Today's News-Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

WATER BOIL ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE FOR ALL RESIDENTS OF PINE GROVE DUE TO REPAIRS OF A WATER MAIN BREAK!

Three to stand trial in Ramirez death

Three teenagers from Shenandoah, charged in the death of a Mexican immigrant, will stand trial after a District Judge's ruling yesterday. The day-long hearing in a packed Courtroom number 5 featured testimony from 5 witnesses for the prosecution, including 17-year-old Joseph Benjamin Lawson Jr. Lawson was with the group that included the accused, Brandon Piekarsky, Colin Walsh and Derrick Donchak, on the night of July 12th when fights took place with Luis Ramirez near the Vine Street Playground. Several neighbors also testified to what they saw from their homes near the scene. Ramirez's fiance', Crystal Dillman, also was questioned about the events that evening during testimony. First and second degree murder charges were dropped by agreement from both sides, but all other charges, including third degree murder and related offenses from the original warrant will stand against Walsh and Piekarsky. Charges against Donchak, including aggravated assault, were also bound over for court. District Attorney James Goodman and defense attorneys declined comment after the hearing. Bail was not offered at the hearing for Walsh and Piekarsky, but Goodman said that their attorneys would have to petition the court for it. A hearing to move Piekarsky and Walsh's cases to juvenile court will be held next Tuesday.

Protests halt proceedings

While the preliminary hearings for the three accused Shenandoah teens were underway, about 40 people protested for justice outside of the Schuylkill County courthouse.

PROTESTORS SNIPPETS

They came from all over the country, carrying banners and chanting to support civil rights for immigrants, demanding justice for the memory of Luis Ramirez and against the accused. Around 9:50am, District Judge Anthony Kilker stopped the hearing for 5 minutes because of the noise coming from the protestors. County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to quiet them down so the preliminary hearing for Derrick Donchak, Colin Walsh and Brandon Piekarsky could continue. The 6 hour hearing ended with charges bound over for court against the trio. First and second degree murder counts against Walsh and Piekarsky were dropped.

Flour, flour everywhere

No, that wasn't snow on Route 54 yesterday afternoon. It was flour that dumped from a truck, bound for Ateeco, Incorporated in Shenandoah. The trailer of a truck driven by 46-year-old Thomas McGuigan of Wildwood, New Jersey separated, and some of the flour it was carrying spilled onto the highway. Officials from the Department of Agriculture were called in to inspect the remaining flour in the truck, and ordered it to be destroyed. Cleanup of the mess took several hours.

Pine Grove water woes

A major water main break left the borough of Pine Grove with little water pressure last night. Mayor Morris Williams told WPPA News this morning that around 9pm Monday, a break in a main line was discovered behind the Pine Grove Manufacturing Homes plant, resulting in about 70-thousand-gallons of water loss. Workers created a bypass around the problem area until permanent repairs can be made. A water boil advisory is in effect for all residents of Pine Grove until further notice.

Dispute results in charges

A Gilberton man is jailed following an incident in the borough Sunday night. Frackville state police indicate that 39-year-old John Blaschock was involved in a dispute with 43-year-old Connie Delowery at a home on Main Street. Blaschock allegedly hit Delowery in the face, injuring her left eye and nose. Blaschock was taken into custody under the domestic violence act, arraigned and jailed in the county prison.

Senators seek to delay new rules in terror probes

WASHINGTON (AP) - Two senators are seeking to delay new Justice Department rules that would let the FBI investigate Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing. The lawmakers fear the rules could lead to the singling out Muslims, Arabs or other racial and ethnic groups.
In a letter Monday, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said the proposed rules raise potential civil liberties concerns. They asked Attorney General Michael Mukasey to hold off finalizing the rules until Congress can hold hearings. A Justice Department spokesman said the letter was being reviewed. The rules are known as the attorney general guidelines, and they govern how the FBI runs national security investigations. They are expected to be finalized later this week or early next week.

