Lititz Record Express

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100th Year ESTABLISHED APRIL, 1877. AS THE SUNBEAM
I CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD. 1937| Lititz, Lancaster County, PA 17543, Thursday, March 3,1977 15 CENTS A COPY; $5.00 PER YEAR BY MAIL
WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 20 PAGES—No. 29
Looking west on Main Street, the three houses seeking a rezoning request for the entire north side
behind the Lititz Mutual Insurance Company of West Main Street to make this possible. The
Building (on the Square) are slated to be torn borough Planning Commission has recommended
down to make room for an expansion of the in- approval of the request,
surance company's parking lot. Lititz Mutual is
Lititz Mutual to Enlarge Building,
Demolish Houses for Parking Lot
A major expansion is being
planned by Lititz Mutual
Insurance Company for its
headquarters on the Square
in Lititz, and the first step
will be tearing down three
houses on West Main Street
to enlarge the company’s
present parking lot.
The borough Planning
Commission opened the way
for the expansion Tuesday
night when it recommended
approval to rezone the north
side of West Main Street
from Pine Lane to Spruce
Street, as well as the area
from West Main to Went­worth
Lane (along the edge
of the Park). Lititz Mutual
has requested that the area
be rezoned from residential
R-2 to office and
professional.
The recommendation for
rezoning will now go to the
Lancaster County Planning
Commission and then to
Boro Council for final action.
Henry Gibbel from Lititz
Mutual explained that the
insurance company now
owns the first three houses
immediately west of the
insurance company building,
15, 21, and 25 W. Main St.,
and rents these houses to
tenants. These are the
houses that will eventually
be torn down, he said.
Owners of the other two
houses at the far end of West
Main Street, at 27 and 31 W.
Main St., had previously
agreed to include their
houses in the rezoning
request, although these
houses are not scheduled to
become a part of the parking
lot.
Gibbel said that eventually
These are three houses west of the
Lititz Mutual Insurance Company
building that are scheduled to be torn
down and replaced with more parking
area behind the insurance company.
The company owns the houses and
rents them to tenants.
the insurance building will
be expanded to the north to
more than double its present
size. The addition will be
built on the land that the
company owns between the
present building and the Rec
Center property. It is now
lawn.
The main concern voiced
by planners Tuesday night
was storm water runoff from
the proposed expanded
parking lot into Lititz
Springs Park. The Planning
Commission said it did not
want to add to the Park’s
present problems with
flooding. The insurance
company will be required to
furnish storm water run-off
calculations to Boro Council.
Woodstream
In further business, the
Planning Commission
recommended approval of a
rezoning request from
Woodstream Corporation for
a piece of land that lies
behind the company’s outlet
store on Front Street.
Woodstream wants to
construct a 55,000 square foot
warehouse in that area, to
keep it above the flood plain
and to have better loading
facilities on Front Street.
Most of the land is already
zoned industrial, but a small
triangle of it lies in the
residential R-l District.
Hurst Bros.
The planners also
recommended approval for
a resubdivision and rezoning
from residential R-l to
residential R-A of a tract of
land along East Main Street,
across from Fry’s Pontiac,
that Hurst Bros, want to
purchase. The tract is now a
vacant lot. Hurst Bros, want
to construct several
townhouses on it, one facing
Forney Drive, one facing
Main Street, and one
possibly facing Oak Street.
Planners also took under
consideration a request from
Hurst Bros, to rezone a piece
of land on the southwest
corner of Main Street and
Forney Drive, south of the
Memorial Plot, to make it
possible for the developers to
put up an office and
professional building with
apartments on the second
floor. The land is now zoned
residential R-l. It lies across
from a residential R-A
district (in which apart­ments
are permitted), and
next to the cemetery.
Deadline for Filing Is March 8
Yerger Not In Running For
Boro Council Seat Next Year By Peggy Frailey
Jim Yerger, president of
Lititz Boro Council, will not
seek re-election to Council in
the spring primary election,
he said this week.
Yerger is one of five top
officials in area local
governments whose terms
expire this year and who will
not be seeking re-election.
Others who will not seek
re-election are Lester
Bingeman, Lititz Boro
Council; Roy Yeager,
Warwick School Board;
Luther Ober, Elizabeth
Township Board of Super­visors;
and Willis Huber,
Penn Township Board of
Supervisors.
