NE PA Web

This week, we’re having a Memorial Day Picnic!

-Get the recipe for Garlic Lime Grilled Chicken and more!
-See some exotic animals at this Central PA sanctuary
-Visit a B&B in the Poconos

Don’t miss an all-new Home & Backyard, Saturday morning at 9am (5/25/13)

MILTON — Authorities in Northumberland County tell Newswatch 16 people are being allowed back into their homes along Carr Avenue in Milton after an apparent natural gas leak Wednesday morning.

They tell us contractors working in the area hit a gas line and the utility company UGI has shut off the leak.

Residents in a two-block area had to leave their homes for about an hour.

Rail traffic was also stopped in the Milton area because of the natural gas leak.

Wednesday morning’s local news and weather.

Do you like bugs? Meteorologist Joe Snedeker lets us in on some cricket facts in this week’s Wham Cam.

HAZLETON — One person is dead and another hurt in a deadly crash in Luzerne County.

The rollover happened on Interstate 80 east near Hazleton around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Troopers said Carolyn Dornerman, 56, from Drums was killed when she was thrown from a vehicle she was riding in.

The driver, Frank Beck, 21, was taken to the hospital in Luzerne County.

LOCK HAVEN — A man will spend nearly two years behind bars in a death case involving drugs in Clinton County.

A judge sentenced Wade Merrill Monday.  Authorities said Merrill was one of three people who smoked a prescription painkiller with Bobby Wise at a home in Lock Haven last year.

Wise got sick and died.

Police said Merrill and two others carried Wise out of the home and left him on a sidewalk instead of calling Clinton County 911.

SCRANTON — Dominick Manetti came out on top as the Republican candidate in the race for Lackawanna County Sheriff.

Manetti defeated Joseph Albert for the nomination.

Newswatch 16 caught up with Manetti at Café Rinaldi in Old Forge.

“I’ve been with the Sheriff’s Office since 1982. I worked my way up through the ranks, currently the chief deputy for the last 24 years,” Rinaldi said. “I’m going to continue to work hard for the people of Lackawanna County like I have been for the last 30 years. I’m going to continue to serve the people. I have a great staff, I have a great office with a lot of great people working hard, every single day and I’m going to continue to do that.

Manetti faces Mark McAndrew, the Democratic winner, in the general election in November.

SCRANTON — In a crowded race for Lackawanna County judge, a magisterial district judge from the Abingtons has come out on top.

James Gibbons has won both the Republican and Democratic ticket.

“We had hoped to be in this position, but you never know what’s going to happen. We ran against a lot of great candidates. They’re all very good, qualified candidates, so you never know what’s going to happen when you’re up against tough completion like that,” Gibbons said.

The other candidates in the race for county judge were Alyce Farrell, Tim Kelly, Donna Davis Javitz and Patti Grande Rieder.

All candidates were cross-filed on the Republican and Democratic tickets.

BLOOMSBURG — Sandy Davis and her supporters celebrated at her house in Bloomsburg.  Davis ran for mayor against two other Democrats.  She won the Democratic ticket and the write in vote on the Republican ticket.

“I’m quite honored to have received the vote of confidence from both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party,” Davis said.

Davis is retiring from the Berwick Area School district this year.  She is new to politics but has experience serving Bloomsburg.

“I have 25 years on boards and committees in the town.  16 of those years are on Town Hall.  I’m in my third appointed term as the chair of the zoning hearing board.”

The two other candidates, Eric Bower and Diane Levan, both serve on Bloomsburg Town Council.

“I’m going to still be your councilman for the next at least two years and I plan on sticking around and getting my ideas across the best I can,” Bower said.

“I just want to continue working really hard and hope I can keep doing what I’m doing,” said Levan.

Sandy Davis will replace Mayor Dan Knorr who was in office since 2008.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A man wanted on charges stemming from a homicide in Scranton was caught in Syracuse, N.Y., according to Syracuse police.

Ryan Harding, 18, surrendered to police after he was spotted in a Syracuse neighborhood.

