UNIVERSITY PARK — About 10,500 fireworks shells from China arrived by tractor-trailer Friday night and will be the objects of intense work for 100 or so volunteers this weekend to prepare for 4th Fest on Friday.

STATE COLLEGE — It appears former NFL and Penn State football player LaVar Arrington is coming back to State College — as a businessman.

STATE COLLEGE — Complimentary tickets for faculty and staff to attend State College Area High School football games have been eliminated.

STATE COLLEGE — An unidentified woman found $1,200 in cash Thursday evening lying in the 200 block of East Foster Avenue, according to borough police.

Nine students in State College Area School District’s middle schools were honored Tuesday for their works of poetry, fiction and nonfiction essays all revolving around one theme: “Why Remember the Holocaust?”

All over Pennsylvania, newspaper readers are coming up with ideas for good deeds -- the kind that will help their neighbors and friends.

The State Theatre is well into its second year, presenting a variety of entertainment in downtown State College.

STATE COLLEGE — A park full of children waited for the countdown Saturday afternoon before dashing into roped off areas in search of Easter eggs in the snow.

Jay Allison’s “This I Believe” series, based on the 1950s radio program of the same name, has been a fixture on National Public Radio since April 2005.

My bike wheels were turning at light speed and my eyes were focused on the trees ahead. The pure chirping of the red cardinal was becoming more and more clear. In the back of my mind I was hoping that the camera in my right hand wouldn’t fall because my dad had just bought it.

Every school year, students all across the United States participate in many tasks. Amidst the chaos of growing up, teenagers complete homework, take tests, join clubs, go to school dances and sporting events, and hang out with friends.

The world is an amazing place full of unique and diverse people, breathtaking places, and extraordinary animals. Our lives seem truly blessed and wonderful as we spend each day learning about and exploring the world we live in. With all the material things we covet and obsess over, it’s no wonder we feel this way. We are so happy sometimes. We seem to forget all the people who don’t have the privilege to learn about and discover the planet in which we live.

Life is full of changes. As I approach my fourteenth year of life, I am realizing how much change life can have. I was born in Georgia, and I lived there until I was one year old. We then moved to New York and lived there until 2005. I enjoyed a wonderful childhood filled with friends, vacations, playdates, and family. So it was with great hesitancy that I accepted my parents’ decision to move to State College.

In elementary school, I was shy and tended to stick with a group of my close friends most of the time. I never enjoyed the thought of large speeches in front of several people or interacting with others that I didn’t really know.

A tragic event occurred in March of 2007, an event that brought sadness to our family. This unexpected event brought many changes in our house. It is something that I will remember for a long time.

My sister Katie is 12 years old and is in sixth grade on the Yellow Team at Mount Nittany. She plays the piano, the violin and the flute. Katie and I play the piano in the Jazz Band. She is a very kind, thoughtful and artistic girl. She is funny and she is just a wonderful person to be around. No one would have ever thought that Katie had a stroke when she was six years old. It is a moment I will never forget.

Gatesburg, Pa. A place that can be so beautiful can bring you fears that you never thought you would ever face. I love to visit the beautiful state in Florida, but it has its good and bad things about it. I myself can still feel the despair of that unforgiving night that brought the fear of not only being in a hurricane, but the fear that I was never going to make it back home.

I still remember when we didn’t have any pets. My mom never wanted any. Days kept going by. I always wanted one. I always wondered what it would be like to have a pet. I was three when I decided to ask my mom if we could have a pet. She said “NO!” I was sad. We decided to move to New Jersey. I thought maybe I could have a pet. That day came again; I asked my mom if I can have a pet. She still said “NO!”

I sat on the cool white steps of our front porch with my brothers, Andy, Kyle and Chris, silently crying. How could we be moving? I had dwelled in this small, pale-blue house in West Milford, New Jersey for my entire life. My parents had decided, however, that there just wasn’t enough space for all six of us anymore.