Planning to ring in the new year without traveling too far? For info on what’s going on in Lititz, Manheim and Ephrata, check out this week’s entertainment page, A15. What feathered friends topped the 1941 bird count? Check out all the old news that’s good enough to reprint in this week’s Out of the Past. Page A9. Read about all the action at the holiday tournament. Page B1.

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

County officials were in Warwick Township last week to applaud the township’s model role in farmland preservation.

The discussion during the Dec. 21 supervisors meeting was about the Transferable Development Rights (or TDR) program, which has helped save 21 local farms and more than 1,300 acres over the last two decades.

The program transfers fees from new development in properly zoned areas of the township, such as the Route 501 corridor, to farmland preservation sites. Without it, the nine-generation Bomberger farm on Memorial Drive, which has been in the same family since the birth of George Washington, would struggle to continue.

County Commissioners such as Dennis Stuckey recognizes the value of such efforts, congratulating all who have made the program a success, and pointing out that the township has preserved agricultural production as a way of life. He referred to the nearly 140 million people living along the eastern seaboard which ag production from Warwick Township helps to feed.

Photo courtesy of Warwick School District
The new Warwick Board of School Directors are (from left) Matthew Knouse; Dr. Timothy Quinn, president; Scott Shaub; Debra Wenger; Darryl Miller; Todd Rucci; Nelson Peters; Millard Eppig, Jr.; and Michael Landis.Photo courtesy of Warwick School District
The new Warwick Board of School Directors are (from left) Matthew Knouse; Dr. Timothy Quinn, president; Scott Shaub; Debra Wenger; Darryl Miller; Todd Rucci; Nelson Peters; Millard Eppig, Jr.; and Michael Landis.

A recently reorganized Warwick School Board posed for the public during last week’s final meeting of 2011.

The officers for the board are:

Dr. Timothy Quinn, president; Todd Rucci, vice-president; Darryl Miller, treasurer; Jo Anne McClain, secretary (non-voting member).

A reorganization meeting held earlier this month opened with the swearing-in of newly elected members Scott Shaub, Nelson Peters and Matthew Knouse; and returning members Miller and Rucci.

Judge Dave Workman swore the members in due to McClain’s absence during that meeting.

On Dec. 20, the reorganized board met to conduct regular monthly business to go over committee reports and approve personnel changes.

By: MELISSA HUNNEFIELD Record Express Staff, Staff Writer

Photo by Dave Kutz
An aerial view of the 2011 construction at Linden Hall School for Girls.Photo by Dave Kutz
An aerial view of the 2011 construction at Linden Hall School for Girls.

At a time when schools nationwide are facing obstacles and downturns, Linden Hall is on the upswing.

Remarkable things are happening there — both among the students, and on the campus itself. Enrollment is at an all-time high and the school continues to average among the highest SAT scores in the United States.

In early June, bulldozers and cranes made their way onto Linden Hall’s campus and began their slow, painstaking work of making way for the new. Carefully and expertly, sections of the circa-1764 main building were separated from years and years of cumulative additions, all while maintaining the integrity of the original historic structure.

Each day, the expert crew literally sliced through walls and floors, advancing joist by joist, clearing the way for a blank canvas on which Linden Hall’s future will be built.

Lady Gaga sightings have been hot gossip around Lititz since the celebrity singer/songwriter was spotted at a few local restaurants and pubs, and in recent weeks the word is that she may be buying a home in the area.

CBS 21 News in Harrisburg recently reported that Gaga was spotted looking at a $1.7 million, 6,000 square foot Oak Hill Road home in the gated Bent Creek community in Manheim Township, an exclusive upscale neighborhood just a few miles west of Lititz.

On Tuesday, philly.com posed the question, Is the singer turning in her mic for a career in dairy farming?

No, the website claims:

"She wants to be closer to her beau, ‘Vampire Diaries’ actor Taylor Kinney, who hails from the fine city of Lancaster."

According to the Lancaster Sunday News, there are no court records, to date, of Lady Gaga purchasing real estate in the county. But Marilyn Berger, an agent with Prudential Homesale Services Group, said that although she is not working directly with Gaga, there has been talk of if and when the performer might decide to take action.

A huge vat of sauerkraut is a necessity. Lititz Church of the Brethren's Ken Hess gets it ready for the table.A huge vat of sauerkraut is a necessity. Lititz Church of the Brethren's Ken Hess gets it ready for the table.

