Nature’s Eye: Harrisburg’s first major Ansel Adams exhibit lands at SAM.

September 29, 2017 | by Gina Napoli

I’ve always been fascinated by the early works of world-famous artists, to see the genius in its formative stages.

For the next few months, such an opportunity arrives in Harrisburg with “Ansel Adams: Early Works,” a traveling collection of 41 vintage black-and-white photographs, which opens this month at the Susquehanna Art Museum.

“This is the first time we’re seeing the real thing in Harrisburg, not just in poster or print reproductions,” said Lauren Nye, director of exhibitions. “This collection will show the real development of his photography into the masterworks that are most associated with him as an artist. We wouldn’t ordinarily have that opportunity.”

To fully realize the impact of Adams’ distinctive contributions to art, science and politics, his work should be placed in its 1927 context, when he came on the art scene with his first portfolio with scenes of “the natural world, the state/national parks and rural America,” Nye said.

At that time, both the National Park Service and the Sierra Club were young, founded in 1916 and 1892, respectively. Adams partnered with these organizations and took up their causes, with his talents helping make both organizations more robust. His work allowed people to share his vision through his photographs.

The Sierra Club featured Adams’ photographs on their brochures, giving impact to their environmental lobbying messages.

“He photographed areas around the country that many in Washington, D.C., had never seen before,” Nye said. “Even today, many people have only experienced these places through his photos.”

The photos inspired lawmakers to pass legislation to preserve these areas for future generations.

“[Adams] was among the first to treat the landscape with a painter’s vision,” said SAM Executive Director Alice Anne Schwab. “His work stands out not only for its technical merit, which is astonishing, but also for its groundbreaking originality.”

During his lifetime, Adams went on to serve on the board for the Sierra Club and personally lobby for environmental causes. His main concerns were over-developing, over-building, intrusive billboards and shortsightedness. His iconic images accompanied his letters, becoming points of persuasion all their own.

Just as important as Adams’ contributions to environmental activism were his contributions to arts education. His photography was created, without manipulation, in the dark room. He also served as a technical consultant in photography and delivered workshops to fellow photographers. Nye said,

“He championed photography as an art form,” she said.

Another art form important to Adams’ life was music. In his early life, Adams studied to become a concert pianist. To honor that portion of Adams’ life, SAM will feature a piano recital on a 1920s-era Steinway by local developer and musician Ralph Vartan on Oct. 25. Schwab said that other mini-concerts will follow.

“I am really excited for the exhibit that will showcase his early works from a time when he was considering a career as a concert pianist,” SAM board member Phyllis Mooney said. “Having an exhibit of [his works] in Harrisburg is incredibly special.”

Sharing space in SAM’s main gallery will be “Quartet for America: Neil Anderson,” abstract paintings by retired Bucknell professor Neil Anderson. Anderson’s tutelage inspired many artists in the regional area—Schwab was once his student.

“It feels right to juxtapose these works at a time when our nation is so at odds,” she said. “Maybe art can be that driving, uniting force.”

Nye hopes that visitors leave with a deeper understanding of the nuances offered in Adams’ work that extend beyond simple black-and-white photography.

“We hope to encourage artists to inspire one another, sharing techniques, much in the same way that Ansel Adams shared his passion for photography,” she said.

“Ansel Adams: Early Works,” runs Oct. 7 to Jan. 21 at the Susquehanna Art Museum, 1401 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.susquehannaartmuseum.org. SAM members can enjoy a sneak preview the evening of Oct. 6.

“Ansel Adams: Early Works” is organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions, LLC. All photographs are from the private collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg.

Senior Space: Friendship, fellowship at Heinz-Menaker.

September 29, 2017 | by Norah Griffiths Johnson

A group of focused-looking seniors gathers in a light-filled room in Midtown Harrisburg to practice tai-chi.

Outside the room, a spirited game of Pokeno (a poker/lotto hybrid) is in progress. Smiles break out on the faces of the card players, who jibe each other and pantomime scowls when someone cleans up.

I’m at the Heinz-Menaker Senior Center to get an insider’s look at a place that, to be honest, I hardly noticed when I drove past numerous times before today.

The center, which was founded more than 40 years ago, hums with activity. It’s a Wednesday, the day the center offers a food pantry in partnership with the Central PA Food Bank. Heinz-Menaker also runs a Meals on Wheels program and a supplemental offering for the homebound, but the center’s core services are visible through its senior programming.

As Les Ford, Heinz-Menaker’s affable executive director, takes me around for a tour, he runs through the various activities they offer. Tuesdays and Thursdays are chair yoga, Wednesdays are tai chi—they’re the only center that offers it in the county, he said. Fridays are chair exercise, which is the most popular. In addition to the fitness classes, games are a popular draw, including bingo, dominoes and cards. Art classes are held on Mondays—the center even has two kilns for those looking to dabble in ceramics. A modest computer area sits off to the side of the main community room. The center’s library, composed of a floor-to-ceiling wall of books, runs along one side.

“I have one gentleman who just likes to come in here and read,” Ford tells me as we walk by the space.

