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Diamonds to Eckley Miners’ Village and the people who work to keep the historic coal patch town-turned-museum engaging. The village hosts events throughout the year, most recently the annual “Christmas in Eckley.” Admittedly, it can be an uphill struggle to present crowd-luring options in a town from a far past, but it’s also important. This may be an aging coal area where anthracite plays a shrinking role, but its importance in our history should never be forgotten.
Coal to state and local officials responsible for timing of traffic lights but apparently unable to give clear explanations for said timing. It would be hard to deny traffic-signal timing is a tangled web in our car-crazy country, and it’s easy to believe that in the modern, computerized world this is as much art as science. But when a reporter tried to delve into which lights get set at what lengths and why, the replies were pretty much summed up by PennDOT’s Tom Pichiarella: “It gets complex.” Maybe, but in the end it’s just stop or go. How complex can that get?
Diamonds to the Luzerne Intermediate Unit and Pediatric Associates of Kingston for their joint effort, the “New Moms Club.” The idea is low-key: Give mothers with babies up to 6 months old a place to meet once a week for about an hour to exchange stories, get useful info, and maybe just reboot. No, it is not a major break through in neonatal care, but babies only get to go through this crucial development stage once, and deserve any boost they can get.
Coal to those rash to judge the publicized salary of Wilkes University President Patrick Leahy. Annual data compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education showed Leahy got $365,510 total compensation in 2014. It is far beyond the median household income of Luzerne County ($45,118), but Leahy oversees an institution with $78 million in expenses, including millions that have improved Wilkes-Barre downtown. And as a Times Leader story about local president salaries pointed out, Leahy’s is very much in keeping with pay to others heading similar institutions. Now, getting steamed about that $5.45 million the president of Wilmington University in Delaware got is a different story.
Diamonds to the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board for putting not one but two women in charge: Denise Thomas as president and Christine Katsock as vice president. This space recently advocated for more women in local school district leadership roles, particularly as superintendents, and giving women a crack at the top of the board that hires superintendents is an obvious first step. This is not an endorsement of Thomas or Katsock per se, but it’s encouraging to see the nine-member board with seven men pick the two woman in their midst to steer the course for 2017.
Coal to any Penn State University fan still grumbling that the Lions should have gotten into the four-team championship playoffs. They did great, they were richly rewarded, and if they deserve a crack at the title, they’ll get one next year.