BACKYARD BROADCASTING LOCAL NEWS JUNE 16, 2020

WEEKNIGHT CRASH INJURES TWO TRUCK DRIVERS
A fiery tractor trailer crash leading to a brushfire closed both lanes of Route 15 north in Tioga County last night a little after 5:30pm, and crews may still be cleaning up part of the scene today.  According to PennDOT, a local detour was in place for hours using the Route 284, Buttonwood Exit to the Sebring exit in Liberty Township.  According to social media reports by First News Now, both drivers were injured, one was rescued from the burning cab and taken from the scene by Lifeflight at around 6:30pm.  The other driver was taken by ambulance and hospitalized.  One truck carried cardboard and was smoldering from the fire, and a reported explosion from the crash caused a wildfire at the side of the road.  Crews from Blossburg and Liberty were the first to respond with additional support by Mansfield, Morris Run and Trout Run.  State Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

PA LGBTQ ADVOCATES CELEBRATE HISTORIC SUPREME COURT WIN
In a 6-3 vote the justices ruled that the nation’s landmark civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination, and members of the Pennsylvania House LGBTQ Equality Caucus celebrated the ruling yet also noted that even with the historic win, work remains to extend civil rights protections to all Pennsylvanians beyond the workplace. House Bill 1404, protects employees, customers, students, patients and residents from discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

LEWISBURG BOROUGH OFFICES OPEN BY APPOINTMENT
The public is now able to make an appointment to meet with the staff at the Lewisburg borough office according to media reports.  Cloth masks will be required at the offices that opened Monday for people who need to come to the facility.  The public can schedule an appointment by calling 570-523-3614. The brush and mulch piles will be open Saturday from 8-noon this weekend and then next week, opening Wednesdays 8-4.  The Lewisburg Borough Recycling Center will also only be open Wednesdays from 8am to 4pm until further notice, with no Saturday hours.

HERSHEY PARK TO OPEN
Hershey Entertainment and Resorts has announced opening day for Hersheypark will be July 3 for the general public. All park attractions will be open and the park will have new safety and sanitation protocols, based on recommendations from the CDC and PA Department of Health, which will include; face coverings and temperature screenings with all guests over age 2, ride protocols for social distancing and sanitizing and a guest reservation system to help limit capacity during park hours among other changes.  ZooAmerica will reopen to the general public June 22.   For more information on all attractions and hours, visit www.HersheyPA.com.

MORE COVID-19 TESTING AT SUPERCENTERS
Governor Tom Wolf has announced that nine more COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites will open in Walmart parking lots across the state, bringing the total to 19 sites at Walmart locations. Tests are available by registering one say in advance at the Quest Diganostics website.  Sites in our area that will be open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. will include the Supercenters in Coal Township, Selinsgrove, Lewisburg, Mansfield and Sayre.  According to the PA Department of Health, Adding these locations to those already offered by hospitals, health systems, FQHCs, health clinics and other locations significantly expands the testing network in the state.

SNYDER COUNTY EXTENDS PROPERTY TAX DEADLINE
Snyder County residents have a little more time to pay local property taxes.  The county and local municipalities have passed resolutions that allow residents to pay their property taxes by September 30, without penalty.  However, the Commissioners said that even though property taxes are extended, the county per capita invoices are still due by August 31, since the legislation did not allow a deadline change for that.  Residxetns can call the Snyder County Commissioner’s office with questions at 570-837-4207.

NO REAL ESTATE HIKE IN SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT
A real estate tax hike in South Williamsport will be avoided after the South Williamsport Area School Board approved a 2020-21 budget last night.  The spending plan, at $19.5 million will have a tax millage rate of 16.78.There is a 1.1 percent earned income tax and 0.5 percent real transfer tax that also supports the budget. According to the Sun Gazette, the board approved refinancing of general obligation bonds to help avoid a property tax hike.  In other business, the board approved a lease agreement with Apple Inc. for iPads allowing annual payments beginning in the upcoming school year. Funding in the first year will come from federal CARES Act dollars and COVID grant money.

UNIVERSITIES PLAN FOR FALL
Local Colleges and universities continue to announce reopening plans for the fall with local colleges, Lock Haven, Lycoming and Penn College, as well as Bloomsburg and Mansfield are all formulating task forces to plan strategically for the fall semester.  Groups of community members, health officials, students and faculty will work to develop plans in order to have in-person instruction the campuses this fall with health and safety in mind while working to follow guidelines set out by the state’s Department of Education and the CDC.

SPORTS
HS Wrestling

The PIAA took its next step toward eliminating a wrestling weight class Monday when the Board of Directors voted unanimously to pass the new weight classes on a second reading. If the board passes the new weight class proposal on a third reading at its July meeting, there will be 13 weight classes for the 2020-2021 season.  The new weight classes (106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 172, 189, 215, 285) came as a recommendation from the PIAA’s Wrestling Steering Committee and was the result of a three-year long look at the adjustments.

HS Soccer
Greta Kriner who has been playing in AYSO in the early 2000s and has been a referee, for high school and district games, is the newest Montgomery girls soccer coach, replacing Melissa Balliett who coached the past three seasons. Kriner will be hoping to turn things around at Montgomery this fall as she inherits a team that finished 2-15-1 last year and went 1-9 in the Mid-Penn Conference.  Kriner’s dad, Fritz Newhart, was president of the NorCenPenn Youth Soccer League and the Hughesville soccer club while she was growing up.

NCAA
Players on Ohio State’s Football team have to sign a COVID-19 waiver, Called the Buckeye Pledge, if they want to take the field this year.  The waiver lets all parties agree on safety protocols like mask wearing and social distancing rules.  The school’s athletic directror says its more about safety than liability.

MLB
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says he’s not confident that there will be a 2020 baseball season.  Owners and players are having a hard time agreeing on terms of the new season, this after he said in a statement last week that the likelihood of playing the season was 100%

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