Hamilton Health breaks ground on Steelton facility, will be fourth satellite location

March 27, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

Hamilton Health’s CEO Terese Delaplaine (center) is joined by local, county and state officials at the ceremonial groundbreaking on Friday.

A new satellite location for Hamilton Health Center has begun construction, part of a larger, mixed-used project in Steelton.

Area officials gathered on Friday at the site on N. Front Street in the center of the borough to ceremonially break ground on 20,000-square-foot healthcare facility.

The new facility is part of a 102,000-square-foot, mixed-use development called The Steel Works Revitalization, developed by Wormleysburg-based Integrated Development Partners. In addition to Hamilton, the development includes a retail store and a 41-unit apartment complex with additional first floor commercial space.

At the groundbreaking, Hamilton’s board Chair Michael Harris stated that the expansion positions the organization “to meet growing needs of the community.”

“We all look forward to serving the Steelton area,” he said.

Hamilton’s Steelton location will consist of a two-story steel building with about 10,000 square feet of space per floor.

The first floor of the building will include a clinical space for eight family practice exam rooms, a Women’s Infant & Children (WIC) office, and a space for the future Hamilton Pharmacy location that will include a drive-through for prescription care. The second floor of the facility will house office space for staff and providers. In addition, the roof of the building will utilize green technology with 7,000 square feet of solar panels.

The Steelton facility will mark the fifth location for Hamilton Health, a federally qualified health center. In addition to its main facility in Harrisburg, Hamilton has sites in Union Deposit, Millersburg and Newport.

For more information on Hamilton Health Center, visit their website.

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Game On: New e-sports center debuts in downtown Harrisburg

March 27, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

Soniqs CEO Darren Moore, accompanied by HU President Eric Darr, cuts the ribbon on the new LAN Center in downtown Harrisburg.

Do you want to play a game?

If so, you’re in luck, as downtown Harrisburg has a new facility, called the LAN Center, for state-of-the-art e-sports gaming.

The center will serve as the home for the Harrisburg-based Soniqs, a professional e-sports team. It also will be available to Harrisburg University’s varsity e-sports team, the Storm, and clubs and groups for private events, according to HU.

A local area network (LAN) gaming center is a facility where players use a computer connected over a LAN to other computers, primarily for competing in multiplayer games.

“We wanted to build the LAN Center in the middle of downtown Harrisburg so we could give back to the gaming community,” said Soniqs CEO Darren Moore, who cut the ribbon, officially opening the center on Monday morning.

LAN Center patrons will be able to participate in tournaments, engage in casual play with peers, and watch games as spectators. The center will include gaming set-ups and spectator seating for e-sports events. E-sports professionals will also teach workshops and other educational events in the roughly 2,000-square-foot space, which was constructed by Harrisburg-based JEM Group.

The center features Intel NUC PC’s built with 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900 CPU’s, 16GB of RAM, and RTX 3060 TI’s. Accompanying the PCs are ViewSonic’s 27-inch 1080p 240Hz IPS gaming monitor. At each setup are Glide Gaming Chairs from Zipchair, which feature ergonomic support, height controls, adjustable armrests and tilt tension regulation.

“We really wanted to give people a space where they could come, play, and learn,” Moore said.

The LAN Center is located at 19 S. 3^rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit the Soniqs website.

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The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

March 24, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg Police Bureau’s Cpl. Don Bender with K-9 Zoe at retirement ceremony.

It’s officially spring and we at TheBurg couldn’t be more excited for the warmer days ahead! Just as April showers bring May flowers, Fridays bring our weekly roundup of Harrisburg news stories. Find all of our coverage, below.

Arlene Holmes has been at the helm of Holmes-O.K. Lettershop for 57 years, our magazine story reported. The Lemoyne design and print shop provides services for clients like the Kiwanis, the West Shore Lions and the Distinguished Daughters of PA, among others.

Artist Cheryl Kugler has created drawings of 100 cats and kittens from Lemoyne-based Loving Care Cat Rescue that still need homes, our magazine story reported. She recently held an art show and sale to benefit the nonprofit, as well.

Bike share is back for the season in Harrisburg with the return of Susquecycle, our online story reported. The program, run by Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, offers bikes for rent at locations around the city.

Friends of Midtown will host its first Midtown Makers Series throughout April, our online story reported. The month will feature a long list of workshops taught by local artists on everything from candle making to painting to knitting.

“HairStory: Reclaiming Our Crown” will debut at Gamut Theatre in early May, poetically sharing stories of hair inequality and Black hair history, our reporting found. The show, presented by Reclaim Artist Collective, will include true stories from local community members.

Harrisburg city and the school district will host a job fair on March 25 for residents searching for employment, our online story reported. The event will allow people to network with local professionals, business owners and city and school district officials.

