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Wednesday, April 16, 1997 Page: 7A
HARVEYS LAKE
Civic group sets reward for missing historic item
Determined to solve the mystery of the stolen steamship propeller, resident
Ron DeBalko told Borough Council on Tuesday that $3,000 in reward money has
been collected to aid in “smoking out the criminal.”
The Harveys Lake Protective Association, which set up the reward, had hoped
to display the historical cast iron propeller on a monument built near the
municipal buildingBut the night before it was to be placed on the monument, it
was stolen.
The propeller was part of the Natoma, the last steamship to operate on
Harveys Lake waters in the 1930s.
“We want to send a message to the thieves that we want that propeller
back,” DeBalko said. “It’s a piece of history. It’s invaluable.”
The Protective Association donated $1,000 of the $3,000 reward, with the
rest coming from private donations. DeBalko said the reward continues to
increase as more donations pour in.
The council voted to prepare a resolution in support of the campaign to
recover the propeller, offering the Police Department’s assistance, if needed.
After the meeting, DeBalko said he hopes the reward money prompts someone
to phone in a tip about the propeller’s location.
Shortly after the propeller was stolen last summer, a diver spotted it in
the lake waters near Our Lady of Victory Church, said council member Betty
Jane West.
Mayor Richard Boice and Police Chief Jeff Butler identified the submerged
propeller. But by the time the Luzerne County Dive Team arrived a few days
later, the propeller was missing once again, West said.
“Someone probably moved it,” she said.
In other business, the council:
Heard resident Bill Gallagher’s complaint about being inconvenienced by
roads closed on Sundays because of organizations holding walk-a-thons and runs
around the lake.
Accepted the resignation of Jacob Apaliski from the Planning Commission.
— Marian Melnyk