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APRIL 18-24, 2019 Army National Guard enlistees
Brian Gallagher of Nazareth enlists in Army National Guard Army National Guard Pvt. Brian E. Gallagher enlisted in the Army National Guard. He will serve as an aviation operations specialist with 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment, Pennsylvania Army National Guard. The soldier is a 2018 graduate of Nazareth High School, Nazareth.
Stephen Corby Jr. Enlists in Army National Guard Army National Guard Pvt. Stephen J. Corby Jr. enlisted in the Army National Guard. He will serve as an ammunition stock control and accounting specialist with A Company, 55th Brigade Support Battalion, Pennsylvania Army National Guard. The enlistee is a 2018 graduate of Nazareth High School, Nazareth.
Auditor General finds nearly $315,000 missing from Lehigh Twp. VFRA; results in over 300 charges being filed Submitted by GARY MILLER Auditor General Eugene DePasquale commented on theft, forgery and other charges filed against Corey Cole, the former treasurer of the Lehigh Township Volunteer Fireman’s Relief Association in Northampton County related to $314,933.94 in missing funds. The relief association is legally separate from the township’s volunteer fire company, but provides support. “I applaud the Lehigh Township VFRA’s leadership for bringing the alleged theft to my attention last summer,” DePasquale said. “My office worked with
local law enforcement to help the investigation. Last week my team provided the local police department with a report outlining 377 instances of alleged theft amounting to nearly $315,000 in funds missing between 2011 and 2018.” In December, DePasquale took the unprecedented step of withdrawing past audits of the support organization and ordering a new review to be performed. The revised audit will be released in the near future. “The association’s current leadership has been very cooperative in our efforts to account for the
Edelman Schoolhouse listed In National Registry of Historical Places Submitted by KAREN GRUBE The Moore Township Historical Commission held their monthly meeting on March 28 at the township municipal building. During the meeting, chairman and township supervisor Dick Gable announced that he received a notification from April Frantz, a National Register Reviewer, that the Edelman Schoolhouse was listed in the National Registry of Historical Places on March 22. The school was the only site accepted on March 22 from the state of Pennsylvania. The Edelman Schoolhouse is a circa 1859 schoolhouse and is located at 145 Longley Road in Nazareth. The schoolhouse is surrounded by farm fields and remains a rural agricultural landscape. To be considered eligible for the registry, the site must meet strict criteria. The building retains a foyer with original shelves used to store lunchboxes and a bench that children could sit on
to take off coats and boots. The main classroom retains original flooring, wainscoting, woodwork and a milled wooden board ceiling. There is a raised platform reserved for the teacher and a teacher’s desk. This platform allowed for the teacher’s voice to carry throughout the classroom. The main classroom still retains the original slate chalkboard. The work on the school that is finished is the cleaning and placement of salvaged matching bricks to fill in part of an outside wall. The wall was opened up for a door that allowed farm machinery to be placed in the building. The roof has been patched. Inside work included plaster restoration and sealing of woodwork. Thank you to commission members, volunteers and contractors for finishing these projects. The placement of the school on the historical register allows the commission to apply for grants Continued on page 9
tax dollars it has received,” DePasquale added. The Department of the Auditor General audits volunteer firefighters’ relief associations, which receive state aid from a two percent state tax on fire insurance premiums purchased by Pennsylvania residents from out-of-state
casualty insurance companies. In 2018, 2,518 municipalities received $55.1 million in state aid for distribution to local volunteer firefighters’ relief associations to provide training, purchase equipment and insurance, and pay for death benefits for volunteer firefighters.
Looking Ed byPany Back Dillinger Part 1
The year is 1934; I am visiting the Lehigh Portland Cement Co. plant in Mason City, Iowa. 1934 is a depression year; agriculture areas and cement plants surround the city, so it was slightly better financially than neighboring communities. An event occurred there bringing national attention to the midwestern community. In 1934, John Dillinger, public enemy, and his gang were involved in a number of sensational bank robberies. Dillinger sent advanced men to case the First National Bank in Mason City, which had $240,000 in cash in its vaults, a considerable amount of money for the time. Many of the depositors were employees of the Lehigh Cement plant. Dillinger was a daring bank robber. He and his gang made newspaper headlines for 13 months in 1933-34 including a prison break when Dillinger used a homemade wooden gun stained with black shoe polish to trick prison authorities in an escape from an “escape proof ” county jail in Crown Point, Indiana.
The officials at the First National Bank had been warned they might be robbed some day. They had an armed guard in a cage in the lobby of the bank. At 2:20 p.m., three gang members waving machine guns ordered all employees and customers on the floor. They grabbed $32,000 from the teller’s cage, but were unable to steal the treasure in the vault. Instead, they took a heavy sack filled with pennies. There was confusion on the sidewalks in front of the bank when the robbers marched customers and employees out onto the sidewalks as hostages. Gunfire filled the streets; one of the shooters was “Baby Faced” Nelson. The gang loaded bank employees and depositors into their black Buick. Some hostages were placed on the running boards as Continued on page 2
78th Year, Issue No. 16 www.homenewspa.com
USPS 248-700