SHAMOKIN - Crime reportedly plummeted in the city over a five-year period studied for Shamokin's Act 47 plan, and those statistics are referenced in support of recommendations to ditch mandatory staffing requirements and close the department for four hours overnight.

The crime rate fell 68.8 percent between 2009 and 2013 compared to the five years prior, and this was in spite of three unfilled vacancies within the Shamokin Police Department.

The results are a statistical anomaly compared to Coal Township, which surrounds the one-square-mile city, with populated areas nearly indistinguishable from each other. The township's rate fell, too, but at 22.4 percent the decline was less severe. Bolstered by the city's own stats, the countywide crime rate dropped 36.3 percent.

Regardless of whether Shamokin's crime rate tumbled as reported to the state's Unified Crime Reporting System, or if the stats are flawed as suggested by the city's mayor, the result is that the authors of the preliminary Act 47 plan - financial consultants contracted by the state Department of Community and Economic Development - used the data to find ways to cut department spending.

But the suggestions for city council aren't based solely on tallying crime reports. It's the city's financial future driving the plan's initiatives.

Deficits mounting

City Hall's single largest expenditure is personnel costs. The price of public service in 2015 is estimated at $2.26 million, or 78.4 percent of total city spending. The department with the costliest budget is the police at $1,23 million - 91.6 percent of it for personnel.

Revenues, in turn, can't keep pace with continued increases in salaries, benefits and insurances as evidenced by the $2.2 million in cumulative deficits built up during the five years studied. It came to a head in 2013 when, as if out of thin air, more than $811,000 in past due bills appeared - mountains of stationery amassed inside two overburdened folders.

Should nothing change - no benefits curtailed, no taxes raised, no radical changes in how public services are delivered, emergency or otherwise - deficits will continue, according to the plan. Shamokin will overspend its collective budgets by an estimated $4.4 million between 2015 and 2020 - double the cumulative deficit that got Shamokin to this point in the first place.

And so the financial consultants sought ways for the city to pull itself together and perhaps come out of Act 47 ahead by $500,000 when the calendar turns to 2020.

Proposals

Adopt Home Rule government. Increase and maintain the Earned Income Tax at 1.5 percent. Negotiate union contracts favorable to city budgets. Freeze spending for all 25 employees. Reduce paid time off. Eliminate pensions. Limit city costs for employee and retiree health care. Raise the salary of the city clerk and hire an administrative secretary. (Sure to be a head-scratcher to a majority of citizens considering all the suggested cuts.) Apply for grants. Focus on increased employee output and decreased manual process. Explore consolidation of police, public works and other services with Coal Township.

Scratch the surface of the preliminary Act 47 plan and what you get is listed above. Sweeping changes are suggested, and no department is excluded.

Among 18 proposed initiatives for the police are the aforementioned daily closing of the department between 3 and 7 a.m. when call volume was found to bottom out. State troopers and Coal Township police could handle emergencies, the plan suggests, while non-emergencies would wait for the day shift.

It's suggested the minimum staffing requirement be eliminated. As it stands, no less than two officers are mandated by union contract to be on duty each shift. Instead, two officers are recommended to work at the same time only between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. when call volume peaks.

Among the other mandates of the union contract is that no part-time officers be hired. The Act 47 plan says that should end. Overtime neared $75,900 in 2013, more than double the $36,942 budgeted. To reduce overtime and avoid the costs of health and retirement benefits for full-time positions, part-timers are encouraged.

Reducing the department from its current 10-man roster to eight men is also suggested, but not immediately, at least not through layoffs. Attrition is suggested. Should a current officer leave the job, council is advised to allow that position to remain vacant. It's not unprecedented. Four officers have retired since 2008 and none have been replaced.

More revenue

The primary initiatives when it come to the police department under Act 47 may appear the most drastic in a community where, despite the reported drop in crime, many are convinced otherwise.

When city council voted to lay off two police officers in December 2013, City Hall's public meeting room filled to capacity. The crowd lined the long staircase and spilled onto the sidewalk along Lincoln Street. Hundreds showed to support the department and its officers amid fear the city was increasingly dangerous. They cited elements of drugs and violence. City council members were chastised for their decisions, and the furloughed officers returned to work in less than a month.

The suggestions for the police department among others can be avoided, but it will come at a cost, as the plan states.

A Northumberland County judge will first be asked to approve a hike of the Earned Income Tax to 1.5 percent, which would generate an estimated $3.9 million in additional tax revenue through 2019.

Millions more in tax dollars will keep the department's doors open 24/7, prevent the elimination of minimum staffing requirements that keeps two policemen on duty each shift, and stave off the suggested cut of two patrolman positions over time, according to the plan.

Willing to pay?

But the tax rate can only stay above 1 percent while Shamokin is an Act 47 community. The preliminary plan, as it's written, will allow voters to value for themselves, at least in the short-term, the cost of police protection as it's currently organized. Are they comfortable with essentially authorizing a tax increase themselves to pay for it in 2020 and beyond? City council is recommended to ask that very question, albeit framed differently at the polls.

