Lititz Record Express

              “ F U ^ . * Y . ” /;r i7 /’ S, 1994
L i t i t z R e c o r d E x p r e s s
118TH YEAR LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 28 Pages- No. 2 3 0 c e n t s
Guns in Lititz
Increasing numbers of Lititz residents are applying for permits to
carry a concealed weapon. Read more on Page 28.
Softball wins three
Kelly Coen went 11 -for-11 over three games to help lead team to :
victories. Read more on Page 8.
Lititz Springs Park
Find out what’s happening in Lititz Springs Park in coming :
months. Turn to Page 28 for more.
Baseball tops Penn Manor
Warwick scored five runs in the sixth to give them a 9-4 win. Read
more on Page 9.
Business
Church
Classified
Editorial
Manheim
Obituaries
Out of the Past
School Menu
18 School News
16 Social
24-27 Sports
4
20
2 WEATHER: Thursday,
4 able cloudiness. Friday,
6 cloudy.
6-7
14-15
8-11
vari-partly
D ru g b u s t
in L ititz
The Lancaster County Drug Task
Force made its presence felt this
week in Lititz as they arrested six
Lititz residents on charges of selling
marijuana.
Lititz Borough and Warwick
Township Police officers assisted
with the Tuesday morning arrests.
Two Warwick High School students
were included among the six sus­pects.
The students names were not
released because of their ages.
Warwick Township Officer
Michael Burdge helped get the inves­tigation
started when he received
information about drug dealing in the
area. Through the use of an under­cover
Task Force agent and an infor­mant,
several transactions occurred
over the course of several months.
Tuesday’s arrests came just one
day after the task force nabbed a
group of suspected drug dealers for
allegedly selling marijuana and
cocaine in the nearby Manheim area.
Also, state police conducted a
(Turn to Page 22)
CONNIE BUCKWALTER
Record Express Staff
After years of trying to find a solution to the flooding
problem in the Pine Lane Estates area, Warwick Town­ship
supervisors voted to fund the necessary improve­ments
in two stages.
The 4-1 vote came after almost 45 minutes of discus­sion
during the supervisors’ meeting last Wednesday
night.
In order to fund the first phase of the project, which
will cost about $15,000-20,000, plus labor, supervisors
said they plan to defer the purchase of a woodchipper that
was budgeted at a cost of $17,000. When supervisors
compose the 1995 budget, the second portion of the pro­ject,
which will cost an estimated $20,000-25,000 for
materials, will be worked in.
Supervisor Bruce Bucher, who voted against the
motion, said that he was concerned about the impact of
labor costs on a budget that isalready stretched to the lim­it
after a harsh winter. The work will take a four-man
township road crew approximately 14 days to complete,
which means they will not be able to do another planned
project. Although the road crews will be paid the same
whether they work on the Pine Lane Estates problem or
some other project, Bucher said he did not feel that it was
appropriate to make a snap judgment on the issue.
“I did not expect to be asked to vote for a $30,000 to
$40,000 expenditure when I came to the meeting
tonight,” he said.
Bucher also expressed concern that the township may
need tc saisc taxes next year because of expenses like
this.
“1 recognize your concerns, but I think we have a
responsibility to these residents too,” Supervisor Daniel
Garrett said to Bucher.
Supervisor Chairman Michael W. Brubaker said that
he would only approve the project if he felt the township
could rework the public works budget to find the neces­sary
money to cover costs associated with the project.
“Tome it’s a matter of shifting priorities,” he said, not­ing
that another project would probably be delayed as a
result of the decision. Brubaker also said that he did not
want to see taxes go up for this project.
Many of the affected residents said that they too under­stood
Bucher’s concerns, but were tired of waiting for a
solution.
“The problem is not going to go away. We need to bite
the bullet,” said one woman.
For several years, residents in the vicinity of Green
Acre Road and Buttonwood Drive have experienced tre­mendous
flooding of their roads, driveways, yards and
basements. The flooding is the result of inadequate storm
water management, said Grant Hummer, township engi­neer.
The development was built during the early 1980s,
before storm water management became as strict as it
now is.
