Today's News-Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Pot plants uncovered, Cass Township man charged

A drug investigation by Cass Foster Township police has led to the arrest of a township man. Chief Jeff Bowers seized marijuana plants that were growing at the rear of 32-year-old Robert Lemke's home at 833 Forest Lane. The five pot plants were estimated to have a street value of over $9-thousand dollars. Lemke faces felony and misdemeanor drug charges.

Port Carbon man jailed following Wednesday night incident

A Port Carbon man is in Schuylkill County Prison following his arrest last night. Port Carbon officers were called to an apartment at 84 Coal Street, where 33-year-old Jeremy Dean was smashing items. Dean refused to leave when police arrived, and officers had to use a Taser to subdue him. He was charged with criminal trespass and resisting arrest, arraigned and taken to the county jail on $5-thousand-dollars bail. Port Carbon PD was assisted by officers from the St. Clair Police Department.

Children & Youth finds new digs

Schuylkill County's Children and Youth Services need more space for its ever increasing case load. A new home may have been found in a building one block away. County Commissioner Mantura Gallagher confirmed that a facility is being looked at 500 North Center Street. Hudack Appraisal Services of Frackville was hired to appraise the building, and Alfred Benesch and Company will conduct a building code inspection. The asking price for the building is $519-thousand-dollars. A half million dollar grant from the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Grant program will help with the project. In addition to the Children and Youth Services office, the site would provide office space for the Child Development program. Gallagher said that referrals to Children and Youth have increased by 79 percent over the past two years. Currently, over one thousand families are being served by the program. Seventy eight people are on staff, and the state has approved increasing that number to 95.

Frackville council troubles continue

Squabbles continue with members of Frackville borough council. At Wednesday's meeting, former council president Stephen Bobiak was asked to resign again by other members of the board. Bobiak was ousted as president in July, when it came to light that he invested a borough employee's pension money into a private investment account and collected a commission on it. State rules do not allow for those pension monies to be moved. According to the Republican and Herald, the transaction could jeopardize Frackville's state aid. A lawsuit was filed against Bobiak to recover the $25-thousand-dollars that was moved. Bobiak still retains his seat on Frackville council.

More scrap metal thefts reported

The rash of scrap metal thefts continues to plague area businesses. Three males were seen taking the material from the Old St. Nicholas Breaker on Route 54 Tuesday morning by a Reading Anthracite employee. State police at Frackville are investigating. High prices for copper and other metals have spiked the number of thefts.

Pottsville man escapes injury in crash

A Pottsville man escaped injury when his pickup rolled over along Route 61 earlier this week. 44 year old Edward Gerlesky was traveling north in Port Clinton when he lost control while trying to slow down for traffic. The truck spun across the highway, struck a curb and rolled over onto its passenger's side down an embankment.

Judge to decide mental state of Pa. mass killer

GRATERFORD, Pa. (AP) - Lawyers for Pennsylvania mass murderer George Banks are once again asking a judge to spare his life. Banks killed 13 people, including five of his own children, in a 1982 shooting rampage in Wilkes-Barre. A hearing scheduled to begin Thursday will determine whether Banks is too mentally ill to be executed. The hearing will be held at the southeastern Pennsylvania prison where Banks has sat on death row for the past 25 years.
A Luzerne County judge ruled in February 2006 that Banks couldn't be put to death, saying he was delusional, psychotic and had no capacity to assist in his own defense. But the state Supreme Court overturned the ruling and ordered a second competency hearing for Banks.

Fate of Pittsburgh casino could be determined soon

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The immediate fate of a financially troubled casino project in Pittsburgh could be decided Thursday. At 10 a.m., the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will meet in Harrisburg to review whether to allow a rescue by an investor group promising to inject new cash into the stalled project. Under the proposed deal, Detroit businessman Don Barden would transfer his slot-machine casino license to a new group headed by Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm. The seven-member gaming board is expecting to hear several hours of testimony before it renders a verdict. Some Pittsburgh-area legislators have asked the board to revoke
Barden's license and award it to a new pool of competitive applicants. But Bluhm warns that, if the gaming board does not approve his deal, the property will plunge into bankruptcy, potentially bogging it down for years in litigation.

