Worst construction spot in the Valley?

It’s spring – the birds are chirping, the temperature has finally risen above 50, and – of course – construction zones are everywhere.

Four of the major projects in the Valley are:

• Route 54 through Danville
• Route 11 into Northumberland from Danville
• The Selinsgrove bridge work
• Mifflinburg work on Route 45

That’s a lot. But how much do they affect your commute?

The Route 11 work does cause a litle hold-up heading into Norry, but traffic does seem to flow – it appears to be the same way with the Route 54 work, though traffic does stop frequently near the light at 11 and 54.

One zone I’ve heard horror stories about is the bridge work in Selinsgrove – people are being delayed – in some cases – over an hour in their journeys.

I haven’t heard about Mifflinburg, though apparently that’s a bad one too.

So now I ask you – what have you seen? What are your tips for getting through them?

Bonus Photos: Milton wrestlers

Sunday, Milton High School honored its two wrestlers who competed at Hershey in the state tournament.

Ryan Solomon placed first and Ryan Preisch placed third.

The pair rode into the high school on a fire truck, then a small ceremony was held in the school’s auditorium to honor their accomplishment.

Here’s some extra photos:

Kudos to PennDOT

Too often I think we’re quick to criticize PennDOT for not plowing quick enough or leaving roads untidy.

But in terms of preparing for yesterday’s storm that wasn’t, PennDOT was all over it.

Photographer Rob Inglis and I traveled I80 yesterday and saw de-icer ready to go all down the highway:

So kudos to them for being prepared, and thank God we didn’t see ant major storm activity.

Know someone who deserves a shout-out in the Valley? Let me know!

Bonus photos: Milton house fire

Here’s photos from the scene of a house fire on Mahoning Street in Milton yesterday.

The fire seemed to be under control, but all of a sudden smoke began pouring out of the top of the home and the roof caught fire and began to collapse.

It was truly startling.

Read more at dailyitem.com.

Sheep to Shawl domination

Yesterday, I talked with Libby Beiler of the Time Warp team from Montour County, which won their second consecutive Sheep to Shawl competition.

The team works pretty much year-round to design and perfect their technique for the Farm Show, she said.

There’s selecting the sheep, selecting the theme, practicing new techniques, making sure everything’s lined up and sketched out.

Apparently, the Valley rocks at this competition, taking home 4 of the top 6 places.

Read more at dailyitem.com.

Here’s what all that hard work looks like when it comes down to it, courtesy of tweets from the scene:

Farm Show Youth Sheep-to-Shawl competition underway. The grownups compete live on PCN at 3. @pcntv #pafarmshow twitter.com/BrianLockman/s…

 

— Brian Lockman (@BrianLockman) January 9, 2013

Fun at the Farm Show!

Here what people are saying about the 2013 Pennsylvania Farm Show. Send me your favorite moments at awislock@dailyitem.com!

1. 

   one of the best parts of the farm show! #chocolate #milkshake #sogood #farmshow #yum http://instagr.am/p/UKT6i8FsZL/

   Jen Reibsane@jenniferxamanda

   Sun, Jan 06 2013 15:43:46

   ReplyRetweetFavorite

It’s Farm Show time!

I went to the Pennsylvania Farm Show for the first time last year. Twitter immortalized that experience for me:

I’m at Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex (2300 N Cameron St, Harrisburg) w/ 3 others 4sq.com/zkVbkt

— Ashley Wislock (@wisashl) January 9, 2012

And it was quite an experience.

I tried to hit everything I could and take in as much as possible, but it was hard to know what to do and see! Luckily, in case I go this year, Valley-ers have my back.

Here’s there recommendations via Facebook. Add yours in the comments!:

Snowy weekend

The Valley was hit by 3 to 5 inches on Saturday – and people were tweeting about it! Here’s some Twitter highlights and portraits of snow from around the region.

Updated 21 hours ago

1. 

   #snow #december #road #trees #blizzard #2012 http://instagr.am/p/T1oyVYza2V/

   
   

   Bryanna Taylor@baybeedahll

   Sat, Dec 29 2012 15:00:00

   ReplyRetweetFavorite

Bonus Photos: Military veterans honored with gift

I went to a special ceremony at the Montandon American Legion Tuesday night honoring five area veterans in need and gifting them with $1,000 just in time for the holidays.

It was very touching and a very positive experience.

As these additional photographs will show, you can tell they were military vets due to their incredible posture and at-attention stance, even in a casual atmosphere.

Here’s some extra photos:

The presentation came after a beautiful ceremonycalled “Post Eternal,” which is held during the December monthly meeting each year, according to Dale Yount, the Judge Advocate for the Motandon Legion (and pictured in the first photo in the Legion hat).

The ceremony honors those members of the Legion that have passed away in the last year.

Snow?!

If I have one complaint about winter it’s the snow.  The stuff that turns the streets of Central PA into a nightmare for drivers and ruins your new pants and shoe.

[Note, "snow" is not to be confused with my sister's adorable cockapoo, "Snowball."]

And it looks like we’re already into snow season – oh joy.

But if there’s one thing I do love about snow – it’s that it makes for some cute pictures.

There’s nothing better than taking pictures in front of a snowy field all bundled up or more beautiful than seeing a barn and farm covered under a layer of white.

I’ll definitely be posting my favorite snow scenes from around the Valley here – and please send me your snow photos – I’ll post them here so we can compare vantage points.

So bundle up and break out the smartphone – winter has arrived in Pennsylvania!