Chris Reber

On track for a trail
Leaders study plan for trail from Coopersburg to Hellertown.

By Chris Reber

Of The Morning Call

August 18, 2008

As the Lehigh Valley forges ahead in its quest to recycle its industrial roots, local municipalities are attempting to do the same with the web of abandoned rail tracks that criss-cross the area.

The latest municipality to pursue recreation trails is Lower Saucon Township, which is leading the charge to create a trail on 8.5 miles of track stretching from Hellertown to Coopersburg.

The rail, crossing Upper Saucon and Lower Saucon townships, was last used by SEPTA in 1981.

The municipalities held a public meeting recently to roll out their preliminary plan for the trail. Neighbors of the tracks were excited, but wary of the traffic near their properties.

”We don’t want to be NIMBYs,” said Dan Fehlig, who lives along the tracks in Lower Saucon. ”But we’ve been robbed three times and the route of access was on the rails.”

Despite fears, it’s an arrangement that SEPTA representatives call win-win. Townships get the recreation properties they’re looking for, while the old rails draw large profits in a tight scrap metal market.

Scrap salvage, something normally associated with shopping-cart wielding urban scavengers, has become a wildly profitable business. While the best of the rails will be used to shore up sections of a proposed line between Quakertown and Lansdale, most of the rail is deteriorated.

”We’ve been told that the rails and ties are unusable,” Lower Saucon Township Manager Jack Cahalan said.

Rail trails are nothing new in the Lehigh Valley. The combination of a once-extensive network of rail mixed with a burgeoning suburban population has given birth to a number of trail networks, including the Ironton trail in North Whitehall Township and the long-anticipated Bethlehem Greenway.

Legal problems may prevent the Upper Saucon-Lower Saucon trail from connecting to Bethlehem at this point, but a future connection has been discussed. Some area residents expressed dismay about criminals coming south along the former Bethlehem Line.

”It’s one of those wonderful backyard issues that I want,” said Upper Saucon Supervisor Miro Gutzmirtl.

chris.reber@mcall.com

610-820-6586

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

Is he the greatest?
Michael Phelps has more gold than any other athlete in Olympic history, but how does that feat stack up in the annals of sports? Morning Call readers respond.

By Chris Reber

Of The Morning Call

August 17, 2008
Click here to find out more!

Muhammad Ali called himself the Greatest Of All Time.

A Swedish king used the same words to describe Jim Thorpe.

But the athlete of the hour and arguably the one who has achieved a feat greater than all others is Michael Phelps, winner of more gold than any Olympian in the history of the games.

So with all the hype surrounding the swimmer, it would stand to reason that Morning Call readers would select him in an online poll pitting Phelps’ feat against those of nine other great athletes.

But the sultan of the Speedo apparently can’t hold a candle to a two-wheeled Texan.

More than a quarter of the more-than 1,900 who had responded to the poll by Saturday afternoon chose Lance Armstrong’s seven Tour de France victories as the most impressive individual feat in sports. Phelps’ heroics took a distant second (17 percent), and Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hit streak was rated third.

Muhammad Ali, with his three heavyweight championships, virtually tied pint-sized gymnast Nadia Comaneci, whose perfect 10 finished dead last on the list.

Perhaps it was regional bias that led our readers to choose Armstrong — the Lehigh Valley’s cycling heritage is strong, and the area is in the running to house the sport’s hall of fame.

For nearly a decade, Armstrong stymied the French in what is considered to be their Super Bowl. But according to Terry Larimer, former Morning Call sports editor, his purported use of the controversial drug EPO should cast a pall over his achievements.Truth be told, Larimer didn’t like the choices on the poll. The best athlete, he said, didn’t get a mention.

” Michael Jordan,” he argued. ”I don’t think it’s any comparison.”

In any case, when making comparisons among sports, there are countless variables to consider, especially when modern-day accomplishments raise questions about performance-enhancing drugs. Add innovation and technology to the equation and comparing athletes of different generations becomes difficult.

Consider Mark Spitz, who probably added a second to his time in the 1972 Munich Olympics with his capless coiffure and majestic flavor saver.

