same idea, different location. please check out chrisreber.net.

Upper Saucon could lift building ban

By Chris Reber

Of The Morning Call

June 22, 2008

Since 1996, the Upper Saucon Township supervisors have enforced a moratorium on development in the area west of Coopersburg, claiming the borough has overloaded the township’s sewer lines.

That could end Tuesday, when the supervisors — spurred by an order from the state Department of Environmental Protection — are expected to pass an ordinance essentially lifting the moratorium, a move that would pave the way for hundreds of new homes.

”They’re waking up to the fact that they can’t use public sewer to prevent development,” said John Fenningham, a lawyer for McGrath Homes, which is in litigation with the township.

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But the measure may not address McGrath’s proposed 125-home Locust Valley development, the subject of an ongoing legal battle between the township and the builder over several issues.

Still, under the proposed ordinance, previously denied developments could bring more than 300 homes to the township. T.H. Properties’ Brinley Court Townhomes, currently before the township planning commission, would make up the majority of that total.

Development was also halted in the township’s southern half for a short time last year.

Tuesday’s vote comes after a December DEP order that said the township could not use the overloaded sewage system to prevent development. While the township is appealing that decision, it is following DEP’s recommendation with its ordinance to use on-site holding tanks when the system is overloaded.

”It’s an attempt at what we would call a stopgap measure,” township solicitor Jeffery Dimmich said, ”to address the Coopersburg sewage problem’s impact on the township.”

Coopersburg officials could not be reached for comment.

Fenningham said he doubts the new ordinance will have any effect on the Locust Valley situation.

McGrath and Locust Valley have filed lawsuits against township Manager Thomas Beil and three of the township’s five supervisors, Miro Gutzmirtl, Stephen C. Wagner and Joseph M. Horvath. They allege their civil rights were violated when the township failed to give the plan for single-family homes an adequate hearing.

”We’re seeking money damages for the four years of running around,” Fenningham said.

While the ordinance may be a victory for developers, it comes as a blow to conservationists crafting an open space plan for the township.

Residents in Upper Saucon will vote in November on a 0.25 percent increase in the earned income tax to create an open space preservation fund. A final version of the open space plan is expected later this year.

The plan will map out potential conservation easements, areas that would be suited for development, and a system of walking trails.

”I don’t think the township wants to stop development,” said Thomas Gettings, head of the Upper Saucon Environmental Action Committee. ”I think they just want to do it in a planned way that makes sense.”

chris.reber@mcall.com

610-820-6586

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

I had the pleasure of contributing to two A1 stories this week. One of them I wrote most of while the other was more of a contribution. It’s weird because it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference. -CR

MONEY SAVING ADVICE: Coping With Gas Prices
Get it fixed, don’t throw it out

By Matt Assad and Chris Reber

Of The Morning Call

June 20, 2008

Ever taken that used tea bag and dunked it into a second cup of hot water? As the down economy drags on, the idea of making good with what you’ve got has folks squeezing more use out of their cars, shoes and even golf clubs.

While retail stores report drooping sales, repair shops are being flooded with people looking to extend the life of their old stuff because they’re too worried to buy new.

Sure, the housing market is in free fall, gas is $4 a gallon and the likes of Ford and Sears are complaining about declining sales.

But at Rick Tilton’s shoe repair shop in Palmer Township, so many people are getting shoes resoled or new zippers on their coats or straps on their purses that Tilton barely has time to sleep.

”Most days, I’m starting at 7 a.m. and staying after closing until 10 or 11 p.m. just to keep up,” Tilton said, noting he has little time to be interviewed because the line in his shop is growing. ”In the 27 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve learned that when the economy goes down, I go up.”

At Valley Appliance on N. 17th Street, Allentown, the main clientele is landlords. But in the last year, technician Darin Paller said more people are bringing in relatively disposable goods for repair.

”They’ll try and fix ‘em before they throw ‘em,” Paller said. ”Even those tabletop microwaves that are like $70.”

Bethlehem economist Kamran Afshar said it makes perfect sense. When people lose confidence in the economy, they forgo buying new items and hold onto their old stuff.

