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Explaining a loss to children isn't easy--whether it's a family member, a friend or a pet.
But an award winning nature photographer from New Ringgold, Pennsylvania has come up with a way.
Kathy Miller, author of the renowned Chippy Chipmunk series of books spoke with WFMZ's Jaciel Cordoba on 69 News at Sunrise.
Martinez...call police. >>> jaciel cordoba: New this morning, a New York man was killed in a crash in the Poconos. Police say a driver was speeding and lost control on Cherry Lane Church Road in Pocono Township around 6:00 last night. They say the car hit a utility pole and some boulders, flipped, and ejected two people. The coroner says the 24-year-old man died at the scene. Two others were taken to the hospital with injuries. The victim's identity has
Ray O’Connell unanimously was elected the new president of Allentown City Council Wednesday night.
His top priority? “We will have dignity and respect in City Council chambers.”
O’Connell, a retired Allentown School District administrator, was applauded immediately after the 7-0 vote, as he shook hands to thank each of his colleagues.
The new president’s wife Mary Beth and daughter Kaitlin were among those applauding in the audience.
Because it was a snowy night, he jokingly scolded them, saying: “I told you both not to come in this bad weather.”
Julio Guridy, who has served as council president for three years, was elected vice president.
Before the vote, Guridy explained none of the other five council members had asked to be considered for either position.
Guridy nominated O’Connell for president and O’Connell later nominated Guridy for vice president.
Guridy also was elected unanimously.
O’Connell and Guridy immediately switched positions at the dais.
“I get the gavel,” said O’Connell, pounding it twice. “It works.”
He is starting his sixth year on council, but never served as president before.
“I am truly honored and humbled to serve council as president for 2015,” said O’Connell.
“I’ve been a public servant for 43 years— 38 years with the Allentown School District and five years on City Council,” said the 65-year-old president, adding he’s always been dedicated to helping people.
“It’s not a cliche,” said O’Connell. “I care deeply about Allentown. My roots are here. And I only want the best for all its residents.”
Shortly after being voted in, he declared: “My first executive order tonight is to eliminate courtesy of the floor — only kidding, only kidding. Some of my favorite ‘courtesy of the floor people’ are not here tonight. That was a little poke at them.”
Some public comment segments of City Council meetings, called courtesy of the floor, have been marked by angry debates between residents and city officials, with time limits being ignored.
On a more serious note Wednesday, O’Connell indicated his top priority will be “to bring total respect and dignity to council chambers.”
“We might not always agree on issues, but I will treat all in council chambers with the utmost respect and dignity,” he said.
“I might have to say politely: ‘Sir, your three minutes is up, your five minutes is up, please be seated.’ But we will have dignity and respect in City Council chambers.
“You give respect, you give dignity. In return you get respect, you get dignity.”
City Council has had so many stormy sessions on controversial issues in the last few years that an armed and uniformed police officer now attends all its meetings.
O’Connell said another one of his goals will be to take council “on the road,” by meeting in various sections of the city, rather than always meeting in council chambers.
“That's very important,” he said. “Not everybody can come down to City Hall. We need to go to the residents.”
He also wants to improve communication by reviewing options for using social media and the city’s website for meeting notices and other information about City Council.
And he wants to look at “best council practices” throughout the county, valley and state. “Why reinvent the wheel if somebody is doing a best practice in another locality?”
He said he will work with the administration and all constituents “to make this city a better place to live, work and play.”
In a speech lasting about six minutes, O’Connell said Allentown is coming back, but added: “We can build beautiful buildings and great restaurants and all, but we need more than that. We need to serve the people of Allentown.
“Restaurants and buildings don’t always make a city great. People make a city great.
“We could use the terms revitalization, economic development, a renaissance. But it takes people — not buildings, not bricks, not mortar.
“We need the buildings. We need the arena — that’s fantastic. We need great restaurants.
“But we need people who are on the fringe in Allentown to benefit from what is happening in Allentown.”
O’Connell is a native of Hokendauqua, the Whitehall Township where he grew up. He moved to Allentown when he got married in 1976.
He was a teacher at Mosser Elementary School in the Allentown School District, then assistant principal at Raub Middle School and principal at Trexler Middle School. He then served as executive director of secondary education for the district, in charge of the four middle schools and two high schools.
O’Connell became seriously ill in the fall of 2013, yet won re-election to a second term on City Council that November.
That illness left him weak and gaunt. “I couldn’t even vote for myself,” he said. Despite being too sick to campaign, he racked up the second highest number of votes among five council members who were elected.
O’Connell was unable to attend any council meetings from mid-October 2013 until Jan. 6, 2014, when he was sworn in for the new term.
He said that illness prevented him from making a bid to become council president in 2014.
