My View: Finding the Cost of Freedom on the 4th

Some of us don't really take the Fourth of July as seriously as we should.

It's become a family tradition. Each year, we head to Old Navy and buy T-shirts symbolizing the Fourth of July. Each year, there's a different color and a logo of the American flag with the year listed on it. Time is ticking away on this tradition, days away actually, and we have yet to get our T-shirts for this year. That would be a shame too since I have T-shirts like this dating back more than a decade. So another Fourth of July is upon us and it doesn't really have the same old ring to it. Things just don't seem that patriotic. I'm not sure why. Yet maybe I really do know why. People take their freedom for granted. It's evident in most of our communities these days. The Fourth represents a day off from work and a great chance to go …

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Peter

11:43 am on Sunday, July 8, 2012

if you want to be taken seriously, you have to drop the whole "Stop listening to Beck and Rush" thing. When liberals get frustrated they love to invoke those names to discredit whoever they're arguing against. stick to the facts and you won't seem like such a joke on here.   more ›

Every Father's Day, I'm Still the Best Present

Dino Ciliberti entered the world on June 19, 1966, which just happened to fall on Father's Day that year.

Another Father's Day is here. And I'm struggling to come up with a present fitting enough for my father. The reason for the struggle: It's basically hard to top yourself. See, way back in 1966, I was born on June 19, which just happened to fall on Father's Day. I wasn't even supposed to arrive on Father's Day either. I think I came a few days or a week earlier than anticipated. So almost 46 years later (my birthday is Tuesday), I'm the gift that keeps on giving. Gee, my lucky father. Dear Old Dad lives around the corner from me in Forks Township. He's an old rock 'n' roller (Maybe you read the column I wrote about his performance on American Bandstand and Dick Clark; if not here it is again.) We've spent the years not too far apart (save …

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Dino Ciliberti

1:22 pm on Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Mr. Thomas, thanks for your comment. As you'll see in the future, I try to write my columns tongue in cheek.   more ›

Michael Powers, 19, Killed in Forks Township Crash

Michael Powers, 19, a graduate of Nazareth Area High School, was killed when his vehicle hit a building in Forks Township early Friday morning.

Michael Powers, 19, of Shelley Street in Tatamy, was killed in a one-vehicle accident when his car plowed into a commercial building near the intersection of Bushkill Drive and Mitman Road in Forks Township early Friday morning, officials have confirmed. Powers was a 2010 graduate of Nazareth Area High School. Emergency crews were called to the scene shortly after 7 a.m. and the roof of the car reportedly needed to be removed to free the driver, who was apparently already dead when they arrived, according to scanner reports. Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek said that Powers died of multiple blunt force trauma at the scene. The death was ruled an accident, but the investigation into the circumstances that led to the accident is …

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Bites Nearby

Bites Nearby: Jasmine Restaurant

New Asian-fusion restaurant in Forks Township features the best of Japanese and Thai cuisine.

You may have heard the old adage “do one thing and do it well.” Well, Jasmine Restaurant in Forks Township does two things, and if local feedback is any indicator, it’s doing them both well. Jasmine Restaurant, which opened this past April in the strip mall that also houses Big Woody’s sports bar, serves up both authentic Japanese cuisine and Thai specialties. According to owner Yong Lin, sushi is the restaurant's most popular venture. Lin himself is a Manhattan-trained sushi chef of nearly 10 years. “I started making sushi when I was 17 years old,” Lin said. On the Thai side, Jasmine offers popular dishes like Pad Thai – fried rice noodles with egg, bean sprouts and onions – and a variety of curry dishes cooked in coconut milk. For those …

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Bites Nearby

Bites Nearby: Richard's Drive-In

Vintage style meets quality fast food in this week’s pick.

The menu may be small at Richard’s Drive-In but despite that fact, the Forks Township restaurant has a strong local following -- patrons know that Richard’s is the place to go for quick service and good food. Richard’s Drive-In is mostly about grilled and fried foods, like burgers, cheesesteaks, French fries and onion rings. Gyros and pierogies are about as exotic as it gets, but if it sounds like the fare is a bit mediocre, consider that a smaller menu means a more fastidious approach. “Everything that we use here is brand-name, [and] top-notch,” said owner Angelo Papageorgiou. “Our beef is grade-A, and all our produce [comes] local.” The “top-notch” approach -- fortunately -- does not bring "top-notch" dollars. Not a single menu item …

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Martin Guitar Expanding Into Forks

The Nazareth-based company is moving into the former Smoke Shop building for use as a consolidated distribution center.

Martin Guitar is expanding. The Nazareth-based company will be opening a large distribution center in Forks Township later this year, according to Gregory Paul, Vice President of Corporate Operations for Martin Guitar. The building, at 1100 Conroy Place in the former Famous Smoke Shop building, was purchased for an undisclosed amount. In June, Famous Smoke Shop relocated to a new 60,000-square-foot facility at 90 Mort Drive, also in Forks. That building includes a warehouse and distribution center, retail store and restaurant. “We’ll be doing modifications and going for LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certification of the new location,” Paul said. “It’s an addition to our footprint. We now ship from three locations, …

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Police: Motorcyclist Was Speeding When He Was Killed Outside Palmer Park Mall

Forks Township woman identified as driver of minivan that hit Stockertown man in April.

A probe into a fatal crash in April involving a motorcycle and a minivan outside Palmer Park Mall has concluded the cyclist who died was speeding and the driver of the van did nothing wrong and will not be charged, police said. The investigation, which took a little more than a month to complete, has concluded that 24-year-old Terry Wegfahrt of Stockertown was “driving in excess of the 35-mile-per-hour speed limit posted on Park Avenue,” according to reports issued yesterday.  Wegfahrt’s motorcycle was struck around 12:45 p.m. April 25 by a 2004 Nissan Quest attempting to turn into the mall. The name of the minivan's driver was withheld pending possible charges and the completion of the investigation, but her name has now been released. …

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Man in Custody After Stockertown "Dirty" Bomb Scare

Emergency crews evacuated three homes early Sunday because of possible "dirty" bomb

2:00 p.m. Update: The Morning Call is reporting that the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are involved in the investigation. A dark-colored Jeep 4x4 - likely the suspect's vehicle - was seen parked in the Stockertown emergency services garage. The vehicle was surrounded by yellow police tape. 11:40 a.m. Update: Stockertown's police chief is expected to release some information on the bomb scare investigation later today, an officer has told Patch. He did not specify when details will become available and would not disclose where the suspect is.  10 a.m. Update: Officials from the Lehigh County Emergency Management Agency have arrived in Stockertown, where police are going through the suspect's vehicle. Northampton County EMA…

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