Latest news with #Marywood
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Company takes control of former deaf school campus in Scranton, Dunmore
SCRANTON — A company recently took control of the former Scranton State School for the Deaf campus in Green Ridge after completing a lengthy foreclosure. The firm, 1801 Jefferson LLC, last week began fixing leaky roofs on several of the old, architecturally distinctive stone buildings on the 8.56-acre property straddling Dunmore and Scranton, according to company and borough officials. The company also cleared trees from the rear of the former school campus and is removing debris from buildings. 'We're just cleaning it out and maintaining the property so it (deterioration) doesn't get any worse,' Bob Burke of 1801 Jefferson LLC said Wednesday. As for future plans for the campus, Burke said, 'I would assume apartments, but we're not there yet. Right now, we're just trying to protect our investment up here.' The foreclosure and renewed activity are the latest developments involving the campus that for more than a century had deaf students living and learning there. A Pennsylvania state historical marker along North Washington Avenue in front of the campus commemorates the Rev. Jacob M. Koehler (1860-1932), founder in 1882 of the institute that would become the Scranton State School for the Deaf. 'An ordained minister who was deaf, he was concerned for this state's uneducated deaf children and was a leading advocate of compulsory education of the deaf,' according to the historical marker. The state ceased operation of the Scranton State School for the Deaf in 2009. Marywood University acquired the property from the state in 2010-11 and called it Marywood South. But the university never used the campus and started trying to sell it in 2015. From 2018-20, proposals for the property included Los Angeles developer Lance Robbins' plan to convert the campus into an artists' apartment complex; and a separate plan for an art school and retreat center by the Elysian Sanctuary. Neither panned out. In 2021, Marywood sold the property to the nonprofit Jarett Yoder Foundation, a Berks County-based nonprofit veterans assistance organization. The Yoder Foundation's goal was to use the campus as the Patriot Resource Center at Marywood, a facility to assist veterans and community first responders in need. To buy the site, the foundation borrowed from Marywood and the university held the mortgage. But the arrangement soon unraveled and resulted in a default. In 2022, Marywood assigned the mortgage to 1801 Jefferson LLC, which took Marywood out of the picture. In 2023, 1801 Jefferson LLC began taking legal steps in Lackawanna County Court to foreclose. During those proceedings, the property was headed several times for sheriff's sales but postponed repeatedly under continuing negotiations. The foreclosure was recently completed and deed transfers should follow shortly, Burke said. The Jarett Yoder Foundation also is now no longer involved with the campus, he said. The campus has eight old and architecturally distinctive stone buildings on 6.66 acres in Dunmore and one newer brick building at 1800 N. Washington Ave. on 1.9 acres in Scranton. The building in Scranton was largely move-in ready when the foundation acquired the property, while the older buildings were in various states of decay. The 1801 Jefferson LLC firm got permits from Dunmore last week for roofing work on the stone buildings, said Dunmore Zoning and Planning Coordinator Michael Brazil. The zoning of the buildings was changed in 2023 under the collaborative Scranton-Abingtons Planning Association from institutional to a city/neighborhood mixed use, he said. Whether the firm would need zoning approval for future uses of the buildings would depend on what might get proposed, Brazil said, noting the company has not filed any zoning applications in Dunmore. Even if future uses comport with what's allowed under zoning, the firm would still need permits for interior renovations, he said. The company also has not filed any zoning application in Scranton regarding the building situated in the city, said city Planner Don King. Residents have taken notice of recent activity at the formerly stagnant site and wonder what its future holds, said Green Ridge Neighborhood Association members Laura Agostini and Roberta Jadick. They view the work to prevent deterioration as a positive step. 'Now they're actually doing work on it, so that's a good thing,' said Agostini, who is association president. * A Pennsylvania state historical marker, shown here in 2018, commemorates the Rev. Jacob M. Koehler, founder of what would become the Scranton State School for the Deaf. The 8.56-acre campus straddles Scranton and Dunmore in Green Ridge. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Roofs get repairs at the campus of the former Scranton State School for the deaf in Green Ridge on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Roofs get repairs at the campus of the former Scranton State School for the deaf in Green Ridge on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Roofs get repairs at the campus of the former Scranton State School for the deaf in Green Ridge on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Roofs get repairs at the campus of the former Scranton State School for the deaf in Green Ridge on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Roofs get repairs at the campus of the former Scranton State School for the deaf in Green Ridge on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Roofs get repairs at the campus of the former Scranton State School for the deaf in Green Ridge on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Roofs get repairs at the campus of the former Scranton State School for the deaf in Green Ridge on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Roofs get repairs at the campus of the former Scranton State School for the deaf in Green Ridge on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Show Caption 1 of 9 A Pennsylvania state historical marker, shown here in 2018, commemorates the Rev. Jacob M. Koehler, founder of what would become the Scranton State School for the Deaf. The 8.56-acre campus straddles Scranton and Dunmore in Green Ridge. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Expand
