We'll have whistle-to-whistle coverage of Southern Columbia's 74-7 victory over the Avonworth Antelopes in the Division 2A state finals in Hershey in Saturday's edition. But here's a look at the celebration in the stands and on the field Friday.
HARRISBURG — Former Conyngham Township supervisor/secretary Linda Tarlecki purchased “large quantities” of scratch-off lottery tickets and made cash withdrawals — all totaling nearly $230,000 — at numerous gas stations over a four-year period, according to a state ethics commission report.
BLOOMSBURG — A former Bloomsburg University football player has become the largest donor in school history with a $10 million gift aimed at supporting student athletes.
Steph Pettit, a 1989 graduate and four-year football standout, previously donated $1 million to renovate the field hockey and soccer stadium that now bears his name. In recognition of his latest gift, the athletic complex on upper campus, which includes the football, field hockey, and softball fields, as well as the Nelson Field House and the tennis courts, will be named the Pettit Athletic Complex.
BERWICK — A man robbed the Freas Avenue branch of First Keystone Community Bank Wednesday.
The man, who entered the bank around 3:45 p.m. ordered bank personnel and customers to the ground and then took money from the cash registers and ran away toward Fifth Avenue, away from the bank, police say.
Officers arrived on scene quickly, with help from other police agencies. But the suspect was not located.
Police describe the robber as a black male wearing dark clothing and gloves and concealing his face.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s governor has signed a law permitting hunting on three Sundays per year, but it won’t take effect until early 2020.
Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bill on Wednesday, three days before the start of rifle deer season.
Wolf says the measure balances landowners’ needs with those of hunters who can’t take weekdays off from school or work.
The legislation permits Sunday hunting on one day during rifle deer season, one during statewide archery deer season and a third day the Game Commission will pick.
PINE TWP. — A driver who lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a driveway here was speeding, police say.
Christopher Smith, 46, took the sharp curve on Route 442, just south of the White Pines Landfill, at about 60 mph, according to Bloomsburg State Trp. Ryan Golla. The speed limit is 45 mph.
Smith, of Picture Rocks, was headed south around 8:30 a.m. when he lost control of his Chevrolet Malibu and crashed into a nearby driveway.
“He lost it clear up there,” said Millville Fire Chief Rob Bower, pointing to skid marks that began 100 yards up the road.
BLOOMSBURG — A man with a history of stealing vehicles took police on a long, dangerous chase Saturday morning after stealing a box truck from a tire and auto center, police say.
David E. Swartz, 50, almost hit four people, including a Bloomsburg police officer, a probation officer and two Press Enterprise photographers during a police chase that lasted nearly two hours, police say.
Here’s what police say happened:
A box truck was reported stolen from Bastian Tire and Auto Center around 8:15 a.m.
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — A heat-tape malfunction shot flames across the bottom of a trailer off Bissetts Lane here, leaving a woman temporarily homeless.
Resident Fran Dewale was home around 3 p.m. when she started to smell smoke, she said.
She was confused about where it was coming from, since she hadn’t burned anything. She started unplugging appliances, thinking it might be an electrical short. But then she looked outside and saw smoke rising from under her trailer.
Dewale, another woman and two small dogs all evacuated the trailer before fire crews arrived.
The story of Frank Spencer’s 2012 execution-style murder will go national Saturday night, told by his friends, family and those who prosecuted the case, when CBS News true-crime series "48 Hours" premieres “Maria Spencer’s Vow to Kill.”
The hour-long dive into the dramatic story behind Spencer’s death airs at 10 p.m. on WYOU-TV and includes interviews with Spencer friends, police, prosecutors and Anthony Rocco Franklin, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the murder.
HEMLOCK TWP. — Braving near freezing temperatures and frigid, fast-moving waters, crews rescued a 21-year-old woman from the wreckage of her car in Fishing Creek Friday morning.
Danielle Wilk, Shamokin, wasn’t injured in the crash along Creek Road around 10:30 a.m., but it took rescuers nearly an hour to pull her from the overturned SUV and haul her to shore.
It’s unclear what caused Wilk, who was headed north, to veer off the straight stretch of road, but tire tracks show the SUV traveled only a few feet along the shoulder before it was launched into the creek.