Man offered cop bribe to get out of DUI, police say

FRANKLIN TWP. -- A desperate DUI suspect tried to bribe a Locust Township Police officer to make a set of charges disappear, court papers say. "I don't know how much you make, but I'll pay anything to get those papers tore up," Michael J. Campanile allegedly told Officer Joseph Samuels. Authorities were called to Knoebels Campground Oct. 19 after Campanile, 28, drove his mother's car into a tree then tried to drive the damaged vehicle to the amusement park, police say.

Local hunter, 58, dies in northern Columbia County field

MADISON TWP. -- A Riverside man out hunting on the first day of deer season was stricken in a field here and died Monday, authorities say. Michael Wydra, 58, of 312 Gearhart St. is believed to have died of natural causes, reports Columbia County Chief Deputy Coroner Linda Kessler. An autopsy will be done Wednesday morning to try to find an exact cause of death, she said. Wydra was hunting with friends in an area about 4 miles west of Millville. Medics tried to revive the man, but he died in the field and was not taken to a hospital, officials said.

Dog falls through ice into pond; rescue ensues

NESCOPECK -- Cooper, a water-loving black Labrador, decided to traipse onto Shirley Young's frozen pond Monday and fell through the ice. Young's granddaughter's courage and quick thinking saved the dog. Shirley was hanging Christmas decorations outside her 96 Mifflin X Road farm while her dog and her daughter's two black labs roamed the small farm. When she went outside to find them, she saw Cooper in the middle of the pond, struggling to tread water in the hole he had broken in the ice.

Longtime state lawmaker dies

BERWICK -- Ted Stuban, who represented Columbia County in Harrisburg for 16 years, died at age 85 Wednesday after a bout with cancer, friends say. Those who worked with him over the years remembered Stuban as a people's politician, a man who never forgot the citizens he was elected to serve. "You give the people respect, and they will give it back to you," was Stuban's advice to Lucille Whitmire when she first got started in politics.

PLAYOFF FOOTBALL: Berwick vs. Clearfield

MILL HALL -- It's kickoff time in Mill Hall, where the Berwick Bulldogs take on the Clearfield Bison. We'll keep you updated on the game all night.

Alleged church burglar nabbed

BLOOMSBURG -- A Freeland man stole three laptops, an Apple monitor and $875 in cash from two churches in an overnight burglary attempt, arrest papers say. Scott David Navar, 36, was nabbed by police after they found him hiding in a window well outside the First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market St., Bloomsburg. Here is what police say happened:

Woman shoots heroin with friends, then dies, police say

FRANKLIN TWP. -- An Elysburg woman is dead after she passed out while shooting heroin with friends in a basement here Wednesday night, police say. No one immediately called for help, and up to six hours passed before anyone noticed Erika Smith's lips had turned blue and she had stopped breathing, authorities say. Bryant Anthony Leiby, a Danville man who provided the $300 in heroin, fled; "he didn't want to be involved if something was wrong," a complaint alleges.

School bus crash sends students, driver to hospital

VALLEY TWP. -- A school bus full of high school students slid off the road and down an embankment, injuring several students and the driver, who was traveling too fast for the conditions, police said. Calvin Straub, 72, Danville, was transporting 14 students between the ages of 14-17 to Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech. The bus hit a slick spot at a sharp bend on Klein Road around 7:40 a.m., Valley Township Fire Chief Michael Kull said. The bus skidded off the road and slid down a 10-foot embankment, coming to rest on the driver's side, Kull said.

Fiery crash shuts down I-80

MIFFLINVILLE -- A tractor-trailer and a car were destroyed by fire after the two vehicles became hooked just before the 1-80 bridge over the Susquehanna River between Lime Ridge and Mifflinville Monday afternoon, State Police say. The 1 p.m. crash shut down traffic on the interstate's eastbound lanes for about an hour.

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