Bridging Divides: The Turkish Cultural Center brings a taste of Turkey to Harrisburg.

August 29, 2014 | by Susan Ryder

Sait Onal

Kunkel Plaza was decked out with tents, tables and people. Stepping onto the sunken steps on the coolish, stunning July evening, I stopped the first man I encountered to inquire who was in charge of the event. He graciously introduced me to his wife and children as he ushered me to my target.

The coordinator of the event, Sait Onal, greeted me with a wide smile, a handshake and encouragement to join the group and enjoy food with them. Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, I sheepishly inquired about the suitability of my attire. He assured me that it was fine and once more heartily urged me to join them for food.

Onal serves as president of the newly formed Harrisburg Turkish Cultural Center. The center, which opened in June, is one of a number of Turkish Cultural centers on the East Coast. These centers fall under the umbrella of the Turkic American Alliance, headquartered in Washington, D.C.

This event, an outdoors iftar dinner, the meal that ends the daily fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, ushered in one of the many 3rd in The Burg events the newly formed Turkish Cultural Center hopes to hold for the community.

From its office on N. 3rd Street across from the state Capitol complex, the cultural center serves as a hub from which the Turkish community can connect with the people of Harrisburg.

It does this in two ways. First, it encourages the public to visit the center, making the facility available for community use. The center has already offered the use of its meeting room, with an enviable view of the Capitol, to state government officials.

Second, and more importantly according to Onal, is to “reach out to neighbors to tell them who we are, represent our religion, culture and values.”

Onal said that “culture is something you must live, taste” and that happens when people interact with those different from themselves.

To facilitate this cultural understanding, the center also hosts trips to Turkey. These trips, typically but not exclusively held in the summer, allow those interested to get an intimate view of Turkish life—life not often experienced during the usual tourist excursion, said Onal.

“Most Americans have no concept of what it is to be Turkish,” he said.

He feels that, if Turkish people wish to have their culture and values understood, they must go out and tell others. He wants people to be comfortable asking questions about their way of life.

Joyce Davis, president and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg—as well as the city’s director of communications—said that the Turkish Cultural Center is “dedicated to bridging cultural divides.”

These divides exist also for newly arrived Turkish immigrants, she said. The center, according to Davis, will assist new immigrants with the challenges of adapting to a new culture.

The center also plans to build economic bridges. Both Davis and Onal said that the center hopes to create economic relationships between Turkey and Harrisburg to attract Turkish businesses to the area.

While economic development represents a pragmatic reason for the center, Davis said that the center will “help people in our region better understand our world.”

Onal feels that this understanding will assist people in recognizing our many similarities rather than focusing on differences.

Religion is one area that lends itself to conflicts, but Onal states that the Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—share many of the same beliefs, foundational prophets and sacred texts.

Turkey’s geographic distance can make it seem especially foreign and exotic to Americans. Onal, however, says that “many things Americans value have roots in Turkey.” These include Mount Ararat, the Biblical resting place of Noah’s Ark; Turkish owned Godiva chocolates; and St. Nicholas, America’s beloved Santa Claus, who was born in Turkey.

The United States, Onal said, makes many Turks feel at home. Here, he said, they are accepted more easily than in many other parts of the world.

That feeling of home is especially apparent in Harrisburg, where the view from Kunkel Plaza across the Susquehanna evokes the feeling of sitting on the banks of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul. This isn’t lost on the iftar dinner guests, who appreciated the setting for the breaking of the fast.

My interview with Onal ended as my first encounter with him began, with Turkish hospitality— food in the form of baklava, a delectable confection made of nuts, filo dough, honey and butter, lots of butter.

The center’s goal of relationship building was evident in my short time there.

Leaving the center, I felt that I’d gleaned much from the conversation and have a greater understanding of the Turkish community’s culture, beliefs and desire to contribute to the quality of life in Harrisburg.

The Harrisburg Turkish Cultural Center is located at 500 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. Hours are daily, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To contact the center, call 717-317-9657, email Sait Onal at [email protected] or visit www.tccpenn.org.

Harrisburg Eyes Membership in CapCOG, a ‘Costco’ for Local Governments

August 28, 2014 | by Paul Barker

Harrisburg is contemplating membership in CapCOG, whose joint bidding program may be able to produce savings through bulk purchases.

Anyone who has shopped at a wholesale retailer like Costco or Sam’s Club is familiar with the economy of scale. You can save a lot of money buying almonds one 3-pound bag a time—assuming you will need 3 pounds of almonds.

