web1_TTL081116Bolton1.jpg

Fugitive involved in Hugo Selenski’s 2003 prison escape captured in Duryea

web1_Belleman-Chris.jpg

Luzerne County flood authority cracking down on delinquent levee fees

<p>Odds are high (based both on history and TV ratings) that if you&#8217;ve seen any of the Rio Olympics so far, you&#8217;ve seen the American women gymnasts mock gravity while winning gold.</p><p>You probably also tuned in to &#8211; or at the very least took note of &#8211; the implausible phenomenon known as Michael Phelps, the 31-year-old competing in his fifth Olympic Games. It&#8217;s getting hard to hyperbolize: The &#8220;Baltimore Bullet&#8221; with the 80-inch wingspan has been an Olympian half his life and is ridiculously close to earning a medal for every year he&#8217;s been alive.</p><p>Maybe you gloated with a hint of good old USA pride when Virginia Thrasher, all of 19, won the first gold medal of this Summer Games in the 10-meter air rifle event. Trust us, you were not alone.</p><p>Sure, even before it started last week, the international sporting event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, looked as rocky as those soaring mountains jutting skyward around the various venues, what with the Russian doping scandal, the Zika virus scare, and talk of waterways so heavily contaminated with raw sewage that some athletes opted out.</p><p>But it is hard to not get engrossed every four years in the spectacle, to be inspired by the caliber of competition. These are, after all, &#8220;the games.&#8221; They remain a moment when the world&#8217;s woes can, for a few weeks in mid-summer, get utterly swept away by the staggering skill and will of the athletes.</p><p>Maybe you enjoy taking a moment while at work to peek at the medal count online as, during this first week, the U.S. had racked up 32 by Thursday morning, including 11 gold, out-medaling every other nation.</p><p>Then there are those fans attending <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/sports/localsports/574420/area-fans-to-watch-wyoming-seminary-grads-kat-sharkey-kelsey-kolojejchick-and-usa-field-hockey" target="_blank">viewing parties</a> in the Wyoming Valley, held during the U.S. women&#8217;s field hockey matchups, to cheer on <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/top-stories/573395/kelsey-kolojejchick-gets-her-cap-in-usa-win" target="_blank">local Olympians</a> Kelsey Kolojejchick of Larksville and Kat Sharkey of Moosic.</p><p>In fact, we have two other Luzerne County natives competing in Rio.</p><p>Casey Eichfeld from the Drums section of Butler Township made history as the first American canoeist to compete in two events during the same Olympics: the men&#8217;s single and <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/top-stories/574501/casey-eichfeld-reaches-another-olympic-canoe-final" target="_blank">men&#8217;s double slaloms</a>.</p><p>And Paige Selenski, a Dallas High School grad, is an alternate on the field hockey team.</p><p>Not a bad showing on the ultimate global sports stage, especially from a region still dismissed (incorrectly) by many metropolitan media outlets as &#8220;coal cracker country&#8221; sitting in &#8220;the Rust Belt&#8221; where people live &#8220;hardscrabble lives.&#8221;</p><p>For the record, one does not &#8220;hardscrabble&#8221; one&#8217;s way to the Olympics. One devotes an astounding amount of time and discipline, both physical and mental, toward a singular accomplishment.</p><p>Savor the spirit of these games. Until the closing ceremony on Aug. 21, tune in, live stream, join a viewing party or read about every detail. Cheer on your favorite athletes, your countrymen, our local stars. And let the Rio Olympic motto find a place in your life this summer: <em>Viva sua paixao.&#8221;</em></p><p>&#8220;Live your passion.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Olympics.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Olympics.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Our Opinion: Rio’s spirit takes hold in Northeastern Pennsylvania