James R. Ferrier

ORWIGSBURG — A Schuylkill Haven woman is headed to Schuylkill County Court after waiving her right to a preliminary hearing Monday on charges she broke into a North Manheim Township business six times in 2018.

Danielle B. Breidigan, 36, of 59 Grant St., faces six counts of burglary and one each of theft and criminal mischief. Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier bound over those charges for court after Breidigan waived her right to the hearing.

Ferrier allowed the defendant to remain free on $20,000 straight cash bail pending further court proceedings.

State police at Schuylkill Haven allege that Breidigan broke into Trail Gardens outdoor shop, 154 Gordon Nagle Trail, on June 1, June 8, June 12, June 18, July 11 and Sept. 28. Surveillance video from inside the store shows Breidigan committing the crimes, police said.

Police said the defendant put some of the items in handbags and removed them from the store. They also said that when they went to Breidigan’s residence, they saw plants and planters similar to items taken from the store.

Other people whose cases Ferrier considered on Monday, the charges against each one and the judge’s dispositions of the matters included the following:

Lillian Birkmier, 49, of 124 Gay St., Tamaqua; four counts each of theft and receiving stolen property and one each of attempted theft and attempted receiving stolen property; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Angel L. Gonzalez-Soler, 33, of 936 1/2 North Sixth St., Allentown; simple assault, endangering the welfare of children, harassment and resisting arrest; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges of simple assault and harassment withdrawn, other charges bound over for court.

Susan Hummel, 55, of 201 Center Ave., Apt. 6, Schuylkill Haven; possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Vincent M. Santangelo, 21, of 84 N. Berne St., Schuylkill Haven; aggravated assault, strangulation, possession of drug paraphernalia and three counts of simple assault; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Amy L. Valentine, 47, of 118 E. Ridge St., Lansford; driving under the influence, failure to keep right, careless driving and seat belt violation; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

James K. Reiley

POTTSVILLE — An Ashland woman charged with taking drugs into the Schuylkill County Prison where she was being jailed on an outstanding warrant on July 20 waived her right to a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley.

Cassidy Danielle Demarco, 23, of 95 Broad St., formerly of 229 S. Beech St., Mount Carmel, was arrested by West Mahanoy Township Police Chief Marvin Livergood and charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count each of contraband-controlled substances, possession of marijuana and false identification to law enforcement.

By waiving her right to a hearing, Demarco will now have to answer to all six charges against her in Schuylkill County Court.

Livergood said Demarco was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant and provided a false name and several different birth dates. Demarco was positively identified and told she was being taken to Schuylkill County Prison on an active warrant.

Livergood said the woman denied having any drugs in her possession, but, during a prisoner intake search at the jail, Demarco was found with plastic baggies hanging out of a body cavity.

The bags contained crystal methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, heroin and six yellow pills, Livergood said.

Other court cases included:

John D. Butz, 38, of 302 Fairview St., Pottsville; waived for court; DUI-controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance.

Tamara Lynn Eiler, 37, of 320 N. 10th St., Pottsville; held for court: possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

David J. Rich, 45, of 515 E. Market St., Pottsville; held for court: possession of a controlled substance.

Abbie E. Kukta, 31, of 222 Oak St., Minersville; withdrawn: DUI-controlled substance. Waived for court: DUI-controlled substance and driving while operating privileges are suspended or revoked.

Roxanne M. Roberts, 29, of 30 Windmeer Way, Willow Street; withdrawn: possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Waived for court: possession of a controlled substance, driving without insurance and period for requiring lighted lamps.

Kenneth M. Foss, 28, of 145 Chamberlaine Ave., Box 732, Pottsville; waived for court: possession of drug paraphernalia.

Dylan A. Wilkinson, 19, of 512 N. Centre St., Apt. K1, Pottsville; waived for court: possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Richard Arrigo, 26, of 103 N. Third St., Apt. 2, Pottsville; dismissed: simple assault and harassment.

Thomas E. Ryscavage III, 54, of 1342 Mount Hope Ave., Pottsville; waived for court: DUI-highest rate.

Joseph E. Boris, 50, of 311 Arlene St., Minersville; waived for court: possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jason J. Eiler, 34, of 320 N. 10th St., Pottsville; dismissed: corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children. Held for court: recklessly endangering another person, public drunkenness, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Aaron J. Davidson, 21, of 2062 Woodglen Road, Pottsville; waived for court; DUI, DUI-highest rate, accidents involving damage to unattended vehicles or property, disregard for single traffic lane and reckless driving.

How would you like to see the farthest thing visible to the naked eye?

It’s possible, but you’ll need to bundle up and sit back on a lawn chair. Your neighbors may think you’ve cracked up sitting out there in the winter, but you’re on a mission! You’re out in the cold to find the Andromeda Galaxy, the next-door neighbor to our own Milky Way Galaxy, home to our sun and possibly another 300 billion or so stars and Lord knows how many other planets!

It is possible to see the Andromeda Galaxy with the naked eye, but honestly you need to have dark countryside skies to pull that off. If you’re on a mission to spot Andromeda in areas compromised by light pollution you better have a pair of binoculars or small telescope.

Maybe you received a new scope for Christmas. Here’s your chance to really go deep! Just make sure you let your new telescope and all of the eyepieces you’re going to use sit outside for a good 30-45 minutes so the glass and/or mirrors can acclimate to colder temperatures. Otherwise you can get some really blurry and funky views!

Once you settle into your lawn chair, try to give your eyes a good 15 to 20 minutes to adjust to the darkness and get your night vision. If you’re using any kind of star map or the diagram included with this column use a headband flashlight with a red lens so you don’t ruin your night vision. You can buy those at a hardware store or anywhere that sells camping gear. If you want, you can also fire up a stargazing app on your phone or small tablet. My favorite is the one called “Sky Guide.”

The best way to find the Andromeda Galaxy is to locate the constellation Andromeda the Princess, which is attached to the constellation Pegasus the Winged Horse in the early evening Pottsville western sky. Follow the left arm of the constellation Andromeda. At about the halfway point of that arc of stars is the moderately bright star Mirach. Just to the right of Mirach, you’ll see two much fainter stars. Just the immediate lower right of those two stars, look for a very small, faint, patchy cloud. That’s it, the Andromeda Galaxy. Again, you may need binoculars or a small telescope to find it.

Honestly, you certainly won’t be blown away when you first spot it. All you’ll see is a ghostly patch of light and a bright nucleus. Even with my large telescopes that I bring to my stargazing parties, you usually don’t see too much more than that, although through larger scopes in dark skies the galaxy will have a little more shape and definition to it. Astronomical photographs reveal more detail because that can gather and accumulate more light than our human eyes.

Nonetheless, that little ghostly patch of light is made up of the collective light of possibly a trillion stars at a distance of 2.5 million light years away. Just one light year equals nearly 6 trillion miles. Since a light year is defined as the distance light travels in a year’s time, the light that you’re seeing from Andromeda has been traveling to your eyes for 2.5 million years. We don’t see the light as it is now, but as what it looked like 2.5 million years ago. From what astronomers know about galaxy lifetimes it hasn’t change all that much in appearance, even over a couple of million years.

