Adjusting to life _ and leaner wallets _ after the gas boom

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Juvenile lands in hospital after crash in downtown Wilkes-Barre

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; State Sen. John Yudichak remembers meeting a 17-year-old boy who was staying at a residential facility in Nanticoke operated by the Children&#8217;s Service Center.</p><p>Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, said the boy was about to exit the program when he reached his 18th birthday.</p><p>&#8220;I remember that boy and his duffel bag filled with stuffed animals,&#8221; Yudichak said. &#8220;It was all he had. I wondered what would become of him. It made me realize how fortunate I was to be the son of Joe and Sally Yudichak and to have had such a good family.&#8221;</p><p>Children&#8217;s Service Center honored Yudichak with its annual &#8220;Commitment to Children Award&#8221; at its 154th anniversary luncheon Monday at Genetti&#8217;s Hotel and Convention Center in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, introduced Yudichak, saying her colleague &#8220;has earned the award you bestow on him today.&#8221;</p><p>During his acceptance speech, Yudichak told of his early years as a Little League player in Plymouth Township, playing for his father.</p><p>&#8220;My dad taught me how to throw and hit,&#8221; Yudichak said. &#8220;He taught me about character and good sportsmanship.&#8221;</p><p>Yudichak recalled his first baseball game and his first time at the plate as a batter. He said he took two strikes and was nervous as his father yelled to swing the bat.</p><p>Yudichak said he dug in, gritted his teeth, and gave one last mighty swing at that third pitch. He hit the ball and took off, but ran toward third base instead of to first. His father again yelled, &#8220;Johnny, you&#8217;re going the wrong way.&#8221;</p><p>Yudichak said his father, and his mother, who died in 2005, were always there to keep him from going the wrong way on the ball field and in life.</p><p>&#8220;I appreciate how very lucky I was as a child &#8212; not every child gets to be so lucky &#8212; and thank God there is a Children&#8217;s Service Center for those children who may find their way down the wrong baseline in their own life,&#8221; Yudichak said.</p><p>Yudichak said his parents&#8217; &#8220;living generosity&#8221; left an indelible impression on him. He said they inspired him to establish the Yudichak Family Lighthouse Fund of the Luzerne Foundation &#8212; a fund dedicated to the benefit of public libraries and youth programs.</p><p>He said that brought him to the doorstep of the Children&#8217;s Service Center, where he was impressed by the quality of care and the significant amount of good work that is achieved everyday by the &#8220;remarkably dedicated staff&#8221; of the Children&#8217;s Service Center.</p><p>When his mother passed away in 2005, Yudichak established the Sally Yudichak Expressive Arts Endowment at the Children&#8217;s Service Center. which he described as &#8220;a beautiful and meaningful way to connect the values of my parent&#8217;s living generosity with the mission of the Children&#8217;s Service Center.&#8221;</p><p>Yudichak said CSC, through &#8220;daily acts of kindness,&#8221; shapes the lives of thousands of children &#8220;whose hearts grow with love and whose minds are enriched with the understanding of one indisputable truth &#8212; no act of kindness is ever wasted &#8212; especially an act of kindness shared with a child.&#8221;</p><p>Mike Hopkins, president/CEO of CSC, said Yudichak and his family have helped raise needed funds for the agency and he considers the Yudichak family &#8220;good friends&#8221; of the center and the clients it serves.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">President/CEO Mike Hopkins speaks at the CSC annual luncheon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041916Yudichak2.jpg</photo0><caption0>President/CEO Mike Hopkins speaks at the CSC annual luncheon. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041916Yudichak1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Joe DeViziza, right, talks with state Sen. John Yudichak at the Children&#8217;s Service Center in Wilkes-Barre, where Yudichak was honored honored at a luncheon on Monday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041916Yudichak1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Joe DeViziza, right, talks with state Sen. John Yudichak at the Children&#8217;s Service Center in Wilkes-Barre, where Yudichak was honored honored at a luncheon on Monday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></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>

Sen. John Yudichak honored for work with Children’s Service Center