(The Lititz Record Express went to press on Wednesday prior to this meeting).

Sen. Mike Brubaker and Rep. Tom Creighton will host a community meeting with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to address safety concerns regarding Speedwell Forge Lake.

The meeting will be held Nov. 16 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Brickerville Fire Hall, 10 Hopeland Road.

As a result, the public meeting planned by the Lititz Sportsman’s Association for Nov. 14 was canceled, and concerned residents are encouraged to attend the Nov. 16 meeting.

Brubaker said the meeting will include experienced, knowledgeable PBFC representatives and allow members of the public to ask questions.

The PBFC recently announced that Speedwell Forge Lake in Elizabeth Township will be completely drawn down due to safety concerns after extensive damage was discovered to the spillway and the dam. The damage was caused by torrential rains from Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee and other recent severe storms.

"A number of local residents have expressed concerns regarding the Commission’s recent announcement, and it is imperative to ensure that all members of the community have an opportunity to have their questions answered and their concerns addressed," Brubaker said.

By: MICHELLE REIFF Record Express Staff mreiff.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

A man arrested four years ago for videotaping young swimmers at a Lititz area pool was cited recently for similar activity across the country.

Florida resident Thomas Bartow, 38, was arrested by the Redlands Police Department in Redlands, Calif., Nov. 6 shortly after 2 p.m. He was alleged to be videotaping swimmers at a meet at Redlands High School, according to Carl Baker, Redlands Police Department public information officer. Bartow was detained by two off duty police officers from other departments.

Baker said that police confiscated the video tape, conferred with the deputy district attorney from the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office, cited Bartow for loitering on school grounds and released him.

"The deputy district attorney advised that because he had not approached anyone and had not done anything overtly sexual, he was cited for loitering on school grounds and released," said Baker.

A court date has not yet been set, noted Baker. The fine for loitering is $1,000, six months in jail or both.

"He had a ticket back to Florida the next day," said Baker.

By: MICHAEL C. UPTON Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Warwick School District Board of Directors unanimously passed a plan Tuesday offering early retirement incentives for full-time professional employees. The plan only effects those employees listed in the collective bargaining unit.

Recently, other districts in the county have offered early retirement incentive plans in order to create a savings to districts’ budgets. The Warwick early retirement incentive plan is only eligible to employees who opt to retire at the end of the 2011/12 school year who meet the criteria of combined years of service plus age to equal at least 70 as of June 30, 2012.

A minimum of 12 employees must submit letters of resignation for the plan to become active. If choosing to retire early, retirees will receive a cash bonus of $15,000 paid no later than Aug. 31, 2012, the ability to continue-at full premium cost to retiree-coverage in the district’s health care plan and any and all benefits specified in the current collective bargaining agreement.

In related news, the board approved the resignation of high school social studies teacher Curtis Morris effective Nov. 8.

Inside Both 2nd Friday and the Kid-Lit Festival had downtown Lititz buzzing with excitment all weekend. For pictures from both events, turn to page A14. Lancaster County leaders were excited to unveil a new regional holiday attraction, which is located nearby. For full details, please turn to the entertainment page on A15. Lititz area veterans were honored all over the area last Friday. For photos from the elementary schools, as well as VFW and Scout events and more, please turn to page A3.

Photo by Preston WhitcraftPhoto by Preston Whitcraft

Longtime Rothsville firefighter and Army veteran Edward N. Steffy was honored with a firefighter’s service at his funeral on Nov. 15 at Lititz United Methodist Church.

Steffy, a 71-year-old fire police officer with the Rothsville Volunteer Fire Company, passed away in the line of duty while at the scene of a Nov. 10 vehicle accident at East Newport and Rothsville roads, suffering what appears to have been a heart attack.

Fire Chief Sam Young and one of the people involved in the accident took turns performing CPR on Steffy until the ambulance arrived. Steffy was pronounced dead at the Ephrata Community Hospital.

Young was not available for additional comment due to service preparations, but he was quoted in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era earlier this week, saying, "(Steffy) was always willing to help people, and… well, he was a very nice gentleman. He was a good friend and will be missed."

Steffy served the Rothsville community as a member of the fire company for 49 years and worked as an emergency medical technician prior to joining the fire police. At one time he also served as the department’s assistant chief.

By: JOHN CRAWFORD Record Correspondent, Staff Writer

Warwick opened the ice hockey season with a dominating 8-3 win over Lampeter-Strasburg on Monday at the Lancaster Ice Rink. Mark Wiczkowski and Drew White picked up two goals and goalie Steven Jostes made 16 saves.

