Nicolle M. Hutchinson, the CEO and director of education at Gillingham Charter School, said Thursday she’s been working with Pottsville Area School District officials to set up a hearing to allow the public voice its opinions on Gillingham’s charter proposal.

“I anticipate it will be in either April or May. We’re talking about that with Pottsville Area right now,” Hutchinson said at the March meeting of the charter school’s board of trustees at the school house.

On Dec. 3, 2015, the Pottsville Area school board rejected Gillingham’s proposal for a second five-year charter, citing a list of reasons in a five-page resolution. Pottsville Area will hold a public hearing on the matter, consider comments made at the hearing and vote again on the charter proposal.

“The way that we’ve been told that it works is that they get 30 days after the hearing to make a decision. Our charter expires on June 30,” Hutchinson said.

If Pottsville Area once again rejects the charter school’s proposal, Gillingham can take the matter to the state appeals board.

In other matters regarding Pottsville Area, the Gillingham board of trustees Thursday rejected a “waiver” regarding Pottsville Area’s next vote on the charter proposal.

“There was a request to waive a deadline for Pottsville Area School District to issue its decision after the rechartering hearing,” Gillingham board of trustees President Marsha Chwastiak said.

“This is what I can say about it. I don’t know if it clarifies it. We’re currently working with the Pottsville Area School District to determine the dates to hold the rechartering hearing. The waiver relates to a suggested date, and the board decided not to agree to that particular waiver,” Hutchinson said.

Chwastiak read the motion aloud at Thursday’s meeting:

“Can I have motion to approve a waiver of the June 30 deadline for Pottsville Area School District’s decision on our rechartering application?”

“Nay,” trustee Mindy Heppe said.

All other trustees present voted “nay” as well: Daniel Kurtz, Annette Stoudt, Susan Tallman and Chwastiak.

“The minutes should reflect that the request to waive the June 30 deadline for Pottsville Area School District’s decision on the rechartering application of the school has been rejected,” Chwastiak said.

Chwastiak was reluctant to offer further details on the matter or explain the origin of the waiver.

“We can’t discuss it at this point. It involves legal issues. I’m not sure how it came before the board, but that was the request,” Chwastiak said.

“We’ll be in further discussions with the district to finalize the dates,” Hutchinson said.

When called for comment on the matter Thursday night, Scott R. Thomas, a Pottsville Area school board member, said Pottsville Area school board is mindful of the rechartering process.

“I am confident that the Pottsville Area School District and the Gillingham Charter School will come to an agreement on the date and time of a public hearing. And, as the chairman of Pottsville Area’s special education, alternative education and charter school committee, it will be my goal, rest assured, to meet the needs of both Gillingham students and Pottsville Area students in a timely manner,” Thomas said.

In other matters at Thursday night’s meeting, the board of trustees voted to pay a law firm, Latsha, Davis, Yohe & McKenna, Exton, Chester County, a January rechartering fee of $7,247 and a February rechartering and legal defense fee of $12,869.50.

FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — The North Schuylkill school board approved the replacement of the athletic lighting at Spartan Stadium during Wednesday’s meeting.

The board approved the lighting upgrade from Musco Sports Lighting LLC, Oskaloosa, Iowa, under the Keystone Purchasing Network at a cost of $119,854. The work will begin contingent on the results of inspection of the metal light poles to determine their condition.

“What all is included, Frank?” board President Charles “Chaz” Hepler asked Director of Building and Grounds Frank Brennan.

“The lights and wires. Everything but the poles,” Brennan replied.

“Did they inspect the poles?” Hepler asked.

“They were here last week and they talked about it. They didn’t have any problems,” Brennan said.

“As I suggested before, we could have a structural engineer take a look at it before we do it,” Hepler said.

“We could ask Alfred Benesch (& Company, engineers) to come and take a look at the condition of the poles,” Superintendent Robert Ackell said.

Ackell said Benesch or another firm will be contacted about the inspection of the four poles.

“If the inspection does come back with structural issues, obviously we will not move forward with this because of extra costs,” Ackell said. “We can bring it up at the next committee meeting.”

Brennan has looked into costs for new poles and said they cost between $10,000 and $15,000 each.

Brennan said after the meeting the new lights will be substantially more energy efficient, though they are not LEDs.

“According to the contractor, the cost savings will be about 40 percent,” Brennan said.

Brennan said there are 48 lights in four banks with 12 lights in each bank.

“They will be brighter in what they call ‘cleaner light,’ ” he said. “The wattage will be the same as what we have now.”

District Business Manager Robert Amos said the funding for the lights and fencing will be paid through the capital reserve fund.

“We are planning to get back to doing something every year,” Amos said. “We have the lights, the fencing we approved tonight, the visitors bleachers, a new roof for the high school probably in the next three years. We have it all listed out year by year what projects we are planning to do.”

Amos said the projects would be paid from the reserve fund that currently has about $4.5 million.

In other facilities matters, the board approved Suburban Fence Co., Bloomsburg, to replace the fencing in front of the football field, install one walk gate and one cantilever gate and dispose of the old fencing at a total cost of $17,530.

The board retained the services of Hummer Turfgrass Systems Inc., Manheim, for the 2016 maintenance program for the stadium field — all grass inside the new track — at a cost of $8,652.

A nine-month agreement with Eastern Janitorial Services, Conshohocken, was approved for cleaning services at the junior-senior high school at a cost of $15,948.66 per month to begin April 1.

The school board acted on the following agenda items:

• Approved the following North Schuylkill students as lifeguards and/or swim instructors at the district swimming pool retroactive to March 1 at a rate of $8.50 per hour: Colin Ahrensfield, Lizzy Andrewcavage, Joseph Antolick, Justyn DeAngelo, Holden Andrewcavage, Kebner Antalosky, Raquel Burke and Audrey Mastishin

• Approved Diane Mensch as water aerobics instructor at a rate of $20 per hour

• Approved an extension of the childbearing/childrearing leave request of elementary teacher Rachael Hughes for an additional four weeks, with her returning on April 25

• Approved a letter of agreement between the ReDCo Group Behavioral Health Services and the school district, effective January 2016

• Approved the 2016-17 school calendar

• Approved the Capital Project Plan as presented to the board

• Approved Tracey Buchheister as an assistant track coach for the 2016 season at a salary of $1,400

• Approved Ralph Bushpics as an assistant track coach for the 2016 season at a salary of $1,400

• Approved Jamie Palmerio as an assistant softball coach for the 2016 season at a salary of $1,400. She was previously approved as a volunteer coach at the Dec. 9, 2015, board meeting and will now be paid.

• Approved Jenna Dyszel as a volunteer assistant softball coach for the 2016 season. She was previously approved as a paid coach at the Dec. 9, 2015, board meeting, but will now be a volunteer coach.

• Approved Scott Frew as a volunteer assistant baseball coach for the 2016 season

The 13th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Girardville will remember Irish history in the motherland and Schuylkill County.

Sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians John “Jack” Kehoe Div. 1, Girardville, the parade is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in Ireland.

According to www.history.com, on Easter Monday in 1916 a group of Irish nationalists proclaimed the establishment of an Irish Republic and staged a rebellion against the British government. The rebels seized buildings in Dublin and fought with British troops. Within a week, more than 2,000 people were killed or injured.

The parade will also salute the local coal miners’ union labor movement of the 1870s, which some say was started by the Molly Maguires. The yearly commemorative booklet and parade program will feature history about the Easter Rising and the local labor movement.

The parade will begin at noon Saturday, rain or shine. Revelers are encouraged to get to Girardville early as parking is at a premium. Traffic into the borough will be closed at 10 a.m. Stephen Barrett, parade manager with the Girardville Parade Committee, said they are asking people to travel Route 61 from Frackville to Ashland to Girardville to avoid congestion at the Gold Star Bridge in Shenandoah.

The state Department of Transportation began a replacement project at the bridge last week, which has restricted traffic flow in the borough. Barrett said he was requesting PennDOT put up message boards to help travelers from out of the area.

Parade registration will be held from 8:30 to 11 a.m. at the Girardville Municipal Building, Fourth and B streets.

The grand marshal will be Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Mike Stack. According to a press release from Barrett, Stack’s mother, Judge Felice Rowley Stack, was born and raised in Girardville.

Barrett said the committee has been trying to get more floats back in the parade, so this year they developed a contest with winners receiving a monetary award. The contest will be divided into two classes — floats created and sponsored by nonprofit organizations and floats for for-profit groups or businesses. He said the committee hopes the contest will grow into an annual tradition and something groups strive to participate in.

“Maybe people will try to compete against each other,” Barrett said.

Another special addition to this year’s parade is the State Correctional Institution/Mahanoy honor guard.

Barrett said members of some veterans groups are getting older and have trouble walking a parade route, so he reached out to the prison.