”You have in my opinion pushed the fringe with this one,” reader Jason Martin wrote in an e-mail. ”At least five of these are the greatest of all time in their own right and their own time.”

James Thompson, professor emeritus of sports history at Penn State, agreed.

”You get into dangerous territory with these comparisons,” Thompson said. ”But they’re fun to do.”

Phelps may have an unfair advantage because swimming is one of the few sports in which it is possible to approach the number of Olympic medals he has.

”There are so many events in swimming, unlike track, where you can only be a sprinter or a middle-distance runner,” Larimer said.

Phelps’ accomplishments are roughly equivalent to a runner winning the 100 meters, the marathon, and everything in between. Sort of like Thorpe — who took first in the 200-meter and 1,500-meter events on the way to winning the pentathlon and decathlon in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

”There have been a lot of outstanding performances in the Olympics,” Thompson said. And with a nod to Phelps, ”Obviously it’s spectacular in terms of what he’s accomplished.”

Comparing Phelps to racers like Spitz and Armstrong is a little easier than, say, Phelps and DiMaggio, whose 56-game hitting streak has stood for 67 years.

Like Armstrong and cycling, Phelps’ sport is a race against the clock. Nobody is actively preventing him from reaching his goals. Football great Jim Brown, however, had to break through a wall of brawn to score 126 touchdowns.

Thompson said we tend to overemphasize the achievements of bygone athletes.

”It’s just like when I talk about my accomplishments playing football in high school,” he said.

It’s a debate with no resolution, but we’ll still argue it the next time an athlete does something so unbelievable that he or she joins the elite.

During an interview with Bob Costas on NBC Friday night, Phelps and Spitz heaped praise on each other. But for greatest of all time, Spitz made his choice clear.

”He can be called, Michael, the best Olympian of all time,” Spitz said. ”Moreso not because of the fact that he’s got more gold medals than anybody, but in the way he’s handled himself and the way he’s actually won.”

chris.reber@mcall.com

610-820-6586

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

Catholic vets chief may face prison
In Emmaus endangerment case, he pleads no contest. Police say he threw man down stairs in social hall.

By Chris Reber

Of The Morning Call

August 13, 2008

The commander of the Catholic Veterans Association in Emmaus pleaded no contest on Monday to one count of reckless endangerment on charges that he threw a man down the stairs of his group’s social hall in 2007.

With no prior record, Greg Walls, 57, could face one to two years in prison as part of a plea deal in which prosecutors withdrew charges of aggravated and simple assault.

But Tommaso Lonardo, Walls’ lawyer, claims the victim was violating his probation and on the night of the attack was served illegally — by his mother.

A civil suit filed by the victim against Walls and the association is pending.

James Huber, who represents the victim, was unavailable for comment on Lonardo’s statements.

In October 2007, Walls, a disabled veteran, grabbed 29-year-old Shaun Eroh of Allentown from his bar stool and threw him down the stairs of the Catholic War Veterans social hall in Emmaus, police said.

According to an arrest affidavit, witnesses said the attack was unprovoked. Eroh suffered fractures to his skull, nose and eye socket.

But Eroh acknowledged in a preliminary hearing transcript provided by Lonardo that he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.23 percent, nearly three times the legal limit for driving, when Walls attempted to remove him from the hall.

Eroh was drinking illegally, Lonardo said, because he was on probation for a drunken driving arrest earlier that year. Witnesses told police that Walls grabbed Eroh in a ”bear hug” and when he released him, Eroh hit his head on the bar’s stairs.

Eroh was in the courtroom Monday to see his attacker enter his plea, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Stauffer said. Prosecutor Jay Jennings, who handled the case, was unavailable for comment Monday.

Lonardo also said Eroh’s mother was the bartender at the veterans hall the evening of the attack, though she is not named in Eroh’s civil lawsuit, which is scheduled to go to trial next year.

Walls is due in court for sentencing Sept. 17.

chris.reber@mcall.com

610-820-6586

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

It’s a ‘Night Out’ for nine Valley communities
Residents take to streets and parks to make a stand against crime.

