Today's News-Saturday, May 31st

POTTSVILLE - A medical helicopter from Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network's University MedEvac crashed about three minutes to nine Friday night after taking off from the helipad at 14th and Cedar streets in Pottsville. According to reports, the helicopter's flight nurse and flight medic suffered non-life threatening injuries but were taken to Nativity Field at Lawton's Hill and flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown. The pilot was reportedly not injured but was examined at a local hospital. Agents from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the site today. Pottsville firefighters, Pottsville ambulance crews, members of the Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency and representatives from the FAA were at thr scene Friday night. Lehigh Valley Hospital is leasing the Pottsville helipad from Mazzuca Enterprises Inc. MedEvac 7 was moved to from Joe Zerbey Airport in Mount Pleasant to Pottsville in May 2007.

FRACKVILLE - Sunday will be the last day of business at a Schuylkill County Uni-Mart, after the convenience store's parent company announced today that it is closing 45 under-performing locations. The announcement comes a day after State College based Uni-Mart, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Republican Herald reports the Frackville Uni-Mart on South Lehigh Avenue will close for good at the end of the business day Sunday. There is no word yet if the Uni-Mart in Mahanoy City will be closed as well. The Uni-Mart in Ashland is privately owned and will remain open. The company also owns Choice Discount Cigarette outlets and many of those stores could be affected as well. The company has not said yet what other stores will close. They stress only a small percentage of Uni-Mart and Choice stores throughout the region will close.

PINE GROVE - State Rep. Tim Seip will host a public meeting June 4 for area hunters and owners of sporting dogs to hear about proposed changes to Pennsylvania's Dog Law. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 4 at Schuylkill County Park in the Sweet Arrow Lake clubhouse. In attendance will be Jessie Smith, special deputy secretary of agriculture for dog law enforcement, and staff of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. Committee Chairman Mike Hanna, D-Clinton/Centre, may attend if that day's House session schedule permits. Additional directions to the meeting site are available by visiting Seip's Web site: www.pahouse.com/Seip.

UNION TOWNSHIP - A driver who fell asleep while driving crashed early Friday morning in Union Township. 29-year-old Charles Bartusik of Zion Grove was driving his truck on Ferndale Road when he fell asleep and sheared off a utility pole. State police report that he was wearing his seatbelt, and was not injured. However, Bartusik will be cited for careless driving. The crash happened at 3am.

PORT CARBON - The Mechanicsville Hut was burglarized recently. Police say that equipment used in their bingo operation was taken. Port Carbon police report that items stolen during the break in on May 15th included video and audio equipment valued at $17-hundred-dollars. Anyone with information should contact Port Carbon police at 622-5411.

CASS TOWNSHIP - A California man escaped injury in a truck crash early Friday morning in Cass Township. Ever Diaz of Asuza, California was traveling west on Highridge Road. The brakes on his vehicle locked up while traveling down the hill, and lost control of the rig. Diaz' vehicle flipped onto its passenger's side and traveled through the intersection. The crash happened around 4:40am Friday.

SINGAPORE (AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates says responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Myanmar lies solely with the military junta. He blames the government for blocking international aid after a devastating cyclone four weeks ago.

MIANYANG, China (AP) - Nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated in China because of a flood threat from a lake created by the May 12th earthquake. More than a million others are being told they may have to get out in a hurry. The confirmed death toll has gone up again to just under 69,000.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic party leaders meet in Washington today to figure out what to do about Michigan and Florida. Both states are currently banned from sending delegates to the August convention because they held their primaries too early.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - The long round of Democratic primaries and caucuses is about to end. Puerto Rico votes tomorrow. South Dakota and Montana hold the final primaries Tuesday. Barack Obama campaigns in South Dakota today and Hillary Clinton is in Puerto Rico, where she's expected to do well tomorrow.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (AP) - Space Shuttle Discovery is set for liftoff shortly after 5 p.m. Eastern time. Astronauts on the international space station will be happy to see a new pump coming up with it to fix a balky toilet.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Nearly two-dozen vehicles have been involved in a chain-reaction pileup near New Orleans, caused when a dump truck spilled a load of mud inside a traffic tunnel. Eighteen people were taken to hospitals, including a woman in labor.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Emergency crews have been going through an Indianapolis apartment building heavily damaged in violent storms overnight. Winds estimated at more than 70 miles-per-hour knocked down trees and power lines, leaving thousands in the dark.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A 13-year-old boy from Indiana is the latest winner of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. Sameer Mishra correction spelled the word "guerdon (GURD'-in) last night." It means "something that one has earned or gained," like a spelling championship.

SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) - Dozens of mothers in a polygamist group in Texas who thought they'd be getting their children back soon, will have to wait a while longer. A Texas judge is holding up a compromise agreement until the women all sign it, and they are now scattered around the state.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - The pilot of a small plane is hospitalized in North Carolina after his plane crashed on Interstate 85 near Durham. Richard Fuller was the only one on board when the plane went down. He's listed in critical condition.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actor Charlie Sheen is married for the third time. He tied the knot with real-estate investor Brooke Mueller Friday night.

CORRENS, France (AP) - So did Angelina Jolie deliver newborn twins yesterday in France? The TV show Entertainment Tonight maintains she did, but a manager for husband Brad Pitt says it's not true. Jolie has said she's not due until August.