Tag Archives: Harrisburg School District

STEAM Ahead: Through a camp this summer, Harrisburg students eye their futures.

July 31, 2019 | by Maddie Conley

2018 STEAM students.

Johntrae Williams remembers the feeling he got watching Beyoncé’s “Homecoming” Coachella performance on Netflix.

The loud marching bands, the dancers, the black national anthem. It wasn’t just inspiring—he related to it personally.

“Beyoncé’s story about how she never went to an HBCU but would have liked to, I connected with that,” he said. “I went to a performing arts school. HBCUs weren’t really introduced to me.”

By association, it ended up inspiring the theme for Marshall Math Science Academy’s 2019 STEAM summer camp.

The Harrisburg School District resource coach for the college and career program, Williams is the director of the arts and communication at STEAM camp. He was struck by the references Beyoncé made during her performance to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Because of his experience, Williams desired to expose Marshall Academy students to HBCUs—making sure they’re fully informed when they begin thinking about higher education.

This was done by exploring 10 HBCUs in the context of the five avenues of STEAM: science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Williams explained how the camp’s central focus was on project-based learning.

Camp began in June and ran through mid-July. The 200 fifth- through seventh-graders worked with Marshall Academy teachers, community artists and professionals. On their last day of camp, the students showcased their projects to the community.

Projects this year included an HBCU-themed mural, dances and other performances. Each team of students was named after an HBCU.

“I hope the sense of pride, climate and culture of HBCUs is really exemplified throughout the course of the camp,” Williams said during the preparation phase before camp. “When you don’t know [where you’re from], there has to be something you connect to. Self-reflection and self-image are a big deal.”

He explained the important sense of belonging that HBCUs can provide to African Americans, who often find it hard to trace the roots that slavery ripped away from them many years ago.

Seventh-grader Daesha Adams didn’t know much about HBCUs before STEAM camp this year. Her team was named after Spelman College, a women’s college in Atlanta. Through hands-on activities, Adams gained an appreciation for the school.

“People were desperate to go to college,” Adams said. “HBCUs changed a lot of people’s lives.”

Although her favorite part of camp was acting, her dream is to become a veterinarian. Because of STEAM camp, Adams hopes to go to Spelman.

Williams also wanted to inform his students about the benefits HBCUs offer to African Americans.

“There are organizations established to support them,” she said. “They can get into school with full scholarships with some of the talents they already have.”

Tayvon Williams, a sixth-grader, decided to come to camp again after attending last year.

“You get to learn things other people don’t get to learn,” he said. “You have to invest your time and work hard instead of staying home playing video games.”

Camp this year helped him visualize going to one of the HBCUs he learned about.

Tayvon was also part of the Beta Theta Mu Fra-rority (a mix between fraternity and sorority) that about 15 campers were involved in.

Williams had each group nominate certain students to be part of this leadership experience. In the fra-rority, which meets during camp recess, students learn about the “Divine Nine,” a number of historically black fraternities and sororities. They worked on memorizing a mission statement including, “We are committed to leading the way even when we have to pave the road ahead.”

The school has a majority black student body, but Williams saw the theme as also beneficial for campers who aren’t black.

“HBCUs are not only for African Americans,” he said. “This is about shining a light on something people didn’t know existed.”

This is exactly what Raheem Martin, founder of the program Harrisburg to HBCU’s, has been trying to do.

Like Williams, Martin was not introduced to HBCUs in school.

“Growing up, I toured so many college campuses—teachers never tell you about HBCUs,” he said. “The fact that I was never told about them made me want to educate students.”

For about two years, Martin has been taking prospective students to Howard University, among others, to spend a few days learning about college life at an HBCU.

Martin finds HBCUs crucial in communicating and maintaining African American history.

“Going to HBCUs tells you the real story of what our people went through,” Martin said. “You get to understand who you are as a person.”

Williams explained how Marshall’s STEAM camp was a great place to explore this sense of belonging tied to HBCUs, since these schools were and still are often STEAM-focused.

School may be out for the summer, but students at Marshall weren’t ready for a break. They had plenty to build and create, all while discovering a rich history with strong implications for their future.

To learn more about Harrisburg to HBCU’s, visit www.harrisburgtohbcus.com.

July News Digest

July 31, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

2-Way 2nd Street Designs Unveiled

Do you prefer a bike lane or a center lane?

That was the big decision last month for Harrisburg residents, who attended the final community meeting for the planned conversion of N. 2nd Street to two-way traffic.

At the meeting, the city unveiled its two final design concepts for the street.

The first design features a left-hand-turn lane, along with partial median strips, along the two-mile stretch of N. 2nd from Forster to Division streets. The second includes a dedicated, “parking protected” bike lane, meaning it would be protected from traffic.

“That’s the main difference,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “Do you want a center lane with medians, or do you want a bike lane? We can’t accommodate both.”

A 40-minute presentation kicked off the meeting. Afterwards, attendees broke off into groups to study the concepts in detail, block by block, and offer input.

Both designs include roundabouts at certain busy intersections, such as at N. 2nd and Verbeke streets and N. 2nd and Reily streets.

Notably, most traffic signals would be removed under both concepts and, like with the current construction along the 3rd Street corridor, intersections would be improved to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Signals would remain at the busy intersections at Forster, Maclay and Division streets.

Papenfuse expects construction to begin next year, wrapping up at the end of 2021. The cost of the $5.6 million project is being split between the city, the state Department of Transportation and Impact Harrisburg, a nonprofit set up in the wake of the city’s financial crisis.

Both concepts reduce the total amount of parking along 2nd Street, mostly because of the ADA-mandated intersection improvements.

Currently, there are 620 street parking spaces on N. 2nd from Forster to Division streets. Concept 1, which includes the turning lanes, would reduce parking to 550 spaces, while concept 2, which includes the bike lane, would reduce street parking to 537 spaces.

“It is genuine to say that I see the benefits of both,” Papenfuse said. “We could go with either and be very pleased as a city. They’re both transformative and safer and better for the neighborhood.”

AutoZone Passes Hurdle

The Harrisburg Planning Commission last month approved the land development plan for an Uptown auto parts store, despite a continuing disagreement over the design of the project.

By a 3-1 vote, the commission gave its OK to an AutoZone store on long-vacant land at the corner of Maclay and N. 7th streets, but the approval requires the company to tweak its design to address several city concerns.

Commission members agreed with the city’s planning bureau that AutoZone needed to make modifications to its plan—namely, reorienting the 6,816-square-foot building to bring it closer to Maclay Street and eliminating access from busy N. 7th Street.

“I don’t want to have people coming into the city greeted by a parking lot and a set-back building, just like you see in the surrounding suburbs,” said commissioner Zac Monnier.

City officials have long complained that the proposed AutoZone design was too generic and better suited for a suburban strip mall, not a city block. They have especially disliked that AutoZone’s original proposal set the store back from Maclay Street, with parking in the front.

