Today's News - Saturday August 18, 2007

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - An all-day party is being held in Schuylkill Haven today. Island FEST, which has been in the planning stages for nearly a year, is set to begin at 1pm on the Island. The effort is a project to raise funds for the Schuylkill Haven Island Park Project, a dream for many in the borough for more than 30 years. The day will feature various musical groups to suit all tastes and ages, from classic rock, the music of the Beatles, to the Key West Band, plus games, food of all kinds and other entertainment all day. Parking will be available at the Island, and at Schuylkill Haven High School and M&Q Packaging, with free shuttle service to and from the Island. The gates open at 12noon, and the event runs from 1pm till 10pm. Admission is just $5 per person, with ages 4 and under free!

PINE GROVE - PennDOT has announced there will be a traffic pattern change on Interstate 81 north beginning today. At 7 a.m. today, Pennsylvania State Police will slow traffic on Interstate 81 north between Exit 100/PA 443/Pine Grove and Exit 107/US 209/Tremont/Tower City in Schuylkill County. The traffic pattern change is expected to be finished by noon. A project began in June to improve the highway in Frailey, Tremont and Pine Grove townships by patching concrete, resurfacing and installing new line paint. Twenty-four hour single lane restrictions will be in place on I-81 north until Labor Day. From Labor Day through October, there will be daytime (6 AM to 6 PM) lane restrictions on I-81 north. Work will commence on I-81 south next spring. All schedules are weather dependent. Motorists are urged to allow extra time in their commute and use caution driving through work zones. The general contractor on the $2.4 million project is Eastern Industries, Inc., of Center Valley, Pa. This section of I-81 has an average daily traffic volume of 29,551 vehicles.

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY - Law enforcement officers across Pennsylvania began a crackdown on impaired driving using specially trained police officers who can spot the symptoms of drug-induced impairment. Thirty drug recognition experts, or DREs, will be used until Sept. 3 with DUI taskforces to stop impaired driving. As part of the enforcement effort, each of the 50 DUI taskforces funded by PennDOT has been asked to conduct a sobriety checkpoint on Friday, Aug. 24. Drug recognition experts are able to characterize and stop impaired motorists in seven major drug categories. A DRE is called when a driver seems impaired and his blood alcohol concentration doesn’t match the level of impairment, indicating drugs might be involved. Developed in California in the 1970s, the drug recognition expert program has since spread to 45 states, including Pennsylvania in 2004. The Pennsylvania State Police coordinates the program through its Bureau of Highway Patrol. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, approximately 31 million American drivers admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs in the past year. PennDOT cautions motorists to read the warnings of prescription and over-the-counter medications, which can also cause impairment if not used properly. For more information on the drug recognition expert program, visit http://www.decp.org/.

POTTSVILLE - The Schuylkill County Commissioners have been asked to adopt resolutions for three North Central Highway Safety Network grant proposals. Mark Alonge, director of the network. attended Wednesday's work session. He said the previously submitted proposals to PENNDOT came back with a final approval that has a slight increase in two and a slight decrease in one. He said the grants are for the "Pa Smooth Operator", "Click or Ticket" and "Regional Sobriety Checkpoint" programs. The grants total slightly more than $8.2-Million Dollars. Alonge said the programs are federally funded and administered through PENNDOT, with no county funding required. In other business, Mark Scarbinsky of the County Economic Development Office asked for approval to advertise for a public hearing on the Community Development Block Grant program. He said the hearing will give the citizens the opportunity to comment on community development and housing needs in the county. Scarbinsky also asked for approval to accept a proposal to provide consulting services for the block grant program for three years, beginning in 2008. He said the contract with Mullin and Lonegran Associates will not exceed $21,700 per year.

CORRY, Pa. (AP) - The general manager of the Corry Labor Club is accused of stealing nearly $90,000 from the social club. Fifty-four-year-old Robert Sanders Junior has been arraigned on
charges of theft, receiving stolen property and forgery.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Pittsburgh woman has been ordered to stand trial on charges of leaving her 13-month-old daughter strapped in a car seat overnight with the windows and sunroof open during a storm. Twenty-five-year-old Brandi Morgan is accused of reckless endangerment, child endangerment and leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. Police say a passer-by discovered the child rain-soaked, covered with leaves and dirt, and wearing only a diaper in July.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has suspended a Superior Court judge indicted on federal charges of cheating insurance companies out of 440-thousand dollars. It is unclear whether 58-year-old Michael Joyce of Erie can continue his campaign for a second 10-year term on the Superior Court.

