Today's News-Monday, February 4th

A Pottsville woman has died from injuries sustained in a crash yesterday morning in Frailey Township.
Schuylkill Haven state police report that 43-year-old Jill Dewald was traveling west on State Route 25 when the vehicle slid sideways and crashed into a utility pole. Dewald was lifeflighted to Geisinger Medical Center with major injuries. State police say this morning that she died at the hospital. The crash happened around 10:20 am Sunday morning.

A Cass Township man is dead following an accidental electrocution in New Castle Township Friday night.
New Castle police report that 20-year-old James Campion and another male were trespassing on Reading Anthracite property before midnight Friday, when Campion came in contact with high voltage lines. The other man went for help, but police and emergency personnel had a hard time getting to the scene due to icy conditions. Campion was pronounced dead by County Coroner Joseph Lipsett. The cause of death was accidental electrocution.

A Pottsville man escaped injury in a crash on an icy road Saturday morning. State police at Frackville said 26-year-old Brandon Boyer lost of control of his Ford Bronco on Darkwater Road around 1:30 Saturday morning and slammed into a tree. Police said Boyer, who was wearing his seat belt, was cited for driving too fast for conditions.

State police at Frackville are investigating an incident in Union Township Sunday morning. 26-year-old Thomas Stewart and Nadine Dobeck became involved in an argument when she came home and found Stewart having a party without her there. Troopers say that during the altercation, Stewart hit Dobeck in the face, causing redness. Stewart will be charged with harassment.

A Palmyra woman suffered injuries in a crash on Interstate 81 Sunday afternoon. 62-year-old Gloria Staie was southbound on the Interstate in Frailey Township when she lost control and traveled into the grass median. The car spun 360 degrees and then crossed back across the southbound lanes. Her Toyota struck a tree. Police believe that a pre-existing medical condition may have caused the accident. Staie was taken to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center for treatment. Her condition is unknown.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Geologists and energy companies are wondering if they can extract natural gas from a huge, mostly untapped reservoir in Appalachia. The Marcellus Shale covers parts of four states, and the gas buried six-thousand feet underground could bolster U.S. reserves. Scientists have known about the gas for decades, but have only recently figured out a possible - if expensive - way to extract it. And now the energy companies have to decide if the prize is worth the huge investment. Stephen Rhoads, president of the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association, says the year ahead could be - quote - "very significant." The shale holding the best prospects covers an area from upstate New York, across Pennsylvania into eastern Ohio and across most of West Virginia - a total area bigger than the state of Pennsylvania.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The former head of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has started a wine business that supplies private stores in border states. Some wine lovers, meanwhile, say the wine selection at state
stores has deteriorated since Jonathan Newman departed. For example, wine buyer Cory Rice resigned last month after six years at a Liquor Control Board store in Philadelphia. He says the agency doesn't have the enthusiasm for wine that it used to under Newman. But the agency's new executive, former state Sen. Joe Conti, says the LCB is in the midst of a "major renaissance" that includes a $26 million technology overhaul. The agency also plans to open several small "wine-only" boutiques by next year.

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) - House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese has dropped a libel lawsuit against a newspaper over commentaries and caricatures concerning a $12.5 million fund he controls. The Herald-Standard of Uniontown accused DeWeese of breaking a promise to account for how he spends the taxpayer-funded account. The Greene County Democrat maintained that he promised the paper's editorial board only to lobby for changes in the law that would require the records to be released. According to the settlement, DeWeese will be given space in the paper to write a column about the purpose of the lawsuit, and his legislative and reform efforts, including those relating to open records laws. Herald-Standard Publisher Val Laub says he's pleased the suit was dropped. The settlement doesn't include any admissions of liability. Each side must pay its own costs.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A new program aims to boost the number of college graduates in Philadelphia by encouraging people who dropped out to finish their degrees. The city's percentage of college graduates is in the bottom quarter of the nation's 100 largest cities. U.S. Census Bureau figures show that 21 percent of Philadelphians have at least a bachelor's degree. That's compared to 49 percent in Washington, D.C., and 44 percent in Boston -- along with 56 percent in Seattle. Sallie Glickman of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board says an educated workforce is critical to the long-term health of the local economy. She says companies that can't find the workers they need in Philadelphia will move their operations elsewhere.

STROUDSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A former East Stroudsburg University professor is getting 2 1/2 to five years in state prison for sexual assault. Richard Nyamwange has maintained that the woman consented to the
sex acts in his home in 2006. Nyamwange was convicted of sexual assault and other charges in September, but acquitted of rape. At Friday's sentencing, the judge denied a request to allow him to remain free on bail while he appeals his convictions. Once his sentence is served, he faces deportation to his native Kenya.

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) - An 18-year-old Elizabethtown man is charged with possessing a weapon of mass destruction and other offenses over a plastic egg explosion. Police say he ignited a plastic egg filled with plastic air-gun pellets in a flea market, hitting at least five people and causing alarm. It happened Saturday afternoon at a Saturday's Market in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County. Peggy Beckley, the vendor manager, says market employees chased the man into the parking lot and held him for police. In addition to the weapon of mass destruction charge, the teen was charged with risking a catastrophe, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct and simple assault.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - An FBI wiretap and a reputed mob leader's testimony provided key evidence against a Poconos businessman charged with perjury. Louis DeNaples is accused of lying to state officials to win a casino license. But state investigators who explored DeNaples' background before he was awarded the license had no access to the 2002 wiretap. The perjury case was unveiled Wednesday, more than a year after
DeNaples won a casino license. It may have exposed a shortcoming of the 2004 state law that created the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Or, it may have exposed gaps in cooperation and communication among government agencies. There's an entrenched disagreement between the Pennsylvania State Police and the gaming board. It's over which agency should investigate the backgrounds of casino license applicants.

UNDATED (AP) - New York is celebrating and New England is disappointed. Giants fans swarmed the streets of Times Square following their team's 17-14 upset Super Bowl win over the heavily favored Patriots. In Boston, fans quietly streamed out of local sports bars. One says she's "shocked" that the Patriots lost after 18 straight wins.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top candidates are getting set for what looks to be a defining day tomorrow in the 2008 race for the White House. Twenty-four states are holding contests on what's been dubbed "Super Tuesday." The presidential contenders will criss-cross the country in a final push for support today.

WHITE HOUSE (AP) - President Bush today will give Congress the country's first three trillion dollar budget blueprint. The spending plan calls for hikes in defense and homeland security funding, while seeking sizable savings in government health care programs. Democrats are already attacking it.

JERUSALEM (AP) - At least three people are dead and five others hurt following a suicide bombing in southern Israel. The explosion took place in the town that houses Israel's nuclear reactor, but it
didn't occur near the reactor site. The country has been on high alert since Palestinian militants blew open Gaza's border with Egypt last month.

COCKEYSVILLE, Md. (AP) - A bail review is set for today for a 15-year-old boy charged with killing his parents and two younger brothers in their suburban Baltimore home. Police say the teen shot his family Friday, then pretended to discover the bodies on Saturday and called 911.