Sunday, March 14, 2010

Monday crests expected for area waterways

UNDATED – PennDOT says Cold Run Creek is over its banks in Lewis Township, Union County, and SR 3003 is closed as a result.  The closure is just north of the village of Millmont.  The road is not expected to reopen to traffic until Monday.  The Bucknell University weather station recorded about an inch of rain, but other rain gauges indicated rainfall was higher in other parts of Union County.  The gauge at Weikert collected more than 2”, Hartleton recorded 1.6”, and about 1.2” fell at both Pine Flat and Sand Mountain.  Nearly 2” fell in both State College and Allentown over a 24-hour period.

Area rivers are still on the rise after rainfall, and the effect of snowmelt Saturday.  Penns Creek is cresting about a foot above flood stage.  Other levels continue to rise and are expected to crest some time Monday.  As of midday Sunday, most were below caution levels, but still rising.  Lewisburg was at 11’, about 3’ below caution stage, and 7’ feet below flood stage.  Sunbury was about 5’ below caution stage at about 16’.  Flood stage in Sunbury is 24’.  Danville is at 13.5’, with 20’ the flood stage, and Bloomsburg at 12.5’, with a 19’ flood stage.

Winds exceeding 40 mph knocked out power to many in the eastern portion of the state, with thousands still in the dark in Bucks and Northampton Counties.  Locally, PPL reports Columbia County has more than 500 without power, and a handful of outages in Snyder, Montour and Northumberland Counties.  (Matt Farrand) 

Myers, Retherford win PIAA state titles

HERSHEY – A couple of local high school wrestlers can call themselves state champs.  Selinsgrove senior Spencer Myers finished his 2009-10 season by beating Zach Nye of East Pennsboro at 215 pounds, vindicating a 2009 loss when he sustained a knee injury in the PIAA Class AAA title bout.  Line Mountain freshman Zain Retherford finished his season at 40-1 with a win in the Class AA final at 103 pounds.   He defeated Brad Farley of Bermudian Springs at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Lewisburg junior Nathaniel Brown finished his season as the Class AA runner-up at 171 pounds, with a 2-1 loss to Matthew Cunningham of Shady Side Academy.  (Matt Farrand)

Girls PIAA win a first for Shikellamy

COAL TOWNSHIP – The Shikellamy Braves girls basketball team beat Northern Lehigh Saturday for their first ever win in the PIAA state playoffs.  The 50-46 win advances the Braves to a second round game against Archbishop Wood, and improves their record to 22-4 for the 2009-10 season.  Senior guard Kelly Bickel had a game high of 17 points.  The Wednesday game will be at a site to be determined.  Saturday’s game was at Shamokin High School.  (Matt Farrand)

The Milton Cultural Festival—for the first time ever—again—on Roundtable

SUNBURY – The Milton Cultural Festival isn’t a household name, but this year’s inaugural event is going to a party to remember—so says one of the organizers, George Venios of Milton. The community activist and historian tells us, the festival, which is the former Fiesta de Mayo, is going to be a celebration of all cultures in the region.

The Milton Cultural Festival will take place May 8^th in Milton and has grown from about one square block—to two. Venios and a panel of organizers of the Milton Cultural Festival are on an encore broadcast of Roundtable this weekend. Organizers talk about the festival and seek support and sponsorship for the event.  You can get more information about the festival at www.miltonculturalfestival.org. 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

Geisinger researchers are looking for some problem drinkers

DANVILLE – Is consumption of alcohol causing problems in your life? Are you motivated to change, to curtail your alcohol dependence and get your life back on track? If you answer yes to those questions—you might be able to help yourself and help Geisinger researchers, and potentially help problem drinkers around the world.

The National Institutes of Health has funded national study, which is being conducted at Geisinger, as well as at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. The prime researcher is  the goal of the research is to find out genetically—why certain drugs used to treat alcoholism work well in some people and not as well in others.

The psychiatrists at Geisinger Medical Center’s Henry Hood Center for Health Research are looking for people who are interested in participating in the study. First, they must decide if they are problem drinkers—if they are an alcoholic.

