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MIDDLEBURG -- Police in Snyder County are investigating a
pair of home invasions. Middleburg Police say one of the
incidents happened around 2:45 this morning at 143 East Main
Street. During that break-in the man threw a woman on the
floor, struck her and cut her face with a knife. Police have a
description of the attacker. Middleburg Police are also
investigating the break-in of a Beavertown home at 127 South
Center Street. Police say the intruders fled after the
home owner yelled at them. The incident happened early
Sunday morning. Don Casteline (WGRC)
STATE COLLEGE -- Sounds of a gunshot sent police racing to an
apartment in Centre County. State College Police say a neighbor
heard the gunshot at 732 Southgate Drive just before midnight
last night. Police say one of the two unknown men was armed as
they tried to enter the apartment. The shot was allegedly
fired into the apartment as an occupant kept the men from
pushing their way inside. No one was hurt during the incident.
The assailants were last seen running from the scene. Police are
investigating. Don Casteline (WGRC)
SUNBURY - A Sunbury man dies in a high speed wreck in
Northumberland County this morning. That crash happened just
before four a.m. at the intersection of Plum Creek Road and
Carrol Road in Rockefeller Township. Police say 20-year-old
David Rouse was speeding when he left the roadway and slammed
into a utility pole. Rouse was thrown from the wreckage and died
at the scene.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
COAL TOWNSHIP - A 54-year-old garbage man suffered severe leg
injuries after he fell off and was run over by the garbage truck
he was riding on, Tuesday morning in Northumberland County.
Police say Robert Jones was operating a garbage truck in the
area of Poplar and Wood streets in Coal Township just before
eleven Tuesday morning. Jones was backing the truck when James
Drumheiser, of Coal Township, fell from the passenger side of
the truck, the truck crushing both of his legs. He was initially
taken to Shamokin Area Community Hospital, and then flown to
Geisinger Medical Center, where he remains in critical
condition. Jim Diehl (WGRC)
LEWISBURG -- A faulty refrigerator is to blame for a
destructive Union County blaze. The late Tuesday morning fire,
in Lewisburg, caused about 450-thousand dollars of damage to the
Furnace Road home of Anthony Cooper. A State Police Fire
Marshall determined the sparks came from behind a refrigerator
kept in the garage. Police say Cooper is insured for the loss.
Don Casteline (WGRC)
SUMMIT STATION - Fire officials are still investigating what
caused a fire Monday night in Washington Township Schuylkill
County that left a woman injured and both she and her husband
homeless. Sixty-eight-year-old Shirley Krause, remains in
critical condition at the Lehigh Valley Hospital's burn center.
Krause and her husband, 70-year-old Dale had just gone to bed
when the fire broke out at their home at Three Natures Road near
Summit Station. Mrs. Krause is wheelchair bound and had
difficulty escaping the home safely. The home is a total loss.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
STATE COLLEGE -- Another burglary attempt in Centre County
has police investigating. State College Police say someone cut
through the screen of a locked door around 4:30 yesterday
morning. The prowler was scared off when the family woke
up... thanks to their dog. Police say the incident, at Shawn
Circle in College Township, is similar to a number of other
nighttime burglaries where the intruder gets in through unlocked
doors and windows or by cutting through screens. Anyone with
information, or who sees suspicious activity, is asked to
contact police.
Don Casteline (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - The City of Williamsport has received another
boost towards it's local match for surveillance cameras in high
crime areas in the downtown. The Edgar A. Still Lodge #207 of
the Elks and it's women's auxiliary in Williamsport have each
donated $250-dollars towards the city's surveillance camera
fund. The organization's contributions bring the fund's total
to $78-hundred dollars which will go towards a local match
portion of an anticipated $450-thousand federal grant. Mayor
Gabriel Campana, thanked the lodges an says the donations, "....
shows the City's residents, organizations and businesses back
the surveillance cameras."
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
PINE GROVE TOWNSHIP -- An 82-year old man escapes injury when
his car slams into a tree in Schuylkill County this morning.