"One of the things we have been trying to work on this year has been to be more of a team," said Warwick’s new coach Gary Baylor. "They came out and worked really well as a team."

Stephen Crawford opened the team’s scoring when he converted the rebound of Kyle Joseph shot for the 1-0 lead with 3:01 into the game.

The goal allowed the Warriors to overcome the quick advantage in shots by the Pioneers but both teams spent the team skating in on the goalies. Jostes needed to stop seven shots in the first period including a save and a cover up after a turnover with 2:56 left in the period.

That save preserved the 1-0 lead and Wiczkowski extended it when he scored from Brogan Galbreath with 1:16 left.

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

It’s not unusual for a shot off the stick of Warwick senior Emily Harting to leave a lasting impression.

"Those hurt when you get hit in practice," senior teammate Kayla Laughman laughed. "Whew. Those are not fun."

With 11:22 remaining in Tuesday night’s PIAA State Triple-A playoff field hockey game against Mid-Penn powerhouse Central Dauphin, the only thing Harting hit with a wicked blast from the top of the circle was the back of the cage, giving the Lady Warriors a 3-1 lead.

And with that, Warwick officially put the Rams on their heels and never let them recover, as the Lady Warriors punched their ticket to the PIAA State Triple-A championship game with a 4-1 victory at Hershey High School.

"It doesn’t feel real," Warwick senior midfielder Alyssa Manley said.

"They’re bringing everything," Warwick coach Bob Derr remarked, "and when you’re talking a semi-final game, and you’re one game away from the State final, man, you’d better bring it. And they did. They put everything out there on the field and I am so proud of them and of what they’ve accomplished. But you know what, we’re not done. We’ve got one more game to go."

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

Photo by Preston Whitcraft
Manheim Central's Andrew Kauffman (center) hauls in a short pass from QB Caleb Walton (5) as Palmyra's Nick Slobozien pursues.Photo by Preston Whitcraft
Manheim Central's Andrew Kauffman (center) hauls in a short pass from QB Caleb Walton (5) as Palmyra's Nick Slobozien pursues.

The Philadelphia Eagles have their fourth-and-26 play.

You know, the one where Freddie Mitchell hauled in the improbable first-down pass in a 2004 playoff game against the Packers.

For Manheim Central, last Friday’s game might be best remembered for a fourth-and-1 which it was unable to convert.

With the Barons leading 17-14 and time winding down in the fourth quarter, Barons’ junior running back Justin Greene was stopped for a two-yard loss by Palmyra’s Jon Hicks, a University of Connecticut recruit.

The 13th-seeded Cougars took advantage when Matt Smoluk booted a game-tying 20-yard field goal with :34.8 remaining and then they stunned the fourth-seeded Barons 34-31 in triple overtime as the senior kicker nailed a game-ending 25-yard field goal in a District Three Triple-A first-round playoff game at Manheim’s Elden Rettew Field. It was Palmyra’s first-ever appearance in the District Three playoffs.

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

On average, Scott Yoder gets to about three or four Penn State football games per year.

And given that last Saturday’s game brought two nationally-ranked teams together — with the Nittany Lions hosting Nebraska in a huge Big 10 showdown — you would have figured Beaver Stadium to be a very noisy place under normal circumstances.

But circumstances were anything but normal in Happy Valley last week.

The university was rocked by allegations that former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had sexually abused eight boys, with the fallout costing icon Joe Paterno his job in his 46th season as the Lions’ head coach.

So with emotions still raw, the atmosphere was much more restrained than usual surrounding Nebraska’s 17-14 win over the Nittany Lions.

"I’ve been to a lot of games, but I would say it was pretty subdued," said Yoder, a graphics teacher at Warwick High School and a former defensive coordinator for the Warriors’ football team. "It just had a different feel to it. The place was loud, but I’ve heard it way louder than it was, put it that way."

Bruce Morgan

Record Express

Sports Editor To be honest, I never saw this one coming.

This Saturday, the Warwick field hockey team will be playing for the State Triple-A championship, and personally, I can’t wait.

But at this time last year, it was the furthest thing from my mind.

When Warwick fell in the first round of the District Three Triple-A playoffs for the second year in a row, dropping a 2-1 loss to Hershey, they just didn’t seem to be headed in the right direction.

They finished only 11-8 — very average for a Warwick team — and coach Bob Derr talked in his post-game comments about unfulfilled potential. He mentioned how he hoped the underclassmen could learn to play as a team, and that spoke volumes.

That’s what they took into the off-season, and apparently they got themselves on the same page. Over the course of this season, Derr has often alluded to team-building exercises and meetings which were conducted starting last December. A player or two has acknowledged to me that they had issues which had to be overcome.