By Chris Reber and Ben Slivnick

Of The Morning Call

August 6, 2008

Kevin Reilly usually doesn’t take his 4-year-old son to Allentown’s Stevens Park.

The language, the gangs, the drugs. ”I just don’t want him exposed to that,” he said.

But last night, he made an exception. The Lehigh Valley Youth Drumline paraded through the park, McGruff the crime dog made an appearance and community leaders and police stood by fielding questions.

The 25th annual National Night Out was held across the Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, as nine communities, ranging in size from Allentown to the borough of Roseto, took to the streets in a symbolic stand against crime.

”It shows that we’re still here,” said Everett Bickford, president of the Stevens Park Safe Neighborhood Association. ”Those kids who are in the gangs, they can see we’re still here.”

National Night Out was created in 1984 to generate support for local law enforcement and other groups’ efforts at combating crime.

In the four years since the Stevens Park Safe Neighborhood formed and first hosted a National Night Out, Bickford said he’s seen gangs that once hung out around the park disperse and crime in the area drop.

Block captains in Roseto said the town faces the same issues as larger communities, albeit on a smaller scale. Desiree D. DeNicola, head of Roseto Block Watch, said those issues were what sparked her to create the program. Tuesday’s celebration was a reminder of their presence in the borough.

”If kids are bored, they’ll get into trouble,” DeNicola said. ”If they realize people care, they’ll stay out of trouble.”

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli visited several communities, including Roseto. He said community involvement makes his office’s job easier.

”One of the things that makes prosecuting a case successful is witnesses,” Morganelli said. ”We need people to be watchful.”

In Easton the city’s Weed & Seed program celebrated the night during its regular program at Centennial Park on 12th Street.

The program, which draws nearly 100 children every night, relies heavily on the involvement of parents and volunteers to keep children busy.

”The streets can be dangerous — people racing, smoking and selling drugs,” said Maria Salinas, whose three children attend the program.

”This is a safe place.”

ben.slivnick@mcall.com

610-820-6735

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

Working without a net? Not these children

By Chris Reber

Of The Morning Call

August 3, 2008

An obstacle course in Lebanon County is a long way away from center city. But counselors at Camp DEFY (Drug Education for Youth) are teaching Allentown middle schoolers that teamwork and self-confidence learned atop a 20-foot cargo net can help them avoid drugs and serve their community.

Last week, 42 students ranging between ages 9 and 12 gave up five days of Dorney Park and air conditioning to travel to Fort Indiantown Gap, the headquarters of the Pennsylvania National Guard. Most of the campers came from the Allentown Weed and Seed program, aimed at reducing crime and increasing community involvement in the area bounded by Second, Ninth, Greenleaf and Hamilton streets.

”If we’re able to help them in time, we won’t have to be paying for it later,” Aurea Ortiz, Camp DEFY’s director, said.

In addition to learning useful lessons about teamwork and respect, the youngsters got a week’s reprieve from the busy corners and frustrating heat of the city.

For campers, the day would begin at 6 a.m., when National Guard Sgt. Matthew Zimmerman rouses them from their bunks for physical training. Few of the campers had been forced to work out before Camp DEFY.

”At this time, I’d still be sleeping,” Rebecca Guillen, 12, said.

During the morning run, if one camper walks, the whole group started over. It’s not exactly the barracks blues, but the goal is the same — teamwork.

”When they get back to their neighborhoods, back to their schools, these are their friends,” said Zimmerman, who will be deployed to Iraq this fall. ”They’re going through the same hardships together.”

Throughout the week, campers learned both in the classroom and in the field — alternating drug education from the Philadelphia Police and DEFY counselors with hands-on team-building exercises.

The obstacle course, used by Guardsmen up until the Iraq war, was the culmination of the week’s physical training. Wall climbs and low crawls pushed some campers to the emotional limit. Not all of them could fathom looking down from atop the cargo net.

”We push them,” Zimmerman said, ”but we don’t push them beyond what we know they’re going to be able to do.”

But everybody completed the course, even if it took the help of enthusiastic teammates.