The proposed rate is a 50 percent hike on what taxpayers currently pay. For example, a city resident earning the median salary of $20,294 would have $304.41 deducted from their pay over a full year, an increase of $101.47. The larger the income, the higher the increase.

Should Shamokin's voting public approve abolishing the city charter and rewriting a new plan under a Home Rule form of government, City Hall can maintain the Earned Income Tax at 1.5 percent.

City council members will meet at a special town hall-style meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday inside a space larger than City Hall - the Northumberland County Career and Arts Center at Eighth and Arch streets. State officials and the plan's authors are expected to attend. An explanation will be given for the suggestions, and for Shamokin's potential economic recovery. The public will be given the chance to voice its opinions.

Shamokin's belt has long needed tightening - no one can argue that at this point - and the plan's authors are the first in some time to give it a forceful tug. It will be up to city council, however, to decide how to fasten the clasp and hold it in place.

GINTHERS - Seven people were flown to trauma centers after a violent head-on crash in Rush Township Saturday afternoon that left a total of 11 people injured.

The crash happened at 12:34 p.m. on Claremont Avenue, Route 309, at the bottom of the Mile Hill and just north of the intersection of Main Street that leads to the Village of Quakake.

Rush Township Police said Jarih Martinez Fermin, 23, of Summit Hill, was driving a 2014 Subaru Forester south on Route 309 when he crossed over the median and collided head-on with a northbound 1999 Ford F-350 van driven by John Kurtz, 61, of East Fallowfield, Chester County.

Fermin was trapped inside the twisted wreckage of his SUV and had to be cut free by members of the Tamaqua Rescue Squad.

In addition to Kurtz, police said there were nine passengers in the van, ranging from ages 7 to 33.

Firefighters worked for more than an hour to remove the injured from the van, taking the most seriously injured first.

A few people from the van were taken to a nearby home by neighbors before emergency personnel arrived in order to get them out of the sub freezing temperatures, firefighters at the scene said.

Police said Fermin and six passengers from the van were taken by ambulance to the McAdoo ballfield where they were flown to trauma centers at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, and St. Luke's Hospital, Fountain Hill.

A total of seven air medical helicopters landed in McAdoo at a landing zone set up by McAdoo firefighters.

In addition, Kurtz and four other passengers in the van were taken by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital Hazleton Campus and St. Luke's Hospital Coaldale Campus for treatment of less serious injuries.

Police said their investigation into the accident is continuing and that DUI may have played a role in the crash.

Busy Route 309 was closed for several hours while the victims were removed, the crash investigated and the vehicles removed from the scene.

Hometown fire police shut down Route 309 and diverted traffic onto alternate routes around the crash site.

Police did not have the identities of the passengers in the van and where they were going from or going to.

EMS units, both basic life support and advanced life support, from Schuylkill, Carbon and Luzerne counties responded to the scene along with firefighters from Hometown, McAdoo, Tamaqua and Quakake.

McAdoo firefighters were assisted at the landing zone by firefighters from surrounding communities.

Police said more information will be available on the crash as the investigation continues.

SHAMOKIN - Between 6 and 8 inches of snow is expected to fall in the greater Shamokin area today and Monday. Temperatures are expected to fall, too, with an anticipated low Tuesday of less than zero.

Flurries should arrive at sunrise followed by light snowfall later in the morning. By the time Super Bowl XLIX kicks off at 6:30 p.m., there should be plenty to shovel, according to Bill Gartner, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The heaviest snowfall is expected Sunday night. Gartner said it's the area's fourth snow event in the past 10 days.

The snowstorm is tracking west to east from Missouri into Ohio before reaching Pennsylvania. Gartner said it could become a Nor'easter as it moves northeast. But when it hits Shamokin, he said it will be "just a January snowstorm which is typical for Pennsylvania. It's winter."

Shamokin is joined by Sunbury, Danville, Bloomsburg, Selinsgrove and Pottsville among the cities under a winter storm warning that begins at 9 a.m. today and ends at 1 p.m. Monday. Snow emergencies are declared in Kulpmont beginning at 2 p.m. today and in Mount Carmel at midnight. (See Page 2 for details.)

Pennsylvania's northern tier is forecast to get a foot of snow, or more. The Associated Press reports parts of the Philadelphia suburbs could get 5 to 9 inches, but precipitation might change to sleet and freezing rain on Monday.

Rain is in the forecast today for Glendale, Ariz., where the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will play for the NFL Championship. It could do the same in the Shamokin area early Monday, but unlike out West, it will freeze and mix with sleet. More snow will follow before it tapers off Monday afternoon.

The overnight low Saturday into Sunday was forecast at 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures will hover at or below 32 degrees Sunday and between 27 and 29 degrees Monday. When the storm passes, arctic cold will follow behind. The low temperature is predicted at minus-1 degree Tuesday, with a high of just 18 degrees. That falls in line with much of the last week when temperatures were largely in the teens and single-digits.

It's Super Bowl Sunday and many will make a bet on the big game. Who will win? What will the final score be? None of these guarantee that you will be a winner. However, joining the Brush Valley Chamber of Commerce ensures that you will be a winner.

