A borough in Schuylkill County that's seen its population rapidly decrease over the last few decades has a new leader.
For the first time in five years, Shenandoah has a borough manager to help lead it through an important time.
"It's going to be challenging, but I would regret it if I didn't accept the challenge and try and do my best," Anthony Sajone said. "I love this town; there's a lot of great people in the town."
Anthony Sajone, who grew up in Shenandoah, was appointed as manager by the borough council during a Zoom meeting this week.
He acknowledges there are some challenges he and the borough will be facing. Among them, is fighting the blight problem to improve the borough's infrastructure. A 2019 study by ATTOM Data Solutions, a property data company, showed that nearly 23 percent of homes in Shenandoah are empty.
"We have to get rid a lot of these abandoned buildings. There are plenty of decent homes here, but to get people in here, nobody wants to buy a home next to one that's going to fall down. That's going to be our biggest challenge."
Sajone adds the borough has some funding for demolition but not enough. Before taking this post, he worked for the federal government in the Wilkes-Barre area. He started working for the borough last month and thinks the relationships he's developed with people here over time will serve him well in taking on this challenge. He also says it's going to be important for members of the community to provide assistance in building the borough back up.
"The community here, we do have a great bunch of people, and I think they'll be up for the task," Sajone added.