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News for Thursday, May 15th
POTTSVILLE - A Tremont man who was convicted of homicide by
vehicle in the August 2006 death of a former Pine Grove Area
High School volleyball star in Hegins Township was sentenced to
3 1/2 to 7 1/2 years in a state correctional facility this
morning in Schuylkill County Court. 24-year old Neil
Hatfield offered a brief apology for the death of 22-year old
Shannon Sullivan of Pine Grove who was a passenger in his
vehicle on August 19th, 2006 when it crashed into a rock
embankment and flipped while Hatfield was driving too fast on
Schwenks Road in Hegins Township. The Republican Herald reports
blood tests revealed Hatfield had a blood alcohol level of 0.15
percent, almost twice the legal limit.
John Callahan (WGRC)
SUNBURY - A Mt. Carmel man was found guilty of simple assault
and harassment. A Northumberland County Court this week found
20-year-old Timothy Guise guilty for tripping a boy causing the
boy to hit his head on a cement wall causing a serious brain
injury on December 19th, 2006. He now faces up to two years in
prison, and 53-hundred dollars in fines.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
SUNBURY - A Mt. Carmel man has been convicted of
indecent assault by a Northumberland County jury. On Tuesday
36-year-old Franklin Persing was found guilty of that assault in
March of 2007. Mt. Carmel police charged Persing after a
27-year-old woman neighbor woman was assaulted by Persing while
she slept. Persing will be sentenced in 90 days.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - It doesn't appear to be a friendly
relationship within Williamsport City Hall in Lycoming County.
The City Council set up an Ad Hoc Committee to investigate the
role of the Williamsport Police Department regarding an incident
on March 30th. That's when Lycoming County Republican Chairman
Harry Rogers alleges that City Councilman Bill Hall was
intoxicated at an area restaurant. Police were in the area and
followed Hall, who was later stopped and a breathalyzer test
showed no alcohol was in his system. Council is questioning
exactly what happened that night. They have asked the Mayor and
Police Chief to sit down and talk to the Committee under oath,
but say the Administration refused. Mayor Gabe Campana
says he is leading the city and that the issue is between the
attorney's to work out, while City Council president Marlyne
Whaley says Council will not give up and will get to the bottom
of what happened that night.
WRAK
STATE COLLEGE - Fourteen face D-U-I charges in Centre County.
The Centre County Alcohol Task Force conducted a checkpoint in
the 1500 block of North Atherton Street in State College that
started last Friday night into Saturday morning. During the four
hours police found fourteen drivers to be intoxicated. Charges
are pending. Officers from Ferguson, Patton and Spring
Townships, State College, Bellefonte and Penn State
participated. Police say these checkpoints will continue year
round in an effort to reduce alcohol related crashes and crimes
in Centre County.
John Callahan (WGRC)
McELHATTAN - Clinton County officials are warning inmates at
the prison they will be charged if they commit crimes in the
facility. District Attorney Mike Salisbury reported at
yesterday's Prison Board meeting that 24-year old Justin Shady
has been charged with institutional vandalism for unlawfully
setting off the sprinkler system in the Wayne Township facility
last Halloween. Shady is incarcerated after being sentenced in
early October to six to 24 months in prison for attempting to
burglarize a Lock Haven laundromat last June. Salisbury said
yesterday Shady faces a date in Central Court next week for the
alleged vandalism. Warden Tom Duran tells the Express the
prison's administration formerly dealt with any wrongdoing in
the facility, instead of through the county court system.
John Callahan (WGRC)
LOCK HAVEN - In Clinton County, the C-V-S drug store coming
to Bellefonte Avenue at Commerce Street in Lock Haven may be
joined by a gourmet coffee shop just down the block. The Express
reports the avenue may be booming right now because of the
Fairfield Inn that is headed for the former football stadium and
will stand within a stone's throw of the C-V-S site. Also,
Nestlerode Contracting Company is working for the city to
install new sidewalks and street lights. The new streetscape
will give the avenue the same historic look downtown Main Street
has. The gourmet coffee shop is proposed for 209 Bellefonte
Avenue the former One Stop Audio store, next to Wendy's.
John Callahan (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - It took a Lycoming County jury a little more
than three hours Wednesday to find a South Williamsport man
guilty of first-degree murder in a shooting death, which
according to testimony, was arranged from a jail cell. Judge
Nancy Butts immediately sentenced 21-year-old Javier
Cruz-Echeverria, to life in prison without parole. She added a
concurrent life sentence on a conspiracy count. Defense attorney
Ronald Travis said he will appeal. During the seven-day trial
40-year-old Sean Durant, of Williamsport, testified he shot
37-year-old Eric Sawyer, of Philadelphia, with a sawed-off
shotgun in an alley behind High Street on March 31, 2007. Durant
pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and conspiracy and is
awaiting sentencing. The plea deal calls for a term of 25 to 60
years. During the trial Durant alleged 38-year-old Maurice
Patterson, arranged the murder from the county prison cell he
shared with Cruz-Echeverria, telling him Sawyer was going to
testify against them in a drug case. Lycoming County District
Attorney Eric Linhardt says Patterson, who has a third-degree
murder conviction in Philadelphia, will be charged in this case.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
BELLEFONTE - A Centre County judge ruled Wednesday that a
search warrant executed on a truck that police said ran over
another car and killed its driver last year was not necessary
and that results from the rig's "black box" are admissible at
trial. Police originally accused Peter Carrara, of Vermont, of
driving while under the influence of methamphetamine when his
tractor-trailer crashed into and rolled over a car May 22 on
state Route 64 in Walker Township. The crash killed 57-year-old
Bonnie Weaver of Holidaysburg. But Carrara's attorney, Brian
Manchester, attacked an inaccurate state police search warrant
that sought Carrara's blood test results - he had actually
undergone a urine test - and got positive test results for
methamphetamine suppressed. After that ruling, charges of
homicide by vehicle while DUI, and DUI, were dismissed. But,
homicide by vehicle and summary traffic offenses remain, and the
ruling Wednesday was welcomed by the prosecution. Pre-trial
arguments in the case are scheduled for today in Centre County
Court.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - A woman is charged with criminal solicitation
in Lycoming County. Police say 20-year old Danya Dowd of
Williamsport, who's currently incarcerated in the Lycoming
County Prison, tried to get Cheryl Cobia to persuade Amy Artley,
a witness in a burglary case against Dowd, to refuse to go to
the preliminary hearing for Dowd regarding the burglary or to
lie at the hearing. Cobia did this when she was transferred from
the Lycoming County prison to S-C-I Muncy where Artley was being
held. Artley told authorities about what Cobia asked her to do
on Dowd's behalf as she was being taken to Dowd's hearing. Cobia
admitted to her involvement. Dowd is now charged with criminal
solicitation, intimidation of a witness or victim and several
other related counts.
John Callahan (WGRC)
BELLEFONTE - Charges against a State College man accused of
being one of three who beat another man with golf clubs after he
tried to steal marijuana from their apartment were ordered held
for trial Wednesday. Charges of aggravated and simple assault
were bound over against 22-year-old Cory Seibert. His
co-defendant in the case, 21-year-old Corey Stranzl, sent the
same charges plus a charge of drug possession on to trial. State
College police say 20-year-old Lawrence Murphy, of Montclair,
New Jersey was wearing a mask over his face and carrying a
crowbar and duffel bag when he got inside a Bellaire Avenue
apartment about 4:30 a.m. April 27th. Murphy testified Wednesday
he was there to rob them of marijuana. He grabbed 2.6 pounds of
marijuana when left into the apartment where Seibert and Stranzl
along with 22-year-old Stephan Jarmak beat him with golf clubs.
Jarmak, and Murphy have already sent their charges on to court.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
NEW BLOOMFIELD - A Perry County teenager died in an ATV crash
in the Tuscarora State Forest in Perry County. The Patriot News
reports 16-year-old James Talbert of Shermansdale died instantly
Sunday after slamming into a tree at high speed. Perry County
Coroner Michael Shalonis pronounced him dead at the scene.
Talbert along with two other teens were riding on state forest
land where ATVs are not permitted.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
MIDDLEBURG - There's a boil water advisory in effect in
Middleburg until further notice. A water main broke on North
Main Street requiring repair and that muddied up the water. Some
residents may have a temporary problem with dirty water or low
water pressure but that should clear up soon. Meanwhile, the
boil water advisory will remain in effect until further notice.
