The Denver Fair committee is hosting its annual Kauffman chicken barbecue July 20 to help raise money for the fair.

Pick-up sites for dinners are at Donnie’s Turkey Hill on Main Street in Denver, Eagle Rental at 1327 North Reading Road, Green Lawn Garage in Denver and the Denver Park. Half a chicken costs $5. The barbecue begins at 9 a.m. until it’s sold out.

In addition, support the Fair’s fundraising efforts and bring a Redner’s receipts or Moo Caps to donate.

For more information, call John at 336-0342 or visit thedenverfair.com.

Emily Mixell of Reinholds recently participated in Lycoming College will host its annual Senior Art Show Mixell is majoring in art with a concentration in commercial design.

Andrew Trefny, Denver, son of Paul and Terry Trefny and a 2010 graduate of Cocalico High School. A regional planning major, he presented "Storm Water Runoff Trends: A Study Employing Green Space Initiatives to Analyze the Decline of Non-point Source Pollutants in Philadelphia."

Emily Mixel, Reinholds, was honored at Lycoming College’s annual leadership and service awards banquet. Lycoming College recognized co-curricular student achievement on campus during its seventh annual Leadership and Service Awards Banquet on April 10.

Gerard and Joan Dopler of Greenview Drive, Denver, will have their garden featured during the Garden Tour June 23. (Photo by Preston Whitcraft)

The Friends of the Adamstown Area Library will host a Green Thumb Garden Tour June 23.

The tour begins at Adamstown Area Library at 3000 N. Reading Rd. and includes six gardens in the Adamstown area. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m.

Tickets for the tour are $10 in advance and $12 on the day of the tour.

For more information, call 336-5301 or visit friendsaalibrary.net.

By:

LUCY RICCOMINI Review Staff

, Staff Writer

Cocalico’s original tax hike was whittled down since proposed in March and a 3.88 percent increase was passed along with the budget at the June 17 meeting.

For residents, that means an increase of about $60.81 a year in school taxes.

The board’s largest decrease to bring down the hike was on the payroll segment of the budget, which went from 3.01 to 2.45 percent.

"In 2010, we had 256 teachers now we have 234 and we lost other support roles along the way. We cut back in those payrolls year after year," explained Superintendent Bruce Sensenig. "And when you have a reduction in payroll you have a reduction in required benefits."

Sensenig offered reasons for the forced increase, citing state cuts, reassessment of properties and low funding for programs and special education.

"I don’t want to point fingers," explained Sensenig. "I’m just trying to explain legitimate reasons why it’s hard to hold the line on the budget. It’s getting to the point where you can’t cut back anymore and keep running the program."

The New Holland Summer Arts Programs will kick off June 29 with the Summer Arts and Crafts Show.

The show will be held at the New Holland Community Park from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Over 60 vendors will feature items such as jewelry, wooden crafts, dishcloths, afghans, blankets, prayer pillows, banners, towels, clothing baby items, concrete lawn ornaments, bird feeders, wind chimes, pottery, gourds, baskets and more. Some of the newer items include machine quilted table runners, tote bags, foot stools, decorative soaps and stained glass.

Lickety Split will be providing the refreshments for the summer programs. The menu will vary and will include their famous ice cream desserts.

The summer music programs take place June 30 to Aug. 11 on Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. The programs include some of the annual favorites and a few new programs. In the event of inclement weather, the programs will be held at Liberty Fire Hall on Main Street in New Holland. The final activity for the summer will be the Fiddlers’ Picnic which is held all day Labor Day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is free to the public.

By:

LUCY RICCOMINI Review Staff

, Staff Writer

Pictured is Kylee Sowel, mother and survivor, with her daughter Caydence.

You couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful evening.

Forty six Norlanco Relay for Life teams took to the track at the Cocalico High School June 14 and 15 for its annual Relay For Life. Brightly colored shirts decorated the track as participants of all ages showed their support and love for those fighting the disease and to raise money and awareness to end the fight against cancer.

Ryan and Christina Williams have walked with the team Envision No Cancer for the past few years. They missed last year due to the arrival of their daughter, Samantha, who turned one on Thursday. This year, she was showing her support from a harness on her mom’s back.

"My mom is the team captain and she is a survivor," said Ryan of why they participate in the Relay. "Grandparents we lost, and there are other family members that have been fighting or are in the middle of a fight."

With nearly 400,000 Pennsylvania students set to lose an average of $956 if Congress doesn’t act to prevent a significant rate hike on student loans, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), called on Congress to come together to prevent the rate hike. If Congress doesn’t act, interest rates on federally subsidized student loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent July 1.

"Congress needs to come together in a bipartisan fashion to prevent this significant rate hike on student loans before July 1," Casey said. "Doubling the rate for federally subsidized college loans would be bad for students and families and could have a serious impact on the economy. With the cost of higher education rising, it’s important that Congress take steps to prevent this rate hike. I’m hopeful that Democrats and Republicans can reach consensus on this issue."

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 cut the fixed interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduate students to 3.4 percent over a set period of time, but the interest rates on any new subsidized Stafford loans will double to 6.8 percent on July 1 unless Congress takes action. The rate increase would not apply to loans that are currently in repayment or that have already been disbursed, but students still attending or entering school after July 1 that need to take out federally-subsidized Stafford loans would pay higher rates on new loans, adding even more to their existing debt load.

Recently on FaceBook, a friend posted that it was Saturday and he needed something to do with his two girls, ages six and 12 years old. It needed to be "fun, cheap and local." That got me thinking about what there was to do in our area that fit the bill. If you ask any kid in town they will surely tell you what a complete drudge their town is. It doesn’t matter where that might be because as we all know, whatever town we grow up in it is surely the most boringest town in the universe.

But wait, there’s more. There really is a lot to do in our little town. In fact, did you know that the borough of Ephrata has the largest park system, per capita, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania? Of course you might know about Tom Grater Park that is home to the Eicher Museum and Arts Center, as well as the community pool, the Ephrata American Legion, Tarrymore Tennis Club and the Ephrata Performing Arts Center at the Sharadin-Bigler Theater. But according to the Ephrata Borough website there is also:

After

Further

Review

Andy Fasnacht

Editor

A lot of times we really are clueless as human beings.

This human being in particular.

I spent a good portion of last Thursday worrying about how the weather could send Ephrata’s commencement exercises indoors. Not only was I stressing just who was going to be getting my other ticket needed to watch the indoor ceremony in person (two for me, two for Morgan’s mother), I was also lamenting the other things that are lost in these situations such as instrumental music, the ability for the community and extended family to attend and overall mood and aesthetics.

Even after the official announcement came down around 4 p.m., I just couldn’t let it go. Here’s me, the "know what you can control and what you can’t and live with it" kind of guy the other 364 days of the year, still whining about something that is now a reality. After years and years of watching and covering other people’s commencement exercises, I just couldn’t get past the fact that my first one with a child involved was going indoors.