Northampton Press

On Feb. 1 at Agri-Plex in Allentown, more than 400 students competed in 54 hands-on skill and leadership competitions. This Showcase of Skills provided a unique opportunity to observe some of the most talented career and technical education students in the area.

District gold medal winners advance to state and potentially national competitions. This year, the SkillsUSA Council partnered with postsecondary educational institutions and area businesses to award more than $167,000 in scholarships and prizes to the medalists of eight competitions.

As the local leader for Lehigh Valley Greenways Conservation Landscape, Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L) is preparing to disburse $75,000 as part of the 2017 Lehigh Valley Greenways Mini-Grant Program. The online application period is now open and runs through 4 p.m. March 3.

Rene Miletics, chair of the Friends of Bill Leiner committee, has announced the group is engaged in an exploratory effort for entry of Bill Leiner Jr. into the 2018 Democratic primary for the U.S. House 15th District.

The seat is currently held by Republican Charlie Dent.

According to Miletics, in the news release, Leiner has a 20-year career as an elected official. Currently, he is a Whitehall-Coplay School Board director and board treasurer.

State Rep. Zach Mako, R-183rd, was joined Jan. 3 in Harrisburg by 22 other first-term legislators as he took the oath of office in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

The newly sworn-in state representative has vowed to fight for property tax reform, job creation and infrastructure improvements.

Students from the various career and technical programs at Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School (BAVTS) were inducted recently into the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS), whose colors are silver, white and purple. Silver represents value and worth; white represents truth and honesty; and purple represents achievement and honor.

Throughout the years, there have been many car accidents involving teenagers in the Northampton community. In an approach to prevent teen wrecks and promote safe driving, senior DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) members Ciana Heckman and Sarah Schisler have created a campaign to put an end to phone use while driving. This campaign, called Be a Leader by Demonstration — Drive Safely to Your Destination, was targeted toward the juniors and seniors in the high school.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced Dec. 14 an investigation by the district attorney’s Drug Task Force has led to a significant arrest in Coplay.

Michael Louis Frasier, 27, of 136 Front St., Coplay, has been charged with six counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, a felony; seven counts of possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor; and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. Along with the drug charges, Frasier has been charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, a felony of the second degree.

The Alpha Chapter Pa. of Alpha Delta Kappa International Honorary Society of Women Educators recently celebrated its 62nd anniversary. Alpha Delta Chapter, organized in the Allentown School District, was the first chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa and established in Pennsylvania in 1954.

If you happened to run, walk or ride past Saylor Park on the Coplay segment of the Ironton Rail Trail (IRT) the morning of Oct. 15, there’s a good chance you saw a dog or two in a Halloween costume. No, the dogs weren’t trick-or-treating, but be assured they each got several treats. They were participating in the Howloween 5-K dog walk and run, a charity event that was the creation of Kate Gogel and Carlie Small, Northampton Area High School students and members of the school’s DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) Club.

Nathan Gehringer, of Northampton, has completed the two-week Future Leader Camp (FLC) at Norwich University as a corporal.

FLC is designed to enable youth to become decisive, caring and disciplined leaders in a challenging environment and to instill confidence and courage through hands-on adventure, survival and physical training, while fostering moral integrity and character required of responsible citizens and future leaders.