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WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 22 Pages-No. 23
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Boro Employees Quit
Teamsters, Will Deal
Directly with Council
By Peggy Frailey
The Record Express
learned Tuesday night
that the eight members
of the Lititz public
works crew who joined
the Teamsters Union
la s t winter have
withdrawn from the
union, and Teamsters
Local 777 has made it
clear to the borough that
it will not agree to
represent this group
again.
According to Wayne
Gainer, one of the
longer-time members of
the works crew, who
had voted against union
representation, the
eight men decided they
wanted “out” of the
Teamsters because the
union “ended up telling
us what we were going
to do.”
“ That we didn’t want,”
Gamer said. He said it
had been the works
crew’s understanding
that the union would
work “for” them in
getting higher salaries
and benefits, but that it
hadn’t turned out that
way.
Would Lose Money
He said that the older
members of the works
crew would have been
losing “about $1200 a
year” if they had stayed
with the union.
Meanwhile, he said,
Boro Council has told
the works crew to pick
out two of their men to
represent the em­ployees.
Council is being
represented by Donald
Stauffer and Wendel
Hower. Gainer said he
expects talks between
the two groups to be set
up within a week or so
regarding salaries and
benefits for next year.
Council Quiet
on Issue
Boro Council never
publicly announced that
the borough employees
had withdrawn from the
union, although the
borough received a
letter earlier in August
from H a r ry
H
- -*.1?
Himelwright, business
representative of Local
777, informing the
borough that the men
were no longer being
represented by the
Teamsters.
Councilman Donald
Stauffer did ask the
Council president
during the forum period
of the meeting Tuesday
night if it was “official”
that the men had
withdrawn from the
union, and was told
“yes,” with no further
elaboration. Stauffer
said that until then, he
had not been told of the
w ith d r aw a l, even
though he is on the
negotiating team.
The full information
came out after Tuesday
night’s Council meeting
when the Record
questioned Council’s
approval of three
percent merit raises,
retroactive to July 1, for
the eight men who had
joined the union:
Wayner Gainer, Andrew
Byerly, Kerry Maharg,
Joe Laventure, Mike
Weaver, Robert Maul,
Carl Kline, and Joe
Litzenberger.
Asked if these weren’t
the men who had joined
the Teamsters, Boro
Council President Jim
Yerger told the Record
that the men had
withdrawn from the
union.
When asked why it
had not been made
public during a regular
C ou n c il m e e tin g ,
Yerger said that it had
slipped his mind to have
it put on the agenda.
Councilman Wendel
Hower, who is on the
negotiating team that
works with the borough
employees, told the
Record that it had been
a personnel matter and
he did not think it
necessary that the
newspaper or the public
be informed about it. He
said that the state’s
Sunshine Law says local
governments don’t have
to tell what goes on in
personnel meetings,
adding that he’s sick
and tired of the press
trying to “lord it over”
so-called public ser­vants
and invading their
privacy.
Lesson Learned
C o n ta c ted la t e r
Tuesday night Gamer
said that he felt all
sides, the Teamsters,
the borough employees,
and Boro Council, had
learned a lesson from
the experience.
He said the Teamsters
had been“very nice”
about the Lititz em­ployees’
request to
withdraw.
“However, he and
Himelwright both
acknowledged that the
Teamsters had in­formed
the borough that
they would never
represent their group
again.
“They walked out and
we left them go,”
Himelwright said. He
said the local had
subsequently notified
the Labor Board that
the Lititz men wanted to
go, after receiving a
letter to that effect from
the employees early this
summer.
Himelwright said the
works crew had ac­cepted
a union contract
that would have become
effective in January,
1978. He said all eight of
the men had joined the
union on an individual
basis, and all had paid
initiation fees, but none
had paid dues.
Gainer said the men
had joined the union to
protect any of the
employees from being
fired by the borough
during the course of
voting for represen­ta
tio n , or during
negotiations. Under Act
195, the Public Em­ployees
Bargaining Act,
a union member cannot
be f ir e d by a
municipality during or
[Continued on Page 19]
“ ~ • V
The long-awaited event was finally
held on Sunday when ground was
broken for the new St. Janies
Catholic Church to be built on
Woodcrest Ave. Participating in the
ceremonies are from left to right,
Tom Lehmier, Church Council
president; Father Francis Nelson,
pastor of St. James; Bishop Joseph
T. Daley; Father Paul Bryan; and Carl
Monnin, chairman of the church
building committee. The new church
is expected to be completed in early
Spring of 1978.
