Today's News-Friday, April 4th

The affiliation agreement between Pottsville's two hospitals will be studied by the state Attorney General's office. The Pottsville Hospital and Warne Clinic and the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center announced their intention to affiliate under a common parent organization Wednesday. According to the Republican and Herald, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office will review the agreement to determine if it meets anti-trust laws. A spokesman for the AG's office says that part of the review will determine if it's a merger, an affiliation or an agreement. Officials from both hospitals have not released any further details about the agreement and what the organization will look like after completion. A review by regulators is the next step in the process, and pending any problems, may be completed by the end of the year.

Schuylkill County's Drug and Alcohol program is launching a plan to combat underage drinking. More than $268-thousand-dollars in grant monies have been received from the Commission on Crime and Delinquency to establish a Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol program. The initial grant program runs for 4 years. CMCA Program Coordinator Tammy Spevak explains what the program does:

SPEVAK

She also comments on what the program hopes to accomplish in the first year.

SPEVAK

The community kickoff is Wednesday, April 9th at the monthly Chamber of Commerce breakfast at 8am. Statistics show that 22 percent of Schuylkill County 6th graders are willing to try alcohol, compared to 15 percent statewide. 49 percent of county 8th graders who completed the survey are willing to sample alcoholic beverages, compared to 35 percent statewide. These statistics clearly indicate that underage drinking is on the minds of our youth. CMCA hopes to stem the tide by awareness of the problem. April 9th through the 16th is Underage Drinking Awareness Week.

Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton stumped for her mother, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in central Pennsylvania Thursday. She visited the campus of Bucknell University in Lewisburg at noon before heading to Bloomsburg University for a question and answer session on why her mother is the best person to serve as President of the United States. various topics were touched on, including universal healthcare, the economy, fuel prices, the War in Iraq and education. She was asked if the election really matters:

CLINTON 2 (click to listen)
audio courtesy of WGRC

Chelsea Clinton was greeted by members of the Bucknell Young Democrats and about 300 members of the student body and public.

About 300 students and members of the public packed the foyer of the Weis Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Bucknell University in Lewisburg yesterday to catch a glimpse of former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton.

Clinton made a tour through Central Pennsylvania, stopping in Lewisburg and Bloomsburg to address those with questions about the upcoming primary election and who they should consider voting for. Clinton says her mother Hillary Clinton has a plan to address the current economy and skyrocketing fuel prices

CLINTON 3 (click to listen)
audio courtesy of WGRC News

Chelsea Clinton also says her mother would address the issues of sustainable jobs, universal healthcare for all Americans, education and the need for more tax credits for the lower class and single parents.

Firefighters in communities across the county will be collecting dollars this weekend to help purchase smoke detectors for residents.

The "Operation Save a Life" boot drive will take place Sunday afternoon at Schuylkill Mall, Fairlane Village Mall and Redner's Warehouse Market in Shenandoah to gather funds to help buy the detectors for people who can't afford them. The effort is being sponsored by the ABC television network and Oprah Winfrey. Officials say that all the money raised will be doubled through a grant from the television mogul. 19 people died in fires in northeastern Pennsylvania over the winter, including 4 in the county. Save a life by making a donation to the Boot Drive this weekend.

State police say 10 dead in western Pennsylvania house fire

BROCKWAY, Pa. (AP) - Investigators are still trying to determine what caused a house fire that killed 10 people in western Pennsylvania. Police say the fire in Brockway early yesterday took the lives of a 40-year-old woman and nine victims under the age of 20. Authorities don't believe it's suspicious. The fire was in Brockway, a rural town of about 2,000 people set among rolling hills and farmland 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The home was on Pershing Avenue, a main drag lined with several other single-family homes.

