n Cressona: The Cressona Pool, Graeff Street, will kick off its Back to the ’80s pool party Saturday with ’80s-themed games, trivia and the showing of “Goonies” to conclude the night. Disc jockey Kevin Sibbett will kick things off spinning tunes from 4 to 8 p.m., during which there will be a twister, an air guitar contest and ’80s trivia. The pool will remain open until 7:45 p.m. and the movie will begin at 8:15 p.m. Resident and nonresident pool spectator rates will be charged. The concession stand will remain open throughout the movie. For more information, call the Blue Mountain Recreation Commission at 570-366-1190, the Cressona pool at 570-516-8885 or visit www.bluemountainrec.com or on Facebook.

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 Frackville: The Frackville Ministerium Food Bank will be open from 9 to 10 a.m. Aug. 18 to serve eligible residents in the borough. New applicants will need proof of eligibility — a Frackville borough address. The food bank is at Zion Lutheran Church. People must use the downstairs entrance by the parking lot on South Beech Street.

n Pine Grove: The Tulpehocken Rifle & Pistol Club, Pine Grove, will host a shoot for the U.S. Army Brotherhood of Tankers, a veterans organization for tank crewmen and mechanics, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at 243 Molleystown Road.

n Pottsville: Schuylkill County Treasurer Linda L. Marchalk and Sheriff Joseph G. Groody announced they will have extended office hours, from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, for the option to purchase hunting licenses, dog licenses, fishing licenses and to renew or apply for a license to carry firearms. “To better serve county residents,” Groody said in a release, “I will continue to offer extended hours to accommodate law-abiding citizens with the option to apply for a license to carry firearms.” The fee for the license is $20 and is 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 Pennsylvania identification card that has the applicant’s current address. Applicants must provide the name, full address and phone number of two references (may not be family members). Applications will be processed and mailed to the applicant’s home address, according to the release. Applications are online at www.co.schuylkill.pa.us/Offices/Sheriff/LicenseToCarryFirearmsLetterAndApplication.pdf. State law requires that all dogs three months of age or older be licensed by Jan. 1. 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. 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 in the release that state dog wardens are canvassing through the summer. Having the option to purchase a dog license on a Saturday, she said, gives 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 also are available for purchase through local dog agents or by going online to www.padoglicense.com. A list of 2016 dog agents and downloadable applications are available online at www.co.schuylkill.pa.us/Offices/Treasurer/Treasurer.asp. Marchalk also said fishing licenses are available for purchase. Annual licenses are valid from Dec. 1, 2015 through Dec. 31, 2016. The cost for an annual resident adult license is $22.90. The fee for annual senior licenses is $11.90. The cost for the trout/salmon permit is $9.90. Multi-year licenses and fishing license buttons are also available for purchase, as are 2016-17 hunting licenses. For questions regarding licenses, call 570-628-1433 and for gun permits, call 570-628-1440.

DEER LAKE — The young women and men at CrossFit Fluid work to achieve a strong mind and body.

“I want to be strong,” Erin McDonald, 18, of Schuylkill Haven said Friday after lifting 143 pounds.

Although it took her three tries to hold the barbell for a specified time period, she felt accomplished after doing it. Friends in the gym cheered her on in her goal of lifting almost her entire weight of 147 pounds.

Like others at the gym, but a part of the Fearless Barbell team, Olympic weightlifting, she wants to improve. She was in the 2014 and 2015 USA Weightlifting National Youth Championships. The 2014 event was held in Port Orange, Florida. The 2015 event was held in Bloomington, Minnesota. She lifted 58 kilograms (127.86 pounds) in the 16- to 17-year-old class in 2014 and 63 kilograms (138.89 pounds) in that class in 2015. Lifting weights provides her a stress outlet, she said.

The gym is open to anyone. It has members that are as young as 5 and up to 70 years old. About 25 people are in the weightlifting team and about 100 members overall for the gym.

Her sister, Allison McDonald, 14, and brother, Ryan McDonald, 9, both of Schuylkill Haven, also attend the gym and work out with the barbells. Allison has also taken part in National Youth Championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2014, she placed fifth in the 44 kilogram weight class for her age, lifting 43.28 kilograms or 93.41 pounds, won a silver medal for second place in the 53 kilogram weight class for her age, lifting 51.67 kilograms or 113.91 pounds, and placed seventh this year in the 58 kilogram weight class for her age lifting 55.07 kilograms or 121.40

Ryan has not competed yet. This is Ryan’s first year as members must be at least 9 to start lifting weights, said Mitch Stokes, who runs the gym but leases part of the old Fessler building along Route 61 South. He said a good attention span is needed to lift weights, so that is why he set the age at 9.

Taylor Szczecina, 14, of Orwigsburg, weights about 110 pounds. The most she lifted was 42 kilograms or 92.4 pounds. She started training in July of 2014. Depending on the lifting work schedule, she lifts four or five times a week. She also went to the National Championships in 2015 and this year in Austin, Texas. She placed eighth in her 13 and under 44 kilogram weight class category in 2015 and eighth in the 14- to 15-year-old category 48 kilogram weight class.

“A lot of people think of it (weightlifting) as a male sport. It’s kind of cool to do something that most people think a girl will not do,” she said.

The gym is open 5 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday.

LOYALTON — Cheerleaders, advisers and parents rallied together Tuesday before the Upper Dauphin Area school board, pleading for a way to keep a competitive cheer squad going by adding younger students to its roster.

Head cheerleading coach Marcia Schell addressed the board, speaking on behalf of about 20 students and adults gathered in support.

Superintendent Evan Williams said he had asked Schell and the cheerleaders to attend the meeting to “present their case to you,” he told the board.

Schell said that at least 12 cheerleaders were needed to vie for the competitive squad competitions, and she currently had nine high school students interested. She said the girls wanted to open tryouts to the seventh- and eighth-graders to be a part of that team. Schell introduced the board to three incoming eighth-graders present, along with their parents, who wanted to join the competition squad. Currently, that squad is only open to students in grades nine through 12. Schell said, if the board approved it, the younger students would only be a part of the competition squad, and would not be cheering at the district’s athletic events, like football, basketball and wrestling.

Jared Shade, middle school principal, asked if there would be an opportunity for seventh- and eighth-graders to try out, and said he was in support of Schell’s request. Schell confirmed that there would be a tryout for the younger students, and that the three eighth-graders present Tuesday were academically strong and that their parents had voluntarily committed financially to participate. Schell also noted that due to PIAA eligibility rules, the cheerleading squad would not be able to compete in district or state competition this year because the rules say schools cannot have seventh- and eighth-graders on a varsity team. The squad would only be competing in private competitions, not districts or states, she said. The school district, Schell said, does not pay any cost for the competition squad.

Schell said the squad lost many cheerleaders to graduation, and the incoming freshman class had no one interested in joining.

Raquel Smith, a coach of the seventh- and eighth-grade midget squad, the Lykens Little Tigers, also confirmed the strength and talent of the young cheerleaders and spoke in support of giving them the opportunity to tryout for the competitive squad.

The board, by a 5-0 vote, approved allowing the seventh- and eighth-graders to try out for the competitive cheerleading squad, and would revisit the status of the squad next year. Those voting in support were directors David Barder, Jack Laudenslager, Roni Mace, Kathryn Talhelm and Kirk Wenrich. Board members Mills Eure, Angela Mattern, the Rev. Nathan Minnich and Steven Welker were absent.

