David J. Rossi

TREMONT — A Northumberland County man is headed to Schuylkill County Court for allegedly driving under the influence with a suspended license in December 2016 in Hegins Township.

Alexander L. Ray, 28, of 162 School Road, Dalmatia, faces charges of DUI, driving under suspension, disregarding traffic lane and careless driving.

After a preliminary hearing, Magisterial District Judge David J. Rossi ordered all charges against Ray held for court. Rossi allowed Ray to remain free on $5,000 unsecured bail pending further court proceedings.

State police at Schuylkill Haven alleged Ray was DUI on Dec. 25, 2016.

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

Michael G. Forbes, 21, of 4380 Plantation Blvd. Apt. 16, Liverpool, New York; possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia; charges dismissed.

Cinthia M. Shaffer, 31, of 19 Park St., Pottsville; theft, receiving stolen property and driving without a license; charges withdrawn.

You can do your part to make sure children start the school year off right by donating to the Schuylkill United Way’s Stuff the Bus Campaign.

Donations will be accepted until July 31.

“This is our 15th year for Stuff the Bus,” Kelly Malone, executive director of Schuylkill United Way, said.

Backpacks, pens, pencils, erasers, notebooks, binders, folders, rulers, crayons, highlighters, staplers, markers, watercolors, colored pencils, pencil boxes, safety scissors and other similar school supplies are appreciated.

Large boxes wrapped in yellow with “Stuff the Bus” on it are at Mother Bears Candy, Cressona Mall; Wal-Mart, Saint Clair; and Fairlane Village mall lobby, McCann School of Business and Technology, The Lodge at Sharp Mountain and BB&T Bank, all in Pottsville.

The supplies the children receive because of the generosity of others can go a long way to helping parents provide for other need items children need for the school year, Malone said.

“It really is an important program United Way runs,” Malone said.

Buses are not at either mall so far this year. The set of doors to the Fairlane Village mall that are used to bring the bus in are not working properly. Malone said a bus might be in the mall later this month. A bus will not be at the Cressona Mall this year because of management changes.

Volunteers are needed to unload and sort supplies from 2 to 4 p.m. Aug. 4 and stuff backpacks from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Salvation Army on Sanderson Street in Pottsville. Those interested in volunteering may call 570-622-6421 or email aandrews@schuylkillunitedway.org.

Those receiving services from any of the Schuylkill United Way partner agencies are asked to contact them directly first. Those who are not receiving service through any of the agencies may contact the Tamaqua Salvation Army at 570-668-0410 or the Pottsville Salvation Army at 570-622-5252. Clear backpacks are available at the Tamaqua Salvation Army. School districts, pre-k centers or child service organizations requesting backpacks should call the Schuylkill United Way at 570-622-6421 or email aandrews@schuylkillunitedway.org. Organizations are responsible for picking up their backpacks.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6028

POTTSVILLE — A city man is headed to state prison after a Schuylkill County judge revoked his parole on Thursday in two cases.

Mark A. Dellamonica, 32, might remain in prison until Jan. 25, 2020, under the terms of Judge James P. Goodman’s order.

Goodman ruled Dellamonica cannot apply for parole until he completes state drug and alcohol programs.

Dellamonica originally pleaded guilty on March 20, 2013, to two separate charges of driving under the influence. At that time, Goodman sentenced him to serve 180 days to five years in prison and pay costs, $3,000 in fines, $600 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund and $120 restitution to Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street.

Pottsville police filed both charges against Dellamonica, alleging he was DUI on Dec. 21, 2011, and again on Oct. 15, 2012.

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

Alex J. Bulino, 29, of Frackville; possession of a controlled substance; three to six months in prison consecutive to current sentences, $100 SAEF payment, $50 payment to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and $113 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem.

Joseph Cierlitsky, 26, of Tamaqua; resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct; two years probation, $100 SAEF payment and $50 CJEA payment. Prosecutors withdrew a charge of public drunkenness.

Keshon L. Canyon, 25, of Pottsville; two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance; one to two years in a state correctional institution, $100 SAEF payment, $704 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem and submission of a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. Prosecutors withdrew two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one each of prohibited possession of firearm, endangering the welfare of children and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Joyce Card, 38, of Lansford; accident involving damage to attended vehicle or property and driving under suspension; 12 months probation and $200 fine. Prosecutors withdrew charges of failure to stop and give information, careless driving and disregarding traffic lane.

Shane Evans, 30, of Tamaqua; possession of drug paraphernalia; 12 months probation and $100 SAEF payment.

Jonathan T. Ford, 30, of Barnesville; terroristic threats; 12 months probation and $50 CJEA payment. Prosecutors withdrew two counts of disorderly conduct.

Brittany K. Geisinger, 25, of Schuylkill Haven; 12 months probation, $200 in SAEF payments, $100 in CJEA payments and $176 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem.

Brandon M. Ohlinger, 23, of Reading; receiving stolen property and possession of marijuana; nine to 23 months in prison, $100 SAEF payment, $50 CJEA payment and $113 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem, with sentence effective at 9 a.m. Monday. Prosecutors withdrew charges of carrying a firearm without a license, prohibited possession of offensive weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Robert W. Ruggles, 45, of Pottsville; two counts of defiant trespass and one of possession of drug paraphernalia; four to 12 months in prison and $100 SAEF payment.

Jeffrey Yeager, 27, of Shoemakersville; two counts of retail theft; time served to 18 months in prison, $50 CJEA payment, $1,803 restitution and submission of a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. Prosecutors withdrew two counts of receiving stolen property.

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

Contact the writer: pbortner@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6014

ASHLAND — In the past eight years, Ashland Downtown Inc. invested more than $60,000 to erect and tend to the brick-laden Community Park on the northwest corner of Centre and Fifth streets, which includes a decorative clock.

But membership in the ADI isn’t what it used to be, Joseph T. Cataldo, ADI’s president, said Tuesday. And in June, ADI decided to turn the property over to the American Legion Association of America for a dollar.

It’s right in front of the headquarters for the American Legion Bernard J. Dolan Post 434 at 501 Centre St. And on Tuesday, representatives of American Legion Post 434 held a ceremony to rededicate the area “Veterans Memorial Park.”

“A few months ago, Ashland Downtown Incorporated approached members of the American Legion and asked if we would consider taking ownership and maintenance of this beautiful community park they established here in 2011,” Daniel E. Weikel, commander of Post 434, said before a crowd of more than 40.

“Unfortunately, our organization is at the point where we don’t have enough bodies to carry on. And these people put a lot of work and a lot of money into this beautiful building they have here. These people are here constantly. They can keep an eye on it. They can take care of it, and the clock,” Cataldo said.

“We at the American Legion gladly accepted and the transfer of the deed was completed last month,” Weikel said.

He also thanked members of the ADI, including Cataldo, John William “Bill” Farley, ADI vice president, and Gary R. Glessner, ADI’s past president.

In the past decade, that corner of the borough has experienced much change.

The Legion had a building there previously.

On Jan. 29, 2008, it was destroyed by fire. The blaze also took the lives of Victor Klinger, 5, and Audrey Klinger, 3, in 509 W. Centre St. It also destroyed the Breakfast Nook restaurant and damaged the neighboring four-story apartment building, which displaced three residents, including owner James Klock.

