The lucrative salary, pension and other benefits for Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU) director Robert G. Witten is, indeed, enough to raise eyebrows.
As pointed out at a Mount Carmel Area (MCA) School Board meeting on Thursday, Witten makes $284,000 a year. He's also eligible for a state pension that could reach $300,000 a year (the topic of Pennsylvania's outrageous pensions is a story in itself). There's another retirement fund for him with more than $200,000 in it, and his unused sick leave could add up to as much as $100,000.
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- Shamokin Burgess Thomas Landy issued a stern warning to drivers he said were making speedways out of city streets.
- The Jobs for Men Program climbed to within $9,000 of its goal of $300,000.
- The Shamokin American Legion announced that the Legion's national commander, James O'Neal, would visit the borough in April.
- In you lunched at Rea & Derick on this day, for half a buck you could get baked pork chops, beans and potatoes and corn bread and butter. Coffee was a nickle extra.
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In a powerful ruling resulting from former Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick Jr.'s attempt to vastly exceed his legitimate authority, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld vital constitutional principles endorsing free speech and prohibiting government interference in personal matters.
The ruling is an instruction for prosecutors to uphold the law rather than to act when their own moral sensibilities are offended.
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Dear Editor: March is colorectal cancer awareness month, and the Central Susquehanna Colorectal Cancer Task Force wants to remind our community friends about the importance of early detection and prevention.
According to the National Cancer Institute, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women. More than 140,000 individuals are diagnosed each year.
Unfortunately, in Pennsylvania, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Thankfully, incidence and mortality rates have declined over the past decade. However, rates might drop more dramatically if more people received the recommended screening tests.
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Amid unseasonably warm weather that has rapidly melted a deep snow pack, and forecasts for substantial rain, state insurance Commissioner Joel Ario quite rightly reminded Pennsylvanians this week that their homeowners' insurance doesn't cover flood damage. He recommended that they look into buying flood coverage under the federal flood insurance program (www.floodsmart.gov).
The average damage claim for a flood-damaged home in 2009 was more than $33,000, according to the flood insurance program. Twenty-five percent of the damaged properties were in areas that were rated as being low to moderate risks.
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