Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak swaps his suit for a plow truck to lend a helping hand when the snow starts to fall.
LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — At almost every Lackawanna County Commissioners meeting, Republican Commissioner Chris Chermak is normally sporting a suit coat and tie.
But when the snow starts to fly, and the roads need some tending too, he’s quick to change into work clothes and head to his second office behind the wheel of a county plow truck.
“Since I’ve been playing around with trucks and equipment all my life and just, you know. I offered my help,” said Commissioner Chris Chermak (R), Lackawanna County.
Due to a shortage of drivers, Chermak says his commercial driver’s license comes in handy when the county’s Roads and Bridges crew heads out for snow. “We’re looking for people. We’re down to three workers at the Roads and Bridges department. And there’s a significant amount of work that has to be done, especially when the snow comes.”
Normally, behind the wheel of this single-axle Kenworth dump truck, Chermak helps clear the roughly 30 miles of county roadways. “You know, you, it’s, you go in circles, you know, you’re plowing and salting, plowing and salting,” he said.
A call he thought was coming this past weekend, when snow was threatening to cover northeastern Pennsylvania.
“So I spend my life seems like volunteering. So I’m also on the ski patrol, so I’m doing that all day on Sundays, and I was really hoping that the snow wasn’t going to hit because if I had to work all day at the mountain and then drive a truck all night long, that would have been difficult, but I didn’t have to,” said Chermak.
Although he’s ready for spring, Chermak says he doesn’t mind getting behind the wheel again. “Providing the union is ok with me, helping out whenever they need it. I don’t get paid extra for it, so it’s not like I’m taking anything.”
While it’s unlikely, maybe on some snowy night, if work schedules overlap, you’ll catch this suit and tie steering a plow truck.