The crimes allegedly occurred in the 1970s, when Brian Fogelson was a music teacher in Nova Scotia.

North Warren's recently retired schools superintendent is expected to appear in court next week in Nova Scotia on charges of sex crimes 40 years ago.

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Clik here to view.Brian Fogelson, who recently retired as North Warren Regional School District's superintendent, has a court appearance scheduled this week in Nova Scotia for alleged sex crimes 40 years ago. (Courtesy photo) 

Brian Fogelson faces two counts of indecent assault, two counts of gross indecency and one count of buggery -- the Canadian equivalent of sodomy.

The two accusers, both men, allege the crimes occurred between 1975 and '78, when Fogelson was a music teacher there. Authorities have said the first accuser came forward in 2012, and the second did so this year.

Charges were filed in May, shortly before Fogelson's retirement from the North Warren Regional School District. School officials have said they were unaware of the charges until after Fogelson left the district and moved to Florida. A warrant was issued in June.

Shocks and shrugs: Reactions to ex-North Warren superintendent's charges

In a related case, William A. Perrot, a former U.S. citizen living in Nova Scotia, pleaded guilty to similar charges involving one of the men and in May was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Perrot is reportedly a former colleague of Fogelson's, and authorities said the superintendent would regularly visit Perrot.

Fogelslon voluntarily returned to Canada in August to be arrested, and was released pending the Dec. 2 hearing.

Crown prosecutor C. Lloyd Tancock last week said the hearing will likely be procedural.

"I would be surprised if there were to be a guilty plea at the December 2nd appearance," he said in an email. "In all likelihood a future date will be set for a preliminary hearing to take place."

An attorney believed to be representing Fogelson did not return a call for comment.

Fogelson, Warren County's 2015 Superintendent of the Year, lived in Blairstown Township while he was superintendent.

He got his start in education in Nova Scotia, teaching music to students from kindergarten through 12th grade for 13 years. He also was an administrator at Catasauqua High School and Delaware Valley Regional High School before going North Warren in 2008.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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The 25-year-old was visiting in Hunterdon County and went out for a ride, police say.

A Middletown, New Jersey, man died early Thursday afternoon after his motorcycle crashed into another vehicle on Route 639 in Pohatcong Township, police said.

James Padden, 25, was visiting family in Hunterdon County when he went out for a ride on his Kawasaki ZX1, township police Chief Jeffrey Greenmeir said.

About noon, the motorcycle crossed from Holland Township into Warren County, Greenmeir said. It was going at a "high rate of speed" and navigating a slight curve when a vehicle pulled out from Silver Hill Road and they crashed, Greenmeir said.

Padden, who was wearing a helmet, died at the scene, Greenmeir said.

Notification of family was delayed into the evening because they weren't at their Monmouth County home, Greenmeir said. Eventually, family reported Padden missing because he never returned from the motorcycle ride, Greenmeir said. 

No citations have been issued and the investigation is continuing, Greenmeir said.

In addition to township police, the Huntington Volunteer Fire Co., Phillipsburg Emergency Squad and the Warren County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team assisted at the scene, Greenmeir said.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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A man was looking into sheds near Mount Joy Road in Pohatcong Township, police say.

A man was seen Wednesday night looking into sheds in a backyard in the Mount Joy Road area of Pohatcong Township, police report on their Facebook page.

A woman nearby in a dark SUV told the 911 caller that she was there to pick up a friend, police said.

The man who was looking into the sheds soon got into the SUV and they drove off, police said.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/phillipsburg/index.ssf/2015/11/nj_motorcycle_rider_dies_in_po.html#incart_river_home

The incident is being "actively" investigated, police said. They ask residents to make sure their sheds are secure and their motion-sensor lights properly operating.

If a resident notices anything missing from their shed, they should immediately call police, the posting said.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

 

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FirstEnergy Foundation presents $600 to Washington for its holiday celebration

Stan Prater of JCP&L, on behalf of FirstEnergy Foundation, presents a $600 check to John Monteverde, executive director of the Washington Business Improvement District.

The gold sponsor grant helps support Downtown Washington's Hometown Holiday Celebration Dec. 5.

Along with the Phillipsburg Rotary Club, members of the Stewartsville Middle School Interact Club held a successful food drive outside ShopRite of Greenwich Township.

The Phillipsburg Rotary and the Stewartsville Middle School Interact Club collected food for NORWESCAP at Shop Rite in Greenwich Township Nov. 21.

Members of the Hackettstown-Mansfield Policeman's Benevolent Association help make Thankgiving brighter for locals.

