Country-Style Gifting: Hidden treasures abound at Country Apple House

September 4, 2012 | by Ruth Hoover Seitz

A Middletown farmstead near picture-perfect: Horses graze behind pristine white fences, the landscape beautifully groomed. On the front porch of the former wagon shed, a flowered flag waves a welcoming word, “OPEN.”

This 167-acre working farm doubles as a gift shop, and the Country Apple House Gift Shop is a one-of-a-kind enterprise.

For owner Marjie Hartz, her gift shop is a “dream come true.” As a girl she first knew this setting as her family’s dairy farm. Twelve years ago, when her children had grown, Marjie opened what her customers call “a hidden treasure.” Several hint that they don’t want to share this shop with friends because they like to have their own source of unique gifts.

The shop’s environment is inviting and relaxing. Each shopper is greeted warmly. On a chilly day a cup of tea may be offered. Attention is personalized: Marjie remembers such details as keeping on hand a regular shopper’s favorite flavor of coffee.

And people return. A woman drove from York to pick up Savannah Cinnamon syrups she must have. Other gourmet food lines include Stonewall Kitchen from Maine and Wind & Willow cheese ball and dip mixes.

Apple House’s specialty lines are the result of Marjie paying attention to trends. Country style gifts like Boyd’s Bears were popular when she launched her shop in 2000.

“Now,” Marjie said, “customers like jewelry and handbags.” Kameleon’s sterling silver interchangeable jewelry is popular. Women can change JewelPops so that a pendant, earrings or ring match an outfit.

Marjie is a selective buyer. Scented candle lines are first tested at home. Besides tried and true Yankee Candles, she has Swan Creek soy candles and Milkhouse Candles, a blend of soy and beeswax. A hand therapy line, Crabtree & Evelyn, was recommended by a customer.

“Here, there’s something unique for your elderly aunt and for your teenage niece,” said Esther Stydinger, a shop employee.

And the prices are not daunting. All greeting cards are $2.25. Among the gifts are practical items such as reusable shopping bags, battery-operated candles and woven stair treads that people buy as mini-rugs.

Community fun is the focus of the shop’s fall open house. On Sept. 8, there will be tractor-drawn hay rides to the field for kids to pick their own free pumpkins and free pony rides provided by local 4-H clubs. Eastland Alpacas will be on hand for petting.

Both Friday and Saturday all items, except Kameleon Jewelry, are discounted 10 percent. Customers are invited to bring canned food for Middletown and Hummelstown food banks. Last year Chet, Marjie’s husband who maintains the grounds, hauled a truckload of donated staples.

At a time when little retailers quickly fade, the Country Apple House Gift Shop has been offering a singularly charming shopping experience year after year. Imagine yourself ending your shopping trip by stepping up to the fence to pet a horse.

The Country Apple House Gift Shop, 2142 N. Union St. (off Fiddlers Elbow Rd.) Middletown. Call 717-566-1072 or visit www.thecountryapplehouse.com. Hours: Wed – Fri 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

A Place of Gathering, Support: Seniors discover activities, warmth at historic Rutherford House.

September 4, 2012 | by Barbara Trainin Blank

Rutherford House is a partially undiscovered jewel.

Equidistant from the commercial Paxton Street and the bucolic Capital Area Green Belt, this senior center for individuals 55 and up offers a hum of activities that draws members – and visitors at public programs – from Carlisle, Middletown, Hershey, and Elizabethtown, in addition to Harrisburg and nearby townships.

All Rutherford House needs is to be further discovered. “We have about 150 members, and definitely want to increase that,” said Peggy Scrobola, executive director.

Scrobola has been at the center for a decade, and is its only full-time paid employee. Rutherford House relies heavily on volunteers to teach and run programs.

Kay Waddell has been volunteering since January through AARP: greeting visitors with her broad smile, distributing literature and schedules, and serving as the unofficial storyteller and “historian.”

Rutherford House has a colorful history. It is named for a prominent Harrisburg family, which built its first residence, known as “The Spring House” (it’s still on the property), in the mid-1700s. In 1858, the family erected a mansion and lived there for generations.

