Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street

To Antonio and Megan Killian Randazzo, Schuylkill Haven, a son, Aug. 15.

In March, the Pottsville Area school board decided to spend more than $1.6 million to equip every student in the district with an Apple iPad Air 2 for the 2016-17 school year.

To make sure it had enough of them to go around, the school board at its Aug. 17 meeting decided to add 40 more to the lease.

The recommendation was made by board member Christina DiCello, who is in charge of the district’s technology committee.

“We’ve had more students enroll in the district than was originally anticipated and we do not have enough iPads to outfit all of them currently enrolled. So I’m going to make a motion to lease an additional 40 iPad Airs to cover the students that we so far enrolled and don’t have covered. And that will give us approximately 20 extras should we have even more students enroll,” DiCello said at the meeting.

“We did originally have extras built into our lease and they have all been used because we’ve had more students enroll in the district than we originally estimated,” DiCello said.

“And the cost per iPad is?” asked Karen E. Rismiller, the board’s vice president, who ran the Aug. 17 meeting in the absence of school board President John F. Boran.

“It’s $100 per year to lease the iPad. So it’s approximately a $4,000 per year increase in the lease,” DiCello said.

“$4,000?” board member William Davidson asked.

“Approximately. There’s a finance fee in there as well. I don’t know that percentage. It’s a skosh over $4,000 a year for the additional iPads,” DiCello said.

“You’re making that motion?” Davidson asked.

“I’m making that motion,” DiCello said.

“I’ll second it,” Davidson said.

“You can’t make the motion. It’s your department,” board member Gary A. Cortese said.

“Sure she can,” Davidson said.

“Only the president can’t make it,” Richard A. Thornburg, the solicitor for the school board, said.

“Right,” Davidson said.

“Any issues? Any questions?” Rismiller asked the board.

“Do you think this iPad program is an incentive for people to move here?” Cortese asked.

“It’s possible. Certainly, we’re the only school in the county that has such a thing and it’s an advantage our students have over other districts in our county,” DiCello said.

In the voice vote, the following board members approved the addendum to the lease agreement: Cortese, Davidson, DiCello, Rismiller, Patrick F. Moran and Charles R. Wagner.

Ann Blankenhorn and Scott Thomas voted no, as they had in March when the board agreed to launch the iPad 1-to-1 initiative.

“I have to stay aligned with my previous vote,” Blankenhorn said.

“I think the kids need them. You can’t have some without the others. That being said, I voted no to the initiative. That’s why I’m voting no,” Thomas said.

“Approximately, $3,390.00 will be added to each year of the four-year lease. The district is still realizing a savings of over $500,000 total over the four years of the lease,” Superintendent Jeffrey S. Zwiebel said in an email to the newspaper Wednesday afternoon.

In March, Dianne Dougherty, technology director at Pottsville Area School District, said the four-year lease included 2,800 iPad Air 2 tablets, one for each student in grades K through 12 and all teachers and administrators.

But in an email Wednesday afternoon, Zwiebel said the district ordered 2,900. “204 staff members received iPads, leaving 2,696 for students. The district ordered conservatively due to budget,” Zwiebel said.

Dougherty could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

In March, Dougherty said the four-year lease also included the following:

• 220 MacBooks for teachers and administrators.

• 25 IMac computers and five MacBooks for the publications room in the high school.

• Mobile device management system and licensing, professional development for faculty and Apple professional services and support.

In March, the district agreed to pay $415,980.92 every year of the four-year lease, for a total of $1,663,923.68, according to Stephen C. Curran, the district’s business manager.

On Tuesday, Curran did not have specific figures regarding the additional 40 iPads to be added to the lease.

“We are still in the assessment phase as we have students enrolling and withdrawing daily. When the order is placed, I will forward the information to you,” Curran said in an email Tuesday.

According to Joseph Rich, Pottsville Area’s director of attendance, there were 2,724 students enrolled in the elementary, middle school and high school in Pottsville Area School District at the end of the 2015-16 school year. There were 2,723, enrolled as of noon Wednesday for the 2016-17 school year.

“That number is flexible because they are coming and going,” Rich said.

“At the end of the day today, we had 2,729 registered students. The daily enrollment, during this time of year, sometimes changes hour by hour,” Zwiebel said in his email at 4:33 p.m. Wednesday.

SHENANDOAH — Recently, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board ordered the Shenandoah Valley School District to rescind a policy the district enacted in March 2015 to prevent employee abuse of uncompensated leave.

At the school board’s August meeting Wednesday night at the high school, the board agreed to do so, rescinding district policy 536.1, Uncompensated Leave.

The PLRB’s decision is available on the website for the state Department of Labor and Industry.

The district implemented the policy on March 25, 2015, and it was retroactive to Feb. 20, 2015. Employees who are part of the Shenandoah Valley Educational Support Professional Association were required to reimburse the district a portion of their annual health care premium if they were absent without pay, on unpaid leave or uncompensated leave, according to the PLRB.

On July 20, 2015, the educational association filed a charge of unfair practices with the PLRB alleging that the school district violated Section 1201(a)(1) and (5) of the Public Employee Relations Act, according to the PLRB.

A hearing was held in Harrisburg on May 16 and post-hearing briefs were filed in June and July.

“Policy 536.1 was known as the uncompensated leave policy. It required teachers or support staff to reimburse the district the health insurance costs paid by the district if those teachers or support staff personnel took time off from work when they had already exhausted all of their sick and vacation days. There was an unfair labor practice charge filed by the teachers and the support staff which resulted in the labor relations board issuing a decision indicating it was necessary for the district to rescind that policy,” district solicitor Michael A. O’Pake said.

The motion to rescind the policy was made by board Treasurer Margaret Shustack, seconded by board Vice President Thomas F. Twardzik and carried by all other board members present: board President Daniel P. Salvadore; board Secretary Karen Kayes; and Helene Creasy, Anita Monaghan, Richard Zimmerman and Joseph Buchanan.

Board member Joseph Alshefski was not present for Wednesday’s meeting.

At the start of the meeting, the school board honored Kevin J. Graff Jr., Lost Creek, West Mahanoy Township, a 2016 Shenandoah Valley graduate, who won a gold medal at the SkillsUSA competition in Louisville, Ky. Representatives of Schuylkill Technology Center presented the school with a banner recognizing Graff’s achievement.

“I like the banner,” Graff said as he gave it a once over. It was 4-feet high and 18-inches wide. Four were made. One will be put in the lobby of Shenandoah Valley High School; one will be on display at STC-North in Frackville; the third will be at STC-South in Mar Lin; and one was given to Graff’s family, according to Tracey M. Picht, a school counselor with STC.

Also present for the presentation were Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, state Rep. Neal P. Goodman, D-123, and Kurt Lynch, STC vocational director.

Other actions the board took Wednesday included:

• Hired Lynne Mayo, school psychologist, at $60 per hour, at 28 hours per week and 210 per year.

• Accepted the resignation of Jamie Buriak, junior high girls’ basketball coach.

• Hired Kristyn Rakus as junior high basketball coach for the 2016-17 school year at a salary of $2,800.

• Hired Noelle Pinchot as junior high cheerleading coach for the 2016-17 school year at a salary of $2,000.

• Hired Peter J. Lindenmuth as a full-time maintenance worker at $15 per hour.

