Conestoga Valley townlively.com
DECEMBER 18, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LX • NO 52
Meet Sam Sanger, the man behind the badge BY JEFF FALK
S
ure, there are laws to enforce, rights to protect and protocol to follow. But Sam Sanger wants to interpret his job as a police officer in his own way and apply his personality, principles and character to the position. It’s an individualized approach that produces a greater good. It’s a mindset that, when multiplied 40 times, makes the East Lampeter Township force an effective law enforcement agency. “Whatever my personality is, it is what it is,” said Sanger. “I’m laid back and friendly. But not every officer can have the same personality; you have to have a good mix. For me personally, I look at it like if I was in (a victim or offender’s) shoes, how would I want to be treated? I think it helps the whole situation. I’m human just like they are. They have a heart. They have a soul.” Sanger is a 22-year veteran of East Lampeter Township’s
40-officer police force. He’s a member of a team that pools its collective resources and talents to protect and serve local residents. Sanger said that “99.99% of what we do is protect and serve.” He added, “But for me personally it’s about trying to make a difference.
“It’s something I love doing, and I can’t see myself doing anything else.” It’s not like, ‘How many people can I arrest?’ or ‘How many tickets can I write?’ It’s trying to make the world a better place. Every contact I have with a person, I want it to be a positive contact. I try to look at the cup as half full.” Sanger has seen just about everything there is to see over his career. But what he sees most often are vehicular accidents,
shoplifting, speeding, domestic violence and drug offenses. Like all of his fellow East Lampeter Township police officers, Sanger responds to an average of about 350 calls a year, every one of which requires some level of report or paperwork. “I think being a police officer has made me a better person, just because of the dealings I’ve had with people,” said Sanger, a 1996 graduate of Lebanon Christian Academy. “It’s not just a paycheck for me. I feel like I’m meant for this job and this job is meant for me. It’s something I love doing, and I can’t see myself doing anything else. I like getting out on the front lines and being that officer on the scene, that first contact. My faith in God is one of the things that keeps me going, but helping others helps me.” While attention to detail serves him in many ways, Sanger takes an even greater sense of pride from enforcing DUI statutes and keeping area roads safe for drivers. In 2023,
East Lampeter Township police officer Sam Sanger (left) shares a
See Officer Sanger pg 8 moment with colleague Jonathan Werner.
Talent on parade BY ANN MEAD ASH
Reflecting on his opportunity as one of six Doherty Petri School of Irish Dancing students who took part in the Riverdance performance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, Isaiah Pujol, a 17-year-old Manheim Township resident, called the experience “awesome.” “A lot of people don’t understand how big Riverdance is in the world of Irish dancing,” explained Isaiah, who noted that the experience brought together the chance to be part of
an international show where he could dance with professionals in an event as large as the Macy’s parade. “It’s this fantastic thing,” he said. Jase Lawrence, an 11-year-old who lives in Penn Manor School District, and who was both the shortest and youngest member of the Riverdance parade performers, was impressed by the experience of dancing with professionals he has looked up to. Sarah Smith, a 14-year-old who travels weekly from Baltimore to train at the school, said, “It opens See Macy’s pg 2
BY JEFF FALK
Art and culture provide an escape, they introduce new ideas, and they enhance lives. The Ephrata Performing Arts Center (EPAC) plays an important, but sometimes undervalued, role in our community. “Art, and specifically live performing art, is something that brings people together,” said Zach Haines, who’s been EPAC’s media director for seven years. “When you’re in performing arts, it gives you something to think
about. It’s a great way to think about topics in different ways. Art extends to an audience, and that audience shares things with (other) people. I think that’s such an important message in today’s society.” Located at 320 Cocalico St., Ephrata, EPAC has a long tradition of providing quality theater and entertainment to audiences and giving local performers opportunities to hone their skills and share their talents. Physically, EPAC is an intimate space featuring a Actors Zach Haines (left) and Gabrielle Hondorp perform a three-quarter thrust stage that is scene in EPAC’s production of “Cat See EPAC pg 8 on a Hot Tin Roof.”
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Dancers perform in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day event
EPAC transforms lively community into thriving one