The Harrisburg Police Bureau celebrated the retirement of one of its four-legged officers this week, our online story reported. K-9 Zoe served with the bureau for nearly seven years before recently being diagnosed with lymphoma.

Medard’s House, a New Cumberland youth center, focuses on giving youth productive, supervised things to do during the after-school hours. In our magazine story, hear from students on how the program has impacted them.

Our theater reviewer reflects on Open Stage’s current production of “Anne & Emmett,” an imaginary conversation between Anne Frank and Emmett Till, both fatal victims of racial prejudice. The play is graphic, heartbreaking and powerful, she shares.

Sara Bozich has tons of great ways to spend the weekend, here. From concerts to art exhibits to adult egg hunts, there’s something for everyone.

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Harrisburg city and school district to host job fair, networking event

March 23, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg School District’s Lincoln Administration Building

Harrisburg residents seeking employment will soon have a chance to network with business owners, local professionals and city officials.

The city, in partnership with the Harrisburg School District, will host a Contractor, Vendor and Employment Resource Fair on Saturday, March 25, at the district’s Lincoln Administration Building on State Street.

“The city of Harrisburg is open for business, whether that’s on Main Street or in city hall,” said Mayor Wanda Williams. “If we’re going to promote working in or for the city, then we need to have the resources available for anyone who wants to take part in what we’re building. I’m thrilled to partner with the Harrisburg School District to ensure anyone who wants to work here has that ability.”

The fair, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will give businesses and people seeking employment the chance to meet with business and hiring professionals and officials from both the city and school district. Human resources staff will be present to give guidance on the application process.

Contractors, vendors and suppliers also can engage with administrators to learn more about the procurement process.

Spanish translation support will be available.

“The Harrisburg School District is excited to welcome talented, qualified contractors and vendors, including local, minority and women-owned entrepreneurs,” said district Superintendent Eric Turman. “We are looking forward to strengthening our collaboration with the city of Harrisburg, so that together, we can create innovative partnerships that will benefit and support our diverse school community and city.”

The Harrisburg School District’s Lincoln Administration Building is located at 1601 State St., Harrisburg. For more information, click here.

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“Lights Out Harrisburg” urges residents to switch off lights at night to save migrating birds

March 23, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Starting next week, saving migrating birds is as easy as flipping a switch.

From the start of April to the end of May, the Appalachian Audubon Society is encouraging Harrisburg residents and businesses to turn off their lights at night to prevent bird collisions with buildings and windows.

The initiative, Lights Out Harrisburg, asks community members to turn off or dim exterior and interior lights during the migratory season’s overnight hours, from 12 to 6 a.m.

According to Audubon society officials, as birds migrate north for the season during the night, lights can be distracting and cause birds to crash into buildings. According to the National Audubon Society, up to 1 billion birds die each year across the United States by colliding with buildings and windows.

Harrisburg will join over 40 other cities across the country for Lights Out.

The initiative will take place again from Aug. 15 to Nov. 15, during the return migratory season.

Partners for the program include the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, PA Department of General Services, PA Game Commission, Harristown Enterprises, Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District, National Audubon Society, Wyncote Audubon Society and West Shore Wildlife Center.

To learn more about Lights Out Harrisburg, visit the Appalachian Audubon Society’s website.

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Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

March 23, 2023 | by Sara Bozich

Plan your weekend with my weekly list of things to do around Harrisburg and central PA!

What you’ll find:

For something new: 6 Degrees of Bacon Beer Dinner at Iron Hill Brewery Hershey looks interesting Worth noting: Discover local small businesses on Saturday during Camp Hill’s Spring Fling! Things on my agenda this weekend: Spring Fling in Camp Hill, not sure what else!

For your weekend planning

View my local Restaurant Directory or Local Brewery, Winery, & Cidery Directory
See what else you missed on the blog

Below are options for your weekend.

A Look Ahead

Save the Date: Greystone Derby Day is May 6
HU Presents announces spring 2023 lineup
The Best Farmers Markets around Harrisburg
Submit your events for the Weekend Roundup

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Art for All: Friends of Midtown to host craft workshop series led by Harrisburg artists

March 22, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Vivi on Verbeke will host several events as part of the Midtown Makers Series

If you’re looking for a hobby or want to try your hands at something new, some upcoming Harrisburg events will help you get crafty.

Nonprofit Friends of Midtown will host a Midtown Makers Series throughout April, offering pottery, macramé and printmaking classes, among others.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for community members to connect with local artisans,” said Sandi Emery, Friends of Midtown business committee co-chair.

