VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Fanning Staff
LEBANON (Lebanon
Co.) The Lebanon County
Conservation District honored
several members of its community
Wednesday during its annual con
servation achievement recognition
ceremonies at the Lebanon Quality
Inn.
The Lebanon Conservation Dis
trict annually recognizes conserva
tion efforts by community people
and businesses.
Charles Wertz, district manager,
presided at the meeting. The annu
al planning meeting preceded the
awards luncheon and the awards
ceremony. A board meeting
followed.
District staff members include
Leigh Beamesderfer, forester/
naturalist; Sherry Carlin, erosion
and sedimentation control special
ist; Doug Wolfgang, agricultural
resource coordinator, Ruth Sheetz,
administrative assistant; and Linda
Shultz, secretary.
The district operations arc over
seen by a board of directors com
prised of rural and urban people,
with agriculture well represented.
The board includes farmers, a
county commissioner, members of
the community active on boards of
related agencies and organiza
tions, and individuals personally
and/or professionally concerned
with natural resources.
The district chairman is Calvin
Miller of Lickdale, a dairy farmer
and one of the first to receive indi
vidual provisional certification for
nutrient management planning
under the state’s new Nurtient
Management Act program. His
farm has a voluntary plan.
Edward Keener of Cornwall is
vice chairman. Keener is involved
with oversight of the Lebanon City
water and sewer department, one
of the largest watershed owners in
the county, as well as providing
waste-water treatment for the city
and surrounding municipalities.
Dale Mauliair of Jonestown is a
dairy farmer with registered Ayr
shire who serve as treasurer.
The board is also comprised of
Lebanon County Honors Conservation Efforts
two “urban” directors, George
Wolff of Myers town, and Betty
Conner of Lebanon. There are also
three “rural” directors, Connie
Hoffer of South Annville, Donald
Bollinger of Kleinfeltersville, and
George Ungemach of the Camp
belltown area.
Also serving cm the board is
county Commissioner JoEllen
Litz.
Special Recognition
Conservation Award
Litz was the recipient of the dis
trict’s Special Recongition Award
for Conservation.
According to Wertz, Litz also
serves on the Lebanon Area Cham
ber of Commerce, the Lebanon
Business and Professional
Women’s Club, the Lebanon
Women’s Club, runs her own busi
ness, was one of the first members
of the county agricultural land pre
servation board before she was a
county commissioner, and was one
of the first members of a citizens
group concerned with water qual
ity of the Swatara Creek which has
become the Swatara Watershed
Association for which she did
the fund raising necessary for the
watershed association to be able to
qualify for a grant, and was instru
mental in coordinating the various
municipalities in the watershed to
cooperate with the project
She also helps out with various
district programs and projects
involving youth, and Wertz
showed several slides of Litz
involved in such activities.
Clean Water
Farm Award
The Chesapeake Bay Clean
Water Farm Award was presented
to David and Christine Williams of
Jonestown. The couple and their
dairy farm have been featured sev
eral times in Lancaster Farming
for such things as converting mar
ginal and wet bottom land from
row crop fields into hay and pas
ture fields, and for converting from
a confinement and prepared feeds
focused dairying operation to
incoroporating intensive grazing.
From the left, recipients of awards from the Lebanon County Conservation District
are David Williams, Althea Hemperly, Marie Levltz, JoEllen Lltz, and James Logan.
The 142-acres farm has been
used for tours demonstrating con
servation practices and concerns.
It has also been used as a meeting
site for the Swatara Watershed
Association, and to demonstrate
the efforts and activities of county
farmers to protect the quality of
water.
According to Wertz, the couple
signed up as cooperators with the
conservation district in 1991 and
then as a Chesapeake Bay Cooper
ator in 1995.
Wertz noted that when the Wil
liamses signed on as cooperators
with the Chesapeake Bay Program
they agreed to implement a num
ber of “best management prac
tices” (BMPs) on their farm with
10 years time allowed to have all
installed and implemented.
The Williamses finished their
obligations within two years. They
received a plaque, as well as a cer
tificate of appreciation from state
Secretary of Agriculture Samuel
Hayes Jr.
Conservationist
of Year
Marie Levitz, of Grantville,
benefactor of the H.M. Levitz
Memorial Park, located along RL
Dale Henhey
Of Henhey Brothers Dairy
Hurled adding IhmtEnhanee
Mlcreblals to his ratioat
6 months age..and has
seen herd average
Increase lust by production
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Here's whys
• Rumtnhaiue helps maintain dry
matter Intake.
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rumen activity.
• Sumtnhmnte aids in lessening Hie
effects of stress.
• Sumtnhmnte can increase herd
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 8, IM7-A33
443 in the Grantville area, was pre
sented with the district’s Conser
vationist of the Year award.
Levitz, a medical secretary for
40 years who volunteers to help a
number of community service
organizations and efforts, donated
a 105-acre tract of land which
became the H.M. Levitz Memorial
Park.
The park is the site of an annual
apple cider festival and has various
nature programs for the public.
Through continued support from
Levitz, a facility was constructed
to house a park management and to
make improvements, as well as to
provide operational and mainte
nance funds.
Wertz said that the park has con
tinued to operate with private
funds and donations for years and
has been self-sustaining.
According to Wertz, the park
provides nature trails, and has used
conservation devices to present
erosion and sedimentation in the
stream that flows through it
Conservation Educator
Of The Year
The Conservation District also
recognizes a Conservation Educa
tor erf the Year. This year the
award went to James Logan, a
biology teacher at Northern Leba
non School District
Wertz said the qualifications for
the award arc for an educator who
teaches in public, private or paroc
hial schools or colleges in the com
munity. who has demonstrated a
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commitment to environmental
education, and who has achieved a
significant level of impact and out
reach, used resources and other
agencies in providing educational
opportunities, and who has com
mitted time and energy in actively
educating about the environment.
According to Wertz, Logan has
promoted and achieved environ
mental awareness and appreciation
in youth. As a biology teacher and
advisor to the school Ecology
Club, he works with environmen
tal biology and environmental che
mistry students.
He has developed a program
where he takes youth on annual
field trips to Lews, Delaware, for
ocean study, and also has students
do environmental class projects.
Landowner Of
The Year
The Lebanon Conservation Dis
trict also recognizes outstanding
conservation efforts by
landowners.
This year’s award recipient is
the Althea Hemperly family, for
the work they did on their North
Annville Township farm.
Wertz said the award is made to
a landowner who made a
noteworthy contribution.”
With the use of slide projection
of before and after photographs of
the farm, Wertz explained that the
family’s 122-acre farm has a lot of
steep sloping, shallow-soiled hills,
and erosion has been a historic
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