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You guys have it easier in summer than the animals

By Shirley Grenoble For the Mirror We’ve often wondered how animals survive the cold snaps of winter but we seldom think about how they survive these heat waves. They don’t have air conditioned dens so they have to make the best of it. Black bears have a hard time of it in their black furry skins so they seek out swamps and creeks to sink themselves into, kind of like we love to dive into the pool. It is the heat that impels bears to find relief in private swimming pools and create a sensation. There always seems to be a home owner nearby to video this event and share in ...

4H team captures rifle championship

For the Mirror The Somerset County 4-H rifle team recently won first place in the 3-position category at the 2021 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships conducted June 21-25, in Grand Island, Nebraska. The Somerset team also won a third-place medal for high overall score in the small-bore competition and a fifth place in the steel-silhouette competition. Elissa Barron, Haley Fetterman, Ruby Korenoski, and Nicole Rininger made up the 4-H small bore rifle team. Barron and Rininger are both North Star High School students. Korenoski is a Conemaugh Township High School student ...

Mild algae bloom forecast for Lake Erie

By John Seewere The Associated Press TOLEDO, Ohio — The toxic blob of algae that turns western Lake Erie a ghastly shade of green each summer and threatens drinking water and fish should be on the smaller side again this year following another dry spring, scientists predicted earlier this week. Researchers expect this will be the first time in more than a decade that the shallowest of the Great Lakes will see back-to-back years of relatively mild algae blooms. But they caution that it’s not a sign the lake is turning the corner just yet. That’s because they say the rosy ...

Plastic worms helped revolutionize bass fishing

By Walt Young For the Mirror Because our region is blessed with an abundance of great trout waters, many anglers from this area tend to forget the most popular gamefish in this country is the largemouth bass. Not only are largemouths found in every state, but it’s also quite possible that more lures have been designed to catch them than all those for all other species of freshwater fish combined. I would never be so presumptuous as to suggest which of those countless creations is the best bass lure. I am sure of the lure that hooked me on bass fishing more than fifty years ago ...

Operation Dry Water coming to area in July

HUNTINGDON — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will participate in the annual Operation Dry Water campaign July 2-4 in partnership with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. This is part of a nationally coordinated effort to educate boaters about the dangers of boating while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The mission of Operation Dry Water is to reduce the number of alcohol and drug-related incidents and fatalities on the water. Operation Dry Water weekend promotes and provides safe recreational boater outreach, water safety education and coordinated enforcement ...

Group sues park over dying elk

The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Dozens of tule elk at Point Reyes National Seashore have died from starvation and dehydration in the last year because the animals couldn’t get past a fence that the National Park Service placed to stop them from competing for food and water with cattle, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the federal government. Three California residents and the Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the park service in federal court in San Francisco claiming it is being negligent and more animals will die if the agency is not ordered to provide food and ...