Despite that incredible distance, the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are the closest neighbors to each other, but without a doubt Andromeda is a larger galaxy, possibly twice the diameter of our Milky Way. Like our home galaxy most of the mass that makes up Andromeda is invisible, what astronomers call dark matter, which still remains a big mystery.

The Andromeda Galaxy is very important to the history of astronomical discovery. Less than 100 years ago, the Milky Way Galaxy was all we thought there was to the universe. What we now know as the Andromeda Galaxy was then thought to be just a big cloud of nebulosity.

That all changed in the 1920s when Edwin Hubble and his assistant, Henrietta Leavitt, discovered that the Andromeda Galaxy was a heck of a lot farther away than it was previously believed to be. They used what is known as Cepheid variable stars to gauge just how far away Andromeda was.

Cepheid variable stars vary in size and brightness over a period related to average brightness. They’re what astronomers call “standard candles.” As it turned out, through painstaking observation and photographic analysis, Cepheid variable stars were found in the Andromeda nebula. By observing their brightening and dimming cycle it was determined that the Andromeda nebulae was way, way farther away than anyone ever thought.

Furthermore, it was concluded that it was a whole other galaxy of stars independent of our Milky Way. Edwin Hubble gets all the credit for this discovery but Henrietta Leavitt actually discovered the Cepheid variables in Andromeda and did most of the labor-intensive legwork.

One more thing about Andromeda, and yet one more thing you can worry about. The Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way Galaxy are on a collision course. They’re approaching each other at an estimated 60 to 80 miles a second! I wouldn’t let it worry you all that much because even at that speed the two galaxies won’t any time soon. Give it a little more than four billion years.

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

RINGTOWN — When live Christmas trees are brought into homes, inevitably they must be removed, and Ringtown Boy Scout Troop 731 is prepared for the job.

The Ringtown troop is readying itself for the annual Christmas tree pickup on Jan. 13. The Scouts, leaders and volunteers will be out from 1 to 3 p.m. to collect the evergreens for a new purpose in nature, not just for disposal.

Scoutmaster Chuck Faust, 33, of Ringtown, has plenty of experience in collecting trees from the time he joined the Boy Scouts when he was 10. Faust was not sure how far back the troop has been involved with the project.

“We’re talking probably 30, maybe 40 years that they’ve been doing it,” Faust said. “It was going on when I joined and probably started in my father’s day.”

Trees will be picked up in the borough, Melanie Manor, Murray Meadows and along Aristes Road.

Over the years, the number of collected trees has decreased.

“It’s been going downhill lately. It seems a lot more people have been buying artificial trees, but we get usually between 60 and 90 trees,” Faust said.

When collected, the former holiday trees are taken to the Ringtown Valley Sporting Club near Zion Grove.

“We put them back there for animal habitats for rabbits and grouse and pheasants and everything else,” he said.

The Scouts get a bit of a nature lesson at the site every year.

“One or two of the birds and animals come out every year and scare the heck out of one of the kids dragging a tree,” Faust said with a laugh. “They’ll be walking and a grouse will kick up. When you’re not expecting it, it gives the kids a heart attack.”

Faust said that all decorations should be removed from the trees before being put out. With the use of tinsel having declined over the decades, the trees are also cleaner, but the Scouts keep an eye out for those things and remove them when seen.

“They (residents) do a pretty good job of cleaning them off, but once in a while we have an oddball ornament that ends up on a tree,” Faust said, telling a funny story that happened in recent years when a collection truck was chased down by a resident.

“I think it was last year or the year before that we had this one guy who chased us down and said that he couldn’t find his wife’s favorite ornament and it was still on the tree. He said he didn’t want to get murdered in his sleep,” Faust said laughing. “So he found the tree and the ornament. I’ll tell you he was really looking for that ornament.”

Faust said while some decorations on trees may not seem like much, it is very important to remove them.

“You don’t want to put that stuff in the environment, especially if you’re putting it out for the animals,” he said. “That’s nasty stuff, especially tinsel.”

Some people put the disposable bags over the trees and haul them outside.

The trees are collected, but not before the bags are removed to see what may be on the trees.

“We have the kids clean off what they can,” Faust said. “There is no use in letting it sit in somebody’s yard because it will end up being taken somewhere and end up in the environmental anyway. We’ll do our best to clean it.”

The cost of the project is taken care of mostly with the use of private vehicles and gasoline provided by those involved. Donations are accepted and appreciated.

“We accept donations. They’re not required, but we do accept them,” he said. “We use our own personal vehicles, and Rumble’s Farm (near Ringtown) usually donates their big truck for us to use.”

Ringtown and Union Township residents who want their trees collected should call Faust at 570-294-0794.

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

Among other municipalities in which trees will be collected are:

Minersville: Trees were picked up Friday morning, but may still be taken to the compost site on North Delaware Avenue.

Pottsville: City residents may put their Christmas trees out with the trash. The trash hauler will back them up.

Schuylkill Haven: Boy Scout Troop 622 and Cub Scout Pack 622 will collect Christmas trees in the borough starting 9 a.m. Saturday.

Borough residents should place trees where visible for pickup. Donations are accepted. For more information, contact Chris Sweitzer at 570-385-3295 or 570-617-9026.

A new audit raises cautions about deficits and debt but centers on an issue that board members grappled with during the past year as they directed the Hazleton Area School District.

“Much of what happens will be determined by the course of student enrollment. The school district must continue to monitor and evaluate issues of overcrowding and class size,” the audit by Moore and Associates said.

The audit and accompanying financial statement for the school year ending June 30, 2018,contains a chart showing that the district gained 914 students in the past decade, but 435 of them arrived in the past two years.

To accommodate more students, the school board last month entered contracts to convert swimming pools at four elementary/middle schools into 18 classrooms.

Borrowing $6.86 million for the pools adds to the debt that the district owes from building projects dating back 24 years.

The balance on outstanding bonds dropped to $123.4 million from $131.7 million during the year of the audit.

On Dec. 20, 2018, the date of the audit, the school board reached an unofficial consensus to build a wing at Hazleton Area High School that would contain 24 classrooms for ninth-graders at an unspecified cost.

Harry Pettoni, the district’s consulting architect, said he will provide price estimates for the wing, perhaps for a committee meeting scheduled for Jan. 15.

The district could borrow $202.9 million before reaching a debt ceiling set by state law, Brian Bradley, a bond consultant of RBC Capital Markets, said Thursday in an email to Hazleton Area Business Manager Robert Krizansky.

For 2017-18, the district paid $13.4 million in debt service.

Additional borrowing, of course, increases loan repayments and puts more stress on the budget for which the audit said spending last year of $149.3 million exceeded revenues by $3.1 million.

Also, Hazleton Area transferred $980,000 for renovations done eight years ago at the Alice C. Wiltsie Center auditorium in Hazleton Elementary/Middle School. Members of a nonprofit group that made the renovations with the district said they have paid their obligations, but minutes of board meetings say expenses totaling the amount transferred this year were listed to be paid by the committee.

Deficit spending and the transfer for the Wiltsie Center dropped the district’s fund balance to $6.8 million from $10.8 million, or 4.6 percent of annual spending.

Seven years ago, the fund balance was $19.2 million, or 16.6 percent of spending.

“If expenses continue to increase faster than revenue, it will become necessary to look at ways to reduce spending or to find new sources of revenue,” the audit said.