That November, Post 434 voted to rebuild their headquarters.

In 2009, the remains of the Legion post, the restaurant and the Klingers’ home were demolished. The owner of the home where the Klingers lived, Shela Dengler, donated the property to the Legion.

In September 2011, ADI dedicated Community Park. It includes a custom-built, four-sided clock ADI bought from The Verdin Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, for about $20,000. It also has four light posts, four benches and planters. Financial assistance ADI received to establish the park included a $25,000 grant from Upper Schuylkill Inc. and money from local fundraisers.

In November 2012, Post 434 dedicated its new post home at 501 Centre St. It cost $160,000, according to the newspaper’s archives.

It included a brick pathway to the front steps. Many of those bricks feature the names of local veterans. The post called it a “Walk of Honor.”

“ADI’s park was beautiful and we wanted to match it with our wall,” Thomas C. Dando, chaplain and service officer of Post 434, said Tuesday.

“Today we’re here to dedicate this granite marker in memory of all those who served our country, and this square will now be known as Veterans Memorial Park,” Weikel told the crowd.

“It’s really nice that we can combine the Walk of Honor with Veterans Memorial Park. This is a place where people can come, sit and contemplate the sacrifices made by the veterans of our country,” Dando said.

There’s still a maintenance agreement in place for the clock.

“We just bought an additional four years to make sure it’s taken care of in the foreseeable future,” Dando said.

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

Bear wanders

through Barefield

POTTSVILLE — A black bear wandered into the city late Monday afternoon, according to a supervisor at Schuylkill County Communications Center, Pottsville.

The call came in at 6:55 p.m. Monday, and the bear was at Second Street and Laurel Boulevard, near the Schuylkill County Courthouse, according to the supervisor.

The communications center dispatched city police to the scene.

Sometime Monday afternoon, the bear was at Barefield Outdoor Recreation Complex, 823 Terry Reiley Way, according to Craig S.L. Shields., Barefield’s CEO.

“He jumped the fence at Barefield and ran right through the park, out at the rec center. Then he went up to the courthouse,” Shields said Tuesday.

Police could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Harassment case

filed in Dauphin

WICONISCO — State police at Lykens have charged a man with harassing a woman on Monday morning in Wiconisco Township, Dauphin County.

Police said George J. Shutt, 73, of Lykens, put his arm around the upper chest area of a 49-year-old Halifax woman at 11:15 a.m. at 406 South St.

Shutt will have to answer the charge before Magisterial District Judge Rebecca J. Margerum, Elizabethville.

Woman hurt in

Dauphin crash

ELIZABETHVILLE — An Elizabethville woman suffered a suspected minor injury at 5:33 p.m. June 23 in a two-vehicle accident on Route 209 in Washington Township, Dauphin County, police said.

State police at Lykens said Michelle Frechette, 41, was driving east on Route 209 in a 2008 Mazda Five when she stopped to try to turn left onto Engle Road.

At that time, a 2014 Kia Forte driven by Nicole A. Whitcomb, 30, of Lykens, also was traveling east on Route 209. Police said Whitcomb did not see Frechette’s vehicle stopping, and her vehicle struck the rear of Frechette’s vehicle.

Whitcomb’s vehicle came to a stop at the point of impact, while Frechette’s vehicle came to rest about 50 feet east of that point, police said. Whitcomb was not hurt but will receive a citation for careless driving, according to police.

Jonestown woman

charged with theft

ELIZABETHVILLE — A Lebanon County woman has been charged with stealing an item in June from a thrift store in Washington Township, Dauphin County, police said.

Bonnie Askins, Jonestown, stole a purse at 4:07 p.m. June 27 from the Goodwill Store & Donation Center, 182 Engle Road, according to state police at Lykens.

Police charged her with retail theft, and she will have to appear before Magisterial District Judge Rebecca J. Margerum, Elizabethville, to answer the charge.

Motorist faces charge of DUI

ELIZABETHVILLE — A motorist has been charged with driving under the influence in connection with a traffic stop in May in Washington Township, Dauphin County, according to police.

State police at Lykens said they stopped Mark Snyder, 34, of Elizabethville, for a traffic infraction at 10 p.m. May 26 in the 3500 block of Armstrong Valley Road.

As a result of the stop, police said, Snyder was charged with DUI and must appear before Magisterial District Judge Rebecca J. Margerum, Elizabethville, for a hearing in the case.

Illegally parked car

leads to charges

POTTSVILLE — A woman is facing drug charges by Pottsville police after an incident about 7:10 p.m. Saturday.

Police said officers on foot patrol in the downtown area saw an illegally parked vehicle in the 200 block of West Market Street occupied by two women and a subsequent investigation revealed the registration plate was suspended due to insurance cancellation.

The driver was identified as Angel Hahn, 21, of Pottsville, and it was learned she had an active bench warrant from Schuylkill County Court for failing to appear on June 22, police said.

Hahn was taken into custody on the warrant and a search found her to be in possession of 23 grams of synthetic marijuana.

As a result, police said Sgt. James Joos, charged Hahn with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and various traffic offenses.

Hahn was arrajgned by on-call Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko, Port Carbon, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison unable to post $25,000 bail, police said.

Inmate faces

charges for fighting

An incident at the Schuylkill County Prison on June 19 led to charges being filed against an inmate.

Pottsville police said they were notified about a fight between inmates and determined that Cecil Kutz was assaulted by Eric Keefe while Kutz was watching television in a general area.

Police said Keefe struck Kutz from behind with a hard plastic cleaning brush, about 12 inches long and an inch thick, that was broken in half as a result of the blow.

The assault left Kutz disoriented and in considerable pain along with bruising and swelling.

As a result of the incident, police said, Cpl. Charles Webber charged Keefe with assault by prisoner, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, police said.

Man cited after

pedestrian struck

POTTSVILLE — Pottsville police investigated a crash involving a pedestrian that was reported about 1:30 p.m. Friday at Centre and Norwegian streets.

Police said an investigation by Patrolman Grant Yoder determined that an 85-year-old Pottsville man was standing on the southeast corner of the intersection waiting for a walk signal when he was struck by a vehicle that was being backed out of a driveway on the same corner by John Tebin Jr., 79, of Port Carbon.

The injured man was taken to a local hospital by Schuykill EMS for evaluation and treatment and as a result of the incident, Yoder will be charging Tebin with a Vehicle Code violation for limitations on backing, police said.

Police: Man

violated PFA

POTTSVILLE — A Pottsville man was jailed after being arrested by Pottsville police following an incident that was reported about 6:45 a.m. Sunday.

Police said a 28-year-old Pottsville woman reported her estranged husband, Todd A. Parobek, 46, violated an active Protection From Abuse order by continuously contacting her with harassing messages and trying to make physical contact with her outside the home of an acquaintance about 6:30 a.m. that day.

During the investigation, police said, officers were able to view the text messages sent by Parobek through the previous evening that violated the PFA that became effective on June 7.

Parobek was taken into custody in the area of 18th Street and Elk Avenue about 7 a.m. and as a result, Patrolman Tina Sullivan charged the man with indirect criminal contempt. Parobek was arraigned by on-call Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko, Port Carbon, and released on $10,000 unsecured bail, police said.

