Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Garage fire in Trevorton

TREVORTON – Fire crews were called to the scene of a garage fire near Trevorton Wednesday evening.  The first call came in around 5:20p.m.  The garage was on the property at 1247 West Railroad Street in Zerbe Township, Northumberland County.  Officials say heavy smoke was seen from the rear of the garage’s roof when they arrived on scene.  The garage was free standing, but close to a home and a commercial storage shed; those structures were not damaged.  Officials believe the fire may have been electrical in nature, but will continue to investigation.  Crew left the scene by 6:30p.m.

Accidental death at Snyder county construction site

HUMMELS WHARF – State Police say a Huntingdon County man is dead after an accident at the Monroe Marketplace construction site in Hummels Wharf.  38-year-old Ronald Collins of Mount Union was walking along side a forklift, when he was run over by a rear tire.  A Snyder County coroner pronounced Collins dead, apparently due to head injuries.  The accident was reported at about 9:30 Wednesday morning. 

Ground was broken on the project last summer and developers hope to have some tenants open for business later this year.  (Matt Farrand)

24-hours of heavy rains has taken its toll

UNDATED – More than three inches of rain has falling in the Central Susquehanna
Valley, some schools were delayed today and we have a list or road closures listed below.

At Sunbury, the Hamilton Underpass is flooded.  Look for Route 11 between Northumberland and Shamokin Dam to close tomorrow.  In Lewisburg, River Road is now closed, among others.

The Susquehanna River is expected to crest near or at flood stage at Sunbury, Lewisburg and Milton. Penns Creek is expected to crest above flood stage.

 Flooding in Union County

LEWISBURG – Bull Run started causing flooding problems in Lewisburg last night and several roads remain closed in the area.  Tom Hess, director of Emergency Services in Union County says they have been busy for the last 24 hours due to local flooding from Bull Run and Penns Creek. There were a number of road closures and a number of residential homes flooding.  Several cabins are surrounded by water right now. 

Hess says things will take longer than normal to recover, because the river is continuing to rise because of water coming from upstream, and that will not crest until tomorrow.  That will slow the tributaries from getting back within their banks as quickly as they normally do.  He adds that safety on the roads is imperative and don’t drive through water.  Residential flooding continues today, with emergency services handling pumping out basements and assisting residents.  (Ali Stevens)

Flooding in Snyder County

PENNS CREEK – Homes and vehicles are flooded and roads are closed today, due to Penns Creek and Middle Creek overflowing their banks.  In the community of Penns Creek, homes along Penns Creek Drive are flooded and a firefighter says it will take some time for the water to recede.

Snyder County Commissioner Malcolm Dirk was warning employees at the courthouse to move their cars as Middle Creek overflowed in Middleburg, covering a portion of the parking lot at the Snyder County Courthouse.  He says they are monitoring the situation through EMA interim director Chad Aucker. 

Flooding has also caused problems along Route 204 and Mill Road in Selinsgrove, along Penns Creek in New Berlin and along 522 between Middleburg and Beavertown at Middle Creek.  (Ali Stevens)

Second Assistant DA hired in Snyder County

MIDDLEBURG – Snyder County has hired a second Assistant District Attorney.  Commissioners and DA Michael Sholley had been butting heads about filling the position, but on a 2-1 vote Tuesday, Troy Scott was hired.  Commissioner Richard Bickhart cast the lone ‘no’ vote, saying that the county did not need two assistant DA’s.  Sholley disagreed saying, even though he is full-time, the demands of covering four courts can’t be covered with just one assistant.

Scott, who owns a private law practice, has signed on to a benefit-free one-year contract, making $23,918 a year. (Sara Bartlett)    

Assistant principal in Shamokin Area School District succumbs to cancer

SHAMOKIN – After a battle with cancer, Shamokin Area Elementary School assistant principal Patti Ann Catizone has passed away.  Catizone was 53.  She died Monday at her home in Gowen City.  Catizone was a teacher in the Shamokin Area School District for 27 years before becoming assistant principal at the elementary school in 2004.  A memorial visitation will be held from 5:00p.m.-9:00p.m. Thursday in the Shamokin Area Junior-Senior High School auditorium and a mass will be held Friday at noon at Our Lady of Hope Church in Coal Township. (Sara Bartlett)  

Construction begins on Route 11/15 next week in Monroe Township

SHAMOKIN DAM – Roadwork is set to begin next week in Monroe Township, Snyder County in connection with the construction of the Monroe Marketplace.  The construction will impact traffic patterns and lane restrictions may be posted.  The work is scheduled to begin next week and take place Sunday through Thursday from 8:00p.m. to 6:00a.m.  The work is expected to continue for several months. (Sara Bartlett) 

Lewisburg man arrested in Snyder County is wanted in the state of Wyoming

PORT TREVORTON – A Lewisburg man, stopped in Snyder County for several traffic violations, is a wanted man in the state of Wyoming. State police stopped 55-year-old Frederick Hulbert along Routes 11 and 15 southbound in Port Trevorton on Monday afternoon. Hulbert was hauling a horse compact trailer and was driving unsafely at the time he was stopped.

