Saturday, May 29, 2010

An I-80 crash around 5 this morning had volunteers busy

DANVILLE -- Volunteer fire and rescue crews responded to an accident in Montour County this morning. Montour County Communications tells us, the 5:18a.m. call came from motorists in the westbound lanes.

A vehicle overturned near mile marker 227, that would be just east of the Danville exit. Volunteers were dispatched and I-80 remained open during that accident response on Montour County today. More details from state troopers later.

Ongoing investigation following a home invasion and assault in Northumberland

NORTHUMBERLAND – Neighbors are told to keep their doors locked at night following a home invasion and assault in Northumberland late Thursday night. A woman and her two children were at home on Water Street when an intruder entered their home through an unlocked door and assaulted the woman, while the children were asleep upstairs.

The woman was knocked unconscious and her arms and legs were tied up. When her husband returned from work, he found his wife and called police. Nothing was taken from the home and the woman is okay. Police have advised neighbors in the area to keep doors locked and stay alert for suspicious behavior. (Ali Stevens)

"From Hero to Zero" helps firefighters spot arsonists among their own

DANVILLE -- Montour County's firefighters are showing their support for police investigations into a pair of arson fires. One was March 17th at a condemned property in Mahoning Township, and the most recent was reported early Wednesday at an abandoned residence at Spruce and Cherry Streets in Danville.

Firefighters are also being encouraged to attend a seminar at the state fire academy that will help fire personnel spot potential arsonists within their own ranks. Danville Fire Chief Tom Kline hopes Friday's endorsement of "From Hero to Zero" does not raise suspicions that firefighters are necessarily at fault in these arson fires.

Several local volunteer firefighters are now spending time in prison for starting fires. They include Chester Cyphers of Washingtonville, who was convicted for starting nearly a dozen fires in three counties. Among them, a barn fire near Turbotville, in which a responding member of the Warrior Run Fire Department was paralyzed when a portion of the burning building collapsed on him. (Matt Farrand)

Selinsgrove super leaving for greener pastures

SELINSGROVE – Like superintendents in Milton, Shikellamy, Danville and Mifflinburg, the superintendent in the Selinsgrove Area School District will be leaving to take a new job. The Daily Item reports today, that after almost 10 years on the job, Dr. Frederick Johnson will take a job in the Souderton School District on July 1st.

The district is located outside Philadelphia and will pay Dr. Johnson $30,000 more than his superintendent’s pay in Selinsgrove, bumping him up to $174,500. Dr. Johnson was hired by the Souderton school board on Thursday night and says the move was not planned. The 63-year-old will now oversee more than twice the number of students in his new district. (Ali Stevens)

Brain drain is the focus of the Roundtable this weekend

SUNBURY – The plusses and minuses of ‘Brain Drain’ are the topics of our Roundtable program this weekend. We find out about the young people who leave our area—and in many cases, do eventually return. We also talk about the students at area university, who aren’t from our area, but in many cases, end up staying when they see our region.

The Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce is on Roundtable this weekend. Charlie Ross is president and CEO and he tells us, one of the goals of their Young Professionals program, is to make sure that local students get an opportunity to see what The Valley has to offer.

Also on the program, two students from outside our area, talking about what it would take to keep them in this region. Dr. Wesley Knapp—superintendent at Midd-West School District is also on the show, along with Dr. Jonathon Lincoln of Bloomsburg University.

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

"Taser" use confirmed by Selinsgrove Police

SELINSGROVE -- Selinsgrove Police confirm a fugitive was taken into custody after a chase last Saturday, and they used electronic means to do it. Police say Benjamin Mease was found at a location on Orange Street at about 5:05 p.m., then fled on foot for three blocks.

He was caught on West Chestnut Street, and put up a fight before being subdued with what they described as an electronic control device. Mease was wanted by Snyder County Probation and now faces additional charges of resisting arrest and related assault charges. (Matt Farrand)

Norry home invasion burglary investigated

NORTHUMBERLAND -- Police aren't releasing too many details but they do say are investigating a burglary/home invasion crime last night. Sometime prior to 11:30p.m., a home was entered in the 300 block of Water Street and the occupant--a woman--was tied up.

Her husband, according to reports, found her. A number of area police and K-9 units converged on Northumberland last night and this morning searching for the perpetrator. The search continued into the early morning hours.

Further details will be released later by police and Newsradio 1070 WKOK will continue to follow this incident, which police say is a burglary/home invasion investigation. Call 473-8556 if you have information on this or other crimes in Northumberland.

Modern sculpture latest addition to Cameron Park

SUNBURY -- Sunbury's Cameron Park has a new addition, a modern metallic sculpture fashioned and donated by attorney Jeff Apfelbaum. The freestanding circular sculpture was installed Thursday morning, and is about 20 feet from the Cameron Monument.

Apfelbaum talked with us about the sculpture, which he decided to make after a resident called WKOK’s On The Mark program and said someone should donate artwork to the park. Apfelbaum says the sculpture is called “Optimism” and is an abstract landscape.

