Political activists want state legislators to revamp election law and forbid elected officials from using campaign funds to defend themselves against criminal charges in light of former State Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane’s case.

Kane, 50, of Waverly Township, was convicted on Aug. 12 of perjury and several other offenses for leaking grand jury documents and lying about her actions. She spent more than $300,000 of campaign funds last year to defend herself against the charges, records show.

She is among several public officials who tapped political donations to fend off criminal charges in recent years. It has to stop, said several government watchdogs.

“This is a clear cut case of theft by deception,” said Eric Epstein of Rock the Capital, a taxpayer advocacy group. “You have an elected official who raised funds to enforce laws, not break them. People who contributed had no idea they’d be underwriting a legal defense fund.”

Several years ago, former state Sen. Robert Mellow of Blakely spent more than $800,000 defending himself against state and federal charges. Other politicians who defended themselves with campaign contributions in recent years include former Sen. Vincent Fumo of Philadelphia and former state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie of Pittsburgh, according to media reports.

They did so thanks to the vague wording of the state’s election law, which allows candidates to use campaign funds in any manner as long as it’s “for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election,” said Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause, another taxpayer advocacy group.

County court judges have liberally interpreted that clause to include the defense of criminal charges. No state appellate court has addressed the issue to provide a definitive answer.

“It’s been allowed and we think that’s an improper ruling,” Kauffman said. “I don’t think that is a proper interpretation of election law.”

Kauffman said some legal fees could be legitimate campaign expenses, such as defending a challenge to signatures on a nominating petition. Criminal charges clearly are a personal matter and should not be allowed, he said.

In February, Gene Stilp, Harrisburg, a political activist and outspoken critic of Kane, filed a complaint with the Department of State asking it to determine if her defense fees were legitimate campaign expenses. He has not heard anything from the department regarding the status of his request as of Monday, he said.

“This is a blatant case that has nothing to do with an election,” Stilp said. “Hopefully, the state department will look at this.”

Wanda Murren, spokeswoman for the Department of State, said the department does not comment on any investigations.

Stilp said he’s hopeful Kane’s case will act as the catalyst that prompts legislators to change the law.

Kauffman said a wide-ranging campaign finance bill now pending before the senate addresses the issue. Senate Bill 11 does not specifically outlaw the use of donations for criminal defense, but it does better define what constitutes “personal use” of funds. It was referred to the Senate’s state government committee in May, but no action has been taken on it.

Kauffman and Epstein said they’re not optimistic the bill will pass because legislators don’t want restrictions on how they spend contributions.

“When a public official raises money, they almost have carte blanche to spend it any way they want,” Epstein said. “I don’t want to hold out the illusion to the public that this legislature will do anything to make the process more open, transparent and accountable.”

Teenager Stanley E. Kralik will be almost 40 before he has a chance to leave prison, a Schuylkill County judge decided in sentencing him earlier this month for murdering a Coaldale man in January 2014 in the borough.

Kralik, 18, of Coaldale, must serve 20 to 40 years in a state correctional institution for killing Corey M. Samuels, Judge John E. Domalakes ruled.

Domalakes, who presided over Kralik’s three-day trial, also sentenced the defendant to pay costs, $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and $4,295 restitution to the state police, and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.

On June 22, a jury of eight men and four women convicted Kralik of third-degree murder, conspiracy, robbery, aggravated assault and theft, while acquitting him of first- and second-degree murder.

State police at Frackville alleged Kralik and Oliver L. Trizarri, 23, of Reading, fatally beat Samuels, 24, of Coaldale, with a shovel between 11 p.m. Jan. 20, 2014, and midnight Jan. 21, 2014, in a wooded area off East Miner Street. Prosecutors said Samuels’ remains were not found until September 2014.

Trizarri pleaded guilty Feb. 19 before Domalakes to third-degree murder and conspiracy, and testified Aug. 16 for prosecutors and against Kralik.

On June 27, Domalakes sentenced Trizarri to serve 15 to 30 years in a state correctional institution. Trizarri is serving his sentence at SCI/Camp Hill in Cumberland County.

n Lansford: The Boys Upstairs, Pottsville, will perform from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the gazebo in Kennedy Park, Route 209 near the Panther Valley Football Stadium. The event is sponsored by the Lansford Alive Event Committee. Refreshments will be on sale and concession proceeds will benefit revitalization of the park.

n McAdoo: The McAdoo High School Alumni Committee will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the McAdoo VFW. Participants will discuss alumni who will be attending the dinner on Sept. 18 at Genetti’s to honor John Fidishun, Class of 1951, who is being inducted into the Hazleton Area Sports Hall of Fame. A table has been reserved for the alumni committee. Also, plans for the alumni homecoming, scheduled for Oct. 1 at Top of the 80s, will be finalized. Committee members unable to attend should call Mary at 570-929-3658.

n Minersville: St. Matthew the Evangelist Catholic Parish will have a theme basket auction plus a wheelbarrow of cheer from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the parish center, 120 Oak St. A browse-and-bid will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 570-544-2211.

n Minersville: Mountaineer Hose Company will have a breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to noon Sunday at the firehouse, Third and South streets. It will be the first breakfast of the season with an open menu. For more information, call 570-544-9622.

n Nuremberg: The Nuremberg-Weston Fire Company has extended an invitation for the public to attend its open house and truck housing from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. The company will hold a truck housing for its 2008 Midwest/International tanker and an open house for its 30-year anniversary. Refreshments will be served. There will also be a truck parade at 2 p.m., rain or shine. Judging will begin at noon at the fire station, Hazle Street. Awards will be given out after the housing ceremony. The company also extended an invitation for fellow firefighters and EMS personnel to attend.

n Pottsville: A program called “Many Shades of Lawn” will explore options for an eco-friendly lawn with the Schuylkill Master Gardeners from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 30 at the Schuylkill County Ag Center, 1202 Ag Center Drive. People will learn how to create an edible, pet friendly, bee friendly or a meadow lawn. The fee is $8 and people may register by mail or stop at the center to pay. Check must be payable to PSCE Program Account, Schuylkill. Call 570-622-4225, Ext. 20, for more information.

n Saint Clair: The borough will submit an application for HOME Investment Partnership housing rehabilitation funds from the state Department of Community and Economic Development in the fall. Eligible improvements include, but are not limited to, replacing major systems such as roofing, heating, electrical and plumbing, bringing properties up to code, addressing lead-based paint hazards and making accessibility modifications such as grab bars and ramps for persons with disabilities. Residents must own and reside in their home in order to apply for funding and household income is subject to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development income limits for Schuylkill County for fiscal year 2016.

n Shenandoah: The Polish American Fire Company, 111-117 W. Centre St., will have Mug Night on Wednesday in conjunction with the Shenandoah Sesquicentennial Emergency Services Day display of fire and responder apparatus. The cost of a mug is $10, which entitles the holder to refreshments and music by the popular rock band Kings and Queens. Food will be on sale. People must be 21 or older to buy a mug. Mugs are on sale at The Pizza Shop in the 100 block of South Main Street and at the Vernalis Restaurant in the first block of South Main as well as at the firehouse. For more information, call 570-590-4088 or 507-205-4261.

n Shenandoah: Praying of the Divine Mercy Chaplet will resume at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 2 and continue at the same time thereafter on Fridays at Divine Mercy Roman Catholic Church, Cherry and Chestnut streets.

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — A female mute swan arrived Monday at Bubeck Park.

Brian Murray, street department foreman, and B.J. Folk, Schuylkill Haven borough recreation manager, picked her up from Small Valley Swans, Halifax.

“I hope Rambo is happy with the new arrival,” Borough Manager Scott Graver said shortly after the swan arrived about 4:10 p.m. Monday.

She is in a small fenced-in area of the enclosure until she gets acclimated to the surroundings. After that, she will join Rambo. Rammy, his mate, died July 30 from what is thought to be pneumonia. The swans had been together for 13 years. They had numerous cygnets since calling the park home. Folk said a $500 contribution from Paul Bedway, a borough council member, in honor of the dedication of the Swan Patrol, Helen and Paul Seiders, was given as a donation to Small Valley Swans. Folk said the swan is about 2-years-old.

Murray threw lettuce into the enclosure for the swan. Along with her regular food, she ate lettuce in Halifax, Folk said. Where she lived, there were several ponds and many other swans. When the new swan gets hungry, she will go looking for food. A permanent feeder is in her enclosure. For the time being, Rambo will get a temporary feeder. Folk is optimistic the two will get along.

“Usually a male and a female will accept each other,” Folk said.

Mike Paulin, code enforcement officer with the borough, said he noticed Rambo “seemed a little lost” since Rammy passed away.

“I hope this works out for him,” he said .

Helen Seiders said she also thought Rambo was grieving and lonely.

“I’m happy for him. Hopefully, they will get along,” she said.

Helen and Paul will get to name the new swan, which they have yet to do.