David Tshudy of Pepper Hamilton, the law firm representing AutoZone, repeatedly pushed back on the requested changes to the company’s design, saying that city planners have no role in design decisions based on Harrisburg’s current land use ordinances.

“There’s nothing in the ordinance that requires the building to be situated any differently than what is shown on the plan,” Tshudy said. “The building is best where it is shown on the plan.”

The two sides also had a heated disagreement about AutoZone’s desire for a driveway to the site from N. 7th Street.

In April, the two sides held a meeting to iron out their differences. Tshudy said that he left that meeting believing they had agreed to retain the access point, but only for right turns in and out. City officials disagreed.

“At no time did we indicate that this was a design that the planning bureau would support or thought was a good design for this particular site,” said Geoffrey Knight, director of the city’s planning department.

Now that it’s passed the Planning Commission, the land development plan must be approved by City Council.

City Changes CDBG Process

Harrisburg plans to shake up the yearly process of doling out federal housing dollars under its “Annual Action Plan” unveiled last month.

Franchon Dickinson, director of the city’s Department of Building and Housing, told City Council that the administration wants to tighten requirements for Harrisburg-based social service agencies seeking funding under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

“If we want to effectuate change, we’re going to need to change the way we do business,” she said.

In recent years, council has doled out relatively small amounts of CDBG money to a dozen or so specific service agencies. HUD, however, recently has questioned the way Harrisburg has distributed some of those funds, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. Therefore, the city needs to make certain it strictly follows HUD guidelines, he said.

Specifically, agencies must show that a service is new or must demonstrate a “quantifiable increase in the level of service in the last 12 months,” said Dickinson. In addition, she said that HUD prefers to fund “senior enrichment programs or special needs populations.”

Moreover, the administration wants to change the funding structure for CDBG, which, this year, will total nearly $1.94 million, down from last year’s $2 million.

Under the current proposal, just $100,000 will be set aside for social service programming, down from about $240,000 last year. However, for facilities projects, agencies will be able to apply for money from a second bucket, one reserved for “public improvement/public facilities,” which totals $407,261, Dickinson said.

Papenfuse said that HUD didn’t like that, in the past, Harrisburg permitted facility improvements with money meant for “public service activities,” funds that were supposed be reserved for programming and other service activities.

The application process also is changing.

This year, the city will not determine recipients before submitting its action plan to HUD in mid-August. Specific recipients will be determined later through a request for proposals (RFP) process, which will be issued in late August, and applications will be scored to make sure they meet HUD guidelines, Papenfuse said.

“It’s a change in procedure, but it’s a good one,” he said. “It makes sure that every dollar we spend will be spent wisely.”

Other proposed CDBG allotments include:

$593,423 for debt service, as the city continues to pay down a federal loan it guaranteed under former Mayor Steve Reed for the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project
$387,670 for grant administration
$250,000 for homeowner rehabilitation
$200,000 for emergency demolition

In addition to the CDBG ordinance, council introduced ordinances for the HUD Emergency Solutions Grant Program for $166,243, which mostly goes to the Capital Area Coalition on Homelessness to fund emergency shelter and rehousing, and another for HUD’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program for $432,187, which funds affordable housing solutions.

Council is expected to take a final vote on the ordinances on Aug. 13.

City Buys Back MarketPlace Lots

A stalled building project may have a new lease on life, as the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority has bought back dozens of undeveloped lots in the city’s MarketPlace Townhomes neighborhood.

In late June, the authority purchased 58 lots from S&A Homes, re-acquiring the Midtown properties it had given to the State College-based developer almost 14 years before.

“The Redevelopment Authority had to take back the properties because S&A was not going to develop them,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “The Redevelopment Authority is now looking for a [development] partner for those lots.”

In the 1970s, the authority began acquiring parcels just south of N. 6th and Reily streets, which eventually included the Zommit Cleaners site, an industrial property that required soil decontamination.

By 1998, 38 single-family homes had been built in the MarketPlace neighborhood, named for its proximity to the Broad Street Market. In late 2005, the authority sold most of its remaining inventory—71 lots—to S&A for $1 apiece in an area bounded by N. 6th, James, Reily and Sayford streets.

Over the next three years, S&A built 13 houses, but stopped when the financial crisis hit in 2008. No homes have been constructed since, leaving numerous grassy, overgrown lots.

Papenfuse said that he regards the re-acquisition as a first step in getting the project back on track. The authority is eager to receive proposals from qualified developers, he said.

“By taking them back, HRA can find a new development partner,” he said.

School Audit Called “Clear Indictment”

The state’s recently released financial audit of the Harrisburg school district is a “clear indictment” of the practices of the former school administration, according to the district’s receiver.

Receiver Janet Samuels released a statement last month declining comment on specific audit findings, but that acknowledged the report’s findings.

“In my capacity as the court appointed Receiver, I acknowledge receipt of the audit which is a clear indictment of the accounting and Human Resources practices of the former school district administration,” she said.

In March, the state Department of Education hired Johnstown-based Wessel & Co. to perform the audit following a series of costly errors by the district, including continuing to pay health benefits to former employees.

The report, released in early July, looked at a year-three period, July 2015 to June 2018, and discovered more than $3.8 million in unsupported and questionable costs, more than 100 ex-employees who continued to receive healthcare benefits and huge deficits in cafeteria operations that had to be covered by the general fund. Other shortcomings included personnel records rife with errors, a lack of financial oversight and controls and a profoundly unqualified business manager.

“I am not going to comment on any of the specifics of the audit findings other than the fact that the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit plans to fully analyze all of the issues raised in the audit and establish best practices for the school district. These audit findings further justify the necessity of my June 27, 2019 action partnering with the MCIU to operate the district and my personnel actions taken on that date,” Samuels concluded.

At the urging of the state Department of Education, a Dauphin County judge appointed Samuels as the district’s receiver on June. 17. She then dismissed most of the district’s leadership and contracted with MCIU to help lead the district for the next three years.

Churches Put on Market

If you’ve ever been in the market for an old, stately church in the Harrisburg area, your time has arrived.

The Susquehanna United Methodist Conference has listed six of its churches for sale, part of a plan to cut costs and consolidate congregations. The churches cover numerous neighborhoods around Harrisburg and range in price from $169,000 to $325,000.

“I’ve shown all of these churches a number of times already,” said realtor Bill Gladstone of the Bill Gladstone Group, part of Wormleysburg-based NAI CIR, which is listing the properties. “The demand for these churches has been very high.”

Late last year, the conference, facing dwindling membership in the immediate Harrisburg area, decided to dispose of 10 of its buildings, several dating back a century or more.

Since then, one of the churches, historic Grace United Methodist Church on State Street, voted to maintain its congregation, said Shawn Gilgore, the conference’s director of communications. Another church, Rockville UMC, has become affiliated with Linglestown UMC, with both buildings in use, he said.

