Today's News-Monday, September 15th, 2008

Child injured in Tower City accident

A Williamstown toddler was hurt when he ran out in front of a car in Tower City Sunday morning. The child and his mother were crossing on East Grand Avenue near 7th Street. Michael Castle, the driver of the vehicle, tried to swerve away from the child, but the 3 year old hit his car. The boy was flown to Hershey Medical Center for treatment, but his condition is not known. The incident took place after 11am yesterday.

Four involved in underage drinking incident in West Brunswick Township

Four underage teens face charges of underage drinking following an incident Saturday night. Schuylkill Haven state police say they were called to a disturbance at a home on Coal Mountain Road around 11:30pm, and found 19 year olds Ryan Miller of Orwigsburg, Dana Bashore of Schuylkill Haven, 20 year old Preston Failing of New Ringgold and 18 year old Zachary Shaw of Deer Lake all under the influence of alcohol. A pipe containing pot residue was found in Shaw's car. All will be charged through District Court.

Pine Grove woman injured in DUI related crash near Tremont early Sunday

A Pine Grove woman suffered moderate injuries in a crash early Sunday near Tremont, and alcohol is suspected. 41-year-old Vana Steckley was southbound on Route 125 and drifted across the road, hitting a guiderail and a concrete culvert. State police believe she was driving drunk, and was taken to Schuylkill Medical Center East for treatment of injuries. She refused to take a blood alcohol test.

Driver leaves scene of crash in Schuylkill Township early Sunday

Frackville state police are looking for the driver of a pickup who was involved in a crash on old Route 209 in Schuylkill Township early yesterday. The driver of a Toyota pickup lost control and hit a utility pole and a tree. The truck was heavily damaged, but the driver fled the scene. Troopers are still investigating.

Suspicious fires in Summit Station yesterday

Fire investigators will return to the scene of two suspicious fires near Summit Station today. Early Sunday, firefighters were called to an empty home with no electricity. It took several hours to put it out. Sunday afternoon, a summer home on Stony Mountain Road burned to the ground. The house was empty at the time of the fire.

Union attacks McCain with TV ad on economy

WASHINGTON (AP) - A powerful service workers union backing Democrat Barack Obama has begun running TV ads in Pennsylvania and five other states attacking Republican John McCain on the economy. The $2.1 million ad campaign by the Service Employees International Union targets states that could be competitive in the presidential election. The union's efforts are independent of Obama's presidential campaign, but the ad strikes many of the same themes.
The union ad shows a family talking about how they have been hurt by the nation's struggling economy. It also includes a McCain quote from 2005 saying that he needed to know more about economics. The spot is also running in Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, calls the ad misleading and says it is the type of ad that Obama criticized before he began dropping in the polls. The 2-million member SEIU was Obama's first major union supporter, and was rewarded with three speaking slots at the Democratic National Convention.

Proceedings in Fumo corruption trial delayed 1 week due to judge's illness

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Proceedings in the upcoming corruption trial of state Sen. Vincent Fumo, the long-powerful Philadelphia Democrat, have been delayed for one week due to illness of the judge. An official with the U.S. Attorney's office says the final selection of jurors and opening statements are now expected Sept. 22. The proceedings were to resume Monday.
The 65-year-old Fumo is charged with 139 counts of fraud and corruption. Federal prosecutors allege that he misused more than $3.5 million in funds and resources from the Senate, a charity and a museum. Fumo insists that he's done nothing illegal. Also charged in the case is Ruth Arnao, who ran the South Philadelphia charity. The trial is expected to last three months. Many potential jurors were excused last week due to the hardship of such a trial, including lost income or pressing family concerns.

School counselor shot execution-style in front of suburban Philly home

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Authorities in the Philadelphia suburbs are trying to find out who shot a school counselor to death execution-style in front of his home over the weekend. The Delaware County Medical Examiner's office says 31-year-old Veno Leigertwood died of a single gunshot wound to the neck. He was a Philadelphia School District counselor who had just been promoted
and was about to receive an M.B.A. Authorities say Leigertwood was shot shortly after 6:30 a.m. Saturday as he packed up his car to attend his last day of graduate school at Eastern University. His wife and 7-month-old daughter were sleeping inside the Yeadon home at the time. He worked with southwest Philadelphia students in a program called GEAR UP, or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. It provides academic support and mentoring to low-income students from seventh grade through senior year and helps the students get into college.

