Denver Borough Council members worked many months to write a proposed ordinance for more efficient remediation of six property code violations. These include weeds, parking of vehicles on grass, furniture on the exterior of the property areas, accumulation of waste, improper location and storage of rubbish containers, animal waste accumulations and unlicensed or uninspected vehicles on property.
A public hearing for the proposed ordinance is scheduled for council’s regular meeting night of Monday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m.
The ordinance proposes using a process of a courtesy notice, ticket, abatement, and appeal.
Council studied the ordinances of other communities and held discussions at their meetings prior to approving this proposed ordinance moving through the adoption process.
In other business, council members discussed their meeting with the Honorable Dennis E. Reinaker, President Judge, regarding the proposed closing of the Stevens Magisterial District Court office.
The meeting also included representatives from Adamstown, East Cocalico Township, West Cocalico Township, and the Cocalico School District. Representing Denver was Council President Blake Daub, Mayor Rodney Redcay, and Borough Manager Mike Hession.
Denver representatives said Reinaker thoroughly explained the data that was gathered and evaluated prior to making the recommendation to close any district justice offices. Denver representatives commented on the thoroughness of the process.
“It was well thought out,” said Daub.
Closing the Stevens magisterial district justice office means splintering the Cocalico regional communities which comprise the Cocalico School District. Other points made by those meeting with Reinaker were that actual savings should be compared to the costs to the community. People in the Cocalico region are marginalized due to lack of social services and public services, such as mass transportation, representatives said.
Reinaker said there will be a period for public comment. Council members stressed that is the time when residents who feel it is important for the area to keep its district justice office to come forward.
In other business:
* Council approved ordering for the downtown business district a Northgate, 32-gallon trash container, with a rain bonnet so trash doesn’t get wet. Total cost is $874.92. The container style is similar to the street light posts. Its location will be on the sidewalk on Main Street between the outdoor seating of Courtyard Café and the apartments next door.
* Hession reported that the “Get Gas” program will be available to approximately 152 properties on the north side of town. The proposed gas line would come up Sixth Street. The borough requested copies of all correspondence that gets sent to residents.
* Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank was approved to hold a blood drive in the borough on Dec. 19 from 2 to 7 p.m. The well-attended August blood drive impacted 75 patients. All blood donated is used locally.

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Seven senior girls at Cocalico High School are smiling a bit more these days after learning that they were chosen for the 2017 Homecoming Court.

The queen will be crowned during half-time at the Friday, Oct. 13, when the Cocalico Eagles take on the Garden Spot High School Spartans. As tradition holds, she will be crowned by Madison Dailey, the 2016 homecoming queen.

The seven contestants are all stellar students who are actively involved in school activities, in academics, sports, and the arts.

Lauren Zemeski of Adamstown is the daughter of Kimberly and Kyle Zemeski.

Her major classes include AP chemistry, AP biology, AP calculus, anatomy, and psychology. Among her activities are choir, Choralaires, girls soccer, student government. She is a member of the National Honor Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Zemeski also serves as kids’ worship leader at Cocalico Community Church.

She is in the process of enlisting in the U.S. Navy.

Her escort will be Austin Eberly, son of Mr. and Mrs. Darryl Eberly.

Mackenzie Hainley of Denver is the daughter of Joel and Karen Hainley.

Her major classes include AP calculus, AP language and psychology. She is also active in track and field, the Leo Club, and is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the National Honor Society. Her hobbies include reading, playing the piano, hiking, and spending time with friends. She is a member of her church youth group, the youth worship team and volunteers in the nursery as well as summer mission trips.

She plans to attend Liberty University and study children’s psychology.

Her escort will be Colin Higinbotham, son of Melissa and Jack Gonzalez.

Paxton June Steffy of Reamstown is the daughter of Susan Summers-Steffy and Terry Steffy.

Her major classes include AP biology, anatomy, AP language and composition, and AP statistics. At school, she is or has been involved with soccer, swimming, track and field, lacrosse, women in business, the Leo Club and student government. She is a member of the National Honor Society.

She is applying to Gwynedd Mercy and Elizabethtown colleges and Chatham University and plans on majoring in occupational therapy.

Her escort will be Hunter Charles Garman, the son of Tammy and Todd Garman.

Evelyn Jean Cable of Denver is the daughter of Chris and Michelle Cable.

Her major classes include AP language and AP statistics. Activities include golf, basketball, and track. She is a member of the National Honor Art Society. She enjoys traveling and finding fun things to do locally and listens to singer Taylor Swift “24/7.” She also loves working with children at her church, Bible school, choir, and participating in community meals.

Cable hopes to attend either Susquehanna University or Gettysburg College and major in sports communications.

Her escort will be Addison Mitchell Styer, son of Mike and Steph Styer.

Allysa Grace Hirneisen of Adamstown is the daughter of John and Donna Hirneisen.

Among her school activities are varsity soccer, captain of the soccer club, yearbook editor, and the Future Business Leaders of America. She enjoys watching the “Grey’s Anatomy” television series.

She plans to attend Alvernia University and major in elementary education. She also hopes to play college soccer.

Her escort will be Devon Fichthorn, the son of Ashley and Trinell Fichthorn.

Alison Emery Grobengieser of Reamstown is the daughter of Andrew and Veronica Grobengieser.

Her high school activities have included soccer where she was the varsity captain, yearbook editor, track, Future Business Leaders of America, and the Leo Club.

She plans on attending West Chester University, but has not yet decided on a major course of study.

Her escort will be Bradley Joseph Heck, son of Todd and Melanie Heck.

Skyra Heckman of Reamstown is the daughter of Travis and Bridget Heckman and Tara Heckman.

Her major classes include AP language, AP calculus, and psychology. Her activities at school include field hockey, Leo Club, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She is also a member of the National Honor Society. Active in her church, she is a member of Ablaze Youth Group and participated in the summer mission trip.

She is applying to California (Pa.), West Chester, and Widener universities and plans to major in social work.

Her escort will be Derek Sauder, son of Randy and Lisa Sauder.

The post High school royalty at Cocalico appeared first on Ephrata Review.

If you know Elaine Bowman, you know she is always looking — and moving — forward. And sometimes she does that by looking backwards.

You could say that Elaine is cooking. Indeed she is. She’s cooking up a cookbook.

The hope is that the cookbook will be an ode of sorts to the Cocalico eateries of old — and to the cooks who created recipes treasured to this day.

The cookbook, to be published by the Cocalico Valley Historical Society, came out of a discussion of the organization’s ways and means committee.

The first thought was to center on current area establishments.

But Elaine steered the committee in another direction.

“I’m envisioning a cookbook that caters to the historical aspect of the area,” she said. “I think it would be interesting to see pictures of the hotels in their heydays — and maybe as it exists today — and by that picture, a great old recipe.”

Bowman, whose maternal Shirk family roots in Cocalico go back to the 18th Century, is very familiar with a lot of these old hotels including the former Black Horse in Reinholds, at Route 897 and Ridge Road and the former Murrell, once also known as the Greenville Inn, near what is now the intersection of Routes 222 and 322, as well as the Reinholds Inn at the railroad tracks.

