SAINT CLAIR - The borough council approved a motion to rescind the denial of the Aspen Dental land development submission Tuesday night.

Solicitor Edward Brennan said that the motion was based on recent submissions from the Coal Creek Commerce Center and it will now go back to the Saint Clair Planning Commission for further review.

The dental chain, which has more than 340 practices in 22 states and offers patients a full range of dental and denture services, plans to come into Schuylkill County by the end of the year with a dental practice at Coal Creek Commerce Center, 400 Terry Rich Blvd.

The proposed area to be developed is to the right of Terry Rich Boulevard when coming from Route 61.

According to newspaper archives, the borough council denied the land development submission without prejudice at the February meeting as there were still arguments about the old railroad bridge for vehicular use to be settled.

At that time, borough engineer Brian Baldwin of Alfred Benesch & Co., Pottsville, said it was his firm's position that a complete set of structural rehabilitation plans and specifications be prepared, signed and sealed by a state-registered structural authority engineer and provided for review, which were not included with the submission.

Representatives of the commerce center were at the meeting Tuesday night stating they were anxious to move forward with the project, but there were some "continuing, unresolved matters" that they believed required direction from the borough council before they could complete their review with the engineer and planning commission.

The representatives, attorney Gretchen Coles Sterns, Pottsville, and Terrance Ryan, president of R&R Property Managers Inc., Gilberton, provided a letter to the borough council that said Baldwin unilaterally requested the structural plans.

It also stated the bridge was clearly shown on the plans that the borough provided in 2007 for Coal Creek Commerce Center, which accepted the existing bridge and stated that when the south side of Terry Rich Boulevard is developed, the developer would submit details of the improvements for the bridge and "details refers to specifics."

The details of the bridge rehabilitation were said to be submitted to Baldwin at 10:13 a.m. Jan. 23.

Sterns said that while they understand the borough wants to ensure the safety of the bridge, in an effort to alleviate any concerns, a report verifying the structural integrity of the bridge was prepared by John M. Walaitis, railroad bridge inspector for the Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad, Port Clinton, and was submitted via email Feb. 20.

"This bridge issue has been a sticking point through the whole first review process and I anticipate will continue to be," Sterns said.

Councilman John Burke, who is also the borough council's representative on the planning commission, reiterated what he said last month and stated that while the bridge hasn't been used in at least 30 years, they want to make sure it is structurally sound and safe as a walkway since children from the borough walk that way all the time to get to Gamestop and other businesses in the commerce center.

While there may not be enough room to put in a sidewalk on the bridge, the representatives of Coal Creek were asked if they could come up with alternatives to possibly have some sort of walking path from the borough that could be presented at the next meeting with the planning commission to be held sometime later this month.

Baldwin was not present at the meeting to respond to any questions from Coal Creek Commerce Center representatives.

In other business, the borough accepted the resignation of Stephen Bobella as the emergency management coordinator due to him now residing in East Norwegian Township.

Vincent Alessi, who had been Bobella's assistant, was appointed as the new emergency management coordinator, while Bobella was appointed as the assistant per his request.

Schuylkill Health will be holding its next free community education program at 6 p.m. March 13 titled "Catching Some ZZZ's," which will discuss restless legs affecting sleep.

Dr. Joseph A. Cable, pulmonologist, sleep medicine specialist and medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Schuylkill Health, will lead discussion focusing on restless leg syndrome. It will be in the conference rooms at Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street.

"It's something we haven't done before," Cable said Tuesday morning. "It's been a bothersome thing. People don't usually go to the docs and complain about it, unless it's terrible, but maybe it will increase a little awareness."

The discussion is part of the Community Health Awareness Talks program at Schuylkill Health.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, restless leg syndrome is a disorder in which there is an urge or need to move the legs to stop unpleasant sensations, stress makes it worse and the cause is not known in most patients.

Cable said the discussion will give the public an overview of the symptoms people might have as far as restless legs, any underlying medical problems and what could potentially be done to relieve some of those symptoms, either with or without drugs.

It would also discuss whether a sleep study is necessary since "a lot of times you don't know if it's sleep apnea or something else."

He also said that narcolepsy causes leg movements at night.

"It's just kind of an overview of problems related to leg movements, both during the day and during the night time," Cable said. "It can be disturbing to sleep."

While Cable said that nobody really knows what causes restless legs, he said there are two types and it can be related to a lot of other medical illnesses.

The first type is idiopathic, meaning nobody knows exactly why it starts, and the secondary type is related to other medical conditions like iron deficiency, kidney failure, arthritis, Parkinson's disease or another medical illness that may be precipitating the leg movements or associated with it.

"You can be any age, but it's more so between ages 20 and 80," Cable said. "It happens in children and teenagers, but it's only about two percent."

Cable said that he had a patient last summer who couldn't sleep and she didn't know if it was just her legs.

"That's all that showed up on a sleep study," he said. "When she got treated, she felt like a million bucks."

Those that want to attend are asked to register by calling the Education Department at 570-621-5108.

Refreshments will be served.

ASHLAND - After three years of construction, the Ashland police department's new headquarters are in operation.

Only the usual moving tasks remain, such as filing paperwork, decorating walls and completing some minor finishing work.

The station is in the lower level of Ashland Borough Hall/Anthracite Museum at 401 S. 18th St., near the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train at Higher-Up Park, with the entrance at the back of the building and handicap accessibility from the parking lot.

Ashland Mayor Dennis Kane said the new station has come none too soon.

"This office is like a total 180," Kane said Friday. "If you've been in the old police station and saw the hard conditions they worked under, the difference is obvious. This is modern, spacious - a total improvement. It's actually stepping forward a century."

"The other thing you have to look at is the morale issue," police Chief Adam J. Bernodin Jr. said. "We're now coming to work in a clean, organized police station. That's a big factor. I was asked, 'What do you want?' And they gave me just about everything except for the lockup."

Visitors enter through a metal door into an enclosed entry area. A large window allows officers to see who enters the building and allows them to speak with visitors and take payments for tickets and citations. There is an interview room, a bathroom and shower and an office originally built for the police chief, although Bernodin said it will be used by all the officers as needed.

"That office is coming in handy. The files we have are sensitive, so anything that is of value we can file and place in there," Bernodin said.

He said the interview room allows for privacy, which wasn't available at the old station. Another room is used for storing confiscated weapons under lock and key.

The evidence room is still a work in progress but it will provide much more space.

