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Sentinel Morning Update: Family tailors sweaters for goats
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Misty walks around the pasture like any ordinary goat, eating grass and looking for a little attention from her people. But unlike most ordinary goats, Misty, a black and white LaMancha, pads through the pasture wearing a fuchsia sweater.
Misty and the other 12 goats owned by the Eberly family of Lower Frankford Township all wear sweaters. “They were shivering,” explained Cadi, 12.
“We didn’t even know they could (shiver),” said Erin, 14.
Cadi came up with the idea to warm the shivering goats by making them sweaters. “We get really emotional about our goats,” said the girls’ mother, Donna Eberly.
The girls, along with their sister, Naomi, 10, first thought of knitting or sewing sweaters for the goats, but then, they found a more immediate solution: “We thought of our old sweaters,” Cadi recalled.
They scoured all the closets in the house for old sweaters and sweatshirts and got to work. “You have to cut part of the sleeves off,” Cadi explained.
Once the sweaters were tailored, the girls entered the pasture and began dressing the goats. Each goat was given a sweater of a different color. “You can locate who’s who from the window,” Donna said.
Whether the sweaters are put on with the “front” of the sweater on the goat’s back or belly is determined by how the collar is made.
“Misty loved hers,” Naomi recalled. “She was waiting for it as the other goats were getting theirs.”
By the time the girls’ father returned home from work, all the goats were dressed. “I pulled in and saw the goats and thought, ‘Is that my sweater?’” recalled Norman Eberly. “Then I realized, ‘that is my sweater.’”
After about a month of wearing the sweaters, the goats are still sporting their outerwear. “I thought they’d all be ripped to shreds,” Norman said.
A few of the goats, like Misty, are on their second sweaters. One goat struggled to remove hers. “It was all ripped up, we had to throw it out,” Naomi said.
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:
Commissioners expect another look at jury commissioners elimination
Cumberland County Commissioner Gary Eichelberger expects the board of commissioners will take another crack at eliminating the county jury commissioners once the new legislative session begins in January.
“Hopefully we will gain support from our local representatives,” an optimistic Eichelberger said last week.
At a recent meeting with the legislative delegation, which included retiring state Rep. Jerry Nailor, R-88, and his replacement, Sheryl Delozier; Sen. Pat Vance, R-31; Rep. Will Gabig, R-199; Rep. Glen Grell, R-87; and staff for Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-89, Congressman Todd Platts, R-19, and Congressman Bill Shuster, R-9, the commissioners reiterated their position that getting rid of the jury commissioners “makes sense for Cumberland County.”
“We told them we would appreciate support,” Eichelberger said, citing previous backing from Nailor. “I sensed no real interest or sympathy for the county’s request, but I am hopeful we will convince someone to step forward and be willing to challenge the status quo.”
Democratic minority Commissioner Rick Rovegno has made an issue of this several times in the past and continues to support abolishing these positions. However, he is not so optimistic things will move forward in the short term.
“I don’t want to waste people’s time if legislators are not willing to act,” Rovegno said, noting this is just one of many ways he has thought of to reduce county costs.
Jury commissioners are in charge of preparing an annual “jury wheel” of names of qualified voters from which prospective jurors are drawn for the ensuing year. They are paid roughly $20,000 annually in salary and benefits, and the positions must be filled by a Republican and a Democrat.
Crowd tours Newville properties
A dreary, rainy Sunday failed to keep tourists away from the 2008 Christmas Town and County Homes tour, held in and around Newville.
“We’ve had a steady stream of people despite the rain,” said Sara Ann Arbegast, whose home on Creek Road was part of the tour.
The Arbegast farm includes a two-and-a-half story limestone home and five-bay barn considered one of the largest in the county.
The property was deeded to Peter Diller in 1790 and the house was the first meeting place of the Diller Mennonite congregation while their church was being built just a stone’s throw from the home.
“My family has owned this place since 1950,” Arbegast explained. The 130-acre property was a working “general” farm. “We had a little dairy, a few pigs, chickens, the whole traditional family farm of the 1950s,” Arbegast said.
“When I was little, I knew every inch of these fields,” Arbegast said. “This was a very good place to grow up.”
In the past 50 years, the home has seen many improvements over the years, including a utility room and garage addition, new back porch and some remodeling throughout.
Arbegast said she really didn’t have to do much to prepare for the tour, other than to “neaten it up.”
Proceeds from the home tour benefit the Big Spring Senior Center. Arbegast said she was asked to participate in this year’s tour. “It’s my civic duty,” she said. “It helps the senior center and it’s a good incentive to clean.”
Eight Newville-area properties were open Sunday.
Kathy and Conrad Pearson said they were thrilled to offer a look inside their arts and crafts lodge home in Green Ridge Village. “I felt honored that anyone would want to have us,” Kathy said. “We’re happy to share our home.”
Carlisle auto body shop moves back to Shippensburg
A shop specializing in auto body repairs and restoration work is back in the Shippensburg area after moving to Carlisle five years ago.
Owner Vinny Scalavino opened Carlisle Auto Body and Collision Inc. and Carlisle Customs and Classics at 2275 Ritner Highway in Shippensburg. The location is just a stone’s throw from the former site of East Coast Custom Auto Body, which Scalavino started in 1993 when he and his family moved to Shippensburg from New York.
“We’re in a garage right behind my residence, a red brick house opposite East Coast Truck Repair,” he said.
He moved his business to Carlisle in 2003 and changed the name to Carlisle Auto Body, but he moved back to Shippensburg earlier this year because of the changing economy.
“The industrial market changed in 1996, and we started doing more industrial work,” said Scalavino, noting that his new location in Carlisle was closer to his growing car show clientele.
His return to Shippensburg allowed him to merge his auto body and restoration businesses under one roof.
“We moved back to cut down on overhead,” Scalavino explained. “We moved to a smaller location ... (but) we’ll keep focused on collision repair and classic restoration. Bigger isn’t always better.”
Scalavino has three employees who help to serve the growing business.
“We have people who come to us for restoration from New York, New Jersey, Maryland,” he said. “We do insurance claims, and our work is guaranteed. We pride ourselves on the quality of our workmanship.”
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
