Local News-Wednesday, Oct.11th

The embattled CEO of Sovereign Bancorp has resigned. The company reports that long-running chief executive Jay Sidhu has stepped down from his post at the financial giant, which has a significant presence in our area. The Sovereign board met from about 11 a-m yesterday until nearly midnight. Early today came the announcement that Sidhu was resigning as president and chief executive officer after 17 years at the helm. Sidhu has been under growing pressure from shareholders unhappy about the sale of a major stake in Sovereign to a Spanish banking giant. The company cited family health reasons for the resignation. The Sovereign board named Vice Chairman Joseph Campanelli as president and C-E-O. Sidhu's employment agreement says he stands to collect 13 (m) million dollars in severance pay, plus other benefits. Pressure on Sidhu has been tightening since the announcement in October that Sovereign would sell a nearly one-fifth stake to Banco Santander Central Hispano, of Madrid, for 2-point-4 (b) billion dollars in cash. Shareholders griped that the deal would dilute their voting rights, and did not require shareholder approval. Under Sidhu, Sovereign has grown from a small savings and loan to an 89 (b) billion dollars-in-assets financial institution, the nation's third-largest thrift with nearly 800 branches from Maryland to New Hampshire. The company has about a dozen branch offices in Schuylkill County.

Borough police in McAdoo are continuing their investigation into a break-in at the McAdoo VFW. Sometime late Monday night or early Tuesday, someone entered the building at Kennedy and Blane Street and broke into machines and took bottles of booze, according to the Pottsville Republican. The McAdoo VFW Post is offering a $1,000 dollar reward for information leading to an arrest.

A Maryland woman's car was heavily damaged after hitting a deer on Interstate 81 Monday. Betty June Jones of Frederick, Maryland was driving north on the interstate when the deer ran into the path of her car. Jones, nor her husband, John, were hurt in the accident. With the archery hunting season now underway, deer are on the move in greater numbers. Motorists are urged to watch for deer darting out from wooded areas along roadways.

A Klingerstown teenager was hurt in an accident yesterday in Northumberland County. The 14-year-old girl was operating an unregistered motorcycle on Old State Road in Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County, when she crossed into the path of a car driven by Flora Clark of Dornsife. The girl suffered a leg injury and was taken to Hershey Medical Center for treatment via Life Lion. Clark was not hurt.

Rush Township police are looking into some criminal mischief after a football game Friday night. Police say that someone threw ketchup bottles at Jim Thorpe School District busses, which was returning from a football game in Minersville. A light colored car was passing the bus on Route 54 when the bottles hit the windshields of each bus. No one was hurt in the incident. Township police are still investigating.

A Minersville man is in Schuylkill County Prison following an assault Sunday in the borough.
Minersville police report that 42-year-old Eric Hazzard was arrested after he reportedly hit his 70-year-old mother in the head with his fist. The incident happened at his Lewis Street home. Hazzard reportedly fled the scene, but was apprehended quickly at a home on North Street. He was arraigned via videoconference at the Schuylkill County Prison. He is lodged there, unable to post the required bail. Hazzard's mother had minor injuries, but did not need treatment for them.

A northern Schuylkill County community is taking another step toward adoption of an illegal immigration act. The Frackville borough council, at its meeting last night, voted 5 to 1 to advertise the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, a document similar to the landmark legislation adopted by the City of Hazleton last month. The Pottsville Republican reports that Frackville wants to use the language adopted by Hazleton. The original law imposed fines against landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, and their landlord licenses revoked for up to 5 years. The law also directed that all city correspondence be written in English. Hazleton had to soften the language of the bill, and split it in two. A lawsuit filed by the ACLU and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education fund forced them to put the responsibility of verifying the status of immigrants on the city itself. And, the English portion of the law was separated from the overall immigration bill. Frackville is advertising to adopt the revised law. Several other northern Schuylkill County municipalities have developed similar ordinances to cover illegal immigrant issues.