Frackville

The local Elks lodge, 307 S. Third St., will sponsor its 10th annual motorcycle ride for veterans from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 15. The cost is $20. There will be a breakfast buffet for riders and passengers prior to the run. Registration will be from 8 to 10:30 a.m. and kickstands up will be at 11 a.m. There will be Yuengling door prizes and a food buffet following the run. Bikes must be street legal and riders must obey rules of the road. Proceeds will benefit the Frackville Elks Veterans Service Program. For more information about the program, visit www.elks.org/vets. For more about the ride, call 570-956-0006.

Locustdale

The Locustdale Fire Company, Fire House Hill, will sponsor a townwide yard sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The company will also hold a food and bake sale to benefit its truck fund. All are welcome. For more information, call 570-590-2325.

Minersville

The New Minersville Firehouse Bikers’ Moms for Make-A-Wish Softball Team will sponsor Pony Plop Bingo from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Saint Clair Fish & Game Club site, East Lawton Street, Saint Clair. The cost is $20 for a deed with entertainment and $10 for food and entertainment. People who buy deeds do not have to be present to win. There will be a grand prize of $1,000 plus four $100 prizes and four $50 prizes. For more information, call 570-527-7973.

Shenandoah

The annual Divine Mercy Roman Catholic Parish block party will be held July 14, 15 and 16 on West Cherry Street and organizers are looking for volunteers to help with all aspects of the event. Anyone willing to help, donate or wanting more information should call the parish office at 570-462-1968. The parish email is info@dmparish.com. The annual Our Lady of Mount Carmel Novena will begin Friday with Mass at 9:30 a.m. each day. The final Mass will be July 16 and the procession with the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel will begin following the Mass. Anyone wishing to participate more fully in the traditional annual event should call Tom Talerico at 570-462-1602. The procession by the former Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Parish has been ongoing for decades and is continued in the new Divine Mercy parish. Candles for the portable floats called Cintas carried by the faithful during the procession — many handed down through generations — will be available at Divine Mercy Church, Cherry and Chestnut streets. The cost is $1 per candle. Participants carry candles or Cintas in the procession in honor of or thanksgiving for Our Lady or to request Our Lady’s intercession, according to the parish bulletin. For more information, call the parish office at 570-462-1968.

Tamaqua

The South Ward Playground Association is hosting a free summer lunch program for all local children through age 18. Lunch is served from noon to 1:15 p.m. weekdays at the South Ward playground. The program is an offshoot of the free school lunch program, with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program is open to all children regardless of race, origin or religion. In addition to a healthful lunch, participants are offered a variety of summer activities. The playground is located at Penn and Oak streets.

Tamaqua

Plans for the 2017-18 school year are underway at the Tamaqua Area Middle School, as Principal Chris Czapla has announced times and a date for the school’s summer open house — 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 21, providing families with an opportunity to follow their child’s schedule and meet the teachers. It will not be a night for parent-teacher conferences, which may be scheduled for another date and time. Parents will also be able to learn more about the MMS student portal, student planners, accelerated reader and extracurricular activities. Homeroom assignments will be posted on the main doors of the school on Aug. 14.

MAHANOY CITY — A man was injured Sunday afternoon when he fell about 20 feet into a creek bed.

The incident occurred about 3:05 p.m. in a wooded area off the end of East Vine Street, near Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad tracks, the former Shaar Buick auto dealership and adjacent PPL building.

Mahanoy City police Officer-in-Charge Charles Kovalewski said Donald Howley, 49, of Mahanoy City, went to the area of a spillway for the Mahanoy Creek where two other men were and apparently tried to do chin-ups or a similar action from a metal bar.

While hanging on the bar, Howley may have lost his grip and fell about 20 feet into the Mahanoy Creek bed.

Mahanoy City firefighters used a Stokes rescue basket to remove the man from the creek bed, hoisting him up with a series of ropes, ladders and manpower.

Crews worked about 20 minutes to place Howley into the rescue basket and to bring him to the top of the spillway.

He was then carried by six firefighters out of the woods to a waiting ambulance where he received additional treatment from paramedics from Schuylkill EMS and emergency medical personnel from Ryan Township EMS and the Washington Fire Company Ambulance, Ashland.

After being stabilized at the scene, Kovalewski said, Howley was flown to a trauma center by helicopter for additional emergency treatment.

Kovalewski said the investigation into the incident is continuing and that he was not sure whether or not Howley will be charged.

Contact the writer: fandruscavage@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6013

With the Fourth of July falling on a Tuesday in the middle of the work week, the holiday schedule for many businesses and services has become somewhat complicated.

Here’s a look at some of the schedule changes and closings in Schuylkill County:

STS will not provide bus service on the Fourth of July. It also does not provide services on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Government offices will be closed, including driver license and photo centers in observance of Independence Day.

Post offices will be closed and regular mail will not be delivered.

Most banks will be closed as will the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

All Pennsylvania wine and spirits stores normally open on Tuesdays will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Some commercial businesses and malls will be open and some will have different hours than normal. Shoppers are urged to call ahead.

There will not be trash collection by the county on Independence Day. All collections for the days after the holiday will be delayed one day.

POTTSVILLE — Originally scheduled for Saturday, the Celebration at the Station and the annual fireworks display Sunday had its largest crowd yet for the celebration outside Union Station. The event was postponed due to rain.

“This is our best turnout yet for the Fourth of July event,” City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar said. “It’s catching on. It’s one of the nicest things we sponsor in the city and it’s nice to see all of us come together to celebrate the country.”

Pottsville Pride took over the annual fireworks display and celebration last year. Bixler Pyrotechnics, Ashland, set off the fireworks display again.

