID-19 and staffing concerns.

In other business, the board:

—Approved the formation of a swim club in compliance with Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association rules.

—Accepted the resignation of David DeLuca as head softball coach, and agreed to advertise for applicants.

—Voted to have Kleinfelder proceed with geotechnical and infiltration testing at the existing running track and football field at a cost of $7,950.

—Approved participating with the WVIA Enhanced Scholar program at a cost of $2,375.

—Approved an agreement with the Luzerne Intermediate Unit to provide a Community…

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Canadian steelmaker Stelco plans EV and battery recycling plant in Ontario

Canadian steelmaker Stelco Holdings Inc. is drawing up plans to build a recycling plant for electric vehicles and EV batteries at its Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ont.

The company said Dec. 31 it had signed an agreement with German-Australian firm Primobius to license a two-step recycling process used to shred spent lithium-ion batteries and recover valuable metals for reuse.

Stelco CEO Alan Kestenbaum said the “closed loop system” will expand the Hamilton-based firm’s footprint in automotive, adding new streams of battery materials. The proposed plant will also generate tens of thousands of tons of scrap steel the company can reuse in its steelmaking operations.

“Stelco will be able to recycle end-of-life electric vehicles, convert them into green steel and recover from their batteries high purity metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese,” Kestenbaum said in a release.

Primobius, a joint venture made up of German industrial firm SMS Group and Australian speciality metals company Neometals Ltd., commissioned an initial demonstration recycling facility in Europe in December.

The company’s process breaks batteries down into their constituent plastic and metal parts during its first stage. An integrated hydrometallurgical refinery processes the black mass — made up of the valuable lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese — in phase two, readying it for reuse in new batteries.

Terms of the licensing deal were not disclosed, but Stelco said it will operate under a royalty system unless Primobius exercises its option to acquire between 25 and 50 per cent of the steelmaker’s new EV battery recycling business.

With the agreement in place, the Ontario-based firm plans to begin detailed engineering and permitting for the proposed plant, as well as advance talks with suppliers of end-of-life batteries for feedstock. It did not share projected costs.

Stelco is targeting 2023 for starting up initial operations…

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Nanticoke receives $300,000 to support affordable housing

Jan. 11—NANTICOKE — Gov. Tom Wolf Monday announced the distribution of $8.2 million in funding through the Pennsylvania HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) to support affordable housing in counties — including $300,000 in Nanticoke.

“Pennsylvanians should not have to choose between paying for basic necessities or needed home repairs to ensure the safety of their loved ones,” Wolf said. “The HOME program provides low-income individuals with access to the affordable, safe and reliable housing they and their families deserve.”

HOME is a federally funded program that provides municipalities with grant and loan assistance to expand and preserve the supply of decent and affordable housing for low- and very low-income Pennsylvanians.

Nanticoke Mayor Kevin Coughlin said the Nanticoke First-Time Homebuyer Program will provide a down payment and closing cost assistance of up to $15,000 to eligible households that purchase a primary residence in Nanticoke for less than $133,000.

To qualify, Coughlin said households must have income between 40% and 80% of the area median and meet other eligibility and underwriting criteria. He said homebuyers that participate in the program will also receive eight hours of housing counseling services.

The program, funded through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development with federal HOME Investment Partnership funds, will begin accepting applications in early 2022.

Sen. John Yudichak, I-Swoyersville, said he appreciates the work of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, and U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, as they work together to drive federal dollars, through the HOME program, to Luzerne County.

“As we continue to attract national companies and thousands of new jobs to the South Valley, these welcomed federal dollars will ensure working families in Nanticoke have access to affordable housing,” Yudichak said.

According to the governor’s office, HOME program funds can be used in a variety of ways to address critical housing…

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Hospital capacity full

Gov. John Carney’s weekly press conference started off differently Jan. 11, with a video montage of healthcare providers talking about how overwhelmed hospital systems across the state are with COVID patients.

“We have reached a point where our hospital capacity has been stretched to the limit,” Carney said. 

Dr. Ken L. Silverstein, chief physician executive for ChristianaCare, said the hospital has issued a crisis standards in care notice along with downstate health systems Bayhealth and TidalHealth Nanticoke. Silverstein said ChristianaCare has never before had to issue a crisis notice over an inability to keep up with healthcare services.