Man cited in

Pottsville crash

POTTSVILLE — Pottsville police investigated a crash in the 1400 block of West Market Street that was reported about 6 a.m. Monday.

Police said the investigation determined that Zachery Zerby, 24, of Pottsville, was driving a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country minivan west when he fell asleep, causing the vehicle to drift to the right and strike a 2011 Jeep Patriot and a 2003 Jeep Liberty owned by a Pottsville woman, a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee owned by a Pottsville man and a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado owned by another Pottsville man.

Zerby complained of back pain but refused medical treatment and police said Pottsville firefighters assisted with cleaning leaking fluids and with traffic control.

As a result of the crash, police said Patrolman Michael Messner will be citing Zerby for careless driving and driving with an expired license.

6 cited for criminal

trespass at Rock

HAMBURG — Six people were charged with criminal trespass after two separate incidents at the Kernsville Dam on Monday.

State police at Hamburg said that Abimael Vazques-Hernandez, 19, of Camden, New Jersey, was cited after he was seen in an area on Port Clinton Avenue in Windsor Township, Berks County, about 5:20 p.m. that was properly posted against trespassing.

Then, about 7:50 p.m. four men from Bayonne, New Jersey, and a man from Philadelphia were charged for being in the area of 165 Kernsville Dam Road in Tilden Township, Berks County.

Police on patrol saw the men walking in the parking lot past properly posted “No Trespassing” signs.

The men drove to the area to jump off the Peace Rock, police said.

Pennsylvania is giving breaks to those who owe money to the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund in coming months.

People who received unemployment compensation benefits they were not entitled to and employers who have not made mandatory tax contributions are being offered an official pardon to repay what they owe at a discount.

State Department Labor & Industry Secretary Kathy Manderino announced the kickoff of a second unemployment compensation “amnesty campaign” during a visit to the CareerLink office in Wilkes-Barre last week. The program runs through Sept. 30.

More than 139,000 claimants and 39,000 employers will receive letters advising them of the program, reminding them of how much they owe and instructing them how to pay it back.

The total amount owed to the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund from both claimants and employers eligible for the amnesty program is $651 million.

Two types of claimants have been overpaid: fault and no fault, she said.

Claimants with fault overpayments knowingly gave false information or omitted information that enabled them to receive more money than they were entitled to under the unemployment compensation program.

Under the amnesty program, they would receive a discount of one-half off the interest payments.

Claimants with no fault overpayments often assume, without bad intent, that they were eligible for unemployment compensation until they receive their first paycheck from a new job, when the law actually states that they can receive benefits until their first day at the new job, Manderino said.

No fault overpayments receive a more substantial amnesty discount of one-half of the overpayment owed, she said.

The majority of employers make contributions into the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund based on a variety of factors, including the number of employees they have.

Employers don’t pay into the fund unless they have former employees who collect unemployment compensation. If they do, they are obligated to pay back the money that their former employees received from the fund, she said.

“Sometimes they didn’t make their payments the way they were supposed to. Other times, there is a claim in dispute,” Manderino said. “Sometimes, employers go out of business and there is no money to be had from that company but we still keep tabs on them so if they pop up again as a new company and we can trace the connection, that obligation stays with that person.”

Having outstanding obligations could have significant financial impacts for claimants and employers on their credit ratings. It also could subject people to liens on their properties or hinder their ability to get loans or unemployment compensation benefits in the future, she said.

The first amnesty program was launched in 2013 and netted more than $15 million in outstanding unemployment compensation benefits and tax liabilities.

The slogan for this year’s program is “Make it right.”

“The benefits of amnesty really are great,” Manderino said. “It’s an opportunity for claimants and for employers to do the right thing, to pay what they’re owed and to end up with a clean slate.”

For more information about the amnesty program, go to ucamnesty.pa.gov, where claimants and employers can also be connected to a payment portal. Claimants with questions can call 855-284-8545, and employers can call 866-403-6163.

Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com; 570-821-2115

PINE GROVE — A variety of watercraft set sail on Sweet Arrow Lake on the Fourth of July.

Kayaks raced. So did a pair of boats made from cardboard and duct tape. The Schuylkill County Dive Rescue & Recovery Team sent a sonar tracker underwater for a demonstration. In the process, they found a boat on the bottom of the lake.

A day of fun at Sweet Arrow Lake to celebrate the Fourth of July, the event was called Canoes, Kayaks, Boats, Oh My!

It was put together by the Schuylkill County Sportsmen’s Advisory Board and volunteers including Craig Morgan, the board’s chairman, and Brad Fessler, a technology education teacher at Pine Grove Area High School.

“We came up with this last summer. Brad was a big kayaker, and we wanted to do some more things at the lake,” Morgan said Tuesday morning.

“I came out because Brad is a friend of mine. And I never kayaked on the lake before. So, this is a first for me,” Kim Shollenberger, Pine Grove, said.

Since it was a new event, Morgan wasn’t sure how many people would show.

“We had a pre-registration and we didn’t get a lot. I think we got five kayakers. But now we’re up to 17,” he said.

In total, there were 21 participants. The event was free and open to the public. More than 75 people were out of the lake.

Participants included Paul Eschbach, Friedensburg, and his son, Marcus, 10.

“We come here, like, one day a week,” Paul said.

In the “Single Kayak Endurance” race, Paul tied with Randy Warner with a time of 21 minutes and 45 seconds.

Marcus came in second with a time of 25 minutes and 7 seconds, according to the official results.

An unusual event was a cardboard boat race. There were only two entries.

Logan Beard, Lykens, and his wife, Chelsea, came in first with a time of 106.46 seconds.

Members of their family, Sam Echevarria and Addison Miller, both of Halifax, took second with a time of 109 seconds.

“We made them out of cardboard and duct tape. We just kind of went for it, me, my dad and my brother-in-law just sat in the garage and built them and the women helped us decorate them. The oars are made of cardboard and duct tape as well,” Logan said.

He wasn’t sure how far out on the water they’d get.

“The rules say they have to go out at least 50 yards,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Schuylkill County Dive Rescue & Recovery Team set up a display and conducted a sonar test on the lake.

“We have a side-scan sonar made by Marine Sonic. We’re running scans of the lake, and I’m going to run them on my laptop so people can see what the images look like,” Barry Long, Schuylkill Haven, a volunteer with the water rescue team, said.

The sonar device was as long as a baseball bat but thicker and heavier. The dive team took it out in a boat then dropped it into the water and used a tow line to guide it as it scanned the floor of the lake.

“It looks like a torpedo. They tow it behind them. Here, it will go down about 20 to 30 feet max. It sends a sound signal out on each side of it and when it reflects off of an object, it sends a signal back,” Long said.

The dive team acquired it in 2006.

“We’ve used it for different things. We’ve taken it out on recoveries. We used it to find a trailer in Blue Marsh a few years ago,” Long said.

By 10:15 a.m., the team discovered something at the bottom of the lake.

“It’s a boat. It looks like a small boat. I’m going to guess it’s an aluminum boat. Maybe someday we’ll come back to pull it out,” Long said.

“I just came out today to see the action. It’s a beautiful day. I read about it in the paper in the calendar,” Dave Moyer, Pine Grove, who was walking along the shore, said.

Some people came out to fish, like John and Sharon Frey, Lykens.

“It’s a free fishing day here,” Sharon said.