In other matters, Curt Byerly and his wife, Jessica, attended the meeting on behalf of the district’s archery team, and their son, Chase, an incoming junior. Curt Byerly said he hoped the board would consider making archery a booster club. The board reported it will examine the information presented, and may put the matter up for a vote in September. Shade said he supported the efforts to establish the booster club. On a related note, the board Tuesday approved Brian Leiter as a volunteer district Archery Club adviser for the 2016-17 school year.

The board entered into a 25-minute executive session to discuss personnel and legal matters.

In other action, the board:

• Removed from the agenda a vote on a salary increase for Act 93 administrators. Barder said the board wanted to vote on that when more directors were present.

• Tabled changing the paraprofessionals, guidance, AD secretary, nurse assistants and all classified staff working less than 245 days to hourly status at the start of the 2017-18 school year. Those employees would complete time sheets and would be paid pay period by pay period. This would also cause them to miss a pay at the start of the 2017-18 school year.

• Approved Danielle D’Alessandro as an English teacher for the 2016-17 school year at a salary of $41,286, Step 1, Level B.

• Approved the transfer of Leashay Zeigler from Supervisor of Special Education and Student Services to Middle School Special Education/Gifted with a Special Education PK-12 title, effective the 2016-17 school year.

• Approved Amber Dorman as an English teacher/CAOLA instructor assigned to the UDA high school at a salary of $51,157, Step 14, Level M.

• Approved the athletic fees for the 2016-17 school year with no increases from last year. They are: family pass, $105; individual, $75; adult individual high school, $5; student individual high school, $3; adult individual middle school, $3; and student individual, $2.

• Approved an agreement for participation in child nutrition programs between the district and the Dauphin County Technical School.

• Approved the New Story Tuition Agreement for the 2016-17 school year for a student.

• Adopted a resolution approving partial settlement for the case of Berrysburg Borough versus Susquehanna Trust & Investment Company, executor of the estate of Allen Shaffer, Dauphin County No. 2012-CV-5846. The district is expected to receive more than $122,900, according to business manager Mary Bateman.

GIRARDVILLE — The former St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Girardville and the adjoining rectory was sold earlier this month to a resident of Gordon.

According to the sale notice in the Aug. 10 edition of The Republican-Herald, the property transfer is from the Most Rev. John O. Barres, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, to Karyl L. Moser for $35,000. The address listed is 211 W. Main St., which is the rectory address. The church is located at Main and Richard streets.

St. Charles’s Business Manager Patrick Reilly confirmed the sale of both buildings.

“The settlement was Tuesday, Aug. 2,” Reilly said.

The Girardville church closed with the merger of five parishes in Ashland, Girardville and Gordon, effective July 1, 2015, into a new parish, St. Charles Borromeo, in the former St. Joseph Church in Ashland. St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church in Girardville was designated a worship center and remains open for a Sunday Mass and other services as needed. In addition to St. Joseph in Girardville, the merger also closed the churches of St. Mauritius in Ashland and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Gordon. Both have since been demolished.

In addition to the St. Joseph Church and rectory, the diocese also put up for sale the St. Mauritius rectory, the St. Vincent de Paul rectory, and an empty lot across the street from St. Joseph’s where the former Immaculate Heart School was located and was also demolished.

When the Rev. John W. Bambrick, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo, died on March 11, the sale of the properties was suspended until a new pastor was appointed. The Rev. Paul L. Rothermel became pastor on June 14.

“The protocol is that when a priest dies, you take any properties that were on the market off the market, and the new priest gets a choice of where he is going to live,” Reilly said. “He (Rothermel) chose to live in St. Mauritius rectory. He has been there since the day he arrived on June 14.”

The original asking price for the St. Joseph buildings was $85,000, but the amount was negotiated to the lower sale price due to work that needs to be done in the Victorian-style rectory building.

At St. Vincent’s, work is being done for the future sale of the rectory. The market price is $79,000. Since the church and rectory have used a common entrance from the street, a new handicapped ramp has been added as a new entrance and a fence will be installed to partition the two properties. Work was recently done to remove a leaking heating oil tank at the north side of the rectory.

Marriage licenses

John C. Wise Sr., Pine Grove, and Brenda L. Sechrist, Pine Grove.

Angela M. McCabe, Shenandoah, and Angela L. Kohl, Reading.

Kevin J. Strahm Jr., Tower City, and Julette A. Plummer, Pottsville.

Jason H. Bevans, Frackville, and Kathleen A. Biblehimer, Frackville.

Divorces granted

Kandice Wisler, Andreas, from Timothy Wisler, Andreas.

Jason K. Dietrich is headed to state prison after being sentenced Wednesday in Schuylkill County Court for secretly filming a girl in various states of undress in April 2015 in Butler Township.

“A period of incarceration is appropriate,” Judge John E. Domalakes said before sentencing Dietrich, 40, of Drums, to spend nine to 30 months in a state correctional institution, plus 12 additional years on probation. Domalakes made the sentence effective at 9 a.m. Friday.

While Domalakes ruled Dietrich is not a sexually violent predator, in accordance with the recommendation by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, he imposed 25 years of sanctions under Megan’s Law after he leaves prison.

“I am so ashamed and remorseful,” Dietrich said in reading a prepared statement to Domalakes. “I take full responsibility for my detestable actions.”

Dietrich, formerly of Lavelle, pleaded guilty on April 20 to 56 counts each of photographing, filming or depicting a sex act on a computer and sexual abuse of children-child pornography, eight of invasion of privacy and four of criminal use of a communication facility. Prosecutors withdrew 56 additional counts of photographing, filming or depicting a sex act on a computer and four of harassment.

Butler Township police charged Dietrich with taking photographs of a 17-year-old girl without her knowledge, while she was in various states of undress before and after taking showers, between April 7, 2015, and April 13, 2015, at a home in the township.

“He did it multiple days and multiple locations,” Assistant District Attorney Debra A. Smith said in arguing for the imposition of lifetime Megan’s Law sanctions against Dietrich.

Megan Velo-Zorzi, a Wilkes-Barre psychologist who is treating Dietrich, said he has shown great improvement.

“He’s done everything I’ve asked him to do,” including attending numerous counseling sessions and meetings, she said of Dietrich.

“Has (he) ever demonstrated remorse?” John M. Solt, Hazleton, Dietrich’s lawyer, asked her.

“Yes,” Velo-Zorzi answered.

Dietrich also said he attends weekly meetings and weekly therapy sessions, and added that he will continue to do so.

“I recognize the need to continue my therapy once a week for the rest of my life,” he said.

He also said he no longer has either a computer or a smart phone in an effort to avoid pornography.

Domalakes praised Dietrich for the measures he has taken to remedy his problems, but said those were not enough to keep him out of prison.

“Your steps ... are commendable,” Domalakes told Dietrich. “You still have a debt to pay society.”

The Megan’s Law sanctions to which Dietrich will be subject after he leaves prison require him to provide his name, address, employment, any schools he might attend, registration of any vehicles he owns and other information to the Pennsylvania State Police for the rest of his life. Any violation of the sanctions would be an additional crime and subject Dietrich to further prosecution.

Defendant: Jason K. Dietrich

Age: 40

Residence: Drums, formerly of Lavelle

Crimes committed: 56 counts each of photographing, filming or depicting a sex act on a computer and sexual abuse of children-child pornography, eight of invasion of privacy and four of criminal use of a communication facility

Prison sentence: Nine to 30 months in a state correctional institution, plus 12 additional years on probation and 25 years of Megan’s law sanctions after prison

Deeds

Minersville — James R. and Janet M. Markovich to Joel and Elsie Stahl; 0.3-acre property; $5,000.