The chamber offers several benefits to our members and we continually strive to find new benefits to make sure that your bet is safe with our chamber.

One of the best things you can do for your business is to market your products or services. Here at the chamber, we can help by performing ribbon cuttings, advertising your event or product in our newsletter, highlighting your achievements in a Chamber High Five and listing your business in our electronic and paper directory.

By joining the chamber, you can attend several networking events such as our monthly luncheons, annual dinners and business after hours. At business after hours, you have the opportunity to showcase your business and products on your own turf to other chamber members.

The chamber offers other benefits such as an energy program, a Factbilt credit report, building and maintaining a QR code to use on your marketing materials (you might need a huddle on that one - feel free to check it out on Google), access to affordable insurance and up-to-date information on what is happening in the Brush Valley region.

Joining the Brush Valley Chamber of Commerce will guarantee you make the touchdown. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact Whitney Fetterman at wfetterman@censop.com.

Upcoming events

Luncheon at NHS Human Services (Northwestern Academy) Feb. 17.

For a full list of events, visit www.brushvalleychamber.com.

(Whitney Fetterman is the executive director of the Brush Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce. "Your Chamber" is published on the first Sunday of each month.)

LEWISBURG - Former CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien will appear live on the campus of Bucknell University to moderate her series, "Black in America."

O'Brien, an award-winning journalist and philanthropist, is scheduled to be joined by Antonio French, 21st Ward alderman in St. Louis, Mo., whose profile rose nationally during the protests in Ferguson, Mo.

The event is free and open to the public. It begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Moore Ave. A meet-and-greet follows the panel discussion.

"Black in America" brings the issue of police brutality to college campuses, gathers academics and experts, students, and community members of all races and politics to discuss their personal stories of how policing impacts their lives. The multi-city tour kicks off at Bucknell and includes a scheduled stop at Bloomsburg University Feb. 12.

Audiences will get an inside look at the latest installment of O'Brien's "Black in America" documentary series, "Black & Blue." It aired on CNN just as protests erupted on American streets.

"'Black in America' is about Americans talking about the uncomfortable issue of race, about opening the floor to new perspectives, problems and the powerful experiences of regular people," O'Brien said in a press release. "This is a forum for the conversation America is ready to have - why do so many black Americans fear the very people that are supposed to protect them?"

Others scheduled to appear are Julianne Malveaux, economist, author and political commentator, Chuck D of Public Enemy via Skype, and Carmen Gillespie, Bucknell English professor and director of the Griot Institute for Africana Studies.

Seating is limited. The event is presented by the Bucknell Student Lectureship Committee, the Campus Activities and Programs center, and the Bucknell Student Government.

For more information, visit www.iamtheconversation.com.

Snow emergency in Ashland

ASHLAND - Borough police announced Sunday that a snow emergency would be in effect from 2 to 6 a.m. today. Parking was to be prohibited on Hoffman Boulevard from Brock to Centre streets, and on Centre Street from Front to 23rd streets. Owners of vehicles not moved were subject to $50 fines and the cost of towing.

It came as no surprise to those who know Ryan M. Pensyl that he would become a contestant on "Jeopardy!," and likewise it was no shock that he won.

Pensyl's memory was akin to a parlor trick performed inside Shamokin Area High School. He could rattle off birth dates and phone numbers of random students passing through the school's hallways as easily as he could dates and circumstances of events hardly touched upon in history class.

He was a whiz kid, the person everyone turned to for an answer to a question intelligent or mundane. And if he couldn't deliver, that was shocking, and it didn't happen often.

Pensyl is a Paxinos native, a son of William and Linda. He's a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and is a captain in the U.S. Army, working as an intelligence officer and stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. That makes him third-generation military; his father a U.S. Navy veteran during the Vietnam War and his grandfather among the soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy, France on D-Day.

Two months after high school graduation, he enlisted in August 1998 and was off to basic training one month later. He'd already learned the basics of how to behave in the service from his father and grandfather.

"When you're a private, just do what you're told for the most part and you'll be OK. That lived up for the most part. Just don't do anything stupid," Pensyl said.

He applied and was accepted at West Point, from which he graduated in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in political science. Deployments followed to Germany, Korea and Afghanistan, as well as 15 months in Iraq spent in Ramadi where he was witness to the Sunni Awakening. Pensyl said locals of the Al-Anbar Province turned against al-Qaeda in Iraq, stabilizing the region. Attacks on the brigade, he said, averaged 30 daily when he arrived. That figure dropped to two.

"That was probably the crowning achievement of the deployment," he said. "After those first four months or so, the deployment was not what I'd call a big vacation, but it was not especially stressful."

Pensyl traded his fatigues for dress blues when he was deployed to Los Angeles, not by Uncle Sam but by Canada's own Alex Trebek - but first he had to audition for "Jeopardy!"

A fateful posting to his West Point class's Facebook page spurred him to take the online test in October 2012. His was among 30,000 entries for that production season. In March 2013, he drove from Fort Hood to San Antonio, Texas, to audition - one of 2,000 to do so across the country, he said. Practice clicker in hand and a small-sized replica screen of the one made famous on the quiz show, Pensyl went through a dry-run of "Jeopardy!"

