Today's News Mon. December 12, 2011

Local News Mon. December 12, 2011

Schuylkill Haven Borough Seeks Information And Applications

At its most recent meeting, Schuylkill Haven Borough Council asked residents to watch the playgrounds and parks in the borough. There has been a rash of vandalism at these locations, and council wants help bringing the vandals to justice. The most recent incident involved damage to a pavilion at Bubeck Park, but other areas have also been affected. In other business, council is accepting applications from anyone who is interested in filling Mayor Gary Hess's shoes. Since Mayor Hess will soon become Commissioner Hess, it will be necessary to appoint someone to fill out his term. Applicants are asked to submit letters of interest to the borough before December 21.

Schuylkill County Suicide Rate Holds The Line

There have been nineteen suicides in Schuylkill County so far this year, according to a report presented by the Coroner's Office. That number is in line with the number of suicides in recent years, except for 2009, when the number soared to 35. Statistics show that most people who take their own lives are men between the ages of twenty five and fifty five, and that most are the result of problems with relationships. The Schuylkill County Suicide Prevention Task Force collects information from every incident so they can focus prevention activity where it will do the most good. They are traveling to local school districts to present a program titled "To Save A Life", which included a video and presentations by students and parents. There is also a suicide prevention hotline available 24 hours a day at 628-0152 or toll free at 877-993-4357.

Salvation Army Set To Help Needy Families At Christmas

Because of the generosity of Schuylkill County residents, many needy families will have a merry Christmas this holiday season. Captain Adam Hench of the Salvation Army said that the donations of toys and gifts will go to 669 families who signed up for help this year, compared with 624 families last year. Many families were also helped at Thanksgiving through donations of chickens, turkeys, and other food items. The Salvation Army received more requests for help this year than they have in many years. Families from Pottsville who are receiving gifts may pick them up at the Life Center Foursquare Church in Pottsville between 10:00a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on December 19. Those from the rest of the county can come to the church on December 20. Those who signed up late may pick up their gifts on December 21.

Cressona Fire Company No. 1 Honored By Dover Speedway and Fallen Firefighters

Representatives from Dover International Speedway and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation came to Cressona on Saturday. They were there to present the members of Cressona Fire Company Number 1 with their own Miles the Monster trophy for winning the inaugural Firehouse Challenge during the AAA 400 on October 2. The award was created to recognize the individual fire station with the most members in attendance. Thirty five members of Cressona Fire Co. #1 attended the race, and that was enough to win the award. Members celebrated with a fire truck parade through town that also included the pace truck from Dover International Speedway. The parade was followed by the trophy presentation and a dinner for all those in attendance. Eric Nagle, Program Specialist for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, made these remarks during the trophy presentation:

NAGLE

State and National News Mon. December 12, 2011

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - A source close to the family of Joe Paterno tells The Associated Press the former Penn State coach was admitted to the hospital yesterday after re-fracturing his pelvis following a fall at his home. Paterno initially injured his pelvis after a player accidentally blindsided him in preseason practice. Paterno is also being treated for lung cancer.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia Archdiocese says Cardinal John Foley has died. He was a long-serving priest who rose to lead an ancient Catholic order in the Holy Land. For 25 years, he also provided commentary for American television viewers of the Vatican's Christmas Midnight Mass. Foley died yesterday at the Villa St. Joseph in Darby, a suburb of Philadelphia.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - An internal document is forecasting the possibility of layoffs at the Pennsylvania State Police. The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reports the agency is forecasting the
potential for 400-500 trooper layoffs, or about 10 percent of the approximately 4,400 troopers, under a budget proposal aimed at trimming the department's spending.

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (AP) - The expansion of natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania, and the resulting demand for more gas pipelines to carry it across the state's Marcellus Shale regions, is sparking concern there's not enough regulation and government oversight of the pipes. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports hundreds of miles of high-pressure pipelines have already been built but with no government safety checks or construction standards, inspections and
no monitoring.

QUANTICO, Va. (AP) - The use of one method of crowd control is sparking both debate over its safety and sales. More police and emergency-response agencies are using the so-called Long-Range Acoustic Devices instead of megaphones or conventional loudspeakers. They emit beams of sound with laser-like intensity, but a lawsuit against Pittsburgh claims a woman's hearing was damaged.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Anti-Wall Street protesters along the West Coast from Alaska to Southern California are hoping to make a big splash this morning. The objective is to block ports from Anchorage to San Diego. The union representing longshoremen up and down the West Coast is distancing itself from the shutdown effort.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court will decide if it wants to weigh in on a furious legal fight against a patchwork of state laws targeting illegal immigrants. Arizona will ask the court today for permission to enforce blocked sections of its law. The federal government says immigration enforcement is its job. The court must decide whether it will take the case.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says winning re-election really depends on what voters are thinking and not who his Republican opponent will be. He tells CBS' "60 Minutes" that the core philosophies of the GOP candidates are the same. He says he thinks Americans realize that GOP methods haven't worked in the past.

CHICAGO (AP) - A new medical report warns that success stories for the tiniest babies are the exception, not the rule and shouldn't create false hope. Tiny babies, some born weighing under
a pound, still face long odds of even survival. The report from the doctor who resuscitated two of the tiniest ever born is in today's Pediatrics online.