MAHANOY CITY — The royal monarch butterfly was the center of attention Monday as students at Mahanoy Area Elementary School tagged and released them into the wild.

The Schuylkill ACHIEVE afterschool program hosted Rick “That Butterfly Guy” Mikula, of Hazleton, at the school, who provided an entertaining presentation with much information about one of the most popular species of butterflies.

The program had the 45 students enthusiastic about learning about the Monarch butterfly in particular and other butterflies in general.

For the students, it was not just about learning about the butterflies and tagging them for their migration. Their efforts also made them participants as citizen scientists in the University of Kansas migration study to track the monarchs to their winter home in Mexico and their eventual return to the United States.

According to the university’s Kansas Biological Survey website, Monarch Watch focuses on the annual North American migration of the monarch butterfly, an indicator species for the need for pollinator habitat conservation.

The program engages citizen scientists of all ages in large-scale research projects involving the tagging and tracking of migrating monarchs. These projects produce significant data on the migration and the conservation issues related to it.

“The students have engaged in a wonderful STEM lesson, as well as service learning for the environment in the butterfly project with nationally-known Rick Mikula,” said Schuylkill ACHIEVE program coordinator Michele Daynorowicz. “The students will never look at a butterfly the same again. It inspired them to want to learn more and that research will continue in the afterschool program.”

Mikula has been breeding and sharing his love for butterflies for 40 years. He is the president of Butterfly Rescue International, serves as consultant to the Association for Butterflies and The International Butterfly Breeders Association, of which he is co-founder and past president, among other organizations. He is the author of eight books, including “The Family Butterfly Book,” “The Butterfly Fandex” and “Garden Butterflies of North America.”

Mikula provided stories about cultural beliefs about butterflies from around the world that date back to 8,000 B.C. He noted a species found at Fort Indiantown Gap called the Regal Fritillary Butterfly that may have an important designation in the near future.

The state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs website explains the Regal Fritillary is a large orange and black butterfly that was once found commonly throughout the Northeast. It looks like a “Monarch Butterfly dipped in chocolate.” Grassland destruction and alteration over the past 30 years has reduced its range and abundance. This is the largest population of this species remaining east of Indiana, a second population occurs at Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Virginia. It is also the largest documented population on a single landholding in North America.

Mikula explained there is an effort in the state General Assembly to name the Regal as the state butterfly. The legislation in the House of Representatives is H.B. 1844.

After explaining more about butterflies, he began the process of tagging 20 Monarchs with the help of students. Keeping the records of the number each butterfly was tagged with and whether it was a male or female was the job of student Ra’Shya Lovett. Mikula held the butterfly to be tagged and placed it in a mesh container.

When all butterflies were tagged, Mikula, the students and teachers went outside to release them, setting them free for their journey to Mexico, where they will hibernate during the winter until it is time to return to the United States in March. The tagging will allow the students to follow the progress of the butterflies on a computer, making Monday’s program one that is interactive for the students.

The following websites were recommended to the students to learn more about butterflies: www.butterflyrick.com, www.butterflywebsite.com, www.butterflyrescue.com, and www.monarchmigration.com. Mikula can be reached at butterflyrick@hotmail.com.

Mikula is scheduled to visit the ACHIEVE classes at the following schools for Monarch butterfly releases: Minersville Area, today; Pottsville Area, Wednesday; Williams Valley, Thursday; and Pine Grove Area, Oct. 2.

As he finished the presentation on Monday, Mikula praised the ACHIEVE program

“I’ll tell you that working with Schuylkill ACHIEVE is like dying and going to Heaven,” he said. “They are so great.”

The Schuylkill ACHIEVE program, sponsored by Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29, Mar Lin, has been giving students in multiple school districts the opportunity to participate in spending time after the normal school day to enjoy recreation, homework help, reading and writing help, character education, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities and more.

For more information, contact IU 29 Maple Avenue Campus at 570-544-9131 Ext. 1229 or email schuylkillachieve@iu29.org.

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

WILKES-BARRE — Mohegan Sun Pocono patrons have been wondering when sports betting would become a reality at the Plains Township casino.

The answer is today.

The new sports betting lounge will open to the public for a test run supervised by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today and Wednesday.

David Parfrey, vice president of marketing at Mohegan Sun Pocono, said patrons can place wagers during the soft launch from 4 p.m. to midnight today and 2 p.m. to midnight Wednesday.

If approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the new 1,130-square-foot Unibet Sportsbook at Mohegan Sun Pocono will officially open 11 a.m. Thursday in time for the Thursday Night Football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.

The sportsbook will then be open 11 a.m. to midnight daily.

Parfrey and Bob Burkett, director of marketing for Mohegan Sun Pocono, showed the new sports betting lounge across from Molly O’Sheas Irish Pub & Eatery and near the main entrance at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Monday.

“This is a welcome amenity for sports enthusiasts and patrons,” Parfrey said. “A lot of hard work has gone into this. We’re ecstatic about getting this open.”

Unibet Sportsbook at Mohegan Sun Pocono, which was launched through a partnership with Kindred Group, features a 28-foot wide video wall with three additional displays near the sportsbook tables for additional viewing.

Parfrey said the video screen can be customized into two giant TVs or up to 16 screens.

A ticker above the video wall tells patrons scores of games as well as what games are coming up.

The betting lounge also has six sports betting terminals, one racebook betting terminal, two teller booths, a bar and seating for roughly 40 guests.

Molly O’Sheas Irish Pub & Eatery will provide the food items on the bar menu.

“We specifically located it at the front entrance because there is going to be great synergy between Molly O’Sheas over there and the enhanced viewing experience here,” he said. “Since it’s so close to our main valet, people could come in for a whole day and watch a game or they could just come in and bet on their favorite team.”

Betting offerings that will be available at the launch will include NFL, NCAA, NHL, NBA, PGA, professional tennis, boxing, UFC, rugby, NASCAR, MLS, Premier League Soccer, La Liga and Bundesliga.

Today and Wednesday, Parfrey said patrons can bet on tennis, baseball games and soccer.

Types of bets will include straight bets, parlays, round robin, fixed odds, money lines, prop bets and in-play betting.

The sports betting terminals take money or tickets but not credit cards. Patrons can then search by sport and customize whatever bet they want, Parfrey said.

“If you want to go to the teller booth, they are very skilled at taking wagers,” he said. “If you have a winning ticket and it’s after midnight, you could still cash that in at our cage.”

The new sportsbook is creating 12-14 new jobs, including tellers, food and beverage servers and supervisors, Parfrey said.

He could not yet say when the online version of Mohegan Sun Pocono’s sportsbook will launch, but he said more information should be announced in the “near future” and it will be accessible via Apple and Android phones.

As Parfrey and Burkett showed the new Unibet Sportsbook at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Monday morning, casino patrons peeked in and asked when it will open.

They included 76-year-old Samuel Capizzi, who said he’s excited about the new sports betting lounge opening.

“You know you’re going to get paid when you win,” Capizzi said. “With a bookie, it’s touch and go. Sometimes, there are a million excuses from a bookie as to why he couldn’t pay you and I had that happen to me.”

Capizzi said he’s a fan of the Green Bay Packers, but he probably will bet on the Philadelphia Eagles.

“You don’t bet with your heart,” he said. “You bet with your pocket.”

Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115

Frackville plans Pumpkin Festival

FRACKVILLE — The annual Frackville Pumpkin Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 5 on Frack Street between Lehigh Avenue and Balliet Street all are welcome to participate.

