[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 73 (Thursday, May 24, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E927]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MEMORIAL TO BOYARSKI FAMILY ESTABLISHED

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 24, 2001

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the law 
enforcement officers of Luzerne County and other members of the 
community, including the Hazleton Standard-Speaker, who have worked to 
establish a memorial to the late Luzerne County Deputy Sheriff Eugene 
Boyarski and his family.
  Deputy Sheriff Boyarski faced threats for doing his job, and when he 
refused to give in, he and his family were murdered by a firebomb 
thrown into their home in the middle of the night on February 14, 1976.
  The stone memorial will be dedicated next week outside the Luzerne 
County Courthouse Annex in Hazleton. It will read: ``Deputy Sheriff 
Eugene Boyarski, his wife Lorraine and his family who tragically died 
in the intentional fire bombing of their home on Feb. 14, 1976, and all 
the deputy sheriffs from the Greater Hazleton area and Luzerne County 
who serve their community and elected sheriff with pride and honor.''
  The ceremony will also include the presentation of the Boyarski 
Memorial Award, which will be given each year to a law enforcement 
officer. The first recipient of this award will be State Trooper Thomas 
McAndrew of Troop N in Hazleton ``for his dedication, resourcefulness 
and tenacity above and beyond the call of duty during the recent Algar/
Molina homicide investigation.''
  Trooper McAndrew certainly deserves this award for his efforts as the 
lead investigator, spearheading the intensive probe that led to two 
arrests and convictions. I am honored to have been asked to participate 
in this solemn ceremony.
  Deputy Sheriff Boyarski's memory will also be perpetuated at the 
county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre with a plaque and a display of 
photographs and news clippings. In addition to these memorials and the 
award, a scholarship in his name will help students to pay for the six-
month course at Lackawanna Junior College's branch campus in Hazleton 
that certifies them to become deputies or police officers.
  Every day, our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line 
to protect our communities. Too often we take their service for 
granted, and I am pleased that Deputy Sheriff Boyarski's courage will 
continue to be remembered and honored in Luzerne County.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to call to the attention of the House of 
Representatives these efforts to honor the memory of the Boyarski 
family, and I commend all those who worked to created this lasting 
memorial.

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