“Today, you don’t need a license,” John said.

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

ANNVILLE — Fort Indiantown Gap’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s annual event, called “March for the Fallen,” honoring service members who made the ultimate sacrifice, is open for registration.

The event will be held Sept. 16 at Fort Indiantown Gap with race starting times staggered throughout the day.

Categories include a 28-mile March for the Fallen route with a heavy division (35-pound minimum rucksack/backpack and uniform) and a light division (no weight or uniform requirement), a 14-mile Honor March with heavy and light divisions, and a 5K Run for the Fallen.

All participants, family and friends are invited to a free pasta dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 15 at Liberty USO of Fort Indiantown Gap, Building 13-190.

Online registration is at www.gapmwr.com/march-for-the-fallen.

More than 700 people participated in last year’s event.

This is the sixth year for the community event that draws individuals from across the U.S. to honor all those who have fallen in defense of our nation.

The March for the Fallen began in April 2012 when a group of Pennsylvania National Guard members, inspired by the Bataan Death March event in White Sands, New Mexico, organized a march to honor the fallen in Pennsylvania. The inaugural event took place at Fort Indiantown Gap with a satellite march in Erie.

ORWIGSBURG — West Brunswick Township supervisors Wednesday approved a preliminary development agreement with St. Luke’s Hospital of Bethlehem, which appears interested in developing a three-story, 80-bed facility along Cinema Boulevard in Orwigsburg. Another developer would like to construct four apartment buildings in the area, as well, according to a sketchplan for “Villages at Deer Lake, Apartments/Heathcare Campus.”

Chairman Jason Stoudt and supervisor Todd Shappell approved the agreement. Supervisor Ned Noecker was absent.

Property owners on the sketchplan are listed as Anthony and Sandra L. Forino, 555 Mountain Home Road, Sinking Spring, and Fanelli Group Properties LLC, 1 Field of Dreams Drive, Pottsville.

Township solicitor Paul Datte said no other information was available Wednesday, except what was in those plans. Datte said the plans are an informal submission, and are a method for the township supervisors to submit their thoughts on the matter to the developer. Nothing has been approved or disapproved, since there are no final plans, as yet submitted, he said. Datte said the developers could submit jointly, if they chose to do so.

A phone call to St. Luke’s media relations office Wednesday afternoon was not returned. A man who was in the audience Wednesday and who seemed to be familiar with the details of the sketchplan said he was unable to comment when approached by the media following the meeting.

The 52.17-acre site is located at Cinema Boulevard in West Brunswick Township, on the north side of Route 61, Orwigsburg, according to the sketchplan. The parcel identification number for the tract being developed and subdivided is U.P.I. No. 33-03-0010.000. Plans were designed by C2C Design Group, Sinking Spring.

The plans include a 141,750 square-foot, three-story hospital facility with 80 proposed beds; and four apartment buildings with 168 units total; 28 one-bedroom units; 112 two-bedroom units; and 28 three-bedroom units. Two of the proposed apartment buildings will be three-story, 36 unit, 260-by-80-foot buildings; while the other two proposed apartment buildings will be four-story, 48-unit buildings, covering 260-by-80 feet each. There could possibly be off-street parking with 385 spaces at the apartment site, and 421 parking spaces at the hospital facility.

A variance of section 609A.2 of the West Brunswick Township Zoning Ordinance had been requested in order to allow the use of parking spaces measuring 9 feet by 18 feet, in lieu of the required 10 feet by 20 feet size. That variance was approved April 6, 2015.

According to the sketch plans, the site is not located within the 100-year flood plain. A small area of wetlands and a waterway exist on the property, as determined by the Army Corps of Engineers, dated July 1, 2015. The appropriate encroachment permits have been obtained from the state Department of Environmental Protection and USACOA for any wetlands crossings and stream encroachments.

Cinema Boulevard, when constructed entirely, will be owned and maintained by the community association when in operation; the water and sewer lines within Cinema Boulevard will be offered for dedication to the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority who will own and maintain the lines. The water and sewer mains will be constructed to the SCMA specifications.

On a related matter, the supervisors approved Datte to work with Robert B. Ludgate Sr., of Ludgate Engineering Corp., Orwigsburg, the township’s engineer, to develop a zoning overlay district for the “Villages of Deer Lake” site. The site is currently zoned C-1, commercial district and R-2, medium density residential district.

In other matters, Heather and Marty Barrett, Red Ridge Farm, Orwigsburg, attended and asked about the status of their zoning permit for operating a vacation farm in an ag preservation district. Heather Barrett said they had piloted a program offering their farm for visitors. Datte suggested they speak with zoning officer Wayne Bowen about amending their application to reflect their site as a vacation farm, which is an allowable use in an ag preservation district.

In other action, the board approved:

• A preliminary development agreement with M&G Realty.

• The McElvaney subdivision.

• Adopting a resolution for a 25 mph speed limit on Rolling Mill, Second Mountain and Ft. Lebanon roads.

• Extending the reduced speed limit the entirety of Second Mountain Road.

• Re-investing two CDs, which mature on July 11.

The next monthly meeting will be Aug. 9, instead of Aug. 2. A conditional use hearing will be held 6:30 p.m. Aug. 9, for the former Dixon Ticonderoga building in Deer Lake, on using it for an auction house.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007

James R. Ferrier

ORWIGSBURG — A borough man is headed to Schuylkill County Court to defend against five charges resulting from an incident in January in which he allegedly rammed his vehicle into another.

Devon A. Kurten, 20, of 204 Walnut Court, faces charges of recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and possession of a small amount of marijuana.

After a preliminary hearing Monday, Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier ruled prosecutors had presented enough evidence to support the charges and ordered them all held for court. Ferrier allowed Kurten to remain free on $5,000 unsecured bail pending further court proceedings.

Orwigsburg police allege Kurten rammed his white 2006 Toyota Highlander head- on into a vehicle occupied by Rye Angstadt at 12:17 a.m. Jan. 24 at 420 Ridge Road in the borough. Police said when they searched Kurten’s vehicle, they found a marijuana cigarette, which the defendant admitted possessing.

Angstadt suffered injuries to his hand, chest and head as a result of the incident, police said. The vehicle he occupied, which is owned by Angstadt’s father, sustained $2,000.44 in damages, according to police.

Police said Kurten and Angstadt admitted they had been in a fight before the incident.

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

Cory J. Kauffman, 21, of 3 Industrial Road, Shartlesville; possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia; right to preliminary hearing waived, charge of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance withdrawn, other charges bound over for court.

Gina M. Kelly, 37, of 8 June Ave., Schuylkill Haven; possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

John A. Shellhammer, 35, of 931 Mulberry St., Shamokin; possession of a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Kenneth L. Smith, 56, of 338 Sunbury St., Minersville; two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and one each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana and having improper muffler; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Ricky L. Smith, 23, of 403 S. Front St., Auburn; two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and one each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of a small amount of marijuana; right to preliminary hearing waived, charge of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance withdrawn, other charges bound over for court.

On June 27, Leonard Stanley, 25, of 1222 Prospect Mill Road, Bel Air, Maryland, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of deceptive business practices, theft by deception, false identification to law enforcement and unsworn falsification to authorities. Ferrier bound over all charges for court.

ECKLEY — Chicken coops, storage bins and coal sheds.