• Reported there will be 1,072 students in the district in the 2016-17 school year. The first day of school is Sept. 6.

A Pottsville man faces prison time after being convicted Monday in Schuylkill County Court of three drug-related charges.

James L. Flowers Jr., 50, did not react when the jury of seven women and five men, after deliberating about one hour, pronounced him guilty of delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance, and not guilty of criminal use of a communication facility.

Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin, who presided over Flowers’ one-day trial, allowed the defendant to remain free on $25,000 percentage bail, ordered preparation of a presentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for 2 p.m. Oct. 12.

Pottsville police charged Flowers with selling three bundles, or 30 packets, of heroin to a confidential informant during a controlled buy about 11 a.m. May 27, 2015, at a residence on South Second Street in the city.

“He was bringing heroin,” the informant said of Flowers. “I contacted him.”

An undercover police officer testified he set up surveillance equipment and took a video, which was played for the jury, of the heroin sale.

Also on Monday, another Schuylkill County jury found Anthony Powell, 46, of McAdoo, guilty of fleeing or eluding police. The jury of eight men and four women deliberated approximately 2 1/2 hours before reaching its verdict.

Judge Charles M. Miller, who presided over Powell’s one-day trial, found the defendant guilty of illegal turn, failure to keep right, improper turning movements and careless driving, and not guilty of reckless driving and a second count of improper turning movements. He allowed Powell to remain free on $500 percentage bail, ordered preparation of a presentence investigation and scheduled the defendant’s sentencing for 2:30 p.m. Sept. 29.

Rush Township police charged Powell with trying to elude capture in the early morning hours of Sept. 19, 2015, while driving north on Route 309 from the intersection with Route 54 in Hometown to the Interstate 81 interchange in Kline Township.

Township police Patrolman Bradley J. Hess testified he pursued Powell for approximately two miles with his lights and siren on before the defendant stopped after making a U-turn. Hess also said Powell did not stop until after he got in front of him.

Powell testified he did not notice the lights and siren until the top of the hill near the I-81 interchange and pulled over at the first place he considered safe. He said he made the U-turn because he thought Hess was trying to run him off the road.

In court on Wednesday, improper testimony caused a trial to end in Schuylkill County Court almost as soon as it began for another case involving Pottsville resident Flowers.

Flowers had been charged with delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility and possession of a controlled substance.

However, the confidential informant who was the prosecution’s second first witness referred to having used a phrase having a particular meaning in previous communications with Flowers.

President Judge William E. Baldwin ruled the statement could be prejudicial to Flowers, declared a mistrial and dismissed the jury.

Deputy Assistant District Attorney Robert I. Lipkin said he would “absolutely” seek to try Flowers again.

Pottsville police charged Flowers with selling 20 packets of heroin to the confidential informant on June 5, 2015, in the city.

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

Gary Cieniawa, 27, of McAdoo; possession of drug paraphernalia; 12 months probation, $100 payment to the Substance Abuse Education Fund and $50 payment to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account.

Naomi Ellison, 34, of Quakertown; no contest plea to recklessly endangering another person; 23 months probation, $50 CJEA payment and $311.25 bench warrant fee. Prosecutors withdrew a charge of endangering the welfare of children.

Jonathan Evanco, 22, of McAdoo; retail theft; 12 months probation and $50 CJEA payment.

Sarah Hill, 27, of Tamaqua; possession of drug paraphernalia; 12 months probation consecutive to current sentence, $100 SAEF payment, $50 CJEA payment and $365 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem. Prosecutors withdrew two counts of possession of a controlled substance.

Meghann E. Jones, 33, of Mountain Top; false identification to law enforcement; 12 months probation, $50 CJEA payment and $50 bench warrant fee.

Brett M. Kline, 22, of Mahanoy City; two counts of retail theft and one each of tampering with evidence, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia; three to 24 months in a state correctional institution, $100 SAEF payment, $150 in CJEA payments, $1,416.59 restitution and submission of a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. Prosecutors withdrew two counts of receiving stolen property.

Michael A. Leiby, 30, of Tamaqua; possession of drug paraphernalia; 64 days to 12 months in prison with immediate parole, $100 SAEF payment, $50 CJEA payment and $50 bench warrant fee.

Shane J. Savitsky, 22, of Fogelsville; possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and carrying a firearm without a license; 24 months probation, $100 SAEF payment, $50 CJEA payment, $113 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem and submission of a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. Prosecutors withdrew charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

John J. Schlauch, 31, of Tamaqua; access device fraud and receiving stolen property; one to two years in a state correctional institution, $50 CJEA payment, $50 bench warrant fee, $110.74 restitution and submission of a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. Prosecutors withdrew two additional counts each of access device fraud and receiving stolen property and a charge of conspiracy.

Chantel Shope, 24, of Branchdale; possession of drug paraphernalia; 12 months probation, $100 SAEF payment, $50 CJEA payment and $187.31 bench warrant fee. Prosecutors withdrew charges of possession of a controlled substance and disorderly conduct.

Harry A. Thompson III, 45, of Pottsville; driving under the influence and disregarding traffic lanes; six months probation, $325 in fines, $100 SAEF payment, $50 CJEA payment, $60 restitution to Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street, 10 hours community service and submission of a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. Prosecutors withdrew charges of failure to drive at a safe speed, careless driving and reckless driving.

Sean A. Scott, 39, of Tamaqua; 34 counts of forgery and one of simple assault; 24 months probation, $100 fine, $100 in CJEA payments, $11,584.76 restitution, no contact with the victim and submission of a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. Prosecutors withdrew two counts each of theft by deception and receiving stolen property and one each of theft and harassment.

Justine Simon, 41, of Nesquehoning; accident involving damage to attended vehicle or property and failure to stop and give information; 12 months probation, $25 fine and $50 CJEA payment. Prosecutors withdrew a charge of careless driving.

Chelsea L. Walters, 23, of Tamaqua; two counts of retail theft and one of conspiracy; 18 months probation and $100 in CJEA payments. Prosecutors withdrew charges of receiving stolen property and false identification to law enforcement.

Timothy J. Welker Jr., 27, of Tamaqua; two counts of retail theft; 12 months probation, $50 CJEA payment and $114.98 restitution. Prosecutors withdrew a charge of receiving stolen property.

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

SHENANDOAH — A man was jailed Tuesday, charged by state police at Frackville with having sex with a 15-year-old girl.

Charles A. Welna, 30, of 602 Gold Star Highway, Mahanoy Township, was arrested by Trooper Alan Zulick and charged with one felony count each of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of minors and child pornography-sexual abuse of children, along with a misdemeanor offense of indecent assault.

Welna was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of $75,000 straight cash bail.

Zulick charged Welna in connection with alleged incidents that occurred at his home between July 1 and Tuesday when they came to light.

Zulick said he received a report of a missing 15-year-old girl and during the investigation came across a letter to the girl from Welna in which he wrote about a sexual relationship with her.

On Tuesday morning, Zulick said, he and Trooper Joseph Hall found the girl in the bedroom of the Welna home and took her back to her residence.

“The teen was interviewed and said she performed sex acts and had intercourse with Welna numerous times in July and over the weekend of Aug. 19 to 21 and that the sex occurred in Welna’s home,” Zulick said. The girl also said that she had sent Welna numerous pornographic images of herself to Welna by electronic means, Zulick said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Zulick said he and Trooper Michael Marinchak interviewed Welna and after being read his rights, the man admitted having sex with the girl numerous times and that he believed she was 17-years-old.

