The Reinholds VFW will hold a free community Christmas party on Dec. 18 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. All children up to 12 years old are invited to attend.

Santa will be on hand to take special requests and pictures will be taken. Plenty of food, fun and activities will be offered. For more information, call 336-9918.

The VFW is located on Brunnersgrove Road.

By: ALICE HUMMER Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Residents may purchase bricks that pave a Pathway of Honor to service men and women in front of the Schoeneck Veterans Memorial, dedicated in May at its new location.Residents may purchase bricks that pave a Pathway of Honor to service men and women in front of the Schoeneck Veterans Memorial, dedicated in May at its new location.

The beautiful, refurbished and relocated Schoeneck Area Veterans Memorial at the community park entrance depicts the huge personal cost for the freedom we enjoy.

The Schoeneck Veterans Memorial Association (SVMA) desires to put the finishing touches on this fitting memorial to our veterans. Built with no state funding, this $70,000 memorial was talked about for years with the SVMA committee and took shape after committee member Bob Getz was named manager.

Directly in front of the memorial is a brick Pathway of Honor. While many people have dedicated bricks to service men and women, family members, friends, community groups, our great country and for other reasons, opportunities exist for purchase of the remaining available bricks.

Bricks come in two sizes: 4-by-8 inches and 8-by-8 inches. Engraving prices depend on the number of lines a person desires engraved, with prices starting at $50.

Local residents are invited to officially begin the holiday season with two tree lighting ceremonies.

The Borough of Denver will sponsor the 2011 holiday tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 4 starting at 4:30 p.m. at the municipal building. The annual ceremony is a community event designed to bring the residents of the borough together to celebrate the holiday season. The festivities include the official lighting of the holiday tree by Ms. Denver Fair, Aubrey Robitzer, the singing of holiday carols and the arrival of Santa Claus.

Free refreshments including hot dogs, oranges, cookies, hot cocoa and drinks will be provided for all participants.

Also on Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. Adamstown will celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season by lighting the 45-foot tree in the grove.

This family event include a will free gift when visiting Santa. A brass ensemble from Cocalico Community Chapel will be playing Christmas carols and a live nativity will be performed by the local churches. Free coffee, hot chocolate and cookies will be provided. Food will be available for purchase.

By: KIMBERLY MARSELAS Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Cocalico School District completed its 2010-2011 audit with an "excellent" report, according to public auditors who spoke at last week’s board meeting.

CPAs Jill Gilbert and Don Johnson of Lancaster-based Trout, Ebersole & Groff reported that the district’s books were in order without any findings that would require correction. The district earned an "unqualified opinion," the highest possible rating, for the second straight year.

Superintendent Bruce Sensenig said after the Nov. 21 meeting that the clean audits prove the district is operating in a "fiscally sound" manner.

At the same meeting, the board accepted bids for carpeting, furnishings, classroom equipment and electronic support for a mobile computer lab for the new wing at Denver Elementary School. The project is expected to be completed soon, with a projected move-in date sometime in January. Sensenig said the bids met the costs initially included in the overall budget for the expansion work.

The board also approved new contracts with Power School Web Hosting, the company that provides the district’s student information system; the Pennsylvania Trust, which provides actuarial services; and a part-time special educator to develop and write individual education plans for students with special needs. The district also renewed farm leases on its three tillable plots.

By: KIMBERLY MARSELAS Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Denver Borough officials continue to tweak their 2012 budget, though changes discussed Monday night will not affect a previous decision to hike property taxes.

In October, council approved a proposed budget that included a .25 mill real estate tax increase. The increase was in large part due to falling earned income tax revenues, which were again adjusted this week.

This year, the borough expected $355,000 in payments from the county’s tax collection bureau. But that number was projected to drop to $328,000 in 2012 because the county will disburse funding on a different timeline. At Monday’s meeting, borough Manager Mike Hession said his latest estimate is that 2012 earned income receipts will fall even lower to $310,755.

Council also conditionally approved an additional $61,000 in road work in the borough, which will be funded by a transfer from the borough’s general fund reserves. A major repaving job on Franklin Street between Fourth Street and the Burkholder farm had been budgeted at $88,000. But a new engineer’s proposal put the actual price tag at $149,376.

