Farmers Fair wraps 103rd year in parade of hail and rain

By Mary Lou Bytof

With just a little nip in the air to herald the fall season and the start of Farmers Fair weekend, fairgoers flocked to the firehall to view the displays of locally grown produce, flower arrangements, and arts and crafts.

Although the displays of local produce, from oversized pumpkins to cherry tomatoes, were only a fraction of the size of displays in previous years due to the excessively rainy weather, the number of flower arrangements on display blossomed this year, according to fair officials.

As in previous years, visitors marveled at the creativity and ingenuity of the displays in the upper back area of the firehall. Many of these works were created by children.

Photo by Curt Werner

Cars parade down South Baltimore Street Saturday afternoon during the 103rd annual Farmers Fair.

Photo by Curt Werner

A crowd gathers near the judge’s stand just before the start of the Fantastic Parade on S. Baltimore Street early Saturday evening.

Sewer, water plans adrift

By Peggie Williams

The expansion of sewer and water services in Franklin Township were discussed at the October supervisors meeting.

Sheldon Williams, general manager of the Dillsburg Area Authority, was present to answer questions. When asked what plans DAA had to expand services into the township, Williams replied, “Your plans are our plans.”

He explained that service expansion is based on a township’s Act 537 plan, which locates areas of concern and future growth within the township in regard to sewer and water. Franklin’s original plan done in 1970, hasn’t been updated since 1983.

Bears bounced from playoffs, finish with first winning record since 2013

By Andy Sandrik

The Northern boys soccer team spent the majority of October grinding, fighting and clawing toward a berth into the postseason.

And when the District 3-3A Championships arrived on Monday, the underdog Polar Bears fought hard, but ultimately saw their journey come to an end. Northern, the No. 13-seeded team in the district bracket, fell by a 2-0 score to No. 4 Hershey.

The season is over for the Polar Bears, who concluded their regular season with a 4-3 loss to York Suburban on Wednesday and a 3-0 victory over Shippensburg on Thursday.

Photo by Curt Werner

Ian Hall shields against a defender in first-half action.

Polar Elite capture Hit Fest title

By Andy Sandrik

The newest version of Northern York Fastpitch Association's 14U Polar Elite softball team has taken the field and Jason Randalls' team is showing plenty of promise.

NYFA opened their 2018-19 season last weekend at the Hershey Hit Fest Tournament and easily won the championship after going 4-0 and outscoring opponents by a 56-12 margin. The Polar Elite have plenty to look forward to when they return to the field this spring.

"These girls have been working together since mid-August and played extremely well in tough conditions, especially on Sunday," Randalls said. "This was probably the best hitting weekend for any team I've coached. ... Just as important, the defense and pitching were very solid as well. We'll continue to work throughout the winter and I can't wait to see what they can do in the spring."

Photo by Curt Werner

Pictured from left, front row are Hannah Galbraith, Tayler Yoder, Jessica Li, Emmalee Mowery and Emily Randalls. Second row: Ashley Miller, Natalie Hunt, Riley Davis, Rylee Martin, Maya Fields, Madisyn Saposnek, Rachel Seneca and Keira Devor.