STATE RECONCILES TWO WEEKS OF COVID-19 DEATHS, ADD HUNDREDS
The Pennsylvania Department of Health added 865 additional positive cases of COVID-19 yesterday for a statewide total of 50,957 coronavirus cases.  The big shift in numbers today is that more deaths were added to the total in the Commonwealth announced yesterday by PA secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine adding 554 new deaths as of yesterday.  The statewide death toll is 3,012.  Lycoming County reported no new cases of COVID-19, with 86 cases here and 4 deaths reported.

COMMISSIONERS PLAN PRESS CONFERENCE AS WE TRANSITION INTO YELLOW
As Lycoming County plans to head into the Yellow Phase on May 8^th, County commissioners have planned a press conference Friday at 10am to address steps to take about a new plan they announced this week.  According to the Sun Gazette, Commissioner Scott Metzger announced the County Planning and Coordination Cell, comprised of representatives from several county departments including planning and development, court administration  and information services, which will help ensure safe and effective guidance  as policies change due to state and federal health guidelines .

COMMISSION WILL ADD A NEW AREA CODE TO THE 814 REGION
After a 4-0 vote by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Thursday, there will a campaign to add a new local area code to the 814 region which covers 27 counties throughout Northwestern and Central parts of the state.  According to the Sun Gazette, officials from the Commission stress that there will be no change in phone service for existing customers, PUC will just start implementing a new overlay area code when 814 numbers are exhausted.  Ten-digit dialing will begin voluntarily in this same region for customers this coming October, and be phased in by next April.

HOSPITAL FUNDRAISER CANCELLED
The 36th Annual Muncy Valley Hospital Auxiliary Lawn Party originally scheduled for Saturday, June 22 has been cancelled.  According to t press release by UPMC, the Lawn Party is a fundraising project of the MVH Auxiliary and the cancellation is one way  to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.  The Committee and UPMC is planning a fundraising event for 2021..

THIRD INDIVIDUAL ARRESTED FOR INVOLVEMENT IN TROUT RUN MURDER FOR HIRE
A third individual has been arrested in the murder for hire scheme that was discovered last month  in Trout Run. According to the Sun Gazette, 22 year old Annette Kriner of Brandon Avenue was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit murder after being the person to allegedly contact a third individual to carry out the deed, when two teens Dillian Weaver and Angela Peluso, plotted to kill Peluso’s stepfather, Howard Blackburn.  Kriner has been jailed in the Lycoming County Prison, along with Weaver and Peluso who were arrested April 24^th.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT GRADUATES TO FORMALLY ACCEPT DIPLOMAS
South Williamsport High school is planning a graduation experience for their seniors since COVID-19 has cancelled so many celebrations for the class of 2020.  According to the Sun Gazette, the South Williamsport School Board  has days scheduled for seniors and their families to come to the school and formally accept their diplomas and be filmed going through the process that will then be put into a single production for an upcoming ceremony.

NO MEMORIAL DAY YARD SALES
The Montoursville Borough Yard Sales normally expected on Memorial Day Weekend, this May 30^th will be rescheduled for a later date.  According to the Sun Gazette, the Montoursville Borough Council decided during a virtual meeting this week that they will wait until the state begins lifting restrictions to pick a new date for the community event.

BEER FEST POSTPONED
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected another series of events this summer – The Milton Beer fest, has postponed their event til later in the year.  According to the Sun Gazette, the TIME board met virtually this week and decided to move the 4^th annual Beer Fest to December 5^th inside the Shoe Factory in Milton.  Some cancellations include the Turbotville High School Alumni Banquet planned for June 13and the 2020 reunion class graduates will be honored next year.

SPORTS

Lycoming College has announced the loss of a pioneer of women’s athletics at the college.  Deb Holmes, former tennis coach for 34 years and member of Lycoming’s Athletics Hall of Fame,  passed away last Friday after a battle with cancer.

NFL

The New York Jets signed former Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore for one year.  He’s the 3^rd leading rusher in NFL history and played last season with the Buffalo Bills.

