The day after receiving a 15-day suspension last month, a Dickson City police officer allegedly shot a five-point buck in his backyard, according to a criminal complaint.

Thomas Logan, 613 High St., Dickson City, faces charges for the alleged illegal hunt, which took place in the area between High Street and Henry Street on Oct. 26, according to the complaint. He is charged with two counts of false reports to law enforcement and one count each of disorderly conduct, unlawful killing or taking of big game, unlawful taking or possession of game or wildlife and hunting without securing a license.

State Wildlife Commission Officer Mark Rutkowski responded to Officer Logan's home the following day after receiving a tip that Officer Logan had shot the deer, loaded it onto an ATV and drove home with it, according to the complaint.

Officer Logan initially said he had no knowledge of any deer - despite blood and hair on his ATV - and invited Officer Rutkowski inside his home, the complaint said.

When asked a second time, Officer Logan told Officer Rutkowski that he had shot a five-point buck behind his house and that the deer ran down below High Street, according to the complaint.

Officer Logan said he then went to retrieve the deer with a friend, cleaned it and brought it back to his home, where they unloaded it in his front yard, according to the complaint.

Officer Logan could not say where the deer was when Officer Rutkowski asked him, offering that perhaps his friend or maybe a bear had taken it, the complaint said.

Officer Logan surrendered the rifle he said he used to kill the deer to Officer Rutkowski, according to the complaint.

Officer Rutkowski's investigation later found that the friend Officer Logan identified as helping him was in fact working in Berwick at the time of the incident, according to the complaint.

Officer Logan was suspended without pay for 15 days the day before the alleged illegal hunt by a unanimous vote at a special meeting of borough council for neglect or violation of his official duties and conduct unbecoming an officer.

On Monday, he disputed the characterization of his actions in the charges over the deer. Officer Logan claimed the animal was already seriously injured by an arrow fired by another man, who was actively hunting, and he only "put him out of his misery,"

Officer Logan is also in the process of appealing a one-day suspension approved in June.

Dickson City Police Chief William Bilinski said he could not comment on Officer Logan's two prior suspensions because the matters are under appeal before the borough's civil service commission. Officer Logan was immediately placed on paid administrative leave after the department learned about the Game Commission allegations, Chief Bilinski said.

Officer Logan was released on his own recognizance after his Monday morning arraignment before Magisterial District Judge Alyce M. Farrell. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m.

STEVE McCONNELL, staff writer, contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: domalley@timesshamrock.com

The declining amount of mail has led to the U.S. Postal Service's decision to close Dickson City's post office later this spring.

The Postal Service announced Wednesday that the borough's branch at 735 Main St. will shut its doors May 27.

Employees will be reassigned, and the closure will not affect local mail delivery, officials said.

Citing a systemwide drop in mail volume by 26 billion pieces during the past year, district manager Kevin McAdams said in a statement that the Postal Service "must take action to reduce the size of our retail and delivery network."

"By consolidating, streamlining and adjusting our operations, the Postal Service becomes a more efficient and effective organization," he said.

The decision surprised borough council President Barbara Mecca, who noted people had been contacting their congressmen and senators, explaining the need to keep the post office open.

"This is just very bad news for the borough," she said.

The post office is convenient, Mrs. Mecca said, adding that the borough has a large elderly population. People pick up letters and buy stamps there, and she said, in her experience, business seemed steady. Closing the office will create an inconvenience for Dickson City as well as neighboring towns, Mrs. Mecca said.

The release referred Dickson City customers to area post offices including Dunmore, at 114 N. Blakely St., and in Scranton at 1812 N. Main Ave.

The post office's review of approximately 3,300 stations and branches across the country, a process that started in 2009, looked at facilities to determine where consolidations might work.

Contact the writer: cheaney@timesshamrock.com

Councilman quits post in Blakely

BLAKELY - Borough council approved Councilman Donald Long's resignation Monday night, Borough Manager Thomas Wascura said.

Mr. Long is doing work out of town and does not have the time to put in with the borough, Mr. Wascura said. Attempts to reach Mr. Long on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Mr. Long's term is up in 2014, and Mr. Wascura said council has 30 days to appoint someone to fill the position. He said council will be looking at candidates who ran for borough council in the last election and came close to winning a spot on the board, but anyone interested in the job also can apply.

This is the 16th in a series on regional census findings. For more, visit www.thetimes-tribune.com/census.

Dickson City's population is down for the second decade in a row, despite an almost 350 percent increase in its Hispanic residents.

The 2010 census reported a 2.2 percent decrease in the borough's population, which is minimal compared to neighbor Blakely's 6.6 percent decrease. Hispanic residents increased from 52 to 230, black residents from 15 to 58 and Asian from 16 to 41.