The center feels comfortable, welcoming, and I can see why area seniors gravitate here, though, as any of the long-term members will tell you, there have been some rough patches.

“Are you the one who fell through the floor?” Ford calls to an older gentleman sitting nearby as he gives me a rundown of Heinz-Menaker’s history.

The man laughs and shakes his head, but I can’t tell if it’s from disbelief that he lived to tell the tale or simply because it wasn’t him. Either way, center folklore has it that it was this very incident that was the impetus for replacing the former senior center with the building now known as Heinz-Menaker.

U.S. Sen. John Heinz and City Council member and community activist Mim Menaker were instrumental to the creation of the current building some 25 years ago. But over time, the center lacked sufficient funds for routine maintenance and improvements. When Ford first came on board, six years ago, he focused on pinning together funding to address the many infrastructure issues stemming from years of deferred maintenance. It wasn’t easy.

“My members would ask me, ‘Well, what are you doing?” Ford said. “And I’d say, ‘I’m keeping the lights on and doors open.’”

Joanne Schreffler mirrors this. She coordinates the food pantry for the center, schedules trips and activities, among a host of other responsibilities. She tells me that, when Ford arrived, “trashcans sat at various points around the main community room because of the leaking roof. You can’t ask people to come in here and pay good money and then have trash cans sitting around to catch water.” She shakes her head, just thinking about it.

“That was a tough period,” she said. “And there’s just not a lot of places you can go to ask for $60,000 to get the roof fixed.”

Eventually, Ford gathered funds to stabilize the building through a combination of U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Dauphin County gaming grants. Today, the center relies on proceeds from renting out the space for events in order to supplement city, county and state funding. Heinz-Menaker runs on a shoestring staff of fewer than a half-dozen, mostly part-time, employees.

“These are the people who hold it all together,” Ford notes.

As I talk with Schreffler, who has worked at Heinz-Menaker for years, she says the experience of watching her own parents age was the inspiration for her involvement.

“Working with these members five days a week, they become family,” Schreffler says, smiling. “We worry about them when they’re not here, send them birthday cards, get well cards when they go in for surgery.”

The family-like feel is evident as I explore. Members mingle together after the Pokeno game has broken up. Peals of laughter rise above a happy din. I ask Frances McQuay, a petite, stylishly dressed member, what draws her here.

“I get my exercise in, and I like the people,” she says. “It’s the fellowship. I really like coming here. It gets me up in the morning. It gets me out of the house.”

She persuaded her husband to come along too.

“Once we started coming, we both can’t stay away,” she says.

While speaking with another member, Pat Mueller, our conversation strays into the ups and downs of aging.

“Attitude has a lot to do with it,” she tells me, with a twinkle in her eye.

Something that can be said about much of life. At Heinz-Menaker, age is but a number and attitude is everything. Good aphorisms to remember at any age.

Heinz-Menaker Senior Center is located at 1824 N. 4th St., Harrisburg

More information about Dauphin County’s senior centers can be found at dauphincounty.org.

Going Home: Harrisburg has a unique opportunity to chart its own course.

September 29, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

How many terms should a Harrisburg mayor serve?

Council President Wanda Williams believes that the city would be better off if the mayor could only serve two terms. She has a point.

As the old saying goes, “absolute power corrupts absolutely,” and a person who serves term after term after term in a powerful position like the mayor of Harrisburg is bound to accumulate tremendous power.

Of course, city residents don’t have to look back too far to find an example. Former Mayor Steve Reed, in office for 28 years, took Harrisburg’s “strong mayor” form of government to the literal extreme, consolidating power to such an extent that few checks and balances remained to stop his most reckless actions, which plunged the city into a profound financial crisis.

According to Williams, her legislation would prevent a recurrence, and the ordinance language, which cites Reed’s tenure, makes it clear that Harrisburg’s past continues to weigh heavily on its present.

Current Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who stands for election next month for a second term, partly agrees with Williams. He does not oppose term limits, he said, as long they also apply to council.

But, to the mayor, debating term limits is a bit like dousing a raging house fire with a garden hose. It might help a little, but, in the end, your house still burns down.

Therefore, says Papenfuse, the city should address term limits, but in the context of a Home Rule charter, a way to fix the many problems that have seeped into the governing system over the years.

Papenfuse’s primary aim is to retain the city’s extra taxing authority once, a few years hence, it is forced out of Act 47, a state program for financially distressed municipalities. But, along the way, other tweaks could be made.

And that’s exactly what concerns Williams.

If Harrisburg goes the Home Rule route, almost everything is on the table. The charter commission, for instance, could decide to strip power away from a future mayor or even a council president. Harrisburg might end up being run by a city manager—i.e., someone not “from here.” Then who knows what horrible things could happen?

However, as they say, all that is commentary. Most importantly, Home Rule would allow the city to retain increases in its earned income tax and local services tax (LST), which acts as a form of commuter tax. Does it really matter if Harrisburg has a council/mayor or council/manager form of government if it can’t afford to pick up its trash or police its streets? Are you ready to defend your strong mayor at the cost of skyrocketing property taxes or a return to state receivership?