Dauphin County bought the mansion in 1920, turning it into a juvenile-detention center. Five decades later, Rutherford Family Mansion began to house a senior program co-established by Pennsylvania’s former First Lady, Muriel Shapp, after the Governor’s Mansion was vacated during Agnes. Originally called Capital City Late Start, the program led a nomadic existence in schools and churches before finding a permanent home—and name change—in 1978.

“I love it here,” Waddell said.

The center is a private, independent nonprofit, though funded in part by the county. Rutherford House leases the facility from the county for $1 a year and is responsible for its maintenance.

Waiting for a Zumba class is Becky Lovett, who has been coming to Rutherford House regularly for a year. She also takes aerobics, line dancing, and chair yoga.

Retired from the state, Lovett loves the opportunity to meet new people and socializing at programs and parties. “Everyone here is lovey-dovey,” she said. “And it’s a great deal.”

Membership dues are $30 a year. (Zumba is extra, at $3 a session).

Activities include Bingo; movies; a book club; quilting; cards; and billiards. Not to mention health and wellness and nutrition lectures and screenings and a monthly lunch brunch.

There are Fall Frolic and ice-cream socials; a resident chapter of the Red Hat Society holds a monthly meeting and sponsors theater outings and luncheons. The Visiting Nurses Association offers flu shots in October.

Rutherford House seems to win people’s loyalty. Cheryl Yablon taught exercise and dance there for nearly 25 years and misses it. “It’s an active senior center, with many classes,” she said. “The people who go to Rutherford are very warm and make others feel very welcome. Peggy tries to offer the best to her participants. We all try to offer as much as we can for seniors who are still in their own environments and want to interact with peers.”

The center is “very pleasant and accommodating, and the clients are very nice,” said Bev Sable, who has taught dance and fitness at Rutherford House for three years. In the spring she introduced Zumba Gold, a class that’s lower-impact but higher in its instructional component than regular Zumba. “It’s a nice, tight community.”

Every Wednesday morning volunteer Harold “Skip” Smedley mans a computer lab he helped set up—guiding perplexed would-be techies.

“I started dabbling in computers in the Navy and have been a coach and teacher here for 12 years,” said Smedley, a retired electromotor manager at Edwin Hill Heim Co.

So far the computer lab has been free, though Rutherford House might start charging a fee for non-members.

Walt Tomlinson often comes by with questions and to chat. A retired registered nurse at Osteopathic and former military man, he “hated” using the computer at the hospital and wanted to learn its benefits. “I also want to keep my mind active,” he said. “If I have a problem, I wait ‘till Wednesday, when I can see Skip.”

Seeing other people with whom they’ve formed friendships and participating in activities they enjoy makes Rutherford House a jewel for many.

“We’re always open to members’ ideas,” Scrobola said. “If we can fit it in and find an instructor, we’ll try to do it.”

For more information on The Rutherford House, 3300 Parkview Lane, Harrisburg, call 717-564-5682 or visit www.rutherfordhouse.org.

Capitol Shoe Repair Opens Downtown

September 4, 2012 | by Ruth Hoover Seitz

A state capital needs a good cobbler, and an award-winning craftsman like Lee Card needs plenty of foot traffic, which is why he relocated his shoe repair shop in downtown Harrisburg.

“I need more walking traffic, and downtown has people walking,” said Card, a third-generation shoe repairman.

Card opened Capitol Shoe Repair at 202 N. 2^nd St., in mid-August. He wore a black apron as he and his 18-year-old son, Alex, worked on shoes.

He cited economics as a reason why the art of shoe-making and repair has diminished–many shoes are cheaply made and inexpensive enough to buy new ones.

Shoe repair requires skill, said the 40-year-old Card, a former Marine and a National Guardsman who served two tours in Iraq. A certain level of physics is required to ensure a shoe is balanced for a comfortable fit.

“You have to have a little bit of an artistic eye for it,” he said.

Card, who started shining shoes as a boy in his father’s Lemoyne shop, bought the business in 1998. He’s a cobbler who enjoys his work and has won three regional awards for his shoe repairs. “My men’s half soles were the best in the nation,” he said, proudly.

Capitol Shoe Repair, 202 N. 2^nd St., 717-213-4140; Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Beasts” to Behold: Likely Oscar contender debuts at Midtown Cinema.

