Deer Lake

Bingo games are played at 6 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of the month at the Deer Lake & West Brunswick Fire Company Hall. Doors open at 5 p.m. For more information, call 570-366-0900.

Frackville

A “Community Prayer Blitz” will begin at 6 p.m. Nov. 6 at Living Waters Church of God. It will be a gathering to pray for the area, state and nation and is free, according to an event release. For more information, call 570-622-3587.

Frackville

First United Methodist Church, 25 S. Balliet St., will have an Election Day pork-and-sauerkraut dinner from 3 to 7 p.m. Nov. 6 in its fellowship hall. Tickets are $10 for adults and $4 for children under 10. The deadline for tickets is Nov. 2. For tickets or more information, call 570-874-2435, 570-773-3734 or 570-874-1345. The church will also have a homemade pumpkin roll sale from noon to 2 p.m. Nov. 18 in the hall. The cost is $10 per roll and the deadline to order is Nov. 11. To order, call 570-874-1816, 570-874-1345 or 570-773-3734.

Frackville

The Frackville Museum, located in the Frackville Municipal & Community Center, Center and Oak streets, is celebrating its seventh year in operation with new mannequins and displays. The theme is Timeless Fashions, featuring several mannequins wearing apparel from the jazz age to the present, according to a museum release. The museum at 42 S. Center St. will have open house on from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 11 and the public is welcome. There is no admission fee and parking is available. For more information, email las8@psu.edu.

Lansford

An Election Day pork-and-sauerkraut dinner will be held at the Lansford American Legion, 3 W. Ridge St., from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 6. The cost is $10 per platter, which will also include mashed potatoes, vegetable, coffee and dessert. Takeouts will be available. All proceeds will benefit the “Music in the Park” effort at Kennedy Park.

New Philadelphia

A historical display of New Philadelphia is set for 2 p.m. Sunday at Holy Cross Parish Center in conjunction with the borough’s 150th anniversary, sponsored by the New Philadelphia Community Organization. All are welcome.

Pottsville

A “Girls Night Out” vendor fair at Luther Ridge, 160 Red Horse Road, will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 7 featuring more than 50 tables including crafts, jewelry, home demonstration products, baked goods and other items. According to an event flier, a shuttle bus will run throughout the fair to take patrons to and from their vehicles. For more information, call 570-621-7200 or go online to consulatehealthcare.com.

Pottsville

The Schuylkill County Conservancy is inviting members and the public to its annual dinner set for 6 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Schuylkill County Ag Center, 1202 Ag Center Drive. Bill Reichert of the Schuylkill County Headwaters Association will present a program titled, “Flooding in Schuylkill County: What is the Cause and What is the Solution.” The cost is $20 per person. For reservations, call Julia Sophy at 570-292-0823.

Ringtown

Jeff Dauber, a speaker from the Alzheimer’s Foundation, will make a presentation at 6:15 p.m. Thursday in the Union Township building, sponsored by the Ringtown Rotary Club. The public is welcome to attend.

Shenandoah

Restoration Fellowship Church, Oak and West streets, will have a concert and banquet at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 4. A group called New Life for Girls will share a message of freedom from addiction through song and testimony, according to an event release. The session is free. For more information, call 570-454-1987.

Elated over the prospects of a mild winter? Well, don’t get your hopes up just yet.

Though the odds may favor slightly above-average temperatures, it’s only a chance, Mike Murphy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton, New York, said.

“Overall, winter may end up being a degree above average,” he said.

This means Old Man Winter’s cold breath still may blow in freezeouts, snow and ice, and maybe a nor’easter, too.

“Make sure to take your typical precautions,” Murphy said.

There’s uncertainty in long-range forecasts, said Mitchell Gaines, also a meteorologist for the weather service, and in warning signs of snowy and cold periods, especially in January and February.

Travelers should check the latest forecasts before entering the road and have a safety plan they can rely on, Gaines said. Vehicles should be winter-ready and homes should have emergency supplies in the event of a power outage.

So, there’s absolutely no reward for enduring one of the wettest summers the Northeast has seen?

Murphy laughed when posed the question by a reporter. The 27.15 inches of rain that fell from June through September at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport apparently didn’t buy the region any sympathy from Mother Nature or Old Man Winter.

Peter Bard, a weather hobbyist through his Facebook page, Anthracite Region Accuvision Weather, said we’re in store for above-average precipitation this winter, periods of warmer weather and periods of cold along with a typical 35 percent chance of a white Christmas.

Overall, he predicts the weather will be a little cooler than what meteorologists are saying.

The forecasts could all change, Bard said, but upon watching areas of snow growth in Siberia and Canada, it all looks typical, and that means the area will still have a cold, snowy winter. He said the return of an El Niño weather pattern will also influence the coming winter.

Mild air will linger in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic before the cold blows in, in January and February, AccuWeather reported. A few big snowstorms are possible, too, according to AccuWeather.

The Farmers’ Almanac calls for a long, cold, snow-filled season.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac, however, calls for a warmer winter with an unusually mild forecast with above-normal precipitation and near- to below-normal snow with the coldest periods beginning in mid-December and lasting until mid-February. The snowiest periods will be in mid-December, early January, and early February, the Old Farmer’s Almanac says.

The famed buck-toothed “predictor” of winter’s end, Punxsutawney Phil, hasn’t offered any prophecies for this year’s winter, handler John Griffiths said.

And, he won’t have any say on the duration of winter until Feb. 2. when visitors flood the small western Pennsylvania town to see if Phil will foresee a longer or shorter season.

“He just doesn’t jump to conclusions like everyone else does,” Griffiths, a member of the inner circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, said.

For now Phil and his wife, Phyllis, find comfort in a climate-controlled environment that keeps them from going into full hibernation in Punxsy, their days filled with nibbling on fruits and vegetables.

Meanwhile, their wild counterparts gorged on vegetation and scarfed down gardens during the warmer weather months to prepare for their winter sleep.

Prep work

Just like animals prepare for winter’s frosty grip, humans have their own routines to follow before the cold hits. Despite the predictions for a mild winter, people are practicing caution.

At Ochs Farm in Drums, and farms throughout the region, farmers are protecting their growing fields from the cold. Things like strawberry bushes and garlic get a layer of hay spread on them, April Ochs, co-owner of the farm, said. Extra supplies are hauled in, in case power goes out.

Water lines and a water heater in the farm’s greenhouses are drained because water in the lines could expand and crack pipes.

Fluids in farm equipment are topped off so condensation can’t form and freeze inside. This winter they plan to wear warm layers as they tend to their animals and their farm stand, where they sell produce.

Though cold weather means work for farmers protecting their property from the freeze, a truly mild winter could cause problems.

