WGRC Christian Radio

CALVERT – Two hunters accidentally shot this morning in Lycoming County.  We’re told the two were hunting on private property in Lewis Township when they were both accidentally shot just before 11 this morning.  The men were reported to have walked out of the woods to a farm at 1969 Field Station Road.  First responders said the wounds to both men were minor.  One man had a wound to his hand and the other a wound to his abdomen.  Game Commission officials are continuing to investigate.
(WGRC)

BERWICK - A man critically burned in a fire Monday in Columbia County has died.  The Lehigh County coroner said 62-year old Samuel Lopresti of Berwick died Tuesday at Lehigh Valley Hospital.  Lopresti was burned  Monday when fire broke out at his home on Green Street in Berwick.  Fire officials ruled the fire an accident due to cooking.  Lopresti was on the second floor of the house. A family that lived on the first floor got out safely.
(WNEP)

LEWISTOWN – A Mifflin County man is arrested for assaulting two police officers during an incident in February.  State Police have charged 41-year old Leroy Kanagy of Lewistown with the assault of two Lewistown Police officers during an incident on February 23rd when Kanagy was sought by police after threatening his estranged wife.  He struggled with police after they caught up to him, and was shot during that scuffle along Feeder Avenue.  Kanagy was flown to Geisinger Medical Center for treatment of the gunshot wound.  He was charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and related counts.  Kanagy was taken into custody today with bail set at $250,000.
John Callahan (WGRC)

MIFFLINTOWN – A Mifflintown man remains in critical condition after he was flown to Hershey Medical Center following an ATV crash in Juniata County. The crash happened sometime between five and six p.m. Tuesday on Hower Gap road in Fermanagh Township. Police say 20-year-old Palmer Walter was riding ATV alone when the crash happened and he was found by family members. Police say Walter was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Police continue their investigation.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

MILLERSTOWN – A crash in Perry County sends a man to the hospital. The crash happened around 8:30 Tuesday morning on Route 322 near Millerstown. Police say Paul Welch of Newport suffered major injuries when he went off the highway hitting an embankment and becoming airborne traveling over 400 feet down over the roadside. He had to be cut free of the wreckage and was flown to Hershey Medical Center where he remains in fair condition.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

DANVILLE - A man remains in serious condition after an out of control oil truck ran him over then hit a house in Schuylkill County. Reports say 66-year-old Jerry Melusky, was delivering oil to a home in Butler Township when his truck began to roll away. The truck hit a fence and then a home on Rapp Road. Authorities believe there was a problem with the brake of the runaway truck. Melusky attempted to stop the truck but was run over in the process. He was flown to Geisinger following that incident Monday.
(WNEP)

MONTGOMERY – State Police say a Montgomery man was taken to Muncy Valley Hospital following a motorcycle crash Sunday in Lycoming County. The crash happened just after eight p.m. on route 54 in Clinton Township. Police say 30-year-old Steven Tawney struck a van after cresting a hill. Police say Tawney suffered moderate injuries. No one in the van was hurt.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

MUNCY - A high speed chase in the Muncy Area last week resulted in a crash and a Muncy man going to jail. Police tried to pull over Eric Doucet for speeding in the 100 block of West Water Street in Muncy on April 18th and he took off, leading them on a chase with speeds of up to 100 miles-per-hour. The pursuit went across the Route 405 Bridge and ended when Doucet struck a tractor trailer, and lost control of his vehicle which overturned. He was not injured. He was charged with fleeing and eluding and other counts and jailed in Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $25,000 dollars bail.
(WGRC)

CARSONTOWN - Fire crews in Lycoming County were called out to the scene of a barn fire last night in Lycoming County. The fire was called out around six p.m. at 8011 Little Pine Creek Road in the village of Carsontown in Pine Township. Crews remained on the scene for a little over two hours before going back to service around 8:15 p.m.
Jim Diehl (WGRC

SHAMOKIN - A "lightning-fast response" by Shamokin area firefighters helped save a house Tuesday afternoon. Crews were called to the home at 1023 East Packer Street in Shamokin just after four p.m. for a fire in the basement of the home. Audrey Wyland noticed smoke seeping from under her front porch. When she opened the basement door smoke came pouring out. She grabbed her daughter, dog and cat and phone and got out of the house where she called 911. Fire crews had the fire out within minutes of their arrival. The blaze was found near a workbench in the basement but an exact cause was not determined.
(WGRC)