The Black Horse Hotel was owned by the Lutz and Bowman families. Mamie Bowman Krick, an aunt by marriage to Elaine, was born in the Black Horse in the late 1800s and raised there.

It was three decades ago that Elaine came up with the idea of a cookbook to share with others in the family.

It was a simple endeavor entitled “Bowman Family Recipes from the Black Horse Hotel.” The purple mimeographed (remember that phraseology?!) pages are fading in her copy of the well-referenced booklet.

“I looked at that and that’s where I got the idea for this,” she said.

Elaine’s goal is a focused one: To reach out to the older (those in their eighties and beyond) members of the community.

“I know many remember the old hotels and I am hoping some (or their family members) have access to the recipes,” she said.

“We are not looking for contributors to be the direct descendants, but we do want those who have the memories.”

Along with the recipes, she is hoping to see vintage photos of the old Cocalico hotels. Some are in the historical society archives, while others, she believes, are likely residing in personal collections.

The recipes of the long-ago eateries must, she said, fall within the Cocalico Valley boundaries. That includes the municipalities of Adamstown, Akron, Ephrata, and Denver boroughs and East Cocalico, Clay, Ephrata, West Cocalico, and West Earl townships, and the portion of East Earl Township that abuts West Earl.

Again, she stressed the importance of showing buildings that still exist in their present and past forms.

“For example, we have the old Blainsport Hotel that is now multi-family apartments,” she said. “I would love a recipe from there. They served liquor and food in their time.”

Among the former and existing hotels on the committee’s initial recipe wish list:

Adamstown Borough — the Fountain Inn, the Lancaster County House, Redcay’s Tavern, Rohrer’s Tavern, and the American Hotel.

East Cocalico Township — Reamstown Hotel, Slater’s Restaurant, and two other old hotels, one out near Napierville and the other on North Reamstown Road across from what was Shober’s Meat Market.

Clay Township — The Mount Airy Hotel, now the Penguin, and the Clay Hotel, which then became Watney’s (now closed).

Ephrata Borough: The Lincoln House, Good’s Hotel, Smithton Inn, formerly Henry Miller Tavern; 1777 House, now the 1777 Americana Inn Bed and Breakfast with the Black Forest Brewery in the rear, Mountain Springs, the Mount Vernon House, the Union House, the Ephrata House, The Hotel Cocalico, the Eagle Hotel, Eitnier’s Hotel, and P.G. Wringer Public House.

Ephrata Township — Shreck’s across from the Green Dragon and the Hahnstown Tavern.

Akron Borough — Romig’s Hotel, now the parking lot at Weiser’s Store, and the Ufner House.

Denver Borough — The Denver House, the Washington House, now the Orioles Nest, and Windish’s Hotel.

West Cocalico Township — The Black Horse Hotel, the Blainsport Hotel, Reinholds Station Hotel, the Schoeneck Hotel, the Stevens Tavern, and the Cocalico Tavern at Route 897 and Cocalico Road.

West Earl Township —Brownstown Hotel, Carpenter’s Tavern, and the Brackbill Hotel.

“We’re looking for people who have information on additional hotels that we may not have on the list and the old recipes that go with them,” she said. “We believe that information will come to use through our most senior citizens.”

Those individuals interested in submitting information, photographs, recipes, or both, may do so by sending them to:

The Cocalico Valley Historical Society/Cookbook Project, 237 W. Main St., Ephrata, PA 17522 (Attention: Elaine Bowman).

Contributors may also e-mail submissions to Bowman at eb7243@dejazzd.com or call 717-336-5181 with any questions.

Bowman said the goal is to have the cookbook completed by September 2018 in time for that year’s holiday season.

To accomplish that, the deadline for submissions is Jan. 31, 2018.

Bowman believes that memories of elder family members may be stirred at holiday meals.

She hopes that those memories will be shared in the cookbook for the community to appreciate.

The post Historical society is cookin’ up a book appeared first on Ephrata Review.

It was an atmosphere akin to a lively New England town hall gathering at the Sept. 25 meeting of Denver Borough Council.

Heartfelt comments included situations from the recent Denver Fair, noisy neighbors after 11 p.m., speeding, truck traffic in town, concerns about Friday night football game traffic with the one-lane South Fourth Street Bridge construction, poor maintenance of a steep hill adjacent to a section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike which runs through the borough, sidewalk maintenance requirements and a resident’s feeling that a small town like Denver doesn’t need any more ordinances.

“I can tell you this is more people than I’ve ever seen at a meeting during the years I’ve served on council,” said President Blake Daub. “Thank you for coming.”

Leading off 35 minutes of “Citizen’s Concerns,” was long-time Walnut Street resident Lee Arment.

He questioned why, during the Denver Fair which is held in Denver Park, the skatepark is closed when no other park play area is off limits during Fair Week.

Arment’s follow-up question dealt with a Sunday, early afternoon incident, the day after the fair ended. When a 12- and 13-year-old attempted to use the skatepark, they were told it was closed and that they should return at 5 p.m. if they wanted to use it. The manner in which they were treated was gruff and a threat was added, he said. If the boys didn’t leave they could be banned from using the skatepark for a year.

Arment’s son, Matthew, a professional skatepark designer and builder in Pennsylvania and other states, and a group of supporters, have spent thousands of dollars on improving Denver’s skatepark.

“When the multi-year, multi-phase project is completed, it will be one of the finest skateparks around,” Arment said. “The boys who attempted to use the skatepark that Sunday worked during the week at a stand at the Denver Fair where all proceeds go to skatepark improvements. The skatepark improvements over the last few years haven’t cost the borough or taxpayers a cent.”

Council members didn’t have an answer to either of Arment’s questions.

Borough Manager Mike Hession explained he wasn’t aware of the exact insurance conditions in the contract the Park Board uses when the Fair rents the park. The rental period is more than just the operating hours of the Fair, as time is required for set-up of concessions and rides plus tear-down.

Council agreed this question as well as another resident’s complaint regarding rude treatment of a parent and teenager sitting on a park bench at the top of the baseball diamond, might best be dealt with by conversation with representatives from the park board, fair committee, and recreation board.

Hession said the park association meets Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Shober Family Scout House. It would be a good time for all parties to discuss the issues.

Most other resident concerns were dealt with by explaining current ordinance requirements, legal clarifications by Police Chief Terry Arment, or other suggestions about how to proceed.

Resident and former Councilman Mike Cohick suggested residents contact their state representatives to say they want local police to be able to use radar. Councilman, John Palm concurred that this would help police enforce speed limits. Palm said municipalities, including Denver, have sent letters to legislators stating their support for radar use.

“Nothing’s happened,” he said.

Public comment for the Quality of Life Ordinance, which passed, yielded several resident questions.

Specific violations covered by the ordinance include: weeds, parking vehicles on grass, furniture on the exterior of property, accumulation of waste, improper location and storage of rubbish containers, animal waste accumulations and unlicensed or uninspected vehicles on property.

Clarification was given regarding parking on the grass. The intent is to not park vehicles on lawn at the front of the house. Furniture pertains to furniture normally found indoors, not patio furniture.

