Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Just call it "the Y"

SUNBURY -- Many people already call the YMCA, "the Y," but now it's official.  This week, YMCA nationally unveiled a new branding initiative aimed at helping people understand the impact of "the Y" on the community.  Bonnie Wassmer, Executive Director at the Sunbury Y, says many think they are still a "gym and swim" organization.  She says the Y evolves with the times, and currently they are the leading childcare providers in the country,

Wassmer says with a new strategy, comes a new logo.  The logo will say "the Y," with a large modern-looking 'Y.'  The letters YMCA will still be in the local, but in a smaller capacity.

Wassmer says they have five colors schemes to choose from, so it will give them flexibility when redoing logos on the outside of the building, on the middle of the gym floor, at the pool and elsewhere.  Local Y's have five years to comply with the change, and Wassmer says in Sunbury they will begin to phase in the new look. (Sara Bartlett)

Pharmacy thieves caught in Danville

DANVILLE -- Police say they caught two Danville thieves after one was taken to Geisinger Medical Center.  Two 16-year-olds are charged with stealing a cough and cold medicine from a pharmacy along Route 11 in Danville.  The two then each took eight of the tablets.  One of the teens was taken to the hospital for an overdose.  Both teens escaped major injury, but are facing charges of retail theft and criminal conspiracy.  

Commissioner wants answers after resignation of deputy treasurer

SUNBURY – Northumberland County’s first deputy treasurer has resigned, and the topic was brought up at Tuesday’s meeting of the Northumberland County Commissioners.  This, after Shari Benick was suspended indefinitely for misappropriating funds that sources say totaled about $1,500. 

Commissioner Vinny Clausi said he was in search of the truth concerning the matter. Benick worked for the treasurer’s office since 2004 and prior to that was an employee in the controller’s office. 

Controller Chuck Erdman says he will not comment on the specifics of the investigation, but did say they identified certain discrepancies in financial documentation.  Erdman then notified the commissioner’s office along with the District Attorney and the county treasurer.   (Ali Stevens)

A series of 'guest bartending' events to raise money for Seth and Alex

SELINSGROVE – More fundraisers are planned to raise money for Seth and Alex of Selinsgrove High School.  On July 24th, a Splash Hop will be held at the Selinsgrove Pool from 6 to 10 p.m. featuring free refreshments and music from our sister station 94KX. Everyone is encouraged to attend for $5.00 with proceeds going to the Seth and Alex Fund.

A series of guest bartending events are planned for Friday nights through the end of the summer at Bot’s Tavern in Selinsgrove.  Owner Rick Schuck is also a coach for the Selinsgrove Seals and wanted to do something to help. He says everyone who attends will be charged a $4.00 cover charge and all tips collected by the bartenders will go to the Seth and Alex fund.  There will be complementary appetizers served and live music or free music from the jukebox at all the Friday night events.  Some of the celebrity bartenders include coaches Dave Hess and Steve Briggs, Maureen and Chelsea Pagana and our own Drew Kelly and Ali Stevens on Friday July 23rd.  (Ali Stevens)

Upgrading pollution control at PPL’s coal-fired plant in Washingtonville

WASHINGTONVILLE – Work will start this fall on an upgraded emissions control system at the PPL coal-fired plant in Washingtonville.  PPL spokesperson Teri MacBride says the $18-million project will include a new auxiliary boiler, which will make the plant more environmentally friendly and eliminate ground-level haze that sometimes forms around the plant.  Also, four silos holding tons of filtering material will be erected at the plant.

MacBride says people may be concerned with the high price-tag of the project, but it won’t impact PPL customers, since the project is a PPL Generation project and not PPL Electric.  Local unionized laborers will be used for installation.  (Ali Stevens)

Uganda bombing I: Prayer service held

HUMMELS WHARF -- Nearly 250 gathered and offered prayers Monday night for local church members hospitalized after a Sunday bomb blast in Kampala, Uganda.  Members of the Christ Community United Methodist Church and the general public alike were invited to the service that filled the church building on Park Road. 

Jerry Wolgemuth is the Director of Communications for Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church and says prayers will help ease the pain and shock felt after the blast.  He hopes the friends and relatives of the group that was on a mission trip will not harbor hate for the perpetrators. 

Wolgemuth says Thomas and Pam Kramer of Lewisburg, and Kris Sledge of Selinsgrove were taken to hospitals in Nairobi, Kenya.  While Emily Kerstetter of Maryland and Joanne Kerstetter of Selinsgrove were taken to Johannesburg, South Africa for further medical treatment.

