Today's News-Thursday, November 20, 2008

Special election

It will be a waiting game for information about a special election to fill the seat of the late Senator James Rhoades of Mahanoy City. That was the message given by County Election Bureau Director Betty Dries to the Schuylkill County Commissioners Wednesday:

DRIES

The special election date will be set by the state Senate leadership, since the passing of Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll. Dries said that paper ballots may be used, but at this point, its anyone’s guess. Three Republicans, Dave Argall, Gretchen Sterns and Christopher Hobbs, have already announced their interest in the 29th Senatorial District seat which Rhoades held until his death. He was re-elected posthumously in a landslide win on November 4th.

Security to be beefed up at courthouse

Schuylkill County officials are looking to beef up security at the Courthouse. Public Works Director Bill Liptok asked the Board of Commissioners to approve the installation of six cameras, aimed at the parking lots and near the elevator area just outside of the Commissioners office. The equipment will cost nearly $10-thousand-dollars and will be installed by Garland Communications. Bids will also be sought for new doors leading to the Commissioners office. Officials say they are worn and the locks do not work properly. In other business, The North Central Highway Safety Network Inc. is seeking County approval to implement four PENNDOT funded safety programs. Mark Alonge told the Commissioners that funding for the four programs total in excess of $7-Point-2-Million-Dollars. The programs include; the Community Safety Traffic Program; Buckle Up Pennsylvania Click it or Ticket Program; The Smooth Operator aggressive driving program, and the regional Sobriety Checkpoint Project. The programs run from October 1st of this year though September 30th , 2009. County Real Estate Director and County Engineer Lisa Mahall requested permission to register the county for a surplus electronic waste program. Mahall said the program allows the county to recycle all if its scrap electronics for the low cost of $495.00. On Earth Day, April 22nd 2009, Air Cycle employees will come to the county's designated storage location and will package and transport the surplus equipment to an EPA approved recycler.

State police in Frackville are looking for those who burglarized two separate homes in Ringtown. It happened between October 31st and November 19th at the home of 42-year-old Terri Wood and 40-year-old Joseph Campbell of Ninth Street. Police say the robbers got away with a mountain bike-two weed whackers, a generator and a spotlight from a shed belonging to Wood. A wheelbarrow was taken from Campbell. Anyone with information is being asked to call state police at 874-5300.

State police say a generator was stolen from a local wind farm. That burglary happened between Tuesday and Wednesday at Wind Connect off Route 339 in Mahanoy Township. A red Honda generator that was next to a windmill was taken. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call state police at Frackville at 874-5300.

Residents in one Schuylkill county borough may resume regular consumption of their tap water. The Tamaqua Area Water Authority has lifed the water boil advisory for all its customers. That advisory was issued for residents living in the borough and portions of Schuylkill, Walker and West Penn Townships due to a water main break on November 16th. The authority apologizes for any inconvenience and thanks everyone for their cooperation.

Its a national event that spans over 31 years, and many right here in Schuylkill County are kicking off the day by kicking the habit. Today is the Great American Smokeout, a way to encourage smokers and tobacco users to quit for a day, in the hope they may quit for good. AM-1360 WPPA will be covering all angles of this national event, starting at 10am with a special guest from Clinical Outcomes Group, on Step Up To The Mic.

Pa. budget secretary says more budget cuts loom

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell's budget chief says state agencies are being asked to make additional budget cuts because of falling tax revenue. Budget Secretary Mary Soderberg said during a legislative hearing that Rendell had met with his senior staff and told them that more belt-tightening was needed. Soderberg didn't say how much in cuts the governor requested from his senior staff in their Tuesday meeting. Rendell last month said identified $311 million in potential spending cuts. Revenues for the first four months of the fiscal year that began in July were $565 million, or 7 percent, shy of projections. Soderberg says it's too early to tell how large the shortfall will be when the budget year ends in June.

