Since August, the Henry Clay Monument in Pottsville has been lit by a temporary rig set up behind it.

On Wednesday, Thomas W. Whitaker, the city’s superintendent of streets, said he believes the new set of lights being installed will be ready to illuminate the statue of the 19th century U.S congressman by April 8.

“It’s going to look really fantastic,” Whitaker said Wednesday.

Whitaker and City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar visited the site where Mattera’s Electrical, Pottsville, have been installing the new lights, a city sidewalk on the south side of Washington Street, just off the 300 block of South Centre Street, near the dead end.

Working there Wednesday was Frank Mattera, the owner of Mattera’s Electrical, his son, Steve Mattera, an electrician, and A.J. Alves, an electrician.

So far, the workers have made a concrete pad for the light pole, installed the base for the light pole and installed fuse boxes.

“The pole is in. It’s going to be a 30-foot steel tapered pole. We’re waiting on swivels, a part for the pole. The swivels are parts which help adjust the lights. Other than that, everything is at Fromm, ready to go,” Steve Mattera said.

He was referring to Fromm Electric Supply Corp., Schuylkill Haven.

“And we’re waiting for PP&L for the connection. We don’t have power to it yet,” Steve Mattera said.

In 2014, the city and Lasting Legacy of Pottsville started a three-phase project to improve the monument and the park surrounding it. Phase III is improving the lighting.

Lasting Legacy is financing the $13,215 lighting project with help from a $6,000 contribution from the Herman Yudacufski Charitable Foundation, Saint Clair. Mattera’s Electrical, Pottsville, was hired as the contractor, Palamar, who is a member of the Lasting Legacy board of directors, said.

Whitaker said there would be two LED lights on the steel pole.

“They’re going to be LED projection lights. One is going to point at the base and the other is going to point at his head,” Steve Mattera said, referring to the statue.

The LED lights will click on automatically every night, Whitaker said.

“And they will be on from dusk until dawn,” Steve Mattera said.

When the new lights click on, Mattera’s Electrical will remove the portable light tower that’s been behind the statue since August, Steve Mattera said.

A U.S. congressman and statesman, Clay was born April 12, 1777, in Hanover County, Virginia, according to www.biography.com. Called “The Great Compromiser,” he was known for his efforts to protect fledgling American industries by supporting a tariff on imported goods.

“The tariff protected iron and indirectly the mining of anthracite coal,” Leo L. Ward, Pottsville, said in a history of the Henry Clay Monument published in 1985. Ward was the book’s editor.

When Clay died June 29, 1852, a committee of local officials decided to pay tribute to him with the monument.

It’s north of the 300 block of Hotel Street, just below South Second Street and above South Centre Street.

According to a stone marker on the north side of the statue’s base, the statue was dedicated July 4, 1855.

Standing 15 feet high, the statue sits on a more than 40-foot tall iron column of Grecian Doric architecture. The total weight of the statue and the column is 45.5 tons, according to the June 30, 1855, edition of the “Miners Journal.”

Established in 2002, Lasting Legacy is a project to preserve and improve the city’s parks. Its endowment is managed by the Schuylkill Area Community Foundation.

In 2014, the city and Lasting Legacy started a three-phase project to improve the monument and the park surrounding it.

Phase I involved repainting the monument and sealing cracks. In May 2015, Lasting Legacy hired Keiff Walk of A Able Associates, Barnesville, to do that $29,800 project.

Phase II involved removing excess trees and brush from the hillside below the monument. Since September 2014, inmates from Schuylkill County Prison have worked alongside the city street crew on that project.

Phase III is improving the lighting.

There are two spotlights on poles flanking the north and south sides of the monument, but they haven’t been in use in recent months. The city may eventually remove them, Palamar said.

ELIZABETHVILLE — Although the alleged killer of Dominick Thornton is a young man, the motive for the shooting, according to police, is as old as mankind: jealousy.

State police at Lykens have charged the alleged victim’s brother, Dakota J. Thornton, 15, of 143 E. Market St. Apt. 3, Williamstown, with shooting Dominick Thornton, 18, about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday at 113 Autumn Drive Apt. 3 in Williams Township, Dauphin County.

“I shot my brother,” is the first thing Dakota Thornton told police when they arrived at the scene.

Dakota Thornton’s preliminary hearing on charges of murder and possessing instrument of crime is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday before Magisterial District Judge Rebecca J. Margerum. He is being held without bail in Dauphin County Prison pending that hearing.

Police said Dakota Thornton shot his brother because he was romantically interested in the victim’s girlfriend. Dakota Thornton used a Harrington & Richardson .410 shotgun Topper 88 to kill his brother, according to police.

Dauphin County Deputy Coroner Thomas Reinhard pronounced Dominick Thornton dead at the scene.

Police said they immediately arrested Dakota Thornton, gave him his Miranda rights and took him to their station, where they questioned him in the presence of his mother. Both the defendant and his mother consented to the interview, police said.

Dakota Thornton again confessed during the interview to killing his brother, adding that he loaded the shotgun about two minutes before shooting him, according to police.

First Assistant District Attorney Francis T. Chardo authorized the filing of the charges against Dakota Thornton, who has been charged as an adult.

Defendant: Dakota J. Thornton

Age: 15

Residence: Williamstown

Charges: Murder and possessing instrument of crime

SCRANTON — The state Department of Environmental Protection says its testing laboratories are in jeopardy of losing national certification because of diminishing staff.

Without certification through the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, the department’s Bureau of Laboratories may continue to analyze samples including air, water, soil and waste water.

However, no accreditation raises questions about the department’s ability to do its job effectively, DEP Secretary John Quigley said at a news conference in Scranton this week. And it could mean legal headaches for the department if someone doesn’t like test results showing environmental protection violations.

“For example, if they’re investigating an illegal discharge and taking samples from a creek, stream or river — that may be deemed inadmissible if the lab didn’t follow procedures or if the lab wasn’t certified,” William J. Cluck, a Harrisburg environmental and land use attorney, said. “And that would jeopardize enforcement action against the alleged polluter.”

Since 2004, the bureau’s staff has diminished by about 37 percent — from about 110 to just 69 employees now, according to Neil Shader, the department’s press secretary. Similar cuts have been felt across the agency, he said in an email.

The staff reduction, reflected in yearly state budget allocation reductions, has led to longer test result turnarounds, he said. In June 2015, the department opted not to renew the certifications for its four mobile lab units, which perform on-site testing. Earlier that year, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the agency that accredits Pennsylvania’s state labs through the NELAP, raised its fees for accreditation, and the department decided renewal no longer was cost-effective, New Jersey DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said in an email.

As part of the NELAP program, state agencies offer accreditation in a peer review-type system under a universal set of rules. New Jersey provides accreditation for the DEP’s bureau of labs.

The New Jersey department is not aware of critical staffing reductions in the Pennsylvania labs, Hajna said. But he explained it’s up to the DEP to notify them when there aren’t enough people to do the work.

“If it can no longer maintain the same amount of analyses due to staffing levels, then the lab is required to notify the NJDEP of the accreditations it no longer wishes to maintain,” he said.

Friends of Lackawanna, a grass-roots group fighting a proposal to expand the Keystone Sanitary Landfill, raised the issue at its “Let’s Talk Trash” panel discussion March 21.

“Your people are, we’re sure, doing the best that they can,” Pat Clark, a group leader of Friends of Lackawanna, said addressing Quigley, who was on the panel. “But you’re chronically understaffed, and your budget gets cut year after year after year after year.”

Quigley defended his staff and hinted that a Republican administration may have been sabotaging the agency.

“We are fighting with two hands tied behind our backs with the budget situation,” he said “Over the last decade, the average state agency in Pennsylvania lost 6 percent of its workforce. In that same period of time, DEP lost 14 percent of its workforce. Folks, that wasn’t by accident.”

Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III said he is not ruling heroin deaths a homicide unless he has proof.

“We are individualizing it. Some of them are but not all of them are,” he said Thursday.

Moylan said he is aware of Lycoming County Coroner Charles Kiessling Jr. ruling heroin overdoses as homicide.

Moylan said he is using a technical definition of homicide, which is “death at the hands of another individual.” Moylan said he would examine the scene, talk to family members or others, look at police reports and speak to law enforcement before making the determination. So far, he has defined two heroin overdoses as homicides, one was in the death of Joseph DeLeon, 19, of North Manheim Township. DeLeon was found dead in his car in the parking lot of Landingville Fire Company on Nov. 20, 2014. DeLeon died after injecting five of 10 bags of heroin bought from Sean Mikal Hess, 23, of Auburn, police said. State police at Schuylkill Haven charged Kaitlin Leibensperger, Pottsville, and Hess with felony drug delivery resulting in death, hindering apprehension or prosecution, involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.

