RAUCOUS BEHAVIOR IN PENNSYLVANIA’S SWEARING-IN CEREMONY
Governor Tom Wolf yesterday issued a statement in response to house republicans in Pennsylvania refusing to seat Senator Jim Brewster the 45th Senate District. According to a press release from Governor Wolf, not seating Senator Brewster leaves voters without a voice when they duly elected a winner. During the ceremony at the state Capital in Harrisburg yesterday, Senate Republicans, who hold the majority, refused to let Pa. Sen. Jim Brewster of McKeesport take the oath of office and when Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, stepped in, the Republicans removed him as presiding officer for the day. Democrats said they’re outraged at what they say is a blatent attempt to overrule voters in the 45th District.
COMMISSIONERS MEET AND APPROVE HIRING A DEPUTY CORONER
Approval for the hiring of a new deputy coroner happened yesterday as part of the agenda at the Lycoming County Commissioners meeting. According to the Sun Gazette, County Coroner Charles Kiessling has asked the county for more staff after he has seen an alarming rise in county deaths, mostly due to COVID. Other matters addressed by the commissioners yesterday include, approved COVID-19 grant funding as well as funding for juvenile services, new hires; such as a new court clerk and assistant DA, and discussion about the 52 county employees who have tested positive for COVID, with 19 not able to work. The meeting was unable to be livestreamed yesterday due to technical issues, but the public can go to the county website to hear the audio of the meeting www.lyco.org.
COUNTERFEIT MONEY POSSIBLY CIRCULATING
Check your wallets for counterfeit 20 dollar bills. According to local police in Tioga County, some fake 20s have made their way into circulation. Wellsboro Chief of police Jim Bodine said that the counterfeit revealing pens falsely show the bills are good, but the green ink on the paper is much darker than a normal bill. If you have or receive counterfeit note, contact the police department in the municipality where you got it.
GAME COMMISSION SITE DISABLED NEXT WEEK
If you haven’t gotten your 2020-21 Pennsylvania hunting or furtaker licenses, or need a permit or privilege for a late-season hunting, it’s recommended you do so before the automated licensing system in the state is unavailable next week. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, a temporary shutdown of the PALS System will occur next week as they complete an upgrade to a new licensing program. Hunters will not be able to report harvests online during the time that PALS is unavailable, but can continue to report through the mail. A list of license-issuing agents is available at www.pgc.pa.gov.
TWO LOCAL LAWMAKERS SAY THEY WILL NOT CERTIFY ELECTION RESULTS TODAY
With the certification of the Electoral College votes today in Washington DC, some local lawmakers are in favor of certifying the election and some are not. According to the Sun Gazette, Representative Fred Keller of Kreamer and Representative Glenn Thompson of Howard are among the handful of Republicans who will resist the certification. Senator Pat Toomey of Zionsville said he will vote today to certify the results, however Toomey will leave his Senate seat as of the end of this term. In the commonwealth, President Trump was defeated by Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, by more than 80,000 votes and was awarded the state’s 20 electoral votes.
COVID UPDATE
As of yesterday, Lycoming County has 92 new cases of the Coronavirus reported, Northumberland County has 71 new cases, Union County has 48 new cases, , Snyder County has 27 new cases, Tioga County has 18, Montour County has 12 new cases. Lycoming County reports 71 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, 12 in the ICU, 8 on ventilators. Accoridng othe Pennsylvania Department of Health, there were 8,818 additional positive cases of COVID-19, and 185 new deaths.
NORTHUMBERLAND ROADWORK TODAY
Watch for delays at the intersection of Route 147 and Route 11 in Northumberland today. According to PennDOT, there will be a lane restriction at the underpass of Duke and Water Streets in the borough beginning around 9am until 3pm, weather permitting, There could be significant delays at such a major intersection. Motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible while they perform the inlet repair work.
COVID VACCINATIONS PLANNED TO BE DISTRIBUTED AT BLOOMSBURG FAIRGROUNDS
There are plans in the works for the Columbia County commissioners and EMA officials to use the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds as a site to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine in the same manner that they provided testing. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine requires that a person stays on-site for 15 minutes in case of a reaction, so According to WNEP, the logistics at the fairground might look different than it did when they did tests there. When more info comes from the Department of Health, the public will be notified.
SPORTS
NBA
Nets beat Jazz 130 to 96, Lakers beat the Grizzlies 94 to 92, Nuggets beat the Timberwolves 123 to 116, Spurs beat the Clippers 116 to 113, Bulls beat the Trailblazers 111 to 108
The 76ers play the Wizards in Philly tonight at 7 PM and the Knicks play Jazz at Madison Square Garden with a 7:30pm tip-off
NCAA Football
Alabama’s DeVonta Smith became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy in nearly 30 years yesterday. Other finalists included Smith’s teammate, QB Mac Jones, Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence and Florida QB Kyle Trask. Smith won with 1,856 points and 447 first-place votes. The previous Heisman winner at Smith’s position was Michigan’s Desmond Howard, in 1991.
In the NFL
Wild card weekend this Saturday with the Colts playing the Buffalo Bills, Rams playing the Seahawks and the Buccaneers at Washington. On Sunday, Baltimore plays Tennessee, Chicago goes to New Orleans, and Cleveland is in Pittsburgh with an 815 kick off
