CHEMICAL STORAGE PLAN CONCERNS COMMUNITY

About 100 concerned residents attended a public meeting last night at Montgomery High School to talk about a chemical storage facility planned for the flood-prone property on Miller Avenue. Officials from Coastal Chemical Company outlined a plan to build a facility that will house up to 10, 12-thousand gallon storage tanks for materials like motor oil, methanol and more.  VP of Operations, Clay Wade says the company has a safety first policy.  A 30-day public comment period for the company’s installation permit required by the EPA expires Monday, June 10^th.

PA VOTER ID LEGISLATION INTRODUCED

Republican Jeff Wheeland, Representative from Lycoming County, has sponsored legislation in Harrisburg to update Pennsylvania’s Voter ID Laws.  Wheeland’s bill would apply the same votoer ID requirements to every election and would include photo and non-photo ID options as acceptable forms of identification.  The legislation goes up against a Commonwealth Court ruling  that nullified  PA’s 2012 Voter ID law.

WRITE-IN CANDIDATE JOINS THE CITY COUNCIL RACE

Another Republican has been written into the race for the open city council seats this November in the general election.  Officials from Lycoming County Voter services said Bill Hall received 110 write-in votes from the May 21^st Primary election; enough to include him on the ballot with 3 other Democrats and Republicans who hope to fill the four open seats on the council this fall.

CITY DIVIDED OVER TAX ASSESMENT BOARD NEED

Lycoming County Commissioners tabled a discussion last night regarding the need for an independent board to examine tax assessment appeals.  The commissioners are divided over the decision with some members wanting to be more in touch with the process and some wanting to protect the administration from future appeals expected after insurance rates change next year.  The commissioner’s next meeting is Thursday at 10am in Executive Plaza.

BEAR CAUSES ACCIDENT

A bear caused a car crash on Route 15 in Tioga county Tuesday.  37 year-old Jessica Tice of Blossburg told police a bear entered the roadway near Tioga  and while swerving to avoid it, she lost control, went off the roadway and struck a tree.  Tice was able to get out of the car.  She was transported to Corning Hospital  with injuries

SOUTHSIDE SCHOOL BOARD UPDATE

The South Williamsport School Board meeting was Monday night.  The board discussed the installation of NightLock door locks on school buildings to increase safety around their facilities.  In other business, they also approved a 5-year Support Professionals Agreement which includes a 25 cent increase annually for included members.

TRUCK BURNS IN DUBOISTOWN

Local volunteer firefighters  from DuBoistown and Nisbet were busy yesterday afternoon in Armstrong township when a maintenance truck caught fire along Waterdale Road.  The 2004 Cheverolet was determined to have caught fire accidentally – it was a total loss, no one was injured in the fire.

WEST HAZELTON RAISING MONEY TO SAVE MUSEUM

The Greater Hazleton Historical Society has brought a carnival to town in the parking lot of the Bowl Arena and Milkhouse Creamery to preserve the history of their area.  Organizers of the Luzerne County event hopes they can raise 20 thousand dollars to save their West Hazleton museum and other items of history featuring their coal mining past.  The Carnival is in town through the weekend.

BARN FIRE IN NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY

Firefighters from Three counties were called out early yesterday morning to extinguish a fire in a barn in Northumberland County. When they arrived at the barn along Elysburg Road in Rush Township they found flames burning up some farm equipment and climbing up one wall of the barn.  They were able to bring it under control. No one was hurt, a damage estimate not released and the cause under investigation.  It’s believed the fire rekindled from one on Friday which the owners of the barn thought they had put completely out.

SINKHOLE OPENS UP

Campbell Street between West Third and West Fourth Streets in the city of Williamsport is expected to be closed again as crews work to fix a broke sewer pipe which caused a sinkhole there late last week. It’s believed the 42 inch pipe broke, causing a 15 foot hole in the pavement,, exposing underground utilities.  Officials have been closing the road during daylight hours and putting a large grate over the sinkhole at night time allowing for traffic to use it. No word on when everything will be fixed and when the hole will be filled in.

