Diamonds to Dinners for Kids program

Diamonds to all those behind the Dinners for Kids program, celebrated Tuesday night with a gala at the Sidney and Pauline Friedman Jewish Community Center in Kingston. As Thursday’s story noted, the organization launched the effort in 2011 by serving healthy meals to about 40 children living with food insecurity. That has grown to 248, with 50 placed on a waiting list — and according to Dinner for Kids Board Chair Bob Borwick, the wait is needed to vet families and ensure “they fit the food insecure guidelines.” Once in the program, a child gets six meals a week, made at and distributed by Ollie’s Restaurant in Edwardsville. The organization also collaborates with other agencies to help children and families, but as Borwick pointed out, “We don’t want to be someone that’s trying to provide all the different services that some of these children do need, but we know if they have a full belly, they’re significantly more likely to succeed.”

Coal to Victor Manuel Santana-Alvarez, who pleaded guilty in Luzerne County Court Monday to possessing and sharing child sexual abuse material. According to police, the Wilkes-Barre man possessed multiple pictures and videos of children engaged in sex acts, and he admitted he had been “curious” about such materials. Being “curious” about child sex is not resolved by gathering such materials; it’s a sign that you should seek professional help. Here’s hoping the arrest and his guilty plea are the first steps in facing the problem.

Diamonds, albeit in cautiously small quantities, to the Lower South Valley Land Bank’s inaugural effort to sell property in Newport Township. Our praise is tempered by the fact that, for our region, land banks remain a relatively new effort. This one includes Ashley, Hanover Township, Nanticoke, Newport Township, Wilkes-Barre, Kingston and the Hanover Area School District. The goal is to work collectively to revitalize run-down communities, and in this case the bank issued its first “Request For Proposals” seeking a buyer of the Arch Street property, which the organization bought at a county tax sale. “Our mission is to get blighted properties back onto the tax rolls, for people to use them for community benefit,” Land Bank administrator Ted Ritsick said. “We’re looking for people to redevelop it into its use as a single-family home.” As with any multi-municipal agency there are many ways for things to go wrong, but the goal is worthy, and here’s hoping this is the start of a long string of successes.

Coal to the Wilkes-Barre man who allegedly threatened two Luzerne County sheriff deputies serving him with a protection-from abuse order along with an eviction notice. We don’t know all the details, and we can understand that being confronted with two such life-altering legal actions could spark some shock and even irrational action. Add the fact that police say they were aware he had firearms and aggressive animals, and we suspect they were prepared for a potential confrontation. But threatening to shoot the sheriff deputies and literally release the hounds was not an effective way to counter PFA allegations or to fend off eviction. Perhaps this incident will help him start to turn things around, and serve as a reminder to all of us that threats and violence rarely make things better.