Print Edition Highlights - December 27, 2012

Dillsburg families’ decorations keep
holiday spirits bright
By Erica Smithson

Photo by Curt Werner
For 60 years Dorothy and Carl Zeigler of 10 Central View Road have been decorating their farm with thousands of twinkling lights during the Christmas season. The lights will be on display throughout the first week of the new year.

____ Come Christmas Eve night, Santa is a very busy man as he travels the globe to bring presents to all the children. One bright spot — literally — of his night for the past 60 years has undoubtedly been his travels through Dillsburg. It is here that he has been greeted by the thousands of twinkling lights and other festive decorations at the home of Dorothy and Carl Zeigler, of 10 Central View Road.
____ Whether it is lights that line every perimeter of the house and the fences on the property or sleighs and gingerbread houses that dot the yard, no part of their home goes un-festooned. Dorothy serves as the chief decorator while Carl is the electrician who replaces any lights that burn out.
____ Decorating is something that Dorothy has always loved to do, according to her daughter, Kathy Mulholland. “When I was a kid, she would decorate everything,” she said.

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Kathy Mulholland has followed her mother’s footsteps and decorates her home on 54 Hickory Road, site of the original Central School house and where Kathy grew up.

See the December 27, 2012 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

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Pickle Drop to celebrate 20th anniversary
By Erica Smithson

____ As Dillsburg rings in the year 2013, it will also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the midnight drop of Mr. Pickle. Like many citizens who were born and raised in Dillsburg, Mr. Pickle has experienced many milestones. In recent years, he has gotten married and had a child. But he has also remained a loyal figure in the community: Every Dec. 31, whether in mild winter weather, snow, rain or sleet, Mr. Pickle has taken a quick dip into his barrel, accented by fireworks, when the clock strikes midnight. Through it all, the briny character has remained true to his core. Yes, the original chicken wire-framed, papier-mâché coated and green-painted pickle has dropped all 20 years.
____ Let’s turn the clock back to Dec. 31, 1993, the year the pickle first dropped.
____ “It was a nasty, rainy night,” remembers Brenda Webber. Webber, who was a member of the Dillsburg Area Business Association (DABA), and had owned Country Coffee, Etc. on Baltimore and York Streets, was one of the first to conceptualize the idea of the pickle drop. Despite the weather, they had "a surprising turnout,” according to Webber. There was music to dance to from a portable radio. The Girl Scout troop who crafted the pickle was on hand to see their work. Other community members had chipped in to do public relations and advertising for the event. All in all, it was a successful first night of a local tradition that would only become bigger over the years.

Dillsburg still uses the original papier-mâché Mr. Pickle crafted by Girl Scout Troop 1570, 20 years ago. After the first year Tom and Linda Gruber added a face, bow tie, arms and legs, a cane and a top hat to give him a personality. Much later he was given a waterproof coating and was insulated. He later married Mrs. Pickle and they had a baby gherkin.

See the December 27, 2012 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

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Meeting is short with little action
By Carolyn Hoffman

____Washington Township’s December meeting was short and resulted in few actions. The township’s lengthy draft zoning ordinance remains under review by solicitor Sharon Myers, though Myers said she is nearly done with the review. Supervisors plan to address her comments and changes when complete, so action has not yet been taken on the ordinance.
____The township scheduled its state-mandated reorganization meeting for 3:30 p.m. Jan. 7. The meeting at the township office will install or swear in new officers and officials. Township auditors will meet at 6 p.m. the next day, Jan. 8.
____Supervisors disallowed a request made at the November meeting from a resident who thought his residency should be switched from Washington to Warrington Township. The supervisors said a tax assessment map places his property in Washington Township.

See the December 27, 2012 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

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Frisbee anyone?

In photo, Alexis Munshower gets a pass off as Josh Smeltzer tries to block the pass.
Northern DECA sponsored a frisbee tournament consisting of sixteen teams to raise money and awareness for their Hunger Project on Friday, Dec. 21.

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More wins for NHS Polar Bears
By Joe Guty

Photo by Curt Werner
The Northern Wrestling team defeated Dover 43 to 18 on Saturday, Dec. 22. In photo, Northern's Kyle Koser (right) defeats his Dover opponent 11 to 4.