Expectations that the fund balance will keep dropping is one reason why Moody’s, a bond rating organization, says the outlook for the district is negative. Moody’s evaluation affects the interest rate that Hazleton Area will pay on new bonds, and Moody’s currently rates the district at A2, an upper-medium grade.

To soften the impact of borrowing for the ninth-grade wing, Krizansky seeks to defer payments on new bonds until after some other bonds are retired in the middle of the next century. In 2025, the district is scheduled to repay bonds of $29.5 million. Three other bonds totaling $40.3 million are set to be repaid by 2028.

Moody’s also said below-average wealth and moderately high poverty causes financial strain in Hazleton Area, but a large tax base and average debt and pension obligations work to the district’s advantage.

Pension liability for the district totaled $245 million, a forecast of what the district will owe to current and future retirees.

For the past year, the district paid $21.1 million to the employees’ retirement plan. That’s 31.74 percent of payroll, a rate set statewide. For the past 10 years, the rate increased as school districts and other governments catch up after underpaying pension funds for years.

A change this year that ends the traditional pension plan for new teachers and many new state employees will reduce future pension costs but doesn’t reduce existing debt.

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

PINE GROVE — The music of Vinegar Creek Constituency had Sunny Litwin moving to its rhythm.

“I think it’s great. They are really good,” Litwin, of Pine Grove, said.

The Lancaster County-based band performed at Sweet Arrow Lake County Park on Sunday as part of its Arts in the Park event. Denise Donmoyer, president of the Sweet Arrow Lake Conservation Association, invited the group on recommendation from a conservation association member in Lancaster.

“What a great attendance for a winter day,” Debbie Newswanger, 63, of Pine Grove, said. More than 100 people were at the clubhouse.

Newswanger said she loves music and wanted to come to support the Sweet Arrow Lake Conservation Association.

“It’s all original songs you are hearing today,” Leo DiSanto said.

The five-member band formed in 2005. Other members are Jeff Bryson, Mark “Banjo Doc” Rast, Pierre de Vitry and Mike Vitale. To date, they have released four albums.

DiSanto described the music as “Amerikindasortastyle.” The band plays a variety of string instruments such as guitar, double bass and banjo. DiSanto also plays the harmonica.

“Vinegar Creek Constituency channels the venerable old ghosts of American folk music tradition through imaginative, emotive original songs delivered with rock and roll intensity,” according to its website, www.vinegarcreekconstituency.com.

DiSanto said the group’s name doesn’t have any particular meaning.

“I just kind of thought of something dumb off the top of my head,” DiSanto said.

Sunday’s performance was the group’s first in Schuylkill County.

“We are having a great first experience,” DiSanto said.

The group played for more than 90 minutes, singing songs from their albums.

“Can’t Stay on My Feet” had people clapping their hands and moving to the beat. Litwin said she wanted to dance but there wasn’t any room to do so.

The band also sang “I’m Gone Virginia,” “The Moon, A Sliver Dime,” “Girl From River Hills” and “Imogene Loved A Sailor.”

DiSanto told the story behind the songs.

For example, DiSanto wrote “The Moon, A Silver Dime” on his birthday years ago. The ballad “Imogene Loved A Sailor” was dedicated to his grandparents, while the song “I’m Gone Virginia” was written when Di-Santo was in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6028

Frackville

The Frackville Ministerium Food Bank will be open from 9 to 10 a.m. Jan. 17 for eligible residents of the borough. New applicants will need proof of eligibility — a borough address showing the 17931 zip code. The food bank is at Zion Lutheran Church; people must use the downstairs entrance by the parking lot on South Beech Street. For more information, email zionfrack@gmail.com.

Pottsville

A Deppen Pie sale is underway until Feb. 7 by participating libraries in the Pottsville Library District. Pickups are set for Feb. 20. The cost is $12 per pie and all proceeds will benefit the participating libraries. Varieties of nine-inch pies include blueberry crumb, apple crumb, strawberry rhubarb crumb, cherry crumb, peach crumb, raisin crumb, shoofly, coconut custard, lemon sponge and no-sugar apple. Participating public libraries and their phone numbers are as follows: Ashland, 570-875-3175; Orwigsburg, 570-366-1638; Pottsville, 570-622-8880; Ringtown, 570-889-5503; Shenandoah, 570-462-9829; Tamaqua, 570-668-4660; Tower-Porter, 717-647-4900; Tri-Valley, 570-682-8922. To order, contact the library in your area by Feb. 7.

Tamaqua

The borough street department will collect used, unwanted Christmas trees throughout January. Residents should place their trees at the curb for pickup on their garbage collection day, borough officials said in a release. Christmas trees must be free of tinsel and other decorations. The street department will check each street on garbage days and collect trees as time and weather permits. No trees will be collected after Jan. 31. Residents may also drop off their Christmas trees behind the borough garage 421 (rear) E. Broad St.

Tamaqua

The Tamaqua Area School District is accepting assessed occupation tax exemption applications (green) for the 2019-20 school year (calendar year 2019). Retired persons and housewives with no earned income who have previously filed an application and have been approved for exemption need not file again unless their status has changed. Those who are disabled or 75 years old and have been specifically notified by the district that they are exempt do not have to file an application. A student 18 years of age as of June 30, 2019, is responsible for the taxes unless exempt by application. Requests for exemption of the assessed occupation tax are due no later than March 1. Applications are available at the following sites: The school district administration building, tax collectors, Tamaqua Borough Hall, Tamaqua Public Library and all local post offices and banks.

Tamaqua

Trinity United Church of Christ, 22 Lafayette St., is continuing its free monthly soup socials in 2019 from 4 to 6 p.m. on the first Saturdays. Participants are asked to use the lower parking lot entrance to the church social hall.

Tamaqua

The Tamaqua Public Library, 30 S. Railroad St., has a young adult program that meets the third Monday of the month with the next session set for 6 p.m. Jan. 21 with a focus on musicals. For more information on this or any library event, call 570-668-4660. The library’s regular hours are Mondays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Fridays, noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

William Penn

The William Penn Fire Company, Mount Olive Boulevard (Route 54 just west of Shenandoah), will sponsor Trivia Night on Jan. 19 with the firehouse doors opening at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 each and include food and beverages. Proceeds will benefit the Shenandoah Valley High School classes of 2020 and 2022. The event is for people 21 and older; teams are forming now, organizers said in a release. For tickets or more information, call 570-590-9075 or 570-985-9716.

MAIZEVILLE — Sunday marked two Christian feast days that celebrate two different times that God was made manifest to the world during the lifetime of Jesus Christ on Earth.

Western Christianity observed the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord that marks the visit of magi “from the east” to the Christ Child, Mary and Joseph, and bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh, according to the story the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 2:1-12. A tradition of Christians in many denominations, which include Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Roman Catholics, is the marking of the top of a door frame with numbers and letters. At Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Ashland, the Rev. Dana Heckman-Beil, pastor, spoke to the children during sharing time at the morning worship service about the visit of the Magi and chalking the doors.

“And we blessed our sanctuary and I offered a litany,” Heckman-Beil said. “And if anyone wanted me to come to their home, we could do it there and chalk their doors.”

