Since I recently hit 10,000 views on this blog, it got me to thinking about how this all started. Why I started to blog, and how I developed my skills over the past two years. It’s been a long journey. I started blogging back in 2010 in another blog, Debra Schell. After a few months…
Category: P&J Stories
2011 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,000 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people. Click here to…
Pinnical Health Family Care Center
Press And Journal photo- by Debra Schell
Pinnacle Health Family Care Center offers more examination rooms, a larger staff, and increased providers, which should mean shorter waiting times.
Oscar-Mayer Wienermobile visits the Middletown Public Library
Middletowners line up to get a glimpse of the inside of the Oscar-Mayer Weinemobile that stopped at the Middletown Public Library on Monday evening. The vessel traveled 600 miles from Indianapolis, to visit Central Pennsylvania, said driver Dylan (Dyl-icious) Hackbarth, of Appleton, Wisconsin. Middletowners listen as Kylie (Ketchup Kylie) Hodges, of Wisconsin, read a book…
Middletown- Surrender ends police standoff
A Middletown resident with guns in his home threatened suicide, prompting police to lock down his Race Street neighborhood Tuesday morning. A police negotiator convinced the man to give up, ending a 3-hour stalemate. By Debra Schell, Jim Lewis and Garry Lenton Press And Journal Staff A Middletown man who threatened to shoot himself kept…
‘We had to do something’
Middletown Area teachers band together to help flood victim By Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff Yvonne Helmer and her grandson Daunte Cruz came home after the flood to discover there was little left. “The first thing we saw was my grandson’s teddy bear,” Helmer said. The bear was lying in the smelly floodwaters that…
In Royalton, anger over boro’s response to flood
by Debra Schell / Press And Journal Staff : 10/7/2011 Video Photos Six years ago Amy Benner moved from Harrisburg to a home along the Swatara Creek in lower Royalton. Last month’s flood was her first disaster. The creek, which flows behind her home, filled the streets with water. “We were new to this. We…
Down, but not out
Press And Journal Photo by Debra Schell- James Snook kisses his daughter, Kerri Twaddell, Friday afternoon as they picked through what was left of his home on Few Avenue in Middletown. In flood’s wake, a mountain of trashed memories By Jim Lewis and Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff The floodwaters have receded, leaving its…
Royalton residents pick up the pieces after the flood
Please go to this link for more photos in this week’s edition of the Press And Journal!
Swept away
First an earthquake, then a hurricane, then, seemingly out of nowhere, a flood unseen since the days of Agnes, overtakes the region with devastating effect. In its wake, at least four dead, thousands forced from their homes, and damages yet to be calculated. By Jim Lewis, Debra Schell and Garry Lenton Press And Journal Staff…
Main St. Gym offers clothing, food for residents in need
by Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff : 9/12/2011 An abundance of clothing, personal care items, cleaning supplies, school supplies and food is available to Middletown flood victims through Friday, Sept. 16 at the Main St. Gym, according to Earl Bright, the school’s principal. The school will be open until 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12;…
Royalton Borough- Flooding, Sept. 9, 2011
For more information, see previous post, here. Click here for more photos!~
Continuing coverage of Flood hitting Middletown, Highspire, Royalton
Click here for more photos
Looking for, and finding, a place…On ‘the force’
Looking for, and finding, a place… On ‘the force’
Irene’s muted fury
Click on the photo to go to the story.
Highspire crash injures woman, 82
By Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff An 82-year-old Steelton woman suffered minor injuries in a two-car crash Thursday, Aug. 25, at Route 230 and Whitehouse Lane. Ruth Imbrognio was taken to Harrisburg Hospital for treatment, said Highspire Patrolman Jeff Potteiger. Police said Imbrognio’s vehicle hit a Toyota sedan driven by Becky McGriff, of Highspire….
For these seniors bowling is no handicap
By Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff June Keller remembers her highest score in bowling – a 285 rolled during a state bowling competition in Pittsburgh long, long ago. Keller, 89, had to give up bowling long ago, but now she has a chance to start the ball rolling again thanks to a new bowling…
Creating a buzzzzzzzz down on Main Street
By Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff Alex Westenberger is buzzing about his new experiment. Westenberger, 9, of Middletown, is the newest apiarist in town, and has hopes of breeding Northern Raised Pennsylvania queen bees by next year. Chris Jorich, owner of Jorich Funeral Home, in Middletown, and Westenburger’s grandfather, built the hives for his…
Tri’ing for a comeback
By Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff On a warm, sunny Sunday, earlier this month, Highspire Police officer Ron Weber competed in his first triathlon on City Island. He finished ninth in his age group. Most athletes would be satisfied with that. Not Weber. “I made a lot of mistakes my first time,” he said….
A new racket gets hearts pumping
Bob Gerlach won a silver medal for badminton in the 75-79 age bracket at the Pennsylvania Senior Games in York last year. Since then, the Annville resident has picked up a new sport – Pickle-ball. “I like it so far, but I need to play more, to get used to it,” he said after his…
Part-time cops are in high demand
From Royalton to Highspire, residents demand police protection, but small departments say it’s a struggle to keep officers on the beat. by Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff : 7/13/2011 Gloria Beers is fed up with the shortage of police officers in Royalton. “We need to have police on duty at night and on weekends,”…
Sinkhole discovered on Union Street in Middletown
by Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff : 6/22/2011 South Union Street in Middletown is closed between Emaus and Brown streets due to a sinkhole. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is on the scene investigating. The hole was discovered around noon. More photos HERE.
Walking the beat
In Highspire and Steelton private citizens are banding together to patrol their towns. Police say they appreciate the extra set of eyes. By Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff It was about 90 degrees last Wednesday evening but the high temperatures didn’t stop Joyce Ohler and Jacob Stayer from taking a walk through…
Fire damages Middletown home
by Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff : 5/25/2011 When the flames and smoke filled Tracy Kowalcyk’s kitchen just before 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 25, she grabbed her two dogs and ran out through a side door to call for help. Kowalcyk said she was cooking with grease and went to the basement for a…
Turning good cops into great cops
By Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff Highspire Patrolman Jimmy Brown wants to be a great police officer. He was one of 30 officers from departments in Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia who attended a two-day seminar in Swatara Twp. that focused on investigative techniques. Highspire, Middletown, and Steelton police departments all sent officers…
School councilor connects local students with kids across the world
Reid Elementary School fourth grade students chat with students from Honduras via Skype. By Debra Schell Press And Journal Staff Anna Smith is a councilor at Reid Elementary School who likes getting students involved with other cultures. Smith, a graduate of Mazapan School in Honduras, recently connected fourth-graders with students from her alma mater through…
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