State briefs
Three gifts received CLARION, Pa. (AP) – Clarion University has received three gifts – including an anonymous donation of $250,000 – totaling $1 million to help build two new student apartments at its Venango campus.
The two buildings will each house 16 students and are scheduled to be completed by fall 2004. University officials plan for seven student housing units.
The Edward V. & Jessie L. Peters Charitable Trust is donating $500,000 and Elizabeth Black Charitable Trust is donating $250,000, which is being matched by an anonymous donor, for the first two apartments.
“This project will open the door to the next level of growth and development for Venango campus and its mission to serve our community,” said Christopher M. Reber, executive dean of the campus.
Trucker killed
CORAOPOLIS, Pa. (AP) – A truck driver carrying a load of Christmas trees was killed after he was ejected when he lost control of his truck in a winding section of Interstate 79.
State police did not release the names of the driver and an injured female passenger pending notification of family. The driver wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, according to police.
The crash occurred about 11:20 a.m. Sunday on the I-79 southbound lane near the Route 51 overpass on a section posted 45 mph because of curves.
Southbound lanes of I-79 were closed for about three hours. Christmas trees were scattered along the interstate and Route 51.
Man charged
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – A New Mexico man was charged with attempted murder after a Penn State student was stabbed early Sunday in downtown State College.
Izaac Rodriguez, 23, of Las Cruces, N.M., was held in Centre County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing was scheduled Dec. 3.
Brad Michael Hawkins, 21, was taken to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville and reported in good condition later in the day. Two other students were reportedly punched and kicked in the altercation but had no serious injuries, police said.
Police responded to the scene after an assault was reported at 2:15 a.m. and officials said a man had stabbed Hawkins, probably with “a small-edged or pointed instrument,” and then fled the scene.
Rodriguez was arrested nearby but a weapon was not recovered, police said.
Suspect arraigned
YORK, Pa. (AP) – A man was arraigned on charges of robbing his former landlords and shooting at his ex-wife last year.
Police said James Patrick Williams of Glen Rock was charged with attempted homicide, robbery, aggravated and simple assault, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats, false imprisonment, burglary, theft, and two weapons violations.
He was arraigned Friday and remained in York County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Police said Margaret Williams told investigators that although she did not see her ex-husband shoot at her, she recognized his voice after the shooter followed the shotgun blast by shouting an obscenity.
Pennsylvania State Trooper David L. Devitt, in his criminal complaint, said James Williams was jailed in March 2002 for harassment and sent his wife a threatening letter from prison implying that he would turn their neighborhood into a “bloodbath.”
Released the following month, James Williams allegedly went to Shrewsbury Township, stole a car, drove to the home of his former landlords, threatened them with a gun, and took a shotgun and rifle along with ammunition, Devitt said.
The shooting at his ex-wife’s home occurred a few minutes later, police said.
Blast injures teens
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) – Two teenagers allegedly working with explosive material were injured by a blast early Saturday, police said.
Authorities said the youths, aged 14 and 19, were trying to fill some type of cartridges with black powder when a candle they were using for illumination ignited the powder and triggered the 3:40 a.m. blast.
The explosion knocked out several windows and two or three doors of the home, police said.
Both victims, whose names were not released, were taken by ambulance to Gettysburg Hospital for treatment of burns. The younger teenager was later flown to Bay View Burn Center in Baltimore, police said.
Appeal rejected
EASTON, Pa. (AP) – A judge has ruled that a Bethlehem man serving a four- to 10-year sentence for stealing a state lawmaker’s identity waived his right to complain about the length of the sentence.
Brian A. Walker, 40, of Bethlehem, had asked Northampton County President Judge Robert A. Freedberg to reduce the term on the grounds that a 1983 New Jersey burglary conviction shouldn’t have been used against him at sentencing.
Freedberg said Friday that Walker waived his right to complain because he knew before the October 2001 sentencing that the burglary would count against him.
Walker said the New Jersey judge had told him when he pleaded guilty to burglary that the conviction would not hurt him as long as he did not get into trouble for three years. His attorney, Anthony Martino of Bangor, acknowledged that Walker’s word was the only proof of the alleged promise.
Prosecutors said Walker assumed the identity of state Rep. Matthew Baker of Tioga County, who co-sponsored the bill that made identity theft a crime, and made credit card purchases and got loans totaling about $7,500.
Budget gap filled
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) – Mayor Chris Doherty, having filled a budget gap this year with a one-time revenue source, says he cannot rule out the possibility of personnel cuts in the police and fire departments to balance future budgets.
Doherty said last week he will consider eliminating minimum manning requirements to help cover expected shortfalls.
“It gives you the freedom to make adjustments,” Mr. Doherty said. “It allows you to manage in terms of the environment that you’re in at the time.”
The idea brought immediate protests from other city officials and union representatives.
“A balance has to exist between public safety and the cost of public safety,” Councilman Gary DiBileo said. “However, adequate public safety is paramount.”
The council holds a public hearing Monday night on the proposed $60.9 million budget for 2004, which calls for the elimination of 17 jobs, creation of six positions, and large raises for a handful of nonunion employees.
Along with the cuts and some expected fee increases associated with construction projects, Doherty is counting on $2 million from a sewer deal to balance the budget.
Bear season begins
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) – The three-day bear-hunting season starts today in Pennsylvania, but an extended season will be held next week in the Poconos.
This year, the extended season – which will run Dec. 1-6 concurrently with the first week of the firearms deer season – will be held in Pike and Monroe counties as well as parts of Wayne, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties.
State game commission authorities say the extended season is being held to address growing conflicts between bears and people in the Poconos that have accompanied the 50 percent population increase in the area over the past decade.
Last year, hunters took 443 bears, including 174 in the extended season, in Carbon, Monroe and Pike counties. Research data indicate that the harvest removed about 22 percent of the bear population in the three counties, compared to a harvest rate of about 17 percent for the rest of the state.
Statewide, the commission expects a bear harvest similar to that of last year, when 2,686 bruins were taken statewide. The record bear kill was in 2000, when 3,075 bruins were taken by hunters.