Wednesday, November 6, 2013

2013 General Election Results for the Easton Area

The results of the general election held Tuesday are not yet official, but preliminary results and unofficial vote counts, with all polls reporting, are as follows for races pertinent to those in the greater Easton area.
(Winner names are bolded)

Easton City Council

District 1, four-year term                    
Roger Ruggles (D) uncontested                    
District 2, four-year term                    
Jim Edinger (D) - 402 votes           
Kim Yedlosky (R) - 138  votes                  
District 3 , four-year term                    
Sandra Alercia Vulcano (D) uncontested

Wilson Borough Mayor                    

Four-year term                    
David S. Perruso (D) uncontested                    

Wilson Borough Council

Ward 1, four-year term                    
Louis Starniri (R) uncontested                    
Ward 2, two four-year terms                    
Leonard Feinberg (R) uncontested
Ryan Woodring (D) uncontested
Ward 3, four-year term                    
David L. Jones (D) - 142 votes                     
John C. Lippincott (I) - 55 votes 
                    

Forks Township Supervisor                    

Two six-year terms
Robert H. Egolf (D/R) - 1,601 votes 
Erik J. Chuss (R) - 1,174 votes                  
Bonnie Nicholas (D) - 698 votes                                        
One two-year term
Edward M. Moore (R) - 1,152  votes                    
Blandine Mballa-Fankeu (D) - 609 votes    

Palmer Township Supervisor         

Two six-year terms
Jeffrey A. Young (D/R) - 2,191 votes 
K. Michael Mitchell (D) - 1,200 votes                  
Franklin W. Lambert (R) - 1,151 votes 

Williams Township  Supervisor               

Six-year term 
Raymond Abert  (D/R) uncontested                   

West Easton Mayor                 

One four-year term                    
Gerald W. Gross (D) uncontested
                    

West Easton Borough Council                    

Four four-year terms
Thomas Nodoline (D) - 90 votes                    
Daniel DePaul (D) - 88 votes                    
Louis Niko (D) - 81 votes                                      
Timothy L. Jones (D) - 76 votes                     
Tricia Mezzacappa (R) - 46 votes 

Glendon Borough Council                    

Two-year term                    
Donald Young (R) uncontested

Stockertown Mayor                    

Four-year term                    
Charles Davis (D) - 105 votes           
Eric Wenzelberger (R) -  66 votes 
                    

Stockertown Borough Council                    

Two-year term                    
Kathleen M. Zdonowski (R) - 75 votes   
Robin Davis (D) 70   
Three four-year terms                    
Carl A. Zito (D) - 86  votes   
Robin Davis (D) - 79 votes  
Rosemarie Wenzelberger (D) - 77 votes   
Kathleen M. Zdonowski (R) - 72  votes 
Paul J. Zaboy (R) - 65 votes   
Eric Wenzelberger (R) - 56 votes 

Stockertown Tax Collector

Concetta Marakovits (D) 112
Bernard Roy (R) 54
                    

Tatamy Mayor                

Four-year term                     
Anthony Jaskowiec (R) - 172 votes 
Ronald Fox (D) - 39 votes 
                

Tatamy Borough Council                     

Three four-year terms                    
John Nadolski Jr. (R) uncontested                    
Michael A. Racz (D) uncontested                
Robert J. Hayes Jr. (R) uncontested

Easton Area School District School Director

Region 1, four-year term                    
Baron Vanderburg (D) uncontested                    
Region 2 , two four-year terms             
Michelle Price (D/R) uncontested                
Robert Obey (D/R) uncontested                    
Region 3, two four-year terms                    
Dominick Buscemi (D/R) uncontested                    
Matt Monahon (D/R) uncontested
                    

Wilson Area School District School Director

Region 1, four-year term
Linda Ann Baskwell (D) - 128 votes                
Janis E. Krieger (R) - 117  votes                                     
Region 2, four-year terms                    
Scott R. Wamsley (D/R) uncontested                    
Tony Verenna (D/R) uncontested                    
Region 3, four-year term                    
Bill Wallace (D-R) - 709 votes                     
John Cusick (D-R) - 290 votes 
            

