Black Forest Broadcasting

 

Emporium man jailed for selling drugs…Theft investigated in Cameron County….Emporium woman arrested for driving under influence of alcohol and drugs…NY state driver and passenger escaped injury in accident caused by slippery Elk County roads…

An Emporium resident was arrested by state police March 13 for possession with intent to deliver drugs. Dennis Cressley, 63 was taken into custody after a warrant was issued for his home during a theft investigation. Police claim numerous amounts of drugs , drug paraphernalia and cash were in plain view when they served the warrant. Cressley was unable to post $100,000 monetary bail and was remanded to the McKean County Jail.

 A theft occurring over the past couple of months in Cameron County is being investigated by state police a Emporium. Earlier this month, a Shippen Township man told police someone cashed one of his checks for $1400 in January and that a checkbook in his name is missing from his home.

State police at Emporium arrested 21 year old Miranda O’Connor of Emporium last Thursday morning  for DUI. Troopers allege O’Connor was pulled over on Route 120 in  Shippen Township after she was observed committing multiple traffic violations. O’Connor reportedly admitted to consuming alcohol and drugs prior to driving her 2008 Susulight SU. A consent search of the car yielded drugs and paraphernalia. She was taken to Penn Highlands Elk for chemical testing and was committed on a 302 petition.

Troopers at Emporium charged  a 38 year old Brodheadsville PA man for DUI after stopping his 2018 VW Jetta on E. Allegany Avenue early Sunday morning. Authorities claim he was driving under the influence of alcohol.

McKean County

An elderly Kane woman was slightly injured in a one-vehicle accident Sunday afternoon in Wetmore Township. According to state police 75 year old Beverly Brechtel was going south on Highland Road when her Ford Escape veered off the road and struck a tree. Brechtel refused medical attention at the scene.

State police at Lewis Run arrested a 57 year old Bradford woman DUI. Police did not release the suspect’s name but claim she was driving her 2011 Honda Civic under the influence of drugs and alcohol when she was stopped on Campus Drive in Bradford last Thursday evening.

Elk County

A Dunkirk, NY driver and her passenger escaped injury late Saturday night in in an accident in Jones Township. Troopers report Tiara Sanabria’s Mercedes-Benz slid across the snow and ice covered Montmorenci Road and hit a utility pole. The driver and her passenger, Shamon Stewart also of Dunirk were using seatbelts at the time.

Statewide

The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday began the first of three weeks of public hearings on the proposed 2023-24 state budget.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s $45.8 billion plan seeks to boost state spending by more than $1.3 billion above the current year’s budget, including hundreds of millions of dollars that backfill federal funding that was cut by the Biden administration at the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Revenue estimates and the health of the Rainy Day Fund were the focus of questions for Independent Fiscal Office Director Matthew Knittel, who said uncertainty at the national level has made it more difficult to make economic forecasts. Uncertainties include instability in the banking sector, debt ceiling debates in Washington and the pending legal challenge to student loan forgiveness.

Committee chair Sen. Scott Martin (R-13) and other members voiced concern over the IFO’s projection of annual structural deficits of more than $2 billion a year for the next five years if the governor’s budget is adopted. The state’s Rainy Day Fund, which was built up to $5 billion thanks to Senate Republican spending restraints, should be even larger, according to experts. Committee members noted it would be almost completely depleted by 2027-28 under the governor’s spending plan.

Also discussed were the impact of a new Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative tax on already rising energy prices and the ongoing demographic challenges Pennsylvania faces with its aging population and work force.