The outbuildings tell a story about the town that became Eckley Miners’ Village Museum.

Whereas the coal companies built the homes, summer kitchens and privies at Eckley, the miners and their families hammered together everything else.

“I think the outbuildings are most important. They were built by the people who lived here, the people who sweated here,” Bode Morin, site administrator at Eckley, said.

Eckley has 166 outbuildings, said Katherine Boyle, a graduate student at the University of Maryland and part of a team that has made architectural drawings of the buildings and plotted them on computerized maps.

The University of Maryland team also is comparing the existing buildings, several of which are deteriorating, with those found on a survey from 2005.

Boyle, who is working on master’s degrees in applied anthropology and historic preservation, thinks the map and drawings will help Morin and others at Eckley set priorities on which buildings to save.

Morin said the outbuildings provide “ an opportunity to tell a little deeper about the lives of the people who lived here.”

Founded in 1853, Eckley had 1,500 residents at its peak and became a state museum in 1975.

Maryland researchers

Since 2010, Paul Shackel, chairman of the Anthropology Department at the University of Maryland, has been researching at Eckley and other historic sites in the Hazleton area. They found shell casings and bullets that deputy sheriffs fired into striking miners during the Lattimer Massacre in 1897. Since then, Shackel and a shifting group of students each year have dug into the lives of immigrant miners in Lattimer, Pardeesville and, for the past three years, Eckley.

This year, Donald Linebaugh, a professor of historic preservation at Maryland, adds his expertise to a group that includes undergraduate students from various colleges, graduate students from Maryland and high school students from the Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences.

In addition to sketching the outbuildings and mapping their locations, the team has been digging around the house and yard at Lot 114, chosen because its three outbuildings at the rear of the yard are representative of structures found around the village.

Dirty work

Callie Fishburn, crouched in a square pit that she has been excavating near the summer kitchen, found a button with a ship’s anchor.

“I feel like dirt comes with the job,” said Fishburn, who attends Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.

Hazleton Area Academy of Science students Cesar Dadus and Gabe McKittrick were sifting dirt by shaking screens that University of Maryland graduate student Kyla Cools filled by the shovelfuls. Dadus and McKittrick, sophomores who took American studies with Ioan Giurca at the academy, decided to learn more about the area’s history this summer by joining the team.

Cools, a doctoral student, was digging a pit near three outbuildings in the back of the yard.

After the field work finishes on Friday, Cools will research census records to learn more about the individuals who lived at Lot 114 and the adjoining house at Lot 116 when she is back on campus.

Meanwhile, she is learning about the former residents by the items they left behind. Nails, glass, ceramic shards and pipe stems pulled from the dirt provide reminders of how people lived in Eckley generations ago.

A small cat’s head, one of few toys unearthed, has had an internet presence on the group’s blog since it surfaced.

Medicine bottles uncovered previously tie into one of Cool’s pet interests — the treatment of injured industrial workers.

She has been reading injury reports written by state mine inspectors, researching Philadelphia companies that made artificial limbs during the anthracite mining era and reviewing care given to maimed miners — with an eye on lessons for treating workers injured today.

Immigrants’ story

Broader implications emerge from the dirt, too.

Shackel said the miners living at Lot 114 in Eckley had slightly larger houses and wages than some of the laborers housed farther up the main street, but “they were still starving.”

“English was a barrier. They had health concerns — the same concerns the new immigrants have today,” Shackel said. “I think that’s the power of archaeology.”`

He said the student volunteers pick up on the immigrants’ story during the summer.

Hazleton Area Academy of Science students, Noah Ancharski — helping label and catalog relics dug up at the site — and Francine Lamasko, who helped map and sketch outbuildings, rejoined the dig for the second consecutive summer.

“I wanted to learn the cultural history of the area,” Lamasko, a junior, said.

Anne LoGico, a student from Stockton University in Galloway Township, New Jersey, said scraps of shoe leather and other objects that she found at Eckley taught her that the people lived simple lives.

“I started thinking about the people who wore those shoes,” LoGico said.

Opportunities to learn, whether from objects found underground or buildings above ground, made Eckley a good spot to train students in the dual master’s program in anthropology and historic preservation that Maryland started this year.

Repairs

Linebaugh, who oversees the preservation part of the program, said the students study the styles and function of buildings, what makes their materials fail over time and how to interrupt the decay.

“They’re learning more to be … site managers, more the way Bode is,” Linebaugh said.

Morin, since arriving at Eckley five years ago, has been thinking how to preserve the outbuildings.

Not only were they cobbled together from wood and metal that people scavenged, but most were built on the ground rather than foundations.

“What do you do with a building that is rotting from the ground up?” Morin asked.

While the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission maintains the homes at Eckley, repair funds for the outbuildings aren’t as plentiful.

Morin has asked for advice from caretakers of museums in the South that include slave houses, also built without foundations.

Linebaugh and the students also are thinking through strategies.

Because most of the outbuildings are small, such as chicken coops, Linebaugh thinks that they can be jacked up so workers can repair the bottoms. Few of the buildings are used anymore so new frames built inside, where museum visitors wouldn’t notice, could support the wobbly, historic exteriors.

The map that the Maryland team is making to show outbuildings throughout Eckley uses Geographic Information Systems. Eventually, computer users will be able to click on any building and retrieve the data that the students collected about it, such as dimensions, materials, drawings and photos.

Contact the writer: kjackson@standardspeaker.com; 570-501-3587

Schuylkill County is buzzing with summer fun. Oddly, summer, with the longest days, also seems to be the season when we run out of time to do things. Make sure you find the time to enjoy as much as you can before we get into the hustle and bustle of fall.

Schuylkill on the Move invites you to join them at 2 p.m. Sunday for a Magnificent Mysterious Meander. Where will “Porcupine Pat” take you? Find out by meeting him at the Schuylkill County Ag Center on Gordon Nagle Trail for a carpool to the local site for a moderate, three-mile wander.

The Cressona Band will perform at Heisler’s Dairy at 4 p.m. Sunday. Take a lawn chair to the free concert. The next concert will be on July 15 with entertainment by Chase.

A Pysanky Ukrainian Egg Workshop will be held at the Tamaqua Community Arts Center at 6 p.m. July 12. A $45 fee includes all materials and instruction for the single-session workshop. You’ll go home with a beautiful egg of your creation.

Last call to register for the Walk In Art Center’s Art Camps. Concert and Songwriting with Two of a Kind will be held on July 12, Animal Art and Birds of Prey with ZooAmerica on July 19 and Art Meets Science with Snapology on July 26. All classes are from 9 a.m. to noon. Camps are for ages 7 to 13 and there is a $10 registration fee. Register online at www.walkinartcenter.org or call 570-732-3728 for details.

Tamaqua’s Summer Concert Series continues with It Takes Two performing oldies at the station on July 13. Take a chair or blanket or enjoy a meal at the restaurant. Music begins at 6:30 p.m., weather permitting.

“How Indians Used Trees, Rocks and Beads to Talk” will be presented at Sweet Arrow Lake at 2 p.m. July 17. Learn how the Indians used their environment to communicate. Children will make a petroglyph rock to take home. Open to children ages 6 and older. Call 570-345-8952 for details.

