BACKYARD BROADCASTING JULY 12, 2022

CITY MAN SENTENCED FOR MANSLAUGHTER IN ARSON FOR HIRE

The Williamsport father of a man who died while allegedly carrying out a 2018 arson for hire scheme in Scranton, was sentenced to up to five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter Friday.  According to the Sun Gazette, 56 year old Brett Sweeting, Sr., pled guilty for his role as a getaway driver who left his son, Bret Sweeting Jr., behind when an explosion from the accelerant killed him at the home of Chad Kenowski, who was also in on the arson plot. According to court records, Kenowski pled guilty to third degree murder in Sweeting Jr.’s death and was sentenced in April to 22 years in state prison.

WILLIAMSPORT FIRE DAMAGES PARK AVENUE HOME

A fire determined to be caused by careless smoking caused 50 thousand dollars in damage Saturday at a home on Park Avenue in Williamsport.  According to the Sun Gazette, a neighbor saw smoke coming from the roof and called the fire department before Dennis Folk and his family escaped with their pets at about 8:20am.  Firefighters on the scene said they controlled the fire in about 10 minutes and the Folks will be able to stay with relatives while repairs are done to the home, including repairs of a collapsed second floor ceiling.

FIREWORKS LEGISLATION SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR

Governor Wolf signed new fireworks legislation yesterday that will restrict use and increase penalties for not following the provisions.  According to WHTM, House Bill 2157 includes mandatory minimum fines for fireworks violations with more clearly defined regulations.  The bill states; consumer fireworks may not be used 10pm to 10am except over July 4th and December 31st, local municipalities have authority to restrict fireworks use and the bill requires three-days-notice to livestock owners about when fireworks are going to be used, and that  the 12% tax levied from fireworks goes to emergency services use.

INTERNATIONAL TEAMS QUALIFY FOR FIRST ROUND OF LLWS

There are two more international teams who have qualified to play in the 75th Little League World Series this August in South Williamsport.  According to the Sun Gazette, the Little League team of Managua, Nicaragua clinched their 1st trip to Williamsport by defeating Venezuela 10-nothing in the 2022 Latin America Regional Championship. The Pabao Little League team from Curacao will return this year to defend their 2019 International Championship win following their win against Cuba 3-1 in the Caribbean Regional tournament.  The game between these two teams – the Caribbean and Latin American champs – is the opening round of the LLWS August 17th at 1pm in Volunteer Stadium.

TRAIN HITS A CAR IN ANTIS FORT

A car and a freight train collided near Antis Fort last evening, causing a brief investigation at the scene, but no injuries were reported.  According to the Sun Gazette, police said a Norfolk Southern train clipped the rear passenger side of a passenger car at the rail road crossing on River Mill road, west of Antis Fort.  The accident occurred just after 6pm and police were on the scene. The train sustained no damage and continued on. There was minor damage to the car, which could be driven from the scene.  Police did not release the identity of the driver.

WOMAN DOES DAMAGE TO AN ACQUAINTANCE’S HOME

A Williamsport woman has been arrested after police say she did over 10 thousand dollars in damage to the home of a male acquaintance at the Harvest Moon Park in Woodward Township on June 21st.  According to the Sun Gazette, 30 year old Sherilee McCaslin smashed a shoe through a window of the modular home, damaged a flat screen TV, carved into wooden and glass surfaces and poked holes in many walls and doors with a blunt object.  McCaslin was arraigned in Lycoming county Court and was incarcerated under 10 thousand dollars bail.

RENOVATION ORDINANCE TO BE UPDATED

Williamsport’s Architectural Review Board, or HARB, has been given a 10 thousand dollar grant to update the city’s historic architecture ordinance that could allow for major changes in exterior renovation rules.  An original ordinance from 1975 is in need of an update to streamline and upgrade the renovation process including policies and procedures for using modern materials and best practices for structure review. According to Williamsport officials, once an outside consulting firm is hired to address renovations, the processes that are required can be more clearly spelled out. 

NEW FIREARM RULES FOR TURKEY HUNTING

The Board of Game Commissioners adopted new regulations for turkey season in Pennsylvania this fall at their meeting on Friday.  According to a press release from the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the restriction keeps turkey hunters from using single projectile firearms including slug guns, muzzleloading rifles and handguns starting this fall.  The Game Commission said it should impact less than 1% of hunters and that the restrictions are additional means to protect turkey populations without reducing the length of the season.  Only shotguns and archery gear will be lawful for fall turkey hunting. 

