Warwick Township discusses its proposed budget for 2012 on page A5.

By: LAURIE KNOWLES CALLANAN Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Photo by Preston Whitcraft
Bass cribs, which used to be underwater, are exposed at the recently-drained Speedwell Forge Lake.Photo by Preston Whitcraft
Bass cribs, which used to be underwater, are exposed at the recently-drained Speedwell Forge Lake.

If traffic was any indicator, a lot of people care about saving Speedwell Forge Lake.

On Wednesday evening, Nov. 16, cars were lined up along Route 322 and even on Route 501, trying to make their way to Hopeland Road and the Brickerville Fire Hall in Elizabeth Township. That’s where state Sen. Mike Brubaker and state Rep. Tom Creighton were hosting a public meeting on the fate of Speedwell Forge Lake.

More than 300 persons packed into the crowded meeting room. Many others had to to turned away because there was no more room. A live-stream video was their only alternative to learning more about the plan to save the lake.

Brubaker said that Speedwell Forge Lake was near and dear to his heart. That’s where he first went on a row boat as a child and where he learned to fish.

By: MICHELLE REIFF Record Express Staff, Staff Writer

Fred Forry enjoys painting and making all kinds of art.
Fred Forry enjoys painting and making all kinds of art.

They dash through smoke-filled, blazing buildings to save lives and extinguish flames. They rush to the scene of a vehicle accident at any hour of day or night, never sure what they will see or what the outcome will be.

Although these brave heroes have become a necessary force, the number of emergency service volunteers is dwindling. Firefighting and ambulance services in the Lititz area are predominantly volunteer-based; therefore, there is a critical need to vigorously recruit and retain volunteers … now more than ever.

Recognizing this need, earlier this year Warwick Emergency Services Alliance (WESA) applied for and received a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant of $63,400 to be invested over four years. The organizations which comprise WESA are: Lititz, Rothsville, Brunnerville and Brickerville fire companies and Warwick, Rothsville and Brunnerville ambulances.

According to Dan Zimmerman, Warwick Township manager, the association will use the grant money, coupled with a Hometown Heroes theme, to fulfill two primary objectives. WESA will call attention to both the need for volunteers and the need to support the fund-raising campaign. This will consist of a long-term advertising and public relations campaign showcasing current volunteers and their importance to the community.

The 2011 commemorative Lititz Springs Park Christmas ornament will be available for sale beginning Nov. 25 at the Lititz Welcome Center.

This year’s metallic ornament depicts the lighted candy canes and trees that were first used during the 250th anniversary celebration of Lititz in 2006 and are now part of the park’s Christmas decorations at the Oehme Gazebo.

The collectible ornament costs $22 — or two for $40. Fourth of July and Christmas ornaments from past years are still available.

The Lititz Welcome Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and is located in the train station at 18 N. Broad St.

Call 626-7555 for more information.

By: MELINDA ELMER Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Elizabeth Township supervisors are enthusiastically behind community-based efforts to save Speedwell Forge Lake.

Residents Joel Gibbel and Debbie Mosimann presented information to the supervisors Nov. 14 about the recently-drained lake and its deteriorated dam in the southwestern part of the township. The two are part of the organizational committee Save Speedwell, an advocacy and fundraising group seeking non-profit 501(c)(3) status.

Gibbel said that if the area experiences a two-inch rainfall onto wet or frozen ground, or a four-inch rainfall onto dry ground, the lake bed will fill with water from the 26-square-mile area that drains into the lake. The water then will drain away slowly. That is, if the dam holds.

There are 26 homes in the direct path of the drainage, and 80 that might be endangered. Gibbel said that Randy Gockley, director of emergency management for Lancaster County, believes that the 26 homes would need to be evacuated every time we get a substantial rainfall, an average of two to four times a year. He’s afraid that we could "cry wolf" one too many times, with disastrous results.

By: JOHN CRAWFORD Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Macy's
Macy's Great American Marching Band, a highlight of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, will include Warwick High School Drum Major Paul Belessis.Photo courtesy of Macy's
Macy's Great American Marching Band, a highlight of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, will include Warwick High School Drum Major Paul Belessis.

Paul Belessis can be a difficult person to track down. Amid the normal schedule of a high school senior, he is the drum major of this year’s highly successful Warwick Marching Band and also works long evening hours at a local movie theater. His mother, Kim, while helping to set up this interview, said her son leaves himself little time for sleep.