Officials say spike in new voter registration has raised issues

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - An avalanche of registrations by first-time voters is causing some concerns about whether they'll know they need identification in order to cast a ballot. Rep. Babette Josephs, the Philadelphia Democrat who chairs the House State Government Committee, says she's worried that many of
those first-timers won't be able to vote as a result. Officials say rookie voters who don't have identification will get the chance to obtain it and return to the polls. If that isn't practical, they'll be given provisional ballots, but will still have to come back later with a form of valid ID, such as a driver's license.

Bill Clinton: Wife's critics think upcoming votes 'don't count'

ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) - Bill Clinton took a verbal jab at critics of his wife's bid for the Democratic nomination for president. The former president spoke to about 1,900 people at Penn State-Altoona on behalf of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Clinton says some people in the media and the political elite contend that the votes of people in Pennsylvania, Indiana and other states still yet to go to the polls "don't count." He also says critics think it's OK to "disenfranchise" voters
in Michigan and Florida, and that they are afraid Hillary Clinton will win. The Democratic Party stripped Florida and Michigan of their delegates to the national convention in Denver because they ignored party rules and moved their primaries to January.

Report: Hospitalization rates for some HMO patients rise

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A new state survey says more adults covered by Pennsylvania's HMOs were hospitalized for diabetes and other illnesses in 2006, while more children spent time in the hospital for asthma treatment.
The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council report says that for every 10,000 adult patients, about 106 were hospitalized with diabetes, up from 94 the year before. The number of children hospitalized with asthma rose from 15 to 18 per 10,000 patients. The council based its findings on an analysis of 2006 data for nine major for-profit health maintenance organizations. But the
report doesn't explain why the number of hospitalizations has gone up.
Council spokeswoman Stephanie Suran says those statististics don't necessarily reflect a decline in the quality of preventive care. She says patients sometimes encounter problems if they don't take their medications or follow other medical advice.

Wecht jury begins ninth day of deliberations despite defense plea

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A federal court jury in Pittsburgh has told a judge they are deadlocked in the fraud trial of celebrity pathologist Cyril Wecht. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab gave the jury brief instructions about being deadlocked and asked them to continue deliberating. The jurors are in their ninth day of deliberations and this is the first time they have deliberated past 2 p.m. The judge has let the jury set their own schedule for deliberations, Monday through Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Defense attorneys wanted the judge to halt deliberations until he could get more information from the doctor of a juror who was excused from duty after he was hospitalized and underwent tests following a dizzy spell on Tuesday. But the judge allowed the jury to continue deliberations while the judge weighs that request.

Philadelphia prepares emergency evacuation plans

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - If people need to get out of Philadelphia in a hurry, the city now has a plan. The city's emergency management office has developed plans designed to avoid the chaos that paralyzed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. The plans are the work of a team from 79 offices and agencies, including the chiefs of every police district. Maps of 25 evacuation zones will be on the city's Web site. The plans set aside different streets for pedestrians, emergency vehicles, mass transit, private cars or a combination. For example, Broad Street would be for pedestrians and all vehicles. Market
Street would be for people on foot and mass transit. Philadelphia emergency responders will conduct exercises with the evacuation plans in June.

Ex-councilman pleads guilty to participating in mortgage fraud

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A school teacher and former Uniontown councilman has pleaded guilty to taking part in a mortgage fraud scheme run by his daughter.
Fifty-two-year-old Marlin Sprouts Jr. told a federal judge in Pittsburgh on Thursday that the case has destroyed his life. Prosecutors say the scam cheated financial institutions out of $1 million to $2.5 million through fraudulent loans.
Prosecutors say Sprouts was paid $150,000 to act as a straw buyer. Straw buyers are people usually used to obtain loans who don't plan on living in the homes. Sprouts' 28-year-old daughter, Tiffany Lynn Sprouts of Bethel Park, is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in September. Sprouts, who took his post on Uniontown council in January, resigned on Thursday.

