Today's News- Tuesday, February 17, 2009

VANDALISM AT BALL FIELD

State police at Schuylkill Haven are looking for vandals who damaged a community ball field. Sometime between Sunday and Monday, someone drove around on the MarLin Fire Company, damaging the grass and infield dirt. Estimates of damage are around $700 dollars. If anyone can assist state police in finding the culprits, please call the Schuylkill Haven barracks at 593-2000.

CRASH INJURES 4

ATLAS - Four young people were injured when their car crashed along Route 61 Monday night and landed, nose down, resting against a large sign outside the Pine Burr Inn. The News Item reports, the crash happened just before eleven p.m. Three of the teens were trapped inside the vehicle. Two of them were flown to Geisinger Medical Center the other two were taken by ambulance. Police believe the vehicle hit a curb, struck a small sign and was launched into the Pine Burr Inn sign. The car was resting against the sign, its undercarriage visible. Route 61 was closed to traffic while crews worked at the scene. The identity and ages of the victims were not released.

Human skeleton caps Pa. chiropractor's estate sale

LEESPORT, Pa. (AP) - Maybe it was inevitable the piece de resistance in a collection auctioned after the death of a longtime Pennsylvania chiropractor would be bones-related, in fact, a human skeleton. About 200 people attended Monday night's sale of memorabilia collected by Dr. George Sabo of Reading, who died in August. The barns full of curios ranged from a 1911 Model T Ford to a cigar store American Indian maiden bought on a trip to Wyoming last summer. The 5-foot skeleton drew the top bid, selling for $1,100 to John Powanda. He bought it for his daughter, a skeletal biologist who will analyze its sex, age and other characteristics. Powanda just had one qualm as he loaded up his prize, saying, "I just hope I don't get pulled over by a cop on the way home."

Another plea expected in Luzerne County courthouse corruption

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - Another guilty plea is expected in the Luzerne County courthouse corruption scandal. Court administrator William Sharkey Sr. is accused of embezzling
more than $70,000 in seized gambling proceeds. He's due to plead guilty in federal court in Scranton at 10 a.m. Previously, Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan pleaded guilty to fraud charges. They were accused of taking kickbacks to send juvenile offenders to private detention centers.

Pittsburgh doctors separate conjoined 2-year-olds

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Cleveland woman whose 2-year-old twins were separated at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh says it was a shock to learn she was pregnant. Catherine Nickson says she had been told after her first child that she was unable to have any more children. She says she first thought doctors were joking - and when she was told she had conjoined twins, her reaction was, "That's not funny." She underwent a cesarean section about five hours later. Dagian and Danielle Lee are doing well at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh after the marathon Dec. 13 surgery. Because the girls were joined at the pelvis, each has only one leg. Doctors say prosthetics are a possibility.

Western Pa. father charged in son's death

UPPER ST. CLAIR, Pa. (AP) - A suburban Pittsburgh man whose 9-year-old son accidentally shot and killed his twin brother has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Allegheny County police say 66-year-old Michael Lanese, of Upper St. Clair, allowed his sons Stephan and Christian, access to guns, ammunition and other weapons. Lanese was also charged Monday with endangering the welfare of children. Police say Stephen Lanese was playing with the gun unsupervised when he accidentally pulled the trigger, shooting Christian in the head on Oct. 18. Police say Michael Lanese was downstairs reading a book at the time. It's not clear if Lanese has an attorney. A listed number for him couldn't be found.

Recovering crash remains a methodical process

CLARENCE, N.Y. (AP) - Experts who helped identify victims from Flight 93's crash in a Pennsylvania field on 9/11 have joined the search for remains from a commuter plane's crash site outside Buffalo, N.Y. Continental Flight 3407 dropped from the sky late Thursday night onto a suburban Buffalo home, killing all 49 people on board the plane and one person in the house. The effort to recover is being led by Dennis Dirkmaat, a forensic anthropologist from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., He is also a nationally renowned expert who was part of the recovery effort at Shanksville. The job of identifying remains takes time, experts say, which can be difficult for grieving families.

Man sought for questioning in shooting outside Washington, Pa., bar

WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) - Police are looking for a 26-year-old Washington, Pa., man whom they want to question about a triple shooting that killed one person. Police want to talk to Phillip Whitlock Jr. about the shooting outside Cabaret West in Washington. Monday's predawn shooting killed 23-year-old Troy Saunders of Washington and left a man and a woman hospitalized.

Does the United States make anything anymore?