Guridy wants better communication with residents
Guridy thanked O’Connell for being willing to take over as president, saying: “I know some people think it’s all glory, but it’s not.”
Guridy also wants to increase communication between council and city residents.
He said a City Council newsletter will be developed. He also suggested joint meetings with the Allentown School Board and Lehigh County commissioners.
Looking back, Guridy said: “We had some great debates with the administration and the public that made our city a better place to live and work.”
Guridy, who has been on City Council for 14 years, reviewed accomplishments during his three years as council president, including the “heart-warming” transformation of the city.
“Every place I go, when I tell people I’m from Allentown, they already know that it’s a city that is being redeveloped.”
Committee chair appointments
Later in the meeting, O’Connell announced new committee assignments for council members.
Jeff Glazier will chair the budget and finance committee, Guridy will chair community and economic development, Joe Davis will chair public works and O’Connell will chair rules, chambers, intergovernmental relations and strategy.
Other council members will remain as chairs of the same committees: Daryl Hendricks on human resources, administration and appointments, Cynthia Mota on parks and recreation and Jeanette Eichenwald on public safety.
O’Connell said he worked hard to match committee chairmanships with the strengths of council members. “I want them utilize their unique skills, their experience and talent.”
Other appointments
In one unanimous vote, council appointed a number of residents to city boards, council and commissions Wednesday.
Juan Camacho was appointed to the Allentown Zoning Hearing Board, where he has served as an alternate. Camacho will serve four years. He will replace zoning board member Michael Engle.
Other appointments:
• Joe Hoffman to the Environmental Advisory Council.
• Dan Kainz and Peter Lewnes to the Allentown Public Art Commission.
• David Howells, Sr. , David S. Jones, Sr., and Fred Banuelos to the Civil Service Board.
• Gus Al-Khal and Theodore W. Schick, Jr., as alternates on the Civil Service Board.
Announcements
At 6 p.m. Feb. 4, City Council will meet as committee-of-the-whole to discuss and vote on an ordinance to change some of its regulations involving weapons.
Those provisions will be repealed to comply with a new state law and help the city avoid a lawsuit.
That state law gives individuals and gun rights groups legal standing to challenge local gun laws. Harrisburg already has been sued for not coming into compliance with state law.
Eric Trimmer of Allentown, a member of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party, advised council that his organization’s lawyer already has sent the city solicitor a letter stating Allentown is in violation of state law.
O’Connell said all members of council have received copies of that letter.
“We urge you to do the right thing and move forward quickly and repeal the offending ordinances,” said Trimmer at tonight’s council meeting.
Council member Mota invited everyone to City Hall between 4 and 6:45 p.m. Feb. 18 for a local celebration of Black History Month —with food, performances and educational presentations.
The council meeting ended with O’Connell predicting: “They’re not all going to be this easy.”
Allentown City Council is being asked to take a symbolic stand against money corrupting the American political system.
City councils in Bethlehem and Easton soon will be asked to do the same.
On Wednesday night, Allentown’s council was encouraged to pass a non-binding resolution “to get big money out of politics.”
“The large amounts of money tend to dilute democracy and the power of the people to present their grievances,” said Allentown resident Alan Shupe.
“Big money has no place in a democracy.”
Shupe told council that exactly five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that campaign contributions can be increased dramatically, “which had a very negative effect upon our democracy, at all levels of government.”
Shupe and Robert Trotner of Bethlehem addressed council on behalf of a grass-roots citizens organization called Represent.Us, which is pushing for legislative reforms, including passage of a federal bill called the American Anti-Corruption Act.
Trotner handed out copies of a proposed resolution to council members as Shupe told them: “We don’t expect you to pass it today, but we want to begin the process.”
Trotner told council: “For 220 years in this country, we had campaign finance regulations that worked fine.”
But he maintained that, since the Supreme Court decision, there has been “a major increase in corruption in our politics, which we haven’t experienced since the beginning of our country.”
He quoted President Obama, who criticized that Supreme Court ruling Wednesday by stating: "With each new campaign season, this dark money floods our airwaves with more and more political ads that pull our politics into the gutter.”
The proposed resolution maintains that court decision, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, essentially removed limits on the amount of money that corporate, public interest, labor union and other political action committees (PACs) can collect and spend on political campaigns.
Trotner said he and Shupe hope to work with City Council in the coming weeks and months “to find whether this resolution or some other form of the resolution can be passed.”
He said: “We’re doing this in 200 cities across the country.” He claimed about 50 chapters of Represent.Us are going to city councils in each of those cities, in what he called a major initiative.
Responded Allentown council president Julio Guridy: “We’ll certainly take this into consideration and we’ll get back to you with a decision.”
Council member Ray O’Connell, who became the new council president shortly after the discussion, asked the men if they had been to any other legislative bodies in Lehigh County.
