Saturday, July 19, 2008
Firefighters do double duty for McClure fire
McCLURE – A fire in McClure saw a number of volunteer fire companies called out twice Friday. The first call came in around 6:30a.m. for a structure fire at 3186 Snyder Avenue. Crews from McClure, Beaver Springs, Beavertown, Middleburg, Bannerville and Kreamer responded, along with two tankers from Mifflin County. That fire was under control around 8:15a.m.
Then, around 5p.m. Friday, crews were called back to the scene for a rekindle of that blaze. No injuries were reported and further details are not yet available. Snyder County Communications says most of the crews were involved in a tanker shuttle to bring water to the fire scene in McClure.
Crews battle hot weather while also battling barn fire
WHITEHALL – Several crews from Montour County responded to a barn fire in Whitehall yesterday afternoon. The Press Enterprise reports that crews were on scene around 2 p.m. at the fire along Whitehall Road. It’s reported that a workshop and a barn were burning when crews arrived on scene. Battling hot and humid weather conditions, firefighters hauled water from the Montour Preserve to help put out the blaze. Reports say crews were able to save the barn, but the workshop burned to the ground and heat from the blaze melted siding on a nearby house. The fire happened at the Hostetler farm in Montour County. (Sara Lauver)
State Police investigating thefts
MILTON – State Police in Milton are investigating two recent thefts in the area. Police say they are looking for a man who stole a vehicle from a residence in Turbotville Thursday evening. Reports say it happened around 7:30 p.m. and police are looking for a man who is about 5’8’’ with a thin build. Police say the car stolen was a 2007 red, Chevrolet Cobalt. Anyone with information is asked to contact State Police.
Meanwhile, State Police say a handgun was stolen from a vehicle in Union County's White Deer Township over the weekend of July 12th and the 13th. Police say it happened sometime overnight. Reports say a 9mm handgun, along with a flashlight and a hunting license was taken. The contents are estimated to be worth nearly $350. Anyone with information should contact police. (Sara Lauver)
Two suspects sought in Watsontown Vehicle Break-ins
WATSONTOWN – Police in Watsontown, Northumberland County, are looking for two suspects following thefts from several vehicles along Pennsylvania Avenue, Main and Elm Streets early Friday morning. The suspects, in their late teens or early 20’s were seen inside a parked car on Pennsylvania Avenue before fleeing the area around 5 AM.
Police say they did recover several items stolen from vehicles on Elm Street which, owners can identify and pick up at the department. In all cases, police say the vehicles were left unlocked. Anyone with information on those vehicle thefts is asked to contact Watsontown police. (Terry Diener)
PennDOT says expect delays on Parts of I80
UNDATED – PennDOT is telling motorists they can expect eastbound and westbound delays in a work zone at the Interstate 80 Bridges at the Montour/Northumberland County line. Concrete barriers were put in place on July 9th, with a lane width restriction of fifteen feet.
Back-ups are anticipated for one mile under normal working conditions. PennDOT says motorists should be alert for work activity in that area over the next three months. (Terry Diener)
Roadwork on Route 42 in Catawissa begins Sunday night
CATAWISSA – Traffic will be reduced to one lane on Route 42 through Catawissa, as part of a project that begins at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday night, July 20th. Eastern Industries Incorporated, a PENNDOT contractor will begin roadway milling and base repairs from the Susquehanna River Bridge in Catawissa, south to “Tom’s Restaurant”.
Work will be performed from 9;00 p.m. thru 6:00 a.m. Sunday nights through Friday mornings, with milling, base repairs and the first layer of blacktop to be completed by August 1st. After that work is completed, the contractor will begin daytime roadwork through town to perform various curb ramp upgrades.
At the same time the curb ramps are being constructed, base repairs and paving will be performed on Route 42 from its intersection with Route 11 at Rupert to the River Bridge, and approximately three miles on Route 487 from “Tom’s Restaurant”, south to Orchard Drive/Ashton Hollow Road. The overall project is schedule for completion by early October. (Terry Diener)
Local Reserve Center Funding in Federal Budget moves forward
WASHINGTON D.C. – Federal funding for several Pennsylvania defense projects including an Army Reserve Center in Lewisburg, has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee in Washington. U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey say $18.5 million has been earmarked for an Armed Forces Reserve Center in Lewisburg. An identical amount has also been set aside for a Reserve Center in Williamsport. The full Senate still needs to pass the defense budget, which includes $175.7 million for military construction throughout Pennsylvania. The U.S. House of Representatives and President Bush must also approve the bill, before funding is final. (Terry Diener)
Donated goods being sent to troops from the Area
LEWISBURG – Some fifteen hundred pounds of donated goods are ready to be packaged and shipped from Lewisburg, to our troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Lewisburg Borough Council, and staff, in their efforts to promote America Supporting Americans, is in need of some twenty volunteers Monday July 21st, beginning at 4 PM, at the American Red Cross Facility in the Brookpark Farms complex. John Baker, the vice president for Lewisburg Borough Council says an assembly line will be formed to package the estimated 15 hundred pounds of products ranging from toiletries, to health products, and goodies. . Baker says the volunteers may come and go as they please. Some food and other refreshments will be provided to the workers. He says the troops could still use school supplies to hand out to children in those countries. Baker says the local effort has been coordinated with the 103rd Army Battalion in Lewisburg. (Terry Diener)
Parts from farm equipment stolen in Union County
MIFFLINBURG – State Police are investigating an incident where someone stole parts from tractors and other farm equipment located at a home in Union County. State Police in Milton say just after midnight on Thursday, a person or persons broke into a barn along Rand Road in Buffalo Township, and used keys found in the barn to access the equipment, where they dismantled and removed wiring systems, oil gauges and several other components. State Police continue to investigate and ask anyone with information to contact them. (Sara Lauver)
Thruway project in holding status; what now for properties affected?
