POTTSVILLE — When he is found, a Hegins man will be headed to prison after a Schuylkill County judge on Tuesday upheld a ruling that he was guilty of driving with a license that had been suspended for driving under the influence.

James A. Huntsinger Jr., 37, must serve 30 to 60 days behind bars, Judge Charles M. Miller ruled in dismissing the appeal. Miller made the sentence effective at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 27.

“He is not present,” Miller noted of Huntsinger. “The docket indicates he was properly served.”

Hegins Township police charged Huntsinger with driving with the suspended license on June 11 in the township. Magisterial District Judge David J. Rossi, Tremont, had found Huntsinger guilty on Aug. 19 of driving under suspension-DUI related.

Miller’s ruling also leaves intact the costs and $1,000 fine that Huntsinger must pay as parts of his sentence.

In another Tuesday case, Amber L. Blickley, 37, of Steelton, pleaded guilty to driving under suspension-DUI related and improper driving without headlights. Miller sentenced her to serve 30 to 60 days in prison and pay costs and a $500 fine, but allowed Blickley to be paroled to a long-term rehabilitation facility.

“What is your addiction to?” Miller asked Blickley, who sat through the hearing wearing a prison jumpsuit.

“Opiates,” she said.

“I hope you get your life straightened out.”

State police at Frackville had alleged Blickley was driving with the suspended license on May 18 in Girardville. Magisterial District Judge Christina E. Hale, Frackville, had found Blickley guilty on Sept. 25, but the defendant appealed that decision the next day.

In another recent county case, Sean A. Jarvis, 22, of Quakertown, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. President Judge William E. Baldwin sentenced Jarvis to time served to 12 months in prison with immediate parole and to pay costs, $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account.

Orwigsburg police had charged Jarvis with possessing drugs and paraphernalia on July 13, 2018, in the borough.

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

TOWER CITY — Tower City residents will not see an increase in their property taxes in 2020.

The council voted at its meeting Monday to keep the rate at 9.7 mills as part of a $463,575 budget. Other taxes will also remain unchanged, including the earned income tax, 1%; realty transfer tax, 2%; per capita tax, $5; occupational privilege, $10; and local services tax, $52.

The 2020 budget is nearly $70,000 less than the 2019 budget of $530,556 due to grants, including one for the construction of handicap crossings on Grand Avenue.

“Come mid-April, we hope to do a lot of road work,” council President Paul Ruth said.

Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Bohr reminded Ruth that money from FEMA is earmarked for repairs to Second Street and cannot be spent on anything else.

Resident Ed Haus thanked the borough for removing various vehicles from the alleys for, he said, the sake of emergencies. Although some are still there, Haus was assured by Ruth that all will be removed.

Turbine opposition

Porter Township resident Virginia Morton updated the council on the wind turbine farm proposed by Clean Air Generation LLC since last month’s meeting. The turbines would be located in Hegins, Porter, Frailey and Tremont townships.

According to Morton, a colonel from Fort Indiantown Gap attended a November planning commission meeting in Hegins and voiced his concern since the Gap has the second busiest helicopter training facility in the country. He believes the wind turbine farm would negatively affect about 2,000 military personnel who use the area for training annually. If the facility closes, many jobs will be lost.

Morton said she had taken a tour of a similar project and talked with many residents. According to one man, there are seven turbines within 2,000 and 5,000 feet of his home. He said he moved his bedroom to the rear of his house because of the sound the turbines make.

“We need to raise our voices when the county asks for public input at the court of appeals,” Morton said.

She added that a 5,000-foot setback was one of the items she requested in a letter she had sent to the county commissioners. Ruth requested Morton inform the borough when the hearing will be taking place.

New backhoe, franchise check

The borough’s new backhoe is scheduled for delivery today. The machine was purchased from J. L. Hollinger and Sons Inc., Manheim, for $37,000.

Secretary Irene Dubbs reported a $3,327 franchise check had been received from Comcast, plus a $1,793 dividend check from KMIT, the provider of the borough employees’ workers compensation insurance.

In other matters, the council authorized Light-Heigel to prepare notices of violations for three borough properties informing the occupants that their water would be turned off. According to Ruth, the residents will each receive a bill from Light-Heigel for the work.

Bohr explained the three levels of certification available for people involved with emergencies. One, he said, is open to all people involved with emergencies, while others are required for emergency medical certification. A course that will be available in the Tower City area, Tactical Emergency Casualty Course, will be held in the Porter Township building and taught by Bohr. It will include some real-life exercises.

In other business:

• The police department logged in 100.9 hours for November.

• Councilwoman Chris Reiner urged members to mark parking spots on Fourth Street.

• The Lions Club was given permission to escort Santa Claus around the borough on Christmas Eve.

POTTSVILLE — The Pottsville Area school board approved installing solar panels on district property Tuesday.

The nine-member board voted 5-4 at a special meeting to greenlight the project. Voting in favor were board President Noble Quandel Jr., Treasurer Jerome Urban and board members Michael Cardamone, Ashley DeWitt and Craig Shields. Casting votes against it were board Vice President Ann Blankenhorn and board members Christina DiCello, Patrick F. Moran and Linda Wytovich.

Solar Renewable Energy LLC, Mechanicsburg, will work in conjunction with GreenWorks Development LLC, Harrisburg, to install the panels on the roof of all three district schools, including the bus garage at John S. Clarke Elementary Center; the Academic Center; half of Martz Hall; and on an athletic field used for football practice behind the Academic Center. The number of panels to be installed was not specified Tuesday.

The meeting drew a crowd of over 45 people, who packed the Academic Center conference room. Six people addressed the board on the project, some of whom urged members to delay the vote.

The district will spend $4,289,000 on the solar panels over 40 years, the panels’ lifespan, saving $7,379,515 during that time.

The panels will be leased for five years from an investor group, who will own, operate and maintain them during that time, David Faust, a project developer with Solar Renewable Energy, explained at the meeting.

The projected lease payments would be about $279,000 the first year; $281,790 the second year; $284,608 the third year; $287,454 the fourth year; and $290,329 the fifth year. The district would borrow $2,865,832 after the first five years and $2,426,506 in interest. Faust said the panels would generate about 79% of the district’s electricity.

He added that installing the panels would allow the district to save “as much as possible” on its electricity costs. They would also insulate it from increased electricity costs over time.

The district would save an estimated $192,000 in electricity costs during the first year of having the panels, generating about $131,000 in solar renewable energy credits, or SREC. SREC is a green certificate an entity that owns and operates a solar array, or solar power-generating plant, generates every time they produce 1,000 kilowatt hours of solar-generated electricity. The entity sells the certificates on an alternative energy certificate market.

Should the district purchase the system after five years, they would pay a principal and interest payment on a long-term loan and pay an operations and maintenance fee on the system, saving $207,000 and receiving $128,000 SRECs.

