More than $5,000 in prize money will be at stake when the Journey Bank sponsors its 14th Annual Teen Star Musical Competition to be held on the campus of Bloomsburg University on May 19. The first-place prize is $2,000. The second-, third-, and fourth-place finishers win $1,000, $750, and $350, respectively. The remaining eight finalists
READ MOREThe Thomas T. Taber Museum of the Lycoming County Historical Society announces its second in a series of quilt study days, planned to give attendees an up close and personal look at vintage quilts in the Taber Museum collection. The quilt study will be held on Saturday, March 30, 2024, from noon until 3:30 p.m.
READ MOREThe Pennsylvania Primary on Tuesday, April 23rd, will be here before we know it, and it is a shoo-in for three-term incumbent US Senator Bob Casey Jr. to win the Democratic race. Likewise, the Republicans are selecting former Army veteran and businessman Dave McCormick. Both men have worthy credentials but also some baggage to deal
READ MOREWhether you restrict your spring gobbler hunting to your home state of Pennsylvania or travel to other states to pursue this great game bird, knowing what they like to eat in your hunting area can be critical to your success. Wherever you choose to hunt, learn and understand the local food sources and preferences of
READ MOREA wildlife species native to Pennsylvania but long missing is back home again. The Pennsylvania Game Commission today released 50 bobwhite quail on the grounds of Letterkenny Army Depot in Franklin County. That brings to 76 the number of bobwhites planted on site in recent weeks, with one more release to go. The birds —
READ MOREThe welcome mat is out! Officially, spring begins this week. To be sure, it is a welcome sight, but in the transitioning world of sports, the changing of the athletic seasons defines the passing of time a bit more succinctly than do the pages of the calendar on the wall. ‘Athletic spring’ actually began a
READ MOREThe website for the Center for Immigration Studies listed all sanctuary cities, counties, and states in the United States, updated on March 6, 2024. The site stated, “The sanctuary jurisdictions are listed below. These cities, counties, and states have laws, ordinances, regulations, resolutions, policies, or other practices that obstruct immigration enforcement and shield criminals from
READ MOREI’ve mentioned before that I am not Irish. I am a whole lotta Italian, with a little German sprinkled in for funsies. But alas wee lads and lassies, I don’t see any harm in finding the Irish spirit and having some St. Patrick’s Day fun! But before you don your green clothes and wish on
READ MOREThis week is the fourth anniversary of an event that should get more attention. The COVID-19 shutdowns began in Pennsylvania on March 13, 2020. At the time, I thought how appropriate it was that it was Friday the 13th. Believe it or not, there is a word for the fear of this day: Paraskevidekatriaphobia. The
READ MOREWith deep sadness, area sports fans learned last week of the death of Lycoming County sports legend Ed Ott, remembered as a standout catcher on the 1979 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirate team. He was also a legendary athlete at Muncy High School, excelling in both football and wrestling. I had the pleasure of interacting with
READ MOREThere was some very, very bad news that was presented at the Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting on Thursday, February 22nd, by Jason Yorks, Director of the Lycoming County Resource Management Services, and Recycling Coordinator Lauren Strausser. The entire meeting lasted less than forty minutes, but fifteen of those minutes were spent reviewing the danger that
READ MOREStarting March 1, 2024, Lycoming County residents and the surrounding area will have another location to recycle their household batteries (single use and rechargeable). Lycoming County Resource Management Services will be accepting batteries at the landfill, 447 Alexander Drive, Montgomery, for no charge. The public may still take rechargeable batteries to accepting locations like Staples
READ MORECollege basketball fans have it made each March. Come March, scores of college hoops fans anxiously anticipate the tipoff to March Madness, which is a widely used nickname for the wildly popular NCAA Tournament, a single-elimination battle featuring 68 teams competing over seven rounds. Each team aspires to win the championship, but only one can
READ MORESince community icon Bill Pickelner was first presented with what is now known as the Ray Keyes Sports Award (named in honor of longtime Williamsport Sun-Gazette sports editor) in 1957, the Lycoming County Brotherhood Alliance has yearly recognized local individuals for their involvement in helping others through sports. Usually, the individual chosen to receive the
READ MORETwo weeks ago, this column featured the power and problems of protection from abuse orders that were taking up enormous amounts of time from the Sheriff’s office. Sheriff Lusk was back again at the Lycoming County Commissioners’ meeting on Thursday, February 15th, along with three Lycoming County magistrate judges. They came to advocate for a
READ MOREThe year was 1929 — the year of the “Great Stock Market Crash” that ushered in the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover was President. The first Academy Awards were presented with “Wings” winning Best Picture. The Philadelphia Athletics won the World Series. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway was published. Foster Grant mass produces sunglasses
READ MOREOriginally, there were eight holidays that everyone knew about. There were the major holidays of Christmas and Easter, along with Independence Day (July 4) and Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in November). The minor ones were: Lincoln’s Birthday (February 12), Washington’s Birthday (February 22), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), and Labor Day (First Monday in
READ MOREIn the early years of growing up in the countryside of Lycoming County, it was a tradition to watch for the early arrival of robins — signaling the soon to occur arrival of spring. It usually meant that the winter weather and snowfalls were about to be replaced with warmer temperatures, daffodils, and green grass.