The church group and dozens of others were watching a broadcast of the World Cup soccer final at the time of the blast, attributed to a Somali based Islamist group.  (Matt Farrand)

Uganda bombing II: Local victim also served locally

STATE COLLEGE -- 18-year-old Kris Sledge of Selinsgrove is reportedly in a Kenyan hospital, recovering from injuries sustained in a bomb blast in Uganda.  The Messiah College student is a member of the Christ Community United Methodist Church and was part of a group on a mission trip.

He also worked during the summer in State College as an intern to United Methodist District Superintendent Pam Ford.  She says Sledge's desire to serve in Uganda was in keeping with his enthusiasm for the church and its mission. 

Ford says the Christ Community United Methodist Church was important in developing the leadership skills Sledge now hopes to bring to others.  (Matt Farrand)

Uganda bombing III: Six locals survive

SELINSGROVE -- Five people part of Christ Community United Methodist Church of Selinsgrove, on a mission trip in Uganda, were seriously injured after two bombings Sunday.  Among those injured include Joanne Kerstetter and Kris Sledge of Selinsgrove, Pam Kramer and her son Thomas Kramer of Lewisburg and Emily Kerstetter of Ellicott City, Maryland (Joanne Kerstetter's Granddaughter). 

Jerry Wolgemuth, Director of Communications for Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church, says five are hospitalized, and some will be moved to other hospitals in Africa for better care.  Three Ugandans in the group, including the Bwaise Pentecostal Church pastor Peter Mutzbazi, were killed when a blast erupted. Pastor Mutzbazi and his church were affiliated with the Christ Community UMC mission.

There were 15 mission members on the month-long trip.  Nine left last week and are back in the area.  Six stayed and were in an Ethiopian restaurant in Kampala early to get good seats to watch the World Cup Soccer game, said Lori Ssebulime, The Christ Community UMC mission leader, who was not seriously injured. 

One of the wounded was 16-year-old Emily Kerstetter. "Emily was rolling around in a pool of blood screaming," said Ssebulime, who has helped bring in U.S. church groups since 2004. "Five minutes before it went off, Emily said she was going to cry so hard because she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay the rest of the summer here."

Emily Kerstetter sustained a serious leg injury, as did Kris Sledge, who also has wounds on his face and burns.  Joanne Kerstetter has a fractured arm and other wounds, while Pam Kramer has a broken leg and burns. Thomas Kramer is in need of immediate leg surgery. 

Wolgemuth is encouraging prayers for the group.  There is a public prayer meeting tonight at the church along Park and Fisher Roads at 7:30 this evening.  This was just one of the church's many evangelistic mission trips to Uganda.  The group was at a restaurant watching the World Cup when the two bombs hit. (Sara Bartlett/AP)

Uganda bombing IV: Pastor of church says prayers continue

SELINSGROVE -- Reverend Kathleen Kind, Pastor at Christ Community United Methodist Church of Selinsgrove says prayers continue for the six members of her congregation that were on a mission trip in Uganda while two devastating bombs went off. 

Five members sustained injuries including burns, deep wounds, bone fractures as well as eye and ear injuries.  Pastor Kind says the members were working with the Bwaise Pentecostal Church in Uganda.  She says many mission groups have been over there, and they never expected that something this devastating would happen.

During their month-long trip, the group was working on building projects to help with schools and churches.  Kind says the group of six stayed a week longer to help, and were scheduled to return home this week.  She says the group was watching the World Cup at a restaurant, following a worship session, when the blast hit.

One bomb hit the restaurant, and another hit a local rugby club nearby.  Family members and friends of the three Selinsgrove residents and two Lewisburg residents who were injured, as well as the team leader Lori Ssebulime, who was not injured, have been gathering at the Selinsgrove church, as well as sending well wishes through the mission team's online site: uganda2010.editme.com. 

Stolen car wrecked near Elysburg

ELYSBURG -- A vehicle involved in a crash Monday morning near Knoebels Amusement Resort was stolen.  Milton State Police reported the theft of an Acura MDX along Stamm Road in Milton overnight Sunday.  Around 10:15a.m. Monday morning, Locust Township Police were called to an accident involving that vehicle along Route 487 near Elysburg.  They say there was one injury at the scene and another person attempted to flee the scene. 

The driver of the vehicle was 20-year-old Brandon Herb and there was a 17-year-old male passenger in the vehicle.  Both men were treated and released from Geisinger Medical Center.  Locust Township Police say Herb will face charges including reckless driving, receiving stolen property and driving without a license for the accident.  Milton State Police may file other charges related to the vehicle theft.