With the deadline for filing
petitions to run in the
primary election less than a
week away (March 8), the
borough, its three
surrounding townships, and
Warwick School District are
all working to find can­didates
to fill these slots.
Boro Council
Yerger has served on
Council since 1971,
representing the borough’s
Third Ward. So far, no other
candidate from this voting
district has filed for election.
In confirming his intentions
not to run again, Yerger said
he felt someone else should
have the opportunity “to find
out what makes the borough
tick.”
“The more you learn about
Lititz, the more intriguing it
is to find out what a really
good borough this is,” he
said.
His seat is one of three on
Boro Council that expire at
the end of 1977. The other two
are held by Lester
(“Bingy” ) Bingeman, who
said he will not seek re-election,
and Wendell
Hower, who said he will be a
candidate again.
Bingeman, who owns and
o p e r a te s B in g em a n ’s
Restaurant, said he will not
run again because he does
not have the time to devote to
the job. He represents the
First Ward of the borough,
and will be completing his
first term on Council. One
other candidate from the
First Ward, Clyde Tshudy,
has filed a petition to date to
run in the primary for this
seat.
Hower, who will stand for
re-election, was appointed to
Council two years ago to fill
the unexpired term of Curt
Amidon when he resigned.
Hower had also served eight
years on Council in the
1960’s.
The other major position
that expires in the borough
this year is that of mayor.
Raymond S. Reedy, who is
completing his first term in
this post, said he will be
seeking re-election in the
spring. No other candidates
have filed petitions for this
post so far.
Warwick School Board
Three terms on Warwick
School Board expire at the
end of the year, and the
newest director, Bill
Dussinger, who was ap­pointed
late in 1976 to fill out
John Evans’ unexpired term
when he resigned, will also
have to stand for election
this spring for the remaining
four years of the term.
Terms expiring are those
of Bill Owens, who is board
president, Roy Yeager, and
Raymond Groff. Of these,
only Yeager said he will not
seek re-election.
Yeager is completing a
single six-year term, and
said that he had decided “a
long time ago” to give up
some of his activities. “It’s
been a good experience, and
I hope some other people
will take advantage by
seeking a seat on the
Board,” he said this week.
Owens and Groff both said
they plan to seek re-election,
although Owens qualified
this by saying he would run
again only if he is endorsed
by the area Republican
committee. This leaves some
doubt as to the status of his
candidacy, since the com-
[ Continued on Page 2]
Rec Center Funding Is Under Discussion
By Laurie Knowles
At a joint meeting on Feb.
23 to discuss funds for the
Rec Center, Bill Owens,
president of the Warwick
School Board, said that
contrary to some reports, the
Board has no intention of
dropping Rec Center funding
“with a quick thud”.
Owens added that it had
come as a shock to him and
other members of the Board
to hear that they would with­draw
support to the Rec
Center.
The meeting was called by
Phil Bailey, president of the
Rec Center Board, with
r e p r e s e n t a tiv e s from
Warwick Township, Lititz
Boro Council, Warwick
School Board, and the Rec
Center Board present, to
“clear the air” concerning
the financial future of the
Rec Center, said Bailey. No
r e p r e s e n t a tiv e from
Elizabeth Township was
present at the meeting,
although all interested
parties had been invited to
attend.
“I was concerned when I
heard about the School
Board/’ said Bailey. “And I
began to look for support
from other sources, like the
townships.”
“I think we need to find out
what direction we are
headed in,” he added.
“Especially since our budget
will be completed in June.”
Owens, however, said that
funding of the Rec Center
had never been discussed as
In This Issue
Business Directory 16
Church News 14
Classified Ads 18,19
Editorial Page 4
Sports Section 6,7,8
Women’s 10,11
a budget item at School
Board meetings, although it
was his feeling that the
School Board should be
relieved of some of the
burden.
“We do have a contract,
and we have a habit of living
up to a contract,” he added.
“But like everything else,
this (the Rec Center fun­ding)
is getting more and
more expensive.”
According to the contract,
written in 1973, the School
Board has an agreement to
make up the deficit of the
Rec Center after all other
funds and contributions are
received.
“I must stress that this is a
gentleman’s agreement,”
said Bill Dussinger, also of
the School Board. “We don’t
have to give you money.”
Owens also stated that the
way that persons are
presently taxed, residents in
the boro pay twice (through
both boro and School District
taxes for the Rec Center)
and those living in Warwick
and Elizabeth Township pay
only once (School District
only), to aid the Rec Center.