GOP leader seeks to push Barr off Pa. ballot

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Republican leader is trying to get Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr knocked off the Pennsylvania ballot. Victor Stabile is a Harrisburg lawyer and Cumberland County chairman of the GOP. Stabile says the Libertarians misled people who signed their ballot petitions because a Clarion County woman was listed as the presidential candidate for weeks after the national party picked Bob Barr at its convention in May. Barr is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who some Republicans say could hurt presumptive GOP nominee John McCain in the general election. Barr's name was substituted on the Pennsylvania ballot just last week. Pennsylvania Libertarian Chairman Mik Robertson says the party listed a stand-in candidate when it started gathering signatures in February because there wasn't a nominee at the time.

Oldest delegate to Democratic Convention cancels

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The 91-year-old former mayor of Pittsburgh who was slated to be the oldest delegate at the Democratic National Convention will not be attending. Sophie Masloff says she has been forced to cancel at the last minute due to poor health. She says it is the first convention since 1960 that she will not be attending. She says she is heartbroken. Masloff told The Associated Press she was canceling her plans. The Democratic National Convention Committee named Masloff as the convention's oldest delegate in a news release that went out to
news organizations nationwide. The committee had no immediate comment. It was looking into who would be the next oldest delegate.

Feds: Fumo defrauded Pa. Senate of $1.95 million

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Prosecutors say crimes by Sen. Vincent Fumo cost the Pennsylvania Senate nearly $2 million and that he and others defrauded a museum and nonprofit group of another $1.5 million. A government trial memo filed Monday puts the fraud total at about $3.5 million, far higher than estimates in the 2007 federal indictment. The amount would prove relevant if Fumo is convicted and ordered to pay restitution. The 65-year-old Fumo, a millionaire banker and lawyer, is leaving the Senate after 30 years to fight the corruption charges. His trial is set for Sept. 8. The memo says Fumo spent "enormous" sums of public money on political campaigns, personal expenses and friends - and made no distinction between public and private tasks. Computer technician Mark Eister of Camp Hill is scheduled for a
plea hearing on Tuesday.

Study finds Saks is a must for downtown Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A market study says Pittsburgh must ensure Saks Fifth Avenue stays downtown if it wants the area to be relevant and regain some of its old grandeur. Pittsburgh has been hurting financially and demographically for 30 years since the steel mills that made it famous shutdown. The study released Monday says Pittsburgh must offer incentives to ensure Saks remains downtown and also work to revive other streets. The city should also focus on attracting student shoppers from downtown universities. Previous attempts to revive downtown Pittsburgh have failed. But downtown advocate Michael Edwards says downtown office occupancy and the residential population are on the rise, both encouraging signs.

Pa. child dies after being left in van

YORK, Pa. (AP) - An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday on a 15-month-old south-central Pennsylvania girl who died after being left in her family's van for hours. York County Coroner Barry Bloss says Cassandra Starr was asleep in the van when the family returned to their Red Lion home from church early Sunday afternoon. Bloss says the girl's mother, Jenny Starr, told the father to get items from the van and their daughter. He says the father, Christopher Starr, got the items but forgot his daughter. Bloss says Jenny Starr thought Cassandra was asleep until another child told her that she wasn't in her crib. Bill Johnson, the girl's maternal grandfather, told the York Daily Record that the family is grieving. The Fremont, Mich., man
describes the death as "a terrible accident."

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) - Scattered power outages are reported around southwestern Florida, after Tropical Storm Fay came ashore this morning. No major damage or injuries have been reported. Top winds have been around 60 miles an hour, well under hurricane strength.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - NATO ministers are maintaining that Georgia will eventually become a member of the alliance. At an emergency meeting in Brussels this morning, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been pushing to create a permanent NATO-Georgia Commission. Diplomats say she's also pushing to increase training for the Georgian military.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan officials say 10 French soldiers have been killed in a battle outside Kabul. Four of them were kidnapped by insurgents and killed. The parachutists were on a reconnaissance mission 30 miles from the Afghan capital when they were ambushed.

TOKYO (AP) - Trouble with the iPod Nano. Japan is looking into a possible battery defect that's caused the music players to overheat. A government official says they're looking into three
cases, including two that resulted in minor damage.

BEIJING (AP) - American gymnast Shawn Johnson finally has her first Olympic gold medal, winning the balance beam today in Beijing. She already had three silvers.