Conestoga Valley SEPTEMBER 17, 2025
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 13,770 HOMES
Innocence Is Not Lost on Adalynn Leicy BY JEFF FALK
H
eather and Joel Leicy of Bird-in-Hand entered their daughter in a national toddler comp e tition. Even before the Leic ys learned the final results of the contest, they had already won. A d aly nn is their prize from God. “We are very, very thankful and lucky to h ave h e r,” s a i d Heather. “We are very proud to call her our daughter.” Curious, respectful and kind, Adalynn is a 28-month-old special little girl. For someone so young , she Adalynn Leicy at the beach (left photo) and with her parents, Joel and Heather Leicy has faced her share (right photo) danger. Everyone is her friend. of medical issues, and the way she’s come in contact with. “In one word, I’d say she’s bubbly,” She also has the best memory. It’s she has handled the adversity has been an inspiration for everyone said Heather. “She has no stranger so eye-opening to see her take in
townlively.com
JUNE 11, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
See Adalynn pg 8
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
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 recreation department. “Growth
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 Hero Hang-Out, Touch-a-Truck
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 like-minded community partners.
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 oversees LCWG’s operations. “It’s
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 membership events each year, including
See Recreation Department pg 4
See LCWG pg 9
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There’s Something Inspirational About Hudson Rice and His Toys BY JEFF FALK
Hudson Rice doesn’t really have all that much that he can call his own. His toys, his time, his efforts. Himself. What he does have, he’s willing to give toward the fight against local homelessness. Hudson expects nothing for himself in return. “We were in Chicago, and I saw
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Cast members perform a musical number from Servant Stage’s production of “Swing!”
In your mailbox & online BY JEFF FALK
homeless people for the first time,” said Hudson, a fifth-grade student in the Conestoga Valley School District (CVSD). “I wanted to do something to help, so I asked my mom if we could do a toy sale. That was the only thing I had when I was 6 years old. I picked out some of my toys, and I asked my friends if they’d give some of their toys. In the second year, I gave all of my A donor drops off toys to Hudson
See Hudson’s Toys pg 2 Rice for his annual benefit toy sale.
VOL LXI • NO 39
Building Bridges for Brianna Inspires Hope BY CAT SHANNON
Matt Dorgan took heartbreak and turned it into hope and healing. On Dec. 3, 2020, his 15-year-old daughter, Brianna, died by suicide after a long struggle with mental health. “Her passing shook us to our core,” he said, noting that close friends rallied around him but he knew he could not just simply move on. “As we shared our grief, we realized a painful truth: Every one of us had lost someone we loved to mental illness. And now, we had lost Brianna. We knew something had to change. We had to do something.” In those first raw moments of heartbreak, the idea for a mental health festival was born, he recalled. “We wanted to raise money, yes, but more than that, we wanted to raise awareness and build a real support network for those in crisis,” Dorgan shared. “ Then came the words that changed everything: ‘We need to build the bridge.’ And just as quickly, someone shouted back, ‘For Brianna!’” Just weeks after Brianna’s death, on Dec. 27, 2020, Building Bridges for Brianna began. “Since that day, we’ve been committed to knocking down barriers to mental health care,” Dorgan explained. “When we see a wall in services, we don’t walk away. We find a way over it, around it, under it or straight through it.” Descr ibing his d aug hter, Dorgan noted that he could talk forever. “Brianna was an incredible soul - kind, compassionate and See Building Bridges pg 4
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