Today's News- Friday, February 13, 2009

CLEANING UP

The sounds of chainsaws and other equipment will be heard all across the region as the cleanup begins following yesterday's high winds that accompanied a Canadian cold front. Gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour were reported, roofs were torn off trees felled everywhere. Less than one hundred homes and businesses served by PPL Resources are expected to have power restored by noon today, according to the companies storm center website.

MINERSVILLE MAN ASSAULTED

A Minersville man was assaulted Wednesday in Norwegian Township, and his attackers are still on the loose. Schuylkill Haven state police say that 19 year old Matthew Lazobi was walking on Westwood Road, heading toward MarLin around 5pm. A small bluish green vehicle came upon him, and the occupants, three black males and one white male, began yelling at Lazobi. Reports indicate that two of the black men left the car and began punching Lazobi in the face. He was able to escape and the men fled in the vehicle. If you have information about the attack, call Haven state police at 593-2000.

ANOTHER THEFT FROM A SENIOR

Officials from the Schuylkill County DA's office are holding a press conference this morning to announce the arrest of a 43 year old woman who financially exploited an 88 year old woman who is suffering from dementia and is in a nursing home. In a press release, DA Jim Goodman's says that more than $197-thousand-dollars were taken. The charges will be detailed by Goodman at 10am at District Judge David Plachko's office in Port Carbon. WPPA and T102 News will be there.

PINE GROVE WOMAN CHARGED IN DRUG CASE

A Pine Grove woman is charged with drug possession and other offenses, resulting in her arrest Wednesday night. A traffic stop by Pine Grove police led to the apprehension of 27 year old Natasha Zimmerman. Police found more than 100 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. She was also driving with a suspended license.

ARGALL RECEIVES ENDORSEMENT

The Republican candidate for the 29th Senatorial District seat has received an endorsement by
a grassroots taxpayer group. Representative Dave Argall got the nod from Citizens Against Higher Taxes yesterday. Dr. Jim Broussard, a representative of the group praised Argall's willingness to protect the taxpayer and oppose higher taxes, and his stand to fight to eliminate property taxes. Argall will face Schuylkill County Clerk of Courts Steve Lukach, the Democratic challenger, to replace the late Senator Jim Rhoades in the special election on March 3rd.

Final stimulus bill will deliver for Pa. budget

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell says the federal economic stimulus bill has restored enough items that, in his words: "We have pretty much escaped a disaster." Rendell says if the Senate verison of the bill had passed, he would have had to make severe budget cuts. He says state-related universities, museums and educational and health care institutions would have lost some or all their funding. He says dollars for school districts and counties also would have plummeted, potentially forcing layoffs. A version expected to pass Congress in the next couple of days will restore most of the money in the House bill, but not all. But filling that gap will be far less onerous than what Pennsylvania would have faced under the Senate's bill.

2 Pa. judges plead guilty to fraud

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - The case of two former judges accused of taking more than $2 million in kickbacks to send youth offenders to private detention centers may not be over. Both former Luzerne County judges pleaded guilty to fraud charges, but Mark Ciavarella maintains there was no connection between the money and the sentencings. Thus prosecutors skirted over many of the allegations contained in their original criminal complaint, presenting only enough evidence to establish that crimes had occurred. But the prosecutor said after the hearing that the government continues to allege that the money was in exchange for sentencing. He says U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik will have to settle that matter. Kosik could reject the proposed sentence of more than seven years in prison as too light if he decides there was a quid pro quo.

Fumo says he regrets ever serving in Pa. Senate

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Vincent Fumo says now that he looks back on it, he wishes he never got elected to the Pennsylvania Senate. The Philadelphia Democrat said so under cross-examination as he defends himself from corruption charges. Fumo is accused of defrauding the state Senate and two nonprofits out of more than $3.5 million in goods, services and staff time. A prosecutor grilled Fumo about why he long denied to journalists that he got any money or benefits from one of the nonprofits, the Citizens' Alliance for Better Neighborhoods. In court, Fumo acknowledged for the first time receiving what he called "gifts" or "perks." Prosecutors say he spent more than $1 million of the charity's assets to fund his lifestyle. The group was run by his former aides.

