Two From Tamaqua Killed in Lehigh County Crash

Posted from:  tamaquaarea.wordpress.com

A man and woman from Tamaqua were killed Wednesday after their pickup truck collided with a work van on SR309 in Lynn Township (Lehigh County). State Police of Fogelsville identified the victims as Roger Jones, 52, and Geraldine Jones, 58, of Tamaqua. The two-vehicle crash occurred about a half-mile south of Gun Club Road on the Blue Mountain around 2:30 PM. In addition to recent precipitation on the roadway, officials added that the area was also shrouded in a light fog.

Black ice possible tonight; sun returns tomorrow

By: Ryan Fannock

6:00PM Update: Good evening! We made it through an other winter storm! Some of us could see a passing snow shower this evening, otherwise it will be dry. Watch out for black ice when traveling tonight. Main roads are wet and secondary roads remain slushy across the area. With that said, temps will be dipping down below freezing very shortly. In fact, by tomorrow morning we will see lows bottom out in the teens! So anything that is wet has the potential to refreeze if left untreated. During the day on Thursday, we will see a mix of sun and clouds. Highs will only top out in the low 20's so bundle up! I know a lot of you have heard about a possible snowstorm for the weekend. At this time, it's only looking like a light snow event is possible. A potential coastal storm looks to remain far enough off shore to spare us of any impacts. Have a great night and an even better Thursday! 

Schuylkill County Delays/Closings for 2/6/14

Schuylkill County Delays/Closings for 2/6/14

Assumption BVM - 2 Hour Delay

Blue Mountain - 2 Hour Delay

Gillingham Charter - 2 Hour Delay

Mahanoy Area - 2 Hour Delay

McCann School of Business - 2 Hour Delay

Minersville - 2 Hour Delay

Nativity BVM - 2 Hour Delay

North Schuylkill - 2 Hour Delay
Our Lady of Lourdes Regional - 2 Hour Delay

Pine Grove Area - 2 Hour Delay

Pottsville - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill Haven - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill Health School of Nursing - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill Maple Ave. - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill Soecial Ed.  - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill Tech North & South - 2 Hour Delay

Shenandoah Valley - 2 Hour Delay

St. Ambrose/Schuylkill Haven - 2 Hour Delay

St. Jerome Regional/Tamaqua - 2 Hour Delay

St. Nicholas/Minersville - 2 Hour Delay

Tamaqua Area - 2 Hour Delay

Tri-Valley - 2 Hour Delay

Trinity Academy - 2 Hour Delay

Williams Valley - 2 Hour Delay

Speed Restrictions Lifted On All Highways

The speed restrictions put in place earlier today by PennDOT have been lifted.  All roads speed limits go back to their normal speeds.

Interstate Reopens After Crash

Posted from TamaquaArea.Wordpress.com

Interstate 81 is reopened after being closed for a short time.

State Police shut down Interstate 81 north around 9:55 AM today at the Mahanoy City exit for a motor vehicle accident involving a tractor trailer. In addition, scanner traffic said State Police were requesting fire police to help shut down the Interstate and northbound on-ramp at exit 131 (Hometown/Mahanoy City exit).

There were reports of one or two vehicle accidents, one involving a tractor trailer, between mile marker 131 and 133.

Plow Truck Catches Fire in Pottsville Overnight

A Pottsville plow truck caught fire overnight on North Third Street and Morgan Alley in Pottsville between the hours of 2am and 3am.

The driver escaped without injuries.

PennDOT Reduces Speed Limits on Major Roadways

Allentown – Due to extreme winter road conditions, PennDOT is temporarily reducing the speed limit on several major roadways in east central Pennsylvania, effective immediately.

Schuylkill County High School Basketball Scores - 2/4/14

High School Basketball Scores for 2/4/14

Schuylkill County School Closings - 2/5/14

Schuylkill County School Closings for 2/5/14

Assumption BVM - Closed

Blue Mountain - Closed

Child Development - Closed

Cookie Corner - Nursery School Closed/Daycare Open

Gillingham Charter- Closed

Line Mountain - Closed

Mahanoy Area - Closed

Marian Catholic - Closed

McCann School of Business/Pottsville - Closed

Minersville - Closed

Nativity BVM - Closed

North Schuylkill - Closed

Our Lady of Lourdes Regional - Closed

Panther Valley - Closed

Pine Grove - Closed

Pottsville - Closed

Schuylkill Haven - Closed

Schuylkill Maple Ave. - Closed

Schuylkill Special Ed. - Closed

Schuylkill Tech North and South - Closed

Shenandoah Valley - Closed

St. Ambrose/Schuylkill Haven - Closed

St. Clair - Closed

St. Jerome/Tamaqua - Closed

St. Nicholas/Minersville-Closed

Tamaqua - Closed

Tri-Valley - Closed

Trinity Academy - Closed

Williams Valley - Closed

Wintry Wednesday headed your way...

