Council candidate thanks supporters I am very grateful for the

Council candidate thanks supporters

I am very grateful for the support of many people who voted for me in the recent Luzerne County Council election. Thank you so much for your warm welcome when I knocked on your door to ask you for your vote and spoke with you at community events. Thank you to all who called me after the election to express regret about my loss.

I feel honored and blessed to have the support of so many voters in Luzerne County. Special thanks to the 18,419 people who voted for me.

I entered the county council race because I want to help people, and that has not changed. I will do whatever I can to be of service to the residents of Luzerne County.

Good luck to the newly elected Luzerne County Council.

Jane Walsh Waitkus

Dorrance Township

Disorder quickly strikes council

Let the games begin! Only three days into the new year and our new Luzerne County government and the “Urban boys” refuse to participate in a joint swearing-in ceremony for county council and an anonymous source is providing the names of the candidates for the county manager position. That didn’t take long.

Alec Frank

Wilkes-Barre

Writer pushes for more recycling

Why is it so hard for some people to recycle? All you have to do is separate your garbage from your paper, plastic and aluminum.

I don’t understand why so many Americans find it so difficult to spend a couple of extra minutes every week to save resources, the planet and money. About 80 percent of what Americans throw away is recyclable, yet our recycling rate is only 28 percent.

Every “garbage night,” I see piles upon piles of recyclable material out for the trash pickup. It makes me sick. Recycling is easy. In Mountain Top, there is a recycling container for paper, as well as one for aluminum, located at the local elementary school, and the township recycling center is open every Wednesday and Saturday.

Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. You might not see the problem with the lack of recycling enthusiasm in this country, but I sure do. Where do you think all of the trash goes? It is polluting our oceans and ecosystems. So much of it is lying on the road or in your local park or backyard. If all of the newspapers alone that are printed in America were recycled, we could save about 250 million trees every year. I think that is a big deal!

If you care at all, recycle this newspaper once you are done reading it.

Brittany Ayers

Fairview Township

Seniors enjoy Santa program

I extend my deepest thanks to the community, and especially to our partnering organizations, for helping us make the eighth annual “Be a Santa to a Senior” program a huge success. With your help, we were able to provide gifts to 800 needy seniors throughout our area.

Jessica Engel, our community service representative, coordinated this community effort, bringing the warmth of the holiday spirit to donors and recipients alike. This program identified deserving seniors with the help of Meals on Wheels, Serving Seniors Inc., Compassionate Care Hospice, Golden Living Center, Oakwood Terrace and Highland Manor Personal Care Home.

With the support of many businesses, institutions, and the Senior Networking Alliance, we collected more than 1,800 gifts from their generous patrons and employees.

Keystone College’s Sports Management and Recreation Team graciously hosted a gift-wrapping party.

Gifts were delivered to seniors throughout the week of Dec. 19. These seniors, otherwise without company during the holidays, were as touched by the consideration of the community and their brief visit from “Santa” as they were by any gifts received.

Thank you for making this program such a success.

Bob Vielee

President/Owner

Home Instead Senior Care

Clarks Summit