Elizabethtown townlively.com
JULY 7, 2021
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXII • NO 22
Sowing The Seeds Of Service BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Members of Girl Scout Troop 70614 have been working hard to “make the world a better place,” one part of the Girl Scout Law. In May, the Junior troop members beautified the grounds around the amphitheater in Elizabethtown Borough Park, earning their Bronze Award in the process. The Bronze is the highest award that can be earned by Girl Scout Juniors, who are fourth- and fifthgrade students.
The girls started the project by brainstorming ways to help their community. Originally, they planned to fix up areas around the playground in the park. “We were thinking we were going to build bird and bat boxes,” said troop member Ava Livelsberger. “But we started talking to people from the park, and we realized that wasn’t something that solved a problem for someone. We wanted to do a project that solved a problem.” Instead, the girls organized a park cleanup and met with Ken Dyer, Elizabethtown Borough’s parks superintendent, to discuss needs in the park. They decided to replace a strip of grass bordering the amphitheater with a mulched bed of perennials and annuals, adding beauty to the area and making it easier for groundskeepers to mow while preventing damage to the amphitheater from weed whackers. See Service pg 7
Eric Schubert, talking on the phone with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, has been recognized for his genetic genealogy work.
Solving Genetic Mysteries hen Eric Schubert was about 10 years old, his mom gave him a DNA test kit. She thought it would keep her son entertained for a few days, but Schubert had other ideas. Ten years later, the rising junior at Elizabethtown College is still into DNA, and it’s become much more than a hobby. Schubert, 20, uses genetic genealogy to solve crimes, among other applications. “Investigative genetic genealogy is revolutionizing cold cases and crime scenes, but it is still a relatively unknown piece of new technology,” said Schubert. Genetic genealogy uses DNA and other
Northwest EMS Awards Scholarships
expect to get involved in that work. “I thought, no one is going to come to a 17-year-old and say, ‘Hey, can you help us solve this murder?’” he recalled, “but then it did happen.” The week he graduated from high school, in 2019, The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about Schubert and his genetics work. Detectives in Montgomery County saw the article and contacted him for help with a criminal case that had grown cold. “It took me about two weeks to solve the case,” he said, noting that he got the case the day before he left for college, but didn’t sit down to work on it until he came home to Medford Lakes, N.J., on a school break.
Northwest Emergency Medical Services (EMS) recently awarded two scholarships to graduating seniors at Manheim Central High School. Audrey Miller and Jenna Wagner were awarded the Robert C. Stirling Scholarship, named in honor of Bob Stirling. Stirling was an active member of the Manheim community, including the Manheim Veterans Memorial Ambulance Association, which merged
See Genetic pg 9
See EMS pg 5
BY CATHY MOLITORIS
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Beauty In The Backyard . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Serving Up Soup . . . . . . .7 Youth Sports . . . . . . . . . . .8 Bazaar Will Give Back . . .9 Business Directory . . . . . .9 House Of Worship . . . . . .10 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . .12
R073233
W
genealogical methods to connect biological relationships between people. Locally, the type of work Schubert does has been used to solve cases including the murder of Christy Mirack. Schubert didn’t jump into crime solving immediately. After his initial introduction to genealogy, he started offering traditional services, including helping adoptees locate biological parents or assisting with building family trees. Soon, however, people began asking him to help with more complex DNA puzzles. “I really started mastering genetic genealogy,” he stated, noting that he knew the science was beginning to be used to solve cold cases but that he didn’t
Let us show you the difference a caring neighbor can make. Rothermel-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. Palmyra | 717-838-9211 Travis S. Finkenbinder, Supervisor
PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Engle Printing Co
POSTMASTER: PLEASE DELIVER JUL. 7, 2021
Postal Patron
ETN
BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Girl Scout Troop 70614 members (back, from left) Gwen Hoover, Eleni Brehm, Brianna Thatcher, Ava Livelsberger, (front) Valerie Hall, Faith McClellan, Piper Checkeye, and (not pictured) Trinity Garcia recently earned the Bronze Award.
Miller-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory Elizabethtown | 717-367-1543 Thomas W. Ford, Supervisor
Fager-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. Middletown | 717-944-7413 Alana A. Ace, Supervisor
