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WVC prepares for softball season
There isn’t much change in terms of the Wyoming Valley Conference.
Tunkhannock will enter as the preseason favorite to capture the Division 1 title. Also in the division will be Pittston Area, Hazleton Area, Wilkes-Barre Area, Wyoming Valley West, Crestwood and Dallas.
Division 2 will come down to the two regular-season battles between Lake-Lehman and Holy Redeemer. Unless a divisional playoff is needed, it will be the only two meetings between the two rivals in 2025 as they are now in different classifications.
Also in Division 2 is Berwick, Wyoming Area, Greater Nanticoke Area, Hanover Area, Wyoming Seminary and MMI Prep. MMI returns back to the division after not fielding a team for the last few seasons.
There are some changes in the district for 2025.
Holy Cross, normally a Class 2A contender, is now down in Class 1A. Holy Redeemer, a Class 3A contender, drops down to Class 2A. Redeemer and Dunmore added to 2A, in addition to Elk Lake, should make for an interesting class.
Class 4A seems to be the toughest. While North Pocono moved up to Class 5A, Wallenpaupack is now in 4A. Put the Buckhorns with Tunkhannock, Valley View and what could be an improved Dallas team, and it looks to be the deepest division.
The other change is that West Scranton, a normal contender in Class 5A, moved into the Class 6A subregional.
Here is a look at the classes:
Class 1A: Forest City, Holy Cross, MMI Prep, Old Forge, Susquehanna.
Class 2A: Blue Ridge, Dunmore, Elk Lake, Holy Redeemer, Lackawanna Trail, Montrose, Mountain View, Wyoming Seminary.
Class 3A: Carbondale Area, Lake-Lehman, Lakeland, Mid Valley, Riverside, Western Wayne.
Class 4A: Berwick, Dallas, Hanover Area, Honesdale, Nanticoke Area, Scranton Prep, Tunkhannock, Valley View, Wallenpaupack, Wyoming Area
Class 5A: Abington Heights, Crestwood, Delaware Valley, North Pocono, Pittston Area.
Class 6A: Hazleton Area, Scranton High, West Scranton, Wilkes-Barre Area, Williamsport, Wyoming…
Cornell offers undergraduate students a wide variety of opportunities to become involved in positive change through community-engaged learning.
Seven projects are receiving a boost from the latest round of Engaged Opportunity Grants, awarded two times a year by the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement to teams of faculty or staff and their community partners.
Take the Coddington Road Community Center in Ithaca for example, where a cross-college collaboration is bringing together expertise and ideas from students in courses in landscape architecture, architecture and civil engineering. Under the leadership of Jennifer Birkeland, assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Qi Li, associate professor in the College of Engineering; and Emma Silverblatt, visiting critic in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, participants will help shape the center’s outdoor spaces for all-season childcare and youth programming.
An Engaged Opportunity Grant awarded to Sharifa Wip, associate dean of students and director of black student empowerment in Student and Campus Life, supports the community-engaged work of Black Students United (BSU). Mentors from the student-run group are sharing their enthusiasm for Afro-centric values, academic excellence, activism and leadership with Black Ithaca high schoolers through the Southside Community Center. The Einhorn Center has previously nurtured BSU’s partnership with the historic center through a Community Partnership Funding Board grant and a Group Certificate in Community-Engaged Leadership.
A third project, BIRDSONG, is a repeat recipient, thanks to a Sustaining Engaged Opportunity Grant, launched this year. Applicants who have successfully completed an EOG Planning grant are eligible. Led by Nora Prior, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences and Susanne Bruyère, professor in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, the outreach program pairs Cornell STEM students with high school students with disabilities or communication challenges in the BOCES Career Program. With assistance…
Sheehan players celebrate after defeating East Catholic in the CIAC Class MM girls basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media
Sheehan players celebrate after defeating East Catholic in the CIAC Class MM girls basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media
Sheehan players pose for photos with the championship plaque after defeating East Catholic in the CIAC Class MM girls basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media
Members of the…
The Fifth Committee of the United Nations has commenced discussions on the financial implications of the Secretary-General’s plan to reduce personnel in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). This plan involves the withdrawal of 510 staff members by the end of 2025, following the Security Council’s recent resolution extending UNAMI’s mandate for an additional 19 months. The Secretary-General’s transition strategy includes retaining a smaller team to assist with the mission’s closure in 2026.
