Northampton County News

Based on themes of home in the Lehigh Valley and executed via improvisation on the piano, former Nazareth native Dominic Billett's new record “Truer is the Valley, the River, the Pale Sky" paints a thoughtful, vivid picture perfect for walks throughout the region.

At its Nov. 11 meeting, Northampton Area school directors considered five partial renovation options for Moore Elementary.

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.

The Lehigh County chapter of the League of Women Voters will host a candidate's workshop in January. The Lehigh Valley's two county-level Republican committees will host their own candidate training program, as well.

There are those Christmases that remain clear and crisp as a cold Nebraska night. For an 11-year-old boy, this one in the late 1960s is near the top of the Christmas list.

Eagles running back and Coplay native Saquon Barkley joins forces with local organizations to foster academic success and athletic development through a $250K gift.

Bethlehem Fraternal Order of Police Star Lodge #20 raised $1,300 through the officer-led event for its community engagement initiatives.

U.S. Rep.-elect Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, has a background in labor policy. He served as the Republican chair of Pennsylvania's House Committee on Labor and Industry.

Alan Collins is hitting the streets of Easton on Christmas Day to provide hot meals and supplies to those in need — and to spread a little holiday joy to the whole community.

Administered by Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, or POWR, with funding from the DCNR, officials said the effort aims to elevate public awareness of specific rivers and recognize important conservation needs and achievements.

Palmer Township's Aiden Hess, 20, is in need of a donor kidney. A rare condition necessitates his use of a dialysis machine for nine hours every day.

It will get warmer and closer to normal as the week progresses, but for now, the National Weather Service recommends folks bundle up as an arctic air mass from Canada and the Great Lakes moves in.

The annual Trees of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites exhibit is now on display through Jan. 12.

Fostering Hope, a Northampton County-based nonprofit, provides essential resources to children in foster care, adoption and kinship care.

Block captain efforts were among the 337 volunteers who so far have helped raise $125,000 for New Bethany Ministries programs in south Bethlehem.