"This is where we can better organize the evidence," Bernodin said. "We moved everything all this week and it's been a challenge."

The police department has been at 15th and Walnut streets for more than 50 years. The stone building also houses water system booster pumps, which were in the building before the police moved out of its headquarters under the former municipal building at Fifth and Chestnut streets. The pumps are used during fires when extra water pressure is needed.

The idea of moving the police station so borough operations are under one roof was hatched when the borough acquired the anthracite coal museum building in 2006 through a lease with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The former borough building was cramped, with the offices on the second floor, requiring people to ascend a long flight of stairs.

After acquiring the museum, the first construction work began on the main floor to accommodate new offices.

The renovation of the lower level, a storage area, began with design by Yongcheol Kim Architects, Pottsville. Delays occurred until financing could be secured.

"Each officer has space. The evidence locker is much better. It's such a vast improvement. It's like night and day," Kane said.

"We outgrew that other place down there," Bernodin said. "This station came at the perfect time. The mayor can tell you that there was no room for evidence. We had trouble with electronics, telephone and fax machine issues. We had problems with computers due to power surges.

"Now you walk into a building that is up-to-date and organized. It doesn't look like you walked into a mess. This is just the greatest thing that could have been done."

Beyond more room for police operations, creating the new station provided hands-on experience for Schuylkill Technology Center students in learning skills during the construction phase.

Using the students also saved money. When the project began in 2010, it was estimated that allowing the STC students to provide much of the labor would save the borough about $125,000.

However, the use of the students lengthened the completion time, as they were only available at times when it did not interfere with school lessons and activities at the north and south campuses, holidays and summer and winter breaks.

"We had the access to the students from the vo-tech for three years, but those kids did a great job," Bernodin said.

The students from different school districts in the county came from the carpentry class of Timothy McGinley, the plumbing class of Al Wank, the masonry class of Hugh Dougherty and the electromechanical class of Phil Cimino.

An open house and dedication will be held soon.

The police station phone number remains 570-875-2600. For emergencies, call the county communications center by dialing 911.

The Schuylkill Haven man who was convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, three separate sets of crimes earlier this year is headed to state prison after being sentenced Tuesday in Schuylkill County Court in connection with two of those incidents.

Samuel T. Steffie, 41, did not react as Judge Jacqueline L. Russell ordered him to serve eight to 24 months in a state correctional institution for giving alcohol to two minors.

"You have trouble staying out of trouble," Russell told Steffie in concluding that a state correctional institution is where he belongs.

Russell also sentenced Steffie to pay costs, $5,000 in fines and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account, perform 40 hours community service and undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation.

Earlier on Tuesday, Judge James P. Goodman sentenced Steffie to spend two to 12 months in prison, pay costs, a $50 CJEA payment and $2,300 restitution, and undergo drug and alcohol counseling on a charge of criminal mischief. However, Russell made her sentence concurrent with Goodman's.

Steffie pleaded guilty before Goodman on Jan. 31 to criminal mischief, with prosecutors withdrawing a charge of recklessly endangering another person. Schuylkill Haven borough police alleged Steffie committed criminal mischief on April 6, 2012, in the borough.

In the other case, a jury convicted Steffie on Feb. 6 of two counts of selling or furnishing liquor to minors, while finding him not guilty of two counts each of endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors and one of simple assault. Russell, who presided over the one-day trial, found Steffie not guilty of harassment.

Schuylkill Haven borough police charged Steffie with providing Colt 45 malt liquor to two underage girls on Sept. 25-26, 2011, at his residence.

"He is a career criminal," Assistant District Attorney Robert M. Reedy told Russell in urging her to send Steffie to a state correctional institution.

Heidi Clocker Steffie, the defendant's wife, whose daughter, Kelcie Clocker, was one of his victims, testified her daughter was adversely affected by the incident.

"What you did was wrong," she said.

However, Michelle Linder, Orwigsburg, the defendant's girlfriend, testified that she wants to be with Steffie.

"He doesn't want to continue the rest of his life in jail. I would do anything I had to do" to help Steffie go straight, Linder said.

Assistant Public Defender Christopher W. Hobbs, Steffie's lawyer in each case, asked Russell to place his client on probation.

"Sam understands he was certainly wrong," Hobbs said. "He has a terrible alcohol problem."

Russell said Steffie's victims were her chief concern.

"I am more concerned about the children," she said. "You encouraged them by your activity to violate the law."

Steffie is scheduled to return to court at 9:30 a.m. March 18 to be sentenced by Judge Charles M. Miller in a third case.

On Feb. 4, a different jury convicted Steffie of receiving stolen property and prohibited sale of veterans markers. State police at Schuylkill Haven alleged that Steffie both possessed and sold 14 veterans grave markers between noon and 1 p.m. July 11, 2011, at USS Achey Inc., 355 E. Second Mountain Road, North Manheim Township.

Miller presided over that one-day trial.

Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street

To Shawn and Alyssa McCabe Jago, Ashland, a daughter, Feb. 24.

GIRARDVILLE - Five decades ago, Girardville resident Jack Travis organized and ran his own biddy basketball league in the borough, and his initiative in providing a sports outlet for children continues strong to this day.

The Girardville Basketball Association is completing its 50th year this weekend with a tournament Friday through Sunday in the A Street School, which had served as Girardville High School until 1962, and then for several years as an elementary school.

Though the building is vacant for the most part, the gymnasium is in excellent shape and being used by 190 GBA players from age 5 to 11.

"Jack Travis put his heart and soul into it. We've outlasted almost every biddy basketball program in the county," said GBA President Edward Burns, who is also Girardville's mayor, on Monday in the gym.

"That's how we became so big," GBA officer Paul Kowalick said. "Originally, we just took care of the Girardville kids, and then we opened it up to everybody because the Butler Township school building closed near Ashland. We have a good rapport with some of the people who ran the Ashland biddy program because we would play Ashland and Frackville in tournaments here. The place would be packed and that would be our moneymaker so we could buy scoreboards and other things."

Burns admitted that he was a player when Travis formed the league.

"I've been coming to this gym for a long time," Burns said. "I was here since day 1."

Burns and Kowalick said that programs in other communities lost their access to gymnasiums, which drew the children to Girardville.

"We already had a lot of children from Frackville and Shenandoah," Kowalick said. "The gym here attracted the people. We went from about 70 kids during the 1990s, and now we're at 190."