Troopers soon learned that the man, who’s been living on North 10th Street in Lewisburg, is a fugitive from justice with a felony warrant in Wyoming for larceny. He was arrested and sent to the Snyder County Prison on $100,000 bail and will be extradited in the coming days. (Ali Stevens)

House fire last night in Union County

LEWISBURG – Emergency crews were called to a house fire around 9 last night in Union County. The fire was on Route 192 at 8705 Buffalo Road. Crews were on the scene until about 10:30 p.m. dousing the flames and investigating.

Initial dispatch reports say the home was well involved when crews arrived on scene. Dispatchers also indicated there could be entrapment, however, no injuries were reported and everyone got out safely. The investigation will continue. (Ali Stevens)

Municipal Authority makes sure Sunbury is prepared for high waters

SUNBURY— The Susquehanna Valley has seen lots of melting snow and rains this week and the Sunbury Municipal Authority says they are always prepared in the event of rising waters. General Manager, Dan Ramer, says the flood control department is always well prepared and there should be no issues dealing with any high water event.

Ramer says a procedural manual is followed, based on the levels of water, which goes into great detail to ensure all areas are covered. There is a flood watch in effect for our area and AccuWeather says we could see another passing shower or two throughout the day. (Sara Lauver)

Unused part of the Danville State Hospital campus may become a halfway house

DANVILLE, Pa. (AP) – An unused building on the Danville State Hospital campus may become a halfway house to ease the tough trip back from prison to life on the outside. The Kirkwood Building would be renovated. State officials plan to outline the plans today on the hospital campus.

Press secretary Sue McNaughton of the Corrections Department says the new community corrections center would provide dormitory style living. Inmates just released from a state penitentiary would get supervision and job assistance. They would begin paying fines and restitution and would have to meet curfews. She says this approach is more likely to succeed than direct release.

The state has 14 such centers, most of them in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Scranton, Harrisburg and Allentown already have centers. McNaughton says the DOC wants to set up enough to handle 1,000 inmates at a time.

Stimulus check recipients need to file their 1040

CLARKS SUMMIT – You won’t owe tax on your economic stimulus check, either this year or next. Constituent service director Joe Fabricatore from the office of Congressman Chris Carney says talk that the federally approved checks for taxpayers somehow borrow from the next budget year and next years tax bill is simply untrue.

Fabricatore notes that you need to file a tax return to qualify, and you need to have at least $3,000 in qualifying income to get a rebate check. Fabricatore says seniors should note that Social Security counts as qualifying income, and recipients who ordinarily may not file a return are being encouraged to do so.

$300 to $600 dollar checks were approved earlier this year by Congress and the President, for distribution in April or May. More cash may be available depending on your filing status. If you did not make at least $3,000 in qualifying income, you are not eligible. More information is available at the congressman’s office at 585-9988. (Matt Farrand)

Municipal Authority to install residential meters in Sunbury

SUNBURY— Residents in Sunbury will have water meters installed over the next several years. General manager with the Sunbury Municipal Authority, Dan Ramer, says they have been mandated by the DEP to move forward with this project.

He says there are meters already installed for commercial and industry use, but not for the residential population. Ramer says the project will establish equity in the billing system and allow residents to pay for exactly what they use. This would change the current system, where everyone pays the same amount, no matter how much water he or she use. (Sara Lauver)

Merger of two PA banks expected to close March 31st

STATE COLLEGE – FNB Bank’s buyout of Omega Financial is proceeding, as announced in November. Omega CFO Daniel Warfel says the final official day of business for Omega will be March 31st, if all goes as planned.

Meantime, shareholders will vote on the deal either in person or by proxy at meetings of both the Hermitage-based FNB and the State College-based Omega on Wednesday the 19th. Omega shareholders are being offered slightly more than 2 shares of FNB stock for each Omega share they hold.

Details of the proposal are based on an Omega share price of 31.14. Omega stock hit a 52-week high in November and has drifted lower since, closing at 28.24 Wednesday. FNB gained 2.1% percent to close at 13.99. Other stocks of local interest were mixed as Sara Lee, M&T Bank.

The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust each lost a fraction. Sovreign Bancorp lost 1.7% to finish the day at 10.80. Community Health Systems gained nearly 1.5% percent to close at 32.19, and PPL Corp gained nearly two percent to close at 46.84. Conagra was up a fraction. (Matt Farrand)

Northumberland County Commissioners spar over ‘pager pay’ initiative

SUNBURY – The Northumberland County Commissioners have voted to eliminate pagers for some Northumberland County non-union employees who carry them. This would consequently get rid of a $500 a month stipend, also known as ‘pager pay,’ that had been given to the five employees.