Doug Neidich, CEO of GreenWorks Development LLC, initially detailed the proposal during the board’s Dec. 3 reorganization meeting.

That meeting was the first time the entire board heard about the solar panels. Business Manager Brian Manning said the board’s Buildings and Grounds Committee started discussing the plans in October. GreenWorks officials also talked about the panels with the superintendent and business manager.

During the meeting, Josephine Kwiatkowski, Pottsville, said she didn’t recall the committee delivering any reports about the project.

“If solar panels were discussed in committee, why was a report not given at the November or December meeting,” she asked the board.

Kwiatkowski questioned the board on why the project needed to be done and why residents weren’t aware of it, asking for the vote to be delayed.

“If there is only one proposal and it was not advertised, how do the taxpayers know if this is the best option?” she asked. “As this decision will surely affect the school district’s budget this year and future years, why are you not adhering to the guideline set forth in the Auditor General’s report from September.

“The clandestine manner in which the board has conducted itself makes this entire action suspect.”

The audit reads that the district should “display the multi-year budget prominently on its website for the public so that taxpayers and district officials can publicly discuss the details of the budget at open meetings.”

Pottsville Area School District Education Association President Amy Babcock expressed concern about the financial aspects of the project, adding that there was little time to comprehend what it entails.

“Knowledge is power, and the staff and public have not had enough time or information to support or reject this project,” she said.

District officials would move athletic practices currently done on the field behind the Academic Center to Alumni Field. Manning previously said the project wouldn’t cost the district anything up-front. The only cost paid up-front is to relocate the practice field.

DiCello asked about how the field would be re-purposed for practices and how teams would use the field.

“Is that even possible, let alone doable?” she asked. “Alumni Field is quite busy already and then the football practice field is used quite a bit. It’s a very heavily used practice field.”

The board member said she didn’t think there was a plan in place to accommodate practices currently done on the current field on Alumni Field.

Moran wondered how weather would affect the panels and whether they would damage the roofs. Faust responded saying the panels would be “weighed down” by blocks. They would be installed on racks that can withstand wind speeds of over 100 mph.

The project was reviewed by Neidich’s attorneys and district solicitor Kevin Reed. The project will not go out to bid. Reed said after the meeting that the language in the contract indemnifies the district with any bids.

Ed Rox, a member of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 743, questioned why one company was considered for the project. If the district were to put the project to bid with multiple companies, he added, it could be beneficial.

“You could get a good idea of who’s the best for that, not just one company,” Rox told the board. “Let’s bid it fairly and get more numbers coming in.”

The solar panels are similar to ones being built by Solar Renewable Energy below ground for the Tamaqua Area School District. School District Superintendent Raymond J. Kinder said last Thursday he anticipates the panels will be installed in the district by the end of the school year.

Contact the writer: clee@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6028; @Cleespot on Twitter

POTTSVILLE — Benjamin F. Vadiz ran from state police in February in his West Mahanoy Township hometown, a deed that on Tuesday helped convince a Schuylkill County judge to send him to state prison.

Vadiz, 49, of Lost Creek, must serve 11 to 24 months in a state correctional institution, Judge Charles M. Miller decided.

“It is a serious matter any time you run from the state police,” Miller told Vadiz, who sat through the one-hour hearing, wearing a prison jumpsuit, handcuffs and a belt. “You’re a danger to the community. You do have a substantial police record.”

He also increased Vadiz’s bail to $10,000 straight cash and ordered him confined to prison, pending transfer to a state prison.

Miller, who also sentenced Vadiz to pay costs, $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund, $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and a $50 bench warrant fee, followed the sentencing request of First Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Stine, who said Vadiz refuses to accept responsibility for what he did.

“This is the third time he has been in troubled for this type of behavior,” Stine said of Vadiz.

In a one-day trial over which Miller presided, a jury on Oct. 24 found Vadiz guilty of flight to avoid apprehension or trial. Miller dismissed a charge of disorderly conduct but found Vadiz guilty of public drunkenness.

State police at Frackville charged Vadiz with running from them around 6 a.m. Feb. 15 outside the Lost Creek post office. Police said they identified themselves several times during the chase as officers, but that Vadiz, who had a strong odor of alcohol on him when he was caught, ignored them and continued running.

Vadiz testified Tuesday that he feared for his life and did not hear police yelling at him to stop.

“I didn’t know that it was an officer,” he said.

“You ran to the woods,” said Miller, who appeared highly skeptical of the defendant’s story. Police had testified at the trial that Vadiz ran past a state police car during the chase.

Miller also said Vadiz showed no remorse for what he had done.

Assistant Public Defender Kent D. Watkins, Vadiz’s lawyer, had asked that his client be sentenced to serve six to 12 months in the county prison.

“He has been working,” Watkins said.

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

Benjamin F. Vadiz

Age: 49

Residence: Lost Creek

Crimes committed: Flight to avoid apprehension or trial and public drunkenness

Sentence: 11 to 24 months in a state correctional institution

TAMAQUA — Tamaqua Area School District, Tamaqua Community Arts Center and Walk In Art Center unveiled their collaborative mural project Sunday at the Verizon Building at 1 W. Broad St.

Over the course of the year, WIAC Artist Association member Julie Richards served as artist-in-residence working with Lori Remmel, Tamaqua Area art teacher, and her students to create the mural. Using “Choose Happiness” as the central theme, the students included over 300 hidden items representing what makes the community happy.

Public painting events were held in the Tamaqua Community Arts Center, the WIAC and throughout the community to ensure everyone could be involved in making history with the mural. In addition to the Tamaqua Community Arts Center and WIAC, support for the mural was provided by Schuylkill County Intermediate Unit, Personal Touch by Debbie Gilbert and Verizon.

The mural represents the latest public art initiative spearheaded by WIAC’s Art 4U initiative. It is the mission of WIAC’s Art 4U to inspire art, lacing communities together by introducing murals, bringing all ages together, from inception to completion.

For more information regarding the murals, contact Gilbert at wiac.art4u@gmail.com.

MAR LIN — The Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 board voted Monday to immediately terminate the employment of a staff member.

By an 8-0 vote, the board of directors terminated the services of a full-time, professional employee from the Maple Avenue Campus, effective Dec. 9.

Neither Scott Jacoby, board president, nor Gregory S. Koons, IU 29 executive director, offered additional details about the employee or the circumstances surrounding the need for the employee’s exit.

Only an employee number was used in making the motion for the termination at the end of the day Monday.

Directors Joseph Buchanon, David Frew, Michelle Vesay and Larry Wittig were absent.

Previously, the board had entered into a one-hour executive session to discuss personnel.

Health care

In other business, the board heard an update about the IU 29 and Schuylkill Technology Center portion of the Schuylkill County Employees Health and Welfare Trust from Brittany K. Doyle, CPA, and from Jonathan A. Sapochak, an actuary with Conrad Siegel.

