Three students from the Tamaqua Elementary School took top honors in the 2013 Schuylkill County Phone Book Collection Drive and were honored by the Schuylkill County Commissioners at their public meeting Wednesday.

Kathlyn Romig, fifth grader, won top honors by collecting 232 phone books and received a check for $150. Two sisters, Brooke and Katryna Williams, both collected 222 books to share second place and each received a check for $113.Three elementary schools of the Tamaqua Area School District finished in the top 10 in collections, West Penn Elementary finished second by collecting 736 phone books and the school received a check for $100. Tamaqua Elementary finished fourth with a collection of 1,237 books, the most by any school.The top winner was Llewellyn Elementary of Minersville Area School District with 619 books and received a check for $125. Trinity Academy finished third and received a check for $75. The awards were based on books per student.Rush Elementary finished seventh with a collection of 248 books. Other schools participating were, Blue Mountain East, 1,204 books; Minersville Elementary, 895; Blue Mountain West, 341; Mahanoy City Elementary, 255; and Cressona Elementary, 77.A total of 6,187 phone books were collected. The program is sponsored by the Office of Solid Waste and Recycling.AutopsiesThe commissioners hired Dr. Mary Pascucci, Sugarloaf, Luzerne County, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, to perform autopsies.Rates will depend on each individual case. When Dr. Richard Bindie retired, who had performed autopsies for the county for many years at a Pottsville Hospital, the county hired Forensic Pathology Associates, of Allentown, which still will be retained on a needed basis. Under the agreement Pascucci, who is associated with the Hazleton Hospital, will come to Schuylkill County for postmortem examinations which saves the county money in transportation fees.A contract was entered with Met Life Insurance Company to insure county employees starting Jan. 1, 2014. The rates are $1.59 per $1,000 for life insurance; two cents per $1,000 for accidental death and 25 cents per $100 for long term disability.Reappointed for a three-year term to the Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board were Sheriff Joseph G. Groody, Ashland; Mathew Newton, Pottsville; and Melissa Carr, Auburn.A change order with Spotts Brothers for the additional paving project at the West Penn Township Public Park in amount of $1,650 was approved.On behalf of the Schuylkill County 9-1-1 an agreement was approved with PPL Energy Plus, Allentown, to cover the electricity for the Emergency Management Office at 435 N. Centre St., Pottsville, along with tower sites located along the Burma Road, Keffers Mountain, Blue Mountain, Pine Grove, and Park Place. It will remain in effect for 13 months to June 2015.A change order was approved in amount of $2,790 for the re-roofing project for the public safety building in Pottsville to increase the number of antenna's for the 9-1-1 Center.A contract was entered with Relis Learning LLC for an on line training system for prison employees for a period of 84 months at a cost of $38,479.Personnel mattersVeterans Bureau, transfer of Michael Van Allen, Gilberton, from clerk typist in the tax claim bureau to clerk typist in the Veterans' Bureau at $13.58 per hour.Children and Youth Services Agency, hiring of Kristine Yeastedt, Pottsville, as a social service aide at $12.54 per hour.Court Administration Office, hiring Janice Rehnert and Pamela Purcell, both of Pottsville, as court attendants at $9.38 per hour; transfer of Tiffany Weaver, Schuylkill Haven, from secretary II to judicial secretary assistant, $14.3858 per hour; and transfer of Janet Perry, Pottsville, from court attendant to secretary II at $13.02 per hour.Soil Conservation Department, resignation of Jamie McGovern, South Manheim Township, as agricultural program coordinator, at $34,289 per year.Domestic Relations Department, hiring of Dustin Dillman, Frackville, as enforcement officer 1 at $20.82 per hour.Public Defender's Office, resignation of Jesselyn Heaps, Schuylkill Haven, as an investigator.Rest Haven Home, retirement of Katherine Zigmund, Frackville, as a full-time licensed practical nurse; transfer of Suzanne Staller, Schuylkill Haven, from per diem to full-time licensed practical nurse at $15.99 per hour; transfer of Shannon Azbell, Pottsville, from part-time nurse's aide to full-time at $11.72 per hour; and transfer of Miriah Whitaker, Pottsville, from part-time to full-time nurse's aide at $15.99 per hour.