MOUNT CARMEL - Heat from a floodlight caused several beach towels to ignite, which led to damage to the exterior of a home early Wednesday.

The fire broke out shortly after midnight at 141 W. Water St. According to Jack Williams Jr., first assistant chief, the homeowner was sleeping when he awoke to the smell of smoke. The owner discovered the back porch on fire and brought the fire under control as the fire department responded.

Williams said four to five folded beach towels were on a shelf that was located below the light. Damaged was contained to a ceiling above the porch and the wall in which the light was located.

Firefighters were on scene for about an hour checking for extension and any hot sports. Williams said the owner did not have insurance.

Southern Columbia Area Middle School

CATAWISSA R.R. - The Southern Columbia Area Middle School has announced its distinguished and regular honor roll for the fourth marking period of the 2014-15 school year.

Distinguished honor students have attained an average in their studies of 95 percent or better. Honor roll students have attained an average of 88 to 94.999 percent.

Distinguished Honor Roll

Grade 5 - Colby Bernhard, Kole Biscoe, Morgan Brill, Jacob Cambria, Savich Chapman, Justin Chen, Brock Dunkelberger, Brady Feese, Jaron Ferrara, Gavin Garcia, Hanna Keller, Avery Konyar, Olivia Long, Matthew Masala, Jillian Morgan, Madelina Natale, Joseph Quinton, Kylee Reeder, Wyatt Roadarmel, Carson Savitski, Cassidy Savitski, Tammy Schultz, Lauren Smith, Olivia Thompson, Ella Trathen, Kathryn Waltman, Ashley Whyne, Gauge Wommer, Christian Woodruff and Patrick Yost.

Grade 6 - Emily Callahan, Faith Callahan, Grace Callahan, Megan Champoux, Tyler Derk, Maddelynn Griscavage, Chade Haladay, Hannah Knoebel, Garrett Krebs, Madison Longenhagen, Meadow Morris, Katherine O'Donnell, Jaymie Petro, Bryson Pita, Logan Potter, Jaxson Purnell, Campbell Reck, Karly Renn, Emma Schultz, Addison Sharrow, Colin Sharrow, Sienna Sosnoski, Alexis Steenburg, Lucas Stewart, Jayden Toczylousky, Paige Urban and Timothy Witcoskie.

Grade 7 - Maura Blusius, Jared Broscious, Mikaela Brouse, Madison Colella, Jessica Delbo, Kayla Gallagher, Gaige Garcia, Gina Gratti, Cal Haladay, Kayla Hauer, Jacob Herr, Sophia Koschoff-Rapkin, Taylor LeVan, Meghan Morrison, Kathryn Pollard, Lear Quinton, Lauren Rose, Emma Rosko, Erick Shufeldt, Thomas Williams, Rilyn Wisloski, Leslie Wolfe, Mary Zakrzewski and Ronald Zsido.

Grade 8 - Colt Bernhard, Hannah Bradley, Jadyn Brezinski, Carly Britch, Kari Cambria, Haleigh Carter, Autumn Chassie, Morgan Cole, Gavin Corrigan, Hanna Davis, Benjamin Dodson, Troy Donlan, Jillian Dunkelberger, Jared Ebersole, Kortney Fasold, Susan Gembic, DeeDee George, Tiffany Horton, Gabriella Kaminski, Lindsey Kerstetter, Nicole Kerstetter, Ethan Knoebel, Brooklynn Kuijpers, Allyson Leiby, Caitlyn Lichtel, Maria Maresca, Jillian Marks, Calista Noll, Gabriel O'Donnell, Samantha Palacz, Sarah Rodriguez, Viktoria Romania, Haley Scopelliti, Cally Seidel, Alec Sharrow, Cassandra Sharrow, Jacob Stahley, Emma Steely and Alexandra Willhouse.

Honor Roll

Grade 5 - Emily Allen, Sarah Allen, Eliza Andress, Wesley Barnes, Landon Beagle, Clayton Bennage, Mallory Betts, Chase Billig, Natalie Bodnar, Owen Bosworth, Gabrielle Bradigan, Ryan Brown, Stephanie Campbell, Ethan Carpenter, Nicholas Chesney, Chase Conway, Evelyn Cook, Mason Cooper, Toren Cooper, Logan Corrigan, Cailee Davis, Tristen Delrymple, Emily Dodson, Michael Evert, Clarissa Fox, Connor Gallagher, Emma Hayman, Stanley Hodder, Rachel Hollenbach, Gatlin Hovenstine, Nathan Hoy, Matthew Hricenak, Reese Humphrey, Kelly Irons, Ryan Kerstetter, Jadon Kittle, Liam Klebon, Abigail Knoebel, Abigail Knouse, Dylan Kramer, Wyatt Mack, Rhiannon Marion, Morgan Marks, Hailee Mayernick, Mallory McBride, Rayne McCoog, Elizabeth Miller, Hailey Miller, Alexander Morrison, Tyler Novak, Mackenzie Palacz, Grace Persinger, Rylee Petro, Riley Reed, Austin Reeder, Madison Reidinger, Kianna Rizzo, Janet Rodgers, Griffin Romania, Jake Rose, Giana Rovito, Faith Seedor, Dakota Simpson, Jacob Snyder, Paige St. Andre, Marlee Swank, Summer Tillett, Kailey Wagner, Jamal Williams, Michael Yancoskie, Lexi Yeager, Alexis Zanini and Michael Zsido.

Grade 6 - Joshua Bainbridge, Emily Bender, Zackariah Buono, Kaiden Carl, Taylor Christman, Kylee Danglovitch, Jacob Davis, Chase Derk, Lauren Duncan, Patrick Edmondson, Jordon Fosse, Brionna Gallagher, Michael Getchey, Tyler Hajdu, Jonathan Helfrick, Elijah Helms, Cordell Helwig, Garrett Hummel, Tyler Jeffrey, Taylor Keller, Bradley Klaus, Gabriel Kulick, Jordan Letterman, Kayla Levan, Marissa Levan, Allie Lunger, Kaitlyn Lupatsky, Monica Maresca, Jennifer Maurer, Rachel Maurer, Jayden McCormick, Troy Meier, Ruth Miller, Nicholas Miner, Chase Petro, Collin Sabo, Lily Sudol, Hunter Thomas, Tyler Waltman, Derek Wertman, Micah Yemzow, Ian Yoder, Dallas Yost and Thomas Ziemba.

Grade 7 - Alyssa Barnes, Evan Bebenek, Kiersten Brecht, Hannah Bridy, Luke Brokus, Victoria Brown, Grace Bzdak, Jamie Chen, Hailey Ciocco, Max Clark, Halle Cox, Elliott Dobson, Stephanie Dunkelberger, Tiffany Dunkelberger, Amelia Esposito, Matriel Farmer, Kaylin Fetterolf, Cameron Haladay, Ethan Haupt, Braden Heim, Nathaniel Hicks, Nathan Hunsinger, Nathan Kearney, Makenna Keefer, Michelle Kerstetter, Wade Kerstetter, Brianna Kopp, Aaron Koschoff-Rapkin, Allyson Kranzel, Austin Leiby, Devon Lindenmuth, Cade Linn, Sierra Long, Veronica Manuel, Morgan Marks, Gage Michael, Owyne Pursel, Ayzah Quinn, Emilia Raup, Brady Reese, Ty Roadarmel, Elijah Rush, Christopher Slack, Alyssa Strocko, Max Tillett, Aden Trathen, Alicia Trathen, Chloe Wegrzynowicz, Dorran Wetzel, Gage Whitenight, Madison Wilcox, Teagan Wilk and Preston Zachman.

Grade 8 - Zachary Bainbridge, Haylea Bingaman, Karlea Bingaman, Cara Cecco, Nathaniel Crowl, Emily Davis, Calvin Deitrick, Shane Deski, Alexus Fetterman, Abigail Henrichs, Reese Houseknecht, Matthew Irons, Kaitlyn Karlovich, Joseph Lobos, Meghan Longenhagen, Connor McGinley, Kaitlyn McHale, Shane Miller, Michael Miner, Kevin Olvany, Jacob Petro, Rachyl Podpora, Bryce Reidinger, Marley Seger, Johnathan Sherman, Kevin Sincavage, Cameryn Sock, John Stabinski, Michael Steele, Madison Straub, Shayla Swartz, William Wegrzynowicz and Ross Wertman.

Awards given to first- through fifth-grade Our Lady of Lourdes students June 3.

The following students have received academic excellence (97.9 or above): fifth grade, Gabriel Leffler and Caden McBride; fourth grade, Cassandra Drumheiser and Cole Pancher.

The following students have received academic effort (93-96): fifth grade, Lindsay Dunn, Ryan Kerris, Nicholas Nestico; fourth grade, Liam Bradley, Gabriella Coleman, Joseph Feudale, Alexander Hughes, Aiden Krebs, Leonard Machesic, Julia Pitcavage, Maxwell Reiprish, Gage Romanoskie, Lillian Scalia, Jadyn Swaldi and Chloe Yablonski.