And then, nothing. After a month, he hadn't heard back. Same thing after six months; after one year. The experience slipped to the back of his mind, and he figured he wasn't chosen. After 18 months he was thinking of reapplying. One day while at the gym his cell phone rang.

"'Who the hell do I know in Los Angeles?'" he asked himself. The answer was on his voice mail. It was a show representative, and he had been chosen.

Pensyl put in for leave and told his bosses why. He didn't share much with anyone else. When he returned from Los Angeles, he'd won two nights on the show, losing on his third appearance. Slowly he shared that he was a contestant. As his episodes' air-dates neared in mid-December, he posted a photo of himself from the show on Facebook. Word spread quickly from Fort Worth to Shamokin.

Three different times Pensyl got to hear the famed disembodied voice of Johnny Gilbert announce his name and hometown, and of course, announce to the studio and viewing audience: "This ... iiissssss ... Jeopardy!"

Notable from his first episode was his introduction with Trebek, when he impersonated "Dr. Evil" from Mike Myers' "Austin Powers" films. Pensyl took first place and won $7,599. As the closing credits rolled, Trebek congratulated him.

"He was actually talking about Mike Myers. He actually had never seen the 'Austin Powers' movies, but he knew that Myers was a fellow Canadian," Pensyl said. "We, the three contestants, were talking about 'Austin Powers' with Alex Trebek."

An entire week's worth of episodes are filmed in a single day. About 15 minutes passed, he said, before he was back on stage filming his second episode. He won again, this time earning $24,401. His third episode ended with a loss - a three-day television experience wrapped up in one day before lunchtime.

"I got a couple big-dollar questions wrong on 'Double Jeopardy!' that if I would have just kept my mouth shut, I would have gone into 'Final Jeopardy!' probably in the lead or pretty close to it," Pensyl said.

Pensyl earned $33,000 - not bad for a day's work. He received a flood of praise from family and friends across the country, and a congratulatory letter from Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The "Jeopardy!" check hasn't arrived yet. It's expected sometime in April. Pensyl plans to invest some of it for retirement. As for the rest?

"I got some ideas: a motorcycle, a pilot's license, go to Vegas, put it on red; those are all options."

The following landlord/tenant claims or judgments were filed in magisterial district court:

John Gembic III, Shamokin

Shannon Piper, of Sunbury, against Tim Piper and Jamie Gledhill, of Coal Township, for $425, filed Jan. 27. Hearing scheduled for Feb. 9.

Kathren Shaw against David and Chanda Hine, all of Coal Township, for $300, filed Jan. 26. Hearing scheduled for Feb. 9.

CPI Partners LLC-Chad Pensyl, of Danville, against Megan Hulsizer and Daniel Sessions, of Coal Township, for $1,430, filed Jan. 26. Hearing scheduled for Feb. 5.

Shamokin Housing Authority against Chelsea Lytle, of Shamokin, for $683, filed Jan. 23. Hearing scheduled for Feb. 5.

Fred Hummel, of Elysburg, against Fred Scott, of Coal Township, for $2,575, filed Jan. 20. Hearing scheduled for Feb. 2.

Walter Hyde against Jeff Butler, both of Shamokin, for $1,850, filed Jan. 20. Hearing scheduled for Feb. 2.

Bernadine Paczkoskie, of Sunbury, awarded $3,144.50 on Jan. 22 from Antionne Benton and Rachel Hauck, of Shamokin.

Lamont and Nolan Masser, of Leck Kill, awarded $1,343.25 on Jan. 22 from Linda Depena, of Shamokin.

Sara Radomski, of Shamokin claim against Paul Delbo, of Shamokin, dismissed without prejudice on Jan. 26.

Brett Russell, of Sunbury, awarded $5,194.68 on Jan. 29 from Tina and Roger Bundy, Julie and Anthony Fields, all of Coal Township.

Hugh A. Jones, Mount Carmel

Janet Schoppy, of Danville, against Anthony Ceisnolevicz, of Mount Carmel, for $1,670, filed Jan. 28. Hearing scheduled for Feb. 12.

Apartments & Acquisitions, of Mount Carmel, awarded $1,150.99 on Jan. 22 from Carmine Simeone, of Mount Carmel.

MC Property Management for IKB Properties, of Mount Carmel, awarded $3,321.79 on Jan. 29 from Jonathan Mazack and Melissa Ladd, of Mount Carmel.

SHAMOKIN - More than two weeks have passed since the city's preliminary Act 47 plan was unveiled, with 120 initiatives proposed to keep Shamokin out of bankruptcy.

Tonight, the public gets its opportunity to weigh in.

A town hall-style meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the Northumberland County Career and Arts Center, Eighth and Arch streets. City and state officials are expected to be joined by the plan's authors to provide details and answer questions about the financial recovery strategy. The plan is available for review at www.shamokincity.org.

