Backyard news, 09.24.08

* Longtime Linglestown barber Ron Stine gets some press thanks to T.W. Burger of The Patriot-New.

* FiOS TV watch: It looks like Derry Twp. will be the first East Shore municipality to approve a cable TV franchise agreement with Verizon.

* Central Dauphin Area Basketball Association programs for boys and girls in grades K–12 (including private schools and home-schoolers) are now open for registration. CLICK HERE to register online.

* "Water… Water… EVERYWHERE!" screams a front-page headline in this week’s Paxton Herald. Annette Antoun, the paper’s publisher, reports that Centennial Acres residents are “terrified” that existing water runoff problems will be exasperated if McNaughton Homes gets approval to build 91 luxury homes on the slopes of Blue Mountain. Centennial Acres residents plan to file a lawsuit if McNaughton's proposal is not amended to provide a significant buffer of existing trees and vegetation between their development and the new homes, according to Antoun. She ends the article with this message for Francis McNaughton, the development company’s head: "Hey, Fran, pull back your plan, reconfigure it, and give these residents a break!"

After McNaughton met with residents in late August to hear their concerns about the housing project, company officials agreed to give the township more time to review the plan known as the Estates of Autumn Oaks. Earlier this month, McNaughton made a few changes to the plan but decided to stick with a 10-foot buffer between the two developments.

Lower Paxton Twp. supervisors need to vote on the plan no later than November 10. The township’s consulting engineering firm, HRG, has determined that the current plan meets all township requirements.