Hess and Leibensperger were charged in Berks County because the drug transaction took place in Fleetwood, Berks County, and not in Schuylkill County.

The other death classification as homicide took place two months ago. Moylan was not willing to elaborate. So far this year, about 14 people have died of overdoses, Deputy Coroner Deb Detweiler said last month. A breakdown was not provided.

Moylan said drug deaths have gotten worse.

“It was never this bad and it’s going to take some radical thinking to reverse the trend,” Moylan said.

Kiessling said saying the deaths are accidental does not do much.

“Calling these accidents is downplaying the severity of this situation,” he said about heroin deaths Wednesday.

He said the increasing deaths to heroin need to stop.

“Drug dealers are murders and they need to be held accountable,” he said.

Kiessling said the victims made a bad choice when they overdose and if the drug dealers did not supply them with the drugs, they could still be alive.

He said there were nine heroin deaths in Lycoming County in 2015. So far, one death has been classified this year as a homicide.

“It does not say that every case we sign up as a homicide will be prosecuted,” he said.

Prosecution of such a case would be up to the district attorney and law enforcement.

Kiessling said he spoke with others in positions of authority before pursing this line of action.

He sees this as one way to continue to bring attention to the heroin epidemic.

“I want people to get help that need to get help,” he said.

Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine Holman is not too keen on the idea of classifying heroin deaths as homicides without future investigation.

“I think it is premature is what it is,” Holman said Friday.

“It’s premature to list homicide (on a death certificate) until there is further police investigation,” she said.

Holman said in 2015, 46 percent of the 2,652 criminal cases filed in Schuylkill County involved drugs, driving under the influence or DUI-drug related, which is an increase of 479 cases from 2014.

She said people are well aware there is a heroin crisis.

Deeds

Ashland — William D. Hennessy to Steb Properties LLC; property on Centre Street; $8,500.

Rodney G. and Linda J. Paul to John F. Burke; property on Walnut Street; $40,000.

Barry Township — James F. and Patricia M. Hepler to John C. Hepler and Peter J. Hepler; property in Mountain Valley Lake; $1.

Branch Township — Nancy Zavatsky and Richard Joseph Bush to Nancy Zavatsky; 301 Willing St., Llewellyn; $1.

Linda Melusky and Mark Pozza, co-executors of the Estate of Alphonsa Pozza, to Mark Pozza; 5.07-acre property; $1.

Linda Melusky and Mark Pozza, co-executors of the Estate of Alphonsa Pozza, to Linda Melusky; 2.35-acre property; $1.

Butler Township — Michael Ploxa III and William Ploxa, executors of the Estate of Michael Ploxa Jr., to Michelle L. Cress and Lynn Dillman; 810 W. Pine St.; $70,000.

Cass Township — Ringtown Rentals LLP and Brook Rentals LLC to Karen L. Sonnon; 0.505-acre property; $2,500.

Ringtown Rentals LLP and Brook Rentals LLC to Christopher G. and Nannette M. Bentz; 0.548-acre property; $2,700.

Ringtown Rentals LLP and Brook Rentals LLC to Christopher G. and Nannette M. Bentz; 0.158-acre property; $800.

Coaldale — Helen Vanko Petryk to Helen Vanko Petryk, Suzanne Lambert and Robert Paul Petryk; 22 E. Ridge St.; $1.

Edward Arner, executor of the Estate of Margaret R. Arner, to Edward Arner; 124 E. Phillips St.; $1.

Cressona — Paul K. Laubenstine to Paul K. Laubenstine and Jo A. Strausser-Laubenstine; 36 N. Second St.; $1.

East Brunswick Township — Ivan L. and Loretta Fay Leymeister to Richard Thomas Leymeister, Steven Archibald Leymeister, David James Leymeister and Cheryl Lynn Koch; 1/18th interest in 100.058-acre property; $1.

East Union Township — Bedad K. Gathuku to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 440HF3, Eagle Rock; $5,085.41.

Philmer L. and Elsa Olarte to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 181HF4, Eagle Rock; $9,308.53.

Karina A. and Aurelio O. Gutierrez to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 220HF4, Eagle Rock; $3,899.31.

Jose Donald Monroyo to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 332HF4, Eagle Rock; $4,561.25.

Rey F. and Maribeth Bugash to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 334HF4, Eagle Rock; $4,105.54.

Michael and Rachel Lebiedzinski to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 58HF4, Eagle Rock; $5,903.30.

Enrico V. and Maria Dulce Galvez to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 130HF4, Eagle Rock; $4,273.20.

Joanah P. and Vicente D. Amparo to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 189HF4, Eagle Rock; $5,100.73.

Philip Santiago to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 342WS, Eagle Rock; $8,600.

David and Barbara Giarratano to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 429WS, Eagle Rock; $9,500.

Carlos G. and Juanita N. Ticong to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 10WSS, Eagle Rock; $9,000.

Russ and Dolores Aaronson to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 389ER, Eagle Rock; $7,200.

Cesario Santiago Vega Jr. to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 412HF3, Eagle Rock; $27,169.

Gilberton — Ronald Miller to Pauline A. Miller; three properties : $1.

Hegins Township — The Rev. Carl D. Shankweiler, executor for the Estate of Terry L. Ebert, to Dennis and Ursula Starr; 307 Broad St., Valley View; $41,000.

Kline Township — Marie Muscavitch to Sara Muscavitch; Rear 44 James St., Kelayres; $1.

Mahanoy City — AK Real Estate Management Inc. to Angel Trudich; 608 W. Pine St.; $500.

Jean M. Price and James T. Price to Calvin T. Price Jr. and Joan Marie Price; 401 E. Mahanoy Ave.; $1.

Minersville — Lance Haluska to Amber Haluska and Amanda Haluska; 21 S. Front St.; $1.

New Castle Township — Robert and Tamie Boyer to Alan and Lori Ann Celmer; 102-104 Broad St., Arnot’s Addition; $15,000.

North Manheim Township and Schuylkill Haven — Q&M Liquidation Corp. to Q&M Liquidation Trust “B”; three properties; $1.

Palo Alto — Patrick Harach, executor of the Estate of Scott K. Boyer to Patrick and Jocelyn D. Harach; 512 W. Bacon St.; $1.

Pine Grove — AGTE LLC to Susan M. Seavey and Kevin H. and Mary A. Debus; 114 School St.; $140,000

Pottsville — William F. and Nancy A. Brown to Gene W. and Lisa L. Heffner; property on Norwegian Street; $77,000.

Johnny O. and Sandra L. Bennett to Guy L. Jr. and Lori A. Ebeert; 410 Fleet St.; $44,500.

Fred J. Heim to Baytay LLC; 708 W. Norwegian St. and 709 W. Market St.; $10,000.

Dennis A. Maskerines to Richard A. Padlo; 719 W. Norwegian St.; $45,000.

Schuylkill Haven — Kristen Ryan to Christopher L. Gottschall and Stephanie Lee Ott; 153 Avenue C; $135,000.

Melinda Herbert to Mark and Cheryl Hiester; 517 W. Columbia St.; $1.

Emily V. Fidler to Kimberly A. Feger; 103 Avenue C; $95,000.

Shenandoah — Birgit Olsen to Nate and Mary Harbin; 305 W. Centre St.; $12,000.

Tamaqua — June D. Camerini, by attorney in fact Mary Ann Deeble, to Shane C. Chodur; 138 Orwigsburg St.; $48,500.

Bernard M. Jr. and Ann L. Toth to Louis DiAmbrosio; 307 N. Lehigh St.; $50,000.

U.S. Bank Trust NA to YC Proeprties LLC; 63 S. Nescopec St.; $11,000.

Larry Frederick to Iris Yolanda Ortiz and Lisa Aviles; 214 Race St.; $13,000.

Joan E. Love to Joan E. Love and Lora Lee Love; 112 Green St.; $1.

Tremont — Marian E. Thompson to Gary Thompson, Kerry Thompson and Tania L. Vance; property on Main Street; $1.

West Brunswick Township — JMAC Realty LLC and Commonwealth Commerce LLC to Tracy A. and David C. Doll; 1840 Tall Oaks Road; $350,000.

A Norwegian Township woman will pay costs and a fine after a Schuylkill County judge ruled Wednesday that she trespassed on her neighbor’s property to cut down plants.

