Sunday, July 18, 2010
Point Township fire damages garage
POINT TOWNSHIP -- An early Sunday fire call to a garage attached to a house kept firefighters busy in Point Township. Northumberland County Communications says the call to 279 14th Street came in at about 3:45 a.m.
It was unclear if the structure was occupied at the time, but there were no medical transports for either firefighters or occupants. Montour County sent a rapid intervention team to assist Point Township, Upper Augusta Township, Sunbury and Northumberland firefighters.
Firefighters remained on the scene until about 7:15 a.m. A fire marshal has been called to investigate. (Matt Farrand)
Turbotville man injured by combatant in vehicle
TURBOTVILLE -- A Watsontown man faces charges after getting into an argument with a Turbotville man, and driving a motor vehicle over him. State troopers say 19-year-old James Frederick drove over 27-year-old Nathaniel Huffman early Saturday morning after their argument turned physical, and Frederick was leaving the scene.
Huffman was treated and released from Geisinger Medical Center. Troopers say the incident was reported shortly after midnight Saturday, along Hockley Hill road in Northumberland County's Lewis Township. Frederick was jailed at the Union County Prison for a probation violation, and will be charged with aggravated and simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person. (Matt Farrand)
Skydiving, vintage aircraft, music at Heritage Aviation Airshow
SELINSGROVE-- Tandem parachute jumps were among the highlights at Saturday's Heritage Aviation Airshow at the Penn Valley Airport. Organizers estimated that over 10,000 people attended the event.
Tandem jump instructors say the linked together skydivers reach speeds of 200 miles per hour before their chutes open. Cathy Dippery of the Selinsgrove area was understandably leery prior to her son's jump with a member of a local skydiving club. She says they were excited by the impending jump, but both wanted it to be over.
World War II era aircraft was on display, helicopter rides were offered and music from the 1940's was performed during the event meant to highlight recent improvements to the Penn Valley Airport. WWII veteran Arville Walt hoped the event would keep the contributions of his generation from being forgotten. (Stephanie Klock).
Welcoming Joe Snedeker of WNEP to Selinsgrove on Monday
SELINSGROVE – For the 13th year, weatherman Joe Snedeker of WNEP TV will be taking part in his Go Joe bike tour to raise money for St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. This year, Snedeker will make a stop in Selinsgrove Monday from 4 to 7 p.m. Selinsgrove Borough Manager John Bickhart says they have been busy planning a number of events to showcase the downtown.
Three blocks of Market Street will be closed for Joe Snedeker’s arrival on Monday and there will be live music in the downtown with a number of vendors set up at Selinsgrove Commons at Pine and Market Streets. The public is welcome to come and cheer Joe on as he arrives in Selinsgrove and broadcasts live from Selinsgrove Commons. (Ali Stevens)
Local corn hard to find as farmers wait for rain
POINT TOWNSHIP -- The month of July continues to be mostly hot and dry, and it's making fresh corn hard to find. Corn grower Bill Geise says he's stopped selling fresh-picked ears from his Point Township stand, for now. Geise says the season seemed promising six weeks ago, thanks to moisture left over from a cold, wet winter. An unusual warm stretch in March then gave the corn a growth spurt.
But the current planting is simply too small, and not ready to sell. Geise suspects dry conditions and the record high temperatures seen in July are making their mark. Giese says every rain shower helps the crop; and when it's ready, he'll resume selling corn from his stand between Northumberland and Danville in Point Township. (Matt Farrand)
Traffic switch on Veterans' Memorial Bridge Tuesday
SUNBURY -- Motorists who travel the Route 61 Veterans' Memorial Bridge between Shamokin Dam and Sunbury are advised that work zone traffic patterns will be changing on Tuesday, July 20. The contractor is finishing up phase one of the construction and will shift to phase two on Tuesday.
Traffic will be shifted to the completed half of the bridge so work can begin on the second half. The traffic pattern changes may take most of the day Tuesday to complete. Motorists should expect delays as the traffic patterns are switched. All work under the $1.8 million project is scheduled for a fall completion. (Matt Farrand)
House of Hope helping young girls throughout the Valley
RIVERSIDE – An encore presentation featuring the House of Hope Susquehanna Valley is on Roundtable this weekend. The house has been helping teen girls get their lives back on track. It’s been open in the Riverside area for more than 4-years, before that doing non-resident counseling.
