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Diamonds — four, in this case — to the Penn State THON, and any local residents who are participating at Penn State University this weekend. Officially dubbed the “Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon,” the 46-hour event raises money for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State’s Children’s Hospital to offset the cost of pediatric cancer treatment not covered by insurance, as well as other expenses that can impact the child’s welfare. Since 1973, the event has raised a whopping $136 million, not counting the tally from this weekend’s dance. The number of participants has increased tenfold, from 78 to about 700. And, yes, it’s true the THON time was trimmed from 48 to 46 hours over the years, making it easy to joke about “kids today,” but truth be told it started out 30 hours. And the duration doesn’t matter. The youngsters and families helped is what this is all about.

Coal to Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George for a lame explanation regarding Jack McCutcheon’s current role as a consultant. George said the retired Luzerne County human resource analyst works part-time without benefits assisting with contract negotiations because city HR Director Nicole Ference lacks experience in the task. McCutcheon, George said, is “breaking her in.” Considering that the city budget includes $72,100 for an HR director as well as a healthy dose of cash for a solicitor and other top administrators, it seems fair to expect “experienced in contract negotiations” would have been included in at least one job description before anyone was hired.

Diamonds to the people behind the “Chamber Challenge” held Wednesday in the THINK Center near Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square. The quiz-show style game set up by Coal Creative and the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce pitted two teams against each other with the winner getting the proceeds donated to their chosen charity. In this case, the money went to the Riverfronts Park Committee, but the loser didn’t go home empty handed. The Children’s Service Center still got a $1,000 marketing package. Both deserved the support this event provided.

Coal to everyone who texts, calls, or otherwise engages in distracting behavior while driving, particularly those dubbed “millennials,” deemed the riskiest drivers in a new report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The report on traffic safety found 90 percent of those between the ages of 19 and 24 engaged in risky behavior while driving at least once in the past 30 days, with half of them admitting they ran a red light in the past month. Perhaps most disturbingly, the report found most drivers who do the dangerous stuff behind the wheel are only too happy to chastise others in classic example of “do as I say, not as I do.” We all need to remember the reality: Even a small car can become a lethal, one-ton weapon with just a split second of distraction.

Penn State students dancers hold up the symbol for the Four Diamonds Fund during the 2015 Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon on Sunday in University Park
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_THON-Diamonds-1-.jpg.optimal.jpgPenn State students dancers hold up the symbol for the Four Diamonds Fund during the 2015 Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon on Sunday in University Park