'KKK' Slur Rallies Lehigh Valley Neighbors

Racial incidents have never occurred before, residents say.

The black and white "ribbons" displayed at several homes in a Lower Macungie neighborhood express the reaction of residents to an ugly racial aspersion cast late last week: They don't like it. A week ago, an African-American family who lives on Sequoia Drive woke to find that "KKK" had been spray-painted across the garage door of their home and reported it to state police at Fogelsville. The act has been classified criminal mischief and occurred between 10:30 p.m. Dec. 6 and 7:30 a.m. Dec. 7, police said. The garage door has since been painted over. How would your neighborhood react to an incident like this? Tell us in the comments section below. More than 190,000 such hate incidents and crimes occur each year in the United States, …

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$8,000 Reward for Tips on Skinned Foxes Found Dead

Lehigh Valley animal lovers are pledging thousands of dollars for tips in the case of 11 small animals found dead and skinned in a rural park.

The Lehigh Valley Pitbull Awareness Club is offering a reward for information about 11 small animals -- likely foxes -- found skinned and dead near Quarry Park in Lower Macungie Township last Friday. The animals were originally thought to be puppies. One was shot and the others appear to have been trapped. They looked to be about 6 months old, according to a Lehigh County Humane Society official. The club posted a notice of a $100 reward for information in the case on its Facebook page and donations have now swelled to $8,000, which includes a $1,000 pledged by Humane Society President Bruce Fritch. The club posted this update on Facebook Wednesday: We want to clarify two things. First, if the police, with help from the humane society and …

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tamarya

10:50 pm on Thursday, November 29, 2012

I was thinking the same thing Mark.   more ›

Bed Bugs Now Creeping Into Our Libraries

Bed bug problems have been reported in libraries from Connecticut to California and the Lehigh Valley is no exception

Bed bug alerts are nothing new for hotel guests -- but libraries are now looking out for the insidious pests. A bed bug-sniffing dog was brought to the Lower Macungie Public Library recently after bed bugs were found in DVDs returned through the library's book drop. Library staff tightly bagged and discarded the DVDs and the pieces of rug that lined the bookdrop. The library was then closed until an inspection by an Ehrlich exterminator. Director Kathee Rhodes wanted to go even further to ensure the library was pest free, so she called in Dino, the bed bug-sniffing beagle from Good Night, Sleep Tight to give the final word. Dino was very interested in one sofa and --  though an inspection revealed no bugs in it -- the sofa was removed, …

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Richard Pollack

7:17 am on Thursday, November 29, 2012

Ben, Sorry about your nightmarish experiences. Yes, it can be difficult and costly to eliminate bed bugs, but it does not always need be so challenging. I think you could have saved much time and effort by not laundering all your clothes. I'm not convinced that really helped you. Unfortunately, such laundering is one of several controversial steps required or recommended by some pest control …   more ›

Dead and Skinned Animals Were Foxes, Not Puppies

11 small skinned animals found near a Lower Macungie park in Lehigh County on Friday were foxes not dogs, according to a Lehigh County Humane Society officer

11 Dead Animals Found Skinned Were Foxes, Not Puppies

11 small animals found dead near a Lower Macungie park on Friday have been identified as foxes, not dogs.

Eleven small animals found dead and skinned near Lower Macungie's Quarry Park Friday have been tentatively identified as foxes because of their teeth, according to Christine Wiggins of the Lehigh County Humane Society. Further testing is needed to be sure, Bruce Fritch of the humane society told The Morning Call. A press release from state police originally indicated the animals were puppies, sparking outrage among local animal lovers. An Upper Macungie woman who was walking her dogs on Friday afternoon near the park made the gruesome discovery and called state police. She did not want to disclose exactly what she saw for fear of jeopardizing the investigation. The woman told Patch, "It's very upsetting. And I worry what kind of person …

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tamarya

12:06 pm on Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Who taught you what PETA stand for? PETA stands for "people for the ethical treatment of animals". I do agree some of the hunting arguments people come up with are stupid, especially when they think they are doing much better buying their meat at a grocery store and buying meat that comes from factories after it has been pumped with growth hormones, overcrowded, and poisoned till death. And the …   more ›