Fire crews battle “worst fire in downtown Lebanon since 1990”

LEBANON, Pa. -- A fire in downtown Lebanon is being called the worst there in nearly 30 years. Those flames broke out early Friday morning causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.

One woman is now without a home, and a dentist isn't sure when she'll be able to take patients again.

The fire commissioner says it started in a vacant building, a property being renovated, adding that building wasn't up to code so the flames spread quickly.

"There was fire coming out of everything, everywhere," described the Lebanon City Fire Commissioner, Duane Trautman. "The places were left, voids were open, and the fire was given a better chance to run and do what it wants to do."

Heavy flames pouring out of 3 buildings - that's what firefighters battled on the 400 block of Cumberland Street in downtown Lebanon. Three buildings, 422, 424, and 428, filled with flames because of renovations in two vacant properties, 422 and 424.

Although those two properties are unoccupied, a woman living in 428 is without a home, and a dentist who operates on the lower floor there doesn't know when she'll be able to take patients again.

"What am I going to do? What's going to happen? They said everything's destroyed," said Kathleen Kopecky-Groh, a dentist at Kopecky-Groh Family Dentistry.

It's not the first time crews were called to these buildings on Cumberland Street. The Lebanon City Fire Commissioner says there was a fire at those properties about a year ago.

"A cigarette, the first time, without a doubt. This time, what could it be, you know?" said Trautman.

One man claims he's the previous property owner. He said he witnessed the cigarette fire in 2016 and is shocked to see the aftermath of the latest inferno.

"It's a lot worse this time, though, I can tell you that. How can that happen twice within about a year and a half. The same building, the same two buildings twice. You just don't believe it's going to happen," said Jack Derfler of Lebanon County.

Trautman says that fire caused about $500,000 in property damage and again fire crews in Lebanon say it's the worst they've seen since 1990. They're not sure what caused the fire and don't believe it's suspicious at this point.

Pistol-packin' soccer mom shot dead in Lebanon

Meleanie Hain sports a holstered Glock at her daughter's soccer practice in September 2008. (Lebanon Daily News File Photo)A Lebanon woman who gained national notoriety last year as a champion of Second Amendment rights after she brought her loaded handgun to her 5-year-old daughter's soccer game was shot and killed Wednesday night in an apparent murder-suicide.
Meleanie Hain, 31, and her husband, Scott Hain, 33, were pronounced dead by Lebanon County coroner Dr. Jeffrey Yocum shortly after 8:30 p.m. after a two-hour standoff with police outside their home at Second Avenue and East Grant Street. The episode ended quietly when police entered the house after trying to make contact with anyone inside.

No cause of death was announced, and autopsies were scheduled for today, said Yocum.

Lebanon police Chief Daniel Wright was guarded with information as detectives began the preliminary stages of the investigation late Wednesday night. He acknowledged that the Hains were both found dead and had suffered gunshot wounds inside their 1 ½-story brick home in a quiet neighborhood in Lebanon's southside. He would not provide any additional details, other than to say that police do not feel any other people were involved.

District Attorney David Arnold, who was at the scene, refused to comment.

Several neighbors said they heard or saw the couple's children run from the house screaming, "Daddy shot Mommy!" shortly before the 911 Center was called at 6:20 p.m.

The children, 2- and 6-year-old girls and a 10-year-old boy, were in the care of a neighbor and were unhurt, said Wright.


Lebanon County Emergency Services Unit was quickly called to the scene and the neighborhood cordoned off.
The front door of the house was open, and light could be seen inside the living room. But all inside and around the house was quiet as members of the Lebanon police and tactical team, armed with rifles, took up positions.

Petra Bossler, who lives next to the Hain home on Grant Street, said she did not hear any commotion or gunfire from the Hain home. She learned something had happened only when police came to her door and asked to come inside so they could peer from her windows at the Hain house, which is just several feet away.

Debbie Mise, who lives on East Grant Street, three doors away from the Hains, said she heard a strange sound followed by the screams of the children, which she mistook for playing.

"I heard something heavy drop or fall, and then right away I heard the kids screaming, but I thought they were playing," she said. "It was loud. But it didn't sound like a pop."

