Avoca family among those at landing

PITTSTON TWP. – Sherwood Grabiec brought his family to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport to catch a glimpse of history Tuesday night.

The Avoca resident, along with his wife, Valerie, and their 12-year-old son, Gregory, were among a small group of six people who stood outside a security gate hoping to see Sen. John McCain.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee arrived at the airport via the “Straight Talk Express,” a white, blue and gold Boeing 737 emblazoned with McCain’s name, his campaign’s Web site address, and his campaign slogan “Reform, Prosperity and Peace.”

The Arizona senator’s plane touched down at 8:54 p.m. with very little fanfare. There were no local, state or national dignitaries. The only ones inside the gate were 11 members of the media, several Secret Service agents, a few PA state troopers and a handful of airport employees.

Following a brief taxi by the plane, Secret Service agents and members of the media who travel with McCain got off near the rear of the plane. A few minutes later, McCain exited. He didn’t acknowledge several members of the local and national media, and quickly got into a silver SUV.

Moments later, the five-vehicle motorcade – led by a PA state police car – left the tarmac. As the motorcade made its way past the security gate, members of the Grabiec family and a few others waved at McCain.

“This is history,” Sherwood Grabiec said. “We live in close proximity to the airport, so we’ve been able to see all three presidential nominees – Sen. (Hillary) Clinton, Sen. (Barack) Obama, and now Sen. McCain.”

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