Last evening I was glued to my twitter and media feeds awaiting reports from a downtown fire that ended up destroying a local cultural gem: Zap and Company, a vintage clothing store in the 300 block of North Queen Street in Lancaster. I went to bed with a heavy heart, and woke up this morning grateful that the fire was contained to that building, and the businesses surrounding it suffered minor damage. The owner of Zap and Company, Steve Murray has been reported to be in the hospital with burn injuries. It’s quite a devastating loss for the community.

Another blogger and friend, Daniel Klotz has some amazing pictures of the scene on his blog.

Earlier this week, our county was hit with a huge blow when four students from a local high school, Manheim Central, were killed in an auto accident. There are still reports coming in (latest update) on what was the culprit of this horrific accident.

I live in an amazing community, who rallies around family’s affected by tragedy. I saw this when Kevin became ill, and complete strangers were there to help in any way they could. I see this happening again, as a local business is destroyed, and as three families’ lives are altered with the losses of their sons, brothers, grandsons.

Please take a moment to think of these tragedies.

**I apologize for the incorrect blog links and school name-they have been corrected**