The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the proposal for the Pohatcong Valley Groundwater Contamination site.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to reduce contamination at a primary source of a 9,800-acre plume of groundwater contamination in Warren County.

The new deep-soil vapor extraction system proposed at the Pohatcong Valley Groundwater Contamination Superfund site aims to reduce levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) in the area of the former American National Can facility in Washington Township, the primary source of this contaminant on the site.

Groundwater and soil in the Superfund site comprising parts of Washington and Franklin, Greenwich and Washington townships are contaminated with both TCE and perchloroethylene (PCE), both of which can have serious health impacts including liver damage and increased risk of cancer, according to the EPA.

EPA officials are accepting public comment through July 15 on the new multimillion-dollar proposal. A public meeting is scheduled to explain the plan at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, at the Washington Borough Municipal Building, 100 Belvidere Ave.

Superfund, also known as the National Priorities List, is a federal program designed to clean up the nation's worst-polluted properties. The EPA administers the program, and seeks private funding for remediation by parties deemed responsible for the pollution, rather than passing the cost onto taxpayers.

MORE: $95 million Pohatcong Valley Superfund settlement reached

"The EPA plan advances the cleanup and will help protect people's health," EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck said in a news release about the new proposal. "The area beneath the former American National Can facility is a continuing source of chemical contamination that will be addressed in this part of the cleanup."

The EPA added the Pohatcong Valley site to the Superfund program in 1989, after TCE and PCE -- both considered volatile organic compounds -- were detected in the 1970s in two public water-supply wells, on Vannatta Street and Dale Avenue in Washington.

Site-cleanup efforts have already addressed a large area of groundwater contamination in Washington that is served by a public water supply. For this part of the site, the EPA finalized a 2006 plan to pump out the contaminated groundwater and treat it using a technology that strips out the pollutants by blowing air through the contaminated water to separate out the chemicals. The resulting clean water is pumped back into the ground.

This groundwater extraction, treatment and re-injection system has been built and has been operating at the site since March. The EPA is also using this pump-and-treat remedy for a portion of the groundwater that is primarily contaminated with PCE as well as relying on natural processes to further the cleanup at the site.

Another part of the site cleanup includes contaminated groundwater in Franklin and Greenwich townships. There is no public water supply currently available in most of this area, and drinking water wells that are impacted by contamination have received individual treatment systems to provide clean drinking water, according to the EPA. For this area, the agency says it is requiring the construction of water lines to provide potable water, and engineering design for this part of the project is ongoing.

MORE: Superfund site profiles in Lehigh Valley region

Investigators traced the source of the PCE contamination to the former Tung-Sol Tubing facility.

"TCE is by far the main groundwater contaminant" throughout the Superfund site, with the American National Can site pinpointed as "the primary source of that TCE," federal environmental officials say.

The facility has a long history of industrial use under prior owners and operators, and is currently owned and operated by Albea Americas Inc.

Under the new proposal:

"The EPA is proposing the continued use of an existing system that removes harmful chemicals from shallow soil beneath the industrial building at the site by extracting them in vapor form with a vacuum and then filtering the vapors through carbon filters to remove contaminants. For deeper areas of contamination, the EPA is proposing the installation of a similar system between 30 to 100 feet beneath the facility.

"Throughout the cleanup, sampling, monitoring and further studies will be conducted to ensure the effectiveness of the remedy. If necessary, the EPA proposes using a heating process in areas of the soil that are highly contaminated that moves harmful chemicals toward wells where the chemicals are collected and piped to the surface to be treated using other cleanup methods. Some chemicals are destroyed underground during this heating process."

Without the additional thermal treatment, the proposal would cost $7.8 million, require 2 1/2 years to build and take an estimated 10 years to achieve the EPA's remedial action objectives.

With the thermal treatment, the proposal would cost $12.7 million and take four years to build, with desired results still 10 years off.

By doing nothing, the soil contamination would remain "and would continue to serve as the source for groundwater contamination and for vapor intrusion. Human health would be at risk from vapor intrusion," the EPA says.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, applauded the EPA's proposal but said if it doesn't work, the agency "needs to be prepared to do a full clean-up."

"We are glad to see EPA taking action to remove hazardous chemicals from the American National Can facility," Tittel said in a statement. "TCE and PCE are a major problem in wells across the country."

WEIGH IN

Written comments may be mailed or emailed to:

Michelle Granger, Remedial Project Manager

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

290 Broadway

New York, NY 10007

212- 637-4975

granger.michelle@epa.gov

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROPOSAL

Having trouble viewing the following content? Visit epa.gov for more details on the plan.

Pohatcong Valley Groundwater Contamination Superfund site proposal

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

In the pre-internet days, a research project was way more involved than Googling a subject.

According to my kids, school is much harder now than it was when I was a student.

My son and daughter might say, "Yeah, we know, you walked five miles to school - uphill both ways; you had to get up an hour before you went to bed."

Don't even get me started on what we had to go through to get a smart phone ... (ba-dum-BUM)Courtesy of postrad.blogspot.com 

I can mute them, if only for a moment, with two words: the internet.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not proselytizing for a return to the (ahem) "Good ol' days of readin', writin' and 'rithmatic." I'm simply pointing out how they have more time for learning because it takes less time to gather information.

In the pre-internet days when a student was assigned a research project, the process was way more involved than Googling a subject. Here's how it worked in the 'good' old days:

Many families had encyclopedias, so research projects typically would include the words "According to the World Book Encyclopedia or Encyclopedia Britannica...." But teachers would not tolerate what amounted to the ancient version of copy-and-paste. Students were expected to visit the library, collect lots of sources and cite them.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

Students would find a spot in the library, spread out source books, take notes on index cards and make copies of important pages on the copy machine, which would cost a kid a dime a sheet. Oh, we also had to learn the Dewey Decimal System because libraries weren't like bookstores with huge signs hanging over the shelves.

Our papers often started with a handwritten draft, which would later be typed on a manual typewriter. For us, the electric typewriter and Whiteout were gifts from God.

These are just a few of the things that made learning a little more challenging in the pre-search engine days.

Here's a gallery featuring vintage photos of schoolchildren and their activities around New Jersey. Be sure captions are enabled for all the information about each photo. And if you'd like to see more, you can click this link and this one.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.

Fentanyl, which is 25 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, has become popular in New Jersey and is killing at an alarming rate.

Fentanyl, an opioid up to 50 times more powerful than heroin, is killing New Jersey residents at a skyrocketing rate, representing a deadly new wrinkle to the state's opioid crisis, data obtained by NJ Advance Media shows.

The ultra-potent drug, which was revealed to have killed Prince in April, has become increasingly common in the Garden State during the last few years. New data from the New Jersey Medical Examiner's Office shows that through the first six months of 2015, it killed people at eight times the monthly rate compared to 2013.

Through June 2015, the most recent data available, fentanyl killed 150 people, more than in all of 2014. And this after deaths tripled from 2013 to 2014 in New Jersey.

"Fentanyl is deadly," said Carl J. Kotowski, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Newark office. "With heroin, an addict can possibly survive an overdose. But with fentanyl there are often no do-overs or second chances. All you need is a very small amount and it can be fatal." 

Until recently, fentanyl was a prescription medication typically only given to the most severe chronic-pain victims, such as end stage cancer patients. But, according to the DEA, the drug is now shipped into the United States illegally from China or manufactured by Mexican drug cartels, who smuggle it across the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Inside Herointown, NJ's 4th biggest city

The drug adds a confounding wrinkle to law enforcement fighting the heroin epidemic in New Jersey, which has enslaved at least 128,000 and killed more than 700 in 2014. Data shows that the heroin monthly death rate also rose significantly in the first half of 2015, and is likely to rise again for the 6th straight year. 

Fentanyl is especially troubling for law enforcement for a number of reasons. 

Consider: 

• Its power -- between 25 and 50 times that of street-level heroin -- renders opioid reversal drugs such as Narcan much less effective, increasing the likelihood that an overdose will lead to a death.
• It is often used as a lacing agent in heroin, making it both harder to track, and in many cases, more deadly to opioid users who purchase it unknowingly.
• It can be ingested, smoked, snorted or absorbed through the skin, allowing it to be distributed in multiple forms like pills and powder.
• Its potency allows it to be trafficked in much smaller amounts, making smuggling from Mexico or overseas easier for potential sellers.

"It's a tough situation," Kotowski said. "A lot of times when we go into cases and make seizures, we don't know what we're getting. We think it's heroin and then the lab results come back and it turns out its fentanyl."

Atlantic County Investigator Dan Kallen and Detective Eric Price were confronted by fentanyl's potency firsthand during a recent investigation.

In a video produced by the DEA, Kallen said he was in the process of sealing a bag of fentanyl following a narcotics investigation when a small puff of powder blew into his face, as well as Price's.

Almost immediately, both officers said it felt like their bodies began to shut down.

