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Mericle firm aids Pittston Township

Joe Valkos, left, and Ron Marcellini dump a load of dirt around a sign as they refurbish Orioles Park in Pittston Township Saturday.

DON CAREY/THE TIMES LEADER

Left to right, volunteers Rob Mericle, Ralph Garrity and Kelly Mericle paint a sliding board as they refurbish Orioles Park in Pittston Township Saturday.

DON CAREY/THE TIMES LEADER

PITTSTON TWP. – Dave Darbenzio didn’t expect to be working on the Orioles Park restoration at 7 a.m. Saturday. The Pittston Township resident, who lives right next door to the park on Front and Pine streets, couldn’t get back to sleep after he heard dump trucks right outside his window.

“I got woken up by the commotion,” he said. “When I got outside, there must have been about 30 people out here.” So, Darbenzio gathered his family and decided to pitch in.

The restoration is part of the “Lend a Hand” program sponsored by Mericle Commercial Real Estate in Wilkes-Barre. The program offers aid to communities where Mericle buildings are located.

“We work with communities that work with us,” said Mericle Senior Vice President and Project Manager Brian McManus.

Mericle employees, township supervisors, local vendors and the community volunteered to clean up and rebuild the park.

Volunteers have been working since last week to complete the project, but plans have been in motion for “a couple months,” said McManus.

Orioles Park includes a baseball field, basketball court and a general playground area. Workers painted slides, spread seeds and hauled dirt during the rehabilitation.

The project was funded by Mericle Real Estate, and donations from local vendors, including paint supplies, landscaping materials, line striping services and digging equipment also helped the project’s completion.

Township Financial Manager John Bonita said he and then-Supervisor Tony Attardo contacted Mericle two years ago with the idea of community development. Supervisors noted the work the “Lend a Hand” program did to restore the Spadi Park in Jenkins Township last year, and they decided to designate Orioles Park as the project for 2010.

Darbenzio, whose 7-year-old son D.J. also helped out, believes the restored park is more than just a community facelift.

“It gives my kids some place to play,” he said. “It’s a lot safer and a lot more things to do now.”

Little Leaguers will benefit from the project, too. The baseball field was completely rebuilt, from planting seeds for grass to constructing a backdrop fence behind home plate. The Pittston Township Volunteer Fire Department watered the sod on the baseball field, and will continue to do so until grass sprouts.

Brian Walker, the township’s Little League representative, said the new field is perfect for budding ball players.

“We can definitely use this as a practice field,” he said, because the field is sized-down for the younger players.

Robert Mericle, who helped paint playground equipment on Saturday, believes the park restoration project gives the company a chance for employees to socialize with each other and the community.

“It’s not just the dollars. We’re actually spending time and energy and commitment with our own resources and our own people to do things that we’re good at to give back to the community.”