Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Local News-Tuesday, Jan. 9th

Three people were arrested for an armed robbery at a convenience store in Frackville Sunday night. The theft occurred at Turkey Hill, at Second and Lehigh Avenue after 11pm. Officers said a man showed the clerk a pistol and got away with some cash. Police said Brian Taylor, 20, of New Jersey robbed the store while Timothy Stephens, 20, of Ashland and Nicholas Brehun-Tylka, 17, of Shenandoah waited outside. Officers were able to identify Brehun-Tylka and went to his house. He confessed and turned over the gun and the cash taken from the store. From there police arrested the other two men. Brehun-Tylka is charged as an adult. All three are locked up in the Schuylkill County jail.

The conviction of a former Kline Township police officer on forgery charges has been overturned by a Schuylkill County judge. Joseph Honis, of McAdoo, was accused of forging a training certificate which authorized him to use a speed-timing device. Honis wrote 18 traffic citations that claimed he was certified to use the device. One of the people cited appealed the case to District Court. At that time, Honis presented the forged certificate as evidence. He was convicted in December of tampering with public records, but acquitted of other charges. Judge John Domalakes disagreed with the conviction late last week, and overturned the conviction of tampering with public records.

A former Pottsville City Councilman announced his candidacy for Register of Wills Monday. At a press conference held near the County Courthouse, Larry Lonergan of Pottsville said he will seek the Republican Party’s endorsement to succeed George Uritis. Uritis, who has held the office since 1980, confirmed to WPPA/T-102 News Monday afternoon that he will not seek reelection. Lonergan, who will retire in June after 35-Years as a teacher in the Pottsville Area School District, said he is looking forward to a second career. Lonergan’s wife Sharon, said that when her husband started talking about retirement she knew he would get back into politics because of his love of public service. The Register of Wills also serves as the Clerk of the Orphan’s Court.

A joint state police investigation results in the arrest of a Mt. Carmel man, but his wife is still missing. 42-year-old Sherry Wolfgang’s car was found yesterday in the woods in Eldred Township. Her husband, was being treated for a fire related incident at Lehigh Valley Hospital, and was taken into protective custody there. A hearing is scheduled for today. Ms. Wolfgang is described as being 5 feet, three inches tall, brown hair and brown eyes. Her whereabouts are still unknown at this time, and her disappearance suspicious. Anyone with information should call State Police at Stonington, 286-5601.

“Not in my backyard…” That was the overwhelming response by a large group of residents at Pottsville City Council Monday night. Residents of the Mount Hope section came to the meeting to voice their opposition to a possible heliport to be used by emergency medical personnel at a site currently used by Mazzuca Enterprises. The standing room only crowd said that safety, noise and traffic were their major concerns. They peppered Mazzuca’s attorney, Sudhir (sood-hear) Patel and representatives from University Medical and Lehigh Valley Hospital about plans for the full-time heliport. However, representatives and city officials both agree that this project is in the very early stages of development, and nothing finalized. Mazzuca Enterprises has had a helipad in place at the location for about 20 years.

The Dan Shields trial will have one trial, not two as requested by his attorney. Court documents released yesterday say that Judge John Domalakes will require that the 62-year-old former track coach will face sexual assault charges and secretly videotaping team members in a locker room in one trial. The Pottsville Republican reports that a request by Shields’ counsel to have the trial moved out of the county will be ruled on separately. They contend that he cannot get a fair trial due to pre-trial publicity. The selection of a jury will begin in early March, with a trial beginning a few days later.

More problems for residents of Mount Carbon. Alice Breslin and her boyfriend, Kenneth Matz, came to Pottsville City Council about the ongoing problems of flooding at their home in the borough, due to a blocked drain under the street. Breslin, Matz and Mayor Jeff Dunkel appeared before City Council to explain their plight, and to ask for answers how the problem can be fixed. City Administrator Tom Palamar said that he was aware of the problem, but was not sure how much the city can do to help, since the street in question is in Mount Carbon. A reported agreement was supposed to have been in place since 1971 between Pottsville and Mount Carbon, whereby the city would be responsible for the streets and what’s under them. That agreement has yet to be uncovered. The flooding problem, according to the homeowners, only began when the sewer project was completed by the Greater Pottsville Sewer Authority. Authority officials were reported to have been contacted, but Palamar and Dunkel said that it would be done again in order to try and find some resolution to the problem. In other business, a public hearing was held regarding 2007 Community Development Block Grant Funds. While the exact amount the city is expected to receive this year is not yet known, its estimated to be around $395-thousand-dollars.

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