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Sentinel Morning Update: Fuller lake to undergo safety inspection
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Despite rumors to the contrary, there are no plans to drain Fuller Lake.
“There is absolutely no truth to that,” said Terry Brady, a spokesman for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
There are, however, plans to complete a safety study.
The 1.7-acre lake in Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Cooke Township was the scene of a drowning in July, when a Bucks County teenager lost his life in the lake.
There were no lifeguards on duty at the 1.7-acre lake. The state eliminated lifeguards at all state park beaches except Presque Isle near Erie this year.
Since the Fuller drowning, DCNR has assigned a ranger to patrol the beach area exclusively from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days per week. They’ve also deployed environmental educators to give impromptu safety and outdoor recreation programs at beach swimming areas to increase public awareness.
In addition, state officials have agreed to do an engineering study of the lake, which will look at the shoreline, the drop-off and the bottom and will measure the depth, as well as how much water is coming in and going out of the spring-fed lake. “We’re looking at everything we can to improve safety,” Brady said. “It’s not unique. We do studies all the time.”
Even with the long-term study, which hasn’t yet been scheduled, Brady said there are no plans to draw down the lake. “The lake is a very valuable resource in that park,” he said. “There is a tremendous outpouring of support for people who like to swim in the lake.”
Along with the rest of this story from Sentinel reporter Andrea Ciccocioppo, here's what else to look for in today’s print and on-line editions:
Paving plans on hold as oil prices increase
With oil prices lurching forward, the cost of road materials is on the rise and that is forcing area municipalities to delay or postpone some paving projects.
Not only is the fuel for construction vehicles increasing, but the asphalt roads are paved with is made with petroleum products. Oil prices spiked above $119 a barrel Wednesday on fears that Tropical Storm Gustav may hit the Gulf Coast.
South Middleton Township delayed paving on the chance that the price of oil may decrease and provide some cost savings, explained township Manager Barbara Wilson.
All municipal roads must be built and bid to state Department of Transportation specifications.
“When we got our original bids in they appeared to be under-budget so we were thrilled about that,” Wilson said.
But when the township started the road paving it found that the original bid price had soared because of an “escalator clause” that adjusts the price to reflect the market cost of oil.
“So it looks like we went about $40,000 over on our $200,000 (paving) budget,” Wilson said. “$200,000 does not pave a lot of miles of road. We actually are holding one of our paving projects because at the end of July when the company that won the bid was ready to pave, the price of oil was extremely high and we just told them that we will revisit it again in the end of September.”
The township paved 1.25 miles this year and has another mile to pave, along Pine School Road, which is on hold.
Wilson said if the price of oil decreases by the end of next month, the township will pave the road.
Bosler focuses on rural life for reading campaign
This fall, a lot of area residents will be taking a vicarious trip to a more rural life.
If, that is, Linda Rice’s wish comes true.
“We want these to be gone,” says Rice, director of Bosler Memorial Library. “These” are a multitude of copies of “The Grace That Keeps This World,” the first novel of Pennsylvania author Tom Bailey and the newly announced focus of this year’s One Book, One Community regional reading campaign. “We want to have an empty shelf.”
That will take some doing: The library laid in more than 35 copies of the book, some reserved for book clubs, plus audio versions in tape and CD formats.
But, Rice says, interest has been strong.
“We’ve had people asking since the beginning of the summer, ‘What’s the book going to be this year?’” she says. “They really do enjoy the camaraderie.”
And, she says, the timing is great: Children are just finishing their summer reading programs, and now that people’s schedules are settling into their fall groove it’s time for adults to have a reading program.
Rice says she hasn’t read the book yet, but understands it is set at the edge of the Adirondacks,
“Subsistence and survival,” she says. “A family that lives off the land.”
There is other drama too, she says, with dysfunctional relationships in said family. The book, she says, should provide ample room for discussion, which is precisely the goal of the program.
Charges filed against Carlisle police chief’s son
Following more than a month of investigation, state police have filed charges against Timothy Corbin Margeson, 19, the son of Carlisle Police Chief Stephen Margeson, in connection with a July 23 crash.
Chief Margeson confirmed Wednesday that his son had been charged and arraigned the previous day, but did not comment specifically on the case.
“It’s not a Carlisle Police Department case,” he said, pointing out that state police have handled the investigation. Asked about rumors of a cover-up, he said he was not going to dignify those rumors with a response.
“Ask the state police that,” he said, adding that they did their job.
Carlisle Mayor Kirk Wilson, who has previously said called the chief an excellent law enforcement officer and pointed out that his son is an adult, said the charges do no affect Margeson’s job.
According to court documents filed with Cumberland County Magisterial District Judge Jessica Brewbaker, the crash happened about 4:13 a.m. on Garland Drive east of Walnut Bottom Road and officers found a 2004 Honda Element that had hit a rock wall and overturned.
No charges have been filed against the other two individuals who were reportedly in the car at the time of the crash: Michael A. Guido, 18, of Torrance, Calif., and Cleopatra A. Avery, 18, of Carlisle.
Morning Update
The Sentinel Morning Update runs every weekday by 8 a.m. to take a look at what we have planned for our newspaper and Web site. Feel free to offer any suggestions, questions or feedback to jpratt@cumberlink.com