Sweeping changes to employee pay and benefits are recommended to avoid more than $4.4 million in cumulative debt by 2020. If the plan is to work, the city must not only cut spending and boost revenue, it must also change to a Home Rule form of government, which would need voter approval.

Plan initiatives include freezing employee pay, capping the cost of health benefits, eliminating or scaling back pensions, and maintaining an increased Earned Income Tax at 1.5 percent. The police department is recommended for radical overhauls, including closing four hours overnight when call volume is found to be at its lowest.

Shamokin was accepted in June into Act 47, the 28th municipality to enter the state's recovery program since its creation in 1987. The plan was prepared by consultants from Pennsylvania Economy League, Stevens & Lee and Financial Solutions on behalf of City Hall and the state Department of Community and Economic Development. It is in a preliminary stage and needs final approval of the city council and a county judge.

The city has been operating at an average deficit of $362,600 the past six years, about $2.2 million total. Revenue grew at 10 percent during that period, but couldn't keep up with expenses, which grew at 15 percent. A $1.1 million emergency loan kept the city afloat last year. Should no changes be made, the average annual deficits will balloon to $738,700 over the next five years.

IRISH VALLEY - Lydia Deptula squared her shoulders and drove into a ballcarrier, joining a gang tackle that saw her crash onto the snowy, frozen field outside Clark's Grove United Methodist Church on Sunday.

She dusted off her shirt and straightened the eyeglasses jostled loose on her face. Then she thought better of it.

"I'm not smashing these," she said as she ran to her mother, Becky, and handed them over. "I just got them."

Lydia was among a dozen people who gathered at the field about 2 p.m. for an annual game of backyard football on the afternoon of the Super Bowl. The players ranged in ages between 9 and 17, plus two dads who served as designated quarterbacks. Instead of chewing up turf, the crew tamped down a half-foot of snow, leaving behind thousands of footprints between makeshift sidelines.

Ted Deptula, Lydia's father, organized the game. His youngest son, Sam, 16, also played. Ted has put the game together the past 17 years after launching a youth group at the church. Whoever shows up plays - church member or not - and in almost any weather. They've played in rain and mud. Two years ago the game went on with the field likened to a sheet of ice. On Sunday, of course, there was snow.

"Instead of sitting around all day and waiting for the Super Bowl, we get the kids active," Ted said.

They were active enough to start peeling off layers of winter clothing as the game wore on, ditching sweatshirts and snow pants while working up a sweat in the freezing weather. The snow boots, though, stayed on.

"You don't see me falling down," Ted said, looking downward, "but I didn't run much either."

Pastor Billy Frick rested beneath a pine tree while he watched from a safe distance behind a sideline. A knee injury kept him out of the game, on his wife's order. He moonlights as a lacrosse coach at Susquehanna University and as a referee, and donned the black-and-white stripes for Sunday's game.

"These are my warmest clothes," he deadpanned.

The church field along Irish Valley Road had long been home to AYSO youth soccer matches. Those of a certain age will remember spending Saturdays on the grass, and perhaps stomping around in the shallow water of Bennys Run. Before that, Frick said it served as a baseball field.

"A lot of our older members remind me about what used to take place at the ball field," Frick said.

Moments later a defensive play on a potential touchdown pass drew Frick's attention. He blew his referee's whistle and tossed a yellow penalty flag that fell into the snow at his feet. The gag drew laughs from the players.

"I'm not picking this one up like they did against Dallas," he joked, referring to a controversial play in a pivotal NFL playoff game last month.

Sunday's game played on, the forecasted snowfall held off for the most part, and another edition of backyard football was in the books at Clark's Grove church. Same place, same time next year.

MOUNT CARMEL - Rotational parking, a tool recently added to the borough's snow and ice removal ordinance in an effort to better clear the streets during heavy snowfall, went unenforced during Sunday's storm.

But even without the borough making a mandate, some residents moved their vehicles, allowing the street department to clear some roads more efficiently.

"The people voluntarily moved on my street," said Councilman Joseph Lapotsky, who sits on the borough's streets committee and helped shape the ordinance.

"You ought to see my street - it's plowed back to the curb and everybody has a clear parking space."

The rule is similar in nature to Kulpmont's snow emergency system, but instead of requiring all vehicles to move from certain streets, the borough is asking residents to all park on one side of the street for one day and then switch to the opposite side the next day.

The side of streets with odd numbered houses will be vacated first, from the time the mandate begins until plowing, salting or cindering is complete on that side. After 8 a.m. the following day, parking is prohibited on the side of streets with even numbered houses.

Plows are then free to clear all of the parking spaces on the open side of the street, eliminating the need to shovel out spaces and providing more comprehensive snow removal.

Borough officials opted to mandate a parking ban on Oak Street during this storm, and paper signs were posted in the affected areas.

The street committee met Monday night to discuss potential changes to the amended ordinance, as well as other business.

Susquehanna Valley gas prices dropped a nickel to $2.190 a gallon this week, according to AAA East Central's fuel gauge report.

