Today's News-Thursday, March 6th

WATER BOIL ADVISORIES:

Cass, Branch, Reilly and Foster Townships-under water boil advisory through Friday as a precaution because of the heavy rains.

ROAD CLOSURES:

Tuscarora Mountain/Catawissa Road between Township Road 857 and US Route 209 in Schuylkill Township, due to a sinkhole.

Ridge Road and Main Street between Carnival and Vista Roads in Upper Mahantongo Township.

Route 61 North reduced to a single lane, north of the Seven Stars Road jughandle in North Manheim Township.

The Schuylkill County Controller says here office has begun enforcing a county policy on reimbursement of expenses. During Wednesday's Commissioners work session, Melinda Kantner said she wanted to get the word out that only original receipts will be accepted for reimbursements and not credit card receipts. She said credit cards receipts do not contain details of the expenses. She said county policy prohibits the purchase of alcohol as a reimbursable expense and that meal expenditures are limited to $10.00 for breakfast, $15.00 for lunch and $25.00 for dinner. Kantner also announced that her office will begin checking with vendors to be sure the work is being done according to terms of their contracts. She said due to the lack of staff her office won’t be able to check every vendor but will do so intermittently.

In the wake of the heavy rains that pelted the area Tuesday night and Wednesday, several roads remain closed and cleanup continues. John Matz of Schuylkill County Emergency Management sums up the rainfall totals:

MATZ

The emergency command center was activated around 2:30am after Schuylkill County Communications received a call from Pine Grove borough, who had been assessing the rising Swatara Creek and the potential of flooding. Pine Grove Homes, along Route 443, began moving trailers as the water rose. Matz credited the borough’s proactive stance during the storm. Areas in Hegins Township were also hard hit with flooding. Both Pine Grove and Tri Valley schools were closed down for the day. PennDOT reports a number of closures due to flooding. They are posted on our News website. All across the region, pumps were running as homeowners tried to get rid of water that accumulated in their basements. The good news is that the sun came out later in the day Wednesday. The bad news is that rain is predicted for tomorrow night and Saturday.

A fire that heavily damaged a home in McAdoo has been ruled accidental. 55-year-old Cheryl Piacenti’s home at 125 Blaine Street caught fire on Tuesday morning. When firefighters arrived, smoke was pouring from the windows, and fire was contained to the front of the structure. State police fire marshal Michael Yeity indicated that the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction in the ceiling of the kitchen and dining room area. Damages are estimated at $55 thousand dollars. No one was injured in the blaze.

A Schuylkill Haven man was arrested yesterday in Pine Grove during a state of emergency. Pine Grove police say that 41-year-old Joseph Tokonitz struck a Pine Grove borough officer with his SUV after he was told he could not pass a roadblock on a flooded road. He attempted to force his way through the barricade, hitting the officer. Tokonitz was charged with aggravated and simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and other offenses. He was arraigned and released on bail. The officer was taken to Pottsville Hospital for treatment. He was released later in the day. In a related note, 29-year-old Meredith Wewer was charged with disorderly conduct after she interfered with the arrest of Tokonitz. She became disorderly and ignored repeated commands by police. She was arraigned and released on bail as well.

Schuylkill County’s Election Bureau Director told the County Commissioners Wednesday that far too many county voters have yet to vote on the touch screen voting machines. Director Betty Dries said she was amazed to discover that of the county’s 92-thousand-registered voters, 37-thousand have never voted on the machines. Dries explained to the Commissioners what her office will be doing to try to change that……...

Betty Dries

Dries also reminded county residents that March 24th is the deadline to register to vote or to make changes in voter registrations. She said only eligible registered Democrats and Republicans will vote in the Presidential Primary election on April 22nd.

We have learned new information from state police about a reported break-in at a home at the Eagle Rock Development in East Union Township last month. Initial reports from Frackville state police said that Ashley Brooks, daughter of Zella Brooks of Walden Court, reported a burglary at their home between February 12th and 21st. Zella Brooks was out of town during that time. A further investigation by authorities discovered that Ashley Brooks and 24-year-old Mark Colasurdo of Drums removed approximately $84-hundred-dollars of TV’s, tools, jewelry, and other items including two weapons. They sold the goods. Ashley Brooks was taken into custody on Tuesday, charged with receiving stolen property and making false reports to authorities. Colasurdo was picked up yesterday on similar counts. Both were arraigned and remanded to Schuylkill County Prison.