Philosophically, what I most like about Home Rule is that it gives Harrisburg a chance to take charge of its own destiny. Freed from many of the structural requirements imposed by the legislature, the people can decide for themselves what works best for their city.

In my opinion, that’s a far better option that the current plan of hiring a lobbyist to beg the commonwealth for more money or to maintain the LST. First of all, the cash-strapped, GOP-controlled legislature is unlikely to comply with the Democratic city’s wishes. But, secondly, supplication only deepens residents’ dependence on a dysfunctional, fickle and politically motivated state government—the exact opposite of what needs to happen.

Home Rule also gives the city a chance to reboot. A system of government is a bit like a piece of complex software. Over time, small errors are introduced and imperfections accumulate. The governing system may even become outdated and obsolete. Over decades, as times change, it may need to be rethought and replaced.

So, yes, Home Rule offers Harrisburg an opportunity to remain fiscally sound, to maintain the remarkable progress it’s made in recent years to balance its books and provide services to its people. But it also gives the city an opportunity to sit back, think about what has worked and what hasn’t worked and make corrections.

Therefore, term limits could be on the table, as Williams wants, but so could the way Harrisburg elects council members or collects its taxes or drafts its budget or involves its citizens, among dozens of other things. If the city does decide to go the Home Rule route, it would have plenty of company, as voters in more than 70 municipalities statewide have approved Home Rule charters.

In this space, I don’t typically advocate as much as describe and critique. However, more than a year has been lost since the idea of Home Rule was first suggested. Time now is running short before Harrisburg is booted out of Act 47, losing the extra taxing authority that comes with the designation.

But, besides that, Home Rule is a once-in-lifetime chance to decide for ourselves what we want to be, how we want to govern ourselves. The strong-mayor form of government, creaky at nearly five decades old, hasn’t worked too well for us. So, now, we have a chance to decide what might.

Lawrance Binda is editor in chief of TheBurg.

Family Truths: “Fun Home” tells a story of life in small-town PA, in its complexity.

September 29, 2017 | by Laura Dugan

“We were standing in front of the Bechdel house and we were all profoundly moved,” said Stuart Landon, director of “Fun Home” at Open Stage of Harrisburg. “When we stood in that space, we felt the history. And it changed us.”

The cast of “Fun Home” took a trip to Beech Creek, Pa., the town where Alison Bechdel, author the graphic novel that inspired the musical, grew up. While there, the cast saw the Pennsylvania debut of the show, which was performed on the same stage where Alison’s mother once acted in local theater. They also visited the Bechdel home and the family funeral home.

“It’s really surreal to turn something you read on a page, and all of sudden you’re standing in it, and it’s a real thing,” said Vanessa Hofer, who plays Alison. “It enhances the responsibility. This is a real person’s story, and this was their home.”

David Glasgow, who plays Alison’s father, Bruce, said that, for him, visiting Bruce’s grave was the heart of the trip.

“It really set in my mind that this is the story of actual humans that we are telling,” said Glasgow. “It’s certainly fictionalized, but there are real human lives behind this in a way that increases the importance to me.”

Opening the 32nd season at Open Stage of Harrisburg, “Fun Home” is a show with an all-female writing team that tells the story of a woman from small-town Pennsylvania and that addresses the themes of mental health, sexuality and family dynamics.

“‘Fun Home’ is a Pennsylvania story,” said Landon. “It’s a story about family. And it’s a story about finding your truth and the many paths you can take while you’re looking. The show is densely packed with big questions and complex issues.”

A Tony Award-winning best musical, “Fun Home” took an unusual path to Broadway. The story began in the form of a graphic memoir, illustrated and written by Bechdel. The memoir was then adapted by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori and debuted off-Broadway before moving to Broadway in 2015. “Fun Home” was the first Broadway musical for which an all-female team won the Tony Award for best original score.

The musical mirrors the memoir, featuring Alison during three phases of her life, at ages 10, 19 and 43. The story follows Alison as she grows up and realizes the truth of her own sexuality and tries to come to terms with her father’s, as well. Bruce, who was a high school teacher and ran the family funeral home, was a closeted gay man who struggled to maintain a façade in front of his family and community.

“There are so few shows that explore the dynamic of a father/daughter relationship,” said Hofer. “There are a lot of unexpected themes the show addresses.”

Glasgow agreed that the show offers some unique perspectives.

“We get to round out a female protagonist in a way we don’t often get to do with musical theater,” said Glasgow. “The key issues of the show—not only sexual orientation and gender issues, but suicide and mental health—are not things to shy away from. They are what the show is about.”

Hofer was surprised to see so much of herself in the story and how the themes can help to form connections in what can often be an isolating world.

“There are so many times we look at people as the ‘other,’” said Hofer. “When it comes down to it, we’re not so different. I think this story does a great job of reminding us of that.”

At times funny, dark, provocative and moving, “Fun Home” tells a story that is enhanced by the truth behind it.

“I hope audiences will see this story as a beacon of hope, telling us that our truth is powerful and our truth is achievable,” Landon said.

“Fun Home” also features Cynthia Wells, Caroline Chronister, Gretchen Sutton, Alex King, Jack Hoover, Colin York and Maddie McCann. The show is the first in Open Stage’s subscription series, which features an entire season of shows written by women.