The Hackettstown-Mansfield Policeman's Benevolent Association Local 369 purchased Thanksgiving dinners from the River Star Diner, in Hackettstown, on Thanksgiving Day and delivered meals to local people in need.

MORE: River Star Diner serving up classics, new favorites in Hackettstown

PBA members involved include Darren Tynan, Jim Hikade, Mike Camerata, Andy Sillett, Ed Blas, Jim Macaulay, Glen Brotzman, Thomas Smith, Brian Ficarra, Chris Laver, Jim Murtha, Mike Citarelli, Aaron Perkins, Mark Engelau. The members were helped by River Star Diner Manager Halio Bayram.

Mansfield is one of only 48 towns in the state to earn certification in 2015.

Sustainable Jersey representatives announced that Mansfield Township met the rigorous requirements to achieve Sustainable Jersey certification.

Mansfield Township is one of 48 towns that have attained certification in 2015 and was honored at the Sustainable Jersey awards luncheon in Atlantic City recently.

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Clik here to view.Rain barrel programs, hosted by the Green Team, were just some of the events the township sponsored en route to its Sustainable Jersey certification.Photo Courtesy Mansfield Township Green Team

To become Sustainable Jersey certified, Mansfield Township submitted documentation to show it had completed a balance of the required sustainability actions, acquiring 215 action points. In addition to reaching a minimum of 150 points, each certified community had to create a green team and select at least two out of 11 priority action options.

Mansfield Township recertification includes five priority action items including:

• Inventory & upgrade all buildings


• Municipal carbon footprint


• Sustainable land use pledge


• Natural resource inventory


• Prescription drug safety and disposal.

Certified towns excel in areas such as improving energy efficiency and health and wellness, reducing waste, sustaining local economies, protecting natural resources and advancing the arts.

"Collectively the 430 participating Sustainable Jersey towns are a powerful force in New Jersey," said Donna Drewes, co-director of Sustainable Jersey.

Email KJ at kjfrantz@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow lehighvalleylive.com on Twitter at @lehighvalley. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

Thieves struck a Warren County neighborhood early Friday and made off with one of Snow White's seven dwarfs, the property owner said.

Dan Perez gets a kick out of decorating for the holidays.

It's a three-day project that starts the day before Thanksgiving and is capped on what his family calls "Bright Friday," when the display outside his Lopatcong Township home is lit.

But Perez's Christmas spirit was spoiled this year almost before it began.

On Friday, he discovered that someone overnight had stolen one of the animatronic figures that were among a "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" scene in his front yard along Foxwood Lane.

He estimated the value of the motorized plaster and wood figure -- it was the character "Happy" -- at $1,500.

Perez believes the piece was made in the 1960s. It was given to him by his father, who used it in a neighborhood Christmas display that was the attraction of Carteret, N.J., until his dad's display was struck by thieves and he gave up decorating.

Now the same fate has fallen to Dan Perez.

Tree-lightings, other holiday events in the Lehigh Valley

Because of the pilferage, he said, this likely will be the last year he sets up his property with the Christmas display, which brings folks from all over.

"I wouldn't say I'm angry," said Perez, a father of three who works for a creative design firm in New York City. "Probably more disappointed is the way to describe it. It's kids who you do it for."

Perez said he's had other incidents during the holiday season in the 14 years he's lived in Lopatcong, but never a theft.

Last year, an intruder entered the yard and knocked over an 8-feet-tall nutcracker. The blow cracked the Fiberglas figure but didn't destroy the mechanics. A few years before that, a helicopter on the lawn was tipped, breaking off a propeller, he said.

"Every year something happens," he said. "It's usually kids trying to play pranks, I think."

This year's incursion was particularly upsetting, he said, because his 12-year-old son Daniel for the first time joined in setting up the displays.

Plus, Perez said, it's not like he can replace the figures with a trip to the store and a few bucks.

The rare dwarfs are about 3-feet-tall, weigh about 30 to 50 pounds each and probably were on display in a Disney store or property years ago, he said. His father bought them from a private seller more than 20 years ago. Motors turn the heads and arms of the figures.

Perez reported the theft to township police Friday morning.

A father of three, he said one of his daughters heard something overnight about 1 a.m. or so, but when he looked outside he didn't see anything. He guessed that one of the decorations might have fallen, he said.

Unless he gets "Happy" back, this is probably the last year Perez will take the time to put up all the display.

He said he's grateful he got to spend time this year doing it with his son, but was soured by the turn of events.

So was the boy.

"His thought was let's put everything away right now," Perez said. "I'm just trying to keep it alive for this one more year."

Anyone with information about the theft can call Lopatcong Township police at 908-859-2211.

