Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Local New Deal era Post Offices featured in WVIA film

LEWISBURG—Take a good look at your local post office; it may be a gem from the New Deal era of the 1930’s.  That’s the theme of a film set to premiere in Lewisburg Thursday night.  Executive Director Andrew Miller of the Susquehanna Valley Visitors Bureau says five local post local post offices will be featured for their architecture, and interior artwork.  Miller says the artwork often reflects local scenes, and artists interviewed local residents to ensure the accuracy of their work. 

Plaster relief sculptures, murals and canvases placed directly on the wall are among the artistic media used.  Federal spending on construction of post offices and other public buildings is remembered as an attempt to stimulate the economy during the early stages of the Great Depression.  “New Deal Legacy: A Passage through Pennsylvania’s Valleys of the Susquehanna” will be shown for the first time at the Campus Theater at 7:00pm.  It is a WVIA production, but will not air on television until April 3^rd.  Tickets are free and available at the Visitors Bureau or at the Campus Theater.  (Matt Farrand) 

Coaches and police want to know who vandalized a youth soccer complex

TURBOTVILLE – AYSO’s soccer season is set to begin next week, but police want to know who vandalized the youth soccer complex used by Warrior Run players.  Vandals drove their vehicles onto the soccer fields leaving ruts in the ground with their tires.  Troopers say the vandals spun their tires and left large track marks through the fields.  The damage to the fields is estimated at $6,000.  The fields may be unusable, forcing the league to find another field to play on.  Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call state police.  (Ali Stevens)

Northumberland woman arrested after hindering apprehension of illegal alien

NORTHUMBERLAND – A Northumberland woman is facing charges after telling an illegal alien that police were coming after him.  On March 12^th, the Northumberland Police Department and Code Enforcement Officer were inspecting an area of Queen and Front Streets.  That’s when police say 20-year-old Jolyn Rought warned an illegal alien, she identified as Francesco, that police were about to enter her apartment.  Francesco then fled out the back door.  Rought told police that Francesco was the brother of her boyfriend, who had been deported earlier this year.  Rought faces charges of hindering apprehension and will face a preliminary hearing in front of District Justice Robert Bolton in Sunbury. (Sara Bartlett)

A New York man injured in a crash on Route 54 in Montour County

DANVILLE – A New York man was injured in a crash on Route 54 in Derry Township, Montour County on Tuesday morning and was discovered injured an hour after the crash.  State police say 34-year-old Dwayne Crisp of Geneva was heading north around 1:15 in the morning and lost control, striking a ditch.  The pick-up truck rolled over then struck a utility pole, severing it.  Crisp crawled from the scene of the wreck and then collapsed in a driveway of a home along Continental Boulevard.  About an hour later, a resident heard the man calling for help and Crisp was taken to Geisinger Medical Center, where he was treated and released.  (Ali Stevens)

Reality stars from a program on TLC visit Reptiland in Allenwood

ALLENWOOD – Have you heard of the TLC program called “John and Kate Plus 8”?  The reality show follows the day-to-day life of John and Kate Gosselin, who are parents of two-year-old sextuplets and six-year-old twins.  One of their eight children, Alexis, is very fond of alligators, so the whole gang decided to visit Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland and did some filming in early February for their television program.  The episode is set to air on Monday at 9 p.m. on TLC and will feature Alexis touching a baby alligator and other experiences at Reptiland.  TLC is featured on most cable and digital television packages.  The Gosselin’s are residents of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. (Ali Stevens)

The start of spring means the start of construction

DANVILLE – As the spring flowers pop-up, so do the road construction zones in the Central Susquehanna Valley.  Rick Mason of PennDOT says several projects will get underway in April and May and motorists need to be careful in work zones.  He says everyone deserves to get home safely to their families. One of the big projects getting underway in early April is along Route 54 in Montour County.  Milling and resurfacing work will take place from the Route 11 intersection in Danville to just south of Interstate 80 in Mausdale.  Traffic will be limited around-the-clock to a single lane in each direction.  The work will begin on April 7^th and wrap up in mid-August.  (Ali Stevens)

Friends of the Library hold fundraiser this weekend

SUNBURY – A live and silent auction will be held this weekend to raise money for the Degenstein Community Library.  The 26^th annual event is hosted by non-profit group Friends of the Library.  Secretary of the group Ada Lee Newman says it’s the biggest fundraiser of the year.

Items up for bid include framed prints by local artists, baskets of wine and food, signed books, Penn State memorabilia and gift certificates for restaurants and vacations.  The theme of this year’s auction is ‘Rock and Roll is Here Today’ and Newman encourages everyone to dress in their 1950’s rock and roll gear. 