Six of the remaining churches currently are for sale:

Camp Curtin Memorial Mitchell UMC, 2221 N. 6^th St.: $195,000
First United Methodist, 269 Boas St.: $169,000
Riverside Methodist Church, 3200 N. 3^rd St.: $325,000
St. Mark’s UMC, 3985 N. 2^nd St (Susquehanna Township): $325,000
Trinity Penbrook Church, 5 N. 25^th St.: $255,000
Grace Penbrook Church, 25 S. 28^th St.: $265,000

Another church, Derry Street UMC on Allison Hill in Harrisburg, soon will be listed for sale, Gladstone said.

The final church in the group, Twenty Ninth Street UMC in Harrisburg, is the new home of The Journey Church, a combined congregation of Twenty Ninth Street UMC and the former Riverside Methodist Church.

Exchange Student Families Needed

ASSE International Student Exchange Programs (ASSE) is looking for local families to host boys and girls between the ages of 15 to 18 from a variety of countries, including Norway, Denmark, Spain, Italy and Japan.

Students are eager to practice their English and experience American culture, as well as share their own culture and language.

ASSE students are academically selected into the program, and host families can choose their student from a wide variety of backgrounds, countries and personal interests. ASSE students have full health, accident and liability insurance, as well as pocket money for personal expenses.

To become a host family or to find out how to become involved with ASSE in your community, call the ASSE Eastern Regional Office at 1-800-677-2773 or visit www.host.asse.com.

So Noted

Camp Curtin Community Preschool has relocated to Trinity Church in Midtown and changed its name to Trinity Preschool: Part of the Camp Curtin Learning Community. The preschool had to relocate following the closing of Camp Curtin Mitchell Memorial UMC, according to the school.

FireHouse Restaurant closed abruptly last month, and the property was later put on the market for $1.2 million, including the real estate, business and liquor license. The FireHouse, located in the historic Hope Fire Station building in downtown Harrisburg, was most recently co-owned by Dave Guy, who bought it from founder Donny Brown almost six years ago.

Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra last month named Gloria Giambalvo as its new director of sales and marketing. She most recently served as HSO’s director of annual and corporate giving.

Harrisburg University last month promoted Duane Maun to chief operating officer. Maun will continue to hold his previous title, chief financial officer, as well, according to the university.

Harrisburg University last month broke ground on its new, 17-story mixed-use building at S. 3rd and Chestnut streets in downtown Harrisburg. The $135 million building will house academic space, a 197-room hotel and a restaurant. Construction is expected to take two years.

Home Slice Pizza will open at the Crossroads at Walden in September, according to developer Charter Homes & Neighborhoods. Home Slice, which replaces K. Marie & Co., is a venture by Matt Flinchbaugh, the owner of the longstanding Flinchy’s restaurant in Lower Allen Township.

Jump Street announced last month that it would cease operations after 40 years of operating as an arts-based nonprofit. Over the years, Jump Street organized many popular programs and fundraisers, including Derby Day and Artsfest. It originally formed in 1978 as the People’s Place before changing its name to Metro Arts and then Jump Street.

Orrstown Bank has named Thomas Brugger as its executive vice president and chief financial officer, according to the Swatara Township-based company. In this role, he will be responsible for Orrstown’s financial plans, policies and financial compliance. He last served as CFO of Sun National Bank.

Pavone Marketing Group last month announced that it had acquired two companies: Philadelphia-based Netplus and Mechanicsburg-based Phalanx Digital. Harrisburg-based Pavone said the acquisitions would help it expand its digital marketing capabilities.

Changing Hands

Adrian St., 2237: D. Rickard to M. Wise & C. Bowling, $68,500

Bellevue Rd., 1933: Federal National Mortgage Association to R. Grullon, $32,000

Berryhill St., 2038: O. Brown to Najia Bouslama Property LLC, $32,500

Briggs St., 219: D. Skerpon to P. Earl Jr. & S. Banks, $185,000

Buckthorn St., 319: W. Martin to KGD Holdings LLC, $30,000

Chestnut St., 2025: L. Profitt to L. Profitt, $63,000

Croyden Rd., 2981: Leonard J Dobson Family Limited Partnership to S. Washington, $99,900

Dauphin St., 646: H. Dobson to D. & S. White, $42,000

Derry St., 1200: R. Andrews to D. Mota & L. Rodriguez, $32,000

Derry St., 2129 & 2118 Shellis St.: D. Murphy to B. Smith, $34,000

Derry St., 2457: Lakeview Loan Servicing LLC to PA Deals LLC, $41,800

Derry St., 2532 & 2534: D. & L. Lentz to K. & R. Gupta, $135,000

Emerald St., 229: Federal National Mortgage Association to M. Temba, $71,500

Fulton St., 1710: W. Fletcher to R. Peacock, $130,000

Green St., 909: TKP Schoolhouse Associates LLC to Schoolhouse 1 Holdings LLC, $3,000,000

Green St., 1006: D. Theoifanis to C. Wehrman, $119,000

Green St., 1019: K. & J. Lowe to S. & S. Schalles, $209,900

Green St., 1532: M. Frater to C. Bashore, $120,000

Green St., 1834: WCI Partners LP to C. DeColongon & A. Batista, $120,000

Green St., 1924: G. O Loughlin to J. & C. Claybaugh, $225,000

Green St., 2034: D. & L. Riley to P. & P. Gellerman, $202,400

Harris St., 232: J. & M. Slaboda to K. & J. Gazsi, $171,500

Hamilton St., 214: M. & L. Zieger to S. McMinn & J. Emery, $173,500

Herr St., 317: R. & B. Gillette to S. Robinson & A. Berg, $159,500

Herr St., 1737: Lehman Investments LLC to CBS Property Holdings Company,
$121,000

Hoffman St., 3229: B. Foor to D & F Realty Holdings LP, $59,000

Holly St., 1823: D. & S. Fenton & Harrisburg Property MGMT Group to S. Cain, $43,000

Hunter St., 1537: P. & F. Kehler to D. Porter, $44,800

Jefferson St., 2922 & 2940: Richard Lutz Trust to 2940 Jefferson Street Associates LLC, $290,000

