Saturday, July 12, 2008
Mifflinburg man dies after Union County crash
MILTON – A Mifflinburg man is dead after an accident in Union County Thursday evening. State Police in Milton say that 30-year-old, Timothy Warfle, died at Geisinger Medical Center Friday morning after sustaining major injuries in a crash in West Buffalo Township. Police say Warfle was traveling north on Shuck Road when his vehicle went off the roadway for unknown reasons and struck a tree. The crash happened around 11:45 p.m. Warfle sustained major injuries and was taken to Geisinger, where he died the next day. (Sara Lauver)
Rev. Wright’s family asks for prayers and thanks community
DANVILLE – The son of a Grammy-nominated gospel singer injured in a crash a week ago, says his father is still in critical condition, but is alert and recognizes him. David Wright, the son of Rev. Timothy Wright who was critically injured in a crash that killed his wife and grandson, thanked members of the Danville community and staff at Geisinger Medical Center. At a press conference Friday, David said he has never seen doctors work so well together and do all they can, to get his father out of the hospital as soon as possible. He adds that the small town of Danville has been comforting his family in their time of need.
It’s reported that Rev. Wright has not been told of his wife’s death, but is aware of the death of his grandson. The 61-year-old 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.
State police are still investigating the crash. Authorities say they are looking at whether Pick had been drinking alcohol, but have not released any more information. (WKOK Staff)
West Shore Railroad sells right of way to LARA
LEWISBURG – Officials with the West Shore Railroad say they were hoping to preserve the line that ran from Montandon to Lewisburg and Mifflinburg. However, Board Member Eric Winslow says revenue producing traffic never developed, so they sold the right of way to the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority for use as a recreational trail. The sale to LARA was announced Friday, but terms were not released, nor was a timetable for when the recreational trail would open.
Track still needs to be pulled up and the rail bed will need to be groomed before the rails-to-trails corridor can be used. There’s been no rail traffic on the line since the early 1990’s . A citizens forum regarding the project is scheduled for Monday at the Union County Government Building at 7:00 p.m. (Matt Farrand)
Large equipment headed to PPL
BERWICK - A new steam dryer for the Unit 2 reactor at PPL’s Susquehanna nuclear plan near Berwick is scheduled to arrive Tuesday. Neil Gannon, PPL’s vice president of Nuclear Operations says the steam dryer on Unit 2 is being replaced as part of the project to increase the amount of electricity that can be generated.
The steam dryer, which is located above the reactor, helps to remove more than 99 percent of the moisture in the steam that turns the turbine to generate electricity. If not removed, the moisture would damage the turbine’s blades.
The dryer is being shipped in two large pieces on extra-long truck trailers that require police escort for the trip Monday and Tuesday from the manufacturer near Pittsburgh.
The truck’s route will take it east along Interstate 80 to Route 11 north, which it will follow to the plant, located in Salem Township about seven miles north of Berwick. As the truck travels through Berwick, residents may experience traffic delays and possible closure of some streets. (Terry Diener)
Laptop computers stolen from Sunbury business
SUNBURY— Sunbury Police are investigating a burglary that occurred at the Rent-A-Car business on North 4th Street in the city. Police say it happened around 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Reports say a person or persons got in through the rear of the store and made off with four laptop computers and their cases. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Sunbury Police. (Sara Lauver)
Lock up your bikes; multiple stolen in Northumberland County
UNDATED— There are two reports of stolen bicycles in Northumberland County this week that result in a total five bikes being taken. State Police in Stonington say three bikes were reportedly stolen from a campsite at the Fantasy Island Campground on Packer’s Island this week. It happened sometime overnight between July 7th and July 8th. Police say the bikes were valued at nearly $825.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, State Police in Milton report that two more bikes were taken from a shed located on a property in West Chillisquaque Township. That happened sometime overnight between July 9th and July 10th. State Police ask anyone with information on these thefts to contact them. (Sara Lauver)
Meeting set to discuss Thruway
SELINSGROVE – The Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration are hosting an information meeting on the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway project. The meeting will be held on Thursday, July 17th at 3:30 p.m. in the Degenstein Campus Center Theater at Susquehanna University. Elected officials, agencies and organizations that participated in the development of the CSVT project have been invited and will discuss the project schedule. Property owners that may be impacted by the bypass project have also been invited to a public information briefing later that day, getting underway at 6:30 p.m. For those who are unable to attend the meeting, the CSVT project website, www.CSVT.com, will be updated shortly after the meeting. (Ali Stevens)
McGinty to step down next week
HARRISBURG - Kathleen McGinty is the latest member of governor Ed Rendell’s Cabinet to step down. The Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection is offering no plans regarding her future other than taking a vacation with her family. McGinty was in charge of executing the Governor’s plans to clean up the state, advance energy-conservation, and attract so-called green businesses. Environmentalists credit McGinty with initiatives meant to clean up land, water and air and recruitment of businesses that shared those goals.