“They never marched in the parade. I sent a letter to their superintendent to ask if they could be our honor guard in the parade,” he said, adding the parade committee will buy the group a flag carrier for their participation.

Parade participants include Emerald Society Bag Pipe Band, Chester County, making its first appearance; dignitaries including U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, and state Sen. David Argall, R-29, and AOH groups from around the county and state.

The Schuylkill Amateur Repeater Association will return for the third year to provide its services. Jim Munley, secretary, said men will be set up at checkpoints to aid parade operations and report any medical or emergency incidents.

Munley said the first two years went well with not many incidents. The use of ham radios allows a free flow of communication, without using any of the county communication lines unless absolutely necessary, Munley said.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without those guys,” Barrett said. To learn more about the repeater association, visit www.w3sc.org.

Before the parade, Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, North Second Street. Mass was previously held at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church before its closure due to merger.

Other activities include Irish entertainment and the award ceremony at the Hibernian House. Food vendors and souvenirs will be available around the borough. The 2016 parade T-shirt featuring the names of the organizers of the 1916 Easter Rising and the local miners’ union movement of the 1870s will be on sale throughout the borough Saturday.

Maps of the parade route, scheduled activities and the parade lineup can be found at www.girardvilleirishparade.com.

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series examining the effort of Blythe Township and a private entity called FKV LLC to develop the Blythe Recycling And Demolition Site (BRADS), and the battle the neighboring borough of Saint Clair is waging to stop it.

By Stephen J. Pytak

SAINT CLAIR — For the past 12 years, officials from Blythe Township have tried to establish a demolition waste landfill called “BRADS,” and officials in Saint Clair have struggled to prevent it.

The bills keep mounting and the cost involves taxpayer dollars. None of the parties has made all the invoices public so exactly how much has been spent to date in the BRADS battle is hard to estimate. Nevertheless, representatives of the parties have recently provided estimates.

FKV LLC is the private company Blythe Township partnered with to develop the landfill on a 252-acre site along Burma Road. So far FKV spent “in excess of $2.5 million” of its private funds on development costs and legal fees, Steven Field, one of FKV’s principals, said March 10. The township will eventually have to pay for those expenses, according to its 2007 contract with FKV.

The Borough of Saint Clair has so far spent $1,266,846.92 on legal and expert witness fees in its efforts to stop the project, the treasurer for Saint Clair, Carol A. Sutzko, said March 11.

That is taxpayer money.

The Republican-Herald has filed inquiries to determine the accuracy of that figure. Invoices the borough provided Feb. 11 and Feb. 17 show it was at least that much. Recently, officials from Saint Clair shared stacks of invoices with the newspaper — but not all that had been requested — and they discussed their views of the situation.

“I figured between legal fees and expert witnesses, it would be that kind of thing, about $100,000 a year,” Mayor Richard E. Tomko said Feb. 23.

Council President James D. Larish said the borough is getting what it paid for.

“Of course it’s worth it, because it’s not in there. The landfill isn’t in there. You can’t put a price on the personal safety of the citizens of Saint Clair. That’s my personal opinion,” Larish said Feb. 23.

“I think it’s a tremendous amount of money. But I think a majority of our citizens do not want the landfill. Whether they know the amount of money spent or not, I do not know,” Joann Brennan, a council member who was elected in November 2012, said Feb. 23.

Saint Clair is a borough with 2,976 residents, according to www.census.gov, and its 2016 budget is $2,524,604.

RTK request

On Jan. 9, 2003, neighboring Blythe Township entered into an agreement with FKV to develop the landfill. Since then, Saint Clair has made numerous efforts to stop it, fearing the landfill will affect its quality of life, including its air and water. The borough is “within 2 miles” of the BRADS landfill site, according to Edward M. Brennan, solicitor for the borough of Saint Clair.

“The landfill site is approximately 400 acres. The permitted area of the site is approximately 252 acres, of which approximately 110 acres is the permitted disposal area. The site is located in the Little Wolf Creek watershed. The Wolf Creek Reservoir is located in the Wolf Creek Watershed,” Brennan said Feb. 24.

On Feb. 2, the newspaper submitted a Right-To-Know request to the borough for invoices for legal and consulting fees related to the BRADS battle.

On Feb. 11, Roland Price Jr., the borough secretary, Brennan and Sutzko provided a stack of invoices, but not all of the ones requested, citing attorney-client privilege.

The borough started its fight against BRADS in 2004, according to Price and Sutzko.

Between 2004 and the end of 2015 the borough spent $1,190,005.04 in the effort, according to figures included in a three-page summary submitted with the Feb. 11 response.

Legal fees

The sum included $868,749.87 in legal fees.

Breaking that down, Price said that between 2004 and 2015 the borough paid Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, Harrisburg, $745,906.88, Brennan, $119,806.25; and Marshall Dennehey, Scranton, $3,036.74.

“Your request is granted as to the amount of attorney’s fees and costs. It is denied as to copies of the itemized invoices provided by the borough solicitors. A borough solicitor’s itemized invoices are not public records and, therefore, not subject to a Right-To-Know request. See Board of Supervisors of Milford Township v. McGogney, 13 A.3d 569 (2011),” Price said in the Feb. 11 letter.

However, that case law has been overruled by Commonwealth Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel with the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, said Feb. 13.

“In Levy v. Senate (2014), the PA Supreme Court held that legal invoices are presumptively public under the RTKL, and client names and the description of services therein are not generally exempt under the attorney-client privilege although there may be the rare case when the privilege applies to limit access,” Melewsky said.

On Feb. 16, the newspaper hand-delivered a letter to Price with that information and, again, requested copies of all itemized invoices from borough solicitors related to the BRADS fight.

On Feb. 17, Price replied with a two-page letter and a stack of invoices from its lawyers, but not all of the invoices.

“First, the case law cited by you in your letter does not read precisely as you suggest. The borough solicitor advises that the existing case law was not overturned by the Supreme Court. Rather, the Supreme Court stated as follows: ‘We do not view the Commonwealth Court as setting forth a per se rule that descriptions of legal services are not protected by attorney-client privilege. Rather, we approve the Commonwealth Court and its Special Master Judge Kelley’s careful line-by-line analysis of the content of the invoices ... the relevant question is whether the content of the writing will result in disclosure of information otherwise protected by the attorney-client privilege ... For example, descriptions of legal services that address the client’s motive for seeking counsel, legal advice, strategy or other confidential communications are undeniably protected under the attorney-client privilege,” Price said in the Feb. 17 letter

“The Commonwealth Court, through Judge Kelley, conducted what is called an in-camera review of the invoices to decide on a line-by-line basis whether the attorney-client privilege attaches. It is our position that the descriptions of legal services do contain information which would be protected under the attorney-client privilege. Nonetheless, we do enclose copies of the invoices for the time period in question with the relevant entries redacted,” Price said in the Feb. 17 letter.

“Please keep in mind that these invoices contain information concerning ongoing litigation, which begin basically from the remand by the Environmental Hearing Board to DEP. We do enclose unredacted copies of the invoices from the prior litigation which led up to the remand by the Environmental Hearing Board. In that particular phase of the case, as a prevailing party, Saint Clair did file a petition for counsel fees which is filed of record with the Environmental Hearing Board. Since these have been disclosed in that matter and that part of the litigation is no longer active, you will receive full copies of the invoices,” Price said in the Feb. 17 letter. The date of the remand was March 3, 2014, according to Price.

To date, the borough has not provided all invoices for legal fees spent on its fight against BRADS. And in his Feb. 17 letter, Price did not give summary calculations for the invoices he did provide.

Expert witness fees

According to information Price provided Feb. 11, from 2004 to the end of 2015, the borough spent $321,255.17 in expert witness fees fighting BRADS.

According to Price, the following expert witnesses were paid the following amounts between 2004 and 2015: Alfred Benesch & Co., Pottsville, $98,512; Barton & Loguidice, Camp Hill, $128,100.53; Gannett Fleming, Harrisburg, $55,915.83; Michael Setley, an attorney from Wyomissing, $24,274; A. Roger Greenway, author of the “Risk Management Planning Handbook,” $4,831.63; Samuel H. Baughman II, geologist, Lancaster, $2,912.90; and “Miscellaneous Costs,” $6,708.28.

There were no invoices provided regarding the “Miscellaneous Costs” Price referred to in the Feb. 11 response.

New calculations

On March 11, borough officials added $76,841.88 to the total expenditures the borough spent on BRADS to date.

Price and Sutzko presented new figures, lists of expenditures, both legal and expert witness fees regarding the BRADS battle, by year, starting with 2004 to the present.

They said the total legal and expert witness fees the borough paid per year during the fight are: 2004, $59,000.62; 2005, $9,248.79; 2006, $28,233.20; 2007, $30,510.53; 2008, $53,534.31; 2009, $153,918; 2010, $160,946; 2011, $23,339.87; 2012, $135,441.25; 2013, $420,452.79; 2014, $76,130.15; 2015, $47,195.12; and 2016, $19,422.29.