“When you live in a borough, you have a responsibility to your neighbor,” said Councilman and life-long resident Mike Gensemer. “What you do affects your neighbor. We want people coming into Denver to see that this is a nice place to live.”

“I commend the borough for finally taking a stand on these issues,” said resident Diane Fichthorn. “Things have been sliding for a while.”

The post Denver Council fields citizen concerns, OKs QOL ordinance appeared first on Ephrata Review.

Denver Council’s authorization to advertise for bids on the Denver street lighting project was met with applause by council members and the audience at their Oct. 9 meeting.

It took the tenacious council nearly five years to reach this point. Data prepared by Suburban Lighting Consultants in Downingtown suggested possible savings of up to $50,000 per year by owning their own streetlights.

The $562,000 total coast was helped by the borough winning a PennDOT grant of $227,405.00.

The borough’s general fund allocated $84,716.00 for the project, and the intent is to borough the remaining $250,000.

In November, 2014, after over a year of negotiating with PPL to purchase their street lights, Denver continued experiencing long delays on issues relating to the sale. Council hired legal assistance from Hawke, McKeon and Snisnak, LLP, Harrisburg, to help.

The preliminary streetlight project schedule includes advertising, a pre-bid conference, receipt of bids on PennBID website November 10th and consideration of awarding the bid on November 13, 2017.

March 1st is the project’s start date, although the contract allows work to begin sooner if there’s mild weather. The project completion date is the end of August, 2018.

The finance committee’s first draft of the 2018 budget was presented. The draft budget does not include a real estate tax increase or a sanitary sewer rate increase. It does propose a water rate increase. Being discussed is a contribution to the Adamstown Area Library’s capital campaign in addition to the borough’s annual contribution.

In other business, an update was given on the Denver House Project on Main Street. The first floor of the former hotel and restaurant will be medical and dental professional offices in partnership with Welsh Mountain Medical & Dental Center. Affordable apartment housing will be on the upper floor.

Due to structural deficiencies uncovered, about ninety percent of the structure is scheduled for demolition. The exterior walls on Main Street and the Turkey Hill side of the building will remain.

“The cost savings to tear down that part of the building was put at a quarter million dollars,” said Rod Redcay, Executive Director of REAL Life Community Services, the building’s owner. “We’re approved for a $600,000 loan from Lancaster County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. When we start, hopefully next summer, we’ll have 30 to 35 percent of the project funded.”

“A capital campaign is in the works and hasn’t started yet,” Redcay said. “The total project is projected to be in excess of 2.5 million.”

Borough manager, Mike Hession, reported that a meeting with representatives of the Denver Fair Committee, Park Board and Rec Board to discuss skateboarder issues and why the skatepark is closed during Fair Week and not any other recreational park equipment was not an easy meeting. The closing has to do with insurance.

No resolution was reached regarding alleged verbal mistreatment of skaters on the day after the fair closed. Discussion about this and other skatepark issues which surfaced during the meeting will continue.

The borough will install around the skatepark and take down orange construction fence during the fair week closure period. People can contact the borough, rather than the fair committee, with skatepark questions during this time. The skatepark is closed one other day during the year, when a large, harvest fellowship event is in the park.

The post Lights on! Denver accepting street light bids appeared first on Ephrata Review.

Tru by Hilton hotel received several waiver/modifications as well as conditional approval by East Cocalico supervisors at their Thursday, Oct. 5 meeting.

The hotel’s address will be 2069 North Reamstown Road. It will front on North Reamstown Road, Colonel Howard Boulevard and a limited portion of Route 272.

The 2.5 acre property is occupied by the 25 room Red Carpet Inn, reported Brent Lied, land planning engineer. The Red Carpet Inn will be demolished.

“Tru hopes to break ground in about one month,” said township manager, Scott Lied, when asked about the new hotel prior to the meeting. “The hotel will have 84 rooms and six full-time employees at any given time.”

No date for completion or opening the 10,305 square foot, four story hotel was given by the project manager, David W. Bitner, or designer, Shakher Patel, both from RGS Associates in Lancaster. Bitner indicated the probable cost is between seven and eight million. He said the hotel will serve breakfast.

Russell explained Tru, Hilton’s newest line of hotels, is designed to appeal to millennials. This younger age demographic values large, common areas and technological capabilities throughout the hotel.

This Tru by Hilton project will be the third in the region. The nearest operating Tru by Hilton hotel is on Route 30 East in East Lampeter Township.

That 112-room Tru by Hilton is aimed at travelers in their 20s and 30s and others who share what the company calls a “millennial mindset.”

The colorful hotel just west of Mill Creek Square at 2310 Lincoln Highway E. was developed and will be managed by York-based Springwood Hospitality.

The new hotel cost $7.2 million to build, according East Lampeter Township building permit information.

The site for the hotel was previously occupied by the Passport Inn and its predecessor, the Congress Inn. The building was torn down.

Hilton Worldwide introduced the Tru brand in January 2016, pitching it as filling a void in the midscale category.

In addition to price, Tru is marketed with colorful rooms and amenities meant to appeal to travelers with “a youthful energy, a zest for life and a desire for human connection.”

The lobby is called “The Hive,” and the front desk has been christened the “Command Center.” In addition, there’s a “Play Zone” with table games and tiered seating around a television, meant to mimic a stadium.

The post New E. Cocalico hotel planned appeared first on Ephrata Review.

Supervisors at their Oct. 5 meeting discussed pension plan findings after the township’s CPA analysis of figures from Principal Financial Group, the current pension provider, revealed several, additional costs not revealed in the $14,000 published fees cost.

A few citizens criticized supervisors at recent meetings for allowing what they felt was a negative pension provider situation to drag and wondered why, in the past, timely reports and actual numbers weren’t supplied to the public.

The minimum municipal obligation (MMO) -the amount needed annually to keep the pension plan actuarially sound — increased over $95,000 this year. Many factors impact this calculation, including the police officers’ total five percent payroll contribution and estimated state aid.

These costs and the fact that the current provider’s performance has been in the bottom quartile for the last several years, even as investment yields have improved, led supervisors to discuss a draft request for proposals from other providers.

Although thought was given to considering other providers in the last several years, supervisors indicated circumstances did not permit such a large, complex undertaking.

Township manager, Scott Russell, presented the draft proposal request to solicit other providers. He also discussed the possibility of forming a pension board within the township.

The next step, supervisors agreed, is to have their CPA at Weinhold Nichol Company look over the proposal and get back to them. They said having a provider more local than the current one in Iowa would be useful.

“Typically a request for proposals (RFP) will yield six to eight respondents,” said Russell. “There aren’t a lot out there that do this type of business.”

While rising costs in an improved market led supervisors to consider other proposals, Russell said the overall pension plan is in good shape. It’s funded at 83 percent, which is considered healthy.

In other business, Police Chief, Terry Arment, reported 874 calls for service in September, 6,729 calls year to date. There were 36 criminal cases in September and 15 arrests were made.

