A.M.BRIEFING

Man accused of tying up, beating woman

State police arrested 27- year-old Shawn Allen Hockenberry, of Millheim, Wednesday afternoon after they say he tied a woman to a chair, gagged and beat her.

Police say Hockenberry used duct tape around 2 p.m. to tie the 26-year-old woman to a kitchen chair and gagged her using a rag.

Then, police say, he hit her with a wooden spindle from the chair in the shoulder, hands, feet and ankle, causing bruises and a laceration.

Hockenberry is in jail on a probation violation on a simple assault case from 2008.

State police at Rockview charged him with unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, simple assault, tampering with evidence and other charges.

Three teens accused of BB-gun assault

Three teen boys have been charged as juveniles after allegedly assaulting a 12-yearold boy with a BB-gun and a rock, state police reported.

Police say the boys — a 17-year-old from Spring Mills, a 16-year-old from Aaronsburg and a 14-yearold from Aaronsburg — were charged with disorderly conduct. Two shot at the 12-year-old with BB-guns and the third struck the boy in the stomach with a rock Wednesday around 7:25 p.m.

PennDOT reminds drivers to share road

“With motorcycle use sharply on the rise, it is essential for operators of all types of vehicles to look out for one another,” said Penn DOT Secretary Allen Biehler.

In 2008, almost 4,200 crashes involved motorcycles, and 236 riders died. The number of registered bikes rose by 30,000 and the number of licensed riders went up by 15,000, PennDOT said.

Drivers are reminded to double check blind spots and wear protective gear including helmets, eye-wear, gloves, and brightly colored long sleeves and pants.

More safety info can be found at www.dmv.state.pa.us False travelers checks reportedly used

Patton Township police are investigating the use of an American Express counterfeit travelers check April 8 at a business on the 1600 block of North Atherton Street.

Police say the suspect was a black man, who used a fake Delaware driver’s license. Photographs of the suspect are at http://twp. patton.pa.us. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 800-47-0050.

Census Bureau gears up for 2010 effort

The U.S. Census Bureau has begun to verify and update more than 145 million addresses, including those in Centre County, before the 2010 Census.

Nationwide, more than 140,000 workers are canvassing our communities to assure every household gets a questionnaire next March.

Police have asked that residents be aware of this, and understand that these are legitimate, as long as they fit into this description:

•Census workers will knock on doors to verify addresses and ask about additional living quarters on the premises, such as dorms, group homes, prisons and homeless shelters.

•Census workers can be identified by the official Census Bureau badge they carry. During the canvassing operation, census workers may ask to verify a housing structure’s address and whether there are additional living quarters on the property.

•Census workers will never ask for bank or social security information. All census information collected, including addresses, is confidential and protected by law, even from law enforcement, the IRS, the FBI, the CIA, welfare, immigration, any government agency or court of law.