The season is not over yet for road closures. Hess Road south of Furnace Hill Road will close on August 21, 2017 for approximately 3 weeks for culvert replacement. A detour will be established during the work period.

We hope everyone who attended agree that our 6th annual National Night Out was a night filled with fun and provided a unity for a nation-wide annual community-building event that promoted police community partnerships to make our neighborhoods safe and a more caring place to live.

Our event is hosted by the Northwest Regional Police Department was held at the Township grounds. Attending was Rheems Fire Department, Elizabethtown Fire Department, Northwest EMS, Tess and her handler, Susan, from Middlecreek Search & Rescue, pony rides by Ironstone Ranch, the Mounted State Police, a bounce house, face painting, balloons by The Balunguy, Triple J. Reptile Rescue, and other games and activities by our vendors for the children.  DJ Ron of the Dynamic Rockers will once again provided the music and food by St. Peter's Men's Club, Harvey's BBQ, and the Grange milkshakes. And unique to our event, was the forever famous and much loved Star Wars characters!

Four bicycles and this year a large star made from the original Star Barn were raffled off. It's been said by attendees that the fireworks display is one of the best they have ever seen funded by Cocker's Towing.

We'd like to thank everyone who contributed in some small way, including volunteers, those who provided activities and games, vendors, all personnel, and attendees. We appreciate your support!!

The Northwest Regional Police Department is seeking assistance to start a K9 Unit. The plan is to train the K9 in drug detection, tracking and patrol tactics.The starting cost is approximately $60,000. They are asking for your help in making this dream come true. They have two fundraisers currently going on:.

- A Gofundme account has been set up. Please be generous in your donations; however, every little bit helps.

- Another fundraiser is being sponsored by the Elizabethtown VFW Post 5667 on Saturday, August 19 at 3 pm. It will be held at the VFW at 126 Maytown Road, Elizabethtown. There will be food, entertainment, 50/50, pony rides, horseshoes, cornhole tournament, etc.with the auction starting at 3:30 p.m. Auction item donations and monetary donations are helpful. Call 717.367.5667 for tickets and details.

If you prefer to make your donation in person, it can be made at Northwest Regional Police Department at 155 Merts Drive in Elizabethtown from 8:00 am 0 4:00 pm. Any questions about the fundraisers or how you can help, contact future K9 Handler Officer Tyler Seidel at the Northwest Regional Police Department at 717.367.8481.

Quite a bit of progress has been made at the bridge (commonly called the 'Singing Bridge') on Bainbridge Road between Amosite Road and Miller Road!

The next Board of Supervisors' meeting is a regular meeting is scheduled on Monday, September 11 at 7:00 pm. (August workshop has been cancelled). All meetings and workshops are open to the public and we encourage all interested parties to attend.

Holiday Trash Schedule

Woody Waste & Yard Waste Schedule - Begins April 11 & 12 through December 5 & 6. Yard Waste must be in Kraft bags available at the Township office. If you have had Kraft bags sitting out from last year, please rebag them to avoid the bottoms falling out due to being out in the weather elements. Reminder that grass clippings (from mowing) are NOT yard waste & should not be placed in Kraft bags. For additional information & if you have questions, please contact the Township office. Woody waste should be bundled with biodegradable twin, not longer than 4' in length nor more than 6" in diameter. These items should be placed curbside the night before with your trash & recycling but will be picked up by a separate truck.

Shredding Event - Saturday, September 9 from 8:00 am to 12 noon

PennDOT is completing two separate bridge construction projects on Bainbridge Road between Shrine Road and Miller Road in West Donegal Township. Construction for the bridge between Shrine Road and Rutts Road is scheduled to begin around March 10th. The detour is scheduled to remain in effect until September 19th. Construction for the bridge between Amosite Road and Miller Road is scheduled to begin around May 22nd and this detour is scheduled to remain in effect for 90 calendar days. Access to the residents and/or businesses in these areas can be reached by using the detours posted. Thank you for your patience while PennDOT replaces these two bridges.