Capitol City Buy and Sell LLC to Rodnick Reinhart; 218 Laurel St.; $49,000.

Pine Grove Township — Brigitte M. Zeigler to Robert H. Zeigler Jr.; property on Old Grove Road; $1.

Porter Township — Lori A. Rabuck, executrix of the Estate of Shirley A. Chubb, to Lori A. and Mark L. Rabuck; 66 Porter Road, Sheridan; $1.

Pottsville — SRMOF II 2012-1 Trust to 431 Greenwood Ave LLC; 431 Greenwood Ave.; $4,000.

John and Irene Carrano to William Berrios Jr.; 702 Mahantongo St.; $72,000.

Kim E. Felty to David Snopek; 403 Nichols St.; $14,000.

MAHANOY CITY — At Tuesday’s meeting, the Mahanoy City Borough Council unanimously dismissed a borough police officer who was suspended with pay in April in connection with an investigation of alleged missing money.

Cpl. Michael Dissinger was suspended at a special meeting on April 27 following an announcement that the Pennsylvania State Police had opened the investigation of about $10,000 allegedly missing from the evidence area at police headquarters in the municipal building. The money had been seized during a drug arrest. Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine A. Holman made the request of the state police to launch the investigation.

During that April meeting, the borough council also accepted the unexpected retirement notice of police Chief John C. Kaczmarczyk, who along with Dissinger were the department’s highest ranking officers. No charges have been filed against Dissinger and Kaczmarczyk.

The termination was not part of Tuesday’s agenda and was introduced by Councilman Francis Burke.

“I’d like to make a motion to terminate Cpl. Michael Dissinger as a police officer for the Borough of Mahanoy City for conduct unbecoming a police officer, effective immediately,” Burke said.

There was no discussion by borough council members before the 7-0 vote.

After the meeting, borough solicitor Michael A. O’Pake did not comment when questioned on the timing and specific reasons for Dissinger’s dismissal.

“We expect that this is going to be an ongoing matter and contested by Officer Dissinger,” O’Pake said. “Since this is an ongoing matter, I feel compelled to tell you that I can’t comment on this matter at this time. We truly believe that it will end up in litigation.”

O’Pake said the investigation by the state police is ongoing.

“I can tell you that the investigation is continuing,” O’Pake said. “There is no investigation by the Borough of Mahanoy City with regard to any criminal activity.”

O’Pake added, “We did not dismiss him (Dissinger) for stealing the money or being involved in any criminal activity. We dismissed him for conduct unbecoming a police officer. And again, we fully intend this to end up in a grievance and expect further litigation, and that is why I can’t comment any further.”

ORWIGSBURG — A borough man is headed to court after a short preliminary hearing Thursday on 13 charges stemming from allegations that he sexually molested a teenage girl in December 2015 in Deer Lake.

Christopher J. Edwards, 47, faces four counts each of aggravated assault and indecent assault, two of sexual assault and one each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of minors and an additional sex-related charge.

After the hearing, Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier ruled prosecutors had presented enough evidence to support all charges and ordered that they be held for court. He allowed Edwards to remain free on $10,000 straight cash bail pending further court proceedings.

The sole witness to appear during Thursday’s hearing, state police Trooper Robert Kluge, testified that the statements made in the Affidavit of Probable Cause against Edwards were true and accurate.

State police at Schuylkill Haven alleged that Edwards sexually molested the girl on Dec. 15, 2015. Deputy Assistant District Attorney Jennifer N. Lehman said after the hearing that the girl was 15 years old at the time of the incident.

Edwards himself said nothing during the hearing, but conferred before and after it with his lawyer, Frank R. Cori, Orwigsburg.

Defendant: Christopher J. Edwards

Age: 47

Residence: Orwigsburg

Charges: Thirteen sex-related offenses, including four counts each of aggravated assault and indecent assault, two of sexual assault and one each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and corruption of minors

ORWIGSBURG — A little bit of old and new were incorporated in the Independence Square Senior Housing building in Orwigsburg.

“We worked long and hard on this whole project,” Robert M. Leskin, chairman of Barefield Development Corp., told the crowd during the open house for project Thursday.

People said it shows.

The former Fessler USA building had been vacant since the first week of 2009, when operations were moved from the address to the location along Route 61, which subsequently closed in 2012. Barefield Development applied for tax credits and a loan was provided by PennHOMES for the project. Local contributions were also made to bring the project to a reality.

Leskin; Craig Shields, Barefield Development Corp. chief executive officer; Vincent Wychunas, chairman of the board of directors with the Pottsville Housing Authority; Marie Wilson, member of the Pottsville Housing Authority’s board of directors; Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess; commissioners Chairman George Halcovage Jr.; state Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-124; Sen. Dave Argall, R-29; and Ed Kleha, legislative aide to Rep. Neal Goodman, R-123, participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“I wish we could do this in every old factory in Schuylkill County. I am just blown away by the beauty of these apartments. Congratulations on a job well done. This is amazing,” Argall said.

Work on the former Fessler USA building at 216 W. Independence St. started July 7, 2015, and was mostly finished Thursday.

The building has 20 apartments: 13 are one-bedroom and seven are two-bedroom for those 62 and older. Two of the apartments are fully handicapped accessible. All are rented out and move-in day is Monday.

Space for the Orwigsburg Area Free Public Library is also included. Work there has yet to be completed.

Each apartment has a stove, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and a shower. Air conditioning is also provided. There is also ample storage space. LED lighting is throughout the building. There are also 28 cameras. Residents entering can use a key or key fob. There is a community room and second floor deck. Parking is available.

“They’ve done a beautiful job with the building. They really have. I’m just glad that they’ve done something with it,” Claire Rutter, 78, a borough resident, said.

She attended the walk through with a couple of her friends; two of them had worked at the former building.

Carol Leashefski, 73, and Kathy Miller, 69, both of Orwigsburg, could not help but admire what has become of the building they worked at. Leashefski worked there for about five or six years stamping boxes with a machine to specify the style number. She recalled how when she was about 7 years old she would go to the sewing floor and get soda and candy for the ladies who worked there and then get compensated. Looking in apartment 106, she said it use to be the old office on the first floor. She had family members who worked in the building.

“I think they did a super, great job. I never anticipated this,” she said.

Miller hemmed while she worked at the bustling business. She recalled the music they played and how most of the women wore skirts or dresses. She also liked the apartments and especially the floor at the entrance of the building.

The floor is the original floor in the sewing area. Dark spots are visible and show where the sewing machine oil fell on the floor, Tim Madden, a manger with Charles W. Grimm Construction Inc., Waymart, said. The original floor was sanded and clear coated.

Shields said there is waiting list of about 20 people for the apartments. Applications were available about six months ago.

Mike Lonergan, former Orwigsburg borough manager, came to see the improvements.

“This is awesome. This is more than I hoped it would be,” he said.

Walter Meck, president and CEO of the now-defunct Fessler USA, was impressed with what he noticed.

“I just wanted it to be something the community could be proud of,” he said of the reuse of the building.

A year and a half ago, Tony’s Meat Market at 17 E. North St., Minersville, started serving take-out food, including club sandwiches, balsamic chicken salads with fresh mozzarella and pizza.

