Local News-Wednesday, April 11th

A fire damaged a house of worship in Mechanicsville early this morning. Firefighters responded to 1043 East Norwegian Street, the Islamic Society of Schuylkill County around 12:30am. Mechanicsville Fire Chief Mike Reno told WPPA/T102 News that heavy smoke and fire was coming from the building when they arrived. Reno said that the fire was knocked down in about 15 minutes, and they were able to save religious artifacts from the building. Reno said that a church leader left the building around 10pm after taking out the trash. The point of origin appeared to be in a storage area in the rear of the building. State Police Fire Marshal John Burns is expected to be on scene to investigate later today. Fire crews from Mechanicsville, Port Carbon, Palo Alto, St Clair and Pottsville responded to the two alarm fire.

A leader of the Schuylkill County Teenage Republicans is stepping down. Scott Thomas, one of the founders of the political group, announced his intention to resign Thursday. Speaking with WPPA/T102 News, Thomas said that he was leaving the post to work on growing a statewide Teenage Republican organization, but was leaving the county group in good hands with co-founder Hayden Muncy. The Schuylkill Teenage Republicans grew out of a group of young people at Pottsville High School, but expanded countywide in the last year, providing support to Republican candidates in last year’s general election. Scott Thomas is a senior at Pottsville High School.

The Schuylkill Conservation District has received an award from the Governor and the state Department of Environmental Protection. The county agency and 11 other winners were given the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty announced the winners during a ceremony in Clairton yesterday. The Schuylkill Conservation District was honored for their work on the Audenreid Mine Tunnel Acid Mine Drainage Remediation Project, the largest passive acid mine drainage treatment system of its kind ever undertaken and completed in Pennsylvania. Native brook trout are now being caught along the Catawissa Creek in places that have historically never shown signs of aquatic life. The Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence honors Pennsylvania businesses and organizations that put in place projects that tackle environmental problems and help build new businesses, enhance the bottom line and engage residents in a renewed commitment to investing in their communities. The agency will receive a commemorative plaque and an outdoor flag to acknowledge their commitment to environmental quality.

A hearing for a convicted former Schuylkill Haven priest, scheduled for yesterday, has been postponed. The Reverend Ronald Yarrosh was scheduled to appear in court to contest the destruction of pornographic material that is being stored in a vacant house in Jim Thorpe and a storage facility in Luzerne County. The Pottsville Republican and Herald says that President Judge William Baldwin ordered Yarrosh to pay for storage of the items until his appeal of a 4-to-10 year sentence is heard. Yarrosh pleaded guilty of sexual abuse of children, theft, receiving stolen property and other charges in 2005. His original sentence of 3 to 23 months in prison was extended after he violated the terms of his probation by drinking alcohol, leaving the county and being in the company of a stripper’s 7 year old child. The court said that Yarrosh, who served as an assistant pastor at St. Ambrose parish in Schuylkill Haven, would have to pay to store the pornographic material. Those items may be used as evidence in his sentence appeal.

A McAdoo man was involved in a brief standoff with state police on Tuesday in the borough. Frackville troopers responded to the home at 527 South Kennedy Drive after they were informed that 57-year-old Carl Upshaw was holed up in the house, threatening to kill himself.
Upshaw was alone in the home, and reportedly had weapons inside. Troopers negotiated with him for about 15 minutes until he came out of the home. Upshaw had started two fires in the basement of the home, but they were quickly extinguished. He was taken to Pottsville Hospital for evaluation.