Q: I’m finally ready to make the switch from my old gas guzzler to an electric or plug-in hybrid car. What are the best bang-for-my-buck deals on these newfangled vehicles?

— MICKEY LAMONTE, BOSTON

A: With each new model year, automakers continue to expand their offerings of affordable and fun plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles.

While consumers obviously want these new cars, this year’s phase-in of President Barack Obama’s higher automotive fuel efficiency standards have given automakers another reason to step up the manufacturing of less-consumptive vehicles that compete in price with their gas and diesel counterparts.

Also, new-car buyers can cash in on up to $7,500 in federal tax incentives (and possibly more from their own state — check out the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy to find out) to help defray the costs of getting into an EV or plug-in hybrid. What this means is that giving up gas has never been so easy — or cheap.

A case in point is Ford’s redesigned C-Max Energi, a plug-in hybrid that gives drivers a range of up to 500 miles as well as 19 miles of all-electric driving for under $28,000, factoring in the federal tax rebate. Not to be outdone, General Motors’ Chevrolet brand is coming on strong with several of its own affordable EVs and plug-in hybrids. The Spark Electric gets more than 80 miles per charge and can be had for less than $19,000. Chevy fans looking for a beefier engine and torquier ride can opt for the Volt plug-in hybrid, which runs for 380 miles using its gas engine as a generator or 38 miles on electric battery power alone — all for less than $27,000.

Meanwhile, German automakers continue to innovate on the electric vehicle front. BMW’s all-electric I3 EV zooms from zero to 60 in seven quiet seconds and, despite its punky look, drives just like a ... Beemer. The all-electric base version of the I3 can be had for around $35,000 and gets drivers 81 miles per charge, but owners can opt to add a small backup gas engine (for another $4,000), turning the car into a plug-in hybrid with a 150-mile range.

While all these choices are well and good if you need a car ASAP, those willing to wait until next year might want to hold out for Tesla’s forthcoming Model 3, a sporty all-electric sedan with a 215-mile range. The car will retail for $35,000, meaning consumers should be able to get it for $27,500 after the federal tax rebate. Tesla is hoping that the solid range, sporty drivetrain and stylish look might just make the Model 3 the “it” EV on the market when it hits showroom floors in 2017.

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Elizabethtown

Jared B. Lescavage, Pottsville, graduated May 14 from Elizabethtown College with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and minor in engineering design. He made the spring semester dean’s list with a 3.79 GPA.

A 2012 Pottsville Area High School graduate, he is a son of William and Michelle Lescavage, Pottsville, and a grandson of Frank and Maryann Fetterolf, Pottsville.

Nazareth

Haley Phillips, Valley View, graduated May 8 from Nazareth College, Rochester, New York, with a doctoral de-gree in physical therapy during the 89th commencement at Blue Cross Arena.

IUP

Jillian L. Wagner, Schuylkill Haven, formerly of Barnesville, graduated cum laude from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a degree in nutrition/dietetics from the school of Health and Human Services. She also was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester.

She will return to IUP in the fall to complete her dietetic internship and to pursue a master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics. She plans to become a registered dietician.

A 2012 graduate of Mahanoy Area High School, she is a daughter of Sharon Davis Wagner, Schuylkill Haven, and Jeff Wagner, Hometown.

Clarion

Danielle Savitsky, Frackville, graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech language pathology at Clarion University, where she will pursue a master’s degree in speech language pathology. She made the spring semester dean’s list with a 4.0 GPA.

A 2012 graduate of Nativity BVM High School, she is a daughter of Robert and Asseneth Savitsky, Frackville.

King’s

The following local students graduated May 22 from King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, with bachelor’s degrees:

Bret K. Ruch, Lykens, criminal justice; Samuel A. Reiley, Auburn, environmental studies; Nina A. Norwich, Shenandoah, psychology; Connor P. Deffley, Zion Grove, biology; Thomas M. Hagenbuch, Delano, biology; Kelly L. DeCosmo, Shepp-ton, psychology; Andrew J. Hubiak, New Philadelphia, accounting; Zachary G. Motil, Zion Grove, accounting; Emily Gene Oakill, Pottsville, management.

Lock Haven

Danielle N. Polansky, Minersville, graduated May 7 magna cum laude from Lock Haven University with a bachelor’s degree in health science. She will attend graduate school to continue her education to become a physician assistant.

A 2012 Minersville Area High School graduate, Danielle is a daughter of Lisa Polansky, Minersville, and the late Daniel Polansky, and a granddaughter of Thomas and Carol McGovern, Branchdale, and Russ and Maryann Polansky, Minersville.

Millersville

The following area residents graduated May 7 from Millersville University during the May 7 undergraduate commencement ceremony:

Olivia Brill, Pine Grove, bachelor’s degree in mathematics; Matthew Dietrich, Pine Grove, technology education; Brittany Filiziani, Ringtown, biology; Krista Fogarty, McAdoo, geography; Kody Griffith, Pottsville, biology; Joshua Hay, Hamburg, economics; Emily Kaledas, Saint Clair, biology; Tiana Kelly, Tower City, psychology; Kevin Piaskowski, Frackville, computer science; Rebecca Potts, Schuylkill Haven, social work; Jolene Stankiewitch, Schuylkill Haven, music education; Angelica Todero, Pine Grove, earth sciences; Mary West, Auburn, social work.

n Frackville: The Frackville Area Senior Citizens group, 130 E. Frack St., is taking reservations for a bus trip to Ehrhardt’s for “Oldies & Motown” at 9 a.m. Sept. 28. The cost is $75 and the event will feature music and dancing with the Uptown Getdowns followed by a family-style meal and then the Oldies & Motown show. For reservations or more information, call Grant at 570-874-3531 or Marie at 570-874-2774.

n Mahanoy City: The Mahanoy City Elks Lodge, 135 E. Centre St., will have a Flag Day program at 7 p.m. June 14. The free event will include a history of the flag and patriotic music. There will be free refreshments following the program. All are welcome. For more information, call 570-573-2649.

n Minersville: A Chinese auction to benefit Leslie Wilcox Rutecki, who has ALS, will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. June 10 and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 11 at the New Minersville Fire Company, 500 Line St. The cost is $5 a sheet or five sheets for $20. Prizes include a 43-inch TV, Coach purse, Dooney & Bourke Phillies wristlet, Ryan Howard autographed baseball, Yuengling mirror and other big items. Food and desserts will be available. For more information, call 570-640-0577.

n Port Carbon: Registration for the Port Carbon July Fourth Firecracker 5K is underway. The first 200 to sign up before June 15 will receive a T-shirt. Pickups will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. July 3 at the gazebo. T-shirts can also be purchased for $10 by calling Deniece at 570-573-1946. Proceeds will benefit the parade and fireworks.

n Pottsville: Laptime at the Pottsville Free Public Library, 215 Market St., is set for 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. June 8. The free event will include free play, readings, singing and a simple craft. It is a way to introduce young children to a group environment, according to a library press release. Siblings are welcome. The program will go from June 8 to July 27 and is recommended for children 17 months to 3 years old. People are asked to register. For more information, call 570-622-8880. Storytime, for children ages 3 to 5, will be held from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Mondays June 6 through July 25 at the library. People are asked to register. The library will also sponsor “Builders’ Bonanza” from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays in June and July beginning June 6, for children 5 to 12. It will involve creations with Legos and Goldieblox plus other educational toys. Donations will be accepted and people are asked to register. Family Night at the library will be from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursdays in June and July beginning July 9. There will be special programs and guests and children who participate will have the opportunity to take home prizes. Call the aforementioned number for more information.

n Pottsville: Dog wardens will conduct license, rabies and compliance checks with dog owners in Schuylkill County this week, according to a release from the state Department of Agriculture. Under Pennsylvania law, all dogs three months or older must be licensed by Jan. 1 each year. The fee is $6.50 for each spayed or neutered dog and $8.50 for other dogs. Older adults and persons with disabilities may purchase a license for $4.50 for spayed or neutered dogs and $6.50 for others. All dogs and non-feral cats (three months and older) must be vaccinated against rabies. Booster vaccinations must be administered periodically to maintain lifelong immunity. Violators can be cited with a maximum fine of $300 per violation plus court costs, according to the release. For more information, visit www.licenseyourdogPA.com or call 717-787-3062.

n Pottsville: The Majestic Theater, North Centre Street, will have a free children’s theater workshop for boys and girls ages 5-12 on Saturday. Youngsters will be divided into age groups and students will be introduced to all aspects of musical theater. Advance registration is required and the deadline to register is Thursday. For more information, email to majesticplayerspottsville@gmail.com.

n Schuylkill Haven: Vietnam Veterans Post 29 will have a Memorial Day service at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Vietnam Memorial, Route 61 near the entrance to Penn State Schuylkill campus. All are welcome to attend. For more information, call 570-628-5362.

