(Harrisburg) -- A public shooting range is slated to reopen on the Michaux State Forest in Franklin County, after being shuttered for the past two years. Shooting ranges aren't exactly a staple in the state park system, especially since the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources closed the facility off Route 30 near Long Pine Reservoir in June 2010. It was shut down because of things like vandalism and a lack of baseline measures for contaminats related to target shooting. Spokeswoman Christina Novak says a task force has recommended temporarily reopening the range for a three-year period. "So that some data could be collected related to the contaminants that are at the site, the impact's on other forest users...those types of things," she says. "So that in three years, we could look at all that information and make a decision about what to do on a permanent basis." Novak says the shooting range could be up and running by the fall. The Michaux State Forest encompasses more than 85,000 acres in Cumberland, Franklin and Adams counties.

(Lebanon) -- A 12-year-old Lebanon County boy is closing in on his goal to raise $100,000 for a project honoring the late Major Dick Winters next month in Normandy, France. Jordan Brown of Lebanon has spent the past two years selling olive green wristbands displaying the leader of the Band of Brothers' famous motto "Hang Tough." He's $8,000 shy of the six-figure mark. The money will go toward a statue in the likeness of Winters, in  ememberance of the leadership of all junior U.S. officers on D-Day in 1944. Now, an anonymous donor has offered $4,000 to be used as a dollar-for-dollar match for any donation to Brown's effort. "I really want to thank him and anybody else who has donated or supported me throughout my two years of doing this project," Brown says. Jordan is slated to be among the speakers at the unveiling of the statue on June sixth near Utah Beach, the 68th anniversary of the allied invastion. "I think it's awesome, because I get to to where these guys have gone and I get to follow their footsteps," he says. The project, which includes the statue and a documentary focusing on Winters, carries a pricetag of about $400,000. To make a contribution, visit www.hangtough6644.org.

(Hershey) -- A former Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company employee has been charged with stealing more than $333,000 over a the course of a decade. Sharon Bomgardner is alleged to have been involved in a scheme to divert funds from the company to her personal accounts. A finance manager noticed irregularities in January, while reviewing financial entries. The company says Bomgardner's experience with its payment process allegedly allowed her to exploit a payment application and funnel funds from Hershey Entertainment and Resorts by electronic means. Derry Township Police have filed charges against her.

(Undated) -- The race to replace retiring Republican Congressman Todd Platts is down to two men. Democrat Harry Perkinson and Republican Scott Perry have claimed their respective party's nomination. The two men will face off in November in the newly-named Fourth Congressional District, which covers York and Adams counties, the city of Harrisburg and a portion of Cumberland County. Perry, who rolled over six other GOP candidates with nearly 54 percent of the vote, says the fall campaign starts today. "To get the message out to every single voter in the Fourth Congressional District and I take the message that has worked so far to every one of them and get them engaged and ready for November," he said. York County Commissioner Chris Reilly, who ran for the seat a dozen years ago, garnered about 18 percent of the vote and was Perry's closest competitor. On the Democratic side, Perkinson, a businessman, defeated attorney Ken Lee.

(Undated) -- A wealthy former coal company owner from Armstrong County will take on incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey in November's general election. Tom Smith emerged from a crowded field of five contenders to win the GOP nomination, in a race that attracted little attention from voters. "Who would have thought an old farm boy from Armstrong County, who got misplaced in the coal mines, would be standing here with all you good people tonight? he asked. "Wow!" Smith garnered 40 percent of the vote with 95 percent of the precincts reporting. The two closest competitors each picked up a little more than 20 percent of the vote. They were former state Representative Sam Rohrer of Berks County and Steven Welch, who had the endorsement of Governor Corbett and the state GOP. "The differences in this race, ideologically, were not great. I mean, we very much shared the same views. There were certainly differences in style and tone," he said. "But, Tom is going to carry the torch here in Pennsylania and I'm excited about having Mitt Romney at the top of the ticket." Smith relied on a heavy dose of television ads, which he paid for out of his own pocket. In the Democratic race, Casey beat little-known opponent Joseph Vodvarka in his bid for a second six-year term.