The program kicked off Sunday with Master of Ceremonies Leo Haley and patriotic music from the Pottsville Third Brigade Band. The Spotlight Kidz sang the national anthem while the Pottsville Joint Veterans Color Guard presented the flags.

“We would like to thank you all for coming out on this wonderful day,” Mayor James T. Muldowney said.

The 2017 Winter Carnival Queen of the Snows Holly Parish, Snowflake Princess Hannah Joyce and Snowdrop Princess Isabelle Fanelli also wished the crowd a happy Fourth of July.

“It is wonderful seeing the community come together to celebrate the Fourth of July,” Parish said.

“I want to say happy Fourth of July to everyone,” Joyce said.

“It’s so nice to see everyone come together,” Fanelli said.

The Winter Carnival Royalty then took turns with the Spotlight Kidz in recognizing all 167 people appearing on the Hometown Heroes banners on display throughout the city.

“My brother, grandfather and great-uncle are on those banners,” Shirline Spotts, Pottsville, said.

She said it was the first time she attended the annual ceremony at Union Station. Her daughters, Anabella and Cheyenne, both wore American flag dresses.

“We just wanted to show our kids the fireworks in Pottsville,” Joseph Steranko, Minersville, said.

He was there with his wife, Nicole, daughter, Sophia, 3, and son, Joseph, 1. He said that his son likes to yell “boom” when each firework goes off.

Following the banner dedication, the Spotlight Kidz sung a few more songs and Marie Flynn led the crowd in a rendition of “God Bless America.”

The Pottsville Third Brigade Band then continued with a concert until the fireworks display started at 9:30 p.m.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6023

Attorneys for the Pennsylvania State Police say a dispatcher who alleges officials retaliated against her for reporting a trooper raped her cannot proceed with most of the claims in her lawsuit because the defendants have governmental immunity.

Nicole Palmer, Dunmore, alleges state police officials tried to silence her because they feared the allegations would embarrass the department. When she refused to drop the allegations, they took various actions against her, including attempting to have her committed involuntarily to a mental institution, the suit says.

Because Palmer filed a lawsuit and has been identified by name in previous articles, The Times-Tribune is naming her.

Palmer was the dispatcher on duty when convicted cop killer Eric Matthew Frein fatally shot Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II, Dunmore, and severely wounded Trooper Alex T. Douglass, Olyphant, outside the Blooming Grove state police barracks on Sept. 12, 2014. Frein was convicted in April of first-degree murder and other charges and sentenced to death.

In a reply to the suit filed earlier this year, Senior Deputy Attorney General Keli M. Neary, attorney for the state police, acknowledged Palmer was investigated and taken for a mental health evaluation. Neary contends the actions were justified, however, and were not taken to retaliate against her.

Neary recently filed a motion to dismiss seven of the 10 counts in the lawsuit based on various legal grounds, including a state law that protects police from being sued if their actions were taken within the scope of their employment.

In a reply filed last week, Palmer’s attorneys, Kevin Dempsey and Michael Gallacher, argue there is an exception to the rule if the police conduct is so egregious that it falls outside their normal duties.

“The allegations in the complaint demonstrate that the conduct of the individual defendants is not the kind of conduct they were employed to perform,” the attorneys say. “They were not employed to harass and intimidate her into silence regarding the criminal allegations of rape and sexual harassment.”

The motion is the second state police filed. In March, an attorney for former state police commissioner Frank Noonan filed a motion seeking to dismiss him from the case. No ruling has been issued yet.

U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani will take the new motion under consideration and issue a ruling at a later date.

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter

DEER LAKE — Streaks of red and yellow colored the skies above the borough and their reflections in the lake dazzled the crowds who gathered to see them.

Once again, Joseph Tarconish III and his family and friends organized the annual fireworks show for the community. It’s a tradition they’ve carried on for more than a decade.

“It brings out about 1,000 people. It’s hard to tell when it gets dark. It’s hard to count them. But Joe Tarconish organizes it. He’s been doing it for quite a few years. He’s a volunteer doing it. But we help finance part of it. He’s been doing it, maybe, 10 years or more,” council President David B. Crouse said before the show.

Tarconish, 61, works as a manager at Shalmet Corp., Orwigsburg, and he’s a volunteer for the local fire company.

“My whole life, I’ve been around fireworks. We were originally born and raised in Middleport. We used to shoot them off in the ballfield over there. Then when we moved here, we used to spend a couple hundred dollars a year just to have something to do with the family,” he said.

He and his family used to celebrate the Fourth of July by setting up a fireworks display outside their home at 225 Laurel Road.

“It was about 15 years ago or so,” he said.

“That was around 1998,” his wife, Eileen, said.

“Roughly,” he said.

“It started off really small and it grew into a community event,” she said.

“We used to shoot them off in the yard here. Then we slowly migrated to the lake,” he said.

“It became bigger and bigger and bigger, and we became the unofficial fireworks committee,” Eileen said.

Eileen thinks they started running the show at the lake in 2011.

“That’s when it got serious,” she said.

Today, the event is called “The Deer Lake Community Fireworks,” Eileen said.

The cost of this year’s program is “about $2,000,” Joe Tarconish said.

“The borough donates. The fire company donated this year, and we’ll collect donations tonight,” he said.

He set up the pyrotechnics at Deer Lake Grove, just off Lake Front Drive, a stone’s throw from the Deer Lake & West Brunswick Fire Company No. 1.

“We set them off at ‘The Peak.’ It’s a little peninsula,” he said.

He said explosives he rigged up included “3-inch balls.” Some fireworks he set up rocketed up “about 1,000 feet,” he said.

