Lititz Record Express

              THURSDAY, August 25, 1994
L i t i t z R e c o r d
118TH YEAR Two sections LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 26 Pages- No. 19 30 cents
THIS WEEK IN THE RECORD EXPRESS
Holiday deadline changes
Due to the Labor Day holiday, deadlines for Lititz Record Exprés;
advertising and editorial copy have been changed.
Retail and classified display ads and ail editorial copy for the Sep
tember 8 issue must be in the Record Express office by 5 p.m. on Fri
day, September 2. j
Classified reader ads will be accepted until 10 a.m. on Tuesday^
September 6. Retail display or classified ads for “Neighbors” must btjj
received by 10 a.m. Wednesday, August 31. The offices of the Lititj
Record Express will be closed on Monday, September 5.
School bus schedules
Warwick School District bus schedules can be found on Pages 6
& 7 while a partial listing of Manheim Central’s bus routes is on Page
21. Next week, the remainder of Manheim Central’s schedule will be
published.
As American as apple pie
Oehme Bakery cooks up super-size apple pie for Little League
Vorld Series. Read more on Page 8.
THE INDEX
Business 18
Church 16
Classified 22-25
Editorial 4
Manheim 21
Obituaries 2
Out of the Past 4
School News 6
Social 14-15
Sports 8-11
WE A TH E R : Thursda y,
increasing cloudiness with
chance of an afternoon show­er
or thunderstorm.
Linda Coho and golden retriever, Beezer, came from Lancaster to
lend their support to the Concerned Lititz Citizens.
Store foes protest
Wal-Mart on 501
Warwick’s newest elementary school will be ready when classes start on Septembers.
Photos by Connie Buckwalter
New school ready to open
for students in September
Each classroom will be equipped with a sink, drinking fountain, sev­eral
cupboards, shelves and storage room.
CONNIE BUCKWALTER
Record Express Staff
Despite construction setbacks
caused by a harsh winter, the John R.
Bonfield Elementary School will be
finished in time for the September 7
school opening.
The $6.4 million school sits back
from the comer of Oak and Front
Streets in Lititz. All the classrooms,
offices and rooms are spread out
among the 94,000-square foot, one-story
building.
Principal Dr. Gail E. Ekstrand,
formerly of Kissel Hill Elementary,
said she wanted to hold open houses
for the students, parents and com­munity
members prior to the opening
of school but— because of construc­tion
setbacks — must postpone
them. The teachers themselves are
chomping at the bit to get into their
classrooms but will not be able to
until Labor Day weekend, Ekstrand
said.
To avoid undue confusion the first
day, Ekstrand mailed school maps to
all the children and highlighted
where each student’s classroom is
located. In addition, specialty teach­ers
(art, music, etc.) will greet the
children at the main entrance and
guide them in the proper direction.
Grades 1-6 are divided into three
separate “pods" that extend off
“Main Street.” Each of the pods is
color-coded to help students dif­ferentiate
between them. Grades 1 &
2 are in the teal green pod, 3 & 4 are
in the salmon area and 4 & 5 are in the
blue pod. Kindergarten classrooms
are located at the end of the main
corridor.
During a recent walk-through
inspection of the school, school
board members and administrators
joined with construction personnel to
survey die progress.
At the main entrance to the school,
display cabinets will highlight some
of the students’ work and accom-plishments
throughout the year.
A large gymnasium/auditorium
can accomodate two gym classes at
the same time and can also be set up
for special events. Ekstrand said she
will welcome being able to hold spe­cial
school-wide programs in the
auditorium. In the past, the elemen­tary
schools have had to hold their
special programs in the Warwick
Middle School.
The specialty classrooms are all
grouped towards the one end of the
school. Both the vocal and instru­mental
music rooms have ample
space for the students to store their
instruments, sheet music and books.
Each regular classroom is
equipped with some standard fea­tures
— coat check area, shelves,
poster-size drawers, sink and drink­ing
fountain. The first through fourth
grade classrooms will also feature a
bathroom. Fifth and sixth graders
will have to go down the hall.
A special seminar room enables
teachers to demonstrate a particular
teaching technique or method for
observation without disrupting the
educational process. A two-way mir­ror
separates the rooms.
One of the elementary-age stu­dent’s
favorite activities is recess and
the architects have not forgotten to
provide climbers and other play­ground
equipment towards die rear
of the school. There will be three
separate playgrounds — one for kin-dergartners,
one for the younger
children and a third for the older stu­dents.
Three soccer/softball/baseball
fields will also be located to the rear
of the school.
The new school will have the prac­tical
capacity to enroll about 850 stu­dents.
When the school opens this
fall, Ekstrand estimated they would
be educating about 646 students.
The school will have four class­rooms
each of first through fourth
grades, three of sixth grade, five ses­sions
of kindergarten and three learn­ing
support rooms.
Dr. John R. Bonfield, district
superintendent, said that the new
school cost about $63 per square foot
to construct, which was the second
lowest cost of the between 15-18new
schools built in the state this year.
CONNIE BUCKWALTER
Record Express Staff
Looking at the intersection of
Route 501 and Millport Road Satur­day
afternoon, several Wal-Mart
protestors pointed out the constant
stream of traffic on the roadways.
“You see the amount of traffic just
continuously here,” said Greta Weil-er
of Lititz. “I cannot see 20,000
more cars on this road when 501 is
already clogged.”