"We get kids from Pine Grove, Orwigsburg, Pottsville and Mount Carmel," Burns said.

Kowalick said one of the drawing points is that players can come during the week to practice, while some other locations may only have a gym open during the weekend for games.

"We have to open up the gym that much because we have so many children," Kowalick said. "People are coming to us because they don't have a gym or have the opportunities to play as often."

The building is owned by the borough which provides heat, water and sewer.

"We're fortunate the borough owns the building and we have the run of it," Burns said. "They (borough council) work along with us and we try to help in hard times with the heating."

Last June, Kowalick presented a $2,000 check to the borough during a borough council meeting, which was accepted by council President Charles Marquardt, who thanked the association for the assistance for heat and utilities.

After Travis began the local league with little or no financial support for many years, the players in the 1960s participated in Ashland Area Biddy Basketball League, which also included teams from Lavelle and Centralia. The Girardville team was undefeated during this time with a 25-game winning streak. The team traveled around northern Schuylkill County, and in 1987, Travis started a new league and began playing in the A Street School.

Travis directed the league until 1987, followed by Joseph Smith running the league with the help of Joseph Paige until 1992. In 1993, Dan Heiser, who coached during the 1980s, took over as GBA president, and directed the league with the help of Louanne Olson until 1997. Burns became president in 1998, with Kowalick, Joseph and Linda Catizone also becoming officers. Glenn Weist joined as an officer in 2005.

In the past 15 years, the organization, with the cooperation and help of the borough, installed new sidewalks and entrance doors that are handicapped accessible, the gym floor was refinished in 2005, with the logo "Girardville Blue Aces" added to center court. The Blue Aces was the high school team name, and a major reason the organization is called the Girardville Basketball Association is because the initials - GBA - are the same.

Also, installed in the past decade, were new bleachers and score table, two glass backboards, two electronic scoreboards, a heating system for the gym, new bathrooms and more.

Burns said the gymnasium floor is the original one, installed in 1938, and has stood the test of time because of how it was used and maintained. When it was refinished in 2005, it was paid through a grant from the late Sen. James J. Rhoades, who was a supporter of the association.

The major fundraiser for the association is the food concession, which is operated by Terry Niedzwiecki and Cathy Barlow.

"At one meeting we discussed how we could raise more money, besides what we get with the tournaments, so we could get things, like the backgrounds," Kowalick said. "During the year we make nickels and dimes, but during the tournaments we raise money with the food. And we'd be nothing without the sponsors. There are 20 sponsors, and maybe 10 of them have been with us faithfully for years."

Burns will be stepping down this year after 15 years as president, with Kowalick ready to keep the organization operating.

The schedule for this weekend's 22nd tournament will be at 6 p.m. Friday, from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

HARRISBURG - A new audit to examine problems with missing and late paychecks for direct care workers received a pledge of cooperation Tuesday from the incoming state public welfare secretary.

"I welcome the auditor general coming in and taking a look at it," Bev Mackereth, acting Department of Public Welfare secretary, told the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Mackereth responded to questions about state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale's decision last week to conduct an audit of DPW's contract with a Boston-based firm starting last January to consolidate payroll services for some 22,000 home care workers helping the disabled and elderly. Previously, several dozen local groups handled the paychecks. DPW's hiring of Public Partnerships LLC is described as a cost-cutting move in response to a federal directive, but the implementation has sparked a wave of complaints about workers not being paid or being paid late. Mackereth said the transition has been rocky and timesheets may be the problem. As of Monday, 96 percent of the workers had been paid, she said.

That leaves hundreds of workers still waiting for paychecks.

A panel member, Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Township, related how a care worker for a neighbor of hers who is disabled went without pay for six weeks. The neighbor would be in a nursing home without that level of care, she said. "That's not the kind of performance we want to see," Baker said.

DePasquale said the audit will determine whether payroll checks issued to the workers were timely, whether DPW gave proper direction to the firm, and whether DPW oversight of the contract is adequate.

"It is important that we conduct an objective audit to quickly identify what went wrong, so we can work with the agency to avoid similar issues in the future," he said.

Jarvin M. Huggins will spend the rest of his life behind state prison bars, as a Schuylkill County jury found him guilty Tuesday of murdering a Mahanoy City man last April in the basement of his home.

Huggins, 19, of Mahanoy City, bowed his head slightly but did not change expression as the jury of six men and six women, after deliberating about 1 1/2 hours, convicted him of first-, second- and third-degree murder, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, criminal trespass, theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

"I would like to thank the neighbors, the Mahanoy City Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police," District Attorney Karen Byrnes-Noon, who along with Assistant District Attorney Douglas J. Taglieri, successfully prosecuted Huggins. "(Police) can't do their jobs without the neighbors watching out for each other."

Richard and Geri Slavinsky, Greer, S.C., the victim's brother and sister-in-law, also were happy to hear about the result.

"While (the verdict) certainly will not bring Gene back, at least his murderer will not be allowed to walk the streets and possibly do this again. This Friday would have been Gene's birthday and it is good to know that he can now rest in peace," the couple said Wednesday in an email.

Huggins' friends, one of whom wept, did not want to comment on the verdict.

Judge John E. Domalakes, who presided over the two-day trial, ordered preparation of a presentence investigation and scheduled Huggins' formal sentencing for 11 a.m. April 3 - exactly one year to the day that the defendant murdered Gene M. Slavinsky, 48.

First- and second-degree murder each carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison, which in Pennsylvania carries no chance of parole.

State police at Frackville allege that on April 3, 2012, Huggins hid in the basement of Slavinsky's 408 W. Centre St. home, hit him about 24 times with a window counterweight and then stole his laptop computer, car and about $100 in money.

Huggins did not testify and his lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Kent D. Watkins, presented no evidence.

Byrnes-Noon said in her closing argument to the jury that direct, circumstantial and physical evidence all pointed to Huggins being Slavinsky's killer.

"Gene Slavinsky is dead, the defendant killed him and he did it with a specific intent to kill," Byrnes-Noon said. "This case screams first-degree murder."

She emphasized the brutal nature of the attack and the use of a counterweight.

"This is a heavy, deadly weapon. That is a specific intent to kill," Byrnes-Noon said. "This is a physical act. This is picking it up and hitting someone over and over again. You had to know, at some point, that this person is going to die."

Furthermore, Byrnes-Noon said, police found bloody jeans and bloody sneakers in Huggins' room at White Owl Manor.

