BRIDGE PROJECTS IN UNION COUNTY
In Union County seven county-owned bridges have been replaced since 2016 and a major rehabilitation project has been completed. In 2021 alone, Union County had five bridges closed, repaired and reopened. According to the Daily Item, up to and including 2023, an estimated $11 million will have been spent on bridge infrastructure improvements and the county will then own 25 bridges.
DEFERRAL OF SENTENCING IN NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY
A Turbotville woman who allegedly fell asleep, and her 3-year-old son, who left the house, unattended, was found dead in the neighbor’s pool, has not been sentenced. The deferral was until a later date, because she arrived at the Northumberland County Court with a week old, newborn child. Britney Bridges was scheduled to be sentenced Friday after a jury in October found her guilty of a felony count of child endangerment, according to the Daily Item. Milton state police reported Bridges as “recklessly negligent.” Bridges has been free since Nov. 10, 2020, after her $125,000 bail was listed as ROR (released on her own recognizance).
SUNBURY POLICE LOOKING FOR SHOOTER
Shots fired into a home on Friday night has Sunbury police looking for the shooter. The gunfire occurred around 11:30pm on Bainbridge Street, when a man walked up, shot upwards of 6 or more rounds into the home and left. A dark colored SUV was in that area at the time and there are no injuries, no suspects. The incident remains under investigation and if you have any information on any of the shootings in Sunbury, please contact Northumberland County 911.
AREA UNIVERSITIES GETTING READY FOR SPRING SEMESTER
Bucknell and Susquehanna University students will be required to attend spring semester classes in person and get the COVID-19 booster shot while Bloomsburg University students will start the first week online. Bloomsburg students will be studying remotely from Jan. 24 through Jan. 28 and return to a regular schedule on Jan. 30. Bucknell University President John Bravman sent out an email to all students, requiring all students to take a COVID-19 test 72 hours before arrival on campus or risk being un-enrolled from spring course. The spring semester starts on Jan. 18 at Bucknell and Jan. 31 at Susquehanna.
PENNSYLVANIA ELECTIONS WILL BE INTERESTING
More extreme time pressures could push the bounds of how Pennsylvania’s elections are run in 2022, with wide-open races for a U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s office driving voter interest and partisan stalemates in the statehouse sowing uncertainty. It is barely a month before candidates can legally start gathering signatures to qualify for primary ballots and Pennsylvania still has no new map of district boundaries for congressional seats and state legislative seats. A court battle looks inevitable, potentially shortening the primary campaign period for candidates for Congress and the Legislature and squeezing the timeline for counties to finalize and mail out ballots.
MAIL-IN BALLOTS BEFORE ELECTION DAY WITHOUT ATTACHMENTS DENIED
Meanwhile, despite two years of asking, counties remain unable to persuade the Republican-controlled Legislature to simply grant their request to let them process mailed-in ballots before Election Day, without attaching what Democrats view as poison pills. The vast majority of states allow it — including big Republican-controlled states like Florida, Georgia and Texas — and that hang-up in 2020′s presidential election dragged out counting, fomented a legion of baseless conspiracy theories launched by former President Donald Trump and kept the winner of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes in limbo until the Saturday after the election. “State government is failing us again,” said Forrest Lehman, Lycoming County’s elections director.
CONVICTION STANDS
Edward Bendik, had his most recent effort to overturn his 2016 convictions for Cruelty to Animals, Burglary, Criminal Trespass, Reckless Burning, and Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer denied Thursday in an Opinion issued by Clinton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael F. Salisbury. Bendik remains incarcerated in a State Correctional Institution for a maximum term of up to 43 years. Bendik sought a new trial in his most recent attempt to overturn his convictions. He claimed that his conviction was the result of ineffective assistance of counsel during his first trial.
BENCH WARRANT ARREST
The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office arrested ETTERS, MATTHEW F on Thursday January 6th under a Bench warrant issued: Thursday November 18th by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office
NEW CHARGES
Preliminary hearings yesterday morning left new charges, including criminal homicide, for three Williamsport women. According to Lycoming County District Attorney Ryan Gardner, the abuse both Nicole and Jasmine Snyder endured before their death was “the worst they have ever seen.” In saying that, according to SUN Gazette, prosecutors have reported they are pursuing the death penalty for both Marie Snyder and Echo Butler. Also charged in the case, Michele Butler, Echo’s mother, has charges of third-degree murder for her part in the deaths of the children.
TIME EXTENSION
Time has been extended for work on the proposed 2023 budget for the Williamsport City Council. It was during the Thursday night meeting, when the unanimous vote to change Nov 3 the first meeting for the 2023 budget and work sessions then fall on Nov. 14 and 16. According to Council President Adam Yoder, this is a six-week process and the additional time allows for solutions and hopefully eliminates a time constraint. As reported by Sun Gazette, Mayor Slaughter is looking into updated budget financial software to streamline the process.