Classes being offered during the Midtown Makers Series include:

April 1: Make a Mug: Handbuilding Pottery Workshop at Vivi on Verbeke
April 2: Mindfulness Art Forms Workshop with Artist John Davis at The Millworks
April 6: Stitch ‘n Bitch + The Garden Collective
April 7: Plant Holder Workshop with WhyKnotPA at the Millworks
April 8: Make a Wall Planter: Handbuilding Pottery Workshop at Vivi on Verbeke
April 8: Beginning Knitting Workshop with Erin Musselman at The Millworks
April 13: Stitch & Bitch: Brew Pub Edition at Zeroday Brewing Taproom
April 15: Flower Pressing 101 with The Wildest Flowers at Zeroday Brewing Taproom
April 15: Make a Bowl: Handbuilding Pottery Workshop at Vivi on Verbeke
April 15: Fluid Art Workshop with Artist Ann Benton Yeager at The Millworks
April 21: Linocut Printmaking Workshop with Elaine Elledge at The Millworks
April 22: Community Mosaic Painting with Jaci Creates at The Midtown Scholar
April 22: Make a Clay Creature: Handbuilding Pottery Workshop at Vivi on Verbeke
April 23: Herbal Tea for Spring with Sara Rose of Plant Family at Elementary Coffee Co.
April 30: Candle Making Workshop with Moonrise Candle Co. at The Millworks

Some classes are free to attend, while others require tickets.

According to Emery, the organization’s goal is to both give community members a way to connect with each other and to support local businesses and artists.

“It’s important to support people that work to make our community a more vibrant place,” she said.

Emery also acknowledged the local businesses that donated their facilities for the events.

So far, the series has garnered a lot of attention from interested residents, Emery explained, and she’s hopeful that people will enjoy the many chances to learn a new craft.

“What’s a better way to connect with a friend or loved one than to create something together,” she said. “It’s about being able to create with each other and make lasting memories.”

For more information and to buy tickets for the Midtown Makers Series events, visit Friends of Midtown’s website.

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Pedal Power: Harrisburg bike share, Susquecycle, returns for the season, set to expand

March 22, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

A Susquecycle station at the Broad Street Market in Midtown Harrisburg

Ready. Set. Ride.

Bike share is back in Harrisburg as Susquecycle has relaunched for the season and bikes for rent have returned to locations around the city.

The program has returned bikes to existing stations in downtown, Midtown and on City Island after a winter hiatus.

Last October, the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission (TCRPC) unveiled its new bike share program, SusqueCycle, which is operated by Michigan-based Tandem Mobility. The program filled a transportation gap left behind when the previous bike share operator in Harrisburg closed during the pandemic.

“SusqueCycle is an exciting micromobility option for local residents, commuters, biking enthusiasts and anyone else who wants to take a spin,” said Steve Deck, executive director of TCRPC. “It’s an efficient, affordable, healthy and environmentally friendly transportation mode for people who live and work here or are visiting the area.”

Currently, Susquecycle includes six locations around the city, with 36 bikes available between them.

The SusqueCycle pickup/drop-off locations are as follows:

State and N. 2^nd streets, downtown
City Island, near the Walnut Street Bridge
Market Square Transfer Center, downtown
Harrisburg Transportation Center (Amtrak station), downtown
Strawberry Square, downtown
Broad Street Market, Midtown

According to Deck, during the brief period that the program operated in the fall, 64 people became members and took 133 rides.

With that success in mind, TCRPC plans to expand the program this summer to six more locations. They will include Harrisburg stations in the areas of the Federal Courthouse/Bethesda Mission in Midtown, the Midtown State Office Complex, the TransitPark lot off Market Street downtown and Tri-County Community Action on Derry Street in Allison Hill. There will also be locations on the Greenbelt in Paxtang Borough and near the square in Hummelstown Borough.

“Considering the brief season and limited number of bike racks, we think it was a great success,” Deck said. “And with more bikes and locations filling in some gaps and providing more access at key locations in the city and expanding outward into the region, it’ll be a great year for bike share in the Harrisburg area.”

SusqueCycle uses the Movatic app. Pay-as-you-go pricing is available for $1.50 for 30 minutes, or riders can purchase a $25 annual membership for unlimited 30-minute trips. SusqueCycle memberships can also be used with the Hershey Bikes and Bike It Lancaster programs, and can soon be used in York when that program is launched.

For more information about Susquecycle, visit their website.

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“HairStory” to shine light on Black hair discrimination this spring at Gamut Theatre

March 22, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

An upcoming Harrisburg show will explore an often-overlooked social justice issue—Black hair discrimination.

“HairStory: Reclaiming Our Crown” will debut at Gamut Theatre in early May, poetically sharing stories of hair inequality and Black hair history.

