Nine more applying for Skrep’s seat

A funeral director, a prominent Back Mountain businessman and an engineer are just three of the nine people seeking to become the newest Luzerne County commissioner by submitting application Saturday, bringing the number of interested candidates to 12.

The seat became available after Commissioner Greg Skrepenak resigned Thursday and was charged Friday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with accepting a bribe.

John T. Banks of Wilkes-Barre, James M. Desiderio Jr. of Wilkes-Barre Township, Thomas Dombroski of Trucksville, Phillip Knobel of Exeter, Joseph A. Naperkowski of Wilkes-Barre, Antonio J. Rodriquez of Hazleton, Robert L. Shainline Sr. of Pittston, Gary R. Shupp of Mountain Top and Beth Ann Wenner of Freeland submitted paperwork by noon on Saturday.

They join Sam Pennartz, of Wyoming, Gary Reese, of Kingston and Greg Gulick, of Mountain Top who applied on Friday. All applicants list their affiliation as Democrat, which is required to fill Skrepenak’s seat.

Paperwork from the Saturday applicants show how diverse each candidate is. Based on the applications:

• Banks worked as a correctional office at the State Correctional Institute – Dallas from 1970-72 after being honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 1965 following four years of service. He believes his experience as a subcontractor will help him handle budgetary issues, according to his application. He also pointed out as a homeowner he understands the difficulty of handling raising tax bills. Banks stated his father stressed to him the importance of being truthful. Banks disclosed he plead guilty to a driving under the influence charge in late 1992 after leaving a club. He said he has had no further violations since after paying a fine and completing an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, a special probation program.

• Desiderio, owner of Piszczek-Desiderio Funeral Home in Hanover Township, also works as a health officer in Hanover Township and has been a deputy coroner for 22 years. He’s a previously served on the Wilkes-Barre YMCA board and past president of the Luzerne County Funeral Directors. He lists Judges William Amesbury and Peter Paul Olshefski as personal references on a job application he submitted.

• Dombroski, a businessman, submitted a packet of information detailing his resume, accomplishments and community outreach activities. He said he is open to hearing suggestions on how to fix the budget dilemma facing commissioners. “Taxes are a possible part of balancing the budget, but I am not fixed on taxes as the only solution to a balance budget. Implementing real time accounting and proper accounting will help the budget deficit,” he wrote in an application letter.

• Knobel, who has been an engineer and manager at several local industries, saved a Lackawanna County firm he worked for in the 1980s more than $500,000 by improving productivity and reducing operating costs. With a background in management, he believes “identification of critical technical needs in areas where there is considerable cost by vendors can serve to reduce costs to operate, dramatically, with the utilization of in-house expertise when found or developed.”

• Naperkowski, a political watchdog and disabled Vietnam veteran, worked as a Luzerne County prison guard for brief times in the 70s and mid-90s. If appointed, he hopes to restore integrity to the county government by representing people honestly and ethically, while exploring alternatives of managerial pay, furloughing and downsizing to raising taxes in the budgetary matters. “We cannot afford to burden the taxpayers for previous county mistakes.”

• Rodriquez, a retired school teacher and U.S. Army veteran, seeks to secure state and federal financial assistance to help the county relieve its budgetary woes. He would like to implement a county-level impeachment or recall process, similar to a gubernatorial or presidential impeachment, if selected. “An elected officially is elected by the majority of the voters to represent all citizens of the county, not to represent himself … Honesty begins with myself,” he said in his application.

• Shainline, a retired air traffic controller, has no experience in public office. He has volunteered his time to serve several local organizations – as former vice president of the Mt. Zion Bicentennial Fire Department, former cub pack master in Harding, former Red Cross disaster chairman and former West Pittston Rams Midget football board member. He hopes to do a “good enough job” that voters would be willing to re-elect him if the opportunity presented itself.

• Shupp, the White Haven police chief, has been in the law enforcement field for 23 years. He is a retired 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves and holds a business degree with a minor in accounting. He wants to see everyone treated fairly. “I think it is important to represent every taxpayer and resident of Luzerne County. Sometimes we tend to forget the little people and some of these people need to be heard,” he wrote on his application.

• Wenner, a former borough treasurer, is pursuing her doctoral degree from Marywood University. She has previously worked as the executive director of the Volunteer Center of Greater Hazleton and former director of education and registrar at the McCann School of Business. “I will work to cut unnecessary spending as well as work to put community before personal agendas through a renewed sense of trust and teamwork among county members,” she said in her application.

Copies of the candidates’ applications submitted Saturday should be available for review Monday on the county’s court Web site, www.luzernecountycourts.com. Pennartz, Reese and Gulick’s applications are already online.

This brings the total number of candidates seeking the position to 12. People interested in applying must submit applications to the prothonotary’s office by 4 p.m. Monday. Another copy must be submitted to the court administrator’s office on the third floor of the courthouse.

Any written legal objections to any application must be filed in prothonotary’s office by 10 a.m. Wednesday. Any objections filed will be handled during a hearing before the public interview process starts at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Courtroom 4 of the courthouse.

Judges Chester Muroski, Peter Paul Olszewski Jr., David Lupas, Hugh Mundy, Thomas Burke and Joseph Augello will vote by secret ballot.

In the event of a tie, another vote will be taken to establish a winner between the applicants.