May 30, 2025 3 min read

Hit: A combat veteran from North Carolina is using art to help fellow veterans deal with trauma after their military service ends. Geoffrey Bowton, whose “Veteran Obsolete” gallery is on display at Touchstone Center for the Arts in Farmington, has been hosting therapeutic mask-making workshops where veterans are given a space and an opportunity to tell their stories. “It’s been incredible,” he told reporter Zach Petroff in a story published Sunday. “They’re just talking out their brains onto this canvas, like a confession. It’s brilliant, and people need to do more of it.” Bowton specializes in crafting Army paraphernalia by using mold-making and glass-casting techniques. His work creates poignant visual narratives that explore traumatic experiences and reveal human emotions drawn from his Iraq War service. Touchstone will host a gallery reception and meet-and-greet with Bowton on June 7. He will also be conducting a five-day therapeutic art of mask-making workshop starting June 23. For more information, visit touchstonecrafts.org.

Hit: Motorists, take note, and put down those cellphones. Beginning June 5, enforcement of Paul Miller’s Law, which prohibits the use of cellphones while driving, will begin. That means police can pull over drivers who are on their phones for any reason. For the next year, violators will be issued a written warning. After that, offenders will receive a $50 citation. Paul Miller, for whom the law is named, was killed in 2010 in Monroe County when the driver of a tractor-trailer, reaching for his cellphone, crossed into the opposite lane and crashed head-on into Miller’s vehicle. State police spokesperson Rocco Gagliardi notes that while Pennsylvania already has laws preventing drivers from using their phones, the new law goes further. “This completely black and white says you can’t be holding your phone while driving a vehicle,” Gagliardi said, and that means the phone can’t be touching any part of the driver’s body, including resting on their lap. Drivers will instead have to rely on bluetooth, Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Those who lack those features will need to obtain a phone mount to continue using tools like GPS while driving. “We want you to get to point A and point B and back to Point A again in a safe manner,” Gagliardi said of the new law.

Hit: Sunny days await three area school districts, a career and technology center and intermediate unit, all of which are receiving state grants for energy-saving solar projects. California Area was awarded $367,200 for a ground array that will result in a savings of $60,000 per year for the district, while Canon-McMillan will use $190,260 for a roof-mounted array at its new Wylandville Elementary School. West Greene was awarded $181,400 for a rooftop photovoltaic solar system; Greene County Career and Technology Center is getting $42,480 for a similar project, and Intermediate Unit 1 will receive $259,200. In all, 74 grants totaling $22.6 million were awarded through the state’s Solar for Schools Grant Program. “Energy is one of the top expenses for schools, which is why investments in solar energy can help to maintain long-term financial stability and improve the quality of education they offer students,” said state Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger. “Those savings can then be channeled into more resources for our teachers and students, and also create good-paying clean-energy jobs and job training opportunities.”