Rep. Tina Pickett (second from right) was welcomed to the Wyoming County Courthouse on Tuesday by (from left) sheriff Bob Roberts, commissioners Rick Wilbur and Tom Henry and (not pictured) chief clerk Bill Gaylord.
Story and photo by Rick Hiduk
(Exclusive to EndlessMtnLifestyles.com readers)
As the redistricting of Pennsylvania’s senatorial and congressional districts moves toward passage, Rep. Tina Pickett has been getting ahead of the changes by visiting Wyoming County, which is likely to become part of the 110th District that she has represented for more than 20 years.
“It’s not final yet, but we’re 99 percent sure that it’s going to happen,” she told Wyoming County commissioners Rick Wilbur and Tom Henry during a visit to the courthouse in Tunkhannock on March 1. Commissioner Ernie King was unable to join them due to an unanticipated change in his schedule.
The courthouse visit was her second stop in the county that day, having also visited the headquarters of Southwestern Energy (SWN) near Nicholson.
After a brief meeting with the commissioners and chief clerk Bill Gaylord, Rep. Pickett toured the historic courthouse, meeting staff members in various departments along the way and getting a look at the courtrooms that were empty for the day.
“Wyoming County is right-sized to be able to maintain a level of community and economic energy that I don’t feel in some counties,” she remarked. “Because they may be too big geographically to bring everything together.”
The commissioners provided updates and insight on a number of projects underway. They asked Pickett for her attention to the matter of sometimes excessive medical costs for county inmates that state penitentiaries do not have to pay. They also expressed their hope that Pickett would help them continue the work of the Task Force spearheaded during the pandemic by Sen. Lisa Baker and Rep. Karen Boback, whose 117th district was shifted farther south.