Catasauqua News

The ''clean, fresh and tasty'' water of Catasauqua was proclaimed Friday as the best-tasting water in the Lehigh Valley. via The Morning Call

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Lehigh Valley Isshin Ryu Karate Inc. is hosting a free Anti-Abduction Class from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. May 17 at 767 Front St., Catasauqua. via The Morning Call

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The Catasauqua Area School Board on Monday will vote on a tentative 2008-09 budget that would raise the property tax 3.7 percent.

The $25.1 million spending plan is about $1.5 million more than the current budget. It would increase the millage 1.72 mills to 48.29. The tax bill on a home assessed at $50,000 would rise $86 to $2,414.

For several years in a row, the district has approved budgets that have included tax increases.

The district's economic situation has been strained at times due to a number of factors. Those included costs associated with construction of a new high school in Allen Township and renovation of its old high school into a middle school. Read more

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Prom season is upon us. Friday night, seniors at Catasauqua High School in Lehigh County will be sharing the floor with a special guest. via WFMZ

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Catasauqua has decided to try yet another tool to improve the viability of its downtown area, targeting a section of a key downtown street for a pilot program that will decorate trees with lights.

A program approved Monday by Borough Council would place about 800-1,000 lights apiece on four trees along a section of Front Street between Mulberry and School streets.

''It's a pilot program, we're going to try a block and see how it works,'' Council President Vince Smith said in a phone interview Wednesday. Read more

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A ginger jar lamp reminds Susan Yeakel that she really did have a sister.

She was there when her sister bought the lamp as a Christmas gift for their mother 30 years ago.

But the white lamp also reminds Yeakel that a killer is on the loose.

Her 20-year-old sister, Pamela Ann Pollock, was shot in a busy parking lot of the Whitehall Mall as she waited to pick up her husband from work. She died the next morning. An hour before she was found shot in the head in the passenger seat of her husband's car, Pollock had dropped Yeakel off from the shopping trip that yielded her mother's gift. It was three days before Christmas 1977. Read more

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Catasauqua - Race Street, between 14th and 15th streets, will be closed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for waterline repair. via The Morning Call

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“Hey, how would you like to do comedy nights?”

It's about 9 p.m. on a Tuesday and things are buzzing at the downtown club. Its soft lighting and exposed brick walls provide a cozy atmosphere as drinks and half-price burgers are served to folks at tables ... via The Morning Call

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Despite pleas from a group of police and elected officials, Lehigh County commissioners have rejected a measure to restore funding for community policing grants to put officers in high-crime areas.

In opposing the motion to restore $1 million in funding cut from the administration's anti-crime bill earlier this month, the commissioners said Wednesday they plan to hold hearings to determine if the money could be better spent on other law enforcement efforts.

''Where are our limited resources going to get the most bang for the buck?'' asked Commissioner Andy Roman, who cited comments from two deputy sheriffs that Lehigh is the only county in the state that still arms its officers with revolvers. ''[Do we] put five or six officers on bicycles or give our deputies semiautomatic weapons?'' Read more

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Some of the brightest high school seniors in the Lehigh Valley gathered at noon Monday to receive the Donley Awards for Excellence, which recognize ''outstanding scholastic achievements, leadership and service activities.''

Every honoree boasted a slew of extracurricular activities and volunteer work. Resumes listed achievements ranging from first place in botany at the Biology Olympics to leading discussions at colleges in Argentina, according to the event organizers.

The event's creator, former Air Products and Chemicals Chairman Edward Donley, gave the keynote speech during a luncheon at the Best Western Hotel and Conference Center, Hanover Township, Northampton County. Read more

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