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Hot temperatures, sunshine predicted for the Wyoming Valley this weekend

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<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &#8212; The parents of a Nebraska toddler killed by an alligator at Walt Disney World say they&#8217;re devastated by the loss of their son, whose death prompted the entertainment giant to add gator warnings at the resort.</p><p>A statement by Matt and Melissa Graves of Omaha, Nebraska, said words can&#8217;t express the shock and grief their family is enduring.</p><p>&#8220;We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time,&#8221; said the statement, released by a family friend Thursday.</p><p>The brief statement also thanked authorities in Orlando, Florida, for their assistance after the gator grabbed 2-year-old Lane Graves from shallow water in a lake at a Disney hotel Tuesday.</p><p>An animal described as being as long as 7 feet snatched the little boy as he waded in shallow water around nightfall Tuesday. The beach, located at Disney&#8217;s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa across a lake from the Magic Kingdom, had &#8220;no swimming&#8221; signs but no warning about alligators.</p><p>The company said it will now add gator warnings. No time frame was announced immediately, and the resort&#8217;s beaches remain closed.</p><p>A statement by Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said the company also was conducting a &#8220;swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols.&#8221;</p><p>While it&#8217;s an unwritten rule for Florida residents to keep small children away from ponds and lakes in a state with an alligator population estimated at more than 1 million, many out-of-state visitors aren&#8217;t aware of threat posed by the reptiles.</p><p>Kadie Whalen of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, said her three young children and niece were playing on a resort beach at the water&#8217;s edge four years ago when the beady eyes of a 7-foot gator appeared in a lake just a few feet away. She screamed and everyone scattered.</p><p>No one was hurt, but after her experience, this week&#8217;s fatal alligator attack didn&#8217;t surprise her.</p><p>&#8220;We knew that Disney was aware that this was a problem, and yet they encourage people to be there,&#8221; Whalen said Thursday in a telephone interview.</p><p>State wildlife officials say they receive nearly 16,000 alligator-related complaints a year. Last year, they removed more than 7,500 gators deemed to be a nuisance.</p><p>Depending on the size of an alligator, the state may send out a trapper, as happened after the gator grabbed the boy at Disney&#8217;s Seven Seas Lagoon. Officials said five alligators were removed from the lake during the search for the child, whose body was found in the water Wednesday.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_110928232-4af9a40287334064a1e5f9fbf9b55d9d.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hotel guests are directed away from the closed pool and beach area as law enforcement officials search the Seven Seas Lagoon outside the Grand Floridian Resort &amp; Spa on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., after a two-year-old toddler was dragged into the lake by an alligator. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_110928232-4af9a40287334064a1e5f9fbf9b55d9d.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hotel guests are directed away from the closed pool and beach area as law enforcement officials search the Seven Seas Lagoon outside the Grand Floridian Resort &amp; Spa on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., after a two-year-old toddler was dragged into the lake by an alligator. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By JAY REEVES</p><p>Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

Nebraska family ‘devastated’ by fatal gator attack at Disney