A similar idea is behind a recent push for Harrisburg to join the Capital Region Council of Governments, or CapCOG, which operates much like a members-only shopping center for municipalities.

Membership in CapCOG costs $1,500 per year. In exchange for that sum, local governments gain access to CapCOG’s joint bidding process, through which the council purchases bulk items as varied as road salt, street signs, line paint and golf-course sand and then passes on the savings to individual members.

Those savings often compare favorably to other joint-bidding programs, like the statewide COSTARS program, according to CapCOG Executive Director Ann Simonetti. For example, last year, the council’s bidding process on road salt secured a current price for its members of $58.51 per ton—about $7.50 cheaper than the COSTAR program’s listed price of $65.97 per ton for members in Dauphin County.

CapCOG members also gain access to the council’s joint board of appeals, a roster of architects, plumbers, electricians and other qualified professionals who can hear appeals of decisions by member governments on building and construction projects.

Harrisburg city government will consider becoming a member this month, following a presentation by Mayor Eric Papenfuse at City Council’s legislative session Tuesday.

During the brief presentation, Papenfuse said he expected membership to confer savings well in excess of the cost of joining. Council members, who had questions about the voting rights accompanying membership, placed the item in committee.

Simonetti, reached by phone on Thursday, explained that member municipalities each send one representative to monthly board meetings. Past meetings have featured presentations on issues like stormwater management, she said, as well as visits from state legislators to discuss bills relevant to local governments.

Board meetings will also occasionally involve member votes on resolutions for or against legislation being considered at the state level.

CapCOG was formed in the 1970s as the West Shore Council of Governments. It changed its name in 2005, following the addition of members from Dauphin County. The council currently has 40 municipal members from Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Perry and York counties.

Simonetti, who served 14 years on the Marysville borough council and is a past president of the Pennsylvania Association of Councils of Governments, runs the organization with one other part-time staff member out of rented space in the Hampden Township municipal building.

She first introduced Mayor Papenfuse to her organization back when he was campaigning for office. The two sat beside each other at a Harrisburg Regional Chamber committee meeting, where they exchanged business cards, she said.

John Campbell’s Statement on the Charges Filed Against Him

August 28, 2014 | by Admin

City Treasurer John Campbell, who resigned Thursday morning following allegations that he stole from a charity unaffiliated with city government, at his swearing-in ceremony in January of 2012.

As provided by John Campbell via email Thursday afternoon:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

John Campbell’s Statement on the Charges Filed Against Him

Harrisburg, PA (August 28, 2014) — In light of the recent charges filed against me, I have surrendered myself to the Dauphin County District Attorney’s office and the Harrisburg Bureau of Police. I appreciate both agencies’ willingness to accept my cooperation.

I have also resigned my position as Harrisburg City Treasurer. While the charges have nothing to do with the Office of Treasury, it is in the best interest of everyone involved, most especially the public, that I step down.

I respect and value that Mayor Eric Papenfuse has called for an independent audit of the Treasury’s business. I agree that is the action that should be taken, and I think it’s necessary to give the public absolute evidence that I did no wrong doing in my position as City Treasurer.

Undoubtedly, there will be more I have to say about the charges against me and my work as Executive Director of the Historic Harrisburg Association. For now, though, I ask that all media inquiries on this matter be directed to my attorney, Adam Klein, Esquire of the law firm Smigel, Anderson and Sacks.

August News Digest

August 28, 2014 | by Lawrance Binda

Museum Funding Targeted

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse has asked the Dauphin County commissioners to cease channeling a portion of the countywide hotel tax to the National Civil War Museum.

Papenfuse said that he objects to an arrangement worked out by former Mayor Stephen Reed that funnels a certain amount of money each year to the 13-year-old museum, despite a county ordinance designating that the money be spent on promoting tourism in the city. In the last fiscal year, the museum received $290,000 out of the portion meant for promoting the city, which totaled around $500,000.

The museum, located in Reservoir Park, used that money to pay for operational costs as part of its $1.1 million budget.

Instead of giving that money to the museum, Harrisburg would be better off using it to promote other tourism initiatives, such as the city’s annual summertime festivals, Papenfuse said.

The city owns most of the museum’s artifacts, as well as the building, which it rents to the museum for $1 a year. The museum pays its operational expenses, but the city is responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the building.

