LOCAL MAN ARRESTED FOR THREATENING STUDENTS ON THE PHONE
A local man is in custody after he made threats to a group of students from Loyalsock High School on a conference phone call on January 4th. According to North Central PA dot com, 18 year old Dejuan Angel Rivera of Williamsport allegedly told the Loyalsock students participating in the call that he would blow up their school and neighborhoods. State police at Montoursville heard a recording of the phone call and began the investigation into Rivera. He was charged with 3 counts of misdemeanor terroristic threats. He is in Lycoming County Prison in lieu of 15 thousand dollars bail with a preliminary hearing January 23rd.
SHAMOKIN COUPLE ARRESTED FOR CHILD ENDANGERMENT
A couple in Shamokin are now facing felony child endangerment charges after a police investigation from last July, revealed a 90 day old baby in their care had fractured ribs in various stages of healing. According to the Daily Item, 37 year old Randy Taby and 36 year old Mandy Cree were charged with felony endangering the welfare of a child. Taby was charged with two counts of aggravated assault. Taby told police he may have squeezed the child too tightly out of frustration from the baby crying.
CVR DOCUMENTS WILL REMAIN SEALED UNTIL FINAL APPEAL
After the Department of State decided to appeal a judge’s ruling over the decision by the Office of Open Records to keep CVR’s or cast vote records confidential, the stay of the information will continue now until the appeal is resolved. According to the Sun Gazette, court records say the Office of Open Records said disclosure of the information in the CVR’s could violate the constitutional guarantee of voting secrecy and according to Penn Live, a state appellate court has never ruled on whether CVR’s are public. The appeal is now in Commonwealth Court.
DEMOLITION OF LOCAL HOTEL
Watch for demolition to begin in Valley Township today when crews will take down the Days Inn starting at about 8:30am. According to the Daily Item, the hotel was built in the 1960s and operated as a Sheraton, until it changed affiliation to Days Inn starting a long road of deterioration from lack of upkeep starting in 2000. Most recently a sale was approved by a Montour County Judge to the Liberty Group of Montoursville, who have made plans to demo the property this week, then add a 100-unit Holiday Inn, two free-standing restaurants, which were not named, and a four-store mini-mall on the site.
NURSING HOME EMPLOYEE SOLD COCAINE AT THE FACILITY
A former employee at the former nursing care facility Embassy of Loyalsock has been charged with felony possession with intent to deliver and more when he allegedly sold cocaine to a confidential informant in the parking lot of the business. According to North Central PA dot com, Douglas Christopher Curtis, Jr. made the drug exchange for 200 dollars in marked bills with undercover troopers January 3rd. Police say the substance was confirmed to be cocaine and Curtis was incarcerated with bail set at 25 thousand dollars. His preliminary hearing is January 23rd.
TWO APPOINTMENTS FOR WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY
Williamsport’s Economic Revitalization Committee reviewed two appointments for the Williamsport Municipal Water and Sanitary Authority presented by Mayor Derek Slaughter this week. According to the Sun Gazette, the committee will consider a reappointment of a five-year term for Kent Trachte, and a new appointment ending in December 2028 for Katie deSilva who is a retired Clinton County Planner with a history of water and sewer authority experience. Mayor Slaughter noted that one position is still open on the authority that he will consider presenting a new candidate to the committee soon.
APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR DCNR CONSERVATION GRANTS
Applications for Department of Conservation and Natural Resources conservation, recreation, trail and buffer grants are being accepted from eligible parties until April 5th according to a press release from Senator Gene Yaw. Yaw says over the past 20 years, the Community Conservation Partnerships Program (C2P2) has funded over 4,000 projects that have helped, plan and develop parks, recreation facilities, trails, and conserved critical conservation areas and watersheds. Links to online tutorials about the application process are available at dcnr.pa.gov. Part of the source of the federal funding comes from Pennsylvania’s natural gas impact fee.
K9 OFFICER IN WATSONTOWN RETIRES
Canine Mariska, a member of the Watsontown Police Department and 6 year old Belgian Malinois retired last week after serving as part of the canine unit there since 2019. According to North Central PA dot com, the canine program was started in 2017 in response to a growing drug epidemic in Northumberland County. Mariska’s handler, Sergeant Timothy A. Kiefaber, said after over 77 duty deployments as a single-purpose narcotics dog, and over 28 public demonstrations for schools, civic groups, and churches, Mariska can retire with a forever spot as a member of his family now. Her care and feeding will be provided by monetary donations to the Police K9 Project.
SPORTS
PIAA District 4
Boys Basketball
South Williamsport 67 Northumberland Christian 53
Athens 63 Sayre 53
Girls Basketball
Jersey Shore 43 Mifflinburg 24
Montoursville 53 Northumberland Christian 40
Mount Carmel 35 Lewisburg 31
Bloomsburg 62 Southern Columbia 50
NBA
76ers 105 Trailblazers 95
Bulls 126 Pistons 108
Celtics 121 Warriors 118
Timberwolves 128 Raptors 126
Suns 117 Nets 112
NHL
Blackhawks 4 Flyers 1
Hurricanes 5 Wild 2
Ducks 5 Blue Jackets 3
Panthers 6 Canadiens 2
Bruins 3 Rangers 1
Maple Leafs 4 Jets 1
Sabers 3 Islanders 2
Blues 5 Predators 2
Capitals 4 Coyotes 0
Oilers 5 Lightning 3
Kraken 4 Devils 3
Red Wings 3 Golden Knights 2
Stars 4 Kings 0
NCAA Men’s Basketball
Purdue 61 Minnesota 39
UCLA 74 Arizona State 62
Loyola Marymount 68 Gonzaga 67 – Stopping Gonzaga’s 76 game home-winning streak
Arizona 81 USC 66
Charleston 69 Monmouth 55
Michigan State 70 Rutgers 57
Florida Atlantic 83 UTSA 64
