Students complete cement work at swimming pool

By Rebecca Zemencik, Managing Editor • rebecca-z@citizenstandard.com

Rebecca Zemencik/Citizen-Standard Photo Hegins Township Supervisor Brad Carl worked with four Tri-Valley students who are enrolled in the masonry program at the Schuylkill Vo-Tech Center, on Thursday morning at Tri-Valley Community Pool. Cement was poured to replace an area that had to be dug up last year in order to repair a leak.

HEGINS – Four Tri-Valley students enrolled in the masonry program at Schuylkill Technology Center helped to cement a portion of the decking at the Tri-Valley Community Pool last Thursday morning.
The internship program allows students in the curriculum to go out and actually do work in their field of study in the workforce.
Hegins Township Supervisor Brad Carl arranged for the students to come out and help the township road crew complete the cement project at the pool.
“It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said Timothy McGinley, Schuylkill Technology Center. “It gives the students the opportunity to do real jobs and have life experiences.” (more…)

By Robert Wheary, Staff Writer • csrobwheary@gmail.com

MILLERSBURG — A local resident is looking for the Millersburg School District’s help in combatting the problem of drug and alcohol abuse.
Genesis Segrist, a resident of the Millersburg Area School District, spoke to the board during their April 24 board meeting about the plague of drugs and alcohol in the area and how everyone needs to protect the younger students from them.
“Over the past few years, there has been an increase of drug and alcohol abuse in the community and our school,” Segrist said. “Students as young as middle school age begin to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes and other drugs, and some students have seen loved ones overdose and die.” (more…)

Student sustains minor injury

By Rebecca Zemencik, Managing Editor • rebecca-z@citizenstandard.com

Citizen-Standard Photo by Rebecca Zemencik Shattered glass, mud and blood can be seen in the bus after a deer leapt through the window Tuesday morning.

FEARNOT – A Tri-Valley High School eighth grade boy sustained a minor facial injury Tuesday morning when a deer leapt through the front passenger side window of the school bus he was a passenger in.
The incident occurred in the 500 block of Fearnot Road.
“I saw a herd of deer and two were coming across the road so I stopped the bus to let them pass when all of a sudden, a loud crash was heard and a large doe was literally on the lap of my front seat passenger,” said Curtis Zemencik, who has been driving school bus for 25 years for Bowman Brothers Trucking, Valley View.
“Everything just happened so quick, I believe we were all in shock.”
Zemencik said the deer then ran back the aisle of the bus, kicked a female student in the leg and then turned and ran back up the aisle and began kicking around at the door as Zemencik quickly opened the door and the deer ran from the bus as if nothing ever happened.

The front passenger side window of a bus driven by Rev. Curtis Zemencik was shattered Tuesday morning when a deer leapt through it.

Zemencik pulled the bus to the side of the road and administered first aid to the student and notified the bus garage of the incident.
The student that was injured was taken by his family to an emergency room where he was treated and released.
Glass was thrown half-way back the bus and mud, blood and hair from the deer could be seen on the seat and the window frame.
No other injuries were reported. Bowman Brothers bus driver are certified in CPR and First-aid training.
“In all our years in business, we have never had a deer leap through a window,” said Jerry Bowman, of Bowman Brothers Trucking. “It’s just one of those freak accidents that you can’t believe unless you see it.”

