Octorara townlively.com
JUNE 29, 2022
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL XXXII • NO 18
Native Son, New Shepherd BY ANN MEAD ASH
“I grew up here and graduated from Pequea Valley High School (PVHS),” said Jesse Bills, who became the pastor of Pequea Evangelical Congregational (E.C.) Church, 5482 Old Philadelphia Pike, Gap, in July 2021. Bills, who graduated from PVHS in 2009, began attending the church in his 20s. “I didn’t go to college,” said Bills. “I sold cars at Rocky Ridge in Ephrata for about five years.”
Donald Cairns of Parkesburg has been named a 2022 Mid-Atlantic Master Farmer.
Parkesburg’s Donald Cairns Named Master Farmer BY FRANCINE FULTON
onald Cairns of Parkesburg, who has been farming for 25 years and is also devoted to community service, has been named a 2022 Mid-Atlantic Master Farmer. According to www.midatlantic masterfarmer.com, the Master Farmer designation is a lifetime achievement award in agriculture that recognizes “exemplary role models of outstanding management, land stewardship and community leadership.” Candidates for the award are nominated by individuals or agriculture organizations. This year, the applications were viewed and scored by a three-judge panel in February and March, and final selections were made in late March. “I was very honored. It’s pretty prestigious,” said Cairns, who said
wheat goes into the local bakery market. The corn and soybeans go into livestock feed and horse feed. Local feed mills buy our corn and soybeans.” He noted that working the farm, which he and his wife, Kelly, purchased 25 years ago, is a year-round job. “Even in the offseason we are hauling grain,” he said, adding that farming practices have changed through the years. “We have transitioned to modern conservation practices. We work really hard to stay ahead of the curve as far as conservation work and preserving the soil.” Part of that effort, he explained, is not tilling the soil, which is when tools are used to stir up the soil prior to planting. “We plant right into the soil without tillage,” he stated. “When you do tillage, it makes it more likely to erode. (Not tilling) protects the soil.”
This August, Freedom Life Church will launch a new ministry, Freedom Academy. Open to homeschool students, the alternative education program will offer preschool classes and a mix of elective and core classes for students in kindergarten through grade 12.
See Master Farmer pg 5
See Freedom Academy pg 8
Jesse Bills, pastor of Pequea Evangelical Congregational Church
Parents Invited To Freedom Academy Information Night
See New pastor pg 9
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Award Nominations Sought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Community Calendar . . . .4 Penn State Extension To Host STEM Camp . . . . . . .5 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . .10
BY FRANCINE FULTON
Business Directory . . . . .12 House Of Worship . . . . . .12
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he does not know for sure who nominated him for the award. “From what I understand, they look for people who have done excellent work with land stewardship and conservation practices and have been successful financially with agriculture. A big part of it is community service.” Cairns is very involved in Chester County 4-H and has been a volunteer for more than 30 years. “I have been on the board of the Chester County 4-H Center since 1989, and I have coached the 4-H livestock judging team for about 15 years,” he noted. Cairns is also a member of the Chester County Agricultural Land Preservation Board. At his farm, Cairns is responsible for growing 1,600 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat. “I have had cattle in the past, but the bulk of the farm operation is crop farming,” he explained. “The
About 2018, Bills began to feel the call to ministry. In 2020, he began interning at Grace Community Church in Willow Street and attending Evangelical Seminary in Myerstown. In 2020 and into 2021, while Pequea E.C. worked with an interim pastor, Bills preached there monthly, interned in Willow Street, and attended seminary. He became the solo pastor at Pequea in July 2020. He began working at Grace Community as the pastor of discipleship during that same year, and in May 2022, he graduated from seminary. He continues to serve both churches in those roles. Pequea has a membership of about 50, and Bills recognizes the congregation’s “passion to see children in church again.” “The church has a real heart for kids and families,” he said, noting that a few young families attend regularly. Church members are preparing the church for the days when they might hear more small feet moving through the building. “They have put a lot of resources into trying to create a nicer nursery and modernizing it,” said Bills. “It is their No. 1 desire to see (more) children and youth and families here.”
