Today's News-Friday, October 10, 2008

Three car crash at Cressona Mall

Three vehicles were involved in a crash at the entrance to the Cressona Mall Thursday afternoon. 71 year old John Rosenberger of Pottsville was attempting to turn left into the mall when his car was hit by 28-year-old Troy Brendle's vehicle, which was headed south on Route 61. The impact forced Rosenberger's car into George Day Sr.'s vehicle, which was waiting at the light, attmepting to turn onto Route 61. No one was injured, but Rosenberger and Brendle's car had to be towed from the scene. The crash happened around 4:30pm yesterday.

Civil suit award given to victim in Shields assault case

A former high school track coach will have to pay more than $750-thousand-dollars in damages relating to the sexual assault of one of his former students. The Republican and Herald reports that Daniel Shields Jr., who is in state prison for sexually assaulting and video taping girls in the Nativity BVM locker room, will have to pay punitive and compensatory damages to the victim, now 21 years old. Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin announced the award during a non jury trial yesterday. The suit was filed in 2006, citing that the girl was emotionally and physically distraught over the assaults. Shields pleaded guilty in 2005 to five counts of invasion of privacy, four counts of sexual abuse and other related counts. He's serving an 18 month to 4 year sentence at the state correctional instituion at Waymart.

Pottsville man arrested for stealing equipment from fire vehicle

A Pottsville man is charged with stealing equipment from a city fire department vehicle. Police say that 19 year old Scott Parsons reported took a portable fire radio and city-owned cell phone from the car while it was parked in the 900 block of West Market Street. The value of the items is $12-hundred dollars. Parsons was arraigned on theft and related charges and was taken to the county prison. Parsons reportedly admitted to other thefts from vehicles, which are being investigated.

Slovak president to meet with US Steel today

PITTSBURGH (AP) - U.S. Steel executives plan to meet with Slovak president Ivan Gasparovic today in Pittsburgh. The president of the Slovak Republic is expected to discuss U.S.
Steel's subsidiary in Kosice, Slovakia. U.S. Steel Kosice employs more than 15,000 people, makes more than 5 million tons of raw steel a year and recently expanded to include a galvanized steel operation. Gasparovic is also expected to meet Mayor Luke Ravenstahl when
he visits the city.

Serious crime in Pa. dropped 2.2 percent in '07

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Serious crime in Pennsylvania fell by more than 2 percent last year while overall crime numbers were also down slightly, state police said. The Uniform Crime Report's so-called "crime index" offenses - including murder, rape, robbery and other serious crimes - fell from about 345,000 in 2006 to 338,000 last year, police said Thursday. That was a decrease of 2.2 percent. The number of murders fell from 736 to 727, while robberies were
down 7 percent. Juvenile arrests decreased 6 percent, but drug abuse violations were up by nearly 1 percent and driving-under-the-influence arrests rose 4.4 percent. Nearly 79 percent of those arrested for driving under the influence were male, police said. The total number of crimes reported to state police last year was 995,000, a drop-off of just under 1 percent from 2006.

Woman pleads guilty in death of Pa. state trooper

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) - A Chester County woman has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the death of an off-duty state trooper in March. Kristina Quercetti, of Landenberg, pleaded guilty Thursday in Chester County court to charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, endangering the welfare of children, and two counts of recklessly endangering another person. Authorities say Quercetti was intoxicated, speeding and driving with her headlights off at the time of the March 27 crash on Route 41 that killed 24-year-old off-duty Trooper Kenton Iwaniec. First Assistant District Attorney Patrick Carmody says he will
seek a maximum sentence of 11-to-22 years in prison for the crime The 40-year-old Quercetti is to be sentenced Jan. 12.

Immigrant death defendant complains about school

POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania teenager charged with killing a Mexican man claims his school is failing to provide him with an adequate education. Brandon Piekarsky faces third-degree murder charges in the July 12 beating death of 24-year-old illegal immigrant Luis Ramirez in Shenandoah. Piekarsky's school agreed to provide him with 12.5 hours a week
of home-based instruction and a computer with Internet access while he awaits trial. But Piekarsky says he has been getting only a few hours a week of tutoring. He also says his computer was delivered weeks late and lacks Internet access. Piekarsky asked a judge this week to force the Shenandoah Valley School District to pay to send him to a private school.
The judge has declined Piekarsky's request, but ordered the district to live up to the agreement.