The tradition has a pattern written above one or more doors in a home or other location, such as a church or business. The pattern changes slightly each year. This year’s pattern is “20+C+M+B+19” that indicates the year 2019, the letters referring to the three traditional names of the Magi or Wise Men or Kings: Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. The letters can also be an abbreviation of the Latin blessing “Christus Mansionem Benedicat,” which means “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” between the letters and numbers are crosses that symbolize Jesus Christ.

The markings of the door frame for a blessing on the house also refers back to the Old Testament when the Israelites, then under captivity in Egypt, were told by God to mark the sides and tops of the door frames so God would pass over their homes and protect them.

In Eastern Rite Catholic and many Eastern Orthodox churches, the Feast of the Theophany of the Lord focuses on another manifestation of God through the Baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan River, and is a major feast in Eastern Christianity. The importance of this event, described in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, involves the first public manifestation of the Holy Trinity to mankind. Theophany comes from the Greek word, “theophania,” which means “appearance of God” and “manifestation of God.”

This feast in the Eastern Christian churches includes the other outward manifestations or appearances of God in the world: the Nativity of Jesus, the appearance of the Magi and the wedding feast at Cana. The feast goes back to at least the fourth century. Gradually, the feast of the Nativity (Christmas) was moved in the west to Dec. 25, and the Western Christian church focused on the visit by the Magi on Jan. 6, the day after the 12th day of Christmas.

St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Maizeville, Gilberton borough, celebrated the feast day with the Divine Liturgy celebrated at 8:30 a.m. by its pastor, the Rev. Petro Zvarych, with Jason Yulich as cantor.

The processional antiphon, which was chanted with other prayers during the Divine Liturgy, was repeated four times: “When you, O Lord, were baptized in the Jordan, worship of the Trinity was revealed; the voice of the Father bore witness to you, naming you the beloved son, and the spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the word’s certainty. Glory to you, O Christ-God, who appeared and enlightened the world,” followed by the response, “Therefore, let the house of Israel say that he is good; for his mercy endures forever.”

After the reading of the Gospel of Matthew about Jesus’ baptism, Zvarych gave his homily on the importance of the feast.

“On the feast of Theophany, it is a Ukrainian custom to be greeted with ‘Christ is baptized.’ And the response is ‘In the River Jordan,’ ” Zvarych said. He then said the greeting and response in Ukrainian.

“In the Gospel, St. Matthew informs us that when our Lord was baptized, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit was seen descending upon him in the form of a dove, and a voice from above was heard saying, ‛‘This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased,’ ” Zvarych said. “It was God the Holy Spirit who descended upon our Lord, and it was God the Father who said from above, ‘This is my beloved son.’ When the Lord was baptized, God appeared in the Holy Trinity. Theophany is a Greek word that means the appearance of God.’ And that’s what took place at the Lord’s baptism.”

At the conclusion of the liturgy, “The Great Blessing of Jordan Water” prayer rite was held. Zvarych was assisted by parishioners Thomas Yatcilla, Frackville; Jack Merchlinsky, Maizeville; and Michael Sweador, Frackville, who each held a trikiri, which is a liturgical candlestick with three lighted candles joined at the base. The three men held the trikiri during the service.

Zvarych read the detailed prayers as he faced a holy water dispenser holding the water that would be the blessed Jordan Water. He took the trikiri held by Sweador, made the sign of the cross with it over the water, then turned it over and put it in the font, extinguishing the candles. He repeated the action with the other trikiri. After additional prayers, Zvarych leaned forward and blew on the water three times in the sign of the cross, then dipped his right hand into the water and made the sign of the cross three times. He also took the handcross he held during the prayers and dipped it three times into the water.

After the blessing, Zvarych walked through the church and used the Jordan Water to bless the church and everyone in it.

When the ceremony was concluded, people lined up to be anointed with holy oil by Zvarych. People brought bottles and other containers to take the Jordan Water home with them. Many followed a tradition of drinking a small glass of the blessed water in the church.

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

POTTSVILLE — Elementary students will be among the beneficiaries of free smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector installations Thursday.

Students from Pottsville Area School District’s John S. Clarke Elementary Center will receive the alarms because either they don’t have them, don’t know if they have enough or don’t know if they are working, Patty Daley, volunteer with Tri-County Chapter American Red Cross and lead volunteer with Sound the Alarm, said Sunday.

Sound the Alarm is a Red Cross program that was brought to Pottsville, Mechanicsville and Palo Alto in June 2018.

The Salvation Army of Pottsville is donating 30 carbon monoxide alarms, and city firefighters and Red Cross and Salvation Army personnel are also participating in the effort.

“We want to save lives,” Pottsville Fire Chief James E. Misstishin Sr. said.

Students were given information at school to take home with them asking if they needed the smoke alarms. In all, 30 households in the school said they wanted to feel safer by having the alarms.

“In the early hours of May 13, 2013, our school suffered a tragic loss when a third-grade student passed away along with several family members as a result of a house fire in Pottsville. As part of our continuing efforts in fire prevention and safety, the staff and the administration of John S. Clarke Elementary Center, the Pottsville Bureau of Fire, the American Red Cross are looking to ensure that all of our students have the necessary number of working smoke detectors in their residence,” a survey from the school district said.

The name of the student isn’t mentioned, but Daley confirmed the letter is in reference to the Brown family who lived at 235 Pierce St. The fire claimed the lives of four children and two adults — Eric Brown, 31; Joy Brown, 8; Jeremiah Brown; 7, Emily Brown, 3; Elijah Brown, 2, and Kristina Thomas, 23. Kelly Brown, mother of the four children, wife of Eric and sister of Thomas, was not at home at the time of the fire. The home did not have smoke detectors.

Misstishin said he has 100 people signed up for the free smoke alarms. The installation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

“We are going to do as many as we can in that time span,” he said.

Misstishin said he also has extra carbon monoxide detectors that will be installed Thursday. Misstishin said more than 800 smoke alarms were installed in the city since June. The free smoke alarms will be available until June. Interested city residents can call Misstishin at 570-622-1234, Ext. 335. Those outside the program area who are interested in getting a smoke alarm can call 1-800-RED-CROSS.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6028

HAZLETON — Although the lights were turned out for the last time at Diamond United Methodist Church on Sunday, the church’s light will continue to shine through the members of its congregation, its pastor said.

The Rev. Bridget Wagner, the 37th and final pastor in the church’s 126-year history, said the church is not just the physical building but the people in it, through the many ministries they served — delivering clothing and food for the needy, visiting shut-ins and teaching English so that people can get their American citizenship.

“My friends, remember the Diamond Church will always be here, as long as we remember it in our hearts,” Wagner said during the 11 a.m. closing service, which lasted about 90 minutes. About 50 people attended.

“Diamond isn’t about the building we are worshipping in today. It’s about the people, all of you here. Remember that catchy hymn, ‘This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine’? Leave this church this morning, not with sadness but with joy.”

The church’s council began exploring the process of closing in September, citing dwindling finances, lower attendance, declining membership and an aging building in need of repairs. The current church at Diamond Avenue and Locust Street was built in 1962 and opened in 1963. The former church is behind it.

Dr. David Orbin and his wife, Kathy, have one of those personal ministries — raising seeing-eye dogs, which they shared with the congregation.

