| East Allentown-Rittersville Neighborhood Association, Inc. |
| November 24, 2011 |
| East Allentown- Rittersville Neighborhood Association, Inc. , P.O Box 1136 Allentown, PA 18105 Contact: Dennis L. Pearson Telephone --- 610-434-1229 E-Mall --- dpearson@enter.net EARN OFFICERS Dennis L. Pearson - President - (610) 4341229 Robert L. Smith Jr - Vice President - (610) 776-0264 David Schell - Secretary - (610) 435-1586 Robert L. Jacoby Sr. - Treasurer - (610) 435-3417 The membership of this neighborhood is open to any individual resident, property owner, business person,professional, industrialist, or representative of a non-profit agency ororganization located in the neighborhoodboundaries. No denial of membership shall be due to race, religion, creed, sex, color, physicalhandicap, or national origin... |
| Neighborhood associations draw people closer to their city government and closer still to their fellow neighbors. Neighborhood participation gives residents a stronger, united voice Neighborhood associations are inclusive, reflecting the diversity, which enriches a community. Members include families, singles, retired people, youths, business owners, faith-based organizations, schools, homeowners, and renters. Often, neighborhood organizations commissions on a variety of topics, including: · Land Use (zone changes, variances, subdivisions, zoning ordinances · Street development, traffic control and patterns · Park, open spaces · Recreational services · Library programs · Budget allocations · Social services · Crime prevention · Capital improvements Neighborhood associations make it possible for local residents to have a greater influence over issues, programs and projects that affect their neighborhoods. They offer a local forum for citizen deliberation of key issues at the local level and provide a recognized vehicle for communicating citizen views’ to City Hall |
| EARN MINUTES 5/16/2011 President Dennis Pearson called the regular monthly meeting to order at 7: 05 p.m. on May 16, 2011 at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. Present: Three officers (Dennis Pearson, Dave Schell, Robert Jacoby), and eight neighbors. It was moved and seconded that we dispense with the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting since copies had been made available. The motion was approved to accept the minutes as written. The motion was approved without objection. This month we obtained 4,000 newsletters and all have been distributed. A zoning special exception was requested to have extended hours for Erv’s BYO. No one was present to object to this, but an appeal has now been filed claiming that a special exception should not have been approved, but it should have gone through the regular variance process. This would now put three clubs in the same shopping center. Objections were also filed due to the fact that the late night closing has caused problems at area businesses. Redner’s Quick Shoppe has closed their doors to customers late night and there was also an event at Wawa. Much of the trouble seems to be ceming from Horizon, with less trouble from the Mezza Luna. Top Diner had also closed late night for a time, but has now reopened for 24 hours. The owner of a business in the 600 block of E. Cedar broke up a fight and some of the participants came back the next day and beat him up and told him to stay out. We have gotten permission to do the Christmas light once again. Meeting took place at the home of Mr. Wilburn, who runs the Midway Manor neighborhood yard sale—Christine Breslin and Dennis went to meet with him and get ideas on what we need to do. We will do ours on Saturday, September 17th—one week after the Midway Manor sale. We will be able to advertise ours at theirs. Ways were discussed in which people who don’t want to sell anything could participate, possibly by making baked goods or coffee for sale. We may advertise this as a garage sale and craft sale. Another possibility would be to have a non-profit set up (blood pressure check, whatever). We can advertise free on the RCN and Service Electric channels (4 and 2). We already have something on Facebook. The rain date will be the following day. The advertising will note that we will not allow “early birds.” MM suggests that we ask for donations if locals set up sales in their own yards across from the park. The City of Allentown has a season-by-season guide of coming events. Possibly we could get into that. There is also a weekly calendar in the paper. We might also put fliers at area businesses for people to sign up to sell things. We might want to give a discount for early signup, with more due if paid on the date of the sale. Another idea is that we arrange for a charity to pick up unsold items after the sale. Dennis noted that cameras are now in the basketball court area and also the tennis court area. Dennis got a call from the city’s Environmental Advisory Committee to ask what our preference is to do with the Allentown State Hospital property. We told them that we are still in favor of a veteran’s facility, but Dennis noted that some of our members who are most familiar with this situation are in the yard care business and may not come to our meetings over the summer. The building that is being built on the property (near Oswego Street) is childcare. There is an area nearby that can be used for baseball or soccer practice. The soccer organizations have been told that there will be three soccer