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Oakwood Terrace discusses diabetes

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Our Opinion: WVIA-TV documentary ‘Our Town Dallas’ gives borough residents rightful reason to boast

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Now that a rodent has reportedly not seen its shadow, should PennDOT put away the plow trucks and the salt? Should we break out our cruise wear?</p><p>Of course not.</p><p>Punxsutawney Phil, that furry groundhog who somehow has been relegated as the state&#8217;s foremost weather forecaster, has predicted spring is on its way.</p><p>Hogwash.</p><p>Did you know that Punxsutawney Phil &#8212; the current weather rodent and his predecessors dating back 130 years &#8212; has compiled a 39 percent accuracy rate for predicting the weather? Not very impressive.</p><p>You&#8217;d have a better chance of being correct if you flipped a coin.</p><p>Phil&#8217;s handlers &#8212; the Inner Circle &#8212; on Gobbler&#8217;s Knob actually decide in advance whether Phil will see his shadow during his appearance before the cameras.</p><p>It makes you question the authenticity of Phil&#8217;s credentials as a weather prognosticator.</p><p>Can a groundhog really see its shadow? And if it could, how do these handlers know if he does or doesn&#8217;t?</p><p>Six more weeks of winter? Hey Phil, it&#8217;s been in the 50s the past couple of days. We&#8217;ll take six more weeks of this weather.</p><p>I suppose Phil is supposed to tell us if we&#8217;ll get six more weeks of typical, cold, snowy winter weather. Really? We expect a 15-pound rodent to tell us this?</p><p>Apparently we do because Phil isn&#8217;t the only groundhog predicting weather.</p><p>On a sad note, Winnipeg Willow passed away just before Groundhog Day. According to an Internet story, the Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba posted on Facebook that Winnipeg Willow died Jan. 30.</p><p>Predicting the weather doesn&#8217;t seem quite so important now, does it?</p><p>According to the website cleveland.com:</p><p>&#8226; Phil&#8217;s counterpart in Ohio &#8212; Buckeye Chuck &#8212; who has been looking for his shadow since the 1970s, saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter.</p><p>&#8226; On the east coast, New York&#8217;s Staten Island Chuck failed to see his shadow, predicting an early spring.</p><p>&#8226; Michigan&#8217;s Woody the Woodchuck offered a different assessment. He saw his shadow, forecasting another six weeks of winter weather.</p><p>&#8226; Further south in Tennessee, Chattanooga Chuck failed to see his shadow, predicting an early spring.</p><p>I&#8217;m sure there are plenty of other groundhogs around the country and perhaps the world being used to predict the weather.</p><p>That&#8217;s sad.</p><p>Where and when did someone decide a groundhog is the perfect animal to be a weatherman?</p><p>According to History.com, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist, was celebrated for the first time on Feb. 2, 1887, at Gobbler&#8217;s Knob in Punxsutawney.</p><p>History.com also says Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas Day when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter.</p><p>&#8220;The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal &#8212; the hedgehog &#8212; as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were plentiful in the Keystone State.&#8221;</p><p>The website says groundhogs typically weigh 12 to 15 pounds and live six to eight years. They eat vegetables and fruits, whistle when they&#8217;re frightened or looking for a mate, climb trees and swim. And, apparently, they know their weather.</p><p>It appears those Inner Circle members have come up with quite a promotion here. They&#8217;ve managed to make believers of us. We actually are upset if Phil sees his shadow and we&#8217;re delighted when they tell us he didn&#8217;t see it and spring is on its way.</p><p>How much reliance do we actually place on Phil&#8217;s annual prognostication? Do we believe it for a minute? Or do we just enjoy the comedy of it all &#8212; a bunch of guys standing on a hill wearing top hats, one holding a rodent (who might bite him) and then the pronouncement that Phil did or didn&#8217;t see his shadow.</p><p>Sounds like a great excuse to take the day off, fill a flask and head to Gobbler&#8217;s Knob for the show.</p><p>Before you go, though, check with the National Weather Service or another reputable outlet.</p><p>You might need an umbrella, a heavy coat, or sunglasses.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Punxsutawney-Phil-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Handler John Griffiths holds up Punxsutawney Phil during the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler&#8217;s Knob in Punxsutawney Tuesday. The handlers say the furry rodent failed to see his shadow at dawn Tuesday, meaning he &#8216;predicted&#8217; an early spring. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Punxsutawney-Phil-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Handler John Griffiths holds up Punxsutawney Phil during the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler&#8217;s Knob in Punxsutawney Tuesday. The handlers say the furry rodent failed to see his shadow at dawn Tuesday, meaning he &#8216;predicted&#8217; an early spring. </caption1><photoCredit1>Mark Pynes | PennLive.com via AP </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Can we really depend on a rodent to predict our weather?