The rains overnight dampened the start of trout season

UNDATED – The start of the trout season is a little wetter than some anglers may have wanted. Our area got about a half-inch of rain overnight, most of it falling during some brief, heavy, showers. In Selinsgrove, rain gauges measured about a half-inch of rain. Union County rainfall varied from about a quarter-inch to about three-quarters of an inch.

No major problems reported because of the rain, there was some ponding of water along roads for a time this morning. Streams may be a little cloudier today than yesterday, on this, the opening day of the Pennsylvania’s trout season in this part of the state. 

Bill campaigns for Hill Sunday at Bucknell

LEWISBURG – 42^nd US President Bill Clinton will visit Bucknell University Sunday at 11:15 a.m.  He’ll be speaking on behalf of his wife and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The talk is planned for Sojka Pavilion.  Doors will open at 10:15 a.m. Entrance and seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.  The appearance is sponsored by Bucknell's College Democrats, and will also be simulcast in Trout Auditorium. Several surrogates representing the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and her Democratic opponent Barack Obama have visited Bucknell over the past several weeks.  Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton visited Bucknell on April 3.

Bucknell President Brian C. Mitchell notes that all of the presidential candidates from all parties are invited to speak.  The University does not endorse any candidate or party, but encourages engagement in the democratic process and critical thinking and analysis of the candidates and the issues.  Bill Clinton served as president from 1993 to 2001.  (Matt Farrand) 

GE leads stocks lower, including local issues

NEW YORK – Most stocks of local interest will enter the new week after enduring a gloomy session Friday.   General Electric announced much lower than expected earnings.  Its stock dropped 13%, wiping out about $47 billion dollars in market value.  It’s the biggest retreat for one of America’s largest corporations in more than two decades. 

Among stocks of local interest, homebuilder Fleetwood Enterprises lost nearly 7.0 percent Friday.  Sovreign Bancorp will open the new week off a 52-week low, having dropped 3.5% to 8.41.  Most other local banking and financial stocks are also lower, as both Susquehanna Bancshares and FNB Corp lost nearly 3.0%, and M&T Bank dropped 1.5% to 83.62.  The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust fell to 24.81.  MidPenn Bancorp was up a fraction and West Milton Bancorp enters the new week at 48.06, up about 5.0%. 

Sara Lee and Conagra start the new week after down days, and Weis Markets lost more than 2.0% Friday to settle at 33.73.  Community Health Systems was down 2.2% to 35.88.  (Matt Farrand)

Texas trucker hurt in I-80 crash
 

Vehicle crash in Milton injures driver, damages building

MILTON – Milton Police say they’re looking for the driver of a tan or burgundy van who reportedly fled the scene of an accident Friday afternoon in the borough.  Sargeant Rob Graham says the van failed to stop at a stop sign and hit a vehicle broadside at about 1:40p.m at Garfield Avenue and Lower Market Street.  The vehicle driven by 35-year-old Melanie Trate then careened into a nearby building.  Meantime, police say they have no plate number for the suspected burgundy van. 

It may be a Chrysler product, and it will likely have a substantial amount of front-end damage, as well as blue paint from the vehicle that as hit.  Milton police request a call at 742-8757 if you have information.  (Matt Farrand) 

Interim CEO Named at Sunbury Community Hospital

SUNBURY – The former CEO of Easton Hospital is now the interim CEO of Sunbury Community Hospital.  Cornelio R. Catena will soon meet with the medical staff, board members and employees.   He replaces Cliff Park, who is accepting a position at a group of health care facilities closer to his family in the western US.  Officials say a search for a permanent successor is underway, though Park and Catena will work together during a transition period. 

Catena is a 30-year veteran of hospital administration, the last 20-years as a CEO.  Sunbury Community Hospital is a for-profit affiliate of Community Health Systems, based in Franklin, Tennessee.  (Matt Farrand)

Early morning departures announced for papal visit

HARRISBURG – Pope Benedict XVI visits Nationals Park Thursday.  It will be an early start if you are one of 500 ticket holders for a bus trip to the papal visit coordinated by the Diocese of Harrisburg.  The Diocese says the bus for DC is scheduled to leave the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Elysburg at 2:30a.m.  Departures from other locations in the state are likewise planned for early in the morning as busses are scheduled to leave Camp Hill and Lancaster at 3:00am, and Harrisburg, York and Hanover at 3:30a.m. (Matt Farrand)

       The national attention on Bloomsburg’s University’s student magazine

SUNBURY – A professional, award-winning magazine is produced in Bloomsburg several times a year. It has addressed several critical issues in the community and upholds the highest standards of “social journalism.”  At the student publication is called Spectrum Magazine and is a haven for some of the brightest, most career oriented students at Bloomsburg University. Kurt Nystrom is a copy editor and political science junior who told us, the students who are working on the magazine come from all majors and they are very goal oriented.

