Conestoga Valley townlively.com
MARCH 5, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXI • NO 11
Providing support for sobriety BY JEFF FALK
Visitors go for a ride at one of Lancaster County’s most famous attractions, Dutch Wonderland.
Discover Lancaster shares county’s blessings with everyone tourism community. We want to share it with as many people as ancaster County is rich in we can. Lancaster County has a resources, culture and things great tradition of hospitality.” to do, and in Lancaster County, tourism is big business. Discover Lancaster takes a “It’s a great place to proactive approach to drawing come and play, but it’s visitors to Lancaster County. Its work is designed to maximize and also a great place to unlock the locale’s full potential come and work.” and make the area a destination. “We pack a mighty punch for the size we are,” said Joel Cliff, who’s been Discover Lancaster’s Situated at 501 Greenfield Road, director of communications Lancaster, Discover Lancaster is and advocacy for 17 years. “We the official destination marketing have a very robust and vibrant organization of the county. In
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2023, 10 million tourists visited Lancaster County, generating $3.4 billion in economic impact and helping to employ 26,000 people in the tourism-related businesses in the areas of attractions, lodging, dining and retail. “It’s pretty safe to say that Lancaster County is in the top five in the state in terms of number of visitors and visitor spending,” said Cliff. “We’ve broadened the message about what there’s to do in Lancaster County. There are a lot of cool, neat experiences and recreational activities. We’re still changing. We’re continuing to grow. We have a wide geography
See Lancaster County A.A. pg 2
Nonprofit collaboration aims for firearm safety BY JEFF FALK
Mental Health America of Lancaster County (MHALC) is partnering with Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health (PMLGH) and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) to promote, advocate for and increase awareness of gun safety. The partnership seeks to accomplish its goals through gun locks and informational meetings. “We’re all looking at it as a culture shift,” said Megan Beyerle, an education coordinator with
See Discover Lancaster pg 3
MHALC. “It’s about safety and saving lives. If folks are in crisis, there are supports. We’re not trying to take anyone’s guns. Firearms are ver y powerful machines.” Funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Preventative Health and Health Services’ two-year block grant, t h e S a fe F i re a r m S t o ra g e Initiative is currently giving away free gun locks. The free g un lo ck s are b eing made available at MHALC’s location at 245 Butler Ave., Lancaster; See Firearms safety pg 12
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BY JEFF FALK
Alcoholism is a medical condition that, if left unaddressed, can wreak havoc and ruin lives. The first step in treatment involves recognizing and acknowledging a problem exists. Lancaster County Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) treats the condition through empathy, communication and human support. “Figures suggest that one-third of the (country’s) population has a drinking problem,” said A volunteer answers a call to the Rick S., a central service Lancaster County Alcoholics Anonymous office volunteer for Lan- help line. “I’ve been very good friends caster County A.A. “For me, an alcoholic is someone who is with lawyers and doctors,” Rick S. drinking against their own will. continued. “I’ve been very good There’s something in their mind friends with people who are a step and body that’s making them away from living on the streets. drink. They’re literally from all Everywhere you run across these people. They’re people who just walks of life.”