Friday, August 12, 2010

Local police respond to incident in Lycoming County

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT -- A man on the run in the South Williamsport area drew a large emergency response including a number of police from our area Friday.  The man was caught just before 6:00p.m.

Police report a man, who may have been armed, fled the scene of a domestic dispute just before 3:00p.m.  The incident happened in the area of Sulfur Springs Road (Rt. 554).  That road was shut down for a time.  The man reportedly fled into the woods. 

State and local police, a Special Emergency Response Team and a police helicopter were all on the lookout for the man.  Locally, crews from Union and Snyder County responded.  Police say there were no injuries involved and there was no threat to the public. (Sara Bartlett)

Judge Woelfel stepping down

MIDDLEBURG – Snyder Union County President Judge will resign at the end of the year to work in a part-time capacity.  Judge Harold Woelfel Jr. has decided to step down and says he and his wife mulled it over for quite some time, but felt now was the time to do it.   

However, the judge still plans to work, on a part-time basis and will apply for senior judge status.  Judge Woelfel says newly elected judge Mike Sholley will be just fine in the role of President Judge and has agreed to allow Judge Woelfel continue to oversee the DUI and drug treatment courts. 

Commissioner Joe Kantz says the announcement came as a surprise, but he says the people Judge Woelfel has appointed recently, including District Attorney Michael Piecuch, and County Commissioner Peggy Chamberlain Roup, have helped with this transition. (Ali Stevens)

Portion of federal healthcare bill could hurt mobility companies

UNDATED -- A local company isn't pleased with a clause in the new federal healthcare bill.  President and Owner of Susquehanna Valley Mobility Services, Aaron Lauver, says a portion of the bill would eliminate the first month purchase option for power wheelchairs. 

This means, instead of going through Medicare to match a client with a power wheelchair for them to purchase, the chair would be a rental.  Also, if a client were to get moved to a nursing home, or have a short stay in the hospital, the chair would be taken away.

Lauver says the change would be bad for his Milton company, and others too.  Companies would have to purchase power wheelchairs for clients and then wait 13 months to be reimbursed.  This may make it difficult for mobility companies to secure the upfront costs.  Lauver says they are trying to keep this from being implemented.

The elimination of the first month purchase option for power wheelchairs would go into effect January 2011.  Lauver says there is a strong possibility, and it is hoped, that this clause will be delayed. (Sara Bartlett)

Steamed or roasted corn and much more in Northumberland

NORTHUMBERLAND –There will be plenty to enjoy Saturday at the annual Corn Festival in Northumberland.  Noelle Long is an organizer for the event and says there will be steamed or roasted corn available along with beef brisket sandwiches, crab cake sandwiches and homemade ice cream.

Aside from the food, there will be live music throughout the day in King Street Park from 11 to 5 p.m.  The public is encouraged to attend. The money raised from the event will benefit the annual History Day event in Northumberland that is held each year in May.  More information about the festival is here: http://site.accessnorthumberland.com/Community_Events.html. (Ali Stevens)

Arrests after a traffic stop in Watsontown

WATSONTOWN -- A DUI stop turned into the arrest of two people in Watsontown.  Police say they stopped a vehicle Thursday around 2:30a.m. along Route 405.  The driver, 33-year-old Natalie Miller of Milton was under the influence of alcohol.  A passenger in the vehicle, 32-year-old Naaman Amos III, provided a fake name and birthday to police twice, and when his true identity was discovered, it was found that Amos had an active warrant for his arrest. 

Amos was taken to Lycoming County Prison and will be charged with providing false identification to law enforcement.  Miller was arrested for DUI and hindering apprehension of prosecution, by concealing Amos' identity. (Sara Bartlett)

Out of court settlement encouraged by a Columbia County judge

SUNBURY – The Columbia County judge handling a dispute between Northumberland County and two fired sheriff’s deputies is encouraging them to handle their differences outside of the courtroom.  The Daily Item reports Judge Thomas James urged the two sides to resolve their problems outside of the courtroom for the benefit of taxpayers. 

Former deputies Michael Boris and Joe Jones claim the Whistleblower Act was violated because they were terminated by Commissioner Vinny Clausi when he discovered they were assisting another law enforcement agency that was investigating the commissioner.  Details of that alleged investigation have never been revealed.

Sheriff Chad Reiner claims he fired Boris and Jones for violating the county’s computer-usage policy.  He says the two left their computers logged in and pornography was viewed on those computers. 

