Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: How a Heights family’s legacy is funding Wilkes-Barre students’ college credits

You won't want to miss Matt Mathews on the Wilkes-Barre Patch calendar

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Good morning Wilkes-Barre! We're back in your inbox this morning to keep you in the loop with what's happening in and around town. Grab a cup of coffee and read on. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • How a Heights family's legacy is funding Wilkes-Barre students' college credits
  • Thinking about Ozempic? What one Wilkes-Barre resident learned firsthand
  • Wilkes-Barre residents named in major federal drug and firearms indictment

Also on today's calendar: Book & Brunch Club and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: Riddle: David's parents have three sons: Snap, Crackle, and what's the name of the third son? 🤔 (Answer below!)

From our Partner
Today's Wilkes-Barre Patch AM is brought to you in part by T-Mobile. After investing billions to light up their network from big cities to small towns, T-Mobile is America's Best Mobile Network in the US according to Ookla Speedtest®. Based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data 1H 2026. We thank T-Mobile for their support in helping to keep communities like ours connected and for making today's Wilkes-Barre Patch AM possible.
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Weather forecast:

  • Saturday: A couple of afternoon showers, with a high of 65 and low of 54 degrees.
  • Sunday: Rain; breezy in the morning, temps: high: 63, low: 55.
  • Monday: Cloudy with a few showers, with a high of 65 and low of 54 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Lasting legacy: Kotlowski family endowment to allow Wilkes-Barre Area students to earn LCCC credits (wvia.org) — Wilkes-Barre Area high school students will soon have expanded access to free Luzerne County Community College credits through a new Angeline & Conrad Kotlowski College-Ready Scholarship Endowment. The fund honors a longtime Heights neighborhood family and supports the existing College Ready Program, helping local teens earn transferable credits, receive advising and tutoring, and ease the financial burden of starting college early.
   

2. 'Not a miracle drug:' GLP-1 meds not effective without plan, exercise (citizensvoice.com) — A 76-year-old Wilkes-Barre resident shares how Ozempic helped him lose significant weight only when paired with strict diet changes, exercise, and medical supervision. Local pharmacists and physicians from Luzerne County explain soaring demand for GLP-1 drugs, insurance hurdles, side effects, and why these medications are tools—not miracle cures—for residents considering them.
   

3. Eight Pennsylvanians Indicted on Federal Drug Trafficking and Firearms Charges (news-usa.today) — Several people from Wilkes-Barre are among eight Pennsylvanians indicted in a sweeping federal case alleging meth and fentanyl trafficking plus firearms offenses across multiple counties. Wilkes-Barre Police and other Luzerne County departments assisted ATF in the investigation, and prosecutors stress that all defendants remain presumed innocent while facing potentially lengthy prison terms if convicted.
   

4. Zoning board clears the way for $1.4B sale of land for data centers in Pa. (pennlive.com) — Luzerne County's Salem Township planning commission has again backed expanding a Special Data Center Overlay District, clearing a key hurdle for a roughly $1.4 billion land sale to a data center developer. With height limits and setbacks added, the proposal now heads to township supervisors, while Amazon Web Services advances its own nearby data center campus plans that could reshape the region's economy.
   

5. Luzerne County celebrates 240th anniversary (timesleader.com) — Wilkes-Barre hosted Luzerne County's 240th birthday celebration at the F.M. Kirby Center, blending orchestral music, Broadway talent, local dancers, and historical narration. With Wilkes-Barre City Councilman Tony Brooks co-narrating and area performers featured prominently, the evening highlighted the city's role at the heart of the county's history and arts community.
   

📸 Around Wilkes-Barre

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Wilkes-Barre

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

    Saturday October 10
  • Matt Mathews →
    F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, 71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre
    4:30 pm

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Other local events

📣 Wilkes-Barre Shout Outs!

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Sighted, not secured.
    Unfamiliar cat showed up tonight. Appears medium/long hair, brown tabby and white, pretty large, fixed with ear tip, collar with bell. Curious, but… (Nextdoor N Main St)

Ok Wilkes-Barre! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: David (Thank you Thomas F. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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