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Diamonds to the people responsible for putting local juvenile offenders to work at an indoor produce stand. The teens learn a bit about commerce as they peddle squash, cukes and other vegetables. Just as important, they and their probation officers get a chance to interact more informally behind the sales table, perhaps resulting in better communication and outcomes. The stand, an extension of a community garden project begun three years ago by Luzerne County’s juvenile probation division, is located in the lobby of the Penn Place Building, on the corner of Market Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, Wilkes-Barre. It’s open to the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays during the harvest season. With these juveniles, as with any young person, good things can happen when a caring adult plants a seed.
Coal to the lunkhead(s) who last week damaged the Kingston pool facility, causing a temporary shutdown of the cool retreat. The pool, which quickly reopened, has served children and adults in the borough and beyond for a half century. One can only assume the vandal, or vandals, emerged from the shallow end.
Diamonds to Kingston Township’s persistent police department. The force recently received its long-sought-after accreditation from the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. Obtaining the accreditation, a process begun nearly eight years ago, became the duty of Chief Michael Moravec when he assumed the top post in October 2014. It involves complying with 138 standards. “We have a very committed and dedicated group of police officers here,” Moravec said.
Coal to financial fraudster Joseph Hyduk. The Hazle Township twerp, who portrayed himself as an investment counselor, swindled his clients out of nearly $1 million. Prosecutors described the victims as “the weak, elderly and the disabled.” Did Hyduk desperately need the cash to pay medical bills or subsist? No, apparently he splurged on his family with vacations, vehicles, college educations and a homestead that carried a mega-mortgage. Oh, and tickets to Penn State football games. Hyduk, 55, received a five-year prison sentence this week for wire fraud and tax evasion. Upon his release, let’s hope he dedicates himself to compensating those he harmed.
Diamonds to devoted father Don Williams. The Nanticoke man formed a political advocacy group called Voices of JOE, which advocates on behalf of corrections workers and their families. Its aim: improve safety in the workplace – America’s prisons. The “E” in JOE is a tribute to Don Williams’ late son Eric, a corrections officer who worked at the U.S. penitentiary in Wayne County. The “J” represents Jose Rivera, and the “O” Osvaldo Albarati. All three men were killed by inmates. “I made a commitment to my son upon his death,” said Williams, “that I won’t allow him to have died in vain.”