Lehighton inks teachers' pact

Teachers in Lehighton Area School District have a new four-year contract starting next year.The school board approved the pact with the Lehighton Area Education Association by a 7-1 vote with William Hill the only dissenter. According to business manager Brian Feick, the contract, which runs from Sept. 1, 2016, through Aug. 31, 2020, calls for a 9.8 percent increase in district spending. The increase to teachers ranges from about 2 to 3.5 percent.School threats revealedThe Palmerton Area School District and borough and state police investigating a threat made to the school on a social media site. A representative at the state police Lehighton barracks confirmed a threat was made and troopers are investigating.Scot Engler, superintendent of schools, posted a message on the district's website notifying parents about the incident. It stated, "Early this morning, the district was made aware of some inappropriate comments on a social media site. We have been in contact with both the Palmerton police and state police regarding this issue. "While the comments posted are a concern, there has been no threat made to the safety or welfare of anyone in the district."Lansford's budget woesLansford Borough Council, struggling to pay its bills, hinted it will once again borrow money from a sewer transmission fund in order to meet expenses through the end of the year.Borough secretary Mary T. Fittos recommended to the council that $35,000 be borrowed from the fund to cover payroll and expenses through the end of the year.The sewer transmission fund was set up to pay for a project to separate the borough's sanitary and storm sewers. An annual fee is collected from all households in the borough.Carbon backs hospitalThe Carbon County Commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance that will make it the guarantor of a $20 million bond series on behalf of Blue Mountain Health System to help cover a frozen pension fund at Lehighton's Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital.Hospital officials said the pension fund is underfunded by $16 million. The pension fund for the 600 Gnaden Huetten employees who were vested in it before the merger will be closed after it is fully funded.Parking kiosks consideredThere may no longer be a need to hoard your quarters as traditional parking meters could be on their way out in downtown Jim Thorpe.Kiosks accepting both cash and credit card payments may be the wave of the future if the Jim Thorpe Police Department can secure grant funding to purchase and install them, Mayor Mike Sofranko said. The project could cost around $40,000.Residents killed in crashesA Jim Thorpe man died in a crash Friday evening on Behrens Road in Penn Forest Township.Richard J. Biscardi, 45, was driving on Behrens Road/Midway Drive at 7:52 p.m. when he struck a tree, according to state police at Lehighton.Dane Snyder, 57, of Lehighton was killed Monday morning in Luzerne County.According to state police, Snyder was driving a 1997 Ford Super Duty stake body truck northbound on Route 93 in Nescopeck Township, in an area known as Zehner's Flat, when the vehicle left the road and struck a utility pole head-on.Armed robber gets cashState police at Fern Ridge are investigating an armed robbery at a Monroe County Dunkin' Donuts, located at 3198 Route 115, in Chestnuthill Township.At 7:28 p.m. Saturday a man entered the business, displaying a black and silver revolver and demanding money. The suspect then jumped over the counter, opened the cash register, and removed about $300 in cash.Man rescued after fallCrews rescued Jeremy Ogorman, 23, who suffers from epileptic seizures, after he fell down a rock embankment near the Wash Shanty Hill area in Nesquehoning.Mark Nalesnik, Carbon County Emergency Management Agency coordinator, said after dispatchers received a call about Ogorman, the county's communications center was able to pinpoint a general area to begin a search and the man was spotted in a hole in a remote area of the rocky terrain, thanks to the assistance of a state police helicopter.Schuylkill hold tax lineSchuylkill County property owners can expect to pay the same county tax in 2016 as this year.The Board of Commissioners will not raise the real estate tax millage for 2016 and it will remain the same at 13.98 mills, said county Finance Director Paul Buber.While the county anticipates keeping the property tax the same, there will be a deficit, so it will likely have to again tap into its reserve fund to help make ends meet. A $13.4 million drop in assessments - the first decrease in five years - will factor into the 2016 budget. That will be offset to some extent by the $10 million sale of the county nursing home.