Today's News-Wednesday, March 12th

Six people were arrested in a drug bust Tuesday morning in Shenandoah. Agents from the County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at 5 Elliot Street at 5am yesterday, occupied by 35-year-old Kenneth Petusky. A large amount of crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana was uncovered during the raid. The drugs have a street value of more than $47-hundred-dollars. In addition to Petusky, four others from Berks County were also arrested. They include 20-year-old Luis Calcano of Womelsdorf, 18-year-old Xavier Pagan and 25-year-old Jouse' Ramos, both of Reading. Two juveniles from the Reading area were also apprehended. The four adults were charged with various drug counts, and arraigned before District Judge Hazel Swisher. They were taken to the county prison on $50-thousand-dollars cash bail. The two juveniles will be processed on the same charges. The drug task force was assisted by Shenandoah, Butler Township, Ashland and West Mahanoy Township police.

Water is our most valuable natural resource. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is stepping up to help providers protect that asset through the Governor's Rebuild Pennsylvania initiative. State DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty was in Schuylkill County yesterday, at the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority-owned Mountain Laurel dam near Frackville to outline a new grant program to help water authorities rehabilitate their earthen dams:

According to DEP, there are more than 60 dams in dire need of repair statewide, including 8 in Schuylkill County alone. Most recently, Ringtown Reservoir Number 5 was placed on the state’s unsafe dam list. Rendell is calling for $37 million dollars to rehab state owned dams, and another $6.6 million dollars for local dams. Those monies would be administered by PennVEST. If the earthen dams are not repaired, they put lives and assets at a significant risk, according to Secretary McGinty. The event was attended by officials from several municipal water authorities.

The Pottsville Lions Charities and the Great Pottsville Cruise made a significant contribution to Pottsville’s Lasting Legacy yesterday morning. In a check presentation ceremony at City Hall, Lasting Legacy received a big check, in the amount of $30-thousand-dollars to be used to develop the bandshell at Joulwan Park on the city’s East Side. Lasting Legacy board member Attorney Jim Bohorad talks about the generous gift:

Pottsville Cruise co-chair and Lions Club President Dave Clews said the gift is the largest single donation from the organizations:

The Joulwan Park project cost is nearly a half-million-dollars, according to City Adminstrator Tom Palamar. He said that the monies will be used for constructing a bandshell at the park. That project alone totals nearly $300-thousand-dollars.

Former athletes, who rose to the pinnacle of their sports, were in Schuylkill County this week to spread a message of hope for young people who are at a crossroads of their lives. The Next Generation Power Force, based in Orlando, Florida, have been visiting local schools to communicate a positive message to teens. Sponsored by the Lighthouse Church in Orwigsburg, the athletes use feats of strength, like busting baseball bats and bending iron bars to get kids attention. Then, they talk about hope for the future, and the decisions that kids make about drugs, alcohol and peer pressure. Former American Gladiator, Paul Rogers, known as "Thor" on the TV show, explains:

Rogers was joined by former NFL player Shawn King, who played for the Carolina Panthers and the Indianapolis Colts, at the North Schuylkill Junior/Senior High School yesterday. They also presented assemblies at other schools as well. The public is invited to see Next Generation Power Force tonight at the Orwigsburg Memorial at 7pm to hear their message. A free will offering will be accepted.

Since the case of Russell Rehrig appeared on national television Saturday on "America's Most Wanted," nine tips have come in to Schuylkill County detectives. Chief Detective Anthony Carroll said that six tips were received Saturday and Sunday, another two on Monday and one on Tuesday. Carroll tells the Republican Herald, the tips are coming in from all over the country. Schuylkill County detectives are working with authorities in the areas where the tips are coming from to see if they can't locate Rehrig. The 51-year-old Rehrig, of Allentown, was convicted by a jury in September of rape of a child, and related counts in both Tamaqua and Allentown in 2005. Rehrig, however never showed for his trial and a man hunt has been on for him since. Rehrig is looking at 42-84 years in prison when caught.

Frackville state police are investigating a theft from a Tamaqua man’s car while it was at a Schuylkill Township garage. Troopers report that sometime over the past three months, 22-year-old Justin Moyer's car was located at Kuhn’s Garage for repairs. During that time, an unknown thief removed a stereo amplifier and speakers from the vehicle. The investigation is ongoing.

FUMO'S FUTURE

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - State Sen. Vincent Fumo has scheduled an unspecified announcement Wednesday following news reports saying he will give up his bid for re-election. Fumo's office says Gov. Ed Rendell will attend the announcement in the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Fumo is a powerful Philadelphia Democrat who's preparing for a trial on federal corruption charges. He had vowed to press on with his campaign, but was further set back by a heart attack that landed him in a hospital for a week. Several news organizations reported Tuesday night that Fumo was planning to give up his bid for re-election and retire at the end
of the year. The reports were based on anonymous sources; attempts by The Associated Press to confirm them were unsuccessful.

SPITZER-RENDELL REAX

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell says he's shocked at the allegations against New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Rendell told the Radio Pennsylvania Network that if anyone had told him that a governor would get caught up in a call-girl scandal, Spitzer would have been his "50th pick out of 50 governors." Rendell says "you never know what lurks in a person's personal life." But He also calls Spitzer one of the most talented public servants he knows. He asks the public to wait till all the facts are known before rushing to judgment.

