WB_VOICE/PAGES [A01] | 07/09/16
voice
Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction continues. A3
Website aims to be one-stop shop for NEPA menus. Biz Weekly
the citizens’
NortheasterN PeNNsylvaNia’s largest News team
22:07 | BOONELAURA
United Way program aims to nurture a love of reading. C1
106 JOBS
sports
breaking news at citizensvoice.com
suNday saviNgs
$1,110 INSIDE in coupons
$17,272 in savings this year
GRADES ARE IN Surging RailRiders receive
deal oF $70 for $25 at tHe day Mohegan Sun:
midseason marks. PAGES B4-5 Sunday, July 10, 2016
a times-shamrock newspaper
PAge A2
NewsstaNd specia al l
99¢
Violent crime down in W-B Rate of shootings, homicides low so far this year in city, Luzerne County By Eric Mark staff writer
The first half of 2016 has seen relatively little violent crime in Wilkes-Barre and Luzerne County, compared to recent years. The rate of shootings and homicides has been low so far this year, according to law enforcement officials. That assertion is supported by an unofficial tally of violent crimes maintained by The Citizens’ Voice. Two violent incidents from two
weeks ago put the relative calm thus far this year into perspective. The first fatal shooting of the year in Wilkes-Barre occurred on June 24, when a man was shot and killed during an altercation at a Stanton Street home. No one has been charged in that case and police say they continue to investigate. By comparison, as of July 1 of last year, three criminal homicides had been reported in WilkesBarre. Two of those cases, both
involving city residents shot in or n e a r t h e i r h o m e s, r e m a i n unsolved. The day after the Stanton Street shooting, the body of Kurt Swan, a homeless man, was found in a wooded area in Edwardsville. Wilkes-Barre resident Daniel Holtslander was charged with criminal homicide on Thursday for allegedly stabbing Swan to death. Swan’s death marked the first criminal homicide of the year in The Citizens’ Voice coverage area,
which includes most of Luzerne County apart from the Greater Hazleton area. As of July 1 last year, five criminal homicides had been recorded in this newspaper’s coverage area. In addition to the three cases in Wilkes-Barre, domestic violencerelated shooting homicides were reported in Hanover Township and Salem Township. There were also at least 11 reported shootings in WilkesBarre in the first half of last year, including the two fatal cases. This year, only three shootings have been reported. The question is: Why the decrease in violence this year? Wilkes-Bar re Mayor Tony George and city police Chief Marcella Lendacky, in a joint inter-
VIctIm mourNED
Family and friends of Kurt Swan remembered him at a vigil on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. page A3 view, credited aggressive patrols, keeping officers in high-crime areas known as “hot spots” and cooperation among multiple law enforcement agencies. “We’ve had saturation patrols,” said George, a former city police chief and city councilman. “More patrols and more aggressive patrols.” CoNTiNUED oN pAgE A6
A fresh face in Bear creek twp.
AmBUSH iN DAllAS
Brooklyn girl visits NEPA thanks to Fresh Air Fund By Samantha Stanich staff writer
ERIC GAY / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Notes, flowers and other items decorate a squad car at a make-shift memorial in front of the Dallas police department Saturday.
GRIEF & ANGER
As investigations continue and more protests erupt across the country, president seeks to instill calm By Jamie Thompson, William Wan and Mark Berman
morE INSIDE
the washington post
DALLAS — President Barack Obama on Saturday sought to calm a country driven by grief and anger after the fatal deaths of five Dallas police officers and a spate of fatal shootings of black men by officers elsewhere. It was the fourth time in three days Obama addressed the nation, trying each time to find the right words to reassure, heal and unify toward a path forward. But Thursday night’s shooting in Dallas — in which a gunman ambushed officers at a protest, saying he was angry about police shootings of black people — fused two of the most defining issues during Obama’s presidency: Outrage around the country over the chronic number of African Americans killed by police — with the latest in Louisiana and Minnesota sparking widespread protest. And the unending march of mass shootings that have torn apart cities from Newtown, Connecticut, to Charleston, South Carolina, to San Bernardino, California, to Orlando, Florida. And now Dallas.
