Latest news with #LuzerneCounty
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hunlock Twp. man, 70, sentenced for online child solicitation
Jun. 27—WILKES-BARRE — An apology and a pledge to never do it again were not enough to keep a Hunlock Township man from being sentenced to state prison Friday for soliciting sex from a child. Martin Donald Sorber, 70, was sentenced by Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas to 18 months to four years in state prison on charges of criminal attempt to commit statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and resisting arrest. Sorber was also sentenced to four years probation and required to lifetime registration of his address under the state's Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act. Sorber pleaded guilty to the charges on April 1. Sorber was arrested Sept. 20, 2024, in a joint investigation by Kingston Township police and Wyoming Area Regional Police in an online solicitation sting, according to court records. Court records say Sorber replied to an online post by a law enforcement officer on Sept. 9, 2024. During online conversations, Sorber expressed interest in having sexual relations with the girl, who was an undercover law enforcement officer, court records say. When Sorber arrived at a location believing he was to meet the girl, court records say, he punched an officer in the face when arrested. Sorber was in possession of condoms and lubrication when arrested, court records say. Before being sentenced, Sorber said, "I've never done anything like this before and I won't ever do it again...I'm sorry." Lupas noted Sorber had no criminal record and received a number of letters in Sorber's favor, but said the offense was serious enough to warrant a state prison sentence.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Public demonstration of Luzerne County voting system options to be held July 9
Jun. 26—A public demonstration of Luzerne County voting system options will be held July 9 at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, county Election Director Emily Cook said Thursday. The event is intended to gather public feedback as county officials consider a potential switch for 2026. Reconsideration of the voting system is appropriate at this time because the five-year maintenance and support contract with the current supplier, Dominion Voting System, expires at the end of this year, county Manager Romilda Crocamo has said. The administration will eventually present county council with options on systems and pricing in case it wants to change, Crocamo has said. Another option for council would be negotiating a new maintenance and support contract to continue using the Dominion system for a set number of years. Four vendors responded in February to the county's request for proposals to provide a new voting system, and all have been invited to participate in the public demonstration, Cook said: Dominion, Clear Ballot Group Inc., Election Systems and Software (ES&S) and Hart InterCivic. Cook said the evening demonstration will be set up similar to one held in August 2023 for prospective electronic poll books used for voter sign-in, which drew approximately 50 county residents, poll workers, officials and candidates. Times and other details about the July 9 demonstration will be publicly released next week and posted on the election page of the county website at Cook said. Cook said the administration has been analyzing the four vendor submissions to compare prices because the proposals differed in what equipment and support were included in purchase and lease options. Depending on prices, the leasing option is worth considering because the county won't be locked in if it decides to switch vendors, Cook has said. Generally speaking, the county would have to spend several million dollars to purchase a system and under a million dollars annually to lease one, the administration has said. Because there's no mandate to change systems at this time, there may be little or no state and federal funding to offset costs. The purchase of a voting system is not eligible for funding through the county's annual state election integrity grant, officials have said. The administration promised to work closely with the county's five-citizen election board on formulating a recommendation to council. Council had approved the purchase of Dominion's system for $3.6 million at the end of 2019 as part of a state mandate for all counties to implement systems with a paper record that can be verified by voters and kept in case tallies are questioned. There are two ways to meet the paper-trail requirement — filling in ovals on actual paper or making selections on a computerized touchscreen ballot marking device and then printing a copy for review before feeding it into a tabulator to be cast and saved. The current Dominion system uses ballot marking devices, but the county has used paper ballots at times that were then scanned into the Dominion tabulators to be counted. Cook has said there are many considerations in the debate over paper ballots versus marking devices. Some voters prefer to mark their selections on paper and scan that in, as opposed to a printout, she said. With paper ballots, the county would only need one ballot marking