Wyoming County Commissioners (seated, from left) Judy Mead, Tom Henry, and Ron Williams congratulated Tunkhannock Area Girls Little League Softball players (standing) Julianna Roote, Emily Patton, Paige Marabell, Cali Wisnoski, Erin Van Ness, Piper Robinson, Elaina Kulsicavage, Ella McNeff, Hannah James, Alexis Gilroy, Serenity Kerr and (not pictured) Kaya Hannon and Sydney Huff with a proclamation and cake at the courthouse in Tunkhannock on Tuesday.
Photos and story by Rick Hiduk
(Also published in the Rocket-Courier)
A relatively light business agenda for the Sept. 4 meeting of the Wyoming County Commissioners was easily trumped by a proclamation and celebration for the Tunkhannock Area Girls Little League Softball girls who recently captured the hearts of so many in the region with their winning the Pennsylvania State Championship and finishing second at the Little League World Series in Portland, OR. The board room was filled with players, coaches, family members and other supporters.
“We love what you’ve done for our county,” commissioner Tom Henry said to the 11- and 12-year-old girls after he read the proclamation, which also acknowledged manager Tim Hannon and coaches Jason Wisnosky and Bill Huff. “With this proclamation, we will put you in our history books. It’s your day.”
Commissioner Ron Williams added that the triumph by the girls put Tunkhannock on the world stage. “From now on, people will know where Tunkhannock is,” he remarked.
“You brought so many of us together at home,” Henry said of the families and friends who gathered in front of their television sets each evening to watch the players progress. “It was way cooler than the Super Bowl.” A brief cake party followed before the girls and their supporters departed.
County to Support Moving Monument
The Remembering Our Fallen national monument will be in McDade Park in Scranton from Sept. 7 to 11, and Wyoming County will have representation at the event. Wyoming County 911 directors Jeff Porter and Frank Miller will be part of the escort entourage, putting the county’s new 911 mobile unit into service as the monument is moved from Wilkes-Barre to Scranton.
Commissioner Henry will attend the event on Saturday to read some of the names of the thousands of fallen firefighters and military personnel to which the monument is dedicated. He credited Kendra Lynn of Tunkhannock, who conducts an annual balloon release in memory of her brother Steven Tudor, for soliciting their participation.
Aneurysm Awareness Month Noted
While acknowledging the recent Overdose Awareness event held on the courthouse lawn and the fact that September is Recovery Month, Henry shared a story of his daughter, Amanda Zitzelman, who suffered a brain aneurysm earlier this summer. She overcame incredible odds to not only recover from the affliction but to become an advocate for a regional aneurysm support group, which is promoting September as National Aneurysm Awareness Month.
Henry recalled 14 scary days when Amanda was in the critical care unit at Hershey Medical Center and given a thirty percent chance of survival. She has endured four operations.
“It has been amazing,” Henry said of her recovery and new focus in life. “I think she’s going to become a real asset to other people going through the same thing.”
Other County Business
The commissioners accepted the resignation of corrections officer Vincent Chiaramonte from the Wyoming County Prison and ratified the hiring of Dakota Prevost as a new part-time corrections officer. The commissioners also welcomed the news that former Rocket-Courier reporter Cain Chamberlin had been appointed as the new director of the Endless Mountains Heritage Region. The commissioners will attend a county convention held for municipal office holders, including township supervisors and borough council members. The event will be held on Thursday, Sept. 13 at the Triton Hose Company, starting at 5 pm.
Moms Kelly Kulsicavage and Hope Gilroy cut and serve the cake.