Mayor Anthony Zaleski believes the borough, known for its commercial district, is maintaining the majority of its population due to the low residential tax rates, which stand at 13.8 mills for the municipality, compared to 112.3 mills in its neighbor Scranton. A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed property value. The owner of a Scranton home assessed at $10,000 would pay $1,123 per year in real estate taxes, while the owner of a Dickson City home would pay $138 per year.

"I think the low tax base is important when people go to purchase properties," Mr. Zaleski said. "As houses in Dickson City go up for sale, I think people that want to create families here really look at that."

Council President Barbara Mecca said the residents enjoy the local business district and all of the services the borough offers.

"Good snow removal, garbage collection, police controlling - these things are important to people," Ms. Mecca said. "We have an active crime watch, which makes an impact on the quality of life in the area."

And our mayor is the biggest drunk in the valley to compliment our porn blooper Police Chief Bilinski. Nice job, Barb. Care to mention over a half-million paid out to cops in lawsuits over wrongfully dismissed?  The inmates are in charge of the asylum in Dickson City, always have been.

Mr. Zaleski attributed the increase in Hispanic, Asian and black residents to a nationwide trend, as "people continue to move into different communities."

Contact the writer: rbeardsley@timesshamrock.com

The Dickson City clerk who stole thousands of dollars from a locked drawer in the borough's offices in 2010 will spend 60 days in jail and pay $5,000 in additional restitution, a judge ordered Tuesday morning.

Ken Novack, who was arrested in June and charged with stealing $2,040 from the borough, pleaded guilty in November to misapplication of entrusted property and property of government or financial institutions, a second-degree misdemeanor.

In the months between plea and sentencing, Dickson City officials discovered that about $18,000 had been stolen from the borough over the course of three years, solicitor Bill Jones said at a hearing last week.

Mr. Novack told the court he had taken the money to settle debts on a restaurant, Assistant District Attorney Mark Giannotti said. He had already paid back about $2,000.

The two sides agreed to an additional $5,000 in restitution rather than reopening the investigation. Mr. Novack might still be held liable in civil court for the additional missing funds..

Contact the writer: lnelson@timesshamrock.com

Man arrested on pot-selling charges

DICKSON CITY - Olyphant police arrested a Blakely man on Saturday who was wanted on suspicion of dealing marijuana to teenagers.

Darin A. Bartoli of 423 Third St. was charged with corruption of minors for allegedly selling pot to teens at sites throughout the Midvalley.

Police found him on Jermyn Street in Dickson City on Saturday after receiving several tips about his location.

Cops: Wanted man sold pot to teens

OLYPHANT - Police are looking for a 21-year-old man suspected of dealing marijuana to teenagers in the Midvalley.

A warrant was issued for Darin A. Bartoli of 423 Third St., Blakely, whom police charged Thursday with corruption of minors.

According to the affidavit:

Olyphant police began to investigate Mr. Bartoli after finding marijuana on two juveniles at the Burke Bypass.

In interviews with buyers, officers learned he sold pot at the Convenient Food Mart at East Scott Street and in Throop and Dickson City.

He drove a red car that looked like a Chevrolet Cavalier and also a blue import. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 342-9111.

Administrative offices of the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit are within the boundaries of the Valley View School District.

Yet the Valley View School Board seemed oblivious Monday to the scandal that has enshrouded the nearby NEIU, as it passed the district's new contract with the agency. The NEIU provides special education services and some other support services for Valley View and more than 20 other districts in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Last year the retirement of former NEIU Executive Director Fred Rosetti, Ed.D., led to revelations that the NEIU board had awarded him a platinum parachute - a $623,000 retirement package beyond a pension valued at about $120,000 a year.

Part of the lump sum has been rescinded because it was based on an incentive program for which Dr. Rosetti was not eligible.

Inquiries by The Times-Tribune revealed that members of the NEIU board did not know what they were voting on when they approved the parting gift because they had not read Dr. Rosetti's contract before blithely approving it. It was a textbook case of incompetent governance.

Tuesday the Valley View board approved the district's contract with NEIU, which Superintendent Joseph Daley said will cost about $753,000.

Asked by a district resident why no members of the board actually had read the contract before approving it, Mr. Daley said "it would make no difference" if they had because the contract "is all legal terms."

"They wouldn't really know what they were reading," Mr. Daley said.

Really? Then how do they know what they approved? If school directors don't or can't understand the district's commitments - keeping in mind that all contracts are legally binding documents full of "legal terms" - what are they doing on the school board?

Mr. Daley said he and solicitor Richard Fanucci discussed the contract with the board at a recent work session.

School directors cannot be expected to read every line of every document pertaining to every piece of district business. And Valley View directors undoubtedly are not alone in not reading their district's agreement with the NEIU.

But the NEIU scandal is a very specific warning that school directors should not be satisfied with substituting the word of administrators for their own due diligence. Amid the still-unresolved NEIU scandal, every regional school director should go the extra mile to ensure that their taxpayers are getting true value from the NEIU.