Pennsylvania Turnpike Considers Plans To Replace Allegheny Tunnels In Somerset County

The Pennsylvania Turnpike has revived plans to replace the Allegheny Tunnels in Somerset County, a project that has been talked about for nearly two decades.

The turnpike commission is considering six options for abandoning the 6,070-foot-long tunnels, longest on the turnpike mainline. Three would involve building new tunnels and three would carve an open highway through the mountain either to the north or south of the existing tunnels.

Preliminary cost estimates for the “cut” options range from $242 million to $345 million, while estimates for the tunnel options range from $537 million to $694 million, according to turnpike consultant L.R. Kimball. Annual maintenance costs for a tunnel would exceed $3 million, several times what an open highway segment would cost.

Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said the cost differential was just one of several factors the commission will consider in choosing a preferred option, possibly in the spring.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2014/12/24/Pennsylvania-Turnpike-considers-plans-to-replace-tunnels-in-Somerset-County/stories/201412230034

Death Of Wife Of Cooper CEO Ruled A Homicide

Map of New Jersey highlighting Somerset County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The death of the wife of Cooper Health System CEO John P. Sheridan Jr. has been ruled a homicide, while investigators have not determined how her husband died, records show.

A copy of the death certificate for Joyce Sheridan, obtained by The Inquirer on Tuesday, lists the manner of death as “homicide.” Her husband’s death certificate says “pending investigation.”

The Sheridans both had multiple stab wounds when their bodies were pulled from a Sept. 28 fire in their home in the Skillman section of Montgomery Township , sources said last week.

Joyce Sheridan, 69, a retired teacher, was repeatedly stabbed in the upper body and chest, according to one of the sources, who like all the others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20141126_Death_of_wife_of_Cooper_CEO_ruled_a_homicide.html#PMue5UBhJADgpoQU.99

Details Sparse In Deaths Of Cooper CEO And Wife

Map of New Jersey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nearly two weeks after Cooper University Health System chief executive John P. Sheridan Jr. and his wife, Joyce, were found in their home, authorities have released few details about their deaths.

Several days after the fire in the couple’s Central New Jersey home, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said it was deliberately set.

Sheridan, 72, and his wife, 69, were found unresponsive in the second-floor master bedroom of their Montgomery Township home early Sept. 28. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and she was pronounced dead a short time later at a nearby hospital.

Authorities have not disclosed who they believe set the fire or why, or what led to the deaths of the prominent couple.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20141011_Details_sparse_in_deaths_of_Cooper_CEO_and_wife.html#T4mghCdK2u7eFVxk.99

Cooper Health Executive John Sheridan, Wife Found Dead After Fire In Home

Map of the 21 counties of the State of New Jersey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Arson and major crimes detectives were investigating a fire at the home of John P. Sheridan Jr., president and CEO of the Cooper University Health System, and his wife – whose bodies were found in their bedroom Sunday morning, authorities said.

Firefighters found Sheridan, 72, and his wife, Joyce, 69, when they were called to the couple’s home in Skillman, Somerset County, in central New Jersey. Neighbors saw smoke coming from the house but no flames.

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said detectives from its arson task force and the major crimes unit assigned to the case had been joined by the crime scene investigation and forensic units.

The New Jersey regional medical examiner was scheduled to perform autopsies. No preliminary information had been released on the suspected cause of death.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20140929_Cooper_Health_executive_John_Sheridan__wife_Joyce__die_unexpectedly_in_N_J_.html#LGgTer5CrSypoGZv.99

 

Trooper Moochers: Big Towns That Rely On State Police Still Get Off Easy

Don’t shed any tears for the sizable towns in Pennsylvania that are going to lose the revenue from traffic tickets written on their roads by state police. They still get to keep a more lucrative freebie, the use of state troopers instead of locally funded officers to handle all their law enforcement.

It’s nothing short of cop welfare — a local expense covered by state taxpayers for towns that, relatively speaking, aren’t even needy.

The loss of the ticket money is due to the enactment of Senate Bill 237, which will take effect Sept. 3 in municipalities with 3,000 or more people that have no local police force. Among the towns that will be affected are Hempfield (population 42,000), Unity (24,000), Derry Township (15,000) and Mt. Pleasant (11,000) in Westmoreland County; White (16,000) in Indiana County; North Union (12,700) in Fayette County and Somerset Township (12,000) in Somerset County.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/trooper-moochers-big-towns-that-rely-on-state-police-still-get-off-easy-645772/#ixzz21Sgah8jz