Back by popular demand, the Frackville Free Public Library is sponsoring The Art of the Pumpkin. The contest is for artists of all ages and families are encouraged to participate. Purchase a blank wooden pumpkin and create pumpkin art using any medium you like — paint, fabric, paper, etc. Donate the pumpkin to the library for auction during the Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 7 and you’ll qualify for a prize. Completed art pieces must be returned to the library by Sept. 15. Blank pumpkins sell for $5 for students in grades nine through 12 and adults ages 65 and up, and $10 for families and individuals. Proceeds from the sale of blanks and auction bids will support library services. Call the library at 570-874-3382 for more information.

Transportation escorts

Times: Flexible, choose your availability.

Responsibility: Provide transportation to Office of Senior Services consumers over the age of 60 for a variety of errands, grocery shopping and more. Volunteer drivers not only provide the wheels but also the smiles. Choose your assignment and availability and use your own vehicle with the option for mileage reimbursement.

Skills: For volunteers age 21 and above. Reliable vehicle with insurance coverage, background checks and orientation required.

Location: In and out of county.

Call: Darla Troutman, OSS and RSVP of Schuylkill County, 570-622-3103.

Community Volunteers in Action is the volunteer center for Schuylkill County. Use the preceding contact information for those specific opportunities and search other listings on our website at www.schuylkill.us/cvia. Find us on Facebook. Call us at 570-628-1426 or email jjohnston@co.schuylkill.pa.us.

GIRARDVILLE — On Wednesday, maintenance workers for the state Department of Transportation closed a state bridge in Butler Township just west of the borough for repairs.

“This is an older bridge that is in need of repairs. It will be closed from July 5 to Sept. 15,” Sean Brown, PennDOT District 5 safety press officer, Allentown, said Monday.

“The bridge is on Homesville Road/West Main Street and traverses Mahanoy Creek in Butler Township. It’s just west of Girardville, between West Oak Street and PA 54,” Ronald J. Young Jr., district press officer for PennDOT District 5, said Wednesday.

And a detour has been set up to state Route 54. In the borough it’s called East Mahanoy Avenue.

“During this work, Homesville Road/West Main Street will be closed and traffic will be detoured on PA 54 and East Mahanoy Avenue/Slate Run Road,” Young said.

Robert A. Krick, a borough councilman, said the additional traffic on East Mahanoy Avenue may cause congestion.

“People better slow down on East Mahanoy Avenue. There’s a possibility you may have some accidents, especially on the east end,” Krick said Wednesday.

Krick runs a service station at 648 E. Mahanoy Ave. and sees traffic roar by on a daily basis. He said some vehicles run the stop sign at the corner.

“The coal truck traffic here, when the coal trucks are running, it could make it pretty congested, and that’s without Main Street being detoured over here. And some people are pretty careless at this intersection. They go right through the stop sign, just cruise through the stop sign and stuff,” Krick said.

Accidents may also occur on the west side of the borough.

“In the area of St. Joe’s Cemetery, if you get double truck traffic, two tractor-trailers there, that’s a pretty tight squeeze,” Krick said.

But he said he believes the bridge probably needed repairs.

“I would think it’s pretty old,” Krick said.

The bridge was built in 1961 and it crosses Mahanoy Creek. It’s a prestressed concrete multiple box beam bridge, Brown said.

About 2,615 vehicles pass over it each day, Brown said.

The weight limit is 31 tons, according to a sign at the bridge.

“The 31 ton restriction (34 ton for combination vehicles) will be removed after this repair work. It will be able to handle maximum legal loads of 40 tons,” Young said.

“This bridge is inspected every two years. Our inspections would have alerted our engineers to the state of the bridge and the need for work to repair it,” Brown said.

“Crews will be removing existing pavement and barriers, install new composite deck and barriers, repair and patch the existing beam, abutment and wing wall as needed,” Brown said. “This work is being performed in-house by our Schuylkill County Maintenance Forces.”

He estimated seven of PennDOT’s employees will work on the project.

He wasn’t sure how much the project would cost.

“The cost of the work will come from the maintenance budget. At this point I do not have a cost pinpointed,” Brown said.

At 7 a.m. Wednesday, Joe Walawender, a PennDOT bridge foreman based at the Schuylkill Haven depot, was at the bridge with a crew of workers that included Darryl Herner, Dave Lubericki and Greg Confer.

“This morning, we started milling the top deck. All the blacktop had to come off. The deck itself is concrete. We got to take that off and we’re going to be putting a whole new deck on. The parapets and everything are coming off. We’re putting all new sides on and a whole new deck. We’re going to be here a while,” Walawender said.

Walawender was hoping enough signs were put up to notify motorists that the road was closed.

A set of signs was put up on the east end of the borough warning motorists that the road is closed 1 1/2 miles ahead. Those signs are at Powder Mill Road, which becomes East Main Street, and Duck Street, which becomes East Mahanoy Avenue. East Mahanoy Avenue will lead motorists to state Route 54.

“We can’t block it because of traffic. We have to let the traffic come into Girardville,” Walawender said.

He said he’s going to try to put two more signs near the borough line on West Main Street.

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

Mahanoy City

The Active Christian Teens In Our Neighborhood Youth Group is sponsoring a bus trip to New York City on Aug. 2 to see the Broadway show “Wicked,” the story about the witches from “The Wizard of Oz.” The trip is open to anyone 18 and older, with adults needing to have background clearances, which is a state and Allentown Catholic Diocesan requirement. Contact Debbie Walker on Facebook or email dawalker@ptd.net to obtain the clearances and for reservations. The trip cost will be about $85 for ACTION members and $135 for others, which includes the bus, ticket for the show and lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Primrose

The 83rd annual Ukrainian Seminary Day will be held from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 30, rain or shine, at the St. Nicholas Church picnic grove, Route 901. The event is sponsored by the 12 parishes of the South Anthracite Deanery of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. A Hierarchical Divine Liturgy will be celebrated in the hall at 11 a.m. by Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka. A live polka broadcast by WPPA 1360 will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Folk dancing by the Kazka Ukrainian Folk Ensemble will from 1 to 3 p.m. and music by John Stevens’ Doubleshot Polka Band will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Free parking will be available and buses are welcome. There is no admission fee. Food will include ethnic dishes such as pierogies, halushki, halupki, bleenies and kielbasa plus soup, desserts and other fare prepared by the parishes of the deanery. Vendors will be on hand selling traditional Ukrainian and eastern European items. There will also be games for families, pysanky egg decorating demonstrations and classes and people will be able to view and venerate the icon and relic of the Blessed Bishop Mykola Charnetsky. Proceeds will benefit St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Seminary in Washington, D.C., the only Ukrainian Catholic seminary in the United States. No outside food or beverages will be allowed. For more information, go to the Ukrainian Seminary Day Facebook page or www.seminaryday.org.

Ringtown

Aurand Memorial United Methodist Church and St. Paul’s United Church of Christ will sponsor an ice cream social and free concert in the lot of St. Paul’s Church, 100 E. Main St., from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday. The Catawissa Military Band will perform. All are welcome. For more information, call 570-889-3494.

Sheppton

The Sheppton-Oneida community yard sale will be held July 22 starting at 8 a.m. All residents of the community 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.