The event will include homemade food, a wooden art-of-the-pumpkin auction, penny art, limerick and pie-eating contest, pony rides, scavenger hunts, music, crafts and other attractions.

The rain date and time has been set for 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 6.

In conjunction with the festival, people are invited to submit a “tasteful” limerick about pumpkins, according to a release from Karen Domalakes.

The top three winners will be announced at the festival, Oct. 5, and receive prizes.

People should submit limericks to P.O. Box 9, Frackville, PA 17931, by 5 p.m. Thursday and include their contact information on the back.

For more information, call 570-874-0174.

Schaeffer’s event to help patients

ORWIGSBURG — Schaeffer’s Harley-Davidson, 1123 Brick Hill Road, will have an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner and basket auction from noon to 6 p.m. Oct. 26.

The cost is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 4-10 and free for children 3 and younger. Proceeds will benefit the Gentle Yoga Program for cancer patients at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill.

All are welcome; for more information, call 570-366-0143.

Open house

at therapy site

ORWIGSBURG — The public is invited to attend a free open house to celebrate the opening of Good Shepherd Physical Therapy from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at 1260 Centre Turnpike, Suite 103.

Site Manager Christie Sborz and her therapy team will be on hand to perform complimentary blood pressure screenings and fall risk assessments. There will also be activities for children, with free food and giveaways available to all who attend.

For more information, call 888-447-3422 or go online to GoodShepherdRehab.org.

Transportation plan review scheduled

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — A public open house regarding the 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan update and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance is set for 10:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday at the Schuylkill Haven Neighborhood/Senior Center, 340 Haven St.

According to an event flier forwarded by the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce, people may come and go as their schedules allow, share ideas about transportation in the county, learn about planned transportation projects, review draft plan information, complete a survey and have questions answered by NEPA staff.

People may also provide their thoughts by taking the survey online at https://NEPA-LRTP.metroquest.com. People may also call 570-655-5581 for more information on the plan or to get a paper version of the survey.

DSI issues call

for entrepreneurs

SHENANDOAH — The revitalization group Downtown Shenandoah Inc. has issued a call, “Attention Entrepreneurs!” via a flier circulated by the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce.

Community meetings regarding potential entrepreneurs and DSI’s planned innovation hub are set for 2 p.m. Thursday at the Schuylkill Technology Center-North, 101 Technology Drive, Frackville, and 6 p.m. at Shenandoah Valley High School, 805 W. Centre St., Shenandoah.

DSI, according to the flier, is in the process of developing a regional hub and entrepreneurial network, The Center for Education Business & Arts — CEBA. It refers to the multi-million-dollar innovation hub DSI will build in the 100 block of North Main Street, Shenandoah, at the site where the JCPenney store, Karvois Cleaners and Davison’s Furniture were once located.

DSI’s call is for entrepreneurs — or people who wish to be. In it, DSI asks, “Do you make a product in your basement that you could sell if you had better tools? Do you make a food product in your kitchen that you know could sell commercially? Do you work from a cramped home office without access to business support amenities? Would you like to start a new business but need technical assistance and support?”

For anyone who answers affirmatively to any of those questions, DSI added, “We want to hear from you.”

Via the community meetings, DSI is calling for interested people to learn about opportunities that may be available “to help transform the economy of the region and how you can be an integral part of that change.”

DSI wants people to learn about its plans for CEBA, share needs, ideas and suggestions and “help shape the future of CEBA.”

The innovation hub, according to the flier, will have spaces for light manufacturing, woodworking, metalworking, electronics, ceramics/pottery and similar ventures; spaces for business services, graphic design, communications, technology; commercial kitchen space for the food industry, restaurant, catering, bakery, food truck; spaces for training, classes, seminars, courses, programs to help start and grow businesses; retail space providing tenants a place to sell their products and services; an event center with public/private space for meetings, conferences, corporate or private events and performances.

Interested people and potential entrepreneurs unable to make it to the meetings can learn more about the effort and complete a survey online at https://DiscoverCEBA.com/surv.

For more information, people may call the DSI headquarters, 116 N. Main St., at 570-462-2060 or email dsi@downtownshenandoahinc.com.

Haven set for Borough Day 31

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — The 31st annual Borough Day celebration is set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday on Main Street.

Events will include steam train rides, food, entertainment and myriad other activities. All are welcome. A detailed rundown is available online at shboroughday.com.

For more information, call 570-640-6809.

Walk for Progress to be held in Haven

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — The Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce will have its annual Walk for Progress and Taste of Schuylkill on Oct. 1 in Schuylkill Haven (rain date Oct. 2), again sponsored by Wegmans. The walk will begin at 4:30 p.m. followed by Taste of Schuylkill at the Walk In Art Center. The cost is $23 per person.

The Walk for Progress, according to a chamber press release, “helps us celebrate Local Chamber of Commerce Month in Pennsylvania. Walking in unity symbolizes our business and nonprofit communities working together for the betterment of Schuylkill County.”

The walk will end at the Walk In Art Center, where this year’s Taste of Schuylkill will be held, sponsored by The Evans Network of Companies. Taste of Schuylkill will feature members of the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce offering food and beverage samplings, according to the chamber release.

To help celebrate its 80th anniversary, The Evans Network of Companies will offer tours of its facility.

At the end of the event, people will receive a Wegmans bag with goodies from the firm. They will also receive a second bag, provided by The Evans Network of Companies, that will hold “swag” from members of the Schuylkill chamber, according to the chamber, which extended an invitation to others to include “swag” from “your business in The Evans Network of Companies bags” which will provide the “opportunity to get your name in front of many individuals who will be attending these events.” Contributors, however, are asked to refrain from including brochures and flyers with their “swag.”

Items such as pens, stress balls, calendars, hand sanitizer and similar fare should be dropped off for the swag bags at the Schuylkill chamber, Union Station, 1 Progress Circle, Suite 201, Pottsville, no later than Friday.

For more information, call the chamber’s Samantha Chivinski at 570-622-1942 or email her at schivinski@schuylkillchamber.com.

Attorney joins Pottsville law firm

POTTSVILLE — Attorney Angelique Bailey has joined the law firm of Williamson, Friedberg & Jones LLC.

Bailey’s areas of practice, according to a press release, include divorce, child custody, child support/spousal support, adoption, protection from abuse and personal injury.

Bailey was born and raised in Lehigh County, where she still lives. After graduating from East Stroudsburg University with a double major in political science and communication studies, she went on to attend and graduate from Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law.

Bailey also has studied special education at Lehigh University and worked at a private company that was contracted to do work on behalf of Children & Youth Services. Bailey specializes in child custody disputes and has experience working custody cases throughout Lehigh County and the surrounding areas, according to the release.

She has held volunteer positions with the PA Innocence Project, PA Pro Bono Military Project, Meals on Wheels, Lehigh County Compassionate Care Hospice and Slatington’s 150th anniversary committee, where she served as secretary.

She also has memberships in the Lehigh County Bar Association and the Schuylkill County Bar Association.

For more information, go online to www.wfjlaw.net or call Joanne Parulis at 570-590-0957.

A cadaver hidden in the woods, homemade pipe bombs at one Hazleton school and a mass shooting at another school were part of a threat that Christian Diehl sent from his phone.

After police arrested him Saturday night, they didn’t say if they found a body or if Diehl had bombs or guns.

But with Diehl locked in Luzerne County Prison, Hazleton Area schools were open as usual Monday.

Superintendent Brian Uplinger said classes didn’t refrain from going outdoors for physical education or other activities during the sunny day when temperatures exceeded 80 degrees.

