Donegal JANUARY 7, 2026
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Community Steps Up After Flood BY CAT SHANNON
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Flood damage at the Donegal Fish & Conservation Association’s trout nursery
n July 14 this past summer, Mount Joy borough received more than seven inches of rain in less than five hours. Some homeowners in the west end of the borough reported more than five feet of water in their houses, and emergency responders conducted 16 water rescues while also fielding more than 30 requests for flooded basement assistance. The storm also impacted the Donegal Fish & Conservation Association (DFCA), which has a trout nursery along Pinkerton Road in East Donegal Township, resulting in a severely eroded entrance to the nursery and leading to a wall collapse. The week of the flood, DFCA was scheduled to receive its allotment of fingerling trout from the PA Fish & Boat Commission, Cooperative Trout Division, but members of the association worried delivery would not be possible under the damaged conditions. “With the rental of a skid loader with bucket and several ton of stone delivered, members of the DFCA worked feverishly to repair the entrance as well as the concrete block raceway wall that had collapsed during the flood so that fingerling trout could be delivered,” shared Dave Eichler, See Flood pg 4
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Leo’s Helping Paws Is All About the Dogs BY GEORGE DEIBEL
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It’s fitting that the next fundraiser for the Leo’s Helping Paws nonprofit group will be held on Valentine’s Day. That’s emblematic of the love Kathy Styer and Beth Buchter have for dogs. Styer and Buchter co-founded Leo’s Helping Paws in July 2014. The pair were volunteers for another rescue organization before electing to branch out on their own.
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“At that time, we were seeing a lot of need,” said Styer, who is the president. “There were more rescues that were being formed, and the need for vet care was the No. 1 issue with all the dogs that they would rescue, and it’s costly. In order to get them adopted, first they had to be vetted, because that’s protocol for a rescue.” Leo’s Helping Paws’ mission is to provide financial assistance for veterinary care to nonprofit all-volunteer dog rescue groups in Pennsylvania and neighboring Beth Buchter (left) and Kathy Styer
VOL LXVI • NO 48
Home Is Where Servant Stage’s Heart Is BY JEFF FALK
Everybody deserves a place to call their own. Everybody needs a home. Servant Stage’s new home is also the nonprofit’s first. Not only are Servant Stage’s new digs a product of growth, the location is also a space where it can continue to grow. “It’s almost hard to put into words,” said Johnathan Bauer, the founder and executive director of Servant Stage. “It hits every once in a while. This is a home. Like, ‘Wow, this is for real.’ It hasn’t fully sunk in yet. There are a lot of firsts in this place that are really special.” Following 12 years of serving the Lancaster County community through theater and the performing arts, Servant Stage moved into its new headquarters at 1842 William Penn Way, Lancaster, in East Lampeter Township in October. Up until that point, Servant Stage had been doing the best it could with what it had, while the mission around it was flourishing. “It’s so nice to have our own space,” said Bauer. “It’s fun every day. It’s nice to be able to have a conversation and not have to reply to an email. Having no space for so many years, you get used to it. A lot of it was working from home. We were storing sets and props in basements, garages and barns. Efficiency is a huge part of what we do. We were doing so many shows that it wasn’t sustainable.” Servant Stage’s new home base is eight rooms and 8,500 square feet in size, 5,000 of which is dedicated to a workshop, warehouse and storage space and 3,500 of which is being used as offices and for conferences and meetings.
See Dogs pg 6 with Darla. Photo by George Deibel
See Home pg 2
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