Adding in $49,474 in undated “additional fees” from Alfred Benesch, Sutzko concluded from 2004 to March 9, the “Costs of BRADS Landfill Opposition To Date” was $1,266,846.92.

“From 2009 to 2016, the figures are right on. Prior to 2009, we put all expenditures — BRADS expenses — into emergency services and administration for budgetary purposes and it was not broken down by line item,” Sutzko said.

It’s been a long battle, but worth the effort, Tomko said.

“The borough can afford it, when you consider the quality of life of our citizens,” Tomko said.

March may be associated with celebrating Irish heritage, but the Electric City will play host to a real American patriot this month.

World Wrestling Entertainment Legend “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan will stop in Scranton for “Hacksaw: The Jim Duggan Show,” on March 25 at Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel.

“I tell folks, if they want to hear knock-knock jokes or funny jokes ... don’t come to see this show,” he said, before erupting into laughter. “This show is a behind-the-scenes look at professional wrestling.”

Seating for the one-man show, presented by Laugh Out Lepka’s Comedy, begins at 6:30 p.m., with Duggan’s performance starting at 8. Thirty VIP ticket holders will get a private meet and greet with the WWE legend from 7 to 7:45 p.m., complete with a question-and-answer session. VIPs will walk away with a keepsake from the event, too — an autographed 2-by-4, Duggan’s weapon of choice in his matches.

Duggan, who rose to fame wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s, said fans can expect to hear ring stories from the days of Duggan, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, André the Giant, Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart.

“That was the golden age of the professional wrestling,” he said. “That era still resonates today. It was a fun time in wrestling.”

WWE’s streaming network offers an entire library of content, past and present, that gives a whole new generation of fans the chance to watch classic matches from Duggan’s era.

Kevin Lepka, owner of Laugh Out Lepka’s Comedy, said it was an obvious decision to bring Duggan’s show to Scranton because of the material available at viewers’ fingertips.

“There’s a strong wrestling following in the area,” Lepka said. “It’s definitely a show unlike any other.”

Duggan’s show is different because professional wrestling itself is different. He thinks fans go crazy for it because, whether they’re a new or old fan, it’s about cheering for the good guy and booing the bad guy, all in good fun.

“It’s a unique night out,” Duggan said. “Folks that aren’t wrestling fans are curious about the business.”

Diehard fans and those who are merely curious both attend meet and greets, Duggan said. The question-and-answer sessions go on for a while and many people come with good knowledge of wrestling and great questions. The WWE legend especially enjoys hearing fan stories.

“A big, rough and tough man will come up to me, shake my hand and say, ‘Hacksaw, me and my dad, we used to watch you together,’ and start to tear up,” he said. “It’s humbling.”

Professional wrestling has given Duggan the opportunity to travel all over the world. Originally from Glens Falls, New York, he has wrestled in every state in the United States, every province in Canada and 30 other countries. He’s been to Scranton “hundreds of times” before, wrestling for crowds at the former Catholic Youth Center.

“That was a regular stop,” he said. “Not only in WWF, but even when Vince (McMahon) Sr. ran that promotion.”

No matter where he is in the world, he’s happy his life revolves around professional wrestling.

“People ask if I get tired of it,” Duggan said. “But, it’s my lifeblood. I love it.”

MCKEANSBURG — The cause of the fire that severely damaged a quonset hut and other sheds behind a home in Blythe Township on March 12 remains “undetermined,” Chad Felty, assistant chief of the Walker Township/New England Fire Company, said Friday.

The property is owned by Richard and Patricia Baver, and the collection of sheds are behind their home at 505 Mountain Road in Blythe Township.

The quonset hut was once used for deer processing, Felty said.

“It was not a commercial business, more of a hobby, and something that was done in the past,” Felty said Friday.

People from three interested companies attended a pre-bid meeting at the Howard S. Fernsler Academic Center on Friday morning about the possibility of outsourcing district transportation in the Pottsville Area School District for next school year.

The district also wants to sell its fleet of vehicles as part of its proposal but intends to keep several vehicles for its own use.

The 9 a.m. meeting was held at the academic center and lasted about 10 minutes. They then went to the John S. Clarke Elementary Center, where the district houses its fleet of vehicles.

Jay Newswanger, president of R&J Transportation, Cressona, Keith F. Galloway, director of business development and acquisitions of the Atlantic Region for Durham School Services, headquartered in Warrenville, Illinois, and Allison Cumens, operations assistant with Krapf Bus Company, West Chester, attended the mandatory meeting. Superintendent Jeffrey S. Zwiebel, Stephen C. Curran, school district business manager, and Kerry Ansbach, director of facilities and transportation, also attended.

Questions were asked by those possibly interested in submitting proposals about the Global Positioning System so parents can track the buses, the age and specifications of the vehicles, questions about the maintenance area and others. The district currently does not use GPS but that is mandated in the document.

“I’m still amazed we get them all in,” Ansbach said of the 19 school buses that fit inside the garage. Other vehicles are kept outside the elementary school.

For about 30 minutes, Newswanger, Galloway and Cumens had a look inside the garage.

“Do you have a wash bay facility?” Cumens asked.

Ansbach said they had two.

Newswanger asked how the district picks up the students.

“Do you pick up every school individually?” he asked.

Ansbach said they did because in the past they tried to combine it, but it did not work. Some students are transported in vans for various reasons. Cameras are also in the vehicles. The district also has a two-way radio for communication with the drivers.

After the tour, Galloway, Cumens and Newswanger talked about their interest in the process.

Galloway said the company has 1,500 buses in Pennsylvania and provides services to some schools in York County, in the Philadelphia area, Pittsburgh and Erie and elsewhere. He decided to attend so the company could expand its reach into other counties, he said.

“I’m impressed by the operation that they are running here,” Galloway said.

He said districts usually consider outsourcing transportation to save money.

“Anytime I see an outsourcing opportunity it’s really attractive. We will certainly be participating,” he said.

Cumens said she also is impressed with the facility. Krapf Bus Company is also looking to expand, she said. They have about 1,400 buses operating in the state. They provide busing services in Red Lion, and Spring Grove, York County, and have about 200 buses in Virginia through another company.

Newswanger also said he was impressed with the transportation services the district provides. His company provides busing services in the Blue Mountain and Schuylkill Haven Area school districts and Nativity BVM with 59 school buses and 43 vans.

Curran said the next likely step is for a school board committee to discuss the issue, the buildings and grounds and transportation committee and possibly the finance committee. The final decision is up to the school board.

Curran said five proposals were made available to prospective bidders, the other two were to Student Transportation Inc., which, according to its website, is the largest independent provider of school bus transportation services in the nation, and Rohrer, Duncanon. Curran said he did not receive any proposals from interested parties as of 3 p.m. Friday. Curran said the district has 20 buses: 17 that can fit 72 passengers, two that can transport 48 people, 1 mini bus for 27 passengers and 11 vans capable of carrying different numbers of passengers.

“The more competition you have the better,” he said.

Since the pre-bid meeting was mandatory, any additional proposals that are received by the 11 a.m. March 28 deadline will not be opened, he said. He said the district can approve one, none or decide to solicit another request for proposals.

In the event that the chosen provider fails to meet certain stipulations, the district may cancel the contract. Zwiebel said the district looks forward to receiving bids this month.

Both Zwiebel and Curran said previously the district could potentially save money by going this route.

The move would save the district having to pay $170,302 for 2016 and 2017 into the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System and could also save $37,640 by taking the vehicles off the insurance, Curran said.