UFC
UFC boss Dana White  says the upcoming UFC 249 fight is slated to take place this Saturday at 10pm in Florida without fans.  White said there will be two more events with our fans coming up soon.

MLB
Korean Baseball kicked off one of it’s games this week with a 9 year old boy in a large baseball-sized bubble, walking to the plate to signify the first pitch in a game while sticking to social distancing guidelines in a stadium without fans.

LYCOMING IS DEEMED READY FOR YELLOW PHASE MAY 8TH
All counties which surround Lycoming with the exception of Columbia will be phased into the yellow as of midnight on May 8^th according to a press briefing with Governor Wolf on Friday.  Columbia County has reported 291 positive cases and 13 deaths and will remain in the red designation on Friday.  The Pennsylvania Department of Health reminds residents in every phase at this time to remain vigilant about protecting themselves and others by wearing a mask when leaving home, continue to practice social distancing and continue to wash hands often.  Find Governor Wolf’s full red-yellow-green phased reopening plan for the state here.

TWO DEATHS IN LYCOMING COUNTY
Lycoming County’s case count of COVID-19 has risen to 85 positive cases and 2 deaths have been reported here as of Sunday at midnight.  Statewide 962 positive cases were added to the total of 49,267.  According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health website, Jersey Shore’s zip code 17740 of has had the most positive cases in Lycoming of COVID-19 with 37.  Lycoming County has had 1,215 test negative to date.  The department reported 26 new deaths, bringing the statewide total to 2,444

CONSTRUCTION STARTING IN OUR AREA
Construction around the City of Williamsport and interstate work will be happening this week, so expect to see work crews out on the roadways with orange cones and flags at some project sites.  I-80 westbound will have alternating lane closures this week in Lewis, West Buffalo, and White Deer Townships, Union County. A PennDOT maintenance crew will be conducting maintenance work today through Thursday between 7 and 3 near mile marker 195 weather permitting.

RELAY FOR LIFE POSTPONED
The American Cancer Society’s relay for life of river valley, scheduled for the end of this month, has canceled all in person events until June. According to the sun gazette the leadership team met virtually and decided to postpone the 26^th year for the event at a later date. Individual teams are encouraged to raise funds with social media campaigns for the American cancer society.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed yesterday that there are 962 additional positive cases of COVID-19 reported, bringing the statewide total to 49,267. The department reported 26 new deaths, bringing that statewide total to 2,444.  Lycoming County’s cases have increased to 85 with two deaths as of Friday.  Northumberland is at 99 cases, Montour, 50, Union 38, Clinton 32.  Tioga County reported 16 cases and 2 deaths and Columbia County which is not scheduled to phase into the yellow designation for COVID-19 mitigation with the rest of Lycoming County’s neighbor’s May 8^th, reports 291 positive cases and 13 deaths

FATAL ACCIDENT IN TIOGA COUNTY
A woman from Wellsboro has died in a one vehicle accident that occurred in Richmond Township Tioga County Friday.  According to the Elmira Star Gazette, 67 year old JoAnn D. Tomb was driving east on State Route 660 near Kelsey Road about 1pm Friday when she lost control of her vehicle while taking a left turn hitting a tree, state police said.  Tomb who was wearing her seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Tioga County coroner.

MONTOURSVILLE WILL PROVIDE DIGITAL DEVICES FOR STUDENTS
No official vote was held, but a verbal approval during a virtual school board meeting gave Montoursville Area School District the go-ahead to purchase $366,480 worth of  laptops and tablets, to allow every student to learn virtually, following a virtual special meeting Thursday. The board is expected to retroactively approve the purchase at the next official virtual board meeting at 7 p.m. May 12. A link is available on the Montoursville School District Website. The next step is solving connectivity issues within the district and hiring a seasonal information technology specialist to support the fleet of technology at Montoursville

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR EXPIRING DOCUMENTS
Expiration dates for driver’s licenses, ID Cards and learner’s permits that were scheduled to expire March through May have been extended for Pennsylvania residents. According to the state department of transportation, residents whose ID cards are expiring have until June 30^th to renew. Previous extensions were announced March 27^th but as a reminder services are available at DMV.PA.gov. All DMV offices are closed but services online are still up. There are no additional fees for using online services.

