Latest news with #Heffelfinger
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Richland Township board of supervisors chairman elected to Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors
Robert B. Heffelfinger, chairman of the Richland Township board of supervisors, was elected to a second one-year term as secretary-treasurer of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, a press release from PSATS said. The secretary-treasurer is a member of the association's executive board with full voting rights. The board, which is made up of PSATS' five officers, seven executive committee members and the past president, is responsible for managing the affairs of the association, PSATS said. Heffelfinger is a member of PSATS' Grassroots Advocacy Network, which addresses legislative issues that affect every Pennsylvanian who lives in a township of the second class. He previously served on the association's Townships Over 10,000 Population Committee and is a workshop moderator during PSATS' Annual Educational Conference and a former member of the Annual Conference Planning Committee, the release said. Heffelfinger is deputy chief of the Richland Township Fire Department, president of the Cambria County Association of Township Officials and Cambria County 911 Advisory Board, member of the Cambria County Metropolitan Planning Organization and president of the Highland Community Library. He also serves on the PAC Committee for the Hiram G. Andrews Center, is involved with Crime Stoppers, and is a speaker at various educational and business organizations in the community. He previously served as fire chief, president and various other administrative and officer positions with the Richland Township Fire Department. Heffelfinger, executive vice president of Advanced Office Systems Inc., resides in Johnstown.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hunting mountain lions with dogs will remain legal in Arizona after commission vote
Hunting mountain lions and other predators with dogs will remain legal in Arizona, after the Arizona Game and Fish Commission denied efforts by wildlife groups to ban the practice. The decision April 11 followed close to three hours of public comment at a commission meeting, where hunters who use dogs to legally pursue and sometimes kill predators like bears and mountain lions argued for the wildlife management benefits of hound hunting and defended the GPS technology they use to track their dogs while hunting. Others spoke against hunting with hounds, saying the GPS devices and dogs were an unfair advantage for hunters and might harm endangered species like ocelots and jaguars. Commissioner Jeff Buchanan commended members of the public on both sides of the petition issue for having the courage to speak their minds at the meeting. 'Continue to follow your heart, continue to get involved, and continue to speak up for what you think is right,' Buchanan told people at the commission meeting. The petition, submitted by the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity and five other groups, would have banned dog packs for hunting mammals but not birds. In the petition, the Center stated concerns about hunting dogs' negative impacts on endangered species, like jaguars, ocelots, and Mexican gray wolves, including health effects from the physical stress during pursuit and the abandonment of habitat and offspring. Though hunting endangered species is illegal, hunting dogs sometimes pursue and corner those species while a hunter is seeking legal game. 'This isn't just about protecting these individual animals, it's about making Arizona viable for the recovery of these animals just as they're getting a stronghold in our state,' Russ McSpadden, the Center's Southwest conservation advocate, told commissioners. The petition also argued that GPS tracking collars worn by hunting dogs are an unfair tool when hunting big game, and can reduce supervision over dogs. Wildlife issues: Hounds in jaguar country: Petition ignites debate over future of hunting dogs in Arizona Commissioners voted unanimously to deny the petition, following the recommendations of Arizona Game and Fish Department staff. Jim Heffelfinger, wildlife science coordinator for the Game and Fish Department, told commissioners that department staff did not believe the center had presented information that supported the claims in their petition. 'The allegations that hunting with dogs disrupts ecosystem balance, represents a public safety hazard, represents a risk to non-target and protected wildlife, and violates Arizona laws and regulations are not supported by the information in the petitions or any known scientific literature,' Heffelfinger said. Heffelfinger said hounds are an important tool for managing and tracking mountain lion and bear populations. Dogs also help hunters get closer to mountain lions, enabling them to only kill cats of the sex they are allowed to shoot, Heffelfinger said. In areas without hunting dogs, Heffelfinger said more female mountain lions get shot by accident, working against conservation goals. Rabies: Arizona counties warn of 31% rise in cases, urge caution around wildlife Commonly used for hunting mountain lions and black bears in Arizona, hunting dogs have a long tradition in the state. Hunting some animals with packs of dogs is legal, with a season designated for 'pursuit-only,' in which the dogs trap an animal in a tree but hunters do not kill it, and regular hunting seasons in which hunters kill the pursued animal. Hunters at the commission meeting said the GPS dog collars make their hunts safer for dogs. They said most hunters stay as close to their dogs as possible when hunting, even if they can track them from a distance using GPS collars. They repeatedly asked commission members to consider conservation science over what they saw as emotional pleas from petition supporters, and some brought their children to read statements about the tradition of hunting with hounds. Some hunters emphasized their deep attachments to their dogs. 