A mild winter may hurt orchard trees that could bud prematurely, Ochs said. A season void of a hard freeze won’t kill soil-borne diseases that can ruin crops, while a layer of snow will allow winter wheat to prosper, she said.

It’s not only farmers who prep for winter.

The Hazleton Area School District is scouting out newer used maintenance vehicles to replace ones they can no longer use, Superintendent Brian Uplinger said. They’re also stocking up on ice-melting materials.

The district has three snow days built into its calendar this year but last year had to reach out to the state for a reprieve when they ended the year with 13 cancellations. They’ll ask for another reprieve this year, if needed.

Like years prior, Uplinger plans to be watching weather forecasts and road conditions and that means he’s taking early morning drives himself to make sure students aren’t traveling in unsafe conditions.

He asked for patience and understanding from parents when calls are made for snow days. The 256-square-mile district includes towns with varying weather patterns, Uplinger said, and delays and cancellations are made with everyone in mind.

Residents are also asked to be mindful of shoveling their sidewalks so children don’t have to walk on the road to school.

Bill DeNunzio, acting Butler Township manager, said the township isn’t taking any chances this winter. They’re finishing up their summer work this month and getting their plows and spreaders ready. The township is also building an extra salt shed because it didn’t have enough space in years past.

“I have a feeling we are going to get a lot of snow this year,” DeNunzio said, citing the phrase “prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

When weather predictions use terms like mild winter, he said, it could still mean the area gets hard-hitting snow.

Hazle Township plans to use a salt brine on roads in Humboldt Industrial Park this year as part of a trial run.

Ronald Young Jr., of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 5 office, said since long-range forecasts aren’t so reliable highway maintenance staff looks to historical data when it’s time to prepare for winter and develop a budget.

A tough winter with a series of storms could mean less money in warmer months for sign replacement and grass cutting, though it wouldn’t affect essential work like pothole repairs. Likewise, a savings from a mild winter would mean more money for warmer-weather projects.

District 5 encompasses Carbon, Berks, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill counties and in total has 8,325 miles of road to maintain, including 617 in Carbon and 1,511 in Schuylkill.

Preparing for storms is a year-round task at PPL Electric Utilities, Alana Roberts, regional affairs director, said. Stronger poles and wires are being installed, trees are being cleared so they don’t fall on equipment during storms and a smart grid and automated power restoration technology keeps more customers powered when storm damage is incurred.

Yay or nay

Area state parks experienced postponements and cancellations due to the wet summer and were hoping for a typical winter so cold weather activities don’t meet a similar fate, Diane Madl, environmental education specialist at Nescopeck State Park, said.

The park hosts winter activities like its snowshoe loaner program and WinterFest, which takes place annually on the first Saturday in February, featuring ice fishing, sled dogs and a bird walk, among other events.

Mike Skotek, owner of Skotek Oil Sales in Kline Township, hopes the long-range forecast for warmer weather is right.

“I hope for a mild winter and that we don’t get brutalized with snow like we got brutalized with rain this summer,” he said. Snow makes it tough to get around, Skotek said.

Bitter cold stretches mean stress for customers and for his business. Though cold weather means a increase in sales, it also means an abundance of calls in a short amount of time. Skotek said oil customers can avoid wait times if they fill up their tanks in the fall. They can also ensure they don’t run out of oil by never letting their tank dip past half full.

Like many local oil delivery companies, he checks the New York Mercantile Exchange daily for prices, which he said are stabilized right now. A bigger oil supply means a cheaper cost but a prolonged winter causes inventories to dry up and costs increase.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, oil and propane prices are around $3 a gallon.

UGI natural gas customers experienced a 2.8 percent decrease in prices on June 1, Joe Swope, media relations manager at the company, said, and they are projecting an additional 9.5 percent decrease Dec. 1 due to product coming from the Marcellus Shale.

Prior to tapping the gas wells close by, cold weather meant a dramatic increase in prices. But, with capacity coming from the Marcellus Shale, that’s not the case anymore so a mild or cold winter won’t dictate prices, he said.

The coal harvesting industry likes cold weather to a degree — nearly literally.

Louis Pagnotti, an executive with Atlantic Carbon Group in Hazleton, said more coal is sold in colder weather but if temperatures dip down too low, say 13 degrees, things get difficult. Water used to sort rock and coal freezes in preparation plants, halting the process and when they can’t operate for a while, the cost of coal is driven up.

As far as the long-range forecast is concerned, Pagnotti said it’s his guess based on a lifetime of experience that Hazleton will indeed face typical winter weather and snow this year.

Contact the writer: achristman@standardspeaker.com; 570-501-3584

FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — After a first marking period of a school year, even kindergartners need a little break, and what could be better than a hayride.

The North Schuylkill Elementary School held its annual Kindergarten Fall Festival on Friday morning with activities inside and outside the school. The autumn event began at the school district’s Ashland Area Elementary Center, but when the school and the Frackville Elementary Center came together in the current building in 2007, the festival followed the students and continues.

“This is such a fun day for the kids today,” said parent volunteer Kelly Logozzo, who was very involved in organizing the activities. “There is a pretty big group of kindergarten parent volunteers helping today.”

Due to the chilly temperatures, school officials decided to move most of the activities that were planned at the stadium to be moved indoors. One exception was the hayride, which naturally had to remain outdoors. Groups of children could not wait to get in the hay-filled wagon, which was drawn by a farm tractor through the streets.

Inside the school, the children had many things to keep them busy. Fall crafts were a hit, where in one room they made juice box mummies, while in another room decorating pumpkins was the fun activity. Another room had students decorating cookies with Halloweenish sprinkles and icing.

In the gymnasium, a bounce house from Ryan Inflatables was available for students to do some heavy-duty bouncing, while listening to Summit Audio provide the DJ service. On another side of the room, fall and Halloween-themed games kept others entertained.

Logozzo said the festival was a labor of love to the faculty and volunteers and was supported by many from the district’s communities and businesses.

“The kindergarten parent volunteers went around the community and asked for help,” Logozzo said. “Some of us donated ourselves. We had donations from Mountain Valley Golf Course, Francesco’s Restaurant, Boyer’s Markets, Hart Farms, Redner’s, Wegmans and others who helped out.”

While the main activities were held mainly in the morning, there was an extra treat for the children in the afternoon with ice cream party with sundaes thanks to Chill Out Ice Cream Parlor & Snack Shop.

“We have six high school students helping with face painting today. Our life skills class at the high school baked cookies that our kids are decorating today,” Logozzo said. “Mrs. (Jamie) Swartz is the lead kindergarten teacher. All the kindergarten teachers got together and told us what they did before and then we (parents) put together some ideas.”

District Superintendent Robert Ackell said the festival is a great time for the children.

