Lampeter-Strasburg
LOOK INSIDE
National
Day
Look Inside MARCH 18, 2026
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 9,190 HOMES
West Lampeter Author Releases First Book BY GEORGE DEIBEL
A
Pansies are here! FREE Pack of w/$30 purchase
1 per customer with this ad thru 3/31/26.
See Book pg 2 Derek Etherington holds a copy of his debut book. Photo by George Deibel
Breaking Barriers With Humor and Hope BY CAT SHANNON
1955 Beaver Valley Pike, just N. of Quarryville
(717) 786-4713 Mon.-Fri. 8am-6pm, Sat. 8am-4pm
mecksproduce.com
When Drew Beekler takes the stage at a special event for The Janus School, he won’t just deliver punchlines. He’ll share a powerful story of perseverance, creativity and what can happen when you embrace the way you learn. The school will host “Breaking Barriers: A Night of Humor and Hope With Drew Beekler” on Friday,
March 20, at 7 p.m. at its campus, 205 Lefever Road, Mount Joy. The idea for the program came about after Beekler’s mother, Julie Barker, came to an event at the school last year and was struck by the hardworking students she met. “ S he was reminded of the challenges her own son endured throughout school and thought that Drew’s story would resonate with our students,” recalled See Janus School pg 10
R126305
FFA Members Win Award at Farm Show BY GEORGE DEIBEL
Members of the Garden Spot FFA at Lampeter-Strasburg (L-S) High School earned an award during the Pennsylvania Farm Show. The tractor restoration team was presented with a plaque honoring them for the Best Record Book. Juniors Rex Giberson, Jackson Allison, and Trent Thomas and senior Jack Ross delivered the presentation at the Farm Show. Seniors Sebastian Delgado and Brayden Welk; juniors Landon Giberson and Braydon Nye; and alumna Ava Immel, communications and marketing lead, also contributed to the effort of reconstructing a 1947 John Deere AN tractor. “Rex was the chairman of that project, and I was more or less one of the mechanics,” Jack said. “The major part of the process was completely doing tearing down and cleaning and prepping of all parts for paint. Some parts were replaced if they were either damaged or just broken or not working. I know there were some things that got sent out to a machine shop.” Rex explained how record keeping works. “Through the FFA, whenever we do projects, we use an app called AET,” he explained. “That is a centralized place to log everything. Every time we would work on a tractor, I would go into this app and make a journal entry of what we did and how long it took us, and then through that, we also list different skills that we may have gained. It’s just a place to keep everything journaled.” “It was pretty nice,” Jack said. “I know Rex did pretty much See FFA pg 6
Drew Beekler
our
apples 99¢Lb. 15 Varieties
OPEN Mon.-Sat. 8-6
400 Long Lane at Marticville Road (Rt. 741 & 324) 717-872-9311
Spring has Sprung! www.cherryhillorchards.com
Follow us
R126358
Fruit & Flowers
POSTMASTER: PLEASE DELIVER MAR. 18, 2026
PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Engle Printing Co
Postal Patron
LSA
Spring Pansies
once-reluctant reader has transformed into a prolific writer. He has Shel Silverstein to thank. Derek Etherington self-published his first book in October of 2025, and he’s already working on two more. The West Lampeter Township resident wrote, illustrated, and designed the children’s book “Moonbeams and Rhyme Dreams” u n d e r t h e p e n n a m e D e re k Allen. The work is available on Amazon and through his website, www.derekallenbooks.com. “I think it’s a book that will grow with kids,” Etherington said. “It’s lighthearted humor. It’s something that will keep even the most reluctant readers engaged. I think anybody can find something in this book that they would like. It’s clean humor. It’s relatable for all ages. There’s humor in there that
VOL LXII • NO 46