The district also wants to make sure the employees that will be affected are taken care of in terms of having a job. There are about 30 drivers, all part time, who usually work about 5 1/2 hours a day, as well as three full-time people in the transportation department, Ansbach, Deniece Krater, transportation supervisor/dispatcher, and Kim Blum, assistant transportation supervisor.

n Altamont: The Altamont Fire Company, 215 Green St., will sponsor a dinner from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday at the firehouse. Meals include baked or Yuengling beer-battered haddock, shrimp or crab cakes. Patrons may eat at the firehouse or take meals out. Free delivery will be available in the Frackville area. To order or for more information, call 570-874-4384.

n Ashland: The Ashland Area Historical Preservation Society will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at its 316-318 Centre St. headquarters. Loretta Murphy will present information on Irish wakes. There is no admission fee and the public is welcome to attend. For more information, call 570-590-9044.

n Frackville: An American Red Cross blood drive is scheduled for 1 to 6 p.m. April 4 at Zion Lutheran Church, 48 S. Nice St. People 17 and older (16 with parental consent), weighing at least 110 pounds and in general good health are urged to donate blood. For an appointment or more information, call 800-733-2767.

n Mahanoy City: The auxiliary of American Legion Post 74, East Centre Street, is asking the local business leaders and community residents to donate to its American Flag Project. “We would like to see our downtown area be as patriotic as possible for Memorial Day and to show pride and support for the men and women who served and continue to serve in the U.S. military,” organizers said in a press release. Donations can be mailed to the American Legion Auxiliary, P.O. Box 174, Mahanoy City, PA 17948.

n Millersburg: The Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art will host the “Patrick Gnan, Wildlife Artist” exhibit April 2 through June 25 in its Romberger Hallway Gallery. There will also be a “Spring Star Party” free astronomy program from 7 to 10:30 p.m. April 2 with the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg. For more information, call 717-692-3699 or go online to nedsmithcenter.org.

n Orwigsburg: The Schuylkill Masonic Temple Association will host its 11th annual fish dinner from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at 1000 E. Market St. Meals include baked haddock, choice of french fries, baked potato or macaroni and cheese, string beans or corn, applesauce, pepper cabbage, bread and dessert. The cost is $9.50 for adults and free for children 12 and younger. Takeouts will be available by calling 570-366-1385.

n Pottsville: The Nativity BVM High School Drama Club will sponsor a family fun night from 5 to 8 p.m. March 29 at Friendly’s Family Restaurant near Fairlane Village mall, Route 61. A portion of the proceeds from the restaurant’s eat-in and take-out meals will benefit the drama club and its spring musical, “Legally Blonde.” All are welcome. For more information, call 610-334-8272.

n Shenandoah: Divine Mercy Roman Catholic Parish is asking people to give something during Lent for the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters. Items may be dropped off at the church or at the parish office, 108 W. Cherry St., during regular business hours. Most needed items include laundry detergent, bar soaps, hand towels, bath towels, tissues, mouth wash, denture cleaner, shampoo, writing paper/cards, pillows, wash cloths, hand and body lotion, baby wipes, liquid soap refills, deodorant, Clorox and twin blankets for the retirement home of the Bernardine Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis and for St. Joseph Villa. For more information, call the parish office at 570-462-1968.

n William Penn: The William Penn Fire Company, Route 54, will have a bleenie sale beginning at 11 a.m. on Good Friday, March 25. To order, for free local delivery or more information, call 570-462-0338. The company will have a cheesesteak dinner beginning at 3 p.m. April 2. The cost is $8 per platter. For orders and free local delivery, call 570-462-0338.

Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part series examining the effort being made by Blythe Township and a private entity called FKV LLC to develop the Blythe Recycling And Demolition Site (BRADS), and the battle the neighboring borough of Saint Clair is waging to stop it.

If the Borough of Saint Clair isn’t satisfied with the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board’s upcoming decision on the BRADS issue, the borough may appeal the case to Commonwealth Court, Edward M. Brennan, the borough solicitor, said March 10.

And if the borough isn’t satisfied with the verdict of the Commonwealth Court, the borough may appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Brennan said.

“There’s not an automatic right of appeal to the state Supreme Court. You would have to ask the state Supreme Court for permission to appeal. If they grant it, then they would hear it. If they won’t hear the case, then it’s done,” Brennan said.

He said the Borough of Saint Clair won’t be able to take the case any further than that.

Over the past 12 years, the borough has spent more than $1.2 million in its efforts to prevent Blythe Township from establishing the construction and demolition waste landfill proposed for Silver Creek, two miles from the Saint Clair border.

The battle was worth the effort for a few reasons, according to Brennan and members of the council.

“We’re allowed to question what they’re doing. And I think the project has gotten a much more thorough review because of our questioning. Let’s say we get to the point where the permit is ultimately issued and it’s no longer appealable. The fact that we made them dot their i’s and cross their t’s is certainly in the interest of the borough and more importantly we showed that this is just not a good idea,” Brennan said.

“I always thought the borough council was trying to follow the dictates of the people of the town, and they’re overwhelmingly opposed to this landfill proposal,” Richard E. Tomko, mayor of Saint Clair, said Feb. 23.

If the council is not satisfied with the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board’s upcoming decision on the borough’s latest appeal, the council may take the case to Commonwealth Court and, possibly, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Brennan said.

“I don’t mind investing if it’s possible to stop it,” the mayor said.

Permits

“DEP reviews the application for any landfill and allows for public input and comment. If the permit is denied, the applicant has an opportunity to appeal that denial to the Environmental Hearing Board. If the permit is granted, an interested party may intervene and likewise appeal to the Environmental Hearing Board. In this case, both Blythe and the Borough of Saint Clair filed appeals with the Environmental Hearing Board. Listed below is the chronology of this process. As you may know, the landfill was originally proposed sometime in 2003,” Brennan said Feb. 24.

On June 23, 2011, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued “Permit number: PAR502209,” a five-year permit, for discharge of stormwater associated with industrial activities, according to the DEP e-FACTS website.

“That’s an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit to discharge runoff from property into sewer system or waterway. That permit has not been appealed,” Colleen Connolly, community relations coordinator with DEP’s Northeast Regional Office, Wilkes-Barre, said Monday.

On July 13, 2012, the DEP issued “Permit number: 101679,” a 10-year permit, to Blythe Township for development of the landfill, according to the DEP e-FACTS website.

“That’s a permit to begin site development of the landfill. That one was appealed,” Connolly said.

“On Aug. 10, 2012, Saint Clair filed an appeal to DEP’s issuance of Solid Waste Permit No. 101679,” Brennan said.

“As soon as the permits are issued, they become active, from the date of the issuance on the permit,” Connolly said.

The borough fears the landfill will pollute local watersheds and reservoirs and cause mine subsidence.

“The general purpose of such appeals to the Environmental Hearing Board is to allow all interested parties to insist that a thorough and adequate review is undertaken by DEP prior to issuance or denial of any permit. You should note that DEP reversed its position in 2011 after Secretary Krancer was appointed by Governor Corbett. The permit has been denied by the Rendell Administration. The ultimate reissuance of the permit on Jan. 20, 2015, was done in the final days of the Corbett Administration,” Brennan said.

There was a three-day hearing on Saint Clair’s appeal before the state Environmental Hearing Board in early February, and Brennan doesn’t expect a decision from the board until April or May.

The Borough of Saint Clair has so far spent $1,266,846.92 on legal and expert witness fees in its efforts to stop it, the treasurer for Saint Clair, Carol A. Sutzko, said March 11.

“What has the borough achieved for its investment? The borough continues to fight for the health and safety of its citizens as well as the citizens of the surrounding communities. The borough was successful on March 3, 2014, when the Environmental Hearing Board remanded this application for further detailed studies with regard to subsidence and onsite weather data,” Brennan said Feb. 24.

“Saint Clair was forced to defend a federal lawsuit where Blythe alleged that Saint Clair interfered with its civil rights by pursuing the DEP appeal. Part of that complaint also suggested that by contacting our federal, state and local representatives to express our concerns, that somehow we violated their civil rights. This case was thrown out by the judge. Blythe appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and was likewise unsuccessful. Blythe has been ordered to pay the costs associated with that matter,” Brennan said Feb. 24.

Going forward

Saint Clair Council President James D. Larish, who has been on the council for 12 years, said the council has promised to fight the landfill proposal until it was off the table.

“That’s something we’ve always said. I have not heard any complaints about not fighting it. And if it does get in, and something ever happens, nobody can come up to us and say ‘you did not do enough,’ ” Larish said Feb. 23.

“We can’t put a price on public safety. At the end of the day, we may lose this battle. But I’ll be able to sleep at night knowing that I’ve done everything I can to make it as safe as possible for the citizens of the borough,” council member John R. Burke said Feb. 25.

“Take Flint, Michigan, as an example. Ask those people out there what they pay right now for safe drinking water,” Burke said.

Burke believes the BRADS landfill could pollute the borough’s air and contaminate the soil and, possibly, the ground water.

“So, at the end of the day, whether we win or lose, I think the money’s well spent,” Burke said.

“I feel exactly how he does. I’m totally on his side,” council member Rebecca “Becky” Kovich said Feb. 25, referring to Burke. Kovich is new to the council, having been elected in November.

“I’m new too. And I don’t know everything that’s going on either, but I agree 100 percent with him,” council member Tom Dempsey said Feb. 25, referring to Burke. “I’ve been living in this borough, like, forever, and I don’t want to see garbage up there. That’s how I feel.”

“I also feel you can’t put a price on public safety. You’re talking about a Burma Road that’s unsafe for trucks. You’re talking about contaminating drinking water. You’re talking about our playgrounds at the bottom of the hill. You’re talking about the schools in town. You’re talking about the Little League fields. And I don’t want to see that up there,” council member William M. Dempsey said Feb. 25.