“Fun Home” runs Oct. 6 to 29 at Open Stage of Harrisburg, 25 N. Court St., Harrisburg. Due to the themes of the show, the suggested minimum age for audience members is 8 years old. For information and tickets, visit www.openstagehbg.com.

Upcoming Theater Events
At Harrisburg’s Professional
Downtown Theaters

At Gamut Theatre
www.gamuttheatre.org

The Popcorn Hat Players Present
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
Oct. 11 to 28
Saturdays at 1 p.m.
Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. available by request for groups of 20 or more.
Tickets are $8

At Open Stage
Of Harrisburg
www.openstagehbg.com

“Fun Home”
A musical about family and finding yourself
Based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel
Oct. 6 to 29

Court Street Cabaret
“Jukebox Edition”
An evening of song from Broadway and beyond
Nov. 3 and 4

Roma on the Susquehanna: Great stories, food behind 2 of central PA’s finest Italian restaurants.

September 29, 2017 | by Don Helin

Recently, I decided to visit two of the most highly regarded Italian restaurants in central Pennsylvania. They were a long way from one another geographically, but not in quality. Both, in fact, are perennial winners of local restaurant awards.

First, I stopped into Mangia Qui, located in a historic townhouse near the state Capitol in Harrisburg.

About 17 years ago, Rosemarie “Qui Qui” Musarra and her business partners, Staci Basore and Elide Hower, took over the Paper Moon Restaurant space on North Street. Over time, they changed it from a brunch and lunch focus to a lunch and full-course dinner restaurant. They also opened two co-located restaurants, Suba and Rubicon.

“Every day in the restaurant business, challenges present themselves,” Musarra said. “Supervising a restaurant with three active kitchens running simultaneously can be a bit tricky.”

As you go into Mangia Qui, you’ll enter a cozy and relaxing atmosphere. Modern, abstract paintings line the colorful walls and combine with soothing background music. There is a small outdoor patio out front, but, because of the warm summer day, my wife and I decided to eat indoors.

Colleen, a cheerful and knowledgeable server, greeted us and helped us to select our meals. My wife had the “Market Plate,” which included grilled and marinated eggplant and roasted red peppers with mozzarella on top, along with Swiss chard with raisins to add sweetness. I decided on the chicken cacciatore.

To restaurant operators, there are a million moving parts and personalities, and all must be dealt with simultaneously, Basore told me. We could tell they had it down to a science.

As we sat at the table enjoying our raspberry-pomegranate iced tea and listening to the music, I checked out the dinner menu. Choices included “Pasta Nero” (squid ink pasta with cold water lobster tail, shrimp, clams, scallops and mussels), “Spaghetti all’ Ubriaco” (“drunken” spaghetti), “Spezzatin di Vitello” (creamy Parmigiano risotto with julienned veal), and “Saltato alla Puttanesca” (marinated and grilled Mediterranean octopus). Many of their fresh vegetables are locally grown, some even in their own garden.

For dessert, I ordered the double-crusted peach pie with whipped cream, a fantastic choice.

“The restaurant business is one of total dedication,” Basore said. “Many people have a glamorous notion of what a restaurant owner is. I’ve got to say successful people in this business may give the impression of ease, but it takes a heck of a lot of work behind the scenes to make it go. You have to love it. And we all do.”

Country Setting
About an hour north of Harrisburg along Route 11/15 is the bustling college town of Selinsgrove. Founded in 1787 by Capt. Anthony Selin, who fought with George Washington during the American Revolution, you will find Isabella Ristorante, located between several quaint shops, all surrounded by the scenic countryside of central Pennsylvania.

“Our family has been in the restaurant business for years,” said owner Domenico Napoli. “My mother’s family came from Venice, so our heritage and family recipes are all brought from Italy. We hold to that tradition and expertise in preparing our authentic Italian dishes.”

They opened in 2011, selecting Selinsgrove because it’s a unique community nestled in the central part of the Susquehanna Valley, easily accessible to customers from surrounding communities.

Isabella Ristorante is located in an antique bank building that dates back to 1861, offering a bit of historical elegance. Three balconies overlook the space, and the 20-foot-high walls are filled with gold-framed portraits. Linen tablecloths and comfortable chairs complement the beige walls and provide a warm, spacious feeling for diners. The bar is located in the old bank teller’s cage in one corner of the restaurant under a sign that says, “Savings and Loan Department”—the bars are still on the windows.

I decided to try the lobster bisque, a great selection that complemented the homemade rolls and garlic butter. My linguine with clams in a garlic and oil sauce was tasty. For dessert, I bit into a creamy cannoli with whipped cream and chocolate chips.

Soft background music played as we ate, and, at 6 o’clock, a piano player arrived, a regular on Saturday nights. We found he could play almost any song and loved requests.

“For the most part, our challenges have been minimal,” Napoli said. “We are lucky to have excellent suppliers who can provide farm fresh products. We employ experienced staff and ensure the restaurant is pleasing with a comfortable atmosphere. I only wish we had more space for seating.”