Seiders said a former borough employee, Joe Kline, named Rambo, and she picked Rammy’s name.

n Deer Lake: The Deer Lake & West Brunswick Fire Company will sponsor a benefit bingo from 6 to 8:45 p.m. Tuesday at the firehall, 1 Ash Road. Doors will open at 5 p.m.

n Hegins: Cruising sponsored by the Pennsylvania Wounded Warriors is set for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Williams Valley and Tri-Valley areas. According to a release, the Tri-Valley, Upper Dauphin and Williams Valley communities are being asked to support the Wounded Warriors by sponsoring a “large car and motorcycle cruise.” The event will begin in Millersburg and end at the Hegins Park where there will be a show field, music, food and activities. The cost for the cruise is $15 per vehicle. Cruising will begin at 11 a.m. For more information or to make a donation, call Butch Markel at 717-979-5250, Dave Lehr at 570-527-3450 or Larry Hoke at 717-319-2255.

n Llewellyn: The Branch Township school reunion will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 17 at Llewellyn Hose Company. A hot and cold buffet will be served from noon until food is gone. Bottled water will be provided. Attendees are asked to bring a dessert. The cost is $20 and those planning to attend are asked to respond by Sept. 1 to James Spangler, 1048 Maple St., Pottsville, PA 17901-9033. Everyone who attended Branch Township, graduate or not, is welcome to attend.

n Mahanoy City: For the fall to spring season, the Mahanoy Area Historical Society’s venue has been moved to the historic Merchants’ Bank building at 28 E. Centre St.

n Nuremberg: The third annual Wiener Dog Race will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 4 at North Union Park, 238 Mahanoy St. There will be blessing of animals at 12:30 p.m. by the Rev. Philip Smith, pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran Church. People must register for the race by Sunday by calling 570-384-3645 or 570-956-4159.

n Pottsville: Mary Ann Devlin, executive director of Child Development Inc., recently addressed members of the Pottsville Rotary Club, thanking the club for its contributions to the community and for Child Development Inc. having been named one of the beneficiaries of the upcoming 2016 Hops, Vine & Dine Rotary charity event. Devlin, according to the Rotary bulletin, said members of her board of directors are excited for HV&D and to help Rotary make it successful. Devlin said Child Development started in Schuylkill County 51 years ago as Head Start in Ringtown. Initially, the program had 75 children as a summer school program. Now, Child Development hosts 353 children ages 3 to 5 throughout the county with educational locations in Pottsville, Saint Clair, Tamaqua, Mahanoy City, Shenandoah, Schuylkill Haven and Ashland. According to Devlin, Child Development provides quality early childhood education that helps young children learn the skills they need to start kindergarten and to do well throughout school. It has a Monday-Friday schedule of 180 days of programs with a qualified teaching staff, Devlin said, adding it’s free for families that qualify by meeting 100 percent of the federal poverty guideline. An example is a family of four earning $24,300 or less. Devlin also told the Rotarians about the “Pre-K Counts” program for children 3 to 5 that allows families earning 101 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level to participate. Devlin has been with Child Development since graduating from college, including the last 13 years as executive director.

n Shenandoah: Parking restrictions have been announced for Saturday, Shenandoah Heritage Day and Parade of Nations, which will be the culmination of the community’s sesquicentennial celebration. The parade will begin at 10 a.m. and the parking restrictions will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to the announcement. The restrictions will be as follows: North Main Street from Centre to Washington streets; North Jardin Street from Washington to Penn streets; North White Street from Centre Street to one-half block north. The following parking restriction will also be in place for the following streets from 7 a.m. to noon: North Jardin Street from Penn to Cherry streets; West Cherry Street from Main to Jardin streets.

McADOO — A Hazleton-area company that has decades of experience raising bulbs, sunflowers, poinsettias and other decorative plants hopes to grow with Pennsylvania’s new medical marijuana industry.

Van Hoekelen Greenhouses, Kline Township, plans to form a new company called TheraBloom that will apply for a state permit to grow and process medical marijuana.

“We’re taking what we do, the best of (Van Hoekelen Greenhouses), and putting it into TheraBloom. We’re fully committed to both,” said Alexander van Hoekelen, whose parents started van Hoekelen Greenhouses or VHG in 1988. The company now employs 160 people.

Seeking a permit is as chancy as winning a lottery, so van Hoekelen said the company depends on backing from the community and its elected leaders to prevail.

He hopes the community will recognize that medical marijuana growers can provide relief to suffering patients, provide jobs and investment but are divorced from the stoners of 1970s stereotypes.

Eighty-nine percent of Americans support medical marijuana, Forbes magazine reported, as do the major presidential candidates, and 53 percent of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center in April favor legalizing marijuana.

Van Hoekelen, while walking through the seven-acre greenhouse on Lofty Road on Friday when mums bloomed and cactus, ivy and poinsettias had greened up, said TheraBloom would build a similar greenhouse for marijuana.

While the location isn’t set, there’s room for a new greenhouse on some of the 40 acres now used for growing plants outdoors next to the existing greenhouse.

Like the existing greenhouse, the new greenhouse would have temperature controls and automatic features for moving plants and providing water, sun, shade or artificial light to marijuana plants.

“They grow in the same environment as my poinsettias at Christmas,” van Hoekelen said.

By using greenhouses rather than warehouses selected by most marijuana growers in other states, the company plans to save power, which is better for the environment and the bottom line.

TheraBloom would abide by the detailed provisions of Pennsylvania’s law that seek to prevent marijuana from being stolen or diverted. The law requires all plants to be grown indoors at facilities with video surveillance and electronic locks.

In Colorado, Nick Hice of Denver Relief Consulting said growers install “casino-grade” video recorders, maintain recordings for 40 days and put a camera on any door, even closets, into which marijuana could be moved.

Pennsylvania’s law requires growers and processors to create and maintain an electronic system to track the product in real time from seed to plant to sale. Growers also must create records and processes for disposing of defective plants and plant waste. Among the controls will be GPS tracking on delivery vehicles and numbered seals on packages.

VHG Controller Patricia Grier, who headed up the team studying medical marijuana with van Hoekelen, said growers in other states track plants with chips similar to those used by naturalists who follow the migrations of wildlife.

Using the chip, growers can summon information such as the location of the seed, cutting, plant or product into which it was made.

In an interview from Denver Relief Consulting, Hice said marijuana seeds or cuttings become baby plants during their first month in the soil. During the second month, plans grow larger before beginning to flower.

The flowering cycle takes two more months and requires the plants to be in alternating periods of light and darkness.

After four months, the plants are harvested and allowed to dry for a week or two.

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana law prohibits companies from dispensing dry leaves or patients from smoking marijuana.

Instead, medical marijuana can be dispensed as oils, creams, gels, liquids, tinctures, pills and through vaporizers and nebulizers.

To process the dried plants into forms legal in Pennsylvania requires another day or two.

Joseph Cantalini, a chemist with Organa Labs that extracts oils from marijuana in Colorado, said companies typically use solvents such as alcohol, butane, propane and liquid carbon dioxide to separate the plant material from cannabinoids such as THC and CBD.

After the solvents evaporate, the cannabinoids and essential oils remain, along with waxes that can be filtered out or saved when making oils, pills and other products, Cantalini said in an email.

Van Hoekelen said TheraBloom intends to process the plants in facilities built to standards of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, even though the FDA currently doesn’t recognize marijuana as a safe and effective drug for treating any medical condition.

Pennsylvania law requires producers to hire independent laboratories to test marijuana at harvest and final processing.

Growers must have $2 million in assets and pay $10,000 to apply for a permit. If their applications are accepted, they pay $200,000 a year to for the permits.

“VHG has the expertise, investment capital, labor market and partnerships to expand its operations in McAdoo,” Cok van Hoekelen, the company’s founder and president, said in a statement. He developed expertise in growing and production equipment while working in greenhouses since immigrating from Holland in 1969.

He has worked together for 30 years with his wife, Lori, the chief executive officer who makes decisions in financing, sales, personnel, inventory and new products. She said the van Hoekelens have been making contact with medical marijuana firms in other states “so we can learn and formulate our vision of expansion in this industry.”

Pennsylvania law says the principal owner, financial backers and employees of companies that grow, process and dispense marijuana must be fingerprinted to verify their identification and undergo criminal background checks. Employees who handle marijuana and the principal owner of a growing or processing firm must take a two-hour course that covers the handling and reporting requirements set by the law.

While marijuana remains illegal under the U.S. Controlled Substance Act, federal authorities in the past three years generally have declined to arrest firms that possess marijuana in accordance with the laws of their states.

The federal laws, however, discourage some banks from doing business with companies in the medical marijuana industry.

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — People who purchased fuel using a credit card at Moyer’s Car Care Center between Aug. 1 and Aug. 19 are encouraged to check their credit card statements for fraudulent purchases, state police in Schuylkill Haven said.

Customers can call Trooper Mark Knock at the Schuylkill Haven barracks at 570-739-1330 if they suspect there may be charges they didn’t make.

Police are investigating a credit card skimming incident that occurred at the gas pumps at 102 Route 183, Schuylkill Haven. Someone installed an internal skimming device capable of copying credit card information that was located and removed from pump No. 8, police said.

According to police, “Gas Pump Skimming and White Plastic” is the result of a third party stealing card information and loading that information onto another card for the purpose of conducting fraudulent transactions.

A Shenandoah man sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant in October 2015 in his hometown, a Schuylkill County jury decided Tuesday.

