HR3909, The Targeting Transnational Drug Trafficking Act, is a companion bill to bi-partisan legislation passed by the U.S. Senate in December. Chief sponsors of the Senate version are Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Currently, foreign drug kingpins, particularly those in Colombia and Peru, use Mexican drug trafficking organizations as intermediaries for shipping illegal narcotics into the United States. Prosecutors often have trouble establishing the connection since the drugs go to other countries before entering the United States.

Marino's bill would close this loophole by establishing penalties for drug trafficking activity when a foreign drug dealer has "reasonable cause to believe" that an illegal drug shipment will reach the United States, according to the statement. The bill also ensures that current penalties apply to foreign chemical producers who illegally ship drug-precursor chemicals into the United States knowing that these substances are intended for the production of illegal drugs.

"In my work, I have seen how drug use devastates lives and families. The simple truth is that criminals in Colombia or Peru are going unprosecuted while reaping billions of dollars from drug activity. This common-sense measure helps us to fight back," Marino said.

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security will hold a hearing this week on transnational crime, where the Department of Justice plans to highlight Marino's legislation along with other issues.

Andrew Brown, of 616 E. Cameron St., has been charged by Cpl. Bryan Primerano with unsworn falsification to authorities, false reports, possession of Percocet and false alarms to public safety agencies.

According to a police affidavit, Primerano and Patrolman Jarrod Scandle were dispatched at 2 a.m. Jan. 16 to Brown's residence to investigate a burglary. Police were informed that Brown came home and caught two men wearing orange ski masks rummaging through the house he shares with his parents, Gerald and Brenda Elsasser, and his girlfriend, Amber Slodysko. Police also were told that Brown was slashed with some type of weapon.

Police said they were informed one of the intruders was wearing a New York Giants sweatshirt, while the other male was wearing black sweatpants.

Brown told police he spotted one of the alleged burglars in the living room and attempted to apprehend him by tackling him into a wood and glass display case near the steps leading to a cellar. Brown said while he was trying to subdue the burglar, another intruder came out of the kitchen and attacked him with a weapon, causing lacerations. Brown said the intruders then fled down the cellar steps that lead to a rear door on the south side of the residence. He said the suspects then fled into an alley.

Brown told police the burglars stole 16 Percocet tablets prescribed to Brenda Elsasser.

At 9 a.m. Jan. 16, Cpl. Robert Brown of the Pennsylvania State Police Troop F Forensics Services Unit at Montoursville responded to Shamokin Police Station before joining Primerano and Patrolmen Shane Mowery and Raymond Siko II at 616 E. Cameron St. to investigate the residence for evidence, which included fingerprints.

On Jan. 27, Brown and other family members completed written statements about the alleged robbery.

At 4 p.m. Feb. 1, Brown was summoned to the police station to be interviewed again.

Brown, who initially told police his written statement was accurate, was informed that his fingerprints were found in various areas of the alleged robbery scene.

Brown then agreed to take a polygraph test that was scheduled by Patrolman William Miner for 8 p.m. Feb. 1.

At 5:12 p.m. Feb. 1, Gerald Elsasser, Brenda Elsasser and Brown arrived at the police station, where Brown was once again questioned about the robbery. At that time, Brown admitted that he faked the robbery because he was addicted to pills. He admitted to stealing his mother's Percocet tablets and ingesting them and knocking over household items to make it look like a robbery was committed. He also admitted that he lied on his written statement.

District Attorney Tony Rosini announced that Bryan Wolfe, 40, of Northumberland, made the plea Monday in Northumberland County Court before Judge William H. Wiest. A no contest plea has the same effect as a guilty plea and Wolfe will face the same penalties. He was scheduled for a two-day trial.

Wolfe was arrested in June 2010, as he served as council president, when it was discovered he had received checks from the borough made payable to privately owned websites in excess of $10,000. The payments were made for software allegedly purchased through the websites but could not be found on any borough computer.

The former president also admitted to billing Northumberland Borough as a consultant because he believed he should be paid for his time, even though he had agreed to do the work without pay. Wolfe charged $25 an hour, disguising it as payment for software, and admitted that no one knew he was charging Northumberland the fees. The investigation showed that Wolfe accepted checks written to him for "reimbursement" totaling $8,000.

