Sunday, August 15, 2010
Toast numbers still being added up
MIDDLEBURG – We’ll find out tomorrow if one Guinness record is toast—wine drinkers statewide tried to break a ‘simultaneous toasting’ record on Saturday. The state organized the effort, which was an attempt to break a Guinness Book of World Records mark of more than 17,000 set in Great Britain in 2009.
About 160 drinkers gathered at the Shade Mountain Winery near Middleburg, one of 60 licensed wineries participating. Funds raised were contributed to the Children's Miracle Network. A total is expected some time Monday. (Matt Farrand)
Troopers look for clues after attempted burglary
MIDDLEBURG -- State troopers at Selinsgrove say they're looking for help from the public after a would-be burglar tried to get into Middleburg business. The attempted break in at the rear of the site in the 200 block of North Main Street is believed to have happened sometime between Friday at about 4:30 p.m. and Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
The door jamb sustained $50 damage, but the burglar did not get in. Anyone with information is asked to call state police at Selinsgrove at 374-8145. (Matt Farrand)
Potty guest takes television, video games
MIFFLINBURG -- State troopers say someone made off with a flat screen TV and a video game while a door was left open during a weekend party outside a house near Mifflinburg. The door at the home along Dietrich Road in West Buffalo Township was left open so people could make their way to a bathroom during the gathering.
Hosts say a party guest may have taken the items between 10:00 p.m. last Saturday night and 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Troopers say the 20" TV and the game are worth about $550. (Matt Farrand)
Local mobility company fights against portion of federal healthcare bill
UNDATED -- A local company isn't pleased with a clause in the new federal healthcare bill. President and Owner of Susquehanna Valley Mobility Services, Aaron Lauver, says a portion of the bill would eliminate the first month purchase option for power wheelchairs.
This means, instead of going through Medicare to match a client with a power wheelchair for them to purchase the chair would be a rental. Also, if a client were to get moved to a nursing home, or have a short stay in the hospital, the chair would be taken away.
Lauver says the change would be bad for his Milton company, and others too. Companies would have to purchase power wheelchairs for clients and then wait 13 months to be reimbursed. This may make it difficult for mobility companies to secure the upfront costs. Lauver says they are trying to keep this from being implemented.
The elimination of the first month purchase option for power wheelchairs would go into effect January 2011. Lauver says there is a strong possibility, and it is hoped, that this clause will be delayed. (Sara Bartlett)
Business and education—the chamber’s perspective on Roundtable
SUNBURY – The Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce is back on Roundtable this weekend. This month we discuss the critical connection between business and education. Chad Cohrs is the new superintendent of the Selinsgrove Area School District and he tells us schools today have to prepare students for more than just a job.
Cohrs says they have to prepare students to have basic literacy skills, communication and interpersonal skills and prepare them for jobs that don’t event exist yet. He said the schools definitely need the input of the chamber of commerce.
Roundtable focuses on the chamber’s and business’s effort to affect education and curricula. We also discuss the efforts of the business world to affect education. The chamber has a business and education committee.
You can hear Roundtable Sunday on: Eagle 107 (107.3FM) at 6a.m., 100.9 (100.9FM), The Valley, at 6a.m., Newsradio 1070 WKOK (1070AM) at 9a.m., Talkradio 1380 WMLP (1380AM), 11a.m., 94KX WQKX (94.1FM) at 11p.m. And anytime, at www.wkok.com
Special Olympics bocce practice at a local park
SELINSGROVE – Special Olympics athletes will be able to practice the fall sport of “bocce” at a local park near Selinsgrove. East Snyder Park near Susquehanna University has a new feature for athletes with the Northumberland Snyder Special Olympics.
Arden Miller is public relations coordinator for the group and says the park now features two regulation bocce courts. They can practice for bocce at the park and are currently looking for a bocce coach for the Special Olympic team. Miller says the person volunteering would put in a couple of hours a week for about eight weeks and the person would be trained for the job.
Miller says this is a special time to be a part of the Northumberland Snyder Special Olympics since they are celebrating 40 years in Pennsylvania and 30 years locally. She says they are easy to contact if you would like to volunteer or get involved.
Their website is www.ns-sopa.org and Northumberland Snyder Special Olympics is also on Facebook. You can also support the cause by attending a fundraising breakfast Saturday August 21st from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Applebees in Selinsgrove. Tickets are $5.00 for the all you can eat breakfast. (Ali Stevens)
The death of Ted Silker is in the news today
DANVILLE – A very busy local community volunteer has died. Ted Silker of Winfield passed away yesterday after suffering a stroke earlier this week. He had an eventful life lately with the Kiwanis Clubs of Shamokin, the Ambassador Committee of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Susquehanna Valley Toastmaster’s clubs.
Ted was a marketing and advertising consultant and was the 2007 winner of the Karen L. Hackman Star of Excellence Award. The Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce gives that out each year. Word is Ted apparently had a stroke this week while attending a Kiwanis club meeting. He died at Geisinger Medical Center Friday. Ted Silker was 56-years-old.
