This shows what happens when good intentions get out of control.

I'd love to see the Rocky Springs Carousel saved. On the rare occasions I got to ride on it, I really enjoyed it. I really like the mechanical "organ".

And now that so much of Lancaster's history has been lost, it is one of far too few remaining connections to our past.

Charlie Smithgall's proposed "entertainment center" for Lancaster Square always was a pipe dream. With so many tax dollars tied up in one gigantic project, serious financing for other projects will not be available for some time. The best Rick Gray could come up with for Lancaster Square was a Lancaster COUNTY grant - initiated and approved by County Commissioners Molly Henderson and Dick Shellenberger - which is just enough to demolish a small part of the 1970s "Urban Renewal" "concrete monstrosity", and stabilize the rest.

It was announced at a City Council committee meeting some months ago that no developer wants to touch Lancaster Square; the site is closed in on three sides, and some developers claim it is too small.

The only way the Rocky Springs carousel will ever run again is through private investment. But what companies are left that can subsidize such a project? Lancaster Newspapers has millions of dollars tied up in their parking garage project and the hotel; they will also need to make significant upgrades to their aging publishing equipment. High doesn't do ANYTHING that includes significant risk without taxpayer dollars (even "The Crossings" requires over $22 million in tax dollars for "highway improvements"), and there will be no significant tax dollars available for downtown Lancaster for decades. And as those who are trying to preserve the carousel have found out, individual contributions only go so far.

What the Rocky Springs Carousel - and downtown Lancaster - REALLY needs is private investors who are willing to spend their own money, with only limited tax breaks. Where can they be found?