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Diamonds to all the youngsters participating in the 50th production of the “living stations of the cross” for St. Robert Bellarmine Parish in St. Aloysius Church this year. Clad in traditional garments depicting Jesus Christ, Mary, Pontius Pilate and other Biblical figures, they solemnly recreated the Catholic version of the condemnation, suffering and death of Christ, adding a “15th station” that celebrated the Resurrection, with beaming angels preceding the emergence of Christ from the tomb. It seems certain the opportunity to portray the Christian Savior had particular meaning for 18-year-old Peter Stec, who saw it as a preview to his intended future as a priest. “It’s a very emotional thing,” he said. It was also, doubtless, an emotional thing for many who have attended or participated in the event for the last five decades, as some now watch their children perform in a production they themselves helped stage. Such is the power of community, and faith.
Coal to those involved in the alleged murder-for-hire plot exposed this week when search warrants were unsealed. According to police a Bronx man conspired with others in a plan to kill Elijah Jones of Wilkes-Barre in retaliation oaf a shooting years ago at a South Main Street business. The whole plot came to light when the state’s Fugitive Apprehension Search Team apprehended an unnamed state parolee in Plymouth. The parolee then claimed the business owner wanted Jones dead, which resulted in the the cross-state murder plot. The original shooting at the business was bad enough. But injustice repaid with more injustice cannot make the proverbial “right.”
Diamonds to the opening of the Luzerne County Hazleton Annex, located in Hazleton City Hall. While a great deal of County-related tasks have been given an online component that makes travel to Wilkes-Barre less necessary, there will always be services that require in-personcontact, and there will always be people unable to use the Internet to get somethings done. The annex closes a gap in southern-county services that has existed for nearly two decades, and ends a serious disservice foisted upon residents in the greater Hazleton area. “I can’t tell you how happy everyone is that you came back,” Hazleton City Council Vice Chairman Mark Ondishin said, “It’s great we’re all incorporated again in one solid county.”
Coal to the hundreds of people who abuse or mistreat children each year in Luzerne County. April is Child Abuse Prevention month, and as they do every year, the Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center planted pinwheels in the lawns of the Luzerne County Courthouse and Hazleton City Hall as reminders of all the children who suffered, and as encouragement to prevent abuse and report it when you see it. A diamond within this coal to all the agencies that teamed for these events, and a prayer that the plantings will become unnecessary someday.
Diamonds to a number of other “good news” stories this week. Geisinger cut the ribbon on a $90 million Medical Office Building at Geisinger Wyoming Valley that should substantially increase efficiency and capacity for years to come.Northeast Sight Services partnered with Community Services for the Blind to host the annual beeping Easter egg Hunt Sunday, giving about 25 visually impaired children and their families a chance to enjoy the tradition so many of us take for granted. And Gina Malsky and her Dance Theatre of Wilkes-Barre started arranging a clever event getting father’s and daughters together for a dance to be staged as part of the Pirouettes in the Park during the Wilkes-Barre Cherry Blossom Festival the last weekend of April.