“It was a real screw up. It should never have hap­pened,”
Supervisor V. Riggs Kohler said of the situation.
“The five supervisors who were here before us, as far as
I’m concerned, made a mistake.”
(Turn to Page 22)
B r u b a k e r c l i m b s
l a d d e r o f s u c c e s s
W a r w i c k T o w n s h i p r e s i d e n t
e a r n s s m a l l b u s i n e s s h o n o r
CONNIE BUCKWALTER
Record Express Staff
When Michael W. Brubaker sets a goal for himself, he reaches it— virtual­ly
without fail.
And when he reaches one goal, he moves on to the next.
Recendy, Brubaker was celebrated for his success in the business world
when he was named Small Business Person of the Year by the Lancaster
County Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Although 1994 was the fourth year Brubaker and his business, Brubaker
Agronomic Consulting Services (BACS), was nominated for the distin­guished
honor, Brubaker said he was not expecting to win.
“I was very surprised,” the 36-year-old Brubaker said incredulously.
“There are 8,000 small businesses in Lancaster County and to be as young as I
am was very flattering.”
During his acceptance speech, which he said he had prepared “in case,”
Brubaker talked about goal setting and how some encouragement from a
teacher helped motivate him to get the most from himself.
When Brubaker was in sixth grade, he ran in a race and did poorly. After­wards,
a teacher told him that he “had potential.” From that point forward,
Brubaker began setting goals for himself. In high school, he was determined
to earn his varsity letters in both track and cross country — and he did it, as a
freshman.
Now, several years later, Brubaker’s goals may be different, but his desire
and perserverance to reach them is as strong as it ever was.
“Goal setting is something that I do. I set goals for my family, faith and
occupation,” said the president, CEO and founder of BACS. “I set the goal
that I wanted to be the best business person that I could possibly be.”
Brubaker began his career in agronomic consulting in 1978 as he was earn­ing
his agronomy degree from West Virginia University. In the early days,
BACS certainly was not as profitable as it now is, he said. Brubaker began
with about seven clients and worked from his Lititz Borough home. He then
moved his family and business to his current home in Warwick Township.
Almost two years ago, he moved his office to its current location along Ore­gon
Pike in Ephrata.
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P in e L a n e r e s id e n t s
b r e a t h e s ig h o f r e l i e f
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Photos by Connie Buckwalter
John Beck Principal Robert Heron smooches a pig fresh off the farm as he promised to do if his students
read at least 15,000 books.
P u c k e r u p l i t t le p ig g y
John Beck , - , x m
Principal
makes good
on promise
CONNIE BUCKWALTER
Record Express Staff
When John Beck Principal Robert
Heron planted a kiss on a farm pig
last Friday, it was hard to tell who
was squealing more loudly — the pig
or the children.
Heron, who never before kissed a
pig, consented to do so if the students
met a reading goal of 15,000 books in
15 weeks. This year’s library theme
was “Pig Out on Books” and school
Librarian Lorrie Wink organized the
competitive effort and kept track of
the students’ progress with a ther­mometer
outside the library doors. In
addition to the overall progress of the
school, top readers were recognized
weekly for their hard work.
The students embraced the reading
challenge with enthusiasm, far sur­passing
their goal of 15,000 books as
they read 16,059 books.
Wink said she was confident that
the students would at least reach the
goal, but admitted that at the midway
point, things were looking a little
bleak. Fortunately, the students in
grades kindergarten through fifth put
forth a concerted effort that eventual­ly
carried them over the top.
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4.
Photo by Connie Buckwalter
Michael Brubaker, owner/CEO/president of Brubaker Agronomic
Consulting Services, Inc., displays his award for Small Business Per­son
of the Year.
These days, BACS ranks fifth among the top consulting firms in the nation
with 1,000 clients — and it continues to grow.
But just what does an agronomist do? Brubaker said that even some of his
close friends are not exactly sure what his work entails.
“We are designed to gear the farmer towards a higher level of profitability
and to make them aware of and comply with environmental laws,” Brubaker
explained.
Plants need 17 vital nutrients to grow, he said. By analyzing the content of
the soil, Brubaker and his staff can evaluate what the farmer can do to help
increase productivity.
