2012 Home Invasion Features Familiar NorCo Name

On Friday, I told you about a 2012 Lower Saucon home invasion which charges have been filed against one of the four assailant. Interestingly, no charges have been filed against the alleged mastermind, Michael Radogna. He is presumed innocent. But his is one of the more interesting families in Northampton County.

His father, Michael Anthony Radogna, is the erstwhile leader of the "Mountain Dogs" klavern of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1989, he planned to conduct a July 4 rally at his Williams Township home on Island Park Road, complete with a cross-burning. I don't know if the rally ever occurred, bit I used to drive by the property when visiting my parents, and my brother worked at the chemical company next door. There were always strange signs. In 1990, state police found a huge wooden cross burning near his property, though Radogna denied he had anything to do with it.

In 1991, Radogna was Easton Mayor for a day after placing the winning bid in a charity auction conduted on public television.

I'm pretty sure I actually met this guy in 1992, when he was passing out KKK flyers in the Nazareth circle. I tore mine to pieces and threw it to the ground, only to be accused of littering.

Radogna, an avid motorcyclist and marijuana advocate, no longer lives in the area. According to his Facebook page, he now lives in Western Florida.

In addition to the father, there's Uncle John, as in John Vito Radogna. At age 69, he's a resident of State Correctional Institute Huntingdon. John was convicted of killing a man in a 1979 road rage dispute, and sentenced to 26 years. The gun he used had been stolen from deputy sheriffs during an escape from jail. He escaped from jail six times. The last time he escaped, it was when he was released from state prison to attend his father's funeral. Then Sheriff Ken Stocker was forced to resign after that escape. John was caught a month later in Fort Lauderdale.

In the meantime, Michael Radogna was carving a different path for himself in law enforcement. He became a part-time police officer in Wilson Borough and also worked on the Coopersburg force.

He visited South America to learn about coffee, and when he returned, formed Mocha Mike's.At one tome, he had several coffee kiosks throughout the Lehigh Valley.

Radogna's wife Carin is the widow of Easton police officer Jesse Sollman, who was accidentally killed when officers were cleaning their weapons. She settled with Easton for $5 million in 2009.  In 2011, she had the names of her children changed from Sollman to Radogna.

Her Facebook page, which was active on Thursday, appears to be offline.

Vince Foglia Resigns in Williams Township

Vince Foglia

Vince Foglia resigned from Williams Township's Board of Supervisors earlier this week, for personal reasons. It is Vince who spearheaded the drive to re-examine the out-of-control open space grants, in which a certain few have been preserving cliff land and properties that they themselves own. He helped expose abuses in what he calls the "open space industry." Under his guidance the Board rexcinded two open space grants. One of them was a tract owned by a millionaire who had no intention of developing anything.

"It has been an interesting experience," he tells me. I" never thought it would be so difficult to convince folks about the concept of the rule of law. But I should have known when early in my term someone stood up and said 'We've been doing things this way for thirty years, why are you bringing the law into it now?' I found out that he was not alone."

Foglia endured a lot of abuse from members of the Land Preservation Board, who could get pretty ugly when challenged. But he endured.

"I wish the new Board and the Williams Township staff the best," said Foglia. "No matter what you hear, I worked well with the fine Township staff, especially Jen Smethers and Rich Adams with whom I interacted most. We had a running joke that any mistake would result in someone getting fired, because that was the false narrative about me during my election campaign. I made plenty of mistakes myself and took all the jabs. We had mutual respect and some fun."

Rich Adams, incidentally, is a runner against whom I raced many years ago. He made it to Boston. I made it to the refrigerator.

Williams Tp Drops Taxes, Cancels Cliffland Preservation

The Chrin Landfill giveth, and the Chrin Landfill taketh away.

Two years ago, Williams Township Supervisors' Chair George Washburn was none too pleased when the Township was forced to raise taxes from 2.25 to 4 mills, when funds from Chrin dropped precipitously. Well, that war is finally over, and Supervisors voted last night to return to the 2.25 millage rate in existence two years ago.

