State News - April 7, 2007

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A former Fayette County bartender is guilty of spiking an off-duty police officer's beer with Visine. Amanda Wilson, who is from Uniontown, admits she put Visine in Timothy Karpiak's beer in December because he didn't tip her and because he previously arrested her. She's been fired. She pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and criminal conspiracy yesterday in Fayette County Court.

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) - Workers at an Avondale mushroom packaging plant have voted against union representation, but proponents say they will appeal the results. Employees of Cardile Bros. Mushroom Packaging voted 81-to-59 yesterday against the proposal. After the election, eight members of the Workers Committee of Cardile Mushrooms say they plan to appeal to the Pennsylvania State Labor Relations Board, accusing plant supervisors of interfering with the election by campaigning against unionization. The workers are seeking better working and living conditions, higher wages, and benefits including health care and paid holidays and vacations.

SELINSGROVE, Pa. (AP) - State environmental officials say no imminent public health threat has turned up in tests of soil and water samples in and around a former industrial site near Susquehanna University. The results of tests conducted last month show elevated levels of naturally occurring arsenic in four soil samples, of herbicides in a groundwater monitoring well near an old mill, and of nitrates in two wells. But Robert Yowell of the Department of Environmental Protection says contamination levels are isolated and pose no immediate health threat. The D-E-P began a series of environmental tests in early March after a report in The Patriot-News of Harrisburg raised questions about whether contamination might have caused cancer among residents and university alumni.