Lititz Record Express

              T H U R S D A Y , A u g u s t 1 1 , 1 9 9 4
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L it itz Record Express
1 118TH YEAR" Two sections LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 28 Pages- No. 17 30 cents
'A ¥ i fLZ. II IN T H E R E C O R D E X P R E S S
Students check out library fun
More than 20 readers, ranging from 6-12 years of age, partici­pated
in last week’s game day at the Lititz Public Library. Read more
about the fun educational experience on Page 6.
Lititz athletes strike gold
Dozens of Lititz athletes flexed their muscles in various sports and
came home with gold, silver and bronze medals from the 13th annu­al
Keystone State Games. Turn to Page 8 to learn more.
People to People
Warwick High Schoof student Marcia Towers spent almost a
month as a student ambassador in Europe with the People to People
experience.
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Business 20
Church 16
Classified 22-25
Editorial 4
Manheim 19
Obituaries 2
Out of the Past 4
School News
Social
Sports
6
14-15
8-11
WEATHER: Thursday, part­ly
sunny. Friday, partly cloudy.
S lu d g e a p p lic a tio n
in fu r ia te s r e s id e n ts
in E liz a b e th Twp.
STEPHEN SEEBER
W a l - M a r t
p r o t e s t o r s
p l a n v i g i l
CONNIE BUCKWALTER
Record Express Staff
Days before Wal-Mart’s prelimin­ary
plan is slated to go before the
Warwick Township Planning Com­mission,
the Concerned Lititz Citi­zens
(CLC) will hold a vigil to
demonstrate their opposition to the
retailer’s plans.
On Saturday, August 20, from 11
a.m. until 1 p.m., men and women
who oppose the construction of a
199,000-square-foot Wal-Mart sup­ercenter
are invited to stand together
at the proposed building site to show
their concern about the issue. The
vigil will be held rain or shine.
The Wal-Mart store proposed for
Warwick Township would be
located slightly north of Stauffers of
Kissel Hill off Route 501 on land cur­rently
owned by Buckhill Farms.
One of the event organizers, Carol
Rettew, said the group hopes that
1,000 people will participate in the
peaceful gathering.
“We’re going to basically just
gather and form a nice oblong circle
and travel in one direction,” Rettew
said. “We’ll hold signs and let people
who pass by know that we’re
concerned.”
Vigil participants must remain on
the township’s right-of-way, not on
the actual property, and off the road­way,
Rettew said
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Photo by Connie Buckwalter
Warwick Township Public Works employees began work on Newport and Brunnerville Road improve­ments
early last week. As the crews move onto different phases of the improvements and different sections
of the road, through traffic will be detoured.
Warwick supervisors forge
ahead with improvements
Record Express Staff
The air was foul with the stench of discontent Monday night as 43 Elizabeth
Township residents pleaded with their board of supervisors to stop 200 tons of
sewage sludge from being applied to farmland near their homes.
The Lititz Borough permit for agricultural land utilization of biosolids is
close to reality due to contractual obligations between John Farrington, owner
of the prospective sludge injection site along Speedwell Forge Road and Long
Lane, and the Department of Environmental Resources (DER). According to
Larry Wiker, Chairman of the Elizabeth Board, a considerable amount invest­ment
has gone into surveying the land, making the deal that much more diffi­cult
to undo.
Just as they have been doing for the past several months, township residents
who live near the Myer/Farrington farm voiced their concerns for water safety
and property values at a special hearing held during the supervisors’ monthly
meeting. Dave Meyer, who along with Mike Miller is leading the sludge
opposition movement, said he depends on his well to supply safe drinking
water. “My groundwater could be contaminated,” said Meyer, “I have two
young children.”
Residents say they are also worried about the marketability of their land
and homes. “I can lose money when I sell my house,” said Meyer as he con­templated
the idea of biosolids negating his home improvement investments.
Yet supervisors Wiker, Jeff Burkholder and Rodney May all said they sup­port
the permission of biosolid/soil interaction in the township — within rea­son.
“We want to keep this a rural area where farming is allowed,” said Wiker.
Wiker added that manure distribution isn’t regulated like sludge, “Sludge
offers more protection.”
As the meeting progressed, with the supervisors offering little assurance
that anything could be dohe to hault the sludge application, the crowd began to
feel alienated by/ their representatives.
“How can your opinion outweigh all of the people here,” asked a woman
from the back of the room, “this isn’t America.”
In response, Wiker justified the board’s stance by saying, “I don’t think this
group represents an accurate cross-section of the whole township.”
After the group regained its composure, Miller turned toward discrepancies
in the permit application text. Among others, page 25 of the introduction
fueled some rage by stating that there are “few neighbors” in the vicinity of the
designated farmland. According to Miller there would be approximately 15
homes that would be directly affected, with other residents living close by that
also have concerns. In addition, according to a scale map of the operation,
some of the sludge will be applied just 200 feet from the front yards of these
homes, which is a little too close for comfort for these residents. May stated
that he was against sludge use on land that close to other properties.
After an hour of debate over scientific data and opinion nothing had been
accomplished. Local residents presented their fears while the supervisors,
despite their personal feelings on the issue, asserted that there was little they
could do. Wiker said, “I could be very wrong on this...I’m interested in main­taining
our farming community.”
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Craft sh ow lu r e s b u slo ad s
to L ititz a rea on S a tu rd a y
CONNIE BUCKWALTER______________________
Record Express Staff
As the Warwick Township Public Works Department
began the much anticipated improvements to Newport
and Brunnerville Roads last week, township supervisors
faced some unexpectedly high expenses related to that
project.
Supervisors approved the $56,571 cost of installing a
culvert and wing walls along Newport Road to provide
for continuous and safe pedestrian access to the town­ship’s
planned linear park.
