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Flea market at Church of Christ Uniting

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Local family visits Capitol Hill

Diamonds to Greg Skrepenak &#8212; yes, that Greg Skrepenak &#8212; for his willingness to step out of the shadows and face staff reporter Jennifer Learn-Andes after years of staying under the radar following his corruption conviction. The former Luzerne County commissioner surely knew that doing so in the age of instant media reaction on sites like Facebook and Twitter pretty much guaranteed a barrage of withering comments, which did come (and probably will again, in response to this editorial). But Skrepenak agreed to an in-depth interview anyway. You can judge him for his past actions, for his guilty plea and for what he said during that interview, and you may find him wanting in all three cases. But his decision to speak at all showed some courage and gave anyone willing to listen a chance to evaluate his rehabilitation, his regrets (or lack thereof) and to simply know where he is in life after his downfall.Coal to former Wilkes-Barre Township volunteer firefighter Richard Thomas Hart following his sentencing on charges he set a fire he later helped battle. The saga makes real a persistent fear that taints the daily heroism required to be a firefighter: Do some join the force for the thrill of the fight and the rush from the danger, and thus become willing to resort to arson to get an adrenalin high? The majority of firefighters surely do their job from a sense of community service and commitment to the lives of others, not from a self-serving urge to feel the heat of both fire outside and racing blood within. They do not deserve the cloud this sort of behavior by one can cast unjustly on others.Diamonds to Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis and her office for bringing a new tool to the local battle against dangerously potent drugs like fentanyl-laced heroin. In charging two Wilkes-Barre residents with drug delivery resulting in death, the D.A.&#8217;s office took advantage of a change in law several years ago that said prosecutors no longer need to prove alleged dealers had malicious intent in order to charge those dealers in connection with a drug-induced death. The law is fair. Yes, the drug user has first and ultimate responsibility for his or her actions, but dealers have increasingly laced their wares with potentially lethal doses of chemicals like fentanyl to increase potency, addiction and ultimately profits, with a callous disregard for the dramatic increase in lethality.Coal to former Newport Township manager Richard Zika, who admitted taking money &#8212; more than $159,000, according to police &#8212; from township coffers during an eight-year stretch. The betrayal of public trust is more than enough reason to disdain such action, but this case just perpetrates a chronic image the area can&#8217;t seem to shake. If politicians keep getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar &#8212; even if far more are honest than not &#8212; how do you fight the angry shout that &#8220;they&#8217;re all crooks&#8221;?&#8212; Times Leader

Our view: Skrepenak gets diamonds for breaking long silence