`off She Went' 
Deployment Day For Area Military Units 
Tears, Hugs Mark Goodbyes For Iraq-bound Troops

Area's Shift To Service Continues 
Manufacturing Jobs Steadily Lose Ground In Northeastern Pennsylvania

By STEVE SEMBRAT
steves@leader.net
 Sunday, January 04, 2004 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 2C 





CORRECTION: ANDREW WNUK IS a semifinalist in the male division for the Killer
Bees Athletic Club's Student-Athlete Award. An incorrect first name appeared
in Sunday's edition. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Five individuals ranked No. 1 in their class headline the list of
semifinalists for the Killer Bees Athletic Club's Student-Athlete Awards. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Included among the semifinalists, eight each in the male and female
divisions, are five student-athletes from Wyoming Area who rank in the top 10
of their senior class. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The student-athlete awards, sponsored by the Times Leader, are picked from
nominations received by the club. To be eligible, an individual had to be a
senior, earn a varsity letter in at least one sport, and maintain an A
average. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The eight semifinalists, three finalists and winner of each division are
determined by a selection committee. The finalists, who will be announced at a
later date, will be invited to the banquet, where the winner will be
announced. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 This year's banquet, the 21st annual for the local nonprofit group, is set
for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31 at Genetti Hotel &amp; Convention Center in
Wilkes-Barre. Tickets cost $30 and can be purchased from any club member. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The semifinalists who rank first in their class are Charles Burns of
Wyoming Area, Meredith Lacey of Dallas, Bill McGarry of Wyoming Valley West
and Mark Wojtowicz of GAR. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Burns, a three-sport athlete, is part of an outstanding trio of male
semifinalists from Wyoming Area. Joining him on the list are classmates Mark
Mattei, a three-sport athlete who ranks second in his class; and Mark
Liberski, a two-sport standout who ranks third among 205 Wyoming Area seniors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In addition to being No. 1 in his class, Burns holds an additional
distinction in that he is one of three male semifinalists to have a perfect
score on one portion of his SAT test and to wind up with 1,500-plus out of a
possible 1,600 on the standardized test. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Burns wound up with 800 on the math portion of the SAT, as did McGarry, a
football player at Valley West. Pete DeMarco, a three-sport athlete at Wyoming
Seminary, scored 800 on the verbal portion of the SAT and over 1,500 overall. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McGarry is one of two Valley West students among the male semifinalists.
The other is Thomas Wnuk, a two-sport athlete who ranks sixth of 352 seniors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rounding out the male semifinalists is Jeff Pace, a two-sport athlete at
Dallas who ranks fifth in his class. Thus, all eight of the male semifinalists
rank sixth or higher in their senior class. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The eight female semifinalists rank 16th or higher in their senior class.
Kansky, a state champion in tennis who is first of 232 in Crestwood's senior
class, is the only individual who is a semifinalist for both the
student-athlete award and the Joe Hoinski Memorial Award for excellence in
athletics. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kansky is one of two Crestwood athletes up for the female student-athlete
award, the other being Kiley Morgart. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Twin sisters Marina and Jessica Scalzo, who have almost identical
credentials, are semifinalists. Both are two-sport athletes who rank in the
top 10 at Wyoming Area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The other four semifinalists compete in more than one sport as well. Lacey,
a two-sport athlete, is first of 189 seniors at Dallas. The other three are:
Tess Drazdowski, a three-sport athlete at Wyoming Seminary; Ashley Grimm, a
three-sport athlete at Hazleton Area; and Kelley Smith, a two-sport athlete at
Wyoming Valley West. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The club will also hand out Board of Governors Awards at its banquet, and
Morgart and Smith will be honored during those presentations. Morgart will be
honored as part of Crestwood's Class 2A state championship field hockey team.
Smith will be honored as part of Wyoming Valley West's Class 3A state
championship field hockey team. In addition, Smith will receive the club's Tom
McLaughlin Unsung Hero Award. A complete list of the Board of Governors
winners will be announced at a later date. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 CUTLINE &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/FRED ADAMS &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meredith Lacey of Dallas, ranked first in her senior class at Dallas, is a
semifinalist for the Killer Bees Athletic Club student-athlete awards. She is
one of five individuals ranked first in their class who are up for honors in
the male and female divisions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Student-Athlete &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Semifinalists &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Male Division &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Charles Burns, Wyoming Area &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Peter DeMarco, Wyoming Seminary &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jeff Pace, Dallas &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mark Liberski, Wyoming Area &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mark Mattei, Wyoming Area &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bill McGarry, Wyoming Valley West &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thomas Wnuk, Wyoming Valley West &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mark Wojtowicz, GAR &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Female Division &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tess Drazdowski, Wyoming Seminary &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ashley Grimm, Hazleton Area &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Christine Kansky, Crestwood &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meredith Lacey, Dallas &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kiley Morgart, Crestwood &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jessica Scalzo, Wyoming Area &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Marina Scalzo, Wyoming Area &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kelley Smith, Wyoming Valley West &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

5 Student-athletes In Running Are Class No. 1s