“It’s not like we’re taking the town’s money and letting the town fall apart. We’re upgrading the infrastructure in town overall over the past eight years. We’re been upgrading the roads and the electrical infrastructure. We’re tearing down dilapidated buildings. So we’re taking care of the citizens. We’re upgrading our police force. They aren’t losing anything. But, again, the safety of this community comes first and there are just too many questions right now that are still left unanswered,” Burke said.

“It’s well worth the effort. That has to be the worst spot in the county, and probably in the state, to put a landfill. You have issues including the drinking water up there, and the roads. I run with the fire department up there on accidents. If a landfill goes up there, that will cost somebody’s life. There will be deaths on that road,” council Vice President Michael Petrozino said Feb. 25.

GIRARDVILLE — The Girardville Parade Committee said a special route to today’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is set up from Frackville.

The new route was created to avoid construction in Shenandoah, according to Stephen Barrett, parade manager.

Travelers on Route 924 are recommended to take the exit to Gilberton, take a right at the stop sign and travel five miles to Girardville.

The road was closed in previous years due to the parade line up procedure, but the committee decided to keep it open this year to aid traffic flow.

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Blue Mountain students showed their smarts Friday, claiming first place at the 24th annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition.

“You buzz in and you go for it,” Micah Boyer, Blue Mountain team captain and senior member, said of attacking the questions presented. “Wasting time gives the other team a chance to get the answer.”

While the Eagles’ Quiz Bowl team grabbed the gold among an 11-team field, Pine Grove Area students earned second place silver medals, followed by Schuylkill Haven Area in third place.

Sponsored by Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29, the event was held at the Health and Wellness Building at Penn State Schuylkill. Jack Shandor, Chuck Grabusky and Cindy Stasulli served as moderators.

Students were asked questions in a quiz bowl fashion, needing to “buzz” in with the correct answer within a time limit. Questions ranged from a variety of topics including history, science, math, politics, geography, literature, current events and pop culture. Most participants polled after the competition agreed the caliber of the questions was tough yet appropriate for high school students.

Boyer has been a member of the Blue Mountain team for four years and attributed the team’s success to the daily practices.

“I’m more of a history and science person, but I’ll take on any category,” said Boyer, who intends to major in physics at Kutztown University and pursue a career in astronomy. “I enjoy being smart and learning new things during the competition.”

Fellow Eagle teammate Matthew Blair is also a senior and plans to seek a masters degree in anthropology. He said his specialty is Roman history.

“We do have a good program and do practice. We have a wide pool of people to choose from,” he said. As far as the team’s strategy during competition, Blair said because he has problems pronouncing some words, he often confers with others to supply the verbal answer.

In addition to Boyer and Blair, other Blue Mountain teammates appearing in Friday’s contest were Travis Barrow, Andrew Chawluk, Quentin Jurista, Dan Kelley, Alex Snitzer and Dillon Wertman. Steve Zimmerman, Blue Mountain High School social studies teacher and gifted coordinator, serves as team coach.

“They all want to play and they’re competitive and like answering questions,” Zimmerman said. He said the team plays different versions of the game, not just relying on a question-and-answer session, which makes it more competitive and interesting. There are approximately 30 students who actively participate, he said.

Pine Grove Area’s team also came prepared for the flood of competition-level questions.

“I thought it was a good mix that I knew off the top of my head and some that were brain busters,” John Fisher, a senior member of the team, said. Fisher said he prefers math questions but also likes to answer questions involving history and sports.

“I’ll be back next year,” added Alex Koontz, a junior, who served as this year’s team captain.

Other Pine Grove Area team members attending the competition were Samantha LePre, David Krammes, Kristin Bichteman, Julia Harwi, Bailey Miko and Rebecca Shenk. There are a total of 18 students from Pine Grove Area who participate in Quiz Bowl Club, which meets Mondays and Wednesdays after school, according to head coach Gerald Salen.

Salen had been on a Quiz Bowl team as a student, served as an assistant coach for eight years and has also been head coach of the Cardinals’ team for eight years.

Koontz said while the team trains on all topics, several of his teammates have their specialties where they excel.

“John’s good with sports, Sam with art and music and David with politics. I prefer science and history questions,” Koontz said.

LePre, a senior, has been a varsity starter for Pine Grove Area for the past four seasons.

“I like the idea of being a part of a team that isn’t just sports. They’re a great group of friends,” said LePre, who plans to attend Penn State Schuylkill to major in psychology.

Krammes, meanwhile, participated in his first competition for the Cardinals.

“We have a fantastic team. They work with you and see that your opinion is heard,” he said.

Although her team didn’t make it into the semifinal round, Emily Kimmel from Tri-Valley also appeared to be having fun.

“We went over some current event topics, sports and random facts from our subjects in school,” she said. “This time, we had a lot of science questions. On some questions, we had no clue but we did the best we could,” Kimmel, Hegins, said.

The team scores going into the semifinal and final rounds were as follows: Blue Mountain, 230 points; Pottsville Area and Pine Grove Area both had 175 points; and Schuylkill Haven Area had 170 points.

Top-seed Blue Mountain beat Schuylkill Haven Area in the semifinals, while Pine Grove defeated Pottsville Area to advance to the finals. Blue Mountain defeated Pine Grove to claim the championship, while Schuylkill Haven Area beat Pottsville Area for the third-place title.

Other team scores were Minersville Area, 165; Nativity BVM, 160; Williams Valley, 145; Tri-Valley, 95; Mahanoy Area, 85; and Shenandoah Valley, 80.

Blue Mountain advanced to the Pennsylvania Academic State Competition to be held at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate Chambers, Harrisburg, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 29. About two years ago, a Blue Mountain team finished in 10th place at the state level, Zimmerman said.

Each of the 29 intermediate units in Pennsylvania is permitted to send one high school academic team to participate in the state competition. The championship team will receive a $2,000 scholarship for their high school. Finalists will each receive $500 for their school.

Throughout the school year, beginning in October, the quiz bowl teams compete in the Schuylkill League among other local districts. They have approximately 10 matches each season, which help the teams practice for the county event, like the one held Friday. The schools take turns hosting the matches and, at the end of the season, league champions are also selected. This year, Blue Mountain won the top league title and Schuylkill Haven Area took second.

Event coordinator Vincent Hoover, who serves as Supervisor of Mathematics for IU-29, presented the teams with their league plaques.

The Schuylkill Academic League was established in September 2010 with the purpose of promoting competition among the academic teams in county high schools.

The league provides an opportunity for students to compete in a “college-bowl” format where they answer challenging questions from a variety of categories. Each team plays two matches and the combined points are totaled for the final score for each school.

Information incorrect

A quonset hut at 505 Mountain Road in Blythe Township, which burned down March 12, was once used as a hobby deer processing shed. However, it was not used for that purpose in recent times, Patricia Baver, the owner of the property, said Friday. An article in the March 13 edition incorrectly suggested it was in use.

The amount wasn’t much.

In Florida, Bobby Long’s doctor wrote him a prescription in winter 2013 to take 5 milligrams of oxycodone four times a day to curb his sudden neck and arm pain. The patient didn’t want to and the doctor didn’t want him to. Both knew Long was seven years sober from alcohol and cocaine addiction, but tramadol wasn’t touching the pain.

Long took the pills sparingly. But by February 2014, he needed discs replaced in his spine and received intravenous pain medication and he “loved how it felt.”

“That is the day the demon of addiction woke up again,” he said.

His story, though perhaps the most personal, was one of several told Friday at Geisinger Community Medical Center during a hearing called by U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey that examined opiate and opioid addiction — and the community’s response — so Congress can craft specific policy proposals.

“It is in every county of Pennsylvania, it is in every geographical area of Pennsylvania, it is in every demographic,” Toomey said. “It’s urban, it’s suburban, it’s rural.”

The hearing comes on the heels of a bill drafted by Toomey, the chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care. The bill targets Medicare abuse by preventing beneficiaries from going to multiple doctors and pharmacies to obtain and fill prescriptions for a large amount of pills, which could be abused or diverted to the black market. The bill locks people into a single prescriber and pharmacy upon the discovery of evidence of doctor shopping, much like what Medicaid and commercial insurers already do.

The problem is significant because the number of opioid-addicted seniors has tripled during the last decade. The bill passed the Senate earlier this month.

Worst in history

Long was one of four witnesses called to testify during the hearing. The others — Dr. Margaret Jarvis, medical director of Geisinger Health System’s Marworth Treatment Center; Lackawanna County President Judge Michael J. Barrasse; and Dr. Eric A. Wright, a research investigator at Geisinger Health System — each shared very different perspectives of the regionalized impact of a nationwide crisis.

“The current overdose epidemic is the worst in the history of humanity,” Barrasse, who heads the county’s treatment court, said at the hearing Friday. “I’ve never seen devastation as we see today.”