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.

Someone returned the motorized figure to the house where it was stolen in Lopatcong Township earlier in the day.

The story of the missing dwarf has a Happy ending.

A plaster figure that was part of a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Christmas display was returned Friday night -- nearly a day after it had gone missing from a Warren County home.

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Clik here to view.The dwarf figure "Happy" was returned Friday night to the Lopatcong Township home where it had been taken earlier in the day. Homeowner Dan Perez took this picture of the figure back in its spot in his Christmas display. (Courtesy photo) 

Dan Perez said his 11-year-old daughter noticed the dwarf, Happy, around 8:30 p.m., roughly 12 hours after he reported it stolen to the Lopatcong Township Police Department.

"My daughter was looking out the window and all of a sudden she sees a dwarf facing our house," said Perez, whose display on Foxwood Lane has drawn sightseers for 14 years.

Perez said there was no note or signs of who took the dwarf, or how it was returned. The family saw or heard nothing, he said.

The mystery person who returned it placed it in its old spot. But instead of facing the street like Snow White and the other dwarfs, Happy was facing the house.

The surprise return of the rare figure -- Perez had put its value at $1,500 and estimated it was made in the 1960s -- reinforced his belief that the disappearance was the work of a prank-minded young person and not someone looking to make a buck.

Don't be Bashful, help find Dopey thief who stole Happy

He credited lehighvalleylive.com with getting the word out on the theft.

"I'm pretty sure it had to do with the story," he said of the motorized dwarf's return. "It's a small town. Word spreads and it got around fairly quickly. Maybe a parent spoke to the kid, I don't know.

"It came back and it's not damaged. I was pretty happy with that."

Earlier in the day, Perez's disappointment was obvious. While he had been victimized in prior years by vandals who damaged his lawn displays, he said, this was the first time something was stolen.

As a result, he had said, this would be the last year he decorated to an extreme. He felt differently, however, after getting the smiling, 3-foot-tall figure back and facing it with the rest of its crew.

"If we didn't get the dwarf back, it definitely would be (the last)," he said. "Since no harm was really done other than taking it away and bringing it back, we'll probably keep doing it. It all worked out.

"There truly was a Grinch whose heart got bigger."

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.

Northampton, Hunterdon and Warren county authorities say they are looking for three individuals.

Northampton County authorities seek Erin Thomas - fugitive of the week

Hunterdon County authorities seek Sunny Rizco - fugitive of the week

Warren County authorities seek Dejon Wallace - fugitive of the week

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History was made as the Peace Candle was lit on a Saturday night -- and for the 2nd time this season. Watch video

As a child, Amanda Williams was in awe of the towering Peace Candle and the power to light it.

On Saturday night, she had that power.

With about 600 people crowded in Centre Square, Williams and her family flipped the switch that illuminated the 106-feet-tall candle in Downtown Easton in the city's traditional welcoming of the holiday season.

"It's always been in me, this love for Easton," said Williams, who grew up in Williams Township and was accompanied Saturday night by husband Bryce Williams and children Ambry, 7, Bryson, 6, and Corwin, 3.

"My mom and I would come to the Peace Candle lighting every year," she said. "I always thought it would be awesome to be able to light it."

The Williams family -- they've lived in the West Ward for the past 12 years -- earned the right to light the candle by being high bidders in an online contest. It cost them $306.

Amanda Williams said she didn't find out she had won the honor until Wednesday.

"And then we had the conversation about doing it," laughed Bryce Williams.

History was made as the lighting, traditionally held on the day after Thanksgiving, was held on a Saturday night.

The move was made to make the lighting an all-day event, to coincide with Small Business Saturday and to be able to hold the ceremony earlier in the evening, said Kim Kmetz, the Main Street Initiative manager.

Tree-lightings and holiday events in the Lehigh Valley

Merchants offered special deals throughout the day and street performers, bands and ice carvers entertained around the square.

"We wanted to spread things out so people could enjoy the whole Downtown, not just Centre Square," Kmetz said.

When plans were announced last spring to change the lighting day, traditionalists assailed them. Kmetz said most folks came around to the idea, which gave folks breathing room between Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Afternoon rain may have kept some people away, but overall the switch was a success, she said.

"It's a city but it's also a community," Kmetz said. "We understood that it was a tradition, but putting this all together in one day now makes a lot of sense for us and the community."

Saturday night's lighting contained another bit of history in that it actually wasn't the first time the candle was brightened this fall. The candle burned for two nights earlier this month after the terrorist attacks in Paris as a symbol of support for peace and the French.