Doyle stressed that the presentation focused solely on the IU 29 and STC medical and prescription benefit, not on the trust itself.

“The main issue is a funding issue,” Doyle told the board.

In 2015-16, the beginning fund balance was at $1.69 million. In 2017-18 and 2018-19, there were a high number of claims, she said. There was a negative fund balance of $500,871 as of June 30, 2019, she said.

Expenses have been higher than revenues and contributions have not been able to keep pace with the amount of claims, Doyle explained.

For the past 10 years, the IU 29 and STC boards have budgeted the same amount, at $1,200 per contracted employee, per month for their medical/prescription health insurance plan.

Projections for 2020-21 show there should be $1,830 budgeted per contracted employee per month, just to break even. That $1,830 will not make up the deficit.

STC

In other action, the STC board welcomed new member John Carastia, representing Blue Mountain.

The STC board narrowly voted, 5-4, to rescind approval of a motion from last month’s meeting which increased the fund balance for the Area Vocational Technical Schools from a maximum of $500,000 to a maximum of $750,000 to allow for an adequate working cash balance needed for operations.

Directors voting to rescind were Michael Mistishen, Angela DeMario, Michael Cardamone, John Mika and Jennifer Reed.

Directors also voted 6-3 to rescind the approval of the STC administration to designate or restrict any excess funds in the 2018-19 school year above the maximum fund balance for future projects. Approving to rescind were Mistishen, DeMario, Cardamone, Mika, Reed and Carastia.

Last year, there was a generous surplus given back to the individual school districts, Charles “Chaz” Hepler, board vice president, said.

Mistishen said the district superintendents should have been notified about the request to increase the AVTS fund balance before it was voted upon last month. He also thought it would be better to “itemize” specifically what those excess funds would have been used toward.

“I don’t recall any conversation that the fund balance adjustment had anything to do with health care,” Reed said. “I thought that was a budgetary move to assign funds for the projects that are coming up, for building maintenance and things like that. From my own recollection, there was no discussion that we need to adjust that fund balance, because we’re going to have a health care deficit and now those funds are going to be reassigned there,” Reed said, prior to the vote to rescind.

There was a brief discussion about it during an executive session, and “it was definitely linked to the fund balance,” Koons said.

Hepler said the matter of health insurance costs came up during negotiation season and had been a sticking point.

“Before we come to these meetings and have hiring someone new and new projects and are looking to spend money elsewhere, let’s clean up the things that were created, I guess, before most of us were here,” Reed told the board.

Superintendents from several county schools attended the meeting, but did not speak publicly. They included Joie Green, Mahanoy Area; Jeffrey S. Swiebel, Pottsville Area; Mark D. Snyder, Tri-Valley; Diane R. Best, Williams Valley; and Sarah Yoder, Saint Clair Area.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007

SHENANDOAH — Driving or walking through Shenandoah during the evenings of the Christmas season is an eye-opener with lights all along Main Street up to and into Girard Park.

The string mini-lights on the leafless trees, wooden candy canes and lighted decorations on the Victorian lighting on the main thoroughfare can easily cause the feeling of the holidays to grow.

The Greater Shenandoah Area Chamber of Commerce has been decorating the downtown for many decades. In more recent years, that decorating has extended into Girard Park, located at the north side of the borough. Since 2012, the “Light Up the Park” project has been an impressive part of the holiday lighting scheme, especially for those travelers leaving and entering the borough along state Route 924 on the Locust Mountain.

The chamber’s Christmas lighting committee members are Mark Bernardyn, Betty Ann Bugden and Beth Cataldo, who take the lead in fundraising and obtaining new decorations as funds are available.

Influence from Canada

The park lighting began with a suggestion by Bugden to chamber members.

“We have a place up in Canada and used to go up there for the Thanksgiving weekend,” Bugden said. “There is a park and they light the whole park up. It’s a big park. Every club in the area would sponsor a tree and have a sign by it.”

Bugden loved the idea and brought it back to Shenandoah for Girard Park. When implemented, the project grew with people and businesses sponsoring the lighting of a tree, with the addition of lighted figurine decorations.

There are limitations about expanding it further.

“We’d like to more, but there is the question of storage and getting more people involved,” she said.

Keeping the lighting program going costs money, which is received through donations from businesses and individuals. In years past, the chamber and the borough partnered in getting the lights placed and taken down, but now the whole project is handled by the chamber.

“The borough had helped for years. Bill Moyer was a big help in helping with it for years, but then he decided he couldn’t do it, so we got Jerry McCabe for three years, and then he moved to Hawaii, so we were searching for someone else to take over the installation,” Bernardyn said. “So we did find a gentleman by the name of Nick Milewski from Shenandoah Heights. Nick came on board this year, and we got more volunteers who were helpful.”

Bernardyn, who has been involved with the chamber since 1993, said another holiday chamber project was the placing of a Nativity scene at what is currently the BB&T Bank in the downtown.

“We did the Nativity scene for years and years, and then five years ago Oravitz Home for Funerals said they would do their part and take over the Nativity scene,” Bernardyn said. “They got their own different Nativity scene.”

Bernardyn said the chamber’s Nativity took much work to set up, including finding the evergreen branches as part of the decoration. He said Shenandoah Valley football players were a very big help in getting it together over many years.

Every donation helps

Bugden has made donation cans to receive whatever people want to give, be it loose change or paper money. The cans are located at her shop and M&T Bank.

“A quarter, a nickel, a dime, a dollar. If every person in Shenandoah would give us a dollar, it would be perfect,” she said.

Bernardyn added, “We had different fundraisers in addition to the annual letter asking for support. In addition to selling calendars and donation cans, we used to go house to house with the coffee cans with the help of students. I would get about 40 students assigned to different sections. We used to get about $1,000.”

“We used to get cheerleaders doing a can collection on the corners on Black Friday,” Bugden said. “I got on the committee back when Regina Kurtz was the head. That was when we got new decorations (for the light poles).”

“Every year, if we had enough money, we would buy one or two more pieces,” Bernardyn said.

“Each one is $750,” Bugden said, who added that one decoration added in recent years was a menorah donated by Ridgeview Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Shenandoah Heights.

Lots of legwork

“People don’t understand the involvement of the lighting project,” Bernardyn said.

Bugden said the cost for electricity is about $500, and the cost of placing the lights and removing them in January brings the total annual program cost to about $4,500.

Bernardyn added that Avangrid Renewables, which operates windmills in the area, had donated $1,000 each year for the past two years.

“That company is from Oregon, even though they are on top of the mountain,” Bernardyn said. “I sent a donation application last year, and we got the donation. This year, they emailed me and asked that they wanted to make a contribution.”

Bugden also thanked John Alcarez for the giving of his time in selling lottery calendars for the lighting cause.

