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WILKES-BARRE — On a day when first responders are dealing with a major storm in Florida, their counterparts in Wilkes-Barre were honored for all they do to keep the city safe.
Chris Jagoe, director of public safety at Wilkes University, spoke at a luncheon Friday at the Wilkes University Center on Main that honored the city’s police, fire and emergency personnel, as well as the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office and the school’s public safety people.
“I couldn’t think of a more appropriate time to honor our first responders,” Jagoe said, noting the thousands of first responders working in Florida as Hurricane Matthew storms through the state’s east coast. “What is going on in Florida reminds us why we should take the time to honor our first responders and thank them for all they do every day.”
Wilkes University President Patrick Leahy, noting the school is a “private institution with a public purpose,” said Wilkes continuously strives to integrate its campus into the community.
“On behalf of the university, I want to thank you all for making our campus and our city safe and comfortable,” Leahy said.
State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre and a Wilkes graduate, said he was happy to be part of a program that shows respect for first responders.
“All of you put your lives on the line every day when you put that uniform on,” Pashinski said. “First responders are special — they are the ones running toward an emergency, not away.”
Allie Grudeski, Wilkes’ student body president, said a group of students was going to deliver treats to city police, firefighters and EMTs later in the day.
“We appreciate all they do to keep our campus and our city safe,” Grudeski said.
Grudeski, 21, a senior pharmacy major at Wilkes, pointed out Wilkes students live in the city and patronize businesses and recreational facilities.
City Fire Chief Jay Delaney said when he walked into the South Main Street building to attend the luncheon, he was moved at the sight of a large banner welcoming first responders and signed by Wilkes students.
“That shows a sincere appreciation for what we do,” Delaney said. Police Chief Marcella Lendacky agreed, saying the luncheon, certificates and words were “more than appreciated” by the city’s police officers.
Ted Wampole, city administrator, was at the luncheon, but his mind was in Florida, where his brother, Mark, resides and has been dealing with the reality of Hurricane Matthew.
Mark Wampole, 54, lives in Clermont, just outside of Orlando, with his two children, Hunter, 5, and Gage, 4. He said the storm came through Orlando Thursday and kept getting progressively worse, although Orlando was not hit as hard as areas near the ocean coast.
Wampole has been through several storms, some much more devastating than Matthew. He said the pre-storm warnings were enough to motivate residents to prepare for the worst.
“We definitely have a lot of pre-storm preparation,” he said. “The hurricane warning is still in effect, but the curfew was just lifted.”
A senior general manager for Duffy’s Sports Grill in Orlando, Wampole closed the restaurant at 4 p.m. Wednesday. He sent his employees home to allow enough time for them to get home and perform storm preparations.
Standing on his pool deck Friday afternoon, Wampole said he could see dark clouds — he called them the storm’s “feeder bands” — extending out toward the ocean. He said winds were still blowing at 10 miles per hour with gusts up to 30 miles per hour.
“The wind is still bending trees over,” he said. “I think this storm had a bigger bark than bite. But some areas have been significantly impacted. I’ve seen some pretty bad ones, much worse than this.”
To prepare for the worse, Wampole removed water from his pool, trimmed loose branches off trees, boarded up windows, removed debris from his yard, went to the grocery store for supplies and filled his vehicle’s gas tank.
“Safety is the key,” he said. “When the governor issues a warning, we take it seriously and follow all proper procedures.”
Rose Kerpovich, of Edwardsville, has been vacationing at Disney World with her husband, daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. Kerpovich said the trip was hardly interrupted by Hurricane Matthew.
Kerpovich said the Disney parks closed at 5 p.m. Thursday, but she and her family managed to visit them all prior to the closure. The parks were closed all day Friday, she said.
“Currently, it isn’t raining very hard,” Kerpovich’s daughter wrote on her Facebook page Thursday evening. “We’re stuck at the hotel until tomorrow afternoon. They provided a flashlight in every room in case of electrical outage. They had the chefs prepare boxed lunches that contain a sandwich, chips and snack for $12.99 a piece. We are currently waiting in line for the boxed meals, and will probably be waiting for at least another hour. There will be a refund for the park admission for tomorrow (at least that’s what we were told). My biggest hope right now is that the power stays on so we don’t have to be stuck in a room without air conditioning. I am not worried nor do I have concerns. We appreciate everyone’s concern. I will update if anything changes.”
Kerpovich said the storm in Orlando was “uneventful.” She and her family hope to return home Saturday barring any flight delays.
“We really had a great time,” she said. “I know there had to be a lot of money made on poncho sales.”