Tax Abatement Discussed

The Harrisburg school board last month listened to a proposal to revive tax abatement for property improvements in the city.

Brian Hudson, executive director of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, shared with the board a plan to stimulate development and renovation in the city through a 10-year, citywide abatement program.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse is expected to push this fall for an initiative that would lead to no tax increases for property improvements over a decade. Instead, taxes would be levied for that time based upon the pre-improvement value of the properties.

In order for the program to take effect, the school board, the city and Dauphin County all would have to sign off on it.

New School Administrator

Education consultant Drue Miles, author of the education chapter in the Harrisburg school district’s state-sponsored recovery plan, last month was named the district’s new acting school improvement administrator.

The position, which pays $600 per day, was vacant after the departure of Sherry Roland-Washington, who left Aug. 15.

Gene Veno, the district’s state-appointed chief recovery officer, said that he recommended the emergency hiring of Miles while the superintendent searched for a permanent replacement for Roland-Washington.

City Audit Delayed

Harrisburg’s audit has been delayed several months due to a budget oversight that did not fund the outside assistance the city needed for prep work before the audit could begin.

The Thompson administration did not request—and City Council did not approve—funds for the engagement of Trout Ebersole & Groff, the accounting firm that has assisted the short-staffed budget office with audit preparation in recent years.

The oversight stemmed in part from a decision by the state Department of Community and Economic Development not to assist the city with audit prep this year, as it had in prior years under Act 47 and receivership.

After taking office, the Papenfuse administration worked to apportion the necessary funding for outside help, which will cost around $45,000. Brian Ostella, chair of the city’s audit committee, said that prep work was completed in mid-June and actual audit work began in mid-July.

Maher Duessel, the accounting firm that has performed the city’s audit for the last decade, expects to complete the audit by mid-November, Ostella said.

Sinkhole Probe Launched

Harrisburg City Council has approved hiring an engineering firm to conduct an emergency sinkhole investigation.

Camp Hill-based Gannett Fleming is performing the work, focused around the 1400-block of S. 14th St., where several sinkholes have formed in recent months. The probe, which will employ seismic surface waves and verification drilling to develop a site map, should be completed by year-end.

The cost of the investigation will be shared with Capital Region Water. It is estimated to cost $166,000.

Trash Fees Adjusted

Harrisburg’s small business owners have received some relief, after City Council temporarily lowered fees for trash collection.

For years, small businesses have complained that they were subject to high commercial collection rates, even though they generated little trash.

Under the new provision, small businesses will be charged the same rate as residential customers: $156 a year or $13 a month. To qualify for the lower rate, they must produce no more trash each week than can fit into two trashcans with lids.

The lower rate applies only until the end of the year. In November, the Department of Public Works will assess the impact of the reduction and report to council whether it should be made permanent.

Mansion Re-Named

The mansion in Reservoir Park last month was officially re-named in honor of Harrisburg Councilwoman Eugenia Smith.

The prominent building was named the Honorable Eugenia Smith Family Life Center during a ceremony featuring music, speakers and a release of doves.

Smith, 53, died suddenly in April at the start of her second term as city councilwoman.

Changing Hands

Cumberland St., 119: R. Nordberg to JB Buy Rite LP, $50,000

Duke St., 2614: A. & V. Morelli to PI Capital LLC, $61,300

Ellerslie St., 2346: PA Deals LLC to D. Clark, $70,000

Fulton St., 1419: JP Morgan Chase to G. & D. Hanslovan, $63,000

Green St., 1112: M. Monathan & M. Taylor to M. Fitzgerald, $165,000

Green St., 1514: J. Couzens to E. Sheaffer & D. McCleskey, $180,000

Green St., 1711: R. Mehiel & L. Kackman to B. Rockwell & N. Gurley, $168,000

Green St., 1811: R. Ruiz to M. Bonsall, $100,000

Green St., 1921: J. & A. Webb to WCI Partners LP, $117,000

Green St., 2031: J. & A. Webb to WCI Partners LP, $119,000

Green St., 3234: R. Krasevic to T. Ash, $119,900

Locust St., 122: DLK Partners LLC to Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network Inc., $130,000

