Rep. Cartwright Calls A Schuylkill County Constituent A "Troll"

In a story that , PoliticsPA.com posted, it looks like Schuylkill County's US Representative Matt Cartwright has got himself in a bit of a Twitter battle.

A constituent, Leo Knepper, from right in Schuylkill County, asked Rep. Cartwright a question of why he voted a certain way on HJ Res. 72.   The bill restores veteran's benefits during the government shutdown.   You can see the response he got in the picture below

Lancaster Woman Arrested in Schuylkill Haven In Connection with Daughter's Death

Ranasia Knight

Last November, Jessica Bachman, Lancaster, sought out a protection from abuse order from Lester Johnson, her then live-in boyfriend after he threatened to kill her and her children.

A year before that, she sought out a PFA after he pulled her hair, attempted to pull her down the stairs, and threatened to kill her.  He also said he would have her and her children kidnapped.

Ashland and Hegins Men Sent to Prison

On Monday, 2 Ashland men were sent to prison on drug charges from incidents that happened in 2011.

Charles Bechtel, 31, was sentenced to 4 to 24 months, plus 23 additional months of probation, and undergo drug and alcohol evaluation.

Bechtel had earlier pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, and use of an incapacitation device, and prosecutors withdrew earlier charges  of prohibited possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a small amount of marijuana.

State Police at Reading had charged Bechtel with committing the crimes on June 30, 2011.

Also sentenced on Monday was Kevin J. Clews, 33, of Ashland.  He was sentenced to 3 to 12 months in prison and undergo and drug and alcohol evaluation after revoking his probation.

Clews' probabation was revoked after the defendant admitted to possessing drugs and failing a drug test.

Clews had already pleaded guilty to the charges.

Ashland Police charged Clews when he was driving under the influence and possessing drug paraphernalia  in a November 19, 2011 incident.

Also, Bradley L. Merwine, 34, of Hegins was sentenced to 6 to 12 months in prison when he failed to report and not complete substance abuse treatment.

Merwine originally pleaded guilty to charges of false reports to law enforcement.  He was then placed on probation.

Schuylkill Haven State Police charged Merwine with the false reports on January 3, 2010.

Minersville Man In Prison After Gun Incident

Minersville Police got a call of a domestic violence incident where shots were fired around 7AM Sunday morning at 313 Pine St.

When police arrived, they could hear yelling coming from the second floor of the home of John G. Chistakoff, 47.

ATV Crash Victim Dies

Shawn Day, 20, of Pottsville, was pronounced dead at 10PM, Monday evening at Lehigh High Valley Hospital.

State police report that Day drove past a state trooper on his ATV without headlights in the 2300 block of West End Avenue early Sunday morning.  A short while later, police found the ATV crashed after hitting a wall on private property and then a utility pole.

Christopher Ostrousky, 23, of Pottsville was riding the ATV with Day.  Both were ejected when they crashed.  Ostrousky was taken to Geisinger in Danville.

Neither Day or Ostrousky were wearing helmets.

4 Undefeated Schuylkill County High School Football Teams

This season in high school football in Schuylkill County has been a memorable one.  We've seen the big districts that usually dominate the county lose and we now have 4 smaller districts who have gone undefeated for 5 weeks.  Those teams are Mahanoy Area, Tri-Valley, Pine Grove, and Williams Valley.

Early Morning Fire In Atlas

This morning, a fire spread through 4 homes in Atlas, Northumberland County.  Out of the 4 homes only one was occupied.  The fire is said to have started in one of the vacant homes.

Route 61 leading into Mt. Carmel and Girard Street were closed while crews were fighting the blaze.

From Schuylkill County, Ashland and Friendship Fire Co., Butler Twp. responded to the fire with their Tanker.

WNEP is reporting that fire officials are calling the fire suspicious.