Today's News-Monday, May 11, 2009

MOTORCYCLIST HURT IN CRASH NEAR HEGINS

A motorcyclist was injured in a crash Sunday night in Hegins Township. Details are sketchy at this point, but the extent of his injuries prompted emergency crews to fly him to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. We expect more details later today on his identity and condition.

TWO VEHICLE CRASH, NO INJURIES

No one was injured in a two vehicle crash early Sunday morning in North Manheim Township, but there was significant damage. Schuylkill Haven state police say that 29 year old Tara Thomas was southbound on Route 901, the Gordon Nagle Trail, around 2:20am when her Chevy Monte Carlo crossed the center line and struck a northbound Jeep operated by 26 year old Michael Prokop. The impact caused Thomas’s car to spin out of control and flip onto its roof. Thomas had to be extricated by emergency personnel, but passengers in both vehicles were able to get out safely.

DISORDERLY CONDUCT INVESTIGATED

State police at Frackville are continuing their investigation into a disorderly conduct incident at Schuylkill Mall Saturday afternoon. A white male reportedly began yelling obscenities in the mall parking lot and threatened security guards. The man has not been identified.

TEEN INJURED IN BIKE ACCIDENT

A Philadelphia area teen was hurt in a bicycle accident Sunday afternoon in Turkey Run. The 13 year old girl suffered a head injury according to Shenandoah police. She was taken to Schuylkill Medical Center East for treatment.

MAN ASSAULTED IN NEW PHILADELPHIA

A New Philadelphia man was assaulted Sunday night on the deck of his home. The unidentified 42 year old was punched in the face several times at his Clay Street property after 7pm. He was taken to Schuylkill Medical Center South for treatment of his injuries. State police are still investigating the incident.

CRASH INJURES ONE IN WEST PENN

An Andreas man was injured in a crash in West Penn Township early Sunday morning. Frackville state police say that 55 year old Richard Laviola failed to negotiate a curve on Township Route 789 and struck a tree head on . Laviola was flown to St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem for treatment. The investigation is continuing.

AREA COMPANY IMPROVES EFFIENCY, GOES GREEN

A Schuylkill County based transportation company has developed a new initiative for transporting goods while improving the environment. The Evans Network of Companies has launch ECO-Match, the Export Coordination/Optimization Match, to make best use of truck containers to and from ports all across the nation. President and CEO Bert Evans explains:

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By pairing up loads, the company in particular, and the industry in general, will reduce carbon dioxide emissions, as much as 73 million pounds annually. The program can also reduce congestion on the highways and at port distribution centers. Evans also employs other green initiatives in all of its offices. The Evans Network has more than 80 service centers throughout the US and is based in Schuylkill Haven.

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Truck transportation is the lifeblood of carrying goods and services all across the nation. One company based in our area has developed a new program called ECO Match, to use containers to match loads to and from ports to be more efficient and reduce harmful emissions. The Evans Network of Companies President and CEO Bert Evans said it benefits our environment, and helps transportation carriers:

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Evans also employs other initiatives within its locations, such as energy saving lightbulbs and recycling. The Evans Network is based in Schuylkill Haven, and has more than 80 service centers nationwide.

PENNSYLVANIA PRIMARY
Supreme Court race tops Pa. primary ballot
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - In the Republican primary contest for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the May 19 primary, the public image of the state's judiciary has emerged as more of an issue than usual. Three judges are competing for the nomination - Superior Court judges Joan Orie Melvin and Cheryl Allen, both based in Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Paul Panepinto. The Supreme Court hopefuls are among 22 candidates for a half-dozen open seats on the statewide appellate courts who will be jockeying for the support of Democratic or Republican voters in the primary. In addition to the Supreme Court, three seats are open on the state Superior Court and two on the Commonwealth Court. Also in the primary, party members will decide the nominations for scores of district and county judgeships. There are also
contests for municipal offices including the mayorships in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg and the office of district attorney in Philadelphia, where Lynne Abraham is stepping down after 18 years.

SHOOTING-GIRL KILLED
NEW: Girl, 9, fatally wounded by gunfire in York, Pa.
YORK, Pa. (AP) - Police in south-central Pennsylvania are investigating the fatal shooting of a 9-year-old girl. York police detective George Ripley says the shooting was reported at 2:35 p.m. Sunday in the 500 block of South Duke Street. He provided no other details. Lt. Tim Utley says that the girl suffered one gunshot wound to her back. The station reported that a relative took the girl to York Hospital, where she died a short time later. Police have made no arrests.

AIRLINE DELAYS
Delco to weigh in on Philly airspace redesign
MEDIA, Pa. (AP) - Officials of a suburban Philadelphia county are heading to Washington, D.C. this week to take part in a challenge to the changes in aircraft flight paths put into effect at Philadelphia International Airport a year and a half ago. Jack Whelan, vice chairman of the Delaware County Council, and the county solicitor, John McBlain, plan to consult with attorneys
arguing on behalf of the county before a three-judge panel of the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The changes allow departing planes to travel in multiple directions, rather than just follow a single path, which the agency says reduces delays in the congested airspace. But opponents say the plan subjects too many residential areas to jet engine noise
and other problems. County officials say the plan fails to comply with federal environmental and transportation laws.

