Today's News-Friday, June 5, 2009

WATER BOIL ADVISORY

A water boil advisory is in place for some customers of the Blythe Township Water Authority. A water main break yesterday prompted the advisory, as customers in Llewellyn and Phoenix Park are asked to boil water before consumption for 48 hours.

PA has first swine flu death

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Pennsylvania Department of Health says the first person in the state to die from swine flu had "significant underlying health issues." The state's first person to die from swine flu is a 55-year-old woman in neighboring Berks County. The state has 269 confirmed cases and 101 probable cases of illness due to this virus. There are more than 11,000 cases nationwide and 18 related deaths. Department officials report on their website there are 3 confirmed and two probable cases here in Schuylkill County.

SCHUYLKILL SOJURN FLOATS OFF TOMORROW

The annual celebration of the Schuylkill River gets underway tonight. The 11th annual Schuylkill Sojurn, sponsored by the non profit Schuylkill River Heritage Area, is a 7 day canoe and kayak trip along the 113 mile waterway that begins in Schuylkill Haven and ends in Philadelphia. Registration will be held at the Island in Haven beginning at 4pm this afternoon with a chicken barbecue and ice cream social, along with an optional tour of the Yuengling Brewery. Bright and early Saturday morning, more than 100 paddlers will embark at the Broadway bridge and head to the Auburn Dam, then on to Port Clinton where they will wrap up for the night.

ST CATHERINE CEO LEAVING

The head of St Catherine Medical Center is leaving after two years. A company press release announced the departure of Robert Marquardt as CEO, who's leaving to take a similar position at a hospital in West Virginia. Marquardt came to St Catherine's in 2007, and is credited with bringing new physicians to the center along with other service improvements.

INMATE FOUND GUILTY IN ESCAPE ATTEMPT

An Ashland man will have more jail time tacked onto time served in state prison for an escape attempt. 47 year old Robert Linkchorst was found guilty of attempted escape, conspiracy and a weapons charged by a jury Thursday. The Republican Herald indicates that Linkchorst tried to escape from the county prison last May by trying to make a rope and tampering with a screen. Linkchorst had previously been serving time on burglary and other counts from an unrelated incident.

TAKE A HIKE

It's a chance to see a side of Pennsylvania you may have forgotten about or never really got to know. Saturday is National Trails Day and in the Keystone State, environmentalists are encouraging you to go take a hike. Tom Joseph reports.

JOSEPH HIKE

KNOWLES SWEARING IN

Representative elect Jerry Knowles, who won the special election in the 124th District on May 19th is slated to take the oath of office Monday at 1pm in the Capitol. Knowles defeated Democratic challenger Bill Mackey in a run-off to replace Dave Argall, who won the Senate seat once held by the late Jim Rhoades. Knowles was a legislative aide to Argall before running for the seat, and once served as a Schuylkill County Commissioner.

BODY IN WOODS
Body found in woods in northeastern Pa.
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - State police say they've identified a body found in the woods in northeastern Pennsylvania by using dental records. Police say the body found Thursday off Suscon Road in Jenkins Township is that of 34-year-old Donald Troy Skiff. The Plymouth man
disappeared in late April and his burned pickup truck was later discovered in the Plymouth area. An autopsy is planned today

CHILD RAPED
Philly police say child-rape suspect investigated for other assaults
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia man say a suspect in the rape of an 11-year-old girl is also under investigation in connection with two other sexual assaults. No charges have been filed against 26-year-old Jose Carrasquillo in Monday's rape. But Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says investigators have very strong forensic evidence and witness identification placing him at the scene. Carrasquillo was badly beaten by neighborhood residents Tuesday, but Ramsey says he won't pursue criminal charges against those who beat him. Ramsey says he doesn't condone vigilante justice, but says the emotion of the mob has to be taken into account. He notes that the mob stopped beating him as soon as police arrived.

NEWS ANCHOR CHARGED
UPDATE: Convicted ex-anchor Mendte sues Philly newspapers
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Former Philadelphia newscaster Larry Mendte says in court papers that The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News defamed him. One example cited in court papers is a columnist writing that Mendte used keystroke-capturing software to view his co-anchor's e-mail. Mendte says he actually used a keystroke logging device that was hardware. The 52-year-old Philadelphia man finished serving six months of house arrest Monday. He remains on federal probation for illegally hacking into former KYW-TV co-anchor Alycia Lane's e-mails and leaking personal information to the press. The anchors worked together from about 2004 to 2007, earning well above $700,000 each. The 37-year-old Lane was fired after a scuffle with New York police. She has a wrongful-termination suit pending and is suing Mendte for invasion of privacy.

AIRPORT GUN
2 charged after gun found on plane
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The FBI has charged a US Airways employee and a passenger with getting a concealed semiautomatic handgun onto a plane departing Philadelphia early Thursday.
The FBI says customer service agent Roshid Milledge switched black carry-on bags with passenger Damien Young at the gate so Young could board the flight to Phoenix with the weapon. An FBI affidavit says that Young was moving to Phoenix and had earlier asked Milledge about procedures for transporting guns. Authorities say Milledge agreed to carry the bag through an employee entrance. Another traveler saw the men exchange look-alike bags and
alerted officials. The 7 am flight had taxied but was returned to the gate, and Young and the bag were removed. The two men remain in custody.

DRESDEN, Germany (AP) - President Barack Obama says he's seen "some progress" in bringing stability to the world in the wake of a deep recession. Obama says he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed they must continue to "work very closely together" to restore their economies and those of other nations as well.

NEW YORK (AP) - A federal appeals court will hear arguments today about whether Chrysler should be allowed to sell the bulk of its assets to a group led by Italian automaker Fiat. The deal is part of Chrysler's plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection. A group of debtholders is challenging a judge's decision approving the deal.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal regulators are charging the former chief of Countrywide Financial with fraud and illegal insider trading. The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Angelo Mozilo of deliberately misleading investors about the company's risky lending practices.

PARIS (AP) - France's transportation minister says he regrets an announcement from Brazilian search teams that they had recovered debris from Air France Flight 447. He says French forces have found no evidence of the plane that vanished over the Atlantic early this week. He says the priority is finding the flight recorders.

BANGKOK (AP) - Authorities in Thailand say David Carradine's death may have been accidental. The 72-year-old actor was found in a hotel room closet in Bangkok with a rope tied to his neck and genitals. Police initially said they suspected suicide.