“We shared a lot of times together in the community, as we reached out every way that we could,” Orbin said. “Ten years ago, I was doing the children’s sermon, and Kathy and I introduced the children and you to seeing-eye puppy raising. The church welcomed the puppy, just as they had our family, And they became a part of that ministry serving the needs of people who are visually impaired. Today, You are making a difference in people’s lives.”

Lynda Habel, who raised her daughter, Sarah, and son, Joe, in the church with husband, Joe, was overcome with tears as she spoke.

“Diamond has been an integral part of our lives,” she said. “Diamond became a part of who you are — weddings, baptisms, confirmation, Sunday school, Mother’s Day, Easter, Christmas, and every other fundraiser, meal or activity under the sun. The one thing that I can say about my memories is that there is not one bad memory in the bunch. The adjectives that go with my memories are what makes them special — love, joy, comfort, peace, fun, compassion, and musical. Every memory was spirit-led, and spirit-given.”

Sarah Habel has been attending the church since preschool.

“I was always around so many wise and kind-hearted people,” Sarah said, as her voice also broke. “The congregation and fellowship I have been around has shaped me into who I am today. I am forever grateful that I grew up here. I think we are being carried out on eagle’s wings.”

The Rev. Steve Morton, district superintendent of the eastern Pennsylvania conference of the United Methodist Church, also said the church will be remembered for the community work its members have done and will continue to do.

“I thank you for your commitment to community. You have been a light for the work that will continue,” Morton said. “It is a sad event. Scriptures let us know there is a season, there is a time for this congregation to make this difficult choice to no longer be a site of worship. It’s bittersweet.”

Contact the writer: jdino@standardspeaker.com 570-501-3585

FRACKVILLE – The office of Magisterial District Judge Christina E. Hale, Frackville, was evacuated Monday morning after being filled with a foul odor.

Hale said an odor was noticed inside her crowded courtroom that began to affect some of the people inside.

Everyone was evacuated and firefighters from the Englewood Fire Co., Butler Township, dispatched to the scene along with Frackville Police and state police troopers.

While the source of the odor was trying to be located, county officials closed the office just before 11 a.m. sending staff members and those with cases home.

Although an exact cause of the source of the odor was not available officials said it could have come from either a furnace or a sewage drain.

Hale said Monday afternoon that it has not been determined whether her office will be open today or remain close.

POTTSVILLE — Local leaders say they believe the federal government shutdown could continue far into 2019.

“If we do not sit down at the table to come to a reasonable compromise, it could last for a long time,” Schuylkill County commissioners Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. said Monday.

The shutdown started Dec. 22, at the heart of which is a fight between President Donald Trump and Democrats over funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump said in a Twitter post Monday that he will speak to the nation 9 p.m. today “on the humanitarian and national security crisis at our southern border.”

Halcovage said Schuylkill County has not experienced any financial problems from the shutdown.

“We do have a 30-day reserve that we do keep in order for these situations,” Halcovage said. The county has not had to use that money yet.

The commissioners are updated about the situation frequently, he said.

“The unfortunate thing is the federal employees affected by the shutdown,” Halcovage said.

In Pennsylvania, 97,415 employees work for the federal government, according to 2017 data provided at www.governing.com.

U.S. Congressman Dan Meuser, R-9, Dallas, said Monday he hopes the end of the shutdown is near.

“I think it should be resolved the moment we are back in session (today),” Meuser said, although he didn’t know if that would occur.

He said that people should be reasonable and come to a compromise, and that the Congressional leadership needs to do its job.

“Their job is to work out an agreement that is in the interest of as many Americans as possible,” Meuser said.

Meuser said he hopes politics are not at work on the part of the Democrats.

“If this is all about a political victory, I can’t rationalize that,” he said.

Meuser said border security is important.

“I think everybody believes that our borders are not as strong as they should be,” Meuser said.

One possible consequence of the shutdown is a delay in tax returns. Meuser said that scenario is unfortunate, but “we should have the technology to in fact get the refunds out.”

The Internal Revenue Service said it will not issue tax refunds during the shutdown, according to its 2019 Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan. That could pose a problem to taxpayers who depend on that money.

“I think what will get to people is not getting their refund,” City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar said Monday.

He said county residents use that for purchases they might otherwise be unable to make.

Palamar said the city hasn’t been affected so far from the shutdown except that it can’t call the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ask any questions about the $5 million loan it received last year for the Mahantongo Parking Garage.

“Normally we would be able to pick up the phone,” Palamar said.

Palamar said he feels bad for the federal employees not getting paid.

“I just can’t imagine us shutting our government down. For us, it’s just unfathomable that we could do that,” Palamar said, referring to Pottsville.

The website for the USDA, one of the many agencies affected by the shutdown, states, “this website will not be updated during the lapse in federal funding. Content on this website will not be current or maintained until funding issues have been resolved.”

Sam Deegan, a certified public accountant in Pottsville, said county residents will feel the reality of the shutdown soon enough when the IRS does not give them their refunds. The IRS has not announced when taxpayers can file their returns.

Deegan said he is not surprised at the government impasse.

“They don’t want to agree on anything,” he said of the Congressional leaders.

Deegan believes the shutdown could continue into next month or longer.

“I think this is going to go on for a long time,” Deegan said.

If the stalemate lasts until February, the filing date for this year could be pushed back.

“I can see this definitely lasting until February. I don’t think it will be much longer, but who knows,” he said.

Deegan agrees more border security is needed, but said if people really want to come here, some will not be deterred.

“I don’t think he (Trump) should give in,” Deegan said.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6028

A crowing box at the Hazleton Post Office on Dec. 6 led to an investigation into fighting birds and a city man’s arrest.

Alexandro Martinez, 40, of Hazleton, faces four counts of possessing, owning or selling fighting animals, third-degree felonies, and another third-degree felony for animal fighting paraphernalia. He was also charged with four counts each of animal neglect, two of them third-degree misdemeanors and the remaining counts summary violations.

Martinez was released on $5,000 unsecured bail by Magisterial District Judge Richard Cronauer, Wilkes-Barre, on Friday morning and is cooperating with the investigation, Wayne Harvey, humane officer with the Luzerne County SPCA, said.

“We got a call from a person saying there’s roosters crowing in the post office in Hazleton,” said Harvey, who charged Martinez. On the suspicion the birds were used for cockfighting, Harvey and another humane officer went to the post office to investigate, finding the birds were boxed and bound for Juncos, Puerto Rico.

Upon looking through the holes on the box, Harvey said humane officers could see their wattles, combs and spurs were cut, an obvious tell that they were used for fighting.

“It’s a dead giveaway,” he said. The comb is a fleshy growth or crest on the top of the head; a wattle is similar and hangs from various parts of the head or neck while spurs are at the legs.

As the SPCA investigated with assistance from the U.S. Postal Service, they traced the roosters to Martinez. Obtaining a search warrant on Dec. 11, the SPCA went to his home at 620 N. Wyoming St., with assistance from Hazleton police, court papers state. They heard crowing coming from the basement and following the sound found two adult fighting birds with wattles, spurs and combs cut, three chicks and 13 eggs, court papers state.

According to arrest papers, they also found paraphernalia to include vitamins, a syringe and a replica of a rooster on the end of a pole. The evidence was seized.