Faithful Christian awards were presented to: first grade, Michael Drumheiser and Daniel Vincenzes; second grade, Kyle Baranoski and Corrine Feese; third grade, Jelena Czeponis and Kaiulani D. Snyder; fourth grade, Liam Bradley and Austin Cole; fifth grade, Caiden McBride and Michael Keer.

Kind Hearted Awards were presented to: first grade, Leonard Cicchiello and Bradley Staner; second grade, Estella Bressi and Gavin Ross; third grade, Liela A. Bellis; fourth grade, David Lorenz and Nicholas Olley; fifth grade, Caden McBride.

Sports and physical activities: first grade, Lilly Dormer and Logan Steele; second grade, Zach Komara and Aaron Leffler; third grade, Gavin M. Bauer; fourth grade, Gage Romanoskie and Owen Ssandri; fifth grade, Sadie Komara and Nicholas Nestico.

Art: first grade, Maleeya Nagy and Sydney Siko; second grade, Rylee Dehaven and Molly Pancher; third grade, Michael E. Dick; fourth grade, Cassandra Drumheiser and Chloe Yablonski; fifth grade, Gabriel Leffler and Gabrielle Wagner.

First in Math 10,000 Sticker Achievement: second grade, Olivia Kopitsky, Gabrielle Venna and Gianna Venna.

First in Math Program Top Player Awards: first grade, Collin Keiser, 6,305 stickers; second grade, Lindsey Allen, 3,422 stickers, Gabriella Carnuccio, 3,423 stickers, Autumn Kehler, 3,671 stickers, Gavin Ross, 6,195 stickers; third grade, Jelena Czeponis, 4,609 stickers; fourth grade, Cassandra Drumheiser, 5,761 stickers, Alexander Hughes, 5,385 stickers

Award for perfect attendance for the 2014-15 school year were presented to: third grade, Brooke Barwick and Cassidy Grimes; fourth grade, Maxwell Reiprish and Tasmiya Russell-King.

The Father Charles R. Slough Scholarship is awarded to: Nauhtayaha Russell-King and Tasmiya Russell-King.

Awards given to elementary students through sixth grade:

The following students have received distinguished honors (97 or above): Ashley Albert, Meryl Czeponis, Christopher Feudale and Robert Scalia.

The following students have received Academic Excellence Awards (average GPA 93-96): Brianna Barwick, Gabrielle Doss, Caroline Feese, Peyton Kehler, Nathaniel Long, Hunter Reed, Eric Shoch and Garrett Timco.

Students who have maintained the highest and second highest general average in each academic discipline:

Religion: highest average: Meryl Czeponis and Robert Scalia; second highest average: Ashley Albert and Garrett Timco

Math: highest average: Ashley Albert and Robert Scalia; second highest average: Christopher Feudale and Garrett Timco.

ILA: highest average: Ashley Albert, Peyton Kehler and Robert Scalia; second highest average: Meryl Czeponis and Eric Shoch

Science: highest average: Ashley Albert and Robert Scalia; second highest average: Gabrielle Doss and Meryl Czeponis

Social Studies: highest average: Ashley Albert and Robert Scalia; second highest average: Gabrielle Doss and Chistopher Feudale.

Artistic talent: Ashley Albert and Mariah Sullivan.

Musical talent: Ryleigh Geary and Emily Shaffer.

Sports and physical activities: Nicholas de Manincor and Peyton Kehler.

Faithful Christian: Caroline Feese and Gianna Sinopoli.

Kind Hearted: Brianna Barwick and Katelyn Deitz.

Helpful Hands: Alessandra Albert, Nicholas de Manincor, Ryleigh Geary and Gabe Klembara.

Improvement award: Kylie Dobrzyn, Katie Miller and Myra Seidel.

Computer: Christopher Feudale.

Stock market: Garrett Timco.

Perfect attendance: Brianna Barwick, Addison Odorizzi and Garrett Timco.

Ministry planning meal in Ashland

ASHLAND - The Shepherd's Table is serving a free meal for those in need or wish to socialize with others from 3 to 5 p.m. or until food is depleted July 8 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (rear entrance), 35 N. Ninth St. The meal is eat in only.

Medicare seminar planned

SUNBURY - Northumberland County Area Agency on Aging is offering a Medicare seminar at 10 a.m. July 8 in the agency conference room, 322 N. Second St. Call 570-495-2395 to confirm your attendance. The APPRISE program is a free, unbiased, confidential health insurance counseling program offered by the PA Department of Aging to all Medicare enrollees.

IRISH VALLEY - Tom and Rachel Hakes, of Rochester, N.Y., will speak at Clark's Grove United Methodist Church in Irish Valley Sunday about their experience in missions.

The Hakes are a family of five. Tom has led several short-term overseas mission trips to Costa Rica, and the Hakes children served with their parents in Costa Rica at a home for refugee children.

They began a series of trips to Nicaragua working with King's Castle Ministries to change lives and share the Gospel. King's Castle Ministries works to meet Nicaraguans' physical needs through medical clinics and feeding programs, developing leaders within the native community and engaging the children with evangelism and discipleship programs.

Tom, Rachel and their children will head up feeding programs and establish medical clinics, They will also start a community garden, library and clothing center.

Tom Hakes will preach at both the 8 and 10:10 a.m. services. During the 9 a.m. Sunday school hour, the Hakes family will talk about their new destination, Nicaragua. A love offering will be received to help support the Hakes' trip to Nicaragua in August. More information about the Hakes family is available at www.hakesnicaragua.com.

For more information, contact Pastor Billy Frick at 443-880-4403.

COAL TOWNSHIP - The sharing of the art form and expression of bellydance will be offered at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a $5 cover fee at Nostrovia, 1000 W. State St. Everyone is welcome to attend and participate in a 40-minute clinic. Drinks and appetizers will be available for purchase.

A common misconception is that the art and purpose of bellydance is to entertain men, when actually this could not be further from the truth. The ancient art of bellydance originated as a dance by women for women. This dance arose from many countries in the Middle East, the mediterranian and northeast Africa.

Bellydance is a translation of the French "danse de ventre" danced by women for women, originally performed for family and close friends to help with labor, fertility rites and to gain the sultan's attention. Bellydance is an introduction to womanhood; it is an expression of the feminine self, naturally atoned with women's structure and muscles. Instead of focusing on the legs and feet, the main focus is the torso.

Originally from the coal region, Abriel is a decendant of Irish, Welsh and English great grandparents, all of whom brought with them their culture, food and traditions.

The incoming senior co-captain of Susquehanna Bellydance Circle found out about the activity at the activity fair as a freshman entering college in 2012. Susquehanna BDC practices American Cabaret. Abriel also dabbles in tribal fusion. With a background in classical ballet, she wanted to move away from rigid lines and technique to fluid femininity.

Come join Abriel as she shares a cultural dance along with the inevitable self-confidence and self-acceptance that comes with it.

MOUNT CARMEL - The annual Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Festival schedule for this weekend will be held as advertised despite the forecast of rain Saturday,

The festival will be held from in the church parking lot, Fourth and Market streets, from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, with the Shorelines performing, and from 5 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday with D.J. Woznik. There will be a "rain sale" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

The festival features more than 100 theme baskets, ethnic foods such as pierogies, pigeons and haluski, and baked good.

SHAMOKIN - Northumberland, Columbia, Montour, Snyder, Union and Schuylkill are among several dozen counties included in a flood watch as "widespread heavy to record daily rainfall amounts" are expected into tonight, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The flood watch began at 2 a.m. and is in effect through late tonight, NWS was reporting Friday evening.

An excessive amount of moisture will be transported north, up and over the shallow, unseasonably cool air mass entrenched across the state. The resulting heavy rain will bring the risk of flooding, especially on smaller streams and creeks, NWS reports.

The rain should accumulate between 2 and 3 inches over a large portion of central Pennsylvania by this evening, and total localized rainfall amounts as high as 4 inches are possible by early Sunday. Records for June 27 are likely to be exceeded in numerous locations, NWS reports.

"Many areas will see creeks and stream swell and exceed their banks. Urban flooding is also possible," NWS reports on its website. "The smaller rivers may also exceed bank full. The larger rivers should be able to handle this rain without flooding."

SHAMOKIN - Police shut down a drug operation Thursday night when a sting on two city homes led to the seizure of a stash of synthetic drugs and cash.

Police seized a combined 16.5 ounces of the drug commonly known as "spice" packaged individually for sale in 93 packets. Also seized were unidentified quantities of "ecstasy" and "molly," street names for the synthetic drug MDMA; two strips of prescription Suboxone, three digital scales and nearly $1,600 cash.

The drugs were kept inside bookbags and a night stand in a bedroom at 26 S. Franklin St. occupied by Patricia Moore, 35, and Lesley Arthur Jack, 26, according to criminal complaints. The majority of the cash, $1,380, was found inside Moore's bra after a pat-down. Two juveniles were at the home.

Moore and Jack were each taken into custody at the home without incident. Police said both refused to speak with officers when questioned at the station.

Controlled buys

The arrests followed a trio of controlled buys this month in which Moore allegedly sold $10 worth of spice to a confidential informant, according to the complaints. The informant allegedly purchased the drug from Moore inside her home on all three occasions.