READ MOREThe Thomas T. Taber Museum of the Lycoming County Historical Museum is one of the finest cultural assets in northcentral Pennsylvania. It preserves and highlights Lycoming County and the surrounding area’s rich history. In a bid to improve bringing this precious cultural asset to more people, the museum has launched a digital guide. They have
READ MOREThe Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting on the first of February had a small item on the Salary Board agenda that stated, “Sheriff’s Office – Request to add a Part-Time Clerk III, Paygrade 4.” Commissioner Metzger invited Sheriff Lusk to comment on the reason for this personnel addition to the Sheriff’s Office. Lusk was more than
READ MOREBack when Mike Rafferty started this tradition (back in 2012 if you’re keeping score), he used to come up with clever puns for each of the predictions. I’ve tried to do this over the years, but 1. I’m not as clever as Raff and B. Even if I were that clever, this piece has grown
READ MOREPunxsutawney Phil was a no show. I guess that means it will be an early spring. Sign me up. The weather has been quite unpredictable. We haven’t experienced much cold. I was hoping to get out for some ice fishing, but the conditions drastically changed. I had to bail on my Amish friends. They didn’t
READ MORELycoming County Special Olympics was one of eight counties who sent 120 athletes and Unified partners along with 46 coaches to the first ever Region 3 Bowling competition. In addition to Lycoming County, individuals from Bradford, Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga and Union counties attended this one-day event, which were recently held at Faxon
READ MOREIn 1831, a young French diplomat named Alexis de Tocqueville was charged with researching this country’s penal system but found himself more enamored with our judicial system. After going about the country, he returned to France and put his observations into a book, Democracy in America, published in 1835. It would become one of the
READ MOREThe First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania (FCFP) announces over 80 scholarships are now available to area students for the 2024-2025 academic year. “Scholarships help students from all walks of life to achieve their educational dreams. Every year, our scholarships support area high school and non-traditional students who are pursuing higher education to develop their
READ MOREBeth DeJesus England has always had a passion for art. It has been something she has loved for as long as she can remember. Her talent for art recently yielded her national recognition when she won the Jerry Malloy Negro League Baseball Research Conference’s Art Contest with her painting of the outfield of the 1924-1927
READ MOREI taught an elective course on Future Studies at a business college in Europe. The students were quite interested in knowing what skills and possibilities in employment would be out there when they entered the working world. It is obviously a shaky science as we have no way of knowing the future and, at best,
READ MOREThe Crosscutters Hot Stove League Banquet, held on January 17th, was considered a success by attendees and organizers. The banquet was highlighted by the presence of former standout Pirate relief pitcher Kent Tekulve, ESPN sportscaster Tim Kirkjian, newest Bowman Field Hall of Fame inductee Chris Carlin, and newest Williamsport Sports Walk inductee Denise Day. Regrettably,
READ MORESadly, Martin Luther King Day came and went with as much attention as National Pet Day (April 11th, for those who are wondering). Part of the reason for the lack of attention is undoubtedly because Dr. King’s principles are now considered quaint at best and dangerous at worst. His dream was for equality among races,
READ MOREEvery so often to lighten the late-night mood, I find myself tuning in to WNEP-2 to catch reruns of the old Johnny Carson late-night show. While Carson’s monologue and guests are not timely, they remain funny and entertaining. Unlike the current late-night lineup of Carson wannabes whose mission seems to be hurling unfunny insulting jabs
READ MOREWith 28 definite objectives for civic betterment set up by the Community Trade Association, the organization’s annual report reveals that despite hampering wartime conditions, notable progress has been made in 17 of them. The annual report of C.E. Noyes, manager of the C.T.A., was mailed to members today. Included in the four-page compilation are not
READ MOREI have, and while it occurred more than 25 years ago, I can still visualize the sighting as if it were yesterday. Fresh snow had fallen the night before, and I was hiking a logging road in the deep woods of Lycoming County. The newly fallen snow was ideal for picking out and following any
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