Brian Witmer, who lives between Mise and Bossler said he saw Scott Hain mowing the lawn about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"He was mowing his lawn, and the dog was outside. There was nothing out of the ordinary. He didn't seem strange at all," he said.

Mise said she had a feeling something bad would eventually happen at the Hain home.

"She just wasn't right," Mise said of Meleanie Hain. "You don't bring a gun to a kids' soccer game, and you don't wear a gun when you go shopping at Kohl's."

Meleanie Hain was dubbed the pistol-packin' soccer mom by the media in September 2008 after it was first reported in the Lebanon Daily News that she wore her holstered 9mm Glock pistol to her daughter's soccer match. She became a spokeswoman of sorts for open-carry advocates - who support the right to carry a gun in the open - after complaints caused county Sheriff Mike DeLeo to confiscate her concealed-weapon permit.

Hain appealed the action, and after a hearing DeLeo was ordered to return the permit.

Hain did not let the matter end there. She filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against DeLeo. That trial was awaiting scheduling in U.S. Middle District Court.

Meleanie Hain at last report operated a day-care center in her home.

Her husband was a parole officer in Berks County and a former prison guard at the State Correctional Institute in Camp Hill. He also had worked part-time for Lebanon County Central Booking.

Hearing on Lebanon mayor election postponed

By LES STEWART
Updated: 08/21/2009 09:56:03 AM EDT


Lebanon city voters will have to wait a little longer to learn whether Libertarian mayoral candidate Jason Deitz's name will be on the Nov. 3 ballot.
At Deitz's request, Judge Samuel A. Kline Friday morning postponed making a decision until Sept. 4. Deitz asked for the postponement so he could have an attorney represent him.

The Friday hearing was scheduled to hear Republican mayoral candidate Sherry Capello's challenge of Deitz's nominating papers.

In court papers filed Aug. 10, Capello contended Deitz did not obtain 100 valid signatures as required by election law.

Third-party candidates may gather signatures from voters of any party, as long as the signers are registered voters and live in the municipality the elected office represents.

Deitz gathered 110 signatures, but Capello is calling into question 37 of them.

At Friday's hearing, Deitz said he has been trying for past week and a half to contact his attorney, Andrew Ostroski.

Mayoral candidate's eligibility questioned

bY JOHN LATIMER
Staff Writer
Updated: 08/18/2009 09:29:06 PM EDT


There may not be a race for mayor of Lebanon after all.
Republican Sherry Capello has filed a challenge to the nominating papers of Libertarian candidate Jason Deitz, claiming he did not obtain 100 valid signatures as required by election law.

Third-party candidates can gather signatures from voters of any party as long as they are registered voters and live in the municipality the elected office represents.

Deitz gathered 110 signatures, but Capello is calling into question 37 of them.

Lebanon County Judge Samuel Kline will hear the challenge on Friday morning.

Should Capello be successful, she will be assured the mayoral seat because she won the Republican and Democratic nominations, the latter by write-in votes, over incumbent Trish Ward. No Democratic candidate ran in the primary.

Deitz, who works full-time for E&E Beverage in Lebanon and part-time for Wal-Mart in North Londonderry Township, is the only third-party candidate to file nominating papers by the Aug. 3 deadline. He said he tried to verify that all the signatures he collected were valid, and he claims Capello is trying to deprive voters of a choice in the election.

"When I announced I was running, she said she welcomed the challenge, but now she is trying to get me off the ballot," he said. "I understand the importance of having the proper number of signatures, but she wouldn't have done this if she really wanted a challenge."

The signatures she's challenging had major flaws, not
minor errors, Capello said.
"He has people who signed who are not registered to vote and not city residents," she said. "They should not have a right to nominate a city candidate."

Capello said Deitz had every opportunity to get on the ballot by following proper procedures, but he failed.