• Assistant road master, Christopher Flory explained why, among other duties, it’s important for the road crew to keep road edges clear. With no curbing resident’s yards sometimes encroach onto the road edges. “We need to keep the entire road width open for plowing in the winter,” Flory said.
• Adamstown Area Library librarian, Kathy Thren, accompanied by Marj Herb, Board of Trustees’ president, gave an update on library programs and the capital campaign to build a new library. A total of $861,000 has been raised since April, 2016. The goal is $1.5 million. Grant proposals went out to over 70 foundations. Summer reading programs for children served 1,279.
• UGI officials said their target date to break ground for their new corporate facility along Colonel Howard Boulevard is Nov. 9. Completion is tentatively scheduled for December, 2018 with employees moving in during January, 2019.
• Supervisors approved a water and sewer authority rental agreement proposal with no change for 2018. Annual rent is $11,700 per year or $975.00 per month.

The post East Cocalico examines pension options appeared first on Ephrata Review.

With the help of linemen Brock Gingrich (54), Collin Hall (77) and Hunter Nash (51), Cocalico’s Garrett Longenecker (26) fights through heavy traffic for extra yardage during Friday’s game at Lampeter-Strasburg. Photo by Preston Whitcraft

The day after a football game, Roberta Barrow speaks the way any proud grandmother should.

She’s subtle as she approaches her praise; first bringing up the weather, the cool chill in the air, then the score — a 52-21 Cocalico victory — before nonchalantly mentioning her grandson scoring twice in the game.

When asked if her grandson was quarterback Noah Palm, she said yes, adding that he’s enjoying a good season as a first-year starter for the Eagles.

The Denver resident said Palm has always been a great athlete and has always had success playing quarterback. She recalls a youth football season where he scored “like 26 touchdowns.”

His teammates didn’t liked being tackled, so they’d catch a pass from him and then toss the ball back to Palm and he’d run for a score.

When pressed on the TD count, she said maybe it was 25, something in the 20s.”

No matter.

The bottom line: He scored a lot and made the game look easy.

There is no disputing his TD total last Friday, as Palm scored twice on runs of 33 and 32 yards in a lopsided win at Lampeter-Strasburg.

With the help of his teammates, he’s still making the game look easy.

Palm, a sophomore, rushed for 212 yards on 25 carries, leading an Eagle ground attack that totaled a whopping 441 yards on 57 carries.

After the game, he was quick to credit his teammates for his success.

“Our (offensive) line and receivers took blocks to the first and second levels and I took care of the third level,” he said. “The line is a big factor. You have to put trust in them and finish plays.”

After Daniel Engle kicked a 35-yard field goal and Owen Zimmerman returned a punt 87 yards (zig-zagging from the right to left side of the field before dashing through traffic down the Eagles’ sideline), Palm scored his first TD.

On the Pioneer 33, Palm kept the ball in the Eagles’ read option offense and ran up the middle of the field untouched, juked a defender and cut right at the 10 yard line before racing into the end zone.

What did he see on that play?

“It’s complicated,” he says. “You got to read the (defensive) ends (line) backers and base the decision on what they are doing.”

Complicated? Again, he and his teammates made it look easy.

After the game a reporter commented to Cocalico coach Dave Gingrich that they thought the game would be closer.

“I did too,” said Gingrich, whose team improved to 7-1 overall, 4-1 Section Two. “Of all the teams we play, and we play a lot of good teams, L-S always scares me. They have a lot of good players and are well coached. We lost last year in the last 17 seconds and lost in the last 22 seconds two years ago.”

With that background, Palm said his team did not take the foot off the pedal until the final ticks on the clock.

After cutting Cocalico’s lead to 17-7, following a Todd Shelley 71-yard touchdown pass to Cam Niemeyer (the ball tipped off the hand of Zimmerman at cornerback) L-S (5-3, 2-3) had a chance to get back in the game following a fumble by Cocalico at its own 35. A score by the Pioneers could have put them back in the game at 17-14. Instead they fumbled on their first play and the Eagles’ Benjamin Fromm recovered at the Cocalico 21.

“At that point it certainly didn’t help, but that didn’t lose the game,” L-S coach John Manion said. “It got away in the trenches. You know what’s coming and you have to stop it and we couldn’t stop it. They are a good football team, well coached, and it showed tonight.”

After the fumble recovery, the Eagles went 80 yards on nine plays and scored on Brandon Brubaker’s first of three touchdowns, this one from six yards away, as he bulldozed through the heart of the Pioneer defense to make it 24-7.

L-S cut the lead to 24-14 after Niemeyer’s second TD catch, a 15-yard score.

But Palm extended the Eagles lead to 31-14 just before halftime when he kept the ball on fourth-and-1 at the L-S 32, running off right guard for the score.

Brubaker added scores of 6 and 1 yards, respectively, to make sure the game stayed out of reach. Both scores were power football at its finest.

“Our line fought hard,” Brubaker said. “The Coaches called some great plays. Our (offensive) line won the battles and opened up some big holes. That’s our offense.”

Gingrich said the Eagles had some blocking scheme changes that worked out well. When Cocalico’s receivers and line block well they are difficult to stop, he said.

Like Manion said, his Pioneers knew what plays Cocalico was running. There was nothing fancy or complicated. In fact, the Eagles did not run many different plays, but executed the plays they ran very well.

“We don’t do a lot of different things, but we focus on our steps (for linemen) and our reads,” said Gingrich, who did not have his team attempt a pass. “L-S knows what we are going to do. It comes down to execution and I can’t say enough about our assistant coaches and how they teach the fundamentals.”

Gingrich said it felt good to move the ball so well on offense, and that was a tribute to his young quarterback, who made smart reads and looked like a veteran signal-caller, instead of one starting just his eighth varsity game at that position.

“He is a special player,” Gingrich said. “He can throw the ball, but I thought this would not be a game for that.

“He is naturally talented and a student of the game. He doesn’t take things for granted. I knew he could be something special at quarterback. He has things he can improve and he knows that. He is not satisfied.”

Palm said the strategy was to pound the ball at L-S, and he could not give his offensive line enough credit.

“We ran the same plays,” he said. “Sometimes they stop us. Sometimes they don’t.”

And many times Palm scores. Just ask his grandmother.

The post Eagles ‘ground’ L-S appeared first on Ephrata Review.

A meeting Tuesday with leaders in the Cocalico region met focused on supporting EMS volunteers.

Municipal leaders from Adamstown and Denver boroughs, and East and West Cocalico townships agreed that volunteer emergency responders, should be credited for their sacrificial service and unvarying on-call status.

Credit includes whether they are firefighters, ambulance personnel, fire police or volunteers who are the backbone of fundraising events such as Bingo, dinners, and sub sales.

The Oct. 24 meeting at East Cocalico Township, included leaders from each fire company who offered input as to what the volunteers would find helpful under the state’s Act 172.

Denver President, Mike Bonneau, said that Act 172 permitted some relief for active volunteers in two areas, earned income tax and real estate tax. Denver firefighters at a monthly meeting felt some earned income tax credit would benefit more volunteers.

“Some of our volunteers don’t own property or they may not own property in the municipality where they serve,” said Bonneau.

The Cocalico area has seven fire companies: Adamstown, Denver, three in East Cocalico Township (Reamstown, Smokestown, Stevens) and two in West Cocalico (Reinholds and Schoeneck).

Veteran Reamstown firefighter, Harvey Achey said, “My opinion is that we volunteer and provide the service. We’d like to know what you (municipal leaders) are offering.”

