Bloomsburg HS may have a new head football coach

BLOOMSBURG -- Former Bloomsburg University football player Mike Kogut might be returning to the area to coach at Bloomsburg High School. Bloomsburg Superintendent Cos Curry has recommended Kogut, the former Tri-Valley head coach, to become the new head coach for the Bloomsburg Panthers. The board will meet Tuesday night to vote on Kogut's possible hiring. Curry emphasized that nothing is official until the board approves the move. "He's the recommended candidate," Curry said. "Provided approval, he'll be the coach and begin working with the athletes immediately."

Dump truck, SUV collide

SHAMOKIN TWP. -- A Mount Carmel driver crossed over the double-yellow lines on Route 61 and crashed head-on into a dump truck, police say. Jonathan Morgante, 28, was headed north just before 11 a.m., when his 2004 GMC Envoy swerved to the left for an unknown reason, police said. Terry L. Shade was coming in the opposite direction in a 1994 Mack CL-700 dump truck, and the vehicles collided, police said. The impact knocked off one the Mack truck's front wheels, and the dump truck crashed into a guardrail. Morgante's SUV ended up wedged between a utility pole and a stone retaining wall.

Man guilty of dealing heroin

BLOOMSBURG -- A drug dealer who fled from a police raid by jumping out of a second-story window was found guilty Tuesday of peddling heroin in the Berwick area. Malik Muhammad was one of three people collared when police raided an East Front Street home last summer. Officers say the front door was secured by several locks. Surveillance cameras were set up to watch outside, and a sawed-off shotgun rested beside a couch for protection.

Armed-robbery suspect in custody

BLOOMSBURG -- The second man wanted in connection with a pistol-whipping and robbery last week turned himself in Monday. Samuel Andre Jeannot, 22, is one of two men accused of hitting Bloomsburg University student Jeffrey Rush in the head several times with a handgun, knocking him to the ground while Rush pleaded with the men for his life. Carlin Edwards, 24, was picked up within minutes of the alleged attack. But Jeannot, Philadelphia, fled the scene, police say.

Car collides with rig outside Elysburg

RALPHO TWP. -- Several people were injured Monday afternoon in a three-vehicle wreck on Market Street outside Elysburg. A Ford Mustang was partially crushed under the front of a tractor-trailer. A silver Toyota Prius with a family inside was also involved in the collision, which has the roadway closed while police investigate. A witness to the crash said he was afraid of what he'd find when he ran to help the victims. "It was bad. It was really bad," he said.(See another photo on the homepage.)

Two dead in Point Township wreck

POINT TWP. - Two people were killed in a violent crash on Route 11 about halfway between Danville and Northumberland Friday morning, police say. Faye M. Kieffer, 85, Dornsife, was killed when a Ford Windstar GL van veered into the path of the silver Ford Taurus her husband was driving, Northumberland County Coroner James Kelley said. Kieffer was wearing a seat-belt. The van's driver, who has not been named, was heading south when the vehicle hit the northbound couple, according to Point Township Sgt. Robert Recla. Details were not available on the identity of the second victim.

What we're working on for March 22

Here's a look at the stories that have our reporters busy Thursday: * A woman says two pit bulls ripped her miniature Pomeranian from her leash, killing the tiny dog. Now she wants the pit bulls euthanized. Susan Schwartz has the story. * Someone broke into two Bloomsburg businesses, smashing out windows. Read what we have so far. * A man arrested for making meth in a local hotel room pleads to a lesser charge and is sentenced. Courts reporter Leon Bogdan will tell you what the man received.

Thieves strike YMCA, smash windows

BLOOMSBURG -- Thieves broke into two local businesses last night, smashing windows and making off with a game console and controllers before setting off an alarm that alerted police. The first of the 3 a.m. break-ins happened at the Bloomsburg YMCA, at Seventh and Iron streets, Bloomsburg Patrolwoman Melanie Readler said. At least two suspects used a rock to smash an exterior door glass panel and then an interior door panel to gain entrance to the building, said YMCA Director John Thompson.

Pages