Wolfe was charged with stealing more than $18,000 from the borough.

His plea required that full restitution be made to Northumberland Borough, which was paid by a third party to the court.

Wolfe is sentenced to serve four to 18 months in prison, which will run concurrently to a sentence he received in Snyder County, for a theft from a former employer of more than $170,000.

Additionally, Wolfe will serve two years of probation. He was sentenced in Snyder County to nine to 23 months in prison followed by five years probation.

The case was prosecuted by Trooper James Nizinski of the Pennsylvania State Police stationed at Milton and First Assistant District Attorney Ann Targonski.

"This case was a difficult and complicated case which involved both Nizinski and Targonski educating themselves about use of the Internet and computers to commit thefts. The defendant used his computer savvy to take advantage of Northumberland Borough for his own financial gain," Rosini said. "I commend both Jim and Ann for their hard work in preparing this matter so that it could be resolved with the borough receiving full restitution for the theft."

Charges of theft by deception, access device fraud and unlawful use of a computer were ruled nolle prossed in the case.

Justin Casto, of Ranshaw, earned a Bachelor of Science in marine science with a concentration in biology.

Raymond Flannery, of Ashland, earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology in clinical counseling.

Lindsey Petrousky, of Ashland, earned a Bachelor of Science in special education with a concentration in mental and physical handicaps.

The incident occurred after normal business hours outside First National Bank at Market and Chestnut streets about 9:07 p.m. when a man flashed a gun at the victim before fleeing the area on foot.

It's unclear what, if anything, the suspect took from the victim because police would provide no further details on the investigation. The victim is believed to be unharmed.

There is a 24-hour walk-up ATM at the location as well as a night deposit box.

Police hung police tape around the perimeter of the bank, inside of which a Chevy Blazer was parked in one of the bank's two drive-through service lanes.

Police were attempting to access security camera footage from the bank and were awaiting the arrival of a K-9 unit.

The suspect was dressed in a gray hooded sweatshirt, light colored jeans and sneakers, according to police.

At least one man fitting the description was detained and quickly released while police officers from Shamokin, Coal and Ralpho townships continued their search for the suspect.

Another person matching the description was spotted near Chestnut and Third streets; however, the suspect remained at large as of 10 p.m.

The offer "promotes the best long-term economic interest of the residents of the (eight) member counties," John D. Moran Jr., president of the Watsontown-based firm, was quoted Tuesday in a company press release.

A $12.5 million offer in December for the short-line railroad operation was rejected by the SEDA-COG board, whose members said it was too low to consider.

Moran's interest was spurred by the Northumberland County commissioners,

who passed a resolution by a 2-1 vote Dec. 13 requesting the state attorney general's opinion on whether the JRA should be dissolved in favor of privatizing the local railroad.

Meanwhile, Northumberland County Commissioner Vinny Clausi said Tuesday the attorney general has responded that it will not be getting involved.

Price going up

SEDA-COG JRA Executive Director Jeff Stover and board Chairman Jerry Walls, as well as Clausi, have previously said the value of the JRA may be upward of $100 million.

Stover said Tuesday the authority had not formally received the new offer, but he would be referring the information to the board at a meeting today. He had no further comment.

Clausi said he couldn't speak for JRA, but noted it was "nice to see the price going up." "It's too low in my opinion," he said.

All eight member counties would have to agree to dissolve the JRA. Representatives of Centre, Lycoming, Montour, Union and Clinton counties have previously said they don't support the Northumberland County resolution.

The county's resolution is in response to accusations that JRA has built itself into a multimillion-dollar agency with high-paid staff and excessive spending while taxpayers see no benefit. Part of the county's argument is that JRA and its exclusive, 10-year contract with North Shore Railroad Co. keeps other rail providers out of the region.

SEDA-COG JRA has been advocating against the county's campaign, saying its information is inaccurate and misleading. Also, it says no one was interested in the local rail operation until it became more profitable.

Moran said the county's concerns bring into question the validity of the contract with North Shore, and cited an investigation by the attorney general into contract "and questionable dealings regarding the selling of tax credits."