A Shenandoah man went free after a Schuylkill County jury acquitted him Wednesday of four charges related to an alleged incident in 2007 involving two teenage girls at his home. The jury found 55-year-old Julian Bednarek, not guilty of two counts each of false imprisonment and indecent assault after deliberating less than an hour. Shenandoah police charged Bednarek, a native of Poland who testified through an interpreter, with having inappropriate contact with two girls, now 14 and 15. Prosecutors found their case weakened when the two girls each admitted lying to police about the case.

Most people know principles of healthy eating, but it's hard to follow the rules when everyone wants something different. A program from Penn State Extension takes an inter-generational approach to eating right. As children mature, it gets harder for families to agree on favorite foods and eating habits. The Fridge Program stands for Food-Related Intergenerational Discussion Group Experiences, and Penn State researcher Matt Kaplan says it brings adults and children together with fun games that get everyone on the same nutritional page:

KAPLAN

Kaplan says getting parents, children and even grandparents to buy into healthy eating can increase success for everone. For more information on the FRIDGE program, contact your county Penn State Extension Office.

PENNSYLVANIA-WHAT'S NEXT
Pennsylvania eager for face-to-face attention from Obama,
Clinton

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - There are seven weeks until Pennsylvania Democrats vote in a primary to allocate 158 delegates to their party's national convention. The only contests between now and the state's April 22 primary are much smaller ones in Wyoming and Mississippi. So Pennsylvania is in for a marathon of campaigning. In Pennsylvania, only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary. Independents, who have strongly supported Barack Obama in other states, are barred. But Obama's campaign and Hillary Rodham Clinton's have until March 24 to try to talk independents and Republicans into registering as Democrats. Pennsylvania has 984,000 registered voters who aren't members of either major party.

ANTI-MCCAIN AD
McCain linked to Bush in ad paid for by liberal group

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Democratic-leaning group financed by a major labor union and wealthy liberal activists is running ads against Sen. John McCain in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The ad is the beginning of a media campaign against the GOP nominee-in-waiting. Called "McSame," the ad portrays McCain and President Bush as interchangeable on key issues such as Iraq, tax cuts and health care. The ad is the work of the Campaign to Defend America, a nonprofit organization that is made of anti-war and left-of-center groups. They have pledged a multimillion-dollar effort to target McCain and congressional Republicans. A McCain spokeswoman says the same groups tried targeting President Bush in 2004. She says it didn't work then and won't work now.

PERSONAL CARE HOMES
Welfare secretary vows Pa. won't lag on care home inspections

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's public welfare chief says the state will never again lag behind on inspecting personal-care homes for the elderly and disabled. Public Welfare Secretary Estelle Richman told lawmakers Wednesday that her agency eliminated a backlog of more than 1,000 inspections by the end of last year. She added that the department will make sure this year that more homes are inspected earlier. The department disclosed a year ago that three-quarters of Pennsylvania's personal-care homes had expired licenses because of a state inspection backlog. The state recruited 30 retired workers as temporary inspectors to help eliminate the backlog. Richman also says administrative spending cuts in Gov. Ed Rendell's budget won't affect personal-care home inspections.

SHOOTING SPREE
W. Pa. racial spree killer appealing death penalty

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The lawyer for a man on death row for a racially motivated shooting spree in suburban Pittsburgh says his client's racism may stem from his mental illness. Richard Baumhammers, who is white, shot his Jewish neighbor, two Indian men, two men of Asian descent and a black man in 2000. Attorney Thomas Farrell told the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that his now-42-year-old client should get life in prison, not death. Farrell says a key issue for the jury that sentenced him to death was whether Baumhammers was a racist or mentally ill. The trial judge allowed part of a taped phone call to be played in which Baumhammers' mother calls him a racist -- but kept the jury from hearing the part where she called him "crazy." Farrell says that was a mistake.