James R. Ferrier

ORWIGSBURG — A Mount Carbon man will face three separate sets of drug-related charges after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier on Tuesday in each case.

Brian E. Hawke, 33, of 57 Main St., sold methamphetamine three times this year in Cressona, police said.

He faces a total of four counts of conspiracy, three each of delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia and two of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

Schuylkill Haven borough police filed all three sets of charges against Hawke.

They alleged he sold a baggie containing meth to a confidential informant in a controlled buy at 6:26 p.m. Feb. 1 at 3 Beech St., about 11 p.m. Feb. 25 at the same location and at 8 p.m. March 10 in the parking lot at Bethany Christian Fellowship Church, 102 Front St.

Police said they followed the same procedure in each buy, searching the confidential informant before and after each buy, prerecording the money used and field-testing the substance after each deal.

Hawke is free on a total of $50,000 unsecured bail pending further court proceedings.

Other defendants whose cases Ferrier considered on Tuesday, the charges against each one and the judge’s dispositions of the matters included:

Gavin R. Allan III, 31, of 219 Dock St., Schuylkill Haven; delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, conspiracy, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Jeffrey S. Carlson, 44, of 615 George St. Apt. 4, Throop; driving under the influence, disregarding traffic lane, failure to drive at a safe speed and careless driving; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Michael J. Donlin Jr., 41, of 24 Beecher St., Pine Grove; possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Geoffrey C. Garrett, 35, of 488 W. Columbia St., Schuylkill Haven; three counts of conspiracy, two of carrying a firearm without a license and one each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, DUI and improper turning movements; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Kellie J. Garrett, 34, of 20 Railroad St., Schuylkill Haven; delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, conspiracy, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and hindering apprehension; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Anthony M. Haughton, 55, of 565 Chestnut St., Orange, New Jersey; two counts of conspiracy and one each of delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Jeremy M. Lutz, 32, of 401 Spring St., Minersville; nine counts of conspiracy, four each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and criminal use of a communication facility, three of possession of a controlled substance and one of corrupt organizations; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Roy I. Nagle III, 50, of 64 Center Ave., Schuylkill Haven; DUI and careless driving; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

James L. Price, 25, of 401 E. Mahanoy Ave., Mahanoy City; possession of drug paraphernalia; right to preliminary hearing waived, charge bound over for court.

Joshua A. Somers, 28, of 276 Chestnut St., Cressona; DUI, disregarding traffic lane, careless driving and seat belt violation; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Steven A. Valkosak, 50, of 433 Adamsdale Road, Orwigsburg; retail theft and receiving stolen property; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

David L. Weiser, 33, of 484 W. Columbia St., Schuylkill Haven; simple assault, resisting arrest, public drunkenness, terroristic threats and harassment; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court.

Pine Grove Area

Alyssa Carpenter and Breanna Mabry have been selected as seniors of the month for May for the Pine Grove Area School District.

Alyssa is a daughter of Roger and Fawn Sirbaugh, Pine Grove. She studies in the honors and advanced placement curricula.

Her high school activities include varsity cheerleading, competition cheerleading, SADD secretary, Class of 2016 secretary, FBLA, student council, varsity club and Big 33 cheerleader. She plans to attend Millersville University to double major in early childhood education and special education and minor in STEM.

Breanna is a daughter of James and Melissa Mabry, Pine Grove. She studies in the college preparatory curriculum.

Breanna’s high school activities include basketball, track and field, varsity club, prom committee, school newspaper editor, FFA and statistics club.

She plans to attend Alvernia University, Reading, and major in nursing.

Pottsville Rotary

Pottsville Area High School seniors Shelby Hahner and Mykaihla Sternick and Nativity BVM High School seniors Kaitlynn Esemaya and Adrian Datte were honored as Pottsville Rotary students of the month for March.

Shelby is a daughter of Edward and Melissa Hahner, Pottsville. She is a member of the National Honor Society, French National Honor Society, French club, Leo club, SADD and serves as president of Alpha Iota Delta and secretary of student council. She is a winner of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Award.

Shelby has been a member of track and field for four years, including being a league medalist and a district qualifier. She has been a four- year member of the majorettes, including serving as captain. She is a dancer at L.A. Dance Theatre, Saint Clair.

Shelby plans to attend college and major in elementary education with a minor in dance.

Mykaihla is a daughter of Christopher and Melissa Sternick, Pottsville. She is a member of the National Honor Society, French National Honor Society, Leo club, and serves as vice president of student council and secretary of Alpha Iota Delta.

Mykaihla is also a majorette and a dancer with L.A. Dance Theatre and is a performance/competitive team captain. She lettered in swimming.

She is proud to have been named a People to People Student Ambassador, and plans to major in anthropology on a pre-med track.

Kaitlynn is a daughter of Assumpta Allanah, Pottsville, where she attends St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church. She is a member of the National Honor Society and serves as treasurer of the Science National Honor Society and is a student ambassador.

She is also a member of the math, science, Interact, art and yearbook clubs, campus ministry and student government. She is a 2016 soccer scholar-athlete and also a blood drive organizer.

Kaitlynn plans to spend her summer as a junior volunteer at Geisinger Medical Center, and her future plans include majoring in biology to later become a pediatric neurologist.

Adrian​ is a son of Paul and Christine Datte, Pottsville, where he attends St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church and is active as an altar server. He has been active in many activities of the church over the years and participated in the parish’s annual dramatic stations of the cross.

Adrian is a member of the Interact, science, yearbook and ski clubs and campus ministry. He was a four-year member of the track and field and soccer teams, where he is a three-year letterman and serves as co-captain this year. He was also selected as a soccer scholar-athlete.

Adrian is a member of the National Honor Society and has received awards in art and sports entertainment and marketing. He completed the summer teen digital filmmaking program at the New York Film Academy, New York City.

He has received an A.J. Drexel scholarship and Westphal scholarship and he will be attending Drexel University, Philadelphia, to major in animation and visual effects to pursue a career in filmmaking.

While Americans are confronting an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, particularly for addictive painkillers, the reverse problem prevails in much of the world.

Many ill people with a legitimate need for drugs like oxycodone and other narcotics known as opioid analgesics cannot get them and are suffering and dying in pain, according to health officials, doctors and patients’ rights advocates.

In Russia, India and Mexico, many doctors are reluctant to prescribe these painkillers, fearful of possible prosecution or other legal problems, even if they believe the prescriptions are justified.

In Kenya, health officials only recently authorized the production of morphine, one of the most effective drugs for pain relief, after criticism that it was available in only seven of the country’s 250 public hospitals. In Morocco, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch reported in February, only a small fraction of physicians are permitted to prescribe opioid analgesics, which the country’s law on controlled substances identifies as poisons.

And in most poor and middle-income countries, these drugs are restricted and often unavailable, even for patients with terminal cancer, AIDS or grievous war wounds.

Plenty of reasons

The reasons include an absence of medical training, onerous regulations, costs, a focus on eliminating illicit drug use and, in some cultures, a stoic acceptance of pain without complaint. The problem has been amplified, public health experts say, by the stigmatization of the drugs, partly from fear of what has happened in the United States, where opioid misuse is a growing cause of death.

Reinforcing this view has been publicity about high-profile users like Prince, the pop star who died last month at his Minnesota mansion as friends sought help from an addiction specialist to treat what was apparently a dependence on opioid painkillers.

“While clearly there are issues with some prescribing practices, there’s also clearly a risk to vilifying these medicines,” said Diederik Lohman, associate director of the health and human rights division at Human Rights Watch.

