Hughestown Mayor Lynda Hoban.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Over 30 people attended the Hughestown Heroes Day honoring military members. The event was sponsored by the Hughestown Neighborhood Crime Watch, headed by now Mayor Lynda Hoban (at podium under gazebo). The gazebo was constructed and dedicated in 2023 in what is being called the Town Square.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Sunday Dispatch
HUGHESTOWN — Lynda Hoban may not have been born and raised in Hughestown, but since the 1980s, when she moved to the Borough, she’s made up lost time. More recently, she’s been the president of the highly successful and very active Neighbor Crime Watch program since 2019. Today, she wears a new title — Mayor of Hughestown; the first in Borough history.
Lynda started her life growing up in Pittston, where her dad owned Roman Taxi. After graduating from Pittston High School, she attended nursing school, spending her career helping people as a certified Emergency Room nurse, something that resonates with her throughout her entire life.
Mayor Hoban has been involved in the Town Square project from the very beginning, she wanted a focal point in town and she succeeded.
There are plenty of events conducted at the Town Square since the gazebo was erected, along with yards of bricks where you can still purchase to have your name inscribed for a donation.
The town gazebo was dedicated in July 2023 and has been the site of the Christmas tree lightings, saluting Hometown Heroes, and the Candy Crawl. Mayor Hoban promises to see more events at the Town Square gazebo.
Mayor Hoban has also been involved in the borough’s Hometown Heroes banner program, where you see veterans’ banners hanging all over the streets of Hughestown.
There are 120 banners hanging on the town’s telephone poles honoring Veterans, living or deceased, something Hoban is very proud of, “I’m big on Veterans and giving back to them,” Hoban admitted.
“That’s been my big thing, community initiative, going far back when I was a founding member of the Pittston Twp. Ambulance Association,” Hoban added. “When I got here (Hughestown), I started the Crime Watch.”
Mayor Hoban is proud of the Hughestown Neighborhood Crime Watch program and is thrilled by how the community has responded. She said she tries to make all the meetings interesting and informative.
“The big thing with the Crime Watch was, I started out with making police signs, and I’m a big believer in community education, community awareness, and we’ve had speakers that nobody else around here has,” Hoban said. “We’ve had speakers such as congressmen, people from the PA House of Representatives, lawyers, someone from the Dept. of Justice, judges, police, fire, and County detectives, you name it.”
One of Mayor Hoban’s biggest interests is military veterans.
“That’s one of my loves, a deep love for veterans and veteran appreciation, and one of the first things I did was the Hometown Heroes banners, and it’s been a huge success,” Hoban said. “We started a Hometown Heroes Day that we hold every May.”
Hoban was instrumental in creating the Hallmark Project, a project that brought a town square to the borough. Money was raised, landscaping was done, and a gazebo was erected next to the Hughestown Borough Building. Memorial bricks were laid, which Mayor Hoban said could still be purchased in a loved one’s name.
A Candy Crawl was created for Halloween, in which Borough officials band together to distribute candy and treats to children.
“I just care deeply about the well-being of others and betterment of the Borough, and I’m committed to devote my time and energy to it,” Hoban stated.
Moving forward, Mayor Hoban said there is a lot to do, and she’s rolled up her sleeves to make the Borough run more efficiently.
The first was to hire Joey Jones and the Hughestown Borough manager.
“There is a lot to be done here, and we want to pursue grants, bring our audits up to date, infrastructure-wise, and Joey will be a big part of the changes,” Hoban said. “Just in a few weeks he’s been on the job, a lot of positive things have happened already. Things have been status quo here for a long time and now the quo is no longer status. You can’t get progress without change.”
Now that Mayor Hoban is in charge of overseeing the estimated 1,350 residents encompassing less than one square mile, she’s looking forward to working with the Borough Council, now headed by another first: a female Borough Council president in Carolyn Moscatelli.
“Carolyn is awesome, and we are all working together,” Hoban said. “We recently had a first-time Town Hall Meeting, which was really important, and we are fostering open communication to promote and build trust with open and transparent leadership.”
According to Hoban, the community response to the first Town Hall meeting was encouraging, where Borough officials from all departments were present.
Mayor Hoban’s goal is to brainstorm with the community and officials and collaborate on projects and difficult problems.
“I feel that our strengths are amplified when we combine together,” Hoban added. “I feel if we all work together and cross departmental lines and focus on the common goal, we can make a real change.”
Mayor Hoban said she would like to create an atmosphere where everyone feels valued, and everyone has a voice, and encourages all residents to attend council meetings, Town Hall meetings, to get involved and offer opinions.
“We are picking up the pieces and moving forward,” Mayor Hoban concluded. “I’m honored to be the mayor and the first female Mayor, and I’m so appreciative that people believed in me.”
If any resident would like to reach out the Mayor Hoban, you can call 570-654-2061.
