Gettysburg Times (Newspaper) - February 14, 2012, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania VOL. 110, NO. 38 Deaths ................................. A2 Opinion ............................... A4 Sports ............................ B1- B4 Feb. 14, 1862 - From the Cumberland River, Union gunboats USS Carondelet, St. Louis, Louisville and others blast away at Confederate artillery on bluffs, protecting the river as the Battle at Ft. Donelson continues. The St. Louis and Louisville fl oat downstream with steering damage. Gettysburg National Military Park Superintendent Bob Kirby appears on Live Ink , tonight at 6 p. m. at www. gettysburgtimes. com/ gtlive. Orange icy from the fl oor, still beat Cards — SPORTS, Page B1 Classifieds ................. B6- B7 Comics ................................ A7 Crossword ......................... B6 D ARRYL W HEELER / G ETTYSBURG T IMES EASY AS A- B- C — ( Above) Emily Alt, a kindergarten student in Nancy Cook’s class at Rolling Acres Elementary School in Littlestown, uses yarn to weave two hearts together on Monday. The class made valentines for friends and family and decorated their valentine bags to get ready for the card exchange today. ( At left) Beverly Nye, a fl oral designer for Carl’s Creations in Littlestown, arranges a dozen red roses on Monday to fi ll an order that will be delivered today. The shop, located at 312 N. Queen St. in Littlestown, will be open from 9 a. m. to 6 p. m. today and pickup or delivery of fl owers is still available. Love is a beautiful thing Preservation group wants Electric Map BY MARK WALTERS Times Staff Writer A local preservation group has offered itself up as an entity interested in taking the Electric Map off the hands of Gettysburg National Military Park of fi cials. The Gettysburg Battle fi eld Preservation Association, the nation’s oldest battle fi eld preservation group, has requested that the National Park Service hold off on discarding the map in favor of giving it to the organization. But GNMP Supt. Bob Kirby said that the process isn’t quite that simple. “ The map is government property, so we can’t just give it to an entity,” Kirby said. “ We have to fi gure out what the steps are and we have to follow them.” The Electric Map, which sits at an undisclosed location stored by the NPS, has not been on public display for almost four years. The 48- year- old, 12- ton map was made by Joseph Rosensteel in 1963. It used 625 Christmas bulbs to illustrate the movement of troops during the three- day Battle of Gettysburg on July 1- 3, 1863. It is now in four pieces and likely contains friable asbestos. “ We’re going to fi gure out exactly what it contains and “ We have our restored barn at the Daniel Lady Farm with enough weather integrity to store the map until it can be displayed again.” — Gettysburg Battle fi eld Preservation Association President Brendan Synnamon BY JARRAD HEDES Times Staff Writer A convicted armed robber told an Adams County judge Monday he feels a vehicle search which led to his 2010 arrest in a Turkey Hill heist in Cross Keys was illegal. Michael Eccles, 41, of Harrisburg, pleaded guilty in May 2010 to robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery after Eastern Adams Regional Police alleged he and fellow Harrisburg resident John Jones held up the convenience store at the intersection of Routes 30 and 94 with a sawed- off shotgun and pistol in the early morning hours of Jan. 6, 2010. Per a plea agreement with the Adams County District Attorney’s of fi ce, Eccles is serving an 8- to- 16 year state prison sentence but would like the matter reconsidered by Common Pleas Judge Michael George. “ I got a chance to research the law library at the state prison and knowing what I know now, I think certain evidence should have been suppressed,” Eccles testi fi ed Monday during a post- conviction relief hearing. “ I think the search of the vehicle was conducted before the district judge had signed the search warrant.” According to court documents, a witness pulled in to the Turkey Hill parking lot and saw two black men inside with weapons. The witness called Adams County 9- 1- 1 to describe the dark minivan the suspects were in and within a few minutes, Eastern Adams Regional Police pulled the vehicle over near the Bridges Golf Club in Abbottstown. Eccles fl ed on foot but was subsequently captured and arrested. Jones and two female occupants of the minivan were also placed into custody. “ The side door to the minivan was open and the two fi rearms were within plain sight,” Eastern Adams Of fi cer Richard Keefer Jr. said Monday. “ We took the fi rearms from the minivan as a public safety concern. There was also over $ 300 found in Jones’ pocket but those were the only items seized until a Convicted robber questions legality of vehicle search Gettysburg names Giles zoning board alternate BY MARK WALTERS Times Staff Writer Gettysburg Borough Council voted to appoint former council Vice President Holliday Giles to the borough’s zoning hearing board, but not without some dissension. The nine- member board voted 7- 2 in favor of appointing Giles as an alternate member, to complete the term of alternate Larry Weikert, which is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2013. Councilmembers Kyle Leinbach and Alice Estrada cast the two votes in opposition. Estrada called into question Giles’ friendships on the present board. “ Personally, I like Holly but I believe her presence will create an alliance on the board with Walton Davis and Kimberly Mayers,” Estrada said. “ They’re friends and like- minded, which is fi ne unless you’re an applicant seeking a fair procedure. I don’t think ( Holly) will be as fair as she could be.” Council President John Butter fi eld said that council can remove zoning hearing board members if any bias is noticed. “ We can keep a close eye on that,” he said. Council Vice President Susan Naugle said that as an alternate, Giles would only be called upon as she is needed, much as Weikert is now. “ Members are required to assess each situation fairly,” Naugle noted. Estrada also referenced Giles’ comments at the borough’s Jan. 25 public hearing for a rezoning request that alluded to the borough’s zoning ordinance being set in stone. “ The zoning ordinance is a fl uid document,” Estrada said. “ I’m not saying we need to rezone everytime somebody wants to do something, but there is room for fl exibility and change.” Leinbach said based on those Holliday Giles Estrada questions the former council woman’s objectivity ( See GILES on Page A5) ( See SEARCH on Page A5) ( See MAP on Page A5) 50¢ INSIDE E- MAIL: news@ gburgtimes. com sports@ gburgtimes. com WEB: www. gettysburgtimes. com GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012 CaChingo Bingo IS HERE! ~ Numbers called out daily in the Newspaper and online~ Free game cards av ailable at the Gettysburg Times Office, 1570 Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, PA
