Sunday, May 16, 2010
I-180 crash kills Lancaster County man
WATSONTOWN -- A Lancaster area man is dead after a one-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon on I-180 in Northumberland County. 72-year-old Samuel Wenger of Akron, PA, died when he apparently lost control of his northbound vehicle near the Sulpher Spring Hollow Road overpass. Troopers say his conversion van struck an embankment and then rolled over.
75-year-old Ruth Wenger is in serious condition at Geisinger Medical Center following the 12:25 p.m. crash in Delaware Township, Northumberland County. She was a passenger in the vehicle and was apparently not wearing a seat belt. Muncy EMS and fire personnel assisted at the scene. (Matt Farrand)
Another successful year for the Sunbury Firemen’s Fair
SUNBURY – Hundreds of people surrounded Cameron Park in Sunbury for the annual Sunbury Firemen’s Fair Saturday. The fire company’s biggest fundraiser included a Mustang raffle, firemen’s challenge and a parade of fire trucks.
The winner of the Mustang was Daniel Yetter of East Stroudsburg. He paid $100 to join 300 people in the raffle that was sold out several weeks ago. Dan Saxton, who serves as treasurer for the fair, said they are still totaling up receipts and will have some bills to pay, before they know how financially successful the Sunbury Fire Fair was.
The fire fighter’s challenge is a competition for volunteers. The winners were Dustin Sampsell of the Kreamer Fire Company, David Eister of the Liberty Township Fire Company in Montour County and third place went to John Covine of the Beaverdale Fire Company in Mt. Carmel.
Unit 1 at the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant is shut down safely
BERWICK – Unit 1 at the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant near Berwick was shut down safely on Friday night for equipment testing. During the refueling and maintenance outage last month, several equipment upgrades were made including installing a new integrated digital control system and replacing turbines that power pumps providing water to the reactor.
PPL reports all equipment responded to the shutdown as designed and there was no equipment damage reported. They will now complete an evaluation of the shutdown and have Unit 1 back up soon. (Ali Stevens)
Snyder County man released after April car crash
DANVILLE -- One month after a single vehicle crash that took the life of a Mount Pleasant Mills woman, her husband is now out of the hospital. 43-year-old Andrew Kantz spent much of that time in critical condition at Geisinger Medical Center. A nursing supervisor says he was released Thursday.
37-year-old Tina Kantz died in the crash along Reservoir Hill Road near Freeburg. After the April 13th crash, several fundraising efforts were launched to help their son. Selinsgrove High School senior KC Kantz was a member of the 2009 PIAA Class AAA state championship football team. (Matt Farrand)
Vandals spray paint school storage buildings
MIDDLEBURG – Police are looking for vandals who spray painted graffiti at a local athletic field. State troopers say someone sprayed two storage buildings at the Midd West School District Stadium off East Court Street in Franklin Township. Police provided no other description of the graffiti. The crime is believed to have happened sometime between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. (Matt Farrand)
The ‘candidate’s debate’ on Roundtable this weekend
LEWISBURG – This weekend, our Roundtable program is a special 90-minute broadcast of the Lewisburg League of Women Voters ‘candidate’s debate’ from last Wednesday. We hear from the 10th District US Congressional republican candidates as well as the three republican candidates for the 85th district state house.
The debate was well over 90-minutes and we’ll present the candidate’s remarks, in their entirety, this weekend. The debates are also posted at www.wkok.com.
You can hear Roundtable Sunday on Eagle 107 (107.3FM) at 6a.m., 100.9 (100.9FM), The Valley, at 6a.m., Newsradio 1070 WKOK (1070AM) at 9a.m., Talkradio 1380 WMLP (1380AM), 11a.m., 94KX WQKX (94.1FM) at 11p.m., and anytime, at www.wkok.com
Paxtonville teen charged in road deaths
MIDDLEBURG – Homicide and manslaughter charges have been filed against an 18-year-old from Paxtonville for a crash last month which left two teens dead. Snyder County District Attorney Michael Piecuch says Patrick Sullivan has been charged with two counts each of homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter.
Sullivan is also facing four counts each of aggravated and simple assault, careless driving and reckless endangerment. Sullivan was driving about 76 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour speed zone on March 19th when he crashed his minivan into a utility pole along Sale Barn Road outside Kreamer.
Killed in the crash were 14-year-old Kylie Hummel of Middleburg and 16-year-old Jacob Kemble of Paxtonville. Two other passengers in the vehicle along with Sullivan, were treated for various injuries. (Ali Stevens)
Bank employees credited to thwarting scam
NORTHUMBERLAND -- Snyder County District Attorney Michael Piecuch commended employees of a local bank Friday for stopping a $6,000 theft. It started recently when three men from West Virginia offered to put new gravel down for Mount Pleasant Mills couple George and Orpha Glace.
The Glace's say they didn't ask for the gravel, but the men assured them it would be free. When work was done, the men demanded $6,000 from the couple and followed George Glace to Northumberland National Bank in Selinsgrove. George Glace went into the bank to withdraw $6,000 and luckily the request raised a red flag for employees.