Virginia M. Gross, 64, of Peach Mountain, Pottsville, is guilty of criminal trespass, Judge John E. Domalakes ruled after a hearing that lasted almost an hour.

Domalakes sentenced Gross to pay costs and a $25 fine.

State police at Schuylkill Haven charged Gross with entering the 1018 Peach Mountain Road property of James and Melissa Close and cutting down Japanese knotweed on Sept. 18, 2015.

“You could see that there was evidence of a recent shrubbery cut. She acknowledged that she had gone onto the property and removed that shrubbery,” state police Trooper Peter F. Mohn testified.

James Close testified that his deed and a survey show Gross entered onto his land.

“Are you certain that this property belongs to you?” Deputy Assistant District Attorney Robert I. Lipkin asked him.

“Yes,” James Close answered.

Gross unsuccessfully testified that she owned the section of the property she entered, a contention Domalakes rejected.

Also on Wednesday, John H. Brubaker, 48, of Schuylkill Haven, pleaded guilty to indirect criminal contempt, which is contempt committed outside the courtroom, by violating a protection from abuse order.

Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin accepted the plea and sentenced Brubaker to time served to six months in prison, pay costs and a $300 fine, and undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation.

State police at Schuylkill Haven had charged Brubaker with violating the order on March 4. Senior Judge D. Michael Stine had entered the order against Brubaker on Sept. 2, 2015.

Also on Wednesday, Dolbin dismissed charges of indirect criminal contempt against two other men who had been charged with violating PFA orders.

Eric M. Christopher, 22, of Barnesville, violated a temporary order against him on March 11, state police at Frackville alleged. Stine had entered the order against Christopher on March 9.

Keven M. Phelan, 27, of Pottsville, violated an order against him on March 13, state police at Schuylkill Haven alleged. Dolbin had entered the order against Phelan on Oct. 7, 2015.

In other recent county court action, an East Union Township man admitted Tuesday in Schuylkill County Court that he tampered with evidence and possessed drugs and paraphernalia in April 2015.

Henry C. Polk, 55, of Sheppton, pleaded guilty to two counts each of tampering with evidence and possession of a controlled substance and one of possession of drug paraphernalia. Prosecutors withdrew two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and one each of delivery of a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility.

Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin accepted the plea and sentenced Polk to spend 23 months on probation and pay costs and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account.

East Union Township police alleged Polk committed his crimes on April 26, 2015, in the township.

In more recent Schuylkill County Court action, President Judge William E. Baldwin accepted guilty pleas from, and, pursuant to agreements between prosecutors and defendants, imposed the indicated sentences on, these people:

Angelo M. Industrios, 23, of Schuylkill Haven; two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and one of possession of a controlled substance; six to 12 months in prison, one year consecutive probation, $200 in payments to the Substance Abuse Education Fund and $226 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem. Prosecutors withdrew two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and one of delivery of a controlled substance.

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

A former Pottsville native said he is going to call for the decriminalization of 29 grams, or about one ounce, of marijuana in Pottsville at the April 11 city council meeting.

“I will be proposing a city ordinance to decriminalize possession of marijuana in the city limits of Pottsville,” Vince Mercuri, California, said Monday.

He said he does not want to “promote or condone public smoking (of marijuana)” but wants to help those who could benefit from medical marijuana. There could be a fine for smoking in public, he said.

“This ordinance is to protect the people using it for medicinal value. It’s not to start a recreational use in the city. They should not worry about getting arrested when worrying about their health,” Mercuri said.

Mercuri said he spoke to city council members and they are interested in learning more about medical marijuana.

“They want to hear more. That is why they want me in front of council,” Mercuri said.

He was in the area lobbying for medical marijuana, which he said helped ease the inflammation in his shoulder. He obtained the marijuana legally in California. In talking to the public in the county, he has encountered little opposition, he said.

“I personally believe the city will open its eyes and educate itself,” he said.

Lisa Kral, city clerk, said Monday the agenda has not been prepared yet, but that Mercuri will be on it.

Pottsville Mayor James T. Muldowney said Monday he has spoken to Mercuri about medical marijuana in California. He said there will be no action taken at the 6 p.m. city council meeting April 11.

City Administrator Tom Palamar said Mercuri will speak at the city council meeting.

“It will be interesting to see what he has to say,” Palamar said Tuesday.

He did not want to speak for the council, but said “they will listen and listen carefully.” The issue of medical marijuana is one that people are talking about.

“It’s being more and more of a public issue and more and more of a public concern,” Palamar said.

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh previously voted to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. The National Conference of State Legislatures said that 23 states, Guam and the District of Columbia allow for medical marijuana. It is listed as a schedule I drug. Those drugs in the first classification have the highest potential for abuse, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The state House has taken steps at passage of a medical marijuana bill. Senate Bill 3 passed the House March 16 by a vote of 149 to 43.

Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-124, voted “no.” Both Rep. Mike Tobash, R-125, and Rep. Neal Goodman, D-123, voted “yes.” The Senate passed the bill May 12 by a vote of 40 to 7. Sen. David Argall, R-29, voted “yes.”

The bill is in the rules and executive nominations committee in the Senate, which is scheduled to meet Monday to mull the changes made by the House.

A vote has not yet been scheduled. Argall said he does not believe a vote will take place Monday.

Argall said he is hopeful the bill can be on the desk of Gov. Tom Wolf to sign “within the next two weeks.”

He said he voted for the bill because constituents have come to him saying it could help their children.

“I had a number of constituents who approached me and asked me to vote for this. It is only for medical purposes. We are not talking about the legalization of marijuana. The House and Senate versions are a bit different so the sponsors of the bill as led by Senator (Mike) Fulmer from Lebanon County are now going through the bill line by line and word by word to try to fine tune it. And then I think the Senate will be looking at some additional amendments, but we are all hopeful the bill can be agreed to and send to the governor in the near future,” Argall said.

He said the support of bill as evidenced by the votes is “pretty overwhelming. There is certainly strong public support for the medical use of marijuana.”

Knowles spoke about the bill on the House floor recently. He empathizes with those suffering. He said the change should be done by the FDA.

“It (medical marijuana) is against federal law,” he said.

He believes that marijuana is addictive.

“Make no mistake about it. This is a dangerous drug,” Knowles said.

Goodman said he supports the use of medical marijuana.

“We should not stand in the way if a doctor believes medical marijuana can treat ailments and help ease patient’s suffering. Under this legislation, the use of medical marijuana will be tightly regulated, and I support those controls. I do not support permitting recreational use of marijuana. We are not Colorado or Washington,” Goodman said in a statement.

Tobash said in a statement that he has heard from people who have benefited from medical marijuana.

“The evidence is clear that cancer and seizure patients stand to benefit greatly,” he said.

Tobash said he is concerned about any potential misuse.

“My fear with the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes is that there exists the potential for more widespread drug use and addiction. I am in no way a proponent for legalizing marijuana for recreational use as some other states have done,” Tobash said.

Still, he said the idea has merit.

“Legalizing medical marijuana for me is not for a money grab. It is not for expanding or relaxing our drug laws. It is simply to allow a decision to be made between a patient and a doctor. If I or a family member or friend became ill, it is my hope that any safe treatment could be applied for a cure. I hope that exists for me and every citizen or Pennsylvania. If my doctor gives me advice, I hope I have the option to accept that advice,” Tobash said.

The bill spells outs how the marijuana can be prescribed, who can have access to it in regards to certain medical conditions, penalties and establishes a medical marijuana research program, among other things.

As of now, marijuana would be available by patients who are residents of the state who have a serious medical condition or are who are terminally ill and meet the requirements for medical marijuana.

Serious medical conditions are defined as cancer, positive for HIV or AIDS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma, seizures and other disorders.

According to the Senate bill, the medical marijuana is in pill, oil, topical form, such forms as vaporization or nebulization, tincture or liquid. Those who qualify will be issued a “certification to use medical marijuana.” An identification card would be issued after guidelines are met. Smoking medical marijuana would be prohibited. Growing it would also be illegal unless it has been approved to do so. Before authorizing the use of medical marijuana, the practitioner must adhere to the law. Violations of the law that are deemed intentional or reckless as determined by the state Department of Health can result in the suspension or revocation of the identification card of the patient or caregiver (a person designated by a patient or if a minor a parent or legal guardian, someone designated by the aforementioned or an approved individual by the state DOH) along with other criminal or other penalties. A patient or caregiver could get a maximum of a 30-day supply from a dispensary.