'My dogs sleep in my bed every night, and they love to get out,' said one hunter, Zach May. 'They get better medical care than I provide for myself.' In a statement after the commission's decision, McSpadden indicated that the debate over dog hunting may not be over. McSpadden said commissioners were 'out of touch' with Arizonans who love the endangered species that hunting dogs purportedly harm, and that the center would continue working on the issue. 'Commissioners could've aligned state rules with ethical hunting standards and the Endangered Species Act, but instead they chose to allow this harmful practice to continue. We'll keep fighting for these commonsense protections for Arizona's endangered wildlife,' McSpadden said. A bill that would change the law to explicitly allow hunting dogs was introduced in the Legislature this session. House Bill 2552 passed through committees, but has not made it out of the House yet. Austin Corona covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to Environmental coverage on and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Sign up for AZ Climate, our weekly environment newsletter, and follow The Republic environmental reporting team at and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hunting predators with packs of dogs will remain legal in Arizona
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hundreds gather in Va. to mourn victims of D.C. air disaster with Johnstown ties
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Nearly 1,500 people gathered Friday in Leesburg, Virginia, to honor the lives of a family with Johnstown-area ties who died last Wednesday in a midair collision near Washington, D.C. Donna (Smojice) Livingston, 48, originally of Westmont; her husband, Peter, 48; and their daughters Everly, 14, and Alydia, 11, were passengers on American Eagle Flight 5342 when it collided with an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft. The Livingstons were returning to their home in Virginia from Wichita, Kansas, where the girls had attended a national development camp for promising young ice skaters held after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. When the girls were very young, Peter, a hockey enthusiast, made an ice rink in the backyard to teach them how to skate, the family's obituary said. 'It was the first of what became an annually constructed backyard rink, and the birth of Everly and Alydia's primary passion: figure skating,' the obituary said. 'The girls skated at the Ashburn Ice House and were members of the Washington Figure Skating Club, competing all over the country. ... It was the girls' dream to skate in the Olympics one day. Then there are goals shared by us all – to leave this earth surrounded by those we love, having lived a life full of passion. Both goals are achieved by few. The Livingstons fulfilled the hardest one.' A celebration of life was held for the Livingston family Friday morning at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg. Friends from the Johnstown area including Bob Heffelfinger attended. 'Close to 1,500 people attended,' Heffelfinger said in a text message Friday night. The procession was led by the Loudoun County Sheriff's Department. 'There was an outpouring from the sheriff's department,' Heffelfinger said. 'They closed every street and intersection.' Donna Livingston is survived by her mother Mary Smojice, brother Mark Smojice, and niece and nephew Maddy and Brody Smojice, and was preceded in death by her father, William Smojice, the family's obituary read. The family's bodies were recovered from the river and cremated. A spring interment at Grandview Cemetery in the Johnstown area is intended, Heffelfinger said. Donna graduated from Westmont Hilltop High School in 1995 and completed her college education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1999. 'Highly driven and ambitious, she went on to work in marketing for Discovery Communications and AOL before landing at Comcast where she excelled over the last 16 years,' the obituary read. 'Donna's infectious energy extended beyond her career as a beloved friend and dedicated skating mom and wife.' Peter worked as a Realtor with Keller Williams, where he was recognized by the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors as a top producer for multiple years. Peter and Donna met in 2006 and were married in 2009. "Peter was best known for his love and dedication to his wife and daughters, joyfully leading the charge behind the scenes to support their endeavors,' the obituary said. 'It wasn't that Peter couldn't say no to his girls, he was just delighted to say 'yes'.'