"People around me said I looked really white. I lost color," Price said. "It really just felt like ... I thought that was it. I thought I was dying. That's what my body felt like."

Kallen said he was taken aback by how little it took for both of them to be incapacitated by the drug.

"It wasn't like the whole bag had dumped out or anything like that," he said. "It was so quick and it was such a small amount."

Kotowski said fentanyl is unlike any drug he has dealt with in his career.

"I've been an agent for 32 years. I've never had a situation where you have to be that concerned that if you don't handle a particular drug properly as a law enforcement official that it can be fatal to you." 

Fentanyl Deaths By County

Click or tap on a county for more information.

The Bethlehem Township 2-year college releases its spring list.

The following Lehigh, Northampton and Warren county students have been named to the dean's list for the spring semester at Northampton Community College. 
 
Alburtis:
Stephanie Long, Jenna Werley
 
Allentown:
Geraldi Almonte, Maria Araya, Jaier Avecillas, Miabelys Baez, Nicholas Barker, Makeva Brodie, Dashay Brown, Ashley Byard, Rachel Cimera, Michelle Collado, John Daniello, Werdah Darr, Sadilyia Davis, Peter DeRosa, Tamara Dennie, Bria Dews, Elizabeth Dominguez, Audrey Engler, Ashley Fehnel, Zachary Feliciano, Alba Fernandez, Teague Fernandez, Brittany Fontoura, Brittany Frantz, Abby Fritzinger, Katie Hahn, Keri Hartz, Hadir Hassan, Anthony Heddlesten, Leslie Hernandez, Dylan Huber, Jessica Ionescu, Mikael Khallouf, Aaron King, Erik Klingborg, Ryan Legat, Hildred Lopez, Mallory Lundquist, Michael Madain, Miriam Mejia, Brandy Messex, Katherine Mora-Roman, Rachel Morgan, Megan Motroni, Glenn Nelson, Ngon Nguyen, Stephanie Noumeh, Mary Ochigbo, Luis Ochoa, Kathy Olivo, Sara Reichard, Lesley Reyes Cerda, Aubrey Righter, Melissa Rivera, Shjon Ruditis, Aldana Sanchez Arias, Rashion Santiago, Henrique Santos De Albuquerque, Natalie Schrantz, Laura Schuster, Brandon Shattah, Christopher Shosted, Sara Snyder, Zena Stoudt, Michelle Szyszkiewicz, Jeannette Travieso, Amanda Velez, Melissa Washington, April Werkheiser, Jolee Zandarski, Stephanie Zandarski
 
Bangor:
Kateland Ackerman, Madeleine Baio, Lana Black, Joshua Boisvert, Leo Boisvert, DaraSue Braun, Rebecca Buss, Andrew Caiazzo, Chelsea Carver, Stephanie Cauley, Stephanie Coelho, Kristal Coffey, Rita Curry, Katherine DeJonge, Bonnie Dimperio, Rebekka Ditzig, Nathan Dorshimer, Samantha Easterday, Stacy-Ann Ellington, Victoria Fleischer, Danielle Geake, Carolynn Helmlinger, Scott Jacoby, Megan Jung, Ashley Karinja, Emily Kempton, Antonios Kotretsos, Maria Kotretsos, Njomza Krasniqi, Arlinda Krasniqi, Dallas LaBar, Christina Lemon, Victoria-Lynn Lipyanic, Megan Lisk, Joseph Livezey, Amber Mabus, Matthew McCoy, Veronica Mendelsohn, Mikayla Mulea, Monica Murphy, Erika Ortiz, Tori Renna, Tiffany Rosario, Joshua Santiago, Olivia Smith, James Stecker, Tracy Stires, Pamela Stump, Akeasha Taynor, Janeth Valdivia, Laura VanHorn, Tori Verbin, Niklaus West, Meghan Williamson, Kristopher Wolter, Samantha ZeRuth
 
Bath:
Robin Angst, Alicia Balliet, Hannah Boyanoski, Molly Boyanoski, Tara Calixto, Shawn Campbell, Alexandra Corpora, Savannah Cressman, Ngoc-Yen DeBellis, Lori Deutsch, Adriana DiOdoardo, Paige Flanagan, Caitlin Gallagher, Patrick Garo, Erin Gilly, Matthew Golomb, Brooke Granitz, Laszlo Grietzer, Amber Heffelfinger, Murat Horuz, Paige Knouse, Meryem Koca, Nicole Kufrovich, Jennifer Kurman, Logan McCormick, Allezondra Metz, Jonelle Mills, Tan Nguyen, Jenna Padula-Schmoyer, Gabrielle Perruso, John Philapavage, Rebekah Raisner, Mark Read, Benjamin Reppert, Noreen Rodriguez, Leauna Schaner, Joshua Seeley, Renee Somishka, Wanda Sommer, Zachary Sommer, Jolene Stearns, Glenn Steiner, Eric Tanczos, Autumn VanHorn, Samantha Vincent, Gregory Walls, Keith Zechman
 
