Photo by Curt Werner

Ghulam "Ray" Raza, owner, stands beside a new ATM machine and the broken front door.

All thieves wanted for Christmas was an ATM

A trio of masked bandits broke into the Sunoco Gas Station in Rossville the night of December 24, hauling off with its ATM machine and cartons of cigarettes.

“Everything was a mess,” Store Manager Mubwen Shahid said when he arrived to at the store, located at 3425 Rosstown Road, on Christmas day at 4:30 a.m. “The front door was broken down, and the ATM was torn out.” Some 4,000 boxes of cigarettes were also taken.

Shahid was not sure how much money was in the machine. The thieves wrapped a chain around the ATM, which typically weighs 150 to 250 pounds, to get it out the front door to a waiting vehicle, he said.

Shahid said the robbery occurred sometime after he closed the store on Christmas Eve at 9:30 p.m.

The burglary alarm was on, Shahid said, and the owner, Ghulam "Ray" Raza, was immediately notified of the break-in by the alarm company and Pennsylvania State Police.

Raza said the calls came into him at around 2 a.m. on Dec. 25. He said details of the robbers and the vehicle used can be seen on a video which the police now have.

Upper Allen Police Department is investigating a similar robbery that took place earlier that day at 4:30 a.m.

Police said they responded to an active burglar alarm at the Premium Food Mart, 805 West Lisburn Road. Upon arrival, officers observed entry was made into the business and an unknown amount of property was stolen from the store. Upper Allen police said they are aware of the Rossville incident but cannot comment.

Ghulam "Ray" Raza, owner, sstands beside a new ATM machine and the broken front door.

Photo by Curt Werner

Pat Wilson points out the many rides at the carnival inside the train set.

Christmas collection wows visitors

Curt Werner

Jolly Old St. Nick is the star of Warren and Pat Wilson’s home in New Cumberland during the holiday season.

A collection of more than two hundred Santa Claus figures span their home, along with a fireplace covered with Santas from end to end. One climbs a ladder up and down. A uniquely decorated tree, with railroad tracks going around the middle of the tree and a working train that goes around and round, is featured in the living room.

A scenic view painted on the wall greets visitors to another Christmas room that features a train set with thousands of parts making a carnival atmosphere. Bumper cars, a ferris wheel, swings, merry-go-round and many rides provide a feast for the eyes as the tiny carnival whirls into motion.

Wilson started collecting small houses with a train set to put under the Christmas tree for his two boys.  

"Each year it kept growing and growing until I built a platform,” Wilson said. “Now the platform is growing and I painted the background to represent mountains behind the train set making it look 3D."

Swim-A-Mile to bring smiles

Joe Guty

Setting the bar higher every year, the Northern H.S. Swimming and Diving teams’ “Swim-a-Mile, Bring a Smile” One Mile Swimathon, held Dec. 28, 2019, was yet another success. It is a strong testament to the reach of the Polar Bears’ program – in and out of the pool -- that current and former student athletes convene over the holiday break for this community service.

“We had 31 current Northern swimmers each swim a continuous mile, and 13 returning Northern swimming alumni complete two-mile relays, from the classes of 2010 to 2019, to raise funds for Covenant House of York,” said Head Coach Bill Resser. “Of the current Northern swimmers, nine swam a mile for the first time, which is outstanding. Five of them are doing competitive swimming for the very first time this year. Thirteen of the experienced Northern swimmers completed the mile faster than ever which is a good indicator of where we are with our training at this point in the season.”

Coach Resser related that the Covenant House of York Program Director Sarah Jeffery, was there to encourage, inspire and thank the swimmers before they swam their mile. She shared a very moving story about a young woman who lost both of her parents to cancer and found herself homeless before she turned to Covenant House for shelter and critical support.

Jeffrey added that their clients come from all over York County, including Dillsburg. The swimmers are collecting pledges to be turned in by Monday, Jan. 6 with the check presentation to Covenant House scheduled later in the month.

If anyone in the community would like to support Northern Swimming's 2019-20 "Swim-a-Mile" Swimathon and, in turn, Covenant House of York, they can send a check, payable to "Northern Swimming Boosters" to Northern Swimming & Diving, Northern High School, 653 S. Baltimore Street, Dillsburg, PA 17019.

Additional information regarding Covenant House can be found on line: https://www.covenanthouse.org/homeless-shelters/york-pennsylvania.

