Lititz Record Express

              T H U R S D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 3 , 2 0 0 0
L i t i t z R e c o r d E x p r e s s
^ a r d -W i n ^ -
P u b lic a tio n
123RDY EA R 26 Pages- No. 43 LITITZ. PENNSYLVANIA 30 Cents
IN BRIEF
Hobby expo
seeks participants
LITITZ - Do you have a favor­ite
hobby that might interest or
even inspire a local youngster?
The Healthy Communi-ties/
Healthy Youth Committee
in the Warwick School District is
planning to sponsor a Hobby
Expo on Tuesday, March 14,
from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the small
Warwick High School gymna­sium.
Right now, the Hobby Expo is
inviting community members
and organizations to display
their collections, hobbies, or
special activities at this family-oriented
event. Possibilities in­clude
photography, fishing,
sports cards, painting, coins,
stamps, magic tricks, model
cars, autographs, sewing and
more.
Anyone interested in a dis­play
booth must complete and
return a form by Thursday, Feb.
10. For more information about
obtaining a form, contact the
Warwick School District at 626-
3734.
INSIDE
□ School
Knowledge masters
A team of fifth graders at Lititz
Elementary School scored
among the top 20 in the United
States during a recent com­puter
Knowledge Master Open
competition. Page 6.
Also, Jonathan Lefeverwil! be
representing Warwick High
School at the District Orchestra
Festival this weekend. Page 7.
□ Business
Hershey relocates
Hershey Physical Therapy re­cently
relocated to the former
Bicycle World building along
Route 501, across the street
from Weis Market. For more in­formation
about the change,
see Page 18.
□ Sports
Big victory
It was the lower weight
classes that made the differ­ence
in Warwick’s big 35-20
wrestling victory over a tough
Penn Manor squad. For more
about this match, plus news
from basketball, swimming and
other local sports, check out
Pages 8 -1 1 .
□ Index
Births............. 15
Business........................ 18-19
Church................ 16
Classified.......................22-25
Editorial / Letters..................4
Entertainment............ ........21
Obituaries............. ........ 12-13
Out of the Past............20, 22
Police/Fire Log..... ................2
School News............... 6-7
Social..................... ......14-15
Sports.......................... ...8-11
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G u i l t y
Black plea is good news as Warwick
moves forward with recovery effort
STEPHENSEEBER_________
liet-ord, Express S ta f f
LITITZ - Nearly two and a half
>ears after being charged for in­vestment
fraud by the Securities
and Exchange Commission, John
Gardner Black has pleaded guilty.
Now Gardner, who will be sen­tenced
April 14, faces up to 130
years in prison and $14.8 million
in fines.
The Warwick School Board,
which agreed to invest $2.1 million
with Black just three months
before the SEC charges went
public, now presides over the only
Lancaster County school district
that has yet to realize a full recov­ery
on its losses. But if three ongo­ing
pooled efforts are successful,
Warwick could be back on track
by the end of this year.
David Zerbe, business manager
for Warwick School District, is re­luctant
to make any guarantees on
just when all the local taxpayer
dollars will find their way home,
but the optimism displayed by
Zerbe and the rest of the district
leadership over the past two years
appears to be on the verge of real­ization.
To date, $1,112,000 has
been recovered and $988,000 re­mains
to be found
See FRAUD, page 3
Photo by Stephen Seeber
Captain Bob Little of the Lititz Fire Company digs for a fire hydrant at the end of Dorchester Drive,
WarwickTownship. The plug was buried by drifti ng snow from an adjacentfield.
B u r i e d i s s u e
Concert for a Free Tibet
raises money, awareness
Firefighters are
concerned about
missing hydrants
STEPHENSEEBER
RecordExpre s s S ta f f
L ITITZ - As blizzards cover this
borough by the foot, the focus of the
general public seems to tum toward
removing snow from sidewalks and
family roadsters. Meanwhile, a key
component in saving lives and
property rarely gets a second
thought when the “Average Joe” is
in shoveling mode.
Local firefighters are perplexed
over the number of fire hydrants
that have been carelessly buried be­neath
mounds of snow and ice in
favor of good parking and weekly
trash collection. The trend is a
major oversight that could end in
tragedy if a residential fire breaks
out before the spring thaw.
“Less than five percent of the fire
hydrants have been cleared,” said
Tom Benjamin, who spoke during
Monday’s borough council meeting
on behalf of the Lititz Fire Com-
□ Church
Mascot Musings
Marian Shatto shares her
thoughts on the ongoing War­wick
Warrior mascot debate,
with a Moravian perspective, in
her monthly column, “Mus­ings.”
Page 16
□Out of the Past
Gen. John Sutter stakes an­ther
claim for the California
nd that he feels was stolen
om him during the Gold Rush
f 1849. Pages 2 0 -2 2 .
□ Entertainment
First Stage lights up
First Stage Theatre in Lititz is
welcoming the return of “Really
Rosie” this weekend only, in
celebration of the theatre
group’s 10th anniversary. Next
weekend, the band A1A South
will perform sounds of love at
the annual Valentine’s Day Cab­aret.
Page 21.
Photo by Stephen Seeber
Laurie Kear sits at the head of an empty soda fountain at 40 E.
Main St. She hopesto have “Benner’s Soda Fountain” up and run­ning
by April.
Benner’s is back
Hershey woman plans to save a legend
STEPHENSEEBER
RecordExpre s s S ta f f
LITITZ - The buzz on the
street is that Benner’s will soon
be back in business.
It’s been barely a month since
the legendary pharmacy and
soda fountain closed its doors for
good, but a Hershey woman who
has a fondness for the good old
days has positioned herself to
not only reopen the soda foun­tain,
but also preserve the
endearing elements that made
Benner’s so popular.