Then the subjects in the study have to decide to seek treatment, counseling and other methods to try to change their behavior. Like many efforts to help alcoholics, the motivation to change must exist before treatment can be successful. Then the people will undergo a blood draw, their genetic makeup will be analyzed, and then they will be given the drugs, which do help some alcoholics.

The doctors caution, that they are not testing new drugs—just why—genetically—some drugs in limited use already work well on some people and not on others. They also say they aren’t just distributing drugs that help people stop drinking, but rather they are studying why some drugs which do help some motivated alcoholics don’t help everyone.

For the people who get into the study, their travel expenses, medications, physical exams, lab work, EKG’s are all funded by the study. Call 866-219-5148 for more information.

Listen for a series of special reports with WKOK’s Mark Lawrence starting Monday

Injury reported as motorbike slides out from under rider

DANVILLE – Loose gravel is being noted in a motorbike accident that injured a Danville woman.  State troopers say 27-year-old Mikki Anselmo was hurt when she was trying to stop along Creek Road, near Trump Road, in Montour County’s Valley Township.  The bike slid out from under the rider on the loose gravel berm, and fell on Anselmo’s knee.  Troopers say she was wearing a helmet and was taken to Geisinger Medical Center via Danville Ambulance following the Tuesday afternoon mishap.  (Matt Farrand)

Back to Washington for woman accused of kidnapping

MILTON – Following an extradition hearing in Northumberland County, a Milton woman has been ordered back to her home state of Washington.  48-year-old Jill Haugen could face felony kidnapping there for bringing her two sons to this area nearly twelve years ago.  The boys’ father was awarded custody of them, and Haugen then fled to this area, and was considered a fugitive. 

She was arrested in Milton in December and has been in jail since.  Haugen claims she was a victim of domestic abuse, which is why she fled.  The boys’ father was present at Friday’s hearing.  Haugen will be sent back to Washington State next week. (Sara Bartlett) 

Chaplain says Islam has tradition of peace

SUNBURY – It would be a mistake to characterize Islam as a violent faith.  That’s the view of a local chaplain who says things were different at one time.  The Reverend Dr. Karl Polm-Faudre says Muslims were victims of widespread violence during the middle Ages.  He says the Christian crusades killed thousand of innocent Muslims, if for nothing more than different teachings or style of worship. 

Dr. Polm-Faudre is a chaplain and Director of Education Research and Outreach for Geisinger Medical Center and hopes mainstream Americans take a broader view of Islam and its holiest book.  He says the Koran has more references to Christian figures such as Jesus and Mary than the New Testament.  Dr. Polm-Faudre was a guest on Thursday’s On The Mark program, which you can hear in its entirety online at www.wkok.com (Matt Farrand) 

Secretary of the DEP talks about drilling in the Marcellus Shale

HARRISBURG – The Marcellus Shale drilling was a topic Friday on WKOK’s On The Mark Program.  We spoke with Secretary of the State Department of Environmental Protection, John Hanger, who gave us a snapshot of drilling growth in the Marcellus Shale. 

He says the first wells were applied for in 2005 and there were less than 10.  Hanger says the DEP has since permitted more than 3,000 wells through February of 2010 and about 1,100 have already been drilled in the state. 

Hanger said a severance tax is desperately needed in Pennsylvania and it’s ‘insane’ that the legislature continues to let millions of dollars in revenue leave the state. He says if they can pay a tax in Alaska, having to pay a tax in Pennsylvania won’t keep them from wanting to drill in the Marcellus Shale.  You can hear more from Hanger from WKOK’s  Friday On The Mark Program online at www.wkok.com.  (Ali Stevens)

An annual report on the successes and future challenges of a local chamber

SELINSGROVE – At Thursday’s annual meeting, the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce presented an annual report on the successes and future challenges the area faces.  Joe Cipriani of Keystone Forging is Chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Directors and presented a number of recent local accomplishments at the annual meeting. 

Cipriani presented some chamber business statistics from last year saying that the chamber has achieved an 83 percent retention rate, welcomed 73 new members in 2009.  Cipriani says the chamber welcomed over 40 new businesses to the valley through ribbon cutting events and the chamber hosted over 90 events creating networking and business development opportunities across the valley. 

