Editor's note: The following are the top stories of 2012 covered by The Republican-Herald, in no particular order.
Holden defeated
For 20 years, U.S. Rep. Tim Holden has represented Schuylkill County in Congress, serving the county in which he grew up and lives.
That ends Thursday, when Scranton attorney Matt Cartwright takes over the 17th District, which looks quite different than it has for the last 10 years.
Holden, D-17, the dean of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation, lost the April 24 primary election to Cartwright, Moosic.
Cartwright beat Holden with 33,255 votes to 24,953 in April, and then went on to win the Nov. 6 General Election, defeating Republican Laureen Cummings, an Old Forge businesswoman, with 157,629 votes to 102,754.
Holden, Saint Clair, had been in Congress since 1992, representing the Sixth District for his first 10 years and the 17th District for his last 10.
In the end, Schuylkill County was the only part of Holden's district that remained from either his time in the Sixth or his first 10 years in the 17th, and that change, more than anything else, contributed to his defeat.
More conservative than most congressional Democrats, Holden represented Berks, Schuylkill and a small part of Montgomery counties in what was a balanced Sixth, and then Dauphin, Lebanon, Schuylkill and small parts of Berks and Perry counties in the old Republican-leaning 17th.
Redistricting in 2012 made the 17th far more Democratic-oriented, adding to Schuylkill parts of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe and Northampton counties, including the Democratic strongholds of Easton, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Republicans, who controlled the redistricting process in Pennsylvania, put as many Democrats as possible into the district in order to help the re-election chances of U.S. Reps. Lou Barletta, R-11, Charlie Dent, R-15, and Tom Marino, R-10, each of whom won Nov. 6.
Cartwright, a lawyer in the firm of Munley, Munley & Cartwright, is considered more liberal than Holden, and his views dovetailed with the more liberal Democratic primary voters. Furthermore, there are far more Democrats in the Lackawanna and Luzerne sections of the district than in Schuylkill County.
Although Holden had the endorsements of Democratic leaders in those counties, large infusions of money from liberal political action committees resulted in numerous television advertisements being run against him.
Under Pennsylvania law, Holden could not run as an independent in the General Election, as some people in Schuylkill County wanted him to do, and he endorsed Cartwright. One of Holden's former staff members, William Hanley, will work for Cartwright, who plans to open a Schuylkill County office early in 2013.
Hospital shuts down
Northern Schuylkill County lost its only hospital in the spring after admissions and medical services were halted by the state at Saint Catherine Medical Center Fountain Springs due to financial problems that led to lack of supplies and employees not getting paid.
When the doors closed in early April, it left 160 employees out of work. On April 9, Saint Catherine's Hospital of Pennsylvania LCC, the owner of the medical center, filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
The closure began following an inspection by the state Department of Health, according to DOH Deputy Press Secretary Holli Senior, who said that on March 23, the DOH completed a complaint investigation to determine whether the hospital was complying with state and federal regulations.
"As a result of this investigation, the department discovered serious deficiencies and violations of applicable regulations that it felt posed a significant threat to the health and safety of the patients at the facility," Senior said, and a ban on new admissions was imposed.
Within a week, a ban on performing laboratory services and accepting emergency room patients was also imposed, and a short time later, the 24 residents in the hospital's long-term care center were ordered to be moved, most being transported to local personal care and nursing homes.
The bankruptcy and closure affected employees who had been at the facility up to 32 years, and many were still owed up to six weeks in back pay. Due to the sudden layoffs, the Rapid Response team of the state Department of Labor & Industry held a two-hour information session for the employees Apr. 18.
The medical center had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Apr. 9, which would allow time for the corporation to reorganize with the hope of opening in the future, but on April 18, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John J. Thomas ordered that the case be changed to Chapter 7, which allows for liquidation of a business' assets.
In October, an auction was held to sell the medical center's assets, from computers and medical equipment to wheelchairs and other items. The building and grounds were not part of the auction.
The hospital was opened by the commonwealth in 1883 as the State Hospital for Injured Persons of the Anthracite Coal Region, though was usually referred to as the "Miners' Hospital," since it only took in injured miners, railroad workers and textile workers after its creation. Eventually, it opened to anyone needing hospitalized care. When Ashland State General Hospital was divested by the commonwealth in the early 1990s, it was renamed Ashland Regional Medical Center. In 2006, it became Saint Catherine Medical Center.
