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Gender identity issue still rare in Wyoming Valley school districts, officials say

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Zeroing In: Drawing gun on someone no laughing matter – in any circumstance

<p><strong><strong>Diamonds</strong> </strong>to Luzerne County Purchasing Director Mark Zulkoski. Under his guidance, the county government has hired a Reading-based firm to sort and send its mail at a significant cost savings: estimated at $30,000 for the remainder of this year. The firm, Mailroom Systems Inc., also vows to verify mailing addresses of outgoing letters, county officials said. That should help to eliminate foul-ups of the &#8220;return to sender&#8221; sort, which can lead to costly delays and no small amount of frustration.</p><p><strong>Coal</strong> to the Huber Breaker property&#8217;s absentee owners. Under the name Paselo Logistics &#8211; presumably a Philadelphia-based demolition and recycling company &#8211; they bought the Ashley industrial site, tore down its former coal-processing buildings, and then allegedly abandoned the job without properly cleaning their mess. In March, they reportedly agreed to remove debris and correct other troubles identified by the state Department of Environmental Protection. A follow-up inspection on May 3, however, turned up the same problems but no sign of the owners, who failed to attend the walk-through, according to a DEP report. If the matter again lands in court, let&#8217;s hope a judge grills the property owners on why they apparently have so little regard for their environmental obligations &#8211; and for Ashley&#8217;s residents.</p><p><strong>Diamonds</strong> to Misericordia University. This month, administrators for the Dallas Township institution made two announcements about new educational opportunities for area residents. For starters, the university partnered with Commonwealth Health-owned Wilkes-Barre General Hospital to provide nurses there with discounted rates on advanced degrees. The discounts, of 20 to 30 percent, also are available to nurses at First Hospital in Kingston. In a separate event, Misericordia unveiled three new health-care offerings, including a bachelor&#8217;s degree in medical and health humanities.</p><p><strong>Coal</strong> to John Estey, one-time aide to former Gov. Ed Rendell. Estey pleaded guilty Tuesday to a wire fraud charge, continuing a disheartening string of corruption scandals to tarnish Harrisburg. Estey, after he left the Rendell administration, &#8220;was caught pocketing thousands of dollars in supposed campaign contributions from a fake company set up by the FBI to investigate public corruption in Pennsylvania,&#8221; The Associated Press reported this week. That fake company, by the way, championed legislation that was backed in the state Senate by lawmakers from this region. The late Sen. Ray Musto, during his final year in office, introduced the bill, according to a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article. His successor, state Sen. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, reintroduced it the following year. Neither man has been accused of wrongdoing in relation to the phony firm&#8217;s favored legislation, which did not become law.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County Courthouse</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_Courthouse.jpg</photo0><caption0>Luzerne County Courthouse</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Our Opinion: Luzerne County’s penny-pinching on mail service will pay off