Nor were police on hand at either school mentioned in the threat, Arthur Street Elementary School or Hazleton Area High School.

At Arthur Street while waiting to pick up two of his children, Julio Massas said he takes threats seriously since seven years ago when a shooter killed 20 pupils and six workers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, near where his relatives live.

“You can’t joke around like that … It’s not a joke when you threaten kids,” Massas said.

He pointed to the stories on the front page of Sunday’s Standard-Speaker about a former Hazleton and state police officer who had 39 guns when arrested for stalking his ex-girlfriend and an Associated Press article about the arrest of a Southern California man who had six guns and a bulletproof vest when police arrested him after suspecting he planned to shoot up the hotel where he worked.

“It gets scarier everyday,” Massas said. He thought police waited a long time to apprehend Diehl on Saturday and also recommended assigning police officers to every school and locking down every school whenever there is a threat against one school.

Hazleton Area School District has seven police officers for 13 schools and approximately 35 security guards, including part-timers, school police Chief Edward Harry said.

Asked about hiring more police officers, school board President Robert Fiume said putting a security worker who is certified to carry a gun in each school is something that the board can discuss with the chief.

“We can’t put a price on a child’s safety,” Fiume said. “We can’t be too cautious.”

Luis Castillo, while looking around the entrance at Arthur Street School where he and other parents waited for their children, also suggested adding security.

“We worry a lot,” Castillo said.

Leo Masa thought about not sending his children to school when he first heard about the threat.

If there’s trouble, he tells his children to do what he was trained to do at his workplace: “Hide in a safe place, and don’t make any noise.”

The police did a good job of responding to the threat, said Masa, who lives near Sixth Street, where Diehl was arrested during a traffic stop at 9:15 p.m.

Police said they planned where they could make the arrest safely after learning about the threat Saturday morning when a citizen shared the text message with Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat.

According to a criminal complaint filed against Diehl, the message read as follows:

“do you think the police will find THE CADAVER WITH OUR MANIFESTO HIDDEN INSIDE OF IT THAT WE LEFT IN THE WOODS BEHIND DIAMOND AVENUE IN THE COAL MINES JUST PAST MONGEES STREET BUT BEFORE PARDEE, HAZLETON PA 18201 before the HOMEMADE PIPE BOMBS go off at ARTHUR STREET ELEMENTARY to distract from the MASS SHOOTING were going to commit the HAZLETON AREA HIGHSCHOOL.”

Although the message uses “we,” police said while continuing their investigation that they currently believe Diehl acted alone.

Diehl, 28, was charged with one count of making bomb threats and imprisoned after failing to post $50,000 bail set by Magisterial District Judge Matthew Christopher. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 2.

Police obtained warrants to search Diehl’s vehicle and residence, but had not released a list of what they found as of Monday.

The Associated Press, in the article about the Southern California man, said the number of violent threats reported to the FBI increased last month after mass shootings occurred in Gilroy, California, El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. The article said mass shootings can produce copycats, but also make people more likely to tell authorities if an acquaintance is making threats.

At Parkland High School last week, police and administrators met with students disturbed after the satirical online newspaper, The Onion, paired a picture of the school with an article headlined, “School Shooter Thankfully Stopped Before Doing Enough Damage to Restart National Gun Debate.”

The school in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, shares the name of a Florida city where a gunman killed 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year.

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

POTTSVILLE — A woman was charged by Pottsville police with lighting a fire at a Pottsville Housing Authority apartment last month that caused more than $100,000 damage had a preliminary hearing continued Monday because she showed up for the proceedings without an attorney.

Marylou Barrett, 67, who now lives at 73 Maplewood Road, Ashland, was scheduled to appear before Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley on charges of arson, criminal mischief, causing or risking a catastrophe and recklessly endangering another person filed by Patrolman Grant Yoder.

Reiley continued the hearing because Barrett did not have an attorney and said she would be applying for the services of the Schuylkill County Public Defender’s Office.

Yoder charged Barrett with setting fire to her apartment building 1117 W. Arch St. around 11:30 a.m. Aug. 20.

As firefighters checked for occupants and began battling the fire, Yoder said, Barrett was located and interviewed.

During that interview, Yoder said, Barrett told investigators she started the fire in the stairwell of the apartment.

The investigation into the fire origin was conducted by Pottsville Fire Chief James Misstishin and state police fire marshal Trooper John Burns of the Frackville station. Both investigators determined their findings were consistent with the information provided by Barrett to police.

Barrett was subsequently arrested and arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kilker, Shenandoah.

She remains free on $25,000 unsecured bail pending further court action.

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

BARNESVILLE — Autumn Sanders beamed at her find Monday, as she crept out from the banks of Locust Creek.

The water strider the Tamaqua Elementary fifth-grader collected, however, was ready to leap from her container, so she called for partner assistance to keep it safely corralled.

“I tipped it down into the water and picked it up right there,” Sanders said with excitement.

Meanwhile, Madelyn Schaefer, who was also looking for macroinvertebrates, instead found a tiny red eft, which students learned is the juvenile stage of a red spotted newt. Macroinvertebrates are organisms without a spine that can be seen with the naked eye.

Sanders, Schaefer and their classmates spent hours on the first day of the autumnal equinox exploring Locust Lake State Park as part of Outdoor Learning Days. The event, sponsored by the Schuylkill County Conservancy, focused on studying birds, plants, rocks, minerals, forestry, stream life, forest soils, amphibians and reptiles.

‘Hairy armpits’

Robin Tracey, a Department of Conservation and Natural Resource environmental educator at the park, said macroinvertebrates are “indicator species,” meaning that they tell about the health of the creek. The stoneflies and mayflies found indicate that the water quality there is good, she said. She showed the live macroinvertebrates in a plastic “Creature Peeper,” which magnified them for easier viewing. The stonefly looks like it has hairy armpits, but those are actually its gills, Tracey shared.

Some students asked if they could take the eft home. Tracey warned that all animals should remain at the park and that, sadly, they would die if taken out of their natural environment.

Nail damage

A couple of interesting tidbits Lucas Franko picked up, he said, were while visiting the forestry station with Ben Vaupel and the forest soil station with Sue Reier. DCNR forester Steven Ziegler is scheduled to man the forestry station today.

“I learned that when a nail is put into a tree, it hurts it a lot and that not all woodpeckers make round holes. Some of them make oval ones. When we were digging in the dirt, we didn’t find anything. That’s because it’s so dry everything living in the soil is going deep into the ground for water,” Franko said.

Vaupel said trees need nutrients, sunlight and water to thrive, and that sunlight is probably the most important. He had core samples showing tree trunks of varying sizes, demonstrating how different levels of sunlight affected their growth. One sample showed the length of rot extending into a tree after someone put a nail into it.

Trees help keep temperatures cooler and their leaf litter on the forest floor helps filter and neutralize rainwater. Sediment is the number one pollutant of water, Vaupel said.

Reier, a Pennsylvania Master Naturalist trainee, offered each classroom an experiment they could take back to school with them. It contained a clear recycled plastic soda container, some soil and a layer of leaves. Each day it rains, the classroom is supposed to water the experimental piece and measure if the leaves have begun decomposing and how long it takes for them to completely break down.

‘Full of Life’

Dave Kruel, a SCC board member, coordinated the event.

“We’re hoping they may find some things they may not have known before about nature. It’s not just the ‘woods.’ The forest is full of life,” Kruel, of Pottsville, said.