During the lighting ceremony, the city bestowed its annual Gretchen Wrenshall Community Service Award. Winners were Tommy Urglavitch, general manager of Drinky's Pub, and Stephen Flowers, owner of Suddenly Samantha salon.

Mayor Sal Panto Jr. hailed both businessmen as civic-minded, behind-the-scenes supporters of Easton's revitalization.

"It takes all of us to make change and it's showing that we can do it," Flowers said.

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.

Frank D'Agostino wasn't sure what lay ahead when he walked into Easton Hospital for the first time in 1959. Now almost 57 years later, D'Agostino is the unofficial dean of the medical staff -- a doctor whose affiliation with the...

Frank D'Agostino wasn't sure what lay ahead when he walked into Easton Hospital for the first time in 1959.

Now almost 57 years later, D'Agostino is the unofficial dean of the medical staff -- a doctor whose affiliation with the community hospital in Wilson Borough has spanned nearly half of its 125-year history.

"You learn a lot of things in on-the-job training," said D'Agostino, a gastroenterologist who started his own practice in 1966.

His passion for biology and medicine is as fervent at age 84 as it was when he joined Easton Hospital as an intern during the Eisenhower administration.

Doctors and other staffers discovered that during two recent lectures, "Looking Forward, Looking Back: 125 Years of Care at Easton Hospital," set up to celebrate the hospital's 125th anniversary.

MORE: Easton Hospital breaks ground on cardiac lab

D'Agostino earned $200 a month, with room and board and "all the sandwiches you could eat," when he started as an intern after earning his medical degree from the University of Bologna in Italy in 1959.

Back then, general practitioners made house calls, performed autopsies, delivered babies and ran urine and blood samples to the lab themselves. Most patients didn't have health insurance.

After serving as a captain in the U.S. Force from 1960 to 1962, D'Agostino returned to Easton. It was during his residency in 1965 that he was asked to launch a gastrointestinal clinic that would form the foundation for his life's work.

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Clik here to view.Dr. Frank D'Agostino in 1960 at Easton Hospital. He joined the hospital in 1959 after graduating medical school. (Courtesy photo) In 1965, D'Agostino became the first doctor in the Lehigh Valley and one of only a few in the East to perform endoscopies. The nonsurgical procedure allowed doctors to use a flexible tube to examine a patient's digestive tract, bringing a new dimension to gastroenterology and acclaim to Easton Hospital.

"It must have been like it was when X-rays were started in 1895," he said.

Endoscopy allowed D'Agostino to see ulcers, inflammation, bleeding, tumors or foreign bodies. Doctors from all over came to learn of the procedure, he said.

When an unruly prisoner with a bad stomach bit on his scope, D'Agostino had to suspend the procedures for two weeks until the damaged instrument was fixed.

"It took awhile for people in Allentown and Bethlehem to know that we were doing it," he said. "The other hospitals weren't even aware of it. The instruments were quite crude. Nobody was bragging. We weren't really talking about it. We were just doing it."

D'Agostino grew up in Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. He knew nothing of Easton before he stepped foot here as a 28-year-old.

"Pennsylvania was as far away as California for me," he said. "All I knew about Pennsylvania was coal miners."

D'Agostino ran a successful practice out of his Palmer Township home and grew into one of the Lehigh Valley medical community's most respected figures.

He resisted offers to move elsewhere and enjoyed practicing in a small-town setting.

"The guys who work at Easton Hospital or Warren Hospital go to the same universities that everybody else goes to," he said. "Just because it's a bigger hospital doesn't mean they're that much greater."

Mostly, he says, he stuck around because he liked the people.

"I was treated like a prince and I've been treated royally ever since," he said. "They treated me so well here."

D'Agostino met his wife, Joanne, when she was in the hospital's School of Nursing. A nutritionist, she would go on to head Easton's medical and surgical nursing teams. The couple have been married 54 years.

D'Agostino retired 12 years ago at age 72 but didn't hang up his zeal for learning. He's a regular at Easton Area Public Library and at Easton Hospital, where he still does research. The hospital library bears his name.

He also teaches Italian there. Classes are open to the public at $65 for 15 lessons, with the money donated to the Easton Area Community Center.

In his lecture with doctors earlier this month, D'Agostino mixed six decades' worth of anecdotes with a glimpse into the challenges physicians face in the next generation.

He noted that today's prevalence of autism, juvenile diabetes, childhood asthma and allergies has coincided with the expansion of antibiotics and rise in births by Cesarean section.

Bacteria that help the immune system are being destroyed by antibiotics or bypassed by fewer and fewer natural childbirths, he said.

