Crime & Safety
$500 Reward: Who Set Lehigh Canal Pavilion on Fire?
Stone picnic pavilion along Lehigh Canal Towpath was destroyed by arsonists in June, fire officials say.
A $500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for setting fire to a picnic pavilion along the Lehigh Canal Towpath in a remote area of the city, the city’s fire marshal announced Thursday.
The pavilion, which sat along the canal about two miles west of Sand Island, was destroyed deliberately in a fire that was set at a little before 2 a.m. on June 23, according to Robert Novatnack, the fire marshal and deputy fire commissioner.
Authorities believe that the arsonists fueled the fire with benches and sections of a split rail fence, according to The Morning Call. The property was littered with beer cans, bottles and trash and the pavilion’s stone walls were tagged with graffiti, the newspaper reported.
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The pavilion was refurbished two years ago due to the efforts of the Delaware & Lehigh Heritage Corridor, who spotted the long-forgotten gem hidden in dense vegetation along the river, according to The Express-Times.
The reward is being offered by John McGheehan of Barker & Barker Asphalt Paving Corp. in Bethlehem, Novatnack said.
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