Lititz Record Express

              THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2000
L i t i t z R e c o r d E x p r e s s
^ » r d -W i n o ^
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&
P u b lic a tio n
124TH YEAR 28 Pages- No. 15 LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 30 Cents
INSIDE
□ Church
The Widow’s Mite
The Lititz Moravian Church $2
million building campaign re­ceived
a boost recently when a
member of the congregation
put $30,000 of her money up for
a challenge grant for other
members of the church to
match. Her unusual grant,
which is inspired by scripture,
can be found on Page 16.
□ Business
Maps on CD
The Heritage Map Museum in
Lititz has released its first infor­mational
CD-ROM, featuring a
wealth of historic maps from
Jim Hess’ collection. Page 18.
□Out of the Past
Out of the Past
Twenty years ago this week,
the Lititz community was
shocked to learn that District
Magistrate Sharron Simpkins
had been killed in an apparent
murder-suicide. This is just one
of numerous news stories from
the past 12 decades that ap­peared
in the Lititz Record and
Express, highlights of which
can be found on Pages 20-21.
□ School
Senior Awards
The complete list of Warwick
High School Senior Award
winners is in this 'week’s Lititz
Record Express on Pages 6-7.
□ Sports
FreshBurst winners
Geoffrey Kanuthu (above) of
Kenya was the winner of the
Pfizer FreshBurst Five-Mile Run
on Saturday, breaking the 24-
minute barrier when he crossed
the finish line. Alice Muriithi,
also of Kenya, was the women’s
winner. For more on the race,
see Page 8.
□ Editorial
For the Record
R e a lity -b a se d te le v is io n
shows have become quite pop­ular
this summer, with people
willing to sacrifice their privacy
for a chance at some big bucks.
One of our local residents
knows what its like to be fol­lowed
around by cameras for an
extended period of time, and
shares his feelings in “ For the
Record” with editor Richard
Reitz. Page 4.
□ Entertainment
The winning ways of the New
Line Revue continue this year,
and a look at some more of their
recent triumphs can be found
on Page 22.
□ index
Births......................
Business.............
Church...................
Classified...............
Editorial / Letters.
Entertainment.......
Obituaries..............
Out of the P a st....
Police/Fire Log.....
School News........
Social.....................
Sports.............. ......
Request granted!
Kissel Hill, John Beck will each get
one more third grade teacher in fall
RICHARD REITZ
R e c o rd Express E d ito r
LITITZ — Parents of Kissel
Hill third graders, who last month
expressed their desire for one more
teacher to keep class sizes down,
had their wish fulfilled on Tuesday
night.
And although they did not peti­tion
the Warwick School Board,
parents of John Beck Elementary
third graders also had the same
wish granted.
Warwick School District will
hire two more teachers before the
school year begins to handle en­rollment
numbers that were ap­proaching
30 in each third grade
class at those two schools.
Wallace Hofferth, Warwick
School Board president, said that
as the Personnel Committee re­viewed
updated enrollment pro­jections,
it became clear that the
numbers were becoming too high
for comfort.
“Those numbers are scary,”
Hofferth said. So, with the recom­mendation
from Superintendent
Dr. Stephen Iovino, the committee
endorsed a plan that would “pro­vide
four third grade teachers at
Kissel Hill, where they do have a
room available, and provide four
third grade teachers at John Beck,
where they don’t have a room. But
we will find one.
“This decision made it a little
more comfortable from everyone’s
Youth visits
for a breath
of Fresh Air
KARIRADVANSKY _______
R eco rdE xp re ss S ta ff
LITITZ — A local family wel­comed
a New York City child into
their Lititz home through the Fresh
Air Fund.
This is the fourth year that Doug
and Kelly Bomberger and their
sons, Drew, 9, and Dam, 7, opened
their home to 9-year-old Shawn.
The Bomberger children speak
with enthusiasm about their house
guest. “It is fun because we are best
pals,” said Dain.
The Bombergers first decided to
host a child after seeing informa­tion
about the Fresh Air Fund in
their church directory. The pro­gram
places over 10,000 New York
City children annually with fami­lies
in small communities and the
suburbs. Children visit their host
families from two weeks to six
weeks.
The family planned numerous
activities to enjoy during Shawn’s
two week visit including a trip to
Hersheypark and a day spent deep
sea fishing. Next year they plan to
keep him for three weeks, then take
him home, since the Fresh Air bus
only comes every two weeks. They
think visiting for an extra week
before jumping to a four-week stay
will be easier on Shawn.
Shawn said he loves visiting
Lititz and says that he wants to
move here when he grows up.
See FRESH AIR, page 23
standpoint.”
At the June 20 school board
meeting, Kissel Hill parents
packed the board room to explain
their concerns, in the hope that the
board and the administration
would reconsider the decision to
cut from four to three teachers.
