Park rangers cite visitors to Hawaii volcano eruption site

126216330_web1_126216330-139dacea295e41a68d6a37667dfd40ef

James wins AP Male Athlete of Year award

WILKES-BARRE &mdash; As the year from hell comes to an end, an angel has appeared before us.
				Lana Eiden, the 7-year-old Girl Scout Daisy from Larksville, accomplished something we all should learn from &mdash; she managed to get people she doesn&rsquo;t even&rsquo;t know to donate new toys that brought smiles to children in 400-plus families in need in our area for Christmas.
				That was a long sentence, but the effects of Lana&rsquo;s effort extend much farther.
				This kid &mdash; and she is a kid &mdash; simply told her mom, Bessie, that she had &ldquo;a great idea.&rdquo;
				That was quite an understatement.
				Lana, with the help of her mom, set up two large bins in the lobby of the Larksville Municipal Building for people to donate new toys for children in need.
				Lana was very enthusiastic about this project. But when she returned to the lobby after one week, she found the bins were empty &mdash; not one toy had been donated.
				Lana persevered.
				And the public responded.
				Lana and her mom and others managed to provide toys to a lot of children who may not have received anything for Christmas.
				That, my friends, is remarkable.
				This 7-year-old Santa has a heart as big as Wyoming Valley. She has the compassion of a true philanthropist. Lana &ldquo;Santa&rdquo; Eiden sincerely, genuinely cares about her fellow human beings &mdash; especially those less fortunate.
				The Lesson of Lana should be taught in classrooms from Mocanaqua to Oxford. Everyone can, and should, learn from this little girl.
				Not resting on her laurels, Lana has already asked her mom if they can do this same project next year.
				Lana Eiden can not be stopped.
				So next year, Lana plans to be at it again, getting people to donate new toys for children in need.
				We all should be proud of Lana and what she did. We should aspire to be just like her and find our niche to help where help is needed.
				Lana&rsquo;s mom told me this:
				&ldquo;Lana just wanted to make sure all kids in need of any age would get a gift for Christmas. She always hoped that everyone would have a Merry Christmas.&rdquo;
				When Lana came up with the idea to ask for toy donations for children in need, she said her mother told her she has a lot of toys, &ldquo;but there are a lot of children who don&rsquo;t have any.&rdquo;
				Lana said, &ldquo;So I got this great idea to help families get nice toys for their children so they have a Merry Christmas.&rdquo;
				Remember, Lana is 7 years old and she is in her second year of &ldquo;Daisy&rdquo; with the Girl Scouts Unit 331.
				There seems to be no limit to Lana&rsquo;s determination to help in her community. She appears headed for an exemplary life of constantly raising the bar &mdash; her own bar &mdash; for helping people who need help.
				Thanks to front line workers
				Before I go further, let me not forget to offer thanks and appreciation to all of those front line workers who have been battling the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic.
				Where would we be without them?
				They have gone far beyond the call of duty to do all they could for their fellow human beings. We have seen the work they have done and continue to do as the pandemic persists.
				We have seen the emotion on their faces &mdash; in their eyes above those protective masks.
				We have witnessed the incredulousness when they speak about the battle they wage every day and how they still can&rsquo;t understand why there has been such opposition by far too many to practice the recommended mitigation measures.
				The front line workers have seen the dark side of the pandemic. They have watched the sadness, the heartbreak, the tragedy of yet another life lost.
				These men and women have shown us what it means to be a caregiver; what it means to put your own safety on the line to help others; what it means to continue day after day, night after night, to provide health care to sick people.
				Hopefully one day soon, they will all be rewarded, or at last properly appreciated and respected, for their work.
				That&rsquo;s why, in the meantime, we feel so happy, so refreshed, to hear the story of Lana Eiden and her toy drive for needy children.
				Lana proves that there are good people in this world who sincerely care about each other &mdash; often strangers whom we never get to know.
				As 2020 ends and 2021 arrives, let&rsquo;s all be like Lana Eiden and those front line workers.
				It&rsquo;s what will make us better.

Beyond the Byline: For Lana and all those front line workers