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House fire is deadly in Hunlock

HUNLOCK CREEK -- A smoky fire killed a man inside his longtime home here Thursday afternoon. Family members of Kent Brace spotted smoke coming from his Hartman Road home around 3:30 p.m.. They were unable to get inside to help him. A call to 9-1-1 drew a quick response, family said. But Brace's body was discovered in the front living room of the smoke-filled home when firefighters arrived. Firefighters had not determined what may have caused the fire, or where it might have originated in Brace's two-story house.

State's first same-sex marriage has a local connection

LIMERICK TWP. -- A Catawissa native made history Wednesday morning when she married her longtime partner in a small ceremony in Montgomery County. Alicia Terrizzi, 45, a Southern Columbia and Bloomsburg University grad, and Loreen Bloodgood, 40, were the first same-sex couple to be married in Pennsylvania -- a distinction that happened mostly by accident, Terrizzi joked. After learning on Tuesday that the Register of Wills in the suburban Philadelphia county was going to grant marriage licenses to gay couples, the couple decided to go to the courthouse the next morning.

The PE Daily Sneak Peek — July 25 edition

Here's a look at the stories keeping our reporters busy Thursday: * Remember the two women who became the first gay couple to marry in Pennsylvania? One is from around here. Read all about it here.* A convicted child rapist is facing new charges after returning to the area to fight an old case. See our online report here.

Child rapist facing new charges after victim comes forward

DANVILLE -- A local man already serving 25 years in federal prison for making child pornography and raping a toddler is facing new charges for raping an 8-year-old boy in 2007, court papers show. At first Michael Coates, 30, denied the boy's claim that he'd forced the child to watch kiddie porn before yanking his pants down and assaulting him in Berwick, charges say. He agreed to a police interview "to prove his innocence." But after a polygraph test caught Coates in the lie, he admitted he raped the boy in Berwick, he told a reporter.

Pregnant woman killed in Maine accident was Catawissa native, family says

ROQUE BLUFFS, Maine (AP) -- A Catawissa native living in Maine had fortunately been rescued when she and a friend visiting from Sunbury got lost hiking here Tuesday. But the two were killed shortly after, when they accidentally drove their minivan into the ocean in the nighttime fog, authorities said.

A sneak peek at the front page — July 25 edition

Here's a look at what we're working on for July 25: * A house fire claims 11 small dogs. Read our online report and look for more in Thursday's print edition. * The contents of an old hotel that was the site of a brutal slaying in the early 1980s goes up for auction this afternoon. * A mom who was brought up on charges of letting her kids smoke synthetic pot and watch porn pleads guilty to corrupting the kids, but blames it all on an ex-boyfriend.

Double home burns, 11 dogs dead

SHICKSHINNY -- Eleven dogs died early Wednesday in a fire that gutted a double home owned by a woman who breeds Chihuahuas. Derek Smith, wife Kim and their two-year-old son Tristyn were upstairs in their half of 92-94 Butler Court - off West Butler Street - when the fire broke out just after midnight. "I woke up, smelled smoke, and got her and him out of the house as fast as I could," Derek said. The Smiths said they had to contend with heavy smoke as they hurried downstairs and out a side door.

Local police chief punched girlfriend, court order alleges

MILLVILLE -- Longtime Police Chief Ted Stout has been forced to give up his guns and move to desk duty amid a State Police investigation and a court order claiming he beat his girlfriend. Tori Harrison, who lived with Stout and worked as his subordinate in Millville and a neighboring department, asked Columbia County Court Monday for a temporary protection-from-abuse order.

What we're working on for July 24

Here's a look at the stories that are keeping our reporters busy Tuesday: * A local police chief is placed on paid leave after accusations arise that he abused a girlfriend who happened to be one of his officers. * A woman busted while making meth tells a judge, "This is the first night of the rest of my life." Read our online report here.

Woman nabbed in drug bust calls herself 'face of meth'

DERRY TWP. -- A woman arrested late Monday night for allegedly running a clandestine drug lab told a reporter, "This is the face of meth." Allison Marie Swisher, 48, of 107 Mexico Road, had lots of ingredients for making the drug inside her home when police executed a search warrant overnight, officials said. Swisher said the arrest was actually a relief. "This is the first night of the rest of my life," she said at her arraignment before District Judge Marvin Shrawder in Danville early Tuesday morning.. "So this is a good night." The mother of two said the drug "makes you want to die."