Latest news with #SchuylkillCounty
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
2 arrested in connection with Schuylkill County stabbing
GIRARDVILLE, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Two men have been charged after a man was allegedly stabbed multiple times. According to police, 20-year-old Isaiah Fasig and 27-year-old Anthony Lagambina have been charged after police responded to a stabbing on North Line Street in Girardville, Schuylkill County, on Sunday night. Police say around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, they arrived at the scene to find a victim with multiple stab wounds, along with Fasig and Lagambina. Missing fisherman's body found near Susquehanna River According to police, they searched the house where Fasig was staying for weapons and found a double-sided axe and a knife. Police say Fasig told them he stabbed the victim, and Lagambina was armed with a knife but did not stab the victim. Fasig has been charged with aggravated assault and other related charges. Lagambina was charged with simple assault and other related charges. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Luzerne County artist's paintings of coal miners on slate on display at Yuengling mansion
POTTSVILLE — When Tom Hartz was a young lad in the 1950s, dragline power shovels had pretty much replaced the hardy miners that harvested coal hundreds of feet beneath the earth's surface. Still, growing up in the coal fields of Luzerne County, the young Hartz developed a deep respect for miners who toiled amid darkness and danger. So much so that decades later, he would memorialize them in paintings, appropriately, on slate from slag heaps discarded during more than a century of coal processing. Tom Hartz's paintings of miners on slate sit on display at the Schuylkill Council of the Arts/Yuengling Mansion, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Hartz's paintings of miners and breakers are on display in a one-man exhibition at the Yuengling mansion. The exhibit is part of a weekend program at the mansion, home to the Schuylkill County Council for the Arts, that concludes Sunday with the annual Music at the Mansion program. Held in the mansion's sculpted garden from 3 to 7 p.m., the music program features performances at 3 p.m. by Betty White Devil, 4:30 p.m. by Bliss and 6 p.m. by Zenith. Marley Mikovich, executive director of Schuylkill County Council for the Arts, said the music program and the Hartz exhibit are free and open to the public. Coal in his veins Tom Hartz was about 10 years old when he developed an interest in art. Though perhaps unaware of it at the time, it would become a lifelong passion. His artistic endeavors gave way to family responsibilities when Hartz married the former Marie Dorrance in 1967. For more than 30 years, he held various positions in commercial printing at shops in Wilkes-Barre. About 12 years ago, after retiring, he rekindled his latent interest in art. 'I picked up my pencil and practiced getting my hand to eye coordination back,' said Hartz, 77, whose studio is in Lake Silkworth. Gathering slate from culm banks, he brushes them and cleans them with mineral spirits in preparation for painting. * Tom Hartz's paintings of miners on slate sit on display at the Schuylkill Council of the Arts/Yuengling Mansion, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) * Tom Hartz's paintings of miners on slate sit on display at the Schuylkill Council of the Arts/Yuengling Mansion, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) * Art sits on display as part of a gallery at the Schuylkill Council of the Arts/Yuengling Mansion, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Show Caption 1 of 3 Tom Hartz's paintings of miners on slate sit on display at the Schuylkill Council of the Arts/Yuengling Mansion, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Expand Based on research at the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre, Hartz captures miners underground shoeing mules, erecting timbers and chipping away at mammoth coal veins with pickaxes. Drawing on recollections of ancestry working at the Loree Colliery in Larksville, he painted the Huber Coal Breaker in Ashley, Sullivan Trail Colliery in Pittston and other classic breakers throughout the region. Self-taught, he works entirely in oil. His work has been displayed at Eckley Miners' Village in Luzerne County and Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine in Ashland, Schuylkill County. The Yuengling exhibit also includes paintings of wildlife and sheltered pets on canvas and Christmas ornaments. Hartz's depiction of a cardinal bird in winter was awarded a blue ribbon last year at an exhibit in the Wilkes-Barre VA Health Center. His work will be on display at the Yuengling mansion through July 25. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 21-25. For information, call 570-622-2788. Tom Hartz's first prize painting 'Right Next to the Right One' sits hangs on display at the Schuylkill Council of the Arts/Yuengling Mansion, Thursday, July 17, 2025. The award was won at a show at the Wilkes-Barre Medical Center in 2024. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rally in Shenandoah supports labor and unions