District Magistrate 03-2-05                                    

Six-year term                    
Antonia Grifo (D/R) uncontested
                    

District Magistrate 03-2-06                    

Six-year term                    
Daniel G. Corpora (D/R) uncontested                                 

Northampton County Executive                    

Four-year term                    
John Brown (R) - 18,277 votes       
John Callahan (D) - 16,808 votes 
                    

Northampton County Council                    

Five four-year terms
Peg Ferraro (R) - 19,256 votes 
Glenn Geissinger (R) - 17,105 votes 
Seth Vaughn (R) - 16,852 votes 
Hayden R. Phillips (R) - 15,667 votes 
Mathew Benol (R) - 15,162 votes 
Ronald R. Heckman (D) - 14,731 votes 
Deb Hunter (D) - 14,521 votes 
Gerald E. Seyfried (D) - 14,466 votes                  
Christen Borso (D) - 13,200  votes                                 
Tom O'Donnell (D) - 13,171 votes  s

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Free Car Washes Offered to Vets, Military Personnel

Two Easton-area Shammy Shine locations will offer a free car wash to military veterans and current armed forces personnel next Monday, November 11.

The free washes are being given to honor and recognize those that have served or are currently serving in the military as part of "Grace for Vets". Car washes in all 50 states and three other countries, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand unite annually to offer the service.

"We’re excited that the program has expanded internationally, as it allows more military service to be honored," said Tom Halford, director of business development for Shammy Shine. "I’m proud to be a part of an industry that continually supports our military."

Shammy Shine in Easton is at 240 Bushkill Drive. The Shammy Shine car wash in Palmer is at 2920 William Penn Highway. Both locations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.



Several Shammy Shine locations in New Jersey will also offer the service too.

For a complete list of car washes across the country that are participating in Grace for Vets on Veterans Day, visit www.graceforvets.org

Monday, November 4, 2013

Rally for Marriage Equality Set for Thursday in Easton

A rainbow bridge is the symbol being used for the
"Bridge the Gap for Marriage Equality" rally that will be held
this coming Thursday in Easton.
Facebook page image

 By Christina Georgiou

Supporters of marriage equality will gather on Thursday, November 7 at 5:30 p.m. in Easton's Centre Square to advocate for changing state law to allow same-sex couples to legally wed in Pennsylvania.

The "Bridge the Gap for Marriage Equality" rally will be followed by a march across the free bridge to New Jersey, where a  ban against same-sex marriage were recently overturned. Participants will  witness and celebrate the weddings of  Marcus Laurence and William Mauro, Jerry Schmidt and Chuck Woodbury, and Jennifer and Maryann Kelly, which will all be officiated by Rev. Beth Goudy of the  Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley.

Weather permitting, the ceremonies will be held in Riverside Park in Phillipsburg, NJ. They are believed to be the first same-sex marriages performed in the town, though all three couples are Pennsylvania residents.

Adrian Shanker, president of Equality Pennsylvania and organizer of the event, will speak at the rally, joined by Easton Mayor Sal Panto, Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, Lehigh County Executive Matt Croslis, and Pennsylvania Diversity Network Executive Director Liz Bradbury.

Also expected to speak are Easton City Councilwoman El Warner, the only openly gay legislator in the Lehigh Valley, Michele Kessler, secretary-treasurer for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, Executive Director of Garden State Equality Troy Stevenson, and Rabbi Melody Davis of Temple Covenant of Peace in Easton.

"The rally is to celebrate the New Jersey decision and to remind Pennsylvania that we're losing money every day (by continuing to deny same-sex couples the right to marry)," Shanker said. "We can literally see New Jersey from Pennsylvania, and we can walk across the bridge and get married...The reality is, it's time for Pennsylvania to embrace equality."