Mercuri said he is glad the bill has progressed.

“It’s great that they are taking the initiative to put logic in front of government right now,” he said.

He was optimistic for the chance for Senate Bill 3.

“It’s going to pass this year,” he said.

He said medical marijuana is a “great gift” that people can benefit from. He does not believe it is a gateway drug that can result in the person experimenting with other drugs, including heroin.

“There is no doubt medical marijuana has a medicinal value,” he said.

Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III said legislators should not be regulating medical marijuana.

“I think state legislators should not determine what is safe,” he said, adding that is the role of the FDA.

He said there are “adequate drugs” to control symptoms such as nausea. Moylan said there are “some pediatric seizure disorders that may benefit” from the use of medical marijuana but the data is not sufficient yet.

Muldowney said he did not know a lot about Senate Bill 3 but said “if it will help, certainly I will support that,” about the use of medical marijuana.

Christina E. Hale

FRACKVILLE — A 23-year-old Gordon woman charged with an incident in Girardville on Dec. 26 had charges against her held for court during a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Christina E. Hale.

Candace May Alexander, 619 Hobart St., was arrested by Girardville police Chief Melville Tomeo and charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and summary criminal trespass. After hearing testimony, Hale determined the commonwealth proved a prima facie case and ordered both offenses held for Schuylkill County Court.

Tomeo said officers were called about 7:30 p.m. to an abandoned house at 326 W. Ogden St. that was posted “condemned” and “no trespassing.”

Tomeo said a light could be seen in a bedroom and determined to be a candle. He said the caller was fearful because there are three attached homes to the abandoned structure that could result in a major fire.

Inside the home, Tomeo said, police found Alexander and man inside a bedroom where a candle was burning. The chief added that Alexander was found with a syringe she claimed to have used to take a pain killer about 90 minutes prior.

Other court cases included:

Kevin Hoeringer, 19, of 954 Beaver Dam Road, Ashland — dismissed: unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Robert W. Michael, 25, of 37 N. Second St., Saint Clair — held for court: DUI-controlled substance, driving while operating privileges are suspended or revoked and exceeding the speed limit.

Cody A. Wolfgang, 23, of 714 Walnut St., Ashland — dismissed because the arresting officer failed to attend the hearing: making repairs to or selling offensive weapons, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sean P. McGee, 43, of 9 Maple St., Ashland — withdrawn: DUI-highest rate. Waived for court: DUI.

David P. Wolfe, 58, of 41 N. Lehigh Ave., Apt. C, Frackville — waived for court: DUI and DUI-high rate.

James R. Ferrier

ORWIGSBURG — A Schuylkill Haven man is headed to Schuylkill County Court after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing Monday for allegedly selling methamphetamine twice in his hometown of to confidential informants.

Michael P. Brennan, 46, of 230 N. Berne St. Apt. 1 Rear, faces charges of delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia in the first case and delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, conspiracy, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia i the second.

Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier bound over all charges in each case for court after Brennan waived his right to the hearing.

Schuylkill Haven borough police filed both sets of charges against Brennan.

In the first case, police said Brennan sold $160 worth of meth in a glassline baggie to a confidential informant at 8 p.m. Feb. 23 on St. John Street.

Then in the second case, police said Brennan again sold $160 worth of meth in a glassline baggie to a confidential informant at 8:30 p.m. March 3 at his residence.

Pending further court action, Brennan remains free on $10,000 unsecured bail in the first case and $5,000 unsecured bail in the second case.

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

Bilal B. Butler, 19, of 3855 N. 17th St., Philadelphia; retail theft and false identification to law enforcement; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Tucker J. Fisher, 25, of 281 Mountain Road, Pine Grove; driving under the influence, disregarding traffic lane and careless driving; charges held for court after preliminary hearing.

Amanda B. Hueston, 19, of 317 E. Main St. Floor 3, Schuylkill Haven; possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Brittany J. Kramer, 20, of 720 Mountain Road, Pine Grove; possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Holly A. Schaffer-Heiser, 332, of 500 E. Norwegian St. Apt. 2A, Pottsville; two counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernlia and one each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, DUI, driving under suspension and possession of a small amount of marijuana; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Shane P. Sprenger, 23, of 66 N. Berne St., Schuylkill Haven; DUI and careless driving; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Ashley M. Stumhofer, 25, of 416 Harrison St., Pottsville; defiant trespass; right to preliminary hearing waived, charge bound over for court.

Pottsville police

report arrests

Pottsville police Chief Richard F. Wojciechowsky reported that during the first quarter of 2016, Pottsville officers have been involved in 46 physical arrests of people located in the city that were wanted on outstanding arrest warrants issued by agencies other than the Pottsville Bureau of Police.

The chief said that this proactive use of patrol resources helps to protect the citizens of Pottsville and serves as a strong deterrent for future criminal activity.

Man tampers

with drug test

Pottsville police investigated an incident about 11:20 a.m. Wednesday at the Schuylkill County Adult Probation Office, 300 N. Third St., where a person was caught tampering with a urine test.

Police said probation officer Leo Kayes II reported seeing Jason T. Kerstetter, 26, of Ashland, removing a 5 Hour Energy Drink from his right pants leg and pouring the liquid from that bottle into a urine test cup.

An interview was conducted by officers and, based on the results of the investigation, a complaint was prepared charging Kerstetter with misdemeanor furnishing drug-free urine.

The charge was filed with Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville, police said.

Three woman from New York visited Pottsville on Friday to get in touch with their creative side at Mud & Maker.

Annette Martin, 58, of Burdett, Maureen Letteer, 51, of Odessa, and Deb Stephenson, 50, of Elmira, wanted to experience what it was like sculpting clay on a potter’s wheel. Martin said she started a bucket list seven or eight years ago because of a prior medical issue.

“I wanted to feel what the experience of making something like that was,” she said.

Friday was the first day of the Spring Thaw Art & Culture Tour. Mud & Maker is one of nine stops on the tour, which runs until Sunday, though some events will be held later this month. The tour is free but some optional events have a cost.

At Mud & Maker, visitors had the chance to browse the shop at 6 S. Centre St. Today and Sunday, visitors can paint their own pottery starting at $5.

The women left about 7 a.m. Friday for their trip to Schuylkill County. Before visiting Mud & Maker, they stopped by several places including D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. Brewery, Mahantongo Street, where they took a tour and met the brewery’s owner and president, Richard L. “Dick” Yuengling Jr.

Martin sculpted the clay she described as cool and creamy. Before getting her hand wet at the wheel, she picked a design in the shape of a heart to apply to the outside of her soon-to-be creation.

Letteer was decorating four cutouts she wanted to place on her creation. She said they were to honor her best friend, her 9-year-old dog, Dolly, for its birthday.

Stephanie Premich, co-owner of Mud & Maker, said they will get their creations in about two weeks after they set, get placed in a kiln twice and have time to cool.

Stephenson said the experience was one to be remembered.

“I’m just going to display it proudly,” she said.

Martin said they plan to visit as many stops on the tour as they can this weekend before going back to New York.

Other participating businesses and venues are The Walk In Art Center, 220 Parkway, Schuylkill Haven; The Arts Barn, 3 Berry Road, Schuylkill Haven; Tamaqua Community Art Center and The Seed House, 125 Pine St., Tamaqua; Hamburg Field House; The Art of the Brew Craft Beer Festival, rear of 127 S. Fourth St., Hamburg; The Art & Craft Gallery of Hamburg, 335 S. State St. Hamburg; Stonehedge Co-Op, 51 Dairy Road, Tamaqua; and The Strawberry Playhouse, 60 Church St. Tuscarora. The Gabriel Youth Orchestra will hold its Spring Concert at 3 p.m. May 1 at D.H.H. Lengel Middle School, Pottsville.

The tour sponsored by Celebrate Schuylkill and the Schuylkill County Visitor’s Bureau. For more information visit www.celebrateschuylkill.com.

PINE GROVE — Regulations the U.S. government places on businesses and competition from other companies are among the biggest struggles facing “America’s Oldest Brewery,” Richard “Dick” Yuengling Jr. said Friday.

Despite that, industries are searching for workers. “There’s opportunities out there and everyone’s looking for good employees,” Yuengling, president and owner of D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc., Pottsville, said in his keynote address during Pine Grove Area High School’s Career Day.

Yuengling’s appearance highlighted a day organized by the school’s guidance department which brought 50 presenters from various employment backgrounds to the school to speak directly with students.