WASHINGTON (AP) - In January, more than 200,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs vanished in the largest one-month drop since October 1982. But manufacturing in the United States isn't dead or even dying. For example, New Castle, Pa.-based Berner International makes air curtains. Those are rectangular blowers mounted to the ceiling above doors and windows that keep out hot or chilly air, insects and dust while keeping in A/C and heat. Chief executive Georgia Berner says her 60 employees have deep knowledge of air blowers, so moving production overseas wouldn't make sense. Berner says she's banking on a new line of air curtains for fast food drive-through windows. In this economy, fast food demand is on the rise while other restaurants decline.

Cities may have to wait longer for stimulus money

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says he's worried that with the federal stimulus package providing most money to states, big-city needs will lose out. Nutter says he fears the money will be "subsumed into the vortex of state politics." Nutter also went to Washington in November to plead for a piece of the stimulus pie and to deliver a letter to then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The letter, which was also signed by the mayors of Atlanta and Phoenix, pleaded for direct federal aid for cities. In Philadelphia, Nutter would like to put money toward items such as surveillance cameras, energy-efficient vehicles and public works projects.

21 dead dogs found in NE Pa. home

DUSHORE, Pa. (AP) - Police say they found 21 dead dogs in a northeastern Pennsylvania home along with five surviving dogs that were malnourished and lacked proper care. The dogs were in a home near Dushore. The Sullivan County community is about 125 miles north-northwest of Philadelphia. The surviving dogs were taken to an animal shelter in Luzerne County. Police said Monday that they are still investigating the case of the dogs that were found late last week.

Pa. bishop disapproves of gay-rights speaker

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A Roman Catholic bishop in northeastern Pennsylvania is criticizing a local Catholic university's plan to host a gay-rights advocate. Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino says Misericordia University is failing to maintain its religious identity by welcoming Keith Boykin. He says Boykin's beliefs are "disturbingly opposed to Catholic moral teaching." Boykin is scheduled on Tuesday to discuss Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California. Boykin's appearance is sponsored by Misericordia's Diversity Institute, which is dedicated to promoting multicultural understanding and eliminating discrimination. A statement from the school Monday says Misericordia is committed to its Catholic mission and to its academic mission of exploring ideas "critically and freely."

Man trapped 95 feet above street on crane platform in central Pa.

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - A man doing masonry work on a south-central Pennsylvania apartment building became trapped on a crane platform and had to be rescued by firefighters. Corey Dick says he had no way to call for help because he didn't have his cell phone with him when he was trapped Monday afternoon in Lancaster. After about 45 minutes, someone in the apartment building noticed the problem and called 911. Firefighters used a 95-foot ladder to reach Dick, which only made it to the platform by about 6 inches. Dick wasn't injured and says it wasn't too frightening - after all, he was up on the platform all day.

Trucks deliver first slot machines for Pa. casino

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A new Pennsylvania casino pushing to open in time for Memorial Day weekend has reached a milestone with the delivery of the first slot machines. Three tractor trailers rolled in Monday with 363 slot machines for the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. President Robert DeSalvio says that brings the facility on former Bethlehem Steel property that much closer to a hoped for May 22 opening date. Sands officials say they hope to open with 3,000 slot machines, four restaurants, two bars and a parking garage. They've said they hope to add a fifth restaurant and request an increase to 5,000 slot machines within six months. As the trucks arrived, state Gaming Control Board and Sands security officials oversaw the delivery, and technicians were on hand to start installing the machines.

WASHINGTON (AP) - It's the most sweeping economic package in decades and President Barack Obama will sign it into law today in Denver. The signing of the $787 billion package comes during a week in which Obama's time is being dominated by the sagging economy,
including the automakers' crisis.

DETROIT (AP) - General Motors and Chrysler report progress, but are unlikely to complete deals with creditors and union workers by today's deadline to submit restructuring plans. The government wants to know how the automakers plan to survive and pay back federal loans.

CLARENCE, N.Y. (AP) - Some investigators plan to leave a site near Buffalo, N.Y., today, followed closely by key pieces of a crashed commuter plane. It's hoped the pieces, including deicing valves and other parts, will help unravel the cause of the crash in icy conditions.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut woman remains in critical condition after being mauled by a friend's 200-pound chimpanzee. The animal had been given an anti-anxiety drug earlier. Police say Charla Nash had gone to her friend's home to help corral the chimp after he'd gotten out. Police shot and killed the chimp after he attacked them.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Big band and jazz drummer Louie Bellson is dead. The master musician performed with such greats as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and his own late wife, Pearl Bailey. Bellson was 84. His career spanned six decades.