From Chronicling Elizabethtown When I think about it, cancer has been around me almost all my life. But it wasn’t until recent years that it really hit home: my father-in-law had lung cancer and a childhood friend had a malignant brain tumor removed (his blog Thinking Clearly is a must read). And then in the space of a week this winter, a good friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, a college roommate’s dad died of pancreatic cancer and a local mom was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. The news about the last person, the mom — her name is Jessica Range[Read more...]

From CHRONICLING ELIZABETHTOWN When I worked for the former Elizabethtown Chronicle about 13 years ago, borough officials told me that Elizabethtown had the most rentals units in Lancaster County outside the City of Lancaster. I never delved into it, but in 2006 the borough enacted a rental property licensing and inspection program. It’s a great idea, and it’s one that is working effectively, according to Denny Landvater, former borough police chief who now oversees the inspection program. He provided an overview to Borough Council. He said the borough started the inspection and licensing of rental units to improve the health[Read more...]

From Chronicling Elizabethtown   Elizabethtown will host the 10th annual Arts in the Park from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 11, in Community Park. Admission is free and parking available, as well as juried arts, live music, kids’ art activities, face painting, free entertainment and delicious food. Original art work from regional artists will be available for purchase. Artwork will include painting, pottery, jewelry, photography, stained glass, clothing, multimedia art, printmaking, homemade purses and much more. Debbie Dupler, chairperson of the Arts in the Park Committee, said, “Arts in the Park will give the public a chance to[Read more...]

From Chronicling Elizabethtown Also see two links in Elizabethtown in the News. Police arrested an Elizabethtown man Sunday night after responding to a report of a gunshot in a second-floor apartment in the first block of South Market Street. Kirk J. Goldinger, 53, was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats. He was arrested after a standoff in which borough police called for assistance from the Lancaster County Special Emergency Response Team. Police were dispatched after a neighbor reported hearing the gun shot from inside an adjacent apartment, according to a borough police news release. Officers made telephone contact with the occupant[Read more...]

From Chronicling Elizabethtown Elizabethtown police had two reports of the theft of driver side air bags from Chevrolet Cobalts this past week. The thefts occurred on March 5 and 8 during the overnight hours in the 600 block of North Lime Street and 300 block of North Cherry Alley. The air bag modules are valued at $750 each. “The air bags are being cut out of the steering wheel of the vehicles. This is unusual for our community,” said Elizabethtown Police Chief Jack Mentzer. “Air bag thefts are much more common in urban areas but unfortunately has come to our community.” Mentzer[Read more...]

From Chronicling Elizabethtown Last month, Elizabethtown Borough Council held a public hearing on a proposal to change the zoning on College Avenue between Market and Spruce Streets from residential to mixed use. The latter is a designation that allows for small businesses and professional offices, similar to what you might see downtown, to open in and among the existing residential buildings. The idea to make the change percolated from a discussion that we had on Borough Council last year. Here are four reasons why I, as one member of Borough Council, think it’s a good idea: When the idea came up,[Read more...]

From Chronicling Elizabethtown ELIZABETHTOWN – Home brewers and cooks will put their beers and chili to the taste test in the inaugural Beans and Brews from 6 to 8 p.m. March 8 as part of Second Friday in downtown Elizabethtown. To be held at the Elizabethtown Public Library, the brewing portion of the evening is a sanctioned event by the Beer Judging Certification Program. Sponsors for the event are Lucky Ducks Bar and Grille and Lancaster Homebrew. “Beer and chili go great together, and I know we have some great cooks and home brewers in the area,” said Andrew Schoenberger, one of the founding members[Read more...]

From Chronicling Elizabethtown Walkers, cyclists and runners soon will be able to traverse Elizabethtown, from the east side to the west, on a pathway that the borough is constructing. A pedestrian and bike path that has been part of the borough’s downtown master plan approved in 2005. The plan, a map of which you can see here, is to have a path that stretches from the train station all the way to the Elizabethtown Area School District property. We have been working on the west section from Market Street to the Train Station for a couple of years. And then[Read more...]

Borough issues free recycling stickers instead of bins From Chronicling Elizabethtown For the sake of convenience and cost savings for residents, Elizabethtown has started issuing 8-inch recycling stickers (similar to what is pictured to the left) to use for curbside recycling collection. Instead of purchasing a green recycle bin from the Borough, residents can now get free stickers from the borough office to affix to any container to be designated for recycling. In the past, the borough purchased green recycling containers from Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority through a group purchasing process. Although the price has risen over the[Read more...]

From Chronicling Elizabethtown–December 26, 2012 At its final meeting for the year, Elizabethtown Borough Council adopted a $5.8 million budget for 2013 that holds the line on taxes. The budget for next year contains some large expenditures, but they are for items that are necessary for the long-term viability of the borough and its services. They include: $225,000 for the purchase of property behind Advanced Auto. A former industrial site, the borough plans to buy the property and use it to store maintenance equipment, with an eye toward eventually constructing a new maintenance building. $28,000 to refurbish the softball field[Read more...]