Bethel Park district judge guides young people toward productive choices

With surgery scheduled to repair a torn ligament, baseball player Nick Arnoni knew he’d be in for plenty of pain afterward.

He also knew that certain types of prescribed medications were causing major problems across the country because of their strong potential for addiction. So leading up to his operation, the Bethel Park High School graduate talked at length with his father about a safe course of action.

“My son, fortunately, listened to me,” District Judge Ron Arnoni said. “He ended up using Advil, Tylenol and ice. He did not take the prescribed medication, and I was very proud of him for that.”

During nearly a decade of overseeing cases in his magisterial district of Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair, Arnoni has adjudicated many a young person who failed to make such sound decisions. And beyond his capacity on the bench, he’s working to help students avoid similar mistakes.

In 2018, Arnoni and Brad Killmeyer, who graduated from Upper St. Clair formed the nonprofit Leadership Development LLC. Since then, they’ve been visiting Western Pennsylvania schools to present their LEAD Program — Leadership, Education, Accountability, Direction — as a guide toward paving the way for a successful future.

They recently hosted a LEAD Family Night at Upper St. Clair High School to provide information about the program for members of the community at large.

“When we go out and we speak to kids in schools, we talk about the most pressing thing that a student should worry about. That’s school. That’s about educating yourself,” Arnoni said. “And I tell them that what you put in your mind is something no one can every take from you.”

Augmenting the presentation at Upper St. Clair were several videos illustrating some key areas for particularly poor decisions.

One, for example, tells the story of a young woman who died in a vehicular accident caused by a drunken driver. Another features an 18-year-old who almost lost her life to her habit of vaping.

And an especially gripping video relates how a girl committed suicide after suffering through sustained online bullying.

Killmeyer offered a suggestion for an effective approach to decision making.

“Ask a very simple question: Is what you’re about to do going to take you one step closer to where you want to go,” he said, “or is it going to put you further behind?”

He and Arnoni put an emphasis on the use — or in a multitude of cases, misuse — of social media, a major component of everyday life for today’s youngsters.

Arnoni, a former Brentwood mayor, mentioned a certain messaging application that ostensibly makes content available for only a short period of time before it becomes inaccessible.

“It’s not gone. It’s there forever. And I sign search warrants to get that information,” he said about illegal activity conducted with cellphones and similar devices. “You will be brought to justice, and it would just be a matter of time. So please be cognizant of that.”

Killmeyer made a recommendation in that regard:

“Just take an extra second or two before you’re about to post or hit the send button. Just ask yourself, is this something I really want to share on a billboard for people to see?”

Adding further perspective was James McQuade, president of Dollar Bank, Leadership Development’s title sponsor.

“It does follow you for the rest of your life,” he said. “At Dollar Bank, we will do a social background search before you get hired. And we are amongst every major corporation in this country.”

He spoke about his support for the efforts of Arnoni and Killmeyer.

“As a father of teenage children, I know full well the challenges young adults face and how the choices that they make now can and will impact their future,” McQuade said. “And that is why it is so important that we encourage our children to be leaders every day of their life, to be a positive influence in school, to be a positive influence in the community, by simply making the right choices.”

For more information, visit https://www.ourleadfamily.com/.