SHOTS FIRED LEADS TO FIREARMS CHARGE
As they were arriving at the scene of reported shots fired, Officers of the Tiadaghton Valley Regional Police Department watched a person crawl out of a window and run. Richard Lewis Shaffer, 37, of Linden, who was not legally allowed to possess a firearm due to a previous firearms charge, was charged with first-degree misdemeanor person not to possess or use a firearm and is being held at the Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $15,000 monetary bail as he awaits a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 19.
SUNBURY RIVER FESTIVAL
The Sunbury River Festival is set to return in August and is held along the River Front wall ending with a fireworks show. According to SRI office administrator Amanda Furlong, the festival will begin on Aug. 13 at 4 p.m. and run until 9 p.m. and on Aug. 14 from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.The event includes, food vendors, arts and crafts, live entertainment, a live reptile show presented by Clyde Peeling, and a beer tent both nights. For more information on River Festival and a complete lineup of events, visit Sunbury River Festival on Facebook.
PRELIMINARY HEARING ON HOMICIDE CHARGES
A Mount Carmel Township woman is awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges she stabbed her husband to death during an altercation on July 4. Lisa Karlaza, 53, of Back Street in Mount Carmel, appeared before Milton District Judge Mike Diehl on July 5 and was denied bail. She will now appear before Mount Carmel District Judge William Cole for a preliminary hearing. A hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. on July 14. This marks the 13th homicide case in Northumberland County that is currently being handled by the district attorney’s office.
CONTEMPT ALLEGATIONS IN FEDERAL COURT
An advocacy group for the disabled community seeking access to City Hall filed a contempt allegation in federal court this week, claiming the city has failed to retain an accessibility consultant, and to establish a work plan. The city failures inspired a request to U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann to appoint the executive director of CIL to select an accessibility consultant. This was described in the lawsuit filed by the Center for Independent Living, and others.
LOT CONSOLIDATION AND LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
City Council, in their scheduled meeting, will be reviewing the seven-field baseball and softball complex application under consideration for its lot consolidation and land development plan tonight. Williamsport Ballpark Inc, is submitting a lot consolidation and land development request for 2 Rose St, according to SUN Gazette. With the expected approval, this property will become a modern sports complex enabling softball and baseball play with tournaments thereby supplying a regional draw.
SIX-YEAR CAPITAL PROJECTS BUDGET
The six-year capital projects budget is up for a final reading. This budget, also known as a council wish list or a planning tool, will prioritize and organize projects in order to determine funding sources. The $79.5 million capital projects budget can be used toward many priorities including; the continuing flood levee recertification, City Hall renovations and accessibility upgrades, and public safety improvements such as vehicles and body cameras for police, and fire engines and apparatus for the Bureau of Fire. According to a media outlet, the next in-person meeting is at 7 p.m. at Trade and Transit Centre II. The meeting also is broadcast on YouTube using Zoom technology.
FELONY CHILD ENDANGERMENT CHARGES
Christopher Catherman, 30, and Tonya Kistler, 35, both of Mifflinburg face felony child endangerment when a 2-month-old infant ended up at the hospital for head injuries. At Geisinger Medical Center, it was determined the infant suffered a hemorrhage in the brain. According to a Mifflinburg Police Department affidavit, Catherman claimed the infant had “face butted” him, but also mentioned Kistler had dropped her phone on the infant striking him in the head. Both were arraigned at District Judge Jeffrey C. Mensch’s office with bail set at $50,000. Catherman’s preliminary hearing at Mensch’s office is set for Aug. 24. Kistler’s preliminary hearing was continued to Sept. 28.
PLEA AGREEMENT IN SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE
One of five men has been accused of assaulting a 19-year-old woman in Jersey Shore entered a plea agreement Wednesday afternoon at the Lycoming County Courthouse. Jordan Michael Hockenberry, Milton, was accused of non-consensual sexual intercourse with a female near the 1000 block of Northway Rd., Linden, on April 16, 2019. pled guilty to second-degree misdemeanor assault and third-degree invasion of privacy for his role in the assault. Judge Marc Lovecchio sentenced him to six months at the Lycoming County Prison with one year of probation to run concurrently.
HUGE DONATION TO THE PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
George “Herman” Logue Jr. and George Logue III donated an entire brewing system and accessories to the brewing and fermentation science program at Pennsylvania College of Technology. The equipment will be used by the college for instructional purposes. This state-of-art, small-volume brewing equipment will allow our students to explore essential principles of brewing science with the same sophisticated operational design and process control technologies found in just about every large, modern commercial brewing facility. President David Jane Gilmour commented, “This equipment will be a boon to students who are exploring careers in the nearly $30 billion craft beer industry.”