She also stressed that Huggins voluntarily confessed twice, to police and to Walter S. Donella, an acquaintance of his from Mahanoy City.

"These words are verbatim from the defendant," Byrnes-Noon said of the confession to police.

Huggins' remarks to Donella also prove his guilt, according to Byrnes-Noon.

"The defendant tells him, 'I did something really bad. I hurt him enough that he might be dead,' " was what Huggins said, Byrnes-Noon reminded jurors.

In his closing argument, Watkins said the evidence did not support a conviction.

"The information we have is very conflicting, interesting and somewhat incredible," he said.

Watkins cast doubt on Huggins confession to police, saying there was no reason for that confession not to have been taped. He had stressed in his cross-examination of police that Huggins was not represented by a lawyer and had suffered brain damage when his mother had been pushed down steps while pregnant with him.

"They don't tape his voice, they don't take his picture," he said. "Is this being fed to Mr. Huggins?"

He also said the gaps in the case meant the verdict should be not guilty.

"No physical evidence proves this case," Watkins said. "You can't speculate that there's more evidence."

Earlier Tuesday, prosecutors had wrapped up their case against Huggins with scientific evidence.

"The injuries I saw were consistent with blunt force trauma," testified Dr. Supriya Kuruvilla, chief of autopsy and forensic services at Reading Hospital and Medical Center, West Reading, who performed the autopsy on Slavinsky. "There was extensive damage to the scalp."

Slavinsky suffered depressed skull fractures on the back and left side of his head, other fractures, contusions, lacerations and brain damage from the beating, said Kuruvilla, who added the manner of death was homicide and the cause massive blunt force trauma.

"Are the wounds you saw on Mr. Slavinsky consistent with this type of object?" Byrnes-Noon asked Kuruvilla as the doctor was shown the window counterweight.

"Yes," Kuruvilla said.

When cross-examined by Watkins, Kuruvilla said Slavinsky's death occurred "close" to the time of the autopsy, but he could not specify the exact time.

Joel Stepanchick, a forensic scientist supervisor at the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem, testified he found blood on several items, including the window counterweight and Huggins' blue jeans, sneakers and Phillies sweatshirt.

During their deliberations, jurors asked two questions: whether they could see Huggins' confession to police and whether they had to render a verdict on each degree of criminal homicide. Domalakes told them they could not see the confession under state law and that they could reach a verdict on first-, second- and third-degree murder.

Watkins declined to comment on the case after the verdict.

Byrnes-Noon said the verdict was correct and she is grateful for the help she received in prosecuting the case.

"The victim's DNA profile was found on the defendant's jeans and sneakers," she said. "It was a coordinated effort. A lot of different people worked very hard on this case." Defendant: Jarvin M. Huggins

Age: 19

Residence: Mahanoy City

Verdict: Guilty of first-, second- and third-degree murder, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, criminal trespass, theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle

The Pottsville Area Development Corp. is preparing to kick off its annual Lunch and Learn Seminars for businesses and eager entrepreneurs next week.

Meanwhile, PADCO also plans to add more of them to this year's slate, Amy S. Burkhart, executive director, said Tuesday.

"In previous years, we've had our seminars in the spring and in the fall. This year, we'll also have a series in the summer," she said. "We're going to add some new subject matter as well. And it seems worthwhile to try to expand it throughout the year because people look to start businesses not just in the spring and fall."

The first of this year's Business Start-Up Lunch and Learn Seminars will be held at noon March 14 on the second floor of the Pottsville Free Public Library, 215 W. Market St. Representatives from Wilkes University Small Business Development Center, Wilkes-Barre, will talk about business plan development, Burkhart said.

PADCO started its series of business seminars in 2004. In February 2012, PPL Electric Utilities gave PADCO a $5,000 grant to allow the organization to hire speakers and cover other costs to run the program, Burkhart said.

These events are free to the public. PADCO prefers those interested to call its office at 570-628-4647 to reserve a seat.

"We like people to sign up in advance so we can get an idea how many are attending," Burkhart said. "It is a 'Lunch and Learn' series so everyone's encouraged to bring their lunch with them. If you're leaving work to come to this, you can take your lunch hour and get some great information about starting a business."

The average seminar attracts two to 10 people, Burkhart said.

The following is a list of seminars scheduled so far, and a brief description of each. All begin at noon at the library:

- Business Plan Development, March 14, with Wilkes University Small Business Development Center, Wilkes-Barre

- Business Location, April 11, with Wilkes University SBDC and representatives from the City of Pottsville Code Enforcement Office and the Pottsville Historical Architectural Review Board

- Start Your Own Business 101, April 16, with PADCO

- Incorporating Your Business, May 9, with Jones & Co., Pottsville

- Financial Planning, June 13, with Wilkes University SBDC

Burkhart said she is working to confirm speakers and presenters for other seminars to be slated for the summer and fall.

"One of the fall seminars I'm hoping to put together will focus on starting a business after retirement," Burkhart said.

DELANO - A truck tractor ruptured one of its fuel tanks Tuesday night when it hit the back of another vehicle on Interstate 81 North in Delano Township, causing gallons of diesel to spill onto the highway, according to state police at Frackville.

First responders estimated upwards of 150 gallons of diesel fuel could have leaked out onto the road near mile marker 132.5. However, Paul Kuropatsky, Delano Township fire chief, said he didn't believe it was that much.

"The driver said he had full tanks, about 150 gallons of diesel. But I don't think they were both leaking. I believe the driver crawled under and shut the crossover off," Kuropatsky said.

State police Cpl. Leo Luciani of state police at Frackville said responders were glad the weather was on their side. It was night and about 30 degrees.

"So if you want to look at the sunny side of the street, it's cool and it's not sunshine. If it were warm or hot with bright sunshine, yes, there would be considerably more of a fire hazard than what we have," Luciani said.

According to state police at Frackville, the crash occurred at 5:40 p.m. Tuesday.

An International-brand tractor-trailer owned by BMD Transportation, Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada, driven by Jeffery Wood, Bloomfield, Ontario, was traveling north on Interstate 81. An "Oversized Load," it had a yellow sign and orange flags on the front of its truck tractor and it was it was carrying a Volvo-brand G960B grader on its flat-bed trailer.

The BMD Transportation tractor-trailer was following a Freightliner-brand truck tractor from Wisconsin driven by William Quinley Jr., Jonesville, Va., towing two other Freightliner-brand truck tractors.