September 4, 2012 | by Kevyn Knox

The first of the legitimate Oscar contenders has finally reached Central Pennsylvania and Harrisburg’s own Midtown Cinema. It is a small indie film called Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by first time feature writer/director Benh Zeitlin, and highlighted by a wickedly powerful performance by 6-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis (pronounced Kwa-VAHN-je-nay).

This is the film that is sweeping all four-star rated reviews. It is the story of a little girl who lives with her father in a place called The Bathtub, a fictitious, but yet oh so real, southern bayou community on an island surrounded by rising waters. It takes an almost magical look at the post-Katrina horrors that have befallen many of the so-called outcasts of the New Orleans area.

Shot on 16mm, and full of the same spark that gave The Tree of Life such vivid, unforgettable life last year, Beasts is a stunning film to watch – especially when projected up on the big screen of a movie theater.

But no matter how beautiful or how tragically sublime it gets, it is the performance of young Nazie (her nickname) that will blow you away and leave you speechless come film’s end. Only five when she auditioned for the role (she lied about her age when she showed up to the age 6 to 9 audition), Wallis gives one of the best performances of the year – for any age. About two months ago, when I made my annual early bird Oscar predictions, I listed both the film itself and Wallis for eventual nominations. After finally seeing the film, I take nothing back.

Another film just now hitting the Burg will most likely not see much Oscar love come year’s end. The reason for this has less to do with its quality, for it is quite enjoyable, and more to do with its receiving the always controversial NC-17 rating.

The film in question (now playing at Midtown Cinema) is called Killer Joe. It stars Matthew McConaughey as a cop who moonlights as a hired assassin. Full of a wicked sensibility and some pretty daring moments of sex and violence (apparently enough that it was branded with that dreaded rating), the film, directed by Oscar winner William Friedkin (he won the award for The French Connection), is billed as, and I quote, “A totally twisted deep-fried Texas redneck trailer park murder story.” Need I say anymore? Guess not.

And speaking of the Oscars (we were speaking of them, right?) a slew of award hopefuls will be hitting the area in the next few months. Some of them seem as if they are even films worthy of more than mere hype.

Some of the more alluring ones are Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix, the latter of which is a strong contender for not only a nomination but perhaps even a win; Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina, starring Keira Knightley in a role that could win her an Oscar; Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, a military/political thriller that could garner the Oscar winning director another nod; and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, which should just blow the proverbial doors off of the holiday season.

But enough about the Oscars, for they are still months away–and right now it is trivia time. Last time, in a special digital movies edition, you were asked “What was the first movie to be made and distributed digitally?” The answer is the little seen, but highly influential 1998 Lars von Trier film The Idiots. And now for a new question, and with some Oscar flair: What was the first Best Picture winner to be released on home video prior to winning the Oscar? See ya next time with the answer.

Small Business Boondoggle: Lacking standards, oversight, Harrisburg’s loan fund fell into dysfunction.

September 4, 2012 | by Peter Durantine

In December 2009, Mayor Stephen Reed’s last full month in office, one thing was certain about Harrisburg’s revolving loan fund program: it was no longer making money that could be loaned to other prospective, job-creating businesses.

Instead, it has cost taxpayers nearly $1 million. No loans have been made since Reed left office. And the cost to taxpayers could even increase.

That December, the Reed administration reported writing off $963,000 in loans in which the borrowers were unable to make payments, filed for bankruptcy or simply went out of business, according to documents and city officials.

Moreover, the Reed administration showed little effort at making sure loans were repaid. “There was not a proactive approach to collecting delinquent loans,” said Jack Robinson, head of the city’s Department of Building and Housing Development, the agency Mayor Linda Thompson has charged with recovering the remaining loans.

Questions remain as to how these loans were made, what financial documentation and collateral was required, and what specific policy the Reed administration adopted and followed in determining who received loans.

Officials have found little documentation to answer these questions, but what they have found since assuming the program indicates a disregard for adhering to standard banking procedures and due diligence in properly determining whether to grant a loan.

“I would typify the approach taken by the prior administration as unprofessional,” said Robinson, who worked in the state Department of Economic and Community Development before joining the city two years ago.

The Thompson administration is trying to collect the remaining outstanding loans from the revolving loan program. There is about $3.6 million from that program; $53,500 from a federal Community Development Block Grant; and $426,629 from the state’s Enterprise Community program, all of which were administered by Reed’s office.

