Today's News-Thursday, April 3rd

Pottsville Hospital and Warne Clinic and the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center have reached an agreement to affiliate. In an announcement made Wednesday, the hospitals announced that they would join together under a common local parent organization. The process of studying a possible combination began in September, 2007. The agreement will allow both hospitals to go forward in seeking regulatory approval. Pending complications, the affiliation could possibly be completed by year end. No further details were released from either hospital about the agreement. The Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center is a 159-bed acute care facility, and sponsored by the Daughters of Charity and affiliated with Ascension Health. Pottsville Hospital and Warne Clinic is a 200-bed facility, in operation since 1895.

State police at Schuylkill Haven are looking for a black man who stole a woman's purse yesterday at Aldi's Market parking lot. The thief, described by police as being 5 feet 11 to 6 feet in height, weighing approximately 190 pounds, took 81-year-old Leon Metrick’s purse from a child seat in a shopping cart. The man fled in a green Chevy Blazer. Anyone with information should call Schuylkill Haven state police at 593-2000.

We now know the appraised value of the 1912 building and acreage at Rest Haven. At Wednesday's Commissioners work session, Chairwoman Mantura Gallagher announced that the appraisal came in at $475-thousand-dollars. The property is being sold by the county, with several suitors seeking the property, including Penn State Schuylkill's Advisory Board, North Manheim Township's Supervisors and two others. The 90-plus page appraisal, done by Hudack Appraisal Services, Frackville, is being studied by the Commissioners.
John Gera and Evelyn Andrews of West Mahanoy Township addressed the Commissioners with questions about the 1912 property and its viability as a site for the pre-release center being considered by the county. Andrews questioned the cost estimates to fix the Rest Haven site. Gallagher said that, to her knowledge, the cost estimates of more than $10 million dollars came from a Penn State study. She also noted that the county's estimates to fix the 1912 building were in the neighborhood of $5 million dollars. These options are not viable, according to the board. Andrews was a West Mahanoy Township Supervisor when there was discussion about putting a pre-release center along the Morea Road. Consideration of that site never made it past the discussion stage, due to the close proximity to residential areas.

Schuylkill County's veterans need your help. With the high cost of fuel pinching everyone, the "Vans for Veterans" program, which transports some area vets to medical appointments, is in dire need for drivers. Commissioner Frank McAndrew made the plea yesterday during their work session. There are more than 70 county veterans using the service, and only a couple of drivers to get them to their appointments. If you are able to help the "Vans for Veterans" program, call Schuylkill County's Veterans Affairs office at 628-1400.

Patience. That was author David Fleming's message to the crowd gathered at the Blue Mountain Eagle Foundation banquet at the Schuylkill Country Club Wednesday night. Fleming, who wrote "Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship", said that the effort to get NFL team owners to consider returning the title to the Pottsville Maroons is a work in progress. The author stated that he would like to see a movie about his book be produced before having the owners reconsider the title for the Maroons, according to the Republican and Herald. Fleming and Joe Hoffel of the NFL Hall of Fame are scheduled to debate the Maroons stolen title on Friday, April 18th at the Sovereign Majestic Theatre.

A Philadelphia area musician, who can sing in 12 languages, is slated to appear at the Sovereign Majestic Theatre tomorrow night. Phyllis Chappel has spent her life developing the universal music style, and has traveled abroad to hone her craft and learn the native languages of countries on several continents, including Africa. The Bala-Cynwyd native has 5 albums under her belt, both as a solo artist and with her band, SIORA. She has performed on the Sovereign stage before, and loves the venue. Her solo performance Friday night will include a variety of musical styles:

CHAPPEL (click to listen)

Tickets for the 7 o'clock performance are $10 in advance and $12 dollars at the door. For reservations, call 628-2833.

