Local News-Wednesday, Dec. 13th

State police are looking for thieves who broke into a business in East Brunswick Township over the weekend. Someone entered Eckroth Brothers Farm Equipment between Saturday and Monday and took money out of the cash drawer. Troopers say they don’t know how they got into the store. The investigation continues.

Thieves got away with a cache of items from a business in Middleport overnight Monday. Frackville state police indicate that burglars broke into the Middleport Materials property on Mountain Road and took a number of items, including copper wire and tools, totaling $22-hundred-eighty-four dollars. Troopers continue their investigation.

One person was hurt in a truck/car crash in North Manheim Township last night. A tractor-trailer driven by Joann Wolfe of Schuylkill Haven was north bound on Route 61, attempting to make a left turn on to West Adamsdale Road. The truck was hit by a car operated by Alden Roberts Sr. of Allentown. His car spun around on the roadway. Wolfe was not hurt. Roberts had to be flown to Reading Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Wolfe will be cited in the incident. The crash happened around 5:15pm Tuesday.

State police liquor control enforcement officers were in area establishments last week, checking for underage drinkers. Officials from the Allentown office made stops at 6 regional bars Thursday night. They now say that four of the establishments, Calabria Pizza, Martha’s Place, Michael’s and Goodfellas were all found to be compliant. Two establishments were not compliant. Their names were not released. During the sweep, state police check to see that alcohol is not being served to minors. They send underage individuals trained by state police into the licensed bars and restaurants.

A weekend hit and run turned into a police chase in Shenandoah Saturday night. Mahanoy City and Shenandoah police report that someone hit a parked car in Mahanoy City, then took off. The owner of the car, Crystal Londono of Albrightsville followed the car and called 9-1-1. Police from Shenandoah, Mahanoy City, West Mahanoy Township and Union Township pursued the vehicle, but lost it on back streets of Mahanoy City. The car in question bears a Pennsylvania license plate beginning with the letters GFR. Anyone with information should call either Shenandoah or Mahanoy City police.

If you’ve gotten your Christmas tree, you may be looking for that special potion or additive to keep it fresh and green through the holiday season. A Christmas tree specialist in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences says that answer is crystal clear. The stores sell all kinds of additives for keeping your live Christmas tree fresh, and old wives’ tales even suggest using bleach or aspirin in the tree’s reservoir. But Penn State horticulturist Rick Bates says additives don’t help and he says there is a pretty good body of research that has looked at all of the different recipes, all of the different commercially available products. In the final analysis, they don't really promote or prolong the freshness of the tree. It really is a function of how much fresh water the tree can take and has available to it. If your tree has been cut for more than two days, Bates says, you should cut another half-inch off of the trunk before putting it into water. And make sure that your tree stand is large enough-the average tree can take up to a gallon of water a day.