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Here's How To Follow Road Conditions As Snow Covers Lancaster County

Following heavy winds that knocked out power for hundreds in Lancaster County on Sunday and the first measurable snowfall of 2024 on Saturday, Jan. 6, more snow has come to the county.

The National Weather Service is forecasting light snow Monday night after 7 p.M. With an accumulation of 2 to 4 inches. Precipitation is expected during the morning and early afternoon on Tuesday as well; NWS predicts around 1 to 2 inches of snow.

Below are maps for traffic conditions, a list of traffic incidents and traffic cameras in the area to monitor travel conditions.

AccuWeather Radar Traffic Incident List

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Traffic Cameras and Map

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2023 Hunt: Putting The Grand In Grand American

It's always a pleasant surprise when January rolls around and the crew hits the road to Orangeburg, South Carolina, for the kickoff to the year's coonhound competition season.

In 2023, Allen, Taylor and I elected to fly down instead of making the usual two-day trek to the Southeast. From Charleston International Airport, we were a short one-hour drive from our hotel room. I had to chuckle as we approached Charleston and raindrops started hitting the plane's window. Welcome to South Carolina.

Getting ready

That would not be an indication of the weekend's weather, however. For the most part, the weather was absolutely perfect for a coon hunt in the South. Daytime temperatures in the 60s, nighttime temperatures in the 40s. And even with a full moon in the sky and high water levels from the past couple months of rain accumulating, things were lining up for a smooth event.

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On Thursday morning, the team made our way over to the Orangeburg County Fairgrounds and completed the setup in a quicker-than-normal fashion. That left plenty of time to catch up with vendors and event officials who were busy setting up their own locations and readying for the crowd to show up the next day. It was apparent right away that the number of vendors were up.

We capped off a wonderful Thursday with a steak dinner provided by the Grand American team and the City of Orangeburg. Hearing from members of the mayor's office, city council, chamber of commerce and county council always puts into perspective how important this event is to this area.

Opening day

On Friday morning the event was officially kicked off with David McKee's opening remarks, followed by the singing of the National Anthem, and ultimately, the first class of dogs being called into the show ring. Danielle Champ and her team put on one of the best bench shows you'll see all year. And because of that, people come from all over to compete for the Grand American Bench Show Champion designation.

Cory Hall had a tall task on Friday with 113 entries entered in the licensed portion of the event, and non-licensed Pairs and Dual Champion classes. The six category winners he selected to move on to the overall Saturday afternoon were NE NC CCH GRCH 'PR' Dark Knight Rising at Trek owned by Candace Garland, GRCH CCH 'PR' Buckeye Vly Heres Ur 1 Chance Fancy owned by Cheyenne Doss and Tiffany Schmersal, CH 'PR' Gilman's Good Time Blues owned by Dave and Kelly Myers, CH 'PR' Skyline N Leeview Dare the Devil owned by Bridgette Clary and Beth Jenkins, 'PR' Skyline's Circles Around This Town owned by Beth Jenkins and Bridgette Clary, and 'PR' West Fork River Wonder Girl owned by Melinda Hicks. A stacked class to say the least.

As the bench show was winding down, over in the hunt headquarters building it was buzzing. 169 pre-entered hounds had quickly turned into upwards of 300 with 130+ walk up entries.

Cameron's Chris Harley, center, and his dog, Big Lee, won the 2023 Grand American Coon Hunt. Pictured with them are friends and family members.

With the team of event officials and representatives from the local clubs working on getting each cast a quality guide and sticking entry labels, I headed out to put on a quick rules seminar with Allen, pertaining to rule and procedural changes the participating hunters would see starting that night as as a new Official Coonhound Rulebook went into effect with the beginning of 2023. The seminar was well received and we received a lot of great feedback.

And thankfully, it led to a great night of hunting when I talked to Master of Hounds Dale Weatherford and John Sapier the following morning. Looking at the Top 20, there were a couple of really good scores but otherwise a quite reasonable score of 350+ got you in the Top 20.

Saturday

Saturday brought more of the same. The walk-around crowd was out in droves. And the people in and around the hunt headquarters had the internet connection on the fritz. After an hour of exhausting every option possible to run the hunt through the system that had worked so well the night before, it became evident that changes would have to be made. The entry-taking team and the folks waiting in line to sign up didn't bat an eye when we went old school with filling out entry labels by hand. And honestly, it worked out pretty well.