J.J. Stoner, West Cocalico Township supervisor said, “I had one person come to me and say they’re really not interested. I don’t think anyone here knows in what direction we want to go. That’s why we need your (volunteer firefighters) help.”

Denver Council president, Blake Daub said, “I’ve heard it’s an administrative burden. I’d like to know what the benefit is.”

East Cocalico Township supervisor chairman, Doug Mackley said, “I’m a little leery of the words ‘active firefighter’ and would want to know how that’s defined.”

Smokestown Chief, Brian Auker, said, “We all keep logs for every call. We do that paperwork.”

After 45 minutes of insightful discussion by many individuals, leaders agreed to form a task force of two representatives from each fire company and one person from each of the four Cocalico municipalities. The task force will discuss Act 172 and return to a regional meeting with a recommendation for leaders as to how it could be applied to them.

The next scheduled, quarterly, regional meeting is on Jan. 23, 2018 at Adamstown at 7 pm.

In other business, regional leaders:

“Heard Adamstown councilman, Mike Wetherhold, who also wears the “hat” of treasurer of the Adamstown Area Library, report on the capital campaign and other budgetary items. The capital campaign goal of $1.5 million is nearly sixty percent funded at $850,000. State funding currently amounts to eighteen percent of the total operating budget. When the library, which currently is housed in the Adamstown municipal building, moves into the former Adamstown VFW, it will have a mortgage in addition to other expenses.

“Sherri Stull, Cocalico School District business manager, reported thanks from Superintendent Ella Musser. There are nearly 1,000 approved volunteers, 90 businesses providing services such as job shadowing and internships, 30 businesses helping with STEM programs, two dozen artists doing school programs, and many individual and group donations to the Family Fund. This provides students services not able to be covered in any other way. “The environment at Cocalico is overwhelmingly positive. The investment of so many people in the students shows in their behavior. They are friendly, polite and well-mannered. You can be proud.”

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Supervisors at their Oct. 19 meeting, announced the accountant who audited their books is leaving the Reamstown firm, Weinhold Nickel and Co.

The board expressed satisfaction with the accountant’s work. Supervisors indicated their inclination to continue services with this accountant at his new location.

“When was this discussed in a public meeting?” asked resident, Jeff Mitchell. “We never heard anything about this until tonight. Shouldn’t we at least consider the cost of any other vendors out there who could do the job?”

Chairman, Doug Mackley, said individual supervisors talked with some other possible accounting firms. “We know what we have now, we’ve established a good working relationship and the price appears very fair.”

Dean Hoover, a partner in Weinhold Nickel, said, “When I met with township officials at the end of September to audit financial statements, I handed them the letter indicating that Weinhold Nickel would be dropping their governmental work.”

Because of the compression of work from January through April 15, and the fact that government documents are due March 31, the company made the decision to focus on its “core business of accounting for small businesses and some other not for profit entities,” he said.

In other business, the township’s aging telephone system can no longer be repaired. Windstream said parts aren’t available. After reviewing bids, Scott Russell, township manager, said for a total cost of $14,557.50 the system can be upgraded. Benefits include reduced operating costs due to elimination of the number of lines. The annual maintenance fee is $590.00. Supervisors approved the purchase. The business system is from the state Co-star bid list. Farlow Communications will install wiring and hardware.

In other business, supervisors:

• Heard brief reports from the three township fire companies – Reamstown, Smokestown and Stevens. Emergency services representatives visit a meeting annually.
• Heard Rick Carpenter, Reamstown Ambulance Association, request supervisors consider additional funding next year due to a projected 2017 budget deficit. “When I trained for EMT certification, it cost $100; now it’s $1,000,” said Carpenter. “Our problem isn’t unique to us. A critical issue is that ambulance drivers must be certified EMT’s; they no longer can just drive the ambulance. We need to attract more personnel.”
• Acknowledged Police Chief Terry Arment’s medical leave letter, beginning November 9th. Sergeant Derrick Keppley will be the Officer In Charge during Arment’s absence.
• Accepted the resignation of Recreation Board, vice-chair, Curt High. The seven member Recreation Board currently has four members. The township website, www.eastcocalicotownship.com , states residents are needed to serve on its boards.
• Heard zoning officer, Tony Luongo, report 289 building permits were issued from January 1st – September 30th. “This number is the highest number of permits in the last five years.”
• Heard Russell report a person expressed interest in the seven acre, 1925 N. Reading Road parcel for light manufacturing. The land was originally purchased by adjacent land owner, DenTech, and donated back to the township. It would need re-zoned from commercial to light industrial for this person’s use. Discussion with the interested party, other officials, and the solicitor, will continue.

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The West Cocalico Board of Supervisors expect no tax hike in next year’s budget.

The board inspected a preliminary 2018 budget of just over $2.6 million at its regular monthly meeting Oct. 17.

Board members and administrators confirmed there would be no tax increase in the new budget.

Township manager Carolyn Hildebrand said the budget incorporates increases for snow removal as discussed in a previous budget workshop.

“Everything is pretty much staying the same,” Stoner said. “We really didn’t sacrifice anything.”

Supervisors voted to approve the advertisement of the budget.

In other discussions at the meeting, Roadmaster Tom Showalter noted how maintaining a public works vehicle fleet is a never-ending job in West Cocalico.

He explained some of the issues crews have encountered recently.

Showalter told supervisors about one department vehicle, a 2015 Freightliner truck, that is having some issues.

“We’re hearing a noise from time to time,” Showalter said, explaining that crews are trying to pin down the problem by driving the truck.

“By the time you realize it’s doing it, it goes back to normal,” Showalter said. “You don’t feel anything – it doesn’t disrupt the driving.”

He speculated the problem could involve a transmitter or torque converter. Mechanics, he said, could not isolate the issue.

Other issues mentioned included replacing breaks on multiple township vehicles.

Board chairman James J. Stoner Later, moved on to discuss whether to purchase a Caterpillar Wheel Loader for $187,163 along with a mowing attachment for $68,550.

“We’re doing very well in our budget,” Stoner said. “It’s not a detriment to the budget. We’re not taking money out of the general fund.”

He talked about the positives of moving early on the deal, and being able to tackle other projects.

“There are some offsetting conveniences to doing this,” Stoner said. “I think the opportunity is here and now to do it. The sooner we do it, the sooner we can utilize this piece of equipment during the winter months — the wheels get started in motion.”

Stoner noted that in procurement, the township is competing with other municipalities, as well as large companies in the area.

“From my perspective, the time to buy new equipment is when you have the money to do it,” said vice chair Leon Eby. “It just makes sense to me to go ahead and do it.”

Eby asked about ride control, which he said makes a difference in vehicle operation.

The board unanimously approved the purchase, which will be spread over two budget years.

At the start of the meeting, Stoner announced that the board held an executive session prior to the public meeting to discuss legal issues.

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This rendering shows the Statue of Liberty museum, now under construction.

High Concrete to craft 144 pieces for Statue of Liberty Museum

Helping to construct a museum on tiny Liberty Island, home of the Statue of Liberty, is not an ordinary task.

