web1_TTL110515donuts1.jpg

Doughnut scam suspect takes plea deal

web1_Hour1.jpg

Reopening of the 25th Hour at The Woodlands in Wilkes-Barre generates buzz from former patrons, employees

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The Urban family went 1-for-5 in Tuesday&#8217;s election, putting them at the political Mendoza line.</p><p>The reference is to former Major League Baseball player Mario Mendoza, who struggled his entire career to keep his batting average about .200. Mendoza finished with a career battling average of .215.</p><p>The Urbans &#8212; Stephen A., Stephen J. and Linda &#8212; have been involved in local politics for years. Stephen A. Urban, former county commissioner, won re-election to Luzerne County Council on Tuesday.</p><p>His son, Stephen J. Urban, lost his bid for re-election to County Council and he also lost to Democrat Beth Gilbert in the race for a seat on Wilkes-Barre City Council.</p><p>Linda Urban, wife of Stephen A. and step-mother to Stephen J., lost her Independent run for Wilkes-Barre controller to Democrat Darren Snyder and her Republican bid for city council to incumbent Democrat Bill Barrett in District D.</p><p>Despite the losses by Stephen J. and Linda Urban, they both intend to remain involved with local politics, questioning decisions and actions of those holding elective office.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m fine &#8212; absolutely fine,&#8221; Linda Urban said Wednesday. &#8220;I put my whole heart into it. I tried to educate a lot of people about the importance of the city controller and council, letting them know what the salaries and benefits were for those positions. A lot of people were unaware.&#8221;</p><p><strong>To remain active</strong></p><p>Linda Urban said she probably won&#8217;t run for office again, but she will remain active in politics. She said she will continue to attend meetings and she will speak out when she feels the public needs to know something.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not disheartened,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I was up against people who vote straight Democrat. These are people who are dedicated to the current city administration for various reasons. These are people who think they will get jobs if they vote for certain candidates, or get other political favors.&#8221;</p><p>Linda Urban said she was pleased to see one Republican won a seat on City Council &#8212; Tony Brooks in District B. But she said she will take a wait-and-see approach until she sees how Brooks votes on council.</p><p>&#8216;Republicans are still outnumbered 4 to 1 (in Wilkes-Barre),&#8221; she said.</p><p>Linda Urban said she will encourage young people to register to vote and to get involved with local politics. She said it&#8217;s the only way to make things better in the city.</p><p>&#8220;I do encourage anybody interested in helping their neighborhoods, their city their country, to run for office,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We have to keep the fight up for good government, less taxes and less wasteful spending.&#8221;</p><p>Her stepson, who turned 42 Tuesday, said his double-loss won&#8217;t keep him from running again.</p><p>&#8220;People don&#8217;t understand where we come from,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have a heart. This is our home. We may have some political differences, but we&#8217;re all the same people.&#8221;</p><p>Urban said he&#8217;s not going away.</p><p>&#8220;I will be involved until I stop breathing,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have serious issues in Luzerne County. We have serious financial woes. People can&#8217;t, or refuse to collaborate. We need to work together.&#8221;</p><p>Urban said people in Luzerne County work hard, often at multiple jobs, to pay their bills. He said the county has a serious problem with violent crime, over-assessment of property and an over-crowded county prison.</p><p>&#8220;I want to see elected officials at all levels get in a room and make a Top 10 list of issues and then start to hash them out,&#8221; he said.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Survival mode&#8217;</strong></p><p>Urban said when people become poor, unable to pay their bills, other issues come out and people get into what he called &#8220;survival mode.&#8221; He said it&#8217;s a &#8220;vicious cycle.&#8221;</p><p>Urban still harbored some bitterness at Tuesday&#8217;s loss, especially for county council. He remains adamant that Eugene Kelleher, who won Tuesday, should not have been on the ballot because he did not comply with the rules of the state Ethics Commission by failing to file the appropriate paperwork on time.</p><p>But in August, Luzerne County Court Judges Michael T. Vough and Joseph Sklarosky Jr. issued a ruling sustaining Kelleher &#8217;s appeal seeking reversal of the county election board&#8217;s recent decision to keep him off the ballot.</p><p>County election officials argued the halting of ballot placement was necessary because Kelleher, a Republican write-in nominee from Dallas Township, filed required paperwork late.</p><p>Urban said there are flaws in Pennsylvania&#8217;s election laws and he called for uniformity in the way write-in ballots are cast and tabulated.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_LindaUrbanmug1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Linda Urban </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_LindaUrbanmug1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Linda Urban </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Urban-J.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Stephen J. Urban </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Urban-J.jpg</photo1><caption1>Stephen J. Urban </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_urban-Steve.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Stephen A. Urban </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_urban-Steve.jpg</photo2><caption2>Stephen A. Urban </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

One Luzerne County Urban wins at polls, but 2 close relatives lose 2 races each