The Lititz Borough Police Department has announced the policy regarding the placement of chairs, blankets, etc. as follows:

? Police will be bagging parking meters three hours before scheduled event.

? People may put chairs and blankets down two hours before scheduled event. On blocks where there are no parking meters, people may out chairs and blankets down five hours before the event.

? Chairs and blankets will be collected by police if the policy is not followed as indicated, subject to penalties and fines according to law.

This policy will be enforced during the upcoming Fourth of July Parade, to be held Friday July 1.

The Fourth of July festivities in Lititz are fast approaching. Four days of events ranging from the new LSP Live to the parade, to queens and fireworks will get underway this weekend.

The first event is the LSP (Lititz Springs Park) music festival this Saturday, followed by an Air National Guard concert and historical reenactment on Sunday. Then, the following weekend (July 1 and 2), will be the Lions Club parade and the full day of entertainment and fireworks in the park.

The most recent update on the festivities is the announcement of the grand marshal for the July 1 parade — Don Hedgecock, longtime Lion and current resident of Moravian Manor.

"I was very happy to learn that they wanted me to be grand marshal," he said.

Hedgecock, 90, has been a Lion for 52 years, starting his service in Maine and continuing it locally when he moved to Lititz in 1978. Born in Nebraska, he is a retired chemist who worked for Hamilton Watch in Lancaster and for the federal government (Air Force). As a Lititz Lion, he’s held every office in the club, except for treasurer, and he can boast perfect attendance at club meetings throughout his career (Lititz Lions meet twice a month at the General Sutter Inn).

By: GARY P. KLINGER Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Warwick Township officials continue to move forward with exploratory plans for a joint regional police force in partnership with Clay and Penn townships. That was the latest news on the topic discussed at the June 15 supervisors meeting.

Zoning officer Tom Zorbaugh, filling for township manager Dan Zimmerman, reminded the supervisors that a joint public meeting is scheduled for June 29 at 7 p.m. The meeting, which has been advertised and posted, will be held at the Clay Township municipal building. Among the topics will be the process of selecting a police chief to head the new force.

Zorbaugh stressed that the discussion would surround the process and not the selection of an actual candidate. Warwick Township continues to lead the way in screening potential candidates for the position. If plans for the joint force ultimately fail, Warwick will be in need of a new chief since Ed Tobin recently retired to focus on his district judge candidacy.

Photos by Stan Hall
Three hundred and fifty members of Warwick High School's Class of 2011 graduated during commencement ceremonies at Calvary Church on June 16.Photos by Stan Hall
Three hundred and fifty members of Warwick High School's Class of 2011 graduated during commencement ceremonies at Calvary Church on June 16.

Going indoors for graduation proved to be a good idea.

Three hundred and fifty Warwick High School seniors received their diplomas June 16 as rain pelted the roof at Calvary Church on Landis Valley Road. Highlights of the evening included Clarissa O’Conor being named valedictorian, a standing ovation for classmate Lance Hosler, chest bumps from class president Joshua Stoudt, and an unexpected on-stage back flip by graduate Brian Long.

"After tonight, things will never be the same. This is the last time all of us will be here together as the Warwick High School Class of 2011, the last time we see many of our classmates that we’ve seen every day since elementary school, the last time we are safely inside our comfort zones," said Casey Mitchell, one of four student orators who spoke on the theme "Carpe Diem" (seize the day). "After tonight, we are graduates… change will be an ever present factor in our new realities."

Bruce Morgan

Record Express

Sports Editor The Manheim Central girls’ season had only been finished for a few minutes, and four reporters huddled around head coach Steve Ginder for the last time this season. It was there, in the pressbox at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Softball Park, that the Lady Barons’ boss did a good job of lending perspective to MC’s best softball season ever.

With 16 words, he summed it up pretty nicely, saying, "It takes a good run and a little bit of luck to make it back here."

The thing about sports is that nothing is ever guaranteed. Just ask the 2010-11 Miami Heat. Even the 2011 Phillies, with perhaps the best starting four pitchers ever put together on one team — Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt — have question marks.

But this year’s Lady Barons’ did have a good run … winning 22 out of 23 games certainly falls into that category for me. And they had a little bit of luck. They won in the State quarter-finals when the Lansdale Catholic right fielder air-mailed a throw over the catcher’s head, allowing Alexa Campbell to score the deciding run. They prevailed in the State semi-finals when the Valley View shortstop dropped Campbell’s bloop in shallow left, allowing Megan Ebersole to score the game’s only run.

Riley Derr set a new Warwick School District record in the girls softball throw (164-7) and the John Beck sixth-graders captured the Warwick elementary track and field crown with 136 points on Thursday, June 2.

Kissel Hill was runner-up with 96 points, followed by John R. Bonfield and Lititz El. Scott Andreuzzi, of John R. Bonfield, also shattered a District record, reaching a distance of 134-10 in the boys soccer kick.

