Lititz Record Express

              T H E R E S S
SERI Y.vr; THE WARWICK AREA FOR MEAR LY A FESTER Y
100th Year ESTABLISHED APRIL. 1877. AS THE SUNBEAM
¡CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD. 1937] Lititz, Lancaster County, PA 17543, Thursday, Jan. 27,1977 15 CENTS A COPY; 55.00 PER YEAR BY MAIL
WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 20 PAGES—No. 24
Charlie Wagner - Lititz'
Favorite Bus Driver By Peggy Frailey
Most anyone who has ever
taken the bus from Lititz to
Lancaster knows Charlie
Wagner, because Charlie has
had the Lititz run for over 20
years.
And to be one of Charlie’s
“customers” is something
special - at least that’s how
372 bus riders felt when they
voted him their “favorite bus
driver” in a recent contest
sponsored by Red Rose
Transit Authority.
Charlie placed second in
the contest and won a $50
savings bond for his
popularity. When you con­sider
that the first place
winner, Mark Eckenroth,
who drives a city route, got
444 votes, and the next
highest winner under Charlie
got only 78 votes, Charlie’s
372 testimonials came from a
pretty high percentage of his
riders.
This reporter rides
Charlie’s bus pretty often,
especially when it’s snowing,
or the car won’t start, and
wasn’t the least bit surprised
when Charlie placed so high
in the contest.
Because Charlie is the kind
of guy that makes you glad
you decided to take the bus.
Even if you overslept, or the
coffee was lousy at break­fast,
Charlie has a way of
soothing ill tempers with his
dependable smile, his “Hi,
how are you today?” when
you climb on the bus, and his
“Have a nice day!” when
you get off.
Charlie and his wife,
—
Charlie Wagner, who has been
driving a bus from Lancaster to Lititz
for over 20 years, won second place in
the bus company’s recent “ favorite
driver” contest. “He’s the nicest bus
driver I ever had,” was the consensus
of opinion from a big segment of his
customers.
Bernadine,
caster, but
live in Lan-
Charlie knows
and loves Lititz almost like it
was his own hometown.
New School Board Committee
Structure Comes under Fire
A few school directors are
not happy with the com­mittee
structure set up by
new School Board President,
Bill Owens, and the matter is
slated for discussion at a
Committee of the Whole
meeting Monday night at 8
p.m.
Director Roy Yeager, at
last week’s regular Board
meeting, asked that the
subject be put on the agenda,
stating that he is “unhappy
with the current committee
structure.”
Quoting from a “Guide to
Good Boardsmanship”
which he had with him,
Yeager read a passage
pointing out that committees
can only study a special
question but can take no
action. He said that some
questions under study by the
Board are of dubious merit,
since they can be better done
by the superintendent and
his staff.
Yeager said he wants to
discuss the role of the School
Board and the ad­ministrative
staff.
“It’s a matter of what
we’re supposed to be doing
as Board members,” Yeager
said.
Two other directors,
Wallace Hofferth and
Raymond Groff, agreed that
they wanted the matter
discussed. Groff elaborated
that he thinks the current
setup is “too much for all of
us.” He said it would “take
too much time to do justice to
it.”
Under the new committee
structure, all members of
the Board have been ap­pointed
members of all
committees, with individual
directors serving as
chairmen of one or more
committees. Most of the
committees also include
some member or members
of the administration and are
intended to eventually in­clude
members of the public.
Owens, who initiated the
new structure when he took
office in December, said that
his purpose was to get a
broader viewpoint on
matters that come before the
School Board.
“I’m trying to get more
things looked at more
critically,” he said. “We
have to push for more public
input.”
He said that some Board
members were complaining
that it involved too many
meetings, while others,
including the ad­ministration,
were happy
with the new plan.
Owens said that the recent
committee he appointed to
start the selection process
for a new superintendent to
replace Dr. H. Dale Winger,
whose contract was not
renewed last week, has
begun advertising for ap­plicants.
He said he would expand
this committee after ap­plications
start coming in.
Director Wallace Hofferth
was named chairman of the
selection committee, with
Richard Mearig and David
Buckwalter as committee
members. Owens said he will
add members of the com­munity,
and possibly some
other Board members.
Meanwhile, the Board has
received no legal counseling
yet from its solicitor, Roger
Reist, on the status of Dr.
Winger’s request for sabb-stical
leave for the 1977-78
school term.
The request was submitted
to the Board last week and
was referred to legal counsel
early in the agenda, before
the Board voted 6-3 not to
renew Dr. Winger’s contract
as superintendent. The
current contract expires
June 30.
Following that meeting ,
Dr. Winger had stated that
the Board’s action on his
contract “jeopardized” his
request for sabbatical, and
that he intended to seek legal
recourse to make sure he
received the leave.
Owens said this week that
the Board has received no
further word on the matter
from either Dr. Winger or his
attorney.