More information can be found on the "Bridge the Gap for Marriage Equality" Facebook page.

Updated at 11:34 p.m.

This Week in Easton, November 4 to 7



Yes, it really is November already. Election Day is Tuesday too, so don't forget to get out there and VOTE! It may be a "little" election, but your vote counts the most on the local level, where often the difference between a candidate winning or losing comes down to single digits. So go do it.

 

Monday, November 4

EACC First Monday: Noon to 1 p.m. Melissa Rabinsky will speak of mourning rights of the past in period dress and demeanor. Click here for more details about what promises to be a fascinating presentation. Easton Area Community Center, 901 Washington St. 610-253-8271

Palmer Township Board of Supervisors meeting: 7 p.m. In the Palmer Library meeting room, at the Municipal Complex, 1 Weller Place (off of Newburg Road), Palmer Township.

Wilson Area School Board meeting: The regular meeting, normally scheduled for 7 p.m., has been CANCELLED

Trivia Night: 8 p.m. Two Rivers Brewing Company, 542 Northampton St. 610-829-1131 or www.tworiversbrewing.com

Tuesday, November 5


Today is Election Day.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
State and federal offices are closed today, but the post office is open. LANTA buses run at their regularly scheduled times.


Duplicate Bridge: 11:30 a.m. Temple Covenant of Peace, 1451 Northampton St.

Bingo: Doors open at 5:30 p.m., bingo starts at 7 p.m. Refreshments available. Williams Township Fire Company, 2500 Morgan Hill Road, Williams Township. www.wtfireco.com

Fry's Run Watershed Association Meeting: 7 p.m. Williams Township Municipal Office, 655 Cider Press Road, Easton (Williams Township)

Line Dancing: 7 to 9:30 p.m. Beginner lessons 7:15 p.m. Open dancing follows. $5 per person. Tatamy Fire Company, 164 Bushkill St., Tatamy. 610-759-2786 or www.purecountrydancers.com

Trivia Night: 7 to 10 p.m. Hosted by comedienne Liz Russo. Rivals, 5 Lehn's Court. 610-392-2932 or www.rivalseaston.com

Palmer Township Zoning Hearing Board meeting: 7:30 p.m. In the Palmer Library meeting room, at the Municipal Complex, 1 Weller Place (off of Newburg Road), Palmer Township.

Bingo: 7 to 10:30 p.m. Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, corner of South Fourth and Ferry streets.

Blues Jam with Maria Woodford: 8 to 11 p.m. Riegelsville Tavern, 1274 Easton Road, Riegelsville. 610-510-3030 or www.riegelsvilletavern.com

Wednesday, November 6


Easton Planning Commission meeting: 6:30 p.m. City Hall, city council chambers, sixth floor, 1 South Third St.

Free Texas Hold'em:
7 & 9 p.m. Registration is 15 minutes prior to each game. La Pazza, 1251 Ferry St. 610-515-0888 or www.lapazza.com

Truth and Soul: 7 p.m. Vintage Restaurant at The Club at Morgan Hill, 100 Clubhouse Drive. 610-923-8480 or www.vintagerestaurantandbar.com

The Penelopiad: 8 p.m. Adapted from Homer’s Odyssey, Margaret Atwood brings one of history’s most powerful myths to the contemporary stage. Destined to spend eternity in Hades, Penelope recounts her life’s story and the murder of her 12 handmaidens by her vengeful husband Odysseus. Atwood’s acerbic wit and boundless imagination give us a provocative new look at a woman’s longing, lust and culpability. The all-student performance is directed by Suzanne Westfall, director of the arts and professor of English and theater. Tickets are $6, and available by phone at 610-330-5009 between noon and 2 p.m. and 4 to 5 p.m., as well as at the box office one hour before the show. Show runs through Saturday, Nov. 9. Lafayette College, Williams Center for the Arts, 730 High St.

