Wednesday - May 13, 2009

MANY SCHUYLKILL COUNTY RESIDENTS THAT LIVE NORTH OF THE MOUNTAIN FOUND THEMSELVES IN THE DARK YESTERDAY MORNING…
THAT’S ACCORDING TO P-P-L REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS RELATIONS DIRECTOR – MARTHA HERRON. JUST OVER ONE-THOUSAND CUSTOMERS THROUGHOUT THE MAIN STREET SECTION IN SHENANDOAH WERE WITHOUT POWER FOR ABOUT 45-MINUTES. HERRON SAYS THE CAUSE OF THAT POWER OUTAGE WAS DUE TO A LINE FAILURE.

STATE POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING A CASE OF CRIMINAL MISCHIEF THAT TOOK PLACE OVERNIGHT…
IT HAPPENED ALONG THE SEVEN-HUNDRED BLOCK OF EAST GRAND AVENUE IN TOWER CITY. A FORD EXPLORER WAS DAMAGED TO AN UNSPECIFIED AMOUNT. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION IS ASKED TO CALL SCHUYLKILL HAVEN STATE POLICE AT 593-2000.

WHAT A “STINKY” SITUATION YESTERDAY IN WAYNE TOWNSHIP…
24-YEAR OLD MATTHEW GINGRICH WAS TRAVELING ALONG DIEBERT’S VALLEY ROAD – HAULING MANURE – WHEN HIS RIGHT TIRES WENT OFF THE ROAD. GINGRICH TRIED TO CORRECT WHAT WAS TURNING INTO A SERIOUS SITUATION BUT TO NO AVAIL. HE LOST CONTROL. ROLLED OVER HIS TRUCK. AND SLID DOWN THE EMBANKMENT. GINGRICH WAS NOT INJURED AND THAT ROAD WAS CLOSED FOR SEVERAL HOURS. THE HEROES OF THE DAY…SUMMIT STATION FIRE POLICE FOR ASSISTING IN THAT “SMELLY” CLEANUP!

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The tally of Pennsylvania homes inforeclosure rose above 5,000 in April for the first time since themonthly statistics were first compiled four years ago. New figures out Wednesday from foreclosure listing firmRealtyTrac Inc. show foreclosure filings in Pennsylvania rose 2percent from March to last month. All told, just over 5,000 homes received at least oneforeclosure filing last month. That's the highest number sinceRealtyTrac began collecting foreclosure statistics on Pennsylvaniain April 2005. More than 1,300 of those were seized, although that figure isnot the highest reported by RealtyTrac. Nationally, foreclosure activity also rose slightly to a newhigh last month. Pennsylvania's foreclosure rate is slightly below one-third ofthe national rate, with one in nearly 1,100 homes receiving aforeclosure filing last month.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell can raise campaign cashlike no one else in Pennsylvania. Apparently, he's pretty good atgetting money from slot machines, too. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Rendell won $2,000 atHarrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack last year, but didn't report itto the State Ethics Commission until after the newspaper questionedhim about it. On Thursday, the governor updated his financial interestsstatement with the commission to reflect the winnings. Rendell's press secretary Chuck Ardo says the governor wasn'ttrying to hide anything. He called it a "clerical oversight" byaides who help fill out the form. Rendell says he won the money after he delivered a speech to anNAACP gathering at the slots parlor. The Inquirer discovered the winnings after viewing a copy of thegovernor's tax return.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in south-central Pennsylvaniasay the death of a 22-month-old girl is a homicide. Harrisburg Police Chief Charles Kellar says no one had beencharged as of Tuesday in the May 6 death. Investigators say thechild had suffered prolonged abuse. Investigators are awaiting the results of forensic tests, whichare being run at outside labs.

SELINSGROVE, Pa. (AP) - A central Pennsylvania prosecutor saysthere are several witnesses to a rural shooting death in whichthree men are charged. Snyder County District Attorney Mike Sholley says he believesthe three defendants knew 19-year-old victim Steven Rodriguez. Hewas shot around 11:30 p.m. Monday at an apartment in MonroeTownship and died about an hour later at Sunbury CommunityHospital. Sholley says the three men fled in a vehicle and were taken intocustody when the vehicle crashed near a gas station in NewColumbia. The defendants are a 25-year-old Williamsport man, a 25-year-oldMill Hall man and a 27-year-old Philadelphia man. They are heldwithout bail in Snyder County Prison.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania police officer is gettingrecognition for being killed in the line of duty nearly 40 yearsago. The Bethlehem Police Department plans to give Officer PhillipFahy the Medal of Honor posthumously on Wednesday. Fahy was killed Aug. 29, 1969, by Bebley Wells Jr. He had gotteninto a gunfight with Fahy and his partner that day, Officer MerleGetz, following a hit-and-run crash and a high-speed chase. Police Commissioner Randall Miller says he was surprised tolearn that Fahy never got an award. In addition to the Medal ofHonor for Fahy, Getz is to receive the Distinguished Service Award. Wells pleaded guilty to Fahy's murder in 1970 and died inprison.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate committee hears today from a formerBush administration official who argued against the use of harshinterrogation tactics. The onetime aide to Condoleezza Rice wrote amemo calling such policies illegal. The memo was part of internalarguments pitting the State Department against the JusticeDepartment and then-Vice President Dick Cheney.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal safety panel is continuing its probeinto February's deadly crash of a commuter plane near Buffalo, N.Y.Today the panel looks into the flight crew's hiring and training.The safety board will also investigate fatigue as a possible factorin the crash, which killed 50 people. It was the worst U.S. airlinecrash in seven years.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The space shuttle Atlantis isclosing in on the Hubble Space Telescope, and the crew is set tostart its repair mission later today. The task will take about fivespacewalks. But first, the crew will use the shuttle's robot arm tograb the school bus-sized telescope and bring it inside theshuttle's payload bay.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is reaching out to topsenators today as he ponders possible choices to fill the upcomingSupreme Court vacancy. Today, he's seeing Democratic leader HarryReid, Republican leader Mitch McConnell, as well as the seniormembers of the Senate Judiciary panel. But no White Houseannouncement is expected this week.

BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Union is slapping a record $1.4billion fine on Intel Corp. for using illegal sales tactics to shutout a smaller rival. The EU accuses the world's biggest computerchip maker of breaking competition laws and blocking smaller rivalAMD from the market.