Eighteen students from Tamaqua Area High School got a firsthand look at Schuylkill County government in action Wednesday.

The students, from Matt Stein’s advanced government class, attended the commissioners’ meeting and then got a guided tour of the courthouse led by Theresa Santai Gaffney, county register of wills and clerk of the Orphans’ Court.

They were to tour the county row offices and historic Courtroom 1, where portions of the film “The Molly Maguires” were shot in 1968.

At the meeting, after a lengthy public comment period, the commissioners went through their agenda quickly.

Commissioner Gary Hess took time to explain why the commissioners were so quick to deal with the agenda.

“On the first and third (Wednesdays of the month), we have a work session where we discuss all of these issues,” Hess said. “On the second and fourth (Wednesdays), then all we have to do is vote. We’ve already discussed everything.”

At the meeting, the commissioners, acting as the salary board, voted to abolish a full-time assistant district attorney’s position in favor of creating two part-time assistant district attorney positions.

District Attorney Michael O’Pake said he has had trouble finding a full-time assistant district attorney, so he asked the commissioners to create the two part-time roles.

One position was filled by Julie Werdt, who had worked in the office previously. She will be paid $43,684.45 annually. The other part-time position needs to be filled, O’Pake said.

Employees in the Adult Probation Department will be paid bonuses on their respective anniversary dates with funds approved by President Judge Jacqueline Russell from the Offender Supervision Fund. The payments will range from $1,000 to $3,000 depending on years on service.

The commissioners also:

• Voted to award a $21,694 contract to Spotts Brothers Inc. for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Americans With Disabilities Act project to build pathways around Zion Park in West Penn Township.•

• Approved advertising CDBG hearings for projects in Tamaqua and West Penn Township.

• Approved entering into a cooperation agreement with Delano Township for a demolition project at 131-133 Railroad St.

• Appointed John Powers, Pottsville, to the Luzerne/Schuylkill Workforce Investment Board. He qualifies as a representative under the private sector business category, representing the insurance industry sector.