Penn Manor townlively.com
MARCH 6, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LX • NO 45
A gift that comes from the heart BY ADRIAN ESCHENWALD
I
n 2019, Hambright Elementary School teacher Lorien Gilbert learned a fellow staff member at the school was in need of a kidney transplant. Gilber t immediately sought an evaluation at a hospital to determine if she was a compatible donor, but she was denied. Although the staff member was able to receive a transplant from a deceased donor, Gilbert still felt she was meant to become a donor, and she continued to research the process. Three years later, the father of one of Gilbert’s third-grade students needed a kidney transplant. Gilbert once again underwent testing at a hospital in Philadelphia, a process that took nearly seven months to complete. By the time Gilbert was approved, her student’s father had found another compatible donor, but Gilbert still knew there was
someone out there whom she could help. “If I can help with something, I’m going to,” Gilbert said. “I’ve been an organ donor all my life, but I never realized how important living donations are.” In addition to researching organ donation, Gilbert is a regular blood and plasma donor. Gilbert’s blood type is O+, making her a compatible donor for many other blood types. After her second attempt at becoming a kidney donor, Gilbert began looking into the requirements for an altruistic donation, which would allow her to pledge a kidney to the next patient in need of a transplant. In July 2023, one of Gilbert’s students told her about a woman named Sarah Weiss in Williamsport. Weiss, a member of the student’s prayer group, lost her right kidney to cancer in 2010, and her second kidney was quickly failing. Gilbert contacted Weiss via email to ask for permission to begin See Kidney donation pg 6
Lorien Gilbert (left) and Sarah Weiss
BY ADRIAN ESCHENWALD
The primary goal of the Lancaster County Emergency Management Agency (LEMA) is to prepare local residents for emergencies, from severe weather conditions to man-made disasters. The organization seeks to accomplish this by identifying potential hazards, providing training resources, developing emergency action plans and working with other emergency management agencies at the
federal and state levels. LEMA uses a notification system called LANC-Alert to send real-time updates to Lancaster County residents during emergencies. The alert system uses phone calls, text messaging and emails to keep people informed, and many other emergency management agencies utilize similar procedures. Unlike many other agencies, however, LEMA faces the added component of serving Amish and Mennonite communities
An ode to absurdity, dry humor and the Midwest goodbye BY ADRIAN ESCHENWALD
“Midwest goodbye” is a term used to describe a prolonged exit. More often than not, it refers to the way a dinner guest announces his or her departure but lingers in the doorway to chat for another hour. For Millersville University student Oscar McDonah, this was the perfect phrase to describe the multimedia artist’s senior exhibition, which opened on Feb. 19. “A Midwestern goodbye is an The opening night of the exhibition featured a performance from
See Weather alerts pg 3
composer Alex Silva, during which Oscar McDonah operated a lighting
See “Midwest Goodbyes” pg 5 display.
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