Annual Akron Fire Company Open House Has

Everyone Smiling

Sandi and Lynn Crills – one day Carter may become celebrates his dad Jacques knocking cones over with the fire hose.

Citizens should check weather apps and news media periodically throughout the day when weather “Watches” are issued. A Watch means a severe event may occur. When a “Warning” is issued the event is occurring and immediate action should be taken. Follow the advice given during the warning.

During floods, drivers and walkers should not try to cross running water. Just nine inches of water can stall a car and it may be swept away. “Turn Around – Don’t Drown” needs to be remembered by all.

In fact, during flood situations, limit your driving to only what is absolutely necessary for the safety of yourself and others.

If you home is flood prone, pay attention to changing conditions. Leave your home for higher ground prior to the home being flooded. The Ephrata area has several streets near the Cocalico Creek where the water can rise rapidly and damage the home. Be aware of your surroundings. If assistance is needed in a flood, call 911.

The Weather Channel is a good source for current conditions. They are predicting between now and the year 2050, there will be a 40% increase in flood events.

Flooding is not the only concern during severe weather. High wind events and tornadoes are possible, as well. In 2009, a tornado just missed hitting the Borough and destroyed over 30 buildings in Clay and West Cocalico Township.

In a high wind/tornadic event, people should go to the lowest level of the building. Go to an interior room with no or few windows. Get down on your knees and elbows with your hands covering your head. If damage has been done to your home, call 911. Be cautious, as electric lines may still be live in the aftermath.

If your home does not have a basement, seek an interior room without windows or make arrangements in advance to go to a neighbor’s home whom has a basement.

Use caution when lightning is approaching and seek indoor shelter. Lightning can strike when the storm is more than six miles away or has passed.

Again, listen to “live” media for latest updates. You should sit down with your family and have a plan so that everyone knows what to do in a severe weather situation.

If people have questions or would like Mr. Gockley to speak on emergency preparedness to a community group in the Borough, he can be reached at 717-4669050 or at EphrataOEM@ ephrataboro.org.

“Summer In The Psalms” Series

The First United Methodist Church of Ephrata is hosting a sermon series, “Summer in the Psalms,” which will conclude on Sunday, September 3. The Rev. DJ Choi, the church’s pastor, is selecting a different psalm to focus on each Sunday.

The sermons are taking place during the church’s usual Sunday service. Traditional services at 8:30 a.m. and contemporary services at 10:30 a.m. On Sunday, July 30, the church will host one combined service at 10:30 a.m. at the farm (651 Stevens Road). A lunch will follow. No registration is required.

First United Methodist Church of Ephrata is located at 68 North Church Street, Ephrata. For more information, call the church at 717-738-2465.

* On July 24, 1959, the popularly termed “kitchen debates” took place between U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow, where Nixon was visiting a house built as part of an exhibit in the American National Exhibition.

* On July 25, 1976, Viking 1, the first space probe to successfully land on Mars, took the famous photo of the Cydonia region that included a 1.2-mile mesa with the striking appearance of a humanoid face. The image has since been accepted by scientists as an optical illusion.

* On July 26, 1863, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan, along with 360 of his men, were captured at Salineville, Ohio, during a raid on the North. Starting in the previous July, Morgan made four major raids on Northern or Northern­held territory in a year, which, though of limited strategic importance, bolstered Southern morale while capturing badly needed supplies.

* On July 27, 1981, 6­yearold Adam John Walsh was abducted from a mall in Hollywood, Florida, after following an older boy outside, and later found murdered. In the aftermath of the still­unsolved crime, his father, John Walsh, became a leading victims’ rights activist and host of the long­running television show “America’s Most Wanted.”

* On July 28, 1945, in a freak accident caused by heavy fog, a U.S. military plane crashed into New York City’s Empire State Building, killing 14 people, including the two pilots and a single passenger, and resulting in $1 million in damages.

* On July 29, 2012, rap singer Snoop Dogg (real name Calvin Broadus) was banned from Norway for two years after being caught attempting to bring a small amount of marijuana into the country in his luggage, as well as more cash than legally allowed, the previous month.

* On July 30, 1733, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the future United States, now known as St. John’s Lodge, was constructed in Massachusetts. It claims to be the third­oldest such lodge in existence, though this has been disputed by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and the Grand Lodge of Virginia.