Summit Hill

People will be able to take a closer look at bird feathers during a workshop at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center at 6 p.m. today. Chief Naturalist Susan Gallagher will present a short lecture on feather form and function. Participants will then be offered the hands-on opportunity to examine feathers. The program is offered free of charge to center members. A nominal donation is requested of non-members. Young adults are welcome. The center is located at 151 White Bear Drive, Summit Hill, on Mauch Chunk Lake. For more information or to register, call the center at 570-645-8597.

Tamaqua

A six-week program called Healthier Living with Diabetes will begin at 10 a.m. July 19 at the Tamaqua Salvation Army, 105 W. Broad St., by Diakon Community Services. There is no fee. The program will teach techniques to better manage diabetes symptoms such as fatigue, pain, hyper- and hypoglycemia, and stress, according to a release. Other topics will include exercise, healthy eating, appropriate use of medication and working more effectively with health care providers. The course is for people 50 and older. Family members and caregivers are welcome. Classes will be held every Wednesday through Aug. 23. To register in advance by July 14, call Diakon at 570-624-3017.

POTTSVILLE — Jose Fernando Montalban-Rodriguez, whom prosecutors said sexually molested a boy in March 2016 in Minersville, sits in a state prison cell after a Schuylkill County judge recently sentenced him on two charges resulting from the incident.

Montalban-Rodriguez, 28, of Minersville, must serve 18 to 36 months in a state correctional institution for his crimes, President Judge William E. Baldwin decided. The defendant has started serving his prison term at State Correctional Institution/Camp Hill in Cumberland County.

Baldwin also sentenced Montalban-Rodriguez to pay costs and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.

Additionally, Baldwin ruled, in accordance with the recommendation of the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, that Montalban-Rodriguez is a sexually violent predator and, therefore, subject to lifetime Megan’s Law sanctions once he leaves prison.

Montalban-Rodriguez pleaded no contest on Feb. 15 to two sex-related crimes. Prosecutors withdrew three other charges, including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and corruption of minors.

Minersville police had charged the defendant with sexually assaulting a 3-year-old boy on March 1, 2016, in the borough. Police said Montalban-Rodriguez failed a polygraph test and later admitted to them that he had been in bed with the boy and performed a lewd act on him.

By pleading no contest, Montalban-Rodriguez did not admit committing the crimes but offered no defense to them, acknowledged prosecutors had sufficient evidence to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and agreed to be sentenced as if he had pleaded or been found guilty.

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

Megan’s Law was enacted in Pennsylvania, numerous other states and at the federal level after the July 29, 1994, murder of Megan Nicole Kanka, 7, in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. Jesse Timmendequas, Kanka’s killer, was one of her neighbors and a twice-convicted sex offender; his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after New Jersey enacted legislation to abolish the death penalty in that state.

Contact the writer: pbortner@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6014

The defendant

· Name: Jose Fernando Montalban-Rodriguez

· Age: 28

· Residence: Minersville

· Plea: No contest plea to two sex-related crimes

· Prison sentence: 18 to 36 months in a state correctional institution, plus lifetime Megan’s Law sanctions

POTTSVILLE — Doe licenses can be applied for starting Monday for Pennsylvania residents while out-of-state hunters will have to wait until July 17.

Hunters who wish to apply for an antlerless deer license must hold a current hunting license for the 2017-18 season. The cost for the antlerless license is $6.90 for residents and $26.90 for non-residents.

According to a press release issued Wednesday from the Schuylkill County treasurer’s office, Pennsylvania Game Commission regulations permit only one license per hunter in the first round. Hunters may apply for a second and third license in subsequent rounds until the supply is exhausted.

Checks should be made payable to the county treasurer. Cash is not accepted. Any hunter who pays with a money order will receive his or her doe license upon processing and any hunter who pays with a check will receive his or her doe license in the about three weeks from the date of issue.

“I encourage hunters to mail their application in the pink envelope provided by the Pennsylvania Game Commission on Friday, July 7, to ensure timely delivery to the treasurer’s office,” county Treasurer Linda L. Marchalk said in a prepared statement. “Please remember to place a first-class stamp on the outer and inner envelopes. If you are applying with others as a group, I suggest submitting separate checks with each application. If two or three applicants apply together with one check, all of the applications may be rejected and returned if there is a problem with any one application or if any (wildlife management unit) is sold out.”

Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis through the U.S. Postal Service and using the pink regulation envelopes. The treasurer’s office is not responsible for applications that are not received through the mail. Hunters are encouraged to check the state Game Commission website frequently to confirm that his or her application has been processed.

If the license allocations for all wildlife management unit preferences are sold out, the application will be returned to the hunter. The hunter may apply for another wildlife management unit where licenses are available by using a new pink envelope.

For more information, visit the county treasurer’s website at www.co.schuylkill.pa.us.

Police: Explosive

destroyed mailbox

NEW RINGGOLD — State police at Frackville are investigating a criminal mischief incident that occurred about 11 p.m. Sunday on Evergreen Drive in East Brunswick Township.

Police said Terrence Laughlin, New Ringgold, reported someone used an explosive device to damage his mailbox and then fled the area.

Anyone with information is asked to call state police at Frackville at 570-874-5300.

Man falls asleep

at wheel, injured

WILLIAMSTOWN — A man from Tower City suffered minor injuries when he fell asleep at the wheel of his 2000 Oldsmobile Bravada, drove off a road in Dauphin County and crashed Monday afternoon, state police at Lykens said Tuesday.

Don L. Neumeister, 56, was heading west on state Route 209 in Williams Township when he fell asleep and allowed his vehicle to drift into the eastbound lane and onto the south shoulder, police said.

The vehicle struck an embankment on the south side of the roadway, went airborne, destroyed a mailbox, struck a second embankment, hit a collection of trees and severed one of them. It came to rest on its passenger side. Neumeister crawled from the destroyed vehicle through a gap in the windshield, police said.

Neumeister suffered minor lacerations on his hands, arms and feet but refused medical care, police said.

The vehicle was destroyed and had to be towed, police said.

Police charged Neumeister with careless driving.

Man charged for

crash on Rt. 901

A Minersville man was injured when the 1995 Honda Civic he was driving crashed about 11 p.m. Friday on West Market Street, just went of Gordon Nagle Trail in Branch Township.

State police at Schuylkill Haven said Elvin R. Kessler, 51, was driving north on West Market Street, Route 901, when he went off of the road and struck a concrete bridge abutment on the south side of the road.

Police said Kessler was taken to a Pottsville hospital by Schuylkill EMS for treatment of injuries he suffered prior to their arrival.

It was determined that Kessler was under the influence of alcohol. He was placed under arrest and will be charged as a result of the crash, police said.

Pottsville police, Minersville police and Minersville firefighters assisted at the scene, police said.

Police investigate

aggravated assault

ELIZABETHVILLE — State police at Lykens are investigating an incident of aggravated indecent assault that happened in this Dauphin County community between 2005 and 2009.

Police said the assault is alleged to have happened to a 21-year-old man and that the investigation is ongoing.

Police did not identify the man or provide any additional information on the alleged incident.

Police release

checkpoint details

HAMBURG — State police from the Schuylkill Haven, Hamburg and Jonestown stations conducted DUI Checkpoints on roadways in Berks County between Saturday and Tuesday.

Results of the checkpoints in the Hamburg area included one felony arrest for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance that results in 155 grams of marijuana seized along with over $2,800 in cash, a scale and packaging materials.