“We try to get as many balls and boxes as possible so that we can have constant fireworks,” he said.

He set up the show to last a half hour. Assisting him was their son, Jeffrey, and a neighbor, Dale Dunkel.

“Dale and Jeffrey shoot them off. I help them. I do the purchasing. Eileen and her friends do the fundraising,” Joe Tarconish said.

“This event draws about 500 to 1,000 people. They’ll all be around the lake. And some people with cars get here early to hold their spots,” Eileen said.

“There’s people who go out on the lake in a kayak and sit in front of us. They enjoy it. They say it’s another perspective,” Joe Tarconish said.

Contact the writer: spytak@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6011

POTTSVILLE — A 98-year-old man was not injured when his car went through the side entrance of Wendy’s about 3 p.m. Sunday on Route 61, New Castle Township.

Saint Clair police said Thomas J. Mozloom, Saint Clair, told the officer at the scene that the brakes and steering wheel on his tan Mercury sedan did not work. Police said the vehicle was not fully in park, therefore compromising the power steering and brakes.

Police said they are filing out paperwork to have Mozloom retake his driver’s test and have a medical exam.

No injuries were reported.

Ashland — Danielle M. and Jason L. Bixler to Floyd A. Shepperson; 322 Centre St.; $47,000.

East Union and North Union townships — James A. and Grace A. Young to Gene R. and Judy A. Gillaspy; 104 Summit Road, Eagle Rock; $325,000.

Kline Township — Albert J. and Monica Catherine Kolbush to David Michael Kolbush and Alan John Kolbush; 17 Pine St.; $1.

Mahanoy City — Judith Boczkowski, executrix of the Estate of Theodore J. Gimeno, to Judith Boczkowski; 539 W. Mahanoy Ave.; $1.

Judith Boczkowski, executrix of the Estate of Theodore J. Gimeno, to David Boczkowski; 38 Liberty Hill and 32 E. Maple St.; $1.

North Manheim Township — Philip D. and Priscilla A. Olmes to Kimberly Lorimer; 735 Ridge Road; $250,000.

Ashland

The borough office will be closed today in observance of Independence Day. Trash pickup will be one day later than the normal schedule.

Kelayres

The 2016 consumer confidence report for customers of Kline Township Municipal Authority is available online at www.klinetownshipmunicipalauthority.org. Any customer who would like one mailed can call the office at 570-929-3177. The reports also are available at the office at 76 S. Kennedy Drive, McAdoo.

Mahanoy City

The local Elks Lodge, 135 E. Centre St., will stage a meat bingo from 7 to 10 p.m. July 15 at the lodge. The cost is $1 per card. Games will begin at 7:30 p.m. Food will be on sale during the games, which are for people 18 and older. For more information, call 570-573-2649.

McAdoo

The McAdoo Borough Sewer Authority office is closed through Friday for vacation. Customers wishing to leave payments may utilize the mail slot near the front door. Regular business hours will resume at 9 a.m. Monday.

McAdoo

A McAdoo area yard sale will be held Aug. 5. Applications are available at Linda’s, 106 S. Kennedy Drive, or by calling Mary at 570-929-3658. In the event of rain, the sale will be held the following day.

New Ringgold

The West Penn Lions Club meets at 6:30 p.m. the first and third Wednesdays of each month in the West Penn Township Annex Building, located just off Route 309 on Municipal Road. The next meeting will be held Wednesday. For more information, call 570-386-2272.

Nuremberg

Nuremberg-Weston Volunteer Fire Company fund drive information has been mailed to all residents of North Union and Black Creek townships. Residents who haven’t received a fund drive letter should call the fire company at 570-384-4411 and leave a message with a mailing address and one will be sent. Residents may also mail a check to Nuremberg-Weston Volunteer Fire Company, 459 Hazle St., Sugarloaf Township, PA 18249, and the name will be added to next year’s mailing list.

Nuremberg

Free breakfasts and lunches are being served to any student 18 years or younger at the Hazleton Area School District’s Valley Elementary/Middle School, Conyngham area, from 9 to 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. Lunches are also served from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at Whispering Willows Park and from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Rock Glen Park.

Pottsville

The Pottsville Area High School Class of 1997 will have a reunion from 6 to 11 p.m. Aug. 12 in the Lodge at Sharp Mountain, 201 S. 26th St. The cost is $40. The deadline to buy tickets is Monday. For more information or to buy tickets, visit https://pahs1997reunion.eventbrite.com or call 410-262-2634.

Shenandoah

Borough hall will be closed today in observance of Independence Day. Today’s trash collection will be picked up Wednesday. Thursday’s trash collection will remain the same. There will be no recycling on Wednesday. It will resume on the east side on July 12.

Sheppton

The Sheppton-Oneida community yard sale will be held starting at 8 a.m. July 22. All residents of the communities are welcome to participate. Any resident of East Union Township who would like to participate, but does not live in Sheppton or Oneida, can set up in space available at the Sheppton Playground. For more information, call Vicki at 570-384-3970.

Wilburton

The Wilburton Senior Center will sponsor a Fabulous ’50s weekend in Wildwood, New Jersey, for three days and two nights Oct. 13-15. Tickets are $290 for double occupancy (single supplement $65) and include a wide range of activities and musical acts. To make reservations or for more information, call Phillip Koles at 570-339-1386.

Editor’s note: This is the sixth of an occasional series recalling Schuylkill County’s role in World War I, which the United States entered

a century ago.

GIRARDVILLE — In Schuylkill County, the late Dr. Norman M. Wall, Girardville, a veteran of World War II, became known for his work as a cardiologist in Pottsville.

According to surviving relatives, two of his older brothers served in The Great War, Abe and Jacob.

