HOMICIDE TRIAL BEGINS FOR PENN TOWNSHIP MAN

A trial for the man accused of shooting his estranged wife in Penn Township in April of 2022 starts today in the Snyder County Court of Common Pleas.  According to North Cetnrtal PA dot com, 35 year old Brad Alan Bailor is on trial for homicide and first-degree murder for fatally shooting his estranged wife, Leslie Marie Bailor.  Bailor waived his right to a jury trial, so the judge will hear testimonies and attorney arguments and will render the final decision based upon the law. The DA is not seeking the death penalty in this case.

SOUTHSIDE MAN ACCUSED OF STRANGULATION

A South Williamsport man has been charged after his girlfriend says he forcibly tried to sexually assault her February 29^th .  According to North Central PA dot com, 42 year old Kyle Nevin Hahn attempted to assault the woman while she fought back and protested, until he attempted to strangle her before she escaped the home and called 911.  Hahn was arrested for strangulation, indecent assault, simple assault, and harassment.

DANVILLE CONTRACTOR TAKES MONEY FOR NO WORK

A Montour County man hired to do work for a Buckhorn homeowner cashed the check and never did the work.  According to North Central PA dot com, 61 year old Randy Wilson allegedly took a check over 4 thousand dollars for materials that were to be used for a construction project last July, but never returned to the home, and never contacted the victim to repay the money.  Wilson who has an address in Danville is facing two felony counts of theft by deception. 

ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET FUNDING SEMINAR NEXT MONTH

In order to provide the knowledge needed to navigate incentives for municipalities, school districts, fleets and businesses to take advantage of state and federal funding for alternative fuel vehicles, the Central PA Chamber of Commerce will hold a training seminar next month.  According to the Daily Item, a Seminar & Training Series event “Charging at Work and Alternative Fuel Vehicles within Your Fleet,” will host officials from state agencies such as the Eastern Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Transportation (EP-ACT), the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Department of Environmental Protection, and Office of Environmental Management.  The general public is invited to the seminar that will be April 10th from 10am til 3pm at the Central PA Chamber on Lawton Lane in Milton.  Register at centralpachamber.com/events. 

POINT TOWNSHIP FOOD MANUFACTURER CLOSES

A food manufacturing company in Point Township suspended operations today due to a pending foreclosure that forced the termination of 48 employees who worked at the Blue Hill Road facility.  According to the Daily Item, a realty transfer deed was filed according to Northumberland County officials in January and the secured lender of River Run Foods held their deed as collateral in the 1.8 million dollar transaction.  The lender who secured their interest, exercised the deed for River Run Foods that was used as collateral.   Point Township Supervisor President Randy Yoxheimer said he hadn’t been informed of the situation before Tuesday.  River Run CEO Roger Hoffman said the company is considering alternatives for resuming operations but there are no guarantees.

SOFTWARE IN PLACE THWARTS THEFT FROM GENERAL FUND

East Buffalo Township officials were able to thwart a potential theft of money from the General Fund after systems put in place to catch such activity worked. According to the Daily Item, it was discussed at the public meeting Monday that an unknown person tried several times to cash fraudulent checks over a week and a service called Positive Pay prevented the transaction – the largest of which was up to 49 thousand dollars. After a fraudulent check processed last year, and the money was recovered the township took steps to avoid similar crimes in the future.  No money was taken in the latest scam attempts.

SELINSGROVE DOG PARK TO CLOSE FOR UPGRADES

Improvements are on the way after the Selinsgrove borough council approved a fence bid for the dog park off of Sassafras Street in Selinsgrove last week.  According to the Daily Item,  the dog park will temporarily close next Monday to allow the improvements and an expansion to begin.   Council has not indicated a completion date for the project since the work is weather dependent.  The fence bid was awarded to Buffalo Valley Fence Company in Lewisburg.

TIOGA COUNTY TEAM WINS PENNDOT CHALLENGE

PennDOT has announced that a team of students from Wellsboro Area School district in Tioga County were selected for the District 3 winner of the 7^th Innovations challenge.  The team of students participated in a statewide challenge to develop creative solutions and strategic solutions to real-world transportation challenges. Students Carter Knowlton, Natalie Cleveland, and Ian Hoose along with faculty mentor Francis Novak, will present their solutions to PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll and a panel of judges in Harrisburg on May 1, where a statewide winner for 2024 will be determined.