”Say somebody’s in trouble, and they’re not on our team, we’re [still] going to cheer for them,” said Marc Santiago, 11. ”Help them out a little bit.”

Camp DEFY is the most visible initiative of the National Guard’s Counter Drug program. Guardsmen all over the state, including Zimmerman, assist local law enforcement with equipment, interdiction and demand reduction. Camp DEFY is one way they try to reduce demand — by instilling in the city’s youngsters the self-confidence to say no to drugs.

In Allentown, Weed and Seed works in several capacities. In addition to Camp DEFY, Ortiz oversees an after-school program for middle-schoolers. The group also coordinates community policing efforts in its target area.

”It’s not just servicing the child,” Ortiz said. ”If you to want to attack the problem, you have to include the whole family.”

Weed and Seed serves as an investment in the community, Ortiz said. This year, three Weed and Seed alumni were accepted to the Milton Hershey School in Dauphin County, a private boarding school for underprivileged youths. With increased college prospects, the students could leave the neighborhood like many before them. But the three have pledged to help increase opportunities for city teens.

”Whatever they become, they’re going to come back,” Ortiz said. ”We’re trying to build people who will go into the community and help us.”

chris.reber@mcall.com

610-820-6586

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

Jurors handed Bethlehem murder case
Matthew Jenkins is accused of shooting one of his drug associates in 2005.

By Chris Reber

Of The Morning Call

July 29, 2008

Jurors were unable to come to a decision Monday night in the trial of Matthew Jenkins, the Bethlehem man accused of the 2005 murder of a drug associate near Seventh and Turner streets, and they will continue deliberations today.

Jenkins, who is serving a life sentence in the murder of Conception Martinez, a Bethlehem grocer, faces an additional life sentence for the murder of Elijah Melvin. Prosecutors said Melvin was Jenkins’ drug supplier.

On Monday, jurors heard closing arguments from both sides.

Defense counsel Richard Webster continued his portrayal of the prosecution’s two key witnesses as unreliable. The only eyewitness to come forward was David Taylor, a man who admitted selling drugs with Melvin and Jenkins and lying to police after the shooting.

”He has everything to gain and nothing to lose by lying to the police,” Webster said in his closing argument.

A second prosecution witness, Monica Vinces, who is Jenkins’ ex-girlfriend, was a drug user and thief, Webster told jurors.

Melvin was shot around 2 a.m. on Aug. 5, 2005, as he and Taylor were selling drugs on the 700 block of Turner Street.

Throughout the case, prosecutors painted Jenkins as a disgruntled low-level drug dealer. Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephen Van Natten said in his closing that Jenkins had animosity toward Taylor and Melvin, his superiors, because they refused to give him drugs he hadn’t paid for.

Taylor also testified that the pair humiliated Jenkins repeatedly — on one occasion forcing him to strip naked in front of their female roommates.

Vinces testified that Jenkins took her car the night of the shooting and didn’t return until the next day, when the car was impounded because he drove without a license. Jenkins told police he was with Vinces during the shooting.

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

WAR STORIES: WORLD WAR II VETERANS
Return flight to old days
Family honors Whitehall man with tour in B-17.

By Chris Reber

Of The Morning Call

July 27, 2008

It’s been 60 years since Earl Leaser boarded a B-17 ”Flying Fortress.”

Still, at 87, the Greenawalds native, who in 1944 was forced to ditch his plane over the English Channel, swears that he could handle the controls.

”I don’t think that ever leaves you,” he said.

On Saturday, Leaser returned to the sky with three generations of his family by his side and an unflappable grin on his face.

This time, he was a passenger on the ”Liberty Belle,” a reconstructed B-17 that tours the country as a flying museum. The flight was a reintroduction to the plane that he, as a young World War II pilot, requested to fly because of its durability.

Joining Leaser on the plane were 22 family members, including his daughter, Diane Martin, who heard about the ”Liberty Belle,” and decided it would be the perfect tribute to her father.

”It’s a great celebration of my dad, and it’s great for my dad,” said Martin, who lives near San Francisco.

