May 12, 2011

SUNBURY - The Attorney General won't file charges against Northumberland County Commissioner Vinny Clausi. Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Rosini announced today that the Office of the Attorney General informed him that no criminal charges will be filed against Commissioner Vinny Clausi after their review of the allegations made by former Northumberland County Chief Clerk and Assistant Solicitor Kimberly Best. Best had accused Clausi of threatening her and also sexually harrassing her.
John Callahan (WGRC)   

BROWN TOWNSHIP - A serious motorcycle accident in Lycoming County this afternoon. Rescue crews were called to the 34,000 block of Route 44 in Brown Township just before three this afternoon for a motorcycle accident. Reports from the scene indicated that a man and a woman were thrown from the motorcycle and both had head injuries. The man was not wearing a helmet. The woman was wearing a helmet although first responders said she appeared to have a more serious injury. A life flight helicopter was called to the scene but was later cancelled when EMTs at the scene were able to stabilize both patients.
John Callahan (WGRC)
       
STATE COLLEGE - Police in Centre County have arrested the men believed to be responsible for an assault on a man in a parking area that sent him to Geisinger Medical Center.  The incident happened Saturday morning around 2:30 a.m. at the corner of Calder Way and Hiester Street. There police found a 28-year-old New York man unconscious and bleeding from the back of the head. Witnesses tell State College Police that the victim was possibly intoxicated and leaning against a vehicle when two other men knocked him to the ground and continued beating him before fleeing the scene.  Two Penn State students were taken into custody yesterday after they were identified from still photos taken from surveillance camera video that were released to the media. The two are 25-year old grad student Gabriel Oshode and 22-year old undergrad Jonathan Figueroa. The two are charged with aggravated assault and related counts. Oshode and Figueroa are free after posting $25,000 unsecured bail each. The unidentified victim reportedly remains at Geisinger in stable condition. 
Jim Diehl/John Callahan (WGRC)

PINE GROVE - A business shot up in Schuylkill County. State Police say sometime between February and yesterday someone fired four gun shots at the exterior of the warehouse and main building of Solar Innovations along Roberts Road in Pine Grove Township. The damage estimate is around $1500.
Anyone who might have information about this incident is urged to call State Police at the Schuylkill Haven barracks.
John Callahan (WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - The Department of Environmental Protection will conduct its first aerial spraying to control black flies tomorrow, of selected waterways in Northcentral Pennsylvania. The main stem of the Susquehanna River, from Sunbury to Wrightsville, and Penns Creek in Snyder and Union counties are tentatively scheduled for spraying. This year, 47 rivers and streams spanning more than 1,600 miles will be monitored and treated as needed.  DEP will notify county and local emergency management officials prior to any spraying activity to make them aware that helicopters seen flying over creeks, streams and rivers are working on behalf of the state's black fly program.
(WGRC)

BERWICK - A fire damages a home in Columbia County last night. The fire was reported just after midnight at that home on Snowflake Lane in the Hemlock Springs Development near Berwick. Reports say a woman and her dog made it out of the home safely. The fire was initially reported as a kitchen fire which then spread to the rest of the home. Crews were back in service around four this morning.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

MAINVILLE - A Mainville woman remains in serious condition after being flown to Geisinger Medical Center following a motorcycle crash only minutes from her home in Main Township, Columbia County. The Press Enterprise reports, 46-year-old Denise Morris was thrown  100 feet before landing in a field. Police say Morris was headed north on Main-Mifflin Road just after one p.m. yesterday when her cycle had a mechanical malfunction and started to shake. Morris veered off the road and slammed into an embankment.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

BLOOMSBURG - A 54-year-old Stillwater woman remains in fair condition at Geisinger Medical Center after a suspected drunken driver shoved her car into traffic Tuesday night, on Route 487 in Columbia County. Danni Fogg, was taken to the hospital following the crash around 7:30 p.m. Police say 21-year-old Daniel Hartman, of Benton, was speeding north when his car collided with the back of Fogg's car pushing it into a guard rail and a van. The Press Enterprise reports, no one in the van was hurt and Hartman wasn't injured. Charges against Hartman are pending blood tests.
(WGRC)

BEECH CREEK - A 24-year-old Lock Haven man is charged with felony fleeing police and reckless endangerment charges. The charges were filed against Christopher Bartley during a DUI checkpoint Monday afternoon around two p.m. Police say Bartley entered the check point and was stopped. When he was asked to produce a driver's license and insurance information he took off, full throttle. When he took off Four Troopers were standing in the roadway and nearly hit by Bartley.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - In Lycoming County one day after Old Lycoming Township supervisors adopted an ordinance banning the possession and sale of synthetic drugs, township police shut down a Lycoming Creek Road business after seizing an estimated $20,000 worth of synthetic marijuana and bath salts from the establishment. Investigators raided Smokes' R Us, late Wednesday morning and removed scores of packets of bath salts, synthetic marijuana and other drugs from the shelves. While the state is working to pass legislation that would outlaw the sale of such substances, several communities are taking steps to give police the legal power to get the dangerous materials off their streets as soon as possible. During the raid police also found some workers that were here in the country illegally and U.S. Immigration officials were called in to deal with them. No charges have been filed against the business at this time. 
(WGRC)

