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Lottery Numbers for Thursday, Dec. 8

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Plains Township passes $9.3 million budget; holds taxes to 1.77 mills

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The union representing city police officers turned to council for help in repairing what it described as a toxic atmosphere created by Chief Marcella Lendacky that has caused morale within the department to plummet.</p><p>Sgt. Phil Myers, president of the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association, asked city council Thursday night to initiate an investigation into the concerns of union members contained in a survey they anonymously took last month on their confidence in the chief&#8217;s leadership, working conditions, and how long they would work in the department.</p><p>&#8220;The results of the survey confirm that our department is, and has been, in a spiraling state of crisis, confusion, chaos and toxicity under the command of Chief Lendacky,&#8221; Myers said.</p><p>He presented council with copies of the survey taken by 66 of the 77 association members, and said what he&#8217;s asking for was done in 1979 to investigate the department&#8217;s handling of a criminal investigation and possible leaks of information.</p><p>Myers said attempts to work with the chief, Mayor Tony George and his administration during the past year have been unsuccessful, prompting him to raise the issue at council&#8217;s public meeting Thursday night at City Hall.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve attempted to discuss our concerns with Mayor George on several occasions only to be left ignored, abandoned, dismissed and neglected. It&#8217;s extremely frustrating since the mayor campaigned on the back of the police department with the slogan, &#8216;law and order,&#8217;&#8221; Myers said of the former police chief&#8217;s mayoral campaign last year.</p><p>George appointed Lendacky as acting chief when he took office in January and in March named her the first female chief of the department. Back then, the PBA had drafted a 13-page letter to the mayor listing its members&#8217; concerns about her ability to serve as chief.</p><p>Neither the mayor, Lendacky, nor members of the administration, all who&#8217;ve been given copies of the survey, have responded to the association, Myers said.</p><p>Lendacky, who along with other department heads attended the meeting, left quickly and could not be reached for comment.</p><p>City Administrator Ted Wampole said the mayor has had conversations with the PBA in the past. But as for the survey, he said: &#8220;It&#8217;s a survey. The mayor&#8217;s not going to react to a survey.&#8221;</p><p>In an unrelated police matter, Ronald Shivers and his wife, Carissa, criticized some members of the department for his treatment during an arrest on Tuesday for alleged disorderly conduct at the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant on Wilkes-Barre Township Boulevard.</p><p>Shivers, 57, of Kingston, who identified himself as a U.S. Navy veteran, said an officer intentionally tightened the handcuffs on him even though he offered no resistance. &#8220;He treated me like I was a slave,&#8221; Shivers said.</p><p>After hearing Shivers&#8217; account, council Chairman Bill Barrett called it a &#8220;very serious situation&#8221; and asked Lendacky to look into it. She said she would contact Shivers today.</p><p>In regular business, council approved:</p><p>&#8226; A resolution that adopted the National Incident Management System as part of the city&#8217;s Emergency Response Plan.</p><p>&#8226; A resolution authorizing city officials to execute a supplemental agreement, at no expense to the city, with the state Department of Transportation regarding the construction of the Sidney Street Bridge that opened last year.</p><p>&#8226; A resolution to allow outdoor seating at City Market Cafe on Public Square.</p><p>&#8226; An ordinance adopting the 2017 Action Plan for the Community Development Block Grant and HOME program budgets.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Marcella Lendacky. 9/26/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Marcella-Lendacky-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Marcella Lendacky. 9/26/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre police union asks city council to investigate chief