Today's News-Monday, July 23rd

Fire crews battled a blaze early this morning in Cressona. The call came in at 2:15am, to a home at the intersection of Cherry and Wilder Streets, in the vicinity of the Blue Mountain Elementary School-Cressona building. The night supervisor at the 9-1-1 Center told WPPA/T102 News that as of 4:30 am, crews were still on scene. In addition, a Schuylkill County Coroner was requested at the scene by Schuylkill Haven State Police. Stay tuned for more on this developing story.

Details are just coming to light about a theft on the internet. Schuylkill Haven state police say that last Monday, Mary Seibert of Orwigsburg told them that she was selling an X-box game system on the web via E-bay. Seibert received a bid from an individual in Nigeria. The game system was mailed to the buyer after she thought the transfer of money was made. She later learned that the account from which the money was sent, was fraudulent. The investigation is continuing.

A Delano man was hurt in a one-vehicle crash near Barnesville Sunday morning. Frackville state police say that 36-year-old Gary Steibler was driving his Hyundai SUV on Route 54 and the intersection of State Route 1017, and failed to make a sharp right turn. The car traveled across Route 54 and the parking lot of the Barnesville Post Office. The vehicle continued down an embankment, hitting several trees and rolling onto its passenger side. Steibler was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital for treatment of his injuries. The crash happened around 1:30am Sunday. A St. Clair man is facing charges following two assault incidents Saturday.

21-year-old Nicholas Kurchock is alleged to have punched 19-year-old Ashley Martin in the face on East Laurel Boulevard in Pottsville. During a second confrontation at Martin’s home in St. Clair, Kurchock reportedly smashed her head against a wall at the home. Martin reportedly was bruised and had swelling to her face and head. Charges against Kurchock are pending the completion of the investigation.

Two people were severely injured when their motorcycle crashed yesterday afternoon in Wayne Township. Robert and Victoria Hindle of Middle River, Maryland were driving their Harley Davidson north on Route 183. A car was stopped to make a left turn onto Blue Mountain Road. Hindle tried to pass the stopped car on the right side, when just prior to passing, the car swung to the right to make the turn. The motorcycle hit a pipe on the berm of the road. Both of them were thrown from the bike, and went airborne. The couple sustained severe injuries and had to be flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Motorists on Interstate 81 are reminded of continued work by road crews. PennDOT says that I-81 will be reduced to one lane between Exit 100 at Pine Grove and Exit 107 at the Tremont/Tower City exit until mid-August. The construction project includes concrete patching and road resurfacing. In addition, new line painting will take place and raised pavement markings and shoulder rumble strips installed. The single lane restriction is in place round the clock, and work will continue as the weather cooperates.

One of northeast Pennsylvania’s most recognizable faces will be in downtown Pottsville today. Its Joe Snedeker! The morning meteorologist from WNEP embarks on his annual Go Joe tour to raise money for St. Joseph’s Center in Dunmore, a facility for the severely mentally and physically challenged. His goal for this year’s trek will be to surpass the $1-million-dollar amount since he began the effort nearly a decade ago. His stop in Pottsville will be at the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority, South Centre Street, from 5 to 7:30pm. Area residents are encouraged to stop by and say hello to Joe. Go Joe the Tenth will wind its way across northeast and central Pennsylvania, returning to the Wyoming Valley on Saturday, July 28th.
WPPA and T102 will be out front of our studios as part of the fun today. GO JOE.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Despite stepped-up security, a busy Baghdad district frequently targeted by bombers has been hit again. At least a dozen people are dead in three separate car bombings this morning in Karradah. In southern Iraq, a roadside bomb missed a police patrol and killed a civilian.

BAGHDAD (AP) - With some prodding by Iraq's government, representatives of the U-S and Iran are to sit down for talks tomorrow in Baghdad. It's a followup to talks in May that
represented the first formal meeting between the two countries in 27 years. The U-S blames Iran for some of the violence in Iraq.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The situation in Idaho this morning is dead cattle, threatened ranches and a lot of scorched grazing area. A mammoth wildfire covers nearly 900 square miles of territory in Idaho and Nevada and is only about 15-percent contained. Still, no serious injuries have been reported.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The government's top doctor in the fight against infectious diseases says the third world is losing the numbers game in the battle against H-I-V-AIDS. Doctor Anthony Fauci told a conference in Australia today there are six new cases for every one person entering treatment.

