CHEERS to hockey phenoms the Hershey Bears. Yet another winning year with a playoff birth and East Division title. Now they have a shot at the record for best winning season of the AHL’s 74-year history. They are the big, bad, winning Bears, and we’re sure happy to have their kind in our backyard. JEERS to Greyhound bus in Harrisburg... Full story »

CHEERS to the Hershey High School memory team, whose talents truly boggle the mind. They did it again. For the third straight year, the teens won the National Memory Championship. Last weekend’s final round in New York provided another sweet memory for team members Hamisha Patel, Sonia Kothari, Michael Glantz, Vishnu Patel, Sophia Hu, Hannan Khan and Kabir Singh. Remember... Full story »

CHEERS to the great story of Cumberland Valley High School senior Myles Clapsadl, who fights daily against a rare degenerative disease that is attacking his mind and movements. His willpower has inspired local resident and hiker Jay Sexton to use his upcoming trip to Mount Everest as a fundraiser dubbed “Miles for Myles.” Talk about going the distance! JEERS to... Full story »

CHEERS to the one-year anniversary of Harrisburg University’s permanent building. You can’t miss the distinctive addition to Harrisburg’s skyline, but the learning inside is equally impressive. It’s difficult to believe the university was only an idea a decade ago. Let’s keep the innovations coming. JEERS to the land battles brewing over the Appalachian Trail and properties nearby. This is one... Full story »

CHEERS to all involved in Thon weekend. We’ve seen the canners out in the snow, many have dug deep to donate in a rough year and now it’s time to hit the dance floor. There’s no competition, Penn Staters are America’s best charity dancers. Move over “Dancing with the Stars,” we’re dancing for the kids. JEERS to the sale and... Full story »

We are so easy to criticize PennDOT, but you don’t hear too many thank-you's Full story »

CHEERS or JEERS to the winter weather? That probably depends upon whether you are the one doing the shoveling. Or if you are an expert weather watcher like Zachary Labe. CHEERS to Labe, 17, the Central Dauphin High School student whose weather predictions are among the best in the country. He’s recently been accepted into the hallowed American Meteorological Society,... Full story »

JEERS to PETA for demanding that Pennsylvania’s famous Punxsutawney Phil be replaced with a robotic replica. Phil spends a few minutes in front of the crowd and the rest of the year he is well-fed and taken care of. PETA way overstepped on this one — dare I say “beyond a shadow of a doubt.” CHEERS to the 25 jockeys... Full story »

CHEERS to Gov. Ed Rendell and the gutsy Pittsburgh sisters (Jaime and Ali McMurtrie) for one heck of a rescue mission in Haiti to deliver tons of supplies and get 54 orphans to safety in Pittsburgh and to adoptive families. You made our state proud. For this week at least the governor’s detractors may have to change the moniker “Fast... Full story »

CHEERS to central Pennsylvania’s outpouring of support for the Haiti relief efforts. So many have stepped up — from religious groups that operate missions in Haiti such as the Carlisle Brethren in Christ and Mennonite Central Committee in Lancaster to corporations such as Rite Aid and Wegmans making donations and serving as collection points. Even a local Harrisburg youth... Full story »

JEERS to the ongoing debate about whether we are in a new decade now or in 2011. The word decade comes from the ancient Greek word dekas meaning 10. The definition says nothing about 10 years starting in a year that ends with zero or one. It’s time to move on. CHEERS to Mayor Thompson’s multifaceted inauguration events this week.... Full story »

We start with a JEERS to Mus Musculus, the lowly house mouse, who we inexplicably adore as a cartoon character (Mickey, Mighty, Stuart, etc.) but despise as real-life competitor for our food and territory. Thus we have politicians blustering and buck-passing responsibility for rodent riddance at the state Capitol Cafeteria. Just be glad it’s not an infestation of Josephoartigasia... Full story »

CHEERS to all the midstate’s snow removal crews. For all the frantic buying of bread and milk, you would have thought the blizzard would keep us snowed in for days. But local snow removal crews made light of the season’s first big storm. Thank you “snow men” (and women) of the Harrisburg area. JEERS to Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp., which runs... Full story »

CHEERS and a wink for cleverness to Nick Cantone. After years of citations for gambling and smoking in his restaurant, he outfoxed the regulatory foxes by creating a Sons of Italy chapter at the restaurant. The move makes the place a club, which means smoking and small games are legal. Did someone just dish it back or what? JEERS and... Full story »

CHEERS to Michael Minto for stepping up to stop a stabbing outside the Kaplan Career Institute in Swatara Twp. on Monday night. Police believe Minto likely saved the life of Dillon Mitchell. He’s a hometown hero indeed. CHEERS to Alexandra White. The Milton Hershey grad and “Biggest Loser” reality show contestant might not have dropped the most pounds, but she... Full story »