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T H E R E S S SERUM; THE WARWICK AREA EOR MORE 77M.V A CESITI R Y 109th Year ESTABLISHED APRIL 1877 AS THE SUNBEAM CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD 1 937 Lititz, Lancaster County PA, 17543. Thursday, July 25,1985 25 CENTS A COPY $7 00 PER YEAR BY MAIL WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 20 Pages-No. 16 Twp. Zoners Say No To Smaller Townhouses Ì by Bonnie Szymanski In one swift, unanimous vote, the Warwick Township Zoning Board has denied a variance to.the developers of a controversial Townhouse and apartment village at the comer of Brunnerville and East Newport Roads, thus disallowing the construction of 20-foot wide townhouses on 2,500 square-foot lots. The application for a variance from Hurst/Hartz Partnerships to develop Fair Meadows as a high density R-4 residential area had brought protests from residents whose singlefamily homes are located along the southeast edge of Lititz Borough, within the Fair Meadows development. The 31.3-acre tract of land, purchased by the land developers from Dr. Robert Huber, a Lititz dentist, is presently zoned R-3 and can be developed as a high density residential area with 24-foot wide townhouses on a minimum lot size of 3,600 feet. Nearby residents had been protesting not only the variance application, but also the fact that they claimed they did not know the land was zoned to accommodate any type of high density housing. Last week, they had sent a letter with 75 residents’ signatures to Dr. Huber requesting that he sell the property with the stipulation that it be used only for single family dwellings. Dr. Huber had replied that “the final negotiations had been completed with Mr. Hartz and Mr. Hurst” before he received the residents’ letter. He also reminded the residents that such a stipulation would result in his receiving “about $200,000 less than the negotiated price.” “Probably if you were in my position, you too would have to consider against taking such a financial loss on an investment decision,” he wrote. Following a board decision to vote on the application without accepting further testimony from the public, Chairman Hartzell asked William Crosswell, township solicitor, to. explain the reason for the board’s decision to forego the additional testimony. C ro ssw e ll to ld the gathering that when the board members voted to continue the June 19 hearing, they had not specified whether the continuance was for the purpose of accepting further testimony or only to delay rendering a decision due to the absence of two of the five members. The two later listened to the tapes of the hearing. The board’s decision to vote without taking further testimony came as an obvious disappointment to the group of' Fair Meadows residents attending the hearing. The group had apparently been prepared to present more testimony and had passed out copies of the Warwick Township zoning ordinance, with comments; a letter from Fair Meadows residents to Dr. Huber; and Dr. Huber’s written reply. Before the board voted on the variance application from Hurst/Hartz Partnerships, Crosswell publicly advised the board members. He told them that, in his opinion, “to the extent that this is a variance request,” asking for a change on lot size and width requirements, a presentation of the developer’s plans would be “pertinent” to the board’s decision. Referring to the request as a “dimensional variance,” Crosswell explained that a board decision without knowledge of the plans would be tantamount to “amending the provisions of the ordinance,” a legislative act which would not be in accordance with the administrative function of the zoning hearing board. Crosswell said that the applicant who is seeking a dimensional variance is under a “heavy burden of proof to show specifically how the provisions of the zoning ordinance that relate to th e s e lot width requirements and lot size requirements create an unnecessary hardship as it relates to the land, not an economic hardship ” (Turn to Page 2) In This Issue Editorial 4 Sports Section 5,6,7 Social 12,13 Church 16 Business Directory 17 Business Update 17 Painter Going Strong At 80 by Kathleen King When G. Da rby Williammee was 50, he found he had a lot of time on his hands. A blot clot in his brain in the inner ear area forced him to retire from his job as a painting contractor. “I was laid up quite a while,” Williammee, now 80, explained. “I was dizzy - I had to lie down a lot. ” So to help occupy some of the time, Williammee took up painting. He started by copying from photographs or pic-tures- trying to repeat what was on the other picture. “I’d sit on the edge of the bed and work at it,” he said. When he was able, he went outside, and found out from an a rtist’s standpoint, “that’s a whole different world” with so much to see and to determine what to put on the canvas. Williammee has been painting for 30 years now and never took any formal lessons. What he did take, he said with a laugh, is a lot of criticism. But most of it he asked for, he said. “I’ve got a couple good friends - artists - who live in Maine. They’d give me pointers.” Every artist he encountered he would observe and try to learn something about technique and approach. But not all artists were too excited about that idea. “A lot of artists are awfully stingy -- they’re afraid they’ll