Other presenters included: Daniel Mummert, Pennsylvania Game Commission, wildlife biologist, birds; Barbara Ritzheimer, plants; Thomas Powers, amphibians and reptiles; and David McSurdy, rocks and minerals. Retired DCNR forester Frank Snyder briefly addressed the group at lunchtime about the role of conservancy and protecting the environment.

The bird station was the favorite of Alicia Aites, she said.

“We got to learn about the birds right here in our state, about their habitats, what they ate and their life cycle. We got to see a stuffed owl and that was interesting to see up close,” Aites said. “I really like science and love to be outside.”

For about a decade, the SCC has sponsored Outdoor Learning Days, according to Kruel. The first year, it was held at Owl Creek in Tamaqua. Another event is held in the spring for Mahanoy Area School District students at Locust Lake and for Schuylkill Haven students at Sweet Arrow Lake in Pine Grove. Previously, SAL was also the site for an outdoors event for Pine Grove elementary pupils.

About 110 fifth-graders from the Tamaqua Area School District were scheduled to participate with Tamaqua Elementary on Monday and West Penn Township Elementary scheduled for today. Tamaqua Elementary students from the classrooms of Noelle Nicholas, Gina Morgan, Melissa Scheetz, Gigi Setser and Megan Berezwick gathered near the park amphitheater and surrounding stations, often pairing up for their hands-on discoveries Monday. Parent Stacey Arthurton assisted.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007

SHENANDOAH — “It’s the end of an era,” said Shenandoah resident Robert Nowak on Tuesday as he watched the former Swift & Co. building being demolished near his home.

The former meat-packing plant — later used for storage when the plant shut down — and then left empty for many years, quickly came down over two days, leaving a large pile of rubble made of bricks, stone, wood and steel girders at East Centre and North Bower streets.

The three-story red brick structure is representative of the many different industries that were major employers beyond coal mining and garment manufacturing.

Heavy equipment from AMC Enterprises, Ashland, began razing the building on Monday. The roof on the structure fell in a few years ago. The building was constructed in 1872 and measured 180 feet long and 30 feet wide, with its length along North Bower Street.

The 15,000-square-foot building extended about two-thirds the length of the property that ends at East Lloyd Street.

The Schuylkill Parcel Locator shows the property is owned by RADK Properties LLC, Shenandoah. The property is listed on the parcel locator as 0 E. Lloyd St. The building’s east side faces North Bower Street, and the west side has a strip mall and a parking lot. The strip mall contains several offices, including a Child Development Inc. center. A train station had been located at the site, with a railroad track entering between the plant and station, with the rails coming alongside the west side of the plant.

The plant operations shut down in 1957. It was later purchased by the Milton Sorin-owned United Wiping Cloth Co., whose operation was across the street on East Lloyd Street. The company in turn sold the property in 1997 to Uni-Marts Inc., the parcel locator notes, and then to Robert Kulpowicz Jr. in 2006, followed by the transfer to the limited liability corporation RADK in 2011.

Nowak, who lives about a block away, stood across the street from the demolition. He and others watched bricks falling and clouds of dust filling the area that sometimes caused eye irritation. A flagman directed traffic around the site. The westbound lane of Centre Street was closed, as was the unit block of North Bower Street.

“My dad would sometimes do some driving for Milt Sorin and he sometimes would go in and talk to the guys (in the plant),” Nowak said. “I was a young kid and that’s how I met everybody.”

Nowak spoke of the rail service at the site, which is located to the east of the former J.W. Cooper High School that still stands about a block away.

“I remember when the tracks were here,” Nowak said. “There was a siding just for here. That’s why the (plant) doors on the side where the boxcars pulled in. There was also a siding behind the station that went to the Sorin’s building, where they would get one or two boxcars in there. There was also a siding that went into O’Hearn’s Lumber yard.”

Borough Code Enforcement Officer Thomas Salvadore said the demolition permit was issued last Thursday to the contractor.

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

POTTSVILLE — Dawson H. Loy is headed to state prison after recently admitting to a Schuylkill County judge that he carjacked a woman’s vehicle in January in Tower City.

Loy, 18, of Wiconisco, pleaded guilty to robbery of a motor vehicle, aggravated assault and theft. Prosecutors withdrew charges of conspiracy and simple assault.

President Judge William E. Baldwin accepted the plea and, pursuant to an agreement between prosecutors and the defendant, sentenced Loy to serve two to four years in a state correctional institution, pay costs and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.

Loy is headed to state prison as the result of an incident that started around 10:30 a.m. Jan. 24 at the Top Star gas station at 523 E. Grand Ave. (Route 209).

State police at Schuylkill Haven charged Loy with approaching Samantha Gordon while she was getting out of her GMC Acadia sport utility vehicle. Loy and William T. Wright II, 18, of Williamstown, took Gordon’s SUV while she fled to the nearby Mid Penn Bank, police said.

Police said Loy and Wright drove the SUV into Dauphin County, where they crashed it at Route 209 and Water Street in Williams Township. Loy and Wright then fled the scene on foot, but eventually were captured, according to police.

Police said Loy eventually admitted that he drove the SUV from the gas station.

Wright pleaded guilty before Baldwin on Sept. 13 to robbery of a motor vehicle, conspiracy, aggravated assault, theft, carrying a firearm without a license, possessing instrument of crime and simple assault. Baldwin is scheduled to sentence Wright at 9 a.m. Oct. 14; the defendant is free on $1 nominal bail until then.

State police at Schuylkill Haven also filed the charges against Wright.

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

Defendant: Dawson H. Loy

Age: 18

Residence: Wiconisco

Crimes committed: Robbery of a motor vehicle, aggravated assault and theft

Prison sentence: Two to four years in a state correctional institution

If you’ve thought of a way to ease commuter headaches or improve highway safety, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance wants to hear from you.

A public open house will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. today at the Schuylkill Haven neighborhood senior center, 340 Haven St., in Schuylkill Haven.

It’s an opportunity to share opinions, interests and concerns about NEPA’s regional transportation system, including highway, transit, bicycle, pedestrian and freight modes. NEPA is updating its 2045 long-range transportation plan.

Citizens can also provide their thoughts through an online survey at NEPA-LRTP.metroquest.com.

Public input received at the open houses and on the survey will help “drive the final plan recommendations and advance future transportation projects aimed at improving safety, mobility and economic development,” a release from NEPA said.

Open houses were held in Carbon, Monroe and Pike counties Tuesday.

Schuylkill, Pike, Monroe and Carbon counties are participating in the NEPA Metropolitan Planning Organization. NEPA has been designated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as the MPO for those four counties.

NEPA staff members will be available to answer questions during today’s open house.

Counties across Pennsylvania are divided into MPO’s and Rural Planning Organizations. MPOs are partnerships between different government levels, transportation providers and the public, as they collaborate on transportation planning. Existing and potential transportation improvement needs are identified.

Plan development is being guided by an advisory committee of representatives from the region’s four counties, three transit agencies, the state Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation, the release states.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007

HEGINS — A tractor-trailer lost 136,080 eggs when its load shifted in Hegins Township on Tuesday morning.

Hegins Township Police Chief Beau Yarmush said the 11,340 dozen eggs, along with 2,260 gallons of egg product, forced the closure of a small section of Route 125 for several hours after the 9:10 a.m. incident.

Yarmush said Joseph Miles, 66, of Elizabethtown, was driving a tractor-trailer owned by Hy-Line North America LLC north on Route 125, uphill approaching the intersection with Route 25.

At some point, the load shifted, causing the eggs and egg product to fall out and roll down the hill.

Yarmush said Miles had just picked up the eggs at Carl Faus Farm in Hegins and was headed to Elizabethtown.