After deliberating about 30 minutes, the jury found Marc Benjamin Jr., 28, guilty of delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Judge James P. Goodman, who presided over Benjamin’s one-day trial, ordered preparation of a presentence investigation but did not immediately schedule the defendant’s sentencing. Goodman allowed Benjamin, who did not testify or offer any other evidence at the trial, to remain free on $50,000 unsecured bail pending sentencing.

Shenandoah police charged Benjamin with selling $20 worth of methamphetamine about 9 p.m. Oct. 5, 2015, on the sidewalk in front of the Burger King restaurant, 331 S. Main St., in the borough.

“(Benjamin) met up with the (confidential) informant,” borough Police Chief George F. Carado Jr., the prosecuting officer, testified. “They had a hand-to-hand exchange.”

Carado said he had searched the informant “head to toe” before sending him to the controlled buy.

“Did you find anything on the CI?” Assistant District Attorney Debra A. Smith asked Carado.

“No,” he answered.

Carado said he gave the informant $50 and never lost sight of him during the buy.

“Was there anything obstructing your view?” Smith asked him.

“No,” Carado answered.

He also testified the buy occurred after an exchange of text messages between Benjamin and the informant.

State police Trooper Shawn P. Tray, a former West Mahanoy Township police chief, testified he also saw Benjamin walk toward Burger King and have contact with the informant, who had no contact with anyone else.

“You could see them making contact,” Tray said about Benjamin and the informant when cross-examined by Assistant Public Defender Kent D. Watkins, Benjamin’s lawyer.

An undercover state police trooper also testified he watched Benjamin pass something to the informant.

“The transaction went pretty quick,” he said.

Forensic scientist Courtney Sinkuler of the state police crime laboratory in Harrisburg, the only other witness, said she tested the substance Carado brought to the laboratory.

“The substance ... is methamphetamine,” she testified.

The defendant

· Defendant: Marc Benjamin Jr.

· Age: 28

· Residence: Shenandoah

· Crimes committed: Delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia

SHENANDOAH — Novelist and screenwriter Darryl Ponicsan will return to his native Shenandoah today and enjoy the hometown’s 150th anniversary celebration and be honored for his many accomplishments at several venues.

Ponicsan, 78, made his first major mark in the literary world with his novel “The Last Detail,” which became a film starting Jack Nicholson. Another novel, “Cinderella Liberty,” also became a movie starring James Caan and for which he wrote the screenplay.

He and his wife, Cee Cee, divide their time between his homes in Palm Springs, California, and Sonoma in northern California in the heart of the wine country. Ponicsan has a son and daughter and two grandchildren.

Ponicsan was born on May 26, 1938, to Frank G. and Anne Kuleck Ponicsan. His father was a small auto parts store owner (K&K) in Shenandoah. He lived on East Coal Street about a block and a half from Main Street. He had one brother, Ronald, who died in 1975. Ponicsan attended Muhlenberg College, graduating in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in English, and Cornell University in 1965 with a master’s degree.

“My memory of Shenandoah is that it was a boom town,” Ponicsan said. “There were 30,000 people there and Main Street was full of prosperous small stores. We had three five-and-ten cents stores, which were Newberry’s, Kresge’s and Woolworth. We had three movie houses, dance halls, three shops just devoted to jewelry, a ladies hat shop. It was a great, prosperous town in those days. It was a bustling town. There were always people walking the street and always something to do.”

Ponicsan went to elementary school in Shenandoah, but the family moved to Ringtown about 1948 and he graduated in 1955 from Ringtown High School. Ponicsan said after the move, he remembers spending much time in Shenandoah with friends.

When he graduated from Muhlenberg, he worked as a teacher in upstate New York as he attended Cornell. He eventually went full time to Cornell, and joined the Navy on the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis blockade. The missile crisis began Oct. 16, 1962.

“It was a very hairy time in our history. We thought we were approaching the end of the world,” Ponicsan said. “I was practically at sea all of the time as part of an amphibious squadron. I was on the USS Monrovia (a Crescent City class attack transport). We were carrying Marines down to the Caribbean, and then we would come back and carry them to the Mediterranean. We were gone for a long period of time. Once in the Navy, I got an early out to go back to graduate school and got my master’s degree, and immediately after that I got in my car and drove to Los Angeles.”

When in California, he worked as a social worker for Los Angeles County, and as a high school English teacher for three years until 1969. A year later, his first novel, “The Last Detail,” was published.

Shenandoah provided much inspiration in developing his interest in writing when he was young.

“The thing about Shenandoah as a writer was that it was a terrific place to write about because it was a natural theater,” Ponicsan said. “Every day there was drama and comedy and a revolving cast of really colorful characters. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up. During that time we had no distractions like television, no video games, no Internet. You fell on your own resources as children and you developed an imagination. Whether I realized it or not at that early age, that was really the seed that was planted growing up in a town like Shenandoah with mine disasters and all the funny things that happened. I often wonder how I could have become anything else but a writer.”

When he attended college, Ponicsan began some critical reading about writing and started seriously writing at about 18.

“They were short stories and I tried to get them published,” he said. “It was 12 years later that I finally sold a novel. It’s one of those situations where I was an overnight success, but nobody knew about the 12 years before that.”

Actually, his first short story was published in a literary magazine called “Trace” while he was in the Navy.

“I got a check for $20 and I thought, ‛Wow, I’m a professional writer,’ ” he said with a laugh. “And that was it until I wrote ‛The Last Detail.’ That was my whole publishing history to that point. Even through the long trail of rejection slips, whenever you get somebody who says that they really like it but can’t use it, but tell you to send your next work, that really keeps you going.”

“The Last Detail” comes from one of Ponicsan’s experiences in the Navy. He left his ship in Norfolk for surgery, which did not happen, but when he learned that, his ship had sailed.

“That gave me the basis for ‛Cinderella Liberty’ with my time in the hospital,” he said. “But I had to get back to my ship, so they put me on the USS Intrepid, which is now a museum in New York. They sent me to the Mediterranean on the Intrepid for me to meet up with my ship. On the Intrepid I wound up being the assistant to the career guidance officer, who was just a first-class seaman. He was a crusty old salt, and we would sit around in this tiny office and swap sea stories. He told me about the time he had to escort a prisoner at Portsmouth. I just got a tingle in my body that this is a good story. I did it as a short story, then reworked it. Bear in mind that this was at least seven to eight years before it reached the length of a short novel. Then immediately it was a great success.”

Ponicsan said Columbia Pictures bought the rights to the novel and everything happened after that, including his decision to quit teaching.

“As soon as the novel sold to the films, I quit my teaching job and devoted my full time to writing,” Ponicsan said. “It’s always risky to that. There are writers who sell their first novel and never were able to do anything after that. I took the risk and it paid off.”

Ponicsan said it took three years for the movie to be completed due to issues of language and the lack of cooperation from the Navy.

“It broke new ground. It’s hard to believe now, but in those days the language was so salty that it actually held up production,” he said.

After his first novel was “Goldengrove” about a high school teacher, then “Andoshen, Pa.,” followed by “Cinderella Liberty.”

He explained that the delays in the production of “The Last Detail” were not encountered with “Cinderella Liberty” when it was picked up as a movie, and both films were released on the same weekend in 1973.

“I had two major motion pictures released on the same weekend, so for awhile I was the hottest writer in Hollywood,” he said. “It was just a weird thing how that worked out. They came to me with projects and adaptations of other books.”

Ponicsan said there is a little piece of Coal Region in all of his books.

“I think there is something of a Coal Region character in every book I’ve written,” he said. “There is something in a character that comes out of having lived in the Coal Region. It’s just there.”

And if each of his novels has a character with some Coal Region personality, his third novel, “Andoshen, Pa.,” has plenty of those characters with it based on people in his hometown. The book is “Dedicated to Ann and Frank Ponicsan (Mom & Pop),” and was published in 1973.

With the similarity between “Andoshen” and “Shenandoah,” locals were able to surmise that their hometown was the subject. Ponicsan was asked about the reaction to it from Shenandoah people.

“It was very funny because when the book came out, my parents got an advanced copy. They honestly thought they’d have to move out of town,” Ponicsan said. “They were so rattled by it. I told them that people would love this because it’s done with love and not done with any type of malice. I thought they (Shenandoah people) would like it and they did. The residents of Shenandoah at that time got a real kick out of seeing that portrayal.”

Ponicsan found out how much the book was liked in 1976 during the celebration of the national bicentennial.

“Back in 1976 they honored me there as the ‛Man of the Year’ and they changed the name of the town for one day and gave me the key to the city,” Ponicsan remembered. “My parents were proud then, but they had misgivings when the book came out.”

Ponicsan said he was never approached by anyone to tell him they identified with one of the characters.

“If that every happened, that message never got back to me,” he said. “By the way, when you write a novel, somebody will say ‛That was me.’ In the case of Andoshen, nobody ever did that. At least I never heard of it.”

The idea for Andoshen began with a series of short vignettes that led to the novel.

“Long before I wrote that book, I was there when a coal breaker collapsed and I thought for a long time that it would be a good center for a good story and that everything would hang on that,” Ponicsan said. “I started writing these vignettes about Shenandoah that turned into short stories, and then I started putting them together with several different characters. It reflects my memory of Shenandoah — drama and comedy.”

