| Press Enterprise Online

Newspaper to pay for town's Fourth of July fireworks

BLOOMSBURG -- Town taxpayers won't foot the bill for Fourth of July fireworks after the Press Enterprise agreed to pay for the show, and even increase its budget, the town said in a press release. The donation from the newspaper company will exceed the previous $8,600 budget for the show, said Lauren Martz, assistant town administrator.

Town police chief to retire

BLOOMSBURG -- The town's longtime police chief is retiring to take over as head of campus security at a small private school in Lancaster County. Leo Sokoloski announced Wednesday he would retire from Bloomsburg at the end of June to take a position at Elizabethtown College, a school of 1,900 students. Sokoloski, 50, has headed the town police department since 2001, when he took over after Chief Larry Smith retired. He has been an officer with the town since 1980, according to newspaper archives.

Woman trapped in overturned SUV

SCOTT TWP. -- When Scott Township Police Officer Vincent Figueiredo reached an overturned SUV, Mary Slobinsky, 66, was trapped in the driver's seat and being choked by her seat belt, he said. He cut Slobinsky free of the seat belt while she steadied herself using the steering wheel, but she was still unable to get out of the vehicle on her own, Figueiredo said.

Man was drunk when he rammed tree, injuring passenger, police say

NORTH CENTRE TWP. - Darrin Bellum's blood-alcohol level was at well more than twice the legal limit when he smashed his car into a tree, trapping his passenger, and then ran away last month, police say. The April 11 accident on Fowlersville Road left his passenger, Denise Woolridge, with several broken bones and internal injuries that required a hospital stay and rehabilitation, they say.

Rescuers save newborn from sewage pipe in China

BEIJING (AP) -- A newborn's cries from a public restroom in a residential building in eastern China led a tenant to a startling discovery: a baby boy trapped in a sewage pipe beneath a squat toilet. Firefighters, unable to pull the baby out, ended up sawing away an L-shaped section of the pipe and carrying it to a hospital, where it was delicately pried apart to save the infant.

Ex-cop on the run from law after shooting

MOUNT CARMEL -- A former police officer is on the lam after shooting his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend here early Tuesday morning, police say. Anthony James Galla, 31, fired seven shots from a .40-caliber handgun in a bedroom at 244 S. Walnut St. around 1 a.m., then fled before officers arrived, police say. One of the rounds hit a man, who police have not identified, in the foot. He was reportedly in surgery for the wound Tuesday morning.

Woman's no 'Millionaire,' but she walks away with winnings

DANVILLE -- After six months of waiting, Carey Lutz's family and friends finally know how much money she won on ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Lutz walked away after six questions with $9,050 -- enough to pay down some debt and take a nice trip to New York City, she said. About 50 people attended the viewing party at Washies Fire Company to watch Lutz take the stage with Meredith Viera for the daytime game show. When Lutz, who was the second contestant, appeared on screen, applause and cheers broke out in the room.

Cops: Three children removed from meth lab

HETLERVILLE -- Children and Youth caseworkers took custody of an infant and two toddlers today after an alleged meth lab was discovered in a trailer where the children and four adults had been living. Police say they plan to file meth charges against three: * Abby Burd, the mother of the three children, all under age 2. * James Rodney "JR" Hughes, Burd's 18-year-old cousin, who has a previous meth arrest and a robbery charge pending in county court.

Moose burglar foiled; man found wet, without a ride home

SCOTT TWP. -- A township policeman discovered an SUV suspiciously parked deep in the grass outside the Moose Family Center, still warm from running with the keys resting atop a back tire. It was 2:30 a.m., and Ptlm. Jeff Turner decided to have a look around the building. It wasn't long before he turned up a pair of bolt cutters and a black backpack. There were fresh pry marks in the front doors, which had been partially pulled apart, but it appeared the burglar wasn't able to get inside the building, police said. A search of the surrounding area turned up no suspect, however.

Woman who sued Macy's over botched order wins

MAHONING TWP. -- The Danville woman who sued Macy's over a botched makeup order has won in court. Mary Norris, who filed her complaint as Mary Ann Mayer, was awarded $192.56 -- three times the value of her $63.55 order -- and $1.91 in interest, ruled District Judge Marv Shrawder. She was also reimbursed her $157.50 filing fee, for a total of $350.06. That's far short of the $5,218 she sought for her time and frustration. It's also less than the $500 Macy's reportedly offered to settle the case.