Pictured (left to right) are Bradley Auker, Timothy Crouse, and Evan Hinkley in front of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Adamstown, the troop's sponsor. (Photo courtesy of Bob Hinkley)

The leaders of Adamstown Boy Scout Troop 61 are proud to report that three scouts earned their Eagle rank, the highest in boy scouting in 2012.

Bradley Auker, 18, is the son of Brian and Cheryl Auker of Denver. He is a senior at Cocalico High School where he is a member of the National Honor Society. His Eagle project was the planning, fundraising, and building of a large playground behind Weaverland Mennonite Church on Route 897 south of Terre Hill. While a scout, Brad served as senior patrol leader and assistant senior patrol leader. He participated in many troop activities including summer camp at Bashore Scout Reservation, winter camping near Hamburg, and a backpacking trip to Philmont High Adventure Base near Cimarron, New Mexico. After graduation, Brad plans to attend college and major in secondary education.

By: JAMES McGINNIS Review Corespondent, Staff Writer

Officials in Adamstown want Penn DOT to keep Route 272 open in the event it decides to replace two bridges on the road in the borough in the near future.

Councilman Randy Good voiced concern at the March 5 borough meeting that Penn DOT may decide to close the bridges if or when it decides to replace them. Although Penn DOT does not plan to replace the two bridges, which cross Muddy Creek near the borough’s east end, anytime this year, Good noted that they are in poor condition and will likely need to be fixed in the next few years.

Good also pointed out that Penn DOT has recently repaired or replaced several bridges on Route 272 further south, in West Cocalico and Ephrata townships Work on the bridge across the Norfolk Southern Railroad lines north of Ephrata was completed earlier this year and traffic is currently limited to one lane on a bridge across Cocalico Creek near Reamstown.

Penn DOT also plans to demolish the bridge spanning the abandoned Reading Railroad corridor between Akron and Ephrata later this spring. That bridge will be replaced with a concrete tunnel for the new rail trail that will be built from Parkview Heights Road to Main Street in Akron this summer and will eventually extend to Warwick Township.

Catherine Mae Youndt

Catherine Mae Youndt passed away peacefully at home March 16, 2013, at age 93. Catherine’s life was deeply rooted in Lancaster County. She grew up as Catherine Good, on the Bowmansville farm that had been in her family since the early 1700s. In the tradition of her day, she attended a two-room schoolhouse until eighth grade and worked on the farm alongside her parents, Peter S. and Carrie M. (Redcay) Good, three brothers and two sisters.

Prior to World War II, she left the farm to work at a local silk factory and stayed on to produce silk parachutes for our airborne forces, but she never strayed far from home. In 1947 she married Robert Youndt of Fivepointville. Their wedding photo, still hanging over her bed, shows a strikingly handsome couple. For the next 57 years, until his death in 2004, they were inseparable.

By: LUCY RICCOMINI Review Staff, Staff Writer

On March 15, Cocalico Middle School hosted its first-ever Mini-THON to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund.

And some teachers lost their hair and eyebrows as a result.

It was a small price to pay when they saw their kiddos lift the final number at the end of the event, which over doubled their initial goal of $10,000.

Teachers, students, friends and families gathered in the school for an evening of activities and events to benefit those who suffer from cancer. It’s a disease that hits close to home for students and staff at Cocalico Middle School. One of their own, Hunter Leisey, is fighting Leukemia. Leisey, a student at the middle school, raised the most money for Mini-THON. Though he was unable to attend due to treatments he was receiving at Hershey Medical Center, he was able to raise $1,200.

Cocalico Middle School students formed an advisory program called CREW (Creating Respect in Everyone’s World) and selected a Mini-THON as its school-wide community fundraiser. Led by school counselor Stacey L. Sola, the students set a goal of $10,000. If they reached that goal, German teacher Mr. Scott Pasternacki would shave his head. English teacher Mrs. Kelly Shewmake agreed to shave her eyebrows if the students raised $25,000.

The Denver Women’s Club will hold their meeting on March 19 at Faith United Lutheran Church at 7 p.m.

The program will feature Michael Showalter, historian at the Ephrata Cloister. Showalter will speak on the Pennsylvania German Easter customs as it relates to the many customs that are a part of our Easter celebration.

Devotions will be led by Mary Stewart; table display by Linda Shelly; Hospitality by Gladys Eckenroad, Ann Roseboro and Melissa Voler and Hostesses Angela Stewart and Melissa Voler. The featured food ingredient is peanut butter. Donna Sensenig will "share a moment" about her needlework.

For more information, call 336-3121.

Pictured are students in Mr. Shawn Hershey's classroom utilizing iPads during mathematic instruction. The iPads were awarded to Mr. Hershey through a CEF grant in 2011-12 for the purpose of enhancing, learning and improving student achievement.

