By staff reports, October 3, 2008

Last updated: Friday, October 3, 2008 9:45 AM EDT

In 2009, the cultural kaleidoscope that is Carlisle’s Amani Festival won’t be happening.

“It was a difficult decision, because obviously the festival brings an element to the community which is pretty unique,” said Eliseo Rosario, who has long served as chairman of the festival’s board of directors.

The decision was not unanimous, Rosario said, but the consensus was that for long-term viability, organizers need to spend this year working on bringing some new volunteers on board.

“Folks are kind of on their last legs,” Rosario said, noting that most of those who have been running the festival for the last years have “a lot of miles on them.” As the festival’s success has increased, so has their workload, while at the same time, “The people resources have diminished.”

At this point, Rosario said, finding people to fill the positions “up and down the line” is actually harder than lining up the funds for the festival. And that, he said, may be part of the problem.

“The perception that because you’re doing so well, you don’t need help,” he said. And, he said, in the last few years other community events have also reported difficulty finding enough manpower.

Along with the rest of this story from Sentinel reporter Heather Stauffer, here's what else to look for in today’s print and on-line editions:

Officials worked to keep residents safe during incident

It’s not every day that more than 20 police officers and members of the Special Emergency Response Team are called to an incident in Cumberland County, but when it happens and when weapons are involved, it takes coordination to ensure the safety of emergency responders and residents.

On Tuesday night, a “heavily intoxicated” Kyle Edwards grabbed a pistol and a shotgun, threatened two men and began firing into the woods behind his South Middleton Township home.

Police were on the scene within 15 minutes of the call to county control, surrounded the home and remained on the scene for about nine hours until taking Edwards into custody.

No one was injured during the incident, which closed Old Town Road and prevented school buses from picking up students.

Parents notified

South Middleton School District officials were notified by police of the situation and the road closure.

Parents of students who live along the road were called by district officials and told that the buses would not be arriving as usual. “We called the individual parents involved,” said Dr. Patricia Sanker, South Middleton School District superintendent.

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National Apple Harvest Festival kicks off this weekend

With fall creeping in, the change in seasons brings apple fans from all over to and back to the annual National Apple Harvest Festival, once again set for the first two weekends in October.

For the 44th anniversary, the festival promises some of the old favorites and at least a few new ones.

One of the events premiering for the second weekend of the festival is a working sheep herding demonstration.

“The other thing that was new last year but that everyone talked about was the tractor square dance,” said organizer Dawn Bodenberg.

It’s an event set for the second weekend with farm equipment performing, as best farm equipment can, some of the style’s best moves.

Visitors of all ages can look forward to face painting, a petting zoo, an antique auto show and live blue grass, country and rock performances.

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Wildcat Foundation fall festival slated for Sunday

The Wildcat Foundation hopes to lure members of the community to the 7th annual fall festival on Sunday.

The festivities will run from noon to 5 p.m. at the Trails & Trees Environmental Center located behind the Mechanicsburg Middle School on South York Street.

The fall festival is “great food and fun for five hours” said Ken Edgar, a member of the Wildcat Foundation board of directors.

“It’s a great time to walk out and see the environmental center and enjoy nature,” Edgar said. “A lot of the local sports clubs and scholastic clubs have booths there. There will be air rides there for the younger kids. There will be plenty of food. It’s for everybody in the community, anybody can come. It’s a fund raiser for the Wildcat Foundation but it also gives school clubs the opportunity to make a little money.”

Music is provided by DJ Bill Runkle, a retired district science teacher, who also serves as master of ceremonies for special events during the day.

Edgar estimated the festival will attract between 4,000 and 5,000 attendees.

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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