“They were first generation Americans,” Dean Goldman, Norfolk, Virginia, Abe’s grandson and Jacob’s great-nephew, said Monday.

While researching their pasts, Goldman discovered some interesting facts. For instance, Abe was born on the Fourth of July.

“Jake was carefree and not very serious. Abe was quite serious and responsible and helped the family however he could. The family was extremely patriotic and felt extremely fortunate to be Americans. Abe thought it was a great honor to have been born on July 4. His daughter, Marilyn, was born on Nov. 10, but he always told her she was born on Nov. 11, Armistice Day (now Veterans Day). She didn’t find out the truth until she applied for a passport,” Goldman said Monday.

In 1890, their parents, Herschel and Etta Nosovitzky Wolowitz, emigrated from the town of Borzna, in what is now northern Ukraine. The Wolowitz children were born in Pennsylvania, Goldman said.

Jacob Wolowitz was born in Pittsburgh on May 27, 1892, Goldman said. Abraham Wolowitz  was born in Girardville on July 4, 1894.

The family’s home and store were at 124 N. Second St., Girardville.

“The house and store in Girardville bordered railroad tracks. At age 10, Abe worked outside coal mines sorting coal from slag. He went through eighth grade and later attended college. Stories are told that the railroad track was so close to the house that train engineers were provided schnapps shots through the Wolowitz window,” Goldman said. “Much more is known about Abe. This is mostly because he had children who researched his background. Jake never had children.”

Both Abe and Jake enlisted in the Army.

“Jake left the service a private and Abe rose to sergeant. Abe was with the 36th Service Company Signal Corp. At various times he served as a stenographer, telegraph person and lineman. He was initially stationed in St. Nazaire, France. Both served in France,” Goldman said.

Jake enlisted June 6, 1917. He was in Company E 9th Engineer Battalion from June 6, 1917 to Feb. 8, 1919, and in the Company 106 Transportation Corps from Feb. 8, 1919, to March 31, 1919, Goldman said.

Abe enlisted on May 23, 1918. He sailed to France on the S.S. Kentuckian and returned on the same ship. He served 357 days overseas. He was discharged on July 12, 1919, Goldman said.

“His character is excellent,” according to the officers who signed Abe’s discharge papers.

“He went from private to sergeant in a little over a year,” Goldman said.

“Abe told me that he was in the trenches and I surmise he was likely at the front lines. While serving in the trenches, Abe contracted influenza and was sent to hospital to recover. The 1918 influenza that circled the world was quite deadly and, in fact, one of their sisters died from it,” Goldman said.

The brothers didn’t say a lot about their service time.

“In my late twenties and early thirties, I would ask my grandfather about it. He would say very little. I suspect it was quite traumatic for both brothers. There was one story he would tell though that is well known in the family and the only story to survive,” Goldman said. “It was a chance meeting of the two brothers in a small town in France. While walking down a street, Abe heard his name being called out and it was his brother, Jake. Before that moment, neither knew where the other was or their status. They spent the night drinking and wandering town. The next morning when Abe tried to find Jake, he was gone. He didn’t see him again until the war ended and he returned to the United States.”

“The Wolowitz name was later shortened to Wall and there is a group under that name. Others are under the Balk and Goldman names, but over the years more names have been added. The last immediate survivor of the Wolowitz name is Marilyn Wolowitz Goldman, Abe’s daughter,” Goldman said.

On Monday, Marilyn Wolowitz Goldman, Norfolk, Virginia, shared her memories of her father.

“My father, Abe Wolowitz, rarely spoke of his wartime experience. However, he was active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and served as its commander. They were a tight group who had great respect for each other’s service, truly brothers in arms. They remembered and supported each other. They shared what they could not tell their families,” she said.

At one time, Armistice Day in Shenandoah was an event, and veterans would turn out in sizable numbers on Main Street, Marilyn said.

“At exactly 11 a.m., the moment the armistice was signed, a siren sounded, people stopped what they were doing and stood silently in remembrance. When Armistice Day was supplanted with Veterans Day, the last vestige of this terrible and futile war began to disappear. The appreciation of their sacrifice has nearly faded away. That is a tragedy. None of those soldiers are left to tell their stories, but we need to try and remember what we can for our families, country and the world,” she said.

“Abe was a lifelong resident of Shenandoah and had children’s clothing stores both in Shenandoah and Pottsville,” J.D. Wall, Israel, son of Dr. Norman Wall, said Monday.

Jake Wolowitz died Dec. 9, 1984, at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Wilkes-Barre. He was 92. A retired Girardville merchant, he was a member of the Girardville American Legion Post 309, Girardville Hose Company No. 1 and Girardville Barracks World War I.

One of Jake’s nephews, Jim Balk, Broomall, Delaware County, remembered his uncle’s funeral.

“An honor guard of very old veterans joined the funeral. They were in their eighties and nineties. Dressed in uniform they carried their rifles to be fired at the service. The rifles were heavy and the veteran had a difficult time carrying them and walking to the grave site. They arrived and when it was time to fire their weapons, they wobbly raised them. The order came to fire and they did so. However, instead of blanks they had live bullets that went flying into nearby trees and bushes. The funeral crowd scattered and took cover,” Balk said Sunday.

Jake was interred at Kehillat Israel Cemetery, Shenandoah Heights, West Mahanoy Township.

Abe Wolowitz died April 18, 1987, at the Beth Shalom Home of East Virginia. He was 92. His wife, the former Dora Smigilsky, died in 1943.

He was a member of Kehillat Israel Congregation and Rescue Hook and Ladder Company, and past commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 268, all of Shenandoah. He was interred at Kehillat Israel Cemetery, Shenandoah Heights.