“The chamber does not take for granted all of the generous donations that we get since we couldn’t do this without them,” Bernardyn said. “We appreciate everything that the community does. We have a holiday residential decorating contest going on every year for 20 years.”

Participate in fundraiser

Another fundraiser will be held this Saturday, although not sponsored by the chamber.

A group began the Santa Trot, which goes to different bars and restaurants in the borough. A member of the group, Mark Mikita, said the trot began 12 years ago. In 2018, the trot raised $1,500 for the lighting fund.

Anyone who wants to make a donation can stop at Betty Ann Bugden’s Total Image & Hair Replacement Center, 30 S. Main St., or M&T Bank, 2 S. Main St., both in Shenandoah. Donations by mail can be made by check to the Shenandoah Chamber of Commerce and sent to Bugden’s salon.

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

POTTSVILLE — Two Pottsville Area school board directors who voted against installing solar panels on district property want more information.

Meanwhile, questions abound over the way the project was rolled out to the board and the public.

The directors voted 5-4 at a special meeting Tuesday night to approve the project. Solar Renewable Energy LLC, Mechanicsburg, will work in conjunction with GreenWorks Development LLC, Harrisburg, to install the panels on the roof of all three district schools as wells as the bus garage at John S. Clarke Elementary Center; the Academic Center; half of Martz Hall and on an athletic field used for football practice behind the Academic Center. The number of panels to be installed was not specified Tuesday.

Athletic practices on the field behind the Academic Center would be moved to Alumni Field.

The district will spend $4,289,000 on the solar panels over 40 years, the panels’ lifespan, saving $7,379,515 in electricity costs during that time, officials said. According to a presentation at Tuesday night’s meeting, the panels will be leased for five years from an investor group, which will own, operate and maintain them during that time. Superintendent Jeffrey S. Zwiebel said Wednesday that he did not know the name of the group. GreenWorks CEO Doug Neidich said Wednesday afternoon the company is still determining who the group will be for the project.

Board members who voted in favor of the project were board President Noble Quandel Jr., Treasurer Jerome Urban and board members Michael Cardamone, Ashley DeWitt and Craig Shields. Casting votes against it were board Vice President Ann Blankenhorn and board members Christina DiCello, Patrick F. Moran and Linda Wytovich.

Contacted Wednesday, DiCello said she voted against the project because not all of her questions about it were answered.

During the meeting, DiCello asked about the commission on the sale of the solar renewable energy credits. A SREC is a green certificate an entity that an owner and operator of a solar array, or solar power-generating plant, earns every time it produces 1,000 kilowatt hours of solar-generated electricity. These are sold on an alternative energy certificate market.

DiCello also wondered whether the needs of the football and soccer teams can be met if soccer games are held on Alumni Field. Additionally, if the solar panels are placed on roofs, she wondered if that would void the district’s warranties on the roofs.

Moran also voted no because he has unanswered questions.

“I like the project and think it’s worthwhile,” he said. “We just needed more information.”

Specifically, he wanted to know if all the sites were safe and the roofs strong enough to support the panels. Moran said he didn’t think the district did enough work to find an alternative site for practices at the field behind the Academic Center.

He also wonders how Alumni Field will be used by many boys’ and girls’ sports teams and youth sports. There could also be wear and tear on the field.

“It would take more to take care of the field with increased utilization,” he said.

Blankenhorn and Wytovich could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Project history

The project was first detailed for the entire board during its Dec. 3 reorganization meeting. However, the presentation was not listed on the agenda.

Business Manager Brian Manning said the board’s Buildings and Grounds Committee started discussing the plans in October. GreenWorks officials talked about the panels with the superintendent and business manager.

The Dec. 3 meeting was adjourned following the reorganization, but then it was called back to order for the presentation.

Melissa Melewsky, the in-house legal counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said the meeting’s adjournment and subsequent call back to order could run afoul of the state’s Sunshine Act.

“When the meeting is adjourned, it tells the public the meeting is over,” she said.

If the public understood the meeting was over, Melewsky said, people may have left, which would be to their own detriment as the meeting wasn’t really over and there were issues discussed that the public didn’t witness or participate in.

In such a case, the Court of Common Pleas looks at how much time passed between the meeting adjournment and the meeting being called back to order.

Manning said about one to two minutes passed between when the reorganization meeting was adjourned and when it was called back to order for the presentation.

Moran said he had known district officials wanted to move forward on the project and that it was being discussed. DiCello said she didn’t know about it before the reorganization meeting.

Funds garnered

Zwiebel said the district would receive a 30% federal tax credit, the maximum amount allowed, on the project if it was approved this month. The amount would drop to 26% in the new year, he added.

The project was reviewed by Neidich’s attorneys and district solicitor Kevin Reed. The project will not go out to bid. Reed said after Tuesday’s meeting that the language in the contract allows the district to avoid going out on bids.

Melewsky said that under the Pennsylvania public school code, any project over $18,500, adjusted for inflation, has to go out for bid unless a district can point to a specific provision in the school code that exempts them from the purchase of a contract from the bidding process.

The superintendent did not say specifically why the project wasn’t put out for bid, only that the district was relying on its, and Neidich’s legal counsel on the project.

“It is in the hands of the attorneys to interpret the project,” he said. “(Our solicitor) Kevin Reed will tell us if there is an issue.”

Zwiebel did not comment on the time between when the reorganization meeting was adjourned Dec. 4 and called back to order shortly afterwards.

Contact the writer: clee@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6028; @Cleespot on Twitter

POTTSVILLE — Schuyl-kill County is going back to the future in buying new voting machines, as the devices the commissioners decided Wednesday to buy will have a distinct whiff of the past to them.

“We’re taking a step backward,” County Administrator Gary R. Bender said. “These will be paper ballots.”

The county will spend $1.63 million to buy the machines, which have been mandated by the state in the wake of the 2016 election, from Election System & Software, Omaha, Nebraska, according to Bender.

“This really was pushed upon us,” said commissioners Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr., who called the machines a “partially unfunded mandate.”

Commissioner Gary J. Hess said that, while the state is paying only 60% of the cost, that is better than zero.

Robert S. Carl Jr., a member of the Election Board and a former county commissioner, said the state ended up agreeing to pay $90 million to the counties to help them with the costs.

Bender said the paper ballots will be scanned into the machines, which will be at each of the county’s 130 polling places.

“There will be a paper trail,” he said.

Halcovage praised the county Election Board for being conscientious and diligent in their research on which machines should be bought. While the commissioners usually comprise that board, they could not do so this year because they were on the ballot. This year’s board consisted of Carl, Jeanne Porter and Mark J. Scarbinsky.

“They really put a lot of time and effort into this,” Halcovage said. “We’re very fortunate to have had the Election Board.”

Bender said ES&S was a natural choice, since it supplied the county with its current machines and is very cooperative, including providing quick assistance with the problem the county faced with a voting machine in Branch Township this year.

