Luzerne County Courthouse grounds spruced up for America’s 250th

Luzerne County officials started sprucing up and decorating the county courthouse grounds on River Street in Wilkes-Barre for the nation’s 250th celebration on July 4, the administration said in a Friday announcement.

Fifty American flags — one for each state — were purchased by the county Veteran Affairs Office and planted on the courthouse lawn, it said.

Patriotic flowers adorn the planters on the River Street side of the building, officials said.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo also said a large flag has been obtained and will be hung on the south side exterior of the courthouse.

The south side was chosen because fixtures already were in place on the structure to hang a large flag there, Crocamo said.

Monuments on the south lawn have also been cleaned, the announcement said.

County Council had approved a $3,150 allocation from the county’s Marcellus Shale natural-gas recreation funding to clean the monuments.

Hanover Township-based St. Mary’s Monument Co. submitted a proposal to complete the work.

County officials encouraged residents to visit the grounds. Crocamo said the administration is gathering background information on the south lawn monuments as part of a future virtual tour.

Councilman Steve Coslett initiated the monument cleaning through Council’s Act 13 natural-gas committee and said the cleaned monuments “look phenomenal” and “brightened up the courthouse lawn in time for our 250th celebration.” 

Coslett, a prior county prison correctional officer, spoke Friday from Washington, D.C. because he and other members of the county Corrections Honor Guard took part in a wreath ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.