Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Ron Beitler and Brian Higgins, who edged out two incumbents in the Lower Macungie Board of Commissioner Republican primary Tuesday, share their thoughts on what their win means to Lower Macungie politics.
Ron Beitler and Brian Higgins ran companion campaigns in the GOP primary for Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners, unseating incumbents Roger Reis and Ron Eichenberg in a hotly contested race. Beitler, in an email statement to Lower Macungie Patch, said that the Beitler-Higgins win speaks to the level of frustration among the residents of Lower Macungie Township. “First, politically the win shows folks are fed up with political campaigns based on special interest donations fueling endless ROBO calls and mailers,” Beitler wrote. “I tried to run a campaign centered on writing about issues in detail then taking that message to residents by hitting doors. “Turnout was definitely disappointing. I know people who stayed away from the …
Challenger Brian Higgins earned the third Republican nomination in the Lower Macungie Board of Commissioners primary race, according to unofficial tallies.
Call it an election night with a cliffhanger. Tuesday night, it was unclear who the third Republican nominee in the Lower Macungie Board of Commissioners race would actually turn out to be. But this morning, challenger Brian Higgins can claim the party's nod, according to unofficial tallies from Lehigh County. Incumbent Ryan Conrad and challenger Ron Beitler won the remaining two of the Republican nominations for four-year terms on the Lower Macungie Board of Commissioners. Incumbents Roger Reis and Ron Eichenberg were not successful in their bids for reelection. Here are the unofficial results from Tuesday’s Republican primary for Lower Mac BOC, according to Tim Benyo, of Lehigh County Voter Registration and Elections: Ron Beitler, 1255 …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners is looking into less tolerance and stricter penalties for false alarms that needlessly call the fire department into action.
It’s not quite a case of the boy who cried wolf, but it’s close. After learning that a good 30 to 40 percent of the calls that prompt Lower Macungie Fire Department volunteers to spring into action actually turn out to be false alarms, the township decided something needed to be done. So, township staff has recommended some changes to an existing township ordinance covering false alarms, Commissioner Roger Reis told the rest of the commissioners in his Public Safety Committee report at Thursday night's Board of Commissioners' meeting. The key changes being looked at Reis explained, are dropping the allowable false alarms from three per year to two and stabilizing the penalty structure to a flat $150 per residential violation and $300 per …
Letter writer says two Lower Macungie Board of Commissioner candidates are trying to fool the voters.
To the editor: Republican voters in Lower Macungie beware when heading to the polls for the May 21 Republican Primary. Two candidates for Lower Macungie Township Commissioner, Ron Beitler and Brian Higgins, are long-time Democrats turned Republican trying to fool voters into believing they subscribe to Republican principles. Their motivation looks like political opportunism at its worst. Just look at their political history. Higgins ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for East Penn School Board in 2011. In a self prepared campaign profile, Higgins stated he would consider supporting tax increases. He also refused to sign a ‘no tax hike’ pledge. Beitler was president of the Young Democrats in college. He’s supported Democrats like …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Letter writer encourages Lower Mac electorate to consider candidates not associated with any realty groups on May 21.
To the Editor: I am a resident of Lower Macungie Township (LMT) and as such will vote on May 21 for candidates seeking to fill three upcoming vacancies for commissioner on our 5-member board. Recently, in the mail, I received three newsletters titled The Lower Macungie Advocate. Each claims to be “A Voter Information Publication of the Alliance for a Better Pennsylvania.” The small print on the address label says it was paid for by the Alliance which is affiliated with the PA Association of Realtors. The three “advocate publications” are devoted entirely to extolling the achievements of three candidates who are currently commissioners on the LMT Board: Ron Eichenberg, Roger Reis, and Ryan Conrad, all seeking re-election to a 2nd term. …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
The League of Women Voters of Lehigh County hosted the candidates' forum at the Lower Macungie Township Community Center.