The judge's comment was included in a footnote of his written response to county solicitors Timothy Bowers and Kimberley Best regarding their preliminary objections to the complaint against the county regarding the termination of Jones and Boris.  (Ali Stevens)

Tractor-trailer crash in Sunbury

SUNBURY -- 11th Street in Sunbury was closed for several hours Friday morning after a tractor trailer crashed into a utility pole.  Wires were reportedly knocked onto the road.  Traffic was detoured for much of the morning, and the road was reopen around 11:00a.m.  No word on the extent of damage or injuries.

Business and education—the chamber’s perspective on Roundtable

SUNBURY – The Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce is back on Roundtable this weekend. This month we discuss the critical connection between business and education. Chad Cohrs is the new superintendent of the Selinsgrove Area School District and he tells us schools today have to prepare students for more than just a job.

Cohrs says they have to prepare students to have basic literacy skills, communication and interpersonal skills and prepare them for jobs that don’t event exist yet. He said the schools definitely need the input of the chamber of commerce.

Roundtable focuses on the chamber’s and business’s effort to affect education and curricula. We also discuss the efforts of the business world to affect education. The chamber has a business and education committee. You can hear Roundtable Sunday on:

n       Eagle 107 (107.3FM) at 6a.m.

n       100.9 (100.9FM), The Valley, at 6a.m.

n       Newsradio 1070 WKOK (1070AM) at 9a.m.

n       Talkradio 1380 WMLP (1380AM), 11a.m.

n       94KX WQKX (94.1FM) at 11p.m.

And anytime, at www.wkok.com

Citizens criticize, board members support school super raise

LEWISBURG -- More than 35 citizens were on hand at the first school board meeting since directors of the Lewisburg Area School District approved a $30,000 annual raise for Superintendent Dr. Mark DiRocco. Some were critical of the move, citing the costs to taxpayers and its effect on future spending.

Don Caribardi of Lewisburg was among the critics. He says Dr. DiRocco does a great job, but the board shouldn't be reckless ahead of big decisions about school facility construction. Another resident called the board, the "tax and spend school board."

However, all seven board members present defended the superintendent, and their decision to raise his salary to $154,000 per year. That included board president Kathy Swope, who says Dr. DiRocco was heavily recruited by school districts that could have offered him up to $200,000 per year.

Board member Dr. Michael Payne scolded critics of the raise, touting Dr. DiRocco's professionalism. Likewise, board member Mary Brouse said efforts to address a school facilities plan were hindered by divisiveness prior to the arrival of Dr. DiRocco. (Matt Farrand)

LASD buildings need work, but it could all be academic

LEWISBURG -- An architectural firm says it would take at least $33 million dollars to bring current buildings in the Lewisburg Area School District up to code. The figure is part of information required by the state as the district considers its master facilities plan.

Windows with unsafe wired glass in them, and doorways that could be hazardous during a fire are among problems cited at Lewisburg Area High School. Crabtree & Rohrbaugh also says older blackboards may be mounted on material that contains asbestos, and would pose a hazard if removed haphazardly.

The firm estimates it would take $10 million dollars to bring both Lewisburg Area High School, and the Donald Eichhorn Middle School up to code. Linntown Elementary School and district offices would cost about $6.2 million dollars at the Kelly Elementary School would cost about $7.8 million.

However, the firm also says bringing the buildings up to code would be covered in renovation costs. Thus, the figures presented to the school board Thursday night were only presented to meet a state mandate prior to the their decision regarding the future of the districts facilities. (Matt Farrand)

The probe into a District Attorneys Disappearance gets a fresh look

BELLEFONTE — The task force formed to take a fresh look at the mystery of what happened to former District Attorney Ray Gricar has started interviewing people who were close to the missing prosecutor. One of Gricar’s closest friends — former Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane — said he recently sat down with detectives for a one-hour interview about his former boss.

Centre County’s District attorney Stacy Parks Miller formed a task force to take a fresh look at Gricar’s April 2005 disappearance after she was elected last November. WKOK spoke with another friend of Gricar’s, Montour County District Attorney Bob Buehner about the new initiative into the case. He says he met with Park’s Miller shortly after her election to discuss some of the concerns he raised shortly after Gricar vanished in April of 2005. His vehicle found at an Antiques Mall in Lewisburg.

Buehner says all those close to the missing District attorney are hoping for some finality in Gricar’s disappearance. Parks Miller said the team she assembled comprises officers from Bellefonte and State College, along with Ferguson Township, Penn State, state police and the FBI. They’re sifting through files, conducting fresh interviews and working on other investigative tasks. (AP) (Terry Diener)

Investigation complete into a police shooting in Snyder County, no charges will be filed

MIDDLEBURG – No criminal charges will be filed after a Snyder County standoff ended with a deadly shooting. Snyder County District Attorney Michael Piecuch says he has completed his investigation into the Kayre Snyder shooting on June 18th, when police shot Snyder after holding three people hostage inside a home in Middlecreek Township.