Child death panel bill, others signed by Rendell

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - New laws added to Pennsylvania's books authorize the repair of 411 bridges and provide for a new system to review the deaths of children. Among the 10 bills Gov. Ed Rendell signed into law on Thursday are licensing mandates for acupuncturists and municipal rules for amateur radio antennas. Other new laws crack down on out-of-state recreational vehicle dealers and require registration for online auctioneering trading assistants.

Group: Many Pa. voters may face Election Day lines

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A watchdog group says a lack of voting machines and poll workers could leave some Pennsylvania voters facing long lines on Election Day. The Washington-based Advancement Project says the surge in voter registration and expected larger-than-usual turnout may overwhelm the resources of some precincts. The group focused on Montgomery, Berks and Philadelphia counties and used publicly available data to analyze the effects of a large
turnout on precincts in those counties. It did not include the additional machines that many counties are leasing or buying this year. It found that even if only an additional 5 percent new or infrequent voters turn out, there would be more voters per machine than state officials recommend at most precincts in Montgomery and Berks counties.

Obama, Biden, Palin to campaign in Pa. on weekend

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is returning to Pennsylvania, a key battleground state. Obama will make four campaign stops in Philadelphia on Saturday while his running mate, Joe Biden, travels to Biden's hometown of Scranton for a rally Sunday. Biden will be joined by former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor and self-described "hockey mom," will be in Philadelphia on Saturday evening to drop the ceremonial first puck when the Flyers open their NHL season against the New York Rangers. Palin will also attend a private fundraising dinner in Pittsburgh on Friday evening and a rally in Johnstown on Saturday
morning. Republican John McCain campaigned with Palin in Bethlehem on Wednesday.

Pa. counties mull policy on campaign buttons, hats

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - Some Pennsylvania counties are still sorting out their policies on wearing campaign buttons and the like in polling places in light of a recent state memo.
Lancaster County's election board adopted a policy Wednesday saying voters won't be turned away from polling places for wearing campaign buttons, hats or T-shirts as long as they don't involve active displays such as sound or lights. Lancaster County formerly barred such items because of a state prohibition on electioneering. A recent Department of State memo says each county must set its own policy, but the department doesn't consider wearing campaign paraphernalia to be electioneering. York, Lebanon, Berks and Erie counties have adopted policies similar to Lancaster County, while Cumberland, Adams and Montgomery counties will ban the buttons. Some counties are still considering the question.

Township panel OKs museum plan in Valley Forge

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (AP) - A township zoning panel has approved a long-contested plan to build an American Revolution museum on private land within Valley Forge National Historical Park. The Lower Providence Township Zoning Commission granted approval Tuesday night.
That effectively clears the way for the American Revolution Center to build a three-story museum, a four-story conference center, and a trailhead structure on 78 acres it owns within the boundary of the park. The National Parks Conservation Association and several
residents asked the commission to reject the plan, arguing that it would be too commercialized and would interfere with the National Park Service's mission to operate nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park. Opponents say they will appeal the decision.

TOKYO (AP) - It's another tough day for global markets. Japan's Nikkei sunk nearly 10 percent in overnight trading. Markets across Asia and in Europe are down. Finance ministers and central bankers plan to meet in Washington today.

TOKYO (AP) - The Japanese finance minister says he'll propose that a joint fund be set up to give emergency loans to countries hard hit by the financial crisis. The G-7 nations meet in
Washington today. Japan has experience dealing with a bad debt crisis.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush plans to make a statement on the economy today. He's not expected to announce any new policy decisions but rather assure the American people they should be confident everything is being done to stabilize the economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrat Barack Obama is planning something different. He's scheduled a half-hour commercial for prime time on Oct. 29, just six days before the election. It will cost his campaign millions and he will use the time to make a kind of closing argument to the American people.

OSLO, Norway (AP) - And the winner is... Finland's ex-president Martti Ahtisaari. He's won the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to build a lasting peace in places as diverse as East Timor and the Balkans in Europe. Ahtisaari says he "was very pleased and grateful."