Periodically, the Thompson administration releases to the media an updated list of loan recipients, what they owe and what they’ve paid. It’s public shaming of sorts that has brought in significant delinquent payments. The last such report was in May.

“Hundreds of thousands of dollars that would not otherwise have been collected,” said Robert Philbin, the city’s spokesman.

Yet, of the $3.6 million outstanding from the revolving loan fund, there is $900,000 in past due payments, Robinson said. Some loans appear to have no chance of getting repaid, though Robinson said the city is trying to work out payment plans with all its loan recipients.

One business, Sugar Mama’s, a restaurant on 29^th Street that has been closed a couple of years, was one of the last recipients of a loan under Reed, receiving $175,000 in November 2009, a month before Reed reported writing off nearly $1 million in loans. To date, according to city records, no payment has been made by Sugar Mama’s.

Among loans the Reed administration wrote off was FDA Packaging Inc., which received a $250,000 loan in March 2001. Located Uptown, the company paid back $141,568, but, after becoming Atlantic Coast Packaging in 2006, filed for bankruptcy in 2008. The $158,501 it still owed was written off in 2009.

FDA Packaging no longer exists and where its packaging operations once stood, 2715 N. 7^th St., is an empty lot slated to become a solar field for energy generation.

The loan program’s purpose was to provide businesses with capital to grow, but recipients also had to create jobs. These criteria were stated in documents submitted as part a 1992 lawsuit filed by 13 city residents against Reed for taking $7 million from the sale of the city’s water system to create a special projects revolving loan program in 1991.

Unlike what has been described as the unprofessional administering of the program by the end of his 28 years in office, Reed was running a tight ship in 1991, according to the court documents – memos, directives and executive orders.

For example, a mayoral memo outlining the program’s criteria stated: “One (1) job must be created for every $50,000 borrowed from the SPRLP … All SPRLP loans must be fully secured/collateralized.”

Reed lost the lawsuit. The court ruled, among other things, that he had no authority to create the special projects revolving loan fund. Yet, Reed continued to operate the program, and, though it appears he initially ran it responsibly, adherence to standards seemed to slip over subsequent years.

Controller and former city councilman Dan Miller had been appointed to a board overseeing the revolving loan fund in the late 1990s.

“This board was to determine whether the businesses were worthy of receiving a loan,” Miller said. “They had me come to one or two meetings and then we never met.”

Miller assumed no loans were being made because they board never met, but then he would read in the paper of a business getting a loan. “Apparently loans were being made, but not appropriately,” he said.

Wendi Taylor, one of the Harrisburg 13 that took Reed to court, examined the businesses getting loans in the early ‘90s. “There were so many of them that weren’t credit worthy,” she said. Moreover, Taylor said, the Reed administration “didn’t seem to care about getting the money back.”

One more recent loan recipient, Island Grill LP, borrowed $100,000 in July 2005, which was to go toward a more than $2 million project to build City Island Grill restaurant on the south end of City Island. It was never built and Island Grill never made a payment. In 2009, the Reed administration wrote off the loan.

A Market Grows in Steelton: Fresh produce, ethnic foods stacked high at Steelton Farmers Market.

August 18, 2012 | by Lawrance Binda

Steelton is known for its narrow, steep streets, multi-ethnic heritage and, of course, the giant steel mill that gave the town its name.

Unfortunately, it’s not been known for its quality food choices, a reputation that Maricruz Alvarez hopes to change.

Last month, Alvarez opened the Steelton Farmers Market at 750 N. Front St., a spacious, open grocery just a few blocks from the Harrisburg line that once housed the International Food Mart.

In fact, Harrisburg shoppers might recognize Alvarez, as, until recently, she was the proprietor of Garden Fresh Produce inside the Broad Street Market.

She decided to move into the much larger, 7,500-square-foot space to vastly expand the goods she’s able to offer, including a wide range of prepared food, deli meats, salads and groceries.

In addition, she hopes to bring broader, healthier choices to Steelton, a largely working class community that has few grocery options other than a smattering of corner stores.

“We want to give people something better,” she said. “So far, everyone’s welcomed us and told us that they’re glad we’re here.”

