Home Care In Emmaus, PA

EMMAUS, Pa. — To celebrate the holiday season, the borough will transform for its annual Old Fashioned Christmas on Saturday, featuring ice carving, crafts, food and drink — and even live reindeer.

Led by the Emmaus Main Street Partners group of businesses — a partner of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce — events are planned throughout town and its businesses.

The idea is to bring holiday cheer and get people from all over the Lehigh Valley engaged with borough businesses.

The day kicks off at noon with the "Cheers Trail," an adult-only (21+) trail that guides ticket-holders to various businesses to "sip, stroll and shop" until 5 p.m.

Differing from past years, two trail experiences will be offered, with the "red trail" showcasing stops including the East Penn Diner, Triple Sun and the Emmaus Historical Society.

The "green trail" will include Let's Play Books, Capo & Co, Soul Sisters and Yergey Brewing. Full details of the trails can be found on the chamber website.

“We are excited to bring both residents and guests to spend a full day here in Emmaus to kick off the holiday season,” Emmaus Main Street Manager Hayden Rinde said in a news release.

“Our mission is to help drive economic growth for the businesses in our community as well as provide unique experiences for those who live in the Lehigh Valley, and the Cheers Trail, along with the Old Fashioned Christmas celebrations, helps us accomplish both of these goals.”

Passport pickup for ticket-holders will be from noon to 1 p.m. at Kleckner & Sons, 575 Chestnut St.

For children and families, a "Candy Cane Lane" trail will be available, featuring crafts opportunities at Emmaus Public Library, Knauss Homestead, Emmaus Historical Society and the newly renovated Emmaus Borough Hall.

Let's Play Books also will hold a Christmas storytime event at 2 p.m., along with coloring and Christmas activities 1-4 p.m.

Starting at 4 p.m., the headliner events at Triangle Park will begin, featuring live reindeer, hayrides, an ice carver and live performances.

At 4:30 p.m., children will be able to decorate a tree with ornaments made at stops on the Candy Cane Trail at the park.

Photo opportunities also will be available with many winter icons, including Santa Claus, Buddy the Elf and Elsa from "Frozen."

At 6:30 p.m., festivities will culminate with a tree-lighting at Triangle Park.

The Emmaus Theatre will hold screenings of the 2018 version of "The Grinch," at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Admission is free with the donation of a canned good.

Schedule of events:

More about these events can be found on the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce website.

Alburtis, Macungie festivities to follow

Emmaus' Old Fashioned Christmas is set to be followed by other nearby celebrations and festivities in the coming days and weeks.

Directly following the Emmaus festivities on Sunday, December 10, the Borough of Alburtis will be host to a series of events for a new holiday festival.

Horse-drawn surrey rides will be available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Borough Hall at $5 for adults and $3 for children.

From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., Alburtis Area Community Center will hold a breakfast with Santa and Crafts Corner.

It will be joined by open raffles and gift shopping at vendor tables, which continues until 1 p.m., and a dance performance by the AACC Dance Connection at noon.

Businesses throughout town will hold events including pet photos with Santa, a fitness course and food.

The Alburtis Lockridge Historical Society will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for an open house, and will hold a cookie baking contest and Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas Caroling starting at 2 p.m.

Alburtis Park and the Alburtis Fire Company will have Santa for photos with kids starting at 2 p.m., with the Lower Macungie Middle School Chorus performing at 4:15 p.m.

The final tree lighting will happen at 5 p.m. at Alburtis Park.

For more information, see the Borough of Alburtis' Facebook page.

The next weekend on December 9, Macungie will hold a scavenger hunt throughout the town from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A craft show also will be open at Macungie Memorial Park from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

See more information on Macungie's holiday festivities here.

SOUDETON, PA. — Godshall’s Quality Meats announced on July 10 that it would purchase a processing facility from Clemens Food Group in Emmaus, Pa., for an undisclosed amount.

The 53,000-square-foot plant rests on 10 acres and was operated by Clemens until late 2022.

“Our brand continues to grow in both retail and foodservice and the new addition of this facility allows us to continue expanding,” said Ron Godshall, president of Godshall’s Quality Meats. “Geographically, the purchase will provide Godshall’s with three production facilities and a centralized distribution center all within a two-hour drive of Philadelphia and the northeast corridor. Additionally, the Emmaus area has a large pool of experienced workers, and we are eager to retain many for the Godshall’s team. For nearly 80 years, we’ve been proud to support the workforce in Pennsylvania with well-paying jobs in addition to our Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP).”

At the Emmaus plant, the company expects to add a new smokehouse, ovens and packaging lines. Godshall’s also pointed out that since the facility is on 10 acres of land, there are chances for expansion if needed in the future.

“Growth of the Godshall’s brand has been spectacular over the past few years making it a leader in the turkey and beef bacon categories,” said Joel Nyce, senior vice president at Godshall’s. “Nielsen data continues to show that Godshall’s leads the way in unit sales growth, brand loyalty, buying households growth and dollars spent per trip in both the turkey bacon and beef bacon categories. Adding this facility will allow us to continue bringing new innovation to life similar to the all-natural Angus Beef and Turkey Sausages we launched earlier this year.”

The company tentatively scheduled to have the Emmaus facility operational by mid-2024.

During October 2022, Godshall’s expanded its bacon plant in Lebanon, Pa., to support new product innovation and production capacity.

KEYWORDS bacon facilities facility meat meat and poultry meat industry processing processors

President Joe Biden was called a “loser” and told to “go home” by hecklers during a visit to Pennsylvania on Friday.

As Biden walked into several stores in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, local residents shouted, “Go home, Joe!” and “You’re a loser!”