You can read find the next issue of the magazine on the newsstand in May, and read more at www.spectrum-magazine.org. Several students and the editor of Spectrum are on Roundtable this weekend talking about their work with the North East Pennsylvania Alliance Against Homelessness. You can hear Roundtable (Sunday) on:

n       Eagle 107 (107.3FM) at 6a.m.

n       100.9, The Valley, at 6a.m.

n       WKOK at 9a.m.

n       Talkradio 1380 WMLP, 11a.m.

n       94KX at 11p.m.

And anytime, at www.wkok.com

Some Susquehanna University students are headed to Chicago…for competition

SELINSGROVE – A group of Susquehanna University students is headed to Chicago for a national competition. The Students In Free Enterprise group, or SIFE, won their regional competition in Philadelphia earlier this month.

The SIFE team competed against others students by showcasing the projects they have accomplished in and around the Susquehanna University campus. Those projects included work at local schools, community groups and businesses. The outcomes and number of people contacted is judged during the competition.

The SIFE group at Susquehanna was featured on a recent Roundtable. You can hear that Roundtable at www.wkok.com. 

State Senator participates in Economics PA stock game

SUNBURY – State Senator John Gordner visited his competition Friday…a team of Shikellamy students who he is competing against in Economics PA’s Stock Market Game.  It gives students and legislators a chance to use fake money to try their hand at buying and selling stocks.  The team checks their stocks in the school’s library daily, and will buy and sell accordingly.

Students taking part in the game include Cody Daddario, Brandon Giesen, T.J. Hertzog, Brian Wallace and Alex Zartman.  Shikellamy Librarian Ann Sabol is in charge of the team and says the boys are doing quite well considering the slumping economy.

Gordner says he was impressed that the students used their knowledge of companies to make smart investing choices.  The team says they may enter the next Stock Market game, since they didn’t quite excel as much as they wanted to this time around.  The game runs 10-weeks and will conclude next month.  State Representatives Russ Fairchild and Merle Phillips also take part in the competition. (Sara Bartlett)   

A toddler killed in a farming accident

DANVILLE – A toddler was killed Thursday in an accident on his family’s farm.  The 19-month old boy, identified as Jeffrey Lehman, was run over by a truck on the farm, located on Hill Road in Danville.  The Northumberland County Coroner says the manner of death was accidental and that the boy died from blunt force trauma to the head.  He was pronounced dead at 12:45 yesterday afternoon.  (Ali Stevens)

Commissioner voices opposition to rehiring of Lee Knepp

MIDDLEBURG – Snyder County has hired a chief clerk, in addition to an assistant clerk and the minority commissioner is opposed to the decision.  Lee Knepp, who worked as chief clerk in the county for 30 years before resigning in 2006, was rehired on Tuesday.  However, minority commissioner Bud Bickhart says it’s a bad decision and a waste of taxpayer’s money. Bickhart says he doesn’t know how Knepp will find enough work to fill 8 hours a day for 40 hours a week because there is not that much work to do between two people. 

Knepp will be paid about $55,000 a year, while the assistant, Veda Heintzelman, will be paid $41,000.  Bickhart  also believes there is a hidden motive behind the hiring.  Bickhart says Knepp was a big supporter of Malcolm Derk and Joe Kantz when they were running for office and he believes it’s a political payback.  (Ali Stevens)

Cell phone drive to help victims of domestic violence

DANVILLE – There’s an ongoing drive this month that benefits the Women’s Center of Columbia and Montour Counties.  The center is collecting old cell phones and cell phone accessories to help women in an emergency domestic situation contact 9-1-1.  The center can also use the older phones and parts for recycling.  They provide the phones to a cooperating company and get funding in return.  Drop off your old cell phones at a number of drop boxes in the Montour and Columbia County and you can contact the center by calling 784-6632.

