Unfortunately, there was no shortage of police and fire activity in 2013. We've included just a few of the many stories.

• Last Jan. 30, Russell Young of Lehighton was charged with setting a fire which heavily destroyed the home he lived in with his mother on Carbon Street. He allegedly then went to a North Third Street residence, where his sister lives, and attempted to burn down her house. On Oct. 17 in Carbon County Court, he pleaded guilty to one count of arson while three other charges against him were dismissed. Sentencing is scheduled for this coming February.• In February, Gregory Michael Hummel, 29, of Weissport, was struck by a train and killed. The man was found deceased lying on the railroad tracks in Weissport. Hummel was struck by a westbound Norfolk Southern train during the early hours.• On Feb. 26 Lansford police charged a borough woman, Heather Hayes, 24, with indecent exposure after she showed up at the Turkey Hill Minit Mart at about 2:45 a.m. wearing a coat and sneakers, but no pants. Hayes explained that she had followed her boyfriend to the store after he refused to have sex with her.• Dr. John Manzella, who had a thriving practice in Carbon County, faces drug and identity theft charges in connection with what authorities say was a $400,000 prescription painkiller scheme. Manzella, 48, of Salisbury Township, was charged on July 23 by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General with administration etc. of a controlled substance by a practitioner; acquisition or obtaining possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation; administration etc. of a controlled substance by a practitioner; manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver; and identity theft. All of the charges are felonies. He is scheduled for trial this coming year.• In Mahanoy City, a fire house and aerial truck were destroyed by a fire in August. The fire happened at the Washington Hook and Ladder Company. It occurred on the morning of the Schuylkill County Firefighter's Convention Parade and sesquicentennial celebration, which was held in Mahanoy City. Officials said the fire started in the cab of the fire truck.• The Sovereign Bank on Route 309 in West Penn Township was robbed in August. The robber is still at large.• On Sept. 18, four Coal Street homes in Tamaqua were heavily damaged in a fast-moving fire that displaced four families. A dog and two cats perished.• The Penn Forest Township branch office of the Jim Thorpe National Bank was robbed at gunpoint in September during daylight hours by a man who police said made his getaway on a bicycle. As a result of the incident, a lockdown of the Jim Thorpe Area School District's Penn-Kidder Elementary School, which is located a few miles from the bank, was ordered.• In October, Christopher Ferryman, 33, of Weissport, drowned in the Lehigh River at Weissport when he went swimming. The incident happened beneath the trestle of the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad. Police said that Ferryman was at the edge of the river when two friends came along.He then went into the water to swim and began calling for help.• On Nov. 8, Pastor Rodney Hall discovered some $10,000 in vandalism and theft at Tamaqua's Primitive Methodist Church, including copper pipes, plumbing and foodstuffs from the church's food bank. No arrests have been made and the case is still open.• A Jim Thorpe teen allegedly was charged with bringing gun to school on Nov. 27. The Albrightsville teenager brought a replica air-propelled revolver loaded with six 2-inch long bullets to the classroom. Sabir Duncan Johnson, 18, whose address is listed as 2605 Route 903, brought the Black Ops air gun to the Jim Thorpe Area High School, police said.• On Dec. 1 a house on Little Gap Road in Lower Towamensing was destroyed by a fast-moving fire that melted power lines and the siding on three neighboring homes. No one was in the house at the time of the fire. The structure collapsed soon after firefighters arrived.• Bath salts gave way to meth labs, which were discovered all over the county in 2013.Most recently, four adults were arraigned after firefighters discovered what appeared to be a meth lab inside a Tamaqua rental property on Dec. 21 following an odor investigation. Police said one of the Lafayette Street apartment's occupants was an infant boy.• A Lansford police officer was arrested in November involving an incident with a Summit Hill boy. Officer Robert Shubeck faces numerous charges and is awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 14. He is currently on suspension. The Nesquehoning Police Department filed the charges.