Welna also admitted receiving pictures of the teen in various stages of undress and a video of her performing a sex act, Zulick said.

Welna will now have to appear for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kilker in his Shenandoah courtroom.

n Auburn: An American Red Cross blood drive is scheduled for 1 to 6 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Auburn Ambulance building, Front Street. People 17 and older (16 with parental consent), weighing at least 110 pounds and in general good health are urged to donate blood. For more information or to arrange for an appointment, call 800-733-2767.

n Brandonville: The Park Crest Fish and Game Protective Association will have its membership meeting at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Brandonville clubhouse.

n Frackville: An American Red Cross blood drive will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday in the community room at the Schuylkill Mall. All present donors will receive a $5 Amazon gift code by email. People 17 and older (16 with parental consent), weighing at least 110 pounds and in general good health are urged to donate blood. For more information or to arrangement for an appointment, call 800-733-2767.

n Gordon: The Gordon Fish and Game Protective Association will hold its second horseshoe tournament rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at Washington Park, Ashland. Space is limited and advance registration is suggested. Registration on tournament day will be from 9 to 10 a.m. The entry fee is $30 per person and $50 per team. Cash prizes will be awarded. Food and beverages will be available. For more information and to register in advance, call Jake Pennypacker at 570-985-4611 or Jessica Slotcavage at 570-205-3397.

n Pottsville: An American Red Cross blood drive is scheduled for noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 2 at D.G. Yuengling and Son Inc., Fifth and Mahantongo streets. People 17 and older (16 with parental consent), weighing at least 110 pounds and in general good health are urged to donate blood. For more information or to arrange for an appointment, call 800-733-2767.

n Ringtown: St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 106 W. Main St., will have its Fall Festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 8. The free community event will include food, games, crafts, disc jockey music by Sound Express, hayrides and other activities. Vendors may obtain an application from the church or the Ringtown Area Library or by calling the church office at 570-889-5203. For more information, call 570-889-3903. The church will also have an M&M broasted chicken dinner from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 14 in a fundraiser sponsored by the Social Ministry Committee. The takeout-only dinners will include three pieces of broasted chicken, baked potato, vegetable, coleslaw, roll and butter plus dessert. The ticket deadline is Sept. 7. For more information, call the church office at the aforementioned number.

n Shenandoah: The Glover’s Hill Athletic Club, 935 W. Penn St., will sponsor a spaghetti-and-meatball dinner from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 10. The cost is $8 per meal and proceeds will benefit the club. Dinners will also include salad, bread and dessert. All are welcome. For more information, call 570-590-0931.

n Shenandoah: Registration for the Religious Education Program called PREP will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Trinity Academy in the Father Walter J. Ciszek Education Center, 233 W. Cherry St. The registration fee is $40 for one child and $75 for two or more children. The fee is $50 per child for families not participating in parish life. The eight-grade Confirmation class will pay an additional fee of $15 for the confirmation robes and a registration fee of $15 for a total of $30. A baptismal certificate is required at the time of registration for all new students.

n Shenandoah: The Shenandoah Senior Community Center, 116 N. Main St., will hold a vaccination clinic from 10 to 11 a.m. Sept. 15, sponsored by Rite Aid. It will provide vaccinations for flu, shingles and pneumonia. Prevnar 13 and blood pressure screenings will be available. Advance registration is required by calling Carl Kramer at 570-462-1924. An APPRISE Program counselor will also be on hand to answer questions on “Medicare’s Preventative Benefits.” Lunch will be served. The center is operated by Diakon Community Services.

“No trespassing” signs have been posted in the area of the Peace Rock.

Neil Shader, press secretary with the state Department of Environmental Protection, said Wednesday that signs were posted alerting those who use the area.

“‘No trespassing’ signs have been posted at various points on the property. While the property is state-owned, it is not open to the public for safety reasons,” Shader said in an email.

Those parked illegally near the property will be ticketed and towed, “and anyone found on the site can be cited for trespassing,” he said.

“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection would like to remind Pennsylvania residents and visitors that the property along the Schuylkill River upstream of the Kernsville Dam to state Route 61 is not a public area and should not be used as such. Use of the property alongside and near the river, including Peace Rock, the dam, the beach area and all adjacent areas, is considered trespassing, except to provide portage around the Kernsville Dam. There are features on the properties at Kernsville Dam that present hazards to unauthorized persons. Boaters are allowed to use the river, aside from the area immediately before and after the dam, in accordance with PA Fish and Boat Commission rules and regulations.”

Shader said there are areas locally people can enjoy swimming and boating including Tuscarora, Locust Lake and French Creek state parks.

Tilden Township Police Chief William McEllroy III said DEP is planning on installing signs on the Tilden Township side today.

“Anything north of the first lot (where the monument sign for the Kernsville Dam is) is going to be closed to persons and vehicles,” McEllroy said.

He said there will also be no trespassing a signs on the north end of the lot along Kernsville Dam Road. Trespassing will face consequences. Those could include “potential charges for criminal trespass, trespass by motor vehicle” and the towing of your vehicle, he said.

“The site is closed north of the first lot,” McEllroy said

For the second time in three days, former Gilberton police chief and North Schuylkill school board member Mark Kessler walked out of Schuylkill County Courthouse a free man on Wednesday after a jury acquitted him of harassing a borough councilman in August 2015 in a Frackville store.

Kessler, 44, of Frackville, did not react as the jury of seven women and five men found him not guilty of harassment after deliberating less than 30 minutes to end the one-day trial over which Judge Jacqueline L. Russell presided.

“We are extremely pleased with the jury verdict. This marks the end of a long and unfair journey for Mr. Kessler,” his lawyer, Robert J. Kirwan II, Reading, said after the verdict.

Frackville borough police had charged Kessler with harassing Councilman William Creasy about 7 p.m. Aug. 19, 2015, at Boyer’s Food Market, 550 W. Oak St.

“Mr. Kessler comes over, runs into me with his chest” and warned him about allegedly posting things on the internet about his daughter, Creasy testified. “I didn’t retaliate.”

“Were you surprised about this confrontation?” Assistant District Attorney David J. Rice asked Creasy.

“Yes, I was,” Creasy answered.

“Did you bump him back?”

“No.”

“Did you do anything ... to cause this event to occur?”

“No, I did not.”

On cross-examination, Kirwan challenged Creasy, getting him to say that he does not use the internet but later getting him to say he does. Creasy also acknowledged using a vile term about Frackville and making other questionable posts.

Creasy said he did not suffer any pain as a result of the incident.

Sandra Frantz, a relative of Creasy who was working at Boyer’s, testified Kessler made a threatening remark to the councilman.

“ ‘I know where you live. You better watch your back,’ ” is what Kessler said, Frantz testified.

She denied discussing the matter with Creasy.

Kessler testified he was shopping at Boyer’s when Creasy started talking about him. He said he started going toward Creasy in order to get between him and his daughter.

“We did slightly touch,” Kessler said. “That was it. I never said ‘watch your back’ or ‘watch yourself.’ ”

In his closing argument, Rice said neither Creasy nor Kessler was blameless, but only the latter did anything criminal.