Luce St., 2332 & 2314½: R. & C. Sheetz to Care Properties LLC, $60,000

Mercer St., 2441: M. Davenport et al to O. Diallo & M. Barry, $46,000

N. 3rd St., 1408: F. & M. Cavanaugh to GreenWorks Development LLC, $139,900

N. 3rd St., 3026: L. Curtis to R. Daniels Jr., $35,000

N. 4th St., 2427: D. Seymore to B. Jones Sr., $35,000

N. 6th St., 3014: J. Hadfield & W. Grace to K. Dixon, $73,000

N. 6th St., 3212: R. & B. Snyder to RT Home Solutions Inc., $30,000

N. 12th St., 33: Kirsch & Burns LLC to LMK Properties LLC, $40,000

N. 18th St., 1000: JLB Properties LLC to S. Donald, $44,900

N. Front St., 111: J.A. Hartzler to BCRA Realty LLC, $250,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 101: A. Ferraiolo to A. Mohanavel, $156,500

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 602: M. & C. Heppenstall to R. Hostetter Jr., $250,000

Paxton St., 1924: L. Zaydon Jr. to Steve Fisher Rental Properties LLC, $125,000

Penn St., 1520: S. Litt to A. Fortune, $114,000

Penn St., 2411: J. Shockey to D. Wendt, $78,375

S. 2nd St., 314: J. Wansacz to D. Bowers & K. Shifler, $115,000

S. 3rd St., 19: P. Dobson to Dewberry LLC, $325,000

S. 13th St., 506: PA Deals LLC to J. & A. Garbanzos, $65,000

S. 19th St., 1133: M. & B. Faulkner to N. Colon & R. Romero, $85,000

S. 23rd St., 600: G., D. & M. Complese to S. Wright, $69,900

State St., 219: WCI Partners LP to B. & K. Sidella and J. & N. Jones, $225,000

State St., 1516: Kirsch & Burns LLC to LMK Properties LLC, $37,000

Susquehanna St., 1737: Secretary of Veterans Affairs to L. Reapsome, $43,500

Walnut St., 1206: Kirsch & Burns LLC to LMK Properties, $32,000

Walnut St., 1525: ABC Solutions LLC to Choukri Auto Services LLC, $40,000

Wiconisco St., 620; 621 Emerald St.; 2352 Derry St.; and 612 & 614 Seneca St.: R. Shokes Jr. & Shokes Enterprises to JDP 2014 LLC, $259,000

Harrisburg property sales for July 2014, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

City Council Approves Kipona Funding

August 27, 2014 | by Brendan Menapace

The Harrisburg City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to provide funds for the upcoming Kipona Festival.

Council approved a reallocation of $10,500 from the general fund to go towards supplies and services for the festival, including sound equipment, golf carts, street closure and the fireworks display, which alone will cost $20,000.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse called the vote “historic,” saying that this is the first time Kipona funding has been brought before council for approval.

According to Jacqueline Z. Parker, director of Community and Economic Development, the budget for Kipona this year is about $80,000, a cut from last year’s $100,000 budget.

Parker said that about half of the funding has come from contributors and sponsors, leaving $37,500. That leftover amount will be paid with $27,000 from a trust and agency account and the $10,500 allocated tonight.

Lenwood Sloan, director of Arts, Culture and Tourism, stated that the festival is “a first-class festival in a major city” and that the spending is a “sober, responsible management of limited funds.”

Papenfuse also said that he plans to bring festival spending “on book” during next year’s budgeting process, expressing concerns over the way the city has historically funded the festival with a special account outside the council-approved budget.

“Ultimately, I don’t think the city should be in the festival business at all,” Papenfuse said. He went on to say that he would like the festivals ultimately to be outsourced, with the city collecting a permit fee.

Unlike previous years, festival events will take place on City Island in addition to Riverfront Park. Riverfront Park will still be home to food vendors and booths, though City Island will also house numerous vendors.

The three-day festival will begin Saturday, Aug. 30, and conclude Monday, Sept. 1, with the fireworks display beginning at dusk on Sunday.

At Mayor’s Behest, Council Offers “Show of Unity” on Civil War Museum Funding

August 27, 2014 | by Paul Barker

The National Civil War Museum in Reservoir Park.

Harrisburg’s City Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to join Mayor Eric Papenfuse’s request to the Dauphin County commissioners to suspend the portion of hotel tax funding that is sent under contract each year to the National Civil War Museum.

The resolution, which did not appear on the agenda and was introduced towards the end of council’s first session back after summer vacation, cites the city’s recent “profound fiscal distress” as well as the museum’s inability to show “measurable, tangible economic benefit to tourism” in Harrisburg as reasons why its funding stream should be cut off.

