Local News-Monday, March 12th

Two children were found unattended during the overnight Sunday morning in Pottsville. Pottsville Police Sgt. John Morrow, while on routine patrol, saw a small child standing in the middle of the street near the intersection of West Norwegian and North Second Street. The investigation led to an apartment at 205 West Market Street, where a second child was found, without adult supervision. The two children are 2 and 3 years of age. The father, 42-year-old Michael Ward, had gone for a few drinks at a friend’s house. The children’s mother was at work at the time. Upon her return home, she took custody of the children. Michael Ward was charged with endangering the welfare of children.

An altercation between father and son last night in Pine Grove Township led to shots being fired. Lance Lucas Sr. and Lance Lucas Jr. were fighting at a home on 2 and a Half-Mile Road in the township after 6pm. Lucas Sr. retrieved a shotgun from upstairs and fired a shot at the bottom of the stairs. He chased his son out of the house, and fired a second shot, missing him and hit the side of the house. Lucas Jr. fled the scene on foot. Lance Lucas Sr. was arraigned on attempted homicide charges and taken to Schuylkill County Prison, in lieu of $25-thousand-dollars bail.

Icy roads contributed to two crashes early Sunday. Frackville State Police responded to the first crash after 5am, along State Route 309 in West Penn Township. A tractor-trailer driven by Joseph Grubb Jr. of Honey Brook lost control on the ice, traveled up an embankment and jack-knifed. The rig was moderately damaged, but Grubb was not hurt. In the second incident, 68-year-old Joseph Zaprazny was driving his pickup truck on Route 895 in East Brunswick Township when he lost control on a left curve. The truck slid sideways and hit several trees and a telephone pole. Zaprazny had minor injuries. His passenger, David Vesay of New Ringgold was not hurt. The pickup truck had major damage.

Low-income Pennsylvania families in need of heating assistance can still apply for heating assistance with the LIHEAP program. State Secretary of Public Welfare Estelle Richman announced that crisis grants for heating have been increased to $400-dollars, and the program extended until March 30th, or until all available funds have been given out. Residents who have already received crisis grants of $300-dollars can apply for an additional $100-dollars if they find themselves in another home heating emergency. The LIHEAP program helps low-income households pay for a variety of home heating fuel sources. To date, the program has provided cash grants to over 304-thousand families, and assisted nearly 83-thousand families in crisis statewide this heating season. For more information, call the LIHEAP hotline at 866-857-7095.

A moving exhibit of the Vietnam Veterans wall will return to Schuylkill County in May. In observance of the 10th anniversary of the Schuylkill County Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Schuylkill Haven, the moving wall will be displayed from May 10th through the 14th at the site of the county monument along Route 61, near Penn State Schuylkill Campus. The replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington is a moving tribute to the over 58-thousand-men and women who are missing or died in the Vietnam War. The wall made its last county visit 21 years ago. The event is being sponsored by Post 29, Veterans of the Vietnam War Post.

A teenager was involved in a hit and run crash Sunday morning on Route 183 near Cressona early Sunday. The 16-year-old teen from Cressona was southbound on 183, when he was traveling too fast for conditions. The road was covered with black ice. The teen lost control on a right curve and crossed the road, striking a tree. The youth fled on foot. The driver was not hurt, but the car had to be towed from the scene. The crash happened around 5am Sunday morning.

Federal tax refunds for over 7-thousand northeastern Pennsylvania taxpayers remain unclaimed for tax year 2003, including some in Schuylkill County. The Philadelphia field office of the Internal Revenue Service reports that over $8-point-8 million dollars in refunds are still unclaimed. The refunds remain unclaimed for a variety of reasons. Some may have been undeliverable due to bad addresses, and because some of those people never filed a tax return for 2003. The taxpayers are missing out on opportunities for the refund of payroll taxes withheld, as well as the Earned Income Tax Credit. In Schuylkill County, 750 taxpayers are entitled to up to $903-thousand-dollars in potential refunds. The IRS reminds taxpayers that 2003 refunds will have them withheld if they haven’t filed returns for 2004 and 2005. In additions, the refund will be applied to any amounts still owed to the IRS and may be used to satisfy unpaid child support or past due student loans. Current and prior year tax forms and instructions are available on the website, at IRS-dot-gov.