A mill is $1 of tax on every $1,000 of taxable property value. So a home assessed at $100,000 can expect a $225 tax bill instead of the current $400.

I was there because Supervisors were slated to vote on rescinding a vote to preserve an 18-acre tract along Hexenkopf Road, known as the Morrow tract.

This property is located along steep slopes and is bisected by an overhead utility easement. Under the local zoning ordinance, no more than two homes at most could be built there without getting a variance.

Instead of tying to preserve land in 68 different subdivisions already approved for development, the Land preservation Board appears to have a love affair with cliffs.

This is the same goofy group that also tried to con Northampton County into going along with a $319,970 handout to wealth management specialist and real estate flipper Michael Glovas in exchange for a "conservation easement" on the 72 acres surrounding his palatial estate at 590 Browns Drive in Williams Township. NorCo tabled the proposal, and that got Supervisor Vince Foglia interested.

That was bad news for Rob Schmidt's Land Preservation Board.

His group, who seem to delight in preserving each other's properties, obtained an appraisal that came in a tad too low for the owner, so they went out and got another. Then they got a third.

What they don't know is that Foglia had one of the Lehigh Valley's most respected appraisers review all three, and his conclusion can be aptly summed up in one word - Horseshit!

In addition to completely violating the Second Class township Code, this Board kept the low appraisal away from the County and state DCNR. The comparables used against cliffs were flat and working farms in Bucks County, where land goes for a gazillion dollars an acre.

A month ago, Schmidt asked for and got a delay so they could possibly bring in their appraiser to educate is all on the error of our ways. That didn't happen. Instead, Schmidt sought another delay so that the Township Solicitor cold determine how many legal errors Foglia had committed.

Isidore Mineo, who likes to deliver lengthy lectures, last night instructed the board that these cliffs could be farms for goofy things like arugula.

By a 2-1 vote, Supervisors pulled the plug on what really is a bad preservation idea.

Williams has preserved enough cliffs.

Williams Township Introduces Miraculous 60% Tax Cut

L to R: Vince Foglia, George Washburn and Ray Ahert

As most of you know, I love chaos and misery. That's why I was willing to risk driving on windy and pitch black roads to the Williams Township Municipal Building last night. Though I got what I came for, I'd be remiss if I failed to fill you n on some very nice things at that meeting. Like the Miracle league. And a budget for next year that seems like a miracle - one that actually includes a substantial tax cut.

George Washburn, Chairman of Williams Township's Board of Supervisors was unhappy two years ago when a news headline screamed "Williams Township passes 2014 budget that includes a 60 percent tax hike" just two years ago. That hike was necessary because the Township was playing hardball with Chrin landfill at the time, and expected revenues to drop precipitously. The tax rate went from 2.25 mills to 4.0 mills, which is still pretty low.

Well the Chrin war is finally over, and at the November 12 Supervisors' meeting, Washburn was only too happy to introduce a 2016 Budget that reduces taxes 60%, from 4.0 to 2.25 mills.

A mill is $1 of tax on every $1,000 of taxable property value. So a home assessed at $100,000 can expect a $250 tax bill instead of the current $400.

"The reason we're able to do this is the settlement we worked out with Chrin," explained Washburn, as someone in the back of the room applauded.

The Budget is scheduled for adoption in December.

Richard Agretto and Bob Lammi of Miracle League

In other pleasant news, Bob Lammi and Richard Agretto of the Northampton County Miracle League thanked Supervisors for an annual $3,000 contribution to help fund a baseball program at the Charles Chrin Community Center for developmentally challenged kids  Lammi, Agretto and Dave Colver, in the height of the Great Recession, were able to cobble together $750,000 to build a rubber baseball field for kids of all ages. They started with 85 kids and have grown to 300 athletes.

After making his presentation, Lammi remarked, not just about the fun that developmentally challenged kids have, but the thousands of volunteers who help them. They include cheerleading squads, high school baseball teams. These athletes walk away knowing that the developmentally challenged are still kids, just like them.