”It’s not isolated to the guy who got the pink slip, because if his neighbor is struggling, he sees it and loses confidence, too,” Afshar said. ”What we are seeing is a classic response that happens during every slow economy.”

That’s why Tom Reitenauer, who’s owned Stefko Mower Sales and Service in Bethlehem for 40 years, has had to turn repair business away.

”I’ve got a three- to four-week backlog, and people don’t like to wait, so I have to turn them away,” Reitenauer said. ”What they don’t realize is that every repair shop is backed up. They’re going to wait anywhere they go.”

Still, because Reitenauer also sells mowers, he’s seeing both the upside and the downside of this economy. While his repair business is up 25 percent, his new mower sales are down 65 percent, he said.

With the struggling economy, and competition from the likes of Lowe’s and Home Depot, he’s getting out of the new sales business for the first time in four decades.

Mike DeCrosta, service manager for Strauss Auto in Bethlehem, said a double-dose of slow economy and high fuel costs has driven up his customer count. More people are avoiding a big new-car payment by getting repairs on older cars. But DeCrosta says there’s more to it than that.

”We’re also getting a lot more people doing things to boost their gas mileage,” he said. ”They’re getting new tires, alignments, fuel system cleaners and a lot of tune-ups. I’ve never seen us sell so many over-the-counter air filters.”

Even golfers are penny-pinching, and Jerry Hintze is taking full advantage. Owner of The Clubmaker in Bethlehem, Hintze specializes in building golf clubs and selling them at a lower price than the big-name golf outlets.

Right now, the guy who used to buy a $400 Callaway driver is now getting his club made by Hintze. The thriftiness has even surprised Hintze, who’s been making clubs for 21 years.

”I can’t believe how many people are bringing in their old clubs and asking me to put new heads on them,” Hintze said. ”I rarely saw that before. Now, it’s happening every day.”

So keep dunking that tea bag, resoling those shoes and tuning up that clunker. Most economists expect the slowdown to stretch into next year.

matthew.assad@mcall.com

610-861-3617

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

Will AutoZone wreck 19th Street chic?
Neighbors say car-parts store will ruin the area’s character.

By Chris Reber and Brian Callaway
Of The Morning Call
       June 17, 2008

West Enders would have been angry anyway when they heard someone wanted to stick a car-parts store on Allentown’s 19th Street, home to an eclectic mix of eateries and boutiques and the Civic Theatre.

AutoZone isn’t just looking to redevelop any building, though. It’s eyeing The Shanty, a longtime social hub famous for its cream puffs, salad bar and crystal chandeliers.

Now folks are downright furious.

”Anything else,” said Nancy Bernstein, who owns a neighboring jewelry store and lives nearby. ”It’s just a shame. It’s going to change the whole face of the area.”

The proposal comes nearly two years after AutoZone gave up similar plans for the former Saylor’s Restaurant at 19th and Tilghman streets after residents complained such a store could wreck the neighborhood’s character.

City leaders acknowledge they have little power to stop AutoZone from taking over The Shanty at 617 N. 19th St. But they’re still hopeful they can persuade the retailer to go elsewhere.

The building that became known as The Shanty was built in 1935 as a supermarket. The restaurant moved there in 1980 from Allen Street near 19th. Owners Don and Diane Saylor, whose nephew Michael owned Saylor’s Restaurant, sold The Shanty to a New York restaurateur in 2005. The Shanty fell victim to foreclosure less than a year later and has stood vacant ever since.

A New York corporation, Tyler Acquisitions, took over the property as part of the foreclosure.

For decades, The Shanty was the place to go for a nightcap after a show at the theater or a brunch on Mother’s Day. Some described it as the cornerstone of the neighborhood.

”The last thing we want is an auto shop breaking up the synergy and continuity of the district,” Mayor Ed Pawlowski said.

The Allentown Economic Development Corp. is talking with three restaurateurs interested in the Shanty building, he said, but officials have yet to find a solid alternative.

”They haven’t gotten anyone to take it yet,” Pawlowski said. ”But we’re continuing to try.”

Officials are also seeking other possible locations for the AutoZone, he said. There already are two auto-parts retailers in the neighborhood, and AutoZone has another location on S. 15th Street.

