Lititz Record Express

              THURSDAY, November 14, 1991
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L ititz R e c o rd E x p r e ss
I 115TH YEAR LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 28 Pages- No. 32 30 cents |
Preserving a rea ’s naturai beauty
M i l l p o r t C o n s e r v a n c y e x p a n d s i t s c o m m i t m e n t
LORIN BEIPLER_____________
Record Express Staff
What began as a 24-acre mill and
farm in southern Warwick Town­ship,
has now, 22 years later, quad­rupled
and blossomed into a nature
conservancy teeming with waterfowl
and other wildlife.
The Millport Conservancy, cen­tered
around the 18th century mill on
the comer of Warwick and Millport
roads, has acquired 44 acres of
adjoining land from the Daffin
Estate. With the addition announced
by founders Robert and Carolyn
Wohlsen, the conservancy now
encompasses 108 acres and stretches
from Rothsville Road to Millport
Road, between Warwick Road on the
west and Heck Road and the Owl Hill
Terrace housing development on the
east.
According to Robert Wohlsen, the
newly purchased land will be used, as
is the rest of the conservancy, to
encourage wildlife propagation. The
land will, for the most part, be allow­ed
to grow wild, providing habitat for
indigenous wildlife.
Of particular interest is the size­able
pond that is the centerpiece of
the 44-acre tract. The conservancy’s
orginal 24 acres included a similar-sized
pond that once upon a time
served as a supply source for the
millrace. The Lancaster County
chapter of Waterfowl USA initiated a
program of habitat improvements to
encourage waterfowl populations in
the area. The newly added pond will
likely receive similar treatment.
Wohlsen adds that one of the first
steps that needs to be taken is to rid
the Lititz Run, which slices through
the middle of the property, and the
two ponds of muskrats and snapping
turtles, both of which take their toll
on waterfowl offspring.
A part of the dry land that was
recently aquired will continue to
serve, as it has in the past, as pasture
land for several horses. The rest will
be given over to the wildlife popula­tion,
which includes a sizeable deer
herd. Nature trails which meander
through the previously established
portions of the conservancy will be
extended throughout the recently
acquired acreage.
The Wohlsens purchased the mill,
along with the preserve’s first 24
acres, back in 1969 with the idea of
creating a broad-ranging conservan-
(Turn to Pag* 19)
Photo by Lorln Beldler
The above scene should be familiar to anyone who travels Rothsville Road from time to time. The pasture,
which is located at the corner of Rothsville and Warwick roads, is part of a 44-acre tract that was purchased
from the Daffin Estate by the Millport Conservancy.
The debate begins:
1992 budget on the
Township’s agenda
JENNIFER KOPF_____________
Lititz Record News Editor
It’s time once again to tackle the
annual allocation of money in War­wick
Township.
And, according to Supervisors
Chairman James KIopp, it appears so
far that there will be no tax increase,
at least at the most local level, for
Warwick Township residents.
Discussion on the proposed 1992
budget began Nov. 6 in Warwick
Township, with much of the atten­tion
focused on the use of recreation
money and a plan by Warwick
Township Police to upgrade their
decade-old weapons.
Chief A1 Olsen presented informa­tion
to the supervisors last week on a
change of weapons for his depart­ment,
proposing a move from the .38
caliber revolvers they now use to a
semi-automatic weapon. While the
current guns are “still perfectly
w o rk ab le... te ch n o lo g y has
changed.”
Earlier this week, Olsen explained
the move as a “natural progression,”
and said that, while the weapon
would be semi-automatic it would be
safer in the long run.
“What you’d be getting,” he said
Tuesday night, “is a gun that has less
velocity but more knock-down pow­er.”
The police would also have a
weapon with a larger capacity, going
from the six-round revolvers to a
12-round weapon.
By comparison, Olsen said that
Lititz Borough Police, who already
carry semi-automatic weapons, carry
guns with a 15-round capacity.
At least three times last year,
Olsen said, officers scuffled with
suspects who tried to pull the offic­er’s
revolver from its holster. “You
don’t need a special skill to fire a
revolver,” Olsen said last week.
By comparison, the new weapons
would have double safeties, the chief
(Turn to Page 21)
Senate bill would erase
prevailing wage for the
construction of schools
JENNIFER KOPF_____________
Lititz Record News Editor
For some, it’s an obvious way to
save state tax money without sacrif­icing
services.
For others, it threatens an income
well appreciated in seasonal work.
Dropping the Pennsylvania
requirement of paying the prevailing
wage in public school construction is
a topic that raises hackels on both
sides. At one time, it was considered
a goal to accomplish before Warwick
School District begins to build its
new elementary school. While that’s
no longer the focus of district efforts
toward supporting new construction
legislation, Superintendent John
Bonfield said recently that the dis­trict
does support Senate Bill 1273,
introduced by local Senator Gibson
E. Armstrong (R-13).
SB 1273 was passed out of the
state Labor and Industry Committee
in late October, and also went
through its first reading last month.
