Covered bridges in Cumberland County

The Carlisle Sentinel recently included a piece on covered bridges in Cumberland County, including the two remaining bridges and a brief history regarding those bridges that were built in the 1800's and have since been lost.

Cumberland Valley School District school tax increase

On May 20th Cumberland Valley School District in Cumberland County approved a tentative budget with a 2.9% school tax increase. This tax increase follows a county-wide reassessment last year and a 9.5% school tax increase by the nearby Camp Hill School District in 2010.

Cumberland Valley officials did not comment as to whether this tax increase bears any connection to the statewide lawmaker 2001 pension increase that has been projected to cause large school tax increases throughout Pennsylvania in 2012.

New Giant and Weis Markets in Hampden Township

The Harrisburg Patriot-News reported last week that Giant plans to open a new 90,000 square foot supermarket in Hampden Township, Cumberland County, while Weis Markets plans to open a 63,000 square foot supermarket nearby. Both supermarkets are planned for Valley Road (near Wertzville Road) - roughly in the northern portion of the developed part of the Township.

If both stores are completed, the number of supermarkets within the Township will double. Hampden is the most populous municipality in Cumberland County.

These plans reflect continued growth in Hampden Township and continued population saturation/expansion in a northern and western direction from the Susquehanna River through Cumberland County. These stores would be part of a trend of development through and near a long strech of Wertzville Road in northern Hampden Township (and northern Silver Spring and other Townships) over the past decade, including office parks, gas stations, retail centers and a school.