Some of Napoli’s favorite dishes are “Fettuccine al Rocco” (homemade fettuccine pasta with mussels, clams, calamari and shrimp in a red sauce), veal piccata (fresh veal cut to order in a lemon and wine sauce with artichoke hearts and capers) and Chilean seabass (blackened seabass over a bed of fresh homemade pasta in a red sauce).

“I believe what sets Isabella apart is our attention to detail, quality of food, creativity of our chefs, and an atmosphere of big city dining in a country setting,” Napoli said. “This brings our customers back.”

Manqia Qui is located at 272 North St., Harrisburg. For more information, call 717-233-7358 or visit www.mangiaqui.com.

Isabella Ristorante is located at 23 S. Market St., Selinsgrove. For more information, call 570-374-0255 or visit their Facebook page.

Tagged for Removal: Paint, snot and a less blighted Harrisburg.

September 29, 2017 | by Ashleigh Pollart

City resident Justin Heinly dons a heavy smock and smears on “Elephant Snot” to remove graffiti on a building in Midtown Harrisburg.

There’s a killer substance that goes by the less-than-elegant name of Elephant Snot.

And kill it does. It destroys, exterminates, eradicates and generally massacres unwanted graffiti (stress the unwanted). And it may be coming soon to a wall near you.

Three Midtown groups—Friends of Midtown, Midtown Square Action Council and Historic Harrisburg Association—have combined forces to fight the scourge of undesired graffiti and tags that mar brick and stone walls all over Harrisburg.

And, to accomplish this work, they’re employing a goopy substance that gets its name from the nasal discharge of the pachyderm.

“It’s truly a wonder substance,” said HHA Executive Director David Morrison. “It’s amazing how well it works.”

The groups settled on Elephant Snot (not actual elephant snot) after studying the best practices of Philadelphia’s anti-graffiti task force. The fast-acting product penetrates porous surfaces to remove paint without harming the building or environment.

A $1,000 grant from the Auchincloss Family Fund paid for the equipment and the initial dose of the substance, said Morrison.

The first target was the graffiti-pocked wall outside HHA on the driveway side. Other successes to date include the Salvation Army building and Kunkel Plaza. These removals also have served as educational events for Harrisburg residents with a goal of home and property owners taking graffiti removal into their own hands.

“We want to train as many people as we can to be removers,” Morrison said.

The process requires donning a chemical resistant smock before the product is glommed onto the wall, and, after five to 30 minutes, sprayed off with a pressure washer. All of these items are available for checkout through Friends of Midtown and HHA. Elephant Snot does not discriminate against paint types, so all painted materials, including painted brick, will need to be repainted.

In Harrisburg, graffiti removal can be a touchy subject, something acknowledged by Friends of Midtown’s Cate Rowe, who stressed that the target is unwanted graffiti as determined by property owners.

“The reason why we’re having property owners contact us is because we believe it’s up to the property owner to decide whether something is a tag or art,” said Rowe, Friends of Midtown’s beautification committee chair. “If you are a graffiti artist, and you put your mark on somebody’s home, and that person decides that it is not art, then they have the right to remove it.”

Rowe warned that property owners may need to remove graffiti multiple times as the tag might show up on the property again after initial removal. In cities like Philadelphia, murals have proven to be a strong deterrent, she said. In fact, it’s hoped that last month’s Harrisburg Mural Fest will deter grafitti on some of Harrisburg’s largest, most exposed and frequently tagged exterior walls.

“A graffiti-free city is missing the point,” Rowe explained. “You get into this decision of are you removing graffiti or are you removing art? As a property owner, you own it. You have the right to make it look beautiful and the way you want it.”

In some cases, there’s a fine line between art and graffiti, Rowe acknowledged, especially as some renegade artists have used city-owned surfaces as their canvasses, including utility boxes and street poles. What to do about that is up to the city.

“There are some really beautiful ones, and that’s the hard part,” Rowe said.

Morrison concurred that what is art and what is unwanted graffiti is in the eye of the property-owning beholder. To that end, he said he has been contacted by several building owners who would like tags removed. Removal efforts will include abandoned buildings if the property owner is open to it.

“We have a request to go to another site in Midtown next week,” he said.

Rowe hopes to work with residents to designate a wall where artists can express themselves without illegally defacing property. The idea, brought to them by a graffiti artist, also would remove the risk of graffiti art being removed by a property owner.

“Our goal is beautification of the whole city,” Rowe said.

For more information on graffiti removal, email [email protected].

Penalty Phase: Some Harrisburg residents have been assessed a late fee for a yearly school tax. They’re calling foul.

September 29, 2017 | by Paul Barker

Annie Hughes

This past March, Annie Hughes received an unexpected tax notice at her N. 2nd Street apartment in Midtown.

It was from Keystone Collections Group, and it told Hughes that she was delinquent in paying the occupational assessment tax, a flat annual tax assessed by the Harrisburg School District, for 2016. In addition to the $120 base rate, the notice said she would have to pay an additional $50.20 in fees and penalties.

“I didn’t even know that such a tax existed,” Hughes recalled recently, adding that the delinquent notice was the first time she learned she even owed it. “If I had gotten the first bill, I would have immediately paid it.”