A man was injured in a two vehicle crash at Humboldt Industrial Park yesterday. The accident happened on Route 924 around noon, when an unidentified man's Pontiac collided with a tractor trailer. The man was flown from the scene for treatment. The fuel tank on the tractor-trailer ruptured, spilling diesel fuel on the road. State police at Hazleton are investigating.

The House Local Government committee has moved on legislation to ban "spot" property tax assessments when a property is sold. Representative Tim Seip of the 125th District introduced House Bills 1438 and 1439 earlier this year to halt the practice undertaken by taxing authorities when a home changes hands. Currently, the practice is legal, but can be unfair. Seip says that the bills have moved out of committee, and comments on the legislation:

SEIP (click to listen)

Testimony was offered by area residents at a hearing of the Local Government Committee in February at Penn State Schuylkill.

STATE NEWS:

Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton back on the campaign trail in Pa.

ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) - Former President Bill Clinton is back on the campaign trail for his wife in Pennsylvania. Clinton is attending a campaign rally at Penn State's Altoona campus on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, Chelsea Clinton is also making another stop in the Keystone state, with less than three weeks to go until the April 22 primary. She's attending a noon campaign rally at Bucknell University in Lewisburg. She campaigned for her mother in Harrisburg on Wednesday. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, also both made campaign stops in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

Obama vows to fight type of trade deals like NAFTA

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Barack Obama is telling Pennsylvania unions that he will fight the type of trade deals struck by the Clinton and Bush administrations. Obama was endorsed by the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, which should be a boost in a state where 830,000 union voters are expected to vote later this month. Pennsylvania's primary will allocate 158 delegates to the Democratic national convention. Obama -- speaking at a the meeting of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in Philadelphia -- says he will always oppose trade deals that "put the interests of Wall Street ahead of the interests of American workers." Obama says he opposes NAFTA, which was struck with Mexico and Canada during Bill Clinton's presidency. Meanwhile, Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal also said he will back Obama. He's a superdelegate.

Michelle Obama campaigns for husband in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Michelle Obama says her husband would always be seen as the underdog despite his many achievements. Speaking to hundreds of supporters at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University, Obama said her husband, Sen. Barack Obama, had overcome challenges in raising money, building a national organization and winning the Iowa caucuses, among other things. The Illinois senator is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Michelle Obama says her husband has done what everyone said he couldn't do and they have both learned a lot during the campaign. She says she would not be speaking on behalf of her husband unless she felt he was what the country needs. Senators Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton face each other in the April 22 primary election.

Wecht jury wraps eighth day of deliberations

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh have to respond this morning to a defense request in the fraud trial of celebrity pathologist and former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht. The defense wants the judge to halt jury deliberations until the court and attorneys get more information on the condition of a juror who was dismissed after complaining of dizziness and telling the court the deliberations were stressful. Wecht's lawyers want information from the juror's doctor that he is unable to continue. They objected to the juror being excused. By law, the jury can continue deliberating with just 11 members. The judge has given prosecutors until 8 a.m. today to respond to The defense motion. The jury has been deliberating for eight days.

4 more teens face homicide charges in Philly subway attack

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia police say four more teenagers have been arrested in connection with the killing of a man in a downtown subway concourse. One teen was arrested shortly after last week's attack and charged with homicide. Police say four more teens were arrested Wednesday and will be charged as adults with homicide and conspiracy. Police say the suspects are students at Simon Gratz High School, three 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old. Homicide Capt. Michael Costello also says police are still looking for a sixth suspect. He says it was a senseless killing and that investigators have found no motive for the attack. Thirty-six-year-old coffee shop manager Sean Patrick Conroy died after being attacked last week. The medical examiner said he suffered an asthma attack that was brought on by the assault.

