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Hazleton man charged with selling crack cocaine

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Rain, severe thunderstorms possible in the Wyoming Valley this weekend

CLARKS SUMMIT &#8212; At the Clarks Summit Borough Council work session April 28, council discussed issues regarding the borough&#8217;s compliance with MS4 requirements, and steps the borough is taking to comply with MS4.Council is expected to vote on Resolution 2015-08 to adopt the MS4 O and M manual at the regular council meeting May 6. Borough Manager Virginia Kehoe told council MS4 is the borough&#8217;s storm water permit received through the federal government, and run by the state. The borough has to complete an annual report, as well as make adjustments regarding issues identified from the Environmental Protection Agency&#8217;s spot inspection last year.There were three issues the EPA had with the borough&#8217;s MS4 requirements; the implementation of a manual, training and education, and one defect of approved storm water planning, according to Kehoe.&#8220;Everything that was in this letter has been addressed,&#8221; Kehoe said.One of the borough&#8217;s issues was a failure to develop and maintain a maintenance manual for municipal operations. The borough has a manual it&#8217;s currently using, but it was suggested council vote on the resolution to formally adopt the manual, and that will go into the annual report to the state Department of Environmental Protection.Kehoe told council, &#8220;The employee training (requirement) is taking place as needed, but we also need to do public education outreach. There has to be different forms of education.&#8221;Council reviewed ideas for biannual public education meetings for MS4 requirements. Kehoe suggested inviting residents in the July 1 newsletter to attend an information session at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 5 before the regular August council meeting. &#8220;A session on storm water and sewer also helps us with Chesapeake Bay initiative,&#8221; Kehoe said.In other news, Abington Community Library Trustee Carol Rubel told the Clarks Summit Borough Council, according to the library&#8217;s 2015 report, the Abington Community Library has the second highest circulation in the county, second only to the Albright Memorial Library.Rubel said, &#8220;We&#8217;re really trying to make the library a central place for people to be the best they can be.&#8220;Our staff does 70 to 80 percent of the work that Albright does with far fewer staff,&#8221; she told council, adding the library is open 71 hours a week and that the library&#8217;s 225,000 pieces of data are circulated an average of four times per year.&#8220;We are really proud of who we are and what we do.&#8221;Council member Pat Williams commended Rubel on the library&#8217;s work in the community and said, &#8220;Every time I go there, the girls are so polite and helpful.&#8221;

Clarks Summit borough to comply with state storm water requirements