Two Killed in Morea Road Crash

Just before 4pm, Friday afternoon, crews were called to 301 Morea Road for a motor vehicle accident.   This address is the entrance to SCI-Mahanoy.

The driver of one of the vehicles, a 51 year old from Mahanoy City, died at the scene.  Robin Capone, 52, of Mahanoy City, was the passenger in the vehicle and died at the hospital.

Morea Road was closed for a few hours while the State Police and Coroner's office investigated the crash.

Two other people were also hurt in the crash but the extent of their injuries has not be released.

Schuylkill County High School Basketball Scores

High School Basketball Scores for 1/24/14

Updated: 9:40pm

Girls

Blue Mountain - 63

Panther Valley - 26

Minersville - 64

Williams Valley - 31

Marian Catholic - 36

Nativity BVM - 34

Schuylkill County Weather Forecast

By:  Monsoon Mike

Yet another snow maker is on the way for Saturday, folks, and while I'd ordinarily be happy to draw one of my nice little maps showing what part of Skook will get what accumulation, there's really no need to given this storm will put down a general swath of 1 to 3 inches of snow, perhaps 4 if the storm outperforms itself. Things get going mid morning and could snow in earnest for awhile until mid afternoon some time, and then continue into the evening in the form of lighter snow showers. It'll be breezy, at times at well, so any snow that falls will blow around.

Sunday things calm down but some afternoon snow showers could dust up the road once again. Early week storm potential seems to have quelled a bit but we know how well (or not so well) the models did with the storm earlier this week, so with plenty of cold air locked in for the next at least 7 days, I'd be on watch. 

Winter Weather Advisory Issued For Schuylkill County

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 8 PM EST SATURDAY ...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 8 PM EST SATURDAY.

* LOCATIONS ...THE POCONO MOUNTAINS.

* HAZARD TYPES ...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS ...2 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW.

* TIMING ...SATURDAY.

* IMPACTS ...HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS DUE TO SNOW COVERED ROADS AND REDUCED VISIBILITY IN SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW.

* WINDS ...SOUTH 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS ...

HAZARDOUS WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. USE CAUTION IF TRAVELING. FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION ...GO TO WEATHER.GOV/CTP OR STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO.

REPORT SNOW ACCUMULATION TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE BY SENDING AN EMAIL TO CTP.STORMREPORTS@NOAA.GOV ... POSTING TO THE NWS STATE COLLEGE FACEBOOK PAGE ...OR TWEET @NWSSTATECOLLEGE WITH THE HASHTAG #CTPWX.

Televisions Stolen from Hometown Wal-Mart

Last evening, around 9:30pm,  two 60" televisions were reportedly stolen from the Hometown Wal-Mart.

It was reported that the thief or thieves left in a dark sports car.

SOURCE:  http://tamaquaarea.wordpress.com/2014/01/23/tamaqua-crime-watch-alert-crooks-steal-two-television-sets-from-hometown-walmart/

Thirty One Bingo - Girl Scouts/Sacramento Fire Company

The parents of Girl Scout Troop 31166 in Hegins/Valley View will be hosting a Thirty One Bingo on February 23 at Sacramento Fire Co..advanced tickets are available for $20 by contacting Christine Lettich @ clettich31@yahoo.com or 570-449-7149

Pottsville Native Appointed to the Diocese of Harrisburg

WNEP reported this morning that Reverend Ronald Gainer, 66, who has been appointed as the Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg, is a Pottsville native.

He has been serving as a bishop in Kentucky since 2003.

Link to story:
http://wnep.com/2014/01/24/bishop-appointed-to-diocese-of-harrisburg/

Schuylkill County High School Basketball Scores - 1/23/14

Schuylkill County High School Basketball Scores for 1/23/14

Schuylkill County School Delays - 1/24/14

Schuylkill County School Closings for 1/24/14

Mahanoy Area - 2 Hour Delay

St. Jerome/Tamaqua - 2 Hour Delay

Tamaqua - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill County Deputy Sheriff Resigns, Under Investigation

The Schuylkill County Deputy Sheriff, Dennis Kane, resigned from his job today while an investigation is underway by the State Police.

The investigation is from an alleged conversation between Kane and 16 year old boy on Facebook.

Kane told WNEP that he denies doing anything wrong.

Kane, also the mayor of Ashland, says that his retirement as Deputy Sheriff is not related to the investigation and will not be resigning as mayor.

We'll have more on this as information becomes available.

Link to WNEP's article.
http://wnep.com/2014/01/23/deputy-sheriff-quits-under-investigation/

Schuylkill County Weather Forecast

By:  Monsoon Mike

Widely scattered snow showers affected the area today on cue. After another brutally cold day on Friday, a tad warmer on Saturday but also another chance for a round of snow. At this early vantage point, it looks like a general 1 to 3 inch sort of storm.

Our next chance of snow after that comes on Monday but that feature looks a little less impressive than it did yesterday. Beyond that, more chances for snow as the week progresses. No end in view, folks! 

Schuylkill County High School Basketball Scores - 1/22/14

High School Basketball Scores from 1/22/14

Boys
Williams Valley - 62
Marian Catholic - 46

Schuylkill County School Delays - 1/23/14

Schuylkill County School Delays - 1/23/14

Schuylkill Weather Forecast

I know some people are really going to hate me for saying this, but don't attack the messenger. We have FOUR chances for snow again in the coming 7 to 10 days.

