Kessler Marked For Termination, Kessler to Plead Case At Public Hearing

At a special borough council meeting last night in Gilberton, the council voted 6-1 to suspend Police Chief Mark Kessler pending his termination.  You may ask why Kessler couldn't be terminated immediately?  This is because Kessler has a right to a public hearing.

No date has been set yet for the public hearing but it could happen as soon as within the next 10 days.

Kessler will have the right to plead his case to an independent council and they will make the final determination.

Some of the borough charges that were announced against Kessler are

• Misuse of a borough discount to purchase tires for a personal humvee
• Tampered with a borough computer system ahead of his July 31st suspension
• Using the borough's automatic weapons in the viral video without permission
• Refused to hand over attachments that made 5 of his weapons fully automatic
• Made derogatory statements about certain council members

Kessler's attorney Nahas said that all the borough's charges all lacked proof.

After the meeting, the borough council had nothing else to say.

It's not over yet folks!

LIVE COVERAGE: Special Gilberton Borough Council Meeting

Tonight at 7PM, the Borough Council of Gilberton will meet to decide whether or not to fire Police Chief Mark Kessler.

Please stay tuned to this page for the live results

Skook Spotlight: Girardville, PA (15 Pics)

SPCA Called to Home In Fountain Springs, Butler Township

The SPCA was called to a home yesterday in Fountain Spring, Butler Township after a dog was killed by two other dogs in the yard of 308 Fountain St.

Originally police were called, then the police called the SPCA.

When they arrived, they found more than a dozen dogs, 2 tortoises, two ducks, 25 guinea pigs, 17 rabbits, and dozens of birds.

There was also a pot bellied pig in the basement.

Animals were found not to have food or water.

The animals were taken to the Hillside SPCA where they will be put up for adoption.  They also ask for donations because of the amount of care all of these animals will need until they are adopted.

KESSLER DISCIPLINARY HEARING: No Decision Yet, Special Meeting Tonight

This morning Mark Kessler had his disciplinary hearing with the Gilberton Borough Mayor, Mary Lou Hannon,  there are very few details about what said during the hearing but there has been no decision yet. The Borough Council will vote this evening at 7 P.M.

The area outside the borough building was surrounded by Kessler supporters and news media.  Gene Stilp was also on hand.

Joseph Nahas, Kessler's attorney said the council rejected his motion to dispute arbitration.

When asked, Kessler's lawyer, Joseph Nahas, expects him to be fired.

Below are some images from this morning that were found through Twitter @JohnLuciew

Suspended Gilberton Police Chief's Disciplinary Hearing Scheduled For Tomorrow

Gilberton should be a busy place tomorrow morning at 10AM.  That is when the suspended Police Chief of Gilberton, Mark Kessler, will sit down with his lawyer and Mayor Mary Lou Hannon for a disciplinary hearing.

The original date of the hearing was postponed when Kessler's lawyer could not attend.

No other members of the borough council are to attend this hearing.  Kessler's lawyer says a press conference will follow immediately after the hearing.

Mahanoy City Hook & Ladder 457 Removed From Firehouse

Photo From Schuylkill County Firewire

This morning in Mahanoy City began the rebuilding process for the Washington Hook and Ladder.

Approximately 10AM, a small crowd gathered with cameras in hand and remained silent as the shell of the fire truck was removed and then taken away.

Mahanoy Street was close while the work was being done.

The Hookies, as Mahanoy City refers to the department is still to receive a loaner truck from an anonymous fire department in Lackawanna County while they rebuild.

Schuylkill County Man Killed on Route 183 Crash in Berks County

William B. Weikel, 55, of Zion Grove, was killed Monday morning when the pickup he was driving that was part of a convoy escorting an over-sized load down route 183 just below the Schuylkill County line in Berks County.

Route 183 was closed for about 3 hours because of the crash and a second crash that happened shortly after.

SKOOK NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: Fake Facebook Profiles of Older People

Facebook has grown to be the largest social networking site in the world, and it's arguably the safest as well.  Myspace was great at the time but eventually lost it's steam when viruses and other problems began being shared through the site.

What I am about to talk about may or may not be a virus, but it's definitely a security problem that I've witnessed on more than one occasion with friends of mine on Facebook within Schuylkill County.

Skook News: Week #3 High School Football Power Rankings

Mahanoy Area holding strong but North Schuylkill's loss has shaken up the board

Police Identify People Killed In Route 61 Accident

Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner, Andrew Szczyglak released the names of the two individuals killed this morning in a head on crash on Route 61, north of St. Clair.

The victims were Ervin Wallace, 48, Shenandoah and Brian A. Hibshman, 32, Berks County.

Double Fatality On Route 61

Emergency personnel received a call last around 3:30AM this morning for a head on collision just north of St. Clair in the area of Dark Water.

Route 61 was closed for a short period of time while the accident was cleaned up and investigated.

Two victims of the crash died from their injuries.  As of the writing of this article, the names have not been released of the victims.

Stay tuned to Skook News for further details.

Man Crushed By Car Identified

On Friday Afternoon, Police released the name of the man that was crushed by a car as Raymond Yocum, 57, of Tamaqua.

It was said that he was working on a car on a hill and the car accidentally slipped out of gear causing the car to roll on top of Yocum.

Yocum's death has been ruled accidental.

Schuylkill County High School Football Scores - Week #3

Schuylkill County High School Football - Week #3

Marian 6  Mahanoy Area 40
Pottsville 23  Blue Mountain 21
Schuylkill Haven 41  Minersville 7
North Schuylkill 21 Jim Thorpe 41
Panther Valley 40 Kutztown 26
Pine Grove 33 @ East Juniata 14
Shenandoah Valley 15  Tamaqua 38
Tri-Valley 13  Newport 7
Williams Valley 54 @ Millersburg 13

Suspended Gilberton Police Chief Declares Candidacy for County Sheriff

It looks like suspended Gilberton Borough Police Chief Mark Kessler is looking to bigger and better things when it comes to his job.

While Kessler is still suspended from his current job of Police Chief of Giberton, he has announced that his is running for Schuylkill County Sheriff as an Independent write-in.

He said he has been thinking about running for awhile.

Kessler will be running against the incumbent Sheriff Joseph G. Groody (Democrat) and Patrick Reynolds (Republican) in the November 5th election.

Further on Kessler's disciplinary hearing, it will be held  at 10AM on September 19th at the borough municipal building.