“They provide excellent support. They are wonderful on Election Day,” he said.

Carl agreed that ES&S was a natural choice, noting that it has a good track record and reputation, and numerous other counties have chosen it and it has served Schuylkill County well.

“We did an extensive amount of due diligence,” Carl said, adding that the board spent much of 2019 listening to each vendor explain what his or her machines offered. “We took this very seriously.”

The machines all were similar in price, according to Carl, so the service that ES&S had provided was important.

He said that each system is taking the county back to paper ballots, although those ballots will be scanned at polling places by optical scanners.

Carl said each polling place in the county will have one machine that is compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. That machine will print out a paper trail with a touch-screen machine, he said.

“They’re much greater in price,” he said in explaining why there is only one such machine per polling place.

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

The second annual Winterfest event, presented by the Greater Pottsville Winter Carnival, will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 11, 2020, on South Second Street between West Market and Mahantongo streets. The event will feature local craft and food vendors and tons of family friendly activities.

One of the highlights of the event will be a two-hour live ice sculpture demonstration, sponsored by the Schuylkill County Visitors Bureau. In addition, Winterfest will have a variety of indoor and outdoor vendors, food trucks, a snow activity area for children and families and a beer garden for adults. Entertainment will include a performance by SAPPHIRE dancers from The Crimson Academy, performers from Spotlight Kidz and special introductions made by Winter Carnival royalty.

“We were thrilled with the success of the inaugural Winterfest. The level of business and community support has allowed for Winterfest to become an annual event. We have a great partnership with the Greater Pottsville Winter Carnival and can’t wait for Winterfest 2020,” said Savas Logothetides, PADCO Executive Director.

Pottsville Winterfest is part of the Pottsville Continued Progress Project, a PADCO initiative. PADCO is the city’s economic development agency.

More information can be found at www.downtownpottsville.com/events.

Anthony J. Kilker

SHENANDOAH — A man charged with assaulting a Shenandoah police officer on Nov. 22 waived his right to a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kilker.

Joshua W. Koncsler, 22, of 439 W. Coal St., was arrested by Shenandoah police Patrolman William Moyer and Adam Sajone and charged with two counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault and one count each of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, harassment and criminal mischief.

By waiving his right to a hearing, Koncsler will now have to answer to all eight charges in Schuylkill County Court, where he can plead guilty or enter a not guilty plea and request a trial.

Police charged Koncsler with assaulting Patrolman Marvin Livergood at a home at 439 W. Coal St.

Livergood went to the home as part of an investigation of a report of a man dragging a woman on the street and found Koncsler, who refused to be taken into custody.

Police said the man resisted, put his hands up in front of his body and then struck Livergood in the face with a closed fist.

Koncsler then fled to the upper floors of the home and was subsequently taken into custody with the assistance of officers from several other departments.

Other court cases included:

Anastacio Cruz-Guzman, 33, homeless; waived for court: theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief.

Cassidine Richardo Reed, 25, of 250 Bowman St. Apt. 3, Wilkes-Barre; withdrawn: simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Jefry Yancarlos Hichez, 18, of 308 S. Main St., Shenandoah; withdrawn: aggravated assault. Waived for court: aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment, disorderly conduct and corruption of minors.

Michael C. Linkchorst, 39, no address available; held for court: altered or misbranding controlled substances, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Melissa Baer, 25, of 435 W. Oak St., Shenandoah; held for court: disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.

Geralynn Matta, 53, of 25 S. Jardin St., Shenandoah; withdrawn: loitering and prowling at night and criminal mischief.

Terry L. Miller, 64, of 320 Roosevelt Drive, Mahanoy City; held for court: public nuisance.

Stephen A. Mackeravage, 48, of 225 W. Coal St., Shenandoah; withdrawn: strangulation, simple assault, harassment and public drunkenness.

Suzanne Miller, 57, of 320 Roosevelt Drive, Mahanoy City; held for court: public nuisance.

Franklin R. Sterner, 33, of 526 W. Coal St., Shenandoah; pleaded guilty to a charge of defiant trespass.

Richard J. Davis, 38, of 1937 Park St., Harrisburg; entered a guilty plea to a charge of criminal attempt to commit criminal trespass and prosecutors withdrew charges of criminal trespass, criminal attempt to commit institutional vandalism, criminal attempt to commit criminal mischief and loitering and prowling at night.

James K. Reiley

POTTSVILLE — A man charged with leaving a threatening message on the Aerotek Staffing company answering machine on Oct. 28 waived his right to a hearing before Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley.

Malcolm Lloyd Woomer, 52, of 319 W. Market St. Apt. 3, Pottsville, was arrested by Pottsville police Patrolman James Englert and charged with one count each of terroristic threats and disorderly conduct.

By waiving his right to a hearing, Woomer will now have to answer to both charges in Schuylkill County Court, where he can plead guilty or enter a not guilty plea and request a trial.

Englert charged Woomer with calling the business and leaving a message saying he would “blow up the place” if he did not receive his paycheck.

Woomer was identified and when interviewed later admitted to making the threats, Englert said.

Other court cases included:

Rhett W. Potter Jr., 35, of 435 E. Norwegian St., Pottsville; waived for court: criminal trespass, criminal mischief and criminal attempt to commit criminal trespass.

Devin Green, 33, of 317 Morgan Ave., Pottsville; waived for court: possession of a controlled substance-contraband by inmate, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Addison J. Hummel, 26, no known address, Pottsville; waived for court: criminal trespass, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Ryan P. Ganter, 40, of 26 E. William St., Schuylkill Haven; withdrawn: recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of children.

Pedro La San Cabrera, 32, of 319 W. Arch St., Suite 4, Pottsville; dismissed: simple assault and harassment.

Robert D. Steffie, 49, LKA 114 Vaux Ave., Tremont; waived for court: criminal trespass.

Jason M. Oshman, 32, of 605 W. Penn St., Shenandoah; waived for court: defiant trespass, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Brandon Lee Erb, 35, of 403 E. Market St., Apt. B, Pottsville; dismissed because the victim did not appear: simple assault.

Cory M. Ratliff, 42, of 301 W. Arch St., Pottsville; waived for court: retail theft.

Ralph J. Caruano Jr., 65, of 248 N. 10th St., Pottsville; waived for court: possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Tyler J. Henderson, 18, of 2709 Mountain Road, Hamburg; waived for court: criminal mischief.

Mark D. Marks Jr., 29, of 120 Market Square, Pottsville; waived for court: endangering the welfare of children, simple assault, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Derek M. Knight, 26, of 916 W. Race St., Pottsville; waived for court: accidents involving damage to attended vehicles or property.

Heather M. Bowden, 32, of 170 James St., Kaska; held for court: possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Elizabeth M. Kattner, 40, of 109 N. Warren St., Orwigsburg; waived for court: possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, DUI-controlled substance, careless driving and improper sun screening.

