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Ephrata Township plans playground and trail upgrades

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:25:00 EST

Ephrata Township continues to invest in its community park, with plans for a new walking trail and a tot park in the works.At a supervisors meeting Tuesday, officials approved a $5,249 contract to excavate a 280-foot stretch of trail that will complete a loop around the park's lake. Though the park ...

2 county prison inmates face charges for smuggling, using drugs

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:54:00 EST

A Lancaster County Prison inmate smuggled drugs into jail at intake last month then used some of the stash with a cellmate, according to officials. The inmates — Jay Allen Brubaker, 27, of Ephrata, and Devin Kyle Ramsey, 22, of Stevens — are now facing new felony drug possession charges...

Woman to stand trial for allegedly stabbing husband, endangering kids

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:51:00 EST

A local mother who stabbed her husband, then dropped her two young kids in a rush out of the house last year is headed to trial. District Judge Jayne Duncan ordered Kelly Peretzman to stand trial on multiple offenses, including felony aggravated assault and endangering children, for the Oct. 28 inc...

Colerain business seeks earlier start time

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:47:00 EST

Neighbors of the Joseph Kauffman property on Bell Road attended Colerain Township Supervisors meetings several times last year to complain about loud noise from the shed-construction business, including start times that were earlier and later than the hours of operation granted to Kauffman when the ...

1-3 inches of snow forecast

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:08:00 EST

It's coming. One to 3 inches of snow will fall today, starting at mid-day and ending late this evening. "The steadiest snow will fall during the afternoon," said Millersville University meteorologist Eric Horst. "It's one of those marginal situations where the snow will immediately begin to stick ...

Christiana council still down one member

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST

Christiana Borough Council began its meeting Tuesday with a moment of silence for long-time member Harold Swarr who died the day of the January reorganization meeting.When council members took their seats this month, new member Michele "Bobbi" Masser replaced Swarr, but council is still down a membe...

East Petersburg lays of worker, cuts funding to community groups

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:33:00 EST

East Petersburg Borough officials announced the layoff of one maintenance employee and the elimination of funding for community groups as they continue to try to make up a shortfall in the 2012 budget. The 2012 budget was approved in December with a stipulation that an additional $125,000 be cut. Wh...

City woman jailed after month-long crime spree

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:26:00 EST

A Lancaster city teenager is behind bars after a recent crime spree that resulted in four arrests and 12 charges in two weeks. Samara Jimenez, 19, is locked up on a range of charges - from armed robbery to retail theft - following the recent spree. Jimenez was arrested three times last month, each...

4 charged with damaging area next to Shenk's Ferry preserve

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:43:00 EST

Four people have been charged after damaging an area near a wildflower preserve in Conestoga Township by "offroading" a few weeks ago, police said. Southern Regional police said they charged Jordan T. Stauffer, 21, of Bowan Road, Joshua Pallas, 24, of Jasmine Place, Mount Joy, Samantha Murphy, 29, ...

Scouts pack kits to promote dental health

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:58:00 EST

As part of Children's Dental Health Month, The Alliance to the Lancaster County Dental Society will donate 1,872 care kits to Lancaster County shelters. The kits, which include toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss, were packaged last week by members of Boy Scout Troop 99, Cub Scout Pack 93 and Br...

UPDATE: Willow Street man charged after domestic disturbance

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:04:00 EST

A Willow Street man was charged with aggravated assault after a domestic disturbance at his home this morning, police said. Brett W. Martin, 50, of 10 Donnelly Drive, was also charged with two counts of simple assault and one count each of recklessly endangering another person and terroristic threa...

POLICE LOG: Feb. 8, 2012

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:18:00 EST

ARSON EPHRATA: David Pruitt Jr., 21, of Ephrata, was charged after allegedly setting a fire inside his apartment, in the 300 block of East Fulton Street on Jan. 5. The fire caused $13,000 worth of damage, according to police. BURGLARY EPHRATA: Police have charged a 16-year-old boy in connection w...

Contenders in L-L hoops

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:55:00 EST

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School officials here are cautiously optimistic in face of proposed state budget

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:37:00 EST

Local school officials aren't quite sure what to make of Gov. Tom Corbett's new education budget. On the face of it, the 2012-13 spending plan appears to boost basic education funding statewide by about $22 million and would send nearly $230 million in state dollars to the 17 school districts enrol...

Pa. budget proposal slices Millersville University funding by 20 percent

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:11:00 EST

Millersville University would lose more than $6 million in state funding for a second straight year under Gov. Tom Corbett's plan to cut 20 percent from 14 state-owned universities, MU officials said Tuesday. The loss raises the prospect that Millersville, home to about 8,700 graduate and undergrad...

PennDOT offers plan to end Gap bottleneck

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:04:00 EST

In the 52 years that Melvin Martin has been driving in Gap, he's seen the traffic at the intersection of Routes 30 and 41 grow much worse. On Fridays and Saturdays, it typically sits bumper to bumper there, Martin said. According to the state Transportation Department's rating scale, the intersect...

Hempfield official says open-campus plan gains support

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:59:00 EST

An open-campus initiative by three suburban school districts is getting broad support from the community, a school official said Tuesday. Three school districts — Hempfield, Manheim Township and Penn Manor — are cooperating in developing the program, which will provide expanded opportun...

Police charge suspect in Manheim bank robbery

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:02:00 EST

Dennis Richard Silvius recently told his landlord and neighbors that he'd be undergoing a heart procedure Tuesday, they said. Instead, around 9:30 a.m., the 54-year-old robbed the Sovereign Bank around the corner from the boardinghouse where he'd been living, Manheim police said, briefly making off...

Bridge restrictions on Route 30

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:55:00 EST

The westbound Route 30 bridge over the Susquehanna River will be restricted to a single lane Thursday, Feb. 9, so potholes can be filled. The closure of the right "travel lane" on the Wright's Ferry Bridge between Lancaster and York counties will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., weather permitting,...

Hempfield student takes project to White House

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:52:00 EST

President Obama gathered more than 100 high school students from across the country yesterday for a science fair in the White House. Among them was Hempfield High School's Marian Bechtel, whose scientific accolades continue to snowball. As a recent finalist in the prestigious Intel Science Talent ...