The superintendent of the Jersey Shore Area School District has been charged with driving under the influence.

According to state police, Richard Emery’s blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit last month when he crashed in Northumberland County.

Newswatch 16 spoke with the Jersey Shore area superintendent Tuesday, but he had no comment on the charge. He is still on the job.

Emery could be looking for some way to save his job. He has been superintendent in the district for more than seven years and is now facing charges he was drunk behind the wheel the Friday before Easter.

Troopers said Emery crashed along Route 147 near Milton and had bloodshot, glassy eyes. Court papers state Emery was unable to keep his balance during the sobriety test, and a blood test showed he had a blood alcohol of .21 percent, well over the legal limit.

A power mower is not a pleasant machine whether you ride it, push it or walk behind it as it ambles along over your home turf. The sound of it is annoying, it’s work a chore that needs repeating almost weekly not to mention maintenance; in short, not a very pleasant device at all. Still, I do seek the good among the bad and I have fortunately been able to determine two worthwhile qualities in support of it. They aren’t much but it’s all I have.

First, there is the walk. I do not have a riding mower though friends of mine do and their yards are a postage stamp by comparison; to each his own. My mower is self-propelled which means all I do is walk behind it. One day I got out my GPS and carried it with me as I went. I created a pattern that allowed for one continuous run with as few stops as possible. When I finished I found I had walked one point eight miles within the boundaries of my yard. Not too shabby.