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Sentinel Morning Update: Carlisle homeless center wins zoning approval
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Sentinel Morning Update: Carlisle homeless center wins zoning approval
-- A proposed day center for homeless people in Carlisle is one step closer to becoming a reality.
The borough zoning hearing board Thursday approved a request for a special exception made by the Housing Authority of Cumberland County.
The authority proposes to lease a vacant lot on its property at 60 W. Penn St. to Carlisle CARES, which operates an emergency shelter program.
The plan is to construct a 3,500-square-foot building designed to help the homeless transition out of their circumstances to become productive citizens.
Carlisle CARES Executive Director Shari Bellish said the next step is to submit land development plans for planning commission review before council could act on the proposal.
The day center would offer the homeless centralized case management along with a steady address and phone number for them to use in following up job and housing leads.
The building will have the capacity to handle up to 30 homeless individuals at a time and will be open seven days a week from about 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Bellish said.
Seven full-time and part-time staff would operate the center, which would have strict rules against loitering outside and require every client to pass a criminal background check, she added.
Center features may include lockers, a resource room, recreation room, laundry and kitchen facilities and a wellness room for ill clients to rest.
The zoning board decision came after two hours of testimony. None of the 20 people in the audience spoke out against the proposal.
Along with more of this story from Sentinel reporter Joe Cress, here's what else to look for in today’s print and on-line editions:
IAC union confirms new round of layoffs -- International Automotive Components Group has issued pink slips to 93 workers at its local facility.
The workers are scheduled to lose their jobs in the middle of September. This is the latest in a series of layoffs IAC has carried out at the 50 Spring Road location just outside of Carlisle.
Wilbur Ross, IAC chairman of the board and investment billionaire, hung up on a reporter seeking comment Thursday about the laid-off workers.
John Bailey Associates, IAC’s public relations firm, had referred all calls about the layoffs to Ross.
Doug Carey, president of UNITE-HERE Local 1739, said he is not optimistic about future of the facility.
“I think it will be closed,” Carey said. “In the last three years we’ve already lost probably about 350 jobs. One department they wiped out completely.”
He added that employees set to lose jobs in the layoff make an average hourly wage of $16.70.
“I don’t know where they’re (IAC) at exactly,” Carey said. “They’ve been trying to sell the building for a while now. That’s not a good sign.”
Flying Fortress experience gives reporter new appreciation for WWII veterans --
First and foremost, there was the noise -- the constant roar of four Wright Cyclone engines vibrating through the narrow metal tube.
Footing was tricky as I tried to adjust to each roll and pitch of Aluminum Overcast, a B-17 Flying Fortress.
Being tall, I had to hunker down as I made my way slow forward reaching for hand holds to keep myself steady.
First thing I came across were the two waist gunner positions. Normally open, they were covered over with Plexiglas.
Looking out, I could see the Harrisburg area roll beneath the silver wings of the vintage warbird.
A few more steps brought me around the ball turret and into the open air mid-section where the radio operator and navigator used to sit. Here the noise was even more intense along with the rocking of the plane.
It was hard to hear anything or anybody, but the view of the engines in full throttle was well worth it.
A World War II history buff, it was the opportunity of a life-time being in the fuselage of such a legendary aircraft. I was not going to let my fear of heights and past bouts with motion sickness stop me.
I’ve read plenty of books about the brave men who flew B-17s and their distant cousin, the B-24 Liberator. I’ve interviewed local veterans to collect their war stories for my own book I’m writing on the side.
But those are just words. Nothing more ... nothing less ... and they pale in comparison to experience.
My flight Thursday on a fully restored B-17 bomber, gave me a new appreciation for what World War II veterans must have gone through.
Saturation Olympics coverage will shine light on China -- By and large, shoppers at the Point at Carlisle Plaza Thursday were hesitating over the Olympic Games’ “Made in China” connection about as much as they do with their daily purchases.
Despite pervasive media attention to the venue, most shoppers said their decision to watch or not watch the Olympic events will have nothing to do with their personal feelings about China.
“I don’t like China, but it really doesn’t matter as long as they protect the athletes,” said Richard Cook, a Carlisle retiree.
Cook plans to watch the Olympics, as he does every year the games are held. Cook said he is particularly fond of the parallel bars, a gymnastic event.
Unfortunately for those potential viewers, however, the Beijing Olympics will receive saturation coverage, which likely will mean significant attention on the host country itself, said Simon Bronner, professor of American studies at Penn State University at Harrisburg.
In a high-tech society, these Olympics will be covered like never before, Bronner said, with Web sites, bloggers, iPhones and other media joining television in bringing the games to viewers worldwide.
NBC, its sister cable networks and the Web sites will broadcast more than 3,600 hours of Beijing Olympics coverage, almost triple the 1,210 hours from Athens and more than the past 12 Olympic Games put together.