Richard Hoffer, a War­wick
Township supervisor,
suggested that all taxation to
benefit the Rec Center be
done through the School
District. He said that several
other Rec Centers that he
has heard of, received all
I Continued on Page 2 ]
School Board Asks Residents
To Say What Kind Of New
Superintendent They Want
In its search for a new superintendent of schools,
Warwick School Board is appealing to the residents of the
school district to tell them what kind of a superintendent
they want, and what they think are the school district’s
major problems.
Director Wallace Hofferth, in a special press release
this week, stated: “The Board of School Directors is
looking for a new superintendent of schools and because
we want to be as sure as we can that we select the best
qualified person, we are asking for your input into the
selection process.”
“We would like to know what qualities you think our new
superintendent should possess, and also, what you view as
the district’s problems that we should be looking to our
new superintendent to solve.”
Hofferth, who is chairman of the board’s selection
committee for a new superintendent, asked that residents
take a few minutes to write down their thoughts on the
matter and send them to him: W. B. Hofferth, Chairman,
Selection Committee, Board of School Directors, Warwick
School District, West Orange Street, Lititz, Pa. 17543.
Hofferth said that residents don’t need to sign their
letters, but should make sure he receives them by March
15.
CBS's Charles Kuralt Visits Lititz
By Bonnie Szymanski
For 10 years, he has
tracked down the uncommon
among the common lot of
men.
NOTICE
The monthly meeting
of the Lititz Retailer’s
Association has been
scheduled for the second
Wednesday of this
month. The March
meeting will be held
next Wednesday, March
9 at 7:30 P.M. at the
General Sutter Inn.
Local police officer
Ron Sandhaus will
present a program on
burglary and crime
prevention for retail
merchants.
All area businessmen
are welcome and invited
to attend this special
meeting.
Charles Kuralt, CBS ’s
tireless seeker of the
newsworthy nonconformist
amid America’s masses of
solid citizenry, visited Lititz
Tuesday.
With his technical crew
and faithful “On the Road”
van, the veteran T.V.
newsman was lured to the
Lititz area in the hope of
taping an interview for his
“Who's Who” program with
the town’s famed pretzel
roller, Louis Sturgis, now in
his 90’s and a resident of
Moravian Manor.
Unfortunately, because of
Sturgis’ frail health, the idea
had to be dropped, and
Kuralt found himself in Lititz
with nothing to do.
That’s when three
reporters from the Record
entered the scene. Thanks to
some alert eyes and ears at
the General Sutter Hotel, he
became our property for a
good half hour.
We were pleased to
discover that, like the
subjects of his own in­terviews,
Charles Kuralt
was just a friendly guy who
seemed pleased to be the
subject of our journalistic
interest.
He explained that missing
out on a planned interview is
not unusual for him. People
write to the show from all
over the country, he said,
and when a suggestion
sounds tempting they take
off in that direction, often
hoping to get detoured
toward someone or
something even more
newsworthy than their
original destination.
Though he calls New York
City home, Kuralt admits he
rarely sees the fair town
since he is on the road (so
that’s why they call it that!)
most of the time.
Kuralt commented that he
thought Lititz was an
especially lovely town with
its neat shopping area and
quiet atmosohere. He said he
has been in this area before
and enjoys traveling
through, particularly at this
time of the year when the
roads are not yet crowded
with the tourist trade.
Because he is interested in
plucking unusual per­sonalities
from the main­stream
of American life and
taping their eccentricities
for the enjoyment of his 30
million weekly viewers,
Kuralt is always ready with
the question, “Do you know
any unusual people we can
interview?”
We gave him several
astute suggestions which he
duly noted for future
reference, saying he planned
to head back this way later
in the spring. But he did not
offer any one of us a job, nor
did he seem to feel our
personalities or our
professions unusual enough
to warrant a special segment
on “Who’s Who,” aired
every Tuesday at 8 p.m. over
a local CBA station.
Ah well, that’s show biz.
Following lunch at the General Sutter Hotel, beside their "On the Road” van for a quick Record
Charles Kuralt and his technical crew - from left to photo. Kuralt had been in Lititz on the trail of
right, Charles Quinlan, Larry Gianneschi, Dave human interest stories to feature in CBS’s weekly
Hansen, and Isadore Bleckman - posed amiably "Who’s Who” program.