BACS aims to help farmers lower costs and increase their productivity,
which in tum elevates their profit margin.
All farmers sign with BACS on one-year contracts, which they can termi­nate
or renew annually. BACS has a 98 percent resign rate, Brubaker said.
One way that the company ensures client satisfaction is their pledge to
increase farmer’s profitability by 150 percent of their initial investment.
“I love working with farmers,” Brubaker said. “It has given me a great
appreciation for them.”
When he started his business, Brubaker spent more time out in the field than
he now does. As his business has grown and expanded, his role has too. Now
(Turn to Page 22)
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Top readers for the 15 weeks of the Pig Out on Books Challenge
include (front, l-r) Kate Stewart, Ronni Miller, Alyssa Brenner; (middle)
Danielle Wink, Amy Musser, Jacy Good, Chelsea Mearig; (back) Jen­nifer
Fortney, Ashley Kontra, Ashley Singer, Julie Ludwig. Not pictured
are Kyle Cooper and Grant Weaver.
“I am very, very pleased with your
efforts,” Heron told the children
before he kissed the pig.
Decked out in a straw hag flannel
shirt, blue jeans and pig sweatshirt,
Heron looked ready for the task at
hand. As he prepared to kiss the pig,
the excitement of the students was
hard to miss, as were the pink pig
heads they wore atop their own.
After Heron kissed the pig, the stu­dents
swarmed towards him to get a
closer glimpse of the 15-pound, three
week old pig.
The pig’s owner, Linda Miller,
said that, to the best of her know­ledge,
that was the first time that par­ticular
pig had been kissed by a
person.
After the morning kiss, Heron
enjoyed a brief respite before he had
to pucker up again — this time for the
upper grades and the afternoon kin­dergarten.
Power Connection
comes under fire
BRUCE MORGAN
Record Express Staff
Questions were raised at Tues­day’s
Lititz Borough Council meet­ing
regarding what could be done
about youths from the Power Con­nection
creating problems in the
nearby area.
E.D. Harris, who just recently sold
that property to his son, Gerald, said
that there was no problem there for
several years, but lately it’s become a
big concern.
He related incidents about these
kids making loud noise, loitering,
spitting at passers-by, and littering.
The Power Connection is a
Christian-oriented center, open a
couple nights each week, designed to
keep youths off the street.
Harris also owns apartments in
that area of Main S treet, and the noise
has been so loud that it’s kept his ten­ants
awake at night.
“I haven’t raised the rent (at the
Power Connection) because I like the
work they’re doing, but lately it
seems to be attracting a different kind
of element,” he said.
The matter has gone before the
Lititz Police Department, Harris
said, but loitering laws are ineffec­tive
because it’s on public property
and it would be unconstitutional to
enforce those laws.
Farmer’s First Bank has put up
signs to keep loiterers out of the back,
but that doesn’t solve the problem
which still exists in front.
Harris’ concern is that he doesn’t
want to lose his tenants who are rent­ing
apartments.
“We don’t know just what to do,”
he said.
Also attending the meeting
besides E.D. and Gerald Harris was
Linda Witmer, who serves as the
building supervisor.
Witmer has lived in the building
for about 10 years, and she said
everyone she talks to about the prob­lem
gives her the run-around.
“I don’t have anything against the
Power Connection — if it’s helping
the kids, that’s great — but it’s been
disrupting our lives for a lot of
years,” she said.
Mayor Russell Pettyjohn said
council is aware of the problem, and
that in his former role as Borough
Council President, it was brought to
his attention by the Lititz Retailers
Association that something needs to
be done about it.
He had formerly attended a Power
Connection board meeting and sug­gested
supervision be given on the
sidewalk as well as within the center,
and the Retailers were giving him
positive feedback for a little while
after that, but obviously, the problem
hasn’t gone away.
Pettyjohn said on Tuesday that he
and Police Chief Doug Shertzer
could make plans to attend another
board meeting. And then if nothing is
resolved after that, he would have no
problem closing the center down, he
said.
Council member Ruth McKennon
agreed that something must be done,
but she urged council to consider all
of its options.
(Turn to Page 22)