[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 135 (Saturday, November 20, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2112-E2113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CONGRATULATING PAUL GOLIAS ON HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 19, 2004

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask you and my esteemed 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to pay tribute to my good 
friend Paul L. Golias, who is retiring at the end of this month from 
the Citizens' Voice newspaper in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
  Paul and I have a long history together, going back to my life well 
before I ran for Congress. As a young attorney, I was involved in many 
public issues which Paul covered as a young reporter. I learned to 
trust him to be fair and accurate when I represented a minority bloc of 
authority members who filed suit to cancel a corrupt sewage treatment 
plant contract.
  Paul has journalism in his blood. He loves the chase of a good story 
and sees journalists as watchdogs, holding the government accountable 
for its actions. His colleagues have nothing but praise for his 
integrity and ethics.
  He spent his entire life in the newspaper business, starting as a 
mailroom employee for the Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company when he was a 
high school student in 1959. Paul ``paid his dues'' in the business, 
first working as a copyboy and librarian before moving up the ranks to 
reporter.
  Paul got his first reporting job with the Wilkes-Barre Record in 
1965. Three years later, he went over to The Times Leader/The Evening 
News.
  Paul came to the Citizens' Voice and became night city editor in 
1979. He helped the newspaper in its quick transition to publishing 
seven days a week. In 1982, he was named managing editor, a position he 
held for 22 years. This past year, Paul left that position to be a 
columnist. Thousands of readers, including myself, have enjoyed his wit 
and insight.
  Throughout his career, Paul worked on a number of stories that had a 
tremendous impact on Northeastern Pennsylvania. In 1972, Paul covered 
the flooding that Tropical Storm Agnes caused, leaving more than 20,000 
people homeless and causing $1 billion in damage. More than 20 years 
later, Paul used this experience to lead the coverage of the flood of 
January 1996, noting the importance of levees along the Susquehanna 
River to protect the Wyoming Valley.
  Paul wrote a series on the decline of the garment industry in our 
region that won an award from the Associated Press. In his first year 
as managing editor, he led his staff's coverage of the mass murder of 
13 people in 1982.
  Because of his lifelong commitment to the community, Paul always 
recognized the significance of events which casual observers often 
missed. During the debate over redistricting in late 2001, he 
understood that divining Luzerne County into three Congressional 
districts would have been devastating to the region. Paul ran daily 
stories with accompanying maps to highlight the folly of the initial 
plan. Public outcry stopped the redistricting plan. The district which 
I represent today exists in large part because of the Citizens' Voice 
reporting, which Paul directed.
  As a citizen, Paul felt that being active in the community was 
important. He served on the boards of the former Welfare Planning 
Council, Catholic Youth Center, Valley Santa and the advisory board for 
of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Council, Boy Scouts of America.
  In addition to serving on the advisory board, Paul also served as 
both a cubmaster and scoutmaster for 10 years. He coached a seniors' 
softball and a teeners' baseball team.
  Paul fulfilled his civic duty as a member of the Pennsylvania Army 
National Guard. For six years, he served in the First Battalion, 109th 
Field Artillery, attaining the rank of staff sergeant.

[[Page E2113]]

  Above all, Paul has been a good father and grandfather while 
committing himself to a business in which it is sometimes difficult to 
maintain a strong family relationship. Paul is married to Elaine Marie 
Hudak of Hanover Township. They have two sons, Joseph and Kenneth, and 
one daughter, Lynn. One thing is certain--I am sure the Golias 
household was filled with colorful stories. Paul has four 
grandchildren, Katie and Paul Golias and Meghan and James McGuire.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me in congratulating Paul on a 39-
year career filled with accomplishments. Paul Golias has made 
tremendous contributions to our community, and it is an honor to call 
him my friend and a privilege to serve him in Congress. I wish him a 
retirement filled with joyful times with his family.

                          ____________________