Local News-Monday, April 9th

A Pine Grove man is dead following a crash in Washington Township early Sunday. According to Schuylkill Haven State Police, 28-year-old Adam Poda was traveling west on State Route 895 before 2am when he lost control of his car. The vehicle began spinning across the road into the yard of a home on Rock Road, then hit a tree on the driver’s side. Poda was pronounced dead at the scene by Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner Robert Berger. State police were assisted by emergency personnel from the Pine Grove Fire Deparment and the Pine Grove Ambulance.

A Pottsville woman was flown to Geisinger Medical Center after a crash in Tremont Sunday afternoon. Ashley Kline was north bound on State Route 125 when the back tire of her car left the road, causing the car to slide sideways across the road. Her car then struck a tree.
Kline received treatment at the scene, then taken to Geisinger. The crash happened before 5pm.

A Roman Catholic priest is appealing his four-to-ten-year sentence for violating probation in a child pornography case. The Rev. Ronald Yarrosh also wants to stop the country from destroying evidence-pornographic books, magazines and videos he kept in a home and rented storage bin-during his appeal. Yarrosh, who was an assistant pastor at St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven, is serving a four-to-ten year prison term after violating probation by taking a stripper’s young daughter to lunch and buying more child porn. He had initially been sentenced to ten years of probation. A hearing on his request is set for Tuesday.

A New Ringgold man was arrested after breaking into a neighbor’s home Friday morning. State Police from Frackville now say that Bruce Haas forcibly entered the home of Lark Anderson, 50 Schuylkill Road, after 4am and demanded that she give him a gun. Anderson refused, and Haas ransacked the kitchen of the home and left. After locking the door behind him, Haas kicked the door in again, and began yelling obscenities at her, then left a second time. State police obtained an arrest warrant and took Haas into custody. He was placed in Schuylkill County Prison.

A two-car crash on Interstate 81 Saturday night leaves 4 injured. The vehicles were both southbound on I-81 in Butler Township, when Camp Hill resident Sarah Comstock’s car hit the rear of a Jeep, forcing the SUV to roll over. Three people from Syracuse, New York were inside, but police aren’t sure who was driving. Comstock’s car also rolled over several times, and she was thrown from the vehicle . Comstock, Oanh Nguyen, Hung Le and a male teenager were taken to Geisinger Medical Center via helicopter from the Joe Zerbey airport. Comstock and Nguyen were treated and released. Le remains in the hospital in fair condition. The teen’s condition is unknown. The crash happened around 10:30pm. The investigation is continuing.

Diakon Community Services for Seniors is looking for Schuylkill County’s top senior spellers. So dust off your dictionaries and getting cracking! The organization is holding a series of regional competitions, beginning this week, to find the best speller to represent Schuylkill County at the state Senior Spelling Bee in May in York County. The first regional competition will be held Thursday at 6pm at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Orwigsburg, with four subsequent competitions scheduled in the next two weeks. To enter, contact Susan Long at Diakon Community Services, at 624-3018, or toll free at 800-621-6325. Diakon Community Services for seniors are programs of Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries under contract with the Schuylkill County Office of Senior Services.