Here’s what you’ll find at the Steelton Farmers Market: fresh produce, grocery staples, special dietary items, hard-to-find imported goods and specialty foods that appeal to Steelton’s large population of immigrants from Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.

Here’s what you won’t find: cigarettes, lottery tickets and an overabundance of sugary drinks and salty snacks.

“We want to keep our items as healthy as possible,” said Alvarez.

The market has one of the widest selections of halal foods, those allowed under Islamic dietary guidelines, in the area, said Alvarez.

Middle Eastern favorites on the shelves include Barbody Egyptian rice, Cortas baba ghanoush and Laziza beverages.

But it’s not just the food–the piles of colorful, ripe oranges, bananas, lettuce, peaches, pears, potatoes and even pineapple– that make the Steelton Farmers Market unique in the town. It’s also the shopping experience, as the market has an open, airy layout that contrasts sharply with the congested, claustrophobic feel of many urban groceries.

“We hope to appeal to shoppers throughout the region,” said Alvarez. “But our main focus right now is on the people of Steelton.”

The Great Unknown: Leadership means minimizing our instability.

August 18, 2012 | by Lawrance Binda

Nevermind.

That was the message that rang forth from the Harrisburg school district last month.

Remember that multi-million deficit and unbalanced budget? Nevermind.

The cancellation of kindergarten, of all school sports, of band, of extracurricular activities? Nevermind.

Residents, taxpayers, parents, schoolchildren, furloughed teachers–please forget about the recent past because nothing has really changed after all.

Like most city residents, I’m delighted that public education in Harrisburg has not been stripped to the bare bottom. Harrisburg’s children already have lost much over the past few budget cycles, and they cannot afford to lose any more.

However, the rapid, perplexing shrinking of the deficit–from $17 million to $8 million to $6.6 million to a balanced budget to a surplus with all the cuts restored–underscores an unfortunate truth: living in this city has become an unceasing leap into the great unknown.

Nothing is ever stable. There’s no predictability, and everything could change tomorrow.

One day, we have a capable receiver who seems truly concerned about Harrisburg; the next we don’t. Then, awhile later, we have another one–one with no experience in municipal finance, priorities unknown.

One day, we can file for bankruptcy, then we can’t. Then maybe we can again, until the state again intervenes and extends the bankruptcy prohibition.

When will years-late municipal audits be done? What will happen if the council continues to defy the receiver? Who will control the school system next year? How much debt will be left over after the incinerator is sold and parking assets leased?

No one knows.

I’m often asked–who’s really in charge of Harrisburg? The mayor? The receiver? The state Department of Community and Economic Development? The City Council? A couple of out-of-town law firms?

To some extent, all of the above, I respond. Power in Harrisburg is deeply fragmented.

So, it’s not just about the school budget situation–instability is endemic everywhere here. Why?

The crumbling of the entrenched, controlling Reed regime is largely to blame, as is the financial disaster it left behind, both of which have left the city in chaos.

That turmoil is deepened by the desire of state legislators to protect the interest of distant creditors over their own citizens, which has resulted in repeated and profound interventions into city affairs.

Then there’s the political feud between the mayor and the council, the departure of so many quality city employees and the widening split between Gov. Tom Corbett and the legislature over budget priorities.

And, since not everyone is a bad guy, some of the turmoil is due to legitimate differences over how best to restore Harrisburg to fiscal health.

Life, as we know, does not always follow a straight path. It bends and twists and sometimes heads in weird directions. However, no healthy society can be built upon unyielding chaos and crisis.

Governmental bodies must work to create a foundation of stability and predictability, from which people can build their lives.

Given its dire financial situation, Harrisburg will be less stable than most other cities for the forseeable future. There’s no way around that. But that stress must be managed and minimized, not exacerbated.

Kids must know they’ll have a school to attend, vital programs they can rely on, sports they can play and take pride in.

Residents should have a decent idea what they’ll pay in taxes each year, the basic services they can expect–that crime will be fought, streets fixed and garbage collected.

Citizens should know that their state and county officials will represent them first, not Wall Street.

Some measure of stability, even in the most trying of times, is the least we can ask for.

The Envelope Please: This month, you may find a MID in your mailbox.

August 18, 2012 | by Lawrance Binda

At some point this month, Midtown Harrisburg property owners will retrieve their mail and find a large envelope among the usual bills, coupon shoppers and credit card come-ons.

