The death of a Neshaminy High School junior who was struck by a SEPTA Regional Rail train in Langhorne on New Year’s Day was ruled an accident Wednesday.
Trevor Newman, 16, of the 1600 block of Fairview Avenue, Langhorne, tried to jump out of the way of a Trenton-bound train about 2:20 p.m., but was hit and suffered multiple injuries, authorities said.
Newman was pronounced dead at the scene, south of the Langhorne train station. The incident was an accident, Bucks County Coroner Dr. Joseph Campbell said, pending a toxicology report that could take four to six weeks.
Scott Forster has responded to emergencies across Pennsylvania, ranging from hurricanes and floods to trapped miners and stranded motorists.
He has served as an officer for a volunteer fire company and head of a rescue squad, and he has trained emergency managers and first responders in communities around the Philadelphia area and the state.
Starting this week, Forster, 38, is Bucks County’s top official for emergency services, charged with overseeing the safety and welfare of 627,000 residents. He replaces John Dougherty, 66, of Bristol Borough, who retired last week after 20 years as coordinator of the county’s Emergency Management Agency.
For the past 21 years, Doylestown-area residents have been supplying Native Americans in the southwestern United States with blankets, clothing, school supplies, veterinary services and scholarships. For the past three years, volunteers with the group, Americans for Native Americans (ANA), have traveled to the Southwest to pitch in and bring supplies.
Last year ANA supported 11 schools in the Food for Kids Backpack program ($38,000), classroom curriculum and school supplies ($4,866), clothing and shoes ($6,772), eyeglasses ($4,335), nursing scholarships at the University of New Mexico-Gallup ($15,800) and veterinarian visits twice a year ($9,500).
This year, 20 volunteers worked about 440 hours in Gallup, New Mexico, from Oct. 20 through Oct. 27. They delivered $200 in school supplies to the Mariano Lake School and $300 in children’s underwear to Standing Rock School. Group members bought 32 pairs of children’s shoes and layette sets for two mothers.
For 20 years, John Dougherty has been ready around the clock to handle every kind of emergency that threatened Bucks County residents, from terrorist attacks and floods to fires and hazardous chemical spills.
“It’s a 24-hour-a-day job,” says Dougherty, coordinator of the county’s Emergency Management Agency. “I’m responsible for the safety and welfare of 620,000 people, which includes my family.”
Now, he’s ready to retire on Friday, to spend time with his wife and their children and grandchildren.
The bad news for Warrington Township is that it needs to refund more than $1 million collected for a business tax that was ruled illegal this week.
The good news is that the township never spent the money and is prepared to refund up to $13,000, plus interest, to each of 150 businesses, officials said Thursday.
“We’re ready to send the checks as soon as possible,” lawyer William Casey said. “We’ll be glad to get rid of that escrow account — it was a pain.”
Police are searching for a 73-year-old Bensalem Township woman who was last seen Wednesday at a home in the 900 block of Haunter Lane.
Jean Carson, who was reported to be in good health and does not suffer from mental issues, was last seen leaving the back of the house, which backs up to the Neshaminy Creek, at 10 that night, Bensalem police said Thursday. She is 5-foot-3, 120 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a blue-and-white shirt, dark pants and high heels.
About 65 police officers and other emergency workers from Bensalem and Croydon, and a Philadelphia Police helicopter searched the area Thursday night, and the search resumed Thursday morning, police said.
The Bucks County commissioners unanimously adopted next year’s $390.7-million budget without raising taxes Wednesday, and hired an Emergency Services director.
To balance the budget, the county will continue the hiring freeze that started a year ago, and the workforce of 2,399 will need to be reduced by 50 employees by June 30, Finance Director Dave Boscola said.
The county started the year with 2,504 workers, and laid off 24 employees to reach its goal of 2,400. The balance of staff cutbacks was through attrition.
Bensalem Township police are asking for help in finding a disabled woman who lives on Clinton Avenue.
Kathleen Michaud, 53, was last seen in the 1000 block of Clinton Avenue about 3:30 p.m. Monday, police said Tuesday. Michaud is legally disabled, with several physical and mental ailments. Police were told that she has not taken her medication for more than a week.
Michaud is 5-foot-10, 250 pounds, with shoulder-length, brownish-red hair, police said. She was last seen on foot, wearing a dark green jacket, dark pants, and white sneakers.
Kathleen Michaud, 53, was last seen in the 1000 block of Clinton Avenue about 3:30 p.m. Monday, police said Tuesday. Michaud is legally disabled, with several physical and mental ailments. Police were told that she has not taken her medication for more than a week.
Michaud is 5-foot-10, 250 pounds, with shoulder-length, brownish-red hair, police said. She was last seen on foot, wearing a dark green jacket, dark pants, and white sneakers.
Police ask anyone with information about Michaud to call the department at 215-633-3719. Tips can be called into 215-633-3660 or e-mailed to tips@bensalem-township.org.
This just in from the operators of the County Theater in Doylestown Borough. Note that it is a private event not open to the public.
Jack Reacher, starring Tom Cruise, will premiere in Doylestown. The County Theater is thrilled to host one of the U.S. premiere screenings and to hold a Q & A with the director, Christopher McQuarrie, on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Jack Reacher will hit U.S. theaters on Dec. 21.
McQuarrie is the son of Doylestown residents Kathleen and Allen McQuarrie. He is well known for his work on major films such as The Usual Suspects (1995) and Valkyrie (2008). Jack Reacher will be McQuarrie’s second collaboration with Cruise, and word is out that the two will team up again in Mission: Impossible 5.