"It's called piggy-backing," Luciani said.

According to a sign in one of the truck tractors being towed, the cargo is affiliated with Auto Truck Transport USA Inc., Pleasant Prairie, Wis.

Quinley's tractor-trailer hit the back of Wood's truck tractor on the end of the "piggy-back" ride.

The crash damaged the front end of Wood's truck tractor and punctured one of its fuel tanks, the one on the driver's side.

There were no reported injuries, according to a communications supervisor.

Responders included firefighters from Delano Township, Ryan Township and McAdoo.

Kuropatsky, who was in charge of the scene, said firefighters put buckets under the damaged fuel tank to catch the dripping diesel.

They also used dirt from the side of the road to form a barrier to stop the flow of diesel from going on to the east berm and over the bank.

"We also put down some oil-dry, which is kitty litter," Kuropatsky said.

At 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Luciani said state police at Frackville were still working to try to figure out the exact cause of the accident. Trooper Mark Demko was the investigating officer.

Responders were not sure if a haz-mat team would be on scene Tuesday night.

A representative from the state Department of Environmental Protection was on scene, working with a towing company from Hazleton on the clean up, according to Luciani and the communications supervisor.

n Pottsville: The Mansfield University Concert Choir will perform at 7:30 p.. March 21 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 300 W. Arch St. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Proceeds will benefit the Pottsville Area Music Endowment. The public is welcome. Tickets are available at the church, the Pottsville AAA or by calling Denny Hardock at 570-449-7777.

n Saint Clair: The Saint Clair Elementary/Middle School will hold kindergarten registration for the 2013-14 school year March 18, 19 and 20. For kindergarten, children must be 5 years old by Sept. 1. To make an appointment, call the school secretary at 570-429-2716, ext. 1.

n Shenandoah: A St. Casimir Roman Catholic Parish Lenten dinner is slated for 3 to 6 p.m. March 13 in St. Stephen Roman Catholic Parish Hall, Main and Oak streets. Meals are $8 each and will feature a choice of deviled crab, fish or chicken fingers. Patrons may eat in the hall or take meals out. Tickets are available at both offices of parishes, 129 S. Jardin St. and 108 W. Cherry St., during regular hours. Everyone is welcome.

n Shenandoah: The Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society will hold a Chinese auction on March 17 at its history center, 201 S. Main St. Doors will open at noon and the auction will begin at 1:30 p.m. Admission is $3. A shop-and-drop will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. March 16. Everyone is welcome.

n Shenandoah: The Bernardine Franciscan Associates will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Father Walter J. Ciszek Center, 231 N. Jardin St. Everyone is welcome. For more information, call Sister Marietta at 570-462-2306.

n Shenandoah: Trinity Academy in the Father Walter J. Ciszek Education Center, Cherry and Chestnut streets, is looking for local businesses whose state tax liability might allow them, through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program, to contribute up to $400,000 of their state tax liability in scholarships to qualifying students at Trinity. In a press release, Michael J. Nieddu, the school's director of development, said any business that is not a sole proprietorship may be eligible to receive a tax credit of 75 to 100 percent toward its state tax liability while designating its contribution to be used as scholarship money for pre-kindergarten to eighth grade students at the northern Schuylkill regional parochial school. Trinity welcomes children of all faiths and currently serves families in the North Schuylkill, Mahanoy Area, Hazleton Area and Shenandoah Valley school districts. Any business interested in more information should contact Nieddu at 570-462-3927.

n Shenandoah: Altar servers, lectors and Eucharistic ministers - children and adults - are needed for all Roman Catholic parishes in the greater Shenandoah area. Anyone interested is asked to call either of the offices of parishes at 570-462-1968 or 570-462-1916.

n Tamaqua: RuthAnn A. Gardiner, director of special education for the Tamaqua Area School District, has announced that Transition 101, training for students - ages 13-21 - with disabilities and their parents, will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. March 11 in the Tamaqua Area Middle School LGI, presented by Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29. Ashley N. Felker, educational consultant, will present the program, which will provide information about post-school transition, the transition process and the transition section of the Individualized Education Plan. To register, call Felker at 570-544-9131, ext. 1258 or email felka@iu29.org. Gardiner can be reached at 570-668-2566 or via email at rgardiner@tamaqua.k12.pa.us. Students, parents/guardians and family member from any school district may register to attend.

n Zion Grove: Mount Zion Lutheran Church will hold a hoagie sale on March 10 to benefit Amanda Pascavage, Ringtown, who is fighting breast cancer. Pickups will be from 2 to 4 p.m. at the church, where the hoagies are also being made. Regular hoagies, with or without onions, and turkey, with or without onions, are available for $3.50 each. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, dressing and mayo are on the side. Orders can be placed with a church member or by calling Kathy at 570-384-3367 or Deb at 570-889-5401. Checks for hoagies and monetary donations should be made to Mount Zion Lutheran Church.

PHILADELPHIA - Gov. Tom Corbett and his wife, Susan, accepted gifts including seats at professional sporting events, tickets to a gala for the Philadelphia Orchestra and private jet travel over a two-year period, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Corbetts disclosed gifts worth more than $11,000 from lobbyists and business executives with interests in state policy in 2010, while Corbett was campaigning for governor, and in 2011, his first year in office, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

The state Democratic Party promptly filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission, demanding an investigation. John Hanger, the only declared Democratic candidate for the 2014 gubernatorial election, called on Corbett to repay the value of the gifts.

State law allows elected officials to accept gifts, though they must list any gifts with an aggregate value of $250 or more and transportation, lodging or hospitality with an aggregate value of $650 or more on their annual statements of financial interest filed with the State Ethics Commission.

Among the gifts Corbett listed:

- Frank Schoeneman, the chief executive of Empire Education Group, a Pottsville-based beauty-school chain, flew Corbett on a private jet to an event in Pittsburgh - a trip whose value Corbett estimated at $1,407, the price of a first-class plane ticket. Ten months later, Corbett signed a bill that makes it easier for cosmetology students who attend schools like those that Empire operates to obtain a state license.

- Tickets worth $472 to hockey's Winter Classic, featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field, and a related brunch on New Year's Day 2011, provided by a lobbyist for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Later that year, as governor, Corbett helped broker a deal that resolved a high-profile dispute over a regional health care contract between UPMC and Highmark Inc.