Man captured in LyCo
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT -- A man who was on the run in the South Williamsport area drew a large emergency response including a number of police from The Valley Friday. The man was caught just before 6:00p.m. Police say his name won’t be disclosed as a mental health issue was a factor in the incident.
Earlier, police told us, the man, who may have been armed, fled the scene of a domestic dispute just before 3:00p.m. The incident happened in the area of Sulfur Springs Road (Rt. 554). The man reportedly fled into the woods.
State and local police, a Special Emergency Response Team and a police helicopter were all on the lookout for the man. Locally, crews from Union and Snyder County responded. Police say there were no injuries involved and there was never any threat to the public. (Sara Bartlett)
Volunteers can help with United Way’s fall campaign
UNDATED -- Local United Ways are looking for volunteers for their upcoming fall campaign. Keri Albright, President and CEO of the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way says the volunteers would be 'loaned executives.'
They would visit and make calls to workplaces that participate in United Way fundraising. A lot of the money the United Way raises is from workplace campaigns, and there are too many workplaces for the staff to cover, thus the need for volunteers.
Albright says volunteers will talk with employees at workplaces who have fundraising efforts with the United Way. The commitment is 4-6 hours a month for 3-4 months. Typically 'loaned executives' come from workplaces, but this year, Albright says they are reaching out to those who are unemployed or retired, but want to still stay connected to the community.
The United Way will provide all of the information needed for those who wish to volunteer. Anyone interested can call the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way at 988-0993 or the Union County United Way at 523-8929. (Sara Bartlett)
Judge Woelfel stepping down
MIDDLEBURG – Snyder Union County President Judge will resign at the end of the year to work in a part-time capacity. Judge Harold Woelfel Jr. has decided to step down and says he and his wife mulled it over for quite some time, but felt now was the time to do it.
However, the judge still plans to work, on a part-time basis and will apply for senior judge status. Judge Woelfel says newly elected judge Mike Sholley will be just fine in the role of President Judge and has agreed to allow Judge Woelfel continue to oversee the DUI and drug treatment courts.
Commissioner Joe Kantz says the announcement came as a surprise, but he says the people Judge Woelfel has appointed recently, including District Attorney Michael Piecuch, and County Commissioner Peggy Chamberlain Roup, have helped with this transition. (Ali Stevens)
Latest Pennsylvania news, business, lottery and entertainment
STROUDSBURG, Pa. (AP) - An eastern Pennsylvania man has been ordered to stand trial on a charge of homicide by vehicle in the death of his wife in a crash that followed a police pursuit. 34-year-old Kenneth Strausser Jr. of Stroudsburg told reporters Friday that he loved his wife and did not mean for last month's crash in Tobyhanna to happen. He said he did not know there was a police car behind him and he lost control after his wife grabbed the wheel. Police said officers pursued his car on Interstate 380 last month and later found the vehicle in flames after it crashed into a tree, and 26-year-old Allison Strausser later died. Strausser was ordered to stand trial on charges of vehicular homicide, fleeing and eluding police, accidents involving death or personal injury, involuntary manslaughter, and other counts.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - Officials in one eastern Pennsylvania county are scrambling to find Chinese speakers to deal with court proceedings stemming from the influx of Asian gamblers coming from New York to the local casino. In Northampton County, the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is being marketed to the Asian community in New York, so buses bring in more than 1,000 people daily. But since the nearest court-certified Chinese interpreter is in New Jersey, officials are at a loss when someone is arrested at the casino on theft or other charges. That has left defendants sitting in court, attorneys unable to communicate with clients and language service bills exceeding $1,000 in a month. Officials huddled recently on the issue and plan to ask colleges in the area if they have speakers of Mandarin, Cantonese and smaller dialects who could become certified for court interpreting.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Pennsylvania's state treasurer is recommending major changes to the rules of the Delaware River Port Authority aimed at ending conflicts of interest and temporarily halting spending on professional services. Treasurer Robert McCord said Friday that he wants a comprehensive look at the bistate agency, which operates four toll bridges and the PATCO commuter rail line between Philadelphia and southern New Jersey. McCord, a member of the authority's board, said a meeting set for Wednesday "should be the beginning, not the end, of a reform process at the DRPA." McCord said he was concerned about real or perceived conflicts of interest, exorbitant executive-level pay and perks as well as contract and grand award practices. But he also said he was concerned about "a general sense that the authority is a political patronage operation" unconcerned about rising toll charges levied on the public.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Gov. David Paterson says hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells in New York's part of the four-state Marcellus Shale region won't be allowed without "overwhelming evidence that nothing will happen" to harm clean water supplies. In an interview Friday with Syracuse radio WSYR's Jim Reith; Paterson said the controversy over natural gas drilling is "obviously a clash between a very lucrative profit-making opportunity and a very serious public safety hazard." He said a decision on issuing gas drilling permits will be based on scientific evidence showing hydraulic fracturing is safe. Permits have been on hold for two years in New York while regulators complete a review. Hydraulic fracturing uses chemical-laced water at high pressure to fracture gas-rich shale. Opponents say it threatens water supplies but the industry says it's been used safely for decades.