A search warrant was served at the South Franklin Street home about 7:45 p.m. in a joint operation with Northumberland County probation officers. About the same time, a second team of police and probation officers served a search warrant at 31 N. Marshall St., home to Markist Kareem Moore, 38, and Jaleesa Marie Bickert, 26.

Markist Moore, who police said is married to but separated from Patricia, is accused of selling a $10 spice packet to a confidential informant Monday. Police said Moore and the informant left his home, entered a Chevrolet sedan and drove briefly before returning. The transaction allegedly occurred inside the vehicle.

Kids in the house

Police took both Markist Moore and Bickert into custody without incident. There were three juveniles inside a bedroom where two spice packets were found, one opened and one empty. A smoking pipe was reportedly found on a bedroom dresser along with a box of sandwich bags. Three empty spice packets were found in the living room and attic of the home.

Patricia Moore and Jack are both charged by Cpl. Jarrod Scandle with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver spice and ecstasy, felony conspiracy and misdemeanor counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. Patricia Moore also is charged by Cpl. Bryan Primerano with three felony counts each of delivery of spice and possession with intent to deliver spice.

Markist Moore and Bickert are each charged by Primerano with possession of spice and possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia. Moore is also charged with felony delivery of “spice,” a synthetic drug, and misdemeanor counts of possession of spice and possession of drug paraphernalia. These charges stem from the controlled buys, according to police.

Both Moores and Jack were jailed in Columbia County Prison, Bloomsburg. Bickert was not taken into custody.

Nine of Shamokin's 10 police officers were involved in the bust: Primerano, Scandle, Patrolmen Shane Mowery, Ray Siko II, William Zalinski, Scott Weaver, Nathan Rhodes, William Miner and Chief Darwin Tobias III. Probation officers on scene were Daniel Shoop, Andrew Charnosky, Jill Henrich, Matt Henrich and Matt Narcavage. Coal Township Patrolman Edward Purcell also responded.

Looks like candy

Ecstasy is commonly packaged in pill form, and molly in powder. The ecstasy seized Thursday has a candy-like appearance in color and shape. Both forms of MDMA incorporate the stimulant amphetamine and produce feelings of euphoria and hallucinogenic effects.

Spice contains a wide variety of herbal substances and chemical additives that produce hallucinations.

Nature is relentless.

I was reminded of that fact as a result of the lawn care - or lack thereof - at two properties in our development. Both homes are up for sale and it appears no one is keeping up with the grass-cutting at either place.

One place has the look of Larry Fine of the Three Stooges. The grass in the area next to the house is cut periodically, while the edges are growing wild like Larry's hair. The other has grass, weeds and wild flowers that have passed two feet and are closing in three feet high.

Before this place was developed for homes, it was a wooded area, with large oaks and other trees, shrubs, various wild flowers and plants and mushrooms growing in the rocky, clay soil. A few decades later, countless dollars' worth of landscaping has removed many of the trees and created lovely lawns.

It's highly likely that eventually buyers will recognize the potential of the two properties with "bushy" lawns and restore them to their well-kept state. But you could be sure that if somehow this was not the case, nature eventually would take over and it would not be too long before people could pick mushrooms in the shade of young oak trees.

The temptation to sin is much more relentless than nature. If we do invest the time and effort to cultivate our soul, it can be quickly overrun and overgrown with sin.

However, with the graces of the Gentle Gardener, we can strive to maintain our souls as free of the choking weeds of sin as possible in our earthly garden. If we reach the green pastures of heaven, we can enjoy forever what we cultivated in this life.

+++

Planting love yields an abundant harvest.

MOUNT CARMEL - Even after board members approved a 1-mill property tax increase, the Mount Carmel Area School District will face a $870,000 deficit.

The school board approved the 1 mill tax increase Thursday night alongside a $18,063,976.18 budget on a 8-0 vote. Board member Michael Brinkash was absent.

The district has been staring down a growing deficit, caused primarily by increases in health insurance costs and payments to the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System (PSERS), which funds school employees' pensions.

School districts statewide have struggled with rising payments to PSERS, caused in part by a transferal of payment burden from the state to districts as state education budgets were slashed.

Corrina Lesko, the district's business office manager, said the district's contribution toward PSERS in 2015-16 will jump from 21.4 percent to 25.8 percent. Heath insurance costs have risen by 3.8 percent, Lesko said.

The combination has resulted in the $870,000 budget deficit, even with the increased tax revenue.

Lesko said the district will make up for the deficit by transferring money out of the general fund.

"We haven't cut any programs," she said.

The budget was approved after a 1 hour, 15 minute executive session for personnel issues. Interviews for open speech pathologist and special education secretary positions were scheduled to be held during a work session preceding the meeting. The board then unanimously approved Jennifer Heyman for the speech therapist position at a salary of $34,752 and Rachel Elgin as a special education secretary at a salary of $8 per hour with no benefits and a six-month probationary period.

Friday's U.S. Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling drew two very different reactions from Christian leaders.

The Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg related the ruling to that of legalizing abortion in 1973.

"We are deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court (through the Obergefell v. Hodges decision) did not uphold the right of states to maintain and recognize the true meaning of marriage in law as the union of one man and one woman," the statement said. "It is in a sense the Roe v. Wade decision for marriage."

Thousands of laws nationwide related to marriage will be adversely impacted, the diocese predicts.

"Marriage is a natural institution that does not belong to the court or state nor to the church. The natural meaning of marriage can be known through reason without appealing to Scripture," the statement says. "We fear the court's decisions redefining marriage and the rights of the states will have a long-term corrosive effect on the institution of marriage, which is the bedrock of our society. We pray that marriage between a man and a woman will remain a strong truth in our world."

The diocese believes that "the common good of all, especially our children, depends upon a society that strives to uphold the truth of marriage."

UCC

On the other hand, The United Church of Christ, a protestant denomination, called it " a victory for justice and equality."

"It is a significant moment in this journey," said the Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer, UCC executive for health and wholeness advocacy, in a press release on the church's website. "In the United Church of Christ, we believe couples should be able to enjoy all the rites and blessings their faith traditions have to offer. And we'll be ready to perform those rites and blessings, including the solemnizing of legal marriages ... in our open and affirming churches across the country."

The United Church of Christ became the first mainline religious group to affirm equal marriage rights for all people regardless of sexual orientation July 4, 2005, according to the UCC website. Friday's ruling coincides with a gathering of the church's governing body in Cleveland.

"How tremendously exciting that we can celebrate this huge historic moment together, as a gathered denomination here at General Synod, at the same time we are also commemorating the 10-year anniversary of our early support for marriage equality and our 30-year Open and Affirming UCC movement," said the Rev. J. Bennett Guess, the first openly-gay UCC national officer.

MOUNT CARMEL - A basement fire chased residents from a double-home Friday night.

Fire ignited inside 327 N. Maple St., a block from the Shamokin Creek in the borough's north end. Crews were dispatched about 8:30 p.m.

Jack Williams Jr., a borough fire chief, said flames spread inside the basement and up a stairwell to the first floor. Firefighters trained a hose on the fire and prevented it from spreading any further.

Upon arrival, firefighters ran hoses through the front doors of both 325 and 327 N. Maple St. Lines were also snaked through backyards from Pear Street to the double-home's rear. Doors and windows were opened, the glass to some windows broken out, to allow ventilation front to back.

It wasn't clear if the occupants at 327 N. Maple St. were home at the time. Eddie Agosto, of 325 N. Maple St., was with his wife on his home's second floor when they began to smell smoke.

"We came downstairs and smoke just consumed the house," Agosto said as he paced on the street outside his home of five years. The Agostos opened doors and called 911 before safely evacuating with their dog.

The fire was extinguished by 9 p.m. No injuries were reported. Flames were contained to the basement of 327 N. Maple St., which also sustained smoke and water damage. Next door, 325 N. Maple St. sustained smoke damage. A cause wasn't immediately known.

The double-home building is the northernmost of a row of five adjoined structures. Residences on the immediate north and south sides of the fire scene were evacuated.

"They put a good hit on it," said Mount Carmel police Cpl. David Donkochik.

Many emergency responders were at a parish picnic at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church a half-mile away. Tones from their emergency pagers pierced through the picnic's sounds, and they moved quickly to respond to the scene.

WILLIAMSPORT - Seven weatherization department employees will continue to be employed by Northumberland County while their federal lawsuit against the county and two commissioners who voted to close their department moves forward.

Judge Matthew W. Brann filed an order Friday granting a preliminary injunction that revokes the commissioners' vote to eliminate the weatherization department, prohibits the commissioners from eliminating the department based on union activity and mandates the county immediately apply for state funding to continue operating the weatherization department.

The order means seven co-plaintiffs and department employees, Dwayne Scicchitano, Pamela Bollinger, Robert McAndrew, David Yakoboski, Barry Schweitzer, Jim Bressi and Albert Benedict Jr., will likely not lose their jobs Wednesday.

Commissioners Vinny Clausi and Stephen Bridy, named as co-defendants in the suit alongside the county, voted in April to close the department, effective June 30. Commissioner Rick Shoch dissented and was not named in the suit.

Bridy said Friday the county will meet with its legal counsel Monday to discuss an appeal and the status of funding for the department. He said he's not aware of a funding request having been made by the department to be signed off by the commissioners for submission to the state. With no funding, the employees could be laid off, he said.

