Snyder County Commissioner Bud Bickhart resigns

MIDDLEBURG – Snyder County Democratic Minority Commissioner Richard ‘Bud’ Bickhart has announced his resignation.  At 65-year-old, Bickhart says he feels it’s time to relax, spend time with family and maybe play some golf.  Bickhart informed his fellow commissioners of his decision Friday, and says they were surprised by the announcement. 

Bickhart says he is proud of the accomplishments made over the six years that he has been a commissioner, including the renovation of the CareerLink building and updating of the 911 center, which Bickhart says is now one of the best in the state.

The Snyder County Democratic Party will make recommendations to both Judge Harold Woelfel and Judge Mike Sholley for someone who could take Bickhart’s place, then those interested will be asked to send in resumes.  The final decision will be made by the judges, but can’t be done until Bickhart’s last day, which is January 29^th. (Sara Bartlett)   

Fatal accident in Columbia County

SCOTT TOWNSHIP – A Bloomsburg man was killed following a crash Friday morning in Scott Township, Columbia County.  52-year-old Arthur Beck Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on Route 487.  Beck was a passenger in a vehicle driven by 55-year-old Bonnie Waters of Bloomsburg.  Waters hit a vehicle driven by Colin Meck of Lancaster County.  Meck and passenger Sarah Snyder, also of Lancaster County, sustained moderate injuries, as did Waters.  The three were taken to Geisinger Medical Center after the 12:30a.m. crash.  The investigation into the accident continues. (Ali Stevens)

Missing man found

SUNBURY – The Sunbury man reported missing has been found safe.  Police say 55-year-old James Campbell was found Friday afternoon around 2:00 in a barn.  He was reported missing Thursday afternoon.  Campbell was transported to Sunbury Community Hospital for a routine evaluation.   

Local lawmaker not happy at all about the legalization of table games

SUNBURY – Governor Ed Rendell's signature is on the new law legalizing table games at Pennsylvania's slots casinos. The governor signed the bill in private Thursday, saying he had mixed feelings about it.  However State Representative Merle Phillips (R-108^th, Sunbury) is strongly against the law, not only because he is personally against gambling.  He says the bill put back in a lot of pet projects for different legislators and he says that’s absolutely wrong. 

Phillips says he always felt that if table games should be passed, it should be for property tax relief, but the money generated will go into the general fund instead.  He had a number of other problems with the bill including ATM machines being allowed in the casinos, even though they are away from the table games.  Phillips says he was afraid the day would come when table games were passed due to the change of the legislature.

The new law is designed to generate millions in license fees to close a gap in the current year's budget, and produce revenues for state and local governments in future years. Table games include poker, blackjack and roulette. Regulators say it'll be at least six months before table games are up and running. (Ali Stevens)

Pennsylvania Consumer Advocate gives tips on electric choice

SUNBURY – Electric choice is confusing to many and that’s why the Consumer Advocate of Pennsylvania is working hard for consumers to help them through the process.  Sonny Popowsky has been Consumer Advocate since 1990 and says when shopping for a service provider, look at the price for 2010 and focus on just this year.  Also, make sure you understand how long the price is good for and how long the contract is for if you choose them.  Make sure you know if there is a cancellation fee if you choose another provider later on.  When it comes to PPL, Popowsky says they don’t care who you choose.  He says believe it or not, they are completely happy if you switch.  He says they don’t make money off of this part of their business anymore.  They just buy the power at wholesale and sell it to you at resale for the same price.

Popowsky says you can shop for electric service providers on PPL’s website and know the information is safe and accurate.  You can learn more about electric choice from Popowsky from WKOK’s On The Mark program on Friday online at www.wkok.com.  (Ali Stevens)

Higher rates not expected for Citizens’ Electric customers

LEWISBURG – Though many PPL Electric Utilities customers are considering shopping for cheaper electricity, customers of Lewisburg-based Citizens’ Electric will not be able to choose an electric provider for now. President and CEO Eric Winslow explains that rate caps which applied only to PPL customers until the start of the year discouraged other suppliers from offering alternatives to customers.

Winslow says the regulated rates were too low, and Citizens’ Electric service area was simply too small to justify marketing directly to it. However, wholesale electricity prices vary from month to month, and Winslow says customers in Lewisburg and surrounding townships will thus get a break in generation rates.