Outside of the stressful hour of fighting technology, the weekend's hunt was the smoothest Grand American I've attended during my tenure with UKC. And once again, the 169 pre-entries ballooned to 273 entries with over 100 walk-up entries. A whopping total of 576 entries over the weekend.

One building over, the show was cranking along. Misty Hinson had accepted the judging assignment and with it, the opportunity to look at 119 really nice dogs. Ultimately her goal was to whittle it down to just six category winners to come back and show in the overall.

The 2023 Grand American Coon Hunt Final Four cast.

Those six ended up being RACEN IA PN UAGI GRCH(2) UR02 CGRCH 'PR' Gilman's Good Time Tradition SPOT owned by David Gilman; GRCH CCH 'PR' Drake's Wind Storm owned by Natalie, Isabel and Hunter Adkins; CH 'PR' Mason Dixon She's a Lil Sassy owned by Joe Moore and Kelly Myers; 'PR' Will's Mt. Dusty Roads owned by Bruce, Amelia and Autumn Beland; 'PR' Skyline-Hill-song Genuine Risk owned by Beth Jenkins, Michelle Zimmerman and Brigette Clary; and CH 'PR' Gilman's Good Time Blues owned by Kelly and Dave Myers punching his ticket for a second day in a row.

Allen Gingerich of UKC joined judges Cory and Misty in choosing the overall as part of a three-judge panel.

And boy did they have their work cut out for them. I was able to make it over and watch them comb carefully over each dog. The male winner ended up being the CH Male from each day, CH 'PR' Gilman's Good Time Blues. Then from a class of six category-winning Treeing Walker females, CH 'PR' Skyline N Leeview Dare the Devil was the pick. With both hounds going head to head, it was the Black and Tan male owned by Kelly and Dave Myers that brought home the Overall Bench Show Champion win. A well-deserved win for that entire team.

Next was the Youth show being judged by Ryann McMurray. She had a great group of youngsters. Two kids that have been on an absolute tear the past year, Jacob Brooks and Abby Weber, brought home the top honors. Jacob Brooks, a 15-year-old from Virginia, brought home the Overall Crown handling 'PR' Will's Mt. Dusty Roads owned by Bruce, Amelia and Autumn Beland. Jacob has made a great showing the past year, mostly with his female GRCH(2) 'PR' Sideshow Bobbie Sue. This won't be the last time you hear his name.

Bringing home the Reserve title was Abby Weber, a 15-year-old from Ohio. She was handling her Redbone GRCH CCH 'PR' GrandRivers Ride Boldy Ride that she co-owns with Marissa Wilson. Abby currently tops our Next Generation Spotlight Series Standings with her accumulation of points from winning a large amount of youth events the past year. The sky is the limit for both of these young competitors. Then hours later, after casts were gone to the woods, interviews were finished and the sun had set, I walked over to the show building to get the last of the UKC materials to pack away. There was Danielle Champ with her husband, Gary, and friend Tiffany Schmersal still working diligently picking up and packing away their materials.

You would have never known 284 dogs had made their way into the ring in that building over the course of the weekend. I can guarantee those were some long days and a lot of hard work but that is what it takes to put on an event of this caliber. Great job by that entire team.

Final Four

Around 2:15 a.M., I pulled back into the fairgrounds to see what had shaken out and what the Final Four cast was shaping out to be. Everyone was happy and in high spirits in the headquarters building. Probably because only the cast winners on the Top 20 bubble were left in attendance. HA!

After two nights of competition, 19 hounds had been able to earn double cast wins and give themselves a chance to make the Final Cast. Scores from Saturday were more average than the night before, ranging from 675+ to 325+ in the Top 20.

The four dogs that would be going out for a chance at the Grand American Champion title were GRNITECH 'PR' Hardluck's Loudmouth Big Lee, a 5-year-old English male owned and handled by Chris Harley; 'PR' Hickory Grove's Mako, a 6-year-old Treeing Walker male owned and handled by Ashley Rankin Jr.; NITECH 'PR' Mojo's Little Easy, a 4-year-old Treeing Walker female owned and handled by Robert Crosby Jr., and CH 'PR' Byrd's Big Time Jackpot, a 2-year old Treeing Walker male owned by Charlie Byrd and Evan White and handled by Evan.

