Fire scalds Wise Foods factory

BERWICK — A trash fire spread up the wall of the Wise Foods factory Sunday, but a pair of workers held the flames at bay until firefighters arrived.

The fire was reported shortly before 6 p.m. The factory was closed, with only a skeleton crew on site, said Brian Smith, who is part of the crew that maintains the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system for the plant.

Smith said he and Jim Cooper were on a special assignment inspecting a boiler that day. As they worked on the far side of the building, they saw black smoke.

Wrong-way crash kills two

BLOOMSBURG — Two people died Saturday afternoon apparently after a car sped the wrong way down State Route 11 and slammed into another vehicle, police said.
Then the wrong-way car crashed into a third car, said Police Chief Scott Price.

The drivers of the first two vehicles died, he said.

The third driver appeared to have suffered only minor or moderate injuries, the chief said. The young woman who had been at the wheel of the Mazda Miata was checked by ambulance personnel before leaving in tears.

The accident left the roadway closed for more than four hours.

Crash on State Route 11 sends several to hospital

MONTOUR TWP. — Two children were among several people rushed to the hospital Friday after two vans collided almost head-on on State Route 11, witnesses said.

However, one witness said it appeared that everyone will be all right. One of the drivers as well as passers-by jumped in to help.

The accident happened at 1:26 p.m. at the intersection of State Route 11 and Grovania Drive, closing the busy highway until about 2:45 p.m., according to dispatchers.

Two robberies and a break-in overnight in Bloomsburg

BLOOMSBURG — Police here are investigating two robberies and a car break-in early Saturday morning — it's not yet clear if they were related.

And officers are asking for the public’s help in identifying suspects, in addition to warning residents to be extra careful, especially until police can determine whether victims were targeted or selected at random. 

They are also asking for those with surveillance cameras that might have picked up the robbers or other relevant details to contact them.  

Truck tangled in wires, poles near Orangeville

ORANGE TWP. — A tractor-trailer attempting to turn around in the parking lot at Hess Market here Wednesday morning snapped two utility poles and knocked out power to the busy convenience store.

Arthur Johnson, 25, Trenton, N.J., was on a local delivery route for Dollar General around 9 a.m. when he was forced to widen his turn due to a parked car blocking part of the entrance off Route 487.

“I couldn’t make it around so I widened out on the turn and heard a ‘snap.’ It was like a branch breaking,” the delivery driver said.

Cops: Baby clinging to life after shaking

BLOOMSBURG—A three-month-old girl is clinging to life after being shaken, police said.

A Bloomsburg man, who lives with the girl, has been arrested and charged with felony charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, along with misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment  He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on May 25.

Christopher Lee Lindsey, 32, reportedly called police Wednesday morning after the child seemed “lifeless.”

Talen files for bankruptcy; operations, jobs will continue unaffected

Talen Energy Supply, the owner of the nuclear plant outside Berwick and the coal burning plant near Washingtonville, filed for bankruptcy Tuesday.

Officials said the move will give the company time and money to restructure. Eventually, it will be owned by some of its creditors, said Chief Executive Officer Alejandro “Alex” Hernandez.

Employees, vendors and neighbors won’t see any changes, according to Kroll’s Restructuring Administration, a bankruptcy consultant hired by Talen.

Slip-up sends wrong envelopes to some mail-in voters

BLOOMSBURG — Some Columbia County residents who vote by mail-in ballots received a return envelope for the wrong county with their ballot for the May primary, commissioners said Friday.

About 15 Columbia County residents with Bloomsburg and Berwick mailing addresses called the county election office Thursday to report that their ballots included a return envelope for the Luzerne County Elections Office, said Matthew Repasky, Columbia County’s election director.

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