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Family Service Association holds Celebrity Happy Hour ‘friend-raiser’

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Luzerne Foundation honors donors at annual Mid-Winter Celebration

<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; For Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis, Thursday night brought a little bit of d&#233;j&#224; vu.</p><p>The veteran prosecutor formally kicked off her run for a third term with a campaign gathering on the River Grille&#8217;s enclosed back deck, a location she knows well.</p><p>&#8220;It was November 2011, and just inside these doors, I found out that I won the position of district attorney. It was an exciting night. It was an amazing night,&#8221; Salavantis told the hushed crowd.</p><p>&#8220;Tonight feels so much better,&#8221; she continued to applause from a gathering that included fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, attorneys, elected officials, union representatives, friends and family.</p><p>Salavantis, 36, of Kingston, first confirmed her intent to seek re-election <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/732416/luzerne-county-da-salavantis-seeking-third-term" target="_blank">in a Monday interview with the Times Leader</a>, discussing the accomplishments of her eight years in office and the programs she hopes to expand if voters give her another four.</p><p>Salavantis told supporters Thursday night she measures success based not just &#8220;on the number of arrests we&#8217;ve made or the trials we&#8217;ve won,&#8221; but by &#8220;how many people we have helped over the years.&#8221;</p><p>She said her office remains tough on crime, but also looks for ways to help rehabilitate people who &#8220;may have made a mistake in life. They may be suffering from some type of substance abuse and have lost control of themselves and their lives.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not standing here today claiming everything is perfect in Luzerne County,&#8221; Salavantis added, citing the ongoing opioid epidemic and the scourge of illegal drugs.</p><p>&#8220;But know that I promise you &#8230; we promise to make sure we are protecting all the residents in Luzerne County,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We will enforce the law and we will look out for victims no matter what.&#8221;</p><p>In an interview after her speech, Salavantis spoke in more detail about some of her goals.</p><p>She said she would like to see the county&#8217;s drug task force, which draws on officers from different agencies, become its own entity with full-time officers.</p><p>Salavantis also said she is researching options for creation of a countywide SWAT team, something that could be valuable in many parts of the county, especially those without local police coverage.</p><p>&#8220;I want to make sure that we are fully equipped to handle any situation in Luzerne County,&#8221; Salavantis said.</p><p>As of Thursday, no other Democratic or Republican candidates had thrown their hats into the ring to challenge the incumbent DA.</p><p>Salavantis said she didn&#8217;t know of any challengers, but &#8220;I&#8217;m working as if there are.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;And if there aren&#8217;t, I think that it tells you how people feel about about our administration, what we&#8217;re doing in the office, what law enforcement is doing in the community,&#8221; she added.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis announces her run for a third term during a campaign kickoff event Thursday at the River Grille in Plains Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_salvantis1_faa-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis announces her run for a third term during a campaign kickoff event Thursday at the River Grille in Plains Township. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Roger DuPuis</p><p>rdupuis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Salavantis formally kicks off re-election campaign with River Grille speech