Today's News-Saturday, June 5, 2010

REBATE PROGRAM EXTENDED

The deadline to apply for Property Tax/Rent Rebate program has been extended from June 30 to December 31, 2010. According to a release for State Representative Tim Seip's office, to qualify for the program, a person must be 65 or older, a widow or widower 50 or older, or be at least 18 with a permanent disability. The income limit is $35,000 for homeowners and $15,000 for renters. If you qualify, the minimum rebate is $250 with the maximum of $975. For more information or to see if you qualify, Representative Seip encourages you to call one of his offices in Pottsville, Valley View, Tremont, or Tilden Township and someone will be happy to you. You can also send an email at www.pahouse.com/Seip.

FIRE GRANTS RECEIVED

Federal grants announced earlier this week will help keep Pottsville's firefighters in tiptop shape for the job. According to the Republican and Herald, a $277 thousand dollar grant is part of the federal government's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. The Pottsville Fire Department grant is part of a $1.2 million grant package delivered to Schuylkill County fire companies earlier this week by U.S. Rep. Tim Holden. Other companies across the county - in Ashland, Shenandoah, Pine Grove, Joliett, Mahanoy City and Frackville - also received money to buy new equipment and trucks.
Recent round of fire company grants
· City of Pottsville: $277,020
· American Hose Company No. 2, Pottsville: $261,250
· Pine Grove Hose, Hook & Ladder Fire Company: $118,750
· Joliett Volunteer Fire Company: $139,650
· Polish American Fire Company No. 4, Shenandoah: $51,186
· Heights Fire Company No. 1, Shenandoah Heights: $24,632
· Columbia Hose & Steam Company No. 1: $54,131
· Good Will Hose Company No. 1, Frackville: $38,475
· Rescue Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, Shenandoah: $14,231
· Washington Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, Mahanoy City: $237,500
· Washington Fire Company, Ashland: $26,125

ENERGY PROGRAM REBATES

Families in Pennsylvania who need to replace their home heating system can apply for a rebate of up to $500. It’s called the Home Heating Equipment Rebate program and it’s funded by federal stimulus money. Howard Ondick has the details.

ONDICK

CITY MAN ARRESTED ON GUN CHARGES

Already sentenced to state prison for selling heroin, a Pottsville man faces more time behind bars after being convicted Friday in Schuylkill County Court of possessing four guns. As reported by the Republican and Herald, a jury of six men and six women deliberated less than 30 minutes before finding Rodolfo Valdez, 28, guilty of four counts of possessing a prohibited offensive weapon and one of possessing a firearm with altered manufacturer number. Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin, who presided over the one-day trial, ordered a presentence investigation and said he would schedule a sentencing date for Valdez, who did not react to the verdict. Pottsville police charged Valdez with possessing two rifles, a shotgun and a handgun with an obliterated manufacturer's number on Oct. 8 in an apartment at the Laurel Court High Rise in the city. Police said they found the guns in the same closet in which Valdez was hiding when they came to arrest him about 8:15 a.m. on drug-related charges.

MAN CONVICTED IN CITY STABBING

A Pottsville man faces prison time after being convicted Friday in Schuylkill County Court of stabbing a man in January 2009 in the city. According to the Republican and Herald, Todd M. Richter showed no emotion as the jury found him guilty of two counts each of aggravated and simple assault and one each of carrying a prohibited offensive weapon and recklessly endangering another person. Judge D. Michael Stine, who presided over the two-day trial, ordered a presentence investigation, scheduled Richter's sentencing for 10 a.m. July 26 and allowed him to remain free on bail until then. Pottsville police charged Richter with stabbing Travis Kromer with a knife on Jan. 24, 2009, at Kromer's residence. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer N. Lehman said in her closing argument that Richter stabbed Kromer because he was angry that Kromer had called his wife, Megan Kromer, who also is the daughter of Richter's fiancee, a bad name.

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) - Unionized workers at two Hershey Company plants in the company's hometown have overwhelmingly approved a labor agreement that is expected to lead to as many as 600 lost jobs. Hershey had threatened to move a plant expansion and jobs elsewhere if the union members rejected the deal.

PENFIELD, Pa. (AP) - Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger says yesterday's blowout at a natural gas well in Clearfield County was a "serious incident" that will be fully investigated. No one was hurt, and driller EOG Resources says the well was controlled after about 16 hours.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A judge has denied a new trial for a Philadelphia woman convicted of attempted prostitution for sending an undercover officer topless photos and offering sex for World Series tickets. The judge turned down Susan Finkelstein's request yesterday for a new trial.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - An exhibit making its world premiere in Philadelphia features many never-before-seen artifacts from a pair of ongoing Egyptian archaeological expeditions. "Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt" opens today at The Franklin Institute.

GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) - President Barack Obama says Gulf Coast residents and businesses have been put in turmoil because of an oil spill that's not their fault and out of their control. In his weekly radio and Internet address today, Obama promised to stand with the people of the Gulf Coast "until they are made whole."

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Oil is still poured out of a cap that robots adjusted over the gusher in the Gulf today, though some is being collected. The crude is escaping through vents designed to prevent ice crystals from clogging the cap. Engineers hope to close several vents. The oil has reached the shores of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says President Barack Obama's Senate primary race dealmaking falls far short of his campaign promise of an open administration. In the weekly GOP radio and Internet address, Steele says there's a need to know what was offered, who authorized it, who knew and what the expected trade-offs were. He's wants a special investigator or independent counsel.

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel says there was no resistance today when it took over a Gaza-bound aid vessel, preventing it from breaking an Israeli maritime blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory. The takeover stood in marked contrast to a violent confrontation at sea earlier this week when Israeli commandos blocked a Turkish aid vessel, killing nine people.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - Pope Benedict has touched on a key theme of his three-day pilgrimage to Cyprus, calling Christian communities in the Middle East a vital force for peace in the region. He's urging support for the embattled communities. The Vatican views Cyprus as a crossroads between Europe and the Middle East.