Pennsylvania
Body camera video shows Pennsylvania police officers rescue 2 dogs trapped in frozen pond
Police in Easttown Township, Pennsylvania, are being called heroes after body camera video captured them saving two dogs from an icy pond.
The daring rescue happened Friday around 3 p.m. on Waynesbrooke Road.
In the video, you can hear the sad sound of one of the dogs whimpering as the officers spring into action to rescue the animals from the freezing water.
Officers say when they got to the scene they found two black labs. One of them was not far from the bank, they say, but the other needed to be rescued first after swimming to a much deeper end of the pond.
“If they weren’t able to get themselves out, they may have drowned,” said Charles Burdsall, one of the responding officers.
Burdsall says it was the first call they ever received for a water rescue in Easttown Township. He says their hearts were racing the entire time but they didn’t think twice, knowing every second mattered to save the dogs.
“The only goal at the time was to get the dog out of the pond,” Burdsall said.
Their focus was not only to get the dogs out but to do so without breaking the ice. Luckily, the officers say neighbors were able to give them a ladder and a pole that proved to be exactly what they needed to pull the dogs out.
“[The dog’s] neck was touching the ice. [Burdsall] couldn’t get too close to the dog. We figured the ice was thinner there and we didn’t want him falling in. It was a pretty amped up situation,” Kevin Oreskovich with Easttown Township Police said.
The dogs are doing fine and were reunited with their owner, the officers said.
The officers are now being celebrated as heroes.
“It was rewarding. It felt good,” Oreskovich said.
“Being able to help them when they were in distress,” Burdsall said, “that was big for me.”
Pennsylvania
Could a gas tax holiday be imposed in Pennsylvania as prices at the pump continue to rise?
PENNSYLVANIA (WJAC) — Discussion continues about potentially suspending the Pennsylvania gas tax, one of the highest state gas taxes in the country, as prices at the pump continue to jump.
Lawmakers in both chambers are considering a gas tax holiday that would remove Pennsylvania’s gas tax for a limited period. The Senate proposal would last 60 days, while the House version would run for six months. Supporters say the move would provide needed help for people across the state, while opponents argue it is not sustainable.
The proposals would save drivers about 57 cents per gallon on gasoline and about 75 cents per gallon on diesel from the state gas tax.
Representatives of the Democratic senator Lisa Boscola, who proposed the Senate bill and is from the Lehigh area, said they will continue pushing the measure they believe is needed by families around the state and are optimistic it will pass.
In the House, the effort is mostly being pushed by Republicans, though local Republican Rep. Jim Rigby said he does not support it because it is “not a real solution.”
Democratic Rep. Paul Takac agrees, saying state police and PennDOT road work are funded through the gas tax, and that suspending it would essentially defund both, and they would have to find money to fill those voids. Takac added that he has not heard any serious intention to move the bill forward.
Democratic Rep. Frank Burns said he believes that if the proposal came to a vote, a gas tax holiday would pass with bipartisan support and would provide at least a small break to struggling families.
The debate continues as gas prices continue rising, with another jump in the last week.
Chief economist Gbenga Ajilore of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says prices are unlikely to fall soon.
“It seems like gas prices are going to go up, and even if there’s some sort of resolution in say the next couple weeks, it’s going to be difficult to see prices go down anytime soon,” Ajilore said.
The Senate is back in session on Monday and for the next few days after that, but not again until June. If the gas tax holiday is going to move forward anytime soon, that is when it would likely happen.
In the House, the proposal would need to clear the Democratic-led Transportation Committee before it could go to a vote.
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2% for March, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) announced in its preliminary report Friday.
According to L&I, the rate in Pennsylvania was one-tenth of a percentage point below the country’s unemployment rate, which fell to 4.3% compared to February.
The civilian labor force, consisting of residents working or looking for work, increased by 6,000 to 6,593,000, and employment increased by 9,000 while unemployment decreased by 3,000 from February.
Nonfarm jobs also rose in March, to 6,189,600, while jobs in six industry supersectors increased. Trade, transportation, and utilities were up 5,100 during March.
For more information about L&I, visit its website here.
Pennsylvania
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