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Businesses on Main Street in Dallas cope with road closure

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Nanticoke Boy Scouts travel to DC to celebrate 20 years

WILKES-BARRE &#8212; This weekend, 2 a.m. Sunday will become 3 a.m., just like that.One hour will be erased, unaccounted for and forever lost to the cosmos.If you want to research the whys and what fors of this thing called daylight saving time, please do that on your own time, maybe during that lost hour early Sunday morning, by researching the Internet and Googling all night. You will find many reasons and arguments for this adjustment in time.Meanwhile, back in the real world, people across the U.S. &#8212; except those in Arizona &#8212; will deal with losing an hour of sleep Saturday into Sunday.Kalen Churcher, an assistant professor in the Wilkes University Communication Studies Department and adviser to The Beacon school newspaper, doesn&#8217;t look forward to the loss of any sleep.&#8220;As someone who typically runs on little sleep as it is, springing forward an hour can be a little rough,&#8221; Churcher said. &#8220;However, from a teaching standpoint, and as someone who teaches until after 5 p.m., it&#8217;s great to have it be light out when class ends. I think the students prefer it, too. When they leave class, it doesn&#8217;t seem like their entire day is over already.&#8221;And that is the best argument offered on behalf of daylight saving time &#8212; more light after work equals more time to do something fun.Longer daysSome downtown workers offered their thoughts on the yays and nays of daylight saving time.Stephanie Jennings, like many others, likes having daylight when she leaves work.&#8220;I just like a longer day,&#8221; she said.Brenda Sokolowski said she is more apt to do something outdoors when there is more daylight to use up.&#8220;There&#8217;s not much you can do when it&#8217;s already dark out when you leave work,&#8221; she said.There are those, however, who prefer daylight in the mornings &#8212; before work.&#8220;It&#8217;s easier to wake up when it&#8217;s light out,&#8221; said Mandee Juckett.And then there is Karen Cigna, who would rather we remain in standard time all the time.&#8220;I think the whole thing is ridiculous,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s awful to wake up in darkness. I&#8217;d prefer we stay in standard time.&#8221;Why the bad mood?Psychologist Robert Griffin, of Forty Fort, said he loves daylight saving time because he is able to be outdoors longer enjoying nature.Although Griffin said people generally don&#8217;t complain about it, the time change can effect mood, with increased anxiety and depression for some.&#8220;Some people are more sensitive to the change, e.g. people with already limited sleep, those less able to get additional rest at other times, those who react more to changes in sleep cycles, people already stressed, or in more stressful circumstances,&#8221; Griffin said. &#8220;Generally speaking, it could be a good idea to know you and others might be a little more tired, less attentive, and more reactive for about a week. So, take it easier and be a little mindful when the clocks are changed.&#8221;<ins>Quick facts</ins><ins>Here are some daylight saving time facts from the website GIZMO.com:</ins><ins>&#8226; Daylight saving isn&#8217;t as old as you think it is. First suggested by Benjamin Franklin, in 1784, it was at the time shot down by many very sensible people as being pointless. Then, in the First World War, it was introduced &#8212; first by the Germans &#8212; to save coal during war time.</ins><ins>&#8226; Sadly, nobody&#8217;s really thought to change back. Except Arizona, and it hasn&#8217;t fallen off the face of the planet as a result.</ins><ins>&#8226; But oddly, some people still support the use of daylight saving: they say it saves energy, promotes a healthy lifestyle, and reduces traffic accidents.</ins><ins>&#8226; Many folks point to the fact that DST reduces the incidence of road traffic accidents as a good reason to keep using the system. Some studies show that it makes no difference, others suggest a 0.7 percent reduction in traffic fatalities during DST.</ins><ins>&#8226; It&#8217;s true that DST does provide extra daylight in the evening, and that it may bring with it increased physical activity and reduced incidence of depression.</ins><ins>&#8226; Studies have shown that, around the times of the spring clock changes, there are spikes in suicide rates and an increase in the number of recorded heart attacks.</ins>Time to be carefulAAA Mid-Atlantic says moving to daylight saving time will affect the Monday morning commute to work. AAA says the drive to work or school will look very different for students waiting for buses and motorists driving to work in the dark.Jana L. Tidwell, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic said, &#8220;Motorists and pedestrians, including school students waiting at bus stops, need to be aware of these dangers, remain alert, and minimize distractions to reduce the risk of motor vehicle crashes.&#8221;Tidwell said losing an hour of sleep can also increase a motorist&#8217;s risk of drowsy driving. <ins>In a recent AAA Foundation Traffic Safety Culture Index report, nearly one in three drivers confessed they were so tired they drove drowsy during the previous 30 days.</ins><ins>Drowsy driving is involved in more than one in five fatal crashes on U.S. roadways each year. In Pennsylvania, PennDOT reports that in 2015, 2,606 crashes and 19 fatalities were attributed to drowsy drivers.</ins>Change your batteriesState Fire Commissioner Tim Solobay reminds people to change the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors when changing the clocks this weekend.Solobay said working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half, and worn or missing batteries are the most common cause of a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector malfunction.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Bill O&#8217;Boyleboboyle@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</shirttailMeta></div>

Like it or not, daylight saving time arrives on Sunday