In some countries, Lohman said, “a clerical error in a morphine prescription” can lead to criminal inquiries. “The fear associated with prescribing a medicine under strict scrutiny makes physicians afraid,” he said.

Afsan Bhadelia, a visiting scientist and palliative care expert at the Harvard School of Public Health, said “the biggest misconception” internationally regarding opioids was the need for tighter control.

“People do not have access to pain control for basic surgery,” she said. “People are going into the operating room and not having anyone mitigate their pain. It is a great injustice.”

Public perception

Liliana De Lima, executive director of the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, a Houston-based advocacy group, said global publicity about the American opioid epidemic “had brought this problem to the people, and that has had an effect on the fears.”

Despite international protocols dating back decades that entitle patients to pain relief and palliative care, access remains limited or nonexistent for many.

A report published in February from the International Narcotics Control Board, a United Nations agency, showed that most growth in the use of opioid analgesics has been in North America, Central and Western Europe, and Oceania. It remains low in Africa, Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, and Eastern and Southern Europe.

WHO weighs in

The pain-relief problem was addressed by the World Health Organization in a report published in advance of a U.N. summit meeting on international drug policy in April, the first such review in nearly two decades.

“Ensuring the adequate availability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes,” the WHO said, was a commitment made by member states that had “yet to be universally achieved.”

It estimated that 5.5 billion people live in countries with “low or nonexistent access to controlled medicines for the treatment of moderate to severe pain.”

Dr. Dingle Spence, an oncology and palliative medicine physician in Jamaica, said that although opioids are available in her country, the supply is disrupted by so-called stockouts — demand exceeding supply — because of bureaucracy.

“There’s not enough understanding about timely ordering,” she said. “The amount of permits needed to bring them into the country slows down the timely flow.”

MAHANOY CITY — Being so wrapped up in ourselves enables us to take the sacrifices of others for granted.

That message was shared by Rev. Kevin Gallagher, pastor of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Roman Catholic Church, Mahanoy City, as the second outdoor Mass to commemorate Memorial Day was celebrated Saturday morning in St. Casimir Cemetery.

About 25 people participated in the 9 a.m. Mass to recognize veterans and family members who have passed away.

Deacon David Henninger and altar server Anthony Merchlinsky assisted at the altar. Donna DiCasimirro served as lector. Kathy Wufsus and Alice Moore began the Mass, playing guitar and singing as those gathered joined in to “Immaculate Mary.”

Henninger offered a Gospel reading, according to St. Matthew.

Gallagher thanked everyone who helped prepare the outdoor setting for the celebration as he began his message.

“Greater love hath no one but to lay down one’s life for one’s friend,” Gallagher said. “We don’t take it to heart anymore. We get comfortable with the life that we lead, and we forget what our fathers and forefathers sacrificed for us. We should not take for granted those that gave up their very lives for us. How many times do we complain when our taxes go up? But yet these men and women gave up their lives so that we have our freedom.”

He said there are places in our world where people are fearful of walking out their front door and going to market. That’s not the case here.

“We don’t have that fear. We can go where we want and do what we want. The reason we have it is because so many sacrificed so much,” he said.

Gallagher shared that he was the first generation in this country. His mother and father hailed from Ireland, and his father fought in the Korean War and Vietnam War.

“We were young when he was in Vietnam and I remember asking mother, ‘Why does dad have to be over there? Why can’t he be home with us?’ He was gone so long. My mother told us because of the freedoms we have in this country, this was a great country, and that our father was willing to fight for this country so that we could maintain our freedom.

“We seem to be losing that today because we take too much for granted. Today, as we honor those who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms, let us also think about sacrifices that we, too, can make. Not just honoring them, but supporting the military, people in our service today, because they offer so much for us.

You know, Memorial Day, more than the beginning of summer, more than picnics, more than a day off, (we should be) honoring so many,” Gallagher said.

He said he enjoyed listening to a former lector who was a World War II veteran.

“I loved to sit and listen to him talk about the different areas he was in during World War II — the fighting, the terror, the bombing. I have such respect for him for what he did, and the life he would have sacrificed for us. So, today, let us honor all veterans that made that ultimate sacrifice. Are you willing to sacrifice the way they sacrificed for our freedom? We complain about the littlest things. We’re all wrapped up in self today. They weren’t. It’s about giving your all for something that is noble and good. This country was founded on our Christian faith,” Gallagher said.

Many participants had family members who had served in the armed forces.

Moore, Mahanoy City, said there were three of her husband’s relatives buried nearby who were WWII and Vietnam veterans — Jerry Moore, Williams Michael Moore and Robert Moore.

“Fortunately, all of them came home,” she said. Her brother, Billy Faust, also served in the Navy.

John Ellis, Frackville, attended Saturday’s Mass. He served in the National Guard from 1963 to 1969.

“I want to give recognition to all who have died and to their families. I praise God for allowing us to be together to honor our loved ones,” Ellis, who also attended last year’s outdoor Mass, said.

Mary Joan Cauley said this was her first time at the outdoor Mass and she expressed her appreciation for the celebration. Her late husband, James Cauley, was a disabled Army veteran.

“I belonged to the DAV Auxiliary for years,” Cauley, Jim Thorpe, said.

Gallagher spoke of the veterans’ unselfish actions and their legacy of patriotism.

“It’s not about self. It’s about community. These people fought for their community, they fought for their families, they fought for their nation. They gave their lives for it. Let us in turn honor them today and throughout this weekend.”

“The first thing you should do is honor their memory. It’s not about pass the beer, pass the shot, give me the hamburger. First, celebrate their lives. That goes all the way back to our Founding Fathers. Show them the respect that they need. Honor their memory. If you have a loved one who served this country and died, honor them, especially today.”

The Mass concluded with Moore and Wufsus playing “God Bless America.”

A Tamaqua man is one of four people selected by Mauch Chunk Trust Co. as the 2016 Community Heroes in recognition of their outstanding volunteer contributions.

Arthur W. Connely was honored for his contributions to numerous organizations including Boy Scouts of America, American Hose Co. No. 1, Tamaqua Fire Department, Tamaqua Area elementary schools, St. Jerome Regional School, Schuylkill County Fire Chiefs Association, Tamaqua Area Crime Watch, East End Park, Carbon/Tamaqua Unit of the American Cancer Society, Tamaqua Public Library board, Lutheran Brotherhood Grant Programs and his church.

Also honored were Louise M. Koons and Darlene E. Nothstein, both of Palmerton, and Martha Marie Moyer, Jim Thorpe.

The award recipients, nominated by community residents, will be recognized at a public banquet June 28 at the Mahoning Valley Country Club in Lehighton.

Mauch Chunk Trust will present each recipient with an award and a $200 donation to the charity of his or her choice. The charities selected by this year’s Community Heroes are Tamaqua Public Library, Sacred Heart Church in Palmerton, Dimmick Memorial Library in Jim Thorpe, Special Olympics of Carbon County and Meals on Wheels in Palmerton.

This is the 17th consecutive year that Mauch Chunk Trust Co. is recognizing local volunteers.

For banquet information, call Deborah Bamford at 570-325-0410.

This week starts June, the official month of summer, when we’ll recognize National Boating and Fishing Week, National Trails Day, Father’s Day and one of my favorites, National Doughnut Day.

National Doughnut Day honors the Salvation Army “Lassies” of WWI. The original Salvation Army doughnuts were first served in 1917 when lassies, or Doughnut Dollies, were sent to the front lines of Europe, taking home cooked foods and providing morale to boost the troops. Often, the doughnuts were cooked in oil inside the metal helmets. National Doughnut Day is always celebrated on the first Friday in June.

The Walk In Art Center invites you to join them for their First Saturday Open House from 1 to 5 p.m. June 4. Visit the artists in their studios, view gallery exhibits, enjoy kids’ activities and light refreshments. Discover all the art center has to offer.

“Fiddler on the Roof” will be presented at the Majestic Theater at 7 p.m. June 10 and 2 and 7 p.m. June 11, 12. Tickets sell for $15 and can be ordered by calling 570-628-4647.

