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Diamonds to Hanover Area School District softball Coach Kathy Healey, her team and district administrators for the second annual game with Life Skills students. The Thursday event was about collaboration, cooperation and community, and provided a fine example of how a little inclusiveness can go a long way in making faces smile and hearts warm. District Business Manager Tom Cipriani put it succinctly when he said simply, “We’re winning.”
Coal to attorney Robert Powell, pretty much for everything the man has done in relation to his development projects and — most egregiously — in the infamous “Kids for Cash” scandal. Sure, this should probably be a coal to a less-than-perfect electronic court filing system that, as Jennifer Learn-Andes reported, has a bad habit of occassionally letting redacted information become available. In this case, the glitch allowed Andes to unearth the fact that Powell apparently is too broke to pay a second installment of a settlement related to the scandal. There should be no tears shed for the man if he is broke, but justice can’t be done until that is proven as unequivocal fact. The victims deserve their due.
Diamonds to Wilkes University President Patrick Leahy for being invited to speak at a special United Nations event, marking a new international day dedicated to the value of micro and small businesses. To be sure, local colleges and universities seem well blessed with smart, sharp presidents and administrators, but Leahy landing this gig is a small shot of prestige for Wilkes and the area.
Coal to all those involved in the investigation and — more importantly — explanation of an apparent threat made at Holy Redeemer High School. Make no mistake, investigations into possible threats from students merit considerable tact and deference until facts are unravelled, but this has begun to feel a bit too hush-hush, and when too little information is released, too much speculation tends to follow. Police and the diocese should consider if a few more concrete facts about the threat can be released.
Diamonds to Pennsylvania Superior Court President Judge Emeritus Correale Stevens and the two other judges who brought the court to Luzerne County on Tuesday for a special session. Stevens, a Hazleton native, has never left this area behind, and has regularly helped bring the state’s higher court to the region.
Coal to the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board for a hasty vote on spending more money on reviewing another site for the proposed consolidated high school. It is undeniable that the problem of decaying high schools has been studied and discussed for more than a decade and that something has to be done, but it’s difficult to understand why this particular vote had to be held at a special meeting Wednesday and could not be delayed — as many in the audience requested — at least a short time to assure it’s the right decision.
— Times Leader