Police also made one DUI arrest with possession of cocaine, one DUI arrest alcohol related and issued on citation for driving under suspension, seven other citations and 23 warning notices for traffic violations.

During the checkpoints, troopers systematically stop vehicles at selected locations to briefly observe drivers for behavior normally associated with alcohol or drug impairment.

The goal of a sobriety checkpoint is to reduce the number of alcohol and drug related fatal and serious crashes and to reduce the number of DUI drivers on area roadways, police said.

POTTSVILLE — More than 20 blighted properties in Schuylkill County are joining the long list of demolition projects funded by the $1.4 million grant from the state Department of Economic Development.

The county commissioners on Wednesday approved cooperation agreements with Ashland, Butler Township, Palo Alto, Shenandoah, Mahanoy City and Pottsville for demolition projects.

The addresses are:

• Ashland: 1207 Walnut St. and 1830 Market St.

• Butler Township: 454 W. Ogden St. and 461-463 W. Mahanoy Ave.

• Palo Alto: 523 W. Savory St.

• Shenandoah: 300 W. Penn St., 39 W. Coal St., 23 N. West St., 520 W. Mount Vernon St., 401-403 W. Oak St., 233-235 W. Oak St., 9-11 N. Main St., 129 E. Lloyd St., and 0 W. Coal and Race streets

• Mahanoy City: 612 W. South St., 600-602 W. Railroad St., 1115-1119 Pine St., 412 W. Mahanoy St. and 701 E. Centre St.

The projects will eventually go out for bid and be awarded during a commissioner’s public meeting.

The project is being funded by a $1.4 million grant the state Department of Community and Economic Development awarded the county in January. County Administrator Gary Bender had said the grant may cover up to 70 demolition projects. Municipalities had to submit projects to the county to use the funding.

As of Wednesday, the county has encumbered about $350,000 of the grant for projects in about 10 municipalities, Bender said.

In other matters, the county commissioners approved a $20,000 professional services agreement with Waterware, Philadelphia, for inspections at Hosensock Dam, Barnesville, and Koenigs Dam, New Ringgold. The company will provide a four-man dive crew and equipment to perform video inspections. The inspections are required by the state Department of Environmental Protection every 10 years, Lisa Mahall, county engineer, said.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6023

NEW PHILADELPHIA — The Simon Kramer Community and Recreation Center recently received a $5,000 grant from The Williams Companies Inc. to carve out a quarter-mile, cinder-surfaced walking trail that will wind around the center.

“We’re hoping to have it open by mid-July. This first phase is just to give people a safe walking trail around the perimeter. Phase two will be to install exercise stations, maybe every 50 or 100 feet. For example, we’d like to have an area where a jogger would come by and do pull-ups,” Dr. David J. Moylan III, the owner of the center at 15 Alliance St., said Monday.

The entrance to the trail is east of the football field. The trail goes south, parallel to Alliance Street, then turns northwest and winds around the center to its parking lot. Then it continues in a wooded area on the northeast side of the property.

Jason Fowler, Pottsville, owner of Fowler Tree and Landscaping, started work on the trail June 29. On Monday, he was working there with members of his crew, Gage Iacovitti, Cody Barnes and Mark Hoffman. They were cutting down dead trees, using chain saws and ropes.

“This is going to be a walking path and we don’t want people walking near some of these dangerous trees,” Fowler said, referring to a cherry tree that was more than 30 feet high.

“Something like this could get blown over and hurt somebody,” Barnes said.

“So far we’ve cut down about 20,” Fowler said.

Meanwhile, Hoffman was driving a Bobcat tractor, clearing weeds and rocks from the trail.

The area was once the Blythe Township High School and football field.

In 1997, Moylan bought the property. Since then, he’s opened a cancer treatment clinic there, added fitness programs and has worked to renovate the auditorium and schedule performances there.

He has contemplated forging a walking trail for a few years.

“I visited a hospital up in Potter County. They had an exercise trail going around the perimeter of the hospital,” Moylan said.

The semi-professional football team that plays on the field there, the Predators, started work to establish the trail, Teresa Hauck, building manager at Simon Kramer, said.

“We had started this project two years ago. The Predators carved out this trail for Doc. But we came to a stumbling block. The trees were in the way. We had to have them cut down,” Hauck said.

In February, Hauck submitted a grant application to The Williams Companies and Atlantic Sunrise Project.

“Williams operates a natural gas transmission pipeline known as the Transco pipeline, which transports natural gas from production areas to customers, such as utility companies and power plants, located throughout the eastern United States,” according to its website at www.atlanticsunriseexpansion.com.

“The Atlantic Sunrise Project is designed to supply enough natural gas to meet the daily needs of more than 7 million American homes by connecting producing regions in northeastern Pennsylvania to markets in the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern states,” according to the website.

“It is our goal to encourage use of the track amongst the local populous (some of whom already use the track), whilst holding educational workshops espousing the need for low-impact cardio-vascular exercise, specifically aimed at senior citizens. We are seeking $5,000 for the resurfacing/landscaping/maintenance of the track,” Hauck said in her letter to the firm.

“Through use of social media, local newspaper advertisements and strategically placed signs/banners, we hope to have as many as 200 people using our track on a weekly basis,” Hauck said in the letter.

Grants Williams and Atlantic Sunrise recently gave to agencies in Schuylkill County were posted on the firm’s website. The other recipients, the types of projects that were funded and the amounts were:

• Hegins-Hubley Elementary School, Inclusive Playground Project, $5,000.

• Mahantongo Environmental Club, STEM Inspired Playground, $10,000.

• Pine Grove Hose Hook & Ladder Company No. 1, Portable Radio Communications Project, $9,800.

Moylan is trying to come up with a name for the walking trail at Simon Kramer.

“Anybody that would like to step up and make a donation can talk to me about the naming rights,” Moylan said.

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

POTTSVILLE — The Pottsville Area School District is not to blame for recent glitches in Capital BlueCross insurance not being accepted when some employees went for medical appointments, according to district officials.

“Everything is paid up,” Superintendent Jeffrey Zwiebel said Thursday about insurance premiums.

That statement was confirmed by Shawn McClure, account executive for Reschini Group, the school district’s health care consortium.

“It appears that there is a payment processing issue within Capital’s system that is impacting the payment of claims. Capital is investigating and will provide Reschini Group with additional details. There was no indication of an issue with Pottsville’s payments into the consortium. We confirmed with the fiscal agent this afternoon that all consortium payments to Capital are up-to-date,” McClure wrote to Zwiebel in an email Thursday.

Zwiebel said the district was notified about the issue Thursday by two phone calls.

“We never had this issue before,” Zwiebel said.

School board member Pat Moran said he was unaware of the problem until contacted about it.

“All the health care premiums are paid and up-to-date,” Moran said, adding Reschini Group is investigating the matter.

He said the district has not lapsed in paying premiums for health insurance.

“As a good employer, that would not be one of the bills we would second-guess on paying,” Moran said.

Board President John Boran said earlier in the day he was unaware of the matter and later called the district on the matter. He referred questions to Zwiebel.

Board member Scott Thomas also was unaware until contacted. He said Zwiebel sent an email to school board members informing them of the matter and telling them all premiums have been paid.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6028