Hughes called the company. A representative told her that they had sent the original bill in July 2016, but Hughes was certain she had never received it. She had moved to her apartment in October 2015 and had paid local income tax, also collected by Keystone, the following February. For that reason, she believed Keystone would have had her correct address by the time of the July mailing.

Around this time, Hughes saw that a neighbor, Timi Lesperance, had posted in a Midtown Facebook group about the same issue—she, too, had received a delinquent notice but no initial bill. In the comments, residents quickly began chiming in with complaints of their own. Soon, they learned of more than 30 neighbors who said they had never received their original tax bills.

Both Hughes and Lesperance eventually sent Keystone a check for the base tax, along with a note saying they were contesting the late fees. They also filed consumer complaints with the state attorney general. Then, in April, they went to a school board meeting and requested that the district investigate the situation.

In May, after the attorney general’s office had forwarded their complaints, a lawyer at Keystone named Michael Mazzella sent formal letters of explanation to Lesperance and Hughes. The letter claimed that original bills had been mailed the previous summer (Keystone enclosed a “reprint” dated July 2016) and that nothing had been returned to the company as undeliverable.

The letter also claimed the company had performed an “internal audit” of “accounts that were mailed from various trays of mail.” The audit showed that some residents had paid their bills in a timely fashion, Mazzella wrote, which “further proves that letters were sent in July.” The letter concluded by asserting that the fees and penalties were valid and demanding payment within 30 days.

Frustrated, Hughes and Lesperance both decided to pay the full amount, while still holding out hope for further action from the attorney general or the school district.

“I ended up, in the interest of a constable not showing up at my house, paying that $50,” Lesperance said.

Problematic
While going through this process, Hughes and Lesperance wondered: Where does that $50 late fee end up anyway? According to the district’s contract with Keystone, it seems that the two entities share it.

A $12 “statutory penalty” goes to the district, and a $13.20 “cost of collection” appears to go to Keystone (the contract language is somewhat vague). It’s unclear from the contact who gets the biggest piece of the pie—a $25 “late filing fee.”

All told, the school occupancy tax brought in $588,000 for the district for 2016 through Jan. 15, 2017, according to the district, responding to a right-to-know request.

Matt Krupp, the chair of the school board’s budget and finance committee, described the missing notices as a real concern for residents. He said it was “problematic” that the administration had not provided an answer to his committee since residents brought it to the board’s attention last April.

“We’ve repeatedly asked that the administration look into it and make sure it’s just an isolated incident,” Krupp said. “It’s unfortunate that it’s five months later and we’ve gotten no clear answer as to what, if anything, the district has learned from Keystone on this issue.”

In the meantime, the missing notices remain unexplained. Karen Mazurkiewicz, a spokesperson for the postal service, said that neither the consumer affairs nor business mail entry units reported any concerns about a mailing from Keystone in July 2016.

And according to Joe Grace, director of communications for the state attorney general, the office has not taken any action against Keystone. However, Grace directed any consumers who feel they have been victimized to contact the consumer protection bureau.

About Fairness
According to its website, Keystone Collections Group has been collecting local taxes in Pennsylvania for 30 years, bringing “integrated state of the art technology and unparalleled industry knowledge” to the field of municipal and school tax collection. The company has collected local income taxes in Dauphin County municipalities since 2012, including in Harrisburg.

In late 2015, the school district approved a contract to switch from its prior collector of the occupational assessment tax to Keystone, citing an initiative in the school’s fiscal recovery plan to improve collections. The contract provided that Keystone would be paid at the rate of $1 per bill issued, plus postage.

According to school board meeting minutes, the district believed that Keystone’s access to employment information from income tax collection would help it locate taxpayers.

Keystone declined to make a representative available to be interviewed for this story. In response to emailed questions, the company provided a one-page statement explaining that it had developed a “comprehensive” mailing list in 2016 that formed the basis of its initial mailing that July.

The company then sent delinquent notices after cross-checking payment data with the original list. “Every taxpayer name on the delinquent list came directly from the original mailing,” the statement said.

Keystone also said that the district had hired it to “bring efficiency and compliance to its occupation tax administration” and that, before 2016, “occupation tax compliance was not strictly enforced in the District.” The company also noted that its penalties and fees are authorized under state law.

Hughes doesn’t dispute Keystone’s legal authority, but just wants to make sure the company is assessing penalties fairly. To that end, she has one critical piece of advice for Harrisburg residents—make sure that you’ve received your 2017 occupational assessment tax bills, which the company says were mailed in July. If you haven’t, call Keystone Collections to pay it.

Keystone does encourage payment online. However, paying the school occupational tax online requires an invoice number, which presents its own confusion. After all, if residents have not received an invoice, they will not have an invoice number to input, so will not be able to pay the bill through the company’s website.

Hughes added that she did receive her 2017 bill on time, but knows several people who say they have not. The penalty period for the tax begins in November. The penalty starts at $12 through December and escalates to $50 next year.

Ultimately, for Hughes, the issue has less to do with the legality of the penalties and more to do with fairness.