A video explaining the day-to-day operation of Yuengling as a fifth-generation brewery was shown before high school Principal Michael Janicelli introduced the company president.

Yuengling answered questions about his own career path and business challenges. He said he attended Lycoming College for a year, playing baseball, and had also served in the Army reserve, eventually returning to work in the family business.

He said he never wanted to do anything other than work in the brewery business. What’s brought him great satisfaction is employing nearly 225 people, and seeing those employees’ children growing up and also succeeding.

“Providing good jobs is very gratifying,” he said.

However, there were some struggles. In 1963 or 1964, he said his father had considered selling the brewery. Yuengling convinced his father to hold onto it. The two also disagreed on how to move forward in 1973.

“I wanted to modernize in 1973, and I had a fight with my dad about modernizing it,” he said. “So, I left, and then thought ‘What am I going to do?’ ”

Yuengling said he had worked as a truck driver for Fanelli Brothers and had worked delivering coal to apartments in Philadelphia, but realized he didn’t want to pursue those options. Instead, he bought a beer distributor business and did very well, he said, before returning to the family brewery.

One of his smartest business decisions, he said, was when Yuengling bought the brewery in Tampa, Florida. It enabled him to grow the company without running out of product, until the Mill Creek brewery could be built.

He said Yuengling is a small, family-run operation, trying to compete on pricing with Budweiser, Miller and Coors.

“I had to run a really efficient brewery to expand our business,” he said. He also attributes his success to hiring the right people.

Pine Grove senior Samantha LePre caught up with Yuengling in the auditorium after his address. She said her mother, Lisa LePre, used to work as a tour guide at the brewery.

“I thought when he (Yuengling) came in and told us to do something with our life, that was good advice,” LePre, who plans to major in psychology at Penn State Schuylkill, said.

“I didn’t see one kid talking during that assembly,” John Gradwell, guidance counselor, said. “They were hanging on every word he was saying. There was no one who sat in that auditorium who couldn’t relate to him,” he said.

Gradwell said Yuengling touched upon many opportunities, included those provided in the military, trade and technical schools, and college.

“He’s such a low-profile guy. He’s down-to-earth. He’s one of us. This was an opportunity for students to see people from Schuylkill County can be anything that they want to be,” Gradwell said.

Gradwell, fellow guidance counselor Shauna Havrilla and English teacher Andrea Hatter coordinated the day’s activities.

Two authorities have decided to finance improvements to buildings and parking decks in Pottsville by borrowing funds via the 2016 General Obligation Bond the city is about to enter into.

“That’s the Pottsville Parking Authority and the Pottsville Housing Authority,” City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar said Friday.

The city is planning to borrow more than $1.8 million, the housing authority is considering a loan of $2 million and the parking authority is planning to borrow $500,000. So Palamar expects the bond issue will be more than $4 million.

Within the next two months, the city will hold a public hearing on the matter and approve the bond issue. The city council may offer an update on the matter at its next public meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. April 11.

This will have to be done soon, Palamar emphasized.

“I want to get this off the ground in the next 30 days. We need lead time to get our new street sweeper, to get our trucks and get our new roof on,” Palamar said as he knocked twice on the wooden table in his office. “It’s not leaking right now,” he said of the roof.

City’s plan

In late 2015, the city council appointed RBC Capital Markets LLC as the underwriter for its projected 2016 General Obligation Bond. And the city council hired Paul J. Datte, an attorney from Pottsville, as its bond counsel, Palamar said.

The list of projects Palamar had on hand Friday was still a draft:

• Fire Department: air packs, $283,000, 10-year life.

• City Hall: wall repair, $175,000, useful life, 20 years; parking area, $10,000, useful life, 10 years; roof, $100,000, useful life, 20 years; police area upgrade, $150,000, useful life, 20 years; elevator, $175,000, useful life, 20 years; security, $8,500; useful life, 10 years.

• Street Department: pole building, $110,000, useful life, 20 years; street sweeper, $180,000, useful life, 12 years; compressor/tamper, $22,275, useful life, 20 years; loader, $153,000, useful life, 15 years; two 4200 International trucks, $240,000, useful life, 15 years; three 2500 GMC trucks, $148,000, useful life, 15 years; tire balancer, $30,000, useful life, 20 years; four-point lift, $19,000, useful life, 20 years; Kubota mower, $11,000, useful life, 20 years.

The grand total of the cost of those projects is $1,814,775, Palamar said.

“What we’re doing now with our list is going through it to make sure we budgeted enough money for these projects. For example, with the pole building we want to put up, we want to make sure there are inspection fees worked in there,” Palamar said.

Shields’ plan

The Housing Authority of the City of Pottsville is looking to upgrade elevators in many of its buildings.

“We’re looking to borrow about $2 million for elevator upgrades. We need to upgrade 14 elevators in our buildings. It should cost around $2 million, but we’re still finalizing our figures. We’ll have a plan ready to submit to the city in about a week or so,” Craig S.L. Shields, the authority’s executive director, said Friday.

According to a list of “possible bond issue projects” the housing authority submitted to Palamar recently, these improvements could be made in the following properties the authority owns and manages:

• Laurel Court High Rise, a 71-unit facility at 400 Laurel Blvd. “There’s two elevators in there,” Shields said.

• Michael Close High Rise, a 50-unit facility at 510 W. Norwegian St. “There’s two elevators in there,” Shields said.

• Patterson High Rise, a 50-unit facility at 12th and West Market streets. “There’s two elevators in there,” Shields said.

• Laurel Terrace Apartments, which includes 116 units. “There’s eight elevators in there,” Shields said.

Parking plan

Since the end of 2015, the Pottsville Parking Authority has been working with its engineer, John E. Levkulic, Pottsville, to put together a list of projects to finance with the bond issue.

At its April meeting Friday morning, the authority decided it will borrow funds for repairs to two of its parking decks, the Mahantongo Parking Center, built in 1969, and the Capitol Parking Garage, built in 1995.

Palamar prompted the parking authority to finalize its list of projects.

“We are anxious to move our bond forward and I know that the projects that the parking authority is looking at are somewhat identified, but we don’t have an exact dollar amount. On the other side of this, we now have three parties involved with the bond: the housing authority, the city and the parking authority. But a lot of the city projects are very time-sensitive. We’ve got to get a new roof put on and we need a new street sweeper. It takes six months to build one. So if we don’t order it, we’re not going to have it,” Palamar said.

“We want to get moving a little bit and I was just wondering if the number you folks were comfortable with was $500,000. If that’s the case, would it be appropriate for the bond counsel to move forward with a general idea of what the bond projects are?” Palamar asked.

“It’s going to come down to prioritizing,” Levkulic said.

“You have to prioritize what you’re planning to spend and the useful life of those projects,” Palamar said.

After a brief discussion on the matter, the parking authority indicated it was comfortable with $500,000.

“As long as we know that $500,000 is the ceiling, we’ll make it work,” Palamar said.

“Do we need a vote on that?” asked the parking authority’s chairman, city Mayor James T. Muldowney.

“No,” said authority’s solicitor, Richard Thornburg.

“So I guess we’ll just run with that, Tom,” Muldowney said.

Also present at the parking authority’s meeting Friday were: the vice chairman, Joseph J. Devine Jr.; and board members Mark Atkinson, Dorothy L. “Dottie” Botto and Edmund J. Jones.

With reports of vandalism and mischief at parking decks in the city, the Pottsville Parking Authority decided Friday to equip two of them with tiny surveillance cameras.

Diana McGeever, administrative assistant for the Pottsville Area Development Authority, and John E. Levkulic, Pottsville, the parking authority’s engineer, brought up the issue at the parking authority’s April meeting at the Lipkin Technology Building, 1 S. Second St.

“There was evidently some vandalism at the Mahantongo deck,” Levkulic said.

McGeever said she’s heard reports of tires being flattened there.

City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar said an exit sign was also pulled down at the Mahantongo deck.

“It was one of those metal signs bolted to the wall. It was minor vandalism. That was sometime in the past month,” Palamar said.

“John, cameras these days are very inexpensive,” parking authority chairman, city Mayor James T. Muldowney, said.

“And whatever you have for city hall, you can probably tie them into your same system,” Levkulic said.

“We’re working at getting a new camera system at city hall updated,” Muldowney said.

Palamar said the city has tried using small security cameras at outdoor locations, including the closed Collins Street Bridge that he referred to as “the Palo Alto bridge.”