Bethlehem:
Brittany Abad, Wyatt Abrachinsky, Cody Abrachinsky, Adriel Adams, Noor Al-Rashid, Samantha Alexander, Filipe Amaral, Charles Ansanyi, Emily Anthony, Ryan Armbruster, Yolanda Aviles, Christine Babbino, Stephanie Ballard, Kaytlin Balliet, Elaina Barettino, Thomas Barndt, Eric Barnello, Jennifer Bastidas, Matthew Baynard, Robert Beach, Mikayla Bedics, Kaitlyn Berdini, Griselle Bermudez, Evelyn Berrios, Allison Beyer, Rachel Bianco, Hayleen Blandon, Matthew Boatner, Lindsey Bogert, Jordan Bold, Robert Bradford, Katie Briggs, Madeline Brinker, Lisa Brinker, Alyssa Brown, Cynthia Bruzgo, Robert Buller, Matthew Burrows, Louise Burton-Hammell, Bianca Butler, Derek Byrd, Amanda Cabrera, Matthew Callahan, Carina Canney, Jakeline Cano, Brieana Capetillo, Allyson Caprio, Molly Capuano, Allyson Carey, Nicholas Carrodo, Daniel Castro, Theresa Celestine, Kristen Cervenak, Jackson Chan, Samantha Chanitz, Christopher Cherewaty, Kristen Chiafulio, Leila Chiles, Jin Cho, Carsia Christian, Jacob Christman, Alyssa Ciardi, Matthew Clark, Christopher Clauser, Amy Clements, Megan Coleman, Marielis Colon, Lauren Colon, Daniel Comiskey, Ginna Corado, Gilary Correa Sanchez, Kimberly Crawford, Mark Crenshaw, Nicole Cruz, Katrina Cruz, Jane Daley, Tyler Dalla Piazza, Jennifer Dancho, Tara Danko, Elisabeth Danyi, Niya Darden, Colton DeBellis, Isabella DeJesus, Victoria DeJesus, Sydney DeLeon, Marjorie DeRose, Andrea Deibert, Jordan Delestre, V. Dennis, Lydia Dewire, Bastian Diaz, Miguel Diaz-Cumpa, Samuel Dickey, Aaron Dolgos, Siarra Domenech, Kristina Donchez, Mairead Donohue, Ronni Dresher, Nicole Ekanayake, Sara El Ghandour, Elizabeth Elm, Kristy Ernst, Stephen Espinosa, Jessica Esterly, Antonia Faber, Drew Fackenthall, Bree Fahringer, Elias Falconi, Brianna Fancera, Dominic Fattore, Felicia Faulkner, Sarah Faust, Trevor Faust, Tristan Felchock, Jessica Fenon, Tyler Fernandez, Heidy Fernandez, John Ferris, Naseem Figueroa, Jennifer Figueroa, Joel Figueroa, Gabrielle Fink, Amanda Fink, Ashley Finnigan, Denise Fisher, Courtney Floray, Shawn Forouraghi, Lauren Francavilla, Rufina Francisco, Kurnia Freeman, Jean Freyberger, Brian Fry, Tishwan Fulwood, Kevin Gallagher, Adrian Garcia, Jonathan Garcia, Luis Garcia, Andrew Gasper, Angy Gendy, Molly Gibbs, Katie Gibbs, Alysa Giedl, Yamaris Gonzalez-Rivera, Brandon Gordon, Kehi Gory, Chad Goss, Hannah Graser, Jennifer Gray, Keith Gray, Tanisha Green, Shaquana Green, Paige Griffin, Amber Hackett, April Haigler, Laura Halkias, Lauren Hammer, Amber Hanzarik, Kayla Harper, Geoffrey Hart, Jonathan Hart, Nicholas Hauer, Richard Hawk, Jessica Hayduk, Erin Hayes, Madeline Heenan, Tina Hemmerle, Branden Herman, Yarismell Hernandez Guzman, Miguel Hilarion, Brian Hill, Breanne Hill, Donata Hilton, Christine Hitzel, Mark Hlavinka, Huong Hoang, Leah Hodge, Lisa Hoffman, Joshua Holi, Valerie Hollowell, Avangeline Horn, Clare Horvath, Norma Houston, Tracy Huhn, Ryan Hutchison, Carissa Iacona, Peter Ibrahim, Denise Ignacio, Sarah Irvin, Michael Jacobson, Clarice James, Danielle Johnson, Holly Jones, Peter Juhasz, Ryan Kaboly, Sierra Kalamar, Christopher Kapcsos, Ravneet Kaur, Sweeta Khalily, Andrew Kiefer, Alex Kim, Chad Kleppinger, Matthew Kluska, Robert Koch, Breanna Korbobo, Jessica Kostik, Kelli Kovacs, David Krauss, Matthew Krouse, Edward Kuczynski, Sean Kunkel, Lidiette Latimer, Jonathon Laub, Jordan Laubach, Tyler Laubach, Matthew Lauer, Jenna Laughery, Amanda Leather, Nicole Leguillou, William Leitner, Jennifer Levernier, Alexandra Lindsay, Sydjea Linton, Alesia Lomenzo, Christopher Long, Christopher Long, Erica Longo, Tiffany Lopez, Kelvin Lopez, Mike Lopez, Casey Louiselle, Seth Lunger, Jillian Lydon, Brenton Lynn, Victoria MacRae, Michael Macnamara, Joshua Madera, Patricia Magill, Crystal Maldonado, Adrianna Mantz, Brian Martin, Ericka Martinez, Kendra Martinez, Jacob Maskornick, Robert Matos, Ana McCaw, Matthew McClarin, Shawn McClure, Hannah McMullan, Alejandro Mejia, Regina Mento, Kenan Meral, Rebecca Merkel, Toby Mertz, Natalia Mesa, Roleen Michael-Schmoyer, Anthony Mills, Chastity Moina, Naisha Molina, Sabrina Moll, Aubrey Moll, Jennifer Montalvan, Aidan Moody, Almara Moore, Katherine Morris, Jessica Morris, Robert Morrison, Francesco Mowrey, Ingrid Mulligan, Nzaih Namuene, Connor Newman, Brittany Ney-Smith, Kristine Nguyen, David Nicholas, Chelsea Nicholas, Cindy Nieves, Michael Nieves, Ellyce Nieves, Eric Norder, Emily Novoa, Elizabeth Ocasio, Rudy Ortiz, David Ortiz, Marisa Ortiz-Oquendo, Kirsten Panik, Aneri Patel, Alissa Patterson, Michael Penn, Nellyvette Perez, Yadira Perez Alers, Nicole Persinko, Kaitlyn Peters, Benjamin Peters, Julian Phipps, Julia Piatt, Michelle Poehler, Victoria Posivak, Rebecca Pounds, Elizabeth Price, Esmerlin Pujols, Joanna Quayle, Kayla Ramos, Alexander Ramos, Roosevelt Rebimbas, James Reed, Noah Reichard, Kevin Renna, Dorian Rhodes, Matthew Riccardi, Amber Rickert, Madison Ritter, Jessica Rivera, Robert Rivera, Kyle Rivera, Rachel Rivera, Enid Rivera, Jeffrey Rodman, Joseph Rodriguez, Matthew Rodriguez, Alexis Rosario, Abigail Ross, Megan Rusinko, April Rusinko, Reed Rutherford, Derrick Ryzner, Mitchell Sacco, Marianne SanMiguel, Evelyn Sanchez, Dakota Sarbaugh, Alexa Sarisky, Dwight Schantz, Daniel Schantz, Erin Schmidt, Kyle Schreefer, Karissa Schultz, Geraldine Schultz, Andrew Sellitti, Alexandra Semmel, Emily Sergent, Angelo Sesma, Susan Sewell, Marissa Shaw, Ostara Sherman, Kelly Shire, Peter Shively, Tristyn Sikora, Catarina Silva, Hope Simons, Prasoon Singh, Jacquelyn Sisle, Timothy Smith, Amanda Smith, Samantha Smith, Nathan Smith, Danielle Smolick, Craig Solomon, Allison Sommons, Kyle Spickofsky, Jacqueline Steidel, Chelsie Stephens, Daniel Stevens, Raven Stola, Amanda Stonehouse, Deborah Strauss, Lauren Strawn, Theodore Strohler, Xiaoguang Sun, Shawn Swift, Aaron Tachovsky, Brian Tarboro, Sania Tariq, Patrick Tkacik, Sarah Tombler-Gimpel, Krystal Torrales, Brittany Trauch, Katelyn Trauch, Deena Trauger, Corey Trumbower, Liza Turk, Sara Turk, Sarah Tyler, Abraham Vallejos Soto, Stacey Vargas, Liberty Varoumas, Milagros Vazquez, Chavely Veras, Julie Vernarr, Leticia Viloria, Danielle Waberski, Nicholas Walker, Jessica Walker, Matthew Wallbillich, Hayley Walther, Kristina Ward, Aimee Weber, Anne Weiswasser, Steven Wentzel, Brittany Werner, Matthieu West, Yesenia Whalen, Lindsay Wieller, Alexandra Wildman, Jamaal Williams, Alexandra Woodruff, Rebecca Woodward, Victoria Wright, Mary Yacoub, Yan Yang, Anthony Yob, Hannah Young, Andrew Youssef, Anna Yurchishin, Sayeda Zaidi, Kevin Zakszeski, Patrick Zambo, Mia Zangl, Jeannie Zettlemoyer
 
Blakeslee:
Jenna Burt, Cheryl Campbell, Brittany Cossidenti, Megan D'Adamo, Shane Hamar, Brandy Martinez, Shenae McNeil, Jaylin Molina, Claudia Rycerz, Amanda Setien, Jenipher Tavarez
 
Breinigsville:
Geovany Elias, Kathleen Palladino, Deborah Thomas
 
Catasauqua:
Sundiata Brown, Brianna Cipollone, Kellsey Egner, Joseph Farnack, Sean McGreevy O'Donnell, Courtney Shappell, Michael Shutta
 
Center Valley:
Mohammed Jafar, Taylor Kelly, Carly Yiaski
 
Cherryville:
Charles Gaynor
 
Coopersburg:
Kristin Fox, Skyler Gilda, Shelby Hubner, Hayley Lott, Daniel Pichardo, Tina Thomas, Noah Weaver, Jared Yext
 
Coplay:
Nicholas Brogan, Katarina Delnero, Erik Gwozdz, Justin Keiper
 
Danielsville:
Hailey Carson, Brooke Eckhart, Heather Hilbert, Amanda Ingram, Candace Kleintop, Autumn Klucsarits, Jamie Montalvo, Tiffany Pritchard, Jennifer Purcell, Valedy Ross, Ashley Schell, Elas Seip, Ty Taschler, Oshawna Whisner
 
