Today's News-Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Weather creates havoc

As you wake up this morning, you will need to put the ice scraper to good use from the snow, sleet and freezing rain that fell since late Tuesday. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect from the National Weather Service as freezing rain and sleet changes over to plain rain as temperatures move away from freezing. Many of the major roadways are wet, but slushy, and the normal colder spots are making for travel troubles early. Numerous accidents were reported last night on snowy roads. As always, just take your time.

Fire at Pine Grove treatment center

A minor fire kept emergency crews busy in Pine Grove Tuesday night. Crews were called to the Northwestern Human Services building on Tulpehocken Street around 6pm. The fire was contained to one room, according to reports and everyone got out safely from the treatment facility.

Make sure your food gifts are safe for holidays

Whether its Christmas cookies or Aunt Betty's seafood dip, special foods are a big part of the holiday season. A food safety specialist in Penn State's College of Ag Sciences has a few tips to ensure that you spread only holiday cheer. With tightening family budgets, many people are considering giving food as gifts for this holiday season. Penn State food safety specialist Martin Bucknavage explains that, when it comes to avoiding foodborne illness, all holiday delicacies are not created equal:

BUCKNAVAGE

Bucknavage recommends labeling your food gift clearly so that recipients know what's in it and can avoid problems with food allergies.

PPL restores service

PPL Electric Utilities customers will head into the winter season with electric service. The Allentown based company reports it has reconnected all occupied households, making payment arrangements and offering help where possible to help those who are behind on their bills. The company also reminds customers that other programs, such as LIHEAP, the heating assistance program, are available to help in keeping warm this winter.

Bush to speak in Pa. on national security

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) - President George W. Bush is going to be in south-central Pennsylvania to talk about national security. Bush is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the U.S. Army
War College in Carlisle. Bush will host Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White
House on Friday. The Bush administration is trying to keep its Mideast peace initiative alive for President-elect Barack Obama's team.

Jury to begin deliberating Fort Dix case

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey jury will begin deliberating Wednesday in the case of five men accused of plotting an attack at the Army's Fort Dix. The case was given to the jury Tuesday evening after 29 days of testimony and arguments. Jurors said they wanted to wait until Wednesday to begin discussing the case. The suspects are all foreign-born Muslim men who lived for years in the Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill. They face life in prison if they've convicted on the most serious counts, which include conspiracy to kill military personnel and attempted murder. Their lawyers argue that they were not seriously planning anything and say two paid FBI informants prodded them. In an unusual move, Judge Robert Kugler has sequestered the jury during deliberations.

Police: Lockheed guard fatally shoots worker, self

ARCHBALD, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say a security guard at a Lockheed Martin plant near Scranton fatally shot a plant employee, then killed himself. Authorities say 59-year-old George Zadolnny shot and killed 46-year-old Deborah Bachak at the defense contractor's Archbald
plant Tuesday before taking his own life. No one else was injured. State police Trooper Bill Satkowski says the couple had been dating but that the victim broke off the relationship several weeks ago. Hundreds of employees were evacuated and sent home for the day. Zadolnny was employed by Georgia-based U.S. Security Associates. Lockheed says he was "trained and authorized" to carry a gun as part of his duties. Lockheed employs nearly 600 people at the plant, which makes laser-guided bombs.

Pa. kennel where Joe Biden bought dog is cited

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The kennel where Vice President-elect Joe Biden bought a German Shepherd puppy has been cited for records violations several days after he picked out the dog.
State agriculture officials cited the Wolf Den Kennel in Chester County on Dec. 10 for a general record-keeping violation and failure to produce records of rabies vaccinations. Kennel owner Linda Brown says workers cleaning up the night before Biden's visit accidentally threw out the records. Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander says at the time Biden bought the puppy, the kennel had a 100 percent rating on its last five inspection reports. Brown says she has never been cited before.

