Shawn Walk er, pastor of the neig hbor hoo d Bapt ist Chu rch and co- fo und er of Bu ild ing Br idg es, a ne w com mu nit y gro up wor king tow ard bet ter neighbor hoods,said he couldsee how events like the Party in the Park take steps toward a better quality of life for the families of South Wilkes-Barre. “We want people to see the vi- tali ty of Sout h Wi lke s-Ba rre ,” Barrouk said. The comm itt ee wan ts the m to util ize the res our ces suc h asMinerPar k,he sai d.Plus they will help foster more invol- vement from their parent s, he said. He emphasized the event was alsodesig nedto gettheatte ntio n of the children of the neighbor- hood.
At the park, several local organi- zat ions pro vide d info rmat ion they could use, he added.
Many people have ex- pre sseda desi reto help, butdon’ t kn owhowto goabou t it,he sai d. The event also allowed local residents who want to support the community to find out ways to do so. Past dollars were used to repair fences, put new lighting in Miner Park and make repair s to the ball fields, he said. All of the money will be put back into the neighbor- hood, he said. Barrouk said the event is the one major fund rai ser for the comm itt ee andcould brin g in up to $20,000. About 70 runners raced in a 5K jaunt through the neighbor hood, more than 100 youths competed in a three-on - thr ee bask etb all tour name nt, children got their faces painted and local community organ iza- tio ns se t updispl ay s tomeetand greet the public. He thanked city officials and local business sponsors for pro- viding the venue and activities which were offer ed at no cost to the residents. The District A Fund Commit- teeispart oftheLuzern eFound a- tion and foc uses on acqu iring mo ne y to re in ve st in Sou th Wilk es-Barr e. “It ’ s all abo ut our neig hbor - hood,” Barrouk said. The event raised funds to be reinvested in the community as well, according to Co-chair Ste- phen Barrouk. WILKES-B ARRE – The city’s District A Fund Committee held its third annua l “Pa rty in the Park ” S aturda y at Miner Park, wheremore than 1,000 residen ts gathered to enjoy activities, so- cial izeand findouthow topartic- ipat e in comm unit y impr ove - ment. Danny wants his hair to grow back to cover the bullet scar. We’re in this together.” Danny and Ashley plan to marry on May 11. “But no- body has any second thoughts or re- grets. “W e fi t, ” Su sa na sa id of th ei r home, the location of which the fam- ily asked not be disclosed. Space is tight, emotions run high and strug- gle is the best word to describe their daily lives.
Handelong lives in a small house with her husband, Kevin, and Danny and his fiancée, Ashley Bryant, their bab y, Iza be lla, and Mal don ado ’ s younges t son, Justin, 13. His moth er, Susan a Hand elon g, smi les no w whe n she talk s abo ut Danny and his stories, but when you look at her face, you can see the ef- fects the last two months have had on her. He would tell wild stories, like hav- ing a red Cadillac that he swore he used to flee the shooting scene. For a long time after coming out of a coma, Mald onad o was confuse d. T wo men, half-brot hers, have been charged in the shootings: Shawn Ha- milton, 18 and Sawud Davis, 16. The hilly terrain also makes low-lying areas more susceptible to stormwater flooding.Īlso kille d wer e Bra dley Swart- wood, 21, of Nanticoke, and Lisa Abaunza, 15, of Duryea. The region ’s flood-contr ol re- ques t list is expa nsiv e beca use mor e than 800 mile s of water- ways flow throug h Luzerne Coun ty, inclu ding the Susq ue- hanna, which swelled to a recor d height one year ago. Hope for funding is furt her dampened by gove rnment cut- backs and competition from oth- er flo od- pr one com mun iti es across the state and nation. The state and federa l gover n- ments generally provide funds to repair damage caused by flood- ing, but obtaining big bucks to maintain, enhance or build new flood -con tro l syst ems is an uphil l battle, officials say. T otaling hun dr ed s of milli onsof dol- lars combined, theprojec ts willeitherneverhap- pen or take years and even dec- ades to come to fruition. Duryea May or Ke ith Mo ss wo ul d raise the levee in his boroug h several feet. Exete r area residen t T om Barnardwants a ne w pum p- ing station for Hicks Creek. W est Pittston Mayor T ony De- nisco would choose a levee for- tre ss to kee p th e Su sq ue - han na Riv er a w a y f r o m homes. If Wilkes-Barre operations di- rector Butch Frati was granted a money-is- no-object flood-contr ol wish, he would redo all the walls linin g thr ee of the five cre eks winding throughthe city and buy several new pumps.