Conestoga Valley JANUARY 21, 2026
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 13,770 HOMES
There’s No Debating CVHS Mock Trial Team’s Are Heating Up! Real Success Winter Sports
BY JEFF FALK
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BY JEFF FALK
Movie actors Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington are Hollywood box office heavyweights. But if you want to view real stars on a really big screen, head to the North Museum’s planetarium. “It’s really nice to see when people get really excited for it,” said Cole Penkunas, who’s been the North Museum’s resident astronomer for two years. “It gets me really excited when people ask questions. It shows me they’re interested in science and astronomy. They’re excited about something I’m excited about.” Simply put, the planetarium is one of the most popular attractions at a place - the North Museum of Nature and Science, located at 400 College Ave., Lancaster - that has so many interesting exhibits to experience. Admission to the planetarium, which offers shows mainly on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., is included with admission to the North Museum. “For me, there’s definitely a coolness factor to it,” said Penkunas. “I think some of it is because we want to know where we exist in the universe. Astronomy can tell us a lot about physics, about the Earth and the nature of reality on a really big scale. I think astronomy just being the study of the stars is just very appealing to a lot of people. A lot of people want to explore the world. Earth has
See Mock Trial Team pg 9
See Planetarium pg 8
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townlively.com
JUNE 11, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXI • NO 25
“Swing!” Will Connect Audiences With Their Mojo BY JEFF FALK
Swing music. And the performers of Servant Stage. What possesses the power to “Swing originated in the 1920s bring a tap to your toes, to put and was popular in the 1930s and a bounce in your step, to bring a ’40s,” said Johnathan Bauer, who snap to your fingers? founded Servant Stage in 2013. See “Swing!” pg 8
Local residents watch birds during a recent East Lampeter Township recreation department activity.
Local Recreation Promotes Healthy Work-Life Balance CON
BY JEFF FALK
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ast Lampeter Township is 12 months into its grand recreation exper iment. Time for an update. While results have been mostly mixed, some positive and quantifiable progress has been realized. But much work remains in the new recreation department’s mission to get the word out and provide activities that appeal to a majority of East Lampeter Township residents. “I always feel like we can be doing more and reaching more people,” said Lisa Cleveland, who as recreation director makes up East Lampeter Township’s one-person
is not resting. Am I happy where we are in the time we got here? Yes. Do we have more work to do? Yes. The opportunities are endless, so there are always things that are going to be new.” Since officials made the commitment to provide recreational opportunities to the township’s citizens on May 28, 2024, by hiring Cleveland as recreation director, the newly formed East Lampeter Township Recreation Department has instituted a number of programs and activities, some of which have been well received. The department has provided community events like movie nights, a fall festival and an Easter egg hunt; youth events like
and a summer playground program; fitness and yoga programs; and educational programs like a bird walk and Exploring the Night Sky. This spring, the department introduced a community gardens program that allows individuals and families to rent plots of land at Community Park for growing vegetables, plants and flowers. Twelve of the 16 available plots are currently being utilized. The recreation department has also placed a strong emphasis on promoting and utilizing township facilities like Community Park, Flory Park, Lafayette-Tower Park and Gibbons Park at Nolt’s Mill, as well as fostering relationships with
Cast members perform a musical number from Servant Stage’s production of “Swing!”
LCWG Is Made Up of a Bunch of Do-Gooders BY JEFF FALK
Good is universal, timeless and objective. Because it mirrors God, good is good. The Lancaster County Women for Good (LCWG) group knows some things about the concept of doing good. It’s part of the all-volunteer organization’s mission, purpose and reason for existing. “We use that word a lot, ‘good,’” said Anna Horst, the chairperson of the five-member board that
in our name. I think it’s safe to say our connections and providing nonprofits with resources is part of the good we aim to do. I think there are a number of nonprofits in Lancaster County who have amazing missions. They’re real people trying to help real people. They are problems that a majority of us would agree need to be solved. Maybe we need to be more clear by what we mean by ‘good.’” LCWG, which does not operate from a physical office or building, conducts more than 15 member-
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Visit our Sports Page today for all the action!
Stars Always Align at North Museum Planetarium
he teamwork, the life lessons, the scoring and the outcomes are what make it a sport. But in this competition, the mind replaces physical skills, a courtroom is the playing field, and the law is the object ball. Mock trial competition may just be the most nontraditional spor t you’ve never heard of. “The purpose is Members of CVHS’ mock trial team prepare for a competition. to teach students about the trial law process,” said jurors made up of volunteer local activity is very enjoyable, and it Brian Schlee, the coach of the attorneys and a real-life Lancaster has helped me with my critical thinking skills. You get to meet Conestoga Valley High School County judge. Mock tr ial teams compete people who love learning about (CVHS) mock trial team. “They are learning about the legal pro- against one another, and their the law. I think it’s a great way to cess and having fun doing it. It’s performances are judged by legal apply what we’re learning in our also a way to introduce the legal professionals using a scale-of-10 classes. It’s really, really fun, and it develops companionship.” process to those who might be rubric scoring system. During the regular season, mock “What you see often with some interested in the law. There’s a lot of real analysis and a lot of real of the good teams, they have great trial teams are presented with one characters,” said Schlee. “They’ll civil trial case, which is written by legal talk.” T he CVHS mock trial team write lines into affidavits and get actual lawyers. This year, the CVHS practices, rehearses and employs the adults at the trials to chuckle. mock team has been tasked with role-playing techniques to simu- You are allowed to costume, but you a simulated civil case of medical late lawyers - for both the pros- can’t use props. We can dress like malpractice involving a mother, a ecution and the defense - and the individuals we are portraying, family physician, a misdiagnosis and trichinosis. witnesses. During the 30-minute but that’s as far as we can go.” The CVHS mock trial team “To me, mock trial is a combitimed competitions, which take place locally at the Lancaster nation of speech and debate and received this year’s regular-season County Courthouse, 50 N. Duke adding a government element case problem on Nov. 7, 2025, St., Lancaster, the students pres- to it,” said junior Gwen Unruh, and had until Jan. 10 to prepare ent their arguments in front of CVHS’ mock trial president. “The its prosecution and defense. The
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