Fashion statement supports Hazleton
Group has sold more than 100 shirts backing anti-illegal immigration stance.
STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta wears ‘Illegal STOPS here!! Hazleton, PA’ T-shirt for sale on the Web site exporttheimport.com.
Submitted photo
HAZLETON – Three co-workers from a Pittston factory have organized a fundraiser to help support the city of Hazleton that really makes a statement.
“Illegal STOPS here!! Hazleton, PA” is stamped across the chest of T-shirts for sale on the Web site exporttheimport.com.
Tanya Sorochka, of Lake Ariel, said she, Sal Acquisto and Dave Williams had been following illegal immigration issues in the news for weeks, especially the progress of Hazleton’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act.
The ordinance would suspend licenses of businesses that employ illegal immigrants and fine landlords who rent to them. Several Latino residents and organizations sued the city in August to have the ordinance declared unconstitutional; a decision is pending in federal court.
“We just wanted to do something to show our support for Mayor Barletta and the city of Hazleton. We were sitting there one day, talking about the Relief Act and Lou Barletta, and (the idea) came out of the blue,” said Williams, of Forty Fort.
Acquisto, of Avoca, came up with the slogan “Illegal stops here,” Williams suggested adding the “Hazleton, PA,” and Sorochka designed the Web site.
“We figured since the ACLU assigned 25 lawyers to the case, rather than see them break a small town, we’d like to help in some way,” Acquisto said.
When Dan Nocchi, of Dan Nocchi’s Designs near Freeland, heard about the Web site, he offered to provide shirts at a reduced price and became the group’s supplier.
“I gave them a good price because I support what (Barletta is) doing. Illegal is illegal, that’s what I think,” Nocchi said.
Barletta said he’s grateful for the support. When asked permission to use the city’s name on the shirts, he gave his blessing and posed for a Web site photo wearing one of the shirts.
The shirts sell for $16.99 plus $2 shipping. The group has sold more than 100 shirts and donated $225 to the city, Sorochka said.
“It’s nice to be able to get a chunk of money and take it down to Mayor Barletta. If we can take $150 every other week, we’re thrilled,” Sorochka said.
Customers are local and out-of-state too. “It’s fun to see people from here who have moved away and still have so much support for their hometown,” Sorochka said.
Former Butler Township resident Rick Betterly, 72, of Pinellas Park, Fla., said he follows the news about his hometown area on the Internet and bought a shirt because “the people who are screaming about discrimination, they’ve got to have rocks in their heads.”
Betterly says people smile when they see him wear the shirt in public.
TO LEARN MORE
www.exporttheimport.com
| Hazelton: Pro-IIRA shirt has origins in Avoca
By L.A. TARONE
tarone@standardspeaker.com
The ad appeared on page 17 of Monday’s Standard-Speaker. “Show your support for the illegal immigration relief act,” its top line blared.
It was an ad for T-shirts that stated, “Illegal stops here!! Hazleton, PA.”
The ad noted a portion of proceeds would benefit the city’s legal defense fund, smalltowndefenders.com. It directed readers to the Web site exporttheimport.com, where the shirts could be bought for $16.99 plus $2 shipping and handling.
What no one seemed to know was who’s behind them.
There was even some guess the city itself was, as a marketing idea to aid donations to its legal fund.
It turns out the man behind the site and the shirts doesn’t live in the immediate Hazleton area. He’s from nearby Avoca.
Sal Acquisto said he and a handful of friends followed the case through the media and wanted to show their support.
“We had all these issues we talked about,” Acquisto said. “We said, ‘We’ve got to do something.’ With the ACLU getting involved, they will break these small towns. They come in with truckloads of money and we’re trying to help.”
Acquisto said smalltowndefenders.com will get $3 per shirt sold at first, though he said he hopes to increase that figure.
“We put our own money in, though I’m sure of the exact figure right now,” Acquisto said.
“After we cover our investment we’re going try to give more.”
Acquisto said the city had nothing to do with the shirt’s creation, but did approve to use the name of the city.
“We talked to Hazleton first; we didn’t just want to print the name ‘Hazleton, PA,’ without getting permission first,” Acquisto.
“So we talked to Mayor Barletta’s office and it thanked us for our support.”
Acquisto said he hasn’t done a lot of advertising.
“We’re not interested in making money, we’re interested in trying to help out and be a part of history,” he said.
Acquisto said sales have “started out slow” but are picking up.
“I just mailed one to Albuquerque, N.M.,” he said.
“Illegal has to stop somewhere and it will stop in Hazleton,” Acquisto said. “Hazleton will be the bullet against illegal immigration.”
|