Tag Archives: Harrisburg High School

Veteran Lancaster educator named interim principal of Harrisburg High School

January 21, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

A long-time Lancaster educator has been named the new interim principal of Harrisburg High School, John Harris Campus, it was announced on Tuesday night.

During the school district’s monthly school board and business meeting, Acting Superintendent Chris Celmer announced the selection of Dr. Jay Vance Butterfield (pictured). Until recently, Butterfield had served as director of secondary education for the Lancaster school district, a post he held for 11 years.

“The school district of Lancaster is similar to Harrisburg school district, and I am confident that we will be able to make great strides together,” Butterfield said, in a statement.

The district is currently conducting a nationwide search for a permanent principal, with Butterfield expected to serve in the position until a replacement is named.

In his Lancaster post, he supervised all secondary principals and oversaw secondary instructional programs, as well as curricular revision, adoption and implementation. He also has served as principal of Wheatland Middle School, focus principal of JP McCaskey Campus, principal of McCaskey East High School, principal of Central York High School and assistant principal of Hempfield High School.

At Harrisburg High, Butterfield replaces Jaimie Foster, who was appointed to the post in June after Dr. Janet Samuels was named receiver of the 6,700-student school district. Foster, whose departure was announced last week, was the third person to serve as school principal over the past year.

“I look forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with this community to help make John Harris Campus a center of learning and a beacon of hope for the future of Harrisburg,” Butterfield said.

He said that he expects a “safe and orderly environment, where students are in class, learning, each and every period of each school day.”

Conversations on Screen: Sankofa Film Festival aims to build relationships, understanding.

November 29, 2019 | by Brandie Kessler

Michael Kenneth Williams

Sharia Benn has been planting seeds through conversation since she was a girl growing up in Baltimore.

Back then, one of the only African American children in her class, she didn’t invite those conversations, but she engaged because she was often the focal point.

Now, as the cofounder of Sankofa African American Theatre Company in Harrisburg, Benn is the one intentionally facilitating those conversations. She has decided to stand in the spotlight and pull onto the stage topics like veiled and overt racism, police brutality and other issues that some might want to keep hidden.

On Dec. 27, she hopes to start another robust community conversation, as Sankofa hosts the region’s first African American film festival. The event will bring Emmy-nominated actor Michael Kenneth Williams to Harrisburg to discuss his film, “Raised in the System,” which focuses on youth in the criminal justice system. That film, along with “The Hate U Give,” another film that explores themes of family, white privilege, police brutality and love, will be shown during the film festival, to be held in late December at the State Museum.

“Everything in my life has led up to this,” Benn said of her work with Sankofa and its continued growth through events like the film festival.

She recalled how her white classmates and peers back in Baltimore saw her as “just this strange being,” and how her fellow Girl Scouts wanted to touch her hair when she went on camping trips with them.

As an adult, those feelings of being different from many of the people around her have continued.

Now living in Harrisburg, Benn still finds herself in the middle of occasionally awkward conversations, as she is one of the few African Americans in management in the insurance industry, she said.

Some of the things she hears would cause people less practiced in such conversations to turn away—racially insensitive opinions and assumptions. When Benn has those encounters, she embraces them. They’re teachable moments.

When she chooses to engage, to teach, she has often found that people truly don’t realize what they’re doing, and they have an interest in learning, in getting better.

“I believe that a lot of the tension, the pain, is because people on both sides, African Americans (and) whites, don’t know, don’t understand the other perspective,” she said. “And when you do understand it, when you’re exposed to it, what you do after, that’s a choice.”

Sankofa is all about exposing its audiences to themes that open the door to understanding.

Johntrae Williams, 39, a graduate of Harrisburg High School and the University of The Arts in Philadelphia, and the vice president of Sankofa African American Theatre Company, said one of the missions of Sankofa is to give African Americans more exposure to the theater world.

“There’s not enough trained African Americans in the field,” he said.

And, he added, most theatergoers are white.

“One of our goals was to get African Americans as theatergoers,” Williams said.

He added that Sankofa is not about creating an experience exclusive to African Americans, but to create an experience for everyone, where African Americans are driving the message of their own stories and their perspectives, to welcome everyone to be part of the conversation.

“When you create a safe space, you don’t want to preach to the choir,” Williams said. “You want all parties involved to come and talk about the issues.”

Hosting a film festival to draw attention to the theater company and to hopefully draw in financial support for it—it’s a nonprofit that was incorporated in June 2017—came about through another connection. The Sankofa 21 Institute in Harrisburg, which is an entirely separate organization, is partnering with the theater company for the event.

