Mary E. Stauffer

Mary Elizabeth (Steffy) Stauffer, 87, of New Holland, passed away Monday, May 16, 2011 at Lancaster General Hospital.

She was born in Gordonville, the daughter of the late George and Mary (Myers) Steffy. She is survived by her husband, Clarence Stauffer, of New Holland.

Mary was a member of Metzler Mennonite Church in Ephrata. She was an integral part of the family business, C.S. Stauffer and Sons Inc. She enjoyed camping, wrote poetry and was a 25-year member of TOPS. She was also an animal lover, who loved her dogs.

Mary is survived by four sons: Bruce Stauffer, husband of Joan (McFarland), of Akron; Clare Stauffer, husband of Peg (Brown), of Brownstown; C. Lavern Stauffer, husband of Loretta (Lapp), of Ephrata; and Mahlon Stauffer, husband of Linda (Kreider), of Paradise; 11 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held May 21 at Metzler Mennonite Church with Pastor Nevin Horning officiating. Interment followed in adjoining church cemetery.

Arrangements were made by Stradling Funeral Homes Inc., Akron/Ephrata. To send a condolence, visit stradlingfuneralhome.com.

K. Pauline Landis

K. Pauline Landis, 83, of Lititz, passed away Monday, May 16, 2011 at United Zion Retirement Community.

Pauline was born in Ephrata, a daughter of the late Harry G. and Anna (Sheaffer) Brubaker. She was the widow of the late John W. Landis, who passed in 1990.

Pauline was a housewife and resident of the Lititz area for 50 years.

She is survived by three daughters: Janet L., wife of Craig Werner, of Manchester; Nancy A., wife of Thomas Whitacre, of Lititz; and Shirley, wife of Jay Byers, of Manheim; four grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and a brother: Harry Brubaker, husband of Lois (Myers) Brubaker, of Ephrata.

Funeral services were held May 20 at Paul L. Gravenor Home For Funerals with Chaplain Ethan Livengood officiating. Interment was private.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Hospice of Lancaster County, P.O. Box 4125, Lancaster, PA 17604; or to United Zion Retirement Community, 722 Furnace Hills Pike, Lititz, PA 17543.

To offer condolences to the family, visit gravenorhomeforfunerals.com.

Susan A. Kirkpatrick

Susan A. Kirkpatrick, 57, of Ephrata, passed away Tuesday, May 17, 2011.

Susan was born in Lancaster, a daughter of the late Leo D. and Mary K. (McNeal) Clemmer. She was the wife of Jerry R. Kirkpatrick.

Susan was a member of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church in Ephrata and was employed in the office of MGS Trailers in Denver.

In addition to her husband she is survived by two daughters: Sheila N., wife of David J. Mendenhall, of Reamstown; and Marta A., wife of Brian J. Hummer, of Stevens; five grandchildren; three sisters: Kathleen Burnett, of Akron; Grace, wife of Lynn Ide, of Leesport; and Mary Anne K., wife of Glenn Miller, of Lancaster; and a number of nieces and nephews.

Funeral services were held May 21 at OMPH Church. Final commendation and farewell followed at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Memorial donations for breast cancer awareness may be directed to Lancaster General Health Foundation Bonchek Fund, P.O. Box 3555, Lancaster, PA 17604.

To offer condolences to the family, visit gravenorhomeforfunerals.com.

Eva S. Fox, 85, of Shippensburg, formerly of Denver, died Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at home.

She was born June 11, 1925 in Ephrata Township. She was a daughter of the late Aaron O. and Leah W. Sensenig Stauffer.

Eva was a member of the Meadow View Old Order Mennonite Church in Newville.

She is survived by five sons: Walter S. Fox, husband of Ella, of Penn Yan, N.Y.; Aaron S. Fox, husband of Joyce, of Savannah, N.Y.; John D. Fox, husband of LaVerne; Weaver S. Fox, husband of Florence; and Ervin S. Fox, husband of Sarah, all of Denver; six daughters: Elizabeth S., wife of John Zimmerman, of Clyde, N.Y.; Susan Ann, wife of Martin, of Wakurus, Ind.; Lydia S., wife of Ivan Shirk, of Shippensburg; Mary Ella, wife of Elvin Martin, of New Holland; Eva Jane Horst, of Penn Yan, N.Y.; and Verna S., wife of Ivan Nolt, of Owen, Wis.; one brother: Isaac Stauffer, husband of Linda, of Kansas; two stepsisters: Lois Mae, wife of Harvey G. Thiessen; and Mary Jane, wife of Charles F. Rutter, of Lancaster; one stepbrother: Alfred James, husband of Ruth Ann Stauffer, of Lititz; 71 grandchildren; 130 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Cocalico School District is accepting applications for its Pre-K Counts pre-school program. The program provides quality pre-school to 4-year-old children in the district.

Eligible children are those who will be four by Sept. 1, 2011 and whose household income falls within 250 percent of the poverty ranges. For a family of four, this would be an income of $55,875 or less per year.

