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By KALEN CHURCHER [email protected]
Wednesday, November 19, 2003     Page: 1A

LEHMAN TWP. – “Eight weeks of a roller coaster of hell.”
   
That’s how Joy Cragle describes life since her son, Josh, participated in
an activity that left a fellow football teammate with a fractured jaw, among
other injuries.
    Some call the incident – which involved sophomore Adam Harris being taped
to a chair that tipped over when it was pushed toward the gymnasium – hazing.
Juvenile court deemed it assault, and a principal called the incident a
“serious juvenile prank.”
   
At Tuesday night’s Lake-Lehman School Board meeting, Joy Cragle asked
members to reconsider the punishment levied against Josh, namely a temporary
expulsion until Jan. 16. Cragle made her impassioned plea before a seemingly
unsympathetic board.
   
“My son has been through a lot of criticism, a lot of public humiliation,
and he has recently been released from a detention center after 14 days,”
Cragle said, frequently wiping her teary eyes.
   
The high school is sending work home for the students to complete. Time
absent because of the expulsion will not count against days required for
graduation, said Robert Roberts, acting superintendent.
   
Cragle read a letter Josh wrote to Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas
Judge Mark Ciavarella, who presided over his assault charges. In the letter,
Josh wants to be back in school and have the opportunity to talk to younger
students about hazing, school violence, drug and alcohol abuse and detention
centers. He said he and the other boys punished, Ryan Arcangeli, Brandon Wren
and Chad Derhammer, are prepared for community service and want to coordinate
a dance to benefit Toys for Tots.
   
“I am really not a bad kid,” he wrote.
   
Cragle had the backing of several people who support a change in
punishment.
   
Ed Chesnovitch called the incident a “prank gone wrong.” The Jackson
Township resident criticized how Roberts responded to Harris’ injuries.
Chesnovitch said 911 should have immediately been called instead of Roberts
waiting until the next day.
   
“I think you should be held accountable,” he yelled, pointing at Roberts,
who did not comment. “I think you should go; I think the coaches should go.”
   
There is a possibility part of that statement will come true.
   
Board members voted 6-3 in favor of opening the head football coach
position for the 2004-2005 school year. Bob Langan has not been asked to
resign but must reapply for the position.
   
Roberts said he met with Athletic Director Rich Gorgone, who said Langan’s
position should not be posted based solely on the Harris incident.
   
Board member Chuck Boytin said part of Langan’s duties as coach is to
supervise the football team.
   
“If proper monitoring was done, in my opinion, this incident would not have
happened,” he said.
   
Boytin, along with Charles Balavage, Lois Kopcha, Sheila Gionfriddo,
Moderno Rossi and Joe Kapitula voted in favor of the job posting. Angelo
DeCesaris, James Mahon and Michelle Coombs voted against the motion.
   
The School Board convened an executive session after the regular meeting to
discuss the matter. Privacy laws prohibit public discussion.
   
Solicitor Charles Coslett said parents could have opted weeks ago for a
hearing before the School Board instead of agreeing to the proposed
punishment. He dismissed accusations parents were forced into signing the
punishment agreement for fear of permanent expulsion.
   
CUTLINE:
   
TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/DON CAREY
   
Joy Cragle pleads Tuesday with the Lake-Lehman School Board to have her
son, Josh, reinstated in school. Josh was temporarily expelled until Jan. 16
for his participation in the assault of a fellow football player.