The chief said Miles initially did not know the load came out of his truck and continued to drive.

Brian Musolino, Hegins Township emergency management coordinator, said the eggs were “two-day fertilized” and were being taken to an incubation hatchery.

Musolino said the eggs and egg product posed no threat to residents and businesses in the area.

He said Hegins Valley Fire and Rescue planned on using about 20,000 gallons of water to wash down the highway as soon as the remnants of the eggs and their carrying containers were cleared from the highway.

“We’re just going to wash them into the field and let mother nature take its course,” Musolino said

Yarmush said his investigation into Miles having an unsecured load will continue.

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

Incorrect cost

The cost of taking part in the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce’s Walk for Progress is $10 a person. The information was incorrect in Tuesday’s edition of The Republican-Herald.

James R. Ferrier

ORWIGSBURG — A Tamaqua woman is headed to Schuylkill County Court after police say they found her unconscious in a Schuylkill Haven bathroom in August with a 5-month-old child crying in a car seat.

Carina Leach, 22, of 425 N. Railroad St. Apt. 1, faces charges of endangering the welfare of children and possession of drug paraphernalia. Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier bound over those charges for court after Leach waived her right to a preliminary hearing.

Schuylkill Haven police alleged Leach overdosed on an unidentified drug at 11:55 p.m. Aug. 5 in the bathroom of the Fast Fill gas station, 356 Center Ave. Police said Leach almost hit the gas pumps driving into the station and ran into the bathroom carrying the child in the car seat.

Police said that when they arrived at the station after being called by the clerk working there, they pried open the bathroom door and found an unconscious Leach lying on the floor with a syringe in her hand and a leather strap near her left arm. Police said they gave Leach two doses of Narcan before EMS personnel arrived to take her to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the baby was crying in the car seat, which also was on the floor, police said.

Leach is free on $2,500 unsecured bail pending further court action.

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

William F. Dullard, 41, of 21 Fahltown Lane, Auburn; driving under the influence, disregarding traffic lane, failure to drive at a safe speed and careless driving; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Derek M. Johnson, 34, of 300 Route 61 Apt. 13, Schuylkill Haven; simple assault, harassment, driving under suspension-DUI related, disregarding traffic lane, abandoning vehicle on public or private property, careless driving, damaging real property by operation of motor vehicle, violation of restrictions on alcoholic beverages and operating vehicle without valid inspection; right to preliminary hearing waived, charge of harassment withdrawn, other charges bound over for court.

Jenney Saint-Preux, 23, of 1242 Douglass St., Reading; possession of a small amount of marijuana; right to preliminary hearing waived, charge bound over for court.

Phelicia Ann Schuller, 27, of 117 Mountain Blvd., Wernersville; two counts each of defiant trespass and harassment and one of criminal mischief; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Brian M. White, 28, of 399 Long Shoal Road, Burnsville, West Virginia; DUI, operating vehicle without required financial responsibility, disregarding traffic lane and careless driving; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Each defendant whose case is bound over or held for court will have the opportunity to plead not guilty and demand a trial or plead guilty.

(Staff writer Peter E. Bortner compiled this report)

HARRISBURG — A proposed constitutional amendment that would allow gubernatorial candidates to select their running mate after the primary won House State Government Committee approval on Tuesday.

The selection would be subject to the approval of the candidate’s state committee. This change would make the lieutenant governor selection process similar to the way presidential candidates choose their vice presidents. Currently, lieutenant governor candidates run separately from the governor in each party’s primary and the top two vote-getters then run as a team in the General Election.

The committee amended the legislation, authored by Sen. David Argall, R-29, Rush Township, that passed the Senate by a 46-2 vote in April to make the same rules for naming a lieutenant governor candidate that apply to Republican and Democratic nominees extend to independent and unaffiliated gubernatorial candidates as well.

The amended bill passed the committee by a 23-2 vote. The bill is now on track to receive a vote by the full House, which if approved, returns to the Senate for its concurrence on the changes the House made.

Because it is a proposed change to the state constitution, the same language in the legislation would have to win the approval of both chambers in two consecutive legislative sessions before it could go to voters for ratification. If the legislation moves through these steps in an expeditious fashion, they could impact the lieutenant governor selection process in the 2022 gubernatorial election.

Argall introduced this legislation after observing some forced marriages between governors and lieutenant governors who didn’t work well together as “a team with a shared vision.”

He noted that 13 states have moved to this selection process.

BARNESVILLE — Something in the water caught the eye of Frank Snyder and his wife, Julia Sophy, as they were kayaking recently on Locust Lake.

“I was totally blown away,” said Snyder, a retired Department of Conservation and Natural Resources forester from Orwigsburg.

“I saw this glimmering, and they looked like little circles, just hundreds of them. They reflected a lot of sunlight, and you could see them pulsating with their tentacles hanging in the back,” Snyder said.

His wife captured a few images of the penny-sized creatures on the couple’s Sept. 15 kayaking trip. Snyder believed they were freshwater jellyfish, also known as peach blossom fish.

Impact unclear

“We had two sightings this August,” Robin Tracey, DCNR environmental educator, said Tuesday, confirming the animals are present. “There are a lot of people who don’t know they’re here. ... They don’t have enough punch to puncture human skin,” she said, noting the jellyfish use their tentacle sting on macroinvertebrates and small fish.

According to the Sea Grant Pennsylvania website, www.seagrant.psu.edu, the freshwater jellyfish is actually considered a member of the hydra family, and not a “true” jellyfish.

“It is widespread around the world and has been in the United States since the early 1900s. Even though this jellyfish uses stinging cells to capture prey, these stingers are too small to penetrate human skin and are not considered a threat to people,” the site states.

“The impact of the freshwater jellyfish is unclear and more research is needed. There is currently no evidence to suggest that the freshwater jellyfish is negatively impacting Pennsylvania’s ecosystems,” the website continues.

Found in China

An introduced species, Craspedacusta sowerbyi, originated from the Yangtze River valley in China, but can now be found on all continents worldwide. The first recorded report of it in Pennsylvania was in 1957 in Columbia County in a quarry near Bloomsburg, Sea Grant Pennsylvania says.

Snyder, who’s lived in the county most of his life, said he didn’t realize the peach blossom fish have been in the area for many decades. When he and his wife spotted them, the jellyfish were about 70 to 100 feet from the shoreline and were swimming at the surface or just two feet below. They were on the north side of the lake, just past the swimming area, but were not visible on the dam breast or on the other side of the lake that day, he said.

Another person, who asked to remain anonymous, said he spotted a freshwater jellyfish in Lake Wynonah last September. He videotaped images of the creature about 20 feet below the surface during a scuba dive. That video was submitted to the Republican-Herald on Tuesday.

Life phases

Although some people have never seen a freshwater jellyfish, they are “relatively common,” according to Christopher A. Urban, Bellefonte. He’s chief of Natural Diversity Section and the nongame, threatened and endangered species coordinator with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Freshwater jellyfish live seasonally, he said.

“They start out as little polyps and slowly grow. They attach to the bottom of ponds, lakes and slow moving streams, aquatic vegetation, rocks. They spread from other water bodies by being attached to vegetation and carried by animals and birds.

“They reproduce asexually. In the winter when the water temperatures drop, the larger adults die, but their young polyps enter a dormant state (called podocysts) and rest on the lake/pond/stream bottom. In the spring, when water temperatures rise, the dormant polyps start to develop and live suspended in the water column, where they eat tiny organisms in the water called zooplankton,” Urban said.

