HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Game Commission says hunters bagged about 2 percent more deer this season than last.

The game commission on Monday estimates 343,110 deer were harvested during the 2012-2013 hunting seasons.

That's up from 336,200 during the 2011-12 hunting seasons.

The increase was driven by a 5-percent increase in antlered deer killed.

For the most recent season, hunters took 133,860 bucks, up from 127,540 last season. The harvest of antlerless deer also increased slightly, from 208,660 in 2011-2012 to 209,250.

The game commission's executive director, Carl Roe, says the most recent season was slightly above the average harvest since 2005, when the commission began trying to stabilize the deer population in most areas of Pennsylvania.

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald Castille says filling a vacancy on the state's high court is the key to the court's ability to resolve some pending major cases.Castille told a Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon Monday the appointment of an interim justice to succeed Justice Joan Orie Melvin will eliminate a possible 3-to-3 tie.The court has had only six active justices — three Democrats and three Republicans — since Melvin was suspended in August. Facing a corruption conviction, Melvin, a Republican, said Monday she'll retire May 1.Among the issues awaiting rulings are a state legislative redistricting plan, the right of municipalities to control natural-gas drilling and the constitutionality of a new photo ID requirement for Pennsylvania voters.Castille says no one wants to see the court deadlocked.

PITTSBURGH — An Ohio prosecutor who has light-heartedly filed charges against the famous Pennsylvania groundhog who fraudulently “predicted” an early spring said he may consider a pardon now that the animal's handler is taking the blame.That's right, Bill Deeley, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle said the animal rightly predicted six more weeks of winter but Deeley told The Associated Press he mistakenly announced an early spring because he failed to correctly interpret Phil's “groundhog-ese.”Butler County, Ohio prosecutor, Mike Gmoser told the AP he's reconsidering the charges in light of the new evidence and may issue a full pardon.The Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney attracts worldwide attention each year.Deeley said the prosecutor's indictment of Phil has generated more publicity than a $10,000 ad campaign.

SHANKSVILLE — The construction drawings are nearly complete for a visitors center at the Flight 91 National Memorial in southwestern Pennsylvania, meaning the project remains on track for a summer groundbreaking.Jeff Reinbold, the National Park Service superintendent for Western Pennsylvania, tells the (Johnstown) Tribune-Democrat the agency is “doing the final touches on the drawings.”The visitors center is but one portion of the work scheduled to begin at the park about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, where the hijacked United Airlines flight crashed, killing 40 crew and passengers, several of whom fought with four Islamic hijackers for control of the plane during the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.The $20 million phase also includes a pedestrian bridge and a possible learning center.The final phase calls for a 93-foot Tower of Voices containing 40 wind chimes.

PITTSBURGH — State police have arrested a Western Pennsylvania county sheriff on charges he threatened to cut off the hands of a political campaign worker and pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot a newspaper reporter.State Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced the charges Monday against 65-year-old Beaver County Sheriff George David, who was in custody and awaiting arraignment on charges including terroristic threats, witness intimidation and obstructing an investigation.Officials at the sheriff’s office referred calls to their solicitor, who did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The county commissioners could not immediately comment on David’s employment status.The charges stem from incidents since November 2011 that were investigated by a state grand jury.Online court records don’t list an attorney for the sheriff.