BERWICK - Authorities say a fire in a Green Street apartment in Berwick earlier this week that badly burned a man is accidental. WNEP reports, the fire was electrical in nature, and not drug related. The man who lived there was badly burned and remains in at the Lehigh Valley Medical Center. His name has not been released.
(WNEP)

DANVILLE – A Danville man is jailed on stalking and harassment charges I Montour County. Police say 23-year-old Matthew Kronenwetter made continual contact with an 18-year-old girl through facebook and by phone over the month of April. Police say Kronenwetter was found at times outside the victim’s workplace and texting her that he was watching her. He’s locked up in the Montour County Prison on $10,000 bail.
(WGRC)

BELLEFONTE  - A second school district in central Pennsylvania has asked the judge in Jerry Sandusky's criminal case to throw out a subpoena for information about one of his alleged victims. Lawyers for the Mifflin County School District filed a motion on Tuesday to quash the defense subpoena, citing federal and state laws that govern disclosure of various school records. The records pertain to the young man described in court records as "Victim 9." On Monday, the Keystone Central School District filed a similar motion regarding "Victim 1," and last week state prosecutors objected to the use of defense subpoenas. The Second Mile, a charity for at-risk youths founded by Sandusky in 1977, on Tuesday filed a motion to join the efforts of Keystone Central and the attorney general's office. Citing elements of both previous filings, The Second Mile lawyers Howard Rosenthal and Jeffrey Kolansky asked Judge John Cleland to quash a subpoena the charity received in mid-April from the Sandusky defense. Sandusky's lawyers said Tuesday they planned to respond in writing to the objections. Cleland has given them until Thursday morning to respond to various issues regarding the subpoenas that were raised by the attorney general's office.
(WGRC)

MUNCY - A Luzerne County man faces criminal charges for allegedly having inappropriate contact with a male minor under 14 in the 1500 block of Kepner Hill Road in Muncy Creek Township on March 24th.  Police say 58-year-old Robert Stephen Engle, of Sweet Valley, has been charged with indecent assault, corruption of minors and related counts. He remains free on bail.  
(WGRC)

MIDDLEBURG — A Snyder County jury Monday acquitted a 31-year-old Middleburg man of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl. Public defender Patrick Johnson said that the case hinged on the testimony of the girl’s mother. Johnson said the defendant, John Wagner, and the woman were involved in a tumultuous relationship and were breaking up at the time the allegations were made. Wagner was found not guilty of numerous felony and misdemeanor charges.
(WGRC)

LOCK HAVEN - Convicted child abuser Adonica Sipe-Dixon will not get a new county-level trial on charges she abused her two boys in Clinton County back in 1998. Late last week, Clinton County Judge Craig Miller issued an order turning away Dixon's request for a new trial, saying the new evidence - one of her son's recanted testimony seven years after her conviction - was just not credible. The recanted testimony also sparked a hearing last month, during which a request for a new trial was made on behalf of Dixon, convicted in 2005 of rape in the sexual assault of her two sons by her and her boyfriend in 1998. Dixon's attorney was given 30 days to file an appeal of this decision to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
(WGRC)

BELLEFONTE – In Centre County a Ferguson Township woman has been jailed on charges of child abuse, the second time in 10 months she’s faced similar allegations. The Centre Daily times reports, 35-year-old Lesa Harriott, is unable to post $25,000 bail from the Centre County Correctional Facility, and she’s facing a misdemeanor count of simple assault. Ferguson Township police said they got a call from Centre County Children and Youth Services regarding a report of abuse. Police wrote in the charging documents that the child had a “large bruise” on his face that appeared to the result of being slapped. Harriott told police the boy fell on the edge of a living room coffee table. Harriott was charged in July with endangering the welfare of a child after police allege she hit a teenager with wooden bed slats a few months before that. Then in December, she pleaded down to a summary count of disorderly conduct and paid a $25 fine.
(WGRC)

