Lititz Record Express

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T H E B E S S
S E R V I N G T H E W A R W I C K A R E A F O R N E A R L Y A C E N T U R Y
99th Year ESTABLISHED APRIL, 1877, AS THE SUNBEAM
I CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD 1937; Lititz, Lancaster County, PA 17543, Thursday, Feb. 26,1976 20 PAGES— No. 49
Controversy
Flares Over
EQA Testing
By Peggy Frafley
About three years
ago, Warwick’s Middle
School was volunteered
as a guinea pig for a new
kind of testing that the
state had started to
require for all Penn­s
y lv a n i a S c h o o l
Districts.
The testing, called
Educational Quality
Assessment (EQA), was
to tell the state whether
or not school districts
were meeting Penn­sylvania’s
Ten Goals of
Quality E ducation,
adopted at the direction
of the state Legislature.
The goals pertain to
such things as helping
students to understand
themselves, understand
others, get interested in
school and learning,
b e c om e ' ‘ g ood
citizens,” adopt good
health habits, be
c r e a t iv e , d ev e lop
vocationally, etc.
The EQA test, in order
to find out where school
districts stand in these
areas, asks students
some 30-odd multiple
choice questions per­taining
to their a t­titudes,
beliefs, home
situations, and re a c­tions
to specific
s i t u a t i o n s , 30
vocabulary words, and
30 math problems.
The Warwick students
took the test in 1973, the
state tabulated the
results and Warwick
was informed where it
was doing just fine, and
where it was weak.
Administrators were
luke-warm about the
test — the results
weren’t telling them
anything they didn’t
already know about the
academic progress of
their students, and the
information the tests
furnished on student
attitudes not only was
c o n s i d e r e d of
questionable value to
the school district, but
its authenticity was
doubted.
Nevertheless, the
State ruled that starting
this year, and con­tinuing
every third
year, all 3th, 8th, and
Uth graders in Penn­sylvania
schools would
be required to take the
test.
Warwick is scheduled
to start die testing next
week. However, the
superintendent, Dr. H.
Dale Winger, has sent
letters home to all
parents that they may
have their children
excused from taking the
attitudes and beliefs
part of the test, by
contacting die building
principals.
As was to be expected,
controversy has flared
a ll over the state,
mainly triggered by the
Ame r i c a n Ci v i l
Liberties Union, which
said the questions on
attitudes, beliefs, and
home situations were an
invasion of privacy.
Educators continue
the usual debates on the
value and con­stitutionality
of the
tests. Locally, Dr.
Winger has stated that
on the basis of previous
experience with the test,
the sections on verbal
and math skills are a
duplicate of what the
district already has.
The co n tro v e rs ia l
section on attitudes is,
at best, unreliable, and
quite possibly an in­vasion
of privacy.
W a rw ick S ch o o l
Board President, John
Evans, took a strong
stand against the tests
this week, and has had
his own highschooler
excused from par­ticipating
in the con­troversial
section. “The
questions are too
n e g a t i v e , t o o
suggestive,” Evans
said. “1 don’t see that
p e r s o n a l f e e l in g
questions have any
bearing on the quality of
education kids are
getting.”
Evans also believes
the vocabulary section
of the test is too limited.
“The math section is
the only thing I have a
good word for,” he said.
Noting that parents
can look over the tests
th em s e lv e s u n til
Monday, he said he
hoped parents would do
this before their
children get started on
the testing program.
Debate on the pro’s
and con’s of the EQA
program has been going
on for several years on
in even wider and more
p o litic a l acad em ic
circles, and what one
comes to believe about
the tests could depend
pretty much on whose
words one reads.
Dr. Thomas Kendig,
who was in charge of the
EQA division for the
state, says the state
wanted to measure not
what the teacher,
superintendent, nor
pupil does, but the effect
of the educational
program.
He also said that if the
state had done nothing
else but adopt the 10
goals of quality
e d u c a t io n , P e n n ­sylvania
would have
made a real con­tribution
to American
education for the simple
reason that it removed
the emphasis from basic
skills to the whole child,
and individualized in­struction.
He maintains
that while the school
district isn’t responsible
for such things as home
environment, students'
attitudes and beliefs,
e tc., knowing what
these are can be of help
to educators.
On the other hand,
William L. Krayer, an
attorney and a school
director in the Pitt­sburgh
area, writing for
the Pennsylvania School
Boards Association
bulletin, says that the
s ta te ’s 10 goals for
quality education and
die EQA test have very
little to do with the
adequacy and efficiency
of the educational
programs (which they
were designed to
measure), and are
actually an attempt by
the state to ‘regulate
student b eh avio ral
modes and acceptable
p e r s o n a l i t y and
behavior traits. ‘‘The
day of the programmed
personality apparently
has arrived,” he states.
Meanwhile, building
principals at the middle
school and high school
say that only a handful
of parents have asked to
look over die tests or
have called about them.
Some parents had not
received the superin­tendent’s
letter — sent
home via students and
no doubt not yet dug out
of trouser pockets and
purses — and some with
whom we talked weren’t
certain whether the
matter was serious
enough to warrant a trip
to the school.