The first will come in the form of some snow showers or flurries tomorrow. Not expecting it to be much but it could dust up the ground in some areas.

The second comes on Saturday and that one might actually put down an inch or two. We will have to monitor that one as it could be one of those clipper situations that picks up a little bit of juice.

The third chance comes somewhere around Monday and that storm, depending on what the first two do, could set up in the atmosphere to give us a fairly decent round of snow on Monday, but that's still way too off to worry about and lots to be worked out. Could very well be a miss as well.

And the fourth chance comes at the end of next week and that one also could be significant but again, this far out it's just something to look at and nothing more at this point.

Either way, the cold air stays and plenty of active weather!

Schuylkill County Delays and Closings - 1/22/14

Schuylkill County Delays and Closings for  1/22/14

Assumption BVM - 2 Hour Delay

Blue Mountain - 2 Hour Delay

Gillingham Charter - 2 Hour Delay

Mahanoy Area - 2 Hour Delay

Minersville - 2 Hour Delay 

Nativity BVM - 2 hour delay

North Schuylkill - 2 Hour Delay

Pine Grove - 2 Hour Delay

Pottsville - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill Headstart/Child Development - Pre-K Closed, Daycare opens at 8

Schuylkill Haven - 2 hour delay

Schuylkill Maple Ave.  - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill Special Ed. Center - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill Tech North and South - 2 Hour Delay

Shenandoah Valley - 2 Hour Delay

St. Ambrose/Schuylkill Haven - 2 Hour Delay

St. Clair - 2 Hour Delay

St. Jerome/Tamaqua - 2 Hour Delay

St. Nicholas/Minersville - 2 Hour Delay

Tamaqua - 2 Hour Delay

Tri-Valley - 2 Hour Delay

Trinity Academy - 2 Hour Delay

Williams Valley - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill County Weather Forecast

By:  Monsoon Mike

What a wacky storm this was to track and in the end, I probably should have stuck with my first call, but when things got going much earlier than expected, upping my totals was the prudent thing to do. But the sharp gradient that I warned of yesterday is what prevailed putting Skook right on the border of very heavy snow near Philly (near a foot) to practically nothing near Wilkes-Barre. In between was Skook and we will end our storm with about 4 or so inches in southern Skook. About an inch or two northern Skook. Not too far off from my prediction but if you hate snow, you are oh so lucky because only 50 miles south, they are buried. That coulda been us! 

Now get ready for some BRUTAL cold which I think actually may feel worse than the last polar snap because now we have some snow on the ground (the last polar snap, the ground was mainly green). The wind blowing over that snowfall will make tonight and tomorrow feel downright Siberia-like. The warmest day of the next seven will be Saturday when temperatures may actually get out of the 20s. LOL

Then it's back to the teens again for next week. No major storms on the horizon although snow showers are possible Thursday and Saturday.

Snow Covered Roads Made Travel Difficult Tuesday

The snow began falling around 8am Tuesday morning and by lunch time was the cause of many headaches across the county.

The snow layered with a this sheet of ice made back roads and any other untreated roads made travel very difficult.

The Vulcan Hill, Hometown-side, Mahanoy Township was closed for a few hours while the roads were treated and cleaned up after numerous cars and tractor trailers got hung up trying to make their way up the hill.  The road was open again by 2:30pm.

Vulcan Hill

Carbon Monoxide Investigation Monday Evening in Tamaqua

From tamaquaarea.wordpress.com

Tamaqua firefighters and EMS were dispatched to 327 Washington Street just before 8:45 PM tonight (Jan. 20, 2014) after family members called 911 to report a possible CO (carbon monoxide; a colorless, odorless gas) issue in the two-part home. Firefighters arrived and evacuated the home, as well as placed exhaust fans to expel the dangerous gas. During the response, some of the firefighters were covered with black smoke, as someone was working on the furnace when they arrived.

Tamaqua Fire Chief Tom Hartz said that the incident was related to the furnace. Two families were temporarily displaced while plumbers responded and did repairs. Prior to calling 911, a neighbor brought over a carbon monoxide detector to the home. The levels it showed were 250 ppm (parts per million).

One resident, a woman, was cared for by Tamaqua Ambulance while on scene. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention website states that any levels of CO at 1,200 ppm or higher are considered an immediate danger to life. It adds that a 60-minute EEGL (Emergency Exposure Guidance Level) to a CO level of 400 ppm or more can cause severe or permanent injuries; even death.

Hartz stressed that all homes should install a CO detector.

CO detectors are more affordable now than ten years ago. You can purchase a quality CO detector (with readout) for as low as $25 at Tamaqua area stores.

Weather Related Announcements

Schuylkill County Weather Related Announcements for 1/21/14

Sports

Panther Valley Girls Basketball game is postponed until tomorrow night

Mahanoy Area vs. North Schuylkill Boys Basketball is postponed until January 31st. 

Nativity BVM girls basketball postponed until tomorrow

Tuesday Morning Kitchen Fire in Ashland

Tuesday Morning around 10am, crews were called to 11 North 11th Street, Ashland, for a kitchen fire.