Man tied to tree dies
Bryan R. Smith, 26, of Orwigsburg, died in May after being gagged and tied to a tree in a secluded area of South Manheim Township.
Keith A. Reber, 48, of Schuylkill Haven, and Daniel Dull, 25, of Orwigsburg, were charged in Smith's death.
State police said Smith was tied to the tree at 3 a.m. May 28 and left there for 20 hours. When Reber and Dull returned, they found that the man had died and, after a delay of several hours, they went to the Schuylkill Haven borough police to report the death and then led authorities to Smith's body.
State police charged Reber with criminal homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault, conspiracy, recklessly endangering another person, unlawful restraint, two counts of simple assault, prohibited possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm with an altered manufactured number.
Dull is charged with criminal homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault, conspiracy, unlawful restraint, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
An autopsy was conducted May 29 in Reading.
At a hearing Dec. 10, Reber's lawyer, Frederick J. Fanellli, Pottsville, argued the autopsy said drugs played a role in Smith's death. He said the official cause of death is "excited delirium due to amphetamine use" and that the charges should be dismissed.
The prosecution said that such arguments should be made before a jury. County Judge Charles M. Miller has given lawyers until Jan. 25 to file briefs outlining their position.
Reber remains in Schuylkill County Prison while Dull is in Carbon County Prison in connection with another case.
Firefighters find pot
While battling an electrical fire at a duplex in Port Carbon on Nov. 28, firefighters uncovered an elaborate marijuana-growing operation in the home where the fire started.
That night, members of the Schuylkill County Drug Task Force charged Dean Vermeersch, the owner of the home at 233 Coal St., with running the hydroponic garden with more than 75 marijuana plants.
Vermeersch, 53, is in Schuylkill County Prison on $50,000 straight cash bail awaiting his preliminary hearing that is slated for 1 p.m. Jan. 10 at the office of Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko, Port Carbon.
The two properties in the duplex include:
- 233 Coal St., a two-story apartment home owned by Vermeersch. He bought 233 Coal St. on March 30 from Dale J. Smith for $14,000, according to the online Schuylkill Parcel Locator.
- 231 Coal St., a three-story home owned by Lamar E. Staller, 44, and his wife, Katrina M., 43. They lived there with their daughter, Becky, 14, and six cats. The Stallers have owned 231 Coal St. since 1997, when they bought the home from Joseph W. and Rose Ann Snyder for $46,000, according to the parcel locator.
The electrical fire started at 233 Coal St., according to borough fire Chief Michael E. Welsh.
Vermeersch was charged with three felonies, one count each of possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance, manufacturing a controlled substance and causing or risking a catastrophe; seven misdemeanors, one count each of operation of a drug manufacturing establishment and being a public nuisance and five counts of possession of a controlled substance, and one summary violation of disorderly conduct, according to the criminal complaint.
Schuylkill County Assistant District Attorney Douglas Taglieri said Friday he will be representing the commonwealth in the case.
County borrows $21M
The Schuylkill County commissioners are borrowing $21.4 million to take care of infrastructure improvements, yet managed to hold the line on taxes for the ninth consecutive year.
The loan will help the county comply with federally mandated upgrades to the county communications network, buy a new building and make other infrastructure improvements.
The board approved a resolution during a work session in October to issue a general obligation bond, taking advantage of a record-low interest rate of 3.6 percent. The resolution also refinances $1.7 million still owed by the county from a 2008 bond, bringing the total debt obligation to $23.1 million.
Upgrades to the county's public safety communications network were mandated by the Federal Communications Commission to narrowband radio frequencies. The board made a contract final with Motorola Solutions Inc. in December to make the improvements for $16,388,145. Communication services not in compliance with the FCC's mandated standards as of Tuesday will face substantial fines and can have licenses revoked.
On Wednesday, the commissioners said they have been in negotiations for several months to buy the former Empire Beauty School at Centre Street and Laurel Boulevard to relieve overcrowding at the human services complex just across the street. The county's Children & Youth Services will move to the new location.
Empire Beauty School recently moved into a new building across from Fairlane Village mall in East Norwegian Township. However, a tenant at the former beauty school building, Telecommunications On Demand, or TOD, has yet to relocate.
