Lititz Record Express

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CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD 193 7 Lititz, Lancaster County, PA. 17543, Thursday, March 1,1984 25 CENTS AC
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LANCASTER COUNTY _ 24 Pages-No. 49
Borough Council Approves
Warner Lambert Agreement
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Mike Bowman, 118 E. Front St., (standing) ask
questions concerning the security of Gemmell’s
proposed facility. A majority of the residents
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1 1 1
present in the room voiced opposition to the
location of the business in Kleine Lane, which they
said was too close to residential areas.
Residents Oppose Location
Of Waste Recycling Center
By Kathleen King
In a special meeting to
hear public comment on a
proposed hazardous waste
recycling center, Lititz
Borough Council voted
unanimously to tell the
Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Resources
that there was “strong
community opposition to this
particular facility being
located within the Borough.”
Two of the six councilmen
were absent from the Feb. 22
meeting.
The Gem Chem Chemical
Management Company is
seeking a permit under the
state’s hazardous and
residual waste regulations to
operate a facility at 140
Kleine Lane to recycle in­dustrial
wastes such as
sludges, oil and inks into a
fuel product. Some of the
wastes listed in the permit
application are classified
hazardous because of their
‘ ‘c h a r a c te r i s t ic s of
ignitability.”
Council told the ap­proximately
75 residents
present that although the
borough has the right to
comment on Gem Chem’s
permit application, DER
will make the final decision
on the matter.
A motion by Councilman
Donald Stauffer to suggest a
one-year trial period with
specific guildelines on hours
and inspections died for a
lack of a secon to the motion.
Larry Gemmell, president
of the company, said after
the meeting that he was
“extremely upset with the
way council acted.”
Gemmell said the borough
mailed out approximately
400 letters to residents in the
area of Klein Lane, where he
proposes to locate his
facility, and about 75 people
came to the meeting.
“If 50 people oppose it,
that’s not a majority,”
Gemmell said. “You have to
make the assumption that
the people who didn’t attend
weren’t opposed.”
Gemmell said he had
approached borough council
m November about his
proposed facility and that
they had received his ap­plication
on December 29.
“They held it 30 days prior
to discussing it,” he said.
“They should have realized
this would ultimately need
public comment and
publicized it earlier. ’ ’
Gemmell said he whs
especially upset because he
had been told that council
found no problems with his
facility.
“After doing independent
research and realizing the
facility is ‘A number one,’ it
is a disservice that they
didn’t report this to the
public,” he said.
Stauffer said at the
meeting that he had checked
on the integrity of Gemmell
and found that “those who
have done business with
Larry had high regards of
him.”
Stauffer told the residents
at the hearing he had the
p e rm it a p p lic a tio n
“analyzed by four chemists
with a combine total of 128
yea rs background in
chemistry.”
He said that the Arm­strong
World Industries floor
plant safety department had
“scrutinized this proposal
and found no fault with the
concept or the processing
plan as presented.”
Gemmell said that the
borough’s comments to DER
are “without substance,”
because it merely states that
the people don’t want his
facility in Lititz.
"DER gets comments like
that all the time,” Gemmel
said, and usually disregards
them because they are not
specific enough, and do not
list specific objections.
Council opened the
meeting by allowing
Gemmell 15 minutes to talk,
then opened the floor to
questions and comments
from the public.
Residents questioned
Gemmell on a variety of
topics, including ms plans
for safety, the amount: of
tra ffic th a t win be
generated, the amounts oi
hazardous waste he himself
would generate, how much
of his fuel product he would
have on the site and his
employees.
Cecilia Bachman, 158
(Turn to Page 19)
Lititz Borough Council
Tuesday night joined the
Warwick School District in
thanking Warner Lambert
for their “ efforts” in
working cooperatively with
the borough and school
district in their real estate
tax reassessment appeal.
Lititz Borough, Warwick
School District, the County
Board of Assessment Ap­peals
and Warner Lambert
Company are currently in
the process of negotiating
out of court an agreement
whereby the company’s real
estate tax assessment will be
gradually lowered over a
four-year period.
Warner Lambert appealed
the $1,707,620 assessment
appointed by the Lancaster
County Board of Assessment
following the company’s
expansion. When the County
Board of Assessment Ap­peals
rejected the appeal,
the company filed suit in the
Lancaster County Court of
Common Pleas.
Warwick School District
and Lititz Borough, both of
which levy real estate taxes
on the property, were named
parties to the suit, and at­torneys
for the four parties
have been negotiating to
resolve the suit out of court.
A c co rd in g to an
agreement, already ap­proved
by the school district,
county and now borough
council, Warner Lambert’s
assessment will be reduced
by $457,620 (or by ap­proximately
27 percent)
over the next four years, to
%1 00b
WarwicK superintendent
J ii jsuntield said last week
hat act ding to the terms
of the agreement, Warner
Lambert will receive 40
percent of the reduction this
year, and an additional 20
percent of the reduction in
each the following three
years, until the entire
reduction is reached in 1986.