East Bangor:
Bailey Lipyanic, Samantha Peterson
 
East Greenville:
Sarah Benner
 
Easton:
Lori Abel, Chad Abel, Anna Abernathy, Carrie Ackerman, Maria Alexander, Tina Allen, Rwand Alyazji, Melynda Amato, Melvin Aruldas, Miljorie Averion, Sean Bailey, Trey Baker, Emilia Barutia, Nichole Bassi, Teresa Bauchspies, Nicholas Baurkot, Travis Benson, James Berg, Shawn Berhel, Lawrence Berlen, Ruth Bishop-Vargo, Kevin Blonski, Joseph Boderck, Sarah Bolluyt, Tyler Bouman, Julieta Bravo Cisneros, Brenda Bravo Cisneros, Fiona Brown, Nathan Brownfield, Judea Cardwell, Nancy Carmona, Thomas Carroll, Tyler Castellucci, Veronica Castro, Donald Cesare, Jessica Chamberlin, Melanie Chamberlin, Betzabe Chavez Aguilar, Jaztine Chie, Tanya Claudio, Paige Colasanto, Carol Colclough, Olivia Conner, Korinne Corallo, Mary Coryell, Nicholas Cox, Nicole Cruts, Stephanie Cruz, Brittany Curtin, April D'Arcy, Daniel Dada, Ivan Daroch, Joanna Daszykowski, Sergio Davila Martinez, Donald Davis, Julian De La Calzada, Lynn DePhillipo, Chinmay Deshmukh, Luis Diaz, Jennifer Dill, Rachel Dischinat, Brittany Dodge, Romancia Dorsett, Stacey-Ann Downes, Angela Duelley, Matthew Eaton, Christa Eaton, Merritt Ebner, Stephen Engler, Maria Escobar Alday, Michael Farley, Jennifer Fazekas, Samantha Feenstra, Bryan Ferreira, Annelise Ferreira, James Figueroa, Daniel Fils-Aime, Elizabeth Fischer, Mathew Fitch, Derek Flavelle, Brittney Fodor, Stephen Franco, Brenda Fuentes, Michaelangelo Gabat, Janelle Gaston, Shannon Geist, Jahnny-Mire Getz, Keeana Giammarinaro, Robert Giesen, Victoria Gill, Kali Graziadei, Vaughn Griffith, Patrick Grifone, Kiersten Gross, Casey Gruver, Diana Gutierrez, Bryce Haag, Victoria Hample, Gabriel Hartman, Lauren Heller, Michael Hendershot, Jessica Hergenrother, Emily Hernandez, Amber Hess, Kammie Hoffman, Matthew Hogan, Elizabeth Homdouangchay, Denise Hopkins, Russell Horridge, Jennifer Hubbard, Angel Ibarra Negron, Nicholas Issermoyer, Antonia Jabbour, Bonnie Jackson, Kristine James, Mohit Jani, Fausto Javier, Tenisha Jimenez, Evelyn Jimenez, Dominique Jones, Julia Jones, Chloe Judge, Jacob Kelly, Shania Kelly, John Kelly, Kerena Kemmerer, Sean Kempf, Gabrielle Kennedy, Auryn Kilbanks, Sarah King, Chelsi Kocher, Julia Kostelny, Joshua Lacey, Nicole Lacherza, Miguelina Lara, Liat Levy, Max Liberatori, Daniel Lilly, Jacob Lisinicchia, Erika Llagas, Deirdre MacDonald, Rocio MacEachern, Ian MacIsaac, Evan MacIsaac, Jennica Maragulia, Stephanie Marason, Michelle Marmolejos, Michael Marrero, Jessica Martin, Stephanie Martinez, Ashley Martinez, Amber Mattes, Lisa Matthews, Eric Maynard, Emily McCallops, Kayla McCullough, Jennifer McCullough, John McDonald, Robert McElroy, Kristen McInerney, Alexis McKenna, Alexander Mearhoff-Nickum, Alexandra Mejia, Sara Miller, Junior Moncayo, Christine Moon, Elizabeth Morales, Joshua Morrell, Kelly Moyer, Lacey Moyer, Jeannette Mulero, Giyaina Munoz, Leah Mutz, Bobbi Jo Naylor, Americo Nepa, Sharon Neuhaus, Jesika Nieves, Christopher Nine, Richard Noone, Maureen Nseyep Patty, Phyllis O'Brien, Marissa Ocampo, Adesh Odyssey, Briana Olsen, Melissa Orellana, Michael Oren, Derreck Ortiz, Christian Oviedo, Daniel Ownbey, Gabrielle Palinkas, Melissa Palomino-Cobian, Mary Paran, Joan Pascarosa, Jason Patrylo, Teejai Pearson, Catalina Perez, Caitlin Perfetti, James Peters, Rebecca Pham, Lordina Poku-Davies, Eliza Ponce, Annika Prosper, Abbie Race, Benjamin Rader, Crystal Ramirez, Jeremiah Reardon, Joseph Reifer, Abygale Repsher, Jessica Rizzolo, Maria Rodriguez, Jesus Rodriguez, Cristhian Rojas Marine, Monica Roscioli, Hunter Runge, Elizabeth Ruppert, William Rush, Maan Saba, Monica Samayoa-Brown, Diana Sanchez, Laura Sarria, Nicholas Schatzki, Desiree Schneck, Heidi Schoentube, Rebecca Schupp, Sydney Scott, Justin Siegfried, Christopher Smith, Shaye Smith, Dajon Snead, Noah Sparandeo, Julia Stahl, Ruth Stahl-Wild, Christine Stanton, Laura Suiter, Jennifer Szobota, Holly Torcivia, Francesco Tornabene, Thomas Troxell, Simone Tukeva, Deena Turek, Rebecca Tyrrell, Heather Valencia, Shannon Vasiliauskas, Ximena Velez, Valerie Viglianti, Steven Violett, Elizabeth Walker, Samantha Walker, Trevor Watlington, Brenna Webb, Preston Weidner, Anthony Weirbach, Quincy Wellen, Kristina Wentz, Braydon Williams, Kayla Wilson, Nina Wilson, Rachel Wilson-Weller, Jess Woodruff, Jennifer Yang, Jared Young, Ashley Young, QiShaan Young, Karen Zanetti, Nureen Zia
 
Emmaus:
Michelle Campbell, Anthony Gallucci, Inayah Jones, Taylor Keeys, Jennifer Mazzitelli, Giannina Sicurello, Maribeth Smith, Valerie Spatz
 
Fogelsville:
Ashley Kalmar
 
Fountain Hill:
Sydney Costenbader, Bianka Feher, Cassandra Fitzgerald, Welington Marte, Katherine Michael, Heather Northington, Sean O'Connor, Lorie Olexson, Libby Ortiz, Camille Willis, Patrick Willis
 
Freemansburg:
Anthony Colon, Gerald Curran, Soni Diaz, Alexandria Fink, Christine Foti, Donald Groover, Jamid Knight, Yat Long Leung, Mariela Perez
 
Germansville:
Kevin Heckman
 
Glendon:
McKenna Teske
 
Hellertown:
Robyn Bender, Justin Blobe, Rowan Carey, Austin Cawley, Sara Coughlin, Jean Cressman, James Cressman, Vanette Csaszar, Dylan Dawson, JuliAnna Dougherty, Paul Evans, Joseph Fabian, Kaycie Farb, Paul Feher, Angela Fritchman, Micheal Gibson, Emmanuel Guevara, Suzanne Haraputczyk, David Haraputczyk, Sera Heil, Carlee Hutterer, Camille Kacerik, Lacey Krieger, Katie Kudera, Samantha Laub, Robert Marcantoni, Jade Martino, Stephen Morris, David Nonnemaker, Rachael Painton, Vincent Plantener, Shania Reily, Andrew Remaly, Abraham Rodriguez, Abigail Surovi, Matthew Taggart, Jerith Tousey Schmidt, Orion Tucker, Hannah Weierbach, Lorrie Werkheiser, Aaron Wieand, Sara Yitzchaki
 
Laurys Station:
Patrick Sellers
 
Macungie:
Abril Diaz Villegas, Timothy Earls, Sonia Kunz, Peter Phillips, Amanda Reinhard, Mabel Rodriguez Marte, Chelsi Ruocco, Nathaniel Singley
 
Martins Creek:
Barry Cusano
 
Mertztown:
Elizabeth Charles
 
Mount Bethel:
Kimberly Arantes, Tessa Bakke, Sarah Estevez, Hannah Estevez, Thomas Hardardt, Kristine Hartmann, Audrey Hendarsah, Christopher Laurie-Lakhram, Dustin Madrigal, Hayley Mimlitsch, Karen Nyenhouse, Karen Poole, Austin Rafter, Brianna Ramthun, James Ramthun, David Richied, Costel Sarivan, Haley Steele, Austin Strohe, Megan Temples
 
Nazareth:
Lauren Altemose, Spencer Anglovich, Kaitlyn Austin, Talia Austin, Corey Bartholomew, Johanna Bernsdorf, Stephanie Beston, Andrew Bisson, Robert Blacie, Michael Brindisi, Blake Brown, Gabriella Bustos, Julian Butler, Angelina Cardinal, Hillary Carrigan, Kalie Chapman, Jessica Cole, Jenna Collins, Daniel Commerford, Daniel Cook, Megan Crimi, Holly Custodio, Cody Dally, Samantha Daly, Lisa DeFlores, Lori DelliSanti, Holly Denker, Robert Disbrow, Nickolas Fair, Sean Fairman, Mason Fetherman, Rebecca Fortunato, Kylie Frace, Victor Gaeta, Amanda Gillingham, Mitchell Goldstein, Armando Gonzalez, Brandon Hawk, Raymond Helgert, Andrew Hirsch, Brandon Hodge, Austin Hooper, Esther Jakiela, Jodi Jensen, Carly Kachnycz, Cemal Kahraman, Robert Keiderling, Nolan Koch, Dustin Kollmorgen, Andrew Krick, Jared LaBar, Glenda Lauray, Andrew Linkowsky, Alyssa Martinetti, Jake Massey, Kathleen McGowan, Alexa McMaster, Conner Mohn, Lilliana Montoya, Julia Morris, Megan Nagy, Tuyetbang Nguyen, Elizabeth Orth, Dominique Owens, Ryan Perna, Samantha Pitsko, Jewel Plumhoff, Michelle Potter, Brandi Rafferty, Breanna Rafferty, Nicholas Redmon, Jacob Reinsmith, Hilary Remaly, Lauren Resh, Margaret Richter, Caitlyn Rinker, Kylie Rissmiller, Michael Ronca, Eric Ross, Kameryn Roth, Nathan Rubio, Kyle Ruth, Megan Santiago, Justin Schantzenbach, Kathryn Seaton, Elizabeth Segreaves, Oksana Seiple, Ariana Sequino, Sherry Sevi, Michael Silagyi, Corryn Snyder, Lindsey Stangl, Enmanuel Suarez, Alexa Thomas, Joseph Trabucco, Andrew Trumbore, Gonul Ustaoglu, Devon Walker, Shane Wallace, Charles Weaver, Virginia Welsh, Alexa Wenz, Kyle Werner, Ryan Wheatley, Jayme Whipple, Connor Williams, Cecelia Wright
 
