The Gettysburg Times from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania • Page 1

BY ANNE AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) As stores prepare for hordes of Black Friday shoppers and mark down high-definition TVs and hot toys, also pushing deals on something more mundane necessities like socks and diapers. Toys Us, Walmart and clothing stores in malls are responding to tough economic times by luring people who are making it a more practical holiday this year. What should shoppers expect? Fewer sumptuous sweaters, $200 robotic toys and other flashy items. Everyday items like flannel shirts, blankets and underwear are the order of the day. They are designed to appeal to people like John La, a computer programmer from New York, who says focus on simpler things like gloves and sweaters after layoffs hit his company earlier this year.

am not going to he said. Toys Babies Us stores are armed with deals on jumbo packs of diapers and baby food for their 5 a.m. opening on Black Friday. Spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh expects shoppers will buy these staples not just for themselves but also as practical gifts. Black Friday promotions include $7 fleece jackets and $3 pajamas alongside 50-inch Sanyo plasma HDTVs for $598.

The promotional blitz at the start of the holiday shopping season has high stakes this year, both for retailers that have suffered through a year of sales declines and for the economy, which could use a lift from consumer spending. Thanksgiving also falls fairly late this year, meaning fewer shopping days. (See BASICS, Page A5) ADVERTISEIN THE TIMES Call: 717-334-1131 E-MAIL: WEB: www.gettysburgtimes.com Classifieds B10-B11 Comics B8 Crossword B10 Deaths A2 Horoscope B8 Lottery A3 Opinion A4 Sports B1-B4 INSIDE OV 26 29 HOPPING AYS TO HRISTMAS ODORI On Lincoln Square In Gettysburg Where the Magic Never Fades! Open Late Every Day Open Thanksgiving 11-6 985 ALTIMORE IKE ETTYSBURG 717-334-9227 www.thepikerestaurant.com OOPPEENNTTHHIISSTTHHAANNKKSSGGIIVVIINNGG 98 MORNINGDJ BOBWATERS WATCHPROFOOTBALL ALLDAY 11 VOL. 107, NO. 282 GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA THURSDAY, NOVEMBER26, 2009 The 307-room Eisenhower Inn and Conference Center located along the Emmitsburg Road, just south of Gettysburg.

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER Times Staff Writer There is new life in efforts to bring a gaming facility to Adams County, and a Gettysburg businessman is believed to be a part of the talks. The Harrisburg Patriot News reported Wednesday that an unidentified investment group has expressed interest in obtaining a Category III resort casino license in Cumberland Township. Legislative insiders say the project could potentially include table games, although there is no law authorizing those games now. A spokesman for David LeVan, the Battlefield Harley Davidson owner who tried unsuccessfully in 2006 to obtain a gaming license for Adams County, said that no that the philanthropist would be involved in the discussions. LeVan announced in the summer of 2008 that he would seek another (See CASINO SITE, Page A5) Potential casino site near boro HOLIDAY FEAST Boudreau, front, pours some gravy on the meatloaf and potatoes that were served at the Gettysburg Community Soup Kitchen on Wednesday.

Pictured in the background are John and May Phillips. The soup kitchen will be serving Thanksgiving dinner today from 11:20 a.m. till 12:30 p.m. in the basement of The Prince of Peace Episcopal Church. Everyone is welcome to attend and enjoy the meal that is being prepared by the Apple Valley Club.

It will be turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberries and pumpkin pie and apple pie for dessert. ARRYL HEELER ETTYSBURG IMES HAPPY REUNION Green is reunited with her Jack Russell Terrier, Rowdy, after nearly a absence. Injured by a hit-and-run driver, Rowdy was helped and aided by caring strangers. (Story on Page A5) ILL CHWARTZ ETTYSBURG IMES BY JOHN MESSEDER Times Staff Writer Adams County real estate tax payers can expect a minimal increase and no increase in millage if the tentative 2010 budget published Wednesday is adopted 30 days hence. The county commissioners presented a government financial plan that is only $252,456 higher than the 2009 version.

stepped up this year to cut back, and (in some cases) not fill County Commissioner George Weikert explained. into next year, some positions people have decided they can do For instance, Children and Youth Services has decided it can handle its case load with two, instead of three, case workers. A more aggressive pursuit of reimbursements at the county- owned Green Acres Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center has resulted in the subsidy decreasing from a recent high of $1.8 million in 2008 to a budgeted $318,000 in 2010. Income has increased at the prison, with $1,132,647 budgeted revenue for state and federal prisoners house while they waiting trials in Harrisburg federal said Commissioner Glenn Snyder. The budget includes about $75,000 for an administrative secretary and a court recorder for the fourth judge, elected earlier this month.

Judge-elect Tom Campbell will take the oath of office at 1:30 p.m., Dec. 31 in the ceremonial courtroom. Campbell and Judge Michael George will remain on the fourth floor. President Judge John Kuhn will move to the third floor, into new chambers recently constructed in spaces vacated by the district attorney and county solicitor; the latter two offices have moved to the ground floor of the so-called old courthouse, replacing the Domestic Relations Department, which has moved to the former American Legion building on the south side of the courthouse. Judge Robert Bigham and domestic court will remain in its current location in the old courthouse.

Construction was budgeted at $50,000, with much of the work being performed by county maintenance staff and offenders who had been assigned community service by the court. Weikert said the nearly completed project likely would finish under budget. Medical insurance benefits also were cut from an anticipated 18 percent increase to no increase. The county last month joined a statewide cooperative that allows members to share the risk. Any insurance not used at the end of the year is rolled into the following year, resulting in reduced or no payment for the non-using counties.

feel with our history we will end the year with a coop balance (and) not use the General Fund next Weikert said, explaining the county has a history of low medical benefits usage among its employees. The document also continues the Open Space program with a dedicated .4 mills of tax revenue. Commissioner Lisa Moreno noted the budget deliberations began with a projected deficit of $247,080. never, ever, begun a budget at that she said, noting other budgets have started with deficits of millions of dollars to be cut to reach a balanced budget. The final $62,995,565 budget includes a 1.5 percent across-the-board Cost of Living Allowance for county employees.

COLA is) probably (See COUNTY, Page A5) No tax hike in county budget Stores look to basics to draw in shoppers Obama pardons turkey BY NATASHA T. METZLER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) After 10 months in office, President Barack Obama on Wednesday granted his first pardon to Courage, a 45- pound turkey spared from the Thanksgiving table. Accompanied by daughters Sasha and Malia, Obama stood under the North Portico of the White House to honor a holiday tradition that dates to 1947 receiving a bird from the National Turkey Federation. Later in the day, Obama and his family passed out turkeys and fixings to the needy. told Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson actually ate their Obama said.

fault them for that; a good-looking President George H.W. Bush was the first to officially pardon a turkey. Obama joked about wanting (See TURKEY, Page A8).