Christina E. Hale

FRACKVILLE - A Conyngham charged with a theft and sale of stolen jewelry between Aug. 26 and Sept. 10 waived his right to a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Christina E. Hale.

Joshua T. Llewellyn, 24, who has no permanent address but a prior address of 216 Main St., Box 473, was arrested by Frackville police Patrolman Christopher Hand and charged with four counts each of theft, receiving stolen property and theft by deception.

By waiving his right to a hearing, Llewellyn will have to answer to all of the charges against him in Schuylkill County Court.

Hand said Llewellyn was staying with a woman in Frackville when he took pieces off jewelry and sold them to Cash for Gold at the Schuylkill Mall.

It was determined that Llewellyn made four transactions at the store, receiving a total of $80 for stolen items including earrings, pendants, chains and several other silver items.

In an unrelated case, Llewellyn had a charge of burglary withdrawn and waived charges of criminal trespass, theft, receiving stolen property, theft by deception and criminal mischief for court.

Other court cases included:

Sylvia G. Weber, 40, of 2649 Melanie Manor, Ringtown - withdrawn: DUI-high rate. Waived for court: DUI.

Belinda J. Simons, 36, of 124 W. Arch St., Frackville - withdrawn: simple assault and harassment.

Constance E. Delowery, 49, of Granny's Motel, Room 13, Coal Street, Frackville - withdrawn: possession of drug paraphernalia.

Derek A. Davidson, 29, of 133 N. White St., Apt. 3, Shenandoah - withdrawn: theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

Michael J. Walentukonis, 19, of 929 Garden St., Bristol - withdrawn: fleeing or attempting to elude police. Waived for court: DUI, DUI-minor, driving without a license, duties at a stop sign, periods for requiring lighted lamps, minors prohibited from operating a vehicle with alcohol in their system and purchase of alcohol by a minor.

Krystle M. St. Jock, no age available, of 622 Fountain St., Ashland - withdrawn: simple assault and harassment.

John P. Reese, 30, of 622 Fountain St., Ashland - withdrawn: simple assault and harassment.

Joseph S. Horan Jr., 32, of 45 Whites Lane, Ashland - withdrawn: burglary. Waived for court: criminal trespass and theft.

Charles Glassmeyer, 49, of 625 E. Mahanoy Ave., Girardville - waived for court: habitual offenders, having a blood alcohol level of 0.02-percent or higher-3rd offense and driving without a license.

Cody Lerch, 22, of 14 S. 10th St., Ashland - withdrawn: possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance. Waived for court: possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

n Girardville: There will be no curbside recycling in January, February and March, borough officials said in a release. Dumpsters will be available for drop-off recycling only. Recyclables must be placed in the correct sections of the dumpsters. Glass and cans must be removed from plastic bags before being placed in the dumpsters, according to the release. Curbside recycling will resume in Apri.

n McAdoo: Borough officials are advising property owners that 2014 garbage billing invoices have been sent. Anyone who has not received the bill should call 570-929-1182. Officials also reminded residents that when the snow parking ban is in effect, parking is allowed on the odd side of the street. The ban ordinance is in effect through April 30.

n Pine Grove: An American Red Cross blood drive is scheduled for 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Pine Grove Ambulance headquarters, Spruce Street. People can donate blood by calling 800-733-2767 or visiting redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver's license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. People who are 17 or older, weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood.

n Pine Grove: A Fire and Ice Winter Fest is slated for 2 to 6 p.m. Jan. 26 at the clubhouse in Sweet Arrow Lake County Park. It will include firing up hot dogs and marshmallows over an open campfire, singing campfire songs and playing miniture ice golf. There will be a hot chocolate booth, a fire hot chili cook-off and a homemade ice cream demonstration and sampling. Advance registration is required to participate in the competition. To register, call Susan at 570-624-3018. Admission is free but there will small fees for some activities. The program is open to the public and recommended for all ages.

n Pottsville: Auditions for the youth musical show "Movie Magic" will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Jan. 27 and 29 at the Sovereign Majestic Theater, North Centre Street. Those wishing to audition need to attend on just one of the days. The show will feature medley's from several movies including "Shrek," "Cinderella," "Grease" and "Muppets." The auditions are open to girls and boys of all ages, kindergarten through college. People should come prepared with a song from a movie to sing a capella. No prior experience is required. The actual show is set to be presented at 3 p.m. April 27. Advance registration is advised. To obtain registration information, email schmusicevent@com-cast.net.

n Schuylkill Haven: Schuylkill Women in Business will gather at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday for networking and a lunchon at Penn State Schuylkill, 200 University Drive. The luncheon, catered by Carmelo's Roman Delight, will be served at noon. Anne Curry and Amie Tobash, Sovereign Majestic Theater Association, will present Women Empowerment. The cost is $20 for Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce members and $25 for nonmembers. To register, call the chamber office at 570-622-1942 or, toll-free, 800-755-1942.

n Tamaqua: An American Red Cross blood drive is scheduled for 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at St. John's United Church of Christ, Pine and Biddle streets. People can donate blood by calling 800-733-2767 or visiting redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver's license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. People who are 17 or older, weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood.

MINERSVILLE - Borough police conducted speed testing in the borough this past week, paying special attention to Sixth and Sunbury streets.

Police set up an electronic nonradar device near the intersection, as well as other places in the borough, to monitor driving speeds. The speeds can then be read from a device inside an unmarked police vehicle, and an officer can issue citations to those not obeying the posted limits.

Minersville police Chief Michael Combs said that he and his officers monitored the intersection at Sixth and Sunbury streets for 3 1/2 hours Thursday, when people were making their morning commute.

While several hundred vehicles went through, there were only 11 citations given out from that area, 10 were speeding tickets and one was for driving without a license.

"We sat there for 3 1/2 hours and no one ran the red light," Combs said.

The average speed of those who violated the speed limit was about 38 mph, when the posted limit is 25 mph coming into the borough.

The intersection has been a topic of interest at recent borough council meetings, with many residents asking if there is something that can be done to change the light or if more police can monitor there.

Budd Frankenfield, 591 Sunbury St., has complained that many cars and trucks drive too fast through the intersection at Sixth and Sunbury streets when coming down the hill and ignore the light when it is red.