“All their activities are wrapped up in this fall festival,” Ackell said. “We have parents, grandparents, community members coming in to volunteer. There are many different stations and many different activities all day long. It’s a great experience for all our kindergarten students. There are many, many sponsors, and we couldn’t run our event without them.”

Contact the writer: jusalis@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6023

SCRANTON — A Dunmore man accused of cutting the brake lines in his girlfriend’s car, causing her to crash to her death, will stand trial, Magisterial District Judge Laura Turlip ruled Friday.

John Jenkins, 40, 1113 Taylor Ave., first floor, appeared in court as his defense attorneys argued for a lesser charge. He is charged with criminal homicide after police discovered in August that the brakes were tampered with on Tammy Fox’s 2004 Hyundai Sonata. Fox was a key witness against several former Lackawanna County Prison guards accused of sexually abusing inmates.

“There’s not one shred of evidence that this was an intentional killing,” said defense attorney Jody Kalinowski, who argued Jenkins should be charged with “manslaughter at best.”

Assistant District Attorney Brian Gallagher rebutted that there is “specific intent to kill found in the facts and circumstances” of the case.

Fox’s car jumped a curb near North Washington Avenue and struck a tree and several parked cars on Aug. 22. She later was pronounced dead at Geisinger Community Medical Center from multiple traumatic injuries from the crash.

Jenkins told police that the night before the crash, Fox was looking for a pipe to smoke crack in, but he didn’t want to go to the store to purchase one, according to testimony. Instead, Jenkins said he went beneath Fox’s vehicle at the Taylor Avenue address and was “hacking away” to try to get something she could use.

Jenkins, later at the Dunmore State Police barracks, told officers it couldn’t have been anyone else who cut the lines and that he killed Fox, according to court records.

During testimony, expert witnesses, including state police officers and Lackawanna County Coroner Timothy Rowland, described the events before and after Fox died.

Fox tried four times to stop her car, including pumping the brakes, lifting up the emergency brake and shutting off the vehicle, investigators said.

Police recovered footage that showed Fox’s attempt to stop at Taylor Avenue and Pine Street before she turned right onto Pine Street. Her car, at times going 58 mph, flew through 14 intersections, state police Sgt. Michael Joyce testified. No matter which way she turned off Taylor Avenue, Fox faced a hill, Gallagher pointed out.

“As soon as she made that right-hand turn, she was tortured,” Gallagher said.

While inspecting the car, officers found that three of the four brake lines were cut and one was crimped.

During Friday’s testimony, investigators revealed that a piece of brake line was found in Jenkin’s cupboard.

Jenkins, who has “Fox” tattooed on his neck, was in court in shackles. He often put his head down on the table in front of him and conversed with Kalinowski and Defense Attorney Debra Domenick

Many of Fox’s friends and family turned out for the hearing including one of her sisters, who wore a shirt with a photo of Fox. During questioning about the cut brake lines, a woman yelled “who cut the brake lines then?” and was escorted from the courtroom.

After the hearing, Gallagher and Price said the Aug. 22 events could have turned into a community tragedy as Fox made her way down the heavily populated downtown Scranton street.

Jenkin’s trial date has not yet been set. He remains in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.

Contact the writer: kbolus@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-5114

Since I moved to my country house in le Perche, I’ve often wondered about ghosts. I’ve even asked myself if my house is haunted by spirits of the past. In the United States, except for places like Boston or Philadelphia, few homes are centuries old. Here many are — mine is — and that means a lot of living — and dying — within these walls.

Washington Irving, the American author who gave to his country some of its best-loved ghost stories — “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” “Rip Van Winkle” — had a bittersweet theory about American ghosts. Contrary to their European counterparts, they didn’t get to do a lot of haunting. On Halloween, they were left twiddling their thumbs, roaming aimlessly around cemeteries and the homes they once inhabited. Their descendants had responded to the call “go West, young man,” leaving no one behind to haunt.

According to Irving, ghosts remain attached to their roots, they are not infected with wanderlust. They’d love to move back in with the family, but what happens when they have no idea of where the family has gone?

In the 20th century, the movie industry gleefully found the answer: ghosts, vampires, zombies, monsters or evil creatures from outer space, thanks to the wonders of technology, can — and want — to go just about anywhere. In the 1956 movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” alien spores fall from the sky with the same randomness as drops of rain. They could turn into you, me, anybody, reproduced identically, full-grown, in a pod found floating in the family pool.

I’ll admit, I’m not a big fan of horror movies. I’ve always been too impressionable, although I may have been turned off to them for life because of an experience in the former Hollywood Theatre of Pottsville. It was Halloween 1968 and what could be better than a horror double-feature? My friend, Nancy Higgins-Schlitzer, and I bought tickets and popcorn and then climbed to seats in the balcony.

The first film was about a mad scientist making some kind of green goo in his laboratory. It was silly, but we had fun laughing and pretending to be scared.

Then there was a brief intermission and the second film came on. It was “The Night of the Living Dead.” Today considered one of the best horror movies of all time, in October 1968, the very month of its release, this low-budget zombie film paralyzed us with fear. As corpses wander down small-town streets, a powerless TV anchorman announces, “These ghouls are eating flesh.” We wanted to run, escape from these very ordinary-looking zombies, but we were too afraid.

Still to this day I wonder if anyone working at the Hollywood had watched this film before it was projected for that special Halloween show. It was not a film for children and that’s what most of us were. Although I couldn’t have explained it then, I knew “The Night of the Living Dead” was about more than horror and I knew we were not safe. Nancy and I left the theater stunned. We’d been looking for fun and some scares. We got more than we’d bargained for.

For decades now, horror films have been so bloody, at times so sadistic, that I shy away from them. Vampire films abound, but none have ever equaled the two all-time greatest, the 1922 German “Nosferatu” and Hollywood’s 1931 “Dracula” with Bela Lugosi. Egged on by my sister, I watched “Blair Witch Project,” but somehow its frightening charms were lost on me.

The French also have their horror industry, ranging from what I might call “sexy gore,” such as in the 2008 film “Martyrs,” which reaches new heights in torturing women on screen, or the 2006 film “Them,” where horror is subtly created in a haunted house in Romania, bought by a young Franco-Romanian couple. The French horror hits of 2018 are “Ghostland,” directed by Pascal Laugier, who also made “Martyrs” and “La nuit a dévoré le monde” (The night has eaten up the world), another zombie movie in the spirit of “The Night of the Living Dead.”

But what about good old-fashioned ghosts, the kind who rattle chains or roam hallways at night? Is anybody still interested in them? Are they still around?

I am not sure of the answer to the last question, but I do know lots of people are still interested in ghosts. Doing research for this article, I came across “Ghost Hunters Inc., True Spirit Seekers,” with headquarters in Berks County.

