THE YEAR IN REVIEW January-April 2019
January
Jan. 3 — Hearty party-goers armed with umbrellas and wet-weather gear braved the elements to attend Raising the Bar, the Greencastle-Antrim Education Foundation's inaugural family-friendly New Year's Eve celebration Monday evening on Kaley Field.
Jan. 8 — Judy Ward, the Greencastle-Antrim area's new state senator, took the oath of office Jan. 1 to begin serving her first term representing the 30th District.
Jan. 10 — Residents of four developments in the Borough of Greencastle will not have to install curbs and sidewalks as scheduled this year.
Jan. 15 — Free parking on Saturdays emerged as one step local business owners would like to see to enhance downtown Greencastle. In a followup to a visit late last year by Ted Martin, deputy director of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce organized a downtown visioning meeting Friday.
Jan. 17 — Mickey Mouse turned 90 on Nov. 18, 2018, and a display continuing through at least the end of January at Greencastle's Lilian S. Besore Memorial Library celebrates the Walt Disney icon. The pieces in the library display case are from the pre-World War II collection of Bill Spigler of Waynesboro.
Jan. 22 — Pennies add up when they are applied to millions of square feet was one message as developers encouraged the Greencastle-Antrim School Board to continue the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Abatement program.
Jan. 24 — Increasing numbers of Advanced Placement classes are being taken at Greencastle-Antrim High School and for the fourth year in a row, the Greencastle-Antrim School District was honored by the College Board with placement on the annual AP District Honor Roll.
Jan. 29 — The late Samuel B. Forney influenced scores of music students over the course of more than three decades and his influence will continue with a new fundraiser being organized in his name by the Greencastle-Antrim Band Boosters. The first Forney Classic Golf Tournament will be held Saturday, April 13, at Greencastle Golf Club.
Jan. 31 — "Honor the past, encourage the present and grow the future" is the mission statement of Andy Everetts, president of the 40th Triennial Old Home Week. While staying true to a history of limiting the commercialization of the celebration, funding is needed as expenses continue to climb with the event's popularity, Everetts said as he announced sponsorship opportunities at Monday's meeting of the Old Home Week Association.
February
Feb. 5 — First-graders at Greencastle-Antrim Primary School celebrated the 100th day of school on Wednesday, Jan. 30, by continuing a decades-long tradition of helping the Lilian S. Besore Memorial Library. Children gathered in the lobby pit area for a program that included a representative of each class coming forward with a bag filled with coins for the Dimes for Besore collection.
Feb. 7 — Greencastle Borough Council members interviewed two candidates to replace Craig Myers Monday evening before voting to return Wade Burkholder to council. Myers has moved out of the borough and Burkholder and Ken Peiffer III applied to fill his term, which runs through 2021. Burkholder previously served on borough council from 2011 to 2015 before losing his re-election bid to Duane Kinzer by one vote.
Feb. 12 — Greencastle Borough Council is lending its voice to concerns about tractor-trailer traffic on South Washington Street outlined in a letter from Mayor Ben Thomas Jr. to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Feb. 14 — A Mercersburg man is planning what he hopes will be the first in ongoing meetings of a local chapter of the International Association for Near Death Studies. It will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 9, in the Lilian S. Besore Memorial Library in Greencastle.
Feb. 19 — Greencastle-Antrim High School students can now set their sights on the stars thanks to the donation of an 8-inch Newtonian telescope. Jeff Shaffer of Greencastle, a 1970 G-A graduate, presented the telescope on Thursday, Feb. 14, and spoke about the sky with members of the new astronomy club. The club was initiated by senior Kyle Andruczk and formed this year with co-advisers Linda Singley and Zeke Flores.
Feb. 21— Superintendents from three districts where later start times are in place for secondary school students were featured during an information session Tuesday night as the Greencastle-Antrim School District continues to consider whether to make a change.
Feb. 26 — Approval from the Federal Trade Commission has paved the way for the Shop 'n Save at 500 N. Antrim Way, Greencastle, to become a MARTIN’S Food Market. The store will close at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, for conversion and reopen at 8 a.m. Friday, April 5, after extensive remodeling.
Feb. 28 — Antrim Township supervisors got an overview Tuesday night of a proposal on how to pay for nearly $2.8 million in stormwater management measures that must be completed by 2023. Rick Hess and Jim Bennett, representatives of Dewberry Engineers Inc., talked about how they came up with township-wide fees in an equivalent residential unit (ERU) system. The typical residential property owner would see a fee totaling $128.31 for three years, while larger commercial properties are facing much higher fees.''