____Northern H.S. wrestling is on the right path for the 2012-13 season as they earned two home victories last week. Defeating Bishop McDevitt 55-17 and then Dover H.S. 43-18, Northern gained a share of the lead in the Mid Penn Capital Division.
____The McDevitt match last Thursday started at 126 lbs with Jonathan Ross being forfeited and McDevitt moving their line-up. After the forfeit, the Polar Bears reeled off 10 more wins including pins by Garek Strouse (145), Austin Snell (160), Andy Reed (170), Kyle Koser (195), Dylan Thomas (220) and Nick Lodovici (285). Jeremy Taylor (132), Matt Creavey (138), Isaiah Locke (152) and Elijah Locke (182) posted decisions.

See the December 27, 2012 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

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Polar Bears win again
By Joe Guty

Photo by Curt Werner
Northern's Cory Poe placed first in the men's 200 IM with a time of 2:10.39.

____On Thursday, December 20, the Northern H.S. swimming teams walked off the deck of the impressive new Gettysburg College Aquatic Center with equally stellar victories. The girls' team won all 11 events and posted a 125-45 score.  Going into the Christmas break, the Lady Polar Bears improved to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the Mid Penn Colonial Division. 
____The boys' team won 8 of 11 events en route to a 104-65 win.  Northern remains undefeated at 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Colonial. Combined, Northern posted 41 career best or first times. In the Girls' 200 Yard Medley Relay, Madi Bleiler, Sami Poe, Becca Luft and Sydney Archuleta clocked 1:56.72 for the gold. In the boys' event , the quartet of Ben Haley, Cory Poe, Liam Handley and Keenan Handley went 1:48.59 for first place. Gabby Lodovici won the Girls' 200 Freestyle (2:09.00) and Josh Clarke won the boys' 200 Freestyle (1:50.00).
____Sami Poe's 2:30.82 clocking was good for first in the Girls' 200 IM and Keenan Handley's 2:12.26 earned him first place in the boys' event. Becca Luft (25.55) and Liam Handley (24.18) won their respective 50 Freestyle events while Sami Poe (1:11.45) edged teammate Bekah Wheat (1:11.95) in the Girls' 100 Butterfly. Lodovici won again with first in the 100 Freestyle (59.31) while Cory Poe won the boys' 100 Freestyle in 52.38. In the 500 Freestyle, Libby Gingrich (6:07.17) and Josh Clarke (4:56.53) won their respective events to keep the Northern Polar Bear Express rolling.

See the December 27, 2012 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

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Tourney up next for Polar Bears
By Joe Guty

Photo by Curt Werner
The Northern Varsity Boys Basketball team lost to Boiling Springs 70 to 53 at the Northern High School on Saturday, Dec. 22. In photo Northern's Zac Ilgenfritz shoots over Boiling Springs Tyler Wise for two points in the first quarter of play.

____After a short Christmas break, Northern is back on the court to face Palmyra in the Big Spring Holiday Tournament this Friday night in Newville. Tip-off time is 4:30 p.m. for the Polar Bears while the host Bulldogs meet James Buchanan H.S. at 7:30 p.m. The consolation game is slated for Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and championship contest at 7:30 p.m.
____Bolting to a 10 point first-half lead last Saturday, December 22, Boiling Springs cruised to a 70-53 victory over the Polar Bears. Northern fell to 4-5 overall and the visiting Bubblers improved to 5-2 on the year. Matt Gelber scored 16 points to pace Boiling Springs. Dillon Heatwole led Northern with 15 points while Zac Ilgenfritz added 12 and Tanner Dixon chipped in 10. Kevin Reeder added six points while Jason Johnson had five points and Zach Martick added three. Travis Saylor chipped in two points.
____At Susquenita on Friday, December 21, Northern's 22-5 commanding third quarter run aided the Polar Bears to a 61-48 victory. Susquenita fell to 1-7 overall while Northern evened up at 3-3 in the Mid Penn Capital Division standings. Senior point guard Tanner Dixon led all scorers with 31 points and Zac Ilgenfritz added 11 points. Other scorers for Northern were Jason Johnson (8), David Cuckovic (7) and Travis Saylor (4). Drew Knowles led the hosts with 25 points.

See the December 27, 2012 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

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