Whitehall-Coplay Press

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has added 21 municipalities in Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks and Montgomery counties to the areas quarantined due to the presence of the invasive insect Spotted Lanternfly. The quarantine was already in effect for parts of those five counties as well as Chester County.

The quarantine now covers the following Lehigh Valley municipalities:

At Coplay Borough Council’s regular meeting Sept. 12, council members took time to acknowledge the sudden passing of state Rep. Dan McNeill Sept. 8.

Officials agreed he represented his constituency well and had a certain affinity for Coplay. McNeill’s support among voters in the borough was strong, they said, adding he enjoyed being a part of the community.

Councilman Stephen Burker commented on his close relationship with McNeill.

SEPT. 8

Stations 3501, 39, 40 and fire police responded to a vehicle fire at 5105 Main St.

Stations 3501 and 36 assisted EMS at 730 Seventh St.

SEPT. 9

Station 36 assisted EMS at Lehigh Valley Mall.

More than 3,000 collegiate musicians will turn J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown into the World’s Biggest Halftime Show, as the Collegiate Marching Band Festival returns for its 22nd annual edition beginning noon Oct. 1.

The event is a one-of-a-kind festival in the country featuring college marching bands performing for one another, parents and enthusiasts of the marching band activity. The 2017 festival brings 20 college and university bands from throughout the mid-Atlantic region together.

Whitehall Township Police Department’s commercial vehicle enforcement unit continues its spot checks this month to ensure trucks — mostly tri-axles — are in compliance with state and federal regulations.

In a monthly report from township police Chief Michael Marks at the Sept. 11 meeting, commissioners and Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. were told the commercial vehicle enforcement unit will be on duty four days this month.

When Coplay Borough Council approved the renovation plan for Saylor Park, it did so with the understanding that the park would be opened in 2018, in time for the borough’s 150-year celebration.

The renovations will be funded by both the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the borough. DCNR’s funding is a significant part of the overall project.

SEPTEMBER

THURSDAY 21

Coplay-Whitehall Sewer Authority meets 7:30 p.m. in the public meeting room of the Coplay-Whitehall Sewer Authority, 3213 MacArthur Road.

TUESDAY 26

Coplay Borough Planning Commission meets 7 p.m. at the borough municipal building, 98 S. Fourth St.

WEDNESDAY 27

Lehigh County Board of Commissioners meets 7:30 p.m. in the public hearing room of the Lehigh County Government Center, 17 S. Seventh St., Allentown.

Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners, at its Monday meeting, approved a bid for another piece of firefighting equipment, keeping with its program to ensure departments have the equipment needed to protect township residents and their property by retiring older vehicles and replacing them with updated ones.

Commissioners accepted a $594,615 bid for a new Pierce Enforcer pumper truck that will be used by Egypt Fire Station.

SEPTEMBER

THURSDAY 14

Whitehall Township Environmental Advisory Council meets 7 p.m. in the township municipal building, 3219 MacArthur Road.

TUESDAY 19

Whitehall Township Zoning Hearing Board meets 7 p.m. at the municipal building, 3219 MacArthur Road.

WEDNESDAY 20

Whitehall Township Planning Commission holds a workshop meeting 6:30 p.m., followed by the regular meeting 7:30 p.m., in the public meeting room at the municipal building, 3219 MacArthur Road.

THURSDAY 21