REGIONAL NEWS

Motorcyclist killed

PORT ALLEGANY -- A Clearfield County man died in a motorcycle crash early Saturday morning on Rt. 155, five miles south of Port Allegany.

State police say 34-year-old Jerry Williamson of Morrisdale was traveling at a high rate of speed on his Honda, not wearing a helmet, when he failed to negotiate a curve in the road and hit a guardrail shortly after 2 am.

Officials said the road surface was wet at the time of the crash.

Williamson, who had been working in Port Allegany and temporarily residing in Cameron County, was pronounced dead at the scene by McKean County Coroner Mike Cahill. The investigation is continuing.

Train derailment

CORYVILLE -- An engine and four tanker cars slid off the rails Friday night near the crossing on Rt. 1022 in Keating Township, McKean County.

The locomotive, owned by the Livonia Avon and Lakeville Railroad, was pulling the tankers to the International Waxes plant in Farmers Valley. All four cars and the engine remained upright and there was no leakage. Railroad officials used a crane and other equipment to return the train to the tracks on Saturday afternoon.

Fireworks Thursday

ST. MARYS - An Independence Day holiday celebration in St. Marys on Thursday will be highlighted by a fireworks display shortly after dusk.

St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the observance, which starts at 5 pm at the St. Marys Country Club with a classic car "cruisein," followed by a concert by One Last Breath from 6:30- 8:30. A poolside karaoke party will be held after the fireworks show.

Job cuts at Zippo

BRADFORD - Marketplace changes have resulted in the elimination of 35 jobs at Zippo Manufacturing Co. in Bradford.

CEO Greg Booth cited a falloff in lighter sales, particularly in the U. S., due in part to inflation in gas and food prices and restrictions on smoking in several states.

Job cuts, which may be only temporary, will leave the Bradford plant with a workforce of about 690.

Booth said Zippo continues to pursue a long-range plan to have half of its product be unrelated to cigarette smoking by the end of 2010. Multi-purpose lighters have been popular in the marketplace, he added.

County may cut back

SMETHPORT - McKean County offices, including the courthouse, would be closed on Fridays under one cost-savings measure under consideration by the Board of Commissioners as financial pressures mount.

Commissioners Joe DeMott, Al Pingie and Judy Church said they are aware of the ripple effect the action would have on the public, including lawyers and clients involved with the legal system, and must also obtain labor union consent before any plan can move forward.

If the offices closed on Friday, employees would have a four-day work week and the operating hours would expand on Mondays through Thursdays. Pingie said the county may test the plan for a threemonth period starting in July and decide how to proceed at the end of September.

He added that the county would save money with lower utility bills and commuting employees would also see a cost savings with one less trip to work each week.

Sentenced to prison

WELLSBORO - A woman has been sentenced to a prison term for her role in a traffic crash that killed a 12-year-old girl.

Nicole L. Oakley, 22, of Big Run, pleaded guilty in Tioga County Court to a felony count of motor vehicle homicide and a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment. Charges stemmed from a crash on Dec. 1, 2006, that killed Ciara Hart of Wellsboro.

Oakley allowed a 15-yearold Wellsboro girl to drive her car. Traveling on a slippery Cherry Flats Road, the car struck a tree, injuring all five occupants. Hart suffered a head injury and died the next day at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.

Judge Robert E. Dalton Jr. sentenced Oakley, who had no prior criminal record, to three years of intermediate punishment and two years of probation, along with a $500 fine and $4,000 in restitution to the Hart family. Dalton could have opted for a sentence as long as seven years.

Members of the victims' family expressed their disappointment with the sentence.

Cleland chosen

SMETHPORT - Long-time McKean County Judge John Cleland has been nominated by Governor Ed Rendell to fill a vacant position on Pa. Superior Court. Cleland is one of two judges picked by the governor to fill the vacancies created by the election of Justices Seamus McCaffery and Debra Todd to the Pa. Supreme Court.

Cleland, a Republican nominated by a Democratic governor, stands a good chance of confirmation by the State Senate.

He has served as President Judge of McKean County Common Pleas Court since 1984 and has been active in statewide judicial education and rules reviews.