FREE stuff ... I still have $60 of Bon Ton coupons to give away courtesy of Lower Paxton watchdog group SWAN. CD sports ... CD High Lady Rams blew out Carlisle Monday afternoon to qualify for district tourney final against Wilson out of Berks County, Friday, Giant Center, 8:30 pm. Earlier this season, the Rams beat Wilson by 13 points in a Christmas tournament game. ... CD East Panthers boys b-ballers topped Red Land Tuesday and will compete in the district championship game Saturday against undefeated York High, Giant Center, 1 pm. News links ... CD School Board won't close the elementary school in neighboring West Hanover Twp. ... Lower Paxton resident shares her story of being a Holocaust survivor with students. ... Linglestown-based District Judge Wenner is seeking re-election. ... Attention wine lovers: Linglestown blogger and wine connoisseur Erica Streisfeld shares her wine-of-the-week pick. B² musings ... Gotta tell you that my neck and shoulder are feeling like new thanks in large part to the care I've received at Homza Chiropractic, a new Gazette sponsor. If you're in pain, e-mail me and I'll make arrangements for you to get a FREE consultation. ... As you probably have noticed, I'm messing around with a new webcam. The camera and associated software streamlines the process of producing video clips by a bunch, but the video quality is crappy. I'll try to fine-tune the settings a bit to put a better face on this low-budget news operation – no promises I'll be successful. ... I'm trying to figure out the workings of an interest rate swap that Central Dauphin School District recently entered into with Deutsche Bank.

CD Rams recorded their second straight victory of the young season by nipping the Harrisburg Cougars 14-11 on a 21-yard touchdown scamper by Justin Shirk with only 25 ticks left in the game played at Landis Field in Colonial Park. In another game decided in the final minute of play, the Carlisle Thundering Herd stunned CD East Panthers 24-17. Check out a game summary (scroll down to bottom of page) by The Patriot-News for game highlights.

* Central Dauphin School Board will meet Monday, Sept. 8 at the Lecture Hall of CD East High School. The meeting will begin at 7 pm and the public is invited to attend. The agenda includes a review of the district’s technology plan and a presentation on how the district stacks up with federal government academic benchmarks. CLICK HERE to review the meeting agenda. (Click on the + located to the left of the date 09/08/2008.) * In CD High sports news, the Rams girls field hockey team hopes to add to the school’s run of state sports championships, and Tyler Burkhardt's score with 20 minutes to go lifted CD over Cedar Cliff 1-0 Thursday in boys soccer action. * It’s finally official. Lower Paxton Twp. has hired a new income tax collector. * A Lower Paxton commercial real estate developer continues to grow; plans new office complex, hotel and restaurant off of Kohn Road and I-81 in Susquehanna Twp.

Where did the summer go? The school year gets under way today in Central Dauphin School District. Parents, it's vacation time! ____ Photo: Kindergarten and elementary students board a bus in front of the Gazette newsroom.

The Central Dauphin High School Ram Marching Band kicks off its 2008-09 season with it 11th annual Band Fair and Pigskin Preview, Wednesday, Aug. 27 at Landis Field, 4600 Locust Lane, starting at 5 pm. The fair features performances, food and games and ends with the Pigskin Preview that includes the cheerleaders, football team and preview of the band's field show.

The Central Dauphin School Board will meet Monday, Aug. 25, in the Lecture Hall of Central Dauphin East High School. The meeting will begin at 7 pm and the public is invited to attend. I reviewed the meeting agenda on the district’s Web site, and the only item of interest that I spotted is under New Business, board member Justin McShane has requested to speak about the finance committee, Title I funding, and the school board. Last meeting, McShane and fellow board member Christian Malesic apparently were miffed by not getting appointed to a newly formed finance committee. They had lobbied for some time to have such a committee as part of the board.

The board will meet at 7 pm tonight at the Lecture Hall of Central Dauphin East High School. CLICK HERE to review the agenda. (To view the agenda, click on the plus sign for 8/11/08, and then click on the plus signs to get details about specific agenda items.) There is one tax issue that will be discussed under New Business – The Administration is recommending the appointment of Berkheimer Tax Administrator as the Earned Income Tax Administrator for the Central Dauphin School District. If approved, Berkheimer would start collecting the two-percent tax starting Jan. 1, 2009. If you're not up to speed on this issue, check out this Gazette post for some background info.