Thursday, April 24, 2008
Selinsgrove man faces fines and jail time for aircraft fraud
WILLIAMSPORT – A Selinsgrove man is facing charges after he reportedly admitted to fraud at his aircraft repair business. 26-year-old Brian Snyder plead guilty in a Williamsport courthouse on Wednesday. He is the operator at Smooth Landings and Always Airborne in Elysburg. He admitted that between November 2002 and January 2008 he forged the name of several licensed mechanics and lied about inspection dates for the planes. Reportedly, 277 entries were falsified and 66 airplanes were involved. Snyder also allegedly stole a plane from a Florida airport, and then sold it for $60,000. He faces up to 25 years in prison and may have to pay up to $750,000 in fines. (Sara Bartlett)
A Shamokin man will go to court, charged with indecent exposure
SHAMOKIN – A Shamokin man will be formally arraigned in June on charges of indecent exposure, disorderly conduct and open lewdness. 20-year-old Brian Shaffer was in court this week and waved a preliminary hearing. Shaffer is accused of exposing himself to several vehicles on Commerce Street in Shamokin in March. His next court appearance is at the Northumberland County Courthouse in Sunbury. (Ali Stevens)
The annual Wine and Art Auction to benefit the Sunbury American Red Cross
SUNBURY – It’s time once again for the annual Art and Wine Auction to benefit the Sunbury Chapter of the American Red Cross. Jennifer Rebuck of the Red Cross talks about some of the art that will be for sale this year including jewelry, watercolors, carvings and prints. Tom Webb of Spyglass Ridge Winery outside Sunbury, has hosted the event for several years and is pleased to provide a unique and scenic venue for the event. . Rebuck says there will be plenty to enjoy including live entertainment, food from Townside Garden Café and wine tasting, along with the art auction, with two auctioneers. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door or you can contact the Sunbury Red Cross for more information about Friday night’s Art and Wine Auction. (Ali Stevens)
Race for Women’s Health kicks off the Lewisburg Arts Festival
LEWISBURG – The annual Race for Women’s Health will be held this Saturday. Freddi Carlip helped organize the event and says you can choose a 5K run or a two-mile walk. There will also be kids races going on during the event. Registration starts at 7 a.m. Saturday at Lewisburg High School. The event benefits Family Planning Plus and the WIC program. Lisa Weir of Family Planning says through fundraising events like this, they are able to provide important programs for women, infants and children. The programs are designed for families without health insurance that meet certain guidelines. Following the run or walk, there will be refreshments and then the Lewisburg Arts Festival will get underway. (Ali Stevens)
Tons to do at the Lewisburg Arts Festival
LEWISBURG – Cross your fingers for good weather this weekend as the 39th annual Lewisburg Arts Festival swings into full gear. It all starts Friday at 7:00p.m. with the annual art exhibit and photography contest. Then is the Market Street Exhibit. President of the Lewisburg Arts Council, Sara Kelley, says 116 artists will line six blocks of Market Street, and the featured artist is Thomas Wise.
There will also be plenty of musical entertainment in Hufnagle Park Saturday, including Taikoza, a Japanese Drumming group from New York. Many local community groups will also be set up in the park. There’s much to do for kids in Soldiers Memorial Park, including an activities tent provided by LARA and a Middle Ages Encampment.
The festival continues in the weeks ahead with Lewisburg Live, a showcase of 14 locals bands playing in town, Lewisburg High School’s production of Seussical and the Susquehanna Shorts Film Festival. All events are free and open to the public. For more information and a schedule, log on to www.lewisburgartscouncil.com. (Sara Bartlett)
Plenty of opportunities to make an impact in your community
SUNBURY – You may want to volunteer in your community, but feel you don’t have enough time or don’t know where to find volunteer work that you’re interested in. That’s where Impact Susquehanna can help. Impact Susquehanna is a group of volunteers looking to help others interested in volunteering find the opportunities they are looking for. Keri Albright, president and CEO of the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way, says Impact Susquehanna can arrange that for you by matching you with agencies using a networking system.