On the national front

After falling a record 123 consecutive days, the national average price for regular unleaded gasoline inched upward on Tuesday, Jan. 27, by fractions of a penny. Gas prices have begun to increase due to a series of refinery issues in the Midwest and because crude oil prices are trading at more stable levels following a multi-month selloff.

Similar to years past, the national average is expected to rise in the coming months due to the seasonal demand increase and refinery maintenance. However, global oil prices continue to register multi-year lows with supply outpacing demand, and barring any events that cause the global price to increase substantially, AAA expects that the U.S. average will remain below $3 per gallon throughout 2015. Global oil prices are also expected to remain relatively low during the first half of 2015.

The ripple effects of sharply lower prices for crude are beginning to surface in both high-cost production countries as well as in producer nations that depend on oil revenue to balance budgets and provide social services to citizens. Production companies around the globe are challenged with the decision of either cutting investments or continuing to supply the market at dramatically lower profit margins.

At the close of Friday's formal trading on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate was up $3.71 to settle at $48.24 per barrel, which was the highest settlement in about two weeks.

(AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 83 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.)

This week's Susquehanna Valley average price - $2.190

Average price during the week of Jan. 28, 2015 - $2.242

Average price during the week of Feb. 4, 2014 - $3.485

The following is a list of the average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:

Lewisburg - $2.144

Mifflinburg - $2.210

Milton - $2.184

Selinsgrove - $2.155

Shamokin - $2.259

Sunbury - $2.189

SUNBURY - Five defendants were sentenced Monday in Northumberland County on various charges.

- Amber Zwolinski, 27, of Coal Township, was sentenced by Judge Charles Saylor on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and criminal conspiracy to five years probation, along with court costs.

The charges were filed by Coal Township Police Officer Josuha Wynn in connection with a May 17, 2013, offense and arrested in a Sept. 19, 2013, drug roundup.

Other charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility were not prosecuted.

- Stephen Dangler, 32, of Herndon, was sentenced by Judge Charles Saylor to five years probation, with the first 90 days of his sentence under house arrest on a charge of driving under the influence-highest rate of alcohol.

Dangler was also ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and court costs in the case.

He was charged by Trooper Todd Leiby of the Stonington barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police following the investigation into an Aug. 10 accident on Route 225 in Lower Mahanoy Township.

A second charge for driving under the influence and citations for careless driving and disregard for the traffic lanes were not prosecuted.

- Jonathan P. Bartholomew, 37, of Marion Heights was sentenced by Judge William H. Wiest to a sentence of three day to six months in prison on a charge of driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

He was also ordered to pay a fine and court costs on a charge of driving with a suspended license.

The charges were filed by Coal Township Patrolman Edward Purcell following a Feb. 27, 2013, incident. A second charge of driving under the influence of a controlled substance and a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia were not prosecuted in the case.

- Damian Konopka, 42, of Shamokin, received a sentence of six months probation and a $300 fine plus court costs by Judge Charles Saylor on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Coal Township Police Patrolman Edward Purcell filed the charges following an Aug. 23, 2013, incident. A second charge of driving under the influence was withdrawn in the case.

- Joseph Galgocy III, 32, of Shamokin, was sentenced to three years probation, with the first 30 days on house arrest by Judge Charles Saylor on a charge of criminal conspiracy for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

He was charged by Shamokin City Police Cpl. Bryan Primerano in connection with an offense in 2012.

A charge of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance was withdrawn in the case.

SUNBURY - Two Atlas women received the same sentence for their roles in selling prescription medication to a confidential informant in 2013.

Kelly Metzinger, 37, and Ashley Casari, 27, both of Mount Carmel, were sentenced to one year of house arrest and five years probation by Northumberland County Judge Charles Saylor on Monday.

Both pleaded guilty to three counts of manufacturing, delivery or possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in plea court on Dec. 22. Originally, both faced 12 counts of the same charge in the original indictment.

Both were charged by Shamokin Police Cpl. Bryan Primerano and Trooper David T. Burns of the Pennsylvania State Police after making undercover drug sales to an informant in October and November 2013 in the parking lot of the Turkey Hill Minit Market on Lincoln Street, Shamokin.

The two were accused of selling the informant 100 Dilaudid pills for $450 and seven Fentanyl patches for $225.

Marc Lieberman, the attorney for both Casari and Metzinger, was prepared to offer several character witness during the sentencing hearing for Casari, including former Northumberland County Commissioner Frank Sawicki, a friend of the family.

Lieberman also wanted one correction made to the pre-sentence investigation report for both individuals.

"It should be noted that the informant selected the place for the deal, not my clients," Lieberman said. That was said due to the location of the convenience store, near the Shamokin Area Elementary Annex, within a drug-free school zone where penalties are harsher.

When given a chance to speak before sentencing, both women had remorse for their actions.

"I made a very bad mistake," Casari told the court. "This will never happen again."

"I am very remorseful for my actions," Metzinger said, "and I apologize to my family and friends for the embarrassment that I caused them."

Under the terms of a plea agreement, the number of pills the two were accused of trying to sell was lowered, allowing the judge to give them probation and house arrest.

Recycling canceled

KULPMONT - Curbside recycling collection is canceled today due to weather conditions.