Critics say her five-and-a-half year tenure saw unrealistic regulation imposed on coal production and manufacturing industries. Governor, Ed Rendell, announced yesterday that Joseph Powers would be temporarily replacing McGinty in that position. Meanwhile, State Police commissioner Col. Jeffrey Miller and budget secretary Michael Masch are also among those who’ve announced intentions to leave. (Matt Farrand)
Man wanted in Philadelphia is captured in Point Township
POINT TOWNSHIP – A man who left a halfway house in the Philadelphia area in April has been captured by police in Point Township. Police were called to a home on 9th Street in Point Township early this (Friday) morning and took 32-year-old Mark Stills into custody. Stills was taken to the Northumberland County Prison to await transfer to a state prison. Northumberland and Sunbury police assisted in the arrested. (Ali Stevens)
A glitch reported with the new iPhone, but long lines to buy in our area
SELINSGROVE— If you were one of the many who headed out to pick up the second-generation iPhone, you may have experienced some problems getting it to work. A call into the AT&T store in Selinsgrove takes you to a recording describing the glitch that occurred Friday. An AT&T spokeswoman for our region, Ellen Webner, says despite reported problems, business in the Central Susquehanna Valley was brisk for the release of the iPhone 3G.
Webner says the AT&T server was working properly, however, the problem occurred when its server tried to connect to the Apple server. She says it happened when customers tried to “tether” their device to their iTunes music library. Webner describes “tethering” as the action allowing the two servers to “sync-up.” Webner says that Apple and AT&T are working together to resolve the issue.
Here is the latest Pennsylvania news from The Associated Press:
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell has named temporary replacements for the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection and the state police commissioner. Joseph Powers will take over from DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty and Lt. Col. Frank Pawlowski succeeds Col. Jeffrey Miller.
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A state senator has been acquitted of charges that he lied about a gun used in the apparent suicide of his 14-year-old neighbor. Sen. Robert Regola III had been charged with perjury, reckless endangerment and allowing a minor, his son, to illegally possess the weapon.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. says it plans to cut more than 1,200 jobs in Mexico and Honduras because of weak demand from the North American auto market. The roughly 1,240 jobs to be cut represent about 11 percent of the Alcoa unit's total work force of 11,600 in Mexico and Honduras.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A federal judge has approved a liquidation plan for the bankrupt bottled drinks maker Le-Nature's Inc. The plan paves the way for new lawsuits against parties accused of contributing to the downfall of the Latrobe-based beverage company.
MEADVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A former foodservice manager at the Cambridge Springs state prison for women has been found guilty of assaulting one former inmate, but cleared of assaulting another. Gregory Williams of Erie was convicted by a Crawford County judge of institutional sexual assault and official oppression in the one case yesterday. But the judge found the other women's statements inconsistent.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Here are the winning numbers selected Friday in the Pennsylvania State Lottery:
FRIDAY NIGHT
Daily Number
7-4-1
Big 4
4-7-4-8
FRIDAY MIDDAY
Daily Number
5-4-1
Big 4
8-9-4-0
Treasure Hunt
7-8-26-29-30
The winning numbers drawn Friday in the "Pennsylvania Cash 5" game were:
01-13-21-23-32
The winning numbers drawn Friday in the "Pennsylvania Match 6 Lotto" game were:
03-04-18-34-39-41
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)