Joe Biden, and wife Jill, to visit Philadelphia suburbs Tuesday

MEDIA, Pa. (AP) - Delaware U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, will make a campaign stop in the Philadelphia suburbs this week. Biden will speak Tuesday evening at a community event at Linvilla Orchards in Media. He will talk to voters about the
economy and the plans of his running mate, fellow Sen. Barack Obama. Biden will be accompanied by his wife, Jill, who grew up in Willow Grove.

Army pilot from western Pa. killed in Afghanistan

GIBSONIA, Pa. (AP) - An Army helicopter pilot who grew up in western Pennsylvania has been killed during a firefight in Afghanistan. The mother of 39-year-old Michael Slebodnik says her son died Thursday after being shot near Jalalabad. Patricia Slebodnik, of Richland Township, says the family is still waiting for more details on how he was killed. Slebodnik joined the Army after graduating from Richland High School in 1987. The married father of four was assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky., and lived in Clarksville, Tenn. Slebodnik had been in Afghanistan since January and was scheduled to return to the U.S. next month. His family says he had served five tours in Iraq since 2003 and was a veteran of Operation Desert Storm.

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) - People traveling from New Jersey to Philadelphia are now paying more to make the trip. The Delaware River Port Authority has raised tolls on its four bridges and fares on the PATCO commuter train line. As of Sunday, bridge tolls for cars are now $4, up from $3. And rides on PATCO have gone up by 10 percent. Commuters should brace for more regular increases from the agency. It's already approved increases in two years and plans smaller inflation-based toll and fare increases every two years after that.

Northeastern Pennsylvania's Steamtown National Historic Site facing challenging times

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A site in Scranton devoted to telling the story of steam railroading in America finds itself beset by troubles 22 years after it became part of the National Park
Service. Annual visits to Steamtown National Historic Site have dropped below 100,000 for three straight years, down from more than 200,000 in the 1990s. Restoration of locomotives and other equipment has been stalled amid budget woes. And there are new calls for at least partial privatization of Steamtown's operation. Steam enthusiast Donald Pevsner, a transportation lawyer and consumer advocate, says taxpayers are not receiving their money's
worth for the estimated $176 million that has been put into Steamtown since 1986. But Steamtown superintendent Harold "Kip" Hagen Jr. says critics usually don't have all the facts. He says, however, he agrees with some of the improvements that Pevsner proposes, including more aggressive restoration of the locomotives and rolling stock and a beefier excursion schedule.

LONDON (AP) - Britain's Financial Services Authority has temporarily suspended trading of Lehman Brothers after the company announced it was filing for Chapter 11 protection. Earlier, the Australian Securities Exchange announced a similar suspension.

CHICAGO (AP) - There's lots of damage to assess after the remnants of Hurricane Ike plowed through the middle of the country yesterday. Thigh-high floodwaters in Chicago led to dozens of boat rescues. The storm is blamed for at least 28 deaths from the Gulf Coast to Ohio.

HOUSTON (AP) - Prices at gasoline pumps have jumped above $5 per gallon in some parts of the country even though Hurricane Ike caused less destruction to oil facilities than feared. Average prices exceeded $4 per gallon in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Hawaii and Alaska. Analysts expect it to be temporary.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new poll finds two-thirds of Americans are strongly against giving the president new powers at the expense of Congress or the courts, even if it helps national security or the economy. The AP-National Constitution Center poll also suggests widespread disdain among both liberals and conservatives for the government's use of eminent domain for redevelopment.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Testimony begins today in O.J. Simpson's latest trial in Las Vegas. He faces charges including kidnapping and armed robbery. Simpson's lawyers maintain he was trying to recover sports memorabilia stolen from him years ago.