give some secret away. They think they have some secret formula or something.” As to sidewalk critics Williammee said “I don’t pay any attention to them.” Williammee’s favorite critic was his wife of 57 years, Jenny, who died about six years ago. Prior to that she was in a nursing home in York where ,Williammee spend many hours visiting her and others, he said. At that time Williammee lived in Wrightsville but after while his large home got too much for him to handle on his own and his health was shaky so he started looking for a smaller place to live. “I went to look at one of those high rise places for the elderly...I decided it wasn’t for me,” he stated. “I don’t want to live with a bunch of I JÎ 'vwW'ïú*. -' II *",T\ o rfr * : 'y ' . Ralph Lehman, a music teacher in the Warwick School District for 19Vi- years, has resigned to pursue a career in composing serious music. R a lp h L e h m a n : T r a d i n g B a t o n F o r T h e P e n old people.” So instead he put a mobile home on his son’s peach orchard outside of Penryn. That was about two years ago. He thinks his paintings aren’t selling so well now, but then he had a following in the York area, he concedes. Williammee says he can usually tell almost right from the first stroke whether or not a painting is going to turn out. “If I don’t like what I paint, I throw it away or set it aside.” Williammee says he has thrown more paintings away than he has kept. Painting has definitely enlarged his viewpoint, he said. “It changes your powers of observation - you see things you never saw before - d if f e r e n t sh a d e s , shadows...” The gray-haired artist says he like to keep on the go and often spends weeks at a time over the summer at a campground in Tioga County, along the Pine Creek. He fishes a lot there, and (Turn to Page 8) by Kathleen King Ralph Lehman is trading in his baton for the pen. After 21 years as a music teacher, 19-and-a-half at Warwick, Lehman has decided to pursue a career in composing. His resignation, which he turned in at a recent school board meeting, is effective Aug. iL - * - - 2” Lehman s the first to admit what he is doing is a risk - giving up the security of a job for the uncertainties of creativity and the publishing industry. But it’s a risk he says he has to take, because it’s something that has been gnawing away at him for a long time. “About 10 years ago I had a piece published and performed,” Lehman explained. “But with teaching and the family, there’s just not the time or energy to pursue composing.” A restlessness has been plaguing him for about a year-and-a-half, he said, and it grew worse and worse as time went on. “It’s something I want to do. I know how to do it, but I just didn’t push myself.” And it’s something he wants to do now, before the time comes when he can only say, “I wish I had...” or “If only I had...” Lehman says he doesn’t want to regret passing up a creative opportunity and felt that now was the time to do it. Three weeks at a summer course in composing at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester was the final deciding factor, he said. “I got a lot of encouragement there. It was the final thing that pushed me to the decision.” “I hate to use cliques,” he added, “but I decided to ‘go for it.’” He is quick to set to rest G. Darby Williammee, an 80-year-old self-taught artist who lives in the Penryn area, paints what he likes and has no time for critics. Outdoor Art Show The 19th annual Lititz Outdoor Art Show will take to the streets-Main and Broad streets-on Saturday (July 27) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A perennial favorite with natives and tourists alike, the art show will feature almost 200 artists from within a lOO-mile radius of Lititz. As in the past, the Young Artjsts Exhibit will be in Lititz Springs Park, and for the second year, there will be a senior high exhibit for 17-and 18-year-olds at the entrance to the park. Judges in the adult division will be Stuart F ro st and Roger Zellner, art professors at Pennsylvania State University. Judges for the Young Artists division will be Richard Ressel, art instructor at Lancaster Catholic High School, and Cindy Moyer, art instructor at Centerville Junior High School. Almost $900 in prize money will be awarded to the show’s winners. Admission is free. The raindate is scheduled for Aug. 3. Airport Neighbors Protest Runway Expansion Plans By Linda A. Harris One man’s dreams are often another man ’s nightmares. This concept was clearly illustrated Thursday when Lancaster Airport Authority members met with residents of the Owl. Hill Terrace area to discuss the airport’s new proposed master plan which calls for some $20 million in expansion projects over the next twenty years. At the outset of the meeting, Warren Swartz, authority chairman, told the group that the meeting was “a listening session” called to discuss the plan and to hear the views of those who might be affected by the plan. “We want” , he said, “to make the airport as safe as possible...to do a better job for those already using the facilities...and to be a good neighbor.” For two and one-half hours, authority members sought to reassure the residents that the plan was simply a guide to the orderly improvement of the airport if and when needs arise. They explained that the planners sought to envision what might be needed in the next twenty