Construction on the Route 897 bridge over the Conestoga River south of Terre Hill Borough in East Earl Township began May 7.

On behalf of Governor Tom Corbett, PennDOT District 8 announced that March 6 preparatory work began on a project to repair the 48-year-old Route 897 bridge over the Conestoga River south of Terre Hill Borough in East Earl on May 7.

The $624,595 contract was awarded to Deblin, Inc., of Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, and includes rehabilitation work on two bridges in Lancaster County, Route 897 over Conestoga River in East Earl Township and Route 23 over Donegal Creek in East Donegal Township. Repairs under this construction contract are intended to help extend the service life of each bridge before it is necessary to replace the structure.

PennDOT advises travelers that May 6 they may encounter daytime lane restrictions with flaggers directing traffic through the work zone as crews install temporary traffic signals that will assist in alternating traffic through the work zone during the staged construction phases.

Starting May 7, crews will set concrete barrier that will restrict Route 897 traffic to a single lane around the clock for up to 82 days as temporary traffic signals help alternate traffic through the work zone while one half of the bridge is repaired at a time.

By:

ALICE HUMMER Review Correspondent

, Staff Writer

A local resident received an out-of-the area phone call from a male stating that a sister was in an auto accident and being held captive. The caller asked that $2,000 be wired to insure the sister’s safety. After hours on the telephone, the victim learned that the sister was safe at her home.

Police urge anyone who receives a similar phone call to contact the local police immediately. They can determine whether the call is authentic. Police advise against wiring money anywhere unless you know the person to whom the money is being sent.

"Spring is a time of higher scam incidents," said Police Chief George Beever. "We all need to be alert for these."

If you have questions or other information regarding a possible scam, please contact East Cocalico Police at 335-1725.

In other business, supervisors at the May 1 meeting agreed to an information gathering road tour tentatively set for May 17 from 8 a.m. to noon. A van will be rented and several township employees, such as the manager, roadmaster and zoning officer will accompany the supervisors.

By: ALICE HUMMER Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Citizens in East Cocalico Township who wonder if there is blasting going on somewhere near them might be hearing folks target shooting with exploding targets.

"They’re very popular," said resident, Donny Stover, who attended the April 17 township supervisors meeting. "People use them in their fields when they practice shooting."

Mark Hiester, East Cocalico Township manager, said one resident visited the township office to inquire about the booming sounds, thinking perhaps someone was blasting.

Township personnel are working diligently to prepare for the opening of the pool on Memorial Day weekend. Preparations included washing the pool, installing a chair to meet ADA requirements, clean-up of grounds inside the pool area, ordering of six new nine-foot diameter umbrellas, hiring pool personnel, and negotiating with an interested party for running the snack bar.

Pool hours are 12:30-8 p.m., except when there are swim meets. On selected Friday nights, the pool will remain open until 10 p.m.

The Roadmaster reported paving on North Muddy Creek Road will occur shortly. Overlay work is also slated for Adamstown Road from route 897 to the Adamstown Borough line, Pfautz Hill Road from route 272 to Stevens and on sections of Kurtz Road.

Residents can drop old, unused prescription drugs from the medicine cabinet April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at East Cocalico Police Station during Drug Take-Back Day.

East Cocalico Police Station, located at 100 Hill Road, has been a collection site for each of the four national drug take-back initiatives sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Two Hundred seventy six million tons of prescription medicines were collected and properly disposed following the fourth drug take-back day in 2012. Flushing unused prescription medicines down the commode has resulted in our nation’s water supply showing signs of contamination. Please do not dispose of medicines in this way.

If you have questions about the National Drug Take Back Day, please call the East Cocalico Police Department at 336-1725.

By: LUCY RICCOMINI Review Staff, Staff Writer

Students find themselves in a sticky situation with a Velcro wall featured at this year's post prom at Cocalico High School.

About 150 students attended this year’s post prom on April 20 at Cocalico High School for an evening of fun-filled activities and events.

Post prom, which has become an annual event for the school, is an alternative to heading home after prom. Kids stay overnight at the school for an after-hours party packed with activities in a safe environment.

"The post prom is meant to be a fun, safe event for the students to attend after the prom," said Heather Shanaman, head of the post prom committee. "Most kids aren’t quite ready to go home after the prom and we offer a great alternative."

The committee, along with volunteers, work throughout the year to prepare for post prom. In the past two years, the amount of volunteers has dwindled and Shanaman was fearful that they wouldn’t have the manpower to pull off the event for 2013. But with the help of parents, students and teachers, this year’s post prom served to be one of the most successful.

Join the staff of the Cocalico School District, in conjunction with the staff of the Cocalico Care Center, as they offer the final pre-k workshop of the year for parents who have children entering kindergarten.

The workshop is scheduled for April 25 at 6:30 at Denver Elementary School. This workshop will focus on getting incoming kindergarten students to begin writing, also known as "Kidwriting."

Both parents and incoming kindergarten students should attend. The first part of the evening will consist of a brief parent information session while the children are involved in a separate activity under the supervision of teachers. The second part of the evening will involve parents and their children working together. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide babysitting for siblings.

Please call 336-1505 or e-mail Janice Boyer at janice_boyer@cocalico.org to register for the workshop or to gain additional information. Please register at your earliest convenience prior to April 25 so that we can ensure that enough materials are available.

By: JAMES McGINNIS Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Adamstown officials voted to begin developing the town’s second park.

The borough council voted six to one to begin developing Celebration Park on a three-acre parcel of land off Route 272 near the borough’s west end. Although currently undeveloped, the park is already popular with residents from nearby subdivisions that straddle the border between the south side of the borough and East Cocalico Township, who often come for walks or to spend time with their pets.

The plans specifically call for the installation of two benches and planting of 10 trees in the park. Both the benches and trees are estimated to cost $2,000 each, for a total of $4,000.

Councilwoman Cindy Schweitzer dissented in her vote, stating that the borough should get more input from local residents before committing money to the project.

"We don’t know what they want," she said. "I’m not ready to commit money to this until we have more planning."

Councilman Ed Zander responded by saying that the borough had always planned to develop a park on the land.

"We are hoping that local clubs and businesses will help get it developed," he explained. "Now we will find out what the local people want."

By: ALICE HUMMER Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Photo from Sketch Mearig CollectionLititz Train Station and Broad Street carriage path to Lititz Springs Park, prior to Elmer Bobst-funded renovations. The station was demolished in 1957 as part of those renovations.

The $4,635,000 bond issue to expand the water system in East Cocalico is two-fold, explained Terry Reber, township authority administrator, at the authority’s April 11 meeting.

"Existing users with water will benefit since if one of our wells goes out, we could have a problem," said Reber. "Therefore 25 percent of the cost of the bonds will be borne by existing rate payers."

Water rates increased April 1 from $5.90 to $6.45 per 1,000 gallons. Sewer rates, which are based on water use, will remain at $12.10 per 1,000 gallons.

"The other 75 percent of the project cost will come from new system users," Reber said. "We need 600 new users over the next 20 years to make this work. We already have 465."

The 465 potential new users to which Reber refers are those people who purchased EDUs. Initially, the thought was that when 800 EDUs were reached, there would be a solid financial base for expansion.