Contact the writer: spytak@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6011

MOUNT CARBON — The man injured in the Friday night fire at the former Julian’s Tavern has been released from the hospital.

Harry L. Haughney, 60, was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Allentown, on Friday for burns but was released either Sunday night or Monday morning, according to Patricia Daley, disaster team captain for the Tri-County chapter of the American Red Cross.

Haughney was one of three people entrapped about 8:30 p.m. on the second floor of the home and bar at 874 S. Center St., Mount Carbon. City and state police assisted with the rescue.

Chris Sullivan, 40, and Holly Rhode, 48, were also rescued from the building. Sullivan was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill E. Norwegian Street, Pottsville, for evaluation Friday. Rhode refused treatment at the scene.

Mount Carbon Fire Chief Joseph Moore said Monday that the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it has been ruled accidental.

Daley said all three were living in the building and the fire destroyed everything they had. It took firefighters about 25 minutes to put out the heavy fire, Pottsville Assistant Fire Chief Steve Karinch said Friday.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6023

HEGINS — Tri-Valley School District taxpayers will pay more under a $13.7-million spending plan approved by the school board June 28.

The district also has a new elementary school principal.

The 2017-18 budget calls for a tax increase of just over 1 mill, with revenues and expenditures of $13,762,890, and an unreserved fund balance of $13,025. Current programs will remain intact; however, district faculty and administrative vacancies due to retirement or resignation will not be filled, according to Superintendent Mark D. Snyder.

With the increase of 1.064 mills, the current rate of 32.252 will jump to 33.316 mills. The budget reflects a 3.3 percent increase, the allowable state index. The median assessed valuation of a home in the district is $31,553. Given the tax hike, this would mean that the average taxpayer would see an increase of $33.57 in the school district portion of their real estate taxes.

Other tax levies remaining stable include: per capita section 511, $5; per capita 679, $5; occupation tax, $230; earned income tax, 0.5 percent of salaries/wages; realty transfer tax, 1 percent; local service tax, $10.

Increasing Public School Employees’ Retirement System employer contribution rates, contractual obligations and health care costs are the primary reasons the tax hike was needed, the superintendent said in a prior email.

Directors Jerry R. Beaver, John E. Schmeltz, Carl D. Shankweiler, Kelly M. Carter, Guy M. Julian, Jennifer L. Reed and Curtis H.E. Zemencik approved the budget. Board member Diane C. Dietrich cast the lone dissenting vote and director Roger D. Heidelbaugh was absent.

Robert L. Felty Jr., the current assistant high school principal, was transferred to the Hegins-Hubley and Mahantongo elementary schools as the new elementary principal, effective July 1. Felty replaces Gerald J. Anderson, who retired. Teacher Hilary Bruso was transferred to second grade at Mahantongo Elementary, effective Aug. 22. The board gave the administration permission to advertise and fill vacancies that may occur prior to the start of the new school year.

In other business, the board approved the following volunteer coaches for the 2017-18 school year: Jerry Beaver, boys’ basketball; Sam Scheib, wrestling; and Blake Bowman, football, pending clearances.

All July meetings have been canceled. The next meeting will be 7 p.m. Aug. 9.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007

St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center, Youngstown, Ohio

To Dustin and Kristin Corneliussen Barrett, Austintown, Ohio, formerly of Mahanoy City, a son, June 10.

SHENANDOAH — In April, a public notice was given announcing that both the Lost Creek Community Ambulance Association and the Ringtown Community Ambulance Association Inc. would be merging into the Shenandoah Community Ambulance Association.

The merger remains on target for an Aug. 1 completion and the only surviving entity post-merger will be the Shenandoah Community Ambulance Association with the other two agencies scheduled to dissolve, according to Richard Examitas, president and EMS chief with the Shenandoah Community Ambulance Association.

Examitas said the officers of all three agencies have worked hard through the merger process to be sure everything that was done was in the best interest of the respective communities.

“While the Lost Creek and Ringtown Community Ambulance Associations have had declining membership over the last decade, remaining active members have done their best to maintain service to the communities and uphold the integrity and pride passed down from their founders,” Examitas said. “Emergency services tend to be a family business operated by multiple generations of the same family.”

In anticipation of the merger, all organizational officers looked at their annual subscription campaigns to determine what would be in the best interest of the residents they currently serve.

Examitas said it was determined that since residents will be served by Shenandoah Community Ambulance Association post-merger, it was best to determine how to conduct one drive. He noted that the Shenandoah Community Ambulance has operated an annual subscription campaign that begins July 1 each year and concludes June 30 the following year. With the 2017-18 campaign hitting July 1, it seemed practical to bring all the communities under the one drive.

Examitas said the Lost Creek Community Ambulance Association generally operated a subscription campaign that ran from August to July annually and that residents previously covered by that subscription campaign will now receive a Shenandoah Ambulance subscription card with coverage beginning July 1, 2017, and will no longer receive subscription requests from Lost Creek Ambulance. This includes everyone residing in the villages of Lost Creek, William Penn and Raven Run.

Examitas added that the Ringtown Community Ambulance Association Inc. has conducted its annual subscription campaign via the Ringtown Community Fund that conducts an annual appeal with 50 percent of money raised disbursed to the ambulance association. The remaining 50 percent was disbursed to a variety of other nonprofit organizations that operate in Ringtown or support community residents in some way.

He said the board of the Ringtown Community Fund has been in meetings with both the Shenandoah and Ringtown Ambulance boards and agreed that it is in everyone’s best interest to separate the ambulance campaign from the Community Fund.

