Penn Manor townlively.com
MARCH 29, 2023
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
The house that Poppy built BY ADRIAN ESCHENWALD
corn Acres Wildlife Rehabilitation announced on March 7 that Poppy, a rescued groundhog and animal ambassador for the organization, had passed away. Acorn Acres will host a memorial for Poppy on Saturday, April 1, at Jack’s Family Tavern & Restaurant, 15 S. Prince St., Millersville. The event will be held from noon to 4 p.m. and will include light refreshments, children’s activities, cornhole and a silent auction. Although the event will be free, Acorn Acres asks attendees to consider making a donation, which will fund the groundhog caging at its facility.
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Upon receiving the news of Poppy’s passing, several members of the community reached out to Acorn Acres’ founder, Betsy Shenk, to ask her if she would host a memorial. Shenk had originally planned to hold a baby shower-like event on April 1 to collect supplies for the rehab, as most wild animals begin raising their offspring during this time of year. April 1 would have been Poppy’s fourth birthday, so Shenk decided to transform the event into a way to honor her memory and to provide the community with a way to benefit the other groundhogs at Acorn Acres. With the money raised from donations, Acorn Acres will erect housing for its groundhogs with a
Poppy the groundhog
Staying smart about AI BY ADRIAN ESCHENWALD
The term artificial intelligence (AI) draws mixed reactions. Thanks to decades of science fiction films, television shows and books, many people hear the term AI and immediately begin to picture a bleak dystopia where robots have taken over the world, accompanied by the worry that Arnold Schwarzenegger won’t be able to save the day. Charlie Reisinger, chief information officer for Penn Manor School District, shared his perspective on the technological phenomenon to clear up some common misconceptions about AI. “AI is just another chapter in humanity’s quest to create machines that mirror other humans,” Reisinger said. “There are age-old stories of human beings trying to create life, like the tales of Frankenstein’s monster and the Greek myth of Pygmalion. At its core, it’s trying to breathe some sort of life into technology, but AI is really just math and computer code, nothing more.” The research of AI has been occurring for decades. The fundamental idea was to create software that could emulate human decision
Charlie Reisinger
making, but many research efforts were not fruitful enough and were abandoned. Around 10 years ago, a branch of AI exploration called neural network research resurfaced through the efforts of companies like Google. These companies realized this particular technique, roughly modeled after the human brain, could be used for pattern matching. Google made strides with functions like language processing, which gave us Google Translate. Reisinger credits this point in time as the beginning of a new generation of AI. See Artificial Intelligence pg 2
Join author Robert Dugoni for a talk BY CATHY MOLITORIS
There’s an occupational hazard Mary Ann Steinhauer faces as the leader of the Council of Friends of Public Libraries. “People will stop me in the street and ask, ‘Are you having another author event?’” she said with a laugh. Thankfully for Steinhauer, the answer is “yes.” The Council of Friends will host awardwinning author Robert Dugoni on Thursday, April 13, at Calvary Church, 1051 Landis Valley Road, Lancaster. The event will begin at 11 a.m.
Dugoni is perhaps best known for his crime mysteries and legal thrillers. His Tracy Crosswhite police series has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide. Dugoni is also the author of the Charles Jenkins espionage series and the David Sloane legal thriller series. Additionally, he has written several stand-alone novels, including “The 7th Canon,” “Damage Control,” “The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell: A Novel” and “The World Played Chess.” Ticket holders for the April talk will receive a copy of Dugoni’s latest novel, “Her Deadly Game.” See Author talk pg 6
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plaque that reads “The House That Poppy Built.” “It’s a way for us to remember her and to celebrate the incredible life of a little groundhog,” Shenk said. “This way, every little groundhog that goes through that house will benefit from Poppy.” Poppy came into Shenk’s care in May 2019, after she was found without a mother by a resident of Conestoga. The rehab that initially took Poppy in was having difficulty getting her to eat and transferred her to Shenk’s care, as Shenk specializes in rehabilitating rodents. Soon after, Shenk realized that the issue was caused by a malocclusion, a birth defect resulting in crooked teeth. Since groundhogs’ teeth grow perpetually and rely on the animal wearing them down, rodents with malocclusion that are unable to manage the length of their teeth are at risk of fatal health problems. Shenk only had three options: to euthanize Poppy, put her under anesthesia and trim her teeth every 10 days or remove her teeth altogether. Shenk decided to remove Poppy’s teeth and train her as an animal ambassador, as she was unable to be released back into the wild. Since becoming an ambassador for Acorn Acres, Poppy achieved remarkable feats for a groundhog, including starring in an NFL championship commercial in 2020 alongside Bill Murray. Poppy accompanied Shenk to dozens of events and animal rehabilitation centers to help educate thousands of people on groundhogs and the important roles they play in the ecosystem. Shenk estimated that Poppy helped to educate nearly 12,000 people during her time as an ambassador. “I think one of the biggest things she did was make people smile during a difficult time,” Shenk said. “I would see people looking at this beautiful little creature and smiling behind their masks. As much as this is going to tear our hearts out, I think the community needs this opportunity to grieve and celebrate her.” For more information, visit www.acornacreswr.com.
VOL LIX • NO 48
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