Recent social media posts accusing the City of Lebanon of taking down a plaque honoring Tim Stine, the firefighter who perished in a HACC fire over 30 years ago, are mistaken, say city officials.
Chris Coyle
Chris Coyle writes primarily on government, the courts, and business. He retired as an attorney at the end of 2018, after concentrating for nearly four decades on civil and criminal litigation and trials. A career highlight was successfully defending a retired Pennsylvania state trooper who was accused, 40 years after the fact, of falsifying evidence in a 1970s murder case.
LebTown is his first foray into reporting, motivated by the decline of the once-great, locally-owned print newspaper he grew up with and read daily. Chris lives in the city of Lebanon. He holds degrees from Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (and misses Pittsburgh every day). He and his wife have two grown sons and a few grandkids. He enjoys all kinds of music, tinkering with electronic stuff, and lifting weights to avoid becoming a shriveled old guy.
Posted inCrime & Safety
Juvenile charges are expected in Lebanon Catholic arson, DA says
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf says she expects juvenile proceedings to be filed soon in connection with the July 3 arson fire at the closed Lebanon Catholic School building.
Posted inNews
Murder of 13-year-old in South Lebanon Township still unsolved 9 months later
The murder of 13 year-old Jason Rivera, fatally shot on Tuesday evening, Feb. 15, remains unsolved, with no word from prosecutors or police on possible motives or suspects.
Posted inNews
Cedar Haven Healthcare Center is out of bankruptcy after more than three years
Cedar Haven Healthcare Center, the former county home sold to private owners in 2014, has emerged from the bankruptcy its operator filed in August 2019, when it cited millions of dollars owed to over 200 creditors.
Posted inBusiness & Nonprofits
WLBR/WQIC radio sold for second time since 2019; impact on formats unclear
Lebanon County’s oldest radio station is getting new owners for the second time in a little over three years, but personnel and format changes, if any, haven’t been revealed.
Posted inNews
Lebanon City and IRS resolve police Medicare withholding issue
Lebanon City Council learned at Monday night’s monthly meeting that the city and the Internal Revenue Service have come to an agreement that resolves the city’s failure since 1985 to withhold Medicare tax from police officers’ paychecks.
Posted inNews
Lebanon police chief Todd Breiner retires
Lebanon police chief Todd Breiner, the city’s chief law enforcement officer since 2016, has retired.
Posted inNews
Last-minute no contest plea averts Lebanon homicide trial
An expected week-long murder trial in Lebanon County court was avoided Tuesday morning when the defendant entered a last-minute no contest plea to involuntary manslaughter just before opening statements were about to start.
Posted inNews
Lebanon learns it hasn’t withheld cops’ Medicare tax since 1985
A 1985 change in federal law that required Lebanon city to withhold Medicare tax from police paychecks appears to have gone unnoticed until a recent IRS audit uncovered the oversight.
Posted inNews
Candidates’ Night canceled due to objections by GOP to NAACP moderator
Republicans say the organization has ties to Democratic party, is not neutral.
Posted inEducation
ELCO High School expansion and modernization project underway
The Eastern Lebanon County School District has embarked on a $38 million construction project that will modernize the 60-year-old ELCO High School building and add a STEM Center to the campus on ELCO Drive, south of Myerstown.
Posted inPeople & Places
Local residents in touch with relatives in Puerto Rico, mobilizing storm aid effort
Many in Lebanon County’s sizable Puerto Rican community have spent the last week struggling to get in touch with friends and family on the Caribbean island, which was hammered on Sept. 18 by Hurricane Fiona.
Posted inNews
2021 ended with a budget surplus, Lebanon mayor tells City Council
Lebanon mayor Sherry Capello told City Council Monday night that a year-end audit revealed a $165,868 budget surplus for 2021.
Posted inUpcoming Events
31st annual Hinkelfest celebrates chicken this weekend in Fredericksburg
Hinkelfest 2022, Lebanon County’s annual three-day celebration of all things chicken, kicks off on Friday, Sept. 16 at Fredericksburg Fireman’s Park on Route 343 (N. 7th Street) between Lebanon and Fredericksburg.
Posted inEducation
Ground broken for new Lebanon Middle School in plan to reduce overcrowding
The centerpiece of the Lebanon School District’s ambitious plan to alleviate overcrowding moved from the drawing board to the construction phase Thursday when ground was broken for a new middle school adjacent to Lebanon High School.