New Ringgold:
Emmeline Knowlan
 
New Tripoli:
Amanda Ebeling, Abby Moyer
 
Northampton:
Hayley Ahlgren, Anona Bauman, Una Bonner, Brahim Boudad, Alec Bowman, Dakota Budnik, Brittany Carlisle, Erica Cernobyl, Sabrina Chatih, Alyson Cholewinski, Montanajo Ciecwisz, Christian Clark, Caitlin Clark, Kayla Csencsits, Paige Denton, Ashley DiCicco, Shannon Dodson, Nikolas Galiszanski, Sabra Gerber, Matthew Greggo, Michelle Gross, Kaitlyn Hall, Andrew Hannis, Deborah Hansler, Liza Harvilla, Aeryle Hassler, Jessica Hendricks, Zachary Huber, Mary Karanja, Brittany Keyser, Kourtney Kocher, Katie Krantz, Alex Kratzer, JoEllen Kruk, Mikyla Kutish, Samantha Leiby, Jessica Lindsay, Elissa Loncaric, Kristie Mai, Tyler Martinez, Kara Mathesz, Leah McCready, Danielle Mitchell, Amanda Moyer, Jana Oliver, Michele Osztrosits, Cianael Paasewe, Nathaniel Pease, Lenka Plutko, Lissy Ramos, Amanda Readinger, Jennifer Reznick, Aubrey Ristaino, Jessica Rosario, Gisselle Sanchez, Brandy Schoenberger, Amira Shokr, Zachary Shupe, Tiffany Silfies, Kelsey Simpkins, Bethany Skrapits, Chanan Smith, Jennifer Sowers, Aaron Stahl, Erika Stahl, Sydney Thorsen, Vincent Torelli, Meagan Wagner, Molly Washok, Mary Weaver, Brady Weiss, Tasha Werkheiser, Taylor Werner, Chelsea Yenca, Katherine Zangari
 
Palmerton:
Austin Buchiane, Brittany Cinamella, Stacey Duch, Scott Hawk, Lyndsey Nemeth, Jade Ruzicka
 
Pen Argyl:
Megan Bennicoff, Nicolas Calabrese, Sean Catino, Christine Compton, Chelsea Deutsch, Ashley Dorshimer, John Feller, Lorynn Foti, Araceli Gabriel, Kory Geiger, Collin Getz, Chiara Gotto, Rachel Haklits, Brianna Jones, Lorrie Jones, Jocelyn Jones, Gregory Lee, Olivia Luburich, Portia McKnight, William Owens, Lindsay Pacifico, Sheryl Piccinino, Marie Rosanne Quicho, Ryan Raidline, Nicole Reduzzi, Bethany Taggart, Hannah Weaver, Vanessa Weiss, Allison Witmer, Jennifer Wolf
 
Portland:
Rebecca Fish
 
Riegelsville, Bucks County:
Adam Marshall
 
Roseto:
Jill Frost, Teri Giamoni, Austin Mathewson, Kristin Popovice
 
Schnecksville:
Emmalee Lesko
 
Slatington:
Andrew Algard-DeRemer, Nicholas Algard-Ligato, Brianna Barone, Kelsey Kuntz, Lee Riley, Autumn Watters
 
Stockertown:
Alyssa Steiner

Tatamy:
Kimberly Uhler
 
 
Walnutport:
Ginna Berfield, Joseph Butto, Jamie Collo, Jessica Collo, Elizabeth Csikos, Paige Eaton, Michaela Ebert, Ryan Gilbert, Kristin Giniewski, Brian Hosak, Peter Kelchner, Michael LeBus, Michael Rex, Kristin Smith, Amber VanBrunt, Donna White
 
West Easton:
Hope Stillwell
 
Whitehall:
Nour Achi, Matthew Devers, Claudia Gjondla, Rebecca Hanna, Ashley Hunsicker, Safi Kaba, Haajra Mirza, Jamie Polzer, Diana Roustic, William Sanchinelli, Patrick Skumanick, Susan Spencer, Amanda Stein, Tuan Truong, Rachel Williams
 
Wind Gap:
Marcus Amy, Veselin Bashev, Sibela Bayraktarova, Brooke Bostic, Bruce Brumbaugh, Amanda Cardona, Tyler Cartal, Terry Cornell, Nicholas Detrick, Danielle Drosnock, Gyulten Efendyova, Joshua Erhardt, Stephanie Estrada, Jennifer Finn, Natalie Gold, Ryan Grube, Aidan Grube, Samantha Hess, Brianna Hull, Robert Kasebier, Timothy Kowalski, Nicholette Luthcke, Nathaniel Olzinski, Chloe Ottaviano, Meghan Pacovich, Wyatt Patton, Ty Portz, Milena Rashkova, Kelly Smith, Alexia Sparrow, Rebecca Tamm, Christian Tirrito, Barbara Wilczewski, Heather Wilson
 
Zionsville:
William Burkit, Matthew Furlong
 
New Jersey
 
Alpha:Jennifer Smith, Nathalie Therlonge
Belvidere: Madeleine Talijan
Bloomsbury: Amanda Matlee
Great Meadows: Devora Russ
Phillipsburg: Kelly Francis, Angela Rodaligo, Blair Strain, Daniel Torretta, Nicholas Walsh
Stewartsville: Kenneth Robjohns
Washington:Andeana Gonzales
 

Police said the scheme involved 3 men and stores in Bethlehem Township, Whitehall Township and Allentown.

A second man is facing charges in connection with an alleged stealing spree at Lehigh Valley Home Depot stores.

Felix Polnasek Jr., of Belvidere, was arrested by New Jersey State Police and is being held at Warren County Jail, Bethlehem Township police said.

The 48-year-old Polnasek is awaiting arraignment in Northampton County district court on four counts of retail theft, six counts of conspiracy, three counts of theft and a single count of attempted theft.

Betlehem Township police allege Polnasek was one of three men who targeted Home Depot Stores in the township, Allentown and Whitehall Township.

Matthew Casciole was the first person charged in the investigation.

Casciole was arraigned Friday on 20 charges, including eight counts of retail theft and four counts of theft by deception. He was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail.

From Dec. 26 through May 27, Casciole and his accomplices stole $3,000 in store credit and materials from Home Depot stores, police said.

Polnasek made fake returns for store credit and helped use receipts from legitimate purchases to steal the exact same merchandise, police said.

Township police said the thefts were all caught on surveillance video at the stores.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

The Area 3 Special Olympics Track & Field Meet brought in athletes from three counties.

More than 150 Special Olympics athletes from Morris, Sussex and Warren counties took part in the Area 3 Special Olympics Track & Field Meet, held recently at Hackettstown High School.

Athletes competed in running, walking, wheelchair races and assisted walking races.

Among the volunteer groups pitching in at the event were Dover Area 3 Special Olympics Volunteers, students from the Hackettstown High School Key Club, and students from West Morris Central High School.

For information about Area 3 Special Olympics, contact sonjarea3@live.com or 973-537-2901.

The deadline is Friday, June 17, at 5 p.m.

TRENTON -- In what affordable housing advocates are calling a "huge opportunity" for lower-income New Jerseyans, the state is accepting applications for about 10,000 federally funded rental vouchers this week.

The applications must be submitted online no later than 5 p.m. Friday, according to the Department of Community Affairs website. A lottery will be held after applicants are screened to determine income eligibility. 

People may submit multiple applications if they meet income guidelines for specific counties, the state website says. For example, a family of four earning no more than $51,900 would qualify to live in Middlesex, Hunterdon and Somerset counties.

People who live in the county for which they've applied will get preference, the website said.

"This is a huge opportunity for people," said Laura Ramos, co-founder of the nonprofit housing advocacy group, Everyone For Accessible Community Housing Rolls. "They often open the waiting list for a brief period of time and then it's closed for years."

Ramos said she learned of the voucher lottery because she received a notice as a resident of a special needs housing complex. She called the community affairs office to learn how people may get assistance if they can't apply online or need help doing so.

N.J.'s rents among most expensive in U.S.

"it's a mess. It's exceedingly difficult to get through," Ramos said. "There's been a  huge response -- 100,000 have applied." Because people may apply in more than one county, the actual number of individuals seeking applications is probably much lower, she added.

Rental vouchers, which typically pay two-thirds of a recipient's rent, are hard to come by in an expensive state like New Jersey. People can wait for years before a new round of "section 8" or other rental assistance programs become available.

Last year, the Christie administration declined to renew two housing assistance programs, affecting 3,000 people. After a public outcry, the assistance was extended temporarily while county social service and nonprofit agencies were told to find them housing alternatives.

