Shoreline fire regulations

Shoreline fire regulations
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Visitors to Shenango Lake should be aware that shoreline fires are prohibited unless in a container elevated off the ground, lake staff said in a press release Tuesday. Violations may result in fines from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Park regulations are posted in all recreation and access areas. Questions can be directed to the Shenango Ranger Station (724) 646-1124.
Bridge to close
HILLSVILLE, Pa. -- Hilltown Bridge on Churchill Road will be closed for repairs Monday through Aug. 15. Work will be done on the trusses and beams, said Bill Saunders, engineer for Frank B. Taylor Engineering. He said the bridge has been closed every year for the past five years for repairs. It is scheduled to be replaced in 2006, Saunders said.
Man dies in fire
WARREN -- Firefighters are trying to determine the cause of a blaze that claimed the life of a city man. The fire erupted around 11:15 p.m. Friday at a home at 370 Washington Street N.E. Jerry Womer, no age available, was found dead on the second floor, firefighters said. No other injuries were reported.
Nuke plants under guard
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The Pennsylvania National Guard and the state police will guard the state's five nuclear power plants around the clock at least through today, Gov. Ed Rendell said Friday.
Rendell said that he knows of "no credible threat" against the power plants but made the move "in an abundance of caution." He and former Gov. Mark S. Schweiker have instituted similar measures on occasion since Sept. 11, 2001, as a bulwark against an attack.
The state's nuclear power plants are Beaver Valley in Shippingport Borough, Beaver County; Susquehanna in Salem Township, Luzerne County; Limerick in Limerick Township, Montgomery County; Peach Bottom in Delta Borough, York County; and Three Mile Island in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County.
Jury award bill stalls
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The state Legislature on Friday declined to advance a measure that would allow limits on the dollar amount juries can award for pain and suffering in medical malpractice claims.
The House voted 107-93 against an attempt to force the chamber's Judiciary Committee to release the resolution on the so-called pain-and-suffering "caps." Hours earlier, the Senate's Judiciary Committee voted 10-4 against moving the resolution to the full Senate floor.
The measure, which would amend the state Constitution, has been advocated by physicians who say that out-of-control jury awards have made Pennsylvania a hostile place to practice. Some lawmakers, however, question claims that doctors are leaving the state.
Proponents, including many Republicans, framed the measure as a way to stabilize the state's rising insurance rates for medical malpractice.
Opponents -- composed largely of victims' advocates, trial lawyers and Democrats -- contend that the measure would unfairly curtail the rights of victims of medical mistakes, and say medical malpractice insurance rates are not rising because of jury awards. Changes in law governing insurance companies and tighter controls on the filing of civil lawsuits, not limits on damages, would better stabilize the rates physicians must pay for insurance, they say.
Third man is arrestedin rape-murder case
OIL CITY, Pa. (AP) -- A third man was arrested Saturday in the kidnapping, rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl who was walking home from a Girl Scout Halloween party more than a decade ago, state police said. Eldred Ted Walker, 45, was arrested Saturday at his Oil City home and charged with homicide and kidnapping in the 1992 abduction and slaying of Shauna Howe, state police said. Charged Friday were James O'Brien, 32, and his brother Timothy O'Brien, 37, both now serving unrelated prison terms.