Home › Monthly Archives › May 2011

Harrisburg School Making History?

admin May 31, 2011 Sports Comments Off on Harrisburg School Making History?

Bishop McDevitt High School Scores

Bishop McDevitt must be pretty happy at the moment.  He’s not exactly had all that much of which to be proud vis-à-vis competitive sports in the last couple of decades.  Indeed, when the girls’ track team from his Harrisburg high school came in first in the District III AA Team Championship, it marked the very “first district championship in the history of the program,” as well as McDevitt’s own “first women’s district championship since 1985.”  That has to be a victory for both McDevitt and the Harrisburg girls.

Maybe you even know one or two of the successful Harrisburg winners.  “Earning gold medals for the team were Yaneshia Gaston (200, 400), Amber McCoy (300 hurdles), Kameko Webb (long jump) and the 4×1 Relay team of Gaston, McCoy, Webb, and Ieisha Jackson.  Another gold was won with the 4×400 Relay team of Gaston, Jackson, Brianna Davis and Cheyenne Johnson.  Other medals earned:  Adrianna Vukmanic (2nd in javelin), Davis (2nd in discus), McCoy (2nd in 100 Hurdles and 2nd in high jump), Rachel Gerber (3rd in discus), Webb (3rd in 100m, 6th in triple jump), Anne Mrazik (4th in discus), Jessica Miller (5th in 1600 and 6th in 3200), and Jackson (7th in long jump).

Clearly this was a great team and of course kudos has to go to the coaches as well.  Let’s hear it for Harrisburg and McDevitt and hope that this just marks the beginning of a good run for the school.

 

Harrisburg Bluebirds Fail to Nest

admin May 30, 2011 Nature Comments Off on Harrisburg Bluebirds Fail to Nest

Just a few months ago, we became home to the successful nesting and laying of five eggs from a couple of our very own Harrisburg bluebirds.  At first we could only see four of them, but then by altering the camera lens a little, five were seen.  This was very exciting for all those waiting with baited breath for the hatching.

Bluebird Blues

However, it wasn’t exactly plain-sailing from there on out.  Unfortunately, only two of the five eggs actually hatched.  This suggested that the Harrisburg home wasn’t quite the best environment for hatching.  Of course, no one can be sure why exactly something like this happened, but it was definitely disappointing nonetheless.  Much speculation abounded at the time, but again, there is no certainty as to why this happened, rendering the city of Harrisburg somewhat hatch-less.  It could have been the weather – and all of us in Harrisburg can attest to that, especially with the storms we’ve been encountering.  Apparently it becomes significantly harder for them to “find food and feed young” when the weather isn’t good. Their treks are longer which increases their vulnerability to danger too.

Hope for Harrisburg?

So what’s the story now?  Is there any hope left for the Harrisburg lovebirds?  According to experts there is a chance that they may try and re-nest but if Harrisburg keeps encountering poor weather conditions, another attempt may be just as futile.

Only time will tell.  But for those of us praying for a miracle, we might want to turn our voices upward and request an improvement in the weather in our city so that at least we can give the bluebirds the best chance possible of making this happen for all those Harrisburg onlookers.

 

Heavy Harrisburg Storms

admin May 29, 2011 Weather Comments Off on Heavy Harrisburg Storms

Managing Harrisburg’s May Weather

At the end of May, the city of Harrisburg, PA, encountered substantial storms causing damage in certain areas including destroyed trees as well as “deep street water in low lying areas.”  There were substantial rain storms and thunder that really impacted the city, to such an extent that public services were required including the city police, fire and public works departments.  It seemed that Front Street was most affected as well as the mid-town and uptown areas.  But things were not looking that pretty for Green Street or Division Street either which had to be closed.  It is anticipated that Harrisburg will be encountering prolonged power outages too, which of course have also led to traffic problems.  Many of the city’s traffic lights will just be flashing so Harrisburg inhabitants have been advised to only drive if absolutely necessary.  Even though the worst of the damage from the storm is now over, there is still the matter of clean-up to consider.

Calmer Seas Ahead for Harrisburg

Now though, it looks like things will be heating up in the Harrisburg, PA area.  Indeed, it looks like the temperature in the region is set to rise in the next few days, with highs reaching into the 90s.  By the end of the week, it will cool down but it is unlikely that the area will have to encounter yet another tough storm so Harrisburg residents can continue on their day-to-day activities as normal.  Still, even if the temperature is on the rise, there is still the possibility of winds and clouds so it might not be quite time to head out for a picnic.