“We will be in the near future,” said Shupe. “We’re starting here.”
They plan to next take their resolution to city councils in Bethlehem and Easton.
That proposed resolution calls for removing “the influence of money on our national, state and local political system.”
Its specific suggestions include:
• Prohibiting politicians from taking campaign money from industries they regulate.
• Increasing transparency for campaign funding.
• Empowering all voters, through a modest tax rebate voucher, to contribute to candidates they support.
• Prohibiting representatives and their senior staff from all lobbying actions for five years after they leave office.
• Placing limits on the amount so-called SuperPACs can raise and spend.
With leftover snow and freezing temperatures, watch for slick spots on area roadways and make sure to use extra caution while traveling around.
Cloudy skies this morning along with a few flurries or a snow possible in spots.
The clouds will gradually break for some sunshine this afternoon allowing temperatures to climb back into the lower 40s.
Friday is expected to be a bit cooler with highs topping out in the middle 30s despite the early sunshine.
Clouds building in Friday night as another storm approaches the region.
We are watching this storm system for Saturday that could bring us another round of snow.
Sunday looks mostly sunny with highs in the upper 30s.
Today: Some morning clouds will break for sunshine. (AM flurry/snow shower in spots) High: 40
Today: Partly cloudy. Low: 19
Friday: Sunny to partly cloudy. Turns cloudy at night, perhaps snow very late. High: 38 Low 24
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Forty percent of people make New Year’s resolutions but just 8 percent achieve their goals.
Many of those diet plans and eating healthier oaths get thrown out in the garbage with the leftovers. But eating healthier isn’t an easy task.
Grocery store shelves are lined with processed foods. But can any of them be good for you?
We have a plan to help you kick off 2015 choosing healthier foods in the first place.
Jamie Mills finally thinks she's found foolproof foods for her family.
Mills says, “It's very difficult. It’s taken us a couple of years of really paying attention to everything."
Fat-free, sugar- free, all natural, there's a lot to digest.
Dietician Jamie Stolarz helps steer shoppers in the right direction.
Something she gets asked about: fat free dressings. They are loaded with salt and sugar.
In fact, many are loaded with more than two teaspoons per serving and offer zero nutrition!
Stolarz, MS, RDN, LDN, a Publix dietician, advises, “To absorb the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, we need a little bit of fat in there."
She suggests unsaturated fat dressings, like vinegar mixed with olive oil, canola oil, walnut oil or flaxseed oil.
Another food that may fool you is dried cranberries. They may seem like the "go to" snack, but since they tend to be tart, they're packed with added sugar. And just a third of a cup contains 123 calories.
Stolarz says instead try golden raisins, prunes, figs or apricots.
Other top picks for processed foods include Oikos caramel Greek yogurt.
A four-ounce container has just 110 calories, zero fat, 10 grams of protein and 17 grams of carbs.
A serving of Starkist yellowfin tuna in extra virgin olive oil in this pouch packs just 190 calories, 18 grams of protein and 13 grams of fat.
And V8 spicy hot low sodium vegetable juice has just 50 calories per cup and adds up to two more vegetable servings to your day.
Some other food for thought:
Stolarz says most any food can be labeled "all natural."
There's no standardized approval for the use of that word on food labels.
Also, all protein diets aren't the way to go. Women need 46 grams a day and men need 56 grams per day.
 | Former NYPD detective shows pitfalls car owners make to turn their luxury vehicles into targets for thieves. | From: ABC News Views: 24  4 ratings |
| Time: 07:18 | More in News & Politics |
IESI Bethlehem Landfill has filed an application for the Southeast Realignment major permit modification with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and sent notification to Lower Saucon Township.
The permit would add an estimated five years to the site's operations.
IESI officials first introduced the Southeast Realignment plan to Lower Saucon Township Council in July 2014.
The project is located within the southeast section of the landfill's existing 201-acre permit area, which is zoned for landfill use.
"The Southeast Realignment means continued operations of our facility, which in turn will result in continued benefits to Lower Saucon residents and surrounding communities," said Sam Donato, IESI Bethlehem Landfill District Manager.
"These continued benefits come in the form of host agreement payments, taxes, and contributions to local organizations and charities we proudly support."
IESI Bethlehem Landfill provides integrated waste solutions that address the needs of commercial, industrial, municipal, and residential customers.
IESI is a subsidiary of Progressive Waste Solutions, one of North America's largest full-service waste management companies.
Hundreds of students, parents and grandparents pleaded Wednesday night with the Stroudsburg Area School District board to rescind their recent decision to essentially fire Superintendent John Toleno.
The school board was handed a petition signed by 400 students supporting Toleno, who learned at the board’s last meeting that his contract would not be renewed.
Students and parents lined up before a microphone, repeatedly asking the board to offer a reason for the decision. It never came.
