Edith Lukasevich, 90, ofJim Thorpe, has announced her candidacy for a seat on the Jim Thorpe Borough Council. A lifelong Democrat, she is seeking her party's nomination in the May 16 primary.

Lukasevich served on the councilfrom 1995-2002.The widow of Victor Lukasevich, who died in 1981, she is the former Edith McLaughlin. She graduated in 1945 from the former Mauch Chunk Catholic High School.She is the motherFrancis, retired Col. Chris, Andrea Hardin, Lori Turnbach and Amy Lukasevich, and has 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.She brings a wealth of experience and public service. As a former member of the council, she helped the town leadersupdate the borough's Civil Service testing procedures and was a leader in the restoration projects of Kemmerer Park and Memorial Park, where the borough addressed handicap-accessibility issues."As a council member, I will work toward putting Memorial Hall back to the status it once enjoyed, and the rebuilding of the High Street wall, which the past and current councils have been talking about for years, will be one of my priorities," she said.Lukasevich also played a leading role in the restoration of the World War I and World War II monuments in town, having been responsible for organizing the committees and chairing them.She was a waitress for 15 years, followed by 17 years with the Carbon County Office on Aging, where she was a case aide worker. In that position, she was responsible for helping veterans apply for federal funds and assisted the elderly in pursuit of tax and rent rebates, as well as fuel assistance.She is a current member of the Carbon County Hospital Authority, having been appointed by the Carbon County Commissioners, and served on the board of directors of Kemmerer Park.She is the longtime president of the Jim Thorpe Area Democratic Association and has served on the Carbon County Democratic Executive Committee, where she is the Jim Thorpe Area chairwoman responsible for committee men and women in the borough, Penn Forest Township and Kidder Township South District.She belongs to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Jim Thorpe.