Local News-Tuesday, March 13th

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett announced the arrest of 22 out of 27 suspected drug dealers involved in a multi-million dollar cocaine ring operated in neighboring Berks County. Corbett said the investigation, known as “Operation Lockdown,” was triggered from evidence developed during the seizure of 24 kilos of cocaine from a pickup truck in Reading in September of 2004. Corbett said that this drug ring was distributing multiple kilos of cocaine per week in the region. Reading has been a suspected source of some of the drug trade in Schuylkill County. Corbett explained that Monday’s arrests are the second phase of an ongoing effort by the Attorney General’s Office, the State Police and Reading Police to dismantle drug rings operating in Reading and throughout the Route 222 corridor of Allentown, Reading and Lancaster. Of the arrests, a grand jury identified the kingpin as Samuel “Fat Sam” Velez Rivera of Muhlenburg Township. Most of those arrested were from Berks County, as well as Lancaster and one from New York City.

A group of citizens voiced their displeasure about Pottsville City Council’s Public Participation Policy prior to, and during last night’s meeting. The group, organized by Schuylkill County Teenage Republicans’ Chairman Scott Thomas, staged a rally prior to city council meeting last night to call for changes to the Public Participation Policy adopted at the February meeting. The policy sets guidelines for addressing council during public meetings, including a 5 minute time limit for remarks. Those who wish to speak must make their intentions known to the City Clerk 5 days in advance of the meeting. Thomas addressed council about the matter, citing that “the right of free speech” had been abolished, and that it gives too much power to the Mayor. Thomas did submit a revised set of guidelines for council to consider. Following the speech, Republican Councilman Dave Eckert said that while he voted for the initial policy, he felt that maybe some of the provisions could be refined. Eckert’s motion to accept Thomas’s revisions died for the lack of a second. Councilman Mike Halcovage recommended the motion be tabled, so all council members could review the changes Thomas proposed. Mayor Reiley said that the policy was adopted in order to provide some form of order to council proceedings, in order for everyone to be heard in a more structured fashion. There were no such guidelines in place prior to the adoption. He appointed Eckert and Halcovage to study the revisions.

Hiring by area employers is expected to be strong in the next quarter of 2007, according to Manpower Incorporated. The company’s Employment Outlook Survey reports that from April to June, 40 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 3 percent plan to reduce payrolls, according to spokesperson Irene Kadziela . Fifty-four percent of the respondents say that they expect to maintain current staffing levels, and 3 percent are not certain of their hiring plans. While additional hiring may be projected, those intentions are more modest than they were a year ago when 53 percent of companies surveyed thought job gains were likely, and 10 percent intended to cut back. Job prospects appear to be stronger in construction, durable goods manufacturing, transportation and wholesale/retail trade. Hiring in mining, finance and public administration is expected to remain unchanged, according to the survey. Nationally, companies are expected to slow their additions to staff. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease staff for the coming quarter. It has been conducted for more than 40 years.

A North Schuylkill school bus and a car were involved in a crash Monday afternoon. The accident happened at the intersection of Routes 924 and 4033 north of Shenandoah. According to the Pottsville Republican, Randa Faraj of Hazleton was hurt in the crash and taken to Geisinger Medical Center. Three students from North Schuylkill had minor injuries, but were treated and released.

An area legislator is hosting Property Tax/Rent Rebate events at his constituent services offices. Representative Tim Seip, along with Schuylkill and Berks Community Action programs will host the events to raise awareness about the state’s Property Tax and Rent Rebate programs. Seip reminds residents that income limits and maximum rebate amounts have increased. The staffs from the community action programs will be on hand to help people at Seip’s offices from 10am to 6:30pm at the following locations and dates: Thursday, March 29th-Pottsville office at 396 S. Centre Street, Thursday, April 12th-Tilden Township office, Hamburg and Thursday, April 19th-Hegins office-Tobash Insurance Agency at 9 Park Lane.

It was another full house at Pottsville City Council meeting Monday night. The issue about a proposed Lehigh Valley Med-E-Vac heliport project at the Mazzuca Brothers site in the Mount Hope section of Pottsville continues to be a major focal point at the meetings. In January, a large group of concerned residents opposed to the heliport made their issues known to council. The group has been gathering information about safety issues and other matters, and sharing that information with council. City Solicitor Tim Pellish indicated that the Pottsville Planning Commission discussed the matter in a meeting last week. The city zoning laws do not specifically address heliports or airports. No formal plan for the heliport has been submitted by Mazzuca to this point. The commission suggested that Mazzuca make application to the zoning board for the project, but offered no official action about the matter. City officials can find no record of approval for the original helipad at the Mazzuca site some 20 years ago, and no precedent exists how to handle heliports within city limits. Dan Dillow and Mike Vuksta, co-chairs of the Pottsville Concerned Citizens Group, offered additional information from various sources about heliports and their concerns about putting one in the city. Mayor Reiley and city council responded to some of the questions the group had. The group requested that the city take action to stop any activity regarding a heliport until all of the zoning questions are cleared up.