Rothsville Metal Recycling Center
Draws Complaints From Residents
By Bonnie Szymanski
W a rw ick Township
supervisors were beseiged
with complaints during their
meeting Thursday night
when they were confronted
with lo c a l re sid en ts
demanding that they “do
something” about pollution
from a Rothsville metal
recycling company in
operation for more than a
year despite a rezoning
petition rejection handed
down nine months ago after
company officials requested
approval to continue
reclamation operations.
The company, Glen Tara
Iron & Metal Works, is
located on land that had been
used industrially - a gas
company was in operation
there until 1971 - before
zonmg went into effect in the
township. Glen Tara owners
William Went ling and J .
Paul Rohrer rented the
property from owner Ronald
Whitcraft of Lititz in the
understanding that they
could automatically con­tinue
the nonconforming use.
Such was not the case, and
when they were informed
that they were in violation of
the township zoning or­dinance,
they applied for
rezoning. On Dec. 9, 1976,
their petition was denied by
the Warwick Township
Zoning Hearing Board,
which based its denial on the
fact that the operation is
'ocated on a flood plain.
The owners were given a
“reasonable” period of time
in which to find another
property suitable for their
reciamation operations.
Thursday night, residents on
both the Warwick Township
and the Ephrata Township
sides of the rural district
informed the supervisors
that they felt nine months
was more than a reasonable
period of time for the
owners to have found
another site for the com­pany.
Betty Shissler, whose farm
residence is located about
100 yards downwind of the
black smoke and soot she
claims makes it impossible
for to hang wash said that
during the month of July,
smoke belched out of the site
daily “from sunup to sun­down.”
She complained that
sometimes the odors from
the plant are so intense that
she can’t talk or even smell
the food she is preparing.
Warwick Township Zoning
Officer Marv Feiler ad­mitted
that on a recent
Monday the odor was
“horrendous” and said, “It
even got to my eyes.” A
resident who lives on the
opposite side of Rothsville
agreed, noting that smells
blow over their way from
time to time.
Chairman James Witmyer
said he was surprised the
airport hadn’t reported the
problem when Mrs. Shissler
r e v e a le d th em ' th a t
sometimes huge puffs of
smoke billow into the air like
bombs exploding.
Contacted later, Wentling
would not comment on
where the company would
relocate because of certain
legal ramifications but he
stated that the recycling
operations will “definitely”
be moved to another area
within the near future and
said that a public auction
will be held on the Rothsville
site on October 8 in
preparation for the move.
Ronald Whitcraft, owner
of the property, said he had
no definite plans for the land
once the Glen Tara company
left, but he indicated that it
would probably be used for
storage as it could not be
used for any industrial
purpose under present
zoning.
Whitcraft noted that he
has tentative plans to clear
out the lowland-now filled
with scrap metal, disin-tigrating
buildings, and a
fallen smoke stack-and build
a private lake and recreation
area.
Landis Valley Road
Residents of Landis Valley >
Road were also on hand to
voice complaints about the
recent oiling and chipping of
their road which reportedly
had been the cause of many
ruined driveways, garages,
rugs and tempers.
According to the com­plainants,
the roadway was
in good shape until township
road crews loaded it with oil
and gravel.
“What are you going to do
to put it back the way it
was?” demanded Rose
Love, 206 Landis Valley
Road, who told supervisors
that the thick oil and stones
were in her garage, the floor
of her home and the soles of
her shoes.
When Chairman Witmyer
said he had checked the road
following a rash of com-
*4
•-S«*
m m «i
\ m
The Glen Tera Iron & Metal Works,
Rothsville, has been the target of
numerous complaints during the
past year. Located on a tract of rural
land, the recycling center has caused
its neighbors to cry “foul” more than
once in describing the pollutants that
fill the air surrounding the company.