SPORTS

MLB
Pirates 5              Marlins 1
Rays 10               Red Sox 5
Guardians 8        White Socks 4
Cardinals 6         Phillies 1
Mets 4                 Braves 1
          Royals 3 Tigers 1 Game 1
          Royals 7 Tiger 3  Game 2

MLB Draft League
Williamsport Crosscutters 9          Frederick Keys 1
MLB Draft League Tonight Game 2 @ Muncy Bank Ballpark 6:35 1st pitch

Little League
Keystone defeated Montgomery for the District 12 Little League Junior Division Championship 8-3.  Keystone was leading 4-3 going into the Top of the 7th inning, when they got a three run triple and scored one more run to seal the game.

BACKYARD BROADCASTING LOCAL NEWS JULY 11, 2022

EMERGENCY MEETING IN TIOGA BOROUGH TOMORROW

The  Tioga Borough Council are scheduled to meet in emergency session tomorrow night over the withdrawal of application from Timothy Loehmann the officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice, while as an officer with the Cleveland Police Department as well as to consider the resignations of President of the Council, Steve Hazlett and his wife, who is also a councilmember.  According to the Sun Gazette, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tioga Borough officials violated state law when they hired Timothy Loehmann, the police officer who killed Tamir Rice in Cleveland in 2014. Borough Mayor David Wilcox swore in Loehmann on Tuesday night after the borough council voted to approve his hiring. There have been protests over the move in the borough since. 

FUGITIVE CAPTURED IN PIATT TOWNSHIP

The man who escaped from the Lycoming County Pre-Release Center on June 17th is facing charges after police captured him while allegedly involved in criminal activity.  According to North Central PA dot com, authorities in Piatt Township took Todd Hill into custody after they surrounded a property near Route 220, and found him hiding inside.  Police allege Hill had fentynal in a cooler at the residence. Hill was charged by Tiadaghton Valley Regional police with felony flight to avoid apprehension and drug charges. Hill waived his preliminary hearing and is incarcerated on no bail.

UPMC CONSOLIDATES TWO OFFICES TO DOWNTOWN WILLIAMSPORT

UPMC has announced that they have consolidated two of their practices in Duboistown and South Williamsport, to downtown Williamsport. Both offices from UPMC Family Practice and UPMC Pediatrics will relocate to the new facility on the second floor of 175 Pine Street, Williamsport; They are scheduled to begin seeing patients there today.

SEVERAL BILLS VETOED BY GOVERNOR WOLF

Governor Wolf vetoed two bills last Friday on banning transgender female athletes from participating in sports in high school and college, as well as a bill sponsored by Franklin County Senator Doug Mastriano, that looks to allow poll watchers from any county to observe election activity where they are not registered. A third bill that would have kept the Department of Human Services from hiring a vendor to manage financial services for home health for the elderly, was also vetoed by the governor.

MANSFIELD MAN IN CUSTODY AFTER SHOOTING FATHER

A Tioga County man is in jail today after he allegedly shot and killed his estranged father at a home on Route 6 on Saturday.  According to the Sun Gazette, State police took 28 year old Zachary McCoon into custody at the residence in Sullivan Township without incident after he himself called 911 to report that he had shot 49 year old Trevor McCoon.  The victim was the man’s estranged father who had arrived at the residence and charged at him, according to police reports.  The younger McCoon is in the Tioga County Prison on no bail.

NEW JUDGE NOMINATED TO FILL VACANCY

William Carlucci has been approved by the Pennsylvania Senate to fill the unexpired term of former Judge Joy Reynolds-McCoy, who resigned earlier this year as the judge in the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas. According to the Sun Gazette, there is still one more vacancy to fill in Lycoming County, that of Judge Mark Lovecchio, who resigned in 2021. Senior judges have been filling in and taking care of the caseloads, until appointments are confirmed by the state. Carlucci will start his duties in August.

PAYMENT APPROVED FOR BANDSHELL IMPROVEMENTS

The Williamsport City Council has approved paying Gannett Fleming $47,400 to complete the design in preparation for renovations of the Brandon Park Bandshell.  According to the Sun Gazette, the design costs are covered by a gift from the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania. The work to be done includes brick work, structural repair of the stage and ceiling, accessible bathrooms, humidity control and the installation of an accessible wheelchair lift. The city says they will be using a contingency fund in some amount for any extra costs that arise.