Everyone is invited to the event this Saturday in the community room of the Degenstein Community Library.  The silent auction beings at 4:30p.m, and the live auction beings at 6:00p.m.  Admission is $10.00 and refreshments will be provided.  For more information and to see pictures of the items up for bid, go to www.degensteinlibrary.org. (Sara Bartlett)

Elysburg woman heading to court on 17 felony charges against her

ELYSBURG – An Elysburg woman will be formally arraigned on May 7^th in Northumberland County Court after waiving her right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday on 17 felony charges.  40-year-old Lisa Renn is accused of fraudulently purchasing close to 7,000 prescription pills for her own personal use.  The pills were obtained from the Rite Aid pharmacy in Shamokin and the Community Pharmacy in Mount Carmel.  Police say Renn was able to get the prescriptions by calling them in using a doctor’s name that she worked for and asking for the drugs for her ex-husband.  She also reportedly used her ex-husbands insurance card to pay for the numerous prescriptions over a 2 ½ year period.  (Ali Stevens)

Danville residents targeted in a multi-state phone scam

DANVILLE – Several Danville residents have been targeted in a multi-state phone scam.  The Press Enterprise reports at least 100 residents were called on Tuesday morning from someone claiming to be from security for Central Susquehanna Community Federal Credit Union.  The message told residents that their accounts had been cancelled and instructed them to call back with their 16-digit account number, expiration date and PIN number.  The caller is a recording of a man with a foreign accent and shows up on Caller ID as a number from Florida.  Residents are warned not to give out their PIN number or account number to anyone over the phone.  Central Susquehanna is a credit union in this area and recently opened a new office on Market Street.  (Ali Stevens)

A rail crossing in Sunbury will be closed next week for construction
 

Snyder County residents: No way Firetree

BEAVER SPRINGS – Over 50 Beaver Springs’ residents packed the Spring Township Municipal building Tuesday night, just 24 hours after confirmation that a non-profit drug rehabilitation center had bought the former Beaver-Adams Elementary School property. A deed filed Monday states that ALCAT Reentry Centers Inc. bought the Route 522 building for just under $500,000.

ALCAT is an affilate of Firetree Ltd, a company that operates halfway houses for ex-convicts around the state, and a familiar name in our area as they have twice unsuccessfully tried to build a similar type of facility in both Union and Northumberland Counties.

Residents were told, a problem in Snyder County lies in the fact that the Beaver-Adams Elementary property was privately owned and there is no zoning in the area, so an ordinance is no good. Snyder County Commissioner Joe Kantz says a halfway house hasn’t been confirmed and both the commissioners and township supervisors say they have not heard from an ALCAT representative yet to explain their intentions.

Township Supervisors say the best thing for residents to do is remain vocal, especially to State Legislators, in their opposition to the plan. They also say they are considering forming a committee to hold frequent meetings about the issue. The former Beaver-Adams Elementary School had most recently been converted into a T&T Bargain Boys store. Businessman and resident Richard Kuhn sold the property to ALCAT. (Sara Bartlett)

City leaders address Sunbury’s hottest topics in recent forum

SUNBURY— Nearly 250 residents made their way into the Shikellamy High School auditorium last night for the forum titled, “Sunbury: A City Moving Forward.” The event allowed residents to voice their opinions on some of the city’s hottest topics and a panel of city leaders was able to discuss future plans.

The panel included: Sunbury Mayor Jesse Woodring, City councilman John Shipman, Northumberland County Commissioner Frank Sawicki, Sunbury Police Chief Steven Mazzeo, Shikellamy School Board President Tim Fister and Sunbury Revitalization Inc. President Cory Fasold.

The two-hour seminar was hosted by the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way and the City of Sunbury. It covered topics such as the Riverfront Project, code enforcement, volunteerism, police enforcement and other initiatives to better the city of Sunbury. WKOK’s Mark Lawrence was the moderator. You will hear more on an upcoming Roundtable. (Sara Lauver)

Consumer figures scare market for a time

NEW YORK – Stocks rebounded a bit after a Tuesday report that consumer expectations are at their lowest level since 1973. Declining property values and lower stock prices are heightening concerns that consumer spending will falter.

Consumer goods companies of local interest enter the new day mixed. Conagra is up about 0.4%, and Sara Lee is up about 0.6%, but food retailer Weis Markets is down 0.8% to 34.10. Wal-Mart and target also finished the day lower.

