Beginning Monday, the properties of Rush Township residents with delinquent sewer bills will be posted with water shut-off notices.
At the end of 2013, the township had $126,000 in past-due sewer bills and had reduced that to $96,000 in March, when supervisors sent warning letters. Certified letters will be sent Monday, and properties will be posted as well, supervisors said after their meeting Thursday.
The Lehighton Area High School Choral Department will present its 97th annual Spring Choral Concert on Sunday at 3 p.m.
The program will feature members of the Concert Choir, Music Express, Sextet, and Varsity Voices.
The concert is titled "An Afternoon of Pop Music" and will feature popular music selections from the recent past. A donation will be collected at the door to help support the program.
Schuylkill County's retirement fund is the most robust it's been in years.
The account is now a tad more than 90 percent funded, meaning that "if we had to pay everybody out, we'd be able to pay out 90 percent of everybody's retirement, then we'd have to come up with the rest," said Deputy Controller Ron Zimmerman.
The remainder would have to come out of the general fund, said Controller Christy Joy.
The Garden of Giving is holding a "Fill the Truck" event from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday at the Tractor Supply Company store at 1580 Route 209 in Brodheadsville.
The Garden of Giving is a local nonprofit group that supplies high quality, fresh foods to local food bank facilities and soup kitchens in the area.
Supporters of the organizations and community members are encouraged to visit the store Saturday to purchase items from the Garden of Giving's wish list and donate the items to the cause.
EAST STROUDSBURG - Before the District 11 Track and Field Championships, Austin Shupp had a choice.
The Palmerton senior could have entered the triple jump, an event he won last week at the Colonial League Championships. Or, he could have joined the Bombers' 1600-meter relay team.
For Shupp, the decision was easy.
"I wanted to get another team to states," he said. "The more people at states the better."
And that's exactly what he got.
Tamaqua: Sandy Moerder to Eugene Moerder: Property at 19 E. Elm St. for $1;
Jean E. Ellex and Albert Ellex to Donna J. Benninger and Brian A. Ellex: Property at 207 W. Rowe St. for $1.
West Penn Township: Devin L. Spady to John C. Fannock and Lori A. Fannock: Property at 196 Rabbit Run for $265,000;
Elois L. McKeever estate via Kathie Rosse to Michael McKeever: Property at 0 Ash Circle for $1;
Bryan G. Billig to Tyler Billig: Property at 155 Mush Dahl Road for $1.
May 16, 1988 Ron Steigerwalt shuts out East Stroudsburg for six innings and then escaps a seventh-inning rally to lead Lehighton to a 3-2 Centennial League victory. Steigerwalt gets a ground out with the bases loaded for the game's final out. Frank Bokan collects three hits for the Indians, while Dan Bowman adds a single and RBI double. "Skimmer" Andrews adds a run-scoring single while Brad Niehoff chips in with a hit and run scored.
A flash flood warning remains in effect for the area through late tonight.
Widespread rain will continue to fall with 1 to 2 inches possible.
The good news is that Saturday will be mostly sunny with a high near 69.
Sunday will be mostly sunny with a high near 69 and a slight chance of showers later in the day.
Our mothers always tell us to get a good night's sleep, but for some it is really difficult if not impossible. According to a National Sleep Foundation poll, 20 percent of Americans are sleeping less than six hours a night up from 12 percent in 1998. In contrast, only 21 percent get eight hours of sleep. Most Americans, 56 percent, get between six and eight hours of sleep, but is that sleep refreshing? That is a whole different question.
A former Palmerton man was sentenced to state prison Thursday on theft charges.
Alexander Ramirez, 40, formerly of Palmerton, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary and was immediately sentenced to a state prison.
Ramirez admitted breaking into a residence along Coal St., in Lehighton, on Sept. 26, 2013, and removing various electronic items.
The Lansford council agreed to look into the possibility of constructing a new borough garage in the near future.
Councilman Tommy Vadyak estimates a new pole building could be purchased for about $65,000, although that wouldn't include the floor and sewage line.
Meanwhile, the council will repair a leaking roof on the existing garage.
"We should look at a new building," Vadyak said. "We bought a new truck and can't get it in there (the present garage) with a plow."
Maureen Donovan of Tamaqua, right, has been honored with the Marie Murphy Memorial Award by the Schuylkill County Women's Athletic Association. The award was presented to Donovan by Sister Bernard Agnes, IHM, principal at Marian High School, during the association's annual scholar-athlete banquet. Donovan is a graduate of Marian Catholic High School and is employed as the assistant director of the Center for Leadership and Workforce Development at Lehigh Carbon Community College. The award was given to Donovan for her "outstanding commitment to community service."
Dear Editor,
I'm an individual who has gone through four tough years of college to earn a degree in education. I understand the hard work that it takes to become exceptional in this field, especially if you work with a class of 10-year-olds in an RTI class.
I've been scolding teachers and belittling administrators and criticizing public education, but lately I became aware of one good teacher.
The Experimental Aircraft Association, Chapter 855, is headquartered at the Slatington Airport, 1000 Airport Lane. It fosters camaraderie among pilots and supports people who build their own kit airplanes.
But a more important purpose, according to President Gene Salvatore, is to introduce youth to its Young Eagles program that started in 1992 with free flights.
A rally will be held at the Slatington Airport from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 14.
There were ponies and reptiles, hot wings and beverages, and rides galore.
With so much to do and so much to see, it's no wonder the ninth annual Crusaders for a Cause spring carnival got off to a white-hot start Thursday in the Palmerton Borough Park.
Despite a day that saw overcast skies and heavy winds, plenty of visitors stopped by to support the carnival, much to the delight of Christina Obrecht, president of Crusaders for a Cause.
"We had a very good turnout," Obrecht said. "We're hoping the new vendors bring more people out."
One of the things I like best about doing newspaper features is that I constantly learn something new.
This week I covered a meeting where the civilian crime prevention specialist in our county talked about ways to protect ourselves against fraud.
We hear a lot these days about identity theft. But before I heard that talk I didn't think it was much of a problem. After all, what are the odds someone will steal our identity?
A lot higher than you think, said Dale Phillips, citing the escalating number of people who fall victim to identity thief and credit card fraud.
Blue Mountain Health System honored employees that demonstrate their dedication and work ethics.
Joe Guardiani, vice president of fund development and government affairs, gave the invocation and he said that, "Our staff and employees are always busy giving the best they can to the people they care for that it's nice to take a breath, to take time to thank our staff for all they do."
Employees of both the Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital and the Palmerton Hospital locations, 124 people, received that recognition.
NEW TRIPOLI For more than a decade, Katrina Skrapits of Danielsville has made it her mission to introduce women to hunting and the outdoors in her role as a volunteer leader with the National Wild Turkey Federation.
The Supreme Court screwed up, and almost half of the justices know it.
In Galloway versus Greece, the Court upheld state-sponsored prayer, such as religious readings held before public or government meetings.
The vote two weeks ago showed their indecision, 5-4.
Essentially, the court decided that sectarian prayers led by a town councilman, for example, do not violate the Constitution.
On the surface, that doesn't sound too bad. It actually sounds nice. But here's the key.
A committee of Lansford Borough Council will meet with officials of Panther Valley School District to discuss possible bus stop changes.
At a council meeting Monday, it was agreed to meet with the district over the stops at Jones and Patterson streets (Route 209) and on Bertsch Street at the former middle school.
The meeting was the result of a request made by Kenneth Marx, business manager of the district, who urged that the borough and district "look at alternatives to these two stops for the 2014-2015 school year."