RESURFACING PROJECT TO BEGIN

A multi-year resurfacing of East Third Street in Loyalsock Township gets underway this week.  Base repairs and Joint repairs will beign tomorrow and single lane conditions controlled by flaggers will take place overnight from 9pm to 6am from Sunday night through Friday morning during the project.  Work will take place from the bridge spanning Loyalsock Creek to Country Club Drive this year, and next year from Country Club Drive to River Avenue.  All the work is expected to be completed mid-summer of 2020.

MEETING FOR SULLIVAN COUNTY DISTRICT PARENTS

A meeting will be held in Mildred tonight for parents in the Sullivan County School District who found their kids home on summer vacation more than a full week early.  A fire at the high school last Wednesday caused major smoke damage throughout the structure causing school officials to shut down school for the rest of the year.  The meeting tonight will update parents on how the school year will be wrapped up.  Graduation is still on Friday and will be held now at the Sullivan County Fairgrounds.

ALMOST 300 POUNDS OF POT FOUND IN SPEEDING TRUCK

State police in Milton pulled over a pick up truck for speeding on Interstate 80 in Union County on Thursday finding almost 300lbs of marijuana.  The driver, Wei Shoquan from Canada told police he was being paid $3,000 to drive the marijuana from New York to Michigan.  The pot was found zipped up in seven hockey bags stuffed in the truck. Shoquan was charged with possession with intent to deliver as well as several other counts and was jailed in Union County Prison  in lieu of $200,000 dollars bail.

POSITIONS OPEN IN CITY OF WILLIAMSPORT

The city of Williamsport is looking for a Director of Human Resources as well as a recreation director.  It was announced over the weekend, that Human Resources director Meghan Dayhoff and Recreation Director Jesse Novinger have submitted their resignations effective in Mid-June to take positions outside of city government.  Dayhoff will still make personnel decisions until a replacement is found.  The city is taking applications for the two jobs.

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE POSSIBLE

It’s down to the nitty gritty for Pennsylvania Lawmakers as they move towards passing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.  Part of the legislation this year could be the increase in the state’s minimum wage.  Governor Wolf has been advocating for it since 2015.  The state’s republican controlled legislature could pass the increase, but the question is how much and what Republicans would want in return for their approval.

JOHNSON OPENS COURTS

Kids in the city of Williamsport now have three brand new NBA style basketball courts to play on thanks to a local player now playing in the pros.  Alize Johnson, who was drafted last year by the Indiana Pacers realized a dream on Saturday with the opening of the three courts at Firetree Place in the city funded by his foundation.  Other area HS and former HS players were among the hundreds of people who joined Johnson for the opening with games being played on the courts which have NBA style hoops and a scoreboard.

LYCOMING CREEK ROAD RESURFACING PROJECT

A large resurfacing project gets underway this week on Lycoming Creek Road in Old Lycoming, Loyalsock, Lycoming and Hepburn Townships.  The work will stretch from Mill Lane to Route 973 North and the contractor today will begin concrete repairs followed by base and joint repairs in preparation for resurfacing. There will be single lane conditions under flagging in the work area.  Work is expected to be completed by early November.  Motorists are reminded to drive with caution in the work zone.

HEAVY SMOKE DAMAGE AFTER AREA SCHOOL FIRE

Sullivan County schools are closed today following a fire yesterday morning which struck at the High School in Laporte. The fire was discovered around 6am bringing in several companies from around the area.  Firefighters found heavy smoke conditions and with the help of a thermal imaging camera, found fire at an electrical box in the auditorium. They were able to knock it down within 5 to 7 minutes but there is smoke damage throughout the building. No one was injured, a damage estimate was not released and the cause is ruled as accidental

MORE STORMS CAUSE DAMAGE

More storms moved through our area yesterday downing trees and bringing down powerlines. A possible tornado may have touched down in Wellsboro, doing some damage there.  Power outages were reported across our region with close to 750 customers without power for awhile in Union County and another 500 or so in Northumberland County.  Trees also came down in Columbia County with at least one reported on a home in Bloomsburg.  Meanwhile, the National Weather service has confirmed it was a tornado which touched down on Tuesday in Bradford County in Wysox Township causing some damage there.