TAX ASSISTANCE POSSIBLE FOR WEST PHARMACEUTICAL

With the potential prospect of adding 125 jobs in Jersey Shore; Lycoming County Commissioners’ approved a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance ordinance, aimed at offering tax abatement for a possible expansion program at West Pharmaceutical Services in Jersey Shore. The tax abatement is over a seven-year period and begins when construction of the expansion at the site is complete on Oliver Street in Jersey Shore. The Jersey Shore School District last week approved a resolution in support of West’s request for the abatement and the borough is expected to vote next week.

SPORTS

NASCAR Chase Elliott won his first NASCAR cup victory at Atlanta Motor speedway Sunday, followed by Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Eric Jones, and Ryan Blaney rounding out the top 5.  Chase won the Quaker State 400 in front of his home crowd where his father Bill Elliot “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” won 5 times. The Elliotts are the 3rd father-son duo to take the checkered flag at the historic track, who also includes Ned and Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt and Dale Junior

MLB
Orioles 9             Angels 5
Braves 4              Nationals 3
Marlins 2            Mets 0
Reds 10               Rays 5
Royals 5              Guardians 1
Pirates 8              Brewers 6
Cardinals 4         Phillies 3
Red Sox 11         Yankees 6

MLB Draft League
State College 6 Williamsport 5 at home yesterday
MLB Draft tonight
Crosscutters play the Frederick Keys at home tonight – 6:35 1st pitch.

MLB News
The full All-Star game roster was announced on Sunday. Yankees, with the best record in the league, lead all the teams with 6 players selected.  The Game comes up on Tuesday, July 19 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA

Tennis
Number 1 seed, Novak Djokovic defeated Nick Kyrgios in 4 sets Sunday for his 4th consecutive Wimbledon title and seventh overall.

BACKYARD BROADCASTING LOCAL NEWS JULY 8, 2022

NEW TIOGA BOROUGH POLICE HIRE SUBMITS RESIGNATION

Some residents of Tioga Borough protested outside the borough office last night over the swearing-in of Timothy Loehmann, the officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice as an officer of the Cleveland Police department. According to the Sun Gazette, the sentiment of some in the community who have been without an officer for over a year, would rather have no officer than Loehmann.  Records show that he was fired from the Cleveland Police for lying on his application.  Loehmann has submitted an intent to withdrawal his application to serve in Tioga and the Borough council will consider it at their next meeting on July 12th at 6pm.

WILLIAMSPORT MAN WANTED IN FLORIDA FOR DRUG CHARGES

A man wanted in Florida on drug charges was taken into custody last Sunday by Old Lycoming Township police.  According to the Sun Gazette, police arrested 30 year old Jamaal Charles Jackson, who lives on Lycoming Creek Road for felony drug charges that originated from St Lucie County, Florida.  The sheriff’s office there filed a fugitive warrant for Jackson and he was committed to Lycoming County Prison on no bail.

BUDGET TALKS STILL HAPPENING TODAY

Pennsylvania Lawmakers in the House began passing some legislation yesterday, avoiding much debate over the main budget bill, voting 180-20 in favor of it.  The majority Republicans stated that the 42.8 billion dollar spending plan will positively affect transportation, police and election operations, including millions of dollars in funding for K-12 education in the state’s 100 poorest districts. In the senate,  a Republican spokesperson said discussion continues on the framework the budget.  The Wolf Administration compromised and agreed to pull charter school regulations that had been approved in March.

CSVT BRIDGE PARTIALLY OPEN IN BOTH DIRECTIONS

PennDOT opened the northbound lanes of the new Route 147 to traffic early yesterday . A portion of the southbound lanes were opened a little later, between the new Ridge Road interchange in Northumberland County and Route 15 in Union County, so the river bridge is now open in both directions. The remaining portion of the southbound lanes of the new roadway – traffic entering from existing Route 147 south from Milton – will open today.

DRUG TASK FORCE NABS TWO SUSPECTS FROM SUNBURY

Two people from Sunbury are facing felony drug charges after they sold 165 bags of heroin in a controlled drug buy set up by the Northumberland Montour Drug Task Force.  According to media outlets, 39 year old Randy Baylor and 27 year old Bridget Miller sold the drugs to a confidential informant who was working with the Sunbury Police.  Baylor and Miller have been jailed in lieu of 20 thousand dollars bail.