fields on the property starting in fall, set for different age groups. Dennis said that this would be temporary, as nothing has been deeded over from the state. There is a dispute over use between the soccer teams and baseball teams. Football would also like a field. In any event there will be no lights, due to neighbor objections. As to the use of the facility, the Department of Public Welfare is out of the place but it is unclear what will replace them. The buildings are not owned by DPW, but by the General Services office of the state. Dennis noted that Community and Economic Development, which had deed to the 29 acres, is in default since no plan was written by the deadline. As such, the state could pull the land back form CEDA if they wished. Dennis told the Environmental Advisory people that the area near River Road should be protected for wildlife. Reminder: Saturday, June 4th, the Allentown Band will be at Midway Manor, June 25th the Marine Band will at Midway Manor, and August 6th the Marine Band will be in Irving Park. June 14th the Allentown Band will be at West Park at 7 p.m., following a flag-raising earlier that day at the county center. Dennis proceeded to give a history lesson on the origins of Flag Day. Dave Schell presented the two Mini-Grant Applications that he received from the Dieruff counseling office for Emily Williamson and Jennifer Carrillo. The group looked over the applications and it was moved and seconded to approve the applications. The motion carried without application. Schell noted that he would not be present at next month’s meeting since he will be teaching a class. Member Janice Bowman wanted to speak on the matter of waste in the school district, given the increase in school taxes. One area is that of tuition reimbursement—came about through the No Child Left Behind when the schools did not meet the PSSA standards. Teachers can get up to nine credits paid for. Administrators can get up to $4000. We have 29 educators who she cannot find on the employment lists. Two administrators have gone over the amount by $500 or more. Thirty-six teachers have used at least 18 credits, which will provide them with an increase, despite the supposed pay freeze. This is going on while people are being laid off. Counselors and nurses are also abusing this. There is also a proposal to qualify a child who has difficulty learning English as special education, so they can obtain an extra $18,000 in subsidy. This should be done in the English as a Second Language (ESL). It was moved and seconded to put this information in a letter from the Association to the Superintendent of Schools asking for an explanation of these matters. The motion was approved without objection. Upcoming meetings: June 1st—City Council meeting June 6th—Midway Manor meeting June 14th—East Side Youth Center meeting June 8th—Lehigh County Commissioners June 15th—City Council June 16th—Allentown Crime Watch June 20th—EARN June 22nd—County Commissioners June 23rd—Allentown School Board June 28th—NOTES (Neighbors of the East Side) It was moved and seconded to adjourn at 8:21 p.m. Motion passed Respectfully, David A. Schell, Secretary |
| Constitution and Bylaws of the East Allentown - Rittersville Neighborhood Association, Inc. ***** Approved by the Neighborhood Board of Directors ---- February 12, 1981***** ARTICLE 1 --- Name and Boundaries Section 1 --- This association shall be named, known and identified as East Allentown/Ritttersville Neighborhood Association, Inc.; hereafter referred to as EARN. (Passed by neighborhood Board of Directors --- July 13, 1993 --- Amendment replaces all former references to EARN 27 in bylaws) Section 2 --- The officials policies, positions opinions of EARN shall not be established or determined by any organization other than its official membership or its agent(s) --- The \Neighborhood Board of Directors. Section 3 --- All activities of EARN shall be conducted in the name of EARN. Section 4 --- EARN may operate and recruit membership in a geographical territory comprising the 14th and 15th wards of Allentown ... ( Passed by the neighborhood Board of Directors --- 4/8/93 ) ARTICLE II --- Purpose and Function Section 1 --- EARN may recommend any action, policy or comprehensive plan to the City, School District, County, State, Federal Government or any agency or business affecting the livability of the neighborhood including but not limited to: land use, zoning, housing, community facilities , education, human resources, public safety, social and recreational programs, traffic and transportation, environmental quality, open space and parks. ( Passed by the Board of Directors --- 4/8/93 ) Section 2 --- EARN shall assist City, School District, County, State and Federal governments in determining priority needs for the neighborhood. ( Passed by the Board of Directors --- 4/8/93) Section 3 --- EARN may review items for inclusion in City, School District, County, State and Federal Budgets and make recommendations relating to proposed expenditures in these respective budgets for direct or indirect neighborhood improvement. (Passed by the Board of Directors --- 4/8/93) Section 4 --- Undertake to manage projects as may be agreed upon or contracted with public or private agencies. Section 5 --- Engage in comprehensive planning on matters affecting the livability of the neighborhood when carried out by a planning committee representative of the geographic areas and of the