With the start of 2011, it’s been a relatively quiet time for Elizabethtown Borough Council. That said, the borough has a number of projects in the works (all of them funded through grants and not your local property taxes) for the year. The most visible ones are the Elizabethtown Train Station which is on schedule to be completed this month. Some before and after pictures of the interior of the historic train station and some exterior views are below. It really is a stunning difference and a huge improvement for Elizabethtown. Other projects that will get started this year include[Read more...]

January 28, 2011— Four members of the Elizabethtown Area High School wrestling team earned medals in the 2011 Lancaster-Lebanon League Wrestling Championships held Jan. 21-22. In addition, E-town placed fourth as a team, placing seven wrestlers in the top eight of their weight class. Matt Hoover captured gold in the 145 lb weight class, scoring a 6-1 decision over the top seed in the finals. Hoover went 4-0 over the two-day event. This was Matt’s fourth league medal and first gold. Capturing silver medals were Troy Ernest and Jeremy Rivera at 135 lbs and 140 lbs respectively. Both grapplers went[Read more...]

January 27, 2011—Elizabethtown Area School District is pleased to announce that all five of its elementary schools, along with both the middle and high schools, have been honored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education with 2010 Keystone Achievement Awards. This prestigious recognition program celebrated E-town’s outstanding academic performance on critical state benchmarks.

January 14, 2011— Reuben Zeiset, an eighth grader at Elizabethtown Area Middle School, recently captured first place in the school’s National Geographic Geography Bee. As school champion, Zeiset will now attempt to qualify for the state bee to be held at Penn State University in April. If Zeiset qualifies for the state competition, he would compete against other students from across the Commonwealth for the right to represent Pennsylvania at the national level. The contest, an educational program sponsored by the National Geographic Society, is a nationwide geography competition for students in grades 4-8. It is designed to encourage teachers[Read more...]

Carl J. Strikwerda, Ph.D., was named president-elect of Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa., on Jan. 11, 2011. After working collaboratively for a month alongside current Elizabethtown College President Theodore E. Long, Strikwerda will begin his tenure Aug. 1, 2011, when he assumes leadership of the private, co-educational institution.

Currently, Strikwerda is dean of the faculty of arts and sciences at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. In this role, he oversees 378 faculty, 21 departments and 14 interdisciplinary programs that serve 5,600 students, including 500 graduate students in six doctoral and 11 master’s degree programs.

(Elizabethtown College press release) ELIZABETHTOWN, PA. – Jan. 11, 2011 – Following an almost yearlong national search, Elizabethtown College’s Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of Carl J. Strikwerda as the College’s 14th president. After working collaboratively for a month alongside current Elizabethtown President Theodore E. Long, Strikwerda will begin his tenure Aug. 1, 2011. Currently, Strikwerda is dean of the faculty of arts and sciences and professor of history at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. In this position, he oversees 378 faculty members, 21 departments and 14 interdisciplinary programs that serve 5,600 students, including[Read more...]

Well, maybe. A recent NYT article stating that minivans are no longer uncool has the EJ staff really excited. For long the EJ staff have endured the scorn of fellow E-towners as they drove sedately on Market St in their Honda Odysseys, their radios discreetly set to NPR and trunks filled with recyclable Giant grocery bags containing organic carrots. But those days are over! The minivan, now referred to as the Swagger Wagon, is the new king of the road. When the EJ staff drive to cover breaking news (always below the speed limit, however), they will be cynosure of[Read more...]

Scheduling information Session Scheduled At Elizabethtown Area High School January 5, 2011— Elizabethtown Area High School invites parents of current eighth grade students, as well as parents of students new to the District planning to enroll in the high school for the 2011-2012 school year, to an Eighth Grade Parent Scheduling & New Enrollment Night on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. The program will be held in the high school auditorium. General information about the scheduling process and high school programs will be provided at the session. Currently enrolled eighth grade parents should bring the planning guide and course[Read more...]

January 3, 2011— On Tuesday, January 11, 2011, the Elizabethtown Area School District Board of Education will host a public hearing to discuss its proposal to permanently close Fairview Elementary School at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. The purpose of the hearing is to consider and receive public comment from constituents of the District. The hearing, which is open to the public, will be held in the Elizabethtown Area Middle School auditorium beginning at 8:00 p.m.