Frankenfield also brought the issue to the council's attention at the May meeting, when he said that he sits on his front porch at night and the average number of vehicles, both cars and trucks, running the red light in a two hour period is 26 vehicles.

According to meeting minutes from the borough website, Frankenfield has been noted complaining about the light since July 2010.

According to newspaper archives, Combs previously said that the light is different than all the other lights on Sunbury Street and was installed at some point during the mid-1950s.

The state Department of Transportation has told the borough that the light isn't needed there, so the borough took ownership of it.

About two years ago, Combs began to look into the traffic light but found out it would be expensive if the borough would modify it, possibly $70,000 or more due to all the work needed to change it.

Combs has assigned officers to that area while on duty, bringing in part-time officers, and had conducted speed timing for several days in June, which resulted in 16 citations issued.

Patrolman Jeffrey Bowers said that with the larger vehicles, they may appear to be traveling faster than they actually are.

Bowers had a borough street department worker watch and guess the speed of some vehicles and his guesses were much higher than what the device read.

Borough police also monitored another section of the borough that was of interest at Seltzer Road and Gallo Row.

During the speed testing, police found that there were few vehicles driving the speed limit, 25 mph, when coming into Minersville from Seltzer and average speeds were between 40 and 60 mph.

"The reason we're doing this is not to give tickets but to get people to comply with the speed limit," Combs said.

Combs also said that they wanted to thank Butler Township for allowing the borough to use their equipment for the timing.

Home Instead Senior Care is searching for Pennsylvania's most outstanding senior volunteer.

The company announced an oppurtunity for seniors who volunteer to be recognized for their efforts through the Salute to Senior Service program.

Sponsored by Home Instead Inc., the franchisor of the Home Instead Senior Care network, Salute to Senior Service recognizes the contributions of adults 65 years and older who give at least 15 hours a month of volunteer service to their favorite causes.

"Seniors have so much to give and make a positive impact on our communities daily," Scott Bohner, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care office serving Schuylkill County, said. "Senior volunteerism not only benefits others, but also helps seniors stay active and socially engaged in their communities, important elements of healthy aging."

The community is being asked to nominate and vote for these "heroes" between Jan. 15 and March 1 at www.SalutetoSeniorService.com.

State winners will be determined by popular vote, then a panel of senior care experts will select a national winner from the state honorees.

Home Instead will donate $500 to each of the state winners' designated and approved nonprofit organizations, and their stories will be shared online, plus $5,000 will be donated to the national winner's designated and approved nonprofit charity.

To submit an online nomination or to view the contest's official rules, visit www.SalutetoSeniorService.com.

Completed nomination forms can also be mailed to Salute to Senior Service, P.O. Box 285, Bellevue, NE 68005.

For more information about Salute to Senior Service or the Home Instead Senior Care network's services, call 570-581-8692.

Deeds

Barry Township - Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to CACL Federal Credit Union; 114 Weishample Road; $1,096.73.

Delano Township - John T. and Ida M. Fowler to Ida M. Fowler; 203 Railroad St., Delano; $1.

Mahanoy City - Timothy J. White to Nelvin E. Guillen and Ruth Esther Rivera De-Guillen; 901 E. Pine St.; $14,000.

Tax Claim Bureau of Schuylkill County to Francis DeVizia; 521 W. Centre St.; $1,000.

McAdoo - Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to Midfirst Bank; 684-686 S. Kennedy Drive; $2,041.43.

Minersville - Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to Susquehanna Bank; 436 S. Laurel St.; $1,069.65.

North Union Township - Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to Springleaf Financial Services of Pa. Inc.; property on State Route 1005, Zion Grove; $1,322.89.

Orwigsburg - Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to U.S. Bank NA; 419 E. Mifflin St.; $916.03.

Palo Alto - Nicholas A. Molek to Lynne E. Dutcher; property on Penn Street; $1.

Port Carbon - Michael and Tamela Wytovich to Ryan E. and Brittany L. Malone; 13 S. Coal St.; $67,000.

Pottsville - Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to CACL Federal Credit Union; 900 Laurel St.; $909.60.

Francis Joseph Kennedy to Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.; 1800 Elk Ave.; $1.

Geraldine J. Womer to Jacqueline Sherry and James Womer Jr.; 1928 West End Ave.; $1.

Frances D. Weiss to Josh M. and Anastasia J. Barnhardt; 1130 Oak Terrace Road; $193,500.

Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to Susquehanna Bank; 731 W. Race St.; $974.65.

Schuylkill Haven - Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to Wells Fargo Bank NA; 12 Dewey St.; $934.80.

South Manheim Township - Shung S. and Yu Gi Choong, by attorney in fact Fred J. Boote, to Leon F. and Rosemary A. Bascelli; Lot 1729, Lake Wynonah; $7,000.

Union Township - Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to Federal National Mortgage Association; 276 Trout Run Road; $989.10.

Wayne Township - Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to Wells Fargo Bank NA; 1310 Running Deer Drive, Lake Wynonah; $1,271.52.

West Brunswick Township - Eitel Presses Inc. to MAE-Eitel Inc.; 97 Pinedale Industrial Road; $2 million.

Susquehanna Bank to Susquehanna Orwigsburg PA Landlord LLC; 1.251-acre property on Route 61; $843,417.24.

Cheer honor

North Schuylkill High School student Sierra Wagner was one of more than 500 U.S. high school cheerleaders and dancers who performed in the world famous London New Year's Day Parade. The trip was from Dec. 26 through Jan. 2.

Sierra was selected as an All American at a Varsity summer cheer camp. Only the top 12 percent of cheerleaders who attend the camps earn the chance to march in the parade and are selected to try out based on superior cheerleading skills.

Sierra is a daughter of Stephen and Tami Wagner, Ashland, and a granddaughter of Ken and Dolores Wagner, Darlene Masser and Anthony Novitsky.

Penn State

Norm Spotts III, Lake Wynonah, was named to the dean's list for the fall semester, having earned a 4.0 GPA in the Eberly Science College at Penn State University, University Park campus.

Norm is a son of Norman Spotts Jr. and Deborah Spotts and a grandson of Norman Spotts Sr. and Betty Spotts, Pottsville, and Robert Piacine, Palo Alto, and a 2011 graduate of Blue Mountain High School.

