Police: Woman Intended To Sell Drugs In Shamokin, Cheat Buyer

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northumberland County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SHAMOKIN, PA – A Lehigh County woman traveled to Shamokin, authorities say, to deliver drugs – and also to rip off the person to whom she was selling.

But the plot was foiled because the buyer was a confidential police informant.

Jessica Acosta-Ferrin, 28, of 3728 Knight Drive, Macungie, was arraigned Friday evening by on-call Magisterial District Judge Benjamin Apfelbaum, Sunbury, on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility and possession of a controlled substance.

She was placed in Northumberland County Prison on $150,000 bail, according to Shamokin City Police Cpl. Bryan Primerano.

Read more: http://newsitem.com/news/police-woman-intended-to-sell-drugs-in-shamokin-cheat-buyer-1.1583925

Arrest Made In Sherman Hills Shooting

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WILKES-BARRE, PA — Police early this morning made an arrest in the deadly shooting of a woman at Sherman Hills on Monday and are calling the death a homicide.

Police said Shantique Goodson, of 328 Parkview Circle, Sherman Hills, is the woman who suffered multiple gunshot wounds at the apartment complex at about 4:15 p.m. Monday.

Kenneth Malik Evans III, 21, of 19 S. Empire St., Wilkes-Barre, was taken into custody at approximately 1:30 this morning at police headquarters. He was arraigned by District Judge Ronald Swank in Wright Township on an open count of criminal homicide and jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility without bail.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/979548/Arrest-made-in-Sherman-Hills-shooting

Once Nearly Extinct, Streetcar Gets New Life In US

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – When the auto plant here closed, this prosperous Wisconsin port city on Lake Michigan lost more than just its largest employer. Its sense of vitality seemed to drain away, and city leaders set out to find something that would inject life into the brick-storefront downtown while the economy went through a transition.

What they came up with was obsolete: an electric streetcar. Kenosha decided to bring back a relic that once clattered around metropolitan areas in pre-war America but was abandoned on the march to modernity.

More than a decade later, the experiment is now popping up all over. More than 30 cities around the country are planning to build streetcar systems or have done so recently. Dallas, Portland and Seattle all have new streetcar lines. Most projects involve spending millions of dollars to put back something that used to be there – often in the same stretches of pavement.

“It goes along with the revival of inner cities all over America,” said Steve Novick, transportation commissioner in Portland, which has spent more than $250 million to replace the lines the city shut down in 1950. “It’s too bad that they weren’t kept here all along.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/home/20131112_ap_043edaa93bec4e16a0a93d2539d71084.html#R3BS9I7CtAX4jqGH.99

Interim Coatesville Area School District Superintendent Focusing On Communication

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Chester County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

COATESVILLE, PA — It’s been nearly two weeks since the Coatesville Area School District hired interim Superintendent Leonard Fitts to lead the school district during a time of crisis.

Fitts, 73, of Moorestown, N.J., has spent nearly 50 years working in education, serving as superintendent, assistant superintendent and interim superintendent in various school districts in New Jersey.

School board members hoped the hiring of an experienced outsider as the temporary chief would help the district heal from misfortunes surrounding the abrupt departures of two former administrators.

The board, with the help of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, has an ongoing search for a permanent superintendent.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/social-affairs/20131112/interim-coatesville-area-school-district-superintendent-focusing-on-communication

Pottstown Police Hope Digital Mapping Tool Will Solve Crimes

Editor’s note:  Any use of technology can only help police zero in on problem areas and crime trends.  Targeted enforcement can then be used to clean up problem areas or reduce certain types of crime that are above an acceptable level.   Two thumbs up!

POTTSTOWN — A new digital tool is helping police and the community combat the age-old problem of crime.

While mapping the locations of crimes that have occurred in Pottstown is not new, the practice moved in the digital direction after Police Chief Richard Drumheller took over the department in the spring.

Instead of using thumbtacks and a paper map, the Pottstown Police Department is using www.crimemapping.com, to track crime and analyze trends in the borough.

The department pays for the services analysis and data but the interactive website can be viewed for free by the public.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131111/pottstown-police-hope-digital-mapping-tool-will-solve-crimes

Sunshine Act Keeps Doors Open

While Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law gives residents the chance to keep tabs on their government through access to records, a related law lets them see decision-making bodies in action.

The state Sunshine Act requires public boards and councils to discuss business and make decisions in public.

The laws work in conjunction to give people access to their governments. A resident may request a document they know exists because it was approved or discussed at a public meeting.

But there are sometimes disagreements over when one law or the other applies.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=518857

Senior Health Expo Thursday, November 14, 9am-1:30pm, Sunnybrook Ballroom

Over 90 vendors – Free lunch – Free tote bag – Door prizes

Expo Workshop Schedule

Brought to you by TriCounty Community Network

9:00am – 9:30am Emergency Preparedness for Seniors

Presented by Robyn Slater, Chester County Department of Emergency Services

9:30am – 10:00am VA Benefits for Seniors

Presented by Tracy Pennycuick, MontgomeryCountyVA

10:00am – 10:30am It’s Not Your Mother’s Senior Center Anymore

Presented by Bob Hager, PottstownAreaSeniorsCenter & Virginia Cox, Boyertown Area Multi-Service

10:30am – 11:00am The Importance of a Will and Power of Attorney

Presented by John A. Koury, O’Donnell, Weiss & Mattei

11:00am – 11:30am Senior Living Options

Presented by Stacey Petroff, HomeInstead Senior Care

11:30am – 12:00pm Medicare 101

Presented by Monique Scott, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Sunnybrook Ballroom is located at 50 Sunnybrook Road, Pottstown, PA  19464.  Their website is http://thesunnybrookballroom.net/Home_Page.html

FOX29 Investigates Local Property Manager

FOX29 investigative reporter Jeff Cole interviews Katy Jackson, a Pottstown civic activist, while trying to get to the bottom of why Affinity Property Management Company, formerly located on High Street in downtown Pottstown, owes their clients thousands of dollars.  The office closed in May.

To watch this segment, click here: http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/23939642/fox29-investigates-local-property-manager#.UoGxgbf9ra0.facebook