| Print Edition Highlights - January 8, 2015
Photo by Curt Werner.
Firefighters spray hot spots on the front porch of a mobile home in Young's Grove Mobile Home Park at 2:08 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31. The fire was quickly extinguished. Franklintown Fire Company and Dillsburg Citizen Hose and fire police were on the scene.
See the January 8, 2015 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.
By Jeffrey B. Roth
Michael C. Weigand
____ Supporters of law enforcement are hoping to see “a sea of blue” Friday in support of Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.
____ “The significance of Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, or LEAD, events are simply showing law enforcement across the nation that they have more supporters then they will ever understand,” said Sara Slone, director of public relations for Concerns of Police Survivors, COPS, which provides trauma and crisis services to family members of police killed in the line of duty. “It’s time to stand up and actually show them that support and yell ‘thank you’ to keep them going. The negativity happening right now towards law enforcement is in full force, but through all these events and acts of kindness, we can show that supporters greatly outnumber the nay-sayers.”
____ Friday's observance is a direct response to the recent negativity directed toward law enforcement nationally, Sloan said. She noted that each day, there are 780,000 police officers are on duty in the country.
____ “On average, between 105 and 203 officers die in the line of duty each year, 50,000 officers are assaulted in the line of duty each year, 14,000 officers are injured in the line of duty each year, and over 300 officers commit suicide each year,” she said. “There is no other profession in the world, except possibly the military, where you will find these kinds of statistics.”
____ Kim Weigand, director of the Pennsylvania COPS chapter headquartered in Latimore Township, said different municipalities in the area are planning to show support for law enforcement. This past weekend, Carlisle illuminated the sky with their big blue searchlight, something the borough may do again on Friday, Weigand said.
See the January 8, 2015 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.
By Marie Chomicki
____ This week marks one year since Timothy “Asti” Davison of Poland, Maine was shot and killed in an act of road rage on Interstate 81, just north of the Maryland line in Franklin County.
____ On Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014 at around 2 a.m., Davison called 911 to report he was being shot at and chased by another motorist.
____ The driver of a Ford Ranger pick-up truck, dark lapis blue in color, rammed Davison’s SUV into the median near mile marker No. 3, disabling his silver 2001 Mitsubishi Montero.
____ An occupant got out of the truck and fired several times into Davison’s vehicle, killing him. The suspect fled the scene, driving Rt. 81 south.
____ “Even though it has been one year, we have never stopped investigating this case,” Lieutenant Jonathan Mays, commander of the Criminal Investigation Section Troop H-Harrisburg, said. “We still are committed to solving this homicide and giving the family of Timothy Davison peace of mind.”
____ “This has been an extremely difficult case. We continue to seek, collect, and analyze evidence using all means available to us. We also continue to receive and follow up on tips. We encourage the public to share any information they may have,” May said.
Also in the January 8, 2015 edition:
___
___ -Community Calendar
___ -Obituaries
___ -Letters to the Editor
___ -Editorials
___ -Births
___ -20 years ago
___ -Classifieds
Print Edition Highlights - January 8, 2015
By Joe Guty
Photo by Curt Werner.
Northern's Curtis Robison dribbles between two Boiling Springs players to the basket for two points. On Tuesday, January 6, the Northern Boys Basketball team fell to Boiling Springs 62 to 50.
____Ending 2014 on a positive note, Northern rebounded from an opening loss to Manheim Central in the Middletown Tournament (December 29-30) to defeat Annville Cleona 60-43 in the consolation contest. A 33-20 margin after two quarters set the tone for the game despite the Little Dutchmen's 14-9 third quarter run. Eric Jacobs paced the Bears with 13 points while Owen Clendaniel and Scott Leitholf added 10 points apiece. Ben Anderson and Curtis Robison posted nine points apiece. Completing the Bears' scoring: Jack McKenzie (5), Bobby Shelly (2) and Jack Walsh (2). Donald Friday led Annville-Cleona with 16 points and Matt Light added 11.
____On Friday, January 2, Northern travelled to Lower Dauphin in a non-league game won by the Falcons 67-36. The hosts had built a 39-12 lead by halftime. Nick Sacoman led the Polar Bears with 10 points and Eric Jacobs added seven. Other scorers for Northern included Scott Leitholf (4), Jack McKenzie (4), Curtis Robison (4), Bobby Shelly (4) and Jack Walsh (3). Tommy Bowen led LD and all scorers with 30 points and Matt Seip added 14.
____This week, Boiling Springs (4-1, 10-1) took over first place in the Mid Penn Colonial Division followed by Shippensburg (3-1,8-3), Waynesboro (3-1, 6-4) and Northern (3-2, 4-7). Greencastle was at 2-3, 3-8 in front of James Buchanan (2-4, 6-7) and Big Spring (0-5, 3-8).
By Joe Guty
Photo by Curt Werner.
Northern's Garrett Mixon took first place in diving. Here Mixon is in the middle of his two and a half twist as the judges and coaches watch.