The effort was a success. And now, the owner, Anthony Riccio, Llewellyn, and the general manager, Meg Dolbin, Drums, Luzerne County, are planning to grow the business. They’re opening a second location, a restaurant in downtown Pottsville.

“It’s going to be called Tony’s,” Dolbin said Tuesday at the site of the new restaurant, 17 S. Centre St., Pottsville.

They hope to have it open by the end of the month or in early September.

This is the restaurant space at Towne Drugs Inc. The property is owned by Carmen A. DiCello.

“At our Minersville location, we don’t have a place for our customers to sit down to eat. And we wanted to come into Pottsville. We already deliver over here. Our customers asked is if we could come into Pottsville and the opportunity arose,” Dolbin said.

In late July, Riccio and Dolbin started work at 17 S. Centre St. Dolbin said they painted the blue walls “golden sunset” with maroon trim.

“We wanted to make it look newer,” Dolbin said.

“We’re waiting for some new equipment to come in. It will include a flat-top grill, a pizza oven and a sandwich station,” Dolbin said.

Tony’s Meat Market opened in Minersville in April 2014.

Dolbin said she started working at Tony’s Meat Market in Minersville when Riccio opened the kitchen there in February 2015.

“I was hired as the kitchen manager and head cook and in four or five months I became general manager,” she said.

Tony’s in Pottsville will need employees and Riccio is looking to hire “seven to 10” people part-time, Dolbin said.

“We’re hoping to have five or six delivery drivers. We believe we’ll have seven to 10 people working on two shifts,” Dolbin said.

Tony’s in Pottsville will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, she said.

The menu is still being developed, but Dolbin said it will have more than 50 selections.

“It’s a work in progress. But we hope to have pizza, stromboli, calzone, catering with wrap trays and sub trays. We will be running lunch specials every day, perhaps a hot roast beef platter or an open-faced turkey sandwich. You can call ahead and pick-up, or come in, sit down and eat in,” Dolbin said.

The booths which were once fixtures of the restaurant space are gone. They will be replaced by tables.

“There will be no booths. With booths, if you have a party of six or seven who come in, you can’t squeeze two booths together. But with tables, you can push them together,” Dolbin said.

Tony’s in Pottsville will also offer delivery to the Pottsville area, including neighboring municipalities including Saint Clair, Port Carbon and Palo Alto.

The business has a Facebook page, “Tony’s Meat Market.”

James R. Ferrier

ORWIGSBURG — An Auburn man is headed to Schuylkill County Court after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday on charges he tried to break into a house in April in his hometown.

Jack F. Kauffman, 53, of 128 Orchard St., faces charges of attempted burglary, attempted criminal trespass, simple assault, criminal mischief and harassment. Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier bound over for court all five charges after Kauffman waived his right to the hearing.

State police at Schuylkill Haven alleged Kauffman tried to break into the modular house at 119 High St. on Aug. 18, 2015.

Police said Kauffman punched through the glass in the front door, reached through, hit resident Mark Leib several times and also grabbed him.

Leib had to open the door to get his arm out of the window, and Kauffman continued to assault him on the front porch, according to police. Leib’s girlfriend called police, however, and Kauffman fled, police said.

Kauffman is free on $5,000 unsecured bail pending further court action.

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

Keith D. Benjamin, 32, of 1251 Mount Hope Ave. Apt. D, Pottsville; theft by deception; right to preliminary hearing waived, charge bound over for court.

Jessica C. Bosworth, 29, of 206 N. Fourth St., Minersville; receiving stolen property and retail theft; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Joseph M. Evans Jr., 23, of 420 Ridge Road, Orwigsburg; driving under the influence, improper driving without lights and operating vehicle without valid inspection; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Matthew S. Madeira, 31, of 206 N. Fourth St., Minersville; receiving stolen property and retail theft; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Shawn F. Sukeena, 39, of 423 Route 61 South, Schuylkill Haven; possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Anthony J. Kilker

SHENANDOAH — A Suffolk, N.Y., man charged with a burglary in Shenandoah on June 28 had charges against him held for court during a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kilker.

James S. Lewkowicz, 43, of 16 Jeanne Ave., was arrested by Shenandoah police Patrolman Cody Applegate and charged with one felony count each of burglary, criminal trespass and criminal attempt to commit theft by deception.

Kilker determined the commonwealth proved a prima facie case and ordered all three charges held for Schuylkill County Court.

Applegate charged Lewkowicz with going to the home of an elderly woman at 301 W. Centre St. without permission, saying he was with Elite Solutions and had an appointment there.

While trying to confirm the man’s story, Applegate said, he learned there was an active warrant with full extradition attached for Lewkowicz in New York state.

Applegate said it was learned that Lewkowicz asked for $6,500 from the woman even though no work was performed.

Other court cases included:

Joel J. Santana Jr., 18, of 215 E. Coal St., Shenandoah; withdrawn and moved to citations: possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Carmelo Flores, 33, of 209 N. Main St., Shenandoah; withdrawn: criminal trespass. Waived for court: false identification to law enforcement and criminal mischief.

Tory X. Shuman, 23, of 127 N. White St., Shenandoah; withdrawn: recklessly endangering another person, burglary, criminal trespass and conspiracy. Waived for court: recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, aggravated assault and simple assault.

Joshua D. Joseph, 30, of 119 E. Pine St., Mahanoy City; waived for court: possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance.

Hans Sims, 34, of 1125 E. Pine St., Mahanoy City; withdrawn: making repairs to or selling offensive weapons.

David A. Plachko

PORT CARBON — A Saint Clair man charged with assaulting a woman on July 3 waived his right to a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko.

Michael Donaldson, 34, of 39 S. Third St., was arrested by Saint Clair police Patrolman Brad Blanner and charged with one count each of simple assault and harassment. By waiving his right to a hearing, Donaldson will now have to answer to both charges in Schuylkill County Court.

Blanner charged Donaldson with assaulting his girlfriend, Christina Joy Roeder, causing visible bruising and lacerations to a large area of her body.

The woman also reported she had been in a relationship with Donaldson for over eight years and that he has assaulted her on a regular basis, Blanner said.

Other court cases included:

Lindsey M. Moser, 20, of 50 Yorktowne Road, Pottsville; waived for court: possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, DUI-controlled substance, disregard for single traffic lane and careless driving.

Sasha N. Grubel, 29, of 324 Broad St., Saint Clair; waived for court: obstructing the administration of law.

Tammy Yatsko, 45, of 309 Schuylkill Ave., Pottsville; held for court: forgery, theft by deception and receiving stolen property.

Carlos Aponte, 21, of 218 E. Mahanoy Ave., Mahanoy City; held for court: possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Phelicia Ann Schuller, 24, of 108 S. Morris St., Saint Clair; waived for court: receiving stolen property and false reports.

Christopher M. Fessler, 30, of 101 N. Fifth St., Minersville; waived for court: possession of drug paraphernalia, theft and receiving stolen property.

Robert P. Lindenmuth, 29, of 410 S. Middle St., Frackville; waived for court: theft and receiving stolen property.

Casey Woolson, 27, of 228 S. Broad St., Saint Clair; held for court: possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

Troy L. Horn, 45, of 466 Lewis St., Minersville; waived for court: materially false written statements for the purchase, delivery or transfer of a firearm and unsworn falsification to authorities.

Susan Lee Nace, 52, of 325 S. Third St., Saint Clair; waived for court: DUI-high rate, disregard for single traffic lane and careless driving.