Waver Wednesday: 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. All new wave, dark wave, indie and electronica music, with DJ Brad Scott Smith and DJ Mumbler.  Two Rivers Brewing Company, 542 Northampton St. 610-829-1131 or www.tworiversbrewing.com

Jam Session: 6 p.m. Host to be announced. Rivals, 5 Lehn's Court. 610-392-2932 or www.rivalseaston.com

Open Mic with Scott Harrington: 9:30 p.m. Porters' Pub, 700 Northampton St. 610-250-6561 or www.porterspubeaston.com

Thursday, November 7


Williams Township Landfill Advisory Committee meeting: 8 a.m. Williams Township Municipal Office, 655 Cider Press Road, Easton (Williams Township)

Cops 'n Kids Reading Room open: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Children receive three free books for visiting. Easton Area Community Center, back entrance, 901 Washington St. 610-250-6562

Northampton Community College Alumni Happy Hour: 5 to 7 p.m. Eat, drink, and chat with alumni and friends. Guest bartenders, Sandra Vulcano '72 and Anthony Marraccini '92 will be serving up drink specials to benefit the Alumni Association. No reservation necessary – just come and celebrate. Pearly Baker's Ale House, 11 Centre Square. For questions email, contactalumni@northampton.edu or call the alumni office at 610-861-5088.

"Bridge the Gap for Marriage Equality" rally  and march: 5:30 p.m. To advocate for changing state law to allow same-sex couples to legally wed in Pennsylvania. Rally will be followed by a march across the free bridge to New Jersey, where participants will  witness and celebrate the weddings of  Marcus Laurence and William Mauro, Jerry Schmidt and Chuck Woodbury, and Jennifer and Maryann Kelly, officiated by Rev. Beth Goudy of the  Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley. Centre Square. For more information, click here. 

Science on a Sphere - "Satellites!": 6 to 8 p.m. Experience satellites in real-time at the premiere of this new Science on a Sphere show. Free. Nurture Nature Center, 518 Northampton St. 610-253-4432 or www.nurturenaturecenter.org

Northampton County Council meeting: 6:30 p.m. County Council Meeting Room, third floor, Northampton County Courthouse, 669 Washington St.

Forks Township Board of Supervisors work session: 7 p.m. Includes the first submission of the 2014 township budget. Forks Township Municipal Complex, 1606 Sullivan Trail, Forks Township.

The Great WTYT 960 Billboard Sitting Contest Live: 7:30 p.m. Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Zeke Zelker staged theatrical production of his web series that acts as a companion piece to his latest movie "Billboard: An Uncommon Contest for Common People!" Four people who don't know each other, live on a catwalk ten feet wide, by forty feet long, twenty feet in the air, in front of a billboard to win a mobile home and "nine-sixty" thousand dollars. The audience will be able to correspond with the characters via social media affecting the story  General seating $19.60, students $9.60, VIP tickets $96. State Theatre, 453 Northampton St. Click here to purchase tickets online or learn more about the show.

The Penelopiad: 8 p.m. See Wednesday's listing for details. Tickets are $6, and available by phone at 610-330-5009 between noon and 2 p.m. and 4 to 5 p.m., as well as at the box office one hour before the show. Show runs through Saturday, Nov. 9. Lafayette College, Williams Center for the Arts, 730 High St.

PBR Retro Thursday and Game Night: Available for your endless enjoyment and nostalgic lapses are a wide assortment games we all grew up playing, plus, Ring-the-Bull and Shut-the-Box. PBR cans are $1 from 4 p.m. to midnight. La Pazza Bar, 1251 Ferry St. 610-515-0888 or www.lapazza.com

Bring (or wear) Your Own Vinyl night: 8 p.m. to midnight. With the Easton Record Exchange. Black & Blue, 683 Walnut St. 610-438-3604 or www.blackandblueeaston.com

The Ernie Stadler Jazz Quartet: 8 p.m. Porters' Pub, 700 Northampton St. 610-250-6561 or www.porterspubeaston.com

Karaoke: 8 p.m. Riegelsville Tavern, 1274 Easton Road, Riegelsville. 610-510-3030 or www.riegelsvilletavern.com

Open Mic with Nick Levinos: 9:30 p.m. Pearly Bakers, 11 Centre Square. 610-253-9949 or www.pearlybakers.net

"This Week in Easton" lists what's happening during the weekdays, from special events to who's playing to government meetings, all in one handy place. Not just in the City of Easton, but for the entire greater Easton area...Published every Monday morning!