Barrasse stressed that treatment courts should be the foundation of a criminal justice system rather than simply as a part of it. About 80 percent of people are jailed there for drug- or alcohol-related crimes. While jail holds them accountable, treatment courts can prevent them from relapsing and repeating the pattern.

“We cannot simply lock up the addicts and expect the underlying disease to vanish,” Barrasse said.

Educating doctors on addiction is key, Jarvis said. Predicting who is vulnerable to addiction is difficult. Programs that curb doctor shopping, like Toomey’s bill aims to do with Medicare, will help, she said.

“My colleagues and I received little education on addiction in medical school and the consequence of that is what’s killing more patients than car crashes in this country,” Jarvis said.

Great need

Through more than an hour of testimony, Julian Phillips felt stigmatized.

He agrees that addiction is an issue and that more needs to be done to curb it, but he and many other people have legitimate needs for opioid medications. While living in London in 1982, he dislocated his right ring finger and developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a chronic pain condition. After more than 20 surgeries, he’s had the ring finger amputated and any contact with his right arm brings excruciating pain. He lives in the Lehigh Valley as the state’s ambassador to the U.S. Pain Foundation.

“There are people who do need medication and a lot of what you’re doing is great, but a lot of what you’re doing is making me feel like a ... drug addict and I’m not,” Phillips said. “You talk about medications being an issue, you need to start with alcohol.”

Lost all, again

Alcohol began Long’s troubles. He started drinking at 13 and turned to other drugs. Cocaine was his “best friend” until he was 30, and he had a criminal record in every one of the numerous jurisdictions he’s lived in across the country. He became sober in 2007 and built a life.

“I was happy, my family came back to my life, my legal problems were solved,” Long said. “I had the greatest friends I could ever ask for. I was so full of hope and happiness that it still brings a tear to my eye today.”

He moved to Naples, Florida, got married and bought a house. He even built a “white picket fence” around it.

“I wish my story ended there,” Long said.

When his spine surgery spiraled him into opioid addiction, he drank alcohol and consumed cocaine again. In five months, he lost everything he built during seven years of sobriety.

On Dec. 30, 2014, he checked himself back into Clearbrook Treatment Centers, where he is now a treatment provider in Scranton.

“As much as I wanted to die, I wanted another shot at life a little bit more,” Long said.

He acknowledged he has a long road ahead for recovery. He suffers from doubt. He has guilt and feels shame. But he also has hope.

“There is a bigger part of me that says I deserve and will have a life beyond my wildest dreams again,” he said.

‘Unholy marriage’

A shift occurred in the late ’80s and early ’90s when doctors began treating pain more aggressively. But at about the same time, OxyContin, an addictive opioid, received FDA approval. A lot of money went into its marketing. The mixture of good intentions and heavy marketing formed “a rather unholy marriage,” Jarvis said.

“That changed things a great deal,” Jarvis said.

During the last 10 years, overdose deaths from prescription drugs tripled while the rate at which pain medications are prescribed quadrupled, Wright said. At Geisinger, doctors still prescribe opioid pills to manage pain in legitimate cases, but the medications are prescribing lower amounts.

Dr. Gregory Thomas, who specializes in orthopedic trauma, said at the hearing his practice has changed “100 percent” during the last year, reflecting on a statistic that the United States prescribes 80 percent of the world’s narcotics. He now treats patients with a minimum amount of opioid medication.

“Everyone’s perception ... needs to change,” Thomas said.

City police save 2

with naloxone

Pottsville police Chief Richard F. Wojciechowsky reported officers of his department used the drug naloxone to reverse two separate opiate overdoses they responded to recently in the city.

About 2 p.m. March 12, the chief said officers were called to the A-Plus Sunoco along Route 61 after employees called 911 and reported an overdose situation in the men’s bathroom of the store.

Police said officers found a 24-year-old Auburn man unconscious on the floor, and after seeing several signs to indicate the mad was involved in an opiate overdose administered naloxone.

After the drug was administered, Wojciechowsky said, the man began to breathe more regularly and regain consciousness. Schuylkill EMS arrived, evaluated the man and transported him to a hospital for follow-up treatment.

On Monday, Wojciechowsky said officers were called to 400 Mahantongo St. for a possible overdose and found a 47-year-old city woman apparently involved in an opiate overdose.

Officers administered Naloxone, reversing the negative symptoms from the overdose, the chief said, adding that Schuylkill EMS arrived and transported the woman to a hospital for additional treatment.

City woman cited

in 2-vehicle crash

Pottsville police investigated a crash that was reported about 3:25 a.m. Wednesday at Route 61, Claude A. Lord Blvd., and Mill Creek Avenue.

Police said a 62-year-old Bernville woman was traveling north in the right lane of Route 61 and stopped her 2012 Subaru Impreza for a red light at the intersection. The woman’s car was then struck from behind by a 1999 Ford Taurus being driven by Lucila Lopez, 62, of Pottsville.

The Bernville woman was taken to Schuylkill Medical Center-East Norwegian Street for treatment of head and neck pain while Lopez and her passenger, a 59-year-old Pottsville woman, refused treatment at the scene.

Police said Lopez will be cited for driving at an unsafe speed and having an expired inspection sticker, adding that Pottsville firefighters assisted at the scene.

Police to target

aggressive driving

Tamaqua, West Penn Township and Rush Township police will be joining the Pennsylvania State Police and over 235 municipal agencies in conducting the second targeted aggressive driving enforcement wave from March 21 to May 1.

As part of the Aggressive Driving Enforcement and Education Project, the second wave aims to reduce the number of aggressive-driving-related crashes, injuries and deaths on roadways throughout the state, according to Carol Alonge of the North Central Highway Safety Network.

Any aggressive driver stopped by police will receive a ticket, she said.

The enforcement wave will focus on speeding, work zone safety violations and keeping right-passing left.

Motorists exhibiting other unsafe behaviors such as driving too fast for conditions, following too closely or other aggressive actions will also be cited.

Alonge said that municipal police agencies that participated in last year’s campaign wrote 53,000 aggressive-driving-related citations, including 35,126 for speeding.

Failure to obey traffic control signals or signs was the second most-common offense, resulting in 4,879 citations.

Additionally, she said the enforcement accounted for 61 felony arrests, 107 impaired driving arrests and 1,221 occupant protection citations.

Police investigate

tree stand theft

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — State police at Schuylkill Haven are investigating a theft that occurred between March 1 and 11 in a wooded area in the area of 61 Burma Road in South Manheim Township.

Police said Kenneth Wolfe, Schuylkill Haven, reported someone removed a tree stand he purchased and fled the area.

The stand is valued at $250, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call state police at 570-739-1330.

KLINGERSTOWN — There’s a guy asking for your vote who’s not seeking the White House — at least not yet.

Blake Kimmel, 10, of Klingerstown, hopes to collect as many online votes as he can before the March 30 deadline for The Great Bike Giveaway, a project of Friendship Circle.

Kimmel, who was born with arthrogryposis, a condition affecting his muscles, joints and nerves, wants to earn enough votes to win a Rifton Adaptive Tricycle/Bike. Voting began March 8 and, as of Thursday, Blake was in third place with 2,800 votes.

“Whoever gets the most votes, gets the bike,” he said. “We’ve contacted a lot of famous people and news teams,” said Blake, a fourth-grader at Mahantongo Elementary School and the son of William and Amanda Kimmel.

He is unable to ride a traditional bicycle due to his low muscle tone and poor balance, his mother said. With an adaptive bicycle, that dream of riding a bike would become reality.

“My physical therapist (Gemma Haas) saw it and she brought it into my school and I rode it,” he said of the Rifton model.

If he would be lucky enough to win the adaptive bike, Blake said he knows where he’d ride it first.

“I’d probably go over to the school and ride it on the macadam,” he said.

In addition to bike riding, Blake said he enjoys being active. He said he used to be a Cub Scout with the Pitman troop and did a little fishing, but he is no longer in scouting. He said he also enjoys hunting with his dad, playing baseball at home with his family and watching cartoons and NASCAR.

In addition to his parents, Blake’s family includes two sisters, Haley, 16, and Tara, 12, and a brother, Landon, 3. His grandparents are James and Pam Wetzel, Pitman, and Randy Kimmel, Hegins.

His family raises laying chickens, and he said they also have a “lazy” pet boxer named Baxter.

Although Blake was unable to eat by mouth until he was 3 years old, he’s now got quite an appetite, his mother said. Pizza and spaghetti are his favorite meals, he said, and Hershey’s candy bars are his favorite sweet treat.

It was his doctor, Dr. Armstrong at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, who has been guiding Blake on his journey with his disease, his mother said. His illness causes scoliosis of the spine, requiring Blake to get rods placed into his back. When he turns 16, the rods can be removed and more permanent rods can be put into place.

