Hypocrites run amuck!

There are just some things that you cannot make up and we all witnessed just such an unbelievable event today.

The “Forks Quarterly” arrived to our homes today and on page 2 there was an article written by Karl H. Kline, Esquire, Forks Township Solicitor regarding the legal challenges that the town is facing. The first piece of the article deals with the challenge presented by developers Zawarski and Maloney and their attempt to open the Farmland Preservation District to medium-to-high density residential housing.

After indirectly lambasting Zawarski, Maloney and the other developers involved in this quest, imagine our shock when on the inside back page of the Forks Quarterly there is a full-page ad from Zawarski and Maloney!

Whose bright idea was it to accept advertising from these people? Whichever Board of Supervisor approved this should be publicly censured.

Many citizens already feel the Board of Supervisors are conspiring with developers and certainly actions like this from the Board do little to dispel these beliefs.

Oh, and by the way, under suspicious circumstances, this same Board blocked our request to advertise in this publication. When questioned about this they gave the reason that they could not accept an ad from us because we are a “political organization”, even though we are not!

Not even Dr. Seuss could make stuff like this up!

I want my fairness & equality too!

Interesting developments reported in today's Express-Times regarding the status of granting our hard-working and dedicated township employees a new contract.

Our favorite quote came from Township Solicitor Karl Kline-

I think that there were some misunderstandings and hard feelings that went back for a number of years," Kline said. "With the new management the township now has in place hopefully misunderstandings can be eliminated." Employees had complained about management in the past, but with a new township manager and a new public works director, those complaints should no longer be an issue, Kline said. "Now people can expect (that) they can receive fair and equitable treatment," he said.

So our question of the day is; will Township employees also be given a 60% pay raise like Supervisor 60%, a.k.a. Donald "Don" Miller? After all this would be a good sign of "fair and equitable treatment" wouldn't it Mr. Kline?

Clearing the air

According to this article in the Morning Call, there was some good news regarding the state of the Lehigh Valley's air quality.

While this is good news, as this one particular point illustrates, we still have much work to do.

"Even so, the drop in ozone pollution in the Valley does not mean the air quality is ''good,'' which the EPA defines as 0.04 parts per million or less. The Lehigh Valley falls within the ''moderate'' category, meaning people highly sensitive to ozone pollution could suffer respiratory problems."

Time to pay Supervisor 60%

Memo to Forks Township Youth Sports Organization, formerly the Forks Township Athletic Association. Were you really surprised that sports fees will be jumping this year?

Who exactly did you think would cover the 60% pay increase for your chief advocate, Supervisor 60%, a.k.a. Donald "Don" Miller?

Check out the Morning Call Story.

Our mistake, you pay!

As reported in the Express-Times, expect your July sewer rates to jump by 25%.

Thanks to an error made by the Easton Area Joint Sewer Authority (EAJSA), who misjudged how much sewerage capacity we would need, we get to pay for their mistake!

One wonders how senior citizens and those on fixed incomes will endure this increase. Additionally we wonder what other nasty surprises are in store for us from the EAJSA as the township continues to explosive sprawl and is still offering relatively cheap fees to developers.

Kudos Mr. Salkin!

Great "Letter to the Editor" in today's paper!

Really Mr. Hoff?

This was our favorite quote from the article concerning the Weis Market proposal and final approval at last night's Board of Supervisors meeting.

"People have not come forward too much at hearings to object (to the project)," Hoff said.

1) When this matter was before the Board of Supervisors-

* In July on 2006, the public spoke out against this 4 to 1. The meeting room was standing room only!
* At the Conditional Use Hearing again, once again, the public spoke out against this.
* In fact at every Board of Supervisors meeting when this topic came up, the majority of the public spoke out against this.

2) Has Mr. Hoff forgotten about the petitions submitted against this proposal when it was first proposed?

3) Our research aside for a moment, The Forks Action Committee conducted its own poll (survey #59) on this topic and 55.6% of the respondents felt that this was indeed "spot zoning."

4) As for people not objecting to the project, consider this-

* Public participation before the Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) was supposed to be limited to questioning, and/or rebuking expert testimony, NOT offering personal opinions.

* By the time this got to the ZHB, it is safe to say that the public felt pretty defeated. After all, they already registered their protest and objections to the Board of Supervisors on many occasions and as usual in this township, they were ignored!

Lastly, interesting to us, the ONLY people who have publicly spoken out for this project in the last six months have been non Forks residents and certain candidates for the Board of Supervisors. Hmm, wonder why this is?

The developers, another citizens group, Weis, and the 3D's (Howell, Miller and Hoff) have done a good PR job of making this about a grocery store when in fact this was, and will always be about "spot zoning" and once again changing the rules of the game midstream.