Route 15 detour near Allenwood this weekend

ALLENWOOD – There will be detour in place this weekend for motorists on Route 15 in Union County.  PennDOT says Route 15 southbound traffic, south of Allenwood in Union County will be detoured late Saturday night and Sunday morning for road repairs just north of Interstate 80.  Southbound traffic will be directed to take the White Deer exit, turn left on White Deer Pike, right onto Old Route 15 and then right onto New Columbia Road and back onto Route 15.  Repairs in the northbound direction will take place late next week.  (Ali Stevens)

Ethanol storage permit approved by Point Township board

POINT TOWNSHIP – The Point Township zoning hearing board has approved a zoning permit to allow developer LYCO 1 of Bloomsburg to convert a property in Point Township into an ethanol storage facility.  This comes after months of discussion and debate on the issue after LYCO 1 first presented their proposal for the land along Route 11.  The Daily Item tells us the zoning hearing board’s decision on Thursday was unanimously in favor of the developer.  Some residents in the area are concerned that the storage tanks containing millions of gallons of ethanol, would present a health and environmental hazard to the township.  However the zoning board says the safety measures in place by LYCO 1 are sufficient.  (Ali Stevens)

Over 100 jobs to be created at former Merck plant

DANVILLE – Over 100 jobs could be created after an expansion at the former Merck plant in Riverside.  State Senator John Gordner says he and State Representative Merle Phillips are working with new owner, Cherokee Pharmaceuticals, and the Department of Community and Economic Development to get funds for the project.  Gordner says the jobs that will be created are just the kind that Montour County needs, with great benefits and salaries up to $60,000.

Gordner says if things go as planned, the expansion and creation of jobs will take between two and three years.  Since the sale of the plant nearly four months ago, Cherokee officials have been in full support of expanding the business and bringing more and better jobs to the area. (Sara Bartlett)

Hundreds preparing for Days of Caring

SELINSGROVE – The annual tradition of volunteers from area businesses giving their time to help United Way Agencies continues. Days of Caring is set for April 18th and 19th in the Central Susquehanna Valley. Randy Shroyer of Playworld Systems in Lewisburg helps organize the event each year and says its an opportunity for people who want to get involved to do so, without a long-term commitment or committee.

This year, there are 300 volunteers participating in businesses from Snyder, Northumberland, Union and Montour Counties. They will do projects including outdoor lawn care, indoor cleaning, painting and organizing. The volunteers will receive breakfast and lunch and a long sleeved t-shirt for their efforts. If you would like to volunteer, you can contact the United Way at 988-0993. (Ali Stevens)

Adopt-an-Acre program revived for fun and “profit”

DANVILLE – Have you ever wanted to put some money in a futures market, perhaps investing in corn, wheat or soybeans? A retired local farmer and the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce is offering a low-cost, low-risk simulation of what determines the price of many farm products.

Charlie Benner of Selinsgrove says the Chamber’s Adopt-an-Acre program offers $15 shares in a portion of a local farmer’s planting. Whether or not you make any money won’t be known until the season is complete. Benner says updates on how the crop is growing will be provided at chamber meetings.

He stresses that their local farmer will use sound agricultural practices such as no-till planting. Benner notes that there are many hidden expenses in agriculture, most of which have gone up since they first offered Adopt-an-Acre in 1996. For example, he says energy cost for mechanized farm equipment have more than doubled during that time. More information at 374-8826. (Matt Farrand)

Latest Pennsylvania news, sports, business and entertainment:

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - The Luzerne County coroner says a 78-year-old Wilkes-Barre woman who died in a house fire committed suicide.  Coroner John Corcoran says Eleanor Fassett left behind a note saying she would harm herself. He says Fassett placed a bag filled with money, checks and a Bible on a neighbor's mailbox before setting fire to her home Friday morning. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Neighbors say she lived alone except for dozens of cats.

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - The Lackawanna County coroner has identified the body found in a river in Scranton this week.  Now the coroner is seeking the public's help in finding the next of kin of 48-year-old Weldon Higgs. He had been living in a Scranton personal care home before his body was found Tuesday in the Lackawanna River. Higgs was identified by his fingerprints.  The coroner asks anyone who knew Higgs to call his office at 570-963-6100.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania state trooper won a 501-thousand dollar federal civil verdict against two of his supervisors for taping a phone call in violation of federal and state wiretapping laws.  A federal jury yesterday awarded the damages to Trooper Mario Diana, who'd been on leave due to a work-related knee injury in November 2003, when the recording was made.  The jury split the punitive and compensatory damages between Captain Carmen Altavilla and Lieutenant Willard Oliphant. At the time they were Diana's supervisors at Wyoming-based Troop P.    Diana's lawyer says he believes the supervisors taped the call in an attempt to get Diana to say something they could use against him.  A state police spokesman isn't commenting on the case.

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

 FRIDAY NIGHT

 Daily Number

     0-0-9

 Big 4

     9-8-5-8

 FRIDAY MIDDAY

 Daily Number

     7-0-7

 Big 4

     4-3-9-6

 Treasure Hunt

     5-9-10-12-27

The winning numbers drawn Friday in the "Pennsylvania Cash 5" game were:

     03-14-17-27-35.

The winning numbers drawn Friday in the "Pennsylvania Match 6 Lotto" game were:

     12-16-19-36-44-47.

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