Warwick JANUARY 21, 2026
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 13,270 HOMES
VOL LXVI • NO 46
Where Food and Community Take Root BY CAT SHANNON
ONLINE
See JOAD Program pg 4
See Wittel Farm pg 2
WINTER EVENT Band Plays Music That CALENDAR Makes Lititz a Community Members of the Lititz Community Band present a performance.
BY JEFF FALK
townlively.com/ events
“Music is ver y important because it brings people together,” said Matt Samly, who’s been the director of the Lititz Community Band for four years. “We listen to it in our cars. Out of anything in this world, it’s music that has that common element. Look at audiences at concerts; it’s just anybody. It’s always something
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usic can soothe. Music can inspire. Universal, music knows no limits, knows no boundaries, knows no borders. Mo re t h a n b r i n g i n g t h e m together, music connects people. Music makes us human.
for people to look forward to. It puts a smile on their faces. Culture changes, but music doesn’t.” The Lititz Community Band promotes all kinds of music, explores music and makes live music available to the masses. Made up of members from Lititz and surrounding areas, the band has the purpose of both representing the See Lititz Band pg 5
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Aim of JOAD Program Is for Archers to Find Themselves BY JEFF FALK
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Archers enrolled in the JOAD program hone their skills.
townlively.com
JUNE 11, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXVI • NO 18
Shine Bright at Hope Within 5K BY CAT SHANNON
Support a local nonprofit, enjoy beautiful surroundings and get some exercise all at the same time by participating in the Hope Within Ministries’ Let Your Light Shine 5K Walk/ Run. The event will be held on
Saturday, July 19, beginning at 8 a.m. at Stone Gables Estate, 1 Hollinger Lane, Elizabethtown. “The idea came about as a means to represent what Hope Within Ministries is - a health care, dental and counseling center,” said Laurie Reichert, director of development for the See 5K pg 2
2024 MS FitEffect participants and trainers with program director Mark Mueller (far right)
MS FitEffect Puts Strength Into Motion BY CAT SHANNON
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ark Mueller and his wife, Jackie, took a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and turned it into an opportunity to help others. Jackie was diagnosed with MS in 1998, and the couple sought to treat the disease as naturally as possible, without medication. They experimented with nutrition and exercise to see what worked and what didn’t, and their research led to MS FitEffect, a free, 10-week program for people with MS. The next session will run from Saturday, Sept. 6, through Saturday, Nov. 15, at Elizabethtown Fitness Club, 626 S. Market St. “Each participant selects a time with their trainer for their private
explained. “We have sessions there are no two people who available Monday through Sat- share the same set of symptoms urday in the morning, afternoon at the same intensities with the and some evenings. It is based same presentation of symptoms.” While specifics vary for each on the participant’s and trainer’s participant, the program focuses availability.” on strength, stamina and stability for all sessions. “ We use a combination of “We meet each stretching, relaxation techniques, participant where they weight training, cardiovascular training, balance and gait training are at and move them and functional training,” Mark forward from there.” said. “We meet each participant where they are at and move them forward from there. We focus on As Mark shared, MS FitEffect is helping them achieve a better quality of life by working with them on personalized. “The program is different for activities of daily living that have everyone, as the trainer cus- become difficult for them.” MS FitEffect is open to anyone tom-designs the program for the particular participant,” he stated. with MS or any demyelinating
The historic Star Barn will be one of the sights to see along the route of Hope Within Ministries’ Let Your Light Shine 5K.
A World of Wonder Awaits Inside the Bookmobile BY JEFF FALK
It ’s more than books on wheels. The Library System of Lancaster County’s (LSLC) bookmobile delivers knowledge, creativity, inspiration and joy. The bookmobile is kind of like a food truck serving up nourishment for the mind and soul. “Reading in general is very important,” said Audrey Lilley, the bookmobile’s driver, curator and full-time coordinator. “It’s important for kids to be read-
be able to pick up a book and see characters who look like them. Reading can be inspirational, and with retirees, it kind of comes full circle. I think retirees can find comfort in reading. For all people in between, it’s a way to relax and unwind.” W h e n n o t o n t h e g o to multiple locations all across Lancaster County, Lilley parks the bookmobile at LSLC’s main office at 1866 Colonial Village Lane, Suite 107, Lancaster. The bookmobile is a 22-foot-long
In your mailbox & online
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Sports can play a key role in a young person’s development. A nontraditional sport, archery is given an avenue through the Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) program, which provides participation and competition opportunities for students. Perhaps the most important thing that JOAD does is bring out the best in kids. “I want (students) to learn about archery, their archery,” said Bryan Baker, an assistant manager at the Lancaster Archery Academy. “Their archery
On a stretch of preser ved farmland in Elizabethtown, transformation happens every day at a space that offers reconnection - with the land, with one another and with the essential act of growing food. This is Wittel Farm, a nonprofit on 85 acres of land with a long history of care, now being reimagined as a place where food, community and environmental stewardship meet. Records date the property to the mid-1700s, and long before that it was cared for by the Susquehannock people. In the 1980s, Chuck and Katie Wittel placed the property into a land trust, gifting it to the Lutheran Camping Corporation. While not much was produced at the farm for many years, that changed in 2016, when the farm’s current manager, the Rev. Matt Lenahan, began the Growing Project, a partnership between the Lutheran Camping Corp., the Lower Susquehanna Synod and Hunger-Free Lancaster County. L enahan, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Akron, grew up on a large commercial farm in New York and once thought he would never farm again after entering ministry. His thinking shifted as he became more aware of food insecurity and the fragility of modern food systems. “I really star ted to think about the food system and how food-dependent we are because so few of us are actually participating in the food production,” he said. “We’ve really stepped
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