Kensington St., 2131: N. Clory to Y. Salifu, $67,000

Muench St., 238: WCI Partners LP to A. Fortune, $143,625

Muench St., 307: KDR Investments LLP to K. Boatman, $45,000

Muench St., 626: Sheaffer & Sheaffer Properties LLC to Buonarroti Trust, $35,000

N. 2nd St., 3217: N. & L. Swett to J. O Berry, $110,000

N. 3rd St., 910: Mussani and Company LP to Balfour Street Investments LLC, $150,000

N. 3rd St., 925: 921 Home LLC to WCI Partners LP, $1,025,000

N. 3rd St., 2311: T. & C. Rine to 1 Step at a Time Support Services, $124,900

N. 3rd St., 3113: J. & L. Kincaid to L. Ravenel, $135,000

N. 5th St., 1715: Kirsch & Burns LLC to M. Fuentes & R. Irizarry, $102,000

N. 5th St., 2424: A. Obrien to J. & P. Williams, $30,000

N. 5th St., 3141: Federal National Mortgage Association to R. & R. Villarreal, $83,000

N. 7th St., 2300: McNelis Gutter Cleaning Inc. to D & F Realty Holdings LP, $135,000

N. 17th St., 1206: J. & D. Wallace to Three Bridges Holdings LLC, $30,000

N. 18th St., 910: Members 1^st Federal Credit Union to Fowler Investments LLC, $60,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 214: A. Jain to M. Cheatum, $96,500

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 307: K. Russell to P. Gitnik & G. Svrcek, $115,000

N. Front St., 1601: North Front Associates LLC to BBHQ LLC, $420,000

N. Front St., 2405: Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers to A. Hartzler, $198,860

Paxton St., 1718: T. & L. Stuckley to Y. Bouchanyata, $33,100

Paxton St., 1728: S. Brown to F. Yanez, $45,000

Penn St., 1920: C. Clabaugh to T., M. & T. Sneidman, $174,900

Rolleston St., 1246: Bigfoot Properties LLC to M. Foreman, $36,900

S. 14th St., 1432: J. Tonsel to City of Harrisburg, $52,000

S. 18th St., 1213: L. Stewart to L. Whittaker, $113,000

S. 23rd St., 627: L. Vansickle & E. Klitch to E. Klitch, $30,000

S 24th St., 516: R. Carazas & H. Gonzalez to Y. Griffin, $80,000

S 27th St., 669: R. & T. Borne & E. Hower to D. Williams, $149,900

S. 27th St., 728: H. Alcantara to J. Martinez, $77,000

S. 27th St., 734: Seneca Leandro View LLC to B. McCann, $85,000

S. Front St., 625: Redheads Helping Property LLC to J. Chumley, $132,000

S. Front St., 707: A. Patton to C. & J. Pierre, $210,100

Swatara St., 2237: E & T Enterprises LLC to K. & A. Sawyers, $67,500

Sycamore St., 1831: C. Spickler to J. Spickler, $90,000

Verbeke St., 221: K. & J. Gazsi to A. Smoot & C. Hogue, $132,000

Walnut St., 1504: MKTK Properties to MA Ambashakti LLC, $30,000

Wayne St., 1413 & 1415 & 1410 Sycamore St.: H. Papandrea to R. & A. Ortiz, $65,000

Wayne St., 1516: V. White to H. Hargrove, $119,900

Woodbine St., 240: Summit & Vickroy Inc. to T. Evans, $38,500

Harrisburg property sales for June 2019, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

Salvation Army, Harristown team to “fill a backpack” for Harrisburg schoolchildren

July 15, 2019 | by Hanna Martin

The Salvation Army Harrisburg has set up a donation table in Strawberry Square.

Many students look forward to the start of a new school year, but buying supplies can place an extra burden on Harrisburg families already facing financial stress.

That’s why the Salvation Army Harrisburg, along with Harristown Enterprises, is reviving its “Christmas in July” fill-a-backpack initiative.

During lunchtime this week, the charity will be in Strawberry Square to collect donations of money and new school supplies.

Backpacks donated by Harristown and others then will be filled with the supplies before they are distributed to local children in need in early August.

“We’re hoping for great things again this year,” said Cindy Minnich, the special events and communications coordinator of the Salvation Army Harrisburg.

Through the initiative, which is in its eighth year, families in need can apply to receive backpacks for children in elementary school through high school. This year, the Salvation Army hopes to fill at least 120 to 150 backpacks.

Harristown is donating 50 of the backpacks.

“Harristown and Strawberry Square are delighted to support the Christmas in July event with the Salvation Army this week in the atrium,” said Harristown CEO Brad Jones.

Minnich said that it costs about $40 to fill a backpack.

“People don’t realize that when they go shopping, but based on the list that the Harrisburg School District has given us, it costs that much,” she said.

Last year, about 150 children received backpacks full of supplies. However, the Salvation Army would like to serve even more students in need.

“When our application appointments [to receive backpacks] go live, they fill up in about three hours, and we have waiting lists,” Minnich said.

The Salvation Army asks for the following supplies:

1-subject spiral notebooks
Pencil sharpeners (small)
Wooden pencils
Highlighters
Pencil pouches (3-hole-punch)
Erasers (one pack of pencil toppers or two regular)
Boxes of crayons, colored pencils and markers
12-inch rulers
Glue sticks
2-pocket POLY folders
Packs of wide-ruled notebook paper
Binders (1.5 to 2 inch)
Post-it-notes
Wide-ruled index cards
Dry erase markers (black and blue)

“We’re not quite meeting the need that’s out there, but we hope to get closer and closer each year,” Minnich said.

The Salvation Army will be in the Strawberry Square atrium from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Friday, July 19. Donations in cash, check and charge are accepted, as well as donations of new supplies. Donations can also be dropped off at 1122 Green St., Harrisburg. To donate supplies, visit https://bit.ly/SuppliesHBG or the donations page at https://bit.ly/DonateHBG.

The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

July 5, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district receiver Dr. Janet Samuels with Dr. John George of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit

It may have been a holiday-shortened week, but it was still long on news around Harrisburg. Here are some local stories and features that you may have missed amidst the barbecues and big booms.

Harrisburg City Council members expected a long summer break, but now they’ll need to return to city hall next week because of delays in the annual process of doling out federal housing grant money. What’s the holdup? Click here to find out.

Harrisburg’s affordable housing crunch is a problem that won’t be fixed overnight. However, our editor has some thoughts on what may help.

Harrisburg school district receiver Dr. Janet Samuels introduced Dr. John George, who will head up her recovery team for the next three years. Oh, and a bunch of computers and essential data have gone missing. Click here for all the details.

Independence Day fireworks went off with a bang, despite the threat of rain. Read our feature story on the best place to witness them in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania Department of Education consultants completed their financial audit of the Harrisburg school district, issuing a damning report that prompted responses both from the school receiver and from our editor.

Sara Bozich looked beyond the July 4 holiday to offer up some great ideas for going out and having fun for the entire long(ish) weekend.

TheBurg’s music columnist has fests and folkies in focus this month. Check out all her recommendations for July.

Two-way 2^nd Street is a step closer to reality, as Harrisburg plans to offer two design plans at a public meeting on July 18. Click here for the details.

“Where I Live,” a book by Harrisburg writer and educator Debra Hervitz, teaches local children exactly where they stand in the state, the country, the universe.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events? If not, subscribe here!