Harding is wanted in connection with the shooting death of Rahsan Crowder, a Lackawanna College student, earlier this month in Scranton.

Scranton police arrested three other people in connection with the homicide.

Authorities said Harding is now in the custody of U.S. Marshals.

SCRANTON — Democratic candidate Bill Courtright has declared himself the winner of the primary in the race for mayor of Scranton on the Democratic ticket.

Courtright addressed supporters at the Radisson Hotel in Scranton just before 10 p.m. Tuesday.

“I hope to bring a different perspective about what people think about the city of Scranton from outside the city of Scranton. I don’t think people view us as very favorable and I really want to change that. I’d also like to see us in better financial shape, that’s my goal,” Courtright said.

Four Democratic candidates were running for the nomination: Courtright, Liz Randol, Lee Morgan, and Joseph Cardamone.

Randol told supporters after 10 p.m. that she was conceding the race to Courtright but would continue her campaign until the Republican write-in votes are counted. She said she believes she got enough write-in votes to secure the Republican nomination.

“We know that the voter turnout was significantly low but I think what we did in this campaign was to put forward a very specific plan, some creative ideas and vision and  think that sometimes that plays better in a general election so we’re looking forward to that in November,” Randol said.

Wyoming Area scored six runs in the 4th inning on Monday in a District 2 AAA girl’s softball game to defeat visiting Pittston Area. The Lady Patriots took a 1-0 lead on the Lady Warriors in the top of the 1st inning, but Wyoming Area scored the next 8 runs for the 8-1 win at home in Exeter.

UNION TOWNSHIP — A summer cabin in Union County has heavy damage after a fire Tuesday.

Shortly before 9 a.m. neighbors said they heard a popping noise and saw the house on River Breeze Avenue near Lewisburg on fire.

Fire investigators in Union County think the fire started near a water heater.

No one was inside at the time.

A state police fire marshal will investigate.

WILKES-BARRE – Workers at several polling places in Luzerne County told Newswatch 16 that voter turnout was low and that there was little talk of the race for the County Controller seat.

Walter Griffith hasn’t responded to questions about his run for another four-year term for county controller, since he was charged with three felony counts of wiretapping offenses last week.

Court documents filed by the state Attorney General’s office said agents seized audio recordings of three illegally-taped phone calls and closed-door meetings from Griffith’s office in Wilkes-Barre last month.

Republican Challenger Karen Ceppa-Hirko told Newswatch 16 that her campaign has been low-key and that the future of the County Controller position is up to the voting public.

“We need to bring in a lot of honest and loyal people that are willing to do the work and do that work for the taxpayers,” said Ceppa-Hirko. “That`s only Walter’s decision. I hope that he would make the right decision for the taxpayers.”

The Democratic candidates for the County Controller seat are Michelle Bednar and Luzerne County Councilman Stephen Urban.

Court documents indicate that Urban was one of several people who were recorded by Griffith.

Some voters in Luzerne County told Newswatch 16 that they support Griffith if the recordings were done in the best interests of Luzerne County, but others said the person who is supposed to be the watchdog of fraud and abuse needs to follow the law.

“It’s really terrible that it’s happening, that these people are allowing themselves to be more self-centered rather than to think of the populous that they represent. As a result, they`re hurting themselves. With this type of publicity that they’re getting, I don`t know how they expect to win,” said Dan Sullivan.

STROUD TOWNSHIP — Members of one community in the Poconos say their heart goes out to the people affected by the tornado that devastated a town in Oklahoma.

The community in Monroe County was also hit by a tornado back in July 2009.

Russell Blakeslee of Cherry Valley, just outside Stroudsburg, showed Newswatch 16 a picture of what his family farm once looked like.  It used to have two silos and several sheds. But in July 2009, that all changed.

“Basically I got up, I was working on the equipment. I was up in the shed across the street there. And I just heard something,” said Blakeslee.

That “something” Russell heard was a tornado, with estimated winds between 100 and 150 miles an hour.

