Bailey Hehnly and her great-aunt Brenda Murphy enjoy farm market apples. This winning photo was taken by Amber Nicole.

Amber Nicole is the winner of this month’s It’s All About You photo contest. Her fall photo of apple taste-testing at Reiff’s farm market caught the collective eye of the Review judges. Congratulations, Amber!

Check out all the fall tradition photos submitted by readers, on pages B5 and B6 in this week’s Review.

In the meantime, we are now collecting photos for our December pages. The theme is Holiday Traditions.

Send your high-resolution jpegs to Andy Fasnacht at afasnacht.eph@LNPnews.com. Photos can also be dropped off at our Ephrata office or mailed to P.O. Box 527, Ephrata, PA 17522.

When submitting photos, please include all necessary identifications and your contact information (in case we have any questions). Submitted information should include names of those in the photos, your local connection, where and when the photos were taken, and identity of the photographer.

Please limit submissions to three photos per family.

By: JAMES McGINNIS Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Akron officials do not anticipate raising taxes.

Councilman Terry Reber announced at the borough meeting earlier this month that the preliminary draft of the borough’s 2013 budget includes $2,419,842 in revenue and expenditures. Taxes are expected to remain at their current rates due to an increase in revenue from the earned income tax.

"The good news is that there are no tax increases or rate hikes in the new budget," Reber said. "We initially didn’t know what the earned income tax revenue would be, but we now have a figure of $20,000 that will be added to the budget.

The final draft of the budget is expected to be passed in December.

Controversy over a recent decision by the borough’s zoning hearing board dominated the discussion at the meeting.

A group of about 17 residents attended the meeting to voice objections to a decision by the zoning hearing board in October to allow a resident who lives at 118 Front St. to construct an addition to his home, which would be located on an adjacent property at 111 Front St.

By: SARA MILLER Review Staff, Staff Writer

Rambo, the Jacob sheep, recently left the green pastures of Stonecroft Manor, 235 Yummerdall Road (east of Brickerville), for his new home at the Philadelphia Zoo.

It’s an adjustment moving miles away from the only home you’ve ever known.

Rambo, a Jacob ram, can relate. He has been adapting to his new environment, since leaving his familiar farmette in Clay Township a few weeks ago for the Philadelphia Zoo, which he now calls home.

"I felt sorry for him at first," said breeder Susan Martin, who lives on the 10-acre Stonecroft Manor near Brickerville with her husband Richard. Together, they have been breeding Jacob sheep for 17 years.

Drawn to the breed’s striking physical appearance and hardiness, the Martins had purchased their first Jacob ewe from the Rockefeller farm in New York.

Susan described the ideal land conditions that Rambo, his friends, family and predecessors — along with a few chickens — freely roamed and grazed on since birth.

But, of Rambo’s departure, she said the zoo staff has been a pleasure to work with, and, "(Rambo)’s never lived in a cleaner area."

By: JACQUELINE WATSON Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Clay Township is not planning to raise taxes in 2013. During preliminary approval of the new budget earlier this month, supervisors will keep the real estate millage rate at 1.3, meaning properties assessed at $100,000 will pay $130 in taxes.

Total expenditures anticipated in 2013 amount to $1,779,713 and total revenue is expected to be $1,685,487. The $94,226 shortfall will be covered with budgeted reserves, according to Bruce Leisey, township manager.

Despite the era of tight municipal budgets, the township will not cut its donations to local fire companies. The status of annual contributions was part of the ongoing budget discussion. Beneficiaries on the table include fire companies and the Ephrata Public Library.

In addition to the usual donation made to Durlach Mount Airy Fire Company, Clay Township is helping to fund the fire company’s newly purchased fire engine. The board agreed to assist with the cost previously, but had not specified an amount. They have since decided to give an extra $8,000 each year for the next five years. This will cover approximately 10 percent of the total cost of the fire engine, which is estimated at $400,000.

By: GARY P. KLINGER Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Principals in the Ephrata Area School District presented their grade level goals to the school board last week.

In the Ephrata district, elementary schools cover grades kindergarten through fourth. For this grouping, principals have outlined plans pertaining to reading, namely that all students leaving fourth grade will be reading at their grade level as determined by GRADE (Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation) and PSSA.

To achieve this goal, the schools plan to implement common core standards for each month in each classroom. This will include creating integrated lesson plans and analyzing the Houghton Mifflin reading series to promote higher order thinking skills. Plans are underway to implement new technology as part of the strategy, using iPads and a program called Fast ForWord.

Elementary principals plan on holding individual meetings with teachers to monitor and discuss performance against district benchmark data on reading, in addition to other subjects. And student progress will be tracked using multiple assessment measures.

Harvest Fellowship Church will present "They’re NOT Expecting YOU," a play of two Biblical characters who visit a modern day family, at their upcoming Christmas program.

The event is slated for Dec. 8 at 7 p.m at the church, located at the crossroads of Rte. 272 and Church St. in Reamstown.

The children of the congregation will also perform a skit entitles "You’re On The Air," and will sing a medley of Christmas songs. The program will close with the Harvest Singers performing to a slide presentation.

The public is invited to this free program. To learn more, visit harvestpa.com.

Photos courtesy of Terri ArmWill Mobley, Dakota Johnson-Ortiz and Ethan Duda advanced to the 1st Class Rank.

The Ephrata National Bank recently contributed $8,000 to the Cocalico Education Foundation (CEF) as part of The Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program. Mr. Aaron L. Groff Jr., chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of the Ephrata National Bank, visited Denver Elementary School Nov. 6 and presented the check to Mrs. Angela Marley, CEF trustee, and students who have benefited from the donation.

A few of the programs at the school receiving grant funds from Ephrata National Bank and other corporations include the VanGo Museum on Wheels, Exploring and Investigating Fairy Tales, Historical-Based Literature Units and The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley. The Cocalico Education Foundation offers its sincere thanks to the Ephrata National Bank for supporting the students of the Cocalico School District.

By: STEVE CZETLI Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

The Cocalico School Board learned that emergency drills pay off.

During the Nov. 19 board meeting, high school principal Chris Irvine reported on a disaster drill held at the school by the East Cocalico Township Police Department and other emergency personnel, which ultimately fine-tuned tactical approaches to protecting students and faculty.

Among the lessons learned was that police did not have keys permitting access once the school was locked down. Police now have keys.

Other aspects of the 90-minute drill involved blocking roads and protecting the school from intruders. Student volunteers simulated victims and the drill rehearsed three different scenarios. Irvine said school personnel benefited, as well as emergency personnel.

In other school board business, the Cocalico School District had its books for the year (ending July 30) reviewed in executive session by auditors Trout, Ebersole and Groff. The district received an "unqualified opinion," which is the highest rating.

Superintendent Dr. Bruce Sensenig and the board as a whole credited business manager Sherri Stull and her staff for their accurate record-keeping. Treasurer John Lorah thanked the auditor for "good advice" throughout the year.