Williams got to talking with Paul Carey, president of Sankofa 21 Institute, and realized they both wanted to bring a film festival to Harrisburg that was focused on African American themes. Carey is the brother of Michael Kenneth Williams—most famous for his roles in “The Wire,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “12 Years A Slave”—and made the connection with him possible.

“This (film festival) is an opportunity … to be a voice,” Johntrae Williams said. “It’s an opportunity to cultivate change. But it’s really an opportunity to bring the community together, to bring two Sankofas together.”

Benn said she hopes to sell out the State Museum auditorium.

“We want to fill all of the seats there with people who want to know and who want to live better,” she said.

She added that it’s about more than just entertainment.

“It’s about opening minds and hearts to these human experiences,” she said. “For 300 years, African Americans were not even thought of as human.… When you can wrap your head around those things from a historical perspective and a sociological perspective and even an economic perspective, then maybe you can start to see in the present why things are the way they are, and decide and understand what we have to do differently so we can all coexist harmoniously.”

The Sankofa Film Festival takes place on Dec. 27, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m., at the State Museum of Pennsylvania, 300 North St., Harrisburg. General admission tickets can be purchased online or at the door. VIP tickets are also available. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.sankofatheatrehbg.com.

“New Era”: At convocation, Harrisburg school district leaders pledge respect, kindness, competence

August 19, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district Receiver Dr. Janet Samuels rang a bell to start today’s convocation at Harrisburg High School.

“I wondered: Why did you come back?”

Dr. John George asked that question today to hundreds of Harrisburg school district faculty and staff, who packed the auditorium of Harrisburg High School.

George, who is helping to lead the district’s recovery team, was half-joking, and the large crowd chuckled in response, but George quickly turned serious.

“I had the pleasure to ask a few of you, ‘Why did you stay through a decade of a difficult situation?’” he said. “One by one, I got the exact same answer from every single person I asked, and that was, ‘Because of the children.’ And that’s an incredible statement.”

The crowd then applauded in acknowledgement, marking one of the many emotional high points during this morning’s school opening convocation–a part orientation, part pep rally and part group hug to kick off the 2019-20 school year, which begins for students in a week.

District Receiver Dr. Janet Samuels opened the 45-minute meeting by ringing a bell, symbolizing a “new day” for the district, a theme stressed repeatedly during the ceremony.

“As we begin the new year together, may we recommit ourselves to excellence and expect nothing but the best,” she said. “It is the power of our beliefs and our expectations that can spark a burning desire in our students and rekindle their joy of learning and, of course, to move forward in a very successful manner.”

Samuels then called upon the faculty and staff from each of the district’s 11 schools and academies to stand up to applause.

“You indeed are very, very special and very important,” she told them. “And this is an opportune time to thank you for all that you do and all that you’re going to do to impact the students here in the Harrisburg school district.”

The convocation also was marked with implicit—and sometimes explicit—criticism of how the district was run previously, under the nine-year administration of former Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney.

“This is not business as usual,” said Samuels, who was named district receiver in June and quickly fired Knight-Burney. “I want to underscore that. It is not business as usual.”

Samuels went on to list several areas where the district’s 835 faculty and staff should expect improvements under her leadership, including an emphasis on early learning, curriculum materials, safe schools, clean buildings and a more responsive human resources department.

“This is about the business of service and support and putting our children first,” she said. “That means working together arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder to make a difference.”

Harrisburg school district faculty and staff packed into the Harrisburg High School auditorium today for a districtwide convocation.

Samuels also praised George, the financial recovery plan service director for the 6,000-student district, noting his key role in helping to turn around the Reading school district before agreeing to take on a similar role in Harrisburg.

“It’s my pleasure to be here and be part of this incredible team of people who are going to do amazing things here in the Harrisburg school district,” George said. “You’ve been through an incredibly difficult time period. That time period is over.”

George mentioned several areas where his team was making progress, most notably in straightening out the district’s troubled finances.

“We have to rebuild the budget,” he said. “We don’t know yet where we stand exactly. We’re getting close to figuring that out.”

He also pledged that the administration would treat faculty, staff, parents and students with “integrity, respect and kindness.”

“One thing I can tell you—there’s going to be no nepotism,” he said, a statement that may have gotten the loudest cheer of the morning. “That’s over.”

After the convocation concluded, Jody Barksdale, the head of the Harrisburg Education Association, remarked on the different atmosphere she already felt in the district, just two months after Samuels took over as the court-appointed receiver.

“Everybody feels like it’s a fresh start,” she said. “It a new era for the Harrisburg school district.”

Seeds of Success: Homegrown Harrisburg digs deep for a healthier community.

March 29, 2019 | by Diane McNaughton

Like a flowering vine, a budding network of volunteers is lacing its way across some of the most barren corners of the Harrisburg area, breathing new life into decaying lots and delivering fresh food to empty tables.

