web1_William-C.-Kashatus.jpg

Their view: Mussari taught us about the good in America

web1_handcuffs.jpg

Man extradited to face charges in death of Pitt student, his ex-girlfriend

As has often been the case in recent election cycles, voters in much of Luzerne County enter the booths Tuesday with little &#8212; and in most cases, no &#8212; competition for school board seats. The majority of school districts have the same number of candidates as openings.Wilkes-Barre Area School District was poised to be in that position following a Primary Election that left four candidates seeking four seats, but two of the staunchest critics of the current high school consolidation plan kept earlier promises and appear on the ballot as independents.John Suchoski, who is regularly seen at meetings with his smart phone pointed at the board with the video camera running, is on the ballot. The other independent is Sam Troy, a regular critic of district spending and school board actions. Most recently, Troy accused the board of violating state law by not holding a required &#8220;Act 34&#8221; public hearing on planned construction of a new high school, a charge District Solicitor Ray Wendolowski said is unfounded, promising a hearing will be held when appropriate.Troy and Suchoski face an uphill battle running as independents against three incumbents who will appear on both the Democratic and Republican tickets: Joe Caffrey, Denise Thomas and Ned Evans. All three have been consistent supporters of the plan to merge grades 9-12 from Meyers and GAR high schools into a new building. Melissa Etzle Patla is on the Democratic slate only, and has been critical of the merger plan.Dallas School District has been home to a lengthy and at times acrimonious teacher contract dispute, but voters don&#8217;t have much choice Tuesday, with six candidates vying for five available seats. Incumbents Sherri Newell and Gary Youngblood and candidates Susan Allen and Christine Swailes are all cross-filed, giving them the inside track to wins and potentially leaving the real battle to Scott Francis, who is only on the Democratic slate, and Edward Dudick, Jr., who is on the Republican ticket.Hazleton Area is similarly competitive by only one candidate. Linda DeCosmo, Ed Shemansky and Bob Mehalick are all running cross-filed on both tickets, which could leave the contest for the fourth seat pitting Dr. Robert Childs on the Democratic ticket and Alexander Van Hoekelen on the Republican side. A well-known pediatrician, Childs could end up doing well despite being on only one slate. He was a board member previously and consistently drew high tallies whenever he ran.Crestwood voters get even less choice. There are four seats for the traditional 4-year terms, and four candidates, all cross-filed: Maureen McGovern, Barry Boone, James Costello and Randy Swank. But there is also a two-year seat that has two contenders: Amanda Modrovsky as a Democrat and Anna Hollock Bibla as Republican.Pittston Area voters face the same situation, with four candidates cross-filed for four available 4-year seats: Lori Cooper, John Adonizio, Marty Quinn and Bruce Knick. But there are two candidates for the single 2-year seat: Joseph Salvo on the Democratic ticket and John Lombardo on the Republican slate.All other Luzerne County districts &#8212; Greater Nanticoke Area, Hanover Area, Lake-Lehman, Northwest Area, Wyoming Area and Wyoming Valley West &#8212; have an equal number of candidates and available seats. <div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Mark Guydishmguydish@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County school board races light on competition