They felt that at such a pivotal
time in a child’s life, it was not
beneficial to have them lost in a
class that would have had at least
27 students.
With this decision, Dr. Daniel
Doremus, assistant superintend­ent,
said that they will be able to
keep those per-class enrollments
in the low 20’s.
He said that the new positions
have just been advertised, and ex­pects
to hire teachers for the posi­tions
by the August board meeting.
Because of this decision, Kissel
Hill third grade teacher Beth
Wade, who was going to be trans­ferred
to a second grade class­room,
will now remain at third
grade. Kissel Hill will likely hire a
second grade teacher, while John
Beck looks for a third grade in­structor.
Rev. Steve Rodgers, one of the
parents who attended last months
meeting, praise the board for their
decision.
“I appreciate that the board re­sponded
to the concerns of the
parents, and to the needs of the
kids,” Rodgers said.
He also said that this decision
was important for the image that
the Warwick School District is
projecting to the community. Hof­ferth
agreed.
“We call ourselves a first class
school district, and we should act
like one,” he said. “I think this is a
great decision that has been
made.”
The two new positions were not
included in the 2000-01 school
year budget, so Business Manager
David Zerbe said that they will use
money from the $150,000 budget­ary
reserve to cover the additional
costs.
Photo by Stephen Seeber
The cast of Godspell, which included two actors from Lititz, in the middle of Act I at the park band shell.
An estimated 2,200 people sawthefree production during its four-day run, July 13-16.
Godspell captivates Lititz audience
STEPHENSEEBER________
R e c o rdE xp re ss S ta f f
LITITZ — In a mere four days,
“Godspell” in the park evolved
from a small church-sponsored
production to a 1,100-seat attrac­tion
complete with groupies.
“It was awesome,” director Ed
Weber said, just two days removed
from all of the excitement. “There
were 450 people on the first night
and 1,100 on Sunday. People were
watching from the pavilions and
Sitting across thè creek on lawn
chairs. It was just nuts.”
The popular parable-based mu­sical
packed Lititz Springs Park
from July 13 through July 16, and
the final tally estimates that 2,200
people came out to witness this clas­sic
in improvisational theater. The
turnout certainly exceeded expec­tations,
Weber said, pointing out
that only 1,500 programs had been
printed.
“We had several people who
would show up every night, kind of
like groupies,” headded. “I think it
was successful because people con­nected
with the characters. The cast
did a great job of pulling everyone
into the stories.”
The cast was led by the captivat­ing
performance of Keith Richards,
who played Jesus Christ.
“I have to take my hat off to
Keith,” Weber said. “Ithinkhewas
able to breathe new life into these
stories for people who may not have
been too familiar with the Bible. ”
Richards is originally from Wis­consin
and is currently working as
an actor at Sight and Sound Thea­tres
in Lancaster. He earned a
drama degree from Oral Roberts
University and has graced the stage
in past performances of “Romeo
and Juliet,” “The Importance of
Being Earnest” and “Smoke on the
Mountain.”
The 10-member cast also fea­tured
two Lititz residents, Matt
Chubb and Carey Walton.
Chubb provided a brilliant hip-hop
rap during the first act which
provoked a roar of laughter from
the audience. In contrast, Walton's
beautiful rendition of “By My
Side” in Act II spread a tearful hush
over the crowd.
The powerful mix of humor and
suffering seemed to be right on
target with what John-Michael
Tebelak originally conceived when
“Godspell” premiered almost 30
years ago.
Chubb, a home-schooled sopho­more,
has a theater background
that includes “Lost in Yonkers,”
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
and “The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe.”
Walton, who has been in “God-spell”
before, is a freelance interior
designer. Her past performances
include “Lost in Yonkers,” “Rag­gedy
Ann & Andy” and “Little
Women.”
The rest of the cast included
Larry Cox Jr. as John the Baptist
and Judas, Jennifer Foster,
Dwayne Lapp, Jessica Mejia,
Andrew Ortiz, Tara Raczenski and
LeahRhinier.
The live musicians were just as
See GODSPELL, page 23
Thrift shop discussion to continue at next council meeting
STEPHEN SEEBER________
R e c o rd Express S ta f f
LITITZ — Volunteers at the
Matthew 25 Thrift Shop began ac­cepting
donations on Monday, and
it appears that downtown’s most
talked-about new business will
open on time, Aug. 1.
According to Nancy Reece, or­ganizer
of the thrift mission at 48
E. Main St., three area churches
recently held clothing drives and
the shop already has a sizable in­ventory
of high-end used items.
The addition of the thrift shop
to the borough’s historical district
created a mild controversy earlier
this summer when several down­town
retailers expressed fear that a
thrift operation would have a neg­ative
impact on tourism, which is
especially problematic this year
since many retailers are reporting
a decline in sales.
