A Lehigh County family is safe after a two-alarm fire ripped through their Whitehall Township home. Firefighters were called to the Dewey Street home Sunday morning to find flames shooting out of windows on the second floor. A family of four was evacuated safely and no injuries are reported. There's no information yet on what may have caused the fire.
Colonial Regional Police are investigating a weekend fire at the old Nazareth Speedway. The Hecktown Fire Company was called to the speedway Sunday for a fire that broke out in a building. That fire was brought under control within about 15 minutes. A video of someone setting the fire has reportedly been spotted on social media. The race track and buildings have been out of use for more than a decade.
There are seven attorneys fighting for just one Lehigh County judge position available this year. Zachary Cohen, who is the former bar association president, is the only candidate to earn an "exceptionally well qualified" ranking. Eric Dowdle was deemed "well qualified" while William Ehrlich, Tom Capehart and Anna-Kristie Morffi Marks were all judge "qualified." Two candidates, Rashid Santiago and Jared Hanna, were graded "not qualified." All seven seek to replace Carol McGinley, who moved into a senior judge position last year.
Sunday marked the end of the final weekend of legal hiking at the Glen Onoko Falls Trail in Carbon County. The trail will be closed to hikers Wednesday because of numerous deaths and serious injuries among hikers. This hiker says he understands why the trail is being closed but says it didn't have to be this way. "I can definitely understand because they tell you to use proper hiking equipment and I see people out there with sneakers and I see people not really dressed appropriately," he says. Anybody hiking the trail after May 1 will be subject to a fine.
The annual Lehigh Valley Workers' Memorial Ceremony was held Sunday at the Rose Garden in Bethlehem. John Werkheiser is the chairman of the Lehigh Valley Workers Committee and says it's important to remember local workers who have died while on the job. "When you hear the volume of names and then when you put it together that people had families and spouses, the impact of what one death means is incredible," Werkheiser said. The names of four more local workers who died on the job over the past year were added to the memorial Sunday.
A Poconos man is heading to prison for a long time after being sentenced for committing more than a dozen sexual crimes against children. Stroudsburg's Valnn Spears has been sentenced to serve 44-to-168 years behind bars. Spears was found guilty last December of 17 counts in connection to the rapes of two children that occurred between 2008 and 2015 in Tobyhanna.
New Jersey State Police will start accepting applications today to join the force. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is marking the beginning of the application period at the NOBLE Region I Education and Training Conference in Atlantic City today. Online applications will be accepted through May 12th.
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez wants to make sure future elections are secure. He says it follows Mueller Report findings that Russia and other foreign adversaries are actively planning to disrupt the 2020 election. Menendez plans to unveil legislation today at the Bergen County Administration Building in Hackensack.
Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin was dealing Sunday, throwing a complete game in the Phils' 5-1 win over Miami. Eflin says it's great to go the distance. "To be able to give the bullpen a couple days off is pretty good, so I feel good about that," Eflin said. Eflin's complete game is the first nine-inning for a Phillies pitcher since 2016. The Phillies have tonight off.