School receiver calls financial audit “clear indictment” of former administration practices

July 4, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district receiver Janet Samuels introduced John George, executive director of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, earlier this week.

Receiver Janet Samuels released a statement on Thursday declining comment on specific audit findings, but that acknowledged the report’s findings.

The report, released earlier this week, looked at a year-three period, July 2015 to June 2018, and discovered more than $3.8 million in unsupported and questionable costs, more than 100 ex-employees who continued to receive healthcare benefits and huge deficits in cafeteria operations that had to be covered by the general fund. Other shortcomings included personnel records rife with errors, a lack of financial oversight and controls and a profoundly unqualified business manager.

At the urging of the state Department of Education, a Dauphin County judge appointed Samuels as the district’s receiver on June. 17.

Under her direction, the district dismissed former Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and much of the top school district leadership. It then contracted with MCIU, one of 29 intermediate units throughout Pennsylvania that offer educational services to local school districts, to head up the district’s leadership team under the three-year receivership.

Read the full audit report: Harrisburg City SD – AUP and Consulting Report 2016-2018

Burg View: Cursed City

July 3, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district receiver Dr. Janet Samuels with Dr. John George, the district’s newly hired financial recovery plan service director.

In his famous book, “On the Road,” author Jack Kerouac, having spent a night on a bench in the train station and then run out of town, famously decried Harrisburg as, “Cursed city!”

That thought beat through my brain as I read the latest missive to the cursed— “Harrisburg City School District: Agreed Upon Procedures and Technical Consulting Report”—otherwise known as the state Department of Education’s financial audit, which was released today.

For the past decade, the city of Harrisburg has been pulling itself out of the financial crater following former Mayor Steve Reed’s 28 years in office. And now this.

But at least Reed got maybe $500 million of value from the $1 billion in debt he piled onto the city’s credit card. A terrible return, for sure, but it’s hard to discern what exactly Harrisburg and its children got from nine years of Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and her crew.

Oh, actually, it’s not. It’s in the report:

Over $3.8 million in “questioned costs and unsupported expenditures”
The cost of health benefits inappropriately continued to more than 100 terminated employees
A quickly disappearing general fund balance
A lack of financial oversight and controls
An acting business manager utterly unqualified for his job
Cafeteria operations running enormous deficits
An uncertified school nurse who provided students with medical services
Frequent overpayment of contractors
Rampant errors in personnel records
A “history of inadequate ‘Tone at the Top’ and poor ethical values”

I could go on and on, but perhaps you should just read the report by the consultant, Wessel & Co., for yourself. Harrisburg City SD – AUP and Consulting Report 2016-2018

This, of course, is just the latest horrible district news, building upon years of poor student achievement, large and small scandals, a lack of transparency and accountability, and, now, missing computers and financial data.

Sigh.

In 2011, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania placed the city government into receivership, which, though we didn’t know it at the time, ended up being the first step in restoring Harrisburg to relative financial health.

In comparison, the school district’s fiscal situation, while very bad, is actually not as terrible as the city’s was—to the extent that “not bankrupt” is an improvement.

Like the city, though, the district will need to rebuild its top leadership, its financial and management systems and the public confidence—no small order. Of course, it has the extra responsibility of providing a decent education for Harrisburg’s children, which is supposed to be its core mission.

In 2014, Harrisburg emerged from state receivership still shaky, but it allowed the city to set the stage for more responsible leadership, which, thankfully, arrived. Here’s hoping that, after a three-year receivership, we’ll be able to say the same for the Harrisburg school district—that it pushed reset, stabilized and rebounded.

Then, perhaps finally and forever, Harrisburg can shake off Kerouac’s term, “cursed city.”

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Harrisburg school district finances in shambles, computers missing, as recovery team begins work

July 2, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Dr. John George speaks to the press as Harrisburg school district receiver Dr. Janet Samuels looks on.

The Harrisburg school district recovery team needs to reconstruct much of the district’s key financial data, as critical financial records have gone missing and existing data can’t be trusted, officials said today.

Dr. John J. George, the financial recovery plan service director, said that numerous computers containing key financial data are missing from the district’s financial office. In addition, those records were not backed up, as they should have been, resulting in substantial information gaps, he said.

“I know that the records are missing,” said George, following a press conference that introduced key members of receiver Dr. Janet Samuels’ new leadership team. “I don’t know why they’re missing or how they’re missing.”

The missing computers were only discovered yesterday, the first day on the job for the team, George said. Samuels dismissed the district’s top officials, including former Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney, effective Sunday, June 30.

George declined to say whether law enforcement had been contacted, nor would he say exactly what types of records are missing, other than that they are “certain key financial records.”

But he did say that the missing records pose a significant problem trying to understand the district’s current financial state.

“These are financial records that are important to the operation of the Harrisburg school district and that seem to be no longer there,” said George, who is the executive director of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, one of 29 “intermediate units” that offer educational services to local school districts.

The Harrisburg school district uses a web-based financial management software system called eFinance. However, the missing records also were not included in that system, George said.

Moreover, George said that he had little confidence in the accuracy of the data that is in the system.

“We have to rebuild the financial system immediately,” he said. “Right now, we have little confidence in any of the dollar figures available to us. That’s not a good position to be in.”

George said that his team will need to go through the district’s paperwork, “piece by piece and redo those systems.” He estimated that about 10,000 account codes will need to be examined.

“So, we have to go through account code by account code and make sure that expenditures are being properly coded and revenue is being properly recorded so that we have a baseline,” he said. “Our initial analysis, and we’re 24 hours into this right now, is that there are already significant errors in the accounting procedures.”

Under Samuels, the Harrisburg district has entered into a three-year contract with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU) to provide a host of services to the district.

For the most part, team members are replacing the former top district administrators, including the superintendent, the business manager and the human resources manager. Samuels said that the $1.4 million contract with MCIU is $600,000 less than the district was paying the in-house personnel who held those jobs.

Samuels today said that she decided to hire MCIU because of her past experience with George. She credits him for helping to stabilize the finances and improve the operations of the Reading School District.

“This district deserves highly competent, highly credentialed and qualified individuals, and that is exactly what exists within Dr. George,” she said.

George will remain with MCIU and will not be compensated by the Harrisburg district. Chris Celmer, the assistant superintendent for the Reading district, will lead the team on a daily basis as Harrisburg’s chief operating officer.

Like George, Samuels described the current state of the district financially and operationally as woeful.

“Very intentionally, it was looking at some of the failures here in the school district, some of the mismanagement that has taken place over a period of time here in the school district and really determining and deciding what could be done about it,” she said. “The time is now, and we look forward to making a difference.”

George said that, besides the financial aspect, the recovery team will assess the quality of personnel and strive for academic progress.

“It’s going to take time,” he said. “Our contract is for three years. I believe that we can make systemic change in three years.”

“We have no more time to waste,” Samuels said.

