Fire Chief Calls 2011 'A Very Unusual Year'

Dewey Fire Co. Chief Rick Delmore delivered his 2011 annual report to Hellertown Borough Council on April 16. In it he cited two unusual storms that affected the Saucon Valley--and dramatically increased the department's call volume.

A pair of severe storms that seriously affected the Saucon Valley helped make 2011 "a very unsusual year" for Dewey Fire Company No. 1, Fire Chief Rick Delmore told Hellertown Borough Council April 16. The first storm in what proved to be a meteorological double whammy struck in late August, when the remnants of Hurricane Irene moved across the area. As a result of flooded basements and roadways, Dewey saw "a huge increase in calls," Delmore said. The deluge also prompted the company to upgrade its equipment by purchasing a new pump, which will help empty basements of flood water more quickly in the future. The second unusual storm struck the Hellertown area exactly two months after Irene did, on Oct. 29, 2011. And instead of crippling …

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Op Ed: Record Rains Bring New Challenges for Borough Authority

The following letter is from the Hellertown Borough Authority, which administers water and sewer services to thousands of Saucon Valley residents.

As 2011 comes to a close, Hellertown residents will remember the year for its record hurricanes, flooding and a fall blizzard. Pennsylvania receives an average of about 40 inches of rain per year. This year, however, the Lehigh Valley has received a record ~66 inches and the year is not over! Healthy rainfall in years like 2011 helps nature provide the ecosystem services we depend upon and so frequently take for granted. For example, the records rains have fully recharged the springs in the Polk Valley watershed that are Hellertown's primary source of water. During the prolonged blizzard-caused power outage in late-October, the springs continued to flow, providing fresh water to the town. In a normally dry fall season the springs do not …

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PA Independent

PUC: Utilities Must Improve Communication, But Irene Response Efficient

Communication breakdowns frustrated many electricity consumers after damage from Hurricane Irene led to major power outages across the state.

Electric utility companies must improve communication with customers after severe storms this summer caused phone systems to be overloaded and left some people without information about when power would be restored. In the wake of Hurricane Irene, which struck Pennsylvania during the last week of August, more than 1.3 million Pennsylvanians did not have power, mostly in the southeast and northeast corners of the state. It took more than a week for all customers to have their power restored.  Robert Powelson, chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, or PUC, which is charged with balancing customer needs with utilities' interests, recently said communications with ratepayers must improve. His tone was more critical than during…

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PA Independent

Lawmakers Propose Using Surplus to Fund Flood Restorations

The hope is that the use of state funds will supplement federal assistance.

By Caleb Taylor | PA Independent State lawmakers plan to spend about $270 million in state funds to pay for damages caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. To do so, lawmakers say they will use some of last year’s extra tax revenue, borrow additional funds and re-arrange up to $20 million in this year’s budget. Two bills, announced at a Monday news conference in Harrisburg by state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Pike, and state Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia, target how this money would be spent.  Baker's bill would establish a state treasury fund from which an additional $10,000 would be given to individuals or families who meet federal guidelines for disaster assistance. Gordner's proposal would authorize a bond sale for up to $250 million …

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Springfield Man Faces Charges for Alleged 'Irene' Incident

Hellertown police say Jeffrey Scott Wrecsics ignored police commands and drove around a barricade on a flooded section of Main Street on Aug. 28.

A Springfield Township man faces a litany of charges because he allegedly ignored police commands and drove down a flooded section of Main Street in Hellertown Aug. 28, borough police announced Friday. Jeffrey Scott Wrecsics, 26, of the 1300 block of Wrecsics Road, Springfield Township, allegedly refused to leave the area after police advised him that Main Street had been shut down because of flooding and "drove through the flooded roadway," police said in a press release. The alleged incident occurred at 4:30am, in the wake of flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. Wrecsics now faces charges that include risking a catastrophe, reckless endangering of another person, fleeing and eluding, obstructing administration of law enforcement or other …

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Flood Victims Eligible for Unemployment Benefits

If you couldn't work due to Irene or Lee, you can collect benefits.

Northampton County residents who couldn't work due to Hurricane Irene or because of flooding earlier this month following Tropical Storm Lee are eligible for federal unemployment benefits. According to the Morning Call, benefits are available to anyone who became unemployed between Aug. 26 and 30 or since Sept. 3, provided they live in a county that was approved for disaster aid. The benefit is available to anyone who lost their job because of the storms, or couldn't get to work, or was injured. The deadline to file for benefits is Oct. 14. To file, call 1-877-FILE DUA (1-877-345-3382).

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Township Council Receives Post-Irene Assessment

Lower Saucon's Emergency Management Coordinator said the township had poor responses from PennDOT and PPL.

Lower Saucon Township Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Csaszar provided Township Council with a report on the emergency management response to Hurricane Irene at the Sept. 7 meeting. “As we all know, we’ve had a pretty significant event last week and it’s just not quitting,” Csaszar said. “It taxed the resources of the township significantly.” He told council that Public Works Director Roger Rasich, along with Hanover Engineering, assessed the initial damage the hurricane caused. The estimated manpower cost alone was about $7,708, and the public works equipment cost was about $5,070. So far, the total estimated cost of the hurricane to the township has been about $27,178. On the bright side, Csaszar said that luckily no one in the …

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Property Owners Want Silt Removed from Silver Creek

Hellertown Borough Manager Cathy Kichline said that in the wake of localized flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Irene, some downtown property owners have inquired about having the small tributary cleaned out.

In late August, heavy rain associated with the remnants of Hurricane Irene caused the Silver Creek to overflow in and around downtown Hellertown, where a section of the tributary passes underneath buildings in the 600 block of Main Street. In the wake of water damage to those structures, several property owners have asked borough officials about ownership of the creek, and whether silt removal can be undertaken to help mitigate future flooding in the area, Hellertown Borough Manager Cathy Kichline announced at Borough Council's Sept. 6 meeting. "I don't have an answer," Kichline said, referring to the question of ownership. Several council members said that waterways are federally regulated and owned, and as such, require government …

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Jenae's View

How Did Hurricane Irene Affect Your Family?

A lack of power can bring out everyone’s true colors.

I’m all about livin’ it up “Little House” style, or at least I thought I was, but when the power clicked off at midnight Aug. 28, fear spread over me. I thought I was ahead of the game--laptop charged, iPhone ready to go, four pitchers of water in the fridge, and a few headlamps if needed. I was especially excited about my secret stash of strawberry wafer cookies. What hadn’t occurred to me was the lack of Wi-Fi. My laptop doesn’t do a whole lot of good without that lifeline to the rest of the world. All of a sudden I had no idea what was happening to my friends and family. I had no Facebook to follow. My phone began to do strange things...no signal, no Safari connection. I went to bed with the assumption that all would be fixed by the …

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