Press And Journal
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
VOLUME 123 - NO. 37
24 PAGES
75 CENTS
Last dance for an old dance hall
It was once a dance hall and a skating rink. Now the Farr Apartments on Swatara Park Road in Lower Swatara Twp. is a pile of rubble, demolished by crews two years after it was damaged by flooding from Tropical Storm Lee. Crews began leveling the 82-year-old building on Monday, Sept. 9, one of about 50 homes and other flood-damaged structures in Lower Swatara, Middletown and Londonderry Twp. purchased with money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and local municipalities and torn down. Crews also began to demolish homes on Maple Avenue and Adelia Street in Middletown. Twenty-two Middletown homes damaged by flooding were purchased for demolition. Middletown Borough Council awarded contracts to demolition companies in August. Farr Apartments opened as a dance hall in 1931. The building, owned by C.D. Farr during the 2011 flooding, was converted into a skating rink in 1937. After World War II, Farr’s father, then the owner, added second-floor apartments. The site also was once an amusement park.
Press And Journal Photos by Noelle Barrett
MIDDLETOWN
Council approves development zone
Quick
NEWS Gun accidentally fires in Royalton boro hall
The Keystone Opportunity Zone is a state program intended to lure businesses and create jobs
No one was injured when a gun accidentally discharged in the Royalton Borough Building in August, borough officials said. The gun was the personal weapon of an arms dealer who had come to the police department to pick up weapons that were confiscated by officers in January, said Mayor Bob Stone. It accidentally fired while in the dealer’s possession, producing a divot in the floor of the police department, officials said. Two police officers were in the department when it fired.
By Jim Lewis
Press And Journal Staff
Middletown Borough Council has approved the creation of a Keystone Opportunity Zone on 114 acres of Harrisburg International Airport property in Middletown, Highspire and Lower Swatara Twp., a move that would offer developers tax breaks if they build on the land. The acreage includes land where the old Crawford Station electric generator once stood, former Bethlehem Steel Corp. property and the airport’s abandoned terminal. Developers would be exempt from local real estate taxes, and could see state taxes reduced or eliminated for 10 years. Middletown was one of several local government bodies that had to approve the zone for it to become reality. It already has been approved by Highspire Borough Council, the Lower Swatara Twp. Board of Commissioners and the SteeltonHighspire School Board. Only one more vote of approval, from the Middletown Area School Board, is needed for the plan to move forward. The board voted 7-2 Please See ZONE, Page A6
LONDONDERRY TWP.
Middletown driver dies when car, ’cycle collide By Noelle Barrett
Press And Journal Staff
A Middletown man was killed and another person was injured when a motorcycle and car collided at the intersection of East Harrisburg Pike and Colebrook Road in Londonderry Twp. on Saturday, Sept. 7. Christopher Metzler, 38, died after the motorcycle he was driving and the car collided at 6:16 p.m., according to state police at Harrisburg. The car, traveling east on East Harrisburg Pike, was attempting to make a left-hand turn onto Colebrook Road when it turned into the path of Metzler’s motorcycle, which was traveling west on the Pike, according to Trooper Robert Hicks, information officer for the state police at Harrisburg. Metzler was pronounced dead at the scene, and the car’s driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Hicks said. Hicks would not identify the car’s driver. A report by Pennlive identified the car’s driver as Anna Marie Gromotskie, 53, of Middletown. The crash was still under investigation as of Tuesday, Sept. 10, and no other details were available.
Royalton council moves to discipline officer
Submitted photo
John Wilsbach, the voice of MIddletown sports on radio station WMSS, has bought the Harrisburg Heat of the Professional Arena Soccer League. Terms were not disclosed.
