Pittston grant shows government can work
Editor: I’ve lived in Luzerne County my entire life. And I won’t lie, around here you get used to hearing big promises from local leaders while seeing very little change on your street. Between annual street flooding taking out our local businesses and empty rotting buildings that pose fire hazards, it’s hard not to wonder where our tax dollars are ending up.
For a long time, it felt like the answer was “nowhere near us.” Take the old Pittston Lumber Co. building, for instance. We’ve all seen it, left abandoned, and though every once in a while someone would try to revitalize it, they would always fall short. Every day it sat there felt like another day closer to a disaster waiting to happen. Like another example of our region being ignored.
That’s why it’s worth noting when something actually gets fixed. I was pleasantly surprised when last month the mayor and our State Rep, Jim Haddock worked to secure half a million dollars from the state to finally get that building cleaned up, cleared out, and renovated.
We should always hold our politicians’ feet to the fire, and I stand by that. But when they cut through the partisan red tape and get results for the neighborhood and the people, we should also recognize it.
I’m tired of our tax dollars going towards things no one cares about, so this time I’m glad to see politicians actually working for us.
John Sudol, Pittston