Today's News Thursday January 26, 2012

Local News Thursday January 26, 2012

Schuylkill County Commissioners Met On Wednesday

The Schuylkill County Commissioners met on Wednesday. Reporter Bob Bechtel was there, and he filed this story:

COMMISSIONERS

Hazleton Man Sent To State Prison After Trial No-Show

A Hazleton man who missed his trial on DUI charges in December was arrested by Hazleton Police, and has been sent to State Prison. Hector Berberena-Soto was scheduled for trial in Schuylkill County court on December 7, but failed to appear. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was apprehended on December 17. The charges stemmed from a car accident in September when Berbereno-Soto was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.23 percent, or three times the legal limit. In reviewing Berbereno-Soto's past criminal record, Judge Charles M. Miller called the defendant a danger to society, and committed him to eighteen months to five years in State Prison.

Pottsville Family Sickened By Carbon Monoxide

Pottsville resident Mallory Harig, who lives at 1102 Fairmont Avenue with her two children, smelled sulfur fumes in her home and began feeling ill, and she called for help. Pottsville firefighters arrived on scene to discover that the Harig residence, as well as the adjoining home of Craig Lambert, had extremely high levels of carbon monoxide gas. The Harigs were taken to Schuylkill Medical Center South Jackson for treatment, and firefighters ventilated the homes. On investigation, it was found that the stove pipe from the coal stove in Lambert's home came loose, and caused the problem. The carbon monoxide detector in the Harig residence was not functioning at the time. Pottsville Fire Chief Todd March said that all residents should install and maintain carbon monoxide detectors to protect themselves from this colorless, odorless gas.

Public Hearing In Schuylkill Haven Debates Need For Cell Tower

A public hearing was held in the Schuylkill Haven Council Chambers on Wednesday evening to discuss the need for a cellular tower that Verizon Communications has proposed in the borough. Richard Comi, of the Center for Municipal Solutions in Glenmont, New York testified for those who oppose the 195 foot tower's placement:

COMI

All parties have fifteen days to submit comments or relevant information to council, and a final decision could come sometime in March.

Argall Legislation Addressing Corrections Officers Pay Passes Senate

Legislation addressing pay differences between corrections managers and lower-ranking officers passed the Senate Tuesday by a final vote of 45-5. Senate Bill 1019, with David Argall as its primary sponsor, now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. Senator Argall said in a statement that "with two state correctional institutions in Schuylkill County, this problem is impacting morale and the DOC's ability to promote from within." He also had this comment about the bill:

ARGALL

State and National News Thursday January 27, 2012

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Thousands of students, alumni and fans took to the streets in and around Penn State to say goodbye to Hall of Fame football coach Joe Paterno. They lined the route of the funeral procession and watched in silence as the hearse carrying his casket drove by. Paterno died on Sunday at the age of 85, about three months after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - An American aid worker rescued by Navy SEALs in Somalia is being recalled as a role model for her college classmates. Thirty-two-year-old Jessica Buchanan was rescued early yesterday with a man from Denmark. They were working with a de-mining unit when gunmen kidnapped them in October. Buchanan graduated from Valley Forge Christian College in 2007.

SINKING SPRING, Pa. (AP) - Authorities in eastern Pennsylvania are investigating a shooting on a trail along the Schuylkill River that left one teenager dead and another wounded. According to
WFMZ-TV, officials in Berks County say the gunfire erupted yesterday during a confrontation between three 15- and 16-year-olds and a man who was riding his bicycle along a trail in Cumru Township.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the former owners of a Superfund site near Philadelphia have agreed to pay $2.1 million in past cleanup costs. The EPA says in a statement that Occidental Chemical Corporation, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations and Glenn Springs Holdings, Incorporated have also assumed responsibility for all future cleanup costs at the site, about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

PARIS (AP) - French authorities have arrested the former top executive of a company at the center of a breast implant scandal. Implants affecting tens of thousands of women worldwide were pulled from the market in several countries amid fears they could rupture and leak silicone into the body.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. government still owns stakes in 458 companies helped in the financial bailout. The acting special inspector general for the bailout also says some of the nearly $133 billion that companies owe U.S. taxpayers will never be recovered.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The chairman of the National Labor Relations Board says he plans to push for new rules that would give unions a boost in organizing members. Republican lawmakers have been at odds with the board, saying it makes too many union-friendly decisions.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraqi officials say insurgents have targeted a house belonging to two policemen brothers and their families, killing 10 people inside. The attack happened early Thursday
morning about 31 miles south of Baghdad. Officials say the two officers and eight others were killed after the insurgents planted bombs around the home.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A suicide bomber in southern
Afghanistan has killed at least three people and wounded more than
30 others. An official says the bomber slammed into the gates of a
building housing aid workers Thursday in Helmand province.