Cipriani also talked about the completion of the construction phase of the Pawling Station Business Park in Snyder County.  They are actively marketing these sites to multiple prospective buyers. 

When it comes to future challenges, Cipriani cited preserving the environment and quality of life in the area, promoting economic development and growth in the region, preserving the private enterprise system and continual strategic thinking in the years ahead.  (Ali Stevens)

Bartos promises jobs to 107^th District

COAL TWP – An aide to retiring State Representative Bob Belfanti (D-107^th, Mount Carmel) says his campaign for state house is going well.  Steve Bartos, who serves as the renewable and alternative energy coordinator, is one of four Democrats seeking the position.  He says his main message is simple: to bring jobs to the area.

Bartos says he will create 400 jobs in the region by 2012, and the recently announced 100 employees to be hired for the new 3D glasses manufacturing plant in Shamokin, is a down payment to that promise.

Also running on the Democratic ticket are Coal Township Commissioner George Zalar, Kulpmont Mayor Myron Turlis and Chairman of the Ralpho Township Municipal Authority Ted Yeager.  Republican candidates are Northumberland County Commissioner Kurt Masser and former chairman of the Mount Carmel Township Board of Supervisors Sam Scicchitano. (Sara Bartlett)

Young Women’s Future Symposium

LEWISBURG – A career symposium for about 100 high school girls will be held Tuesday at Bucknell University.  Junior Achievement will host their annual Young Women’s Futures Symposium on Tuesday at the Elaine Langone Center on the campus of Bucknell University.

Joyce Hendricks is chairperson for the event and says the event is a symposium for girls in 10^th and 11^th grade who aren’t quite sure what they want to do or what their future holds.  The girls will experience various workshops and seminars including choosing the right career for their personality and presenting themselves with confidence in the workplace. 

Businesswomen from across the valley will volunteer their day to help direct the girls for a successful future.

The event is sponsored by Northumberland National Bank, Junior Achievement, the Pennsylvania Credit Union Foundation, the Early Care and Education Community Engagement Team of Union and Snyder County and the Susquehanna Education Foundation.   (Ali Stevens)

The Milton Cultural Festival—for the first time ever—again—on Roundtable

SUNBURY – The Milton Cultural Festival isn’t a household name, but this year’s inaugural event is going to a party to remember—so says one of the organizers George Venios of Milton. The community activist and historian tells us, the festival, which is the former Fiesta de Mayo, is going to be a celebration of all cultures in the region.

The Milton Cultural Festival will take place May 8^th in Milton and has grown from about one square block—to two. Venios and a panel of organizers of the Milton Cultural Festival are on an encore broadcast of Roundtable this weekend. Organizers talk about the festival and seek support and sponsorship for the event.  You can get more information about the festival at www.miltonculturalfestival.org. 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

Union County flood watch

STATE COLLEGE – The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for small streams and the Susquehanna River in Union County.  Minor flooding is forecast.  As of noon Friday Penns Creek was at 3.48’, and the creek is forecast to crest 6.8’ by Sunday morning, which is a foot below the 8-foot flood stage.

The Susquehanna River at Lewisburg is around 4.05’, and is predicted to crest at 14.5’ Sunday morning.  That is 3.5’ below the flood stage level of 18’. Emergency Management officials will be monitoring the situation, and those living near Penns Creek or the River should also monitor the rising level of water. More information here.

Shik school debt carries uncertain tax consequences

SUNBURY – The Shikellamy School District hopes plans to finance improvements at district buildings will not be derailed by a spike in energy prices, or other unforeseen expense. The school board approved issuing a total of $3 million dollars in bonds Thursday night.

That includes $2.6 million dollars for energy saving projects experts say will pay for themselves. However, Business Manager David Sinopoli says the tax consequences of the new debt are still uncertain, as is the exact impact it will have on finances.

Sinopoli says the next step is to sit down with a financial advisor and decide whether the district will start to pay down the debt in the upcoming budget year, or after savings from the long-term project start to be noticed. Sinopoli hopes energy savings realized from better lighting, and conversion from oil to natural gas heat in district buildings will prevent having to raise taxes.