Flowers, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash, herbs and other edibles are about to sprout up in the rocky soils of the city, Steelton and Susquehanna Township, at the seasoned hands of a fast-growing urban gardening movement called Homegrown Harrisburg.

Along with nutrition and blossoms, this green team is producing intangibles, such as food security, health, togetherness and community pride.

Connections

The seeds of the movement were planted last year when a group of devoted gardeners, community leaders and nonprofits joined forces, led by returned Peace Corps volunteer Rachel Rasmussen.

I recently found Rasmussen tending a pollinator garden along Peffer Street, which features more than 100 perennials that took root in 2013. People who walk by often stop to chat about the garden and to learn about birds and butterflies, she said.

Many gardens throughout the city are “fun and experimental,” she said, yielding mint and other aromatic plants. Others have raised beds, ideal for those with disabilities and aging knees and backs.

Currently, 16 gardens are blossoming throughout Harrisburg, mostly in Uptown and on Allison Hill. It is remarkable growth for a movement that started just a year ago.

Last year, the group re-did eight gardens, digging up old beds and building 109 new beds. This year, three gardens will be made over.

Many businesses and organizations have donated seeds and tools, including the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Green Urban Initiative, Capital Region Water and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Others, including the Midtown restaurant Right on Reily and, across the street, Zeroday Brewing Co., have held recent fundraisers, both donating a portion of their food and drink proceeds to the green team.

Rasmussen is a believer in the transformative power of caring for the earth for both individuals and the community.

“Gardens reconnect them to the land and to their home,” she said. “They promote a love for the neighborhood, inspire care for Harrisburg, and create a sense of belonging, helping people form connections with one another. It’s a multi-faceted approach to community revitalization and togetherness.”

Something Beautiful

Lifelong gardener Donnel Brown, the neighborhood revitalization coordinator for Tri-County Community Action, has joined the effort. Four years ago, as an employee of Aurora Center, she saw how the center’s beloved flower garden transformed clients with special needs.

When Brown was hired at Tri-County for a community safety initiative, she transplanted her gardening idea as one way to fight blight. She started the Wesley AME garden and began a mission to link together Harrisburg’s passionate, yet dispersed, community gardeners.

Brown cites Kevin, “a big, grumpy guy” with mental health challenges who, by his third outing in the fresh air and soil, was transformed into an enthusiastic gardener.

“I feel good when I’m in the garden,” Brown recalled him saying. “I like to help, and it helps me feel better. It gives me energy to do more.”

Brown also recalled a Syrian immigrant who was feeding her family of seven through three garden plots. Gardening also helped “bridge the cultural divide,” allowing Brown to move beyond hand gestures and Google Translate to learn key words in Arabic. And it allowed Brown to offer the family other services, including trauma-informed preschool and English-as-a-second-language classes.

It is the 21st century incarnation of “flower power.”

Indeed, countless studies show that a garden does far more than feed hungry stomachs in a low-cost way. Gardening has been shown to improve mental health, beautify forgotten lots, reduce blight, transcend cultural barriers, curb crime, improve community safety and grow happiness. The results are organic and sustainable.

The community is reaping the benefits. The culinary program at Kappa Omega chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity uses the herbs from local gardens, and fresh local fruit is used in Zeroday’s infusion tower, Brown said.

Soon, 25 students from Harrisburg High School will learn about gardening skills, sustainability, the environment and careers in agriculture.

Brown noted that the average age of a farmer in Pennsylvania is 55.

“Farmers are dying,” she said. “Having the chance to open their eyes to this is really ground-breaking.”

Rasmussen agreed.

“Agriculture is a viable career opportunity,” she said.

Richard Martinez, also a returned Peace Corps volunteer, helps tend the Peffer Street garden.

“It’s a great learning opportunity for everyone involved,” he said.

Martinez and Rasmussen also are active in Tree Tenders, a group that will plant 48 trees to beautify Scott and Rowland Elementary schools.

“There are so many lots in the city that could really use some love,” Rasmussen said. “We can create something really beautiful here.”

For more information about Homegrown Harrisburg, visit their Facebook page: Homegrown Harrisburg.

Greening Up

This month, you can help make your community a little healthier and more sustainable.

On April 27, Homegrown Harrisburg will hold its Annual Seed Giveaway from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the OIC Learning Garden and at Whitaker Center. At the OIC garden, 500 Maclay St., there will be family activities, workshops, live music and sign-up information for available garden plots.