But the board did agree to vote on whether that decision should be rescinded.
By a 5-4 vote, the board voted the matter down, meaning Toleno would be leaving the district at the end of his contract.
The board members who voted to keep Toleno said they did not know the reason behind the move to replace Toleno.
“I don’t know why,” said board member Jake Jakobsen. “It’s not a personnel issue. It’s a personal issue.”
Students who pressed the board to explain their rationale received rounds of applause and standing ovations.
“The students of Stroudsburg High School are speaking,” said Adam DeSchriver, a junior who is vice president of student government.
He asked the board, “Will you listen?” and argued it was their duty to put the students’ interests above anyone else’s, including their own.
A parent, Robert Ferrier, asked the board “to speak to us.”
“Otherwise, the whole decision smacks of political dirty tricks.”
Others questioned why the board would want to undertake the task of finding a new superintendent and incurring thousands of dollars in expenses in the process.
“You’re wasting our money, looking for a new superintendent, when you already have one,” said Lindsay Paradise.
It's a dark drive across the Penn Street Bridge in Reading.
City officials say the lights on the bridge have been out since last week.
They say there's a short in some underground cables.
The city is working with contractors on the problem.
Officials say it could take a few days, or even a few weeks to get the lights back on.
Not long after the first flakes started to hit the ground, accidents started popping up all over Berks County.
A two-door Chevy sedan carrying a mother and her two daughter, on the way to a doctor's appointment, slid off of Painted Sky Road in Exeter Township.
"Everyone was shaken up, but everyone was okay. We didn't go down an embankment, the tree luckily stopped that," said the driver.
Then in the 1000 block of Memorial Highway, in Oley Twp., an SUV lost control and crashed into a postal truck.
Throughout Berks County officials did their best to keep the roads clear.
In Reading the parking authority took to salting the sidewalks around its garages.
Grady Harris was also at work salting his sidewalk because he was worried about children and the elderly slipping and falling.
"Oh yes!" said Harris. "Because it will melt, re-freeze, and tomorrow we do the same thing."
Supermarkets, like C-Town at 6th and Greenwich Street in Reading, were also getting ready for the hundreds of customers preparing to battle the bad weather. Shovels were the hot item
PennDOT is concerned about re-freezing, so crews will be monitoring the roads throughout the night.
Two people are under arrest and a third is being sought on murder charges in the deadly shooting of a man in Reading last year.
Hector Mattei-Santiago, 18, and Ayannia Martin, 18, were apprehended early Wednesday morning; Raymond Martinez III, 22, remains at large.
All three suspects stand accused in the shooting death of John Villarreal, 29, inside a first floor apartment at 817 Green St. in Reading on Nov. 7, 2014.
Police described the crime as being a drug-related "robbery gone bad."
"I was scared because I was sleeping and I heard that. My wife, my daughter, wow," said Gabriel Nunez, a neighbor.
Gabriel Nunez lives right next door to where the shooting happened. He is glad to learn that police have arrested two of the three suspects Hector Mattei-Santiago and Ayannia Martin.
"The police are working hard over here. I am happy with that," said Nunez.
Both suspects in custody are just 18-years-old, something police say is concerning.
"Anytime you have very young adults that begin to make very poor decisions, life-changing decisions, that are going to impact them, their family and their community is troubling," said Capt. Damond Kloc, Reading Police Department.
Martinez is also being sought for parole violations and on charges he escaped from the Wernersville Correctional Facility on Jan. 2.
Martinez and another inmate, who has since been captured, got away by pulling a fire alarm and getting into a minivan, according to state police.
Martinez was doing time at the facility in South Heidelberg Township for burglary.
"We are doing the best we can. We still have to police our community. It would be very helpful if someone knows where his whereabouts are to assist us," said Kloc.
Mattei-Santiago and Martin are charged with murder in the second degree, burglary, robbery and conspiracy.
Anyone who knows of Martinez's whereabouts is asked to call Crime Alert Berks County at 877-373-9913. A cash reward is being offered for information that leads to his arrest.
Sentencing is set for a 41-year-old man, who pled guilty Tuesday, to simple assault and criminal conspiracy.
In September, 2014, Bethlehem police were called to the scene where a pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle.
Police later discovered that the victim, Asharif Tansmore, was the same man who had just stolen 10 iphones and assaulted a woman in the parking lot of the Sands Casino.
Tansmore went to the Sands to meet a man and woman to buy 10 iphones that had been listed on Craigslist for sale.
Tansmore punched the woman in the head twice, pushed her to the ground and made away with the 10 iphones.
He was later hit by a car and transported to St. Luke's for treatment.
Tansmore pled guilty to simple assault and conspiracy. He will be sentenced on March 6, according to the UJS portal.
