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Letter to the editor: Keep vaccines up to date

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Grotto Pizza, Geisinger sued by parents of girl sickened by ‘gluten-free’ pie

<p>Maybe it&#8217;s a reminder that our community can be tightly interconnected &#8212; often a good thing.</p><p>Maybe it&#8217;s proof that too few step up to provide public service, making it hard to swing the proverbial cat without hitting someone in power related to someone seeking aid.</p><p>But maybe the saga of the Wilkes-Barre Zoning Hearing Board and the appointment of Kris Conwell Jones as an alternate member is a cautionary tale for the still-green mayor Tony George: Appearances matter.</p><p>The appointment came after the debacle of the July 20 zoning board meeting, when representatives from the Wilkes-Barre Area School District showed up for a hearing on the plan to expand Kistler Elementary.</p><p>The W-B Area folks patiently sat through more than two hours of business on other issues. When the district did finally launch into a presentation, zoning board solicitor Charles McCormick interrupted to announce two board members were recusing themselves.</p><p>Both had direct ties to the district &#8212; one a district employee, the other with two children working for the district. Thanks to the absence of a fifth zoning board member, that left two to hear the district. With no quorum, both sides agreed not to proceed.</p><p>Enter Jones, appointed as an alternate member of the zoning board for just such a situation.</p><p>This is a good thing. Conflicts can arise. Appointing an alternate buffers against such problems.</p><p>But it turns out Jones has connections, albeit less direct, to the school board: As reported by staff witter Jerry Lynott, her late husband worked for the district. His father and uncle also served on the school board.</p><p>Theoretically it shouldn&#8217;t matter. If all five zoning board members show up for the Aug. 17 meeting and two again recuse, they still have a quorum and Jones remains an alternate.</p><p>But Councilwoman Beth Gilbert was right to question the timing of the appointment &#8212; days before Jones could be called to help rule on the school district&#8217;s request &#8212; and the potential for conflict in her vote.</p><p>George displayed a lack of judgment earlier this month when Lynott asked about a free Phillies ticket the mayor got from his cousin and adviser Attorney John Moses. Moses has ties to the company insuring city employees, and his son was hired to do legal work for the city earlier this year.</p><p>Asked about the potential conflict, George replied, &#8220;I don&#8217;t think John does anything with the city.&#8221;</p><p>Why parse nuances? George gets paid enough to buy his own ticket and avoid the issue entirely.</p><p>Jones may be, as City Administrator Ted Wampole insisted after recommending her, &#8220;a girl who can make an unbiased, independent decision.&#8221;</p><p>Wampole asked how far we ought go in disqualifying people from such unpaid positions. &#8220;Where do we draw the line?&#8221;</p><p>In a county where both real and perceived nepotism and cronyism casts a pall over so much of government business, it seems the answer is simple:</p><p>As far from the appearance of impropriety as possible.</p><style>
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Our Opinion: W-B zoning board appointment is a lesson in appearances