”We are not opposed to having an AutoZone in Allentown,” Pawlowski said, ”but we’re strongly opposed to having it in that particular location.”

Legally, the city’s only leverage has to do with proposed signs.

AutoZone doesn’t want to demolish the old restaurant, but renovate it. As part of renovations, it’s asking the city’s Zoning Hearing Board to allow it to have more signs, and larger ones, than are allowed by law.

According to documents filed with the zoning board, store owners say the building requires additional signs, in part to make it more visible.

Dozens of residents attended a zoning meeting last week to oppose AutoZone’s proposal, prompting the board to delay its decision.

Damien C. Brown, a West End resident and advocate for neighborhood causes, said he hopes Auto Zone will move to another property if its sign requests are denied.

A spokesman for the Tennessee-based auto parts retailer did not return calls for comment Monday.

Allentown officials began considering an overhaul of the city’s zoning laws last year, after AutoZone made its first attempt to settle on 19th Street.

No new rules have been adopted yet, and officials said the proposed revisions probably wouldn’t have prevented AutoZone from taking over The Shanty anyway.

Bernstein, the jeweler, said the restaurant’s demise is still being felt in the neighborhood.

”We would love to have had a restaurant there, a family-type thing,” he said.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

A proposed auto-parts store on Allentown’s 19th Street has drawn the ire of community members and city officials. The AutoZone, which would replace the former Shanty Restaurant, is permitted under city zoning laws.

Fallout: Community leaders in the West End have garnered more than 250 signatures for a petition against AutoZone’s use of the property. Thirty-five people pressured the city Zoning Hearing Board last week to deny the retailer’s request for a variance. AutoZone wants more signs, and larger ones, than the law allows.

What’s next: The board is expected to decide on the signs at its meeting at 7 p.m. Monday.

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

A prom to call their own
Event gave homeschooled students, cyberschoolers a way to take part in a tradition.

By Chris Reber |  Of The Morning Call
June 9, 2008

Tamara Kells has always tried to give her students everything.

But for a homeschool teacher, some things may be out of reach, like a prom.

”It’s one of those things that every year the kids at public school would talk about,” Kells said. ”My daughter Aubrie is in 12th grade, and I wanted to give her a prom.”

On Friday at the Comfort Suites of Allentown on Hamilton Boulevard, over 70 homeschoolers and cyberschoolers from as far away as Harrisburg arrived for the Valley’s first-ever homeschool prom. The event had all the trappings of a typical high school prom. There were parent chaperones, food, pictures taken. The teens were dressed to impress, with some boys wearing rented tuxedos, and the girls wearing typical prom dresses in a wide variety of colors. The teens packed the dance floor and several girls shrieked and jumped around when their request was played by the band Soulja Boy.

For some, it was a chance to meet new friends. For many, it was a chance to see the friends they’ve kept in touch with through local support groups and social networking sites.

And for all, the stereotype of unsocialized homeschool students did not apply.

”Through the group, we get to socialize,” said Michael Massey, a junior from Perkasie. ”And you get an education that’s tailored to your needs.”

While homeschool proms are held across the country, this was a first for local students. A 2005 law allowed homeschool students to participate in activities at their public schools, including proms. And while students have taken advantage, most prefer spending time with their fellow homeschoolers.

”We get together, and it’s kind of an enrichment program,” said Nathan Madsen, 18, of Quakertown. ”And we have IM and My-Space.”

Elliott Simmons, who traveled from Yeadon, Montgomery County, to take part in his first prom, plays football for Penn Wood High School in Lansdowne. But he’s a student at a small cyber charter school.

”I still get to see my friends every day,” Simmons said. ”And we have more time to do work. We don’t have to wait on anybody.”

The number of private homeschoolers in the state has been slowly declining as more families turn to online charter schools. In the 2005-06 school year, the number of Pennsylvania homeschool students fell to 22,412 from 24,076 in 2003-04, while the number of cyber students increased to 13,228 from 6,624 in the same period.

Susan Richman, who leads the support group Pennsylvania Homeschoolers, said the Web has been a great tool for uniting her students. A cyber charter school teacher, Richman said the Web has been invaluable.

”My AP [advanced placement] students use social networking to stay in touch,” Richman said. ”That extends beyond homeschool years.”