"There are rules and procedure in every step of the election process, ... and the rules can't be ignored if the election is going to be fair," she said. "I do want voters to have a choice, but everyone should adhere to the proper procedures."



johnlatimer@ldnews.com; 272-5611, ext. 149

Peggy Reber

Reber grand jury comes up empty
By LES STEWART
Lebanon Daily News


Insufficient evidence exists to indict anyone for the 1968 murder of 14-year-old Peggy Reber, a Lebanon County grand jury investigating her homicide concluded in a report made public yesterday.
“We conclude that no probable cause exists for us to recommend any person, to include Richard Boyer, be indicted for the 1968 murder of Margaret “Peggy” Reber,” the grand jury wrote.

Over a period of eight months, the 23-member grand jury met 11 times and heard testimony from 33 witnesses and reviewed 463 pages of exhibits.

“There is no forensic evidence linking any known individual to the murder,” the report states.

Reber was strangled and brutally mutilated during the Memorial Day weekend of

Lebanon city police officers study the blood-stained floor of Peggy Reber s bedroom for evidence in this photo from May 1968. (Lebanon Daily News File Photo)1968. She died while she was alone in the apartment she shared with her mother.
“We found no competent or credible evidence linking Richard Boyer or any other known person to the murder of Margaret “Peggy” Reber,” the panel wrote. “In reaching this conclusion, we do not intend to exonerate Richard Boyer or any other person. However, we are deeply troubled by the concerted efforts undertaken to implicate Richard Boyer in a 40-year-old homicide absent the existence of reliable evidence against him. We conclude that Michelle Gooden, with the assistance of others, was largely responsible for this effort. Gooden went so far as to influence witnesses and the stories that they told,” the report said.

District Attorney David Arnold discounted a suggestion that much of the grand jury report centered on criticizing Michelle Gooden, a former Lebanon resident who is working on a book about the Reber murder. Gooden has been a vocal critic of the latest investigation into the murder.

Gooden’s name was not mentioned in the grand jury’s findings, Arnold said. However, her name is mentioned repeatedly in the body of the grand-jury report.

Read the Reber report here 40-year-old murder case, anywhere in this country, is nearly impossible,” Arnold said yesterday afternoon after the report was released. “Anybody who cannot accept that as a fact isn’t realistic.”
He said the investigation of the case was made more difficult by a handful of people in the community who circulated rumors about the case.

“That made it more difficult,” Arnold said.

He said his office spoke to experts across the country to seek assistance in their investigation.

The district attorney also said Richard Boyer appeared before the grand jury to testify, without an attorney.

Judge Bradford H. Charles, who was the supervising judge of the grand jury, signed an order yesterday

Read the Gooden report here. releasing the grand-jury report to the public.
The grand jury stated its job of investigating a 40-year-old murder was complicated by the controversy and conspiracy theories.

“We found it very difficult to distinguish true facts from those generated from rumor and theory, or those which were simply fabricated and utilized as ‘a means to an end,’” the report said.

The grand jury wrote that there was no evidence of a cover-up or a conspiracy on the part of any investigator or prosecutor involved in the case.

“Not one witness provided us with factual support for any such theory. In fact, objectively verifiable evidence tends to disprove such theories. In spite of this, conspiracy theories persist as some admittedly have a keen interest in generating controversy for economic and political reasons, “ the grand jury report stated.

Richard Boyer testified before the grand jury and denied any involvement in Reber’s murder.

“As to Richard Boyer’s alleged involvement in Reber’s murder, we heard absolutely no competent, credible, or reliable evidence from which to conclude that Richard Boyer was involved in Reber’s murder,” the grand jury wrote. “In fact, evidence obtained in 1968 led investigators to conclude that Boyer was not involved in the murder.”

Although Richard Boyer was the first person on a list of 84 possible suspects prepared by investigators in 1968, evidence showed he was at work at Reading Alloy in Robesonia the night of the murder and went home at 11:05 p.m. right after work on the night of the murder, the report states. Investigators obtained his time card, and his co-workers and supervisor corroborated his alibi, the report adds.

Richard Boyer learned of Reber’s murder the next morning, the report states.

The report also states that Richard Boyer provided DNA samples for potential comparison, but a forensic scientist with a private forensic lab in Willow Grove was unable to isolate DNA material from existing evidence, such as the belt used to strangle Reber.