By Rebecca Zemencik, Managing Editor • rebecca-z@citizenstandard.com

HEGINS – There’s been some misunderstanding of a new restaurant coming to the area.
It was reported last week that Redner’s Warehouse Market would be offering a new place to wine and dine.
Unfortunately, that information wasn’t correct. The market is planning to offer a seating area for 30 people to sit down and enjoy a hot or cold food item from the deli, but there will be no restaurant as in the days of the Midway Cafe.
The Hegins Township Board of Supervisors approved an inter-municipal transfer of a restaurant liquor license from 318 Washington St., Port Carbon, to Redner’s Warehouse Markets, 22 Forest Drive, Hegins, during a hearing held Wednesday, March 1.
The transfer of this license simply allows the store to begin selling beer in six-packs or 12-packs and eventually they plan to apply for a wine permit where customers will also be able to purchase up to four bottles of wine.
“According to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, we have to offer a restaurant-type setting to obtain the license,” said Eric White, Director of Marketing, Redner’s Markets Inc.
A customer can sit in the restaurant area and have up to two 16oz. beers whether by themselves or while eating. The food offerings will be in in a cafeteria style fashion and one will be able to select from a limited, daily menu of hot and cold items that will be available for purchase each day from the deli.
“We will listen to our customers and see how the restaurant area’s sales perform to determine if a broader range of offerings can eventually be rolled out,” said Eric White, Redner’s Market Director of Marketing.
Supervisor Bruce Klouser said it was a little confusing the way the information was presented at the hearing to transfer the license because he too thought there was going to be a restaurant similar to the former Midway Cafe.

By Robert Wheary, Staff Writer • csrobwheary@gmail.com

ROB WHEARY/Staff Photo Dauphin County YMCA representative Eric Rothermel puts several Upper Dauphin Area students through a demonstration that shows what breathing is like for a victim of emphysema during his talk about smoking and vaping at UDA’s Drug Education Day on March 8.

ELIZABETHVILLE – The 10th grade students of Upper Dauphin Area watched the laser and light show, danced and sang along to the music, mixed in there were some statistics about drinking and driving drunk.
Hosted by “Jimbo Stereo” the program really hit home when he presented a video about a young high school student that was involved in a car accident with his friends. One person was killed while the woman’s voice talked about her son, who suffered a triple trauma, brain injury and three crushed vertebrae, lying in a coma for three months.
Eventually, the young man would regain consciousness and recover to graduate from school and college. Many in the audience were happy and then turned into dead silence at the last few words the lady said.

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Lifeguard classes offered

By Rebecca Zemencik, Managing Editor • rebecca-z@citizenstandard.com

Rebecca Zemencik/Citizen-Standard Photo The Tri-Valley Community Pool is in need of a new pump. A committee of persons interested in making the Tri-Valley Community Pool a better place and keeping it open for future generations is going to meet this Sunday, March 12, at 2 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, library, Gap and Maple Streets, Valley View. The public is encouraged to attend.

VALLEY VIEW – As spring draws closer, plans are shaping up for the opening of the Tri-Valley Community Pool.
The pool is in need of a new pump in order for the pool to function this season. Hegins Township Supervisors announced at their meeting last Wednesday that the pump will cost $17,986. Since only one price quote was obtained, it was advised by Kevin Walsh, who was serving as solicitor in the absence of Donald Karpowich, the supervisors obtain two more price quotes and table the purchase until the April meeting.
“It is a startling amount of money, but look at how long the pump lasts,” said Supervisor Sandy McCullough. “The pump that needs replaced is the original pump from when the pool first opened. It the new lasts as long as the old one, it’s a long-term investment.”
Secretary/treasurer Cathy Moyer said she has applied on behalf of the Tri-Valley Community Pool for a Williamson Pipeline grant and is hopeful that at least $10,000 can be obtained.

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Sign dedicated in memory of Porter Tunnel miners

By Rebecca Zemencik, Managing Editor • rebecca-z@citizenstandard.com

Rebecca Zemencik/Citizen-Standard Photo Cathy Leitzel and Beth Harman, daughters of Dennis Lee Morgan, take a moment before the sign to honor and memorialize the lives of nine miners who were killed in the Porter Tunnel Mine disaster, was dedicated Saturday, to remember and reflect on their dad. Dennis was 30-years-old when the disaster occurred March 1, 1977. He was not recovered from the mine until March 28.

PORTER TWP. – As she was watching the 2016 presidential candidates make their plea and speak of what they stood for, Beth Harman, of Valley View, was angered that some didn’t think anything about the coal industry. It was at that point that she knew now was the time to open old wounds and honor the memory of nine men who lost their lives in the Porter Tunnel mine disaster of 1977.
“When I heard that some of the candidates didn’t support the coal industry, it angered me,” said Harman. “Coal is our heritage and I have family members who gave their life while mining coal. My sons, Jeffrey and Nicholas never had the opportunity to meet their grandfather Morgan and I wanted them to know that coal was an important part of their heritage.”
“I knew we were coming up on the 40th anniversary and I felt that something should be done. I wasn’t emotionally ready to open up old wounds and I think that’s why nothing was done in the past. Who wants to remember something horrible that had happened? But I want future generations to remember what happened and to remember how dangerous coal mining was back then.”

