JUST BECAUSE THE SNOW IS ALMOST OVER DOESN'T MEAN PROBLEMS ON THE ROADS WILL BE. "THE SNOW ITSELF TAPERS OFF THIS MORNING BUT THERE'S STILL GOING TO BE BLOWING AND DRIFTING," SAYS ACCU-WEATHER METEOROLOGIST DEAN DEVORE. WIND GUSTS UP TO 35 MILES PER HOUR AREN'T OUT OF THE QUESTION AND THAT'S MORE THAN ENOUGH TO BLOW SNOW BACK ONTO ROADS THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN CLEARED OFF.
PENNDOT'S RON YOUNG SAYS DRIVERS NEED TO BE AWARE OF ROADS BEING DRIFTED SHUT BY BLOWING SNOW TODAY. "PEOPLE JUST NEED TO TAKE IT EASY. GO SLOW AND BE EXTRA CAUTIOUS TODY WHEN THEY'RE OUT THERE TRAVELING," YOUNG SAYS. HE SAYS I-78 IN BERKS COUNTY AND A NUMBER OF AREAS IN MONROE AND CARBON COUNTIES ARE ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE TO DRIFTING SNOW.
THE LEHIGH VALLEY HERITAGE MUSEUM IN ALLENTOWN DEBUTS ITS NEW EXHIBIT THIS AFTERNOON. "ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S JOURNEY TO GREATNESS" FEATURES 500 ITEMS ON DISPLAY AND AT SATURDAY'S OPENING IT FEATURES THE GREAT-GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER OF LAURA KEENE. "LAURA KEENE WAS THE STAR OF 'OUR AMERICAN COUSIN' AND SHE WAS THERE AT FORD'S THEATRE THE NIGHT THAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS ASSASSINATED. AFTER HE WAS ASSASSINATED, SHE RACED UP INTO HIS BOX WHERE HE LAY AND SHE PICKED UP HIS HEAD AND SHE CRADLED IT IN HER LAP," SAYS CURATOR JILL YOUNGKEN. THE GREAT-GREAT-GRANDSON OF A SOLDIER WHO GUARDED LINCOLN ASSASSINATION CONSPIRATORS WILL ALSO BE AT THE MUSEUM TODAY. THE EXHIBIT OPENS AT 1 O'CLOCK.
IF TICKET SALES TO THIS AFTERNOON'S INAUGURAL DOWNTOWN CHOCOLATE TRAIL IN BETHLEHEM ARE ANY INDICATOR, THE EVENT WILL BE A SUCCESS. "WE ARE GETTING PEOPLE FROM BEYOND THE LEHIGH VALLEY FROM IN BUCKS COUNTY AND PHILADELPHIA," SAYS THE DOWNTOWN BETHLEHEM ASSOCIATION'S KASARA McLAUGHLIN. THERE ARE NEARLY 30 BETHLEHEM BUSINESSES PARTICIPATING, INCLUDING THE APOLLO GRILL, PEEPS AND CHOCOLATE LAB. TICKETS GO FOR $20. THE CHOCOLATE SAMPLING RUNS FROM 2 TO 6 THIS AFTERNOON.
A DAY AFTER THE NCAA SOUGHT TO THROW OUT THE ANTITRUST LAWSUIT FILED BY PENNSYLVANIA GOV. TOM CORBETT, HIS LAWYER SAYS A REPLY IS IN THE WORKS. CORBETT GENERAL COUNSEL JAMES SCHULTZ SAID FRIDAY HE'S CONFIDENT IN THEIR LEGAL POSITION AND THE GOVERNOR'S LEGAL STANDING TO INTERVENE. SCHULTZ CALLS THE NCAA'S PENALTIES AGAINST PENN STATE OVER THE JERRY SANDUSKY CHILD MOLESTATION UNPRECEDENTED AND UNWARRANTED. THE NCAA WANTS A FEDERAL JUDGE TO DISMISS THE CASE. IT SAYS ANTITRUST LAWS DON'T APPLY TO THE CONSENT AGREEMENT THAT REQUIRES PENN STATE TO PAY $60 MILLION, FORFEITS WINS, AND BANS THE SCHOOL FOR POST-SEASON PLAY FOR THREE MORE YEARS. SANDUSKY IS SERVING A 30- TO 60-YEAR STATE PRISON SENTENCE AFTER BEING CONVICTED OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF 10 BOYS, INCLUDING ATTACKS IN UNIVERSITY FACILITIES.
A RED-TAILED HAWK HAS BEEN RESCUED UNHARMED AFTER IT GOT STUCK BEHIND THE GRILL OF A MOVING CAR WHILE DIVING FOR PREY IN BERKS COUNTY. THE BIRD GOT TRAPPED WHILE SWOOPING DOWN FOR FOOD ALONG ROUTE 562 IN EXETER TOWNSHIP YESTERDAY. MARIAH STEHLE SAYS SHE WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD WHEN THE BIRD FLEW DOWN AND SOMEHOW GOT STUCK IN THE GRILL OF HER CAR. STEHLE CALLED 911. POLICE RESPONDED AND CALLED A LOCAL WILDLIFE CENTER TO HELP OUT. TOGETHER, A TOW-TRUCK DRIVER AND WILDLIFE WORKERS OPENED THE GRILL OF THE CAR AND GOT THE HAWK OUT UNHARMED. POLICE SAY THE BIRD FLEW AWAY AS SOON AS IT WAS REMOVED.
AN ELDERLY LION HAS BEEN EUTHANIZED AT THE PHILADELPHIA ZOO AFTER FALLING ILL. THE ZOO SAYS THE LION, NAMED MERLIN, HAD FATHERED 11 CUBS AND ENJOYED A LONG LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. OFFICIALS SAY HIS HEALTH HAD DECLINED RAPIDLY AND HE WAS EUTHANIZED SUNDAY AFTER HE REFUSED TO EAT. MERLIN WAS BORN IN JULY 1991 AT THE JOHANNESBURG ZOO IN SOUTH AFRICA. OFFICIALS SAY HE WAS BROUGHT TO PHILADELPHIA TWO YEARS LATER ALONG WITH THREE FEMALE LIONS, VINKEL, JEZEBEL, AND ZENDA. THE FEMALES, ALL 21 YEARS OLD, WILL REMAIN TOGETHER AS A LIONESS PRIDE. THE ZOO ALSO HAS TWO YOUNG LIONS, A MALE AND A FEMALE, THAT ARRIVED MORE THAN A YEAR AGO.
MOST NEW JERSEYANS WILL PAY LESS FOR ELECTRICITY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THE STATE BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES HAS APPROVED THE RESULTS OF THE ANNUAL BASIC GENERATION SERVICE AUCTION IN WHICH UTILITIES BUY SOME OF THEIR WHOLESALE ENERGY FROM SUPPLIERS. THE BPU SAYS NATURAL GAS HAS DRIVEN DOWN ENERGY PRICES FOR ELECTRIC COMPANIES. TYPICAL PUBLIC SERVICE ELECTRIC & GAS CUSTOMERS WILL PAY 6 CENTS MORE A MONTH OR $119.13 FOR ELECTRICITY. MONTHLY JERSEY CENTRAL POWER & LIGHT RATES ARE EXPECTED TO DECREASE BY NEARLY $3. ATLANTIC CITY ELECTRIC BILLS WILL BE $6.42 A MONTH LOWER. ORANGE AND ROCKLAND CUSTOMERS WILL PAY $6.74 A MONTH LESS.
