Today's News-Thursday, July 26th

The Shaak family of Cressona will try and rebuild their lives following a fatal fire Monday, with help from the community. Family members have announced that the Shaak Family Memorial Fund has been established to aid James Shaak, his son and his mother-in-law Sandy Spirko, who survived the fire. Lisa and Joab Shaak perished in the blaze at their Wilder Street home.
James Shaak is still in the Lehigh Valley Medical Center, recovering from injuries. Noah Shaak and Spirko were not hurt. Contributions to the fund can be made at any Community Banks branch office in Schuylkill County. The home was destroyed in the fire. State fire marshal John Burns said that the fire appears to have started in the basement, but an exact cause has yet to be determined.

Auburn police arrested a man who is in the US illegally yesterday. Officials say that Daniel Ramirez, who lives on Orchard Street in Auburn, was stopped yesterday for motor vehicle violations, including an expired registration and inspection. At that point, Ramirez ran from police into a wooded area off of Market Street in the borough. The Republican and Herald reports that Auburn police called for backup from Orwigsburg, Schuylkill Haven and Penn State, Schuylkill to look for Ramirez. He was found a short time later. During an interview, police asked Ramirez if he was in the country illegally. He reportedly told them no. He is charged with resisting arrest, attempting to elude police and motor vehicle offenses. He was arraigned and taken to Schuylkill County Prison. Immigration officials will be contacted.

A West Reading man who was found guilty of murder in 2005 may get a new trial, after a ruling in Schuylkill County Court yesterday. President Judge William Baldwin upheld his ruling to grant a new trial to Desmond Hammond, who was found guilty of third-degree murder of Clinton Hallick in 2004, according to the Republican and Herald. Baldwin, who presided over the original trial, granted an initial retrial motion in June, citing that Hammond did not receive effective legal advice from his then attorney, Jay Nigrini. His current counsel is seeking that Hammond be released on bail while the process moves forward, but that has not been decided yet. He is serving his sentence at the State Correctional Institution in Wayne County. Hammond and Hallick got into a fight at a club in the Schuylkill Mall, which spilled over to a housing project in Minersville. Hammond was convicted of shooting Hallick there on the evening of March 12, 2004. Unless Baldwin's ruling is overturned by a higher court, Hammond will get a new trial on the charges.

A Catawissa man’s truck crashed on Route 25 yesterday morning in Hegins Township. Police report that 28-year-old Todd McCarthy lost control of his dump truck on the steep mountain road and it rolled over, sliding more that 200 feet on its side. McCarthy was taken to St. Catherine's Medical Center for treatment. The crash happened around 8:30am Wednesday.

A write-in candidate for County Commissioner complained to the Board of Commissioners Wednesday that he was contacted by a member of the county Board of Elections and asked to not wage his write-in campaign. John Schickram of Tamaqua, who decided to mount a write-in campaign after failing to win in the Republican Primary election claims Jerry Knowles approached him this past June and asked him not to mount a campaign. Knowles, who is a former County Commissioner, was appointed to the County Election board along with two others because the Commissioners, who normally serve in that capacity, were candidates for re-election. Schickram said he had been contacted several more times by Knowles to meet with him. He said he sent Knowles a letter telling him that because Knowles is a member of the Election board and he is a candidate for election, they should not discuss politics until Knowles' obligation on the election board is finished.

The Schuylkill County Commissioners Wednesday granted permission to hire a Bethlehem firm to provide professional services to assist in a County Planning and Zoning Commission project.
Urban Resources and Development Corporation will receive $97,600 to assist in the preparation of a comprehensive revision to the County Ordinance and maps. A state grant was received which provides 50% of the total project costs. In other business, the Commissioners approved a contract for just over $292-thousand-dollars with Schuylkill Community Action of Pottsville for Bridge Housing, Emergency Shelter, Outreach Case Management and Project Care Services for the period July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. Pottsville's Goodwill Fire Company was honored with a proclamation recognizing the company on its 125th anniversary. Several people were hired during Wednesday's meeting. They include; Amanda McKee of Schuylkill Haven as Fulltime Social Services Caseworker at Rest Haven; Nancy Nork of Frackville as a fiscal technician in the MH/MR office; Kevin Dillman Jr. of Frackville and Brian Murray of Pottsville as 9-1-1 center telecommunicator and Amamda Wright as caseworker in the Children and Youth Department.

Harnessing the sun's energy is not new. But for a home in Tamaqua, using the sun will save the homeowner money. Schuylkill Community Action, who provides affordable housing to low-and-moderate income families, introduced the solar heating system at a home on Hazle Street in Tamaqua earlier this week. Through a grant, Schuylkill Community Action was able to acquire the solar technology from PPL. The installation will allow the homeowner to use the sun's rays to warm the water and put it in to a tank in the home for use. During times of limited sunshine, water will be heated through other means like a conventional home heating system. Schuylkill Community Action is planning other homes that will use the solar heating plant. This is the fifth home that SCA has built to help low-to-moderate income families.