"Are these antibiotics killing us?" he asked. "We've been inundated with one stronger than the next. We're killing ourselves.

"Bacteria probably have a lot to do with the way we behave. I'm trying to tell you that antibiotics aren't good for us. We're sidestepping evolution.

"Bacteria have been around for 3 billion years. We've only been around for 2 million years. These bacteria know what they're doing."

D'Agostino said he's fascinated by recent studies that have shown success in using stool transplants to treat colitis and even neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.

It involves taking fecal bacteria from a healthy person and putting it into a sick patient.

"I'm doing GI all this time and all of a sudden we find that you take stool and put it in a sick person, and they're cured?" D'Agostino says incredulously. "What the hell have we been doing all these years?"

It's illustrative of the constant change in medicine -- something that he said keeps him active, curious and excited for what might be next.

"In high school I won the award in biology," D'Agostino said.
"It just led me directly into medicine. You get into the study of the sciences and you just keep moving. One subject leads to another and it just gets more and more interesting.

"I'm more interested in what's happening now than when I was a student. It's incredible."

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.

Loretta Brickman, of Warren County, and Harold Bobrow are adjunct professors at the Temple University School of Pharmacy.

Two New Jersey pharmacists played leading roles in a new Pennsylvania law that expands access to flu vaccines for children and military families.

Loretta Brickman and Harold Bobrow are adjunct professors at the Temple University School of Pharmacy in Philadelphia. Brickman lives in Lopatcong Township.

The law, Act 8 of 2015, permits pharmacists or licensed pharmacy interns under the direct supervision of pharmacists to administer flu vaccines to children ages 9 and older, with parental permission.

Previously, pharmacists couldn't immunize anyone under 18.

The law was sponsored by Pennsylvania Rep. Seth Grove, a York-area Republican, but it was shepherded and advocated for by Brickman, Bobrow and students in their classes over more than two years.

They teach a two-credit course, Practical Politics and Pharmacy, that they designed to dispense the practical experience they gained over decades as neighborhood pharmacists.

"We advocate for issues that benefit the patient," said Brickman, who has lived in Warren County for more than 40 years and previously ran a drugstore with her husband, Stephen Brickman, in Whitehouse Station.

"We want to show our students that any one pharmacist can make a difference. It's better if you have a consensus, and the class teaches students how to do that, but even if you don't we can show that one person can make a difference."

Besides advising Grove, the class' work involved writing letters, lobbying lawmakers and professional associations, and testifying at committee hearings.

The change was initially opposed by physician and pediatrician groups because of doctors' concerns that children who weren't coming in for vaccinations would suffer with fewer wellness visits, Brickman said.

Through compromise, major issues were ironed out and her students got a first-hand look into the process, she said.

Brickman, a past president of the New Jersey Pharmacists' Association. has known her colleague Bobrow since he ran a pharmacy in Maplewood, N.J., in the 1980s.

Their experiences form the foundation of the class, which carries up to 20 students per semester and -- thanks to a grant from the Community Pharmacy Foundation -- is taught at 30 schools of pharmacy nationwide.

"We want to teach them how important they are for advocating for their patients," Brickman said of students. "They are on the front lines every day when they fill prescriptions.

"They see issues that need to be addressed and can affect the patients' quality of life and health care outcomes. We show them how they can do that -- how to build coalitions, but also show them that they themselves can start it."

Potency of 2014-15 flu vaccine comes under fire

They've been teaching the course at Temple for 12 years. Brickman credited Peter Doukas, dean of Temple's School of Pharmacy, with allowing her and Bobrow an outlet for their experiences gained from behind the druggist's counter.

"He took a chance on us, because we're not academicians," said Brickman, a Temple alum. "We're working pharmacists. He felt that we were better suited for this than anyone else and he gave us that opportunity. We owe a lot to him."

Gov. Tom Wolf signed the new law in June. In addition to allowing certified pharmacists to immunize younger children, it also provides a benefit to military families that they didn't have before.

TRICARE, the military's health care plan, doesn't require co-payments for immunizations administered by pharmacists, so the law means all military personnel can now access free flu shots for their kids.

Brickman said the need for pharmacists to be trained and permitted to use their training is greater than ever.

"The more professionals who can immunize, the better off the people of this country will be," she said. "We're talking about trying times with terrorism and vaccinations. You need as many pharmacists as you can possibly get qualified ahead of time to be able to do whatever is necessary.

"In the event of chemical or biological issues, our pharmacists will be ready for that. No matter what happens, there is no way your physicians and hospitals and nurses will be able to do what needs to be done by themselves."

Students are involved in identifying causes that the classes can take up, she said.