HARRISBURG - A Ranshaw man wanted in connection with the alleged operation of a drug ring involving "bath salts" and synthetic pot has turned himself in to authorities. Thirty-four year-old Slimane Belabbas, turned himself in Thursday to authorities in Mifflin County. He pleaded "not guilty" to charges he participated in the drug ring through Mount Royal Mini-Mart, a Sunoco station in Ranshaw, and was granted supervised release. Belabbas, a co-operator of the mini-mart, 41-year-old Jaswinder Fatra, also of Ranshaw, and six other men were indicted last month by a grand jury on accusations they trafficked synthetic drugs at multiple mini-marts in Dauphin, Cumberland, Lebanon, Mifflin and Lancaster counties. Fatra also pleaded not guilty. While Northumberland County was not listed, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith confirmed that a November raid at the Ranshaw convenience store was associated with the indictment. Belabbas was the lone suspect still at large when the charges were announced last week. Federal authorities allege the eight men sold the synthetic drugs between May 2011 and March 2012. A trial date of June 4 is scheduled for all eight defendants in U.S. Middle District Court before Chief Judge Yvette Kane.
(WGRC)

BLOOMSBURG — Violators cited during the recent Block Party weekend in Bloomsburg face a total of $17,500 in fines. The Press Enterprise reports, most of the 82 people cited downtown or at Bloomsburg University got in trouble for either underage drinking, illegal possession of alcohol, or violating the town's open-container ban.
(WGRC)

MIFFLINBURG — The Mifflinburg school board approved by a unanimous vote a proposed $26 million budget with a $600,000 deficit for the 2012-13 school year during its meeting Tuesday night. This is the second year that Mifflinburg accepted a proposed deficit budget, but the school district successfully quenched a near $1 million deficit for 2011-12 school year, so much so that it will finish in the black this year. Superintendent Dan Lichtel tells the Daily Item there is again a plan to eliminate what remains of the deficit this year without furloughs, program cuts or reductions that would hurt students. Mifflinburg began the year with a $1.3 million deficit that it whittled down to just under $600,000 through a renegotiated teacher’s contract, some staff retirements and refinancing of bonds, among other moves.
(WGRC)

BENTON — In Columbia County a one-year pay freeze for 63 teachers is among cost-cutting moves the Benton school district is considering. The district is also looking at a property-tax hike of 2.3 percent, or possibly higher, as administrators look to chip away at what is now a $300,000 deficit for a proposed $10.8 million budget for 2012-13. Freezing teacher wages for next school year would shave about $114,500 in costs to the district. Other options such as eliminating the elementary school instrumental music program, hiring a private firm for cafeteria services, eliminating driver’s safety courses, and reducing the school’s nursing staff are being considered. The Press Enterprise reports, raising taxes is another option. Under state law, the district may raise its property-tax rate by 2.3 percent, which would bring in an additional $87,000 in revenue. The school board has until June 30 to pass a budget for 2012-13.
(WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - An Allentown-based company's $390,000 bid to install seven surveillance cameras in Williamsport passed muster Tuesday with the three members of City Council on the public safety committee. The committee gave the bid presented by CSI of Allentown, a positive recommendation and council could take action at its May 17 meeting. The cameras will be paid for with a $450,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant, but before council votes on the decision, the finance committee also will review the project. It has been suggested by city police that four of the cameras be mounted in Memorial Park and three in Flanigan Park. Should additional funding be available, Newberry Park is next on the list for a camera.
(WGRC)

POTTSVILLE - The American Red Cross has reorganized its chapters in Pennsylvania, and Schuylkill County is now part of the Northeast Pennsylvania Region, which includes thirteen chapters in sixteen counties. Janet Curtis, who was the executive director of the Schuylkill and eastern Northumberland County region, is now in charge of operations for Schuylkill and Berks Counties. Statewide, there are now just four regions, including Northeast PA, Central PA, Western PA, and Philadelphia. The Red Cross made this move as a result of efficiency studies.
(WPPA)

NORTHUMBERLAND — The approximately $200,000 that the Northumberland Sewer Authority had budgeted to pay the Internal Revenue Service for penalties and interest has been forgiven by the agency, freeing up the money. But the Northumberland Sewer Authority is embroiled in a legal case with the Borough Council over the merger with the Point Township Sewer Authority. The Northumberland Sewer Authority is withholding a $25,000 payment to the borough, pending a decision in the courts about whether the borough can take control of the sewer plant facility.
(WGRC)