various interests relating to our community. ARTICLE III --- Membership Section 1 --- The membership of this neighborhood association is open to any individual resident, property owner, business, professional, industrialists, or representatives of non-profit organizations located within the neighborhood boundaries. Section 2 --- No denial of membership shall be due to race, religion, creed, sex, color, physical handicap, or national origin. Section 2 ---Proposed (Amendment made to be more in line with Allentown President’s Council requirement for membership) a. There shall be no denial of membership to individuals or groups on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, income, or political affiliation. b. The membership may make policies, recommendations, or actions that is to the best interest of the welfare of our neighborhood ARTICLE IV --- Dues and Funding Section 1 --- The charging of dues or membership fees shall not be required for membership or voting. Section 2 --- Voluntary dues, social events and affairs, contributions, contracts, grants or subscriptions to newsletters may be used by this group as sources of income. Section 3 --- A voluntary dues structure can be established in an amount which shall be determined or suggested by the neighborhood Board of Directors and approved by the general membership. ARTICLE V --- Organization Section 1 --- This association shall be comprised of the General Membership, Officers, Board of Directors, Block Captains and whatever Committees as may be formed by the association. ARTICLE VI --- General Membership Meetings Section 1 --- EARN General Membership Meetings shall be established by the EARN Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the President of EARN. (Amended 3/16/87) Section 2 --- When conditions warrant, the President subject to the approval of the Board of Directors can suspend or change the date of any regularly scheduled meeting in any given month. Section 3 --- These bylaws do not prohibit the President or the Board of Directors of this association from conducting EARN General Membership Meetings (routinely or occasionally) in joint session with General Membership meetings of other neighborhood groups. Section 4 --- The date, place and time of scheduled neighborhood meetings shall be advertised generally throughout the neighborhood by publication of a neighborhood newsletter or a release of neighborhood meeting information to the press. Section 5 --- Special meetings of the General Membership shall be called by the President at such times as he/she may deem necessary or upon written request signed by three (3) members of the Board of Directors, or upon written request signed by ten(10) members of this association. Section 6 --- Special meetings of the General Membership shall be limited to a specific problem for which it was called. Section 7 --- All meetings of the General Membership shall be open to the public, government officials and the press. Section 8 --- The standing order of this association is that General Membership meetings should be conducted in an open town hall type of manner; that, the formal style business meeting should be utilized on limited occasions. Section 9 --- Those members present at any General Membership Meetings constitute a quorum. Section 10 -- A simple majority shall be required to pass any motion made at any meeting of the General Membership unless otherwise provided herein. ARTICLE VII --- Citizen Based Boards or Coalition Representatives of the EARN Board of Directors Section 1 --- The EARN Board of Directors (or the Membership) shall appoint upon the recommendation of the EARN President as many representatives, delegates or alternate representatives and delegates that may be needed to adequately represent the interests of the neighborhood on Citizen Based Boards or Coalitions formally recognized in timely fashion by the EARN Board of Directors (or membership) for neighborhood membership and neighborhood participation.( Amended 9/30/87) Section 2 --- The EARN Board of Directors (or the Membership) upon the recommendation of the EARN President shall appoint as many representatives and delegates or alternate representatives and delegates that may be required or needed to represent the interests of the neighborhood on national, state, regional or community based oriented committees or boards as would be recognized in timely fashion by the EARN Board of Directors (or membership) for neighborhood membership and participation. (Amended 9/30/87) Section 3 --- Neighborhood delegates and representatives or alternate delegates or representatives on Citizen based boards or coalitions or national, state, regional or community based issue oriented committees or boards shall inform the EARN Board of Directors and General Membership as to developments occurring within their area of responsibility. (Amended 9/30/87) ARTICLE VIII --- Block Captains Section 1 --- The definition of "block associations" as used in these bylaws shall mean a group of people organized within the boundaries of one or more city blocks for the purpose of considering and acting upon common concerns affecting block livability. Section 2 --- Block area boundaries which are applicable to EARN are shown on exhibit B. These boundaries reflect an effort to better serve and reflect the needs of the diverse block associations of this neighborhood. Section 3 --- Block Captains shall be appointed by the neighborhood Board