Today's News-Friday, July 13th

A fire that burned two times destroyed a home in Cass Township yesterday. The blaze was reported around 2pm at 1122 Sunbury Road. According to reports, the fire was quickly brought under control by people who were nearby. They knocked down the fire with buckets of water.
The fire reignited after 6pm at the Sorokach home, and destroyed the structure. A preliminary investigation surmised that the initial fire was caused by a malfunctioning air conditioner, but the cause of the restart is not yet known, according to the Republican and Herald. No one was injured, but the fire is considered a total loss.

A man and woman were hurt in a crash yesterday morning in Pottsville. Police were called to the 17-hundred-block of West Market Street after 11am. A van driven by Allen Norris Jr. of Harrisburg was headed east on Market Street and ran into a parked car operated by Carol Swartz of Tamaqua, which was waiting to pull out into traffic. The impact forced Swartz’s car into the parked car of Francis Yanosky. Yanosky’s car was forced into a truck owned by James Murphy. Swartz was trapped in her car and had to be freed by rescue personnel. She was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment. A passenger in Norris’s car, Natanael Olivencia, was taken to Pottsville Hospital. Norris and Swartz’s vehicles were towed from the scene.

Four people were hurt in a one vehicle crash on Interstate 81 yesterday morning. Around 8am, a van driven by Lewis Haynes of Knoxville, Tennessee was southbound on the Interstate near the Pine Grove exit when he apparently fell asleep. Startled by the rumble strips on the berm of the road, he oversteered the van and hit the guiderail and flipped the van. Lewis Haynes, and a passenger, James Haynes, were taken to Hershey Medical Center via ambulance. They were treated and released. Margaret Haynes and Eleanor Regis were trapped in the van. After they were extricated, they were flown to Hershey Medical Center where they remain today.
Two other passengers in the van were not hurt.

Frackville state police are looking for a man who allegedly assaulted a girl in Ryan Township earlier this week. Troopers report that they are looking for 35-year-old James Hubiak. He is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at a home on State Road Wednesday afternoon.
State police say that the girl was going to feed a vacationing neighbor’s pet when Hubiak confronted her, struck her in the back of the head and threatened to kill her. He then reportedly sexually assaulted her. A neighbor reportedly found her naked and crying nearby.
Hubiak is described as being 6 foot, 3 inches tall, about 170 pounds with brown hair, moustache and goatee. If anyone knows his whereabouts, they should call state police at Frackville at 874-5300.

The Schuylkill County Commissioners Wednesday approved the awarding of over $1.1-Million Dollars in contracts for improvements at the County Park at Sweet Arrow Lake. Among the projects to be completed in the first phase of the a series of improvements scheduled for the county park are, reconstruction of the entrance road, parking for 100 vehicles, rebuilding the clubhouse porch, lighting improvements and building a playground. County Conservation District Manager Craig Morgan said funding for the project comes from various grants from a number of sources including “Friends of Schuylkill Parks and Recreation”, and landfill closure fee funds. In other business, the board approved a lease addendum for the County’s MH/MR and Drug and Alcohol programs for additional office space in a building on Claude A. Lord Blvd. in Pottsville. Approved a Rest Haven request to solicit bids for sprinkler renovations at the County owned Home and Hospital in Schuylkill Haven. Approval was also given to allow the Adult Probation Office to submit a grant application to the State Probation office for continued participation in a program to reimburse the county approximately 42% of local probation officers salaries.

State police are investigating a burglary at a Washington Township home yesterday. Sometime between 11am and 4:30pm, unknown persons forced their way into the home of Thomas Hlavaty at 15 Kutz Farm Road. A money jar containing about $700 dollars was taken, as well as an X Box video game system. Anyone with information should contact Schuylkill Haven State Police at 593-2000.

The Pottsville Business Association welcomed two businesses to downtown locations Thursday. Freeman/Gingrich Insurance opened an office at 216 North Center Street and Schuylkill Federal Credit Union moved from their West Market location to 101 East Union Street. Freeman/Gingrich of Pine Grove opened their new Pottsville office last month.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush and Congress see their responsibilities in Iraq differently. The president says Congress shouldn't be running the war. But the House has voted to begin bringing the troops home in 120 days. Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the president's policy has had more than enough time to work.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Top government analysts paint a sobering picture of al-Qaida's efforts to regroup. They say the terror network has been able to revive at least three key tools needed to
launch an attack on U-S soil. That includes having a safe haven in Pakistan's tribal areas.
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - Police in Tacoma, Washington, say a tip from a Thai man in custody on an immigration complaint has led to the discovery of the body of a 12-year-old girl. Zina Linnik
was abducted from an alley behind her home during a July Fourth fireworks celebration. Girl's underwear was found in the home where the man had been staying.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Flooding is a big concern in Oklahoma, where weeks of heavy rainfall have left rivers and streams too swollen to take in any more rain. But thunderstorms dumped up to two inches of rain on many parts of the state yesterday, and more rain is in the forecast.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A royal welcome in Los Angeles for British soccer royalty. Reporters, photographers and fans were on hand last night to greet David Beckham, who has moved to L-A to begin playing for the Galaxy of Major League Soccer. His first game is July 21st.

YORK, Pa. (AP) - The trustees of Penn State University are to meet this morning at the school's York campus. The agenda includes setting tuition rates. The state's tentative budget includes an
increase of about two percent for the university.

NEW YORK (AP) - Two suspects in the shooting of two New York City police officers are due in a Brooklyn court today, after a multistate manhunt. Dexter Bostic and Robert J-Ellis were arrested in Tannersville, Monroe County, and were extradited yesterday.

STROUDSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Monroe County school district is suing a family for costs of educating two children it says lived outside the district. The mother says the Pleasant Valley School District is angry because she disputed her son's placement in a remedial program.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A Lehigh Valley congressional candidate's six-figure salary at a nonprofit group has been cut in half. This comes after a newspaper reported that the group's board went against Internal Revenue Service guidelines in determining Sam Bennett's salary.

CLIFTON HEIGHTS, Pa. (AP) - Police in the Philadelphia suburb of Clifton Heights assigned two rookie officers to pose as a young couple intent on scoring illegal drugs. The response to complaints about drug dealing in borough bars netted about two dozen arrest warrants.