REPUBLICANS VOTE ABORTION AMENDMENT THROUGH

Republicans advanced a constitutional amendment on abortion rights yesterday. According to Penn Live, the GOP voted and shut down Democratic opposition to the legislation with their majority late Thursday night.  Proposed amendments must pass both chambers in a 2-year legislative session, and be advertised publically before the fall session – it goes to the voters after that and does not require the governor’s support. A full slate of voting for the budget is set up for today in Harrisburg.  With the billions of dollars in surplus this year, some are calling this a “Christmas in July budget”.

GAME COMMISSION MEETING CAN BE WATCHED ONLINE

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners will meet today and tomorrow and will hear and comments from the public Saturday.  The session today is for staff comment only.  The time for public comment tomorrow is limited to five minutes and requests will be accepted for the meeting on a first-to-register, first-to-speak basis. Registration begins when doors to the Harrisburg headquarters open at 7:45 am and the meeting begins at 8:30.   Those unable to attend the meeting can watch much of it on the Game Commission’s You Tube channel.

BUCKNELL STUDENT QUALIFIES FOR AMATEUR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

A Bucknell senior golfer has qualified for next month’s US Amateur Championship by earning an 8 under 64 in the second round of the Amateur Qualifier at White Eagle Golf Club in Illinois.  According to the Sun Gazette, the qualifier tournament Tuesday had two automatic spots for the Championship in New Jersey coming up in August, and Blake Wisdom earned it.  He posted the best competitive round of his playing career, eagling two par-5s on the opening nine and three birdies on the back nine for his bogey-less 64.

SPORTS

MLB
          Pirates 4     Reds 2 Game 1
          Reds 5        Pirates 1 Game 2
Phillies 5             Nationals 3
Orioles 4              Angels 1
Mets 10               Marlins 0
Yankees 6           Red Sox 5
Cardinals 3         Braves 2

MLB Draft League Tonight
Williamsport Crosscutters host the State College Spikes – Muncy Bank Ballpark 6:35pm 1st pitch

TENNIS
Rafael Nadal announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon before his semi-final match today against Nick Kyrgios with a torn abdominal muscle.

Kygios will now either face 1st seed Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie they play their semifinal match today at 9:30am Eastern

NASCAR

The Quaker State 400 is at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday at 3 PM listen to all the NASCAR cup series coverage on our sister station, the Twin Valleys Talk Radio Network WWPA or WILQ‘s HD3

BACKYARD BROADCASTING LOCAL NEWS JULY 7, 2022

TIOGA HIRES CLEVELAND OFFICER WHO SHOT TAMIR RICE

A police officer who was cleared of wrong doing by a grand jury for the shooting of Tamir Rice in November of 2014, and fired by the Cleveland Police department, was hired and sworn-in in Tioga, PA on July 5th after a unanimous vote by the council there.  According to the Sun Gazette there were protests outside the Tioga Borough Building over Timothy Loehmann’s hiring.  Tioga Mayor David Wilcox told the paper even though he oversees the police and swore-in Loehmann, he said he hadn’t been informed of the officer’s history.

WELLSBORO MAN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR FRAUD

A man from Wellsboro who used COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Funds to buy a beach home in Alabama has been charged in federal court with money laundering and bank fraud Wednesday.  According to the Sun Gazette, the US Attorney’s Office alleges that 57 year old Nicholas Perkins , the owner of Well-versed Oil Fields LLC,  used most of a 465 thousand dollar loan meant to help small business cope with financial issues from the pandemic, for the vacation property . He then applied for loan forgiveness for the costs, saying he used it for payroll costs and other eligible expenditures.  Perkins faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

WILLIAMSPORT AUDITORS WAITING FOR FINANCE DOCUMENTS

Auditors working for Williamsport are waiting for a number of documents that they have requested from the City Finance office in order to complete the 2019 audit, even though they’ve made multiple requests and not received the information.  According to the Sun Gazette, the auditor for Zelenkofsky Axelrod says they spoke with Mayor Derek Slaughter and he said there would be a new person in the finance office to help move the process along.  The audits done by Zelenkofsky Axelrod are for the general fund and community and economic development.

