Schuylkill County

MINERSVILLE, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A former U.S. Attorney and congressman is on a mission to take down establishments with illegal gaming machines throughout the state.

One of his latest targets is a mini casino in Minersville. Just from looking at the window of the convenience store, Spin City in Minersville, you can see it’s a place where you can play keno and the lottery.

“This illegal place across the street. This place here has illegal slot machines,” Tom Marino, former U.S. Attorney, Congressman/PA Skill VP of Government Affairs Pace-O-Matic, said.

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU-TV) — A generous and life-saving donation is making a world of difference for a group of Schuylkill County Boy Scouts.

Four brand new automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) are now in the hands of the Hawk Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America.

“We started looking at these machines last year knowing they were, that they were about to expire,” Jim Milham, CEO of Hawk Mountain Council explained. “We knew we had to do something so we started looking.”

POTTSVILLE, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU-TV) — America’s oldest brewery is now a growing brewery thanks to a new partnership with Molson Coors Beverage Company. This new working relationship will allow Yuengling to reach beer drinkers outside of the East Coast.

D.G. Yuengling and Son Company prides itself as a family-owned, family-operated company serving quality beer for nearly 200 years. And the proud people of Pottsville are the first to recognize it.

ASHLAND, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A bystander was injured at a fire that damaged three row homes in Schuylkill County Monday afternoon.

Flames broke out on the 200 block of Centre Street in Ashland around 2:30 p.m. Dozens of firefighters were called out to battle the blaze. The fire displaced a total of 16 people. The Red Cross is assisting those who were displaced.

Two of the homes have heavy fire damage and a third is said to have smoke and water damage. Ashland Fire Chief Phil Groody said a hose coupling somehow struck a bystander in the head.

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU-TV) — The pandemic has interrupted most annual events, but it won’t stop one non-profit from raising awareness about an issue that plagues the Schuylkill County community — suicide.

It’s one of the leading causes of death in the county and it has one of the highest rates in the state.

For the last six years, hundreds of people hit the track field for the annual Stomp Out Suicide event in Schuylkill County. The pandemic prevented the tradition from happening for a seventh year, but it isn’t stopping organizers making noise.

KEMPTON, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) – Hawk Mountain Sanctuary shed a light on mother nature’s clean-up crew for International Vulture Awareness Day.

With wings spread wide open, two live vultures claimed the audience’s attention at Hawk Mountain’s Ampitheatre.

“They looked really cool. I really liked the vultures,” said Alexander Pak of Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Nine-year-old Alexander Pak says he didn’t have much interest in the birds before this. That type of reaction is exactly what the founder and director of Red Creek Wildlife Center is looking for.

TAMAQUA, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Many students are looking forward to returning to their extra curricular activities, as they head back to school, but some of those activities may look different due to the pandemic.

Students in band are adjusting to keep the music playing. Tamaqua Raider band members socially distance as they fill the air with music.

“I hope to get back out and just give people what they want. They want to hear the band,” band president Brady Miller said.

GILBERTON, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — People in Gilberton borough are mourning the loss of their beloved mayor, Mary Lou Hannon.

Friends and family paid their respects at Gilberton United Methodist Church Wednesday evening.Hannon died on Thursday after a sudden battle with cancer.

Hannon was the first female and longest-serving mayor in Gilberton borough history. Council president Daniel Malloy worked alongside her for 22 years. He said she was tough, friendly, and had a heart of gold.

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — On Wednesday, Governor Tom Wolf’s office announced an updated policy allowing spectators at professional, collegiate, pre-K to 12 school athletics, amateur sports and recreational sports.

It seems like good news for high school teams, but the athletic director at North Schuylkill High School tells Eyewitness News it actually doesn’t change much. In fact, it presents another challenge for these athletic departments to figure out.

TREMONT, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A welcome sign was stolen over the weekend in the borough of Tremont, sending the community on a search to find it.

The sign was created by a high school student as a project. Now he and his family have words for the person who took it. Two welcome signs stand at every Tremont entrance. One welcoming you to the borough, the other welcoming you to the anthracite region.

“First off I would like to know why they took it,” Tremont borough council president Bob Donmoyer said.