“What we have here is two adults acting like children, but one adult took it too far,” he said.

However, jurors accepted Kirwan’s argument that prosecutors did not offer anywhere near enough evidence to convict his client, emphasizing that no one could find the tape of the incident that Boyer’s had provided.

“The best piece of evidence, the commonwealth lost. They didn’t keep track of the evidence,” he said. “It’s a garbage case.”

Rice declined to comment on the case after the verdict, while Kirwan said justice had been done for his client.

“He’s looking forward to putting the entire mess behind him. We are not ruling out the possibility of a federal civil rights action against the borough, (prosecuting police Patrolman Philip C.) Petrus, Borough Councilman Creasy and (borough police) Chief (Marvin) Livergood,” Kirwan said.

Another jury on Monday had found Kessler not guilty of terroristic threats and harassment in connection with an alleged road rage incident on Aug. 22, 2015, on Route 61 between Saint Clair and Frackville. Russell, who also presided over that trial, found him not guilty of disorderly conduct.

Kessler became enmeshed in controversy in mid-July 2013 when he posted two homemade videos to YouTube of him firing automatic weapons and using profanity. Gilberton suspended Kessler, saying the weapons were borough property and the chief did not have the right to use them in the videos.

In February 2014, Kessler retired and the borough abolished its police department.

Kessler did not run for re-election in 2015 to the school board.

Defendant: Mark Kessler

Age: 44

Residence: Frackville

Verdict: Not guilty of harassment

2 injured in

2-vehicle crash

LENHARTSVILLE — A Hamburg man and woman were injured Monday in a two-vehicle crash on Penn Street, state police in Hamburg said.

James P. Tierney Jr., 78, of New Ringgold, was driving a 2004 Peterbilt truck at 11:16 a.m. and was crossing Penn Street from the north side of the road to enter the driveway of Peters Brothers Trucking, a quarter-mile west of Route 143.

A 2015 Honda CVR driven by Werner A. Piede, 89, of Hamburg, was traveling west on Penn Street, police said. Tierney failed to observe Piede’s vehicle and started to cross the roadway when, according to police, Piede observed the truck crossing and accidentally hit the accelerator. Piede swerved his vehicle left and struck the rear of Tierney’s trailer in the eastbound lane of Penn Street. Piede’s vehicle then went off the south side of the road, through a gravel parking lot and struck an embankment. Tierney continued into the driveway of Peters Brothers Trucking.

Piede and his passenger, Rosalie A. Piede, 83, also of Hamburg, were transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital by Hamburg Ambulance, police said.

A nursing supervisor at Lehigh Valley said Werner Piede was still in the emergency room at 6 p.m. Monday, while the hospital had no record of Rosalie Piede.

Tierney was not injured.

Neither driver was charged, according to police.

Woman dies in

motorcycle crash

CARSONVILLE — A New Bloomfield woman died after crashing her motorcycle on Clarks Valley Road in Rush Township, state police in Lykens said.

Shannon E. Lehman, 26, was traveling west on Route 325 (Clarks Valley Road) at 9 p.m. Aug. 9 when she lost control of her 2009 Yamaha R-6 and traveled off the roadway on the westbound side.

Lehman’s motorcycle continued to travel off the roadway until striking a downed tree lying on the westbound embankment, police said. The motorcycle was traveling at a high rate of speed and struck the tree with a sufficient amount of force, causing Lehman to be flung from the bike, police said.

According to police, Lehman and the motorcycle traveled through the air, with the vehicle landing on the westbound embankment and the driver landing on the westbound shoulder.

Lehman died at the scene, police said. She was wearing a helmet.

The Dauphin County Coroner’s Office, Tower-Porter EMS, Medic 6, Sheridan, Orwin, and Middle Paxton fire departments and Teter Towing assisted at the scene.

Police released the accident report Monday.

Police arrest city

man on warrant

Pottsville police reported that about 9:15 a.m. Monday officers arrested Charles Stanley Brilla III, 23, at his 821 Water St. residence pursuant to an existing felony warrant for his participation in the delivery of methamphetamine in the city.

Police said that when Brilla was taken into custody, officers found him to be in possession of drug paraphernalia including a scale and multiple resealable baggies commonly used to package illegal drugs and consistent with those used in the prior drug delivery charge.

Police said that an additional misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia will be filed against Brilla with Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville.

At the time of his arrest, police said, Brilla also had an outstanding arrest warrant issued by the Schuylkill County courts for failure to appear.

He was committed to Schuylkill County Prison on that charge and later arraigned by Reiley on the felony delivery charge.

On that charge, Reiley set bail at $15,000 with a preliminary hearing pending at a later date in his Pottsville courtroom.

Police also said that during the warrant service, officers made contact with Keith Wykle, 27, of Pottsville, who was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia.

A charge of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia will be filed against Wykle with Reiley, police said.

Pottsville man

jailed for assault

A Pottsville man was jailed after being charged by Pottsville police for a domestic assault that was reported about noon Tuesday.

Police said a 26-year-old Branchdale woman reported that her former boyfriend, Jamal Singletary, 23, assaulted her the previous evening.

The woman said she was sleeping in her car in the area of Third and Race streets when she was approached by Singletary, who she was verbally arguing with earlier in the evening.

Police said the woman reported that she agreed to drive Singletary to a home on the east side of Pottsville and, as they were driving and continuing to argue, the man tried to remove the keys from the car but only grabbed the remote attachment and threw it out of the window.

When the woman stopped the car in the area of Third and Laurel streets, she said, Singletary repeatedly struck her on the head and face, causing bruising and swelling to her face as well as a laceration to her ear, police said.

The woman received treatment at a local medical facility for her injuries. Police said a complaint was prepared against Singletary charging him with domestic violence-simple assault.

Singletary was taken into custody about 2 p.m. Tuesday in the 200 block of North Centre Street and found to be in possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

He was arraigned on the assault charge by Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko, Port Carbon, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison unable to post 10 percent of $25,000 bail.

Police said that future charges will be filed against Singletary related to the drug and paraphernalia possessions.

A Schuylkill Haven man must remain behind state prison bars for brandishing a gun while assaulting a woman in November 2013 in Pottsville, a three-judge state Superior Court panel ruled Tuesday.

In a nine-page opinion, the panel ruled Kevin L. Harris, 31, offered no credible evidence that he did not enter his guilty plea knowingly and voluntarily.

“We find (Harris’) claims to be meritless,” Judge Carl A. Solano wrote in the panel’s opinion.

As a result, Harris will remain at State Correctional Institution/Somerset, where he is serving five to 10 years for aggravated assault, prohibited possession of firearm, terroristic threats, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Harris pleaded guilty on Aug. 25, 2014, before Judge James P. Goodman to those five charges. At that time, Goodman sentenced Harris to serve five to 10 years behind bars, pay costs and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.

Pottsville police had charged Harris with assaulting Yvette A. Brown on Nov. 27, 2013, at his then-residence. Prosecutors said the gun Harris used during the incident was a Ruger Security Six .357 Magnum revolver.

Harris alleged he pleaded guilty because Assistant Public Defender Andrea L. Thompson was unprepared for trial.

In the opinion, Solano wrote that under state law, Goodman’s credibility determinations are binding on the panel. Since Goodman rejected Harris’ testimony about why he pleaded guilty and accepted that of Thompson, the defendants’ former lawyer, that he voluntarily did so, the panel cannot reverse those determinations, Solano wrote.