He says it takes quoins from the courthouse, some of the circles from the courthouse clock and the circles on the Presbyterian Church. He says the geometric forms come from looking at the landscape in Sunbury, a city that he says he has loved since 1952. It is the latest addition to the park that has seen major renovation in the past year, including moving of a World War I era gun from the west to the east end. (Matt Farrand)

Sestak campaign confirms Clinton was a go between

MEDIA -- The campaign of US Senate candidate Congressman Joe Sestak released the following statement today:

"Last summer, I received a phone call from President Clinton. During the course of the conversation, he expressed concern over my prospects if I were to enter the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and the value of having me stay in the House of Representatives because of my military background.

He said that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had spoken with him about my being on a Presidential Board while remaining in the House of Representatives. I said no. I told President Clinton that my only consideration in getting into the Senate race or not was whether it was the right thing to do for Pennsylvania working families and not any offer. The former President said he knew I'd say that, and the conversation moved on to other subjects.

"There are many important challenges facing Pennsylvania and the rest of the country. I intend to remain focused on those issues and continue my fight on behalf of working families."

Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7th, Media) defeated Arlen Specter last week for the Democratic nomination for US Senate. He will face Republican Pat Toomey in the general election. (Matt Farrand)

WH used Clinton to get Sestak out of Pa. race

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House confirms that it used former President Bill Clinton as an intermediary to discourage Rep. Joe Sestak's Democratic primary challenge in the Pennsylvania Senate race. A White House official familiar with the matter says Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel used Clinton as a go-between to ask Sestak to drop out of the race against Republican-turned-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter.

The official said Clinton discussed some type of executive branch service for Sestak that would allow him to continue serving in the House. Sestak said no to the offer, stayed in the race and defeated Specter in a primary earlier this month. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak ahead of the White House's official response to the issue.

Patterson gets death penalty

WILLIAMSPORT -- In Lycoming County, Maurice Patterson is getting the death penalty. The Philadelphia man was convicted this week of arranging a murder of a Williamsport man from his cell in the Lycoming County Prison in March of 2007. District Attorney Eric Linhardt called the jury's decision right and necessary, and has given the family of victim Eric Sawyer the justice they have been waiting for. (Matt Farrand)

Mifflinburg man injured in crash on Route 192, Union County

MIFFLINBURG – A Mifflinburg man was injured in a crash when he drove off the road and struck an embankment. 78-year-old Jacob Engle was traveling on Route 192 in Hartley Township, west of the Sand Bridge, when he drove off the road around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. He was transported to Geisinger Medical Center for treatment of moderate injuries. No other vehicles were involved. (Ali Stevens)

Latest Pennsylvania news, business and entertainment:

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will travel to Pittsburgh next week for an event at Carnegie Mellon University. The White House announced the trip yesterday as Obama returned from the Gulf Coast to Chicago, where he is spending the Memorial Day weekend with his family. The Pittsburgh visit will happen Wednesday. No additional details have been released. The White House has said it's a priority for Obama to travel outside of Washington, and he's been doing so on a near-weekly basis of late.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. Joe Sestak says he spoke for less than minute with former President Bill Clinton about an appointment that was meant to keep the congressman out of the Pennsylvania Senate primary. Sestak told reporters yesterday he never considered any position the White House was willing to offer in its attempt to ease the path for Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary. The White House says it used Clinton as a go-between to try and avoid a messy primary. Sestak says the advisory panel posts he might have had were "either intelligence or defense." He says Clinton told him the offers came from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Sestak worked in the Clinton White House as a Navy officer.

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

AP-BusinessMinute

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks ended the down month of May with a decline. The Dow fell 122 points to 10,137. The S&P dropped about 14 points, while the Nasdaq shed 21 points. The blue chips were down about 8 percent in May, the worst monthly losses since February 2009.

WASHINGTON (AP) - House Democrats have salvaged a bill aimed at continuing unemployment checks for people out of work over six months. The Senate left Washington today without acting on the legislation.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve is providing details about a new program allowing banks to set up the equivalent of certificates of deposit at the central bank. The new tool should help the Fed drain money from the economy when it decides to tighten credit.

NEW YORK (AP) - Crude prices slipped in New York trading. Benchmark crude for July delivery fell 58 cents to settle at $73.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Thousands of nurses in Minnesota and California say they'll stage a one-day walkout next month if they don't reach contract agreements with hospitals. Separate disputes involve about 12,000 nurses in the Minneapolis area and nearly 013,000 at hospitals across California. Both set June 10 as a strike date.

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

Bids for dinner at old NYC eatery start at $5,000

NEW YORK (AP) - With just 10 tables, it's hard to get a reservation at the popular, century-old Rao's restaurant in East Harlem. But if you have at least $5,000, you can make an eBay bid on dinner for four at the Italian eatery. The winners must dine on July 27. Proceeds will go to the nonprofit National Italian American

Foundation for educational programs, such as grants to study Italian or to pursue research in Italian studies. Rao's provides old-fashioned Neapolitan-style comfort food. Dinner normally runs about $80, more with a fine wine. The Rao's phenomenon exploded in 1977, when a New York Times food critic gave it a three-star review. It no longer was a local secret.

GARY COLEMAN HAS DIED

PROVO, Utah (AP) - Gary Coleman, the child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes," has died after suffering an intercranial hemorrhage. He was 42. Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank says life support was terminated and Coleman died at 12:05 p.m. MDT. On "Diff'rent Strokes," Coleman played the younger brother in a pair of African-American siblings adopted by a wealthy white man.

Coleman had health problems for years. He had kidney disease since he was a child and had two kidney transplants and was on dialysis.

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