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DA: No criminal charges will be filed against Wilkes-Barre mayor candidate Tony George

Jury acquits former Wilkes student of campus sex assault allegations

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; For the past few years, Wilkes University President Patrick F. Leahy has put up Hall of Fame numbers with projects completed on campus.</p><p>The dedication on Friday of the $1.7 million pedestrian Gateway connecting the school with the downtown added to those numbers.</p><p>The ceremony began homecoming festivities for Wilkes. Leahy pointed out to several hundred alumni, students, faculty and dignitaries gathered inside the recreation center on South Main Street at the gateway&#8217;s entrance that he&#8217;s marked similar achievements when graduates and their families returned to their alma mater. In 2013, it was for the Cohen Science Center, with the Jay S. Sidhu School of Business following in 2014.</p><p>&#8220;I sort of like the trend that&#8217;s developing here and I wonder what might be is store for future years,&#8221; Leahy said.</p><p>He thanked the state legislators who helped with a $600,000 grant for the construction and Mayor Tom Leighton for his support, and he singled out benefactors Clayton Karambelas, Wilkes Class of 1949, and his wife Theresa for their generosity.</p><p>The Karambelases, who have donated to other projects and programs at the school, gladly responded to the school&#8217;s request for further financial assistance, Leahy said.</p><p>Leahy walked the audience through the process of designing, building and funding the 14-foot-wide lighted pathway made of 47,700 bricks that stretches from a wrought iron arch on South Main Street and across South Franklin Street to the center of campus at the Fenner Quadrangle.</p><p>&#8220;What you have is a modern gateway that looks like it&#8217;s been here for years,&#8221; Leahy said.</p><p>Walking on the bricks under the arch brought back memories of the tour Student Government President Anthony Fanucci took at the old Yankee Stadium. He recalled going from the locker room through a passageway leading to the field.</p><p>&#8220;You see, the Wilkes University Gateway is simply the path to our stadium,&#8221; Fanucci said. &#8220;The gateway may be new, but I assure you, you are walking in the footsteps of legends.&#8221;</p><p>State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, paid tribute to the Karembelases, saying the project combined the couple&#8217;s &#8220;desire for a prosperous Wilkes with their passion for a better Wilkes University.&#8221;</p><p>State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes Class of 1967, added it took a team effort to see the project through completion.</p><p>&#8220;This is progress. These are the good things that can be done when people have the right thoughts in mind,&#8221; Pashinski said.</p><p>Leighton, too, lauded the efforts of the school. &#8220;The university is committed to improving our city one project at a time and this latest development truly adds a remarkable aesthetic in this section of the (South Main Street business) district,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The comments moved Clayton Karembelas to approach the lectern to respond.</p><p>&#8220;You caught me all by surprise,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I couldn&#8217;t sit and not say &#8216;thank you&#8217; to all the people who have these kind words. It&#8217;s one of those things I&#8217;ll remember forever.&#8221;</p><p>He and his wife joined Leahy and others for a ceremonial ribbon cutting under the arch.</p><p>Nearby, freshman Ian Valles, of Philadelphia, stood with other students, holding signs with the Wilkes logo and, written in black marker, the careers they planned.</p><p>The secondary education major wrote the word &#8220;teacher&#8221; on his sign. He&#8217;s traveled the new walkway a number of times and liked it. &#8220;It feels like you&#8217;re going into somewhere welcoming,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Scott Vandine, a junior from Sullivan County, wrote &#8220;criminologist&#8221; on his sign and, keeping with his course of study, commented, &#8220;It&#8217;s a lot safer at night.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes University&#8217;s Gateway running between South Main and South Franklin streets was dedicated on a rainy Friday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_wilkesgateway012.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes University&#8217;s Gateway running between South Main and South Franklin streets was dedicated on a rainy Friday afternoon. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G.Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_wilkesgateway022.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes University President Patrick F. Leahy delivers remarks at Friday&#8217;s dedication ceremony for the Wilkes University Gateway. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_wilkesgateway022.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wilkes University President Patrick F. Leahy delivers remarks at Friday&#8217;s dedication ceremony for the Wilkes University Gateway. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G.Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_wilkesgateway032.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes University Student Government President Anthony Fanucci comments at Friday&#8217;s dedication ceremony for the Wilkes University Gateway. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_wilkesgateway032.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wilkes University Student Government President Anthony Fanucci comments at Friday&#8217;s dedication ceremony for the Wilkes University Gateway. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G.Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_wilkesgateway042.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Some students on Friday pass under the arch marking the Wilkes University Gateway, which runs between South Main and South Franklin streets and was dedicated on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_wilkesgateway042.jpg</photo3><caption3>Some students on Friday pass under the arch marking the Wilkes University Gateway, which runs between South Main and South Franklin streets and was dedicated on Friday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G.Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Brick path connects universitywith downtown Wilkes-Barre</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLNews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes University’s new gateway connects to the past and links to the future