Friday, April 25, 2008

More than 40 fugitives rounded up

SUNBURY – More than 40 fugitives have been rounded up in the past two weeks in Northumberland County.  Sheriff Chad Reiner says the warrants ranged from domestic incidents and lack of child support to drug violations and contempt or failure to show up for court.

There were 14 criminal suspects and 27 domestic relations suspects taken into custody.  The suspects are then held in prison until they are scheduled for a court hearing.  Reiner says there is a better way for those in violation to take care of the charges against the. He says if they turn themselves in at the office, they can save themselves the embarrassment of getting arrested and avoid spending time in jail. 

Reiner says the warmer weather is a good time to round up suspects because they are out and about.  He says they are constantly getting arrest warrants from the courts and they need to work night shifts and second shifts to get all the suspects in compliance with the law.  (Ali Stevens)

Lewisburg woman PPL’s new regional community relations director

BLOOMSBURG – PPL has named a new regional community relations director.  Lewisburg resident Teri MacBride will be in charge of the Bloomsburg, Sunbury, Danville and Shamokin areas.  She will work with her predecessors Joe Scopelliti, who was recently named manager of community relations for PPL’s Susquehanna plant in Berwick and Rod Keller, who retired in 2006.

MacBride has previously worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, as well as spent time in the Peace Corps.  She also serves on many boards in Lewisburg including the League of Women Voters, the Slifer House Museum and the Merrill W. Linn Land and Waterways Conservancy. (Sara Bartlett)  

Danville man charged for DUI in registered school vehicle

DANVILLE – A Danville man faces charges after driving drunk in a registered school vehicle.  According to the Press Enterprise, it happened on April 12^th when police say 34-year-old Matthew Schoppy was driving on Route 11 in Danville.  He was reportedly driving in the wrong lane.  After being pulled over, police found that Schoppy had been drinking.  He was taken to Geisinger Medical Center for a blood test, and was found to be intoxicated well over the legal limit.  Schoppy was charged with DUI in a registered school vehicle, failing to drive in a single lane and not wearing a seatbelt.  He was also charged with disorderly conduct after reportedly acting unruly in front of Geisinger nursing officials. (Sara Bartlett) 

Summer travel may be impacted by high gas prices

BLOOMSBURG – In the final segment of our weeklong series on high gas prices impacting summer travel plans.  Gas prices are expected to reach $4.00 a gallon by the end of the summer, just as the Bloomsburg Fair is preparing to get underway.  However, Todd Lehman of the Fair Committee says they are taking steps to keep the event an affordable family vacation.

Gate admission is still just $4.00 and he says people who aren’t going on vacation can come to the fair and feel like they are on a trip away from home.  There will also be discounted tickets in August available at Giant grocery stores.  He says the food will be priced low also, since they have so many food stands.  Also, the company that runs the rides at the fair will have a hand-stamp day where you pay one discounted price for rides all-day. 

BBQ lunch and dance to benefit Wayne Hawley

WATSONTOWN – A Chicken Barbeque benefit lunch will be held tomorrow (Saturday) to raise money for Wayne Hawley, the Warrior Run firefighter who was seriously injured in November while fighting a barn fire.  The money raised will help Hawley’s family with additional expenses while he remains at a Philadelphia hospital.  Hawley was paralyzed from the waist down after a beam fell on him during the firefight.  That fire turned out to be arson and last week a Danville man was placed into custody for starting that and many other blazes in the area.

The benefit lunch will be held at noon in Watsontown at Main and Brimmer Streets.  The meal is $7.00.  Later in the evening, at 7:00p.m., there will be a benefit dance at the Warrior Run Area Fire Department’s social hall in Allenwood.  The dance is $15.00 and includes musical entertainment, food and drinks.  All of the money raised will go to the Hawley family. (Sara Bartlett)  

Two Mifflinburg men break into Middleburg home
 

Businesses showcasing their goods last evening in Sunbury

SUNBURY – The Shining in Sunbury Business Expo, sponsored by SRI, gave about two-dozen businesses a chance to show off their goods last evening. Service Electric had a display previewing their cable TV, computer modem and telephone system. Sunbury Community Hospital showed off their electronic grip, lift and pinch strength measurement systems.

George Bucher of Sunbury, enjoyed the event and played his banjo for the vendors. He said he heard about the event on WKOK and wanted to check it out. Turnout was light for the event which was designed to showcase Sunbury’s businesses and organizations. The event was the second expo organized by SRI’s Business and Economic Development Committee.

Woman tries to hire a hire man to kill someone

SUNBURY – A Sunbury woman is accused of trying to hire someone to kill her boyfriend. State police say 28-year-old Christeen Smith solicited an undercover Pennsylvania State Trooper to kill her 46-year-old boyfriend from Sunbury.