- A pair of $2,500 tickets to a January 2010 Philadelphia Academy of Music anniversary concert were provided by the influential Blank Rome law firm, whose lobbyists represent a variety of interest groups at the Capitol. The firm also bought Corbett a $65 ticket to the Philadelphia Phillies' home opener in 2010.

Corbett spokeswoman Kelli Roberts said the Republican governor has fully complied with all state disclosure requirements for gifts and campaign contributions.

"The governor's actions have always been, and will continue to be, transparent and free of any conflict of interest," she said.

Critics told the Daily News that, while Corbett appears to be following the letter of the law, the gifts reflect a cozy relationship between the Corbetts and special interests.

It's "just unseemly," said Christopher Borick, a political scientist at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

Barry Kauffman, director of Common Cause of Pennsylvania, said gift-givers "understand that even if it's a small gift, these benefits affect human nature."

The critics also told the Daily News that Corbett may have violated the Governor's Code of Conduct that Gov. Dick Thornburgh implemented in the 1980s.

But the paper also noted that the code is an executive order, not a law, and that it contains a loophole that allows a governor to accept gifts from a "friend" whose giving is motivated by a "personal" relationship.

Hanger, a former state Department of Environmental Protection secretary and state utility regulator, cited the code in demanding that Corbett repay the value of the gifts.

"By accepting such gifts, he effectively invalidates the Governor's Code of Conduct that has been part of our law since 1980," he said in a posting on his campaign website.

Incorrect information

The wrong URL to locate records and deeds appeared in Monday's edition. The records can be found at www.pa.uslandrecords.com.

In its first pubic announcement since the federal budget sequestration, Tobyhanna Army Depot unveiled $309 million of budget cuts that will result in furloughs of 5,136 civilian employees.

Facility managers and the unions are working on the details of the furlough, in which the 5,136 employees will be required to take 22 non-consecutive furlough days between late April and Sept. 30 unless the federal budget impasse in Washington, D.C., is solved.

The cut to the depot's funding amounts to 35 percent of its total operating budget.

"Everyone is concerned," said depot spokeswoman Jacqueline Boucher. "But everyone is resolved to continue to support the warfighter."

Just about everyone is affected, as well. While there are some exemptions to sequestration, it will hit nearly all civilian employees, up to Deputy Commander Frank Zardecki, the top civilian at the depot, Boucher said.

The depot is the U.S. military's primary facility for the repair and maintenance of communications and electronics equipment. It is also an economic cornerstone of Northeast Pennsylvania.

Sequestration has already had an impact, as the depot on March 1 accepted early retirement of 150 employees under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment programs. Under a hiring freeze, the depot will not fill those positions. The depot has also restricted the purchase of supplies, limited travel, and put off plans to modernize or upgrade depot facilities and equipment.

In Monroe County, the depot is a major component of the region's economy, ranking as one of the largest employers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe and Pike county residents, most of which are skilled and better paid than average area workers.

Teri Ooms, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development, said the announcement is not only bad news for the families involved, but for the communities in which they live.

"These families are living in a time when prices of the basic necessities have climbed and now they are hit with a large loss of income," she said. "Beyond those households, this will have a ripple effect - direct and induced economic impacts - as people making less spend less on everything from retail, to services and entertainment."

The depot is awaiting further guidance, Boucher said.

U.S. Senator Bob Casey said the indiscriminate cuts the sequester forced on an essential military support facility don't make sense.

Meanwhile, Chuck Leonard, executive director of the Pocono Mountain Economic Development Corp., is waiting to see how bad the cuts in payroll and purchasing impact the region's economy.

"It seems crazy we are in this situation," Leonard said. "I hope it doesn't last and that there is some sort of resolution."

In an address last week, Depot Commander Col. Gerhard P.R. Schröter asked depot employees to remains focused.

"I know this issue has been weighing on all of us," he said. "Our warfighters continue to rely on Tobyhanna and they deserve our finest efforts everyday."

Deeds

Butler Township - Candice A. Lapachinsky to Jasmine M. Robertson; 817 W. John St.; $74,000.

Girardville - Schuylkill Community Action to Morganna C. Ferrari; 27 E. Main St.; $78,000.

John S. Kessler to Linda D. Grant; 24 Preston Ave.; $6,150.

South Manheim Township - Harold A. and Linda K. Blankenhorn to Harold A. and Linda K. Blankenhorn, Terry A. Blankenhorn and Tracy L. Casady; 473 Deiberts Valley Road; $1.

Wayne Township - David J. and Carolyn J. Shappell to P. Roger and Denise E. Olson; 5 Deiberts Valley Road; $203,000.

West Mahanoy Township - Carole D. Stanakis, administratrix of the Estate of Bernard J. Chiscavage, to Stasia M. Chiscavage; 405 Ohio Ave., Shenandoah Heights; $1.

Stasia M. Chiscavage to Carole D. Stanakis and Leonard B. Chiscavage; 405 Ohio Ave., Shenandoah Heights; $1.

West Penn Township - Federal National Mortgage Association to Justin Honey; 29 Overlook Drive; $22,000.

Attorney Hank J. Clarke resigned as an assistant chairman of the Schuylkill County Republican Committee on Monday following a lengthy resignation letter in which he criticized recent decisions by fellow party members.

"When I agreed to accept the position of assistant chairman last June, I was promised openness between leadership and the committee, greater communication between leadership themselves and a seat at a decision/policy making table," Clarke said in the letter. "I was excited for the opportunity. However, in the weeks and months since, those promises have become idle and fallen flat."

Clarke said he has been involved with the Schuylkill County Republican Committee for five years with the goal of electing conservative leaders to county, state and local government positions. He said he has served the committee as a campaign manager and coordinator of Election Day operations when Republicans George Halcovage and Frank J. Staudenmeier took the majority on the county board of commissioners in 2011 and when state Rep. Mike Tobash returned the 125th district to the party in 2010.

In the letter, Clarke contributed a lack of planning to a "disappointing" Election Day turnout this past November. Clarke claimed Schuylkill County Republican Committee Chairman Gary Bender, Pottsville City Republican Committee Chairman Ron Downey, the Schuylkill County commissioners and state legislators have met regularly behind closed doors to discuss party business, but no one else within the committee has been invited or briefed on the discussions.

"Why does this organization persist in operating behind closed doors and in back rooms, unavailable to the lay Republican and out of the sight of its duly elected leadership?" Clarke said.

Those mentioned in Clarke's resignation letter had little to say and would not comment on the accusations in his letter of resignation.

