November 11, 1999 Press Releases

For Immediate Release
November 11, 1999 Press Releases

UCP Annual Gift Wrap Set for the Holiday Season
Camp Hill, PA – United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) will hold its annual gift-wrap at the Capital City Mall, and, new this year, at the Colonial Park Mall. The gift wrap booths open November 26 and remain open until Christmas Eve. Packages are wrapped for donations to support the program services offered by UCP. The annual event generally raises approximately $12,000.

Each year over 200 volunteers return to support the UCP gift-wrap event. "Volunteers come back year after year," said Marie T. Ledger, UCP’s Development Associate. "They say that the gift wrapping is fun and has become a part of their holiday tradition." With two locations, many volunteers will be needed. There are typically four 3-hour time slots for volunteers to sign up every day of the week. A wide variety of paper and ribbon is offered at both booths.

Vartan Enterprises Announces Downtown Plans
Harrisburg, PA – Vartan Enterprises, Inc. announced that they purchased Fitch’s Trading Post located at 230 North Third Street, Harrisburg, for the purpose of using it as a home for The Susquehanna Club.

The Susquehanna Club will be a private businessperson’s club and the core membership of The Tuesday Club will be invited to join the new club. John O. Vartan, Chairman of Vartan Enterprises, Inc., noted that the recent difficulties faced by The Tuesday Club necessitated its closing. Vartan said, "I believe a vibrant economy is important for the well-being of a community. Well-paying, meaningful jobs are created by private enterprise and it is important for the leaders of private enterprise to get together and communicate with government officials to make the region a better place for all of us."

The new Susquehanna Club will be open for lunch and dinner.

Family Literacy Center Opens in South Harrisburg
Harrisburg, PA – Mayor Stephen R. Reed was joined earlier this month by Harrisburg City Council Members, including Vera White-Reynolds, and community service officials from throughout the region for ribbon cutting ceremonies at the new Youth and Family Literacy Center at 1408 South 18th Street. The new community-outreach facility will offer a comprehensive program of youth and adult education programs for residents of the South Harrisburg area.

Reed said the new Youth and Family Literacy Center is a cooperative venture of the City of Harrisburg, The Mayor’s Commission on Literacy, Tri-County O.I.C., Harrisburg Housing Authority, Dauphin County Library System, and the Tri-County Community Action Commission. More than $5,000 was spent restoring the city-owned property, with all of the work performed by members of the Youth-works employment training program. Four full-time staff will be assigned to the Center, including coordinators for adult education, early childhood development, and home visitation.

The mayor said the Center will offer a wide array of programming services geared to both youth and adults. The Center’s Early Childhood Development program will run daily from 9am – 3pm.

Hoyts Cinemas Opens New Stadium Megaplex in Harrisburg
Boston, MA – Hoyts Cinemas Corporation, the largest theatre cinema in the Northeast, is proud to announce the opening of its newest state-of-the-art 14 screen Stadium Megaplex near Harrisburg. The new theatre is located off I-81 at Exit 24 on Caughey Drive in the Susquehanna Marketplace, Susquehanna Township.

Seating more than 2,500 people under one roof, Hoyts’ plush, high backed stadium-style seats are extra comfortable, with added legroom and equipped with cup individual cup holders. Rows are on an increasingly steeper incline, guaranteeing unobstructed sight lines.

The new complex will be equipped with the latest theatre technology, including Digital and Dolby Stereo sound systems, and will boast 11 concession stands and a café setting unique to Hoyts theatres.

The new Hoyts theatre will open Friday, November 19.

CAT Sets Dates for Last Public Forum on Transportation Alternatives
Harrisburg, PA – The recommended transportation/transit alternative that is anticipated to support the growth of the region into the year 2020 will be presented to the public for final comment on November 16 and 17, before being adopted by the Capital Area Transit (CAT) Board of Directors.

Dates, times, and locations for public meetings which are intended to attract Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg, Middletown, and Elizabethtown are November 16 from 12pm – 2pm at Strawberry Square and November 17 from 7pm –8:30pm at the Wal-Mart in Mechanicsburg.

The Transportation Investment Study being conducted has involved a detailed planning/engineering analysis of the initial priority transportation/transit corridor called Corridor One, an area spanning approximately 54 miles that runs from Carlisle to Lancaster via Harrisburg. Corridor One encompasses three counties and 130 municipalities. Projections indicate the corridor and surrounding areas will increase in population over the next 20 years by more than 100,000 people, causing significant traffic congestion and gridlock.

The transportation/transit alternatives that were included in the year-long study were such ideas as the expansion of highways, expansion of current bus services, and the developing of a rail system, among others.

"We truly hope that the community will attend these meetings and provide input," said Dick Miller, CAT chairman of the board. "After all, this decision will affect all of us."

Nationally Renowned Humorist to Open Captial Region Business Fair
Harrisburg, PA – C.W. Metcalf, a nationally renowned humorist and motivational speaker, will kick off the 1999 Capital Region Business Fair with his presentation, "Humor, Risk and Change" on November 17 at the State Farm Show Complex, Northwest Building.

Metcalf will present his remarks during a new opening exhibit — Break First for Breakfast — which offers guests a first look at the exhibits being displayed by more than 275 local and national businesses.

In his presentation, Metcalf will explore humor skills as a means of developing fluidity and creativity within high-pressure, changing environments.

Tickets for the Break First for Business opening event are $15 and can be reserved by calling the Chamber at: 213-5038.