“In-person credibility determinations are dispositive,” Solano wrote. “We are bound by the (county) court’s findings.”

Judge Alice Beck Dubow and President Judge Emeritus Correale F. Stevens, the other panel members, joined in Solano’s opinion.

Deeds

Coaldale — Thomas C. Macenka to Thomas C. Macenka; 18 W. Phillips St.; $1.

East Brunswick Township — Cynthia J. Stemmler to Cynthia J. Stemmler, Jessica A. Stein and Emily Stemmler; 113 Duck Hollow Lane; $1.

John J. Jr. and Cynthia J. Stemmler to John J. Jr. and Cynthia J. Stemmler, Jessica A. Stein and Emily Stemmler; 2-acre property; $1.

Schuylkill County’s annual Fall Cleanup in September will not include an electronic collection this year.

The county commissioners rescinded the notice of award Wednesday to Environmental Coordination Services and Recycling Inc., Cochranton, as the electronic vendor for the cleanup from Sept. 12 to Sept. 24. The commissioners awarded them the contract last week after it went out for bid. They were one of three companies submitting bids. The contract was for $0.40 per pound and $995 per pull.

Market conditions have changed and state reimbursements would not match the cost to run the program, Joseph Scribbick, county solid waste and recycling coordinator, said Wednesday.

“Based on previous years, the projected costs were going to be too high to make the project work financially,” he said.

Last year, the county collected about 576,000 pounds of electronics. Projected costs, which also include hauling and materials, were upwards from $180,000, Scribbick said.

“We were approaching the $200,000 level and that just gets too expensive and cost prohibitive for the commissioners,” Lisa Mahall, county engineer, said. “The cost is just too much and we recognize that.”

Wayne and Luzerne counties discontinued electronic collections in 2016 and five more counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania have already ended their programs as it is no longer cost effective, Scribbick said. More than 20 regional recycling sites have closed in western Pennsylvania.

“The cost associated with electronics are astronomical,” he said. “The county does not want to suspend electronics, but until the landscape changes, we will try to find other options. We don’t want to suspend the program, we just have no other option this year.”

Scribbick said that Act 108 of 2010, also known as the Covered Device Recycling Act, has changed the recycling landscape since its regulations went into effect in 2013.

The law dictates that all electronic devices defined in the act be banned from landfill disposal and must be recycled. Consumers are not to dispose of covered devices, such as computers, laptops, monitors and televisions, with their trash, meaning that trash haulers will no longer be able to take covered devices unless the municipality has a curbside electronics collection program that ultimately send the devices to an electronics recycler.

The law also requires electronic manufacturers to recycle the total weight of products they sold two years ago.

“That’s the biggest problem, manufacturers have to collect their quota and when they meet their quota, they don’t have to collect any more and the problem is there is a glut in the electronic industry in that there is just too many electronics for these manufacturers to recycle and collect,” Scribbick said.

State legislature is currently working to amend the bill. Scribbick said the only way to fix the problem is to have manufacturers to pay for the recycling of all covered electronics.

There are other options to recycle electronics. The county website lists several companies that will recycle electronics at http://co.schuylkill.pa.us/Offices/Recycles.

The county’s annual Fall Cleanup will take place at 13 locations from Sept. 12 through Sept. 24 in Pottsville, Minersville, CES Landfill, Girardville, North Manheim Township, Pine Grove, Tamaqua Transfer Station, Ringtown and Tremont. Some items will carry fees.

Automobile, light truck and motorcycle/RV tires up to 16 inches in diameter will be accepted. Cost is $2 per tire without rims and $3 per tire with rims. There is a 10 tire limit per load and no more than two loads per customer. Municipalities will also be charged the per-tire fee and are asked to make an appointment with the host collection site for large loads.

Freon bearing appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators and dehumidifiers will be accepted at $10 each.

Non-freon bearing appliances and scrap metal, like stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters, bicycles, grills, and metal furniture will be accepted at no charge.

Bulky items, such as mattresses, box springs, rolls of carpet, doors and windows will be accepted at $10 each. Sofas and overstuffed chairs will be accepted at $5 per cushion. For more information, contact the county office of solid waste and recycling at 570-628-1220.

The following companies recycle electronics. Policies about eligible items may vary and some places may offer free recycling. Call for more information.

Vertigo Systems

376 Centre Avenue, Schuylkill Haven, PA 17972

Must call for appointment

Phone: 570-385-3358

- Accepts all office and household electronics and computers

- TVs including flat screen $45

- No large projection TVs/wooden console

- CRT computer monitors $10

- Printers $10

Vertigo Systems

912 Schuylkill Mall Frackville, PA 17931

Must call for appointment

Phone: 570-874-3358

- Accepts all office and household electronics and computers

- TVs including flat screen $45

- No large projection TVs/wooden console

- CRT computer monitors $10

- Printers $10

Goodwill Keystone Area

1544 Route 61 Highway South

Phone: 570-385-8261

- Only accepting specific types of electronics (no televisions)

Salvation Army Family Store

206 N Centre Street, Pottsville

Phone: 570-628-3552

- Only accepting specific types of electronics (no televisions)

Responsible Recycling Services

805 Tomahawk Drive

Kutztown, PA 19530

Phone: 484-641-5156

No charge: Desktop/laptop computers, keyboards and mice, cables and cords, computer parts

Small office and household scanners and fax machines, small office and household printers, toner and ink cartridges, projectors, telephones and telephone systems and cell phones, calculators/adding machines, laptop batteries, UPS battery backups, filing cabinets, microwaves/small countertop appliances, DVD players and VCRs/gaming systems, stereos and speakers, exercise equipment, metal bed frames, rain spouting

Fees do apply: Televisions, large copiers and large machines, computer monitors (CRT & LCDs), large appliances, air conditioners/dehumidifiers, car batteries, Smart Boards

Bloomsburg Recycling Center

901 Patterson Drive, Bloomsburg, PA 17815

Phone: 570-784-4532

- Accepts various types of electronics

- $10 per TV

Staples

6104 Cressona Mall Pottsville, PA 17901

Phone: 570-385-7360

Accepted: Cellphone accessories, cellphones, computer peripherals: external, CRT computer monitors, desktop computers, digital cameras, GPS systems, inkjet cartridges, laptop computers, LCD computer monitors, lithium-ion batteries, MP3 players, nickel-cadmium batteries, office machines, paper shredders, printers, tablets, toner cartridges

SAINT CLAIR — The Saint Clair Area School District is looking for some help to finish replacing the bleachers at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“It was just time. The wood is getting old,” Jason Bendle, school superintendant and principal, said Thursday.

For the past four summers, the school district has been replacing sections of the wooden bleachers with new aluminum seating. About half have already been replaced. About four staff members did the work each summer. The labor cost about $12,000 each year, Bendle said.

“We just had less hands than in years past,” he said.

Bids are due at the school district by 3 p.m. Monday. Bendle said a couple companies have submitted bids for the project. The district will evaluate the bids at an upcoming meeting and decide whether or not to pursue the project, he said.

“We are seeing what the costs would be and seeing if it would be cost effective to continue to do it by ourselves or bring someone else in,” Bendle said. “We want to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars.”