Evans, who believes
the matter is a serious
one, said he does not
know yet whether he
will recommend any
formal action or protest
on the part of the School
Board.
Vi..
Borough Troubled by
Plant, Problems over Lititz Boro Council con­tinues
to be plagued with
water and sewer problems,
as federal red tape holds up
funds for expansion of the
borough’s decrepit and
failing sewer treatment
plant, and pressure mounts
among a group of local
businessmen for the borough
to do something about in­creasing
flooding in the low-lying
north end of the town.
On Tuesday night, a
contingent of seven
businessmen asked Council
if any steps were being taken
to build impounding basins
to protect die north end of
town from run-off storm
water.
Local industry lost nearly
million during Hurricane
Agnes, the businessmen
said. Flooding along the
railroad tracks effects most
of the major industry in
town, they added.
The situation has gotton
progressively worse in the
past 14 years, Robert
Bomberger from Long and
Bomgergers told Council.
‘‘The flow of water is greater
every year, just during
thunderstorms alone. The
longer we wait, the more
destruction there is and the
higher the cost of building
anything,” he said.
Bomberger’s statements
were backed up by his
partner, Sid Long, as well as
Lititz Seeks Funds
For Water System
Lititz Borough has applied
to the Lancaster County
Community Development
program for funds to im­prove
its water system and
to construct a storm water
retention basin west of Lititz
Springs Park.
The borough has asked for
$43,500 to improve the Locust
Street Park and water
supply quality - this includes
$28,500 for park im­provements
and $15,000 to
seal about 150 feet o f the bed
of the Santo Domingo Creek
in the park between two
wells, to prevent infiltration
of creek water.
Funds amounting to
$90,000 have been requested
for the retention basin west
of Lititz Springs Park.
The county has scheduled
three public hearings on all
requests. One will be held
tonight (Thursday) at
Lincoln Elementary School
in Ephrata.
In this issue
Business Directory 16
Church News 14
Classified Ads 18,19
Editorial Page 4
Sports Section 6,7
Women’s 10,11
?
Canadian geese are filling the fields and ponds at
Middle Creek Wildlife Preserve north of Bricker-ville
again as they make rest stops on their jour­neys
north for the summer. The northern bound
birds are a thrilling sight to watchers tired of
barren winter skies and cold temperatures.
Paul Vollmar from Wood-stream
Corp„ John N. Ward
from Cellu Products (for­merly
Morgan Mills),
Harold Boltz, Wally Lausch
and Randy Weit from Wilbur
Chocolate.
Asked what the borough is
doing or could do about it,
Council President Jim
Yerger replied that the
borough is faced with the
same problem as always -
money to do the project. The
borough has applied for
some of the Community
Development funds which
have become available, but
according to Boro Manager
David Anderson, there are
not enough of these funds to
meet all the requests for
them from all over the
county.
A plan written by Huth
Engineers in 1962 called for
three impounding basins,
west of the Park, and An­derson
estimated it will cost
at least $90,000 just to get it
started. He said engineers
are now considering whether
there should be more than
three basins farther west, as
far as the Lime Rock Quarry
area.
Asked what the borough
would do about the water
situation if it receives no
federal funds, Yerger
replied that current sewer
and water plant problems
were ‘‘more urgent.” He
added that if a borough has
applied for federal funding,
and then starts a project on
its own, it loses all chance at
the federal money.
Assistant Boro Manager
Curt Amidon said that a
“piecemeal” procedure
would be ‘‘the only way” to
do the impounding project,
and that $90,000 (the amount
applied for) would only
provide one impounding
basin. “But this would be a
nice improvement,” Amidon
said. He said the borough
would definitely have to
borrow money to finish the
project.
Meanwhile, Council was
informed that the sewer
plant has been “limping
along” the past month,
unable to transfer sludge
from the primary tank into
the digesters. Emergency
repairs will be started next
week. Meanwhile, the
borough manager has been
working many hours with the
sewer plant employees to
unclog lines and dredge out
the primary tanks.
The wet wells have been
flooded out, Anderson ex­plained,
and solid matter is
flowing over the screen that
ordinarily would catch and
hold back such matter. This
solid matter - rags, debris,
etc. - is getting into the
primary settling tanks,
clogging pipes so that the
sludge can’t be removed
from the tanks.
He said the problems have
mushroomed sin ce new
chains and sprockets were,
installed in the ancient plant.,
The borough is in line for a
federal grant to expand the
plant, but this has been held
up by red tape for several
years now. T h e 7 latest
holdup, this time by the EPA
(federal agency), is based on
two factors: new equipment
has been approved by the
government, and the EPA
wants cost figures to prove
that the borough’s plan,
previously accepted, is not
more expensive than the
newer techniques. Also,
Travis Mills’ flow is ex­ceeding
by 10 percent the
capacity Travis was
promised in the new plant,
the the EPA wants Travis to
sign papers guaranteeing to
make restitution to the
federal government over the
next 30 years, based on the
excessive flow. So far, the
borough has not been able to
give Travis any definite
figures on how much this
would cost, and Travis has
not signed the papers.
