The owners of Allentown's Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center are defending themselves against allegations of abuse. A Morning Call article reported 11 former gymnasts have filed complaints against the owners, Bill and Donna Strauss, and three other coaches alleging verbal, emotional and physical abuse. Bill Strauss denies the allegations and says the attorney for the gymnasts had an axe to grind and Parkettes wouldn't be in business for more than 50 years if this was happening. In one allegation, a gymnast claims she was punished for weighing 96 pounds instead of 95 and called fat. Another said she was made to do an eight-hour workout without a break because she weighed in over 100 pounds. Other allegations include being made to train despite injuries and doctors' orders and sexual harassment from a coach. The abuse is alleged to have happened from 2013 to 2016.
Police in Allentown are investigating after shots were fired at a city park Monday afternoon. Officers rushed to Cedar Beach Park shortly before 5:30 p.m. and found casings at the scene. There were reportedly about 100 people in the park at the time but there were no injuries or property damage.
Members of the Bethlehem Township Board of Commissioners Monday night unanimously granted land development approval of Lehigh Valley Trade Center III, the industrial complex proposed for the former Dutch Springs site. The plan proposes to subdivide the property on Hanoverville Road into two lots. Lot 1 is proposed to be developed with a nearly 300,000-square-foot industrial building, with another nearly 300,000-square-foot industrial building and 173-square-foot guardhouse proposed for lot 2. A Texas-based developer bought the land last year.
The Kutztown Folk Festival will return to in-person this year. Organizers of the annual event made that announcement yesterday. The festival will be held in July.
Pennsylvania Congressman Matt Cartwright says he's concerned Russian President Vladimir Putin has aspirations beyone Ukraine. "It may not end with Ukraine. If Putin wants to expand into the Ukraine, he's thinking about restoring the glory of the former Soviet Union," Cartwright says. Monday, Putin ordered Russian troops into two areas of Ukraine Putin now recognizes as independent states.
It's pothole season and Pennsylvania drivers may be getting the worst of it. A January 2022 report from a national transportation research company shows 40-percent of roads and highways across the U.S. are in poor or mediocre condition. Pennsylvania is ranked number eight on the list from the nonprofit trip, with more than 15 complaints from drivers for every thousand kilometers of road.
Local and state authorities are warning area residents of a new "boss scam" making the rounds. According to investigators, scammers are sending texts and emails to random potential victims, posing as their boss. The messages appear to be legitimate, as scammers are doing their research, finding out where people work before they send those emails and texts. Investigators say to look closely for signs of a scam, for example if you're asked to use a company credit card or personal funds for large purchases that are out of the ordinary.