WFYY
BLOOMSBURG - The Army Corps of Engineers wants to take the
next step toward flood protection, in Bloomsburg, and town
council appears ready to respond with money. The problem is
where that money will come from, since the town didn't budget
for any floodwall expenses this year. The Press Enterprise
reports, a federal grant to begin design work must be spent by
October, or it may be lost, so council is moving toward
blueprints being draw up. To cover the $66-thousand dollar
expense will possibly be drawing from other accounts. The
$66-thousand dollars represents just one in a series of payments
that the town and county would have to hand over. All told,
they'll have to pay $283-thousand dollars toward the $2.2
million cost for a flood protection system.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - Vermont-based Laurel Hill Wind Energy has been
granted a zoning permit to build electricity-generating wind
turbines in northern Lycoming County. The company plans to build
the turbines along a seven-mile section of the Laurel Hill ridge
in Jackson and McIntyre townships. A zoning permit is required
for any development or change of use of a property to ensure it
is permitted in that zoning district and complies with zoning
regulations. The Sun Gazette reports, company officials and
residents living near the proposed wind farm were notified of
the decision in a letter dated May 9th. Those opposed to the
permit have 30 days from that date to file an appeal with the
county Zoning Hearing Board. The permit is about four years
coming for the wind farm, as it met with uncertainty until last
November when the Lycoming County commissioners approved an
amendment to the county zoning ordinance that allowed wind
turbines in resource protections zones by right. The next step
for the company is to submit land development plans for approval
to the county Planning Commission.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
LOCK HAVEN - Around 25-hundred people have appealed Clinton
County's property tax reassessment of their properties. County
reassessment officials say that is less than was anticipated by
the county. The informal appeals are designed to answer property
owners questions about the new assessed value of their property
to take affect this fall. Formal appeals begin in August and
employees with Manatron , who conducted the reassessment say
they expect about a thousand formal appeals to come in. A formal
appeals panel is being set up to hear those anticipated appeals.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
MIFFLINBURG - Mifflinburg Borough Council in Union County
will hold a special meeting Tuesday night to discuss what to do
with the condemned Mifflinburg Borough Building. The meeting
will be held at the Mifflinburg High School Cafeteria at six
p.m. and is open to the public. The Mifflinburg borough building
on Chestnut Street, which housed borough offices and the police
department, was found to be structurally deficient
recently and the offices were evicted. The borough and police
service are now located in the former Yorketown Cabinet plant on
Eighth Street where it's leasing building space for about four
thousand dollars a month. Tuesday's meeting will surround
options of tearing down the old borough building to renovating
it to building a new building on Walnut Street.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
LEWISBURG - The Donald Heiter Community Center in Lewisburg,
Union County gets a big boost from a local food manufacturing
plant. ConAgra Foods Foundation has donated $20-thousand dollars
to this years Summer Day Camp Program. This year the "a
Healthier Me" theme will be implemented through games, crafts,
and other activities. Although the Summer Day Camp has met its
45 participant limitation the 2008/2009 After School Academic
Enrichment Program, an equally nurturing and educational
program, still has spaces available. To learn more visit online
at donaldheiter.org
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - The Lycoming County Salvation Army held its
annual Civic Luncheon and report to the community yesterday
afternoon at the Genetti Hotel in Williamsport. Williamsport
Mayor Gabe Campana read a proclamation stating that May 12th
through 18th is Salvation Army Week in Williamsport. The mayor
was joined by Lycoming County Commissioner Rebecca Burke, and a
representative from Steven Cappelli's office in opening the
festivities. The featured speakers at the event were Majors
Ronald and Dorine Forman, National Social Services Secretaries.
They presented some rather startling statistics about poverty
in, not only America, but the City of Williamsport. Both are
Pennsylvania natives.
John Callahan (WGRC)
BELLEFONTE - The Centre County law enforcement community will
be holding a memorial service tonight on the front lawn of the
Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte. The event is organized
by the Centre County Sheriff's office. County Sheriff Denny Nau
says the event is in line with the 1962 signing of May 15th as
Peace Officers Memorial Day, by President John Kennedy. It's
being organized by the Centre County Sheriff's office and the
Bald Eagle Lodge number 51 of the Fraternal Order of Police. The
service in Bellefonte gets underway at seven p.m. and is in
honor and memory of those who keep the peace in Centre County
and those who have given their lives in doing so.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
BOALSBURG - A service honoring those who serve our country
will be held this weekend in Centre County. It's the Annual
Memorial Day Service at the 28th Division National Memorial
Shrine at Pennsylvania Military Museum, in Boalsburg. The
service gets underway at 12:30 this Sunday afternoon and runs
till 2:30 p.m. and is sponsored by the Pennsylvania National
Guard. Military Museum Educator Joe Horvath says the service
honors all branches of the military and is open to the public.
Horvath says the service is a poignant reminder of the human
price paid by Pennsylvania veterans in their quest for peace.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - The Williamsport Area School District, along
with the Williamsport Bureaus of Fire and Police and other
emergency responders will conduct an emergency response drill at
Curtin Middle School on Friday. It's an In-Service day and
students will not be at school and will not take art in the
drill. But, there will be lots of action in the neighborhood for
this planned drill. No homes will be impacted. The District
advises that Curtin Middle School and the District Service
Center will be "unavailable" for regular business until 1 p.m.
WRAK
MIFFLINBURG - About 150 support staffers in the Mifflinburg
Area School District are in the process of unionizing. The Daily
Item reports Union organizer Sue McCormick says workers recently
began the lengthy procedure toward forming a support staff
union. If enough support staffers -- the bus drivers,
secretaries, cafeteria workers, custodians, aides and other
workers -- are interested, the matter will come to a labor
board-sanctioned vote. Then if 50 percent of voters approve the
measure, Mifflinburg's support staff will join four other Valley
school districts with unionized staffers. Southern Columbia,
Shikellamy, Midd-West and Danville's support staffers are all
either partially or fully unionized. No other school districts
in the four-county area have support staff unions. If an
employee vote passes, the next step would be to sit down with
the school district, and try to get a bargaining agreement and a
written contract.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's fiscal watchdog says he
wants to save money, but not if it means risking lives. Auditor
General Jack Wagner said Wednesday he's urging the state
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to reverse a
decision to remove lifeguards from all but one of its state park
beaches. The department has eliminated lifeguards in 22 state
parks since 1999 and plans to remove them from 15 more this
summer. Lifeguards would be posted only at Presque Isle State
Park on Lake Erie, where swimmers face strong currents. Wagner
says he doesn't consider the risk of unguarded beaches worth the
$800,000 savings. The department says "open swim" has proved to
be safe. In fact, Secretary Michael DiBerardinis says there have
been only two drownings since the policy began, and both of
those were at beaches that did have lifeguards.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Members of a state Senate panel are
questioning whether Pennsylvania high school students should be
required to pass a series of state-sanctioned tests before they
can receive their diplomas. The Senate Education Committee heard
testimony from members of the State Board of Education and Gov.
Ed Rendell's administration during a public hearing Wednesday on
the graduation test proposal. Starting with the class of 2014,
students would have to pass final examinations covering English,
math, science and social studies. Deputy education secretary
Diane Castelbuono says the testing requirement would ensure that
all students meet the state's academic standards. But Sen.
Andrew Dinniman, a Chester County Democrat, says it's possible
for students to succeed in college without having to pass a
standardized test.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A research company says the number of
homes facing foreclosure in Pennsylvania rose more than
one-third in April, compared to the same month last year.
RealtyTrac says a total of 3,266 Pennsylvania homes received at
least one foreclosure-related filing in April. That's up 37
percent from April 2007 and up nearly 13 percent from March.
More homeowners are falling behind on their mortgages and
finding they are unable to sell their homes, afford rising
monthly payments or refinance into a more affordable loan. With
home values sliding, some now owe more than their homes are
worth. Pennsylvania has remained relatively buffered from the
mortgage crisis, with one in 1,670 homes facing foreclosure last
month. RealtyTrac says the national average was one in 519
homes.
In Sports...
LEWISBURG -- Bucknell Golf Club Head Pro Brian Kelly earns a
shot at the U-S Open sectionals. Kelly shot a 69 yesterday at
the Lewisburg course and then won a playoff to win the U-S Open
qualifier event.
(WGRC)
News for Wednesday, May 14th
ALLENWOOD - Union County officials say the
1.7-million-square-foot Target distribution center planned for
Great Stream Commons in Gregg Township will create about 800 new
jobs. After 20 months of negotiations, county and local leaders
in 2006 signed a deal with the megastore, agreeing to sell
Target 166 acres of prime Route 15 land near Allenwood. Scott
McLaughlin, Union County planning director, tells the Daily Item
the Target distribution center will open up a variety of
relatively high-paying positions, listing truck drivers,
material handlers, office people and security guards as
examples. The tentative opening date for the facility is late
2009. Union County Commissioner Preston Boop said the Target
site will prove a boon to the local economy.