Hundreds displaced due to huge suburban Philadelphia fire

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (AP) - Hundreds of people are displaced from their homes because of a huge fire in suburban Philadelphia. The fire broke out in the afternoon at a building still under
construction at the Riverwalk at Millennium development in Conshohocken. That building was destroyed and other nearby buildings were also damaged. Montgomery County Public Safety Director Tom Sullivan says the fire broke out between railroad tracks and a river, making it hard to get to. He says firefighters cut down fences to get access.

Jury still out on penalty in Pa. police killing

READING, Pa. (AP) - Jurors considering whether a man convicted of killing a Reading policeman should get the death penalty are to resume deliberations Thursday. The jury deliberated for more than nine hours Wednesday after hearing closing arguments about the penalty for 26-year-old Cletus Rivera. A prosecutor says Rivera deserves to die for killing Officer Scott Wertz. But Rivera's lawyer asked the jury to spare Rivera's life because he had a dysfunctional childhood. Rivera was convicted of first-degree murder last week.

Pa. woman gets 8-20 years in bigamist spouse's murder

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The prosecutor and defense lawyer both say an eight- to 20-year sentence is a fair one for a suburban Philadelphia woman who killed her bigamist husband.
Forty-eight-year-old Myra Morton apologized as she was sentenced in Montgomery County Court. She pleaded guilty in April to third-degree murder for fatally shooting her husband of 25 years. Jereleigh Morton was killed as he slept in the couple's Blue Bell home a year ago. He was about to head to Morocco to impregnate his second wife when he was slain. The Mortons had converted to Islam about 20 years ago and, in keeping with Muslim custom, Myra Morton traveled to Morocco to bless his March 2007 marriage to 37-year-old Zahra Toural. But police say Myra Morton grew to resent the arrangement.

Anti-abortion senator to address Democrats

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic Party officials say Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, who opposes abortion rights, will be a featured speaker at the party's national convention. Casey is set to speak during the convention's Tuesday night session. Casey is the son of the late Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey Sr., who was not given a marquee speaking spot at the 1992 convention because of his anti-abortion views. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama supports abortion rights. Casey endorsed Obama over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and
campaigned with Obama throughout Pennsylvania.

Pa. court sides with Rendell on furloughs

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A state judge has upheld Gov. Ed Rendell's authority to furlough most state employees when a state budget is not passed on time. Commonwealth Court Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt rejected arguments by three state-employee unions that mass furloughs could be averted during a budget impasse by continuing to pay state employees with unappropriated money in the state treasury. Leavitt said that's barred by the state constitution and that
the governor's options are limited to furloughing employees or requiring them to work without pay until a budget is passed. A union leader says an appeal is likely.

Pa. governor appoints new education board chair

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The chief executive officer of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia will lead Pennsylvania's State Board of Education. Gov. Ed Rendell announced the appointment of Joseph Torsella as board chairman Wednesday. Torsella joined the board as a member after he was confirmed by the state Senate in April. The 22-member board sets state education policy and regulations for K-12 public schools and higher education. Torsella succeeds Karl Girton, who resigned from the board earlier this month after Rendell asked him to give up his post as chairman.

GORI, Georgia (AP) - Russian troops are pulling out of Gori, Georgia, where their presence raised fears that a cease-fire agreement wouldn't hold. A Georgian spokesman says Russian troops have also left a Black Sea port city with an oil terminal key to Georgia's fragile economic health.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Europe, hoping she can help resolve the conflict between Georgia and Russia. Rice will also visit Georgia.
She notes both presidential candidates back the administration's stance.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hillary Clinton and her husband are backing Barack Obama and will give prime time speeches at the Democratic National Convention. But some supporters of Clinton still aren't happy, and are planning to let other Democrats in Denver know they think the nomination was handled unfairly with fliers, blogs and newspaper ads.

WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain says he could run with a Republican who supports abortion rights. He tells the Weekly Standard that someone like former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge is still a conservative, even if he supports abortion rights.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Rare loggerhead sea turtles are having a record nesting season on the Georgia coast, and laying eggs in promising numbers on beaches from Florida to the Carolinas. Still, with their population fragile, the federal government may classify them as an endangered species.