Martinez told him he wasn’t fighting the birds but possessing fighting animals is a felony crime in Pennsylvania, Harvey said. The pair of roosters found in the shipping box had no access to water, resulting in the animal neglect charges, he said

The SPCA, which took temporary custody of the birds, is not sure what the fate of the roosters and chicks will be because it’s likely the fighting birds would kill other birds in a sanctuary setting, Harvey said. Seven of the 13 seized eggs hatched, though it’s not uncommon for eggs not to hatch, according to Harvey.

During cockfights, which are poplar, lucrative and at the time of his arrest, legal, in Puerto Rico, the birds fight each other to death.

Martinez, meanwhile, could face about 20 years in jail plus be responsible to pay fines and court costs if convicted.

Anyone who suspects animal abuse or illegal animal activity like cockfighting in Luzerne County can call the SPCA at 570-825-4111.

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

FRACKVILLE — The office of Magisterial District Judge Christina E. Hale was evacuated Monday morning after being filled with a foul odor.

Hale said the odor was noticed inside her crowded courtroom and it began to affect some of the people inside.

Everyone in the office was evacuated and firefighters from the Englewood Fire Company, Butler Township, were dispatched to the scene along with Frackville police and state police.

County officials closed the office just before 11 a.m., sending home the staff members and those with cases.

Although the source of the odor was not discovered, officials said it could have come from a furnace or a sewage drain.

Hale said Monday afternoon that it has not been determined whether her office will be open today or remain closed.

POTTSVILLE — A Northumberland County man is headed to state prison after a Schuylkill County judge sentenced him on Monday for resisting arrest.

Brian Dietrick, 47, of Coal Township, must serve one to two years in a state correctional institution and undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation, Judge Jacqueline L. Russell decided.

“I had a chance and I screwed up,” Dietrick said.

Russell imposed her sentence after revoking Dietrick’s probation, which the defendant admitted violating by moving without permission, possessing and using drugs, failing to finish his drug and alcohol treatment, and not completing his community service.

Monday marked the second time Russell revoked Dietrick’s probation.

Dietrick initially pleaded guilty on Nov. 13, 2013, to resisting arrest. At that time, Russell placed him on probation for 12 months consecutive to his existing sentence, and also sentenced him to pay costs and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and perform 20 hours community service.

Ashland police charged Dietrick with resisting arrest on July 6, 2013, in the borough.

Russell initially revoked Dietrick’s probation on Sept. 8, 2015. At that time, she did not sentence him to prison, but placed him back on probation for an additional two years.

Dietrick blamed his legal problems on drugs, saying he never had problems before he became an addict.

“I keep getting high,” he said.

Also on Monday, Russell revoked the probation of Dylan J. Ciappa, 39, of Andreas, but did not immediately sentence him, saying she wanted to know what Lehigh and Berks counties would do to him in other cases.

Ciappa admitted violating his probation by committing new crimes and possessing both drugs and weapons.

“These are pretty serious allegations,” Russell said.

Ciappa initially pleaded guilty on May 16, 2018, to retail theft. Russell placed him on probation for 18 months, and also sentenced him to pay costs and a $50 CJEA payment, perform 20 hours community service, have no contact with the victim and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.

Saint Clair police charged Ciappa with committing the theft on Jan. 18, 2017, in the borough.

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

Deeds

Butler Township — Paul L. and Barbara Anne Wetzel to Pamela A. Reitz; 46 Main St., Mowry; $1.

Cressona — Laurel L. Moyer to Joshua Breslin; 33 Front St.; $52,500.

Jacqueline A. Moyer, by attorney in fact Rudi Moyer, to Rudi F. Moyer; 155 Pottsville St.; $1.

Lockwood Property Holdings LLC to Travis Daniel Dodson; 80 Schuylkill St.; $140,000.

Delano Township — Tax Claim Bureau of Schuylkill County to Delano Township; 150RR Willow St.., Delano; $1.

East Norwegian Township — Stephen A. Jr. and Ann Maria Zinda to Stephen A. Jr. and Ann Maria Zinda; 285 Mill Creek Ave.; $1.

Gilberton — Theresa Santai Gaffney, register of wills and clerk of the Orphans’ Court of Schuylkill County, to Eugene John Dougherty; 216 Water St.; $1.

Girardville — Margaret A. Kanigoski to Michael and Brook A. Huss; 144-146 W. Main St.; $7,500.

Mahanoy City — Matthew J. and Candis C. Kester to Robert Gaydos Jr.; 730 E. Mahanoy Ave.; $5,000.

Tax Claim Bureau of Schuylkill County to Comprehensive Realty LLC; 730 E. Centre St.; $1,274.

Tax Claim Bureau of Schuylkill County to Comprehensive Realty LLC; 333 W. Pine St.; $2,245.

Tax Claim Bureau of Schuylkill County to Comprehensive Realty LLC; 603 W. Centre St.; $1,424.

Shawn McGuire to James Biros Sr. and Pamela R. Eisenman; 513 W. Centre St.; $1,500.

Minersville — Tax Claim Bureau of Schuylkill County to Melissa L. Seltzer; 439 Heffner St.; $4,481.37.

Tax Claim Bureau of Schuylkill County to James and Melissa Rozetar; 513 Lytle St.; $3,906.83.

Tax Claim Bureau of Schuylkill County to Edwin Garcia-Duran and Paola M. Ramirez Munoz; 14 E. Centre St.; $1,000.

Tax Claim Bureau of Schuylkill County to Edwin Garcia-Duran and Paola M. Ramirez Munoz; 16 E. Centre St.; $1,000.

North Manheim Township — Barbara A. Pugh, William F. Dukmen, Marie Boyer and John Dukmen to George L. and Marie L. Boyer; 151 Glenworth Road, Hillside; $1.

North Union Township — Chris E. Klingerman, individually and as executor of the Estate of Donald C. Klingerman, to Carol A. Klingerman; property at Mahanoy Street and Mountain Road, Nuremberg; $1.

Chris E. Klingerman, individually and as executor of the Estate of Donald C. Klingerman, to Carol A. Klingerman; 798 Main St., Nuremberg; $1.

Peter C. and Jennifer Mahoney to Robert J. and Marianne E. Perhacs; Lot 62E, Eagle Rock; $220,000.

Pottsville — Edward M. and Bernadette M. Clemas to Angela Y. Strickland; 103 and 105-109 S. George St.; $1.

Ronald Barto, Nancy Marchefsky and Kathleen M. Melis to James F. and Melissa A. Close; 115-117 Mill Creek Ave.; $45,000.

Patrolman Travis Fritz charged Wade Yoder, 32, of 71 Rock Road, in connection with an incident at 18 W. Pottsville St. in the borough sometime between Oct. 18 and 20.

Fritz charged Yoder with one felony count each of endangering the welfare of children and aggravated assault along with a misdemeanor count of simple assault.

Yoder was arrested Thursday, arraigned by Magisterial District Judge David Rossi, Tremont, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of $30,000 straight cash bail. Court records showed that Yoder was released the following day after bail was posted on his behalf.

Fritz said his investigation began when he was contacted Oct. 21 by a nurse at a Pottsville hospital who reported a 1-year-old boy came into the emergency room with his grandmother and that the child had extensive bruising all over his body.

Fritz said he observed the child had visible bruises on the right side of his face, his ear and neck, as well as older bruises on his chest and lower back.

