Woman's Best Friend 
Family's Two Dogs Credited With Saving Mother's Life

Accidental Bb Shot Destroys Window

By RICK ROGERS; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Sunday, January 26, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3 





WILKES-BARRE -- William T. Sharkey, the new Luzerne County court
administrator, finds strength in the familiar and constant aspects of his
life. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He lives in the same double-block house on South Broad Street in West
Hazleton that he was born in 45 years ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He has worked in the Luzerne County Courthouse for the past 23 years and
has been married to his wife Debra for more than 20 years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Some might look at such stability and yawn. Sharkey looks at his life as a
source of strength. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I started in one of the lowest positions in the courthouse and I paid my
dues for 23 years to reach this job," said Sharkey, sitting on a brown leather
couch in the chambers of county Judge Michael Conahan, a fellow Hazleton
native. County Judge Correale Stevens is also from Hazleton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I thinks it's a credit to Hazleton that two county judges and the court
administrator are from Hazleton. I'm proud to be from Hazleton. I draw
strength from that," Sharkey said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As court administrator, Sharkey's 11-person staff manages the hundreds of
jurors who report to the courthouse for jury duty each month. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But his main responsibility is efficiently dispatching the thousands of
juvenile, criminal and civil cases that come before the Luzerne County Court
of Common Pleas every year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To be effective, Sharkey must walk a fine line between keeping both judges
and lawyers happy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I think the key is getting along with the lawyers. If you don't have the
attorneys' trust, this is a tough job. It's a constant juggling act dealing
with the district attorney's office, defense attorneys and judges," Sharkey
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In a world often defined by contention and suspicion, Sharkey is a rarity:
a conciliatory man whom county judges and lawyers' trust. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Bill gets pulled a thousand different directions at the same time, but
somehow accommodates the competing interests quite well. He does a fair job
for both lawyers and judges," said Barry H. Dyller, a defense attorney who
practices in Luzerne County. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He is one of the most honest men I have ever met, and he's very good at
his job," said Al Flora Jr., also a defense attorney. "I've never seen the man
raise his voice or be critical of anyone. He really goes out of his way for
people. He is always a gentleman, and he'll work with you," said Flora, who
has had a professional relationship with Sharkey for 15 years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sharkey's route to the upper echelons of the county's court system had as
much to do with fate as it did with hard work. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After graduating from high school in 1969, Sharkey attended King's College
for three years, leaving college a year short of his political science degree. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I just got disgusted and quit," Sharkey said. "I sometimes wish I had the
degree. But if I had, there is no telling where my life would have taken me.
That might have altered my life." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At the suggestion of Eugene Duffy Sr., the current county prothonotary who
was then solicitor for the prothonotary's office, Sharkey applied for a
clerk's job in the office. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As a clerk from 1974 to 1978, he swore in witnesses and handled the
paperwork from cases. By 1978 he had advanced to chief minute clerk before
beginning what he calls his biggest career move. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/DON CAREY &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 `I started in one of the lowest positions in the courthouse and I paid my
dues for 23 years to reach this job,' says William Sharkey, new county court
administrator. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Benefiting From A Long Courtship Appointment As Luzerne County Courthouse Administrator Is End Of Long Road For 23-year Employee William Sharkey