Sunday, May 30, 2010
Susquehanna River Confluence Celebration combines lessons with fun
SUNBURY -- The two-day Susquehanna River Confluence Celebration started in the Sunbury area on Saturday. Inflation of the fabridam that creates recreational Lake Augusta was recognized as a big part of making the West and North Branches of the Susquehanna River usable for boaters in the summer months.
There was also a food court and educational displays set up at the Shikellamy State Park Marina. Sam Nicola is the Northumberland County 4-H Coordinator and was among those with river related lessons for the youngsters. He says the water cycle was demonstrated to kids by letting them take different colored beads and pretend to be water molecules.
The region-wide celebration included a Saturday night concert by Nate & the Aces at Cameron Park in Sunbury. Activities continued Sunday with airplane rides, and a watercraft parade in the afternoon. (Matt Farrand)
Police officer assaulted, man charged in Watsontown
WATSONTOWN -- Watsontown Police are charging 46-year-old Kevin E. Houser of Watsontown with a series of offenses after he resisted arrest and had to be restrained using a Taser. Police were summoned to a call for a domestic argument, and say Houser became uncooperative while they were investigating. They also say he assaulted Milton Police Officer Eric Goodbrod, who was assisting. Houser was restrained using an electronic device and is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and resisting arrest.
Houser was arraigned before on-call District Judge John Gembic and committed to Northumberland County Prison in lieu of $15,000 cash bail. Milton Police assisted at the scene and during the video arraignment of Houser. (Matt Farrand)
Holiday weekend accidents keep crews busy
MILTON -- Milton, White Deer, and Turbotville area rescue crews were kept busy Saturday. Injuries were reported to at least two persons following a two vehicle crash in the afternoon on White Deer Pike, White Deer Township.
A motorcycle rider was airlifted from a crash scene on Red Hill Road, in Turbot Township. Milton and Turbot Township Fire personnel, Warrior Run Ambulance and state troopers were among those who responded to the 6:00 p.m. crash.
And, Union County Communications reports one injury in a 4:25 a.m. single vehicle crash Sunday morning along Hockley Hill Road in Lewis Township. Names have not yet been released, pending police investigations. (Matt Farrand)
Lewisburg honors girls track champs
LEWISBURG -- The Lewisburg high school girls two-mile relay team returned from the state championship meet with gold medals. The 4X800 meter relay team of Hannah Bowen, Julia Buffington, Shannon Wright and Kayln Fisher covered the distance in just a little over 9 minutes and 19 seconds. Fisher also took the Class AA gold medal in the individual 800 meter run. The Lewisburg girls also earned the silver medal in the PIAA class AA team championship. West Catholic took the gold.
They were honored with a fire department escort down Market Street in Lewisburg on their return from Shippensburg University. (Matt Farrand)
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:
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Two zoos on opposite ends of the commonwealth would be able to sell alcohol at privates banquets and events under a proposed change in Pennsylvania's liquor laws. State Rep. Paul Costa, D-Wilkins, says the change would apply to Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium as well as the Philadelphia zoo, but regular visitors would not be affected. Pittsburgh Zoo spokesman Connie George says alcohol will not be sold during the day when children are present. Lynn Benka-Davies, executive director of the House Liquor Control Committee, says the zoos can currently obtain permits to serve alcohol at specific events, but it must be sold by a caterer with a liquor license. The change, which the panel recommended Thursday, would allow the zoo to raise money through alcohol sales. Costa said neither zoo requested the change, but a lobbyist asked whether the event permitting process could be streamlined.
SINKING SPRING, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in eastern Pennsylvania say an elderly woman visiting her husband's grave in a cemetery died after being struck by her own car. The Berks County coroner's office says the 82-year-old woman was pinned beneath her car in the cemetery behind St. John's Reformed Church in Sinking Spring at about 12:20 p.m. Saturday. Deputy Coroner John Hollenbach says she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her name is being withheld. Hollenbach says the woman had gone there to place Memorial Day flowers on the grave of her husband, a veteran. Hollenbach says her car was prone to slipping out of gear, and she would push on or rock the car to correct the problem. He says she was attempting to do that with an 84-year-old female relative behind the wheel when the car somehow slipped into reverse and rolled over her.
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.)
Update on the latest in business:
BP's top kill effort fails to plug Gulf oil leak
ROBERT, La. (AP) - BP has failed in its latest attempt to plug the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico with mud and cement. BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said Saturday that the maneuver known as a top kill had failed. It was the latest setback for the company trying to stop the crude from further fouling waters, wildlife and marshland. The spill is the worst in U.S. history and has dumped between 18 million and 40 million gallons into the Gulf, according to government estimates. BP's top executive had put the chances of success for the top kill at 60 to 70 percent, but officials had cautioned that it had never been done 5,000 feet below the sea. BP says it's already preparing for the next attempt to stop the leak. Under the new plan, BP would cut off the damaged riser from which the oil is leaking and cap it with a containment valve.
Poll finds debt-dogged Americans stressed out
WASHINGTON (AP) - The economy may be improving, but personal debt is stressing out many Americans. An Associated Press-GfK poll finds that 46 percent of those surveyed say they're suffering from debt-related stress, and half of that group described their stress as a "great deal" or "quite a bit." On the other hand, about 53 percent say they feel little or no stress at all. Even though the economy is showing signs of getting better, with unemployment pushing 10 percent and competition for good jobs fierce, it just doesn't feel like much of a recovery for many American workers struggling to pay off their credit cards and other IOUs.
Pennsylvania Lottery Numbers:
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - These Pennsylvania lotteries were drawn Saturday:
Big 4
1-8-0-1
Cash 5
16-19-25-30-39
Daily Number
8-5-2
Evening Quinto
2-1-8-2-1
Midday Big 4
6-8-6-0
Midday Number
5-8-0
Midday Quinto
9-2-7-1-0
Powerball
01-03-24-28-41, Powerball: 10, Power Play: 4
Treasure Hunt
01-05-09-21-26
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Dennis Hopper, creator of hit 'Easy Rider,' dies
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dennis Hopper, the high-flying Hollywood actor-director whose memorable career included the 1969 smash "Easy Rider," has died. He was 74. Family friend Alex Hitz says Hopper died Saturday at his Venice home, surrounded by family and friends. The actor had been battling prostate cancer. Hopper's roller coaster career also included "Rebel Without a Cause," "Blue Velvet," "Apocalypse Now" and "Hoosiers" as well as flops such as "The Last Movie." But the improbable success of the 1969 hippie-biker epic "Easy Rider" remained his biggest triumph. He not only co-starred but directed and co-wrote the film, which also starred Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson. Hopper, Fonda and Terry Southern were nominated for Oscars for best screenplay.
Rihanna enjoying Israel before show
TEL AVIV (AP) - R&B singing sensation Rihanna takes the stage in front of an Israeli audience for the first time Sunday night as part of her latest world tour. It's the first time in the Holy Land for the 22-year-old Barbados native. The concert is part of her Last Girl on Earth tour, which began three weeks ago in Europe. Rihanna spent the two days prior to her show touring Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, holding press conferences, and meeting some of her fans. She said her time in Israel was an "amazing, amazing experience." Metallica performed in Israel this month. Other artists including the Pixies and Elton John have shows scheduled in Israel this year.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)