A Fireman’s Carnival will be held at the Pine Grove Hose, Hook and Ladder from June 14 to 18. Games of chance, food and musical entertainment will be available along with a fireworks show on Friday night.

Save the date. American Indian Pottery and Basketry will be presented at 7 p.m. June 14 at Sweet Arrow Lake, Pine Grove. The beauty of Pueblo, Navajo, Lenape and other peoples’ artistic talents will be revealed through various kinds of tribal pots and baskets. Free and open to the public. Suitable for teens and adults. Call 570-345-8952 for details.

An Emergency Preparedness Seminar will be presented by this office and the Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency at 6 p.m. Aug. 29 at the Terence P. Reiley Community Center in Pottsville. Learn some simple steps to keep yourself, family and home safer during times of emergency or disaster. Seating is limited so RSVP now. Register by calling 570-628-1426 or email to jjohnston@co.schuylkill.pa.us.

Community Volunteers in Action is the volunteer center for Schuylkill County. Use the preceding contact information for those specific opportunities and search other listings on our website at www.schuylkill.us/cvia. Find us on Facebook. Call us at 570-628-1426 or email to jjohnston@co.schuylkill.pa.us.

The state Department of Transportation is advising motorists of road work planned this week in Schuylkill County.

Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., crews will patch potholes on Interstate 81 between the Frackville and Route 54 exits, and on Tuscarora Park Road between Route 309 and Catawissa Road. There will be lane restrictions in both directions.

On the same days, at the same times, workers will do shoulder work and widening on Eighth Street between Mahanoy City and Route 309, which will also need lane restrictions and flagging.

On Tuesday, inspectors will examine bridges on Route 209 between Route 61 and High Road in Branch Township. There will be restrictions in the southbound lane from 8 a.m. to noon, and in the northbound lane from noon until 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, crack sealing that began April 18 continues until Friday, from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m., on Route 443, which is Fair Road, in Wayne Township, between Friedensburg and Pine Grove, with lane restrictions and flagging, and on I-81 between the exits for Route 209 and Highridge Park Road. Motorists are advised to be alert for lane restrictions on I-81 north or south. This will be a moving operation and they can expect delays. Please use caution driving through the work zone.

The nights are warmer but there’s a price to pay. It’s a late night affair, and if you’re an aging stargazer like me make sure to get that afternoon nap and take in strategic amounts of caffeine. Good stargazing can’t really begin until after 10 p.m., but the show is worth losing a little sleep for!

Once darkness finally sets in, the three brightest “stars” you see are actually planets; Jupiter in the west, and Mars and Saturn in a celestial hug in the low southeast sky.

Jupiter has been part of the Pottsville night sky since early in the year, and even though it’s more than 100 million miles farther away than it was in January it’s still a fine target for even small telescopes. You can easily resolve the disk of the 88,000-mile wide planet, and you may be able to see cloud bands of Jupiter. You may even see Jupiter’s famous Red Spot, a huge storm about three times the diameter of Earth that’s been raging for at least hundreds of years. As of late it’s reddish color has become brighter and easier to spot. It’s not always visible because Jupiter spins on its axis once every nine hours and 50 minutes and the side with the Red Spot is not always facing Earth. Most telescopes give you an inverse image so the Red Spot, if it’s available, will appear on the upper half of the planet.

For sure you’ll see up to four of Jupiter’s largest moons that resemble tiny stars on either side of Jupiter. They’re constantly changing their position relative to the planet as they orbit around Jupiter in periods of two to 17 days. Some nights one or more of Jupiter’s moons will be absent since they could be behind the big planet or camouflaged in front of it.

Meanwhile, Mars and Saturn are rising in the low southeastern sky in the early evening. Mars is the brighter of the two as they’re both very close to their minimum distances from Earth for 2016. If you want to get a decent view of them through your telescope it’s best to wait until about midnight if you can. By then, both planets will be a little higher in the sky, and you won’t have to visually plow through as much of Earth’s blurring atmosphere as you do when they’re close to the horizon.

Mars is as close as it’s been to Earth in 11 years, but it’s still difficult to see many surface features like valleys and mountains, even with larger telescopes. You may see a white-ish tinge on the upper half of Mars; that’s one of its polar caps.

Saturn is much more fun to look at through any telescope. You’ll love what you see. If it’s your first time, you’ll never forget it. The ringed wonder of our solar system is less than 20 degrees to the lower left of Mars. You should easily see its ring system that spans more than 130,000 miles in diameter. If the air is clear enough, you might also see many of Saturn’s moons that resemble tiny stars. One of the moons, Titan, is a lot brighter than the rest and is actually larger than the planet Mercury.

As far as actual stars in June, the transition in the night sky is complete. The stars and constellations of winter are gone from our skies, all setting well before the sun. Leo the Lion, one of the major spring constellations, is still easy to see just to the upper right of Jupiter. The chest and head of Leo appear as a right leaning backward question mark. Leo’s brightest star Regulus marks the heart of the lion and is the period at the bottom of the question mark.

If you lie back on that reclining lawn chair and look straight overhead toward the zenith, you’ll easily see the nearly upside-down Big Dipper, and not far from the end of the Dipper’s handle you’ll see a bright orange star. That’s Arcturus, the brightest star in the night sky this month. It’s about 36 light years or 208 trillion miles away (give or take a billion miles) and is at least 25 times the diameter of our sun. Arcturus also serves as the brightest star in the constellation Bootes, the hunting farmer, that actually looks more like a giant nocturnal kite with Arcturus at the tail of the kite.

Over in the eastern skies, the stars of summer are making their initial evening appearance. Leading the way is Vega, the brightest star of Lyra the Harp. A little to the lower left of Vega is Deneb, the brightest shiner in Cygnus the Swan, otherwise known as the “Northern Cross” rising sideways in the east. Deneb lies at the head of the cross and is at least 1,500 light years away from Earth, but could be as far as 3,000 light years away.

Get your rest and enjoy the late night show that is June stargazing.

(Lynch, an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist, can be reached at mikewlynch@comcast.net)

Misericordia

Misericordia University, Dallas, Luzerne County, recently sponsored the annual Student Research Poster Presentation Day in Sandy and Marlene Insalaco Hall on campus.

Nora Chan, Auburn, a senior medical imaging student, presented her research, “Closure of Atrial and Ventricular Septal Defects,” a study that assessed the benefits of using transcatheter closure for septal defects, more commonly known as a hole in the heart. Echocardiography, including ultrasound and X-ray, is used during the process.

Chan concluded transcatheter closures provide patients with a safe alternative that is less invasive than surgical closure, with less discomfort, and shorter hospital stays required.

The presentations were the culmination of research and work on a variety of topics by more than 180 students in the Colleges of Health Sciences, Arts and Sciences, and Professional Studies and Social Sciences.

Allison McIntyre, Ashland, was recently presented with the Mercy Charism Award at the 33rd Annual Leadership Awards Dinner in Sandy and Marlene Insalaco Hall at Misericordia University.

The award is presented in recognition of student leadership that represents the core values — mercy, service, justice and hospitality – of the Religious Sisters of Mercy, the founders of Misericordia.

Zachary Sabaday, Saint Clair, was presented with the Kitty Rooney ’50 Memorial Award for Outstanding Service.

The annual award is presented to a Misericordia University student who has been an asset to both the campus and regional communities by offering their service while enrolled at Misericordia.

Penn State

Gerardo “Jerry” Talamantes Jr., Saint Clair, a mechanical engineering major and Zachary Adams, Frackville, a political science and international affairs major at the Capital College Honors Program at Penn State University Harrisburg Campus, did a spring break service trip to Peru.

The trip included a rain forest expedition to the Ecotourism Lodge Posada Amazonas, where they studied the various species of Amazonian trees, specifically the Ceiba, one of the world’s largest trees. They explored the oxbow lake, Chimbados, to collect data on the river otters in support of the Frankfort Zoological Society Project.

In Puerto Maldonado, as part of a joint educational and environmental project, they worked alongside local students at the mouth of the Amazon Rainforest at the site where the new Transoceanic Highway passes through the region. Using their academic disciplines they provided data to the National Geographic database in an effort to enhance the project with new technologies.