Many of the prom attendees had worked together through Valley Homeschoolers, the local support group that Kells organizes. While some traditionalists don’t support Web classes, Valley Homeschoolers welcomes any student taking classes at home.

”I’ve had people say that cyber schooling isn’t homeschooling,” Kells said. ”Well I say, ‘Who is sitting next to that kid while he takes those classes?”’

The group holds semi-

annual picnics, regular movie nights and homeschool bowling trips. Planning homeschool extra-

curriculars takes up almost as much time as homeschooling itself.

”I try to do as much as I can,” Kells said. ”You’d be surprised at how many homeschool groups are in the area.”

But as Richman points out, the prom is not like a normal extra-curricular activity. Just like their peers in public school, homeschool students look forward to the prom as one of the most important events of their high school careers.

”Before I started homeschooling, that was my first thought,” Richman said. ”Won’t they miss out on the prom?”

It is, Kells said, all part of an effort to give homeschooled children a well-rounded experience. And as any public high schooler will tell you the prom is part of that — for better or worse.

Just like a public prom, not all students were thrilled to participate. Zacharaiah Horon, 16 of Slatington said his mom made him attend.

”Yeah, I’m not really into this kind of thing,” Horon said.

chris.reber@mcall.com

610-820-6586

EASTER SEALS SOCIETY: Consistency in care
As patients, times change, the organization’s mission remains the same.

By Chris Reber Of The Morning Call

June 14, 2008

Before her daughter was born, Kelly Shubert of Fleetwood knew little about the Easter Seals Society except that it held a yearly radio-thon.

But when her daughter Emma, now 9, was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that primarily affects girls, Shubert quickly learned what the agency is all about.

Throughout its 89-year history, Easter Seals established itself as a support, aid and advocacy group for children with physical disabilities caused by conditions such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida.

In recent years, its mission expanded to help children with mental and developmental disorders such as Rett syndrome, which causes seemingly normal young girls to regress mentally and physically.

”It’s not uncommon to see a kid who receives services, who looks just like any other kid,” said Nancy Teichman, CEO of Easter Seals Eastern Pennsylvania. ”It may not be physically apparent, but the child has a disability and needs that must be fulfilled.”

Today, the society helps over 3,000 people in Eastern Pennsylvania, 1,300 in the Lehigh Valley.

Easter Seals provides speech, occupational and physical therapy. It performs medical evaluations, providing diagnoses and treatment options.

It also strives to help the children live normal lives. With the help of volunteers, the group hosts camps and day care. This, Teichman said, is almost as important as the medical care.

”It’s very difficult for them to make friends with non-disabled peers,” Teichman said. ”In this setting, everybody gets to know each other. It’s very inspirational to our kids and to the volunteers.”

As part of its efforts to provide services, Easter Seals will hold a ”Walk with Me” fundraiser at 5 p.m.Wednesday on Allentown’s Lehigh Parkway.

Emma will be among the Easter Seals ambassadors at the walk, giving participants a chance to meet the children and families Easter Seals services.

Emma was 2 when her parents realized something wasn’t right. Her speech wasn’t progressing like that of their friends’ children.

A pediatrician mentioned the possibility that Emma could be autistic — early symptoms of Rett often mirrors that of autism, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s Web site.

”But we had a friend who taught kids with autism and it didn’t seem right,” Shubert said.

As she searched for answers, Shubert met Mandy Haigh, an occupational therapist for Easter Seals who agreed to help.

”I knew that Mandy would click with Emma,” Shubert said. ”[Emma] screamed through the first year, but it worked out.”

Emma was diagnosed with Rett around age 3. ”They told me, ‘This is the worst diagnosis we could give a parent,’ ” Shubert said.

About 10,000 to 15,000 girls a year are diagnosed with Rett. Eventually, they can lose the ability to walk and use of their hands. They can suffer seizures and develop mental retardation.

But through the Easter Seals, the Shuberts have worked to maintain the skills that Emma still has. In addition to occupational therapy, the organization has helped the Shuberts acquire the equipment they need to accommodate Emma.