Piecuch says he has notified state police that the use of deadly force against Snyder was justified and no criminal charges will be filed. After assaulting his stepfather with a handgun on June 17th, Snyder took his mother and two others hostage at gunpoint and barricaded himself inside his parents' home.

The state police Special Emergency Response Team was called in to negotiate and the next morning, after no progress, Snyder was shot and killed by a team member. The District Attorney’s Office must investigate every homicide to determine whether the killing was justified and if criminal charges are warranted. (Ali Stevens)

A month later...locals involved in Uganda bombings continue to recover

UNDATED -- The last person in a local group that was in Uganda when two bombs went off a month ago has returned home. 16-year-old Emily Kerstetter of Maryland is now back in the United States. She had been kept in a South African hospital with severe leg injuries. She returned back this week, and will continue to have more surgeries on his leg.

Kerstetter's grandmother, Joanne Kerstetter of Selinsgrove, continues to recover from arm injuries and hearing loss. Kris Sledge, also of Selinsgrove, was released from the hospital this week and continues to recover from leg injuries at home. Pam and Thomas Kramer of Winfield both continue to recover at home.

The group's church, Christ Community United Methodist in Selinsgrove, will be holding a prayer service this weekend for three Ugandans who worked with the missionary group and were killed during the bombings. The service will be Sunday at 4:00p.m. and all are invited to attend. (Sara Bartlett)

Woman gets probation for cashing benefit checks for her deceased grandmother

WILLIAMSPORT – A woman who was cashing benefit checks sent to her deceased grandmother has been sentenced to two years of probation. Patricia Corcoran of Shamokin was charged in federal court with stealing about $10,000 in coal mine disability benefits administered by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department was not notified of Corcoran’s grandmother’s death. Corcoran was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with theft of public money, but came to a plea agreement in May, which ordered her to pay full restitution. (Ali Stevens)

Northumberland Snyder Special Olympics will practice bocce at a local park

SELINSGROVE – Special Olympics athletes will be able to practice the fall sport of “bocce” at a local park near Selinsgrove. East Snyder Park near Susquehanna University has a new feature for athletes with the Northumberland Snyder Special Olympics. Arden Miller is public relations coordinator for the group and says the park now features two regulation bocce courts.

They can practice for bocce at the park and are currently looking for a bocce coach for the Special Olympic team. Miller says the person volunteering would put in a couple of hours a week for about eight weeks and the person would be trained for the job.

Miller says this is a special time to be a part of the Northumberland Snyder Special Olympics since they are celebrating 40 years in Pennsylvania and 30 years locally. She says they are easy to contact if you would like to volunteer or get involved.

Their website is www.ns-sopa.org and Northumberland Snyder Special Olympics is also on Facebook. You can also support the cause by attending a fundraising breakfast Saturday August 21st from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Applebees in Selinsgrove. Tickets are $5.00 for the all you can eat breakfast. (Ali Stevens)

DUI checkpoints expected this weekend in the Central Susquehanna Valley

SELINSGROVE – State police are warning the public that there will be a DUI sobriety checkpoint sometime this weekend. The checkpoint will be located in Snyder County, involving state police from Selinsgrove, Milton and Stonington Barracks.

Also, a DUI roving patrol will be ongoing this weekend in Snyder County. Motorists are reminded to not drink and drive and get a designated driver if they have been drinking. The exact location of the DUI checkpoint will not be disclosed. (Ali Stevens)

Shenandoah men will go to court for hate crime

UNDATED - Two Shenandoah-area men charged with a hate crime in connection with the fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant will go to trial. A federal judge Wednesday denied their motion to dismiss the charges against them.

The Pottsville Republican newspaper reports that the same judge also Wednesday postponed the start of the trial for three former Shenandoah policemen charged with obstructing the investigation into the beating.

Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Caputo ruled the Dec. 10 grand jury indictment of Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky contained sufficient evidence both to support the charges against the men and inform them of what prosecutors intend to prove.

Additionally, Caputo ruled that the constitutional protection against double jeopardy does not bar this prosecution, that evidence of the defendants' racial feelings can be admitted during the trial and that the government does not have to turn over additional evidence. As a result, the trial of 20-year-old Donchak of Shenandoah, and 18-year-old Piekarsky of Shenandoah Heights, will begin at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 4 in the Max Rosenn U.S. Courthouse, Wilkes-Barre.

