web1_TTL112018CommunityBankShoppingEvent_3-1-.jpg

Community Bank N.A. debuts Ladies’ Shopping Night

web1_121702453-7d5755463f7c4e16adf12415cbc8be6e.jpg

Gunman opens fire at Chicago hospital, wounds at least 4

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The city&#8217;s newest health educator ran into trouble in a previous job years ago, but has since had an &#8220;impeccable&#8221; record that helped land him the position, city Administrator Ted Wampole said.</p><p>Wampole Monday said the city was aware David Yonki resigned as director of the Luzerne County Promotion Agency in 1991 after he was suspended without pay by the organization&#8217;s board for alleged financial irregularities.</p><p>&#8220;No charges were ever brought,&#8221; Wampole said, adding if you take a look at Yonki&#8217;s career since then &#8220;it&#8217;s been impeccable.&#8221;</p><p>Yonki, 64, who writes the &#8220;The Lu Lac Political Letter,&#8221; blog and whose background is in sales and communications, referred comment to the city administration.</p><p>His resignation from the agency was brought up with him while he interviewed for the full-time post with the city&#8217;s Department of Health, Wampole said.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re comfortable with it,&#8221; Wampole said.</p><p>In its April 3, 1992 edition, The Times Leader reported that the agency alleged Yonki completed 10 personal performance reviews and backdated them to May 1985 when he was hired. It also alleged he issued nine checks, six of them to himself, in excess of $100 each without the board&#8217;s permission and forged the name of the treasurer on them. The state police investigated and Yonki was in the process of reaching a settlement involving the reimbursement of $4,000 to the agency, the paper reported. It could not be determined if the settlement was reached.</p><p>Yonki made headlines a year earlier. In June 1991, two people accused of trying to extort $2,000 from him were convicted of conspiracy at a criminal trial in Luzerne County court. A third person pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to prison.</p><p>Mayor Tony George hired Yonki effective Nov. 13 to fill the vacancy created by James Hayward who held the job for five months before retiring on Aug. 31.</p><p>George acknowledged he did Hayward a favor by hiring him to assist with paying for his daughter&#8217;s tuition at a local private school and for attendance at courses to reactivate his suspended law license. But it turned out Hayward, a former city firefighter and city administrator, needed just a day of employment to qualify for a pension that&#8217;s been calculated at a $18,390-a-year.</p><p>Wampole distanced Yonki&#8217;s hiring from Hayward&#8217;s.</p><p>&#8220;David Yonki is as qualified for that position as anybody,&#8221; Wampole said.</p><p>Yonki applied for job advertised on the city&#8217;s web site and was interviewed by a committee that recommended candidates to the mayor, Wampole said.</p><p>&#8220;He came in and he interviewed well,&#8221; Wampole said.</p><p>The job, represented by the Public Service Employees Local 1310 of the Laborer&#8217;s International Union of North America, is budgeted at $29,306 in the mayor&#8217;s proposed 2019 budget. It&#8217;s covered by a Pennsylvania Department of Health block grant that runs through June 30, 2020, to provide health and safety programs.</p><p>Wampole said as a new hire Yonki is paid 80 percent of the salary during a probationary period and receives 10-percent increases after the first and second years. The city pays for his fringe benefits that include health insurance and pension contributions.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_yonki.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Yonki </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_yonki.jpg</photo0><caption0>Yonki </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>

New hire’s past troubles not an issue for Wilkes-Barre