CARBON STORAGE
Report: Carbon could be stored in Pa. wells, caves
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A new state report says depleted oil and gas wells, coal beds that can't be mined and salt caverns in north-central and western Pennsylvania are likely places to store carbon in order to use clean coal technology and curb greenhouse gas emissions. Pennsylvania is taking the first steps toward developing a system to capture carbon dioxide emissions from industrial plants. The gas, thought to add to global warming, will be compressed and cooled and then transported via pipelines for storage in underground "sinks" for thousands of years. The report by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources says western Pennsylvania is a primary likely storage location. Officials say a lot is known about subsurface rock formations after a century and a half of oil and gas drilling. But reliable data is scarce in central and eastern Pennsylvania, where fewer wells have been drilled.

SCUBA DIVER DEAD
Md. man dies while scuba diving in Pa. quarry
DELTA, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in central Pennsylvania say a Maryland man died while scuba diving in a quarry. State police say the 56-year-old Sykesville resident was diving in Guppy Gulch in Peach Bottom Township on Saturday when he got into trouble and was pulled from the water by his companions. Emergency workers were called shortly after noon, and the man
was pronounced dead just before 1 p.m. York County Deputy Coroner Claude Stabley says an autopsy will be done to determine what killed the man, whose name has not been released.

DOUBLE FATAL CRASH
Motorcyclist, pedestrian killed in NJ crash
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A motorcyclist who authorities say was speeding down a Trenton street hit an elderly pedestrian and then crashed into a pole, leaving both men dead. Police spokesman Pedro Medina said 49-year-old Gary Aust of Fairless Hills, Pa. had just left a city bar when he struck Russell W. Rackinson, an 86-year-old Trenton resident, around 7:15 p.m. Saturday.
Rackinson died instantly at the scene, while Aust was taken to the Capital Health System at Fuld Hospital in Trenton, where died about three hours later. Witnesses said Aust was thrown into the street after the motorcycle struck the utility pole. Medina said it appears that alcohol played a major role in the crash, which remains under investigation.

WRONG-WAY FATAL
Charges pending in Pa. wrong-way fatal crash
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Authorities in Pittsburgh say charges are pending in a wrong-way crash on a highway exit ramp that killed one driver and seriously injured two others. Police say a car heading in the wrong direction on the Fort Duquesne Bridge exit ramp collided with another vehicle exiting the bridge from Interstate 279 at about 3:11 a.m. Saturday. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office says the second driver, 27-year-old Damien Randolph, was killed. A passenger in his car was hospitalized in critical condition and a passenger in the first car was listed in serious condition. State police say they believe alcohol was a factor in the crash,
and charges are pending.

INFANT FIRE DEATH
Man wanted in baby's fire death arrested in Philly
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Authorities say they have arrested a suburban Philadelphia man wanted on involuntary manslaughter and other charges in the house fire that killed his 1-year-old son. Officials say 33-year-old Thomas Pierce, of Clifton Heights, was taken into custody Saturday in southwest Philadelphia after a brief chase and returned to Delaware County.
Pierce was sleeping on a couch when an unattended gas burner in the kitchen of his home started a fire that killed Robert Pierce. Police say blood tests showed that Thomas Pierce had drugs in his system. District Attorney G. Michael Green called Pierce "grossly negligent and reckless" in the care of his children. He announced April 30 that Pierce had been charged with involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, endangering the welfare of children, causing or risking a catastrophe and various drug charges.

CHILDREN KILLED IN FIRE
2 boys killed in eastern Pennsylvania fire
LIMEKILN, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in Berks County say two boys were found dead after fire tore through a house. Firefighters were called to the home in Limekiln, in Berks County's Exeter Township, at about 9:45 a.m. Saturday. The building was gutted by the flames, and the bodies of nine-year-old Jason Carlisle and 20-month-old Kaidyn Reppert were found on the second floor. They were pronounced dead at the scene by investigators from the Berks County coroner's office. Neighbors say a man, a woman and two other children were able to escape. Autopsies on the victims are scheduled for Sunday. Officials say firefighters were hampered by the lack of hydrants in the area, and tanker trucks were called in to supply water to the scene. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

CHAMPLAIN MEMORIAL-RODIN
Restored NY lighthouse features surprise Rodin
CROWN POINT, N.Y. (AP) - There are thousands of campgrounds around the country, but only at the state-run campground in the remote upstate New York town of Crown Point can you find a Rodin sculpture on public display. A bronze plaque created by Auguste Rodin a century ago will soon be returned to its place on the Champlain Memorial Lighthouse. It is slated to reopen this spring after a more than $2 million restoration project. Crown Point was home to a French settlement and fort from 1731-1759. Officials at the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, which claims to contain the largest Rodin collection outside Paris, were incredulous that the sculptor's work was at a public campground. Jennifer Thompson says it just "fell off everyone's radar."
Rodin, who died in 1917, is best known for "The Thinker" and "The Kiss."

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - The wildfire that's scorched 13 square miles and destroyed dozens of homes around Santa Barbara, Calif., is now 65 percent contained and all but 375 residents who'd been evacuated are back home. Investigators believe the fire was
sparked by a power tool used to clear brush.

GILBERT, W.Va. (AP) - The National Guard is helping residents in West Virginia's southern coalfields get back on their feet after weekend flooding. At least 300 buildings were destroyed and mudslides around the town of Gilbert flushed trash, debris and at least one mobile home downstream.

BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese man returning from studying at the University of Missouri is the first confirmed case of swine flu in mainland China. Dozens of other people who were on a flight with him have been quarantined.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - Pope Benedict has arrived in Israel on a visit to the Holy Land hoping to improve relations with Jews and Muslims. Pope Benedict XVI He called today call for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. During his five-day visit, the pope plans visits to holy sites in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The price of a first-class stamp is now up to 44 cents. It's the third straight year rates have gone up in May under a new system that allows annual increases as long as they don't exceed the rate of inflation for the year before.