In the other case, Matthew R. Nestor, William Moyer and Jason Hayes are charged with obstructing the investigation of Luis Eduardo Ramirez's beating by filing false reports on it. Caputo agreed to postpone the intended Sept. 13 beginning of that trial; he ruled the new starting date will be set at the Aug. 31 pretrial conference he will hold in his chambers. (Terry Diener)

Latest Pennsylvania news, business and entertainment

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A three-judge panel of the state Commonwealth Court says Pennsylvania courts' broad exemption from the Right-to-Know law shields even records in the hands of agencies subject to the law.   Wednesday's opinion written by Judge Dan Pellegrini stemmed from a 2009 right-to-know request by The Times Tribune of Scranton. It sought "inappropriate" e-mails that prompted the suspension of Lackawanna County domestic relations director Patrick Luongo, who's paid by the county but supervised by the state court system.  The state Office of Open Records ordered the county to turn over the e-mails, but Pellegrini barred any such release. He said the office lacks authority to release them because they are court records.  The office's director, Terry Mutchler, said the ruling may conflict with its responsibility to enforce the Right-to-Know Law. 

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) - An investor group vying for a Pennsylvania casino license is banking on appealing to RV owners who are looking for fun things to do and have money to spend.  The Penn Harris Gaming group unveiled its plans this week to transform a Holiday Inn in suburban Harrisburg into a $75 million casino.  Penn Harris investors say the casino would adjoin a six-acre RV parking lot. Also, 36 casino-owned RVs would sit outside and act as hotel rooms to help the casino meet the 275-room minimum in the law.  Investor John Donnelly says some Las Vegas casinos are already trying to lure RVers.  Penn Harris is competing with three other applicants for Pennsylvania's final resort casino license. It allows up to 600 slot machines and 50 table games.   

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Employees are back inside an Internal Revenue Service office in northeast Philadelphia that was evacuated because of a suspicious envelope. Philadelphia police say the envelope contained a vial with a plastic bag over it. But they say tests show no harmful materials were inside.  Authorities say workers were evacuated shortly before noon Friday and the office reopened a few hours later.

NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. (AP) - Police in a central Pennsylvania town say items that prompted closings of streets and evacuation of residents when they were discovered by trash collectors were training materials and not bombs.  Cumberland County spokesman John Bruetsch said the Friday morning scare in New Cumberland lasted about an hour and a half, and that no charges will be filed against a retired military man who put the materials in the trash.  He's a former military instructor who discarded what are being described as simulated training aids. His name isn't being released.  Trash collectors called police after noticing the items in the rear of their truck, and a state police bomb squad was called in.  New Cumberland is across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pennsylvania attorney general won't file criminal charges against a male state trooper accused of harassing and ticketing a female police chief who says she rejected his advances. State prosecutor's office spokesman Nils Frederiksen says no charges are being filed because even if Mount Jewett Chief Nataliya Miroslavna's claims could be proved they "did not rise to the level of prosecutable criminal conduct." The state police have said they are conducting an internal investigation into the allegations against Kane-based Trooper Dale Vukovich Jr. State police officials, the chief and the trooper haven't returned messages seeking comment.

AKRON, Pa. (AP) - A memorial service will be held Sunday for a central Pennsylvania man who was killed while on a medical mission in Afghanistan. Forty-year-old Glen Lapp will be remembered at Bright Side Baptist Church in Lancaster. He was one of 10 relief workers slain Aug. 5 after leaving remote Nuristan province. An obituary released by the Mennonite Central Committee says Lapp was born in Honduras but spent most of his childhood in Lancaster. He spoke Spanish fluently. Lapp had bicycled twice across the U.S., climbed several peaks in the Andes Mountains and trekked in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. He worked for several years as a nurse. His parents, two brothers and other relatives survive him. Visitation will be Saturday at Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster.

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

Updates on the latest in business:

Dow: 10,303.15, down -16.80

S&P 500: 1,079.25, down -4.36

NASDAQ: 2,173.48, down -16.79

Choppy stocks...Consumer caution...Blockbuster troubles....

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks are mixed as investors look toward the closing bell of a challenging week for stocks. The key averages have posted an indecisive session so far.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans were careful with their money last month, spending less at most retail stores. Excluding auto and gasoline sales, the Commerce Department says retail sales were down 0.1 percent.