The Week that Was: A summary of news and features around Harrisburg

June 28, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg school district Receiver Janet Samuels speaks to the press.

The weekend is upon us once again, but it can’t start until we sum up another heavy workweek of news around Harrisburg.

“Art of the State” opened at the State Museum of Pennsylvania, giving our art reviewer a chance to check out the annual juried exhibit dedicated to PA artists. Also, find out who won the awards.

Bethesda Mission received Harrisburg City Council approval for its proposal to demolish the historic Shamrock Fire Station and build a new addition to its community center on Herr Street. Click here for the details.

Capital Region Water unveiled its plan to begin imposing a stormwater fee for system upgrades and greening initiatives. CRW officials stressed its necessity, but not everyone was happy about it. For all the details, click here and here.

D&H Distributing is making a major commitment to help out our region’s children. Find out what this company, one of our area’s largest yet little known, is up to. Click here for the details.

Harrisburg swore in nine new police officers and gave commendations for bravery to both officers and civilians. Separately, a city hall ceremony honored Capt. Gabriel Olivera, a long-time officer who is retiring from the force.

Harrisburg School District again offered a bounty of news, as the district’s new court-appointed receiver cleaned house of the old administration, including the embattled superintendent, and announced that she would bring in a new team. Our editor added his own commentary.

Harrisburg University has attracted students from all over the world to attend its annual AI Bootcamp. Click here for the details.

July 4 Food Truck Festival and Fireworks will return for another year on Thursday. We have all the patriotic details from the mayor’s announcement.

Keyzus was our featured musician for the week as we wrapped up our series in honor of African American Music Appreciation Month.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman opened the pool at his Fort Indiantown Gap mansion to groups and organizations, and Harrisburg schoolchildren were the first ones to make use of it.

Rockhill Trolley Museum is a nice day trip to view (and ride in) historic trolleys from around central PA, says our writer.

Rock climbing has become a popular sport in recent years, and there are numerous walls to scale around the Harrisburg area. Click here to read our feature story.

Sara Bozich punches your ticket for a fun weekend with her weekly roundup of things to do around the Harrisburg area.

TheBurg distributed our July issue to more than 500 locations in seven counties around central PA and posted all the content to our website. This month, we have a focus on pets, in addition to our usual wealth of community news and features.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Harrisburg a $300,000 grant to help clean up old, polluted industrial sites known as brownfields. Click here for the details.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events? If not, subscribe here!

Burg Blog: Turn the Page

June 28, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Dr. Janet Samuels, the Harrisburg school district’s receiver, second from left, listens to a question during last night’s meeting.

Last night, the Harrisburg school district’s newly appointed receiver showed that she wasn’t messing around.

Dr. Janet Samuels fired most of the district’s top leadership, including the superintendent, the solicitor, the business manager and the high school principal.

In a show of force, she ripped out the old system by the roots and is bringing in a team of turnaround experts, who will largely run the district for the next three years.

In response to the news, several area social media pages broke out in what can only be described as delight.

And that, to me, tells the truest story of what has become of the Harrisburg school district.

Sure, residents aren’t happy about the district’s academic performance, which remains subpar, or by a second straight year of tax hikes, approved last night.

But, more than anything, Harrisburg residents generally welcomed the extreme solution of state receivership and, now, the wholesale replacement of the district’s leadership, because they felt powerless, with no other recourse.

They had lost all confidence in the district’s administrators to do almost anything competently or to make decisions that didn’t seem profoundly self-serving.

That’s the real reason why, last month, Harrisburg voters did an alt-control-delete on the school board, throwing out all the incumbents on the ballot in favor of candidates who promised transparency, accountability and competence.

I found it striking that, during the many debates preceding the school board election, the challenging candidates talked about openness, character and capability at least as much as curriculum and achievement. Taxes almost never came up, either from the moderator or from the floor.

Residents were looking to be saved from a district leadership that, to them, had spun out of control—that couldn’t seem to do anything right, that didn’t seem to care, that appeared devoted primarily to its own preservation and that wasn’t being held accountable by a supine majority on the school board.

That’s why Harrisburg voters flipped the board and why they then pleaded for the state to take over. It seemed a radical solution, but seemingly the only way to force change.

In fact, the wisdom of the voters was on display last night, when two board members who supported the old regime petulantly stomped out halfway through the meeting—loudly, dramatically departing before Samuels unveiled the district’s new direction to the public.

So—here’s to a new beginning for the Harrisburg school district.

May last night’s meeting be the first step towards transparency (no more abuse of executive sessions), competence (no more hiring debacles and budget shocks), civility (no more arrogance and disrespect) and accountability (no more excuses). And, please, please, no more drama.

To her credit, Samuels last night took a big step in the right direction, striking a respectful and open tone throughout the meeting.

Perhaps, now, we can get back to focusing like a laser on caring for and educating Harrisburg’s children, which should be the only priority of the public school system.

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

June News Digest

June 28, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

June 2019 News Digest

Receiver Named for Harrisburg Schools

A Dauphin County judge last month appointed Dr. Janet Samuels as receiver for the Harrisburg school district, giving her broad authority to run the district for the next three years.

Judge William Tully issued an order that Samuels serve as receiver, a three-year appointment requested by the state Department of Education. Samuels has served as the district’s state-appointed chief recovery officer since last year.

In his “Memorandum Opinion,” Judge Tully outlined how the district has failed to meet the academic objectives outlined in the 2013 recovery plan and the 2016 amended plan, thus necessitating the receivership. The district fell far short on a number of measures, including graduation rates and standardized test scores, the opinion states.

The opinion further faulted the school board for “failing to comply with the directives issued by the CRO.”

With her appointment, Samuels now is widely empowered to run the district, assuming the roles of both the CRO and the school board. The one power she explicitly lacks is the ability to levy and raise taxes, which remains with the elected school board.

The order came on the same day that the Harrisburg school district dropped its opposition to receivership. In a court hearing, district Solicitor James Ellison told Tully that the district would not fight receivership, even though he had issued a point-by-point refutation of the state’s case only days before.

Furthermore, Ellison said that the district administration would fully cooperate with the receiver, who is assuming much of the authority of Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and the elected school board.

I-83 Study Approved

A split Harrisburg City Council last month approved hiring an outside consultant to study the proposed expansion of I-83, with an eye towards possibly slimming down the project.

Council voted 5-2 to spend $72,500 to hire Harrisburg-based Kittelson & Associates to conduct a traffic and community impact study of the current state proposal to double the number of lanes running through the city.

The study would review PennDOT’s widening plan, which envisions as many as 12 lanes and new interchanges, and determine whether alternatives exist to reduce the project’s footprint and the impact on the community.

Before the vote, Councilman Westburn Majors said that the city had received a letter from PennDOT stating that it would take into consideration Kittelson’s findings.