When asked about the writing of the mystery novels under the name “Anne Argula,” Ponicsan said it was just something that happened. His first novel under the Argula name is “Homicide My Own.”

“That was a complete fluke,” he said. “I am not a mystery writer and I don’t intend to do any more mysteries. I had this wacky idea of reincarnation and I thought what if you realized you were a murderer in a previous life or had been murdered in a previous life, and wouldn’t it be interesting if a cop winds up trying to solve his own murder in a previous life. That’s a terrific idea. And at that point I was pretty much finished with screenplays, so I’ll do it as a novel and a mystery, but I’m not versed in mysteries. I don’t know the genre. When the book came, it got very good reviews and that it was more and less than a mystery. I got nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award, which is like an Oscar. Random House came to me and asked for me to do two more novels. They gave me a contract for the two, and then I did the fourth novel.”

As for the name change, Ponicsan said the novel’s main character who narrates the novel is a female detective, and it just made sense to use a female name as the author.

“It’s going to be better received if people think a woman wrote it, so I took a woman’s name,” he said. “It was some time before anyone discovered it was me. I did have a lot of fun with that. I gave her much of my background, like she (the detective) came from Shenandoah and I gave her some of that coal speak, which is absolutely unique and don’t find it anywhere else. People were delighted and confused at the same time by the way she spoke.”

Poniscan will have a busy time during his visit:

• This evening — Dinner at the Lyric Restaurant, then go to Mug Night at the nearby Polish American Fire Company No. 4.

• Thursday — At 1 p.m., there will be a talk and book signing at the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society, 201 S. Main St. Ponicsan is scheduled to give a talk about growing up in Shenandoah and what the town and area was like in the 1950s.

At 6 p.m., a presentation to Ponicsan will be made during Upper Schuylkill Marching Band sesquicentennial concert.

The venue changes to Pottsville at 8 p.m. at the Schuylkill County Council for the Arts, when Ponicsan will be inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame, and will include a cocktail party with music.

• Friday — Ponicsan will be honored at 4 p.m. with a plaque at the Shenandoah Area Free Public Library, 25 W. Washington St., followed by a library party at a library officer’s home.

• Saturday — Ponicsan will attend the annual Heritage Day and Parade of Nations. The parade will begin at 10 a.m., with Heritage Day activities to be held on North Main Street. There are no activities in Girard Park this year.

The following is the Preferred Senior Menu for Aug. 29 to Sept. 2:

Monday — Hot dog with bun, baked beans, peas and carrots, mozzarella cheese stick.

Tuesday — Chicken salad, whole wheat bread, mixed vegetables, apple.

Wednesday — Swedish meatballs with rice, green beans, corn, nectarine.

Thursday — Sliced pork with gravy, mashed potatoes, country blend vegetables, whole wheat bread, fruit juice.

Friday — Pollock fish patty with cheese or cheeseburger, both with hamburger bun, cauliflower with cheese sauce, dice carrots.

All parties involved with an appeal of the Hegins and Hubley Joint Act 537 Sewage Facilities Plan have filed their respective briefs, as of Monday, with the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board.

Judge Richard P. Mather Sr., Harrisburg, is presiding over the matter, as those involved await a decision.

The appeal was filed May 14, 2015, by a group of Hegins Township residents — Roger Wetzel, William Wolfgang, Randy Shadle, Kenneth W. Richter, Kenneth Graham and Harry Mausser — who are the appellants in the case.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the state Department of Environmental Protection, and Hegins and Hubley townships are listed as the permittees. Two days of testimony at the Rachel Carson Office Building, Harrisburg, concluded April 20, when the appellants and permittees began preparing their post-hearing briefs.

The Act 537 plan that DEP approved includes the construction of a 600,000 gallon-per-day wastewater treatment plant located along Fearnot Road in Hubley Township. Sewer service is proposed for the Sacramento, Spring Glen and Fearnot areas of Hubley Township and the Hegins, Valley View and Lamberson areas of Hegins Township.

In their nine-page reply brief, the appellants request that the EHB reverse the April 17, 2015, decision of the DEP approving the joint Act 537 plan, and grant their appeal. Their argument is: The cost estimates were not complete in the plan, and the townships will not be able to afford the cost to implement or maintain the plan; and significant changes in the plan, as of April 6, 2015, mandated public comment.

“The affordability of a plan directly impacts whether or not it is economically feasible and, therefore, implementable. This is supported by the expert testimony of Frederick E. Ebert, P.E., and Robert J. Weir, P.E.,” the appellants argue.

The appellants cite the plan: “As this is a joint plan, the weighted average based on EDUs (equivalent dwelling units) is calculated to show an affordable user rate at 1.5 percent of the combined median household income of $70.90. This rate is used by funding agencies, namely PennVEST, to determine what funding offers were made and are used by Pa. DEP to determine if a 537 Plan is implementable from a financial aspect.”

They argue the monthly rate of $71.76, as set forth in the April 6, 2015, plan revision, exceeds the affordable user rate of $70.90 that appears on page 31 of the plan. They also claim that Weir’s opinion that the total cost of the project is $38,605,000, in contrast to the estimate of $26,356,011 contained in the plan, which is an increase of approximately 46 percent. This would increase the monthly user rate to $122 per EDU.

“In this case, there was no public comment period, advertisement or hearing after the April 6, 2015, submission to the department. The public was not able to comment on the plan in light of the changes made in the April 6, 2015 submission — just 11 days prior to the department’s approval and decision deadline of April 17, 2015,” the appellants argue.

Representing the appellants are Donald G. Karpowich, Sean W. Logsdon and Kevin M. Walsh, all of Drums. Karpowich is also the solicitor for Hegins Township but does not represent the township in the appeal case. The appellants were required to file their brief Monday.

Permittee Hegins Township, meanwhile, in its 11-page reply brief, also filed Monday, said, “DEP failed to require Hegins and Hubley to properly prepare the Act 537 Plan in accordance with the requirements of Pennsylvania Code Title 25, Chapter 71 — forcing Hegins to now join in Appellants’ objections to the plan because of clear deficiencies, inaccuracies and omissions.”

Hegins Township argues that Hegins met its burden of proof in establishing the plan is not capable of being implemented; significant changes made to the plan as of April 6, 2015, should have mandated public comment; and the plan failed to meet the statutory requirements and the DEP abused its discretion in approving the plan when it had no authority to waive any statutory requirements.

Permittee Hegins Township argued that the EHB should grant the appeal and that the plan “insufficiently addressed the true construction costs and costs per EDU; incorrectly left out pertinent information; failed to conform to the statutory requirements of the contents of a submitted plan; failed to adequately provide public notice after the plan was dramatically changed and revised; is not economically feasible in that it benefits Hubley to the detriment of Hegins; and it is not capable of being implemented given all the foregoing failures.”

Hegins Township is represented by John G. Dean and Matthew G. Boyd, of Elliott Greeenleaf P.C., Scranton.

Permittee Hubley Township filed its 31-page post hearing brief Aug. 5. It argues that the appellants and Hegins Township did not meet their burden of showing that DEP’s approval of the Act 537 plan was unlawful, unreasonable, or not supported by the facts.

In its findings of fact, Hubley argues that “different professional engineers may make different decisions regarding how to develop an adequate 537 plan.” It also states that engineer, James Rhoades Jr., is a licensed, professional engineer with Alfred Benesch & Co., has prepared six Act 537 plans, and is an expert in wastewater treatment systems.

Other findings it cites are as follows: “Initially, only Hegins Township was to be included in the plan. At some point after 2009, Hegins agreed to create a joint plan. A public meeting was held in December 2011 to discuss that plan, which was then submitted to DEP in April 2012.”

After withdrawal of the original plan, additional sewage needs surveys were conducted to determine the functionality of existing on-lot systems within the townships. After the surveys were complete, another Act 537 plan was prepared in December 2013. There was a public meeting held at that time with a public comment period from Dec. 12, 2013, to Jan. 11, 2014, Hubley cited.

“In response to several public comments, the areas of Fountain and Gap/Broad/Schwenks Road were removed from the plan. An additional public comment period was advertised after this revision,” Hubley cited.

The plan was submitted to DEP in May 2014.

“DEP issued a technical review letter in March 2015. Benesch responded to the technical review letter on behalf of Hegins/Hubley on April 6, 2015,” Hubley stated.

The plan was not re-advertised for public comment after the response to the technical comment letter because there were “no significant changes” to the plan, Permittee Hubley stated. Both Hegins and Hubley townships passed resolutions approving the plan.

Hubley also noted that, “Despite its current status in the present appeal, Hegins Township has not taken any official action to withdraw its support of the Act 537 plan.”

Hubley’s findings show the need for the matter to be addressed.

“The on-lot survey sampling confirmed that in Hegins Township, there are 24 percent confirmed malfunctions, 28 percent suspected malfunctions and 24 percent potential malfunctions of on-lot sewerage systems. In Hubley Township, survey results showed 47 percent confirmed malfunctions, 18 percent suspected malfunctions and 18 percent potential malfunctions. For both townships, these percentages exceed typical malfunction rates,” the findings show.

