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EDITOR’S DESK
Coming Through the Storm
My lights turned on this morning, as they do just about every morning. Even when you’re in the business of electricity, it’s something that’s easy to take for granted. Electricity powers so much of our daily lives we tend to forget it’s there — until it’s not.
It powered the text I got from my cousin in North Carolina, letting me know the family was OK in the wake of Hurricane Helene. But things were bad. Their business — a tree nursery in Morganton, N.C. — suffered catastrophic losses. Much worse, they lost employees and close friends to the devastating storm that took hundreds of lives throughout the Southeast.
As a kid, I spent several summers in the hills of western North Carolina with my cousins. I hunted for arrowheads in fields that grew Christmas trees, many of which would end up in Pennsylvania homes. We built a “trout farm,” which was more of a minnow pool, along the small creek by the homestead. It’s unimaginable to me that the little creek and surrounding streams would overflow to the point of wiping out homes, farms, and communities in the area.
My cousin said the reality on the ground was much harsher than what was on the news. Mudslides had changed the landscape. The flooding made roads inaccessible, cutting people off from getting assistance. Even the local hospital had no power. But there was help. The community members helped each other find food and shelter, and they welcomed help from others.
In the aftermath of the storm, electric cooperative crews from Pennsylvania and New Jersey joined thousands of fellow lineworkers from more than a dozen states to assist sister cooperatives in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. In Morganton, my family’s nursery opened its loading dock for the utilities to use as a staging area for restoration efforts.
In this month of thanks, I’m grateful for those who bring power back to people’s lives. I’m grateful for the hills of North Carolina, and the resilience of small communities. It’s a long road ahead, but they will come through this storm. And the lights will come back on.
PETER A. FITZGERALD
EDITOR
The Cooperative Development Foundation has set up a dedicated page to raise funds for electric cooperatives and co-op employees directly affected by Hurricane Helene. Here’s the link to donate: weblink.donorperfect.com/DRFHelene.
ROUND AND ROUND
PennDOT: Roundabouts reduce crashes, injuries
Driving in circles pays off, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). The agency reports crashes involving injuries dropped by 51% at traditional intersections replaced with round-abouts, and the total number of crashes dropped by 7%. During the 20-year review period, there were two fatalities at roundabouts on state routes.
PennDOT evaluated 47 roundabouts on state routes that replaced stop- or signal-controlled intersections. Each had at least three years of crash data available before and after the roundabouts were built and had at least one crash during the review period.
Although roundabouts tend to be safer and more efficient than traditional intersections, topography, property impacts, and capacity issues can limit their use.
DRIVING IN CIRCLES: A PennDOT study found that circular intersections — otherwise known as roundabouts — create a safer environment for motorists. Roundabouts that replaced traditional intersections have cut the number of injury crashes in half, the agency reports.
READY, AIM ... STANDBY
Is Pennsylvania ready for Sunday hunting?
The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau has dropped its long-standing opposition to Sunday hunting, but it’s not yet clear if the state’s near-total ban on the practice will change as a result.
Pennsylvania’s Sunday hunting ban is at least two centuries old, and makes exceptions for hunting crows, coyotes, and foxes during open seasons. A 2019 law put other exceptions in place to allow hunting on three Sundays a year: one during rifle deer season, one during archery deer season and a third decided by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC).
Eleven states have a total or par-tial ban on Sunday hunting. And Commonwealth hunters have been pushing lawmakers to remove the ban, arguing more time to hunt could encourage more hunting license purchases. Revenue from those sales helps fund habitat improvements and other conservation efforts.
State Rep. Mandy Steele (D-Allegheny) and state Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) have both introduced bills that would remove the Sunday prohibition and empower the PGC to regulate hunting days.
Both measures would strengthen existing trespassing penalties and create a database to link farmers dealing with pests to hunters willing to take aim at the problem
POWER UP!
2025 Pennsylvania Farm show theme revealed
State officials have announced the theme for the 2025 Pennsylvania Farm Show is “Powering Pennsylvania.” The annual event is scheduled Jan. 4-11 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.
Because of the vital role they play in powering rural Pennsylvania, the state’s rural electric cooperatives will be collaborating with the state Department of Agriculture on related events.
The Farm Show brings half a million visitors to the state capital for eight days of competition and family fun with an educational twist.
Learn more at farmshow.pa.gov.
WE ARE!
Beaver Stadium home to the most lively college football crowd
Penn State’s Beaver Stadium ranks first among the places that host the nation’s rowdiest college football crowds, according to a recent study by The Roar, a pop-culture, sports-related blog.
Researchers reviewed 50 universities with top-ranked football programs, analyzed each of the stadiums on 11 key metrics, such as percentage of filled seats, percentage of reviews mentioning loudness, percentage of reviews mentioning tailgating and number of team cheer hashtags.
“Nittany Lions fans don’t just show up, they show out!” the study reported. “Beaver Stadium boasts the highest percentage of Google reviews mentioning great fans (12.9%), atmosphere (18.4%) and tailgating (10.9%).”
Wolverines fans in Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, took home second place, while those in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., home base of the Crimson Tide, took third.
A LOT ON YOUR PLATE
New specialty plate promotes hunting, fishing and boating
The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) have announced a new specialty license plate for sportsmen.
The Pennsylvania Sportsman Registration Plate, available through PennDOT, features Pennsylvania hunting, fishing, and boating imagery, including the white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, and anglers fishing from a kayak on a scenic river. The plate costs $40 plus the registration fee, of which $14 will be allocated evenly to the PGC and PFBC to promote youth hunting and fishing activities.
Applicants for the license plate must submit Form MV911, “Application for Special Fund Registration Plate,” available at penndot.pa.gov. This plate is available for passenger cars or trucks under 14,000 pounds.
TIMELINES
A decade ago, Penn Lines was recognizing the U.S. Cooperative Extension movement as it celebrated its 100th anniversary. Pennsylvania’s own history of disseminating practical, research-based information about agriculture and home economics, however, dates back even further. Realizing the need for an educational network serving the state’s rural community, Penn State University (then Pennsylvania State College) established what would become the state’s extension service in 1907. And it all began in Bedford, where a state historical marker at 3744 Pitt St. commemorates the event..
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