Local News-Friday, Sept. 29th

Schuylkill County is purchasing several pieces of land near Pine Grove. As expected, the Schuylkill County Commissioners Wednesday approved the purchase of several parcels of land to widen and improve the access road leading to the Clubhouse at Sweet Arrow Lake. The County will pay just under $5,000 to buy 2.56 acres of land owned by eight property owners. In other business, the Commissioners approved a training program for County Deputy Coroners developed by Lehigh County Community College. The program will cost $4,410 and non-salaried deputies will be compensated at $40.00 per session attended. The Commissioners also approved agreements with the North Central Highway Safety Network for four PennDot and federally funded projects amounting to just over $5.2-Million Dollars. The Commissioners approved awarding a contract amounting to Just over $45,000 to Antz Energy Systems inc. of Shenandoah, for the Tremont Community Center Heat pump project. Also approved was a request to advertise for construction bids to rehab a county owned bridge in West Penn Township. Bids will be opened October 18th.

A closed door session is scheduled for today to discuss the instances of a rare blood condition in residents near a Superfund cleanup site. The meeting with doctors and federal officials will take place this morning at the Schuylkill County Ag Center on the Gordon Nagle Trail. According to the Pottsville Republican, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will afford local physicians and residents who live near the McAdoo Associates cleanup site on Ben Titus Road in Rush Township the chance to discuss instances of Polycythemia Vera and other illnesses. The site was the storage ground for compounds which may have contaminated the ground and water, possibly putting residents at a high risk of disease. An environmental group from Carbon County states that three, possibly four persons may have contracted the rare blood disease.

The Rush Township police department now has a full-time police chief after a long search. Officials voted to hire Ron Romanick as the township's top cop at their Board of Supervisors meeting this week. Romanick has been serving as the temporary police chief since February, 2004, but supervisors continued to keep him on probation for an extended period of time. Reports indicate that a search for new police chief garnered 5 applicants, but Romanick did not apply. After the process concluded, Rush supervisors agreed that Romanick was the best choice for the job. He replaced Edward Carroll, who retired in 2004.

The fall campaign is now in full swing. The 43rd Schuylkill County Republican Fall Kick Off dinner was held at Pine View Acres last night, signaling the beginning of the push for their candidates in the November General Election. Dan Daub, Schuylkill County Republican chairman, said that regardless of political affiliation, getting out to vote is important. He noted that when voters in Schuylkill County vote Republican, the Republican candidate would win, and vice versa. A host of speakers addressed the party faithful, with Jim Matthews, Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor as the featured guest speaker. Senator Jim Rhoades did provide an interesting piece of news to the media prior to the dinner. He said that he intends to run for President Pro Tem in the Pennsylvania Senate. A 25-year Senator, Rhoades would seek to replace Senator Robert Jubilerer, who lost his re-election bid in May. The position is second in-line to the Lieutenant Governor in the Senate. Rhoades did say that the Republicans would have to maintain their majority in order for that to happen, and he would have to win election by vote of his colleagues.

Another truck got stuck under the railroad bridge in Cressona yesterday. Borough officials told WPPA/T-102 News that a tractor-trailer transporting flowers became wedged under the Reading, Blue Mountain and Northern railroad bridge yesterday morning, creating a traffic nightmare for morning rush hour motorists. It took until early afternoon till the mess was cleaned up and the truck moved. Barely a week ago, a truck carrying batteries got stuck under the 11 foot, 8 inch underpass. Warning lights indicating the clearance for the bridge are well placed and very visible. Details as to the driver's name are not yet available from state police.