3 Parkland Students Make All-State Chorus

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South Whitehall Gets Four New Police Officers

District Judge Jacob Hammond gave the oath of office to four new township police officers during Wednesday night's commissioners meeting.

South Whitehall has four new police officers. The officers -- Jaryd A. Winkelbauer, Eric A. Dotter, Andrew Janusz and Chadbourne J. Ellis -- were sworn into service by District Judge Jacob E. Hammond, who administered the oath Wednesday night during the South Whitehall commissioners meeting.  The officers are Act 120 certified and will be assigned to Field Training Officers.  * Jaryd A. Winkelbaurer, 25, is a graduate of Parkland High School. He attained an associates degree at Penn State University and Act 120 certification through the Allentown Police Academy (July 2011). He resides in Coplay.  * Eric A. Dotter, 25, of Breinigsville, is a graduate of Parkland High School and Penn State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in …

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South Whitehall Woman is New Victim/Witness Coordinator

Kimberly J. Mitchell-Silvestri succeeds Susan J. Fritsch, who is retiring.

Kimberly J. Mitchell-Silvestri of South Whitehall has been named the new victim/witness coordinator for the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office. She succeeds Susan J. Fritsch, who is retiring in July 2012 after 18 years with the victim/witness unit and seven years as coordinator, according to a release from the district attorney's office. As the victim/witness coordinator, Mitchell-Silvestri, 41, will be responsible for delivering a broad array of services to victims and witnesses of crimes. She will be responsible for program development, including educating the public about victim issues and recruiting program resources. Mitchell-Silvestri, who has worked in the field for more than 12 years, will start as coordinator on July 9. She …

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Mackenzie's Office Offers Constituent Services

Newly elected state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie says his office is open to help local residents

State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie wants to inform residents of the 134th House District of services that his office provides. Mackenzie won a special election last month to fill the unexpired term of former state Rep. Doug Reichley.  His staff is available to help with:   Mackenzie has a  full-time office at 1245 Chestnut St., Unit 5, in Emmaus (Phone: 610-965-9933). This is former Rep. Doug Reichley’s previous office location. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Residents can download state forms or contact him via his website, RepMackenzie.com.  Also, Mackenzie interacts with his constituents on Facebook and Twitter. 

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Hello College Debt, Goodbye Risk

A New York Times story on graduates weighed down with college debt makes the case for last week’s column.

Once again, The New York Times is playing catch-up with Patch.com. On Sunday, The Times had a front-page story about the growing burdens of college loans, three days after my column ran on the same subject. The paper did a wee bit more legwork for their gazillion-word story – my research consisted mainly of talking to a friend at the deli counter at the Giant supermarket – so I’ll leave the term “copycat” out of this discussion. The lead of The Times story was about a young Ohio college graduate who owes $120,000 in loans and is working two jobs to pay the $900-a-month bill. Her mother is taking out life insurance on her because if anything happens to her daughter, she couldn’t pay the loans for which she co-signed.  A decade ago, 58 …

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Daryl Nerl

2:00 am on Friday, May 18, 2012

Actually, I think we would be teaching kids that no amount of hard work or achievement in the first 18 years of their lives means a thing if they were unlucky enough to be born into a poor or middle class family. That's a terrible message to deliver to generations of young people. There's no excuse for that in a country with as much collective wealth as ours. It doesn't need to be this way. It, …   more ›

Pa. Townships Fight Unfunded Mandates

Township supervisors across Pennsylvania are fighting unfunded mandates from Harrisburg and Washington.

Pennsylvania’s township officials are taking aim at unfunded mandates, which they say waste millions in tax dollars every year. Close to 4,000 local leaders attended the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors’ 90th Annual Educational Conference last week in Hershey, where they launched a campaign to eliminate the mandates that Harrisburg and Washington pass on to local governments without accompanying dollars. Township officials wore green stickers, which featured a rifle’s crosshairs over the words “Unfunded Mandates” throughout the conference. In particular, PSATS members have set their sights on the state’s outdated legal advertising requirements — studies say reforming these would save municipalities $23 million a year…

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Salisbury Resident

1:47 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012

But Stephanie, we don't need new street signs. Every car has a GPS device in it with a little voice telling the driver where they've been, where they are and where they are going. Street sign money is wasted money. And the rail trail is there to help people combat their overweight lifestyles, because apparently there was no other way to exercise. No one has a back yard anymore and the Wii Fit ran…   more ›

Photos: A Preview of Parkland's Festival of the Arts

Parkland High School's Festival of the Arts gets under way Thursday, May 17, and continues through Saturday, May 19, with music, arts and food.

Patch was on hand as Parkland High School students and teachers gave a preview of its annual Festival of the Arts, which gets under way Thursday, May 17, and continues through Saturday, May 19. The festival, on the grounds of the high school, will offer the public a mix of arts and entertainment, including a '50s inspired dinner theater, a Disney character parade, food tastings ("Eat This, Not That"), a Battle of the Bands, an American Girl Doll fashion exhibit, art show and chorus concert. Festivities are scheduled over three days.

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Blue Ribbons on Trees Honor Police

South Whitehall police tied blue ribbons on the trees of its campus in recognition of National Police Week and the people who serve.

Wondering about those large blue ribbons tied to the trees on the grounds of the South Whitehall Township municipal and police campus? They are tied there in recognition of National Police Week and in honor of the officers who serve their communities. In a post on its Facebook page, South Whitehall Police noted that President John F. Kennedy signed a Presidential Proclamation in 1962 that set aside May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week of May 15 as National Police Week.  "The blue ribbons are a reminder of law enforcement personnel who have made the ultimate sacrifice," South Whitehall police posted, "and honor those men and women who serve our community 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year in and year out."

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