Thursday, July 10, 2008

Snyder County power outage

MIDDLEBURG – 164 PPL customers remain without power in and around the Middleburg area in Snyder County.  Over 1,300 power outages had been reported in that area beginning around 2:30p.m.  The Snyder County Courthouse was affected, and closed for the afternoon.  Snyder County 911 says they don’t know exactly why the power went out, but crews were on the scene until the evening hours investigating. (Sara Bartlett)

Snyder County mosquito tests positive for West Nile

MIDDLEBURG – Snyder County can claim the first local mosquito of the season to test positive for the West Nile virus.  Coordinator Brenda Reddig of the West Nile program says the insect was in a large sample taken over a week ago in Monroe Township. Reddig says the county is ahead of the game in that they had already sprayed the area, and sprayed again on July 2^nd.  The mosquito count is now even lower than before the sample, according to Reddig.  Meantime, officials recommend the use of insect repellant and getting rid of all standing water on or around your property.  (Matt Farrand)

Bucknell student charged with aggravated assault for an incident at a party

LEWISBURG – An 18-year-old man from York has been charged with aggravated assault and other counts after police say he assaulted two men and two women at a fraternity party.  Zane Woodward is a Bucknell University freshman, who police say was denied entry to a party on February 15^th, and then attacked several people at the party.  Woodward is accused of slamming a student into a window, dangling a student over a railing 15-feet from the ground and punching a student several times in the face and stomach.  Charges were filed against Woodward with District Justice Leo Armbruster.  He is charged with two felony counts each of aggravated assault, burglary and criminal trespass.  He is also charged with simple assault and reckless endangerment.  (Ali Stevens)

Chris Hackett talks about the oil crisis on our live talk show

UNDATED – Congressional candidate for the 10^th District, Chris Hackett was on our sister station, WKOK’s live talk show “On the Mark” Thursday talking about the oil crisis and the importance of drilling in Alaska.  Hackett says international supply is about 85.5 million barrels a day and demand is 85.4 million barrels.  If there is an attack on an oil platform, there will be a spike in prices.  That’s why Hackett feels drilling in ANWR is critical. Hackett says speculators are looking at future demand and the reality is, they are able to drive up the prices without a national source of oil.  If drilling in ANWR is done, Hackett feels prices will drop very quickly and the door will close on speculators.  (Ali Stevens)

Geisinger doctor confirms PTSD, heart disease link

DANVILLE – Years of study by a Geisinger Health Systems researcher prove a link between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and heart disease.  Senior Investigator Dr. Joseph Boscarino believes this work is the most conclusive to date, confirming the damage PTSD can do to the heart.  He says it’s largely through hormones released when a person is under that kind of stress.   Doctor Boscarino says his latest research only looked at new cases of heart disease, and collected data from subjects nationwide. 

PTSD was first recognized as a distinct health concern among service men returning from the Vietnam War.  The doctor says it can be as potentially as lethal as smoking two packs of cigarettes daily for twenty years.  Boscarino notes that while the psychological consequences of PTSD have been long recognized, his study confirms additional medical consequences.  They include dying from heart disease, as many in the study did, some in their 50’s. 

Dr. Boscarino’s conclusions are in the July issue of a journal called Psychosomatic Medicine, and he hopes those who suffer from PTSD get therapy as soon as possible.  (Matt Farrand) 

Sunbury Celebration brings many events over the next several days

SUNBURY – Sunbury Celebration 2008 gets underway tonight (got underway last night) with a free event for kids.  There are plenty of events planned for Friday, Saturday and Sunday too. 

Sunbury Celebration will have a fun event at the Sunbury Pool with free swimming and live music on Friday night from 7 to 10.  Jody Sholvin says they have some new things to look forward to on Saturday at the North 4^th Street complex including pork sandwiches, horse rides, a chicken bar-b-que and a hover vehicle for the kids to explore.  Saturday night will also feature Shama Lama performing at 7:30 and fireworks at 9:30.  And then Sunday is the annual Soap Box Derby.  You can find out about all Sunbury Celebration events online at wkok.com. (Ali Stevens)

I-80 crash victim still critical

DANVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A Grammy-nominated gospel singer remains in critical condition nearly a week after a head-on crash in on I-80 that killed his wife and grandson.  The Rev. Timothy Wright was driving eastbound on Interstate 80 on July 4 when he was struck head-on by a vehicle operated by 44-year-old John Pick, of Lewisburg.  Police say Pick, who was also killed, was driving on the wrong side of the highway.  The 61-year-old Wright is at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville in intensive care.  The New York church pastor has released more than a dozen gospel recordings and was nominated for a Grammy award in 1994.  State police are still investigating the crash. Authorities say they are looking at whether Pick had been drinking, but have not released any more information.

