Today's news - July 1, 2008

Vehicles vandalized

Port Carbon police need your help in finding the vandals who damaged cars parked at a borough apartment building. The five vehicles were parked at the Towne Clock Apartments on North Street. Tires were punctured on all of the cars, and one incurred damage to a door. The mischief occurred early Monday morning. Anyone with information should call Port Carbon police at 622-5411.

Leiby's goes up for auction

It was a packed house at the former Leiby's restaurant Monday, but not for a slice of pie. The landmark restaurant was auctioned off by the Stillman family of Lancaster, who took over in 1991, and closed in December, 2007. Bidding for the property at the corner of Routes 309 and 443 began at 1pm. Several interested parties bantered back and forth during the auction, until the gavel fell and Gary Dell'Alba of Center Valley purchased the property and contents for $1.515 million dollars. Dell'Alba owns several convenience stores, and was unsure of what he would do with the property. The Zimmerman family started Leiby's in the mid 60's as an ice cream stand and expanded the business to include a restaurant that was known for its signature pies and many flavors of ice cream.

Memory garden dedicated

A group of county employees spearheaded an effort to beautify the outside of the Human Services building, and to honor their friends, family and co-workers. The Office of Senior Services, along with assistance of other county workers, created a memory garden at the Laurel Street entrance of the building, and dedicated it Monday. OSS Executive Director Georgene Fedoriska fills us in:

FEDORISKA

A group of about two dozen people attended the dedication of the garden, complete with plants and flowers. Sherrill Brennan, a caseworker supervisor in the Senior Services office lost her brother, Edward, in November, and he is remembered with a plant and a memorial tile:

BRENNAN

Employees of the courthouse public works department helped in the creation of the memory garden.

PLCB charges two establishments with sales to minors

Two area bars have been charged for serving alcohol to minors. Agents from the state police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement report that the owners of the Sand Castle in St. Clair sold alcohol to a 19 year old man last summer. The owner of Encounters Tavern was also charged for selling adult beverages to an underage man and woman during the fall of 2007. The cases will be heard by an administrative law judge, who can impose fines and possible suspension of their liquor licenses.

Pottsville man charged

A Pottsville man is facing several charges following a weekend incident in New Philadelphia. Frackville state police now report that 20-year-old Brent Herb went into Mazloom's Bar while intoxicated and attempted to purchase alcohol. He was denied. Troopers say that Herb left the bar, and smashed the windows on two vehicles parked outside. He reportedly took items from one of the vehicles before leaving the scene. Herb will be charged with theft, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

Safe Schools developing manual

Area school districts and emergency management personnel are working together to create emergency response plans. The Schuylkill County Safe Schools Coalition met last night at the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit to work on a Crisis Intervention Plan handbook to help all county schools deal with emergency situations. Among the items discussed were response plans to natural and man made disasters, according to the Republican and Herald. The coalition is hoping to have a final plan completed and in place for the start of school in August.

Schuylkill County Idol gets underway tonight

Schuylkill County Idol Number 6 gets underway tonight at Schuylkill Mall. The annual competition, for county residents ages 16 to 30, will begin at the mall's center court at 6pm. Contestants will be judged for their stage presence, technical ability and overall performance. The competitors will be whittled down until a winner is chosen by a panel of three judges on July 28th. The winner will be given a prize package including a mall shopping spree, and the opportunity to appear at the Schuylkill County Fair on August 2nd.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Construction of Pittsburgh's casino will besuspended for about two weeks until the contractor is paid $10million owed him since March. Casino developer Don Barden'sspokesman Bob Oltmanns says the contractor announced his decisionyesterday.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A 15-year-old girl and her family are accusingthe Upper Saint Clair School District and several school officialsof failing to protect her from a series of rapes at the highschool. The unidentified girl filed a federal lawsuit yesterday,alleging she was repeatedly assaulted by a male freshman.

BEDFORD, Pa. (AP) - A 49-year-old man is guilty of kidnappingand killing a Bedford County woman in April 2000. A jury will nowdecide whether to sentence Joseph Clark to death or to life inprison for the killing of 25-year-old Holly Notestine.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Pa. (AP) - State police say a Greensburg man waskilled when a tree fell on his car. Police say the tree fell on thecar during a thunderstorm on Sunday. Ronald Bates was pronounceddead at Westmoreland Hospital.

BEAVER, Pa. (AP) - Federal regulators are proposing $119,400 inworkplace safety fines against a Beaver County manufacturing firmwhere a worker died in a crane accident. Fifty-three-year-oldWilliam Mike was killed Dec. 27 when a cylinder dropped on him froma crane at KMA Manufacturing Inc.

CHICAGO (AP) - Barack Obama says he wants to expand PresidentBush's program that steers federal funding to religious charities.Obama reasons that because the groups are "so close to the people,they're well-placed to offer help." He will talk more about it inan Ohio speech today.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - John McCain heads to Latin America today,where he will meet with Colombia's president and several cabinetofficials to talk free trade. It's his second international triptouting trade in the last two weeks. McCain will later visitMexico.

DETROIT (AP) - Slumping U.S. auto sales are costing someChrysler workers their jobs. Roughly 2,400 Chrysler employeesworking in St. Louis are getting laid off later this year, as carsales continue to plummet. Chrysler is closing one plant andcutting back from two shifts to one at another.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The contract between movie and TV actors andmajor Hollywood studios expired this morning. The studios made afinal offer and the Screen Actors Guild said it would take morethan a day to study it. Both sides will work under the old contractfor now.

BOSTON (AP) - Authorities are investigating the death of a mantaken into police custody while celebrating the Boston Celtics' NBAFinals win two weeks ago. David Woodman was detained after policesaw him drinking from an open container of what they believed wasalcohol. Investigators are awaiting autopsy results.