The LuLac Edition #4, 882, December 31st, 2022

 MEDIA MATTERS

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM 

This week's show looks back on the top stories of 2022.  Tune in Sunday at 6 am on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 am on The Mothership 1340/1400/1440am, and at 7:30 am on 105 The River

 

 

 HAPPY NEW YEAR 

The LuLac Edition #4, 881, December 29th, 2022

 

PROMINENT LOCALS WHO PASSED AWAY

The Citizens’ Voice compiled a list of prominent people who passed away. It was in the December 28^th edition of the newspaper.These fine souls were:

Rosemary A. Sigmond, Luzerne, Jan. 3: A long-time member of Luzerne Borough Council, she was the first woman elected as council president.

Nathan Gray, Wilkes-Barre, Jan. 6: “The super hero” died after a six-year battle with cancer and was an inspiration to his family and community.

Daniel Chorba Jr., West Burlington Twp., formerly of Lake Twp., Jan. 9: Co-founder of Champion Builders, Inc. and owned Do It Best Lumber and Hardware in Sweet Valley.

The Rev. Vincent O’Boyle, Larksville, Jan. 10: Pastor of Church on the Square in Wilkes-Barre.

William Ziegler III, Mountain Top, Jan. 14: Owned Ziegler Orthodontics and was past president of the Pennsylvania Dental Association.

Stanley “Buddy Rush” Rushinski, Larksville, Jan. 20: A member of the Wyoming Valley Boxing Hall of Fame, he created the boxing program at SCI Dallas where his team won 40 state titles.

Anthony Perrone, Pittston: Feb. 4: Spent 50 years in education and was former Greater Nanticoke Area superintendent

Keith Martin, Scranton Feb. 13: Former WBRE-TV anchor and Pennsylvania’s director of homeland security.

Barbara Silvi, Plains Twp. Feb. 14: Former head of the pediatric nurses at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

Dorothy Duesler, Courtdale, Feb. 17: Served as Courtdale Borough Council president and was re-elected to serve a fourth term as the borough’s mayor in November 2021.

Terry Schiowitz, Wilkes-Barre: Critical care nurse at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and member of the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board

Robert Golden, Laflin, Feb. 18: Entrepreneur and owner of Old Forge-based Golden Technologies

John Reese, Feb. 28: Guided the Wilkes wrestling program to more than 500 wins and the 1974 NCAA Division III national championshMonica A. Wignot, Pittsburgh, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, March 4: Former Holy Redeemer volleyball and basketball star.

Fred Crouse, Ormond Beach, Florida, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, Feb. 18: Teacher, administrator and owner of Dairy Queen in Kingston.

Leonard Insalaco, Pittston, March 14: Real estate developer noted for owning Insalaco grocery stores and opening The Crossings.

John Rowlands, Wilkes-Barre, March 21: Former teacher, athletic director and football coach at GAR.

Pawel Jan Bednarek, Wapwallopen, formerly of Plains Twp., April 10: Musician and opera singer who performed in France, Austria, Italy, Poland and the United States.

Robert Samuel Jabers, Wilkes-Barre, April 16: Philanthropist who owned The Saber Room for 42 years as well as the Silver Top Diner, Donatello’s Pizzeria and The Genji Room.

Lt. Col George C. Farrell, Shavertown, May 1: Served more than 20 years in the Air Force where he was an expert on military capabilities of the Soviet Union and served at the Pentagon during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Rowland “Rolly” Roberts, Edwardsvlle, May 2: Former county assistant treasurer, served on Wyoming Valley West school board, Edwardsville Borough Council, was former police chief of Edwardsville and served as deputy warden at county prison.

Jeffrey T. Namey, Wilkes-Barre, May 9: Served 16 years as Wilkes-Barre superintendent and was involved in many community organizations.

Joseph A. Paglianite, Dallas, May 11: Co-founder of Grotto Pizza and philanthropist. In 2010, he contributed to Luzerne County Community College to help create the Joseph A. Paglianite Culinary Institute.

Carmen L. Falcone Jr., Pittston, May 12: Owner of Falcone Beverage and philanthropist.

Art Kerpovich, Shavertown, May 16: Owned and operated Kerpovich Sanitation for 57 years.

Esther “Essy” Davidowitz, Kingston, May 16: In addition to being a musician, teacher and editor, she served in leadership roles with Wilkes University, the Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Federation.

Steven R. Tokach Sr., Mountain Top, May 20: Spent nearly 50 years in banking and was the former president and CEO of FNCB.

Harold Rosenn, Kingston, June 2: Attorney and founder of the law firm Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald.

John Quinn, Wilkes-Barre Twp., June 13: Teacher, coach and Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member.

Armand “Ducho” Lepore, Plains Twp., June 11: Owner of City Mager in Wilkes-Barre.

Randall Mark, Dallas and Naples, Florida, July 8: Owned Pulverman Manufacturing in Dallas and was instrumental in the renovation of the Engineering Center at Wilkes University, which was renamed the Mark Engineering Center in September 2018

Karen Yarrish, Kingston Twp., July 8: Former owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Dallas and former director of human services and administrative services at King’s College.

