Today's News-Tuesday, June 2, 2009

TWO MORE SWINE FLU CASES CONFIRMED

ANOTHER WEEK, AND TWO MORE CASES OF THE H1N1 VIRUS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED HERE IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY. THAT’S ACCORDING TO UPDATED STATISTICS ON THE PA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH WEBSITE. STATEWIDE, 195 CASES HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED AND 31 PROBABLE CASES REPORTED. AS HAS BEEN THE POLICY OF THE DEPARTMENT, NO SPECIFIC INFORMATION AS TO THE SEX, AGE, RACE OR LOCATION WITHIN THE COUNTY IS AVAILABLE. NEIGHBORING BERKS COUNTY STILL HAS THE MOST REPORTED CASES WITH 71. HEALTH OFFICIALS REMIND RESIDENTS TO CONTINUE WASHING HANDS FREQUENTLY, AND IF YOU FEEL ILL, STAY HOME AND AWAY FROM OTHERS.

SPOT APPEALS BAN NOT DEAD

THE PRACTICE OF SPOT ASSESSMENTS ON PROPERTIES BEING SOLD CONTINUES TO RAISE THE RANCOR OF TAXPAYERS AND LAWMAKERS, AND IS PROMPTING ONE COUNTY LEGISLATOR TO REINTRODUCE A COMPROMISE BILL IN HARRISBURG. REPRESENTATIVE TIM SEIP AND FELLOW LAWMAKERS GATHERED IN THE CAPITOL MONDAY TO CALL FOR A BAN ON THE PRACTICE OF REVALUING PROPERTIES WHEN SOLD, EVEN THOUGH OTHERS REMAIN TAXED AT A LOWER RATE. SEIP SAYS THE NEW LEGISLATION WOULD STILL ALLOW SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO APPEAL AN INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY ASSESSMENT IF THE OWNER SUBDIVIDES THE PROPERTY, MAKES IMPROVEMENTS OVER $5-THOUSAND-DOLLARS, IF THERE IS A COUNTYWIDE REASSESSMENT OR THERE IS A CHANGE OF USE OF THE LAND. LAST YEAR’S SPOT REASSESSMENT BAN WAS VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR.

TWO CHILDREN INVOLVED IN BIKE ACCIDENT

WPPA/T102 NEWS IS FOLLOWING THE STORY OF TWO BOYS INVOLVED IN A VEHICLE/BICYCLE ACCIDENT IN WILLIAM PENN LAST NIGHT. ONE REPORTEDLY DIED OVERNIGHT WHILE THE OTHER REMAINS IN GEISINGER MEDICAL CENTER IN DANVILLE. THE CRASH HAPPENED ON MT OLIVE BOULEVARD AFTER 9PM. WEST MAHANOY TOWNSHIP POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING THE ACCIDENT.

50th ANNIVERSARY OF RED CHURCH EXPLOSION

ON A RAINY MORNING 50 YEARS AGO, SOUTHERN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY WAS ROCKED BY THE EXPLOSION OF A PROPANE TANKER TRUCK THAT CLAIMED THE LIVES OF 11 PEOPLE, BOTH INSTANTLY AND WITHIN DAYS AND INJURED NEARLY A DOZEN MORE. THE TRUCK WAS REAR ENDED NEAR THE RED CHURCH IN DEER LAKE, AND A SUBSEQUENT FIRE HEATED THE CONTENTS OF THE TANKER, CAUSING AN EXPLOSION WHICH LAUNCHED THE TANK HUNDREDS OF FEET NORTH ON THE ROADWAY. THE HORRIFIC INCIDENT WILL BE MEMORIALIZED TONIGHT AT ZIONS RED CHURCH WITH A SERVICE AT 7PM.

YORK, Pa. (AP) - A south-central Pennsylvania school district is closing two school buildings for the rest of the school year due to swine flu concerns. The School District of the City of York says
only one confirmed case of swine flu has been discovered, but a number of developing cases were reported Monday. Only McKinley Elementary School and Edgar Fahs Smith Middle School are closing.

ERIE, Pa. (AP) - A northwestern Pennsylvania fire chief says he's worried about Erie County's 911 system because a woman phoning to report a fire got no answer. The chief of the Fairfield Hose Company says he's concerned that the phone rang about 20 times on May 22 with no answer. Mary Yount of Harborcreek called 911 after seeing heavy smoke coming from her next-door neighbor's garage.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Employees of a Philadelphia newspaper founded in 2004 with a reputation as a conservative voice say the paper is closing. Employees of The Bulletin say they were informed Monday afternoon by Publisher Thomas Rice that the paper couldn't afford to operate any longer. Rice told The Philadelphia Inquirer by e-mail Monday night that he didn't want to comment.

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A program for foreign exchange students says it has fired the person in charge of selecting northeastern Pennsylvania host families following allegations that students were mistreated. The allegations include that some students participating in exchanges organized by the San Francisco-based Aspect Foundation were kept in filthy homes or were malnourished.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A former western Pennsylvania preparatory school basketball coach is suing the school, claiming he was effectively fired after complaining when the school told him he was recruiting too many blacks. Anthony Cheatham says in the federal suit filed in Pittsburgh on Monday that an official told him that an all-black basketball team was "not consistent with The Kiski School's mission."

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Investigators are looking at a number of theories about the disappearance of an Air France plane over the Atlantic Ocean with 228 people on board. An air search continues and a Brazilian ship is due to arrive on scene tomorrow. The plane was bound for Paris from Brazil.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama takes his first big step later today in an effort to improve America's damaged relationship with the world's 1.5 billion Muslims. He heads for the Middle East and has a major speech scheduled during a stop in Cairo, Egypt.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A senior partner at GM's bankruptcy law firm says the government ownership of bankrupt General Motors moves into uncharted territory. Ira Milstein says there's no book of instructions on how to run a government-owned private company. GM's CEO Fritz Henderson says federal ownership will last "years not months."

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean media and an opposition lawmaker say 67-year-old North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's youngest son, Jong Un has been picked to succeed his father. The anointment comes amid reports that Pyongyang is preparing to fire three or four medium-range missiles and possibly a long-range one.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House Council of Economic Advisers has given the administration some ammunition it wanted to talk up the health care overhaul. A report concludes that the overhaul goes hand-in-hand with fixing the economy. The report says health care costs will rise to 34 percent of the gross domestic product in 30 years if left unchecked.