"This is his personal decision and the party will move on," Staudenmeier, the commissioners chairman, said Thursday.

Despite Clarke's letter, Halcovage did not think his comments will have a negative effect on the Republican party.

"I think the party is as strong as ever," Halcovage said Thursday. "We have good people that are doing what is best for Schuylkill County as the whole. Party affiliation does not matter to those who want what's best for the county and we wish him the best."

Clarke went on to state that the party has not held elected officials accountable for their poor decisions and cited several recent examples of "sketchy decisions."

Clarke criticized the two Republican commissioners voting for the eminent domain seizure of the former Empire Beauty School building, 324 N. Centre St., Pottsville, and two parking lots owned by Schoeneman Corp. in December. The building and the properties are being purchased at a fair market value determined by an independent appraisal at $740,000. With additional repairs and renovations, the entire project may cost the county up to $2.6 million.

Clarke also associated the purchase with contributions made to the Republican Party by the owners of the property, Dale and Franklin Schoeneman, and claims there was a conflict of interest with attorney Paul J. Datte, representing Schoeneman Corp. Datte also serves as the county controller's solicitor.

Clarke also referred to the "sale" of Rest Haven to Service Access and Management Inc. to save the county $28,000 but said there was a conflict of interest with former assistant county administrator Paul Straka, who "spearheaded" an effort to buy and renovate a new SAM building in Pottsville.

Schuylkill County did not sell Rest Haven to SAM, however, but instead approved a professional services agreement in May with the company that essentially transfers the management of nine county positions in the business office at Rest Haven.

The county and Straka, who accepted the position of regional director of fiscal services at SAM in January, were not involved in the opening of a new building for the mental health and developmental service provider. SAM has been contracted by the county since 2004 to provide a variety of case management services to nearly 2,000 residents and was responsible for the $2.3 million, one-story, 10,000-square-foot office building at 590 Terry Reiley Way.

Clarke also claimed the board hired more personnel in one year than the previous administration did in its entire four-year term. While the numbers were unavailable Thursday night, Halcovage said the board only created a few positions since taking office and that most of the new hires were replacements for those retiring.

Clarke also criticized the local committee's support of Republican Gov. Tom Corbett and his "failure to pass right-to-work legislation, property tax reform and school vouchers despite historic majorities in both the House and Senate and his decisions to ban the sale of assault weapons at the Pennsylvania Gun Show and to outsource the Pennsylvania Lottery to a British conglomerate."

"These are the types of policies that kill our party and lose elections," Clarke said. "Yet our committee has refused to distance themselves, criticize, denounce or even question these policy blunders despite the fact that they are against our collective principles and values ..."

Clarke is also the solicitor for the county Register of Wills and is the son-in-law of Register of Wills Theresa Santai-Gaffney, who is serving her first term since being elected in 2011.

Clarke claimed in his letter that after expressing these opinions through private email exchanges and Facebook posts, "political threats" were made against Gaffney, accusing her of nepotism and calling for a primary challenge when she is up for re-election.

Gaffney did not say Thursday if she had received any political threats.

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I will not be intimidated. I lead by example and it doesn't change how I do my job," Gaffney said Thursday. "I tend to choose my battles and I believe each elected official does their best for the county."

Schuylkill Republican Committee Chairman Gary Bender said the party has four assistant chairmen and someone will be appointed to the vacant position.

"I thank him for his time of service and I respect his decision to resign," Bender said Thursday.

SAINT CLAIR - The Saint Clair Area School District plans new computer-based learning initiatives for the fall, which will be approved at the school board meeting next week.

Superintendent Kendy K. Hinkel and Principal Jason Bendle introduced the computer-based program at an open house Feb. 27, when the public was invited to see the progress of the renovated elementary/middle school.

Bendle said that the students may come home and tell parents they are playing video games at school, but they're not.

"It's not video games but it kind of looks like a video game," he said. "It's a research-based program that uses cognitive brain exercise to stimulate the mind."

Hinkel said that over the last two years, the school district has been working on new math material and piloted an online system through MIND Institute a year ago.

"Next year, there will be huge initiatives in math using technology that really personalizes the learning for individual students," she said.

Hinkel said that the school district was able to negotiate and pay for the program over two fiscal years with federal money, so there's no budget impact.

During the open house, Bendle also talked about Fast ForWord from Scientific Learning, another product that the school is currently using with students.

"It's kind of outside the box," he said.

He said that it impacts language and develops reading fluency and comprehension.

It's being used in kindergarten through eighth grade and the grade levels are using it in different ways, such as some using it as a station that students go to at some point during the day.

"What the program does is when kids go through the program, they top out of it," Hinkel said. "Whether you're in kindergarten or eighth grade, you get what you can get out of it, then we really are only going to use it for kindergarten, first and second grade and anyone transferring into the district."

It was said to have an effect on the students whether they are beginning readers or excelling beyond their grade level. The program was initially created for children with auditory processing disorder, meaning they can hear what they're being told but can't always process it.

Hinkel said that the school uses it when teaching students initial reading skills, since if students can't hear phonetic names and singular sounds in words, it's difficult to use that strategy with them.

"This program helps build that," she said. "They believe they're playing a game, so they're having a good time."

The program helps build listening skills by connecting words together into sentences and once a skill is mastered, the student moves on to the next skill.

The school board will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Saint Clair borough officials asked Schuylkill County Court on Thursday to nullify all agreements between Blythe Township and the developer of a proposed construction and demolition waste landfill.

Those agreements between the township and FKV LLC unconstitutionally try to transfer power from government officials to private persons and are attempts to circumvent the township's own zoning ordinance, according to the 16-page complaint.

"The near total assignment of control and authority to FKV from (the township) is an unconstitutional delegation of a municipal function and, therefore, void," the complaint reads in part.

Furthermore, the township failed to obtain an appraisal of the property as required by the state Second Class Township Code, according to the complaint.

The borough asked the court to nullify all agreements between the township and FKV, and also require the company to obtain a zoning variance for the 252-acre property in order to try to develop the Blythe Recycling and Demolition Site, also called the BRADS, landfill.

Thursday's lawsuit marks another step in a long battle between Blythe Township and Saint Clair over the proposed landfill. It is not a direct challenge to the landfill, but an attack on the agreements between the township and FKV that have formed the basis for the proposal.

Blythe and FKV are seeking to develop the landfill, which will only accept construction and demolition waste and have a 1,500-ton daily volume limit, on 252 acres along Burma Road in the township.

