Today's News-Monday, October 29th

Shenandoah police arrested a borough man on drug charges. Friday night, Shenandoah PD apprehended 27-year-old Sandy Sanchez at the intersection of East Lloyd Street and North Market Street after obtaining an arrest warrant. Sanchez is charged with delivering a controlled substance. The arrest was the result of two undercover buys of cocaine during July, 2007. A quantity of marijuana was found in his car during a search of his vehicle. He was arraigned at the Schuylkill County Prison and remains there after he couldn’t post bail. Additional charges will be lodged against Sanchez for having drugs in his car at the time of his arrest.

A blown tire forced a Vermont man to crash his vehicle on Interstate 81 yesterday. Jacques Trahan of Burlington, Vermont was driving south on the Interstate when the right front tire blew out, causing him to lose control. The car went off the right berm of the road and struck the guiderail. Trahan wasn’t hurt, but his car had moderate damage during the Sunday afternoon crash.

Two people were hurt in a crash just outside of Pottsville Friday afternoon. Schuylkill Haven state police reported this morning that cars driven by Rita Stanchick of Minersville, Steven York of Pottsville and Keith Shellhamer of Orwigsburg were traveling east on the Gordon Nagle Trail, Route 901 around 12:30pm. Shellhamer was stopped behind a car making a left turn onto Glenworth Road, with York behind him. Stanchick's vehicle couldn’t stop on the wet roadway and rear-ended York and Shellhamer's car. Stanchick and York had minor injuries, and both cars had severe damage. Shellhamer, nor three passengers in his car, were hurt.
Stanchick will be cited in the Friday afternoon crash.

PennDOT will begin a road improvement project at a busy Route 61 intersection today. Spokesman Sean Brown tells us that work gets underway today at Route 61 and Tunnel Road across from Fairlane Village Mall. The work includes upgrades to traffic signals, line painting and the installation of crosswalks. Some lane restrictions may result from the work, which is expected to take until May of 2008 to complete. The cost of the project is estimated to be about $186-thousand-dollars.

Some traffic delays and a road closure is expected while drainage work is completed in Orwigsburg. Borough officials say that South Liberty Street will be closed from Ridge Road to the borough line for installation of a new drainage system. The street will be closed from 7am till 3pm daily, with some evening closures as well. Its expected to take two weeks to complete.

Cold and flue season is coming, and wise parents are lining up flu shots for their kids. A Penn State Cooperative Extension child care expert says flu shots are especially important for children who go to child care facilities.

Vaccination remains the best protection against catching the flue, and medical experts have recently lowered the recommended age for children getting the treatment. Penn State Better Kid Care program specialist Nancy Wilson says now's the time to get immunized. She recommends that all children from six months to five years should be given a flu shot to prevent them from getting really ill later in the winter. And especially children in childcare. They're around groups of people, and its important to try to protect them from getting so sick. Especially children with asthma. Wilson says children getting a flu shot for the first time will need two doses of the vaccine, given at least 28 days apart. Protection usually starts about two weeks after the second shot.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review have both endorsed Republican challenger Mark DeSantis for mayor. DeSantis takes on Mayor Luke Ravenstahl in the race to complete the remaining two years of a term left open when Mayor Bob O'Connor died from a rare brain cancer last year. The Post-Gazette hasn't endorsed a GOP candidate for mayor since 1969.

ERIE, Pa. (AP) - A woman accused of planning an elaborate bank robbery that ended in the death of a pizza deliveryman in Erie County in 2003 says she is "totally innocent" and denies making incriminating statements to federal investigators. The Erie Times-News reports that 58-year-old Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong said in two phone conversations from prison that she didn't know Brian Wells, the pizza deliveryman.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A career Army member has left the service two years short of retirement to move to Johnstown try his hand at politics. Forty-five-year-old Republican William Russell wants to challenge longtime Democratic Congressman John Murtha in 2008 and
says he knows taking on the 18-term congressman is an uphill battle.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that an unreleased May 2006 U.S. Coast Guard investigation report states that gates at Beaver County lock and dam on the raging Ohio River were raised just before a towboat sank in January 2005. The Elizabeth M was swept over the Montgomery Lock and Dam in Industry on January Ninth, 2005, killing four crew members. The paper says the report states the dam gates were raised from 83 feet to 89 feet, increasing the flow rate over the dam.

BOSTON (AP) - About 40 people have been arrested in Boston, where Red Sox fans are celebrating the team's World Series clincher. The Red Sox finished a sweep of Colorado with a 4-3 win in Denver. Boston police say most of the arrests they made were for disorderly conduct.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - State and federal investigators haven't determined what caused yesterday's deadly fire at a North Carolina beach house. The blaze killed seven college students, including six from the University of South Carolina, where grief counselors will be working as students go back to class today.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Shelters are closing and people are going home but fire officials in southern California say they're not ready to celebrate yet. Forecasters say strong winds that fanned the
destructive wildfires could return later in the week. The fires have destroyed some 2,800 homes.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Recruits were getting ready to begin the day's training at an Iraqi police camp in Baqouba today when a suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up in the crowd. About 30 people were killed and 20 more wounded by the blast.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - He was famous for his showmanship, his pompadour and his rhinestone suits. Country music legend Porter Wagoner died of lung cancer last night in Nashville. He was 80. Wagoner had his own syndicated TV show for more than 20 years and
helped launch Dolly Parton's career.