W-b Diamonds Shine In Debut Against Slamm

4 Players Hit Double Figures As Altoona Downs Hazleton

By DAVID J. RALIS; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Sunday, January 11, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 5 





WILKES-BARRE- Leaders of two taxpayers groups question whether a Luzerne
County 911 worker's connections to a county commissioner triggered his rise to
management in less than a year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Something's wrong with this picture," Sharon Lemmons, president of the
Luzerne County Taxpayers Coalition, said Tuesday when told Norbert O'Donnell
was appointed acting deputy director of the Emergency Services Department
three weeks ago at the request of Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom
Makowski. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The department is implementing the county's computer-enhanced 911 system.
Makowski said O'Donnell's appointment is part of a reshuffling of personnel
that is needed in part because the 911 program has fallen behind schedule. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 O'Donnell said his new job puts him in charge of scheduling all work on 911
to make sure that the system works on June 17- the program's official new
start date. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Under the circumstances, I thought he was the best person to handle the
technical aspects," Makowski said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Lemmons said that Makowski, an attorney, "doesn't understand 911."
Instead, 911 Executive Director Al Gervenack "should be the one choosing," she
said. "He's the one who knows what to look for." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gervenack refused to say why he let Makowski pick the person to be his
second-in-command. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Everyone has bosses," he said. "My bosses are responsible for commenting
on personnel issues." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dee Deakos, president of the Hazleton Taxpayers Association, said
Makowski's choice of O'Donnell is "just a political payback." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To support her argument, Deakos cited the $207,000 that Makowski was paid
last year by Hazleton's water authority for 27 months of legal work he did as
that board's solicitor before he was elected commissioner in 1995. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 O'Donnell is one of the authority's five members and served as its chairman
during part of the time Makowski's legal bill mounted. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Makowski was owed the money for "overseeing an army of other solicitors"
during $63 million in construction projects, including a $14 million water
filtration plant, O'Donnell said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 One of the other lawyers who did extensive work for the authority included
O'Donnell's brother, Peter, an attorney with the Wilkes-Barre firm of Mylotte,
David &amp; Fitzpatrick. The firm took over as the authority's solicitor after
Makowski was elected commissioner. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The state Ethics Commission ruled in April that Norbert O'Donnell committed
two "technical violations" by voting to hire his brother's firm and repeatedly
voting to pay its bills. But the agency took no action against him. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As a result of that reprimand, O'Donnell said he made sure to abstain when
Makowski's bill came up for a vote on Sept. 22 after it was verified by the
authority's accountant. Fellow authority member Jack Mundie confirmed that
O'Donnell didn't vote after citing his county employment as a potential
conflict of interest. The bill was approved. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I can't deny it looks odd on its surface," O'Donnell said. "But I'm not
some bum who was stuck here as a political job. This is an extremely technical
position." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Asked his qualifications, O'Donnell said he previously owned two phone
answering services that handled more than 600,000 calls a year. He has also
served as a Bell Atlantic customer service representative and has worked with
computers since the 1970s. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Makowski "absolutely, unequivocally" denied the authority's payment had
anything to do with his decision to appoint O'Donnell. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Deakos said she believes "there's more than a coincidence between Mr.
Makowski's attorney bills and Mr. O'Donnell's rapid rise in 911." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 O'Donnell was hired by the commissioners as a 911 technical support
supervisor on April 2, 1997, at an annual salary of $23,500, but was promoted
on Aug. 20 to voice support supervisor and given a raise to $35,000. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Makowski said no decision has bee

911 Official's Rise Dials Up Questions 
Norbert O'donnell's 
Quick Climb Up The Ladder 
Is Due To County Political 
Connections, Say Leaders 
Of Local Taxpayers Groups

911 Official's Rise Dials Up Questions Norbert O'donnell's Quick Climb Up The Ladder Is Due To County Political Connections, Say Leaders Of Local Taxpayers Groups