"We're thriving," said Agretto, whose program now includes Fall ball and night games.

Holding the plaque in one hand, Washburn said the award is not for the Supervisors, but all the residents of Williams Township.

Now on to the real reason for my presence. Yet another open space scam. Last month, Williams Township Supervisors finally pulled the plug on a $319,970 handout to wealth management specialist and real estate flipper Michael Glovas in exchange for a "conservation easement" on the 72 acres surrounding his palatial estate at 590 Browns Drive in Williams Township. The bullshit application was based on an appraisal revealing that most of the land was either too rocky or steep for development.

Now Supervisors are poised to kill another grant they already approved - an $86,868 conservation easement on 18 acres at yet another cliff. Because there's been no settlement on this grant, Supervisors can still back out of the deal.

This case involves not one, not two, but three appraisals. The property owner didn't like the first appraisal, so the Land Preservation Board spent $3,000 for another. Then another $3,000 for a third appraisal.

Incredibly, the appraisal establishes value by comparing this wasteland, which includes a major power line and practically no road frontage, to farmland. Vince Foglia pulled out comparable after comparable, sode, according to Solicitor howing that the appraiser, instead of comparing garbage land to garbage land, was determining value by looking at thriving farms.

Washburn appeared to be visibly upset at what he saw. "It's not even close to comparable," he stated. "How can we justify spending money on that? This is illegal."

And that's another problem. Though the state DCNR allows the use of two appraisals that are within 15% of each other, there are three appraisals in this case, and the low appraisal was never disclosed. That also presents some problems under the Second Class Township Code, according to Solicitor Jonathan J. Reiss. He advised that the Township is barred by law from paying more than a property is worth, and must go by the lowest appraisal or the average of several appraisals.

Land Preservation Chair Bob Schmidt asked Supervisors to table the matter a month so they can look at the information in their own appraisals. Washburn agreed but instructed Schmidt that "I want an honest answer. I don't want to hear [that you used farming comparables] because it is zoned agricultural."

In addition to the appraisal problem, Foglia handed Schmidt a list of 68 subdivisions approved for development in Williams Township, and suggested that preserving that land would be a "more effective use of taxpayer funds." He recommended open space advocates to redirect their energies on land "most susceptible to development." He wants them to focus where development is likely or already approved."

He derided preservation efforts on undevelopable steep slopes, calling it a "cash cow" for a "preservation industry" who seems to be most interested in preserving their own jobs.

Williams Supervisors Poised to Kill Glovas Grant

The Glovas mansion

Because the meeting went on for so long and I have to get up early for an appointment, I'll keep this brief. In June, Northampton County Council voted 6-3 to table a $319,970 handout to wealth management specialist and real estate flipper Michael Glovas in exchange for a "conservation easement" on the 72 acres surrounding his palatial estate at 590 Browns Drive in Williams Township. This has prompted Williams Township Supervisors to take a second look at the project. Last night, they voted to send land preservation projects to the Planning Commission before deciding on plans themselves. Chair George Washburn called this approach "one more set of eyes." But they will wait another month before deciding whether to rescind the Glovas grant. Washburn explained he has been presented with "conflicting information."

L to R: Vince Foglia, George Washburn, Ray Abert

Land preservation advocates like Bill Mineo made their pitches. Mineo actually went so far as to argue that whether land is ultimately developable is something they don't even consider in deciding whether a property should be preserved.

Perhaps they should.

Vince Foglia is arguing that the Township failed to follow its own procedures by previously voting to preserve this tract, even though it is not set aside for preservation in the comprehensive plan. This assertion was disputed by some conservation advocates.

One person who failed to attend the meeting is the person seeking $319,970. "I'm very disappointed that Mr. Glovas is not here himself to advocate for the project," observed Washburn.

