Diamonds We thank Visit Luzerne County and the City of Wilkes-Barre for hosting what we hope will be the first of many “The Babe Ruth Sultan of Swat Home Derby” events, to be held on October 12th at the main softball field in Kirby Park. The idea was the brainchild of Alan K. Stout, the executive director of Visit Luzerne. For completeness, we should note that he worked for this newspaper for years as a feature writer, but that does not cloud our opinion of the potential. The event is to commemorate the day Ruth hit the longest home run of all time, over 600 feet, at Artillery Park next to Kirby Park. It was an exhibition match between two local clubs. Whether this fascinating story is actually true is almost secondary. Ruth’s appearance at the field is documented in the Wilkes-Barre Morning Record of October 13, 1926, and the story of Ruth asking to have the batting length measured is a great legend that is finally being properly honored.
Money to the three members of the Luzerne County Government Investigation Commission who chose to make unnecessarily harsh accusations when criticizing the county’s plan to fund the commission’s work. The three issued a statement not only questioning the decision to give the County Council the final say on commission spending, but baselessly calling it “a move that reeks of the very corruption that voters were trying to combat when they elected this commission.” We will not belabor this point here and hope that cooler heads prevail, but it is hard to justify such harsh accusations before the system has begun to provide the needed funds. If the commission members continue this tone without proving actual wrongdoing, they will tarnish the integrity of their own work.
Diamonds for the return of the Sunset on SOMA happy hour on Thursday in Midtown Village, Wilkes-Barre. Organized by the Diamond City Partnership, this outing included live music from local band Teddy Young and the Aces, alcoholic beverages for purchase at Susquehanna Brewing Company and Boozy B’s, and activities such as cornhole. Two more concerts are scheduled for Sept. 19 and Oct. 17. These concerts remain a major draw for those who may not have been to downtown Wilkes-Barre in a while, and another incentive for folks to settle in the growing downtown housing supply. Kudos to all.
Money The two people from Sugarloaf Township now facing hundreds of felony and misdemeanor charges are responsible for something that, frankly, is hard to believe is still happening: cockfighting. More specifically, the two are being charged with animal fighting involving chickens and not giving the animals food and water. The report from animal control officials seems pretty clear that there was abuse or at least neglect, while the evidence of actual cockfighting is a little more circumstantial, but pretty convincing. If they forced the animals to fight, it’s a barbaric activity that should have gone away decades ago. If not, the neglect is still shocking.