The organization’s investigators have already looked into the mysterious ghost that haunts the lonely road over Gordon Mountain, joining Heckscherville to Gordon. I remember it from my high school days. There were many tales about cars breaking down on the mountaintop, of a ghostly young woman and even of long scratches on car doors and fenders, desperate attempts by someone, something, to get inside.

As for my own home, I have decided it is inhabited by friendly spirits, happy to have me here, happy with the care I’ve lavished on a cottage about to collapse, that has been built back up again.

But not all in le Perche are as lucky, and I’m not surprised. This misty region of hills and vales is a perfect habitat for ghosts, and as the same families have been around for hundreds of years, ghosts naturally feel at home.

On the site actu.fr, devoted to local news from all around France, I’ve discovered some documented ghosts nearby. In 2009, a family with three children bought a Percheron barn, already partially converted to a home. They turned the loft into a bedroom for their children and happily settled in.

Yet, from the start, something was not right. At night, the parents would hurry upstairs to chase their children back to bed only to find them fast asleep. Returning to the living room, the ruckus would start all over again. Running, muffled cries, marbles dropped to the floor. Believing in mischief, they crept back upstairs, but found their children sleeping snugly in their beds.

Things went from bad to worse. Obviously, something, someone, wanted the husband out of the house so he, it, could have the wife to himself. The family called in some paranormal investigators, but, at latest report, all family members and ghosts are still there.

On that unresolved note, I’ll wish my readers a ghostly but happy Halloween.

(Honicker can be reached at honicker.republicanherald@gmail.com)

POTTSVILLE — DaVaughn A. Brown left Schuylkill County Court a free man on Thursday, as a jury found him not guilty of four charges resulting from a traffic stop in November 2017 in Coaldale.

After deliberating for more than an hour, the jury of eight women and four men acquitted Brown, 28, of New Ringgold, of terroristic threats, resisting arrest, obstructing administration of law and harassment.

Coaldale police had charged Brown with scuffling with Patrolman Anthony C. Houser on Nov. 18, 2017, in the borough.

However, jurors accepted the testimony of Brown, who said he was not resisting arrest even though police used a Taser on him.

“I knew that something was going to happen,” Brown said.

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer N. Foose prosecuted the case against Brown, while Assistant Public Defender Paul G. Domalakes defended him.

In other recent county court action, James E. Doke, 50, of Frankfort, Indiana, pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia.

Judge Jacqueline L. Russell accepted the plea and, pursuant to an agreement between prosecutors and the defendant, sentenced Doke to pay costs, a $100 fine and $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund.

Shenandoah police charged Doke with possessing paraphernalia on Dec. 2, 2017, in the borough.

Contact the writer: pbortner@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6014

Elizabethville

The Elizabethville Area Historical Society has Elizabethville School crocks for sale at $35 each. The quart shoulder crocks have the inscription “Broad Street School 1895-1989, Elizabethville, PA.” They are 6.5 inches high and 4 inches wide. To arrange for a purchase and pickup, call 717-903-4414. The society also is taking orders for its previous bicentennial crocks, which must be ordered and paid in advance by Nov 9. Checks must be sent to Elizabeth Area Historical Society, P.O. Box 329, Elizabethville, PA 17023.

Frackville

Elks Lodge 1533 will have its monthly mackerel breakfast beginning at 8 a.m. Nov. 4 at the lodge. The event will feature a full breakfast menu and U.S. military veterans may eat free with proof of military service. For more information, call 570-874-2500. The lodge will also have an Election Day pork-and-sauerkraut meal beginning at 11 a.m. Nov. 6. The lodge’s annual free throw hoop shoot contest for boys and girls ages 8-13 is set for Nov. 11 at the North Schuylkill Elementary School, 38 Line St., Ashland. Registration will begin at 11 a.m. followed by the contest at noon. For more information, call the aforementioned number.

Frackville

The Frackville Rotary Club recently welcomed as members Frank Syzdek, a Pennsylvania Turnpike retiree, and Carol Syzdek, retired Schuylkill County zoning officer, during a recent meeting at the Cracker Barrel restaurant. Schuylkill County Court Judge John E. Domalakes inducted both after presenting them with a history of Rotary International.

Klingerstown

Salem Church of Rough and Ready will have its annual bazaar from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. It will feature homemade soup, pot pie and baked goods. There will also be independent consultants and attic treasurers, according to a release. For more information, email John Galloway at galliwjh@gmail.com.

Mahanoy City

A sportsman’s raffle with 30 raffle pulls for guns and cash and side raffles for meat trays and guns is set for Nov. 4 at West End Fire and Rescue Company. Doors will open at noon and drawings will start at 1 p.m. Tickets are available from any member or at the door. Tickets are $15 each. For more information, call 570-773-0870.

Minersville

A flea boutique and food sale will begin at 8 a.m. Nov. 17 in First Congregational Church Fellowship Hall. All are welcome. For more information, call 570-617-9521.

Minersville

A pork-and-sauerkraut dinner will begin at noon Nov. 6 at St. Michael the Archangel Parish Center. All are welcome. Tickets are $9 for adults and $5 for children under 10. For tickets or more information, call Jean at 570-544-6853.

New Ringgold

Christ Church McKeansburg has soup nights beginning at 5 p.m. the first Tuesday of every month. It is free and all are welcome. For more information, call 570-943-2822.

Minersville

The annual turkey bingo in the Good Shepherd building cafeteria will begin at 1 p.m. Nov. 4. Doors will open at noon; food and refreshments will be available and raffle tickets will be on sale. All are welcome; admission is $5. For more information, call 570-516-2696.

Saint Clair

An all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet is set for 8 to 11:30 a.m. Nov. 4 at Immaculate Conception Social Hall, Caroline Avenue. The cost is $7 for adults and $3 for children under 8. All are welcome. For more information, call 570-429-0302.

Shenandoah

The revitalization group Downtown Shenandoah Inc. will sponsor Christmas with the M&J Big Band at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at Shenandoah Valley High School, 805 W. Centre St. Admission will be free; donations will be gratefully accepted. For more information, call DSI at 570-462-2060.

POTTSVILLE — Thousands of Schuylkill County residents are participating in Make A Difference Day.

The day is the nation’s largest community service effort. The national event started Feb. 29, 1992, and was created by USA Weekend magazine.

Saturday was the national day, but the 2,383 residents participating in Schuylkill County did so last week and this week.

As of Friday, there were 33 groups with 42 projects. All are participating to give back to the community.

The generosity will help approximately 2,749 people and animals in need, Janice Johnston, director of Community Volunteers in Action, which is a coordinating center for Make A Difference Day in Schuylkill County, said Friday.

Schuylkill County has participated for 23 years. In all, more than 100,000 people participated countywide and completed 2,377 projects.

Johnston said everyone that volunteers has the good of the community in mind. A list of all participating groups was not provided.