Three very familiar names were selected to judge the Final Cast. Doug Shuler, Steven Cromer and Eric Brown are all respected guys in the area and each has been on the judging panel multiple times, just in my short tenure. They command respect and judge by the ol' saying "firm but fair."

Guiding the cast for the second time in the past three years would be Jay Webber. The convoy of competitors and officials pulled out of the fairgrounds and headed northeast to Creston. We arrived at our final destination just shy of 4 a.M. It was chilly out at 42 degrees compared to the temperatures earlier in the day. There was a slight wind from the west, but I can guarantee it's been colder on this weekend in the past. The moon was full and bright but there was a lot of cloud coverage in the area. Honestly, it was a great scene standing in the hayfield under a full moon, behind a group of anxious handlers awaiting final instructions.

The hounds were released into the dark at 4:03 a.M. There were some anxious barks, but no handlers said a thing inside that first minute grace period. Finally, when one opened, it seemed like they all did.

Jackpot was struck for 100, followed quickly by Easy for 75, Big Lee for 50 and Mako for 25. We kept pace with the dogs using the hayfield and some cut road beds through the hardwood timber. And minutes later, Easy was declared treed quickly for 125. Shortly after Mako joined in for 75, Big Lee for 50 and Jackpot for 25. Away we went to score the tree.

Within the first 12 minutes of the cast, en route to that tree, we crossed two bridges over wide creeks. I was feeling grateful for those in that moment as any way to keep dry is a plus in this part of the country.

Upon arriving at the tree, only two dogs were there, Mako and Jackpot. Big Lee had checked out completely and Easy had left long enough for us to get there before coming back into the tree after the cast arrived. The first coon of the Grand American Final Cast was found with just 15 minutes having elapsed in the hunt. With three dogs handled and Big Lee through the country, scores were sitting at: Big Lee 50-, Mako 100+, Easy 100- and Jackpot at 125+.

Mako, Easy and Jackpot were recast with only a quarter strike available with Big Lee still holding on to his 50. It was during this time that a train decided to make it's way through the area on the tracks a couple hundred yards behind where we were hunting. Not an ideal situation when trying to listen for dogs.

During that short minute of the train running, all three hounds had been struck for a quarter and Mako had made his way back to the previous tree. After retrieving him and recasting him down a creek branch again, he made his way into the country. We again made the efforts necessary to stay within hearing of each hound and give them all the chance to be scored accurately. It didn't take long for Chris Harley to declare Big Lee treed a good piece from the cast.

While en route to Big Lee, we ran into our first obstacle of the cast, water-wise: a wide creek that was very deep along the banks. One thing is for sure when hunting in this area: No one wants to get wet and you can always count on a helping hand waiting for you on the creek bank you're climbing out of. And oftentimes, it's a lifesaver. That was the case here and the entire cast made it across without taking too much water damage in our boots. We continued to Big Lee.

When we arrived, it had to be deflating to his handler when he was handled on a den tree. Again, teamwork was the key on this tree. Squallers were going full blast, vines were swinging and the sound of a blunt stick banging on the side of the treed echoed down the bottom. With time ticking away, it was actually Jackpot's handler, Evan, who first spotted a coon moving around in the hole in the tree. The judges assembled in a spot with a good view and the ruckus continued. Eventually, with 35 minutes gone in the hunt, the coon made its way out of the hole to get out of the vibrating tree.

You don't see that often but it was just what the doctor ordered to get Big Lee back in the ball game. With the English Hound handled and the three Treeing Walker Hounds at large, the scores sat at: Big Lee 125+, Mako 100+, Easy 100- and Jackpot 125+.

Big Lee was recast and the judges were en route to cut the distance on the other struck hounds. Mako could be heard opening but Easy and Jackpot hadn't been heard from in a while. On the edge of the big creek we had crossed earlier, we got the last bit of action of the night.

Mako was treed by Mr. Rankin with just 11 minutes left in the cast. Not seconds later, the judge indicated he could hear the other two Walker Hounds and quickly Easy was treed for 125 and Jackpot was treed for 75.