Civil Defense
Director
In further business,
Council appointed Assistant
Boro Manager Curt Amidon
managing director of civil
defense, to serve a s a
coordinator of emergency
services in the event of any
future disaster. The state
has been putting pressure on
the borough to appoint a
director, required by state
law.
Bicentennial
Council approved a
request from the local
Bicentennial committee to
close East Main Street, from
Broad to Cedar, for a three-day
block party Aug. 26-28.
Council also okayed closing
off East Main Street in front
of Church Square every
Wednesday and Sunday
evenings from Memorial
Day to Labor Day for the
Pageant of Light and Sound,
a highlight of the town’s
Bicentennial celebration.
The actual length of time the
street will be closed on those
evenings will be determined
by the Bicentennial group.
Spring
Cleanup
The borough’s annual
spring cleanup will be held
the week of April 5-9.
Residents may place lawn
debris at the curb and it will
be picked up by the public
works crew.
Art Show
Council approved a
request from the Village Art
Association to sponsor its
10th annual outdoor art show
on downtown streets on
Saturday, July 31.
New Streets
The borough will advertise
for bids for construction of
the cartway, curb, and
sidewalk for East Second
Avenue between Kissel Hill
Road and Locust Street.
Property owners will have to
pay for the curbing, sidewalk
*n d six feet of cartway, and
the borough will pay for 22
feet^.of cartway. D. L.
Burkholder of New Holland
has already started laying
sewer and water lines in the
bed of Second AVenue. Water
and sewer lines will.be put
into East Sixth Avenue.next,
thus preparing that stre&for
eventual opening. This wiU
open up the east end of town
through to South Broad
Street, forming a long-planned
link around that
section of town.
Town Signs
CouncU approved a motion
to ask the Lititz Woman’s
Club to take care of painting
the entrance signs at the
north and south entrances to
the borough. The club will
also be asked if it is in­teresting
in purchasing
similar signs for the east and
west entrances to the
borough.
Paint Job
Council approved hiring
professional painters to
repaint the woodwork on the
front of Boro HaU.
Police
Pension
Council authorized a
request from four members
of the poUce department to
withdraw their contributions
with interest in the Borough
Municipal Employees
Pension Fund. The request
came from Chief George
Hicks, Assistant Chief Jim
Fritz, and Officers Leroy p.
Emmerich and Ronald
Sandhaus. The police
department is now covered
by a separate pension fund.
New Equipment
Council opened four bids
for a new lawn and garden
tractor with mower and
vacuum. The bids will be
reviewed during the next
month. Bids were submitted
by Shotzberger’s Equip­ment,
Elm, $2595; Carl B.
Kline, Lititz, two bids, $2700
and $2800; Binkley and Hurst
Bros., Lititz R4, $2740; and
Heritage International, Inc.,
Ephrata, $2500.
Local Girl Seeks
Miss Pa. Title Jan L. Wismer, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Henry W.
Wismer, 405 S. Cedar St., will
be a contestant in the Miss
Pennsylvania Pageant next
week at Washington, Pa.
The pageant will be held at
the Franklin Mail there from
March 3 through 6. The
winner will represent the
state at the Miss USA
Pageant in May.
Miss Wismer, who is being
sponsored by Wolf Motors
Co., Lancaster, is a graduate
of Warwick High School and
is now a senior at Harcum
Junior College, Bryn Mawr.
In high school, she was a
member of the Warwick
Band Front and Glee Club,
participated in gymnastics,
and was scorekeeper for
cross country.
She is a past honored
queen of Jobs Daughters, a
member of the Jobs
Daughters Drill Team, and
is interested in horseback
r id in g , p h o to g rap h y ,
Jan. L. Wismer
modeling, swimming, and
horticulture.
Each entrant will wear a
costume descriptive of the
area she represents, and
Miss Wismer will wear a
Pennsylvania Dutch dress
trimmed with the famed
pretzels representative of
this area.
Wonder Baiter Shop
Given Zoning Approval
The long disputed zoning
controversy over whether or
not Monroe C. Wonder, Jr .,
301S. Cedar St., can continue
to operate a barber shop out
of his home has been settled
by a decision of the Lititz
Zoning Hearing Board.
Zoners have granted
Wonder a special exception
and he is free to continue
cutting hair at his home as
long as he does it within the
hours stipulated in the
written decision handed
down Monday.
The board has mandated
that the barber shop hours of
operation shall be from 12
noon to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays,
by appointment only; from
12 noon to 8 p.m. on Fridays
on a first-come, first-serve
basis; and on Saturdays
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., also on
a walk-in basis.
The hours stipulated by the
board are the same ones
Wonder has been following
since he opened shop at 301S.
Cedar St., eight months ago.
First Approval
The zoning hearing board
had originally approved
Wonder’s application to
conduct his business on Dec.
27, 1974.
Shortly following their
approval, appeals were filed
by John Worth, 231 S. Cedar
St., and Mr. and Mrs. Jack
Keehn, 111 E. Marion St.
The appeals were based on
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