`super Conference' Needs Adjustments To Serve All Teams 
When The Wyoming Valley West Swimming Team Destroys Scranton Prep, There Is No 
Blood In The Water.

4th Suit Filed Against City's `impact' Team

By JENNIFER LEARN; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Sunday, January 18, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3 





TREMONT- Days into his new job as an elementary principal, Hazleton area
resident Al Papada had to help his students and staff recover from the tragic
murder of two students. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jessica Renninger, 7, and her brother, David, 9, were shot and killed by
their father, Robert, after he murdered their mother, Tammy, outside a Tremont
restaurant about 8 p.m. Jan. 12. Robert Renninger, who had been estranged from
his wife, then fired a bullet into his own chest. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The triple murder and suicide made headlines across the state and shocked
the Tremont community. Tammy Renninger had been the daughter of Tremont's
former police chief Lamar Gehres. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This is a very close community where everybody knows everybody," said
Papada, who recently left his Hazleton Area School District teaching job to be
principal at Tremont and Pine Grove elementary schools. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Papada heard there was a murder in the Tremont area the night of Jan. 12,
but he didn't know Jessica and David were killed until morning. He immediately
contacted counselors from the Schuylkill County Crisis Intervention Center to
come to Tremont Elementary. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Students and staff gathered in the school gym after they checked in to
their homerooms, and Papada tried to explain what had happened and encouraged
students to talk to teachers and counselors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I told them this was not a way to deal with things, but unfortunately this
is the way Jessica and David's father had of dealing with things," Papada
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Some cried or shared memories about Jessica and David. A lot of students
vented their grief and anger in journals, Papada said. About a dozen students
met with counselors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There was a lot of disbelief, a lot of concern and a lot of genuine
emotion," Papada said. "Everyone tells me what nice wonderful kids Jessica and
David were. It's just unimaginable someone could do this to them." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Papada said the teachers were "extraordinary" helping students to deal with
the tragedy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Probably the only positive thing that can take place out of all this is
that maybe everyone will look at children in a different way and be more aware
of senses and signs of problems so we can prevent future tragedies,"

Principal Helps Kids Cope With Classmates' Death 
Al Papada Mobilized Counselors 
To Help Students Deal With 
News Of Triple Murder, Suicide In Tremont

Principal Helps Kids Cope With Classmates' Death Al Papada Mobilized Counselors To Help Students Deal With News Of Triple Murder, Suicide In Tremont