(Harrisburg) -- Students who attend HACC's Wildwood or Midtown campuses in Harrisburg will soon have a housing option. HACC is teaming up with GreenWorks Development to provide student housing in Harrisburg's midtown neighborhood. It's the first time the community college will provide student housing. GreenWorks will own, operate and manage the townhomes, which will each feature three or four bedrooms, a full kitchen and two full bathrooms. Matt Tunnell, senior vice president of the development group, says midtown is the perfect place for the project, since it's seen a lot of positive changes in the last six years. "When you bring students into the area, I think that's just going to add that much more to the retail corridor, for shops, for restaurants," he says. "It's just going to really add to the neighborhood." The first seven units will house 26 students in an area adjacent to the Midtown campus and will be ready by August first. Tunnell says an additional 43 townhomes could be built, if needed. As a note of disclosure, Doug Neidich, who serves as president of GreenWorks, chairs WITF's board of directors.

(Lancaster) -- Lancaster's Fire Bureau is facing a big turnover in the next three to five years. So, it's taking steps to fill its ranks with a more diverse group of firefighters. About a third of the 74-person department will be retiring by 2017. Now, the city has implemented a system that favors qualified applicants who live in Lancaster and can speak both English and a second "targeted" language, like Spanish. Only six current firefighters live in the city and Fire Chief Tim Gregg says it's important for the department to reflect the community it serves. "In order to build a strong organization, we feel that if you bring people from different backgrounds in, different viewpoints on issues, we can provide better service." Gregg emphasizes the changes are not based on ethnicity, because anyone who lives in the city and is fluent in Spanish or another "targeted language" would benefit. He says the new approach could take up to a decade to come to fruition. The application period for the next class of firefighters closes on May 31.

(Harrisburg) -- For the second year in a row, the witf Multimedia News Department has been honored by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) with six 2012 regional Edward R. Murrow awards in recognition of the best in broadcast and digital journalism. RTDNA groups witf in a region that includes all of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. witf competed against all radio stations in markets 51 and smaller in the three state region. The six awards were the most in the region among radio and televison outlets in both the large and small market categories. witf was also the only midstate broadcast organization recognized in the region.

Among the stories cited are witf's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal and the Flight 93 crash site in Somerset County 10 years after the September 11th attacks.

"2011 was a year that saw major stories like the Sandusky scandal and record flooding put Pennsylvania center stage, nationally." witf's Multimedia News Director Tim Lambert said. "We, as a department, are gratified to have our stories recognized by RTDNA as some of the best work in the country. It just highlights witf's dedication to providing the best public service possible to our audience."

(York) -- Dozens of parents who rely on day care services offered by the YWCA York are now looking for alternative programs. Like many organizations, the YWCA is struggling financially, due in part to a $62,000 cutback in United Way funding for early childhood education over the last two years. So, it will close two of the YWCA's early learning centers -- one in Manchester and the other in the York County School of Technology -- on May 18. CEO Debra Stock says the nonprofit has to preserve its financial sustainability in order to preserve its mission. "We can't continue to operate without a balanced budget, because there is a day of reckoning and we've done this now for two years and we can't continue to do that," she says. But, those words ring hollow to parent Scot Brown, whose two children utilize the facility in Manchester. "As far as I'm concerned, the people that are making these decisions...they failed everybody at that center," he says. "They're the reason why that center's closing." Brown and the parents of 88 other children impacted by the moves now have the option of enrolling their kids at the York center. To help balance the nonprofit's budget by the end of the current fiscal year, Stock will take a 50 percent pay cut and senior staff's salaries will be reduced by 25 percent. The YWCA in York will also be closed from May 28 through June 2 and the entire staff will be furloughed for the week.