Business Directory 16
Church News 14
Classified Ads 18,19
Editorial Page 4
Sports Section
Women’s
6,7
10
Borough Starts Final Lap
Toward New Sewer Plant
“Don’t you ever get bored
driving back and forth to
Lititz for 20 years?” we
asked.
“Bored? No way!” he
replied. “You meet different
people all the time. And
they’re the nicest people in
the world up here!”
His customers are a
combination of Lititz people
going into Lancaster to
work, and Lancaster folks
coming out to the Lititz area
to work, as well as numerous
riders going back and forth
on shopping expeditions, on
visits to various nursing
homes, and trips back and
forth to visit families and
friends.
Many of his customers are
(Continued on Page 2]
I n T h i s I s s u e
Lititz Boro Council
Tuesday night signed a final
agreement to service
Warwick Township with
sewage treatment through
new facilities to be built in
the borough, thus taking one
of the last steps required of
the borough before con­struction
can get underway.
Warwick Township is
expected to sign the same
agreement tonight (Thur­sday).
Local industries that will
be using the sewage facilities
have already signed in­dustrial
cost agreements
required by the federal
government to pay a pro
rated share of construction
costs.
A revised permit for a 3.4
million gallon a day capacity
plant will be filed Monday
with the Department of
Environmental Resources.
According to David An­derson,
boro manager, Betz
Engineers are rushing to
complete extensive revisions
to plans and specs in order to
meet the borough’s Feb. 10
deadline for submitting
these. Anderson told Council
that the DER is removing
projects from grant status
for failure to meet deadlines,
and that the borough cannot
afford any more delays. As
of now, the federal govern­ment
will reimburse the
borough for 75 percent of the
cost of the new plant.
Anderson said that the
revised plans include
possibly reducing operating
costs with the latest proved
processes available for
required treatment that will
meet established stream
standards against pollution.
Meanwhile, the borough’s
present sewer plant has had
new digesters installed in it,
along with a new waste gas
burner and a temporary
chemical injection system to
maintain the PH level
required for proper
operation. These are all
necessary until the
borough’s new plant is built
and put into operation.
Boro Council also voted
agreement with Lancaster
County Planning Com­mission’s
recent decision to
abandon further plans for a
regional sewage collection
system at Brownstown to
service the Lititz and
Ephrata areas.
These two municipalities
will continue with their own
separate sewage treatment
systems.
The regional plant was
included in the Lancaster
County Comprehensive
Sewage Plan, but DER and
the county commission have
both changed their views on
this in the past few months.
Lititz Council noted that
they do not agree with any
plans for a regional system
and “never did.”
Tax Commissions
In further business,
Council also voted to in­crease
the rate of com­mission
for tax collectors to
one percent on taxes paid
during the base and discount
period, and two percent on
taxes paid after four months,
when a penalty for late tax
payment goes in effect. This
new commission rate will go
into effect Jan. 1, 1978.
The current commission of
one percent on real estate
and per capita tax will
remain in effect during 1977.
Police Holiday
Council approved a ninth
holiday for borough
policemen, to be a “floating
holiday” based on approval
by the chief of police.
Rezoning Petition
Council denied a petition
from Messick Realty to
rezone and subdivide a tract
of land (approximately one
acre) on the south side of
Owl Hill Road, opposite the
road leading onto Owl Hill
Road from the old farm
house in Libramont.
Messick Realty had asked
that zoning there by changed
from R-l to R-A in order to
build two semi-detached
homes.
Acting on a recom­mendation
from the Lititz
Palnning Commission,
Council denied the request
for these reasons:
1. The nature of the neigh­borhood
is single family
residential in both Lititz and
Warwick Township.
2. There is no particular
difficulty apparent in
developing single family lots
in accordance with R-l
District requirements.
3. Rezoning tins tract to R-A
would constitute spot
zoning.
Hess Dam Property
Council voted to advertise
for bids for sale of the Hess
Dam property, a piece of
land the borough owns in
Warwick Township at the
intersection of Clay Road
and Route 772. The property
had been offered to Warwick
Township, but was turned
down.
Part of the tract includes
land that Lititz Fire Com­pany
uses for training with
fire extinquishers. Council
agreed to discuss with the
fire company whether or not
another open piece of land
would be suitable for their
needs for this type of
training.
Parking Meter
Repairs
There are a lot of parking
meters in the borough that
aren’t working these days,
partly due to the cold
weather, and partly due to
long-delayed repairs.
The late Bosch Miley used
to take care of the meter
repairs, but in the past
months, the problem has
been left up to the police
department.
Council noted that $10,000
annual revenue comes in
from parking meters, and it
does not want to lose this. In
order to keep the meters
working, Council voted to
hire Leon DeFemelmont, a
local retired school teacher,
to take on the repair jobs at
$3.50 an hour, and also to
teach borough employees
how to repair the meters.
