Nine years after he was convicted by a Lebanon County jury of 1st degree murder and 19 other offenses resulting from a 2014 drug-related shooting, Eddie Williams has been granted a new trial by a federal court, because his absent co-defendant’s confession was read to the jury.
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 inPeople & Places
Local mental health professional wants to help the helpers
Those whose job is to help and protect others know something the public rarely sees: Sometimes they get as sick as, or sicker than, those they treat. Kayla “Bird” Kressler knows. Now, she’s turning her attention to helping her fellow caregivers.
Posted inNews
DA files charge against local constable she says left gun in court restroom
Long time Lebanon City Constable James Drahovsky faces criminal charges based on allegations he left his loaded handgun in an unlocked public restroom at a magisterial district justice’s office when it was open to the public
Posted inNews
Commission meets to organize merger of N. Lebanon and N. Cornwall police forces
The Lebanon County Regional Police Commission met on Aug. 27, the first of several planned meetings, to work out the details of the merger of the North Lebanon and North Cornwall police departments, scheduled to go live in January.
Posted inNews
City Council acts on money matters, roads and highways, at August meeting
At its August meeting, Lebanon City Council passed several resolutions and ordinances dealing with streets, firefighter pensions, and the allocation of federal grant money.
Posted inNews
Cumberland Street repaving from 5th Avenue to 16th Street starts this week
Cumberland Street, the city’s main westbound traffic artery, will be repaved from 5th Avenue west to 16th Street starting the week of Aug. 26. The project is expected to be completed in September.
Posted inNews
Ribbon-cutting ceremony gives first look inside new Lebanon Junior High School
Lebanon School District opens new $62 million Junior High School to alleviate district-wide overcrowding, educating 900 7th- and 8th-graders starting this fall.
Posted inNews
Quittapahilla Creek tour highlights dramatic changes in less than a year
Green has replaced mud eight months after completion of major stream restoration project.
Posted inNews
American House appeals state license revocation; stays open, serving residents
State Department of Human Services allows local personal care home to stay open, residents to remain during appeals process that could take months.
Posted inNews
American House Personal Care home has license revoked; residents’ fate uncertain
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has revoked the operating license of the American House personal care home at 25 S. 9th St. in downtown Lebanon, effective Aug. 2.
Posted inNews
Health & Human Services secretary visits city’s Union Community Health Center
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra paid a visit Wednesday, July 31, to the federally funded Union Community Care Health Center on Lebanon’s largely Hispanic north side.
Posted inBusiness & Nonprofits
Our Lady of the Cross Catholic School eyes expansion
Three years after opening, enrollment has more than tripled at the county’s only Catholic school.
Posted inNews
Legislators tout state grant to redevelop former Bethlehem Steel site in Lebanon
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Financing Authority has allocated $2.3 million for the redevelopment of a 30,000 square foot building at the former Bethlehem Steel site in Lebanon, according to state Senator Chris Gebhard and state Representative John Schlegel.
Posted inNews
Personnel appointments, ordinance tweak at City Council’s July meeting
Lebanon City Council needed fewer than 30 minutes to dispose of a short agenda at its July 22 monthly meeting.
Posted inLebanon Area Fair
Antique car and tractor show kicks off 2024 Lebanon Area Fair
The 2024 Lebanon Area Fair began with a unique display of automotive and agricultural machinery at the Special Olympics Car and Tractor Show on Saturday morning.