Lynn Hausman, director of nursing for the Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing, Pottsville, said Friday students of the school, staff members and administration made 20 Jared boxes for children in the pediatric unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill E. Norwegian Street. The toy-filled boxes are named after a boy named Jared, who had a brain tumor and attended the Our Lady of Victory School in Philadelphia. He died in 2000.

Johnston said 300 students from West Penn Elementary School and 725 students from Tamaqua Area Elementary School are collecting supplies such as food and blankets for the Hillside SPCA, Pottsville and the Companion Animal Hospital, Tamaqua.

Tamaqua Middle School students collected nonperishable food that will be given to Servants to All, Schuylkill Community Action Food Distribution Network, the Schuylkill County Office of Senior Services and Schuylkill County Children & Youth, Johnston said.

Simpson United Methodist Church, Gordon, had various projects for a family in Gilberton that was affected by this summer’s flooding.

A Shenandoah woman is making 475 coasters for Diakon to give to Meals on Wheels recipients for the holiday season, Johnston said.

A Girl Scout troop in Frackville will host bingo for residents at the Shenandoah Manor Nursing Center, members of the First United Methodist Church, Schuylkill Haven, will clean Union Cemetery in the borough and staff and clients of Conewago, Pottsville, will make blankets for those at the Lehigh Valley Cancer Center, Pottsville.

“It is not too late to do something,” Johnston said.

To register, visit www.schuylkill.us/cvia or call 570-622-1995.

The state Department of Transportation announced several roadwork projects in Schuylkill County this week and beyond.

The planned projects include:

• Drainage work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday on Brockton Mountain Road between Brockton and Ryan Township with lane restrictions.

• Crack sealing between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday on Route 61 in North Manheim Township between Port Clinton and Deer Lake with lane closures.

• Bridge inspection work between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday on Interstate 81 in Pine Grove Township between the Lebanon County line and Exit 100 (Route 443) with both northbound and southbound lane restrictions.

• Pothole patching from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday on Mountain Roads in Eldred Township between Pitman and Helfenstein with lane restrictions and flagging.

• Inspection work between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday on I-81 in Ryan Township between Exit 124 (Route 61) and Exit 131 (Route 54) with lane restrictions.

• Inspection work between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday on Route 54 in Rush Township between State Road and Marian Avenue with lane restrictions in both directions.

• Inspection work between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday on Route 61 in Ashland between Fountain Springs and Route 54 with lane restrictions in both directions.

• Bridge inspection work from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 6 on Route 309 in Rush Township between Route 54 and Fairview Street with lane restrictions.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 860 traffic cameras. Follow regional PennDOT information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAAllentown.

PINE GROVE — Schuylkill County Crime Stoppers and state police at Schuylkill Haven are asking for the public’s help in finding those responsible for a theft that occurred earlier this month.

Police said the crime occurred between 2:35 p.m. Oct. 1 and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at Rock Road and Pleasant Hill Road in Pine Grove Township.

Police said someone kicked in the door of a Pennsylvania Game Commission out building, entered and stole a Stihl chain saw.

The chain saw is a model MS260 and has a serial number of 260590046, police said.

Police said the chain saw is valued at $350 and the cost of the metal door that was damaged is also $350.

Schuylkill County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information on the person or persons responsible for this theft or any unsolved crime in Schuylkill County.

Callers are asked to refer to case 10-14-18 when calling with information about the theft of the chain saw in Pine Grove Township.

Anyone with information is asked to call Schuylkill County Crime Stoppers at 877-TIPS4SC.

Callers can also relay their information directly to state police Trooper Bruce Kleckner by calling 570-754-4600 and referring to incident PA2018-1191692.

All information received will remain confidential.

Contact the writer: fandruscavage@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6013

If you think this winter will bring bad news, or believe it’s just too early to make a call, just be thankful you don’t live in southern Canada (that is unless you like the snow), where parts of the country had to dig out of up to 2 feet of the cold, white stuff — in October.

Calgary, Alberta, had just about 13 inches of snow fall Oct. 2, and snow fell on Oct. 1 and 3, too, according to The Washington Post.

Though things could certainly change, local snow isn’t predicted to happen for a while yet. According to a forecast issued last week by AccuWeather, we’re in store for flurries at the end of November. Otherwise, high temperatures are predicted to be in the 40s and 50s for most of November and December, while a few days dip into the 30s, AccuWeather.com says.

Other Hazletons in the country fare worse, but some are looking a little better.

Hazleton, Indiana, looks like the place to be for those wanting to stay away from winter as long as they can. November and December temperatures are predicted to be in the 40s, 50s and 60s, with flurries the second week of December.

Hazelton, West Virginia (yes, they spell it that way), is showing highs in the 30’s, 40s, 50s and 60s, too, for the same time frame and a chance of snow in late November.

James K. Reiley

POTTSVILLE — A man arrested by Pottsville police for an assault in the city on Oct. 3 waived his right to a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley.

Edward Shamonsky, 39, of 212 W. Market St., Apt. C, Pottsville, formerly of 1451 Hillside Drive, Clarks Summit, was arrested by Patrolman Joseph Krammes and charged with one count each of aggravated assault and criminal mischief.

By waiving his right to a hearing, Shamonsky will now have to answer to both charges in Schuylkill County Court.

Krammes charged that Shamonsky was at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill S. Jackson Street for treatment, but when advised by Dr. Uchenna Uzoukwo that he would need to remove his clothes, the man jumped over a desk and punched the doctor in the face.

Workers and security officers had to restrain Shamonsky, and the doctor suffered pain and swelling to the area of his left eye, Krammes said.

Other court cases included:

Michael D. Collins, 27, of 308 S. Second St., Pottsville; held for court: possession of drug paraphernalia.

Samantha Brenda Rose Sherwood, 31, of 708 Laurel Blvd., Pottsville; waived for court: DUI, DUI-high rate and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Danielle M. Olimpo, 29, of 5 N. Sport Lane, Locust Gap; waived for court: possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Marc C. Benedict, 51, of 1133 Peach Mountain Road, Box 779, Pottsville; held for court: simple assault and harassment.

SAINT CLAIR — Riders of the Schuylkill Transportation System will soon be able to board compressed natural gas buses.

STS displayed the buses Wednesday at its 252 Industrial Park Road facility.

“The goal is to have these vehicles out on our roads within a few weeks,” David Bekisz, STS executive director, said.

Two 30-foot and three 35-foot buses, made by Gillig, California, will replace five diesel-powered ones that have outlived their useful lifespan. The cost for the buses, $2.8 million, was paid for by federal, state and local money.

“The Schuylkill County Transportation Authority is excited to join other state transit agencies by implementing five new CNG buses to serve the residents of Schuylkill County and its visitors,” Bekisz said. The new vehicles have many safety, reliability, comfort and IT advancements that are a benefit for the riders and STS staff, he said. They will also make for a quieter ride since the sound of the engine is not as loud as a diesel-powered one.

