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WVIA News is conducting a “Listening Tour” by visiting various communities and asking residents for input on story ideas. Community members are invited to visit the WVIA radio studio in the lobby of the Community Arts Center from 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 2. As space is limited, reservations are encouraged on the WVIA site. WVIA's Williamsport/Lycoming County reporter, Chase Bottorf, will be on hand to engage visitors.

Penn College Athletics has announced its 2024 Hall of Fame class: Ned W. Baumbach III (golf), Courtney L. Gernert (volleyball) and Taylor A. Krow (softball). The trio will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony set for 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 27, during Wildcat Weekend.

James P. Thomas considers himself lucky. He found his passion, nurtured it and made it his profession. Today, the beneficiaries of his zest and expertise are countless. The Pennsylvania College of Technology alumnus supports national security by mitigating cyber risks for the U.S. military. The 2020 graduate is an information systems security engineer for the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific.

A former member of Williamsport Area Community College’s Board of Trustees has died. (WACC was the predecessor to Pennsylvania College of Technology.) Lester L. Murray, 96, died on July 13. According to his obituary, services will be private and held at the convenience of the family.

Former state Sen. Henry G. Hager III, for whom Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Hager Lifelong Education Center is named, died June 27 at the age of 90. According to his obituary, a celebration of life will be held in the fall in Fort Myers, Florida, where he resided. Hager was a native of Williamsport and served in the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1973 to 1984.

Before the story ends on Sunday, July 21, art lovers are encouraged to visit the final days of The Gallery at Penn College's exhibition, “Books Undone 2: The Art of Altered Books." Two days remain to view the national juried show: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. (The gallery is closed on Fridays and Saturdays in the summer.)

Pennsylvania College of Technology has appointed Elizabeth S. Gizenski to director of its surgical technology program. Gizenski, a registered nurse and certified surgical technologist, had been the program’s clinical director since 2005. She received the college’s award for Excellence in Academic Advising in 2019.

A nursing director at Pennsylvania College of Technology co-authored a piece, published recently in Rehabilitation Nursing Journal, that reveals a drop in hospital readmission rates among rehabilitation patients when nurses implement a “teach-back” patient education strategy. Kelly T. Bidlespacher, director of nursing-bachelor’s and graduate degrees at Penn College, pursued the evidence-based practice improvement project as part of her doctoral studies.

This summer’s second week of My Tomorrow camp (July 8-12) rolled out a range of hands-on explorations for middle-schoolers. Sponsored by the Soars Family, Penn College’s interactive day camp engages students entering grades 6-8 in a variety of educational pathways sure to lead to promising tomorrows. Add in fun, food and friendship, and it’s an ideal combination for career considerations.

Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered U.S. and Commonwealth flags on all Commonwealth facilities, public buildings and grounds across Pennsylvania to fly at half staff to recognize the tragedy that occurred at a rally for former President Trump in Butler County Saturday evening and in honor of Corey Comperatore, a Butler County husband and father who was killed while attending the event.