Permittee Hubley said the plan does include appropriate EDUs figures for future development. Ten alternatives to collect sewage were examined and five of them were considered potentially viable.

Hubley’s brief was filed by Paul J. Bruder Jr. and Timothy J. Nieman, with Rhoades & Sinon LLP, Harrisburg.

In DEP’s 27-page brief filed Aug. 5, DEP said while Hegins and Hubley townships lawfully prepared and adopted the joint plan update revision, Hegins Township now opposes the implementation of the adopted plan. Much of DEP’s argument is similar to Hubley’s.

Among DEP’S finding of facts are that the plan “considered the following sewage treatment alternatives: collection, conveyance, treatment and discharge, use of existing on-lot disposal, small flow treatment facilities, community on-lot sewage systems, holding tanks, sewage management program, non-structural planning alternatives and no action.”

It has been nearly 50 years since the two townships have completed an update revision to their respective official sewage facilities plans, DEP stated.

DEP argues the estimated project costs of the plan are consistent with other projects reviewed by the department, and that the plan is able to be implemented.

DEP is represented by Joseph S. Cignan III, assistant counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Wilkes-Barre.

No decision was made as of Tuesday, and it could be several months before an adjudication is made.

With most schools starting their 2016-17 school year on Monday, the Pottsville police are starting a program to raise awareness for safe travel of all students.

Police Chief Richard F. Wojciechowsky and Mayor James T. Muldowney announced Tuesday that the city will be using a program called “Safe School Start.”

With safety in mind, Wojciechowsky said that Pottsville Bureau of Police officers will be conducting extra mobile and foot patrols during the first days of school.

He said that in addition to the foot patrols, uniformed officers’ specialized patrols will concentrate on highlighting the enforcement of state Vehicle Code violations with emphasis being placed on school travel safety issues.

Among those issues are school zone safety speeds, distracted driving and duties at a school bus.

Also emphasized will be pedestrians in crosswalks, school zone speed limitations — 15 miles per hour — meeting or overtaking a school bus and the Prohibiting Text Based Communications law.

Wojciechowsky said officers will also be focusing on promoting safe pedestrian travel practices by students.

The extra patrols, he said, will be both in the morning and afternoon.

“Mayor Muldowney and the Pottsville Bureau of Police ask everyone to cooperate in the Safe School Start as well as with safety practices on a regular basis throughout the school year,” Wojciechowsky said. “Leave early, always be alert, look out for all children as if they were your own and remind a neighbor to do the same.”

TAMAQUA — Borough resident J. Carl Hafer Sr. said the love he has for his wife of 75 years has never wavered.

“We’re still kids,” the 93-year-old said of he and his wife, Jean, 91, on Saturday.

They were married Aug. 15 1941, after running away because his parents did not approve of the marriage though hers did. He was 18 and she was 16 years old. Both are originally from Tamaqua.

“I think this marriage was made in heaven. That is why it lasted so long,” he said.

Jean said he never forgets her birthday or their anniversary and, while he isn’t one to buy flowers and cards for those special occasions, his presence is enough for her. She loves “everything” about him.

“There’s no gifts we can buy for each other except our love,” Carl said.

The couple’s three children, Greg Hafer, Ted Hafer and Ester Borascius, and other family members attended a lunch for them Sunday at La Dolce Casa, Tamaqua.

The children said their parents are an example to them and others of dedication and devotion to one another.

“They never were going to give up no matter what they faced,” Greg Hafer, Tamaqua, said.

Like other parents, he said they had disagreements but never in front of the them. Greg, Ted and Ester talked about their parents recently and what they mean to them.

Greg is the youngest, and he most remembers vacations with his parents and the way his dad respectfully treats his mother.

“He was always good to Mom,” he said.

When they use to go on walks, his dad would walk on the outside near the road as a way to protect her if something happened.

“Those type of old-school manners was my dad,” he said.

His dad wasn’t one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, but his children and wife knew how he felt.

“We always knew he loved us. You can feel the love that he’s had for his family,” he said.

His dad still holds his mother’s hand when they go out, something they don’t do much anymore because he does not drive. Carl gave that up because of his age.

Greg’s mom loved to knit and sew, something she doesn’t do much anymore. She even made mittens for children she didn’t know for Christmas and dolls for the grandchildren.

Carl and Jean have nine grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.

His mother has always been a constant, loving force in his life, Greg said.

“We never felt that we were in want of anything,” he said.

All three children said they make an effort to call or visit their parents on a regular basis. They believe the strong faith of their parents contributed to the longevity of their marriage. They also participated in a lot of activities together.

Ester also remembers family vacations. She said her father always gave her mother a kiss when he came home from work. To this day, he still compliments Jean. She said her mother is a wonderful baker, lauding her “fantastic” chocolate cake. Easter said the time spent together as a family is important.

“That’s the best gift ever when we are all together,” Ester said.

Ted, 70, of Lake Wynonah, said his parents are great. He said his parents showed him “if you work together you can work things out. You have to learn to listen to the other person.”

Carl said there were times that tested their marriage.

“We did go through a lot in our marriage. She never gave up,” he said.

He was injured while working with the Reading Railroad on a track a long time ago. He said an engine hit him and he rolled under it while it passed over him. He was in the hospital for months.

“I always say guardian angels were with me,” he said.

Carl also was in the Navy as a seaman first class, specialist T, and was an instrument flight instructor. He was stationed in Rhode Island and other locations.

He described his wife as “very caring and loving. She worries too much about me. All she keeps telling me is watch I don’t fall.”

He isn’t afraid to tell his wife he loves her.

“We tell each other we love each other every chance we get,” he said.

His advice for a happy marriage is this: “Always be faithful to your wife and tell her you love her and don’t be afraid to hold her hand.”

The children said their parents’ love is admirable.

“You don’t see a lot of long marriages anymore,” Ted said.

Marriage licenses

Courtney G. Foose, Schuylkill Haven, and Jennifer N. Lehman, Schuylkill Haven.

Jacque P. Mignot, Lebanon, and Tracy M. Blankenhorn, Lebanon.

Edward J. Lucas Jr., Llewellyn, and Janine L. Oakill, Leesport.

Tanner C. Delvalle, Pottsville, and Lauren I. Brilla, Pottsville.

William Lopez, Shenandoah, and Aulivama E. Mendez-Juarez, Shenandoah.

Dustin M. Garris, New Ringgold, and Brittany L. Love, New Ringgold.

Michal Rodriguez-Lebron, New Ringgold, and Paula A. Kleckner, New Ringgold.

The historic milestone missing from a porch at 1965 W. Market Street in Pottsville has been found.

Barry Fox Jr., 12, of Fredericksburg, Lebanon County, discovered the marker outside the house Tuesday. His father, Barry Fox Sr., was doing yard work around the house and walked by it several times without noticing. The slabs were near the side of another building along a walkway between a neighbor’s house and the 1965 address. The son told his dad that he thought the two pieces were the marker that went missing Aug. 17 from the porch.

Barry Fox Sr. said he was last at the house Monday until about 1 p.m. and returned Tuesday when the marker was discovered. Someone working on the house was also there until later in the evening and said the marker was not there, Fox said.

“I’m just happy we found it,” he said.

Fox said the two pieces of the milestone were quite heavy and would likely take two trips or more than one person to carry them.

Looking at the marker Tuesday, Peter Yasenchak, owner of the marker, reasoned “someone with a guilty conscience” likely returned it. It has been on the porch of the home for months.

The etching “35 to R” is visible on the two pieces of marble, which weigh at least 45 pounds each. He said the goal is to put the two pieces back together and place it in its original place in front of the former YWCA at 325 S. Centre St., 35 miles from Reading, the beginning of the now-defunct Centre Turnpike, but he does not know when that will occur. The marker is more than 150 years old.

Tom Whitaker, Pottsville street department supervisor, gave Yasenchak the pieces of history that previously had been sitting in the city garage for years. He was happy the marker was returned so it can take its rightful place in history once more.

Pottsville police Patrolman Grant Yoder was on scene this morning to take a report.

Pottsville Police Chief Richard F. Wojciechowsky said the Pottsville Police Department was notified sometime between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. Tuesday that the mile marker had been returned.

“As of this date, our department did not receive any new information on the theft or item return and the incident investigation is active pending any additional information that becomes available,” Wojciechowsky said in an email Tuesday.

SHENANDOAH — There are many artistic talents displayed in the exhibits in the former Woolworth Building in Shenandoah that show that creativity can come from the ability to use a paintbrush with watercolors or oil paints, a pen or pencil, a camera’s shutter button, foil and paper, or other media.

The Shenandoah Sesquicentennial Committee set Tuesday as “Arts Day” at the former Woolworth Building on North Main Street. The store was filled with art displays from 40 artists, living and deceased, showing the breadth and diversity of what Shenandoah talent can do.

The art exhibit was open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and had adults and children walk in to tour the exhibits. Depending on timing, artists were available near their exhibits since Saturday to answer questions and discuss their work.

Lifelong Shenandoah resident Peter Cieslukowski had different types of artwork, including Polish folded paper ornament stars on a Christmas tree and a very unique light box sculpture that featured the former St. George Church in Shenandoah. Cieslukowski was discussing how the stars are made to Mary Ann Selvocki, Shenandoah.

