Berwick nuke plant shuts down Unit 1 for turbine fix

BELL BEND - Workers at PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant disconnected its Unit 1 nuclear reactor from the regional power grid early Thursday, part of a planned outage during which the company plans to modify blades on its turbines, which have had problems with cracks developing in recent years. The modifications to be done on the turbines "are the first-phase of a long-term plan that is expected to resolve the turbine blade issues," the company said in a press release. Workers made the same modifications to Unit 2 during its regularly scheduled refueling outage, which is still ongoing.

17 Danville-area teens among 27 cited for underage drinking

DANVILLE -- State Police Wednesday named 17 teenagers from the Danville area who were among 27 arrested on charges of underage drinking early Sunday at 118 Elysburg Road in Rush Township, outside of Riverside. Only those 18 or older were identified in charges filed with district court. Also charged, but not named, were 10 juveniles, the youngest a female, 15. Those cited, according to a State Police press release: * Hanna C. Harris, 18, of 118 Elysburg Road, Danville * Jared A. Daku, 19, of 70 Bennett Road, Danville * Matthew P. McConnell, 19, of 10 Red Oak Drive, Danville

Twenty-seven DHS students caught at drinking party, official says

DANVILLE -- Police will cite more than two dozen Danville students for underage drinking at a post-prom party discovered Sunday morning, school board President Allan Schappert says. The party, hosted at 118 Elysburg Road in Rush Township -- the home of Joseph and Maria Harris, according to records -- ended with one student being taken to the hospital with a high blood-alcohol content, officials said. Eight of the 27 partygoers to be cited are at least 18, Schappert said after talking with the Stonington State Police.

Former prison guard is sentenced to jail

DANVILLE -- Janette Ruth Aikey had guarded inmates at a state prison in Muncy and at Columbia County's lockup before that. But it was her third drunken driving arrest that has put Aikey, 35, behind bars herself. Aikey, 25 Mooresburg Road, rural Danville, was ordered to serve seven days in the Columbia County Prison for a traffic stop in Mahoning Township Oct. 14. An officer had seen her car swerving all over the road and stopped her. She tested twice the legal limit of blood-alcohol for driving.

Man accused of beating twin 5-year-old girls

ORANGEVILLE -- Brandon Kile beat his girlfriend's twin daughters until they were both covered in bruises, attacking them in the darkness while they slept, charges say. Police say Kile pummeled the little girls, then 4, and drove his pinky into their ear canals. He blamed some of the attacks on a "mouse that scratches," and other times called himself the "Boogie Monster" before unleashing his anger on the pre-schoolers, they told a child advocate.

Woman admits she bought meth supplies for fiancee 50 times

SHICKSHINNY -- A woman accused of conspiring with her former fiance to make meth says she bought him ingredients to cook the drug at least 50 times. Erin Rai Vitz, 30, told a court Tuesday that she bought James Adams Jr. pseudoephedrine cold medicine two days before he was spotted walking into the woods behind a neighbor's house on Mingle Inn Road, where a meth dump site was found.

Thieves smash Walmart cases, make off with iPhones

BUCKHORN -- Four men walked into Walmart around 5:30 a.m. Monday, smashed out product cases behind the electronics counter and left with new Apple iPhones, police said. Two of the men distracted an employee behind the counter and led her to another area of the store while two others used a pry bar to force open a display case to take iPhone 5, 4S and 4 models, said Hemlock Township Police Sgt. Scott Traugh. The four hopped into a waiting getaway car outside the store. The entire theft took about seven minutes, said Traugh.

Fire guts Shickshinny home

SHICKSHINNY -- A family of four was asleep when fire broke out in their West Butler Street home overnight. All managed to escape safely, including their two dogs. A State Police fire marshal is investigating an early-morning blaze at 19 W. Butler St., home of Joe Feno and his family. The fire left a gaping hole in the roof of a house and gutted the interior, neighbors and officials said.

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