As part of a cross-cultural skills training they visited a local community in Centro Nape and Ese’Eja to study the daily life of a small Amazon town and toured the local Macaw Project. Their service learning projects included the development of a new source of power generation for the local ecotourism lodge and the implementation of new policies regarding microfinance loans to stimulate the ecotourism industry to further the preservation of the rainforest.

To refine and test their service learning project they spent a day with key professors and students from Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima. The project was a unique opportunity to engage with experts within the culturally and ecologically diverse Peru.

Gerardo is a son of Diane Bender and Gerardo Talamantes Sr., Saint Clair.

Zackary is a son of Dr. Richard and Michelle Adams, Frackville.

Wilkes

Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, and the Keystone Northeast Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society for Professional Engineers conducted the Order of the Engineer ceremony, inducting 55 Wilkes senior engineering majors into the order April 3.

Area students who were among those inducted include Cyril Shickora, McAdoo, Jacob Rakowsky, Frackville, and Zachary Sullivan, Pottsville.

Univ. of Sciences

Leah Evert, Orwigsburg, a doctor of pharmacy student at University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, was inducted into the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, a national honor society for first-year students.

Elizabethtown

Holly Sofka, Barnesville, was inducted into the Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honor Society at Elizabethtown College.

Tyler Butkus, Barnesville, earned an Analytical Chemistry Award, Inorganic Chemistry Award and is a Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honor Society Inductee in 2015.

Saint Joseph’s

Brianna Amos, Pottsville, a biology major, and Rachel Troxell, Pine Grove, a chemistry major at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, were inducted into the national liberal arts and sciences honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, during the spring semester.

Brianna will also participate in the summer scholars program at Saint Joseph’s.

She will work on a project titled, “Investigating the Expression of TERRA molecules in RNA:DNA hybrid structure in tlc 1 npl3 double mutants and tlc1 single mutants..”

The program, which runs from May until August, requires students to work exclusively with a faculty member to produce a written description of their research that will be published by the university, and to present their findings next spring during the Celebration of Student Achievement event.

Lycoming

Coral Chiaretti, Ashland, a junior mathematics major at Lycoming College, Williamsport, was one of the founding members inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society that was installed at Lycoming earlier this spring.

Tara Singer, Ph.D., the executive director for the national society, inducted the students and presented President Kent C. Trachte with the college’s charter.

MAHANOY CITY — The Mahanoy Area school board approved at Thursday’s meeting its proposed final general fund budget that includes a real estate tax increase of 1.7 mills for the 2016-17 fiscal/school year.

The vote was 8-0 in favor of the budget, which has a total of $17,705,998 in expenditures — $17,867,757 in 2015-16. Total estimated revenues are $17,445,566 for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1. The 2015-16 budget has estimated revenues of $17,345,322. Next year’s proposed budget includes a deficit of $260,430, which will be made up using a portion of the Uncommitted Fund balance of $750,000, leaving $489,570 in the fund.

Each mill brings in about $83,000 in tax revenue.

According to the executive summary prepared by district Business Administrator John J. Hurst, real estate tax millage will increase from 46.2 mills to 47.9 mills, an increase of 3.7 percent.

“As a result, for every $1,000 in assessed value, a taxpayer pays $47.90,” Hurst said in the summary. “This means the average taxpayer will pay $849.29 in taxes per year. This is an average increase of $30.14 per year.”

During his PowerPoint presentation to the school board, administration and the public, Hurst said what the average increase to taxable properties in the six municipalities within the school district: Delano Township, $34.36; Mahanoy Township, $28.96; Rush Township, $40.54; Ryan Township, $53.28; Gilberton, $8.53; and Mahanoy City, $15.18.

All other taxes also remain the same:

• Occupation tax: $130.

•Real-estate transfer tax: One-half of 1 percent.

•Earned income tax: One-half of 1 percent.

•Occupational privilege tax: $5.

•Amusement tax: 5 percent.

“About 68 percent of our money comes from the state, so when things at the state level change, that has a much more significant effect on us as opposed to someone who gets only 20 percent of their money from the state,” Hurst said. “A good portion of our money supports our instructional programs. About 70 percent of our money goes to the kids here.”

Hurst said the school district has done its best to keep a tight control over spending to avoid tax increases.

“Something to note is that the board has been very fiscally prudent over the last several years,” Hurst said. “This is only the third time in 10 years that taxes have been raised. I think that goes against the argument that schools are raising taxes every year when they don’t really need to.”

Hurst said the proposed district budget does account for increases proposed in the governor’s budget, but not all of it.

“As far as state funding is concerned, the governor’s budget called for a $200 million increase in basic education funding,” Hurst said. “Based on his projection, that’s about 2.8 percent, or roughly $214,000 increase for us. What we included in the budget was a 1 percent increase. We know what happened this year with the budget battle when we roughly only got about half of what he had originally anticipated. From what we’re hearing from Harrisburg, although they (legislature) are moving quickly to get a budget to us before the end of June, they say there will be an increase in education, but only a minimal one.”

In a similar vein, Hurst said special education funding in the governor’s budget has an increase of $50 million, which would give Mahanoy Area an additional allocation of $66,060 — 7.6 percent. Hurst said the district budget shows an increase in special education funding, but is limited to $34,496, or a 4 percent increase.

Health insurance premiums will increase by 6.3 percent, but because of retiree coverage expiring, the school district will see a net increase of $47,000.

Another expenditure that will increase in the next fiscal year is Public School Employees’ Retirement System costs, which will jump by $90,666, from $613,903 in 2015-16 to $704,569 in 2016-17.

Another major increase will be the school district’s charter school costs, which will increase by $27,000 from the current fiscal year at $770,000 to $797,000 in the next fiscal year. The increase for the new school year is much lower from the current year increase of $150,000.

A welcome decrease is the cost of petroleum projects in the proposed budget with a decrease of $84,325 to $172,994. In 2015-16, the estimated cost was $257,319. The highest cost for petroleum products in the past 10 years was in fiscal year 2013-14 at $319,117.

The proposed budget includes personnel changes. The middle school remedial math teacher will be eliminated, there will be the addition of a life skills teacher and two life skill aides and the reduction of a full-time music teacher to a half-time position.

The budget must be formally adopted by June 30.

FRACKVILLE — As Matt Peleschak cast his line at Whippoorwill Dam on Saturday during the first Black Diamond Autism Trout Derby, he said why his 11-year-old son, Matthew, was absent.

“My oldest son, Matthew, has severe autism. He doesn’t have the patience to do this, and being around crowds would be difficult for him,” Peleschak, Pottsville, said.

Instead, Peleschak brought his son, Ron, 7; his daughter, Caitlyn, 9; and his father-in-law, Ron Dunn, also of Pottsville, to the trout rodeo to boost autism awareness and education.

More than 100 people attended the derby, and lined up along the dam to try their luck.

Peleschak said he’d like the public to become better educated so they’re less likely to misinterpret their encounters with autistic children and their families.

“When they see an autistic kid, they should know that it’s not ‘bad’ behavior,” he said. “We’re trying to manage our children all the time. A lot of people may see my son on the outside and think he looks physically fine, but socially, he’s completely different.”

His family is a member of the Schuylkill County Autism Society. He also recommends Applied Behavior Analysis.

“They’re a good organization and have a great Facebook page and Twitter feed,” he said.

He said his family’s goal is to help Matthew become independent, have a good quality of life and to live peacefully and happily.

Ron Peleschak was hoping to catch a large fish Saturday, similar to the one he caught earlier this spring in Clarks Valley — a nearly 20-inch trout.

“I had to steer him around a rock,” he said.

Meanwhile, Martin Mantz, 10, of Ashland, was fishing with his father, Brian Mantz, when he reeled in a fish shortly before lunchtime Saturday that had a prize tag on it. Martin won a new fishing rod.

“We’re here to support this effort for autism,” Brian Mantz said.

Although Martin is not autistic, he does have oppositional defiant disorder, impulsive disorder and other health concerns, his father said.

Two Black Diamond Bar co-workers, Sherry McGlade and Amber Maurer, both of Frackville, decided to begin raising funds for autism awareness about three years ago. Their boss, and owner of the Frackville bar, Terry Ambrose, also jumped onboard with their plan. They eventually formed a nonprofit organization called Diamond Charity Group. What began as a one-night event has grown into a multiple-day fundraising effort.

