BARN FIRE IN NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY

Firefighters from Three counties were called out early yesterday morning to extinguish a fire in a barn in Northumberland County. When they arrived at the barn along Elysburg Road in Rush Township they found flames burning up some farm equipment and climbing up one wall of the barn.  They were able to bring it under control. No one was hurt, a damage estimate not released and the cause under investigation.  It’s believed the fire rekindled from one on Friday which the owners of the barn thought they had put completely out.

SINKHOLE OPENS UP

Campbell Street between West Third and West Fourth Streets in the city of Williamsport is expected to be closed again as crews work to fix a broke sewer pipe which caused a sinkhole there late last week. It’s believed the 42 inch pipe broke, causing a 15 foot hole in the pavement,, exposing underground utilities.  Officials have been closing the road during daylight hours and putting a large grate over the sinkhole at night time allowing for traffic to use it. No word on when everything will be fixed and when the hole will be filled in.

RESURFACING PROJECT TO BEGIN

A multi-year resurfacing of East Third Street in Loyalsock Township gets underway this week.  Base repairs and Joint repairs will beign tomorrow and single lane conditions controlled by flaggers will take place overnight from 9pm to 6am from Sunday night through Friday morning during the project.  Work will take place from the bridge spanning Loyalsock Creek to Country Club Drive this year, and next year from Country Club Drive to River Avenue.  All the work is expected to be completed mid-summer of 2020.

MEETING FOR SULLIVAN COUNTY DISTRICT PARENTS

A meeting will be held in Mildred tonight for parents in the Sullivan County School District who found their kids home on summer vacation more than a full week early.  A fire at the high school last Wednesday caused major smoke damage throughout the structure causing school officials to shut down school for the rest of the year.  The meeting tonight will update parents on how the school year will be wrapped up.  Graduation is still on Friday and will be held now at the Sullivan County Fairgrounds.

ALMOST 300 POUNDS OF POT FOUND IN SPEEDING TRUCK

State police in Milton pulled over a pick up truck for speeding on Interstate 80 in Union County on Thursday finding almost 300lbs of marijuana.  The driver, Wei Shoquan from Canada told police he was being paid $3,000 to drive the marijuana from New York to Michigan.  The pot was found zipped up in seven hockey bags stuffed in the truck. Shoquan was charged with possession with intent to deliver as well as several other counts and was jailed in Union County Prison  in lieu of $200,000 dollars bail.

POSITIONS OPEN IN CITY OF WILLIAMSPORT

The city of Williamsport is looking for a Director of Human Resources as well as a recreation director.  It was announced over the weekend, that Human Resources director Meghan Dayhoff and Recreation Director Jesse Novinger have submitted their resignations effective in Mid-June to take positions outside of city government.  Dayhoff will still make personnel decisions until a replacement is found.  The city is taking applications for the two jobs.

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE POSSIBLE

It’s down to the nitty gritty for Pennsylvania Lawmakers as they move towards passing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.  Part of the legislation this year could be the increase in the state’s minimum wage.  Governor Wolf has been advocating for it since 2015.  The state’s republican controlled legislature could pass the increase, but the question is how much and what Republicans would want in return for their approval.

JOHNSON OPENS COURTS

Kids in the city of Williamsport now have three brand new NBA style basketball courts to play on thanks to a local player now playing in the pros.  Alize Johnson, who was drafted last year by the Indiana Pacers realized a dream on Saturday with the opening of the three courts at Firetree Place in the city funded by his foundation.  Other area HS and former HS players were among the hundreds of people who joined Johnson for the opening with games being played on the courts which have NBA style hoops and a scoreboard.

LYCOMING CREEK ROAD RESURFACING PROJECT

A large resurfacing project gets underway this week on Lycoming Creek Road in Old Lycoming, Loyalsock, Lycoming and Hepburn Townships.  The work will stretch from Mill Lane to Route 973 North and the contractor today will begin concrete repairs followed by base and joint repairs in preparation for resurfacing. There will be single lane conditions under flagging in the work area.  Work is expected to be completed by early November.  Motorists are reminded to drive with caution in the work zone.