Body found near lake identified

HONESDALE, PA — A body found on Lake Wallenpaupack on July 19 has been identified. Wayne County Coroner Edward Howell investigated and pronounced 64-year-old Jeffrey S. Greene dead at the scene. Green, who had been missing for more than a week, was a resident of Greentown.

Howell performed an autopsy and determined that the cause of death was drowning, and it was accidental.

State police reported Greene, from Palmyra Township, was boating on Lake Wallenpaupack, where he was last seen in the afternoon of July 10.

The Ledgedale Dive/Rescue Team and the Tafton Fire Department were among the rescue units that searched for him.

PA bill could limit fireworks

HARRISBURG, NY — State Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) is proposing legislation to grant municipalities the authority to regulate and limit the use of fireworks in their cities, boroughs and townships.

Schwank has received many complaints about the use of fireworks after the 2017 enactment of the state‘s Fireworks Law, which she voted against. The law allowed for easier access to larger and more disruptive fireworks.

“While I’d prefer to ban all of the higher-powered fireworks, I recognized that a statewide repeal is likely not going to happen,” Schwank said.

Cat declawing banned in New York

NEW YORK CIYT, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law Monday July 22 making New York State the first to ban cat declawing.
The practice, which involves removing cats’ nails, typically to avoid furniture damage, has been called “inhumane” and “unnecessary” by animal rights’ advocates, including Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who introduced the bill.

Veterinarians have compared the process to removing a human’s finger at the first knuckle.
“Declawing is a cruel and painful procedure that can create physical and behavioral problems for helpless animals, and today it stops,” Cuomo said in a statement. “By banning this archaic practice, we will ensure that animals are no longer subjected to these inhumane and unnecessary procedures.”

UDC river trip reservations due

BARRYVILLE, NY — Reservations for the Upper Delaware Council’s 31st Annual Family Raft Trip—offering a discounted rate of $19 for ages 5 to 12 and $29 for ages 13 and up—are needed by Friday, July 26.

On Sunday, August 4, participants will paddle an eight-mile stretch of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River from the Ten Mile River Access south of Narrowsburg to Kittatinny Canoes’ Luke’s Landing Base in Barryville.

Check-in between 9 and 10 a.m. at the Kittatinny Canoes Adventure Center, located across the road from Luke’s Landing at 3846 State Route 97 in Barryville.

The average length for this trip is 4.5 hours, depending on the river level, wind and each group’s desired pace. Minimum occupancy per raft is four people.

A downloadable registration flyer with additional information is posted in the message alert section of the UDC website’s home page. Please contact UDC Secretary Ashley Hall-Bagdonas at 845/252-3022 or
ashley@upperdelawarecouncil.org.

Wayne man charged with making weapon of mass destruction

WAYNE COUNTY, PA — District Attorney Patrick Robinson announced on Tuesday, July 23 that Alan Boguski, the man severely injured in an explosion on July 18, has been charged with manufacturing a weapon of mass destruction, risking catastrophe, possession of a prohibited offensive weapon and recklessly endangering another person.

The explosion took place at Boguski’s property in Waymart last week around 3 p.m. According to a state police report, Boguski made the pipe bomb in his home and went to set it off at a nearby creek. Tracy Witten, a woman who lives with Boguski, told police that she later saw Boguski stumbling back toward the house, bleeding and wounded, a piece of metal sticking out of the wound.  Witten drove Boguski to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

The report also said the two had used methamphetamine earlier that day.
A bomb squad was later dispatched to the property where it found a white powdery substance suspected to be meth and four pipe bombs ruled to be “completely functional and viable explosive devices.”

Magistrate Judge Bonnie Carney has initially set bail at $100,000. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 31.