Using the buses will help the environment because less pollutants will enter the atmosphere. The buses have many advantages including decreased maintenance costs leading to longer life expectancy, according to an STS press release.

STS could get four more CNG buses by 2019.

Bekisz thanked everyone involved with the acquisition of the buses.

A CNG fueling station is planned for STS, according to a release from the state Department of Transportation. The project could start by 2021.

SHENANDOAH — The planned Halloween parade through Shenandoah on Saturday did not hit the streets due to the weather, but there was plenty of fun for the children where the parade would have ended.

The Shenandoah Boro Recreation group, which was the parade sponsor, had participants gather at the Shenandoah Senior Living Community on East Washington Street for some indoor activities and sweet treats.

This year’s holiday event had an additional aspect to it with the group collecting items for the Servants to All Homeless Shelter in Pottsville as a Make A Difference Day project.

The children and their parents, grandparents and guardians arrived at 1 p.m., and were welcomed by volunteering Shenandoah Valley students. Inside the dining room, which was tricked out with Halloween decorations, volunteers from the recreation group and school helped with activities.

There were some unique costumes worn by the children ranging in ages from infant to 12. One wore a Tyrannosaurus rex costume that was the largest in the room. Another was a lighted aquarium on wheels with the child riding inside with a bubble maker in the front. There were ninjas, angels, a nurse, a monkey, skunk, witches, princesses and more. There were different types of games, and children decorated small pumpkins with felt tip markers.

As the children enjoyed everything, the residents of the senior living center enjoyed the antics by everyone.

“It’s crazy, but it’s working,” SBR chairman Eric Becker said, describing the many activities going on in the room. “We’re trying to figure it out and keep everything separated. We’re really happy and grateful that they opened the doors for us. Most of the events in the area today were canceled. So if the manor hadn’t been nice enough to say they have a dining room that we can use, we would not be able to do this and they deserve a lot of credit.”

Becker said that there were 300 cupcakes made for Saturday, so moving the event to a later date was not feasible. In addition to the cupcakes, there were 300 treat bags put together and passed out by SBR co-chairwoman Mary Ann Bialecki and other volunteers.

Becker said the parade would have included Shenandoah Valley band members and cheerleaders but, due to space limitations at the senior living center, they did not attend the party.

My Father’s House Executive Director Jeanette Triano Sinn was on hand during the Halloween event to collect donations for the homeless shelter and speak with people about the work done by the nonprofit. Items requested for the shelter were coffee, non-dairy creamer, tea, hot chocolate mix, disposable spoons and forks, deodorant, body wash, tissues, backpacks and canned foods.

“Mary Ann was my contact through the recreation committee, and they decided to do the collection for us today,” Sinn said. “It’s just a wonderful way to help us. We get a lot of people from Shenandoah who come down to our program for support. There is a large group who come down monthly for food, clothing and material goods. We trying to help all those in need.”

Attending the event was Janice Johnston, director of Community Volunteers in Action, which coordinates Make A Difference Day, who was asked about the local group combining the holiday event with helping a nonprofit organization.

“It’s very clever. It’s creative,” Johnston said of the Shenandoah project, adding that MADD projects are usually not connected to other activities.

Johnston said the inclement weather impacted other projects to be held Saturday.

“There are 42 projects this year,” she said. “They can take place within a week of the event, so we had a lot going on this week and some going on next week. The rain has actually impacted a lot of the outdoor ones today, and they have been postponed and rescheduled. It’s not just the rain, but it’s a cold day.”

“We have 12 Shenandoah Valley volunteers, which is awesome,” Becker said. “Mary Ann was a big part of this.”

“Everything went well even though we had to cancel the parade,” Bialecki said. “We were invited here to the manor to have our party and the kids are having fun. And me, too.”

Contact the writer: jusalis@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6023

There will be a lot of Halloween characters roaming around your neighborhood on Wednesday night, but Halloween will hang on in the night skies over Pottsville all this week and over the next few weeks!

There’s no great pumpkin in the night sky, but there is a bright planet with a distinctly orange-red glow. That’s Mars shining brightly in the southern sky as darkness sets in and the spooks start lurking about!

Mars isn’t nearly as bright as it was in August and September, but it’s the brightest star-like object in the early evening celestial theater. Currently, Mars is almost 130 million miles from Earth, almost a hundred million miles farther away than it was at the end of July when it was the closest it’s been to Earth in 15 years! By the way, Mars is orange-red because of iron that’s rusted within its dusty surface. I wish I could give you a more sinister reason befitting this week of Halloween.

There are some sinister shiners on the rise in the northeast sky. It’s the famous, or some would say infamous Pleiades Star Cluster, also known as the “Seven Little Sisters.” This time of year it’s also referred to as the “Halloween Cluster” because it rises in the northeast early in the evening and climbs high in the sky over Pottsville around the midnight hour. You can’t miss it, as it’s easily visible to the naked eye, resembling a miniature Big Dipper. Astronomically, the Pleiades is actually a group of more than 100 young stars, more than 410 light years away, that were born together out of a huge cloud of hydrogen gas 100 million years ago. By the way, if you’re new to this column, just one light year equals nearly six trillion miles!

Many ancient peoples worshipped and feared the Pleiades because the cluster was associated with death. When it rose high in the sky around midnight this time of year, it was thought to be the appropriate time to honor the dead. Some cultures, like the early Egyptians, believed that whenever the Pleiades reached their zenith in the sky, natural disasters as well as manufactured ones like war could more easily occur.

Probably the most sinister constellation on the rise is just above and to the left of the Pleiades, Perseus the Hero. Now Perseus himself is not all that scary, but it’s the monster’s head he’s toting with him, the evil Medusa, that gives me the shivers. According to Greek and Roman mythology, the king of the gods, dispatched Perseus to rid the countryside of the Medusa, a lady monster who was literally stoning everyone!

Medusa was truly one of the most horrible monsters you ever saw. In fact, you couldn’t even look at this beast with a female face that always had a bad hair day. That’s because her hair consisted of dozens of poisonous snakes sticking out of her head. If Medusa came into your neighborhood you didn’t have to worry about multiple snakebites, because you’d be long gone before they ever got to you.

Medusa was so ugly that if you even took a brief glance at her, you would instantly turn to stone! Medusa had to be stopped before all of humanity became stone cold. Perseus went in pursuit of the horrible monster. Armed with the wings of Mercury, the messenger of the gods, and the magic shield of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, he managed to kill Medusa by slicing off her snake ridden head with his razor sword without actually looking at the monster himself. Don’t ask me how he pulled that off. It must have been Athena’s magical shield.

