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In this update:
Education Funding Commission in Hazleton
At my request, the Basic Education Funding Commission traveled to Hazleton this week to continue reviewing how to better fund our public schools. The commission heard from Brian Uplinger, the Superintendent of Hazleton School District, as well as Bob Curry, Founding President, and Rossanna Gabriel, Executive Director, from the Hazleton Integration Project.
Here, to show the special challenges facing the Hazleton Area, I attempted to greet the Commission in both Spanish and English—thanks to the good work of my Hazleton office intern, Nicole Castillo.
Here, I asked Bob Curry about how we can best support students who are learning English as their second language. Cracking Down on Looters and Thieves
My bipartisan bill to help combat organized retail theft was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. We’re not talking about simple shoplifting. This is organized criminal behavior involving serious bad actors. As we saw in Philadelphia last week when mobs of people ransacked dozens of stores, our retailers are under siege. The increase in retail theft we’ve seen in recent years is a slap in the face of every hardworking Pennsylvanian trying to provide for themselves and their families. Free Hard to Read License Plate Check in Cass Township
Is your license plate worn out? You can get it replaced for free at an event I’m hosting with Rep. Tim Twardzik on October 11th. A Cass Township police officer will be on hand to inspect your plate to determine if it’s illegible. For more information or to RSVP, call 570-794-4039. System to Combat Obnoxious Odors in Western Schuylkill County Nears Completion
Photo by Lindsey Shuey/ Staff Photographer for the Republican Herald Rep. JoAnne Stehr and I have heard from many in western Schuylkill County about the obnoxious odors affecting TOO MANY people’s homes. The composting facility that caused this issue will soon complete its work installing an odor reduction system, as was required after they were fined $50,000 by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. To document this issue, if you continue to suffer from these noxious smells, please register the nature and the time of your complaint at the DEP hotline at 570-826-2511. In addition, please do not hesitate to contact any of my local offices if you have additional information which will help us to resolve this issue, which has already impacted too many people for FAR TOO LONG. Tougher Penalties for Fentanyl Dealers
Dealers convicted of selling drugs laced with fentanyl leading to death can be freed after two years or less. By a vote of 35 to 14, the Senate passed a bill with bipartisan support upping that to 10 years minimum. The bill is known as Tyler’s Law, in memory of Tyler Shanafelter, an 18-year-old from central Pennsylvania who overdosed after purchasing pills laced with lethal amounts of fentanyl. There were more than 100,000 fentanyl- and opioid-related deaths nationally in 2021, representing a 15% increase compared to 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We need to take a strong stand against the fentanyl epidemic, which has killed far too many Pennsylvanians. Argall Report: Honoring the Legacy of Frank Staudenmeier and our Coal Mining Heritage
The October edition of my local TV program highlights the recent dedication ceremony for Staudenmeier Station at Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train. This new train station named in memory of Schuylkill County Commissioner Frank Staudenmeier is a fitting tribute to a man who cared so much about this place, his hometown of Ashland, and our region. To learn more about the hard work, backbreaking and dangerous labor that our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents needed to perform in the mines to feed their families, visit the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine and Steam Train. In October, they’re open on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This mine has a special meaning to me: my great-grandfather, an Ashland coal miner until the 1930s, lost his job, like so many others, during the Great Depression – I proudly display his ‘pink slip’ in my capitol office—it’s really pink! Working to Transform Blighted Properties into Housing
The American Institute of Architects of Pennsylvania honored me with an award this week for my work to breathe new life into many of our old towns. One of the biggest issues we continue to face is the urgent need to transform more blighted properties into new market rate housing throughout Schuylkill, Carbon, and Luzerne Counties….and beyond! Honoring Fallen PennDOT Workers
Since 1970, 90 PennDOT workers have lost their lives in the line of duty working to fix our roads and bridges. The Senate passed a bill with unanimous support to name bridges after local fallen workers. I hope that by taking this action, we’re all reminded to slow down in construction zones. William Hoffman lost his life in October of 1970. The bridge now named in his honor is a part of State Route 443 in Walker Township, Schuylkill County and crosses the Little Schuylkill River. Ralph Strubinger lost his life in October of 1977. The bridge now named in his honor is located on Bridge Street in Weissport, Carbon County. Joseph Zienkiewicz lost his life in June of 1981. The bridge now named in his honor is a part of Little Mountain Road in Union Township, Schuylkill County and crosses Little Catawissa Creek. Caitlin McGarry lost her life in April of 2017. The bridge now named in her honor is a part of State Route 443 in Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill County and crosses the Schuylkill River. Schuylkill Haven Recognized as National Blue Ribbon School
Schuylkill Haven Area Elementary Center was named a 2023 National Blue Ribbon School, one of just 13 schools in Pennsylvania to receive this honor. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition! Rep. Tim Twardzik, Lauren Miller from Rep. Jamie Barton’s office, and I visited the school to celebrate this achievement. I felt very much at home in their school library. One of my dad’s first jobs was as the Schuylkill Haven High School librarian, many years ago!
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