FIREFIGHTER DEATHS
2 Pa. firefighters die after house blazes

UNDATED (AP) - Two Pennsylvania firefighters died in a single day of injuries suffered on the job. Both came from families devoted to their local volunteer fire departments. One is 21-year-old Brad Holmes, died five days after he and a partner entered a burning house in Grove City, about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. The other is 36-year-old Lt. Nicholas Picozzi Jr., a firefighter in suburban Philadelphia. He died after he and three colleagues became trapped in a Wednesday morning house fire that may have been sparked by downed power lines. The fire that caused Holmes' death also claimed the life of 40-year-old Patricia Andrews-Smith, who had returned to the burning building to try to rescue her dog.

HOUSE EXPLOSION
Man killed, child injured in W.Pa. house explosion

PLUM, Pa. (AP) - People evacuated from a suburban Pittsburgh neighborhood where a house exploded could be back shortly, as soon as utility service is restored. Wednesday's explosion in Plum killed 64-year-old Richard Leith of Trafford and gave his 4-year-old granddaughter, Gianna Pettinato, a broken leg. A utility spokesman says evidence points to a natural gas explosion, but the source is unclear.

MARINES-HADITHA
Judge denies request to interview congressman in Haditha case

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A judge has ruled that attorneys for a Marine lieutenant colonel cannot interview Democratic Congressman John Murtha over comments he made about an attack that left 24 Iraqis dead in Haditha. Attorneys for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani wanted to depose the Pennsylvania congresman about his claims that the Marines killed "in cold blood." A spokesman for Chessani said Wednesday that attorneys were notified by e-mail that a military judge denied the request. Chessani's attorneys say they plan to appeal ruling during a motions hearing in April. Chessani is charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order on allegations that he mishandled the aftermath of the Haditha shootings on Nov. 19, 2005.

County inmate faces state prison in attacks on guards

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) - A Chester County prison inmate who pleaded guilty to attacks on corrections officers and other inmates is being sent to state prison. County Judge Anthony Sarcione says he took 22-year-old Christopher Gilchrist's mental health problems into account in sentencing him Wednesday. He will go to a prison where he can be treated. Gilchrist is accused of attacking eight corrections officers in three separate incidents, and attacking other inmates. He pleaded guilty in January to four felony charges and one misdemeanor, with maximum sentences up to 37 years. Sarcione sentenced him to 7 1/2 to 15 years. Assistant Public Defender Kathleen Boyer says a psychologist believes brain damage, probably from beatings as a child, caused Gilchrist to be depressed, paranoid and subject to irrational outbursts.

Pa. man gets probation for growing pot in home

READING, Pa. (AP) - A 47-year-old Reading man found with five three-foot pot plants and growing equipment in his house is facing a year of probation. Steven Haver was sentenced after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to manufacturing marijuana. Haver says his wife didn't help him cultivate the pot. Thirty-eight-year-old Karen Haver pleaded guilty to marijuana possession. Berks County Judge Stephen Lieberman sentenced her to one month in an accelerated rehabilitative disposition program. It will let her clear her record by successfully completing her sentence. The pot plants initially sent the two to the lockup. They were held in the Berks County prison under bail of $1 million for Steven Haver and $500,000 for his wife. They later obtained a bail reduction and were freed.

NEW YORK (AP) - Authorities in New York are investigating an explosive device that caused minor damage to a landmark military recruiting station in Times Square. The pre-dawn explosion left a gaping hole in the front window and shattered a glass door. It's not known yet what kind of device was used.

NEW YORK (AP) - The nation's retailers are reporting mixed February sales results. They got a little reprieve as consumers hesitantly returned to malls and stores. Among the big winners was Wal-Mart Stores, whose results beat expectations. Among the weak performers were apparel stores Limited Brands and Wet Seal.

OBERLIN, Ohio (AP) - A Delta Air Lines spokeswoman says the passengers on one of its flights were "never in danger" despite a close call with another plane. The aircraft narrowly avoided a mid-air collision east of Pittsburgh on Tuesday after an air traffic control trainee told the Delta pilot to turn into the other plane's path.

UNDATED (AP) - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to attend a Democratic Party dinner in Mississippi, ahead of the state's primary next Tuesday, while Barack Obama is taking a day off from the campaign trail. Republican John McCain will be campaigning in Florida.

LONDON (AP) - A British coroner's court says Princess Diana's butler is refusing to testify again. Paul Burrell was asked to return to the inquest into Diana's death to explain inconsistencies in his testimony, as well as his reported comments that he did not tell the inquest the full truth.