No one should ever forget this. This project is slated to yield 100 times, or 10,000% more traffic on Sullivan Trail. Why didn't the Board of Supervisors impose stricter traffic controls and improvements on Sullivan Trail above and beyond PennDot which, they had the right to do?

298 Articles

Here are the newspaper articles from the Morning Call and Express-Times regarding last night's Zoning Hearing Board meeting.

We have been asked by several people on how the candidates for Forks Township Board of Supervisors felt about this issue. Here is the recap.

AGAINST THE RESIDENTS

1. Robert ("Bob") Egolf (a member of the ZHB who voted against the challenge)
2. Erik Chuss (a member of the Planning Commission who spoke out against the challenge)
3. Jim Wideman (a former member of the Planning Commission who spoke in favor of this zoning change/Weis Markets in a newspaper article)

UNKNOWN POSITION

1. David Billings
2. Leon ("Lee") Fisher

HEADS OR TAILS?

John Ackerman-Voted for passage of 298 yet voted against the Conditional Use approval. His ultimate position will be better known this Thursday when a vote is sure to come regarding Final Approval of Weis Markets after sailing through the Planning Commission last week.

298 Decision

In a move that surprised no one, The Forks Township Zoning Hearing Board voted to deny our challenge to ordinance number 298.

Here is a recap of the voting.

Voting to deny the challenge-

• Robert H. Egolf
• Peter J. Rossi
• Louis Moyer
• John Pappas

Voting to support the challenge-

• Ronald Asteak

Mr. Moyer made the motion to deny and Mr. Egolf seconded the motion.

We thank and salute Ron Asteak for his courage in conviction. His presentation was both eloquent and on track.

Audience comments included Planning Commission Chairman Erik Chuss who also supported denial of our challenge.

As information, both Robert Egolf and Erik Chuss are candidates for election to the Forks Township Board of Supervisors.

We look forward to the appeal process and we will update everyone through this forum as more information becomes available.

Nice fluff article

Courtney Lomax of the Express-Times once again offers us a nice pro Board of Supervisors piece in today's edition.

Our favorite quote from the article comes from newly installed township Manager Richard Schnaedter: "I've never been in a municipality that has donated so much energy and resources to recreation"

Since Mr. Schnaedter is still so new to our community we really can not call him to task on this, but Courtney, why didn't you challenge this at all?

Lest we all forget forget that Supervisor 60% (a.k.a. Donald "Don" Miller)

1. Runs (and we're being generous with that term) the Community Center
2. Is also the basketball commissioner
3. Sits on the Recreation Board
4. Is actively involved in the Athletic Association
5. Is the Board of Supervisors liaison (a.k.a. Commissioner) to Recreation
   
6. Every time he is up for re-election to the Board of Supervisors, or another seat is to be filled on the Board, Miller reminds all those parents of young children which candidates are, and are not supportive of "recreation", a.k.a. youth sports programs

Mind you, we do not necessarily fault Mr. Miller for his advocacy, even if some of it is for self-serving reasons. However on a day like today, even early into the storm, while we are already starting to see roads flood over due to poor planning and lack of foresight by those elected to protect us, one wonders when Reporter Lomax will take lessons from Madeleine Mathias of the Morning Call of how to cover all sides to a story.

Fallen but not forgotten

There are no words to fully express our heartfelt sympathies regarding the tragic loss of Barry Lee Bush.

While we did know know him personally, we know that he did his part and more to keep us, and our country safe from those who would do us harm.

To the grieving Bush family, we extend our deepest sympathies and also offer thanks for all of the courageous work Agent Bush did during his career.

Perhaps today is an opportunity for all us to thank our own Forks Township Police Department for all that they do to protect and serve us.

May God Bless and Protect you.

Update Flier

At the request of the League of Women Voters, we have updated the information for the "Candidates Forum" flier.

PLEASE distribute this to your friends, neighbors and family!

Breaking News-John Ackerman

We were just informed by the League of Women Voters that Supervisor John Ackerman has decided to participate in the League's "Candidates Forum" on Sunday, April 22nd.

For more information about the location and time of this event, please scroll down to our post below "Candidates Forum."

Meet the Candidates Forum flier

Based on the overwhelming feedback we received to our post dated 3/21/07 ("Candidates Forum") some people were confused as to how to view and print the League of Women Voters official poster for this event.

Please place your mouse anywhere on the flier below and then click it on it. Depending on your browser and computer configuration, it will either open in a new window or a new tab. Either way, once opened, use the print feature in your web browser menu and you will have your official poster for distribution to your friends, family and neighbors!

Hope to see you there!