Also on April 27, the Harrisburg Tree Tender Committee will partner with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the city and Capital Region Water to plant 48 trees at Rowland Academy and Scott Elementary on Allison Hill for Arbor Day and will need volunteers to help. The planting will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1842 Derry St. Refreshments will be provided.

Teacher, Coach, Author: In retirement, Emery Cook finds another way to educate.

March 29, 2019 | by Susan Ryder

Growing up in Florida in the 1960s, Emery Cook had a tough childhood, marked by oppressive racism, poverty and bullying.

That could have created a hardened, cynical adult. Instead, Cook chose another path.

He made it his mission to educate and mentor countless students during his decades of teaching and coaching, particularly at Susquehanna Township High School.

“My parents treated people the way they wanted to be treated and always instilled that in us,” he said.

Cook’s parents also encouraged an education.

He received a basketball scholarship to West Chester University, outside of Philadelphia. After graduation, he channeled these experiences into his life, becoming an admired teacher, championship basketball coach, the first black head coach at Susquehanna Township, Central Dauphin and Carlisle high schools, a motivational speaker, and the recipient of countless awards.

Cook’s upbringing was a filter by which he taught and interacted with students and players.

“It gives me a frame of reference in understanding the various backgrounds that kids come from,” he said. “It helped me to know what kids needed—attention.”

Cook held his players to high standards, even earning the moniker, “Coach Hard Hat,” for the hat he wore when practices where going to be exceptionally tough. There were rules for behavior on and off the court, with an emphasis on respect for one another, for coaches and for opposing players.

A former student, Ellis Proctor, remembered Cook as a mentor and coach.

“He came at a really important time in my life,” Proctor said.

Moving from the Harrisburg school district to Susquehanna and away from all his friends, Proctor had a self-described attitude problem. Recalling his young self, he said, “I’m not playing [basketball] for Susquehanna. I’m a Cougar!”

At Cook’s urging, Proctor joined the lineup and was part of the 1997 PIAA AAA basketball championship team.

“They are still kids, no matter how big they are,” Cook said of his players.

What You Know

Eventually, Cook retired from teaching and coaching, falling into an unproductive routine.

“My first year in retirement, I was a lazy bum,” said. “I wouldn’t set an appointment before 11 a.m.”

But he got bored, which set the stage for the next part of his life—that of author. His 35-year habit of taking notes on daily happenings paid off by providing material for the novel he now planned.

So, he had inspiration—and content. Now he needed a way to get from here to there.

For instruction, he headed to YouTube for tutorials on writing, voice and narration. A chance meeting at a diner with a 70ish-year-old women and author yielded some key advice for writing his book.

“She said, ‘Whatever you write, make it believable. Write about what you know,’” Cook said.

With that in mind, he began chronicling the 1960s life of a middle-schooler, a boy named Joseph Graham, in a Southern town.

Much like in his own life, the boy is bullied because of his looks, needs to hide his intelligence to fit in and has to deal with poverty.

Graham’s trials send him down a dangerous path until he ricochets back, thanks to the influence of a teacher—a character named Mr. Thompson. The book deals with hard truths, but does so with the reader in mind.

“As an author, Emery cares about the reader—not the buyer,” said Nate Gadsden, a college classmate of Cook’s and eventually his book editor.

“He’s an engaging person,” Gadsden said. “Nothing seems to rattle him. He has an easy intensity about him.”

Gadsden found in Emery an astounding level of awareness of and care for his craft, especially for an author just starting out.

“He wanted to know what he was doing to the reader,” Gadsden said. “He wanted people to come to moments of truth.”

In 2017 Cook, under the pen name Cy Emery, self-published “Hiding in the Light: The Hunt,” the first book in a planned trilogy.

Cook said the book “edu-tains,” and he uses it as a part of his anti-bullying program.

Cook’s impact now extends into following generations, beyond those who he personally coached and taught.

Proctor, his former student, began Harrisburg-based Brothers and Sisters Making a Difference 11 years ago to provide the type of mentoring he received from Cook. Group members take students on college visits, to museums, provide homework checks and touch base with parents. Its mission is “to instill morals and cultivate high self-esteem” and “to provide a support system for kids who didn’t have it,” Proctor said.

Like Cook, Proctor aspires to bring light into his community and inspire those in challenging life experiences. He recognized that, without Cook’s influence, things could have turned out much differently for him

“I would have swayed,” he said.

“Hiding in the Light” is available at www.hidinginthelightthehunt.com. Watch for Cook’s second book, “Release the Light,” coming in November.

Help Hub: Mission Central offers assistance–no questions asked.

October 31, 2017 | by Phyllis Zimmerman

Goods are stacked and ready to distribute at Mission Central.

The upcoming holiday season may be a time for helping others, but at Mission Central, that’s a 365-day-a year calling.