BAGHDAD (AP) - An official says five Iraqi police officers are dead and two wounded from a roadside bomb that struck their patrol south of Baghdad today. Meantime a top U-S commander says there's more indication that Iraqi extremists are being trained in Iran.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Officials say the suspected remains of three U-S soldiers killed during the Vietnam War are on their way back to the U-S. They were recovered from three different sites in Vietnam over the past three months. The remains will be identified at a military laboratory in Hawaii.

MANADO, Indonesia (AP) - A tsunami warning has been called off in eastern Indonesia following a powerful earthquake. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of seven. There've been reports of damage, though panicked residents fled from markets, hospitals and schools.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - N-F-L star Michael Vick is due to appear at a bond hearing in federal court in Richmond, Virginia, today and enter a plea on dogfighting conspiracy charges. Prosecutors allege the dogfighting business operated on Vick's property in rural Virginia.

GOURETTE, France (AP) - A French newspaper says the Tour de France should be canceled. The paper says it's become a "caravan of ridicule." At least three top cyclists have been sent home under a cloud of suspicion involving doping, including race leader Michael Rasmussen.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - President Bush is to speak to a gathering of state lawmakers in Philadelphia today. It's the second time in three years that Bush has appeared
before the American Legislative Exchange Council. The group is made of lawmakers from all 50 states. A spokesman says the council deals mostly with fiscal policy. About two thirds
of the members are Republicans. A group protesting the war in Iraq is to appear outside.

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) - Three incoming freshmen on Villanova University's football team have been kicked out. A woman accused the men of rape the weekend before last. The school decided last night to rescind their admission. A school spokeswoman says campus security officers didn't notify township police because it was the woman's choice not to. Football coach Andy Talley says the ordeal "is extremely disappointing to our coaching staff and our football team."

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A bill signed by Governor Ed Rendell sets licensing standards for "assisted living residences." Those are homes for those who need more services than personal-care homes provide but don't need the full-time attention of a nursing home. The law signed yesterday (Wednesday) ends a decade-old debate and makes Pennsylvania the 40th state to mandate licensing standards for assisted living facilities. Some residential centers are already using the term to describe their programs. The law requires assisted living centers to have single living units - unless two residents voluntarily share a room. The units must have private bathrooms, kitchens and minimum space requirements. Also, health services must be sold separately from the residential agreement.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Governor Ed Rendell is angry over a congressional amendment that he says could undermine the state's nearly one (b) billion dollar-a-year transportation plan.
He's vowing to solicit bids on leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike to provide the funding.
The Democratic governor originally advocated leasing the turnpike, but scrapped the idea as part of a compromise with Republicans in the state Legislature. The governor signed that plan
last week. It's based largely on revenue that would come from adding tolls to Interstate 80.
But an amendment to the federal transportation funding bill would bar the use of federal money to place tolls on I-80. It was sponsored by Republican Congressman John Peterson and Phil English, who both serve districts that the highway passes through.

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - An alleged Scranton-area mobster who has drawn the interest of state gambling investigators has appeared before a grand jury in the state capital. A lawyer accompanying William D'Elia declined comment as he left the grand jury meeting room in Dauphin County Court yesterday. County prosecutors decline to comment on the grand jury
proceeding. In December, an attorney for D'Elia told The Associated Press that an investigator from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board had contacted him. The attorney said that the investigator asked to interview D'Elia about whether he had any connections to a northeastern
Pennsylvania businessman who was applying for a slot-machine license.

CROSBY, Pa. (AP) - State prosecutors have charged Norfolk Southern with violating environmental laws in a train derailment last year that spilled harmful chemicals into a pristine trout stream. The Norfolk, Va.-based railroad company was charged yesterday with two counts of unlawful conduct and one count of polluting waters. The train derailed June 30th, 2006, near the village of Gardeau in rural north-central Pennsylvania. A chemical spill killed fish in several high-quality creeks, some as far as 30 miles downstream from the derailment. Norfolk Southern spokesman Rudy Husband says the company plans to work with the attorney general to resolve the issue.

MEADVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A 144-year-old fountain that started the transformation of a popular Meadville park from a cow pasture to a pastoral public setting has been dry since May.
The iron fountain is waiting for overdue renovations. The fountain was donated in 1863 by the son of a local judge, and was the first feature in what is known today as Diamond's Park.
A local historian says the area was initially used by drovers to rest their cattle. As the introduction of trains made this unnecessary, the area was turned into something more attractive. City official Joe Gigler says workers are applying epoxy to the fountain's pockmarked cement. Then it will be painted. He says the work should be complete within two weeks.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Dozens of carrot-crunching, lettuce-munching vegetarians have descended for the 13th year on an unlikely town for their annual seminar. Johnstown is a former steel town known for its carnivorous habits. But it has played host to the Vegetarian Summerfest since 1994. The group uses the University of Pittsburgh's Johnstown campus.
The president of the North American Vegetarian Society, Jennie Kerwood, says the town 70 miles east of Pittsburgh is a convenient meeting place for the vegetarians, who mostly come from the northeast and Midwest. The five-day festival includes seminars, classes and other
social activities.