John Callahan (WGRC)
SUNBURY - No injuries this morning but traffic was stalled in
Sunbury for about a half hour this morning following a crash
involving a school bus. The crash happened just before eight
a.m. at Front and Market Streets. The bus did have children on
board when it was involved in the minor fender bender with
another vehicle. But, again, no one was hurt.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
POTTSVILLE - State police at Schuylkill Haven dropped charges
against a Mount Carmel man accused of kidnapping his mother from
a Pottsville area nursing home on May 1st on Tuesday, but plan
to re-file and possibly add new charges. Robert Netchel was
charged with one count of felony kidnapping and four counts of
felony aggravated assault and other related counts in connection
with the incident involving 83-year old Ruth Netchel. According
to District Attorney James Goodman, authorities plan to re-file
the charges, possibly with an additional charge of involuntary
manslaughter. The Republican Herald reports Ruth Netchel was
found at her son's home and taken to a Pottsville hospital where
she died less than 24 hours after being kidnapped. Police
withdrew the charges to complete their investigation.
John Callahan (WGRC)
PHILIPSBURG - In Centre County, a Philipsburg man who police
say slashed the tires of a district judge's car because he "did
not like" him was charged with retaliation Tuesday. 18-year old
Shawn Linberg is in jail on $50,000 straight bail after police
charged him with felony retaliation, felony criminal conspiracy
and two misdemeanors. The Centre Daily Times reports he is
accused of slashing all four tires and denting a rear passenger
side door of District Judge Allen Sinclair's vehicle while it
was parked at Sinclair's home April 25th.
John Callahan (WGRC)
POTTSVILLE - The county-wide burn ban that the Schuylkill
County commissioners enacted on April 26th has been lifted.
Commissioners made that annoucement at their meeting today. The
decision to lift the ban was made on the recommendation of the
Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency and the Department
of Conservation and Natural Resources, due to an increase in
rainfall and leaf cover on trees.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - In recent weeks, there has been an email
circulating throughout the area stating problems and inpending
trouble with gangs in Williamsport. According to the Police
Department the email is based on rumors and speculation and
there is no truth to the information contained in the e-mail.
Chief Greg Foresman and Mayor Gabriel Campana have been in
contact with all of the surrounding agencies including the State
Police and working with them to insure that all available
measures are taken to ensure the safety of the residents of
Williamsport.
WRAK
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Animal welfare advocates want
Pennsylvania to apply tougher health and safety standards to
large commercial dog breeders. About 100 dog lovers and at
least a dozen of their four-legged friends visited the Capitol
on Wednesday to support legislation to crack down on puppy mills
- operations they say keep neglected or abused dogs in cramped
cages. State dog law enforcement chief Jessie Smith says
the package of bills targets about 650 large-scale breeders,
which represent one-fifth of the state's licensed kennels.
The measures would prevent the stacking of cages and increase
penalties for animal cruelty, among other things.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Four vacancies on Pennsylvania's
appellate courts, including one on the Supreme Court, will
remain unfilled for now. In a near party-line vote, the
Republican-controlled state Senate on Wednesday rejected four
men nominated by Gov. Ed Rendell to temporarily fill the
openings. Republican senators say Rendell stepped over the
established practice of taking the Senate's advice on whom to
nominate. The governor's aides contend that Rendell chose
four highly qualified candidates, and does not need to follow
their advice. Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Castille
had asked the Senate to confirm the nominees, saying the
vacancies are slowing the courts' work. A two-thirds
majority vote is necessary to confirm a judicial nominee.
WILLIAMSPORT - A fugitive who took Williamsport police on a
high-speed chase through the Historic District on Tuesday
afternoon was apprehended minutes after the sport-utility
vehicle he was driving crashed into two vehicles and a tree.
Four people, including a passenger in the SUV, suffered minor
injuries in the crash, which happened at West Fourth and Park
streets. The Sun Gazette reports, 19-year-old Ira Sims, of
Philadelphia, along with 21-year-old Michael Brown of
Williamsport, bailed out of the SUV. The pursuit began about
3:30 p.m. Sims was wanted by Philadelphia police for his alleged
involvement in a shooting in Philadelphia. He is locked up in
the Lycoming County jail. Brown was taken to Williamsport
hospital treated and released. He wasn't charged in the
incident.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - Closing arguments are expected today in
Lycoming County in the homicide and conspiracy trial of Javier
Cruz-Echevarria of South Williamsport. He's charged in
connection with the March 2007 shooting death of 38-year-old
Eric Sawyer. The 21-year-old Cruz-Echevarria, is accused of
luring Sawyer, of Philadelphia to an alley off of the 1500 block
of High Street about 2 a.m., March 31st, 2007.
Thirty-nine-year-old Sean Durrant, has confessed to the killing,
testified earlier in the trial that he shot Sawyer using a
pump-action 12-gauge shotgun allegedly provided by Cruz-Echevarria.
Durrant awaits sentencing. On Tuesday, defense attorneys showed
jurors videotape interviews of Durrant with police about the
shooting. Durrant said on tape Cruz-Echevarria was innocent and
unaware of his intentions to kill Sawyer. The Sun Gazette
reports, also testifying Tuesday for the prosecution were
specialists in ballistics and ammunition analysis. Judge Nancy
Butts is expected to charge the jury and ask that deliberations
begin following the closing arguments.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
DANVILLE - Accused serial arsonist Chester Cyphers faced not
only the judge but a dozen volunteer firefighters in support of
Captain Wayne Hawley at his preliminary hearing Tuesday in
Danville. The 52-year-old Cyphers, in handcuffs, sent his
charges on to Montour County Court. The former Washingtonville
firefighter is believed to have set up to 25 recent blazes
before he was caught red-handed torching a field April 16th. The
suspect's formal arraignment is set for June 9th at 9 a.m. in
the Montour County Courthouse, where he will enter a plea. In
all, Cyphers faces 37 charges - most of them felonies - for
fires in Montour, Lycoming and Columbia counties. Meanwhile
District Attorney Robert Buhner says there may be more charges
filed as many people have come forward with tips about previous
unexplained fires pointing to Cyphers. Police are now taking
another look at several old fires - some from decades ago - with
Cyphers in mind. Buehner is asking anyone who may have seen
Cyphers at a fire or experienced a suspicious blaze as far back
as 1972 to contact State Police in Milton. For some older fires,
the statute of limitations may be up, but finding who was behind
them could at least give victims peace of mind. Cyphers remains
locked up on $400-thousand dollars bail.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
SUNBURY - A man targeted by his girlfriend in a murder for
hire case in Northumberland County is asking the court to take
away any contact the suspect might have with the couple's infant
son. The Daily Item reports, 46-year-old Donald Ellis wants a
Northumberland County Judge to keep 28-year-old Christeen Smith
from having any contact with the their six-month-old baby if
she's released from prison. Smith is jailed on $100-thousand
dollars bail after allegedly offering an undercover State
Trooper five hundred dollars to shoot Ellis. Charges against
Smith have been sent for trial.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
TAMAQUA - In Schuylkill County, a Berks County man was
arraigned Monday on charges stemming from a knife-point robbery
at a McAdoo, convenience store in 2007. The Republican Herald
reports, 30-year-old Scott Girton, of Temple, was brought from a
prison in Maryland where he is serving a 29-year sentence for
five robberies. Girton was then placed in the Schuylkill County
jail on $50-thousand dollars bail. Kline Township Police say,
Girton entered the M&A Sunoco Quik Mart on Kennedy Drive, in
McAdoo, just before six p.m. August 29th, 2007, and asked the
clerk for a pack of cigarettes, then pulled out a knife and
demanded all the money from the cash register. A video picture
linked Girton to the crime. Authorities say Girton and an
accomplice, Tracy Logan of Beech Creek, were involved in several
robberies throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - A Loyalsock Township man is locked up on
charges after he allegedly broke into six vending machines in
South Williamsport. The Sun Gazette reports 29-year-old Matthew
Kayhanfer, has been charged with breaking into the vending
machines in South Williamsport, Montoursville and one in
Williamsport between May 1 and last week. He's locked up on
$30-thousand dollars bail.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - A Bloomsburg woman has agreed to pay back
nearly $62-thousand dollars she embezzled from her former
employers at Columbia Pain Management. The Press Enterprise
reports, 60-year-old Nancy Haney, has already paid $5,000 in
restitution and is awaiting sentencing before U.S. Senior Judge
Malcolm Muir. Haney was the former office manager for pain
clinics in Berwick and Bloomsburg. She pleaded guilty last fall
to embezzling funds. She had been confronted by local
authorities about some financial discrepancies that were
uncovered internally before the FBI stepped in. That's because
payments from federally funded health care programs were
involved. Haney is also facing a period of home detention as
part of her sentence.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
LEWISBURG - A district judge has bound felony sex charges
against a retired Bucknell University professor over to Union
County Court after determining the statute of limitations in the
16-year-old case has not expired. The Daily Item reports 72-year
old Jack E. Harclerode of Lewisburg is headed to trial on six
counts for allegedly abusing a young boy in his office at the
Lewisburg campus between 1992 and 1995.
