Michael P. Hill

BLOOMSBURG — Before leading her lambs into the arena at the Bloomsburg Fair, Amy Bunnell, 15, of Danville, bathes and shears them so they look their best.

The lambs even get colorful covers to keep their coats from getting dirty before their chance in the spotlight.

However, Keith A. Bryan of Penn State University says the look of a lambs coat plays no role in his judging.

"It's a market animal, so all important things are under the pelt," he explained Tuesday afternoon during the 4-H lamb exhibition. Bryan, a Ph.D. and instructor of animal science, has been judging livestock for 16 years. He also coaches Penn States Livestock Judging Team.

To begin the judging process, Bryan instructs the owners to form a line with their lambs so he can get a general overview. He slowly walks around each animal, inspecting both the front and rear of the lamb, as well as the side, looking for good balance.

After this visual inspection, he handles each lambs sides and belly, feeling for the ideal mix of muscle and fat, he explained.

"It basically comes down to composition muscle and finish, then length. Pattern and structure come in after that," he said.

After several minutes, Bryan begins to line up the lambs based on his judgment of how they placed.

The catch is that the owners don't know if the judge is starting from last or first place.

Morgan Schrock, 16, of Millville, explained that most judges will keep the same pattern throughout the day after the first group is judged.

Schrock has been showing lambs with her grandfather for years. She says it can be nerve-racking out in the middle of the arena. During the judging, she and the other owners are constantly adjusting their animals feet, trying to get them in an even stance.

Schrock admits this is really just to help the animals look better, in the same way that good posture makes us look better.

Owners do not use a lead or leash for their lambs. Instead, they must stoop over and hold them around the neck, explained Bunnell. By the end of the show, some of the youngsters were grumbling about their backs hurting.

"Caring for the lamb is usually fairly easy," Bunnell said. She and her cousin Helen, of Millville, said the animals eat a lot of food and have to be sheared and bathed. Most owners do get some help from their parents, but it still can be a lot of work.

Schrock said lambs are not like a dog where you just throw food at them.

Keshia Eyer, of Millville, said she participates because she likes spending time around animals and babies. She hopes to compete again next year.

Then there's the money. Her stepfather, Jake Sherman, added that she also looks forward to learning how much money her lamb will fetch at auction.

All the lambs shown will be sold on Friday. Their ranking at the competition determines the price they can earn. Last year, the price averaged $1.38 per pound, with the champion earning $3.50 per pound, according to a Penn State Extension officer.

Bunnell says it usually isn't hard for her to part with her lamb. She explained she might like a type of lamb, but not one in particular.

"The rule is, don't name them," Schrock said with a laugh.

"They're a pain, but you get attached to them," added Alicia Spudes, 9, of Berwick. Her grandmother Susan, who was watching the action, said that parting with the lambs last year was especially heartbreaking.

In the competition, each lamb is placed in one of seven categories based on weight. All of the entries receive ribbons, with the first-place winner of each category proceeding to the Grand Champion judging.

Melana Lovell, 15, of Linden, near Williamsport, took Grand Champion at Tuesdays competition. Her father Ralph said she has been raising lambs for about seven years, and one of her animals was named Lycoming County Champion in July.

Ralph thinks his daughter has her act together when she goes out in the arena. He added that Melanas placing feels great after the family's hard work breeding, caring for and raising the lamb.

Melana comes from a livestock-raising family her three sisters have also raised livestock for competition.

Bunnell, who placed fifth in the Light Heavyweight class, said she was a little disappointed, although she felt her lambs chances this year were not the best. Still, she was happy to meet her goal of placing in the top five.

The fair exhibition and judging is part of a months-long 4-H lamb project. Each youngster receives a lamb in the spring, either one that is purchased or bred on their farm. They then must do a lot of hard work, cleaning, feeding and shearing the animal, explained 4-H leader Grace Bunnell of Millville.

She has been involved with 4-H since she was a member for about seven years. The valuable experience she gained prompted her to become a leader eight years ago.

In addition to learning to care for animals, the youngsters also get to take part in a program called Senior Exchange. This allows them to travel to a host family in another state one summer. The next summer that family visits them in Pennsylvania. The Bunnells have gone to Idaho, Arizona, and Texas.

Bunnell feels 4-H is a great program: It teaches the kids responsibility and respect, she said. "My kids know how to behave and treat others how they want to be treated. They're good kids."

She added that more families should get involved with 4-H.

Is it just me or would it be easier to drive to the moon than to downtown Bloomsburg?

Almost every day after work, I have to run into town for one thing or another. It might be to cash a check at the bank, return a criminally overdue library book (that I finally found) or run a package to the post office.

Simple enough, you may say. No way. Not in downtown Bloomsburg this summer.

First, we all have to contend with the fact that Fifth Street between East and Market literally has ceased to exist. (AAA should publish a special map with this road deleted).

The few times I've caught a glimpse of the construction zone, it seems those guys just keep digging deeper. Either that or they're ripping up the same road again and again.

Why? Who knows – maybe it's in the contract. Maybe it was Town Hall's goal to make us all forget there ever was a Fifth Street: no street, no need to build that controversial traffic island.

