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Eight new Luzerne County government employees were hired in December, while 13 left employment, the new monthly personnel report shows.
				Four are filling deputy sheriff positions that pay $15.49 per hour: Tyler Jones, Paul Rittenhouse, Douglas White and Brandon Winn.
				The other new employees along with their positions and hourly pay: Michelle Bolton, building and grounds custodian, $12.90; Janet Conser, court juvenile hearing officer, $19.23; Vicki Sue Keiper, election bureau administrative assistant, $16.15; and John Scheatzle, Mental Health/Developmental Services caseworker 2, $18.27.
				Departures
				Six employees resigned last month: prothonotary clerk 2 Nicole Cuevas-Heredia; road/bridge equipment operator Michael Genoble; assistant district attorney Abbey Lewis; Mental Health/Developmental Services caseworker 2 Lorenzo Singotti; election director Shelby Watchilla; and aging agency care manager 2 Renee Allbless.
				Four workers retired in December: Mental Health/Developmental Services management technician Christine Weldon and caseworker 2 Cathy Zachar and aging agency administrative assistant Cheryl Yardchik and IT specialist William Youngblood.
				Three employees left employment under the involuntary separation category &mdash; district attorney clerk/typist Christina Maher and prison corrections officer Tammy Ann McDonough and nurse Katrina Woods.
				Promotions
				Three workers changed jobs through internal merit hiring.
				In Mental Health/Developmental Services, Amanda Everitt advanced to caseworker 3 at $19.38 per hour, while Zachary Hill accepted an accountant 2 position at $20.19 an hour. Nicole Ledoretti was promoted to a clerk 3 position in the prothonotary&rsquo;s office at $19.09 per hour.
				Meetings
				County council will hold its first meeting of the year on Tuesday, starting with a 5:30 p.m. public hearing on a proposed ordinance involving designated solid waste disposal facilities.
				A voting meeting and work session will follow at 6 p.m.
				On Wednesday, the County Cares Commission will meet at 6 p.m.
				Council&rsquo;s Election Inquiry Committee is set to meet at 6 p.m. Thursday.
				The inquiry committee plans to start summarizing and drafting recommendations, said Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck, who serves as committee chairwoman.
				Council formed the committee to review election procedures and protocols and compile a report identifying problems and suggested changes. The goal is to finalize all recommendations at a subsequent meeting on Jan. 21, McClosky Houck said.
				Instructions on attending all the virtual sessions are posted under the public meetings online council page at <a href="https://www.luzernecounty.org/1279/Public-Meetings-Online" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">luzernecounty.org</a>.
				Council schedule
				For those interested in planning ahead, council&rsquo;s 2021 meeting schedule has been posted on its page at <a href="https://www.luzernecounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/24238/2021-Meeting-Schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">luzernecounty.org</a>.
				Overdose deaths
				County Manager C. David Pedri&rsquo;s new December division head report indicates there were 167 drug overdose deaths in the county in 2020, compared to 128 in 2018.
				The 2020 death figure had been 159 when Pedri released his annual public forum report on Dec. 21.
				Most of these deaths are related to opioids and the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, the coroner&rsquo;s office has said.

Luzerne County releases latest personnel report