Bridy also anticipates speaking to the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Monday as to whether the department has assigned funding to SEDA-COG, which the county planned to use for weatherization services after disbanding its own department.

Clausi said Friday he's aware of the decision but declined comment.

'Anti-union statements'

In seeking the injunction, the plaintiffs cited a violation of their First Amendment rights to organize as a union.

Clausi testified at a two-day hearing June 4 and 5 he was "merely trying to shrink the government" - an argument Brann found insufficient.

"Clausi's suggested motivation for eliminating the department rings hollow given his lack of knowledge of the topic of privatization and his explicitly anti-union statements," he said.

Brann sided with the department that it was likely for the ultimate ruling in the case to find Clausi was motivated by a dislike of unions to close the department.

"(The county) contends that the three allegedly anti-union statements made by Clausi are insufficient to demonstrate that union activity was a 'substantial or motivating factor' in his decision to eliminate the department," Brann wrote.

"Defendants significantly minimize Clausi's most recent statements and his testimony at the evidentiary hearing," he wrote, referring to Clausi's statement on the witness stand that he had an issue with not being allowed to speak to department employees due to a union decision to cut off contact with him.

"It was within the context of this dispute that Clausi articulated the aforementioned statement. Three months later, the county commissioners voted to eliminate the weatherization department," he wrote. "Although the additional statements made by Clausi occurred too long ago to provide concrete circumstantial evidence that he chose to eliminate the weatherization department at this time based on (the department's) union activity, they do lend credence to the (department's) argument that he held an animus toward unions."

Brann also factored into his decision that the plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm if they lose their positions, even if they are reinstated at a later date; that the county will suffer no harm if the program is forced to continue because it is funded through a state grant and not out of pocket; and that the public will be neither harmed nor benefited by the continuation of the program.

'Thankful' for job back

Speaking from their office Friday, weatherization department employees expressed relief at learning they would keep their jobs.

"I'm really thankful I have my job back," said Yakoboski.

Bollinger said she had been nervous to wait so long for a result, but knew the department employees would ultimately succeed.

"We don't want to appear cocky, but we really work hard," she said. "I believe in this matter the truth prevails."

Scicchitano concurred. "We knew from the beginning that this was retaliation and harassment," he said.

Though the closure of the department has been stayed temporarily, Brann provided no program longevity. A ruling on the lawsuit could reverse the injunction and the state could decline the county's grant application for program funding.

Lynette Praster, director of the center of community services at the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), testified at the hearing that the county would need to apply for state funding by the end of the month to continue the program, but the approval of grant money was not guaranteed. That deadline provided the impetus for Brann to make his decision by Friday.

In testimony at the hearing, McAndrew admitted he falsified numbers in an audit for a project at Scicchitano's request. Because of the falsification, the state refused to fund the project, Praster testified. She said she could not say for certain what, if any, money the county would receive next year if the program were to continue as-is instead of being transferred to SEDA-COG. The program would first need to attempt to fix delinquencies in its evaluation, she said.

Assumption BVM

Assumption B.V.M. Ukrainian Catholic Church, Paxton Street, Centralia.

Pastor - The Very Rev. Archpriest Michael Hutsko.

Confessions - Sunday, 10:30 a.m.

Divine Liturgy - Sunday, 11 a.m.

Augusta Baptist

Augusta Baptist Church, 1371 Boyles Run Road, Sunbury.

Pastor - Robert S. Commerford.

Sunday school - 9 a.m.

Morning worship - 10:15 a.m.

Evening service - 6:30 p.m.

Activities - Sunday, youth group, 6 p.m., kids club, 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Bible study and prayer meeting, 6:30 p.m.; fourth Thursday of the month, L.I.F.E. for seniors age 55 and up, noon.

Augustaville Wesleyan

Augustaville Wesleyan Church, 2556 State Route 890, Paxinos.

Pastor - Greg Clendaniel.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m.

Worship service - 10:30 a.m.

Evening service - 6 p.m.

Activities - Wednesday, adult Bible study, children's ministry and youth Bible bowl, 7 p.m.

Bethany Bible

Bethany Bible Fellowship Church, 654 Wilburton Road, across from Mount Carmel Estates.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m.

Morning worship - 10:45 a.m.

Evening service in Fellowship Hall - 6 p.m.

Activities - Wednesday, children and youth programs and adult prayer and Bible study, 7 p.m.

Bethany EC

Bethany EC Church, 1238 Market St., Ashland.

Interim pastor - Marlin Lafferty.

Sunday school - 9:15 a.m. (adults and children).

Worship service - 10:30 a.m.

Activities - Wednesday, weekly Bible study, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.; free clothing closet, every first and third Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. to noon.

Bethel Union

Bethel Union Chapel, West Cameron Township.

Pastor - Dave Butler.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m. (all ages).

Morning worship - 10:30 a.m.

Special music - Kerry Segar.

Nursery - 10:30 a.m.

Junior church - 10:30 a.m.

Evening worship - 6 p.m.

Activities - Tuesday, prayer worship, 6 p.m.; Wednesday, Bible study, 6 p.m.

Calvary Bible

Calvary Bible Fellowship Church, 35 S. Second St., Shamokin.

Pastor - Ferd Madara.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m.

Morning worship - 10:35 a.m.

Message by Pastor Madara.

Special music - Praise team.

Activities - Sunday, evening service, 6 p.m., dessert social.

Church of the Nazarene

Church of the Nazarene, Route 901, Lavelle.

Pastor - Jeremy Smallwood.

Sunday school classes for all ages - 9:30 a.m.

Worship service - 10:45 a.m.

Clark's Grove UMC

Clark's Grove United Methodist Church, Irish Valley Road, Paxinos. Handicapped accessible.

Pastor - Billy Frick.

Sunday school for all ages - 9 a.m.

Worship service - 10:10 a.m.

Youth service - 6:30 p.m.

Activities - Wednesday, prayer and Bible study, 6:30 p.m.

­Divine Redeemer

Divine Redeemer Church, West Avenue and Poplar Street, Mount Carmel.

Pastor - The Rev. Martin O. Moran III.

Weekday Masses - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.

Weekend Masses - Saturday, 4 p.m. (Sunday obligation); Sunday, 8 and 10:30 a.m.

Holy day Masses - 6 p.m., eve of holy days. 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., holy day.

Confessions - Saturday, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.; after morning novena Wednesday.

Novenas - Monday, Miraculous Medal novena after morning Mass; Wednesday, St. Jude Thaddeus novena after morning Mass; Saturday, St. Francis novena after morning Mass.

Elysburg Alliance

Elysburg Alliance Church, 113 W. Alpha Ave., Elysburg.

Pastor - The Rev. Andrew Knisely.

Service - 8 and 10:30 a.m., with a message from Pastor Knisely.

Sunday school for all ages - 9:15 a.m.

Activities - Sunday, AWANA for children age 4 to fifth grade, 6 to 7:30 p.m., junior high youth for grades 6 to 8, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m.; Wednesday, prayer ministry, 7 to 8 p.m., youth group for grades 9 to 12, 7 to 8 p.m.

Elysburg Presbyterian

Elysburg Presbyterian Church, 320 W. Valley Ave. (Route 487), Elysburg.

Pastor - Matthew Young.

Sunday school for all ages - 9 a.m.

Worship service - 10:30 a.m.

Message - "Wait for the Power." Summer series on the book of Acts.

Scripture - Acts 9.

Musicians - Eileen Reigel, pianist; Debbie Cecco, organist.

Activities - Sunday, Lifetree Cafe, 7 p.m.; Sunday through Wednesday, vacation Bible school, 6 to 8 p.m.; Tuesday, Bible study at McDonald's, 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Daniel Plan meeting, 1 p.m.; Thursday, pot luck dinner, 6 p.m.; Friday, Breakfast with Jesus Bible study, 8:30 a.m.

Elysburg UMC

Elysburg United Methodist Church, 171 W. Center St., Elysburg.

Pastor - The Rev. Michelle Beissel.

Morning worship - 8:30 a.m. Children's Sunday school during worship. Coffee fellowship to follow.

Participants - Tom Wodzak, head usher; Lisa and Madeline Shappell, greeters; Sadie Schlesinger, acolyte; Jen Myers, scripture reader; Marilyn Crowl, shepherding; Olivia Bodner, organist.

Activities - Sunday through Wednesday, vacation Bible school at Elysburg Presbyterian Church, 6 to 8:15 p.m.; Wednesday, prayer circle; Thursday, Elysburg food pantry, 10 a.m. to noon.

Emmanuel UMC

Emmanuel United Methodist Church, 328 Center St., Coal Township.

Pastor - The Rev. Betty Ford.

Coffee fellowship - 8 to 9 a.m.

Worship - 9:30 a.m., with children's Sunday school.

Activities - Tuesday and Thursday, exercise class, 6:30 p.m.; third Wednesday of month, cookie ministry, 5 p.m.; second Saturday of the month, health screening, 8 to 10 a.m.; fourth Sunday of the month, movie night, 5 p.m.

Faith Bible

Faith Bible Church, Burnside.

Pastor - Perry Ross.