So I get around this roadblock easily enough by leaving the Press Enterprise and going into town via Old Berwick Road. But that runs me straight into the mysterious intersection where Old Berwick Road meets East Street at the eerily named Auto Zone. Can anyone — even someone with a degree in highway engineering — explain why that light has a right-turn arrow? I think we might have the honor of having the only signal of its kind in the world. (Here's a pop driving quiz: At that intersection, what is the correct interpretation of the right-turn-on-red rule?)

From there, it's simple enough to go west on Seventh Street, past the Church of the Nazarene and YMCA to Market Street. At this point, Main Street almost seems an attainable goal.

But for a while there, Market Street, too, ceased to exist when they tore it up by the Memorial School, between Sixth and the street formerly known as Fifth.

OK, I understand roads need to be worked on, but the thing that really got to me was the fact that no warning signs were posted alerting drivers Market Street was closed ahead.

To top that off, I always seemed to be coming through right when school was letting out, and signs were posted informing me that the one remaining unmolested street was now reserved for student pickup. So I was directed to turn left, toward the river, and away from where I was trying to go.

That construction finally cleared up, then someone decided it was time to dig up the parking lot behind the old CVS store. This lot and the library lot are my all-time favorite places to park in town. They provide easier access to the PNC ATM, Sakuntala Indian restaurant (which I patronize, on average, several times a week) and the post office — if I can manage to cross Market Street without being run over by a fellow frustrated driver.

However, the biggest bonus about these parking lots is that they provide easy access to the best way to get back to my house in Scott Township. I take the street that connects the CVS lot to Iron Street, then turn left onto Third Street after St. Columba Church, then right onto East Street.

Well, that plan went out the window when the parking lot was transformed into a crater. For a few days, I got around this by sneaking out through the parking lot next to St. Columba School and picking up Third Street there. That route, too, was soon blocked when St. Columba's construction took over the road.

Then, on top of everything else, the parking lot crew decided to dig up more of the lot (probably just for fun) and created a dead end.

Again, no signs were posted warning drivers the road would end. I've been tempted several times to just drive through the crater, but, unfortunately, I don't own one of those SUVs the size of an elephant.

Then came the work on the railroad crossing at Sixth Street and Route 11, which gradually left the vicinity of the railroad tracks and began working its way up East Street. (Are they installing a branch line to take train cars up to Main Street?)

Result: the other day, East Street had no left-turn lane, which made it torture to get onto Fifth Street, the eastbound escape route from the Central Bloomsburg Maze.

It's no wonder downtown business is suffering – people can't even find downtown. And those few lucky souls who do, they can't get out again.

Heck, those of us who live here can hardly figure it out. Imagine being from out of the area and trying to get to a downtown business.

Some of us — the few, the lucky — have actually discovered ways to get around all these messes. However, I have no doubt that as soon as the road crews find this out, they'll be digging up those routes as well.

SCRANTON — Campaigning for student government positions has moved past plastering posters all over campus.

These days things are a lot more high tech, and Vinny Solomeno and Joe Casey geared up their campaign online and steered themselves to a win among University of Scranton students.

The pair took out ads on the popular networking site thefacebook.com, at a cost of $12 a day, to help drive traffic to their Web site, which Solomeno says got more than 1,300 hits within a week of launching at www.vinnyandjoe.com.

The pair spent $25 to develop their Web site. The ads added some additional costs, but they didn't come close to spending the $400 cap placed on students running for student government. All of the funds were from their own pockets, including costs to print old-fashioned posters.

Their Web site has the feel of a full-blown campaign site, even offering users instructions on how to vote and an area recruiting volunteers.

When picking their advertising, Solomeno and Casey had a simple strategy.

"(We did) our best to reach out to as many university students as possible," explained Solomeno.

"When Joe and I sat down with our campaign team to plan our strategy, we realized that if we were going to win we would have to run a different kind of campaign, one Scranton has never seen before," Solomeno added.

In the past, some University of Scranton student government campaigns have used Web sites, but not quite to the extent that Solomeno and Casey did. Taking out ads on Web sites is a relatively new idea as well.

However, Solomeno and Casey were offering a lot more than just a snazzy image.

"The bottom line is that Joe and I are the most experienced candidates in this race. We are committed to getting the job done, and I think that shows in our posters, Web site and conversations with the different students we meet each day," said Solomeno.

BLOOMSBURG — Smokers who bought cigarettes at Giant Food Stores on Sunday were hit with a 69-cent tax increase that wasn’t supposed to go into effect until Monday.

The retailer, which owns stores all over Pennsylvania, including ones in Bloomsburg, Berwick and Danville, accidentally began charging the higher tax 24 hours early.

All stores in Pennsylvania were affected.

Although Giant recently started changing its prices on Sundays, Denny Hopkins, vice president of sales development for Giant Food Stores, said the overcharge had nothing to do with the weekly updates.

"It was our mistake," said Hopkins. He would not comment on whether the mistake was due to a computer or human error.

"We apologize to our customers for the confusion," he added.

