Inside Dan Vangeli won a first place award at the 2011 Lititz Outdoor Art Show. He’ll be at the Lititz library Jan. 31. Details on page A4. Cody Shoenberger won a silver medal at the Lancaster-Lebanon League Wrestling Tournament. Read all about it on page B1.

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

Various public safety concerns were a main topic of discussion Jan. 18 when Warwick Township supervisors held their evening meeting.

Supervisors were updated on the progress being made by the recently formed Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department, or NLCRPD. In a report submitted to the supervisors, Chief David Steffen noted that so far the transition into a regional force has been smooth sailing. Currently, the force is working through various transitional pieces, including standardizing health insurance and further development of standardized administrative functions. Previously, Steffen has explained that one goal of this phase of the new department is to use this standardization to help improve efficiency and reduce duplication of efforts.

Supervisors also discussed the upcoming countywide radio upgrade project. Plans call for all county police and fire to upgrade to the same radio system so that in the event of a major event, such as a flood or hurricane, efforts could be better coordinated.

Questions, however, continue to swirl with regard to the cost of the program. To date, the exact radio platform and system has not been determined. Without that information, it is next to impossible for local police and fire units to have some idea what the systems will cost, let alone secure any possible grant money which might help to defray the financial burden.

By: PATTI CORNELIUS Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Photo by Patti Cornelius
The timeline of the history of the three businesses involved with the renovation -- Clair Global, Tait Towers and Atomic Design -- along with three Elvis Presley-era microphones are among the decor highlights at the new Rock Lititz Penthouse.Photo by Patti Cornelius
The timeline of the history of the three businesses involved with the renovation -- Clair Global, Tait Towers and Atomic Design -- along with three Elvis Presley-era microphones are among the decor highlights at the new Rock Lititz Penthouse.

They came by the hundreds on a frigid, snow-covered Sunday afternoon with two championship football games on the tube. Those who were curious, and those who played a role in the renovation, were among the attendees during the two-hour General Sutter Rock Lititz Penthouse open house.

Over the past several months, Lititz-based businesses Clair Global, Tait Towers and Atomic Design were busy removing the Victorian charm of the inn and replacing it with the kind of edginess you would expect to find at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

By: BRUCE MORGAN AND STEPHEN SEEBER Record Express Staff, Staff Writer

Deron Thompson won’t ever forget the first time he met iconic Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.

"Me, a walk-on freshman coming in, it’s pre-season camp, I didn’t really know what to expect and here’s the most famous figure ever in college (football) history calling my name over to his golf cart," said the former Warwick star, a redshirt freshman running back with the Lions in 2011. "I mean, just that, I was stunned and just impressed."

Sunday’s death of the Nittany Lions legend is a sad end, in the mind of Thompson and many others, to a storied career that has had an immeasurable impact on countless student-athletes during his 46 years as the head coach in Happy Valley.

The Record Express talked to three locals this week who knew JoePa better than most — a current player, a former player and a former team manager. They all remember him as a larger-than-life leader and role model.

"I’m kinda thinking that our football family lost our father, essentially, and he definitely was a father figure to us, as somebody you could go and talk to about anything," said Graham Zug, a 2006 Manheim Central grad who lettered as a wide receiver at Penn State from 2008-10.

By: STEPHEN SEEBER Record Express Staff, Staff Writer

Photo by Stephen Seeber
The Lititz Springs Park Board has decided the Boy Scout Cabin, which has watched over the park since 1927, cannot be saved. Demolition is set for March 12.Photo by Stephen Seeber
The Lititz Springs Park Board has decided the Boy Scout Cabin, which has watched over the park since 1927, cannot be saved. Demolition is set for March 12.

"A very difficult decision has been reached by the Lititz Springs Park Board of Trustees," wrote Ron Reedy, park board president, in a Jan. 3 e-mail to the Record Express.

Last week, it was confirmed that the old Boy Scout cabin that has looked over the springs since 1927 would be demolished and replaced with a picnic pavilion.

The well known structure, which has been used solely for storage for several decades, is in such a state of disrepair that the board deemed it unsalvageable, or at least cost-prohibitive to do so.

For many years, local Scout troops held their meetings and ceremonies in the rustic post; and it even served as a locker room for the Warwick football team, and a changing room for Queen of Candles contestants during the Fourth of July.

By: STEPHEN SEEBER Record Express Staff, Staff Writer

Cpl. Eddie Lobley (right) tends to the gunshot wound of Staff Sgt. Gonzales in this battlefield photo from Afghanistan. Lobley, a 2006 Warwick grad, was awarded a Bronze Star with Valor for his actions.Cpl. Eddie Lobley (right) tends to the gunshot wound of Staff Sgt. Gonzales in this battlefield photo from Afghanistan. Lobley, a 2006 Warwick grad, was awarded a Bronze Star with Valor for his actions.

"It was the most fun I never want to have again."

That’s how Corporal Edgar H. Lobley III describes his service as a Marine in Afghanistan.

