THE ISSUE: It’s Friday, the day we take a few moments to highlight the good news in Lancaster County and the surrounding region. Some of these items are welcome developments on the economic front or for area neighborhoods. Others are local stories of achievement, ingenuity, perseverance, compassion and creativity that represent welcome points of light as we face critical issues in Pennsylvania and stressful situations in our nation and world. All of this uplifting news deserves a brighter spotlight.
It’s been a dandy summer for professional baseball in eastern Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia Phillies have the best record in Major League Baseball, had seven players named to the upcoming All-Star Game and are incredibly tough to beat at their home stadium, Citizens Bank Park. They are averaging nearly 41,000 fans per home game.
And here in Lancaster, the Stormers — the two-time defending Atlantic League champions — are 4-1 to start the second half of the regular season after defeating the Staten Island FerryHawks on Thursday afternoon.
As with the Phillies, fans are flocking to Stormers games, too. They are averaging about 4,000 fans per game at Clipper Magazine Stadium. And, late last month, the team more than doubled that figure — and set an Atlantic League record in the process.
“The Lancaster Stormers hosted 8,636 fans on June 27 for a game against the Staten Island FerryHawks,” LNP | LancasterOnline reported. “The large crowd, which was a result of the Stadium Showcase event, set an Atlantic League attendance record, beating a mark that had stood for 12 years.”
We’re big fans of the ballpark experience at Clipper Magazine Stadium, and it’s clear that we’re far from alone in that sentiment. The Stormers’ ballpark has become a cornerstone of Lancaster city and county during the Stormers’ two decades in the Atlantic League.
The Stadium Showcase is an annual event that allows Stormers staff members to invite people who have never been to a Stormers game — or have not been to a game in many years — to witness baseball in person, LNP | LancasterOnline explained.
The players took notice, too.
“The crowd reminded me of a true playoff game,” Stormers third baseman Trace Loehr stated in a news release from the Stormers. “I loved playing in front of the fans that made it all happen.”
The previous Atlantic League single-game attendance record had been held by the Sugar Land (Texas) Skeeters, who drew 8,597 to a game in September 2012.
If all of this has you itching to see some baseball and grab a ballpark hot dog, the Stormers will be home for a three-game weekend series against the Long Island Ducks, starting tonight.
In other good things:
— Joan Shenk, who has transported Penn Manor School District students for 45 years as a bus driver for Shultz Transportation, is the recipient of the 2024 National School Transportation Association Outstanding Driver Award, LNP | LancasterOnline’s Ashley Stalnecker reported.
She gets a hearty round of applause from us, too.
“Shenk was working in a small Conestoga Township grocery store in 1978 when she decided she wanted a job where she could have off in the summer and drive a big vehicle,” Stalnecker wrote.
That led the Penn Manor graduate to Shultz Transportation and, from there, the numbers are amazing. Shenk has driven thousands of students to and from Conestoga Elementary School and Penn Manor High School. Two former students she drove — twin sisters — went on to become teachers, and she’s worked through the administrations of seven Penn Manor superintendents.
“I don’t know if there’s any secret — you just try to do your best,” Shenk told LNP | LancasterOnline’s Stalnecker, regarding her long career. “That’s why I was surprised when they told me about this reward. I thought ‘Why am I getting a reward for just doing my job?’ ”
She’s being too modest. People who’ve reliably done the kind of work that Shenk has done for four-and-a-half decades — work that involves the safe transportation of children — should be celebrated in our community. To us, they’re heroes.
— Finally, we were encouraged to read that three youth-focused nonprofits are receiving a combined $47,000 in grants to help mentor more than 400 young people in Lancaster County.
The Touchstone Foundation’s Youth Mentorship Partnership Funds will support the training of staff and volunteer mentors at Bench Mark Program, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region and Court Appointed Special Advocates of Lancaster and Lebanon Counties, LNP | LancasterOnline’s Lucy Albright reported.
The Touchstone Foundation, based in Lancaster city, focuses on youth mental health, and, in a news release, it praised the three grant recipients for working to “ensure that mentors understand trauma-informed care to support youth growth and development through adversity.”
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, trauma-informed care assesses, recognizes and responds to the effects of traumatic stress.
Bench Mark Program mentors youths through an open gym and other programs; Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region provides trained high school mentors to elementary and middle school students; and Court Appointed Special Advocates of Lancaster and Lebanon Counties provides court-appointed volunteer advocates to children who have been abused and neglected.
These are incredibly important programs, and we are grateful that the Touchstone Foundation is able to grant them with much-needed funding.