"I think that it would be in the best interest of all parties concerned that the operating agreement be terminated and the railroad, in its entirety, be privatized," Moran was quoted in Tuesday's release. "This will allow all parties to put these questions and concerns behind them."

The AG's office confirmed last month it had conducted an investigation of the contract with North Shore last year. In its initial letter requesting information in January 2011, it said the understanding was that the contract "did not result from a competitive bid process as required by... (the) Municipality Authorities Act."

However, in an April 26 letter to JRA, the state said it had decided to "take no action at this time," but that "nothing should be inferred or implied by this decision."

According to state law, a government body or authority must have competitive bids for any expenditure of $10,000 or more. Anything under that amount, the agency must at least obtain quotes. But a competitive bid for professional services, such as engineering or architecture, can be different, JRA officials have argued.

North Shore did sell its federal tax credits for $1.8 million in November 2008, but SEDA-COG JRA pressured the company to reinvest the money into upgrading the lines to meet

"With this offer, I am advocating for privatization because I firmly believe that government - federal, state and local - should have a limited footprint on society as possible," Moran said. "America finds itself at a time where it seems as though the breadth and depth of government has reached into every aspect of our lives. We hear from politicians everyday that they want to reduce the size of government and I am asking the commissioners to do just that so the private sector can do what it does best: create jobs."

Moran is a warehouse and distribution service involved with the Marcellus Shale natural gas industry, has been redeveloping the former Celotex site in Sunbury for off-loading material related to gas drilling.

The company provides more than 2.2 million square feet of storage in Watsontown, Sunbury, White Deer, Williamsport and Lock Haven, and distribution services throughout the country.

Clausi said previously that two other companies have also expressed interest in the rail operation, but there has been no new developments and no other companies have approached the county, he said.

With the recent letter from the attorney general's office saying it won't get involved, Clausi said the next step for the county is to hand the issue over to its solicitor."

"We're going to put a lot of time into the issue, but we need to make sure it's legal to do," he said.

"We certainly got bad news," said Steve Curran, business manager at Shamokin Area School District. "It could have been worse.

"Now we just have to move forward and hope our legislators will take care of us," Curran said of the General Assembly having to pass a final budget by June's end.

Gov. Tom Corbett's newly unveiled budget plan calls for $5.4 billion for instruction and operations costs for public schools, according to the Associated Press, including a 2 percent increase, about $240 million, in the basic education subsidy.

That basic education subsidy has never been higher, state Sen. John Gordner, R-27, said Tuesday.

But that subsidy remains 6.7 percent less than under Corbett's predecessor, Ed Rendell, who had used federal stimulus money that has since disappeared to bolster public education, according to the Scranton Times-Tribune.

"Unfortunately last year was a pretty severe cut, so it's not helpful at all," said Bernie Stellar, administrator-in-charge at Mount Carmel Area.

Stellar, who watched Corbett's budget address Tuesday morning and followed that up by printing out and examining a copy of the proposal, said he had expected the governor to either hold the line on education spending or institute moderate cuts.

Corbett's proposal actually added to Shamokin Area's estimated $4.6 million deficit for 2012-13 since its preliminary budget was passed last month. That spending plan included a modest 2 percent increase in state money - about $230,000 that the school district will now have to account for on its own.

"Our deficit just grew," Curran said. "For now, I'm going to have to revise our numbers to reflect this."

Shamokin Area is not alone in facing a substantial deficit entering next school year. Both Southern Columbia Area and Line Mountain each must account for shortfalls exceeding $1 million.

Mount Carmel Area has not yet adopted its preliminary budget.

Legislators react

Last year's cuts to education spending are often depicted as being done on the state level, Gordner said. However, the state senator said the drop-off was a direct result of Rendell allocating $1 billion in federal stimulus money toward education.

When that revenue stream dried up, the state couldn't fill the gap.

Corbett's proposal, however, exceeds any state money allocated to education under Rendell or any prior governor, Gordner said.

"This year's budget has more state funding for basic education than any previous budget ever had," he said.

State Rep. Kurt Masser, R-107, said the 2 percent increase in the basic education subsidy was a good move, but he had some concerns.

