Saturday, March 7, 2009

Borough Council Roundup - March 2009

At this month's council meeting, about the only important item of business worth mentioning is the fact that the position of Assistant Borough Secretary was eliminated, effective immediately. We hope to use some of the money saved to create a new position as part-time Borough Treasurer. While the job description hasn't been completely developed, in my mind (and mine only) the ideal candidate should have a background in accounting and finance, and should also have experience dealing with municipal budgets. The employment committee is supposed to be formalizing the job description, and it is my hope that we can begin advertising and interviewing for this newly created position soon. Once we hire a treasurer, Joanne will strictly be responsible for the day to day administrative activities for the borough and will be reclassified as Borough Secretary.

Other than that, there's not much else to report on this month.

Spring is coming - in fact don't forget to "spring ahead" tonight before going to bed and turn your clocks ahead one hour. Don't worry, you'll regain that lost hour of sleep in November.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Diner 248 - An Impromptu Review

My daughter Emilee and I were going grocery shopping this afternoon, and decided to stop and have lunch while we were out. Since we were going to Wegmans anyway, I decided to try the new 248 Diner located on the westbound side of Rt. 248 between Northwood Ave. and the Easton Wal*Mart (formerly a Jack Creek Steakhouse). I'm not a professional restaurant reviewer - but I will tell you that I had one of the best experiences in a restaurant I've had in quite a while. The atmosphere is nice, the background music was awesome (they were playing XM/Sirius's "The Coffee House" - all acoustic versions of everything imaginable).

I had the best bowl of chili I've had in a while; my burger was cooked to perfection and Emilee had a big bowl of soup and a plate of spaghetti and meatballs that she wasn't able to finish. One thing to note - unlike most diners, breakfast is only available until 2PM. They do, however, have a full-service bar, again, unlike most diners.

The food was good, and the service was top notch. The two of us ate for just under $25.

Bottom line - if you're in the area, and you're hungry - try Diner 248. You too might be pleasantly surprised.

See you at the diner!

Winter Storm Warning in Effect

The National Weather Service in Mt. Holly, NJ has placed our area under a Winter Storm Warning from 6PM this evening, Sunday, March 1, 2009 through 4PM tomorrow, Monday, March 2, 2009.

...HEAVY SNOW FROM TONIGHT INTO MONDAY...

.LOW PRESSURE, LOCATED OVER GEORGIA EARLY THIS MORNING, WILL
INTENSIFY AS IT MOVES TO THE NORTHEAST. THE LOW IS EXPECTED TO
PASS WELL TO THE EAST OF DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY ON MONDAY.
HOWEVER, IT SHOULD BRING A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF SNOW TO OUR
REGION FROM TONIGHT INTO MONDAY.

NJZ001-007-PAZ054-055-060>062-012200-
/O.CON.KPHI.WS.W.0005.090301T2300Z-090302T2100Z/
SUSSEX-WARREN-CARBON-MONROE-BERKS-LEHIGH-NORTHAMPTON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NEWTON...WASHINGTON...JIM THORPE...
STROUDSBURG...READING...ALLENTOWN...BETHLEHEM...EASTON
530 AM EST SUN MAR 1 2009

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING
TO 4 PM EST MONDAY...

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 600 PM THIS EVENING
UNTIL 400 PM ON MONDAY.

SNOW IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD UP INTO OUR REGION FROM THE SOUTH THIS
EVENING. THE SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT AND INTO MONDAY,
AND IT WILL BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES.

BASED ON THE LATEST FORECAST TRACK OF THE STORM, IT APPEARS AS
THOUGH 5 TO 9 INCHES OF SNOW WILL FALL IN THE PENNSYLVANIA
COUNTIES OF BERKS, LEHIGH AND NORTHAMPTON, AND IN THE NEW JERSEY
COUNTIES OF WARREN AND SUSSEX FROM TONIGHT INTO MONDAY. SNOWFALL
TOTALS OF 4 TO 7 INCHES ARE EXPECTED FOR THE PENNSYLVANIA COUNTIES
OF CARBON AND MONROE.

THE STEADY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO TAPER TO SNOW SHOWERS ON MONDAY
AFTERNOON.

TRAVEL WILL BE DIFFICULT IN THE REGION FROM TONIGHT INTO MONDAY.


Snow amounts with this particular storm are expected to be even greater as you travel to the south and east, with the Philadelphia area expecting 6 to 12 inches of snow.

Please be careful if you're out and about later today, and into tomorrow.

** REMINDER ** Please move your cars from the snow emergency routes so that the road crew can plow curb to curb. Once the snow has ended and the roads have been cleared you can put your cars back. Thank you!