of Directors from within each block association to distribute neighborhood meeting notices and newsletters, to call neighbors about special meetings or important information, and to report problems and news back to the neighborhood board and membership. Section 4 --- Special meetings of the Block Captains shall be called by the President at such times as he/she may deem necessary. ARTICLE IX --- Officers Section 1 --- The officers of this association shall consist of a President, one or more Vice Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer and such other officers as may be deemed necessary by the Board. Section 2 --- Any resident of the EARN prime service area who is 18 and above is eligible to serve the neighborhood as an officer. However, the following qualities should be present in any individual entrusted with the office of President. 1. The President should be both a community leader and a representative of the neighborhood. 2. The President should be a person with adequate time to devote to the operations of the organization. 3. The President should be a person generally interested in enhancing or maintaining neighborhood livability and cognizant and not insensitive to the concerns of the poor, disadvantaged and those on a fixed income residing in the neighborhood. 4. The President should be a person whose personal strength and leadership ability will guarantee organized meetings, adequate planning, and proper governance. (Passed by the Neighborhood Board of Directors --- July 13, 1993) Section 3 --- The officers and Board of Directors of this association shall be elected by the General Membership in open election during November ... Balloting shall be performed by secret ballot. Section 4 --- The term of all elected officer positions shall be one(1) year, or in each case, until their respective successors are elected and installed. Section 5 --- A slate of nominees shall be presented for all elected positions at the September meeting of the Board of Directors. The slate shall be prepared by a nominating Committee appointed by the President in July with the approval of the Board. Additional nominations will be received from the floor at the October meeting and closed at that time. Also, nominees can be presented upon petition signed by twenty-five (25) members of the association prior to the time nominations close. Section 6 --- A simple majority of the members voting shall be required to elect nominees for all elected positions. Section 7 --- Any officer elected by the membership may be removed at anytime by an affirmative vote of 2/3rds of the Board of Directors. Any vacancy occurring in any Office or Directorate of the Corporation, other than a vacancy resulting from normal expiration of a term of office, shall be filled by the Board of Directors by an affirmative vote of a quorum present at such a meeting which shall be held not sooner than thirty (30) days after written notice of the vacancy has been mailed to all members. Section 8 --- The President shall be the principal officer of this association. It shall be the duty of the President to preside over all neighborhood meetings and deliberations of the General Membership, Board of Directors, and Block Captains and to perform such other tasks as shall properly be designated and directed by the Board. (Passed by the Neighborhood Board of Directors --- July 13, 1993) Section 9 --- It shall be the duty of the Vice President to perform the duty of the Chair in the event of the President's absence or disability. In the case of multiple Vice Presidents, the Vice president of highest rank as determined by the Board shall perform the duties and exercise the power of the chairperson. The Vice President shall respectively have such powers and perform such duties as may be described by the Board of Directors or the President. Section 10 --- The duties of the Secretary shall be those indicated by the title as well as those established by these bylaws and such other duties as may be properly prescribed by the Board (or the Membership). The Secretary shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings. Section 11 -- The Treasurer shall have the custody of the association funds and securities and shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in a book belonging to the association and shall be responsible for depositing all the monies in the name and to the credit of the association as may be designated by the Board of Directors. He/She shall be responsible for the disbursement of funds of the association in accordance with the directions of the Board of Directors, and shall render to the Board of Directors, at its regular meetings, ( or when the Board of Directors so requires) an account of all his/her transactions as treasure and of the financial condition of the association. The Board shall determine when the financial condition of the Corporation makes it necessary to bond the treasurer. (Passed by the Neighborhood Board of Directors --- July 13, 1993) ARTICLE X --- The Board of Directors Section 1 --- The Board of Directors shall be composed of all Officers of this organization as stated in Article IX - section 1 and 12 delegates elected to four (4) four year terms. A staggered program for election of the Board of Directors shall be implemented upon adoption of these Bylaws. ( the start up process shall see three delegates elected to 1 year terms, 3 delegates to two year terms, 3 delegates to three