“It looks like they’re open to further analysis,” Majors said following the meeting. “They trust Kittelson to be a straight shooter with them.”

At a prior work session, several council members requested such a letter prior to the vote today.

The letter wasn’t enough to sway council President Wanda Williams, who maintained her opposition from a prior meeting. Before voting no, she reiterated that she believed that the expenditure was a waste—that it ultimately wouldn’t change PennDOT’s plans and that the money would be better used elsewhere.

“I don’t think that the city of Harrisburg should be committing $72,000 when I have potholes all up and down my streets and my pools haven’t opened yet,” she said.

The city plans to pay for the study from its large fund balance, Mayor Eric Papenfuse said previously.

Harrisburg, Steelton Enter Trash Agreement

Harrisburg will begin providing sanitation services to Steelton this month, as the city has agreed to begin trash collection in the neighboring borough.

Harrisburg City Council unanimously voted to enter into an intergovernmental agreement so that the city will begin picking up Steelton’s residential trash and recyclables starting the week of July 1.

Steelton’s council approved the same agreement last month.

“This is a really exciting and positive development for the city of Harrisburg and the borough of Steelton,” said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

Borough Manager Doug Brown said that Steelton wanted to make the change because of residents’ dissatisfaction with the service provided by long-time hauler Republic Services, as well as a proposed price increase by the company.

“It was significantly more money,” Brown said. “That, plus the problematic service we were getting.”

Therefore, Steelton had the idea of approaching Harrisburg to see if the city had the interest and ability to take on its trash removal.

Harrisburg Public Works Director Aaron Johnson described the arrangement as “all positive.” Steelton trash is picked up on Wednesdays, the one day when Harrisburg has enough spare capacity to handle the borough’s 2,500 residential customers, Johnson said.

The agreement calls only for residential, not commercial, trash pickup, which is handled privately in Steelton.

Papenfuse said that Harrisburg does not expect to have to add any personnel or equipment to handle Steelton’s trash because Wednesday has been a slow day for the city’s sanitation workforce.

Under the agreement, Steelton households will pay Harrisburg $25 a month for pickup, or $300 per year. Residents now pay Republic $24.45 a month, but that price would have increased by $13 to $15 a month under the company’s renewal proposal, Brown said.

Papenfuse also emphasized the turnabout from several years ago, when, under the “Harrisburg Strong” financial recovery plan, the city almost privatized its trash pickup to Republic Services. City Council pushed back on the deal brokered by then-Mayor Linda Thompson, and sanitation remained a city-provided service.

Notably, the sanitation charge for Steelton residents will be less than that for Harrisburg residents, who receive a monthly sanitation bill of $32.34. The difference, Papenfuse told council, is due to the vastly different amounts that the two municipalities pay for refuse disposal at the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA) facility in south Harrisburg.

Steelton pays a “tipping fee” of $85 per ton, while Harrisburg, due to the terms of its agreement with LCSWMA that helped resolve its financial crisis, pays $195 per ton.

The agreement reached between Harrisburg and Steelton is only a temporary measure that runs through Dec. 31. Both municipalities will need to hammer out a longer-term deal in the fall.

Council members said they were pleased with the agreement, both because it represented an efficient use of the city’s resources and because it offered a rare example of cooperation and shared services between local governments.

“It seems like a no brainer,” said Councilwoman Danielle Bowers. “I hope this is the first of many cooperation agreements between us and neighboring municipalities.”

Monument Podium Unveiled

A nonprofit group last month unveiled the first part of a monument slated to be erected near the state Capitol’s Irvis office building in June 2020.

The monument, titled “A Gathering at the Crossroads,” depicts four 19th-century figures from Harrisburg history gathered around a speaker’s podium—the part of the monument that has been completed.

Organizer Lenwood Sloan said that the monument is meant to serve a dual purpose: honor both the city’s long-lost “Old 8th Ward” behind the state Capitol and honor the 15th and 19th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed voting rights for African Americans and for women, respectively.

Sloan and others are now raising money to complete the monument, which will feature life-sized figures of civil rights activist William Howard Day, Harrisburg native, journalist and lawyer Thomas Morris Chester, musician and restaurateur Jacob T. Compton and abolitionist and suffragist Francis Ellen Walker Harper.

The podium is on display in Strawberry Square until Labor Day weekend.

Home Prices Continue Rise

Housing prices continued their long rise in the Harrisburg area in May, as sales slipped a bit from last year.

For the month, the median sales price in the three-county area jumped by 12.4 percent to $195,000, while the number of homes sold dipped by 3 percent to 644 units compared to May 2018, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR).

Dauphin County experienced strong price growth, with the median sales price jumping to $180,000 from $151,000 in the year-ago period, while units sold dropped slightly to 305 from 316, said GHAR.

In Cumberland County, the median price increased to $215,000 from $200,000, and the number of housing units sold dropped slightly to 303 from 313, stated GHAR. Perry County saw a drop in the median sales price, to $151,900 from $170,000 in May 2018, while sales increased by one to 36 units.

So Noted

Harrisburg City Council last month approved the appointment of David Baker as the city’s new director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities by a 5-2 vote. It also voted against the appointment of Franchon Beeks as the city’s new director of Housing and Development by a 4-3 vote.

Harrisburg University received the final city approval last month to build a 17-story, mixed-used building downtown at S. 3rd and Chestnut streets. Harrisburg City Council voted unanimously for the project, which includes an academic tower, a hotel and a restaurant. HU expects to break ground on the project in August, according to university President Eric Darr.

Momin Bhatti was named last month as the communications manager for Harrisburg. Bhatti was promoted after serving as director of WHBG 20, the city’s cable news station.

In Memoriam

Morton Spector, a long-time community leader in Harrisburg, died in late May at Homeland Center. Originally from Williamsport, Spector was a long an executive with D&H Distributing Co. before co-founding Design House Kitchens & Appliances. Spector was active in many area organizations, including Boys & Girls Club of Harrisburg, Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg Council of the National Jewish Fund, Harrisburg Public Schools Foundation, the Jewish Community Center and the Homeland Center, among others. He received numerous awards and accolades throughout his life. Memorial contributions may be made to any of the following: The Alyce and Morton Spector Scholarship Fund, c/o Don Raiger, Director of Advancement Services, Lebanon Valley College, 101 N. College Ave., Annville, Pa., 17003; The Jewish Home, c/o Marianne Hobart, Comptroller, The Campus of the Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg, 4000 Linglestown Rd., Harrisburg, Pa., 17112; and The Silver Academy c/o Samara Sofian, Director of Development, The Silver Academy, 3301 N. Front Street Harrisburg, Pa., 17110.

