Radio Smart Talk for Friday, April 27:

Extreme is a good word to describe the midstate's weather over the past year.  Maybe the region hasn't experienced the devastating extremes of widespread tornados or droughts like some other areas of the country, but for a moderate climate like Central Pennsylvania, the past 12 months have been unusual.

Last year was one the wettest on record in some Pennsylvania communities.  All you have to is remember last fall's flooding after Tropical Storm Lee that resulted in millions of dollars in damage.  Then came a winter that was almost snowless -- that is excerpt for a bizarre snowstorm on October 29.  The winter was warmer than normal too.

The dry, mild winter left the Susquehanna River at its lowest level since 1910 and 1946 -- two years that resulted in droughts.

This time last week, a drought seemed to be a real possibility.  Then it rained earlier this week.  Is that rainfall enough to take us out of danger?

We'll find out on Friday's Radio Smart Talk when we're joined by Susan Weaver, the drought coordinator with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and John Balay, the manager of planning and operation with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.

Also, WITF's Pick of the Month with the Midtown Scholar Bookstore is Silver Like Dust: One Family's Story of America's Japanese Internment.  Author Kimi Cunningham Grant describes her family's fascinating history.

(Harrisburg) -- The state Health Department is carrying out an annual three-day emergency response drill that will wrap up tomorrow. The drill is designed to test up to 800 state and local partners' ability to respond to a large-scale, catastrophic disaster. Shannon Calluori, with the department, says it's especially important to train personnel and test mobile medical equipment in the wake of last year's wild weather. "We respond to emergencies on an annual basis as needed, so, recently with the flooding that occurred last fall due to Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene, we deployed our resources both within eastern Pennsylvania as well as New Jersey," she says. Calluori says the drill will be carried out at three sites across the commonwealth. She adds the federal government will help evaluate the state's response to the drill.

(Harrisburg) -- The group that oversees how much water can be withdrawn from the Susquehanna river and its tributaries for purposes like natural gas drilling are suspending some permits, due to low water levels. The Susquehanna River is some 75 percent below normal water levels and could soon be approaching drought stages. Susquehanna River Basin Commission spokeswoman Susan Obleski says the situation has been a concern for months. "We have virtually no snowpack to speak of, and then coming into this year we've had months of record temperatures and below-normal precipitation. All of that has combined," Obleski says. A state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman says a drought watch could be issued if conditions worsen. Record rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene last year flooded many of the same communities that now face a dry spell. The state's drought task force is set to meet next week.

(Wichita, Kan.) -- A group of volunteers is stopping in the midstate to help families whose photos were damaged by the flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. Operation Photo Rescue plans to meet with flood victims today and tomorrow in Hummelstown, Dauphin County. They'll be at the William H. and Marian C. Alexander Family Library, 200 W. Second Street., Friday, April 6 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, April 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Damaged photos are scanned, retouched by editors, printed and mailed to families -- at no cost. Group President Margie Hayes says more than 2,000 people from all walks of life volunteer to repair the pictures using digital photo editing software. "We also have people who come in who think they're pretty good at Photoshop, and it's really a humbling experience because there's a really big difference between just doing dust and scratches and doing major damage. A lot of these people start out as beginners and really up their skills," Hayes says. Two newspaper photojournalists founded Operation Photo Rescue after their experience covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The group has restored more than 8,000 photos damaged by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and wildfires.

(Lancaster) -- The Lancaster County Disaster Recovery Committee will reach out to the county's residents that are registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency due to losses they suffered from Tropical Storm Lee last September. The group will contact the registrants by phone and e-mail today see if there are any unmet needs that remain after insurance and FEMA grant applications have been completed. Volunteers will place phone calls between 9am and 7pm today. Registrants may also call United Way LINC at (717) 291-5462 for assistance. More than 3,200 families in the county registered with FEMA. Last month, the group contacted 1,300 households and found 138 families that still required assistance.

