A 56-year-old Upper Macungie Township man faces numerous charges after law enforcement raided his Cricklewood Cove home Wednesday. This neighbor says the whole thing was a new experience in the neighborhood. "It was just insane. I've never seen any action like this happen in the neighborhood," the man said. Investigators say inside Ronald Erney's home, they found 800 grams of meth, nearly 800 fentanyl pills, almost 300 grams of cocaine, a dozen guns and flash powder and a half stick of dynamite, which can be used to make improvised explosive devices. Investigators say Erney admitted to selling drugs from his home and owning the guns and improvised explosive devices they found. He is being held in Lehigh County Jail on $250,000 bail.
Several local high schools have cracked U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of top public high schools in the country. Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School was the highest ranking school in the region, coming in at 26th among Pennsylvania schools. It’s the third year in a row the school has made the list. Southern Lehigh, Saucon Valley and Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts were the other schools that made Pennsylvania's top 100 list. Rankings are made by measuring six categories: College Readiness, State Assessment Proficiency, State Assessment Performance, College Curriculum Breadth, Underserved Student Performance and Graduation Rate.
It's five to ten years in prison for a New Jersey man for his role in the killing of a man in Bucks County in June, 2021. 20-year-old Joshua Gamble has received that sentence after pleading guilty to robbery, theft, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. Police say they found Gamble and his 22-year-old brother Anthony, trying to hide the body of Kevin Rosero in the 500 block of East Pumping Station Road in Richland Township. Anthony Gamble previously pleaded guilty and is serving 22 to 55 years behind bars. Investigators say Rosero was killed during a failed robbery.
Congratulations to a pair of students at Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School. The sixth graders have won first place in Pennsylvania's National History Day competition group category with their exhibit titled ‘The Great Depression: Transforming America’s Social and Economic Landscape.’ The two advance to the national competition next month at the University of Maryland and will have their exhibit displayed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C..
PennDOT District 5 says it's got 78 projects, cost more than $375 million expected to begin sometime this year. Perhaps the one that will affect the most drivers is the reconstruction of the interchange between Route 309 and Tilghman Street. That project is expected to cost between $90 and $95 million. PennDOT District 5 includes Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill counties.
Today, President Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 people, one of whom has local ties. Among the 19 is legendary athlete Jim Thorpe. The White House says Thorpe was the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal and was the country's original multi-sport superstar, who went on to play professional football, baseball and basketball while breaking down barriers on and off the field.
Pennsylvania State Police and Gov. Josh Shapiro honored the 104 troopers killed on duty in the department's 119 year history. Shapiro says ceremonies like Thursday are once a year, but remembering those lost needs to happen every day. "Today, we gather to recognize, not just that sacrifice, but their life in service and we reaffirm today that we well never, ever forget," the governor said. Last June, Trooper Jacques Rougeau became the 104th state trooper killed in the line of duty when he was fatally shot in Centre County.
The 76ers season is over after a 118-115 loss to the Knicks Thursday night. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse says the series was a virtual coin flip. "This series probably could've went the exact opposite of how it did, but it didn't. Congratulations to them for ending up on the positive side of it," Nurse said. After beating the Sixers four games to two, the Knicks advance to play Indiana in round two.