Mahanoy City man

charged for threat

MAHANOY CITY — Mahanoy City police have filed charges against a 48-year-old borough man after an incident about 11:40 p.m. July 19 in the unit block of East Pine Street.

Police said Jose E. Santiago Garcia, 21 E. Pine St., was charged with terroristic threats, possessing instruments of crime, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Police said Joseph Hullihan was sitting inside his vehicle waiting for friends when he was approached by Santiago Garcia, who asked what he was doing there, began to speak in an angry tone and then pulled a handgun out and pointed it at him for several seconds.

When Hullihan told the man he would move his vehicle immediately the Garcia said “you better f--king move now,” police said.

Garcia was identified and found a short time later with the handgun tucked inside his gym shorts, police said.

When questioned about the incident, police said, Garcia told officers he had contact with Hullihan and said he was eating and was uncomfortable about the vehicle being in the neighborhood since he did not know who it was.

Charges against Garcia were filed with Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kilker, Shenandoah, police said.

2 arrested on

drug charges

MAHANOY CITY — Two men were arrested by Mahanoy City police on drug charges after an incident about 9:50 p.m. Saturday on East Vine Street.

Police said James A. Bradford III, 45 W. High St., Coaldale, and Austin Didgen, 21, of 222 Grier Ave., Barnesville, were charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police said officers were called to the area by Mahanoy Township police for a report of a suspicious vehicle and found Bradford and his passenger, Didgen.

Police said Didgen attempted to discard what appeared to be a syringe out of a window and both were taken into custody for possession of drug paraphernalia.

A subsequent investigation revealed inside the vehicle four empty glassine baggies stamped “monster high” along with four more glassine baggies also marked “monster high” containing a white powder that field tested positive for heroin, police said.

Charges against the two were filed with Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kilker, Shenandoah, police said.

Police: Man had

offensive weapons

MAHANOY CITY — Mahanoy City police filed charges against a Barnesville man after an incident about 3:30 p.m. July 15 at 234 W. Pine St.

Police said Joseph J. Michaels, 25, of 1049 Barnesville Drive, was charged with one misdemeanor count or prohibited offensive weapons.

Police said officers were told by Rush Township police that Michaels was at a home in the borough and that he had four active bench warrants for his arrest.

At the East Pine Street home, police said, they found Michaels, took him into custody and found in his possession a BB gun inside a bag and a set of gold brass knuckles with leather covering the handle.

A former bar in Pottsville known for years as The Famous is becoming a restaurant.

And the owner of the new business, Savas Logothetides, Pottsville, said he hopes it becomes famous for grilled cheese.

“It’s going to be called ‘Wheel,’ as in wheel of cheese,” Logothetides said Wednesday as carpenters worked at the site, 201 W. Market St.

He’s hoping to have it open to the public sometime in September.

“We’re completely renovating the former bar and turning it into a restaurant that is going to focus on gourmet grilled cheese, essentially. We’re looking to bring something new to downtown Pottsville. You’ll be able to come in and build your own grilled cheese sandwich. You can come in and pick your bread, pick your cheese, pick your toppings, add a sauce and one of our homemade sides. Or you can come in and say ‘I want a classic grilled cheese with a side.’ And we’re going to have a small bar as well,” Logothetides said.

The menu will also include appetizers including soups and wings.

Brad C. Dixon, executive director of the Pottsville Area Development Corp., stopped in to see the progress Wednesday.

“This adds some variety to the community. He’s an aggressive business person,” Dixon said of Logothetides.

Wheel will feature both a sit-down dining area and a take-out counter.

“The take-out counter is great for working people, so they can get out real quick. I can’t wait to try some of the menu items myself,” Dixon said.

“And we’re looking to specialize with lunch and happy hour,” Logothetides said.

Logothetides talked about the building’s history and future.

History

The business is on the ground floor of the Lee Building, a four-story edifice erected in 1910, according to the online Schuylkill Parcel Locator.

In 1968, Margaret Mary and William L. Carroll sold the property to Sava G. and Cleo Logothetides, according to Savas Logothetides and the parcel locator.

“Those were my grandparents. I believe they bought the building for $25,000,” Savas Logothetides said Wednesday.

“The space here became The Famous Diner. It closed in the late 1970s. Then in the ’80s, we rented it out. Blue Cross Blue Shield moved in here for a period of time. Then my dad opened The Famous bar in 1992,” Savas Logothetides said.

Today his father, George Logothetides, owns the property, doing business as GDLOGO LLC, according to the parcel locator.

The Famous closed the last week of June.

George Logothetides continues to own and operate the Beer and Burger on the property.

Future

Savas Logothetides is a 2002 graduate of Pottsville Area High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Pittsburgh in 2007.

For the last four years, he worked for Ruby Tuesday as an operating partner, helping to operate restaurants in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He resigned his position there. His last day of work was Tuesday.

Now, he is the full-time owner and operator of Wheel.

He hired Graydus Custom Building Solutions to do renovation work inside the establishment. The owner and project supervisor, Joseph Graydus, Llewellyn, was on-site Wednesday morning with one of his employees, Storm Walcott, Minersville.

“And we’ve been working with code enforcement — David J. Petravich, city building code officer — to make sure everything is compliant and we’re doing everything the right way,” Logothetides said.

Graydus and Walcott have been removing the paneling on the west wall to expose the red brick.

“We started on July 5. I had to hammer all that plaster off the walls. It took a while. Then we hit the walls with wire brushes to clean them up then used muriatic acid. It brings the color out. Then we scrubbed a water sealer into them,” Graydus said.

Graydus also removed the aged off-white commercial ceiling tiles. They will be replaced with metal panels.

“We’re going to do a drop ceiling using corrugated metal panels. And there will be hanging lights,” Graydus said.

A one-step stage will be built on the north side of the restaurant.

“It will be used for performances on the weekends,” Graydus said.

Wheel will feature acoustic bands, Logothetides said.

“But during regular lunch hours, patrons will be able to sit there and look out the window,” Graydus said.

The floor will be covered in PVC planks which will appear to have a wood finish.

The dining area will include tables and chairs and stools.

The facade will be cleaned. And advertisements for the business will be drawn in chalk on the slate boards outside, Logothetides said.

He anticipates he will hire between 10 to 15 employees, a mix of part-time and full-time positions. And the tentative plan is to open the restaurant seven days a week: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.

There will be a soft-opening which is invitation-only. It’s Aug. 26 from 4 to 11 p.m.

Lithuanian Days may be celebrated in Frackville but all eyes will be turned to Rio de Janeiro.

The 102nd annual event will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Schuylkill Mall, Frackville. Admission and entertainment is free. The event, which celebrates Lithuanian culture, cuisine, song and dance, is the longest consecutive festival in the United States.

This year, Lithuanian Days will celebrate the athletes from Lithuania competing in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sixty-six Lithuanian athletes are competing in 16 sports, including the country’s favorite sport, basketball. The basketball team won bronze medals in the 1992, ’96 and 2000 Olympics.

“It’s almost a religion out there,” said Elaine Luschas, who works on the displays and Lithuanian Heritage Room.

In addition to basketball, the country will be represented in swimming, sailing, sculls, modern pentathlon, track and field and, for the first time, women’s judo, among others.

A display called The History of Lithuanian Sports will be one of three special exhibits from the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center, Chicago, at the festival. The others are The History of the Lithuanian Dance Festival and The History of the Lithuanian Song Festival.