The reduced assessment
will most greatly affect
Warwick School District
which levies a 123 mill real
estate tax, compared to the
borough’s 23 mills and the
county’s 20 mills.
According to Warwick
business manager David
Zerbe, the school district will
lose approximately $55,000 in
anticipated tax revenues
from Warner Lambert over
the four-year period,
providing the district’s
millage rate remains the
same.
The reassessment will
mean a loss of ap­proximately
$15,000 to
$20,000 in anticipated taxes
to the borough over the next
four years, Ken Wiest,
I n T h i s I s s u e
Editorial 4
Sports Section 6,7,8,9
Social 10,11
Church 18
Business Directory 20
Classified 22,23
borough business manager
said.
Lititz Borough council
President C. Wendell Hower
said it was his personal
opinion that settling the
matter out of court was
advantageous to the borough
because not only did it save
extensive legal fees but also
the borough might have lost
more if a court decision had
been made on the appeal.
According to Bobba
Venkatadri, plant manager
of Warner Lambert, the
company was willing to
negotiate a settlement
because a court battle would
have been "a waste of all our
time and money.”
Venkata dri said Warner
Lambert thought it was “in
the best interest of the
community” to meet the
borough and school board, as
well as the county half way
on the reassessment issue.
Warner Lambert is “quite
satisfied with the set­tlement”
according to
Venkatadri. “We think it is
fair.”
Council Action
At Tuesday’s meeting
council took action on the
following matters:
Lititz Boroueh D o lic e have
arres eJ tv nc<* er men
they c~ ght n -round
Lititz / i b g ar t ols on
Satui da pc ce "aid
Off e D" i* la Snertzer
said police began following
the i ire were
observed driving on the left
side of the road. When police
pulled the car over,, they
found the two men had
burglar’s tools in the car.
Shertzer said borough
police had to call in a Lan­caster
officer to translate
because the two men did not
speak any English.
Raul Cisneros, 405 S. Duke
St., Lancaster, and Manuel
Gonzalez, 131 S. Prince St.,
Lancaster, were charged
with possessing instruments
of crime.
Bail was set at $500 but
neither man could post bail,
police said. They have been
committeed to Lancaster
County prison to await a
preliminary hearing.
Earlier in the week
Matthew Williams, 16, of
1651 Ridgedale Drive,
Lancaster, returned a wallet
containing $130 he found,
while riding bicycle, police
said.
Shertzer said Williams
found the wallet belonging to
Ruth Nessinger, 84, of 519
Front St., by the AM/PM
Mini Market on the Lititz
Pike.
Williams was rewarded
for his honesty, Shertzer
said.
• Renewed an equipment
maintenance contract with
F o x c ro ft E q u ipm en t
Company for $1,800 ;
• Directed the police
department to put a crossing
guard at the intersection of
Lincoln and North Broad
Street on a one-month trial
basis;
• Accepted the resignation
of Pauline Shelley from the
Zoning Hearing Board and
noted there was now a
vacancy on the board;
« Granted borough em­ployee
Bill Suloff permission
to withdraw his money from
the borough’s pension fund.
Hower noted that the
borough employees receive
only four percent return on
their money and that the
borough should investigate
other pension funds or in­creasing
the borough’s
contribution to the fund.
« Adopted an adult
bookstore ordinance which
restricts and regulates the
location of such establish­ments
in the borough;
• Adopted a new fee
schedule for building con­struction
permits, peddler’s
and canvasser’s license fees,
plumbing license fees and
Accidents
A vehicle driven by John I.
King; West Newport Road,
Ronks, struck Kathryn
Sturgis last Saturday after
King allegedly ran a red
light at the corner of Main
and Cedar Streets, police
reported.
Sturgis, 318 Front St., was
transported to the General
Hospital where she was
admitted with a broken
clavicle and a broken knee
cap.
Police have charged King
with failure to stop at a red
light.
Police reported that a
Graybill’s Dairy truck
operated by Harlan Steffy
had to be towed from a
sinkhole after the macadam
at the corner of Orange and
Cedar Streets gave way
under its weight. Damage to
the truck was light.
Police recovered a stolen
car owned by Carol Ann
Brown, 529 Front St., after
an unidentified driver
crashed the car into a street
light on Broad Street.
The car was apparently
traveling north on Broad
Street when the driver may
have attempted to turn onto
North Lane, police said.
The car mounted the curb
and knocked down the pole,
Shertzer said. Damage to the
car was severe and it had to
be towed from the scene.
John R. Prescott, 1725
Third Ave., York, struck a
car drive by Victor Thomas,
442 S. Duke St., Lancaster,
fees to shut-off and restore
water service.
The ordinance now
requires a permit to alter the
interior of a building, as well
as the exterior, and for any
remodeling, removal or
demolition of any building or
structure.