Impact Susquehanna is inviting the public to a complimentary luncheon to find out more about volunteer work. The luncheon is May 9th at 11:45 at Sun Area Vo. Tech in New Berlin. The guest speaker will be Malcolm Derk, who at the age of 25 became the youngest Snyder County Commissioner in history. To register or find out more, contact the United Way at 988-0993. (Ali Stevens)
Getting good gas mileage
UNDATED – This week, we’ve been talking to residents of the Valley about their travel plans this summer with the rising gas prices. But, we know we all have to drive somewhere, so today we’ll talk about how to get the best gas mileage out of your vehicle.
Dale Jaenke is a professor and the head of the automotive department at Pennsylvania College of Technology, and he says the best thing to do in this time of high gas prices to improve your mileage is to keep up with your vehicle’s maintenance, including checking tire pressure, changing spark plugs and getting an oil change. And how about those rumors about frequently waxing your car or using the air conditioning vs. driving with your windows up? Jaenke says that may not make much of a difference, but it is helpful to remove things from your truck so it doesn’t weigh down your vehicle.
As the prices rise, Jaenke says looking at hybrid cars may become a more efficient option and will most likely save money if you plan to keep the car for a long period of time. He says we are in the very early stages of vehicles that will run on hydrogen fuel cells, but he knows some places that have begun that process, including bigger cities like Washington DC, Los Angeles and New York.
For now, Jaenke says as summer travel season approaches, make sure to take proper car of you vehicle, get your maintenance updates and follow the rules of the road, and you may just see yourself spending a little less on gas. In the next part of our series we’ll talk to Todd Lehman of the Bloomsburg Fair to see if the rising prices will affect tourism at one of our areas biggest events. (Sara Bartlett)
Man charged with trying to bribe an officer after a DUI arrest
POINT TOWNSHIP – A man arrested for DUI is also charged with trying to bribe an officer. Point Township police say 49-year-old Robert Morgan of Ashland was stopped on April 19th for speeding on Route 11. He was found to be under the influence and was reportedly drinking an alcoholic beverage when he was pulled over in his vehicle.
Morgan was taken to the Point Township Police Department and police say he tried to bribe an officer in an attempt to avoid being prosecuted. He will appear before District Justice Robert Bolton on multiple charges. (Ali Stevens)
Local baseball legend describes career in All American Girls League
HUMMELS WHARF – Sarah Jane “Salty” Sands Ferguson of Orangeville drives a school bus these days. However, she is also a coach, a former pro basketball player and one-time member of the Rockford Peaches of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
The two-year veteran of the women’s baseball circuit founded during World War II says it seemingly took forever for the league to be recognized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame. She says Cooperstown first considered a display in appreciation of the AAGPBL in 1982, but took nearly six years to decide to proceed with plans.
The AAGPBL and the Peaches are remembered in the 1992 film “A League of Their Own.” “Salty” Ferguson appears in the film and was the keynote speaker at today’s Office Staff Recognition Luncheon hosted by the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce. Other than having her two children, Ferguson says her years in the league were the two best years of her life, and she would do it again in a heartbeat if she could. (Matt Farrand)
52-week lows for two local stocks
NEW YORK – The holding company for Swineford National Bank of Middleburg earned more than $41.5 million dollars during its first quarter of 2008. The Fulton Financial Corporation will pay a quarterly dividend of 15 cents per share to shareholders of record of June 20th.
Fulton is also affiliated with FNB Bank of Danville, its namesake bank in Lancaster, a bank in Easton, and banks in four other states. Fulton stock gained more than 2.2% to close Wednesday at 11.96. Other bank stocks of local interest all fell, as Sovreign Bancorp hit another 52-week low at 7.69, FNB Corp dropped more than 3.3%, Susquehanna Bancshares dropped 5.5%, and M&T Bank fell to 88.02.
Other local stocks were mixed as homebuilder Fleetwood Enterprises hit a 52-week low and settled at 3.45, pipeline operator Sunoco Logistics dropped a fraction, but PPL Corp gained a fraction to 48.70. Food producers Sara Lee and Conagra enters the new day down slightly, but Weis Markets gained 0.7% to 33.52. (Matt Farrand)
Carney still undecided where to place superdelegate vote
UNDATED – An all-important superdelegate vote for the presidential primary lies in the hands of 10th District Democratic Congressman Chris Carney, but Carney says he’s still undecided. He calls the primary results in Pennsylvania “interesting,” but says that’s not the only thing he’ll take into consideration when decided where to cast his vote.