Work on some of the project is expected to start this year. Replacement of a boiler installed when the CW Rice Middle School was built in the 1950’s is among projects to be financed. $400,000 of Thursday’s bond issue will cover other improvements across the district, including improvements to security and interiors at some school buildings. (Matt Farrand)

PPL: Power line will improve service in our area

BERWICK – A new PPL power line will cross Northumberland County. Three possible routes for the 12-mile power line were announced last year, and it was announced Thursday that the new line will cross the Susquehanna River in an area about two miles south of Dalmatia.

The line will connect an existing line east of Dalmatia to another existing line near Richfield, Snyder County. A new substation will also be built near Meiserville. The new line and substation will improve service for customers in Northumberland, Snyder and Juniata Counties.

There will be two public meetings to discuss the project. The first will be held Wednesday, March 24th at 5:00p.m. at the St. Thomas Independent Brethren Christ Church in Mount Pleasant Mills. The second is Thursday March 25th at 5:00p.m. at Hickory Corners and Community Fire Company in Dalmatia. (Sara Bartlett)

GSVCC hosts Maryland gov and gives annual awards

SELINSGROVE – The Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted their annual meeting Thursday at Susquehanna University. Several awards were given including the 2009 Business of the Year Award, which went to Mifflinburg Bank & Trust, founded in 1872 and has since expanded to employ 80 people at five local branches.

The Small Business of the Year Award went to Keystone Mobile Shredding of Williamsport, founded by Rick and Karen Metz in August of 2002.

The Karen L. Hackman Star of Excellence Volunteer of the Year Award went to Judi Karr, director of public relations and marketing at Nottingham Village in Northumberland. Karr is a volunteer on the chamber’s special events committee and serves as a member of the Chamber Ambassador Team, along with many other volunteer positions.

The Dan Foss Heritage Award was given to Charlie Benner, chairman of the Governmental Relations Committee for the Snyder County Farm Bureau. The award is given to someone with outstanding commitment and leadership within the chamber.

The guest speaker at the annual meeting was former Maryland Governor, Bob Ehrlich, who spoke about the importance of small business in political decision- making. WKOK has audio excerpts from Ehrlich and the award recipients in newscasts later today and tomorrow morning. (Ali Stevens)

100 new jobs coming to Shamokin

SHAMOKIN – A Shamokin production plant is expecting to add 100 new employees thanks to a partnership with a 3D glasses company. D/E Associates, Inc will soon begin manufacturing a new kind of 3D glasses for the big screen and home high definition TV market. Co-Owner of D/E, George DeLellis, says this is the first product of its kind in the United States, and it’s in a market that is booming.

He says they will work hard to keep up with the demand of the new product. DeLellis says in recent years, overseas competition has eroded D/E’s market share and profit margins, and he hopes this new production will help out the company, bringing more jobs to the region. He says after adding equipment and ramping up the facility, they should have 100 new employees by the end of the year.

DeLellis says they will begin production on a limited scale next week. According to D/E’s partner company, 3D Global Glasses LLC, there are 2 million TVs that are 3D ready in the U.S., and an additional 25 million are expected to be sold by the end of the year. (Sara Bartlett)

Grant could help fix Penns Creek sewer plant

PENNS CREEK – Snyder County is onboard with applying for a state grant that could bring in money to fix the wastewater treatment plant in Penns Creek. Snyder County Commissioners say the community development block grant would be a great help to the project, but it is a competitive grant, but it is a competitive grant throughout the state. The grant would be worth $500,000.

The plant are required by DEP. Changes would include upgrades to take out organic compounds in order to meet new DEP requirements. The Snyder County Commissioners have already allocated about $50,000 to be used in early work at the plant, and there are other loans and grants that could be obtained. The process of getting the CDBG grant could take nearly a year. (Sara Bartlett)

Cemetery vandal to stand trial

BLOOMSBURG – A Wilburton man has been ordered to stand trial after police say he vandalized a cemetery in Centralia, causing more than $8,000 in damages. 19-year-old David Pavloski is charged along with three teen girls for toppling about 65 tombstones at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in December.

