Attorney Claude A. Lord (Cal) Shields, former district attorney of Schuylkill County, was appointed chief county solicitor by the commissioners at their public meeting held Wednesday at the courthouse in Pottsville. He replaces Attorney Eric Mika, Shenandoah, who resigned for personal reasons.

The commissioners also announced the retirement of Elaine Schaeffer, Orwigsburg, administrator for the past 38 years of Rest Haven Home and Hospital located next to the Schuylkill Campus of Penn State University in North Manheim Township. It is a county rest home and hospital for the elderly and currently has 117 patients, including 89 females and 28 males. The maximum capacity is 144 patients.Commissioner Mantura Gallagher pointed out the home received the Pennsylvania County Association of Homes (PACAH) nursing home of the year award in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and the Department of Health's top 10 business practice awards in 2002.Mica had been the chief solicitor for only three and one-half years, being appointed to this position when the current board of commissioners took office. He was instrumental in having the 1912 building, adjoining Rest Haven Home, which in the 1800's was a place of residents for mentally ill patients and had been vacant for many years, sold to Penn State University.He also was instrumental in implementation of the PPL green energy program, recovery of mental health and mental retardation funds and resolution of the law suit by New World pertaining to computer system installed for the county.Honor champsA proclamation was adopted congratulating the Minersville Area High School's "Battlin' Miners softball team for winning the PIAA Class A state championship.An agreement was entered with Reading Anthracite Company, Pottsville, to supply 1,000 tons of coal over the winter months to the courthouse building and county prison at a cost of $184.50 per ton.A letter of agreement was entered with Family Search, LLC, Lehighton, to perform title search services for the county's tax claim bureau at a cost of $125 per search.Also, approval was given for the bureau's private sale of two tracts of land held as trustee for non-payment of taxes, to Brad Petchulis, consisting of 1.1 acres along SR404 in Norwegian Township for $1,600 and 0.9 of an acre located along SR4042 for $1,500.Approval was given to County Engineer Lisa Mahall to submit an application to PennDOT for the Automated Red Light Enforcement (AELE) Transportation Grant to provide uninterupted power supply for the control of seven county owned traffic signals at intersections along SR61 Corridor in North Manheim Township. The estimated cost is $70,000.Because it was discovered people using their own charcoal grills at the county's Sweet Arrow Recreational Park in Pine Grove Township, the commissiioners approved installing a hot ash pipe by Pine Creek Landscaping Company at a cost of $200.A fee for service contract was entered with Lifeline Systems Company, Framingham, Me., for the provision of personal emergency response sysems monitoring for attendant care consumers at a cost of $25 per month for elilgible consumers. The money is reimbursed through medical assistance.A fee for service contract was approved with Schuylkill Transportation Systems (STS) for medical assistance transportation program with rates ranging from 50 cents for a child bus ticket to $85 per hour for urgent care transportation. Funding comes from medical assistance transportation program and human services development fund.Twenty-three fee for service contracts were approved for the Drug and Alcohol Agency, including a contact with Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission Inc., Lehighton, for $10,000; New Directions Treatment Services of Reading and Bethlehem at a cost of $10,000; and Schuylkill Nurse Family Partnership Program, Reading, for $250,821.Six purchase of service contracts were approved for the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Program, including a contract with Child Connections Developmental Services, LLC, to provide speech pathology, special instruction, physical therapy and occupational therapy for infants and toddlers.Eight contracts were approved for the Childlren and Youth Services Agency to provide foster care and other types of treatment.Coal leasesA new surface coal mine lease between the county and Premium Fine Coal Inc., Tamaqua, was approved. The lease is for 120 acres located in Blythe Township. The minimum royalty payments per month was set at $480. The county receives $3 for each ton of coal removed.A new timber lease was aproved with W. R. Lindennmuth Lumber Company, Ashland, on 17 acres in Schuylkill Township. The minimum monthly royalty will be $175.