Today's News- Tuesday, December 11th

Police and drug agents arrested a Mahanoy City man yesterday during a raid. Authorities began investigating 34-year-old William Mooney and his activities when they were notified that he was purchasing large amounts of the allergy medication Sudafed from local pharmacies. Further investigations uncovered items used in the manufacture of methamphetamines, police gained a search warrant which was executed Monday afternoon. During the search, Mooney jumped from a third floor window at his home in the 600-block of West Mahanoy Avenue, and entered an adjoining home, where he was captured. Mooney, who has a criminal record, was arraigned on charges of possession with intent to manufacture or deliver meth, burglary and criminal trespass, plus other misdemeanor counts. He was committed to the county prison.
Local and state police, agents from the county District Attorney's office and officials from the Drug Enforcement Agency all participated in the raid.

Icy roads Sunday and Monday evening contributed to two accidents on Interstate 81. State police at Frackville report that Ethan Hammon, of Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, lost control on the Interstate near mile marker 129. His car went off the highway, struck an embankment and rolled over, coming to rest on its wheels. Hammon was not hurt, but his Ford truck was severely damaged. Monday night around 8pm, Trong Lee of York lost control of his car on the icy road near mile marker 136. The car spun into the guiderail, and struck the rear wheels of a tractor trailer driven by Duane Gray of Alliance, Ohio, which was following behind Lee's car. Lee's engine caught fire, destroying the vehicle. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to St. Luke's/Miners Memorial Hospital for treatment. Gray was not hurt.

The effort to seek reinstatement of the Pottsville Maroons 1925 NFL title went to the floor of the state House yesterday. State Reps. Tim Seip and Neal Goodman, D-Schuylkill, secured unanimous House adoption Monday of their resolution that honors the 1925 Pottsville Maroons team and urges the National Football League to restore the Maroons’ championship title. The resolution was co-sponsored by Reps. Keith McCall and David Argall, and more than 30 other legislators from both parties. Seip and Goodman were joined on the House floor by David Fleming, author of ESPN Books' "Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship." Fleming is coordinating an online petition urging the NFL to restore the Maroons' title. More than 10-thousand people have signed the petition. Seip also recognized Tony Wood and Aaron Schimpf, who have established another Web site that is key to the title restoration effort, http://www.breakerboys1925.com/.

A Pine Grove Area School District bus that was leaking fuel was stopped by police Monday afternoon. The bus, driven by Debbie Bettinger, Auburn, was dropping off students after school Monday with a broken diesel fuel line. The bus, owned by Newhurst Inc., Pine Grove, was traveling on Route 443 to St. Ambrose School, Schuylkill Haven, and back, police said. Only one student was still on the bus when it was stopped, police said. Officials said no one was in danger as a result of the leak. PennDOT crews were out late Monday afternoon cleaning spilled fuel from the roadway.

Pennsylvania residents who qualify for a property tax or rent rebate are running out of time to apply. Only three weeks remain to make application for a rebate of up to $650 dollars. The deadline is the end of the year. State Revenue Secretary Tom Wolf says that there are a large number of Pennsylvanians who still qualify for the rebate, but have not yet applied:

WOLF

Applications must be postmarked by Monday, Dec. 31, in order to be considered. Property Tax/Rent Rebate claim forms and information are available online at http://www.papropertytaxrelief.com/ and by calling 1-888-222-9190. Residents requesting forms by mail must call or submit requests online by Friday, Dec. 21, to allow sufficient time for mailing.
Forms and assistance also are available at Department of Revenue district offices, local Area Agencies on Aging, senior centers and state legislators' offices.

The holiday shopping season is in full swing. And a new, web-based tool offered by the state can help you make smart decisions when buying consumer products. Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett elaborates about the Consumer Safety section on his website:

CORBETT

Corbett said that over the past several months, consumers have been inundated with a series of news stories about recalls involving dangerous toys -- everything from lead-based paint or chemical contamination to small parts that can pose a choking hazard or cause other injuries.
As with any other consumer purchase, Corbett urged holiday shoppers to educate themselves about the products they are considering and make informed decisions about their holiday gifts.
The site is http://www.attorneygeneral-dot-gov/.

Access Services, Orwigsburg, a social services agency, has been providing high quality and affordable evaluation, diagnostic, and counseling to the Schuylkill county community since 1996.
Now an Italian eatery, La Dolce Casa DiMaggio's in Tamaqua is asking it's customers help the agency with a gift this Christmas season. Access Services spokeswoman Sheila Davison:

ACCESS SERVICES HOLIDAY GIFT PROJECT2

DiMaggios' owner will present a check on December 20th to the Access Services L.I.F.E. Day Support program during a free luncheon hosted by the restaurant. Proceeds will be used to meet unfunded needs for children and adults with special needs being served by Access Services in Schuylkill County.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Washington, D.C. police Chief Charles Ramsey is shifting his position on the city's 31-year ban on handgun ownership as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the issue. Ramsey now says reasonable control over guns is needed, but he says handgun registration can provide that control. Ramsey takes over Philadelphia's police in January.

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Authorities in Florida have recovered the remains of two pilots whose small planes collided and sank into the Everglades. Cleon Alvares of Mumbai, India, was a student pilot on a training flight. Henry Duckworth III, of Waverly, Pennsylvania, had more than 30 years of flight experience and was flying to visit a childhood friend in Pompano Beach.

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Westmoreland County is cutting its monthly criminal trial term in half starting in January. The county has long used a calendar in which three judges hear criminal trials for the first two weeks of each month, while a fourth judge handles guilty pleas and motions. But officials say the system is inefficient and results in too many people being summoned for jury duty.

ERIE, Pa. (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration is committing nearly 48 million dollars to the 80.5 million dollar runway extension project at Erie International Airport. The 1,900-foot extension is meant to bring more and bigger planes to the airport, and should improve cargo traffic. Work on the project should start in 2010 and be finished by 2013.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - After a summer full of flight delays, US Airways is offering its employees $100 bonuses if flights leave on time and bags don't get lost this holiday season. If both goals are met, the company's roughly 36,000 employees will get $100. If one goal is met, employees will get $50. A spokesman said as of Sunday, both goals were being met.

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - Officials say at least 45 people are dead and 12 U.N. employees are missing after car bombs exploded minutes apart in Algeria. The attacks heavily damaged a U.N.
building and ripped the facade off the wing of a government office. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the bombings.

WHITE HOUSE (AP) - White House press secretary Dana Perino says CIA director Michael Hayden will not tell congressional panels about interrogation techniques during two days of questioning. Hayden will face questioning today and tomorrow about the destruction of videotapes of terror suspect interrogations.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Calling it a "step forward," Iran's president says more steps like a recent U.S. intelligence report could lead to an "entirely different" situation between the two
countries. The report concluded Iran stopped developing its nuclear weapons program four years ago.

UNDATED (AP) - At least 22 deaths are being blamed on a storm system that's brought waves of sleet and freezing rain to the Midwest since this weekend. Officials in at least three states have declared states of emergency, and hundreds of thousands of people are without power.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Two more funerals are being held this morning in Nebraska for victims of last week's deadly mall shooting. Five funerals were held yesterday, while one for the eighth victim has been rescheduled for tomorrow because of weather.