Inside It’s strawberry season, and with that comes strawberry festivals. Two take place this weekend, at Old Zion and Luther Acres. Details on page A3 Landis Homes hosts its annual Farm Day event this weekend. Check out the old tractors, the animals and everything else you need to know on page A3. Warwick High School’s top scholarship winners appear in this week’s paper. Also, find the schedules for summer playgrounds, which open this month, in Curt Strasheim’s column. All on page A5. 2nd Friday returns to downtown Lititz this week. Details on the live music and tasty treats can be found on page A21. Manheim Central captured its first-ever District AAA girls softball title Thursday evening at Willow Street’s Garrett Field with a 3-1 victory over Donegal in the finals. Turn to page B1 in sports.

Patrick O'KeeffePatrick O'Keeffe

Patrick O’Keeffe, current Democratic candidate for Warwick School Board, plans to run for Congress in 2012.

He made the announcement last week during committee meetings of the Warwick and Manheim Township Democrats, and told the Record Express this week that it does not affect his candidacy for school board.

O’Keeffe said he has no intention of campaigning locally for Joe Pitts’ Congressional seat between now and the General Election in November. His recent announcement, he said, was more for organizational purposes.

He explained his objectives in a mass e-mail that went out to Democratic leaders in Lancaster, Berks and Chester counties (the constituency of the 16th U.S. Congressional District). The Record Express was copied on the June 1 correspondence:

My friends and fellow Democrats,

Earlier tonight I announced that I am a candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Representative for our congressional district. The election for this office takes place in 2012, but I am announcing now to give us time to effectively organize our district to win that election and to re-elect President Obama, and Senator Casey. We need them to continue their efforts to improve our lives.

By: MELINDA ELMER Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Photo by Stan Hall
Nevin May served as master of ceremonies during the dedication of the Elizabeth Township Veterans' Memorial May 29.Photo by Stan Hall
Nevin May served as master of ceremonies during the dedication of the Elizabeth Township Veterans' Memorial May 29.

The newly-moved Elizabeth Township Veterans’ Memorial was dedicated May 29 at its new location in the Elizabeth Township Community Park. Local Vietnam veteran Nevin May was the master of ceremonies.

"The original World War II Roll of Honor, sponsored by the Baron Stiegel Lion’s Club, listed 55 names from Elizabeth Township," May said. "Fifty-one were male and four were female. We researched and found eight surviving names. Six attended the dedication ceremony."

The six surviving WWII veterans in attendance were Fern and Norm Eckert, George and Clayton Elser, Alfred Kline and Russell Strauss. Pauline Risser and Gloria Seiverling Grube were unable to attend.

Three township residents gave their lives in service to their country during WW II: Carl Boehler, Earl Edwards and Charles Zartman. One resident, J. Dennis Webster, Jr., was killed during the Vietnam War.

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

Warwick School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to terminate head high school track coach Scott Rathkey. He was also removed from his staff position in building services.

The vote took place during a special meeting called specifically for personnel items. District officials would not comment further on the circumstances surrounding Rathkey’s sudden removal.

"All personnel issues are confidential. The district will clarify, however, that this is unrelated to students," said Lori Zimmerman, public relations coordinator.

Lititz police confirmed early this week that they are not currently conducting any type of criminal investigation related to the matter.

Rathkey’s termination marks the second personnel firing from Warwick’s athletic department in the past two months. In April, Brent Leiby, the popular athletic trainer known as "Doc," was relieved of his duties when he was charged for stealing concession money from the high school. Lititz police were involved in that investigation.

Rathkey was Warwick’s head coach from 2008 to 2011. During that time, he compiled a four-year Section One record of 8-20 with the boys and 7-21 with the girls. Prior to serving as head coach, he was assistant coach from 2005 to 2007 with the jumpers. He was a volunteer assistant in 2004. A Warwick graduate, he held the Warwick boys’ high jump record until it was broken in 2010.

The Fourth of July has expanded in Lititz. The celebration will take place over four days, starting with the LSP Live Summer Music Festival.

This new event will be held Saturday, June 25, a little more than two weeks from now.

Essentially an all-day party in downtown Lititz, with Lititz Springs Park as the central staging area, LSP Live will feature a community picnic, volleyball tournament, live music by local bands, a downtown promenade, and a surround sound movie at dusk at the park bandshell.

"I wanted to start something new on the weekend before the Fourth," explained Matt Clair, who is chairing the program. "There are a lot of people who travel to be with family over the holiday weekend and miss the historic Fourth of July event. I wanted to start an event that gives everyone a chance to come down and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere that Lititz has to offer, without having to work around all the holiday weekend plans. I feel like everyone benefits when a town works together to mix up the day-to-day routine.

"What better way to show off Lititz than free entertainment and amazing specials to showcase the great local businesses we have here in Lititz?"