SPORTS

PIAA Basketball State Playoffs 2^nd Round
Boys
4A – Carver E&S 45                        Danville 38
5A – Franklin Regional  56             Selinsgrove  45
Girls
2A – Muncy  42                                Sacred Heart Acad.  36
3A –  Loyalsock  59                         Lake Lehman  32
        Hughesville 46                         West Catholic  38
PIAA Basketball 2^nd Round Today
Boys   3A Loyalsock vs Notre Dame Green Pond 7:30pm @Hazelton
Girls  Class A 
  Lourdes Regional  vs Linville Hill 6pm  @ Hamburg
  Meadowbrook Christian  vs Greenwood  7pm @ Shamokin
  St. Johhn Neumann  vs Mount Calvary Christian  6pm Central Dauphin East
Class  4A  
  Central Columbia vs Nazareth Academy  6pm @ Catasaqua

NCAA Men’s Basketball
St Mary’s  69       Gonzaga 60

NCAA Men’s Basketball Today
UCF vs (20) BYU 12:30pm ESPN2
NC State vs Syracuse  7pm ESPN2
St Louis vs Duquesne 7:30pm USA
Michigan Vs Penn State 8:30pm Peacock
DePaul vs Villanova  9pm FS1
Cincinnati vs (16)Kansas 9:30pm ESPN
NBA
Knicks 106                     76ers  79
Grizzlies  109       Wizards  97
Pacers  121                     Thunder 111
Rockets  103        Spurs  101
Celtics  123          Jazz  107
Timberwolves  118  Clippers  100
Kings  129                      Bucks  94
NHL
Sabres  7               Red Wings  3
Canadiens  3        Blue Jackets  0
Senators  2                     Penguins  1
Flyers   3              Sharks  2
Rangers  1           Hurricanes  0
Panthers  4                     Stars  3
NHL Tonight
Kings vs St Louis  7:30pm TNT
Washington vs Edmonton  10pm TNT

WIND ADVISORY THROUGH THIS EVENING

A wind advisory remains in effect today until 8pm with the National Weather Service saying there could be intermittent wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour and northwest winds 20 to 30 miles per hour expected as well.  Watch for downed  tree limbs that could effect wires and bring about power outages.  Penn DOT says some roads in Union county were closed yesterday for flooding in the area of Creek Road between Millmont Road in Lewis Township and Shirk Road in Hartley Township.

ONE-CAR ACCIDENT KILLS NEWPORT MAN

A Newport man was killed in a one-vehicle accident last Wednesday in Perry County.  According to the  Daily Item, State police say 30 year old Roberto Lugo III lost control of his Mitsubishi Outlander while traveling west on Newport Road and veered off the northern side of the roadway, before veering back and hitting a guardrail and then an embankment, overturning.  The Perry County chief Coroner pronounced Lugo deceased at the scene.  Newport road was closed for the investigation over two hours with Newport Fire & EMS assisting on site.

TEMPORARY POLLING PLACE FOR THIRD WARD THIS APRIL

Williamsport’s Third Ward has a temporary voting location change for their upcoming April 23^rd primary election.  According to the Sun Gazette, director of Elections said delayed water and sewer construction has forced them to change to the Monsignor Fleming Center at 720 West Fourth Street.  The Third Ward previous voting site at Williams-Hepburn is expected to be ready for November.  The ninth ward will share the Fleming Center location this spring, but at the opposite side of the room.  The county is working toward making all polling sites compliant with the American with Disabilities Act, so that the facilities are accessible to all voters in the future.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR MIFFLINBURG STUDENTS

The Mifflinburg Area Community Scholarship Trust is offering 60 thousand dollars in scholarships to high school students looking to attend a 2 or 4 year institution or trade school.  According to the Daily item, applications are  due by April 15^th and are available online at www.macst.org under the Forms tab.  The mission of the Mifflinburg Area Community Scholarship Trust, Inc. is to provide a perpetual source of funds for deserving Mifflinburg Area High School graduates. Winners will be announced at the end of the school year.