Looking ahead on the Polar Bears’ regular meet schedule: On Saturday, Jan. 4 (10 a.m.), Northern hosts York Suburban and Schuylkill Valley. On Tuesday, Jan. 7 the Polar Bears host Palmyra H.S. (5 p.m.). Two back-to-back Colonial Division meets follow: James Buchanan on Thursday, Jan. 9 (5 p.m.) and Big Spring H.S. on Tuesday, Jan. 14 (4:14 p.m.).

Photos by Curt Werner

Joel McClintock, top, pins the Central Dauphin East player in the third period.

Bears put five on podium, including champion Swartz, at CV Holiday Classic

Andy Sandrik

Northern's wrestling squad put five grapplers on the podium, including 195-pound champion Kyle Swartz, as the Polar Bears rolled to their best tournament showing of the season at last weekend's Conestoga Valley Holiday Classic.

Led by Swartz, the defending PIAA Class AAA champion, Northern posted 115.5 points to finish seventh out of 26 teams.

Eleven of Northern's 12 wrestlers in the tournament earned at least one win, including placewinners Jaiten Holford (4th at 120), Liam Strouse (4th at 138), Bay Blaschak (7th at 170) and Eddie Wells (8th at 182).

Northern returns to the mat on Saturday, when it travels to compete in the Central Dauphin Duals.

106: Kyle Haverstick (1-2)

Haverstick's tournament began with a loss by fall in 1:20 to Downingtown East's Ryan Loraw, but hebounced back with a 7-4 win over Central Dauphin's Alliyar Nassarov before his weekend came to an end with a loss by fall in 4:42 to Conestoga Valley's Trent Ruble.

120: Jaiten Holford (4th place, 6-2)

Holford exploded for six wins, including five in the consolation bracket, to earn his first podium finish of the season.

After a win by fall in 2:34 over Exeter Township's Cabraun Woody, Holford was sent to the wrestlebacks with a 16-0 (5:01) loss to Bellefonte's Lane Aikey, the No. 1 seed.

After that loss, however, Holford went on a tear. He pinned Downingtown East's Alex Hillestad (1:50) and Radnor's Zack Fluck (2:45) before securing decisions over Octorara's Tyler Walton (9-4) and Central Mountain's Braylen Corter (3-0).

Holford advanced to the third-place match after a medical forfeit win over Aikey, before finally seeing his winning streak come to an end with a 7-0 loss to New Oxford's Andrew Christie.

126: Joel McClintock (1-2)

McClintock posted a pin in 4:08 over Crestwood's Justin Sterling, but he was knocked out of the tournament with losses to Coatesville's Nathan Lucier (fall in 3:56) and Penncrest's Nickoloa Partsanaki (9-3).

132: Kolby Portko (2-2)

Portko doubled his season win total by churning out a pair of bonus-point wins.

He kicked off his tournament with a 16-1 (5:09) technical fall over Downingtown East's Sean Mullen, but was sent to the consolation bracket with a 15-0 setback to Central York's Mason Myers.

Portko pinned Father Judge's Robert Baker in 2:56 in the wrestlebacks before his weekend came to an end with a 4-2 loss to Central Mounain's Zach Miller.

138: Liam Strouse (4th place, 3-2)

Strouse claimed his second tournament podium of the season with a fourth-place effort.

Strouse piled up the points in the opening rounds, dispatching Bellefonte's Brady Martin by a 21-7 major decision before punching his ticket to the semifinals with another major, this time 12-1 over Exeter Township's Jevin Guldin.

Strouse was knocked out of the championship bracket with a 10-0 loss to Shikellamy's Cade Balestrini, the eventual champion. He shook off the loss with a 4-3 decision over Philipsburg Osceola's Chase Chapman in the consolation semifinals.

Strouse had to settle for fourth place after a 3-0 loss to New Oxford's Timothy Uhler.

145: Aiden Wenger (3-2)

Wenger logged three wins, all decisions, in his showing at Conestoga Valley.

Wenger opened with a 6-2 victory over Downingtown East's Connor Huntoon, but was knocked out of the championship bracket with a loss by fall in 1:52 to Methacton's Kibwe McNair.

Wenger bounced back with wins over Philipsburg Osceola's Luke Hughes (11-5) and Caldwell's Joseph Jenkins (5-4) before his tournament came to an end with a 15-5 setback to Exeter Township's Connor Lender.

152: Pierce Feite (3-2)

Feite brought his season win total to 10 after posting three victories at Conestoga Valley.

Feite opened with a pin in 1:18 over Radnor's Teddy Anderson, but was bounced from championship contention with a loss by fall in 4:26 to Lake Lehman's Josh Bonomo.