According to a release issued by Hopkins’ office, Giant is offering to refund the tax overcharge for purchases made within the 24-hour period of July 14. Customers are asked to bring the receipt to the customer service desk of any Giant store.

The chain is also working with the state’s Department of Revenue to ensure any funds not claimed by customers are sent to the state treasury.

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has received some consumer complaints of other retailers accidentally charged the tax increase as well.

The department is looking into those cases.

This story appeared on The Associated Press wire

SCRANTON — Students needing a copy of their transcript now have to pay double what the old price was, and that doesn't sit well with many of them.

The registrar's office began charging $10 per transcript, up from $5 each, this past June.

Since the increase, university spokesman Stan Zygmunt says the registrar's office has received "little to no" student complaints about the increase.

However, UofSNow.com's conversations with students paints a different picture of what students think.

"That's ridiculous." said Parush Shah, a junior biology and philosophy major from Clarks Summit said. Shah, like most of the students interviewed, wasn't even aware of the increase when first contacted by UofSNow.com.

"It's just another money-making scam for this college. They try to get you for everything they can," agreed Steve Benedict, a sophomore political science major from Hawley.

According to Zygmunt, the increase was part of the 2004/2005 budget, which was approved by the university's Financial Management Committee and Board of Trustees.

"Maintaining and providing official transcripts are vital services of the registrar's office. It is essential that student and graduate records be documented accurately and maintained as official records of academic performance, said Zygmunt. "The registrar's office maintains the integrity of student information in a way that responds to student needs while at the same time meeting the confidentiality and disclosure requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

"The increased fee helps to keep pace with the ongoing need for technology to support student services. Just since 2000, the university has invested more than $12 million in technology and scientific equipment," explained Zygmunt, adding that the fee hadn't been raised in six years.

Students, however, don't quite understand this explanation.

"We pay millions in tuition - what do they do with that?" asked Shah. Benedict agreed.

Zygmunt did not respond to questions about the specific supply and labor costs of printing and mailing a transcript.

Some students also raised concerns that the change seems to particularly hurt those applying to medical and law school. Shah, for example, was concerned about his plans of applying to 8 to 10 schools, each of these requiring a separate transcript.

However, this is a misconception, says Dr. Mary Engel, Ph.D., director of prestigious fellowship programs, who advises many pre-medical students.

"Each student would need to send one transcript to the primary application service ... The student is not required to send a transcript to the individual medical schools," she explained.

This doesn't help sooth things over with Shah. "I still think the $5 increase is unnecessary ... when the Loyola is the shabbiest building on campus," he said.

Benedict, who hopes to enroll in law school after graduation, raised similar concerns about the number of transcripts he'd need for applications, but Dr. Frank Homer, Ph.D., says the law school application process is similar to the one Engel described.

"(Students) need send only one copy of transcripts to the Law School Data Assembly Service. The LSDAS, to which all applicants register, automatically duplicates and sends, usually now electronically, copies to every law school to which (the student applies)," he explained.

"I suspect the new $10 fee is on a par with what other comparable, for example, Jesuit, schools charge for their transcripts," Homer said.

UofSnow.com's research shows that, according to colleges' Web sites, no other Jesuit schools have fees as high as Scranton.

Fordham University eliminated fees on Sept. 1, 2004. Boston College, Canisius College, Creighton University. Georgetown, Loyola College in Maryland, Loyola University in New Orleans, Regis University, Rockhurst University, St. Louis University and Seattle University also provide transcripts at no charge.

Zygmunt did point out, however, that transcript costs may be built into tuition at some of these schools.

Gonzaga, Le Moyne, St. Joseph's University, St. Peter's College, University of Detroit Mercy and Wheeling Jesuit University charge $5. Xavier University and University of San Francisco charge $5 for the first transcript and $1 for each additional.

John Carroll University and Marquette University charge $3. Holy Cross charges $2. Fairfield University and Santa Clara University charges $4. Many of these schools do add additional charges for rush or "on the spot" transcript processing.

At non-Jesuit Pennsylvania State University, also known as Penn State, the fee is $6. The same is true at Temple. Another school, New York University, offers transcript free of charge, though these examples are by no means exhaustive.

Students here think these prices are more appropriate.

"I can see $5 being appropriate," said Colin Hendsey, a junior biology major from East Windsor, Conn. Sol De Jesus, a junior neuroscience major from Union City, N.J., suggested a tiered pricing structure might be more appropriate, similar to the one offered at Xavier and the University of San Francisco, with discounts for more than one.

Zygmunt said the university does not currently offer any discounts for requesting multiple transcripts.

Zygmunt did point out that University of Scranton students can get unofficial transcripts through the University Information System at no charge. However, students don't see the point.

"But what can you do with an unofficial one? No place accepts it," said Shah. "You have to have official for everything," agreed Benedict.

Some students interviewed by UofSNow.com did offer a possible solution to avoiding the cost if you're applying for a scholarship - ask the sponsoring organization to request the transcript from the registrar rather than requesting it yourself.

Students who have done this in the past say neither they or the scholarship organization weren't charged for the transcript, though it's unclear if this would still be the case today.

Zygmunt, however, did not comment if this reflects registrar policy.