SPORTS

In NASCAR iRacing Sunday William Byron won his third victory of the season at Dover international speedway.  Timmy Hill came in second.   Prior to the May 17 start at Darlington SC without spectators, iRacing’s finale will be next  Saturday at virtual North Wilkesboro Speedway. A track in NC that was neglected and overgrown with weeds and cleaned last year by volunteers led by Dale Earnhardt Jr., so it could be mapped for use in the iRacing video game.

Men’s and women’s basketball
At the Lycoming College’s Honors Convocation Sunday, senior softball and women’s basketball player Kayla Klein was named the school’s outstanding female athlete as well as Lycoming Junior basketball player Darius Dangerfield named the outstanding male athlete

NBA
The NBA board of governors voted Friday to postpone the draft lottery and draft combine in May. The league has not voted yet to delay the NBA draft on June 25 but is expected to. NBA officials are discussing a December start.

Horses
Secretariat won the virtual Kentucky Derby in a simulation race with Past Triple Crown Winners, since the 146^th annual Kentucky Derby could not be run this past weekend for the first time since WWII.  Legendary horses were programmed into the game including Cittaion, War Admiral, Seattle Slew  as well as American Pharoah and Justify

Little League CEO and President Stephen D Keener announced yesterday that Little League International has made the difficult and disappointing decision to cancel the 2020 Little League World Series.  He also said that the expected travel restrictions for international players and families will be complicated to manage and restricts many from coming to the U.S. to play .  This year was to be the 75^th Little League Baseball World Series, that celebration will now take place in 2022. The 2020 MLB Little League Classic originally scheduled for August 23 has also been canceled, but the Major League Baseball Players Association have committed to playing in 2021. Get details at LittleLeague.org.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health there are 1, 397 new cases of COVID-19 in the commonwealth as of yesterday at midnight, bringing to the statewide total to 45,763 in all 67 counties.  98 new deaths were reported as well totalling 2,292 fatalities in Pennsylvania.  Lycoming County has 7 more positive cases reported getting up to 68 cases and no deaths.  Northumberland adds one case getting to 93, Union has 33,  Montour 47.  Columbia County checks in with 283 postive cases and 13 deaths.  Tioga County has 16 cases today with 1 death reported.

According to the National Weather Service, there is a flood watch in effect until 2pm today after up to 3 inches of rain fell yesterday through the Williamsport area According to the Sun Gazette, meteorologists say the West Branch Susquehanna River was at 7.73 feet at 7pm last night and that below 10 feet is normal with flooding at 20 feet.  14.9 feet is forecasted today.  The rainfall total for April was 5.7 inches 2.33 inches more than average.

The public is invited to get up to 2 gallons of free milk – drive thru style – in Shamokin dam next Monday from 2-4pm.  According to the Sun Gazette, Dairy Farmers of America and the Greater Susquehanna United Way will provide over 4,000 gallons of free milk at the “Pop Your Trunk” event at the former K-mart Parking lot in Shamokin Dam.  The United Way will also be handing out fabric masks, anyone arriving before 1:45 will be asked to leave and return.

An audit into how Governor Tom Wolf and the state Department of Community and Economic Development managed the waiver process for businesses that appealed to the recent COVID-19 shutdown order was announced by Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale Thursday.   He will launch an audit into how the state Department of Community and Economic Development has managed the waiver process for businesses that appealed Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 shutdown order.  According to Penn Live, DePasquale said some business owners thought the waiver process was too slow and not transparent enough.  Businesses that were not life sustaining were closed March 19^th and more than 40,000 businesses sought a waiver during the application period that ended April 3.