Blooms, or an abundance of jellyfish, are seen in the fall most years when water temperatures are high. September is the month when most are observed, mostly because they have reached maximum size for the year and are more noticeable, he said.

Sightings

According to the website freshwaterjellyfish.org/pa-sightings, jellyfish have been spotted in Schuylkill County in the following locations:

• Greenwood Dam/Lake, near Hometown, Route 54 (2001, 2005, 2007, 2013)

• Lake Hauto, near Hometown/Tamaqua/Nesquohoning, border of Schuylkill and Carbon counties, Route 54 (1999, 2001, 2008, 2014, 2019)

• Lake, State Game Lands No. 106, foot of Hawk Mountain, Eckville, Route 143 (2004)

• Lake Wynonah (Fawn Lake), Auburn, Route 183 (2008)

• Locust Lake, near New Boston, Locust Lake Road (1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017)

• Pond, near Llewellyn (2005)

• Tuscarora Lake, Tuscarora State Park, Barnesville, Route 209/Route 54 (2005, 2007, 2012)

• Wagner’s Pond, Swatara State Park, near Pine Grove, Route 443 (2012)

They have been reported in 59 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, freshwaterjellyfish.org states. The freshwaterjellyfish.org site is not affiliated with the PFBC.

Reduce spread

The best ways to reduce possible impacts from nonnative species, like freshwater jellyfish, is to prevent their introduction and spread into new waters, Sea Grant Pennsylvania says.

It recommends removing any plants, mud and debris from boats, trailers, clothing and equipment before leaving a water body; eliminating water from all equipment before transporting and disposing of unwanted live bait in the trash; and to let boats and equipment dry for at least five days before entering a new water body.

Sea Grant Pennsylvania is a partnership of the Pennsylvania State University, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It’s funded, in part, by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Coastal Resources Management Program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007

Frackville

The Frackville Rotary Club will again participate in the annual Frackville Pumpkin Festival to be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 5. The club will conduct a pumpkin bowling event with prizes available to all children who participate, according to a club release.

Frackville

Elks Lodge 1533, 307 S. Third St., will have a luau party from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Friday at the lodge, featuring music by Sakes Alive. The cost is $7 per person. For more information, call 570-874-2500.

Heckscherville

Clover Fire Company, 8 Clover Road, will have an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet from 7 a.m. to noon Sunday at the firehouse. The cost is $9 for adults and $4 for children under 10. The breakfasts are held twice monthly and beginning in October they will close at 11:30 a.m. For more information, call 570-294-0612.

Locustdale

The Locustdale Fire Company, Fire House Street, will have a penny auction from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 5 at the firehouse. The cost is $2 plus a gift. There will be refreshments after the auction; proceeds will benefit the equipment fund. All are welcome. For more information, call 570-875-3297.

Mahanoy City

The Active Christian Teens In Our Neighborhood Youth Group is selling small, hand-painted pumpkin grams that will be delivered between 6 and 7 p.m. Oct. 6. People wishing to buy pumpkins or who would like a pumpkin delivered to someone with a personal message should call Debbie at 570-773-0813 by Sunday. The cost for a pumpkin gram is $3.50 and the profit will be given to the Hillside SPCA. Delivery is available in Mahanoy City only. Pick-up also is available from 6 to 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at St. Cecilia Hall. Advance orders are required.

Minersville

The Minersville Fish and Game Club, 1 Live Oaks Road, will offer wings and other fare including pulled pork beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, open to the public. For more information, call 570-544-3155.

Pine Grove

A Gospel concert featuring Mended Hearts, a local group, and New Found Grass from the Reading area, will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday in St. John’s Lutheran Church, 222 S. Tulpehocken St., to benefit the church school of the Pine Grove Area Council of Churches. Parking is available at the rear of the church. Refreshment will be served after the concert. For more information, email jmschwer@verizon.net.

Saint Clair

The first meeting of the Sjogrens syndrome support group is set for 1 to 2 p.m. today at Vito’s Coal Fired Pizza in the Coal Creek Commerce Center. Sjogren’s syndrome, according to the online source Medifocus, is a chronic, slowly progressive, inflammatory autoimmune disorder. For more information, call Doris Chizmar at 570-429-0303. No reservations are required to attend the support group meeting.

Schuylkill Haven

The Gabriel Chamber Ensemble is set to celebrate its 30th season in Schuylkill County and will open its concert series at 3 p.m. Sunday at Jerusalem Lutheran Church, 252 Dock St. The concert will mark the return of Anita Gordon, pianist, who retired in 2014 after 23 years with GCE. Tickets at the door are $20 for adults and $15 for senior citizens. Admission for students is free. GCE is a nonprofit group; concerts are made possible through corporate and private donations including grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Schuylkill Area Community Foundation and M&T Foundation. This concert is sponsored by Marria Walsh. For more information, people may call Agnes Maurer, executive director, at 570-943-2558, email gce@gabrielensemble.org or go to www.gabrielensemble.org.

MAEA updates agenda of offerings

POTTSVILLE — The locally based Northeast Pennsylvania Manufacturers and Employers Association, based at 250 One Norwegian Plaza, offers a variety of discussions, training sessions and classes.

For more information or to register, email Christine Robbins at crobbins@nepamaea.com or call 570-622-0992. More information also is available at the MAEA website at www.nepamaea.com. Some upcoming sessions include:

Email etiquette and business writing training, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Top of the 80s restaurant near Hazleton, lunch included. The cost is $171 for MAEA members and $342 for nonmembers; discount available. The instructor will be MAEA’s Christine Robbins.

Annual Labor and Employment Law Summit, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Capriotti’s Catering, McAdoo. The contact is Christine Robbins.

2019 legislative roundtable, 8 to 10 a.m. Oct. 4, National Manufacturing Day with manufacturing companies in attendance being honored. It will be held in the clubhouse at Mountain Valley Golf Course, Barnesville. The cost is $40 for MAEA members and $80 for nonmembers, breakfast included. Sponsorship opportunities are available and will be recognized during the breakfast. To register, call Joan Trosterud at 570-622-0992 or email her at jtrosterud@nepamaea.com.

Manufacturing/plant operations roundtable, tour of Intermetro Industries Corp., 1101 N. Washington St., Wilkes-Barre, 1 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 8, cost $40 for MAEA members. To register, email to Christine Robbins.

MAEA wine and food pairing, 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 22, Wegmans Food Markets Inc., 820 Keystone Boulevard High Ridge Business Park. The cost is $50 per attendee. Sponsorships are available and will be recognized at the event. To register, email Joan Trosterud at jtrosterud@nepamaea.com or call the MAEA office at 570-622-0992.

MAEA can assist firms with the following safety services: Conduct mock OSHA safety compliance audits; analyze company’s risk, report the findings and offer corrective action; create a safety and compliance program geared specifically for a firm’s operation; supplement an existing program with the latest training modules and compliance information; train management, employees and contractors in the latest safe working concepts; implement a PA Workplace Safety Committee Certification Program to reduce workers’ compensation premiums by five percent each year; monitor company safety performance and trends and make recommendations for remedial action when necessary; conduct follow-up industrial injury reports. For more information, contact Christine Robbins, director of training and development, via aforementioned methods.

The Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare is a multistate coalition of employers partnering with MAEA to bring employer members together to provide affordable, quality health care for their employees. Members leverage their pooled purchasing power to negotiate exclusive rates and premiums for a range of self-insured and fully insured benefits programs, including: Medial, dental, prescription drug, vision, behavioral health, private exchange and data analytics. In addition to helping members reduce the cost of benefits, LVBCH also works with providers and insurers to improve quality of care. For additional information, call Darlene J. Robbins at 570-622-0992 or email to drobbins@nepamaea.com.

