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SUNDAY, JUNE 10, 2018
HERO HONORED Dave ScherbencO / StaFF phOtOgrapher
Peter Butera was the valedictorian of the Wyoming Area Class of 2017.
Wyoming Area grad’s off-script speech led to changes
Local sailor killed in Pearl Harbor laid to rest after 77 years
N
School officials cut the audio to Peter Butera’s speech last year.
BY BOB KALINOWSKI StaFF Writer
EWPORT TWP. — Frank Slapikas came from Alabama to mourn an uncle he never met and greet a cousin he never knew existed. Frank Slapikas was 3-years-old when his dad’s brother, Edward F. Slapikas, was killed during the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The 80-year-old and his newfound cousin, Leona Hotko, 89, of Kingston, are the only family members who were alive when Slapikas, 26, died almost 77 years ago without his remains ever being accounted for. They united Saturday in Newport Twp. to represent the Slapikas family for the sailor’s long-overdue homecoming and EDWARD SLAPIKAS funeral, as his remains were finally identified earlier this year and brought home for burial. “My only regret, of course, is my pop and all his brothers weren’t here to welcome their brother home, but they are looking down I’m sure with a big, big smile,” Frank Slapikas said. Edward Slapikas, who had five brothers and two sisters, was laid to rest Saturday in St. Mary’s Cemetery near his boyhood home in the township’s Wanamie section. Please see SLAPIKAS, Page A5
BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER StaFF Writer
chriStOpher DOlan / StaFF phOtOgrapher
ABOVE: U.S. Navy service members carry the casket of U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class Edward Slapikas, a Newport Twp. native killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, as veterans salute outside Holy Spirit Parish at St. Adalbert Church in Glen Lyon on Saturday. TOP: Leona Hotko of Kingston, Slapikas’ niece, receives the flag from his casket from U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Robert Magnotta of Wyoming during a burial service at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Wanamie.
Peter Butera plans to return to the scene of the crime for the upcoming Wyoming Area High School graduation ceremony. His so-called crime: The valedictorian went off script delivering a speech at last year’s ceremony, and Wyoming Area Secondary School Principal Jon Pollard ordered the audio cut. Clips of the incident went viral. It received national media attention, and Butera appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” via Skype for an interview with the late-night TV talk show host. “People will bring it up everyone once and a while,” Butera said. “They’ll recognize me from being on Jimmy Kimmel. Not often, every once and a while.” Butera, 19, is home in West Pittston after finishing his freshman year at Villanova University. His major is quantitative finance, and last year’s Wyoming Area valedictorian continues to thrive academically. Please see SPEECH, Page A4
ADVE RTISE M E NT
It can happen at any age LOST County’s oldest overdose victim in 2017 was 75 BUT
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Life stories from a drug crisis Part 4 of a series
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Find more stories, resources, video, interactive features, a podcast and comments from our readers at citizensvoiceblogs.com/opioid/.
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Opioid addiction is common among seniors. Page A4
BY ERIC MARK StaFF Writer
Addiction can ruin or end a life at any age. Paul Sorokas was 75 when he died on April 1, 2017, the oldest person to die from a drug overdose in Luzerne County last year. Sorokas, a fun-loving but hard-working man known as “Bobo” who lived in Wilkes-Barre most of his life, did physical work, including a long tenure at the manufacturing company InterMetro. He suffered a serious back injury on the SOROKAS job about 25 years ago, according to his younger brother, Richard Sorokas. Surgeries failed to repair the damage, so doctors prescribed painkillers, his brother said.
“The surgery never fixed it,” Richard Sorokas said. “They prescribed opioids. ... They put him on pain medication.” That started Paul Sorokas on a path that ended with him lying in a hospital bed in early 2017, his system shutting down from the damage inflicted by years of heavy drug use, according to his brother. Shortly before Paul Sorokas died, the medical team trying to save his life told Richard Sorokas, “Your brother has so much stuff in him it’s unbelievable.” Richard Sorokas believed it, after watching his brother struggle with addiction for many years, he said. After Paul Sorokas died, Richard Sorokas gathered up all the drugs and medication his brother had stockpiled.
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