“Autism is something that’s associated with all of our lives, and we wanted to bring more awareness to it,” McGlade said. “The community support is what makes us keep going.”

“We packed the bar that first year,” Maurer said, adding that they held a one-night fundraiser initially.

“Each year, it gets better and better,” McGlade said.

On Saturday, Maurer, McGlade and McGlade’s mother, Sharon, wore T-shirts with the group’s motto, “Black Diamond Goes Blue.” They manned a game booth during the rodeo.

Last year, the group also held a Fun Day. This year, the group held another Fun Day a few weeks ago at the Frackville Elks, and also decided to start a trout rodeo, enlisting the help of coordinator Ken Yurkonis, Minersville.

Several volunteers from Schuylkill County Trout Unlimited assisted during Saturday’s event. The group stocked tiger trout Friday evening, and Saturday morning they stocked rainbow and golden trout, according to John Bondura and Dave Sfarra. About 250 trout, valued at $3,000, were donated, Bondura said. SCTU purchased their fish from S-A Trout Pond, Orwigsburg. SCTU sells buttons and other merchandise to raise funds for the fish and community programs it offers.

Gordon Fish & Game also donated 500 trout for the cause, according to Yurkonis.

Anyone participating in the trout derby bought a ticket for $10 or could pay $15 and receive two rods for fishing.

“It’s a really good charity. I have people buying $10 tickets with a $20 bill, and saying to ‘keep the change,’ ” Yurkonis said. “The generosity of these folks makes me shiver.”

Yurkonis said Jean Marie Brayford and Denise Olechnowicz were among those running the food stand Saturday, selling hamburgers, hotdogs, macaroni salad, chips, water and soda.

“It’s for a very good cause,” Olechnowicz, Pottsville, who also volunteered at this year’s Fun Day, said. Olechnowicz said all of the food was donated.

Sherry McGlade said the money collected is used to support school classrooms. The schools make requests, and the Diamond Charity Group then purchases supplies, materials or other educational aides beneficial to autistic students.

These are items that the schools don’t presently have, she said.

In my apartment in Paris, on a shelf reserved for my most precious books, I have a copy of Pottsville’s sesquicentennial celebration souvenir program from 1956. The booklet, held together with yellowing tape, celebrates “150 years of progress.” I remember the event. Some readers may as well.

My childhood memories are of my father’s beard, grown specially for the occasion, and of a sesquicentennial beer glass that gave its bearer access to unlimited beer. I also remember ladies wearing bonnets and ankle-length full skirts. We children were proud to display commemorative buttons pinned to our polo shirts.

In the souvenir program, I can find photos of men who, just like my father, sport an old-fashioned beard. They also wear a string tie that looks a lot like the one worn by Gary Cooper in the 1952 western “High Noon.”

There are other photos: downtown Pottsville in 1956 at a time when not a single storefront was empty, Garfield Square, Tumbling Run and the world’s largest anthracite breaker, the St. Nicholas, belonging at that time to the Reading Anthracite Co. I like to look at the photos but I treasure the booklet for the words it contains in an essay titled “Pottsville’s Picturesque Past.”

Overflowing with facts, style and humor, the essay was written by Edith Patterson, born in 1878, who served as head librarian of the Pottsville Free Public Library from 1918 to 1950. My Aunt Jean worked for her back in the late 1940s and I think Miss Patterson was one of the persons she loved best.

In her short but succinct history, Miss Patterson dares an audacious comparison between the founding of Pottsville and that of Rome, both spread out across seven hills. To silence any protests against the pairing of the two cities, she immediately follows with a quote by a respected 19th century Pennsylvania historian:

“For anyone from Cape Cod to New Orleans, to say he had not heard of the renowned town of Pottsville would sound as marvelous as if an Arabian were to declare he had never heard of Mahomet.”

Writing in 1844 about the anthracite “coal rush” of the 1820s, I. Daniel Rupp, a prolific writer and translator whose histories of many Pennsylvania counties are available online, goes on to describe the Buckley Basin, Pottsville’s canal port, once located where Claude A. Lord Boulevard intersects Norwegian Street:

“From this port ... there is a fleet of more than 400 vessels — a fleet more formidable than that which bore the Greeks to the Trojan War ...”

Back in those days, Pottsville was quite a place and could certainly bear comparison to the “grandeur that was Rome.” The city was the gateway to the “anthracite region,” whose coal fired America’s industrial revolution made the nation great.

Then, a few years later, after World War I when anthracite production peaked, the U.S. fuel market began to change. In the Kingdom of Coal, decline set in, just as in ancient Rome.

Of course, history is not so simple yet, having just returned from a trip to Rome, I can’t help feeling that somehow Miss Patterson got things right. Rome does remind me of Pottsville and, while exploring the Eternal City, I often find myself thinking about “home.”

It has something to do with so much of the history happening underground.

When my mother was still alive and had a house on Third Avenue, we sat atop history: the Mammoth Vein, right beneath our house, the richest vein of anthracite in the world, tortured, twisted, impossible to extract. In the 19th century, miners lost their lives trying and entrepreneurs hoping to hit the jackpot went bust.

I used to think about the Mammoth Vein a lot, standing on our back porch, looking north, able to see the co-gens on Broad Mountain and the giant strip mine near Wadesville.

In Rome, I went underground to explore the history of Christianity. Walking along the Appian Way (and alive to tell the tale — the more than 2,000-year-old cobble-stone road remains a major highway where Roman motorists travel at top speed, hell-bent on picking off a pedestrian or two), I made my way to the catacombs of the martyred saints Callixtus and Sebastian.

In these vast underground burial grounds that today belong to the Vatican, Rome’s first Christians met to worship in secret at a time when belief in Christ was punishable by death. In earlier times, these same underground galleries were part of mines and quarries that supplied the volcanic stone used to construct the public buildings of Rome.

When the mines were transformed into catacombs, “berths” were carved into the soft reddish-brown stone, each one long and high enough to contain a body. On the walls, in the dark passageways, Christian iconography began to take form: the fish as a symbol of the Eucharist, the dove as the Holy Spirit, the anchor as a symbol of hope. Carved into the rock, painted on the walls, many are still visible today.

Above ground, nothing betrays the presence of these underground cities. Yet all of Rome is like that. No matter where you walk, you can be sure that beneath your feet there are layers of history, just like in and around Pottsville, I might add, taking my mother’s house as an example.

In Rome, the past also has a tendency to “pop up.” Ancient Roman columns or tablets with Latin inscriptions are as natural a part of Roman parks and gardens as a flower bed or a shade tree in the U.S.A.

But in and around Pottsville, the past pops up as well, a past so ancient that it defies the mind.

At the Yorkville end of Sharp Mountain, the sector I know best, I’ve often admired enormous outcrops of Pottsville conglomerate, sandstone, quartz and shale pressed together 300 million years ago during the Pennsylvania period of geologic time. Around Pottsville, I’ve searched for the fossils of trilobites and tropical plants, local inscriptions of a far-distant past.

In the end, Miss Patterson’s comparison may not be as unlikely as it first seemed. True, no other city in the world can boast the concentration of beauty and splendor of Rome, but Pottsville too has a glorious past, inscribed on the earth’s surface and underground.

Very solemnly, then, let’s raise an ice-cold glass of Yuengling lager to the grandeur that was Rome and the past glory of Pottsville.

(Honicker can be reached at honicker.republicanherald@gmail.com)

The Hawk Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America will hold a Distinguished Citizen Breakfast to honor the Schaeffer family, H. Slayton Altenburg and other local community leaders.

On June 9, the council will host the second annual Service to Youth and Community Breakfast at the Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation, near Summit Station. Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess will chair this year’s event.

The breakfast is fundraising and networking providing those attending an opportunity to learn about Scouting from the Scouts themselves. It also is a means for the council to recognize citizens who have provided exemplary community service improving the quality of life in Schuylkill and Carbon counties.