Police were called and the three scammers were arrested. The DA says this is a classic case of a scam, especially among older individuals. Employees were presented with certificates for their quick thinking in saving the Glace's from losing thousands of dollars. The three men have been charged with attempted theft and will face court time this summer.
Middle school principal explains academic standards
SUNBURY – Students at CW Rice and Sunbury Middle Schools will soon not only have to keep their grades up, they will also have to maintain passing averages in more serious courses if they want to play sports or pursue other after school activities. Passing grades in at least four of five subjects such as math and sciences will be required if students want to participate in extracurricular activities.
Sunbury Middle School Principal Mick Hubicki says the new standards apply only grades six, seven and eight. Passing grades in courses such as art and music previously carried the same weight as core courses. Some parents had reportedly feared the new standards may discourage their youngsters.
Hubicki says there’s academic help for students who struggle, but who also may want to pursue a sport or other activity. Hubicki also believes the new rules will more effectively prepare middle school students for high school. The school district approved the new standards Thursday night, and they will be effective with the start of the new school year. (Matt Farrand)
Sunbury man 'gravely hurt' in assault
SUNBURY -- A Sunbury man is in critical condition after an assault Thursday night. Sunbury police say 26-year-old Jorge Cruz was 'gravely injured' and is in intensive care at Geisinger. He was flown to the medical center after being attacked by two men.
The incident happened around 11:30 Thursday night near Third Street and Raspberry Avenue. Arrested was 26-year-old Frank Brannon of Sunbury. He is charged with a felony count of aggravated assault and several other criminal offenses.
Arrest papers at District Justice Robert Bolton's office say Brannon and another man were involved in attacking Cruz. Brannon is jailed, $50,000 bail. Police are still investigating the circumstances leading up to that attack in Sunbury.
SU and Geisinger partner to build new health center in Selinsgrove
SELINSGROVE -- A new health center will be located at the former St. Pius X site along University Avenue in Selinsgrove. Officials at the Susquehanna University, which owns the property, announced that they have partnered with Geisinger Health System to bring a health center to students and the greater Selinsgrove community.
The center will be staffed with 40 Geisinger clinicians, be open seven days a week and provide numerous services. One service is pediatric urgent care, which will be the only such service in Selinsgrove. The University will invest $3.1 million in the 16,000-square-foot facility. Geisinger will furnish, equip and lease it back from the University over a 15-year period. (Sara Bartlett)
Taxes expected to go up in the Lewisburg School district
LEWISBURG – A final budget will be adopted at the end of June, but real estate taxes are expected to increase by about 5.6% in the Lewisburg School District. Superintendent Dr. Mark DiRocco says the budget is a 1.4 percent overall increase from last year at about $27.4-million. He says they are down about $620,000 in federal revenue.
DiRocco says many school districts are dealing with a decline in revenue from federal funds. He says the stimulus funding was a real boost for them for a one to two year period, but they are in the second year of that two-year phase and the bulk of the money has been spent in the first year.
He says at this point, the budget is not finalized and they are still looking at revenues and expenditures and they still don’t have final numbers from the federal government for some of their title programs. They also need to hear from the state on subsidies before they can determine exactly where they stand and how much real estate taxes will rise. (Ali Stevens)
Hit and run accident leads to charges for a Washingtonville man
WASHINGTONVILLE -- A Washingtonville man is facing charges after a hit and run accident in Derry Township, Montour County on Thursday afternoon. State police say 39-year-old Barry Bardo was traveling south on Blee Hill Road when he steered off the road and struck a retaining wall and two mailboxes at a home south of Hillside Drive.
Bardo swerved and struck a pop-up camper at another home and then fled the scene. Bardo was located at a nearby trailer court about a 1/2 mile from the scene of the two accidents. Bardo will be cited for careless driving and other counts for the accident around 3:20 Thursday afternoon. (Ali Stevens)
Latest Pennsylvania news, business, lottery and entertainment
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Most of the suspense in Pennsylvania's primary is on the Democratic side, where voters Tuesday will settle a political slugfest that could end Sen. Arlen Specter's 30-year career and decide a four-way governor's race led by Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato. Among Republicans, state Attorney General Tom Corbett is favored to win a two-man race for the gubernatorial nod, thanks largely to his high-profile prosecution of corruption in the Legislature. Former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey is the front-runner for the GOP nomination for Specter's seat. Party members also will choose running mates for the gubernatorial nominees - three Democrats and nine Republicans are competing. They will also pick nominees for dozens of state legislative and congressional seats, including a hotly contested special election to fill the vacancy left by the death of U.S. Rep. John Murtha in western Pennsylvania. Voter turnout is expected to be modest.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Five-term U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter is aggressively defending his record against charges from Democratic challenger Joe Sestak. Specter spoke to union members Saturday at a riverfront rally at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in Philadelphia. Specter denied Sestak's charge that he switched from the Republican to the Democratic party to save his job. In fact, Specter said he put his job at risk by switching parties. He also rebutted criticism about his voting record and returned fire by accusing Sestak of having a poor attendance record. Specter said "When he talks about my votes, at least I vote." Specter told the crowd of about 100 that he senses that "victory is in the air" on Tuesday.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell is vetoing a bill he says would hamper the state liquor store system's attempts to modernize its operations. Rendell said yesterday he had rejected a bill that would bar state liquor stores from having an interior connection to another business that allows alcohol consumption. Rendell says that means the liquor stores can't have a door connecting them to restaurants or other establishments that let consumers bring in their own bottles. He says the state shouldn't get in the way of efforts to make liquor sales more convenient for consumers.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A judge has permanently banned a suburban Philadelphia school district from secretly monitoring students with webcams on their school-issued laptops. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jan DuBois yesterday was expected. It's similar to a temporary injunction the judge imposed in February after a student sued the district over privacy concerns. The Lower Merion School District acknowledges capturing 56,000 screen shots and webcam images so it could locate missing laptops. The new ruling says Lower Merion can use other kinds of technology to find laptops but only if parents and students agree. The order also requires school officials to arrange for the nearly 40 high school students who were unknowingly photographed by their laptops to see the images, as well as their parents.
