Conestoga Valley townlively.com
JANUARY 22, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXI • NO 5
Engaging Josiah Casler is living his best young life BY JEFF FALK
Introducing Josiah Casler. An 18-year-old senior at Conestoga Valley High School, Josiah is an active young man. He has a lot of interests, he’s immersed in
many activities and he’s won some awards. In some ways, Josiah is just exploring life. In other ways, he’s simply enjoying his adolescence. But in another more practical way, he’s preparing himself for See Josiah Casler pg 6
Panelists engage the audience at last year’s Welcome to the Battle.
Welcome to the Battle aims to disarm the enemy BY JEFF FALK
“My intent is to have people walk away with hope and feeling empowered.” Christ Church’s Ephrata Campus, 5 Hahnstown Road. Members of the panel will include Brad Ortenzi, coordinator of the Lancaster Human Trafficking Task Force and ZOE International East Coast; Meg McCallum, Berks County super vising attorney; Kevin Quinter, detective sergeant of the
Wyomissing Police Department; Celeste Hutchinson, NSI’s clinical director; and Jen Sensenig, NSI’s founder. The event, which is being presented as part of the United States Department of State’s National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, is free to attend, and registration at www .northstarinitiative.org/events is encouraged. Light refreshments will be ser ved, and a number of local human trafficking fighting agencies, including Lancaster YWCA, Sparrow Place, Hope Inspire Love, Greenlight Operation, ZOE International and She’s Somebody’s Daughter, will be there providing information on their services. “There are people who don’t even think human trafficking in Lancaster County happens,” said Clark. “If you don’t think it’s happening, you’re not going to be looking for it. That knowledge can protect someone else.”
Josiah Casler flies one of his drones.
Vietnam War veterans share firsthand accounts with students BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Thanks to a unique partnership with a local veterans group, students at several Lancaster County high schools can get a firsthand account of the Vietnam War. A panel of veterans, organized by Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) Chapter 1008, provides students with an immersive experience, offering insights that go beyond what they read in history books.
See Welcome to the Battle pg 2
The panel, which has been visiting local schools for nearly a decade, includes veterans from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, each of whom shares a unique perspective. Education chair John Hoober, who organizes the visits, explained that the veterans’ goal is not to teach a traditional history lesson but to engage students with personal stories. “What do these kids want to know about the Vietnam War See Vietnam vets pg 3
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ou’re invited to a fight, a confrontation between good and evil, a struggle for lives. In the war against human trafficking , the Nor th Star Initiative (NSI) event Welcome to the Battle is a preemptive strike. It is an attempt to deal the enemy a blow before he or she can mount an offensive. “The battle is to end human trafficking in our community,” said Melinda Clark, NSI’s chief executive officer. “Our community doesn’t want trafficking to happen here, and it does. The battle line is long, and everyone has a chance to step up and be a part of the battle. Part of the battle tactics is to know what it looks like and have everyone know what to do when they see it.” Welcome to the Battle is NSI’s annual panel discussion that involves experts from all areas
of the front lines providing facts, dispelling misconceptions and spreading information on the state of human trafficking in Lancaster County. This year’s Welcome to the Battle will be conducted on Tuesday, Jan. 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lives Changed By