In 2016, Mission Central, the mission warehouse of the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church, distributed more than $7 million in donated resources through 7,243 volunteers, touching an estimated 3.3 million lives.

“There’s no strings attached to what we do,” stated Executive Director Rob Visscher. “There’s no proselytizing.”

Adam Hoover, Mission Central’s director of development, said he received a call recently from a woman who needed help, but wanted to him to know upfront that she wasn’t religious.

“I told her it didn’t matter,” he said.

Toy Time
Bishop Neil Irons founded Mission Central in 2001. He initiated a task force and spent a year developing his concept—a centralized location for donations and distribution of everything from food and clothing to medical supplies and household items.

Originally, Irons planned to construct a new building for Mission Central on a lot near the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church headquarters outside Mechanicsburg. Things didn’t quite turn out that way, however.

One day, when Irons was driving to the proposed construction site, he was forced to take a different route due to flooding. That’s when he passed an existing warehouse with a “For Lease” sign posted. At 48,000 square feet, the building was twice as large as what Irons was planning to construct, but he stopped anyway.

After some discussion, the building’s owner agreed to sell the warehouse on Pleasant View Drive to Mission Central and tithe 10 percent of the sale price. The tithe covered sale closing costs and a down payment for Mission Central.

Overall, the purchase saved the agency a lot of time because it no longer had to construct a new building for its headquarters. Mission Central opened in July 2002, two years ahead of schedule.

Today, it operates using three points of focus: disaster response, mission outreach and mission education or teaching others “about the economic difficulties and things that we take for granted,” Visscher explained.

“We agreed that what we were called to do was not something that would live strictly within the United Methodist Church,” Irons said. “It would be holding hands with anyone else who had this commitment or desire to help other people.”

Each November, for instance, Mission Central “gears up for the holidays,” Visscher said.

This year, the organization is set on collecting 2,000 toys to distribute to disadvantaged children through local schools and communities, Toys for Tots and other outlets. In fact, toy donations are Mission Central’s greatest need over the holidays, Visscher said. So, the mission is seeking new toys valued between $25 to $50, gift cards or monetary donations.

Last holiday season, Mission Central and Communities in Schools Pennsylvania sponsored an angel tree that provided gifts for K-8 students at Goode Elementary School in the York City School District. This year, the program is being expanded to include McKinley Elementary and Davis Elementary schools in York. Students at Harrisburg High School are being given warm hats and gloves for the season.

Then there are families whose homes were destroyed over the summer by Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Irma in Florida, whose needs go far beyond gifts. Mission Central once again helped. In mid-September, agency volunteers assembled some 5,000 hygiene kits valued at $15 each and 5,000 cleaning buckets and supplies valued at $65 each. Those items were shipped to storm victims.

Very Moving
In addition to its own focus, Mission Central works with several partner ministries.

The Computer Ministry refurbishes used computers and equipment to provide assistance and improve efficiency within churches and other organizations of need. The New Digs Ministry recycles household goods throughout central Pennsylvania, helping more than 2,500 families by distributing nearly $1 million of goods annually.

Project C.U.R.E. distributes durable medical equipment like walkers and wheelchairs locally and to more than 130 developing countries. And the Bethesda Mission uses Mission Central’s warehouse as its food distribution center for senior citizens, the homeless, unemployed and undernourished.

Mission Central also has expanded to include 38 independently owned and operated hubs throughout nine U.S. states.

Mission Central gave its hub located at Good Sheppard United Methodist Church in Northfield, N.J., “something it couldn’t do on its own” when Super Storm Sandy hit the Atlantic Coast in 2012, recalled Good Sheppard Pastor Tom Stark.

“When the (storm) forecast started, I started getting calls from Mission Central,” Stark remembered. “When those (supply) trucks rolled in, the biggest trucks you’ve ever seen filled with diapers and heaters and blankets and food, it was incredible to see how people were connected with Mission Central in Mechanicsburg. It was very moving.”

Mission Central is located at 5 Pleasant View Dr., Mechanicsburg. For more information and to volunteer, call 717-766-1533 or visit www.missioncentral.org.

Scant Progress for Harrisburg Schools as State Issues Annual “Report Card”

October 27, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Benjamin Franklin School scored highest among Harrisburg’s elementary schools on an annual state assessment.

Most Harrisburg public schools continued to tread water for the past academic year, once again earning largely poor grades from the state.

District-wise, Harrisburg schools showed little improvement, but they also generally didn’t deteriorate further during the 2016-17 school year compared to recent years, according to the annual “School Performance Profile” released today by the state Department of Education.

“The ‘School Performance Profile’ scores released today provide school-level information to the public related to student achievement and progress,” said Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera.