years, but things could change just as they had'following the 1977 plan. The residents, on the other hand, voiced complaints about present noise levels and fears concerning increased noise levels, especially if larger planes began using the expanded runways; safety, and decreased property values. Following a brief rundown of the major findings of the plan by Norman Lamar, a irp o rt manager, the authority members sought to clarify certain items among themselves, and Swartz then opened the meeting to questions and comments from the audience: Noise Deafening Deb Rutter, 705 E. Millport Road, told the authority members that she and her husband John were aware of the airport’s proximity when they built their home. She noted that they often heard small planes flying over their property, but that the noise wasn’t all that bothersome. What they didn’t expect was the noise generated by the increased volume of larger planes in recent years. “Traffic seems to have increased and the noise of the larger planes is deafening...you can’t hold a conversation at times without being interrupted,” she asserted. She added that they were unaware of plans to expand the airport and she questioned the the wisdom of holding the meeting at 4 p.m. when most people are working and not giving notice earlier. Lamar replied that the 1977 plan was public at the time the Rutters built their home and that it called for even more ambitious expansion, including a third (Turn to Page 2) any idea that his decision to give up teaching has anything to do with his students or their parents or the school district. But he does admit he has lost his enthusiasm for teaching and some of that has to do with the way music is looked at in the schools today. “Some people call it (instrumental music) a, frill,” he said. “It’s not one of your basics - the three R’s, and I understand that.” But because it is looked on as a frill, Lehman said a music teacher has to ‘“work around everything else.” “You teach at the whim of the rest of the system,” he said. Lessons may be scheduled but if there’s a field trip, a book review, an oral report, a test, they come first, he explained. And that’s a frustrating thing for a music teacher. He said he has met some music educators who say in their schools instruction is built into the day and does not conflict with the academic schedule. But those are rare places. And many places put even more stumbling blocks in the path of music instruction that Lehman has encountered, he says. “You have to accept that in order to teach, and one knows that when one gets in the business,” he agrees, but it also begins to wear thin after while. Lehman has been in charge of everything from the elementary instrumental music instruction to the high school orchestra and in the last seven to eight years he had charge of the middle school band. He has also worked with the high school musicals and has written the musical arrangments for innumberable band shows. (Turn to Page 2) Norman Lamar, Lancaster Airport manager, points to a map depicting Lancaster Airport as a group of concerned citizens and airport authority members look on. Authority Approves New Master Plan Monday’s meeting of the Lancaster Airport Authority was in sharp contrast to Thursday’s meeting in that only one airport neighbor showed up to comment on the proposed master plan. Following routine business reports and approval of the sale of Hamilton Aeronautics to Romar Aviation of West Chester, Warren Swartz, authority president, gave a capsulized report of Thursday’s discussions and asked authority members if they had any questions prior to calling for a vote. The vote to accept the master plan as is and to have open discussions of each individual project as it becomes necessary was unanimous. In a related matter, Norman Lamar requested authorization to spend approximately $7,500 to provide interim security measures for commuter traffic using the airport facilities. He said the interim measures were requested by Suburban Airlines and that the cost would be recouped through landing fee adjustments. He told the authority m em b e rs th a t such measures were a necessity until the airport terminal expansion contained in the master plan could be completed. The beefed-up security is in part a response to recent airliner hijackings because Lamar noted that commuter passengers are not re-screened when they arrive at other airports. Present terminal facilities allow non-passengers and passengers contact which is not desirable from a security standpoint. Interim security measures will include air-conditioning the glass-enclosed concourse, erecting signs to keep nor-passengers out of restricted areas, installing alarm door locks with panic bars to keep commuters who have been s c re e n e d sep a ra ted from nonpassengers and installation of a new gate to enable general aviation pilots to reach the airfield without going through the main concourse. Authority members also authorized the extension of the Apcoa lease to provide parking for the next five years. Swartz then opened the meeting to comments from the audience. Mrs. Bowser told the authority that she had contacted her farmer-neighbors prior to the meeting, but all said that the short notice, the hour and the need to complete necessary farm chores prevented them from attending. She asked that future meetings of the authority