Council noted that the
police department is not
currently issuing tickets at
meters that are not working.
Gas Cut Has Little Effect Here
Although UGI curtailed
industrial gas supplies by 75
per cent this week, the
natural gas shortage has had
very little effect on Lititz
companies.
The Wilbur Chocolate Co.,
Warner-Lambert, and Cellu-
Products all operate on oil.
Woodstream, though a
natural gas user, has had
reserves of oil available for
two years, and partially
switched over to their
alternate fuel supplies
before the beginning of the
new year, according to
Thomas C. Smith, director of
factory management. Joel
Schecter, owner of Travis
Mills, was out of town and
unavailable for comment at
the time of this survey.
At Woodstream, Smith
said the factory, which
employs 450, switched to
alternative fuels in most
departments except those
that were unable to be
switched.
“We’re doing the best we
can to foresee anything in
the future, he said. “We
should be able to survive
throughout the winter
without layoffs if nothing
else happens,” he stressed.
But he added that any fur­ther
curtailment in their
natural gas supply “would
definitely cause a problem.”
Robert Martin, vice
president of production at
Wilbur Chocolate Co., said
that there is only one kind of
machine that runs on natural
gas, the bean roaster, and
noted that this department
can be converted to oil if the
need arises.
Martin said the company
anticipates no changes or
cutbacks in production
because of the natural gas
curtailment.
Warner-Lambert, fueled
by oil, will make no cut­backs,
according to John
Wolf, personnel supervisor.
Said Wolf, the company has
had no problem getting oil up
to this point. The only thing
that runs on gas, he said, are
some bunson burners in the
laboratory.
William Kellet, plant
manager at Cellu-Products,
said that since the company
uses no gas for fuel, they
anticipate no problems from
a fuel shortage.
O n e Mother Tells Her Story
Our Fears Were Confirmed:
Our Baby Son Was A Hemophiliac
NOTICE
Winners In The Lititz Retailer’s Association
$150 Red Tag Days Giveaway Will Be
Announced In Next Week’s Lititz Record
Express.
(Editor’s Note: In
December Mr. and Mrs.
Dean Hartranft, 66 N. Water
St., Lititz, found out that
their 11-month old son,
Mikey, has hemophilia, the
d r ead ed “ b le e d e r ’s ”
disease. The following is
Mrs. Hartranft’s story of
their heartbreak, and the
battle they now face in
protecting and caring for
their baby. It is one of the
first newspaper articles ever
written and published in
Lancaster County by the
parent of a hemophiliac
child.)
By Linda Hartranft
Christmas was barely a
week away when we got the
phone call that was to
change our lives. The call
was confirmation that our
baby son, Mikey, was the
victim of a dreaded disease.
The disease my husband
and I and our son will have to
fight is hemophilia. It is a
new disease to us, like a
nightmare that we’ll wake
up from. We have not yet
fully accepted the fact that
our 11-month old son is a
hemophiliac.
We are still trying to cope
with our feelings, which
seem to change from one
minute to the next.
Sometimes we feel hopeful
and confident that a cure will
from the pain, to take the
pain for him. Yet we know
that all we can do is love him
and help him to accept his
limitations, to help him to
achieve the most normal life
possible for him as a
hemophiliac.
Every 73 seconds a child
“Although my husband and I feel as though we’ve
already been through a war, we know our battle
hasn’t even begun.”
“ Someday a cure will be found. With a little luck,
it will be in our son’s lifetime.. . ”
be found. Other times we feel
so bitter, that our son was
singled out to be afflicted
with this bleeding disease.
But always there is the
pain and helplessness we
feel. Unless a cure is found,
our baby will never have a
completely normal life.
We want to protect him
who is not quite perfect, who
is chronically ill or mentally
or physically handicapped,
is bom in America. Some get
the help they need, while
others don’t. When the child
is very young, he is protected
with love and tenderness
from his parents and within
their families. But as they
grow up and are faced with
the outside world their
battles begin.
Bicentennial Baby
Mike was born on Feb. 16,
our Bicentennial baby.
After he was examined by
the pediatrician, we were
assured that our son was a
healthy normal baby. The
pediatrician came to see me
each day to tell me Mike was
dong fine, then that he had
been circumsized and again,
that everything was fine.
But the next day, the
pediatrician told me that
Mike had developed a mild
case of yellow jaundice.
However, we were told, it
wasn’t anything to worry
about since it was due to
superficial bruising caused
by his birth.
We took Mikey home Feb.
20. Now we had two boys and
a girl - our family was
complete.
From the very beginning,
Mikey was a wonderful
[Continued on Page 15]
-*¥■
V .
Mike Hartranft was an early walker, and his
sturdy little body abounds with energy. Yet Mikey is
the victim of hemophilia, the dreaded “ bleeder’s”
disease, and for the rest of his life he will have to be
protected not only from surface cuts but also from
internal bleeding.