WGRC Christian Radio

LOCK HAVEN - A jury in Clinton County has reached a guilty verdict in a rape trial involving a former Lock Haven University student. Domenique Wilson is accused of raping two Lock Haven University students at knife point and assaulting a third in their apartment near campus on Super Bowl Sunday last year. The jury heard emotional testimony this week from the victims about the attack. They said Wilson was in their apartment when the arrived home and that he threatened them repeatedly with the knife during the five-hour ordeal. The jury deliberated less than an hour before reaching the guilty verdict just before Noon today. He will be sentenced in June. Wilson faces similar charges in Philadelphia.
John Callahan (WGRC w/WNEP and The Express)   

WILLIAMSPORT - A Cogan Station, Lycoming County, man is facing a host of charges after police arrested him this afternoon at a Williamsport car wash/Laundromat for allegedly having soliciting sex on the internet with who he thought was a 13 year old girl, but was actually a female Michigan police officer. Fifty-three year old Bruce Daugherty began an on-line relationship with the officer shortly before Christmas and police say he was accessing the internet to talk with her when he was taken into custody. Daugherty's bail is set at $75,000 straight cash.
(WRAK)

STATE COLLEGE - Centre County Law Enforcement, working together on a joint investigation, arrested three men during the early morning hours today on various felony offenses. The offenses include burglary, possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of firearms. The three suspects are in police custody and will be arraigned later today.  At the time of their arrests, police found evidence that linked the suspects to a residential burglary and an attempted theft from a vehicle in State College.
Police have not yet identified the suspects, but say additional charges against them are expected.
John Callahan (WGRC)

JERSEY SHORE - In Lycoming County, the quartermaster for the VFW post in Jersey Shore has been ordered to stand trial on theft charges. Thomas Maines gave up his right to a preliminary hearing today in Jersey Shore. The case now goes to court. Maines was in charge of buying items for the VFW post.  Investigators said he stole more than $73,000 over the past four years. He is accused of writing 55 checks to himself and pocketing the money. According to the VFW post commander, Maines is also facing action from within the organization, which includes its version of a court marshal.
(WNEP)

MILLERS CORNER - A suspect in a 2008 burglary arrested in Schuylkill County. Troopers say D-N-A evidence left at the crime scene on Arapahoe Circle in Valley of the Lakes development in North Union Township in December 2008 led them to 26-year old Joseph Yanochko. Yanochko is accused of getting inside the home of Bernard and Margaret Kulkusky through an unlocked window. Yanochko is said to have ransacked the home and made off with two handguns, a baseball card collection and $50 in coins and cash. Yanochko was arrested and arraigned yesterday. He's currently jailed unable to post $20,000 bail.
John Callahan (WGRC)

SUNBURY - Police are investigating a burglary at a home outside Sunbury in Northumberland County. That happened Tuesday sometime between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the home of 51-year-old Steven and 50-year-old Susan Knoebel along Mile Post Road in Upper Augusta Township. Police say the bandits got away with several guns a laptop computer, printer, digital camera, television, and jewelry.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

UNIVERSITY PARK - A dining hall caught fire at Penn State Behrend Monday night. No one was hurt in the fire which broke out sometime between 11:30 p.m. and midnight Monday in the gazebo at the west end of Dobbins Dining Hall. The dining hall was closed for the night, and police do not believe anyone was inside the building at the time of the fire. Firefighters were able to put out the flames quickly, but the gazebo was destroyed and a portion of the building sustained major smoke and water damage. The building has been deemed unusable. An investigation is ongoing to assess the total cost of the damage and the cause of the fire.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

BLOOMSBURG - An alleged parole violator ran away when sheriff deputies knocked on his door Tuesday afternoon, but he was caught when authorities blocked a trailhead with a car. 24-year-old Joshua Long was on parole for criminal trespass, but he violated his release terms. Columbia County Sheriff's Deputies tried to serve a warrant on Long at a home on East Main Street, when he allegedly darted out a back door. The Press Enterprise reports, Long ran to the Rails to Trails entrance, but he had nowhere else to go, when the sheriff's department had blocked the entrance with its car. Long could now face charges of attempted escape and related counts.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - A trial is underway in Lycoming County for a former teacher accused of sending students sexually explicit messages. One student after another testified to having been linked to 42-year-old Leon Bodle, their former substitute and home school teacher who taught them while working at Williamsport Area School District and at Sugar Valley Rural Charter School near Loganton. Bodle remains in Lycoming County Prison, charged with 41 counts. The trial is anticipated to conclude Thursday.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

LOCK HAVEN - Closing arguments are expected today in a Clinton County rape trial. Police say three Lock Haven University students were held captive for five hours and two of them raped on Super Bowl Sunday last year. 23-year-old Domenique Wilson, took the sand in his own defense yesterday saying he was never in the students apartment. Investigators say however; that Wilson's DNA was found on the rape victims. Wilson is facing very similar rape charges in Philadelphia.
(WNEP)

TREVORTON - A 69-year-old Trevorton man who allegedly allowed a 14-year-old boy to drive his car in exchange for sex has been charged by state police with various morals offenses. Willett Earnest, has sent his charges on to Northumberland County Court and remains free on  $100-thousand dollars bail. Police say Earnest committed the offenses with the boy at his home  on December 27th.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