The incident took place overnight on Wednesday and Smith was arrested and arraigned yesterday before District Justice Carl Rice. She was sent to the Northumberland County Prison on $100,000 cash bail. No other details are available at this time. (Ali Stevens)

WKOK Road Report: Slow go in SnyCo

SELINSGROVE – There are two construction zones slowing motorists in Snyder County. Both work areas are on Route 522 between Selinsgrove and in Middleburg. Traffic between Selinsgrove and Middleburg encounters a work zone just past the state police barracks, near the Pawling Station construction site. Traffic is down to a single lane, with flaggers controlling traffic.

In Middleburg, while the steel bridge is being replaced, flaggers alternate traffic through the one lane construction zone, causing delays in both directions and delays on Route 104 in Middleburg. There are long delays at both of these construction zones in Snyder County.

Fire company treasurer accused of writing checks for personal gain

STONINGTON – The treasurer of a local fire company is being accused of theft. State police say 30-year-old Heather Lynn Foulds of Trevorton is suspected of writing checks in her own name and for personal gain while treasurer of the Trevorton Fire Company. Troopers allege the fire company lost more than $50,000 because of the theft, from early 2004 through July of last year. Charges are being filed in District Court. (Matt Farrand)

Democratic chair credits student vote

LEWISBURG – Union County Democrats favored Barack Obama over Hillary Rodham Clinton for the presidential nomination on Primary Day. The margin was 52% to 48% in favor of the Illinois Senator, but only about a 200-vote difference in actual ballots.

Union County Democratic party chair Rick Thomas attributes the margin to voters who may only be in the area a short time, namely Bucknell University students who may also be newly registered voters. Thomas says he hopes the student vote is still around in November, to vote for whoever the Democratic nominee is.

But he is confident they will vote Democratic no matter where they are. Thomas says he was happy with the turnout Tuesday, and is already looking to get more voters registered as Democrats for the general election. He says he will support the Democratic nominee for president no matter who it is. (Matt Farrand)

Local banking stocks advance, mostly

NEW YORK – Speculation that the worst of the real estate slump is over boosted the banking stocks Thursday. Most local banking stocks rallied as the big brokerage Merrill Lynch announced it had sufficient capital to maintain its projected dividend. FNB Corp gained more than 7.0%. Susquehanna Bancshares gained more than 5.0% to 21.04.

M&T Bank and Fulton Financial gained more than 4.0% apiece. MidPenn Bank was up a fraction to 24.05. However, Sovereign Bancorp moved in the opposite direction, dropping more than ten percent in spite of announcing Wednesday that 1st quarter dividends would double to 20 cents per share.

Sovereign settled near a 52-week-low at 7.14. Other stocks were mixed as Conagra, PPL Corp and Community Health Systems were down a fraction, Sunoco Logistics was up more than 1.0% and homebuilder Fleetwood Enterprises rebounded to 3.70, a gain of more than 7.0%. (Matt Farrand)

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 and food from Townside Garden Café.

There will also be 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 tomorrow. 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 May 9th at 11:45a.m. at the Sun Area Career and Technology Center 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)

Bats in the belfry…no biggie

ALLENWOOD – Bats come out of seasonal hibernation at this time of year and could enter your house in search of insects to feed on. It’s always by accident, according to Chad Peeling. The Operations Manager of Clyde Peeling’s Reptileland says the last place a bat wants to be is indoors. He says bats usually enter via a crack in a door or a window, or through chimney that lacks a screen at the top.

Peeling says there are nine species of bats in the region, and the chances of contracting rabies from them is minimal. He says the best way to get a bat to leave your house is to open doors and windows, turn off the lights and simply let it leave.

Striking it with a tennis racquet or broom usually just kills it. Peeling notes trapping a bat with a butterfly net or a coffee can is okay, but cover your hands if but if they are near it. Bats are useful predators of summertime insects. (Matt Farrand)

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)

Latest Pennsylvania news, sports, business and entertainment:

WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) - The Washington County coroner says the victims of a fatal van crash involving residents of a group home all died of blunt force trauma.  Washington County Coroner Tim Warco says the victims of Thursday's van crash each suffered some form of trauma to the chest, head and body. Five people in the van were killed when a tractor-trailer slammed into it in a dangerous intersection and pushed the van into a cinderblock building. It happened in Somerset Township.  The victims included the driver of the van and four residents of a group home for the mentally disabled. The group had left the Bentleyville home just minutes before for a day trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo.

MANSFIELD, Pa. (AP) - State police say one person is a dead in a fire in Tioga County.  The fire was discovered around 7 p.m. Thursday in an apartment building in Tioga Township.  Police say the cause of the fire is under investigation, but no further information has been released.

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

FRIDAY MIDDAY

Daily Number 6-8-8

Big 4 4-2-8-4

Treasure Hunt 02-13-14-15-19

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