Harrisburg High School attained an academic score of 44 out of 100 total points, identical to the prior year. The SciTech Campus showed more improvement, up to 76.2 points versus 73.2 last year and 61.2 the year before.

To determine academic scores, the state uses a variety of measures, including standardized tests such as the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) and Keystone exams. The scores follow a general academic scoring model with 90 to 100 considered to be excellent and below 60 considered to be deficient.

Other schools in the 6,227-student district scored as follows:

Marshall Math Science Academy: 78.3
Benjamin Franklin School: 60.8
Melrose School: 58.2
Foose School: 53.3
Scott School: 52.7
Marshall Academy: 49.8
Camp Curtin Academy: 45.6
Downey School: 45.5
Rowland Academy: 42.5

The yearly assessment includes a wealth of other data, including graduation rates. In that regard, Harrisburg High School showed a slight improvement, with a graduation rate of 55.8 percent last year, compared to 53.9 percent in 2015-16 and 52.8 percent in 2014-15.

Rivera said that this will be the final time the state uses the current methodology and “report card” grading system to determine school-level academic performance. Next year, the state will transition to what it calls a “Future Ready PA” index, which will use a dashboard approach to present school-level data and will feature a broad range of indicators, such as English language acquisition, career readiness indicators, access to advanced coursework and chronic absenteeism, among others.

Kirsten Keys, the Harrisburg school district’s spokeswoman, declined immediate comment for this story.

Fighting Racism: Community stands together – strategically – to oppose white supremacist rally.

November 4, 2016 | by Danielle Roth

What do you do in the face of bigotry?

Tomorrow, the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement group has a permit to rally on the state Capitol steps, and protestors are expected to gather nearby.

But Ann Van Dyke has another answer. She has helped organize a “Speak Up for Unity” program, held not in the vicinity of the Capitol, but at Harrisburg High School.

Van Dyke, chair of the Rapid Response Team at the Community Responders Network, said that attending the white supremacist rally to protest would play into the hands of the white supremacists.

“These groups are very good at inciting violence without creating violence” said Van Dyke, who has more than 20 years of experience working against hate speech. “Police will have to protect the group who has the permit to protest.”

Saturday’s event, moderated by City Council member Shamaine Daniels and Capital Area School of the Arts student Nick Byrd, will include drum performances, rappers and singers. Speakers representing many faith groups will give words of peace and love.

The Community Responders Network, Christian Churches of the Tri-County Area, Mayor’s Interfaith Advisory Council and the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg sponsor this event.

The event will give children the precedent that love conquers hate, organizers said.

“Our young people will be setting an example this Saturday,” said City Council Member Cornelius Johnson. “While others choose to speak out against diversity, we choose to embrace it.”

If you go:
Saturday, Nov. 5
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Harrisburg High School
2451 Market St., Harrisburg

For more information, visit www.speakupforunity.org or the Facebook event.

Author: Danielle Roth

August News Digest

August 31, 2016 | by Lawrance Binda

Bar Decision Appealed

Harrisburg is appealing a judge’s ruling that requires it to issue a business license to an embattled city bar.

The city administration last month provided notice that it intends to appeal a decision by Dauphin County Judge Andrew Dowling, who mandated that Harrisburg issue a 2016 business license to the Third Street Café. It did not immediately cite the grounds for its appeal.

In July, Dowling rejected the city’s argument that the Third Street Café is a magnet for trouble. He also said that state regulations override city rules for establishments that hold a liquor license.

Harrisburg has been trying to shut down the Midtown bar since early last year, when it revoked its 2015 business license. It then refused to issue the bar a 2016 business license, leading the bar to file suit.

The administration has successfully closed two other bars after revoking their business licenses. Those bars did not appeal the decision to the court.

Calls for Healing, Peace

Both the city and the family have issued calls for peace following the police-involved shooting last month of a Harrisburg resident.

Police shot and killed Earl Shaleek Pinckney in his Uptown home after responding to a call that the 20-year-old man was threatening his mother, Kim Thomas, with a knife. Last December, Thomas requested court protection from Pinckney after he allegedly threatened to kill her, and he was arrested several times last year for domestic incidents.

Thomas later disputed the police department’s version of events, stating that her son didn’t have a knife at her throat and that there was no need to shoot him.

Nonetheless, she asked the community to come together and not resort to violence during a meeting at Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church. City Police Chief Thomas Carter and other city officials also spoke at the meeting.

Thomas had her harshest words for demonstrators, saying that she didn’t want outsiders causing trouble in Harrisburg, as well as for the media, which she said provided misleading information and exploited the situation.

Shortly afterwards, a group called This Stops Today Harrisburg sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice asking for an independent investigation of the incident.

