Northampton County News

Northampton Area school directors approved the second round of financing for the East Allen Elementary School and education center project at their meeting last week.

Bethlehem Area school directors approved the purchase agreement for 315 Columbia St. in South Bethlehem at their Monday meeting. The space would serve as a satellite campus for the Bethlehem Area Vo-Tech School.

A partnership between Second Harvest Food Bank and the GIANT Company will make sure a thousand families have a Thanksgiving dinner.

Northampton Area School Board approved Kovalchik's retirement at Monday's school board meeting. It will be effective July 1.

Addison Agen, who finished second to Chloe Kohanski on the show's 13th season, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at the center at 30 E. Belvidere St., Nazareth.

State Rep. Joe Emrick won Pennsylvania's 137th House District in his battle against Democratic challenger Anna Thomas.

Republican state Rep. Zachary Mako was well on the way to defeating Democrat Joseph Lenzi to win a fifth term representing the 183rd House District.

The Gap Fire, which erupted Saturday near Route 248 in Lehigh Township, has drawn hundreds of firefighters over four days. Crews have gotten the upper hand and are now searching for and extinguishing hotspots, officials said.

Nazareth Borough Council chose to table a potential ban on backyard chickens, ducks, and other fowl so their legal committee could review the matter, after dozens of chicken supporters spoke out during their Nov. 4, 2024 meeting.

Around 10 p.m. Sunday, the evening operation was passed off to DCNR State Wildland Crews, the Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Co. said on social media. A planned backburn was underway to stop the spread of a fire burning since Saturday.

A proposal to construct a more-than-270,00-square-foot warehouse in Williams Township will advance to a review by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on Thursday night.

While, according to township officials, the rate hike of 0.15 of a mill to 0.45 of a mill will result in roughly a $30 increase in tax per household, the new-year budget holds the real estate millage rate steady at 7.59 mills.

Wilson Area Schools' board of directors voted unanimously Monday to approve Harrison Bailey III, principal of Liberty High School in Bethlehem, as the district's new superintendent.

The project, beginning today, includes rebuilding the stream bank. Officials said increased public interest and use, climate change and more frequent high-water events have significantly eroded it.

Easton has confirmed their agreement with Comcast, which will eventually lead to a third option for internet and cable access for residents of the city.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory mid-Sunday afternoon, warning of potential slippery conditions as mixed precipitation moves through the Lehigh Valley into early Monday morning.

To keep from dipping into cash reserves for new firetrucks at Bethlehem Township's two volunteer fire companies, the township's 2025 budget is outlined to triple fire services revenue with an increase in the associated millage rate from 0.15 of a mill to 0.45 of a mill.

The Lehigh Valley (Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro) not only made a significant jump in November’s Realtor.com Market Hotness rankings, it also held steady in the company’s 2025 forecast.

During the 2023-24 hunting seasons, a record-breaking 261,672 pounds of venison from 6,905 deer and six elk statewide was donated through Hunters Sharing the Harvest. Find out how much was donated in the Lehigh Valley.

Part of the DCNR Community Conservation Partnerships Program, the grants support projects to develop new parks, rehabilitate existing spaces and protect vital natural habitats. A dozen Lehigh Valley projects were funded.

The Blue Mountain fire, also called the Gap Fire, on Nov. 2 erupted in Lehigh Township. The fire, which grew from 150 acres to almost 600, took seven days of fighting before it was marked 100% contained.

Federal grants totaling $187,766 will go toward emergency shelter services, primary health care and more for the unhoused populations of Bethlehem and Easton.