Lancaster Online

Jury selection will begin Thursday for the former director of the McCaskey Gospel Choir, charged with having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student.On Tuesday, Lancaster County Court Judge Jeffery Wright ruled that a recorded telephone conversation between Norman Micah McMillan III, 27, of... Full Story »

Day in and day out, Acadia's team of specialists helps neurologically impaired patients learn how to function again at home and in society after they've suffered traumatic brain injuries —\!q whether due to car accidents or military combat or strokes.But the East Lampeter Township rehabilitati... Full Story »

Are you the woman who found a $2,000 wedding ring Monday morning on the floor of the Wal-Mart in Manheim TownshipMichael McKoin would like it back.McKoin of Lancaster reported to Manheim Township Police that his ring fell off while he was at a cash register at the Fruitville Pike store at about 8:3... Full Story »

Coughing Sniffling Maybe a little feverishFor most people, getting the flu vaccine every year usually isn't a problem.But this year is different.Not only is the vaccine for the swine flu, or H1N1 virus, in short supply, but so is the vaccine for regular seasonal flu.Health officials are targe... Full Story »

Rebecca Hoover recently learned about the power of zucchini.Last spring, the 9-year-old fourth-grader at Hinkletown Mennonite School bought $10 worth of zucchini seeds and grew the squash all summer at her New Holland home.She sold the best of her crop from a roadside stand and used the $20 profit t... Full Story »

What fun! For Christmas last year my brother got me a scouting camera. I got him a battery-operated corn feeder .Partly, I wanted to see what big deer might be around our hunting grounds in West Virginia. But mostly, I was captivated at the chance to catch in the act the myriad of wildlife I knew wa... Full Story »

Federal officials, acting on President Barrack Obama's recent executive order to get serious about cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, announced a draft strategy Monday that makes Lancaster County a linchpin in the plan.Local farms, sewage plants and runoff from urban and suburban landscapes are in ... Full Story »

Motorists using Route 222 northeast of Lancaster will have to endure the single-lane restrictions on the four-lane highway only until the end of next week — but that is only a winter reprieve.The orange traffic cones will reappear with the first spring flowers and stay around all next year.The. Full Story »

Manheim Township will join East Petersburg Borough next year as the only municipalities in Lancaster County with a tax dedicated solely to fire service.The township commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to adopt a special fire tax of 0.43 mills, which will begin being assessed in 2010.The tax... Full Story »

Toni Lee Sharpless is alive. That's the belief of a private investigator who is investigating the disappearance of the Lancaster General Hospital nurse.In fact, more than a dozen people have reported seeing her in Lancaster — outside a sub shop, on the street not far from Penn Square, even... Full Story »

State Rep. Katie R. True, a tireless advocate for children and families whose willingness to stand up to House leaders earned her the reputation of a maverick, will retire after 2010.True, an East Hempfield Township Republican, said she decided not to seek re-election because she has achieved most o... Full Story »

Ephrata police nabbed a suspected armed robber two hours after a heist in the borough Sunday night, police said.Richard H. Atkins, 56, of the 100 block of East Main Street, Ephrata, targeted the Getty Mart at 644 E. Main St., Ephrata, police said.Atkins entered the store, displayed a knife and deman... Full Story »

Manheim Township police are investigating the thefts of car wheels and tires, stereo equipment, a purse, a wallet, cash, an iPhone and even a SpongeBob Squarepants chair.Someone on Saturday got out of a car while it was stopped in the 1200 block of Manheim Pike and took a $99 foam SpongeBob rocking ... Full Story »

An Akron woman stole a prescription pad and tried to obtain drugs with a forged prescription in Ephrata, police reported today.Amanda Nixdorf, 24, a patient at an OB/GYN office at Ephrata Community Hospital, stole a prescription pad from the office on Oct. 23, police said.She then tried to pass a fo... Full Story »

Some of Lancaster County's Main Street organizations are banding together for the upcoming holiday season, encouraging shoppers to take a look at them before heading out to the mall.The Think Local First campaign, which runs from Nov. 27 through Dec. 18, sets up a sort of scavenger hunt for shoppers... Full Story »

City police caught one suspected robber Monday, but are still looking for two others.Two men robbed CR's Friendly Market, 777 New Holland Ave., at gunpoint on Sunday, city police said.One brandished a handgun during the 9:05 p.m. robbery, police said. No one was injured.The two robbers fled on foot ... Full Story »

Opposition by local school officials to state-mandated high school graduation exams has softened over the past year, now that schools will be allowed to substitute their own tests for the new exams and high school PSSAs will be eliminated.But superintendents in Lancaster County still aren't very... Full Story »

When the Rev. Bob Edgar addressed the gathering at the Church of the Apostles United Church of Christ on Sunday afternoon, he was only half joking when he told them, "I have been given five honorary degrees, but I've only been arrested for civil disobedience four times. My one regret in my life ... Full Story »

Brethren Village has thrown open the doors to 120 new, private rooms in a cozy, home-like environment."The backhoes are gone. The painters have brushed their final coats. The electricians have wired for power and sound. The computers are on. The staff is ready and willing. The doors are open," Craig... Full Story »

Staying calm and collected in the face of horrific tragedy is the key to being a good emergency medical technician, according to Dr. Miles G. Newman.The Elizabethtown osteopathic doctor should know. He has been working with advanced-life-support units for more than 40 years.Newman said it's an h... Full Story »

Some of Lancaster County's Main Street organizations are banding together for the upcoming holiday season, encouraging shoppers to take a look at them before heading out to the mall. The Think Local First campaign, which runs from Nov. 27 through Dec. 18, sets up a sort of scavenger hunt for sho... Full Story »

The bipartisan abortion amendment passed during Saturday's health care debate was co-sponsored by Rep. Joseph Pitts.A Republican who represents Lancaster County and parts of Chester and Berks counties, Pitts teamed with Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak, of Michigan, to draft the amendment months ago,... Full Story »

Phil Zangari was walking his dog near his home in the first block of Seymour Street a few weeks ago when he came across a pistol in a nearby alley.Zangari called Lancaster police, who dutifully came out and took a report. "The cops suggested I put up a gate" to keep people out of the alley, Zangari ... Full Story »

State Rep. Mike Sturla's bill to require rural municipalities to pay more for state police protection is taking fire from all sides.House Bill 1500 remains bottled up in the House Appropriations Committee, but throughout Pennsylvania municipal officials have ripped the legislation, and the Penns... Full Story »

As the number of swine flu cases seems to be diminishing here, two of the county's four hospitals finally have obtained H1N1 vaccine for employees who have direct contact with patients.This seemingly backward series of events is a result of insufficient supplies of vaccine nationwide.Vaccine is arri... Full Story »