Richard Malak, Shavertown, July 13: Served more than 35 years in the U.S. Army and owned Pine Tree Farms in Shavertown.

Donald Zlotek, Luzerne, formerly of Plymouth, July 17: Educator who spent 35 years teaching numerous levels of math at Luzerne County Community College and serving as the chairman of the college’s math department.

Ross DeNisco Jr., West Pittston, July 16: Served in Army National Guard and worked with Congressman Dan Flood to bring relief efforts to the Wyoming Valley following the Agnes flood.

Michael Insalaco, formerly of West Pittston and Moosic, July 17: Started Insalaco grocery store and helped run Insalaco Development Group.

Frank Magdalinski, Laflin, July 16: Owned Anthracite Coal Craft and sculpted the Pocono Bill France Award of Excellence and a twin tower replica commemorating NYPD members who died on Sept. 11.Conrad Baut, Shavertown, July 17: Artist and owner of Baut Studios, a fourth generation stained glass studio in Swoyersville.

Lucille Bertram, Wilkes-Barre, Aug. 21: Founded the Robert J. Bertram Insurance agency with her late husband, Robert J. Bertram.

Edward Voitek, Wyoming, Sept. 2: Co-owned Voitek TV and Appliance in Kingston and Exeter.

Eberhard Faber IV, Bear Creek Village, Sept. 2: The owner of the famous pencil-making company was a philanthropist and civic leader who served six terms on Bear Creek Village borough council.

Dorothy Shea Yazurlo, Plains Twp., Sept. 9, 2022: Former mayor of Laflin.

Michael Fino, West Pittston, Sept. 9: Longtime owner of Fino’s Pharmacy in Pittston.

William Hugh Perry Sr., Franklin Twp., Sept. 17: Developed Perry Apiaries into one of the largest honey producers on the East Coast.

Ernest L. Schmid, Dallas, Sept. 18: Co-owned S&W Restaurant in Wilkes-Barre.

Donna McFadden Connors, Pittston, Sept. 19: Former Pittston mayor and councilwoman.

William Obeid, Mountain Top, Sept. 23: Longtime owner of Abe’s Hot Dogs on Barney Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Louise Hazeltine, Trucksville, Sept. 29: Associate dean and professor at the Cornell University-New York Hospital School of Nursing

Thomas Zenobi, West Pittston, Oct. 7: Worked at the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster and holds two patents owned by the US Navy for inventions of safety mechanisms used in pilot seat ejections.

Robert D. Richardson, Dallas, Oct. 10: Served as executive officer with Wachovia and was instrumental in helping the bank secure naming rights to the arena

Max Bartikowsky, Forty Fort, Oct. 18: Owned Bartikowsky Jewelers on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre and was the inspiration for cartoonist Ham Fisher’s “Little Max” in the Joe Palooka comic strip, which ran in up to 900 newspapers nationwide for over 50 years.

Charley Trippi, Athens, Georgia, formerly of Pittston, Oct. 19: University of Georgia legend who was a member of the Pro Football and College Football halls of fame.

Yvonne Bozinski, Nanticoke, Oct. 24: First woman elected to Nanticoke city council.

John P. Moses, Esq., Wilkes-Barre, Oct. 31: Prominent attorney and philanthropist. He dedicated many years to the health and welfare of children, including serving as chairman of the Board of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

John Spencer Sr., Dallas, Oct. 31: Owned Lehman Golf Club since 1953.

Eugene Brady, Mountain Top, Nov. 1: Served as executive director of Commission on Economic Opportunity for more than four decades.

Charles Obeid, Plains Twp., Nov. 2: Owned Sheehans Pharmacy in Plains Twp.

Joseph Shaver, Harveys Lake, Nov. 5: Former WARM DJ, dance show host on WVIA and community leader.

Charles Dugan, Kingston, Nov. 26: Owned Dugan’s Pub in Luzerne for 26 years.

Stephen Urbanski, Kingston, Dec. 1: Co-founder of the law firm Haggerty & Urbanski.

David Galli, Pittston, Dec. 16: A beloved figure in the Pittston Area community, he served as manager on the football team and worked 39 years on the maintenance staff.

Ava Fellerman, Treasure Island, Florida, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, Dec. 11: Daughter of prominent local attorney Greg Fellerman was killed in a car accident.

Phillip J. “Mousey” Nardiello, Mountain Top, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, Dec. 19: Owned and operated a barbershop on Park Avenue in Wilkes-Barre for more than 40 years that was frequented by politicos, sports figures, first responders, lawyers, clergymen and more.

The LuLac Edition #4, 880, December 29th, ,2022

TOP TEN LOCAL STORIES  

1.       LUZERNE COUNTY MAJORITY TAKES OFFICE:   The Luzerne County Council is under the control of the Republican party. With 10 votes you would think the group would have a clue but hey proved they had no idea how to govern. Some council members who came from all borough councils thought they could just go in and change things, but they were over matched in both intellect and basic knowledge of the county code and the charter.

