Today's News- Friday, June 19th

The Pottsville School Board has passed a budget for the coming school year. Allie Raring has the details:

POTTSVILLE BOARD (CLICK TO LISTEN)

The Intermodal Trade and Transit center project in Pottsville has been handed off from the county's purview to the city of Pottsville. Control of nearly $7-million-dollars in grant monies were transferred to Pottsville yesterday at the County Commissioners meeting. The $12 million dollar transportation and business center has been in the works for a number of years. City Administrator Tom Palamar is now charged with oversight of those monies. Officials cited that "too many hands" were slowing the progress of the project. In other business, the Schuylkill County Prison is on track to receive new kitchen equipment worth just over $112-Thousand Dollars. The funds to pay for the equipment came from DUI fines. County Adminstrator Darlene Dolzani was credited with discovering that nearly $200-thousand-dollars in fines were co-mingled in the general fund, when they should have been segregated for use with the prison and the county Drug and Alcohol program. A separate interest bearing account to hold monies from the Help America Vote Act is expected to be approved next week. Those monies are also required to be segregated, as directed by the Pennsylvania Department of State. The Commissioners announced that next week’s board meeting will be held at Shenandoah Borough Hall at 15 West Washington Street at 10am in the meeting room.

A Schuylkill County Prison correction officer was promoted to Lieutenant during Wednesday's Prison board meeting. Michael Buchanan of Auburn will replace Lamar Gehres who submitted his retirement request last month. Gehres had been a Corrections Officer for 10-years, and retired June 10th. Buchanan has been a Corrections Officer at prison for six years. In other business, Board Chairman President Judge William Baldwin said the board is still exploring ways to cut down on overtime at the prison.

Residents in the Owl Creek neighborhood have voiced concerns over a stray bullet that hit a home, coming from a nearby shooting range. The Carbon-Schuylkill Fraternal Order of Police Lodge has a 44 acre training ground in the neighborhood, and a ricocheted bullet broke a window several weeks ago. Homeowners, including Tamaqua Council member Cathy Miorelli brought the issue to light recently, according to the Republican and Herald. She called for a temporary shutdown of the range. Tamaqua council decided to meet with lodge officials to discuss safety concerns. Police investigated the incident, and determined that the shot hit a rock at the shooting range's backstop, and went through the window at Raymond Patrick's home. No one was injured. The FOP paid for the damages, and officials say that the accident was a fluke.

Doctors, nurses, medical students and patients are rallying in five Pennsylvania towns today-encouraging people to just say "no" to the current health insurance system. Deborah Smith has details:

SMITH (CLICK TO LISTEN)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - There's a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the shooting death of an aspiring teacher in Philadelphia. Detectives haven't been able to identify the
gunman who shot 23-year-old Beau Zabel early Sunday. Zabel was scheduled to start work in Philadelphia public schools July 1.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has created a new trust fund he hopes will help make Pittsburgh more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The mayor gave the Green Initiative Trust Fund $100,000 - about half of what the city has saved by combining its energy purchases with Allegheny County.

YORK, Pa. (AP) - Harley Davidson says it is laying off an unspecified number of employees in York County next week. The motorcycle maker says the temporary layoff is in addition to a
shutdown for annual line changes to switch to manufacturing motorcycles for the next model year.

HANOVER, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say nearly seven hours of searching has failed to find a 15-year-old girl feared drowned at Codorus State Park in York County. Officials say divers plan to
resume searching today in Lake Marburg. The girl was with teenagers in a pontoon boat.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - State lawmakers held up voting on a resolution recognizing a Muslim group's convention after a legislator protested that "Muslims do not recognize Jesus Christ as God." The U.S. chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community holds its 60th annual convention in Harrisburg this weekend.

FOLEY, Mo. (AP) - It's the second time Keith Aubuchon has been flooded out of his house and this time he says he may stay out. He's among thousands who've been displaced by Midwest floods. So many levees have broken upstream, that the crest on the Mississippi may not be as high as feared as it flows past St. Louis today.

CAPITOL HILL (AP) - Former Bush administration insider Scott McClellan is to testify today to a House panel probing the leak of a CIA agent's name. A tell-all book by the ex-press secretary says he was encouraged to lie.

CHENGDU, China (AP) - An Associated Press reporter covering a parents protest today in China is among at least two foreign correspondents detained by police. The parents say the government promised to tell them whether shoddy construction caused schools to collapse in last month's deadly earthquake.

UNDATED (AP) - The presidential candidates concentrate on the economy today. Republican John McCain addresses the Economic Club of Canada in Ottawa. Democrat Barack Obama hears the economic concerns of Democratic governors at a meeting in Chicago.

QUINTON, Va. (AP) - Chris Coleson swears by his fast-food diet. The Virginia man says he's lost nearly 80 pounds in the past six months, not on the Subway diet but at McDonald's. But he steers clear of the Big Macs and fries, munching instead on salads, wraps and apple dippers. Hold the sauce.