WGRC Christian Radio

FLEMINGTON - Three 18-year-olds from Clinton County are facing charges including theft from a motor vehicle and offense against the United States Flag following an incident early Thursday morning. Police say Justin Bower of Mill Hall, Jordan Rich of Flemington and Rocky Muthler of Lock Haven were caught stelaing the items form vehcile belonging to three residents in the Hillview Area of Flemington. They also were charged with breaking a flag pole and removing the American Flag from one home and throwing it on the ground. The three are also charged with resisting arrest and underage drinking.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

LEWISTOWN - Mifflin County police nab a burglar. Mifflin County Regional Police investigated a burglary at a Logan Street residence in Lewistown that happened last Monday. A large amount of jewelry was taken along with alcohol. Last Thursday the victim discovered that some of the jewelry had been sold to a local jewelry store. The jeweler identified the person who sold him the items. Police arrested 20-year old Drew Fultz of 64 Logan Street in Lewistown after finding other stolen jewelry at his residence. He is jailed after being unable to post $25,000 bail.
John Callahan (WGRC)

PLEASANT GAP - A Centre County woman is dead after a crash early Sunday morning. The unidentified young Bellefonte woman died and an unidentified man suffered severe injuries after the car they were in rolled off the road at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the 500 block of East College Avenue in Pleasant Gap. Police tell the Centre Daily Times, both the woman and the young man were flown to the Altoona trauma center. The woman died later in the morning. The man was going into surgery. Police continue to investigate.
John Callahan (WGRC)

SELINSGROVE - A Snyder County man is in jail for having indecent contact with a young girl. Troopers say 30-year old Brian Wagner of Selinsgrove had an ongoing sexual relationship with a 15-year old girl at a residence on Fair Oak Road in Penn Township for about two weeks starting on July 12th. Wagner is currently jailed on a probation violation.
John Callahan (WGRC)

UNDATED - Thousands of residents across the WGRC listening area were without power both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon as powerful storms rolled across the region. As of early this morning PPL still had over 200 people without power in the WGRC listening area. The heaviest concentration of outages was in Lancaster County where nearly three thousand people were still without power as of this morning. The outages happened amid widespread reports of downed trees and a few reported transformer and pole fires. A possible twister touched down in Northwestern Lycoming County. The National Weather Service has not confirmed the twister.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

DANVILLE - A Catawissa man has died due to injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash on July 4th in Columbia County. The Press Enterprise reports 25-year-old Shawn Richendrfer died Sunday from injuries he suffered three weeks ago in a motorcycle crash on Route 42. Shawn died Sunday morning at Geisinger Medical Center, where he had been a patient since the July 4th crash. Police say Richendrfer lost control of the bike rounding a curve and crashed into some trees.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

HEGGINS- A Pitman driver was flown to Geisinger over the weekend for injuries in an one car accident. Twenty-five year old Nikki Klock was traveling south on route 125 when police say she went off the road and struck a tree head-on. She was flown to Geisinger with moderate injuries.  Police plan on filing DUI charges.
Drew Faust  (WGRC)

FLEMINGTON - Fire crews rushed out Sunday afternoon to put out a fire in Clinton County. The fire was reported just after two p.m. at 607 Canal Street in Flemington. Crews remained on the scene for about an hour-and-a-half.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

SUNBURY - A state police fire marshal is investigating a series of arson fires on Edison Avenue in Sunbury that caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage early Saturday. The fires which were reported around four a.m. destroyed a garage, car and carport in the 800 block of Edison, a brush fire near a boat in the 900 block, and a fire at a boat parked at the Rescue Hose Company, at 800 Edison Avenue.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

DUBOISTOWN - Two fires one in DuBoistown and another near Lairdsville, in Lycoming County left several people homeless Friday afternoon. DuBoistown fire officials said no one was home just before one p.m.. when a fire was reported at Adam and Beth Casella and their two young son's house at 2636 Riverside Drive. Beth Casella arrived shortly after the fire was first reported and got the family's pets out of the home safely. DuBoistown Fire Chief Richard Knecht tells the Sun Gazette it appeared the fire started in a bedroom on the second floor. The cause of the fire remained under investigation. Damage estimates are near $30,000. The other house fire was reported just after 4 p.m. in the 4900 block of Moreland Baptist Road in Franklin Township. The entire home was engulfed in flames when crews arrived. A family of four also was left homeless by that blaze. No one was injured in either fire.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

LEWISTOWN - A 3-year-old boy is credited with alerting his parents early Saturday morning after fire broke out at their Delaware Avenue home in Juniata Terrace. Young Gavin Beers woke up around 3 a.m. to a crackling, popping sound and then saw a cloud of smoke and fire coming from his night-light in the corner of his bedroom, that's when he ran through the hallway and into his parents room to make them aware of the fire. His father Sam Beers quickly evacuated Gavin and his sister from the home while his wife Jennifer tried to extinguish the flames. The Sentinel reports, the Junction Fire Company arrived and then took over the situation putting out the rest of the fire and venting the home. Jennifer, Gavin and Riley Beers were taken to Lewistown Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.   
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

BLOOMSBURG - In Columbia County a man is charged with throwing a toddler against a wall and punching and choking the boy's mother in a trailer court along Route 11 Thursday evening. 25-year-old Adam Moore claimed he only "smacked" the child on the backside and pushed girlfriend Jessica McCollum, but police charged him with endangering a child and assault. Little two-year-old Edward McCollum, was sent home Saturday after being treated at Geisinger Children's Hospital. Moore was arraigned Thursday night and jailed in lieu of $25,000 bail on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment and endangering a child.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