Is there a community or entertainment event you'd like to see here? Are you organizing something you'd like to have posted? Did we miss something? Email us!


Last updated on Wednesday, November 6 at 2:28 p.m.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Scene in Easton: Random Acts of Warm, Fuzzy Kindness

About 400 handmade scarves were given away to anyone who wanted
them by "Chase the Chill, the Original" along Northampton Street and
the surrounding area on Saturday.
Click on any photo for a full size view.
By Christina Georgiou

About a dozen volunteers, along with members of the Easton Fire Department, led by Easton textile artist Susan Huxley gave away about 400 hand knit and crochets winter scarves for the fourth year in a row in Easton on Saturday morning.

With a clothesline set up in front of the city's main fire station at the five-point intersection at the edges of the Downtown and West Ward neighborhood, "Chase the Chill, the Original" volunteers offered scarves to any and all who passed by and  desired them.

A Chase the Chill volunteer drapes a scarf
on a traffic signal pole for a passerby to
find and claim.
Some of the scarves were also draped on nearby trees, parking meters and other handy locations within a few blocks of the volunteers' gathering place for other passersby to find and claim. With tags that said,
"TAKE THIS SCARF...if you're cold or if you like it," recipients seemed pleasantly surprised by the gifts, and smiles and thanks were seen and heard along the 500 block of Northampton Street for about 45 minutes--the short  time it took for the hundreds of colorful, fluffy neck warmers to be happily snatched up and taken home.

The scarves were stitched by a dedicated group of volunteers over the past year, though one core member, Angela Boehm of Bethlehem, again created and donated a truly impressive number of them--166 in all.

Yarn for the undertaking is donated by the knitters themselves, as well as by community members--Huxley is always on the look-out for free wool that can be transformed by the group into next year's "scarf bombing," she said.

As recipients gathered at the clothesline strung between trees along the sidewalk, Huxley encouraged some of the recipients who seemed to be in more need to take a few scarves and distribute them as holiday gifts for loved ones too.

A happy recipient shows off her new scarf
Saturday at the Chase the Chill giveaway
event in Easton, as organizer Susan Huxley,
right, and a young volunteer tag more
scarves.
"My grand-daughter will love this one," said one senior, as she picked out a few.

Anyone who knits or crochets can get in on the action and donate to the annual  event, and Chase the Chill holds several public stitching gatherings a year as well, where volunteers can work on scarves to be donated.

Each donated scarf is photographed and documented by Huxley before being distributed, in and of itself a massive undertaking, considering the approximately  2,000 scarves that have passed through her hands.

The event has become so popular too that at least five other Chase the Chill groups have sprung up in the U.S. and Canada. The closest is in Emmaus.


"It's all about a random act of kindness," Huxley said, as one person marvelled at the amount of time and effort that went into the scarve giveaway.

To learn more about "Chase the Chill, the Original" or to get involved, visit the group's Facebook page.















Volunteers head off to drape scarves in the surrounding area
for lucky recipients to find and claim during the Chase the
Chill event on Saturday in Easton.
 


Saturday, November 2, 2013

This Is the Weekend to Change Your Smoke Alarm Batteries

In addition to the end of Daylight Savings Time this weekend, this is also a excellent time to change your smoke alarm batteries.

