East Penn School District

Lockdown at Jefferson Triggered by Phone Malfunction

A 45-minuted lockdown at Jefferson Elementary School on Thursday was caused by a glitch in the internal telephone system, according to the principal.

A 45-minute lock down at Jefferson Elementary School on Thursday left parents puzzled as to its cause until an email blast by Jefferson Principal Cheryl A. Scalzo just before lunch on Friday. In that email, Scalzo explained that the lockdown was "triggered by an internal telephone malfunction." Jefferson families were notified of the lockdown by an automated computer call and an email from the principal while it was happening, according to a Jefferson parent who contacted Emmaus Patch by email. However, no reason for the lockdown was given, the parent said. In emailing parents on Friday, Scalzo filled in some of the missing pieces: "Since the Emmaus Police Department as well as District Office personnel responded (to the lockdown) I felt …

• Photos (1)

New Homes For Sale in Emmaus Area This Week

Find homes for sale in Emmaus area on this page every week, from our partners at Zillow.

More Emmaus Real Estate Listings >>

• Photos (1)

East Penn School District

Costco Could Net East Penn $1.5 Million Annually

The East Penn Board of School Directors Monday night approved a tax increment financing plan that could bring the Lehigh Valley its first Costco in 2014 and eventually bring East Penn $1.5 million a year in tax revenue.

After a lengthy discussion and two failed attempts to table the decision, the East Penn Board of School Directors Monday night approved a financing plan that could bring the Lehigh Valley its first Costco as soon as fall of 2014 and ultimately put an estimated $1.5 million per year into the school district's bank account. The plan approved by the board to help fund the proposed $140 million Hamilton Crossings shopping mall in Lower Macungie Township is what is known as Tax Increment Financing or TIF. Basically, a TIF is an economic tool to help develop a site that requires a large amount of money to pay up-front costs. In this case, the land – 63 acres off of Krocks Road between Hamilton Boulevard and the Route 222 bypass – needs …

•  22 Comments
• Photos (1)

East Penn School District

No Tax Hike in Approved East Penn Budget

The East Penn School Board at its Monday night meeting unanimously approved a proposed final school district budget for the 2013-14 school year with no property tax increase.

With surprisingly little discussion on the matter, the East Penn Board of School Directors Monday night unanimously approved the proposed final 2013-14 school district budget. The $130 million budget will not raise property taxes, calling for a property tax rate of 16.129 mills. However, Board President Charles Ballard acknowledged that even though the East Penn budget does not increase property taxes, in the end things could still be confusing for East Penn taxpayers whose property tax bills may increase as a result of a Lehigh County reassessment. “I want to make sure that this goes out loud and clear,” Ballard said. “This is a zero percent tax increase budget. If your tax bill goes up, call Lehigh County.” No matter how things are …

•  11 Comments
• Photos (1)

ted.dobracki

1:14 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013

The zero tax increase is possible mainly because that over the last two completed budget years, EPSD had a $1.7 million surplus followed by another $3.3 million surplus, growing the fund balance by $5 million, from $10 million to $15 million. Although there was some good news on the revenue side of the ledger, there actually was a revenue shortfall of $0.5 million for 2010-11, and most of the …   more ›

Is Costco Still Coming to Lower Macungie?

What's happening with the proposed Hamilton Crossings shopping center that will feature the Lehigh Valley's first Costco store?

The $140 million Hamilton Crossings shopping center in Lower Macungie—set to feature the area's first Costco—will be up for an important vote at next week's East Penn School Board meeting, according to a WFMZ report. The school board will be the first of three government bodies asked to approve a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan to help pay for the project. A TIF is an economic tool to help develop a site that requires a large amount of money to pay up-front costs. In this case, the costs involve removing waste from iron mining and addressing stormwater issues before the land can be developed. Ideally, the school district, Lower Macungie Township and Lehigh County will each approve their portion of the TIF. The school board meets Monday …

•  23 Comments
• Photos (1)

East Penn School District

Emmaus High Junior Prom: See, Share Photos

The Emmaus High School Junior Prom was held on Saturday at the Rodeway Inn and Conference Center.

The 2013 Emmaus High School Junior Prom was held on Saturday at the Rodeway Inn and Conference Center, Route 22 and 309 in South Whitehall Township. Periodic Patch contributor Chrissy Cilento, an EHS senior, has scanned her classmates' photo albums and pulled together a collection of prom photos for Patch readers to enjoy. And, Patch readers have been posting and emailing their junior prom photos, which means this photo gallery is growing all the time! If you have photos from the EHS junior prom you'd like to share with the East Penn community, you can add your pictures this photo gallery by clicking on the button below the pictures that says "Upload Photos and Videos." Or you can email them to jennifer.marangos@patch.com.

•  4 Comments
• Photos (28)

Carriage House Cleaners (formerly Anderson Cleaners)

11:20 pm on Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Carriage House Cleaners would LOVE for the girls who had their dresses altered at our shop to bring in pics!!! We want to make a wall of our 2013 beautiful girls in the beautiful dresses!!!! And anyone that wants their prom dresses dry cleaned from Emmaus high School.......10% off! If you want to have your dress shortened and made into a party dress, Brenda can do that for you!!!! We hope you had…   more ›

New East Penn Cheerleading Group To Hold Registration Event

East Penn Youth Cheerleading Association to hold fundraising and registration event on Friday at Menchies in Allentown.

There's a new East Penn youth organization in town and it's really something to cheer about. Launched in March, the East Penn Youth Cheerleading Association (EPCA) was created to "offer the cheer-loving girls of East Penn School District the opportunity to learn, within a competitive environment, the basic fundamentals of recreational cheerleading and the rules of the sport," according to a media statement by EPCA. The group will "focus heavily on the promotion of sportsmanship." To help get the ball rolling, EPCA is holding a fundraising and registration event on Friday, May 9 at Menchies, 353 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Allentown. The fundraising portion of the event goes on all day. EPCA will get 20 percent of all sales when customers mention…

• Photos (1)

High School Gun Rumors Under Investigation

Police investigated rumors that someone was going to bring a gun to Emmaus High School.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include information from the Emmaus Police Department. Emmaus Police and East Penn school officials investigated rumors that someone was going to bring a gun to Emmaus High School and found the rumors unfounded, East Penn community liaison Nicole Bloise told Patch Tuesday morning. Parents were informed of the rumors via an automated phone call from the high school principal, an East Penn parent told Patch. On Tuesday afternoon, Emmaus Police issued a prepared statement about the investigation: "On Sunday, April 28, 2013, the Emmaus Police Department received an email from an East Penn parent, who learned through a discussion with their child that rumors were circulating at Emmaus High School in…

•  12 Comments
• Photos (1)

tamarya

10:43 am on Friday, May 3, 2013

Shawn when did you grow up, we did all of the things you stated at those ages. We also got our permits at 16 and a week later, even a day later could have held the actual license. Children are not as stupid as society thinks they are, however the longer we treat them like they are still babies the more irresponsible things they will do because most of the time children want attention when they …   more ›

East Penn School District

East Penn Approves 3 Hires, 6 Retirements/Resignations

East Penn School Board approves several resignations, appointments and status changes.

The East Penn School Board approved several personnel changes at its meeting Monday night. There were six retirement/resignations: There were three appointments:

• Photos (1)