LOOKING FOR MORE TODAY

Yet another flash flood watch is in effect for most of our area today as more of those afternoon thunderstorms could fire up.  Storms yesterday caused trees to fall across the region, knocking out power to thousands of customers in area counties. The National Weather service will investigate a possible tornado which occurred near Wellsboro in Tioga County.  Heavy damage was also done in the Forest Hill Area all the way up to Halfway Dam in Union County with a possible tornado there as well.

MAN BITTEN BY SNAKE IN CRITICAL CONDITION

An area man is in critical condition at Geisinger Medical Center suffering from a snakebite from an Eastern Timber Rattlesnake at a Cogan House Township Property on Friday.  Just hours after a delay in his expected guilty plea to capturing the snakes and putting them up for sale, as well as for killing 12 prized deer at a hunting lodge, Cody Short was bitten several times by the snake around 4:30pm on Friday.  He was flown to Geisinger.  The investigation continues.

WOMAN FACES ARSON CHARGES

A woman who was rescued from her burning apartment in Montgomery back in March of this year, now faces felony arson charges as well as other counts stemming from that fire.  Michelle McMillarn reportedly set her bed on fire at Montgomery Homes on Bower Street on March 17^th, in an effort to end her life.  She was rescued by firefighters. Yesterday charges were filed against her including a charge of recklessly endangering.  She was released after posting $25,000 bail.  The fire caused $3200 in damage all together.

BOWMAN FIELD IMPROVEMENTS POSTPONED

Planned improvements at Bowman Field have officially been delayed.  It was reported today that more than a million dollars in improvements and renovations will now not take place until after the Williamsport Crosscutters season which begins on June 14^th.  Work will include an expanded press box as well as renovations to the visitors locker room and umpire area and will be helped along by a $600,000 dollar grant.  In addition, officials say the fate of a new scoreboard is now in the hands of the Crosscutters.

VOTE COUNT CONTINUES

No major issues are expected as Lycoming County Voter Services officials finish up the official vote count from the May 21^st primary election. The official vote count began on Friday, but was delayed due to the long holiday weekend.  Officials say it will take a few more days to tally up all the votes including the write-in votes and the official vote counts will be posted on the county’s website at www.Lyco.org.

DUI ENFORCMENT RESULTS

State police in Montoursville say they participated in roving patrols and Sobriety Checkpoints over the Memorial Day Holiday weekend in Lycoming County.  Police report that they made five DUI arrests and also issue multiple summary traffic arrests during the details.  They will continue DUI enforcement through the summer months.

STATE FUNDS FOR SUNBURY SAFETY PROJECT

Safety projects in municipalities across the state of Pennsylvania are being boosted by more than $15 million dollars in Automated Red Light Enforcement funding.  The program helps the state make improvements in traffic flow and safety.  In our region, the city of Sunbury will receive $317,000 dollars to improve the traffic signal at the intersection of North Fourth Street and Reagen Street by installing a new mast arm, ADA compliant cub cuts and crosswalk, new vehicle detection and pedestrian signals with push buttons.

COMMITTEE GETS THE SCOOPER ON OLD TOWNE CENTRE

Williamsport City Council’s Economic Revitalization Committee got to hear from a developer, looking to spend $39 million dollars on a complex which would include stores and apartments in the city’s Old Town Area.  The Williamsport Sun Gazette reports this morning that Daniel Klingerman is pitching a 155,000 square foot building at East Third and Mulberry Streets to be served by a 350 space parking garage.  The development would be called the Old Town Centre. Work is being done to acquire the land needed for that development.