to discuss expansion-related p ro p o s a ls be given prominent space in all area newspapers and that consideration be given to evening meetings. She added that working people need at least several days notice of a meeting in order to adjust their schedules. In addition to those requests, she asked that notices of such meetings and information regarding the proposals be sent to those affected, especially those whose land is being considered for acquisition or easement. Swartz asked her to “help us to help you...provide us with the names of those you feel should be contacted so that we can notify them.” Mrs. Bowser assured them that she would provide the data. She added that she, her husband and her son operate two businesses on their property and are concerned that runway expansion could affect their livelihood. “I, for one, want more substantial evidence of the need for such expansion,” she declared. Interviewed following the meeting, she said that she “wouldn’t want to see any pilot hurt because the runways were too short”, but she felt that the inconvenience of carrying less fuel or fewer passengers during a few hot days during the summer did not justify taking farm land. She added that authority members and planners did not seek out the people who live there and who know the area before writing the master plan proposals. “Where, for instance, have they said what they will do about the 30-inch high pressure gas line that crosses Stauffer Road and which is in the proposed easement area at the end of the expanded runway?” Contacted at her home, Deb Rutter said that she still feels that the expanded runways will increase traffic (Turn to Page 2)
Object Description
Title | Lititz Record Express |
Masthead | Lititz Record Express 1985-07-25 |
Subject | Lititz (Pa.) -- Newspapers;Lancaster County (Pa.)—Newspapers |
Description | Lititz newspapers 1877-2001 |
Publisher | Record Print. Co. |
Date | 1985-07-25 |
Location Covered | United States;Pennsylvania;Lancaster County (Pa.);Lititz (Pa.);Warwick (Lancaster County, Pa. : Township) |
Type | Text |
Original Format | Newspapers |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Identifier | 07_25_1985.pdf |
Language | English |
Rights | Steinman Enterprises |
Contact | For information on source and images, contact LancasterHistory, Attn: Library Services, 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster, PA, 17603. Phone: 717-392-4633, ext. 126. Email: research@lancasterhistory.org |
Contributing Institution | LancasterHistory |
Sponsorship | This Digital Object is provided in a collection that is included in POWER Library: Pennsylvania Photos and Documents, which is funded by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries of Pennsylvania/Pennsylvania Department of Education. |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Subject | Lititz (Pa.) -- Newspapers;Lancaster County (Pa.)—Newspapers |
Location Covered | United States;Pennsylvania;Lancaster County (Pa.);Lititz (Pa.);Warwick (Lancaster County, Pa. : Township) |
Type | Text |
Original Format | Newspapers |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Language | English |
Contact | For information on source and images, contact LancasterHistory, Attn: Library Services, 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster, PA, 17603. Phone: 717-392-4633, ext. 126. Email: research@lancasterhistory.org |
Contributing Institution | LancasterHistory |
Sponsorship | This Digital Object is provided in a collection that is included in POWER Library: Pennsylvania Photos and Documents, which is funded by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries of Pennsylvania/Pennsylvania Department of Education. |
Full Text | T H E R E S S SERUM; THE WARWICK AREA EOR MORE 77M.V A CESITI R Y 109th Year ESTABLISHED APRIL 1877 AS THE SUNBEAM CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD 1 937 Lititz, Lancaster County PA, 17543. Thursday, July 25,1985 25 CENTS A COPY $7 00 PER YEAR BY MAIL WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 20 Pages-No. 16 Twp. Zoners Say No To Smaller Townhouses Ì by Bonnie Szymanski In one swift, unanimous vote, the Warwick Township Zoning Board has denied a variance to.the developers of a controversial Townhouse and apartment village at the comer of Brunnerville and East Newport Roads, thus disallowing the construction of 20-foot wide townhouses on 2,500 square-foot lots. The application for a variance from Hurst/Hartz Partnerships to develop Fair Meadows as a high density R-4 residential area had brought protests from residents whose singlefamily homes are located along the southeast edge of Lititz Borough, within the Fair Meadows development. The 31.3-acre tract of land, purchased by the land developers from Dr. Robert Huber, a Lititz dentist, is presently zoned R-3 and can be developed as a high density residential area with 24-foot wide townhouses on a minimum lot size of 3,600 feet. Nearby residents had been protesting not only the variance application, but also the fact that they claimed they did not know the land was zoned to accommodate any type of high density housing. Last week, they had sent a letter with 75 residents’ signatures to Dr. Huber requesting that he sell the property with the stipulation that it be used only for single family dwellings. Dr. Huber had replied that “the final negotiations had been completed