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Economic development 101: The Williamsport Lumber Yards

Economic development is truly the process by which communities are transformed. Nowhere is this more evident than in Williamsport’s Lumber Yards project, set to host its first tournament this coming weekend. The facility features six lighted synthetic turf fields for youth baseball and girls’ and women’s softball, a convertible collegiate-size field, concessions and a hospitality hub. The story of the Lumber Yards begins with the acquisition of the former Susquehanna Supply site, a neglected brownfield that the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau and the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber ...

Veterans are leading the way in healing – again

By any honest measure, veterans have long been unintended pioneers in the advancement of medicine. The unique realities of war and military service have forced innovation that later benefits civilians for generations. Modern triage systems emerged from battlefields where medical personnel had to decide, in seconds, who could be saved. Medevac transportation by helicopter increased survival rates in conflicts like Vietnam and later became a staple of civilian emergency medicine. Advances in trauma surgery, prosthetics, rehabilitation medicine and even treatments for post-traumatic ...

Good fences, better boundaries

Dear Annie: I have a neighbor whom I used to enjoy very much. We would chat at the mailbox, exchange holiday cookies and occasionally sit on each other’s porch for a friendly visit. She was the kind of neighbor everyone hopes to have close by. Lately, though, things have changed. She now drops by without calling, often at the worst possible times. More than once, I have opened the door in my exercise clothes, with dinner half-cooked and papers spread all over the kitchen table, only to find her smiling and ready to settle in for a long visit. If I say I am busy, she laughs it off and ...

Woman’s HPV test comes out positive for three risk types

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 35-year-old female. My doctor did a Pap smear and a human papilloma virus (HPV) test that was positive for one of the “risk types” (16, 18 and 45 according to my chart) — but not one of the really bad ones. I am otherwise healthy. My Pap smears have always been normal. I never did get my HPV vaccine. Should I get it? Should I worry? What are the chances of it going away? I am engaged to be married; how do I tell him? — V.S.P. ANSWER: HPV is the cause of cervical cancer in women and head and neck cancer in men. Although there are many different types, ...

Yes, boldly go

So much for journalistic objectivity. The BBC science editor covering the launch of Artemis II couldn’t contain her enthusiasm when the first plumes of smoke spread out from the launch pad. “Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!” she exclaimed, clapping like a schoolgirl. As the rocket lifted off, she got visibly emotional: “It’s not just what you see and you hear as the rocket lifts off. You can feel the force of it through your body. This is the most powerful rocket that NASA has ever built!” Rebecca Morelle can be forgiven for falling in love with the subject of her ...

Dear Annie: Being needed isn’t the same as being seen

Dear Annie: I am wondering if I am the only one who feels this way, though I suspect I am not. From the outside, my life looks full. I have family, friends, responsibilities and a calendar that rarely seems empty. Yet somehow, I often feel lonely right in the middle of it all. I spend so much time taking care of other people, showing up, remembering birthdays, checking in and being the dependable one, but very rarely does anyone ask how I am really doing. If I disappeared for a week, I honestly wonder who would notice beyond needing something from me. It is a strange kind of sadness ...