40¢
70th Year, Issue No. 52 USPS 248-700
DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4, 2012 A General Circulation Newspaper Serving The Community Since 1942
SERVING BATH, CHAPMAN, NORTHAMPTON, NAZARETH BOROS; ALLEN, E. ALLEN, MOORE, LEHIGH, BUSHKILL, LOWER NAZARETH & UPPER NAZARETH TWPS.
School board to hear Proposals for architect The Northampton Area School Board will hear proposals for an architect at their meeting on January 9. Interviews will follow later. The firm that is eventually chosen, possibly by January 23, would then move forward with designs for a new middle school. At a recent meeting, the board was presented a table of projected costs on construction of a school with an estimated 216,450 sq. ft. of space for 1,300 students. Cost comparisons were drawn by D’Huy engineer Arif Fazil on two possibilities: A proposed site at Seemsville Rd. & Rt. 329 (Nor-Bath Blvd.) in East Allen Township and
Year-end report shows Success of Atlas Museum
The Atlas Cement Memorial MuseumTrust met on December 12 and heard a report of activities of the museum from secretary Larry Oberly for the time period of December 1, 2010 through November 30, 2011. Edward Pany, Museum Curator, reported on the attendance for the previous twelve months as follows: Tours and public visitations, 352 persons; and education tours for school children, 653 students and teachers, for total visits of 1005. In addition, the Museum participated in two days of special programming with the Atlas Universal 7th grade learning team at the Northampton Area Middle School. There are more than 1,670 students and staff involved with that team. The museum also took part in two school wide assemblies at the Middle School that involved more than 900 students and staff. It must be noted that the total number of visitors is indeed larger than shown as not everyone who comes to
visit signs the guestbook. It is believed that the true number of visitors was close to 1,035. If all contacts are totaled, the museum has reached more than 3,135 in 2011. New artifacts and equipment added to the museum over the past year included: A blasting machine, by Mr. Charles Flynn of Austin Powder; a Resource Map of Pennsylvania by Roy Wagner; the Final sign of the Lehigh Portland Cement, Northampton Operations, Mr. Kreglow, and Whitehall Cement artifacts, by Mr. Keith Beil. The museum received a laptop computer, digital camera and related equipment through a county grant. This will be used to conduct the affairs of the Trust and to preserve an inventory of artifacts currently held in trust or on display. A photographic inventory is being made and will be backed up in multiple locations to preserve and record. All of the remaining oper-
Northampton County Miracle League breaks Ground On a cool and blue sky clear day in December the Miracle League of Northampton County reached another marvelous milestone in their journey towards providing a Miracle League Field in Northampton County. A ground-breaking ceremony marked the beginning of the construction phase of their project. Approximately 75 people attended this event in Continued on page 6
another that just recently was proposed, the former Bethlehem Vo-Tech Northampton Campus along Stadium Drive in Northampton, that is a stone’s throw from the present middle school and the senior high school. $2-Million Difference Fazil said the base cost would be virtually the same, $215 per square foot, but other factors entering the picture make a difference in the estimated cost, $79.8-million for the site in East Allen Township and $77.8-million for the Northampton location. Part of the costs involved with the Northampton site is demolishing both the for-
mer vo-tech building and the present three-pod middle school, $168,000 for the first and $2.04-million for the latter. At that meeting on Dec. 19, there was also discussion about a field house and a natatorium for students along with an indoor swimming pool. Cost estimates given then were only preliminary. It will take another year for bids to be solicited on construction after an architect is hired to come up with a school design. The Jan. 9 meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the administration building on Laubach Ave.
Fire in kitchen, East Allen Woman found unresponsive Ann Beynon, 76, was found unresponsive after a kitchen fire broke out in her home at 5303 Green Meadow Rd., Bath (East Allen Township) early Wednesday morning, Dec. 21. She was found at about 1:20 a.m. and was pronounced dead in Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg, Bethlehem, at 2:15 a.m., according to Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim. An autopsy was performed, but results were inconclusive. She had been ill for some time. There was very little dam-
age to the home, and the fire was contained to the kitchen where food had been burning on the stove. No Smoke Detectors State Police and the coroner’s office are investigating. East Allen Township Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Barry Frantz and the fire company’s fire marshal, John McDevitt, said there were no working smoke detectors in the home. Mrs. Beynon, wife of the late retired State Trooper Charles H. Beynon, was found lying in a hospital bed.
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Pictured at the Miracle League field groundbreaking (l-r) are Thomas Schupper, Board member; Lisa Colver, Board member; David Colver, Chairman, Palmer Township Board of Supervisors; Thomas Harp, Board member; Charles Chrin, major sponsor; Dan McKinney, Co-Commissioner of our league; John Stoffa, County Commissioner and Board member; Victor Palm, Easton Rotary Club President which is a major sponsor; Richard Agretto, Board President; Debra Young, Board Treasurer; Robert Pruznick, Board member; Patti Stout, Board Secretary; Amanda Sechrist, Co-Commissioner of our league; Chuck Frantz, Board member; Adam Taylor, Special needs child; Kelly Taylor, Board member and Adams mother; John Lahutsky, Board member; Robert Lammi, Board Vice President and Vice Chairman, Palmer Township Board of Supervisors. – Contributed photo