Samarin Pleads Guilty

The man who posed as a Harrisburg High School student pleaded guilty last month to a litany of charges that could lead to his deportation.

Artur Samarin, a citizen of Ukraine, admitted guilt on fraud and sex-related charges and said he planned to plead guilty to federal fraud charges, as well.

For several years, Samarin posed as a teenager named Asher Potts, attending high school and receiving numerous academic accolades. In fact, he was in his 20s and in the country illegally after his visa expired.

He faces sentencing this month in Dauphin County court on several charges, including allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old girl he met in school. The federal case relates to alleged passport and Social Security violations.

Housing Sales Up

Area housing sales continued a yearlong climb in July, with unit sales and median prices both rising 4.8 percent, according to the Greater Harrisburg Area Association of Realtors.

GHAR reported that sales totaled 938 units compared to 895 units in July 2015, while the median price climbed to $175,500 from $167,500 for the area that includes Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry countries and portions of York, Lebanon and Juniata counties.

In Dauphin County, sales edged up to 308 units versus 307 units in the year-ago period, while the median price rose to $155,900 from $155,000. Cumberland County saw significant increases, with unit sales totaling 374 units against 335 units in July 2015 and the median price rising to $217,642 from 216,646.

In Perry County, sales increased to 34 units from 33 last July, while the median price rose to $187,400 from $155,000.

So Noted

Bollywood Bar & Grille opened for dining last month in the heart of “restaurant row” in downtown Harrisburg. The Indian-style restaurant serves both lunch and dinner at 110 N. 2^nd St., the long-time home of Zia’s at Red Door.

Buddy Boy Winery has begun offering samples and selling bottles from a satellite location in the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg. The Perry County-based winery has become known for its sweeter wines, its fruit wines and its irreverent names and labels.

Harristown Enterprises last month previewed its two newest apartment buildings: Fifteen @ Twenty-Two and SoMa on Third. The buildings are across the street from one another in downtown Harrisburg and both begin leasing this month. Earlier in the summer, Harristown began accepting tenants for its first apartment project, the Flats @ Strawberry Square.

The Millworks last month opened its rooftop beer garden and its new brewery, run by brewmaster Jeff Musselman. No reservations are needed for rooftop tables, as it’s first-come, first-served in the space at 340 Verbeke St., Harrisburg.

Nest Egg Interiors relocated last month from Marysville to Cumberland County. The home décor and specialty furniture shop is now located at 315 Bridge St., New Cumberland. Grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Pikowski’s Pierogi Place debuted last month to brisk business in the stone building of the Broad Street Market. Owner Carolyn Pikowski offers a wide assortment of the Polish staple, some traditional and others quite creative.

Changing Hands

Alricks St., 650: K. Gautsch to Consolidated Holdings International LLC, $160,000

Boas St., 428: C. Brown to B. Weber, $128,600

Brookwood St., 2408: J. McPherson to K. & M. Walter, $92,900

Caledonia St., 1917: S. Sabella to J. Gerena, $86,500

Chestnut St., 1940: PA Deals LLC to C. Austin, $63,000

Emerald Ct., 2450: J. Seaton & S. Beckner to E. Manly Spain, $67,000

Forster St., 212: J. & J. Spagnolo to N&R. Group LLC, $43,500

Forster St., 1600: A. & B. Briley to R. Lopez, $161,000

Green St., 1614: J. & MJ Hess to N. Foote & A. Schwarzl, $144,000

Green St., 1932: WCI Partners LP to M. Roos, $205,000

Harris St., 344: C. Wilson to PA Deals LLC, $45,000

Herr St., 215: Crested Enterprises to Z. & W. Zogby, $110,000

Kensington St., 2246: S. Duong to D. Tran & N. Nguyen, $61,000

Kensington St., 2341: Donald L. Pong Trust to I. Trigueros, $45,000

Market St., 2448: K. Haas & D. Maguire to B. Wilson, $110,000

N. 2^nd St., 1426: M. & K. Moosa to C. Albers, $153,000

N. 3^rd St., 2419: M. & S. Kreines to F. & K. Wilson, $154,900

N. 3^rd St., 3027: R. Finck to D. Myers, $127,000

N. 3^rd St., 3113: New 4 You Property Solutions LLC to J. & L. Kincaid, $107,500

N. 4^th St., 1632: K. & K. Leaver to A. Fiorucci, $87,500

N. 4^th St., 1725: LSF9 Master Participation Trust to PA Deals LLC, $54,900

N. 4^th St., 3209: C. DePauli to M. Schuessler, $106,500

N. 5^th St., 1630: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. to R. Williams, $45,000

N. 6^th St., 3115: A. Starr to A. Smith, $30,000

N. 6^th St., 3205, 3209 & 3205 N. 7^th St.: D. & J. Klaiber to SBN LLC, $310,000

N. 7^th St., 3205 & 3133: Bass Pallets Realty LLC to Consolidated Holdings International LLC, $810,000

N. 16^th St., 1100: T. Simpson to HSBC Bank USA, $92,000

Paxton St., 118 & 109 Vine St.: R. Aronson, D. Stern & C/O Service Oil Co. to R. Aronson & R&D Landholdings LLC, $275,000