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Marywood helps Garden of Cedar grow new features in Scranton
SCRANTON — Frank Dubas' invitation to Marywood University for its students to help design features at his nonprofit Garden of Cedar community lot in South Side came with a condition. 'I said you can do what you want, but I just have one challenge. The challenge is to design things that have form and function, because we are a garden, and that offer some sort of reverence or respect to the neighborhood that we're in. I think they've accomplished that,' Dubas said Thursday during a ribbon-cutting event unveiling the new features. The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic wall planter system (shown in photo), and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Those features at the garden at 715 Cedar Ave. include native plants, vertical planters, bee nesting 'hotels,' and a hydroponic wall planting system and sculpture that pay homage to the city's history as a cradle of the industrial revolution. The collaboration broadly engaged hundreds of students over a few years, including in competitions and across several majors — architecture, interior architecture, business, graphic design, environmental science and math, said Michelle Pannone, associate professor of interior architecture. 'These projects don't just happen, they really do take a village,' Pannone said. 'They take the creativity, the passion of the students, the support and mentorship of the faculty, the various departments on campus and collaborators that supported us along the way — and of course the trust and vision of a client that believes in the next generation of students.' The largest new feature is a T-rail sculpture that represents a key part of the city's history dating to the mid-19th century, when the historic Scranton Iron Furnaces helped forge the industrial revolution. Still standing from a bygone era, the furnaces at 159 Cedar Ave. originally were operated by the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co. between 1840 and 1902. It was the site of the first mass production in the United States of iron T-rails for railroads. Dubas explained how the sculpture represents the four main rails that were produced at the Iron Furnaces. The large, permanent artwork also has a grid representing a map of the South Side Iron District neighborhood, perforations representing rail lines that run through Scranton, wavy lines for the Lackawanna River and Roaring Brook, and a compass pointing to the Iron Furnaces, the Garden of Cedar and the railyard roundhouse at what is now the Steamtown National Historic Site. The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a T-rail sculpture homage to the city's iron furnace history of manufacturing rails for railroads (shown in photo behind a planting bed), native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a 'living T-rail' sculpture (shown in photo, an homage to the city's historic Iron Furnaces that made rails for railroads during the Industrial Revolution), native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) 'They really, really did a remarkable job,' Dubas said of the sculpture. With the garden having planters also representing the arches of the Iron Furnaces, Dubas said, 'There's a lot of representation, there's a lot of history here.' Iain Kerrigan, a 2023 Marywood graduate in architecture, and who was born in Scranton, lives in Old Forge and works in Wilkes-Barre, said he is very grateful to have been involved in the design of the sculpture. The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Recent graduate Iain Kerrigan, at left, speaks during the event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) 'It's great to have a positive impact on my local community,' Kerrigan said. 'It was a great opportunity for professional development while I was a student studying, which helped me in my career.' Sara Melick, a Marywood instructor of environmental science, said the collaboration between the university and the garden gave students the opportunity to go beyond the classroom and 'really to connect their education with real-world impact.' The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters (shown in photo), a hydroponic wall planter system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Dubas founded the Garden of Cedar in 2018, began construction of it in 2022 and opened it in 2023. The garden features winding, raised planting beds and a planting wall that local residents can use to grow their own vegetables and plants. Dubas also has used the garden for various holiday displays, including having set out for past Valentine's Days a sea of thousands of large red hearts inscribed with individualized personal messages. The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Photo shows Yamileth Palafox, 1, of South Scranton, whose family uses the community garden to grow vegetables and attended the event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Marywood's former president, Sister Mary Persico, I.H.M., recalled how Dubas had spoken of seeing a vacant lot at 715 Cedar Ave. and dreaming of putting 'something beautiful and wonderful' for the community there. 'You have to understand that things don't happen in life unless somebody has a dream to make them happen,' Persico said. 'And so, if he didn't have that dream when he walked by this lot, this would not be here today.' * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas, at left, leaning on a bee hotel podium next to a T-Rail Sculpture, and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic wall planter system (shown in photo), and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas, at right, and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic wall planter system (shown in photo) and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters (shown in photo), a hydroponic wall planter system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 16, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Recent graduate Iain Kerrigan, at left, speaks during the event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Photo shows Yamileth Palafox, 1, of South Scranton, whose family uses the community garden to grow vegetables and attended the