Contracts with suppliers now in effect are lower than in portions of 2008, when all energy prices were going through the roof. Rate caps on PPL electric service expired at the start of the year. Alternative suppliers began offering what they touted as money saving deals to PPL customers in the closing months of 2009. (Matt Farrand)

House fire in Penn Township injures two occupants

SELINSGROVE – Two residents were injured in a house fire in Penn Township, Snyder County early Thursday morning. Jennifer Beaver was taken to Lehigh Valley Burn Unit in Allentown and is listed in critical condition. Christopher Beaver was taken to Geisinger Medical Center and no condition has been released.

Dawayne Betzer, Fire Chief of the Dauntless Hook and Ladder Company in Selinsgrove tells us about 60 firefighters were called to the Beaver residence at 949 Beaver Road in Penn Township around 1:00 this morning for the house fire.

According to Betzer, Jennifer Beaver had to jump from a window to escape. The house was fully involved when crews from Selinsgrove, Hummels Wharf, Kreamer, Kratzerville, Freeburg, Middleburg, Penns Creek and New Berlin arrived. Betzer says it was a long process to bring the fire under control.

He says they had to truck water in from another site, which took time and it took about two hours to get the fire under control. State police fire marshal Norman Fedder is investigating the cause of the blaze. The house was a two-story log style farmhouse and all of the contents are a total loss. Damage is estimated at $215,000. (Ali Stevens)

Selinsgrove man sentenced to state prison for stabbing a Danville man in the stomach

DANVILLE – A Selinsgrove man has been sentenced to five years in prison for the stabbing of a Danville man outside the Days Inn Hotel in Valley Township, Montour County. 26-year-old Raymond Vasquez Jr. was sentenced for the stabbing of 32-year-old Joshua Seidel on August 29th.

Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Warren tells us Vasquez told the court he was struggling with the recent shooting death of his cousin when he stabbed Seidel, who suffered a deep stab wound in the stomach.

His cousin, 19-year-old Anthony Rodriguez, was shot in the back and killed on May 11th. Three men have been sentenced for their roles in the shooting in Monroe Township, Snyder County. Vasquez has been sentenced to state prison and his sentence will begin immediately. (Ali Stevens)

6th annual Dirk Sojka Slam Dunk to benefit Suncom Industries

NORTHUMBERLAND – Everyone is invited to attend the 6th annual Dirk Sojka Slam Dunk at Bucknell’s Sojka Pavilion on Saturday night as Bucknell men’s basketball takes on Navy at 7 p.m. The Dirk Sojka Slam Dunk is an annual fundraising event named after the son of Gary and Sandy Sojka, who help organize the event each year. Dirk Sojka was a client at Suncom for about 11 years.

Peggy Vitale of Suncom tells us Suncom assists people with special needs teaching them basic skills and offering them a chance to work in a safe environment on something they can personally achieve. At the Dirk Sojka Slam Dunk, there is a raffle featuring a $1,000 Visa Gift Card, $500 in cash and a catered Bucknell Basketball party for a large group in a private viewing suite.

There is also a large silent auction with hundreds of items to bid on. During breaks in the basketball game, our sister station 94KX will be competing against members of the Bucknell Athletic Staff in a number of skills challenges. Everyone is encouraged to attend. (Ali Stevens)

Home Improvement Show starts today

SELINSGROVE – Sunbury Broadcasting Corporation’s Home Improvement Show starts today at the Susquehanna Valley Mall—and continues until Sunday. Nichols Mechanical Services is just one of over fifteen local companies that will set up displays.

Owner Jason Nichols says they will show off some of their newest and most energy efficient items. Nichols says now is as good of time as any to browse and buy new systems if yours is old or inefficient. Nichols is also giving away a home heating system; everyone is welcome to register at the show, and the winner will be announced on our sister station 94KX Monday.

Others at the show include Brookside Homes, Culligan Water Conditioning and Kuhn’s Brothers Surplus Outlet. The Home Improvement Show is tomorrow through Sunday during mall hours at the Susquehanna Valley Mall. For more information go online to www.wkok.com. (Sara Bartlett)

Tourism funds help local organizations

LEWISBURG – Organizations in Snyder, Union and Northumberland Counties will get a boost thanks to recent tourism fund grants. In Snyder County over $36,140 in funding was given to five organizations, including $10,000 to Selinsgrove Projects Inc., $9,200 to T&D Cats of the World and over $7,000 to the Beaver Community Fair Association.

In Union County, fourteen organizations will benefit from over $65,000 in funding. This includes $10,000 to the Veteran’s 4th of July Committee, over $8,000 to the Lewisburg Downtown Partnership and $7,000 to both the River Town Race Series and the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority.