5:40PM UPDATE: Good evening! If you haven't heard by now, we have some wintry weather headed our way. The remainder of the evening will be dry. Since snow was able to melt a little bit today, there may be some patches of black ice. Other than that, temps will continue to drop through the 20's. Snow will begin to overspread the area anytime after 1:00AM. The snow will be quite heavy at times. After a few hours of snow, sleet will begin to mix in. Warmer air aloft will turn those snowflakes into sleet pellets. During the morning commute tomorrow, we'll be seeing a variety of precip across the county. Some locations may be holding on to some snow flakes while others will see heavy sleet/freezing rain. Eventually everyone will see that changeover to rain. This is when the forecast gets tricky. Temps will still be in the 20's when the changeover begins. I'm expecting a decent amount of ice accretion which could cause scattered power outages. Ice totals across the county will range from 0.1" to as much as 0.3". Before the changeover begins, you'll see a general 2 to 5 inches of snow. The higher up you are in elevation, the greater chance to see 4-5 inches since it will snow longer in those areas. All precipitation will begin to taper off during the early afternoon hours. With events like this, the forecast is always changing. So tune in to my page (Tamaqua Area Weatherman) on Facebook for up to date information as the event unfolds. Have a great evening and an even better Wednesday!

Schuylkill County Morning Weather Update

By:  Monsoon Mike

Good morning! Ready for Round 2? Then after that, ready for Round 3?? Round 2 gets going tonight around midnight and gets outta here tomorrow during the day, but not before causing havoc on the roads through at least the first half of the day, once again. Zone 1 on my map I think sees mainly snow with some back end sleet and freezing rain. Accumulations in the 5 to 10 inch range. Zone 2 sees approximately 3 to 5 inches of snow followed I think by a healthy dose of sleet and some freezing rain, perhaps even plain rain at the tail end. Zone 3 sees 1 to 3 inches of snow, followed by a healthy dose of sleet, freezing rain, then plain rain. Zone 4 sees a wintry mix to rain. Not a whole lot of problems in Zone 4 but still some front end problems. This snow and sleet will fall on already very heavy snow so I am concerned at trees, bushes, and weak, flat roofs. The only saving grace I believe will be the ice will be more in the form of sleet (the pellets) rather than freezing rain (the stuff that makes the glaze), although some of that could affect areas at the tail end, but after 80% of the storm is over. Updates throughout the day if I feel it warrants

Allentown Man Named in Connection With Tamaqua Woman's Murder Case

Posted from:  TamaquaArea.wordpress.com

A North Carolina newspaper’s website (Kinston.com) named a 24-year old Allentown man in relation to the recent homicide case of a Tamaqua woman. The burning body of Angela Serfass-Steigerwalt, 35, of Tamaqua, was found by firefighters along Flagstaff Road in Jim Thorpe Saturday morning while responding to a reported brush fire.

Winter Storm Warning Issued For Schuylkill County

...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM EST WEDNESDAY...

Schuylkill County School Delays/Closings For 2/4/14

Schuylkill County School Closings and Delays for 2/4/14

Assumption BVM - 2 Hour Delay

Blue Mountain - 2 Hour Delay

Gillingham Charter - 2 Hour Delay

Mahanoy Area - 2 Hour Delay

McCann School of Business/Pottsville - 2 Hour Delay

Minersville - 2 Hour Delay

Nativity BVM - 2 Hour Delay

North Schuylkill - 2 Hour Delay

Panther Valley - 2 Hour Delay

Pine Grove - 2 Hour Delay
Pottsville - 2 Hour Delay
Saint Clair - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill Haven - 2 Hour Delay

Schuylkill Health School of Nursing - 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. Jerome's/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

Winter Storm Watch Issued For Schuylkill County

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING...

BEST OF SKOOK: The Winner of the Best Place to Get Your Car Fixed in Schuylkill County is . . . .

Winner

Good Ole Day's Transmission and Auto Repair, Schuylkill Haven

https://www.facebook.com/GoodOlDaysTransmissionAutoRepair

2nd Place

Zinda's, Seltzer

3rd Place

Ken's Tire, Cressona

4th Place

Manbeck's, Schuylkill Haven

Honorable Mention (in no particular order)
A & F, Lavelle

W H Auto Repair, Ashland

Ferrari's Garage, Ashland

Och's, Minersville

Jack Beadle, Pottsville

Kip's, Auburn

Jeck's Service Center, Pine Grove

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jecks-Service-Center/247867295249915

Sosnoski Automotive

https://www.facebook.com/SosnoskiAutomotive

Schuylkill County Sports Postponements - 2/3/14

Schuylkill County Sports Related Announcements for 2/3/14

Woman Stabbed in McAdoo Saturday Night

A McAdoo woman is in the hospital after being stabbed by her own brother Saturday evening.

Robert Lucherra is in Schuylkill County prison after he allegedly stabbed his sister on South Cleveland Street in the borough, then ran from the scene.  He was caught shortly after. 

The woman was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital but her condition was not given at this time.

Lucherra is accused of aggravated assault an attempted homicide.

Schuylkill County Morning Weather Update

By:  Monsoon Mike

Well when I cave and raise totals, Mother Nature says "no." When I don't cave, she pulls a fast one yet again. Weather at it's finest folks! Upping my totals for all map zones. Precipitation shield moved a touch further north than the last storm putting Schuylkill County now in the solid 4 to 6 inch range. Berks/Lehigh Valley in the 6 to 8 inch range. Respond with what's going on where you are now.

Get more weather update from Monsoon Mike's Weather Headquarters
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Monsoon-Mikes-Weather-Headquarters/277030735667101

Tamaqua Woman's Body Found in Carbon County

WNEP is reporting that the human remains of a Tamaqua woman were found in Carbon County Saturday morning.  The investigation is being treated as a homicide.

The woman, Angela Steigerwalt, was last seen leaving work Friday in Lehigh County.

Her body was found by firefighters while fighting another fire near Jim Thorpe around 10am Saturday morning.  The victims car was found in North Carolina with a man inside.

http://wnep.com/2014/02/02/firefighters-found-body-in-woods-while-fighting-fire/