Skook News - Your #1 Source for Schuylkill County News

Thursday, February 26, 2015

PennDOT Issues Statement on Vendor Error in Select Driver License Products‏

Deputy PennDOT Secretary for Driver and Vehicle Services Kurt J. Myers issued the following statement on actions being taken as a result of a vendor error in some driver license products:

Kerry L. Ansbach of Pottsville announced Thursday that he is seeking the Republican nomination for Schuylkill County Register of Wills.

A 10 year old boy is being charged after Police and school officials say he wrote two bomb threats in the past week.

District 11 High School Basketball Playoff Scores - 2/25/15

District 11 High School Basketball Playoff Scores

for Schuylkill County Teams - 2/25/15

Elysburg, PA – Considering the cold weather, it might be difficult to believe that Knoebels Amusement Resort’s opening day is just a little more than two months away. In preparation for its 89th season of fun, food and fantasy, Knoebels has scheduled its annual job fair for Saturday, March 7, at the Elysburg Fire Company Hall, East Mill Street in Elysburg.

Four people are in prison after a home invasion in Frackville Tuesday afternoon.

District 11 High School Basketball Playoff Scores - 2/24/15

District 11 High School Basketball Playoff Scores - 2/24/15

According to an article posted by the Times News, Police are looking for a person who used fake $100 at the Schuylkill Mall on February 19th at several stores.

An amber alert has been issued for a little girl out of Delaware. The man police say kidnapped her has ties to Carbon County.

Schuylkill County School Delays - 2/24/15

On Monday morning, the Morning Call released data that was collected by the US. Census Bureau and shows what municipalities have the highest and lowest household incomes in the Lehigh Valley. Schuylkill County was a apart of that list.

Around 2:45am, emergency personnel were called to Russo's Pizza, on Route 61, near Orwigsburg for a tractor trailer into a building with entrapment.

Pottsville School District Wants Public Opinion on Merger with St. Clair School District

The Pottsville School District has a released a Feasibility Report on the possibility of the district merging with the St. Clair School District.

Updated District XI High School Basketball Playoff Schedule for Schuylkill County Teams

2015 District 11 High School Basketball Playoff Schedule

for Schuylkill County Teams

Saturday's District XI High School Basketball Playoff Scores - 2/21/15

Road Work Scheduled for Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County

Schuylkill County Road Work Scheduled for This Week

Two Hurt After SUV Crashes into Creek Friday Afternoon

Around 3pm, Friday, emergency personnel were called to Route 54, near Holly Road, Barnesville for a motor vehicle accident.

District 11 High School Basketball Playoff Scores - 2/20/15

Time Changes for Saturday's District 11 Girls Basketball Schedule

The Minersville Police are looking for a man wanted for burglary

Pitman Man Reported Missing

A Pitman man is reported to be missing and hasn't been seen in over a week.

PennDOT today announced that Pennsylvanians can view ratings of the state’s efforts in transportation safety, mobility, system preservation and accountability in the updated Transportation Performance Report.

Schuylkill County School Delays for 2/20/15

Schuylkill County School Delays - 2/19/15

Frackville Man Accused of Setting Fire Inside Cell at SCI-Mahanoy

A Frackville man is accused of setting fire to his cell at SCI-Mahanoy.

The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline has increased every day since January 27 for a total of 22 cents per gallon over 22 days. Today’s average price of $2.26 per gallon is seven cents more than one week ago and 19 cents more than one month ago. Consumers are still saving $1.10 per gallon at the pump in comparison to this date last year, a spread that has slowly started to narrow after widening to as much as $1.25 per gallon on January 26.

Our 2015 Schuylkill County Saint Patrick's Day Shirts are available.

On Tuesday, two announcements were made regarding elected Schuylkill County officials.

Tuesday Night's District 11 High School Basketball Playoff Scores - 2/17/15

PennDOT Temporarily Waives Certain Restrictions on Commercial Drivers Hauling Heating Oil, Propane Gas‏

To ensure that much-needed heating fuel can reach Pennsylvanians with no interruptions, PennDOT has temporarily waived certain restrictions on commercial drivers to allow for the smooth delivery of heating oil and propane gas to homes and businesses for heating purposes.

HARRISBURG – Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane today announced that agents from her office have arrested a Schuylkill County woman accused of stealing $11,400 in Social Security benefits from her grandmother, who has dementia and was not capable of consenting to the withdrawals from her bank account.

Middletown - A jackpot-winning Cash 5 ticket worth $225,000 wwas sold in Schuylkill county for the Feb. 15 drawing.

The State Police out of Hamburg are investing a kidnapping that occurred Monday, February 16th, 2015 on the 1300 block of Hawk Mountain Road, Albany Twp. Berks County.

The Republican Herald is reporting that on Tueday morning employees of the K-Mart in the Schuylkill Mall were informed that the store would be closing later this year.

Mall Manager, Elaine Maneval, had the following comment

"We have valued Kmart as a tenant at Schuylkill Mall for many years, and are obviously disappointed that they will not be extending their lease at the end of its current term, which is Oct 2015. Candidly, this is not a big surprise, as Kmart and Sears have been realigning their corporate strategy, and as a company, now operates fewer than ½ the stores that existed (3500) when the companies merged, with approximately 200 stores closing in 2014.

In anticipation of this potential closure, the Landlord engaged CBRE|FAMECO to pursue replacement tenant(s) in the event Kmart did not extend their lease, effectively trying to get in front of the decision, proactively, rather than reacting to the official notice provided today. This is also our first notice that Kmart has formally decided to close their store at Schuylkill Mall."

Earlier story regarding the space being up for lease
http://www.skooknews.com/2015/02/k-mart-location-at-schuylkill-mall.html

Link to story in the Republican Herald
http://republicanherald.com/kmart-to-close-at-schuylkill-mall-later-this-year-1.1834317

**Story updated at 3:30pm to add comment from Elaine Maneval

Haulpak Overturns in Mahanoy Township

Emergency personnel were called to Patriotic Hill along Route 54 between Mahanoy City and Shenandoah for an overturned haulpak around noon Tuesday.

Schuylkill County School Delays and Closings - 2/17/15

TRAFFIC ALERT: Crash Reported on Southbound Route 61 Between Frackville and St. Clair

Around 3pm, emergency personnel were called to the area of Deadman's curve on Route 61 southbound on the Frackville Grade between Frackville and St. Clair.