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Schuylkill Haven distillery permitted to extend hours

A popular Schuylkill Haven distillery will be allowed to stay open past midnight on select days. Lori Michael, owner of Main Street Moonshine, attended the Dec. 1 borough council meeting to request her business be allowed an R license.

“It doesn’t change a whole lot,” Michael told council. “It expands our hours and it takes away the requirement that 50% of the alcohol has to be our spirits. We have no intention to stay open until 2 a.m. We’re not that kind of place.”

Michael continued that the only time the establishment would look to stay open later than normal would be on special occasions such as New Year’s Eve.

Along with the extension of allowable hours, Michael said that without the new license, only Pennsylvania distilled products, Pennsylvania wines and Pennsylvania beers can be sold. “We’ll be able to sell more products.”

Borough Secretary Kaitlyn Tinari said that Michael’s request was advertised prior to the meeting. After a short discussion in which council President Kurt Montz said the town should be encouraging business, council unanimously approved the request. Councilmen Thomas Gordon and Kevin Kline were absent from the meeting.

During the meeting, Michael also shared her idea that Schuylkill Haven hold a St. Patrick’s Day parade as some nearby communities do.

“The parade would run from the high school down to Main Street Moonshine,” Michael said, noting that she has quite a few people on board with the idea, including businesses, and that the parade would include business floats, pipe bands, high school bands, and bagpipers.

Borough police Chief Jeffrey Walcott was in attendance and confirmed that he has spoken with Michael about the idea and that the proposed parade would take the same route as the town Memorial Day parade.

Councilman Jerry Bowman expressed concern about attendees possibly becoming rowdy and having open containers on the street.

“We would not condone that,” Walcott responded, ensuring council that if the parade were to happen, his force would be on patrol making sure everyone behaved.

Michael said she would be sharing the idea with the borough business association.

After some discussion, council informally agreed that the idea sounded good and unanimously passed a motion that allows Walcott to begin working on plans with Michael and allows Michael to begin raising funds for the idea.

In other business, the 2022 borough budget was unanimously passed. There will be no tax or fee increases for borough residents for 2022.

Montz suggested the borough post future preliminary budgets on its website. Currently preliminary budgets are posted in key locations such as the library, senior center, and borough office.

Wreaths Across America, a program that remembers fallen soldiers and honors those who serve, will make a stop in Schuylkill Haven on Dec. 16 at noon at the St. Ambrose Church Cemetery, Schuylkill Memorial Park Cemetery, Schuylkill Union Cemetery, Cressona Cemetery, Tamaqua Cemetery and Ashland Cemetery.

Mayor Michael Devlin encouraged attendance at the event, calling it “quite a sight to see.”

Devlin also reported that the town Christmas tree lighting was a huge success with hundreds of people attending, and he credited late Councilman Paul Bedway’s family for donating new lighting.


Source: Berkshire mont

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