That’s why the project’s designers turned to a company that’s demonstrated extraordinary skills — High Concrete Group.

Under a $2.9 million contract, Denver-based High Concrete is producing and erecting 144 pieces, mostly architectural precast concrete panels, for the striking building.

“We have a reputation of taking on sophisticated and complex projects…,” said President J. Seroky. “I think they looked at us because we have experience with challenging projects similar to the one they have.”

The Statue of Liberty — Ellis Island Foundation, with the support of the National Park Service, is building the 26,000-square-foot museum on the 14.7-acre island.

Liberty Island remains open to visitors during the construction of the $70 million museum, set to open in 2019.

The new museum will replace one that’s in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

Due to safety upgrades following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the existing museum can accommodate only 20 percent of the 4.3 million people who visit the island annually.

The panels being produced by High Concrete for the museum are massive, as architectural precast concrete panels generally are.

Many are about 400 square feet. They weigh up to 50,000 pounds and are 16 to 21 inches thick.

Deliveries to the island began in August and will end in December.

But making deliveries is easier said than done.

The panels are trucked to Jersey City, New Jersey, on flatbed trailers, one panel per trailer. Once there, four trailers at a time are put on a barge for the trip to the island. A truck on the island takes the trailers to the job site.

There’s no room at the island to accumulate a backlog of panels, which would speed construction.

“On a typical precast project, we can do 12 to 18 panels per day. Here, though, we can’t stage any on the island. We’re going to manage eight panels a day, if we’re lucky,” said Bob Pabst of High Concrete.

The panels are erected with a crane that was disassembled to be taken via barge to the island, then reassembled there.

Besides crimping High Concrete’s ability to stage panels, the New York Harbor location also takes a bite out of each employee’s workday. About 30 to 40 minutes are consumed by ferry rides to and from the island.

“So productivity slows down,” said Pabst, vice president of sales and marketing.

High Concrete, though, offsets the lost productivity by adding efficiency in other ways.

The precast panels are finished in Denver, providing a completed portion of the museum wall, complete with insulation rated at R-21 — high for exterior walls in this climate.

The museum designers initially wanted to have granite walls, which would have required numerous workers from multiple trades to squeeze onto the island to build the museum’s walls from scratch on the site.

High Concrete’s approach is saving about $700,000 worth of time and materials, said Seroky.

“We’re producing the product in a quality controlled environment here, then shipping the finished piece of concrete — which has an inner wall, insulation and an exterior wall all put together already.

“The wall system is complete when it leaves Denver,” he said.

The panels are what Seroky calls “engineered to order,” meaning they’re customized for this particular job, both for function and appearance.

In this case, the panels have a “unique” and “very striking finish that meets the vision of the designer. This is architectural precast in its truest form,” said Dave Nicholas.

“It’s not prefab. It’s not, ‘We make a lot of this stuff. Let’s make some more today,’” said Nicholas, corporate marketing and communications manager for High Concrete and other High companies.

High Concrete, Seroky added, is among “the very few (companies that) could do this work to the level of quality necessary that it looks as good as it does before it gets on a trailer and goes there.

“There’s not a whole lot of opportunity, once it gets there, to make it look better,” he said.

To make these panels, High Concrete is casting the concrete using form liners to produce a vertical rib pattern (that creates a shadow effect desired by the designers) with profiles four inches deep.

When the concrete is sufficiently cured, the panels are sandblasted to give a textured finish, exposing a certain degree of the stone in the concrete mix.

These features on the panels, as well as the museum’s green roof and angular lines, are intended to make the museum appear to emerge from the earth.

The lowest wall panels have an extra feature unrelated to the building’s appearance — 16-inch-tall slots, where waves from storms can pass through and go under the museum, minimizing their punch.

The project’s architect is FXFOWLE, based in New York. Phelps Construction Group, based in Boonton, New Jersey, is the project’s general contractor.

High Concrete was formed in 1977 when its parent company, Lancaster-based High Industries, acquired the precast business of Kurtz Brothers.

Since then, High Concrete has grown into one of country’s best known architectual precast producers and the largest precast producer in the mid-Atlantic region.

With annual revenue in excess of $100 million, High Concrete employs 450 people, including about 300 in Denver.

High Concrete is often associated with parking garage work. And, indeed, the company has produced precast concrete for many of them — about 1,000 of its 5,000-plus projects done in its history, Seroky said.

But the vast majority of the remaining 4,000 are architectural precast projects, he pointed out. (Architectural precast, a sharper-looking product than regular precast, contributes to a building’s architectural form and effect.)

Projects such as the Statue of Liberty Museum spotlight High Concrete’s skills in its larger business segment.

“We’re ecstatic that we have the opportunity to do this, as well as the fact that there’s going to be 4 million people a year or more who get to walk up right next to our precast,” Seroky said.

“There aren’t many opportunities for us to do that. We’re also excited that we get to be a part of history. There aren’t going to be many more Statue of Liberty Museums being built in my lifetime, I don’t think,” he said.

Tim Mekeel is Business Editor for LNP. 

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                 A Parade, Trick or Treat Night, Haunted Forest and Pumpkin Decorating Await Children

                                                                  By Alice Hummer

If the famous quote, “It takes a village to raise a child,” is correct, Denver Borough is a good example of different groups working together to sponsor several Halloween events, all of which benefit children.

On Monday, October 30th the Denver Lions Club sponsors the annual Halloween parade. Registration begins at 6 pm at Denver Elementary School. Costume judging begins at 6:30 pm and the parade starts at 7 pm. Participants walk on 4th Street from Denver Elementary School to the Denver Volunteer Fire Company lot, where the parade ends.

Tuesday, October 31st is Trick or Treat Night from 6-8 pm. Residents are urged to make sure children walk safely and can see well. Don’t let children wear masks or costumes that impede vision or mobility.

Also on Tuesday is a Family Friendly Halloween Haunt –The 2017 Witches Brew – at 313 Tamarack Drive, Denver. Held rain or shine, you’re invited to navigate Brew Hollow Forest helping Sister Fanny-Bottom find something or someone she’s misplaced.

The Witches Brew event is free. People who would like to do so may donate canned goods or make a monetary donation. Canned goods will go to food banks at OMPH Church and Peter’s Porch. Monetary donations will benefit a local family with young children whose father is battling lung cancer.

The 14th Annual Caroline Schannauer Pumpkin Painting Contest is Saturday, October 28th. The Courtyard Café, 349 Main Street, hosts this event. Pumpkins and decorating supplies will be provided by the Borough of Denver.

This event is open to all students in Kindergarten through 5th grade who have returned registration forms to their school office or Denver Borough Municipal Building, 501 Main Street, Denver, by 5 pm on Friday, October 20th. All students must be pre-registered in order to have enough pumpkins and decorating supplies. Pumpkins decorated outside of the contest will not be accepted.

Participants may arrive between 9-10:30 am. All pumpkins to be judged must be ready for judging by 10:30 am. Halloween snacks and apple cider will be served.

Questions about any of these events can be answered by calling the Denver Borough office at 717-336-2810.