In his presentation Tuesday night, Mayor Papenfuse said that an affirmative vote from council would be a “show of unity” to county commissioners that the city no longer wished to subsidize the museum’s operations.

Papenfuse made his initial request to the county commissioners at their July 30 hearing. During that presentation, he noted that the museum received around $300,000 per year from a portion of county hotel taxes designated by ordinance for promoting tourism within the city. That money, he said, went to cover a portion of the museum’s more than $1 million in operating expenses.

Additionally, Papenfuse said, the museum paid only $1 to the city in rent on a facility whose fair market value is listed in the museum’s own financial statements at $633,000 per year. The building was constructed with state RACP funding of $16.2 million.

The rent also includes the use of city-owned artifacts, which the city purchased over the course of several years for somewhere between $16 and $18 million.

Papenfuse added that the hotel tax funding and the rent were fixed by agreements that had been extended—one of them out to 2039—in the “waning days” of the administration of former Mayor Stephen Reed. Reed, who spearheaded the Civil War Museum’s construction, is listed in exhibits at the site as the museum’s founder.

Council members mostly expressed dismay Tuesday night at the extent of city subsidies of the museum, as well as the absence of any council vote or discussion on the agreements that stipulate the current funding arrangement.

Councilwoman Susan Brown-Wilson, who shook her head as the mayor quoted the museum’s rent payment, also suggested that the museum needed new board members that better reflected the community.

Councilman Ben Allatt, the chair of the budget and finance committee, said he would like to invite museum directors to make their case before council. He said he would invite them to a committee meeting on Sept. 16.

In addition to the hotel tax and the rent agreement, the city has also made several direct payments to the museum since 2000. On Tuesday before council, the administration cited a figure of $12 million for these payments, and the resolution refers to the same number in its recitals.

A budget printout previously provided to TheBurg, however, shows only $1.2 million in such payments. Bruce Weber, the city’s budget and finance director, later said the administration had misspoken, and that the correct figure was $1.2 million.

The hotel tax is a 5-percent tax on overnight lodging in Dauphin County hotels. Under county ordinance, the city currently receives around $750,000 per year in hotel taxes, which is sent directly to its general fund. A second portion, around $500,000 per year, goes to a visitors bureau to be spent on promoting tourism in the city. It is out of this second portion that the museum receives its contractually established payment of around $300,000.

The National Civil War Museum opened in February, 2001, and is open 361 days per year. After a first-year high of around 96,000 visitors, its annual attendance has fluctuated between 38,000 and 41,000 for the past five years. In a recent conversation with TheBurg, museum board members spoke proudly of their efforts to reduce the museum’s operating expenses, which once covered a much larger staff and totaled upwards of $2.5 million.

For an in-depth feature on Mayor Papenfuse’s request regarding the National Civil War Museum, including an extended interview with the museum board, see the September issue of TheBurg, which will hit newsstands Friday.

Harrisburg Mayor Announces Interim Replacement for City Treasurer Accused of Theft

August 26, 2014 | by Paul Barker

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse has appointed an interim city treasurer, following the announcement of criminal charges Tuesday against city Treasurer John Campbell for theft from a charitable program unaffiliated with city government.

Paul Wambach, a former city treasurer who served for 20 years before retiring in 2012, will assume Campbell’s position on a volunteer basis, the mayor said Tuesday afternoon at a press conference in city hall.

“As chief executive officer of the city of Harrisburg, I have a responsibility to ensure that the city is being managed properly, all accounts are in order, and that city treasury continues to function in the midst of this dilemma,” Papenfuse said.

Papenfuse also announced Tuesday that he had asked the city’s independent auditors, Maher Duessel, to apply extra scrutiny when reviewing the treasurer office’s operations. Expanding the audit would only incur additional costs if an irregularity were discovered, the mayor said, necessitating a forensic investigation.

The Dauphin County district attorney’s office said Tuesday it did not believe Campbell had stolen any money from the city.

The criminal complaint against Campbell, filed Tuesday morning, alleges that Campbell, 26, stole more than $8,000 out of an account related to a fundraising program to replace city streetlights.

Campbell allegedly stole the money while serving as executive director of the Historic Harrisburg Association, a preservation nonprofit headquartered in Midtown. The funds came from the account associated with a program called Lighten Up Harrisburg, which has raised money to fund citywide lighting initiatives, including the restoration of decorative lights on the Walnut Street Bridge.