At the heart of this controversy is a problem created by the preservationists' own appraisal. According to this report,

* The potential for development is nonexistent. This is because most of the property is considered too full of granite and gneiss boulders. If you go down just 60 inches, you hit a lithic bedrock. Anyone who wanted to develop here would need lots of dynamite.
* The foundation of any home would need to be seven feet below the surface. Because of the rocky terrain, that would be cost prohibitive.
* The potential for basements on 56.9 acres of this property is "very limited" with 8-55% slopes that are "very bouldery."
* The ability to construct sand mounds for septic on this "very bouldery" 56.9 acres is "very limited."
* The same 56.9 acres would be lousy for farming as well.

Land Preservation Board Chair Bob Schmidt attempted to counter that last night by pointing to one part of the appraisal claiming that 84% of the land could be developed. But at what cost?

Ray Abert is the sole Supervisor who supports the grant. He told his colleagues that he walked the property and, in his view, it can be developed.

Washburn countered that any property can be developed, but questioned whether this project is economically feasible.

"This is a bad preservation project," argued Foglia. "We have a duty to correct our mistake."

Williams Tp Land Preservation Board Pushes Glovas Handout

Two Williams Township Land Preservation Board members apparently never got the word that the Glovas handout is too hot to touch right now, and was taken off last night's agenda. They were at last night's NorCo Council meeting. Their Chair, Robert Schmidt, told Council he was willing to answer all their concerns and is providing his contact information. He was accompanied by Linda Heindel, who managed to get a few of her own properties preserved as a member of the board. I decided I'd like Schmidt's contact information, too, so I could call him with my concerns.

I met Schmidt and Heindel in the hallway, where he did give me his contact information. I told him that, according to their own appraisal, this property is undevelopable. He disputed that, but the facts are the facts. According to the appraiser, 56.9 acres are "very bouldery," making the potential for basements or basic septic systems "very limited." He's entitled to his own opinion, but the appraisal says what it says.

Schmidt and Heindel then told me that I needed to walk the property. My response to that was to ask then why bother with an appraisal if you're going to ignore it and go by your own field trip. It defeats the purpose of even having an appraisal. Schmidt wanted me to tell him how I got my hands on the Glovas appraisal, and I refused to tell him. He then turned away from me and walked off, unwilling to engage in further discussion.

Heindel remained and I confronted her about participating in a board whose members seem to be enriching themselves by selecting their own properties for preservation. She told me that's a sign that they really care, although it's unclear to me whether that is the environment or their own bottom line. I turned to leave, but she insisted I shake her hand first. It was pretty clear that she was visibly angry, but she was either trying to remain civil or trying to infect me with something. I'll let you know in 21 days.

Williams Township Endorses NIZ Intervention By State Ass'n

Supervisor George Washburn

At last night's meeting, Williams Township's Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to support a statewide association of township supervisors in a legal challenge to the 2009 law creating Allentown's Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ).

The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors  represents the interests of 1,455 townships in the commonwealth, which comprise 95 percent of Pennsylvania’s land area and are home to more than 5.5 million citizens — 44 percent of the state’s population. It has decided to intervene in the NIZ litigation started by Hanover and Bethlehem Townships.

Township resident Joe Schiller told the Board to keep the pressure on Allentown Mayor Edwin Pawlowski. "Maybe he'll make the developers pay for this instead of the Townships," Schiller argued.

I was very impressed by the Williams Township board, by the way. It relies heavily on volunteers who report on different aspects of Township government. There's separate Advisory Committees for the Budget, Sewer, Landfill and Land Preservation. A representative from each of these advisory committees provides an oral report at each meeting. As a result, there were 33 people in the meeting room, engaged in open and accountable government.

The Township, incidentally, is considering a repeal or amendment of three "conservation by design" ordinances adopted in 2007. They're known as 50-50 ordinances, which restricts development by a property owner with ten acres or more to either keeping 50% as open space or planning on 3 acres per house.

