Helen M. Fuller, 104, a resident of Garden Spot Village in New Holland, formerly of Ephrata, passed away Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011.

She was the widow of the late George W. Fuller who passed away in 1970. Born in Loysville, Helen was the daughter of the late Russell T. and Huldah (Baker) Book.

She was a homemaker and a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Ephrata. She enjoyed gardening.

Surviving are two children: Betty M. Smith, of New Holland; and Robert E. Fuller, husband of Geraldine Fuller, of Lancaster; three grandchildren; seven great- grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren.

Helen’s family wishes to thank the staffs of Garden Spot Village, Hospice of Lancaster County and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church for all the loving care given to their mother.

Funeral services will be held at the convenience of the family and are under the care of Paul L. Gravenor Home For Funerals, Ephrata.

Donations in Helen’s memory may be made to Hospice of Lancaster County, P.O. Box 4125, Lancaster, PA 17604-4125 or to the Garden Spot Village Benevolent Fund by contacting Linda Dodge at 355-6215.

To offer condolences, visit gravenorhomeforfunerals.com.

Dolores Faye (Hornberger) Sweigart, 58, of Reinholds, passed away at her residence Friday, Aug. 19, 2011.

Born in Ephrata, she was the daughter of the late Robert and E. Loraine (Wenrich) Hornberger and was the wife of Brad Sweigart.

Dolores had worked as the manager of the Reinholds VFW where she was also a member of the ladies auxiliary. She enjoyed doing yard work.

In addition to her husband, Dolores is survived by her daughter: Wendy Lee, wife of Stephen Boner, of Hebron, Ky.; three grandchildren: Dakota, Alexis and Braden; and two brothers: Dennis Hornberger, of Lebanon; and Daryl, husband of Dianne Hornberger, of Denver.

She was preceded in death by a sister: Diane Hoover.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Aug. 25 at the Roseboro Stradling Funeral Home, 533 Walnut St., Denver, with the Rev. Dr. B.W. Hambrick officiating. Burial will take place in the Pleasant View Cemetery.

Memorial contributions in Dolores’s memory may be made to American Cancer Society, Lancaster County Unit, 314 Good Drive, Lancaster, PA 17603 or to Hospice of Lancaster County P.O. Box 4125 Lancaster, PA 17604.

Kristee Reichard recently joined the Ephrata Area School District staff as the Business Manager. She will replace Jean Hornberger, who is retiring in September.

Mrs. Reichard was previously the Business Manager for Manheim Central School District. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at State University of New York Stony Brook.

By: MILAN VRACARICH JR. Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

The Borough of Akron is in need of five new transducers for monitoring its water wells. To aid the Akron Council in making an informed decision, Jeff Bologa of Becker Engineering LLC advised the council at an Aug. 8 meeting of its options.

The decision reached that night by the council was which size transducer it would purchase, between a diameter of .72 inch or .88 inch — a seemingly tiny difference until one views the price between the two sets of transducers. The smaller diameter set would cost the borough approximately $9,000 and the larger set would cost less than $5,000. According to Bologa there is no difference in quality between the two.

The debate was whether or not the larger transducers would fit inside the wells and reach an adequate depth. However, there is no guarantee that either transducer will fit inside all of the wells without dismantling the well pumps. The larger transducer was chosen because the pumps may have to be pulled regardless of transducer size and the money saved up front could be used for a contractor to remedy the situation.

By: ANGELA KEITH Review Staff akeith.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

A number of local businesses have experienced burglaries in the past two weeks, and police suspect they may be connected.

"In Ephrata Borough in recent weeks we’ve had two pizza shop burglaries, but they were similar in their commission with several other burglaries of small locally owned restaurants," said Lt. Chris McKimm from the Ephrata Police Department.

Restaurants that have been broken into include Little Nicki’s Pizza and J.D.’s Pazzo Pizza in Ephrata, Pepe’s Pizza in Clay Township and La Borimex Restaurant in New Holland. Subway, Alure Spa-Lon and Treasure Nook, all shops in the Sharp Shopper Plaza in Clay Township, were also burglarized recently. The glass in the front doors of many of the shops and restaurants were smashed in, and the burglar(s) stole cash from several of the sites.

"We’re very concerned about these burglaries," Lt. McKimm said. "We’ve taken some proactive measures by visiting what we’ve determined to be possible targets and asking them to take certain actions to prevent burglaries from occurring." One such preventative measure is for business owners to refrain from keeping money in their stores overnight and to announce this fact by putting up signs. Police will also post night patrols at businesses they believe to be at risk.