(Middletown) -- More than two dozen central Pennsylvania residents whose homes were destroyed by flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee are partnering with a Dauphin County township to transform a portion of ravaged land into a natural floodplain. Londonderry Township is looking to purchase and demolish 14 homes along Swatara Creek Road. The township has applied for a grant of up to three million dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist with the effort. Township Manager Steve Letavic says many of the houses the township hopes to buy are decades old. "Those houses, you know, are 50 years old, some of them, and certainly prior to the zoning law," he says. "So, the reality is, is through no fault of their own, those houses were built before zoning laws were in effect. We've since recognized, and surely the repetitive losses are evident we probably shouldn't have allowed the houses to be built there." Letavic says about 30 residents in the area were displaced when Tropical Storm Lee hit the midstate last September. They've all agreed to take part in the voluntary program. Letavic says he expects to hear if the grant has been approved in the next few months, and hopes to begin demolition by the end of the year.

(Harrisburg) -- A state environmental group says last year's wild weather can be attributed to climate change. PennEnvironment has issued a report that shows more than nine out of 10 Pennsylvanians live in counties that have been declared federal disaster areas since 2006. Director David Masur says those numbers hold up across the nation, as well. "Most people don't realize right now that four out of five Americans right now live in areas hit by weather-related disasters in recent years," Masur explains. "We found this by examining FEMA data at the county level between 2006 and 2011." Masur says the trend for more intense hurricanes and longer heat waves could have a negative economic impact on the state's economy by causing damage to farms and businesses. His group is backing bills at the state Capitol that would promote wind and solar energy. It's also supporting a "green" buildings measure that has passed the House and is awaiting Senate action.

From 1905 to the mid-'60s, the Pennsylvania General Assembly enacted five clean water laws and coal companies were exempted from complying with each one.  During that time, runoff from mines polluted many of the state's waterways. 

When legislation finally did pass that required coal companies to abide by the law, an incumbent lawmaker from Northumberland County was one of only six to vote against the bill.  That gave his opponent -- Franklin Kury -- an opening and Kury took advantage by making the environment one of the keystones of his successful campaign. 

Kury went on to serve in both the State House of Representatives and the Senate and has been described as a reformer during his time in office. 

Kury has written a fascinating book about his career in the legislature called Clean Politics Clean Streams: A Legislative Autobiography and Reflections.  Kury will appear on Tuesday's Radio Smart Talk to discuss his time in Harrisburg.  Some of the same the issues Kury dealt with in the 1960s and '70s impact the state to this day.

Also, Tim Potts, founder of the new Majority Party PA discusses results of a statewide poll he wants lawmakers to not only attention to, but pledge their support to follow the will of the people. 

(Bloomsburg) -- More than two dozen unemployed people have found work assisting flood damaged areas in six central Pennsylvania counties. The cleanup from the fall's record storms is being funded by more than $730,000 in federal grant money awarded to the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation. Among the counties it serves are Columbia, Northumberland and Snyder. Penny Hess, who coordinates the six-month program through the state's CareerLink office in Bloomsburg, says workers are on the front lines of cleanup efforts. "they're doing some debris removal work in townships, boroughs, public libraries, fire departments that were flooded. They're cleaning up flood damage and removing drywall and replacing that," Hess says. He adds military veterans and people who lost their jobs as a result of the flooding get priority in hiring. The pay could be up to $13 an hour. All of the program's 28 workers are required to spend four hours a week at the CareerLink office looking for permanent employment.

(Harrisburg) -- For the 15th straight year, the United Way of the Capital Region has topped its campaign goal. In a year when the economy continued to sputter and the midstate was hit by massive flooding, the United Way raised $11,280,527 million. The figure is more than $280,000 above goal and exceeds last year's amount by $510,000 or 4.7 percent. President and CEO Joseph Capita says many partner agencies reported the highest level of client need in three years, due to unemployment and underemployment. "The ripple effects of a slowly recovering economy really hit home this year," Capita says. He notes flooding in September due to Tropical Storm Lee placed additional burdens on several agencies, as well. "To not only reach, but surpass our goal during these tough times speaks to the generosity of our community and the hard work of our volunteers and staff," 2011 Campaign Chairman Dave Schankweiler says."As these challenging times continue, more and more people need the safety net of programs and services supported by our United Way." Schankweiler's the CEO/Publisher of the Central Penn Business Journal. All of the money raised from individual donors in the campaign will be distributed to programs and services in Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties. "In a time when every penny counts, donors appreciate that 100 percent of their contribution goes directly to programs and services," Capita says. "The Corporate Cornerstones initiative demonstrates that UWCR is a great charitable value." Other United Way organizations are expected to announce the results of their 2011 campaigns in the coming weeks, including Lebanon County's next Thursday.