Beginning March 4, 2017, residents of the 717 area code must begin including the area code whenever you make a call. If you forget and dial just a 7-digit number, the call will still connect during this grace period. On August 26, 2017, the grace period will end and all calls MUST include the area code. If only a 7-digit number is entered, the call will not go through and a recording will instruct you to hang up and dial again with the area code. Then on September 26, 2017, new lines of service may be issued numbers with a 223 area code.

Beginning January 2, 2017, West Donegal Township will have a new hauler, Waste Management, who has contracted for a 2-day pick up for trash/recycling services. For some residents your pick up day will remain Tuesday. For others your pick up day will be Wednesday. Click here for a map detailing the split in the Township. Below is a description further identifying the split areas.

-  Tuesday - North side of Bainbridge Road (including Masonic Village, Timber Villa, Turnpike Road, Newville Road, and North Market Street areas, etc.)

-   Wednesday - South side of Bainbridge Road (including area surrounding the Township Building, Maytown Road, and Rheems area, etc.)

Waste Management will be using a dual-hopper truck which means that one truck will collect both recycling and trash as one hopper is to load recycling and the hopper is for the trash. Below are photos of a front end loader type of truck; however, they also have a rear-end loader that they use too.For safety reasons they have developed their route to pick up one side of the road at a time (unless you live in a development) so if you see one side picked up but they didn't get to you they will be back at a later time. This also means that the time may be changed from when you had your trash picked up in the past. For example on the south side of Bainbridge Road you will notice that you are now picked up in the afternoon when it used to be the trash/recycling was picked up first thing in the morning. Note that any oversized items may not be picked up by the trash/recycling truck due to the size of the truck. A separate truck will come to pick up large oversized items.

Also note another change is with coal stove ashes. They must be placed in plastic bags when cool and placed curbside with the trash. Loose ash in a can will not be picked up. This is due to safety reasons and also the disposal method of the ashes into the truck. We appreciate your cooperation to adhere to this disposal method.

If you have any questions, please call the Township at 717.367.7178.

The Township will be publishing two editions of the newsletter per year - spring/summer & fall/winter.  Click here to download the spring/summer edition. The newsletter is one tool we use to update/inform the residents of what is happening in the Township. If you or someone you know did not receive one in the mail, please contact Wendy at the Township office.

Settled in 1719 and incorporated in 1838 ,West Donegal Township is named after County Donegal in Ireland. Located west and south of Elizabethtown, in Lancaster County, West Donegal Township comprises an area of 15.6 square miles in land size.

Governed by a five member Board of Supervisors the 2010 census indicates the Township has 8260 residents. The Township is part of the Elizabethtown Area School District with the Rheems Elementary School located in the Township.

Located within the Township is the Village of Rheems and the 1400 acre campus of Masonic Village. Masonic Village with a population of 1700 residents provides retirement homes and other health care facilities as well as recreation opportunities for the community.

A variety of housing types and areas are available to prospective residents. They range from agricultural, in the many farmsteads, to single and duplex units, apartments and condominiums. One unique residential opportunity, and first open space development in the Township, has preliminary approval and the first phase developed. The residential development with varied residential units will provide concentrated residential homes on smaller lots with a park and open space to be enjoyed by the residents. A trail system in the open space areas will connect to a future trail system providing access to trails at Masonic Village and into Elizabethtown. Wildlife view areas will be provided along the trail system for the enjoyment of the residents.

The northwest corner of the Township provides the area of the Conewago Industrial Park. This industrial park, developed over the last 25 – 30 years, is the home of a variety of businesses including American Air Filter, Dupont – Pioneer, Crowe Transportation, Penn Tank Truck Wash, Walker Sales, Western Power Sports, Seedway, Tarantin, DAS, Angleboard, ModSpace, and the latest Nordstrom. Additional areas of the Conewago Industrial Park are yet to be developed and available.

A number of other businesses are found throughout the Township providing services and employment to residents of the Township and individuals from the region. The wide range of businesses and housing provides a varied opportunity allowing residents to live, work and play within the Township.

Located between Harrisburg and Lancaster, West Donegal Township provides residents employment and recreation opportunities with additional amenities in the larger cities.