device at each of the 186 precincts for those with disabilities in addition to scanners to tabulate the ballots, she said. Advocates of ballot marking devices say the machines immediately alert voters when they attempt to pick too many candidates (overvoting) or when they have not selected all allowable choices (undervoting) in case they want to choose more. Ballot marking devices also require voters to type in write-in selections so handwriting does not have to be deciphered during post-election adjudication. However, Cook has noted the county already must deal with these issues for mail ballots. The county experimented with using paper ballots in the 2023 primary election, but the county election board unanimously voted in August 2023 in support of the bureau's plan to return to the ballot marking devices for that year's general election. Officials concluded that electronic devices were preferred. Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Prosecutors prohibited from referencing 'victim' during Plains Twp. homicide trial
Jun. 23—WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. denied a request to dismiss criminal homicide charges against Louis Weihbrecht while directing prosecutors to use certain terminology during the upcoming trial. Weihbrecht, 56, was charged by detectives with Plains Township police and the Luzerne County district attorney's office with fatally striking Mark R. Svadeba, 47, in front of an auto-repair garage on North Main Street on Sept. 13, 2024, according to court records. District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce previously said investigators believed Weihbrecht intentionally ran over Svadeba with his 2007 Chevrolet Silverado truck. Weihbrecht showed up outside the garage where Svadeba was standing next to his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The two men exchanged words when Weihbrecht, court records allege, accelerated his truck, running over Svadeba, who was dragged for nearly 30 feet. Weihbrecht was charged with an open count of criminal homicide, which his attorney, John B. Pike, requested the case be dismissed. During a recent motion hearing, Pike described the fatal crash as an accident, as Weihbrecht intended to run over Svadeba's motorcycle, suggesting Svadeba walked and stood in front of Weihbrecht's truck. Sklarosky denied Pike's request to dismiss the criminal homicide charge against Weihbrecht in an order filed Friday. In another issue, according to Sklarosky's rulings, Pike was successful in his argument to prohibit prosecutors, notably Assistant District Attorney James L. McMonagle, from referring to Svadeba as a "victim" during Weihbrecht's trial scheduled for September.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Teen artist ‘blooming' into her craft
BUTLER TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — There is no denying that the pandemic disrupted student learning and development, but one local teen turned that time in isolation to tap into her creativity, which can now be seen in her community. Take a look around Hazleton Area Arts and Humanities Academy (HAAHA), and you will see the lasting mark Ava Leitner left on the school that gave purpose to her studies. 'It feels a bit more open for creativity here, and I really enjoy being able to express that,' said Ava. The teen artist painted multiple murals, including a bug-themed mural near a biology room, another with colorful numbers near the math classroom, and one that is perfect for the reading and English area. Ava points to the COVID-19 pandemic with finding the time to hone her art skills. 'I ended up watching a lot of art YouTubers at that time, and it really inspired me to start actually start drawing myself,' explained Ava. It did not take long for her visual arts teacher to recognize Ava's passion for art. 'When you have a student who's that motivated, it's wonderful. You just point them and set them in directions, and you just try to facilitate their creativity and give them more opportunities to express that,' said Honors Visual Arts Instructor at HAAHA, Anne Flowers. Ava's biggest project to date, both in size and scope, cannot be found inside the school. 'There was a blank wall, and my boss allowed me to do a mural there,' explained Ava. 'There' is at Conyngham Floral on the South Hunter Highway, where Ava has worked part-time for a couple of years. 'So, since it's a flower shop, I just picked out some flowers that I thought would go best and drew up a concept digitally and then ended up projecting it on, tracing it, and starting to paint,' said Ava. Involved valedictorian helping those around her The mural features bright yellow sunflowers surrounded by red roses and a purple stargazer lily. Ava began the artwork in October 2024, quite a project for a budding muralist. 'We did have to use scaffolding, and that was a bit of a pain to use, moving it constantly,' said Ava. 'Very intimidating to jump into something like that, and she was outside, and cars were going past, and she's working really hard, and it just, it speaks to her character,' said Flowers. Ava completed the mural in a couple of weeks, and how have people responded to it? 'Very positively. I am still receiving comments,' said Ava. Ms. Flowers is proud to see the teen behind the flower shop mural, well, flourish. 'Ava is wonderful, and I wish I could clone her, and I'd teach for free,' said Flowers. And how does Ava feel about blooming into the artist she's become? 'Definitely very proud of myself for being able to accomplish something that people can enjoy,' stated Ava. Ava says she has another mural project lined up this summer in Hazleton. Meanwhile, she plans to attend Luzerne County Community College this fall for general studies before transferring next year to Kutztown University, where she will major in art. Here's to you, Ava. If you have a kid you think should be featured on Here's To You Kid!, send in a nomination online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Advocacy group announces formation of immigrants rights coalition