John Callahan (WGRC)
STATE COLLEGE - A Penn State student upset with a B-grade was
arrested Tuesday for threatening to put his professor in a
wheelchair unless he got a better grade. Twenty-year-old
Apostalo Tsirogiannis, of State College, was brought before a
judge Tuesday afternoon on charges of terroristic threats and
harassment. He is free on $10-thousand dollars bail.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
STATE COLLEGE - Suspended Nittany Lion wide receiver Chris
Bell sent charges of terroristic threats, simple assault and
related counts on to court yesterday for an incident last month
in Pollock Dining Commons. The Digital Collegian reports, Bell,
who police said threatened teammate Devon Still with an 8-inch
cooking knife on April 7th after a dispute over a cell phone
case. Bell was suspended from the football team and banned from
campus shortly after the incident. Bell's pretrial conference is
scheduled for July 22nd.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
MAHANOY CITY - A Mahanoy City police officer has been
terminated from his job. Officer Guy Antolick was terminated by
borough council last night. Antolick had a protection from abuse
order in force against him from his former girlfriend, and his
weapon surrendered. A court judge denied his appeal on the
weapons suspension. The termination was in line with provisions
in the borough code regarding a police officers neglect or
violation of official duties and conduct unbecoming an officer.
WPPA
BRANCHDALE - Police have seized a sizeable amount of
marijuana plants growing near Branchdale in Schuylkill County.
Cass-Foster and Branch-Reilly Township police seized 126 live
pot plants growing in a patch of woods. Officers received a
tip about the plants. Police estimate that the total yield had a
street value of over $36-thousand-dollars.
WPPA
NEWPORT - Police are continuing their investigation into a
crash where two people suffered major injuries in Perry County's
Centre Township, Tuesday afternoon. The crash happened just
before five p.m. on Route 34. Troopers say a car driven by
37-year-old Jimmy Gassell of Elliottsburg crossed the center of
the roadway on a curve and slammed nearly head-on into an S-U-V
driven by 59-year-old Betty King of Port Royal. Gassell's car
came to rest against a utility pole while King's vehicle went
into a ditch and overturned onto it's driver's side against a
utility pole. Both Gassell and King had to be freed from the
wreckage and were taken to Hershey Medical Center. Two
passengers in Gassell's car suffered minor injuries. Police say
charges are pending.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
DANVILLE - The ugly cost of keeping all four of Danville
School District's elementary school open, reared its head again
at a school board meeting Tuesday. The cost could sock taxpayers
$48 million dollars or more in construction fees, plus an extra
$500-thousand dollars a year to operate over a consolidated
school. District Business Manager Richard Snodgrass, warned
directors that keeping the district's "neighborhood" schools
will carry a considerably larger price tag than a merger. The
board took no action Tuesday, after previously giving in to the
pleas of some residents who wanted to keep all schools open
instead of consolidating.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
BEAVERTOWN - Firetree officials are trying to calm the fears
of residents in western Snyder County as they move forward in
their plans to open a drug and rehab center in the old Beaver
Adams Elementary School in Spring Township. At a Beavertown
Borough Council meeting Firetree's representative Scott Snyder
told the crowd they will not take violent offenders. He said
their facility will have 50 to 55 beds for detox patients with
stays lasting a week to 90 days. Snyder addressed security at
the facility and says they will not have a need for additional
law enforcement. He says their rehab center will be well secured
with an alarm system, program monitors and a computer system
that tracks their patients. A local advisory board of local
elected officials, law enforcement and residents will be created
to keep an open line of communication between Firetree and the
community. Residents took a solid stand against Firetree
locating along Route 522 in their community after word of their
plans went public, but Beaver and Spring Townships didn't have
any zoning regulations that could stop them from purchasing the
private property and moving forward.
WFYY
RUSH TOWNSHIP, CENTRE COUNTY - A Kentucky-based railroad
company wants to reactivate 20 miles of rail line that could
serve a landfill and industrial park another company wants to
build in Rush Township, Centre County. Noel Rush, vice president
for strategic planning and development at R.J. Corman Railroad,
of Nicholasville, Kentucky, says the company plans to file the
request with the federal Surface Transportation Board in the
next few weeks. The proposed rail line would run from Wallaceton
in Clearfield County through Rush Township to the Gorton area in
Snow Shoe Township. It would provide one inbound and one
outbound train a day with 10 to 20 cars for transport of garbage
and sand and gravel from a proposed quarry in the park. Resource
Recovery, a Lancaster County-based company, wants to build a
municipal waste landfill and industrial park in the northern
corner of Rush Township. It would use the rail line to transfer
waste to the site. Resource Recovery has faced strong community
opposition to its proposal, which includes building an
Interstate 80 interchange to provide direct access to the site.
Although the state Department of Environmental Protection's
review of the project is on hold, the company recently bought
the 58-hundred acre site for the landfill and industrial park.
The Centre Daily Times reports, Resource Recovery bought the
land for $3.4 million on April 25th.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
BELLEFONTE - More than 300 Bolton Metal Products employees in
Centre County will be eligible for additional benefits under the
federal Trade Act, after the company's appeal petition was
accepted by the U.S. Department of Labor on Friday. The Centre
Daily Times reports, the new ruling certifies the employees -
more than 200 displaced by the closing of the plant in February
and another 78 who were laid off at the end of December - as
eligible for the Trade Act's Alternative Trade Adjustment
Assistance program. That program provides opportunities for wage
subsidies, relocation, job search allowances and funding for
training with an accredited training site.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
SELINSGROVE - Most of us know someone who lives paycheck to
paycheck or who has to decide whether to buy food or fill a
prescription. An exercise gets underway today to help
demonstrate the plight of poverty and how deeply it is embedded
in our society. The Poverty Simulation will be held on the
campus at Susquehanna University. It's sponsored by The Union
Snyder Community Action Agency to help develop a greater
understanding of the situations faced by low income residents,
and help participants be more responsive to the needs of others.
CAA Executive Director Harry Adrian says providing community
education to assist residents is part of their job. He says they
work to provide self sufficiency to low income individuals
including the homeless, the working poor, the unemployed and
those unable to work.
WFYY
LEWISBURG - Evangelical Community Hospital is showing their
volunteers some appreciation. The hospital is holding a
volunteer recognition dinner tonight in the Terrace room of the
Langone Center on the campus of Bucknell University. M 450
volunteers who donate so many hours each year will be recognized
at the annual event. Volunteers for the Hospital, Hospice,
Chaplaincy and both the Lewisburg and Milton Auxiliaries to
Evangelical will be honored. Volunteers for the offices of the
Evangelical Medical Services Foundation will also be recognized.
The dinner begins at 5:30 p.m.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
POTTSVILLE - Little known gems about Pottsville and
Schuylkill County were unveiled yesterday as part of National
Tourism Week. The Pottsville Commission on Tourism introduced
their newest brochure, a self-guided walking tour map. It's full
of stops that visitors can see in the city, including 5 new
sites. The map was last updated during the Pottsville
Bicentennial in 2006. The County Visitors Bureau also unveiled a
new county tourism map at the Schuylkill Mall, Frackville. The
map includes additional attractions for visitors and county
residents to see.
WPPA
HARRISBURG - The State Senate Tuesday passed a bill sponsored
by Senator Jake Corman that would eliminate the need for
Pennsylvanian's to re-register on the "Do Not Call"
registry every five years. The Senate approved the bill and sent
it to the House of Representatives for consideration. The bill
would keep a consumer's number in Pennsylvania's "Do Not Call"
registry until they asked it to be removed. The Do Not Call
Registry has been extremely popular among consumers, who were
tired of unwanted and intrusive calls. Under Corman's proposed
bill Pennsylvanians can have permanent relief from
telemarketers. To register your home or cell phone numbers on
the Do Not Call List, visit nocallsplease.com.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
SHILLINGTON, Pa. (AP) - Governor Ed Rendell says he doesn't
think he will ever run for president of the United States. But
he says being governor is like being president of Pennsylvania.
Rendell answered a wide range of questions Tuesday from Karen
Houck's fifth-grade class at Gov. Mifflin Intermediate School in
Shillington. Rendell says his proudest accomplishments include
helping raise the minimum wage and extend affordable health care
to more children. His best friend is his wife and his favorite
food is a good hamburger. He regrets not playing a musical
instrument or speaking a foreign language fluently. Rendell
spent 45 minutes with the class of about 25. He says he likes to
get young people to think about the system and how they can take
part. He was invited after meeting one of the fifth-graders,
10-year-old Llewellyn Evans, recently at Philadelphia
International Airport.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Four men nominated by Governor Ed
Rendell to fill temporary openings on the state's appellate
courts are expected to be voted down in the Senate. Senators and
Senate aides say most of the Republican majority will vote
against the nominees on Wednesday, while most Democrats will
support them. A two-thirds majority vote is necessary to confirm
a judicial nominee. There is one opening on the Supreme Court,
two on the Superior Court and one on the Commonwealth Court. A
spokesman for Rendell said the Democratic governor has no plans
to withdraw the nominees before the vote. Supreme Court Chief
Justice Ronald Castille has publicly supported the nominees,
saying the vacancies are creating delays and bigger workloads.
