A power mower is not a pleasant machine whether you ride it, push it or walk behind it as it ambles along over your home turf. The sound of it is annoying, it’s work a chore that needs repeating almost weekly not to mention maintenance; in short, not a very pleasant device at all. Still, I do seek the good among the bad and I have fortunately been able to determine two worthwhile qualities in support of it. They aren’t much but it’s all I have.

First, there is the walk. I do not have a riding mower though friends of mine do and their yards are a postage stamp by comparison; to each his own. My mower is self-propelled which means all I do is walk behind it. One day I got out my GPS and carried it with me as I went. I created a pattern that allowed for one continuous run with as few stops as possible. When I finished I found I had walked one point eight miles within the boundaries of my yard. Not too shabby.

The heavy rain falling across the area is causing some minor flooding, especially in central Pennsylvania.

PennDOT is keeping track of several roads closed by high water.

Columbia County
Route 4041 (Rohrsburg Road) in Orange Township, about one mile north of Orangeville and one-half mile west of Route 487

Luzerne County

SR 2024 (Main Street/Maffett Street) is closed between James Musto Bypass and Thompson Street in Jenkins due to flooding.  Anticipated reopening is today at 4:30 p.m.

SR 1029 (Manor Drive/Dug Road/North Street) is closed between Terrace Ave and Carverton Road in Kingston due to flooding.  Anticipated reopening is today at 4 p.m.

 SR 4009 (Cope Rd) is closed between Pond Hill Rd in Union Twp to the intersection of Thorne Hill Rd in Huntington Twp due to flooding.  Anticipated reopening is Wednesday at 9 a.m.

State police say nine elementary school students were hurt when a bus crashed on the way to school in Lycoming County.

It happened a little after 8 a.m. Monday along Elimsport Road, near Montgomery.

Investigators said the bus rear-ended a pick-up truck.

That pick-up was stopped behind another school bus that was picking up students at the bus stop.

In total, nine students and the driver of the pick-up were hurt and state police said the bus driver who rear-ended the pickup was going too fast.

A banged-up school bus was just a few miles from the Montgomery Area Schools when state police said the driver slammed into a the back of a pick-up truck.

The pick-up truck wound up hundreds of feet away around a utility pole.

Sandie Carson was waiting at the school bus stop with her grandchildren along Elimsport Road and saw it happen.

“Very violent, the kids were hysterical on both buses,” said Carson.