Please–don’t toss it out along with the other unsolicited missives.

The 48-page document is the Midtown Improvement District (MID) draft plan, and it’s essential reading for any neighborhood homeowner.

It will explain exactly what the MID would be, how it would be funded and what it would cost. It also will include a list of all the properties in the proposed district, which runs from Forster to Maclay streets and N. Front to N. 7th streets.

“Our primary goal is to improve safety and security,” said Eric Papenfuse, the owner of Midtown Scholar Bookstore who has spearheaded the effort to establish the MID. “We figured that safety and security are paramount in life, whether you’re a resident, a business owner or a visitor.”

As proposed, the MID would hire off-duty Harrisburg police to boost security in Midtown, which, just last month, suffered a series of muggings committed by two armed men.

Longer term, the MID would help Midtown become eligible to enter the state’s Elm Street program, which provides grants to beautify and revitalize historic neighborhoods, said Bill Fontana, executive director of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center.

Under the current plan, the MID would charge an assessment of one-tenth of 1 percent of the value of a property, which, for most homeowners, would amount to $60 per year, which also is the minimum assessment.

That money would fund most of the $430,000 annual budget of the MID. The MID then would hire a team of two off-duty Harrisburg police officers for one eight-hour night shift, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., Monday to Thursday, and two teams of two officers, each working one eight-hour night shift, Friday and Saturday.

The budget also would fund a person to oversee the operation of the MID. It’s expected that, at first, the MID would be run from the Downtown Center, but would transition quickly to another non-profit organization, perhaps Friends of Midtown, which has expressed interest and already runs a community foot patrol.

At a public information session last month, residents seemed generally supportive of the MID, but also had numerous concerns.

For instance, Green Street resident Bob Deibler wanted to ensure that city police would continue to cover midtown, even as their off-duty colleagues were patrolling the area.

“Are we sure the city would not slough off on us because we have our own police?” he asked.

Papenfuse responded that the MID’s municipal services agreement with the city specifically prevents on-duty police from skipping the neighborhood.

Neil Grover, who lives on N. 3rd St., said he is opposed to the MID on principle as he believes that it creates a distinction between Midtown and the rest of the city.

“This whole thing runs against my grain at the deepest level,” he said. “I think it’s a bad way to govern.”

So, upon receiving the plan, what should a Midtown property owner do? Nothing yet, other than reading it and becoming familiar with the details. A public hearing on the MID will be held sometime in September, Papenfuse said.

Afterwards, probably starting in October or November, property owners in the district will have a 45-day window to vote on a final plan.

The plan would be rejected only if 40 percent of the 3,161eligible property owners in te district vote against it. If appproved, the MID likely would be up and running on Jan. 1, said Fontana.

Papenfuse mentioned several other factors that he believed were benefits of the MID.

First, the area’s developers, who own large amounts of property, would have to make new, substantial contributions to the community. Secondly, non-profits, which own non-taxable property not assessed under the plan, would be encouraged to donate. Thirdly, the community would have a new tool to use against negligent property owners, as “nuisance” properties would be assessed at a much higher rate.

“This is a good way for some developers and others to contribute to the neighborhood,” said Papenfuse.

Want to see the proposed Midtown Improvement District plan now? Go to https://midtownimprovementdistrict.wordpress.com/

Crossbow Cross-Check: Lots to think about before jumping on latest hunting fad.

August 11, 2012 | by Kermit G. Henning

Beginning with the 2009 to 2010 hunting seasons, the Pennsylvania Game Commission gave final approval for the crossbow to be used statewide for archery hunting. This approval includes both early and late deer seasons, bear season, as well as small game, fall and spring turkey, elk, and firearms season for bear and deer.

As they have become more legalized in Pennsylvania and more popular among hunters, the market has been flooded with crossbows by old, established manufacturers as well as new companies entering the market.

A crossbow is merely a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, short arrows called bolts. They have been used in Asian and European warfare as early as the 4^th century BC. Present day crossbows are used almost extensively for hunting, providing extreme precision and accuracy. It appeals to hunters who want to expand their hunting seasons, to new and younger hunters getting introduced to the sport, and to older hunters or those with physical limitations who can no longer draw a regular bow.