News for Tuesday, May 13th
MIDDLEBURG - Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against
a Snyder County man if he is convicted of first-degree murder in
the shooting death of 46-year old Jeffrey Stock. Snyder
County District Attorney Michael Sholley said he has filed a
notice of aggravating circumstances, a court document that
outlines the reasons why the commonwealth is justified in
seeking the death penalty. The Daily Item reports 26-year
old Travis Graham of Richfield has pleaded not guilty and is
awaiting trial on an open count of criminal homicide. Stock was
shot on March 22nd while he stood on a porch at his home along
Potato Valley Road in West Perry Township near Richfield. During
a recent preliminary hearing, state police Tpr. Rob Reeves
testified that on March 31st Graham confessed to the killing,
but claimed he wanted to shoot at Stock to scare him because he
was afraid of him.
John Callahan (WGRC)
MEISERVILLE - Arson charges have now been filed against a
Snyder County man. 47-year old Wayne Roemer of Mount Pleasant
Mills is charged with arson and recklessly endangering after
allegedly burning down his own home at 1579 Clark Hill Road,
Perry Township, in the early morning hours of April 28th. The
home was a total loss valued at $150,000. Police waited to
charge Roemer because he was undergoing psychiatric testing.
He told investigators he heard voices outside the home and
started the fire on his couch to stop them. Roemer was found
hiding in the woods behind the house. He is in the Snyder County
prison on $100,000 straight bail. A hearing on the charges is
next Friday.
John Callahan (WGRC)
POTTSVILLE - A Schuylkill County man admitted to Pottsville
police and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Bureau of Forestry that he set the brush fire that burned five
to 10 acres on the Sharp Mountain on April 19th. The Republican
Herald reports 25-year old Dennis Powanda Junior of Pottsville
will face arson charges filed by the Bureau of Forestry after he
was nabbed in a joint investigation between Pottsville police
and the Bureau of Forestry.
John Callahan (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - An unidentified man has been hospitalized with
severe injuries suffered in an apparent assault in the 700 block
of West Fourth Street in Williamsport early this morning.
Police tell the Sun-Gazette the victim, believed to be in his
20s was found in the Annunciation Church, parking lot about 2
this morning. He was rushed to Williamsport Hospital and has
since been transferred to Geisinger Medical Center.
Williamsport Police Captain Raymond Kontz the Third said they
have not been able to identify the man and that it's a serious
situation. Investigators have not been able to question the
victim. Kontz said the man suffered blunt force trauma
injuries that weren't inflicted by a gun or knife. They
aren't sure how he was hurt.
John Callahan (WGRC)
BARBOURS - A bear injured a 44-year-old Lycoming County woman
and killed her dog Monday night. The woman was taken to
Williamsport Hospital, but her name and condition were not
available. The bear got away. Dispatch reports say the
woman suffered arm and leg injuries and was bleeding from the
head. The attack took place just after nine p.m. near the
woman's home along Route 87 in Plunketts Creek Township.
Officials say the dog might have surprised the bear in the dark.
Game Commission officials have set traps for the bear. They want
to know if it was with its cubs or was somehow provoked.
Bear attacks are rare in Pennsylvania.
Jim Diehl (WGRC w/WNEP)
BELLEFONTE - A State College man police called a high-level
cocaine dealer was found guilty yesterday of four felonies
related to delivery and possession of a controlled substance as
well as a misdemeanor charge. This was the first of four trials
that 29-year old Antonio Alexander Junior will face in Centre
County on drug-related charges. Police tell the Centre Daily
Times, Alexander was accused of selling cocaine to an undercover
State College police officer on two occasions. Alexander also
tried trading the officer drugs for a handgun. Centre County
District Attorney Michael Madeira said he will seek the
mandatory sentence on the charges, meaning Alexander could face
10 to 20 years in prison.
John Callahan (WGRC)
LUCY FURNACE - A Huntingdon County man flees the scene of a
crash in Mifflin County. Troopers say 48-year old Steven Stewart
of Huntingdon was driving along the Old Pike Road near Lucy
Furnace in Wayne Township just after 7:30 last night when his
car slid off the road and hit a utility pole shearing if off and
causing a power outage to nearby homes. Police say with the
assistance of a friend Stewart left the scene. Alcohol is
believed to be a factor. Charges will be filed against Stewart.
John Callahan (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - A major national department store chain has an
intent on building a store in downtown Williamsport and at a new
conference today Williamsport Mayor Gabriel Campana signed
papers of intent today welcoming the opportunity. Campana along
with several other dignitaries including Representative Steven
Capelli told a standing room only crowd in Williamsport City
Hall chambers this morning that bringing a Kohls Department
store to the downtown would be a big boost and a positive turn
for Williamsport. Mayor Campana says the full-fledged department
store is the first of its kind "in more than 60 years" in
Williamsport. The Kohls store will be accompanied by a much
needed parking garage and is expected to be located on the
property now owned by the Williamsport School District's Service
Center in the 200 Block of Third Street. Much lies ahead before
construction begins including moving the School District
offices, but Williamsport officials hope to have the store up
and in business by October first, 2009.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
SAINT CLAIR - In Schuylkill County, BRADS may be back in the
game. Michael Bedrin, D-E-P Northeast Regional director, tells
the Republican Herald Blythe Township has filed an appeal to the
state Department of Environmental Protection's denial of the
permit application for the Blythe Recycling and Demolition Site
landfill in the township. On April 11th, D-E-P denied the
application, citing that BRADS had not adequately addressed
issues and deficiencies in its application. Blythe Township
originally applied for a permit to build a 1,500-ton-per-day
demolition debris landfill in early 2004.
John Callahan (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - Montoursville Area School District is
considering a proposal to close the Loyalsock Valley Elementary
School and moving the students into the borough. Superintendent,
Doctor Dominic Cavallaro, confirmed that several options are
being looked at. As it stands now, the District would like
to build a separate area (but attached) to the McCall Middle
School for third, fourth and fifth graders and transfer
Kindergarten, first and second grade to the Lyter Elementary
School. Costs could be anywhere from $16 to $23-million
dollars. Cavallaro says the District is looking for state
funding, but it would mean a property tax increase of about
$75.00. Meanwhile, there will be a public meeting on the issue
at the Loyalsock Valley Elementary School on Thursday night at 7
p.m. to present the plans.
WRAK
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's education department
says a new Web site will make college transfers much easier.
Officials say students can use the Pennsylvania Transfer and
Articulation Center to search for transferable courses and get
detailed instructions on how to transfer. Deputy education
secretary Kathleen Shaw says students sometimes get frustrated
when they find out that not all of their course credits will
transfer from one school to another. She says that forces them
to spend more time and money to complete their degrees.
Thirty-two schools are participating in the system, including
Pennsylvania's 14 community colleges and state-owned
universities. The system was created under a 2006 state law
establishing a statewide credit-transfer system.
BARBOURS - A bear injured a
44-year-old Lycoming County woman and killed her dog Monday
night. The woman was taken to Williamsport Hospital, but her
name and condition were not available. The bear got away.
Reports say the woman suffered arm and leg injuries and was
bleeding from the head. The attack took place just after nine
p.m. near the woman's home along Route 87 in Plunketts Creek
Township. Officials say the dog might have surprised the bear in
the dark. Game Commission officials are investigating.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
HUGHESVILLE - An autopsy done Monday
revealed little information into what caused the death of a
47-year-old man whose body was found Friday on the property of a
tire business on Route 405, in Lycoming County. An autopsy done
at the Lehigh Valley Medical Center was inconclusive.
Investigators now await toxicology tests. Coroner Charles
Kiessling tells the Sun Gazette, it will likely be at least two
months before investigators will know what caused the death of
Kevin Phillips, whose body was found on the lot of Barto's Tire
and Auto Center, in Muncy Creek Township, just after eight a.m.