Pianist - Robert Witmer III.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m.

Worship service - 10:30 a.m.

Evening service - 7 p.m.

Activities - Wednesday, Kids Club, Bible study and prayer, 7 p.m.

Faith Community Church

Pastor - Dale Hill, 570-751-5101.

Sunday worship - 10:30 a.m.

First Baptist, Shamokin

First Baptist Church, 10 E. Lincoln St., Shamokin.

Pastor - The Rev. Samuel Derr.

Church school - 9:45 a.m.

Morning worship - 10:45 a.m.

Choir organist - Judith Pensyl.

Evening service - 6 p.m.

Pianist - Redelia Shoffler.

Activities - Wednesday, choir rehearsal, 1 p.m., prayer, praise and testimony and Bible study, 7 p.m.

First Baptist, Trevorton

First Baptist Church of Trevorton, 510 S. Ninth St., Trevorton.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m.

Morning worship - 10:40 a.m.

Special music - Jim and Wendy Allshouse.

Evening worship - 6 p.m.

Activities - Sunday, choir practice, 7 p.m.

First Presbyterian

First Presbyterian Church, Sunbury and Liberty streets, Shamokin.

Worship - 10 a.m. with communion.

Guest speaker - Ron Weller.

Participants - Noriene Ladd, organist; Mary Anne Stump, assistant organist; William Milbrand, choir director; Bill Persing and Judy Reed, ushers and greeters; Andrew Ladd, acolyte; William Persing Sr., sexton; Charlene Lesher, Terry Persing and Wendy Wary, Sunday school; Wendy Wary, secretary.

Activities - Sunday, luncheon to honor Morris and Linda Gard, following worship service.

First UMC, Kulpmont

First United Methodist Church, Ninth Street, Kulpmont.

Pastor - Beverly Petrovich.

Worship - 9:30 a.m., with children's Sunday school.

Activities - Second Saturday of the month, Angels Table luncheon, 11 a.m. All are welcome.

First UMC, Mount Carmel

First United Methodist Church, 46 N. Hickory St., Mount Carmel.

Pastor - The Rev. Susan J. Roehs.

Worship service - 9:30 a.m.

Sunday school - 10:30 a.m.

Sermon - "Who Do You Answer To?"

Participants - Sharon Styer, organist; Fred Roehs, head usher; Bret Getty, sound technician; Linda Gula, liturgist; Jillian Maurer, acolyte; Fred and Anne, counting team; Barb Malick, children's time.

Activities - Thursday, Overeaters Anonymous, 1 p.m.; Friday, Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

First UMC, Shamokin

First United Methodist Church, Sunbury Street, Shamokin.

Pastor - Zachary Hopple.

Adult and children's Sunday school - 9:15 a.m.

Worship service - 10:30 a.m.

Participants - Goldie Stehr, liturgist; John and Goldie Stehr, greeters; Sam and Pattie Rovito, nursery.

Activities - Monday, Bible study in the parlor, 6 p.m.

God's Missionary

God's Missionary Church in the Valley, 768 Bear Valley Ave., Shamokin.

Pastor - The Rev. Howard R. McKenzie.

Sunday school - 9:45 a.m.

Sunday worship and children's church - 10:45 a.m.

Evening service - 6 p.m.

Activities - Thursday, prayer meeting, 7:30 p.m.

Good News Bible

Good News Bible Club, 221 Main St., Locustdale.

Sunday worship - 3 p.m.

Guest speaker - Bob Alonge on "Connectionalism." Scriptural focus is on Matthew 28.

Participants - Shirley Brass, prayer chain coordinator; Bob Keener, church ministry coordinator; Jill Keener, music coordinator; Angie Ratzlaff, coordinator of Blessings to You.

Activities - Wednesday, prayer gathering and Bible study, 6:30 p.m.

Blessings to You, a free clothing ministry, distributes free clothing from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursdays and noon to 3 p.m. Friday on the second and fourth weeks of the month.; July 27 to 31, Vacation Bible School with a closing program and church picnic at 3 p.m. Aug. 2.

Good Shepherd

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 35 N. Ninth St., Ashland.

Pastor - The Rev. Dana Heckman-Beil.

Worship service - 9 a.m.

Grace Chapel

Grace Chapel, 126 Airport Road, Shamokin.

Pastor - Alan Langelli.

Sunday Bible fellowship groups for all ages - 9:30 a.m.

Sunday morning worship - 10:30 a.m.

Nursery child care is provided for all Sunday services.

Evening worship, young couples/young adults class, youth group and Discovery Station - 6:30 p.m.

Activities - Today, shepherd's meeting; Sunday, Communion Sunday; July 10, trip to Sight and Sound, "Joseph"; July 12, outdoor service/hot dog roast; July 14, business meeting; July 15, congregation meeting; July 25, shepherd's meeting; July 26, guest speaker Jozef Gabor; every Thursday, ladies Bible study.

Grace Evangelical

Grace Evangelical Independent Church, Locustdale.

Pastor - The Rev. Rose Marquardt.

Sunday school - 9:45 a.m.

Worship service - 11 a.m.

Children's Sunday school - 11 a.m.

Grace Lutheran, Shamokin

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 10 S. Seventh St., Shamokin.

Pastor - The Rev. David M. Byerly.

Service of the word and sacrament - 10:15 a.m.

No adult Sunday school for the summer.

Participants - Jeffrey Clutcher, worship assistant; Ethan Tharp, acolyte/crucifer; Treva Madison and Joanne Templin, communion bearers; Treva Madison and Joanne Templin, altar care; Mr. and Mrs. James Shingara, greeters; Art Martin, driver; Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Romanic, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Joraskie, Joan Lineweaver and Roger Giffin, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Deitz and Mr. and Mrs. Willie Marsh, ushers; Walter Boyer, organist, Charlene Pell, choir director and cantor.

Grace Lutheran, Mount Carmel

Grace Lutheran Church, 146 W. Avenue, Mount Carmel.

Interim pastor - The Rev. Alfred Bashore.

Guest speaker - Kevin Snyder.

Services will be at St. Matthew's (Slovak) Lutheran Church. Next Sunday, services will be at Grace Lutheran Church in the social room downstairs, and it will be Food Pantry Sunday.

Grace UCC

Grace United Church of Christ, Third and Market streets, Mount Carmel.

Pastor - The Rev. Joan A. Brown.

Morning worship - 9 a.m.

Participants - Bryan Lapinski, organist; Noah Berkoski, acolyte; Albert Green and John Lawler, ushers.

Activities - July 12, picnic at Ponduce, 10:30 a.m.; Aug. 9, picnic at Green's Farm.

Harvest Worship

Harvest Worship Ministries, 2079 Upper Road, West Cameron Township, 570-850-4280, harvestworshipministries.com.

Pastor - Sandy Wary.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m.

Worship service - 10:30 a.m.

Hidden Valley

Hidden Valley Community Church, 162 Hidden Valley Lane, Mifflinburg. A non-denominational Bible church.

Pastor - Gary L. Owens.

Pastor Gary can be reached by calling the office at 570-966-1330, or by cell at 570-486-3967.

Himmel's Church

Himmel's Church, 107 Covered Bridge Road, Dornsife.

Pastor - Jane H. Compton.

Worship service - 9 a.m., with communion the first Sunday of every month.

Activities - Aug. 9, outdoor service in the picnic grove with guest speaker Kay Wagner, 9 a.m.; Aug. 23, outdoor service with the group Re-Creation, 10 a.m. and covered dish lunch to follow: Sept. 14, Rally Day service and "God's Work, Our Hands" Day of Service.

Holy Angels

Holy Angels Church, 855 Scott St., Kulpmont.

Pastor - The Rev. Andrew Stahmer.

Masses of Obligation - Saturday, 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.

Confessions - Saturday, 4 to 5 p.m.

Weekday Masses - Monday and Thursday, 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m.

Activities - Sunday, celebration of the Rev. Stahmer's 10th anniversary of his ordination and the 20th anniversary of Holy Angels Parish, 2 p.m.; Tuesday, bingo in the Holy Angels activity center, doors open at 4:30 p.m., and games begin at 6 p.m.

Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 150 E. Lincoln St., Shamokin.

Clergy - The Rev. Frederic G. Stevenson.

Sunday worship - Morning prayer, 10 a.m.

Participants - William Hazzard, lay leader; Susan Zaner, greeter; Linda Riley, intercessor; Frank Zaretski, lector; Grethel Vinup, organist.

Activities - Wednesday, Holy Eucharist and healing, 10 a.m.

Hope Community

Hope Community Church, non-denominational Bible church, 551 W. Fourth St., Mount Carmel.

Pastor - Dan Renno.

Christian education for all ages - 9 a.m.

Fellowship time - 9:45 a.m.

Praise and worship service - 10:15 a.m.

Living Power

Living Power Ministries, 45 E. Fourth St., Mount Carmel.

Pastor/teacher - Walt Kriskie.

Pre-service prayer - 10 a.m.

Praise and worship - 10:30 a.m., followed by celebration service.

Sunday evening service - 6 p.m.

Activities - Wednesday, mid-week Bible study, 7 p.m., refreshments served.