Under the schedule a
permit for projects with an
estimated cost of $500 or less
will be granted at no charge;
up to $1,000 of cost, the
permit will cost $10; and for
each additional $1,000 or
fraction thereof of cost, an
additional $5 will be added to
the permit fee.
The ordinance also in­creases
the fee to restore
water service to a customer
whose service has been cut
off because of a delinquent
bill from $15 to $50.
Discussions
At Tuesday’s meeting
council also discussed a
number of items on which no
action was taken.
Council noted that Penn­sylvania
Public Interest
Coalition, a non-profit
political action group, will be
soliciting opinion in the
borough from 3 p.m. to 9
(Turn to Page 19)
when Thomas stopped his
car on Route 501 to discharge
some passengers, police
said.
Prescott swerved to miss
Thomas, but failed, Shertzer
said. No charges were filed,
police said.
Thefts
Albert J. Lloyd, 16 N. Locust
St., reported that a set of
speakers were stolen from
his 1981 Mercury Capri while
it was parked outside his
home on Feb. 28.
Police said the burglar
also tore out the dash in an
ap p a ren t a ttem p t to
dismantle the stereo,
causing an estimated $500
damage.
Police recovered a stolen
bicycle during a recent drug
raid in Lancaster. The
bicycle, which belongs to the
daughter of David Hevener,
45 E. Lemon St., was
registered and valued at
$165.
Police said a middle-school-
age boy wearing a
blue jacket, a blue knit cap
and carrying a red gym bag,
stole a pile of newspapers
from the steps in front of
Benner’s Pharmacy on East
Main Street.
Lititz police reported that
someone forged a check at
the Farmer’s First Bank in
Lititz. The check for $100
was drawn on the account of
Phyllis A. Morales, 331 S.
Prince St., police said.
Shertzer said the address
on the check was crossed out
(Turn to Page 19)
■ H I • i r a I
' Larry Gemmell, Gem Chem Chemical Management Company, answers
questions from residents concerned with his proposed hazardous waste
recycling center.
Police Catch Two In Borough
With Burglary Tools
Linden Hall Teachers Find On-Campus Life 'Unique'
By Kathleen King
(Editor’s note: This is the
third in a three-part series
on Linden Hall, its history,
its students, and its faculty.)
You could say that Beth
Kennedy and Rex Butt are at
home in their jobs.
That’s because < both of
them, teachers at Linden
Hall, live on campus
surrounded by the students
and many of the other
faculty members they’ve
just spent the day with.
Eleven of the 23 full time
teachers live on campus.
Miss Kennedy is a dorm
mother and a French
teacher. Butt is an English
teacher and director of the
drama department. Both are
as far away from their
families and hometowns as
many of the girls they teach
and sometimes they suffer
the same homesicknesses
for a familiar face.
This is Miss Kennedy’s
first year at Linden Hall.
Originally from the Chicago
area, she graduated from
Carleton College in Nor-thfield,
Minnesota, with a
degree in English and
French.
After graduation she spent
a year managing a
restaurant. It gave her a feel
of what working with kids
would be like.
She then decided she
would like to try teaching
and through a teacher’s
agency, applied at Linden
Hall.
“I never heard of Lititz
before then,” she said.
As a dorm mother and a
teacher she faces a bit of an
identity crisis, trying to keep
the roles separate.
"As a teacher I am an
authority figure," she said.
“ In public school the
teacher's up there and you
never see her in crummy
blue jeans or a bathrobe at 2
a.m.”
As a dorm mother she
must be an authority figure,
making room checks and
inspections and making, sure
the girls are studying when
they are supposed to, she
said, but she must also
provide the sympathetic
shoulder for a teenager with
all a young girl’s heartaches
and homesickness.
"I can sympathize with
them,” Miss Kennedy said
about the homesickness. “I
didn’t know anyone when I
moved here.”
She teaches three different
French courses, all of which
have a small enrollment.
Her French IV class has only
one student.
Teaching the same
students she "mothers” has
advantages and disad­vantages,
she said.
“Sometimes it’s hard
because the girls get to know
me better in the dorm,” she
said.
She said that some
students may come in ex­plaining
that they didn’t get
th eir homework done
because of this reason or
that.
“In some cases I have
more sympathy because I
know what’s behind it.
Maybe they were up late
crying after a terrible phone
call.”
But in other cases she has
less sympathy because she
knows they have no excuse.
" I ’m probably more
relaxed because of it,” she
said. “I see them on dif­ferent
levels."
She said that being a dorm
mother is a lot like being a
mother except “you have 100
kids instead of one."
Being a dorm mother
sometimes involves acting
as a chaperone on trips,
which she recently did on a
week-long ski trip to the
poconos during winter
break.
Living and working at the
same place, especially as a
dorm mother can be trying
at times, she said.
“Sometimes you feel tied
down here. It takes a lot of
common sense and a sense of
humor, especially some
nights.”
There are four dorm
parents plus two supervising
(Turn to Page 14)