And Then There Was Five

Friday and Saturday evenings took our list of 9 Schuylkill County teams and shortened it down to 5.

It was inevitable that we would lose some teams because of them playing against each other but two losses of our biggest teams really hurt us.

Pottsville and Pine Grove really showed some promise in the playoffs, especially with Pine Grove going undefeated the entire regular season.  Although Pine Grove put up a good fight, they were unable to get that extra touchdown just to put them over Palisades.

Pottsville really struggled and Palisades was able to keep them to just a field goal the whole game.

Nativity and Tri-Valley are unfortunately the two on the losing end of playing against another Schuylkill County team.

To our winners, Mahanoy Area and North Schuylkill got their spark back when they finished off Nativity and North Penn.  They've been struggling the past couple weeks but this looked like the teams we started out the season with.

Marian is keeping up with their winning ways after starting out the season with 3 straight losses.

Williams Valley wasn't able to rest easy during their game against Pius X.  One touchdown could have changed the whole game.

Schuylkill Haven dominated Tri-Valley.  Tri-Valley being the smaller school just couldn't keep up with Haven.

This week we only have 3 games to watch since 4 Schuylkill County Teams play each other.

11/15/13 - 7pm

Marian @ Mahanoy Area - (Eastern Conference Class A Championship)
North Schuylkill @ Northwestern Lehigh
Schuylkill Haven @ Williams Valley

Mahanoy City/Schuylkill County Native Elected to Lead Conference of Catholic Bishops

We reported last week that the Mahanoy City Native, Joseph Kurtz, was in the running to be elected to lead the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Morning Call is reported that he has won that election.

Kurtz is also a former Allentown Diocese Pastor.

Read more about it here
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-catholic-bishop-conference-kurtz-20131112,0,2148940.story

Car Rear ends School Bus In Pottsville Tuesday Morning

This morning at the intersection of East Norwegian Street and North George street, a man with a reported medical condition rear ended a school bus.  Although a number wasn't given, there were students on the bus, but none were injured.

Along with hitting the bus, the man driving the car hit numerous vehicles along Norwegian street.

Fire in Unoccupied Home in Middleport

Around 5pm Monday evening, authorities were called to 11 Kaska-Williams Street.  When they arrived they found flames coming from the second floor.

The fire was quickly put out and was the scene cleared around 6:30pm.

The house was currently unoccupied and there have no reports on what caused the blaze.

Ashland Corrects Water Problem - Boil Advisory Over

The Borough of Ashland posted the following on their Facebook page,

DRINKING WATER PROBLEM CORRECTED

Customers in affected areas of Ashland Borough (12th Street west to North 29th Street) serviced by the Ashland Area Water Authority were notified on November 8, 2013 of a problem with our drinking water and were advised to boil your water prior to drinking.

We are pleased to report that the problem has been corrected and that lab results have confirmed that it is no longer necessary to boil your water.

. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Please share this information with other people who may drink this water.

SUV Crashes Into Home In East Norwegian Twp.

Around 8am Sunday morning, Timothy Reed, Pottsville, was driving his SUV on McCord Ave. when he lost his brakes and was unable to make a turn and crashed into a home at 26 Caroline Ave.

No one was hurt in the crash.  Two people rented the home and were not injured.  Reed's passenger in the SUV was also not injured.

Skook News Week In Review - Week Ending 11/9/13

 

Skook News Week in Review

 

The news of Schuylkill County for week ending 11/9/13

Obituaries 11/10/13

Helen V Miller, age 95, of the Masonic Village, Elizabethtown, formerly of Hegins passed away Saturday, November 9, 2013 at the village.

 

She was born on Saturday, November 9, 1918, in Hegins, a daughter of the late Harry M  and Dora E Fisher Herb.

 

She was a inspector for former Amy Sportswear, Valley View,

 

She was a member of Friedens Lutheran Church, Hegins.

 

She was also a life member of the ILGWU and a member of the Hegins Fire Company Auxiliary.

