AP PA Headlines 1/10/19
TAMAQUA, Pa. (AP) — School board members in Pennsylvania have voted to postpone a policy allowing teachers to carry guns in school. In a 2-1 vote Tuesday evening, the Tamaqua school board’s Security Committee says it will suspend the implementation of the policy pending a court hearing on its validity.
Both teachers and parents have filed lawsuits against the policy claiming it violates state law and poses a danger to the community.
The district serves more than 2,100 students and is believed to be the first school system in the state to let teachers carry weapons. The policy approved in September says teachers and other employees can volunteer to carry concealed, district-issued guns after training. The full board will vote on the policy Jan. 15.
BERWICK, Pa. (AP) — An attorney for a Pennsylvania woman charged with drunken driving hinted his client’s coat-chewing could’ve thrown off the results of her breath test. The (Bloomsburg) Press Enterprise reports the argument came during a hearing Tuesday for 47-year-old Jana Moschgat. An officer who pulled Moschgat over testified she was nibbling on her coat before he gave her the breath test and that he ordered her to stop.
Moschgat’s lawyer, Travis Petty, asked the officer if he knew the chemical composition of the coat, noting that certain substances can alter the results of the test. Moschgat’s test showed her blood-alcohol level was 0.151 percent, nearly twice the legal limit for drivers in Pennsylvania. The officer says Moschgat also smelled of alcohol and failed a field sobriety test. The judge ruled there was enough evidence to send the charges to trial.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — An internal Pennsylvania state government watchdog agency is criticizing how county-level agencies investigate thousands of complaints they receive about elder abuse and how the state ensures complaints are investigated adequately. Among the shortcomings identified by the Office of State Inspector General were failures by some county-level agencies to properly investigate complaints under timelines required by state law and inadequate staffing of the state office that monitors those agencies.
A six-page summary of the report released this week also said investigative practices aren’t standardized across counties and it criticized training requirements for caseworkers as far too weak, particularly compared to model states. Complaints can involve physical abuse, self-neglect or financial exploitation and Pennsylvania, like other states, is seeing a fast-growing number of complaints that has forced some counties to hire more caseworkers to keep up.
NEW LEBANON, Pa. (AP) — A swath of wild weather brought high winds, thunderstorms, hail and a rare winter tornado warning to western Pennsylvania, causing downed trees and damage to buildings but no injuries.
Lee Hendrickson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, tells the Meadville Tribune weather spotters reported a funnel cloud during Tuesday’s storm, but there were no reports of a touchdown.
At least five homes were damaged in Trumbull and Mercer counties. The Sharon Herald reports school children had to take shelter during the tornado warning. The canopy of a Sunoco gas station toppled over in Monroeville during high winds Tuesday night. Gusts were close to 50 mph. The storms were fueled by unseasonably warm temperatures in the area, where some places reached 60 degrees.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Features
HIDALGO, Texas (AP) — Rather than surrender their land to the federal government, some property owners on the Texas border are digging in to fight President Donald Trump’s border wall. They are rejecting buyout offers and preparing to battle the administration in court. Trump is scheduled to travel to the border today to make the case for his $5.7 billion wall.
Eloisa Cavazos owns land along the Rio Grande. She says she won’t sell for any price because it’s not about money. The federal government has started surveying land along the border in Texas and announced plans to start construction next month. Those in the way include property owners who have lived in the valley for generations, environmental groups and a 19th century chapel.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California prosecutor who posted crude and profane insults about U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, Michelle Obama and others to social media has resigned. A San Bernardino County spokeswoman tells the San Bernardino Sun that Michael Selyem voluntarily resigned on Jan. 2. The county gang prosecutor was suspended in July after revelations that he had made crudely offensive online remarks about Waters, Obama, Mexican immigrants and a victim of a police shooting.
Civil rights leaders demanded Selyem’s ouster, questioning whether he could be objective when dealing with black and Latino defendants. Newly seated District Attorney Jason Anderson has told civil rights leaders there’s no place for prejudice in his office.
PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona woman in a vegetative state who had a baby after she was sexually assaulted at a long-term care facility is recovering at a hospital along with her child, authorities said yesterday as they ramped up the search for a suspect in a case that’s made shockwaves. Commenting for the first time on the investigation since the Dec. 29 birth came to light, Phoenix police said they have not ruled out anyone and are still gathering DNA from all the facility’s male employees.
“She was not in a position to give consent to any of this,” police spokesman Tommy Thompson said. “So if anyone can understand that, this was a helpless victim who was sexually assaulted.” He didn’t release the conditions of the woman and her child, who will be taken in by his mother’s family. The case has drawn outcry from the governor to the San Carlos Apache tribe in southeastern Arizona, of which the 29-year-old victim is an enrolled member, and put the spotlight on the safety of group homes and facilities that care for those who are incapacitated or severely disabled.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wondering if someone is suffering from an overdose? There’s an app for that. It’s still in the experimental stage, but the “Second Chance” app is showing promise. Researchers say it appears to be able to detect the early signs of an OD in the critical minutes after a person takes heroin or other illegal drugs.
The app beams sound waves to measure breathing — and can summon help if it detects a person has stopped breathing. One issue to tackle: whether drug users would take out their phone and fire up an app before shooting up. Despite that concern, researchers from the University of Washington say the app could be an important tool to help those who haven’t yet been able to obtain addiction treatment.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
PA Sports Stories, Scores & Skeds
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Foles is in a unique situation, a Super Bowl MVP trying to lead his team to a second straight championship knowing he will most likely play somewhere else next season. Nothing about what Foles has done for the Philadelphia Eagles is ordinary. The Eagles play Sunday on 1070AM WKOK and our sister station Eagle 107. Kickoff is 4:40pm.
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Hollidaysburg 46, Williamsport 42
Wellsboro 73, Athens 33
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Berwick 42, Crestwood 26
Danville 53, Jersey Shore 35
Hollidaysburg 58, Williamsport 41
Lewisburg 47, Shamokin 40
Loyalsock 55, Bloomsburg 31
Midd-West 45, Montoursville 42
Mifflinburg 38, Shikellamy 27
Millville 47, Columbia-Montour 29
Muncy 66, Neumann 33
Northwest Area 58, Hanover Area 32
Selinsgrove 59, Central Mountain 37
Sullivan County 50, Benton 39
Williams Valley 39, Tri-Valley 32
Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:
———
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Boston 135 Indiana 108
Final Washington 123 Philadelphia 106
Final Brooklyn 116 Atlanta 100
Final Milwaukee 116 Houston 109
Final Memphis 96 San Antonio 86
Final New Orleans 140 Cleveland 124
Final Dallas 104 Phoenix 94
Final Utah 106 Orlando 93
Final Portland 124 Chicago 112
Final L.A. Lakers 113 Detroit 100
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final OT Nashville 4 Chicago 3
Final Calgary 5 Colorado 3
Final OT Ottawa 2 Anaheim 1
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (4) Virginia 83 Boston College 56
Final (7) Kansas 77 (25) TCU 68
Final (9) Virginia Tech 52 Georgia Tech 49
Final (10) Nevada 92 San Jose St. 53
Final Mississippi 82 (11) Auburn 67
Final (13) Florida St. 68 Miami 62
Final Rutgers 64 (16) Ohio St. 61
Final Temple 73 (17) Houston 69
Final OT (21) Marquette 106 Creighton 104
TODAY’S SPORTS SCHEDULE
———
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Boston at Miami 7:00 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Denver 9:00 p.m.
Oklahoma City at San Antonio 9:30 p.m.
Detroit at Sacramento 10:00 p.m.
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Nashville at Columbus 7:00 p.m.
N-Y Islanders at N-Y Rangers 7:00 p.m.
Washington at Boston 7:00 p.m.
Toronto at New Jersey 7:00 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
Carolina at Tampa Bay 7:30 p.m.
Montreal at St. Louis 8:00 p.m.
Winnipeg at Minnesota 8:00 p.m.
Florida at Edmonton 9:00 p.m.
Arizona at Vancouver 10:00 p.m.
San Jose at Vegas 10:00 p.m.
Ottawa at L.A. Kings 10:30 p.m.
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(2) Michigan at Illinois 8:00 p.m.
Pacific at (5) Gonzaga 11:00 p.m.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