On July 29, 2009, it tore through Stroud and Hamilton Townships with Blakeslee’s family farm in its path.

Moments before the tornado hit, Russell was working inside his shed.  The only thing that remains of the two-story shed is the concrete floor.

“The next thing I know, I woke up, three, four minutes later. I was knocked out and seen everything torn,” said Blakeslee.

Newswatch 16 was in Cherry Valley the day of the tornado back in 2009.

Russell’s farm, its silos and sheds, were all destroyed.

“The house was completely gone, the whole top was collapsed in,” said Blakeslee.

Since the tornado, Russell says he pays extra attention to the weather.

“Every now and then, if it’s going to start raining, thundering, lightning, carrying on, you kind of look for someplace else to be for a while,” said Blakeslee.

Russell Blakeslee says it took him less than a year to rebuild his home and almost four years after the tornado, he is still rebuilding some of the other buildings on his farm.

JESSUP — Police are investigating the cause of a truck wreck in Lackawanna County.

It happened just before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday along Route 247 in Jessup.

Authorities say a truck carrying a load of tires went onto an emergency ramp used for runaway trucks. Police say the driver was not able to stop in time, slammed into a barrier and went over an embankment.

“He was carrying tires, so that does have some weight to it, though it didn’t stop the truck where it was supposed to. He should have stopped on the ramp itself, not go over the top,” said Jessup Fire Chief Steve Pitoniak.

The driver was taken to the hospital. There is no word on his condition.

Ryan Wilkes is making his name in a sport he’s only had just over 3 years of practice in.  After spending over a decade training as a gymnast, Ryan made the leap into pole vaulting, breaking records along the way.  Currently ranked 10th in the country for his age, he’s jumping at least a foot higher than most of his competition all season.

“This year I set my goal to 14’6″ since indoor season and I got it so I’m happy but still I want to strive to get higher everyday and do better.  State meet definitely they’re going to be putting it at  15 feet so that will be my next goal and that’s going to be real hard but I think I can do it,” Wilkes said.

High expectations isn’t something Ryan runs from. Instead, he’s charged ahead and achieved every goal he’s set for himself… Always wanting to work towards new ones.

Ryan’s pole vault coach, Peter Kolankoski said, “The difference this year is the fact that now he’s actually going all season long.  We did a lot of indoor stuff with him this year, which we hadn’t last year, and then the indoor was key because it basically got him ready for the spring season.”

Ryan has literally raised the bar for himself with this first trip to states and now looks forward to learning from his competition and gaining quality experience because now the sky’s the limit.”

“The best thing about this sport is I feel that if the kid gets down there as a younger athlete as a sophomore or freshman, then they’re ready for the upcoming years so our goal was he had to get to states this year if he had a chance as a junior or senior to possibly win it so it’s great that he’s getting down in 10th grade,” Kolankoski continued.

“I don’t really know what to expect because it’s my first year so I’ll jump my best and see what happens.”

The State Championship meet begins this Friday at Shippensburg University.

WILKES-BARRE — Here in Pennsylvania, we are hundreds of miles from Oklahoma, but officials for the Wyoming Valley Red Dross say calls have been pouring in from our area. People here want to help tornado victims.

Homes flattened, entire towns destroyed. It was images like these that encouraged Fred Krapf of Fairview Township to stop by the Wyoming Valley Red Cross office in Wilkes-Barre.

“They need help, and I can’t go there to help them, so if I can donate just a little bit of money, I’ll do that,” said Fred Krapf, of Fairview Township.

He and his wife Pearl drove from Mountain Top to drop off a check for $100.

It’s a gift that Mina Hontz of the Red Cross says will certainly be put to good use.

“My heart is so sunk right now and stuff like that, I would just as soon sit and cry, but if it came down to it that I had to go down and help, I would,” said Red Cross volunteer Mina Hontz.

Hontz volunteers full time, now taking calls from those who want to donate and start fundraisers for the victims in Oklahoma.

She expects Red Cross volunteers from around the country will soon be called down south to help with disaster relief.

