Six Montgomery County Townships Ranked As Safest Places In Pennsylvania

Lower Salford Township, Franconia Township, Upper Gwynedd Township and Towamencin Township are among the safest municipalities in Pennsylvania, according to a real estate company that examined recent crime statistics in the state.

The 2015 edition of Movoto Real Estate’s annual “Safest Places in Pennsylvania” list names Lower Salford as the sixth-safest area, with Franconia at #15, Upper Gwynedd at #31, Upper Dublin at #36, Towamencin at #41 and Upper Providence (Montco) at #49.

Those rankings are based on numbers taken from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2013 Uniform Crime Report — the most recent statistics available — indicating the amount of murders, violent crimes and property crimes for places in Pennsylvania with populations over 10,000 that reported data to the FBI that year, according to Movoto.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20150127/six-montgomery-county-townships-ranked-as-safest-places-in-pennsylvania

DA Ferman: Bradley Stone Committed Suicide In Woods Near His Home

The manhunt for Bradley W. Stone, the ex-Marine wanted in the killings of his ex-wife and five of her family members in Montgomery County, ended Tuesday with the discovery of his body in woods near his Pennsburg home, police said.

Stone is believed to have killed himself with a knife found near his body, county District Attorney Risa Ferman said at a 4:30 p.m. press conference.

Earlier, officials evidently were at a loss as to Stone’s whereabouts as District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman announced a multiagency effort involving local, state and federal law enforcement officers to find him.

But a grid search of the area surrounding his home eventually turned up his body in the woods, Ferman said.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20141217_Fugitive_still_on_the_loose.html#52F7S2MKsSCd93IS.99

DA: Ex-Wife, Her Family Members Killed By Military Veteran And Suspect Bradley William Stone In Montco Murder Spree

Authorities are still searching for the gunman who left six people dead in three Montgomery County shootings this morning, but a SWAT team has stormed a Pennsburg home in search of the suspect.

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said police are looking for 35-year-old Bradley William Stone, of Pennsburg, in the killings. Three others were seriously wounded, officials said.

All of the victims have a “familial relationship” to Stone, prosecutors said. They were identified at a 6 p.m. press conference as Stone’s ex-wife, her sister and her sister’s husband, the sister’s teenage daughter, Stone’s former mother-in-law and a grandmother. A teenage son of the ex-wife’s sister was injured in the mayhem that occurred at two separate homes in two towns early this morning.

Montgomery County Court records show Stone had been entangled in divorce proceedings with his wife, Nicole A. Stone, since early 2009. The divorce was finalized in December 2012. Less than two weeks ago, he filed an emergency motion for custody.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Police_SWAT_team_responding_to_Lansdale_shooting.html#4EeDx5kfdmipQzgc.99

Merger? Harleysville And Nationwide

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There is much speculation that Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company is looking to swallow up much smaller Harleysville Insurance (HGIC).  These rumors caused Harleysville‘s stock price to jump 24 percent last week.  Harleysville is based in Lower Salford Township, Montgomery County.  Nationwide is based in Columbus, OH.

Harleysville had a large loss in second quarter this fiscal year.

An interesting side note – the same man who founded Harleysville Insurance Company also founded Harleysville National Bank.  Harleysville National Bank recently merged with Buffalo, NY based First Niagara.  What a sad coincidence it would be if this company succumbed to an out-of-state merger and disappeared as well.