Omni Hotels takes over Pa.'s Bedford Springs

BEDFORD, Pa. (AP) - Omni Hotels of Dallas is taking over management of the Bedford Springs Resort in south central Pennsylvania next year. The landmark hotel is about 100 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The hotel is famed for its mineral springs and for being the summer
White House of President James Buchanan in the 1800s. The hotel fell into disrepair and closed in 1990 before reopening after a $120 million renovation and expansion project in May 2007.
The hotel is now managed by Benchmark Hospitality International. Omni will take over on Jan. 1.

Pennsylvania casinos want larger smoking areas

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania casinos want to expand their smoking areas, with at least one casino saying smokers gamble more than nonsmokers. The state law banning smoking in most public places allows casinos to designate 25 percent of floor space for smokers to play
slot machines. The law took effect in September, but also allowed for a 90-day comment period for casinos to provide revenue figures comparing smoking and nonsmoking areas. Those figures aren't out yet, but David LaTorre, a spokesman for The Meadows near Washington, says machines played by smokers did twice as much business as those played by nonsmokers.
The Meadows wants to increase its smoking area to 50 percent. Presque Isle Downs near Erie and Philadelphia Park also want to increase smoking areas.

Rising number of homes without heat in Pa.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The number of homes cut off from their heat-related utility service has risen this winter. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said Tuesday that the
number is up to more than 17,700. That's up 5 percent from last winter. A spokesman for the state's gas and electric utilities says the companies have worked painstakingly to get service to everyone. However, the spokesman, Michael Love, says the utility commission survey is inaccurate because it counts households twice where both electric and gas service is off. He also says the number of disconnected households in Philadelphia would be lower, but the state welfare department has been slow to distribute financial assistance to low-income households there.

Suspect wounded after western Pa. bank heist

HOPWOOD, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a man robbed a bank and was injured during his getaway when he tried to run down officers and was shot at. State police say the suspect left the Parkvale Savings bank in South Union Township in a car with a woman and infant. The man later got into a pickup truck while the woman and baby drove off. Police pulled over the woman based on a description of the car at the bank. She then gave them information about the suspect's vehicle. Police say the suspect was caught Tuesday after a chase and
confrontation in which officers fired at the truck. Police say the suspect is slightly injured, but did not have details. Police did not release his name, nor how he may be related to the woman and infant.

Philly firefighters sue over planned budget cuts

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia firefighters have sued the city in an effort to prevent what they call dangerous spending cuts in the fire department. The firefighters union filed separate lawsuits in Common Pleas Court and the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, a day after about
1,500 people marched to City Hall to object to the cuts. Philadelphia officials are facing a huge budget deficit. They expect to save more than $10 million a year by deactivating five engine companies and two ladder companies. No stations would be closed and no firefighters would be laid off, but nearly 150 firefighters could be reassigned. City Solicitor Shelley Smith responded to the lawsuits by saying that firefighters have already "lost the issue" because the city has the right to close fire companies.

Gas drillers may have to pay more in Pa.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Proposals for a 26-fold increase in the fees that companies must pay to drill into the Marcellus Shale natural gas formation in Pennsylvania are past a first hurdle.
A Pennsylvania environmental review board voted in favor of two sets of regulations Tuesday, although the proposals still need approval from the state's general regulatory review board.
The current fee is $100. The increase would be the first in 24 years. It is motivated by
a rush to drill into the Marcellus Shale, which some industry analysts say could be the nation's biggest gas field. State officials say they will use the money to ensure the drilling meets Pennsylvania's environmental rules and resolve complaints from drilling companies about the bumpy application process.

Missing mother, daughter found in 'good condition'

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - South Florida authorities say they've found a 35-year-old woman who had hidden her two young daughters in a pit under a beach playground for at least two weeks. Tammy Kong-Kham and one of her daughters were recognized Tuesday by a code enforcement officer in Tamarac. The officer called the Broward Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office says Kong-Kham and the girl, 8-year-old Kimberly, were found in good condition and will be transferred to Fort Lauderdale Police custody. Police found Kong-Kham's other daughter, 10-year-old Kelley, on Dec. 4 begging for food at a Fort Lauderdale mall. Kong-Kham had been on the run since October when she allegedly took her girls from a Philadelphia foster home. Officials have said she was unfit to care for her children.