Judge drops first-degree murder charge in toddler death

BLOOMSBURG — A man accused of beating a toddler to death in Berwick won’t face a first-degree murder charge that carried the possibility of the death penalty, a judge ruled Tuesday.

The prosecution hadn’t presented enough evidence to show that Michael Crimi, 21, intentionally caused the death of Isabella Brown, 3, in a Freas Avenue apartment in November 2017,  ruled President Judge Thomas A. James Jr. They also hadn’t shown Crimi had a history of abusing the girl.

Fire tears through Fishing Creek Twp. home

FISHING CREEK TWP. — A fast-moving fire destroyed a 169-year-old farmhouse Monday morning, leaving a family of four homeless.

The blaze at 380 Winding Road, Orangeville, was called in by a passerby around 11 a.m. and was fully engulfed when the first firefighters arrived just minutes later.

“It was 99% flames when we got here,” said Orangeville Fire chief Kevin Boyd. “It was really going.”

Rig crashes into Italian eatery near Bloomsburg

SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — A tractor-trailer loaded with cattle crashed into A Taste of Italy restaurant in the Central Plaza along Route 11 here late Friday.   
The rig smashed through the front windows to the inside of the eatery.
There were no apparent injuries.
A man could be seen seated in a township patrol car at the scene.
No further details were available by press time.

A full story and more photos are planned for Sunday's print and online editions.

Man found guilty of rape

DANVILLE — A man was led out of court in handcuffs Wednesday after a Montour County jury convicted him of child rape and five other sex crimes for assaulting a young girl in Anthony Township.

Brent James Kilgus, 36, a commercial truck driver from rural Turbotville, hung his head low as unanimous guilty verdicts were read after more than two hours of deliberations by a jury of five women and seven men.

State officials tour Vo-Tech

SCOTT TWP. — The leaders of Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech took state officials on a tour of the school Tuesday as part of a visit meant to stress the importance of expanding job training for students.

At the school, 32 of the roughly 150 seniors go to work each day, earning roughly $16 to $18 per hour to start, rather than heading to a classroom. By the end of the year, that total should be up to 60 to 70 seniors, said Vo-Tech's Administrative Director David Bacher.

BU student struck in pedestrian accident

BLOOMSBURG — A high school student taking a Bloomsburg University course was leaving campus Friday in her SUV when she struck another BU student crossing Lightstreet Road on foot, police say.

The pedestrian, Bryan J. Raynor, 19, a sophomore accounting student from Gilbertsville, Montgomery County, suffered bruises to his face and hands.

Police say both the driver — a 17-year-old Millville High School student — and Raynor had signals saying they could enter the intersection, and it was raining heavily at the time.

Cops: Man enters stranger’s apartment, then flees out window

BLOOMSBURG — A man entered the West Main Street apartment of a woman he didn’t know early Wednesday morning, saying someone with a knife was chasing him, police say.

The woman locked herself in her bedroom and texted a friend, asking him to call 9-1-1, charges state.

Soon, town police officers were forcing open her apartment door to make sure she was safe. 

The intruder — allegedly Derrick Lee English, 36, of 320 W. Main St. — fled, and police found him hiding underneath a car on a nearby side street, showing signs that he was high on meth, charges state.

Cops: BU student found dead in apartment

BLOOMSBURG — A Bloomsburg University senior from Lititz died at an off-campus student apartment on Monday, police and university officials say.

Sean Lenahan was a mass communications major and active member of the BU campus, serving as president of the BU chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America and working in the Student Recreation Center, a release from BU said on Monday evening. 

Fire burns renovated farmhouse

MADISON TWP. — A recently renovated farmhouse went up in flames Monday morning, and dozens of volunteer firefighters from three counties worked for hours to douse the blaze.

The two-story, four-bedroom house owned by Carl Slater was being rented out to a single tenant, Blaine Brown, who was not home at the time the fire broke out, officials said.

A passing motorist first spotted the flames at 74 Ants Hill Road, west of Jerseytown, about 10:45 a.m.

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