Diamonds to another successful Grotto Pizza Parade of Trees. In what felt like a farewell to Christmas 2024, Thursday’s paper included a photo of the winning tree, sponsored by Alloy Wheels Specialist in support of Peggy’s Pathway for Women’s Cancer Care. All told, the Parade made more than $55,000 in charitable donations as visitors voted for their favorite trees through monetary donations, with a prize pool split among the highest vote-getters. All qualifying participants shared a generous contribution of $25,000 from the Joseph and Erma Paglianite Charitable Foundation. Kudos to the restaurant, the foundation, all the local businesses that decorated trees in support of various charities, and the visitors who helped make it the latest success in a tradition that had raised nearly $600,000 in 29 years.
Coal to the Nanticoke man who pleaded guilty to stabbing another man during a fight in Wilkes-Bare last year. Police charged Anthony “Niko” Perez with stabbing the victim in the back during a fight involving both juveniles and adults last June, and he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and evading arrest. The whole story was one big, avoidable tragedy, as several females went to a Bowman Street address to confront another juvenile female, eventually getting a grandmother into the mix, and things escalated to the stabbing with brass knuckles that had an attached knife. Cooler heads should have prevailed, especially with people of so many different ages involved.
Diamonds to the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board for approving a plan to allow high school students ages 14-22 with special needs or disabilities to participate in a transitional employment program created by Coffee Inclusive in Pittston. Such transitional programs can give students the skills they may need after they age out of special education services, increasing their chances of attaining self-sufficiency. While there are other transitional programs throughout the region, more opportunities mean more students can be served and that they may more readily find a good fit for their futures.
Coal to the recurring habit of state politicians from both parties holding public hearings to address legitimate issues, then turning the events into political posturing. The latest example: A hearing of the Senate Majority Policy Committee on the cost of maintaining unused state properties such as the closed White Haven Center. The millions spent on the upkeep of unused properties is a very real concern, and participating Republicans rattled off some serious data on spending for just three sites. The dollar figures were damning enough without partisan attacks. Please let the information speak for itself and try to put the energy used in partisan attacks into devising solutions.