Beginning this fall, Examitas said the Ringtown Community Fund will conduct its annual campaign exclusive of the ambulance associations and then disperse funds to all the same organizations they supported in the past.

The residents in Ringtown and Zion Grove will receive an ambulance subscription from the Shenandoah Community Ambulance for coverage beginning July 1, 2017.

Additionally, Examitas said that due to the closing of the Nuremburg Community Ambulance at the end of 2016, the Shenandoah Community Ambulance Association has been the designated primary ambulance service provider to Nuremburg and Weston, and therefore, those residents will also receive the subscription campaign beginning July 1, 2017.

The Shenandoah Community Ambulance Association also announced the establishment of a “Truck Replacement Fund.”

“Through the merger process, the Shenandoah Ambulance Board of Directors really wanted to be sure to find ways to keep traditions and honor those who have worked so hard to establish and maintain these organizations,” Examitas said.

He noted that through the Ringtown Community Fund, part of the ambulance association’s annual disbursement was set aside to ensure that whenever Ringtown Ambulance would need to buy a new truck they would always have the funds to do so, ensuring residents donating annually that they would always have an ambulance.

Examitas said the concept was attractive to the Shenandoah Ambulance board that committed to taking $5,000 each year from the annual subscription campaign and placing these funds into the Truck Replacement Fund.

“To the residents of Ringtown and donors to the Ringtown Community Fund, be assured that the current Ringtown Truck Replacement Fund money will be maintained for that exact purpose,” Examitas said. “Discussions have been held with Ringtown Ambulance members about the desire to see the next truck purchased with the Ringtown Truck Replacement Funds to be another four-wheel drive to ensure crews can get around with ease during the harsh winter weather.”

Examitas said the 2017-18 Subscription Campaign was disbursed through the Every Door Direct Mail system that allows for every mailing address, including P.O. Boxes, to receive the subscription mailer. He explained that based on zip code and with the extended coverage area, mailings will be sent to all addresses located within the following zip codes: 17976, 17967, 17946, 17985, 18256 and 18241.

The mailing consists of 5,306 pieces and residents should anticipate receiving their mailer within the next several days.

Examitas said anyone who does not receive the subscription campaign or needs an additional card can visit the Shenandoah EMS website at www.shenems.org or contact the station at 570-462-0500.

Examitas said the subscription campaign is not sent to nursing home residents, therefore anyone wishing to enroll their family member in the campaign should contact Shenandoah Ambulance for a card.

Contact the writer: fandruscavage@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6013

POTTSVILLE — The Coaldale Police Department is looking for a woman from the borough who is wanted on a charge of drug delivery resulting in death.

There is an active arrest warrant, issued June 30, for Kayla M. Leibowitz, 28, of 274 Third St., Coaldale, who is charged in the March 9 death of George Dougherty, 25, of Coaldale.

Coaldale Police Chief Keith Krapf charged Leibowitz with drug delivery resulting in death, possession of controlled or counterfeit substance, delivery of a controlled substance and criminal use of a communications facility, according to a criminal complaint from Magisterial District Judge Stephen J. Bayer’s office filed June 30.

An affidavit of probable cause by Krapf said that Coaldale police responded at 8:32 a.m. March 9 to 11 W. High St., Coaldale, for a cardiac arrest of Dougherty, who was found dead on a couch in the basement. He was pronounced dead at 9:10 a.m. Krapf noticed small white bags, which are commonly used for packaging heroin, in a garbage can near the couch.

Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner Edward C. Smith Sr. ruled Dougherty’s death an accident but said he died of acute fentanyl toxicity, the affidavit said.

An investigation found that between March 7 and March 8, Leibowitz was “involved in a drug transaction that lead to Mr. Dougherty’s death,” the affidavit said.

Police said Leibowitz used the Facebook app Messenger during those dates to correspond with Dougherty using the alias Alanda McGinley about drugs.

Earlier last month, Leibowitz was questioned after her Miranda rights were read on an unrelated matter involving a warrant for her arrest. Krapf said he told her he would like to talk to her about the above mentioned incident. At one point, Leibowitz said she didn’t know if she or her boyfriend sold the heroin to Dougherty but later admitted to selling it to Dougherty the night before he died, Krapf said. She said Dougherty did drugs at her house and didn’t seem “high” when he was there. He left with two bags of heroin she sold him, the affidavit said. Krapf said Leibowitz was in disbelief knowing that Dougherty died having only two bags left.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6028

Police seek to ID

man facing charges

TOWER CITY — Tower City police filed a charge of felony criminal attempt to commit access device fraud and a misdemeanor charge of false identification against a man following an incident last week.

Police said the incident occurred about 11 p.m. Thursday and involved an unidentified man.

Police Chief John Boyer reported being on patrol when he saw the Top Hat gas station at 523 E. Grand Ave. was closed but a man was standing next to one of the gas pumps wearing latex gloves.

Boyer said he also saw the door to one of the gas pumps was unlocked and ajar.

The man was taken into custody and found with additional keys similar in size to the one inside the lock of the gas pump, Boyer said.

The man was unable to be identified and arraigned as John Doe by Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier, Orwigsburg, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison unable to post $10,000 straight cash bail.

Assisting in the investigation were officers from Hegins Township police and the Schuylkill County Drug Task Force.

Orwigsburg police

investigate 2 thefts

ORWIGSBURG — Orwigsburg police are investigating a pair of thefts that occurred during the overnight hours of June 27 into June 28.

Police said the first theft occurred in the 3000 block of Ridgeview Drive where someone entered an unlocked vehicle and stole about $50 in cash and an additional $10 inloose change.

The second theft occurred in the 1000 block of Ridgeview Drive where someone stole a “for sale by ownber” sign from the front lawn of a residence. Two additional “for sale by owner” signs were also stolen from the lower entrance to the Ridgeview Development, police said.

