In partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) the East Cocalico Township Police Department will participate in the nationwide prescription drug Take-Back initiative that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and promote the proper disposal of medications. On April 30, police will be collecting potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Gehman Feed Mill in Denver. The service is free and anonymous. Prescription and over-the-counter dosage medications will be accepted. The initiative addresses a vital public safety and environmental health issue. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away both potential safety and environmental hazards. There’s a misconception that just because something is prescribed it s not dangerous, but it can be, East Cocalico Township Sgt. Raymond Burns said. What people don’t realize is that many people, especially kids, will use whatever they can to get high. If the option is there, they ll find a way.

Abigail Basom scored a pair of second-half goals Tuesday night to lift host Lancaster Mennonite to a 3-1 victory over Cocalico in girls soccer action. Mennonite led 1-0 at the half on a first-half goal by Trish Tshudy before Basom made it 2-0 early in the second half. Ashley Zemeski scored off an assist from Kathleen Lawver 12 minutes later to cut the Cocalico deficit to 2-1, but Basom added a big insurance tally just eight minutes later. Mennonite out-shot Cocalico, 13-8, while both teams had three corners each. Kristen Boyer saved 10 in goal for the Lady Eagles. The Ephrata girls also were slated to be in action Tuesday at home vs. Hempfield but that match was postponed until Tuesday, April 26. In addition to Tuesday s contest, Cocalico split a pair of games late last week. Saturday in Denver, Lawver scored a hat trick to lead the Lady Eagles past visiting Annville-Cleona, 3-1, in a Section Three-Four crossover game. Lawver tallied twice in the first eight minutes and again early in the second half to give Cocalico a commanding 3-0 advantage. Shannon Hoeveler later added an insurance tally eight minutes into the second half before Tawny Matz added the final tally on a penalty shot with about a minute to play. Hoeveler, Brittany Simmons and Brooke Burkholder all added assists for Cocalico, which outshot the Dutchwomen by a 14-4 margin. Last Thursday at home, visiting Garden Spot handed the Lady Eagles a tough 3-2 loss as Catherine Farmer s second-half tally proved to be the difference for the Spartans. Hoeveler and Lawver scored the two goals for the Lady Eagles, who held a 9-7 advantage in shots. Ephrata, meanwhile, earned a pair of wins last week in league play. Thursday at Solanco, Ephrata tallied six times in the second half to break open a 2-0 lead and cruise to an 8-0 victory over the Mares. Jamie Elliot and Alyssa Newswanger both scored a pair of goals to pace Ephrata. Maddie Walmer, Jordan Crills, Brandi Weaver and Brittany Labrecque also tallied for Ephrata, which held a 17-2 advantage in shots. Olivia Pfautz saved two shots en route to earning the shutout win in goal. Friday afternoon in Lancaster, the Lady Mounts struck once in each half to earn a 2-0 shutout win over host McCaskey. Walmer put the Lady Mounts on the board with a goal in the 14th minute before Laura Miller added a big insurance tally in the second half. Pfautz saved two to earn the win in goal. More GIRLS SOCCER, page B-5

Annual Easter Egg hunts by the Ephrata and Akron Lions Clubs are set for Saturday, April 23. The traditional Ephrata Lions hunt is planned for Tom Grater Park at 1 p.m. Children aged 1 to 10 are invited to participate and prizes will be awarded in each of four age groups. The Akron Lions Club event, in Loyd Roland Park, also starts at 1 p.m. and is for children from walking to age 12. All participants will receive a chocolate bunny.

When a person lives or works in the same space for many years, sometimes it takes another person’s perspective to see maintenance issues that have been neglected. The police department building is 22 to 23 years old and it needs some refurbishing, Doug Mackley, East Cocalico supervisor chairman explained during his report at the April 6 supervisors meeting. Each quarter Mackley meets with the police department. Recently he took a tour of the complete facility, looking at it like the average citizen might do. With the proposed new police department building on hold, Mackley reported, it s time to look at replacing stained ceiling tiles, and consider paint and carpet. The carpet is not in good shape.

The department works with citizens on a Youth Aid Panel, other people stop to ask questions and many Scout and student groups request tours. Space is at a premium due increased population and staff growth. Evidence rooms are getting full because evidence is required to be retained for 75 years. The police station has not had a regular rotation schedule for routine upgrades. It s time, Mackley said. In other business, Township Manager, Mark Hiester, reported a figure of $504,000 for the probable cost estimate of the Stoney Pointe Recreation Area.