In a prepared statement, the council announced this year’s recipients of the Distinguished Service to Youth and Community Award will be the Schaeffer family of Schaeffer’s Harley-Davidson and Schaeffer’s Motorsports. For more than 25 years, Schaeffer’s Harley-Davidson has been dedicated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Harley-Davidson’s charity of choice). In the hope of eliminating neuromuscular disease, the Schaeffer family of customers participates annually in the “MDA Ride for Life.” The event takes place the first weekend in May each year. Since 1988, Schaeffer’s family of customers has raised $3.9 million for MDA to use for research, summer camp, and equipment for the children and adults stricken with neuromuscular diseases located in the greater Lehigh area.

Along with year-round support of the MDA, events are scheduled and proceeds are donated to breast cancer awareness, the soldier’s that serve our country, the local schools and various other community organizations.

The Hawk Mountain Council will also recognize H. Slayton Altenburg with Distinguished Service to Youth and Community Award.

The Carbon County Environmental Education Center and James Briel II will be recognized for their support of youth in both counties.

The keynote speakers for the breakfast will include Hawk Mountain Council’s own young men and women who will speak about how Scouting has prepared them for their futures.

The funds raised from the Service to Youth and Community Breakfast will assist with the services provided to the Packs, Troops, Venture Crews and Explorer Posts in Schuylkill County and parts of Carbon County. Training for adult leaders, activities, Scouting for Food, camping programs and Camperships are but a few of the activities and services provided by the Hawk Mountain Council.

Geisinger Medical Center, Danville

To Eric Brassington and Kristen Seddon, Schuylkill County, a son, May 16.

St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson, Maryland

To Match and Kara Senich Zimmerman, a daughter, May 2. Grandparents are Greg and Gail Senich, Llewellyn, and Kent and Barbara Zimmerman, Cockeysville, Maryland.

MAHANOY CITY — The Memorial Day program in the borough Sunday reminded everyone to never forget the men and women in uniform who made the supreme sacrifice.

The traditional program on the Sunday afternoon before Memorial Day was held by the Mahanoy Area United Veterans at Veterans Memorial Park near the M60-A3 Patton tank. Some members of the public sat in the hot sun on North Catawissa Street, while many more watched from the shade of buildings and also from under trees across Centre Street.

“Today is a day of remembrance for fallen soldiers, those deployed and everyone else in service,” United Veterans President David Bickowski said in his opening remarks as the program began.

Prior to and during the program, the Upper Schuylkill Marching Band performed patriotic songs, including the national anthem. The invocation was offered by the Rev. Christopher Wollyung, pastor of First United Methodist Church, Mahanoy City. Wollyung also gave the benediction at the program’s closing.

“Almighty Father, we gather this day to remember the many who have given all to preserve our freedom and to rescue others from tyranny,” Wollyung prayed. “We pray your blessing on this congregation of your faithful. Help us to never forget the sacrifices made on our behalf. Be with us this day as we celebrate the cherished memory of the valor and selflessness that they have shown, and let your hand of protection continue on all gathered here as we lift our voices of prayer to you. Amen.”

The next speaker was Mayor Patricia A. Schnitzius, who spoke on the sacrifice of the nation’s heroes.

“Memorial Day is a day that we as a country come together to honor and remember our service men and women who answered America’s call to service and paid the ultimate price. We say thank you,” Schnitzius said. “We remember you. We are grateful to you. The service members that we honor came from all walks of life, but they shared several fundamental qualities. They possessed courage, pride, determination, selflessness, dedication to duty and integrity, all the qualities needed to serve us cause larger than oneself. They were ordinary people who responded in extraordinary ways in extreme times. Millions of Americans have fought and died in battlefields here and abroad to defend our freedoms and way of life, including people from Mahanoy City and our surrounding communities. Local families experienced the loss of a loved one in war, a pain that I can’t imagine. Our gathering today in Mahanoy City is one spark in the flame of pride that burns across our nation today, but it is one small way we can honor the fallen.”

Bickowski introduced Mahanoy Area seniors Jennifer Neifert and Nolan Fegley, who presented different readings. Neifert read “Happy Memorial Day,” a poem by author Edwin Hofert, while Fegley read the “Gettysburg Address” by President Abraham Lincoln,

The guest speaker was Navy veteran Steve Hanerfeld, having served from 1998 to 2007. Born in Los Angeles in 1979, he moved to Mahanoy City in 1985 and graduated from Mahanoy Area High School in 1997. After one year at Pennsylvania State University, Hanerfeld enlisted in the Navy in September 1998, where he enrolled in the Navy’s Naval Nuclear Power School and then served as an electrician’s mate aboard the USS Memphis SSN-691, stationed out of Groton, Connecticut, from July 2000 to December 2004, after which he became a staff training instructor at the Naval Submarine School in Groton until the end of his second enlistment in December 2007 and received many awards during his service.

After leaving the Navy, Hanerfeld graduated from Excelsior College in Albany, New York, in April 2015 after completing his Bachelor of Science degree in nuclear engineering technology with a 4.0 GPA.

“Memorial Day is a day that has special meaning to me and not just because of my own service, but because unlike Veterans Day, today is not just a celebration of service for those who have served, but a celebration of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy today,” Hanerfeld said.

Hanerfeld spoke of his tour of duty aboard the USS Memphis in its travels in the Arabian Gulf and under the ice in the North Atlantic, performing vital missions.

“We learned the importance of training, spending hours upon hours drilling and practicing for events that we hoped we would never have to deal with in real life,” Hanerfeld said. “We also learned the importance of camaraderie and brotherhood, the ability to place your life in someone else’s hands and to trust them to place theirs in yours and rely on the training you both received so you can complete the mission and return home to family and friends.”

Hanerfeld spoke of the many things he learned that helped him during his time in uniform and later in civilian life. He spoke of experiences in different countries, being able to serve on a nuclear submarine and having the opportunity to instruct future submariners.

“My time in service allowed me to do a great many things,” he said. “Perhaps the most important is that it allowed me to understand truly what it means to be a serviceman and later a veteran. As a young man growing up, and hearing my father tell stories about his time in the Army, you get a sense of what it’s like to live that life, but until you put on the uniform and stepped into that world, that’s when you get a full sense of the pride, the tradition and the legacy that comes with wearing that uniform. It’s a legacy and a tradition that carries on with the next generation of service men and women serving today and with each and every veteran in attendance here today.”

Hanerfeld said 143 local residents have died in service to the nation and that Memorial Day provides a perfect time to honor and remember those who served admirably and died with honor in service to the country.

Hanerfeld said, “President John F. Kennedy once said, A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors and the men it remembers.’ And with all due respect to President Kennedy, I believe the same can be said about the communities of our nation that come together to celebrate the sacrifices of their communities in service to our nation. Mahanoy City and this area, an area intertwined in the fabric of our nation and our military, and an area that is as much a part of the celebration of Memorial Day as any other in this country.”

A salute to fallen comrades included the placing of the wreath at the memorial by Mahanoy City American Legion Post 74 Commander Neal Pascoe and United Veterans member Louis Huber, a veteran of the Vietnam War. After the rifle volley and the playing of taps, there was the release of doves provided by Doves of White, Mahanoy City.

Grand Marshal Chairman and borough Councilman Francis Burke introduced state Rep. Neal P. Goodman as this year’s parade grand marshal. In addition to his many years in local and state government, Goodman served in the Marine Corps and was discharged with the rank of sergeant and is serving his seventh term in the 123rd Legislative District.

Goodman spoke of being humbled by the honor of being selected as grand marshal. He spoke of his time in state government and his working with veterans during those years after being asked to work with former state Rep. Edward J. Lucyk in his office.

“When he asked me to become his executive director, little did I know what an impact that would have on my life going forward, and what an honor and privilege it would be to meet so many brave men and women from our area and hear their stories of where they served, how they came together in time of need, and how they answered the call,” Goodman said. “We have a lot to be proud of.”

Burke thanked the following sponsors: Service Electric Cablevision, Mahanoy Automotive, Mahanoy Highrise, Carini Pizza, DJ Lou, Fabcon and the Mahanoy Area Education Association. He also thanked Louis and Rose Huber for placing wreaths at the veterans memorial and the GAR Cemetery.

The program ended with the band playing “God Bless America.”