A potential next step: Working on designating pharmacists as health care providers under the Medicare Act to help patients with medication therapy management and gain recognition as such from insurance companies.

"We look for getting everyone on the same page to prove that these are the right things to do," Brickman said. "We as pharmacists want to be able to do more -- things that we're capable of but not allowed to do now under the law."

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.

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A 19-year-old Upper Nazareth Township man had marijuana and cocaine inside his vehicle following a car stop along Route 22 West in Lopatcong Township, according to police.

An Upper Nazareth Township teenager is facing drug charges after police said he swerved in and out of lanes several times along Route 22 while in possession of cocaine.

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Yaman M. Hassan, 19, of the 300 block of West St. Elmo Street, shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday was reported by another motorist swerving along Route 22 West in Loptacong Township.

Police stopped Hassan near the Eagle Gas Station and said they immediately detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Police searched the vehicle and allegedly found a plastic bag containing marijuana and another bag containing cocaine.

Hassan was arrested and charged with possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana and possession of a controlled dangerous substance. He also was cited for failure to maintain lanes and possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle.

Hassan was taken to Warren County Jail in lieu of 10 percent of $5,000 bail.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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There were no serious injuries reported Sunday afternoon following a two-vehicle wreck along Route 57 in Washington Borough.

No one was seriously injured following a two-vehicle collision Sunday afternoon along Route 57 in Washington Borough, police say.

The crash occurred when a man driving a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was traveling west at 1:22 p.m. along Route 57 and struck a Hyundai, also being driven by a male, Washington Township police say.

Police did not immediately have the identities of the two men involved in the crash. The crash resulted in one of the drivers not properly yielding, according to police.

Both men had minor injuries and were treated at the scene by the Washington Rescue Squad. 

Aside from Washington Township police and the rescue squad, the Washington Fire Department and paramedics from Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township also responded.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

The ex-'Saturday Night Live' star will reprise his impersonation of Ol' Blue Eyes in the Lehigh Valley on what would have been the entertainer's 100th birthday.

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Clik here to view.Joe Piscopo, who lives in Hunterdon County, starred on "Saturday Night Live" from 1980 to 1984. (Courtesy photo) 

Joe Piscopo's impersonation of Frank Sinatra was a hit on "Saturday Night Live" in the 1980s.

On Saturday, Dec. 12, Piscopo will reprise his impression in a show at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center, held on Sinatra's 100th birthday.

Piscopo, who lives not far away in Hunterdon County, will mix comedy and music with a 17-piece orchestra in a Vegas-style show that he's still assembling.

"The question is this," Piscopo says during a recent interview. "Do I put the Sinatra wig on and come out? Do I come out and do him for 20 minutes or so? That makes me laugh. Where are the broads? Walking out and just having fun and celebrating the legacy that he so deserves. I can't decide."

Hard to believe, but it's been more than 30 years since Piscopo delighted audiences with his impression of Ol' Blue Eyes.

He joined "Saturday Night Live" in 1980 with the tall order of replacing cast titans such as Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. A season of bad reviews followed.

"You couldn't match the satirical wit of the original "Saturday Night Live,'" said Piscopo, 64. "It was as brilliant as it got.

"You couldn't replace it and you knew you couldn't replace it. I was right about that for the first 10 shows," he said.

"But then we got on our feet and once it went, we were off. Now it's a badge of honor. Once you're on the show, you're always working."

Piscopo -- he along with Eddie Murphy were the show's top talents in the early 1980s -- left SNL in 1984. He portrayed an array of recurring characters, including Doug (with Wendy) Whiner, gay hairstylist Blaire and Sinatra.

His Sinatra impersonation actually had its roots in a lounge singer bit he did as a young comic at the Improv in New York. He adapted that into a Sinatra impression for his SNL audition.

Tony Bennett books Bethlehem show for April

Once he joined the cast, producers persuaded him to do Sinatra in a sketch, but that wasn't without apprehension.

"Frank Sinatra was my father's hero," said Piscopo, who grew up in Bloomfield, N.J. "He was the epitome of Italian-Americans, going through prejudice and his career. His is a great story and it's a great story of anybody with any ethnicity in the U.S. I wasn't about to poke fun of him like we were doing with the politicians.

"Finally, I decided I'll do it and do it my way, so to speak, and with respect," he said.

Piscopo said he wrote the sketches and oversaw them -- all with the goal of respectfully jabbing one of America's greatest entertainers.

Sinatra loved it.

"He called me the Vice Chairman of the Board," said Piscopo, whose late father was an attorney. "He knew my father was a big fan. To this day, it's always with much respect and affection that we do a tribute to the Old Man."

