State News-Friday, Jan. 5th

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Steelers will hold an afternoon news conference to discuss their coaching status. Bill Cowher, the Steelers' coach for 15 seasons and one of the N-F-L's best-known figures, met with team owner Dan Rooney and president Art Rooney II on Tuesday and asked for a few days to weigh his future plans. However, the two sides had an understanding there would be a decision by Monday because the Steelers have to move on if Cowher isn't coming back. A person familiar with Cowher's status says the team will begin a search today for his replacement. Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and offensive line coach Russ Grimm are considered strong contenders to replace Cowher, although both are interviewing with other teams.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux says he has had a "very positive" meeting with Governor Ed Rendell and local leaders. But he still isn't hinting whether the team will stay or move to Kansas City. Lemieux is choosing between deals offered by two cities after spending years unsuccessfully seeking a new arena. Lemieux has said the Penguins could move if a new arena deal isn't in place when the team's lease at Mellon Arena expires at the end of the season. But Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Rendell believe they can help the team pay for a new arena with local slot machine revenues and state development funds.

DANVILLE, Pa. (AP) - Disorderly conduct charges in the Central Pennsylvania county of Montour are being dropped against a 12-year-old special education student who wet her pants at school. The superintendent says it was a mistake to bring police into a case of school discipline. The girl had been preparing a holiday lunch with her classmates and teachers at Danville Middle School on December 20th. Her mother says when her daughter refused to go to the kitchen to wash some pots and pans, teachers summoned principal Kevin Duckworth, who confronted the girl. She then wet her pants. Her mother says the girl is terrified of the principal and has wet herself during previous confrontations with him. Authorities are at odds over how the matter was handled. The police chief says school officials are at their "wit's end" with the girl, and believe her actions were deliberate. But the district attorney says the matter is better handled by the family and the school -- not the criminal justice system.

UNDATED (AP) - The Defense Department says that two Pennsylvania soldiers were killed in Iraq over the past week. The Pentagon has announced the deaths of 21-year-old Army Private David Dietrich, of Marysville, and 26-year-old Sergeant Thomas Vandling Junior, of Bellevue. Military officials say Dietrich died last Friday in small-arms fire in Ramadi. Dietrich graduated from Susquenita High School in 2004. He had enlisted in the Army less than seven months ago and had been in Iraq for less than two months. Vandling died of injuries after an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle while he was on combat patrol in Iraq on Monday. Vandling was a 1998 graduate of Northgate High School, where he played football.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A state legislator from Philadelphia says she found a bullet hole in her car and believes the gunman knew he was shooting at her vehicle. Representative Rosita Youngblood says the bullet hit her car's rear door, went through the vehicle and shattered a speaker. No one was injured. Police responded yesterday evening when the vehicle was parked on the street in front of the Democrat's northwest Philadelphia home. Youngblood says she first noticed the bullet hole when the car was parked at her legislative office. Police say no arrests have been made.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania Farm Show patrons will be encouraged -- but not required -- to touch and smell cow food when they visit the state's annual agricultural showcase that opens tomorrow. The state Agriculture Department is hoping to make the show's 91st installment a better educational experience by staging 18 "learning areas" throughout the sprawling complex. The learning stations will allow visitors to get a close look at cattle feed, groom a horse, and identify mystery vegetables, among other things. State agriculture officials say the goal is to provide hands-on activities for children and adults. It's part of the department's ongoing effort to educate Pennsylvanians about the importance of farming.
The show runs through January 13th. LISTEN FOR LIVE REPORTS FROM THE FARM SHOW EVERYDAY DURING THE 5 O'CLOCK REPORT.