Local News-Thursday, Sept. 21st

Enrollment is up in the Pottsville School District in the current school year. At Wednesday's meeting, Dr. James Gallagher informed school directors that enrollment as of September 1st was 3,129 students, compared to 3,092 last year, an increase of 37 students. The district intends to purchase a new telephone system through Honeywell Systems at a cost of $190-thousand-dollars. The system will tie in all buildings and upgrade the current structure which has been in operation since the early 1990's. The contract estimates that the district will save $21-thousand-dollars annually. The district approved the extension of the face value period for the payment of Pottsville Area Real Estate, Per Capita and Occupation taxes from October 1st to November 30th, 2006, and the penalty period extended from December 1st to December 31st, 2006. Dr. Jack Dolbin, chairman of the Athletics and Extracurricular Activities Committee noted that Pottsville's athletes also excel in the classroom. The grade point average of all 29 sports and extracurricular groups is 3.0, a solid B. The Boys Tennis Team had the highest GPA, 3.59.

The borough of Schuylkill Haven is looking ahead to improvements on “The Island”. The $1-million dollar project, including preparation, improvements to the athletic fields, a skate park and ampitheatre is not dead in spite of June flooding and being turned down for a state DCNR grant. The Pottsville Republican reports that Haven borough council will reapply for another round of grant monies from DCNR, and monies from the Southern Schuylkill County Council of Government funds to kick-start the project to make The Island a hub of activity for borough residents and visitors. In other business, Haven borough council was updated on the progress of repairs to the sewer treatment plant that was severely damaged in the June flood. The borough submitted a request for over $1.1-million-dollars for repairs to FEMA last month, and are awaiting word about approvals.

The County is expected to approve the purchase of several parcels of private property to widen and improve the access road leading to the clubhouse at Sweet Arrow Lake. Bob Evanchalk and Craig Morgan attended Wednesday's Schuylkill County Commissioners work session to ask the Commissioners to approve their recommendation. The total purchase price is just under $5-thousand-dollars for a total of 2.56 acres owned by eight different property owners. The Commissioners are expected to approve the purchases at next week's board meeting. In other business, the Commissioners were asked by County Coroner David Dutcavich to approve a training program for County Deputy Coroners. Dutcavich said the program, developed by Lehigh County Community College, and presented by Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim, will be the first formal training for Deputy Coroners in nearly two generations. The program will cost $4,410-dollars and non-salaried deputies will be provided compensation at a rate of $40.00 per session attended. The Commissioners will act on the request at next week’s board meeting.

Classrooms at 103 schools across the state will transform the high school experience through technology. Governor Ed Rendell announced the selection of the first schools that will create Classrooms for the Future to help boost achievement while students are still in high school and help them succeed in college and the working world. The initiative will put a laptop computer on every desk at the selected schools and provide teachers with a multimedia workstation and intensive training to enhance education. The current state budget provided $20-million-dollars to fund the first year of the program. An additional $6 million dollars in state and federal resources will be used to train teachers and administrators to make the most of the investment. One hundred eighty-nine school districts applied for funding in the first year of Classrooms for the Future. Districts were selected for participation based upon their plans to use technology to change teaching and improve student learning. Last spring, in its "Technology Counts 2006" report, Education Week gave Pennsylvania a "C" for its lack of access to, and incorporation of, technology in schools across the commonwealth.

The Smooth Operator program is helping stem the tide of aggressive driving. Twelve local police departments and Pennsylvania State Police in Berks, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill counties issued 1,326 aggressive driving citations in the third and final wave of the state's "Smooth Operator" pilot program. The third wave was conducted from Aug. 27 to Sept. 9. Overall, 3,998 citations were issued in the District during the three Smooth Operator waves carried out over the summer. Along with increased patrols, enforcement activities during the waves were targeted to specific times and locations where motorists were more likely to speed, tailgate, run red lights and improperly change lanes. This year PennDOT tested the Smooth Operator program in 12 counties, resulting in roughly 14,000 citations and almost 500 arrests. Aggressive driving played a role in 1,016 of 1,616 vehicle fatalities statewide, including 237 in the four county region last year.An area Veterans Monument is receiving money for some much needed improvements.

Members of the Brockton Veterans Memorial Committee and Representative Dave Argall gathered at the monument in Brockton Wednesday to announce a $5-thousand dollar grant to build handicap-accessible parking areas and concrete benches near the monument. The funding will be provided through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development's (DCED) Community Revitalization and Assistance Program. The group has been working to secure the funding for the past two years.