Lititz Record Express

              THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2000
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123RDYEAR 28Pages - No. 40 LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 30 Cents
□ INSIDE
Obituaries relocated Homecoming
Starting this week, Lititz
Record Express obitutarieswill be
located on pages 12 and 13.
Due to Lititz area growth and
the need for more obituary space
in each issue, this change has
become necessary. For the con­venience
of our readers, obituar­ies
are now located in one area of
the paper, instead of scattered
throughout several areas of the
newspaper.
□ Business
Blackout effect
Monday’s blackout in Lititz
put quite a few businesses in
the dark, but one local com­pany
hardly missed a beat
when the lights went out.
Page 18.
Also, Beth Lovell doesn’t
believe that a prolonged
absence from the workforce
means that you lack market­able
skills. She will discuss
her tips to landing that job in a
program at the Lititz Public
Library on Jan. 18. Page 18.
□ Church
Church renovations
Brickerville United Lutheran
Church is in the final stages of
a 15-month, $1 million reno­vation
project. Plans for a
dedication ceremony can be
found on Page 16.
Also, columnist Norman
Saville chats with Ralph and
Kay Toliver about their secret
to a good, long life. It’s on
Page 16.
□ Entertainment
Piano collector
Mabel Daugherty has been
collecting miniature pianos for
nearly 40 years, and she is
sharing her collection with the
community in a special display
at the Lititz Public Library this
month. Page 22.
□ School
U.N. comes to WHS
Last week, educational
tools for the 21st Century
were demonstrated when sev­eral
Warwick students partici­pated
in an interactive broad­cast
with the United Nations,
as part of the Distance
Learning program. More about
this program is on Page 6.
Also, this weekend, eight
Warwick students will be per­forming
at the County
Orchestra Festival in Leola,
and Warwick High School and
Middle School will present its
annual winter band concert at
the high school auditorium.
Page 6.______________________
□ Sports
Runk named All-State
Warwick junior Alison Runk
was selected for the All-State
team in volleyball. She is the
first Warwick girls volleyball
player selected for this honor.
Page 8.
Also, check out all of the
highlights from boys and girls
basketball, wrestling, and
other local sports news.
Pages 8-11.
□ Out of the Past
Coasting fever
Ninety years ago, snowfall
caused a severe case of
coasting fever, as youngsters
took their sleds out to local
hills for a day of healthy fun,
while 110 years ago, Lititz
commemorated the opening
of its newest school. Pages
20-21.
□ Index
Births.................................... 14
Business.................... 18-19
Church.............................16-17
Classified........................ 24-27
Editorial / Letters...................4
Entertainment......................22
Obituaries....................... 12-13
Out of the Past.............. 20-21
Poiice/Fire Log....................... 2
School News...................... 6-7
Social..............................14-15
Sports................................8-11
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Photo by Richard Reitz
The fate of Lititz Elementary remains unclear as the school district awaits a feasibility study on how to best
prepare for future growth. Borough Council recently issued a letter in support of keeping the school in place.
Council urges district
to keep Lititz El site
STEPHEN SEEBER___________
Record Express Staff
LITITZ — The borough govern­ment
has made its case for keeping
Lititz El right where it is.
During its last regular meeting on
Dec. 28, borough council voted in
favor of sending the following mes­sage
to school district superintendent
Dr. Stephen Iovino:
“Please be advised that council
would like to encourage the Warwick
School Board to continue to utilize
the present site for the Lititz Elemen­tary
School, for a number of reasons.
The foremost factor in their position
is traffic and congestion concerns in
the borough and keeping the amount
of student bussing to a minimum.”
Dr. Iovino, who had just received
the letter Tuesday, had little to say in
response.
He did say that he would share
council’s input, which is being
treated like any other suggestion that
has been received from the commun­ity,
with the school board. He expects
that the board will consider it, and all
concerns, when making a final deci­sion
on the future of Lititz El.
The next school board meeting is
Jan. 18, but because results from a
feasibility study on Lititz El are still
being compiled, public discussion on
the subject is not expected to occur
any sooner than February.