The five Republican candidates running for three seats on the Lower Macungie Board of Commissioners shared their views Wednesday with a room full of interested voters. Incumbents Ron Eichenberg, Ryan Conrad and Roger Reis were joined by candidates Brian Higgins and Ron Beitler to lend their perspectives to questions that ranged from the sale of parts of the Kratzer Farm to the Jaindl Spring Creek Development plan to Willow Lane School to the eventual use of the now vacant Daytimers property and the ongoing study regarding the township's police protection. John Yurasits, the sole Democrat, did not attend. There were few jabs, but when they surfaced they centered around one candidate's recent party change to become Republican, and laying …
40.526141
-75.54878
Lower Macungie Township Community Center
3400 Brookside Rd, Macungie, PA
/articles/lower-mac-boc-candidates-explain-views-on-issues
1827884
/locations/9307787
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Lower Macungie Township is making progress on plans to fix the Church Lane Bridge
Lower Macungie Commissioners revisited the ongoing saga of the Church Lane Bridge at the Feb. 21 meeting. Commissioners approved plans to fix the wooden bridge that spans the Norfolk Southern tracks near the township's border with Upper Macungie. But the fix has its "good news/bad news" aspects. The good news is that the bridge will be fixed and will take only a few days of work. A beam that is currently damaged will be replaced, and beams that are expected to go bad in the next few years also will be replaced now. The hope is that the anticipation of problems will prevent a future closing for repairs. All work will be done with cranes, according to Alan Fornwalt who was sitting in for Township Engineer William Erdman at the Feb. 21 …
40.546953
-75.59264
Church Lane Park
Church Lane and Brandywine Circle, Trexlertown, PA
Vicinity of Church Lane Bridge
/articles/church-lane-bridge-to-be-repaired
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/locations/8911957
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Lt. Paul Gaspich addresses the Lower Macungie Board of Commissioners with 2012 statistics—most of which were record breaking.
The men and women comprising the Pennsylvania State Police Troop M at Fogelsville set records for enforcement categories in 2012, according to their station commander. Lt. Paul J. Gaspich addressed the Lower Macungie Board of Commissioners on Thursday with statistics of incidents that occurred in 2012. Troop M's Fogelsville barracks serves six townships in Western Lehigh County -- including Lower Macungie as their sole law enforcement officers at least part of the time, Gaspich said. PSP is Lower Macungie's sole law enforcement body 100 percent of the time. Single-year highs were set for criminal arrests, DUI arrests, traffic citations, incidents investigated and warnings issued, Gaspich said. "These statistics represent an emphasis on …
40.56812
-75.628209
8320 Schantz Rd, Breinigsville, PA
/articles/almost-200-dui-arrests-in-lower-mac-in-2012
/locations/8866496
40.526141
-75.54878
Lower Macungie Township Building
3400 Brookside Rd, Macungie, PA
/articles/almost-200-dui-arrests-in-lower-mac-in-2012
1828410
/locations/8866497
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The objective is a 'safe and successful walking program,' township engineer says.
It's time to move on. Moreover, the most important thing right now is to move forward. And, according to all involved, that would mean making the area around Willow Lane Elementary School safe for the students who will be crossing streets to walk to school in the fall. Indeed, the two statements have been repeated over and over as parents and school and township officials try to downplay the question of whether Willow Lane was designed as a school for walking students while they try to hash out the details of what's needed to make the intersection at Willow and Sauerkraut lanes -- and several surrounding intersections -- the safest they can be for the young students. But some officials are stuck in what Lower Macungie Township Commissioner…
40.53507
-75.56635
Willow Lane Elementary School
6135 Sauerkraut Ln, Macungie, PA
/articles/could-blame-game-slow-willow-lane-progress
1819881
/locations/8658077
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Eight acres of farmland at Quarry Road and Route 100 is the first domino to fall. Some fear another MacArthur Road.
Editor's Note: On Jan. 17 both the Upper Milford Supervisors and Lower Macungie Commissioners met. Since both governing bodies talked about the same topic, this story is the first of a collaborative effort to present the information in the context the region as a whole in the spirit of the Southwestern Lehigh Comprehensive Plan. There’s a feud a-brewin’ in the southwestern corner of Lehigh County that could ultimately rival that of the Hatfields and McCoys. The source of the dispute? What the Upper Milford Board of Supervisors feels to be the uncontrolled and ill-conceived land development in Lower Macungie Township. It was that development and what, if anything, Upper Milford Township can do about it, that became the focus of a spirited …
Dave Greff
10:25 am on Thursday, May 23, 2013
Way to go Ron, we got rid of two of the problems, we hope this leads to the commissioners doing what the LMT residents want, controlled growth. I would also like to cfomment on Kevin's memo above, Have you been living under a rock the last few years? more ›