Local News

Looking out for our customers We’re facing this public health challenge together. Here are some of the things we’re doing to look out for our customers during this coronavirus pandemic.

Delivering on our core mission Our homes, health-care facilities and grocery stores need reliable electricity to keep moving during this crisis. Powering our communities remains our number one responsibility.

Rest assured, throughout this crisis and beyond, we’re working every day to maintain a strong, resilient and reliable power grid. You need us to keep your lights on, and we’re here for you. And we’re doing it safely by limiting direct interaction between our employees and customers and respecting social distancing at all times.

Offering assistance to customers in need

If you can’t pay your bill during this crisis, we will not cut off your electric service. We’ve also waived late payment charges for all customers, effective March 16, 2020.

Beyond that, a variety of payment assistance programs are available if you’re struggling to pay your bill during this time.

• OnTrack offers a lower, fixed monthly bill and debt forgiveness for customers who are income-eligible.
• Operation HELP is a fund supported by our company, employees and customers. It provides grants to help eligible customers pay their heating bills. We’re happy to say that our PPL Foundation recently donated an extra $500,000 to Operation HELP.
• LIHEAP is a federal program that provides cash and crisis grants to eligible customers. It’s open through April 10, so there’s still time to apply.
• Budget billing can smooth out your payments so they’re consistent and predictable throughout the year.
• We may be able to set you up with a payment arrangement to split up past due balances into installments.

Learn more and apply for assistance  

Registered voters can sign up today at VotesPA.com/ApplyMailBallot

For more voting information in the state of Pennsylvania, visit: VotesPA.com

New legislation introduced this month in the Pennsylvania House aims to add fees and limits to how Keystone Staters buy their ammunition.

Pennsylvania House Bill 2344 was referred to the chamber’s Judiciary Committee last week with a dozen sponsors. Filed by state Rep. Tom Murt, R-Montgomery, it would wrap the ammo buying process in layers of Harrisburg red tape.

With the thaw out of spring comes the growth of potholes on Pennsylvania’s roads. To help combat potholes and prevent them from becoming a danger to vehicles and drivers on the road, PennDOT is encouraging motorists to report the potholes they encounter.

Report potholes by calling 1-800-FIX-ROAD or by clicking here to file a report online.

Membership Makes a Difference

Pocono Mountain Regional Emergency Medical Services (PMREMS), a nonprofit organization, would like to first thank you for last year’s support. Your membership and donations truly make a difference. Last year, PMREMS responded to over 6500 emergency calls showing an increasing need for our services. As call volume increases, so do operating costs which include building and vehicle maintenance, equipment purchases, and training classes for our medical professionals. To help offset these costs and continue to give the quality of care you deserve, we turn to our community for help.

On Sunday, Worthington State Forest in New Jersey went up in flames. Worthington State Forest is on the “Jersey side” of the Delaware Water Gap and is home to Mount Tammany, where the brush fire claimed more than 80 acres overnight.

The cause of the brush fire, which started in the afternoon, has not yet been determined as of Tuesday. The New Jersey Herald reported that the fire was fueled by leaf litter and “dead and down fuel,” and dead hardwoods, which were killed by gypsy moth caterpillars. Officials cited that the mountain side is typically covered by at least two feet of snow this time of year.

In Pennsylvania, our wildfire season begins in March and lasts until May, before the risk rises again in the fall.

Important Notice: 
Based on the Davey inspection, tree crews contracted by PPL will be in your area in the near future to perform this important work at no cost to you.  

Highlights:

• ALICE refers to three descriptors of people who aren’t in poverty, but still have difficulty covering all basic needs: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
• The ALICE measure is necessary because the Federal Poverty Level “is no longer a realistic measure of financial hardship in households across each county in the U.S.,” the report said.
• Barrett Township "ALICE" rate is 54 percent

Editor's Note:
This article mentions the "low unemployment" rate but don't let the numbers fool you: a person is only considered unemployed if they are actively seeking work.  If they haven't applied for a job in a given period of time, they are no longer considered "unemployed" but rather "outside the labor force."  This is how they are able to say that the unemployment rate is so low.  

Original Article:

About one-third of Monroe County households are above the poverty line, yet earn less money than the local cost of living.

Between that and the 7 percent of Monroe County households in poverty, 41 percent of all households struggle to some degree to meet basic expenses, according to the United Way of Pennsylvania’s 2019 ALICE report. (The data in the report is from 2017.)

(Editor's Note: 'read more' to watch the videos!)

Our Appropriations hearings focused on concerns with overspending and mismanagement in the current year’s budget. The House Appropriations Committee kicked off this year’s budget hearings by questioning administration officials about their actual funding needs for the upcoming 2020-21 fiscal year.

Earlier this month, Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a $36 billion budget, which represents a spending increase of more than $2 billion over the current year’s enacted budget. Nearly $1 billion of that increase is the result of the administration’s overspending in this year’s budget. This week, our committee met with officials from the departments of Revenue, Aging, State, Military and Veterans Affairs, Corrections, and Labor and Industry.

ALLENTOWN — A missing Barrett Township man has been found deceased in Allentown, according to the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office.

Kevin Cummings, 37, was pronounced dead the afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 20, by a deputy coroner. He was in a wooded area along Jordan Creek, near West Hamilton Street and South Fourth Street.

Details:
Starting March 2nd, 2020
Will be closed for approx 120 days
Both directions will be closed

Comprehensive reforms designed to encourage greater participation in our elections will be in place for the upcoming April 28 Primary Election.

Anyone not already registered to vote now has more time to do so. You may register online or in person at your county courthouse up to 15 days prior to an election, which is April 13.

You may apply for the mail-in or absentee ballots here.

For the first time voters may choose to cast their ballots by mail for any reason.