Banking and financial stocks are largely higher. Sovreign, M&T Bank and Omega Financial are up a fraction, while FNB Bank and the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust are down. Community Health Systems is up about 0.4% to 31.74, and PPL Corp. is up about 1.2% to 46.71.(Matt Farrand)

Former textile plant rises again as recycling center

MILTON – A one-time textile plant in Milton is now a site for recycling not only of metals, fabric and paper, but also of lives. HandUP Recycling now occupies the former Quaker Narrow plant on Mahoning Street and is collecting scrap items that thrift shops can’t resell.

Recycling Director Dave Crossett says they’re ready to take almost anything of scrap value, and will be sorting and salvaging using PA CareerLink clients who are required to participate in community service. Crossett says CareerLink volunteers will be able gain marketable skills such as how to operate a forklift, or earn licensing to handle materials such as Freon.

HandUP Recycling is now open weekdays and accepting items such as refrigerators, electronics, clothing, and even old mattresses. All money gained through sale of scrap will be spent in local community programs. HandUP Recycling is part of the faith-based and not for profit HandUP Foundation, which is based in Milton. (Matt Farrand)

Selinsgrove Relay for Life’s annual auction is this weekend

SELINSGROVE – The Susquehanna Valley Mall will be bustling with activity on Saturday as the Relay for Life of Selinsgrove hosts their annual auction. This is the 5th year in a row for the auction and Jennifer Bernstein helps coordinate the event each year.

Bernstein says the generous support from the community shows in the auction items they acquire each year. There will be a bathroom makeover package from U.S. Supply Company in Sunbury. She says Salem RV was also a big contributor, with two weekend getaways to local vacation spots. Bernstein says a lot of the items are grouped into different categories, with 30 silent auction items and 60 live auction items.

Things get underway at 10a.m. with the live auction at 1p.m. Whatever is raised from the auction goes towards the grand total at the Selinsgrove Relay for Life held each year at Susquehanna University in June. To see all of the items up for auction on Saturday, go online to wqkx.com and click on the American Cancer Society logo at the bottom right side of the page. (Ali Stevens)

Man accused of raping his girlfriend pleads guilty to aggravated assault

SUNBURY – A Sunbury man has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in Northumberland County Court. 24-year-old Scott Collins was accused of raping and threatening to kill his girlfriend at an apartment on May 26th of last year. Charges of rape, sexual assault, false imprisonment and other counts were withdrawn in exchange for the guilty plea to aggravated assault.

Police say Collins raped the 21-year-old woman at knifepoint, cutting her finger. Collins was sentenced to 18-months to three-years in state prison and was ordered to enroll in anger management and sex offender programs. (Ali Stevens)

City council discusses possible fundraising event for Sunbury’s riverfront project

SUNBURY – A financial consultant has told Sunbury City Council that they aren’t quite ready yet to ask residents in the city for the matching local funds they need from the community for the riverfront project. Council member John Shipman says they were told it would be beneficial to do more advertising for the project.

Shipman says the consultant, Craig Harley of Lewisburg, will present a final written report in the upcoming weeks of a financial feasibility study he conducted. From there, the city council will begin to generate a strategy to get the public more interested in the city’s revitalization, as well as get correct information out to residents.

The parking issue will also be addressed in Sunbury and Shipman says Mayor Jesse Woodring has started a parking study, which will be complete by the end of the summer. Shipman expressed his enthusiasm in getting the community involved with the riverfront project, and hopes that public meetings like Tuesday’s in Sunbury will help get the public excited for revitalization in the city. (Sara Bartlett)

New football coach hired in the Warrior Run School District

WATSONTOWN—A new football coach has been hired in the Warrior Run School District. The Standard-Journal reports assistant coach from Williamsport and Loyalsock High Schools, 39-year-old Christopher Eiswerth was hired for a one-year contract at Warrior Run.

The South Williamsport native will replace Scott Shaffer, who resigned after three years on the job. Shaffer was suspended for a game after he yelled at the high school band director. Shaffer is now the head coach at Loyalsock High. Eiswerth is a graduate of South Williamsport High School and Mansfield University and this is his first head-coaching job. (Ali Stevens)

Local pastor admits stealing from parishioners

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) - The former pastor of a Northumberland County church acknowledges using parishioners' personal information to obtain credit cards. The Rev. Raymond Clayton pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Williamsport to a charge of access device fraud. He awaits sentencing in June.

The 43-year-old Clayton is the former pastor of Grace Fellowship Church near Mount Carmel. Following the plea, 83-year-old church member Patricia Tomedi said, "Thank God." Tomedi says she's lost 20 pounds since Clayton was charged with stealing church members' identities.

Her's was one of the Social Security numbers he used. Clayton's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Toni Byrd, has negotiated a plea agreement promising full restitution and calling for one year and one day in jail. The church has since disbanded.