Robert L. Johnson, 42, of 715 W. Arch St., Pottsville; waived for court: escape.

Shane D. Stoops, 30, of 189 Winfield Drive, Box 114, Middleport; held for court: possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

(Staff writer Frank Andruscavage compiled this report)

MAHANOY CITY — A newspaper story published by The Republican-Herald on Dec. 4, about a fire hydrant out of service for two years, raised the ire of one councilman at Tuesday’s borough council meeting.

Councilman Scott Kline spoke about the situation involving the broken hydrant at B and Spruce streets.

The subject was raised when the council was acting on an agenda item to accept a quote of $6,271.20 from LB Water Service Inc., Selinsgrove, to repair fire hydrants at Third and Mahanoy streets and on the 500 block of Spruce Street.

The motion was made by council Vice President Francis Burke and then seconded by Kline.

“Just so everyone here knows who reads the paper, there was an article written about the fire hydrant and this is a response to that,” Kline said. “We have been working on this quite a while to clear that all up.”

Kline responded to the comment in the news article attributed to Mayor Dennis Wiessner that borough officials had received “six or seven complaints” about the hydrant.

“About the complaints that were filed, there is no paperwork,” Kline explained. “The proper way with this borough that we’ve come up with is to file paperwork about complaints. We have no names to those complaints and there is no complaints in the office. So, I, as one (member) of the borough council, am sticking up for the street department, and the borough council would like to make a statement that those statements in the newspaper were totally not followed up on and no basis on them. He didn’t even know that we’ve been in the works of trying to get it corrected, how much it costs, what needs to be repaired, how we could do it cost-effective, do we have the money to do it. There was none of that brought up.”

Kline continued, “It’s a long process to get some things done, and we have very minimal funds available.”

“And this council was criticized about that and not doing their work,” Burke interjected. “We’ve been working on it for some time.”

“I have personal hours in on this and I was not appreciative when I saw that article,” Kline said. “It’s not like we’re not doing it for the public’s safety. It was already investigated. I appreciate the comments from the fire chief (Dan Markiewicz).”

Markiewicz was at the meeting and Kline addressed him.

“We talked to you about the safety effects were and about one hydrant being down,” Kline said. “At one time, we had three hydrants at one time that were out. We had one that we got up and running with parts that we fixed for very minimal (cost). With these other two hydrants, we have the funding in our sinking fund for the means to fix these, amongst all the other problems in town we had when that fire hydrant went out.”

Burke added, “In the interest of public safety, safety is first in my books for the fire department, and I didn’t really appreciate those comments in the paper.”

Council President Thom Maziekas reiterated that there is a procedure about filing complaints in writing and signed with the borough.

“That solves all of the problems with phone calls,” Kline said. “I did this exercise with two other council members about four or five years ago that we needed a paper trail.”

Burke said the borough office has the complaint forms.

“You have to fill it out, date it and sign it,” Burke said. “It’s the procedure.”

“If they don’t want to fill it out, it becomes a problem when we have to go to court,” Kline said. “If you want it done, come fill out the paperwork.”

Wiessner attended the meeting but made no comments during Kline’s remarks.

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

The board on Thursday named directors James Monger, as president, and Joanna Stroup, as vice president, both for one-year terms.

They replace Daniel Stroup, the former president who did not seek re-election; and former vice president, John Mika, who remains on the board.

Two board seats remain vacant.

Republican Dan Galbraith had run for Daniel Stroup’s seat and was unopposed in the November election, but has moved out of the area. The other vacancy resulted from director Michael Minnich’s resignation, effective Nov. 14.

Solicitor Nicholas Quinn administered the oath of office to directors elected, in addition to Monger and Joanna Stroup, Tracey Minnich and Christopher Stroup.

In other business, directors voted to withdraw from the Schuylkill Educational Technology Advisory Council. The Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29, Mar Lin, is no longer authorized to submit E-rate on behalf of the district for consortium purchase of Regional Wide Area Network services.

The board noted the 2016 services agreement (E-rate) is between Comcast and IU 29.

“Furthermore, 3.12 and 5.1 in the Comcast agreement and SETAC bylaws indicate no termination fees are to be paid. This motion directs the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit to terminate its agreement with Comcast on Williams Valley School District’s behalf,” the board’s motion states.

In other business, it was announced the Williams Valley Elementary School will be receiving some additional playground equipment. A $4,750 grant from Wal-Mart will enable the district to purchase the new items.

The board approved the following personnel matters:

• The resignation of elementary teacher Kristin Oshman, effective 60 days from Nov. 26, or upon hiring a replacement.

• The resignation of full-time, second shift custodian Russell Klinger, effective Nov. 29.

• Hiring Doug Buffington, of Tower City, as an assistant wrestling coach for the 2019-20 school year, at a salary per the collective bargaining agreement.

• Appointing the following volunteer coaches, Charles Rodichok, of Tower City, assistant girls basketball; Ryan Achenbach, of Tower City, assistant 7th/8th grade boys’ basketball; Ian Minnich, of Williamstown, assistant wrestling; and Roger Ulsh, of Tower City, assistant high school baseball.

• Appointing Douglas Enders, of Elizabethville, as a volunteer elementary school accompanist for the 2019-20 school year.

Board meetings for 2020 will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the board room at the Jr.-Sr. High School on the following dates: Jan. 9 and 23; Feb. 13 and 27; March 12 and 26; April 9 and 23; May 14 and 28; June 11 and 25; July 16; Aug. 13 and 27; Sept. 10 and 24; Oct. 8 and 22; Nov. 12; and Dec. 3 for reorganization.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007

POTTSVILLE — A Pottsville woman was seriously injured when she was struck by a vehicle in the city Tuesday night.

Pottsville Police Chief Richard F. Wojciechowsky said the woman was struck around 10:10 p.m. at Route 61, Claude A. Lord Boulevard, and East Norwegian Street.

Wojciwchowsky said the initial investigation showed a 41-year-old Frackville man was driving a 2006 Ford F-150 truck north on Route 61 when his vehicle struck the 38-year-old woman, who was crossing the highway in the intersection.

The woman, who was not identified by police, suffered severe injuries and was treated at the scene by Schuylkill EMS and then taken to a hospital.

The driver of the vehicle and a woman seated in the front passenger’s seat were not injured, the chief said.

Wojciechowsky said the investigation is continuing and police are asking that anyone with information or who may have witnessed the crash to call them at 570-622-1234, ext. 331, or 570-628-3792.

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

MAR LIN — A high-tech symbol of holiday cheer this year hails from the creativity of Schuylkill Technology Center-South students.

Students in instructor Fred Cicero’s precision machining technology program designed a 2019 ornament from “6061” aircraft grade aluminum. As is tradition, they distribute the artful creations to staff, counselors and board members.

