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Briefcase: Backpack giveaway returns

For the 14th consecutive year, more than 140,000 students and families across the U.S. will receive a much-needed gift heading into back-to-school season. Round Room LLC, one of the country’s largest Verizon authorized retailers, is continuing its commitment to the communities it serves by giving away more than $3 million worth of free backpacks at its stores. “School Rocks Backpack Giveaway” takes place on Sunday at 1 p.m. at participating TCC and Wireless Zone stores. Local participating stores include: 5580 Goods Lane Suite 1067 in Altoona, 300 Walmart Drive, Suite 140 in ...

Creative spaces

Mackenzie Cherry (left) of Martinsburg keeps friend, artist Carly Maurer of Duncansville, company as she works on her piece “A Trip Around the Moon” as part of the Downtown Altoona Mural Project on 11th Avenue on Monday afternoon. Local artists Chris Bencivenga (left) and Becki Hollen, ...

Gas prices back up to average of $4 a gallon

NEW YORK — U.S. gas prices jumped back to $4 a gallon on average Monday, as Washington’s latest fighting with Iran renews strain on the flow of fuel worldwide. According to motor club AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is now just above the $4 mark. That’s about 13 cents more expensive than it was a week ago, and far higher than where prices at the pump stood at this time last year, when American drivers could full up for about $3.14 a gallon on average. The U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran plunged the world into an global energy crisis, notably as the ...

Markleton man killed in I-99 crash

A 22-year-old Markleton man was killed in a two-vehicle accident on I-99 about 4:29 p.m. Sunday. According to state police, Jason S. Sargent Jr. was driving a 2012 Jeep Compass southbound at a very slow rate of speed when a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 hit the back of the Jeep. The impact pushed the ...

Hollidaysburg musician inspires on the global stage

The field of engineering’s loss became music’s gain when a Hollidaysburg native switched his major in college and set the course for a career in playing the organ. Nathan Ringkamp, 25, is now studying the organ in France as part of a program paid for by a scholarship he won from a ...

Ebensburg readies for homecoming

EBENSBURG — What started out in 1997 as a way to celebrate the borough’s bicentennial year has become an annual tradition, known as Ebensburg Homecoming, in which the community comes together to celebrate summer and welcome former residents home. The celebration consists of several events that get bigger and better every year, said Danea Koss, the borough’s community development director. The festivities begin each year with the Ebensburg Main Street Partnership’s Downtown Shutdown, when officials close the intersection of Center and High streets for bands to perform live music ...