State Police say Willard Heinbach lost control of his car on
Geary Wolf Road after 11 o'clock this morning. After hitting the
tree the car ended up in a ditch. Heinbach was buckled up at the
time of the wreck.
Don Casteline (WGRC)
HILLSGROVE TOWNSHIP -- A Williamsport woman manages to crawl
out from her pick-up truck after it rolls in Sullivan County.
State Police say 56-year old Lynda Ambrose lost control when the
powertrain failed, locking up the truck's rear wheels. The
pickup rolled on Hoppestown Road, in Hillsgrove Township, after
9 o'clock this morning. Ambrose suffered minor injuries. Don
Casteline (WGRC)
LEWISTOWN - A man will spend between four and ten years in
state prison on assault charges in Mifflin County.
Forty-nine-year-old Robert Batista, was sentenced for an
aggravated indecent assault charge that stems from several
alleged incidents that occurred a decade ago. Batista pleaded no
contest in May 2007, days before his case was scheduled for
trial. Batista was also found to be a "sexually violent
predator," and will be required to register under Megan's
Law as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - A 20-year-old city man has been convicted in
Lycoming County Court of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Jurors found Nathanial Johnson guilty of having sexual contact
with the girl in August and September 2007. Johnson was
committed to the County Prison in lieu of $25-thousand dollars
bail awaiting sentencing.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
POTTSVILLE - A Pottsville man will serve 3 to 6 years in
state prison for helping to run a meth lab from a city home.
35-year-old Michael Setlock pleaded guilty to various drug
charges for working with Charles Brilla of Pottsville to produce
and traffic methamphetamine from Brilla's home. Both were
apprehended last fall. Setlock will also have to pay fines and
other restitution in the case. Brilla was sentenced last month
to serve 2 to 4 years after pleading guilty to similar charges.
WPPA
WILLIAMSPORT - A Williamsport woman has been convicted on all
counts for drug related charges in Lycoming County Court.
Following a one day trial, a jury found 44 year old Marilyn Page
of Third Avenue guilty on charges that she sold cocaine to a
confidential informant and a police officer working undercover.
WRAK
ORWIGSBURG - A Port Carbon man pleaded guilty Tuesday to
summary harassment for allegedly threatening the mother of a boy
he's accused of violently shaking. The Republican Herald
reports, 23-year-old Kyle Bluge, will pay costs and a $75
fine after being sentenced by District Judge James Ferrier.
Ferrier had been scheduled to preside over Bluge's preliminary
hearing on four other charges, which prosecutors withdrew. State
police at Frackville charged Bluge with threatening Jennifer
Swope, of Port Clinton, on July 13th after Swope testified for
prosecutors at Bluge's July 8th preliminary hearing on charges
related to the alleged shaking of their son. Bluge faces court
action on aggravated assault and related counts for the shaking
of the six-week-old boy, on April 25th at the couple's former
home in New Ringgold.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - A Lycoming County Court trial has begun for a
Muncy Creek Township woman accused of stealing $200-thousand
dollars worth of merchandise while employed as a clerk at the
Right-A-Way Drive Thru, a convenience store on Route 405 south
of Hughesville. State police charged 50-year-old Susan Hann,
with felony theft and related counts, for alleged thefts from
the business over a two-year period starting in 2002. Hann
testified Tuesday, claiming she was not at fault. Hann says she
never stole merchandise or money but would write slips saying
she owned money for cigarettes and, on one occasion, a fruit
basket. She denied under oath to pocketing money or spending
frivolously to buy luxury items, pay for expensive dinners or go
on out-of-state trips. That trial continues today.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
LYKENS - Former Lykens police chief Chris Wade has been
sentenced by Dauphin County Court for losing evidence. Wade
reportedly lost $32-hundred-dollars seized in drug
investigations, and pleaded guilty for mishandling evidence. He
will serve 9 months on work release, 3 months of house arrest
and two years probation, plus pay nearly $6-thousand-dollars in
restitution.