“We wanted to go with a unique design, so we found an image of a wreath. I thought it was a little bland, so we added some stars and snowflakes in the spirit of creativity,” said Noah Tovar, a senior STC student from Shenandoah.

About 240 ornaments were created. Students used Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing software to design the piece, and programmed a HAAS brand Mini Mill Computer Numerical Control machine to cut them. They have been making a yearly holiday ornament since 2007, according to Cicero.

The front of the ornament features “STC 2019” and has an adorned wreath. The back says, “Happy holidays from precision machining.”

Cicero said senior class members are tasked with the job of creating the annual ornament design. Prior year’s projects have featured a variety of shapes, from a Christmas tree, to a gift box and gingerbread man. They are displayed on a tree outside Cicero’s classroom.

Tyler Fifth, a Mahanoy Area senior, worked with Tovar to create this year’s offering. There were challenges, he said. “We had to knock our time down. It was six minutes to make one, and we made some changes to get it running much faster,” Fifth said.

One way to reduce the time was to keep the process flowing, Tovar said. Instead of having the CNC machine dart all over the ornament, and stop and start as each item was cut into the aluminum, the team tried to make the process as seamless and streamlined as possible.

They discovered it was quicker to cut the back of the ornament first, and do the front of it last.

“The changes that they made were to improve it,” Cicero said.

Once all the computer setup was completed and the ornaments were cut, students deburred the pieces and installed hooks. Deburring is a process to remove any sharp edges left from the machining operations.

Freshmen Synary Grose, of Hegins; and Luke Bercher, of Schuylkill Haven; and sophomore Jared Bachert, of Orwigsburg, used files, sandpaper and deburring tools to smooth any rough edges.

“The more details that you have, the harder it is,” Bachert said.

The ornament project simulates a production run, according to Cicero. It helps students see the challenges of running a machine shop, and simulates time constraints and methods needed to create a consistent product efficiently.

Sixty of the ornaments will be used for the STC food truck benefit brunch Sunday at Black Diamond in Frackville, Cicero said.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007

POTTSVILLE — Three Schuylkill County women are on their way to state prison after a judge sentenced them Wednesday for selling drugs to an undercover officer in September and October 2018 in Minersville.

Paulette S. Stablum, 48, of Saint Clair, must spend two to four years in a state correctional institution, plus an additional two years on probation, all consecutive to her current sentence, Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin decided.

“She was delivering heroin and fentanyl to an undercover officer,” and has drug crimes in her prior record, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer N. Foose told Dolbin about Stablum, who wept before the judge imposed her sentence.

Ashley A. Fritz, 35, of Pine Grove, must serve two to four years in a state correctional institution, plus two additional months on probation, while Stacey C. Hutsko, 46, of Minersville, must spend nine to 24 months in a state correctional institution, plus 15 consecutive months on probation, Dolbin ruled.

Stablum, who is in prison for other crimes, returned to prison after sentencing, while Dolbin ordered Fritz and Hutsko to report to prison at 10 a.m. Dec. 26.

“Do not show up drunk or high,” he warned each of them.

In a one-day trial over which Dolbin presided, a jury of nine women and three men on Oct. 24 found Fritz guilty of two counts each of delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia and not guilty of two counts of criminal use of a communication facility.

Also, they found Hutsko guilty of one count each of delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility and possession of a controlled substance and Stablum guilty of two counts each of delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility and one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Prosecutors tried the three women together.

Schuylkill County detectives charged the women with selling drugs on various occasions in 2018 to an undercover police officer in Minersville.

They alleged Fritz sold methamphetamine twice on Oct. 31, 2018, Hutsko sold meth once on Sept. 20, 2018, and Stablum sold heroin twice on Oct. 8, 2018.

Fritz told Dolbin she delivered meth only for friends of hers.

“It wasn’t even me doing it,” she said as she started to cry.

Hutsko said she regretted what she had done.

“This is the first time I have ever been in trouble,” she said. “I screwed up royally, and I’m paying the price.”

Dolbin emphasized in each case that the women had committed felonies.

In Stablum’s case, Dolbin also sentenced her to pay costs, $200 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund, $100 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and $226 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem, and undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation.

Dolbin also sentenced Fritz to pay costs, $200 in SAEF payments, $100 in CJEA payments and $226 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem.

Finally, in Hutsko’s case, Dolbin also sentenced her to pay costs, a $100 SAEF payment, a $50 CJEA payments and $113 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem.

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

Man charge with assaulting woman

PORT CARBON — A borough man was arrested by Port Carbon police and charged with assaulting a woman at 502 3rd St. on Nov. 17.

Police charged David Allen Legutko, 37, of 505 3rd St., with one count each of aggravated assault, simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment.

Legutko was arraigned on the charges and committed to Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of $50,000 straight cash bail that he has since posted with the help of a bail bondsman.

Police said Legutko became involved in an argument with Melissa Ann Correlli, during which he hit her in the head several times with a closed fist, causing her to lose consciousness. When the woman regained consciousness she went to a bedroom where Legutko began kicking and punching her in the ribs and head, leaving bruises and other marks, police said.

The woman subsequently obtained a Protection From Abuse order against Legutko and went to the hospital, where she required surgery to repair bleeding from her spleen, police said.

Police investigate criminal mischief

NEW PHILADELHIA — State police at Frackville are investigating a criminal mischief incident that happened in a wooded lot three miles north of New Philadelphia between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1.

Police said someone went to a 300-acre tract of land owned by Paul Direnzo of Pottsville by using a 3/4-mile dirt trail off the Burma Road in Blythe Township.

The property, police said, is landlocked and surrounded by Blythe Township Municipal Authority land.

The person or persons cut down six trees, blocking a dirt trail that Direnzo uses to travel through his property.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 570-874-5300.

Police looking into possible burgarly

RINGTOWN — An attempted burglary that happened at 122 Hollow Road in Union Township on Tuesday is being investigated by state police at Frackville.

Police said Brian and Christine Gottshall reported finding damage to the door handle of the home and said the damage happened between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

The person or persons did not gain access into the residence and police are asking that anyone with information contact them at 570-874-5300.

The Pottsville Area Development Corporation has been awarded $300,000 by the United States Department of Agriculture-Rural Development through their Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program.

PADCO applied for the competitive loan in the fall of 2018. Only two grants were distributed in the entire state of Pennsylvania and a limited amount throughout the country. They had received news in the Spring of 2019 that they had been chosen and closed on the loan Nov. 21.

PADCO has a history of working with the USDA by facilitating small business growth. The $300,000 loan is to be allocated into six $50,000 loans and will be used for operating capital for businesses with ten or less employees. This loan will be paired with PADCO’s existing multi-million dollar Revolving Loan Fund and the City of Pottsville’s Redevelopment Project monies to grow small businesses in Pottsville’s the central business district.

