Press And Journal
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2014
VOLUME 124 - NO. 5
16 PAGES
75 CENTS
One motorist pleads guilty, another waives charges in Main Street crash By Noelle Barrett
Press And Journal Staff
Press and Journal Photo by Noelle Barrett
Five people were injured in the four-vehicle crash at the Mid-Town Plaza in October.
A Penn State Harrisburg student has pleaded guilty and another has waived charges to county court for allegedly causing a four-vehicle crash at the Mid-Town Plaza in Middletown last October while racing their cars on East Main Street. Bing Ouyang, 20, of Middletown, pleaded guilty to illegal racing, a summary offense, during a preliminary hearing before District Judge David Judy on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Five other charges, including two misdemeanors for recklessly endangering another person and conspiracy, and three
MIDDLETOWN AREA SCHOOLS
TAX HIKE LOOMS FOR 2014-15
summary offenses for careless driving, reckless driving and driving at an unsafe speed were withdrawn by the Dauphin County District Attorney’s office. Haowen Song, 21, of Middletown, waived his right to a preliminary hearing, sending the charges against him to Dauphin County Court. The charges against him include two misdemeanors for recklessly endangering another person and conspiracy, and five summary offenses for careless driving, reckless driving, driving at an unsafe speed, illegal racing and unsafe passing. Five people were injured in the accident, which occurred Please See CRASH, Page A8
Groundhog Day February 2
IF YOU GO
Quick
NEWS MAHS choral director awarded national honor
School board votes to advertise a preliminary budget that includes an $870,000
By Noelle Barrett
Press And Journal Staff
Residents in the Middletown Area School District are likely to see a real estate tax increase next school year – but how much is still unknown. The Middletown Area School Board voted on Monday, Jan. 27 to advertise a preliminary budget for the 2014-15 school year that currently includes an $870,000 deficit. For 2014-2015, the district’s Act 1 index, or maximum tax increase allowed under state law, is set at 2.7 percent. The district is asking the state for an exception involving retirement costs that could allow the district to raise property taxes by as much as 3.94 percent, said David Franklin, assistant to the superintendent for finance and operations. That would mean a maximum increase of 0.8591 mills, or an additional $85.91 for a home assessed at $100,000. But while the district has applied for exceptions to the Act 1 index in the past, it has never raised
CHASING RABBITS...
Lia Schmittel performs one of her duties as the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Queen at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in 2012.
...you might become queen of Pennsylvania’s state fairs. Just ask Londonderry’s Lia Schmittel.
Please See TAX HIKE, Page A8
LOWER SWATARA TWP.
Press And Journal Staff
I
By Joe Sukle and Jim Lewis Press And Journal Staff
Submitted photos
t began with a rabbit. Lia Schmittel, then 10 years old, wanted a bunny, like the one her friend owned. To sway her father, she and her friend grabbed some sidewalk chalk and wrote – on the driveway of her Londonderry Twp. home – a list of reasons why Lia should own a rabbit. It worked. Her father relented that night, and Schmittel got her bunny. That led to obtaining more rabbits, kept in a hutch at her home, and showing them at agricultural fairs like the Pennsylvania Farm Show and Elizabethtown Fair. And blue ribbons. Then came chickens. And a miniature donkey named Penelope. Her knowledge of raising animals grew. She learned, for example, how rabbit poop makes a great garden fertilizer. She joined the Dauphin County 4-H Club, and in 2012 was crowned the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Queen by the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Breeders Association. It was only the beginning of her agricultural adventure. On Saturday, Jan. 27, Schmittel, 19, was crowned Pennsylvania Fair Queen at a convention of county and state fair organizers at the Hershey Lodge.
Londonderry Twp.’s Lia Schmittel poses with her crown.
Photo by Sandy Harper
Coach Chris Sattele, center, and his Middletown boys’ basketball team pose for a photo with the game ball after the Blue Raiders defeated West Perry on Friday, Jan. 24 to give the coach his 100th career victory.