Mailboxes damaged in Snyder County

MIDDLEBURG – Police are searching for someone who damaged many mailboxes in Middleburg last week.  Five mailboxes at separate homes on Decker Road were hit with an unknown object on July 6^th between midnight at 7:00a.m.  Anyone with information regarding this criminal mischief is asked to call State Police at Selinsgrove at 374-8145. (Sara Bartlett)

Citizens listen and react to Development of the Pennsylvania House Site

LEWISBURG – More than eighty people, including East Buffalo Township officials, owners of the former Pennsylvania House site, and citizens packed a meeting in Lewisburg Wednesday night to talk about the property.  Township Supervisors held the meeting to get public input as it considers a new zoning ordinance affecting the forty-two acre property and surrounding area. Meridian Development Partners, which purchased the property from Lazy-Boy in 2006, is waiting to see what the new ordinance will allow it to do, before putting together a site plan for what is being called Penn House Commons. 

The Township is considering a zoning district that would allow retail stores, business and professional offices, financial institutions, restaurants, health care facilities, public and private schools, and other mixed uses including residential areas. Township Planning Director Ralph Hess called the public input helpful and it will be considered as the township moves forward on the ordinance, which he said is six to nine months away from being approved.

Kim Wheeler of the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services says Governor Ed Rendell has already committed funds for development of the site. Howard Schlesinger, a principal partner in Meridian Development  was encouraged after the meeting, saying he joins those who want to see that development of the property is done well and done correctly.

Among concerns raised by the public included development in a flood plain, fire protection, traffic impact, and sensitivity to thriving downtown Lewisburg.  The township will be seeking more public input as it finalizes a new ordinance and Meridian Development unveils its plans . (Terry Diener)

Former school board candidate facing charges for stealing from a charity

On going Families on the Margin series hears from a public housing critic

DANVILLE – Our Families on the Margin series continues with another look at the topic of publicly funded housing available to those who struggle economically.  Detractors say public housing attracts crime and other problems, but Families on the Margin sometimes need the lower or flexible rent it offers, especially at a time when everything is costing more.  Even critic Bob Buehner supports public housing in certain circumstances.  But the Montour County District Attorney says government run programs offered to low-income families or individuals also represent potential trouble. 

Buehner says inexpensive housing sometimes attracts criminal elements from larger cities by deceiving public hosing officials by hiding their criminal records.  He adds that the number of abuses in his jurisdiction are small, measured in the dozens, but a relatively high number for a small county.  Buehner hopes local administrators would pay more attention to their tenants, as a safer community is at stake. (Matt Farrand) 

Local banks are victims of recent email scams

HARRISBURG – Area residents should be on the lookout for yet another email scam that has been circulating throughout the Valley.  A number of mass emails involving local banks are being sent to area residents and are encouraging people to give out personal information.  Susquehanna Bank is one of the victims, and Director of Communications, Alison VanHarskamp, says they are part of a phishing scam.  She says the emails will ask for confidential or personal information to be sent back either by email or by phone.  VanHarskamp this should be a red flag that should alert residents to a fraudulent email. 

VanHarskamp adds that the bank does not give out or sell email addresses, but rather, the scammers gather them through online viruses, address lists online or from programs that actually scan the internet looking for email addresses.  She says the email scammers are very sophisticated and will take legitimate logos off of a company’s website and use them in the scams.  She says many people are fooled because they will see a familiar company’s logo and believe the email is coming directly from them.  VanHarskamp says that banks would never ask for identifying information, such as a debit card or bank account numbers, through email.

If you have given account information in one of these scams, you should contact your bank as soon as possible.  (Ali Stevens)

“City side” reconstruction of Riverfront Project to begin this fall

SUNBURY – Construction on the “city side” part of the Riverfront Project in Sunbury is slated to begin in October.  Consultant for the project, Tom Deans, says they met with the design team this week, and discussed what they are calling “phase one” of the project.  The city side of the project includes improvements to Front Street and Cameron Park, along with the installation of walking trails, trees, lights and crosswalks.  Deans says final plans for “phase one” will be submitted to PennDOT and DCNR within two months, and construction will begin in the fall. 