Details of the Drawdown Plan
During the meeting, Christophe Monier, Director of the Programme Planning and Budget Division, presented the Secretary-General’s report detailing the revised estimates for the 2025 program budget. The report outlines the financial framework necessary to facilitate the orderly drawdown of personnel and assets from UNAMI. A significant allocation of $21.7 million has been earmarked for separation costs associated with the phased reduction of staff. This budget adjustment replaces the previously proposed financial resources of $103.2 million, reflecting a strategic shift in the mission’s operational needs.
The Security Council’s resolution 2732 (2024) mandates this drawdown, which is set to conclude by December 31, 2025. According to the transition plan, 126 personnel will remain in Iraq to assist with liquidation and related activities into 2026. The adjustments in personnel and budget are crucial for ensuring that UNAMI can fulfill its remaining responsibilities while transitioning effectively.
Advisory Committee Recommendations
In a related report, Carlo Jacobucci, Vice-Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), highlighted that the revised budget estimates have increased by $12.3 million compared to the previous year’s appropriation. This increase reflects the need for a more balanced withdrawal schedule, as the majority of personnel reductions are concentrated towards the end of the year. Jacobucci urged the Secretariat to implement a gradual transition of…
Multiple crews were on the scene of a brush fire in the Town of Nanticoke just before 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The brush fire located on Pendell Hill Road was started by electrical wires rubbing against trees.
The flames were knocked down before spreading to nearby homes but came as close as 20 feet from a house.
A red flag warning has been in effect all day in the Southern Tier, and Glen Aubrey Fire Chief Gary Smith says it’s important to follow the rules on days like this.
“There’s a burn ban in effect for a reason. It’s dry, people think because we got a lot of rain the ground is wet, the stuff on top is not wet it’s still dry. Until these trees green up and the grass greens up you just gotta use your head. Don’t do it.”
Fire departments on scene include Glen Aubrey, the Town of Lisle, the Town of Maine, and Chenango Bridge. New York State Forest Rangers were also on scene.
No one was injured.
Multiple crews are on the scene of a brush fire in the Town of Nanticoke. The fire started by electrical wires rubbing against trees, and was knocked down before spreading to nearby homes. A #redflagwarning is still in effect for the Southern Tier until 9PM. @wicztv pic.twitter.com/dZwZKEr2FZ
— Amanda Pitts WICZ (@AmandaPittsTV) May 2, 2018
Ellington celebrates its win over Sheehan in CIAC Div 4 Boys’ Basketball Championship action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media
The top-seeded Ellington boys basketball team defeated No. 23 Sheehan 55-39 to win the CIAC Division IV championship, its first since 1972, at the Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Sean Patrick Bowley / Hearst Connecticut Media
Ellington celebrates its win over Sheehan in CIAC Div 4 Boys’ Basketball Championship action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media
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Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) delegates today began reviewing the revised financial implications of the Secretary-General’s plan to draw down 510 personnel from the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) over the course of 2025, with the bulk of reductions set for year-end.
UNAMI’s drawdown was decided by the Security Council through the adoption of resolution 2732 (2024), which extended the Mission’s mandate for a final 19-month period until 31 December 2025. (See Press Release SC/15714.) According to the Secretary-General’s transition plan, 126 of the Mission’s 636 personnel would be retained to support liquidation and related activities in 2026.
Christophe Monier, Director of the Programme Planning and Budget Division of the Office of Programme Planning, Finance and Budget, presented the Secretary-General’s report “Revised estimates relating to the programme budget for 2025 under section 3, Political affairs, and section 36, Staff assessment” (document A/79/6(Sect.3)/Add.10).
