Luzerne County Courthouse
Luzerne County Councilman Chris Perry is particularly relieved the COVID-19 pandemic is in the rearview mirror.
“It was a pretty low time in my life,” Perry said. “Thank goodness it’s over. It was trying.”
The Fairview Township resident’s rapid health deterioration and viral pneumonia from the coronavirus landed him in the hospital in the fall of 2020, prompting him to recall he was “never so sick in my life.” Medical staffers donned additional protective gear when entering his self-contained space, and visitors were not permitted.
Other county council members in office throughout the pandemic shared similar sentiments of relief.
Council Chairwoman Kendra Vough said she constantly worried she would infect her family and other loved ones and friends.
“Coming out of that, I really value face-to-face relationships and hugging family and friends,” Vough said. “I value seeing people a lot more.”
Remote-only meetings weren’t the same, although the hybrid meetings that continue today were “something good” that resulted from the pandemic, she said.
County departments also were forced to embrace technology and online access to continue delivering government services, Vough said.
“I think it really tested everybody’s creativity in finding ways to make things work,” Vough said. “The county made it work, and I think we’re stronger because of it.”
Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo still gets emotional — and sometimes angry — recalling the vulnerable nursing home residents and other coronavirus victims he encountered in his work as an emergency responder.
“I still get worked up thinking about people dying in hospitals, and family couldn’t be there,” he said. “It was very, very mentally taxing.”
He also thinks of all the money spent on fully body suits, respirators and disinfectants.
After the grief and social isolation, Lombardo said he and many others have a greater appreciation for festivals, church bazaars and other public gatherings and “hold them more dearly than they did previously.”
He lights up talking about the August 2021 return of the Pittston Tomato Festival.
“Everybody was so happy to come back and so excited to have that sense of normalcy,” Lombardo said. “I loved every second of that four days. It was so fun — the best one ever.”
Councilman Tim McGinley believes people will still vividly recall the pandemic experience many years from now as he does the Agnes Flood of 1972.
“Both were extreme challenges for the Wyoming Valley and Luzerne County,” he said.
He sees some similarities in the two because government programs and funding were put together to help residents recover.
But while the flood caused major problems with housing, the pandemic confined people to their houses, he said.
“I think a lot of the pandemic is behind us, whereas with the flood it took years and years to get back to normal,” McGinley said.
In reference to council, he said the county was fortunate to have an information technology staffer adept at setting up a system allowing council to meet virtually — a foreign concept to many back then.
At the first virtual meeting in March 2020, no council members were physically present at the courthouse or shown on camera. Instead, audio of their discussions and votes was streamed live online and on television with a view of the empty meeting room visible on the screen. Citizens had the option to submit comments through email or an online chat.
“I think it was very important to have that first meeting to show that semblance of normalcy, that we were still going to get business done,” McGinley said.
Councilwoman LeeAnn McDermott said the abrupt end of in-person meetings occurred shortly after she took office.
“When we were actually able to get back to in-person meetings after doing things virtually, everybody realized how important it was to be together,” McDermott said.
Like other small business owners, McDermott had to adapt to shutdowns and shifting protocols at her real estate appraisal business.
While there are lingering struggles and challenges for many businesses, McDermott said she believes much of society as a whole has moved on.
“Everybody is going out and about. Once in awhile you still see people wearing masks,” she said.
Councilman Stephen J. Urban said the pandemic caused many to “change their way of thinking.”
More employers have embraced flexible remote work schedules, and consumers have become accustomed to online ordering for products and food delivery in greater numbers than before the pandemic, he said.
“It’s definitely not the same. The landscape has changed. It’s just a whole new way of life,” Urban said.
Thinking back to heated battles over vaccines, masks, the need for protocols and the true origin of the coronavirus, Urban said it’s a lot to process.
“It was sort of like a bad Hollywood movie in reality,” he said.
County Acting Manager Brian Swetz rattled off some of the community events that make it clear the county has turned the corner.
For example, thousands enjoyed the “Rockin’ the River” concerts at the county’s River Common recreation area along the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre, he said. The concerts had to be parade-style passing through neighborhoods, with bands assembled on a truck, when initial pandemic restrictions were in place.
April’s Kenny Chesney concert at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township set all-time records for ticket sales and food and beverage sales for the facility, drawing 8,500 concertgoers, Swetz said.
“None of these would have happened at this scale during the height of the pandemic, where no one gathered in person — or if they did in the smallest groups possible,” Swetz said.