AUTHOR GALA THIS OCTOBER TO BENEFIT LIBRARY

The James V Brown Library has just announced their 19th Annual Author’s Gala and online auction to be held this October, featuring best-selling author Elin Hilderbrand as the guest speaker on the Community Arts Center Stage that night.  Hilderbrand’s latest book, “Hotel Nantucket”, is on sale now, and she will sign copies for attendees.  The Gala will be livestreamed for a fee if you can’t attend in person and will also feature an online auction running from October 6th til the end of the actual Gala event at 10pm on October 13th .  Reserve your tickets today at caclive.com.

MAN WHO STOLE FROM A CORPSE EXTRADITED TO SHAMOKIN DAM

A Puerto Rican man was extradited back to the United States this week to face charges that he stole credit cards from the body of a man who died at a Snyder County hotel where the suspect worked in 2019.  According to North Central PA dot com, police say 33 year old Jose Miguel Hernandez-Thurbhus was seen on surveillance cameras taking items from a dead body that had yet to be discovered by police, and then used the cards to make purchases of cigarettes and snacks for a few days  before fleeing to Puerto Rico.  Family members of the deceased man discovered the charges made on his accounts after the time of death.  US Marshals worked with foreign authorities to catch Hernandez-Thurbhus who was brought back to Harrisburg and picked up by Shamokin Dam police Tuesday.  He was arraigned on forgery, access device fraud and abuse of a corpse and is in Snyder County prison in lieu of 250 thousand dollars monetary bail. 

BERWICK MAN FACES CHARGES FOR FILING A FALSE REPORT

A man who accused his ex-girlfriend of breaking into his home, has been charged with filing a false police report that incriminates another person.  According to North Central Pa dot com, Todd Ipher of Berwick told police Shelby Holdren had broken a window to come in when she wasn’t allowed on his property.  However, when police investigated, they questioned Holdren who said after she and Ipher had spent the day together at the apartment on Sycamore Street on May 8th, they had a fight and she left the property.  Police say she left her phone behind and when knocking on the door to get it back, the window broke, and she cut herself before retrieving the phone and leaving.  Ipher has a preliminary hearing August 1st .

NINE REPUBLICANS ON BOARD WITH SHAPIRO

Nine Pennsylvania Republicans have endorsed Democrat Josh Shapiro for Governor of the Commonwealth describing Doug Mastriano as dangerous, extreme and divisive for Pennsylvania.  According to Penn Live, the nine break-away Republicans include two former congressmen, a former lieutenant governor and a former state House speaker as well as Lt. Gov. Robert Jubelirer of Blair County.  Shapiro said that Republicans, Independents and Democrats must come together and that he’s grateful so many see the high stakes of the upcoming Governor race.

MORE SLOW TRAFFIC TODAY EXPECTED ON ROUTE 45

Maintenance crews will be replacing lightbulbs on the Lewisburg River Bridge for a few hours today and commuters may see some slow traffic again as a result.  According to Penn DOT, watch for congestion again in West Chillisquaque Township on Route 45 at the intersection with Route 405 – there will be single lane conditions and a flagger on the scene from about 7:30am until 2pm.

SPORTS

MLB
Tigers 8               Guardians 2
Mets 8                 Reds 3
Braves 3              Cardinals 0
Yankees 16         Pirates 0
Orioles 2             Rangers 1
Nationals 3         Phillies 2
Rays 7                 Red Sox 1

MLB Draft League
          Trenton Thunder 6      Williamsport Crosscutters 2
MLB Draft League Friday
Williamsport Crosscutters are at home against the State College Spikes at Muncy Bank Ballpark, 6:35 1st pitch.

TENNIS
– Wimbeldon Women’s Quarterfinals yesterday – American Amanda Anisimova was defeated by 16-seeded Romanian Simona Halep 6-2, 6-4 on Center Court.
– In the Men’s Quarterfinals Rafael Nadal of Spain won a 5-set thriller against American Taylor Fritz; it was 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 with a tie-breaking 10-4 victory allowing second seeded Nadal to reach his 8th Semifinal at the all England club. Nadal is set to play in the Grand Slam Semi-final today going up against Nick Kyrgios.
– The match between Number 1, Novak Djokovic and Britain’s 9th seeded Cameron Norrie is also today at 8am in the US on ESPN.

Little League District 12

Little League District 12 Winners bracket Game Keystone 5 Muncy 3
District 12 12U tonight 5:45 @South Williamsport – Muncy vs. Montoursville 

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