Old dealership broken into

Only months after it was vacated, the former Lehighton Kia dealership on Route 443 was broken into twice.

Melissa Augustine, business controller, said copper piping was removed from the vacant building after someone entered it by breaking windows on the back of the building around Sept. 5. A second break-in occurred on Sept. 20.

Earlier this year, the dealership relocated less than 2 miles away, at 1502 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East. It is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the apprehension of the individuals who broke in and took property from the former building.

Pressure cooker was empty

A state police bomb squad responded to a Monroe County gas station after someone found a suspicious-looking pressure cooker beneath a truck. They determined it was empty.

Troopers were called to a gas station at the Giant food store on Route 611 in Bartonsville for a suspicious package.

A pressure cooker was located underneath a box truck and appeared suspicious, although it was determined the pressure cooker was empty.

MCTI suggests full-time program

Monroe County Technical Institute Director Dennis Virga presented the school’s most recent proposal for a full-time comprehensive high school program to the Pleasant Valley School District board.

If adopted, the comprehensive plan would mean all four grade levels would attend MCTI full time. Currently, only the ninth grade attends full-day classes at MCTI. Older students currently enrolled in the program attend technical and career classes at MCTI and academics at their sending district.

Ambulance is disbanding

Nesquehoning Ambulance is disbanding due to dwindling volunteers who are certified as EMTs.

Nesquehoning Borough Council this week voted to make the Lehighton Ambulance the borough’s primary advanced life support and basic life support provider, effective Dec. 24.

Currently, the Nesquehoning Ambulance is the BLS provider and the Lehighton company has been providing the ALS service since the unit went to advanced life support.

Former firefighter pleads guilty

Keith Cebrosky, 65, the former president of a Palmerton fire company, pleaded guilty to one count each of unlawful contact with a minor, criminal solicitation — sexual assault by volunteer or employee of a nonprofit, and intimidate witness/victim — withhold testimony.

Cebrosky was charged by the office of the state attorney general for incidents that began in January 2017. The AG charged after using the minor victim for his own sexual gratification, Cebrosky arranged for a $1,000 cash payment to be delivered to the victim through a third party — in exchange for dropping charges against him.

The 16-year-old victim met Cebrosky through volunteer work at the West End Fire Company where Cebrosky was formerly president.

Drug treatment court OK’d

Carbon County will have a drug treatment court by the end of the year after the county received a $300,952 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program.

The county will add the required 25 percent match — $100,318 — to bring the total funding for the drug treatment court to $401,270. The money will be used to pay for one adult probation officer, upgrade a part-time support staff to full-time, training, computer equipment, cognitive behavioral interventions, drug testing supplies and incentives.

Drug treatment court will be a partnership between the commissioners, courts, Criminal Justice Advisory Board, District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, Adult Probation, the Correctional Facility, Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission, Carbon-Monroe-Pike Mental Health and Disability Services, and several other state and local agencies.

3 dead in car explosion

A car explosion rocked downtown Allentown and left three dead.

Police said Jacob Schmoyer used a homemade explosive device to kill himself, his 2-year-old son Jonathan and acquaintance David Hallman in a murder-suicide. The blast occurred a block from the PPL Center sports arena and two blocks from the popular Hamilton Street dining area in Allentown.

Governor makes nomination

Gov. Tom Wolf approved the nomination of Francine Heaney, Nesquehoning, to fill the vacant Carbon County Clerk of Courts position.

The nomination was then sent to the Pennsylvania Senate for confirmation and is expected to be voted upon during the Oct. 15-17 session.

Once approved, Heaney will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of William McGinley.

After he retired, the commissioners confirmed the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office is investigating the office and the county’s insurance carrier was conducting an audit of office funds.

“We had a mess over there,” said Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard.

St. Luke’s to use house

St. Luke’s Miners Campus announced it plans to move its human resources department to a house located across the street from the hospital in Coaldale.

To do so, the Coaldale Borough Zoning Hearing Board approved a variance allowing the hospital to use 304 W. Philips St., which is zoned R-1 residential, as administrative offices.

The hearing board voted unanimously, but imposed three conditions. The building can only be used as administrative offices; they must use the existing building (unless it is lost to fire or another disaster) and if St. Luke’s sells the property, it returns to residential use only.

Monroe gets bomb threat, again

For the sixth and seventh time this year, a bomb threat resulted in the closure of the Monroe County Courthouse Monday and Tuesday.

According to Sheriff Todd Martin, a woman called the Monroe County 911 center around saying there were four bombs placed in the courthouse. The calls are coming from disposable phones.

K-9 units from Pennsylvania State Police searched the building and determined there was no threat.

Proposal suffers setback in House

A proposal kicked around in Harrisburg for years to shrink the number of state lawmakers in Pennsylvania may not be dead, but it’s at least on life support.

The latest blow came during a committee meeting last week, when Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, was able to get the bill amended — yet again — to restore a provision that would also cut the size of the Senate.

The Senate-House divide on the issue has plagued efforts to amend the constitution to cut the House from 203 to 151 and the Senate from 50 to 38.

Constitutional amendments have to pass both chambers of the Legislature in two consecutive two-year sessions. About a month remains for lawmakers to get it over the finish line for the second round of approval before the 2017-18 session ends.

If it is approved, the referendum could go on the statewide ballot next spring. The conventional wisdom in Harrisburg is that it will pass overwhelmingly if voters get the chance to weigh in.