Today's News-Wednesday, July 25th

A Deer Lake man is in Schuylkill County Prison on charges that he had inappropriate sexual contact with a teenage girl. Schuylkill Haven state police report that on July 14th, 57-year-old Dean Elliott had inappropriate sexual contact with the girl at his home on Pine Boulevard in Deer Lake. He was charged with deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and corruption of minors. His arraignment took place at the county prison via videoconference. Elliott was unable to post bail of $30-thousand-dollars, and remains there today. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday.

An Orwigsburg man who attempted to set fire to the borough manager's home has had his hearing continued. The preliminary hearing for Carl Zehner was carried over yesterday, after he came to the hearing without counsel. The Republican and Herald says that Zehner did not have a public defender representing him because the public defender's office had not received an application. According to reports, Zehner is also looking for other legal representation.
Last week, Zehner allegedly threw a bottle of gasoline with a lit cloth fuse at the home of Michael Lonergan, Orwigsburg's borough manager. Zehner is charged with arson, reckless endangerment and other offenses. He remains in Schuylkill County Prison, in lieu of bail. Another hearing will take place at a later date.

Two Hamburg residents were hurt in a crash early this morning in West Brunswick Township.
Before 1am today, 20-year-old Ashley Bohn of Hamburg was northbound on Route 61 near Port Clinton when she was momentarily distracted. Her car slid across the highway and over the concrete divider, then continued across the southbound lanes. Bohn’s car went down an embankment and hit several trees. State police believe that Bohn was traveling at a high rate of speed. Bohn and her brother were both wearing their seatbelts, and had minor injuries.

One person had minor injuries in a four vehicle crash in North Manheim Township yesterday afternoon. The chain reaction crash happened when William Ellinger was stopped at a stop sign, attempting to turn left from Manheim Road onto East Main Street. A bee distracted Keith Runkle, who ran into Shelby Walton’s SUV. Walton’s car ran into Terry Kriner’s vehicle, which struck Ellinger's car. Ellinger complained of neck and knee pain. All vehicles had minor damage.

A Pottsville man who fought the legal system at every turn is going to prison on drug and weapons charges. 59-year-old John Philips is going to jail for 5 to 10 years for possessing drugs, carrying a firearm without a license and terroristic threats. That sentence was handed down yesterday by Schuylkill County Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin. The Republican and Herald reports that Philips, who professed himself to be a prisoner in the war on drugs, and showed blatant disregard for the legal system, taunted Dolbin to quote "throw the book at me." Philips has had problems with the law on a number of occasions, but was arrested in September of last year for growing marijuana at his Pottsville home. He also had a loaded weapon at the time of his arrest. In addition to jail time, Philips has to pay costs, restitution and submit a DNA sample, which he said he'll resist giving.

The Schuylkill County Idol competition has ended its sixth year. The three remaining contestants made their final attempts at impressing the audience and judges. All they can do now is wait. Each performer prepared 2 songs of his or her choice in addition to one song that was hand picked by the judges. The singers stepped up their performances in the final round by adding more energy and audience interaction. Francois Bessing of Brockton even wore an Elvis costume to go with his performance of Suspicious Minds. Bessing felt that the competition was his biggest motivator to push the envelope. Even the audience got caught up in this energy as they clapped along with the music and waved signs for their favorite contestants. The final results will be announced Monday, July 30th in center court of the Schuylkill Mall.

Vandals hit a radio tower in Schuylkill County. Sometime between June 29th and last Sunday someone broke into two storage sheds and the tower owned by the Schuylkill Amateur Repeater Club in Mahanoy Township. Police say the vandals caused damage to the electrical service to the tower, as well as lights, and windows in the sheds, an entrance gate and guide wire to the tower. Damages are estimated at one thousand dollars.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - Taliban militants are claiming they shot and killed one South Korean hostage today in Afghanistan. But Western officials say some of the 23 Korean captives were freed and taken to a U-S military base. A South Korean news agency says eight
Koreans have been released.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal warning urges airport safety personnel to watch for terrorists practicing to carry bomb components onto planes. Security experts say there are mixed
messages. One says transportation authorities don't get the seriousness of the message. Another expert says the warning is just precautionary and there's no need to "be alarmed."

LONDON (AP) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to update England's anti-terrorism laws. He has told Parliament that police need more time to question suspects -- longer than the current 28-day maximum.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush is getting recommendations on how to improve veterans care today. Poor conditions at Walter Reed medical center prompted the president to create a special panel to look into the issue. Officials say the final report does not seek to assign blame.

NEW YORK (AP) - Stock prices are surging on Wall Street this morning, recovering from yesterday's sell-off. The Dow was up 100 points, the Nasdaq and the S-and-P 500 were also showing gains. Strong earnings from Amazon-dot-com and Boeing helped trigger the
surge.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia residents gathered in the Wynnefield neighborhood last evening to protest malfunctioning security cameras. They blamed the lack of working cameras for an unsolved murder on Saturday. The head of the agency that operates the cameras says they weren't working because of lightning damage.

OAKDALE, Pa. (AP) - The Kelly Commissary is on its way to getting four (m) million dollars in federal funds that could help keep the facility running after the military closes the Charles E.
Kelly Support Center next year. Congressman Tim Murphy says the money is attached to a defense appropriations bill that is making its way through Congress.

EASTON, Pa. (AP) - Trial is under way in Easton for a 14-year-old boy charged with a gang killing. The prosecution says Qu'eed Batts was trying to rise in rank in a gang when he burst
onto a porch in February 2006 and opened fire, killing 16-year-old Clarence Edwards and wounding 18-year-old Cory Hilario as they tried to run inside.

EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Cambria County prosecutors want a psychiatric evaluation for a mother accused of killing her newborn daughter. Jennifer McKendree, who is from Upper Yoder Township, is accused of placing her newborn in a plastic bag after giving birth in April 2006, in a bathroom at her parents' home in Johnstown.

ERIE, Pa. (AP) - Things are hopping at an Erie grocery. Bombarded by a sudden invasion of little white bunny rabbits, workers at the Tops Friendly Markets have spent the past 24 hours
trying to capture the furry creatures. Workers believe someone may have dumped the bunnies - 16 so far - in the woods behind the store.