TodayWeekend update: Economic worries left at the gate at apple festival
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Elisabeth McGuin,5, of Bowie, Md., digs into a candy apple at the National Apple Harvest Festival at the South Mountain Fairgrounds in Adams County. (Karissa Zimmer/The Sentinel)
The only thing on Ed Gotwalt’s mind was making sweet and salty treats.
The owner of Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum wasn’t thinking about the government’s bailout plan, economic hardships or a falling stock market. He was too busy handing out caramel apple chips, roasted peanuts and “old-time” candy at the National Apple Harvest Festival in Arendtsville, Adams County on Saturday.
Running four stands tended to take up most of his time, and it appeared that many of his customers were equally unconcerned with national economic trends, easily dishing out a few dollars for a cored gala apple covered in caramel.
“For me, it’s always been said that in bad times, candy and things like it do better,” Gotwalt said.
Riding the financial rollercoaster
Area investors, educators and banking officials all echo the same advice about the nation’s current financial crisis — ride it out.
Ray Porter, a retired Army colonel from South Middleton Township, aggressively monitors the ups and downs of the world markets, making trades on a daily basis.
“I’m not personally worried, because I’ve seen this cycle a number of times,” the 63-year-old said Wednesday, citing the stock market crash of 1987 and dot-com bust in 2000-01.
Almost everyone is losing money right now, but it will turn around, he said. “There is a difference between losing money and being hurt.”
Open records law sheds light on government
A new law that makes government records presumed accessible by the public until proven otherwise goes into full effect on Jan. 1.
“This law has a philosophy. You’re either pro-open government or you’re not,” said Terry Mutchler, executive director of the state’s new Office of Open Records.
In February, Gov. Ed Rendell signed into law a complete overhaul of the Right to Know – or open records – law, which guarantees the public’s right to access and obtain copies of public records held by government agencies.
All municipalities must be compliant with the law by Jan. 1 and, when the law goes into effect, it will also cover all past documents and records, not just those created from 2009 forward.
Bright ideas flowing at Messiah
Students at Messiah College are using solar technology not only to create interesting projects but to work with the Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research and to help people around the world.
The college would like to see students not only well educated but caring for the community and the world, said spokeswoman Beth Lorow. Part of that is working toward sustainable energy.
Just last week the school unveiled its new Solar Scholars Pavilion, a covered area with a garden on the roof and a battery in a clear case to show visitors how the energy is stored after it’s captured by four nearby panels.
Everything that went into the pavilion itself came from donations of either money or materials, said Steve Frank, the engineering department staff member who advises the project.
The panels produce enough power to run two computer labs, just a drop in the bucket of the campus’s total electricity consumption, he said.
