Credit audit may not be public

An accounting firm looking into misuse of credit cards by Jim Thorpe School District administrators has completed its report and submitted it to the district’s school board.

But the board’s attorney said the board needed more time before they could discuss it. He also warned the public that the auditors may not allow him to make the report public.

The review was supposed to determine whether there were any improprieties with respect to expenditures on district credit cards used by business manager Lauren Kovac and former Superintendent Brian Gasper.

Ex-Salvation Army major charged

Sharon Whispell, the suspended local administrative officer of the Tamaqua Salvation Army, was arrested Thursday morning in York and brought back to Tamaqua to be arraigned.

The Salvation Army has found discrepancies in paperwork totaling $116,913.33, dating back to 2015.

Whispell, 53, is charged with theft by deception/false impression, theft by unlawful taking-movable property, receiving stolen property, theft by failure to make required dispensation of funds and tampering of records.

After an interview with Lt. Colonel Larry Ashcraft at the Salvation Army Headquarters, Whispell admitted to re-creating and submitting fraudulent receipts for reimbursement.

Fire declared an arson

A fire that damaged the Salvation Army building has been ruled an arson.

State police fire marshal trooper Joseph Hall said the fire at the facility, located at 105 W. Broad St., which occurred on May 12 at 9:53 a.m., had two origins in a rear storeroom.

Hall said video surveillance shows nobody entered or left the building just prior to the fire.

The Tamaqua Fire Department responded and extinguished the blaze. The fire department requested the assistance of state police in determining the cause of the fire.

Pleasant Valley hires athletic director

The Pleasant Valley School District board of directors voted to hire Thomas Toth as director of athletics and activities.

Toth is replacing Jason Mattern, who resigned in July less than a month after his hire following allegations of harassment.

Toth, who will be paid $90,000, earned his masters in educational administration and has served as assistant principal for the Bangor Area School District since 2011.

Ex-clerk McGinley pleads guilty to theft

Former Carbon County clerk of courts William C. McGinley is facing a possible prison term in November when he is sentenced after pleading guilty Monday to three criminal counts, including a felony, for thefts of funds from his office.

McGinley, 61, pleaded to one count of theft — failure to make required disposition of funds, a felony; and misdemeanor counts of tampering with evidence and obstruction in the administration of law. In exchange for the pleas, the Attorney General’s office agreed to drop counts of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and restricted activities — conflict of interest.

McGinley entered his plea before specially presiding Senior Judge John L. Braxton. In the courtroom were McGinley family members, some county officials and several press organizations.

Ex-Schuylkill clerk Lukach pleads guilty

In a negotiated agreement, former Schuylkill County Clerk of Courts Stephen Lukach Jr. entered guilty pleas to one count of mail fraud and one count of falsification of records, during a hearing at 11 a.m. Thursday at the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Scranton.

The maximum penalty Lukach could receive is 40 years in prison and up to $500,000 in fines. Sentencing is slated for the week of Nov. 11. Lukach, 69, of Nesquehoning, resigned in 2014, after County Controller Christy Joy turned up irregularities in the Clerk of Court’s records from 2012.

Towamensing turns to 3 fire companies

Towamensing supervisors have decided to enlist the help of three neighboring municipalities for fire responses in the township, a result of declining volunteer turnout.

The new protocol splits Towamensing into three districts. When an emergency is reported to the Carbon Communications Center in Nesquehoning, fire companies in Franklin Township, Polk Township or Aquashicola will be immediately contacted, depending on where the situation is located.

Towamensing Volunteer Fire Company will also receive a call.

DEP approves permit to cover wetland

Phase III Environmental received a permit last month to cover wetlands at the site of New Jersey Zinc’s former west plant, under the stipulation that the company replaces them.

The permit, issued in July by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, expires in 2024. It allows Phase III to cover the wetlands with “clean fill,” which could include soil, rock, stone, used asphalt, brick, block or concrete from demolition or construction efforts, per the permit requirements.

After clean fill masks the wetlands — Colleen Connolly, DEP spokeswoman wrote via email — the company will be allowed to use regulated fill above the waterline. The permit requires the company to conduct inspections of best practices on a weekly basis and after each stormwater event.

N. Lehigh appoints interim principal

For the second time in three months, Northern Lehigh School District has tabbed a new principal at one of its elementary schools.

On an 8-0 vote, the school board on Monday accepted the resignation of Brian Kelly as principal of Peters Elementary School, effective July 18. Director Robert Keegan Jr. was absent.

The board then appointed high school music teacher James Schnyderite as the interim principal of Peters at a salary of $52.63 per day, effective July 24, terminating at the end of the first semester, Jan. 21, 2020, or upon hiring a permanent principal.

Schnyderite has served the past two years as a secondary music teacher in the school district.