In Northumberland County, over $8,000 will held fund programs for five organizations, including $2,500 for the Warrior Run Fort Freeland Heritage Society and $1,100 for Friends of the Joseph Priestley House.

The grant dollars are the result of a partnership between the three county’s commissioners and the Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau. They come from a portion of room tax dollars collected in each county and visitors staying overnight and paying hotel room tax generate the funds.

Latest Pennsylvania news, lottery, business and entertainment

GLENMOORE, Pa. (AP) - U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach says he'll seek re-election to Congress, now that he's dropped out of the Republican race for governor.  Gerlach, who represents a suburban Philadelphia district, said Friday his position on the ballot may have changed, but not his goals of holding down taxes and giving businesses more freedom to operate.  The four-term congressman abandoned his gubernatorial campaign Thursday, saying the cost of a statewide campaign is prohibitive.  His withdrawal leaves only state Attorney General Tom Corbett, who is widely regarded as the front-runner, and state Rep. Sam Rohrer, in the race to be decided in the May 18 primary.

DUNMORE, Pa. (AP) - A pair of northeastern Pennsylvania councilmen plan to resign after a jury ordered each to pay $1,000 out-of-pocket over a firefighter's suspension.  Dunmore borough councilmen Michael Cummings and Thomas Hennigan vow to resign over the jury award to Assistant Fire Chief Robert Dee Jr.  Dee sued the borough over an eight-day suspension in 2005.  Council thought he lacked the required training, but overturned the suspension after learning he was exempt.  Cummings and Hennigan say they acted in the borough's best interest and won't put their personal finances at risk again.  Dee also won $150,000 from the borough and $1,000 each from four other officials.  The council jobs pay $3,000 a year, although Hennigan says he donates his pay back to the borough.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - Police are investigating a string of break-ins at high schools in northeastern Pennsylvania.  Police in Wilkes-Barre say Thursday's burglary at Meyers High School is the latest break-in. Holy Redeemer and GAR high schools have also been hit in the last week.  Soda machines were targeted in the first two break-ins. A computer was stolen in the most recent burglary. Police can't say for sure if all three are connected. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage from the burglaries.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell's signature is on the new law legalizing table games at Pennsylvania's slots casinos. The governor signed the bill in private Thursday, saying he had mixed feelings about it, and then talked about it to reporters at a news conference. The new law is designed to generate millions in license fees to close a gap in the current year's budget, and produce revenues for state and local governments in future years. Table games include poker, blackjack and roulette. Regulators say it'll be at least six months before table games are up and running.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Congressman Jim Gerlach is dropping out of the Pennsylvania governor's race. The fourth-term Republican from southeastern Pennsylvania said Thursday he decided the statewide campaign is simply too expensive. Gerlach's decision leaves only two candidates for the Republican nomination. They are state Attorney General Tom Corbett, who is widely viewed as the GOP front-runner, and state Rep. Sam Rohrer of Berks County. Gerlach says his campaign had raised more than $1 million, but he believes he would need four times that much to be competitive. Corbett has said he expected to raise close to $4 million by the end of last year. The candidates have until Feb. 1 to file their year-end campaign finance reports. On the Democratic side, five candidates are vying for the nomination in the May 18 primary.

BRADFORD, Pa. (AP) - A hospital in north central Pennsylvania has laid off 59 workers after losing about $17 million in the last four years. President and chief executive officer Timothy Finan says the layoffs Wednesday were necessary "to restore some financial stability" at Bradford Regional Medical Center. The hospital is along the New York border, about 130 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The CEO says hospital admissions had dropped in recent years along with demands for some services, but not staff cuts had been made. Finan says the cuts should save the hospital about $2.5 million a year and help to safeguard about 600 jobs that remain. Officials hope the hospital will start breaking even in 12 to 18 months.

MEADVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A two-year-old dairy barn billed as indestructible when it was built for a western Pennsylvania fairgrounds has collapsed after heavy snow piled on its rounded roof. The $465,000 Heritage Hall Dairy Barn at the Crawford County Fairgrounds collapsed on Wednesday. The fairgrounds are near Meadville, a northwestern Pennsylvania town that sits in a region that gets plummeted with lake effect snow every winter. Crawford County Commissioner Morris Waid says the barn was designed to withstand the heaviest snows and had been billed as indestructible. The barn was dedicated at a ceremony in August 2008. It could hold 320 cows and served as a show arena during the annual Crawford County Fair.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Updates on the latest in business

Dow: 10,618.19, up 11.33

S&P 500: 1,144.62, up 2.93

NASDAQ: 2,317.17, up 17.12

NEW YORK (AP) - Stock prices remain mixed. The market was dealt a setback by today's weaker than expected payrolls numbers from the Labor Department.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is slated to announce $2.3 billion in tax credits that Congress has already approved to create some 17,000 green jobs. Obama is also expected to call upon Congress for an additional $5 billion in spending for clean energy manufacturing, an idea first proposed by Vice President Joe Biden last month.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government says employers cut 85,000 jobs last month as the unemployment rate held at 10 percent. The rate would have been higher if more people had been looking for work instead of leaving the labor force because they can't find jobs.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Alabama-based publisher Oxmoor House is recalling nearly 1 million home improvement books. It is because of errors that could lead do-it-yourselfers to make risky mistakes while installing or repairing their electrical wiring. Among the risks, shocks and fire hazards.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Pennsylvania Lottery Numbers

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - These Pennsylvania lotteries were drawn on Friday:

 Midday Big 4

     0-0-5-8

 Midday Number

     8-7-8

 Midday Quinto

     2-7-2-6-0

 Treasure Hunt

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - These Pennsylvania lotteries were drawn on Thursday:

Big 4 1-4-8-0 (one, four, eight, zero)

Cash 5 10-12-14-19-24

Daily Number 3-7-4

Evening Quinto 5-7-2-0-5

Midday Big 4 8-9-5-0

Midday Number 4-2-4

Midday Quinto 7-8-4-4-9

Mix and Match 09-02-15-14-08

Treasure Hunt 02-07-16-25-28

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

MICHAEL JACKSON'S DOCTOR COULD FACE INDICTMENT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's doctor could have to answer for his death. Prosecutors are prepared to ask that Dr. Conrad Murray be indicted for involuntary manslaughter. A law enforcement source says Murray would be prosecuted on a theory of gross negligence. A spokeswoman says Murray still insists that he didn't prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Jackson. Jackson died last June.

AFFILIATES WOULD LIKE A RETURN TO LATE NIGHT FOR JAY

NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC affiliates would love to see Jay Leno return to late night, which is what the network is thinking of doing. One general manager tells Broadcasting and Cable that it would be "the best outcome" he could've hoped for. One of the possibilities NBC is considering is giving Leno a half-hour show right after the news and pushing back Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon a half-hour. The 10 o'clock hour would then be filled with scripted shows like the other networks have.

ELVIS' 75TH

Palm unveils two new phones

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Palm wants to get its new phones in your hands this month. It has announced upgraded versions of two of its models, the Pre and Pix. Both will be available on Verizon Wireless on January 25. No word on what the new models will cost. But they will have more memory aboard - and a simplified interface compared with the original models, which were sold through Sprint Nextel last year. Palm had been a pioneer in smartphones. But it has been struggling for years with the success of Apple's iPhone and the BlackBerrys, made by Research in Motion. The announcement was made at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Jay Leno is worried about getting cancelled

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) - Jay Leno milked some laughs from the "rumor floating around that we were canceled." During last night's monologue on "The Jay Leno Show," he said "so far, no one has said anything to me." But, joking with Kevin Eubanks, Leno said if the cancellation is true, "it will give us time to do some traveling." He said he understands "that Fox is beautiful this time of year." As in the Fox network, of course. Leno added he doesn't "think there is any truth to the rumors" because he says it's always been his experience "that NBC only cancels you when you're in first place." So, he says that should mean his prime-time show is in no danger. He was referring to the fact that he was number one when he stepped aside to give "The Tonight Show" to Conan O'Brien. And, O'Brien, who's attracted a smaller but younger audience than Leno did as "Tonight" host, did not mention the rumors about possible upheaval that could be coming to NBC's late-night schedule.

Star spitting flap not over yet

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Some Dallas Cowboys fans are spitting mad -- over an Eagles spitting video. An employee of the Philadelphia Eagles is apologizing for twice spitting on the giant, midfield star at the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium. That video was posted on the Eagles official Web site. Eagles Web site editor Dave Spadaro says he acted unprofessionally but was just trying to get into the spirit of the rivalry. The video has since be taken down from the Web page. Tomorrow night, the Cowboys host the Eagles in the first round of the NFL playoffs.