MAEA also offers recorded webinars with agency instructors creating material to meet specific needs. For more about the service, call Christine Robbins at 570-622-0992 or via email to crobbins@nepamaea.com.

Farm market run continues

SHENANDOAH — With regional farmers/growers reporting a fall produce bounty, the 2019 edition of Schuylkill County’s oldest continuously running seasonal downtown farm market is continuing from 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Fridays near the more than century-old former Bolich & Burke building, Main and Centre streets, and along South Main Street in front of Rite Aid.

The market offers plants, produce and myriad other items from regional growers.

It is sponsored by the Greater Shenandoah Area Chamber of Commerce; Mark Bernardyn is the long-time chairman of the chamber’s market committee.

For more information about the market, call Bernardyn at 570-462-2734. More growers are always welcome by calling Bernardyn.

Folk art, culinary festival on tap

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — The Walk In Art Center, 220 Parkway, will have the Folk Art and Culinary Heritage Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 5 in its main gallery.

Admission is free with registration fees waived thanks to the Schuylkill Area Community Foundation, M&T Bank and Wilmington Trust, according to an event flier.

The center is part of the Folk Art Alliance that includes Berks, Carbon and Schuylkill counties.

For more information, call 570-732-3728 or go online to walkinartcenter.org.

VISION slates Halloween Hustle

LANDINGVILLE — Schuylkill County’s VISION will have a Halloween Hustle: 5K Zombie Run on Oct. 26 at Faith Reformed United Church of Christ.

Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the run will start at 9:30 a.m. The first 200 registered will receive a free T-shirt; Zombie volunteers are welcome.

For more information or online registration, go to www.racemenu.com/events/178400-halloween-hustle.

Chamber updates its events agenda

POTTSVILLE — The Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce has several upcoming sessions on its agenda. People may register for all chamber programs online at www.schuylkillchamber.com or by calling 570-622-1942. The chamber and the SEDCO/chamber conference center are at Union Station, 1 Progress Circle, Suite 201, Pottsville, PA 17901.

There Really is an “I” in Team, 11:45 a.m. today at Oak Hill Inn, 655 Route 61, Orwigsburg, sponsored by The Arts Barn. It will be presented by a panel of different generation chamber committee members.

The chamber offers a new-member benefit, a human resources helpline that provides “fast, personal help from real live HR professionals,”according to a chamber flier.

Help is available regarding FMLA, ADA or leaves of absence; employee discipline, termination or employee relations; questions about drug testing or harassment, officials said in the flier.

“Call during regular business hours to speak with an HR expert,” according to the flier. The toll-free helpline is 844-318-0699. For after-hours calls, leave a message and the call will be returned the next business day. People may also email questions to HRHelpline@schuylkillchamber.com.

People may register for all chamber programs online at www.schuylkillchamber.com. The chamber and the SEDCO/chamber conference center are at Union Station, 1 Progress Circle, Suite 201, Pottsville, PA 17901.

A program called WEDnetPA is funded by the state Department of Community and Economic Development and administered by Lehigh Carbon Community College, according to a chamber flier.

“You may qualify for WEDnetPA funding if your company is based in Pennsylvania, a manufacturing or a technology-based business,” according to the flier.

Organizations may be eligible to receive up to $450 per person for essential skills training and up to $850 per person for advanced technology training.

For more information, apply to Maureen Donovan, Center for Leadership & Workforce, be emailing mdonovan@lccc.edu or calling 570-668-6880 or 610-799-1245.

LionLaunch, DSI in partnership

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs are being invited to strengthen their business skills by attending “information-packed programs” via Penn State Schuylkill LionLaunch.

And now, LionLaunch has sessions set to go in Shenandoah on several levels, including with the Small Business Administration.

LionLaunch, according to a release, is part of the university’s statewide initiative, Invent Penn State, aimed at spurring economic growth throughout Pennsylvania. With the support of community partners, LionLaunch is helping Schuylkill County entrepreneurs and business professionals find resources and information needed to become successful, according to the release.

The local LionLaunch Innovation Hub is at 154 E. Main St., Schuylkill Haven.

LionLaunch is participating with the effort by the revitalization group Downtown Shenandoah Inc. to establish a multi-million-dollar innovation hub in the 100 block of North Main Street, an effort that has been lauded by local and state officials.

Susan Williams is the LionLaunch program coordinator and is based at 119 Administration Building on the Penn State Schuylkill Campus. She can be reached via email at sxw831@psu.edu or by calling 570-385-6065.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-9, issued a statement yesterday following Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s announcement of an impeachment inquiry against President Trump.

“Speaker Pelosi’s impeachment inquiry announcement confirms what we have known all along: since Democrats were unable to defeat President Trump in a lawfully conducted election, they are now focused on trying to unlawfully remove him from office,” Meuser said.

“After harassing the President through countless investigations that began before he was elected related to tax returns, Russian collusion, obstruction of justice, and hotel business operations – none of which were based in fact and costing tens of millions of taxpayer dollars – one would think that Democrat leadership would move on to matters of actual importance. Democrat leadership has, however, chosen to focus on creating a far-fetched scandal related to a phone call with a foreign government leader. They are moving forward with an impeachment inquiry based on a transcript they have not read, one that the President is releasing tomorrow, and without the questionable whistleblower report.

“This farce, which chooses to push a presumption of guilt where evidence is nonexistent, is nothing short of a Constitutional embarrassment for our country.

“As the Representative of Pennsylvania’s Ninth Congressional District, I remain focused on the issues that matter to the people I work for – lowering prescription drug and health care costs, protecting our country’s borders, and growing our economy through job creation, revitalization, and international trade deals like the USMCA. All of these issues are areas where the President is providing real leadership by aiming to correct the shortcomings of the past.

“We in Congress are supposed to work every day to make things better for our constituents and to put the public ahead of politics. It is up to the public to choose Representatives that conduct themselves in this manner.”

For further details, read The Republican-Herald

FRACKVILLE — A suspended guard at State correctional Institution/Frackville arrested on assault charges waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday but not before one charge against him was withdrawn and another charge added.

John Frantz, 43, of 1379 Mountain Road, Pine Grove, appeared before Magisterial District Judge Christina E. Hale on two separate sets of charges filed by state police at Frackville for incidents on Sept. 10.

In the first complaint, Trooper Joseph Julian charged Frantz with felony aggravated assault; misdemeanor crimes of DUI, simple assault and resisting arrest; and summary offenses of harassment and disorderly conduct.

The second complaint filed by Cpl. Thomas Hornung charges Frantz with simple assault, disorderly conduct, recklessly endangering another person and harassment.

In the second complaint, prosecutors withdrew the charge of recklessly endangering another person and in the first complaint added a charge of DUI-highest rate.

After conferring with his attorney, B.J. Evans, Pottsville, Frantz chose to have all the charges against him heard in Schuylkill County Court, where he can either plead guilty or enter a not guilty plea and request a trial.

The charges filed by Hornung are from an incident that began around 1:30 a.m. at the Compass Rose bar in Frackville.

Hornung said Frantz grabbed Ian Mistishen for no reason and had to be forcibly pulled away.

Then, around 2:40 a.m., Mistishen was outside the business in his vehicle when Frantz entered his vehicle and pointed a red laser at him. When Frantz pulled away, Hornung said, Mistishen followed him because he was driving erratic and speeding and he was worried something would happen to him.