Most recently, Lighten Up helped sponsor a 5K “Glow Run” in June, in which runners adorned with glow-in-the-dark necklaces, bracelets and paint ran along Riverfront Park to raise money for replacing downed light poles along Front Street.

In July, the city announced that $22,000 raised from that effort would help fund the replacement of 15 light poles. On Tuesday, Papenfuse announced that the city had completed the work but had not yet been reimbursed by HHA, which discovered funds were missing when it went to reconcile the account holding the donated funds.

Following that discovery, HHA board members requested “monthly bank statements and canceled checks” related to the Lighten Up Harrisburg account, according to the criminal complaint. The board subsequently discovered that Campbell had written himself 10 checks from the account between last December and July, totaling at least $8,481, the complaint says.

The complaint also claims Campbell wrote an email to HHA earlier this month, in which he acknowledged taking the money and spending it on “personal medical and college educational expenses.”

Papenfuse said Tuesday that he fully expects Campbell to resign. If that happens, council will have 30 days to appoint a replacement. The mayor said he had spoken with Council President Wanda Williams before Tuesday’s announcement, who had agreed with his interim appointment of Wambach and would have additional comments about the replacement process during council’s legislative session Tuesday evening.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Wambach made a brief statement about his interim role. “I love this place,” he said of the city. “This place has to know that they’re protected. This place will know that they’re protected.”

Wambach added that he had learned about the forthcoming charges against Campbell last Friday, when the mayor called him to relay what he described as the “shocking” news.

The city treasurer position is part-time and pays $20,000 per year, and does not collect health care or pension benefits. Campbell has held the post since January 2012.

On Tuesday afternoon, HHA posted a statement on its website from its board of directors. “We were shocked to discover the irregularities and are saddened by the alleged actions of our former executive director as outlined today by the District Attorney,” the statement says. “We will seek full restitution of the missing funds.”

Consultant On School Recovery Plan To Oversee Harrisburg Curriculum

August 5, 2014 | by Paul Barker

Drue Miles, an education consultant and the author of the education chapter in the Harrisburg school district’s state-sponsored recovery plan, is the district’s new acting school improvement administrator, following a unanimous vote Monday night by the board of school directors.

The position, which will pay $600 per day, was to be left vacant by the departure of Sherry Roland-Washington, whose resignation was also ratified by board vote Monday night and is effective August 15.

Gene Veno, the district’s state-appointed chief recovery officer, said Monday that he recommended the emergency hiring of Miles while the superintendent searched for a permanent replacement for Roland-Washington.

Miles, a former principal and assistant superintendent in Lancaster, worked as acting superintendent of the Reading school district for about a one-year period covering the 2011-12 school year. In June of 2013, he was appointed acting superintendent in Boyertown, where he served briefly before being replaced by a permanent superintendent early the following school year.

Miles is also the president of Miles Educational Services, where his services include “analyzing educational systems and writing both recovery plans and school/district plans to assist struggling school districts,” according to his LinkedIn profile. He has additionally worked as a senior education consultant for Public Financial Management, Inc., a national financial advisory firm, since February 2013.

On Monday, after the school board vote, Miles described his new role as “continuing oversight” of the development of the district’s curriculum, which is undergoing a process of alignment with new state standards.

That process was delayed somewhat under the tenure of Roland-Washington, who had initially aimed to have the curriculum alignment completed by last August, in accordance with the deadlines established by the original recovery plan.

Late last February, with the updates still not completed, the district opted to switch from an in-house team of teachers and administrators to a contractual agreement with Scholastic for the purpose of finishing the new curriculum. Then, in April, Veno amended his recovery plan to push back the curriculum deadlines by one year.

The first unit of the core curriculum, which comprises courses in English language arts, science, social studies and math, will now be completed in time for teacher in-school planning days next week, Miles said Monday. The complete curriculum, meanwhile, is slated to be finished by April of 2015.

Miles also said on Monday that he will take a leave of absence from Public Financial Management for the duration of his employment by the Harrisburg school district.

More West Nile Virus Found in Harrisburg

August 1, 2014 | by TheBurg Editor

Two additional samples of West Nile virus have been discovered in Harrisburg, the city said today.

The following is a release announcing the discovery of the samples, what is being done about it and actions that residents can take:

The Dauphin County West Nile Virus Control Program says it has collected two more samples of mosquitoes infected with the West Nile virus in the city of Harrisburg.