Interested parents and guardians should apply now to have their child enrolled. District officials said that by doing so, they will be taking active steps to prepare their children for success in school. This program, officials said, has had a very high success rate and has received exceptional ratings from parents and program administrators at the state and local level.

Applications are also available at district elementary schools, the district office and on the website at cocalico.org. Questions can be directed to Ella Musser, director of curriculum and instruction, at 336-1403.

By: GARY P. KLINGER Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

A school budget without a tax increase moved a step closer to reality Monday night, as the Ephrata Area School District Board of Directors voted to approve its 2011-2012 Proposed Final Budget.

The $54,642,257 budget falls short on revenues with a projected total of $53,780,816. The difference will be made up through a combination of district-wide cost saving measures as well as through funds to be transferred from reserves. Passage of the measure came without fanfare or discussion. It passed unanimously as a line item on the board’s consent agenda.

The budget came at the directive of the school board early on to find a way to pass a budget that did not include tax increases. This was in large part to the on-going strain local taxpayers continue to experience due to the economic downturn. For the past several years, officials have been working to pare down costs, leading to the necessary savings to make this year’s budget a reality.

Todd Ruth

Ephrata Review Sports Editor It wasn’t quite on the level of Villanova-Georgetown, but last Wednesday’s upset of Hempfield in the L-L League Semifinals was indeed the biggest one in the history of the Ephrata boys lacrosse program.

Late Coach Mike Ream had to be looking down with a great big smile on his face.

Just last year, when Ream’s sudden death shocked not only the team but the entire community, this program could have gone north, or it could have gone south.

Had it gone the other way, who would have blamed them? Afterall, their leader and mentor was gone. That’s about impossible for any teenager to handle.

But that’s when I knew things would turn out fine for this team and program. The way they handled his death, going forward and winning the section as a tribute to Ream showed these guys literally were mature beyond their years.

Kevin Pletz and his staff deserve a great deal of credit. Thrust into head coaching duties, which is tough in itself because now all the decisions, paperwork, parent’s phone calls, suddenly were his responsibilities, this team didn’t skip a beat under the young coach.

A local student was recently featured in Lycoming College’s literary magazine, "Tributary." Ethan Sellers, of Denver, a junior English major, had his poetry work, "Such a Perfect Day" published.

"Tributary" features student writing and photography and gives creative writing majors the experience of performing hands-on editorial work. PennDOT Engineering, South Central PA Highway Safety and The Center for Traffic Safety recently announced that students from Cocalico High School were part of a winning team that competed in a regional safe driving competition.

The event involved up to three students from the high school, competing as individuals and as teams for scholarships and savings bonds. Timothy Sensenig and the Cocalico students beat out the other competition in its district.

By: JACQUELINE WATSON Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

At the April 11 meeting of the Clay Township board of supervisors, Ephrata School Resource Officer Pete Sheppard gave a presentation on the work he does and impact he has on the community.

According to Sheppard, some of his many duties include, but are not limited to, law enforcement officer, counselor/mentor, occasional teacher, working with a Youth Aid Panel, and being in charge of the crossing guard.

Concerning some of his work, Sheppard pointed out that he is able to

"(I am able to) get in with kids and show them a different side to a police officer," Sheppard said about his work.

Chief of Police, William Leighty stood to address the board on Sheppard’s behalf.

"He just scratched the surface as far as what he does," Leighty said. "He does far more – tremendous asset to law enforcement, to the schools and to the children."

Leighty also pointed out the fact that Sheppard has been helpful in locating runaways.

"I heard also, Pete, that the kids really respect you and are willing to talk to you -and the reputation of this program and the job you’re doing is very good," said secretary Keith Martin, adding positive statements to Sheppard. "I thank you for that."

By: MICHAEL C. UPTON Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

On New Year’s Eve, Alixe Ingoglia attended a fundraising benefit gala at Lily’s on Main for the Ephrata Performing Arts Center.

Beyond admission to the event, the non-profit theater group raffled chances to win airline tickets to anywhere in the United States and a luxurious dining experience with actor Jonathan Groff.

"I threw in a couple (raffle) tickets for the airline tickets, threw in a few for dinner with Jonathan; I thought what the heck," Ingoglia said.

Having other plans for the transition between 2010 and 2011, Ingoglia did not stick around to see who won either prize. She thought her odds were slim.

"They called me at like 11:40 on New Year’s Eve and they said, ‘Alixe you won dinner with Jonathan!’" Ingoglia recalled.

Ingoglia had previously met Groff while he was rooming in New York City with a mutual friend. In New York, Groff found national stardom while playing the male lead in the Tony Award-Winning musical "Spring Awakening." Ingoglia saw the show multiple times. Groff, who grew up in Lancaster County and attended Conestoga Valley School District, cut his acting teeth with EPAC. Early on, his performance in "Batboy" (2004) garnered regional acclaim. Most recently, Groff returned to the Fox Television hit "Glee," adding more preteens and teens to his fan base.