”Easter Seals was the first place that gave us hope,” Shubert said. ”They’re like family.”

chris.reber@mcall.com

610-820-6586

Copyright © 2008,
The Morning Call

For context, Catasauqua is a small school district on the Lehigh/Northampton border which some believe could be consolidated with the Northampton School District. They built a palatial high school in 2005, the location of this meeting.

Soaring gas prices fuel Catasauqua Area budget hike; property tax to rise 4.28%

By Chris Reber Of The Morning Call
June 13, 2008

The Catasauqua Area School Board on Wednesday adopted the 2008-09 budget that includes a 4.28 percent property tax increase.

The new spending plan passed by 6-2 vote. Board members Sally J. Reiss and Treasurer Robert M. Levine voted in dissent. Board member Patricia J. Snyder was absent.

The $25.2 million budget includes about $1.75 million in new spending and a property tax increase of 1.99 mills, raising the district’s millage rate to 48.56 mills. The tax bill on a home assessed at $50,000 would rise $99.50 to $2,428.

Board member Mary Alice Hartranft voted to adopt the budget, but not without voicing her concerns. She said the district’s financial woes were the result of the district’s new high school building in Allen Township, which opened in 2005.

”It’s here, and we have to take care of it,” Hartranft said, ‘’so I’m voting yes.”

Increased fuel prices led to the district approving a larger budget than originally anticipated. The board had originally proposed a $25.1 million budget, with a property tax increase of 3.7 percent.

Superintendent Robert Spengler said an additional 0.27-mill increase is tied directly to higher fuel costs since the budget’s proposal. Any remaining money from the increase, he said, would go directly into the district’s fund balance for 2009-10.

Because of a shaky financial situation, the district has raised taxes each year since 2006. In that year, the state Supreme Court ruled that portions of the Lehigh Valley International Airport located in the Catasauqua School District are tax exempt land.

Spengler said that the airport would have provided $355,000 in additional tax revenue this year.

The court also ruled that the district owed the airport $1.3 million in taxes already paid. The 2008-09 budget contains $156,000 for the airport.

Spengler said the board had resolved to not violate Act 1’s regulations for tax increases. In 2007, the district’s proposed tax increase violated state benchmarks. But the district applied for exemptions to prevent a referendum on the tax increase.

chris.reber@mcall.com

610-820-6586

“I learned that it was kill or be killed”

By Chris Reber
Of The Morning Call

Dr. Elwood ”Woody” Kolb can still remember his first brush with combat. Sixty years later, he can recount the incident in detail.

Serving with the 63rd Infantry Division somewhere in Bavaria, Germany, Kolb had gone to fetch some hot food for his battle buddy.

”When that first sniper bullet went by my ear, I thought I knew what war was like,” said Kolb, of Macungie, ”But in that moment I learned that it was kill or be killed.”

With an estimated 1,000 World War II veterans dying every week, these vivid, first-person accounts of battle are in danger of being lost forever. But a seven-month exhibit at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown sought to preserve these stories. The exhibit, titled ”WWII: Together in Victory,” included memorabilia, archival film, photos and other items related to the war.

Wilmes interviewed Kolb and Navy vet Bill Hacker of Allentown at the museum Saturday as part of the series, which concludes today.

”Most of these men and women have never spoken about their experiences in great detail,” said David Wilmes, a WWII historian. ”Their memories are bottled up, and they’re willing to let them go after decades of silence.”

Wilmes is the general editor for the Center for Northern Appalachian Studies at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe. He’s drawn from over 200 interviews with veterans for a series of books chronicling WWII.

As veterans get older and see their colleagues die, he said, there is a greater willingness to tell the stories of their service.

”It’s a fascinating experience — not only for myself but for them as well,” Wilmes, 34, said. ”They’re really just average citizens who were thrust into these adverse circumstances.”

Hacker’s story isn’t just a first-person account of the naval battles of the South Pacific. As a junior officer on the aircraft carrier USS Monterey,one of his superiors was a former football star from Michigan — former President Gerald R. Ford.

When the Monterey ran into a typhoon — sweeping several the planes off its deck — Ford took control.

”All the planes in the hangar caught fire,” Hacker said. ”He took command of fighting the fires.”

Hacker has had no problem recounting the details of his service. During the 1976 election, he shared accounts Ford’s heroism aboard the Monterey to support the campaign.