with Mr. Hartz and Mr. Hurst” before he received the residents’ letter. He also reminded the residents that such a stipulation would result in his receiving “about $200,000 less than the negotiated price.” “Probably if you were in my position, you too would have to consider against taking such a financial loss on an investment decision,” he wrote. Following a board decision to vote on the application without accepting further testimony from the public, Chairman Hartzell asked William Crosswell, township solicitor, to. explain the reason for the board’s decision to forego the additional testimony. C ro ssw e ll to ld the gathering that when the board members voted to continue the June 19 hearing, they had not specified whether the continuance was for the purpose of accepting further testimony or only to delay rendering a decision due to the absence of two of the five members. The two later listened to the tapes of the hearing. The board’s decision to vote without taking further testimony came as an obvious disappointment to the group of' Fair Meadows residents attending the hearing. The group had apparently been prepared to present more testimony and had passed out copies of the Warwick Township zoning ordinance, with comments; a letter from Fair Meadows residents to Dr. Huber; and Dr. Huber’s written reply. Before the board voted on the variance application from Hurst/Hartz Partnerships, Crosswell publicly advised the board members. He told them that, in his opinion, “to the extent that this is a variance request,” asking for a change on lot size and width requirements, a presentation of the developer’s plans would be “pertinent” to the board’s decision. Referring to the request as a “dimensional variance,” Crosswell explained that a board decision without knowledge of the plans would be tantamount to “amending the provisions of the ordinance,” a legislative act which would not be in accordance with the administrative function of the zoning hearing board. Crosswell said that the applicant who is seeking a dimensional variance is under a “heavy burden of proof to show specifically how the provisions of the zoning ordinance that relate to th e s e lot width requirements and lot size requirements create an unnecessary hardship as it relates to the land, not an economic hardship ” (Turn to Page 2) In This Issue Editorial 4 Sports Section 5,6,7 Social 12,13 Church 16 Business Directory 17 Business Update 17 Painter Going Strong At 80 by Kathleen King When G. Da rby Williammee was 50, he found he had a lot of time on his hands. A blot clot in his brain in the inner ear area forced him to retire from his job as a painting contractor. “I was laid up quite a while,” Williammee, now 80, explained. “I was dizzy - I had to lie down a lot. ” So to help occupy some of the time, Williammee took up painting. He started by copying from photographs or pic-tures- trying to repeat what was on the other picture. “I’d sit on the edge of the bed and work at it,” he said. When he was able, he went outside, and found out from an a rtist’s standpoint, “that’s a whole different world” with so much to see and to determine what to put on the canvas. Williammee has been painting for 30 years now and never took any formal lessons. What he did take, he said with a laugh, is a lot of criticism. But most of it he asked for, he said. “I’ve got a couple good friends - artists - who live in Maine. They’d give me pointers.” Every artist he encountered he would observe and try to learn something about technique and approach. But not all artists were too excited about that idea. “A lot of artists are awfully stingy -- they’re afraid they’ll give some secret away. They think they have some secret formula or something.” As to sidewalk critics Williammee said “I don’t pay any attention to them.” Williammee’s favorite critic was his wife of 57 years, Jenny, who died about six years ago. Prior to that she was in a nursing home in York where ,Williammee spend many hours visiting her and others, he said. At that time Williammee lived in Wrightsville but after while his large home got too much for him to handle on his own and his health was shaky so he started looking for a smaller place to live. “I went to look at one of those high rise places for the elderly...I decided it wasn’t for me,” he stated. “I don’t want to live with a bunch of I JÎ 'vwW'ïú*. -' II *",T\ o rfr * : 'y ' . Ralph Lehman, a music teacher in the Warwick School District for 19Vi- years, has resigned to pursue a career in composing serious music. R a lp h L e h m a n : T r a d i n g B a t o n F o r T h e P e n old people.” So instead he put a mobile home on his son’s peach orchard outside of Penryn. That was about two years ago. He thinks his paintings aren’t selling so well now, but then he had a following in the York area, he concedes. Williammee says he can usually tell almost right from the first stroke whether or not a painting is going to turn out. “If I don’t like what I paint, I throw it away or set it aside.” Williammee says he has thrown more paintings away than he has kept. Painting has definitely enlarged his viewpoint, he said. “It changes your powers of observation - you see things you never saw before - d if f e r e n t sh a d e s , shadows...” The gray-haired artist says he like to keep on the go and often spends weeks at a time over the summer at a campground