SARATOGA, Wyo. (AP) — The North Platte River in southern Wyoming is flowing low, slow and warm — not great conditions for trout fishing. After two dry summers in a row, low water and hot weather have spelled trouble for trout streams in the Rocky Mountain west. Warm water, especially, can be hard on trout because it carries less oxygen. Trout that are caught in warm water and released tend to have a lower survival rate. Yet extreme flooding also has been a problem on the North Platte and other Rockies rivers. Retired fishing guide Tom Wiersema says he’s seen the extremes and thinks climate change is at work.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wildfires burning in the U.S. this summer have upended plans for countless outdoor adventures. Campers, hikers, rafters and other outdoor enthusiasts have had to scrap or change trips or endure thick smoke. One retired attorney and teacher from the Philadelphia area has twice canceled plans because of wildfires. He had planned to hike a section of the Pacific Crest Trail in California that closed because of the second-largest fire in state history. His backup plan to canoe a massive network of lakes on the Minnesota-Canada border also was sunk by fire. All national forests in California are closed to prioritize fighting fires.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman and broadcaster Tunch Ilkin has died. Ilkin was 63. Ilkin played 13 of his 14 seasons for the Steelers, making a pair of Pro Bowls in the 1980s for Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll. Ilkin spent 23 years as part of the organization’s radio broadcast team. He revealed last fall that he was battling Lou Gehrig’s disease and had been hospitalized recently with pneumonia. He is survived by his wife as well as three children.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Police say a wrong-way driver collided head-on with another car in a western Pennsylvania tunnel, critically injuring the other driver. State police in Pittsburgh say the vehicle entered Route 1376 traveling west in the eastbound lanes shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday. Police said the car entered the Fort Pitt tunnel under Mount Washington, still traveling in the wrong direction, and collided head-on with another car. The 36-year-old driver of the other car was taken to a local hospital and listed in critical condition with multiple injuries. The other 21-year-old driver was uninjured.

Garrison Day usually doesn’t signify the arrival of fall, but the annual event in downtown Beaver did just that with considerable flair.

Beaver County Radio spun the tunes (quite literally, in some cases) and the prize wheel for those attending Garrison Day, with a few big winners along the way.

Garrison Day 2021 proved to be a great success.. The event attracted a large number of people who were able to visit numerous vendors of goods such as local art, clothing, jewelery and food. After things began to wrap up, organizers asked vendors if they would prefer a September in the future.

Our coverage of Garrison Day was made possible with the sponsorship of the Beaver Valley Auto Mall, Patriot Home Care, and Angie Peluso of Remax Select Realty.

Here’s some photos from BCR’s stay at Garrison Day:

Keystone State News Connection

Emily Scott

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa, has introduced legislation to expand Medicare coverage to include dental, hearing and vision care.

Backers of the bill in the Commonwealth said adding the services could do a lot to keep older adults healthy.

Senate Bill 2618 would cover routine dental cleaning, eyeglasses, hearing exams and more. In many cases, older adults go without these services, particularly hearing aids, because of the cost.

Joanne Grossi, state president for AARP Pennsylvania, said it is time for Medicare to treat the whole person, head to toe.

“If you can’t have a conversation with someone, you’re obviously socially isolated; you can’t hear the phone ring,” Grossi observed. “It leads to increased isolation and depression, which ironically end up costing the health care system more money, and Medicare more money, because they’re leading to these detrimental health outcomes.”

Grossi spoke this week in Wilkes-Barre at a Special Committee on Aging hearing, which Sen. Casey chairs. Casey said he hopes the legislation is passed when the Senate is back in session as part of the budget reconciliation process. Some pushback is expected from lawmakers who will question the cost.

About 17% of older adults in the United States have lost all their teeth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kelly Ranieli, executive director of Volunteers in Medicine, which provides free medical, dental and behavioral health services to people who are uninsured or underinsured in Northeastern Pennsylvania, said some of their older patients need tooth extractions and dentures but often can’t afford either.

“Many have extreme difficulty eating solid food, which, you know, many are malnourished,” Ranieli explained. “To heal the entire well-being, medical, dental, and behavioral health care needs to be provided. I mean, everyone benefits from a healthy community.”

Medicare provides coverage to 2.8 million Pennsylvanians 65 and older or with chronic disabilities.