“Penalties can be fair, but they need to be based in reality,” she said. “This wasn’t the residents’ fault, and they shouldn’t be charged a penalty.”

To make a payment, call Keystone Collections at 717-978-0300. If you have an invoice number, you can pay online at www.keystonecollects.com.

Home Safely: Local police sergeant creates registry for Alzheimer’s, dementia patients

September 29, 2017 | by Karen Hendricks

Sgt. Stambaugh

Stephanie Weimer thought she had all the bases covered.

As primary caregiver for her father—diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease—she always knew his whereabouts thanks to a tracking device on his cell phone. About two years ago, he drove himself to a routine doctor’s appointment and became disoriented while driving home.

“He was lost, and the tracking device didn’t work because his cell phone had gone dead,” Weimer said. “I called the police right away, and I was trying to figure out his mindset—where he would go, while my sister was running around looking for him.”

Luckily, George C. Weimer Jr. stopped for gas. The station attendant sensed something was wrong, and he asked George to call his family. Stephanie says her phone rang while police officers were sitting around her kitchen table, piecing together a search plan. Thankfully, father and daughter were quickly reunited, but the situation served as a wake-up call for additional protective measures to be put into place.

The Weimers, residents of Silver Spring Township, now have George listed on the township police department’s Alzheimer’s/dementia registry.

“It most definitely gives me peace of mind,” Stephanie said. “Now, the police have everything they need—his picture, his information and my contact information.”

Coincidentally, George spent 44 years as a volunteer with Silver Spring EMS. Now, it’s his turn to let the community take care of him.

According to statistics compiled by the Alzheimer’s Association, six in 10 people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia are prone to wandering.

“It may be that they don’t remember their name, their address, or they may become disoriented,” said Jan Reisinger of the association’s Greater Pennsylvania Chapter. “It can happen at any time during the stages of the disease. And a more startling statistic—if wandering residents are not found within 24 hours, 61 percent are found deceased.”

More Cases
Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior.

About 5.5 million Americans currently live with the disease, and, by 2050, as many as 16 million Americans could be affected. Pennsylvania ranks fifth in terms of the number of Alzheimer’s cases. Reisinger said the disease most commonly affects those 65 and older. However, others display symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer’s in their 40s or 50s.

Due to Alzheimer’s prevalence and the nature of the disease, police departments are seeing an increase in cases involving missing and/or found patients. Identifying and safely returning those found can be a frustrating task, according to Sgt. Keith Stambaugh of Silver Spring Township’s police department. That’s why he created the township’s registry, with an easy-to-use online submission form.

“When someone goes missing, family members are scrambling to assemble information for us—it’s difficult to do under stress, and it takes much longer,” Stambaugh said. “The time that the registry could save could make a difference, if we can find them before they get too far away or in a bad situation.”

Stambaugh said it took hours for his department to track down an Alzheimer’s patient from Silver Spring Township recently. Finally, from a cell phone ping, they located the man, already hundreds of miles away, driving south on I-95 in Virginia.

“The family didn’t think this would happen, and he was not on the registry,” said Stambaugh.

In another case, Mechanicsburg police found a man on foot, wandering on a cold night. Stambaugh heard the county dispatch, including the man’s name.

“He was on our registry, we were able to provide an emergency contact to Mechanicsburg police, and they were able to return him quickly and safely,” Stambaugh said. “That’s exactly the reason it was created.”

Stambaugh said he welcomes families throughout the greater Harrisburg area to use Silver Spring’s registry, regardless of where they live. The township also maintains a registry for those affected by autism.

He said he feels compelled to make a difference in the lives of families affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia. His location, he said, gives him a unique vantage point. Silver Spring is the fastest-growing township in Cumberland County, and Cumberland is the fastest-growing county in the state. Meanwhile, numerous 55-and-over communities are in and around his jurisdiction.

“I’d like to make it a county-level registry that could be accessed by all police departments, with county dispatchers having access to registry information,” he said. “Going a step further, if we got PennDOT on board and were able to put a flag for Alzheimer’s on drivers’ licenses, if they [Alzheimer’s patients] end up in another state, that would show up when we run the license.”

Now, Stambaugh said, he just needs more people to join him in the effort.

“The bottom line is, these ideas, put into practice, would mean a lot less work for everybody, to get them home safely,” he said.

For more information about the Greater Pennsylvania Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, call 717-651-5020 or visit www.alz.org/pa.

Hut, Hut, Drink: Screwtops, boxes for the wine-loving tailgater.

September 29, 2017 | by Steve Juliana

October is a beautiful time in Pennsylvania.

The mountains are ablaze with the changing colors of the forests. Skies are clear and deep blue. It’s a time for comfy flannel, crackling fires and football.

And with everyone’s favorite sport comes the tradition of the tailgate party.

This warm-up to the game has become an elaborate affair of ever-more sumptuous offerings as grill-masters and chefs of all stripes work to impress the fans. What will it take to match and complement such a movable feast? For today’s wine drinker, the choices are better than ever.

