TROPHIES

The family of Andrew “Beep” White showed commendable restraint and grace throughout the trial of Jeffrey Knoble, who was convicted this week of murdering White in an Easton hotel room in March 2015. Knoble regularly interrupted the proceedings, calling the system corrupt, taunting members of the victim’s family, and claiming White had sexually assaulted him. Testimony showed White had shown compassion for his one-time friend by getting him a hotel room on a winter night when Knoble had nowhere to go. Despite Knoble’s repeated insults, obscene language and mocking gestures, White’s relatives said they were gratified by the verdict and life sentence. Some said they will pray for Knoble and hope he’ll come to understand the hideousness of his crime. “Our family, we love. That’s what we’re built on. We don’t judge,” said White’s niece, Natazia Edwards. His brother, Justin White, said he had gotten over his hatred for Knoble: “I don’t hate you no more. I just want you to get the help that you need.” A day after the sentencing, members of the family celebrated White’s memory with a balloon launch and ceremony outside the hotel, on what would have been his 34th birthday.

Four communities in the Slate Belt — Bangor, Pen Argyl, Portland and Wind Gap — will share a $775,000 gift to help revitalize the aging boroughs. The money will be provided by Merchants Bank of Bangor, Waste Management, ESSA Bank & Trust, and Lafayette Ambassador Bank, as part of the state’s first multi-municipal Neighborhood Partnership Program. The six-year effort, which will be administered by the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, will seek to improve the region’s economy, promote regional cooperation, assist neighborhoods and housing, help with youth outreach, and recruit funding to continue the program after 2022. The four businesses will receive tax credits in return for their donations.  A committee of local and state officials, citizens and business leaders will solicit ideas for projects from people in the communities.

Ashley Rodriguez’s run of bad luck was reversed after several people read about her plight in The Express-Times and came to her aid. After Rodriguez’s car was destroyed by a random arson, she was hit with towing charges she couldn’t pay. When her landlord failed to make mandated safety repairs, Rodriguez and her 10-year-old daughter lost their home. All of that made it difficult for the U.S. Army veteran to attend her classes at Northampton Community College. To her surprise, people unknown to her paid her towing charges, helped her buy textbooks and offered to drive her to and from classes. The college helped her with the purchase of a car. The support system she found as a crime victim helped her, and she was able to avoid quitting school. In 2014 she found employment after earning a medical assistant degree at NCC, and with help from the college’s New Choices program, stayed on track for a nursing degree. Today she is scheduled to receive that degree at the winter commencement ceremonies.

TURKEYS

“Can you hear me?” is the beginning of the latest phone scam making the rounds. According to police, if a person simply responds “yes,” the caller is able to use a recording of it to authorize charges on phone or utility accounts or credit cards. “You say ‘yes,’ it gets recorded and they say that you have agreed to something,” Susan Grant, director of consumer protection and privacy for the Consumer Federation of America, told CBS News. “I know that people think it’s impolite to hang up, but it’s a good strategy.” Police said the fraud, which has been reported in Pennsylvania and Virginia, can be a form of ID theft, in which scammers may already have obtained personal information from a data breach. Consumers can report unauthorized credit-card charged to the Federal Trade Commission; unauthorized phone charges can be reported to the Federal Communications Commission.

Twenty-seven. That’s the number of alcoholic drinks Mount Airy Casino Resort allegedly served to one gambler over a nine-hour period, drawing a $25,000 fine from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Casinos are supposed to enforce a compulsive and problem gambling plan, which includes preventing  intoxicated patrons from gambling. The unidentified male patron paid for and was served the 27 drinks as he was playing tabletop slot machines at the casino’s Glass Bar. It ended when he fell off his barstool, even though the staff first observing signs of drunkenness seven hours earlier, the control board said. Three bartenders who served him were fined.

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