“He’s one of the first patients to get the new ‘magic’ rods,” his mother said. Every three months, Blake goes to Hershey to get his lengthening rods adjusted. The rods are magnetic, so there’s no need for more surgery. Magnets are used outside of the body to position the rods where they’re needed, she said.

“It only feels strange for a few minutes, then it’s okay,” Blake said.

Blake has progressed from being unable to walk, to using a walker and now is learning to use a walking stick at school.

“Right at birth, they (doctors) noted his low muscle tone and his feeding issues. His disease affects his muscles, joints and nerves,” his mother said.

Tri-Valley Elementary Principal Gerald Anderson has seen Blake’s progress first hand.

“Now, he’s walking down the hall, doing what he can do and has such an uplifting attitude,” Anderson said.

Blake’s personality shines through, Anderson said.

“He’s one of the most inspiring students I have ever met,” he said Friday.

“His attitude is so positive. He used to kid around about getting a (disciplinary) pink slip. At the end of the year last year, I gave him a pink slip for being too good,” Anderson added.

Anyone wishing to vote for Blake can click the link to vote and share at www.friendshipcircle.org/bikes/2016/02/blake-k-3.

Voting ends March 30 and each voter can only vote one time for Blake. You don’t need to donate any funds to vote, the voting is free. However, if you’d like to contribute monetarily, all donations go towards adding more bikes to the Great Bike Giveaway and enabling 600 children with special needs to receive a much needed adaptive bike. The cost of the adaptive tricycle Blake is seeking is estimated at $3,300.

The top vote-getter will receive the adaptive cycle. Other adaptive bikes will become available, depending on the number of donations.

Amanda Kimmel said her aunt Paula in Delaware heard about a friend winning an adaptive bike and suggested that she enter Blake in the contest. Blake tried last year but didn’t receive enough votes, she said, so the family decided Blake should try again. The “Team Blake” campaign is in full force.

In April 2013, Blake was selected as a Make-A-Wish recipient and received a trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. He enjoyed the flight, he said.

“I thought it was really cool. There were window things you could slide up and down and you could see the clouds up there. It was a good experience,” Blake said.

This year, Blake’s hoping to ride off with an “election day” victory too.

In county court March 11, Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin recently accepted guilty pleas from, and, pursuant to agreements between prosecutors and defendants, imposed the indicated sentences on, these people:

Joshua Koncsler, 19, of Shenandoah; possession of drug paraphernalia and public drunkenness; 12 months probation, $25 fine, $100 payment to the Substance Abuse Education Fund and $50 Criminal Justice Enhancement Account payment.

Stephen A. Mackeravage, 44, of Shenandoah; resisting arrest and disorderly conduct; three to 14 months in prison and $50 CJEA payment. Prosecutors withdrew charges of terroristic threats and public drunkenness.

Christopher L. Madenford, 36, of Joliett; criminal trespass, theft and criminal mischief; 43 days to 23 months in prison, $100 fine, $50 CJEA payment, $215.55 bench warrant fee, $2,399 restitution and submission of a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. Prosecutors withdrew charges of burglary and receiving stolen property.

David R. Moran Jr., 49, of Ringtown; driving under the influence and driving under suspension-DUI related; five years in the intermediate punishment program, $2,500 in fines and $100 SAEF payment. Prosecutors withdrew a charge of stop sign violation.

Benjamin L. Neidlinger, 23, of Schuylkill Haven; simple assault; two to 12 months in prison and $50 CJEA payment. Prosecutors withdrew a charge of harassment.

In other recent Schuylkill County Court action, Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin accepted guilty pleas from, and, pursuant to agreements between prosecutors and defendants, imposed the indicated sentences on, these people:

Ashley A. Capiga, 26, of Shenandoah; possession of a controlled substance, flight to avoid apprehension and possession of drug paraphernalia; six to 12 months in prison, $100 payment to the SAEF, $100 in payments to the CJEA and $100 in bench warrant fees. Prosecutors withdrew a second count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sean M. Hess, 23, of Auburn; driving under the influence, disregarding traffic lanes, seat belt violation, possession of a controlled substance, driving under suspension-DUI related and possession of drug paraphernalia; 63 days to eight months in prison, 12 months consecutive probation, $1,035 in fines, $300 in SAEF payments, $150 in CJEA payments, $50 bench warrant fee and $385 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem. Prosecutors withdrew charges of possessing a firearm with altered manufacturer’s number, carrying a firearm without a license, careless driving and driving without rear lights.

Eric S. Hoffman, 24, of Ashland; resisting arrest, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct; 12 months probation, $50 CJEA payment and $906 restitution. Prosecutors withdrew two counts of terroristic threats and one of escape.

Jason J. Pryce, 30, of Ashland; possession of drug paraphernalia, defiant trespass and simple assault; seven to 18 months in prison and $150 in CJEA payments. Prosecutors withdrew charges of recklessly endangering another person and harassment.

Donald H. Reese III, 46, of Shenandoah; DUI; 72 hours to six months in prison, $1,000 fine, $100 SAEF payment, $50 CJEA payment, $50 bench warrant fee, $460 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem and 10 hours community service.

All defendants who were sentenced must pay costs as a part of their sentences.

CRESSONA — A 28-year-old Llewellyn woman was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, after she crashed her vehicle into the R&J Transportation building, 326 Chestnut St., North Manheim Township, about 7:30 p.m. Friday.

State police at Schuylkill Haven did not know the cause of the crash, but said the driver of the silver Kia was likely traveling north on Chestnut Street before entering the parking lot where the vehicle hit three parked R&J Transportation vans with its right side before hitting the brick wall of the garage and coming to a stop. Police did not release the driver’s name Friday.

The roof of the vehicle was cut off to extricate her from the vehicle. Police did not know the extent of her injuries, but said she was in and out of consciousness. One person was working inside the building at the time of the crash. He was not injured.

The Pottsville Area school board recently discussed some of the harsh realities of the state’s budget crisis.

“We are close to 300 days now without a full budget,” board member Patrick F. Moran, chairman of the board’s legislation committee, said Wednesday at the school board’s March meeting at the Howard S. Fernsler Academic Center.

“I’m coming up with 262 days, including today, since June 30, 2015,” Jon Hopcraft, executive director of the Senate Majority Policy Committee in the office of state Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, said Friday.

“Is that the longest in our history?” school board member Gary A. Cortese asked at Wednesday’s meeting.

“I’m finding that it was 336 days in 1956,” Hopcraft said Friday, citing a report on the subject put together by the PNC Financial Services Group.

The third longest state budget impasse on record occurred in 1970 and 1971. It was a 248-day impasse that involved the first PA income tax, according to PNC’s report.

“Has the governor said what his opposition is to it?” board member Christina M. DiCello asked.

“The primary opposition from his office is the lack of address of pension reform, the lack of address of the deficit and fair education funding,” Moran said.

“The harsh reality is they were supposed to be working on the 2016-17 budget in two weeks,” Moran said.

“Do we have to pass ours in June?” board President John F. Boran asked.

“Yes. And there is no leeway for us not to pass a budget as a district. We need to come up with fantasy numbers to match their fantasy numbers and we’ll see if it’s going to come through. It’s truly a sad state of affairs at this point,” Moran said.

“School districts should band together and deny submitting a budget. What would they do?” Boran asked.

Moran wasn’t sure, but he said some school districts in the state that are in debt are considering closing after Easter break.

“My personal opinion is that the governor, the legislature and all those associated with the legislature should not have been paid since July 1,” Moran said.

In other matters at Wednesday’s meeting, the board accepted the resignation of Scott Delenick as junior high assistant track coach for the 2016 season, effective Feb. 22.

Then the board hired Raymond R. “Rusty” Yost III, the district’s dean of students, as the junior high assistant track coach for the 2016 season, retroactive to March 7, at a salary of $1,500.

“Those extra-curricular stipends are set by the collective bargaining agreement,” Stephen C. Curran, the district’s business manager, said Friday.

The board also approved the following postseason pay to the following coaches for the extended winter coaching season: Dave Mullaney, boys’ basketball, $1,700; John Toomey, boys’ basketball, $1,500; Tom McGeoy, boys’ basketball, $1,500; Gary Keener, wrestling, $1,275; Jason Thomas, wrestling, $1,125; Curt Ziegmont, girls’ basketball, $1,700; Jenn Stock, girls’ basketball, $1,500; and Serenity Allen, girls’ basketball, $1,500.

The board also approved the following recommendations from its committee on personnel:

• Accepted the resignation of Michelle Goodman as a part-time cafeteria worker at D.H.H. Lengel Middle School.

• Hired Michelle Goodman as a part-time library aide at Pottsville Area High School as of Thursday at $12 per hour.

• Accepted the resignation of Rachel Snukis, part-time substitute paraprofessional, effective Feb. 12.

• Rescinded the Feb. 17 motion to hire Lisa Herndon as a part-time paraprofessional effective March 16.

