The LuLac Edition #5, 788, October 7th, 2026

 

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Our “Write on Wednesday” logo

Two weeks ago we lost a silent giant among our community.  Joe DCeVizia was a leader who made an impact in the social services community. He was recognized far and wide as a person who stood by the people in need. He felt that the “common good” of all united us rather than divided us. Here is a remembrance of him by the Times Leader editorial page. Not that Joe needed any help in being remembered but as history unfolds and we ever need the definition of a good man who walked the talk, there will be a historical record of who this gret, unassuming humble  Christian man was.

 

 

DEVIZIA’S LIFE WAS A LESSON IN COMMUNITY

 

The gentlest of men you could hope to meet in almost every setting, DeVizia died last week at the age of 83. He left behind a legacy of service to those less fortunate, a legacy so long, deep and wide he epitomized the very meaning of community.

Born in 1942 during the middle of World War II, Joe clearly grew up with an appreciation of how much a hand-up can mean to those in need. He began a career of helping others at the Luzerne-Wyoming Counties Mental Health and Developmental Services in Wilkes-Barre, where he served as executive director. He moved on to spend 26 years as president of the Children’s Service Center, also in the Diamond City, and then spent six years as director of human services for Luzerne County before retiring.

As if that weren’t nearly enough time doing good, he became a Permanent Deacon of the Diocese of Scranton. He commonly appeared in stories unrelated to his professional career: A ceremony commemorating the deaths of homeless individuals, a fund-raising golf tournament for Dinners for Kids (he served on the advisory board and as program coordinator), the Fall Festival for a parish he served, Our Lady of Hope. A town hall meeting discussing the politics of health care coverage (he was moderator).

He helped forge — and served as chairman for — the Generation 2 Generation effort to help people of all ages find common ground. He participated in an “Old-Fashioned Cookout” at a nursing home to mark National Nursing Home Week. Along with local leaders of several religious organizations, he helped plan a trip to Israel. He joined in a restorative justice event at the Luzerne Intermediate Unit.

As far back as 1993, he served as a member of an organization dubbed CORE5, an anti-drug and alcohol group, and as board chairman of VISION, which provided shelter for the homeless.

In 2000, he became the first person awarded the Luzerne Foundation’s highest honor, the Mary Kintz Bevevino Community Service Award, created to annually honor a person or people who have a substantial impact on the betterment of Luzerne County. Through the years he also served on the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee for Social Justice, conducted regular visits to patients in hospitals and nursing homes, and was asked to lead a U.S. delegation to China for a gathering addressing mental health issues.

Carmen Ambrosino, longtime head of Wyoming Valley Alcohol and Drug Services, wrote a letter to the editor in 2023 praising DeVizia’s tireless service. “When Joe DeVizia speaks, you don’t hear his tongue, but instead you hear his heart.”

In 2012, DeVizia was given the Monsignor McGowan Cornerstone Award at King’s College as acknowledgment of his lifetime in community service, and his response was predictably self-effacing. “It’s humbling. And there are so many people who are more deserving.”

We would beg to differ.

We are grateful for his many acts of kindness, and believe he set an example devoutly to be followed.

The LuLac Edition #5, 787, October 6th, 2026

 

LOOKS LIKE BURNING INSTEAD OF BUILDING A BRIDGE

  

They talk about October surprises in politics and while this has been a national thing, you can count on Wilkes-Barre to weigh in on a political “wanna be gotcha”. To be clear things are sailing along pretty well for the Luzerne County Democrats with talk of some successes in November. Democrats are energized by a new leadership team that has been busy building coalitions that make political sense. Given the state of the country vs the state, with a Republican administration screwing up at the federal level in every conceivable way vs. the state level where the Shapiro administration has gotten stuff done, you’d think that there wouldn’t be any discord among Democrats.

Yeah…well this is not the case.

Last week a Facebook post proclaimed that a few members of the Democratic party were abandoning the core principles that they claim to believe by endorsing a Republican for the seat of Eddie Day Pashinski. As you recall earlier in the year Jessica McClay defeated Michael Stadulis in a contested primary for the 121rst. Stadulis, to my knowledge, never conceded and now has been joined by two other people who couldn’t even get enough signatures on the ballot to endorse Mike Harostock the Mayor from Bear Creek. Denise Thomnas, a long time School Director and Ann Marie Mantione have expressed their support for the GOP nominee by latching onto his “building a bridge” campaign slogan.  Haristock, via the state GOP party has been sending flyers, making the rounds and faces what other promising candidates of the past like Sue Henry, and Eryn Harvey had to contend with which is a comfortable Democratic edge in registration in this district. The strategy of adding Democratic support is a well-known way of making your candidacy a bi-partisan effort.

Except there are two things wrong here.

1.  Any sane voter of the 121^st district is not going to believe that ANY Republican is going to “build bridges” in this contentious environment. With the broken promises of Trump, Meuser and Bresnehan, which has made complete fools out of those who believed  their lies as well as the toxic acquiescence of GOP legislators in this county is going to make that a hard hill to climb.

2.  The people supporting the Republican candidate have a weak reason for throwing their support to Harostok.  Stadulis was beaten badly and Thomas and Montone were not even in the primary.  The agenda here is clear. They lost, were pissed and now claim they want to build bridges with an opponent  instead of members of their own party. They’d rather throw in with an untested candidate who says he’ll build bridges.