The child also had extensive bruising on his left thigh and left buttocks area, Fritz said.

Speaking with the child’s grandmother, Fritz said the woman reported going to the home on Pottsville Street to see her grandson and immediately noticed the bruising. The grandmother said she contacted Schuylkill County Children & Youth Services who advised her to take the child to a hospital.

Fritz said the boy’s mother, Prescilla Grove, was interviewed about the bruising and said the child fell off the bed and hit a milk crate. When asked about the bruising on the child’s back and buttocks, Fritz said, the woman reported the boy falls a lot while learning to walk and that she is not the type of mother to go and “help her kid up right away.”

When interviewed, Fritz said, Yoder denied hurting the child and said he has other children that he has never abused.

Yoder also denied knowing how the child received the injuries and also refused to take a polygraph test when asked, Fritz said.

Fritz said that, in December, Grove posted on Facebook that Yoder was responsible for the abuse done to the child.

The post read “Because Wade Yoder did this to my 1½ year old twice in less than a month, my kids got taken three months ago and he has beat me more times than I can count,” Fritz reported.

The officer filed the charges based on medical evidence, interviews with the child’s grandmother and mother, and information from Schuylkill County Children & Youth Services.

Yoder will now have to appear for a preliminary hearing before Rossi at 11:45 a.m. Jan. 17.

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

SAINT CLAIR — It was a day of joy in St. Michael the Archangel Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church on Monday as everyone celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord — Christmas — according to the Julian calendar.

“My beloved ones, despite all the suffering, sorrow and injustice in our world, today joy and hope comes to us once more. That’s why, at this blessed time of the year, we look forward to the arrival of the new born King,” said Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa in his Christmas archpastoral letter that was read during the Divine Liturgy.

The Christmas celebration, commemorated in accord with the Dec. 25 date on the Julian calendar, which is Jan. 7 on the Gregorian calendar, drew many faithful Eastern Orthodox Christians to the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

The greeting for the holy day of “Merry Christmas” was common, but “Christ is born!”, or “Christos Razdajetska!” in Rusyn, was the traditional greeting offered by many, with the joyful response to “Christ is born!” being “Glorify Him!” or “Slavite Jeho!”

The church’s beauty was added to with the seasonal decorations of a large lighted Christmas tree, wreaths and other greens, lights and a creche.

As the church bells were rung by parish council Vice President Michael Udit, the Rev. Father Jeff L. Zias, pastor, began the Divine Liturgy by first incensing the iconostasis, or icon wall, and then walking down the center aisle, incensing the congregation.

At the back of the nave, he incensed the icons of Jesus Christ; Mary, the Theotokos (meaning God-Bearer); and St. Michael, the patron of the parish.

Zias returned to the iconostasis, walked through the Royal Doors, and prayed in song at the altar with members of St. Michael Choir, under the direction of Barbara Verbitsky, singing the prayers “a cappella,” or without musical instruments.

During the opening prayer, Zias chanted, “The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light where God is with us,” accompanied by the choir, which refers to a verse in the ninth chapter of Isaiah.

Acolyte Joseph T. Yarashus, who is the parish council president, stood in the center aisle holding a group of three connected lighted candles called a trikiri during the reading of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians and that of the Gospel according to Matthew about the visit of the Magi to the Holy Family. Reading Galatians was Jonah Zias, the son of the pastor, who in turn read the Gospel that told the visit of the Magi to Jesus by following the star.

As has been the tradition each year, Zias read Gregory’s archpastoral letter as his sermon according to the following instructions attached to the letter: “To be read as the sermon and distributed in all the churches of the Diocese at the Divine Liturgy on the Feast Day of the Nativity of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Following the declaration that “Christ Is Born!,” and the people’s response of “Glorify Him!,” Zias read the following:

“Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“I greet you with joy and love in the Name of our Incarnate Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let us give thanks to Almighty God, by whose grace we have been given the opportunity to celebrate the Birth of His Son.

“If we look around, we find hatred, mistrust, suffering, and the absence of peace and love in our homes, neighborhoods, cities, country, and in fact the whole world. This reality in life makes us cry out for God’s help, assistance, and intervention.

“My beloved ones, despite all the suffering, sorrow and injustice in our world, today joy and hope comes to us once more. That’s why at this blessed time of the year we look forward to the arrival of the new born King.

“Therefore let us celebrate the miracle of His birth. Let kindness come with every gift. Let compassion, forgiveness and love come with every greeting. Let our hearts be filled with prayer, charity, and reconciliation for one another.

“May all of us, Priests, Panis, Deacons, Sub-Deacons, Readers, Archons, Parish Officers, Parishioners (young and old), Friends and Supporters of the God-protected American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese experience the joy and wonders of the Shepherds and the awe and respect of the Three Wise Men at the arrival of the Messiah, our new born King. Christ is Born!

“Greetings from Johnstown with much love,

“Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa.”

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

POTTSVILLE — George F. Halcovage Jr. remains at the helm of the Schuylkill County commissioners, as the board conducted its annual reorganization on Monday.

Halcovage, a Republican who has led the three-person board of commissioners since 2016, retained his chairmanship in the annual vote. Fellow Republican Frank J. Staudenmeier and Democrat Gary J. Hess are the other two commissioners.

The commissioners also scheduled their meetings for the remainder of the year, with work sessions to be at 10 a.m. the first and third Wednesdays of each month and regular meetings at 10 a.m. the second and fourth Wednesdays. No meetings are held on a fifth Wednesday, if there is one, in a month.

Exceptions to those schedules will include work sessions at 10 a.m. Jan. 9, 6 p.m. March 20, 10 a.m. Aug. 8, 6 p.m. Sept. 18 and 10 a.m. Nov. 7, and regular meetings at 10 a.m. Jan. 16, 10 a.m. Jan. 30, 10 a.m. May 23 and 10 a.m. Dec. 26.

Also scheduled were Salary Board meetings at 10 a.m. after each regular commissioners meeting and Retirement Board meetings after each regular commissioners meeting on the second Wednesday of the month, except for a meeting on Jan. 16.

In addition, Prison Board meetings will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 9, Feb. 20, March 13, April 17, May 15, June 19, July 17, Aug. 14, Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 7 and Dec. 11.

All meetings are open to the public.

After Monday’s meeting, County Administrator Gary R. Bender said the commissioners have an ambitious agenda for 2019, with the focal point being economics.

“The commissioners continue to want to go on their path of solid economic development, utilizing SEDCO (Schuylkill Economic Development Corp.) to attract quality businesses with sustainable jobs,” he said.

Specifically, Bender believes improvements to Schuylkill County Joe Zerbey Airport, Mount Pleasant, will be a high priority to ensure growth, given its proximity to Highridge Business Park.

“At the county airport, the commissioners are seeking to complete the runway extension, add the additional taxiway and help create an environment around the airport to further economic development,” he said.

Bender also said the commissioners will seek new applications for the demolition program. That should ensure that more dilapidated buildings are razed, thereby enabling boroughs to improve themselves, he said.

Also, Bender said, the Community Development Block Grant program will be used to continue to improve sanitary sewers, safe drinking water and efficient stormwater systems in low-income areas.

He said the commissioners also will seek cleaner government, cost-saviwng measures and improving the work environment in the county courthouse.

