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Diamonds to Northeast Sight Services for the annual “beeping” Easter egg hunt Sunday, giving blind or visually impaired youngsters a chance to enjoy what many their ages take for granted. Additional diamonds to the other organizations that have been holding egg hunts for area children in recent weeks, one of the surest ways to bring big smiles to little faces.
Coal to Max August Liebetrau of Kingston for a slew of bad decisions leading to charges of burglary, receiving stolen property, criminal trespass, theft and false identification. Police say Liebetrau was confronted in the basement of a home wearing clothes belonging to a tenant, and fled carrying a duffel bag he took from the residence containing his own personal wet clothing and possessions. In an unrelated case, Wilkes University police charged him with actions too convoluted to summarize here involving, among other things, a dead rodent and a butcher knife. The young man clearly needs help, and we hope he gets it.
Diamonds to teacher Anthony Mercadante and those who helped make the GAR Memorial Middle School Food Truck project a success. Students teamed to create their own food truck business models, devising a plan and designing and building models of their trucks. Along with the fun and educational value, the winners got a field trip to TGI Fridays. Done right, these are the types of school projects that can impart priceless lessons, instill a new interest in learning, and provide fun all at the same time.
Coal to Abraham De La Cruz-Figeuroa, extradited from Essex County, N.J. to answer allegations he attempted to take his son out of the country despite having lost legal custody. We can appreciate the bond a parent feels toward a child, but unplanned and illegal (if the charges stick) relocation is unlikely to ever be a true act of love. It is much more probable to be an act of utter selfishness with disregard for a child’s need for stability and a sense of security.
Diamonds to Dorothy Ricci for inspiring artwork that doubles as an historic record of the region. As a Sunday story showed, Ricci combines her creative impulses and a penchant for research to recreate real world scenes from our region’s past, including area landmarks, a steamboat plying Harvey’s Lake, and the surreal attempt to plug a Susquehanna River whirlpool caused by the Knox Mine Disaster with trolleys and train cars. We are blessed with Ricci and others who preserve the past not only through their art, but through their deep drive to keep it authentic.
Coal to Kevin Eugene Perry, sentenced to beating a defenseless man to near death in April 2022. Perry said he was “deeply sorry” for assaulting the victim solely for walking too close to him in Kingston, and conceded he was “extremely intoxicated” at the time. Small comfort to the person who suffered severe head injury prompting a medically-induced coma for an extended period, but as the saying goes, recognizing you have a problem is the first step in fixing it.
Diamonds to the Luzerne County Transportation Authority and the Sordoni Art Gallery for teaming up to create the LCTA Arts Program, intended to bring some creative works into bus shelters. It may be a small thing, but done well it can be eye-pleasing and both outlet and exposure for the artists.
Coal, one piece after another, to: The Philadelphia man arraigned Thursday on allegations he led police on a dangerous high speed chase in a stolen car, racing from Ashley to Sugar Notch; the Wilkes-Barre woman accused of leaving her children unsupervised in an apartment, and the Exeter Borough resident arraigned on charges he molested a girl for more than two years. A week when there is not enough room for all the earned coal is a sad one.
— Times Leader