 “We’re caring for patients in hallways. We are stretched thin,” Silverstein said.

Silverstein asked people with minor health needs to avoid the emergency department. “We do not have the capacity to do routine testing or treat mild disease,” he said.

When asked why hospitals have enacted the crisis standards of care with this year’s milder Omicron variant compared to last year’s COVID variants, Silverstein said there is nothing mild about the situation, and the people in the hospitals are critically ill or seriously sick. 

The Omicron variant is now the dominant strain in Delaware. Seventy percent of recent cases are Omicron with the rest Delta, officials said. According to state statistics posted Jan. 10, the number of hospitalizations hit 734, with 72 critical and 51 on ventilators. It is higher than the 2021 peak of 474, even though there are more people today fully vaccinated – about 75 percent of Delawareans over 18.

About 40 percent of hospital capacity is made up of COVID patients, Carney said, which could be prevented. With about 1,800 total hospital capacity across the state, around 800 of the total cases are COVID related, according to state statistics.

It’s the main reason, Carney said, that he reinstituted…

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Nanticoke receives $300,000 to support affordable housing

 			 				 Nanticoke Mayor Kevin Coughlin

Nanticoke Mayor Kevin Coughlin

NANTICOKE — Gov. Tom Wolf Monday announced the distribution of $8.2 million in funding through the Pennsylvania HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) to support affordable housing in counties — including $300,000 in Nanticoke.

“Pennsylvanians should not have to choose between paying for basic necessities or needed home repairs to ensure the safety of their loved ones,” Wolf said. “The HOME program provides low-income individuals with access to the affordable, safe and reliable housing they and their families deserve.”

HOME is a federally funded program that provides municipalities with grant and loan assistance to expand and preserve the supply of decent and affordable housing for low- and very low-income Pennsylvanians.

Nanticoke Mayor Kevin Coughlin said the Nanticoke First-Time Homebuyer Program will provide a down payment and closing cost assistance of up to $15,000 to eligible households that purchase a primary residence in Nanticoke for less than $133,000.

To qualify, Coughlin said households must have income between 40% and 80% of the area median and meet other eligibility and underwriting criteria. He said homebuyers that participate in the program will also receive eight hours of housing counseling services.

The program, funded through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development with federal HOME Investment Partnership funds, will begin accepting applications in early 2022.

Sen. John Yudichak, I-Swoyersville, said he appreciates the work of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, and U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, as they work together to drive federal dollars, through the HOME program, to Luzerne County.

“As we continue to attract national companies and thousands of new jobs to the…

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Paul Joseph Sunder

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Residents react to gas company plans in Luzerne County

A gas company plans to build a multi-billion-dollar plant in Luzerne County and some neighbors to the property are concerned.

LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — In Late October, gas company Nacero announced its next big project, selecting part of Luzerne County as the location for a $6 billion facility that would convert natural gas to gasoline.

The Texas-based company has its sights set on this 3,000-acre plot of land in Nanticoke and Newport Township. If all goes as planned, the company hopes to start construction in the next two years.

The company says it would hire some 3,500 workers to complete the four-year project and would employ 450 people full-time when the plant opens. Carol Chupcavich lives just up the hill from the proposed site.

“We need work in the area, just like in Hanover. Here, it doesn’t bother me in the least. We need work,” said Carol Chupcavich of Newport Township.

But others on the street see it differently. Laura Keener says she didn’t receive any notice the plant could be built so close.

“It came as a bit of a shock since we live right here, and it could certainly affect us in many different ways. Traffic, noise, pollution, you name it,” said Keener of Newport Township.

Keener and other concerned community members attended the first Newport Township Commissioners meeting of the year, some voicing their frustration.

“Just when there is a semblance of hope that a once-beautiful valley can again be restored to its fervent glory, in comes another fossil fuel company,” said Charlotte Santry Sopka of Glen Lyon.

The commissioners see the project as an opportunity for economic growth.

“The Newport Township Board of Commissioners are excited that our community has been selected as the site of what will be the largest economic development project in the…

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