Miller's Crossroads

Miller's Crossroads UMC, 1929 Plum Creek Road, Stonington, Sunbury RR 4.

Pastor - Michelle Beissel.

Sunday school - 9 a.m.

Worship service - 10:15 a.m.

Participants - Betsy Bradigan, organist.

Ministry of the Water and Spirit

Ministry of the Water and Spirit Church, 915 High Road, Helfenstein.

Pastor - James Bowers.

Sunday service - 10 a.m.

God's Chuck Wagon is an outreach of the Ministry of the Water and Spirit.

Mother Cabrini

Mother Cabrini Church, North Shamokin Street, Shamokin.

Pastor - The Rev. Martin Kobos.

Parochial vicar - The Rev. Adam Ziolkowski.

Sunday Masses - Saturday, 4 p.m.; Sunday, 7, 9 and 11 a.m.

Confessions - Daily, 7:30 to 7:50 a.m.; Saturday, 3 to 3:45 p.m.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Activities - Monday, bingo at 6:15 p.m., parish hall; Friday, First Friday visits to the scheduled parish homebound after 9 a.m.

Mountainside

Mountainside Assembly of God, 1900 Trevorton Road, Coal Township.

Pastor - The Rev. Richard H. Earl.

Coffee and breakfast snacks for all - 9 a.m.

LIFEQuest Sunday school classes for all ages - 9:30 a.m., with nursery available.

Morning worship - 10:30 a.m. Nursery and children's church.

Youth night - 5 p.m. every other Sunday.

Activities - Wednesday, adult prayer and Bible study, Royal Rangers, ages 5 to 18, girls ministry, 6:30 p.m. Coffee served.

Monthly activities - First Sunday, communion and children's sermon, during 10:30 a.m. service; second Tuesday, Women of Purpose meeting, 7 p.m.

Mount Zion

Mount Zion Welsh Congregational United Church of Christ, Grace and Church streets, Shamokin.

Pastor - Gerald Lloyd Jr.

Worship service - 10:30 a.m.

Organist - Philip Maue.

Sacrament of Holy Communion will be celebrated the first Sunday of every month.

New Life Church

New Life Church of God, 129 W. Second St., Mount Carmel.

Interim pastor - The Rev. John D. Ashbaugh.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m.

Worship church - 10:30 a.m. Junior church and nursery available. Handicapped accessible, wheelchair available.

Activities - Prayer room open mornings; prayer, fellowship and coffee, Saturdays, 9 a.m.; Sunday, evening praise and worship service, 7 p.m.

Oak Grove UMC

Oak Grove United Methodist Church, Marley Road, Overlook.

Pastor - The Rev. Zachary Hopple.

Worship - 9 a.m.

Sunday school for all ages - 10:35 a.m.

Activities - Monday, Bible study, 6 p.m., First United Methodist Church; First and third Fridays, Open Arms outreach, 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Our Lady of Hope

Our Lady of Hope Parish, Chestnut and First streets, Coal Township.

Pastor - The Rev. Steven G. Frenier, OFM Conv.

Daily Masses - Monday through Friday, 7 a.m., Holy Spirit Chapel.

Weekend Masses - Saturday, 4 p.m.; Sunday, 7 and 11 a.m.

Holy day of obligation Mass - 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass and 7 a.m. morning of the holy day.

Sacrament of reconcil-iation - Saturday, 3 to 3:45 p.m.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 47 S. Market St., Mount Carmel.

Pastor - The Rev. Francis J. Karwacki.

Deacon - The Rev. Mr. Martin McCarthy.

Weekday Masses - 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday.

Weekend Masses - Saturday, 4 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 and 11 a.m.

Holy days of obligation - 6:30 p.m. on the eve, 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. on the holy day.

Confessions - Daily 7:30 to 7:55 a.m. including Saturday or any time by appointment; Saturday, 3 to 3:50 p.m.

Peifer's Evangelical

Peifer's Evangelical Congregational Church, Mandata Road, Herndon.

Pastor - Bradley D. Hatter.

Sunday school - 9 a.m.

Worship - 10:30 a.m.

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church, 599 W. Center St., Elysburg.

Pastor - The Rev. Joseph Scanlin.

Masses - Weekdays, 8 a.m.; Saturday, 5 p.m.; Sunday, 8 and 10:30 a.m.

Confessions - Saturday, 4 to 4:30 p.m.

Restoration Ministries

Restoration Ministries Church, 525 W. Chestnut St., Shamokin.

Pastor - Paul K. Eby.

Pre-service prayer - 9 a.m.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m. for all ages, JoAnne Long, superintendent.

Sunday worship service - 10:30 a.m. Pastor Paul will speak. The worship team will lead praise and worship. Special prayer will be available. Nursery care will also be available.

Children's church - 11:15 a.m. for ages 4 through 11, directed by Shirley Cintron.

Student Life Ministry youth service - 6:30 p.m. for all teens ages 12 to 18.

Activities - Monday, soup kitchen, 5 to 6 p.m.; Tuesday, cross training youth disciple class, dinner at 3 p.m., class taught by Fran Jones from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, Soul Seekers group for ages 18 and older, 7 p.m.

St. John Lutheran

St. John Lutheran, 29 High Road Danville.

Pastor - Kris Brown.

Sunday school - 9:15 a.m.

Worship service - 10:30 a.m.

St. John's UCC

St. John's United Church of Christ, 117 N. Eighth St., Shamokin.

Lay leader - David L. Spotts.

Speaker - The Rev. Lynn Wetzel.

Contemporary service - 9 a.m., sanctuary.

Coffee hour and fellowship time - 9:15 a.m., parlor.

Sunday school will resume on Sept. 13.

Blended worship service - 10:30 a.m., sanctuary. The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost.

Participants - David Searles, children's message; Geof Levan, guitarist/soloist; Margaret Morris, organist/choir director; Lisa Newton, lay reader; Michael Newton, acolyte.

Activities - Saturday, prayer group in the parlor, 10:30 a.m.; Sunday, blood pressure screening immediately following the blended service in the parlor; July 12 to 16, "G-Force! vacation Bible school," 6 to 8 p.m.

St. John's UMC

St. John's United Methodist Church, 1211 W. Arch St., Coal Township

Pastor - The Rev. Karyn Fisher.

Worship - 9 a.m.

Children's church and nursery - 9:20 a.m.

Sunday school for all ages - 10:30 a.m.

Remember to bring in your random everyday objects for the "Brown Paper Bag" summer sermon series.

Activities - Wednesday, Northumberland County Early Intervention playgroup, 10 to 11:30 a.m., mid-week prayer and Bible study, 1 Peter 3-4, 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, Narcotics Anonymous meeting, 7 p.m.; Friday, Narcotics Anonymous meeting, 8 p.m.; July 19, guest speaker Rachel Nicholson will share her experiences as a teaching missionary in Germany; July 26 to 31, vacation Bible school, "SonSpark Labs," 6 to 8 p.m.

St. Joseph's Church

St. Joseph's Church, 11th and Walnut streets, Ashland.

Pastor - The Rev. John W. Bambrick.

Sister Elizabeth Kealy, IHM, director of religious education.

Confessions - Saturday, 3 to 3:30 p.m. Any time by appointment.

Rosary prayed before all Masses.

Mass schedule - Today, 4 p.m. (Vigil for Sunday); Sunday, 8:30 a.m.; Monday and Tuesday, 8 a.m.; Wednesday, adoration all day from 9 a.m., concluding with night prayers, benediction and Miraculous Medal devotions at 4:45 p.m., Mass at 5 p.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m.; Friday, noon; first Fridays Sacred Heart devotions.

St. Ann's Chapel, open each day for prayer. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Wednesday, 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon; Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

St. Mark Lutheran

St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 225 N. Market St., Elysburg.

Worship leader - Pastor Kris Brown.

Worship service - 9 a.m.

Activities - Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Elysburg Senior Center open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday, AA, 7 p.m.; Thursday, Boy Scouts, 8 p.m.

St. Matthew Lutheran

St. Matthew (Slovak) Lutheran Church, 301 W. Avenue, Mount Carmel.

Interim pastor - The Rev. Alfred Bashore.

Guest speaker - Kevin Snyder

The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost.

Participants - Linda Rubendall, organist; Kenneth Kautter, lector, Joseph Melichercik, president; Thomas Pivarnik and William Snyder, ushers; Donna Lindenmuth, treasurer.

Services for the month of June will be held at St. Matthew's (Slovak) Lutheran Church. Next Sunday, services will be held at Grace Lutheran Church in the social room downstairs; it will be Food Pantry Sunday.

St. Michael Orthodox

St. Michael's Orthodox Church, 131 N. Willow St., Mount Carmel.

Pastor - The Rev. Theophan Marckey.

Divine Liturgy - 9 a.m.

St. Patrick

St. Patrick Church, 331 W. Shamokin St., Trevorton.

Pastor - The Rev. Steven G. Frenier, OFM Conv.

Weekend Mass - Sunday, 9 a.m.

Weekday Mass - 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Sacrament of reconciliation - Wednesday after morning Mass or during the day.

St. Paul Lutheran

St. Paul Lutheran Church, 4663 Upper Road, Gowen City.