year terms and 3 delegates to full 4 year terms.) Section 2 --- The Past President, Block Captains, and CNO Issue Committee and Board delegates shall sit with the neighborhood Board as ex-official members. (Section needs to be updated with provisions provided in Article VII - CNO was dissolved in 1987) Section 3 --- The conduct of business including parliamentary procedure by and of this Board of Directors shall be done in accordance with the revised standard edition of Robert's Rules of Order, insofar as the same is not inconsistent with these bylaws or any standing order of this association. Section 4 --- The Board of Directors shall meet at least six times per year and at other such intervals as shall be deemed necessary or expedient by the President or the Board of Directors. Written notice of said date for the meeting of the Board shall be given to all directors at least three (3) days prior to date of such meeting. Section 5 --- The Board has the power and responsibility to establish rules, regulations and policies for the governing and managing of its affairs not inconsistent with these Bylaws or with any law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States. Such rules, regulations and policies shall be established upon an affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum of the Board. Section 6 --- The secretary of the Board shall be responsible for keeping a full and complete record of all of its public proceedings, whose records will be open to inspection during any Board or General Membership Meeting. Section 7 --- The Board shall not conduct any business in the absence of a quorum of its members. A quorum constitutes one-third of the total membership of the Board. The majority of those present shall rule at any meeting where a quorum is present except where these Bylaws or EARN policies expressly require more than a majority vote. Section 8 --- The Board of directors shall be accountable to the people of the neighborhoods they represent. They shall be responsible for general notification in the area about meetings, positions taken, elections and other events. They shall be responsible for seeking the views of the people affected by proposed policy or action before adopting recommendations. They should also be responsible for guaranteeing adequate notice and hearing through a regular and orderly process to those proposing policy or action before adopting any recommendations. Section 9 --- Dissenting views on any issue considered by this organization shall be recorded and transmitted along with any recommendations made by the association to the School District, City, County, U.S. Government, Non-Profit private agencies or business. Section 10 --- Procedure shall be established whereby persons may request the association to reconsider a decision which adversely affects the person or causes some grievance. Section 11 --- Nothing in this chapter shall limit the right of any person or group to participate directly in the decision making process of the School District, City, County,. U.S. Government, private agency or business. ARTICLE XI --- Committees of the Board Section 1 --- The Board of Directors shall establish whatever committees it deems necessary to carry on the business of the Board, and disband the same when no longer needed. Committees review problems submitted within their area of interest, and pass recommendations to the Board of Directors. Section 2 --- Each Committee consists of at least three members who determine and represent the views of their neighborhood in making recommendations and proposals. Section 3 --- Each Committee shall have a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Secretary. Section 4 --- Committee meetings shall be held at the call of the Chairperson. Committees shall operate in such a way which is not specifically prohibited by law nor contrary to EARN Board of Director Bylaws and overall policy. A record of the proceedings of each Committee meeting shall be filed with the Secretary; a report shall be given at scheduled meetings of the Board. ARTICLE XII --- Prohibition Against Sharing in Corporate or Association's Earnings Section 1 --- No director, officer, employee or person connected with the association, or any other private individual shall receive at any time any of the net earnings or pecuniary profit from the operation of the corporation; provided, that this shall not prevent the payment to any such person of such reasonable compensation for services rendered to or for the association in effecting any of its purposes as shall be fixed by the Board; nor shall it limit the extent to which grants, scholarships, and fellowships can be made available to scholars, researchers, students, writers, and others. ARTICLE XIII --- Past Obligations of EARN Prior to Incorporation} Section 1 --- All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adoption of these Bylaws shall be valid against the East Allentown/Rittersville Neighborhood Association, Inc. at the time of incorporation under these Bylaws, as under the Bylaws of the Current Board of Directors which are superseded by these Bylaws. ARTICLE XIV --- Private Property Section 1 --- The private property of the members of the Board shall not be subject to payment of the debts of the Board, and each and all shall be exempt from liability whatsoever therefore, and this article shall not be subject to amendment or revision by operation of law or otherwise. ARTICLE