____ Supported by the cheers and encouragement from many Polar Bear fans in the stands, the Northern H.S. Swimming and Diving teams competed well in the 2015 Panther Classic hosted by Central York H.S.. The girls' team placed fifth (207 points and highest Class AA team finisher) and the boys' team finished third (215 points) with a combined team finish of sixth place (422 points). Cocalico won the girls' title with 268 points while Central Dauphin captured the boys' title with 277 points. The combined team champion was Central York with 485 points.
____ Polar Bear athletes had three event winners, recorded 15 career best times and two meet records, six in-season best times (regular season) and six 2014-15 season bests.
____ Some highlights included: Senior Josh Clarke won the 200 IM and established a new meet record of 2:00.49, breaking the previous record from 2011 held by Northern Alum Jared Haley, who is now an NCAA All-American competing for West Chester University. Clarke was also the champion in the 500 Free, with a time of 4:51.91. His time was also a new meet record that broke the previous standard held since 2011. That mark belonged to another Northern graduate, Sam Linder, who now competes in middle distance freestyle events for Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. In the Girls 100 Breaststroke, senior Jenn Strine defended her Panther Classic title by winning with a time of 1:12.96. In addition to Clarke and Strine, Northern also had two swimmers who were heat winners of the first heat in their event, garnering important team points - Larissa MacDougall in the 200 IM and Libby Gingrich in the 100 Back.
Pictured above from the left, Brynlee Brenneman, Laila Hosni, Brian Radcliffe, Lexi Hunter and Jacqueline Bell stand behind a table containing the 420 pairs of used eyeglasses collected by students from the Northern Middle School as part of the Student Council’s “Sight for Sore Eyes” service project.
____ Northern Middle School students recently collected 420 pairs of used eyeglasses and partnered with the Dillsburg Lions Club to submit the glasses to the Lions Clubs International “Recycle for Sight” distribution program. In November, the Middle School Student Council officers and advisors, Mike Barber and Molly Veres, were looking for a community service project that the entire school could rally behind. They hit upon the idea of collecting used eyeglasses. They contacted the Dillsburg Lions who have an active recycling program in the area to partner with the club in the recycling effort. Students in all NMS grade levels participated in the recycling effort with students divided into six teams. Collection boxes were decorated and the campaign, named “Sight for Sore Eyes,” ran for two weeks. The students were motivated by a prize of a month-long, two-minute early release for lunch.
____ The Lions recycling program is always in desperate need of glasses for children, which can be the difference needed to learn to read. The Dillsburg Lions Club gave its congratulations to the Northern Middle School students and Student Council for their service to people in need in a way that will change the lives of both children and adults.
Print Edition Highlights - January 8, 2015
By Steven M. Nesbit
 
____ From the perspective of David J. Spotts, Chief of Police, the vast majority of young people that interview for jobs now, lack social skills: the ability to have a one-on-one conversation and being able to relay abstract concepts to others. “If you put them on a computer, they can do all of that,” he says. In the Chief’s mind, our world moves forward because of relationships – relationships that people form with other people. In law enforcement, there are very few jobs that are solely independent of others.
____ The ease of communication as viewed through the lens of our social media networks is being compounded by the problem of being able to reach audiences worldwide. Spotts thinks “our nation and the world are in for more of a struggle in developing how social media impacts our lives.” He does have a Facebook account, but because of his job, he and his wife share very little online.
____ Police officers have been fired for things they posted. Officers have compromised criminal cases by what they put on social media sites. “What people still do not seem to realize is that once the information is in cyberspace, it can be recovered many years from now. You truly don’t delete what you delete. Your information is still out there sitting in someone’s server,” Spotts reminds us.
____ In 1956, David J. Spotts was born to Franklin and Jennie Spotts in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of six children. The three older sisters came first – Brenda, Donna, and Anita, and the three boys, Franklin, Randy and David arrived later. There is a 20 year age gap between the children. His two older sisters were out of the house by the time David was old enough to remember. He does remember one sister and two brothers living in the house while he was growing up.
By Dave Wolf
The lower Susquehanna has added consumption impairment channel catfish larger than 20 inches, due to (PCBs).
____ The wise use of water resources has been a lifetime pursuit of mine, so much so that I was part of designing the PA Fish & Boat Commission’s (PF&BC) “Resource First Logo” and helped place, protect, conserve and enhance in their proper order. I also wrote the quote for a poster the PF&BC distributed; “The creek is a symbol of our greatest resource; as the creek flows so does mankind.”
____ I really don’t need credit for any of it, because I judge success by the crowds that gather to claim it for their own. Sometime in the past, during a war over yet another dam in the Harrisburg area, my career with the PA Fish and Boat Commission abruptly ended, right after the one of the greatest conservationists I have ever known passed away. Ralph W. Able was a conservationist through and through, and along with Maurice Goddard and Ken Sink, accomplished more than anyone I know in their service to the Commonwealth. His motto was: "Do your duty and fear no one!"
____ I have little doubt that if he was still leading the charge, the fight for clean water would be farther along, or he would have been fired. His ability to ward off political pressure was one of his greatest attributes, but if it would have been enough to survive in this day and age is anyone’s guess.
____ The Susquehanna River was a problematic child back in the mid-80’s, and I had many discussions with Ralph and staff biologists over its eventual fate. We knew it was a tough task, finding and weeding out non-point pollutants, and with a watershed that large, the task was and still remains daunting.
|