Executive Director of PADCO, Savas Logothetides, said that PADCO worked with the USDA and U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-9, Dallas, to be awarded the RMAP Loan and that Rory Piermattei and Jeff Gatano, both with USDA, were instrumental in obtaining the allocation.

“This loan is a game-changer for the City of Pottsville. Not only will it help to attract new business to the area and further expand current business operations, but it will serve as a springboard for small business development,” said Meuser. “I look forward to seeing the positive economic impact it will bring to the region.”

“As we continue to look towards building up our central business district in the City of Pottsville, access to capital is the number one obstacle small and medium sizes businesses face. Thanks to Congressman Meuser and the USDA, the access to this money, specifically for operating capital, will help to facilitate new business or expand existing business downtown,” Logothetides said.

Frackville

Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, 209 S. Lehigh Ave., will have a holiday cookie sale and basket raffle on Saturday, Dec. 14. The cookie sale and ticket sales will be from 8 a.m. to noon and the basket raffle will be at noon. A shop-and-drop for the basket raffle will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 13. All are welcome.

McAdoo

The final day for borough property owners and residents to pay 2019 borough, Schuylkill County and Hazleton Area School District real estate taxes and county per capita taxes in the penalty period is Dec. 31. Reminders have been mailed to all borough property owners who have not paid their real estate taxes. Per capita taxes may also be owed. Tax collection hours will be from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Dec. 31, at the McAdoo Borough building, 23 N. Hancock St. If both real estate taxes are owed, people must write separate checks when paying. For more information, call Andrew DeBalko, borough tax collector, at 570-929-1628.

McAdoo

The McAdoo Lions Club will meet for a Christmas breakfast at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at Perkins Family Restaurant, Route 93. Members planning to attend should call Stephanie at 570-929-1012.

McAdoo

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6708, the Marine Corps League, McAdoo Police Department and Boy Scouts of America invite the public to enjoy a ride with Santa Claus in his horse-drawn wagon. The McAdoo/Kelayres ride is every half hour from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, beginning at the VFW post, 16 S. Kennedy Drive, where free hot chocolate, soda and hot dogs will be served. To make reservations, call the police department at 570-929-2590. Toy donations will be accepted at the McAdoo Borough Hall, 25 N. Hancock St., and at the police station.

Park Place

An old-fashioned Christmas sing-along will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, around the Christmas tree at the property of the Kathleen Wufsus Beauty Salon, 81 High Road in the Mahanoy Township village. Arrangements are being made by the 150 Committee, Wufsus and Pastor Bob Schrepple of the First United Methodist Church, Mahanoy City. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served afterward under the pavilion; all are welcome.

Pottsville

The Gabriel Youth Orchestra, under the new direction of John P. Shoener, will perform its holiday concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, in the auditorium of the Pottsville Area School District’s D.H.H. Lengel Middle School. The Gabriel Youth Orchestra was established in 2010 under the auspices of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble. It provides an opportunity for high school students from throughout the region to play in a professionally managed setting, according to a GCE press release. Shoener is a graduate of Pottsville Area High School who has a bachelor’s degree in music education from The Pennsylvania State University. He is working toward his master’s in music education from the University of Florida. In June 2017, he was appointed as director of bands and music teacher at the Shenandoah Valley School District, where he conducts all bands grades 5-12. Tickets for the concert are $5 for adults and free for children. There will be a complementary post-concert reception. For more information, call Agnès Maurer, executive director of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, at 570-943-2558 or via email at gce@gabrielensemble.org.

Pottsville

An American Red Cross blood drive is set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27, at the mall office in Fairlane Village, 7211 route 61 North. People 17 and older (16 with parental consent), weighing at least 110 pounds and in general good health are urged to donate blood. Walk-ins are welcome; to make an appointment, call 800-733-2767.

Pottsville

The annual holiday choral concert at Pottsville Area High School, 1600 Elk Ave., is set for 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. today, Dec. 12. It will feature the high school choirs in the Wachter Auditorium. Donations will be gratefully accepted at the door; all are welcome. For more information, call 570-621-2962.

POTTSVILLE — The Schuylkill County commissioners approved five change orders at its Wednesday meeting that will improve security at the new human services building and elsewhere.

Three of the changes, totaling $21,109.53, will allow for the addition of nine new card access readers, one new Maglock on a door to allow for a fire alarm and two new access card readers to other doors at the human services building at 410 N. Centre St., Pottsville.

“We are still under budget for the human services building,” County Administrator Gary R. Bender said.

The other two changes include one for $3,453.03 for the installation of a 360-degree security camera at the Courthouse East Parking Lot off North Second Street and another for $2,884 for installation of an outdoor camera and an upgrade to a port patch panel at the Schuylkill County Communications Center.

As part of the continuing effort to find space for prisoners, the commissioners also approved an inmate housing agreement with Columbia County. Under the terms of the agreement, Schuylkill will pay Columbia $70 per day for each inmate housed during 2020.

“We want to get ... the best price that we can,” commissioners Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. said.

Also, the commissioners approved a two-year agreement with Reading Hospital and Medical Center, West Reading, effective Jan. 1, 2020, under which that institution will perform autopsies for Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III. Reading Hospital will charge $2,500 per individual autopsy, which Halcovage said is the same as it charges Berks County.

“They will do the bulk of them,” Bender said.

Commissioner Gary J. Hess said he is happy to have an agreement with Reading Hospital, since it is close to the county.

In other business, the commissioners approved 11 budget adjustments for 2019. The adjustments included the following:

• Adult Probation and Parole, $1,200

• Children & Youth, $900

• Courts, $15,000

• District Attorney’s Office, $390

• Election Bureau, $15,444

• Magisterial District Judges, $1,000

• Office of Senior Services, $325,188

• Public Defender, $290

• Public Works, $500

• Sheriff’s Office, $120

• Solid Waste Management, $51,000

Director of Finance Paul E. Buber said all the adjustments involve transferring budgetary authority between line items except for the Solid Waste Management, which required a transfer from a contingency fund due to an unexpected replacement of a recycling truck’s motor. He also said the Office of Senior Services had budgetary savings that allowed it to transfer money among programs.

In other business, the commissioners:

• Approved a change to the contract with Clinical Outcomes Group Inc. to add funding for the use of Suboxone as a covered medication.

• Approved seven repository sale bids for properties.

• Approved a supplemental budget appropriation of $125,000 for the Adult Probation and Parole Office.

• Approved a supplemental budget appropriation of $237,500 for the Communications Center.

• Entered into a cooperation agreement with Schuylkill Community Action, Servants to All and Schuylkill Women in Crisis for the Emergency Solutions Grant Program. Bender said the program will help homeless or potentially homeless people.

• Renewed the Benistar Retiree Prescription Drug Plan, with a premium increase to $258.62 per person.

• Reappointed Mike McCord, Saint Clair, and Peter Zuber, Frackville, to four-year terms on the Schuylkill County Transportation Authority Board of Directors.

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