Today's News-Saturday, March 13, 2010

Guidance Counselor Charged With Corruption of Minors

A Pine Grove Area High School Guidance Counselor has been charged with 50 counts of corruption of minors. Heather Cook was released on $25,000 unsecured bail under the condition that she has no contact with any child under the age of 18 after allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a former student. According to police reports the relation began in 2006 when the female student was a junior and sought out the help of the guidance counselor to deal with problems she was having at home. The relationship grew into more than a counselor - student relationship and when the victim was a senior a sexual relationship began and the student would receive gifts and trips, and would stay at the home of Cook. Cook was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Carol Pankake, no date has been set before the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas.

West Side Story Begins For Pottsville Area Drama Club

The Pottsville Area Drama Club opened their three day schedule of West Side Story last night and WPPA's Sherry Marchefsky was on hand and has this report.

WEST SIDE STORY
　
Financial Education May Be Taught in Schools

A state Senator is proposing legislation that would set up Financial Education in schools across the state, hopefully creating better and smarter finanical consumers. Don Rooney has details

ROONEY

Pottsville St. Patrick's Day Parade Cancelled

With heavy rain and winds in the forecast, and the potential for flooding the annual Pottsville St. Patrick's Day has been cancelled for today. However, mother nature will not spoil all of the wearin' o the green in the city. All of the indoor activities scheduled for today will go on as scheduled. There is an eight a.m. mass at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, a Grand Marshal's breakfast will be held at the Porterhouse Grille and Pub at nine, and the Grand Irish Party at the Humane Fire Company will also be held. Celebrate your Irish heritage today in Pottsville!

Defense Rests in Rhoades Trial

A defense attorney has asked for a mistrial in the case of a man charged in a 2008 crash that killed a Pennsylvania lawmaker. Defense lawyer Wes Niemoczynski (nee-muh-SHIN-ski) was clearly overheard making the request during a sidebar conference with the prosecutor and judge, with the jury out of the room. Monroe County President Judge Ronald Vican denied the request. Niemoczynski declined to explain to reporters outside court why he asked for a mistrial. Forty-six-year-old Thomas Senavitis is charged with vehicular homicide, drunken driving and related offenses in the 2008 crash death of state Sen. James Rhoades. Prosecutors allege Senavitis' pickup truck crossed the center line of state Route 209 in the Poconos and slammed into a Cadillac driven by the seven-term lawmaker. The defense rested its case Friday. Jurors will begin deliberating on Monday.

Tougher Penalties Sought in Hit and Run Crashes

Citing hit and run crashes as a critical safety issue in Philadelphia and across the state, the Senate Transportation Committee held a public hearing Thursday on proposed measures that would toughen penalties. Howard Ondick has this report.

ONDICK

With rain falling, Pa. residents brace for floods

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A combination of melting snow and rain has many state residents bracing for possible flooding. The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for several western Pennsylvania counties as several days of rain and melting snow threaten to send rivers and streams over their banks. A state of emergency is in effect in Pittsburgh, where the Ohio River could reach flood stage by Sunday morning. The weather service has issued flood warnings for Seward on the Conemaugh (KAHN'-uh-mah) River and for Confluence, Connellsville and Sutersville on the Youghiogheny (yawk-a-GEN'-nee) River. A flood warning has been issued through 6 a.m. Saturday for several counties along the Maryland border. More than two inches of rain is expected to fall in eastern Pennsylvania.

Rendell asks federal gov't for snow cleanup funds

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell is asking the federal government to help pay for more than $50 million in cleanup costs stemming from last month's record-breaking, back-to-back snowstorms. Rendell sent a letter Friday to President Barack Obama asking for disaster assistance. The money would help reimburse 27 counties hit hard by the storms of Feb. 5-6 and Feb. 9-10. Eligible expenses include overtime, equipment rentals, materials, search and rescue operations, and opening and operating shelters. The governor wrote that he might make additional requests as more information is gathered from other counties. It's not known when the president will decide on Rendell's request.

Veon jury goes home for weekend with no verdict

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Jurors in the public corruption case of a former Pennsylvania state lawmaker and three of his ex-aides went home Friday without reaching a verdict. Dauphin County Judge Richard Lewis dismissed the eight-woman, four-man panel late Friday afternoon following less than two hours of deliberations. The jurors are considering theft, conspiracy and conflict-of-interest charges against former Beaver County Rep. Mike Veon and ex-legislative aides Brett Cott, Steve Keefer and Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink. The jury is scheduled to resume deliberations Monday morning. Testimony in the case lasted nearly six weeks.
Southeastern Pa. transit agency wants fare hikes

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The transit agency that serves Philadelphia and its suburbs wants to raise fares. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority on Friday announced plans to raise fares for most passengers by about six percent starting July 1. The base cash fare would remain $2, but the cost of a bus or subway token would go up a dime to $1.55. Transfers would increase from 75 cents to $1. Under the plan, SEPTA would eliminate off-peak regional rail trains before 7 p.m. on weekdays. The cost of weekly and monthly passes would also go up. Public hearings on the proposed fare hikes will be held next month. SEPTA officials say the fare increases are necessary to match inflation since the last fare hike in 2007.

Fired, punished Philly officers get 2nd chance

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia police say eight officers who were fired or disciplined after a TV news helicopter captured video of them beating three suspects are getting their jobs back or punishments reduced. The American Arbitration Association found that two fired officers should be reinstated and four disciplined officers were punished too harshly. Two rookie police academy graduates had no standing with the arbitrator because they were in their probationary period when they were fired. But Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says that, given the other decisions, they are likely to be reinstated if they apply. Ramsey fired and disciplined the officers in May 2008. He said Friday he does not agree with the decision but respects the arbitrator's ruling.