Gov. Chris Christie's proposed budget includes $5 million to fund 500 additional vouchers for the state's Rental Assistance Program. The vouchers would go to chronically homeless or people that rely on public assistance, although not to the 3,000 people whose assistance program expired last year. 

Submitting an application "is the first step in the process to apply for the Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance program," according to the website. "The pre-application you submit will be entered into the Lottery. If you are selected through the lottery, you will be notified via email of your selection then you will be placed on the waiting list and continue through the application process." 

Applicants can check www.waitlistcheck.com on June 24 to learn if they were selected through the computer-generated lottery, department spokeswoman Tammori Petty said.

"It is our expectation that many applicants will not have to wait long to get a voucher, and that we expect to turn over the entire list in no longer than three years," Petty said,

Details are available at the Department of Community Affairs website, at www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/hc_vouchers.html

People with disabilities who need assistance with submitting applications may call at 609-292-4080 and select Option 1 or 8 from the menu, according to the website. if Seniors seeking assistance may contact one of the organizations listed on the Division of Aging County List. 

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

Opera singer Amy Shoremount-Obra, who graduated in 1997, wowed current students with a performance at the school.

Students at the Warren Hills Regional High School had the opportunity to listen and learn from a talented former Warren Hills student, opera singer Amy Shoremount-Obra, who graduated in 1997.  

Shoremount-Obra and her piano accompanist, Chris Cooley. (Special to Lehighvalleylive.com) 

During her four years at Warren Hills, she participated in drama, choir, band, the French Club, and she was a member of the National Honor Society.  

After graduation she attended the Manhattan School of Music, and began to study and train as an opera singer. Her career has taken her all over the world; she has performed locally at the Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. She has studied nine languages to enable her to perform a wide range of roles, and she is currently studying Russian. 

Shoremount-Obra and her piano accompanist, Chris Cooley, performed three songs for the students. The first was sung in Spanish; her second from her favorite opera, Don Giovanni, an Opera by Mozart.  Shoremount-Obra sang as Donna Anna, the Commandant's daughter (soprano), which was performed in Italian. The third song was an art song by Sergei Rachmaninoff  entitled "Spring Water." 

The students asked a variety of questions including:

"Have you ever broken glass"?  Shoremount-Obra has not broken glass but knows people who have.

"Does your voice ever hurt and how long can you sing at a time"?  Because of the extensive training and constant practicing, opera singers do not strain their voices and can sing as long as they like without needing a break.  

When asked what has been the most exciting part of her career, Shoremount-Obra responded "singing at the Met".  

Do you have education news to share? To see it posted here and possibly in The Express-Times and Warren Reporter, send me an email.

Hackettstown farmers and ranchers may nominate themselves or others.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the nomination period for farmers and ranchers to serve on the Farm Service Agency county committees is underway.

(File photo) 

To be eligible to serve on a FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in an FSA administered program, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the local administrative area where they are nominated.

Farmers and ranchers may nominate themselves or others. Organizations representing minorities and women also may nominate candidates.

To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign an FSA-669A nomination form. The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. 2016 nomination forms must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by close of business on Aug. 1, 2016.

FSA will mail election ballots to eligible voters beginning Nov. 7. Ballots must be returned to the local county office via mail or in person by Dec. 5, 2016. Newly-elected committee members and alternates will take office on Jan. 1, 2017.

The Hackettstown FSA County Committee is made up of five (5) producers, each representing a Local Administrative Area (LAA). The Local Administrative Area up for election this year is #5. LAA #5 includes Morris, Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Passaic Counties.

To learn more about county committees, contact your local FSA county office or visit http://offices.usda.gov to find a county office near you.

A meeting to select one of three nominees has been rescheduled.

A planned vote to fill a vacant seat on the Lopatcong Township Council was delayed due to a short-handed board Wednesday.

However, the council still has some some time to choose from three nominees to replace Donna Schneider, who resigned June 1.

Because Schneider was a Republican, the responsibility for nominations went to the township's party committee, which named Yvonne Reitemeyer, Jim Pallitto and Wade Cacesse.

Council has 30 days to pick one of the nominees, according to state statute. Otherwise, the township committee has another 15 days to appoint one of the nominees. If the seat still is not filled after that, it will remain vacant for the remainder of Schneider's term, which expires at the end of the year.

Resigning official: 'Vote the old regime out'

A vote was on the agenda for a special meeting Wednesday, but the meeting was postponed after two of the remaining four council members could not attend, leaving the governing body short enough members to vote.

Mayor Tom McKay said he had a family emergency, and Clerk/Administrator Beth Dilts said Councilman Lou Belcaro notified her that he was out of town on vacation.

The meeting, which also includes a vote on the township budget, was rescheduled to June 27, the clerk said.

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

See if you can get all seven questions right.

Time to see how well you recall the biggest NJ.com stories of the week gone by. Answer the seven multiple-choice questions below, and then brag on your score comments. Need to study up before you begin? Here are the stories we used to create this week's quiz.

• Miss New Jersey: Meet the 30 contestants
• Minimum wage bill gains Senate committee approval
• Matawan, N.J.'s 100-year struggle with bloody legacy
• A special girl, a special night and Eric LeGrand
• EMT's suspended for ignoring call while live-streaming incident
• Sting from dangerous clinging jellyfish lands N.J. man in hospital
• Rare 'fire rainbow' appears over N.J.

Contact John Shabe via jshabe@njadvancemedia.com. Follow John on Twitter and find NJ.com on Facebook.

The Class of 2016 celebrated its commencement at the school in Washington Township.

Warren Hills Regional High School held its commencement Thursday night at the school.

The valedictorian was Victoria Stabile and salutatorian was Katarina Martucci.

Victoria will be attending Stevens Institute of Technology and Katarina will further her education at Cornell University.

The Class of 2016 is comprised of 310 seniors.

Immediately following graduation 161 students will depart the school for Project Graduation, at iPlay America in Freehold, N.J. Project Graduation is a parent driven, nonprofit organization that fundraises throughout the year to safeguard graduates from statistically one of the two most tragic nights of senior's lives. The students will return to Warren Hills on school buses around 7 a.m. Friday morning.

Check out the celebration by scrolling through the photos atop this post.

Warren Hills prom photos 2016

BUY THESE PHOTOS

Are you one of the people pictured at this graduation? Want to buy the photo and keep it forever? Look for a link below the photo caption to order prints in a variety of sizes or products like shirts or coffee mugs.

Be sure to check out our complete graduation coverage at lehighvalleylive.com/graduation.

Follow lehighvalleylive.com on Twitter at @lehighvalley. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

Drunken driver Justin Batista gets house arrest so he can continue physical therapy on a seriously injured leg.

Justin Batista wove in and out of traffic, sped more than 90 mph and crashed into the back of a van while driving drunk.

He never expressed remorse for the crime in Palmer Township, according to the probation officer who compiled his pre-sentence evaluation.

The Aug. 1, 2015, crash was his second drunken driving offense, one of a handful of minor criminal offenses, and he can't stop drinking alcohol, according to Northampton County Judge Jennifer Sletvold.

"There are a lot of bad things weighing against you," she told the 25-year-old Bloomsbury man.

But one factor kept him out of prison: his leg.

He tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus, needed an arterial bypass and suffered severe nerve damage from the crash, Batista told the judge. He can't put weight on it, but he hopes to walk again some day.

He attends physical therapy four times a week, he said.

The judge feared sending him to prison could cause an irreversible setback in his progress.

"I don't want to cost this young man the use of his leg," she said. She sentenced him to six months of house arrest. He must wear a GPS monitoring bracelet and may only leave for doctors' appointments or physical therapy.

Batista was convicted of drunken driving, reckless driving and related offenses after a non-jury trial April 5 in front of Sletvold.

He appeared in court Friday in a wheelchair, wearing a T-shirt, shorts and his hair wrapped up in a bun.

"I'm very sorry," he said.

Defense attorney Susan Hutnik said the drunken episode was prompted by the death of his mother to brain cancer at age 55. She said he took care of his mother until she died, was suicidal after her death and self-medicated with alcohol.

"He's still maturing, I would say," Hutnik said.

Regardless of the circumstances, Batista needs to act his age, the judge said.

"You could have killed someone," she said. "This is the second offense that we know about. You are going to take a life. When is it going to stop?"

The probation officer who evaluated him prior to sentencing said he lacks responsibility, makes poor decisions and can't stop drinking.

"Like (Hutnik) said, I'm still maturing," Batista said.

While acknowledging the seriousness of the injury, Sletvold called Batista a selfish young man concerned only about his suffering and not the consequences of his actions.

Asked to explain why he never expressed remorse for his crime, Batista said, "The way I feel is hard to describe."

Batista is a semester shy of an associate's degree at Warren County Community College. The judge said he earns a living as a professional gambler.

Were it not for the injury, the judge said she would have no qualms about sending him to prison.

"I don't know that an appropriate penalty would be to deprive him the use of his leg," she said.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.

The $10,000 grant from Ingersoll Rand "Real Tools for Schools" program will improve classrooms and upgrade equipment for students.

