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District 2 postpones Friday’s football playoffs

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Former Penn State, NFL star Wally Triplett dead at 92

<p>Wilkes-Barre Administrator Ted Wampole has been hired to head the Luzerne County Convention and Tourism Bureau, county Manager C. David Pedri informed county council in an email Thursday.</p><p>Pedri asked council to join him in welcoming the new executive director, saying Wampole has spent his life and career in the county, most recently assisting city Mayor Tony George the past three years.</p><p>Wampole will start his county position Dec. 10 and receive $70,000 annually, Pedri said.</p><p>The Convention and Visitors Bureau has a self-sustaining budget of $701,000 funded primarily by 1 percent of the county&#8217;s 5 percent hotel tax.</p><p>Bureau head Janet Hall plans to retire by year&#8217;s end, and the opening was publicly advertised. The county administration wanted to fill the post before she leaves so she can work with her successor and share her institutional knowledge.</p><p>Wampole said he looks forward to meeting with Hall next week and starting the new job next month.</p><p>But there is some ambivalence on Wampole&#8217;s part. &#8220;It&#8217;s with heavy heart that I do it. It&#8217;s no reflection on the city,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The timing was right, Wampole explained. &#8220;We&#8217;re dealing with family health issues,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This was an opportunity to kind of work that together.&#8221;</p><p>Wampole, 58, added that he spoke with his family about a job change and also spoke to Pedri.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a natural for me. It&#8217;s an outreach position. I do a lot of outreach,&#8221; Wampole said.</p><p>He switched to municipal government from the insurance industry when he joined the George administration in 2016. Wampole retired from Liberty Mutual where he had been an agent for more than 32 years. He also served as co-chairperson for George&#8217;s mayoral campaign in 2015.</p><p>Wampole&#8217;s salary in the mayor&#8217;s proposed 2019 budget was $75,000 plus benefits.</p><p>Wampole said the mayor understood his decision.</p><p>&#8220;He always says it&#8217;s family and health first,&#8221; Wampole said of George.</p><p>The mayor said city Attorney Tim Henry, the deputy city administrator, is going to fill in for Wampole temporarily.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re not going to make any rash decisions&#8221; on appointing Wampole&#8217;s replacement, George said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve got a great team. They all know what they&#8217;re doing.&#8221;</p><p>Wampole agreed with the mayor&#8217;s assessment. &#8220;Each one of the department heads is top notch,&#8221; he said.</p><p>And even though he won&#8217;t be in City Hall, he will be in contact with the mayor as he seeks a second 4-year term next year.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll be with the mayor throughout the election co-chairing his campaign,&#8221; Wampole said.</p><p>George said there are some people he&#8217;s &#8220;interested in,&#8221; but stressed there won&#8217;t be a quick decision. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to take my time,&#8221; he said.</p><p><strong>Hall to be &#8216;greatly missed&#8217;</strong></p><p>Meanwhile, Pedri said the county has been &#8220;lucky&#8221; to have Hall.</p><p>The 61-year-old from Kingston joined the bureau 22 years ago when it was created. She worked as an administrative assistant for a year, moved to director of sales and marketing and was promoted to the executive director&#8217;s position in 2016.</p><p>&#8220;Under Ms. Hall&#8217;s leadership, the Tourism Bureau&#8217;s outreach to the citizens of Luzerne County greatly expanded,&#8221; Pedri wrote, noting she helped bring the Keystone Games to the area, resulting in hundreds of visitors.</p><p>&#8220;She will be greatly missed; however, she has graciously offered to provide assistance to Mr. Wampole during this time of transition,&#8221; said Pedri.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wampole </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Ted-Wampole-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wampole </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes and Jerry Lynott</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com </p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Ted Wampole is new Luzerne County tourism head