BLOOMSBURG – The Federal Emergency Management Agency reports, they are slowing coming through with the buy outs of flood ravaged homes across central and northeast Pennsylvania. The agency says Columbia County property owners are on the list to be bought out. FEMA says it will spend $4 million on 46 properties which are slated to be demolished. The agency says the buyout money comes from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
(WGRC)

MIDDLEBURG – The Snyder County Commissioners have passed an ordinance prohibiting anyone from walking on county owned property with a dog or any other pet. The ordinance passed Tuesday on a 2 to 1 vote, with Commissioner Peggy Chamberlain Roup voting against it. Commissioner Chair Joe Kantz says he’s personally seen a dog on a leash lunge at someone at the courthouse at least three times in the last 6 months. There are some exceptions; including recreational land owned by the county where hunting and fishing takes place.  Service dogs are exempt. Properties where pets are banned include; the prison grounds, the former Career Link site, District Justices offices, the county courthouse and the county 911 center.  
(WGRC)

HARRISBURG – Twenty-seven airports across Pennsylvania will improve facilities and enhance safety with a $12.6 million investment of federal and state funds. That funding was announced yesterday by Governor Tom Corbett. In our listening area the William T. Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven received nearly $978,00o to construct a runway rehabilitation project. The Mifflin County Airport received just over $200,000 to construct a hangar taxiway. In Northumberland County the Northumberland County Airport received nearly $336,000 to acquire snow-removal equipment and rehabilitate airfield pavements. Schuylkill County’s Joe Zerbey Airport received nearly $261,000 to update the airport layout plan. And, the Penn Valley Airport in Selinsgrove in Snyder County received just over $200,000 to update the airport layout plan.
(WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - O’ Say Can You Sing? Well if you can the Williamsport Cross Cutters have an opportunity for you. The Williamsport Crosscutters will hold tryouts for National Anthem singers and performers on Saturday, May 5 from 10am-2pm at Bowman Field. All individuals and groups who are interested in singing the “Star Spangled Banner” prior to a 2012 home game must audition on this date, including all performers who have sung in previous years. The Crosscutters are looking for any and all types of performers of any age; from singers and groups to musicians. Individuals/groups will be heard on a first come, first served basis during the audition time. All National Anthem vocal auditions will be performed a cappella. Performances must be kept under one minute and thirty seconds. Those chosen to sing at a game will be notified at a later date.
(WGRC)

UNIVERSITY PARK - The Central Pennsylvania Orchid Society will hold its 47th annual Orchid Show on Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6, at the Snider Agricultural Arena, located at the corner of Park Avenue and Fox Hollow Road on Penn State's University Park campus. Admission to the Show and parking are free and open to the public. The show will be open from 1-8 p.m. on May 5 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 6. Photographers are welcome to attend for a special hour of show availability from 9-10 a.m. on May 6. Hundreds of blooming orchid plants grown by members of Central Pennsylvania Orchid Society and other hobby and commercial orchid growers will be displayed in naturalized exhibits. The Show will be judged by the American Orchid Society. Orchids growing in the wild are endangered species due to habitat destruction and past over-collection. The Show features only cultivated species and hybrids grown by members of the 70-member Central Pennsylvania Orchid Society. The Show includes an orchid plant sale in addition to the exhibited orchid plants on display.
(WGRC)

CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa. — An elk that was once grazing in Clearfield County was shot down last season. It's now breaking state records. He was one of 18 to draw an antlered elk tag in Pennsylvania, and he came home with the biggest prize of them all. The first-time elk hunter is smashing state records with an impressive score on the Boone and Crocket System. Bill Zee of Doylestown, is usually a whitetail deer hunter, but last season, Zee was picked to try for the big one. The big one that he bagged: A 930-pound bull elk. It has nine points on the right antler and eight on the left. Not only does this prize-winning elk weigh in at nearly a half a ton, but its antlers stretch 69 inches at its widest point. After nearly six months, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is writing it in the books as the state's record elk, and eighth largest in the world.
(WGRC)