Defender Fire Co. sold in 66 seconds
BERWICK — A 116-year history ended in just over a minute Saturday, when the Defender Fire Co. building and lot was sold at auction.
Volunteers rescue woman hurt near Shickshinny Falls
SALEM TWP. — A woman hiking on the trail to Shickshinny Falls injured her ankle and had to be carried out by firefighters ahead of a thunderstorm.
The accident was reported around 2:15 p.m. Sandra Koffel, of the Berwick area, and two friends were hiking along the trail, located here off Shickshinny Valley Road on state game lands, when she fell on some rocks, said Ptlm. Phil Schlegel.
Salem Township firefighters were first on the scene, but were joined by volunteers from Mocanaqua and Berwick.
UPDATE: Truck carrying cheese hits vehicle, tumbles to trailer court
LIME RIDGE — A tractor trailer hauling a load of Brie cheese blew a tire, crashed into another vehicle, then tumbled down an embankment to the edge of a trailer park Friday night.
That accident caused a second accident on the highway when another truck slowed to avoid the debris from a ruined guardrail and was hit by another vehicle.
It also left smashed wheels of slippery cheese strewn along one of the trailer park roadways.
The first accident happened around 10:15 p.m.
Dozing driver hits oncoming car
SALEM TWP. — A 23-year-old woman fell asleep at the wheel and hit an oncoming car on Route 11 Wednesday morning, police said.
Shannon Marie Callahan also hit a guard rail and mailbox along the way. But neither she nor the driver of the car she hit was hurt, both said afterward.
The accident took place at about 7:23 a.m., said Police Chief Michael McNeal. Callahan, of 145 Hunlock-Harveyville Road, told him she had just finished driving her boyfriend to work and was returning home, headed north on Salem Boulevard, when she fell asleep.
Law firm donates $2k for sound system
BLOOMSBURG — Bloomsburg’s annual Fourth of July celebration at Town Park was set to have fireworks and a band, but no sound system, until a local law firm stepped in with a $2,000 donation Tuesday.
The tab for providing all three is $7,300, which includes $5,000 for fireworks, $2,000 for a sound-system rental, and another $300 for the Catawissa Military Band.
Councilman Toni Bell offered to foot the bill for the band, as she did last year, and a fundraising website by The Bloomsburg University Foundation netted another $4,091.
Landlord fined over unruly grass
BLOOMSBURG — A landlord called being forced to mow a strip of grass between the street and his property “involuntary servitude” at a court hearing Monday.
But a judge found that Charles Shuman, 61, who had been cited three times for high weeds and grass at 401-409 W. Main St., still had to mow it.
Shuman had said that he had no problem mowing the yards around an unoccupied house he owns at 409 W. Main St. and Hot Water Inc. at 401 W. Main St. But he didn’t feel he should have to mow the corner lot’s grassy strip along Railroad Street.
Trucks, utility trailers mostly banned from Berwick streets
BERWICK — Council members here passed a new ordinance banning tractor truck trailers, utility trailers, box trucks and other vehicles from most of Berwick’s streets Monday night, but promised to modify it after half a dozen residents showed up to protest.
Meanwhile, Mayor Tim Burke says he might veto the ordinance unless council makes changes to lessen the burden on drivers.
New CEO named at Geisinger
DANVILLE — Geisinger today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Dr. Jaewon Ryu as president and chief executive officer.
Ryu has served as interim president and CEO since November 2018 and executive vice president and chief medical officer since September 2016. He becomes the seventh chief executive officer in Geisinger’s 104-year history.
He succeeds Dr. David T. Feinberg, who left Geisinger earlier this year to assume a leadership role at Google.
Rain and tar create a mess near Shickshinny
UNION TWP. — Heavy rain the day after a tar-and-chip job on a state highway led to a mess Tuesday, shutting down a section of Route 239 and sending PennDOT crews scrambling to find a solution.
The road from Huntington Mills to near Shickshinny was freshly tarred and chipped on Monday.
Tuesday, water got under that tar, said PennDOT Safety Press Officer Mike Taluto. It began bunching up on drivers’ tires.
Mail carrier Ed Cragle said he had driven his Dodge Grand Caravan along his usual mail route on Monday with no problems.
I-80 closed between I-180 and Danville
DANVILLE — Motorists in Northumberland and Montour Counties are advised Interstate 80 is closed in both directions between Exits 212 B (I-180 West-Williamsport) and 224 (Route 54/Danville) due to two separate vehicle crashes.
Westbound traffic is being detoured onto Route 54 west, Route 254 east, Route 147 north back to I-80 at the Milton interchange, exit 212.
Eastbound traffic is being detoured at Exit 215 to Route 254 east, Route 54 east and back to I-80 at the Danville interchange, exit 224.