Kristen Kufro, a senior communications major at Penn State University, Capitol Campus, Harrisburg, was named to the dean's list for the fall semester.

A 2010 graduate of Shenandoah Valley High School, she is a daughter of Gary and Karen Kufro, Shenandoah Heights, and a granddaughter of Raymond and Dorothy Karpovich, Shenandoah.

Samantha Burkey, an undeclared freshman, was named to the dean's list at Penn State Schuylkill campus with a 3.54 GPA for the fall semester.

She is a 2013 graduate of Tri-Valley High School and a daughter of Lori and Jim Sulouff, Hegins, and Thomas Burkey, Valley View.

Rutgers

Nicholas Spotts, Lake Wynonah, was named to the dean's list for the fall semester in the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, N.J.

Nick is a son of Norman Spotts Jr. and Deborah Spotts and a grandson of Norman Spotts Sr. and Betty Spotts, Pottsville, and Robert Piacine, Palo Alto. He is a 2012 graduate of Blue Mountain High School.

Millersville

Max Shirey, a senior majoring in multi-disciplinary studies in education, was named to the dean's list for the fall semester at Millersville University.

Max is a son of Thomas and Tina Shirey, Pottsville.

Clarion

Danielle Savitsky, Frackville, was named to the dean's list with a 3.60 GPA at Clarion University for the fall semester. She is a sophomore in the Clarion University Honors Program working toward a master's degree in speech language pathology.

A 2012 graduate of Nativity BVM High School, she is a daughter of Robert and Asseneth Savitsky, Frackville.

Lebanon Valley

Eric J. Leymeister, Pottsville, was named to the dean's list at Lebanon Valley College, Annville, for academic achievement during the fall semester with a 3.94 GPA. He is pursuing a bachelor's degree in early childhood education and special education.

He is a graduate of Pottsville Area High School.

Widener

Cassandra E. Miller, Pottsville, a freshman majoring in bio-medical engineering at Widener University, Chester, made dean's list with a 3.8 GPA for the fall semester.

She is a daughter of Adrian Miller and Steve and Maureen Moyer, all of Pottsville.

Luzerne

Ian Mistishen, a culinary arts major at Luzerne County Community College at the Joseph A. Paglianite Culinary Institute, Nanticoke, has attained a 4.0 average for the fall semester.

A 2011 graduate of Mahanoy Area High School, he is a son of Michael and Anne Ma-rie Mistishen, Barnesville.

Alvernia

Kyrsten Runkle, a freshman majoring in occupational therapy with a minor in Spanish, received academic honors at Alvernia University, Reading, by making the dean's list for the fall semester.

She is a daughter of Scott and Melissa Runkle, Ashland.

Towson

Lynn Davies was named to the dean's list with a 4.0 GPA for the fall semester at Towson University, Towson, Md. She is in her last year of a five-year master's program in occupational therapy.

A 2009 graduate of Tamaqua Area High School, she is a daughter of Jon and Debbie Davies, Tuscarora, and a granddaughter of Betty Davies and Gwen Evans, Tamaqua.

Shippensburg

Samantha Kemmerling, Pine Grove, was named to the dean's list for the fall semester at Shippensburg University. She is majoring in middle level education with concentrations in science and language arts.

A daughter of Michael and Kori Kemmerling, Samantha is a 2010 graduate of Pine Grove Area High School.

Pittsburgh

Joseph W. Dietrich, a physical therapy major at the University of Pittsburgh, made the dean's list for the fall semester.

A Tri-Valley High School graduate, he is a son of Mark and Diane Dietrich, Hegins.

West Chester

Elliot Beadle, Pottsville, a nutrition major at West Chester University, was named to the dean's list for the fall semester with a 4.0 GPA.

He is a son of Patti Beadle and the late Jack Beadle, and grandson of Pat Trabosh.

Alyssa C. Starr, a sophomore nursing major at West Chester University, was named to the dean's list for the fall semester with a 3.8 GPA.

A 2012 graduate of Blue Mountain High School, she is a daughter of Allen and Colleen Starr, Orwigsburg, and a granddaughter of Florence Starr, Cressona, and Eileen Neifert, New Philadelphia.

Elizabethtown

Holly A. Sofka, a first-year student majoring in biochemistry at Elizabethtown College, made the dean's list for the fall semester with a 4.0 GPA.

Holly is a daughter of Joseph and Michele Sofka, Barnesville, and a 2013 graduate of Mahanoy Area High School.

Bloomsburg

Corrine Reichert, a sen-ior majoring in speech path-ology major, made the dean's list for the fall semester with a 4.0 GPA at Bloomsburg University.

She is a daughter of Trevor and Brenda Reichert, Pine Grove, and a 2010 graduate of Pine Grove Area High School.

John Szczyglak III, a sophomore criminal justice major at Bloomsburg University, made the dean's list with a 3.9 GPA for the fall semester.

A 2012 graduate of Shenandoah Valley High School, he is a son of John and Barbara Szczyglak, Shenandoah, and a grandson of Rose Szczyglak and Joanne Lesko, both of Shendandoah.

Misericordia

The following students at Misericordia University, Dallas, Luzerne County, qualified for the dean's list with a 3.55 grade-point average or higher for the fall semester:

Nicole Bechtel and Molly Betz, both of Tamaqua; Julia Callavini, McAdoo; Nora Chan, Auburn; Alana Clarke, Ringtown; Peter Conforti, Andreas; Jennifer Divirgilio, Zion Grove; Courtney Gregas, Girardville; Nicholas Hair, Pottsville; Kayla Hope, Tamaqua; Tina Hutchison, McAdoo; Brittany Lohr, Hegins; Alyssa Machey, Amanda Machey and Alison Machey, all of McAdoo; Lauren Malick, Ringtown; Allison McIntyre, Ashland; Jacqueline McMullen, Tamaqua; Shauna Quirk, Frackville; Shelly Rex, Andreas; Marybeth Rissinger, Pottsville; Alexandra Schuller, Friedensburg; Steven Spancake, Pine Grove; Jenna Strubhar, Tremont; Alexandra Wagner, Tamaqua; Joseph Winter, Pottsville; Erica Yenchick, Nuremberg; Alexa Yoder, Orwigsburg; Erin Zeigler, New Ringgold; Kendall Cooper, Nicole Rhody, and Yvonne Staller, all of Schuylkill Haven.

