`i Want To Make The Best Of It.' 
Cougar Swimmer Leaves 
The Baseball Diamond 
For Life In The Wet Lane

Accident Victim Listed `critical'

By BOBBI DEMPSEY and JACKIE DERCOLE; Times Leader Staff
Writers
 Saturday, January 04, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





HAZLETON -- Next week, Hazleton area residents can check deeds without
traveling to Wilkes-Barre. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By week's end, Hazleton should have its own Tourist Promotion Agency. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And prothonotary and Clerk of Courts offices are scheduled to open some
time this year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The new offices are part of a computer network project to make Luzerne
County government more accessible to the southern end of the county, said
county Chief Clerk/Administrator Eugene Klein. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We are considering the Hazleton customer by saving them a 25-mile round
trip," Klein said Friday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Klein said the Recorder of Deeds office is scheduled to open this coming
Friday, and a Tourist Promotion Agency could open as soon as that time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Opening dates have not been scheduled for the county prothonotary and Clerk
of Courts offices. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All the offices will be housed in the Luzerne County Courthouse Annex on
East Broad Street, Klein said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The offices will initially create two new positions, both of which have
been filled. County commissioners allotted $300,000 of their $157.6 million
1997 budget for the project, Klein said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 County Commissioner Joseph "Red" Jones said the county will try to improve
other offices in the annex. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We are very pleased to upgrade these offices to give the people of
Hazleton better accessibility to services," Jones said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We continually have been in contact with Hazleton attorneys, and a lot of
constituents, who were interested in receiving some of the services down there
that we provide up here," said Luzerne County Commissioner Tom Makowski. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It will benefit not just the attorneys, but also the residents. It will
save all of us a lot of time, and time is important when you're dealing with
the law," said Attorney Romilda Crocamo cq , of Hazleton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This will be beneficial and time-saving to everyone -- lawyers and
citizens. It will allow us to do many things which we cannot do now without
traveling to Wilkes-Barre," said Attorney Charles Pedri of Hazleton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pedri was especially enthusiastic about the new prothonotary office, which
is a repository for all civil suits. Pedri said his firm uses those services
often. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We've been waiting for one of those offices for years," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "While we won't be able to use these offices in all circumstances, in cases
where simple filing is needed it will certainly save time and effort," said
Hazleton attorney Jim Ferry Jr. "This is a real service to the whole
community" to have the offices locally. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 County officials are also excited about the Tourist Promotion Agency, Klein
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Klein said the Hazleton area should be promoted for its historic village of
Eckley, the beauty of the Conyngham Valley, the restaurants and the ethnicity
of residents. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Hazleton has a lot to offer, don't sell life (in Hazleton) short," Klein
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

County Offices Come To Hazleton 
New Annexes Of County Government 
To Open, Making It Easier For Residents 
Of Southern Region To Have Access To 
Services

County Offices Come To Hazleton New Annexes Of County Government To Open, Making It Easier For Residents Of Southern Region To Have Access To Services