SUNBURY - The father-and-son farmers charged in a private criminal complaint with animal cruelty for treatment of cows on their Irish Valley dairy farm have been found not guilty on all counts.
Magisterial District Judge Robert Bolton issued his ruling Friday morning.
Bolton, who heard five hours of testimony at a preliminary hearing Thursday, said not enough evidence was presented to establish a case against Lloyd Reitz Sr. and his son, Andy Reitz.
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SUNBURY - Attorney Roger Wiest II, who successfully defended his clients, Lloyd Reitz Sr. and his son, Andy Reitz, against allegations of animal cruelty at the Reitz Dairy Farm in Irish Valley, is seeking to have the woman who filed the charges against the farmers arrested for violating a state wire-tapping law, and perjury.
The Sunbury lawyer on Friday lambasted PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for "spying" on an innocent farmer and employing a convicted felon to commit what he said is a felony against the Reitzes.
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MIDDLECREEK TOWNSHIP - Two Midd-West School District teens were killed Friday afternoon when the vehicle in which they were passengers left the roadway and struck a utility pole, according to the Middleburg Police Department.
Police reported a 16-year-old male and a 14-year-old female were pronounced dead at the scene by a Snyder County deputy coroner. Names of the victims were not released by the police.
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MOUNT CARMEL TOWNSHIP - Two out-of-town men, one from Williamsport and the other from Reading, have been charged in connection with a March 17 incident involving crack cocaine and heroin, according to the Northumberland-Montour County Drug Task Force, Sunbury.
The task force reported Jeremy Allan Drummond, 36, of 685 Second Ave., Williamsport, was charged with one count of criminal conspiracy, two counts of possession with intent to deliver and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.
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SHAMOKIN - The youth group of Calvary Bible Fellowship Church, Second and Spruce streets, participated in World Visions 30-hour Famine.
The funds raised through the famine will help fund and care for children around the world, with a position supporting World Vision's efforts to assist families in need in the United States.
The youth group raised more than $3,100 for world unison. As part of the 30-hour famine, one teenager went door-to-door to collect canned goods for the local food pantry Manna For the Many. The group collected a total of 445 canned goods.
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HARRISBURG - Two area students have been named to the fall dean's list at HACC.
They are: Rebecca A. Harris, of Dalmatia, and Nicole R. Runkle, of Shamokin.
The dean's list recognizes full-time students with a grade-point average of 3.25 or higher in college level classes.
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MOUNT CARMEL - Joanna Rompallo, a seventh- grade student at Mount Carmel Area Junior-Senior High school, was selected as the December Elks Junior Teen of the Month.
Her activities include playing saxophone in the symphonic band, marching band, and junior band. She participates in Odyssey of the Mind, Math Counts and Science Olympiad. She was awarded third place in the Patriots Pen essay contest and is on the distinguished honor roll.
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MOUNT CARMEL - Christopher Stellar, a seventh-grade student at Mount Carmel Area Junior-Senior High School, has been chosen as the Elks Junior Teen of the Month for November.
His activities include senior and junior high band, basketball, baseball, karate, junior high musical and jazz band. He studies piano and takes voice lessons.
Stellar is a distinguished honor roll student. He is the recipient of the dedication award for the Kulpmont Cougars baseball team, and was chosen for the Hershey elementary honors band. He has a green belt in Goju Ryu karate.
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Shamokin-Coal Twp.
Sunday - Wii bowling and cards, 2 p.m.
Monday - Morning cards, 8:30 a.m.; pinochle and Pokeno, 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday - Morning cards, 8:30 a.m.; shopping at Boscov's, van leaves at 9 a.m., cost is $7; bridge, 12:15 p.m.
Wednesday - Morning cards, 8:30 a.m.; VNA blood pressure/blood sugar screening, 9 to 10:30 a.m.; pinochle and Pokeno, 12:30 p.m.
Thursday - Morning cards, 8:30 a.m.; bingo, 12:30 p.m.
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n SHAMOKIN - William J. Whispell Sr., 21, of 720 E. Commerce St., Shamokin, pleaded guilty Tuesday to theft by unlawful taking and was ordered by Magisterial District Judge John Gembic III to pay a $100 fine plus costs and placed on supervised probation for six months.
An additional charge of receiving stolen property was withdrawn.
Whispell was charged by Coal Township Patrolman Matthew Hashuga with stealing prescription medication belonging to Gary Dombroski. Police said the theft occurred Aug. 19 at Dombroski's residence, 1115 W. Arch St., Coal Township.
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Noteworthy
GED test offered in April
The General Educational Development (GED) Test, which enables adults to earn a high school diploma, will be given in April at the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU) office near Montandon.
There are three steps in the process to obtain a Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma.
- Anyone interested in taking the GED test must log on to www.GED123.org and register prior to testing.
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BY LARRY DEKLINSKI
ATLAS - The area's best Italian food and drink makers competed last Saturday evening at the Atlas American Legion Post 804's 12th Annual Wine, Pasta and Soupie Contest. Dozens of Legion members and non-members packed the building to watch judges award the best tasting wine, cappicola, pepperoni, salami, laganiga, lemoncello, pasta and soupie and to get a taste of the delectable foods and drinks.
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BY LARRY DEKLINSKI
A larger than usual amount of garbage and tires was collected during a recent cleanup of two area roads.
Mel Kleckner, nine-county coordinator for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's (PennDOT) Adopt-A-Highway program, was surprised by the volume of trash collected along roads in Mount Carmel and Coal townships by inmates from SCI-Coal Township.
Kleckner reported inmates gathered 170 bags of trash and 50 tires on the road from Coal Run and Kulpmont and 43 bags on the highway between the Mount Carmel Area High School Stadium and Kulpmont.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Chris Carney on Friday called out the "hypocrisy" of an ad campaign running in the 10th District funded by a group he says has repeatedly fought on behalf of big tobacco interests.
"This is the very same industry that profits from giving people cancer, yet the group Americans for Prosperity has bought huge amounts of additional ad time to try to scare the public about health insurance reform," he said in a statement from his Washington office.
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