According to Steven Samara, of
Armstrong’s office, it is hoped that
something will be done with the bill
by the end of this calendar year, “at
least from the Senate’s perspective.”
It would then have to be considered
by the state House.
If passed, SB 1273 would elimi­nate
public schools from the “public
works” category affected by prevail­ing
wage, or the practice of paying a
wage to project workers based on the
region in which they are working.
That prevailing wage, locally, is
often higher than that the workers
would cam on a regular, non-public
works project.
According to Armstrong, SB 1273
would not eliminate other common
projects from the prevailing wage
requirements. “It doesn’t touch high­ways,
municipal buildings, et ceter-a,”
he said.
“Public works” is defined in the
legislation as “construction, recon­struction,
demolition, alteration and/
or repair work other than mainte­nance
work, done under contract and
paid for in whole or in part out of the
funds of a public body where the esti-
(Turn to Page 19) PennDOT finally begins work on dangerous corner
LORIN BEIPLER_____________________________
Record Express Staff
Anyone who has ever crossed Brunnerville Road on
eastbound Newport Road knows how hazardous that
intersection can be.
The combination of a small knoll just north of the
intersection and a high bank on the northwestern comer
means that eastbound motorists have a hard time seeing
southbound vehicles until they’re right on top of the
intersection. Motorists have no choice but to cross their
fingers, mutter a quick prayer and hope that any south­bound
traffic is following the speed limit.
Hopefully, however, Newport Road travelers will not
have to depend on providence for very much longer. Pen­nDOT
crews began work on Tuesday to improve visibili­ty
at the “unsightly” intersection.
According to Warwick Township Manager Bob
Smith, the aforementioned bank, which is largely respon­sible
for the poor visibility, is being removed by Pen-nDO'l
workers. While township officials would like to
have seen PennDOT do even more at the intersection,
such as remove the crest of the hill just north of the
intersection and widen and resurface Brunnerville Road,
Smith adds, they’ll take what they can get.
“It’s definitely not a panacea for all the problems at
this intersection,” he says, “but it should provide better
visibility.”
PennDOT, the state highway department told the
township, has neither the time nor the funds to rework the
intersection completely. “That (shaving the bank) is the
best they could do,” Smith said.
According to Smith, clearing sight lines at the intersec­tion
has been a township priority for several years. The
intersection has long been one of the area’s worst, some
years staking claim as the township’s single most danger­ous
crossroads. Between 1985 and 1990 the intersection
was the site of 41 accidents, with a one-year high of 11 in
1987.
Township officials had officially petitioned PennDOT
to do something about the intersection as early as August
of 1988. The following year, the township contacted the
owners of the property, urging them to cooperate in the
project.
Disagreements between the land owners and Pen­nDOT
delayed execution of the undertaking until this
year, however.
According to Smith, the project is not expected to take
very long to complete. There will be no cost to the town­ship,
as Brunnerville Road is state owned.
Photo by Lorln Beidter
PennDOT workers on Tuesday began leveling a steep bank that for years has hindered visibility at the
intersection of Brunnerville and Newport roads.
THIS WEEK IN THE RECORD EXPRESS
Early deadlines announced
D e a d lin e s fo r R e co rd
advertising and editorial copy
have been changed for the
Thanksgiving week issue,
Nov. 27.
Retail and classified dis­play
ads and all editorial copy
for that issue must be in the
Record Express office by 5
p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22.
Classified reader ads will
be accepted until 10 a.m. Mon­day,
Nov. 25. The offices of the
Lititz Record Express will be
closed on Thursday, Nov. 28.
The Thanksgiving week
issue will be printed Tuesday,
Nov. 26 and received by sub­scribers
on Wednesday, Nov.
27.
Falzone opens new
chocolate business
Many customers at Choco­lates
Galore, Lititz’ new cho­colate
business, wonder how
owner Lenore Falzone can
compete with Wilbur Choco­late.
Falzone is quick to point
out that she is not trying to.
The business does not pro­duce
chocolate, it only molds
the stuff. Read more on page
19.
Rothsville Med. Center
completes expansion
In the interests of providing
a true “medical center,” one
which can cure illness and
help prevent it, the Rothsville
Medical Center recently com­pleted
a project to double the
size of its 1810 Rothsville
Road facility. Read more on
page 28.
THE INDEX
Business 20
Church 18
Classified 24-27
Editorial 4
Lunch Menu 6
Manheim 22
Obituaries 2
Out of the Past 4
School News 6
Social 16-17
Sports 8-11
WEATHER: We d n e s d a y
becoming mostly sunny, highs 45
to 50. Fair Thursday through
Saturday. Lows in the 30s.
iri