Nativity BVM High School, Pottsville, is the only football team that uses the field. They will host their first game of the season at the field at 7 p.m. Sept. 2 against Jenkintown.

Bendle said sections of the bleachers will be roped off and a rail will be put up by then.

After the bleachers are completed, Bendle said, the district will look to renovate other aspects of the field like the wooden press box at the top of the stands. He said they will likely explore having students from the Schuylkill Technology Center take on that project.

A Northumberland County man faces prison time after a Schuylkill County jury convicted him Thursday of possessing four types of narcotics, plus drug paraphernalia.

Jason A. Shedaker, 33, of Mount Carmel, did not react when the jury of six men and six women, after deliberating less than 30 minutes, pronounced him guilty of four counts of possession of a controlled substance and one of possession of drug paraphernalia.

President Judge William E. Baldwin, who presided over Shedaker’s one-day trial, ordered preparation of a presentence investigation but did not immediately schedule a date for sentencing. He allowed Shedaker to remain free on $25,000 unsecured bail pending sentencing.

Mahanoy City police charged Shedaker, who did not testify or offer any other evidence, with possessing methamphetamine, marijuana, two prescription drugs, a pipe, a scale and baggies on June 16, 2015, at a traffic stop in the borough.

“We got a description of the car and the individual,” Patrolman Thomas J. Rentschler, the only prosecution witness, testified.

Rentschler said he stopped Shedaker’s car. Shedaker admitted having marijuana and a pipe, and a search leading to the lawful arrest revealed the other items, according to Rentschler.

Prosecutors and the defense stipulated that the substances in question were methamphetamine, marijuana and the prescription drugs.

In her closing argument, Julie A. Werdt, Orwigsburg, Shedaker’s lawyer, said that aside from her client’s admission, which she did not dispute, prosecutors had too little evidence to convict him of the other crimes.

“That was all he knew he had,” Werdt said. There was no information about who had driven the car before and no testimony from Cpl. Michael Dissinger, the other police officer involved in the stop.

“He’s not here today,” Werdt said of Dissinger. “That’s a hole.”

Mahanoy City Borough Council fired Dissinger on Aug. 9 for conduct unbecoming a police officer in the midst of an investigation of $10,000 that is allegedly missing from the department’s evidence area.

However, jurors accepted the closing argument of Assistant District Attorney Keith D. Hoppes, who said Rentschler was in charge of the case and properly handled all evidence.

Hoppes said Shedaker at least had constructive possession of all the drugs and paraphernalia.

“Just because you don’t hold it in your hand doesn’t mean you can’t possess it,” he said.

In his final jury trial before leaving the district attorney’s office to become general counsel at the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in York, Hoppes said he was happy with the result.

“The jurors got it correct,” he said.

Police: Woman

hindered arrest

WILLIAMSTOWN — A Lykens woman had a wanted fugitive inside of her vehicle, state police in Lykens said.

At 8:35 a.m. Aug. 14, police found the fugitive, who was subsequently arrested, with Jaime Reid, 34, on Route 209 in Williams Township.

Charges of hindering apprehension were filed against Reid with Magisterial District Judge Rebecca J. Margerum, Elizabethville.

Man allegedly gave

alcohol to minor

LYKENS — State police in Lykens are investigating an incident in which James Mundorf III, Lykens, is accused of providing alcohol at 4:40 p.m. Aug. 15 to a juvenile.

Charges of furnishing alcohol to minors and corruption of minors were filed before Magisterial District Judge Rebecca J. Margerum, Elizabethville.

Police charge man

for store incident

MILLERSBURG — A Millersburg man was charged with disorderly conduct by state police in Lykens.

Police said Matthew Manning, 28, caused customers alarm at 8:59 p.m. Aug. 18 at Dollar General on Route 209 in Upper Paxton Township.

Charges against Manning were filed with Magisterial District Judge Rebecca J. Margerum, Elizabethville.

Deeds

Blythe Township — Jayne Quirk Crowther and Nancy Quirk, administratrices c.t.a. for the Estate of Emmett James Quirk, to Jayne Quirk Crowther; 287 Wood St., Cumbola; $1.

Branch Township — Joseph S. and Darlene M. Pothering to Joseph S. and Darlene M. Pothering; property on Shober Street, Llewellyn; $1.

Butler Township — Caroline A. and James L. Dietz to Archie W. III and Brittany L. Miller; 856 Fountain St., Fountain Springs; $115,000.

Cass Township — Kimberly A. and Jesse Stickell to John W. and Patricia A. Kopinetz; 0.22-acre property on Township Route 608, Forestville; $1.

Coaldale — Brian V. and Stacy L. Danchak to Stacy L. Danchak; 272 E. High St.; $1.

East Union Township — Roland and Lola Dinoff to The Roland L. Dinoff and Lola M. Dinoff Revocable Living Trust; 96 E. Players Way, Eagle Rock; $1.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Diane Rasco and Hyan Mercado; Lot 148HF4, Eagle Rock; $39,289.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Anshu and Warsha Gupta; Lot 151HF4, Eagle Rock; $39,289.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Jerandy Cisneros, Ralph Lomongo and Nelson Bautista; Lot 150E, Eagle Rock; $50,399.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Helen and Alex J. Rojas; Lot 399WS, Eagle Rock; $46,359.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Arnel C. and Rosalinda Reales; Lot 411HF3, Eagle Rock; $47,066.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Carolindah M. Ntimi and Patrick B. Bosire; Lot 178HF3, Eagle Rock; $47,369.

Maria Frennie D. Padua to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 136HF4, Eagle Rock; $6,104.16.

Beatrice David and Timothy K. Bartenge to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 420HF3, Eagle Rock; $4,896.79.

Edgar R. and Alice A. Madarang to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 204HF3, Eagle Rock; $4,988.10.

Miguel and Anne Marie Villa to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 4WSS5, Eagle Rock; $9,334.47.

Miguel and Anne Marie Villa to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 3WSS5, Eagle Rock; $10,986.78.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Maria C. and Joseph P. Feniza; Lot 327WS, Eagle Rock; $42,319.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Michael T. and Kristiine T. Atengo; Lot 137HF4, Eagle Rock; $39,289.

Frackville — Regina L. Roberts to Regina L. Roberts; 220 S. Balliet St.; $1.

Girardville — John and Mary Gillis to Oscar Gazca; 270 W. Ogden St.; $114,900.

Hubley Township — Grace Coleman to Lamar J. and Pamela J. Burkholder; 132 Kushwa Road, Spring Glen; $145,000.

Kline Township — Nationstar Mortgage LLC to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; 13 Bayview Ave., South McAdoo; $1.

North Union Township — Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Chengjun You; Lot 255EA, Eagle Rock; $50,399.

Marie A. Hobson, Brian and Nicole C. Saxon and June M. Gimber to Marie A. Hobson and Nicole C. Saxon to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; 114 Arapahoe Lane, Eagle Rock; $1.

Ann P. Bollmann and David E. Johnson to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 103AW, Eagle Rock; $9,000.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Valery Giscard Mukoko; Lot 103AW, Eagle Rock; $49,389.

Cove Village Association to Scott L. and Jeanette E. Stewart; 542 and 544 Haystack Drive, Zion Grove; $10,000.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Lorna B. and Jopher Ramos; Lot 42AV1, Eagle Rock; $40,299.