According to the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), on average, people have less than three minutes from the time the first smoke alarm sounds to escape a fire. Working smoke alarms provide early warning and critical extra seconds needed to escape. They cut the risk of dying in home structure fires in half.

In the U.S., almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with inoperable smoke alarms or no smoke alarms. Thirty-eight percent of the fatal fire injuries occurred in homes with no smoke alarms at all, while 24 percent occurred in homes in which at least one smoke alarm was present but failed to operate.

This past September, three people, including a four-year-old child, died and three others were injured in a fast-moving apartment fire that occurred in Easton's West Ward neighborhood. Fire officials said the home lacked smoke detectors.

Smoke alarm failures usually result from missing, disconnected, or dead batteries. Households with non-working smoke alarms now outnumber those with no smoke alarms.

Changing smoke alarm batteries at least once a year, testing those alarms, and reminding others to do so are some of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce the change of tragic death and injury.

Additionally, the IAFC recommends that smoke alarms in homes be replaced every ten years.

The Easton Fire Department provides smoke alarms free of charge to city residents that request them. Contact them at 610-250-6670 for more information.

Easton Main Street Unveils Downtown Gift Cards

By Christina Georgiou

Kim Kmetz, manager for the Easton Main Street Initiative,
right, announces the new Downtown Easton gift card
program at a press conference held at Pearly Baker's
Alehouse on Friday afternoon. She was joined by
EMSI assistant manager Amy Boccadoro and Easton
Hospital marketing vice president Stephen Wilson.
A gift card that can be used in 58 Downtown Easton shops and restaurants is now available, just in time for the holiday season, the Easton Main Street Initiative  announced at a press conference today.

Purchasable in any denomination between $5 and $500, the cards are a "one-size-fits-all kind of gift" perfect for nearly anyone, said Amy Boccadoro, EMSI's assistant manager.

The program is the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley, and the gift cards work like a credit card, she added.

The Downtown Easton gift card can
be used in 58 shops and restaurants,
as well as to pay for curbside parking
at meters that accept card payments.
The cards can also be used to pay for parking at curbside meters that are equipped to handle credit and debit card payments, though they won't be usable at the city's parking deck.

The cards, which are not refillable, carry a $2 activation fee, paid at the time of their purchase.

For now, the cards are only available at the Easton Main Street office at 35 South Third St., and in the Sigal Museum gift shop, 342 Northampton St., open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.

In addition to being a holiday gift item, at least one Downtown business plans on using the cards as an incentive to loyal customers.

Jonathan Davis, co-owner of Pearly Baker's Alehouse on Centre Square, praised the new card program.

"It's a real testament to see how far Downtown has come. We couldn't have dreamt of this...20 years ago," he said, adding that Pearly's will be using the new cards to reward its loyal customers. "For a while, we were giving away gift cards to other businesses. But now we're going to be giving away Downtown gift cards."

While Downtown merchants paid a fee to be part of the new program and will also pay processing fees similar to credit card processing fees, there were still costs associated with setting up the program, which were underwritten by Easton Hospital, said EMSI Manager Kim Kmetz.

The ad campaign for the holiday season promoting the Downtown Easton gift card
program uses the slogan, "Give thoughtlessly.  Simple. Local. Mindful."
"This very much was a collaborative effort between a variety of businesses and organizations," she said. "We could not have gotten this off the ground without the help of Easton Hospital."

While the cards can't be used for purchasing anything at the Wilson-based hospital, the healthcare organization  was still happy to make the program a reality, said vice president of marketing Stephen Wilson.

"It's exciting for us because we know that the health of a community is based on the strength of its businesses."

Between the upcoming holiday season, along with an ambitious campaign to market the cards via billboards, radio ads, and a button on the Downtown Easton smartphone app, Boccadoro said she expects that the cards will be snatched up quickly, though with 2,000 available, the supply should hold out at least until early next year.

"We feel it's going to be great for holiday gift-giving," she said.

For more information about the Downtown Easton gift card program and a list of participating businesses, click here.