Halden Ballek, a fourth-generation farmer who has challenged these ordinances in Northampton County Court, told Supervisors this legislative scheme is :"discriminatory towards farmers, whose occupation requires large tracts of land to earn a living." He complained these ordinances "quietly erode people's property rights."

Resident Bob Lilley was a little more frank. "Conservation by design is simply stealing," he asserted.

Supervisor Vince Foglia is ready to pull the plug on "conservation by design," but George Washburn and Sally Hixson are leaning towards making it a voluntary scheme.

They're asking owners directly impacted by this legislation to come to their June meeting and share their experiences.

Chrin Landfill Expansion Dispute Goes to Commonwealth Court

Late last month, Judge Emil Giordano dismissed two lawsuits aimed at stopping the Chrin landfill expansion in Williams Township. Yesterday, Bethlehem Attorney Don Miles, who represents the Committee to Save Williams Township, appealed that ruling to Commonwealth Court. Miles insists that public notice of the expansion was inadequate, and that the agreement to rezone was illegal.

Beltrami to Landfill Foes: Nobody Likes a Tattle Tale

Looks like The Committee to Save Williams Township has been judicially tossed into Chrin's landfill. After Judge Beltrami had rejected a Sunshine Act claim concerning a Chrin landfill expansion in Williams Township, landfill foes discovered that his single largest campaign contributor just happens to be Charles Chrin. Tonight, spokesperson Kathy Lilley issued a news release claiming she is "disappointed but not surprised" by Judge Beltrami's latest bullshit burger in rejecting a motion that he recuse himself.

Beltrami may very well have made the right call when he rejected the Sunshine Act claim. But Beltrami should have disclosed that this dispute involves his biggest campaign contributor. the judge huffs that doing so would make the judicial system "unmanageable."

I see. It would also make it honest.

Not every case before Beltrami involves his largest campaign contributor. Very few of his decisions involve donors, so what the hell is he talking about? His reasoning stinks as much as that landfill. I also love his petulant snark at this underfunded group, which has no lawyer, for tattling to the press. Excuse me, Judge, but what the hell difference does that make? Your court is open, isn't it?

Landfill foes went to the one group that actually cares about little things like government transparency and the appearance of impropriety - the press.

Chrin Landfill Stinks!

Forty-five odor complaints in 2008. Thirty thousand tons of sewage sludge in 2007 alone. No, I'm not talking about me, but Chrin Landfill, located in Williams Township.

It's the first thing Jersey residents breathe after crossing the border. "Ahhhhhh. Smells like Newark!"

The Committee to Save Williams Township and state officials, including state rep. Bob Freeman, met last week to discuss "odors, daily and final landfill cover, truck inspections, radiation and air quality." Check it out at Northampton County Spotlight.

Williams Township Residents Organize to Oppose Landfill Expansion

On Saturday, I told you about vegan scrapple. I'm convinced that, and all other forms of this porkie puddin', are all part of a some twisted Pennsylvania Dutch attempt at mind control against outlanders.

Fortunately, I never fell for their fiendish plot.

Chrin Landfill in Williams Township is full of that toxic waste. Even seagulls and sewer rats avoid it. Those that make the mistake of taking a nibble either die instantly or soon start walking around, muttering "Say now!" or "Kissin’ wears out, cookin' don’t.”

But landfills do. They get full, and the Chrin boys would like to expand.

As you know from a previous post, they've dumped $230,350 in legal bribes (campaign contributions) on state office candidates since 2000. Interestingly, not a dime of that money has gone to state rep. Bob Freeman, whose district includes that dump. During much of this same time, the Chrin boys have been meeting in the back rooms with William Township officials and seagulls, according to Morning Call columnist Bill White.

Williams Township residents have formed a grass roots group, The Committee to Save Williams Township. But their web page is called DumpRage for some reason. It makes me think of Rambo on the toilet, not landfills. But that's me.

Anyway, here's what they say. "[W]e deal with the legacy of hazardous waste generated from a national recognized Superfund site. Now, Chrin Companies has petitioned the locally elected supervisors to change township zoning and permit the expansion of the landfill.

