Massive Foreclosure Sale: 16 Office Buildings, $67M In Debt, Spanning 2 Counties

Locator map of the Harrisburg metro area in the south central part of the of . Red denotes the Harrisburg-Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area, and yellow denotes the Lebanon Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Harrisburg-Carlisle-Lebanon CSA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sixteen office buildings, $67 million in debt.

It is a sprawling real estate portfolio, one that stretches from Mechanicsburg in the west to Lower Paxton Township in the east. And its all being put up for sale to the highest bidder in October, dramatically enough on the steps of the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Harrisburg.

The foreclosure sale – one of the largest, if not the largest in the midstate’s recent history – comes after a year-long, largely uncontested civil case in federal court, between one of the nation’s largest banks and a real estate company which serves as proxy for other, largely unknown investors.

The buildings include sites in Rossmoyne Business Park in Upper Allen Township, Interstate Drive in Susquehanna Township, and along Flank Drive in Lower Paxton, home to dozens of private businesses and several state agencies, including PEMA.

Reads more: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/09/massive_foreclosure_scheduled.html#incart_m-rpt-2

Thousands Of Doses Of Potential Synthetic Drugs Seized From Mechanicsburg Shop

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Cumberland County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

More than a dozen people walked past the parked police cars Friday morning up to the door of the Magical Incense Shop that was guarded by police officers with a simple question:

“When’s the shop open?”

One of the men even tried to reach past Mechanicsburg Police Chief David Spotts to get to the door, Spotts said.

The downtown Mechanicsburg shop didn’t open Friday.  And Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed wants to keep the shop — which he alleges has been selling synthetic designer drugs for years — closed permanently.  Freed closed the store under a temporary injunction signed by Cumberland County Judge Albert Masland.  A hearing on the injunction will be held Tuesday, Freed said.

Read more: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/08/mechanicsburg_head_shop_shut_d_1.html#incart_m-rpt-2

Friday’s Feel Good Story – Good Samaritan Comes To Community Theater’s Aid

Here’s a great feel good story about the Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg.  The community theater was in jeopardy of closing their doors because a new furnace was needed.  A fundraiser was planned for August 5 at the Mechanicsburg Club to hopefully raise $2,000.

A local business man, Homer Hetrick, President of L.B. Smith Ford-Lincoln, read about the non-profit theater’s plight this morning and within a few hours the theater was depositing a $2,000 check to cover the cost of the furnace replacement!  This was a case of paying it forward by Mr. Hetrick, who has never even attended a play at the Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg.

Remco, Inc., of Mechanicsburg, will be doing the removal and installation of the new furnace at no charge!  Yet another good Samaritan!  The theater is getting a new Lennox furnace to replace the old furnace which was no longer safe to operate.

The fundraiser will still go on.  As with any non-profit, there is always a need for money.  In the theater’s case, a tree removal project moves to the top of the list!

Cumberland Valley School District Considers Larger Elementary Classroom Size

The Cumberland Valley School District is facing a $6.7 million budget shortfall for the 2011-2012 school year but is not considering redistricting or closing schools.  However, there are 17 teachers retiring who may not be replaced and that would lead to larger elementary class sizes.  Hiring nine new teachers would cost the school district $1 million and is part of a possible compromise plan to keep class sizes below a certain level.

The board does not want to increase taxes and is looking at all options to cut spending, including teacher and administrator wage freezes.  If teachers took a one year wage freeze it would save the district $1 million.  Teachers have not volunteered to do so at this time.  Administration wage freezes would save the district $177,000.  The board is also shelving a contract that would have given teachers 3.15 percent raises over the next four years.  The board will begin renegotiating with the teachers unions.

The Cumberland Valley School District is located on Harrisburg’s West Shore with the principal town being Mechanicsburg.  The district has about 7,800 students.  There are seven elementary schools, two middle schools, a high school and some administration buildings.  The district was recognized in 2007 for the number of students achieving high PSSA scores and having a relatively low per-pupil expenditure.  In 2011 Cumberland Valley was ranked 23rd out of Pennsylvania’s 498 school districts.