Friday. Phillips, was last known to have been staying with
friends at nearby Gail Lane in Wolf Township, and was last seen
walking in that area late Thursday night when he was questioned
by Muncy police.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT -
A Williamsport man remains in fair condition following a
crash Sunday in Lycoming County. That happened just after noon
on Homewood Avenue at the intersection with Northway Road in
Loyalsock Township. Police say 47-year-old Michael Brooks left
the roadway and ran across the sidewalk smashing through a chain
link fence before hitting a utility pole. He was taken to
Williamsport Hospital for treatment.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
BLOOMSBURG - A rig hauling a subway
car got stuck on Lightstreet Road near the Bloomsburg Hospital
yesterday afternoon, causing an hour-long traffic jam in
Columbia County. That all started around five p.m. after the
driver of the rig got lost and tried to turn around when it got
stuck. As a large wrecker worked to free the rig, traffic was
detoured. The road was re-opened just before six p.m.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
MILL HALL - Another five tires were
discovered slashed yesterday in Clinton County. State Police are
looking for the vandals that went on a tire slashing spree over
the weekend there in Mill Hall. Police now say ten people had
their tires slashed sometime between Friday evening and Saturday
afternoon. Police well over $15-hundred dollars worth of tires
on vehicles were damaged. Anyone with information on who might
be involved is asked to call state police.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - Testimony continues in
Lycoming County in the murder trial of 21 year old Javier Cruz-Echevarria
of South Williamsport. He is charged with criminal homicide for
his part in the shooting death of 37-year old Eric Sawyer of
Philadelphia, in March of last year. Sawyer's live-in girlfriend
testified Monday morning that Sawyer left their home late on the
night of March 31st saying that Cruz needed a ride because his
car broke down. In a tearful testimony, she said Williamsport
Police later knocked on her door to tell her that Sawyer was
dead. Cruz's co-defendant, Sean Durrant, has pleaded guilty to
shooting Sawyer and will be sentenced in July. Also Monday,
Teresa Matthews of Memorial Avenue took the stand. She told the
court that Durrant and Cruz were at her house that night and she
gave them money to buy cocaine. She said both returned and they
split the drug. Testimony continues today with the prosecution
expected to present expert witnesses.
Jim Diehl (WGRC w/WRAK and Sun
Gazette)
WILLIAMSPORT - The owner of
Springman's Paint and Killer Customs, a custom vehicle painting
business in Lycoming County has pleaded guilty to accusations he
accepted money for work that he did not complete.
Thirty-two-year-old Mark Springman the Third, pleaded guilty
Monday in county court to 20 counts of deceptive business
practices. Each count represented a victim. Vehicle owners had
complained that their vehicles had been ruined, were returned
minus parts or still were at the business, after two or three
years. Springman is free on $200-thousand dollars bail. A
sentencing date has not been set. He'll also be required to pay
over $300-thousand dollars in
restitution.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
BLOOMSBURG - A Berwick man was
acquitted of rape Monday after a jury rejected the alleged
victim's story about being assaulted while asleep after a party.
Jurors took less than an hour to clear 30-year-old Victor Lopez,
on all counts. Lopez, was accused of assaulting
21-year-old Briana Levan in the basement of a friend's home in
Espy during Labor Day weekend in 2006. A lack of D-N-A evidence
was key in the acquittal.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
CATAWISSA - The Canadian Lottery Scam
is surfacing in Columbia County.
A resident told police they received a notice that they
won the lottery and even sent a check with directions to use it
to pay the taxes on their winnings.
Now police are warning you to beware. First you have to
play the lottery to win!
Secondly, the checks they send you to deposit and then
send to them via MONEYGRAM… are usually bogus. Police want you
to be alert to such fraudulent claims.
WFYY
WILLIAMSPORT - An announcement will be
made today as to a major new downtown retail store in
Williamsport. An announcement ceremony will be held at 10 a.m.
in City Hall. Mayor Gabriel Campana says the full-fledged
department store is the first of its kind "in more than 60
years" in Williamsport. The exact location of the new store has
yet to be confirmed but at least one building at or near the
corner of William and West Third streets recently was sold and
negotiations or interest has been shown about the purchase of
others.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT - The Little League
headquarters in South Williamsport, Lycoming County will be
getting a facelift and expansion after South Williamsport
Borough Council last night approved an engineer's plans to
renovate the building. The Little League renovations will
include an add-on to the east side of the administration
building along Route 15. The renovations and addition will
increase work and storage space, to accommodate mailing,
printing and processing. Several bids have been received from
contractors but Little League has not as yet awarded a contract.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
CRESSONA - Schuylkill Products, will
be moving oversized loads from its plant in Cressona this week
and next. Today (Tuesday), two loads will leave at 7 and 9 this
morning, Thursday,
two loads will leave at 7 and one at 9.
Friday, two loads will leave at 7 and 9 and next Monday
two loads will leave at 7 and one at 9. The Republican Herald
reports motorists can expect delays at the intersections of
Route 901 and 183, and the intersection of Route 183 and Route
61. Loads will be traveling south on Route 61.
John Callahan (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - Shedding some light on
the subject, Williamsport Mayor Gabriel Campana stood in front
of a Second Street home Monday afternoon to announce that city
neighborhoods will be getting brighter. The mayor wants to put
higher wattage bulbs and - if necessary - extra light fixtures
and poles throughout the city to help make city streets less
desirable to criminals. The new program is in response to
concerns raised by neighborhood watch groups and the mayor
promised that more street lighting is coming. Campana says the
city would find about $25,000 to pay for the upgrades over the
next six years.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
HUGHESVILLE - The borough of
Hughesville could come into some money if it acts to lease a 70
acre plot of land to a firm that wants to drill for natural gas.
Council didn't identify the company but said it could bring a
quarter of a million dollars. The land, in the northern part of
the borough, is in the Marcellus Shale formations. The Marcellus
Shale covers a large area of land from the southern tier of New
York through central Pennsylvania and into Maryland, Virginia
and West Virginia, and is estimated to hold between 150 trillion
and 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
WFYY
HARRISBURG - The idle equipment, steep
cliffs, serene pools of water, and mysterious shaft openings of
active and abandoned mines can be alluring for adventure
seekers, but many times they are deadly. The Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection along with the Mine
Safety and Health Administration are teaming up to warn people
to stay out of mines, quarries and abandoned mine lands because
of the many dangers these sites can hold. D-E-P Secretary
Kathleen McGinty says, "Mines are not safe places for swimming,
exploring or off-roading. When you venture into these sites, you
put your life and the lives of emergency personnel at risk."
McGinty, Monday kicked off the 2008 "Stay Out - Stay Alive"
campaign to warn people about the dangers of trespassing in
mines and quarries. Since 2000, 31 people have died trespassing
in mines and quarries in 19 Pennsylvania counties. The U.S. Mine
Safety and Heath Administration (MSHA) reports, 249 people have
died nationally during that same period.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A proposed
compromise on legislation to ban smoking in most public places
in Pennsylvania is stalled. Governor Ed Rendell and Democratic
senators are insisting that state law should not stop
municipalities from enforcing stronger prohibitions. Rendell
even issued a veto threat just hours before a joint House-Senate
committee was to meet to vote on legislation that has been mired
in disagreement for 10 months. The governor says he would reject
a bill that contains too many exemptions or wipes out a stronger
ban enacted by the city of Philadelphia. The committee's lone
Senate Democrat, Robert Mellow of Lackawanna County, also says
Senate Democrats would not support a bill that prohibits any
local smoking ban, even if the bill allowed Philadelphia's to
remain standing. The Senate compromise bill, is designed to
prevent local governments from enforcing or enacting their own
smoking prohibitions.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Governor Ed
Rendell says he's happy with the bids for a 75-year lease of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike. He says they're not as high as would have
been expected nine months ago, when business conditions were
better, but they're good for present times. Preliminary bids
came in so close to each other that at least some of the bidders
have been given five more days to sweeten the pot. Rendell says
the highest bid that came in by Friday's deadline and all other
bids that were at least 90 percent of that have until the end of
the week to submit a best and final offer. Rendell isn't saying
how high the initial bids were or how many bidders qualify for
additional time. Rendell wants to use the money to fix roads and
bridges and to subsidize mass transit.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Florida state
university president has been hired as the next chief executive
of Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities. John Cavanaugh
was selected yesterday by the State System of Higher Education's
board of governors to become the third chancellor in the
system's 25-year history. The 54-year-old Cavanaugh is president
of the University of West Florida in Pensacola, where his annual
salary is $295,000. He has held that job since 2002. Cavanaugh
previously was a faculty member and administrator at Bowling
Green State University, the Medical College of Ohio, the
University of Delaware and the University of North Carolina at
Wilmington. He also was a visiting professor at the Georgia
Institute of Technology.
News for Monday, May 12th
TAMAQUA - Autopsy results of a Tamaqua woman determined that
she died with high levels of drugs in her system. 39-year-old
Jennifer McArdle was found in her Tamaqua home Friday night.
The autopsy, conducted by Dr. Richard Bindie, of the Lehigh
Valley Medical Center determined that McArdle had prescription
and opiate drugs in her body, which caused her death.
County Coroner Joseph Lipsett announced those findings Sunday.
Tamaqua police had reported that McArdle's death as suspicious.
She was pronounced dead at her Schuylkill Avenue home Friday
night.