Pastor - The Rev. David M. Byerly.

Service of Word and Sacrament - 8:15 a.m.

Participants - Claire Bonshock, lector; Claire Bonshock and Carol Shinskie, communion assistants; Jack Tobias, acolyte/crucifer; Walter Boyer, organist and choir director.

St. Paul's Reformed

St. Paul's Reformed United Church of Christ, Gowen City.

Pastor - Jerry Schlegel.

Worship time - 9 a.m.

Scriptures - 1 John 4:1-6.

Message - "Spiritual Proof."

Participants - Cliff Artman, organist.

St. Pauline Visintainer

St. Pauline Visintainer Center, 1150 Chestnut St., Box 115, Kulpmont.

"Chapel of the Crucified."

Eucharistic adoration - Friday, noon to midnight, and Saturday, 6 to 7 p.m.

St. Pauline Visintainer Center, open Saturday, Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.

Relics on display of Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, spouse of Mary, and St. Peter Apostle.

St. Peter's Lutheran

St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Aristes.

Interim pastor - The Rev. Alfred Bashore.

Service and Sacrament of Holy Communion - 9 a.m.

Participants - Linda Rubendall, organist; Carol Buffington, choir director, and Diane Wetzel, lector.

SS Peter and Paul

SS Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church, Avenue and Beech Street, Mount Carmel.

Pastor - The Very Rev. Archpriest Michael Hutsko.

Confessions - Saturday, 3:15 p.m., and Sunday, 8:15 a.m.

Weekday Divine Liturgies - 8 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Weekend Divine Liturgies - 4 p.m. Saturday and 9:15 a.m. Sunday.

Religious education classes - 6 to 7:15 p.m. Monday.

St. Peter's UCC

St. Peter's United Church of Christ, Overlook.

Pastor - Paul T. Gurba.

Morning worship - 8:30 a.m.

Sermon - "Dependence on God: Independence from the Bondage of Sin."

Verse - Romans 6:22: "Now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."

St. Stephen's

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Fourth and Maple streets, Mount Carmel.

Clergy - The Rev. Frederic Stevenson.

Service - 8:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist.

Handicapped accessible.

Second Saturday, 5 p.m. Holy Eucharist at the St. Stephen Center.

Salem UCC

Salem United Church of Christ, 1300 W. Pine St., Coal Township.

Pastor - The Rev. Jean Eckrod.

Morning worship will begin at 10 a.m.

Participants - A.J. Wetzel, acolyte; Suzzette Steinhart, lay leader; Julie Updegrove and JudyLynn Weaver, beginners class; Barbara Skrivanek, junior class; Carolyn Weaver, organist; Heather Potteiger and Suzzette Steinhart, greeters; Ruth Breslin, Joann and Larry Diorio and Linda Glosek, ushers; Dwayne Scicchitano, lighting/sound.

This is Food Pantry Sunday. Members are asked to bring non-perishable food items or household goods to be given to Manna for the Many, our local food pantry.

A quiet room for young infants and nursery care for infants and toddlers is available during the morning worship hour at 10 a.m. Christian education is provided for children ages 3 to 12 immediately after children's time at the beginning of the worship service.

Activities - Sunday, retirement dinner, following morning worship service; Tuesday, Coal Township High Rise worship service, 11 a.m.

Salvation Army

Christian Enrichment Center, 1300 W. Spruce St., Coal Township.

Commanding officer - Maj. Tina Streck.

Holiness meeting (worship) - 9:30 a.m.

Sunday school - 10:45 a.m.

Seibert Evangelical

Seibert Evangelical Congregational Church, Route 147, Herndon.

Pastor - Bradley D. Hatter.

Worship - 9 a.m.

Sunday school - 10:15 a.m.

Seventh Street

Seventh Street Primitive Methodist Church, 34 N. Seventh St., Shamokin.

Pastor - The Rev. David Wildoner.

Sunday school - 10 a.m.

Morning worship and children's church - 11 a.m.

A nursery is available for children up to age 5. Children's church is available for children over 5 with a focus on lessons from the Bible.

Activities - Monday, quarterly conference meeting, 7 p.m.; July 6, trustee board meeting, 7 p.m.; July 15, church picnic at Knoebels Pavilion H.

Shamokin Alliance

Shamokin Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, Second and Arch streets, Shamokin.

Pastor - Samuel Bellavia.

Sunday school - 9:45 a.m. Classes available for all ages.

Worship services - 8:30 and 10:50 a.m.

Wednesday ministries - 6 to 7:30 p.m. Age range is four years to high school senior.

Evening service - 7 p.m.

Offered are small groups and cottage prayer meetings for adults. Contact church at 570-644-1718 for information.

Shamokin Seventh Day Adventist

Shamokin Seventh Day Adventist Church, 7 E. Sunbury St., Shamokin (former Jewish synagogue), 570-648-7770.

Pastor - John Peters.

Saturday sabbath school - 9:30 a.m., with classes for children and adults.

Saturday worship - 11 a.m.

Tuesday, Bible studies, 5 p.m.

Stonington Baptist

Stonington Baptist Church, Hosta Road, Paxinos.

Pastor - The Rev. J. Douglas Hallman.

Sunday school - 9 a.m.

Morning worship - 10 a.m.

Evening service - 6 p.m.

Activities - Wednesday, AWANA clubs for children in kindergarten through sixth grade and Word of Life clubs for grades 7 to 12, 6:30 p.m., prayer service, 7 p.m.

Trevorton UMC

Trevorton United Methodist Church, Shamokin Street, Trevorton,

Pastor - The Rev. Al Schell Jr.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m.

Worship service - 10:45 a.m.

Nancy Korenkiewicz, pianist, organist and choir director.

Activities - Thursdays, Bible study taught by Roxanne Klinger, 7 p.m.; second Tuesday of month, United Methodist Women, 7 p.m.

Trinity Evangelical

Trinity Evangelical Congregational Church, 28 W. Arch St., Shamokin.

Pastor - The Rev. Brian C. Betsworth.

Worship service - 10:45 a.m. at Antioch Place.

Activities - Wednesday, Recovery in Christ, a new Bible-based 12-step support group, 5:30 p.m., prayer and Bible study at Antioch Place, 7 p.m.

Trinity Lutheran

Trinity Lutheran Church, 65 E. Sunbury St., Shamokin.

Pastor - The Rev. David Hauck.

Worship service - 10 a.m.

Participants - Linda Leschinskie, lector; Darian Jones, communion assistant; Corey Levi, cantor; Andrew Jones, acolyte; Jan Morrison, organist; Carol Eidam, altar guild; Ron Manney, counter.

True Grace

True Grace Bible Ministry, 950 W. Arch St., Coal Township.

Pastor/teacher - Michael Marcheskie.

Sunday school - 9:30 a.m.

Sunday service - 10:30 a.m., with children's study time.

United Presbyterian

United Presbyterian Church, 100 E. Fifth St., Mount Carmel.

Minister - The Rev. Edmund Minnich

Worship service - 11 a.m.

Message - "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

Scripture - John 15:12-17.

Participants - Dale Schimpf, organist; Deb Wydra, acolyte; Ellsworth George, Andrew Mekosh and Robert Shaw, ushers; Dorothy Snyder, greeter.

Victory Bible Church

Victory Bible Church, Snydertown Highway, three miles from Elysburg.

Pastor - Kevin Kline.

Worship - 10 a.m., with Sunday school for youth at the same time.

Evening worship - 7 p.m.

Wilburton UMC

Wilburton United Methodist Church, Wilburton.

Pastor - Rose M. Marquardt.

Worship service - 8:45 a.m.

Children's Sunday school - 10 a.m.

Zion UMC

Zion United Methodist Church, Aristes.

Pastor - The Rev. Rose M. Marquardt.

Worship service - 9:50 a.m.

Children's Sunday school - 10 a.m.

Zion Methodist

Zion United Methodist Church, Trevorton Road, Coal Township.

Pastor - The Rev. Betty Ford.

Sunday school - 10:30 a.m.

Worship - 11 a.m.

The Rainbow Club met June 14. Twenty members attended.

Ruth Romanoski, president, opened with a prayer, Pledge of Allegiance and the Over Fifty song. Birthdays were celebrated with song and applause. Refreshments and paper products were donated by Romanoski, Florence Verano, Donna Mordan, Barbara Yuricich, Irene Grow, Rose Milbrand, Leib Reiprish, Margaret Neary, Rose Witt, Gloria Shawda and Marcy Reidinger.

On May 17 the club held its annual Mass and banquet so there was no meeting.

Romanoski gave the health report. Verano, club treasurer, gave her report. Mass cards were sent to the deceased members' families. Club members enjoyed a trip on June 4 to see "Joseph." The next trip will be July 16 to see "Twist and Shout!" at Hunterdon Hills. Those who wish to attend should call Verano at 570-648-0949. Payments are now being accepted for the show.

The 50/50 winners were Ann Koshinski and Chet Purcell. The attendance was won by Grow. Shawda and Reidinger each won a cake. Mordan called bingo. She is also substituting for Dolly Yocum as secretary. Koshinski, vice president, sold tickets and helped with bingo. Romanoski then read a poem.

The next meeting will be July 12, and members are asked to bring a covered dish.