HAIL FALLS IN THE AREA

Though tornado warnings were issued in parts of Lycoming County yesterday it looks like the county escaped any major damage during yesterday’s storms.  Large hail did fall in the Jersey Shore and Avis areas causing some damage to vehicles and homes, and large hail was also reported in sections of Northumberland and Snyder counties. It’s not believed that any tornadoes touched down. We do have a flash flood watch up for much of the area through about 9:15 this morning and more storms are expected later today.

INSTRUCTOR COULD LOSE JOB

A senior prank which occurred at the Shikellamy High School in Danville earlier this month could result in the firing of a district instructor.  The school’s principal, vice principal and the senior class advisor were all placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into students being allowed in the school to pull the prank involving live chickens, toilet paper and flipped desks.  Following a hearing, the principal and vice principal have been reinstated, but it’s possible the teacher may be fired.

MAN INJURED IN OLD LYCOMING TOWNSHIP CRASH

An Old Lycoming Township man was injured in a weekend crash in the Township.  That accident happened around 1:20am on Satuday as 31 year old Brad Heffner was driving on Fox Hollow Road at Gordy Lane. He lost control of his vehicle which overturned and then struck a tree.  Heffner was taken to Williamsport Regional Medical Center for treatment of injuries, though his condition was not released. No one else was involved.

ONE WOMAN’S CONDITION UPGRADED

The condition of one of the two women seriously injured in a crash in Montgomery last has been upgraded.  20 year old Kerry Bauer was a passenger in a vehicle driven by 29 year old Alyssa Holmes of Watsontown on the afternoon of May 23^rd when they were struck in the 200 block of Montgomery Street by a garbage truck operated by 33 year old Tyler Comstock of Watsontown.  Both women were taken to Geisinger Medical Center.  Bauer has been upgraded to fair condition,  Holmes remains in critical condition.  Comstock was not injured.

STORM DAMAGE IN BRADFORD COUNTY

Though our immediate area, was spared of any major damage during yesterday’s storms, it’s possible a tornado may have touched down in a section of Bradford County yesterday.  The storm hit the Rome Area uprooting trees and tossing at least one shed, which spread debris around.  National Weather service officials will head to the scene today to see if it was a tornado which touched down there.  More storms expected today.

SPECIAL ELECTION SET FOR STATE HOUSE SEAT

Now that Fred Keller is going to Washington as the 12^th district U.S. Congressman, his seat for the 85^th district as a State Representative representing portions of Union and Snyder counties is open.  It was announced yesterday that a special election will be held on Tuesday August 20^th to fill Keller’s seat.  Candidates for the office will be selected by both the Republican and Democratic parties.  The winner will take office after the results are certified.

PURCHASE OF NEW VOTING MACHINES ON AGENDA

Lycoming County Commissioners discussed the purchase of new voting machines for the county and could vote tomorrow to do so.  A state mandate is requiring all counties in the state to purchase new voting machines which will leave a paper trail, for better election results.  The county is looking at purchasing 180 of the machines from a company called Clear Ballot for a little over a million dollars.  A vote would be contingent on a county solicitor’s review.  If the go ahead is given, the machines should be ready to go for the November General Election.

DUI CHECKPOINT RESULTS

State police in Milton have released results of a DUI checkpoint they conducted over the Memorial Day weekend.  Police did not say where the checkpoint was conducted, but they do say they arrested one driver for DUI.  Two were charged for having a small amount of marijuana and numerous traffic citations were issued as well.  Police say DUI enforcement will continue in Union, Montour and Snyder Counties which are covered by state police there.

FIRE IN MONTOURSVILLE

An unknown number of tenants are temporarily homeless following a Montoursville fire. The fire was reported around 5:30 yesterday in the third floor apartment over the Original Italian Pizza at 313 Broad Street.  Firefighters found fire in the ceiling of the apartment and were able to knock it down quickly. NO one was injured.  There was water damage to a second floor apartment and to the restaurant below.  A damage estimate has not been released and the cause of that Montoursville fire is under investigation.