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A Texas League baseball coach has been killed at a game in Arkansas. Mike Coolbaugh of the Tulsa Drillers was hit in the head by a line-drive foul last
night in North Little Rock. He had stopped breathing by the time the ambulance got to the hospital and doctors were unable to revive him.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Franklin County may be centuries behind in rent on two of its public buildings - having accumulated a debt of more than 200 roses. Benjamin Chambers, the founder of Chambersburg, first established the custom by requiring three churches that settled
there to give his family one flower a year in return for land. The congregations consistently have paid the annual floral rent to Chambers' descendants. But the county apparently has not. A 1784 deed transferring two lots for use as a county courthouse and jail also requires rent of
one rose a year. John George, a descendant of Chambers, said before he died earlier this month that the county owed his family more than 200 roses. Rose rent traditions date back to 15th-century Britain.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) - Police say two Pennsylvanians were among five people injured yesterday when an amusement park ride malfunctioned at the Jersey shore. According to police in Ocean City, the five received minor injuries on the "Log Flume" ride at Gillian's Wonderland Pier on the Boardwalk. The Pennsylvanians were identified as 27-year-old Travis
Lindenmoer and 23-year-old Danielle Summreil, both of Lehighton. Also injured were a 40-year-old New Jersey woman and two children. The victims were taken to Shore Memorial Hospital. There was no information immediately available on what happened to the ride, but police say it will remain closed until state officials determine the cause of the accident.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Police say five people were shot to death in Philadelphia over a span of six hours yesterday (Sunday), three of them after an argument in a neighborhood bar.
Police say a man opened fire shortly after midnight at Abay Wheelers Bar in the Kingsessing section of the city, killing three and injuring a fourth. In North Philadelphia shortly before 5 a-m, police say a man was shot several times in the chest and pronounced dead about half an
hour later. Police also say a man in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia was fatally shot in the head yesterday morning (Sunday). No suspects were immediately arrested in any of the shootings. The city has tallied more than 230 murders so far this year, and is on pace to record the highest number in a decade.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Representatives of the Libertarian Party visited Pittsburgh over the weekend to consider the city as a possible location for the party's national convention in 2010 or
2012. Party officials say the gathering would be far smaller than similar events held by the Democrat and Republican parties, but that it could bring as many as one-thousand people to the city. Libertarian Party chairman William Redpath says a site for the 2010 convention would be chosen this year at the earliest, while the site of the 2012 convention would be selected sometime in 2008. The Libertarian Party was founded in 1971 and adheres to a limited-government ideology. It has more than 200-thousand registered members nationwide, including about 36-thousand in Pennsylvania.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A motorcyclist crashed and was critically injured after fleeing police at speeds of at least 140 miles per hour. Authorities say 33-year-old David Webster of Fort Myers, Florida, was flown to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh after the accident in Clarion County on Saturday afternoon. State police say they initially clocked Webster riding his Kawasaki Ninja Z-X-10-R at 103 miles per hour westbound on Interstate 80, and that he refused to stop for a patrol car that was pursuing him. Webster then fled at higher speeds, traveling around and between other vehicles, before crashing on a ramp at exit 53. He faces charges of fleeing and eluding police, recklessly endangering other persons and multiple summary traffic offenses.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Pa. (AP) - Nearly 300 soldiers gathered Saturday in Westmoreland County for a ceremony honoring them for their year-long service in Iraq. The troops from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry, were presented with commemorative flags, lapel pins, coins and medals during the ceremony at Mount Pleasant
Area High School. Three of the soldiers were awarded Purple Hearts. The battalion is based in Mount Pleasant, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. It comprises units from Mount Pleasant, Connellsville, Canonsburg, Friedens and Washington. The soldiers were deployed to Iraq in June 2005 and returned 12 months later.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia have long been considered diseases of the young. But experts say in recent years more women have been seeking help in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and older. And some treatment centers are creating special programs for these more mature patients. People who study eating disorders suggest several reasons there might be more women over 30 seeking treatment for what is typically
a young woman's problem. They include growing public awareness, social pressure to be thin and an aging group of baby boomers. The Renfrew Center, a network of treatment centers in the eastern U-S, says about 20 percent of patients treated at its Philadelphia center in 2005 were 30 or older. Last year, about 13 percent patients were in that age group.

READING, Pa. (AP) - A spate of pit bull attacks in Reading may lead officials there to impose new restrictions on the dogs' owners. According to the Humane Society, Reading has tallied 32 dog bites this year, with about 60 percent by pit bulls. A city ordinance requires restrictions against a breed in the year after more than 30 dog bites occur and a particular breed is
responsible for more than 40 percent of them. The restrictions include keeping dogs of that breed muzzled and on chain leashes while outdoors. Nonsterilized dogs would require a
500-dollar permit. Dylan Heckart, the society's humane officer, said the restrictions will go into effect against pit bull owners in February unless City Council takes action. The most recent attack occurred Friday, when a pit bull bit a man and a police officer who went to help. Police shot and killed the dog after several unsuccessful attempts to subdue it.

BALA CYNWYD, Pa. (AP) - For all those moms who are jealous of their children's fun-filled days at summer camp, listen up. An entrepreneur in the Philadelphia suburbs is giving women an opportunity to take a break from the rat race. Take Five, a day camp for women, is Carole Blum's way to give harried women like herself a guilt-free way to spend some time focusing exclusively on themselves. But instead of making s'mores and weaving friendship bracelets,
adult campers can cook with renowned chefs, get massages and learn about fine wine.
Take Five is structured like a typical day camp, running from 9:30 a-m to 2:30 p-m, Monday through Thursday. It costs 100 dollars for a full day. The camp continues through August Ninth.

HOUSTON, Pa. (AP) - A Washington County man died Saturday after being thrown from his lawnmower and run over by the machine. Authorities say 74-year-old James Dellorso of Houston was riding the mower on a hillside on his property around 4:30 p-m when it
struck a rocky area, causing him to fall off. He was hit by the tractor and mower deck, but was able to walk about 100 feet to his truck and drove to a neighbor's house. An ambulance took him from the neighbor's house to Canonsburg Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:50 p-m. The Washington County coroner says Dellorso's death was accidental and the result of multiple blunt force trauma.