Anyone with information on the thefts is asked to call police at 570-366-3101.

Hit-and-run suspect

nearly struck driver

ORWIGSBURG — Orwigsburg police are investigating a hit-and-run crash that occurred about 8:50 p.m. Thursday in the 400 block of Ridge Road.

Police said witnesses reported that an older model maroon Ford F-150, possibly a Lariat with a gold stripe, was being driven went on Ridge Road and then through the yard at 415 Ridge Road.

The driver then ran over a mailbox for 420 Ridge Road and continued west where it almost struck a resident who was in the process of backing out of a driveway at 555 Ridge Road.

Officers were unable to locate the vehicle, which is believed to have passenger’s side damage.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call police at 570-366-3101.

Scranton woman

faces drug charge

McADOO — A Scranton woman was charged by McAdoo police after a traffic stop in the borough on June 4.

Police said officers stopped a vehicle driven by Savannah Moore, 18, for failing to lower her high beams and during a subsequent search found a grinder with marijuana in the center console.

Moore was charge with possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and failing to lower her high beams, police said.

Police: Man arrived

drunk at station

McADOO — McAdoo police charged a 34-year-old borough man with public drunkenness after an incident about 11:15 p.m. June 24.

Police said officers were at the station working on another incident when Scott Branz Jr. arrived in an intoxicated state wearing only shorts and began trying to obstruct the arrest of his relative.

Police said Branz was taken into custody and subsequently charged with public drunkenness.

Teen charged for

attempted theft

McADOO — An investigation into incidents that began on Jan. 7 led to McAdoo police filing charges against a 16-year-old McAdoo boy.

Police said officers began receiving multiple reports of thefts from vehicles with no less than eight victims identified.

Police said video images collected from around the area showed several youths trying to enter numerous vehicles.

One of the youths was identified, interviewed in the presence of his mother and admitted being on the video trying to open a car door, police said.

The teenager was charged through juvenile authorities with criminal attempt and conspiracy to commit theft from a motor vehicle, police said.

Police: Passenger

arrested for drugs

McADOO — A vehicle stop by McAdoo police on June 4 led to charges being filed against an 18-year-old Hazleton woman.

Police said they stopped a vehicle in which Theresa Schreffler was a passenger about 12:40 a.m. for having a loud or faulty exhaust system and, when approaching the vehicle, detected an odor of marijuana inside.

Police said Schreffler handed officers a “roach” with marijuana inside it and the other half of a smoked marijuana cigarette was also recovered.

As a result of the incident, police said, Schreffler was charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

NEW PHILADELPHIA — The Blythe Township Solid Waste Authority didn’t hold its advertised monthly meeting on Monday.

With a note posted to the front door of the headquarters of the Blythe Township Water Authority, where the meetings are usually held, Edward Stillwagner, secretary for the solid waste authority, said it was moved to 5 p.m. July 10.

One of the major issues the authority is faced with hasn’t been resolved anyway, Edward M. Brennan, Pottsville, solicitor for the Borough of Saint Clair, said when called for comment Monday.

The borough has been fighting the development of the landfill for years. On April 20, Brennan presented the borough’s appeal to Commonwealth Court in Wilkes-Barre.

The development of the Blythe Recycling And Demolition Site won’t move forward until Commonwealth Court gives the project the thumbs up, James E. Zembas, chairman of the solid waste authority, said in June.

“There’s no news yet on the appeal,” Brennan said Monday.

Contact the writer: spytak@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6011

POTTSVILLE — At least three of six entities seeking medical marijuana permits from the state Department of Health in Schuylkill County have appealed their denials.

TheraBloom Inc. has appealed the denial by the DOH for their application for a medical marijuana grower/processor permit. Alexander van Hoekelen, of Van Hoekelen Greenhouses, Kline Township, said Monday they appealed Friday, which was the deadline.

“We pretty much appealed to show that we cared,” he said Monday.

He said the company has been in business 30 years and has a good reputation.

“We’re not sore losers. We put a lot of time and money into this process,” he said.

They appealed on several grounds: business history and capacity to operate, site and facility plan, diversity plan and community impact.

“They (DOH) weren’t so clear on how the scoring went,” he said.

The company scored 688.63 out of 1,000 points.

If anything, they want to get more answers on why they scored the way they did. The DOH sent letters to applicants with basic information. He had concerns about how he sees the lengthy appeals process might delay the full implementation of the medical marijuana and hurt those who need it most.

John Collins, director of the Office of Medical Marijuana, said in a statement “they remain on track to fulfill the Wolf administration’s commitment to deliver medical marijuana to patients in 2018.”

The Herbal Care Association LLC, listed with a business address of 1020 Chestnut Road, West Brunswick, applied for a permit. Roy A. Heim is listed as the primary contact. Heim said Monday he appealed the decision but didn’t give a reason. A score for the company is not listed on the DOH website.

A company called KEEN MEDS LLC with a business address of 1801 Market St., Suite 2300, Philadelphia, applied for a permit to develop on the location of 284 State Route Highway in Tremont. The registered agent for the application is Joseph T. Kelly III, also with an address of 1801 Market St., Suite 2300, Philadelphia.

They received a score of 695.05 out of 1,000 points.

CAPS PRODUCTION LLC with an address of 1650 Arch St. Suite 2700, Philadelphia, applied for a permit with a location of the west side of Interstate 81 (northwest of the intersection of I-81 and state Route 25) in Tremont. The primary contact is listed as Pat Bello. They received a score of 601.54 out of 1,000 points.

