Today's News-Friday, October 17, 2008

Ringtown Elementary to close

The North Schuylkill school board has voted to close the Ringtown Elementary school at the end of the current school year. Directors attempted to close the facility and send students to the K through 6 building in Fountain Springs earlier this year, but did not meet the time limits established by the state school code. The Republican and Herald reports that a motion to close the building at the end of this month did not pass. Parents and concerned citizens have been lobbying to keep the Ringtown building open, and reports indicate that they will continue to pursue that. Frackville and Ashland elementary were closed and students consolidated at the beginning of the 2007 school year. District officials say that students from Ringtown would get a better education at the Fountain Springs elementary center.

Seafood theft lands Frackville man in jail

A Frackville man who had a hankering for shrimp got more than he bargained for when he was stopped by police. Schuylkill Haven state police say that Jeff Verbash was spotted removing a bag of shrimp he took from Weis Markets from under his coat in the store parking lot. When apprehended, state police found the stolen merchandise and drug paraphernalia in his car. He was arraigned and taken to the county prison in lieu of bail.

Fundraiser to help Frackville woman

A community in Schuylkill County is holding a get healthy event this weekend tha's open to everyone. As WPPA's Kerry Dowd reports, this means so much more to one family...

DOWD

Pa. sheds 12,000 jobs in September

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - State officials say Pennsylvania lost more than 12,000 nonfarm jobs in September. Gov. Ed Rendell said in a statement that the loss of jobs is a sign of the wider economic malaise affecting the country. With the setback in jobs, Pennsylvania employers now have fewer workers than at this time a year ago. Nationally, jobs were down by 159,000 in September. However, Pennsylvania's unemployment rate, a gauge of how many people are looking for work, eased down a tenth of a percentage point to 5.7 percent from a five-year high in August of 5.8 percent. The national unemployment rate for September was 6.1 percent, putting Pennsylvania's jobless rate below the national rate for five straight months.

Former Pa. bank exec charged with identity theft

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say a former Pennsylvania banking executive took out more than $700,000 in fradulent loans over a two-year period by stealing customers' identities. Twenty-seven-year-old George Clayton Jr. of Manheim was charged Wednesday with multiple counts of forgery, identity theft and other charges. Clayton was a Union National Community Bank vice president when police say he used the identities of three bank customers - including his wife's grandfather - to take out loans. The bank's president says Clayton has been fired. Police say none of the victims lost money and Clayton has repaid about half of the loan amount. Clayton has been released on $25,000 unsecured bail.

Weapon case defendant accused of Pa. judge threats

YORK, Pa. (AP) - A 73-year-old York man is facing a federal charge after witnesses told investigators he threatened to plant bombs under the vehicles of two county judges and blow up others' homes. Court records say a witness saw bomb-making materials and instructions in the home of Christopher Peter Renda. A search of his home by federal agents on Wednesday turned up two rifles, more than 200 rounds of ammunition and smokeless powder. He's accused of illegal possession of firearms and is currently in federal custody. Investigators say in court records that Renda told an unnamed informant that he had conducted surveillance at the judges' homes. Defense lawyer John Yaninek says Renda is disputing the accusation.

Legislative bonus trials to begin in early 2009

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A jury trial for 12 defendants accused of misusing public money for Pennsylvania legislative campaigns is set to begin Jan. 12. Dauphin County Judge Richard Lewis this week announced the defendants will be arraigned in three weeks - the day after Election Day - and pretrial motions are due a month later. It's unclear how many defendants will be left by the time of trial, as some are cooperating with investigators and it's unknown how many have agreed to plea bargains. All 12 are connected to the House Democratic caucus, but Attorney General Tom Corbett says he's investigating both parties in the state House and Senate and more arrests are expected. The defendants include a sitting lawmaker, Beaver County Rep. Sean Ramaley, and former House Democratic whip Mike Veon.

Lewisburg man charged in shooting of former girlfriend

LEWISBURG - 46-year old Roderick Sims has been charged with first and second degree murder for killing Charity Spickler in Union County on September 27th. Sims is also charged with burglary and two counts of terroristic threats for pointing a gun at Lorraine Reed and Eric Hitchcock. Court documents indicate Sims shot Charity Spickler, the mother of his children with a .38 caliber hand gun in the head execution style as she became trapped in between a bed and a wall trying to get away from Sims inside Apartment 6 at 55 Water Street in Lewisburg the home of Lorraine Reed. Sims' preliminary hearing is set for October 30th at 1 p.m.

