Today's News-Thursday, January 7, 2010

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP INVESTIGATION

AUTHORITIES HAVE SEIZED COMPUTERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL RECORDS FROM THE HOME AND BUSINESS OF WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP SUPERVISOR RANDY STUMP. THE REPUBLICAN HERALD REPORTS THAT ACCORDING TO SEARCH WARRANTS RELEASED YESTERDAY, STUMP, WHO SERVED AS TOWNSHIP SECRETARY-TREASURER, KEPT CONFLICTING FINANCIAL RECORDS FOR 2007 AND 2008.

ARGALL EXPECTS TO ANNOUNCE CONGRESSIONAL BID

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY'S FRESHMAN STATE SENATOR IS EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE HIS BID TO RUN FOR CONGRESS IN THE 17TH DISTRICT. BOB AMES, COUNTY GOP CHAIRMAN TOLD WPPA/T102 NEWS WEDNESDAY MORNING THAT HE EXPECTS DAVID ARGALL TO ANNOUNCE HIS CANDIDACY MONDAY NIGHT IN TAMAQUA. THE LONGTIME HOUSE MEMBER WAS ELECTED TO FILL THE UNEXPIRED TERM OF THE LATE JIM RHOADES LAST SPRING. ARGALL WILL HAVE TO FACE HARRISBURG RESIDENT JOSH FIRST IN THE MAY PRIMARY, BEFORE GOING UP AGAINST INCUMBENT DEMOCRAT TIM HOLDEN, WHO HAS HELD THE 17TH SEAT IN CONGRESS SINCE THE EARLY 90'S.

PENN STATE COMPUTER BREACH

STATE COLLEGE, PA (AP)- PENN STATE UNIVERSITY'S PROBLEMS WITH INFECTED
COMPUTERS EXTENDED TO ITS BRANCH CAMPUS IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY. THE SCHOOL LAST WEEK SAID ABOUT 15-THOUSAND RECORDS WERE AFFECTED AT A COMMONWEALTH CAMPUS, BUT WAS NOT MORE SPECIFIC BECAUSE THE INVESTIGATION WAS ONGOING. BUT A UNIVERSITY SPOKESWOMAN SAID WEDNESDAY THAT THE COMPUTERS WERE ON THE LOCAL CAMPUS. THOSE COMPUTERS WERE INFECTED BY MALICIOUS SOFTWARE ALONG WITH COMPUTERS AT THE MAIN CAMPUS IN STATE COLLEGE AND AT THE LAW SCHOOL IN CARLISLE. PENN STATE SAYS ROUGHLY 30-THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED THAT THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED DUE TO PRIVACY BREACH. HOWEVER, THE SCHOOL HAS SAID THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THE INFORMATION HAS BEEN ACCESSED BY UNAUTHORIZED USERS.

COMMISSIONERS MEETING 1/06

THE SCHUYLKILL COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HELD THEIR FIRST WORK SESSION OF THE YEAR. WPPA/T102 REPORTER SHERRY MARCHEFSKY HAS MORE FROM THE COURTHOUSE:

COMMISSIONERS 1/06

TOWER CITY MAN CHARGED IN METH CASE

A TOWER CITY MAN IS LOCKED UP IN THE SCHUYLKILL COUNTY PRISON AFTER POLICE FOUND A WEAPON AND THE GOODS TO MANUFACTURE METH IN HIS CAR. 32 YEAR OLD CHADD BUFFINGTON WAS STOPPED FOR A TRAFFIC VIOLATION WEDNESDAY, AND WAS APPARENTLY PLANNING TO SET UP A METH LAB. IN ADDITION TO THE METH MAKING INGREDIENTS, POLICE FOUND MARIJUANA AND DRUG PARAPHERNALIA IN HIS CAR. BUFFINGTON IS CHARGED WITH VARIOUS DRUG COUNTS AND WAS UNABLE TO POST BAIL FOLLOWING ARRAIGNMENT.

BLOOD DRIVE RESULTS

THE AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE AT FAIRLANE VILLAGE MALL WEDNESDAY WAS A BIG SUCCESS, THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF SCHUYLKILL COUNTIANS. THE SEVEN HOUR EVENT ATTRACTED 136 PEOPLE, WITH 110 PRODUCTIVE UNITS OF BLOOD PRODUCTS GATHERED, EXCEEDING THE DRIVE GOAL OF 102. MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED PEOPLE WILL BE HELPED WITH THOSE GIFT OF LIFE DONATIONS. TODAY, TWO MORE OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE TO GIVE BLOOD, IN SCHUYLKILL HAVEN AT JERUSALEM LUTHERAN CHURCH, AND AT THE AUBURN AMBULANCE BUILDING. WPPA AND T102 WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR DONATING BLOOD AT YESTERDAY'S DRIVE.