Cieslukowski helped the sesquicentennial committee in getting the exhibits ready, but gave much of the credit to Shenandoah Valley art instructor Bill Kreiger for setting most of the displays.

“There are many talented people here and it’s good to be in such good company,” Cieslukowski said.

“I remember drawing Star Wars and caricatures of Mickey Mouse and stuff maybe in the fifth or sixth grade,” Cieslukowski said when he began getting into art. “I always knew I wanted to be an art teacher. So I pursued a career at Kutztown University, and a lot of this is influenced by what I had to do in school. I studied in Poland at Krakow University in 1984. This is the folk art section of my work.”

Shenandoah native Nicole Ulicny, Norristown, displayed her photography skills, showing photos from around the country and in the world, most of which were in black and white.

“I did take a lot of black and white photography. I took some classes in West Chester,” Ulicny said, who enjoys taking photos at Valley Forge National Park, some of which are in her exhibit.

“Most of the pictures that I display are my travel photography,” she said. “Prague, Paris, Notre Dame, Rehoboth Beach, Hong Kong, Shanghai. Here is a color photo that actually won me an award in Schuylkill Living magazine when I was in college. Here’s a photo of my grandmother’s back yard down on Emerich Street.”

Next to her exhibit is one by her mother, Debra Ulicny, displaying her fine needlework.

Sesquicentennial committee member Anne Taylor, who teaches at Shenandoah Valley, came up with the idea of displaying local art since she knew many students who had shown how talented they were, and also knew there were plenty of other talented residents.

“Some of the work was submitted by the persons themselves, but there are others that have been submitted posthumously,” Taylor said, adding that one exhibit included the works of Leo J. Ploppert, a well-known Shenandoah artist.

Taylor said that she and others have learned the artistic talents of people who they know but no idea those people were into art.

“We need to thank Peter Cieslukowski from the Schuylkill County Walk-in-Art Center and Schuylkill County Council for the Arts for helping to do the displays, and Shenandoah Valley art teacher Bill Kreiger was also instrumental in setting up the displays, as well,” she said. “He spent hours here when we were first setting up.”

While the art exhibit was created for the sesquicentennial, Taylor said it will return.

“We’ve had some interest to make it an annual event, so that’s one thing that has come of it,” Taylor said. “We have some names of people who we didn’t contact this year to call about next year. We either didn’t know of them or think of them. We have a lot of interest in doing it as an annual event.”

At 1 p.m., the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society headquarters and museum was open to visitors. Several Shenandoah Valley students read their essays about interviews they had with older residents who talked about life in Shenandoah in decades past. There was also a “Trivia Day! Let’s Play Jeopardy!” game to test participants’ knowledge of the borough and its history.

Activities moved to Veterans Memorial Garden in the evening for a hands-on opportunity for children to show off their talents. There were arts and crafts tables and stations for the children. Music filled the garden and the downtown area, and the art of dance was featured by children and adults while having lots of fun. Paul Noon played guitar and sang, and DJ Dan Helfer provide the recorded music. The Shenandoah Valley cheerleaders stopped by to show off their dance moves as a group and with others.

Service Day

Today is “Service Day” as part of the Shenandoah sesquicentennial celebration, a day to honor military veterans, police and all first responders who serve the community.

The day will begin at 9 a.m. with the raising of the American flag by Shenandoah veterans at Veterans Memorial Garden, next to the American Legion Anthony P. Damato “Medal of Honor” Post 792, North Main Street. The program will include Vietnam War Army veteran Thomas Dando, Gordon, speaking.

After the program, a coffee and doughnut social will be held inside the post home to honor local veterans with a PowerPoint memorial.

In the afternoon, the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society will host the reading of student essays at 1 p.m., followed by a presentation entitled “Thank You for Your Service: Shenandoah’s Military & First Responders.” Afterward a tour will be held of the nearby Schuylkill County Fire Museum, South Jardin Street.

The evening activities begin with the lowering of the American flag in Veterans Memorial Garden by local Boy Scouts at 5 p.m., followed by a pizza social for the Scouts.

Everything moves to the Shenandoah helipad at end of East Washington Street where a Medivac helicopter landing and presentation will be held from 5:45 to 6:15 p.m. There will be a display and demonstration of fire apparatus and ambulances. Service organizations will also be on hand. Free blood pressure screenings will be available.

The Tamaqua Railroad Station brought visitors to the borough on more than 40 passenger trains a day during its peak years in the first half of the 20th century.

More than 50 years since it ceased operations, the railroad station continues to draw visitors to Tamaqua as a focal point of the community, also known as the “Land of Running Water.”

The station is just one of many things to see and experience in the borough, from events like Summerfest to the community arts center that stages a bevy of activities for all ages throughout the year.

Tamaqua Train Station

The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad built the elaborate Victorian-style passenger station in 1874 to replace an earlier wood structure that was destroyed in a fire, according to the Tamaqua Railroad Station’s website, www.tamaquastation.com. An addition was put on the building in 1880 and a freight house was added on in 1885.

The station ceased train operations in 1961 and was formally abandoned in 1981. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Tamaqua Save Our Station, a nonprofit group organized to preserve and restore the station, bought it in August 1992. Tamaqua S.O.S. completed its $1.5 million restoration project in 2004, and the train station was reopened as a heritage center.

Four businesses are currently housed in the station: The Railroad Station Gift Shop, Barbara and Ray Swartz’s Etching and More, Station Creamery and The Tamaqua Station Restaurant.

The Railroad Station Gift Shop and Ray Swartz Etching and More is open from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. It closes between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. daily and is closed Monday and Tuesday. The Station Creamery is open from noon to 10 p.m. daily.

The Tamaqua Station Restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

A restaurant was included in the building when it was constructed in 1874. In the past decade, it operated under three different owners and names.

It was The Restaurant at the Station from about 2005 to 2012, then The Vonz Restaurant. In March, John and Melanie Ross, former co-owners of Madeline’s restaurant, Orwigsburg, signed a three-year lease with Tamaqua S.O.S. after The Vonz Restaurant closed in January. They opened the Tamaqua Station Restaurant a few months later.

Visit the station’s website to learn more about the facility and its features, including a restaurant menu.

Summer Concert Series

The railroad station is also home to the Tamaqua Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Summer Concert Series.

For the 10th season, 10 evening performances took place throughout the summer on the station’s platform. Music varied from blues and R&B to rock ’n’ roll and oldies to acoustic and show tunes. A local business sponsors each performance.

“Generally speaking, the concerts have become a staple in the community and everyone counts on them,” Jack Kulp, Summer Concert Series chairman, said Tuesday. “They really enjoy it, and it is a really nice thing for the community. It benefits local businesses and also brings people to Tamaqua.”

The series started June 9 with BC Combo and continued every Thursday in July with It Takes Two, Dakota McGeehan, Fred Douglas, and D’Lite Side. There were performances by Crossroads Duo, Whiskey Creek Acoustic and the Christopher Dean Band.

Some of the performers come from the Lehigh Valley, Berks County or New Jersey.

“My philosophy was to bring exceptional performers into Tamaqua that people are not typically exposed to,” Kulp said.

The series is also an opportunity to showcase Tamaqua to people from outside the area and gives them a reason to return.

“When people found they can go and have dinner on the platform and enjoy the music or bring their own lawn chair or blanket, it became part of their summers because they really enjoy it,” Kulp said. “All summer long, you get all these genres. There is something for everybody and they have all been very well received. I can rely on certain people showing up every week. Now it is a community staple.”

The next performance will feature classic rock on Sept. 1 from Diaspora. Steve Brosky and Jimmy Meyer will wrap up the series on Sept. 8 with acoustic blues.

Tamaqua Historical Society

The train station is not the only historically significant site in the borough. In fact, Tamaqua is home to several historical spots.

The borough was the first community in Schuylkill County to have a national historic district. It includes about 950 buildings spanning 55 blocks, or about two-thirds of the borough.

There are also 40 local historical markers in the Greater Tamaqua Area, among them the gravestone of John “Black Jack” Kehoe, alleged leader of the Molly McGuires. He is interred in the old St. Jerome Cemetery on High Street.

The Tamaqua Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 and includes all of Broad Street (Route 209) starting at Odd Fellows Cemetery and ending at the 700 block of East Broad Street. Most of the buildings are two-story, brick structures dating from the early 20th century to the mid-19th century.

The historical district also includes Depot Square Park next to the train station. The park was replaced by buildings in the 1950s, but was reconstructed in 2001 by Downtown Tamaqua Inc. after the Hess gas station volunteered to relocate.

Hegarty Blacksmith Shop on Hegarty Avenue was one of the earliest stores in the borough. It was built in 1848 by Thomas Hegarty and was continually operated by the family until it was donated to the historical society in 1973.

After a car accident destroyed one of its walls in 1999, the entire shop was renovated thanks to $14,000 in donations from local organizations. The original tools remain in the shop, and it is opened regularly for special heritage events held in the borough throughout the year.

Located at the former Miners National Bank building at 118 W. Broad St., the historical society museum is now open after undergoing renovations costing about $1 million. The historical society bought the building in 1987 and started renovations in 2014. The project was funded by the PA Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program, the Tamaqua Historical Society, the John Morgan Foundation and the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership, with assistance from other community organizations and businesses.