The Democratic “bridge builders” don’t know the history of their party. When you lose a primary. you shouldn’t take your ball and go home. Doing that is bad enough going out and then supporting a member of the opposite party, calls into question your actual beliefs. When you lose an election, you don’t necessarily lose your integrity.  There is no shame in losing.   The Democrats have had a lot of losers who did not forget their roots.

The following people lost elections and did not take it out on their party.  Here are a few examples. Bob Casey Senior, (1966-1970, 1978) Paul Kanjorski, (1980-1982) Ed Rendell,(1986) Bob Casey Junior (2002) George Brown (2015), Tony Thomas (2019) and Jessica McClay (2019) who lost their races but not their belief in the principles of the Democratic party. As a matter of fact, they all came back to win.

I get the emptiness when you are personally rejected. Being candidate puts your very soul on trial. When all that work goes for naught, you need to vent. “Why me?” you ask. Then you make the hard choices of rebuilding your own bridge or having that sugar high you get when you pull the big reveal. It’s the “I’m telling THEM moment” that after the announcement  fades away as fast as a popsicle on a 90-degree day in summer.

In this very tough political year in these United States, it must be about US, not THEM.

Elbert Hubbard, a publisher who died on the Lusitania once said,  “An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.”

After the initial reaction of many to this “October surprise” many observers of this latest chapter in political “drama” concluded that instead of intending to “build bridges” where they should be built, they would rather burn their bridges. To be honest, it’s been proven that doing so may be a point of no return for this petulant action.

The LuLac Edition #5, 786, October 5th, 2026

 MONDAY MEMES 

The LuLac Edition #5, 785. October 4th, 2026

 

PUMPKIN FLAVORED FOODS FOR FALL

I’m a summer guy. I always regarded fall as the doormat to the terrible winter season. The good things though about fall are the baseball playoffs, the NFL and pumpkin flavored food. Let’s go over a few of them:

Cedar's Pumpkin Hummus

The pumpkin hummus tasted like a slice of pumpkin pie. I wish they made it year round.

Crispy Cookies with Real Pumpkin Flavor

Pepperidge Farms cookies are outstanding. The pumpkin spice Milano’s are to die for and the Pumpkin Cheesecake cookies are juicy, soft and flavorful.

Snickers Banana Nut Candy Bar

 The newest Snickers flavor is a major departure from the original candy bar. I tried it before its official release—and promptly ate the entire thing.

I love bananas. I love them even more in desserts. Bananas Foster is my absolute favorite indulgence, banana cream pie is always a yes, and a fresh loaf of banana bread never lasts more than a day in my house. Banana-flavored candy, however, is another story. I’ve never cared for that particular artificial flavor, so when I heard about Snickers’ new flavor, I was initially skeptical.

Still, I wanted to try it. I stopped by Walgreens a few days ahead of the official release on the off chance the new bars had arrived, and luck was on my side: I managed to get an early taste test before they hit shelves. It still has the milk chocolate, caramel and peanuts you’d expect from a Snickers; the only real difference is banana-flavored nougat. That means the peanuts already in a Snickers supply the “nut” part of banana nut bread, while the nougat brings in the banana.

 

DOMINO’S DETROIT STYLE MINIS

After more than 65 years, Domino's finally has a dish named after the brand itself. I tried the domino-shaped pizza with my kids, and it's about to make pizza night so much easier.

That changed on Aug. 31 with the nationwide launch of the chain’s first Detroit-style pizza. It’s a small rectangular pizza divided into two large, square slices, making the finished pie look, appropriately enough, like an oversized domino.

Domino’s uses its buttery-flavored pan dough, coats it with Parmesan and bakes it in a rectangular pan, giving the pizza the thick, airy interior and crisp, cheesy edges Detroit-style pizza is known for. On top are two layers of cheese, your choice of sauce and up to three toppings. It’s then finished with Domino’s signature garlic seasoning.

What really sets the Domino apart, though, is that it’s made for one person. Everyone gets to choose their own sauce and toppings instead of negotiating what goes on a shared pizza. As the mother of two children, I require no further explanation of the appeal.

In short, I loved it.

I ordered the pepperoni, and the crust was easily my favorite part. It was thick and soft inside with a crisp bottom and edges, and the Parmesan added a salty, savory layer beneath all that cheese and pepperoni. The garlic seasoning kept it recognizably Domino’s, but the texture was unlike any Domino’s pizza I’ve had before.

I h ad one with Pepperoni at work and it was tasty, filling and left a good taste.

My next order will be onions, peppers and extra cheese with a special request for extra crispy crust.

 

NEW KETCHUP FLAVORS

 Heinz has expanded its Simply ketchup line with two permanent flavors, Simply Pickle and Simply Spicy, both sweetened with cane sugar rather than the corn syrups used in Original Heinz.

Simply Pickle adds tangy pickle flavor from acidified cucumber juice, while Simply Spicy uses real jalapeños for mild heat that builds and lingers.

Simply Pickle and Simply Spicy are available nationwide in 13.5-ounce bottles for $4 at retailers including Wal-Mart and Target.