Railroading history On display in Bethlehem, Page 6
The Home News Your Local News
FEBRUARY 3-9, 2022
50 cents
Allen Township Supervisors Appoint new board Member, update public on Sewer agreement
2021 PPFF Judges’ Choice Award for Best in Show. Photo by Bob Fescemyer, taken at Forbes State Forest. Story on Page 11.
Nazareth Board of Directors amends Health and safety plan, removes Tiered mitigation, contact tracing By KERI LINDENMUTH In a 6-3 vote, the Nazareth School District Board of Directors passed an amendment to the district’s COVID-19 health and safety plan during their meeting on January 25. This amendment will remove tiered mask mitigation, remove contact tracing, and remove vaccine requirements for volunteers and visitors. Another amendment that would remove quarantine requirements was tabled to a later date. Masks will be optional in schools, but still required on school buses.
“This just seems to continually go around and around,” said Wayne Simpson, the school director who made the motion to amend. “[Let us] get back to educating our students, not being the police of our kids.” The motion came following public comment, during which time Jennifer Simon, a parent, presented a draft of a plan she says mirrors that of other maskoptional schools in the state. The plan she presented removes mask requirements, tiered mitigation, and contact tracing.
Some parents and even some members of the board expressed concern that the directors would vote on a plan presented by a member of the public and not vetted by faculty or health experts. The district’s original health and safety plan took several months to complete and featured input from a committee of teachers and healthcare professionals from St. Luke’s. “The proposal this evening is rash and potentially very dangerContinued on page 8
By KERI LINDENMUTH During the January 25 Allen Township Board of Supervisors meeting, supervisors appointed township resident Jason Frack to the board’s vacant seat. The seat was previously occupied by Bruce Frack, who dedicated his time to the township for nearly two decades before resigning in December 2021. Jason Frack will complete the remainder of his term, expiring in January 2024. “Jason Frack would be a good addition to the board,” said Supervisor Paul Link. His motion to appoint Frack to fill the vacant seat was unanimously accepted. Frack was one of two candidates to apply to fill the vacant seat. Supervisors opened the vacancy up to applications from the public on January 3 and had 30 days to approve an appointment. In other news, Andrew Martin of Barry Isett & Associates updated the township on the ongoing joint 537 Plan with Northampton Borough. At the time of the meeting, Martin said she still had not heard from Northampton’s engineer as to where the borough currently stands on their end of the intermunicipal plan. For the plan to be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Allen Township must outline how they intend to provide sewer service to their residents. Due to an expired agreement with Northampton, the township is exploring new options, including a hookup with
Catasauqua Borough. Martin said Catasauqua’s engineer indicated they “do have the capacity” to take on EDUs from Allen Township. She estimates that the township could redirect roughly 1,400 EDUs to Catasauqua. This total is out of the 1,800 currently allocated to Northampton. The remaining EDUs would stay connected to Northampton. “We would get everyone connected that has a planning module, has approvals, has subdivision plans, and [still have] a buffer of about 30 EDUs,” Martin told the board. While no official cost estimate is yet prepared, Martin said costs will be “relatively minor” in the “grand scheme of things” to connect to Catasauqua. Supervisor Gary Behler said the next steps should be meeting with Catasauqua officials to dive into a deeper conversation and “really get a good feeling of where each side is at and what each side is willing to do.” Solicitor Lincoln Treadwell said he is already setting up a meeting with the borough. Martin added that the township will be meeting Continued on page 7
81st Year, Issue No. 5 www.homenewspa.com
USPS 248-700
A-1 COINS & COLLECTIBLES IS NOW BUYING:
Coin Collections * Silver Dollars * Indian Head Cents * Proof & Mint Sets * Tokens * Silver Bars etc
JEWELRY: Any Gold (Good or Broken) * Old Pocket & Wrist Watches (Working or Not) Wedding Rings * Gold Class Rings * Sterling * Turquoise * Tiffany * Costume Jewelry ALSO: Old sports items, Old Postcards, Beer & Soda Trays, Signs etc. * Old Tins * Old Toys & Games Old Photos: Town Scenes, Trolley's, Trains, Cars, Stores * Local Items * Autographs * Tobacco Items
CALL (610) 509-3642 9:00 am to 7:00 pm Daily