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Cocalico High School graduates (from left to right) Abby Buckles, Michael Rissmiller, and Ben Smith come back to school as STEM experiment facilitators representing their employers

Junior Achievement hosted a STEM Summit at Cocalico High School on Nov. 1 to the ninth-grade class. Students were cycled through science experiment projects held in the gym.

Students seemed most interested in listening to Donna Harrison as she spoke on a panel about her career with the Pennsylvania State Police.

“I’m a trooper and currently assigned to the forensics unit, if you are familiar with CSI on TV” said Harrison.

While in high school, Harrison thought she wanted to be a veterinarian, then thought about going in to interior design and fashion.

“I always had law enforcement in my mind as something I wanted to do but it was not encouraged by my family and friends because at that time, it was thirty years ago, and there was not a lot of females in law enforcement,” said the petite Harrison. “The Pennsylvania State Police did not accept female applicants until 1971 so I kind of put that in the back of my head.”

Harrison worked for 12 years in display design but “didn’t see a stable future in it.”

“The day that changed my life was when September 11th happened with the terrorist attacks,” said Harrison. “I sat there on my front stoop and that’s what made me snap that day and knew that’s what I had to do.”

Seeing the first-responders go into the situation without hesitation inspired Harrison.

“I knew that’s what I had to do,” said Harrison. “I had always wanted to, and that was the week I put in applications.

Harrison talked about the difficulty of the training and testing.

“The training was very physical, mental, challenging, endurance,” said Harrison. “It tests every last bit of anything you have in your body, in your brain. My class started with 72 men and women and graduated with only 35. I’m proud to say that only one female quit.”

Karl Scheidt, Precision Medical Products in Denver, showed a jagged, up and down line diagram on the board of his career path to show how life doesn’t always turn out how you initially planned.

“I really enjoy what I do today, I love the company, we are local, there’s opportunities here,” said Scheidt.

Do words and communication still matter, even in STEM careers?

Michael Rissmiller is a 2011 Cocalico graduate, and described himself as “a regular student” in high school. He represented Armstrong World Industries and helped run an experiment.

“I didn’t see a need at the time to over-extend myself to take AP classes,” said Rissmiller. “I was pretty much a middle-of-the-road student. I wasn’t in the National Honor Society.”

Rissmiller, who graduated from Penn State and works as an engineer, said building relationships is important.

“I was involved in band and sports and that kept me connected to different groups of people, and that kind of carried into my career,” said Rissmiller. “I think the main thing is you have to focus on making connections and building your social network.”

Rissmiller said good communication is a “big perk” in the engineering field.

“As long as you build connections and communication skills, that will take you anywhere in life, no matter what field you’re in,” said Rissmiller. “You’re going to be cross-communicating between different functions. You have to learn how to communicate to different parties effectively to get your point across to each one. I think you can never say you’ve fully developed your communication skills because that’s something you continually develop over time, your presentation skills, your email skills.”

Rissmiller said teachers, Greg Buck and Mr. Stafford, were his biggest influences at Cocalico.

“When I went through school, we didn’t have anything like this,” said Rissmiller. “If you were interested, you took technology classes and you went down that avenue and wondered if it was right for you or not. This is a great opportunity for kids who may or may not have an interest in technology to get out there and say, ‘Hey, this may be fun to do electrical work or do physics.’”

For ninth-graders, the STEM Summit can help secure their interest in the field at an early age which will guide their class choices for the next few years. It might also secure others’ thoughts who may have less interest in a STEM career.

“Maybe they spent a year in classes trying to go for engineering or go to tech school and they found out it wasn’t for them, they could have saved that money and invested it in something else,” said Rissmiller.

“It’s like having a very well-organized field trip come to the school,” said Katie Crenshaw with Junior Achievement.

The STEM Summit is celebrating its sixth-year anniversary and is provided to area school districts free of charge. During the 2017-2018 academic year, STEM Summit will reach over 10,000 area students. Junior Achievement is dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship through experiential hands-on programs.

Michele Walter Fry welcomes your comments at michelewalterfry@gmail.com.

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Mike Wetherhold, long-time community leader, has stepped down from Adamstown Borough Council.

“I was having some pain in my upper arm and dismissed it to being any number of things,” said Wetherhold. “When I saw the doctor, we decided to have a stress test, and that showed that I had some major blockage and the next thing you know, I was going in for a triple-bypass surgery.”

Wetherhold served the past two years, as well as twelve years, “all through the 90s.” He decided to “cut back” on his activities to lower his stress level.

“I think we have a very strong council, and they are very active,” said Wetherhold. “Everything I’m involved in right now, I think council could afford to lose me, maybe more so than the library board.”

Wetherhold has served on the board of Adamstown Area Library for 14 years.

“The main thing the library board is doing is having a fundraiser trying to raise enough money to renovate the old VFW building,” said Wetherhold. “It’s important we raise that money that we can do both the renovations and have money for operation costs in the building, be able to keep the lights on.”

Wetherhold also is active with Adamstown Community Days which puts on popular social events in the borough.

Wetherhold graduated from Wilson High School in 1961 and discovered Adamstown by “dumb luck.”

“We were lost, we didn’t know where we were,” said Wetherhold, referring being on a “Sunday drive” with his wife and kids.

“I was raised only six miles from here, but everything we did was towards Reading,” said Wetherhold. “We thought it looked like a nice place. We were looking for a smaller town to live in.”

That was 44 years ago.

“Adamstown is a real gem,” said Wetherhold. “It’s kind of a shame we don’t get more attention. It’s a sleepy little town, but a lot going on here.”

Wetherhold graduated from Albright College and worked for Carpenter Technology Corporation in Reading for 35 years in accounting.

Wetherhold thinks it’s “extremely” important for people go get involved and volunteer.

“As we all know, there’s less and less funding from the government for many of these programs, and they are dependent on volunteers,” said Wetherhold. “In all fairness to them, I don’t think the younger generation is getting that involved or volunteering as my generation did, but in the same breath, they have many, many families, you have both husband and wife working, which is different than my generation.”

Wetherhold and his wife, Donna, have two children and seven grandchildren. They became great-grandparents last month.

Wetherhold leads by example.

“We have a son and daughter who are very involved in activities in their own communities, and I see it with the grandkids, too, they are getting very involved,” said Wetherhold.

Wetherhold can’t think of any regrets over the years, on council or otherwise, and feels it’s “sad in a way to leave” council.

“It’s been fun working with them,” said Wetherhold. “Everyone brings their own set of talent to the group, everyone is engaged.”

Council is looking for someone to fill Wetherhold’s place.

“To someone who’s not been around council or the meetings, it might be a little overwhelming at first till they get their arms around the budget and learn the rules that govern the rules of municipal affairs,” said Wetherhold. “I don’t profess to understand them well.

They will need to give themselves a little time and I think it’s important they don’t become intimidated by others on council because they have more experience. I think it’s important they listen, but give their opinion. Speak up and be yourself. That’s why you’re on council,” said Wetherhold.

Wetherhold gave some parting advice.

“Slow down a little and appreciate what you have,” said Wetherhold. “Volunteer a little and help someone else.”

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Cocalico School District will not seek any exceptions to the state’s predetermined tax cap for 2018-19, school board members decided at a meeting Monday night.