A boilo tasting contest will be held Saturday at the Screening Room Bar/Lounge. People interested in participating can drop off a bottle of boilo with their name, address and phone number from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the bar. For more information, call Bob Savitsky at 570-874-0742.

A variety of Lithuanian food will be available, including kugelis (potato pudding), bandukes (meatballs), pierogies, halupkis, kielbasa, Lithuanian dill pickles, sauerkraut salad and dessert cakes.

The weekend begins at 11:30 a.m. Saturday with a performance by Sensations, followed by the opening ceremonies, featuring the Pennsylvania Army National Guard color guard and the official welcome by Paul Domalakes of the Knights of Lithuania Anthracite Council 144, the event’s sponsor.

Entertainment is scheduled throughout the weekend, including musicians Augis and CJ Ferrara and Steve Epstein. Sunday’s lineup will feature Lithuanian dances from the Gintaras Children’s Dance Group, Mahanoy City, and Malunas Dance Group, Baltimore, Maryland.

To see the full schedule, visit www.kofl144.weebly.com/102nd-annual-lithuanian-days.html.

The Lithuanian Days celebration was started in 1914 by the Lithuanian Catholic Priests League at Lakewood and Lakeside parks to bring together Lithuanian immigrants and their families.

Until the end of World War II, it was always held at the parks on Aug. 15, which is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation for Catholics. After World War II, it was held on the Sunday closest to Aug. 15 to accommodate the young people who left the area for better jobs. As many as 25,000 people attended the festivities. It was held at Lakewood Park until the park closed, and then moved to Rocky Glen Park until that closed. Since then, the Schuylkill Mall has been the venue for the event.

n Frackville: Living Waters Church of God will show a free movie titled “Miracles from Heaven” at 7 p.m. Saturday at 155 S. Balliet St. There will be free food and refreshments. All are welcome. For more information, call 570-622-3587.

n Frackville: The committee on downtown economic development will meet at 7 p.m. Aug. 22 in the Frackville Municipal and Community Center, 42 S. Center St., according to Paul Klevis, chairman. The meeting, Klevis said in a release, will center on adopting the committee’s mission statement for the long-term development of the downtown business district, along with discussing the possibility of developing a comprehensive community survey on what residents believe is needed in Frackville’s downtown opportunities. The meeting is open to the public.

n Gilberton: Continental Hose Company No. 3, Main Street, will have a hoagie sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The cost is $6 and varieties include regular, ham and cheese, Italian and meatball. For more information, call 570-874-2224.

n Mahanoy City: The Washington Hook and Ladder Fire Company will have a car wash from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the firehouse, 35 E. Mahanoy Ave., weather permitting. The cost is $5 for exterior only and $15 for exterior and interior.

n Mahanoy City: The Mahanoy City Elks Lodge, 135 E. Main St., will sponsor a meat bingo from 7 to 10 p.m. Aug. 20. The cost is $1 per card. Food will be on sale during the games and the public is welcome.

n Minersville: The group Help Us Help Missy will have a Chinese auction and horseshoe tournament from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Sunny Rod and Gun Club picnic grove, 12 Gallo Road. The event will benefit “a friend” who has stage 3 colon cancer. An auction shop-and-drop will begin at 10 a.m. and the auction at 6 p.m. Signup for the horseshoe tournament will be from 10 a.m. to noon and the event will begin at 1 p.m. The disc jockey Party Time will entertain from 2 to 6 p.m. followed by Jerry Williams at 7 p.m. For more information, call 570-391-6861.

n Pine Grove: Operation Hugs and Kisses will present the fourth annual Family Fun Night beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday rain or shine at the Hose, Hook & Ladder Fairgrounds, Orchard Avenue. According to a release, people should bring blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy entertainment throughout the day including Diaspora from 1 to 3 p.m., Brixius Music Studio students from 3 to 4 p.m., Cody Zerbe from 4 to 6 p.m., Ole 97 Johnny and June Carter Cash tribute band from 6 to 8 p.m. and an outdoor movie, Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp” at 8:30 p.m. There will also be games and activity booths, food, raffles and other activities sponsored by various groups. Free popcorn will be provided for the movie.

n Pine Grove: The Pine Grove Temple Association will sponsor a meal featuring deep-fried, beer-battered haddock, grilled ham steak, steak or grilled chicken breast with dessert from 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Masonic Lodge, 23 Oak Grove Road. The cost is $12 per meal. Children’s platters will be available. For more information or takeouts, call 570-345-0165.

n Pottsville: A Deppen Pie sale is under way until Wednesday by participating libraries in the Pottsville Library District. Pickups are set for Aug. 31 at the participating libraries. The cost is $10 per pie and all proceeds will benefit the libraries. Varieties include blueberry crumb, apple crumb, strawberry rhubarb crumb, cherry crumb, peach crumb, raisin crumb, shoofly, coconut custard, lemon sponge and no-sugar apple. Participating public libraries and their phone numbers are as follows: Ashland, 570-875-3175; Frackville, 570-874-3382; Orwigsburg, 570-366-1638; Port Carbon, 570-622-6115; Pottsville, 570-622-8880; Ringtown, 570-889-5503; Shenandoah, 570-462-9829; Tamaqua, 570-668-4660; Tower-Porter, 717-647-4900; Tremont, 570-695-3325; Tri-Valley, 570-682-8922. To order pies, contact the library in your area.

ORWIGSBURG — Thanks to the financial generosity of donors, the Orwigsburg Borough Police Department will get tactical gear.

At Wednesday’s council meeting, Mayor Barry Berger announced four donors, Roy Heim, Heim Construction, Robert Green, Green Communications, John Boyer, Boyers Markets, and Sud Patel, Fanelli, Evans and Patel, donated $4,705.80 altogether for the gear. None of the donors attended the meeting. Patel and Boyer live in the borough while the others lives outside its limits. Berger thanked the donors for their financial contributions.

No vote was needed because of the donation; however, Borough Manager Robert Williams said he had a new quote for two additional helmets and face shields, bringing the total to $5,160. Council President Buddy Touchinsky said that if the donors do not chip in for the additional funds, the borough can do it at the next council meeting.

Williams said the donations were from “concerned citizens who care about our police department.”

Police Chief Stan Brozana said he was surprised by the donation but is thankful. He was told about it by one of the donors earlier in the day before the meeting. Brozana said having the equipment will increase the response time of the officers if they need to respond to a situation where using the equipment is warranted. Sgt. John Koury was also appreciative.

“It’s good for our officers. Our officers need the protection. We’ve needed it for a long time. It’s nice that we are getting it,” he said.

The equipment will protect the four full-time officers and some part-time ones.

The six helmets, six face shields and two entry shields will be ordered in the very near future through the COSTARS program, a state contracting program, he said. The equipment will come from Atlantic Tactical, New Cumberland. All will be ballistic. The six face shields will cost $150 each or $900 for six, the helmets $360 each or $2,160 for six, and each of the two shields are $1,050 each for a total of $2,100. The department will order the equipment and then be billed for it, Brozana said.

In other matters, the borough tabled a motion to award the contract for the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority Interconnect Project. For about 20 minutes, the borough discussed the issue. The motion was tabled to give time for a monthly reimbursement agreement between the borough and SCMA and to further define how a rate increase billed to SCMA would be calculated. The vote was unanimous. Touchinsky made no secret about how this action might be perceived by the SCMA.

