Early morning fire rips through Berwick home

BERWICK — Fire heavily damaged a two-story family home here for a second time in one year as its owners were remodeling from extensive damages caused in the previous blaze, neighbors and fire officials said.

Steve Brown and his wife, Lori, had been staying with in-laws and were not home when the fire broke out at 317 E. Second St. about 5 a.m. Friday.

Berwick police arrived to find the back of the house engulfed in flames. All Berwick fire companies and fire police responded within minutes, Fire Chief Gene Boone said.

Father: Fire kills four in Shickshinny

SHICKSHINNY — Four people died in a fire Wednesday morning here.

Michael Shoemaker Sr. said his wife, Georgette; mother-in-law, Jean Jones; son Michael Shoemaker Jr., 15; and nephew Harley Jones, 18, didn't escape the blaze at 50 Furnace St..

Four other family members jumped out windows to safety, Shoemaker said.

That included himself; his brother-in-law Clifford Jones; his stepson Gavin Kondercheck, 12; and his son, Riley Shoemaker, 13.

After the fire, Michael Shoemaker Sr. stood vigil outside the house.

Burglary at Good Samaritan mission gets cash, clothes, more

Danville Police are asking for help identifying suspects after a burglary at the Samaritan mission between 1  and 5 a.m. today.

Carin Wharton, the organization’s executive director, said someone broke the window of the door in the mission's “hygiene area” to gain access to the building.

Cash, clothes and personal hygiene products were taken.

Wharton said it seemed that whoever broke in had a vehicle to transport the items from the building.

Truck carrying monkeys crashes: some simians flee

A truck pulling a trailer filled with crates of live monkeys crashed at State Route 54 and Interstate 80 on Friday afternoon, letting loose several of the simians, officials and witnesses said.

Officials continued to search for the monkeys Friday night.

Crates full of other monkeys plunged onto the roadway after the front of a trailer in which they were traveling was hit by a dump truck and torn from its bearings.

Fire guts Berwick home

BLOOMSBURG — A Berwick man lost his house, his elderly dog and most of his 14 cats when a fire tore through his two-story home Tuesday morning.

Frank Fulkersin, 65, spotted flames coming from a light fixture on his enclosed back porch at 321 E. Tenth St., just before 6 a.m. A passerby who also spotted the smoke and flames stopped to call 9-1-1 as Fulkersin escaped out the front door.

Two of his cats ran out, he said, but he fears many of the other were trapped inside. 

“I’m crossing my fingers the others got out, but I don’t know,” he said.

Woman who cares for strays has 80 cats removed from home

Evy Lysk said she has always tried her best to care for homeless or unwanted cats dropped off or abandoned at her rural Benton home over the years.

“I always try to do the right thing. And I get called every name in the book,” said Lysk, 69, a retired nurse’s aide better known to Press Enterprise readers as a frequent letter writer and highly opinionated caller to “30 Seconds.”

Mother arrested in infant's death

BERWICK — Police have arrested the mother who said her infant died while left alone in an apartment with a 2-year-old last summer.

Angelica Nicole Rivera was taken into custody just hours ago, after police received the pathology report, said Detectives Reagan Rafferty and Greg Martin.

District Judge Richard Knecht arraigned her on charges of homicide, endangering children and tampering with evidence, then sent her to Columbia County Prison. Defendants accused of homicide are not able to post bail.

Children illegally taken by mother safely returned

BERWICK — A mother with a history of substance abuse and mental health issues absconded with her two small children, but turned them over to a relative amid a multi-state search for them, police say.

Police were worried about the safety of the 4-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy, who were taken by Olivia Marion Wilkerson, 33, Tuesday night, said Police Chief Kenneth Strish. Wilkerson does not have custody of the children, he added.

Officers were told the youngsters were missing Wednesday morning, he said.

Unconscious woman pulled from smokey trailer

Firefighters pulled an unconscious woman and four kittens from a trailer early Monday after using a watering can to douse a fire on the front porch of a Briar Creek Manor home.

Reliance firefighters Dan Crispell and Steve Hampton found the resident, Sheri Bingaman, unconscious in the trailer at 4:30 a.m. and pulled her out, Berwick Assistant Fire Chief Dave Deitrich said.

She was identified by neighbor Raymond Grosz.

Bingaman suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to an area hospital, Deitrich said.

Fire guts historic building in Greenwood

GREENWOOD TWP. — A predawn fire gutted a historic general store in the Greenwood Valley, chasing several adults and three children who now live there out into the cold.

Owner Bob Billhime, 50, credited his family’s pet pitbull terrier with waking him and others up at 5 a.m. as smoke began filling the large two-story wood building located at 241 Old Greenwood Road, northeast of Greenwood Friends School.

“Luna woke me up and I thought to myself it’s still dark outside. Why are you getting me up so early?” Billhime said.

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