BHS Class of 1966, Deer Population and More (June 15 Whitehall Borough Meeting Notes)

The Council of the held a brief meeting on Wednesday night as council members expressed their condolences to councilwoman Kathleen N. DePuy, whose husband, Josiah Meade DePuy, died suddenly on June 8.

"He was a great friend, citizen and veteran," said Linda J. Book, council president.

Graduation Season

With Baldwin High School's , Whitehall Mayor James F. Nowalk shared that he had "recently written a couple of block-party letters" granting permission to residents.

"Just so you know," Nowalk said, "this doesn't happen without some kind of review. We don't grant these without some kind of thought."

Nowalk said that when he receives requests for block parties, he consults the 's Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko on whether or not the party would create too great of a traffic porblem.

Nowalk also declared, with the council's approval, that Saturday, June 25, will be " Class of 1966 Day" in Whitehall. That class celebrates its 45th anniversary this year. Nowalk said that the tradition of honoring this milestone for Baldwin High alumni started five years ago.

Councilman William J. Veith, a member of the BHS Class of 1966, shared an anecdote about his graduation ceremony, which was interrupted by torrential rain.

"The class had already graduated, and (the valedictorian) was giving her speech," Veith said. "When it started to rain, everyone left, but she kept trying to give her speech."

Borough Projects

• Whitehall Borough Manager James E. Leventry confirmed engineer Ruthann L. Omer's report that construction of  was "on track." Omer announced that a pre-construction meeting will take place next week.
• Leventry also presented an ordinance to reinstate a police pension plan. This new document, passed by the council, amended and supplemented the Borough of Whitehall Police Pension Plan of 1949. "It really only changes one thing," Leventry told the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch on Thursday. "It's called the Service Increment Benefit. Officers serving longer than 25 years have received extra money in pension. When we negotiated, that amount changed from $25 a month to $60 a month."
• The construction of a pavilion at has been delayed. "The union wanted to obtained some quotes," Leventry explained, saying that he had originally hoped to have the project complete for summer activities.
• Responding to numerous citizen complaints at council meetings, Leventry said that he has contacted employees of the to inquire about having a "controlled deer hunt" in order to reduce deer population in the borough. He is awaiting response.

Library News

Councilman Robert McKown reported that the just completed .

"The library also had a presence at the ," added Faustino Dunckhorst, a member of the Friends of the Library, who was in attendance on Wednesday.

"There was quite a bit of traffic at their table," Dunckhorst said, "even though they were not selling food."

Dunckhorst also announced that the Friends of the Library is currently looking to fill three vacancies on its board.