H1N1 FLU VACCINES

PEOPLE IN OUR AREA WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET THE IMPORTANT H1N1 FLU VACCINES IN FRACKVILLE ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. WPPA/T102 REPORTER SHERRY MARCHEFSKY HAS MORE:

H1N1 VACCINES

SENIORS FOR SAFE DRIVING CLASSES TO BE HELD

SENIOR DRIVERS CAN SHARPEN THEIR DRIVING SKILLS AT A POTTSVILLE AREA BUSINESS IN FEBRUARY. WPPA/T102 REPORTER SHERRY MARCHEFSKY EXPLAINS:

SENIORS SAFE DRIVING

RADON MONTH

ITS ODORLESS, COLORLESS AND HARD TO DETECT. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RADON. THE EPA HAS MARKED JANUARY AS RADON AWARENESS MONTH. SHERRY MARCHEFSKY HAS MORE:

RADON

HARRISBURG, PA. (AP) - STATE LAWMAKERS HAVE PASSED A BILL ALLOWING POKER, BLACKJACK AND OTHER TABLE GAMES AT PENNSYLVANIA'S SLOTS CASINOS. GOV. ED RENDELL SAYS HE'LL SIGN IT INTO LAW. RENDELL HAS BEEN PUSHING FOR PASSAGE OF THE MEASURE TO RAISE TAX MONEY AND AVOID STATE WORKER LAYOFFS. LOCAL LEGISLATORS NEAL GOODMAN AND TIM SEIP VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE MEASURE, REPUBLICAN JERRY KNOWLES VOTED AGAINST IT.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - THREE FIRED EMPLOYEES ARE SUING US AIRWAYS, ALLEGING ASSIGNED BLACK WORKERS TO SMALLER TERMINALS OR FLIGHTS WITH MORE BLACK PASSENGERS AT PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THE AIRLINE SAYS IT IS COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY AND NONDISCRIMINATION AND INVESTIGATES ALL RELATED COMPLAINTS.

SOUDERTON, PA. (AP) - AN 80-YEAR-OLD PENNSYLVANIA MAN IS CHARGED WITH MURDER AFTER AUTHORITIES SAY HE KILLED HIS 75-YEAR-OLD WIFE WHO LAUGHED AT HIM WHEN HE ACCUSED HER OF CHEATING. AUTHORITIES SAY RUDI ADOLPH KOOS STRANGLED HIS WIFE WALTRUD IN THEIR SOUDERTON HOME, THEN CALLED 911 TO REPORT THE CRIME.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A PHILADELPHIA MAN IS SCHEDULED TO BE TRIED FOR WHAT PROSECUTORS SAY WAS THE BRUTAL MURDER OF HIS WIFE. PROSECUTORS SAY 53-YEAR-OLD ASHOK KUMAR GURU POURED BOILING OIL ON HIS WIFE AS SHE SLEPT, BEAT HER WITH A SHOVEL AND STRANGLED HER. GURU'S LAWYER DECLINED COMMENT AFTER A COURT HEARING WEDNESDAY.

LANCASTER, PA. (AP) - A TRIAL HAS BEGUN FOR A FORMER NURSE ACCUSED OF ADMINISTERING A LETHAL DOSE OF MORPHINE TO AN 11-YEAR-OLD CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA BOY WITH CEREBRAL PALSY. FIFTY-YEAR-OLD JOY O'SHEA WOOMER'S LAWYER SAYS WOOMER HAD NEVER CARED FOR THE CHILD BEFORE THAT NIGHT AND HAD NO REASON TO KILL HIM.

WASHINGTON (AP) - THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY PLANS TO LET THE PUBLIC HAVE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE GOVERNMENT MISSTEPS THAT ALLOWED THE FAILED CHRISTMAS AIRLINER ATTACK TO HAPPEN. THE ADMINISTRATION IS SET TO RELEASE A DECLASSIFIED ACCOUNT OF THE NEAR CATASTROPHE AND PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA IS TO ADDRESS THE NATION ABOUT ITS FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

BAGHDAD (AP) - ANOTHER ATTACK HAS HIT THE FORMER HEARTLAND OF THE AL-QAIDA-LED INSURGENCY IN IRAQ. POLICE SAY A SERIES OF BLASTS KILLED SIX PEOPLE IN THE WESTERN PROVINCE OF ANBAR TODAY. TRIBAL LEADERS IN ANBAR TURNED AGAINST AL-QAIDA THREE YEARS AGO. INSURGENTS HAVE ATTACKED THE ANBAR GOVERNMENT IN RESPONSE.

WASHINGTON (AP) - THE QUESTION OF WHO ORCHESTRATED AN ATTACK ON A CIA OUTPOST IN AFGHANISTAN HAS GOTTEN MURKIER. A TOP AL-QAIDA LEADER IS PRAISING THE ATTACK AND SAYS IT WAS TO AVENGE THE DEATHS OF A PAKISTANI TALIBAN LEADER AND TWO AL-QAIDA FIGURES. A PAKISTANI TALIBAN SPOKESMAN HAD PREVIOUSLY CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY.

NEW YORK (AP) - RESEARCH SHOWS ANTISEPTIC BETTER PREVENTS POST-SURGICAL INFECTIONS WHEN USED ON THE SURGICAL AREA IN PLACE OF THE USUAL IODINE SCRUB. ANOTHER STUDY, IN THE NETHERLANDS, FOUND THAT SCREENING PATIENTS FOR STAPH INFECTIONS BEFORE THEIR SURGERY, AND TREATING THEM IF NECESSARY, CUT INFECTIONS AFTER SURGERY.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION HAS COME UNDER CRITICISM FROM TWO WASHINGTON LAWMAKERS FOR ALLOWING A MAN TO ENTER A TERMINAL FOLLOWING A WOMAN WITHOUT PASSING THROUGH SECURITY. THE BREACH CLOSED THE TERMINAL FOR SIX HOURS. SENS. FRANK
LAUTENBERG AND ROBERT MENENDEZ OF NEW JERSEY SAY TSA NEEDS TO PAY
MORE ATTENTION.