The samples were collected Thursday and as a result of the additional positive samples, the county will expand its efforts to kill mosquito larvae in city catch basins in the areas where the mosquitoes carrying the virus were discovered.

The first mosquitoes with the West Nile virus were discovered in Harrisburg on July 23. No cases of humans being infected with the virus have been reported in Dauphin County. The city has been working closely with county officials to try to prevent the virus from spreading.

Capital Region Water teams have used bleach to clean water inlets to kill larvae that may be in stagnant water. The Dauphin County Conservation District is continuing to collect mosquito samples in Harrisburg to track the presence of the West Nile virus.

The Dauphin County Conservation District monitors mosquito populations throughout the county and says the discovery in Harrisburg is the 11th positive result this year for the presence of mosquitoes infected with the West Nile virus.

The virus can cause encephalitis, an infection that can result in an inflammation of the brain. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all residents of areas where virus activity has been identified are at risk of getting West Nile encephalitis. Although the risk of contracting WNV from an infected mosquito is small, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems are advised to take precautions to reduce their risk of exposure to the virus.

The county’s West Nile Virus Control program is increasing surveillance and control measures to reduce the mosquito population and contain the virus.

Residents are urged to take the following precautions:

· Use products with Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis)–a naturally occurring bacteria that kills mosquito larvae but is safe for people, pets and plants–for stagnant pools of water in the lawn and garden.

· Remove any standing water in pots, containers, pool covers, tires, wheelbarrows, wading pools, roof gutters and other containers that hold water.

· Make sure screens fit tightly over doors and windows to keep mosquitoes out of homes.

· Consider wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants and socks when outdoors, particularly when mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk, or in areas known for having large numbers of mosquitoes.

· Reduce outdoor exposure at dawn and dusk during peak mosquito periods, usually April through October.

· Use insect repellents according to the manufacturer’s instructions. An effective repellent will contain DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Consult with a pediatrician or family physician if you have questions about the use of repellent on children, as repellent is not recommended for children under the age of two months.

To learn more about WNV and prevention, visit the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/westnile. For more information about Dauphin County’s WNV Control Program, contact Christopher Hooper, program coordinator, at 717-921-8100.

Boy’s Life: Actress Patricia Arquette dishes on what it was like acting in the groundbreaking “Boyhood.”

July 31, 2014 | by Sammi Leigh Melville

If you were to shoot a film over the course of 12 years about a boy’s adolescent life, pouring your own experiences into it and creating the script as you go, what would that experience be called?

Patricia Arquette, who, for the past 12 years has been acting in a film that did just that, called it “the strangest, most unorthodox and beautiful experience ever.” Director Richard Linklater called it “Boyhood.”

The film takes you on a journey through the life of a boy named Mason (Ellar Coltrane), starting when he is in first grade and ending just as he enters college. The film cuts in and out of his life in a way that is refreshing and natural. We aren’t burdened by the clichéd turning points of life, like a first lost tooth or first kiss, but instead get to see Mason in his downtime, relating with his friends and family. It becomes more about his character than what’s happening around him.

Sometimes, the film jumps in time and the audience has to scramble to catch up. Life is never the same for more than a moment, and Linklater makes sure to portray that. Overall, the film does a beautiful job of encapsulating the interactions of this family, so much that you feel you really get to know them.

In a phone interview, Arquette gave me a little more detail about how the film was created. Fascinatingly, the scenes were shot in real time, in the midst of other projects, so you actually watch these people as they age.

Why did she call the project unorthodox?

“I immediately said yes,” Arquette remembers, “and [Linklater] said, ‘We don’t have any money,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah yeah yeah, I’m in!’ And I said, ‘Can I look at the script?’ and he said, ‘Well, we don’t have one.'”

It turns out that Linklater had the structure for the script, but wanted to leave room in order to develop the characters naturally as they grew. So, Arquette and the rest of the cast had to discover the script as they went.

“It took a really different skill set…and I was excited by that,” added Arquette. “Rick would write the rough draft of a scene, and we would read it, and then we would talk about different people’s life experiences that sort of correlated to the scene in some way or another, or each other… and then we would do an improvisation of it, and Rick would say, ‘That second part of that story you told about your friend, let’s use that. That little improv you said on that line, let’s use that part.’ And he would craft it from there, and then we would shoot it the next day. So, it was a bonding experience and a really creative, collaborative experience every year going back.”

This collaborative way of creating the story meant that it was ultimately a blend of different people’s experiences, even in the little, “dumb” moments.