WILKES-BARRE - The extortion trial for two ex-Shenandoah Police officers gets underway today. Matthew Nestor and Jamie Gennarini held the positions of police chief and captain, when they were indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2009. Nestor is accused of shaking down bookmakers of illegal gambling operations and both are accused of attempting to extort a borough businessman. They'll each appear in U.S. District Court in Wilkes-Barre before Judge A. Richard Caputo at 9:30 a.m. today for jury selection. Prosecutors will begin presenting their case once a jury is chosen.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - In a bombshell federal lawsuit filed less than a week before the May 17 primary election, a former Northumberland County chief clerk alleges Northumberland County Commissioner Vinny Clausi threatened her life. Kimberly best says Clausi threatened her saying, "I'll take care of you for 10 cents, that's the cost of a bullet."  In a separate complaint filed with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Best claimed Clausi sexually harassed her and bragged repeatedly about his sexual prowess. Clausi, a Democrat, adamantly denied the allegations and said it was a sad day in Northumberland County. Commissioner Merle Phillips, a Republican, who is also named in the federal lawsuit, questioned Best's timing in filing the complaint. The third commissioner, Frank Sawicki, a Democrat, declined to comment. The county government also is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The Daily Item reports, Best is seeking $1 million in damages.
(WGRC)

LEWISBURG - The Buffalo Valley Regional Police Commission expects to name its first chief at a special meeting next Wednesday. During a meeting yesterday, commission Vice Chairman Hank Baylor announced that six people applied for the position of Chief, one of them, Lewisburg Chief Paul Yost. The Daily Item reports, the meeting to appoint a police chief will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Lewisburg Borough Building, 55 South Fifth Street. Commission member Judy Wagner, mayor of Lewisburg, predicted the department would be running by October or November. The Borough of New Berlin has again place an interest in possibly joining the Regional Police Force, and may hold a community meeting in the near future to get public input on joining the regional force.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

HUMMELS WHARF - A Muncy Valley-based developer has completed an $800,000 purchase of the fire-ravaged Ruby Tuesday building and nearly three acres that come with it along Routes 11-15 in Monroe Township, Snyder County. The deal was a steal, according to Rich Hewitt, of Dallas RTS, an LLC formed by his company, Liquor License Sales PA-NJ. The Daily Item reports, the company has been under a conditioned contract with Ruby Tuesday corporate office for several years before it formally took the title on May 5th. Hewitt says his company is willing to subdivide the property and sell it, or lease it. Hewitt says there is a restaurant that has made an offer to do something with the property, but any deal is "a long ways off." Three fires at the restaurant within weeks of each other in late 2006 and early 2007, and a deliberately set blaze in April 2007 caused about $700,000 in damage and closed the business permanently.
(WGRC)

WILLIAMSPORT - An $18 million preliminary budget with no tax increase was approved in an 8-0 vote Wednesday by Loyalsock Township School Board for the 2011-12 school year. The budget still contains a shortfall of $302,000 due to state budget cuts. School Board directors have been working feverishly to reduce that shortfall which started out at $950,000. The Sun Gazette reports, the final budget will be brought to vote at the board's June 22 meeting.
(WGRC)

MUNCY - In Lycoming County, county and municipal officials gathered Wednesday at the Kellogg plant in Muncy Creek Township to celebrate the completion of a project that will bring an essential building block of economic development to eastern Lycoming County. The ceremony marked the interconnection of the Lycoming County Water and Sewer Authority's public water system with the water system owned by the Borough of Muncy. The interconnection will allow the authority to buy 20,000 gallons of water from the borough a day at a cost of five dollars for every 1,000 gallons. The Authority will then sell that water to current and new businesses along John Brady Drive and Industrial Park Road in the Muncy Industrial Park area west of the Kellogg plant. The Sun Gazette reports, the project includes the installation of more than 1,100 feet of water line and the construction of a booster station to send water to the authority water storage tank, which is north of Interstate 180 at the Lycoming Mall interchange. The agreement also calls for the borough to be paid a one-time connection fee of $110,000.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

WATSONTOWN - Pennsylvania's Lieutenant Governor was in Northumberland County Wednesday to take a tour of the Moran Industries building in Watsontown. Jim Cawley was in the area highlighting the Corbett administration's commitment to growing the state's economy and jobs. Cawley says Governor Corbett's administration wants government out of the way of companies like Moran so they can grow and create jobs.   
(WGRC)

McVEYTOWN - Pennsylvania's First Lady, Susan Corbett, was the key note speaker Wednesday night at the Mifflin County Republican Committee's Spring Banquet, held at the Penn Valley Christian Retreat near McVeytown. Corbett recently was appointed Chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, where she has served on the board for nine years. Corbett talked about settling into her new role and said there has been a period of adjustment in the last several months. She said one of things that took some getting used to was the constant presence of the Pennsylvania State Troopers assigned to her and her husband's security detail. The Sentinel reports, in addition to her work with the council of the arts, Corbett said she works with the tourism industry, preserving our heritage and organizations that work with at risk children. She also talked about her husband's goals as Governor and said her husband may not always do the most popular thing, but being governor "is not a popularity contest."
(WGRC)

HARRISBURG - Late Wednesday afternoon the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in an overwhelming vote, adopted House Bill 574, which would require abortion clinics in the state to apply and adhere to the same license and safety standards that other outpatient surgical centers must meet. The legislation follows on the heels of the Grand Jury murder indictments surrounding Dr. Kermit Gosnell and the Women's Medical Society abortion clinic in Philadelphia. The House voted 148 - 43 to pass the bill which now goes before the Senate for its approval before being signed by the Governor.
Jim Diehl (WGRC)