Susan McDowell, the founder of the program told us they have graduated more than 20 girls who were experiencing significant family and behavioral problems. McDowell tells us, they are looking for more support and commitment from The Valley. She says financial support, volunteers and help spreading the word about the House of Hope Susquehanna Valley—would go a long way to help dozens of teen girls change their lives.
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
Latest Pennsylvania news, business, lottery and entertainment
EASTON, Pa. (AP) - An eastern Pennsylvania jury has convicted a man of assaulting a child three years ago, rejecting his defense that he could not have committed the crime because medications he was taking caused erectile dysfunction. Jurors in Northampton County Court deliberated for three hours Friday before convicting 50-year-old Russell Wallery of Moore Township of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and corruption of minors. Prosecutors said he attacked a 10-year-old girl, who is mildly mentally disabled, from July 2007 to January 2008. Wallery testified that he has been impotent since 2006 due to heart problems and diabetes. But prosecutors said the girl would be incapable of maintaining her story so consistently if it was not the truth. Wallery will be sentenced Sept. 13. Earlier, he pleaded guilty and later pleaded no contest in the case, but withdrew both pleas.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Attorneys in Philadelphia, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, have filed petitions on behalf of five people who were juveniles when they were sentenced to life in prison in Pennsylvania. The high court ruled May 17 that juveniles cannot be sentenced to life without parole for any crime short of homicide. Most juveniles serving life, including all in Pennsylvania, were convicted of murder, which is excepted in the Supreme Court ruling. But advocates cite language in the ruling saying juveniles have limited moral culpability because adolescent brains are less fully developed. Attorney Bradley Bridge said Friday was the deadline for Pennsylvania juveniles serving life terms who have already exhausted appeals to seek relief under the new ruling. The commonwealth has more than 450 inmates serving life terms imposed when they were juveniles, the most in the nation.
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania officials are moving to limit free rides for heroin addicts to distant methadone clinics in more than one-third of the counties in the commonwealth. The change is part of a revision to state policy that oversees the medical assistance transportation program. Beginning in September, the state will cap payments made to reimburse addicts who drive long distances for methadone treatment. Only 25 cents per mile, and up to 50 miles per trip, will be provided for those who drive to one of the two closest clinics to their homes. The program currently reimburses unlimited mileage for travel to any clinic in a 10-county region. Spokeswoman Beth Myers of the Department of Public Welfare says the change has been in the works for nearly a year. She says 23 counties will be under the revised guidelines in September.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Two Pittsburgh-area TV stations are reversing a decision to pull a commercial attacking Democratic policies and the voting record of U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said yesterday that the stations are restoring the ad that the business advocacy group sponsored. An official for sister stations WPGH and WPMY declined comment. Sestak is a second-term congressman from the Philadelphia suburbs and had complained to stations about the accuracy of various statements in the ad. The stations told the Sestak campaign earlier this week that it pulled the ad because the claim that Sestak voted with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 100 percent of the time is untrue. Sestak's Republican opponent Pat Toomey cites Congressional Quarterly statistics that show 97 percent of Sestak's votes aligning with Pelosi's.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in Pennsylvania have charged 11 people who they say operated a $6 million marijuana ring that stretched through several states. A state grand jury recommended the criminal charges filed yesterday against seven New York residents, three Pennsylvania residents and a man from Florida. Investigators estimate the ring based in Utica, N.Y., distributed approximately 2,000 pounds of marijuana in New York and Pennsylvania from December 2005 to June 2008. Authorities say it also supplied dealers in Fredericksburg, Va., and Charlotte, N.C. Attorney General Tom Corbett says the case is another phase in the investigation that resulted in drug charges against four Penn State students in April 2009.
MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) - Police in south central Pennsylvania say a popular middle school teacher has been lying about having an inoperable brain tumor. Fifty-one-year-old Leslie Herneisey of Middletown allegedly faked documents to take sick leave. She faces 12 counts of forgery. Police say Herneisey missed work at Middletown Middle School over the years for treatment of a purported tumor. But her lack of symptoms made district officials suspicious. Lower Swatara Township police say Herneisey forged papers stating she needed weeks of chemotherapy and would be unable to teach. Det. Robert Appleby says Herneisey admitted the fabrication and resigned in May. She was arraigned last week and faces an Aug. 5 preliminary hearing. Her attorney, Terry McGowan, says Herneisey is battling depression.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Update on the latest in business:
Iraq wants oil companies to develop 11 fields
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's oil minister is calling on international oil companies that won contracts to develop 11 oil and gas fields to show they are able to meet their obligations. But Hussain al-Shahristani also stressed on Sunday that the oil companies will have Iraq's full backing in overcoming the numerous obstacles they will face as they develop the fields to which they won rights during two earlier oil licensing rounds. Al-Shahristani told international oil company representatives at a conference that implementing the contracts on time and under budget was the country's "highest national priority." The minister has said he wants to raise output from 2.5 million barrels per day to 12 million barrels per day in six years.
Trial of Gulf oil well cap extended for 24 hours
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - BP's trial run of a cap blocking oil from streaming into the Gulf of Mexico has been extended. Thad Allen, the government's point man on the cleanup, says BP will continue to monitor the cap for another 24 hours. The oil giant was initially given 48 hours to see whether its latest effort to stop the leak was working. Allen made the call to extend the trial run less than two hours after the period ended. The cap could be reopened if scientists decide it could create an underground breach. It also could be reopened if they need to do certain seafloor mapping, or if they want to contain the oil by instead drawing it up to vessels on the surface.
Boeing's 787 makes international debut
FARNBOROUGH, England (AP) - Boeing Co.'s highly anticipated - and long delayed - 787 jetliner has made its international debut - landing Sunday in England to be the star attraction at the Farnborough International Air Show. The airliner, the first passenger jet to be largely built from lightweight and environmentally friendly composite material, is the first of the five test aircraft to leave U.S. airspace. Its appearance at Farnborough, which alternates years with the Le Bourget airshow outside Paris as the premier aerospace and defense industry gathering, comes as Boeing and arch European rival Airbus seek to rejuvenate plane sales in the aftermath of the global recession - and face new threats to their competitive duopoly.
Pennsylvania Lottery Numbers:
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - These Pennsylvania lotteries were drawn Saturday:
Big 4
0-5-1-2
Daily Number
9-5-7
Evening Quinto
0-4-0-8-7
Midday Big 4
3-3-6-4
Midday Number
5-0-6
Midday Quinto
3-0-1-9-7
Powerball
22-27-35-37-45, Powerball: 3, Power Play: 4
Treasure Hunt
02-06-08-16-18
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Paris Hilton caught with marijuana in Corsica
PARIS (AP) - A French news report says socialite Paris Hilton was briefly detained in Corsica after a "quite small" quantity of marijuana was found in her bag. Corse Matin newspaper reported on its Web site that Hilton had been taken in for questioning after sniffer dogs at the airport in Figari detected about a gram of marijuana after she touched down Friday on the Mediterranean island. The paper reported she was released after about 30 minutes. In a posting on the TwitLonger site, Hilton said she had not been arrested. "I am having the best vacation of my life," she wrote. Earlier this month in South Africa, she was arrested during a World Cup match on suspicion of possession of marijuana. The case was dropped at a midnight court hearing.
Auctioneer: Daughter will get Lucille Ball awards
LOS ANGELES (AP) - An auction house selling Lucille Ball memorabilia says it is returning the actress' lifetime achievement awards to her daughter. Heritage Auction Galleries says a deal reached Saturday will return the awards to Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, Ball's daughter with first husband Desi Arnaz. A sale of dozens of other Ball-related memorabilia will happen Saturday. Items up for bid include a Rolls Royce and love letters to second husband Gary Morton. The deal announced Saturday ends a legal fight between Luckinbill and Susie Morton, who married Gary Morton after Ball's death in 1989. A judge agreed to stop the auction Friday but imposed a high bond Luckinbill couldn't meet. She has said the awards will be displayed in a museum honoring her mother.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)