today’s news and information gleanings from here and there! 

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• Traffic Cam Rts. 30 & 441
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Quote for today… “The lunatics have taken charge of the asylum.” – Richard Rowland, former head of Metro Pictures

• More on the story below. This message is on the Eastern Lancaster County School District Website; the district takes exception to the lack of fact-checking done by the initial television report. – Eastern Lancaster County School District

• The dangers of Online learning: “Ephrata girl, 16, accused of downloading obscene materials on school-issue laptop” – Lancaster OnLine

• Rough water rescue – “One firefighter was injured and a rescue boat severely damaged Monday as crews battled rough waters and high winds while retrieving three stranded boaters from the Susquehanna River.” – Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era

• Letters to the editor about sidewalks, JoePa and killing during war – Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era

• “The Lancaster County School Retirees Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees will hold a dinner meeting on Monday, April 16, at Calvary Church, 1051 Landis Valley Road. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. and lunch is at 11. Guest speaker will be Tom Strickler, president of the Columbia School District Board of Directors. He will discuss ‘The Potential Impact School Retirees Can Have on Public School Children.’ Preregistration is required by April 5 by sending a $15 check, made out to LCSRPASR, to Becky Peifer, 119 Valley Road Lancaster, PA 17601.” – Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era

• Kiss those grants good-bye: “Will state conservation funding run dry?” – Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era

• Intelligencer Journal editorial about Ryan’s budget [NOTE: for more on that budget – The Path to Prosperity – click here.]

• LEGAL NOTICE – published in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era, March 27, 2012 – “A meeting of the West Hempfield Township Zoning Hearing Board will be held on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 7:30 PM in the West Hempfield Township Municipal Building located at 3401 Marietta Avenue, Lancaster, PA to hear the following cases: 1. Case 1145 – Sheetz, Inc., 5700 Sixth Avenue, Altoona, PA for an appeal of Zoning Officers interpretation of zoning ordinance in regards to maximum width for driveways and in the alternative, a variance to Section 707.2.C to allow a non-residential driveways 32 feet wide for a Columbia Avenue access and 36 feet wide for a Prospect Road access on property located at 4010 and 4014 Columbia Avenue, currently owned by Wawa, Inc., 260 W. Baltimore Pike, Wawa, PA zoned C-2.2. Case 1146 – Fern Hill Partners, LLC, 327 Locust Street, Columbia, PA for a use variance to Section 402.2. A to allow a veterinary clinic; avariance to Section 402.3.A.5 for minimum landscape area; avariance to Section 802.21. A for extent of required screening; a variance to Section 802.22.B for extent of landscaping; and a variance to Section 802.23. A to allow access driveway within 200 feet of an intersection for the property owned by Don-Joe, Inc., 600 A Fountain Avenue, Lancaster, PA. The property is located at 601 South 16^th Street, zoned C-2. Daryl S. Peck, Secretary, West Hempfield Township Zoning Hearing Board.”

• “AARP has slated a series of driver-safety classes. Full eight-hour basic courses will be offered as well as four-hour refresher courses.” Numerous locations are listed in an article in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era; this is the closest nearby venue: Saturday, April 21, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Monday, April 23, 8 a.m. to noon (refresher course), at Hempfield Recreation Center, 950 Church St., Landisville. To register, call 898-3102. – For questions or additional information, call A. Richard Erisman at 627-2775.

• “The Central Dauphin School District must slash jobs and programs and raise taxes to avoid bankruptcy, the school board was told Monday night.” – Harrisburg Patriot News