Lt Governor at Johns Hopkins for cancer treatments

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell says that Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll is in a Baltimore hospital getting intensive treatment for cancer. Rendell said Thursday that Knoll has been in the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center for approximately 10 days to two weeks, but he said there is no prognosis. He said Knoll's doctors feel that the hospital is the best setting for her to get the kind of treatment she needs. Knoll revealed in August that she had been diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in early July and that she had been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments. The hospital has referred questions about Knoll to the governor's office.

RACC employees get new contract

READING, Pa. (AP) - Faculty and staff at Reading Area Community College have new labor contracts. The 140 members of the American Federation of Teachers voted to approve the three pacts on Wednesday afternoon. The RACC Board of Trustees okayed the deal that evening. The faculty, paraprofessionals and office and maintenance workers had been working without contracts since July 1, when their previous agreements expired. The new pacts are retroactive to July 1. Health care and salary were two of the major sticking points in the negotiations. The union accepted a 3.9 percent wage increase in each of the next four years in exchange for concessions in the health plan. One increases co-payments for prescription drugs, but they will be capped at $30.

College cCosts to be discussed in statewide hearings

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - College affordability will be the focus of five upcoming public hearings across Pennsylvania. The State Board of Education's higher-education council says it's seeking testimony from students, parents, college officials and others about the challenges of paying for rising college costs. The council also wants to know how students might be able to obtain a degree without taking on massive debt. Officials say Pennsylvania college students graduate with an average of almost $23,000 in student-loan debt. The hearings will be held Oct. 23 in Nanticoke; Oct. 24 in Philadelphia; Oct. 28 in Harrisburg; Oct. 29 in Monroeville; and Nov. 3 in Clarion. More information is available online by visiting http://www.pde.state.pa.us/ and clicking on the State Board of Education link.

Suds slowdown forces layoffs

LATROBE, Pa. (AP) - City Brewing Co. will lay off 70 workers at the former Rolling Rock brewery in western Pennsylvania next month. According to documents filed with the state, the temporary shutdown should last about two months while City Brewing finds a new customer. City Brewing of LaCrosse, Wis. is a contract brewer, meaning it brews beers for other companies at the plant 45 miles east of Pittsburgh. The brewery has been making Samuel Adams beer for Boston Beer Co., but Boston started making those beers in July at a brewery near Allentown. City Brewing bought the Latrobe facility after Belgian brewing giant InBev SA sold the Rolling Rock brands to Anheuser-Busch. Anheuser-Busch stopped making Rolling Rock in Latrobe in July 2006 and moved production to Newark, N.J.

Pa. man chews through belly-busting, 15-lb. burger

CLEARFIELD, Pa. (AP) - It took Brad Sciullo 4 hours and 39 minutes to finish a marathon. A meat marathon, that is. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound western Pennsylvania chef is the first
person to eat a monstrosity called the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser: a 15-pound burger with toppings and a bun that brought the total weight to 20.2 pounds. The mountain of beef is the product of Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in Clearfield. Sciullo says he was surprised he finished the sandwich Monday and said things got tough about three hours in.

Murtha apologizes for calling western Pa. racist

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic Rep. John Murtha is apologizing for saying his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist. He says in a statement issued by his office that while race is a factor in the election, "we've been able to look beyond race" in recent months. He says voters are concerned with policy differences of the presidential candidates. He also says he thinks Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has shown sound judgment and will win the presidency. The 17-term congressman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story posted Wednesday on its Web site that there's no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area, but that Obama would likely win Pennsylvania.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush hopes to calm economic fears today by giving the nation a more detailed explanation of what the government is doing to battle the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Despite recent actions, banks in the United States and abroad remain wary of lending money to each other and to their customers.

HONG KONG (AP) - Asian stocks have been mixed today after Wall Street strong rebounded yesterday. Japan's Nikkei has gained nearly 3 percent, though it's still far from making back the 11 percent it lost yesterday.

HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii is dropping its universal child health care program just seven months after it launched. The governor cites budget shortfalls and other available health care options as reasons for eliminating the program. It was the only one in the country.

NEW YORK (AP) - John McCain and Barack Obama took a little time off from the campaign trail last night to poke some fun at one another. The two attended a fund-raising dinner in New York and traded jokes rather than jabs. The event raised an estimated $4 million for needy children.

HOLLAND, Ohio (AP) - Maybe 15 minutes of fame isn't so great after all. During the last presidential debate, John McCain held up Joe the Plumber as a typical, hard-working taxpayer. Turns out, Joe Wurzelbacher owes nearly $1,200 in back taxes, according to court documents. And he apparently isn't a licensed plumber either.