Top-four finishers in each event were as follows:

Girls 100

1. Kelly Hunt (JB) 14.72

2. Alyssa Jones (JRB) 14.73

3. Jensen Burnheimer (JB) 15.18

4. Meka Root (KH) 15.40

Boys 100

1. Ryan Diebler (JB) 13.81

2. Nate Hess (JB) 14.35

3. Will Mobley (LE) 14.38

4. Alec White (JB) 14.97

Girls 200

1. Logan Kempinski (LE) 31.97

2. Jenna Raezer (KH) 32.50

3. (tie) Meka Root (KH) 32.97

3. (tie) Haley Young (JRB) 32.97

Boys 200

1. Alec White (JB) 30.54

2. Chad Boyer (KH) 31.72

3. Lucas Styles (JRB) 31.97

4. Mitchell Weaver (JR) 32.22

Girls 400

1. Jenna Raezer (KH) 1:13.94

Skyline took home top honors from the 29th annual Woodridge Swim Classic which was held last Saturday, June 18 in Lititz. Their 371 points placed them well ahead of runner-up Overlook (243) and Ephrata finished third overall with 217 points.

Although Woodridge didn’t include itself in the team standings, they had a number of brilliant efforts, including a couple from 10-year-old Oliver Lance, who shattered the meet, pool and team records in the 9-10 boys 100 I.M. and 9-10 boys 25 backstroke.

Top-25 finishers from Woodridge (W), Lititz Springs (LS) and Manheim (M) were as follows:

Girls 9-10 100 I.M.

1. Emma Oberholtzer (W), 1:28.59; 13. Biz Van Scoten (W), 1:50.48; 15. Lily Weidman (W), 1:53.47; 19. Jaylyn Wagner (LS), 1:56.05; 20. Elizabeth Valudes (W), 1:59.03; 23. Caitlyn Wagner (LS), 2:07.75.

Girls 11-12 100 I.M.

1. Emma Schouten (W), 1:15.03; 2. Paetyn Zeamer (W), 1:17.38; 7. Katie Oberholtzer (W), 1:26.56; 10. Amber Nissley (W), 1:29.50; 17. Lily Shaffer (W), 1:35.26; 20. Abbie Weit (W), 1:36.66; 23. Maddie Smith (W), 1:38.88; 25. Mia Stavarski (W), 1:39.40.

Boys 9-10 100 I.M.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor, Staff Writer

It might have been fitting that Alexa Campbell’s thoughts last Friday turned to a key game in early May against Donegal.

Playing their L-L rival in a late-season match-up, Manheim Central scored four runs in the seventh inning on its way to a 5-4 victory.

That was one of the Lady Barons’ headline wins during a streak in which they went 22-1. It also marked one of nine times this season that Central won in its final at-bats.

So when Valley scored three unearned runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth in the PIAA State Triple-A championship game, the MC girls’ ace pitcher remained optimistic.

"I never lost hope because I knew that earlier in the season, we had been down four runs in the seventh and I knew that we could do it," Campbell said. "I just knew that it would be a little harder."

Unfortunately for the Lady Barons, there would be no 10th magical rally this time, as the Lady Vikings held on for a 3-1 victory to claim the State title at Penn State University’s Nittany Lion Softball Park in State College.

Inside The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and day two of Lititz’s four-day event is "The Preamble," which features a free concert and an 1843 re-enactment. Details on page A5. Warwick High School’s commencement this week, and as is the tradition, photographs of all the graduates appear in this week’s newspaper. Photos of Lititz Christian School and Homeschool grads are also featured. Find your favorite senior on pages A16-21. Manheim Central’s softball team has advanced to the State Triple-A finals this Friday at Penn State University. Read all about it on page B1. Lititz police officer P.J. Savage shares a couple cop stories on page A2, Lititz librarian Susan Tennant talks about thrillers on A4, humor columnist Lynn Rebuck chimes in on Anthony Weiner on A6, Kathryn Shreiner keeps us up-to-date on everything in Penryn and Elm on page A12, nature expert Al Spoo writes about paw-paw trees on A22, and our sports editor Bruce Morgan is all about softball on B1. Check out the Lititz Springs Park scenes from the Ambucs craft show on page A23. And photos from last week’s 2nd Friday event in downtown Lititz appear on page A27.

Casey E. MitchellCasey E. Mitchell

Warwick High School will hold its 55th annual commencement exercises Thursday night, June 16, when the Class of 2011 gathers at Calvary Church in Lancaster.

The program begins at 6:30 p.m.

The class motto is "Carpe Diem," and four seniors — Casey Mitchell, Samantha Weaver, Scott Singleton and Clarissa O’Conor — will deliver orations on the theme.

The class valedictorian will also be announced at this time.

Casey E. Mitchell

Casey is the daughter of Dena Mitchell. Her speech will be on "Carpe Diem: Change."

During high school, she was a member of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Program, the Lititz Leo Club, HYPE, National Honor Society and president of the Spanish Honor Society. Casey participated on the Warwick girls soccer and basketball teams, as well as LANCO soccer club and Lancaster Wave AAV basketball.

She will be attending Wake Forest University.

Samantha E. Weaver

Samantha is the daughter of Barbara and Mark Weaver. She will speak on "Carpe Diem: Daring."