“The murder of Peggy Reber was a horrific crime,” the grand jury stated in its conclusion. “The investigation of the crime was complicated by the unfortunate and dysfunctional environment in which Peggy was raised. We are disappointed to conclude that some who were the most vocal advocates of “Justice for Peggy” were motivated by interests wholly unrelated to legitimate interests of justice.”

In 1970, a Lebanon County jury acquitted Arthur M. Root Jr. of murdering Reber. Root, who had had an affair with Reber’s mother, was the only man ever charged with the crime.

Interest in the murder was renewed in 2006 when the Lebanon Daily News reported that Lebanon police officer Kevin Snavely had reopened the cold case.

A year later, the Daily News ran an article quoting Gooden’s startling claim that the killer was alive and living in Lebanon.

Gooden’s accusation generated a public outcry for Arnold to convene a grand jury. In January 2008, more than 2,000 people, including Reber’s twin sister, Kathy Meador, signed a petition calling for a grand jury.

The grand jury report states Meador gave statements to police in 1968 that were corroborated by other witnesses, but in recent years “has given inconsistent statements concerning her recollection of events.”

“In identifying Boyer as a suspect in Reber’s murder, Kevin Snavely testified that he relied primarily on statements made by Kathryn Meador,” the grand jury report states. “Snavely reported that Kathryn told him that she was ‘coached’ by Richard Boyer and his mother as to what to tell investigators in 1968.”

But during her grand jury testimony, she denied that she was coached in 1968 as to what to say to investigators. However, she acknowledged, she relied on input from others because of her age and the shock of her sister’s murder.

Richard Boyer was first publicly implicated as a suspect in Reber’s murder in a lawsuit Snavely filed against city officials and others after he was fired in 2008 from his job as a city-police detective.

The grand jury report also notes that only a small amount of evidence from the original investigation remains. Much of it was damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Agnes in June 1972 when it was in the care of the Lebanon Police Department.

In April last year, Reber’s body was exhumed, but the advanced stage of decomposition of her remains made forensic testing impossible, the report states.

LesStewart@LDNews.com

Pennsylvania Wall of Fallen Heroes

A mobile memorial that pays tribute to Pennsylvanians killed in Afghanistan and Iraq will be displayed in Lebanon later this month.
The Pennsylvania Wall of Fallen Heroes, which lists the names of 228 Pennsylvanians killed since 2001, will be on display from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Fisher Veterans Park.

The memorial that will be on display is a portable version of the actual Wall of Fallen Heroes, which was initially constructed in 2003 and is located in Millersburg, Dauphin County.

Any donations collected during the wall’s visit to Lebanon will benefit the maintenance and upkeep of the permanent and moving versions of the Wall of Fallen Heroes.

Chris Keiser, chairman of Project Welcome Home, said he developed the idea to bring the wall to Lebanon after going to see it in March in Manheim.

“It’s nothing like the Vietnam moving wall, but it’s touching,” he said. “They did a good job on it.”

In addition to bringing the Wall of Fallen Heroes to Lebanon, Project Welcome Home is planning other events for 2009. Among them is a “Buy-a-Brick” campaign to raise funds for improvements to the Lebanon County Veterans Memorial, also at Fisher Veterans Park.

The bricks, selling for $50 each, comprise the walkway leading to the memorial and the deck that surrounds the memorial. Some are already engraved.

“The bricks that are already there are from when it was originally built, and we’re going to have one of our tombstone engravers come in from Gingrich Memorials and engrave them on-site,” Keiser said.
Project Welcome Home will also assist the 328th Brigade Support Battalion’s family-readiness group in planning and preparing welcome-home events and ceremonies for soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard now deployed in Iraq who are scheduled to return in September.

“One of the things we had thought of is to give them an escort,” Keiser said. “We’re assuming they would come off the turnpike and into Lebanon, ... so one of the things we thought about doing is having a police escort and something that resembles a parade.”

A member organization of the Lebanon Veterans Advisory Council, Project Welcome Home is a veterans-support group dedicated to the promotion of and participation in veterans-oriented events.