“I have shopped at the Lebanon
Wal-Mart,” she continued. “I’m not
against a Wal-Mart per se, but the
traffic is a concern.”
Weiler was one of close to 50 peo­ple
who took part in the vigil against
the proposed Wal-Mart on Route
501. People began arriving at the
Lancaster Airport Authority’s field
across from Stauffers of Kissel Hill
on Millport Road at about 11 a.m.
For about an hour they stationed
themselves and their signs at the cor­ner
of Millport and 501.
Then, shortly before noon, the pro­testors
marched single-file up 501
towards the proposed store site and
back again.
Organized by the Concerned Lititz
Citizens group, the vigil was sche­duled
as a way of letting the public
know about the concern that they
have about putting in a Wal-Mart off
a busy Route 501, organizers said.
One of the biggest reasons why the
vigil participants said they oppose
the Wal-Mart is because of traffic.
Many of their signs testified to that
concern and asked people to honk if
they didn’t want Wal-Mart on Route
501.W
hile many people honked and
waved encouragingly, other people
shared some conflicting comments.
At one point, a man and his family
were stopped waiting for the light
and began talking to some of the vigil
participants, saying they support
Wal-Mart because it will add tax
revenue without adding more child­ren
to the school system.
“You can’t stop it (Wal-Mart), it’s
free enterprise,” said the man as he
drove off.
Twenty-year-old Jennie Robb of
Lititz said she feels strongly about
the issue.
“I think traffic is bad enough and
we don’t need any more,” she said.
Sisters Joceyln McIntosh, age 9,
and Hannah McIntosh, age 6, both of
Lititz, attended the vigil with their
mother.
“I think that we don’t need this
store and there’s enough traffic
already,” said Jocelyn.
Hannah agreed, “It’s too crowded.
There’s too many people.”
While many of the vigil particip­ants
lived in Lititz, the issue has
sparked interest in people who live in
surrounding areas.
(Turn to Page 13)
Bicyclist struck
by car in boro
STEPHEN S E E B E R ____________
Record Express Staff
For many people, nothing captures warm summer evenings quite like
leisurely bicycle rides through historical Lititz.
Regrettably, Lititz Borough Police Officer John Schofield has noticed
that some riders fail to use proper safety equipment — namely bike lights
and protective helmets.
Roadways are dangerous recreation areas, and an ounce of prevention is
certainly in order when sharing the streets with motor vehicles.
Officer Schofield knows the dangers of the roads firsthand, as he had the
unfortunate task of investigating a serious accident involving a cyclist and
an automobile last week.
Last Tuesday evening, August 16, a 16-year-old Lititz girl, (whose
name is being withheld by police while the accident is under investiga­tion),
was bicycling with two Mends around 9:30 p.m., police said. They
were travelling westbound on Noble Street when the Lititz youth entered
the intersection with North Water Street.
Police said the teen was struck by a car driven by Craig Rearich, 34, of
Ephrata, and that she was not wearing any safety gear.
She was immediately transported to the Neurological Trama Unit at
Lancaster General Hospital where she was listed in critical condition with
severe head injuries, as well as several broken bones, police reported.
As of Monday, the girl’s condition was upgraded to serious.
The accident is still under investigation and no charges have been
brought to either parties at this time.
Officer Schofield said that with a helmet and lights the accident could
possibly have “gone the other way” by not being as serious.
With plenty of beautiful bike riding days left this year, borough police
want people to enjoy them. By using helmets and lights, people can make
sure that these days will remain pleasurable.
F i r s t S t a g e T h e a t e r
lo o k s t o w a r d s L i t i t z
CONNIE BUCKWALTER
Record Express Staff
A children’s/family theater would
like to make Lititz its new home.
First Stage Theater of 21 N. Mul­berry
St., Lancaster, has been enter­taining
young and old for the past
four years. Now entering its fifth sea­son,
the theater is expanding and has
applied to the Lititz Zoning Hearing
Board for a use variance to open at
the upper level of 14 North Lane in a
building owned by the Farmer’s First
Bank.
Craig Davis, executive producer
and co-founder of First Stage, said
that the bank has been receptive to
the idea of the theater opening in the
building. The next step will take
place on Monday, Sept. 19, when the
issue is put before the zoning hearing
board during their meeting in Lititz
Borough Council Chambers.
According to Lynn Stauffer, bor­ough
zoning officer, the site is now
zoned industrial and the theater
requires a variance to be a permitted
use in that zone. About a year ago,
she said a church applied to the zon­ing
hearing board to open at the same
site. They applied for both a use and
a parking variance. Stauffer said the
board turned down the request
because of concerns about the church
providing the necessary parking.
First Stage has not applied for a
parking variance, Stauffer said, not­ing
that the theater said it feels it will
be able to provide the necessary
spaces by leasing 10 from Farmer’s
First and using the rest of the lot
when the bank is closed.
Davis said he cannot think of any
reason why people would oppose the
theater coming into the area. In fact,
he said the theater’s largest base of
support now comes from Lititz and
Manheim Township so the move
would bring the theater closer to
many of its patrons.
“I think this is a wonderful oppor­tunity
for the children of Lititz,” said
local resident Lynn Rossi. Rossi and
her 13-year-old daughter, Whitney,
have attended performances at First
Stage since the theater began.
“It’s a great thing for children to
introduce them to theater because the
action is right in front of your face,”
Mrs. Rossi said.
While she said that some of the
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