COUNCIL APPROVES THE SEEKING OF GRANTS

With three members absent, the other four members of Williamsport City Council last night approved the submission of a grant for $441,000 dollars which will be used for repairs for cross pipes ass part of the levee recertification project.  The grant will be submitted by the city’s consulting firm and will require a 15% match of close to $14,000 dollas which will be paid through a bond set aside for infrastructure improvements. Council also authorized the consulting firm to seek a $250,000 grant which would go towards replacing an accessible playground at Memorial Park.

TWO SERIOUSLY INJURED IN MONTGOMERY CRASH

A crash in Montgomery yesterday afternoon sent two women to Geisinger Medical Center with serious injuries. That crash occurred around 4pm in the 200 block of Montgomery Street as a car and garbage truck collided.  The two women were riding in the car.  Their names and conditions not released.  Two children in the car were taken to a local hospital for evaluation. The garbage truck driver was not injured. The crash snapped off a utility pole knocking out power in that area for a time.

MAN SENTENCED FOR SHOOTING

A Williamsport man who entered a guilty plea to third degree murder as well as other counts stemming from a November 2017 shooting in  Loyalsock Township will spend the next 18 ½ to 45 years in State Prison.  Zachary Williams shot William Dowling several times during an argument at Poco Farm Road and Poco Farm Road Extension the later disposed of the gun which was recovered in the 500 block of Market Street.  He was sentenced this week.

OLD LYCOMING POLICE WARNING OF POSSIBLE SCAM

Old Lycoming Township police are cautioning residents of a possible scam there this week.  On Tuesday, a man who identified himself as Martin from Pro-Pave Incorporated of Virginia approached an elderly resident saying he would seal that person’s driveway.  He did not provide contract or work order.  A check with the company revealed there was no Martin working for them.  He was last seen operating a Dark colored Toyota Pick up with Virginia plates.  Old Lycoming Police are reminding residents to always get things in writing before any work begins.

SECOND PERSON CHARGED

A second person has been charged for the operation of a meth lab in Danville in which an explosion there this week destroyed the house as well an adjoining one.  40 year old Nikki Doebler faces several charges along with Richard McHugh for the operation of the Meth lab at the home, where fire broke out when a third person, 35 year old Michael Mowrer Jr. dropped a bottle which exploded catching him on fire as well as the home.  Mowrer is listed in critical condition at the burn unit in Allentown and also faces charges upon recovery.

CHECKING ON THE BEST TIMES TO TRAVEL

It is the Holiday weekend. With many drivers expected to hit the road in Pennsylvania, PennDOT is encouraging motorists to use the Historic Holiday Traffic Page at www.511pa.com.  The page can be used to see how traffic speeds on the Friday before and on Memorial Day in 2017 and 2018 compare ot traffic conditions during a typical non-holida week.  users can choose their region and view the information to help determine the best times to travel during the holiday.

EXTRA PATROLS AT READY

There will be extra patrols out across the region during the Memorial Day Holiday weekend watching for motorists who are driving aggressively, not obeying traffic laws and not buckling up.  In addition, both state and local police in our area have already announced that they will be  conducting DUI checkpoints and roving patrols in areas which have seen high incidences of impaired driving.  You are reminded to designate a driver, do not drink and drive and always buckle up.

MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCES

It is the Memorial Day weekend and across our area, various observances and ceremonies will be held to honor war dead and those who have served our country.  The Lycoming County Veterans Annual Memorial Day Service is set to take place on Saturday at 11am at the Veterans Memorial Park at West Fourth Street and Wahoo Drive in Williamsport.  The service will feature a partial unveiling of the latest monument honoring those who fought in wars from the Revolutionary war to the Spanish American War.