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‘Pedals, Pipes and Pizza’ event designed to spread appreciation for organ, set for April 17 at St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Was he sincere, confused, or just looking to capitalize on the loyalties of the fans of a fallen icon?</p><p>At a campaign rally in Pittsburgh Wednesday night, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump invoked the name of Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State football coach who died in January 2012, after being disgraced and removed from the job he had held for 46 seasons.</p><p>According to an Associated Press account of Trump&#8217;s speech, the candidate was showing off his knowledge of all things Pennsylvania when he asked a baffling question about Penn State&#8217;s famed football coach.</p><p>&#8220;How&#8217;s Joe Paterno?&#8221; Trump asked supporters. &#8220;Are we gonna bring that back? Right? &#8230; How about that whole deal?&#8221;</p><p>Paterno died in January 2012, just months after being dismissed following a child sex abuse scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, his former assistant coach.</p><p>In the AP story, a campaign spokeswoman later confirmed that Trump wasn&#8217;t talking about Paterno himself, but about his statue, which was removed from outside the football stadium four years ago, angering students and many alumni. The statue was taken down after a university-commissioned report accused the late coach and three administrators of concealing sex abuse claims against Sandusky, a claim Paterno&#8217;s family denies.</p><p>State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, said he read the news reports of Trump&#8217;s speech, but he hadn&#8217;t seen the video.</p><p>&#8220;It was a clumsy reference to Joe Paterno,&#8221; Yudichak said. &#8220;I&#8217;m not sure why a presidential candidate &#8212; Trump or otherwise &#8212; would be raising the name of Joe Paterno. There are many real issues on the national stage. I can only think it was a very awkward moment for those in attendance.&#8221;</p><p>Yudichak said, as a Penn State graduate, he has devoted a lot of his time in the state senate on behalf of the university. Yudichak said he feels Paterno was denied his due process rights by the university.</p><p>Yudichak and longtime Penn State fan attorney Michael Hudacek, of Plymouth, want the Paterno statue returned to its place outside Beaver Stadium.</p><p>Yudichak also wants the NCAA to be held accountable for the way the Paterno investigation was handled. Yudichak has been seeking reforms to the Penn State Board of Trustees ever since the investigation and its $250 million cost to the university.</p><p>&#8220;Paterno&#8217;s reputation should be restored, as well as his statue,&#8221; Yudichak said. &#8220;Joe Paterno achieved much at Penn State, not just on the football field, but his philanthropic and community efforts should also be recognized.&#8221;</p><p>All that said, Yudichak said he isn&#8217;t sure how all of that became the subject of a Donald Trump stump speech.</p><p>&#8220;I hope he wasn&#8217;t looking to curry favor in Penn State country,&#8221; Yudichak said.</p><p>Former Luzerne County chief engineer Jim Brozena, also a Penn State graduate, viewed the incident as &#8220;more of the same&#8221; from Trump.</p><p>&#8220;He says something, then it takes him three days to explain what he actually said,&#8221; Brozena said. &#8220;There should be a Trump dictionary out there to translate and explain what he really means.&#8221;</p><p>Hudacek really doesn&#8217;t care what Trump has to say.</p><p>&#8220;These politicians are all the same,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They drop a name here and there. Does Donald Trump really know anything about Joe Paterno? I have no idea, but I have no concern over it.&#8221;</p><p>However, if Trump was advocating the return of Paterno&#8217;s statue to the stadium, Hudacek said he agrees.</p><p>&#8220;It never should have been taken down,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The AP story said in February, two artists involved in producing the Paterno statue said they&#8217;re working on two new statues of the coach in a secret location.</p><p>At the rally, Trump said, &#8220;I know a lot about Pennsylvania, and it&#8217;s great.&#8221;</p><p>Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania&#8217;s Wharton School of Business.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A Trump supporter yells at Bernie Sanders&#8217; supporters after the Trump rally at the David L. Lawerence Convention Center in Pittsburgh Wednesday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041516Trump-Rally2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>A Trump supporter yells at Bernie Sanders&#8217; supporters after the Trump rally at the David L. Lawerence Convention Center in Pittsburgh Wednesday night. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_Yudichak-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Yudichak </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_Yudichak-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Yudichak </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041516Trump-Rally1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A Trump supporter yells at Bernie Sanders&#8217; supporters at a rally at the David L. Lawerence Convention Center in Pittsburgh Wednesday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041516Trump-Rally1-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>A Trump supporter yells at Bernie Sanders&#8217; supporters at a rally at the David L. Lawerence Convention Center in Pittsburgh Wednesday night. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Presidential candidate invokes name of deceased PSU coach</subheadMeta></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>

Trump makes ‘awkward’ reference to Paterno at Pittsburgh rally