Penn St., 924: D. Roberts to L. Felix & E. Smith, $35,000

Penn St., 1723: Pennymac Corp. to PA Deals LLC, $78,000

Pennwood Rd., 3207: J. Fry to C. Gaither, $104,000

Reily St., 223: M. Jameson to J. Chadwick, $149,900

Rudy Rd., 2413: PA Deals LLC to G. & J. Modi, $134,900

Rumson Dr., 321: J. Quinlin to S. Nguyen, $64,900

Rumson Dr., 2772: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. to PA Deals LLC, $32,250

Rumson Dr., 2801: R. & M. Gingrich to R. Adams, $74,000

S. 18^th St., 1014: G. Stevenson to T. Martin, $112,000

S. 19^th St., 258: S. Sugden to A. Santos, $30,000

State St., 231, Unit 503: LUX 1 LP to G. Shook, $167,400

State St., 231, Unit 605: LUX 1 LP to A. Neilay, $160,000

Swatara St., 2045: COBA Inc., Oreo TD Bank NA & TD Bank NA to R. Williams, $47,000

Sycamore St., 1807: A. Williams to R. & V. Thompson, $30,000

Wiconisco St., 524: PA Deals LLC to S. Orr, $60,000

Harrisburg property sales for July 2016, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

Author: Lawrance Binda

A Warm Welcome: 100 Men Greeting extend a hand to Harrisburg students.

August 25, 2016 | by Susan Ryder

A Harrisburg student leaps high as she is greeted at Ben Franklin Elementary during 100 Men Greeting.

The weather cooperated on this day, the cool temperatures and sunny sky adding to the bright faces and cheery “good mornings” exchanged between students and greeters.

The young learners donned new sneakers, pressed clothes and freshly beaded hair. Some jumped up to meet the hand that greeted them; others tentatively held it out for a tap.

The 10 men standing outside Ben Franklin Elementary on Monday were part of 100 Men Greeting, welcoming students to the first day of school in the Harrisburg School District.

Jamar Johnson, a graduate of Harrisburg High School, helped coordinate the event. He said he feels that young people only hear about negative and violent things that happen in the city and wanted to offer them an opportunity to see smiling, friendly people as they begin the new year.

“If you bring all these men together, they can be a positive movement,” he said.

The concept is simple. Local men greet students and teachers with high fives and words of encouragement. Johnson said all men, from every walk of life, are invited to participate.

On Monday, men greeted students outside all 11 schools in the district, with the goal of having 10 men at each school. Outside Ben Franklin, a financial adviser, a Vietnam veteran, two state employees, an attorney, a housekeeping manager and a web developer participated.

Many of the men have worked with Floyd Stokes, the program’s executive director, on other projects, including the American Literacy Council’s 500 Men Reading Week.

This is the second year for the event, and Johnson said that district Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney reached out and asked that they return this year.

While it served as an example of men doing positive things, greeters also started their day at Ben Franklin for another reason.

Calvin Hynson, past PTA president and open gym organizer for Ben Franklin, said he participated because he wants to “show support for the kids and teachers.” As he greeted the students, he admonished them to “get some education and respect your teachers.”

Logan Street resident Charles Ray spoke up from his electric scooter.

“It teaches the kids that we, as a whole, care for them,” he said, adding that his time in Vietnam impressed upon him the need to show kindness at every opportunity.

Students and teachers alike appreciated the morning.

“From a cultural perspective, it’s beyond wonderful to see my brothers greeting the kids,” said 24-year teaching veteran and second-grade teacher Kalem Calien.

Louise Roman thanked the men as she stepped off the sidewalk after bringing her children to school.

“As a single mother raising six kids, to have a male influence that’s not the father is a blessing,” she said,

Ben Franklin Principal Will Towson added the greeting is valuable because “students get to see positive role models on the first day of school.”

The line of students trickled down, and the men began heading off to work, welcoming the stragglers as they went.

“It’s wonderful for fathers and men to take a stand and make a positive impact for children and literacy in the community,” said Nick Linn, who greeted the children, his own two young sons by his side.

Author: Susan Ryder

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