Today's news - Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Local man in Geisinger ICU, another man behind bars

A LOCAL MAN IS BEHIND BARS TODAY FOLLOWING A LATE NIGHT FIGHT…

39-YEAR OLD MARK WILNER OF MAHANOY CITY FACES MULTIPLE CHARGES INCLUDING AGGRAVATED ASSAULT – RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING ANOTHER PERSON – AND TERRORISTIC THREATS AFTER HE BEAT VICTIM STEVEN PAVELICK SO SEVERELY. PAVEICK WAS AIRLIFTED TO GEISINGER MEDICAL CENTER IN DANVILLE WHERE HE IS BEING TREATED IN THE TRAUMA CENTER’S INTENSIVE CARE UNIT FOR SERIOUS INJURIES TO HIS HEAD. POLICE INVESTIGATION DETERMINES PAVELICK HAD BEEN ARGUING WITH A WOMAN WHEN HE ALLEGEDLY PUNCHED HER IN THE FACE. THAT PROMPTED WILNER TO THEN ATTACK PAVELICK BY KNOCKING HIM TO THE GROUND AND REPEATEDLY KICKING AND PUNCHING HIM. WILNER IS LOCKED-UP IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY PRISON IN LIEU OF 100-THOUSAND DOLLARS BAIL.

New Ringgold man charged in shaken baby case

A NEW RINGGOLD MAN IS FREE ON BAIL THIS MORNING AFTER HIS PRELIMINARY HEARING FOR ASSAULTING AN INFANT…

22-YEAR OLD KYLE BLUGE FACES CHARGES OF AGGRAVATED AND SIMPLE ASSAULT – ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN – RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT – AND HARASSMENT FOR THE SEVERE TRAUMA TO THE INFANT’S HEAD. A PEDIATRICIAN TESTIFIED IN COURT SAYING IT IS UNKNOWN IF THE INFANT WILL EVER SEE OR WALK DUE TO THE BLEEDING IN THE INFANT’S BRAIN AND RETINAL DAMAGE THAT OCCURRED – BOTH COMMON WITH SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME. BLUGE FIRST TOLD POLICE HE THOUGHT A TOY TRUCK HAD FALLEN ON HIS SON’S ABDOMEN THEN LATER CONFESSED SAYING HE BECAME FRUSTRATED AFTER THE INFANT WOULDN’T TAKE HIS BOTTLE – THAT’S WHEN HE SHOOK HIM. BLUGE WILL FACE THESE MULTIPLE CHARGES IN SCHULKILL COUNTY COURT. THE INFANT’S MOTHER – JENNIFER LYNN SWOPE – POSTED HIS 15-THOUSAND DOLLAR BAIL.

High school prank results in charges

WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY THOUGHT TO BE A MEMORABLE SCHOOL PRANK HAS RESULTED IN CHARGES FOR EIGHT LOCAL TEENS…

STATE POLICE SAY SIX GRADUATES FROM SCHUYLKILL HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL -ALONG WITH TWO MINORS – ARE CHARGED WITH DISORDERLY CONDUCT FOR THE DEFLATION OF 31 TIRES ON 13 SCHOOL BUSES AT R-AND-J TRANSPORTATION IN POTTSVILLE. THE ACCUSED ALSO WROTE 0-8 ON MANY OF THE BUSES WINDOWS. ALL EIGHT CONFESSED TO THE CRIME…CHARGES ARE TO BE FILED IN DISTRICT COURT.

Recycling bins are overflowing!

ONE COMMUNITY IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY IS OVERWHELMED WITH THE AMOUNT OF PARTICIPATION THEY’RE GETTING…AND THEY’RE NOT SURE WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!