XV --- Audits and Fiscal Affairs Section 1 --- All funds allocated for various phases of this association shall be audited. Section 2 --- The Board of Directors depending on the extent of public funding can hire a certified public accountant to audit accounts or elect to conduct a self audit by creation of a special ad hoc committee for that purpose. In both cases the audit procedure shall be completed sixty (60) days after the completion of the fiscal year. The final report shall be given the President and brought before the Board before being made public. Section 3 --- The Board may authorize any officer or officers, agent or agents, to enter into any contract or execute or deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the association, and such authority may be general or confined in specific instances. Section 4 --- All checks, drafts or other orders for payments of money, notes,or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the association shall be signed by such officer or officers, agent or agents of the corporation and in such manner as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the Board. ARTICLE XVI --- Dissolution Section 1 --- In the event of the dissolution of the association, all its assets remaining, after the payment of all debts and obligations of the corporation, shall be distributed to such one or more organizations which have purposes and objects similar to those of this corporation and are exempt from U.S. income taxes under the provision of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as the Board of Directors may select, and if more than one, in such shares and proportion as the Board of Directors may determine. ARTICLE XVII --- Amendments to Bylaws Section 1 --- Members of the Board shall establish or amend these Bylaws (Except Article XIV) by two-thirds vote of a quorum of the members of the Board at any regular or special meeting, provided that such Bylaws or amendments have been submitted to the Secretary in writing. ARTICLE XVIII --- Effective Date Section 1 --- The effective date of these Bylaws shall be immediately upon their adoption and approval as provided herein, and their ratification by the EARN Board of Directors Policies related to these bylaws established 9/30/1987 Please Note --- The Allentown Community of Neighborhood Organizations which EARN was a member before CNO ceased operations for good in 1987 required that for a neighborhood election be recognized by that group at least ten members of the community must participate in the balloting ... EARN has followed this policy procedure even when CNO went out of business as an unstated but formal part of the bylaws as of 9/30/1987. Please Note --- A neighborhood Association should not be considered a sub group for any political party or any other political issue oriented organization... A neighborhood organization promotes the well-being of the communities building infrastructure and the public safety of its people and other necessary livability issues ... As a norm people are not rushing to compete for neighborhood positions at least this has not been the experience of EARN ... Since 9/30/1987 the policy procedure for the Nominating Committee has been to look within the Board of Directors for the high leadership of the neighborhood and look within the interested membership to fill any Board vacancies .... What is not wanted is a partisan takeover of the EARN neighborhood to specifically promote the interests of political candidates no matter what political office they are seeking. Proposed Article VII Section 4 --- October 18, 2010 --- The EARN Board of Directors Assumes Full responsibility for the management of the 501(3) C Organization --- Lehigh Valley Council for Regional Livability . Proposed Amendment Article VII Section 5 --- October 18, 2010 --- At the Current time the EARN Neighborhood ( an incorporated neighborhood) is an active participant in the President's Council of the Allentown Crime Watch, an nonincorporated association. As such we are entitled to send one representative ... The ability of EARN to act independently on matters we firmly believe in remains an option for this neighborhood |
The East Allentown-Rittersville Neighborhood Association Inc. for 2010-2011 has adopted a program for the continuation of a scholarship fund that will be distributed to high school seniors residing in the 14th and 15th wards of Allentown who plan to continue their education beyond high school at institutions of higher learning dedicated to the advancement of technical, business, liberal arts or literary skills. The neighborhood scholarship award program was initially established in 1983 and continued through 1991 before it was suspended for many years before it was revived in 2000. The program has continued from 2000 to the present. According to 2010-2011 scholarship rules two scholarship awards will be guaranteed graduating high school seniors from Louis E. Dieruff High School. They shall be awarded by the neighborhood upon the recommendation of the cooperating guidance counselors at Louis E. Dieruff High School . The Cooperating guidance counselors were instructed to submit his or her recommendations to the neighborhood no later than May 1, 2011 Important qualifying criteria for eligibility to receive consideration for EARN Entitlement Award.
Important considerations Guidance Counselors should take in account when making EARN Entitlement selection.