Laurie Kear, a mother of three
who recently ran a gift shop in
Mt. Joy, is now working her way
through all the bureaucratic red
tape that accompanies proprie­torship.
She hopes to christen
“Benner’s Soda Fountain” by
early April.
“I want to keep the Benner’s
name, I think that’s important,”
she said, adding that she has in­tentions
of refurbishing some of
the original pharmacy booths
and other relics that she recently
discovered in the attic at 40 E.
Main St.
In addition, Kear would like
to keep the old-fashioned soda
fountain intact, open a penny
candy counter where the phar­macy
used to be, serve soups and
sandwiches for lunch customers,
keep the lottery business going,
and eventually open a gift shop
on the second floor.
The famous five-cent cup of
coffee, however, is most likely
gone forever as the Benner’s
trademark attraction is just not
financially feasible in 2000.
“I don’t think I can do the
nickel coffee,” she said with an
air of regret. “It will be within
reason, anyway. I’m thinking
maybe a quarter. ’ ’
The Benner’s regulars, most
of whom were distraught when
Walt Popejoy announced last
November that he was closing on
Dec. 15, will be happy to chip in
an extra four nickels if it reunites
them with their fountain bar-stools.
“I told her I would pay 30
cents,” said Jere Randall, dedi­cated
coffee drinker and lottery
ticket buyer. “I would pay what-
See BENNER’S, page 17
pany. “Those fire hydrants can be
buried until April. ’ ’
The fire company spent all of
Saturday and much of Monday
night trying to dig out as many fire­plugs
as possible in both Lititz and
Warwick Township. The local fire
district is home to 350 hydrants, so
the undertaking is immense. Fur­thermore,
maintaining hydrants is
not the fire company’s duty.
“We don’t own the fire hy­drants,”
Ron Oettel Jr., Lititz fire
chief, pointed out. “They’re actu­ally
owned and maintained by the
See SNOW, page 17
MARYANNE LAAGER________
Record Express Staff
LANCASTER - The enthusias­tic
concert-goers at the Chameleon
Club last Friday appeared much
like any other the popular down­town
night club has hosted over
the years.
But there was something special
about this show. The people in at­tendance
were there to give and
support an international cam­paign
for freedom.
The concert, which featured
performances by the Jellybricks,
Eye Wish Eye, Nevur, and a group
of six Tibetan Monks, was spon­sored
by the Lancaster Chapter of
Students for a Free Tibet. SFT is a
grassroots organization committed
to the efforts involving freeing
Tibet from Communist Chinese
rule. The Lancaster chapter was
started earlier this year by a group
of Warwick High School students
who are concerned with human
rights issues.
The benefit show raised $2,000
dollars for the cause. “That will go
to spread the message of the Ti­betan
plight, said Matt Bieber,
Warwick senior and president of
the student-run local group.
“We’ll donate some to Students
for a Free Tibet headquarters in
New York. Some will go to the
Tibet Fund of the Tibet House,
two humanitarian organizations
which provide food, medicine,
clothes, and books for people in
Tibet under the harsh Chinese
Communist regime,” Bieber said.
See TIBET, page 3
Circle of Friends auction will
benefit friend fighting cancer
RICHARD REITZ
RecordExpre s s Editor
LITITZ - Crystal Engle
Hohenwarter has entered a new
stage in her battle against breast
cancer, and some of her closest
friends are making sure that she
doesn’t have to face the battle
alone.
Crystal, a 1978 graduate of War­wick
High School, was diagnosed
with cancer three years ago, and
has been receiving conventional
therapy from her doctors.
But now she has started with an
alternative holistic treatment
known as Ukrain, which she said
takes the entire body into account,
using methods such as intravenous
herbal remedies.
“It kills the cancer cells, but not
the normal cells,” Crystal said.
“She has begun the alternative
treatments, though she still receives
conventional treatment, including
radiation therapy. It keeps the body
as healthy as possible so it can heal
itself.”
Though she is hopeful that the al­ternative
treatment will be a suc­cess,
it is expensive... and it is not
covered by her insurance.
That was when Crystal’s circle of
friends offered their assistance.
“Wejust wanted to do something
for her,” said Missy Deibler, a
friend of Crystal’s since their school
days. “She has been so brave and so
positive. When we found out this
was not covered by insurance, that
was when we decided to step in and
help.”
On Friday, March 10, they are
hoping that Crystal’s circle of
friends will expand 20-fold, or even
more. That evening, her friends will
host the Circle of Friends Benefit
Auction from 6-11 p.m. at Clair
Bros. Audio at 1 Ellen Ave., located
See AUCTION, page 17
Where did the snow geese go?
Lititz Bird
Count finds
94 species
RICHARD REITZ______________
Re co rdExp re s sEd ito r
MIDDLE CREEK - Which hud
species is more common in Noi th­em
Lancaster County - ilie
common grackle, the common mei -
ganser, the common loon, or the
common snipe?
Members of the Lancaster Bird
Club kept a century-old tradition
alive on the day after Christmas,
scouring the area to take a census of
the local bird population for the
annual Lititz Christmas Bird
Count. They also know that this
year, the grackle is indeed the most
common of the “commons,” with
201 spotted on Dec. 26.
Bruce Carl of Akron, organizer
of the event, released the offici; d i e-sults
of the count last week. He said
92 different species were spotted
during the day of birding by 5 5 par­ticipants.
It marks the third year in
a row that over 90 species were
identified during that day.
See BIRD COUNT, page 17
Photo by Richard Reitz
Participants in the Lititz Bird Count on Dec. 26 catch a glimpse of
another species at Middle Creek. Bruce Carl and Bettina Heffner
take a closer look through their binoculars, while Sharon Gardo
records their latest discovery.