Thursday, August 23, 2012

11 scenes from the E-town Fair

Two more nights of the 2012 Elizabethtown Fair. The weather's supposed to be nice, so get out and enjoy it! In the meantime, enjoy these scenes from tonight.




This picture doesn't capture how exciting this ride seems. The cars bounce up and down.
Fighting Dragons demonstration
Sheep judging
My 8-year-old Max in a classic fair pose for an elementary-age boy.
It's an udderly great fair.
You've seen this view before: the end of the line for a milkshake from the Elizabethtown Grange.


Friday, August 17, 2012

Veteran E-town police officer promoted to lieutenant

Lt. John Emerick
Elizabethtown Borough Council promoted Elizabethtown Police Detective John Emerick to the position of lieutenant Thursday, Aug. 16. The promotion makes him second in command of the police department.

Emerick joined the  department in 1991 as a patrol officer and most recently served as a detective. He had been in his latest role since April 2006.

During his career, Lt. Emerick has served as an accident reconstructionist, specializing in advanced accident investigation. In September 2006, he was recognized for an outstanding investigation and subsequent handling of a fatal vehicle accident in the borough.

His expert knowledge about accident investigation also led to instructing crossing guards and the Elizabethtown Area School District's driver's education department in various safety programs and training sessions. In 1993 and again in 1997, the school district recognized Emerick for the instruction he provided to the driver's safety department.

Most recently, he was a Safety Committee representative for the police department and is one of the department's firearms instructors.

Over the years, Emerick has received a number of awards for his police work. They include:

  • A Commendation of Merit in June 1994 for assisting with a barricaded gunman
  • A Commendation of Merit in December 1995 for assisting with providing CPR and first aid to an older man who had collapsed after chasing several juveniles who had committed disorderly conduct.
  • Marksmanship Award in April 2006 for qualifying as an expert with the department handgun, shotgun and patrol rifle
  • Distinguished Unit Citation in July 2006 for assisting with an aggravated assault involving a firearm. The suspect was identified and arrested within a few hours.
  • Distinguished Unit Citation in June 2009 for assistance during a fight that involved firearms. Working with other officers, Emerick was able to identify, locate and arrest the perpetrators within a few hours.
  • Letter of Commendation in October 2009 for his investigation and arrest of an arsonist who set eight vehicles, a storage shed and several trash containers on fire, causing $60,000 in damage.
  • Police Officer of the Year for 2009
  • Letter of Commendation in September 2011 for service provided to the community during the extreme flooding that occurred during Tropical Storm Lee.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Authorities find, destroy German WWII era projectile in E-town

Police in were called to a home in the 100 block of South Poplar Street at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 2, after a company contracted to clean out the house found a suspicious device thought to be a bomb

Upon investigating, police discovered the devce was an old artillery projectile. Local officers called the Pennsylvania State Police Hazardous Device and Explosives Section, and further exmination revealed the projectile was made in Germany during the World War II era and was most likely a training or smoke round.

State police called a U.S. Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit, which determined that, because of the projectile's age and condition, the best course of action was to destroy the projectile rather
than transport it any distance. The projectile was safely detonated and destroyed in a remote area in the Elizabethtown area.