Traffic was detoured for more than 7 hours along Route 45 in Union County yesterday around 11am  according to Penn Dot after wires and a utility pole came down on the roadway.  The lane closures of Route 45 in Hartley Township was west of Bear Run Road.  Penn Dot announced the road reopened around 6:45pm.

The 2020 Laurel Festival in Wellsboro, PA has been cancelled.  All Laurel Festival activities scheduled for the Tioga County tradition, including the 2020 Family Day and Children’s Health Fair scheduled for June 13th on the Green in Wellsboro has been cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus.  According to Julie VanNess of the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce all Laurel Queen candidates and their schools have been notified of the decision to cancel all the Laurel Festival activities in 2020.

Sports
NFL

The NFL is looking into playing games on Saturday if college football season is delayed this year. According to NFL officials and their broadcast partners, most games would be played Sunday, but if there was no college football at all on a Saturday, it could be an option.

Wil Ferrell crashed the Seattle Seahawks virtual meeting held by head coach Pete Carroll Thursday pretending to be new teammate Greg Olsen the foremer Carolina Panther who signed a 1-year deal with the team February 18th.  Will Ferrell Attended USC and is an acquaintance of the coach

MLB
The Tampa Bay Rays are the first MLB team to furlough employees.  A number of full timers will be furloughed starting tomorrow – reported to be only half of the up to 500 employees on the payroll.

NBA
The NBA is in talks with Disney World about resuming play there – since they have enough room to house quarantined players there – Las Vegas is also a location option

LYCOMING COUNTY REPORTS ONE MORE COVID-19 CASE
There is one more positive case of COVID-19 reported in Lycoming County as of Tuesday 58 cases and no deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.  Statewide, there are 1,214 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing that total to 43,264.  119 new deaths in the commonwealth makes 1, 716 confirmed fatalities due to the coronavirus.  Local case counts include Northumberland with 92, Union has 33 Montour has 47 – with no deaths in those counties, Columbia has 279 cases and reports 8 deaths.

GOVERNOR TO REVEAL FRIDAY THE COUNTIES CHANGING DESIGNATION
Gov. Tom Wolf will announce this Friday who will officially feel the relaxing of the coronavirus-related shutdown directives first.  Some regions or counties may move from a “red” designation to a “yellow” designation, taking effect the following Friday, May 8. Under yellow, a ban on gatherings of over 25 people will remain, and gyms, casinos, theaters and other indoor recreational, wellness and entertainment venues will stay closed. Restaurants and bars will still be limited to carry-out or delivery, and businesses must follow federal and state guidance for social distancing and cleaning.

WEST FOURTH STREET CONSTRUCTION TO START FRIDAY
Construction work is set to begin on West Fourth Street in the Newberry section of the City of Williamsport,  On Friday, May 1, the contractor, will begin installing base repairs in preparation for milling and paving of a fiber reinforcement layer as well as a new wearing course on West Fourth Street between Arch Street and Oliver Avenue.  Motorist should expect single lane closures using daylight flagging.

COURTS WILL REMAIN CLOSED INTO MAY
The Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas and all Magisterial District Courts of the 29^th Judicial District have announced that they will remain closed to the public through May 15, 2020, except for essential functions. The latest Lycoming County Administrative Order Monday, extends the court closure until May 15^th.    This also confirms that jury selection in Lycoming County scheduled for June 1^st -5^th is cancelled with all jury trials scheduled for June through July being continued. The Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas will continue to perform the following essential functions during the court closure.  A link to the copy of the Judicial Order is here.

CROSSCUTTERS TO HELP CENTRAL PA FOOD BANK
The Williamsport Crosscutters have joined a new initiative with “MiLB CommUNITY First” in conjunction with Feeding America to raise funds in response to  COVID-19 and honor those working on the front line of the pandemic.  According to the Sun Gazette, if fans visit the online site, www.milb.com/communityfirst they can choose a donation amount and designate it for the Crosscutters.  Those direct funds will benefit the Central PA Food Bank and for every $10 donated, the Cutters will donate a ticket for a future home game in this season or 2021 to a local hearo during the pandemic.