The 2006 Warwick grad, known to his friends as Eddie, returned to Lititz in November after four years of combat in a Middle East war that President Barack Obama recently ended.

Lobley’s time in a hostile foreign desert was nothing like his years spent playing high school lacrosse in Lititz. A little more than a year ago, he was pulling a wounded Marine to safety amid enemy fire.

"That’s me right there, and that’s Staff Sgt. Gonzales after he had been shot," he said, describing a photo taken during the attack. "This is after I dragged him out of the alley."

Edward W. Zercher Jr., of Lititz, died at the Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center, Lititz, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 after a brief illness.

Before he retired, Ed was an executive for the former Sico Company in Mt. Joy. He was a member of the Columbia United Methodist Church, where earlier in his life he was their superintendent of the Sunday school. He was also a member of the Masonic Lodge in Elizabethtown, Harrisburg and Lancaster. Ed was a kind and gentle man and volunteered his services in many capacities.

Ed was adored by his family. Surviving are his wife: Audrey; his son: Edward, husband of Barbara Rowits Zercher; his grandson: E. Ryan; sisters: J. Lane, of Lancaster; and Marcy, wife of Wayne Hershey, of Columbia; his brother: John, husband of Sandy Dinkle, of Columbia; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his sister: Amy, wife of Ned Moser, of Texas; and his brother: Cleon, of Mt. Joy.

There will be a private family gathering service and burial with the Rev. Jeffrey A. Snyder officiating. There will be a Memorial Service at the Moravian Manor, 300 W. Lemon St., Lititz, where he resided. It will be held in Steinman Hall on Jan. 26 at 10:30 a.m.

Muriel Lee Shetromph, 77, wife of the late Jack R. Shetromph, passed away Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 at the Landis Valley Retirement Community.

She was born Oct. 16, 1934, in Lancaster to the late Florence and William Lockwood.

She graduated in 1952 from Roxbury High School, Succasunna, N.J. She graduated as a registered nurse from St. Joseph’s School of Nursing, Lancaster, in 1955 and Millersville University with a bachelor’s degree in school nursing and worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital emergency room before having children. From there, she worked at Ephrata Senior High School as a school nurse for 20 years before retiring. She belonged to the Lancaster County School Nurse’s Association when she was working, Friends of the Lancaster County Library, Fulton Opera House Guild, Library System Book Review Group, Iris Club and the Red Hatter’s Women’s Group. She was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lancaster. She loved to read and travel and enjoyed boating with her husband.

She is survived by a son: John R., husband of Jenny Frey Shetromph; a daughter: Carol Ann, wife of Dwight Smith; two granddaughters: Natalie and Emily Shetromph; two brothers: C. Russell, husband of Eloise Fehr Lockwood, of Arlington Heights, Ill.; and Richard C., husband of Beverly Spence Lockwood, of Richmond, Va.

Betty L. Root, 81, formerly of Manheim, died peacefully surrounded by her family Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 at the Mt. Hope Nazarene Retirement Community, Manheim.

Born in Manheim, she was the daughter of the late Harry and Elsie Moyer Sides.

Betty worked for Datcon Instrument Company East Petersburg. She was a member of Trinity Evangelical Congregational Church Manheim. Her interests included: crocheting, visiting Raystown Lake and spending time with her family.

Surviving are two daughters: Sharon L. wife of Ronald H. Shank; and Connie G., wife of Larry Fetter, all of Manheim; three sons: Dennis R., husband of Cheryl Tracy Waughtel, and Randy L., husband of Gin Lee Waughtel, all of Lancaster; and John K. Jr., husband of Jenny Freed Root, of Manheim; ten grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and a sister: Arlene Steffy, of Lancaster.

Preceding her in death are a son: William D. Waughtel; a granddaughter: Carman Kreider; a son-in-law: Rick Kreider; two brothers: Victor and Lincoln Sides; and a sister: Mildred Graybeal.

Her memorial service was held at the Buch Funeral Home, Manheim, on Jan. 22. Interment was private and at the convenience of the family in Hernley Mennonite Cemetery, Rapho Township.

Luke K. Peters, 80, of Manheim, went home to be with his Lord Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 at Hospice of Lancaster County Mount Joy.

Born in Rapho Township, he was the son of the late Willis R. and Alice Kready Peters.

Luke worked for Longenecker’s Hatchery Inc., Elizabethtown; previously he was employed for the former Musser’s Hatchery in Mount Joy. He was the loving husband of Lois Brubaker Peters and they would have observed their 58th wedding anniversary in February of this year. Luke was a very faithful, active and committed member of Manheim Mennonite Church and helped operate the sound system and many projects at the church. He had a passion for vegetable gardening and growing fruit trees and had an expert knowledge of gardening. Luke operated a 13-acre hobby farm in Rapho Township; he also volunteered as a 4-H Leader working with youth in vegetable gardening and raising strawberries. His interests included: making cider, butchering, barbecue chicken and talking to people.