By passing an “opt-out” resolution, the district agreed to cap any increase next financial year at 2.9 percent or less. That index rate is determined by Act 1, a state law passed in 2006 to prevent extreme tax spikes.

Business Manager Sherri Stull said the district’s base maximum rate is 2.4 for 2018-19, but an additional .5 percent would be allowed because of the district’s poverty level.

“We plan to stay at or below this allowable increase,” Stull said. “We are not going to go above that and take allowable exceptions that the state also offers. We feel we can live with that 2.9 or lower.”

The board will set its final tax rate during budget deliberations late next spring, likely in April. The budget must be presented to the state by June 30.

The budget resolution passed 8-0, with one seat vacant.

The board announced Monday its plan to replace James Kidwell, who notified the district earlier this month that he would be unable to serve the four-year term he was elected to in November. Kidwell cited personal reasons.

Board president Allen Dissinger outlined a plan for finding a new board member, starting with a vacancy posting on cocalico.org Dec. 19.

The district will then accept letters of interest and resumes through Jan. 2, 2018. Candidates must be 18 or older, have lived in the district for one year prior to appointment and be in “good moral standing.”

The board will interview select candidates at a public meeting on Jan. 8. Immediately following, current members will hold a public vote to select the replacement and that person will be sworn in Jan. 22.

The approach is different than the last time the board filled a vacancy in 2015. During that cycle, the board publicly identified only one of two candidates and appointed that person to a short-term seat without any opportunity for public input.

Former Cocalico Athletic Director Audrey Stoner filled the seat vacated by Michael Messner for about nine months.

“Since it’s going to be two full years, we went to a more extensive procedure,” Dissinger said.

The district will still screen candidates to limit the number that reach the interview round.

The appointee will serve a two-year term, and a special election for another two-year term will be slated for 2019.

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The Reinholds VFW raised $12,000 to donate to Keystone Military Families for Stockings for Soldiers. Pictured here are (front row, left to right) Donna Rutt (auxillray secretary), Danielle Shumate (auxillary member and Stockings for Soliders coordinator), Britta Killian (auxillary president and steward), Scott Fisher (past commander). (back row, L-R) Joe Ply (assistant) and Larry Rutt (past commander). Photo by Aubree Fahringer

The Reinholds VFW is full of unsung heroes. VFW Post 6759 was started in 1946 and has been assisting the community ever since through donations and volunteer work.

This year, the VFW has participated in several initiatives in order to raise funds for the community. In addition to being a sponsor of the Denver Fair and offering scholarships, the VFW has raised thousands of dollars for the Reinholds Ambulance, Triangle Therapeutic Riding Veterans Program, youth sports, and Jan’s Circle of Friends, to name a few.

This year, Post 6759 raised $12,000 to donate to Stockings for Soldiers, a program partnership between Blue Ridge Communications and Keystone Military Families. Stockings are stuffed with varied items such as power bars, sunscreen, medicine, hand sanitizer, socks, gloves, and other necessities and sent overseas to service men and women in every branch of the military. Each stocking costs five dollars to ship. The Post’s funds were raised through bingo fundraisers and a post donation. It will aid in shipping costs.

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By a 2-1 vote, the proposed $5.6 million East Cocalico Township 2018 budget passed at supervisors’ Dec. 21 meeting.

Voting for adoption was chairman, Doug Mackley and vice-chairman, Alan Fry. Voting against budget adoption was secretary, Noelle Fortna.

Fortna indicated earlier in the meeting that, “I voted against the tax increase and I will not be voting to adopt the budget.”

Fortna voted against the 2.5 percent tax increase, slated to bring in about $37,500, because she felt the township will have increased revenue with the amount of development taking place and there were items in the budget which could be cut.

Previously, when questioned by residents to identify places in the budget which could be cut, she declined to comment.

The tax rate is 1.646 mills. For each $100 of assessed value, residents will pay $16.46. A home assessed at $100,000 would owe $164.60, which equals a 2.49 percent increase over last year.

Jason Wellman, resident and Rec Board member, asked why the township doesn’t show budget projections beyond the next year. Wellman said that expertise in doing this is “out there and available to supervisors. It’s what most businesses do.”

Romao Carrasco, resident and new supervisor starting in January, asked Fortna about her projections used to analyze the budget and conclude the township will be okay fiscally through the next two years. “I’ll be interested in seeing how you arrived at this conclusion,” he said.

After the meeting Fortna said that she never stated any documentation existed. Her conclusions were based on her many years of working on and studying the budget.

Transfers of unallocated monies totaling just under $400,000 from the general fund and the capital reserve checking account were rolled over to balance the budget.

In other business:

• Following a short executive session, Mackley said, “It gives me great pleasure to announce that we plan to interview acting Officer-In-Charge, Sergeant Derrick Keppley, for our police chief position on Jan. 2. We’ll include a Denver Borough representative since they contract police service from us.” Police Chief, Terry Arment, will retire Jan 15.
• Zoning officer, Tony Luongo, reported 3 new single family dwellings in November. “This is an increase from the customary one dwelling per month,” Luongo said, “Last year we issued 280 permits. So far this year we’ve issued 310. This year the value of commercial permits totaled over 50 million, with 26 million of this amount for UGI’s new, corporate headquarters.”
• Supervisors authorized Union Barrel Works to temporarily close the first block of North Reamstown Read on New Year’s Eve from 11:30 p.m. – 12:15 a.m. for the annual dropping of the barrel to ring in the New Year.
• Scott Russell, township manager, announced that the new, $7,045 phone system arrived and will be installed shortly.

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Nancy Hamill

District Judge, Nancy Hamill, administers the oath of office to newly elected East Cocalico supervisor, Romao Carrasco, December 20th in her courtroom.

The 49 year-old Geneva College graduate earned a B.S. in engineering and international business and finance.

Prior public service includes being vice-chairman of the sewer and water authority in Ontelaunee Township, Berks County.

Married to Dr. Melissa Plowfield, the family has two children.

Carrasco’s first supervisor’s meeting is Jan. 2, 2018.

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Denver Council welcomes new member Dan Rogers

On Jan. 2 when Denver Council held its reorganizational meeting, there was one new face among council members seated at the front of the meeting room.

Dan Rogers occupied the seat formerly held by Mike Gensemer, who chose not to run for reelection.

Rogers, 64, has been a Denver resident for nearly 30 years.

“I was asked by the Republican Party two years ago to consider running, but the timing was not right,” Rogers said. “I’ve always been active in my church, and, at that time, I was teaching a night class. I’m not doing that anymore.”

Active in his church might be an understatement as Rogers shared he’s been a Sunday Church School teacher, elder, and even done some supply preaching.

“Last year when the Party asked me again to run, I said yes,” Rogers said.

Owner of the business, Remodeling Solutions, Inc., Rogers and his wife moved from the Philadelphia area to Denver to live in a small town. “It’s been wonderful and I’d like to give back to this good community.”

A faithful attendee of all council meetings, Rogers has deep respect for the councilmen serving voluntarily on council and its committees.

Council president Blake Daub congratulated and welcomed Rogers during the council meeting immediately following the November election. Other council members added their congratulations and thanks for his willingness to serve.

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