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (AP) - Waynesburg College will announce a name change to Waynesburg University on Monday. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the state Department of Education has approved the school's application to become a university. Waynesburg College was founded in 1849 and has an enrollment of about 2,300.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - An Allegheny County judge says a man who pretended to be a Pittsburgh Steeler must report to jail next week. Brian Jackson of Brentwood was sentenced last month to 90 days in jail and five years' probation. Authorities say Jackson persuaded a woman to loan him $3,200 by telling her he was Steelers tight end Jerame Tuman.

CASTRIES, St. Lucia (AP) - Forecasters say Hurricane Dean could turn into a monster Category Five storm within the next 72 hours as its heads toward Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. It's already battered the eastern Caribbean and is blamed for at least
three deaths. There's a chance Dean could reach the U.S. by Wednesday.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - In Texas, rescuers are searching for people swept away in flash floods caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin. At least six people died Thursday. The storm has dropped up to 11 inches of rain on parts of San Antonio, Houston and the Texas Hill Country. Wary residents are worried about Hurricane Dean.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The heat is really taking its toll on parts of the U.S. Authorities in Memphis and Alabama have reported 10 more heat-related deaths, bringing the total in the Southeast and Midwest to at least 47 since triple-digit temperatures settled on the region last week.

UNDATED (AP) - The rescue operation at a Utah coal mine has been suspended following the deaths of three rescue workers who were looking for six trapped miners. The governor says it won't be resumed until worker safety can be guaranteed. Meantime, a flood has trapped 172 coal miners in China.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON (AP) - NASA is considering scaling back today's spacewalk for the Endeavour astronauts in case it needs to end the mission early over weather concerns. Shuttle managers say much of the spacewalk involves chores that can be put off. The shuttle is scheduled to land Wednesday, the same day Hurricane Dean could hit the U.S.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A center for delinquent boys near Des Moines, Iowa, was evacuated last night after dozens of people got sick. A spokeswoman for one hospital spokeswoman says about 50 child and adult patients were treated there. Others were taken elsewhere. It's not clear what caused the problem but officials believe it could have been a gas leak.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The race for the GOP presidential nomination could get a bit more crowded. Former Senator Fred Thompson is looking more and more like a candidate. Thompson shook hands and cuddled a baby pig at the Iowa State Fair yesterday. Thompson's poll numbers in Iowa are strong.

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 233 points yesterday after the Federal Reserve cut its key discount rate a-half percentage point. Wall Street had been clamoring for the cut to help boost stocks after several weeks of volatility.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Another mortgage lender is suspending operations. First Magnus Financial of Tucson has laid off most of its nearly 6,000 employees nationwide and closed all of its more than 300 offices. Company officials say it's caught in the credit crunch now causing a meltdown in the mortgage industry.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - More than a dozen people are dead after a suicide car bomb blew up near a convoy of private security forces in southern Afghanistan today. Police say four Afghan guards and eleven civilians died in the attack. Violence in Afghanistan has risen sharply in the last two months.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Two hijackers claiming to be carrying a bomb hijacked a Turkish jetliner today on a flight from northern Cyprus to Istanbul. Most of the passengers escaped after the plane landed in Turkey. The hijackers are said to have demanded to go to Syria or Iran but were told the plane didn't have enough fuel.

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - Virginia Tech's president stands by his decision not to shut down the campus in the early stages of last spring's mass shootings. Charles Steger tells the AP, "Virginia
Tech is like a small city" and closing it wouldn't have been possible. Gunman Seung-Hui Cho (sung-wee joh) killed 32 people and wounded 23 more before turning the gun on himself.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Lawyers for NFL quarterback Michael Vick are reportedly trying to hammer out a plea deal over his role in an alleged dog fighting ring. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank says it seems pretty clear there will be some "sort of plea entered." Two of Vick's co-defendants pleaded guilty Friday and are implicating Vick in bankrolling the dogfights.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Funeral services were held Friday for one of Hollywood's giants, Merv Griffin. The 82-year-old entertainer-turned-game show-inventor and real-estate tycon died Sunday from prostate cancer. His son says no one loved life more than his father.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A 38-year-old man from Pennsylvania is the new pretend King of Graceland. Managers of the Elvis Presley home anointed their first ever "Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist" last night. Shawn Klush says it's "unbelievable." The contest was part of a weeklong Elvis tribute, commemorating the 30th anniversary of his death.