“This is really huge in the Black community, how you have to change yourself to be accepted,” said playwright Maria James-Thiaw, founder of Reclaim Artist Collective, which is presenting the show.

The show follows the journey of a young, Black aspiring journalist, Aleyah. Her editor assigns her a story about Black-owned beauty shops and her research takes her back in time to learn about African traditions. She also hears more recent stories of how people of color have been ostracized and objectified for their hair.

The stories Aleyah encounters in the show are true, as James-Thiaw conducted in-depth research and interviews with local Black women, men and children and included their experiences in the show.

“I hope that people are really moved,” she said. “I hope that people with African textured hair would feel heard and seen and maybe learn something about their history that they didn’t know.

The show is a choreopoem, a play written in poetic form, and features a 13-person cast, drummers, visual art, song and African dance.

James-Thiaw was inspired to explore and research the topic of hair after working with students at Harrisburg’s Capital Area School for the Arts (CASA) during the collective’s residency program there. Members of the collective worked with senior students to come up with a theme for a storytelling project, and the students chose the topic of hair. Much like James-Thiaw would later do, students interviewed family members and wrote their hair stories.

“They learned a lot,” she said. “It was really inspirational.”

Maria James-Thiaw

James-Thiaw has her own hair story. For 20 years, she had dreadlocks and recalled several times colleagues or even strangers would touch her hair without permission. These macro-aggressions are something that many people of color have had to endure, she said.

James-Thiaw cited information from a study by the Dove Corporation that shows that Black women are 54% more likely to feel that they have to straighten their hair for a job interview to be successful. Additionally, over 20% of young Black women have been sent home from work because of their natural hair.

“A lot of people don’t realize that Black hair is a social justice issue,” said HairStory Director Roe Braddy, “It can affect you at work, in school and even in church. It is also a public health issue.”

The show is also sponsored by the Harrisburg Chapter of the Links, Inc., a philanthropic, African American women’s organization that works to uplift Black women and girls.

Not only does James-Thiaw hope viewers learn from the play, but she also hopes they’ll be entertained as the show includes humor, song and dance.

“I’m just really excited,” she said

“HairStory: Reclaiming our Crown” will show at Gamut Theatre on May 4 through 7. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Gamut’s website. To learn more about Reclaim Artist Collective, visit their website.

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Bark & Badge: Harrisburg Police Bureau K-9 officer battling cancer honored at retirement ceremony

March 20, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg Police Bureau’s Cpl. Don Bender with K-9 Zoe at retirement ceremony.

Harrisburg officials gathered on Monday to honor a Bureau of Police officer that, for years, has done a doggone good job.

While K-9 officer Zoe was preoccupied with a ball, bureau officials recognized the dog’s bittersweet retirement, made necessary by her recent lymphoma diagnosis.

“She’s a great K-9 dog, and she was a great partner to her handler,” said Police Commissioner Thomas Carter during the event, held at the MLK City Government Center. “We are going to dearly miss her.”

Zoe served with the bureau for nearly seven years with handler Cpl. Don Bender. Zoe is an 8-year-old Dutch Shepherd and was the bureau’s first female K-9.

On March 7, she was put into early retirement and will live with Bender and his family.

During her service, Zoe largely worked patrol and narcotic detection cases. Zoe and Bender were utilized more than 360 times, completing article searches, apprehensions, building searches, back-up and perimeter assists, narcotics vehicle/residential/parcel searches and tracks, along with various other tasks. The bureau credited Zoe with the seizure of $21,755, 8.80 kilos of cocaine, 60 grams of fentanyl, 35 pounds of marijuana, and 3.88 kilos of methamphetamine.

She also performed K-9 demonstrations at community and educational events, such as the city’s National Night Out.

“Not just K-9 Zoe, but every K-9 we have, it’s invaluable what they bring to the table,” Bender said. “We can’t put a price on what they bring to the department.”

Zoe is currently in week two of a 19-week, aggressive chemotherapy treatment, according to Bender. So far, she has responded well to it and has a chance of experiencing remission, he said.

Virginia-based nonprofit Paws of Honor is covering the cost of Zoe’s treatment, as they provide assistance with care for military and police K-9s.

At Monday’s ceremony, Zoe performed her final walk in front of saluting officers and received a radio send-off from Dauphin County 9-1-1 Dispatch.

“I think everyone that owns a dog knows that there’s that once-in-a-lifetime dog, and she’s that for me,” Bender said. “The best partner you can have.”

Update: On Friday, March 24, K-9 Zoe passed away following a recent chemotherapy treatment, according to a statement from the city, which extended condolences to Bender and his family.

Story updated on 3/27/23.

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Plan your weekend with my weekly list of things to do around Harrisburg and central PA!

What you’ll find:

For your weekend planning

A Look Ahead

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

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