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Candy’s Place celebrates family, supports cancer patients and caregivers

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Local legislators getting tired of the rhetoric in state budget impasse

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212;With time running out to finish Christmas shopping, it&#8217;s good to know Santa Claus is there whenever and wherever you need him &#8212; like driving you around the greater Wyoming Valley to all the stores for those special gifts.</p><p>What better driver to have than old St. Nick, so lively and quick?</p><p>Guess what? Santa has been taking time out of his extremely busy schedule to get behind the wheel of one of the Luzerne County Transportation Authority buses.</p><p>Yes, Santa has been driving a bus for a couple weeks now and he has a multi-purpose agenda.</p><p>I&#8217;ll let you in on a little Santa secret. Apparently, Santa has been pulling his sleigh around behind the LCTA bus. Oh, you can&#8217;t see it. Santa told me it&#8217;s invisible. He stops at area stores and picks up items that have been asked for at the last minute. Elves (also invisible) have accompanied Santa to help with this project. The elves like to get away from the craziness at the North Pole.</p><p>Anyway, Santa, who uses the alias Lou Lyons to avoid detection, has been driving an LCTA bus for the last six years, much to the delight of passengers &#8212; especially children.</p><p>Like 3-year-old Audrina Giannelli, of Wilkes-Barre, who rode with Santa on the LCTA bus Tuesday afternoon.</p><p>&#8220;A Sophia doll&#8221; is what Audrina told Santa she wants for Christmas. Her mom, Theresa Owens, said she&#8217;s pretty sure Santa will drop that off but only if Audrina gets to sleep early on Christmas Eve.</p><p>Dawn Stephenson had her 1-year-old son, Elijah McCalla, on the Santa bus. She said Elijah is hoping for &#8220;a whole lot of toys&#8221; from Santa.</p><p>It was time to start up the sleigh, err, bus for a ride with Santa. The bus is a mobile North Pole scene. There&#8217;s a fireplace in the back with wrapped gifts around it. Garland with lights line both sides of the bus which is also adorned with red ribbons and bows. And Christmas carols, courtesy of Magic 93, play overhead as passengers sing along.</p><p>&#8220;The children love it,&#8221; Santa said as he started to pull away. &#8220;But the adults love it, too. I think it helps relieve a lot of the stress that the holidays can bring.&#8221;</p><p>With a wink of his eye and a twitch of his nose,Santa said, &#8220;All aboard&#8221; and off to the mall they went.</p><p>Erica Boston, of West Pittston, got on the bus and stopped to pull Santa&#8217;s beard. &#8220;Ouch,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s real!&#8221; Erica shrieked.</p><p>It&#8217;s Santa, Erica. What were you thinking?</p><p>To the top of Coal Street, to Wegmans he flew, &#8216;round the corner to Target, Barnes &amp; Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond. Across to the Wyoming Valley Mall, past Bon Ton and Sears, past Applebee&#8217;s, down Coal Street once more.</p><p>It was quite a trip. Santa drove the bus like a sleigh, rounding corners as if floating on air. And everywhere he went, people smiled and waved. Like Santa said, shoppers, at first appearing angry or rushed, soon look confused at the sight of Santa driving a bus, then happiness arrives, smiles appear and they take photos with their cell phones.</p><p>&#8220;People waving, people smiling, it&#8217;s a hol-i-day scene. In the air there&#8217;s a feeling of Christmas.&#8221;</p><p>On the way to the mall, a bus filled with riders sang Christmas carols. Santa chimed in. Turns out, the jolly old guy has a pretty good voice.</p><p>Ryan Wasko, 16, of Forty Fort, got on the bus with his mom, Barbara, and Kevin Holbert. Einar, Ryan&#8217;s service dog, was there as Ryan handed Santa a cookie which the jolly old guy promptly devoured.</p><p>Ryan asked Santa what he was doing after Christmas and Santa told him he and Mrs. Claus would head to the Bahamas for rest and relaxation.</p><p>Santa noted he gets far more motorists to offer him courtesies than other LCTA drivers.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody loves Santa,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Nobody wants to make Santa mad.&#8221;</p><p>Santa stopped here and there to open the bus doors so people could get a clear photo of him behind the wheel. More smiles.</p><p>&#8220;This is so awesome,&#8221; Barbara Wasko said. &#8220;There&#8217;s so much going on in the world &#8212; to have this kindness is incredible.&#8221;</p><p>Santa came up with the idea because &#8220;everybody loves Santa.&#8221;</p><p>He&#8217;s right. One ride on Bus #18&#8217;s route proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt.</p><p>It was good to see. Instant smiles as Santa drives by waving and tooting his horn. Perhaps more local businesses should have Santa drive their vehicles, or sit at their receptionist desks or chair their board meetings. Maybe Santa could go to the United Nations and make a plea for world peace? OK, idealism sometimes works.</p><p>&#8220;Ho, Ho, Ho,&#8221; Santa bellowed. &#8220;Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.&#8221;</p><p>And down the rode Santa went in Bus #18.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Columnshot-1-1-1-5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_santabus01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">LCTA bus driver Santa Claus, aka Lou Lyons, asks Audrina Giannelli, 3, of Wilkes-Barre, what she wants for Christmas while the youngster takes a tour of the LCTA&#8217;s Santa Bus at the Intermodal Transportation Center in downtown Wilkes-Barre Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_santabus01.jpg</photo1><caption1>LCTA bus driver Santa Claus, aka Lou Lyons, asks Audrina Giannelli, 3, of Wilkes-Barre, what she wants for Christmas while the youngster takes a tour of the LCTA&#8217;s Santa Bus at the Intermodal Transportation Center in downtown Wilkes-Barre Tuesday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_santabus02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">LCTA bus driver Santa Claus, aka Lou Lyons, hands 1-year-old Elijha McCalla, of Wilkes-Barre, a candy cane aboard the LCTA&#8217;s Santa Bus Tuesday. Looking on is Elijha&#8217;s mom, Dawn Stephenson. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_santabus02.jpg</photo2><caption2>LCTA bus driver Santa Claus, aka Lou Lyons, hands 1-year-old Elijha McCalla, of Wilkes-Barre, a candy cane aboard the LCTA&#8217;s Santa Bus Tuesday. Looking on is Elijha&#8217;s mom, Dawn Stephenson. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_santabus03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Erica Boston, of West Pittston, tugs on Santa&#8217;s beard as she boards the LCTA Santa Bus in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_santabus03.jpg</photo3><caption3>Erica Boston, of West Pittston, tugs on Santa&#8217;s beard as she boards the LCTA Santa Bus in Wilkes-Barre. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_santabus04.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Audrina Giannelli, 3, of Wilkes-Barre, looks back at Santa, aka LCTA bus driver Lou Lyons, as she and her mom Theresa Owens get off the LCTA Santa Bus at the Intermodal Transportation Center in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_santabus04.jpg</photo4><caption4>Audrina Giannelli, 3, of Wilkes-Barre, looks back at Santa, aka LCTA bus driver Lou Lyons, as she and her mom Theresa Owens get off the LCTA Santa Bus at the Intermodal Transportation Center in Wilkes-Barre. </caption4><photoCredit4>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

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Santa is everywhere at this time of year — even behind the wheel of an LCTA bus