Danville High School principal to retire

DANVILLE -- After more than 16 years, Danville High School's principal is retiring.  60-year-old Craig Burger put in his resignation at the beginning of the month and his retirement is expected to take effect at the end of the summer.  The school board will accept his resignation at the next school board meeting, and the position is already being advertised.  Burger came to the Danville School District after working in the Lewisburg and Mifflinburg Area School Districts.  He became principal at Danville in 2005. 

Car set on fire in Milton garage

MILTON -- A Milton fire that damaged a garage was arson.  A state police fire marshal said around 12:30a.m. Sunday, someone set fire to the 1986 Corvette parked in the garage at 408 Vine Street.  The home was occupied by 41-year-old Angela Fritzges, though she was not home at the time of the blaze. 

The vehicle was owned by Fritzges' friend and had not been driven for a week.  The garage sustained heavy smoke, heat and water damage.  Damage of the vehicle and property is $30,000.  Milton Borough Police will continue the investigation.

Middleburg Borough issues voluntary water restrictions

MIDDLEBURG – Low rainfall amounts are prompting Middleburg Borough officials to issue a suggestion.  They’re asking borough water customers to make every effort possible to conserve water.  Suggestions include checking for leaky plumbing, limiting outdoor garden watering and taking shorter showers.  The voluntary water restriction was put into effect Monday afternoon.  (Matt Farrand)

Police investigate burglary

MIDDLEBURG -- Police say the investigation continues after a break-in at a Middleburg business last month.  On June 30th, someone attempted to enter the Dollar General store along Route 522 in Franklin Township around 1:30a.m.  Once the alarm sounded, the people involved fled the scene.  Police say arrests are anticipated, but the investigation is ongoing.

8th Annual Cavalcade of Champions is this weekend in Lewisburg

LEWISBURG – Saturday is the Annual Cavalcade of Champions Drum & Bugle Corps Competition, which is held at Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium at Bucknell University at 7 p.m. Cavalcade committee member, John Yingling, says it’s an event that the whole family can enjoy.

The competing corps this year includes the Bushwackers of Harrison, New Jersey, the Connecticut Hurricanes of Derby, the Empire Statesman of Rochester, New York and Pennsylvania’s Reading Buccaneers.  You can hear more from Yingling and Cavalcade Chairman Graham Showalter on WKOK’s Leaders and Lawmakers program Thursday at 3 p.m. and also online at www.wkok.com. 

Two burglaries under investigation in Montour County

DANVILLE – State police are investigating two burglaries in Montour County.  State police say someone entered a home in the 1900 block of Montour Boulevard in Cooper Township sometime Sunday afternoon.  Once inside the home, a .357 revolver, money and pills were stolen. 

Also, a burglary was discovered at a home on Bald Top Heights in Liberty Township.  State police say a .22 magnum rifle was taken recently from the home near Danville.  Anyone with information on either incident is asked to call state police.

Increase for in-state students at Penn State in State College

UNIVERSITY PARK – A 5.9 percent tuition increase has been approved for in-state students at Penn State’s main campus is State College.  That amounts to an approximate $800-increase in 2010-2011, with tuition now more than $14,000.  University trustees voted Friday to approve the increase as part of a $4-billion budget.  (Ali Stevens)

Three injuries after tractor-trailer crash

MONROE TWP -- Three people were injured after a vehicle and tractor-trailer crash Sunday near Selinsgrove.  Around 11:15a.m., 36-year-old Donald Boop, of Mainesburg, Pa in Tioga County, was driving a tractor-trailer along Route 11 when he failed to stop in traffic and hit a vehicle in front of him.  That vehicle was driven by 64-year-old Shirley Knouse of Richfield. 

Knouse's vehicle then hit a vehicle driven by 79-year-old Norman Beck of Northumberland.  Knouse and Beck were both injured, as was Knouse's passenger 71-year-old Richard Knouse.  No word on the extent of injuries or conditions.  Boop was not injured, but will be cited for careless driving. (Sara Bartlett)

Woman sentenced to home confinement for a hit and run horse and buggy accident

SUNBURY – A Berks County woman has been sentenced to home confinement for a hit and run horse and buggy accident in Northumberland County.  The Daily Item reports 35-year-old Jessica Fenstermacher of Boyertown was sentenced to 90 days of home confinement and 20 months of parole on July 2^nd.  Fenstermacher plead guilty to accidents involving personal injury, leaving the scene of an accident and careless driving for the crash on December 27^th. 