The project involves a meter pit and a meter connection for a proposed development in the area on the site of the old Deer lake Drive-In. In all, 220 apartments are possible by Forino Co. LP, Sinking Spring. International Custom Build Homes Inc., Allentown, is also seeking to build on 80 acres along Brick Hill Road and Route 61. Homes and commercial businesses are possible.

“This will be slightly damaging in my opinion,” he said to their relations with SCMA.

Borough solicitor Paul Datte said if the contract was awarded and the outstanding issues mentioned were not rectified, they would need to be clarified before a notice to proceed was given for the project.

“We’d all like to see this done,” Datte said.

Before the vote was taken to table the motion, James P. Wallbillich, an attorney for Scott and Sandra Sopko, said legal action could be pursued in the future. He recommended the action to award the contract be tabled.

“The Sopkos are opposed to the project as designed and build, and I am here to ask you to table any motion to award the contract until such time as I can meet with your solicitor and outline the reasons why we don’t think that project can be built in the easement that exists,” Wallbillich said.

Touchinksy said the issue had been discussed previously, but then the borough solicitor offered comments about the matter. He said the borough is under contract to design and construct the project. He said the borough had previously taken actions to try to resolve the issue.

“The actual route of the line was never going to be changed. It was actually going to come through the Sopko property within the 20-foot easement that you are probably aware of that’s reserved for utilities,” he said.

He said the borough is “actually under some legal pressure to get this project done” by the SCMA.

Wallbillich said he doesn’t think the easement says that “a vault of 10 feet was going to be installed in that easement. The language of the easement is pretty tight and it’s a proposed water line to benefit property of Forino west of East Ridge Drive, which is in the opposite direction that you seem to be taking the water under the agreement with the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority. So it appears to be a gross expansion of what was contemplated number one. Number two, I haven’t had the chance to complete all the research, but I don’t see any document that gave that easement to anyone including the borough,” he said.

The borough solicitor said they will not go forward until they have the easement to proceed — something they don’t have at the moment.

The extra time will give the borough’s solicitor and the Sopkos’ attorney time to talk. Williams said the issue could be discussed at next month’s meeting.

The council approved the change of name of Community Memorial Hall to Veterans Community Memorial Hall to more accurately reflect the role veterans have in it. The lease for space at the borough hall for the district justice office was approved for a five-year term for $1,833.43 with a 3 percent rate adjustment each year. Magisterial District Judge James Ferrier currently has his office there. Approval was also given for a notice to proceed with the South Warren Street and South Wayne Street project to Schuylkill Paving Inc. based on additional review by the state Department of Transportation, Arrow Engineering and the borough solicitor regarding if liquid fuels funds can be used for the project.

After an executive session, and during the regular meeting, the borough voted to research the potential insurance implications for the residents at 122, 126 and 128 S. Liberty St. in the borough for possibly acquiring those vacant lots. The borough might like to acquire those lots for a parking area in the borough. There was a fire at those properties earlier this year. Brozana said the cause has not been determined. Ed Mady and Darryl Cresswell voted ‘no.’

Pennsylvania welcomed the progressive rock band Kansas with open arms before most of the country recognized its talent.

“We’ve been all over Pennsylvania so many times, more so than other states,” said lead guitarist Richard Williams. “It was the first state that really recognized us. When we were playing bars in Kansas, we were headlining in Pennsylvania.”

And the state welcomes the band again today at Misericordia University’s Under the Stars Summer Arts Festival’s Starlight Concert.

The band, named for its founding members’ home state, got its claim to fame most notably from the fourth studio album, “Leftoverture,” which produced a hit single, “Carry On Wayward Son,” followed by single “Dust In The Wind,” from the follow-up album, “Point of No Return.” Over the years, Kansas reached an entirely new audience through its presence on popular video games such as “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero,” as well as its songs inclusion on popular television shows such as “Supernatural” and “South Park.”

Kansas has touted several different lineups throughout its 42 years of existence. Today, they are left with only two of its founding members — Williams and drummer Phil Ehart. The septet is rounded out with Ronnie Platt, vocals and keyboard; Billy Greer, bass; David Ragsdale, violin, rhythm guitar; David Manion, keyboards; and Zak Rizvi, guitar.

Two years ago, the news of former lead singer Steve Walsh’s departure from Kansas shook the rock music scene. Fans were left to wonder: Would Kansas carry on?

“I had seen Ronnie perform about six years prior,” Williams said. “So when Steve made the announcement, (Platt) was the first person to pop in my head.”

The band met with the singer, mostly to determine if he was plagued with ‘Lead Singer’s Disease.’ After about 10 minutes chatting with the remaining band members, they knew Platt was their guy, Williams admitted.

“He’s a monster,” the Topeka native said. “He’s such a great singer, he’s great with the crowd, great with the fans off stage. He’s got a lot of personality, he’s a friendly guy. And he’s all about singing. He’s spent his life getting ready for this moment. ... He was built to do this job.”

The Prelude Implicit

Kansas wrapped up recording on its first studio album in 16 years, and the first with Platt on lead vocals, in February. The album, “The Prelude Implicit,” is set to release Sept. 23.

“From the album cover, to the title, to the music in it; everything about it was punched with sincerity and is reminiscent of the early Kansas,” Williams said.

Luckily for the band, the record company supported the idea of creating an album that exuded the quintessential essence of Kansas as a band, rather than looking for a number one hit.

“We wanted to be very conscious of our legacy and our musical history and we wanted to represent what we are in that way,” Williams said. “I think kind of the blueprint was taking the earlier days and aiming after that. ... It doesn’t sound like ‘Leftoverture.’ It has an echo of that time, but it sounds modern. The music definitely will speak to any Kansas fan as this is clearly a Kansas record.”

One of the new songs, “The Voyage of Eight Eighteen,” Williams said is extremely reminiscent of the old Kansas songs, to the point that fans may think it was pulled out of the vault and recorded today. But, Kansas will not perform any of their new material until the record is released so fans can hear it polished for the first time, rather than from a video copy of a live concert.

“‘ The Prelude Implicit’ is a statement about the band,” Williams said. “I love all the old guys in the band — all of them that have ever been in Kansas before — that is our legacy and our history. But we’re not on the seniors tour or wrapping up (the band) with an album. The well is deep. There is a lot yet to come.”

The 66-year-old said friends and family often ask when he will retire and leave the life of a rock musician on the road.

But, to Williams, he retired when he joined the band.

“This is a hobby that turned into a career with tenacity and a lot of luck,” he said. “It’s hard work and I wouldn’t recommend it for everybody, but I was built to do this. I have been retired for a long time and I get to do what I love to do. I am very grateful because most people don’t get to do that. Most people work to pay the bills and wish they were doing something else. I’m fortunate that doesn’t describe me in any way.”

Firefighters and other first responders in Schuylkill County will have a better training facility, thanks in part to a promise Thursday by the county commissioners to provide as much as $500,000 to help improve the firefighters training center near Frackville.

The commissioners voted to give the money as needed over 10 years to the Schuylkill County Volunteer Firefighters Association to support the proposed multifunctional training facility.

“We have so many dedicated individuals in Schuylkill County. They do an outstanding job,” Commissioner Frank J. Staudenmeier said. “The least we can do ... is support their efforts.”

The most notable improvement to the facility, which is located along Firemans Road in West Mahanoy Township, will be a new burn building that should give firefighters, other emergency personnel, state Department of Corrections employees, industrial workers and task force personnel better training.