WPPA
MUNCY - While police continue to investigate the death of a
man found along the side of a roadway in Muncy Creek Township
Friday morning, the Lycoming County Coroner's office has
identified the victim as Kevin Phillips. They have yet to
release his age or where he is from, but do say an autopsy was
performed this morning at Lehigh Valley Medical Center.
WRAK
WILLIAMSPORT - Testimony continues in Lycoming County in the
murder trial of 21 year old Javier Cruz-Echevarria of South
Williamsport. Cruz is charged with criminal homicide for
his part in the shooting death of 37-year old Eric Sawyer of
Philadelphia, in March of last year. Sawyer's live-in
girlfriend testified this morning that Sawyer left their home
late on the night of March 31st saying that Cruz -- "his old
Head" --needed a ride because his car broke down. In
a tearful and emotional testimony, she said that Williamsport
Police Agent Lenny Dincher knocked on her door to tell her that
Sawyer was dead. His co-defendant, Sean Durrant, has
pleaded guilty to shooting Sawyer and will be sentenced in July.
Today, Teresa Matthews of Memorial Avenue took the stand.
She testified that her niece was married to Durrant and that
Durrant was going to move in with her because the couple was
separating. Matthews told the court that Durrant and Cruz were
at her house that night and she gave them money to buy cocaine.
She said both returned and they split the drug. She noted that
they said they were going to Philadelphia, but said about 20
minutes later, she heard on her police scanner that the "cops
were following their vehicle" and later learned of Sawyer's
death.
WRAK
POTTSVILLE - Charges are sent on to court for Norman Nickle
in Schuylkill County. The 53-year old Nickle of Pottsville
is charged with the shooting deaths of 19-year old Joshua Yevak
of Pottsville and 17-year old Cayla Turner of Port Carbon in
March at his North 13th Street home. Magisterial District
Judge James Reiley ordered that all charges against Nickle, with
the exception of two counts of crimes committed with a firearm,
be held for court at a preliminary hearing this afternoon.
The Republican Herald reports Reiley dropped the two charges of
crimes committed with a firearm because there was no evidence
Nickle was not allowed to possess a gun.
John Callahan (WGRC)
JERSEY SHORE - A clogged chimney has been ruled as the cause
of a Lycoming County fire. The blaze destroyed Larry
Selleck's home on Nichols Run Road in Watson Township on April
4th. Independent Hose Company Chief Brian Flook tells the
Sun-Gazette the clogged chimney caused the fire. The home dated
back to the 1860s. No damage estimate has been determined.
John Callahan (WGRC)
MARKELSVILLE - A Perry County motorcycle crash injures two.
Troopers say 28-year old Jason Stum of Newport was driving along
Route 849 in Juniata Township just before Noon Saturday morning
when his motorcycle went down on its side and slid off the road.
The motorcycle hit a ditch and Stum and his passenger, 30-year
old Kelly Lawler, also of Newport, were thrown off the bike.
Neither was wearing a helmet. Stum had a minor injury.
Lawler suffered a moderate injury and was taken to Hershey
Medical Center where she is listed in fair condition this
afternoon.
John Callahan (WGRC)
SNYDERTOWN - A Schuylkill County woman escapes serious injury
in a Northumberland County crash. Troopers say 58-year old
Barbara Montcavage of Ashland was driving along Snydertown Road
in Upper Augusta Township just east of the Township building
shortly before nine this morning when she went off the road in a
curve and hit a tree. Her car came back onto the road, then
rolled onto its roof stopping in the middle of the roadway.
Montcavage, who was wearing a seatbelt, suffered only a minor
injury.
John Callahan (WGRC)
ORANGEVILLE - A man is charged with criminal tresspass in
Columbia County. State Police say 34-year old Daniel
Miller of Orangeville saw two neighbor boys walking from his
yard on Zaners Bridge Road back onto their own on Saturday
evening around 6:30 as he returned home. Miller, who was
intoxicated, went over to the boys accusing them of stealing
from his house. The boys went inside their home and Miller left.
He came back and entered the home, kicking the families dog, a
Chihuahua, that met him at the door. Miller continued inside,
uninvited, and interrogated the 11 and 9-year old and threatened
to have them arrested. The boys parents weren't home a the
time. Miller is charged with criminal tresspass, public
drunkeness and harrassment.
John Callahan (WGRC)
HARRISBURG - Tuesday is Buckle-up Pennsylvania Day. Governor
Rendell has designated May 12th as Buckle-up Pennsylvania Day in
an effort to remind motorists to buckle-up everytime they get
into their automobiles. Not only is it the law, but buckling-up
could save your life or the life of a loved one. Also beginning
Tuesday over 400 local police departments across the
Commonwealth will join with other states May 12th through June
first in the annual National "Click it or Ticket" campaign.
Nearly 560 people lost their lives due to not being buckled last
years in crashes across the state. The "Click it or Ticket,"
program aims to reduce those numbers.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Bids to lease the Pennsylvania
Turnpike on a long-term basis were so close that at least some
of the bidders qualified for five more days to sweeten the pot.
Gov. Ed Rendell isn't saying how many bidders met the Friday
deadline, but some of them were close enough to the top bidder
that it's triggering a special provision. They're getting until
the end of this week to make a best and final offer.
Rendell isn't saying how high the current bids are, but said
he's happy with them at a Monday news conference to announce the
delay.
TAMAQUA - Tamaqua police are
investigating the suspicious death of a 39-year-old woman.
Police were called to the Schuylkill Avenue home of Jennifer
McArdle just after eight Friday night. An autopsy will be done
today at the Lehigh Valley Medical Center on McArdle's body to
determine an exact cause of death as questions are being asked
by police, of several people close to McArdle.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
MUNCY - There's still no word on the
identity of a man found dead in Lycoming County. Police have not
released the man's identity due to his family not being
notified. Police say he was about 45-years-old. The man's body
was found just after eight Friday morning along Route 405 in
Muncy Creek Township. An autopsy on the man's body will
determine the cause of death as police continue their
investigation.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
MILTON - A 16-year-old Milton area
girl was taken to the hospital after running into a car Sunday
in Northumberland County. That happened just before four p.m. at
the intersection of Route 405 and Hidden Paradise Road in West
Chillisquaque Township. Police say the girl ran out into the
roadway and was nearly hit head-on by a car driven by
61-year-old James Stehr of Watsontown. Stehr swerved to miss the
girl who hit the side of his car. She was taken to Geisinger
Medical Center for treatment. Police have not released the
girl's name. Stehr and no one in his car was hurt.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
SELINSGROVE - A Selinsgrove man has
been charged with rape after assaulting a woman in Snyder
County. Police say around nine last Wednesday night 18-year-old
Jordan Younkin assaulted an 18-year-old woman in a rear parking
area at the Wal-Mart store in Monroe Township. Younkin is
charged with rape and related counts and is locked up in the
Snyder County jail on $25-thousand dollars bail.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
SAINT CLAIR - Fire started in a
mechanical room at a strip mall under construction in Schuylkill
County. The fire, just before four early Saturday morning at the
Coal Creek Commerce Center in Saint Clair has been ruled
accidental. The fire caused between $70 and $90-thousand dollars
in damage, and a firefighter was treated and released from a
hospital for a back injury during the blaze. The new strip mall
was scheduled to open June first. The Republican Herald reports,
the general contractor, says they're still going to try to meet
that deadline.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
MILL HALL - State Police in Clinton
County are looking for the vandals that went on a tire slashing
spree over the weekend. Police say seven people all in Mill Hall
had their tires slashed sometime between Friday evening and
Saturday afternoon. Police say at least ten tires total were
slashed causing over one thousand dollars in damage total.
Anyone with information on who might be involved is asked to
call state police.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
BELLVILLE - Police are looking for the
vandals that tore up a school yard in Mifflin County. That
happened sometime Saturday at the Bellville Mennonite School
along Front Mountain Road in Bellville. Police say someone drove
a vehicle onto the yard at the school and made about six
complete circles in the wet sod tearing up the lawn and causing
about $700-dollars in damages.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
LEWISTOWN - Mifflin County Regional
Police are warning area residents to be careful regarding
letters stating winners have won international lotteries. Police
say they are receiving "a high volume of complaints" regarding
the letters. Typically, the scam artists will send letters of
congratulations as well as banker's checks from fake lottery
companies. Winners are then asked to deposit the check and send
an amount of money to the supposed lottery agency to collect
their winnings. Police say the letters and checks are scams and
residents are not to participate. For more information regarding
these types of scams, visit the Federal Trade Commission Web
site at www.ftc.gov.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
SELINSGROVE - Governor Ed Rendell told
a graduating group of about 450 students not to let anyone tell
them how to define success for themselves, set high goals,
remain patient and always find time to help others. The Governor
was the guest speaker at the 150th commencement ceremony at
Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Snyder County, Sunday.