Mistishen said that Frantz went on various roads and into Ashland, where Frantz stopped, urinated on the highway and again pointed the laser at him.

Later that morning Julian said that, after being found sitting in his truck in Girardville, Frantz tried to hit him with a closed fist and made threats against him.

Frantz then punched the left arm of Hornung, prompting the corporal to use his Taser weapon to allow him and Trooper Joseph Aponick to remove him from the vehicle and place him in custody.

After Frantz was in custody, Hornung said, police found a 9 mm pistol with a laser attached inside Frantz’ truck and that no other laser pointer was located.

The pistol was fully loaded and in the front seat of the truck, Hornung said.

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

POTTSVILLE — Schuylkill County will receive less real estate tax money from Walmart, as the commissioners on Wednesday approved a settlement with the company over its assessment appeal, filed almost exactly a year ago, for the Hometown supercenter.

Under the terms of the settlement, the county will set the fair market value of the 35 Plaza Drive property in Rush Township containing the store at $8,200,000.

The fair market value had been approximately $9,000,000, assistant county solicitor Christopher W. Hobbs said. He also said the old assessed value had been $4,326,800, while the new figure is $3,411,200.

Hobbs said the county will receive $14,631.29 less in taxes annually because of the reduction in the property’s value.

Under the terms of the settlement, as announced by the commissioners, the new fair market value of the property is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2019, and will apply for the future until a new assessment appeal is filed by the property owner or one of the taxing bodies.

Wal-Mart Stores Real Estate Business Trust, Bentonville, Arkansas, the official owner of the property, filed the assessment appeal on Sept. 28, 2018.

“They all got done within the calendar year,” County Administrator Gary R. Bender said.

Bender said each side had an appraisal done on the property, which sits on the east side of Route 309, about three miles north of Tamaqua.

Rush Township and Tamaqua Area School District also will receive less tax money as a result of the settlement.

Neither township solicitor Christopher M. Riedlinger, Pottsville, nor school district solicitor Jeffrey P. Bowe, Tamaqua, was available Wednesday for comment on the case.

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

Did he go too far?

Or, did William Morales act in the defense of a toddler when he assaulted Mark A. Mead, after allegedly walking in on Mead sexually assaulting the child Aug. 7?

That’s a question to be answered at Carbon County Court.

Both men face charges in the case investigated by Nesquehoning police and both were scheduled for preliminary hearings before Magisterial District Judge Casimir Kosciolek, Lansford, Wednesday afternoon.

Mead chose to waive his right to a preliminary hearing, sending all the charges against him to county court, while Morales will also face all charges against him, but only after roughly 1 1/2 hours of testimony were provided during his proceeding.

Initially, Mead was arrested for sexually assaulting one toddler and Morales for pistol-whipping and beating Mead after walking in on the act, according to court papers.

Their complaints were amended in September after police said they learned more in the ongoing investigation, including claims that Mead assaulted a second child that day and that Morales allegedly attempted to sodomize Mead with a broom handle.

In the amended cases against them, Mead, 30, faces felonies for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, rape of a child and three counts corruption of minors. He also faces misdemeanors for two counts each indecent exposure, indecent assault without consent, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old and indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old.

Morales, 41, faces felonies for aggravated assault, criminal attempt at involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and possession of a firearm prohibited and misdemeanors for unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and two counts simple assault.

Both remain incarcerated, having been unable to post the $100,000 bail against each of them.

“He came around the corner with a gun,” said Mead in the courtroom, whose birthday fell on the hearing day.

He forced Mead to the ground and made a few phone calls, in one he referenced calling up a “cleanup crew,” Mead said. Mead interpreted that to mean he would be “disposed of.”

Mead admitted to being under the influence of drugs at the time but recounted his injuries and the assault at the request of the prosecution’s Brian Gazo. The assault, Mead said, included Morales pistol-whipping him and sodomizing him with a broom handle.

Morales’ attorney, Jonathon Luff, began to ask Mead if he sexually assaulted the children during the hearing, however his questioning was cut short at the prosecution’s objection and Mead didn’t end up answering after his attorney and Gazo cautioned him against it. Luff argued that the prosecution was only showing the court, “a small piece of the whole story,” and not what caused Morales to react, by denying Mead the right to answer the question.

Gazo said nothing done that day would justify what Morales is accused of doing to Mead.

Luff aimed at Mead’s statements at one point saying he claimed to have been sodomized and another time said that he wasn’t penetrated by the broom stick.

Throughout Wednesday’s testimony, in which Mead but not Morales was sworn in and brought to the witness stand, Luff, of Paoli, tried to have the charges dropped believing his client was just defending the children police said Mead sexually assaulted.

A new piece of evidence was announced during the hearing.

Police secured Morales phone and an examination of it turned up a video of part of the assault — including the gun being flashed twice and what police believe is Morales voice behind the camera though his face isn’t shown.

The arresting officer, Carl Breiner, said the department just received the video from a crime laboratory Wednesday, and though the attorneys involved viewed the video in the open courtroom, it wasn’t submitted as evidence because of poor picture quality.

In that video, a man can be heard referencing the sex assault and telling a person presumed to be Mead to “just tell the truth.” Mead in turn can be heard saying that the child was choking on food.

Kosciolek, after hearing the testimony and arguments, believed the commonwealth had enough evidence to move the case to county court.

After the hearing, Luff said he believed Mead lied upon telling his account of the events and also believed Morales would eventually be found not guilty of the charges against him.

He said the gun Mead claims Morales pistol-whipped him with would have left a more severe injury than the one Mead incurred. Also, Morales admitted to hitting Mead twice during his interview and was honest with officers.

Luff said “it’s so sad” justice is moving slowly.

Morales had nothing to say after the hearing.

Gazo, meanwhile, was happy with the judge’s decision in what he termed “a tough case.” He said although the defense claims Morales was justified, the county must guard against vigilante justice and believes from the evidence gathered that Morales went too far.

Amended charges

According to arrest papers:

Mead assaulted two children in a borough home, while he was supposed to be helping Morales move.

Police said they were called to the home by Morales’ wife and found Mead laying on the floor next to a mattress when they got there.

Morales told police he walked back into the home after taking boxes outside at one point and found Mead’s erect penis in one of the children’s mouths. His wife later reported that the other child said Mead made him touch his penis.

Morales immediately confronted Mead and, after a physical altercation, subdued him until police arrived.

Mead told police it was accidental.

He said the 1-year-old was crying and choking on food and while helping him, his shorts fell down and his penis popped out of his underwear and accidentally touched the toddler.

He also said Morales was his methamphetamine dealer and paid him with the drug to help him move. Mead claimed to have used the drug in the Morales’ home that day and said when he’s under its influence, he gets sexually aroused.

Police did receive reports of drug activity stemming from the Morales’ home before and up to that day.

Mead told officers they saved his life that day when recounting the assault, stating Morales beat and held him at gunpoint for two hours before police were contacted.

The entire time he was forced to stay in the home on his stomach, in the prone position and claimed to have been pistol-whipped by Morales, who also allegedly threatened to sodomize him with a mop/broom handle, which he placed between his buttocks.

Mead had multiple lumps on his head, along with contusions and abrasions, and complained of having pain in his abdomen from being kicked.

Meanwhile, Morales denied threatening him with a gun, a mop or broom handle, but did admit to hitting Mead.

Officers seized a silver mop handle and a loaded Ruger LC-9 9mm pistol which belonged to Morales’ wife. Morales’ criminal record prevents him from having a gun.

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