The museum had its grand opening in June during the sixth annual Summerfest, sponsored by the historical society. The annual event features food, vendors, a classic car show and train rides.

The historical society also hosts the Tamaqua Heritage Festival each October. Celebrating fall foliage, the festival has been held for the last 31 years and encompasses the Tamaqua National Historic District.

In addition to about 100 crafters and vendors, the festival also includes historical displays celebrating the borough’s mining, railroad and manufacturing heritage. This year’s festival will be held Oct. 9.

Tamaqua Has Heart

Last year, a two-year project that involved collecting more than 500 letters from borough residents came to life when the Tamaqua Community Arts Center partnered with local businesses, churches and community groups and organizations for “Dear Tamaqua ... In a New Light.” The free event was held Aug. 4, 2015, and coincided with the borough’s National Night Out and the Tamaqua Salvation Army’s Kidz Karnival.

The collaborative venture between the Tamaqua arts center, the Tamaqua Safety Initiative and the Dear Tamaqua Leadership Committee asked current and former residents to write letters collecting their memories of the past, thoughts on the present and hopes for the future in the borough. All the letters were archived at the Tamaqua Public Library.

Starting at the train station, people were led on a mile-long walk through the borough with artwork, music, block parties, food and videos filling streets and alleys. Performers read some of the letters out loud while trolley and horse and carriage rides were incorporated into the journey. Dance numbers by local studios and cheerleaders also accompanied the walk.

A new campaign with similar community spirit kicked off this year on Aug. 2 at Tamaqua Night Out.

The first fiberglass heart that will be used in the Tamaqua Has Heart campaign was unveiled at the event. Located at Depot Square Park, it is one of 11 heart sculptures, each about 39 inches tall and 40 inches wide, that will be placed throughout the borough.

During the National Night Out, people were encouraged to put their painted handprint on the heart. It will remain on permanent display in the borough.

“We encouraged them to put a hand on the heart because it represents each and every individual in the community,” Leona Rega, art center director, said. “If people don’t volunteer, you don’t have much. You need the public to support your endeavors. It represents the heart of the community, which we feel as the art center is the volunteers.”

Local businesses will have the opportunity to sponsor a heart, and artists can start submitting their sketches of their designs in October. Sponsors will be able to work with artists in the design process.

“I think what we discussed about the hopes for the future is for more people to love where they live,” Rega said, “We want that sense of pride for where they live, and we felt this was kind of the next step for ‘Dear Tamaqua.’ It is for the community to show love for itself and feel that is a great place to live.”

A kickoff event will be held where sponsors can view all the sketches. It will be followed a week later with a formal judging panel choosing the 10 artists by the end of January.

Artists will have about four months to complete their heart. They will be installed throughout the borough prior to Memorial Day weekend 2017 and will remain on display throughout the borough until mid-September. A closing gala will take place at the end of September, where the hearts will be sold at auction with 25 percent of the gross profit being given back to the artist. After purchase, it will be up to the buyer where it will be installed.

“The heart of the community can be different things — volunteer firefighters, senior citizens, coal mining heritage, children,” Rega said. “It is really open to interpretation.”

The sponsor, artist and title of each heart will be listed on a plaque mounted to the display base of each sculpture. That information will also be included in the “Tamaqua Has Heart” brochure, along with a map of the heart locations.

There are numerous sponsorship levels, ranging from $250 to $2,500. For more information on the project, call the Tamaqua Community Arts Center at 570-668-1192.

Rega said the idea for the project came when someone at the arts center saw a hat in an antique store that said Tamaqua was “The little town with a big heart.”

“It is really a community art initiative,” Rega said. “It is art in public places and we are really trying to rally the community about the arts.”

The Tamaqua Night Out event is also about the community. Held from 6 to 10 p.m. on the first Tuesday in August. Nationally, the event has been sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch since 1984.

Tamaqua has participated in the national event for the past four years. It concludes each year with a fireworks display.

“We thought it was a great way to bring awareness to our community that we are not ignoring the fact that there are neighborhoods with higher rates of crime,” Rega, event organizer, said. “The idea of our first year was ‘lights on, crime out.’ It is really a way to draw attention and build relationships with local law enforcement and also civic clubs. The whole purpose of the event is to raise awareness about how to have a safer neighborhood and connect people with those resources.”

Getting involved

The event started as part of the Tamaqua Safety Initiative, one of several organizations affiliated with the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership nonprofit. The partnership was founded in 1994 with the goal of revitalizing the borough, Micah Gursky, the organization’s executive director, said.

Gursky said the National Night Out was a way to get people out in their community and show them it is a safe place to live.

“The best way to do that is to get out on a Tuesday night and get to know the people in the community,” Gursky said, “It gets people engaged in their community, and it gets them to meet new people and organizations that are out there.”

Gursky said getting people active downtown is part of the partnership’s overall mission of revitalizing the community.

Holiday spirit

Another major annual event for the organization includes its annual Spirit of Christmas Festival. It has been held since 1996 and includes three days of Christmas-themed activities over a weekend in early December. Events include a Santa Claus parade, music and Christmas tree displays.

“The purpose is to bring people out during the holiday season,” Gursky said. “It is just a way to celebrate.”

Shortly after the Spirit of Christmas Festival, hundreds of people will gather in front of the ABC High Rise at 222 W. Broad St. to watch the eagle rise on New Year’s Eve. Along with a live broadcast of the ball drop in New York City’s Times Square, the image of an eagle lights up in every window in the borough’s tallest building until it reaches the top, signaling the new year.

Originally a ball drop similar to the one in Times Square, the event has been held since 1998 and is sponsored by the Tamaqua Area Chamber of Commerce.

Leadership program

In May, the Tamaqua Community Arts Center hosted a daylong leadership event that was simulcast live from Atlanta. Called Leadercast Live 2016, it was held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 6 at the arts center.

The program is a nationwide, one-day training event that provides people with leadership skills and knowledge to make a difference in their communities.

“We had a really good turnout,” Gurksy said.

About 100 people attended the event and Gursky said they look forward to having it again next year.

In September, the borough will host two “community conversation” forums where residents are invited to voice their concerns or thoughts.

“That’s how the art center got started, through community conversations,” Gursky said.

The conversations will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. Sept. 24 and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Lisa Scheller Student Center on the Lehigh Carbon Community College campus, 234 Lehigh St.

The Tamaqua arts center will also host a business expo from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 20. The Tamaqua Area Chamber of Commerce teamed with WMGH to showcase businesses. For more information, call the chamber at 570-668-1880 or email chamber@tamaqua.net.

For the third time, the state Superior Court has rejected an appeal by a Hazleton man of his guilty plea and state prison sentence for robbing stores in 2009 in Port Carbon and Pottsville.

In a six-page opinion filed Tuesday, the panel ruled William J. Tierno, 52, filed his latest appeal too late, leaving it with no jurisdiction to consider it.

“Tierno’s petition is patently untimely,” Judge Paula F. Ott wrote in the panel’s opinion.

As a result, Tierno must serve the sentence of 12 to 24 years in a state correctional institution that county Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin imposed on Aug. 30, 2010. Tierno is serving that sentence, plus a consecutive one from Philadelphia of 8 3/4 to 24 years, at SCI/Greene.

Tierno pleaded guilty on Aug. 30, 2010, to two counts each of robbery, conspiracy and theft, and one each of receiving stolen property and terroristic threats. Prosecutors dropped an additional robbery charge.

In one case, Port Carbon police charged Tierno with robbing the Turkey Hill Minit Mart at 216 Pike St. in the borough on April 9, 2009.

In the other case, Pottsville police charged Tierno with robbing the Family Dollar at 1013 W. Market St. in the city on April 6, 2009.

Ott wrote in the panel’s opinion that Tierno had until Jan. 30, 2013, to file a timely petition under the state Post Conviction Relief Act. However, he did not file the petition in question until Feb. 23, 2015, she noted.

Judge Jacqueline O. Shogan and Senior Judge Eugene B. Strassburger III, the other panel members, joined in Ott’s opinion.

There are three exceptions to the timeliness requirement, but none applies to Tierno’s case, according to Ott.

Furthermore, the county court already had determined that the issue Tierno was trying to raise in his latest petition had been litigated, Ott wrote.

Tierno’s earlier appeals had been rejected by the Superior Court in 2011 and 2014.

SHENANDOAH — Among the mix of sesquicentennial celebrations this week, Wednesday was the day to recognize and honor those residents who served the country in military uniform and those who wear other uniforms as first responders in the community.

The Shenandoah Sesquicentennial Committee designated Wednesday as “Service Day,” with activities throughout the day, beginning with a flag raising ceremony with the playing of “Reveille” at 9 a.m. in the Veterans Memorial Garden next to the American Legion Anthony P. Damato “Medal of Honor” Post 792 on Main Street. Legion members and the public watched as post Adjutant Leo Slecton raised the flag at the mural of Damato as post Commander Edward Bickowski stood at the flagpole at attention and saluted.

After the flag raising, everyone moved to the gazebo for a program featuring a speech by Army veteran Thomas C. Dando, Gordon, who served in the Vietnam War as an infantry squad leader in 1968-69. Committee member Andy Ulicny was the emcee, welcoming everyone to the program.