By: MILAN VRACARICH JR. Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

"Where we got hurt this year — and where all municipalities are being hurt this year — is in our earned income tax," said Terry Reber, the vice president and finance committee chairperson, at the Akron Borough Council meeting on Nov. 14.

The borough recently received calculations for its 2012 earned income tax. Akron has been told to only expect $317,000 in 2012, a decrease of nearly $30,000. Real estate transfer taxes were budgeted at $45,000 in 2011. In 2012, the budget is only $30,000 because homes are not selling in the present economy.

"When you put all of that together, it’s just a little more than the borough can absorb without any kind of rate increase or millage increase," explained Reber.

The general fund has a proposed increase of a half mill. Akron borough has a current tax rate of two mills, making it one of the lowest taxed borough in Lancaster County. According to Reber, the average borough rate in Lancaster County is nearly 6.4 mills. The new proposed rate of 2.5 mills is still significantly lower than the rest of the county and will help the borough generate enough income to cover all of its expenses.

The

Ephrata

Review The

Ephrata

Review Santa will be available to greet children in the Fun-est Toy Store Ever! Mondays through Fridays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Dec. 23. He will shift to the Hill Top Inn from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 3 for the Lunch With Santa event.

The holiday weekend was a tragic one for those in the Ephrata area after two local men lost their lives in separate vehicle accidents.

The first crash occurred at 2:40 a.m. Thanksgiving day when Jeremiah L. Bowman, 32, of Ephrata, was killed in a one-vehicle accident in the ninth block of Hahnstown Road, Ephrata Township.

According to the Ephrata Borough Police Department, Bowman’s vehicle was engulfed in flames upon the arrival of emergency services. After the fire was extinguished, a body, later identified as Bowman, was found in the driver’s seat.

Police reports say initial investigation revealed that the vehicle, a tan Chevrolet minivan, left the roadway, traveled through a yard and struck a tree.

The Ephrata Borough Police Department was assisted at the scene by Ephrata Ambulance, Pioneer Fire Company, Akron Fire Department, Ephrata Medic 4 and local fire police officers. Hahnstown Road was closed for over three hours while the accident was investigated.

Investigation of the accident continues. Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to contact police at 738-9200.

By: ROCHELLE A. SHENK Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Dr. Scott Jackson of Crossroads Family Medical Center in Brownstown (center) makes an annual visit to Haiti to share medical skills and this year help start a school.Dr. Scott Jackson of Crossroads Family Medical Center in Brownstown (center) makes an annual visit to Haiti to share medical skills and this year help start a school.

Dr. Scott Jackson is passionate about his career in medicine. He not only practices family medicine at Crossroads Family Medical Center in Brownstown, but for the past 14 years he’s also shared his medical skills with people in emerging nations through short-term medical missions.

His wife, Karen, and his family have been part of the medical missions. Their first mission was to Haiti, and they’ve made an annual visit to Haiti every since.

“Family friends and fellow DOVE Christian Fellowship Church members, Tim and Barb Aument, were doing mission work in Haiti, and invited us to visit. There was a real need for medical care, and we provided care during the time we were there,” he said.

Titus Weidman Trupe of Canton, formerly of Lancaster, died Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011.

Born in Akron in 1922, he was the son of the late Carrie and Elton Earl Trupe.

Until he retired in 2003, Titus was employed 25 years by the Wilmac Corporation where he served as executive director of Lancashire Terrace Retirement Village. Prior to that he held the position of manager of nursing home operations. He had also worked for 25 years for the Westinghouse Corporation of Horseheads, N.Y., holding various positions including manager of manufacturing in the electronic tube division.

He was graduated from Ephrata High School and in 1948 from Muhlenberg College. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he served in Europe where he received a battle star for performance in the Battle of the Bulge. A 32nd degree Mason of Ephrata Lodge, Titus had been affiliated with Lancaster Lodge of Perfection. He officiated as board of the Lancaster Kiwanis Club, of which he was a member for 25 years. In his youth he was a member of the Akron Lutheran Church and later the Presbyterian Church where his activities included youth director and deacon. Titus served as a member of the Board of Education in Horseheads, N.Y. Other interests included golf and bridge.