WPPA
PORT ROYAL - State officials are cracking down on illegal
tobacco sales to minors in Juniata County. On Saturday the State
Department of Health along with State Police did compliance
checks around Juniata County. The Weis Markets along Route 322
in Walker Township and the Uni-Mart at the Intersection of
Market and Eighth Street in Port Royal will be cited after
selling cigarettes to a minor.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - Spraying to control mosquitoes that carry the
West Nile Virus will be conducted this evening in Sunbury,
Northumberland County. Mosquito samples captured in Sunbury
have shown the species of insect that can carry the disease. The
spraying will be done by truck at dusk when the mosquitoes are
most active.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
BLOOMSBURG - In Columbia County, about 75 people attended a
meeting Tuesday night at the Kehr Union ballroom at Bloomsburg
University to discuss PPL's license application process to build
a third reactor near Berwick. One of the factors taken into
consideration in building another reactor would be how the
project could hurt poor people and minorities in the area. The
environmental impact report considers the effects of the plant
from its construction, through 40 years of operation and through
its eventual decommissioning. PPL officials and members of the
Nuclear Regulartory Commission were on hand to answer any
questions. The Press Enterprise reports, PPL is expected to
submit an application in October if it finds a construction
partner to share the cost of building another nuclear plant.
Regulators say after PPL submits the application it would take
about three years for the application process is complete before
any other movement can begin.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
WILLIAMSPORT - In Williamsport City Council remains reluctant
to sign an agreement with the Williamsport Area School District
to buy its downtown service center for $1.26 million without a
signed agreement with the Kohl's department store chain
committing to build a store on the site. Three items related to
the project were removed from the agenda of Thursday night's
council meeting. The Sun Gazette reports an agreement with
Kohl's is in negotiation, and close to being completed. There
could be developments within a few days, possibly as early as
Thursday.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
UNIVERSITY PARK - Governor Ed Rendell on Tuesday announced
that 14 bridges in Centre and Clinton counties will be repaired
or replaced as part of his "Rebuild Pennsylvania" initiative,
which calls for $350 million in accelerated bridge work in this
fiscal year. The announcement was made as part of a general talk
on the economy, energy and education at a luncheon before about
250 sponsored by the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre
County. The state will spend $6.3 million on eight Centre County
bridges, and $5.4 million on six Clinton County bridges, and
that work on six additional but still unidentified bridges in
the two counties will bring the total investment to $17.3
million. The Centre Daily Times reports, Rendell also spoke on
energy independence. He said drilling for oil and natural gas
won't meet the demand for energy in the year 2025, and he urged
greater investment in bio-fuels, wind power, microwave
technology and tobacco-to-ethanol processes to eliminate U.S.
dependence on foreign oil. Questioned about opposition to wind
power in Tioga and Lycoming counties and elsewhere Rendell said
progress requires change and change always has opponents because
it creates fear.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
STATE COLLEGE - A vote on what might have been a routine
contract decision by Centre County commissioners Tuesday led to
a contentious debate over whether the county should allow
out-of-county inmates in its prison. The commissioners voted 2-1
to renew a contract with Berks County to house any inmates from
that county for $55 a day per inmate. Commissioner Chair Jon
Eich voted against the contract, saying Berks County doesn't
need to use Centre County's prison. He also said it is foolish
to bring violent inmates in from other counties. Eich
reiterated, "We are blessed with a relatively small number of
violent crimes in Centre County and we should be doing
everything in our power to keep that crime rate as low as
possible." Other counties have drug and gang problems
worse than in Centre County, he said, and he doesn't want to
give gangs "entrance" into Centre County. The other
commissioners looked at keeping costs and taxes down for Centre
County and the 2008 budget which includes $375-thousand dollars
in anticipated revenue from housing out-of-county prisoners.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)
POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - Two of the three teenagers charged in
the beating death of an illegal immigrant from Mexico have
dropped their bid to be tried as juveniles. A spokeswoman for
Schuylkill County President Judge William Baldwin says lawyers
for 16-year-old Brandon Piekarsky and 17-year-old Colin Walsh
have filed documents to withdraw their motions for trial as
juveniles. They are charged with third-degree murder and ethnic
intimidation in the death of 25-year-old Luis Ramirez last month
in Shenandoah. The decision to withdraw the motions for juvenile
court exposes the defendants to possible adult prison sentences
if convicted. But it also gives them the right to a jury trial.