"I want to see what this means for our business managers and our superintendents and how this helps them," Masser said.

Gordner noted that pension costs are rising dramatically, and those costs are split between the state and its 500 public school districts.

Corbett called for $916 million in pension contributions, up 53 percent - a figure Curran dubbed "a lion's share" of the overall projection for state education funding, clouding any perceived increases.

Changes likely

The two biggest month's of Pennsylvania's budget year are March and April, Gordner said, which is when it collects the most revenue. The state is estimated at running $500 million below this year's projections and the governor said it could reach $720 million by year's end.

If that holds true, Gordner said additional funding could be allocated toward expenditures.

The state senator wouldn't say if he'd support Corbett's proposal as is. With any budget, he said, the state House and Senate would look to review and rearrange its contents.

Gordner noted that last year, Corbett proposed eliminating the state's Accountability Block Grant Program but that it was restored by the Legislature at $100 million in the final budget.

Once again, the governor proposed to cut the grant program.

"That's something I think the House and Senate will feel strongly about," he said.

'Sensible'

Overall, Masser described the governor's budget proposal as a "sensible one."

"I'm happy that we're living within our means, and we're not going back to the old ways of tax and spend, or borrow and spend," he said.

He expressed reservation about Corbett's decision to "lump together" a few line items that were separated in prior years, saying he hoped the moves would not harm correctional or agricultural programs.

Masser said he's dedicating himself as well to addressing a lack of salary increase for management level employees in the state prison system.

For his part, Gordner said that unlike the federal government, "we can't run a trillion dollar deficit. We have to have balanced revenue and expenditures."

"It's very clear taxpayers are hurting. They're not looking for government to raise taxes," he said.

Giuseppe Bua, despite being confined to a motorized wheelchair, wanted a job.

Each got what it needed when Bua was hiring as a new assistant in voter registration, which is expecting busy months ahead in this presidential year.

Bua, 22, of Sunbury, has a congenital disease called osteogenesis imperfecta, which causes weak bones susceptible to fractures. Those who are affected are below average height, according to the U.S. Library of Medicine's website.

Despite his condition, Bua wanted a job. Knowing this, his father, Vito Bua, who works at O.I.P. Restaurant in Sunbury,

approached Northumberland County Commissioners Rick Shoch and Vinny Clausi.

"We were having lunch at O.I.P. when Giuseppe's father had a conversation with us. We took it back and discussed it," Shoch, board chairman, said Tuesday during a visit with Bua at the voter registration office in the human services complex. "It fills a great need in this department with the upcoming election."

Bua wasn't just hired on a whim, though. He had to do an interview through human resources and with Chief Clerk Gary Steffan.

"He is very good with computers and good on the phone," Clausi said, noting those are the two key skills needed in the office. He added that he is "so proud to see a gentleman like this ask for a job. We should all smile today," he said about hiring someone with a disability.

Clausi said he wasn't aware of any recently laid off employees who would have been interested in a part-time job that involves just 16 hours a week and pays $10 per hour.

Commissioner Stephen Bridy echoed Clausi's statement in this feel-good hiring.

"We couldn't have found a better candidate," Bridy said.

For his part, Bua is happy to be working.

"It is something different to get out of the house. I tried school and I didn't like it," he said.

Election board director Alisha Herb is also happy to have Bua on board, not only to replace a former part-timer, who was working 20 hours a week and left for a full-time job, according to Clausi, but also because one of her assistants is on maternity leave.

"He is working out," Herb said. "He does everything we do, including putting in voter registrations and transferring voters from county to county."

The appointment of Senior MDJ Richard Cashman to fill Robert Bolton's seat was announced in a press release Tuesday, along with changes in preliminary hearing schedules in order to accommodate the loss of an assistant district attorney (ADA) because of county budget cuts.

Meanwhile, a request has also been approved to have Senior MDJ Michael Mychak, of Mount Carmel, cover Bolton's on-call schedule.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille approved a request from county President Judge Robert Sacavage to allow Cashman to cover the district court cases at District Court 08-3-02, effective March 1.