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By Robert Wheary, Staff Writer • csrobwheary@gmail.com

MILLERSBURG – The new representative for the firm that oversaw the Millersburg School District’s most recent renovation project got an earful from some board members about some items overlooked.
Brian Haines, an architect with Crabtree, Rohrbach and Associates, addressed the board at their Feb. 22 meeting, giving them an update on the Millersburg Middle School renovation and why it is not fully completed.
“We have been in discussion with several of the contractors about what needs to be done. Some of the items like seeding and landscape work cannot be done until the spring, but several of the prime contract items are finished,” Haines said.
The biggest critic of the plan, board member Donald Harris, questioned Haines on several items and noted that there were several problems that the architect planned to address with the board.
One such item is the lack of heating in the Johnson Memorial Library. Haines said the firm has analyzed the problem and added some lower temporary returns to the ceiling that helped.
“We are proposing to bring in new registers connecting the upper ducts with the lower registers and that should bring the heat down to the level of the library user,” Haines said.
CRA has also offered to pay for the changes, but there is also an issue in the high school’s shop area as well.
“The analysis we’ve done shows that the HVAC units are working, but using the existing duct work. The air is not coming out at a high enough velocity to reach the floor and heat the rooms,” Haines said.
At that point, board members were stunned to hear that such a plan to put in new units but keep the old duct work was done. Haines told the board he would research the matter further and have answers at the next meeting.
Harris asked Haines if it was possible to have the engineers that worked on the plan present as well to discuss the issue and Haines told them he would try to make it happen.
In other business:
— The board accepted the 2015-2016 audit for the district, prepared by the accounting firm of Boyer and Ritter, with no problems. Business manager also discussed the state Auditor General’s audit on the district’s performance from 2012 to 2015, saying that the district performed adequately in all areas with the exception of bus driver requirements.
According to the audit, the district’s transportation contract met all employment requirements except for requiring school bus drivers to complete a form which requires drivers to notify the employer if they are arrested for convicted of a criminal offense during their employment and to report the offense to the employers within 72 hours of the offense.
The district has prepared its response and corrected the action, and approved the response to be sent to the state auditor general.
— On a 6-2 vote, the board approved a memorandum of understanding between Dauphin County and the district to establish collaborative transportation procedures for foster care youth when the best interest determination indicates that the student should remain in the school of origin.’
Board members Mark Rothermel, Donald Harris, Morgan Wagner, J. Bruce Walter, Scott Roadcap and Bruce Kance voted yes on the measure, while board members Ryan Novinger and Brett White voted no. Member Margaret Lebo was absent from the meeting.
On a related vote, the board approved a transportation plan between the two entities. That passed on a 7-1 vote with Ryan Novinger casting the lone dissenting vote.
— The board unanimously voted to approve the Capital Area Intermediate Unit’s annual operating budget for 2017-2018, with Millersburg’s share being $6,556.27. Also approved was an amended Harrisburg Area Community College sponsorship agreement, lasting five years and dropping gradually from $53,269 thisyear, to $45,477 in the fifth year.
— In sports business conducted at the meeting, high school science teacher Aaron Wright was hired as the new high school football coach as a salary of $2,450, replacing Brad Hatter who resigned earlier. Wright was also approved as spring weight room supervisor and high school after school bus duty driver.
Superintendent Thomas Haupt asked the board for guidance on how to proceed as talks are underway for a co-op participation agreement for girls soccer between Millersburg and Halifax for the coming season, and the possibility for a five-year cooperative sports plan between the two schools.
Most of the board members agreed it sounded like a good plan but worried about which banner the students would compete under.
— Hired at this school board meeting were Olivia Miller as a high school English teacher, effective Feb. 27 and Lisa Schwenk as a full-time middle school learning support aide

By Rebecca Zemencik, Managing Editor • rebecca-z@citizenstandard.com

Rebecca Zemencik/Citizen-Standard Photo The former Hentz Gulf located on West Main Street in Valley View, will soon be razed to make room for a 9,100 square-foot Dollar General Store. Construction is to begin in June with the store opening in November.