In Lancaster County, the tradition of eating pork and sauerkraut to bring good luck in the new year reigns supreme.

Lititz Church of the Brethren will be facilitating the tradition by holding its 12th annual pork and sauerkraut buffet Jan. 1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — or until all the food is gone.

The pork and sauerkraut dinner was started in 1999 by Mark and Marty Hershey, Rodney and Carol Young, Gerry and Carol Kurl, and Ken and Joanne Hess. It has since become "the event" for Lititz on the first day of each year.

Attendees will enjoy one trip through the buffet line. The menu includes roast pork, hot dogs, real mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, homemade Courtland applesauce, rolls, dessert, and hot/cold beverages. Tickets are $10 for adults and $4 for children ages 3-11. Children under 3 eat for free.

Drive through take-outs will be available for purchase by entering the carport at the rear entrance to the church.

Miriam H. Ulrich, 87, of Pleasant View Retirement Community, formerly of Brickerville, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011.

Miriam was born in Penn Township on June 21, 1924. She was the daughter of the late William Greiner Grossman and the late Rosa Miller Habecker Grossman, and the wife of the late Leroy S. Ulrich.

Miriam was a member of the Brickerville United Lutheran Church. She was a homemaker and enjoyed cooking, baking and caring for her home and family. When her sons were grown she enjoyed a second career at Esbenshade’s Greenhouses from 1970 to 1994. She later worked at the Lititz Family Cupboard restaurant, where she enjoyed her daily interactions with friends and patrons. She traveled later in life and also enjoyed bowling and frequent excursions with the Leisure Hours and Rabbit Hillers groups.

Mim was a life-long gardener who never saw a blossom she didn’t like, or a weed she did. Born on the longest day of the year in 1924, her passing on the shortest day of this one is a fitting coda and a poetic arc to a life well lived.

Amy L. Ober, 53, of Manheim, passed away peacefully at home Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011.

Born in Lancaster, she was the daughter of the late A. Lincoln and Virginia Reider Sides. She was the wife of Edward C. "Ed" Ober and they celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary in June of this year.

Amy graduated from Manheim Central High School in 1977.

She was a member of Trinity Evangelical Congregational Church, Manheim, where she sang in the church choir. She enjoyed camping, traveling to the beach and she was active with Mothers of Barons.

Surviving in addition to her husband are three sons: Eric C., husband of Jayme Ober, of Lititz; Jeremy L. Ober, of Manheim; and Jonah C., husband of Suzanne Ober, of Harleysville; two granddaughters: Jayna and Ella; and two brothers: Joel C., husband of Alice Sides, and Alan L., husband of Janet Sides, both of Manheim.

She was preceded in death by a brother: Kerry L. Sides; and a sister: Lori Sides.

Her funeral service was held at the Buch Funeral Home, Manheim, on Dec. 28, with Pastor Jeffrey C. Schell officiating. Interment took place in Hernley Mennonite Cemetery, Rapho Township.

Lyle T. Lowry, 85, of Manheim, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011 at Pleasant View Retirement Community, Manheim.

Born in Springboro, he was the son of the late Mills N. and Doris Arlene Eddy Lowry. He was the husband of Elsie M. Barnes Lowry and they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in September of this year.

Lyle worked as a salesman at the former Kindt-Collins Company and Heinz Flask, Cleveland, Ohio. He also worked for 16 years at the Manheim Auto Auction. Lyle was a member of Grace Brethren Church of Manheim and he proudly served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Surviving in addition to his wife are a daughter: Connie M., wife of Brian M. Weidle, of Manheim; three grandsons: Joseph, husband of Breanne Weidle, Stephen Weidle, and Seth Weidle; and a brother: Robert M., husband of Charlene Lowry, of Surprise, Ariz.

He was preceded in death by a brother: Kenneth W. Lowry.

His funeral service was held at Pleasant View Retirement Community, Hoffer Auditorium, Manheim, on Dec. 23, with Pastors Jeffrey L. Dunkle and Lee R. Damon officiating. Interment took place in Chiques Brethren Cemetery, Rapho Township.

Allen L. Hess, 59, of Lititz, passed away Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, at Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center, Lititz.

Born in Reading, he was the son of Richard Terrey and Dorothy Beaver. He was married to Tara Boehmer of Lititz.

Allen worked as a security guard at various hospitals and was a wonderful father and husband.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughters: Mariah Hess and Madison Daubert, of Lititz.

To send online condolences, visit richardheiseyfuneralhome.com.