Bolton announced Jan. 17 he would be retiring at the end of February. Elected to his fourth six-year term in November, he has handled cases in the Milton area since March following the retirement of longtime Magisterial District Judge William Kear in January 2011.

Bolton, who did not give a reason why he was leaving office so soon after his re-election, previously served for many years as one of the magisterial district judges assigned to the Sunbury area.

Cashman is no stranger to the Northumberland County court system; he was assigned to the Sunbury district court office after the unexpected death of 49-year-old Carl Rice in late July. Attorney Benjamin Apfelbaum, Sunbury, was elected Nov. 8 to serve as magisterial district judge in Sunbury and assumed the office in January.

"The court has been very pleased with Senior MDJ Cashman's work and professionalism and is grateful that he has agreed to return to Northumberland County until a decision is made as to a permanent replacement," county court administrator Brandy L. Yasenchak said in the statement.

In addition to Apfelbaum and Bolton, the other two county MDJs are John Gembic III, of Shamokin, and Hugh Jones, of Mount Carmel.

Per state legislation, senior MDJs receive a salary of $522 per day they work.

Schedule changes

The press release also announced a new hearing schedule for the magisterial district judges in light of the Northumberland County Salary Board cutting one ADA position of District Attorney Tony Rosini's staff. ADA John Muncer was laid off, but has filed a grievance through his union.

"I believe it's important to have assistant district attorneys prosecute felony cases," Rosini said on Jan. 31, when Muncer was laid off. "Handling misdemeanors is also important, but given the staff cuts we have had, it is impossible to cover all cases."

In January, Rosini said he hoped various courts would accommodate his staff with scheduling so they can spend a half day at the district court level handling felony cases.

"This is not an ideal situation, but we are working to keep the criminal justice system functioning as smoothly as possible," he said. "Obviously, there will be repercussions from the cut of one of my staff. We will not be able to cover all cases and some cases will be lost as a result. At least we will have the time to handle the serious cases in an appropriate manner."

After discussions between Sacavage, Rosini, court administration and the Northumberland County Criminal Management Team, the president judge announced that all preliminary hearings will be held at the four offices on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, effective March 5.

Under the changes, Apfelbaum's Thursday morning hearings will move to Tuesday afternoons, and Jones's Wednesday hearings will move from morning to afternoon. Cashman's hearings in Milton will not change, staying on Wednesday mornings, as will Gembic's hearings on Tuesday mornings.

"This change will allow the current district attorney's staff to continue to cover preliminary hearings," Yasenchak said.

Deputy court administrator Kevin F. O'Hearn said the court would do its best under the circumstances.

"We are aware that the changes may cause a backlog of cases and other unforeseen issues, but due to the circumstances presented," he wrote, "we are trying to manage the entire court system in the most efficient, economical and practical way."

Northumberland County Corner James Kelley confirmed Tuesday that Tafner died of natural causes.

Tafner lived at the same location as his business, Creations by Carter, along Route 54 in Rush Township between Elysburg and Danville.

Thea Tafner, the former ambulance committee chairwoman for American Hose and Chemical Fire Company, Mount Carmel, was sentenced in May to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution to American Hose.

Carter Tafner told the judge he needed his sister's help getting to the hospital and accomplishing daily activities due to health problems.

ELYSBURG - The Northumberland County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees (PASR) is participating in the statewide PASR's 75th Anniversary Scholarship Program.

The $500 scholarship will be awarded to a resident of Northumberland County who is currently a college junior pursuing a degree in public education at an accredited Pennsylvania college or university. To be considered for this scholarship award, the student must be enrolled in a public education program - elementary or secondary.

Qualified applicants should send a letter of interest requesting PASR's 75th Anniversary Scholarship application to Jeanne Shutt, P.O. Box 334, Elysburg 17824, on or before Feb. 25.

79th 'Prince' banquet set

MOUNT CARMEL - Anthracite Steam Fire Company No. 1 will celebrate the 79th annual Prince's Birthday banquet on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the fire company.

Along with his companion, King, Prince was one of the first two horses owned by the company to pull its 4-ton LaFrance steam fire engine.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event begins at 7.

Guest speaker will be state Rep. Kurt Masser (R-107).

The company will present its George Hancock Memorial Award in honor of long-time treasurer and past Mount Carmel Borough fire chief.

Music will be provided by 2 House Sound. Deadline to order tickets is Sunday.

Geisinger to hold women's heart talk

LEWISBURG - Geisinger's Women's Heart and Vascular specialists will participate in the roundtable discussion "The Heart Truth for Women" at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Public Library for Union County, 255 Reitz Blvd.

The discussion will be led by Dr. Kimberly Skelding, interventional cardiologist at Geisinger Health System and director of Cardiovascular Genomics and Cardiovascular Research at Geisinger's Center for Health Research, and Dale Gustitus, a certified registered nurse practitioner in Geisinger's Women's Heart and Vascular Health program.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. For more information or to register, call 800-275-6401 and ask for CareLink or go to www.geisinger.org/events.

n Daniel J. Joraskie, 28, of Harrisburg, waived to court charges of delivery of Suboxone, possession with intent to deliver Suboxone and criminal conspiracy relating to a Sept. 16 incident in Shamokin.

The charges were filed by Shamokin Cpl. Bryan Primerano.

n Angel L. Donahue, 39, of 180 Laurelwood Drive, Sunbury, pleaded guilty to criminal trespass and was ordered by Gembic to pay a $25 fine plus costs and placed on supervised probation for six months.

Donahue was charged by Trooper David Townsend of state police at Stonington with trespassing at the residence of Ronald Gessner, of 337 Ash Road, Shamokin Township, on Dec. 11.

n Kathy Giedosh, 43, of 702 Bear Valley Ave., Shamokin, pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia and was ordered by Gembic to pay a $300 fine plus costs and placed on supervised probation for six months.

Additional charges of possession of Diazepam and possession of Clonazepam were withdrawn.

Giedosh was charged by Shamokin Patrolman Shane Mowery in connection with a Nov. 1 incident at her residence.

n David D. Schleig, 29, of 821 W. Shamokin St., Trevorton, waived to court two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to drive in a single lane and careless driving relating to a Nov. 12 vehicle stop along Route 225 near Route 890 in Zerbe Township.

The charges were filed by Trooper Thomas Leib of state police at Stonington.

n Brian J. Balchunas, 31, of 511 Spruce St., Kulpmont, waived to court two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to drive in a single lane, a stop sign violation, careless driving and failure to wear a seat belt.

The charges were filed by Trooper Mark Adams of state police at Stonington in connection with Nov. 6 vehicle stop on Route 61 at Ranshaw.

n Angelic Ortiz, 38, of Shamokin, pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia and was ordered by Gembic to pay a $300 fine plus costs and placed on supervised probation for six months.

Additional charges of possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of heroin and criminal conspiracy were withdrawn.

The charges were filed by Shamokin Cpl. Bryan Primerano in connection with a March 25 incident in Shamokin.

The biggest change is that the Pennsylvania Department of Education is allowing schools in the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference to hold their Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams for math and reading one week later due to time missed because of flooding.

Therefore, PSSA testing for reading and math will be held the week of March 19, instead of March 12. An exact schedule will be announced.

The change affects only the reading and math tests. Writing and science will be tested as listed.

The February Act 80 day will be Wednesday, Feb. 29, not Feb. 24. There will be another Act 80 day Wednesday, March 28.

A snow make-up day for students and teachers, will be Friday, March 9, not Friday, March 16, as printed.

The high school musical, "Godspell," will be presented in the high school auditorium Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17, not March 30 and 31.

Tomcavage is a son of Thomas and Debra (Heim) Tomcavage, of 307 Center St., Coal Township. He is a grandson of Albert and Anne Tomcavage, of Catawissa RD, and the late Adrian and Norma Heim, of Coal Township.

He achieved a 3.5 grade-point average, and is majoring in mid-level education with an emphasis in social studies.

While at Cal-U, Miller was a member of the interfraternal council, the student marketing association and ACACIA fraternity.

A son of Richard and Cathy Miller, of Kulpmont, he has accepted a position with America Income Life Insurance Company of Pittsburgh.

Her sister, Kristen Klusman, has earned a grade-point average of 3.6 at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown. She is a freshman majoring in small animal science.