Berks County

The total rainfall from the latest storm varied greatly across the region, from about an inch in Atlantic City to more than 4 inches in the Poconos, according to the National Weather Service. Here are the tallies released this morning. They were recorded at 4 a.m., unless indicated. PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia, 1.41 inches Valley Forge, 2.52 Kennett Square, 2.57 Chadds Ford, 3.42 Media, 1.89, 6:43 a.m. Ambler, 1.87, 6:15 a.m. Downingtown, 3.07 Towamencin, Montgomery County, 3.56 (2 a.m.)

Winning pitcher Jess Elper also had two hits and two RBIs yesterday as the Berks County team beat the Olympic Colonial team, 5-4, in the Carpenter Cup softball tournament at FDR Park. The win left Berks County 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament and advanced it to Monday's second-round game against Delaware South, also 3-0. Berks County also defeated the Inter-Ac team and the Suburban One American/Continental team yesterday. Also advancing from yesterday were Olympic Colonial, Suburban One League American/Continental, Delaware North and Mercer County.

HARRISBURG - A sailor from Sinking Spring in Berks County, Pa., was killed in waters off the coast of Bahrain when his inflatable boat struck a moored barge, the Defense Department said. Master-at-Arms Seaman Apprentice Joshua Seitz, 19, died Thursday. Two other sailors riding with Seitz survived and were in stable condition. Lt. Laura Stegherr, a Navy spokeswoman, said yesterday that the three sailors were on a routine patrol when they hit the barge near the Mina Salman pier in Bahrain.

SINKING SPRING, Pa. - An elderly man and his wife have been found dead in a Berks County home where an SUV was left idling in the garage. A relative found the bodies of John and Jane Schlott inside their home around 9:30 a.m. Friday. Police say they appear to have died late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Firefighters found high levels of carbon monoxide inside the home. Investigators say the SUV eventually ran out of gas. Authorities say that the man and the woman were found in separate bedrooms and that they did not know if the vehicle had been left running intentionally.

A man who had been arrested for DUI was found dead hours later after setting his Berks County house on fire and then shooting himself as the flames raged, the Reading Eagle reports. ( http://bit.ly/ttpbfR ) The newspaper says Jeffry Hollowbush, 62, was pronounced dead at the scene from a shotgun wound by Berks County Deputy Coroner Gretchen Weyant. About two or three hours before he set his Pike Township home ablaze, Hollowbush was involved in had crash and was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, State Police told the Eagle.

The waste-disposal plan that Mayor Goode has hailed as a solution to Philadelphia's trash crisis has met its first legal challenge. The lawyer for a group opposing the construction of a trash-to-steam plant in Berks County to burn Philadelphia trash has formally asked Caernarvon Township officials to revoke the building permit issued for the plant, saying its issuance violated at least five sections of the township's zoning law. Norman Klinger,...

Despite a constitutional challenge to a similar program in Berks County, the Chester County Prison Board yesterday decided to start charging inmates for medical care. Among the items to be charged to inmates' personal accounts will be over- the-counter drugs, treatment for self-inflicted injuries, and fake sick calls. If inmates can afford to buy cigarettes, they can afford to pay for contact-lens solution, aspirin, and even special soap, said County Commissioner Karen Martynick, who is a member of the prison board.

The proposed 73-acre expansion of Waste Management Inc.'s Pottstown landfill, rejected by township commissioners in December, has a new opponent: Berks County. Berks County commissioners voted, 2-0, earlier this month to take over an appeal filed against a Department of Environmental Protection permit for the landfill expansion. The appeal was filed in November by private citizen Mark Scott, who has since been elected a county commissioner. Scott excused himself from the voting.

Not many points were given for style in last night's Carpenter Cup baseball championship game at Veterans Stadium. Ocean-Monmouth County won its first title by defeating Berks County, 10-5, in a game that included 13 errors. Both teams were making their first appearance in a final - both joined the tourney field in 1992 - and each appeared to have title-game jitters. "Both teams looked a little tired," said Ocean-Monmouth coach Ernie Leta of Lacey Township. "But our guys deserve a lot of credit.

Berks County manager Jeff Evans said his players weren't intimidated playing defending champion Olympic/Colonial in the first round of the Carpenter Cup - and then his team proved its mettle with a 7-3 victory at Veterans Stadium. "We knew about their reputation, but our kids are loose and came in here confident," said Evans, the head coach of Wilson West Lawn, near Reading. Four Berks pitchers didn't allow a hit through the first six innings as the winners jumped to a 7-0 lead.