Pointing to the Pennsylvania Anthracite Miners Memorial in Shenandoah, former U.S. Congressman Conor Lamb on Saturday spoke about those workers, many of whom were immigrants who came to America willing to take an important and difficult job. The miners portrayed in the monument and their families would relate to today's immigrants who also came here working to make better lives for themselves and their families, Lamb said. He also said the miners would also support today's labor unions, which they helped create. 'Whose side would they be on?,' Lamb asked. The Pittsburgh Democrat was speaking at the Schuylkill Rally to Support Worker's Rights, an event designed to advocate for livable wages, the right to organize, safety enforcement and other labor causes. Former Congressman Conor Lamb speaks during a labor rally at the Anthracite Miners Memorial in Girard Park in Shenandoah, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Staged by the Schuylkill County Democratic Committee, the event drew about 60 people and featured Lamb and officials from about a half-dozen local unions. Lamb, a Marine and former assistant U.S. attorney, represented the 17th District in Congress but did not seek re-election to his House seat in 2022 in order to run for the Senate election in Pennsylvania. He finished second in the Democratic primary to eventual winner John Fetterman, and is now in private law practice. On Saturday Lamb asked how many blue-collar workers, whom President Donald Trump had promised during his campaign to focus on, have benefitted from Trump's last seven months in office. More likely, he said, they have suffered from Trump's actions such as removing people from their health insurance, pushing legislation that threatens the future of hospitals and nursing homes, and therefore jeopardizing the jobs of many union workers, Lamb said. Health care is an industry that employs many blue-collar voters, Lamb said. 'But he (Trump) is taking a sledgehammer to it,' he said. Trump has broken his vows to side with the working class and instead is working for the elites, Lamb said. 'He picked Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and himself, not the people of Schuylkill County,' he said. Liz Bettinger with United Steelworkers speaks during a labor rally at the Anthracite Miners Memorial in Girard Park in Shenandoah, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Among the union leaders who spoke was Liz Bettinger of the United Steelworkers, who said that by diminishing safety net programs such as Medicaid and food stamps, the Trump administration was weakening communities. Pennsylvania State Education Association representative Enzo Capozzelli said that Democrats have historically been the pro-union party and continue to be, something that union workers should consider when voting if they want to hold on to their collective bargaining rights, have job security, earn living wages, and a have a dignified retirement. Ron Stabinksy with the United Mine Workers speak sduring a labor rally at the Anthracite Miners Memorial in Girard Park in Shenandoah, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) United Mineworkers official Ron Stabinsky said by cutting federal job safety positions from offices such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Trump is putting American workers at risk, including coal miners. Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess spoke about the importance of organized labor, not just for union members, but for American workers in general, and how it was important to vote for candidates that are pro-union. Among those attending the rally was Jenn Brothers, a former corrections officer from Susquehanna County, who as a Democrat is challenging Republican Dan Meuser for his 9th Congressional District seat. Jenn Brothers, a candidate for Congress, attends a labor rally at the Anthracite Miners Memorial in Girard Park in Shenandoah, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) 'Labor unions built our country,' she said in support of the rally's message.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chairman of Schuylkill Democrats pushes for term limits
Today's political conversations should include less partisan bickering and more effort to find solutions, said Schuylkill County Democratic Committee Chairman Todd Zimmerman. So, Zimmerman is trying to get talk started about an issue he believes Republicans, Democrats and Independents all agree on — term limits. 'I think the majority of Americans share common ground on a lot of issues, including this one,' said Zimmerman, 65, of West Penn Twp. He is hoping to make a push locally, then statewide and nationally, to get laws enacted to limit the number of terms lawmakers can serve and to set a maximum age at which they could run. 'Power corrupts,' he said in a letter he sent to media outlets. 'I generally believe that when people run for government, they want to bring about positive change. However, when they are involved too long, the lines get blurred. Billionaire donors give massive amounts of money to both parties.' It is also time for a younger generation to have a voice in government, he said, pointing to politicians such as Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell, who continued to serve into their 80s, or, Chuck Grassley, who is 91. The best way to bring that about, he said, would be constitutional amendments at the state and federal levels setting term and age limits. He acknowledged that it could be tricky to get enough legislators to agree on specific numbers for term limits, but he wants to get that conversation going. For example, maybe a U.S. representative would be limited to a maximum of 10 two-year terms, and could not run for election after the age of 75, he said. He also proposed that a senator be able to serve a maximum of four six-year terms, and also could not run for