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Coughlin wrestling wins final meet

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Wyoming Valley West votes to hike taxes 4.7 percent, cancels five days off

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Patricia Unvarsky, a retired businesswoman, announced Tuesday that she is a candidate for city controller.</p><p>Unvarsky, 63, is running as a Democrat in the May 21 primary. This year, the position was budgeted at a salary of $51,083 plus benefits.</p><p>&#8220;I will build on toughness, fairness and integrity as controller, while maintaining my commitment to transparency and accountability,&#8221; Unvarsky said in her announcement.</p><p>Controller Darren Snyder, a Democrat elected in 2015, said he will soon make an announcement as to his intentions. </p><p>&#8220;The city controller&#8217;s office is responsible for overseeing how effectively the city spends money and to audit each department and ferret out waste and inefficiency,&#8221; Unvarsky said. &#8220;Just as families have learned to budget and reduce spending this past year, I want to make sure that our city is taking every step possible to make sure that every penny is spent the right way for the city.&#8221;</p><p>Unvarsky, a lifelong Wilkes-Barre resident, said she has the qualifications and experience for the job. She was the owner and operator of Personal Touch Catering from 1990 to 2005 and was &#8220;responsible for all essential functions,&#8221; including financial management, budgeting, planning, decision making and consumer management. She also has more than 10 years of experience as a medical billing and coding specialist, in accounts receivable and processing insurance claims for dental patients. &#8220;I have also worked with small business, veterans&#8217; organizations handling financial transactions with vendors, customers, banks and government agencies,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Unvarsky is on the board of the City of Wilkes-Barre Economic Industrial Development Authority. Her husband Thomas Unvarsky Sr., a former Wilkes-Barre police officer, now works as a parking enforcement supervisor for the city.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Unvarsky </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_P-Unvarsky.jpg</photo0><caption0>Unvarsky </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>

Challenger to seek Democratic nomination for Wilkes-Barre City Controller