MAYOR SLAUGHTER ANTICIPATES WILLIAMSPORT BE AMONG THE FIRST TO REOPEN
Williamsport may be in the first of the locations the state Health Department classifies to reopen since shelter in place orders went into effect March 15^th.  According to the Sun Gazette, Mayor Derek Slaughter said to the City’s finance committee that as he monitors the health information from the state and works with local and state health officials, if the city is authorized to move forward, we will hopefully become a model for other cities in the commonwealth who open back up in a measured way.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CONCERNED ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE
The Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine addressed Pennsylvanians yesterday during the daily press briefing to be aware if neighbors or friends may be experiencing problems with domestic or child abuse and that if you think something is wrong,  you can say something <<<< LEVINE 2 by calling Childline at 1-800-932-0313 and online at keepkidssafe.pa.gov >>>>or a domestic violence hotline 1-800-799-7233 and online at https://www.pcadv.org/.  >>>> If you witness or hear a violent incident, don’t intervene. Call 911 immediately.

PENN STATE WILL DECIDE ABOUT FALL SEMESTER IN JUNE
Penn State University is giving themselves until June 15^th to decide on their plans for the fall semester, trying to determine whether students will be returning to campus or continue remote learning, like the summer class schedule is at this time.  According to WPSU, Provost Nick Jones said in  Tuesday’s remote Faculty Senate meeting they are trying to juggle the need to inform their students of future plans, making sure to use the most up-to-date information about COVID-19.  All outcomes and decisions are based on student enrollment and some out of state and international students may take other options if students cannot return to the Centre County campus in the fall.

MLB
Major league baseball is planning to start the season in late June. Sources at MLB say they’ll start no later than July 2, playing at least 100 regular season games.  They are also considering a three division 10-team plan in which teams play only within their division based on geography.

Major league baseball is now allowing teams to offer refunds to fans for games currently not being played because of the coronavirus.  Each team sets its own policy with many likely offering credit for 2021 as an option.

In NASCAR the Governor of North Carolina says the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will likely go on a scheduled May 24.  Gov. Roy Cooper says NASCAR and the officials at the speedway submitted a plan to implement social distancing and have no fans in the speedway for the race.

HS Wrestling
Some minor rule changes in high school wrestling were handed down by the National Federation of High Schools yesterday which addressed hair length, weigh-in procedures and scoring, but not the pilot program announced last year by the PIAA reducing the number of weight classes from 14 to 12.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Sunday at noon that 1,116 additional cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Commonwealth bringing the statewide total to 41, 165.  There have been 1, 550 deaths due to the coronavirus. The department continues to mandate Pennsylvania residents to wear cloth masks and most stores will require the use of a mask to enter .  Governor Wolf said that construction that was previously deemed non-essential can begin on May 1, even though the phased plan to start lifting the statewide stay at home order on a county-by-county basis won’t begin until at least May 8.

Police are investigating a drive-by shooting that occurred Saturday night in the area of Pine Street at 7^th Street in Williamsport  around 5pm which sent one male victim to the hospital.  According to the Williamsport Bureau of Police, the Criminal investigation unit is following various leads and the name of the 21 year old victim has not been released.  According to the Sun Gazette, witnesses said shots were fired over the heads of kids waiting to cross the street and that the suspect allegedly fled along Louisa Street in a jeep.  If you have information about the shooting please call Agent Brittany Alexander at 570-327-7586..

The PA Liquor Control Board is planning to expand curbside pickup at liquor stores to 389 more Fine Wine & Good Spirits locations across the commonwealth today Most stores will support curbside service Monday through Saturday – taking a limited number of orders on a first-call, first-served basis beginning at 9a each day and scheduling pickup appointments between 9a and 6p. At pickup, customers will be required to present identification before the order is delivered with a limit of up to six bottles per order, and credit cards are the only accepted form of payment. Orders will also be limited to one order per caller, per store, per day, and all curbside pickup sales are final. No orders will be accepted by email or voicemail.  A list of all open stores in PA is listed here.