Wallace Hofferth, school board
president, said that he has not seen
council’s letter and could not com­ment
on it, but he expects school size
to be one of the controlling factors in
the decision that will eventually be
made.
The question for many people is,
when will that decision be made?
Hofferth said that the school board
hopes to bring it to conclusion before
too many more months pass, but they
do not want to rush the issue at the
risk of making an ill-informed
decision.
“A demographic study just came
in and we’re still absorbing those
results,” he said. “It all has to kind of
digest itself, to the point where there
are some clearly defined directions.
It’s not easy.”
The Record Express last updated
the Lititz El saga on Nov. 18, when it
was reported that the school district
would decide within the next few
months on whether larger schools or
a new school would be needed to
handle anticipated growth over the
next 15 years.
Approximately 50 residents
attended a feasibility study meeting
in November, absorbing results from
an enrollment study and reviewing
the district’s expansion options. The
center of the expansion issue is the
fate of lititz Elementary, an 83-year-old
downtown school that offers
more than nostalgia for Lititz High
School graduate.
The borough’s concerns are well
founded, as a majority of the current
Lititz Elementary students walk to
school. A relocation could mean
more bus traffic, more transportation
costs for taxpayers and the loss of the
borough’s oldest school building.
Those in favor of keeping the
school as is have also argued that
Lititz El services an area of saturated
development But according to the
enrollment study that was completed
for the district last year, there are
about 1,000 potential new homes in
this area, 333 of which exist in the
Lititz El region.
Like Hofferth said, it’s a decision
that will not be reached easily.
Ochs joins
Warwick
Twp. police
RICHARD REITZ .
Record Express Editor
LITITZ — The Warwick Town­ship
Police Department is starting the
new year with a new officer on its
force.
Curtis M. Ochs, a 1993 graduate of
Ephrata High School, joined the
department on Wednesday, Jan. 5,
and was sworn into duty by District
Justice Daniel Garrett on Jan. 6.
Ochs was selected as the top can­didate
from 35 applicants after a
three-month selection process. He
was hired for the position that was
opened when former township offic­er
Jeff Martin left to take another
position a few months ago.
Ochs, who resides in Denver with
his wife Lori, was bom and raised in
Ephrata, and served as a part-time
officer for Ephrata Township police
prior to accepting the Warwick
position.
He served five years in the U.S.
Marine Corps, where he was sta-
(See New Officer, Page 2)
Borough, police dept, move back to
Broad St. after 8-month renovation
STEPHEN SEEBER___________
Record Express Staff
LITITZ — Borough police and
government officials began moving
into a newly renovated building this
week, which means construction
deadlines made a year ago were right
on the money.
In regard to money, the final costs
for borough hall expansion are not in
at this point, so it may be quite some
time before it is known whether or
not the facility came in under its $ 1.5
million budget. The general contrac­tor
hired for the job — Caldwell,
Heckles & Egan Inc. of Lancaster —
will still be doing some minor wrap-up
work over the next few weeks.
Police began the daunting task of
moving its furniture and files from
the fire hall on West Main Street to
7-9 S. Broad St. Monday. Borough
o ff ic e s b eg a n m o v in g on
Wednesday.
The only inconvenience to resi­dents
who may have business with
the borough should have occured
Wednesday, when phones were not
being manned during the switch­over.
Police emergencies were hand­led
through the county’s dispatch
system.
The new office will not be open for
regular business until next Monday,
so this is a good week to put off pay­ing
water bills.
For history’s sake, the first busi­ness
meeting held in the new bor­ough
hall will be next Monday’s zon­ing
hearing board meeting. The
council chambers’ sound system has
not been fully installed at this point,
but that should not present a problem
unless hundreds of people show up.
Also for histoty’s sake, the last
meeting held at fire hall was the Jan.
4 planning commission meeting.
In all, the borough’s temporary
stay at the fire hall worked out well,
which is amazing considering that a
municipal government, police
department and fire company all
operated out of the same building
since last May.
Photo by Richard Reitz
The new borough hall at 7-9 S. Broad St. is close enough to comple­tion
for police and local government officials to move back in this week.
The building will be open to the publiefor the first time on Monday, Jan.
