Allentown School District Superintendent Thomas Parker has called himself a country boy from Tillatoba, Mississippi. Now comes word that Parker may be interested in moving closer to his hometown. Today's Morning Call reports Parker has applied for a job leading the schools in Nashville. Parker is one of 19 applicants for the job. It's expected that field will be narrowed to five, who'll be interviewed next month. Parker tells the Morning Call while he's not actively looking to leave Allentown, this particular job is intriguing.
Jurors in Monroe County have returned a guilty verdict against James Bidwell for the 2011 murder of Kristen Wagner. Bidwell strangled Wagner, who was his girlfriend and worked for him at a Stroud Township scrapyard and then hung her to make it look like a suicide. Prosecutors say Bidwell killed her after learning she was a police informant who told authorities Bidwell was selling meth. Michael Mancuso is a Monroe County assistant district attorney and says this was a challenging case to prove. "This was a highly circumstantial evidence case and I think all those pieces had to paint a picture and a picture is what happened," Mancuso says. It took the jury about five hours to come back with the guilty verdict. Bidwell's sentencing is scheduled for May 11th.
A driver involved in a fatal crash in mid-December didn't have a driver's license. Police are charging Wiltro Olmos Jr., of Easton, with several offenses. Police say Olmos ran a red light and was hit by a dump truck at the intersection of Main Street and Van Buren Road in Palmer Township on December 18th. The crash killed Olmos' passenger, 31-year-old Eva Bezares.
A 28-year-old Allentown man is under arrest after a Monday night fight at Lehigh Valley Hospital at 17th and Chew streets in Allentown. Police say Edward Woods got into a scuffle with security guards at the hospital just after 7 o'clock Monday night. One of the guards says Woods punched him in the face. Woods was also screaming and cursing before finally being sedated.
A bill to legalize recreational marijuana is now being considered in the state House of Represenatives. St. Rep. Jake Wheatley from Allegheny County introduced House Bill 2050, which would create a permit structure for dispensaries, growers and processors. The measure also suggests the taxing structure for consumers and business-to-business transactions.
Catholics in the Philadelphia Archdiocese have a new leader. Nelson Perez has been installed as the new Archbishop of Philadelphia and these friends, deacons and priests couldn't be happier. "His pastoral care will make a huge difference in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia," the priest says. Perez replaces Charles Chaput who had reached the mandatory retirement age last September.
Pennsylvania health officials say this year's flu season has led to the death of a child. They say a second grader from Delaware County died from complications from Influenza B over the weekend. The child's death is the only fatal pediatric case so far this flu season.
Penn State is set this week to name a building in Innovation Park for a historic alumnus. The Board of Trustees plans to honor Guy Bluford Jr., best known as the first black astronaut to make it into space. The proposed Guion S. Bluford Building will house the CIMP-3D lab, where metals parts are developed with powder and 3D printing technology for various business uses. Bluford earned a degree in aerospace engineering from the university and went on to log more than 688 hours in space as part of NASA. A formal naming ceremony will be scheduled at a later date.
It's not exactly loaded with luxuries, but an island along the Jersey Shore is being made available for sale. Private Islands Inc., which specializes in selling and renting private islands as its name implies, is running a listing for a 19-acre island off Wildwood. Dubbed "No Mans Island," drone video shows the chunk of land to be a grass-covered, non-developed piece of real estate barely above the water level. However, the island, selling only for a mere $200,000, can be raised with proper permits and is only subject to $360 in taxes a year.