Households within the Ephrata Area School District will begin receiving census forms by the end of March. Accurate census data will help the District make enrollment projections and prepare for future trends. Data will also provide valuable information to help the District reach out to families with preschool children about early childhood education workshops and tips to encourage early literacy.

Complete and return this census by early April. Contact the Ephrata Area School District Business Office at 721-1513 with questions.

By: GARY P. KLINGER Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Significant improvements are about to be made to the area of town surrounding the historic train station.

That’s the good news.

But what may be viewed as even better news to local taxpayers is the project to renovate the area will be at no cost to the Borough of Ephrata.

In the first measure, council reviewed PennDOT’s Concurrence to Award Notice for the Railroad Station Plaza Project. This authorizes additional grant funds for a total of $302,541 for the Railroad Station Plaza Project Bid, since the bids came in over budget. The contract for the work was awarded to the qualified low bidder Flyway Excavating Inc. of Lititz for $302,541 subject to receiving an executed Concurrence to Award Notice from PennDOT. This measure was passed at the March 5 working session of council in order to expedite the project.

In the second measure, council awarded a contract to the low bidder Bertolet Construction Corp. of Wernersville for $72,231 subject to receiving an executed Concurrence to Award Notice from PennDOT and notification of additional funding which was also passed at the March 5 session.

By: STEVE CZETLI Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Those passing by the front of the Denver Wholesale Foods building on Mohler Church Road in Ephrata can see that construction is in full swing for the $2 million expansion project. The architect's rendering of the plans can be seen on page A10. (Photo by Steve Czetli)

Denver Wholesale Foods, a division of Denver Cold Storage, the major regional supplier to discount food stores in the region such as Sharp Shopper, expects to complete a $2 million renovation to its Ephrata facility by June.

The expansion will speed delivery of product to its customers and expand its product line, according to Mose Stoltfus, owner of Cold Storage and a partner in Wholesale Foods.

The primary change will be in capacity, variety of products available and faster delivery times, said Stoltfus, who credited the expansion to company growth. Five or six employees will be hired to staff the larger facility.

"We will be looking for lift truck operators, a supervisor and order pickers," Stoltfus said.

By: STEVE CZETLI Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Those passing by the front of the Denver Wholesale Foods building on Mohler Church Road in Ephrata can see that construction is in full swing for the $2 million expansion project. The architect's rendering of the plans can be seen on page A10. (Photo by Steve Czetli)

Denver Wholesale Foods, a division of Denver Cold Storage, the major regional supplier to discount food stores in the region such as Sharp Shopper, expects to complete a $2 million renovation to its Ephrata facility by June.

The expansion will speed delivery of product to its customers and expand its product line, according to Mose Stoltfus, owner of Cold Storage and a partner in Wholesale Foods.

The primary change will be in capacity, variety of products available and faster delivery times, said Stoltfus, who credited the expansion to company growth. Five or six employees will be hired to staff the larger facility.

"We will be looking for lift truck operators, a supervisor and order pickers," Stoltfus said.

The Trustees of the Cocalico Education Foundation recently announced the grant recipients for the 2011-2012 school year. Nearly $24,400 was received from donations made by area businesses as part of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC).

The following businesses donated funds for programs aimed at producing more engaged youth through cultural experiences, the arts, and literacy activities: Ephrata National Bank, Fulton Bank, M.A. Brightbill Body Works Inc., Roseboro Stradling Funeral and Cremation Services Inc. and Waste Management.

Eight grants of $1,000 or more and seven grants of less than $1,000 were awarded for this school year. The grant titles, grant amount, recipients and brief objectives of the programs/activities are as follows:

? Author Visit – Herman Parish ($2,905); Beth Haldeman, principal, and Tracy Sims, first grade teacher at Reamstown Elementary School; introduce students to the writing and editing process by renowned author of Amelia Bedelia books.

? Environmental Garden Project ($600); Debra Raudenbush, English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at Reamstown Elementary School; provide students the opportunity to create and maintain two natural garden areas and to study the characteristics and changes that a garden habitat undergoes throughout all of the seasons of the year.

Even after 400 hogs were rescued, it is believed that several hundred more died during a Monday night barn blaze in West Cocalico Township.