“My friend told me that story about her son sharpening a rock,” Arquette said. “It’s so crazy how the world’s set up. You teach little children, here’s this tool, here’s what it does. It sharpens something. And then, they’re kind of brilliant, and they think, I want to sharpen this thing—I’m gonna use a sharpening instrument. And then they get in trouble.”

The beauty of this collaborative blend is that every moment is based on something true. That explains why the characters feel so real: there’s not a contrived moment in the film. You see all sides of this family, even the ugly ones, and that becomes the message of the film.

“Families bug each other, and they get on each other’s nerves, and they push against each other… but what love feels like is… imperfect, but it’s there,” said Arquette. “It’s your base, but it’s not always flowery and perfect. You go through things in life, everyone goes through things in life. You show me the perfect parent, I’m gonna show you a lunatic.”

And that on-screen family became a kind of second family.

“I never got the full script, so Rick would tell me, ‘Oh, this year their dad’s gonna take them camping…’ But I didn’t know exactly what they talked about. So when I saw it, my character was also watching. And my character immediately had a lot of thoughts, like when they went on that little hang out with their friends, and he lied to his mom, I was just thinking, ‘What are you doing, I don’t like that guy, you’re never hanging out with him again, I’m coming to get you right now…’ My character just started thinking, while I was watching the movie.”

Of course, the actors were very different from their characters. “[Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater] were both only children, they didn’t really know what that sibling dynamic was like, so they were playing it very early on.”

She spoke of the haircut scene: “Rick called [Ellar] and said, ‘Don’t cut your hair this year, we’re gonna do a haircutting scene.’ Ellar was dying to get a haircut. He looks really bummed in the scene, but he was really happy… And it was one take, just that. So we were like, can he pull it off, or will he just start laughing?”

I asked her about people’s reactions to the film.

“For seven years I was doing a TV show, and people would say to me, ‘You used to make these art movies, and you’d work with these really interesting directors,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I still am.’ And they would look at me like, yeah, right. I was like, ‘I’m making a movie right now; I’m making a really important art movie right now!’ I told so many people, and so did Ethan, and we both had this experience that nobody cared. It wasn’t interesting and their eyes would glaze over and they’d get really bored…” She laughed. “And I didn’t understand it because the second I heard about it, I thought it was incredible. But they didn’t.”

But, once the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, people came around.

“You know, it’s such a personal, beautiful project, and we cared so much about these characters and story and experience, and each other, and I was worried about giving it to the world… but people really come up to you and tell you personal things, and are moved, and introspective, and they want to call their mom, and have a different perspective on their life…and so the love we made has been returned, and it’s been incredible.”

And the film truly is incredible. “Boyhood” will be playing at the Midtown Cinema, and I recommend that you don’t miss it.

The full interview with Patricia Arquette is available on the Midtown Cinema website, www.midtowncinema.com.

Sammi Leigh Melville is a staff member and film reviewer at Midtown Cinema.

August Events at Midtown Cinema
Brunch & a Movie
8/3 10:30 am brunch; 11 am movie
“Mean Girls”: Celebrate the 10th anniversary of this cult classic with a great brunch sourced from the Broad Street Market & Yellow Bird Cafe. BYOB.

2^nd Sunday Foreign Series
8/10 6pm
Fritz Lang’s “M,” a 1931 German drama/thriller starring Peter Lorre.

3^rd in The Burg $3 Movie
8/15 about 9:30 pm
“Aliens”: Ripley & crew return to the planet to kill the remaining aliens that have slaughtered the colonists.

3^rd Sunday Down in Front!
8/17 7pm
Help us make fun of the horrifically bad 1960 horror/accidentally hilarious ghost story, “Tormented.” BYOB

National Theatre Live
8/17 4pm & 8/19 7pm
A recording of the play, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” based on the best-selling novel by Mark Haddon.

Moviate Night
8/24 7pm
Moviate night at the MC. Film TBA.

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BBC Worldwide WWI Series
Three highly acclaimed productions focus on events leading up to the First World War.

8/3 4pm
“37 Days,” a drama about the machinations that took place between the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the declaration of war.

8/10 4pm
“Royal Cousins at War”
A riveting account of three first cousins: the tsar, the kaiser and the king of England, whose relationship helped fuel the war.

8/24 4pm
“Churchill’s First World War”
A fascinating documentary on the lesser-known period in Churchill’s life when he was disgraced politically and militarily.

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