FUGITIVE FROM SUNBURY CAUGHT

The man who escaped from a Sunbury home on North Second Street on February 26^th during a police stand-off,  returned to the area and is now in custody.  According to the Daily Item, 41-year-old Barry Beaver was found inside the home where the previous stand-off took place last Thursday following the issuance of a search warrant by Sunbury police.  A female who had been in the home during in February had been taken into custody on a Northumberland County warrant.  Beaver will now be extradited to Texas for charges against him there.

BLOOMSBURG MAN FACES CAHRGES FROM 2023 DRUG ARREST
A Bloomsburg man was arrested last November after police found him with 29 pills of fentanyl and various other drugs and charges have now been filed.  According to media outlets, a consensual encounter with Bloomsburg police at the Unity Mart in the 300 block of East Seventh Street, brought about a search of Shawn Spink’s vehicle. Police found two warrants out of Monroe and Schuylkill counties for him before finding the drugs, that later tested positive for fentanyl, in his car. 

LEGISLATION APPROVED TO ALLOW SCHOOL BUS CAMERAS

Pennsylvania legislators have updated by Act 19 which allows school districts to install and operate automated camera systems for the purpose of enforcing Pennsylvania’s School Bus Stopping Law and increasing safety for children riding school buses across the state.  Violations identified by a camera system are reviewed by police under agreement with the school district. Also under the law, the car owner has the right to request a hearing to contest liability before a PennDOT Hearing Officer.. For more information on school bus safety and Act 19, visit  PennDOT.pa.gov/Safety.

JANE FONDA TO SPEAK AT BUCKNELL

Polarizing actor, producer, author, and activist Jane Fonda, will be featured in a program at Bucknell University next week.  Fonda will close out the Bucknell Forum 2023-24 series, presenting in a moderated discussion with Bucknell President John Bravman on the theme “Freedom of Expression” at 7:30 p.m. March 19, in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts. She will do a limited  Q&A, taking questions from Bucknell students.  Fonda is a two-time Academy Award-winning actor, and has accumulated more than 50 film credits while also championing political causes such as women’s rights, Native American rights, and environmental advocacy.

SPORTS

PIAA Wrestling Saturday
Champions
Brandt Harer, Montgomery – 133
Reagan Milheim, Warrior Run – 145
Conner Harer, Montgomery – 160 
Runners-up
Mason Barvitskie, Southern Columbia  145
 Garrett Garcia, Southern  Columbia  189
Austin Johnson  Muncy  215
PIAA Basketball tomorrow
State Playoffs Second Round 
Boys Quad A
Danville vs Carver E&S (6pm at Catasaqua)
Boys 5A
Selinsgrove vs Franklin Regional  (730pm at Altoona)
Girls Double A
Muncy vs Sacred Heart Academy  (730pm at Pottsville)
Girls Triple A
Loyalsock vs Lake Lehman (730pm at Berwick)
Hughesville vs West Catholic  (6pm at Pottsville)

NCAA Men’s Basketball Sunday
(3) Purdue  78  Wisconsin  70
(12) Illinois  73  Iowa  61
NCAA Men’s Tonight
West Coast Conference Tournament Semifinal
Santa Clara  vs (23) St Mary’s 9pm  ESPN
San Francisco vs (19) Gonzaga 11:30pm ESPN

NBA
Bucks  124                     Clippers  117
Pelicans  116        Hawks  103
Wizards  110        Heat 108
Pacers  111                    Magic  97
76ers  79              Knicks  73
Nets  120              Cavaliers  101
Thunder   124      Grizzlies  93
Lakers 120                     Timberwolves 109

NHL
Oilers 4                 Penguins  0
Wild  4                  Predators  3
Hurricanes  7        Flames  2
Blackhawks  7      Coyotes  4
Islnaders  6                    Ducks  1

NASCAR
Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs racing got the checkered flag at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday.   Chris Buescher 2^nd , Ty Gibbs  3^rd, Brad Keselowski 4^th , and Ryan Blaney rounded out the Top 5.