He asks her in 1999,
she accepts in 2000
RICHARD REITZ_____________
Record Express Editor
LITITZ — In the final moments
of the 1900s, Chad E. Miller asked
his girlfriend if she would many him.
In the first few seconds of the
2000s, under the glow of a brilliant
Lititz fireworks display, a surprised
Kerri Carper said “yes.”
Chad and Kerri had been dating
for 5'h years, so a marriage was
expected. Chad knew that he had to
make this special in order to keep it a
surprise.
His plan worked. Aside from his
father-in-law, who learned of Chad’s
plan a day earlier when he asked for
permission, his proposal was a sur­prise
to everyone.
“I was originally hoping it was
coming at Christmas,” Kerri said.
When it didn’t, she was a little disap­pointed.
“But he always said it would
be a surprise. I had no idea it was
coming that night.”
As the crowd of about 4,000 at
(See Proposal, Page 23)
Youth collects supplies
for children in Kosovo
KARI RADVANSKY___________
Record Express Staff
LITITZ — Children in Kosovo
received much-needed school sup­plies,
thanks to a 13-year-old Lititz
boy.
Sam Lohr, a home-schooled
seventh grader, decided to collect
school supplies after reading an arti­cle
in the Lititz Record where veteran
Rudolf Egersdorfer of Lititz wrote
about the needs in post-war Kosovo.
Sam’s mother, Linda Lohr, encour­aged
Sam and his 12-year-old sister
Heidi to choose a project to help
others, especially kids their own age.
“I want them to know that every­one
in the world doesn’t live the good
life that we live,” Mrs. Lohr said.
Once Sam chose this project, he
wrote an article for his mother to put
in their Home Educator’s Newslet­ter,
requesting others donate various
school supplies as well.
There was a good response from
other students and the communtiy as
well. The collection was held from
September through November. They
had also received some monetary
donations to cover the shipping
costs. Egersdorfer told the Lohr fam­ily
not to worry about shipping costs,
(See Kosovo, Page 23)
Concert for a free Tibet
WHS seniors plan Chameleon benefit Jan. 28
(from left to right) Josh Weinstein, Sarah Snyder, Matt Bieber, Dan
Lilly, Kate Prisby and Bob Marten.
RICHARD REITZ___________
Record Express Editor
LITITZ — Since it wa-> over­run
by Communist Cfain.i in the
1950s, Tibet has watched us rich
culture disintigrate, its re'igioas
beliefs desecrated, and its jieople
eliminated.
Nine Warwick High Sehi'ol
seniors hope that a benefit unmerl
at the Chameleon Club later this
month will not only raise money
to help those leading the non­violent
fight for a free Tibet — but
to raise awareness about their
long-running plight as well.
“Chin ese-Tibctan relationships
are deteriorating,” said Matt Bieb­er,
one of the organizers of the
concert “The Chinese are intent
on eliminating the Tibetan
culture.”
Josh Weinstein called it “cul­tural
genocide,” and said that
since China annexed Tibet in
1951, 1.2 million Tibetans have
died in the struggle, with many
more tortured, and an estimated
6,000 monasteries destroyed.
The all-ages concert will be
held on Friday, Jan. 28 from 6-10
p.m. at the Chameleon Club in
Lancaster. Three bands will be
performing at the event, including
the Jellybricks, Eye Wish Eye,
and Nevur. All of the bands have
volunteered to perform at no
cost.”
Tickets are $7, and all of the
proceeds will benefit Students for
a Free Tibet, and Drepung
Gomang Monastery in Philadel­phia,
which provides aid to people
living in Tibet that have been cut
off from food and supplies.
As part of the show, four Tibe­tan
monks from Drepung
Gomang Monastery and who live
in India, will be performing sever­al
religious chants.
“This is not to promote Buddh­ism,
but rather to promote a free
Tibet, and to save a culture,” Matt
said.
He said this activity is not
school-related, and is actually the
first official event for the Lancas­ter
Chapter of Students for a Free
Tibet, an organization that cur­rently
includes nine Warwick stu­dents
who were also involved in
the Amnesty International group.
They hope that membership to
this student-run group will grow
(See Tibet, Page 23)