VALLEY VIEW – Come spring the 1200 block of West Main Street in Valley View, will undergo some major changes. Just last week the Hegins Twp. Zoning Hearing Board approved the construction of a new car wash and on Wednesday, Feb. 15, they approved plans for a Dollar General to be erected directly across the street on the former Hentz Gulf property.
Zaremba Program Development LLC, based in Lakewood, Ohio, has a purchase agreement in place with current owner, Kent Knorr, Valley View. The Ohio-based developer plans to remove all existing buildings and the underground gas tanks and build a 9,100 square-foot Dollar General.
Wervey said Zeremba will own the property and the building and will have a 15-year lease agreement with Dollar General.

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By Robert Wheary, Staff Writer • csrobwheary@gmail.com

LOYALTON – A home built by students is not moving quick enough for the Upper Dauphin School District, so school board members voted to drop the price of the home to see if it will go quicker.
The 1,536-square foot, three-bedroom, 2.5 baths home, located at 505 N. Church Street and built by the school’s building trade classes, has been on the market for the past few months and listed for $235,000.
At the Feb. 14 meeting of the Upper Dauphin School Board, the home’s realtor, Mandy Carl, of Magnolia Realty Services, asked the district to consider dropping the price to make the home more attractive to buyers.
The description as listed on the realtor’s website, “LOCATION LOCATION. This NEW home is ready to move right in with energy efficient Geothermal heat, C/A, wood flooring. (dining room) leads to nick composite deck out back for entertaining in a big back, flat yard. and a basement ready to be finished with high ceilings and precast walls. Conveniently located to town — with best of all — across the street from the local YMCA. Walk to the gym and all the activities that this home location has to offer. All brand new kitchen appliances plus home warranty with acceptable offer.”
Earlier in the design, the board argued about spending the money for appliances for the home, and director Mills Eure asked if that was one reason that the home was not moving.
Business manager Mary Bateman answered, “There was one buyer that gave a list of concerns to the realtor and Mandy will be sharing that with me.”
“It’s a home built by students, Mills,” superintendent Evan Williams said. “Many people want the home, but they want it on the cheap.”
Williams then relayed a story about buying one of the Building Trades homes in the past, when it was sold at auction.
“There were about 10 of us there, and the bidding started at $100,000 and declining when there were no bids,” the superintendent said. “When it got to about $65,000, I made a bid, and one lady stared daggers at me and half the crowd left.”
The cost to build the home came in at about $180,000 so even with a price drop of $15,000 recommended by the realtor, there is still a profit to be made. Mills Eure made the motion to drop the price to $220,000, seconded by Roni Mace. The motion passed by a 5-1 vote with board members Eure, Mace, Kathryn Talheim, Steven Welker and David Barder voting yes, and Jack Laudenslager casting the lone dissenting vote. Board members the Rev. Nathan Minnich, Kirk Wenrich and Angela Mattern were absent.
In other business:
— The board approved a contract with Specialized Education Services of PA Inc. for special education services for three students at a cost of $150 per student per day.
— On a 5-1 vote with Laudenslager voting no, a strength and conditioning course was added to the high school program of studies, while Algebra II Keystone classes were made available for those in Grade 11 and Advanced Chemistry remained a honors course.
— The board unanimously approved a four-year contract with K12 Systems Inc. for the district’s student information system which handles enrollment and scheduling at a cost of $22,698, no change from the current year’s fee.
— The list of spring coaches was unanimously approved, and it was reported under the building and grounds portion of the meeting that district officials are working with Elizabethville Borough for a 10-year-lease on the recreational baseball field, that will be subleased to the Legion ball players.
— A memorandum of understanding was also approved between Upper Dauphin and the Joint School Safety Task Force on a unanimous vote. No details were given at the meeting, since it deals with school safety.