“It’s going to mimic row homes, which we’re familiar with in Schuylkill County,” association President David Sattizahn said after the meeting. “It’s going to sit in the same footprint (as the current facility).”

Sattizahn estimated the cost of the project will be $1.6 million, including engineering fees. He said the bid opening is scheduled for Sept. 7 at First Bank of Minersville/Gratz Bank.

Sattizahn said the association already has many things at the site, since it has been used since 1992, and the new burn building is the major change. Facilities already in use at the site include a water separator, a drill tower, a pump pad and a classroom, he said.

Staudenmeier’s fellow commissioners showed equal enthusiasm for the project.

“This gives them training right in their backyard,” Commissioner Gary J. Hess said.

Hess said volunteers put out their own time and money to aid their communities, and that they always need more help.

“When the alarm rings, they’re always there,” he said. “Join your local fire company.”

Commissioners Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. said the work firefighters and other emergency personnel do is priceless.

“It’s people helping people,” he said. “They take away time from their own family in order to do this.”

Also on Thursday, the commissioners:

• Awarded recycling contracts to Mahantongo Enterprises Inc., Liverpool, for tires at 13 locations at varying rates; Disposal Management Services Inc., Coal Township, for bulky items at seven sites at varying rates; Mostik Bros. Disposal, Mount Carmel, for bulky items at four sites at varying rates; Potts & Monger Sanitation Inc., Pine Grove, for bulky items at four sites at varying rates; and SOS Metal Inc., Mount Carmel, for scrap items at 11 sites at varying rates.

• Approved an agreement for $964,357 as part of the homeland security grant program. The money will be used for planning, training, exercises, equipment, maintenance and administrative functions of the East Central Task Force.

• Extended the contract between the Recorder of Deeds office and Xerox/ACS Enterprise Solutions LLC for another five years. Xerox/ACS provides the recording system, online access to records, upgrading equipment and customer support.

• Renewed a surface mining lease with Mountain Top Coal Co. for one year, effective Sept. 1.

NORRISTOWN — A political consultant to state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane testified Thursday that she knew grand jury information was inside a package he leaked to a reporter and she later conspired with him to cover up the crime.

In four hours on the stand, Joshua Morrow detailed how he and Kane plotted to release the information. After a grand jury began investigating the leak, they met to concoct a story to shield her involvement, he said.

He agreed to lie to the grand jury, he said, because “I was trying to protect Kathleen.”

The testimony was the most damaging evidence to emerge thus far in Kane’s trial in Montgomery County Court for perjury and several other offenses related to the leak of documents from a 2009 investigation of the late J. Whyatt Mondesire. The Philadelphia man was suspected, but never charged, with misusing state funds for a charity he headed.

Kane, 50, of Waverly Township, is a Scranton native. The former Lackawanna County assistant district attorney is first female and Democrat elected as attorney general in Pennsylvania.

Earlier this week, prosecutors said Kane leaked the documents to retaliate against Frank Fina, a former prosecutor in her office she blamed for leaking information that led to a negative story detailing her decision not to file charges against several Philadelphia-area legislators accused of accepting bribes.

The resulting story that appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News in June 2014 seriously damaged the reputation of Mondesire, who died last year.

In addition to Morrow’s testimony, prosecutors showed a series of text messages, retrieved from Morrow’s cellphone two weeks ago, that they contend back up his story. They also played a recording of a phone conversation Morrow had with a friend shortly after he arranged to pick up the documents in which he said Kane was becoming “unhinged.”

During Morrow’s testimony, Kane conferred with her attorneys several times but showed no reaction as Morrow calmly described their clandestine plot to ruin Fina.

Morrow, who was granted immunity, said Kane despised Fina because she blamed him for a March 16, 2014 story in the Philadelphia Inquirer that criticized her decision not to charge several legislators accused of taking bribes.

Questioned by prosecutor Michelle Henry, Morrow said Kane called him on April 22, 2014, and told him the packet of information she wanted him to leak contained a transcript of an interview an agent conducted of another agent who worked the Mondesire case. Morrow later passed that transcript, as well as two emails and a memo about the Mondesire case, to reporter Chris Brennan of the Philadelphia Daily News.

‘I need help’

Morrow admitted he lied to the grand jury during two appearances in November 2014, telling the panel Kane only told him that she wanted him to call her first deputy, Adrian King, who has admitted he passed the packet to Morrow.

He testified he and Kane concocted that story during a lunch meeting in August 2014 that she arranged after learning a grand jury was looking into the leak.

Morrow said when he arrived, he was surprised to be met by member of Kane’s security staff, former Dunmore Police Chief Patrick Reese, who took him to a parking garage. There, Reese confiscated his wallet, cellphone and “wanded” him to see if he was wearing a recording device, he said.

Reese, who continues to work for Kane in another department, was convicted last year of illegally accessing emails regarding the grand jury probe of Kane.

Morrow said he was then taken to a restaurant to meet Kane, who seemed “unfazed” by the grand jury probe. Her demeanor was noticeably different when they met again two months later at a park in Dunmore, where Reese once again checked Morrow to see if he was wearing a wire, he said.

“She was a lot more frantic than the last time,” he said. “She said ‘I need help.’ ”

Credibility an issue

Morrow said he altered his story during a third appearance before the grand jury in January 2015, admitting that Kane told him the packet contained information about the Mondesire probe that Fina had shut down.

He said he decided to tell more of the truth at that time “because the lies had begun to unravel.” Still, he withheld some information because he still felt obligated to protect Kane.

Anticipating that Morrow’s credibility will be an issue, Henry repeatedly questioned Morrow about why he lied to the grand jury and why he now agreed to testify at the trial.

“You concocted a story that was not true. Were you concerned you’d be prosecuted for that?” Henry asked.

“Absolutely,” Morrow replied.

“Are you still trying to protect yourself?” she later asked.

“To some degree, yes,” he replied.

‘Enjoy the read’

Morrow acknowledged he only agreed to testify after a judge issued a second immunity order Wednesday that ensures he won’t be prosecuted for any crime he admits to on the stand.

He also agreed to provide prosecutors with text messages that helped bolster their case. The texts were exchanged between Morrow and Kane in the weeks before the Philadelphia Daily News story ran on June 6, 2014.

Morrow testified he learned the newspaper was getting ready to publish the story. He sent a text to Kane on May 5, 2014, in which he said he hoped she would “enjoy the read in a few days.”

“I think I will,” Kane replied. “Can you give me a hint?”

Morrow replied that the newspaper had four reporters on the story, and that is was “time for Frank to feel the heat.”

Seven days later, when the story still had not run, Kane texted Morrow, “Where’s my story? I’m dying here.”

Morrow said he called Brennan for an update. The day before the story ran he texted Kane that he had read the first version and it was “brutal on our friends.”

Kane texted back, wanting to know if there was anything negative in the story about her. She replied back, “You are fine. Do you think I would do that to you?”

“Of course not, but they would,” Kane replied, apparently referring to the newspaper.

On cross examination, Seth Farber, one of Kane’s attorneys, hammered Morrow on his changing stories and the fact he was granted immunity.

“Isn’t it correct you were concerned you were going to be charged with perjury?” Farber said.

“I lied to the grand jury. Correct,” he said. He insisted that he is now telling the full truth, however.

The trial was scheduled to conclude today, but it was not clear Thursday if it will. Prosecutors did not indicate if they will call any additional witnesses. If not, the defense will begin presenting its case.