Lebanon Valley

Lebanon Valley College, Annville, selected 52 upper-class students to serve as peer mentors to assist first-year students in their transition to college. The Peer Mentor Program begins during orientation and continues throughout the first semester.

The local residents who were selected to serve as peer mentors include: Cody Kelly, Minersville, a music and music education major and a graduate of Minersville Area High School; Julian Gerace, Tamaqua, a music recording technology major and a graduate of Tamaqua Area High School; Tori Stramara, Pottsville, a health science major and a graduate of Blue Mountain High School.

Navy promotion

Lee A. Wehr Jr., a 2000 graduate of Mahanoy Area High School, was recently promoted to petty officer first class.

As a newly promoted E6, Wehr stood out on top as the No. 1 Navy E6 assigned to the directorate during the annual evaluation cycle, scoring the coveted "Early Promote" achievement.

Wehr is assigned to the Directorate for Intelligence, Joint Chiefs of Staff, J2, Pentagon.

Wehr is a son of Lee A. Sr. and Dorothy Wehr, Barnesville, and a grandson of Muriel Wehr, Grier City.

He is married to the former Charla Fuls, Kunkletown.

Twenty-nine second- and third-grade girls from all over Schuylkill County took to the stage at Boscov's auditorium Saturday to show off their interests, hopes and dreams during the Snowdrop Fashion Show.

The show was part of the 47th annual Greater Pottsville Winter Carnival and was hosted by 2009 Snowflake Princess Brooke Lewandowski, who said it was her fifth year doing so.

Assisting Lewandowski onstage was 2013 Winter Carnival Snowflake Princess Devan Direnzo and 2013 Winter Carnival Snowdrop Princess Helena Fredericks.

Lewandowski said that this year's theme was "Once upon a time."

Contestants wore a wide range of outfits from mimicking their favorite Disney princess to those that showed off their personal style and interests.

Emilee Clews, 8, of Saint Clair, took the audience "under the sea" with her Ariel the mermaid outfit.

Besides telling Lewandowski that Ariel was her favorite Disney princess, Clews said that she likes to play basketball, hangout with friends and cheerleading.

Ava Marie Frantz, 8, of West West Terrace, dressed in a pink dress and wore different masks because she loves the theater and music.

Frantz acts, dances and sings at the Sovereign Majestic Theater in Pottsville and plays the piano and guitar.

When introducing her, Direnzo said that Frantz was distraught when she heard that the arts may be eliminated from some schools and that she prepared for battle in her armor, her pink dress.

"We must be tough and insist that the arts in Schuylkill County are appreciated for children young and old," Frantz said. "You see, you don't need to be rescued by a prince in order to have the ever after. A true princess would use the power of her voice to make her own once upon a time story ending."

Emily Lascala, 8, of Pottsville, dressed as a cowgirl in a pink dress, cowboy boots and a hat.

She said that her favorite singer is Carrie Underwood because she has a good voice and Lascala recently got to see her in concert.

Lascala also is learning to country line dance.

"It's fun to do it with my family," she said.

Other outfits included a Snow White costume, a zebra striped and pink, blue and green tutu, Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" and "Oz the Great and Powerful," and Theodora, eventually known as the Wicked Witch of the West, from "Oz the Great and Powerful."

The next Winter Carnival event will be the fashion show for the Queen contestants at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at Mountain Valley Golf Course, Barnesville.

FRACKVILLE - Many talented boys and girls will display their singing talents this week in center court at the Schuylkill Mall.

Schuylkill County Junior Idol VI will be held on the next four Tuesdays. The competition is starting two weeks earlier this year in order to not conflict with another activity, according to Dana Baker, mall marketing director.

"The reason we made that change is that since the very first Junior Idol, we've had parents and contestants tell us that many of the contestants are also in the Schuylkill County Chorus," Baker said. "They told me that the chorus normally practices on Tuesdays, the same night as Idol. Because of the conflict with the dates, some have to decide whether to commit to Junior Idol or the chorus. We thought that we may be missing out on some very talented singers who can't commit to our dates. That's why we decided to go from mid-January to mid-February. Obviously, we don't want the contestants to miss out on all the opportunities in the area. I think we're going to see some new ones that we haven't seen in previous years."

Registration is open until 5 p.m. today. The performances will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Before the competition begins, the audience will enjoy a performance by Kane Heffron, Minersville, the winner of the 2013 Junior Idol contest.

"Kane will open the show on the 21st, and I'm working on getting the other winners back," Baker said.

The competition is open to county residents ages 6 to 15. The first round will result in 10 performers moving on to the Jan. 28 contest. The top six will then be selected to perform on Feb. 4, followed by the top three on Feb. 11, when the winner will be announced.

The three judges will be Allison Stella, who is a previous judge, and two new judges, Allison Kline and Glen Roberts. The judges will score each contestant on a scale of 1 to 10 in four categories: stage presence, technical ability, showmanship and overall performance. Judges' scores will be tallied and the contestants with the highest overall scores will advance to the next round.

The first prize winner will receive a $1,000 mall certificate, a makeover courtesy of Beverly Carlton Salon, a $100 gift certificate from Bon-Ton and a professional studio photo shoot courtesy of Michael's Photography, Frackville.

Baker said the winner will also perform at the Schuylkill County Fair in August.

The sponsors are Pepsi, a main sponsor since the beginning of Junior Idol, and Frackville Rotary Club.

For more information on Junior Idol rules and registration, go to www.shopschuylkillmall.com/2013_jr_idol.

MINERSVILLE - The county's first electronic collection of the year encouraged many to drop off their unwanted technology, but the company collecting the items never showed up.

The electronic drop-off was scheduled to be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Minersville Compost Center on North Delaware Avenue.

While all electronics with a plug were accepted, the county had said that there would be a charge for TVs, either $10 or $20 depending on the size, and $15 for items with Freon.

Advanced Green Solutions, Walnutport, was supposed to be collecting the items but never showed up to the drop-off site.