 

Helen enjoyed quilting, reading, cooking, and spending time with her family.

 

Her husband Franklin J Miller, Sr., passed away in 1979.  She was also preceded in death by two brothers Leroy Herb and Glenn Herb.

 

She is survived by a daughter Sandra M Shubert and her husband Dr Ronald of Elizabethtown; a son Dr Franklin J Miller, Jr and his wife Bonnie of Salt Lake City, UT; five grandchildren; ten great grandchildren; a sister Mary Spatz of Wyomissing; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

 

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

 

Memorial contributions can be made to Friedens Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 375,  Hegins, PA 17938.

 

Buffington-Reed Funeral Home, Valley View, is in charge of arrangements. 

 

Condolences can be left for the family atwww.buffingtonreed.com. 

Sunday's Weather Forecast

The cold weather continues for the foreseeable future.

Temperatures will hang steady and then turn even colder once Tuesday rolls around.

The cold ushered in on Tuesday could also feature rounds of snow showers and snow squalls which could slick up the ground. More details as we get closer. No concerns about any major snowstorm, however.

Labor Groups Protest In Pottsville Saturday Morning

Union Groups this morning protested in Pottsville against Dick Yuenglings support of the Right to Work act.  

One of the reasons businesses favor right-to-work laws is because it makes unions more difficult to organize.

The protesters started at the Yuengling Brewery and ended at the Schuylkill County Courthouse, closing streets along the way.

An estimated 100 people or so were there for the protest.

One of the speakers stressed that these, the union workers, are the hands that do the labor. There were representatives from just about every union in Pennsylvania - among them the teamsters, iron workers, operating engineers, nurses, teachers, united mine workers and many more - all united in their message as they marched in solidarity for good jobs, strong families, and strong communities.

Minersville Police Looking For Your Help In Finding Vandals.

The Minersville police are asking for help in identify 3 individuals who were seen vandalizing cars and smashing pumpkins in New Minersville on Sunday night between 1am and 5am.  They said it happened on the streets of Saint Francis, Pine Hill, Oak, Pottsville, and Lydle.

All that has been reported was that the suspects were all wearing hoodies.

In total the suspects slashed tires at 26 vehicles and on some cars slashed multiple tires.

Anyone with information is to call Minersville police at (570) 544-2333.

Schuylkill County High School Football Scores - Week #1 of the Playoffs

High School Football Scores For the First Week of Playoffs

Huge upsets!!!

November 8th, 2013 - 7pm
Nativity BVM 0 Mahanoy Area 42
North Penn-Blossburg 6 North Schuylkill 28
Marian Catholic 20 Muncy 6
Pius X 13 Williams Valley 18

Schuylkill Haven 42  Tri-Valley 0
Palisades 10 Pine Grove 6

November 9th, 7PM

Pottsville 3 Southern Lehigh 27

Mother of Daughters' Killed In Crash Acquitted On Charges

The mother of two young girls who were killed in a car crash on Palm Sunday was acquitted of the charges against her today.

Victoria Place,  was leaving a church service when she was struck by a vehicle driven by an 18 year old from Schuylkill Haven, while pulling outo Route 61.  Place was charged with improperly entering a highway.

Tamaqua Church Broken Into and Vandalized

The Primitive Methodist Church in Tamaqua was vandalized this past week and it has forced the church to cancel services for this weekend.

The thieves also stole some copper piping from the church as well that could take weeks to repair.  Damages may cost up to $10,000.  They also ripped through the church trashing it, officials believe looking for money.

If you have any information about the break in or vandalism, you are to call Tamaqua police at 570-668-5000.

Minersville Woman Arrested For Meth Lab

Minersville police arrested Judith Essler, 47, 311 Laurel St., last evening on charges of illegal dumping of methamphetamine waster, manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of liquefied ammonia gas, possession of drug paraphernalia, and operating a methamphetamine lab.

She was committed to Schuylkill County Prison on $25,000 straight bail.

Police said that inside the home they found a functioning and active mobile meth lab.