As previously published in the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era, Reinholds Fire Chief Kent Reich stated that fire crews were called to the farm owned by Lebanon-based Hibred Corporation at 8:50 a.m. after an employee discovered a fire in a mechanical room that links two 50-by-200-foot barns.

Reich said when he arrived, fire and heavy smoke were visible in the western ends of both structures. It took crews four hours to get the fire under control as employees worked to remove the hogs.

The fire chief said that firefighters cut holes in the roof of the metal structures to try to get ahead of the aggressive flames. The fire traveled the length of the barns through an attic space, feeding off the barns’ wooden trusses. It was difficult for the firefighters to control the blaze.

The estimated damage is $1 million. Reich said it is likely that the barns will be torn down even though they were not leveled by the fire.

There are several more workshops scheduled for pre-kindergarten students and their parents throughout the Cocalico School District. The content of these workshops will be the same at each school, and the children will have the exciting opportunity to visit the kindergarten classrooms.

Pre-kindergarten students and their parents are encouraged to visit the school the child will attend. The locations and dates are as follows: Adamstown Elementary School — March 26, workshops at 5 or 6 p.m. and classroom open from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.; Reamstown Elementary School — March 28, workshop will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and classrooms open; and Denver Elementary School — March 29, 6 p.m. and open.

The workshops provide parents with an opportunity to spend some fun quality time with their children working through centers, meeting other incoming kindergarteners and their parents and learning about activities that can make the transition to school easier for everyone.

Call 336-1403 to register.

Good News! Since a sufficient number of volunteers came to the Feb. 29 meeting, Reamstown Days will be held again this year on Sept. 7 and 8 in Reamstown Memorial Park.

To help plan Reamstown Days, come to the next meeting on March 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Reamstown Community Center, 23 East Church Street in Reamstown. More volunteers are still needed to make this event a success.

Because of an outstanding performance at last year’s event, the nationally known band, Rick K. and the Allnighters, will be back again this year. This year’s Reamstown Days will include many of the activities from last year and some new ones.

The funds raised by Reamstown Days help support the Reamstown Park. For additional details or to volunteer to help, call Minerva at 627-1716 or Ken at 336-5520 or send an e-mail to ken@reamstowndays.org.

Good News! Since a sufficient number of volunteers came to the Feb. 29 meeting, Reamstown Days will be held again this year on Sept. 7 and 8 in Reamstown Memorial Park.

To help plan Reamstown Days, come to the next meeting on March 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Reamstown Community Center, 23 East Church Street in Reamstown. More volunteers are still needed to make this event a success.

Because of an outstanding performance at last year’s event, the nationally known band, Rick K. and the Allnighters, will be back again this year. This year’s Reamstown Days will include many of the activities from last year and some new ones.

The funds raised by Reamstown Days help support the Reamstown Park. For additional details or to volunteer to help, call Minerva at 627-1716 or Ken at 336-5520 or send an e-mail to ken@reamstowndays.org.

Cocalico High School FBLA members recently qualified for the state conference when they competed regionally. Shown are (first row, left to right) Mitchell Shober, Zach Rissler and Brock Gosling; (second row, l-r) Mitch Stauffer, Katie Trupe, John Waskowicz, Layne Gable, Shawn Miller, Janelle High, Mike Micozzi and Himayapsill Batista; (third row, l-r) Ed Puodziunas, Spencer Moser, Jhett Janis, Mitch Deering and Solomon Thorpe. Missing from photo is Brooke Stafford. (Photo by Preston Whitcraft)

Several members of the Cocalico Chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) recently competed at the Region 18 Leadership Conference held at the Lancaster Campus of HACC.

The following placed in the top three of their particular events and have now qualified to attend the Pennsylvania FBLA State Leadership Conference, which will be held in Hershey in April. These Cocalico FBLA members include: Brock Gosling, Zach Rissler and Mitchell Shober (Entrepreneurship); Mitch Deering, Jhett Janis and Spencer Moser (Emerging Business Issues); Layne Gable, Janelle High and Brooke Stafford (Banking and Financial Systems); Shawn Miller (Accounting); Ed Puodziunas (Business Calculations); John Waskowicz (Business Math); Himayapsill Batista (business Procedures); Solomon Thorpe (Introduction to Business); Katie Trupe (Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure); Mitch Stauffer (Introduction to Technology Concepts); and Mike Micozzi (Sports Management).