STATE COLLEGE — A civil liberties group says a central Pennsylvania college town's plan to hold party hosts responsible for any illegal activities of guests would be unconstitutional.

The American Civil Liberties Union said in a letter to State College that the proposed "nuisance gathering ordinance" slated for a hearing tonight "runs roughshod over and through well-established constitutional rights." If it is approved, the organization will entertain requests to challenge it in court, the ACLU letter said. Council President Elizabeth Goreham said that the organization's stand "casts a shadow over that ordinance and we really need to look for another way — this is apparently not the way."

Police chief Tom King told council members that the proposed ordinance was modeled upon similar ones adopted recently in Bloomsburg and East Lansing, home of Michigan State University.

Under the proposal, the host of a gathering of 10 or more people could be subject to summary offense fines from $300 to $600 or 30 days in jail if the gathering results in certain illegal activities within 100 feet. They include excessive noise, fights, obscene conduct, underage drinking, public drunkenness, criminal mischief and drug-dealing.

The ACLU called the ordinance "overbroad" and said it would bar constitutionally protected activities such as political and religious meetings that may inadvertently result in illegal activities.

DERRY — Funeral services are scheduled Tuesday for a woman and her 2-year-old son struck and killed by a train while trying to cross the tracks.Authorities in Westmoreland County say 37-year-old Sheila Singer of Derry and her children were coming back from a shopping trip. They say she and 2-year-old John were trying to cross the tracks at about 5 p.m. Friday when the toddler's stroller became stuck, and they were struck by a westbound Norfolk Southern train. Her two young daughters were uninjured.Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha says the freight train was unable to stop in time at the scene, which is not an authorized crossing area for pedestrians or vehicles. A sign posted near the tracks warns of the danger of crossing there.The accident happened less than 100 feet from where a 15-year-old was struck and killed by a train in July.