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

Months after processing a request for rezoning the future site of multiple apartment buildings, Akron Borough Council discovered new information which could alter the course of progress for the developers.

In an executive session of council which followed the regular meeting Aug. 8, members met to discuss apparent problems and a potential matter of litigation for Latitude 17, who recently made a request for special exception and variances from the zoning hearing board for a property neighboring the rail trail in Ephrata, according to solicitor Kenelm Shirk.

The developer submitted plans this past winter to construct two apartment buildings on a 2.6-acre piece of land at 103-109 Fulton Street in Ephrata, adjacent to the rail trail. There are two houses currently on the property, one of which is going to remain. On July 11, council approved the rezoning of the property from R2 to R3, making it a higher density.

When council reviewed the plans for special exceptions and variances prior to going to the zoning board, they felt they were "stabbed in the back," according to Shirk. Latitude 17 included in the property a portion of the rail trail, owned not by the developers but by Akron Borough, in what Shirk feels was an attempt to take the borough’s public trail.

The Ephrata Farmers Day Association/Ephrata Fair will be holding a volunteer meeting on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. for the 93rd Ephrata Fair, which is coming to town Sept. 20 through 24. This time-honored tradition has been a staple of the community and is recognized as the largest street fair in Pennsylvania.

The volunteer meeting will take place at the Ephrata Farmers Day Association office located at 19 S. State St. The meeting is open to anyone interested in volunteering some time at the Ephrata Fair, which would not be successful without the incredible support and contributions of volunteers.

This year the fair has a tremendous need for volunteers in every department. There is especially a need for exhibit watchers for short shifts during the week at various exhibit buildings. Volunteers are urged to donate whatever time they can. Fair Directors and the department chairman will be on hand at the meeting to answer any questions. Refreshments will be provided.

Those who wish to help but cannot attend the volunteer meeting should e-mail the office at fair@ephratafair.org or call 733-4451. Additional information about the Ephrata Fair can be found online at ephratafair.org or on Facebook.

Gladys Sheaffer Norton, 107, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011 at her home in Mt. Gretna.

Gladys was born in Hegins on Oct. 12, 1903. Gladys was the youngest and 14th child of Frank and Louvine Shade Willier. Gladys and her Mother moved to Ephrata, after the death of Frank.

Upon graduation from Ephrata High School, she married a classmate, Wilbur Hanford Sheaffer. After approximately 30 years of marriage, Wilbur was killed in an auto accident. Gladys was active in the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution. She was also a charter member of Ephrata Woman’s Club. Other memberships included: Cloister 406 Eastern Star, hospital auxiliary, Girl Scouts and Sunday school teacher. Some of her interests were classical music and playing bridge.

Gladys had two children; Carol Ann, wife of Dr. James Mather; and Ray W. Sheaffer, husband of Dorothy Baringer Sheaffer; six grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements will be held at the convenience of the family. More NORTON, page A16

By: TODD RUTH & ANDY FASNACHT Review Staff, Staff Writer

While they wait to use their new turf field, members of the EHS field hockey team made use of the track Monday during the first day of practice. (Photo by Stan Hall)While they wait to use their new turf field, members of the EHS field hockey team made use of the track Monday during the first day of practice. (Photo by Stan Hall)

Ongoing issues with inspections has led to a delay in the use of Ephrata’s new artificial turf Mountaineer Field.

Anxious Ephrata High School field hockey and soccer players gathered for the opening of practice Monday but were forced to find alternative sites as the district still has not received a stamp of approval from Ephrata Borough to use the field, which is located at the Ephrata Middle School complex off Academy Drive.

Stephanie Gingrich, director of community relations, said the delay has occurred because "the electrical contractor did not have inspections completed."

According to Gingrich, "all electrical and pole evaluations are now completed along with the scoreboard evaluation. The district administration is awaiting the official report on the evaluations from Ephrata Borough."

By: KIMBERLY MARSELAS Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Special educators and other teachers in the Cocalico School District have a new tool that should help students with customized learning plans.

At a board meeting Monday night, Director of Special Services Mary Rinehart outlined a new software program that helps teachers write, organize and track Individual Education Plans, or IEPs. The plans are specifically tailored to help students in need of special education services, but they are often cumbersome to complete.

Paperwork "is a huge, huge part of what we do," said Rinehart. "If we can make this be a smarter part and be more efficient, that just means teachers can spend more time with students."

The program automates some data-entry that is repeated in IEPs, which sometimes run to more than 40 pages. The information will be immediately accessible to teachers who have special education students in their mainstream classrooms, allowing them to make accommodations such as reading aloud test questions or giving extra time for assignments.