Portion of train station platform opens

A newly installed portion of the platform at the Elizabethtown Train Station opened this month, serving Amtrak riders who are headed north to Harrisburg.

The platform is now raised off the ground, meaning that riders no longer will have to use a step stool to enter trains. And those using wheelchairs will be able to roll right onto the trains.

Borough Manager Roni Ryan reported that the contractor, Lobar Construction, expects to have a portion of the southbound platform open at the beginning of March.

Until the project is complete, riders access the platforms via temporary stairs that have been built on either side of the tracks. The old stairs in the tunnel are closed and will be renovated and reopened.

On both sides, the platforms will eventually be extended so that entire trains can stop and riders board at any door on the trains.

In the meantime, and especially during the winter, work  has continued on the train station building,  including safe removal of asbestos and other hazardous materials. At a recent Borough Council meeting, council members discussed what kind of use might occur in the station once the project is completed. Council and borough officials are open to creative ideas.

Elizabethtown received $9.3 million in federal stimulus money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the project. Borough officials had been working and planning for the project for more than 10 years.

Residents might be eligible for free weatherization services

Residents of Lancaster County -- for the record, this includes all the municipalities in the Elizabethtown Area School District -- might be eligible for free weather proofing of their homes or apartments.

The Housing Development Corp. in Lancaster (full disclosure: I am the marketing and public relations manager for HDC) has held the state contract to provide weatherization services in the county (as well as in Lebanon and Chester counties) since 1976. This year, HDC is the recipient of $8.75 million in federal stimulus money through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to help even more people.

The weatherization program is designed to make homes more energy efficient by adding insulation, sealing drafty windows and making other changes that keep people warmer while reducing their energy costs. The work could reduce energy bills by as much as 30 percent -- and that's significant now that electric rates have increased dramatically.


The weatherization assistance program is entirely free to people who qualify.

The program assists people whose household income is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The chart below shows the various income eligibility levels depending on how many people are living in the household:

1 person: $21,660	5 persons: $51,580
2 persons: $29,140	6 persons: $59,060
3 persons: $36,620	7 persons: $66,540
4 persons: $44,100	8 persons: $74,020

(Each additional person: $7,480)

Call 800-732-3554 for a FREE consultation about weatherizing your home.