Wilkes Holds Winter Commencement 
Robert J. Bruce, President Of Widener University, Addressed The Graduates And
Received An Honorary Doctorate.

Airport Boss's Daughter Eyed For Job 
On The Fast Track For A Position As A County Public Defender Is Recent Law
School Graduate Shelley Centini.

By MICHAEL McNARNEY mmcnarney@leader.net
 Sunday, January 21, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





WILKES-BARRE - Two new city police officers said Saturday they have not
quit training, contrary to published reports. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Officers Joseph R. Mangan and Charles Casey are still training at the State
Police Academy in Hershey and plan to complete their training, the two men
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mangan and Casey - as well as other officers training in Hershey - appeared
at a news conference Saturday at Mayor Thomas McGroarty's request. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I have no comment on a false newspaper report,'' Mangan said. The report,
which did not name a source, was published in Saturday's Citizens' Voice. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McGroarty said he did not know where the report came from, and asked
residents to support the officers. ``They're sticking it out - they're good
policemen. ``The training's not too tough. It's hard, but it's not too
tough.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The training lasts five months. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The news story Saturday said Mangan and Casey quit the training because of
the ``rigorous schedule.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 City purchasing agent Ron Trimble, also at the press conference, said the
mother of one of the officers cried when she read Saturday's story ``because
she thought that something happened she didn't know about.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mangan and Casey earned police officer certification in 1994 at the
Lackawanna Junior College Municipal Training Academy. The training at the
state police site, McGroarty has said, is not the same as the junior-college
training - just as serving as a Wilkes-Barre police officer is not the same as
working in a smaller town. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mangan was a patrolman full time in Jenkins Township and part time in
Laflin before taking the Wilkes-Barre job. Casey was a patrolman in Luzerne. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Another new Wilkes-Barre police officer, Michael Lukasavage, resigned
Thursday after a week in training. Lukasavage said he had always wanted to be
a Wilkes-Barre cop but wanted to spend more time with his pregnant wife. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Thursday, McGroarty told Lukasavage to call City Director of Human
Resources Christine Jensen to set up a meeting to discuss his options.
Lukasavage said he was informed his situation does not fall under the Family
and Medical Leave Act and no other options will be made available. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 CUTLINE: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/PETE G. WILCOX &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes-Barre Mayor Thomas McGroarty talks to reporters at the Wilkes-Barre
public works building on North Pennsylvania Avenue Saturday afternoon. With
him are the city's new police recruits, in training at the State Police
Academy in Hershey. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

2 W-b Cops Deny Report They Quit Training 
New Wilkes-barre Officers Joseph R. Mangan And Charles Casey Say They Are
Continuing The Program At The State Police Academy In Hershey.

2 W-b Cops Deny Report They Quit Training New Wilkes-barre Officers Joseph R. Mangan And Charles Casey Say They Are Continuing The Program At The State Police Academy In Hershey.