The Williamsport Soap Box Derby the Steering Committee is didappointed to announced that they have canceled  the 2020 local race scheduled for Saturday, June 13, 2020.  According to their social media pages,  , the timing of the race falls within the guidelines limiting the size and number of people to attend any event in our area due to COVID 19. These guidelines will be changing at some point, but more than likely not soon enough to allow the soap box derby to take place.  If you have a child registered for this year’s race, you are automatically guaranteed a place in the 2021 event. And officials will be in touch with you to confirm.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health,  Lycoming County now reports 55 cases of COVID-19, but no deaths have remained official after clarification last week of two people who died from the virus did not live in the county.  According to the CDC, records they receive of people who die from the coronavirus count in the county where they lived, not where they passed away.  Sunday the state reported 1,550 deaths across Pennsylvania.  Out of our total deaths, 952 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.

A young woman from Oakmont, Pennsylvania  near Pittsburgh , died Sunday after a crash along i-80 East involving her 2010 Kia Rio and a 2018 Freightliner Truck.  Pennsylvania State police at Milton report that around 2pm yesterday the vehicle 28 year old Brianna M Kimmel was driving began to spin out of control for an unknown reason near mile marker 200 and left the roadway striking the berm –she re-entered the interstate, making contact with 36 year old Adam Brown’s truck.  Both vehicles went off the roadway and the accident closed I-80 east until after 7pm.  Kimmel was pronounced dead at the scene.  Brown was not injured.

A 29 year old suspect has been arrested following a  hit and run accident that occurred in Union County last Tuesday.  Police were seeking the driver of a white Ford Explorer with front end damage after they said 23 year old Abigail Martin and an11 month old girl in a carrier were struck while riding a bike along Red Ridge Road in Limestone Township.  State police in Milton say Tyler Bean-Dowell of Mifflinburg, who drives a 2006 Ford Explorer,  was responsible for the crash and arraigned in district court.  Bean-Dowell is in the Union County Jail in lieu of $100,000 straight bail.

The economic development agency SEDA-COG is offering business’ in PA another option for crisis loans. John Brown, the executive director says the agency has secured these funds through the EDA and notes that supplies are limited.  For more information you can go to their website seda-cog.org

Out of an abundance of caution and to keep in line with COVID-19 social distancing guidance, the Lycoming County Veterans Council and the Lycoming County Veterans Memorial Park Commission have decided to cancel the annual Memorial Day ceremony originally scheduled for May 23 at Lycoming County Veterans Memorial Park.

The Williamsport Soap Box Derby the Steering Committee is didappointed to announced that they have canceled  the 2020 local race scheduled for Saturday, June 13, 2020.  According to their social media pages,  , the timing of the race falls within the guidelines limiting the size and number of people to attend any event in our area due to COVID 19. These guidelines will be changing at some point, but more than likely not soon enough to allow the soap box derby to take place.  If you have a child registered for this year’s race, you are automatically guaranteed a place in the 2021 event. And officials will be in touch with you to confirm.

Sports
NFL

Yetur Gross-Matos who played three seasons at Penn State, where he totaled 111 tackles and 19 sacks –  ranking him 10th in school history – was chosen by the Carolina Panthers  in the  second NFL Draft round Friday night by continuing to fill out the defense

The Philadelphia Eagles surprised everyone by doubling down on expensive picks for the quarterback position.  Jalen hurts, 53rd pick overall, was added to their roster in addition to giving Carson Wentz, their current quarter back, 128 million dollar extension.

NBA
The NBA is allowing some team practice facilities to reopen Friday as some states relax stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus outbreak.  No group workouts or team activities can occur.  Players can practice this week in Georgia, but where states still have stay-at-home orders, alternative arrangements are being made.

After 3 months since the death of Kobe Bryant, the largest collection of Kobe Bryant memorabilia is to be auctioned off soon . On the block are his game worn sneakers and his championship ring originally belonging to his mother, Pam Bryant, with nearly 100 more items included.  Bidding will be hosted online and ends May 16th.