Supervisors had planned for the expense, but had no
idea it would be that high, said Supervisor Chairman
Michael W. Brubaker.
Of the $56,571, $23,292 will come from the town-ship’s
recreation funds. Township Manager Daniel Zim­merman
said he had discussed the matter with the town­ship’s
recreational advisory committee, which agreed
with the move. The remaining $33,279 will come from
the township’s capital reserve fund.
Supervisor V. Riggs Kohler said he felt it was impor­tant
that the township continue with the project in spite of
the cost.
“We made a commitment and the pedestrian easement
underneath Newport Road is essential for the parkway,”
Brubaker added.
Alsorelating toNewportRoad, supervisors .authorized
the advertisement for bid specifications for paving
materials.
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L ititz PD
seed c a lls
in c r e a s e
DIANE NIXDORF
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■ ■ ■ ■ ■ I
Photo by Connie Buckwalter
I BREAKING THROUGH —This little flower outside the Litiu. Record Express office shows its determi-
| nation to bloom by bursting through the pavement. With the recent string of beautiful summer days, many
|people took the opportunity to go out and smell the flowers and appreciate nature at its finest. Unfortu-
| nately, all good things must end and extended forecasts predict clouds and possible rain towards the end
lo f this week and into the weekend.
CONNIE BUCKWALTER
Record Express Staff
Robert Martin calls himself more
of a sports enthusiast than a crafter.
But to hundreds, even thousands of
people from Lititz and beyond, Mar­tin
is an integral part of one of the
largest craft shows on the East Coast
Martin and Tom Oehme co-chair
the Lititz Rotary Club’s Lawrence J.
Ruggiano Craft Show. Time is tick­ing
away until the start of this year’s
show — the 16th annual — which
will be held from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
on Saturday, August 13.
With 650 exhibitors already
signed up, Martin has another 600
crafters chomping at the bit to get in
the show. Several of the exhibitors
rent more than one space in order to
display a larger selection of their
wares.
driveway and entrance and added a
number of spaces along East Main
Street near Linden Hall.
“We had too many complaints of
congestion,” Martin said of the park.
“The ambulance couldn’t get
through to treat people who fainted.”
With more than 30,000 people
expected to visit the show, bath­rooms,
trash cans and parking spaces
will be in high demand. Martin said
the club sets up about 30 portable
toilets around the downtown area to
accomodate visitors. Boy Scouts and
Rotary Club members collect trash
throughout the day so that clean-up
progresses smoothly. As for parking,
well, Martin knows there’s no easy
answer to that dilemma.
Two areas that many people don’t
seem to know about are the spaces
behind the Lititz Moravian Church.
Twelve different non-profit orga­nizations
and clubs from the com-munity
will also be selling baked
goods, drinks, sandwiches, soup and
other foods.
Martin said the Rotary Club
doesn’t want to see the show get any
larger than it is now. Sixteen years
ago, when the show first started, it
was a fraction of the size with only
about 50 crafters.
“Word got around that we had a
good show and more add more peo­ple
wanted to be a part of it,” Martin
said.
Exhibitors set up along Main and
Broad Streets, with the largest num­ber
of spaces in the Lititz Springs
Park. In order to try and reduce some
of the congestion in the park, this
year show organizers elminated
some of the spaces along the park
where Boy Scouts will help park
cars, and the Warwick High School
parking lot, he said.
“Drive down to the high school
.j* •
The streets of downtown Lititz were filled with vendors and custom­ers
during last year’s Rotary Club craft show.
and walk down to the park — it’s so
easy,” Martin recommended.
To many people, the craft show is
nothing short of an annual summer
pilgrimmage. Martin said busloads
of people from out-of-town and out-of-
state travel to the show. And when
the people who come often do some
serious shopping.
“You walk around the show and
you see almost everyone carrying
bags,” Martin said.
The day of the show, the club will
have information booths set up to
help people locate specific crafters.
The money that the Lititz Rotary
Club raises from the show goes right
back into the community. Last year
the show helped provide donations to
the Lititz Springs Park, Lititz Public
Library, Lititz Historical Founda­tion,
Lititz Community Chest, Lititz
Community Center, Gate House,
Camp Harmony Hall, local fire com­panies,
ambulances and the Junior
Achievement Program.
Record Express Staff
Rarely a day goes by that the Lititz
Police Department is not bombarded
with at least a dozen calls.
And the numbers continue to rise
rapidly.
“I think the message is getting
across that people should call as soon
as an incident occurs,” said Chief
Douglas Shertzer. “Even if it’s some­thing
minor, it’s better to call and
have us look into it rather than ignore
it.”
According to the chief’s six-month
report, the department
responded to 2,559 calls from the
beginning of January to the end of
June. With 412 more calls than last
year at this time, the officers are
keeping busy.
“Our increased presence has also
prompted additional calls,” said
Shertzer. “We’re getting out and
mixing with the community. People
are learning that they can rely on us.”
During the first half of the year,
arrests (mostly juvenile) jumped
considerably — particularly in the
areas of larceny/theft, vandalism/
criminal mischief and disorderly
conduct. Spray painting buildings
and vandalizing cars appear to be two
specific problem areas.
Drug abuse violations are also on
the rise. “We’ve been putting stron­ger
enforcement in the drug area, and
it will be intensified even more in the
next six months,” said Shertzer.
In addition, the report indicates
that domestic incidents are occurring
more frequently. “I don’t think there
are necessarily more than before,”
said Shertzer. “People are justreport-ing
the incidents rather than letting
them slip by.”
Due to the unfavorable weather
conditions over the past six months,
traffic accidents have become a bit
more common. But, Shertzer said
there is not one particular area that
appears to be a major problem.
“If people would exercise more
caution and pay attention to road
conditions, some accidents could be
avoided,” he said.
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