March
March 5 — Momentum is building for the 40th triennial Old Home Week celebration, President Andy Everetts reported to the OHW Association last week.
March 7 — Black balloons tied on the parking meters surrounding Center Square in Greencastle on Wednesday were testimony to lives lost to addiction. Black Balloon Day, marked annually on March 6, to raise overdose awareness, was organized locally for the second year in a row by Vicki Rhodes of Mercersburg, who lost her daughter, Teri Rhodes, to a fentanyl overdose in December 2015.
March 12 — The rivalry between Greencastle-Antrim's Taryn Parks and Northern York's Marlee Starliper has dominated the regional girls' running scene for the last few years. On Sunday, the two sensational juniors dueled on a national stage, competing to a photo finish at the New Balance Nationals Indoor held at the Armory in New York City. Parks edged Starliper at the line to win the girls' high school mile run championship, earning a national indoor track and field title in her signature event. Parks' winning time of 4:39.045 is the fastest in Pennsylvania history, according to PennTrack XC.
March 14 — Students, parents and teachers used colored dots to indicate school features they like and don't like during visioning exercises Monday as part of a facilities study for the Greencastle-Antrim School District.
March 19 — An outdoor project at Greencastle's Lilian S. Besore Memorial Library got a boost Thursday evening at the biennial Spring Fling. Expanding the parking area and creating an outdoor courtyard are in the final phase of projects in the capital campaign launched in 2010. The Spring Fling's theme was Bricks and Books and it added $29,557.50 to the more than $1 million that has been raised over the course of the fund drive.
March 21 — If a storm water management fee is created to pay for federally mandated cleanup efforts in Antrim Township, collection will not begin this year. In addition, supervisors are thinking about paying for at least a portion of the $2,790,000 estimated cost of measures under its current MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) permit from township reserves.
March 26 — State Rep. Paul Schemel and Sen. Judy Ward provided an update on issues in the state capitol ranging from legalization of recreational marijuana to raising minimum wage Thursday morning during the Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce's legislative breakfast in the conference center at Rhodes Grove Camp.
March 28 — Matt Hurley, founder of Hurley Auctions in Shady Grove, his wife Shannon and their six children have been called by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve a three-year mission in the Idaho area.
April
April 2 — Local men spent Friday evening dancing and enjoying treats, crafts and entertainment with their favorite girls at the Greencastle-Antrim Education Foundation's Daddy-Daughter Dance at Green Grove Gardens.
April 4 — Greencastle Borough Council approved a stormwater management budget Monday night and by the May 6 meeting it will be calculated how much each borough property owner will pay to support it. The creation of a stormwater utility and a budget for it is the latest step as the borough looks to comply with federal water cleanup mandates as well as other water issues in the borough. The budget approved Monday needs revenues of $780,000 a year.
April 9 — A little bit of rain didn't keep Greencastle residents from gathering Friday morning at 500 N. Antrim Way for the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new MARTIN'S Food Market.
April 11 — It was a small class of community members who learned lessons about the state of the Greencastle-Antrim School District during a presentation Tuesday night. Only about a dozen people not affiliated with the district were scattered in the high school auditorium for the state of the district that included updates on the superintendent's goals, student achievement and district finances, as well as the chance to comment on the future of LERTA — the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program.
April 16 — One of the nicest days so far this year greeted an annual rite of spring as hundreds of people enjoyed the sixth annual Craft Beer and Wine Festival on the parking lot of Antrim Way Honda Saturday afternoon.
April 18 — The sign facing South Carlisle Street says "German Reformed Cemetery," but it is the back side that tells the tale of the Greencastle graveyard established in 1786. It features a map and information on the more than 300 burial sites at the cemetery, which is owned by Grace United Church of Christ.
April 23 — Greencastle Borough Council members took action at a special meeting last week to advance a pedestrian safety project, pending additional funding from the Greencastle-Antrim School District. Council voted Thursday to both award a $75,000 contract to Wyoming Electric and Signal to install rapid flashing beacons at two East Baltimore Street intersections and to pay an additional $10,531.64 on top of the $5,459.68 already matched for the project.
April 25 — Display cases glittering with gold, silver, diamonds and other precious and semi-precious stones ring the interior of the former BB&T bank on the Square in State Line. Aside from the vault, drive-through and security doors, the new home of BBS Jewelers bears little resemblance to the former depository.
April 30 — Members of the Greencastle Lions Club marked decades of service during the 75th charter night celebration April 27 at the Kauffman Community Center. They were joined by members of the Greencastle-Antrim Lioness Club, which they sponsored in 1979, and other regional Lions clubs, past district governors, current district and national Lions representatives and local dignitaries.