The Cocalico Education Foundation (CEF), an organization supporting high-quality education for Cocalico students, is hosting a community yard sale fundraiser on the Denver Elementary School parking lot on Saturday, April 13.

Anyone wishing to host a stand can reserve space by completing an application and mailing it, along with the rental fee of $10 to Denver Elementary School, ATTN: Sharon Myers, 700 South 4th Street, Denver, PA 17517 or dropping it off at the Denver Elementary School office. Applications can be picked up in any of Cocalico’s school offices or can be found on the Foundation’s website. Completed applications are due by March 13. Stand space is equal to two parking spaces.

All proceeds from the reservation of yard sale space will directly support the efforts of the Cocalico Education Foundation. The organization provides funding for classroom grants, student scholarships, and outreach programs such as the Family Fund, which provides financial assistance to those in the Cocalico community who have been affected by current economic hardships. Help support the Cocalico Education Foundation by becoming a part of this year’s spring yard sale.

By: LUCY RICCOMINI Review Staff, Staff Writer

Pictured are members of the organization of Momentum!, a faith-based leg to Aevidum.

Real Youth Ministry will host a dinner at Weaver’s Banquet Facility on March 21 and feature Joe Vulopas of Aevidum as its keynote speaker.

Real Youth Ministry is an organization dedicated to helping at-risk youth in Cocalico. Rod Redcay, founder of the organization has made it his mission to work with area organizations, community leaders, parents and businesses to make a difference in the lives of at-risk youth. Redcay recently teamed up with Vulopas to form the group Momentum!, a faith-based group dedicated to helping its peers.

"The students worked with Joe Vulopas and myself to develop this group which is a faith-based leg to Aevidum," said Redcay.

The members of Momentum! recently challenged their classmates at Cocalico to perform random acts of kindness to one another. They posted responses the students had on a bulletin board in the cafeteria.

Redcay’s goal is to take Momentum! into other school districts who already have the Aevidum club, giving students ample support when they feel they need it.

If you live in the Cocalico School District and have a child entering kindergarten in the fall of 2013, join the staff of the Cocalico School District for March pre-k workshops.

In order to allow incoming kindergarten students to become more comfortable with the elementary schools that they will be attending, each Cocalico elementary school will be offering a workshop focused on learning letters and sounds. During this workshop, children and parents will have the opportunity to work through centers focused on learning letters and sounds in addition to having the chance to tour the kindergarten classrooms and meet the school’s current kindergarten teachers.

The workshops are planned for the following dates: March 25 at 5:30 p.m. at Adamstown Elementary School; March 26 at 6 p.m. at Denver Elementary School; and March 27 at 6 p.m. at Reamstown Elementary School. Each workshop will be the same, so children should attend the workshop at the school he or she will be attending in the fall.

Both parents and incoming kindergarten students should attend. Unfortunately, the school is unable to provide babysitting for siblings.

By: ALICE HUMMER Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

East Cocalico Township’s software is essentially unsupported, explained technology consultant, Rick Fischer, at East Cocalico Supervisors meeting on March 6.

"Why now?" asked supervisor Noelle Fortna. "We didn’t budget for this expense (this year.)"

"We’re at risk," explained Fischer. "We either do it now or risk doing it under adverse conditions."

Township manager, Mark Hiester, agreed with Fischer. "We need the server update and it’s kind of urgent."

Supervisors unanimously approved spending just under $11,000 to contract with Custom Computer for the necessary service.

Hiester and supervisor chairman, Doug Mackley, explained money might be recovered from budgeted areas that will not use all their allotted funds. Two areas mentioned were storm water mapping, due to some revisions in the process, and possibly capital improvement.

Contracting for the community pool snack bar was put on hold after Donny Stover, a citizen attending the meeting commented that he had indicated interest in operating the snack bar. His comments came after the motion and second were made to award the contract to Byron Reber. Reber operated the snack bar last year and supervisors were pleased and expressed approval with the operation.

By: LUCY RICCOMINI Review Staff, Staff Writer

In 1945, men and women from across the country, including members of the small community of Schoeneck, answered calls to be deployed to World War II. As family and friends patiently waited, servicemen and women slowly came home. In the case of Schoeneck District and West Cocalico Township, each and every one of its soldier came home — which was nothing short of a miracle.

While soldiers protected our country, groups like the Ladies Auxiliary in Schoeneck raised money to construct a memorial to show their gratitude and appreciation. While the women collected donations, men and other residents constructed the memorial and presented it to the soldiers in 1947 thanking them for their service and celebrating their homecoming

The Schoeneck Veterans Memorial Association (SVMA) is a small group made up of only a handful of members who act as representatives for all of us who are grateful for those who serve our country. They are the people who dedicate time to honoring those who serve our country. Some SVMA members are family members and friends of those who served or are serving in the war. And some of the members are humbled by the acts of courage from our soldiers and simply want to thank them for their service.