“What greater service is there than military service on behalf of our nation,” Ulicny said, and then introduced Mayor Andrew J. Szczyglak.

“There is nothing more fitting to honor you, to remember the men and women who have sacrificed and gave up their lives, their time, their talent to go to war to fight for us, and to allow us to be here today to celebrate these 150 years,” Szczyglak said. “It is because of you who went out and fought and made it possible to be here today. I can’t thank you enough from the bottom of my heart and the Borough of Shenandoah. Thank you for your service.

Ulicny invited the sesquicentennial committee chairwoman, Debra Ulicny, to briefly speak on the generations of her family who have served in the service in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, and in Iraq.

Dando came to the podium and said he was impressed with the beautiful garden the Legion post had in the downtown.

“Just being here, looking at you veterans, gives me a sense of pride,” Dando said. “I’m always happy to speak about the sacrifices of the American veteran.”

Dando spoke of visiting Shenandoah Valley High School before the program and given a tour by retired teacher Robert Yudinsky. Dando had served as high school principal at SV, where he saw the World War II memorial in the school, the tribute to Marine Cpl. Anthony P. Damato, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life to save his comrades in World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations, and a tribute to his brother, Army Air Corps Capt. Neil Damato, who was shot down in a B-17F bomber over Europe in World War II and is missing in action. There is also a tribute to Army Pvt. Walter H. Wardigo, who was Shenandoah’s first “Gold Star” with his death by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941, at Hickam Field, Hawaii, during the attack on Pearl Harbor,

“This World War II memorial (at SV) with the list of names made me aware of the sacrifices made by the veterans of Shenandoah and the cost of conflict for many veterans who served through the years and the sacrifices they have made for this country,” Dando said.

Dando told stories from television documentaries and published materials about veterans. One story was about veterans who returned to Normandy about 50 years after the D-Day invasion in 1944 and how moved they were, especially for the friends they lost during the effort to establish a beachhead to free Europe from Nazi occupation.

“It showed the veterans walking arm-in-arm along the beaches they fought on, and when they got to the finish line, there was one thing that was the same about all of them — they were all crying,” Dando said. “When they were asked why they were crying, they said that they were happy to be together, but they would never forget the friends that never came home.”

Dando spoke of his time in Vietnam, how hard it was to deal with the jungle conditions, and how the loss of those around you can have a terrible impact.

“I believe my time in the jungle was similar to all of the grunts,” Dando said. “We fought the jungle vines, the bugs, the ants, the spiders, the snakes, the constant heat, the lack of sleep, the fatigue, the loneliness, feeling homesick, and, of course, the firefights — those horrible minutes of terror that you had to ignore until the bullets stopped. It was then, and only then, could you see who made it and who didn’t. Then there was the guilt of feeling good because you didn’t die, yet feeling bad because your friends died. The guilt stays with you for your whole life.”

Dando spoke of a three-hour firefight on March 14, 1969, when two members of his squad were killed, another lost a leg, and one was filled with shrapnel. At times during his talk, Dando paused due to emotion as he read stories about those who served.

“A new generation of American veterans is stepping up to accept their challenge,” Dando said. “They have not shied away from their responsibilities. Rather they have courageously accepted them. These young Americans as we speak are in harm’s way today in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sometimes it seems that people do not realize that. They continue to show their courage and willingness to serve. That is what veterans do. They don’t question. They put their lives on the line and do what their country asks. God bless these young American heroes.”

Dando specifically addressed the veterans who attended and had served years before.

“As I look at these veterans in front of me, I see the passing of time may have whitened their hair and bent their backs and slowed their steps, but when I look into their eyes and talk with them, I see the same love of country and flag, the same loyalty to comrades that they had when they marched off to serve 10, 20, 30, even 70 years ago. Because of men and women like these before you, we are able to live under this umbrella of freedom and liberty that we enjoy. Sometimes the sacrifices of these veterans are forgotten and freedom is taken for granted, but remember the words written at the Korean War Memorial: ‘Freedom is not free.’ ”

After Dando’s speech, everyone moved into the post home for coffee and donuts. Ulicny gave a PowerPoint presentation on the service of veterans in the wars from the Revolutionary War to now. Ulicny showed photos of tombstones of veterans at local cemeteries, along with the different memorials at cemeteries and other locations in towns.

Ulicny spoke of the local veterans posts, speaking of the veterans after whom they have been dedicated.

“Thank you, veterans,” Ulicny said as he finished his talk.

At 1 p.m., student essays were read at the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society and a presentation was made entitled “Thank You for Your Service: Shenandoah’s Military and First Responders.” The afternoon activities ended with a tour of the Schuylkill Historical Fire Museum in Shenandoah.

The scene shifted back to the veterans garden at 5 p.m. for the lowering of the American flag by members of Shenandoah Boy Scout Troop 721 and Cub Scout Pack 711. The flag was lowered and Legion member Gordon Slater instructed the Boy Scouts how to properly fold a flag. The Scouts enjoyed pizza in the post after the ceremony.

Service Day continued about an hour later at East Washington Street, beginning with the landing of the Lehigh Valley Health Network’s MedEvac 7, which is based in Pottsville. The helicopter made several rounds above the borough before landing at the helipad at the eastern end of the street.

The crew opened the helicopter for visitors to look inside, with the crew explaining its operation. Children were able to sit inside and get photos taken. According to crewmember Eric Bubbenmoyer, the health network has four MedEvac helicopters and two ambulances in Allentown.

“We have helicopters in Pottsville, Hazleton, East Stroudsburg and Kutztown,” Bubbenmoyer said.

The Shenandoah police were on scene, as were fire trucks from Columbia Hose Fire Company No. 1, Phoenix Fire Company No. 2, Defender Hose Company No. 3, Polish American Fire Company No. 4, and Rescue Hook and Ladder Fire Company No. 5, and an ambulance from the Shenandoah Community Ambulance. Personnel were on hand to answer questions and show the equipment. There were free blood pressure screening.

Labor and Commerce Day

The sesquicentennial committee has designated

today as “Labor and Commerce Day” in the borough to recognize the importance Shenandoah played in the local, state and national economy as a center for the mining of anthracite coal, the garment industry, retail and other industries.

The first activity will be held at 1 p.m. with the reading of student essays, followed by a program entitled “Darryl Ponicsan’s Shenandoah of the 1940s” with author Darryl Ponicsan, a Shenandoah native who wrote the novels “The Last Detail” and “Cinderella Liberty,” both made into major motion pictures, and “Andoshen, Pa.,” a novel based on his hometown.

The evening program at 7 p.m. will be at Veterans Memorial Garden on North Main Street with a concert by the Upper Schuylkill Marching Band and a recognition ceremony for Ponicsan. The winners of “Shenandoah Shop and Save” contest will be announced.

Leaders from business, education and members of the public attended a business executive forum luncheon Wednesday at The Lodge at Sharp Mountain, Pottsville.

The Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce hosted the luncheon, which featured Matt Stem, deputy secretary of the state Department of Education, and Alex Halper, director of government affairs for the state Chamber of Business and Industry. State Rep. Mike Tobash, R-125, also spoke briefly on workforce development.

“We need to listen to each other and continue to communicate,” Bob Carl, executive director of Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce, said.

Maintaining communication makes Schuylkill County a better place to live, work and play, he said.

Carl discussed statistics from a survey from the Pennsylvania Chamber Educational Foundation 2016 Workforce Development Survey that found that “52 percent believe that recruiting qualified candidates is very or extremely difficult; 57 percent think it will get more difficult to find qualified candidates within the next five years; 56 percent said they have difficulty filling technical/skilled trade jobs.” The survey went found that 21 percent said the labor force was good or excellent in meeting the needs of employers now.

“I think we all know the severity of this but when you hear the numbers, it really drives it home,” Carl said.

He said the county has made strides in improving workforce in the county.

“We are making a lot of headway, and we continue to keep the dialogue and the conversation open and this forum today is an effort to continue to do that,” Carl said.

“All of the businesses that I talk to, they’ve got one main concern and that’s attracting, hiring and maintaining a great, skilled workforce,” Tobash said.

Stem said schools should continue to focus on preparing students for lives beyond high school.

“As parents, we worry about these things,” he said.

He said everyone needs to be involved to make students’ lives a success.

“We are training our kids today for jobs that don’t yet exist,” he said. “We are looking for industry partners to be at the table for the work we are doing in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).”

He said he is optimistic about the future.

“I look forward to great things to come,” he said.

Halper said success from workforce development can be measured different ways. However, the important thing is that people make workforce development a priority.

“It just comes down to people,” Halper said.

He said employers in all industries face obstacles in the hiring process, whether it’s not finding someone who is qualified or finding someone with a poor work ethic. Sometimes prospective employees lack soft skills such as communicating effectively or being a team player.

Halper said he is fortunate enough to have a job that he loves.

“I wanted to be a business lobbyist since I was a little kid, so this is really a dream come true for me,” he said.

Tobash said that those looking to discuss the future of jobs and industry in the county can attend Schuylkill County Jobs Committee meetings. The group of school officials and business representatives next meet at 9 a.m. Sept. 9.