The screw cap or Stelvin is one of the latest ways to open and reseal a bottle of wine in a way that does not require a special tool. The downside is that people think the only quaffs wearing these caps are on the bottom rung of the quality ladder. This is not true. Although there are plenty of bottles on the shelves with cute animal labels, more and more serious producers are turning to this modern device. Invented in the mid-1960s, the Stelvin gained popularity in Australia when the cork oak crop failed about two decades later. For the tailgater, it provides access to good wine with the ability to re-close the bottle until more is needed.

What I find amazing is the variety and quality of the wine available. While perusing the aisles at my local FW&GS store, I was pleasantly surprised. From Spain, I found garnacha rosé, red tempranillo and blends of syrah and monastrell, all a match for grilled meats of every type. South Africa showed sauvignon blanc for shrimp and seafood, as well as shiraz and cabernet sauvignon for heavier fair. For those looking for more of a pedigree, there is German riesling and Oregon pinot noir. I see no reason for the party to falter because someone forgot the corkscrew.

Another way to have wine on the tailgate is by purchasing the notorious “bag-in-box.” It may not have the best reputation, although people swear by the convenience and the fact that no wine is wasted. As the liquid flows out, the bag inside recedes, and what remains is not exposed to the effects of air. Sizes of the boxes range from ½-liter up to 3 liters, which is the equivalent of four, regular-sized 750-ml bottles. There are larger boxes, but I don’t recommend these as they don’t have true varietal character and take liberties by naming nondescript West Coast wine after famous regions in Europe. California is well represented with mostly single grapes, red and white. South America is also here, as well as South Africa and Spain. There are some red wines from Italy, but the biggest surprise is that you can find blends from the Bordeaux region, as well as the Rhone Valley.

At your next tailgate party, try some of the most modern ways to enjoy wine and leave the corkscrew at home.

Keep sipping, Steve.

Mission: Gnocchi–It wasn’t impossible after all.

September 29, 2017 | by Rosemary Ruggieri Baer

It had been quite some time since I tackled homemade pasta. And, honestly, my earlier attempts had been less than stellar.

But, these days, there’s wonderful imported dried pasta out there. And my recent retirement from working full time left me little excuse but to give fresh pasta making another try.

Plus, I bought a new cookbook by Lidia Bastianich who, along with Marcella Hazan, is considered one of the queens of Italian cooking. She is a classic Italian chef. But her book, “Lidia’s Commonsense Italian Cooking,” includes many simple and seasonal recipes to make for family and friends.

Lidia’s recipe for cheese gnocchi intrigued me. Traditional gnocchi is usually made with cooked potatoes and, without care, can result in a very heavy dish (haven’t we all experienced those?). Lidia’s version calls for fresh ricotta cheese and a relatively small amount of flour. The result is a much lighter gnocchi and a recipe that is much easier to make.

I decided to give cheese gnocchi a try one lazy afternoon. As a matter of full disclosure, the whole process took about two hours, and there was flour absolutely everywhere. It was a “project” for sure but it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Ingredients for the Gnocchi

Kosher salt for the boiling water
1½ pounds fresh ricotta cheese (drained if “watery”)
2 cups FRESHLY grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling the gnocchi
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Pinch of freshly ground pepper (white if you have it)
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (don’t omit this!)

Ingredients for Finishing the Gnocchi

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 whole fresh sage leaves (do not use dried sage)
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling.
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients to make a smooth dough. (Tip: Beat egg yolks slightly before adding to the mix. And it’s OK to use your hands to mix the dough!)
In a large, wide skillet (I used non-stick), melt the butter and add the sage leaves. Let the sage sizzle for a few minutes then turn off the heat and keep warm. The sage will delicately flavor the butter.
Flour a cutting board (I used my large butcher block cutting board) and flour your hands, too.
Roll the dough into “logs” that are ½ inch in diameter by 2 inches long. I did this in several steps and thought it was the hardest part of the whole process. Try to make the logs uniform in size along their length.
Then cut the logs into ½-inch nuggets and roll them along the tines of a fork to make traditional gnocchi ridges. (You really can omit this step. It won’t affect the texture or taste.)
Place each completed gnocchi on a floured dishtowel to rest.
When all the dough has been cut, place about 10 gnocchi at a time into the boiling water. When they rise to the surface, remove them with a mesh strainer and place them into the warm sage butter. When all the gnocchi are cooked, toss them very gently in the butter so that they are evenly coated.
I left the gnocchi in the skillet until dinnertime. Then I re-warmed them and showered them with lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese before serving. The recipe made at least 3 to 4 healthy servings.

I drizzled a little red sauce over the gnocchi, but they are just as delicious with only the butter sauce. I wasn’t expecting much of my renewed pasta making efforts. But these gnocchi were light as a feather and absolutely wonderful. And there were raves from a husband who normally avoids heavy pasta of all kinds.

I think I’m hooked. I’m planning to drag out my dusty Atlas pasta maker that’s been put away for a long time. Maybe fettucine on a rainy October afternoon?

Gnocchi Note: Gnocchi boards are available from kitchen supply stores or online. They are small, wooden, handheld, ridged boards for shaping the gnocchi. I found a fork worked just as well, but you might consider one of these if gnocchi becomes your specialty.

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