event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas, at left, and Marywood students and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a 'living T-rail' sculpture (shown in photo, an homage to the city's historic Iron Furnaces that made rails for railroads during the Industrial Revolution), native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a T-rail sculpture homage to the city's iron furnace history of manufacturing rails for railroads (shown in photo behind a planting bed), native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Show Caption 1 of 13 The nonprofit Garden of Cedar in South Scranton collaborated with Marywood University to bring a sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system and bee hotels to the community lot at 715 Cedar Ave. Garden founder Frank Dubas, at left, leaning on a bee hotel podium next to a T-Rail Sculpture, and Marywood students, recent graduates and professors held a ribbon-cutting unveiling event at the site on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Expand
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
String Fling: Marywood music student takes love of guitar to new places
He attended a school trip to a guitar festival; he came back a champion. Now, Marywood music student Kyle Jenkins, a student of Diogo Salmeron Carvalho, Ph.D., the assistant professor of music, will perform at the Rosetti Estate in Scranton in May. Jenkins was one of a group of musicians shepherded by Carvalho to the 2025 Buffalo International Guitar Festival, a prestigious national event for young guitarists, held March 28-30. * Marywood University music student Kyle Jenkins stands with a guitar he won for the collegiate level grand prize in the 2025 Buffalo International Guitar Festival, held in March in Buffalo, N.Y. (Dr. Diogo Salmeron Carvalho / Submitted) * Marywood University music student Kyle Jenkins stands with a guitar he won for the collegiate level grand prize in the 2025 Buffalo International Guitar Festival, held in March in Buffalo, N.Y. His professor, Dr. Diogo Salmeron Carvalho stands to his right, holding the certificate Jenkins was awarded along with the guitar. (Dr. Diogo Salmeron Carvalho / Submitted) * Marywood University's guitar ensemble poses together, including music student Kyle Jenkins, the recent winner of the the collegiate level grand prize after a performance in the 2025 Buffalo International Guitar Festival, and the ensemble's professor, Dr. Diogo Salmeron Carvalho. (Dr. Diogo Salmeron Carvalho / Submitted) Show Caption 1 of 3 Marywood University music student Kyle Jenkins stands with a guitar he won for the collegiate level grand prize in the 2025 Buffalo International Guitar Festival, held in March in Buffalo, N.Y. (Dr. Diogo Salmeron Carvalho / Submitted) Expand 'We were invited because I performed there at a conference,' Carvalho said. He told his hosts about the Marywood University guitar ensemble, and the group was invited to go to the University at Buffalo, New York to play in the festival. There, Jenkins was inspired to enter a guitar contest that was taking place. His masterful performance of 'El Polifemo De Oro,' a classical piece for guitar written by British composer Reginald Smith Brindle, struck a chord with judges, who awarded Jenkins the collegiate-level Grand Prize, and presented him with a new Saers A50 model concert guitar, new sets of strings, new guitar equipment and a certificate. Jenkins, of Scranton, confessed that his external musical performances have been limited so far outside of his studies, adding that he loves music and hopes to one day be a professional musician. He was elated by the win, calling it 'pretty unexpected, and pretty cool.' 'It's been an amazing week,' he said, explaining that every one of his close friends and family members have been very supportive when he recounts the experience of winning the contest. 'The people in my life have been really, really happy for me.' To celebrate his achievement, Jenkins will perform in a special concert May 2 at 6 p.m. at the Rossetti Estate in Scranton, alongside Charles Truitt, D.M.A., a former music professor at Marywood whom Carvalho described as one of the area's 'most respected classical guitarists.' But the free concert isn't just a celebratory event. It marks the relaunch of the Guitar Society of Northeast Pennsylvania, described by Carvalho as 'an organization with a long legacy of promoting classical guitar in our region.' He is spearheading the initiative. 'Under my direction, the society is returning with a renewed mission to support artists, offer educational opportunities, and bring world-class performances to our community,' Carvalho said in a press release, adding that the concert will also serve as a fundraiser for future society events. Truitt is a founding member of the former Guitar Society. 'Their performance represents both the heritage and the future of guitar artistry in Northeast Pennsylvania,' said Carvalho. He said the former Guitar Society of NEPA's attendance and activity had tapered off, but it is preparing for a rebirth, including a name change that drops the word 'Classical' from the name of the group to expand on styles of guitar Carvalho hopes to include. 'We want to have all manifestations of guitar, including jazz, including folk, including rock,' Carvalho said. 'We want to have a society that's open for guitarists in any form and any people interested in guitar, as well.' He said the society will be inclusive of 'all levels of achievement, for all people interested in guitar.' While Carvalho, Jenkins and Truitt have ties to Marywood, the group's endeavors are open to the public, whether they are students at Marywood University or not. Jenkins, a self-proclaimed fan of metal, alongside his skilled classical training, is helping, with his teacher's direction, to develop the group. 'I am very proud of the Marywood Guitar Ensemble for their community outreach and for representing Marywood University at such a prestigious event,' said Lisa A. Lori, J.D., Marywood president. 'I am especially thrilled to congratulate our student, Kyle Jenkins, on winning the Grand Prize at the 2025 Buffalo International Guitar Festival. His achievement reflects the excellence and dedication of our music program and the strength of our creative community.'