Commissioner Vinny Clausi brought the motion to the board Tuesday citing that the pay is a waste of money. Chairman Frank Sawicki agreed, saying most pagers are obsolete, and it’s more cost effective to have a cell phone.

Although Commissioner Kurt Masser agrees that the ‘pager pay’ should be eliminated, he cast the lone ‘no’ vote on at the meeting because he thinks it’s an issue that should have been dealt with on an individual employee basis.

The ‘pager pay’ system has been in the county for over ten years and was a way to compensate employees who were on-call 24 hours a day, without raising their salaries. All three Commissioners did agree that the decision would be discussed at the next salary board meeting. (Sara Bartlett)

Merger of two PA banks expected to close March 31st

STATE COLLEGE – FNB Bank’s buyout of Omega Financial is proceeding, as announced in November. Omega CFO Daniel Warfel says if all goes as planned, the final official day of business for Omega will be March 31st. Meantime, shareholder meetings of both the Hermitage-based FNB and the State College-based Omega are planned for Wednesday the 19th. Shareholders will vote on the deal at that time.

Omega shareholders are being offered slightly more than 2 shares of FNB stock for each Omega share they hold. Details of the agreement are based on an Omega share price of 31.14. Omega stock hit a 52-week high when the deal was announced in November and has drifted lower since, trading just under 28 dollars per share Wednesday. (Matt Farrand)

Former prison worker admits to a sexual encounter with an inmate

WILLIAMSPORT – A former Allenwood federal prison worker has admitted to a sexual encounter with an inmate. 54-year-old Paul John of Montoursville worked as a food service supervisor when he reportedly had sexual relations with a male inmate six times in late 2005 and early 2006. John was confronted by authorities and resigned. He will be sentenced in the coming weeks in U.S. Middle District Court and could face jail time. (Ali Stevens)

Latest Pennsylvania news, sports, business and entertainment:

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Police in Bloomsburg say a boy stole $22,000 from a neighbor's safe and then doled out $100 bills to his middle school mates and financed a Wal-Mart spending spree for his mom.  Wendy Mae Lizardi is facing charges of receiving stolen goods and corruption of minors for telling her son to break into the neighbor's home to return the stolen loot.  The boy's name isn't disclosed in court papers. Police say the boy confessed to taking the money out of neighbor Katherine Reisinger's home. They say Lizardi told investigators she became suspicious and found cash under his mattress.  Police say Lizardi told her son to break into Reisinger's home and return the money.

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - Five Indonesian nationals have pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from a raid at a Poconos manufacturing plant that netted 81 suspected illegal immigrants.  The defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants. They also agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors investigating the situation at Iridium Industries.  Charges are still pending against Jimmy Nguyen, the owner of a Wilkes-Barre employment agency that supplied temporary workers to Iridium. Nguyen has pleaded innocent.  Iridium officials have said that last summer's raid at its East Stroudsburg plant was focused on the temp agency, not on Iridium itself. No charges have been filed against the plant, which makes plastic squeeze tubes for lotions and other products.

UNDATED (AP) - Questions and answers about Pennsylvania's presidential primary:

Q: When is the primary and who can vote?

A: April 22. It is open to registered Democrats and Republicans, who will vote on separate ballots. The presidential race is closed to the 984,000 voters who are not members of either major party.  Pennsylvanians have until March 24 to switch or join parties.

Q: Who's on the Democratic ballot?

A: Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, who are locked in a tight race to win the 2,025 delegates needed to be nominated at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August.

Q: How many delegates will Pennsylvania send to the convention?

A: Pennsylvania will have 187 delegates, including 29 "superdelegates" - Gov. Ed Rendell  Democratic members of Congress and other party leaders. Superdelegates are not required to be pledged to any candidate, giving them extra clout in a close race, although many have publicly expressed their preference already.

Q: How are the other 158 delegates picked?

A: They will be awarded to Clinton and Obama in proportion to the primary vote, and all will be pledged to one candidate or the other. Of this group, 103 will be allocated in the state's 19 congressional districts based on the presidential preference in each district. In June, the Democratic State Committee will select the remaining 55 delegates based on the statewide presidential vote.

Q: Who's on the Republican ballot?

A: Listed on the ballot will be Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who won enough delegates Tuesday to put him over the 1,191 needed to clinch the GOP nomination; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who quit the race Tuesday; and Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

Q: How many delegates will Pennsylvania send to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., in September, and how are they picked?

A: There will be 74 Pennsylvania delegates in all. Although GOP voters can choose among the candidates in the primary, none of the delegates is bound to support a particular candidate. Voters will elect 61 delegates directly in the primary, the Republican State Committee will choose 10 others in June and the other three delegates are automatically selected because they serve on the Republican National Committee.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Here are the winning numbers selected Wednesday in the midday Pennsylvania State Lottery drawing:

 Daily Number

     8-7-3

 Big 4

     2-0-8-4

 Treasure Hunt

     7-13-18-22-25

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)