Jeff Enders, Minersville borough street supervisor, who stopped by the drop-off site, said that he just told the people to leave the items at the site.

He contacted the county, which will take care of the items left, although no one was there to collect money for the disposal of the items.

Schuylkill Keep It Pretty organized the recycling event.

Lee Raring, Schuylkill County Solid Waste and Recycling coordinator, could not be reached for comment.

Among the items left at the site were TVs, stereos and air conditioners.

There will be another drop-off from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 19 at the wastewater treatment facility in Ashland.

TREMONT - Schuylkill County Crime Stoppers and state police at Schuylkill Haven are asking for the public's help in finding those responsible for a theft in Tremont Township.

Police said incident occurred sometime between 9 a.m. Dec. 29 and 8 a.m. Jan. 1 at 210 Tremont Road.

Police said someone entered a metal shed owned by Brenda Moyer and then removed two tool boxes full of tools owned by Thomas Zerbe, Tremont. One tool box was a large black Craftsman rolling tool box with slide-out drawers and the other was a smaller, red Craftsman toolbox, also with slide-out drawers.

Sometime later, police said the suspect forced their way into a wooden shed behind the metal shed and stole a Dell desktop computer, a computer monitor and an amplified stereo speaker for an electric guitar owned by Zerbe and Herbert Zerbe Jr.

Schuylkill County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information on the identity of those responsible for these crimes or on any other unsolved crime in Schuylkill County.

Callers are asked to refer to incident 01-19-14 when calling with information about the thefts in Tremont Township.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 877-TIPS4SC (877-847-7472).

Those with information can also call state police at Schuylkill Haven directly at 570-739-1100.

All information received will remain confidential.

Did you ever wonder if there was any resale value associated with those collectibles objects from your favorite TV shows? TV collectibles are flooding the market.

Autographed photos of the stars of classic sitcoms like studio shots of Jerry Seinfeld, Michael J. Fox and Charlie Sheen hold their value long after their popular prime time show is off the air. Some of these coveted collectibles, like autographed photos, command good money in good condition.

Established TV brands

Established network TV shows promote shows to their national network affiliates using unique collectible objects - like "American Idol" Keurig coffeemakers with Randy Jackson K-cups and Ryan Seacrest non-dairy creamer, Jack Bauer action figures from the series "24" and red rubber dodge balls from gym class on "Glee." Dedicated TV viewers hoard these collectibles in the hopes of amassing rare objects, or down the line, reselling them once the shows are broadcast in syndication in years to come. Embarking upon its 13th season, American Idol collectibles are the TV items that I would be amassing for long-term value.

TV shows that are living on other networks along the cable and satellite TV landscape have related collectibles that are collected with vigor. For instance, a bottle of orange pop ("soda" for non-midwesterners) from the Formans' basement on "That 70s Show" is not easy to find these days. Street value for this Wisconsin-based throwback TV sit-com collectible is $25.

Long-running TV shows continue on in syndication forever. Even as times and trends change in American culture, some shows have staying power late at night.

Ultra-popular "Friends" debuted while we were all still brewing drip coffee and just as the Starbucks craze went into high gear. As such, a collectible "Friends" instant coffee tin (worth $75) with the famous cast on the label dates back to the era when a spoonful of international flavored coffee was a treat during an afternoon of relaxing TV viewing.

Cashing in

Remember the promotional items are not to be confused with actual props that are used during the filming of these classic shows and new TV shows. Actual props used in famous TV episodes command big bucks with collectors and are more difficult to acquire, too.

(Dr. Lori Verderame hosts antiques appraisal events worldwide. Bring an antique for a free appraisal at Suburban Home and Garden Show in Oaks Feb. 21 through 23. Dr. Lori is the star appraiser on Discovery channel. Visit www.DrLoriV.com, www.Facebook.com/DoctorLori, Lori Verderame on Google+ or @DrLori on Twitter.)

n Ashland: Overeaters Anonymous meetings are held from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 35 N. Ninth St., rear entrance.

n Lansford: The Panther Valley Golden Agers recognized members who celebrated birthdays in September through December during a recent meeting at St. John Slovak Lutheran Church, 1 E. Abbott St. Participants also enjoyed playing bingo. The group's next meeting is set for Jan. 27, weather permitting.

n Locust Gap: Indoor yard sales are held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at 110 Church St. to benefit the God's Chuck Wagon soup kitchen. The mobile soup kitchen operates from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Fourth and Oak streets, Mount Carmel, and 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays in front of the WIC offices, Independence Street, Shamokin.

n Hometown: The Hometown Fire Company, Route 54, sponsors all-you-can-eat breakfasts from 8 a.m. to noon the fourth Sunday of the month in the firehouse. Patrons may eat in or take food out. Proceeds benefit the fire company. Everyone is welcome.

n McAdoo: The Tri-County Little League will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday at The Strand. All coaches, volunteers or anyone interested should attend to discuss the 2014 baseball season. It will also be a reorganizational meeting.

n Pottsville: Schuylkill Veterinary Hospital is sponsoring a toy/treat drive throughout January for military working dogs. The program, according to an SVH release, is called "Happy New Woof" and the effort is to collect treats, toys or money to buy such items. Military working dogs "provide invaluable service for the men and women in the armed forces," according to the release. People wishing to donate may stop at the hospital, which will ship the items at the end of the month. Examples of useful items include Kong toys, tug toys, various small treats, flat buckle collars, six-foot leashes, pill pockets and collapsible water bows. SVH is located at 1170 Route 61 South. For more information, call 570-622-1098.

n Shenandoah: With an eye toward raising needed funds, the Shenandoah Area Free Public Library collects Redner's Warehouse Markets tapes and has Boyer's Food Markets key tags. Tags can be picked up at the library. The library also accepts memorial and honor donations for friends or loved ones. For more information, call the library at 570-462-9829.

n Tamaqua: The Tamaqua Area School District is accepting assessed occupation tax exemption applications for the 2014-15 academic year. According to a district release, retired people and housewives with no earned income who have previously filed and application and have been approved for exemption need not file again unless their status has changed and they now have earned income. People who are disabled or who are 75 and have been notified by the district that they are exempt also do not have to file an application. Students who have turned 18 as of June 30, 2013, are responsible for the taxes unless they are exempted by application. Requests for exemption from the assessed occupation tax are due no later than March 1. Application forms are available at the school district administration building, tax collectors' offices, Tamaqua Borough Hall, the Tamaqua Public Library and at all local post offices and banks. For more information, call the district at 570-668-2570.

n Tamaqua: Xi Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society, an international organization of women educators, is offering a $500 educational scholarship to one qualified woman in Schuylkill County. Scholarship applicants must be female with a primary residence in Schuylkill County, currently enrolled in college with a major in education and must have competed at least one year of college with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. For more information, contact Stephanie Kaye via email at srkaye@verizon.net or call 570-929-1012 or 570-778-6956. The deadline for applications is Feb. 28.

