Schuylkill County personnel moves
With a new Schuylkill County district attorney in place, commissioners on Wednesday acknowledged the terminations of 11 employees in that office, and the appointments of seven others, and the transfers of five more.
The county salary board eliminated four full-time assistant district attorney positions and created five part-time assistant district attorney positions.
It also set the salaries for appointments and transfers.
District Attorney Michael A. O’Pake, elected in November, was sworn into office on Dec. 28 and immediately restructured his staff.
As of Tuesday, executive secretary Andreah White of Rush Township; secretary Howard Seibert of Mahanoy City; clerical aide Tara Eckert of Norwegian Township; victim witness coordinators Michaeline Matz of Branch Township and Heather Maley of Pottsville; victim advocate assistant Kerstin Cappella of Palo Alto; Detective II Cynthia Shpakovsky of West Mahanoy Township; full-time assistant district attorneys David Rice of Middleport and Robert Lipkin of West Brunswick Township; First Assistant District Attorney John Fegley of Fleetwood; and Assistant District Attorney — Drug Court James Caravan of Schuylkill Haven were terminated.
Also as of Tuesday, O’Pake hired victim advocate assistant Lisa Corby of Branch Township at $16.31 an hour through a grant, and part-time assistant district attorneys Claude A. Lord Shields of Pottsville, Julie A. Werdt of East Brunswick Township, Thomas P. Pellish of Pottsville, and Thomas J. Campion Jr. of Norwegian Township, at $31,454 each per year.
William C. Reiley of Pottsville was appointed as assistant district attorney, drug court, at $28.10 an hour.
Transfers were Andrew J. Serina of Tamaqua, from part-time assistant district attorney through a grant to part-time assistant district attorney at $31,454 a year; Patricia Haughney-Joseph of Mahanoy City from PFA coordinator in court administration to victim witness coordinator at $40,919 a year; Dennis Clark of Eldred Township from detective II to chief county detective at $28.53 an hour; Michael J. Stine of Deer Lake from chief public defender to first assistant district attorney at $77,494 a year; and Leo Securda of Minersville from deputy sheriff to detective II at $21.13 an hour.
In other personnel actions, county commissioners hired Deborah Twigg of Pottsville as human resources director at $64,040 a year.
She replaces Human Resources Director/Risk Manager Martina Chwastiak, whose retirement commissioners accepted. Chwastiak earned $64,869 a year.
They also approved the promotion of Karen Domalakes of Frackville as chief public defender at $66,847 a year. Domalakes was an assistant public defender.
Commissioners also approved the transfer of Debra Smith of New Philadelphia from full-time assistant district attorney to part-time assistant public defender at $35,116 a year, and appointed Cynthia Dros of Cressona as a Drug & Alcohol case management specialist at $19.94 an hour.
Commissioners also appointed Linda Deatrich of Schuylkill Haven as an assistant county clerk at $19.55 an hour.