Rainbow Club meeting canceled

COAL TOWNSHIP - Our Lady of Hope Rainbow Club meeting scheduled for Sunday is canceled because of the possibility of inclement weather.

Grant applications welcome

HARRISBURG - The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has scheduled workshops and is accepting applications for grants under the 2015 Community Conservation Partnerships Program (C2P2), according to Sen. John R. Gordner (R-27).

The program has funded more than 4,000 projects, including parks, trails and land conservation measures, more than 20 years, Gordner said.

In 2015, DCNR will again focus on grant awards that advance local recreation and conservation priorities delineated in the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. Some of the priorities include sustainable and "green" park development, trails that close gaps in existing corridors and projects that help communities become more bicycle and pedestrian friendly, Gordner said. It is also strongly recommended that area communities coordinate on regional projects.

The application period for C2P2 will remain open until April 16. Additionally, DCNR and the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society have scheduled a series of grant workshops for local officials and recreation associations beginning in February.

Information on workshops may be found at www.dcnr.state.pa.us/calendar. Information on the Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan may be found at www.paoutdoorrecplan.com. Grant applications are available at www.grants.dcnr.state.pa.us.

MOUNT CARMEL - The Mount Carmel Area School District Board of Directors interviewed six potential board members during a special meeting Monday night.

The board has until Feb. 14 to find a replacement for ex-board president Thomas Ditchey, whose resignation was accepted at the Jan. 15 meeting.

If a replacement is not found prior to that date, the decision will be made by the Northumberland County Court of Common Pleas.

To accommodate the deadline, February's regular board meeting will be moved ahead by one week to Feb. 12 so the board can approve a candidate. It will still be held at 7 p.m.

The board went into executive session immediately after opening to conduct the interviews. No other issues were discussed, said Superintendent Bernie Stellar. He and the board members in attendance declined to comment on the candidates.

Ditchey submitted a letter of resignation dated Jan. 4. His replacement will fill his position until his term concludes in December.

COAL TOWNSHIP - Not only did Mason Kehler, 8, get a day off school Monday because of bad weather, he and his father, Barry, enjoyed lunch at McDonald's.

And the boy paid with nothing but a little love.

The Shamokin father and son were randomly selected to be part of the "Pay with Lovin'" promotion that runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Valentine's Day at McDonald's restaurants nationwide.

All the younger Kehler had to do was tell his father how much he loved him and give him a hug at the prompting of the cashier. No money exchanged.

A commercial about the new campaign aired Sunday during the Super Bowl, but the Kehlers didn't see it. That made their visit to McDonald's a nice surprise.

"It was pretty neat and different," Barry Kehler said. "I wasn't expecting it."

Special delivery

Gloria Route, a driver for FedEx, was not expecting it either when she made her usual Monday stop at McDonald's for lunch.

"This is so cute," she said when the cashier told her all she had to do was tell them what she liked about her job.

"I love being out and about and seeing and talking to everybody," Route said. Meal paid for.

Paying it forward

Roland Kissinger, owner/operator of the Coal Township McDonald's, was on hand for opening day of the promotion.

"The interesting thing that has happened is that when the customers are asked to pay with lovin', they want to pay for the next customer," he said.

That had occurred four times already by noon.

"They want to share it. They want to pay it forward, which is something I didn't anticipate," Kissinger said.

He said customers are selected for the promotion depending on what time they walk through the door.

"Nothing is scripted, and this is something different that has never been done before," he said. "The employees are having fun with it, too."

One of the regular customers who wanted to "pay it forward" and left money for the next diners Monday was Brittany Brown, of Shamokin.

"I got my meal for free and I felt bad, because there are people that need it more than I do," she said.

COAL TOWNSHIP - The Northumberland County Authority voted Monday to transfer a $500,000 insurance check to the county commissioners to cover day-to-day expenses related to the county prison.

The authority, a county entity, owns the prison that was destroyed by fire Jan. 14. Inmates are currently housed in state facilities free of charge. The state gave the county a 28-day grace period before housing costs will be applied. The grace period expires next week.

The initial insurance funds are to be used for housing and management costs, along with expenses related to the vacant prison at 39 N. Second St. or a new facility.

A separate account was established by the county for prison insurance funds, and the authority will vote separately on such transfers each time a check comes from Travelers Insurance, according to authority solicitor Frank Garrigan Jr.

Voting in favor were authority members Edward Griffiths, Joe Pancerella and Gene Welsh. Members Vinny Clausi and Craig Fetterman were unable to attend. Clausi did consult with the members by telephone prior to the hearing.

Clausi is the board of commissioners representative. He was previously authorized by the authority to make day-to-day decisions regarding the lockup, and to handle documents related to insurance claims by the authority.

The commissioners previously announced that the prison is insured for a maximum of $31 million.

SUNBURY - A Coal Township man will spend 2 1/2 to 7 years in state prison for his role in a "doctor shopping" case from 2013.

Northumberland County President Judge William Wiest sentenced Joshua H. Greenwood, 36, on a charge of acquiring or obtaining possession of a controlled substance by deception.