Deeds

Ashland - Lynn Ryan-Frick, executrix under the Will of Robert J. Frick, to George Atiyeh; 603 Walnut St.; $4,500.

Butler Township - Bayram Senturk to Afrodlta Ukaj; 3 Nater St.; $4,000.

Cressona - Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to The Bank of New York Mellon; 45 Zerbe St.; $1,181.50.

East Brunswick Township - Davison D. Miller, Jeffrey A. Miller and Glenn W. Miller to DMS Investment Properties Ltd.; 116 Ridge Road; $1.

East Union Township - Suchart and Kritsapol Numhom to Eagle Rock Resort Co.; Lot 330HF4, Eagle Rock; $2,392.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Lourdes C. Go and Nasser T. Jukuy; Lot 403ER, Eagle Rock; $33,229.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Reena Thomas; Lot 5HF3, Eagle Rock; $36,259.

Eagle Rock Resort Co. to Cheng W. and Jimmy J. Zheng; Lot 9HF3, Eagle Rock; $37,370.

Domination is the best way to describe the role of Orion the Hunter in the winter heavens. Out of the nearly seventy constellations we can see over the course of the year, it's the big guy, the godfather. I know you've seen it even if you didn't know what you were looking at. In fact, it's probably the most recognized constellation in the sky.

If you were to walk down the street and randomly ask somebody to name a constellation, chances are, they'll pretend not to hear you, or give you "the look." If they do acknowledge you, they'll probably say the Big Dipper. The problem is that the Big Dipper is technically not a constellation. It's actually the tail and the derriere of the constellation Ursa Major, otherwise known as the Big Bear.

A few folks might mention Orion as a constellation, and for sure that is a complete constellation. Even if you haven't paid all that much attention to the winter night sky, I know you've seen Orion. At first glance, it reminds you of an hourglass with the neck made up of a short straight line of three bright stars.

According to Greek and Roman mythology, the three stars in a row make up the belt of the hermit hunter and the hourglass is the outline of Orion's torso. This time of year my favorite constellation, my celestial buddy, starts out in the southeastern sky after evening twilight and stalks his way westward through the rest of the night. By around 4 a.m., Orion slips below the western horizon. It's appropriate that we see Orion during most of these long winter nights because, according to mythology, he was a half-god, half-mortal who slept by day and hunted by night. I'll have more on the legend of Orion in next week's Starwatch column.

Astronomically, Orion is legendary because of its numerous celestial treasures. It's the home of many bright stars, star clusters and nebula. Its hallmark is that perfect line of three stars in a diagonal row that make up the hunter's belt. Nowhere else in the sky will you find anything like it. From the lower left the stars are Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka.

What's amazing is that while these stars are so perfectly lined up, they physically have nothing to do with each other; in fact, they're nowhere near each other. By an incredible astronomical coincidence they just happen to be in the same line of sight. Alnitak is 800 light-years from Earth. Alnilam is about 1,300 light years away, and Mintaka is nearly 690 light years away from our cold backyards.

They are physically different from each other also. Alnitak and Mintaka are actually both multiple star systems; Mintaka is made up of at least five stars revolving around each other.

Orion's brightest star, Rigel, resides on the hunter's left knee and is a bright blue giant star more than 770 light-years away. It's believed to be a very young star, possibly only ten million years old or so. Our own sun is thought to have been around for about six billion years. It's much larger and more powerful than our home star, almost 100 times larger than our sun and possibly more than a hundred thousand times as luminous.

The second brightest star has one of the best star names in the sky, Betelgeuse, pronounced by most as "beetle juice." It shines in Orion's armpit. In fact, Betelgeuse is an Arabic name which means "armpit of the mighty one." Even with the naked eye, you can see Betelgeuse is a red giant star. It's actually a giant among giants, possibly more than a billion miles in diameter. It's the biggest single thing you can see from Earth with the naked eye.

Betelgeuse is also nearing the end of its life. Sometime in the next million years, Betelgeuse will explode in a tremendous supernova explosion. Here on the Earth, just over 600 light-years away, we'll be almost close enough to get some of the cosmic fallout. Just what we need, something more to worry about.

While Betelgeuse may be dying, there's also new life in Orion. Look below Orion's belt for the three fainter stars that outline the hunter's sword. You can't help but notice that the middle star in the sword is fuzzy. That's because it's not a star but a nebulae, a 30 light-year wide cloud of hydrogen gas and dust almost 1,500 light-years away. It's more than 20 times the diameter of our solar system, and within it, before our very eyes, stars are being born. It's a stellar cosmic womb and nursery.

All through our own galaxy and millions of other galaxies in our universe, stars form out of hydrogen nebulae. Because of gravity, globules of hydrogen begin to collapse, which creates compression. If it's massive enough, heat due to the compression will fire up nuclear fusion and presto, you have a star, shining brightly for billions of years. Nebula, depending on their size, can produce hundreds and hundreds of stars. The Orion Nebulae is so big it could produce more than 10,000 new stars.

Using even a small telescope, maybe one you got for Christmas, you can see four new stars that have formed in the great nebulae of Orion. It's called the Trapezium since the four stars are arranged in a tiny trapezoid-baseball diamond shape. These stars may be only 300,000 years old and are showing signs of developing new solar systems. In fact, it's debated that one of the stars may be less than 50,000 years old. There's a lot going on in that fuzzy little star below Orion's belt.

There are a lot of other celestial treasures in Orion like the Horse Head Nebula and the Running Man Nebula that require large telescopes and diligence to see, but they are well worth the effort.