“Things are not as prosperous
as they were only one and a half
years ago,” said Caryn Griffiths,
owner of Gypsy Hill Gallery at 47
E. Main St. “This is the wrong lo­cation
for the kind of people
Matthew 25 wants to help... and
it’s not fair to the other retailers
who are labored with overhead.”
The thrift shop, sponsored by St.
John Neumann Catholic Church
in Manheim Township, will oper­ate
with volunteer labor. The prof­its,
according to Reece, will go
toward Catholic charities that
help to meet the emergency needs
of people in Lancaster County.
Griffiths, joined by several
members of the Lititz Retailers As­sociation,
made an appearance at
the June 27 borough council meet­ing,
where some established store
owners expressed concerns about
traffic, parking, and the general
upkeep of the exterior of the thrift
shop.
Reece, who was not at the meet­ing
and does not intend to be at the
July 25 council meeting when the
topic most likely will be discussed
again, told the Record Express
that thrift shop organizers have
addressed the concerns raised by
the retailers. She expects Matthew
25 to be a valuable part of the
downtown business district.
Lon Heibeck, president of the
Retailers Association, told council
that they have not gotten answers
to his group’s questions and con­cerns,
answers he feels are vital to
the livelihood of many of the Asso­ciation’s
members.
“Business is a very touchy
thing,” he said before the council
members. “You never know
what’s going to disrupt the cli­mate.
The last 18 months has not
been Christmas for a lot of folks.”
Heibeck went on to question
why the empty CVS or McDon­ald’s
buildings on South Broad
Street weren’t considered for a
thrift shop location.
Council president Dennis Stuc­key
informed the retailers that
while the council appreciates their
concerns, it is not the govern­ment’s
role to exclude thrift shops
from operating in the borough.
“They do have a right to have
this business here,” he said. “The
borough’s hands are tied.”
Stuckey went on to say that he
had some personal concerns that
an artificial market, based on vol­unteer
work and donations, was
being created, making it difficult
for traditional retailers to compete
for business. He also said that the
issue of the drop-off point for
donations is a legitimate one.
Some retailers suspect that do­nated
clothing and household
items will be left in front of the
thrift building during off-hours,
giving historical East Main Street
an untidy appearance.
Reece told the Record this week
that the rear drop-off point has not
been a problem so far, and if it be­comes
one she is prepared to ad­dress
it without incident.
Discussions on retailer concerns
are expected to continue on July
25, when council is scheduled to
meet next. One of the aspects of
the thrift business that will be clar­ified
is whether or not its storage
of m a te ria ls qualifies as
“warehousing,” which may not be
permitted at the East Main Street
location.
Regardless of the outcome of
next week’s discussion in council
chambers, Heibeck said that the
LRA has resigned itself to let the
matter rest with council’s decision.
“What ever happens happens,
and we’ll just go from there,” he
said.
E d ’ s u l t i m a t e j o u r n e y
Ed Schoenberger of Rothsville
recently completed a cross­country
cycling trek.
STEPHENSEEBER________
R e c o rdE xp re ss S ta f f
ROTHSVILLE — Three days
into a 13-state bike tour, a 60-year-old
retired Brownstown Elemen­tary
School teacher was smack-dab
in the middle of the Death Valley
desert in California. It was arid, it
was desolate... and, according to
him, it was fantastic.
Ed Schoenberger wasn’t seeing
mirages along this barren stretch of
road; he was on the first leg of com­pleting
an eight-year dream, his
fantastic voyage.
“The whole experience exceeded
any expectations I had,” Schoen­berger
said from the comfort of his
Rothsville home, just two weeks re­moved
from his 3,421-mile trek that
started in California and ended in
Massachusetts. “I never questioned
my decision, and that surprised
me.”
Schoenberger, who lives at 5
Arlin Circle with his wife Kathy,
developed his interest in cycling in
1992. He considers himself an aver­age
rider, logging a mere 500 miles
per year, but an excursion from Los
Angeles to Boston is hardly mun­dane.
“I turned 60 in April, so it was
kind of nice to take the trip this
year,” he said. “I’m not a young kid
anymore and this is an arduous
tour.”
Knowing that he would be join­ing
60 experienced riders on the ex­cursion,
which was sponsored by
Crossroads Cycling Adventures of
Connecticut, Schoenberger began
training in March, riding 30-40
miles each day.
The entire, package — lood,
boarding, mechanical support —
adds up to $5,000, which, according
to Schoenberger, was a bargain.
See CYCLING, page 23
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Pacific
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Atlantic
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Ed Schoenberger peddled his way across 13 states, leaving
the Pacific Ocean on May 14 and reaching the Atlantic on
June 30. The graphic above maps out his 3,421 mile journey.