Leaser, who now lives in Whitehall Township, piloted 19 bomber missions over Europe during World War II. On the 19th, his plane, ”I’ll Be Around,” crash-landed in the English Channel, leading to a harrowing 24 hours on the water and a year in a German prison camp.

Upon his return, Leaser remained in the military, eventually becoming the commander of Travis Air Force Base in California. He flew in a B-17 once after the war, to transport Bob Hope’s entourage to a show in Panama.

On Saturday, he couldn’t contain his excitement over returning to the plane he loved.

”I’ve had goose bumps up my spine ever since they told me,” Leaser said.

Climbing into the cramped aircraft, Leaser refused the earplugs that his daughter was distributing to family members. With the rumble of the propellers playing like music in his ears, Leaser made two 45-minute flights around Chester County Airport.

Helping Leaser out of the plane, crew chief Dave Miller embraced him, saying, ”You’re my hero.”

The flight seemed to erase the years as Leaser exited the bomber, his eyes bright, his smile wide.

”It really took me back to the old days,” he said.

”It was awesome. I got to fly with the whole family.”

The plane was exactly as he remembered , with a few modern upgrades.

”The special thing about it was that it took a lot more punishment than the B-24. Although they carried a little more, they couldn’t take the punishment that the B-17 did,” he said.

But throughout the flight his mind never left the fuel transfer line, the 2-inch pipe that failed when the ”I’ll Be Around” crashed 64 years ago.

”It would move fuel from side to side,” Leaser said. ”That’s the thing that doomed us.”

On April 29, 1944, 30 seconds after dropping bombs over Berlin, ”I’ll Be Around” took a direct hit, disabling two of its engines. The plane could’ve gotten back to England had it not been for the broken fuel line, Leaser recounted to The Morning Call in 1999.

Leaser and his crew floated in the icy water for 24 hours before they were picked up by a German cruiser. That began a year in a German prison camp, the worst part of which was the lack of food.

”WhenÂ…the Germans decided to evacuate us, we passed warehouse after warehouse that was stacked from the floor to the ceiling with Red Cross parcels,” Leaser said.

Opening up about war experience can be hard for many veterans, especially those who spent time in POW camps. Leaser has no problems talking about his service these days.

”I can remember being in high school and college and asking dad questions about the war,” Martin said. ”He would answer and change the subject. In the last 10 years, that’s changed tremendously.”

Saturday’s flight marked the first time the entire Leaser family had come together in years. Leaser met two great-grandchildren for the first time this week. (His wife, Geraldine, died in 1992.)

The flight brought back forgotten memories for Leaser, and raised countless questions from his children and grandchildren.

Martin said the family plans to record his story for future generations.

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

Medical testing details are set for serial killer
Results could determine fate of Harvey Robinson.

By Chris Reber

Of The Morning Call

July 26, 2008

Allentown serial killer Harvey Robinson was in Lehigh County Court Friday to continue his quest to avoid possible execution.

Robinson, who at one time had received four death sentences for his murders in 1992 and 1993, has already successfully appealed two of those sentences.

On Friday, Robinson’s attorneys and the Lehigh County district attorney’s office agreed to details on medical testing for Robinson. Judge Edward Reibman had approved the testing in April 2007.

The testing is connected to Robinson’s last-chance appeal in the murders of Jessica Jean Fortney and Joan Burghardt. His lawyers say that Robinson — whose killings were depicted TV movie — suffers from a brain disorder that ”impairs his cognitive functioning.” If that assertion holds up, he could successfully avoid execution in those cases.

For the Fortney and Burghardt cases, Robinson is represented by the Federal Community Defenders Office in Philadelphia. Results from Robinson’s testing are expected in the next six months.

The organization also earned him a new trial in the 1993 death of Morning Call paper carrier Charlotte Schmoyer. The state Supreme Court thew out the death penalty in that case in 2005, determining that jurors were given improper sentencing instructions.

On Friday, Robinson waived any opposition to conflicts of interest held by his new attorney in Schmoyer’s killing, Gavin Holihan. Holihan, who worked in the district attorney’s office when Robinson was tried, was cleared of all conflicts of interest.

Questioned extensively about his mental ability, Robinson responded to most of the judge’s questions with yes or no.