In Glen Tara’s backyard, behind
the old smokestack that once marked
a gas company on the property, the
onlooker can find almost any kind of
metallic has-been, which ultimately
finds its way into the cookers
designed to reclaim metals. It’s a
legitimate business, but one that has
tried the patience of neighbors who
want their rural air reclaimed.
plaints and hadn’t picked up
any stones on his tires, Mrs.
Love told him, “You must
have had wings on your
tires.”” to which several
L a n d is V a lle y Road
re sid en ts laughed in
agreement.
Witmyer told those
gathered at the meeting that
Enrollment at 3,544
Warwick Schools To Open Sept. 7
A total of 3,544 Warwick
students are expected to
return to school on opening
day Wednesday, Sept. 7.
Teachers will be reporting
to school Tuesday, Sept. 6 for
a general in-service day and
to meet with the new
superintendent of schools,
Dr. John Bonfield.
All students will have a full
classroom day the first day
of school. Of the total
projected enrollment, 1148
will be in the High School,
845 in the Middle School, 417
at John Beck Elementary,
517 at Kissel Hill Elemen­tary
and 617 at Lititz
Elementary.
F o rm e r R o th s v ille
Elementary School students
have been transferred to
Lititz Elementary and Kissel
Hill Schools.
High School
High School students must
be at the school by 8 a.m.
Ninth and 10th graders
should report to the gym­nasium,
and 11th and 12th
graders, to the auditorium.
Dismissal time will be 2:58
p.m.
Middle School
Opening hour for the
Middle School students is
8:10 a.m. Sixth graders
should report to the
auditorium, seventh graders
to the cafeteria, and eighth
graders to the gymnasium.
Dismissal time will be 3:05
p.m.
Elementary Schools
All elementary school
students must be at their
respective buildings by 8:35
a.m. Dismissal will be at
2:25 p.m.
John Beck students should
report to the all-purpose
room.
At Lititz Elementary,
second graders should
report to the cafeteria, third
graders to the library, and
fourth and fifth graders to
the gymnasium.
F ir s t g rad e rs have
received a mailed card
giving them their room
assignments and should
report directly to their
classrooms. If any first
g r a d e r s fo r L it itz
E lem en ta ry have not
received an assignment,
their parents should contact
the school.
At Kissel Hill School, first
graders should go directly to
th e ir c la ssro om s by
following colored dots on the
corridors that correspond
with colors they have
received in the mail.
Second graders should
report to the cafeteria, third'
graders to the gymnasium,
fourth graders to the library,
and fifth graders to the lower
hallway outside the fifth
grade classrooms.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten students will
begin school Friday, Sept. 9.
Two days of conferences
with teachers will precede
their first day. This morning
(Thursday), a special bus
instruction program will be
conducted for kindergarten
students and their parents at
10 a.m. at the Middle School.
IN T H IS ISSUE
the reason the township oils
and chips roadways on a
regular basis is to keep them
in good shape and alleviate
the need for major repairs.
He noted that all the other
roads repaired by township
crews in the same manner
seemed satisfactory and had
generated no complaints
from residents.
Secretary Richard Hoffer
informed the residents that
since becoming aware of the
problem with Landis Valley
Road, the supervisors had
contacted their oil supplier,
requesting an explanation.
He said that the reason the
stones did not adhere to the
oil may have been because
th e re was too much
emulsifier in the oil mixture.
Supervisors told the
L a n d is V a lle y Road
residents that road crews
would keep checking on the
roadway periodically and
would try and remedy the
situation short of removing
the new layer of stones and
oil.
Old RR Crossings
Secretary Hoffer reported
that, following questions
during the last meeting
concerning whether school
buses were required to stop
at abandoned railroad
crossings, he had received a
letter from the Reading
company’s trustees in
bankruptcy, which gives the
township permission to
remove all railroad signs
from the abandoned
crossings.
Said Hoffer, according to
the Bureau of Traffic Safety,
if crossing signs are left in
place, buses are required to
stop even if the crossings
have been long abandoned.
In fact, he noted, state police
have made recent arrests in
cases where trucks carrying
flamable materials have
crossed the abandoned
tracks without stopping first,
first.
Business Directory 18
□lurch News 16
Classified Ads 20,21
Editorial Page 4
Sports Section 6,7,8
Social 12,13
T|
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