From broadcaster to owner
Middletown’s John Wilsbach buys a professional soccer team By Noelle Barrett
They own a sports team
Press And Journal Staff
J
ohn Wilsbach began his soccer career as the goalkeeper for Middletown Area High School’s first soccer team in 1982 – but it wasn’t his passion. “I find the outdoor game somewhat boring,” he admits. Instead, Wilsbach enjoys the indoor version of the game – the fast pace, the action, the energy. It’s what he loves. So when the stars aligned the right way, and Wilsbach had a chance to become the sole owner of the Harrisburg Heat professional indoor soccer team, he couldn’t resist. Wilsbach, a Londonderry Twp. resident whose voice can be heard on high school sports broadcasts on local radio station WMSS FM, bought the team. Terms were not disclosed. He now owns a sports franchise. “The biggest thing I’m learning is that everyone all of a sudden says, ‘John Wilsbach owns a sports team; when did he become a millionaire?’ ” said Wilsbach. “Nothing has changed for me except for I own a sports team … there’s a perception I’m greater than I was, but I’m still the same old John Wilsbach.” Wilsbach had been involved in the indoor soccer community for years, first as the broadcaster for the defunct Hershey Impact indoor team during its last two seasons, then as a broadcaster for the defunct Philadelphia Kixx indoor team for seven Please See WILSBACH, Page A6
By Jim Lewis
Press And Journal Staff
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Justin Timberlake – The singer is minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. Bill Maher – The comedian acquired a minority share of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets in 2012. Gloria Estefan – The legendary singer acquired a minority share of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins in 2009. Bill Murray – The actor is a minority owner of the St. Paul Saints, a minor league baseball team. He also serves as “Team Psychologist,’’ according to the team’s website. Drew Carey – The comedian and host of “The Price is Right’’ found the price of a minority share of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders to be right – he bought a piece of the team in 2007. KISS band members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley – They are part-owners of a Los Angeles expansion team that will play in the Arena Football League in 2014. The team’s name? The Los Angeles KISS.
Council picks Cain for First Ward seat
Ball to feature Civil War dances
Please See REEL Page A6
HIA awards contract to demolish old terminal
Middletown’s John Wilsbach joins a list of celebrities who have purchased a pro sports franchise – or a minority share of a team. You may be surprised who owns a piece of your favorite team:
ROYALTON
GET REEL Admit it, you’ve danced the Hokey Pokey at wedding receptions. Or the Electric Slide. Perhaps you’ve attempted the Polka. Maybe you’re an adventurer on the dance floor who dives into everything from the Cha-Cha to the Cupid Shuffle. But have you danced like it’s 1869? You could have the chance. Supporters of the Middletown Public Library will hold a fundraising Civil War Ball from 8 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Penn State Harrisburg’s Capital Union Building that will feature dances from Abraham Lincoln’s era. You can do the Virginia Reel – remember
Royalton Borough Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 3 to begin steps to discipline an unnamed borough police officer for an undisclosed infraction. Council held a lengthy executive session on the issue before voting on the matter. Solicitor Steven Miner recommended approval. Amy Burrell, borough secretary, said she could not comment because it was a personnel matter.
Ted Biesecker, a council member Press And Journal Staff and former mayor, died on Aug. 8. A youth baseball “I knew Teddy coach and lifelong since I was a small resident of Royalton kid, and I thought has joined Royalton it would be nice to Borough Council. step up for him, and Randy Cain, of Marhelp out the town,” ket Street, was chosen Cain said. by council on Tuesday, Cain graduated Sept. 3 to fill a vacant Cain from Middletown First Ward seat until Area High School January. Council approved his appointment by a 6-0 and Dauphin County Technical vote, with council member Carl School in 1978, and was a coach Hrescak absent. The seat became open when Please See CAIN, Page A6
To make room for progress, a piece of Harrisburg International Airport’s past is coming down. The Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA), which oversees the airport, voted on Wednesday, Aug. 28 to award a $1.46 million contract to Neuber Demolition and Environmental Services of Phoenixville to demolish the old airport terminal. It’s an attempt to encourage economic development on the property, according to airport spokesman Scott Miller. The authority believes a “clean, flat piece of ground” would most likely attract a developer to the property, which can only be used for aviation-related purposes due to its proximity to the airport’s runway, Miller said. A Federal Aviation Administration grant will pay 90 percent of the demolition’s cost, while the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Aviation will pay 5 percent and SARAA will pay 5 percent. The demolition is expected to begin next spring.
pressandjournal.com
By Noelle Barrett
Submitted photo
Members of the Victorian Dance Ensemble dance at the Capitol Rotunda.
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