But many veterans are reluctant to share their stories. Post-traumatic stress disorder was not diagnosed for returning soldiers and many have had to deal with harrowing details for the last 60 years.

”I think most veterans just don’t like talking about it,” Kolb said.

After returning from Europe, Kolb, like many veterans, ”didn’t want any part of the war anymore.” He didn’t participate in veterans’ groups, and he certainly didn’t talk about his experience.

”I never told war stories until a few years ago,” Kolb said. ”But I wanted to tell my kids about it.”

Now, he’d like to have a group of veterans explain to young people the seriousness of war.

”It’s not like the movies,” he said.

According to Wilmes, the WWII generation is the first where rank-and-file soldiers have passed along their first-person accounts. The result is an unparalleled view of what really happened in combat.

”The Revolutionary War, they have letters and diaries, but a one-on-one interview,” Wilmes said, ”brings out wonderful details. They experienced World War II, and what it meant personally.”

I’ve been sitting on this story for about 2 weeks. Glad to finally have it in the paper. The Quinones family was extremely accomodating and friendly.

This was my attempt at putting a harder edge on what has become a cushy story for me. This time I’ll try the Chris Wink thing, full text posted below. Published in the Morning Call 5/27/08.

High attendance rewards Mayfair officials’ high hopes

But some fear arts festival is pushing arts into the background 

 The warm weather continued at Cedar Beach for the Mayfair Festival of the Arts’ final day, closing a long weekend in which turnout — and with it success or failure — often hinges on the forecast.

Attendance was ”way up,” according to Executive Director Terry Glennon, although official attendance figures won’t be available for several days. Last year, as in other previous years, deluges drove away both patrons and some artists.

On Monday, the clear weather continued, drawing large crowds on what is historically Mayfair’s least popular day. While many visitors chose the Artists Market over the main stages, fans crowded into the Cabaret Courtyard stage for the return of the Allentown Band, ending a one-year absence.

”The weather had everything to do with it,” Susan Blair of Allentown said of the fair’s large attendance.

 Blair had just tried Wii Fit, a video game that was the surprising hit of the festival. But for her and many other visitors, Mayfair is first and foremost an art show.

Some artists fear that the Artists Market, Mayfair’s first attraction, is taking a back seat to music and entertainment. Charging general admission and unpredictable weather may have driven away fine artists and patrons in the last few years.

”Originally, it was all about the art,” said Peg Miller, an artist who’s been showing her handmade jewelry at Mayfair for 15 years. ”When it started, there were, like, 130 artists. Strictly fine art.”

The theme of this year’s festival was ”Art & Soul.”

But its soul, the artists, were not as prevalent as last year.The number of craft vendors was down to 79 from 90 last year, according to festival listings. ”If nobody’s buying,” Blair said, ”they probably won’t come back.”

Miller said her clients are dismayed by the selection at Mayfair.

”I do a lot of fine art shows,” Miller said. ”I’ve heard clients say that they’re upset with the number and quality of artists this year.”

Vendors have remained opposed to the fair charging general admission, Glennon said. While a $5 pass was good for admission all weekend, up until 2005, it was free to enter Mayfair.

”Ever since we put the gate up [in 2005] the artists haven’t liked it,” Glennon said. ”But we try to boost attendance and hopefully more people will stop by when they’re walking through.”

In spite of the decline, artists and other vendors benefited from favorable weather this year. While last year’s showers may have driven patrons away, warm weather kept them coming back all weekend.

Paul Grecian, a nature photographer doing the show for the first time, said he was pleasantly surprised by the weather and turnout.

”The crowds have been great,” Grecian said. ”I think the weather helped that.”

Glennon said his priority as executive director is to increase attendance. Through new programs such as the German-themed Sommerfest, and free admission for military personnel, he hopes to draw more attention to what has historically been a hometown affair.

”No matter how it happens, we’re trying to build new things,” Glennon said. ”I hope the artists are seeing results. I hope they do better.”

But Miller said that artists and craftsmen will need more accommodation to keep the soul of this arts festival alive.

”I would like to come back,” Miller said. ”Hopefully the quality of art will remain high.”