Pa. Senate GOP has bragging rights in Northeast

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Republicans have controlled the Pennsylvania Senate for most of the last three decades, and now they have new bragging rights: The Senate is the last state
legislative chamber in the Northeast in GOP hands. The GOP lost the New York Senate and Delaware House on Nov. 4. But the party's success in Pennsylvania could provide a template
for fellow Republicans looking to win back majorities all across the country. The GOP was able to withstand a Barack Obama-inspired surge in Democratic voter registration and maintain power in the state Senate thanks in part to Pennsylvania voters' history of ticket-splitting.
Party leaders say a key strategy has been to pick candidates who reflect the values of their districts and to avoid dwelling on divisive social issues such as abortion or gay rights.

Ex-Penn prof gets 5-10 years in wife's slaying

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A Montgomery County judge says he was considering a lighter sentence for a former University of Pennsylvania professor who beat his wife to death.
But Judge Paul Tressler says he gave 58-year-old Rafael Robb five to 10 years in prison because of a letter Robb sent his daughter, Olivia, from jail. Tressler says Robb wrote he wouldn't send Olivia a Christmas present until she sent him her report card and a school photo. Tressler says he doesn't want Robb manipulating his daughter. Rafael Robb said in court that there was no justification for the killing, calling it "a horrific misdeed." He says he "just lost it" during an argument that erupted at the couple's Upper Merion Township home in December 2006. The couple's daughter is being raised by a maternal uncle in Haddonfield, N.J.

Audit: Pa. ignored vets when filling state jobs

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - State Auditor General Jack Wagner says a state human resources agency is falling down on the job when it comes to helping qualified military veterans get hired.
Wagner said Wednesday that, over a four-year period, state agencies ignored veterans who they were obligated to hire into 569 civil service jobs. He says that's because of inadequate practices
by the State Civil Service Commission. He says his auditors found that state agencies sidestepped hiring rules without giving an explanation. The commission didn't agree with all of the findings. In its response, the commission says it has no evidence that state agencies circumvented rules to avoid hiring veterans. It also says that one of Wagner's recommendations would give non-state employees a leg up over state employees who are veterans.

Woolly mammoth task: Extinct critter's DNA mapped

WASHINGTON (AP) - For the first time, scientists have unraveled much of the genetic code of an extinct animal, the ice age's woolly mammoth. Penn State biochemistry professor Stephan Schuster says he expects scientists will be able to resurrect prehistoric species within 10 to 20 years. He says the question isn't whether it can be done, but whether it should be done. The study published in the journal Nature says the million-dollar project is a first rough draft, detailing the more than 3 billion DNA building blocks of the mammoth. It's about 80 percent finished. But that's enough to give scientists new clues on the timing of evolution and the deadly intricacies of extinction. The project relied on mammoth hair found frozen in the Siberian
permafrost.

Report: Poor Pa. families pay dearly for college

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A new report says a college education in Pennsylvania takes a major bite out of the incomes of the state's poorest families. The state Education Department's report says families making $20,000 or less have to pay an average of 73 percent of their income for dependent students to attend a state-owned university without loans and 37 percent with loans.
The report presented to the State Board of Education on Wednesday also says Pennsylvania students graduate from public universities with relatively high debt burdens. The board asked for the report as part of its inquiry into the challenges of paying for rising college costs in Pennsylvania. The board held a series of public hearings on the issue last month.

WASHINGTON (AP) - An auto bailout may be near-dead after a Senate vote was scrapped yesterday. Some lawmakers and the administration are working to tap into money already approved for developing more fuel-efficient vehicles.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate is expected to vote today on a bill that would extend jobless benefits up to 13 weeks. President Bush has threatened a veto, calling the bill fiscally irresponsible. It's already passed the House.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The smooth hand-over of Pentagon power will be the topic of a meeting today between Defense Secretary Robert Gates and two members of the Obama transition team. The Pentagon says national security demands good cooperation.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon says shipping companies should take more initiative to protect their vessels from pirates off Somalia. A Pentagon spokesman suggests hiring more lookouts and armed guards, plus other precautions.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hollywood studios say they've reached another labor contract -- their 6th this year. It's said to be a 3-year deal with stagehands. Meanwhile, the studios sit down today with the Screen Actors Guild for the first time in four months.