The processing of mail-in and absentee ballots during elections is about to get easier in Lebanon County.
James Mentzer
James Mentzer is a freelance writer and lifelong resident of Pennsylvania. He has spent his professional career writing about agriculture, economic development, manufacturing and the energy and real estate industries, and is the county reporter and a features writer for LebTown.
James is an outdoor enthusiast whose hobbies include hunting, Ultimate frisbee, disc golf, spikeball and pickleball, biking, traveling and attending live concerts for a number of bands, including moe., String Cheese Incident and Widespread Panic.
His published works include the books Pennsylvania Manufacturing: Alive and Well; Bucks County: A Snapshot in Time; United States Merchant Marine Academy: In Service to the Nation 1943-2018; A Century of Excellence: Spring Brook Country Club 1921-2021; Lancaster Development, Inc.: An American Story of Family and Infrastructure, and several other titles. He has also had business profiles published in Central Pennsylvania: Our Time Has Come, and an article in The Columbiad, a scholarly publication of Civil War Times Illustrated, concerning a little-known African American fort and battle along the James River in Virginia. Another book is currently in production for Morris Country Club in Morris, Illinois.
Posted inNews
Scammers may target Lebanon County voters in lead up to election
While no incidents have been reported to the county’s election bureau as of publication time, these scams – and in one case a deceptive practice – are being shared as a public service to county voters.
Posted inNews
DA to apply for $250K gun violence prevention grant on behalf of county
The Lebanon County District Attorney’s office will apply for its share of a $50 million state grant designed to stem the tide of gun violence across the commonwealth.
Posted inNews
County to receive nearly half-million dollar state grant to fund elections
Lebanon County officials have agreed to accept over $466,000 in funding as part of a $45 million election grant program that was approved with the state budget in July.
Posted inNews
Commissioners approve tax abatement on luxury apartments in Palmyra
Lebanon County Commissioners approved Thursday a 10-year LERTA tax abatement for a planned 92-unit luxury apartment building in Palmyra.
Posted inCrime & Safety
DA says Nov. 2021 shooting of Andy Dzwonchyk by PSP trooper was justified
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf ruled Monday that an officer-involved shooting that killed a 40-year-old Jonestown man last November was justified.
Posted inNews
County youth agency says placement of juvenile offenders keeps getting harder
A lack of available facilities for community-based placement of juvenile offenders who require post release supervision is a problem plaguing Pennsylvania.
Posted inNews
Redevelopment authority will renovate Cleona building for senior housing
A $700,000 HOME grant received by the Lebanon County Redevelopment Authority will allow the agency to renovate the first floor of its Cleona property into six affordable housing units for senior citizens.
Posted inNews
County to underwrite improvements at fairgrounds with $1.6M of ARPA funds
Two days before the county fair was about to launch its 2022 edition, the Lebanon Valley Exposition Center and Fairgrounds and Lebanon Area Fair both received American Rescue Plan Act funding totaling $1.6 million.
Posted inNews
County officials continue to fill open workforce positions
Once down by nearly 150 positions from its approximate workforce of 700, county employment rolls have turned the tide with over 600 individuals now employed by the county.
Posted inNews
Online registration to be offered by county for concealed weapon permits
Registrations for concealed carry permits in Lebanon County are about to enter the digital age.
Posted inNews
Gap continues to lobby behind the scenes against proposed windmill project
A three-year battle over a proposed windmill project near Fort Indiantown Gap rages on.
Posted inNews
Lebanon County in good shape to spend ARPA funds by 2024 federal deadline
There’s only about $2.5 million of the $27 million received by the county through the federally funded American Rescue Plan Act that’s not yet been earmarked.
Posted inNews
Lebanon County to outfit probation officers with body-worn cameras
Lebanon County plans to purchase 30 body-worn cameras for its adult and juvenile probation officers, pending approval of a federal grant application to be filed in the coming weeks.
Posted inNews
NYT reports DA’s husband supervised state cop when Charity Thome was fatally shot; DA did not recuse office from case
The husband of Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf is a former supervisor of a state trooper her office is currently investigating for potential criminal charges surrounding a fatal shooting last fall, according to a recent news report from The New York Times.
