Today's News - July 11, 2009

Pottsville Area school board hired three new principals Wednesday, two in the middle school and one in the high school, Superintendent James T. Gallagher said Friday. The action had to be taken because the principal at D.H.H. Lengel Middle School, Edward L. Hauck, and the middle school assistant principal, Robert Nestlerode, retired at the end of the school year, Gallagher said. The board hired Tiffany Reedy, Pottsville, who had served as assistant principal at the high school, as middle school principal. Meanwhile, Michael Maley, principal at Saint Clair Area Elementary/Middle School, was hired as assistant high school principal. Raymond Yost, Palo Alto, who served as a special education teacher at the middle school this year, was hired as assistant principal at the middle school.

Federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are set to make improvements to routes 924 and 61 in Frackville and West Mahanoy Township. As reported by the Republican and Herald, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Pennsy Supply Inc., Hummelstown, Dauphin County, was awarded a $719,892 contract to improve Route 924 between Route 61 and the Gilberton borough line and Route 61 between the West Mahanoy Township line and Route 924. he projects are scheduled to begin within the next several months and will include milling, paving and curb ramp and guiderail upgrades. PennDOT will invest a total of $122 million of federal economic recovery funds on 23 transportation projects, which include road and bridge improvements and Intelligent Transportation System installations within the six-county District 5 region. According to PennDOT, the money will not only create and retain construction jobs, but safer roadways will encourage local communities and businesses to grow.

A 22-year-old Mohrsville woman escaped injury in a crash on Broad Street in this southern Schuylkill County community at 11:20 p.m. Thursday. State police at Schuylkill Haven said Felicia Binder had her 1994 Ford Taurus parked directly behind a 1989 Chevrolet truck when the woman tried to leave. In the process of doing so, she struck the rear bumper of the truck and then fled the scene. Several minutes later troopers said Binder was involved in another crash on Pine Road in Tilden Township, Berks County. In connection with that crash, she was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI.

The bridge over the Little Schuylkill River in South Tamaqua is scheduled for refurbishment in about two years. According to the Republican and Herald, work crews will be in the area beginning late next week to collect data that will assist engineers in designing the bridge project. Ronald J. Young Jr., spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said motorists traveling Route 309 south from Spruce Street in Tamaqua to Owl Creek can expect delays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning Thursday and continuing through July 24 as crews drill test bore holes along the roadway. According to Young, drilling test holes is a common in any bridge replacement or refurbishment project. The project is expected to go out to bid in the spring of 2011, and construction should begin about two or three months after contracts are awarded, Young said. The project is part of the state's 2009 12-year Transportation Improvement Plan. In addition to rehabilitation of the South Tamaqua bridge, major bridge projects included on the 2009-20 program include: Mady's Big and Small bridges on Route 61, Pottsville; Snyders Bridge on Route 309 over Lizard Creek; the Auburn Arch Bridge; and the Pottsville Street Bridge, Port Carbon. Several projects in the first four years of the 2009 program will overlap and continue in the second and third years, including one at the Collins Street Bridge, Palo Alto. Pennsylvania has the largest number of structurally deficient bridges in the nation - nearly 6,000 statewide. A structurally deficient bridge is safe, according to PennDOT, but in need of major repairs or replacement to bring it to current standards. The average age of bridges in the state system is 50 years old.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A lawyer released from a suburban Philadelphia prison after serving 14 years for a civil contempt charge in a divorce case says judges have too much discretion in such cases. H. Beatty Chadwick says he lost the millions that he ex-wife claimed he hid. He's 73 and says his only income is Social Security.

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. (AP) - The head of a private suburban Philadelphia club says safety, not racism, was the reason for the cancelation of a deal with a day camp allowing 65 minority children to swim there. John Duesler says there were too many children for the size of the pool and the available number of lifeguards.

YORK, Pa. (AP) - A fire in York that destroyed 15 row houses and displaced 61 people from their homes has been ruled arson. City Detective Al Clarkson says police are pursuing leads about who may have started Wednesday's fire. There were no serious injuries, but property damage is estimated at $2.6 million.

STROUDSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A man whose property had as many as 12 bodies buried on it has been convicted of a 2003 home-invasion robbery. A Monroe County jury convicted 35-year-old Hugo Selenski on Friday. Selenski has been acquitted of murder in the deaths of two of the people buried on his land.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - An Allegheny County woman has filed a federal lawsuit against a Nevada company over fee disclosure requirements for credit and ATM services at casinos. Theresa Jackman's lawsuit claims Global Cash Access Holdings failed to properly disclose a fee it imposed on a withdrawal she made at a Global Cash ATM at the Meadows Casino in Washington, Pa.

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) - President Barack Obama meets with the president of Ghana this morning at the start of a 21-hour visit. He then speaks to Ghana's parliament, where he'll talk about his hopes for Africa's future prosperity while reflecting on its enduring troubles.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is being pressured to investigate the deaths of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan in 2001, but says it has no grounds. The Pentagon says there's no sign American troops were involved or even knew about it.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) - Two days of talks on the future of Honduras have gotten nowhere, and no more talks are currently planned. Delegates representing the ousted government of Manuel Zelaya met with delegates of the interim government that forced him into exile.

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - Police in the Florida Panhandle are asking people to watch for an old red van that may be carrying the killers of a wealthy couple with 12 children. Police say they were killed Thursday night in their home. None of the eight children there was hurt.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Just a few days ago, pitcher Jonathan Sanchez of the San Francisco Giants was still demoted to the bullpen. But last night, he likely improved his standing by throwing a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. Final score: Giants 8, Padres 0.