There is a rush this week at the Luzerne County County courthouse to fill the commissioner position left open when Greg Skrepenak resigned last week.
There certainly is a lot of interest in the commissioner job. The deadline to apply passed at 4 p.m.
Now, the county judges have the job to pick from one of the 68 applicants.
There's a huge range of people who want the job to help lead the county through its financial mess.
With his resignation last Thursday Greg Skrepenak created a scramble to fill his seat as a county commissioner.
His replacement could be named as soon as Wednesday night.
Sixty-eight people came to the courthouse to apply. Businessmen, teachers, a funeral director, former newspaper editor, those in government, those retired and more, all applying to help clean up the mess under the dome.
"I applied for this position because I thought I could make a difference in the county," said Rob Reddington of Hanover Township. He works in the telecommunications industry and coaches swimming and diving.
He's just one of many applicants fed up byt the mess in Luzerne County.
"I thought, why not apply for the position and bring what I have to the table and maybe correct some of those problems, get rid of the corruption or help get rid of it," Reddington added.
"Oh wow, it's just unbelievable and I just hope if I get this appointment and get in there with the other commissioners and can turn this around," said Greg Gulick of Mountain Top. He has been in municipal government for decades. He ran for commissioner in 2007, but lost to Skrepenak in the primary. "I'm a Democrat, but Democrat or Republican, what's best for the county, that's what we have to do."
"It's been a shame, it's really been a terrible thing and I'm sure Commissioner Skrepenak feels like he's at the bottom of the ocean," said Terry Siple of Wilkes-Barre. He is retired and once commanded a ship in the Navy. Now he runs a bed and breakfast in Wilkes-Barre.
He said if he gets the job he will just serve out the remainder of the term and be done.
"To move me away from that, doing what I'm enjoying in semi-retirement it had to be a big thing," Siple added.
Of course, that's just a taste of some of the 68 people who applied for the job.
The judges plan to interview all of them starting Wednesday morning then make their decision after that.
There certainly is a lot of interest in the commissioner job. The deadline to apply passed at 4 p.m.
Now, the county judges have the job to pick from one of the 68 applicants.
There's a huge range of people who want the job to help lead the county through its financial mess.
With his resignation last Thursday Greg Skrepenak created a scramble to fill his seat as a county commissioner.
His replacement could be named as soon as Wednesday night.
Sixty-eight people came to the courthouse to apply. Businessmen, teachers, a funeral director, former newspaper editor, those in government, those retired and more, all applying to help clean up the mess under the dome.
"I applied for this position because I thought I could make a difference in the county," said Rob Reddington of Hanover Township. He works in the telecommunications industry and coaches swimming and diving.
He's just one of many applicants fed up byt the mess in Luzerne County.
"I thought, why not apply for the position and bring what I have to the table and maybe correct some of those problems, get rid of the corruption or help get rid of it," Reddington added.
"Oh wow, it's just unbelievable and I just hope if I get this appointment and get in there with the other commissioners and can turn this around," said Greg Gulick of Mountain Top. He has been in municipal government for decades. He ran for commissioner in 2007, but lost to Skrepenak in the primary. "I'm a Democrat, but Democrat or Republican, what's best for the county, that's what we have to do."
"It's been a shame, it's really been a terrible thing and I'm sure Commissioner Skrepenak feels like he's at the bottom of the ocean," said Terry Siple of Wilkes-Barre. He is retired and once commanded a ship in the Navy. Now he runs a bed and breakfast in Wilkes-Barre.
He said if he gets the job he will just serve out the remainder of the term and be done.
"To move me away from that, doing what I'm enjoying in semi-retirement it had to be a big thing," Siple added.
Of course, that's just a taste of some of the 68 people who applied for the job.
The judges plan to interview all of them starting Wednesday morning then make their decision after that.