“It was two months. We’ve been using these portable trail cams all around whenever we sense that there’s a problem. We were having an issue with people over at the Palo Alto bridge with people trying to cross. We installed these trail cams and they were great. It’s crystal clear too. We can put those all around different places and move them,” Palamar said.

But it might be difficult mounting the cameras in a parking deck, “because it’s all concrete,” Palamar said.

“They’ll find a way,” Dorothy L. “Dottie” Botto, parking authority board member, said.

“What do you pay for those trail cams?” Muldowney asked.

“They’re about a hundred-and-some dollars,” Mark Atkinson, parking authority board member, said.

“I just bought some at $85 apiece,” Joseph J. Devine Jr., parking authority vice chairman, said.

“Question for you, Rick,” Palamar said to Richard Thornburg, the authority’s solicitor. “Do we have to warn the general public that the place is under video surveillance?” Palamar asked.

“You don’t have to,” Thornburg said.

Putting up signs telling the public that the parking decks are under video surveillance could “act as a deterrent,” Atkinson said.

“The downside of that is they could go looking for them and smash them,” Atkinson said.

“But once you catch the first person, it will get out,” Edmund J. Jones, parking authority board member, said.

“So, should we explore that and get some signs made up?” Palamar asked the authority.

“I think we should. We can get a couple of signs and a couple of these trail cams and put them in there. Anyone want to make a motion on that?” Muldowney asked.

Atkinson made the motion. It was seconded by Devine, who said “we have to catch them in the act.” It was carried in a voice vote by all other members of the authority.

In the motion, the authority did not set parameters for how much should be spent on the security project.

“We’re not going to spend a lot of money on it,” Atkinson said.

“That’s why we didn’t do it that way because it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be a big expense,” Muldowney said.

“We’re probably only going to buy about two cameras and a couple signs to start,” Palamar said.

The Capitol Parking Garage is a four-level parking deck at Centre and Race streets with 234 parking spaces. It will turn 20 on July 14, according to the dedication plaque on its facade.

The 46-year-old Mahantongo Parking Center is a six-level parking garage at Mahantongo and Second streets with 277 parking spaces, according to newspaper archives.

In other business, Levkulic said the parking authority will discuss bids for numerous repairs at the Mahantongo deck.

“Bids will be received by next month’s meeting,” Levkulic said.

The work could include a new surface on the top deck, water repellent sealer on the lower decks and repairing concrete throughout the decks, he said.

RAVEN RUN — The Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah board on Tuesday discussed concerns about insurance liability involving the use of authority lands by the public for fishing, hunting and other activities at a special meeting.

The special meeting had two agenda items to discuss, the first being whether the authority will issue fishing permits and the other on whether to purchase GPS devices for authority vehicles.

The authority board tabled both items.

Board Chairwoman Donna Gawrylik opened the discussion of the fishing permits.

“The authority’s insurance carrier wants you to be aware that the authority could be sued if someone would get hurt while on the property and that would result in higher premiums,” Gawrylik said.

Board member Joseph Rosselli has been looking into the situation and how other authorities deal with the public involving access. He has spent the past week looking at water authority watersheds and how they are overseen and compared them to MABS property.

“Anybody can do anything on our watersheds,” Rosselli said. “There is no way for us to oversee our property. We don’t have a security force. The police don’t patrol it. I’m not saying they are in bad shape, but they’re accessible to anybody, anywhere, anytime. Other authority reservoirs in our county are off limits to people because they are pristine.”

Rosselli said there is no policing of the authority’s watersheds, which does lead to problems such as garbage being dumped illegally. He said there is also the issue of the No. 6 reservoir, which is located near Ringtown in Union Township, that is half-owned by the authority and the other half by the state Fish and Game Commission.

“People can fish half that reservoir. It’s state fish and game. We can’t post it,” Rosselli said. “I have been reviewing our properties that are posted. We have to talk to our solicitor and police to address these problems, including off-road vehicles, with farming using herbicides and pesticides on our properties that they’re not supposed to. These are issues Donny (Segal, board member) and I are aware of. We need to act on behalf of the watershed.”

Authority manager Mary Lou Jaskierski said about 70 fishing permits are issued every year. The permits are free to residents in the authority’s service area and entitle the holder and three others to fish in the reservoirs from April to September.

“I’m just throwing this out on the table as far as my feelings with the insurance companies and risk management,” Rosselli said.

Gawrylik said the authority learned of the insurance company’s position on the subject when Jaskierski wrote a letter asking about the liabilities at the request of the board at the March 11 meeting. The response from the insurance company included the following:

“There is no exclusion on the agreement for hunting and fishing. However, the authority can have claims against it if someone is hurt on their land. If this exposure results in third-party claims against the authority, their premium liability contribution could increase.”

“We do have it in black and white that it is our responsibility,” Gawrylik said. “And today we do live in a lawsuit society. Any little thing that happens leads to someone saying, ‘You’ll hear from my attorney.’ ”

Gawrylik recommended that the matter be tabled until it can be more thoroughly discussed with authority solicitor Joseph Nahas. Rosselli said that a decision needs to be made sooner than later.

“Fishing season opens this Saturday, so we can’t put this under a rock,” Rosselli said. “Until we get things posted, we’re at the mercy.”

Rosselli said the signs that are posted are all types with different wording. He said a sign needs to be developed that addresses any restrictions in language that is clear.

“We have to be in compliance with the law. There are many signs that have to go up, and I will put myself out there to put them up,” Rosselli said. “We need to post signs so we can enforce the rules. To ensure our reservoirs, we have to look at this.”

Gawrylik said, “I think we should just wait to discuss it with Joe (Nahas) by no later than next week.

The board consensus was to table the issue and hold a special meeting, possibly next week, on the subject after receiving advice from the solicitor.

RINGTOWN — A Ringtown man was jailed Friday charged by state police at Frackville with threatening to shoot his neighbor with a shotgun Thursday night outside a home in Union Township.

Dean J. Zelinsky, 50, of 2638 Melanie Manor, was charged with felony aggravated assault; misdemeanor offenses of terroristic threats, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest and fleeing or attempting to elude police, and a summary charge of harassment.

He was arraigned Friday morning by Magisterial District Judge Christina E. Hale, Frackville, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison unable to post $50,000 straight cash bail.

Trooper Matthew Barrett of the Frackville station charged Zelinsky with the assault on his neighbor, Richard Eroh, who reported about 11:30 p.m. that Zelinsky pointed a shotgun at his head while he was working on his vehicle.

At the scene, Barrett said, Eroh reported he was working on his vehicle on the street side of his home when Zelinsky arrived at his home in a vehicle, approached him and asked if he had a problem with him.

At that point, Eroh reported, he told Zelinsky to go home and leave him alone, but an argument started and subsequently ended with Zelinsky leaving and going into his home.

Barrett said Eroh told him he returned to repairing his car when Zelinsky returned with a shotgun and pointed it at him.

Eroh said Zelinsky pointed the barrel of the weapon in his face and said he was going to shoot him, Barrett said, adding that Eroh was able grab the barrel of the shotgun and a struggle ensued.

Barrett said Eroh ran to his home thinking Zelinsky was going to shoot him in the back, but the man got into his vehicle and left the area spinning his tires and yelling threatening words out of the window.

At the scene, Barrett said, he observed Zelinsky driving toward the area and then quickly leaving when he saw Eroh speaking to police.

The trooper said he and Trooper Brian O’Connor got into their cruiser and tried to stop the 2000 GMC Jimmy that Zelinsky was driving, but the man ignored the emergency lights and siren.

Barrett said Zelinsky drove at a normal speed for between 12 and 15 miles north on Route 339 before stopping at his parent’s house, where he exited the SUV, ignored commands to put his hands up and stop, and walked into the woods.

Barrett said he and O’Connor followed Zelinsky for about a mile before he laid on the ground under a tree to avoid capture. At that point, Barrett said, Zelinsky still ignored commands and was taken into custody with the assistance of troopers from the Hazleton station.

During the attempt to take Zelinsky into custody, Barrett said he resisted and had to be shot three times with a Taser weapon.

Barrett said Zelinsky appeared to be intoxicated, under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and consented to a blood test at Hazleton General Hospital, where he was taken after the incident.

The trooper added that Zelinsky was wearing a vest that contained several loaded shotgun shells and that a shotgun was recovered from the passenger’s side seat of his vehicle.

The weapon was later identified by Eroh as the one that Zelinsky pointed at his face, Barrett said.