A co-defendant is 18-year-old Derrick Donchak, who's charged
with aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation and other counts.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Transportation Security
Administration says the government doesn't use religion to
determine who's on its secret terrorist watch lists. This comes
in response to a Schuylkill County man who's suing to get off
the list. Erich Scherfen says he thinks he's on the list because
he converted to Islam in 1994. Scherfen is a pilot who worked
for Colgan Air Inc. for a year before he was suspended in April.
Scherfen says he was told it's because his name matched a name
on the list. He says his attempts to resolve the matter out of
court have been unsuccessful. Scherfen's lawyer says he's a
combat veteran of the first Persian Gulf war and has no criminal
record. She says it doesn't make sense that her client would be
on such a list and the government won't tell him even why he's
on it.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell's choice to lead
Pennsylvania environmental protection agency is currently the
head of PennFuture, a statewide advocacy organization.
PennFuture says in a news release that John Hanger is leaving
for the state job at the end of the month. Rendell is expected
to formally announce that Hanger is his choice for secretary of
environmental protection at a Tuesday afternoon news conference
in Harrisburg. The governor also is scheduled to name his choice
to chair the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court says
Gov. Ed Rendell misused his line-item veto powers three years
ago in a dispute over abortion counseling and closing state
police barracks. The unanimous high court decision issued
Tuesday says Rendell can't veto language in an budget bill
without also vetoing the money authorized by the bill. It's a
reversal from a Commonwealth Court ruling in 2006 that said the
governor used the veto appropriately. The latest court opinion
says the governor can't issue "language only"
disapprovals.
SAN'A, Yemen (AP) - A security official in Yemen says police
in the Arab nation have detained at least nine people in recent
months for converting from Islam to Christianity. The official
isn't authorized to speak to reporters and doesn't want to be
named, but says the nine were arrested between May and early
August and are still in police custody. Converting from Islam to
any other religion is illegal in Yemen and can be punished by
death. But those arrested are usually released if they renounce
their new faith and pledge to return to Islam. A relative of one
of the detainees says he fears they're facing torture or abuse
in prison.
DENVER (AP) - It's not being called a prayer meeting or
worship service, but the Democratic National Convention will
kick off with what organizers call an "interfaith gathering."
Hosting the event Sunday will be Catholic, Protestant, Muslim
and Jewish leaders and a representative of Denver's Buddhist
community. Convention spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth says the
gathering will show that Democrats are faith-friendly and more
religiously diverse than Republicans. Wyeth says religious
leaders also will open and close each day's convention sessions
and will participate in Faith Caucus meetings next Tuesday and
Thursday.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A Roman Catholic men's group has donated
1 million dollars to support a November ballot measure that
would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in California. That
makes the Knights of Columbus the biggest financial backer of
proposition eight, which would negate the California Supreme
Court decision requiring recognition of same-sex marriages. The
money comes on top of $250,000 the Catholic fraternal
organization gave in January to help qualify the measure for the
November election. Robert Villalobos who heads the California
chapter, says the Knights of Columbus believes God created men
and women to unite in marriage "for the procreation of
children."