• Hired Joie Lynne Gardner as a part-time substitute paraprofessional effective Thursday.

• Hired two full-time custodians, effective Thursday, at the following salaries, Michael Hallick, $18,500 for the year, and Charles McKeone, $19,000 for the year.

In other business, the Pottsville Area School District is planning to hold a public hearing in the near future regarding Gillingham Charter School and its proposal for charter renewal, Richard A. Thornburg, the board’s solicitor, said Wednesday.

“We don’t have a date yet. It’s probably going to be in April,” Thornburg said.

On Dec. 2, the school board rejected the charter school’s proposal for a second five-year charter, citing a list of reasons in a five-page resolution. According to the resolution, the school board resolved to hold a public hearing “on or about February 10, 2016, subject to rescheduling.” The resolution gave the school board the right to appoint a hearing officer for such an event.

On Jan. 20, the board in a voice vote hired attorney Mark Fisher from the firm Worth, Magee & Fisher Law Offices, Allentown, as an “independent hearing officer.”

“He would be involved with us at a rate of $185 an hour,” Thornburg said Jan. 20.

Since then, Ellen C. Schurdak, Bethlehem, an attorney the district hired recently on a dispute with the charter school over access to special education records, recommended the school board make the hiring more official by adopting a resolution, Thornburg said.

So, on Wednesday, the school board decided to adopt a resolution to hire Fisher as a “fact finder for the public hearing,” Thornburg said.

“It’s the same position. As a fact finder, he will listen to all of the evidence from both sides and then he will make a recommendation. He will cost $185 an hour,” Thornburg said.

After two years of renovation work, and an investment of more than $6 million, the once-vacant D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. ice cream factory in Pottsville is now home to a bustling gift shop and a waste treatment facility for the brewery across the street.

“The new gift shop opened on Feb. 29. And the pretreatment plant went online March 8,” Joseph F. Spotts III, Yuengling’s environmental and safety manager, said while giving a tour of the building at 420 Mahantongo St. on Friday morning.

The finishing touches are being put in a Yuengling museum, which is next to the gift shop, Luchana Baddick, a Yuengling tour guide, said Friday. “There is going to be a grand opening, but we don’t have a date yet. We’re in the process of finishing our museum. We’re hoping that will be finished in a couple weeks. Right now, the gift shop here is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On April 2, we’re going to open on Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” Baddick said.

“About 250” representatives of the Eastern Pennsylvania Water Pollution Control Operators Association on Friday toured the new waste treatment facility, and had the opportunity to meet some of the system’s designers, Spotts said.

Systems Design Engineering Inc., Leesport, designed the pretreatment plant. Its plan, dated Dec. 2, 2014, was titled “Equipment Descriptions and Specifications for the Anaerobic Treatment Project at D.G. Yuengling & Son Brewery, Pottsville, PA.”

“We were the project engineering firm which worked on Yuengling’s Mill Creek facility back in 1999,” Gregory T. Unger, the owner of Systems Design Engineering and the project engineer, said.

Unger said it was a challenge trying to figure out how to fit such a facility into the narrow chambers of the old ice cream factory.

Yuengling built the ice cream factory in 1920 in response to Prohibition to make up for lost beer sales. It’s a 40,000-square-foot concrete, brick and steel structure. The ice cream factory closed in 1985.

“This building presented many challenges because it’s just not one big open box. Because there’s so many little rooms and all different levels and walls being 12 to 24 inches thick, masonry, it presented huge amounts of challenges. We utilized all of the spaces that were available to us here and we made everything fit,” Unger said.

Representatives of Veolia Water Technologies, Pennsauken, New Jersey, the manufacturer of the facility, were there as well, including Jack Kuhar, Veolia’s engineering manager of industrial projects, and Jill A. Jordan, Veolia’s senior process specialist of industrial projects.

“Jack was the lead design engineer for the treatment plant,” Michael J. Misstishin, Yuengling’s environmental coordinator, said.

Also there was the pretreatment plant’s operator, Rob Mestishen. “He worked at our Mill Creek facility,” Spotts said.

The treatment plant is at the back of the former ice cream factory, and it’s easy to spot since the operation involves tall tanks.

“The two taller tanks are the anaerobic digesters. They’re about 48 feet high and 12 feet in diameter. And the two smaller tanks are what we call the equalization tanks. They’re about 34 feet high and 12 feet in diameter,” Spotts said.

The system treats all wastewater from Yuengling’s Mahantongo Street operations before it’s put into the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority’s sewer system, Spotts said.

“It’s 99.5 percent brewery waste. Because it’s not separated sanitary and brewery, there are a couple toilets connected to the system,” Spotts said.

“It’s a quarter-million gallon a day plant. Our maximum capacity here, our design parameter, is 250,000 gallons per day. But we don’t discharge that much. We discharge anywhere from 70,000 to 150,000. This week is when we started accepting 100 percent brewery wastewater. It’s primarily used for BOD/COD and TSS removal,” Misstishin said.

BOD stands for “Biological Oxygen Demand.” COD stands for “Chemical Oxygen Demand” and TSS stands for “Total Suspended Solids,” Misstishin said.

“The system is designed to remove about 3,000 pounds of BOD a day and about 750 pounds of TSS per day,” Spotts said.

“And it’s designed to remove about 5,500 pounds of COD a day from here. That’s the max design capacity of it. The system itself was designed by Veolia Water, a company from New Jersey. And they have treatment facilities all around the world,” Misstishin said.

The system’s components include two 24,000 gallon conditioning tanks, a 5,000 gallon rapid mix tank and two 42,500 gallon anaerobic digesters, Misstishin said.

Kuhar introduced the group to a “dissolve air flotation unit.”

“That’s the final process before we discharge the wastewater to the sewer authority’s system,” Misstishin said.

The system draws out granular sludge from the wastewater.

“It’s a high-rate granular sludge, about 1 to 2 millimeters in size,” Misstishin said.

“What’s the discharge limit to the city’s plant that you have to meet?” a person on the tour asked.

“We have two. Everything is based on surcharging. We’re allowed to discharge 300 milligrams per liter of BOD and 350 milligrams per liter of TSS. Pounds per day-wise we’re allowed, depending on the flow, is 2,252 pounds per day and 1,254 pounds of TSS. The design parameters are to be below 300 milligrams per liter BOD,” Misstishin said.

“It’s pretty impressive for its size, considering the small footprint that it takes up and the amount of flow that it takes,” said one of the people on the tour, Arthur W. Auchenbach, a partner in the firm Riordan Materials Corp., Reading, Berks County.

“Most of the people in attendance here are municipal wastewater treatment plant operators. So this is a unique tour because it gives us some idea of what happens on the industrial side. And it’s great to see a corporate entity like Yuengling working with Pottsville to develop this pretreatment facility. It’s really a win-win situation,” Auchenbach said.

Also there was Gene Zynel, the chief operator of the Greater Hazleton Joint Sewer Authority.

“We run a conventional activated sludge plant and there’s always trouble with industrial waste coming into our plant in high strength. So this kind of pretreatment plant, which reduces the strength of the material before it goes to a publicly owned treatment works is great. This is an industry doing the right thing,” Zynel said.

PINE GROVE — The Pine Grove Area school board and the district’s teachers’ union have reached a four-year contract agreement, which give teachers a pay raise but requires them to contribute more to their health care.

One of the lead negotiators for the school board, David Frew, made the announcement Thursday that the Pine Grove Area Education Association had ratified the plan Monday. Upon Frew’s motion, the board approved the plan. Directors David Lukasewicz and J.T. Herber abstained due to having family members employed with the district. Directors Timothy Hoy and Evelyn Wassel were absent.

“I’m excited about having this finished,” Frew said, commending members of the union’s negotiating team, Brad Fessler, Judy Skinner and Eric Kurtz.

Fessler, a technology education teacher, said the pact includes a 2.9 percent pay increase for each year of the contract, except for the 2015-16 school year, which includes a signing bonus instead.

Fessler said their health care premium share will increase 1 percent for one year and another 1 percent in the final year of the four-year deal for a total increase of 2 percent. There are currently 137 members in the union, Fessler said. Their last three-year pact expired August 31, 2015, but members had remained on the job and had been working without a new contract. This new contract will be retroactive for Sept. 1, 2015, he said.

Current average teacher’s salary is $38,499, Fessler said, which will increase to about $40,000 by the end of the four-year agreement. There are no step changes, he confirmed.

Although the PGAEA membership’s vote was not unanimous, Fessler said the contract received “overwhelming support.”

Fessler commended the board’s cooperative approach to negotiate.

“I appreciate the board sitting down with us and getting the job done. Thank you,” he told the board Thursday.

Total costs to the district for the contract weren’t readily available Thursday. The board entered into an executive session to discuss personnel and contract matters unrelated to the union pact.