Today's News-Tuesday, October 2nd

The November general election is just over a month away. And the Schuylkill County Voter Registration bureau is gearing up. Director Betty Dries reminds voters that one week from today, October 9th, is the last day to register or make changes to your voter registration status. Those forms must be received by close of business or postmarked October 9th. Or, voters may register in person between 8:30am and 4:30pm at the bureau, located at 420 North Centre Street, Pottsville. Voters may also register online at http://www.dos.state.pa.us/, or at Post Offices, the County Courthouse, libraries and municipal buildings.

A Sacramento man escaped injury in a one car crash last evening in Norwegian Township.
Schuylkill Haven state police say that 24-year-old Jonathan Murray was westbound on East Maple Avenue when the car left the road. Being unable to recover, Murray's Hyundai Accent crashed into two trees. The vehicle had to be towed from the scene. The crash happened after 5pm Monday.

Two area men are facing federal drug charges, and appeared in court yesterday. According to the Republican and Herald, 39-year-old Stanley Daniels, and Mark Weller, Orwigsburg, appeared before a federal magistrate to hear charges of methamphetamine distribution. Daniels had been taken into custody on Friday from his Pottsville home. An investigation spanning nearly a year by the Drug Enforcment Agency led to the arrests. A detention hearing will be held on Wednesday at 2pm, when bail will be set. Right now, both men are in the Lackawanna County Prison. The proposed improvement project at the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit's facilities has taken another turn. During their meeting last night, the IU board contracted with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates to look over the plans done by another firm, along with an engingeering study of the buildings to determine a project list and proposed costs, according to the Republican and Herald. The $21 million dollar project to renovate and upgrade the North and South Vo-Tech schools has run into some trouble with several of the 12 member school districts. Five have already voted down the renovation project as it stands now, while three approved it. Several districts have withheld their votes for other reasons, such as a lack of information about how the monies would be spent and the high cost of the project. A unanimous vote is required to proceed. The facilities need a lot of work, from heating, ventilation and air conditioning to renovated classrooms and shops where students are provided hands-on training in a trade. The review is expected to take a few months to complete.

A local legislator has announced legislation to outlaw cybersquatting. Representative Neal Goodman of the 123rd District made the announcement yesterday that he is proposing to have the practice of locking up an opponents' name to block them from developing a website illegal.
The issue came to light locally some months ago in the Schuylkill County Controller's race, when Republican challenger Jason Gherghel purchased the rights to derivations of the name of his opponent, Melinda Kantner, essentially blocking her from using the names to develop a website. Those names have been released back to Kantner since, but not after some study by the county Election Board and DA Jim Goodman. His study could not find any legal precedent to deal with the matter. Goodman's bill is patterned after legislation that is currently in place in California.

The body of an unidentified person found June eighth near Mahanoy Creek in Northumberland County has still not been positively identified. The body was discovered by a search team looking for the body of 42-year-old Sherry Wolfgang of Mt. Carmel. She had been missing from her Mt. Carmel home she shared with her husband 47-year-old Steven Wolfgang since January 5th. Mr. Wolfgang allegedly admitted to emergency workers that he killed his wife and stuffed her bady in a metal box before dumping it in a creek. Wolfgang was found near the woman's burned out S-U-V near Helfenstein in Eldred Township, Schuylkill County. Northumberland County Coroner James Kelley made the statement that he was 99-percent sure the body was that of Wolfgang's. Steven Wolfgang not been charged with murder, as a positive identity on Wolfgang's body is needed. He remains locked up in the Schuylkill County Prison on arson charges. State Police in Stonington says that a positive identification is still being worked on by a state police crime lab. It may take another month to a month-and-a-half to make that determination. Experts are looking at Wolfgang's D-N-A as well as other items to make a determination, however, they would not elaborate on what those other items are. Once a positive I-D is made, then state police would consult with the Northumberland County District Attorney on what charges would be filed.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Blackwater USA says it wants to set the record straight when its founder goes before a House panel today. The private security firm is involved in a number of controversies over the conduct of its guards in Iraq. Members of Congress have called
the company an out-of-control outfit.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The leader of South Korea says the line between his country and North Korea will one day be erased so the two nations can live in peace and prosperity. The leaders of both nations are meeting today in a summit that is just the second event of its kind since the nation was split after World War II.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Investigators have launched a nationwide manhunt for Chester "Chet" Stiles, a fugitive accused of videotaping himself molesting a little girl. Police warn that
Stiles is a dangerous person with a violent past. They say they've gotten hundreds of good leads from across the country.

SUPREME COURT (AP) - The Supreme Court will hear a case today in which a judge sliced a few years off a lengthy prison term for a man convicted of selling both crack and powder cocaine. Federal sentencing guidelines call for harsher punishments for dealing crack. The justices will consider whether the judge has the discretion to ignore those guidelines.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Reports submitted to federal regulators show that the number of mishaps at laboratories handling deadly germs and substances has nearly doubled in three years. No one has died and regulators say the public has never been at risk. But one
lawmaker says it's just a matter of time before something catastrophic happens.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - With their 10,000th franchise loss just a memory, the surging Philadelphia Phillies celebrated their unlikely National League East title. Thousands of fans gathered at City Hall yesterday. One of them is Patience Jacobs, a 70-year-old fan who took an
hour-long bus ride from her senior housing complex in southwest Philadelphia to attend the rally. She says her name is appropriate because she's been patient with the Phillies. She says she's been a fan for 50 years. The Phillies fought their way back from a seven-game deficit
with just 17 games left to earn a playoff berth for the first time since 1993.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Pierre-Auguste Renoir, the impressionist icon universally known for his portraits of pink-cheeked children, sun-dappled boaters and fleshy nudes, is getting a closer look in a new exhibit as an innovative and accomplished landscape painter. More than 60 paintings from museums and collectors around the world were assembled for "Renoir Landscapes 1865-1883," which opens Thursday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
It is the exhibit's sole U.S. venue and the final stop in a three-city tour that earlier visited the National Gallery in London and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Related art history courses, lectures and concerts are scheduled throughout the show's Philadelphia run, which ends January 6th.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani stopped to campaign last night at a landmark South Philadelphia cheesesteak stand that attracted controversy when it
asked customers to speak English. In June 2006, Geno's Steaks garnered national attention for two small signs posted at the shop stating, "This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH."' Giuliani has said recently that all immigrants who want to become U.S. citizens should learn English.