Today's News-Monday, June 21, 2010

TWO CAR CRASH IN PORTER TOWNSHIP
A pregnant woman was taken to the hospital following a crash in Porter Township Saturday night. Schuylkill Haven state police say that 28 year old Eugene Sattler of Williamstown sideswiped a car operated by 45 year old Scott Ferris, also from Williamstown, on Porter Road before 10pm Police say Sattler tried to leave the scene, but his car broke down. Ferris's passenger Jodi, who was reported to be in the late stages of pregnancy, was taken to Schuylkill Medical Center South. Sattler was believed to be impaired while driving.

POLICE PICK UP TAMAQUA MAN
A Tamaqua man was picked up by police early Saturday for disorderly conduct and an outstanding warrant. 33 year old James Owens was reportedly yelling and using profanity outside a home on Piersol Street in the village of Reevesdale. During processing following the incident, police found that Owens was wanted by police for failing to appear in court. Owens was jailed for the bench warrant.

AGRICULTURE ANNIVERSARY
Schuylkill County Agriculture was celebrated over the weekend. Bobby Bechtel has more from the Ringtown Valley:

BECHTEL AGRICULTURE

PA DEM POWER SHIFT
CAMP HILL, Pa. (AP) - Control of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party changed hands for the first time in eight years this weekend. The Democratic State Committee elected a new chairman, Pittsburgh lawyer Jim Burn, as the sun sets on the Rendell era and the Republican Party vigorously campaigns to reclaim the governorship and an open U.S. Senate seat. Saturday's leadership shake-up did not come without a fair amount of behind-the-scenes drama, dealmaking and uncertainty over who was in charge. The top-of-the-ticket Democratic candidates - Dan Onorato for governor and Joe Sestak for Senate - said they studiously avoided taking sides prior to the vote. Onorato, the elected executive of Allegheny County governor, appeared at a state committee dinner on Friday night and urged unity. Sestak, a second-term congressman who ousted Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter in the primary, said he personally would have liked to elect a woman as the party's leader. But he said he did not want to interfere in the selection process.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Coast Guard is looking for a woman who fell into the Delaware River near Philadelphia. It received a report from a member of the Philadelphia Fire Department saying the woman was missing last night after falling off an inflatable raft anchored near No Name Island, a tiny patch of sand close to the shoreline. It says the woman wasn't wearing a life jacket.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in Wilkes-Barre have charged a grandfather in the stabbing death of his wife after an argument over Father's Day plans. Police were called to the
family's Saturday night and found that Maria Jeringa Ngolo had been stabbed. Investigators say Harun Ngolo is charged with criminal homicide.

CHESTER, Pa. (AP) - The mayor of Chester says fear in the community has prompted him to declare a state of emergency to battle violence that has killed four people in eight days, including a toddler shot on his family's doorstep. Mayor Wendell Butler has temporarily instituted a curfew and outlawed any gathering of more than two people without a city permit.

NEW YORK (AP) - A Pakistan-born U.S. citizen suspected in the May 1 bombing attempt on Times Square is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in New York later today. Faisal Shahzad was indicted for allegedly using money and training from the Pakistani Taliban in the plot. The most serious count against the 30-year-old carries a possible life sentence.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A report by the RAND Corp. says the U.S. isn't getting its money's worth for all the billions of dollars its given Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. The report says although Pakistan has helped the U.S. in the hunt for terrorists, it also has a long history of either backing extremists or looking the other way.

ON THE GULF OF MEXICO (AP) - BP says so far it's paid out $105 million dollars to some 32,000 claimants in the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil giant says its tab for responding to the spill stands at $2 billion.

LANCASTER, Texas (AP) - Authorities in suburban Dallas say a police officer was killed while responding to a domestic disturbance Sunday. Two other men were also killed. Police say the
officer arrived at an apartment complex in Lancaster and gunfire erupted. One of the other men killed was the son of the Dallas police chief.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - Firefighters are battling the second serious wildfire near Flagstaff, Ariz. in days. Hundreds of residents had to evacuate when flames, fueled by strong winds, got
too close to their homes. No buildings have burned.