“When you hear about the houses going down and stuff, but to hear about a school going down with children in it, that’s the part that grabs you the worst,” said Hontz.

The Red Cross is only accepting money and blood donations, not supplies or clothing. Any little bit, even Fred Krapf’s $100 check, helps.

“You can’t send them furniture or anything, but you can send money. There is no feeling to it. I mean, you just do it,” said Krapf.

Again, she says the best thing to do right now. If you want to help is to donate money or blood. You can make donations at your local Red Cross chapter, go online, or call 1-800-REDCROSS.

LOYALSOCK TOWNSHIP — A man who founded a non-profit to help troubled kids was in court Tuesday in Lycoming County.

James McCloy is charged with taking more than a half-million dollars from the organization to use for his own benefit.

On his way into district court near Montoursville, McCloy let his attorney do the talking.

McCloy’s accused of taking more than $500,000 from the non-profit Susquehanna House for personal use including gambling and strip clubs.

“Over the course of these years sometimes had to comingle his funds with that of the corporation, sometimes to get salary and sometimes to cover expenses,” said McCloy’s attorney Philip Masorti.

Susquehanna House is still in operation in Jersey Shore. The place helps troubled juveniles through day treatment programs. McCloy resigned as president after theft charges were filed earlier this month.

Investigators testified that a former bed and breakfast in Montoursville was foster parent housing for Susquehanna House. The place, now for sale, was owned and operated by Susquehanna House and paid for by Susquehanna House. But prosecutors made the point that Susquehanna House was McCloy’s own personal piggy bank.

As part of a divorce settlement, McCloy was required to pay his ex-wife for a former Susquehanna House site near Jersey Shore. Investigators said McCloy used Susquehanna House money to make most of those payments.

Investigators also testified McCloy would spend Susquehanna House money at casinos in Atlantic City.

His attorney maintains McCloy and Susquehanna House were one-and-the-same nd if anything, McCloy has a tax problem, not a theft problem.

“But at all times acted in good faith and completely transparent, committed no wrongdoing, all transactions are lawful,” said Masorti.

A district judge heard testimony and is expected to rule by Friday if the theft case against James McCloy should be forwarded to trial.

TURBOTVILLE — At least seven children died in the tornado in Oklahoma and even more are unaccounted for after two elementary schools were destroyed.

Many school districts have emergency procedures in place, in case severe weather hits.  School officials in Northumberland County showed us how they handle emergencies.

The Warrior Run School District recently held a severe weather drill to prepare teachers and students for what to do if a tornado hits.  Even though it does not happen often, tornados have touched down in Northumberland County before.  The district says it’s best to be prepared.

The images of what used to be two elementary schools in Oklahoma are haunting.  The two-mile wide tornado destroyed the two schools Monday, killing at least seven children.

While tornados are not as common in Northumberland County, Warrior Run School District has seen its share of storm damage.

“We have had some straight-line harsh winds here a few years ago.  We had some winds that took off that roof of the middle school,” said Principal Jay Gordon.

The Warrior Run School District has a response plan in place in case there is an emergency.  If there is a weather-related emergency, the principal gets on the loud speaker and makes an announcement to the school, which puts the plan in motion.

“The teachers and the students know that they would close the windows, blinds, exit the doors and close the doors on the way out,” Gordon said.

Gordon is the principal at Turbotville Elementary School.  He showed us some of the designated areas the students go if there is a weather-related emergency.  Some of safe places are bathrooms, closets, and cubicles in the hallways.  Fourth grader Katie Herman described the district’s recent severe weather drill.

“Everybody was actually really quiet and they got lined up and went down into the basement.”

Katie’s mom, Abby says the drill gives her peace of mind, especially thinking about what happened in Oklahoma.

“The kids know what to do, where to go and there are adults here that can help them.  The adults know what to do and if something happens, they’re not going to be scared and running around crazy.”

The principal at Turbotville Elementary School says the last time a tornado blew through Warrior Run School District was 1985.  A student died so the district takes its emergency response plan very seriously.