Local News-Wednesday, Sept. 27th

A New Philadelphia man was seriously injured after a crash in East Norwegian Township Monday evening. 25-year-old Bly Salm was attempting to pass a vehicle on Route 209 South near Port Carbon when he struck a pickup driven by 68-year-old Joseph Kuperavage, Port Carbon. Upon impact, Kuperavage's truck kept going, striking a concrete culvert. Salm's car ended up in the northbound lane. Salm was taken to Geisinger Medical Center via LifeFlight. Kuperavage was not hurt.

Minersville police picked up a Pottsville man Saturday, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant by city police. Pottsville police tipped off Minersville officers to be on the lookout for Nicholas Hnatishion, who was wanted for taking a stolen pickup truck to a scrap yard. He was taken into custody. In February, a pickup truck owned by Robert Nettles, Pottsville, was reported stolen. The truck turned up at a Schuylkill Haven area scrap yard a week later. Hnatishion apparently found the burned-out truck in the woods on Peach Mountain, and took it to the salvage yard.

The last Saturday in September is always a big time in the Little Town That Could. It's Borough Day in Schuylkill Haven. The 18th edition of Borough Day, one of the area's largest street fairs, promises to be jam-packed with entertainment, food and fun for the entire family.
The day begins with breakfast at St. Ambrose Church, with activities in downtown Schuylkill Haven kicking off around 9am. Train rides on the Reading, Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad will also be offered for Borough Day visitors, plus crafters, magicians and so much more. A spaghetti dinner will be hosted by Jerusalem Lutheran Church at the high school cafeteria late afternoon. The day will wrap up with a Borough Day Bash event, an adult social and dance to be held at St. Ambrose Church. Due to the significant damage that Schuylkill Haven suffered during the June floods, and the renovations to Rotary Field, there will not be a fireworks display to finish the day. Instead, the Borough Day Committee donated the money to the Schuylkill Haven Food Pantry, the 3 borough fire companies and the Haven Water Rescue unit.

Two cars were involved in a crash in the city of Pottsville Monday night. City officers responded to Route 901, along the Gordon Nagle Trail after 5pm. 40-year-old Melissa Powell of Orwigsburg turned her vehicle in front of a car operated by David Hartranft of Schuylkill Haven, while she was attempting to turn into the Sheetz parking lot. Both cars were moderately damaged. Powell and her two passengers were not hurt. Hartranft hit his head on the windshield, but refused on-scene treatment. Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene. Charges are pending in the crash.

Frackville police are warning residents about suspicious activity in the borough. A Hispanic woman reportedly went to a West Oak Street home late last week and asked to take the homeowner’s blood pressure. When the occupant asked for identification, the woman took off.
Police warn residents to be wary of strangers, mainly females, who ask to come into homes to use the telephone, to offer medical help or other scams. If someone tries to enter a home under suspicious circumstances, you should contact authorities at once.

A potential funding crisis may loom for two of the state's largest public pension plans, according to an audit. Auditor General Jack Wagner announced the findings of the audit of the State Employees' and the Public School Employees' Retirement Systems yesterday. He urged the General Assembly to act quickly to head off a major problem later on. The audits were conducted through the Bureau of Special Performance Audits, and were the result of agreements reached in April 2005 that settled a lawsuit between the auditor general and the two pension funds. The reports issued cover the period Jan. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2004, for both funds. Wagner said that both funds were managed effectively and professionally, but several areas of administrative need to be tightened. Wagner said that actuarial records disclosed that neither plan was fully funded at the end of last year, a total of $11 billion dollars for both.