Pa. man charged with badly beating woman at NY bar

NEW YORK (AP) - A Pennsylvania man has been charged with brutally beating a woman in a New York City bar restroom after she allegedly rejected his advances. New York City police spokesman Paul Browne says 30-year-old Mbarek Lafrem, of Norwood, Pa., was charged Friday with assault and attempted rape. A phone number listed for him in Norwood was disconnected. Browne says Lafrem was working at a midtown construction site and was staying at a hotel near the bar. He says Lafrem's co-workers contacted authorities after they saw him in a video released by police. Authorities say the attack occurred early Thursday at a bar called Social in midtown Manhattan. The 29-year-old victim told authorities a man followed her into a stall of a women's room and beat her. She was hospitalized with a broken eye socket and other injuries.

W.Pa. man charged in attack on priest

CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A business manager for three western Pennsylvania parishes has been charged with attacking a parish priest. Forty-six-year-old Kevin Labuda, of Connellsville, was charged Friday with aggravated assault, criminal trespass and related crimes in the March 3 attack on 48-year-old Father Joseph Bonafed. Police say Bonafed was attacked in the rectory at Immaculate Conception Church in Connellsville, where he is pastor. Bonafed received stitches for a head wound. A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, Jerry Zufelt, says the diocese is grateful for the arrest, but saddened because Labuda is an employee. Zufelt says the diocese will consider Labuda's employment. He's being held in jail and it's unclear if he has an attorney.

Judge to rule later on 'adult' hearing for Pa. boy

NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) - A northwestern Pennsylvania judge says he'll decide by April 1 whether to try as an adult a boy who allegedly killed his father's pregnant fiancee. Lawrence County Judge Dominick Motto gave attorneys on both sides a week to submit written arguments concerning now-12- year-old Jordan Brown. Brown was 11 when he allegedly shot 26-year-old Kenzie Houk in their New Galilee farmhouse in February 2009. Houk's unborn son also died. A prosecution psychiatrist testified Friday that Brown has a "very limited" likelihood of rehabilitation. Dr. John O'Brien says Brown is evasive, resentful and has not accepted responsibility for Houk's death. A state trooper also testified that a shotgun belonging to Brown was linked to Houk's death. If tried as an adult, Brown faces the possibility of life in prison.

Philly imam says he discouraged al-Qaida suspect

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Philadelphia imam says he tried to discourage al-Qaida suspect Sharif Mobley from traveling to Yemen. Anas Muhaimin says Mobley asked him about studying Arabic abroad around 2007. Muhaimin says he told Mobley not to go to Yemen because he believed the country was unsafe. Mobley was among 11 al-Qaida suspects rounded up earlier this month in Yemen. Officials there say the former New Jersey resident later fatally shot a security guard in an attempt to escape from a hospital. Muhaimin's brother Anwar is also an imam in Philadelphia. He said Friday that Mobley was a "happy-go-lucky kid" who attended weekend Arabic programs at the mosque in the 1990s. The imams say Mobley attended prayer services occasionally as a young adult, but hasn't been to the mosque in about three years.

Turnpike in W.Pa. to close for bridge removal

DONEGAL, Pa. (AP) - The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will close the turnpike in both directions in western Pennsylvania so workers can remove an unsafe bridge. The commission says motorists will be detoured between the Donegal and Somerset exits from 11:45 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, weather permitting. Workers will remove a Department of Conservation and Natural Resources bridge that carries hikers on the 70-mile Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. The 40-year-old bridge was closed in mid-December because of structural deficiencies. DCNR spokesman Terry Brady says removal will cost about $170,000 and replacement about $1.5 million. He couldn't say when the new bridge will be built, but requests for proposals will go out next February.

Roethlisberger's lawyer hires private investigator

ATLANTA (AP) - An attorney for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has hired a private investigator to look into a sexual assault allegation made by a 20-year-old Georgia college student. Police in the college town of Milledgeville continue to investigate, but have released little information since the accusation was made a week ago. The private investigator, Charles Mittelstadt, on Friday contacted a lawyer for the club where the woman says the assault took place. Photos have surfaced online of Roethlisberger smiling alongside the officer who wrote the initial incident report. But the police chief dismissed the photos, saying they were taken much earlier in the evening. The two-time Super Bowl winner hasn't been charged, and his lawyer says no sexual assault occurred.

DUBLIN (AP) - Three Muslims arrested in an alleged plot to assassinate Swedish artist Lars Vilks over a cartoon image of the prophet Muhammad have been released without charge in Ireland. Irish police say three men and an American woman remain in custody and can be held until Tuesday. The cartoon depicted the head of the prophet on a dog's body.

POWAY, Calif. (AP) - A California stadium is the scene today for a final farewell to Chelsea King, the 17-year-old girl whose body was found in a shallow grave following a massive five-day search. Thousands are expected to gather in Poway (POW'-way) to pay final respects. John Gardner has pleaded not guilty to Chelsea's murder and to the attempted rape of another woman in December. He's also a suspect in another killing.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea is reportedly ready to return to the bargaining table for talks designed to end its nuclear weapons program. That's according to a South Korean newspaper which quotes an unidentified official from the regime. Other officials tell The Associated Press they haven't heard of such plans.

SAIDU SHARIF, Pakistan (AP) - A suicide bomber driving a motorized rickshaw has killed at least 13 people in northwest Pakistan. Authorities say the man blew himself up at a security checkpoint in the Swat region, wounding 52 others. It was the second major attack in the country in less than 24 hours.

WASHINGTON (AP) - It's time to start saving daylight for those pleasant spring and summer evenings. Most Americans trade an hour's sleep this weekend as daylight saving returns at 2 a.m. Sunday, local time. Standard time returns again Nov. 7.