Police say Fenstermacher crashed into a horse and buggy on Route 54 in Delaware Township near Seagrave Road, knocking the buggy onto its side.  27-year-old Levi Glick and his wife 24-year-old Mattie were inside the buggy along with two children.  A 4-year-old child broke her leg in the accident.  Fenstermacher says she heard about the crash on the news the next day and turned herself in.  Fenstermacher was also convicted of drunken driving in 2004 in Lehigh County.  (Ali Stevens)

Marino says Supreme Court decision will help deter crime

WILLIAMSPORT -- GOP congressional candidate Tom Marino says big city gun laws have done little to reduce crime.  The former Lycoming County DA and federal prosecutor says the recent US Supreme Court decision affirming in-home gun ownership in all states is a sound one. 

Marino says responsible firearm ownership is a deterrent, based on conversations he's had with defendants; as says many convicted of break-ins conceded they would not have done it if the homeowner had been armed. Marino will face incumbent Democrat Chris Carney (D-10th, Dimock) in the general election.  (Matt Farrand)

Service for Sudharman draws 200 to New Berlin

NEW BERLIN -- Scores of acquaintances, students and relatives filled the Integral Yoga Center Saturday to remember its slain founder.  70-year-old Swami Sudharman was found dead at the center nearly a week ago, and the weekend remembrance of the yoga master drew more than 200 to New Berlin.

Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way President and CEO Keri Albright spoke with Newsradio 1070 WKOK about the void his death leaves locally.  Albright practices yoga and says there was much more she wanted to learn from Sudharman, though in retrospect it may seem selfish.

33-year-old Joel Snider of St. Louis, Missouri is suspected of shooting Sudharman to death, and is currently jailed in Baltimore County, Maryland.  Extradition proceedings are ongoing, and he could be brought to the area within the week.  (Matt Farrand) 

Latest Pennsylvania news, sports, business and entertainment

COATESVILLE, Pa. (AP) - An eastern Pennsylvania city plagued by a wave of arsons has gained control of fire-damaged properties on a hard-hit street. Coatesville officials voted Monday night to award a contract for the demolition of homes on Fleetwood Street. Ten homes on the street were damaged by arson in January 2009.  Nine homeowners agreed to sign over their properties to the city for $1.  That's in exchange for waiving their responsibility regarding the demolition and receiving fire escrow funds.  The council has selected A.J. Jurich Inc. as the bidder. City officials approved the bid of a cost not to exceed $229,000.   Seven suspects were eventually arrested in connection with the rash of fires in Coatesville and nearby communities that began in February 2008.

LEMOYNE, Pa. (AP) - Government officials in a central Pennsylvania suburb say they're not trying to keep minorities out after changing pool policies to deal with crowding and unduly low fees.  Lemoyne's borough manager and council president said Tuesday that they maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward racial profiling and that patrons at their newly rebuilt pool are racially diverse.  The officials are responding to stories in The Patriot-News of Harrisburg about recent public meetings in which residents attributed rude behavior to minorities and people from other towns.  Higher fees went into effect Tuesday, and the pool is also lowering its capacity limit from 293 people to 260 to address concerns.  Stanley Lawson of the Greater Harrisburg NAACP says he's concerned the borough is pricing blacks and Latinos out of using the pool.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate candidates are jousting over who is more in touch. Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Joe Sestak held events just blocks away in suburban Philadelphia on Monday.  Toomey is highlighting Congressman Sestak's U.S. House votes in favor of bailing out Wall Street, the American auto industry and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The former congressman says the bailouts are a waste of money and reward irresponsible behavior.  Sestak says the bailouts saved countless jobs and homes. He also says Toomey is abandoning people who were hit hard after the government let them down so badly.  The men also sharply disagree over a Democratic-penned Senate bill intended to police consumer lending and prevent another financial bubble that leads to a recession.  Sestak supports it, Toomey doesn't.

POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A third defendant has been extradited from New York and arraigned on charges of killing a man in his eastern Pennsylvania home with his children in the next room.  State police at Frackville say 19-year-old Jahmal Ollivirre of Reading was brought from New York's Sing Sing prison to Schuylkill County Court on Monday. He was arraigned and sent to the county prison without bail pending a July 28 preliminary hearing; a listed number for him could not be found and it was unclear whether he had an attorney.  Authorities allege that Ollivirre, 30-year-old Julius Enoe of Reading and 29-year-old Damon Ennett of Freeland forced their way into the Shenandoah home of 24-year-old Bruce Forker on March 16 and ended up shooting him. Charges against the three include criminal homicide, robbery, burglary, theft and assault.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Republican Tom Corbett is leading Democrat Dan Onorato in a new poll in the Pennsylvania governor's race.  The Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday shows Corbett up, 44 percent to 37 percent.  It is the Connecticut school's first post-primary survey in the race, but the numbers changed little since it released its last poll on the race May 13. That poll showed Corbett with 43 percent to Onorato's 37 percent. In the new poll, almost one in five say they are undecided.  The telephone poll of  1,367 Pennsylvania voters was conducted during the six days that ended Sunday. The sampling error margin is plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.  The election is Nov. 2.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - Three more Pennsylvania casinos are set to start table games now that they've received approval from the state gaming board.  The games are set to open at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Mohegan Sun and Mount Airy casinos in northeastern Pennsylvania and at the Hollywood Casino outside Harrisburg.  State officials met on Monday with managers from the three casinos, all of which held tests of their table games on Sunday.  A spokesman for the Gaming Control Board says officials determined that all three casinos were ready for the green light.  Table games opened earlier this month at three casinos in western Pennsylvania - in Washington, Erie and Pittsburgh.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A state appellate court says former House Democratic whip Mike Veon must stay in prison while he appeals his conviction and prepares for another criminal trial.  The state Superior Court upheld the ruling of the Dauphin County trial judge. It delivered the decision Friday.  Veon was sentenced to at least six years in prison last month for his role in a scheme that used taxpayer resources for election campaigns and paid bonuses to state employees who helped those efforts. A trial on separate charges that Veon diverted grant money from a nonprofit group for his personal and political benefit is slated to start in September.  Veon has been in the Camp Hill Correctional Institute since June 18.

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

Update on the latest in business:

Dow: + 146.75 (10,363.02)

S&P 500: + 16.59 (1,095.34)

NASDAQ: + 43.67 (2,242.03)

Federal deficit tops $1 trillion through June

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal deficit has topped $1 trillion with three months still to go in the current budget year, showing the continued impact of a deep recession on the government's finances. The Treasury Department says that through the first nine months of this budget year, the deficit totals $1 trillion, down by 7.6 percent from the $1.09 trillion in red ink run up during the same period a year ago. The June deficit totaled $68.4 billion, the second highest June deficit on record, but down from the all-time high of $94.3 billion in June 2009, a month when the government was spending heavily to stabilize the financial system and jump-start economic growth.

Brazil to pick builder of bullet train in December

BRASILIA (AP) - Brazil says it will announce the winner of a contract to build an $18.7 billion bullet train between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo on Dec. 16. The government says the company offering the lowest fare for the 317-mile (511-kilometer) train will be the winner. The top fare allowed is the equivalent of $0.49 per kilometer.  If two companies offer the same low rate, the most experienced will be chosen.  President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended Tuesday's announcement and says he expects the train will be in operation by 2016, when Brazil will host the Olympic Games.  Bidders include companies from China, France, Germany, Japan and South Korea.

Pennsylvania Lottery Numbers:

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - These Pennsylvania lotteries were drawn Tuesday:

 Midday Big 4

     7-3-7-1

 Midday Number

     4-9-1

 Midday Quinto

     4-3-6-5-1

 Treasure Hunt

     16-20-22-28-29

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

Fox, Gyllenhaal back 'Stand Up to Cancer' telethon

     LOS ANGELES (AP) - A fourth major broadcast network and actor Jake Gyllenhaal are adding their support to the ambitious fundraiser "Stand Up to Cancer."  Fox TV will join previously announced ABC, CBS and NBC in donating a simultaneous commercial-free hour of prime-time for the September telethon airing from Los Angeles.  Gyllenhaal will appear in a "Stand Up to Cancer" public service announcement set to debut during Major League Baseball's All-Star Game airing Tuesday evening on Fox.     More cable networks also have agreed to carry the fundraiser, with VH1, HBO Latino, TV1 and G4 joining previously announced HBO, Discovery Health, MLB Network, E! and the Style Network.     "Stand Up to Cancer," to be hosted by Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Brian Williams, will air Sept. 10.

'Scuse me? Hendrix bandmate sues over '03 release

LODI, N.J. (AP) - A former bandmate of Jimi Hendrix is suing Martin Scorsese and others over a 2003 release that he says he wrote but didn't get credit for.  Lonnie Youngblood sued in April in federal court in New Jersey over the song "Georgia Blues." It was featured in a compilation called "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Jimi Hendrix."     He is seeking unspecified lost-income damages from Hendrix's estate, MCA Records and film director Scorsese. The defendants declined to comment to The Associated Press or didn't return phone calls.  Youngblood was a hotshot sax player in New York in the mid-1960s when Hendrix briefly played in his band. He says they parted ways but met up later and recorded together.  Youngblood said Monday he's suing on principle because "they had no right to take my song."