Northampton Press

In the absence of President Darryl Snover and Supervisor Keith Hantz, Vice President Sandra Hopkins was in charge of the June 9 Lehigh Township Board of Supervisors' meeting.

David Jaindl's plans for the 460 acres of the Mary Immaculate seminary lands were further explained following the May 26 outline.

Jaindl said 278 acres of the property are in Lehigh Township between Cherryville and Indian Trail roads.

Prior to the May 26 meeting of the Lehigh Township Board of Supervisors, an executive session was held to discuss personnel.

Potential employees were interviewed for the position of a full-time police officer. It became the first item on the agenda when Craig Ball was appointed to the position.

During public comment, David Jaindl presented the beginning of a plan for the 460 acres of the Mary Immaculate church property located at the highest point in the township. He sought board feedback for his plan. It would no longer be nonprofit and would be added to tax rolls.

Nicole Snover's career plans include applying to the Army, Navy and Coast Guard academies for admission, though she also has a back-up plan at Union University, Jackson, Tenn., which has a respected Reserve Officers Training Corps program.

The Snover family has deep military roots.

Her primary choice was the Naval Academy at Annapolis, where she was nominated by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey. U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent nominated her for the West Point Academy.

Three Republicans are seeking two open positions on the Lehigh Township Board of Supervisors. The term is six years.

The candidates, Keith Hantz, Richard Hildebrand Jr. and Kenneth Mack, responded to the following question posed by The Press:

What makes you uniquely qualified for this position?

Keith Hantz

A police officer in Lehigh Township is retiring July 1.

Resident Robert Hawke asked what the township is going to do. He thought the process should begin with finding a replacement.

Supervisor Darryl Snover said he found out about the retirement at the meeting April 28.

Hawke said crime is moving north.

Supervisor Cindy Miller made a motion to begin the process of hiring a full-time officer. The motion passed.

Township Manager Alice Rehrig said some people remain on a previous list.

Lehigh Township Supervisor Keith Hantz recently questioned a meeting held by Supervisors Darryl Snover and Cindy Miller with Solicitor David Backenstoe.

Hantz's inquiry came under public comment at the April 14 supervisors meeting.

Two individuals can meet but not three or more, said Snover. If three or more individuals gather, then the meeting must be advertised.

To date, every board member has called him for business, said Backenstoe. Billable time is the same whether he meets with members or takes calls.

Lehigh Township Engineer Phil Malitsch commented at the March 10 supervisors meeting there are three main points that have to be studied in planning the maintenance building.

The areas include the slope of the property, truck access and a stormwater facility. Eight feet of pavement will require one foot of basin bottom.

"We think we have what works," he said. "There is not a lot of room."

The building will be 80 feet by 210 feet.

Jack Wall attended the March 10 Lehigh Township Board of Supervisors meeting to introduce himself as a possible member to fill a vacancy on the planning commission.

At the March 24 meeting, he was appointed.

An ordinance to update an existing pension ordinance is being advertised.

Another ordinance will create lower speed limits on Cedar Drive, South Dogwood Road and Cypress Drive. The police have conducted speed studies on those roads and made the recommendations.

The Ladies Auxiliary to R. W. Fritzinger VFW Post 7215 and the VFW post recently held a dinner to honor the winners in the Patriot's Pen and Voice of Democracy essay contests.

The theme for Patriots Pen was "why I appreciate America's veterans." The theme for the Voice of Democracy contest was "why veterans are important to our nation's history and future."

The eight Patriot's Pen winners were all from Northampton Area Middle School, and the Voice of Democracy winner was from Northern Lehigh.

On Feb. 9 Drexel University issued a report about the PennEast pipeline, extolling the benefits.

"We will give you the costs," said Linda Christman, who organized a program at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center to present the costs to people and to the environment.

Dan Kunkle, director of the center, said he has no quarrel with the benefits but said Drexel only looked at the economic activity, not the costs or where the benefits occur.