Man pleads guilty to bringing alcohol to party where teen died

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A man has been sentenced to one year's probation for taking alcohol to a birthday party where a 16-year-old drank herself to death. Twenty-two-year Michael Alan Baker of Vandergrift pleaded guilty
Thursday to furnishing alcohol to minors. Authorities say Samantha Lynn Scheuring of Vandergrift had a blood-alcohol content of 0.44 percent when she died Jan. 14, 2007. That's 5 1/2 times the amount that would make someone too drunk to drive legally in Pennsylvania. Prosecutors say Baker was given $70 by party guests and bought them rum and raspberry vodka. The host of the party, 38-year-old Diane Rose Adorante, and 26-year-old David James Leone of Leechburg also have been charged in this case.

DA: Wife's electric-shock death was murder, not a sex accident

RED LION, Pa. (AP) - A man who claimed his wife died after he used an electric shock to stimulate her during sex is now facing murder charges. York County authorities filed the charges against 37-year-old Toby Taylor, saying he used the electric current to intentionally kill his wife. District Attorney Stanley Rebert says Taylor had his bail on lesser charges revoked and was sent to York County Prison. Red Lion District Judge Douglas Meisenhelter also ruled that enough evidence exists to send the case to trial. Authorities found 29-year-old Kirsten Taylor unconscious Jan. 23 in the couple's Lower Windsor Township home and took her to York Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Last week, the county coroner, Barry Bloss, ruled the death a homicide.

Cruelty charges dismissed against owner of Pa. cat sanctuary

GIBSONIA, Pa. (AP) - A district judge has dismissed nearly 600 charges of animal cruelty against a woman accused of keeping hundreds of cats, some dead and dying, at a western Pennsylvania animal sanctuary. The attorney for Linda Bruno says he wasn't provided enough information to mount a defense. District Judge Suzanne Blaschak agreed in a ruling in Gibsonia. Prosecutors wouldn't comment on whether the charges would be refiled. Humane officials say Bruno failed to provide adequate care for the cats at her 29-acre Tiger Ranch near Tarentum. Bruno has said she took in cats that other shelters would not and that they were well cared for. The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it removed 406 cats in a raid last month. Several dozen have since died or had to be euthanized.

Judge OKs $24 million award to injured railroad trespassers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A judge has upheld a $24 million jury award for two teenagers burned by electrical wires when they climbed atop a rail car in Lancaster. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Stengel says Amtrak knew the 12,000-volt wires could be dangerous. But he says it still left the rail cars parked beneath them for four days. He says graffiti should have tipped Amtrak to the fact teens were trespassing in the area and that someone could be injured. The jury assigned 70 percent of the blame to Amtrak and the rest to Norfolk Southern. Under Pennsylvania law, trespassers enjoy less legal protection than invited guests. Plaintiffs Jeffrey Klein and Brett Birdwell were skateboarding
nearby in August 2002 when the accident happened. They were both 17 at the time.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The nation pauses today to remember Martin Luther King Junior, 40 years to the day after he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. In the city where he died, the civil rights icon will be honored with a series of events. Presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton are scheduled to take part.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - President Bush has been meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin amid new Washington-Moscow tensions. Bush went into the discussions in Romania a day after having won NATO backing to install a missile shield in eastern Europe over Russian objections.

BROCKWAY, Pa. (AP) - A deadly fire in rural western Pennsylvania remains under investigation. The community of Brockway is in mourning following the house fire that claimed 10 lives, including a 40-year-old woman, five of her children and three grandchildren. The blaze is not considered suspicious.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The National Weather Service says an unknown number of people were injured when a tornado swept through the Little Rock, Arkansas, area last night. At the North Little Rock Airport, the tornado destroyed a hangar and several small planes and left several others flipped over onto their wings.

BAYTOWN, Texas (AP) - No word yet on what charges, if any, a 14-year-old Texas girl will face. Police say the girl gave birth in a restroom at her junior high, and that the baby boy cried once before she tried to flush him down the toilet, killing him.