POWELL, Pa. (AP) - State environmental officials say three drinking water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania have been found to be polluted with methane gas. The Department of Environmental Protection says the discovery was made after a lid blew off one of the wells last week. The wells are in Bradford County, near a Chesapeake Energy gas well. Department spokesman Dan Spadoni says Chesapeake Energy notified the DEP last week that bubbling could be heard in three drinking wells in Monroe Township. The DEP investigated and has been meeting with the company. The company is also supplying the affected families with drinking water and installed a methane monitor.
HARRSIBURG, Pa. (AP) - The first negative TV ad of the general election campaign against Pennsylvania Senate candidate Pat Toomey is going on the air. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says the ad portrays the Republican as a champion of Wall Street and the derivatives that toppled some financial institutions. Toomey is in a close race against Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak. The ad's attempt to link Toomey to the troublesome derivatives is questionable, as is its claim that he wrote a law while in Congress that weakened oversight of Wall Street. In the 1980s, Toomey traded currency and interest-rate swaps for two New York banks, but not the credit default swaps that insured mortgage securities.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Tom Corbett is putting wheels on his campaign for governor. Corbett's campaign says the Republican will tour northern Pennsylvania by bus today. Corbett, the state attorney general, plans to visit six counties during the one-day tour, with stops in Wellsboro, Coudersport, Smethport, Pittsfield, Emporium, Kersey and St. Marys. Corbett faces Democrat Dan Onorato, the elected executive of Allegheny County, in the Nov. 2 election.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Update on the latest in business:
Goldman Sachs CEO reaps options windfall
NEW YORK (AP) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein has reaped a $6.1 million gain by cashing in more than 90,000 stock options before they expired in November. Blankfein realized the windfall Wednesday by exercising his right to buy 90,681 Goldman shares at $82.875, according to a Friday regulatory filing. He then sold the stock at prices ranging between $149.49 and $152. Goldman shares closed Friday at $148.08. That's a 79 percent increase from the stock's price in November 2000 when Blankfein received the options. Two other top Goldman execs also profited from expiring options. Gary Cohn, Goldman's president, made $4.9 million by exercising more than 73,600 options and David Viniar, the bank's chief financial officer, made $4.5 million on more than 67,300 options.
Apple manager indicted in CA on kickback charges
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) - A manager at Apple Inc. has been indicted by a federal grand jury in an alleged kickback scheme involving suppliers of iPhone and iPod accessories. Authorities say 37-year-old Paul Shin Devine was arrested on Friday on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and kickbacks. The Sunnyvale resident is accused of accepting more than $1 million in exchange for providing confidential information to Apple suppliers in Asia. The suppliers allegedly used the information to negotiate favorable contracts with Apple. Authorities say one of those suppliers is Singapore resident Andrew Ang, who also is named in the federal indictment. Authorities have declined to comment on Ang's whereabouts. Devine is being held by the U.S. Marshals Service, though authorities did not make clear where.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Pennsylvania Lottery Numbers:
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - These Pennsylvania lotteries were drawn Saturday:
Big 4
4-4-5-5
Cash 5
03-07-13-31-39
Daily Number
3-9-3
Evening Quinto
3-4-6-4-2
Midday Big 4
2-6-6-0
Midday Number
8-8-4
Midday Quinto
4-8-3-7-8
Powerball
09-33-36-50-58, Powerball: 31, Power Play:
Treasure Hunt
01-02-07-13-21
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Pokemon championships being held in Hawaii
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) - The Pokemon World Championships are being held on Hawaii's Big Island this weekend. Hundreds of players from around the world qualified to play in the Kona championship, which includes competitions in both its trading card and video game versions. The game originally gained popularity after its creation in 1996. Since then, it sold more than 200 million video games, spurred a TV show that's now in its 13th season and produced more than 14 billion trading cards.
Tourney suspended after player struck by bullet
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - The women's baseball World Cup has been suspended a day after a player was stuck by a stray bullet during a game. The International Baseball Federation says the teams are safely back in their hotels after a Hong Kong player was hit in a game Friday against the Netherlands in a stadium at the Fort Tiuna military base. Gun violence is common in the hillside slums near the base and is a serious problem in many areas of Venezuela, which is among the most violent countries in Latin America. The IBAF says that the Venezuelan government has guaranteed the safety of all 11 teams.
Watney leads at Whistling Straits
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) - Nick Watney already has a pair of top-10 finishes in Major tournaments this year. He's now in line to win the PGA Championship after advancing to the top of the leaderboard through three rounds at Whistling Straits. Watney carded eight birdies and two bogeys for a 6-under-par 66 that leaves him 13-under in the final major of the year, three shots ahead of fellow American Dustin Johnson and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy. It's the first time Watney has led a major after any round. He finished seventh at this year's Masters and was tied for seventh at the British Open last month. Johnson and McIlroy each fired 67s to move within striking distance heading into the final round. China's Liang Wenchong set a course record with an 8-under 64 at Whistling Straight to briefly grab the clubhouse lead. Liang is minus 9 for the tournament, tying him for fourth with Jim Furyk, Jason Day and Martin Kaymer. Tiger Woods is 10 shots back at 3-under, putting him in a tie for 31st. Phil Mickelson is minus-1.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)