Issuu

Conestoga Valley townlively.com

MARCH 6, 2024

SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954

VOL LX • NO 11

Eats is good food At Feathered Sanctuary, Ephrata seasoned for a reason exotic birds are never homeless BY JEFF FALK

Innovative nonprofits really deserve a lot of credit; they come up with some very creative ways to raise money. Take Good Samaritan Services and its upcoming Ephrata Eats

BY JEFF FALK

See Ephrata Eats pg 2

Ephrata Eats is a continuation of Good Samaritan Services’ mission of neighbor helping neighbor. Sharon Shaub with Precious, a blue-gold macaw

sights that can only be compared just imitating. They’re big and to a menagerie. they’re beautiful.” “It’s just fun,” said Shaub of The Feathered Sanctuary is the rescue’s indoor environment. certainly a unique nonprofit. But like most nonprofits, it has a need for funds and volunteers. “There are no other rescues “We’re all volunteers around,” said Shaub. “I get calls and we just love the from Connecticut and Baltimore, and the only (other) two I know birds. … We’ve made of are in New Jersey. That’s why them our pets and our we stay open; we want to help responsibility.” (the birds). Birds are expensive. They have to have a good cage and good food. If you don’t feed “We let them out (of their cages) them good food, you’re not going and everyone gets to come at to have a healthy bird.” Fe at here d S a nc t u ar y wa s you. It’s fun watching them. It’s always interesting. They know started by Pequea resident Lynne what they’re saying. They’re not Rothweiler in the late 1990s.

A gift of grace Book details story of forgiveness BY ANN MEAD ASH

On a Saturday in July of 2020, Tim Rogers learned online that his brother-in-law, Justo Smoker, had been arrested for the kidnapping of Linda Stoltzfoos, a young Amish woman abducted in Bird-in-Hand and later murdered. Tim and his daughter, Megan Shertzer, who was the only other family member at home, were reeling from the shock of the news when the doorbell rang. “My first thought was that I didn’t want to go to the door,” recalled Tim.

Waiting on the front step was an Amish neighbor who had heard the news and brought her family along with flowers and vegetables from her garden. The woman had been the teacher in the Nickel Mines Schoolhouse on the day of that tragedy in 2008. “She said, ‘I want you to know that there’s hope and God will take care of you,’” Tim reported. “We could see the tears in her eyes, and they were in mine too,” he noted, adding, “(That she would be) the person at the door offering what she offered,” recalled Tim. “It was See Book pg 4

R104685

See Feathered Sanctuary pg 5

POSTMASTER: PLEASE DELIVER MAR. 6, 2024

PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Engle Printing Co

Postal Patron

CON

he Feathered Sanctuary, located at 562 Beechdale Road, Bird-in-Hand, is one of only a few exotic bird rescues in Pennsylvania. The relationship that exists between domesticated birds and people strikes at the heart of what the Feathered Sanctuary does. “These birds are exotic,” said Sharon Shaub, the Feathered Sanctuary’s manager. “Anybody can have a dog. Not everyone can have a bird. Dogs like everybody. A bird has to like you and you have to know how to take care of a bird. If they do, they’ll love you.” Feathered Sanctuary is currently home to 60 exotic birds - parakeets, parrots, cockatoos, macaws and cockatiels. Many of them have been surrendered to the Feathered Sanctuary, and most are waiting to be adopted by their forever homes. “When the phone rings, we never know what kinds of friends we’re getting, where they’re from or what their circumstances are,” said Shaub. “Most of the time, people will call us and want to relinquish their birds. Sometimes owners go into the hospital and have no one to take care of them. Birds outlive their owners. Birds live a long time.” “We’re all volunteers and we just love the birds,” added Shaub. “It’s not their fault they don’t have a home. We’ve made them our pets and our responsibility.” For visitors, the atmosphere at the Feathered Sanctuary can be a little overwhelming at first. Coming from all directions, there’s energy and sounds and

outing as an example. It’s an event featuring food, drink and fellowship, all in the name of healthy housing and sound financial practices. “People love eating good food for a good cause,” said Mandy Ramos, Good Samaritan Services’