By Kelly Monitz
Standard-Speaker
JIM THORPE — Carbon County President Judge Roger N. Nanovic asked the county Salary Board to add another probation officer, who will focus on drug and alcohol issues and offenders.
He prefaced his request with statistics on the county Probation Office, which is seventh busiest in the state out of 67 counties based on the number of cases per officer, and audits have recommended adding officers based on the heavy caseload.
“It is our intent that the officer we are asking for would be focused on drug and alcohol issues,” Nanovic said, adding that a high rate of crimes in the county are drug- and alcohol-related.
The officer would be responsible for more frequent urine screenings and more intensive supervision with bimonthly supervision as opposed to monthly, he said.
The position would be funded through the Offender Supervision Fee Fund and not cost the county any money, Nanovic said. The officer would also take over the duties of the part-time drug detection specialist, a position that would be eliminated, he said.
The board created the position with county Commissioner William O’Gurek voting no. O’Gurek explained that it was too early in the year to be creating positions that were turned down last year and were not in the new budget.
He abstained from voting on eliminating the drug detection specialist position to be consistent, he said.
O’Gurek also voted against changing the salary of the office administrator in the District Attorney’s office from $43,516 to $31,449 a year, saying it was the “wrong step.”
Joan M. O’Donnell of Jim Thorpe, a secretary in the District Attorney’s office, will move into the office administrator position. Renee Russell of Beaver Meadows will go from a part-time legal secretary to secretary, and Samantha Bowman of Lehighton will shift from a part-time clerk in archives to a temporary clerk.
Bridge
The commissioners, at their meeting, voted to advertise for bids to replace the steel deck and paint the structural steel on county bridge No. 17, the county’s only covered bridge, in Little Gap.
O’Gurek said he was happy with the progress on the bridge project, which the county will use state money to fund. The bridge will get a new deck, the steel will be sandblasted and painted and repairs will be made to arches, studs and the frame, he said.
The work should preserve what O’Gurek termed “a real jewel for Carbon County.”
The county has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on repairs to the bridge, which has been damaged over the years by vehicles not heeding the height restrictions, Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said.
When county officials met with state officials at the bridge, a pickup truck towing a boat struck the bridge, causing minor damage to the boat.
Commissioner Tom Gerhard’s suggestion to put up steel beams to protect the structure might be an option, O’Gurek said.
Appointments
The commissioners appointed Craig Zurn of Jim Thorpe to a five-year term on the Carbon County Hospital Authority through Dec. 18, 2018, and Jeremy Melber to an unexpired term to Dec. 31, 2014, also on the authority.
They also accepted the resignation of Wayne Hockenbury of Weatherly from the authority board.
Nothstein noted that the county has vacancies on other panels, especially the Children and Youth Advisory Board, which has five or six vacancies. Anyone interested in more information on the board or wishing to serve should contact the commissioners, he said. The board meets quarterly for about an hour a session, he said.
Other business
In other business, the commissioners:
- Approved an Internet banking agreement with Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank for Internet banking services with the county treasurer as administrator.
- Approved a purchase service agreement for Children and Youth with Second Haven Services for Youth, Mount Pocono, for residential at $160 per diem and residential-special at $243 per diem.
- Approved a grant application for $314 for senior judge reimbursable costs incurred while on assignment in 2013.
- Tabled a proposal from Advanced Business Equipment of Allentown for maintenance on a copier in Adult Probation.
- Adopted a resolution honoring Matthew P. Stinson Jr. as grand marshal of the 17th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Jim Thorpe on Sunday.