June 19th, 2008
According to federal court documents two Clearfield Borough Police officers have filed a federal lawsuit accusing Clearfield County District Attorney William Shaw Jr. prosecuting them in February on several misdemeanors "in retaliation for their support of his political opponent" in his 2007 re-election campaign. All charges against Borough Sergeant Gregory Neeper and Officer Brian Dixon were dismissed by a district judge at the February preliminary hearing. The suit states that Shaw will not let either officer file criminal charges or testify at any cases prosecuted by the District Attorney office, and seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Senate Republicans yesterday voted to increase local property taxes for homeowners by refusing to enact a significant down payment on a school funding formula that requires the state to pay its fair share of education costs. Senate Republicans cut $118 million out of next year’s basic education subsidy – forcing school boards to either hike local taxes or eliminate academic programs for students. Locally Senator Scarnati voted to cut funding for the Bradford Area School District by as much as $294,000 – which would require an approximately 3 percent increase in local property taxes to make up the lost funding. For details on the Governors school funding plan, visit the Department of Education Web site at www.pde.state.pa.us.
The PA Access to Basic Care plan, which has passed the state House and has been awaiting action by the Senate since March, could help thousands of small businesses afford health insurance for their employees. PA ABC will make affordable basic health insurance available through the private insurance market to eligible small businesses that don’t offer health insurance to their employees. Small business employers would be eligible to join ABC if they have 50 or fewer employees with an average wage of $31,200. Employers will pay approximately $150 per employee per month toward the premium. Small business employees with family incomes up to 200 percent of federal poverty level will pay $0 to $50 per month as their contributions for health coverage. For more information on that proposal, including a 10-year financial analysis, visit www.RXforpa.com.
State troopers from the DuBois barracks are looking into an incident of Criminal Mischief that happened along Interstate 80 in Sandy Township. Reports say unknown individuals were throwing stones from an embankment along the westbound lane of I-80, over the weekend and shattered the windshield of a tractor-trailer traveling on the interstate. The area is adjacent to a Treasure Lake property. Anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in this area is asked to contact DuBois based state police at 371-4652.
State lawmakers are reminding parents of eligible 3- and 4-year-olds that applications for fall enrollments are now being accepted for “Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts” a pre-kindergarten program targeting higher-risk pupils. The pre-kindergarten programs are offered through participating school districts, child-care centers, Head Start providers and licensed nursery schools. Locally, parents can Cen-Clear Child Services in Philipsburg at 342-5678, or the Children's Aid Society in Clearfield at 765-2686 to inquire about opportunities.