in Tioga County, along the Pine Creek. He fishes a lot there, and (Turn to Page 8) by Kathleen King Ralph Lehman is trading in his baton for the pen. After 21 years as a music teacher, 19-and-a-half at Warwick, Lehman has decided to pursue a career in composing. His resignation, which he turned in at a recent school board meeting, is effective Aug. iL - * - - 2” Lehman s the first to admit what he is doing is a risk - giving up the security of a job for the uncertainties of creativity and the publishing industry. But it’s a risk he says he has to take, because it’s something that has been gnawing away at him for a long time. “About 10 years ago I had a piece published and performed,” Lehman explained. “But with teaching and the family, there’s just not the time or energy to pursue composing.” A restlessness has been plaguing him for about a year-and-a-half, he said, and it grew worse and worse as time went on. “It’s something I want to do. I know how to do it, but I just didn’t push myself.” And it’s something he wants to do now, before the time comes when he can only say, “I wish I had...” or “If only I had...” Lehman says he doesn’t want to regret passing up a creative opportunity and felt that now was the time to do it. Three weeks at a summer course in composing at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester was the final deciding factor, he said. “I got a lot of encouragement there. It was the final thing that pushed me to the decision.” “I hate to use cliques,” he added, “but I decided to ‘go for it.’” He is quick to set to rest G. Darby Williammee, an 80-year-old self-taught artist who lives in the Penryn area, paints what he likes and has no time for critics. Outdoor Art Show The 19th annual Lititz Outdoor Art Show will take to the streets-Main and Broad streets-on Saturday (July 27) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A perennial favorite with natives and tourists alike, the art show will feature almost 200 artists from within a lOO-mile radius of Lititz. As in the past, the Young Artjsts Exhibit will be in Lititz Springs Park, and for the second year, there will be a senior high exhibit for 17-and 18-year-olds at the entrance to the park. Judges in the adult division will be Stuart F ro st and Roger Zellner, art professors at Pennsylvania State University. Judges for the Young Artists division will be Richard Ressel, art instructor at Lancaster Catholic High School, and Cindy Moyer, art instructor at Centerville Junior High School. Almost $900 in prize money will be awarded to the show’s winners. Admission is free. The raindate is scheduled for Aug. 3. Airport Neighbors Protest Runway Expansion Plans By Linda A. Harris One man’s dreams are often another man ’s nightmares. This concept was clearly illustrated Thursday when Lancaster Airport Authority members met with residents of the Owl. Hill Terrace area to discuss the airport’s new proposed master plan which calls for some $20 million in expansion projects over the next twenty years. At the outset of the meeting, Warren Swartz, authority chairman, told the group that the meeting was “a listening session” called to discuss the plan and to hear the views of those who might be affected by the plan. “We want” , he said, “to make the airport as safe as possible...to do a better job for those already using the facilities...and to be a good neighbor.” For two and one-half hours, authority members sought to reassure the residents that the plan was simply a guide to the orderly improvement of the airport if and when needs arise. They explained that the planners sought to envision what might be needed in the next twenty years, but things could change just as they had'following the 1977 plan. The residents, on the other hand, voiced complaints about present noise levels and fears concerning increased noise levels, especially if larger planes began using the expanded runways; safety, and decreased property values. Following a brief rundown of the major findings of the plan by Norman Lamar, a irp o rt manager, the authority members sought to clarify certain items among themselves, and Swartz then opened the meeting to questions and comments from the audience: Noise Deafening Deb Rutter, 705 E. Millport Road, told the authority members that she and her husband John were aware of the airport’s proximity when they built their home. She noted that they often heard small planes flying over their property, but that the noise wasn’t all that bothersome. What they didn’t expect was the noise generated by the increased volume of larger planes in recent years. “Traffic seems to have increased and the noise of the larger planes is deafening...you can’t hold a conversation at times without being interrupted,” she asserted. She added that they were unaware of plans to expand the airport and she questioned the the wisdom of holding the meeting at 4 p.m. when most people are working and not giving notice earlier. Lamar replied that the 1977 plan was public at the time the Rutters built their home and that it called for even more ambitious expansion, including a third (Turn to Page 2) any idea that his decision to give up teaching has anything to do with his students or their parents or the school district. But he does admit he has lost his enthusiasm for teaching and some of that has to do with the way music is looked at in the