'Little bit of everything'

Folks who catch the Dec. 12 show in Bethlehem can expect variety.

"It's a little bit of everything, like a retro Vegas-type of show," Piscopo said. "When people come out, we want to do something special."

Sinatra was born Dec. 12, 1915, in Hoboken, N.J., and died May 14, 1998, at age 82.

"I pay respect to the great music," Piscopo said. "You can never equal what the Old Man was. You channel it through with respect to him and to his family. He was probably the greatest entertainer of all time.

"He was always so nice to me -- just a very special person and I was so nervous when I first met him. I talk about it all in the show."

Besides impersonating Sinatra, Piscopo will share stories about being on the SNL set and show video clips from his time on the show.

"It's going to be a big celebration," he said. "I love doing it.
I like people as they leave to say 'Wow, I got my money's worth.' It's the old-school type of show -- old show business mentality of blood, sweat and tears on the stage."

Life in Jersey

Piscopo appeared in a number of movies but never achieved the commercial success of some other SNL players. That's OK with him, he says.

He does a live show most weekends and is in demand for corporate gigs. He's on the radio every weekday, too. His "Piscopo in the Morning" runs from 6 to 9 a.m. on AM 970 The Answer in New York City.

Piscopo has lived the past 20 years in the Clinton area.

"I never left Jersey. It's something that's in your blood, I guess," he said.

"Where I am now, it's just the open space and all. I love it, except I have to walk my garbage to the end of the driveway. The schools are good, the kids are good and the dog can run.

"The people are so nice, too. You could be in Idaho and you wouldn't even know. And I'm the guy that wrote the joke: New Jersey. What exit?

"I just fell in love with the lifestyle and the community."

He used to take his kids to the Phillipsburg Mall and knows Easton and Larry Holmes. But his performance at the Sands will be his first visit to Bethlehem since pieces of the old Bethlehem Steel plant were transformed into a casino and arts center.

"I've been meaning to go but just haven't had opportunity," he said. "Everybody is asking 'What are you going to do for Sinatra's 100th birthday?'

"The Sands has been great and so hospitable. And it's close to home. It's going to be a great celebration."

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IF YOU GO

When: 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12.

Where: Sands Bethlehem Event Center

How: Tickets are $35, $45 and $55. They can be purchased at sandseventcenter.com, the event center box office, Tickemaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000.

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.

Pohatcong Township police found the stolen red truck in a parkside area of the township on Nov. 24.

Pohatcong Township police are searching for a thief who drove off with a stolen vehicle.

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Police found the stolen red truck in a parkside area of the township on Nov. 24. The vehicle, which was stolen out of Bethlehem, was backed into a cut-out in the woods between Foch Boulevard and Haig Boulevard, police said.

Police took to the department's Facebook page in hopes of finding the thief.

Investigators are asking anyone living in the Foch Boulevard area who might have seen the vehicle operator to call Pohatcong Township police at 908-454-9836.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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Wyckoff's Christmas Tree Farm in Warren County has been recognized statewide and by the White House.

New Jersey ushered in the Christmas tree season at a Warren County farm on Monday.

State Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher visited Wyckoff's Christmas Tree Farm off Route 519 in White Township and ceremoniously kicked off the "choose-and-cut" season.

Just outside of Belvidere, Wyckoff's won the 2015 New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers Association's annual tree contest with a Fraser fir. The ceremony traditionally is held at the grand champion farm.

The Wyckoffs have won the honor several times, and in 2013 became New Jersey's first tree farm to be named a national champion. They delivered several trees to the White House that year.

Wyckoffs present Christmas trees to first family

The 172-acre farm has more than 5,000 Christmas trees this season and has been owned by the Wyckoff family since 1839.

Fisher helped cut down a tree Monday which will be donated to the Christmas Trees for New Jersey Military Families campaign. Organized by Christmas tree growers, the state Department of Agriculture and the New Jersey Agricultural Society, the campaign aims to donate 100 trees that will be presented to New Jersey National Guard members Dec. 14 in Bordentown, N.J.

The Wyckoffs also host a Trees for Troops trailer drop, which will be held this coming Saturday and Sunday. It enables folks to donate trees to military families nationwide.

The Department of Agriculture says nearly 69,000 trees are cut in New Jersey each year. In 2012, New Jersey ranked seventh in the nation in the number of Christmas tree growers, with 809 farms growing more than 4,600 acres of evergreens.

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.

Warren County will expand its existing program with the funds, the prosecutor said.

With help from the state, Warren County plans to expand its program to help non-violent, mentally disabled criminals avoid prison.