NE Pa. man accused of fatally stabbing man who wanted sex

BRODHEADSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - Police say a 19-year-old Monroe County man killed a man whose sexual advances he was fending off. Shawn Freemore, of Price Township in Monroe County, is also accused of taking 21-year-old Michael Goucher's wallet. Police say in court papers that Freemore told investigators that he met the Stroudsburg man last month and had a sexual encounter in Goucher's car. Police say Freemore told them when they met again, he refused to have sex with Goucher and got out of the car, but Goucher followed. Freemore allegedly stabbed Goucher in the neck early Feb. 4, then forced him into the woods and stabbed him repeatedly. Goucher's body was found Wednesday.

Financially troubled W.Pa. hospital closes doors

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A financially troubled suburban Pittsburgh hospital has closed. The Brownsville Tri-County Hospital notified the state health department that it was closing on Thursday afternoon. Arrangements have been made to transfer about a dozen patients to other hospitals. A federal bankruptcy judge has also dismissed a settlement default notice that creditors had filed against the hospital to seeking to collect $6 million. The creditors had claimed the hospital failed to disclose debts. The hospital had reopened in May after a reorganized nonprofit board raised $2 million to renovate the 40-bed facility about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh.

Psych aide accused of giving patient nails to eat

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A psychiatric aide at a Pennsylvania mental hospital is accused of giving nails to a patient who then swallowed them last month. Police charged 27-year-old Athena Marie Sidlar on Thursday with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment after four nails were removed from the stomach of an 18-year-old Allentown State Hospital patient. State police say the patient told them Sidlar gave the female patient nails and told her she had swallowed nails herself. Police say Sidlar was interviewed Jan. 24 at a hospital in Bethlehem where she was being treated for swallowing numerous metal objects, including nails. They say Sidlar admitted she brought the nails to Allentown State Hospital two days earlier but denied giving them to the patient.

Video shows Philadelphia officers arguing over shot suspect

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia Police Department is investigating a video that shows two officers in a heated argument, apparently over transporting a wounded suspect to the hospital. The dispute happened moments after police shot 35-year-old Marcus Henderson following a foot pursuit in West Philadelphia last month. Police say Henderson twice pointed a gun at them. The 59-second video posted on YouTube shows a profane exchange between officers whom police identified as being from different units. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says the department is concerned about the video because "it doesn't look good." He says the internal affairs unit is looking into it. Henderson was treated and released from a hospital. He is charged with aggravated assault and related offenses. He's in custody pending a preliminary hearing next week.

Pa. woman charged in sale of neighbor's dogs

COLUMBIA, Pa. (AP) - A 27-year-old Lancaster County woman is accused of selling her neighbor's purebred dogs for $150. Brandi Anderson of Columbia says she found the dogs dirty and without tags and didn't know the owner. She maintains that she kept the two dogs for a few days, then sold them so they'd have a good home. Police say she is charged with theft of lost property because she didn't take reasonable measures to find the dogs' owner. Anderson wrote on her Internet ad offering the dogs for sale that she inherited the dogs from a deceased relative. She told police she fabricated that story because she didn't think people would want to buy strays.

CLARENCE, N.Y. (AP) - A heroic effort was made to try to save the lives of the 49 people killed when a Continental commuter plane slammed into a house near Buffalo, N.Y. late last night. Officials say firefighters were shouting toward the flaming wreck to see if anyone was alive. Witnesses say the twin-turboprop was making odd noises before it crashed.

CLARENCE, N.Y. (AP) - Federal crash investigators and airline representatives are making their way to the Buffalo suburb where Continental Flight 3407 slammed into a home. The crash was about 10 miles from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport with weather conditions of light snow and fog.

UNDATED (AP) - More than half-a-million homes and businesses lost power from the Great Lakes to the East Coast from a spate of storms and strong winds spawned by a low pressure system. At least five deaths are blamed on the weather, which downed trees and power poles, and delayed air travel in some cities.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A vote is set for later today on a $790 billion economic stimulus package aimed at saving jobs and businesses, but not everyone is singing its praises. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warns that future taxpayers will have to "clean up the mess." The House votes on the measure first. A Senate vote isn't yet scheduled.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - President Barack Obama is paying tribute to Abraham Lincoln by urging Americans to embrace a unified country. Obama, speaking at a dinner on Lincoln's 200th birthday, says a "knee-jerk disdain" for government and common endeavors won't rebuild the nation's levees, roads and bridges.