Updates on the latest in business:
BP expects Gulf oil siphon to work after setback
ROBERT, La. (AP) - BP says it expects to be using a mile-long tube to siphon crude from a gushing well beneath the Gulf of Mexico. The company said it had a setback but is working again to insert it. The company began early Friday with the latest effort to contain a massive oil spill caused by an exploded drilling rig. Engineers have been carefully trying to insert the tube into a damaged oil pipe a mile below the surface by using robotic submarines. Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer, said Saturday that the contraption was brought back to the surface Friday night to readjust it. But he says the company working again to insert it and expects to be bringing oil up to the surface by Saturday night. At least 210,000 gallons of oil has been leaking into the Gulf each day since the explosion three weeks ago.
Thousands of nonprofits may lose tax-exempt status
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - More than 200,000 small nonprofits across the nation are days away from losing their tax-exempt status because they haven't filed a new form with the Internal Revenue Service. The deadline for the IRS form is Monday, and the National Center for Charitable Statistics estimates 214,000 nonprofits that report $25,000 or less in income haven't filed that form. Churches are exempted. If nonprofits file late, officials say it could be months before their tax-exempt status is restored. People who donate to those charities still could deduct expenses because there was no way to know about the change. Bobby Zarin of the IRS says the new requirement is intended to better track small nonprofits and make information more available to the public.
Miners approve deal to end California mine lockout
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Some 75 percent of locked-out mine workers have voted to approve a settlement with the operators of a huge borate mine in California's Mojave Desert, ending an impasse that began in January. The International Longshore Warehouse Union said in a statement that miners on Saturday approved the deal with Rio Tinto Borax that includes a 2.5 percent annual raise for six years. A tentative agreement had been reached a day earlier. The union says workers will be paid starting Monday and return to work Tuesday. Workers at the mine in the desert town of Boron were locked out on Jan. 31 after five months of negotiations. The Boron mine produces 42 percent of the world's borates, which are used in many products and manufacturing processes.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Pennsylvania Lottery Numbers
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - These Pennsylvania lotteries were drawn Saturday:
Big 4
6-9-1-2
Cash 5
02-05-10-31-43
Estimated jackpot: $125,000
Daily Number
9-2-1
Evening Quinto
8-9-5-6-5
Mega Millions
Estimated jackpot: $42 million
Midday Big 4
8-3-2-4
Midday Number
8-2-5
Midday Quinto
3-8-4-4-8
Powerball
15-21-23-28-36, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Estimated jackpot: $120 million
Treasure Hunt
02-20-21-23-26
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Woody Allen has interest in Blanchett, Witherspoon
CANNES, France (AP) - A note to Cate Blanchett and Reese Witherspoon: Woody Allen has his eye on you. "These are two actresses that I would like to work with, because I think they're both very talented," Allen said at the Cannes Film Festival, where his latest tale "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" premiered Saturday. "But I don't know them. I've never had the opportunity to speak with them." Allen tossed out the two names to reporters when asked what actors he would like to cast. He missed Blanchett by only a couple of days: she was at Cannes Thursday for "Robin Hood," in which she stars with Russell Crowe. Allen's new film stars Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Gemma Jones and Freida Pinto.
Michael Jackson doctor helps passenger in distress
PHOENIX (AP) - The doctor accused of administering a powerful anesthetic that killed pop star Michael Jackson has helped stabilize a young woman who fell unconscious on a US Airways jet to Phoenix. Conrad Murray's spokeswoman says the doctor found the woman on Saturday with a very weak pulse. Miranda Sevcik says he stabilized her condition using equipment in the jet's medical bag, including hooking her up to an IV. A US Airways spokesman says Flight 641 from Houston was diverted to Albuquerque, N.M. because of a medical emergency. Spokesman Todd Lehmacher says a doctor on board helped the woman, but declined to name the physician.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)