Today's News Wed. December 28, 2011

Local News for Wed. December 28, 2011

Deer Lake Man Killed By Carbon Monoxide

The death of 47 year-old Richard Golab, of 116 Maple Boulevard in Deer Lake, was apparently the result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Dr. Richard Bindie performed an autopsy on Golab and he determined that death was caused by inhalation of poisonous fumes put out by a faulty coal stoker. Emergency crews were called to Golab's residence on Monday, where they found Golab dead and 51 year-old Diane Squyres suffering from the effects of inhaling carbon monoxide. Squyres was taken to Schuylkill Medical Center South Jackson Street for treatment. Deer Lake and West Brunswick Township Fire Department assisted at the scene by ventilating the house. Officials report that there were no carbon monoxide detectors in the home.

Firefighters Say Goodbye To Summit Station Chief

A somber procession made its way from the Geschwindt Stabingas Funeral Home on Main Street in Schuylkill Haven to a cemetery on Summer Hill on Tuesday as local firefighters gathered to say goodbye to one of their own. William Heffner, who was Chief of the Summit Station Fire Company, passed away last week, and was laid to rest on Tuesday surrounded by his family and the police and firefighters that he had served for over thirty years. Heffner was employed as a dispatcher for the Pennsylvania State Police, and troopers turned out in large numbers to pay their respects and control traffic. Heffner's casket was carried through a steady rain on the back of a 1950 Mack fire truck, followed by over twenty pieces of fire apparatus and many private vehicles.

Salvation Army Surpasses Kettle Collection Goal

Captain Adam Hench of the Salvation Army reported that the Red Kettle drive in Schuylkill County surpassed the goal of $75,000 that was set for the 2011 collection. The final numbers are in, and the total of all donations is $82,811.62. Captain Hench expressed his gratitude to all those who gave so generously this year, and said that the Salvation Army will be able to help many local residents with the money received.

State and National News Wed. December 28, 2011

GROVE CITY, Pa. (AP) - General Electric Company's transportation unit has announced plans to build a diesel engine plant and upgrade an existing plant in western Pennsylvania, bringing up to 150 more jobs to the area. GE Transportation says it will spend $35 million on the new Grove City plant and $37 million on the existing plant a
few miles away.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Police say a north Philadelphia woman shot and killed a man she said was assaulting and trying to rob her son. Police say the woman told them her son was entering the apartment building when he was attacked in the stairwell. Investigators say the mother told them she came downstairs with a gun and shot the
attacker.

ELKINS PARK, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in suburban Philadelphia say an arrest warrant has been issued in the death of a man who was shot and killed while wrapping gifts early Christmas morning. Authorities in Montgomery County say Robens Borno was sitting at the dining room table of a Cheltenham Township home with his girlfriend and her mother wrapping gifts when two men came in and one of them shot him several times.

MOUNT POCONO, Pa. (AP) - A coroner has ruled the death of a man whose torso was found wrapped in garbage bags along a northeastern Pennsylvania road a homicide. Police in Monroe County say a passing motorist spotted the black bags on Monday on Route 191 in Paradise Township.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - A neighbor says a Fort Wayne, Indiana trailer park where a 9-year-old murdered girl lived has a convicted sex offender living at just about every address. The neighbor, a sex offender himself, says 39-year-old Michael Plumadore, also shares his history. Police say Plumadore told investigators he killed the girl he was babysitting last week and then dismembered her.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) - Tomorrow, a national memorial service will be held for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who died Dec. 17 of a heart attack. Today, tens of thousands of North Koreans lined the snowy streets of Pyongyang to watch as Kim's black hearse wound its way through the capital for his funeral service. At one point Kim's youngest son and successor Kim Jong Un, walked with one hand on the hearse.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The Taliban says it killed three NATO service members in Afghanistan. The troops were killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in the eastern part of the country. There's no word on their nationalities, although the Taliban says the target was a U.S. military convoy.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Democrats fear that Sen. Ben Nelson's choice to not run for a third term will set the GOP up for an easy victory for the Nebraska seat. Nelson survived nearly two decades representing heavily Republican Nebraska, but the 70-year Democrat announced Tuesday that he wouldn't be running again.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The U.S. travel industry is pushing Congress to ease travel restrictions for foreign tourists. The federal government strengthened travel requirements in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Nearly 7.6 million nonimmigrant visas were issued in 2001, compared to fewer than 6.5 million in 2010. The U.S. Travel Association says fewer foreign tourists mean fewer dollars for the tourist industry.