A toddler was killed while playing near a piece of farm equipment in Berks County on Sunday, authorities said. About 4 p.m., authorities from the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department were dispatched to investigate the boy's death on a farm along Topton Road in Maxatawny Township. There were no other injuries, police said. Authorities did not release the 11/2-year-old's name or additional details about the incident, which is under investigation. - Darran Simon

A toddler was killed while playing around a piece of farm equipment in Berks County on Sunday, authorities said. Around 4 p.m., authorities from the Berks-Lehigh Regional police department were dispatched to investigate the boy's death on a farm along Topton Road, Maxatawny Township. There were no other injuries, police said. Authorities did not release the 1 1/2-year-old's name or additional details about the incident, which is under investigation. -    Darran Simon

A REGISTERED sex offender, already accused in a federal indictment of exploiting a 1-year-old to produce pornography, has been bound over for trial on charges of raping the child in Montgomery County. Robert Knappenberger, 41, of Boyertown, Berks County, was being held at the Montgomery County prison in lieu of $15,000 bail, police said. He is accused of rape, statutory rape, indecent assault, corruption of a minor and endangering the welfare of a child. The images of the abuse were posted on the Internet, according to the 2011 indictment.

The forecast for a coating to two inches was right on the money. The snowfall that started Wednesday afternoon wasn't a major headache - no area schools are closed today - but drivers, especially north and west of the city, had to be wary of icy spots on back roads this morning, after scraping off their cars. East Nantmeal in north-central Chester County got 2.0 inches, and 1.9 was measured in Trappe, Montgomery County, and Kutztown, Berks County, according to the National Weather Service.

A man who had been arrested for DUI was found dead hours later after setting his Berks County house on fire and then shooting himself as the flames raged, the Reading Eagle reports. ( http://bit.ly/ttpbfR ) The newspaper says Jeffry Hollowbush, 62, was pronounced dead at the scene from a shotgun wound by Berks County Deputy Coroner Gretchen Weyant. About two or three hours before he set his Pike Township home ablaze, Hollowbush was involved in had crash and was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, State Police told the Eagle.

AN EASTERN Pennsylvania man has been ordered to pay nearly $14,000 for yelling racial slurs at his neighbor and threatening to burn her house down. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission said Dino Concordia of Shillington, Berks County, also ridiculed Kelly Walton over her disability and "continually humiliated her" in front of neighbors and friends. Walton, who is black and suffers from neck and spinal injuries, had asked for $8,000 in damages. But the commission said it found Concordia's behavior so "vile," "heinous" and "despicable" that he should pay her $10,000.

READING - Fire rescue crews recovered a Berks County man's body Sunday morning from the Schuylkill about 50 yards from where, witnesses said, he went into the river. Police identified the victim as John Yerger, 38, of Exeter Township, WFMZ-TV reported. He apparently was trying to wade across part of the river when swept away, the station said. The body was recovered after a search of the Schuylkill in Cumru and Exeter Townships in Berks County, close to the Scenic River Bike Trail, officials told WFMZ.

Looking across their Berks County farm an hour outside of Philadelphia, Landon Jefferies and Lindsey Shapiro aren't exactly where they expected to be. Sure, Landon sold blackberries on the side of a Massachusetts road as a child, but, as the 26-year-old political-science grad put it, he was just in it for the cash back then. His girlfriend, Lindsey, 26, a Vassar College sociology grad, thought she'd be working at a "bad-ass nonprofit" by now. So maybe they aren't a natural fit among the tractors and cows.

Pitching is pitching, according to Jeff Singer and Dylan Johannink. Starting or relieving, the job is the same: Throw strikes, change speeds, trust the fielders. Singer and Johannink were starters for their high school teams. They were relievers Tuesday for the Burlington County team in the 26th annual Carpenter Cup Classic. But despite new roles and steady rain, both seniors seized command on the mound and led Burlington County to a 7-4 victory over Suburban One League American/Continental at Richie Ashburn Field in FDR Park.

All-star games often are messy affairs, given the unfamiliarity of the players, frequent substitutions, and casual atmosphere. But the Tri-Cape team was open for business Tuesday morning. Combining solid pitching with timely hitting and strong defense, Tri-Cape rolled to a 6-2 victory over Berks County in the first round of the 26th annual Carpenter Cup baseball tournament at Richie Ashburn Field in FDR Park. "This is a really good group," said Tri-Cape manager Keith Gorman, the coach at Holy Spirit.