The Memorial Day parade will be held at 11 a.m. today, beginning from the Mahanoy Area School complex.

n Pine Grove: The 31st annual Make-A-Wish Golf Tournament is set to begin at 7:30 a.m. June 16 at Hidden Valley Golf Course, 1753 Panther Valley Road. The tourney’s goal is to raise money to grant wishes for Schuylkill County children who face life-threatening medical conditions. There will be two shotgun starts at 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. and golfers will be invited to enjoy lunch, snacks, beverages, dinner and awards. All are welcome. For more information, call 717-757-9474.

n Port Carbon: The Port Carbon Firecracker 5K will be held at 8 a.m. July 4 beginning and ending at Miller’s Playground. The course goes through the borough and a portion of Palo Alto. Registration for runners and walkers will begin at 7 a.m. The cost is $25. However, the cost will be $20 for those who register in advance by June 15. The first 200 to register in advance will receive a T-shirt. The top overall male and female participants will receive Oakley sunglasses. All proceeds will benefit the fireworks and parade. For more information, call Scott or Deniece at 570-573-1946 or email to deniece_scott@yahoo.com. People may register online at www.pretzelcitysports.com.

n Pottsville: Diakon Living and Learning has a host of activities, classes, workshops and creative initiatives on its agenda to be held at a wide variety of locations. For more information regarding costs and types of sessions, call Susan Long at 570-624-3018 or email her at longs@diakon.org. More information also is available online at www.diakon.org/community-services/Living-Learning-After-50.

n Schuylkill Haven: A free folk art festival will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Walk In Art Center, 220 Parkway. The event will celebrate the heritage and traditions of folk art with folk artists, demonstrations, ethnic food, live folk music and folk talks. All are welcome. For more information, call 570-732-3728.

n Shenandoah: The borough has an ordinance requiring people who walk pets on public streets, sidewalks or parks to clean up after them. Those who do not are in violation of the law and can face a fine. Pet owners may not allow their animals to roam in the borough unleashed or out of control. Driving ATVs on public streets or areas where they are not allowed, such as parks or private property, also is unlawful and can result in fines. Anyone who witnesses such violations is asked to contact borough authorities. To reach borough police, call 570-462-1991.

n Shenandoah: Divine Mercy Roman Catholic Parish will hold a Padre Pio healing Mass at 7 p.m. June 10 at Divine Mercy Church, 224 W. Cherry St. A priest will be available for Confession from 6 to 6:45 p.m. For more information, call 570-599-5265 or 570-462-1968. All are welcome.

n Tamaqua: The Tamaqua Area Lady Raiders Volleyball Camp will be June 20 through 23 at the middle school gymnasium from 3 to 5 p.m. for girls entering third through fifth grades and from 6 to 8 p.m. for girls entering sixth through eighth grades. The cost is $40 per camper and each camper will receive a T-shirt. The registration deadline for a T-shirt is June 1. For more information, call 570-527-5782 or email ebaker@tamaqua.k12.pa.us.

n Tremont: St. Peter’s United Church of Christ, Pine Grove, will host a basket/bear bingo on June 11 at Tremont Fire Company No. 1, 76 Clay St. Doors will open at noon and bingo will start at 1 p.m. The event will include 20 games plus three specials as well as raffles, 50/50 drawings and other drawings, door prizes and a mini “drop a ticket” auction. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Checks can be made payable to St. Peter’s UCC, For more information or to buy tickets, call Joanne Hoffman at 570-345-4695 or the church at 570-345-3207. Only 200 tickets will be sold. Due to limited space, children not in strollers and carriers must have a ticket.

n Tremont: The Tremont Area Senior Citizens group is sponsoring a bus trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Oct. 7 for five days and four nights. The cost is $550 double occupancy and $650 single occupancy. The trip includes four dinners, four breakfasts, lodging, tours and entertainment. For more information, call 570-695-2406. The group also is sponsoring a bus trip July 20 to Rainbow’s Comedy Playhouse, Paradise. The cost is $68, which includes bus, meal and show. Call the aforementioned number for more information.

Deeds

Ashland — Joseph G. Groody, sheriff of Schuylkill County, to Wells Fargo Bank ; 1417 Walnut St.; $1,198.06.

Shenandoah — Daniel and Joan Shustack to Jose Luis Fuentes Delgado; 224 W. Columbus St.; $55,000.

Donna M. Rosado to Jason Michael Larsen; 422 W. Oak St.; $3,000.

Manuel and Ysabel Nunez to Wanda Nunez; property at Jardin and Centre streets; $1.

Manuel H. and Isabel Nunez to Wanda Nunez; property on West Street; $1.

South Manheim Township — David J. Powell to Anthony and Megan I. Ochotorena; 1507 Wynonah Drive, Lake Wynonah; $340,000.

William J. and Gen Yvette Sutton to David J. Yuro; 2334 Spear Cove, Lake Wynonah; $178,271.24.

Tamaqua — Herbert G. DeWitt to Robert J. Long and Jessica L. Kremar; 509 Brew St.; $62,000.

Tremont Township — Elaine A. Bender to Elaine A. Bender and Jason J. Bender; 79 Lincoln Road, Lincoln; $1.

Washington Township — David G. Kutz to Sheri Leann Kaufman; 1217 Mountain Road; $170,000.

Wayne Township — Wells Fargo Bank NA to Mary E. and Jason M. Larsen; 2530 Papoose Drive, Lake Wynonah; $107,500.

Harold C. and Mary E. Ebling to Zachery W. Ebling; 1819 Sweet Arrow Lake Road; $1.

Melissa Ann Bromwell, executrix for the Estate of Patricia A. Bromwell, to Melissa Ann Bromwell; 13 Papoose Drive, Lake Wynonah; $1.

Higher Ground Worship Center to Wayne Township; 1554 Long Run Road, Friedensburg; $120,000.

Gary L. Jr. and Carolyn Krammes to Marcia Ann Cresswell; 38 Deiberts Valley Road; $290,000.

Paul O. and Patricia Lynne Querengasser to The Paul O. and Patricia Lynne Querengasser Irrevocable Trust; 34 Pine Terrace; $1.

West Mahanoy Township — Manuel H. and Isabel Nunez to Wanda Nunez; property on Schuylkill Avenue, Shenandoah Heights; $1.

Marriage licenses

Jivko B. Ivanov, Kulpmont, and Angelica A. Perez-Barrientos, Kulpmont.

Anthony Stafford, Frackville, and Kathyria Rodriguez, Johnstown.

Steven Holiday, Frackville, and Nidra S. Nunez, Philadelphia.

Gerald L. Mack, Hegins, and Rita C. Motuk, Hegins.

George F. Parnell, Ashland, and Lorraine S. Strassner, Ashland.

Anthony P. Javid, Woodbridge, Virginia, and Abbey L. Noble, Woodbridge, Virginia.

Peter A. Knepper, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Kellyn T. Gimbel, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Christopher J. Steckel, Pottsville, and Tiffany D. Kemfort, Pottsville.

Adam J. Leffler, Pine Grove, and Alyssa N. Graver, Pine Grove.

Tucker D. Jacobson, Dover, New Hampshire, and Jennifer L. Cresswell, Dover, New Hampshire.

Shawn M. Roth, Minersville, and Sierra L. Hall, Minersville.

Tijay L. Steward, Delano, and April N. Heckman, Delano.

Curtis R. Bates, Orwigsburg, and Cara E. Petruzzi, Orwigsburg.

Allen D. Daubert Jr., Pine Grove, and Rashanna K. Alspaugh, Bernville.

Divorces granted

Kimberly East, Schuylkill Haven, from Alexander Janos Jr., Marlin, Texas.

Laura Butensky, Schuylkill Haven, from Keith Witkowski, Downingtown.

Megan Omahaboy, Saint Clair, from Robert Omahaboy II, Reading.

Tyler R. Baker, Tower City, from Emily Baker, Tower City.

Jeannie Ahearne, Tremont, from Victor Ahearne, Schuylkill Haven.

Barbara Zellner, Schuylkill Haven, from David Zellner, Allentown.

Clarence Wetzel, Pine Grove, from Sharon Wetzel, Schuylkill Haven.