It was my understanding at the time that it would be tough to hear Big Lee again in this hunt with us walking away from him toward treed hounds

We arrived at Mako's tree in a beautiful ankle-deep flooded hardwood section. He needed this coon to pull into the lead. Unfortunately there was no coon to be seen and no place for one to be hidden, so the tree was minused, giving Mako a final score of 50-.

By this point, hunt time had run out. We had one more tree to score. It was a hike to Easy and Jackpot. As it turns out, that tree ended up with the same result, slick, making the 2023 Grand American Coon Hunt Champion Mr. Chris Harley and his 5-year-old English Coonhound, GRNITECH 'PR' Hardluck's Loudmouth Big Lee. The final scores were: Big Lee 125+, Mako 50-, Easy 350- and Jackpot 25+.

The hunt went about how you would expect on a full moon, flooded, 4 a.M. Night with a cast of hounds that had been competing hard all weekend. But as is so often the case in the major events, it comes down to treeing a coon, staying out of trouble and maybe catching a break. That was the recipe for Big Lee, and Chris and I would like to congratulate them on their big win!

For the local guy calling Orangeburg home, I assure you this will be one that he will remember forever.

As we pulled back into the fairgrounds, just before 7 a.M., it was amazing to see the crew of people still out there to greet us. Friends and family of the hunters were anxiously waiting and event officials with glossy eyes were still wearing their signature smiles. This is what it's all about.

After a successful 2023 Grand American, I have a feeling that's what it will always be about.

This article was provided courtesy of United Kennel Club and was originally published in Coonhound Bloodlines.

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Lancaster County Sees First Measurable Snowfall Of 2024

Mae, a year-old bluetick coonhound, jumped joyfully through Beau's Dream Dog Park in Lancaster city's Buchanan Park on Saturday, lapping up her first snow day.

"She's seeming to dig it!" said Milo Sucro, 28, of Lancaster city, who took Mae for a walk as her owner, Milo's roommate, isn't a big fan of the winter weather.

The scene was a common one for this time of year in what Kyle Elliott, director of Millersville University's Weather Information Center, said was Lancaster County's first measurable snowfall of 2024.

The snow fell between 9:30 and 11 a.M. Before changing to sleet between 1:45 and 3:15 p.M. The wintry mix was fairly even across the county, according to Elliott, reaching depths of 1 to 3 inches with areas along the northern border receiving the most snowfall. 

Due to Saturday's weather, PennDOT reduced the speed limit to 45 mph on major roadways in south-central Pennsylvania, including Interstates 81, 83 and 283, as well as Routes 15, 22, 30, 222, 283, 322 and 581. 

Weather conditions also contributed to a number of vehicle crashes across the county throughout the day.

By the afternoon, downtown Lancaster's Ewell Plaza was covered in snow. Among those outside was John Carpenter, of Lancaster, with his two children: Henry, 8, and Ceclia, 5.

"When we saw the massive snowflakes, I just rushed the kids to get their snow stuff on and said, 'We're going on a hike!' " Carpenter, 39, said.

Carpenter said he knows Ewell Plaza well, serving on the board of nearby Lancaster Public Library. Henry built a small snowman, while Carpenter helped his daughter build a huge snowball in between snowball fights and making snow angels.

"I'm a big fan of snow. I welcome it, and so, this is fun," he said. "Especially with kids this age, it's great to see them just completely love playing in the snow and having no fear at all."

Sledding in Buchanan Park that afternoon was Heather and George Snook, of Lancaster city, with their daughter, Charlie, 9. Heather said she thinks this is the first time in two years they've had enough snow in the county to go sledding.

"I think, you know, we've attempted wet grass situations," Heather Snook, 41, laughed. "So this is great that they're actually getting to sled and play in the snow with their friends."

Heather Snook said her daughter met a friend at the park and has seen others from school. The adults got a couple runs in before handing off the sleds to the kids, as they're hopeful about coming out again Sunday morning.

"It's a great day to come out and get some fresh air," George Snook, 56, said.

As for Sunday's weather, Elliott said Lancaster County shouldn't expect any more than a snow shower in the morning with temperatures ranging from the upper 30s to around 40.

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