Adamstown Elementary reading specialist Emily Jacobs (right) guides fifth grade students through the process of donating books to those in need. (Photos by Karen Shuey)

Hundreds of students at Adamstown Elementary are trying to make life better for other children they have never met one book at a time. As part of a reading incentive program at the school, students sent boxes of books to organizations near and far serving underprivileged children. To be eligible to participate, students were encouraged to complete a certain amount of reading each evening for four weeks. If they met the challenge, they would be rewarded with a book which they could give to children in need. Adamstown’s reading specialists Emily Jacobs and Missy Keck said they were pleased with the amount of students willing to take the challenge. "We had 215 students decide to do this, which goes along with our school mission this year to build character through education, Jacobs said. The parent/teacher organization at Adamstown helped to cover the cost of the books. The students, who signed the book chosen by them, had the opportunity to it to Harvest Blessing Center in Kenya, the Water Street Rescue Mission pre-school program or to Water Street Rescue Mission Women’s Ministry. Fifth grade student Emily Carpenter said she felt donating a book was more rewarding than getting some sort of prize for herself. "It makes me feel good to know that I m helping other people be able to read, she said. Der Moua agreed. "Sometimes other kids don’t have anything to read and we do, so we need to remember them, she said.

An early glimpse at the preliminary budget for the Ephrata Area School District s 2011-12 school year calls for no tax increase, with the millage remaining at 19.02. However, as budget concerns at the state and federal level continue to have a significant negative impact on local school districts statewide, official say chances are quite high this will be the only year in the next several without a tax increase. At Monday night s meeting of the school board, members were presented with the first look at the budget which calls for $54,542,257 in expenditures against $53,780,816 in revenue. For the coming year, the $861,441 shortfall will be made up from reserves set aside from the general fund. By tapping into district reserves, the district was able to construct a zero increase budget without having to increase taxes. This was in keeping with the board s challenge to the administration in light of the on-going economic challenges. Board President Timothy Stayer congratulated the administration for a job well done, not only in creating the proposed budget but in taking numerous steps over the course of the past several years, anticipating challenges which only now are beginning to have a huge impact on school budgets state-wide. Ephrata Area School District Superintendent Dr. Gerald Rosati indicated this 2011-12 budget represents a major policy shift. What we are seeing, said Rosati is a major shift in the burden of funding education with the local schools feeling more of the funding burden.

The Ephrata boys volleyball team suffered just its second league loss of the season Tuesday night at home as visiting Penn Manor defeated the Mounts 3-2 in five hard-fought games. After splitting the first four games (17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 21-25), the Comets prevailed in the tiebreaker with a 15-12 win. Dylan Weber had 16 kills and a block to pace the Comets. Ephrata got a huge match out of Chris Prosser, who finished with 13 kills and three aces. David Witmer chipped in with six blocks for the Mounts, who fell to 5-2. In addition to Tuesday, Ephrata also was in action last Thursday when the Mounts posted a 3-0 victory over Cedar Crest. In a hotly-contested match, the Mount prevailed in three tight games by scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-20. Prosser collected a team-high eight kills and two aces while Witmer contributed seven blocks. Matt Bartow also had two aces for the winners. Cocalico, meanwhile, picked up its first victory of the season Tuesday night with a 3-1 win over Lebanon. after dropping the first game (23-25), the Eagles rallied to take the next three games (25-15, 25-13, 25-21) to clinch the win. Senior Josh Williams had a big evening at the net for Cocalico, registering a match-high 13 kills. Luke Parson added three aces and three blocks in the victory.

The Lancaster Chapter of PIAA Basketball Officials honored Cocalico senior Kayla Weaver with one of the four 2011 scholar-athlete awards during their annual banquet on April 11. The scholarship award is funded through the Tim Bartholomew Memorial Shootout Tournament held each spring. This year s tournament will feature 42 schools and will be held on May 20 and 21 in various gyms in Ephrata. The award rewards young men and women for the way they conduct themselves on and off the basketball court, explained scholarship committeeman John Weinhold. Each coach is asked to nominate a deserving senior from their squad who meets criteria such as having a 3.0 GPA, exhibiting good sportsmanship on and off the court and an intention to continue their education beyond high school.

"My Coach Rich Koller (told) me about the award and that I qualified and he nominated me, recalled Weaver. After the initial screening, Weaver needed to submit a short essay on basketball s influence on her life. I talked about my relationship with the team, how (basketball) wasn’t just a game, she said. Obviously, you have to love it but I think of it more as a building character and it got me out of my comfort zone.

Todd Ruth Ephrata Review Sports Editor My buddy Nevin is a man with a plan. Go to any sporting event with him and he always has everything covered to a strategic T – how fast it takes to get there, when to leave to beat the traffic, where to park, etc. He’s like a human GPS, only slightly larger and with a manlier voice. Anyway, he’s been telling me about his secret place to park at Phillies games for a few years now. He swears by it. You park there, you can watch the final out, walk to your car, and beat the traffic out no matter how big the crowd is, he’d say. Well, this past Sunday, I finally found out the location of this great spot when my son and I joined Nevin and our buddy Preston for a trip to the ballpark. And I got to tell you, it s pretty impressive. He did leave out a few details, however. Part of the strategy to getting out quickly is leaving our seats in the bottom of the eighth and watching the rest of the game by the exit near the left field foul pole (remember, Nevin always has a plan of attack). This is where he told me that as soon as the final out is made, we are not going to run to the car but we’re going to be aggressive…