Local News-Wednesday, Jan. 17th

State police have arrested a Nazareth man in connection with an assault of a teenager in Girardville Monday. 18-year-old Christopher Powell was cited by Frackville State Police with harassment, after he allegedly hit a 16-year-old about the head at a home on West Ogden Street Monday afternoon. Charges were filed in District Court in Frackville.

State police arrested a McAdoo man for armed robbery at a bar in Carbon County Saturday.
24-year-old David Kennedy reportedly entered Jenny’s Tavern in Tresckow after 7am Saturday, brandishing a knife and robbed the business. He was apprehended quickly.
Kennedy is charged with robbery, assault and related offenses. He was arraigned and taken to Carbon County Prison, on $50-thousand-dollars bail.

A stabbing case in Schuylkill Haven last summer had its hearing in Schuylkill County Court this week. Edward Bassininsky was stabbed at the Fritz Reed Avenue home of Corrine Boyer and Robert Leymeister in June. Leymeister is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and other offenses. A hearing was held yesterday in the case before Schuylkill County Common Pleas Judge Jacqueline Russell. According to the Pottsville Republican, Leymeister confronted Bassininsky at the home, and allegedly stabbed him in the abdomen, back and face. Police say that Bassininsky and Corrine Boyer had argued earlier in the evening. Testimony was presented on both sides of the case during the hearing. Judge Russell instructed both parties to submit briefs in the case within 10 days.

Halfway through the month of January, there are still resolutions to be fulfilled. For area senior citizens, it’s a time to prepare. Pledge to Prepare is a program developed by the Senior Corps RSVP of Schuylkill County, the American Red Cross, the Citizen Corps Council and Schuylkill County EMA. It stresses that seniors should be prepared for any possible disaster, be it weather-related, a terrorist attack or health pandemic. The process is simple…develop a family survival kit, make a plan where you will meet after a disaster and remain informed in the event of a disaster. Information about Pledge to Prepare is available at Senior Resource Centers located across Schuylkill County, or by calling the Schuylkill/East Northumberland Chapter of the American Red Cross at 622-9550.

We want our kids to avoid using tobacco products. Now, a local organization has established a fun program to get the message out. Beginning in mid-January and running through to the end of March, community libraries in Schuylkill, Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties will be hosting a FREE, one-hour story time/activity program to help educate children ages 7 – 12 about the importance of being tobacco-free. Partnering with Clinical Outcomes Group Inc., the program will include a read-aloud of the book “Becky and the Unwanted Guest”, a discussion of the benefits of choosing to be tobacco-free and an art project. Information on how to make your home smoke-free, dangers of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke and how to quit smoking will also be available. Parents and grandparents of these children are also invited and encouraged to attend. Programs are scheduled at the Tremont Public Library on Saturday at 10:30am, and the Minersville Public Library on Wednesday, February 21st at 6pm. For more information about this program, contact Megan Will at (800) 264-1290 or visit www.clinicaloutcomesgroup.org.