On a 2-1 vote Wednesday, the board gave county solicitor Al Marshall permission to seize the property through eminent domain, paying the fair market value of $740,000.
Other projects using the funding include extensive renovation to the Human Services Building at 410 N. Centre St., a new roof at the prison and county Communications Center and other infrastructure improvements yet to be announced.
Hurricane effects slight
Superstorm Sandy, which caused more than $62 billion in damage across the nation, only brushed Schuylkill County in the last week of October.
The storm soaked the county, dropping more than 6 inches of rain, knocked down trees with 60 mph winds and left some homeowners without power for two days or more. The damage, however, was minimal, John W. Blickley, operations and training officer at the Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency, Pottsville, said Thursday.
"Superstorm Sandy was mainly a wind event in Schuylkill County," he said. "There was only minor flooding in low-lying and urban areas reported. There were three homes that sustained damage to roofs - one in Kline Township, one in East Brunswick Township and one in Ryan Township."
Then again, the county wasn't in the storm's bull's-eye.
Sandy is being blamed for about $62 billion in damage and other losses in the United States, most of it in New York and New Jersey. It's the second-costliest storm in U.S. history after Hurricane Katrina, which caused $128 billion in damage in inflation-adjusted dollars, according to The Associated Press. Sandy killed more than 125 people in the U.S.
In Schuylkill County, the storm knocked out power to "approximately 27,000" PPL customers, leaving some in the dark for days, Blickley said.
Emergency responders locally were ready for Sandy, having dealt with flooding caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011.
"Several local roads and state routes were closed during the first 24 hours of the storm for cleanup of downed trees and power lines. All local schools were also closed during the event," Blickley said. "Local municipal emergency operations centers and fire stations were staffed in preparation of the storm. Several local declarations of disaster were issued, as well as a county declaration.
"Local warming centers were set up in municipalities to provide assistance to residents without power. No public infrastructure damage was reported from local municipalities. We are not aware of any resident still recovering from storm damage."
Battle over BRADS continues
The eight-year battle over making the Blythe Recycling and Demolition Site landfill a reality continued this year.
The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a permit July 16 to allow Blythe Township to construct and operate a municipal waste facility, also known as BRADS, on 252 acres along Burma Road. In turn, the 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. The landfill proposed to only accept construction and demolition waste and have a 1,500-ton daily volume.
At the Saint Clair council's September meeting, Brian Baldwin of Alfred Benesch & Co., Pottsville, the borough's engineer, said an appeal of DEP's decision to approve the landfill application had been filed. The appeal was amended to add three or four points to the borough's points of contention.
The borough has until February to complete the appeal and no hearing date has been set.
When the borough adopted an ordinance in December setting the real estate tax rate and occupation tax for 2013, it announced that the real estate tax rate will be set at 4 mills and the occupation tax at $2.10. Roland Price, borough treasurer, said the millage is a 0.66-mill increase from last year to help finance the continuing battle against the landfill.
At the time of DEP's decision in July, James D. Larish, borough council president, said the borough had spent about $700,000 in attorney and engineering fees.
Blythe Township originally submitted its application in 2004. The application has since gone through a series of reviews, including an environmental assessment, also called a "harms-benefits analysis" and a technical review.
One of the last major advancements in the battle before the July decision was in August 2011, when DEP approved the Phase I permit application, due directly to a decision by Michael Krancer, DEP secretary, according to newspaper archives.
Bigfoot blamed for damage
The story of a 39-year-old man from the Lykens area claiming that a bigfoot damaged his Winnebago made national news online as several major networks, including ABC News, picked up on the strange incident after it was first reported by state police at Lykens in October.
According to police, John Reed reported that someone - or something - smashed the windows and tail lights of his 1973 Winnebago on Lykens Road in Jackson Township, Dauphin County, between Sept. 15 and Oct. 8.
Reed said he had seen a bigfoot around his vehicle, describing the creature as large, brown and walking hunched over. Reed also said the creature threw rocks at a light to avoid being seen.
State police at Lykens have since said the incident is no longer under investigation due to lack of evidence.
According to the article on www.abcnews.com, Reed is a self-described Sasquatch tracker and founder of the Lykens Valley Sasquatch Hunters. The story also said it was third time Reed said he has come into contact with a Sasquatch.