As for the riverside part of the project, Deans says that’s a different story.  He says it’s a more involved process for reviewing and getting the Army Corp of Engineers to approve this part of the project, which includes the marina, floodwall and amphitheater.  Dean says they hope to have construction start on the riverside of the project by the fall of next year.  He says between now and then there will be plenty of time to review the project and also get public input. (Sara Bartlett)

Packwood House in Lewisburg offering tours this summer

 LEWISBURG – The history of Lewisburg is on display this summer at the Packwood House Museum.  The exhibit titled, “On Market Street and Around the Corner: 200 Years of Lewisburg History,” focuses on business and transportation, as well as how people and goods came and went through the town.  Director of the Packwood House, Richard Sauers, says there will also be many Lewisburg-based products on display. 

The exhibit, co-sponsored by the Union County Historical Society, runs through October and is $4.00 per person, which includes a tour of the 27-room house.  Tours are given Tuesday through Saturday.  The museum is located at 15 North Water Street in Lewisburg.  For more information you can call the Packwood House at 523-0323. (Sara Bartlett)

Sunbury movie postponed

SUNBURY – The Sunbury Celebration Committee postponed Wednesday's showing of the movie "The Princess Bride," because of the threat of showers and thunderstorms tonight.  The movie has been rescheduled for Monday, July 14 at the Oppenheimer Pleasure Grounds. The gates will open at 8p.m. and the movie will start at dusk.  Children are encouraged to dress up in a Princess Bride costume.

8,000 pound transformer stolen from a building in Northumberland County

 SHAMOKIN – State police are investigating after a transformer was stolen from an unoccupied building in Northumberland County.  The 8,00 pound transformer owned by PPL was taken sometime earlier this year and just discovered recently.  It was located on a concrete pad outside the former A.V.A. Pork building off Hollow Road in Shamokin Township.  Troopers say the transformer is valued at more than $14,000.  (Ali Stevens)

Man charged with rape worked for the Mifflinburg Area School District

MIFFLINBURG – A man charged last week with raping a 15-year-old boy had worked for the Mifflinburg Area School District as a security guard.  The Daily Item reports 59-year-old Jerry Haines of the Mifflinburg area no longer works for the district according the school superintendent.  Haines was charged last week with statutory sexual assault, rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.  Police say he assaulted the boy in February of 2006 in the boy’s room.  (Ali Stevens)

Police on the lookout for a man using a stolen credit card
 

Latest Pennsylvania news, sports, business and entertainment:

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - State gambling regulators are considering whether to license a proposed racetrack and casino in western Pittsburgh, and allow the ownership transfer of a casino under construction in Pittsburgh.  The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board took an hour break from the lengthy hearings Thursday, and did not say whether it would issue decisions in either case later in the day.  Don Barden, who is building the Majestic Star in Pittsburgh, told the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Thursday that he will hand over 75 percent of the ownership in exchange for outside financing to finish the project.  In addition, Indianapolis-based Centaur Inc. asked the gaming board to issue a slot-machine gambling license before Tuesday for its proposed Valley View Downs in Lawrence County.  Otherwise, it expects its lenders to pull out of a financial commitment, potentially scuttling the project.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania state representative, a former lawmaker and 10 others have been indicted in a probe of nearly $4 million in secret legislative bonuses.  The defendants named in Thursday's indictment include Rep. Sean Ramaley, a Beaver County Democrat; former Rep. Mike Veon, who served as Democratic whip; and Michael Manzo, a former chief of staff to Democratic Majority Leader William DeWeese.  The investigation centered on whether some of the bonuses paid to legislative staffers in 2005 and 2006 were illegal rewards for campaign work.  Veon was voted out of office in 2006 by the backlash over the 2005 legislative pay raises.  Attorney General Tom Corbett says he expects more arrests to follow.

MARIANNA, Pa. (AP) - State police say they had credible information that the estranged husband of a Washington County murder victim was at a hotel. But a search of the hotel in Eighty-Four, Pa., didn't turn up 38-year-old Orlando Maurice Guarino.  He hasn't been charged with any crime, but police want to question him about the slayings of his estranged wife, their 2-year-old daughter and 11-month-old son. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco says it appears they were asphyxiated, but didn't immediately say how.  Court documents show the couple traded abuse allegations last month, resulting in a protection-from-abuse order  against Orlando Guarino.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Here are the winning numbers selected Thursday in the midday Pennsylvania State Lottery drawing:

 Daily Number

     7-0-7

 Big 4

     8-7-4-1

 Treasure Hunt

     9-11-15-21-24

     (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)