Foxwoods casino must be approved by Philadelphia, Pa. court says

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - For a second time, Pennsylvania's highest court is siding with casino owners accusing Philadelphia City Council of foot-dragging over approval of the facility. Supreme Court justices issued a 6-0 decision, saying the City Council's failure to act is beyond its powers. It ordered the city to approve the construction of Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia, including altering its records, maps and plans to show that the casino has been approved. In a 19-page opinion, Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille wrote that "there is ample evidence that the inaction was a deliberate attempt by Council to simply delay the construction of the casinos." In December, the Supreme Court issued the same order for SugarHouse Casino.

Ex-airport worker gets 4 months in tax, fraud scheme

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A former airport worker in Philadelphia who took $83,000 from the ex-mayor's brother is heading to prison for four months. matthias A. "Matt" Schwabe, 38, of Malvern, never paid taxes on the money he received from T. Milton Street. Schwabe faced a year or more on tax evasion and mail fraud charges, but will serve a lesser sentence after testifying at Street's trial in February. He was a maintenance manager for Philadelphia Airport Services. Street faces a May 22 sentencing on three tax-evasion charges. But he stands acquitted of four fraud counts over an alleged kickback scheme at the city-owned airport. Street is the older brother of former Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street. Couple admits witness tampering in whosARat.com case.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A couple admitted to witness tampering in federal court in Philadelphia. That came after fliers with information gleaned from a Web site called WhosARat.com were distributed in a government informant's neighborhood. Prosecutors also say 26-year-old Adero Mahia Miwo and 39-year-old Joseph Miles Davis tried to keep the informant from testifying at Davis' 2006 drug trial. The witnesses refused, and Davis was convicted of distributing phencyclidine, or PCP, at a 2006 federal trial in New Mexico. He now faces another 46 to 57 months for the five witness-related counts, in addition to his 17-year drug sentence. Prosecutors say Miwo faces 14 to 30 months in prison. A judge set sentencing for June 24.

Millersville student charged, hospitalized

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A Millersville University student charged in connection with a campus lockdown is being treated at a hospital . That from a judge who's handling the case of 24-four-old Joel Yodis of Phoenixville. Yodis was arraigned before another judge last night on charges of making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. Yodis was transported to Lancaster County Prison, but Warden Vincent Guarini says he was turned away because he needed a psychiatric evaulation before he could be admitted. Millersville District Judge Leo Eckert inherited the case from the arraigning judge. He says he did not realize that Yodis was not in prison until today, after Yodis' parents had paid his 50-thousand dollars' cash bail and the constable dispatched to pick him up from the prison called to say he wasn't there. The judge's office also told a reporter in early afternoon that Yodis was in the prison. The campus of the state-owned university was locked down for about two hours Tuesday after a student wrote a letter to a professor saying he was afraid to go to class. An affidavit filed by university police says the charges stem from an argument between Yodis and another student in a classroom on March 26th and subseuqent "erratic" behavior. There is no telephone listing for Yodis' family in Phoenixville. Eckert said the parents had not retained a lawyer when he talked with them.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - President Bush is calling for the door to NATO to "remain open," after the alliance denied entry for a pair of former Soviet states Bush had been pushing for membership. The president did make some progress at the summit in Romania with NATO promises for more troops on the front lines of Afghanistan and support for a U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

CAPITOL HILL (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will face more questioning today on the JPMorgan federally-backed buyout of Bear Stearns. Lawmakers want to know what kind of effect the deal will have on taxpayers.

BAGHDAD (AP) - The U.S. says it's looking into reports that civilians were killed in an airstrike in the southern Iraqi city of Basra yesterday. Violence is also being seen in parts of Baghdad and Mosul, where a car bomb has killed at least five today.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The loss of a key military contract is what ATA Airlines claims is putting it out of business. The airline, based in Indianapolis, has filed for bankruptcy. In addition to about 50 commercial flights per day, ATA provided international airlift services for the Air Force.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Toddlers can no longer legally get married in Arkansas. The state has repealed a law that mistakenly allowed anyone under 18 to get married with their parents' permission. State lawmakers have corrected the oversight by reinstating 17 as the minimum marriage age for boys and 16 for girls.