The proposal is bad for people, bad for the environment, bad for quality of life and bad for property values!"

The web site also contains petition downloads for residents in either Williams Township, the Easton Area School District or Wilson Area School District. The email address for this group is info@dumprage.org.

Williams Tp Residents Oppose Landfill Expansion, But Seagulls Love it!

Easton has been called the "greatest recycler in the Lehigh Valley" by Morning Call columnist Bill White. That's no compliment. Instead of soda cans, White's comment is aimed at city leadership, from Mitman to Panto to Mrs. Panto to Stu Gallaher to Larry Palmer.

If Easton is the greatest recycler in the Lehigh Valley, nearby Williams Township leaders are the Kings of solid waste. Williams is home to Chrin Landfill, whose fumes murder nearly every Jersey resident who dares enter Pennsylvania from Route 78. On summer days, the smells are so bad I've seen skunks hitchhike the hell out of there. Chrin should bottle that stuff and sell it to the Pentagon.

Iranian problem solved.

Like any filthy rich businessman, Charles Chrin would like to be richer. That's, after all, the American way. So he wants to expand his landfill, and has been meeting in the back rooms with William Township officials and seagulls since 2001, according to Bill White. He also decided to send residents a brochure, "Growing Greener in Williams Township," which makes the absurd argument that a landfill expansion will actually beautify the area. I'm sure most sewer rats would agree with that.

But where the Chrin family is making its real pitch is to the pols and judges. Since 2000, that family has donated $230,350 to candidates seeking state office. $11,450 of that has gone into state senator Lisa Boscola's pockets. Cha ching! But a lot more is going into the black robes of judges who will decide his zoning challenges. How much has he given to local candidates? Your guess is as good as mine - those records are unavailable online.

The Express Times reports that 1,700 Williams Township residents have signed a petition opposing this landfill, and township officials have received over six hundred comments. But forty-three river rats and 784 seagulls are all for it.

Christopher Greene, a Williams Township resident, explains why this expansion should be rejected in a very well-written and heartfelt essay.

"For 10 years, I have called Williams Township my home. Nestled in the hills south of I-78 in Easton, Williams Township offers beautiful views, enjoyable neighbors, and an outstanding athletic association for my children. Williams Township is also home to the Chrin Landfill, located right off of I-78 on Industrial Drive.

"Chrin has been in Williams since the 1960’s. We all produce garbage and it has to go somewhere, so the wonderful people of Williams Township have been living with the landfill in their backyard, doing their part of the garbage equation. Chrin seems to have an interesting relationship with the township and its residents. On one hand, Chrin gives away mulch every year and has donated funds to one of the playgrounds. But he has also levied several lawsuits against the township costing residents significant sums of dollars (over $160,000 in one case alone). In another of those lawsuits (still pending), supervisors are named directly.

"Chrin recently began negotiations with the township to allow for an expansion to the landfill. This expansion would come in the form of a zoning change - allowing 22 acres now zoned for Light Industrial to be zoned for landfill use - after which Chrin would have to gain DEP approval. On December 18, 2007, residents of Williams Township were invited to an informational meeting held at the Philip Lauer Middle School. During that meeting, Chrin and the township supervisors together were selling the idea of the landfill expansion with a 13 page PowerPoint presentation. Residents had an option of making comments and were told that they could post comments to the township website until January 14th. Residents also attended the regularly scheduled supervisors' meeting on January 7, 2008 to ask further questions. In total, residents have submitted more than 600 comments to the supervisors, most being against the landfill. An action committee (Committee to Save Williams Township) has also collected over 1,700 signatures on a petition against the landfill expansion. No doubt, more signatures are on their way.

