Justin Stoltzfus remembers this small, but telling, detail about East Earl Township nearly a decade ago.
There were other, bigger problems, too. The townshipâs supervisors and staff routinely tried to keep citizens and journalists, including Stoltzfus, a freelancer for LNP | LancasterOnline, in the dark by withholding crucial details and records from the public.
In one of the most notorious examples, many residents had no idea until the newspaper reported on it that a $1.2 million bridge project was underway with the goal of accommodating about 15 vehicles a day.
In another, then-Supervisor David Zimmerman secretly used his position to advance a land deal in which he and his brother had a financial stake. (Readers learned of Zimmermanâs ethical breach only when he was fined $14,000 by the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission and after he was elected to the state House, where he continues to serve.)