To honor Perseus, the gods and goddesses placed his body in the stars as the constellation we see rising this Halloween week. With a little imagination you can kind of see a crooked stickman about halfway between the horizon and the overhead zenith in the northeastern skies. The Pleiades are just off his feet. As you look at the constellation be careful, however, because he’s still holding up Medusa’s severed head, marked by the fairly bright star Algol. Be extra careful looking at that star. I want you around to eat that Halloween candy that’s leftover around your house.

Algol is also known as the “Demon Star” because it actually blinks as it dims in brightness. It’s certainly not a strobe light because it only dims about every three days and stays dim for about nine hours before it brightens up again. Astronomically, it’s known as an eclipsing binary variable star. It’s actually a three star system, but two of the larger stars are eclipsing each other in their nearly three-day orbit around one another.

There’s also a minor meteor shower starting up later this haunted week called the Taurids. They actually peak out in early November, but they’re getting going this week. The Earth, in its path around the sun, is running into a fairly sparse debris trail left behind by Comet Encke. Most of this debris is no bigger than pebble size, but when they slam into our atmosphere at more than 65,000 miles an hour they really light up the sky. You probably won’t see many of them while you’re taking the kids out trick-or-treating though. They’re best seen after midnight, originating from the constellation Taurus the Bull, but be careful after midnight because that’s when it can really get spooky around Halloween!

(Lynch, an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist, can be reached at mikewlynch@comcast.net)

Police seek person behind ATV theft

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Someone stole an ATV in North Manheim Township recently.

State police at Schuylkill Haven said the 2000 Polaris Magnum four-wheel ATV was stolen from 383 Manheim Road, North Manheim Township, between noon Oct. 14 and 12:30 p.m. Oct. 20. The green ATV, owned by Craig Gerber, 60, of Pottsville, was reported to be manufactured by Livin’ Lite Inc.

Anyone with information may call state police at Schuylkill Haven at 570-754-4600 and reference incident PA 2018-1214577.

Police investigate theft of bicycle

MAR LIN — A mountain bike was stolen between 5:50 p.m. Oct. 14 and 5 p.m. Oct. 23 from outside a house in Norwegian Township.

State police at Schuylkill Haven said Tara Destefano, 38, of Pottsville, reported someone stole a blue Kent Unk 26-inch boy’s mountain bike from 11 Yorktowne Road in the township. The bicycle is valued at $250.

Anyone with information may call state police at Schuylkill Haven at 570-754-4600 and reference incident PA 2018-1228161.

Auburn

A rumpsch and block shoot will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Auburn Fish & Game Association, 29 River Road. It will feature turkeys, hams, pork loins, meat trays and a half pig. Food and refreshments will be available; the event will be held rain or shine. The barrel limit is 12 gauge; no sleeve barrels. For more information, email to msh52@comcast.net.

Frackville

Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, 209 S. Lehigh Ave., is having a pierogie sale with pickups from 8 a.m. to noon Nov. 17. Patrons will have a choice of butter-and-onions, fried or frozen. To order or for more information, call 570-590-2669.

Pottsville

The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Inc. is sponsoring the 2018-19 Irish History Writing Contest and the John F. Kennedy Division No. 2 is looking for submissions from students in grades 6 through 12 enrolled in parochial, private and public schools or who are home schooled. The contest has two levels: Level 1 is for students in grades 6 to 8 and Level 2 is for students in grades 9 to 12. The theme for both levels is “Heroes and Heroines in Celtic Mythology and Celebrations.” The contest has division and state-level prizes. Awards for high school students are $1,000, first prize; $500, second prize; $250, third prize; and two honorable mention prizes at $100 each. Prizes for elementary school students are $500, first prize; $250, second prize; $125, third prize; and two honorable mention prizes at $50 each. Local entries must be submitted to JFK Division Historian Betty Murphy by Nov. 15. Murphy can be contacted via email to betty@hanginghelper.com. For more information, those who live in southern Schuylkill County should contact Murphy. Those who live in northern Schuylkill County should contact Girardville Daughters of Erin Division No. 18 Historian Carol Green at libcassg@ptd.net. The LAOH national contest website is www.ladiesaoh.com/irish-history-contest.

Saint Clair

The Saint Clair Lions Club will have an Election Day pork-and-sauerkraut meal beginning at 11 a.m. Nov. 6 at the club hall, 259 McCord Ave. The cost is $9 per dinner. Takeouts will be available. For more information, call 570-429-9939.

Schuylkill Haven

All-you-can-eat chicken pot pie dinner will be held beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday at Liberty Fire Company No. 4, Columbia and St. James streets. The cost is $8 for adult dinners, $4 for children and $7 for quarts. Dinners also include lettuce with hot bacon dressing, bread and butter, dessert and beverage. People may take meals out or eat at the firehouse. There will be free delivery available in the Schuylkill Haven area by calling 570-385-3341.

Shenandoah

The revitalization group Downtown Shenandoah Inc. will sponsor a soup and sausage hoagie sale beginning at 10 a.m. Nov. 8 at DSI’s Downtown Center, 116 N. Main St. Soups are $6 a quart and $3 a pint and the varieties includes New England clam chowder, pasta fagiole, chicken noodle, split pea, kielbasa soup, beef vegetable, chili and beef barley. Sausage hoagies are $3.50 each. To order, call 570-462-2060.

Valley View

Re-Creation — A Classic Christmas, sponsored by the Valley View Tri-Valley Lions Club, will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 26 in the Tri-Valley High School Auditorium, 155 E. Main St. All are welcome. For more information, email to srdjmd@yahoo.com.

Shenandoah

A Veterans Day prayer service will be held by Trinity Academy in the Father Walter J. Ciszek Education Center, Cherry and Chestnut streets, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 12 in Divine Mercy Roman Catholic Church across from the school. All area veterans are invited to attend. The service will be followed by a breakfast reception at the school. Trinity Academy is the sole parochial pre-K/8 school for all of northern Schuylkill County. People are asked to RSVP by calling 570-462-3927 or emailing to trinitymattersadvancement@gmail.com.

HAZLETON — After approving a $10 million bond and $218,000 for architects’ fees to change swimming pools to classrooms, the Hazleton Area school board agreed to negotiate to buy a television studio for the next phase of a building project.

The board unanimously agreed to borrow $10 million without discussion.

Bond Counsel Jens Damgaard of Eckert Seamans in Harrisburg said after the meeting that underwriters would purchase bonds when they believe the timing is right based on when the district needs the funds and changes in interest rates.

Board members didn’t ask Damgaard any questions during the meeting.

Last week, Brian Bradley, a vice president of RBC Capital Market in Philadelphia, recommend wrapping the bond issue to provide level payments. That would give allow flexibility to pay for future phases of a building plant that the board is considering to create space for a growing number of students. Kindergartens are full in six of eight elementary/middle schools, and Hazleton Area High School has 367 more students than it was designed to hold.

