March 20, 2015

Baby dies from rat bite

____ A 6-month-old Dillsburg baby died New Year's Day, three days after being bitten by a rat, according to the Cumberland County Coronor's office.
____ Coronor Charles Hall said lab studies received last week confirmed the baby had Rat-bite fever, streptobacillus soniliformis, in the brain, which led to the cause of death, meningitis and myocarditis (an inflamation of the heart), as revealed in the autopsy conducted on January 5.
____ Hall said the parents initially brought the baby to the emergency room of Holy Spirit Hospital on December 30, 2014 with a fever and rash; the baby was treated and released with medication.
____ The parents did inform hospital staff at the time that their child was bitten by a rat on the right index finger on December 28, Hall said.
____ On January 1, the child was taken back to the hospital with a high fever and lethargy, Hall said. The baby subsequently died in the emergency room.
____ The bite occurred at the baby’s home in the 500 block of S. Baltimore Street. Hall could not say how the rats were contained but that they were being raised by the family to feed their pet snakes.
____ Carroll Township Police Chief Thomas Wargo said he could not comment on the case at this time since it is now under investigation by the York County District Attorney's office. His office was contacted on March 5.
____ ChildLine and York County Children and Youth Services were also notified, Hall said, because a 3-year-old lives at the residence, too.
____ Wargo said the family is fully cooperative.

Print Edition Highlights - March 19, 2015

Fire destroys pole building
No trace of former sign painting business left standing
By Jeffrey B. Roth


Photo by Curt Werner.
Bright orange flames silhouette two firefighters as they prepare to battle the blaze of a pole building on Pinetown Road Saturday night.

____ A driver passing by 1585 Pinetown Road, near Wellsville, spotted a fire in the former Signs By Dave business.
____ Diann Kilgore said that at about 7:30 p.m., Friday, she and her husband, David, were finishing dinner in their home when a car pulled into their driveway. The driver came to the door and knocked frantically to get their attention.
____ The unidentified driver alerted them that the 28-by-53-foot pole building, located on the same property as their home, was on fire, Diann said. The building had been converted to use for storage, car repairs and furniture building by the family. Her husband had formerly operated a sign painting business there until about 2008.
____ “We saw a car stopping out front,” Diann said. “We thought they were spotting deer or something like that. Then we saw lights pulling into our driveway and we thought it was our daughter coming home; then we saw a guy running up to the door. We went out and there it was.”

See the March 19, 2015 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

Meeting unusually short
By Peggie Williams

____ The Franklin Township supervisors dealt with several issues in an unusually short meeting on March 11.
____ In response to resident John Keen’s request for more transparency, supervisors agreed to post the monthly treasurer’s report on the township website, but they will not post the monthly budget progress reports. Keen said he felt that if residents had easy access to more information they would be more likely to participate in local government.
____ The emergency management officer was issued a credit card with a limit of $1,000. He is currently using the office card to make his purchases, but there was some concern that he might need funds during an emergency when the office was closed.
____ The subdivision plan for Gerald and Marjorie Jones was given an extension until June 19.
____ A workshop meeting to discuss the interpretation and possible changes to the township steep slope zoning overlay was scheduled for March 18 at 7 p.m.

See the March 19, 2015 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

Rescue truck certified as emergency ready
By Curt Werner

Photo by Curt Werner.
Dillsburg Citizen's Hose No. 1 Fire Chief Scott McClintock, Assistant Fire Chief Bob Kauffman and First Lieutenant Hector Morales stand to the left of the rescue truck that was just certified by the York County Fire Chiefs' and Firefighters' Association on Tuesday, March 17.

