TROPHIES
Consider this: No one was seriously injured in an armed confrontation that played out for more than two hours Thursday on the 600 block of Pearl Street in Easton -- even after the alleged perpetrator fired a shotgun out a window and threw Molotov cocktails at police officers and other responders. Easton police showed professionalism and restraint throughout the ordeal, which shut down the immediate neighborhood. Eventually they arrested Jeffrey Folkner, 27, who they said was intoxicated -- but that was far from a given during the tense standoff. According to police, the hostilities started when Folkner pushed an air conditioner out a second-story window. Before that, he reportedly attacked his roommate with a baseball bat. Police officer Nathan White said he saw Folkner point a shotgun out a window and heard a blast; a second, muffled blast was heard from inside the home. One of the Molotov cocktails hit a police car; another hit a nearby building, sparking a fire. Negotiators spoke by phone with Folkner, who refused to surrender. When he came out holding a machete and refused to drop it, he was stopped with a stun gun. Folkner was charged with several offenses and sent to Northampton County Prison. What should be remembered from this violent episode, thanks to the measured response, is what didn't happen -- no death or serious injury, no neighborhood going up in flames. Kudos to the Easton police officers, Easton firefighters, and Easton Emergency Squad and Suburban EMS staff who made it so.
The Boys and Girls Club of Easton is converting a grassy slope behind the club on Easton's South Side to a playground and terraced garden. The play area will allow children to work on motor skills and be better prepared to start school, and the garden will allow them to grow vegetables, Executive Director Dean Young said. The club is still seeking $20,00 to $30,000 to cover its construction budget, which was staked by a $263,000 donation from the Easton Kiwanis Club and some help from the city of Easton.
The American chestnut tree was prevalent in northern U.S. forests and streetscapes until the late 1800s, when its lack of defense against an imported fungus began its demise. Once a stalwart that contributed to forest diversity, and wildlife support and the timber economy, its numbers went from an estimated 400 billion in the U.S. to almost zero. Today the
is introducing a blight-resistance variety. It recently donated 24 saplings to Northampton County, which will plant them at parks and other county-owned land.
TURKEYS
Edward "Fast Eddy" Humphrey is again facing charges of taking money for construction work he abandoned. Humphrey, who served a state prison term for bilking an Allen Township couple in 2014, is now charged with accepting $17,000 from a Bethlehem Township man for home improvements, then disappearing after two days of demolition work. In 2012, Humphrey pleaded guilty to taking $188,000 for unfinished repair work in New Jersey. Humphrey, who is back in state prison, has been charged with theft, deceptive business practices and other offenses.
Motorists on Route 33 must have been stunned to see what was coming toward them early Friday morning -- a man driving a stolen front-end loader the wrong way on the high-speed highway. Michael Smith, 33, of Tobyhanna, allegedly stole the loader from a construction site in Plainfield Township, drove it against southbound traffic on Route 33 and and abandoned it near a quarry in Wind Gap. He was arrested a few blocks away after a police search. He is facing several charges, including motor vehicle theft, police said.