Zelinsky will now have to answer to the charges at a preliminary before Hale in her Frackville courtroom.

n Deer Lake: The Deer Lake and West Brunswick Fire Company will sponsor bingo games from 6 to 8:45 p.m. Tuesday at the firehall, 1 Ash Road. Doors will open at 5 p.m. For more information, call 570-366-0152.

n Pine Grove: Sweet Arrow Lake County Park will host its first disc golf tournament beginning at 8 a.m. April 16 on a newly redesigned disc golf course. The event will include two rounds of disc golf, player packs, games and raffles, trophies for top division placers and a free picnic lunch. The fee is $30 for all divisions — open, amateur, masters and women. Proceeds will benefit the nonprofit organization Friends of Schuylkill Parks and Recreation to promote and support recreational opportunities in the county. People may register online at www.discgolfu.com. For more information or to become a tournament sponsor call Drew Kline at 570-527-2505 or email him at drewkline9@gmail.com.

n Pine Grove: The Pine Grove Senior Citizens are sponsoring a day trip to the Dutch Apple Dinner Theater, Lancaster, on May 25 for the show “Million Dollar Quartet.” The bus will depart at 9:45 a.m. and then at 5 p.m. from the theater for the return trip. The cost is $79, which includes transportation, a buffet lunch, the show and gratuity. To register or for more information, call 570-345-3116.

n Pottsville: Providence Place, 2200 First Ave., will have a spring health and wellness fair from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday. The event will include vendors, demonstrations and health checks. Lunch will be served for attendees. For more information, call 717-283-4045, ext. 116.

n Pottsville: Dr. Farid Razavi of Schuylkill Health recently addressed members of the Pottsville Rotary Club about the importance of screening for colon cancer. He said colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the United States despite significant reductions in the death rate for the disease since 1975. According to a report in the Rotary bulletin, Razavia said most people have a 1 in 20 chance of developing colon cancer in their lifetime. Most colon cancers develop from polyps, which are wart-like growths in the colon. Most polyps are benign but any can become cancerous as they grow. The best detection and prevention test for colon cancer is the colonoscopy, which is recommended for anyone over 50 years old. Others with a family history of colon cancer to other risk factors should be tested earlier as the direction of their physician. Razavi said risks can be reduced with diet, weight control, not smoking and increasing physical activity. An unfortunate fact is that younger people are at risk more now due to poor diet and not following the aforementioned risk reductions. When a colonoscopy is scheduled, patients should follow the PREP directions carefully for the best results. Rotarians thanked Razavi for his presentation.

n Shenandoah: The Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society will gather at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the 201 S. Main St. history center. Speaker Karen Esak will focus on Sophia Cox, “Angel of the Anthracite Fields.” Admission is free, the public is welcome and refreshments will be served. The society will also sponsor “Treasure Appraisals” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 25 with appraiser George Blum at the history center. Admission is $5, which includes one appraisal. There will also be three appraisals for $10 and appraisals are limited to three per person. All are welcome.

n Tamaqua: The Tamaqua Community Art Center, 125 Pine St., will present Creative Eats with Amy and Jason Green at 10 a.m. April 16. The cost is $25 per child and $5 for each additional child in a household, which includes supplies and a Pampered Chef Cut-N-Seal to take home. The focus will be monkey sandwiches and banana sushi. The deadline to register is Thursday. To register or for more information, call 570-668-1192. The center will also feature The Brock McGuire Band from Ireland in concert from 7 to 9 p.m. April 23. The cost is $25 per person for a pub table and $20 for theater seating. Refreshments and food will be on sale during the event. To register or for more information, call the aforementioned number.

The state Game Commission is planning several prescribed burns this spring on State Game Lands in the southeast portion of the state, including about 1,000 acres in Schuylkill County.

Between March 30 through June 30, weather and conditions permitting, prescribed burns are scheduled for 623 acres at Bear Creek, Wayne Township; 248 acres at Wolf Mill, Blythe Township; and 138 acres at Baer Rocks, West Penn Township. There are also several prescribed burns planned for Dauphin, Lebanon and York counties.

There were 28 brush fires throughout Schuylkill County in March, John Matz, county emergency management coordinator, said Friday. There were four in February and five in January, he said.

Matz said that fire chiefs have already voiced their support for another burn ban this year. The support of at least 10 fire chiefs is required by law, Matz said. Following the recommendation from the district forester with the support of fire chiefs, Matz presents the ban to the county commissioners for approval. A burn ban lasts for 30 days unless extended.

“Once the trees start to green up, the moisture is held much better in the ground then it is not much of a problem,” Matz said.

If the county commissioners approve a ban this year, it will be the fifth year in a row that a burn ban was enacted and the sixth in seven years.

Burn bans have been enacted around this time of the year in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. It is enforced by state and local police officers and officials at the state Bureau of Forestry.

Under the ban, residents are forbidden from any outdoor burning of items, such as garbage, leaves, grass, twigs, litter and paper. Grilling in proper containers is still permitted, but the ban forbids lighting fires in outdoor burn barrels or fire rings.

Residents violating the ban may face fines of $100 for their first offense, $200 for the second and $300 for each additional violation. They are also responsible for the cost of extinguishing any fire they cause.

Businesses may request an exemption from the burn ban by writing a letter detailing the adverse economic effects of the ban to SCEMA for review and consideration.

Matz said that burn bans ease the workload for volunteer firefighters.

“We are also protecting property,” Matz said. “We rely heavily on surface water. A fire in the watershed could have devastating effects on surface water.”

Pennsylvania law allows open burning of “domestic refuse” as long as the fire is on the property of a structure occupied solely as a residence by two families or fewer and when the refuse results from the normal occupancy of the structure. “Domestic refuse” does not include such items as demolition waste, insulation, shingles, treated wood, paint, painted or stained objects or furniture, tires, mattresses, box springs, metal, insulating coating on wire, television sets and appliances, automobiles, automotive parts, batteries, PVC products, waste oil and other petroleum products.

According to Randall Bauman, forester for the southeast region, a prescribed burn is designed to improve forest and wildlife habitat.

“The problem is that in a number of these locations, the oak seedlings are being outcompeted by other tree species, such as birch, maple and tulip poplar,” Bauman said. “The oak seedlings will eventually die out and be replaced, changing the composition of the forest. The loss of the oak seedlings is a problem because oak trees are extremely valuable to wildlife.”

Through the use of a prescribed burn, competing species will be reduced and the growth of the oak seedlings will be promoted. This will allow oak to remain the dominant species as this forest grows.

The entire operation is overseen by a “burn boss” with extensive training and experience.

“During the day of the prescribed burn, access to the site will be restricted and only people directly associated with the burn will be allowed access at or near the site,” Bauman said. “Trained staff will be on hand with numerous pieces of fire equipment and water resources. All necessary local fire and emergency personnel will be notified in advance.

“Prior to the start of the prescribed burn, a small, easily extinguished ‘test’ burn will be conducted so that the burn boss can check the fire behavior and smoke dispersion patterns for the day,” Bauman said. “If the test fire burns within the pre-determined parameters, the prescribed burn will be allowed to continue. If it does not burn within those parameters, it will be called off for the day.”

For more information about the specific management details, location and burn window status for each prescribed burn, visit the “Prescribed Fire” link on the Game Commission’s website at www.pgc.state.pa.us.

n New Philadelphia: A cash bingo will be held at Advance Sports Development, 15 Alliance St., the Simon Kramer Institute, on April 7. Doors and concessions will open at 5:30 p.m. and bingo will start at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $25 for a package. There will be a player’s pool and jackpot specials. For more information, call Melissa Clarke at 570-527-9634.

n Pine Grove: Hershey’s ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park will again make an appearance at the Sweet Arrow Lake County Park Clubhouse at 7 p.m. April 19. It will present “Paws, Claws, Scales and Tails,” a variety program that focuses on the adaptations animals use in the wild for defense, finding food, eating, swimming and escaping predators, according to a park press release. Live animals will be featured in the program, which is free and open to the public, made possible through a grant from the Schuylkill Area Community Foundation. For more information, call 570-345-8952.

n Pottsville: The ASSE International Student Exchange Program is seeking local host families for boys and girls from a variety of countries around the world, according to an ASSE press release. The students are 15 to 18 years old and coming to the area for the upcoming high school year or semester. The “personable and academically select exchange students have good English, are bright, curious and anxious to learn about the USA by living as part of your family, attending high school and sharing their own culture and language with you,” organizers said in the release. The exchange students will arrive from their home countries shortly before school begins and return at the end of the school year or semester. Each ASSE student is “fully insured, brings his or her own personal spending money and expects to bear his or her share of household responsibilities, as well as being included in normal family activities and lifestyles.” Families may select the youngster of their choice from student applications, family photos and biographical essays. To become a host family or find out more about ASSE and its programs, call Sue at 732-515-8203 or 800-677-2773, or visit www.asse.com.