Officials say some of the tombstones were more than 100 years old and are irreplaceable. Pavloski was in court Wednesday and gave up his right to a preliminary hearing. He is locked up in the Columbia County Prison on other charges. The teen girls will face their charges in juvenile court. (Ali Stevens)

Candidate didn’t quit

SUNBURY – A Sunbury man who was expected to be on the Republican ballot for the 108th legislative district says he didn’t “quit”. Stanley Geiswhite tells us the State Department disregarded 100 signatures he obtained for technicalities that he should have been permitted to fix.

He says he was told to go back to all 100 people and get them to sign a new petition. Geiswhite say it took until Sunday night to get all the signatures needed and he had no time to correct the problems the State Department identified to meet this week’s deadline.

Geiswhite says the process is designed by lawyers and not for “the common man” and he will know better in the future. (Ali Stevens)

Latest Pennsylvania news, sports, business and entertainment:

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Officials say the power is slowly being restored to customers in the Philadelphia area.  Approximately 70,000 are still without power, hours after a storm packing strong wind and heavy rain moved through the area. That's down from a high of 85,000 customers earlier in the night. Peco spokesman Ben Armstrong says all the outages are in Bucks and Montgomery counties, about 35,000 in each. He says it could take into Monday before power is restored to all customers.  Heavy rains and gusty winds moved through the Philadelphia area in mid-afternoon, knocking down tree branches, trees and power lines.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Strong winds and heavy rain have knocked out power for 450,000 customers in the Northeast, while diverting international flights and toppling a boom crane at an Atlantic City casino construction site.  The winds downed trees and power lines throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut on Saturday. The New York City area and southern New Jersey have about 335,000 combined customers without power. About 85,000 are without power in the Philadelphia area.   Logan International Airport in Boston received nine overseas flights bound for New York because they were running out of fuel waiting for clearance to land at John F. Kennedy International Airport.  In Atlantic City, the arm of a crane collapsed at the Revel Casino construction site. Debris went flying and crashed through the window of a police cruiser, injuring an officer.

KINGSTON, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in northeastern Pennsylvania say a man died in an accidental fire early Saturday.  Members of the Kingston Borough Fire Department in Luzerne County found the body of 71-year-old John Vitcosky when they were called to a home in the borough shortly after 1:00 a.m. Saturday.  Officials said the victim's body was found on the second floor of the residence. State police said the fire marshal had determined  that the blaze was accidental but gave no further details. 

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell is asking the federal government to help pay for more than $50 million in cleanup costs stemming from last month's record-breaking, back-to-back snowstorms. Rendell sent a letter Friday to President Barack Obama asking for disaster assistance. The money would help reimburse 27 counties hit hard by the storms of Feb. 5-6 and Feb. 9-10. Eligible expenses include overtime, equipment rentals, materials, search and rescue operations, and opening and operating shelters. The governor wrote that he might make additional requests as more information is gathered from other counties. It's not known when the president will decide on Rendell's request.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Jurors in the public corruption case of a former Pennsylvania state lawmaker and three of his ex-aides went home Friday without reaching a verdict. Dauphin County Judge Richard Lewis dismissed the eight-woman, four-man panel late Friday afternoon following less than two hours of deliberations. The jurors are considering theft, conspiracy and conflict-of-interest charges against former Beaver County Rep. Mike Veon and ex-legislative aides Brett Cott, Steve Keefer and Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink. The jury is scheduled to resume deliberations Monday morning. Testimony in the case lasted nearly six weeks.

ATLANTA (AP) - An attorney for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has hired a private investigator to look into a sexual assault allegation made by a 20-year-old Georgia college student. Police in the college town of Milledgeville continue to investigate, but have released little information since the accusation was made a week ago. The private investigator, Charles Mittelstadt, on Friday contacted a lawyer for the club where the woman says the assault took place. Photos have surfaced online of Roethlisberger smiling alongside the officer who wrote the initial incident report. But the police chief dismissed the photos, saying they were taken much earlier in the evening. The two-time Super Bowl winner hasn't been charged, and his lawyer says no sexual assault occurred.

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

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