“We try to get the civilian population involved in helping out and just generally just promote patriotism and make sure everybody stays behind our armed forces,” said Keiser, whose son, Chris, is serving in Iraq with the 56th Stryker Brigade’s 328th Base Support Battalion.

For more information and photos of the wall, visit the Web site at http://www.myspace.com/walloffallenheroes

Quick Facts

Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Border detail of Lebanon and surrounding municipalities
Coordinates: 40°20′30″N 76°25′15″W / 40.34167°N 76.42083°W / 40.34167; -76.42083
State Pennsylvania
County Lebanon
Laid out 1756
Incorporated 1821
Charter 1885

Area
- Total 4.2 sq mi (10.9 km2)
Population (2000)
- Total 24,461
- Density 5,812.3/sq mi (2,244.13/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Lebanon, formerly known as Steitztown[1], is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States.[2] The population was 24,461 at the 2000 census. Lebanon is located in the central part of the Lebanon Valley, 26 miles (42 km) east of Harrisburg and 29 miles (47 km) west of Reading in Pennsylvania.


Lebanon was first settled in 1720 by early settlers, many with the family names of "Steitz" and "Light", along a creek that was then named "Steitz Creek". The Light patriarchs built an Indian Fort and named it "Light's Fort" during this time. The town was laid out in 1753. The town was incorporated as a borough on February 20, 1821 and became a city on November 25, 1885. It adopted the commission form of government, consisting of four councilmen and a mayor.

In 1900, 17,628 people lived in Lebanon; in 1910, 19,240 people lived there; in 1920, 24,643 people lived there; and in 1940, 27,206 people lived in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Lebanon bologna was first made here. Lebanon was formerly home to a major steel mill operated by Bethlehem Steel.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (10.9 km²), all of it land.

Lebanon is bordered to the north and east by North Lebanon Township (4.5 mi), to the south and east by South Lebanon Township (3.22 mi), to the west by West Lebanon Township (1.07 mi), and to the south and west by North Cornwall Township (4.38 mi). The Quittapahilla Creek drains the city westward into the Susquehanna River via the Swatara Creek.


Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 24,461 people, 10,266 households, and 6,056 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,844.8 people per square mile (2,254.0/km²). There were 11,220 housing units at an average density of 2,681.0/sq mi (1,033.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.50% White, 3.23% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 8.11% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.43% of the population.

There were 10,266 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,259, and the median income for a family was $34,045. Males had a median income of $26,957 versus $20,162 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,584. About 12.8% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.


Education
Public education is provided by the Lebanon School District and the Cornwall-Lebanon School District. Private institutions include Lebanon Catholic High School, New Covenant Christian School and Lebanon Christian Academy. All three private institutions have a varsity sports department and an elementary, junior high, and senior high. Students in the Cornwall-Lebanon and Lebanon School Districts also may attend the Lebanon County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC). The city is home to Harrisburg Area Community College's Lebanon Campus.


Culture
Lebanon is one of the many Pennsylvania towns to drop or raise a unique item at midnight on New Year's Eve. A local manufacturer donates a Lebanon Bologna for the annual festivity. It is encased in a metal frame and suspended from a fire department ladder truck. After the celebration it is donated to the local rescue mission.[5]

An infamous 19th century murder in Fort Indiantown Gap resulted in a trial of six defendants who all had blue eyes. They became known as the Blue Eyed Six, given the moniker by a newspaper reporter who was attending the trial. Their murder trial, held in the county courthouse in Lebanon, received worldwide publicity and inspired Arthur Conan Doyle while he was writing "The Red-Headed League". Five of the six defendants were hanged at the county jail.[6]

Wertz Candy Shop was featured in Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe.[7]


Notable people from Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Thomas Albert, composer
Sam Bowie, NBA center
Ann Coleman, landscaper
Kerry Collins, NFL quarterback
Bobby Gerhart, NASCAR/ARCA driver
Joe Frazier, of The Chad Mitchell Trio
Frank Reich, former NFL quarterback
George S. Rentz, World War II Navy Cross recipient and United States Navy Chaplain