How fitting, then, that the drum major who rarely sleeps will be in the city that never does for Thanksgiving marching in the legendary Macy’s parade with the Great American Marching Band.

Since Saturday, Belessis has been in the Teaneck Sports Coliseum and Hotel with over 200 high school band members to practice for Thursday’s parade.

“I leave on Saturday and perform on Thursday,” he said. “We practice all week (and) that is pretty much it.”

Bruce Morgan

Record Express

Sports Editor Let’s take a trip back in time.

Back to Oct. 24, 1990, to be exact.

Warwick’s field hockey team had recently won the Lancaster-Lebanon League crown and was the favorite against Carlisle in a District Three Triple-A first-round game at Conestoga Valley High School.

They were the better team on the field and had chance after chance to pull out the win. Through regulation and two 11-on-11 overtime periods, the Lady Warriors had 44 penalty corners and 28 shots on goal, to Carlisle’s three corners and three shots.

Yet, somehow, the game managed to remain scoreless until the Thundering Herd stole a 1-0 upset victory in best of-five 1-on-1 play.

To me, there were striking similarities to Warwick’s heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Hempfield in the PIAA State Triple-A finals in Whitehall.

The Lady Warriors, just as they were in ’90, were the freshly-minted L-L champs. Both teams had a strong core of players consisting of future Division-I players. And goals were at a premium in both games.

West Chester University senior back Brynn Adams (2008 Warwick grad) was named the 2011 Longstreth/NFHCA Division II National Player of the Year. The honor was announced by the National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association Monday afternoon.

A senior defender, Adams was named to the All-PSAC East First-Team, as well as to the 2011 NCAA All-Tournament Team after leading the Golden Rams to the national title. She scored a career-high 10 goals, including four game-winning goals, and added six assists for 26 points during the 2011 season. She also added four defensive saves to her numbers this fall. Adams was also named First-Team All-America as well as the South Region Player of the Year earlier this month.

A two-year team captain, Adams scored the game-winning goal in the 2011 NCAA Division-II championship game and made perhaps the play of the year in the national semifinals with a spectacular defensive save that kept West Chester in the lead momentarily.

Adams becomes the first Golden Rams field hockey player to earn National Player of the Year honors since Brenda Becker won the Broderick Award (Division-I National Player of the Year) in 1980. Adams is the third West Chester player to be honored as National Player of the Year overall, joining Becker and Karen Shelton, who was a three-time winner of the Broderick Award (1976-78).

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor bmorgan.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

The West Chester University field hockey team was just thankful for another chance.

After losing to CW Post 2-1 in double OT in the PSAC playoff quarterfinals, they weren’t sure that they would get one.

"It was up to CW Post or us getting into the NCAA Tournament," said Lady Golden Rams’ junior right fullback Carley Buckwalter, a 2009 Warwick grad. "And then when they said (during the selection show) that Shippensburg would be playing West Chester, it was a relief that we got in it over CW Post."

"That was, honestly, a little embarassing that we did lose (to CW Post in the PSAC quarterfinals)," acknowledged senior back Brynn Adams, a 2008 Warwick product. "We had a lot to prove."

Prove themselves they did.

With three former Warwick stars contributing — Adams, Buckwalter and 2010 grad Megan Callanan — West Chester capped a perfect run through the NCAA Division-II National Championships with a 2-1 win over UMass-Lowell in the finals at Bloomsburg’s Sports Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 13.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor bmorgan.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

Warwick coach Bob Derr got his first look at the scorebook as two reporters approached last Saturday.

His reaction?

"Holy crow," Derr said, shaking his head.

If Warwick’s skipper was having a difficult time trying to believe the statistics, you certainly couldn’t blame him.

His Lady Warriors outplayed Hempfield to the tune of an eye-popping 32-8 advantage in corners and a 22-9 edge in shots in the PIAA State Triple-A field hockey finals.

Yet, it was the Lady Knights who won their first-ever State gold, as junior Megan Bupp re-directed a lift by Rachel Cox into the back of the cage with just 23 seconds left in OT to give Hempfield a 2-1 victory at the Zephyr Sports Complex at Whitehall High School.

"We just didn’t capitalize on the offensive end of the field when we had opportunities to score," Derr said. "That’s the nature of this game. You can dominate a game and lose and that’s pretty much what we did. We pretty much dominated the game, but (Hempfield’s) defense did a heck of a job … That’s the nature of this game. I’ve won games like that and I’ve lost games like that. I’ve been on both ends of the situation."