Pictured above with all the loot is Beth Madden, the winner of the $550 grand prize package from the "Lovin' Linglestown" Valentine's Give-Away sponsored by The Merchants of Linglestown. Beth was shocked and thrilled when informed that she was the big winner. Over 750 people entered the give-away. “This is better than getting an economic stimulus check," said Beth, who resides in Mechanicsburg. The Merchants of Linglestown are planning more events for 2009. Visit the group's Web site for updates. ____

With music, sometimes a change of pace – you know, something a little bit out of the ordinary – is just the thing to renew your spirit, especially in the dead of winter. And, Nayo, the featured band Friday at St. Thomas Roasters coffee house in Linglestown, is all about bringing joy to audiences wherever they go. I did a Linglestown Radio interview with Nayo member Richard James to get a preview of Friday night's show, 8–10 pm, no cover. (3 minutes, 40 seconds playing time) ____ St. Thomas Roasters has a new coffee that is being roasted in the shop – Honduran Fair Trade Organic coffee. It is a medium roast bean with balanced aroma and flavor that Java Geof is sure you will want to drink over and over again. B² purchased a pound and gives it a thumbs-up. ____ Photo credit: Tina dela Rosa, a professional photographer who specializes in portraits, events and wedding photography. Be sure to visit her Web site. ____ Disclosure: B² gets some free coffee for promoting the coffee house and its music events.

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.

I know there’s a lot planned for the village, but I have one simple question: What in the hell is wrong with that traffic light at the intersection of Linglestown Road and Colonial Road? You know the one; at the corner with Sheetz, Weis, and KoKoMo’s Aroogas.  Whenever I’m travelling from Harrisburg, that light turns red.  Always. I have never, ever — in my eleven years of living in the area — made it through that light while it was green. At first I assumed it was some sort of clever, hidden speed enforcement method.  Maybe there are two pressure sensors, and if you’re going over 40mph, you’ll cycle the light.  Or maybe it’s timed to other area lights, like Second Street in midtown Harrisburg (ever notice how you’ll nail every green light as it changes if you start at Forester and drive exactly 25mph?).  But I’ve tested it at and below the speed limit, and it doesn’t make a difference.  So scratch those ideas. Then I started thinking that maybe there was some sort of goofy cross traffic, like a vehicle that had turned right on red just before I approached.  But since the intersection is deserted when I drive through (usually around 1am), that’s not likely.  And the consistency of the event slams the book shut on that theory. My next thought was that maybe the Linglestown planners are just jerks.  But it’s a pretty nice village, and that doesn’t seem like the kind of behavior to fit the community. So I’m left with two possible theories: The first, and most ominous, is that Sheetz has secretly infiltrated the highest echelons of our government.  That’s right:  PennDOT.  Somewhere deep in the hidden bureaucratic mazes of PennDOT Galactic Control sits a Sheetz employee whose sole purpose in life is to drive traffic to convenient and friendly Sheetz Locations by diverting adjacent traffic through the timely manipulation of traffic control devices.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stopped at that damned red light and thought “Well since I’m here, I might as well go inside for some delicious, delicious Sheetz coffee.  I wonder if this morning’s always-fresh pastries are out yet?”  For me personally, that single light has easily diverted several thousand dollars from my checking account to Sheetz over the years. And maybe it doesn’t stop there.  Our entire Interstate system was mostly built in the 1960s and 1970s.  During that exact same timeframe, Sheetz was rapidly expanding from one location in 1962 to nearly 100 stores at the close of the 1970s.  Through the marvels of modern highway engineering, our interstate highways provide speedy access through convenient, easy-to-find interchanges.  And were are most Sheetz stores found?  At convenient, easy-to-find locations! Sheetz has 344 locations spread out across multiple states; you know what ELSE spreads out across multiple states?  The Interstate system! Coincidence?  I think not.  Could Sheetz’s founders have had a hand in the development of our modern roadway infrastructure? Maybe that stretch of abandoned Turnpike was actually a small fragment of some long-forgotten Sheetz drive-thru experiment, the scale of which we may never truly appreciate. Perhaps selling delicious food, inexpensive gas, and the best gas-station coffee you’ll ever drink wasn’t enough; perhaps Sheetz has had a larger, more sinister plan in the works for longer than we can imagine!  If they’ve managed to infiltrate our commonwealth’s Department of Transportation — a prestigious, well-organized government entity whose efficiency and friendly service have made it the object of envy among developed nations around the world — who’s to say where their reach ends?  You may think that South Front Street complex is pretty spiffy right now, but just wait until you can order an MTO while while waiting for your number to come up in the queue.  Motor vehicle registration?  More like Awesome 12-Inch Meatball On Wheat (With Parmesan) Registration! The second possibility is that someone wired the light wrong. Either way, please fix it.

I stopped by Linglestown Fire Co. today to donate blood and buy chicken corn soup that was cooked up by the crew pictured below. Getting stuck was nearly painless and the soup was so good that I purchased extra to chow down on over the weekend.

A court hearing on the alleged child sex case that caused a stir in Linglestown earlier this summer has been delayed. Jimmy Melton, 45, of Nassau Road, was scheduled to appear before Lingelstown Magisterial District Judge William C. Wenner last Tuesday on charges of unlawful contact with a minor, indecent exposure and corruption of minors, but the preliminary hearing was rescheduled to Nov. 25 at 10 am. Developing story …

Good vibrations about roundabouts … Gazette reader Lance Zaring submitted a link to a Times magazine article that is sure to make you a believer in using roundabouts instead of stoplights. As most of you know, a pair of roundabouts is included in planned improvements in the village of Linglestown. Probe of baby’s death in LP continues … More charges might be filed against a Brazilian nanny whose son recently died in the basement of a Lower Paxton Twp. home, says Dauphin County District Attorney Edward Marsico Jr. Citizens leaflet neighborhood … Centennial Acres residents, with the help of watchdog group SWAN, distributed leaflets urging homeowners to attend a Lower Paxton Twp. meeting Tuesday that will include a discussion about a controversial housing community proposed by McNaughton Homes. The residents will present a list of changes they want incorporated into the plan to protect their properties from potential problems posed by the location of storm water basins. Grass mowing contest update … BB's yard-mowing count has been stuck at 21 since way back on August 4. The contest ends on November 1 and then the big prize will be awarded to a lucky someone.