Middletown boys’ basketball coach Chris Sattele notched his 100th career victory when his Blue Raiders walloped West Perry, 66-47, on Friday, Jan. 24 in Middletown. Bench players got to be a piece of the milestone, as the Raiders’ starters blitzed the Mustangs early, allowing Middletown to substitute through most of the fourth quarter. Seventy-two of Sattele’s victories came at Middletown, where he’s coached since 2008, with the remaining 28 coming at Northern York, where he previously coached. For more on the historic victory, read Larry Etter’s account of the game on B1.
Contact Us
Move over, Peyton
Holly McKenna, an aquatics instructor at Penn State Harrisburg, will swim a 15hour marathon on Thursday, Jan. 30 at the campus pool to raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund. McKenna is scheduled to begin her swim at 7 a.m. and finish it at 10 p.m. Students and staff at the campus are invited to join her in the pool.
Middletown man held for trial on Megan’s Law charge A Middletown man was held for trial in Dauphin County Court on a charge that he violated Megan’s Law after a preliminary hearing before District Judge David Judy on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Louis J. Miller, 43, of Caravan Court, was arrested in November by detectives from the MIddletown Police Department and charged with failure to comply with Megan’s Law registration requirements after he allegedly failed to register a change of address with the state police. Miller was held in Dauphin County Prison on a detainer from the Dauphin County Adult Probation office.
Please See QUEEN, Page A8
Please See SCAMS, Page A8
NO. 100
Steve Smith, choral director at Middletown Area High School, was selected as the 2014 Choral Director of Note for Pennsylvania by the American Choral Director Association. Smith is profiled along with other honorees from each state in the January issue of Choral Director magazine. Smith, who has taught at Middletown for 28 years, told the magazine he is proud of the fact that 181 of the 640 students in grades 9 through 12 are in the choral program, which attempts to improve year after year. “Remarkably, an ethic of excellence actually attracts more students to the program,’’ he told the magazine. “They appreciate the opportunity to be pushed to achieve. These outcomes of independence, confidence, lifelong learning and excellence are important to music but also enable students to be successful in all of life.’’
She’s swimming 15 hours to benefit Four Diamonds
By Jim Lewis
Two elderly residents scammed out of $6,300 They posed as grandsons, in need of money, desperately seeking help from their grandmothers. One needed to pay a tax to get access to his college financial aid. The other needed bail to get out of a Mexico jail. They were swindlers, and their calls were a scam – a scam that took more than $6,000 from two elderly Lower Swatara Twp. residents recently, township police said. In one case, a 73-year-old resident told police on Monday, Jan. 20 that she lost $1,800 when she sent money via cash cards to a caller who claimed to be her grandson. He told her that he had received a phone call notifying him that his college financial aid had not gone through but was available if he paid
Will Phil see his shadow?
pressandjournal.com
Submitted photo
Aurora, a Dalmatian raised at Middletown’s Spotted Dog Dalmatian Rescue, will compete in Animal Planet’s “Puppy Bowl X.”
Aurora’s in a super bowl, too
By Noelle Barrett
Press And Journal Staff
What’s brown and white with lots of spots? A local pup that has made it to this year’s “Puppy Bowl.” Aurora, a Dalmatian raised by Ariel O’Brien, president and founder of the Spotted Dog Dalmatian Rescue on North Union Street in Middletown, can be spotted on the big screen during Animal
Write: 20 S. Union St., Middletown, PA 17057 • Phone: 717/944-4628 • E-mail: Info@PressandJournal.com • Home Page:
Planet’s “Puppy Bowl X” on Sunday, Feb. 2. If landing a position in the starting lineup of the “Puppy Bowl” isn’t special enough, Aurora defies the odds. She is only the second Dalmatian and the first deaf dog to ever step onto the field. “The reason I wanted her to be in the ‘Puppy Bowl’ is because I wanted people
TO:
LISTEN Sound Off Audio SUBMIT Photos & Events SEARCH Back Issues SEE More Photos WATCH Videos
Please See AURORA, Page A8 This is Chrissy Oberto’s hometown