Today's News-Wednesday, August 1st

Two men implicated in the accidental shooting of a Schuylkill Haven man earlier this year will have their case heard in Schuylkill County Court. District Judge James Ferrier handed the case against William Kistler of Cressona, and Marty Shappell of Port Carbon, to the court, in the death of Leon Wessner, according to the Republican and Herald. The three men were traveling to work in Florida, when Kistler, who was handling a .45 caliber handgun in the back seat of the truck when it went off, injuring Wessner. The man died from his injuries. Both men are free on bail, but Ferrier said that evidence was sufficient enough for the case to be heard in county court. Both men are charged with reckless endangerment, and Kistler is facing an additional charge of simple assault. Wessner was shot on February 11th in West Brunswick Township.

A former Bethlehem man has been arrested in Ohio on theft charges here in Schuylkill County earlier this year. Police in Springdale, Ohio, apprehended 43-year-old Terrell Johnson, on charges that he stole a wallet from an employee of a Pottsville doctor in December, 2006.
Pottsville police report that within minutes of the theft, Johnson used the victim’s credit cards at Wal-Mart and Home Depot in St. Clair, for a substantial amount of gift cards and video games. Johnson was identified as the thief through a joint investigation with Wyomissing police. A warrant for Johnson’s arrest was issued back in April, charging him with theft, access device fraud and related offenses. In addition, Johnson violated his parole supervision in Lehigh County. Arrangements are being made to extradite Johnson back to Pennsylvania to face those charges.

An early morning assault in Mahanoy Township yesterday left a Shenandoah man in the hospital. Frackville state police say that an unknown man and 19-year-old Brandon Rodado got into a fight on West Centre Street around 2:15am yesterday. The white male struck Rodado in the head with a baseball bat. He was taken to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center for treatment. Troopers are continuing their investigation. Anyone with information should call them at the Frackville barracks at 874-5300.

The owner of a Mahanoy City convenience store is facing bad check charges. Borough police say that 41-year-old Javed Akhtar was arrested Tuesday at his home, and charged with theft, receiving stolen property, bad checks and related offenses. The Republican and Herald reports that Akhtar, a co-owner of the Uni-Mart convenience store, is accused of writing more than $35-thousand-dollars worth of bad checks to Klein Wholesales, one of the store’s suppliers.
Company officials reported the bad checks to police. Akhtar, and co-owner Mohammad Sheikh, when visited by company officials, said that they had no money. It is suspected that the men may have been attempting to go out of business, as merchandise that was purchased with the bad checks was packed in boxes and found in a rental truck. Other store services were not available to customers. Akhtar was arraigned and taken to Schuylkill County Prison. The investigation by Mahanoy City Police is continuing. The Mahanoy City Uni-Mart is temporarily closed.

Blue skies and warm temperatures helped to bolster attendance at the Schuylkill County Fair on Tuesday, Kids Day. Families of all sizes came to Summit Station to enjoy the amusements, games and displays during the second full day of the fair. Contests for the kids included pie and jello eating contests. Fair officials estimate that attendance was in excess of 35-hundred people.
The evening’s entertainment featured the country and bluegrass sounds of The Majestics, from the Lehigh Valley. The headliner was country music star Jeff Bates, direct from Nashville, Tennessee. Bates, who was named Country Music’s Sexiest Man in 2006, provided fairgoers with a great mix of country ballads and toe-tapping tunes. The Mississippi native shared some personal thoughts about his life. He is a recovering drug addict, who spent time in prison before turning his life around six years ago. The female contingent in the audience especially enjoyed Bates’ rich baritone voice during the show. Today is Youth Day at the Schuylkill County Fair. Events include a number of competitions for the young people who are showing market swine and beef livestock at the fair. Entertainment tonight is geared toward the younger crowd, with opening act Chromosome 23 at 7pm, and local favorite Psycho Bette at 9pm on the M&T Bank stage.

Nearing the final gavel today, bids for Muhammad Ali's former training camp in Schuylkill County are dancing around an eBay record. Bidding for the 5-acre, 18-building mountainside complex in Deer Lake reached $4.3 million late yesterday and were expected to rise in the final hours before the fall of the gavel around 1 p.m. today. eBay spokeswoman Catherine England says the current record price is $4.9 million paid for a private business jet in 2001. The camp is being sold by George Dillman, a Reading-area karate entrepreneur and former Ali sparring partner. He fondly recalls days at Deer Lake with Ali and guests including sports analyst
Howard Cosell, Michael Jackson, Andy Warhol and Elvis Presley. Ali opened the camp in 1972, rebounding from his loss to Joe Frazier in the "Fight of the Century," and trained there until his last fight against Trevor Berbick in 1981.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Three explosions have killed at least 70 people in Baghdad so far today. At least 50 died when a fuel tanker blew up near a gas station in western Baghdad. Police say it was a suicide attack.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Cheney says he's expecting the upcoming September report on the war in Iraq to show "significant progress." Cheney tells CNN's "Larry King Live," the plan is producing results. President Bush is deferring all comment until after the report is issued.

NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street appears headed for another down open this morning. Key stock markets around the world have been selling off overnight. Asian markets tumbled, some down more than three percent. The Dow lost nearly 150 points yesterday.

NEW YORK (AP) - Rupert Murdoch has wanted to bring the Wall Street Journal into his media empire for some time and now he's got it. Publisher Dow Jones and Murdoch's News Corp. confirmed early today that they have a definite deal.

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) - Residents of Sioux Center, Iowa, are back in their homes after being evacuated when a tanker truck exploded at a farm co-op yesterday. Some two thousand people were forced from their homes for several hours. The cause of the blast and fire is under investigation.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The chairman of Pennsylvania's Gaming Control Board is stepping down. Tad Decker has a news conference scheduled today at his Harrisburg office. Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity tell The Associated Press he will announce that he isn't seeking reappointment to the 150 thousand dollar a year post.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A jury is to begin deliberating today in the federal sex-tourism trial in Philadelphia. Anthony Mark Bianchi of North Wildwood, New Jersey, is accused of traveling to eastern Europe to sexually assault impoverished boys. Bianchi's lawyer says prosecution witnesses gave conflicting statements or were lying on the stand.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The lawyer for a 13-year-old Allegheny County girl accused of killing her father says she was sexually abused by him for years. The lawyer says the abuse doesn't excuse shooting 34-year-old Matthew Booth of Elizabeth Township, but it explains it. Court records reveal the girl lived in a house filled with animosity and hostility.

EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Cambria County nursing home operating on a provisional license since March has been granted full license status. The county-run home was on a provisional license because of nearly two dozen deficiencies the department found during a March inspection, including injuries to some residents.