Mr. Monier said the revised budget will allow the Mission to support its mandate’s tasks while ensuring the safe and orderly drawdown of personnel and assets. A provision of $21.7 million has been made for separation costs, in line with the phased downsizing of posts and positions, he added. The resources supersede the proposed financial and human resources of $103.2 million laid out in the Secretary-General’s report “Proposed programme budget for 2025, Part II Political affairs, Section 3 Political affairs, Special political missions, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq” (document A/79/6(Sect.3)/Add.6).
In presenting the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) related report (document A/79/7/Add.48), Advisory Committee Vice-Chair Carlo Jacobucci noted that the revised estimates are up $12.3 million, compared with the $98.1 million appropriation approved for 2024, and up $24 million, compared with the General Assembly’s December 2024 authorized allotment.
As the personnel reductions are concentrated towards the year-end, he urged the Secretariat to create a more balanced withdrawal schedule with an earlier and more gradual transition of responsibilities to the United Nations country team. Noting that a portion of staff separation liabilities would…
Nanticoke Creek overflowed Tuesday morning, washing out roadways and blocking the routes in and out of the Town of Maine. Highway Superintendent Joe Dohnalek says those waters did recede giving residents a way out of town in the late morning. A state of emergency was declared for the town, which saw the brunt of the flash flooding in Broome County.
“Right now it’s just monitoring the water as it recedes and assessing the damage,” says the Director of Broome County Emergency Services Michael Ponticello.
The Town of Maine fire station was center of operation for first responders and officials dealing with the Maine flooding. Police, Emergency Services, the town supervisor, County Executive Jason Garnar, and the highway department all using the station as a point of deployment to the affected areas of the town. Hopping in Highway Superintendent Joe Dohnalek’s truck, we were shown the places hit the hardest by the overnight flooding.
Driving around the barriers put up on a still closed Nanticoke Ave, Dohnalek points out the window to his left, “See all this grass is muddy, the water up through here was about 4 feet deep.”
This portion of Nanticoke Ave was under about 4 feet of water on Thursday morning.
A black pickup truck is sitting in the middle of the road. Dohnalek says the driver tried to go through the washed out portion of Nanticoke Ave and stalled out. That truck is now a good reference point for how deep the water was just hours earlier. Dohnalek points out the license plate that is now crumpled up from the force of the water. “So, it was about up to the headlights,” says Dohnalek.
Just past that truck,…
UNCASVILLE – Sheehan girls basketball coach Mike Busillo kept looking at the scoreboard. The Class MM championship game against top-seeded East Catholic was winding down but the clock seemed to be moving very slowly.
“I just kept looking up there and we seemed to have more points,” Busillo said. “As long as that was the situation I felt good. We kind of hung on there by our fingernails.”
The third-seeded Titans watched a 22-point first half lead evaporate against top-seeded East Catholic but they hung on for a 56-51 victory, Sheehan’s first title since 1976.
East Catholic cut the lead to one, 42-41, early in the fourth quarter and then four, 52-48, with 1:47 left in the game.
But Sheehan junior Megan Wresien, who led the team with 22 points and eight rebounds, made four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
“You’re just telling the kids, ‘We’ve got to relax, we’ve played a lot of close games,’” Busillo said. “Basically, I’m lying through my teeth because we’re all nervous wrecks. Somehow, we held on. I don’t know how we did it.”
Megan’s twin sister Jenna scored 13 points for Sheehan. Urielle Abrokwa had 18 points and Morgan Bridgeforth had 16 points and five steals for East Catholic.
“It’s relief, pure joy,” Megan said. “Just being able to grind it out in the tough moments is awesome.
“It’s a game of runs, we made a run in the first half, they made one in the second half. We knew they were a really good team.”
Sheehan hit seven of 12 3-pointers in the first half and led 34-17 at halftime. The Titans’ biggest lead was 34-12 late in the second quarter.
But East Catholic started to play pressure defense and threw on a full-court press, forcing Sheehan turnovers. The Titans hung on but the lead…