Lithuanian event honors late choral director

The annual Lithuanian Heritage Festival held July 31 at the Anthracite Heritage Museum at McDade Park celebrated the influence of the ethnic group on local culture and industry.

“The Lithuanian people played a vital role in our area’s history, especially the coal-mining industry,” said event organizer Carol Gargan of Clifford.

Sunday’s event honored the late Bronis Voveris, longtime Glee Club director at King’s College and organist chorale director at St. Casimir’s Parish in Pittston and St. Nicholas Parish in Wilkes-Barre.

- STEVEN FONDO / THE TIMES LEADER

Catholic Missals to change this fall

On Nov. 27, Catholics across the country will see numerous language changes in the celebration of Mass when the Church unveils a new Roman Catholic Missal.

Changes could hit local churches as early as September.

The new English translation of the Missal – which literally spells out prayers said by both priests and parishioners – has been in the works for nearly a decade.

The goal is to create a more accurate translation from the original Latin prayers.

Church leaders in each country have decided when and how the new translations will be put into use, said Msgr. Dale Rupert, Diocese of Scranton director of the office of worship.

- MARK GUYDISH / THE TIMES LEADER

Geisinger to pay $1.3M to feds

Geisinger Medical Center in Danville has agreed to pay the United States $1.3 million to settle allegations of improper Medicare billing from Jan. 1, 2001, through Dec. 31, 2006.

The hospital characterized the settlement as a result of its “extensive self-monitoring program,” stressing the money represented “only 0.138 percent of Geisinger Health System’s total Medicare billings for the time period in question.”

The problem centered on reimbursements called “Modifier 25” services, intended to cover costs for separate evaluations or treatments given the same day an unrelated medical procedure is performed.

Geisinger spokesman Dave Jolley said the settlement “will have no impact whatsoever on premium rates or patient care.”

- MARK GUYDISH / THE TIMES LEADER

About the Author

Mark Guydish covers education for the Times Leader. Reach him at (570) 970-7161 or mguydish@timesleader.com.

A West Hazleton native, I worked as a service technician repairing electronic mailing and shipping systems, a bike shop owner and an Emergency Medical Technician (among other jobs) before landing a reporter job at the Times Leader Hazleton Bureau in 1995. I started by covering primarily politics in Hazleton City and outlying municipalities, eventually became "social issues" team leader in the Wilkes-Barre office with the accent on education, and headed the Hazleton Bureau for a spell before returning to full-time reporting, my preferred position. I'm an avid cyclist and rode across the country in 1990, a trip of more than 5,000 miles from New Jersey to Seattle and down the coast to San Francisco. Years in the Boy Scouts made me a life long backpacker and camper, and I've yet to find a better way to enjoy the quiet lure of winter snow than cross country skiing.

Mark also writes a regular blog for timesleader.com.

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