DETROIT (AP) - A person familiar with the matter says GM is likely to file paperwork next week on plans to sell stock to the public. The person says the company has delayed the move because it made two major announcements yesterday, including the planned resignation of the CEO.

DALLAS (AP) - Movie rental chain Blockbuster is seeing losses mount and revenue decline. It reports a quarterly loss of $69 million, compared to a $37 million loss a year earlier. It also says revenue was down 20 percent from a year earlier. 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government says retail prices rose 0.3 percent in July. Excluding food and energy costs, the core Consumer Price Index was up just 0.1 percent.

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

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

 Mega Millions

     Estimated jackpot: $64 million

 Midday Big 4

     3-2-2-8

Midday Number

     1-1-4

Midday Quinto

     5-7-3-5-3

Powerball

     Estimated jackpot: $38 million

 Treasure Hunt

     07-08-16-21-25

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

Lifesaving transplant

NEW YORK (AP) -- An 11-year-old girl who played young Nala in "The Lion King" on Broadway will be getting a transplant that could save her life. Shannon Tavarez has leukeumia. She's been waiting for a bone marrow transplant, but hasn't been able to find a match. So she's going to get an umbilical-cord blood transplant on Tuesday. Tavarez had to quit the show last April.

NJ's Lautenberg to hold fundraiser with Lady Gaga

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Sen. Frank Lautenberg is going gaga. Lady Gaga, that is.  The nation's oldest senator will hold a fundraiser at the pop singer's Monster Ball Tour at the Verizon Center in Washington on Sept 7.  The Washington Post reports the 86-year-old New Jersey Democrat is offering seats in a private suite for $2,500 a person for political action committees and $2,400 for individuals.  An aide says the fundraiser was Lautenberg's idea. The senator and his wife celebrated his 86th birthday in January at a Gaga show at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Lautenberg was hospitalized Feb. 15 after falling at his home and was treated for a bleeding ulcer. B-cell lymphoma was found in his stomach four days later.  He announced in June he was cancer-free after six rounds of chemotherapy.

Psychiatrist who saw Anna Nicole Smith testifies

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A hospital psychiatrist has testified that medication given to Anna Nicole Smith by her doctor was "overkill" for the kind of pain she was describing Dr. Nathalie Maullin testified Friday in Los Angeles that she was on staff at Cedars-Sianai Medical Center when Smith was brought in pregnant and in withdrawal from Methadone and Xanax.  She says it was difficult to get a medical history from Smith because she was "putting on a show" and deferred questions to boyfriend Howard K. Stern, who was with her.  Maullin says she conferred with Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and learned the drugs he was giving Smith were "hardcore medications" used for cancer and extreme pain.  Kapoor, Stern and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to provide excessive drugs to Smith.  They are not charged with causing her drug overdose death.

San Francisco church ready to host same-sex weddings

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A San Francisco pastor says she'd be happy to start performing same-sex weddings in her church as early as next week. Federal Judge Vaughn Walker has given opponents of same-sex weddings until 5 p.m. next Wednesday to get a ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on whether gay marriages should resume then. The pastor of St. John's United Church of Christ, the Rev. Sandy Hulse, says her congregation is "overjoyed" at the prospect of being able to conduct same-sex weddings soon. California churches that oppose same-sex marriage cite the Bible, but Hulse says her denomination believes that "God is still speaking."

Pea in Lung

BOSTON (AP) - Doctors say they have found a pea sprouting in the lung of a 75-year-old Massachusetts man. Doctors feared the worst when they studied Ron Sveden's X-rays and spotted a small dark spot. The former teacher had worked for years smoking fish and had already had emphysema before he felt his health take a turn for the worse this summer. By the time Sveden reached the hospital, he had a collapsed left lung and pneumonia. Two biopsies came back negative for lung cancer. Feeding a scope down Sveden's throat, Dr. Jeff Spillane scraped away at an encrusted mass and discovered a sprout. Spillane says Sveden apparently inhaled a pea that took root in his lung. Spillane removed it, and Sveden's health has returned.

Smelly Bills

BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) - Paying bills usually stinks, but gas bills from a utility in Washington state will include something truly odorous this month: the stench of rotten eggs. As part of a safety campaign, Puget Sound Energy is including a scratch-and-sniff pamphlet with its billing statements to remind customers of what leaking gas smells like. Natural gas is odorless, but providers add a chemical to the gas that has a distinctive, sulfur-like aroma similar to rotten eggs so leaks can be detected. Bellevue, Wash.-based PSE serves nearly 750,000 natural gas customers in 11 counties.

Antarctic ice whiskey won't be drunk