PENNSYLVANIA HEALTH CARE

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - House Democrats are pushing closer to a vote on their plan to subsidize health coverage for about 270,000 uninsured Pennsylvanians. Debate got under way Wednesday in the chamber on dozens of amendments, most of them offered by Republicans opposed to using a medical malpractice fund to pay some of the cost. The House Democrats' plan is a scaled-down version of Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell's proposal to cover all 800,000 uninsured adults in the state. Early votes were breaking down along party lines, with Democrats holding their narrow majority together. Whatever passes will face an uncertain fate in the state Senate.

NEWBORN MURDER

WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) - A Washington County woman will spend life in prison because a jury has found her guilty of killing her newborn baby. Thirty-one-year-old Jessica Rizor was convicted of first-degree murder on Tuesday. Police say Rizor concealed her pregnancy and gave birth in the bathroom of a home she shared with her then-husband and mother. The husband found the baby in the garbage in November 2004, after Rizor told him that the bag was full of Thanksgiving leftovers. Rizor's attorney say he will appeal because he says his client suffers from a disorder that made her not realize she was pregnant.

SOLDIER KILLED

BEDMINSTER, Pa. (AP) - A Bucks County man says his former foster child was one of five American soldiers killed Monday in the Mansour section of Baghdad. Rick Pforter says 32-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Suzch first joined the Army as a way to finance a college education. Pforter, who remained a close friend, says Suzch came to see the Army as the family he never had growing up. Suzch was a Pennridge High School graduate who grew up in various parts of Bucks County. He is survived by his wife, Angela, of Fort Stewart, Ga., and
their daughter, Alyssa Jayden, who was born in September. The couple also had a son, but he was born with lung defects and died in a year.

MOTHER STABBED

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A Bucks County man says he stabbed his mother to death because she was anorexic and he didn't want her to starve. twenty-one-year-old Patrick Hughes-Bygott of Abington pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally stabbing 56-year-old Ellen Hughes-Bygott on Aug. 16. The stabbing took place in front of his 90-year-old grandmother, Margaret Hughes, who called police. County Judge John Rufe has now commenced a hearing to decide Hughes-Bygott's degree of guilt. If he is convicted of first-degree murder, Hughes-Bygott will serve life in prison without parole. He could also be found guilty of third-degree murder or manslaughter. The victim was stabbed more than 60 times in the head, neck and chest.

BUCKNELL CHAPLAINS

LEWISBURG, Pa. (AP) - All three chaplains at Bucknell University are now board members of the National Association of College and University Chaplains. The head of religious life at Bucknell is the Rev. Ian Oliver,
who holds the title of university chaplain and is a minister of the United Church of Christ. The university also has a Catholic chaplain, The Rev. Michael Letteer, and a Jewish chaplain, Rabbi Serena Fujita. The university announced Wednesday that Letteer was recently named to the board of the national chaplains' group. Fujita is the president and Oliver is serving a five-year term as membership secretary for the organization. Oliver says it's quite an honor to have three of the national group's 17 board members be from Bucknell.

HISTORY-SEGWAY

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - Tourists in Bethlehem will be able to view historic sites from horse-and-buggy days using much more up-to-date transportation. The Historic Bethlehem Partnership says it will begin offering
some historic tours using Segway Personal Transporters. Nonprofit Historic Bethlehem maintains a number of buildings dating to the 1700s, including a Colonial Industrial Quarter along Monocacy Creek. The Segway tours are planned for Saturdays, starting April 19th. The $80-a-person tours are being offered in conjunction with a Segway dealership, which will teach riders how to use the gyroscopically stabilized two-wheeled transporters.

HOMEBUYER ASSISTANCE

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) - A Centre County program to aid first-time homebuyers has grown to more than $250,000. County housing coordinator Linda Marshall says the slow housing market means fewer people have been tapping into the assistance. Under the program, first-time homebuyers who meet income guidelines and other qualifications can receive a no-interest loan to help make a down payment. Recipients can receive up to $10,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A top state official says New York Governor Eliot Spitzer will announce his resignation later this hour. Spitzer's fall from power comes two days after he was publicly linked to a high-priced prostitution ring. Republicans have been talking impeachment unless he leaves office. Few if any fellow
Democrats have come forward to defend him.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York Lieutenant Governor David Paterson is set to become the state's first black governor. Legislative leaders in Albany say the Democrat has been discussing a possible transition with them, since Eliot Spitzer become entangled in a prostitution scandal.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama says the country is tired of "the kind of slice and dice politics" that he says one of Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters is engaging in. He says Geraldine Ferraro's assertion that he wouldn't be the Democratic presidential front runner if he weren't black puts a focus on race and gender
and is divisive. Ferraro says her comments were taken out of context.

NEW YORK (AP) - After yesterday's rally sent the Dow to its biggest one-day gain in years, stocks are again higher in mid-morning trading today. Buoyed by the Federal Reserve's latest plans to ease the credit crisis, investors on Wall Street sent the Dow up 416 points yesterday.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - News reports out of North Carolina say police may have a fresh break in the slaying of the University of North Carolina's student body president. County prosecutors tell two TV stations that investigators are talking to a person of interest in the death of Eve Carson. The 22-year-old was found last
week lying in a street about a mile from campus.