Other goals, according to Bender, include:

• Constructing an intermediate punishment center to provide programs to help those addicted to opioids and other drugs to become productive citizens.

• Completing renovations to the Human Services Building in order to house the office of Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley and the county mental health and drug and alcohol offices.

• Put out for bid the air conditioning project in historic Courtroom 1 in order to preserve it and allow it to be used 12 months a year.

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

Orwigsburg

Salem United Methodist Church, 133 Liberty St., will have a potpie dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday. The cost is $8 for adults and $4 for children. All are welcome.

Pottsville

The Pottsville Free Public Library recently acknowledged the following memorials: For John F. Evans from Peggy Jane Evans and Michelle D. Evans; for Emil J. Feryo II from Amie Tobash; for Dr. Guy E. Fessler Jr. from Virginia Liddle Fessler; for Charles “Chow” Heffner from Mrs. Jeanne V. Heffner; for Evelyn Keller from Carla Ann Keller; for Janet Kleffman from Sue and Rick Laubach, Dr. William R. Davidson; for Joan P. Kupchinsky from Dr. William R. Davidson; for S. David Liddle from Virginia Liddle Fessler; for Annette Lieberman from Paul and Bernadette Gombola; for Charles Lorenz from Frances Lorenz; for Gerry Mehling from Mary Maley; for Dr. Anthony J. Mussari from William J. Gaydos; for Sara L. Rile from Judith A. Rile; for Peg Shelhamer from Dolores Barton; for Charles and Jacqueline Shields from Cal Shields; for Roberta Sumoski from Leonard Sumoski; for Jim Walters from Nancy Pauzer; for Timothy Witman from Schlitzer-Allen-Pugh F.H.; for Edith Yuengling from Steve Lilienthal.

Pottsville

Auditions for “Chitty Chitty Bang Band Junior” are set for 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 19 and 20 by the Actors Guild of Schuylkill County at the Pottsville Senior Center, 201 N. Centre St. It is the guild’s annual youth musical with auditions open to all youths in kindergarten through high school. Actual show presentations will be held May 17-19 at the Majestic Theater, North Centre Street. For information on what to prepare for the audition, go online to aposc.org or to the guild’s Facebook page.

Pottsville

Spring rehearsals will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday for children ages 5-15 at the Yuengling Mansion, 1440 Mahantongo St. by the Minor Notes Chorale. There will be opportunities to perform in various venues and learn the art of choral singing; new students are welcome. For more information, email to linda087@comcast.net.

Pottsville

The Pottsville Area High School Guidance Department will have an information session at 7 p.m. today in the high school auditorium for eighth-grade students planning to attend the high school for the 2019-20 school year as freshmen. Officials said in a guidance department release it is “extremely important” that Saint Clair Area and parochial school students register with Pottsville Area before attending the meeting. For more information, contact the guidance department by calling 570-621-2915. The snow date for the session is Wednesday.

Saint Clair

Holy Apostles Episcopal Church of North Parish, 307 Hancock St., will have a homemade take-out-only soup sale beginning at 10 a.m. Jan. 19. The cost is $6 per quart and $3 per pint. All are welcome. For more information, call Shannon Mozdy, parish administrator, at 570-429-7107.

Shenandoah

The Shenandoah Area Free Public Library has revised the dates and times for its upcoming book sale. According to a release, the sale will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Jan. 16 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Jan. 19. All hardcover books will be 25 cents each and paperbacks 10 cents each.

Tremont

Kathy Townley, master gardener and herbalist, will discuss gardening basics at the Tremont Area Public Library at 10 a.m. Saturday. For more information, call 570-695-3325. Game Night at the library is set to begin at 6 p.m. Jan. 15 for people to enjoy their favorite and new games. The library will also have a cold soup sale beginning at 10 a.m. Jan. 19 featuring a variety of soups at $7 per quart. Call the aforementioned number for information on any library activity.

VALLEY VIEW — Gary Harner remains at the helm of the Hegins Township Board of Supervisors, after being selected as chairman Monday during a reorganization meeting.

Bruce Klouser was chosen as vice chairman on a 3-2 vote with Klouser, Harner and Doug Lucas voting for Klouser. Brad Carl also sought the post, but only received two votes, from himself and supervisor Mike Begis.

Most other positions were filled with the current post holders, including Gary Hornberger as secretary and treasurer.

However, the supervisors voted to switch the emergency management personnel, upon recommendation by Carl. Brian Musolino was chosen as the new emergency management coordinator and Justin Edling as deputy coordinator, replacing Ken Graham and Dan Wagner, respectively.

The supervisors announced there were two vacancies on the planning commission. Anyone interested in serving should contact the township office. Other members on the planning commission are Lucas, Edling and Guy Julian. Russell Richard had resigned.

Other positions filled, or approved were:

• Donald G. Karpowich as legal counsel by a 4-1 vote, with Begis opposed.

• Lehigh Engineering and Light-Heigel & Associates as UCC code administrator.

• Lehigh Engineering, LLC, as engineer, by a 4-1 vote, with Carl opposed.

• Gratz National Bank, Valley View, and Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust as depository of township funds.

• Henry Ney as vacancy board chairman.

• Connie Reed as tax collection committee representative, and for Reed to receive 3 percent of taxes collected.

• Carl as township voting delegate at the annual state convention, with Harner as alternate.

• Allan Swab, zoning and permit officer.

• Light-Heigel & Associates, code enforcement officer.

• Linda Morgan, recreation committee.

• Bill Brior of Brior Environmental Services as sewage enforcement officer and Samantha Brior as alternate.

• Carl as West Schuylkill Council of Government member, with Harner as alternate.

• Terry Schwartz as West Schuylkill COG appeals board member.

• Berkheimer Tax Administrator as earned income tax collector.

• Specht & Co. for accounting and payroll.

• StanCorp Financial as depository of police pension board.

• Herb Borchert was appointed to the auditor position, made vacant by the resignation of Sally Bair. The other auditor is Anne Miller.

• Todd Bixler, Larry Umholtz and Roger Wetzel to the zoning hearing board, with Steve Klinger as alternate and Hornberger as ZHB secretary.

• Tom Miller was reappointed to the Hegins-Hubley Authority, and other members are Kris Wetzel, Ken Graham, Kenneth Richter, Deb Martz, Clark Romberger and Julie Ballay.

• Police Chief Beau Yarmush and Sgt. Matt Dillman as full-time police officers; and Cody Applegate, Joseph Cazonie, Justin Hain, Troy Maurer and Christopher Thompson as part-time police officers. Yarmush’s and Dillman’s salaries are set by the police contract. Current part-time officers are paid $17.50 per hour with probationary part-time officers paid $16 per hour.

Supervisors approved a wage resolution, increasing pay rates for the full-time, nonuniformed employees/road crew by 2 percent; and part-time seasonal employees by 25 cents per hour.

Rates per hour are as follows: Road Foreman Craig Coleman, $19.71; Ray Wert, $17.17; Michael Rothermel, $15.61; probationary laborers at $15; laborer after probationary period, $15.30; part-time seasonal help, $12; mowing, $10; and part-time secretary/treasurer, $14.25.

Supervisors recognized the Hegins Valley Fire Rescue, noting the fire police are now under the jurisdiction of HVFR; Doug Williams as township fire marshal; and Brandon Bressler as assistant township fire marshal.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007