Bluestone Biomedical LLC with an address listed of 6105 Millbank Drive, Mechanicsburg, applied for a permit for a location of 2317 Sherman’s Mountain Road, Hegins. The primary contact is listed as Narcisco (Nick) Rodriguez-Cayro, a lawyer with the law firm of Stevens & Lee, 17 N. Second St. Harrisburg. They received a score of 615.46.

The DOH did not provide information when requested if KEEN MEDS LLC, CAPS PRODUCTION LLC, OR Bluestone Biomedical LLC appealed the denial of their permits.

DocHouse LLC, Elkins Park, also appealed the denial of its permit before the deadline. They facility was proposed for Norwegian Township.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6028

Deeds

Orwigsburg — Anthony H. and Lois Ann Dooley to Brent and Kelley Moyer; 650 Kimmels Road; $196,500.

Tania M. Griffith to Erin Downey; 317 W. Independence St.; $112,000.

Pine Grove — Bob Jr. and Abigail Kensinger to Tara A. Caton; 13 Canal St.; $119,000.

Pine Grove Township — Golden Trail Partners LLC to Steven Michael Marko; 112-114 Pleasant Valley Road; $50,000.

Lee A. Huber to Lee A. and Iva Huber; one-third interest in property; $1.

Pottsville — Sally Ann Morales to Sally Ann Morales, trustee of The Sally Ann Morales Revocable Living Trust; 390 Greenwood Ave.; $1.

Rush Township — George and Sandra L. Waidell to John Joseph Hager III; 98 Ryan Ave., Hometown; $152,000.

Amy Aujay, executrix of the Estate of Virginia Heisler, to John Zachary Chodur and Casey E. Wagner; 92 Cumberland Ave., Hometown; $135,000.

Saint Clair — Thomas John Kerns to Christopher E. Kerns; 25 Pike St.; $1.

Schuylkill Township — Door to Door Properties LLC to Paul Avery; 22 Catawissa St., Tuscarora; $1.

Wayne Township — Mid Penn Bank Trust Department, executor of the Estate of Allen C. Koch Sr., to Paul and Darlene Novatka; 218 Schwartz Valley Road; $205,000.

West Brunswick Township — Anthony and Sandra L. Forino to Fanelli Group Properties LLC; 1.41-acre property on Cinema Boulevard; $110,625.

Locustdale

The Locustdale Fire Company, Fire House Hill, will sponsor a townwide yard sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The company will also hold a food and bake sale to benefit its truck fund. All are welcome. For more information, call 570-590-2325.

Mahanoy City

The 2017 Community Day celebration is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. It will also be the annual communitywide yard sale. The events will culminate with a fireworks display at dusk. All are welcome.

Mahanoy City

Four members of Post Q, Anthracite Region, Travelers Protective Association of America, were elected to state and national offices and two members were selected to represent the Pennsylvania Division as Fraternalist of the Year and TPA Merit Award at the 126th annual state TPA convention held recently at the Holiday Inn, Grantville, hosted by Post C, Reading. William Kern Jr. will be chairman of the state board and run for national director; Edwin Miller, Post Q secretary/treasurer, was elected state membership and coffee break chairman and to run for Area 3 community service chairman at the national convention held at the Ameristar Casino Resort, St. Charles, Missouri; Dolores Miller was elected state community service chairwoman and Suzanne Kern, state safety chairwoman. Harry O. Meyers is Zone 6 alternate director. Meyers will be the state representative for TPA Merit Award and Edwin Miller for Fraternalist of the Year at the national convention. Other TPA state officials elected were: Delilah “Dee” Keller, Post C, Reading, state president; Patricia Palencar, Post L, Lehigh Valley, first vice president; and Lee Hertzog Jr., Post C, Reading, secretary-treasurer. Mahanoy City-based Post Q had a delegation of seven at the convention. In addition to the Millers, Kerns and Meyers were Ervin and Barbara Paravicini as delegates. The convention saw a delegation of 42 men and women from posts in Mahanoy City, Allentown, Reading, Lebanon, Lancaster, Lehigh Valley, York, Johnstown and Williamsport. Post Q meets at 6 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month at the Good American Fire Company hall, Mahanoy City. For more information, call Secretary Miller at 570-773-3632.

Pottsville

A Schuylkill on the Move hike is slated for 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday titled “Magnificent Mysterious Meander.” It will be led by Patrick M. “Porcupine Pat” McKinney, environmental education coordinator with the Schuylkill Conservation District; however, the site remains a mystery. Participants will meet McKinney at the Schuylkill County Ag Center and carpool to the site. The three-mile hike is rated moderate.

Ringtown

Hershey ZooAmerica will visit the Ringtown Area Library at 2 p.m. Tuesday with a variety of live animals to discuss animal homes and habitats. The program is best suited for children ages 7 to 12; it is free and open to the public thanks to funding from the Schuylkill Area Community Foundation’s 50th anniversary Circles of Giving Program.

Schuylkill Haven

The Schuylkill Haven Area School District will conduct its annual kindergarten screening for students who will be 5 years old by Sept. 1. Parents and guardians are requested to call the elementary center at 570-385-6731 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to register a child for the screening process, which will be held July 17. All children need to be registered before they can be screened.

Tamaqua

A wide variety of classes, performances and other offerings are available at the Tamaqua Community Art Center, 125 Pine St. For information on presentations, dates, times and costs, call the center at 570-668-1192 or go online to www.TamaquaArts.org.

Valley View

Patrick M. “Porcupine Pat” McKinney, environmental education coordinator with the Schuylkill Conservation District, will have a wildlife day camp for children in grades 2 through 5 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. July 17 to 19 at Valley View Park. For more information, call 570-573-9467.