PORT ROYAL - A Mifflintown man is in jail on assault charges involving a ten-year-old boy in Juniata County. Police have charged 31-year-old Curtis Reese with simple assault and related counts for the incident that happened Thursday night at a home in Port Royal and a home in Mifflintown. Reese is jailed on assault and endangering the welfare of a child as well as probation violations.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - Old Lycoming Township, Lycoming County police are looking for teens who robbed an 11-year-old boy of his bicycle near Short Street at Race Street in the township Friday night. The boy was punched in the face and his bike was stolen. Police say the suspect is a black male approximately 14 to 16-years-old wearing a black t-shirt, black pants and white sneakers with tattoos on both forearms. Another man was wearing a red shirt and riding a "Chopper type" bicycle. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Old Lycoming Township Police at 329-4060.
(WRAK)

LEWISTOWN - A 28-year-old Lewistown man turned himself over to police Friday on a list of charges. Steven Allen II, faces charges of criminal mischief, felony-criminal trespassing, stalking, and terroristic threats stemming from incidents on the night of Tuesday, July 20th at a home on South Juniata Street. He's jailed on $50-thousand dollars bail.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

PINE GROVE - Police in Schuylkill County are looking for the person who fired a gun into a building in Pine Grove. That happened sometime Sunday between seven a.m. and four p.m. at the home of 48-year-old Arland Becker along Mountain Road in Washington Township. Police say the bullet traveled through the home and lodged into the mattress in a child's bedroom.   
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

BELLEFONTE - A Bellefonte woman was taken to the hospital following a crash on Route 550 in Centre County. The crash happened around one Sunday afternoon. Police say 22-year-old Megan Rawding was hurt when she hit a deer on the roadway. She was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center with what police called moderate injuries.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

SELTZER - Police in Schuylkill County are looking for the thief that not only stole money but a car. That happened sometime Friday evening or early Saturday morning at the home of 66-year-old Dorothy Shappell in the village of Seltzer. Police say the bandit entered her home and took $100 dollars in mostly coins and then stole the woman's 2005 Cadillac.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

FRACKVILLE - In Schuylkill County the local SPCA is trying to catch dozens of feral cats from buildings scheduled to be torn down in Frackville. But, vandals have been smashing the traps set by the animal shelter workers. Humane officer and Ruth Steinert SPCA Vice President John Altemose, says the cages valued at $500 dollars are ruined and sets the non-profit operation back financially. The three properties - 132, 136 and 138 Oak Street have been vacant for around 20 years and borough council is looking to demolish the eyesores possibly as soon as Thursday.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

HARRISBURG - Two men were sent to federal prison last week after being sentenced for participating in a methamphetamine trafficking ring in Pennsylvania - including Schuylkill County - and Georgia. Carlos Cegledi will spend 19 1/2 years behind bars and Francisco Barrios will spend 188 months in prison under the terms of sentences imposed by U.S. District Judge Sylvia Rambo in Harrisburg. Cegledi and Barrios are the third and fourth people sentenced for their participation in the ring, which prosecutors said operated in April and May 2008.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

HARRISBURG - Convicted child killer 46-year-old Anthony Dick of Bloomsburg has told a judge on several occasions he wants to be put to death for fatally shooting his 18-month-old son and 4-year-old stepson at the Stone Castle Motel in 2006. Governor Ed Rendell granted that wish Thursday, signing Dick's death warrant. Rendell set Dick's execution for September 14th.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

HARRISBURG - Governor Rendell has signed an execution warrant for 31-year old Brentt Michael Sherwood, for the murder of his 4-year-old stepdaughter in December 2004. Sherwood is now scheduled to be executed on September 16th. The jury deliberated for 80 minutes in May 2007 before announcing guilty verdicts for first-degree murder, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering the welfare of children. The jury reconvened the next day and agreed that the death penalty should be imposed. The Daily Item reports, Sherwood admitted at trial that he punched and kicked Marlee Rose Reed repeatedly at their residence in Northumberland on Dec. 7, 2004, causing her death the following day. He pleaded diminished capacity due to voluntary  intoxication, claiming he was high on cocaine and not mentally able to form an intent to kill.
John Callahan (WGRC)

HARRISBURG - The State Tax Equalization Board's chairman asked the auditor general's office for help in correcting a debacle that almost caused taxes to go up unfairly in several school districts across the state. The Daily Item reports, Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner is launching an investigation into the board's operations after the formal request was sent to his office last week by Chairman Jim Zurick. Wagner said the Office of the Auditor General received requests from several legislators and taxpayers asking him to conduct an audit, and the office has agreed. Miscalculations affected not only school taxes but also how much funding a municipality receives from the state, leading to more errors. The board has blamed the problem on computer glitches.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

UNIVERSITY PARK - Workers are putting the finishing touches on soon-to-be opened patient rooms in the new east wing expansion at the Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College. The hospital will hold an open house July 31 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The three-floor, 68- room expansion wasn't expected to be completed until later this fall. But the contractors on the project, made the most of the good weather and will open earlier than scheduled. The 52,000 square-foot addition consists of three floors added to the medical center's existing first-floor facilities. The third and fourth floors will house patients in spacious, single- person rooms. The second floor will be home to the hospital's medical staff.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)