The first phase of the district’s comprehensive plan calls for filling pools at Heights-Terrace, Freeland, McAdoo-Kelayres and Valley elementary/middle schools to create 18 classrooms at a price of approximately $9.96 million.

This year’s budget allocates $600,000 to pay the first installment on the bond for the pools.

Phase two calls for purchasing the cable TV building on the north end of Pardee Street and using it for pre-kindergarten and early intervention classes and a warehouse.

Moving those classrooms to the television building would make room for 200 students at the Hazle Township Early Learning Center. Opening a warehouse in the television building would allow workers to convert a warehouse to a gymnasium at Hazleton Area Career Center, which lacks a gym.

The estimated price of that phase is $6.9 million, excluding the cost of buying the cable TV building from the Gans family.

Board members authorized administrators to negotiate a price for the cable TV building, by a 6-2 vote on which Marie Kay and Alexander van Hoekelen voted “no.” Vincent Zola was absent.

By the same vote, the board agreed to pay the Schrader Group $218,619 for designing the pools-to-rooms project.

Schrader estimated its costs at $300,000 or 6 percent of the cost of conversion but deducted a $45,000 bill for preparing the master plan and other payments that the district made previously..

Board members plan to hold a public meeting with Schrader’s architects on Oct. 30 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss bids for the pool project that companies are scheduled to submit that afternoon.

Schrader will adjust its bill later to a percentage of actual costs.

Contact the writer: kjackson@standardspeaker.com; 570-501-3587

MINERSVILLE — The patients in the Minersville Asylum were not the only people screaming Sunday.

The haunted house at the borough building in the old Globe Hall frightened adults and children in the name of fun.

“It was awesome,” Vicky Schach, 47, of Primrose, said. However, she needed a little comfort as she held the arm of Michele Plesnarski, 60, of Minersville, during her walk through the asylum.

It is the 22nd year for the haunted house, which originally was held at council President Jamie Kuehn’s house. Proceeds from the event benefit Minersville Recreation Committee events.

On Saturday, 125 people were brave enough to walk through the haunted house doors.

At least 54 students from the Minersville Area and Nativity BVM schools and 11 adults had roles in the haunted house. One of the patients who thought he was Dr. Michael Wiseman, played by Minersville Police Chief Michael Combs, asked visitors some questions to determine their sanity. Many failed the test.

After a few moments, Combs’ character was taken away by the real Dr. Wiseman and his assistants.

Visitors then went upstairs to the rest of the asylum where there was no shortage of screams, dark hallways and frightening displays of horror. Various scenes depicted people tied up, being shocked, screaming or begging for their life.

A man on a stretcher asked Justine Siminitus, 10, of Norwegian Township, how she liked her visit.

“You know I ate the arm of a girl on a stretcher one time,” the patient said.

One of the more frightening scenes, according to several visitors, was a dark hallway with green lights.

“The hands came out and grabbed my foot,” Siminitus said.

Lauren Kelly, 12, of Norwegian Township, also didn’t like the dark hallway but enjoyed the experience.

“Every room is different in a good way,” she said.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6028

SAINT CLAIR — The Saint Clair-Wade United Methodist Church celebrated two anniversaries Sunday that ranged back 170 years into the past, but it was also a celebration of encouragement looking toward the future.

The congregation gathered to mark the 170th anniversary of the organization of the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Saint Clair. Where they came together had its own historical anniversary in that it was in the church building that was constructed 150 years ago.

The Rev. Jack Murray, pastor, celebrated the Sunday workshop service that also included something special with the reception of 19 new members into the church. The ceremony receiving the new members was conducted by North District Superintendent Steve Morton of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Before the service, Murray said 14 of the new members were transferring from other Methodist churches and one from a Lutheran church.

“The others are all new members coming in,” Murray said.

The opening prayers were followed by a song sung by Ginny Murray, one of the new members. The Praise Team sang “Heaven is in My Heart” and “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord).”

After Murray presented the reading from the Gospel of Mark, he spoke of the church’s history as part of the sermon.

“This has been a busy week in church and we have a lot to celebrate and a lot to do this week,” Murray began. “After reading the Gospel lesson this week, and what we’re celebrating today, I thought the best sermon title for today would be‛‘Be encouraged. We will all see and grow again.’ We’re going to talk about the history of this church. As years go by, churches have lost members, and we have seen that here, but we must be encouraged and we will never lose our faith. And that’s the biggest thing — our faith. Like the blind man in our Gospel lesson today. When they told him to stop shouting to Jesus, he shouted louder. He wasn’t going to let it stop. He wanted everybody to know what he believed in. Today we’re shouting louder here in this church.”

Murray spoke of the organizers who came together 170 years ago in October 1848 to form the church, and then in 1868, the congregation constructed the current church.

“That’s a milestone in today’s world,” Murray said.

In the history provided by Murray, the First Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in Saint Clair on Oct. 12, 1848, and was connected with the Port Carbon church. The members were meeting in the old school house behind the old town cemetery. The first church was built in 1859, and in 1848, the current church building was constructed.

In 1885, the church became an independent church known as the First United Methodist Church. In 1905, the pipe organ was installed. Major renovations were done in 1907, including the installation of the heating plant. Also in that year, the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas granted the church charter.

The social hall’s construction began with the laying of the cornerstone in 1924 behind the church where two saw mills were located near Mill Creek. The sound system was added in 1947, the pipe organ was moved in the 1970s where it is today, the elevator was installed in 1976 thanks to a donation from a member, and the church installed a new heating and air conditioning system using propane in 2014.

Murray said the church has had three different parsonages over the year. At one time, the church has 300 students, with Sunday school classes held next door.

In 2000, the Wadesville United Methodist Church had to close its doors and the members decided to join the Saint Clair church, which lead to its current name. That was a time of growth, Murray said, as was Sunday with the new members.

“Today, we’re proving that this church will have many more years. It is strong and striving to grow,” Murray said. “We’re going to see more. We’re going to grow more because God had a calling for this area 170 years ago. Our ancestors answered that call. Today they are looking down on us. They are with us in spirit. That balcony is full up there because they are with us. And to keep our heritage of this church growing and continuing, we must do what we need to do. Let’s honor our ancestors. Let’s honor our fathers and mothers. It’s time to grow this church even more. I know they’re smiling down on us today because they are so pleased we’re here. Those hymns we sang today were probably sung by them today.”

Murray continued, “We’re showing our faith because we’re growing today. We’re getting new family members to our house. We’re seeing the future of this church. This church is going to proceed to grow. This year, come grow with us. I want this town to know we’re growing.”

Assisting at the service were liturgist Ken Martin and organist Elaine Dalvet. The service was followed by a dinner in the church hall.

Contact the writer: jusalis@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6023