Today's News-Tuesday, June 9, 2009

KNOWLES SWORN IN

A new State Representative has been sworn in to represent the 124th legislative district in Schuylkill and Berks Counties. Chuck Nichols has more:

NICHOLS ON KNOWLES

PAROCHIAL SCHOOL WILL NOT REOPEN

With projected enrollment of just over twenty students for the coming year, Academy of the Blessed Virgin Mary school in Mahanoy City will not reopen in the fall. That announcement was made Monday for the school, which served several churches in the northern Schuylkill County community. Enrollment had been sliding for several years, and follows the consolidation of churches and other schools all across the Diocese of Allentown. Parents, clergy and parishioners had tried to keep the school open, but when they couldn’t get at least 48 students to enroll for the coming year, the decision was made to close.

MATTA IMPLICATED IN KIDS FOR CASH DEAL

An area man has been replaced as CEO of a Minersville bank. Robert Matta, Weston Place, who ran Miners Bank for two decades, was let go recently for "unwittingly knowing" that he transferred money between entities involved in the Luzerne County kids for cash scandal. The Citizens Voice reports that Matta, who is also an attorney, transferred over $600-thousand-dollars from Robert Mericle, a construction firm owner who built the two juvenile detention centers tied to former Luzerne County judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciaveralla. Matta has not been charged in the case, but did testify before a federal grand jury about the transfer he did through his attorney reserve account, then passed the funds onto a Schuylkill County company run by Conahan. The bank board replaced Matta with veteran banker George Groves.

MAN WITH A KNIFE

Pottsville police apprehended a man who attempted to harm himself Sunday night in the city. They were called to the 600 block of North Second Street where 57 year old Robert Hullihan was swinging a knife, and threatened to kill himself. Hullihan reportedly cut his left arm, and when he tried again, police used a Taser on him. Hullihan was taken to a local hospital for psychiatric evaluation and treatment.

DRUGS FOUND, MAN ARRESTED

A Pottsville man is jailed following an incident Sunday night. City police were called to a home on First Avenue for a noise complaint. They found 27 year old Jason Stamm smoking marijuana in the back yard of the home. Officers found the pot in Stamm's pants. He was arraigned on various drug charges and taken to Schuylkill County Prison.

MOTORCYCLE CRASH IN POTTSVILLE

A Pottsville man was injured in a motorcycle crash in the city Sunday night. It happened on North Claude A Lord Boulevard before 7pm. 27 year old Mitchell Neidig lost control of his motorcycle, and his body slid more than 200 feet along the road. He was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital for treatment.

COPPER WIRE THEFT

State police are looking for thieves who broke into a coal company in Frailey Township. It happened over the weekend, as the burglars broke into Sherman Coal Company on Route 25 and took copper wire and a weed eater, then fled the scene. The items were valued at $2-thousand-dollars.

HOLDEN VISITS IRAQ

US Congressman Tim Holden and three other Pennsylvania lawmakers paid a visit to Iraq over the weekend, meeting with members of the Pennsylvania National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade near Taji. The delegation also met with General Ray Odierno, Commander of forces in Iraq and other officials. The delegation left Friday and returned to the states yesterday.

BLACK CAUCUS WEIGHS IN ON RAMIREZ CASE

Another state group has weighed in on the Shenandoah beating case. The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus has sent a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that federal civil rights charges be brought against Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky, who were charged in connection to the beating death of Luis Ramirez last July. In a press release, Rep. Ronald Waters, chairman of the caucus says they believe the facts in the case warrant federal intervention and justify federal charges, and that Ramirez and his family deserve justice in the case.

SWIFTWATER, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania state police are trying to figure out what set off a 31-year-old man who was supposed to drop off his three children curbside at his estranged wife's townhouse. Instead, a 40-mile chase ensued that ended up with a shooting that killed Daniel Autenrieth and 34-year-old Trooper Joshua Miller.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Republican-backed state budget bill has failed to get out of a key legislative committee as both parties maneuver for political advantage before the annual July 1 deadline arrives. The House Appropriations Committee voted on party lines Monday against the $27.3 billion proposal that passed the Senate last month. Democrats who control the House supplied all the no votes.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A bill that would require faster disclosure about production results from wells drilled on the potentially lucrative Marcellus Shale gas formation in Pennsylvania
is moving through the Legislature. The state Senate on Monday passed the bill unanimously and sent it to the House of Representatives for consideration.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania appeals court says the state's wiretapping law applies to text messages, and police need a warrant in order to intercept them. A Superior Court panel ruled Monday that police violated the law when they used a cellular phone taken from two men arrested for marijuana trafficking and sent fake messages that drew in other suspects.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A suspect in a home invasion that included a brutal beating of an elderly northeastern Pennsylvania couple has been arrested in eastern Europe and is to be arraigned Tuesday in Virginia. The U.S. Marshals Service says 35-year-old Anthony Robert Cangiano was arrested in Montenegro and is being held on a warrant from the November 2008 home invasion in Hazleton, Pa.

MILAN (AP) - Fiat says it won't walk away from a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Chrysler. That despite Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issuing a stay on the sale as she reviews an appeal a group of debt holders opposed to it. Fiat has the legal right to walk away from the deal if the sale is not completed by June 15.

NEW YORK (AP) - Chrysler is looking to reduce its dealer ranks by about 25 percent, but some are fighting it in court. They'll make their arguments to a bankruptcy judge in New York later this morning.

WASHINGTON (AP) - House Democrats are said to be considering a new tax on employer-provided health benefits to help pay for covering the uninsured. Several officials say the legislation now being crafted also could include a requirement for all individuals to buy affordable coverage of pay a penalty for refusing.

RECIFE, Brazil (AP) - Aviation experts say a piece of the tail section recovered yesterday could offer investigators clues about what caused Air France Flight 447 to crash in the Atlantic last
week. The find could also help searchers find the plane's black boxes. The data and voice recorders are located near the tail.

BOSTON (AP) - The Times Co. says it has no "financially viable alternative" but to impose a 23 percent wage cut at The Boston Globe. Union member narrowly rejected a contract that called for some cuts, but not that deep.