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

Photo by Gary P. Klinger
Tuesday was the final borough council meeting for junior member Aaron Graybill (center), as he will be graduating from Warwick High School June 16. Council recognized his service during this week's meeting. He is pictured here with councilman Doug Bomberger and council president Karen Weibel.Photo by Gary P. Klinger
Tuesday was the final borough council meeting for junior member Aaron Graybill (center), as he will be graduating from Warwick High School June 16. Council recognized his service during this week's meeting. He is pictured here with councilman Doug Bomberger and council president Karen Weibel.

"Every town deserves a post office!"

That was the proclamation of Lititz Borough Council Member Ruth Fry McKenon.

The fight is far from over in the ongoing effort to save the Lititz Post Office. Borough Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on the U.S. Postal Service to re-evaluate the sale and relocation of the downtown office.

"We’re not done yet," exclaimed council president Karen Weibel, "but it has been a tough slog."

By: ROCHELLE A. SHENK Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

The Lititz Run Watershed Alliance (LRWA) hosted its first State of the Watershed meeting May 26. With stormy weather in the forecast and a potential for rises in streams and creeks, the timing was perfect to discuss the impact the organization has had on water quality in the region since its inception in 1997.

"We’re all in this together. What we do in our own backyards affects the streams," said Logan Myers, LRWA board member and chair of the Warwick Township supervisors.

"And what we do here impacts the Chesapeake Bay. Everything here flows into the bay," added Matt Kofroth, Lancaster County Conservation District watershed specialist and LRWA board member.

He noted that over 47 percent of the streams in Lancaster County have been designated as impaired or polluted (having too many nutrients and sediment). Lititz Run, which originates at the spring in Lititz Springs Park, is one of those streams. However, data presented by Kofroth and Bob Walter, professor of geosciences at F&M College, indicates that Lititz Run water quality has improved thanks to the cooperative efforts of LRWA, local municipalities, local businesses and the community.

As the highest paid employees of school districts around the nation, here’s a look at the responsibilities in their words of the superintendent, assistant superintendents and business manager at our local schools…

Superintendent

The superintendent position is very similar at Cocalico, Ephrata and Warwick. All three are in charge of carrying out these basic functions, described by Warwick:

1) Assist the board of education and staff in the development and implementation of the district goals.

2) Plan with the school board and other school personnel for the long-range educational, fiscal, and physical development of the school district.

3) Consult and advise the board of education regarding the need for changes in policies, curricula, programs and staff.

4) Develop and submit to the board for approval, the annual school district budget.

5) Review, coordinate, and monitor the school district budget.

6) Provide leadership for the administrative, supervisory, instructional, and non-instructional staff.

7) Provide leadership in the formation, implementation, evaluation, and supervision of educational plans and programs.

8) Insure that district policies, provisions of the school code, and administrative directives are implemented.

9) Review and prepare reports required by local, state, and federal offices.

Richard Hancock, a representative for the U.S. Postal Service, told a crowd of about 50 at Lititz Borough Hall at a May 11 meeting that he was there to solicit input about shutting down the Lititz Post Office.

The mood was hostile from the start, due to Hancock’s admitted lack of knowledge about the postal service’s plans to sell its downtown Lititz location. A real estate specialist for USPS, he promised those at the meeting he would take the crowd’s suggestions to his superiors and e-mail his findings to borough council.

The following letter is the result of that meeting, it was sent to the Record Express by staff at Lititz Borough and addressed to Mayor Ron Oettel.

Thank you for the opportunity to present our plans for consolidation of the Lititz postal facilities to you, borough council and the Lititz community on May 11.

We appreciate your feedback and the comments raised by the public that attended the community meeting. I am writing to respond to the questions raised at the meeting regarding the relocation of the postal retail services to the Wynfield Drive facility and the disposal of the postal-owned Main Street building.

By: STAFF REPORT Lititz Record Express The Ephrata Review, Staff Writer

Money woes have put hard decisions in front of school board members across the state, and the three districts covered by this area’s two weekly newspapers are no different. While tough calls have already been made at Warwick, Ephrata and Cocalico, more may lie ahead.

Layoffs, building closures and cutbacks have all been on the table and may be for the foreseeable future.

The issue reached a boiling point in March when Republican Gov. Tom Corbett proposed cutting more than $1 billion from public schools to help close a multibillion-dollar budget gap.

Also up for discussion among lawmakers is a bill that, if passed, would make it easier for cash-strapped public schools to lay off teachers.

Senate Bill 612, which was approved May 11 in a 38-12 vote, allows struggling school districts to use layoffs of teachers and other professionals as a means of cutting costs. Such an option is currently unavailable to Pennsylvania public schools.

However, current state law allows school districts to furlough teachers if there is a multi-year declining enrollement, or as part of a school consolidation or elimination of educational programs.