”Based on the information,” Robinson said, ”I have no problem with [Holihan].”

ROBINSON’S VICTIMS

Charlotte Schmoyer, 15 - of East Allentown. The youngest of Robinson’s victims was found on a wooded hill near the city’s East Side Reservoir. She went missing while delivering The Morning Call.

Joan Burghardt, 29 - Robinson broke into the nurse’s aide’s home on the East Side as she was getting ready for bed.

Jessica Jean Fortney, 47 - The grandmother’s death alerted police that they were dealing with a serial killer. Found in her home.

Denise Sam-Cali, now 53 - Managed to escape when Robinson raped and attacked her on her front lawn on the East Side. When he returned a month later, police were waiting.

chris.reber@mcall.com

610-820-6586

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

Serial killer Robinson appears in Lehigh County Court

Of The Morning Call

2:27 PM EDT, July 25, 2008

Harvey Robinson, the former Allentown resident believed to be one of the country’s youngest serial killers, was in Lehigh County Court today to continue his quest to avoid possible execution.

Here’s what happened before Judge Edward Reibman:

–Robinson’s attorneys and the Lehigh County district attorney’s office agreed to details on medical testing for Robinson. Reibman had approved the testing in April 2007.

The testing is connected to Robinson’s last-chance appeal in the murders of Jessica Jean Fortney and Joan Burghardt. Robinson is being represented in these cases by the Federal Community Defenders Office. Results from Robinson’s testing are expected in the next six months.

–Robinson also waived any opposition to conflicts of interest held by his new attorney in the killing of Charlotte Schmoyer.

The state Supreme Court thew out the death penalty in that case, determining that jurors were given improper sentencing instructions.

Because the federal defenders group handles only death sentence proceedings, attorney Gavin Holihan of Allentown was appointed to represent Robinson.

Holihan, who worked in the district attorney’s office when Robinson was tried, was cleared of all conflicts of interest.

–Reporting by Chris Reber, The Morning Call

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

Defense in city homicide trial says witness has motives
It says he was drug rival, trying to cut deal for himself.

By Chris Reber

Of The Morning Call

July 25, 2008

Attorneys for a Bethlehem man on trial for a drug slaying in Allentown say his accuser is a drug rival who has repeatedly changed his story to get out from under his own crimes.

Matthew Jenkins, 22, faces 10 to 20 years in prison for the 2005 homicide of Elijah Melvin. He’s already serving a life sentence for 2005 murder of Conception Martinez, a Bethlehem grocer.

On Thursday, jurors heard opening arguments and testimony from prosecution witnesses. Prosecutors are expected to rest their case today.

The only eyewitness to have stepped forward in the case is Melvin’s roommate and drug associate, David Taylor. Defense attorney Richard Wagner tried to discredit Taylor’s testimony by bringing up his criminal record, including multiple drug arrests.

Taylor testified Thursday that ”there’s no doubt in [his] mind” that Jenkins was the shooter in the case.

On Aug. 5, 2005, Taylor said, he was sitting in his car, selling drugs with Melvin near their normal corner of Seventh and Turner streets. When a black sport utility vehicle turned onto Turner Street, Taylor called out to his friend.

Thinking it was police, he told Melvin to get into the car, but he was shot as he circled the vehicle at about 2:23 a.m.

Wagner pointed out that Taylor’s testimony contradicted the story he told police in the days following the incident. He said then that it was probably another drug rival, named ”Poe.”

Prosecutors say it was the ”code of the street” that kept Taylor quiet on Melvin’s homicide. Taylor said he wanted to take the matter into his own hands, and his first story was to throw off investigators.

”Anything I said about Poe and them was to keep them off my back,” Taylor said.

Wagner said it was the legal maneuvering of a man in trouble with the law. Taylor identified Jenkins as the shooter when he was arrested on a parole violation. Since then Taylor has been arrested twice on drug charges in Carbon and Lehigh counties.

”When David Taylor needed the police’s help, he talked then,” Wagner said.

Jenkins’ trial continues today.

chris.reber@mcall.com

610-820-6586

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call