Today's News-Saturday, December 19, 2009

LIQUOR VIOLATIONS

TWO LICENSED ESTABLISHMENTS IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY ARE BEING CITED BY THE PA LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD FOR VARIOUS VIOLATIONS. THE ALLENTOWN DISTRICT OFFICE REPORTS RAINBOW HOSE COMPANY, SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, SOLD ALCOHOL TO NON-MEMBERS IN MAY AND JUNE OF THIS YEAR. LA CASITA DE FAMILIA IN SHENANDOAH WAS CITED FOR NOISE, PUBLIC SMOKING AND SALES ISSUES FROM MAY THROUGH OCTOBER. AN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE WILL RULE ON WHAT PENALTIES THE LICENSEES WILL FACE.

County EMA Has A Temporary Director

As of today, Schuylkill County is without an Emergency Management Agency coordinator, but officials said Friday county residents have nothing to fear. According to the Republican and Herald, Art Kaplan, who headed the agency for 23 years, officially stepped down Friday. He temporarily turned over the reins to John Blickley, EMA operations and training officer. Kaplan is stepping down to start his own private emergency and homeland security consulting company. As for a permanent replacement, Scarbinsky said county officials are considering more job consolidations. It is unclear how such a process would work, but officials have raised the possibility of a public safety director, overseeing both EMA and the county communications center.

WIND FARM

GREEN ENERGY ALTERNATIVES ARE THE FUTURE OF PROVIDING POWER TO OUR COUNTRY. ONE WELL KNOWN COMPANY IS PROPOSING TO BUILD A WIND ENERGY FARM IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY. WPPA NEWS REPORTER SHERRY MARCHEFSKY ATTENDED AN OPEN HOUSE ABOUT IT THIS WEEK:

WIND FARM

St. Clair woman detained due to Paperwork Error
　
A Saint Clair woman was mistakenly arrested Tuesday after "paperwork errors" showed an active bench warrant. As reported in the Republican and Herald, Minersville police showed up at Caruso's house early Tuesday afternoon and arrested her, but later learned the warrant should have been cleared from the record. Caruso used to live in Minersville, and was residing there when the warrant was issued in 2007 for DUI and other offenses. She was sentenced to a year of house arrest in January, she said Friday. She will also serve four years on probation, but is scheduled to be off house arrest next month. She said she has committed no crimes since her 2007 arrest. Deputy Clerk of Courts Paul Steffanic confirmed Friday that Caruso's warrant was still listed as active. About 3 p.m., he said he removed the warrant from the active list, but said it should have been done after Caruso appeared in court and was sentenced in January. After being arrested Tuesday, Caruso was taken to Magisterial District Judge Charles V. Moran's office in Pottsville. Steffanic said district judges use a separate bench warrant computer system than the one used in county court and by the clerk of courts office. Police have access to both systems. When police arrived at Caruso's home Tuesday, she said she insisted the issue had been taken care of. Daniels said he called Moran's office to double-check the warrant's status. He said police were told the warrant was still active and Caruso should be brought in. After they arrived, however, police and court officials learned the warrant should have been deleted from the system.

CURB REBUILDS

MORE FEDERAL ECONOMIC STIMULUS MONIES COMING TO THE COUNTY TO FIX ROADS. WPPA NEWS REPORTER SHERRY MARCHEFSKY HAS MORE:

CURB REBUILDS

570 TO GO?

WITH THE CONTINUED EXPLOSION OF CELLULAR PHONES AND OTHER DEVICES EATING UP PHONE NUMBERS, THE STATE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION HAS SCHEDULED HEARINGS ON THE ISSUE. WPPA NEWS REPORTER SHERRY MARCHEFSKY HAS MORE:

570 TO GO

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - A Penn State trustees committee has approved the school's next appropriation request from the Legislature. Tuition increases would be limited to between 3 and 5 percent next year if the full request is granted.

INDIANA, Pa. (AP) - More than 80 percent of the faculty at the state-owned Indiana University of Pennsylvania have voted that they have "no confidence" in president Tony Atwater. Faculty critics say the school has spent too much on renovations and capital improvements during the rough economy.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A federal judge is refusing to dismiss a lawsuit by Donald Trump's casino company over its failed bid for a casino license in Philadelphia three years ago. Both the
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and the owners of SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia had sought dismissal of the case.

DUBOIS, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say two people were killed and six were injured in a fire in a DuBois apartment building. Firefighters rescued six people, including two infants. The names
of the victims weren't released. There's no word on the cause of the fire.

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) - A man who was retried in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2007 fatal stabbing of a New Hope, Pennsylvania man was found guilty Friday for the second time, but on lesser charges. Jahlil Ward was convicted of second-degree murder for the killing of 21-year-old James Cockayne outside a bar in St. John.

COPENHAGEN (AP) - After an all-night session, the U.N. climate conference has agreed to recognize a political accord brokered by President Barack Obama with China and other emerging powers. A small group of nations had blocked the Copenhagen Accord, saying it
lacks specific targets for reducing carbon emissions. But experts say the formal recognition will allow it to become operational in practice.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate is scheduled to convene in a little more than an hour. They'll be taking up a $626 billion defense spending bill that, itself, enjoys wide support. However,
Republicans object to a number of add-ons, including several short-term extensions of programs that had been set to expire.

KABUL (AP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has presented a list of nominees for his new Cabinet. Some members of parliament are reacting with dismay. One says he's afraid some of the nominees may be "puppets" of warlords. But, the United Nations mission in the country calls the list "encouraging."

WASHINGTON (AP) - There's a lot of snow in the forecast for the East. Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia are in the path of a major storm that could bring up to 20 inches of snow to the region. The National Weather Service has issued storm warnings from the Carolinas to Rhode Island.

LONDON (AP) - Train service through the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France has been suspended after more than 2,000 passengers were stranded for hours in it. Eurostar officials say four trains broke down because of the temperature difference between the cold air outside the tunnel and the warm air inside.