Ingersoll Rand recently awarded Warren County Technical School a $10,000 grant to fund improvements to the school's automotive vocational program.

As a Real Tools for Schools grant recipient, Warren County Technical School, which also co-hosts an automotive associate program with Warren County Community College, used the funds for both improvements to the automotive classrooms as well as courses with updated equipment, supplies, instructor training and curricula.

Warren County Technical School, which has been offering an automotive program for several years, joined with WCCC three years ago to add an associate degree element to its automotive technology curriculum.

Warren Tech graduation 2016

In addition to the four years of high school automotive training the high school offers its students, Warren County Technical School offers WCCC's Associate of Applied Science Automotive Technology program, as well. Both automotive programs are taught in the automotive shop located at Warren County Technical School.

Do you have education news to share? To see it posted here and possibly in The Express-Times and Warren Reporter, send me an email.

Susquehanna University, Marist, University of the Sciences, Alvernia and others list graduates.

The following area students are among the recent graduates of Centenary University.

Master's degrees were awarded to: Richard David Allen Jr., Elizabeth A. Bracey, Courtney F. Duryea and Jodi Maurer, of Washington; Jon P. Bollette, Susan R. Brody and Laura J. Payne, of Phillipsburg; Brittany A. Celentano, of Blairstown; Meghan Feltovic, of Asbury; Patricia Jakubov and Angela Marie Sodtalbers, of Oxford; Katie L. Kline, of Belvidere; Matthew Jon Holder, Lin Ma, Amanda M. McLaughlin, Christopher Michael Shadwell and Laurie Ann Washburn, of Hackettstown; Jennifer A. Truby, of Alpha; and Andrew J. Ziarnowski and Nicholas Sarlo, of Great Meadows.

Bachelor's degrees were awarded to: Robert Aromando III and Zachary L.   Shanker, of Asbury; Michael J. Bade, of Independence Township; Barbara Bailey and Scott P. Niven, of Oxford; Nicholas P. Barzano, of Knowlton Township; Rebecca Anne Bordi, Joseph A. Clarke III, Kayla Deemer, Zhenyang Hu, KeWei Huang, Katelyn Kathleen Kolbusch, Crystal T. Donovan, Nicholas C.  Lang, Shane Meininger, Eric Peterson, Joesph Ragsdale, Mary Kathleen Riley, Halie M. Saccente and Michael A. Sciancalepore, Stephen M. Szewczuk, Kiersten M. Toye and Brittany T. Weinstein, of Hackettstown; Michael F. Boures and Rebecca J. Peri, of Stewartsville; Daniel D. Brown, Shawna Manfredi, Erin McCormick, David W. Lance and Monika Szabo, of Washington; Nicole Marie Cummins and Ayah Muheisen, of Great Meadows; Brian Moore, of Mansfield Township; Camille B. Del Rosario, Cortney N. Loiacono and Aaron C. Sulick, of Phillipsburg; Travis Craig Eldridge, Michael Horetsky Jr., Allison K. Smith, Tyler Thurgood and Heather Walsh, of Blairstown.

***

The following are among the recent graduates of Colgate University: Catherine Chen of Califon; Jon Christensen of Whitehouse Station; Warren Dennis of Stockton; Tyler Edmond of Coopersburg, summa cum laude; Nicole Halper and Jessica Hwang, of Flemington; Jacob Kern, of Slatington; Kendra Peeples, of Oxford; and Alexandra Rodriguez of Easton, cum laude.

***

University of the Sciences recognized the following local graduates: Patrick Brown, of Allentown, doctor of pharmacy degree; Chise Diacik, of Wind Gap, master of occupational therapy degree, magna cum laude; Tory Gordon, of Lambertville, master of occupational therapy, magna cum laude; Michael Hartzell, of Bangor, bachelor's; Joseph Keglovits, of Nazareth, doctor of pharmacy degree with a minor in exercise science and wellness management; Christine Kettle, of Bangor, doctor of physical therapy, summa cum laude; Christen Morrison, of Easton, master of occupational therapy, summa cum laude; Dhruv Patel, of Bethlehem, doctor of pharmacy degree; Aubrey Perrine, of Hampton, cum laude, bachelor's degree, received the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Award; Harrison Price, of Nazareth, doctor of pharmacy degree; Elizabeth Rice, of Coppersburg, master of occupational therapy, magna cum laude; Kerry Tong. of Califon, a doctor of occupational therapy, summa cum laude.

***

Graduates completing the five-year master of science in occupational therapy program at Alvernia University earned both master's and bachelor degrees this spring. Locals include: Taylor Benjamin of Emmaus; Amy Hnatt of Easton; and Victoria Vidumsky, of Bethlehem, summa cum laude.

Bachelor's degrees were awarded to: Jessica Weiss, James Bertolotti, cum laude, and Robert Bertolotti, of Bethlehem; Christopher Casciotti, of Catasauqua; Gabriella Messina, of Oxford; Briana Pearson, of Upper Mount Bethel Township; and Nicholas Weida, of Allentown.

Associate degrees were awarded to Stephanie Kern, of Slatington and Keisha Miller, of Allentown.

***

The Georgia Institute of Technology presented bachelor 's degrees to the following: Jonathan Cordova, of Glen Gardner; Kevin Hopkins, of Hackettstown; Arnav Jindia, of Califon and Anthony Nicaretta of Flemington. Master's degrees were awarded to Derek Smith, of Easton and Nicholas Young, of Bethlehem.

***

The following area residents were among the recent Marist College graduates: Rebecca Fornaro and Edward Majkowski, of Annandale; Richard Liao, of Lebanon; Michael McDonagh, of Stewartsville; Derek Reilly, of Lebanon; Graham Rossi of Milford; Rachel Slovak, of Lambertville; William Holland, of Hampton; and Lauren Schultz, of Upper Milford Township, Pa.

***

The following area residents are recent graduates of Susquehanna University. Michelle Barakat, of Bethlehem, daughter of Munzer and Josefina Barakat; Kaela Bitting, of Coplay, summa cum laude and university honors, daughter of Cheryl and Dwight Bitting; Daniel Csakai, of Bethlehem, son of James Csakai and Tracy Diefenderfer; David Deiter, of Northampton, son of Danny and Diane Deiter; Kathryn Domyan, of Lower Macungie Township, summa cum laude daughter of Mark and Patricia Domyan; Steven Elsenbaumer, of Upper Macungie Township, cum laude son of Don Elsenbaumer and Kelli Elsenbaumer; Laura Grammes, of Washington Township, Lehigh County, daughter of Marc and Elizabeth Grammes; Jeremy Hand, of Macungie, son of Lawrence Hand and Natalie Hand; Kevin Jones, of Macungie, son of Douglas and Jane Jones; Sarah Kreutzer, of Flemington, daughter of David Kreutzer; Katherine Palisay, of Glen Gardner daughter of John Palisay and Kathleen Palisay; Kyle Van Laar, of Hardwick, son of Theodore and Rosanne Van Laar; Daniel Wilson, of Washington, N.J., son of Bruce and Karen Wilson.

***

Locals who earned degrees from Widener University recently include: Belinda Anderson, of Nazareth, Robert Dilliplane, of Bethlehem, Molly Flood, of Allentown, and Karen Kemper of Orefield, earned doctor of education degrees. Georgia Spano, of Bethlehem, earned a doctor of physical therapy degree.

Bradley Walz, of Emmaus, and Lindsay Zeky, of Northampton, earned a master's degrees.

Bachelor's degrees were awarded to: Andrew Cenophat, of Hackettstown; Biby Alexander and Shaun Kiernan, of Allentown; Ariane Hilborn, of Nazareth; William Updegrove, Bryan Shields and Richard Buttillo of Bethlehem; Morgan Stewart of Whitehall; Thomas Zamorski, of Frenchtown; Justin DeLade, of Hellertown; Allison Reagan, of Walnutport; Ian Russell, of Macungie; Connor Vanin, of Coopersburg; Brandon Appel, of Whitehall; Michael Capobianco, of Easton; Ashley Baxter, of Phillipsburg; and Colleen Ehrig, of Emmaus.

***

James Madison University announced the following students who graduated with honors recently: Erica Reifinger, of Allentown, cum laude; Benjamin Wolff, of Easton, cum laude; Carly Sokol, of Hackettstown, cum laude; Alyssa Zurlo, of Washington cum laude; Haley Leopold, of Wind Gap, magna cum laude; and Lauren Sharpe, of Center Valley, magna cum laude.

Other graduates include: Megan VanKirk, of Washington; Matthew Thompson and Chelsea Landry, of High Bridge; Dillon Torppey, of Hardwick; Daniel Kelly and Julia Dorward, of Great Meadows; Zachary Muhr and Brianna Keefe, of Allentown; Matthew Mecadon and Olivia Smithey, of Flemington; Jacob Boylan, of Hackettstown; and Tyler Morris of Whitehouse Station.

