WGRC Christian Radio

WILLIAMSPORT – A fire in Lycoming County this morning was intentionally set.  Fire struck again this morning in the Newberry section of Williamsport.  Firefighters were called out around 3 a.m. to a reported carport fire at 800 Poplar Street. Crews put the fire out quickly but were on the scene for about an hour.  Fire officials say the fire started when someone intentionally set a cardboard box on fire.  There have been a number of arsons in the Newberry area over the past few weeks.  No one was injured.
(WGRC)

GIRARDVILLE – Two Schuylkill County men were jailed in connection with an alleged home invasion last night.  35-year old Chad Kerchner, and 30-year old Ian Kerchner, both of Shenandoah, entered a home on West Ogden Street in Girardville and assaulted a man and woman inside around 9:30 last night.  The two then trashed the home before leaving through a back door.  Police spotted the two outside after being called to the scene.  Chad Kerchner stopped, but Ian Kerchner ran.  A foot chase ensued and he was later tackled by a police officer and taken into custody.  The Republican Herald reports, Chad and Ian Kerchner are both locked up unable to post $50,000 straight cash bail each.
(WGRC)

SHAMOKIN – Numerous people are without a home this morning after two-alarm fire broke out at an apartment building in Shamokin, Northumberland County. The fire was first reported at 3:17 a.m. at 305 East Sunbury Street in Shamokin. East Sunbury Street is also Route 61 through the city and Route 61 was closed as crews battled the blaze in the three-story building. Northumberland County Emergency Management officials tell us there were several people entrapped in the fire, but officials say no one has been taken to the hospital and everyone is thought to have gotten out. The fire was brought under control around 4:30 a.m. The American Red Cross is on the scene assisting those displaced by the blaze. Route 61, East Sunbury Street in Shamokin has been re-opened following this morning’s blaze.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - Fire struck this morning in the Newberry section of Williamsport.  Firefighters were called out around 3 a.m. to a reported carport fire at 800 Poplar Street. Crews put the fire out quickly but were on the scene for about an hour.  It’s not known what caused the blaze. There have been a number of arsons in the Newberry area over the past few weeks. No one was injured, a damage estimate not released and the cause is under investigation.
(WGRC)

LEWISTOWN – In Mifflin County, a school bus carrying students in Lewistown was involved in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday morning, Lewistown Police say the crash happened around 8 a.m. Police say the bus was traveling on South Dorcas Street with 27 Mifflin County students on board. As the bus, driven by Tonnya Sullivan, of Burnham, crossed Green Avenue it was struck by a vehicle driven by Mary Sweitzer, of Lewistown. Neither Sullivan nor the children on board were injured. Sweitzer and a boy in her vehicle were taken to Lewistown Hospital with minor injuries. Lewistown Police are continuing their investigation into the crash.
(WGRC)

SUNBURY – Two Sunbury Police cars were damaged and almost sent through a window of the Sunbury Police Department early Wednesday after being struck by a drunk driver. Police say that happened around 2:30 a.m. when 31-year-old Derek Lavoie of Sisterville, West Virginia slammed into the cruisers. Police say Lavoie was drunk and driving on a suspended license with no insurance.
(WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT – A Harrisburg man who broke into a home and was high on drugs was caught after riding his bicycle into a police cruiser. Police say 41-year-old Kevin Lattie illegally entered a Round Hill Road home around 11:30 Wednesday morning and then fled on a bicycle before he was caught minutes later by Old Lycoming Township police after he slammed into the police car on his bike. Upon being captured, Lattie admitted to smoking a combination of marijuana and PCP. He’s now jailed in the Lycoming County Prison on $40,000 bail.
(WGRC)

MIFFLINBURG – Two have been charged with purchasing alcohol for minors in Mifflinburg. Mifflinburg Police say 48-year-old Angie Swope and 21-year-old  David Snyder have been charged with corruption of minors and purchasing alcohol for minors after police responded to a call about littering and property damage along Buffalo Creek on Saturday. Police say eight minors were also arrested for underage drinking.
(WGRC)

LOCK HAVEN – Lock Haven police are investigating a report of an abduction attempt on East Main Street Monday. Police say a 23-year-old Lock Haven woman was walking down East Main Street around 7:30 p.m. when a black, four-door vehicle with a spoiler pulled over near her and the man driving the vehicle told her to get inside the car. The driver is described as a thin, white man in his late 30s to middle 40s, with dark curly hair. The man sped off when the woman began calling police on her cell phone. There have been indications that other, similar incidents have happened in central Pennsylvania, most recently in Lycoming County in the past month. Any similar reports should be reported to police or the 911 center. Area residents who might have information about the incident can also call the Clinton County District Attorney's Crime Tip Hotline at 570-893-4123.
(WGRC)

BLOOMSBURG — A man who allegedly attacked his father outside the WHLM radio studio last week pleaded to be released from jail Wednesday and offered to check himself into psychiatric care. The Press Enterprise reports, 23-year-old David Reilly, sent his charges on to Columbia County court before District Judge Russell Lawton Wednesday. Police said the younger Reilly attacked radio station owner Joe Reilly last Tuesday, knocking him to the sidewalk and breaking his eyeglasses as he stepped outside the downtown Bloomsburg studio to put money in a parking meter. David Reilly faces assault and harassment charges in Columbia County and remains behind bars.
(WGRC)

BLOOMSBURG — A Bloomsburg man beat an ex-girlfriend so badly, she was unconscious for 29 hours. Police say 21-year-old Anselm Tevis suspected the woman of stealing either money or heroin. The incident happened around 5 p.m. Saturday at the woman’s apartment at 825 Lightstreet Road. On Wednesday morning, police got a search warrant for Tevis' apartment. Because they heard Tevis may have weapons inside, police called in the SWAT team. Inside Tevis' home, police said they found drugs and took Tevis and two friends into custody. He’s jailed on $50,000 bail.
(WGRC)