Next week, I'll tell you the story of Orion, the magnificent heavenly hunter.

Celestial hug

In the early morning southern sky, just before morning twilight, look for the last quarter moon to pass by the bright planet Mars and the bright star Spica. The moon will be closest to Mars Tuesday morning. Enjoy the hugging, early morning risers.

(Lynch is an amateur astronomer and author of the book, "Stars, a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations." Contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net or go to https://www.facebook.com/mike.lynch.12327.)

A Pottsville woman will serve time behind state prison bars after being sentenced Friday in Schuylkill County Court.

Rina M. Sementilli, 33, must spend two years in the state intermediate punishment program, which combines confinement in a state correctional institution with treatment for substance abuse problems, Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin ruled.

Dolbin also sentenced Sementilli to pay costs and $4,600 restitution.

"Good luck to you," Dolbin told Sementilli. "I hope you make it. This is a good opportunity for you."

Sementilli originally pleaded guilty on April 4, 2012, to two counts each of theft and receiving stolen property and one of conspiracy. On June 18, 2012, Dolbin sentenced her to serve nine to 23 months in prison, but he revoked her parole on Oct. 11, 2013,

"I think this is a great opportunity for me," Sementilli said of her chance to join the program.

Pottsville police charged Sementilli with conspiring to break into the 757 Walnut St. residence of Michael Teague between 4 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28, 2011, and with stealing eight firearms, $70 in cash and a Playstation video game console.

Also on Friday in the county court, a Butler man had both his probation and parole revoked, but will not have to spend more time in prison.

Craig T. Taylor, 24, formerly of Frackville, admitted he violated his probation and parole by failing to report to his supervising officer and moving without permission,

Judge John E. Domalakes, who revoked Taylor's probation and parole, set a new maximum sentence date of Oct. 17 and also placed him on 12 months probation, but allowed him immediate parole.

"You're starting all over again," Domalakes told Taylor.

Taylor pleaded guilty on Dec. 7, 2012, to false identification to law enforcement, possession of drug paraphernalia, misbranding of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. At that time, Domalakes sentenced him to serve 22 days to 12 months in prison and pay costs, $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and a $50 bench warrant fee.

Shenandoah police had alleged Taylor committed his crimes on July 1, 2011, in the borough.

In other county court action, President Judge William E. Baldwin on Wednesday accepted guilty pleas from, and, pursuant to agreements between prosecutors and defendants, imposed the indicated sentences on, these people:

Daniel G. Gonzalez, 46, of Pine Grove; driving under the influence and careless driving; 48 hours to six months in prison, $525 in fines, $100 payment to the Substance Abuse Education Fund, $60 restitution to Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street and 10 hours community service, with sentence effective at 9 a.m. Jan. 25. Prosecutors withdrew charges of accident involving damage to unattended vehicle or property and disregarding traffic lane.

Gemile Mehmeti, 26, of Lansford; two counts of theft by deception; 12 months probation, $307 restitution and 10 hours community service.

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

GORDON - The borough council set plans in motion at Thursday's meeting to buy a computer for its office to streamline office duties.

Council President Michael Rader explained the move to modernize the borough office operation.

"We will try to make the move to computerized financial records and billing," Rader said. "We will try to get quotes on the equipment and software to do that. Most likely at the next council meeting we'll approve going in that direction and make that transition for the springtime."

After the meeting, Rader said that there are funds available in the budget to make a computer purchase.

"We had a good fiscal 2013. We reduced costs and didn't have to raise taxes," Rader said. "We had some extra money that we'll invest in some equipment. This is the right thing to do in the long term for financial stability and record keeping for Gordon. We're going to try to have it up and running and implemented by April 1."

Rader said that the financial records and billing to sewer accounts has been done manually.

"Not that the financials have been done incorrectly, but they haven't been the easiest to digest for council members or the public," Rader said. "It's for the benefit of everybody. Dot (Snyder) hand types the sewer bills and it's time consuming. We're going to focus on efficiency in order to reduce costs."

Rader said finding grant funds for recreation will also be an important part of the new year. He said the borough has a beautiful park for recreation and he and the council are interested in making more improvements.

During the meeting, borough Secretary/Treasurer Paul Snyder said in his sewage account report that delinquencies as of Jan. 1 were $38,315.83, a decrease of $1,653.15 from the Dec. 1 total.

Snyder also reported that the first payment on the sewage loan had been paid.

"I made the first payment on the sewage loan that we took out in the middle of last year, which was $22,553.02, of which $7,432.37 was interest," Snyder said. "That payment is due twice a year until Dec. 1, 2018, after which it increases to $34,553.03 twice a year."

"I think that increase is based on a fluctuating rate and that's the highest it could be," solicitor Christopher Riedlinger said. "It's used as a default number, but in reality it could be substantially lower than that."

Entech Engineering senior project manager Donald M. Cuff said the roof project on the municipal building has been completed by TGW Corp., Pine Grove.

"I'm pleased to report that, based upon a final inspection that was conducted earlier today, we're prepared to recommend full and final payment to the contractor for the roof replacement project," Cuff said. "The full and final payment will be $53,837.25."

Cuff said that the cost had been reduced by $3,500 because it was not necessary to do as much deck replacement as what had been anticipated and a downspout was not replaced.

During the public comment part of the meeting, resident Charlene Wolfgang complained about the former Gordon High School building, stating that she has been finding bird carcasses on her property.

"I've been finding two to three dead pigeons on my pavement twice a week," said Wolfgang, adding that the windows need to be boarded up.

Rader told Wolfgang that the owner will be sent a notice of the violation against the property maintenance code.

"We'll get a letter out to inform him of the violations involving public health and safety concerns," Rader said.

Riedlinger added that the property may also be in violation of the nuisance ordinance. He asked Snyder to provide him with a copy so he can send the notices of violations to the owner.

Resident Ramon Soto also spoke about everyone trying to work together.

"I'm new to town and I love this town, but I hear about not bad things but little discrepancies between the fire company and borough council. Nothing major," Soto said. "With unity comes a lot of good forward motion. It would be nice to get closer and talk things out to see what we can do to make things better."

