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Deadly shooting, 1936, unsolved

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Our view: Pocono Raceway air show wrong to feature re-enactment of Pearl Harbor

<p>Luzerne County Coroner William Lisman told county council he will be retiring next year.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not going away in a hurry, but I&#8217;m not going to be around for the full next year, or even half of it that I see,&#8221; Lisman said during last week&#8217;s 2019 budget work session.</p><p>Lisman said he will meet with his boss, Judicial Services and Records Division Head Joan Hoggarth, at the start of the new year to come up with a plan and departure date.</p><p>A coroner&#8217;s office employee since 1975, Lisman has been overseeing the office since the county&#8217;s January 2012 switch to a home rule government structure, which changed the post from elected to appointed.</p><p>As part of the last budget presentation in his county job, Lisman publicly thanked Hoggarth, the manager and council members past and present for their support, particularly for funding a state-of-the-art morgue at the new county record facility in Hanover Township.</p><p>&#8220;I think I&#8217;ve earned my pay and your respect, and I wanted to give it back to you because you&#8217;ve been very good to me,&#8221; Lisman said, prompting applause.</p><p><strong>Penn Place</strong></p><p>County Manager C. David Pedri has approved a $39,000 contract with Wilkes-Barre-based Panzitta Enterprises Inc. to reinforce the ground-floor columns supporting the Penn Place building at the corner of Market Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre, records show.</p><p>Panzitta&#8217;s bid was the lowest of two, with Jessup-based Fabcor Inc. submitting a base bid of $68,900, records show.</p><p>County Operational Services Division Head Edmund O&#8217;Neill has said the support columns are structurally sound but contained some cracks that require proactive maintenance.</p><p>Final completion is set for Dec. 14, the contract says.</p><p><strong>911 radio upgrade</strong></p><p>Pennsylvania-based MCM Consulting Group was the only company to submit a proposal to oversee a 911 emergency radio system upgrade estimated at $20 million, records show.</p><p>MCM&#8217;s proposal was for $380,357, records show. The consultant must identify needed equipment, write a proposed request-for-proposals seeking a company to supply it and make sure the project is properly implemented on schedule, the posting states.</p><p>The switch from a 20-year-old analog system to a digital one is necessary because equipment support for the radio transmitters and receivers that allow emergency responders to exchange messages will end Dec. 31, 2020, officials have said. The system won&#8217;t automatically shut down on that date, but replacement parts have become increasingly difficult to find because they are no longer manufactured.</p><p>MCM previously worked for the county, performing a 911 radio system needs assessment and strategic plan report in 2016.</p><p>Discussion on the administration&#8217;s request to hire MCM is scheduled during Tuesday&#8217;s council work session, which follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>The consulting project will be covered by a combination of funding from 911, past-borrowed capital money and a 2019 budget allocation to be specified by the manager, the agenda says.</p><p><strong>Voting meeting</strong></p><p>Council is set to vote Tuesday on an investment plan for county funds that are not immediately needed for expenses, an authorization for the manager to seek a multimodal transportation grant and plans for Act 13 natural-gas recreation funding, the agenda said.</p><p>If awarded, the $421,381 state grant would fund sidewalks, curbing and bus shelters along county-owned roads at the Hanover Industrial Estates, addressing a need for pedestrian safety enhancements and expanded public transportation to the growing park, the administration&#8217;s proposal says. Pedri said a required 30 percent local match would be covered by $126,414 in liquid fuels funding.</p><p>However, Councilman Stephen A. Urban has said the liquid fuels money is in &#8220;short supply&#8221; and should be spent maintaining deteriorating county roads instead of a new project.</p><p>The project would not be completed without the grant, the administration said.</p><p><strong>Recreation funding</strong></p><p>The natural-gas funding decision focuses on the use of $44,000 remaining until the next allocation arrives around July.</p><p>Options include keeping the funds in the bank, providing outside grants to municipalities and organizations or earmarking portions for other purposes, such as sprucing up the county-owned River Common with low-maintenance plants and mulch or establishing a fund to help communities with gypsy-moth spraying.</p><p>Councilman Harry Haas has proposed these allocations: River Common landscaping, $5,000; gypsy moth/pest control, $14,000; and outside recreation grants, $25,000.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County Courthouse </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_luzernecountycourthouse.jpeg-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Luzerne County Courthouse </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</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>

Luzerne County Coroner Lisman discusses his retirement plans