[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 2449-2450]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING SERENTO GARDENS ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG SERVICES FOR MORE 
         THAN 30 YEARS OF SERVICE TO NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 25, 2008

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask you and my esteemed 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to pay tribute to Serento 
Gardens Alcoholism and Drug Services in Hazleton, PA, for more than 
three decades of counseling and drug prevention work throughout the 
greater Hazleton area.
  Edward Pane, president and chief executive officer of Serento 
Gardens, has always maintained that it is their mission to provide 
education, prevention, treatment, and support to all those affected by 
addiction.
  The gravity of the substance abuse addiction problem was recently 
underscored when a

[[Page 2450]]

study committee, chaired by Mr. Pane, discovered that 93 percent of 
addicts began their use before the age of 17. Sixty-three percent began 
before the age of 14. And, alarmingly, 80 percent of those in prison in 
the United States are there for drug-related offenses.
  Serento Gardens is the sole provider of drug and alcohol counseling 
and prevention services to children, teens, and adults in the greater 
Hazleton area. In 2006, the agency's programs reached more than 22,000 
individuals in Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District. In its 30-
year history, the agency has directly benefited hundreds of thousands 
of individuals in northeastern Pennsylvania.
  In 2007, Serento Gardens was named the Pennsylvania Counseling Agency 
of the Year by the Pennsylvania Certification Board in Harrisburg. The 
PCB is the body which certifies all substance abuse counselors and 
educators in the Commonwealth.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in congratulating Serento Gardens for 
the invaluable work that is done to prevent people from succumbing to 
the ravages of addiction and to rescue those already addicted so they 
can return to a productive life. The work being accomplished by Serento 
Gardens has improved the quality of life for thousands of people and 
has earned it the respect of a grateful community.

                          ____________________