Ruth Ndwiga to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 47AWS, Eagle Rock; $4,862.34.

Pine Grove Township — John H. Stahl to First Pennsylvania Resource LLC; 77.319-acre property on Suedberg Road; $306,012.37.

Fulton Bank NA to Ashley M. and Russel E. Holshue; 11 Brown Lane; $197,500.

Porter Township — Richard M. Zurat to Lorraine Rutecky; 60 Spring Road; $125,000.

Pottsville — CACL Federal Credit Union to Richard Miller; 218 Harrison St.; $15,000.

Michelle K. and Ryan C. Ventresca to Michelle K. Lynn; 603 W. Norwegian St.; $1.

Robert J. and Betty L. Sipple to Tammy Boussum, Thomas Boussum and Jason Boussum; 627 N. Seventh St.; $1.

Kathleen McNamara to William D. Sterner; 625 W. Norwegian St.; $1.

Reilly Township — Joshua R. Kriston to Robert E. and Debra A. Kriston; 43 Sport Hill Road, Branchdale; $1.

Ryan Township — Jesse and Danielle Steward to Joshua M. Hughes; 1014 Barnesville Drive, Barnesville; $115,000.

Saint Clair — David K. Plappert to David Wayne Halsey; 438-440 S. Front St.; $2,000.

Schuylkill Haven — James G. Caravan and Carole Jorgensen, co-administrators of the Estate of Arlon T. Bittle, to Kent R. Hatter; 20 Haven St.; $13,000.

Shenandoah — Bertha Pukavage to Carol Pukavage and Robert Pukavage; 400 E. Lloyd St.; $1.

South Manheim Township — Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. to Steven and Julianne Sidleck; 1102 Schuylkill Mountain Road; $200,000.

Tamaqua — Ray J. and Patricia A. Beaver to Curtis and Seandra Williams; 42 Market St.; $72,500.

Christopher D. Motz to Jeffrey Dunkel; 323 Columbia St.; $6,200.

Manuel and Michelle Rosa to Property Management of Pennsylvania Inc.; 11 W. Elm St.; $11,800.

Harold C. Moseley to Borough of Tamaqua; 15 S. Lehigh St.; $25,000.

Lawrence M. and Pamela J. McCullion to Harold C. Moseley; 8 S. Lehigh St.; $16,000.

Tremont — John W.C. Robinson and Florence P. Morgan to John W.C. Robinson and Florence P. Morgan; 44 E. Main St.; $1.

Union Township — Arden E. Anderson and Shannon Christopher Anderson to Arden E. Anderson and Shannon Christopher Anderson; 767 Aristes Road; $1.

Upper Mahantongo Township — Russell L. Blyler Sr. to Linda M. Neiswender and Ann L. Wasilus, trustees of the Russell L. Blyler Sr. Income Only Trust; 31 Municipal Road, Klingerstown; $1.

Washington Township — Harold T. Bachert Jr. to Andrew T. Bachert; 159 Hetzels Church Road; $1.

Lynne Mahon, executrix of the Estate of Doris Y. Mahon, to Lynne Mahon and Shelley Wooldridge; 9 Trout Lane; $1.

Lynne Mahon and Shelley Wooldridge to Jason Bass; 9 Trout Lane; $1.

West Brunswick Township — CTP Realty Inc. to D&R Stables LLC; 5.0143-acre property on Summit Lane; $235,000.

West Penn Township — Lamont W. and Jean M. Frey to Charles and Debra Hosler; 0.252-acre property on Atlas Avenue, South Tamaqua; $1.

ORWIGSBURG — Heath Renninger, principal of Blue Mountain Elementary East and Blue Mountain Elementary West, is leaving the school district to become superintendent of the Pine Grove Area School District.

The Blue Mountain school board voted Thursday to accept his resignation effective Sept. 30. He will start his new position in October.

“This has been a tough decision simply because I love Blue Mountain. It’s like a second home to me,” Renninger said Thursday.

He did not attend the meeting because he was at a special meeting of the Pine Grove Area school board, at which he was hired as superintendent.

He was with the Blue Mountain school district for 13 years and was principal at the schools for 11 years. Renninger said his career goal has always been to be a superintendent.

Blue Mountain Superintendent David Helsel said he will miss Renninger.

“We really appreciate all of the things he has done for the students,” Helsel said.

School board President Anne Usuka said the district regrets that he is leaving but wish him nothing but the best. Helsel said the search has been ongoing for someone to fill that position.

“We would hope to have somebody to appoint at the September (22) board meeting,” Helsel said.

Resumes are still be accepted. Renninger said he submitted his resignation letter Monday.

Renninger said he will start his time as superintendent on Oct. 1 — which is a Saturday — but his first day on the job will be Oct. 3. His contract is from Oct. 1 to June 30, 2020. He will make $117,500 at Pine Grove, Dave Lukasewicz, Pine Grove school board president, said. He made about $90,000 in Blue Mountain.

“I was honored to accept the position of superintendent in Pine Grove, and I look forward to working with staff, students and the community in the very near future. Pine Grove Area should be proud of its many accomplishments over the years. I look forward to helping to continue this tradition of excellence,” Renninger said.

Lukasewicz said Renninger is a good fit for the district.

“We are really looking forward to having him here,” he said Thursday.

Acting Superintendent Terrence Maher will remain in that role until Oct. 1 and will help Renninger with the transition.

Kendy Hinkel was the previous superintendent of the Pine Grove Area School District before her resignation earlier this year.

In other business, the Blue Mountain school board ratified the hiring of:

• Mark Cesari as Blue Mountain Elementary East principal at a prorated salary of $84,000. He started in July and was previously the Blue Mountain Middle School assistant principal. Cesari replaces former principal David Zula.

• Katherine Hubiak as Blue Mountain Elementary East assistant principal at a salary of $57,800. She was previously interim assistant principal.

• Jill Kulbitsky as assistant director of facilities at $35,000. She is replacing Rick Wanamaker, who will be retiring.

• Timothy Gombar as Blue Mountain Middle School assistant principal at a salary of $70,000. He is replacing Cesari. Gombar was a fifth-grade teacher in Tamaqua Area School District at West Penn Elementary.

All positions include benefits.

ASHLAND — Fire damaged three homes, including the home of the borough fire chief, Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters were called to 402 W. Centre St. about 1 p.m. for a report of a mattress fire and found flames shooting from the second floor front windows.

Firefighters from Ashland and surrounding communities, including companies from Northumberland County, responded and managed to contain the fire damage to the house where it started.

Ashland Police Chief Mark O’Hearn said four people lived in that home.

He identified them as Jessica Locke, her 19-year-old son, Bailey Mueller, and her two other children — a 4-year-old and 16-month old.

Although the fire was contained mainly to the Locke home, the fire damaged a home at 400 W. Centre St. and a home at 404-406 W. Centre St., owned and occupied by Ashland Fire Chief Phillip Groody and his wife, Grace.

Ashland Assistant Fire Chief Charles Orth identified the occupants of the home at 400 W. Centre St. as Byrd Wentzel and his family.

Orth said the Locke home sustained extensive fire and heat damage to the front room where the fire is believed to have originated as well as heat damage throughout the second floor and water damage to the first floor.

The 404 W. Centre St. side of the Groody home sustained some fire damage as well as smoke and water damage, Orth said.