Rendell also received an Honorary Doctor of Public Service
Degree from the University, for his work on behalf of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
BLOOMSBURG - Starting this summer,
residents in Bloomsburg will get two separate bills for sewer
service and water. Sewer charges have been included on water
bills for more than two decades, but the town's sewer authority
has decided to start sending out its own invoices. The move will
cost the authority about $22-hundred dollars more each month.
But the company that plans to do the billing, Diversified
Technologies of Bloomsburg, expects to make up the difference in
cost by bringing in more money. The Press Enterprise reports,
United Water now charges the authority roughly 45 cents for each
water bill that includes the sewer charge as a line item.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
LEWISTOWN - Here's an economic "scoop"
that will boost the workforce in Mifflin County. The Sentinel
reports the closure of an assembly plant in Kentucky is expected
to bring an increase in production to Ames True Temper's
Lewistown facility. The announcement was made Saturday at the
Ames True Temper plant which makes shovels for the U.S. market.
Production at the Lewistown plant will increase from about
four-and-a-half million to six million shovels a year. That's a
33 percent production increase. The production transfer also may
result in a slight increase in jobs at the plant with the
possibility of brining on an additional 10 to 15 people.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The cost of mailing
a letter goes up a penny to 42 cents today. The boost is part of
what's expected to be an annual price adjustment by the Postal
Service. A new law regulating the post office makes it easier to
raise rates as long as the agency doesn't exceed the rate of
inflation. Rates are to be adjusted each May. Customers,
however, can buy Forever stamps, which remain valid regardless
of any postal rate increase. However, when the rate goes up, so
does the price of Forever stamps. Postal officials say they have
printed an additional 1.5 billion 1-cent stamps in anticipation
of the demand from people trying to get rid of their 41-cent
stamps.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A group based in
Colorado is planning to distribute 250,000 Pittsburgh-themed New
Testament Bibles in advertising pouches to be delivered with
editions of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper. A local
program of the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based International Bible
Society called CityReachers Pittsburgh hopes to send the New
Testaments to the paper's subscribers in Allegheny County and
some border communities on Sept. 7. The group has delivered
custom-designed Bibles to newspaper subscribers in several other
cities across the country in an effort to find innovative ways
of spreading a Christian message. So far, the organization has
raised just $350,000 of the $625,000 needed to distribute the
New Testaments to 250,000 households. It has until May 31 to
raise the remaining money to meet a printing deadline.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A national
transplant agency has begun a review of liver transplants after
a Pittsburgh newspaper reported that hundreds performed annually
were unnecessary and caused patients to die earlier than they
would have without a transplant. The Virginia-based United
Network of Organ Sharing says it's looking into the transplants
after a series of articles published in March by the Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review following a four-month investigation. The
newspaper said only about 3,400 of the 16,000 people on the
national liver transplant waiting list are so sick that having a
transplant would increase survival odds. Liver transplant
hospitals singled out in the newspaper investigation defended
their practices when contacted by The Associated Press at the
time. They insisted they do not perform transplants on people
too soon or on anyone who is not a good candidate.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania
taxpayers spend more than $15 million a year to maintain,
service, insure and fuel about 3,650 vehicles used full time by
state employees. That's according to a report in The
Patriot-News of Harrisburg. The newspaper reports that the
annual cost of vehicles used by cabinet officers, deputy
secretaries, chief counsels, bureau directors, state troopers
and others totals about $15.6 million. Some employees are also
allowed to use their state cars for personal use. That's
according to a spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell. But the executive
director of the public watchdog group Common Cause Pennsylvania
says the number is excessive. Two state legislators are asking
Auditor General Jack Wagner to do an audit of the use of state
cars.
WEEKEND NEWS
SUNDAY....
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT - A South
Williamsport couple with two veteran firefighters as neighbors
found out just how fortunate it is.
The Sun-Gazette reports a car fire broke out in the
garage of a home on Bedaro Drive at around 2:30 Saturday
afternoon. Neighbor
and off-duty Williamsport fire platoon chief Eric Smith heard
the call over his scanner and immediately went to the scene. He
was quickly joined by Mark Keeler, a 33-year volunteer
firefighter who lives a few doors away. Thick smoke caused the
two firefighters to crawl to reach a garden hose to douse the
flames until additional borough volunteer firefighters arrived
on the scene. The neighbors are credited with preventing the
fire from spreading to the couple's garage and home. Fire
investigators determined that the fire was caused by an apparent
mechanical failure in the vehicle.
Terry Burke (WGRC)
BERWICK - Firefighters in Berwick who
sip a beer and then hear an emergency call are no longer allowed
to respond. The Press Enterprise reports it's part of a new
policy that cracks down on any borough employee or volunteer who
drinks or uses drugs while on duty. Borough leaders are trying
to rein in ballooning costs of workers' compensation insurance.
Increased claims have helped push the borough's cost from about
$74,000 in 2006 to an expected $105,000 this year. That an
increase of about 42 percent. If the worker or volunteer is
driving, he could also face criminal charges.
Terry Burke (WGRC)
MOUNT CARMEL - A Children and Youth
investigation leads to a big bust in Northumberland County. The
Daily Item reports police ended up charging six people with
heroin sales violations and related offenses after being led to
an apartment at 300 West Third Street in Mount Carmel Friday
night. While taking several people into custody, the apartment's
tenant answered a phone call from two people looking for someone
to go with them to Reading to buy heroin and cocaine. Police
were there waiting to arrest them then they arrived. Many of
those arrested had additional probation violation charges as
well.
Terry Burke (WGRC)
MIFFLINTOWN - Clear sailing between
Harrisburg and State College will end Monday with the start of a
$3 million resurfacing project on U.S. Routes 22/322. The
Harrisburg Patriot News reports initial work will target the
3-mile stretch east of the Lewistown Narrows between the Arch
Rock Road and Mifflintown interchanges. Once that work is
completed, the project will shift to the stretch between the
Mifflintown and Thompsontown interchanges. Motorists will
encounter single-lane restrictions in both directions where work
is under way. The corridor has been construction-free since
December, when all four lanes were opened on the newly widened
Lewistown Narrows. This project is expected to be finished in
mid-October.
Terry Burke (WGRC)
SATURDAY....
MUNCY - Authorities in Lycoming County
are investigating the death of a man found along side of the
road. State police
say the body white man estimated to be 45-year-old was found
along Route 405 in Muncy Creek Township at around 8:15 Friday
morning. An autopsy will
be performed to determine the cause of death. Police are not
releasing the man's name until his family is notified.
Terry Burke (WGRC)
BERWICK - A man who was trying to
cross a Berwick road is dead after he is hit by a skidding
mini-van. The Press Enterprise reports at around 4:00 Friday
afternoon 59-year-old David Vencloski of Shickshinny got out of
his pickup truck on Orange Street and was trying to cross when
the minivan driven by 16-year-old Ethan Brown struck and
ultimately killed him. Witness reports say Brown saw Vencloski
and tried to stop but wet roads and excessive speed caused him
to his vehicle skid. Vencloski tried to run but was hit in the
oncoming traffic lane. EMTs tried to resuscitate Vencloski as he
lay in the road. A Berwick Area Ambulance took him away but he
was later declared dead by a coroner. Police closed Orange
Street for at least an hour as they reconstructed the accident
in their ongoing investigation.
Terry Burke (WGRC)
ST. CLAIR - Fire crews are clear from
the scene of an early morning strip mall fire in Schuylkill
County. It started early this morning at the under construction
Coal Creek Commerce Center off of Route 61 in Saint Clair. One
firefighter was taken to the hospital with an apparent back
injury. There is no word on what caused the fire.
Terry Burke (WGRC)
MILTON - Police in Northumberland
County are looking for a driver that hit a house and then took
off. State police
say it happened after 11:00 Thursday night in Turbot Township.
That's when what is believed to be a black Chevrolet or GMC
truck lost control and drove off of Paradise Road and down an
embankment. The vehicle then traveled approximately 100 yards
further and hit a home. The driver then fled the scene. Anyone
with information on this hit-and-run is asked to contact State
Police in Milton.
Terry Burke (WGRC)
LOCK HAVEN - A Lock Haven police
officer arrested last year for allegedly stalking seven local
women pleaded guilty Friday to three criminal counts in
connection with that case. The Lock Haven Express reports James
Bathurst entered the plea to misdemeanor counts of stalking. He
was immediately sentenced to three years probation. Bathurst was
also ordered to immediately submit his official resignation from
the Lock Haven Police Department.
Police say Bathurst made unwarranted and unwanted
comments to local women and used his position of authority as a
police officer in attempts to garner dates and interest. Some of
the episodes occurred while Bathurst was in uniform and on duty.
Bathurst was also involved in a reported stand-off at his home
in Woodward Township last year, but after six hours emerged from
his home without incident and was taken to Lock Haven Hospital
for an involuntary mental health e | 