The meeting was closed with a prayer.

MOUNT CARMEL - Power was out for nearly six hours Saturday for approximately 313 PPL customers after a utility pole caught fire.

Electric service was interrupted about 10 a.m. and resumed about 3:45 p.m., PPL reported.

The pole that caught fire was in the area of the industrial park along the Locust Gap Highway just west of Mount Carmel Borough.

Those without power were in the borough and Mount Carmel Township, including Locust Gap, Connersville and Dooleyville.

June is a month of commemorations in France. It began with D-Day ceremonies, re-enactments and parades on and near the Normandy beaches where the Allies made their first landings on June 6, 1944.

This year, June 18 marked the 75th anniversary of General de Gaulle's call to the French nation. On that date in 1940, in a recording studio at the BBC in London, he dared predict a French victory over the Nazis only one day after Marshal Petain, vice premier of France at the time, called for an armistice with Germany and accepted French defeat.

On that same date 200 years ago, Napoleon Bonaparte lost the battle of Waterloo, an event that is commemorated, although certainly not celebrated, in France. Instead, it is the man himself who is everywhere in the news, celebrated as general, emperor, reformer, brilliant strategist, but also presented as a tyrant who terrorized Europe.

Those are the big events and there is probably not a Frenchman alive who has not heard of Napoleon or de Gaulle.

Few, however, remember the Tulle murders, 99 hangings that took place on the afternoon of June 9, 1944.

I myself had never heard of this event until, as for the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp I wrote about last month, I saw a commemorative ceremony on the evening news.

On June 9, President François Hollande went to Tulle to pay homage to the 99 men hanged because on June 8, 1944, they briefly but successfully chased German occupation forces from their city. On the day following the attack, the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich arrived on the scene to brutally retaliate.

Tulle is a small city in southwest France. In 1944, its population was about 16,000. Today, it is closer to 12,000. The town sits in a valley surrounded by mountains, and through its center flows the Correze River. If the name is familiar to readers, it may be because of the lightweight netting used to produce bridal veils and ballerina's tutus named after the town where it is still made.

In 1944, French resistance fighters affiliated with the French Communist Party were active in the city and the region. The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich had been sent there in part to regroup after heavy losses on the Eastern Front, in part to wipe out resistance fighters, known as "maquisards" in French because they are associated with the "maquis," an isolated area thick with brush, difficult to penetrate.

As the Allies landed in Normandy, German forces in southwest France were busy perpetrating the same measures of terror they had used against local populations in the East. Their mission was to encircle and destroy resistance fighters, suspected sympathizers and any civilians who got in their way.

On June 10, 1944, one day after the hangings in Tulle, a detachment of the 2nd SS Panzer Division destroyed an entire village on the outskirts of Limoges, another city of southwest France.

Throughout all the years of the war, inhabitants of Oradour-sur-Glane had almost never come in contact with German soldiers and the village was not known for harboring resistance fighters. Yet all the men were gunned down, and the women and children were set on fire in the village church, 642 in all.

In Tulle, the Germans sought to destroy the Resistance. In the successful attack against occupation forces lead by the FTP (Franc Tireurs et Partisans, civilian soldiers and partisans), 40 German soldiers were killed.

The following day, posters put up throughout Tulle announced, "Forty German soldiers were abominably killed by members of a Communist group. For its members and those who helped them, there can only be one punishment: death by hanging. Forty German soldiers were killed; 120 fighters or their accomplices will be hanged and their bodies thrown into the river."

On the day leading up to the hangings, thousands of men were assembled and a selection process began. Local French officials were later accused of turning over resistant fighters to the Germans, but the final selection was made by the Germans themselves.

At about four in the afternoon on June 9 the hangings began. The men were led by groups of 10 to a main street of Tulle, where a waiting noose was hanging from each tree, street lamp and balcony. German soldiers volunteered to be the hangmen of the 99 men killed that afternoon. Other soldiers looked on, seated at the terrace of a cafe where they drank fine French wine and listened to music on a phonograph.

For some reason, at the end of the day of June 9, 1944, only 99 of the 120 men had been hanged. German soldiers boasted they were used to this kind of killing; they had hanged thousands in Russia. But in France, where the guillotine was used for the last time in 1977 and the death penalty abolished in 1981, hanging was not part of the justice system and its use inflicted on victims a symbolic exclusion from the community.

On the day of the hangings, except for the sound of a phonograph, all was silent. This atmosphere of terror and death made me think of other hangings, those that took place in the Schuylkill and Carbon County jails in 1877. I am referring to the Molly Maguires.

I had always imagined those executions taking place in winter beneath a cold, gray sky heavy with snow. When I opened "The Kingdom of Coal" by Dennis L. Miller and Richard E. Sharpless, one of my favorite books about the coal region, to search for the date, I discovered those 10 men went to the gallows on the first day of summer, June 21, 1877.

In the year and a half that followed, 10 more Irishmen were hanged. Although there is still debate and controversy about the activities and the goals of the Molly Maguires, few would dispute the unfairness of the trials that lead to these men's deaths.

In June, rosebushes are heavy with blooms and in Paris, the air has the delicious scent of linden flowers. It is a lovely time of year. Yet it is also a month where history calls us to vigilance as it recalls the destructive powers of hatred and war.

(Honicker can be reached at honicker.republican

herald@gmail.com)

COAL TOWNSHIP - The June meeting of the Catholic Council of Women was held at the rectory of Our Lady of Hope Church.

The meeting was opened by Margaret Forbes with the prayer to Our Lady of Good Council and the Pledge of Allegiance. Secretary Dolly Yocum read the minutes from the May meeting. Forbes approved them, and they were filed.

Forbes purchased Father's Day prayer cards which were to be distributed at all Masses.

The treasurer, Violet Feudale, gave her report on the Mother's Day carnation sale. The sale was a huge success. A donation was given to the festival in May and chanced off. Yearly dues can still be paid.

A 50th anniversary Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Gainer at All Saints Cemetery, Bear Gap, at 11 a.m. July 4. Bring your own chair. Bishop Gainer will also be in Kulpmont July 9 at the Saint Pauline Center. All are invited.

A bakeless cake sale will be held July 22 and 23. Envelopes will be given to all to donate. The meeting to be held July 21 will be a covered dish picnic style. Bring a favorite dish.

HARRISBURG - State Reps. Kurt Masser and Lynda Schlegel-Culver were among those from the House of Representatives who voted Saturday in favor of a $30.18 billion legislative budget proposal, which includes no tax increases.

The bill passed 112-77 after two hours of debate during an unusual weekend session with just four days left in the state's fiscal year. It now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to pass the Republican-controlled chamber as early as Monday. However, it faces a near-certain veto by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, and without an enacted budget package by Wednesday, the Wolf administration will lose some spending authority, particularly for a wide variety of human and social services.

Culver alluded to that possibility.

"I have concerns that some of our most vulnerable citizens could have their programs impacted if the governor doesn't sign a budget," she said.

Masser (R-107), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said he worked with his colleagues for three months to generate a "responsible spending plan," and he's proud of the result.

"I've had budget conversations with a lot of people, and while some have asked that I support the governor's budget proposal, which would raise spending by 16 percent, the overwhelming majority of people felt that they are already paying too much in taxes," he was quoted in a statement from his office. "The governor had zeroed out critical agriculture items in his proposal, and this legislative budget plan we passed today restores and increases line items related to our state's No. 1 industry."

He said the tax increases that would be necessary to fund the governor's budget proposal were put up for a vote in the form of an amendment to a tax code bill on June 1, "and not one House member voted in favor of those tax increases."

One of the main concerns throughout the budget process has been education funding. The budget passed in the House would provide a $100 million increase for basic education funding; $25 million increase for Pre-K Counts and a $5 million increase for Headstart, which will help to approximately serve an additional 3,500 children; and a $20 million increase for special education, Masser said.

"The legislative budget would also fully fund the $1.7 billion Act 120 required school employee retirement contribution payment. Pennsylvania's public pension system is currently facing a more than $50 billion pension debt. Public pension reform needs to be addressed by the Legislature, but I am glad that this budget funds the $1.7 billion payment requirement."

Democrats, however, have blasted the plan for leaving education aid below 2010's levels and said it was balanced on more than $1.5 billion in stopgaps that would worsen a long-term structural deficit that has left Pennsylvania's bond rating in the nation's basement.

Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Pittsburgh, echoed the Wolf administration's contention that payment delays built into the GOP plan would mean just $8 million in increased aid to public schools.

"Let me tell you something about this budget," Frankel said. "Three cents. Three pennies. That's how much our kids' education is worth in the Republican budget before us, a net increase of $8 million in education funding split between 1.8 million students over the course of 180 days. Three cents per student, per day. Shameful."

The Republican budget plan does not increase any broad-based taxes, it cuts corporate taxes and assumes that tax collections will grow slowly next year, at less than 1 percent. It also would count on $220 million in projected licensing receipts from yet-to-be-passed legislation to privatize the state-controlled wine and liquor store system. Wolf opposes the system's privatization.

Despite Saturday's progress in the House, a budget in time for Wednesday fiscal year deadline seems unlikely.

"It's far from over," said Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia.