Editor's note: This is the second in a series of four stories focusing on some of the top local stories of 2008. Today, we look at April, May and June.
In April, state police apprehended Chester Cyphers, 52, of Washingtonville, in the act of setting a fire along a rural road in Montour County.
Cyphers subsequently was charged with setting several fires in Montour County, including one in November 2007 in which Wayne Hawley, a Turbotville firefighter, was seriously injured.
Cyphers later pleaded guilty to all charges and is awaiting sentencing. Hawley, who remains paralyzed from the waist down, returned home in May from rehabilitation in Philadelphia to a tumultuous welcome from firefighters in northern Northumberland County. Many people from the Watosntown and Turbotville area attended a variety of fundraisers for Hawley and his family, while others modified his home, widening doorways and buildings ramps to help him get around in his wheelchair.
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Throughout the spring, the price of gasoline kept climbing, reaching a peak of nearly $4 a gallon in this region as the price of oil skyrocketed to $147 a barrel. People began carpooling and combining trips in an effort to save money, and by the end of the year, the price had dropped back to less than its early 2008 level.
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A longtime political activist in the region, Eleanor Kuhns, of Coal Township, died at the end of April. She was active in Democratic politics on the Northumberland County and state levels and had served a term as a county commissioner.
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Jack Harclerode, a retired Bucknell University biology professor, was charged with possession of child pornography and later found guilty by a Union County judge. He is awaiting sentencing in Columbia County in the indecent sexual assault of a boy, 10, and faces other molestation charges in Union County.
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Over the Memorial Day weekend, a number of all-terrain vehicle accidents in the Trevorton area resulted in one death and numerous injuries.
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The state Department of Transportation announced in May that the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway project was being placed in "hibernation" until money to complete the project could be found, disappointing officials and drivers throughout the region. A few weeks later, federal officials made a presentation before the Appalachian Regional Commission in an attempt to persuade the commission to include the project in its scope.
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Following a four-day trial, Richard C. Curran, 34, formerly of Mount Carmel, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Tina. Curran shot her seven times on an outdoor loading dock at Shamokin Area Community Hospital, where she worked. Curran, former police chief of Bernville, Berks County, fled after the slaying and was arrested as he tried to cross the border into Canada. He was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
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Pfc. James Yohn, 25, of Coal Township, was killed in Iraq on June 24 by an improvised explosive device.
He was the eighth soldier from the Valley to die in the Middle East.
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Discussion
Man arrested in arsons; injured fireman comes home
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Masked robber hits McClure bank
McCLURE — Police said a man with a handgun entered the MCS bank at 1 E. Specht St. just after 9 a.m., Tuesday and demanded money from a teller before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
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Union County deputy excels at academy
LEWISBURG — Feel safer, Union County: A deputy sheriff received the Michael VanKuren Memorial Award for Defensive Tactics during his recent graduation from the Pennsylvania Deputy Sheriff’s Academy.
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Shoch too good to lose, Point supervisors say
NORTHUMBERLAND — Point Township Supervisors Randy Yoxheimer and Montie Peters credit attorney Rick Shoch with helping them weather difficult years as they fended off a slew of lawsuits from developers, disgruntled former employees and residents.
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Two firemen face trial in arsons
DANVILLE — A firefighter said “it kind of hit me hard” after two fellow firemen were charged with setting fires in Montour and Northumberland counties and calling in false alarms in Union County.
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Lewisburg high school back on drawing board
LEWISBURG — The Lewisburg Area School District is moving forward with a flexible version of its master facilities plan with the possibility that construction, including a new Lewisburg Area High School, could begin as soon as 2015 or as late as 2018.
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Storms knock out power to more than 700 this afternoon
SUNBURY - More than 700 homes and businesses lost electrical service this afternoon when a line of heavy thunderstorms rolled through the region.
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Masked gunman robs McClure bank
McCLURE - Police said a man displaying a handgun entered the MCS bank in Mcclure Borough just after 9 a.m., Tuesday and demanded money from a teller before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
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'To Do': Carnival
MILTON -The Lions Carnival held from 6 to 9 p.m. May 30 at Brown Avenue Park.
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Electronic fingerprinting soon needed to provide long-term elder care
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Aging will soon begin using an electronic fingerprinting process to screen people applying to work in a long-term care facility or home health care agency.
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Buggy driver falls asleep in Lancaster County; collides with bus
NEW PROVIDENCE — Pennsylvania State Police say the 15-year-old driver of a horse and buggy fell asleep at the reins and collided with a school bus.
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17-year-old New Columbia boy in critical condition after Sunday crash
WATSONTOWN -- State police said a 17-year-old New Columbia boy is in the hospital in critical condition after the car he was driving crossed the center line on Route 405 and slammed into an oncoming car.
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60 and Counting
The singer John Prine wrote these lines in a song titled ‘The Late John Garfield Blues: “An old man sleeps with his conscience at night. Young kids sleep with their dreams.”
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