A confused Biden caresses the flag before shuffling into the next business — and as hecklers call him a "loser" pic.twitter.com/7ejsDJaLu1

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 12, 2024

Biden’s visit appeared to be protested by those on both the left and right, according to photographs, which showed pro-Palestine protesters holding “From the River to the Sea” and “Permanent Ceasefire” signs, as well as one man holding a giant cardboard cut out of former President Donald Trump giving a thumbs up.

One house where Biden made his visit proudly displayed a “Make America Great Again” flag from a flagpole.

There were some President Biden supporters in Emmaus and some former President Trump supporters. #POTUS pic.twitter.com/pBbR7dsPuZ

— Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) January 12, 2024

“We will remember in November,” shouted pro-Palestine protesters at Biden. “No vote for genocide Joe.”

Fans of Biden were also on the ground to give the president their support, however, wearing Biden-Harris merchandise and holding signs which compared Trump to a “dictator.”

During a visit to a local coffee store, Biden reportedly joked, “My name is Joe Biden and I work for the governor and the senator.”

Biden is no stranger to protesters on both sides of the political aisle and has been heckled by pro-Palestine activists, climate activists, and Trump supporters on several occasions in recent months.

EMMAUS, Pa. — No serious injuries were reported in an overnight fire that tore through a borough apartment complex, damaging 16 units and displacing dozens, the fire chief said.

It happened at the Colonial Crest Apartments at 1025 Cold Stream Circle around 3:15 a.m., said Emmaus Fire Chief John Price.

He said a resident in the apartment where the fire started was alerted by a smoke detector. Price wouldn't elaborate on the exact cause of the fire but said it was accidental and not suspicious.

"The smoke alarm alerted the occupant that the fire had started," he said. "It was probably very helpful that we have no fatalities or serious injuries. Smoke alarms save lives."

About 60 firefighters from across Lehigh County responded to the three-alarm call, according to Price.

Colonial Crest is a three-story complex with 36 apartments in three connected sections. Price said 16 apartments received damage.

”We have eight heavily impacted and probably another eight with minor damage – smoke and water mostly,” he said. The rest of the complex remains without power and water service.

Price said two residents had minor smoke-related injuries. A firefighter also was checked for a minor injury, he said.

Fire spread from the first apartment to others up the walls and through the floor, according to the chief.

The fire department called in the American Red Cross to assist residents.

UPDATE: We've opened an overnight shelter for residents affected by this morning's apartment fire in Emmaus at Emmaus High School (500 Macungie Ave). We're providing food, care and comfort for displaced residents at the shelter. All Red Cross disaster assistance is free. pic.twitter.com/f1hR5LPjzt

— American Red Cross Greater PA (@RedCrossGPA) June 24, 2023

The Red Cross opened a reception center and shelter at nearby Emmaus High School to provide emergency assistance, food, comfort and information, according to a news release.

Overnight shelter will be available.

"Anyone affected by the fire who chooses not to stay overnight is still welcome at the shelter for meals and other Red Cross assistance," the Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter of the American Red Cross said in a statement.

Because of the fire damage and power outages, the entire Colonial Crest complex is affected.

"Red Cross caseworkers will continue to help the impacted residents in the days and weeks ahead by working with community partners to ensure the residents receive the resources they need to recover from this disaster," said the statement.

Anyone in need of Red Cross assistance should call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

EMMAUS, Pa. — It’s been a week since 3M Co. reached a $10.3 billion settlement in a slew of lawsuits over drinking water contamination with PFAS, also known as forever chemicals.

But a Lehigh Valley municipality is still waiting for a payout, and it could be a while.

“We probably won’t hear anything for quite some [time], as they just announced it,” said Emmaus Borough Manager Shane Pepe. “There is no settlement as to who will get any amount as of now.”Announced June 22, 3M Co. committed up to $10.3 billion, payable over 13 years, for remediation of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

The manufactured chemicals have been used in consumer products since the 1940s, but have been nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they are incredibly slow to break down once introduced into the environment, and can contaminate groundwater. PFAS have been linked to a variety of health problems, including liver and immune-system damage and some cancers.

"This is an important step forward for 3M, which builds on our actions that include our announced exit of PFOA and PFOS manufacturing more than 20 years ago, our more recent investments in state-of-the-art water filtration technology in our chemical manufacturing operations and our announcement that we will exit all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025."

3M Chairman and CEO Mike Roman

While the agreement is not an admission of liability, and it is still subject to court approval. The settlement also:

"This is an important step forward for 3M, which builds on our actions that include our announced exit of PFOA and PFOS manufacturing more than 20 years ago, our more recent investments in state-of-the-art water filtration technology in our chemical manufacturing operations and our announcement that we will exit all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025,” said 3M Chairman and CEO Mike Roman.Emmaus in April 2022 filed a lawsuit against 3M Co., DuPont and a slew of other PFAS manufacturers, alleging that the companies knew about the link between their firefighting foam and the dangers of PFAS since the 1950s, but continued to sell them anyway.

In Emmaus, the foam was used for decades at the Klines Lane firefighting training grounds, as well as other locations.

During a March interview with LehighValleyNews.com about the $12 million cost to remediate the borough’s drinking water, Pepe said “it might be 10 years before we see results” of the settlement.

At the end of last year, 3M officials announced they would stop manufacturing PFAS and “discontinue the use of PFAS across its product portfolio by the end of 2025.”

The costs to clean Emmaus’ drinking water continues to grow due to more stringent regulations.

In mid-March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal to set nationwide maximum levels of PFAS allowable in public drinking water. The announcement came about three months after Pennsylvania adopted new regulations, but the EPA’s are almost four times lower.

In May, Emmaus officials said remediation estimates had climbed to between $24 million and $45 million. Later that month,Borough Council voted unanimously to treat borough wells, which could cost $24 million to $30 million over 20 years.