n Pottsville: Schuylkill County Treasurer Linda L. Marchalk and Sheriff Joseph G. Groody have announced their offices will be open from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday for people to buy dog licenses, fishing licenses and to renew or apply for a license to carry firearms. Groody, in a press release, said he will continue to offer Saturday hours “to better serve law-abiding county residents ... with the option to apply for a license to carry firearms.” The fee for the license is $20, payable with cash, check, money order or credit card. Current license holders can renew up to 60 days before the expiration date. Applicants must be 21 or older and must provide a current and valid Pennsylvania driver’s license or a current PA identification card that has the applicant’s current address. Applicants must provide the name, full address and phone number of two references — references cannot be family members. Applications will be processed and mailed to the applicant’s home address. Applications also are online at www.co.schuylkill.pa.us under the sheriff home page. Regarding dog licenses, state law requires that all dogs three months or older be licensed by Jan. 1 and failure to license a dog can carry a fine of up to $300 for each unlicensed dog. An annual license is $8.50 and a lifetime license is $51.50, according to the release. If the dog is spayed or neutered, the annual fee is $6.50 while a lifetime license is $31.50. Reduced rates are available for senior citizens and people with disabilities. Marchalk said the Saturday hours “give dog owners a chance to be compliant with state law and not force county residents to take time off of work to get a dog license.” Dog licenses are also available through local dog agents or by visiting www.padoglicense.com. A list of downloadable applications are available at www.co.schuylkill.pa.us/Offices/Treasurer/Treasurer.asp. Marchalk also said fishing licenses are available. The cost for an annual resident adult license is $22.70. The fee for annual senior licenses is $11.70. The cost for the trout/salmon permit is $9.70. For more information about licenses, call 570-628-1433 and about gun permits, 570-628-1440.

PINE GROVE — Separate Ways The Band, a Journey tribute band, delighted audiences Saturday at Pine Grove Area High School.

“It’s just like seeing the real thing,” Marsha Hullihan, 64, of Shoemakersville, said. She was there with her husband, Steve Hullihan, 59. Her daughter, Tara Zulick, is a teacher in the school district.

Hullihan said she never attended a Journey concert and felt like she was at one Saturday.

The band took the stage, playing songs like “Separate Ways,” “Open Arms” and “Who’s Crying Now.” The Cardinal Band Boosters sponsored the event as a fundraiser for the 125-member Cardinal Band. Separate Ways T-shirts and band merchandise were available for the concert-goers.

Ken Gibson, Cardinal Band director, invited the tribute band to the school after hearing them play elsewhere. Between 150 and 200 tickets were sold for the show at Pine Grove Area.

“We are just trying to bring music into the school that people will appreciate,” he said.

Twelve Twenty Four, a Trans-Siberian Orchestra tribute band, performs in the winter.

“We wanted to do something in the spring,” Gibson said.

Separate Ways seemed to be having a good time on stage. The band consists of five members: Jason Mitchell, lead guitar/vocals, Jim Kull, bass guitar/vocals, Danny Gagliano, lead vocals, Dave Ramani, drums/percussion, and Mick Loro, keyboards and vocals.

Mitchell, 40, is originally from Pottsville and a 1993 graduate of Pottsville Area High School. He now lives in Drexel Hill, Delaware County. Growing up, he played guitar and was in a local band. He was introduced to the guitar by his peers. He asked his parents for one and the rest is history.

“It turned out I was kind of a natural at it,” he said.

Mitchell learned Separate Ways was looking for someone to fill in with the band and took a chance. He visits his parents, Karen Haas, Saint Clair, and Joseph Mitchell, Cressona, as time permits. His advice to aspiring musicians is to “work hard.”

He was glad to be back and wanted people to have fun at the event.

“I just want everybody to have a good time,” Mitchell said.

Ramar the gorilla is on Celebrex. Hiss Majesty the caiman lizard has been fitted with a prosthesis. And Heidi the reindeer eats hay soaked in water.

They’re geriatric animals at Brookfield Zoo and Shedd Aquarium in Illinois, and their population is increasing, a result of generally improving care for animals in mainstream zoos and aquariums across the country.

Those improvements have brought a new challenge: higher numbers of age-related health problems in animals. To address those maladies, zoos and aquariums are leaning on human health care technology and tweaking traditional approaches. But the further animal care advances, the deeper zoos confront the ethical question of determining when to end an animal’s life.

“We’re not doing it to create longevity records,” Bill Zeigler, senior vice president of animal programs at Brookfield, said of improving care for animals. “We’re doing it because we’re trying to create the best care and welfare. It’s subtle, but it’s a big difference in how we approach things.”

Like medical care for humans, care for zoo and aquarium animals has improved steadily through decades of more useful technology, better medicine and growing bodies of research. And the relatively new maladies that zoo and aquarium veterinarians see resemble those seen by physicians treating people in their golden years.

Multiple maladies

In Ramar’s case, it was arthritis in his knees. Hiss Majesty was stricken late in life with a cancerous growth in a foot. Heidi is 14 years old and her teeth are deteriorating. Cardiovascular problems, osteoporosis, failing eyesight and kidney malfunction are other conditions elderly animals share with humans.

“If we have a lot of animals that are living longer, we need ways to care for them and also make sure we have enough space for newer animals,” said Lisa Faust, vice president of conservation and science at Lincoln Park Zoo, which is participating in a collection and analysis of species data to determine median life expectancy for all animals in zoos and aquariums. “It’s a balancing act.”

To reach the point of giving human medications to Ramar, Brookfield performed CT scans on the silverback gorilla to pinpoint specific joints that were giving him the most trouble, said Mike Adkesson, vice president of clinical medicine at Brookfield. Adkesson then compared Ramar’s scans with those of humans and spoke with the patients’ doctors to get a clearer sense of how much pain Ramar was experiencing.

“A lot of our animals end up on medications that are very similar to what you’d probably find in the drug cabinet of an older person in a nursing home,” Adkesson said.

In addition to giving Ramar Celebrex, zoo staff changed the position of hand holds in his exhibit to allow him to pull, relieving pressure on his knees. They also gave him a rolling stool to sit on, instead of squatting, and separated him from the rest of the group to eliminate other apes’ increased aggression toward Ramar, a typical response to older gorillas.

Heidi, the reindeer, is arthritic and is on a low dose of anti-inflammatory medication. Her more pressing issue is that she has lost a few teeth, prompting use of the water-softened hay. Keepers at Brookfield’s Hamill Family Wild Encounters, where Heidi is on display, also use fans and misters to keep her cool in hot weather, lead zookeeper Andy Schertz said.

Hiss Majesty, the lizard that Shedd said is at least 15 years old, developed a tumor in his right rear foot. Tumor and foot were removed in the middle of last year. He was fitted with a prosthesis made with a 3-D printer. Sometimes he wears his prosthetic and sometimes he doesn’t.

At Lincoln Park Zoo, one of its more prominent, geriatric residents has avoided surgery so far. Maku, a 30-year-old eastern black rhinoceros, receives joint-enhancing nutrients in a powder sprinkled on his fruit and vegetables, said Kathryn Gamble, the director of veterinary medicine at the zoo.

Planning for the future

On a broader scale, Lincoln Park’s Population Management Center is running the Survival Statistics Program, data collection and analysis aimed at finding species’ median life expectancy, with the aim of planning better care for animals as they approach later stages of life.

Finding the balance between caring for older animals and opening space for newer ones raises the issue of euthanizing animals, a topic that institutions are refining as animals’ health care advances.

A few weeks ago, Brookfield’s Adkesson and his team gave a presentation to zoo staff on euthanasia. The goal is to start having open, candid conversations about age-related conditions earlier in an animal’s life, and to make sure that discussion includes veterinarians, keepers, nutritionists and welfare assessment teams, Adkesson said.

Those delicate conversations on animals’ quality of life often involve whether they are interacting normally with other animals in their group and care staff, eating normally, maintaining proper weight or experiencing muscle wasting.

“Euthanasia is a difficult thing to process, and it’s a difficult thing to do,” Dr. Adkesson said. “But in many ways, it is a final act of kindness, and it is an ability to alleviate suffering and to let an animal end its life with dignity and some grace.”

He said staff at the zoo prefers never to euthanize an animal too late, not even by a day.