Changing Hands

Antoine St., 528: A. Williams to K. Loobey & M. Canoy, $86,000

Berryhill St., 2208: Deutsche Bank National Trust Company Trustee Specialized Loan Servicing LLC to W & J Associates LLC, $32,500

Bigelow Dr., 33: V. Rodall & K. Smith to M. Murphy & G. Neff, $40,100

Boas St., 228: R. Shokes Jr. to E. Miller, $218,000

Boas St., 429: R. King to B. & A. Malia, $185,000

Boas St., 1939: LSF9 Master Participation Trust to I. Hewston, $78,900

Chestnut St., 1928: N. Doan to TPH Asset Management LLC, $39,000

Chestnut St., 1936: N. Doan to State West LLC, $45,000

Chestnut St., 2025: Cama Sidra FBO Edward Mitrovich IRA to L. Profitt, $67,900

Croyden Rd., 2778: D. Blumenthal to G. & M. Romero, $64,000

Derry St., 1439: D & F Holdings LP to K & F Property Investments LLC, $30,000

Derry St., 1934 & 1936: T. & S. Miller to Newport Petroleum Inc., $425,000

Derry St., 2027: P. Taughinbaugh to E. Echevarria, $68,500

Derry St., 2424: J. & S. Boyle to H. Marca & F. Alvarez, $67,000

Derry St., 2528: D. Metellus & R. Costume to D. Logan, $86,000

Dunkle St., 554 & 556: Crist Holdings to D. Brooks, $48,000

Elder St., 780: Bartush Signs to D& F Hummel LP, $185,500

Girard St., 759: J. Robles & R. Cruz to J. Alexopoulos, $97,600

Green St., 1405: D. McLaughlin to A. Stouffer, $146,000

Green St., 1625: K. Biggi & M. Wall to BCRA Realty LLC, $120,000

Green St., 3113: B. Baker to M. Jarvis, $180,000

Green St., 3218: Paramount Home Solutions LLC to S. Roblyer, $150,000

Hillside Rd., 111: J. Hetzel to D. Dissingeer & J. Brown Jr., $86,100

Kensington St., 2315: PA Deals LLC to D. & K. Borelli, $69,900

Market St., 1510 & 1513: Unitarian Church of Harrisburg to Shalom Properties, $275,000

Market St., 2000: J. Goodfellow James LLC to D. Garcia, $124,000

Nagle St., 123: L. & C. Jerome to F. Rubinic, $163,900

North St., 255: Red Top Properties LLC to Trip Aces 255 LLC, $420,000

N. 2nd St., 215, 217 & 219: W. & G. Nichols to Drinq LLC, $1,033,050

N. 2nd St., 1435: A. Ciervo to AON LLC, $400,000

N. 2nd St., 1715: PA Deals LLC to 1715 N. 2nd Street LLC, $100,000

N. 3rd St., 1110: Bartlett, Traynor & London to 1110 HBG LLC, $5,000,000

N. 3rd St., 1713: C. Smith & K. Overly to J. Nuila, $155,000

N. 3rd St., 1834: A. Peart to T. Miller & L. Wood, $95,000

N. 3rd St., 1919 & 1929: R. & G. Bulatovic to North Third LLC, $260,000

N. 3rd St., 3132: D. Blumenthal to M. Dunbar, $67,000

N. 3rd St., 3134: G. & J. Trump to M. Cruz, $75,000

N. 4th St., 1717: G. & J. Hellmann to A. Craver, $165,000

N. 6th St., 1000: N&R Group LLC to Vice Capital LLC, $62,000

N. 6th St., 2126: J. & J. Kang to Nana S Food Service LLC, $101,556

N. 6th St., 2200: J. Frais to D & F Realty Holdings LP, $150,000

N. 7th St., 2964: J. Getman to D & F Holdings LP, $87,500

N. 15th St., 1304: M. & M. Walker to B. Shephard & N. Cook, $47,000

N. 15th St., 1307: I. Lahlou to B. Shephard & N. Cook, $45,000

N. 16th St., 1318: Federal National Mortgage Association to J. Alvarado, $35,000

N. 17th St., 27: Myers Homes LLC to R. Dunkle, R. Staff & D. Ward, $35,000

N. 17th St., 1120: T. Mundy to J. Baltimore, $30,500

N. 17th St., 1218: T. Backer to Z. Amador, $79,900

N. Front St., 1125: RMK Management Group LLC to D. Pedroza, $384,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 508: D. Markowitz to A. Breneman, $165,000

N. Front St., 2837, Unit 402: F. Clark to L. Fenton, $120,000

Penn St., 1315: J. & M. McAnulty to K. Cowden, $85,000

Penn St., 1608: D. Hooker & B. Lister to W. Gelgot & E. Schuchardt, $172,000

Penn St., 2220: B. Butler to Limitless Possibilities Inc., $30,000

Race St., 602: D. & S. White to C. Logue, $160,000

Reel St., 2722: Bigfoot Properties LLC to A. Britton, $37,000

Regina St., 1712: Dan A. Loos Trust & Carol Loos Trust to Ice Properties LLC, $41,500

Rolleston St., 1138: H. Cabrera to A. Hassan, $83,250

Rudy Rd., 2302: G. Brown to J. Chen, $167,000

South St., 225: T. & E. Eachus to C. & C. Clemans, $110,000

S. 12th St., 1407 & 1409: D. Seymore to Islamic Center Masjid Al Sabereen, $44,500

S. 12th St., 1523: N. Garwood to R. Rabuck & A. Mema, $48,000

S. 13th St., 340: Round Rock Investments LLC to McClellan Development Group LLC, $110,000

S. 13th St., 1488: S. Rose to J. Torres, $60,000

S. 20th St., 207: T. Poole to M. Drennon, $109,900

S. 21st St., 709: Seneca Leandro View LLC to J. Martin, $77,000

S. 21st St., 968: E. & E. Rose to Edwin L. Heim Co., $365,000

S. 25th St., 645: U S Bank NA Trustee to S W M Properties LLC, $58,500

S. 26th St., 615: 2013 Central PA Real Estate Fund LLC to K. & M. Blomerus, $112,900

S. River St., 304: Pear Tree Liv Revocable Trust & D. Ogden to M. Della & I. Smith, $52,500

Schuylkill St., 331: L. Diaz to Scarn LLC, $85,000

State St., 130: L. Milspaw Jr. & M. Beshore to 130 State St. LLC, $185,000

Susquehanna St., 1626: R. & S. Stark to H. Belmont III, $133,950

Susquehanna St., 2006: C. Frater to PD Estate Properties LLC, $30,000

Swatara St., 1516: J. Finney to G. Brown, $54,900

Verbeke St., 315: S. McDermott to S. Goel, $150,000

Washington St., 109: NP 1 Ventures LLC to M. Della & I. Smith, $90,000

Whitehall St., 1815: D. Trexler to 37 Estate LLC, $65,000

Zarker St., 1415: Centric Bank to TPH Asset Management LLC, $30,000

Harrisburg property sales for May 2019, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

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