SELINSGROVE – Property owners who would be affected by the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway Project are reacting to the news that the project has been put into hibernation. It was announced that 47 right-of-way properties were already acquired, while offers were made to 20 more, and 50 have been left idle. Debbie Acor, of Selinsgrove, says she is one of those 50 “left hanging.” Acor says her house was considered a total buyout in the project and that two of her neighbors have already moved. She says she has been waiting for the past 8 years to find out when she would need to give up her home. Acor says “no one wants to lose their home to a road project,” and she had planned to live in her house with her husband for the rest of their lives. However, she says she believes that the region needs the Thruway project and she had come to terms with losing her home. Acor adds that she just needs some direction on to what to do now.
Meanwhile, other residents like Peggy Gelnett of Point Township, want answers about a portion of Route 147 near Montandon. Gelnett says PennDOT set the speed limit on the highway portion of the roadway to 65 miles per hour. Route 147 then slows to 45 miles per hour in two lanes and Gelnett says it’s dangerous because cars and tractor-trailer trucks do not slow down. She says PennDOT told her a few years ago, that the Thruway project would fix the problem. Gelnett says she wants to know how the problem will be fixed now that the project has been put on hold.
PennDOT says the hibernation phase means the project can be reactivated at a later time and rising inflation and the transportation-funding crisis contributed to the decision. (Sara Lauver)
An update on the future of the Marina building at the Shikellamy State Park
SUNBURY – The plan is to turn the Shikellamy Marina building into an environmental research and education center, however, what exactly will the project entail? The Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies is moving forward with plans for the marina building. Skip Wieder is convener for the group and says the building will be expanded from the back toward the parking lot side of the building. This will allow for exhibit space, research space and also classrooms.
The project has the backing and involvement of several groups, including the Chesapeake Bay Commission and the Foundation, six local colleges and universities, Trout Unlimited and other local watershed organizations. Wieder was a guest this week on our sister station, WKOK’s live talk show, “On the Mark”. You can listen to the program online at www.wkok.com. (Ali Stevens)
Sex offender captured in Sunbury with the help of a resident
SUNBURY – Sunbury police have arrested a sex offender in Sunbury, who failed to comply with Megan’s Law requirements. Police say 49-year-old Neil Alters failed to notify state police on an address change within 48 hours of moving, as required by law. Alters also reportedly failed to appear for his annual photographing and registering for the past two years. Police received information that Alters was living in the 400 block of North Eighth Street from a local resident, who saw Alters name listed as a sex offender in a recent Daily Item article, which stated he lived at a different address. The resident contacted police to Alters actual whereabouts and an arrest was made. (Ali Stevens)
Two people charged with threatening a Sunbury woman with a gun
SUNBURY – Two Sunbury teenagers have been charged with beating and threatening a woman with a gun. Sunbury police arrested 18-year-old Erion Burroughs and a 17-year-old after they were spotted in the 600 block of North Sixth Street Thursday night. Both were wanted for an incident on July 3rd on Oberdorf Street, where a 20-year-old Sunbury woman was assaulted. Burroughs and the 17-year-old have been charged with felony counts of aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy along with other counts, including terroristic threats, simple assault and reckless endangerment. Both have been charged as adults and were sent to the Northumberland County Prison on $80,000 bail. (Ali Stevens)
Mosquito tests positive for the West Nile Virus in another area county
HARRISBURG – The state is reporting that another area county had a mosquito test positive for the West Nile Virus. In Montour County, one mosquito sample tested positive in Mahoning Township. Last week, it was reported that a mosquito sample in Snyder County tested positive for West Nile in Monroe Township. County West Nile Virus coordinators are working with the Department of Environmental Protection to increase surveillance in these areas and do more mosquito control sprayings as needed. (Ali Stevens)
Here is the latest Pennsylvania news from The Associated Press:
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The number of jobs in Pennsylvania remained virtually the same from May to June, rising by a meager 800. That figure was reported Friday by the state Department of Labor and Industry, which also said that the unemployment rate of 5.2 percent remained the same from May. However, unemployment has risen in recent months after registering 4.3 percent a year ago. It was the third straight month that employers in Pennsylvania added jobs, although hiring has been virtually stagnant for more than a year. Nationally, the unemployment rate is higher at 5.5 percent, while the economy has shed nearly a half-million jobs this year.
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - Prosecutors say they have not decided whether to seek the death penalty against a 25-year-old man charged with killing three northeastern Pennsylvania residents. Randall Rushing was arrested after a daylong search and arraigned on homicide charges.
WILKINSBURG, Pa. (AP) - The medical examiner says a female body was found at the apartment of a woman who showed up at a hospital with a newborn she falsely claimed was her child. Police say the body was found with hands bound in the home of 38-year-old Andrea Curry-Demus.
MURRYSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has identified two men who were electrocuted when scaffolding they were erecting hit a power line. The dead men are 52-year-old James Bolen, of Jeannette, and 50-year-old William McNemar, of Turtle Creek. Both were employees of W. R. Buzz Daily & Son of Monroeville. A third man was taken to UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh for severe burns.
Here are the winning numbers selected Friday in the Pennsylvania State Lottery:
FRIDAY NIGHT
Daily Number
1-5-9
Big 4
9-8-4-0
FRIDAY MIDDAY
Daily Number
9-0-4
Big 4
4-4-5-5
Treasure Hunt
5-13-21-23-24
The winning numbers drawn Friday in the "Pennsylvania Cash 5" game were:
08-14-15-28-43
The winning numbers drawn Friday in the "Pennsylvania Match 6 Lotto" game were:
15-18-21-27-34-35
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)