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OCTOBER 14-20, 2021
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Nazareth football game Northampton Postponed due to bomb threat Borough taking ‘Immediate action’ Against Republic Services trash hauler By KERI LINDENMUTH After over 1,800 missed garbage pickups in August and September, Northampton Borough is taking what solicitor Brian Panella calls “immediate action” against trash hauler Republic Services of New Jersey. A letter was sent to the hauler and tens of thousands of dollars will be deducted from the hauler’s payments. “This isn’t a slap on the wrist… we are hitting them immediately,” said Panella during the borough’s October 7 council meeting. Per the 2020 contract with Republic Services, the borough will deduct $25 payments for every missed unit. In August, there were 549 missed units. In September, there were over 1,300. In some cases, residents had to wait over a week before their trash was collected. This totals a deduction of $47,400. The borough will also be charging Republic Services for leaking refuse onto borough streets. “If the borough doesn’t see immediate and drastic improvement…we will find somebody that will do it,” added Panella. The borough also requested a log of all complaints. Solicitors will be cross-checking the complaints kept by Republic Services
against a list of complaints sent to the borough. A meeting between borough officials, solicitors, and Republic Services will be held during the week of October 11. In other news, Councilmen Ronald Glassic and Trevor Stone reported on plans for a new access point to the Nor-Bath trail. Last month, residents from McKeever Lane had asked whether the borough can require an easement that will allow them to safely access the trail. Their previously used access was on private property. Glassic reported that Horwith Trucking owns land near Barrington Drive that could potentially be used as an access route. However, this is still in early planning and will not happen overnight. “This could be a win-win for a lot of reasons,” he said. Caesar Artos moved into the property that residents of McKeever Lane had previously used to access the trail. He put up “private property” signs to protect his family. “I just want peace and privacy like everyone else,” said Artos, defending his decision to install Continued on page 9
Tours still Available at Horner’s Cemetery
Submitted by PEGGY MOSER Horner's Cemetery Historical Society would like to thank all the visitors for attending the 293rd Anniversary of the founding of the Craig's Scotch-Irish Settlement. Special thanks to our guest historical societies,
Rogers' Rangers, and the 153rd. It is not too late to get a tour. Dates available this month are October 18-21 and the 25th through the 29th. Tours are by appointment only. RSVP to Peggy at 610984-4532.
By HOME NEWS STAFF On Friday, Oct. 8, the Nazareth Area School District high school football game against Allentown Central Catholic was postponed due to a high threat situation involving the possibility of an explosive and a gunman. The game had already been underway before the Andrew S. Leh Stadium was evacuated. The game was rescheduled
for 1 p.m. the following day. It was tweeted later that night that all was safe. The following police departments responded: Upper Nazareth Police Department, Nazareth Area School District Police, Nazareth Borough Police, Bushkill Township Police, Colonial Regional Police, Stockertown Borough Police, Moore Township Police, Slate Belt Regional
Police, Forks Township Police, Palmer Township Police (K-9), Bethlehem City Police (K-9), Lehigh University Police (K-9), Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority Police (K-9) and the Northampton County Sheriff's Department (K-9). Local fire departments, emergency medical services, and emergency management were also on scene.
Northampton School Board Swears in new member, Addresses concerns
By CHRISTINA SANTO At the October 11 Northampton Area School Board meeting, newly appointed member Kim Bretzik was sworn in; Bretzik was appointed to the board on September 27 following the resignation of Jennifer Johnson on August 9. She will represent Moore Township, and the boroughs of Chapman and Bath for the remainder of Johnson’s term. Luke Shafnisky announced that the Bethlehem Area Vocational Technical School (BAVTS) will induct 25 NAHS students along with 48 students from three other schools into the National Technical Honor Society; this is the highest number of new inductees. The induction is set for Thursday, October 14 at 6 p.m. at
BAVTS, 3300 Chester Ave. in Bethlehem. BAVTS will also hold an open house on Wednesday, October 20 starting at 6 p.m. In other business, school board members and district employees answered questions from the audience. Questions ranged in topics covering the mask mandate, bathroom closures, and most commonly, transparency with the public. During the August 23 adoption of the health and safety plan, the board stated their mask mandate would be reevaluated in October. One resident questioned if the board is looking at the data and re-thinking the mask mandate. Another asked if the mask mandate will turn into a vaccine mandate. The board offered no com-
ment on the former issue, but superintendent Joseph Kovalchik stated that he has not discussed or considered a vaccine mandate at this time. Another parent expressed concern that bathrooms were closed because of various issues with TikTok. Both the high school and middle school principals explained that bathrooms were reopened on Friday, after the schools found no property damage and the viral “slap a Continued on page 14
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