Thoughtful Use Of Words Pays Respect To All People Commentary Linda Trompetter

Deadline Near For Arts Alive Program

<h3>The young woman disappeared nine years ago, but her remains were found earlier this month.</h3>

HARVEYS LAKE &ndash; Jennifer Barziloski disappeared nearly nine years ago, but she is still just as loved and fondly remembered as the day she went missing. 
About 75 family and friends packed Emmanuel Assembly of God Church on Church Road in Harveys Lake Saturday afternoon to recall the young woman who disappeared on June 23, 2001, when she was 18 years old. 
Church member Linda Barber remembered Barziloski regularly attended church with her sisters and was a member of the church&rsquo;s Rainbows program as a young girl. Rainbows is a Christian based-program similar to Girl Scouts where girls learn Bible verses and make crafts. 
&ldquo;She was a very nice little girl. She had a receptive heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. That&rsquo;s how I remember her and her sisters coming to church,&rdquo; Barber said. 
Family friends Joe and Mary Beth Osteroski recalled that Barziloski was always a happy girl. 
&ldquo;She was always happy and nice to everybody. She was a good kid,&rdquo; he said. 
After the congregation sang the gospel hymn, &ldquo;The Old Rugged Cross,&rdquo; Pastor Lawrence Reed told them to look to God when the pain seems insurmountable. 
&ldquo;We need to cling to the old rugged cross. We need to have hope when there doesn&rsquo;t seem to be any hope. We need to have courage when we think we can&rsquo;t muster courage,&rdquo; Reed said. 
He reminded people that Barziloski might not still be alive physically, but her spirit remains near and dear to the ones she loved. 
&ldquo;It is only for a time we must part. Although you can&rsquo;t see me or touch me, I will be near,&rdquo; Reed said. 
Barziloski&rsquo;s remains were found earlier this month by two boys in the woods near Roaring Brook Drive in Hunlock Township. The remains were positively identified by dental records. 
 A human skull with teeth and other bones were found in an area described as a dumping ground for dead animals as state police and the Luzerne County Coroner&rsquo;s Office inspected the area. A forensic anthropologist determined that a skull was the only human skeletal remain recovered from the area. 
Barziloski&rsquo;s sister Crystal Isbel disputes the police notion that her sister was at an Edwardsville bar the night of her death. Isbel said Steve Martin, whom police called a person of interest in the case, told people that he dropped Barziloski off at the bar. Barziloski&rsquo;s remains were later found one to two miles from his home, Isbel pointed out. 
Martin lived in Ross Township when Barziloski disappeared. Her family reported her missing to the Lake Township police department. State police took the investigation over when the township disbanded its police force. 
Martin was also investigated for the disappearance of Phylicia Thomas, who went missing from her Lake Township home in February 2004. Thomas&rsquo; remains have not been found. 
Martin was never charged in the women&rsquo;s disappearances. After being sent to prison for crash that killed a woman in December 2004, Martin took his own life at the State Correctional Facility at Camp Hill on Aug. 10, 2005.

Family and friends recall Jennifer Barziloski