Today's News-Wednesday, October 3rd

State police are investigating a hit and run crash in Gilberton early Monday. Kathryn Mealy of Mahanoy Plane was backing up her Chevy Monte Carlo in a westerly direction on Main Street when she lost control of her vehicle and struck a parked car owned by Alma Osenbach of Mahanoy Plane. After the crash, state police say that Mealy fled the scene. She faces hit and run charges. The incident happened around 3am Monday morning.

A minor electrical fire at St. Catherine Medical Center in Fountain Springs yesterday forced some patients to be moved. Before 6am Tuesday, an electric service box in the hospital's basement caught fire. Smoke from the fire wafted into the upper floors of the hospital, forcing staff to move more than two dozen patients to the cafeteria. No one was injured. The patients were able to be returned to their rooms within several hours.

A northern Schuylkill County man will serve time in state prison on drug charges. 47-year-old Thomas Zimmerman of Mahanoy Plane, who pleaded guilty in May to counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and related offenses, was sentenced to 21 to 42 months in state prison, according to the Republican and Herald. Zimmerman had petitioned the court to withdraw that plea, but then changed his mind. He does have a federal lawsuit in place against the county prison, staff and healthcare providers, stating that his prosthetic leg was damaged during his time in prison, and that his care was inadequate. He is seeking damages in that case.

Almost a month after he was convicted, while absent, in Schuylkill County Court, of raping three children, the accused is still on the run and officials say a reward is being offered for his capture.
District Attorney Jim Goodman tells the Republican Herald he believes 51-year-old Russell Rehrig remains in the area. He says police have been following up on tips as to his whereabouts.
Rehrig, of Allentown, was convicted by a jury September 5th of rape and related counts involving children between August 2004 and August 2005 in Tamaqua. He faces a potential prison sentence of more than 200 years when he is caught. Rehrig was released on bail and never appeared for his two-day trial and is being hunted as a fugitive. A debate over whether a judge should have granted him bail is ongoing. A two thousand dollar reward is being offered by PA Crimestoppers to anyone with information which would lead to Rehrig's arrest.

Port Carbon police have arrested a New Ringgold woman after she served a minor alcohol at a borough bar. The incident, which took place in early September, had 33-year-old Margaret Shultz serving an 18-year-old alcohol when she knew he was underage. It happened at Encounters Tavern on Market Street. Shultz could face a minimum penalty of a fine of no less than a thousand dollars for the first offense, and $25-hundred-dollars for each additional offense. The charges were filed at the office of District Judge David Plachko.

A Red Lion man is facing a host of charges following a traffic stop on I-81 in Frailey Township Monday night. Frederick Hauser the Third was stopped along the Interstate by state police before midnight. His car went off the road and struck a guiderail. At the stop, he was found to be driving with no driver's side tire, and was wanted for a parole violation in York County. The license plate on his car was found to be stolen, and he was driving under the influence.
Hauser was taken to Pottsville Hospital for a blood test, then onto the Schuylkill County Prison for the parole violation.

The U.S. Department of Energy has designated most of Pennsylvania as part of a "national interest electric transmission corridor." That means the federal government will be able to approve new power lines over the opposition of state officials. Officials say aging high-voltage lines in the zone aren't capable of handling growing power demand. They say they need the
power to approve the power lines to avoid major blackouts like the one in 2003 that rippled from Ohio to Canada and New York City. Some lawmakers and community groups argue the government corridors wrongly expand the potential use of eminent domain power.
The designation applies in 52 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, including Schuylkill County.

WHITE HOUSE (AP) - President Bush won't be making a public show out of it, but he's set to veto a popular health insurance program for children today. It's only the fourth veto of his presidency. Bush says the 35-billion-dollar expansion is a step toward federalized health care.

GEORGETOWN, Colo. (AP) - Investigators in Colorado are trying to figure out exactly how five contract maintenance workers died after being trapped in a tunnel fire at a power plant. Rescuers found the bodies last night after officials had first reported the men were
OK.

CLEVELAND (AP) - A 22-year-old Ohio woman is due in court today in Cleveland, accused of drowning her two young daughters Monday in a bathtub. Police say Amber Hill phoned the father of the two and four-year-old children to tell him they were, quote, "at peace."

BAGHDAD (AP) - Poland's ambassador to Iraq has had a close call. He was wounded in Baghdad today when a bomb in a parked car blew up as his convoy passed by. His injuries are believed to be minor, but an Iraqi civilian was killed. Four other people were wounded,
including one of the ambassador's guards.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional investigators say federal employees have been doing a lot of upgraded flying at taxpayer expense. They put the tab for unauthorized upgrades for just one year at 146 million dollars. One Ag Department executive spent $163,000 dollars on first class tickets, getting a subordinate to authorize them.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - State Senator Vincent Fumo is recovering after surgery to relieve back and leg pain. The 64-year-old Philadelphia Democrat underwent a procedure lasting more than an hour yesterday at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say 11 children have been removed from the homes of alleged drug dealers arrested in raids in and around Williamsport. About 90 federal, state, county and city officers rounded up nearly a dozen suspects yesterday.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - A nonprofit group has promptly proposed a children's interactive museum in a building the State College Borough Council has voted to buy from Verizon. The
nonprofit group Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania is eying the one-story building.

READING, Pa. (AP) - In Berks County, an advisory panel has recommended tearing down a 140-year-old Bethel Township barn. The panel says the pieces should be stored until it can rebuilt as a museum at Kutztown University's Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia police are trying to determine if arson is to blame for a fire that destroyed a Mummers band's costumes and equipment. Greater Kensington String Band captain Scott Moyer says very little can be salvaged after last night's fire.