***

Loyola University Maryland recognized its graduating class recently. Locals include: Jack Caffrey, Benjamin Gilbert and Timothy Dowd, of Lebanon; Brent Hannema, of Mansfield Township; Dana Jennings, of Oldwick; Nicholas Johnston, of Lambertville; and Michael Perkins, of Whitehouse Station.

***

Phillip Schaffer of Catasauqua, was awarded a master of science degree in robotics engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Do you have education news to share? To see it posted here and possibly in The Express-Times, US and Warren Reporter, send me an email.

Girls from Giant Gymnastics hold a 5k Torch Run through the streets of Hackettstown.

Owners, coaches and Garden Gator gymnasts of Giant Gymnastics of Hackettstown channeled upcoming Rio Olympics excitement into a fun event: a 5k Torch Run.

This is the second time Giant has held its own torch run, organized by Linda Lebo, Giant's special event coordinator.

Owner Jennifer Skorski participated in the event as a runner.

For more information about the Summer Olympics in Rio, the Garden Gators, classes and special events, visit Giant Gymnastics' website.

A judge's reference to "12 Angry Men" invalidated Ezekiel Snyder's initial 15-year sentence.

The judge offered no additional comments as Ezekiel Snyder was sentenced for what the prosecutor called "an extremely heinous crime."

The eight-year prison term for the 24-year-old from Red Bank, New Jersey, is a little more than half his original 15-year-sentence, which was invalidated after a trial judge in 2011 referenced the 1957 courtroom drama "12 Angry Men" in his instructions to the jury.

Ezekiel Snyder (Photo courtesy NJDOC)
 

Snyder was convicted for his role in a brutal 2008 home invasion in Phillipsburg during which a co-defendant sexually assaulted a woman at gunpoint.

In 2014, a court panel said the trial judge, John J. Coyle, erred when he told the jury to watch the film, potentially putting pressure on dissenting jurors in Snyder's trial.

Snyder in April pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery. In exchange, the state offered an eight-year state prison sentence for the plea, which Judge H. Matthew Curry accepted Friday.

Snyder, who appeared in a tan jail garb and shackles, was led from the courtroom by a sheriff's officer. He barely spoke during Friday's proceedings.

"He has just totally disregarded society's rules," Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Victor Jusino said, describing a criminal history that began when Snyder was 14.

The defendant is seen out of focus at left in this scene from 1957's "12 Angry Men." A judge's reference to the movie during while instructing a deadlocked jury in deliberations over a Phillipsburg home invasion caused a 15-year-sentence to be overturned. (MGM photo)
 

Snyder was 17 when he and Taquan Range, of Phillipsburg, were among a group of three people who barged into a Phillipsburg apartment on Jan. 29, 2008, looking for a drug dealer. They had hit the wrong house but refused to leave, terrorizing and assaulting the 21-year-old woman who lived there, authorities said.

Range put a gun to the her head, led her upstairs and sexually assaulted the woman in front of her 3-year-old son.

The third intruder was never identified.

Range is serving a 20-year state prison sentence on charges including robbery and sexual assault.

Jusino said the state "agonized" over Snyder's recommended sentence but agreed to it based on Snyder's age at the time and his willingness to take responsibility.

It was "an extremely heinous crime, a crime of opportunity" that injured people including children, the prosecutor said.

Snyder's attorney, Edward Hesketh, asked the court to honor the plea agreement.

"This is not a giveaway. This is a plea and a sentence," Hesketh said. "He's going to serve time. He accepts responsibility."

Jusino said the victim also accepted the plea agreement, though she did not wish to appear in court Friday.

"She has put this behind her," he said.

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

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

Northampton County authorities seek Nydia Tirado - fugitive of the week

Warren County authorities seek Sebastian Smith - fugitive of the week

Hunterdon County authorities seek Mondrae Anderson - fugitive of the week

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

The 'comfort stations' with public toilets were open underneath Centre Square for more than 40 years. Watch video

Centre Square is known for the Easton Farmers Market, its restaurant scene and old buildings being made new.

For decades it was also known for something else -- something familiar to those who have lived in the area for more than 50 years.

Until the late 1960s, the square was home to public restrooms known as "comfort stations."

You'd find the entrances on the north side of the square, leading underground.

They were built in 1922 so shoppers in the bustling Downtown had a place to relieve themselves. Plans estimated at $20,000 called for nine adult stalls and two juvenile ones in each bathroom, drinking fountains and vault ceilings with windows to allow in natural light, according to a report in the Easton Daily Free Press.

They're recalled with nostalgia by longtime residents such as Leonard Buscemi.

"When you went down the hole, there was a whole bank of payphones," Buscemi said. "I used to go down there and put a nickel in the phone and talk to my girlfriend until they threw me out."

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said bathroom attendants accepted donations in exchange for keeping an eye on the comfort stations.

"You paid anywhere from a couple pennies to a nickel to use them," he said. "There was a person in there who kept the money. And they kept the place clean."

Centre Square vintage photos

State Rep. Robert Freeman said the comfort stations were a welcome sight to out-of-towners looking to freshen up.

You can see the comfort stations on a mural-size photo of Centre Square hanging at the Kressler, Wolff & Miller insurance agency in Downtown Easton. Some folks who weren't here in the '60s guess that they're subway entrances, according to agency president J. Marshall Wolff.

City council closed the stations in 1968 because they cost too much to maintain.

"We didn't feel they were being used to the extent they cost," Easton Mayor Fred Ashton told the Easton Express in 1969. "There would be major plumbing repairs. Two of the four employees were going to retire. It cost $22,000 a year or $70 a day to operate."

Panto said minimum wage laws did away with the attendants who worked for donations only.

Panto has heard the call from constituents to reopen the comfort stations. He has a goal to bring public restrooms Downtown before his current four-year term expires. The city spends $7,000 to $8,000 a year on portable toilets for outdoor festivals, and the farmers market cries out for public restrooms.

But putting them back underground is cost prohibitive, the mayor said.

The mayor reluctantly opened the doors to the bathrooms during a recent Easton House Tour, but he fears someone will get hurt descending the steep stairs if they're opened permanently.

The rooms are stripped of the sinks, toilets and urinals.

"They needed a lot of work to upgrade them," he said. "They're not handicapped accessible."

The comfort stations closed about the same time the city put in the Centre Square fountain. The fountain's pump and filter are inside one of the comfort stations now. So is the mixing board for the Centre Square public address speakers.

Panto said the city has squirreled away about $3 million in grants for an overhaul of Centre Square. Over the next 18 months the city will invite the public to contribute ideas to rework the town center for the first time since the 1960s.

Part of that discussion will include the restrooms issue.

"The dilemma for the last 45 years is still 'Where do we put public restrooms centrally located in Downtown?'" Panto said.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.

Dogs and cats throughout northern and central New Jersey are in need of adoption.

Sometimes, it seems our dogs just don't listen to us; we bark commands and our canine companions just don't respond.

Courtesy of blog.v-dog.com 

For those dog owners who are hoping to improve communication with their pets, OneMind Dogs has a method that may be worth trying.

The OneMind Dogs training method concentrates on forging the dog-human bond and works in concert with the dog's natural instincts. The method follows the philosophy that dogs do not make mistakes, their behavior is a direct response to the signals they get from us humans.

So, here are OneMind Dogs' tips on how to speak dog:

1. MOTION OVER VOICE
"While vocal cues are useful in training, your dog naturally responds first to body language. If you teach your dog to sit and lie down using words and accompanying hand gestures, and then you tell your dog to "sit" but use the gesture for "lie down," your dog will lie down - following the gesture, not the word. Therefore, use your body language to really communicate meaningfully with your dog."

2. TREAT 'SMALL'
"From a dog's perspective, a large treat is no greater a reward than a small one. When training with large treats as rewards, your dog will become full and lose motivation more quickly. So treat often using small bits. The timing of when you treat is crucial, too. For example, if you reward your dog for sitting too late, after she has already gotten up from the position, the next time she will naturally get up in anticipation of her reward."

3. LEAD BY EXAMPLE
"When dogs learn new skills, they automatically associate the emotion surrounding the experience with the skill itself - so if you're having a bad day, it's not the best day for a training session. If you approach the training session with a positive outlook, your dog will be enthusiastic about what you're teaching him, both during the session and in the future. You'll find that keeping an upbeat attitude will also lengthen your dog's attention span for longer sessions."

OneMind Dogs was developed in Finland in 2003, when top-performing agility dog Tekla suddenly lost her hearing. From then on, her trainer could only rely on physical cues to communicate and had to see the world from Tekla's perspective in order to make the dog understand her. What could have been a crushing road block for Tekla's agility career turned into a groundbreaking way for all dogs and their humans to become more in sync than ever before.

Here's a gallery of dogs and cats in need of adoption from northern and central New Jersey. Make sure captions are enabled to get all the information for each homeless pet. More galleries of adoptable pets can be seen here and here.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.