WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The lines are being painted on the ice at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township, which Luzerne County Manager David Pedri said provided the perfect backdrop for a news conference about CARES Act money given to the county.
"They're putting in new seats; they're paying the lines, we got ice here, we're going to have hockey here in a couple of weeks. Luzerne County's coming back. The arena is coming back, and this is what it's about is supporting these entities as well," said Pedri.
The county was given more than $28 million in federal CARES Act money for COVID-19 relief.
This was an opportunity for some of those given grants to speak about how it is helping them reach the other side of the pandemic.
More than 70 nonprofits were given grants.
"(The Commission on Economic Opportunity was able to) perform what was necessary to feed families here in northeastern Pennsylvania," said CEO's Executive Director Gene Brady. "We're most grateful that we had these funds. Without them, we would have not been successful."
The show went on at The Kiss Theatre in Wilkes-Barre Township because this money took care of overhead costs.
"We were able to not have to worry about those things and just focus on our programming through this county CARES grant," said the theater's artistic director Jessica Suda Baab.
Youth sports carried on, too.
"Every one of our leagues were able to get some type of games in," explained Bob Bertoni, Little League's District 16/31 administrator. "That happened because of the funding that we received to buy all the extra stuff that we needed to run the league."
Small businesses say it was the CARES money given to them by the county that allowed them to stay open.
"PPP, which I was promised, took over three and a half months to get this money, helped me bridge the gap because the bills didn't stop while I waited on the federal government to help there. These people are really why I'm still open," said Eric Kuhn, the owner of The Haberdashery in Forty Fort.
In the case of Ballyhoo Ice Cream and Candy in West Pittston, this grant was the reason it could keep employees on.
"They were really happy that we were able to keep them employed. It's a community business, and they all live within the area, so we were able to keep them there, and they were happy," said owner Valerie Schultz.
If you would like to see a full list of those awarded grant money from the county, you can find a full report by clicking this link.