Jun. 17—FORTY FORT — Unable to voice their concerns after they were told the public comment portion of the agenda was over at Tuesday's meeting of the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority, a group announced that it is forming an immigrants' rights coalition in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The group held a news conference outside the authority's building along Wyoming Avenue to announce its plans prior to the board meeting. They also released a statement that they were denied reading at the board meeting. "Over the last few weeks, we have witnessed an increased presence of ICE and HSI in our community across NEPA," the statement read. "Contradicting their own narrative of going after violent criminals, they have not only been raiding homes, but also restaurants and factories, arresting folks who are hard at work, earning below-market wages, to provide for themselves and their families." The group also said that they have seen "this administration" not only go after undocumented immigrants, but also lock up and/or revoke the immigration status of folks for exercising the first amendment. "We have seen the deportation of a union worker, and after the Executive branch admitted to doing so by mistake, an entire narrative was spun and post-hoc charges created before returning him to the states from a foreign prison," the group stated. "These examples shed light on the overarching authoritarianism and erosion of civil liberties." The statement added that "the expansive overreach of federal agencies isn't just happening in big cities, but right in our small towns and neighborhoods." The group said that on June 5, at around 1 p.m., HSI along with other federal agencies raided Wyoming Valley Pallets, arresting several members of the community. "The worst crime that any of them were accused of is a DUI," the group said. "By June 12, at least one of them had already arrived in Mexico City." The group statement said, "Rather than recognize our shared humanity and that we're a nation of immigrants, the current federal administration aims to divide us. We will not sit idly by while division is sown. We will stand in unity with our immigrant neighbors." The meeting While the news conference was continuing outside the Flood Protection building, the board convened and went through its agenda. The public comment portion was at the top, but when asked if anyone wanted to speak, nobody was present to present their case that was being articulated under a tent at the rear of the building. When the group entered the meeting room, the board was wrapping up routine business. A few of the members of the newly formed coalition objected, demanding that they be heard, but the board adjourned the meeting and left. Despite not being allowed to speak and have their concerns entered into the official record, Michael Nicotera of Rice Twp., who said he is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, displayed a chart that he said depicts how the rented space will be utilized. Nicotera said the plans include two prisoner restraint stools that have shackles, which he said were never part of the plans told to them by the authority. Nicotera said the restraint stools are used to hold detainees on the premises. In a Times Leader story in May, it was reported that there would be no immigration enforcement operations based in or operating out of offices the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority plans to lease to U.S Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), according to Forty Fort Borough officials. The story said the unused space in the flood authority's Forty Fort headquarters would host administrative offices for HSI, which is overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The borough said the offices are being moved there from their location in the regional office of the PA Attorney General in Wilkes-Barre. A post on the Forty Fort Facebook page read, "There will be NO immigration enforcement operations based in or operating out of the offices in Forty Fort." In that same TL story, authority Executive Director Christopher Belleman said that the renovation plans do not call for detention or holding cells. According to previous reporting, Belleman said Homeland Security will pay the authority approximately $30,000 annually to lease 1,700 square feet of space for three years, with the option for an additional two-year renewal. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
