East Penn News

East Penn School Board candidates gathered Tuesday evening for a candidate forum hosted by the League of Woman Voters, fielding questions about school safety, transparency, and facilities expansion among other issues.

A biologist from the Pennsylvania Game Commission visited the location of the sighting in Lower Macungie Township and determined the animal spotted was not a mountain lion.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Western Lehigh Services, a commercial landscaping and snow management firm, is planning expansion into a new location in Lower Macungie Township.

A heated race has emerged at the East Penn School Board, with five spots up for grabs and only two incumbents running. Questions of national political issues and influence have surrounded the race, as accusations of extremism have been directed towards candidates based on connections and donations.

The United Auto Workers strike against Mack Trucks entered its second day Tuesday, drawing visits from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and U.S. Rep. Susan Wild.

The East Penn School Board heard presentations about upcoming curriculum changes at its meeting Monday, including ability to earn college credit, along with new arts, tech, and math courses.

Macungie borough council voted to advertise the position of borough manager to seek new applicants to the position. The manager leads all municipal offices aside from police, and reports directly to the council

Union workers walked off the job at Mack Trucks' facility in Lower Macungie Township and other locations Monday morning — a week after both sides announced a tentative deal.

Current Upper Milford Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Joyce Moore is up for re-election, with a challenge from the current head of the recreation commission Angela Ashbrook.

Emmaus Borough Council awarded the contracts earlier this week. The project focuses on two of the borough’s wells, including one that’s been offline since PFAS contamination was discovered.

Attendees will receive a piece of artwork during the benefit, which takes place Friday at the JuxtaHub.

Lisa VanArsdale, a local podcaster and comedian, will perform her one-woman show on Sunday, Feb. 23.

A draft version of East Penn School District's budget for the 2025-2026 school year includes a 0.84-mill tax hike. The district has raised property taxes nine times in the past 10 years.

Restaurants will offer “an irresistible variety of soups" during the Emmaus Soup Crawl, scheduled to run from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Ron W. Beitler is seeking reelection to the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners, he announced in a news release Tuesday.

Joshua and Tracy Dechant were charged Sunday with two felony counts each, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said in a release.

Emmaus is one step closer to remediating two of its PFAS-contaminated wells. PFAS are also called "forever chemicals" because they are slow to breakdown in the environment and are linked to a variety of health issues.

The new plan, presented to Lower Macungie Planning Commission on Tuesday, now consists of 13 homes in Cherry Ridge Estates, instead of the original 20.

Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong, with less than a year left in his term, emphasized the need for nonpartisan cooperation, funding and "not being a lame duck" toward the end of his service during a visit to Emmaus Borough Council. He also brought a funding announcement.

The borough heard from five passionate applicants, some brand new to politics — and rejected them all in favor of an eight-year council veteran. Still, they encouraged the other applicants to run for election and even offered to help with paperwork.

The money, administered by the National Park Service, along with $1,850,000 already committed by Lehigh County, will be used to replace the Cast House roof. Other work will focus on water infiltration of the furnace and rehabilitation of related buildings.