He says he’ll also look at the temperament of the candidate during the stressful campaigning time. He says leadership is about temperament. Carney says he feels no pressure to vote for Clinton, the way Pennsylvania voted, or to vote for Obama.
He says he will use his best judgment at the right time. Carney is one of the nearly 300 superdelegates that are still undecided. There are 794 superdelegates in all. They must choose whom to vote for by the Democratic National Convention in August. (Sara Bartlett)
Hackett to focus on bringing Republican Party together
SUNBURY – Now that Chris Hackett has defeated Dan Meuser and won the Republican nod for Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, his goal is to bring the Republican Party back together. Hackett will take on Democratic Congressman Chris Carney who has held the position for the past two years.
Hackett says if he does win in the fall, he hopes Republican John McCain will be on top of the Presidential ticket. Hackett’s message throughout his campaign has been to stop wasteful spending, shrink the size of government and let communities make their own decisions.
He says he runs his life and business with great fiscal responsibility, and wants the government to be run the same way. Hackett will continue to campaign raising money and building a grassroots organization. He spent half of what Meuser did campaigning for the primary. In the final results, Hackett won by 4%. (Sara Bartlett)
Uncontested Carney gets 70,000 Democratic votes
CLARKS SUMMIT – Democrat Congressman Chris Carney was uncontested in Tuesday’s primary and now he’s slated to run against Republican Chris Hackett, who defeated Dan Meuser in the 10th District Congressional race. Carney received over 70,000 votes throughout the district. By contrast, the GOP primary generated 64,000 votes.
Carney says he is proud to run on his record against Hackett and thinks the way he’s worked well ‘across the aisle’ is an asset to his campaign. Carney has held the seat for two years after defeating Republican Don Sherwood. He was the first Democrat to win the 10th Congressional District in 45 years. (Sara Bartlett)
Bumpy ride home for Line Mountain students
LECK KILL – Three Line Mountain elementary school students were injured in a school bus accident Tuesday afternoon. The Shamokin News-Item reports, the students from the Leck Kill School, were on buses returning from a trip to Harrisburg, when a chain reaction accident led to the collision. The unidentified students were taken to Harrisburg Hospital, according to school officials.
The 3p.m. accident happened when a car on Route 147, slowed down suddenly, leading one of the three buses to hit the car. Then another bus ran into the first. Most of the 115 students were taken to the nearby Millersburg Fire Company.
The News Item says a school physician examined the students there. The fire company staff provided coloring and activity books and arranged for the firehouse Dalmatian, Sparky, to visit the building, while the students waited four hours.
SU campus excited for Governor’s visit and speech
SELINSGROVE – Susquehanna University has been celebrating their 150th academic year since it’s kickoff in March with an orchestra and chorus concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. To conclude this part of the year, Governor Ed Rendell with address the graduating class of 2008. University President Dr. L. Jay Lemons says the campus and the community are excited about the visit.
He says the Rendell was the first person they thought of when planning for a graduation speaker. Lemons says the University has not had a Governor speak at commencement since Dick Thornburgh, who spoke at the school’s 125-year celebration. Nearly 450 graduates will walk across the stage for the graduation on May 11th. (Sara Bartlett)
Latest Pennsylvania news, sports, business and entertainment:
EIGHTY-FOUR (AP) - A coroner says four people are dead after a tractor-trailer collided with a van carrying people from a group home for the mentally disabled. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco tells The Associated Press that it appears the tractor-trailer slammed into the van after the van pulled out in front of it. The accident happened at about 10 a.m. Thursday in Somerset Township, about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh.
HARRISBURG (AP) - The state's student loan agency is offering voluntary buyouts to its nonunion employees as a cost-cutting measure. A Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency spokesman says the agency hopes to save about $12 million annually through the buyouts. Spokesman Keith New says eligible employees would receive two weeks' pay for every year worked at PHEAA up to a maximum of 16 weeks. PHEAA says its earnings from student loans have been hurt by turmoil in the credit markets, and it's looking for ways to reduce its costs.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Here are the winning numbers selected Wednesday in the Pennsylvania State Lottery:
Daily Number 9-2-3
Big 4 3-2-0-5
Treasure Hunt 2-11-15-20-26
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)