In the continuation of the program, Cooperating Guidance Counselors will be asked to assist the neighborhood in the recruitment of potential candidates for scholarship award consideration. Cooperating Guidance Counselors shall forward to the neighborhood association all scholarship vouchers received from students interested in being recipients of the neighborhood's scholarship award and may make professional recommendations in regard to which scholarship vouchers should be given special consideration by the EARN Board of Directors. Additional considerations Dieruff Guidance Counselors should take in account when making EARN Entitlement recommendations. ... In regard to the two annual awards, one successful applicant should be a male and the other should be a female. But in cases there are no male or female candidates special exceptions can be made to the rule. |
| Project Academia |
| Project Academia Awards 2011 |
| The East Allentown- Rittersville Neighborhood Association is pleased to announce the following recipients of its annual EARN Mini Grants for the 2010 - 2011 school year ..... We congratulate: 1) Jennifer Carrillo, 841 N. LaCrosse Street and 2) Emily Williamson of 317 S. Bradford Street for being recipients of our mini-scholarship awards for 2011. Their record at Dieruff High School was most impressive, academically and otherwise. Carrillo has noted an intent to enroll at East Stroudsburg University in the fall and Williamson expressed an interest in Cedar Crest College ... Each recipient will receive a $200 award from EARN |
| Previous Project Academia Award Winners |
| 2009 - 2010 ---- Marie Crespe, 212 N. Jerome Street Samantha Egizio, 1137 N. Wahneta Street 2008 - 2009 ---- April Sigoda of 1209 N. Tacoma Street Christopher Pfingstl of 276 E.Fairview Street 2007 - 2008 ---- Johny Safi, 256 E. Fairview Street Katey Lynn Vandergrift, 956 E. TilghmanStreet 2006 - 2007 ---- Stephen M. Gross, 946 Hamilton Street Zachary D. Egizio,1137 N. Wahneta Street 2005 - 2006 ---- Ernesto Ortiz, 1911 E. Greenleaf Street Brian Wrecsics, 1027 E. Union Street |
| Allentown State Hospital |
| Neighbors adjacent to the former Allentown State Hospital are amazed at the silence in regard to what will happen to the property. When and if there is discussion on this subject, the East Allentown Rittersville Neighborhood Association would like to be at the table, not as a guest but as a participant as a full-fledged member of any ad hoc committee. There are those who want the grounds developed at its highest tax level to produce revenue for Allentown, Allentown School District and Lehigh County. But quality of life considerations for the neighbors adjacent to the grounds must be considered also, which means the grounds may not be able to be developed for the highest tax assessment. We know that 29 out of 200-plus acres have been deeded to ACIDA (Allentown ommercial and Industrial Development Authority) under a 2007 state law. And of course, infrastructure costs for redevelopment of this brownfield site may add to the expenses of such redevelopment. EARN, as a stakeholder and the neighborhood most impacted by the closure, offers the following statements on future Allentown State Hospital development: •The neighborhood association objects to the development of apartments and multifamily housing on the property. Such housing would exacerbate traffic conditions on Hanover Avenue and could put added pressure on Allentown schools. Most of the land should remain undeveloped, leaving open habitat for wildlife with reuse or new development only within the footprint of current buildings •The tree-lined entrance, the historic main building and the water tower should be preserved. •It would be acceptable that the buildings and campus be used for a Veterans Affairs hospital or a stand- alone medical/pharmacy school in the Lehigh Valley. •It would be totally acceptable that the current footprint be utilized by the Allentown School District or some private school to meet its building needs. •A certain portion of the footprint should be used for athletic fields for neighborhood youth organizations. •We do not close our mind to the development of a business park with medical offices in the footprint of the campus. But such a business park must aesthetically fit into the neighborhood and what surrounds it. •On a limited basis, over-55 communities are acceptable within the footprint. •Finally, if new housing is built on the Allentown State Hospital campus it should be single-family detached housing. Ideally the portion of the property allowed for such housing should allow one house per acre. However, as many as three houses could be built on an acre if another 3 acres are not built upon where building is allowed. EARN proposes this challenge to the federal government, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, the Allentown School District and the City of Allentown. It is our firm belief that the future use of this site must balance the needs of the City of Allentown with the impact on adjacent neighborhoods. Any future development must minimize any negative impacts on east Allentown, with particular reference to environmental impact, infrastructure costs, traffic congestion, increased criminal activity, and possible crowding in area public schools. |