Four other cases against Greenwood, each involving charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, netted him sentences of one to seven years in state prison for each of the charges. The sentences will run concurrently.

Greenwood was one of eight people charged by state attorney general narcotics agent Duane Musser as part of an 18-month investigation into the doctor shopping scheme, in which a patient receives overlapping prescriptions for controlled substances from multiple prescribers.

Greenwood and his wife, Krystal Greenwood, 28, along with Christopher P. Bachorik, 42, and Charlotte M. Allen, 30, of Shamokin, were accused of conspiring to obtain prescription opiates while four others apprehended in the investigation worked independently. Authorities said thousands of pain killers were obtained through the process.

Krystal Greenwood was scheduled for plea court in her case Monday, but it couldn't be determined whether the proceeding took place.

Bachorik pleaded guilty to a charge of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance on Nov. 24, receiving a sentence of 23 months probation and a $250 fine. He was also sentenced to six months of house arrest on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Allen was sentenced to 18 months of probation after pleading guilty to a charge of criminal use of a communication facility on Dec. 29.

In Bachorik and Allen's cases, the doctor shopping charges were dropped.

SUNBURY - Sentencing of an alleged drug dealer and a pre-trial conference for a man accused of attempted homicide were among the criminal cases postponed Monday when county prisoners weren't transported to the courthouse as planned from their temporary home at SCI-Coal Township.

The confusion may have been related to the winter storm that dropped several inches of snow and mixed precipitation on the region Sunday evening into Monday morning, but that remained unclear as of late Monday.

Two Northumberland County Prison officials, working at SCI-Coal Township where 208 county inmates were moved when fire destroyed the county jail Jan. 14, said the transportation paperwork was ready for nine inmates and the van to transport them arrived as planned at the SCI-Coal Township parking lot.

"The transportation van was sitting in the prison parking lot at 8 a.m., but for some reason, we couldn't get inside the gates," said Lt. Jim Smink, public information officer for the county prison. The van was there for about an hour, he said.

Susan Bensinger, deputy press secretary with the state Department of Corrections, said the superintendent of SCI-Coal Twp. directed the major and a deputy to investigate.

"They will make sure the issue will be appropriately addressed to avoid any future delays," she said.

Kevin O'Hearn, deputy court administrator, said when Judge Charles Saylor learned that the prison van was well behind schedule, he decided to postpone the proceedings and told prison officials not to bother transporting the prisoners.

"There was a issue that the county van was running behind schedule, for some reason," O'Hearn said Monday morning before he received details on the situation at SCI-Coal Township. "At 9:40 a.m., Judge Saylor made the decision to not transport the prisoners."

Deputy county warden Brian Wheary said Monday afternoon it was his understanding court had been canceled for the day.

Defense attorneys have said they are having a hard time meeting with their clients at state prisons - where they were moved at a fire at the county prison Jan. 14 - because of their locations, limited visitation times and stricter regulations.

O'Hearn said previously county correctional officers, who have been used since the fire to transport prisoners, face time restraints, especially at SCI-Coal Township. County inmates housed at state prisons must be picked up for court appearances during normal business hours for security reasons, and the inmates must be returned by 3 p.m.

Kashner, Diroche cases

Eight of the prisoners were scheduled for either plea court or sentencings before Saylor or President Judge William H. Wiest.

Among them was Darryl Kashner Jr., 29, of Coal Township. An alleged heroin and cocaine addict and dealer, Kashner pleaded guilty to 11 felony drug-related offenses Nov. 13, just minutes before going to trial on the charges.

In exchange for his guilty plea, he will receive an aggregate state prison sentence not to exceed 10 to 20 years.

Kashner, who has been incarcerated since Aug. 28, 2012, pleaded guilty to felonies of delivery of heroin and cocaine, possession with intent to deliver heroin and cocaine, and criminal conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver cocaine and heroin.

The charges filed by Attorney General Agent David Jordan, Shamokin Cpl. Bryan Primerano and Ralpho Township Patrolman Chris Grow relate to a grand jury investigation involving the distribution of heroin and cocaine in Northumberland County and offenses committed in Shamokin and Coal Township. Primerano and Grow, who are members of the Northumberland-Montour Drug Task Force, were assisted in the probe by officers from Mount Carmel, Shamokin, Coal Township and Ralpho Township.

The ninth inmate scheduled for an appearance in court was Rafael Diroche Jr., 29, formerly of Mount Carmel, accused in the attempted murder of Salicia Yost last February. Diroche was scheduled for a pre-trial conference before Saylor Monday afternoon. Diroche's attorney, special conflicts council Susan Schwartz, said the conference was to be an update on how the case is progressing.

Diroche faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, attempted aggravated assault and corrupt organizations. Police allege he shot Yost, 21, point blank with a .22 caliber Freedom Arms revolver and left her for dead sometime between 4:48 and 5:38 a.m. Feb. 8.

A passerby discovered Yost inside a vehicle 100 yards west of the Irish Valley Road tunnel, just off Route 61 near Weigh Scales. She remained in Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, for three weeks.