EAST WATERFORD – Police are looking for a Juniata County man who faces charges of aggravated assault and attempted arson following an incident Sunday evening. Police say shortly after seven p.m. 36-year-old Matthew Boone of East Waterford was involved in an argument with a 36-year-old East Waterford woman. Boone became irate and used an axe to knock holes in the woman’s home and then poured gasoline over items surrounding the home. Police arrived before Boone could light a fire and he fled on foot. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call state police, Lewistown.
(WGRC)

BLOOMSBURG — A young mother already in jail now faces more charges for beating her 6-year-old son and stepping on his face when the boy jumped on a couch as she tried to sleep. The Press Enterprise reports, 25-year-old Ashley Titman who lived at an apartment at 221 Central Road, in Columbia County is accused of child endangerment and assault. The incident was reported to police by child-welfare workers in late March. Titman, recently locked up on a probation violation, told District Judge Russell Lawton she has three children but is unmarried. Titman said she expects to remain in jail until mid-June on her probation violation.
(WGRC)

BELLEFONTE - The judge in Jerry Sandusky's criminal case Wednesday did not immediately resolve remaining disputes over what information the defense is entitled to from schools, child services agencies and others, but he said he wanted to swiftly resolve the disagreements and push the case toward trial. Judge John Cleland also did not rule on lawyer Joe Amendola's new request to delay the start of trial, currently scheduled for June 5, but he did open a pretrial hearing Wednesday by noting the "trial is approaching" for the former Penn State assistant football coach. Cleland said he may throw out parts of some defense subpoenas rather than quash entire demands. He also suggested he would review some of the documentation in private to try to quickly resolve some of the disagreements.
(WGRC)

POTTSVILLE - The Pottsville Area School Board has approved a tentative budget for 2012-2013 that includes no tax increase for district residents. The budget came in at almost $39.4 million, and will be up for final adoption at the Board’s June 20 meeting. The Board also approved two personnel moves with the hiring of Jeffrey Godin as high school assistant principal, and Jared Gerace as elementary school principal. Godin is currently a math teacher at Shamokin Area High School, and Gerace is the assistant principal at Blue Mountain’s Elementary East.
(WPPA)

HARRISBURG – The state Senate yesterday approved a bipartisan $27.7 billion General Fund budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2012-2013, by a 39-8 vote, which reaffirms a commitment to education, as well as social and health services for Pennsylvanian’s with physical and mental disabilities. The proposed budget now goes to the state house for their vote. The budget is below the threshold that the Commonwealth could spend under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights formula, which is tied to inflation and population growth. The budget maintains state support for Pennsylvania’s state-related universities, State System of Higher Education schools and community colleges at their current levels. The bill also adds more than $132 million in support for basic education, and early childhood education programs over the February proposal. The bill also restores $20 million in funding for vital community mental disability programs and restores $84 million in funding for various human services programs
(WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - Pennsylvania College of Technology will hold three commencement ceremonies at the Community Arts Center in Williamsport on May 11-12 for the 962 students who expect to graduate following the Spring 2012 semester. During the commencement ceremonies, the college will bestow Distinguished Alumni and Alumni Achievement awards. Distinguished Teaching Awards will be presented to faculty.
(WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - Williamsport Representative Rick Mirabito has decided to try and do something about getting the State Police Aviation Unit back at the Williamsport Regional Airport by introducing a resolution calling for the unit to move back to the local airport. Mirabito is calling for issue to be entered into this year’s budget debate. The resolution will go to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.
(WGRC)

DANVILLE — Geisinger scientists plan to mine electronic medical records for some 500,000 patients to explore if chemicals used at natural gas-drilling sites might be making people sick. Researchers will look for potential "hot spots" where there may be unusually high numbers of visits to emergency rooms or doctors' offices for "asthma symptoms," said Dr. David Carey, director of Geisinger's Weis Center for Research. Carey called this a "purely hypothetical example" based on anecdotal evidence suggesting the release of chemicals into the air near drilling sites is harmful to asthma sufferers. Carey says, "I think the problem is there's really not enough reliable data to make an informed decision one way or another about potential health hazards. We would be objectively looking at the impact on people's health to see if there's something there. The study is expected to take decades to document health trends.
(WGRC)

TURBOTVILLE - The day after graduating from Florida Institute of Technology, a Turbotville native started a 4,700-mile bike ride to raise money for scleroderma research. Wade Dauberman, who graduated with a degree in astrobiology on Saturday, pedaled 80 miles Sunday to begin the trip to honor his father, who passed away from the autoimmune disease in September 2010. Dauber man says, “ I hope to improve diagnosis and find a way to fight for those who have it." When Dauberman told people he wanted to ride his bike from May to August, from Florida to Oregon, he said they called him crazy. But he says he’s used to that. Around Easter in 2010, Dauberman tore his ACL and had to go to rehab. The first physical activity he could do was bicycling, which he discovered he really liked. He started planning the trip for the past year by planning his route. To prepare for it, he's gone on rides with the cycling club, worked as a personal trainer at school and raced. For more information, visit crazyguyonabike.com/doc/WOW. (WGRC)

HARRISBURG – Residents throughout Pennsylvania are being asked to help feed the hungry by taking part in the annual “Stamp Out Hunger,” food drive sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers and the Postal Service. Letter Carriers will be collecting non-perishable food items left by mailboxes along their routes as they deliver the mail Saturday May 12th. The food will be gathered and then donated to food banks in the areas the food is collected in. The one-day food drive is an effort to help local food pantries stock their shelves during the summer months. Carriers collected 70.2 million pounds of food in last year’s drive.
(WGRC)