election after turning 75. While he is flexible on those details, Zimmerman is convinced that some types of limits are needed, he said. The longer that politicians are in office, he said, the greater the chance that they are beholden to corporations, lobbyists and the ultra-rich who backed them financially, and the less work they are doing for the voters. A survey of Americans by non-partisan Pew Research backed Zimmerman's theory that most voters support congressional term limits and age limits. In the July 2023 survey, 87% of adults favored limiting the number of terms that members of Congress are allowed to serve, including 56% who strongly favored this proposal. Just 12% were opposed. As for maximum age limits for elected officials in Washington, 79% favor them. Regardless, Zimmerman is also correct that getting the state and U.S. constitutions changed will be a long, tough road, said Christopher Borick, political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown. Since the Bill of Rights was passed in 1789 there have been only 17 amendments, Borick said. The last to pass was the 27th Amendment, which declared that if there are changes to Congress's salaries, they will not take effect until the next election of representatives. The bill passed in 1992 after being first proposed in 1789, a span of more than 202 years. So even if Zimmerman were successful at the federal level, it would take years to accomplish, Borick said. Usually, for an amendment to be approved and added to the Constitution, there are two steps: * Two-thirds of both the U.S. Senate and house of representatives approve the amendment. They 'propose' the amendment to the states to be ratified. * The legislatures of three-fourths of the states must ratify the amendment for it to become part of the Constitution. Amending Pennsylvania's constitution is also a complicated process, and for an amendment to include the term and age limits that Zimmerman is seeking would be difficult, Borick said. That is because many of the most powerful Pennsylvania lawmakers have been in office long enough to have already exceeded those limits, meaning they would essentially be legislating themselves out of a job, Borick said. 'It's an uphill battle,' he said. Christopher Borick, political science professor at Muhlenberg College. Still, Borick said that it makes sense for Zimmerman to try what he's doing since it would likely receive widespread voter backing and be looked at favorably by voters. 'Historically, term limits often have received the biggest support among Republicans,' he said. 'So, there is some commonality here across the deep political divide that separates Americans based on partisanship.' The Pennsylvania Democratic and Republican parties did not respond to requests for comment. Zimmerman, an adjunct history professor at Lehigh Carbon and Northampton community colleges, has headed the Schuylkill Democratic committee since 2022. He said his campaign is his personal position, though, and does not reflect that of the party. He also said he would soon like to begin a dialogue with like-minded Republicans, independents and Democrats to start what will be a long process, then host an in-person event this summer to discuss strategy for changing the Pennsylvania and U.S. constitutions. Anyone interested, he said, is welcome to go online to and click on 'contact' to reach him. 'We have to start this, and then I think it will spread,' he said. 'If we can get this done in Pennsylvania, I think other states will follow pretty quickly.'
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Yahoo
Pottsville man jailed after standoff in Minersville
A Pottsville man is in Schuylkill County Prison after reportedly threatening to kill and then assaulting a woman Wednesday in Minersville, police said. The suspect also threatened to kill the victim's two children, who were eventually released unharmed, police said. Numerous police departments responded to a home in the 500 block of Sunbury Street for a three-hour standoff that closed Route 901 for approximately three hours Wednesday into Thursday morning. Police evacuated nearby homes during the incident. The suspect, Michael Charles Kramer, 41, eventually surrendered to police. Kramer is charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor charges of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another person and disorderly conduct and criminal mischief in connection with the standoff, police said. Minersville Police responded to the home on Sunbury Street after receiving a call about shots fired at 11 p.m. Wednesday. Timeline of standoff According to documents: The incident started when the suspect and victim began arguing at the residence. The man struck the woman multiple times on the face and head. He then shot at her twice, with one bullet hitting a parked vehicle and the other a wall. The female victim ran out of the residence, saying the suspect had a gun. The suspect was observed holding a gun to his head, police said. The victim identified the 9mm gun and a magazine from the gun that the suspect used to shoot at her, twice, missing both times, police said. Unable to post $500,000 bail as set by Magisterial District Judge Edward Tarantelli, Frackville, Kramer remains in prison. A preliminary hearing is set for 12:15 p.m. Aug. 5 in Magisterial District Judge David Plachko's office, Port Carbon. The agencies responding to the standoff were: Pottsville, Saint Clair, Orwigsburg, Schuylkill Haven, Frackville, Pennsylvania State Police, Minersville EMS and Minersville Fire Police.