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) - A couple accused of praying instead of
seeking medical care as their 11-year-old daughter died of
diabetes have asked a Wisconsin judge to dismiss the charges as
unconstitutional. Dale and Leilani Neumann pleaded not guilty to
reckless homicide, and their attorneys also filed a motion
claiming the charges violate the Neumanns' parental and
religious rights. Their daughter, Madeline, died at the family's
rural home on Easter from undiagnosed diabetes. According to the
criminal complaint, Dale Neumann considered his daughter's
illness a test of faith, and Leilani Neumann thought her
daughter was under a spiritual attack that could be overcome
with prayer. Prosecutors say the parents failed in their legal
duty to care for the child.
CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - Officials in Crown Point, Indiana,
are threatening to revoke a permit for a church's tent revival
meeting after numerous noise complaints from neighbors. Living
Stones Fellowship was granted a permit to erect a tent on its
property for a month long prayer festival that runs daily until
midnight. Police Chief Pete Land says his department issued 10
citations to the church between July 31st and August 10th. One
neighbor told a packed city council meeting Monday night that
she has to turn on the air conditioning, the washer, the dryer
and a fan to drown out the noise. Pastor Ron Johnson Junior says
the church will work with city officials. He says the noise
comes from the cheering crowd, not from the music at the prayer
festival.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A federal judge says the South Carolina
teen accused of plotting to blow up his high school must undergo
a mental evaluation. Judge Thomas Rogers wrote in court
documents that Ryan Anthony Schallenberger's statement that he
wanted to go to heaven and kill Jesus raises enough concerns
about his mental competency. The straight-A student was arrested
in April after police say his parents picked up a package
addressed to him containing 20 pounds of ammonium nitrate.
Police found in his home other materials needed to make bombs
and a cassette tape Schallenberger wanted played after his death
in an assault planned on Chesterfield High School.
Schallenberger has pleaded not guilty to federal explosives
charges.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A rabbi is challenging an order by the
city of Portland, Maine, to halt weekly prayer meetings at his
home because they violate zoning regulations. Rabbi Moshe
Wilansky, with the backing of the Maine Civil Liberties Union,
has asked the Zoning Board of Appeals to annul the order because
it conflicts with his right to practice his religion. At issue
is whether Wilansky's home is a residence or a place of worship.
The rabbi says it's a house, but the city says the religious
group he heads advertises it on its Web site as a place of
worship. The order to halt services stemmed from complaints that
worshippers park too many cars along the street, blocking snow
plows and trash trucks.
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Women dressed in miniskirts and low-cut
shirts have rallied at the doors of Mexico City's Cathedral
carrying signs that read: "Clothed and naked, I am the same."
They're protesting a priest's warning that skimpy clothing can
provoke sexual violence. The Reverend Sergio Roman sounded the
alarm against miniskirts in an online publication to prepare
Catholics for a church family-values forum next year in Mexico
City. He wrote that, quote: "When we show our body without
prudence, without modesty, we are prostituting ourselves."
Critics objected that the priest's statements could make it
acceptable to blame the victim.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict has chosen a Swiss police
commander to lead the Vatican's elite Swiss Guards. The Vatican
says Benedict chose 36-year-old Daniel Anrig, who was a Swiss
Guard in the early 1990s. Anrig is married to a theologian and
has four children. The Swiss Guards, with colorful uniforms and
ramrod posture, have been serving pontiffs for more than 500
years. The guards number about 110 and must be Swiss Catholics
with impeccable reputations. They stand guard at papal
ceremonies as well as help to protect the pope. Vatican and
Italian police also protect the pontiff.
SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) - A 14-year-old girl who was allegedly
married to jailed polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs with her
parents' blessing at age 12 has been ordered back into foster
care by a Texas judge. District Judge Barbara Walther said there
is "uncontroverted evidence of the underage marriage" and that
the girl's mother, Barbara Jessop, refused to guarantee the
girl's safety. An April raid on the ranch of the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints resulted in 440
children being placed in foster care. The Texas Supreme Court
later struck down that custody decision, saying the state failed
to show that any more than a handful of girls might have been
abused. Lawyers reached settlements Tuesday allowing five other
girls to stay with their mothers, provided that the women
restrict contact with men accused of being involved in underage
marriages.
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