Donegal
Winter Sports
Are Heating Up!
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 9,800 HOMES
Helping Neighbors Find Their Way Home BY CAT SHANNON
H Catch the latest highlights from your local high school teams Visit our Sports Page today for all the action!
ousing is a basic human need, but it’s also one of the easiest things to take for granted. For many people in the county, the certainty of having a place to call home has slipped away, often after a job loss, medical crisis or sudden l i fe c h a n g e . T h a t ’s where ECHOS steps in, offering a pathway back to stability. ECHOS, which stands Ashley Bulley (left) in the Enrichment Center at ECHOS. Photo by Cat Shannon for Elizabethtown Community Housing & Outreach housing support systems,” said Elizabethtown, ECHOS serves the Services, provides resources and executive director Ashley Bulley. Elizabethtown and Donegal school support for people facing a housing “We go from crisis to permanent districts, including Mount Joy, crisis and also offers opportunities housing. We run the gamut of Bainbridge, Maytown, Marietta for any member of the community everything available for housing and Rheems. opportunities and support.” The ECHOS Enrichment Center to find the help he or she needs. Established as a 501(c)(3) is open Mondays, Wednesdays and “A lot of our work is focused on supporting individuals through based on Washington Street in Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and
See Creativity pg 6
See Food pg 3
DON
People browse art at a previous year’s Donegal student art show.
PHOTO
and creativity in their art classes. Now the public will have a chance Every day, students in Donegal to see the results of their efforts School District demonstrate talent when Milanof-Schock Library hosts
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townlively.com
JUNE 11, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXVI • NO 18
Shine Bright at Hope Within 5K BY CAT SHANNON
Support a local nonprofit, enjoy beautiful surroundings and get some exercise all at the same time by participating in the Hope Within Ministries’ Let Your Light Shine 5K Walk/ Run. The event will be held on
Saturday, July 19, beginning at 8 a.m. at Stone Gables Estate, 1 Hollinger Lane, Elizabethtown. “The idea came about as a means to represent what Hope Within Ministries is - a health care, dental and counseling center,” said Laurie Reichert, director of development for the See 5K pg 2
2024 MS FitEffect participants and trainers with program director Mark Mueller (far right)
MS FitEffect Puts Strength Into Motion BY CAT SHANNON
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ark Mueller and his wife, Jackie, took a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and turned it into an opportunity to help others. Jackie was diagnosed with MS in 1998, and the couple sought to treat the disease as naturally as possible, without medication. They experimented with nutrition and exercise to see what worked and what didn’t, and their research led to MS FitEffect, a free, 10-week program for people with MS. The next session will run from Saturday, Sept. 6, through Saturday, Nov. 15, at Elizabethtown Fitness Club, 626 S. Market St. “Each participant selects a time with their trainer for their private
explained. “We have sessions there are no two people who available Monday through Sat- share the same set of symptoms urday in the morning, afternoon at the same intensities with the and some evenings. It is based same presentation of symptoms.” While specifics vary for each on the participant’s and trainer’s participant, the program focuses availability.” on strength, stamina and stability for all sessions. “ We use a combination of “We meet each stretching, relaxation techniques, participant where they weight training, cardiovascular training, balance and gait training are at and move them and functional training,” Mark forward from there.” said. “We meet each participant where they are at and move them forward from there. We focus on As Mark shared, MS FitEffect is helping them achieve a better quality of life by working with them on personalized. “The program is different for activities of daily living that have everyone, as the trainer cus- become difficult for them.” MS FitEffect is open to anyone tom-designs the program for the particular participant,” he stated. with MS or any demyelinating
The historic Star Barn will be one of the sights to see along the route of Hope Within Ministries’ Let Your Light Shine 5K.
A World of Wonder Awaits Inside the Bookmobile BY JEFF FALK
It ’s more than books on wheels. The Library System of Lancaster County’s (LSLC) bookmobile delivers knowledge, creativity, inspiration and joy. The bookmobile is kind of like a food truck serving up nourishment for the mind and soul. “Reading in general is very important,” said Audrey Lilley, the bookmobile’s driver, curator and full-time coordinator. “It’s important for kids to be read-
be able to pick up a book and see characters who look like them. Reading can be inspirational, and with retirees, it kind of comes full circle. I think retirees can find comfort in reading. For all people in between, it’s a way to relax and unwind.” W h e n n o t o n t h e g o to multiple locations all across Lancaster County, Lilley parks the bookmobile at LSLC’s main office at 1866 Colonial Village Lane, Suite 107, Lancaster. The bookmobile is a 22-foot-long
BY CAT SHANNON
its annual art show, featuring works from Donegal students in kindergarten through grade 12. The show will be held in the community room
Library Will Showcase Student Creativity
BY CAT SHANNON
Where Food and Community Take Root On a stretch of preser ved farmland in Elizabethtown, transformation happens every day at a space that offers reconnection - with the land, with one another and with the essential act of growing food. This is Wittel Farm, a nonprofit on 85 acres of land with a long history of care, now being reimagined as a place where food, community and environmental stewardship meet. Records date the property to the mid-1700s, and long before that it was cared for by the Susquehannock people. In the 1980s, Chuck and Katie Wittel placed the property into a land trust, gifting it to the Lutheran Camping Corporation. While not much was produced at the farm for many years, that changed in 2016, when the farm’s current manager, the Rev. Matt Lenahan, began the Growing Project, a partnership between the Lutheran Camping Corp., the Lower Susquehanna Synod and Hunger-Free Lancaster County. L enahan, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Akron, grew up on a large commercial farm in New York and once thought he would never farm again after entering ministry. His thinking shifted as he became more aware of food insecurity and the fragility of modern food systems. “I really star ted to think about the food system and how food-dependent we are because so few of us are actually participating in the food production,” he said. “We’ve really stepped
See Home pg 5
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VOL LXVI • NO 50
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