 

2.        WOMEN RULE IN THE COURTS: For the first time EVER, there is a majority of women on Luzerne County courts. With the elections of Tarah Toohil and Stefanie Salavantis, the court has women deciders of justice. 

 

3.       COUNTY COUNCIL BOTCHES PEDRI REPLACEMENT: On the morning of a County Council meeting, Romilda Crocamo had the votes to become the permanent manager as opposed to the acting one. However, at the meeting, bloated lying crying Brian Thornton wanted to check our new information that he said came his way. The vote was cancelled to gather “new information”. 

 

4“    NEW INFORMATION TURNS INTO NON  EXISTENT INFORMATION: What really happened was there was no new information from Lying, crying Brian Thornton. It was a ploy because the GOP sexists just couldn’t stand a competent woman being the county manager and decided to pick   Randy Robertson as County Manager. These people who tell you they are taxpayer watchdogs paid a premium to being him in. He was touted as a person who had the necessary experience for the job. Having had 4 jobs in 6 years, I can se how they came to that convoluted conclusion. 

 

5.       ROBINSON TAKES THE HELM: Robertson gets hired and goes about assessing the needs of the county as he was expected to do. Upon meeting the County Council Robinson realizes he has landed in the land of “Dumb and Dumber” once he meets a few of these “council members”.  Nonetheless, Robinson says straight out that taxes need to be raised and the Republican majority goes ape shit because the only thing they know is that high taxes are BAD!!!! Even though taxes pay for the services the county gives. Even for wasting money on an outside hire like Robinson who will surely stay for a few years.

 

6.        ROBINSON RESIGNS CITING FAMILY REASONS: Yep sure were family reasons but from the GOP Majority who put pressure on Robinson to back away from his assessment. Randy took sides against “the family” and decided to get out of Dodge ASAP. Robinson wrote a very classy goodbye essay which outlined what the county needed to do to grow. There are no reports if any kind soul took the time to read it to the Republican council members. 

 

7.       COUNTY COUNCIL DECLARES: “OUR NEXT HIRE SHOULD BE LOCAL!!!!!”  Public reaction was “You think so……you stupid bastards!!!” 

 

8.       BOOSTER SHOTS BATTLE COVID: Local health care facilities as well as Health Departments give out vaccines to fight COVID infections which thank heavens declined. 

 

9.       The city of Wilkes Barre’s Mayor Brown suggests to the NAACP that Coal Street Park should be renamed Martin Luther King Junior park. Before a crowd of 700 on Juneteenth, the park is rededicated. 

 

10.   In election news, Matt Cartwright is retained in the 8^th district besting Lying, crying Jim Bognet a second time while Dan Mueser wins in the 9^th. One wonders why his opponent never called him out on voting against the infrastructure bill  and coming to a late realization that the election wasn’t rigged but  that wasn’t my call.

Eddie Day Pashinski faced a challenge from Eryn Harvey who unlike her GOP running mates had the savvy and class to succeed. James May is still trying to say he won even though this three-time loser was beaten by Jim Haddock.

In the U.S. Senate race John Fetterman carried Luzerne County. Josh Shapiro did too but only by one percentage point proving that fixing political stupid (see numbers 3 through 7) will continue to be a full time job and be a top ten story of 2023.  

The LuLac Edtion #4 879, December 29th, 2022

 TOP 5 MEDIA STORIES

1.       Meet the Press celebrates 75 years. NBC Meet the Press celebrated its 75th anniversary, following the broadcast’s debut on Nov. 6, 1947. More than 3,500 episodes later, Chuck Todd says, the goal of the broadcast remains consistent: “A fair exchange of views and perspective that gives our viewers important context on the issues of the day.”

2.       CNN shakes up line up sideling Don Lemon. At CNN, it was announced in February that network President Jeff Zucker would resign following the revelation he had a relationship with a fellow executive that was not disclosed prior. In May, Chris Licht from Twitter took over the network.

3.       Frank Andrews retires from WILK. After a four year run, Andrews ended his program in August. So far no replacement has been found. On the TV side WNEP TV anchor Tom Williams resigns and run for State Representative in the 119^th. He loses the primary and almost immediacy gets a state job courtesy of Senator Lisa Baker.

4.       Elon Musk Buys Twitter The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, completed the purchase of the social media platform in October. ...

5.       The Jan. 6 hearings were a mainstay of regular programming in 2022. And when a news event such as Hurricane Ian threatened to take the hearings off center stage, the committee simply postponed the hearings to maximize audiences.

The LuLac Edition #4,878, December 29th, 2022

 TOP 5 SPORTS STORIES 

1.       WORLD CUP: The world Cup opens in Kultarr and after misgivings about human rights, the games go on. Argentina wins.

2.       The Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl.

3.       The Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker who fist started playing baseball in 1968 got another World Series Ring as a manager. Baker got the first one with L.A. in 1981.

4.       Aaron Judge breaks Roger Maris’ home run record of 1961. He later signs a huge renewal contract with the Yanks.

5.       The Philadelphia Phillies represent the National League in the Series after going on a winning streak that anchored a rather tumultuous year