Diamonds to those who averted tragedy at Wilkes-Barre Area

Diamonds to the Wilkes-Barre Area School Resource Officers and the Plains Township Police who, with keen observation and quick action may have averted serious violence and harm at the district high school Wednesday. Students had a half-day of classes thanks to an “Act 80” day designed to give teachers increased time for professional development in the afternoon, and many youngsters were in the process of dismissal around 12:30 p.m. when the school officers learned of five men on the property that did not seem to belong. Approached, the men headed into a car, but the district had contacted township police, who stopped the car and discovered a disturbing array of weapons. Three self-identified as gang members, one had been expelled from the school last year after threatening to kill a teacher with a handgun. All five were arraigned and held on $1 million bail each. According to police, this alert and quick response may have blunted a potential gang fight in the parking lot. While it’s sad so much security is needed in schools today, the silver lining is that this time it paid off.

Coal to the five men charged with felony possession of a weapon on school property and carrying a firearm without a license: Jesus Gonzalez, Ariansy Osorio-Paredes, Nick Liquey, Hector Vasquez Colon and Daniel Salazar-Parra. The potential for serious, life-threatening violence in this incident would be bad enough. Bringing that risk needlessly to a school parking lot right around dismissal time — whether they knew it was a half-day of classes for students or not — is heinous.

Diamonds to Moving River Ministries for setting up a colorful, family-friendly Trunk or Treat event outside the former Planters Peanuts headquarters on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre, and to all the other organizations and governments arranging similar events throughout the region as Monday’s spooky Halloween night draws nigh. Even a short visit — or just a drive by at the peak of the event — Wednesday night showed how these opportunities, properly run, can be terrific alternatives to the old-school idea of going door to door through a neighborhood seeking goodies and showing off costumes. It’s unfortunate that such a time-honored tradition fades because of growing risks to what used to be a smile-pleasing show of neighborliness, but Trunk or Treat events done the way Moving River Ministries pulled it off restore a great deal of the sense of community that may have been otherwise lost.

Coal, sadly, to former Transfiguration Church Pastor, advocate of that parish’s school before it was closed, and — full disclosure — former Times Leader columnist Robert Timchak. Timchak was arrested in 2009 after State Police found child sexual abuse materials on his computers. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six to 72 months in state prison. He also had to register as a sex offender for 10 years. His clerical career destroyed, the hope was that he could be rehabilitated, overcome such urges and become a more productive member of society in some capacity. Alas, a new arrest Monday in Luzerne on allegations he downloaded videos of children engaged in sexual acts, smashed that hope.

— Times Leader