"I am personally against allowing the expansion of the landfill. First off, the expansion makes no business sense. While the proposal increases the municipal host fee, it does so slowly over time and never reaches the current state average for host fees. So Williams gets an expanded landfill that yields little, if any, positive revenue. Not only that, there is no formal proposal for the expansion. Residents only have the PowerPoint presentation to go on – no formal proposal for residents to understand all the terms and conditions associated with the expansion. Secondly, the township supervisors have done no due diligence. No financial impact study has been done (property devaluation, effects of inflation on any increased host fees, etc.) nor has any environmental or health impact study been done. The supervisors appear to be flying blind.

"Chrin does offer a few 'incentives' in the PowerPoint such as open space, athletic playing fields, and a promise to drop litigation against the township. None of these incentives is worthy in my opinion. Last time I checked, land adjacent to a landfill is pretty much useless so any open space offered would remain as open space even if Chrin didn’t give it to the township. As the landfill exists today, portions have been labeled as a Superfund site. The proposed athletic fields sit adjacent to the landfill property. The last thing that I want is for my children (or anyone else’s children) to be breathing in toxins and carcinogens on a regular basis. As far as the promise to drop litigation – I truly question the ethics of such a negotiation tactic on Chrin’s behalf. Any supervisor with a lawsuit over his or her head, would be making decisions under duress.

"The last reason I oppose the landfill is that such a zoning change will set the precedent for more landfills in Williams Township. If the supervisors change the zoning for one landfill, all one needs is a 100-acre plot of land, zoning change, and you now have yourself a brand new landfill. A comprehensive plan was put in place in 2000 (which Chrin agreed to) limiting the expansion of the landfill back then. Why isn’t that plan enforced? What has changed?

"Regardless whether you agree with the landfill expansion, what bothers me more is the method and process the supervisors have engaged in during these negotiations. Such methods and processes make me wonder what else is going on in Williams Township.

"As stated, the supervisors were 'selling' the idea of the expansion to residents at the initial informational meeting to the point where residents were asking whose side the supervisors were on. Most of the negotiations with Chrin have gone on behind closed doors in 'executive session' – even so far as meeting at Chrin’s location. Meetings regarding the negotiations have been barely posted (I found one for a January 8th meeting conveniently posted behind a Christmas wreath at the municipal building). When asked for minutes of executive sessions, the township manager has maintained residents are not allowed to such information.

"This makes me wonder if the supervisors are looking to allow the landfill expansion so they can get ANY increase in the municipal host fee to help pay for their 'Taj Mahal' of a public works building ($3.2 million -14 bay ultimate garage). When the township is looking to spend $130,000 on kitchen furniture in this new building, I begin to wonder – where’s the money going? So when residents asked for access to the general ledger of the township and our solicitor maintains that residents are not allowed to such information, I again question the ethics in Williams Township.

"At the end of the day, Williams Township has been living with a landfill in their back yard for years. We have had the understanding since 2000 that no expansion would be allowed. Now, supervisors will go back on their original word. In the meantime, we have supervisors conducting closed-door executive sessions under legal duress and residents are allowed little if any access to pertinent information in the dealings of our township, including financial dealings of the township. Whether you are for the landfill or not – one must recognize that the governing methods of Williams Township are questionable at best."

Congrats to the Williams Township Rams!

I spent most of Sunday at Williams Township's "Treetop Stadium," located off Gaffney Hill Road, where the Williams Township Rams hosted Allentown's East Side Huskies at the junior pee wee, pee wee and midget levels. The Rams are having a tough year, but their juniors managed to stun East Side with aggressive hitting on offense and defense.

It was unusually hot, but what a crowd! There must have been several thousand fans, and all of them were sharing the same ten square feet of shade.

The difference in demographic make up between Allentown and Williams Township is very apparent. But on Sunday, everyone was unusually united on both sides of the field. Williams Township residents and East siders talked about their kids and congratulated each other during the day. One of Williams' coaches actually came over to the Huskies' side of the field with cup cakes. When kids would finish their organized game, they managed to find each other and started playing pick up games that seemed a lot more fun than the ones in which refs and coaches were involved.

It was a nice thing to see. Williams Township is teaching its kids about more than sports.