schools today. “Some people call it (instrumental music) a, frill,” he said. “It’s not one of your basics - the three R’s, and I understand that.” But because it is looked on as a frill, Lehman said a music teacher has to ‘“work around everything else.” “You teach at the whim of the rest of the system,” he said. Lessons may be scheduled but if there’s a field trip, a book review, an oral report, a test, they come first, he explained. And that’s a frustrating thing for a music teacher. He said he has met some music educators who say in their schools instruction is built into the day and does not conflict with the academic schedule. But those are rare places. And many places put even more stumbling blocks in the path of music instruction that Lehman has encountered, he says. “You have to accept that in order to teach, and one knows that when one gets in the business,” he agrees, but it also begins to wear thin after while. Lehman has been in charge of everything from the elementary instrumental music instruction to the high school orchestra and in the last seven to eight years he had charge of the middle school band. He has also worked with the high school musicals and has written the musical arrangments for innumberable band shows. (Turn to Page 2) Norman Lamar, Lancaster Airport manager, points to a map depicting Lancaster Airport as a group of concerned citizens and airport authority members look on. Authority Approves New Master Plan Monday’s meeting of the Lancaster Airport Authority was in sharp contrast to Thursday’s meeting in that only one airport neighbor showed up to comment on the proposed master plan. Following routine business reports and approval of the sale of Hamilton Aeronautics to Romar Aviation of West Chester, Warren Swartz, authority president, gave a capsulized report of Thursday’s discussions and asked authority members if they had any questions prior to calling for a vote. The vote to accept the master plan as is and to have open discussions of each individual project as it becomes necessary was unanimous. In a related matter, Norman Lamar requested authorization to spend approximately $7,500 to provide interim security measures for commuter traffic using the airport facilities. He said the interim measures were requested by Suburban Airlines and that the cost would be recouped through landing fee adjustments. He told the authority m em b e rs th a t such measures were a necessity until the airport terminal expansion contained in the master plan could be completed. The beefed-up security is in part a response to recent airliner hijackings because Lamar noted that commuter passengers are not re-screened when they arrive at other airports. Present terminal facilities allow non-passengers and passengers contact which is not desirable from a security standpoint. Interim security measures will include air-conditioning the glass-enclosed concourse, erecting signs to keep nor-passengers out of restricted areas, installing alarm door locks with panic bars to keep commuters who have been s c re e n e d sep a ra ted from nonpassengers and installation of a new gate to enable general aviation pilots to reach the airfield without going through the main concourse. Authority members also authorized the extension of the Apcoa lease to provide parking for the next five years. Swartz then opened the meeting to comments from the audience. Mrs. Bowser told the authority that she had contacted her farmer-neighbors prior to the meeting, but all said that the short notice, the hour and the need to complete necessary farm chores prevented them from attending. She asked that future meetings of the authority to discuss expansion-related p ro p o s a ls be given prominent space in all area newspapers and that consideration be given to evening meetings. She added that working people need at least several days notice of a meeting in order to adjust their schedules. In addition to those requests, she asked that notices of such meetings and information regarding the proposals be sent to those affected, especially those whose land is being considered for acquisition or easement. Swartz asked her to “help us to help you...provide us with the names of those you feel should be contacted so that we can notify them.” Mrs. Bowser assured them that she would provide the data. She added that she, her husband and her son operate two businesses on their property and are concerned that runway expansion could affect their livelihood. “I, for one, want more substantial evidence of the need for such expansion,” she declared. Interviewed following the meeting, she said that she “wouldn’t want to see any pilot hurt because the runways were too short”, but she felt that the inconvenience of carrying less fuel or fewer passengers during a few hot days during the summer did not justify taking farm land. She added that authority members and planners did not seek out the people who live there and who know the area before writing the master plan proposals. “Where, for instance, have they said what they will do about the 30-inch high pressure gas line that crosses Stauffer Road and which is in the proposed easement area at the end of the expanded runway?” Contacted at her home, Deb Rutter said that she still feels that the expanded runways will increase traffic (Turn to Page 2) |
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