By: JACQUELINE WATSON Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Daily activities for this lively centenarian include getting exercise by cleaning her two-story home. (Photo by Stan Hall)

On the verge of turning 100, Irma Schlott does not manifest signs of her age unless it is in the wisdom and life experience she has attained. With her firm handshake and keen mind, she is not what is expected of someone who has lived for a century.

Born May 18, 1912, Irma has lived through many decades and historic events, but it is family that seems to help define her personal history.

"Everything that you experience, I think, determines the way you go more or less, but I can’t say any one thing," commented Irma on what events shaped her.

Irma’s experiences over the years have varied with the changing times. Adventures have progressed from her family buying their first car when she was nine to traveling with her sister on a bus tour to the west coast at the age of 70. A year later, she went even farther to Alaska. Her jobs have ranged from working in a five-and-ten-cent store in Ephrata to a shirt factory, where she met her husband, to being employed as a snack bar waitress at a bowling alley.

EARLY DEADLINES

Due to the Memorial Day

holiday, Monday, May 28,

the following deadlines will be used for the May 30 issue:

Retail & Classified

Display Advertising:

Friday, May 25, 4:00 p.m.

Classified Reader Ads:

Tuesday, May 29, 11:45 a.m.

Editorial:

Friday, May 25, Noon

The Ephrata Review office will be closing at 3 p.m., Friday, May 25., and will reopen at 8 a.m.,Tuesday, May 29

By: NOELLE BARRETT Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

The fate of the Ephrata state police barracks remains unknown after a joint state House Judiciary Committee and Senate Law and Justice Committee hearing Monday. State police Commissioner Frank Noonan said a decision to close the law enforcement outpost would be made within a month.

As part of the proposed troop realignment of state police, Noonan suggested eliminating the Ephrata barracks, which patrols Elizabeth, Caernarvon, Brecknock, and the northern part of Salisburg townships. Those areas would be covered by Lancaster station.

"(Ephrata station) has lost over 50 percent of the geographic coverage area that they were responsible for, and that has resulted in a drop in more than 50 percent of the incidence," said Lt. Colonel George Bivens, deputy commissioner of operations for the state police. "The bottom line is we now have a station that is greatly overstaffed," he said.

According to calculations that have been done of the area covered by the Ephrata barracks, the workload can be covered by a minimum of eight to 10 troopers, said Bivens. Currently, there are 26 people working at the station, including 18 troopers, five supervisors and three civilian staff members.

The Ephrata Review will publish a special section dedicated to local veterans, past and present, in its May 24 issue.

Our news department collected submitted photos from the public through the May 15 deadline. Unfortunately, no additional photos can be taken at this time.

Look for your neighbors in next week’s issue, and remember that your community newspaper is "All About You."

By: GARY P. KLINGER Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

It now appears likely that real estate taxes will rise for those living within the Ephrata Area School District.

But by how much? That remains a question not to be answered until the next regular school board meeting in June.

At Monday night’s meeting, board members unanimously approved a preliminary final budget which sets a maximum tax increase of 2.1 percent, raising the millage rate from the current 19.02 to 19.41. This would translate to an additional $39 per year for every $100,000 in assessed real estate value. According to district officials, the average value of residential real estate within the school district is $137,685.

Board President Timothy Stayer and district business manager Kristie Reichard, explained that with regard to the assessed value of local real estate, Ephrata is in the enviable position of seeing those values increase slightly over the past year, at a time when other district have seen those values continue to decline as the effects of the economic slowdown continue to be felt. They attribute the increase in the tax base to new construction, additions, and improvements made throughout the district.

Ephrata High School was named a 2012 Bronze Award recipient in the Best High Schools study conducted by U.S. News & World Report. Rankings were based on how well the high school served all students.

Nearly 22,000 public high schools in 49 states and the District of Columbia were analyzed based primarily on achievement and growth data.

"While rankings were based on how well the high school served all students, we recognize that the only way our older students can be successful is when we provide them a strong foundation and the right supports throughout all grade levels," said Dr. Brian Troop, Ephrata Area School District assistant superintendent of secondary.

"This award confirms we are focusing our efforts in the right direction to continue moving students forward. Our students and staff are working very hard throughout the District. It is encouraging to be recognized in an independent national report that puts us near the top nationally and within the state," said Troop.

The first step in the three-step evaluation process determined whether a school’s students were performing better than statistically expected for the average student in their state. For schools that made it past the first step, the second step determined whether the school’s least-advantaged students (black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged) were performing better than average for similar students in the state.

By: GARY P. KLINGER Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Students in Ephrata Area School District continue to perform well against state and national literacy averages. That was part of the message brought to the Ephrata Area School Board at its April 16 meeting.

Assistant Superintendent for Primary Education Mrs. Kim Schlemmer and Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Dr. Brian Troop updated school directors on the District literacy goal to develop and monitor the efficacy of a standards-aligned K through 12 literacy curriculum framework (language arts courses/programs) for increasing students’ achievement in both reading and written expression.

According to the report, K through 12 curriculum documents reflect evidence of correspondence to a Standards Aligned System (SAS). The District curriculum maps continue to use the same framework identified through Pennsylvania Department of Education’s SAS with Big Ideas, Concepts/Skills, Competencies/Objectives and Common Unit Assessments. But the District has developed the process for updating and improving the Common Unit Assessments to reflect increased rigor and evolving state targets.

"We do anticipate some revisions with the introduction of the new Common Core Requirements and the evolving picture of how students will be asked to show mastery of State Standards," said Schlemmer and Troop.

By: MICHELLE REIFF Review Staff mreiff.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

Ephrata Community Hospital (ECH) says it has responded to the needs of the community by breaking ground on a $13 million expansion project.

The expansion will double the size and treatment capacity of its Emergency Department (ED). Currently, there are 16 treatment areas; there will be 26 treatment areas when complete. The project adds 13,000 square feet to the hospital, creating a 26,000 square foot ED.

According to John M. Porter Jr., hospital president and CEO, the challenges in patient throughput due to the increasing number coming into the ED, precipitated the decision to expand. The project actually has been in the works for several years.

"We had intended to start this process in 2008 and ’09. The economic downturn hit hospitals as well as every other business," he said. After waiting a period of time, the hospital got the go-ahead from the board last fall to proceed with the projects.

The current ED was built in 1986 to serve 16,000 patients annually. The hospital anticipates that 32,000 patients per year will seek emergency care at Ephrata in 2012.