Grants awarding $150,000 over two years were awarded to Warren, Hunterdon and Gloucester county prosecutors, according to an announcement Tuesday from the state Attorney General's Office.

The funds are meant to help counties enact programs similar to New Jersey's drug court -- which provides mandatory treatment for drug-addicted offenders who commit non-violent crimes. Warren and Hunterdon introduced drug courts in 2004.

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Clik here to view.With a state grant, Warren County will expand an existing program that helps criminals with mental disabilities receive treatment over jail time, according to the prosecutor. (NJ Advance Media file photo)

"No life is disposable, and when a criminal defendant's problems appear to be caused or aggravated by a mental health disability, there is both a moral and a practical imperative for us to try to reclaim that life by offering necessary treatment and counseling," acting Attorney General Hoffman said in a news release. "Providing these services to low-level criminal defendants with a diagnosed mental disorder is not only a cost-effective alternative to prison, but research consistently shows it reduces recidivism."

Defendants will be screened for eligibility, with consideration given to their prior record and the nature and severity of the crime, the release said.

The attorney general's office cites studies as showing roughly one quarter of inmates with a mental health disability have previously been incarcerated three or more times and about three quarters have a co-occurring substance use disorder.

Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke said the $150,000 grant will enhance programs already in place.

Program aims to help mentally ill suspects in Warren County

"Although Warren County had instituted a mental health program several years ago, the funds will allow us to better serve a greater number of individuals, particularly mentally challenged individuals at our correctional center," he said in the news release.

The grants are funded by penalties imposed on drug offenders through the State's Drug Enforcement and Demand Reduction Fund, the attorney general said. Each county is to provide a total of $50,000 in monetary and in-kind contributions.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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With a growing number of people with untreated mental illness lodged in jail, prosecutors in Gloucester, Hunterdon and Warren Counties will each receive $150,000 to divert inmates who belong in psychiatric care, acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced Tuesday.

TRENTON -- With a growing number of people with untreated mental illness lodged in jail, prosecutors in Gloucester, Hunterdon and Warren Counties will each receive $150,000 to divert inmates who belong in psychiatric care, acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced Tuesday.

The funds, spread over a two-year period, will be used to contract with private professionals who will screen, treat and provide case management to offenders diverted from jails, Hoffman said. The case managers will monitor and report back to judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys whether the person is adhering to treatment the treatment plan.

"No life is disposable, and when a criminal defendant's problems appear to be caused or aggravated by a mental health disability, there is both a moral and a practical imperative for us to try to reclaim that life by offering necessary treatment and counseling," Hoffman said.  "Providing these services to low-level criminal defendants with a diagnosed mental disorder is not only a cost-effective alternative to prison, but research consistently shows it reduces recidivism."

RELATED: Essex County program urges treatment, not jail, for defendants with mental health disabilities

There are far more people with severe mental illness in jails than in hospitals, according to the Treatment Advocacy Network, a national organization. In 2012, there were estimated to be 356,000 inmates with severe mental illness in prisons and jails -- 10 times the estimated 35,000 patients in state psychiatric hospitals, according to the network's data.

"Prisons and jails have become America's 'new asylums,' " according to the network 2014 report. 

"Although they are neither equipped nor trained to do so, they are required to house hundreds of thousands of seriously mentally ill inmates. In many cases, they are unable to provide them with psychiatric medications. The use of other options, such as solitary confinement or restraining devices, is sometimes necessary and may produce a worsening of symptoms. Yet, when things go wrong, as they inevitably do, the prison and jail officials are blamed,'' according to the report. 

Phillip Lubitz, associate director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New Jersey, praised the program, as well as the counties Hoffman selected.

"These are low level, non violent offenders who because of their mental illness often get arrested because of nuisance offenses," Lubitz said.

"The prosecutors in all three of the selected counties have been highly proactive in this area. Today's grant will hopefully build momentum to make similar  programs available throughout the state," Lubitz added.  

Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton said the grant "will allow us to expand our mental health program and provide additional treatment opportunities instead of incarceration for this segment of our population."

Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns III said he has seen the drug court program provide "a very successful tool for drug offenders to change their behavior and put their lives back on track. I'm confident we will find the same success with the mental health diversionary program."

The money comes from the State's Drug Enforcement and Demand Reduction Fund, supported by fees imposed on convicted drug offenders. Each county will also contribute $50,000 in monetary and in-kind contributions, according to Hoffman's announcement.

The program began in 2014, when the Attorney General's Office gave Essex and Ocean counties $150,000 to create the mental health diversion programs, Hoffman said.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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