n After a day of horror, a night of protests and vigils, anger and sorrow. page A4 n Black activists hope killings prompt more action from whites. page A8 In the face of those twin spectres, Obama said, “As painful as this week has been, I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested.” Speaking for almost an hour from a NATO summit in Warsaw, Obama urged Americans not to let the actions of a few define their country. “The demented individual who carried out those attacks in Dallas, he’s no more representative of African Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans, or the shooter in Orlando, or San Bernardino, were representative of Muslim Americans,” Obama said. “They don’t speak for us. That’s not who we are.” But as so many grapple with the horrors of this past week and won-
der where to go from here, the stark reality is that more shootings and outrage are to come — a reality Obama cited in his remarks. Data on police shootings collected by The Washington Post shows that roughly three Americans are shot and killed by police each day, which means it is just a matter of time before the next viral video or questionable shooting provokes yet more protests. Even after Dallas, fatal shootings continued this weekend without pause. Before the families of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota could finalize their burials, a police officer in Houston shot and killed a black man, Alvs Braziel, whom they said they came across in the street with a gun pointed toward the sky. When they demanded that he lower the gun, police said, he pointed it at them and they opened fire. On Saturday afternoon, a new video showing an off-duty New York City police officer shooting to death another black man, Delrawn Small, be g an circulating. The video appeared to contradict the officer’s account that he had been attacked. CoNTiNUED oN pAgE A4
BEAR CREEK TWP. — Living among mountains, trees and waterways might seem ordinary in Northeastern Pennsylvania; but it’s something special to a child used to the big buildings, paved streets and traffic of Brooklyn. Yanlin “Selina” Zhang, 11, of Brooklyn, lives on the 23rd floor of an apartment building in New York, but she gets to spend her summers in Bear Creek Township with the Block family thanks to the Fresh Air Fund. “I love going swimming,” Selina said. “The lake is my favorite. There are no lakes where I am from, only pools. There is more fresh air here than in New York. More free space to play. It is just more fun.” Selina moved to New York from China when she was five years old, and the only experience of fresh air she had was reading about it at her local library or what she saw on the way to see family in New Jersey. “The first year I came here, I thought I was in New Jersey,” she laughed. “That was the most space I had ever seen.” That all changed four
MARK MORAN / THE CITIzENS’ VOICE
Yanlin ‘Selina’ Zhang, 11, lives in Brooklyn but spends her summers in Bear Creek Township with the Block family thanks to the fresh Air fund.
years ago when Selina saw a flyer in the halls of her Brooklyn Charter School for the Fresh Air Fund. Ever since, Selina has spent her summers barefoot in the grass in Bear Creek. The Fresh Air Fund places children ages seven to 18 who live in New York City in volunteer communities or “Friendly Towns.” CoNTiNUED oN pAgE A12
ADVE RTISE M E NT
4
$ 99 lb
Fresh Deli Sliced!
Cooper Sharp Cheese With Your Gold Card
See Our Ad On Page 5
We Reserve the Right to Limit Quantities. AVAILABLE THRU JULY 16th. WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
WiNNER of THE 2015 kEYSToNE pRESS SWEEpSTAkES AWARD © 2014 The Citizens’ Voice
SUNDAY WEATHER BIRTHDAYS C8 EDITORIAL A10 OBITUARIES B10-11
High 78º Low 57º
Stray shower A2
BRIDES C3 HOROSCOPE C7 PUBLIC SQUARE C1 CLASSIFIED D1-20 LOCAL/STATE A3 STOCKS H4 CROSSWORD C7 LOTTERY A2 WORLD/NATION A8
Subscribe to the Voice 570-821-2010
Look here every week for Mom’s deals and promotions!