HUNT FOR COP KILLER "Sleepy" town upended amid massive search

Jere Dunkelberger says business is slow at Dunkelberger’s Sporting Outfitter, on Main Street in Stroudsburg, but he understands. (FoxNews.com)

CANADENSIS, Pa. –  In northeastern Pennsylvania, where deer season is both a rite of passage and a key to the local economy, the only hunt taking place is the one for a survivalist and suspected cop killer believed to be hiding in the woods and toying with police.

Ever since Eric Frein allegedly gunned down State Police Cpl. Bryon Dickson and wounded another trooper before disappearing into the rugged Pocono Mountain woods surrounding his hometown of Canadensis on Sept. 12, the rural region has been inundated by police and, for a time, media. But as the manhunt nears the one-month mark, the press has largely moved on and the state has canceled hunting season in seven area townships. Hunters can still track their game elsewhere, but the businesses that depend on sportsmen, from taxidermists to bed-and-breakfast proprietors, are cursing the killer police describe as “pure evil.”

“It’s become commonplace to see armed vehicles driving down the road with troops inside,” said Gayle Horowitz, co-owner of The Brookview Manor Inn, in Canadensis, adding that the night air echoes with the constant sound of helicopters.

Between hunting season and fall foliage, October is typically the Brookview’s busiest month of the year. But the restaurant is empty and plenty of vacancies exist now that a killer is believed to be prowling the surrounding woods. Looking out at the vast forest surrounding the 10-room, Colonial-style country inn, she lamented how one of the tiny, rural community’s own sons could have turned everything upside-down.

“We’re a sleepy little town,” she said. “We don’t lock doors.”

Authorities believe they have Frein, a deadly accurate sniper obsessed with Eastern European war reenactments, contained in a 5-mile radius. On Wednesday, they released pages from a journal found in the woods, in which Frein allegedly described shooting the state troopers. They also detailed campsites where Frein is believed to have lain low, cooking over small fires even as hundreds of heavily armed police hunted him. Police have found pipe bomb booby traps and a gun resting against a tree, but have only had a handful of unconfirmed sightings of Frein.

“I’m mad for all of the sportsman out there.”

- Dave Weiss, hunter

Dave Weiss, a hunter who lives in the Monroe County seat of Stroudsburg, understands why the Pennsylvania Game Commission implemented the temporary ban on hunting and trapping. His anger is directed at the man suspected of killing Dickson.

“I’m mad for all of the sportsmen out there,” said Weiss. “And this ban affects a lot of people whose livelihood is dependent on hunting. It hurts the entire economy of the Poconos. It has a ripple effect. That area was built on tourism.”

Like many area gun enthusiasts, Frein, who fled into the woods armed to the teeth, made purchases at Dunkelberger’s Sporting Outfitter, on Main Street in Stroudsburg. Jere Dunkelberger, the 67-year-old proprietor of the shop, which sells everything from high-powered rifles and compound bows to hunting knives and fishing gear, said that with a killer on the loose, lives are more important than dollars.

“It’s our livelihood, but this is unprecedented,” Dunkelberger said. “Everybody’s just going to have to buckle down and say, ‘Hey gang, this is the way it is and we’re going to have to deal with it till it’s over.’

“Hopefully this whole thing will come to an end sooner rather than later,” added Dunkelberger, who said he has turned over to police the records of sales made to Frein, but believes “to the best of our knowledge,” the murder weapon was not bought at his store.

As an avid hunter and owner of Hap’s Taxidermy in Blakeslee, Pa., Vince Volz has found both his leisure and livelihood crimped by the suspension of deer and bear hunting. 

“I guess I have to accept the fact that they must really feel strong that they have a good chance of catching this guy,” Volz said. “That he’s still there, still in the area.”

With hotels, restaurants, campgrounds and taxidermists all feeling the pinch, the one industry that seems to be thriving is speculation about Frein.

“I am not ruling out the possibility that he had help,” said Stroudsburg resident Ian Schreier. “I don’t think he’s in the county. I think he’s left the area. He’s long gone. I bet he’s in Montana.”

Horowitz said she’s not surprised Frein has evaded capture for so long.

“It’s very dense up here,” she said. “You can walk 10 feet into the woods and not see anybody. I can understand how he’s eluded them all this time.”

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HUNT FOR COP KILLER "Sleepy" town upended amid massive search

Massive demand for student housing

BY TERRON DEWAR Business reporter dewart@jamaicaobserver.com

Wednesday, September 24, 2014    

THE University of the West Indies (UWI) has entered into a public private partnership (PPP) to build 1,584 rooms in three years to meet the growing demand for student accommodation.

The Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB), lead financier, and the National Commercial Bank (NCB) have signed a syndicate loan agreement valued $4 billion with the proposed developer and operator — 138 Student Living Jamaica Ltd — to build the facility on the university campus.

At the end of the project, the university will be able to house approximately 5,200 students.

Just over two years ago, the UWI completed the construction of two new halls of residence, adding another 1,000 rooms to its then existing batch of approximately 2,500.

The Mona campus now has a total of nine halls of residence, offering accommodation to only 3,600 of the almost 16,000 students who attend the university.

According to Jason McKensie, acting director of students’ services and development on the Mona campus, hall managers have reported that occupancy currently stands at 100 per cent.

The demand for student accommodation is equally as high at the neighbouring University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), which boasts a student population of approximately 14,000, and has less than 230 rooms on campus, with the majority of them being double and even triple occupancy spaces.

Much like UWI, hundreds of students are unsuccessful in their bid to secure a room at UTech yearly.

This unfulfilled demand has created a thriving rent market in the adjoining communities, with vacancies oftentimes being filled as soon as they are advertised for rent.

A representative at the Rent Assessment Board told the Business Observer that the institution is currently unable to quantify the number of households that offer rooms for rent in the area.

This is largely due to the non-compliance of landlords to register the properties with the board, as required by the Rent Restriction Act.

It is, however, believed that the houses that offer spaces for rent to students easily top the 1,500 mark, with owners sometimes offering their entire house for rent.

Private developers have also sought to get in on the action. Just three years ago, West Indies Home Construction Company opened a residential complex with 50 apartments within 1,000 metres of UWI’s main gate.

The complex, called Aqueduct Gates, has only two-and three-bedroom apartments that can be rented with or without furniture at $85,000 and $100,000 monthly, respectively.

While this facility is not exclusive to students, those who can afford to seek accommodation there, do. The complex is also now operating at maximum capacity.

Fees for on-campus housing span anywhere from $14,000 up to $42,000 monthly, across both universities, and are generally increased annually, in line with the inflation rate.

Much like that which obtains off-campus, prices are generally determined by the quality of the residential facilities and the number of people who share common spaces, and are inclusive of basic amenities such as electricity, water, Internet and laundry facilities.

Residential fees on the UTech, Jamaica campus are currently charged on an annual basis. It currently costs $126,000 per student for triple occupancy rooms and $173,000 each for double occupancy arrangements.

At the start of this school year, UWI adopted a policy of allowing students the option to pay their accommodation fees monthly.

At the higher end of the spectrum, students currently pay as much as $42,000 monthly for self-contained studio units, while double occupancy rooms on some traditional halls go for $21,000 monthly.

The UWI currently has a lodgings unit that has the mandate to help students to find accommodation off campus. The unit currently has a database of over 400 homeowners who offer spaces for rent annually.

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Massive demand for student housing

Massive fire destroys hundreds of acres of land in St. Elizabeth

A massive fire in the drought stricken community of  Malvern in St. Elizabeth, has razed hundreds of  acres of  farmlands and damaged property as well as farm supplies.

Livestock was also destroyed in the blaze, which started early Saturday.      

At news time, personnel from the Santa Cruz, Junction and Black River Fire Stations, were trying to contain the blaze that is now threatening sections of  the Bigwoods and Mountainside Plains. 

Assistant Superintendent of  the Black River Fire Station, Harry Clarke, says his teamencountered difficulties en route to the scene.

“We responded with one unit from the Santa Cruz fire station … we are battling a huge blaze , so far about 600 acres of farm and pasture land have been destroyed by this fire.   

Based on a report from a very large cattle farmer in the area, someone lit a fire in  a section of his pasture and due to severe drought conditions and high winds, the fire spread quickly to adjoining areas,” Clarke said.

Meanwhile, Manager at Fareview Farm in Malvern, Anthony Hamilton, said in less than 30 minutes the fire quickly spread and employees could only stand and watch helplessly.

“On our farm here we lost about 500 acres , we didn’t lose any of t he animals, but when you speak of the posts and wires, you are talking about several thousands (of dollars).

A team from the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) team was dispatched to the company’s wind farm in Munroe, due to the threatening flames.

Firefighters were successful in preventing the fire from reaching  Munro College and nearby houses.

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Massive fire destroys hundreds of acres of land in St. Elizabeth