TODAY'S NEWS: SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2011

LOCAL PERSONAL CARE FACILITY CLOSED

The thirty residents of White Owl Manor personal care home in Mahanoy City were moved from the building at a feverous pace yesterday afternoon after state Department of Public Welfare served the facility with a closure notice. According to the Republican and Herald, White Owl was being closed for failing to report the deaths of three residents in the month of June. Families were not given any warning and had to relocate their loved ones to other facilities or have to care for them at home. DPW officials cited numerous violations against White Owl and it’s owner James McGill of Kelayres, who has a pending court date after being accused of using a former residents ATM card without authorization. He will also face fines due to recent allegations which led to the closure of the facility.

FORMER SHENANDOAH FUGITIVE NOW FACES FEDERAL CHARGES

Russell Pearce, the seventy-four year old fugitive of New York that was found in Shenandoah last September will face federal charges of interstate flight to avoid prosecution. Pearce was on the lamb since 1971 after being accused of rape in 1970. In 1994 Pearce moved into Shenandoah and was found sixteen years later. Charges for the rape and bail jumping were dropped in New York after the victim was unable to testify against Pearce. However, federal prosecutors have picked up the case and will try Pearce in Federal Court.

DOMESTIC DISPUTE LEADS TO CHARGES

A Port Carbon man is in Schuylkill County Prison following a domestic dispute in the borough Thursday evening. Alan Keller was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Steven Bayer on charges of terroristic threats and committed to prison unable to post ten thousand dollars straight cash bail. The charges stem from an argument between Keller and his girlfriend Kathy Gottschall. During the spat Keller allegedly told Gottschall he would shoot her in front of police if she called them for assistance. When Keller was taken into custody a handgun was recovered leading to the charges.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Philadelphia man on trial in his disabled daughter's starvation death claims the girl's mother hid her from him. The comments from Daniel Kelly's lawyers came during opening statements yesterday in the trial over the 2006 death of his 14-year-old daughter Danieal (dan-YELL').

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - Police in central Pennsylvania say it was apparently a propane leak that caused an explosion that leveled a Lancaster County car wash. The Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era reports no one was injured in the blast, which happened at
around 3:30 a.m. yesterday at Engleside Car Wash in West Lampeter Township. Police say the car wash is severely damaged and damage is estimated at $1.5 million.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The cash-strapped Philadelphia school district is talking about the possibility of reopening contracts with its unions in an effort to save $75 million. School Reform
Commission chairman Robert Archie Jr. said at a meeting yesterday that negotiations are ongoing and the district is encouraged by the progress.

ERIE, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man took his dog out for a walk - and found a 3-foot alligator in his backyard. The Erie Times-News reports that the homeowner discovered the alligator yesterday afternoon behind his house. Officials suspect that someone had the alligator as a pet and released it when it became too big.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to make a spending cut deal ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline to raise the government borrowing limit. In his weekly radio and Internet address. Obama says everything needs to be on the table in the budget debate, including all federal tax breaks and programs. Republicans aren't budging from opposition to tax hikes.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans are criticizing President Barack Obama on the economy and continued their opposition to tax increases as part of the solution to reducing government debt. In the weekly GOP radio and Internet address Indiana Rep. Dan Coats says "more government and higher taxes is not the answer to our problem." He says it's time to "stop spending money we don't have."

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) - It may not be long before experiments are humming again at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and thousands of evacuated city residents return to their regular daily lives. Firefighters are holding their own against a wildfire and officials are preparing for the lifting of an evacuation order. They haven't given a timetable yet.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Questions remain about how sick Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is and he's seeking to reassure supporters that he's still in charge and expects to fully recover from cancer treatment. But the cancer disclosure is raising questions about whether he will be able to run for re-election next year and how his illness may impact the future of his socialist movement in Latin America.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Some Minnesota lawmakers will be facing voters for the first time since a state government shutdown began over a budget impasse. Republicans who control the Legislature and the Democratic governor can't agree on how to close a $5 billion deficit. The governor wants some tax increases. The GOP lawmakers are having none of that.