Today's News Wed. December 7, 2011

Local News For Wed. December 7, 2011

Seventy Years Have Passed Since Attack On Pearl Harbor

FDR SPEECH

Those words from president Franklin Delano Roosevelt came one day after the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was devastated by a surprise attack by forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy. That attack occurred exactly seventy years ago, and launched the United States into what would become the most costly and ghastly war that mankind has yet known. There will be a memorial service, attended by remaining veterans and their families, at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial today to commemorate the attack and to remember those who lost their lives during it. According to a story in the Republican Herald, the remains of five Pearl Harbor veterans will be placed inside the sunken hulks of the battleships U.S.S. Utah and U.S.S. Arizona during today’s ceremonies.

Game Commission Reports Preliminary Bear Harvest

Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl Roe released the preliminary harvest numbers from the 2011 bear season on Monday. The report indicates that hunters harvested 3,968 bears, including 257 during the archery season, 3,154 during the four day rifle season, and 557 during the extended season in selected Wildlife Management Areas. There were bears taken in fifty-four out of the state's sixty-seven counties, and the largest was a male that weighed in at 767 pounds. Joseph Colyer, of Pocono Lake, took that one with a crossbow in Tobyhanna, Monroe County. The harvest this year is second only to 2005, when hunters took 4,164 bears.

Pennsylvania First In Nation To Adopt New Drivers License Security Feature

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has introduced a new security hologram that makes it easier to spot fake drivers licenses and identification cards. Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to use this enhanced security feature. Deputy Secretary Kurt Myers explains how the new feature works:

MYERS :36

Schuylkill Haven Police Make Arrests In Assault Case

Schuylkill Haven Police have made the first arrests of suspects in the beatings that took place on Sunday in the borough. Nineteen year old Christopher Cheese, who currently lives in Pottsville, and eighteen year old Christopher Scott of University Drive in Schuylkill Haven were taken into custody on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges related to the assaults and robbery. Both men were arraigned before Magesterial District Judge Anthony Kilker of Shenandoah, and were committed to Schuylkill County Prison on $250,000 cash bail. Police used surveillance video and eyewitness identification by two of the victims to determine who the attackers were. Additional arrests are expected to be made in the case.

Schuylkill Municipalities Approve Budgets

Several Schuylkill County municipalities have approved budgets for fiscal 2012. Mahanoy Township Supervisors and the Borough Councils of Mahanoy City and St. Clair have passed preliminary budgets that include no increase in taxes, while Girardville's preliminary budget includes a three mill tax increase. Representatives from each governing body have indicated that keeping expenses under control has required a lot of hard work, but they also agree that it is worth it to be able to keep taxes to a minimum for their residents. Rising costs for fuel and other necessary items were cited as areas of concern, as well as a shrinking tax base, but each municipality has been able to trim their budgets in other areas so taxpayers see either no increase or minimal increases in their taxes.