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THE ISSUE

Its 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 confront critical and stressful issues in Pennsylvania, across the nation and around the world. All of this uplifting news deserves a brighter spotlight.

Politics is a nasty business arguably nastier now than at any other time in modern history. It has torn apart families, divided communities, inflicted pain on and sown fear in the most vulnerable people in our society.

It is sometimes difficult to find light in dark days.

Today, though, wed like say a few good words about Tuesday's primary election particularly about the hundreds of volunteers and scores of elections office workers who made sure things went smoothly across Lancaster County.

Well done. And thank you.

These volunteers and government employees put in long days doing a thankless job in an era when mistrust in our own neighbors and our institutions, including those responsible for running our elections, runs deep.

It is no simple feat.

Polls opened at 7 a.m., yes, but the preparations started much earlier that day. By the time the polls closed 13 hours later, more than 74,000 eligible voters had cast ballots at 242 polling places, mailed them in or dropped them off at the county elections office.

Heres another important number: zero.

There were no significant problems with access at polling places or counting the votes Tuesday.

And that is remarkable given the monumental scope of the responsibility and complicated nature of running elections. It was a slow, uneventful day for us, said Christa Miller, the countys top elections official. Just how we like it.

The county has taken important steps to count mail ballots more quickly, and the result is that the citizens who participate in this fundamental rite of our democracy are able to know the outcome in a matter of hours not days or even weeks, when doubt can fester and conspiracy theories can fill the void. Speed is a key ingredient in transparency where elections are concerned.

We know, too, that where there is trust in institutions there is also engagement.

On Tuesday, 1 in 4 eligible voters cast ballots in Lancaster County 25.18%, to be exact. Yes, that means 3 in 4 didnt vote, but the portion of the electorate who did participate in this primary was the second-largest of any other municipal primary in the last two decades.

Consider that only 14% turned out in 2019, the last municipal primary in which the county commissioners were on the ballot. Just 12% showed up in 2015 and 13% in 2011.

This years turnout trailed 2021, when about 28% of eligible voters participated in the primary. Still, the growing number of primary voters over the past two decades is a direct result of the states expanded no-excuse mail voting rules, which likely encourage voters who ordinarily would skip off-year primaries to take part.

The cultural issues driving many voters to the polls this year are challenging and divisive.

We are encouraged, though, that more people are choosing to participate in finding solutions by voting in primaries, by selecting the candidates who will defend their positions over the next five months and stand before the entire electorate in November.

This is how a functioning democracy works.

Tuesday was a good sign that ours does.

Congratulations to the Ephrata Mountaineers baseball team and the Warwick Warriors softball team, who captured Lancaster-Lebanon League championships this week.

The Mounts, who lost to Manheim Township in last years title game, built a 4-3 lead over Lampeter-Strasburg after three innings at Clipper Magazine Stadium on Monday. Coy Schwanger led the Mounts with two hits including a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Reliever Ben Burkey came on in the seventh and pitched out of a jam to work a scoreless inning, enabling the Mounts to capture their seventh league title and their first since 2018.

The Warriors, meantime, went into Wednesdays championship softball game at Millersville Universitys Seaber Stadium having scored just two runs in its previous 15 innings against Hempfield. The rivals went into extra innings, and the Warriors scored five times in the eighth to defeat the Black Knights 11-6. It was the first championship for the Warriors since 2010, the programs fourth in seven tries.

Congratulations, too, to the hundreds of high school athletes who are finishing up their seasons, whether in the playoffs or not. Your achievements this season have been remarkable, and the work youve put in as student-athletes has enriched your education in innumerable ways.

What would Mothers Day in Lancaster County be without the Make-A-Wish Mothers Day Truck Convoy?

Let us rephrase that question.

What would life for critically ill children be without people such as Jonathon Werley, a 19-year-old Berks County trucker who drove his familys rig around the county Sunday to help raise money for the charity?

Or Ken Witner, 69, of Millersville, who made more than 200 balloon animals for the Make-A-Wish kids while his sister painted their faces?

The best part of the whole thing, Witner told LNP | LancasterOnline reporter Olivia Miller, is meeting the kids who have actually had their wishes come true.

If the strength of a community can be measured in miles, wed say Lancaster County comes in at about 26, running between Manheim and Mount Joy.

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Read more from the original source:
This week's good things: Democracy in action, excellence on the ... - LNP | LancasterOnline