Local News-Monday, May 21st

State police at Lykens have arrested three men for a string of vehicle break-ins in Williamstown and Tower City. Between May 13th and the 18th, troopers received 10 reports of items being taken from the cars. Williamstown borough police also investigated 4 similar crimes. Personal items, including cash, CD’s, i-pods and a handgun were taken. Arrested were Joseph Skymba and Clifton Webb of Williamstown, and Shawn Carl of Tower City. Skymba and Carl are in Dauphin County Prison, awaiting a preliminary hearing. Webb faces charges as well.
Some of the items have been returned to their owners.

Schuylkill Haven state police are investigating a burglary at a home in Pitman, Eldred Township on Friday night. Unknown thieves broke into Johannes Zinzendorf's home and ransacked the first floor of the home. Taken in the burglary were numerous pictures , coins, a flintlock pistol and other collectibles. Anyone with information on the break-in should call Schuylkill Haven State Police at 593-2000.

Police were busy during roving DUI checkpoints on Friday and Saturday nights. During the two-day enforcement blitz, 121 vehicles were contacted, with 3 adult and 1 juvenile DUI arrest. Four were nabbed for underage drinking. More than 50 traffic arrests were also made in the two-day swing. Random, roving patrols will be conducted on area roads this week, and through the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The checkpoints are part of the Expanded DUI/Underage Drinking Enforcement Program funded through PENNDot and the National Highway Traffic Safety Network.

A Levittown man is in trouble after some bizarre behavior at a boat and RV center near Hamburg. Friday afternoon, Timothy Wyrauch was causing a disturbance at the business, jumping up and down on equipment and locking himself in a travel trailer. He also threatened an employee. State police at Hamburg report that Wyrauch became unruly when they attempted to take him into custody, and punched a rear window from the cruiser.
Wyrauch's bizarre behavior continued until he was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Reading for a mental evaluation. He is charged with harassment, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and trespass, and institutional vandalism.

A McAdoo man is charged with harassment following incidents in the borough Saturday morning. Frackville state police say that Thomas Gaughan was making harassing phone calls to Katherine Gaughan, and also verbally abused her at her place of work, Andsher Personal Care home. Summary charges are pending against Thomas Gaughan.

Now that gasoline prices have eclipsed $3-dollars-a-gallon, the incidence of drive-offs from the pump will be on the rise. State police at Schuylkill Haven report that Friday morning, someone driving a blue mini-van pulled into the Getty Mart on the Pottsville/St. Clair Highway and proceeded to fill the vehicle with 16 gallons of gas, then drove off without paying. Schuylkill Haven troopers are continuing their investigation. Anyone with information should call them at 593-2000.

Congressman Tim Holden has introduced an amendment to create a specialized badge for veterans. Current law provides for the Combat Medical Badge and the Combat Infantryman Badge. Those guidelines were developed during World War Two, prior to the use of helicopters. Non-Medevac pilots and co-pilots who flew during the Korean War were honored with Combat Badge. Holden’s amendment would honor medevac crews that operated rescue helicopters. The legislation is part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House last Thursday. The Combat Medevac Badge would make any person who served as a pilot or crewmember of a Medevac beginning June 25th, 1950, eligible for the badge. The Senate has not yet taken action on the bill.

A weasel-like animal not seen in Schuylkill County in more than a decade was found dead along an area road recently. According to Pennsylvania Game Commission officials, an adult fisher recently was hit on a rural road in Pine Grove Township. The fisher, one of the largest members of the weasel family, was found by a local man. A Wildlife Conservation Officer identified it as a fisher. Fishers are about the size of a small fox, and have a dark brown coat. They typically live in forested areas, and subsist on a diet of small forest animals. They aren’t fish catchers, as their name indicates, but will eat dead ones if they find them. The comeback of the fisher may even prompt a highly-regulated trapping season for them. Schuylkill County is also home to other fur-bearers like coyote, bobcat, mink and weasels.