"We have been working on that," Mayor George D. Brocious said. "I think with the new council, things are better already. There hasn't been any problems since November. As a representative of the fire company and the mayor, I want both to get together as well as possible."

The next council meeting will be at 7 p.m. Feb. 11.

The monster cold wave swept into Northeast Pennsylvania behind a paralyzing snowstorm, a deep, frigid blast unlike anything before or since. For three days in 1994 - Jan. 19, 20, and 21 - numbing cold ruled.

Schools shut down. Local, state and federal government offices closed. Businesses curtailed hours. The governor declared a state of emergency. PPL pleaded with customers to conserve electricity, fearing catastrophic blackouts.

And as the temperatures tumbled, so did the weather records. The high on Jan. 19 at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport peaked at 2 p.m. at 2 degrees below zero, still the coldest maximum temperature locally in 113 years of record-keeping.

Less than 48 hours later, on the morning of Jan. 21, the temperature at the airport dipped to 21 below zero. That is the all-time low and a full six degrees colder than any low recorded in the intervening 20 years.

If that weren't enough, January 1994 would establish itself as the snowiest month ever in Northeast Pennsylvania, with a total snowfall of 42.3 inches.

"That was when winter was winter," joked AccuWeather meteorologist Dave Dombek.

Although the area shivered through three days with sub-zero lows over a six-day span earlier this month, Dombek said it is difficult to appreciate how intensely cold it was during that three-day stretch two decades ago unless you were there.

"It was a long siege," he said.

The week had already been unusually chilly, with lows of zero on Jan. 15 and 4 degrees below zero on Jan. 16. After a modest warm-up on Jan. 17, when a winter storm walloped the region with more than 16 inches of fresh snow, the temperature started dropping, hitting 6 degrees below zero late on Jan. 18.

Then it kept falling.

By 8 a.m. on Jan. 19, the mercury bottomed out at 13 degrees below zero, but the temperature never rose above 2 below zero the rest of the day.

The next day, Jan. 20, a new record low was established when the temperature at the airport fell to 9 degrees below zero at 5:30 a.m. The record lasted less than 18 hours. After the temperature climbed to 13 by mid-afternoon, it fell to 11 below at 11 p.m., setting what remains the record low for the date.

It didn't stop there.

By 4 a.m. on Jan. 21, the temperature was 16 below. At 7:45 a.m., it slid to 21 below. That eclipsed the previous historic low of 19 below on Feb. 9, 1934.

Dombek said momentum contributed to the 21 below reading.

"Everything that could go right to get that record cold happened that January. You were building up a deeper and deeper snowpack. You were getting one arctic air mass after another coming down and you figured one of those nights would coincide with having light winds and clear skies," he said. "It did, and that is what set it up."

As he reviewed the temperature records from the period, Dave Nicosia, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Binghamton, N.Y., said what stands out is the duration of the extremes.

In addition to a full day-plus when the temperature did not climb above 2 below, there were four consecutive days with lows below zero and three with readings of at least 11 below.

"That is tremendously cold," Nicosia said.

Pregnant with her second child, Laurie Cadden was scheduled for a Caesarean section at Community Medical Center on the morning of Jan. 21.

"It's bizarre, because I remember everything so vividly. The night before it was freezing cold, but we went out to Preno's for spaghetti and meatballs," she said. "I remember just the freezing of your breath and how you could hear your footsteps as you walked because everything crunched. It was just so weird."

The next morning, she bundled up and headed to CMC at 5:45.

"I mean, you never want to go to the hospital, but I couldn't wait to get there," Cadden said. "It was freezing - freezing!"

Retired Keystone College professor Thomas G. Cupillari said the most extreme cold he recalls was one day in January 1968 when he recorded a low on the LaPlume campus of 23 below, which was significantly colder than the official low at the airport that day. He remembers the 1994 cold spell but not with the same clarity.

"In cases like this, it all points up to the fact it is pretty darn cold," he said.

A ringing telephone awakened Rich Beasley, northeast regional affairs director for PPL Electric Utilities, at his home about 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 19.

PPL, along with the PJM Interconnection regional consortium of which it was a part, had set records for electricity usage the previous evening as temperatures plummeted, and a dispatcher was calling to tell Beasley the utility needed to "shed load" as demand on the system approached capacity.

"Get over here," he recalled the dispatcher saying. "It looks as if we are going to have to resort to some rolling blackouts."

Beginning just after 7 a.m., PPL temporarily cut service to 7,800 customers across a swath of Lackawanna, Luzerne and Monroe counties. As the day wore on, there were more interruptions, eventually impacting about 25,000 area customers. Each of the outages lasted about 30 minutes.

The rolling blackouts were PPL's first in more than 20 years.

The utility's status remained tenuous for next two days - Jan. 20 and 21 - but no additional outages were necessary as people heeded a request to conserve, Beasley said. PPL hasn't had to resort to rolling blackouts in the 20 years since.

Beasley credited PPL customers who voluntarily turned back their thermostats and otherwise reduced their electricity use with heading off a far more serious situation.

"Absolutely," he said. "If it wasn't for customers who curtailed their use, the planned rolling blackouts could have turned into unplanned massive blackouts. That would have been bad."

From a meteorological standpoint, January 1994 would have been a landmark month even without the record cold.

At least a trace of snow fell on 25 of the 31 days that month, including major snowfalls of 8.9 inches on Jan. 4 and 16.4 inches on Jan. 17. There was a record 27 inches of snow on the ground when the cold wave hit.

On Jan. 25, a 1.6-inch snowfall pushed the monthly total to 38.1 inches, beating the 38 inches that fell in March 1916 and making the month the snowiest on record. By the end of January, total snowfall would reach 42.3 inches, establishing a record that still stands.

"It was just an insane month - lots of snow, lots of cold," Nicosia said. "The winter itself wasn't horribly cold, but the amount of snow was just crazy. You combine the cold and the snow, and it was one of the worst."

Cadden's son, Sean Cadden Foley, now a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, will celebrate his 20th birthday on Tuesday.

His mother likes to joke with him about circumstances of his birth.

"He is the warmest kid you would ever want to meet, but he was born on the coldest day - that's what I tell him," Cadden said. "I will never forget, for obvious reasons, but that cold? It was unbelievable."