The Wentzel home sustained the least amount of damage, only minimal water and smoke damage, the assistant chief said.

O’Hearn said in addition to the three buildings affected by the fire, an apartment building at 408-410 W. Centre St. was evacuated as a precaution.

Orth said that the fire originated in the second floor front room of the Locke home and that state police fire marshal Trooper John Burns of the Frackville station is assisting in determining exactly what sparked the blaze.

All of the occupants of the three homes are temporarily homeless and being assisted by the American Red Cross.

Orth credited the work of volunteers in keeping the bulk of the fire confined to the room in which it started.

“It was a great job by everyone,” he said.

HAMBURG — Fifteen trespassers were told to leave the Kernsville Dam area the same day “no trespassing” signs were posted on the Berks County side of the Schuylkill River.

“We kicked about 15 off the dam,” Tilden Township Police Chief William McEllroy III said Thursday.

After the police left about 1 p.m. and returned an hour later, the police discovered the trespassers. McEllroy gave them a verbal warning and told them if they returned, they would be in trouble.

“They all immediately complied,” McEllroy.

Someone also drove past a wooden barricade to park illegally, passing many “no trespassing” signs. McEllroy said the driver, a 19-year-old from Bridge, New York, whom he declined to name, will be cited by mail for trespassing by a motor vehicle, a summary violation. The fine is $100 plus costs. In both instances, at the dam and the Peace Rock all involved were cooperative.

People were also seen on the beach side in West Brunswick Township. McEllroy said state police in Schuylkill Haven were notified. McEllroy said part of a “no trespassing” sign was also bent that was just installed today.

The area is a frequent place for swimmers to cool off during the spring and summer. All too often, people have been injured, drowned there or more recently left lots of trash in the area.

Three state Department of Environmental Protection workers and McEllroy were at the Kernsville Dam area and the Rock Thursday morning. So far, signs have been posted at the Rock, a pathway to the Rock, and at the dam and other locations. A gate will be installed today to prevent entry to the area except by police, emergency personnel and others authorized to use the area.

“I think it is going to deter people, but I still think you are going to have persons who will disobey the signs,” McEllroy said earlier in the day before the trespassers were discovered.

“They are going to get arrested and if they bring their vehicles, their vehicles are going to get towed,” he said of trespassers who are there starting today.

He said the rope swing was also removed.

A meeting July 29 at the Tilden Township Municipal Building was held with representatives from DEP, state and local law enforcement, the Hamburg Fire Department and others about the problems in the area.

State police in Hamburg patrol the area of the Rock, which is in Tilden Township. The Tilden Township Police Department also patrol the area and McEllroy said his police officers will be patrolling the area on foot.

The state police in Schuylkill Haven patrol the area near the beach in West Brunswick Township. Signs were posted near the yellow gate on the Schuylkill County side Wednesday and on the way to the beach and surrounding area. Neil Shader, DEP spokesman, said Wednesday the area is not open to the public for safety reasons. Motorists who park illegally in the area will be ticketed and towed. The first lot (where the monument for the Kernsville Dam is) is open for parking.

“The state Department of Environmental Protection would like to remind Pennsylvania residents and visitors that the property along the Schuylkill River upstream of the Kernsville Dam to state Route 61 is not a public area and should not be used as such. Use of the property alongside and near the river, including Peace Rock, the dam, the beach area and all adjacent areas, is considered trespassing, except to provide portage around the Kernsville Dam. There are features on the properties at Kernsville Dam that present hazards to unauthorized persons. Boaters are allowed to use the river, aside from the area immediately before and after the dam, in accordance with PA Fish and Boat Commission rules and regulations.”

State Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-124, is glad steps are being taken and is thankful to all involved.

“This has been a long time problem. It’s a problem that needed to be addressed,” Knowles said Thursday.

He said there have been public safety issues, parking concerns, drug and alcohol use and environmental concerns for the area.

“It’s just terrible what is going on back there,” Knowles said.

He thinks the social media exposure of the area contributed to the increasing problem. He does not know exactly why it has taken so long for the problems to be addressed, but said, “Its just gotten out of hand. This situation has gone beyond reason. We just had to step in and do the right thing.”

When told that people were found in the area today, even after the signs were posted, he said he was not surprised.

“I would imagine that people are going to test them (the signs),” he said to see if they will be enforced.

He is confident that law enforcement will do as they see best in attempting to stop people from trespassing.

McEllroy agrees social media contributed to the problems.

“Social media and viral videos showed this place to be some kind of paradise,” he said.

Without going into much detail, Knowles said other actions will be taken in the area. Additional signage will occur.

“They are going to be big,” he said of the large signs that will be installed that will reiterate what the current signs say that were installed Thursday.

Barry Shollenberger, vice president of Blue Mountain Wildlife Inc., was in the area of the dam Thursday. He said they will be installing the gate after DEP asked them to. He said the Bartram Trail is still going to be accessible.

“We’re still going to be here,” he said of the organization that maintains the area. He said it is sad to see the signs posted.

“Abuse it, you lose it. It’s sad that it had to happen,” he said.

A group of young people in a SUV with New Jersey plates came to jump off the cliff after seeing it on YouTube. They were told they could not do so and were turned away.

Paul Shollenberger, 53, of Hamburg, was there to walk his dog. He was told the area past the first lot was off limits.

“This is a great place to come. It’s a shame,” he said.

The annual Parade of Nations and Heritage Day in Shenandoah is serving a special role this year, as it is the final event in the borough’s sesquicentennial celebration.

The parade will step off at 10 a.m. Saturday and 21 nations that make up the borough’s culture will be represented. Heritage Day activities will follow on Main Street with ethnic food vendors, crafters and live music. The event will end in grand fashion with a fireworks show at dusk courtesy of Ateeco Inc., maker of Mrs. T’s Pierogies.

Mary Luscavage, executive director of Downtown Shenandoah Inc., said the activities were moved downtown this year for easier accessibility for the public. Previously, Heritage Day was held in Girard Park.

Luscavage said this year’s grand marshal is Leonard Schumack. Schumack, an attorney, has been active in the community for many years, and he has worked with numerous groups including Rotary, Shenandoah Chamber of Commerce and DSI.

“Everyone knows him,” Luscavage said.

The event is shaping to be one of the biggest, as Luscavage said there are more than 60 vendors scheduled to line the street. She said the setup is similar to the borough’s Kielbasi Festival, a reference for those who attended that event in May.

Musical entertainment includes the Shenandoah All-Star Polka Band, as well as Shaina Graff, The Breaker Boys and Perseverance Jazz Band, among others.

Luscavage said with this event capping the eight-day celebration for the borough’s 150th anniversary, they expect a larger crowd than normal.

“There will be more people because of the end of the events,” she said.

Parking restrictions will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. They are: 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 from 7 a.m. to noon: North Jardin Street from Penn to Cherry streets and West Cherry Street from Main to Jardin streets.

The fireworks display is provided by Bixler Pyrotechnics, Ashland.

It is the 18th year for Heritage Day and 17th for the Parade of Nations.

For the borough’s sesquicentennial, Saturday was named “Heritage and Diversity Day.” In addition to the parade and Heritage Day activities, the Shenandoah Artists’ Exhibit will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. at the former Woolworth building.

For more information, visit DSI’s website at www.downtownshenandoah.com.