____ The Dillsburg Citizens Hose No. 1 Fire Company Rescue Truck has been certified by the York County Fire Chiefs' and Firefighters' Association, ready to handle just about every emergency situation.
____ In essence it is a tool box on wheels, carrying chain saws, a hacksaw with extra blades, a hammer, a sledge hammer, a wrench set of many sizes, shovel, screwdrivers and pliers. The truck also carries blankets for a rescue and a fire resistant blanket. It also has hydraulic rescue tools for vehicle crashes giving quick recovery to free victims in dangerous situations and several different types of ropes for life safety and a floating rope with throw bag for water rescue. The Rescue Truck has an extension ladder, 24' minimum, fire extinguishers, portable radios and medical supplies. These lists just scratch the surface of all the items the Rescue Truck has on board to help save lives.

See the March 19, 2015 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

Print Edition Highlights - March 19, 2015

Houseal rolls back-to-back 300's at ABC West lanes
By Joe Guty

Photo by Curt Werner.
Scott Houseal bowled back-to-back 300 games on Sunday, March 1 at ABC West lanes.

____ As a long time golfer and local PGA Club Professional, Scott Houseal knows a thing or two about tempo, balance and rhythm. And as a skilled bowler, Houseal used some of those same key thoughts on Sunday, March 1 as he bowled back-to-back 300 games at ABC West lanes. Two perfect games, 24 total strikes.
____ The Dillsburg resident's 848 series was also his 11th career 800 series and personal best - eclipsing an 845 recorded back in 1988. He also has thrown 15 -300 games. Yet to go back-to-back 300's is quite a feat.
____ "I just focused on the shot and mark," said Houseal who will soon resume his duties as head golf pro at Armitage Golf Club. "After the first 300 and midway into the second 300 I knew I had another 800 game so I just relaxed, rolling the ball where I wanted to, while keeping an even tempo."
____ A lane veteran for 39 years, Houseal started bowling in junior leagues at age nine and later participated in adult leagues after turning 16. After high school in 1985 he bowled in leagues five times a week. Marriage came along so he wisely scaled back to two leagues and then just one league in the winter months.

See the March 19, 2015 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

Snow Geese numbers continue to climb at Middle Creek
By Dave Wolf

Photo by Karen Wolf.
Middle Creek hosted an estimated 2,300 tundra swans in 2015.

____ Last year, we arrived at the peak of the migration, thanks to a little luck and cabin fever! Our trip was also prompted by the numbers posted on the Game Commission’s website. We were thrilled to see our arrival was timed perfectly, due to our desire to “get out there” after an extremely long and frigid winter.
____ As I glanced through the collection of last year’s photos, I was pleasantly surprised at the numbers of snow geese that Karen and I were able to capture in a single frame. Although I had seen more geese in the past, Karen was more than thrilled with the numbers.
____ Jim Binder’s final report last year gave little hope of the numbers returning to what had been considered normal, in years past. He wrote, “Snow geese are increasingly spending time in the Lehigh Valley; over the past several years that area has held as many, if not more, snow geese than we had here. Since that trend started, we haven't eclipsed 80,000 snow geese in a year, whereas we used to expect 150,000.”
____ As we step deeper into March this year, the geese numbers have already eclipsed the 100,000 mark and may rise to numbers that we had seen years ago, or perhaps even higher.

See the March 19, 2015 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.

Northern trying to win with new cast of characters
By Andy Sandrik

Photo by Curt Werner.
Backup varsity softball pitcher and catcher Emalee Peterson stays after practice to get some extra throws despite the high winds on Tuesday, March 17.

____ New season. New coach. New players. New team.
____ For the Northern softball team, it's out with the old and in with the new.
____ The Polar Bears, with first-year head coach Kurt Kluck leading the way, welcome several additions to the team, including a group of six freshmen looking to make an impact at the varsity level.
____ This is the first varsity head-coaching job for Kluck, a teacher at Northern who has JV coaching experience for the Polar Bears and his alma mater at Gettysburg.
____ "Practice has been really good," Kluck said. "We have a young group of girls that is very talented. I'm seeing some really good chemistry here. It's an overall team concept. Everyone is working hard for everyone else."
____ Kluck is Northern's third head coach in the last three years and replaces Bruce Sheaffer, who remains on the staff as an assistant.

See the March 19, 2015 edition of the Dillsburg Banner for details.