First Posted: 2/9/2015

While Sunday Dispatch photographer Bill Tarutis was walking around Second Presbyterian Church on Parsonage Street in Pittston during the holiday season, he didn’t know his photo of one little decorator would cause such a stir.

Tarutis snapped a photo of Benjamin Thomas, 3, West Pittston, which was featured on the front page of the Nov. 30, 2014, edition of the Sunday Dispatch with the headline “Holiday Helper.”

Earlier this year, the Sunday Dispatch ran its first “Front Page Contest” for all 52 front pages featured in 2014. The cover with the most “Likes” on Facebook would be declared the winner.

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The cover photo featuring Thomas garnered 65 more Facebook “Likes” than any other front page, with a total of 180 votes. The youngster will receive a special high-quality photo print of the front page.

Thomas was at the church helping his grandmother and others decorate for the Christmas holiday. When Thomas made his way to set up the nativity, Tarutis made sure he was there.

“I found this little boy walking around and made sure I kept a close watch on him,” Tarutis said. “I wanted to make sure I was there if he did anything interesting.”

Thomas made his way to the nativity scene. Tarutis hurried to get to him before Thomas was finished putting the Mary figurine on the scene.

“I zoomed over there real quick,” Tarutis said. “I had a feeling it turned out right.”

Tarutis’ feeling was correct as he looked at the photos. He said once in a while there is a nice photo opportunity available, he just has to make sure he does it right.

The first contest of its kind at the Sunday Dispatch garnered nearly 1,800 likes on the photos.

In conjunction with the contest, the Dispatch picked one voter at random to receive a $25 Gerrity’s gift card. The winner is Mary Lou Orlando, Hughestown.