WEST PENN TOWNSHIP IS BEING OVERRUN WITH PEOPLE – RECYCLING. THE BINS ARE OVER FLOWING AS RESIDENTS DO THEIR PART IN GATHERING UP THEIR CANS AND PLASTICS TO MAKE THE EARTH A LITTLE GREENER. HOWEVER TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS SAY THEY NEED MORE SUPPORT FROM COUNTY OFFICIALS TO KEEP THE AREA CLEAN AND TIDY. IF AN AGREEMENT CAN’T BE ARRAIGNED THEN THE TOWNSHIP MAY HAVE TO BREAK THEIR LEASE FOR THE BINS WITH THE COUNTY RECYCLING DEPARTMENT. THE LEASE TERMS REQUIRE THE TOWNSHIP TO GIVE THE COUNTY A 90 DAY NOTICE IF IT INTENDS TO END THE LEASE OF THOSE RECYCLING BINS.

A safe cigarette now law

A NEW STEP IS BEING TAKEN TO MAKE CIGARETTES – SAFER…

BEGINNING JANUARY FIRST ALL CIGARETTES SOLD IN PENNSYLVANIA MUST BE “FIRE-SAFE”. ACCORDING TO THE BILL THAT GOVERNOR ED RENDELL SIGNED ON FRIDAY THE CIGARETTES MUST BE MADE WITH LAYERS OF SLOW-BURNING PAPER THAT EXTINGUISH UNLESS CONTINUOUSLY SMOKED. CIGARS WILL NOT BE EFFECTED. RETAIL OUTLETS ARE ALLOWED A 6-MONTH GRACE PERIOD AFTER THE LAW TAKES EFFECT TO SELL THEIR INVENTORY OF CIGARETTES WITHOUT THE FIRE-SAFE FEATURE. AFTER JULY FIRST, 2009 – OUTLETS CAN BE FINED UP TO 5-HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THE FIRST VIOLATION AND UP TO 5-THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR EACH ADDITIONAL OFFENSE.

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - The trial of state Sen. Robert Regola IIIis about to begin. It took two days to pick a jury to consider theevidence against the Westmoreland County politician. He's facingperjury and weapons charges related to the death of his 14-year-oldneighbor.

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A former Upper Merion High School studentawaiting sentencing for sending threatening computer messages isnow in a locked mental hospital. A Montgomery County judge revokedbail for 20-year-old Thomas Musetti in light of his recent journalentries.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says thecity will begin enforcing a law requiring people whose guns arelost or stolen to report the loss or theft to police. Most of thecity's attempts to regulate guns were overturned by a judge, butnot that part.

NAZARETH, Pa. (AP) - The Miss Pennsylvania pageant begins at 8p.m. at Nazareth Area High School. The final event is Saturdaynight. The winner of that gets a scholarship and goes on to competeat the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas.

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) - A Shippensburg man who walked 25 miles to adrunken driving hearing this summer made an impression on thejudge. But Cumberland County Judge Edward Guido says he had nochoice but to give 33-year-old Stephen Shoemaker 30 days in jail.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - An attack by gunmen outside the U.S.consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, has left three policemen dead, alongwith three attackers. The numbers come from Istanbul's governor,who says authorities are trying to figure out if the attackers arefrom a particular group. The embassy says there are no reports ofcasualties among American employees there.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran is flexing its muscles today -- aresponse to what the country describes as U.S. and Israeli threats.State TV in Tehran says the Iranian military test-fired ninelong-and-medium-range missiles during war games. They're takingplace at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. About 40 percent of theworld's oil passes through the waterway.

TOYAKO, Japan (AP) - President Bush is headed home from Japan,and a G-8 summit where he says there was "significant progress"on global warming. Bush is again calling for progress as well onclean energy technology, which he says is necessary in order tomake advances against climate change.

SCHUYLER, Neb. (AP) - The nation's agriculture secretary saysthere will never be a time when the meat-processing industrydoesn't face threats from bacteria. But Ed Schafer, during a visitto several processing plants in Nebraska, voiced confidence in thefood-safety system. His tour didn't include the Omaha plant thatrecalled more than five million pounds of meat last week. It's beenlinked to E. coli infections.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - He'd gotten ripped off -- so he calledthe police. But they weren't about to help a Connecticut man findthe people he said had taken eight dollars from him without givinghim the crack cocaine he wanted. Police initially charged him withtrying to get narcotics, but the charges were later dropped.