The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a permit July 16, 2012, to allow the township to construct and operate the municipal waste facility.

Saint Clair Borough Council filed an appeal over the landfill's application. The proposed site is 2,400 feet from Wolf Creek Reservoir, the drinking water source for Pottsville, Mechanicsville, Palo Alto, Port Carbon and Saint Clair and parts of Blythe, East Norwegian, New Castle and Norwegian townships.

Saint Clair officials have opposed the landfill as a threat to the health and welfare of the borough's citizens. Blythe officials deny that the landfill is a threat to the environment and believe it will benefit its citizens.

Blythe and FKV have filed a federal lawsuit against Saint Clair and Saint Clair has appealed the granting of the permit. Each of those actions is pending.

In Thursday's lawsuit, the borough alleged that under a 2007 agreement, FKV, not Blythe, actually will control the landfill completely, with full authority over all "Major Decisions" involving the landfill.

Those decisions include, but are not limited to, the hiring of operators and marketing or sales agents, financing, mortgaging and budgeting, the complaint reads in part.

Those conditions mean FKV, not the township, will be in charge of the landfill, which improperly puts governmental authority in the hands of a private business, according to the complaint.

"Blythe Township was the applicant in name only for this ... permit," the complaint reads in part.

That also means the township should not be allowed to claim immunity from its zoning ordinance, and KFV should be forced to comply with not only that ordinance, but also the subdivision and land development one, according to the complaint.

"The proposed use ... is not a 'municipal use' as a term that has been developed by the courts of this commonwealth," the complaint reads in part.

Finally, the borough alleged that under state law, the township must obtain an appraisal of the property where the landfill would be built. Although the township purported to pay $1 for the property when it bought it from the Municipal Authority of the Township of Blythe, it actually will pay far more than that, and therefore must obtain an appraisal, according to the lawsuit.

ORWIGSBURG - The issue of a dog park has yet to be settled in Orwigsburg Borough.

Before Wednesday's meeting, Lisa Lickman, a member of the dog park committee, provided the council with a copy of the final plans for the dog park and to address any possible outstanding issues.

The council took no action but could consider the final plan and the liability issues at the April 3 work session, borough Manager Mike Lonergan said Thursday.

For about 30 minutes, Lickman and council members talked about concerns with the park.

Requested information, such as rules, was submitted for a quote for the proposed dog park at Long Avenue, a 5-acre site. The site is in a flood plain and Lickman said she will do a wetlands study after final approval.

Before this location was approved in November, the council had previously voted against it being at Albright's Woods in July. The condition of the woods was cited as one reason.

"I don't think anybody has a real problem with the construction plan," she said.

The borough's insurance carrier has given a quote of $1,000 for liability insurance for the park, Lonergan said.

Reached by phone Thursday, Lickman said "as far as I'm concerned, we're done," addressing liability issues with the dog park.

Lickman said she didn't feel it was her place to address the issues of liability because that decision is up to the insurance carrier which has already made a decision, she said.

The rate would be prorated based upon when the insurance would actually be needed, she said.

Lonergan said, "some on council don't want the borough to have the liability. It's not a matter of who pays the premium. It's the fact the liability will exist."

The council members expressing concern about liability were Steve Zimmerman, Barry Berger and Paul J. Bedway Jr., Lonergan said. Council member Edward Mady will also take a look at the dog park to get some additional perspective, Lonergan said.

Council President Michele Rudloff was not available for comment Thursday.

In other news, the borough received a land development plan from HJJT, a family-limited partnership to which members of the Boyer family belong.

The plans call for a 4,800-square-foot office building to be built across the street from the current location of Boyer's Food Market in the borough. The proposed building is for the corner of South Warren and South streets.

Lonergan said he does not know the tenants of the building. A call to Boyer's corporate headquarters Thursday was not returned.

The planning commission looked at the plan last month and recommended approval of three waivers. Those include a waiver of a preliminary final plan requirement, requirement that a certified landscape architect certify the plan and that the stormwater requirement be based on an all-grass lot, Lonergan said. No final action was taken on the plan.

The council could take action on the plan at its work session, Lonergan said.

Also, residents are invited to attend the monthly planning and zoning meeting at 7:30 p.m. March 20.

The borough's annual Easter egg hunt is scheduled for noon March 23 at Albright's Woods.

SHEPPTON - East Union Township police patrol right up to the western edge of neighboring Black Creek Township.

Sugarloaf Township police patrol up to Black Creek's eastern edge.

Stuck in the middle with no police department of its own, Black Creek Township supervisors are considering an agreement with one of its neighbors that would bring local law enforcement into the 24.6 square miles of the mostly rural township.

East Union Township supervisors like the idea.

According to East Union Supervisor Dennis Antonelli, the township is willing to buy another police vehicle and hire another part-time officer to bolster East Union's ability to police an expanded area.

East Union currently has one full-time police officer and one police vehicle.

Black Creek Supervisor Bonnie Adams said Black Creek officials met with representatives of both East Union and Sugarloaf to propose contractual police coverage.

"It's still up in the air," Adams said. "We're trying to feel it out."

Sugarloaf has yet to respond to the proposal. But East Union's response was enthusiastic.

"East Union was interested," Adams said. "We didn't sign anything but we're definitely interested."

East Union officials recently joined Black Creek representatives for a tour of the township.

Right now, Antonelli said the proposal hinges on the details of an agreement, which East Union wants for a minimum of five years.

"It all depends on if we work out a five-year contract," he said.

East Union board Chairman Ed Shamany said the proposal would be beneficial to residents of both townships because the number of hours an on-duty police officer is available would increase.

"This will be a great thing for both townships," Shamany said. "It won't be 24-7 police coverage, but it's a start in the right direction and you have to start somewhere."

In the absence of a local police department, state police currently respond to crimes in Black Creek Township. But state police do not enforce local ordinances.

The state Legislature is considering various means of recouping the cost of providing free full- or part-time state police coverage to the 67 percent of Pennsylvania municipalities that do not have a local police department. Many communities such as Black Creek are examining the most cost-effective way to provide local police protection.

Agreeable as Black Creek and East Union officials are to working out the proposal, Adams said Black Creek isn't going to rush the decision because their immediate concerns involve snow removal costs from the winter and additional costs with the new recycling center, which could be up and running next month.

Black Creek officials would also like to know how residents feel about the idea, Adams said.