BUCK RUN - A half-million dollar excavating machine was destroyed over the weekend when someone drove it off a 100-foot embankment, in Schuylkill County. Reading Anthracite General Manager Frank Derrick says, "The person must have had a key to start it up, and knew what he was doing and be able to travel with the machine."  State police at Frackville are investigating the incident, which happened sometime between late Saturday afternoon and Monday morning at a company mine site. Reading Anthracite is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - The Williamsport Area School Board approved a sale and lease agreement Tuesday night with the city and Williamsport Parking Authority, officially surrendering its District Service Center site to preparation for the planned Kohl's department store. The city will purchase the administration building's 40,000-square-foot location at 201 West Third Street for $1.2 million, with an initial down payment of $500,000 and another $700,000 at closing. The Sun Gazette reports, the district voted to sell the structure in January, though refrained from approving an agreement until negotiations and a closing date were agreed upon.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

NEW COLUMBIA - Two hundred people will lose their jobs in about three months when CMC Joist and Deck in Union County shuts its doors. The closing of the New Columbia plant is being blamed on declining sales. The CMC factory produced steel joists commonly used in large buildings, such as big-box retail stores and high-profile sports arenas. The plant owned by Commercial Metals Company annually produced and shipped approximately 45,000 tons of product to construction sites throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions. The company produced the joists used in Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion and Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

BELLEFONTE - Centre County commissioners appointed 12 people to the county's newly formed natural gas task force. The county planning office is coordinating the task force, which will gather and share information about the growing industry with residents, municipalities and businesses. A 16- member subcommittee was also formed. Three elected officials or their representatives will serve as members. The Centre Daily Times reports, task force members will serve staggered, three-year terms. They will research and exchange information about topics such as industrial development opportunities, workforce development, environmental concerns and legal issues.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

LOCK HAVEN - The three Clinton County Commissioners went on record Monday as favoring a proposal to withdraw water from the West Branch of the Susquehanna River near Hyner Bridge. While not directly involved in the zoning process that holds legal sway in Chapman Township, the commissioners, led by Tom Bossert in this matter, offered their support to the proposal for natural gas driller in Clinton County. Bossert likened the possibilities from the gas drilling industry as having the potential for "employment with income not seen in western Clinton County since the railroad and lumber eras." Bossert tells the Lock Haven Express the commissioners are offering their support because of their long-standing policy of advocacy for economic health and employment. Last week, the township Zoning Hearing Board held a special hearing on a request by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. to withdraw hundreds of thousands of gallons of water from the river near Hyner Bridge to support its drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region. The plan has raised some concerns among residents and state and local officials because of the scenic nature of the area below Hyner View and high traffic that would occur on Route 120 and the Hyner Mountain Road. The zoning board has not yet made a decision on whether to allow the process as proposed by the natural gas company.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

NEW BERLIN - A town hall meeting will be held tonight in the borough of New Berlin in Union County surrounding the Borough's energy independence project. Members of PPL Electric Utilities will be available to residents to help them understand how to use energy wisely. The meeting will be held at seven p.m. at the New Berlin Fire Company Social Hall. The program will discuss new energy efficiency programs, rebates and incentives from PPL Electric Utilities, and how electric choice can help residents spend less for electricity.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

MIDDLEBURG - Snyder County will pay $22-hundred dollars a month to cover the cost of a second assistant district attorney, hiring a lawyer who originally was brought in to help cover the courts after the former district attorney became a county judge. Jeremiah Runkle was assigned as a secondary, temporary assistant district attorney last year, he will now hold the position of second assistant district attorney. Michael Piecuch, appointed as district attorney last month, requested that the commissioners resume Runkle's compensation at the same rate. Piecuch has reduced other budget items in order to cover the cost of Runkle's independent contract. The Daily Item reports, Runkle will continue working for Snyder County through December 31st.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)    

POTTSVILLE - The Schuylkill County Republican Committee voted Tuesday to endorse State Senator David Argall as the GOP challenger against U.S. Representative Tim Holden. Argall was joined by fellow Republican candidates Frank Ryan, a Lebanon County military veteran, and Josh First, a Harrisburg businessman. A fourth candidate, Myerstown Baptist minister Allen Griffith, is also in the race. The Republican candidate selected in the May 18 Primary Election will face the winner between Holden and his primary challenger, Sheila Dow-Ford, Harrisburg. The committee held its endorsement meeting Tuesday evening at the Humane Fire Company, Third and Laurel streets, Pottsville, where each candidate gave a short presentation to the committee members and fielded questions from the audience. The 17th Congressional District includes Dauphin, Lebanon, Schuylkill and parts of Perry and Berks counties.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

MAHANOY CITY - A Mahanoy City man has announced his candidacy for the republican nomination in the 123rd district race. 23-year-old Ettore Dicasimirro, a student at Penn State University, is gathering support to appear on the republican ballot in the May primary. Democrat Neal Goodman is the incumbent in that district seat. Dicasimirro works with his family business, Skytop Coal and Oil company.
(WPPA)

WILLIAMSPORT - It won't be too much longer until Lycoming County's River Walk in Williamsport and South Williamsport will be complete and just in time for the warmer weather. Dedication and grand opening of the $2.5 million dollar walkway along the Susquehanna River is tentatively planned for May 15th. Mark Marawski of the County Planning Commission says they are working with Penn DOT to fence off an area on Commerce Park and build a walkway across the street for River Walk parking.
(WRAK)