Learning to use a crossbow is quite simple but, like any other hunting weapon, there are several things to consider before purchasing one. They can be quite expensive as you add features so shop wisely before pouring money into one. You don’t want to spend close to $1,000 on something only to get it home and decide you don’t like it.

First, shoot it. Make sure you actually take any prospective new bow through its paces to check out all the features you might want or not want. Bowhunters like a lightweight bow, same is true for crossbow hunters. Extremely lightweight crossbows, however, can be difficult to hold steady for a shot. Determine the type of hunting you intend to do before deciding. If you are sitting on a stand, a heavier bow might be fine, but if you are intending to use this new crossbow on a big game hunt for elk or other game where you will be hiking or climbing, go with the lighter unit.

With the popularity of crossbows has also come the increase in technology. You can get lightning fast bows with cams, pulleys and cables but these all make the bow harder to draw. Crossbows with traditional recurve-type limbs are also quite fast and a lot simpler than those with cams or wheels. A relatively new player in the crossbow market is the Kodabow, manufactured here in Pennsylvania. This West Chester-based company makes recurve crossbows that are both fast and accurate. They are also simple in design, often a better choice.

Another thing to consider when buying a crossbow is how quiet it is. The more parallel the limbs the quieter it will shoot. There are also aftermarket noise-dampening devices available which attach to the limbs.

Choosing the proper bolts for your crossbow takes as much forethought as buying the bow itself. The proper broadhead depends somewhat on the type of hunting you do, but is mostly a personal preference. A fixed blade broadhead is all one piece and has a cutting edge that extends the entire length of the point. Those with replaceable blades have a shorter cutting edge but the blades can easily be replaced if damaged or dull. Mechanical broadheads have blades that open on contact. These fly most like field points.

With more and more opportunities for hunting with crossbows, now may be the time for you to jump in. Just make sure you do your homework, ask questions and pick the right crossbow for you. This will be a major investment. Make it pay off in the field.

Movers & Leaders

August 11, 2012 | by Admin

New manager at market
Dennise Hill has been hired as the new manager at the Broad Street Market, 1233 N. 3^rd St. Hill had been economic development and neighborhood coordinator for Steelton Borough.

Russell named director of Harrisburg Mall
St. John Properties Inc. named William Russell for the new position of director, Harrisburg Mall, just across the city line in Swatara Township at 3501 Paxton St. In a joint venture with Petrie Ross Ventures, Baltimore-based St. John Properties acquired the one-million-square foot property in June. Russell was formerly vice president of property management and development for Maryland-based Hill Management Services, Inc.

Dykehouse named Hershey Med CIO
Penn State Hershey Medical Center named Rod Dykehouse as new chief information officer. He previously served as CIO for both UCLA Medical Sciences and Froedtert Health System, an academic partner of the Medical College of Wisconsin. Tom Abendroth, M.D., who has served as the medical center’s CIO since 2002, is now its first chief of medical informatics. He will guide efforts to leverage Penn State Hershey’s electronic medical record to improve clinical care delivery and advance clinical research.

Barrett to depart AACA
Michael J. Barrett, executive director of the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum in Hershey, intends to leave the museum later this year. His departure is consistent with the plans he made known to the museum’s board of directors at the time he was hired, according to AACA. The board thanked Barrett for his service and contributions to the museum. AACA said the board will immediately begin a search for a new executive director. For more about the museum, visit www.AACAMuseum.org.

Morgan elected to Central Penn College board
Brad Morgan, vice president of cost and capital efficiency at Ahold USA, which operates Giant Food Stores, LLC, in Carlisle, was elected to the Central Penn College’s board of directors at the most recent board meeting on May 17. Morgan has more than 25 years of experience in leadership and finance.

Drapp earns volunteer service medal
Capt. Brian T. Drapp, commanding officer of the Naval Sea Logistics Center in Mechanicsburg, has been awarded the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for ongoing exemplary contributions to the community. Drapp was recognized for accomplishments while president of the Navy Supply Corps Foundation’s Mechanicsburg chapter the past two years. He has lead and mentored for Harrisburg High School Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, worked to double the amount of financial donations made to charitable organizations, and assisted in the creation of the Mechanicsburg Chief Petty Officer Association, among other contributions.

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