Today's News - Saturday, November 10th

POTTSVILLE - Their heroism and valor on the battlefield earned them the nation's highest recognition, the Medal of Honor. But to those of us here in Schuylkill County, Henry Hill and Charles Brown of Schuylkill Haven, Joel T. Boone of St. Clair, and 12 others are more than names, they are sons of the coal region. And today at noon, their service and their memory will be honored at Joulwan Park in Pottsville. Pottsville Lasting Legacy and the Joint Veterans Council will dedicate the Medal of Honor Memorial. Retired General George Joulwan will be present to offer remarks. Tomorrow is Veterans Day. Observances are scheduled to mark the day across the county. We as Americans owe our veterans more than a single day to say thank you. Honor our Veterans every day of the year.

FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - Some enterprising young students at North Schuylkill High School are aiding St. Catherine's Hospital to possibly win an MRI machine for their facility. The kids in Mr. Richard Gober's Advanced Computer Technology class created a neat black and white video about St. Catherine's Regional Medical Center, in a sort of take off on the Three Stooges, but it stresses that healthcare is no laughing matter, making the case for a new Siemens MRI machine for the hospital. Visitors to the site can vote for one of 70 plus hospitals, and one lucky facility will win a Siemens MRI machine! By voting, you can help your friends and neighbors receive a valuable resource for diagnosing health problems early. The website address to vote is win-an-mri-dot-com. You can search for the video by typing Saint Catherine in the search window. Voting will be open until December 31st.

MAHANOY CITY - A man is in jail following a Thursday night incident in Mahanoy City. Borough police report that Carl Spracklin Jr. was involved in an argument with a woman whom he was staying with. He began to choke her and demanded money and her car keys. He took off with a necklace and diamond ring that belonged to Helen Daub, then drove off in Daub's boyfriend's car. Spracklin then got into a scuffle with Daub’s boyfriend. He was arraigned on charges of robbery, criminal mischief and related offenses. Bail was set at $15-thousand-dollars.

ORWIGSBURG - A New Jersey man escaped injury in a crash last night near Orwigsburg. State police say JJ Pierson of Union City, New Jersey, was traveling north on Route 61, when the front tire deflated rapidly, forcing him to lose control. In attempting to regain control, Pierson overcompensated and the car crashed into a building owned by Wally Miechowski. Pierson's car was severely damaged.

POTTSVILLE - A county based philanthropic organization is celebrating Community Foundation Week beginning tomorrow. The Schuylkill Community Foundation has been serving the county for 40 years by providing support to worthwhile charitable causes, from monies bequested to the $11 million dollar fund pool. The Community Foundation Week began in 1989 to raise awareness of community foundations' charitable activities and services to donors seeking to maximize their charitable dollars. To learn more about the Schuylkill Community Foundation, log on to their website, sacfoundation-dot-com, or call 385-4180. Eillen Kuperavage will be a guest on For Your Information with Jay Levan, Tuesday at 3pm.

POTTSVILLE - Bids for a bridge rehabilitation project in Tamaqua were opened during Wednesday's County Commissioners work session. Four bids were received ranging from a low of $176-thousand-600 dollars to a high of just over $478-thousand-dollars. The bridge project is located at Cedar Street in Tamaqua over the Little Schuylkill River. The contract is tentatively set to be awarded at the next Commissioners board meeting. In other business, the county will enter into a three year agreement with Reading Elevator Service Inc. of Reading to provide maintenance for the court house elevators at a cost of $572-dollars per month, with a cap of $20-thousand-592 dollars. Approval was also sought to advertise for bids for the cleaning of the court house complex for one year, two year and three year periods. The bids would be opened and contracts awarded in December. Approval was sought to approve a lease amendment for the County Drug and Alcohol Executive Commission and St. John’s Church at 912 Howard Avenue Pottsville. The utility payment portion of the rent is to be increased from $700 per month to $1,100 per month to more accurately reflect minimum utility changes. Two bid openings will be held next Wednesday for Rest Haven. Resident furniture bids will be awarded November 28th and dietary equipment will be awarded December 12th. The commissioners also announced that the court house will be closed on Monday in observance of Veteran's Day.

NEW YORK (AP) - American author Norman Mailer has died. He was 84 and died early today at a hospital in New York of kidney failure. The two-time pulitzer prize winner wrote his first novel in 1948, "The Naked and the Dead." His writing was admired for its insight, passion and originality.

NEW YORK (AP) - More than two dozen shows on Broadway are set to go dark today as stagehands go on strike. Contract talks between stagehands and producers have fallen through. A morning matinee of the musical based on How the Grinch Stole Christmas stands to be
the first show not to go on.

NEOSHO, Mo. (AP) - Authorities in Missouri have arrested the stepfather of a nine-year-old girl whose body was found yesterday in a cave, almost a week after she disappeared. In a TV interview earlier, the stepfather had said he was devastated by her disappearance because he had heard about "so many bad things that happen to kids."

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - This year has become the deadliest for American troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S. invasion. Six troops were killed yesterday in an ambush by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan. Three Afghan soldiers were also killed in the attack.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A preliminary hearing into an alleged robbery involving O.J. Simpson will continue Tuesday. Only four of an expected eight prosecution witnesses testified in the two days that were scheduled. Simpson's attorney says testimony by one witness was colored by his plea deal with prosecutors.